One Last Fairytale: Time Forgets
How long has it been since Gilbert last saw that scenery before his eyes? The images that had motivated him to become stronger for the sake of his loved ones.
"Ivan, get back here!" Gilbert called out as his horse tried to keep up with Ivan's. "There's no need to rush. We will get lost."
The taller prince stopped his horse from galloping before turning to face him. "Don't you get it at all? It has been a week and we have yet to find them. What if something bad happened to them? Or they ended up in such situation? I had lost Yao once, and I don't want Alfred to share the same fate."
Gilbert muttered something under his breath as he kicked his horse to a slow down. "And what's the point of trying to get Alfred back? If you never approve of his relation with Kiku, there's no way he will return."
"It's none of your business."
"It's my fucking business to deal with you. It's been so long and you haven't get out of it. Alfred knew what was right and he deserved to have it. Just why don't you let him do what he pleases? I don't see Kiku as a bad candidate." The albino huffed as his horse walked pass Ivan's.
"That's because I don't want him to suffer the same fate as I do." Ivan scoffed. "If you don't understand, just leave me alone. I don't need someone like you to help me, you are just a bother."
"But…"
Before Gilbert could finish his sentence, Ivan kicked his horse into a gallop as he went off into a distance. "I will find him and bring him back myself."
"Ivan, wait!" Gilbert yelled and made his horse into a gallop, trying to catch up Ivan in the flurry of white snow. He can't even tell where he was since the surrounding was covered in snow.
Oh god, please don't let anything bad happened to him… Gilbert pleaded as he looked around the snowy field to pinpoint the other prince. But all he could see was a blanket of white-covered ground with the snowflakes falling down from the sky accompanied by the freezing wind.
"Ivan!" Gilbert called out as he wandered around to search for a human figure.
He didn't remember how long he had travelled, but he managed to catch sight of a faint figure standing far away in front of him. "Is that you, Ivan?" He called out as he approached the figure. To his disappointment, however, it was not the person he was looking for. But for a person to be standing alone in such place, it mean no good.
"You over there, excuse me. What are you doing here in the middle of nowhere?" He asked, he could felt his teeth clenching due to the cold. "Are you lost? Do you need any help?"
The person slowly turned back to face him. The person has long hair held in a ponytail and an exotic clothing that seemed to be made of silk. Gilbert somehow found the person to be quite familiar. But when the person turned around to face him, he felt his blood ran cold when he saw the person's face. Before him, stood Yao, his face covered in blood and his face and body were beaten up.
"Y-Yao?!" Gilbert backed away on instinct upon seeing Ivan's dead lover.
The spirit opened his mouth and seemed to be mumbling something. "I-I-Ivan… trouble…" He said, words broken and voice hoarse.
"W-What are you trying to say? What the hell is going on?" Gilbert asked, confused.
"…Protect Ivan…" was the only words Gilbert could hear from the ghost before he vanished. Gilbert may not fully understood what Yao was meaning, but from what he heard, something bad might happened to Ivan. In full speed, he galloped his horse in whatever direction he thought Ivan would be. But by the time when he found Ivan, it was too late. The younger prince had fallen face down on the snowy ground, his pool of blood stained the pure white snow. Gilbert was not willing to accept this, knelt down to find a pulse or a heartbeat, but the later was neither breathing nor panting. At that moment, Gilbert felt his heart stopped beating. Ivan was dead, he had failed to protect him…
Gilbert woke up to find himself laying on bed sweating and panting. It took him a few seconds to calm down before sitting up on bed wiping the sweat off his brow. It was that dream again, the images that flashed pass him more than ten years ago. Everything was still so fresh and vivid in his mind, especially the moment when Ivan dropped dead, his breathing stopped and so did his heartbeat. It was just too real to be a dream.
"Hey, are you getting up?" Ivan's voice came from a certain distance. And he instantly remembered that he followed Ivan on his search for Crown Prince Alfred.
"Alright, alright, just a moment." Gilbert said as he shuffled out of bed as he hastily put on a probable clothes before heading off to the dining.
"What's eatin' ya?" Ivan asked, sipping on his coffee. "You usually got up earlier than me."
"Now, that's not awesome." Gilbert huffed. "I just got caught up with something, nothin' special." He rang the bell to call a waiter and took his order for breakfast. While waiting for breakfast, he had a glance on what Ivan was having – pancakes with eggs? Now that's weird for it.
"I thought you hate pancakes, kesese." He grinned a bit, causing the taller of the princes to glare back at him.
"I just… missed eating it…" Ivan said bitterly before he swallowed down another piece of pancake. Gilbert could tell that he forced himself to eat it.
"Is it because it reminds you of Yao's cooking?" Gilbert would have slapped himself for saying such things in front of Ivan. For the seconds he finished his sentence, Ivan frowned even deeper and his face ended up hidden behind his platinum blonde hair as he continued to dig up his food.
"So, he hasn't got over it yet…" Gilbert thought to himself. He just don't know how to make Ivan opened up. He had been through many hardships in life that robbed all those important to him. Gilbert sympathized him, he wanted to help him, but Ivan had fallen into depression state that even Gilbert himself could not recover him like last time. "Is there really no more hope for Ivan?" Gilbert asked himself, his hand clenching on the piece of scarf he had brought along.
"How long are you planning to just stand there?" Ivan called out for him, second time for the day. "If you don't intend to move, then I will just head off without you."
"How many times I told you? It's not awesome to leave me here." Gilbert said, trying to lighten up the mood. "I'm coming anyway."
Both princes packed their belongings and headed out of the inn they were checking-in to the stables next to it. The stable boy brought them their horses and Gilbert gave him a coin as a tip before they left.
Gilbert had lost count of the days since they left Main Hetalia castle. Was it a week? Two? Or maybe a month? He cannot tell. All he remembered was he followed Ivan all the way from Main Hetalia to find Crown Prince Alfred. First, Ivan decided to head off to the direction of the West Kingdom to search for Alfred. From what Gilbert knew, there won't be any rulers residing in the West Kingdom at the moment since his brother, Ludwig was visiting Southeast Kingdom, whereas Elizaveta and Roderich were still staying at Main Hetalia. It could be possible that Alfred will find shelter here since it was the closest from Main Hetalia and all the rulers were currently outstation. But their hopes were turned down when Alfred was never seen or no one actually saw the Crown Prince roaming the West Kingdom at all. Therefore, Ivan had set to travel to the North Kingdom since Arthur and Francis had once ran away to the North Kingdom before, Alfred could've done the same thing.
Winter was already closing in. Main Hetalia and the North Kingdom are now covered in a thick blanket of snow, it is predicted that the West Kingdom will begin snowing on next week. During their stay in the West Kingdom castle, Gilbert had brought with himself some warm clothing and coat to keep him against the cold. Since the route from West Kingdom to the North Kingdom could take as long as four to seven days depending on the weather.
"Are you sure that we are supposed to head north?" Gilbert asked for a third time as they began travelling north.
"If Alfred was not in the closest kingdom, then he could be at the farthest kingdom." Ivan said, marking the map.
"Are you really sure about this?" Gilbert deadpanned, "I got a bad feeling."
"It's not like I wanted you to follow me." Ivan shrugged. "You can go back if you wanted to."
"Of course not, leaving you alone is the most unawesome thing." Gilbert snorted as he kicked his horse to catch up with Ivan's. "I can't just let you run alone in the wild. What if something happen to you?"
The taller prince turned away and fixed his eyes on the road. "It doesn't matter that I died. There's no purpose in my life anymore."
Gilbert mumbled something incoherent under his breath as his horse trotted behind Ivan's. "I don't care if you're gonna died or what, but I'm not gonna let that happen, because I'm gonna protect you, no matter what." He insisted stubbornly.
"Try if you may." Ivan mocked back before the two continued in their search silently.
The road to the North Kingdom was just like what Ivan had remembered. The path was covered in snow as it dwindled and stretched an unknown distance in front of them. Their view were blocked by the thick fog and mist winter has brought along.
Gilbert and Ivan travelled several days ridding on horseback. There weren't any place for them to stay for the night, so they ended up having to sleep in the midst of the blizzard with each of them taking turn keeping watch and sharing some meagre food they had brought along.
"Hey, aren't you feeling cold?" Gilbert asked as his horse tried to keep up with Ivan's. Snowstorm continued to blew their way, making Gilbert shivered as the cold prickled his skin. Even with his coat and scarf, it just couldn't block out the cold.
Ivan didn't utter a word. He continued walking down the road, the cold seem to be nothing to him.
"Man, this is freakin' not awesome at all…" Gilbert gritted those words, feeling his body frozen in the cold. He kicked his horse gently to urge it to follow up with Ivan's.
Ivan, on the other hand was lost in his own world. As he continued to walk down the path that will take him back to his hometown, memories of the past began to resurface in his mind. He had never wanted to come here in the first place, everything was just too painful to remember.
The two of them continued down the laneway in utter silence. It was then they finally saw a faint light faraway in the midst of the fog and they could smell smoke. Gilbert realized that they must be close to a village that he made his horse galloped in hope to catch a sight of people.
"What's the rush?" Ivan asked knowingly. Gilbert raced up next to him as they walked towards the distance where the light was. "Something tells me there's gonna to have something awesome ahead." Ivan snorted at Gilbert's statement. This was his birth place, so he knew this place better than him.
The mist soon cleared off and a village soon came into their sight. Both princes stopped in their tracks before taking the scent of the village, finding a form of relief in it. "Tonight's gonna be an awesome night, kesesese…" Gilbert snickered and the two headed off to find somewhere where they can stay for the night in comfort.
For the few days of their stay in the North Kingdom, Ivan searched the entire kingdom and asked the local if anyone has seen the crown prince whereabouts. But no one or nowhere was the prince has been seen.
"So, what plans do you have next?" Gilbert asked a sullen Ivan as they returned to the inn they were staying at. "It doesn't seem like Alfred came here at all."
"Whatever, I'm gonna track him down and get him back even if it means doing anything." Ivan said.
"Such a persistent little brat you are." Gilbert hissed.
"I thought it suit you better." Ivan mocked back.
"Yeah, yeah, just say whatever you like, not that I care." The albino prince said, crimson eyes looking off to the far horizon as if trying to pinpoint something. What day was today already? He totally lost count the days since he left Main Hetalia to follow Ivan on hunting Prince Alfred. He didn't like this one bit at all, the cold, the winter and that cold demeanour of Ivan's. He missed those days when they were young, he missed the Ivan from back then. How he wished that time will turn back and he will console Ivan properly so that he won't be the Ivan he knew of today. If possible, he wished that he'd never come following Ivan all the way here at all. Gilbert had intended to turn his back at Ivan and just let him be, seeing that he can never save Ivan's heart from the endless pit of sorrow. But then, when he tried to turn back, images of his nightmare will flash pass his vision haunting him, making him stop running away. He feared for Ivan, he was afraid to lose Ivan.
"What's with that? I expect you'd want to scold me or something." Ivan said, snapping him out of his trance. Gilbert gave his horse a gentle kick to close up his distance with Ivan. "And what would you expect with by scolding, not like it's going to change you in anyway."
"Same here." Ivan joked sarcastically. They continued walking down the hill until the village they were currently residing in came into view. Their horses trotted down the walkways in the village and walked pass the once lush, green meadow that was now covered in a thick blanket of snow. The blizzard was not very strong today so many children came out to play at the meadow. Purple eyes watched as the children began rolling some snowballs and began throwing at each other. He smiled a little, something rare to see of these days.
Of course, Gilbert noticed that rare smile too. His memories went back to those years when they were still children, too young to understand the adult world. He remembered that day when Roderich and Elizaveta brought him and Ludwig to visit King Arthur for their coronation day. It was snowing during that time. He and Ivan sneaked out of the castle to play in the snow. Those were such innocent time.
"Ivan, come back here!" Gilbert called out as he tried to catch up with the other boy running before him.
"Catch me if you can, da?" Ivan giggled as he quickened his pace. Gilbert's figure seemed to have shrunken ten times smaller as the younger boy continued to run forward.
"Ivan, don't run too fast. You will fall." Gilbert stopped for a moment to catch his breath before continued running. That kid has been quite hard to handle when he grew older. "Ivan, watch out!"
On cue, Ivan slipped and lost his footing and ended up rolling down a slope. "Ivan!" Gilbert called out and dived in to save him but he was too late. He watched as the boy rolled down the slope and CRASH!
"Ivan!" Gilbert yelled, fearing for the worst. It wasn't until he heard something rumbling from below. Crimson eyes looked down at the slope where Ivan had rolled off just now. There was not even a scratch on the younger boy as well, and was climbing and giggling along the way. "I-Ivan… How?" And Gilbert could only stared at him with shock and at a loss of words.
"There's snow down there." Ivan said, "it is soft and gentle, so I won't get hurt at all even if I jumped down from the sky."
"Geez, don't you know what kind of trouble you would get into if it wasn't for the snow?!" Gilbert yelled back. "You really got me worried." He huffed and crossed his arms before his chest as he turned away from Ivan.
But what he received as a response was having a snowball hit his back instead. "What was that for?"
"An apology." Ivan said, picking up another pile of snow. "Your face looks better with that smile." He said before throwing another snowball towards him. Had he not avoid in the last second, the snow would've smacked his face.
"Hah, such an unawesome apology." Gilbert boasted before his characteristic grin broke across his face. "This game will not be awesome without the awesome me, kesese…" He said, picking up a handful of snow and lunged them towards Ivan. And with that, the two began a snowball fight in the midst of the cold winter.
"Ow!" A kid's shrill scream snapped Gilbert back from his daydream. He looked down at his feet to see a boy no older than ten laying on the ground. Quickly, he bent down to help him up. "Are you okay, lad?" He asked, gently patting his head.
"Thank you, mister." The boy thanked him back. His companions then called out for him, various voices asking if he's alright and calling for him to re-join them to continue their fight. The youngster replied with a yes before running back to them and hurdled snowball towards the other children as an act of revenge.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself." Ivan commented. "Didn't you too?" Gilbert asked back. "Those were such times. You were so much different back then." He added, his voice a hint of bitterness.
Instantly, the smile on Ivan's face disappeared and he returned back to his cold self. "I'm not a child anymore. And there's no way I can have such beliefs in those tales. They are for the children."
"And why do you make Alfred believe in those shit?"
"That's because he's still young."
"Alfred's not a child anymore. He has grown up, going to marry and take over the throne in the future." Gilbert retorted.
Ivan snorted and retorted back, "Reality is just too painful to live in. I understand that, and it's something children would never dream of." He looked across the mountains, the direction where the sun was setting. "I don't want to see him getting hurt again. I don't want him to suffer the same thing I did. So I told him to believe in these tales for him to be happy. It's better to be happy even though you are living in a dream, rather than having to suffer the painful reality."
"Then why didn't you do the same?" Gilbert pressed on. "You deserved to be happy as well."
"And what would I get living in those kinds of dream?" Ivan heaved a sigh. "I'm tired of all this. I have been enough. Even though I once believed in those kind of stuffs, and I only ended up suffering more gruesome things. There's nothing at all in believing those kind of stuff."
"Ivan…" Gilbert muttered, searching for the right words to say but Ivan turned away from him as he continued to walk back to the inn, seemingly trying to avoid something. Seeing this, Gilbert pursed his lips shut and just followed him back silently.
Both were tired from hours of searching and travelling throughout the vast land, so both princes ended up being on bed after taken their dinner.
Fate is cruel. That's what Ivan told himself. It takes away all your happiness when you are still into it. Ivan was just one of its victims.
Fate has taken many people away from him since he was just a child. His mother was killed when his hometown was being invaded. In a blink, he and Natalia lost their family. If it wasn't for Arthur, he wouldn't be living until today. He thought that everything was over, nothing could be better than having a family to live in, right? But then, that hope was dashed when the castle he was living in was attacked. And this time, they killed the person whom he loved the most, Yao. At that moment, Ivan's world was completely shattered and he lost all his hopes in getting a Happily Ever After.
He knew it was painful to live in reality, to face the reality that someone died and suffer the pain of losing someone. But all those incident made him realize, there's no such things as fairy tale or a happily ever after. Those kind of stuff only serve to cover the truth and hid away people's pain and suffering, so that no one will feel sad for them. The truth will always remained hidden from them while the person behind this suffers alone.
Why do we tell all those stories? Why do people made us believe in those things? Why should we expect our life to be like how it was told? Yet, why is reality so much painful than these tales but we still have to continue living on these belief?
Arthur and Francis could have known it from the start. The story they told to Alfred weren't even the truth, some of the details were hidden. They knew it would be too sad for the kids to handle when they actually learnt about the full story. But what's the use of hiding all these when they will find out eventually?
"Ivan, do you remember why is she called Snow White?" Yao asked, showing him the book featuring Snow White.
"Skin as white as snow, fairest in the land. Blah, blah, blah…" Ivan mumbled in an uninterested tone.
"And do you remember what saved her when she fell into death-like slumber?" Yao continued.
"True love first kiss…"
"And what about this one?" Yao asked again, picking up another book from the shelf.
"Again, true love first kiss." Ivan deadpanned, wondering what will this game lead off to.
"And how was the beast revived?"
"True love, again… Belle confessed her love for the beast before the last rose petal fell off."
"Correct." Yao nodded his head. "As you can see, true love can stand against everything. Someday, you will find your true love and you will understand how the catalyst work."
"But I already have one, and that person is you."
"You are still young, Ivan." Yao said, as if he was a stern mother. "There is someone for you, better than who I am." His finger leafed across the bookshelves before he stopped at the ornate book spine of Snow White. "Especially this one. Remember how her life was saved and why she was called Snow White."
Come to think of it, he was now already an adult, no longer the fourteen-year-old kid years ago. Yet, he still can't decipher what Yao was hinting at him years ago. Why does Yao have to be so difficult? Of course, this was all Yao's fault. He wouldn't be in such state if Yao had not died.
"Yao-yao, what are you trying to tell me?" Ivan mumbled to himself, his tongue subconsciously went to lick the scar at his lower lip. "Are you telling me that I should believe in those stories, the fairytales?" A sad smile graced across his lip thinking all those tales he once loved as a child. "Those aren't real at all. There's no way that such stories could exist." He said, trying to convince himself.
"Ivan…" A faint, soft voice called out for him in the background. Ivan startled a bit and tried to act as if there's nothing. But the voice called him again, this time louder but gentle. Ivan refused to face the person and quickly shield his ears as an attempt to block out the voice.
"Ivan, it's me, aru." The platinum blonde hair prince somehow found the will to face the person. Turning his head to face the owner of the voice, he saw the silhouette of Yao standing next to his bed. "Yao…" He backed up a bit at the sight of his former lover, "Have you come to pick me?"
Yao scowled at him. "You have changed, aru. You are no longer the Ivan I knew."
"Yao, take me with you."
The former servant just shook his head with a frown. "Ivan, I'm not here to take you, aru."
"I don't care." Ivan said, "All I want is just to be with you."
"Do you think we can be together if you die? In your dreams…" Yao closed his distance with Ivan and looked at him at eye level, his eyes filled with grief and anger. "You have forgotten, haven't you? You forgot what I told you before, aru."
"About what?" Ivan asked, a blank expression graced his face.
Yao huffed and crossed his arms. "About Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and all those stories you loved so much…"
"And what's the point of telling me those things? They aren't real at all." Ivan muttered. "You told me I could've found my true love. And here I am all alone and sad. If what you said is true, then you wouldn't have died, and I won't live in miserable."
"Ivan, things are not as what you think, aru." Yao said, he lingered around Ivan before settling next to him. "I may be dead, but this is not the end of story for you."
"This is not a story. This is fate." Ivan insisted. "Fate is cruel. It forces us apart."
"Ivan, it's fate that leads us to today." Yao said. "But that doesn't mean it is cruel. I died because it's my fate, I choose this path, aru… And I won't regret over it. You should accept the fact too, aru."
"How can you take it so easy?" Ivan snapped. "And why should I believe in those saying? They are nothing but just stories, foolish stories for children so that they won't know the cruelties of this world." Purple eyes locked at dark brown eyes, tears threatening to spill from it. "Believing in those things will hurt even deeper, there's so such things as Happily Ever After in the world."
The spirit of Yao stood up and walked to the window as he looked at the view outside. "You changed, but at the same time you didn't change that stubbornness of yours, aru. Somehow I like it, I don't know why." A faint smile graced his face thinking about the times when I'm alive. "Do you remember the time when the old North Kingdom was attacked? I'd thought that I will never see you again, aru."
"Me too…" Ivan mumbled, wondering what Yao was up to again.
"And do you remember the time when you first see the outside world and met someone important?"
"Escape to the West Kingdom, met Gilbert and play… Lots of fun, whatever, those were just the past."
"And you were so happy back then, even though you have been through life and death moment." Yao said gently. "Even after those harsh circumstance, it doesn't stopped you from believing in a better future, aru. So how can you just simply lose faith?"
Ivan was silent. He just don't know what to say.
"If believing in those tale hurt so much, then what's the point in letting Alfred believe in those stuff? And now, Alfred finally found his true love, yet you wanted to force them apart, won't Alfred be sad about it if you separate them?"
"B-Because I knew Kiku would end up with the same fate as you…" Ivan said. "I don't want to see Alfred being sad like me…"
"Even if you managed to separate them, Alfred will still be sad because he was unable to be with the person he loved, aru. And what will you do after that?" Yao floated back to Ivan's side and patted his shoulder gently. "Kiku and I may be related, but it doesn't mean that both of us will end up having the same fate. Just like Alfred, Kiku deserves to be loved as well, aru."
"Yao… then what about me? Shouldn't I be loved as well?"
"Of course you do, aru." Yao smiled a little, walking to the window again. "I will always be by your side no matter what. And I know there's someone who will love you the same way I do, aru." At that moment, the figure of Yao began to fade. Ivan tried to call and reach out for him, but he had gotten faint until he vanished in the air.
"Yao, no! Don't leave me!" Ivan called out, only to find himself sitting up on bed. He looked around the room and noticed Gilbert in deep slumber on a bed next to his. What he saw just now is just a dream? But it felt so real…
Ivan, you actually wanted to believe in those tales but all those incidents you had experience made you lost your faith in them. You wanted to believe in them but you are too scared to accept it because you are afraid that you will lose someone again… There's a person whom you love too, but because you are afraid of what happens when you lose him, so you choose to ignore your heart and feeling. Your fate, rests on your hands and decide your future. Should you be honest to yourself and accept the happiness offered to you, or will you continue to dwell in despair? … The choices are yours…
Was Yao hinting something at him, again? He just can't tell, he has no answer to that.
Slowly, he rose from his bed and walked towards the bed where Gilbert was sleeping soundly. He noticed a piece of clothing the Western High Prince had tightly clutched near his chest as if it was his own treasure. Upon closer inspection, Ivan realized it was HIS scarf, the scarf he once treasured so much. Since he was just a little kid, his mother gave him this scarf. After her death, this is the only thing he could kept in remembrance of her. It was torn during the chaos, but Gilbert managed to mend it back as good as new and even sewn some hearts on it. That was quite a sad moment. If it wasn't for Gilbert, Ivan couldn't have been here in the first place, there's nothing better than having a family. And since then, he vowed to treasure the scarf not only as the last gift from his mother, but also to remember the day he found someone important to him.
Fingers lightly ghosted across the fabric. It feels so old that it has become thin, loose and crumple during the time flow. He found the single red heart which reminded him of his mother, a gentle and warm-hearted woman, like a sunlight to him. At the other end of the scarf was four hearts stitched together. It was his family, his new family after the collapse of his homeland. Since then, Arthur and Francis has been a parent figure to them. And then, he continued to gaze lovingly at his little treasure which now belongs to others. Another thing to note is that the scarf was tattered and completely worn out, as if it was being torn into thousands of pieces. It was no longer beautiful and perfect like how it was years ago. Coloured strings and yarn stitched all the torn parts, as if the person was desperately trying to mend its scars and some of the strings had loosened out from its hold. He was quite surprised to see a single blue heart stitched in the middle of the cloth. It felt so soft yet so cold to the touch, as if the person was in some fragile moment.
Seeing how the scarf looked now, Ivan sighed as memories of those days came back into his mind. Things just couldn't stay the same no matter how he wished. That day, Yao was killed. Driven by anger and grief, he shredded and tore the scarf apart. Since then, he never saw it again, and he never wanted to remember about all this. Yet, he continued to wallow in sorrow and despair and just couldn't move on.
"Mommy…" As he reminisced with the past, he realized just how much he missed his deceased mother. When the last time was since he saw her, heard her voice? When was the last time he visited her grave and gave her sunflowers? He looked out of the window far across the horizon. The night was silent today, no blizzard or hail. Far far away, he could see the faint outline of the North Kingdom castle, blurred by the mist. But his heart seemed to be calling for it, yearning to return to his birth place. He did not know why, but he somehow gathered the strength to go the distance. He got himself dressed up, packed some of his belongings before heading out.
The castle of North Kingdom was like an ice castle in the midst of the city. Despite its grandeur, it looked cold and distance apart. Ivan can barely remember this place, the place where he spent his younger days in. But those were no longer here, the old North Kingdom castle was burned to the ground so many years ago that everything seemed so unfamiliar to him.
The prince ran to the back of the castle. He knew there was a secret path into the castle. And to enter the castle from this way, he will have to cross the royal cemetery behind the castle. This made Ivan wants to turn back even more, but he managed to brave himself to take step into the castle compound.
After making sure that there are no guards around the area, Ivan quickly sneaked into the graveyard. Beneath the snow covered ground, everything was nothing but silent. And all this silence only made the cold even worse, but Ivan could care less about his surrounding. His heart was dead after all.
The outer boundary of the graveyard is simpler and some can be rather unkempt. Most of these belongs to the servants or castle workers' grave, which most of their family don't live in the castle. Their grave has been left alone and forgotten since their burial. The centre portion of the cemetery was surrounded by bush hedge. That was the memorial for soldiers and nobles who had contribute much to the kingdom. Next to the nobles cemetery laid the royal graveyard. This is where generation of royalties were laid to rest. For Ivan, they were nothing but just graves, for all those people who had died. Royals, nobles, soldiers, peasants or not, everyone dies in the end.
Yeah, died… Death… They are all the same. All humans will have to face their own death no matter what, it is such a horrible and cruel fate. Why do people died? Why do people have to suffer all these pain? And what is the purpose of living?
"Alive or death… They are the same." Ivan muttered to himself. "But dead people don't suffer. People who were alive have to suffer many painful and horrible things."
Ivan made his way to the royal graveyard. There laid many of his ancestors who had ruled the North Kingdom in a great era, a turbulent one, chaotic one, filled with scars of the war… Each royal spoke of different stories and different time, but when they passed, the kingdom lived on with another ruler and it changed with time. He walked past all these tombs and came to one of the newest graves among the rest.
Here lies High Princess Katyusha Sofea Braginski
17XX – 17XX
Loving Mother, Great High Princess of the North
May the angels sang her off
Kneeling down in front of the grave, Ivan used his gloved hands to wipe off the frost and snow covering his mother's tombstone. He never truly like his mother. Yet, he still care for her, as she is the only parent he knew, he never knew his father.
"Mother, Ya vernulsya…" He muttered in his native tongue. While there's so many things he could say, but all he could do is just stare at her grave in silent. The silent lingered on and the cold wind blew on, making the silence seemed eternal.
Ivan did not know how long he stayed there. But when he decided he should leave, he was snapped out of his trance by the sound of someone's footstep. Whipping his head around in alert, could it be the soldiers who were doing patrolling noticed him and came to catch him? He turned around towards the entrance, only to see the silhouette of a person leaving the graveyard. Ivan shrugged it off, it is only some random people coming to pay their beloved a visit in the death of the night. He then got up and dusted himself before preparing to leave. It was then he noticed it, one of the graves lying near the entrance.
Although it was simple with no special ornaments on it, it was well taken care and looked new compared to others forgotten graves. But what caught Ivan's eyes was there was a bunch of fresh flowers laid before the tomb. Someone must've come by and laid these before leaving again. Curiosity took over him as he went up to inspect the said grave.
It was a servant's grave, no surprise to him. The words engraved on the tomb had blurred through time but he can still make out some of the characters. His eyes scanned through the words and discovered the servant's last name is Wang, same as Yao. And the time when the person died was the same day his mother died as well, the day when the North Kingdom was attacked by Arthur's mad father.
If Ivan recalled correctly, there's only one servant with the surname Wang before the old North Kingdom collapse, and that would be Yao's mother, as she is the one who took care of him and Yao when his mother was busy. If this is her grave, and these flowers were laid not too long ago, and the footsteps he heard just now… Could it be? Without further thought, Ivan quickly rushed out of the graveyard.
"Ivan, your heart must've hurt a lot right now, don't you?" What Ivan did not know, Gilbert was awake all the time and had followed him to the castle graveyard. He was awakened by the sound of Ivan screaming, must be having a bad dream, he guessed. He wished that he would be the one to comfort Ivan off the pain and be by his side. Yet, Ivan choose to remain distant from him and the rest. The first time they met they got along well instantly and now, it has come to this. Why has everything turned into this?
As Ivan got up from his bed and walked next to his bedside, Gilbert pretended to sleep as soundly as possible. He can feel Ivan's hand lingered on the piece of scarf he had with him, probably because it brought back memories for him. And Gilbert regretted taking it out, Ivan must've gotten sad seeing this.
When Ivan finally pulled back, Gilbert allowed himself to slightly open his eyes to observe the prince's next movement. He noticed Ivan began packing up some of his things and getting dressed up before leaving the room in a haste.
Once Ivan was out of the room and out of sight, Gilbert got up from bed and headed off to the window where he saw Ivan on his horse galloping towards the direction of the North Kingdom castle. What's was he up to this late? He asked himself, but of course got no answer. He then packed his stuff as well before following the trail the other prince's horse left on the snow.
"Ivan, when are you going to open up?" Gilbert mumbled to himself. "I had waited for so long and you insist to keep all the burden to yourself…" He heaved a long sigh before gazing up at the full moon. He couldn't help but wonder how much time was left for him… It felt as if something was happening, sooner than later… He can't tell.
Speaking of some weird feeling, just now he saw the figure of a man entering the graveyard, just after Ivan had entered. He didn't managed to get a good look at the person but just shrugged it off as some weird people coming to pay their family respect in the middle of the night. In order to avoid getting any attention, the albino prince went to hide himself under the shadow of a large tree just outside the graveyard. The secret path that leads to the graveyard of the North Kingdom castle was shielded and covered by dense tundra forest, that's why nobody would use it. But for some people other than Ivan to enter the graveyard through this secret path, he must be no ordinary people.
After quite a while, he saw the mysterious man leaving the graveyard and headed to where he came from. Not too long after the man left, a panicked Ivan rushed out from the entrance of the graveyard.
"Walking around without a sword, that was really dangerous in the middle of the night, and unawesome too. Do you know that?" Gilbert quirked his brow and came out from his hiding spot.
"Gilbert," Ivan hissed, "Why are you here?"
"Chasing after you, of course. What if something unawesome happens to you and you didn't bring your sword? Gilbert rambled on while handing Ivan's sword to him.
Ivan said nothing as he accepted his sword from Gilbert. "I should get going now." He said turning away.
"What's with that attitude?" Gilbert huffed and followed behind him. "Just where are you thinking you're going? It's too late to walk around at a time like this."
"It's none of your business. There's something I have to hunt down."
"… You mean Alfred?" Gilbert questioned back. "At this time? Don't tell me you're gonna barge into some people's house to search for Alfred, that's unawesomely ridiculous."
"Whatever I'm going to do is none of your business." Ivan practically yelled back. "You can go back to your sleep, but I will continue to search for Alfred until I found him."
"Wherever you're going, I'm following you." Gilbert mumbled and followed behind Ivan. Ivan turned around and was about to spat at him when they heard the sound of someone screaming.
"Eeek! MONSTER!" A voice called out somewhere in the woods. Ivan whipped his head around, this voice sounded so familiar to him. It can't be…
"Master Alfred, calm down. It's just your clothes got hooked up by the branch." Another voice said, calmer than the first one.
"This voice… Could it be…" Gilbert said, but Ivan quickly mounted onto his horse and began to dash towards where the voice came from. "Hey, wait up!" Gilbert called out and tried to follow up.
No doubt, it's them… Ivan told himself. And he's not going to let them run away this time. He will catch up with Alfred and hit sense into his mind so that he will leave Kiku and to never get married. He was determined to do so, he don't want to let Alfred suffer the same thing he had been through.
But the people he was searching for had probably heard all those ruckus and racket that they ran away before he arrived. Violet eyes scanned the surrounding area and noticed some hooves print on the layer of snow covered the forest ground. He got down from his horse and searched around, finding a piece of fabric lying on the snowy ground. He picked it up from the ground, feeling the soft, silky fabric rubbing against his skin. Of course, it is impossible for commoners to wear something so finely made, and from what he heard just now. It matched everything he was searching for. Getting onto his horse, he gave it the kick, causing his horse to whine and neigh before galloping at full speed.
Ivan did not remember how long he had been following their tracks but all his search ended in futile when he realized that the hooves print he was following disappeared halfway. Cursing under his breath, he took a look at his surrounding but all he could see was eternal whiteness as the snow continued to descend from the night sky.
"There you are!" Someone called out, "how can you just dumped me and go on your own?" From afar, Ivan could make out the silhouette of a person. When that person approached, it was revealed to be Gilbert on his horse.
"And just what are you doing following me?" Ivan hissed, his horse trotted in circle around the area.
"I have to protect you at all cost." Gilbert huffed. "Besides, if you're doing anything reckless, it could've troubled us."
"Whatever." Ivan mumbled, then something hit him. "Where are we by the way?"
Gilbert stifled a grunt as he walked next to Ivan. "We have gotten out from North Kingdom border." He explained, "From where we were exiting, it will head towards the Southeast Kingdom."
"And that's the only place we haven't search." Ivan concluded. "Alfred and Kiku could have sheltered there."
"But that's impossible, you mentioned seeing someone like Kiku and hearing Alfred's voice just now. They couldn't been there." Gilbert said. "Besides, the road from North Kingdom to Southeast Kingdom is very treacherous." From what Gilbert knew, the route connecting the North Kingdom and the Southeast Kingdom is covered with mountains and vast plains with no border. Nobody has ever used this road, especially on harsh weather like this blizzard tonight.
"Who knows? But knowing Alfred, he's not gonna give up that easily and is willing to do anything to succeed." Ivan said. "And it seems like they covered up their tracks to stop us from following them."
"Fuck, Ivan... Just let them go. There's nothing you can do. And even if you do catch up to them, what would you do? Would you really deny Alfred happiness? That's not the Ivan I know..." Gilbert spat those words out from his mouth before he could even reconsider it.
"Who says I'm the Ivan you know then?!" Gilbert forced his horse to back up, shocked at the gaze of utter anguish and rage. "I stopped being the Ivan that you know years ago, Gilbert! I don't believe in happiness anymore because everything that I do only ends in pain!" He growled and looked away, angry tears stinging the corners of his eyes, "I just don't want to watch Alfred go through the same. He's all I have left." A flash of irritation went through Gilbert at this, "Who says he will?! You're not even giving him a chance, Ivan! And what's that utter bull-shit about him being all you've got?! Arthur and Francis fucking raised you when they could have left you to fend for yourself. God damn it, Ivan, I don't think there's a parent in the world that loves his children more than Arthur loves you and Alfred. And what about me? I promised that I would always be here for you, and you've just thrown that aside like it meant nothing to you! Am I nothing to you too, Ivan?!"
"I never asked you to promise that!" Ivan shrieked, pushing his horse to trot closer so that they were suddenly side-by-side. "Promises are useless when everyone is eventually going to die and leave me behind!"
"No, that's not what you said." Gilbert insisted. "You are just too fucking stubborn to admit it." He let Ivan's horse walked ahead of him. "I'd fucking sell my body and soul before I went around dying without you!"
"Do it!" Ivan yelled back, turning to face him. "I don't care you at all. What you do doesn't matter me at all." And just after finishing his sentences, he kicked his horse to move forward, leaving a stunned Gilbert in his wake.
"Ivan, just when will you realize it?" Gilbert muttered sadly. "Everyone loves you… We really do and yet, why are you doing this to us?" He gently kicked his horse, allowing it to trot slowly, making sure to keep a certain distance away from Ivan.
In the midst of silence, it was then Gilbert noticed it. Someone, something, lurking around in the vast snow field. He tried to get a better look at his surrounding but with the snow, mist and darkness that covered the land, it was hard for him to see it clearly. He wondered if he was hallucinating.
"Oi, when are you going to get moving?" Ivan snapped him out from his trance. "You will freeze to death if you don't keep moving, I won't wait you either."
"Ivan, wait!" Gilbert tried to call out to him as well as trying to catch up but the other prince ignored him and continued to walk ahead of him.
Now Gilbert was really on his nerve. Way to go, Gilbert. He thought to himself, how he and Ivan got into a fight and in any second, they could be in danger and Ivan was not going to give him a shit. Giving his horse another kick to urge it to trot faster in order to catch up with Ivan's horse, he glanced beyond the vast snow ground trying to pinpoint anything dangerous. From far away, he could make out the faint figure of a creature, he couldn't really tell. It seemed to be limping, from the way it is moving, slow but something seem off about it.
"Ivan, I don't like this." Gilbert said as his horse finally came side-to-side with Ivan's horse. He continued to stay alert to his surrounding, eyes scanning and glancing all over the area as if someone was cornering them.
Ivan stopped in his tracks. "Just what has gotten you? Just now you are muttering all sorts of things and now you cower next to me." Ivan glared at him. "If you're scared, then turn back. It's not too late yet. I will be fine by myself."
It was very faint, almost as if it was nothing. But a strong wave of sixth sense hit over him, Gilbert could hear it coming, the sound of someone's feet crunching up on the snow. He looked around again but saw nothing. Ivan just ignored him and continued his road.
"No Ivan, don't!" Gilbert jerked his horse so that it blocked Ivan's path. "Something, someone's coming towards where we are. We have got to run. We…" Before he could finish his sentences, he felt a surge of pain ran up his spine and something wet running down his body. Crimson eyes widened while violet eyes could only stare in shock. The platinum blonde-haired prince slowly looked down to see blood flowing out from the other abdomen, the place where a knife has stabbed through. He tried to gather himself, but his body failed him and he ended up falling off his horse onto the snow.
And all the while, Ivan could only helplessly watch as Gilbert's lifeless body fell onto the snowy ground, his blood staining the snow. He never thought he would say it, but he did. "Gilbert!"
xXx
Yeah, and the scene from Gilbert's dream (Chapter 7) has finally takes place. When you thought about it… Oh no, CLIFFHANGER! Gilbert, noooooo! What was coming next?
First of all, I would like to thank all the readers and supporters who read, review and support this story despite the long wait. It was thank to all of you that I was still able to continue in writing this fic. Second, I have to apologize for the late update and long wait. Life has been a trouble lately and can only get worse. It took me months to come up with this chapter. But I won't let you all down, I won't leave it abandoned like the previous fic and I'm sure that someday I will definitely finish this and continue with other beautiful fanfiction awaiting to be published. So hope you all enjoy this chapter and stay tune for the next update. Pray that I have mercy on Gilbert and Ivan, muahahaha…
Guest (reviewed on Feb 28): Sorry for the late update and reply. Yes, Gilbert deserved some sympathy, but I'm just too cruel to let him die. Hahaha, you will find out sooner or later.