They left the city the next morning — Ludwig, Kiku, Feliciano and Lovino — after the two fairies were convinced getting up would not kill them.
"We're going to Allegria. Your home. You have to be excited," Ludwig encouraged, though his voice was a bit harsh on the lackadaisical brothers.
"Tired," Feliciano whined. His eyelids drooped, and he kept letting out high-pitched, squeaky yawns. He put his arm around his brother's shoulders and pulled him close, then pulled himself under the night cloak, which Lovino was still stubbornly wearing.
"We need more sleep, you damn mundane," Lovino yawned to complement the younger.
"You were just sleeping."
"Lovi, do you think we could run away and go take a nap?" Feliciano whispered.
"No, I don't want either one of you out of my sight," snapped Ludwig. "If you wanted coffee, you should've gotten some before we left. The reason we're leaving early is so we can get a head-start. We don't know how those mercenaries are tracking our movements. You can sleep later."
"Maybe I'll just… veh…" And Feliciano walked along with his head perched on Lovino's shoulder and his eyes closed.
"Perhaps you need a stimulating conversation that will keep your minds awake for the journey," Kiku suggested.
"Who said that?" Lovino yawned.
"Here up ahead. I am hard to see in the sunlight."
"Right, right. We're traveling with a freaky ghost, too. Why can't I wake up?"
"Am I frightening you?"
Ludwig grit his teeth. "No, you're not frightening him, Kiku."
"If I do seem frightening, I can assure you that I am a benevolent spirit, and my intentions are purely for the benefit of others."
"What?" Lovino hacked.
"So Rovino-san, you have a talent with plants?"
This seemed to pique his interest. "Why wouldn't I be a garden fairy with a natural talent like mine? I'm even the master of Roma's vineyards."
Feliciano smiled.
"I see, and how do you work your magic?"
"Don't you have freaky ghost magic?"
"I do not have any powers, though I did once transform into a living man for a short time. I still do not know how I did it. I am still not able to replicate what happened."
"Heh, well, with my magic, I am the sun and the rain. I feel the plant's life, and I feed it this nice warm energy, and I tell it to grow by weaving a spell. Then it grows faster than you can even imagine. I can grow the tastiest tomatoes in the north or the south. Just test me."
"I thought you said your tomatoes tasted like dirt," Feliciano said. He brought his head up and rubbed his eyes.
"Only when the lisping half-breed's around."
"Now, Lovi, don't call him a half-breed. Only full-blooded changelings are evil. Antonio's really nice. "
"Yeah, and 'nice' gets old real fast. Then you're just counting on your fingers the minutes you have alone without hearing his constant R-rolling. Oh, also, he follows me around like I need someone to supervise me. He doesn't think I can take care of myself, like I'll just get into danger if I'm alone. Really! I'm an adult! What's going to happen to me if I…"
Dead air. The stillness hung like a stagnant fog, and each man felt it pricking on the back of his neck.
"This isn't real," he said after a minute. "Felice, I want you to hit me as hard as you can."
"Why?"
"So I can wake up."
"But you're not dreaming. This is the real world."
"Right, this is the real world. Which one? The one where we're all living countries?"
"No, the one where we're fairies," Feliciano said, screwing up his face. "And where did you get that idea? It's kind of poetic."
"It is an excellent idea," said Kiku.
Lovino shrugged. "What can I say? My creative genius only comes out every thousand years, so you're welcome. Now really, hit me. Kick me back out of this damn fantasy world. Give me the magic button so I can go home."
"This isn't a fantasy, and you're not asleep," Feliciano replied, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. "But you're tired and shaken. I understand. So am I." He gave a great yawn and slumped forward, almost losing his balance. "Doggie, why did you have to bring up coffee? Now I want some." He held up his thumb in pantomime. "Un cappuccino con cioccolato… grazie, è dolce…"
"Why didn't you order some then earlier?" Ludwig asked.
"Because I was still sleeping."
"You weren't sleeping. Neither of you were."
"I don't know about Felice, but I was half dead," said Lovino. "Or am I completely dead? Is that why I can't leave? Well, at least it's warmer than I thought, and there are good-looking women, and you ended up here, too, little brother."
"This isn't hell," Ludwig snapped. "We're going to Allegria. Beeil dich."
"Non parlo folkerburghese."
"Ich spreche kein allegrienisch."
"Let us try to keep the peace!" Kiku said. "Doggie-san, Rovino-san, Fairy-ciano, let us all try to relax. I do not understand what you are all feeling, but I can tell you are stressed. Maybe you should play a game to calm your nerves."
"What kind of game?" Ludwig asked.
"Here is a simple game. I will think of something, and you will try to guess what it is. You may each ask three questions, but the answer must be yes or no."
"Can you even think?" Asked Lovino. "What are you even made of?"
"To you, I am only light refracted by a faint distortion in the fabric of your existence. That is what a wise spirit once told me."
"Kiku gets to meet all kinds of spirits," Feli butted in. "It's like he lives in a whole different world. A world we can't see! Although one time I saw these cute kitties, and I thought they were spirits, but I still don't know completely. They disappeared into thin air before I could really get to know them. There was one that looked exactly like you!"
"You saw a disappearing cat that looked like me?"
The younger chortled. "Yeah. It was white and puffy, and it had a grumpy face and a curl like yours."
"A disappearing cat that looked like me. Really, Felice, you say this isn't a fantasy and then mock me with your wild stories!"
"But I did see the kitties! There was one that looked like Antonio too!"
"Stop telling stories," Lovino huffed. "And if you keep insulting me, I might just have to bring you down into the catacombs so we can share some rare wine. You know how the story goes."
This broke him. "No! You can't bury me alive! I was just telling you what I saw! You can believe in Kiku, so why not believe in me?"
"That's it!" Declared Ludwig, who, in this time, was also quite deprived of restorative rest. "Kiku, think of something, and we'll play your game. There is to be no more arguing, no more threatening, and no more bad attitudes."
"You're breaking your own rule with that last one," Lovino put with a snide expression.
When he heard this, Ludwig recalled a hex he'd seen Gilbert use to glue a man's lips together. If only Lovino's accusations were true, and Ludwig did possess a working wand, the sour fairy would've found himself in quite a predicament right about then.
But he wasn't a wizard, and so Ludwig had to put up with the wiles of these unfortunate fools.
"I'll never understand fairies," he muttered under his breath.
"Let us begin," said the spirit. "You may start asking questions."
Feliciano went first. "Is it something I can see?"
"Perhaps."
"That's not yes or no," said Ludwig.
"I am not sure on that one. I would not like to say no because it may in fact be yes."
"What is it?"
"A song."
"You can't see a song," Ludwig sighed.
"I was not sure if Fairy-ciano could see songs because of his gift."
"I can feel music, but I can't see it. Oh! I can see songs when I read music! So it's a yes!"
"But we already know what it is," remarked Lovino. "Let me think of something… got it."
"Is it red?" Asked Ludwig.
"It can be."
"Yes or no?"
"There are a lot of different types, eh?"
"Pick one."
"All right," Lovino snapped. "This one is red, yes."
"Is it round?" His brother squealed.
"Calm down, and no."
"No? But can you taste it?"
"Yes."
"Is it a cask of wine?" Ludwig asked.
"Sì, I Grandi Piedi."
The jab he did not understand, but it caused the younger fairy to burst out in mirth. His countertenor pricked and stabbed at the air even more fervently than his whining. Ludwig screwed up his face at the noise. How could a fairy be born with such excellent singing talent and yet have a speaking voice like wind grinding against a house in the middle of the night?
Then, within his own fantasy, Ludwig drew up the hood on his robe and waved his wand and uttered some sonorous yet ridiculous incantation, and the two brothers were unable to speak a word.
It must be nice, he thought, to be a wizard.
They went about like this for a few hours — complaints maturing into banter and mirth before festering into frustration again from many a voice and remark. The games became less frustrating, except for one wherein the goal was to guess whom another player was imitating. Lovino became appalled at Kiku's awkward approach toward the Allegrian accent, and Feliciano fell quickly into trepidation when Ludwig brought up how changelings were the superior imitators.
They played all forms of guessing games and a few races to shorten the time taken traveling, and when the fairies inexorably collapsed in the afternoon for lunch and siesta, Ludwig entertained himself with a book and a conversation with Kiku, though there was little they could relate upon.
"We should have a good gap between us and them now," Ludwig remarked as they came close to the familiar town in the evening. The days were shortening, he realized. How quickly would autumn come to pass and winter encroach him? In dark winter, it seemed, his very personality would shift as if he were more dog-man than human even during the day.
"I hope so," replied Feliciano.
"Just in case," Ludwig continued, "I've been thinking we need a sign."
"A sign?"
"Ja, teams have signs. Symbols or codes. We need one so we can be sure we aren't separated. First of all, we need a question to ask each other to make sure none of us are changelings. The answer should be something very difficult to guess."
"Like a secret handshake."
"A bit like that. Perhaps a question to you would be, 'how do you make pasta?' And the answer would be something like, 'with spiders and bat's tongue.'"
"Blasphemy!" Lovino cried.
"Not blasphemy," Ludwig explained. "Of course you wouldn't make pasta with those things, but that's the trick. A changeling might try to elaborate and guess what you would make it with. But if you say something strange, I'll know it's the real you."
"Ah, I get it," said the younger. "So maybe I could ask you what you'll use the amulet for."
"I'll use it to make cakes and trim hedges. Good. Now we need a question for you, Lovino."
"Ask me what my summer profession is, and if I say I have something legitimate, you can shoot me."
"That is a little too vague," admitted Kiku.
"It was a joke, you freaky ghost mundane."
"I apologize."
"You being swapped would not be a joke," said Ludwig, though in his mind he would call Lovino's absence a relief at this point. He should've taken pity, but the fairy's sickening negativity was rising as if it fed off the victims of his insults.
Despite this, Lovino gave a little shiver at the thought of being taken and lowered his gaze in deeper thought.
"How about this," he said, "That thing about countries was weird and spontaneous, right? Just an idea off the top of my head. You can ask me if I could explain 'that great idea of mine' any further. I'll probably just make things up, but you know, if it's about that weird idea, it's the real me."
"Fair enough," said Ludwig. "When we ask each other these questions, we must make sure to ask them casually. It mustn't be formal or anything. Just casual and at staggered intervals. Every once in awhile, we check. We've also got scissors, so we should have them visible on our persons."
"Right," said the two brothers.
"Now, Lovino, if you would give me my cloak, please. I've waited a little too long. The stars are starting to affect me." He held out his hand and hardened his icy gaze.
"And what if I don't give it to you?"
"Then you'll be sleeping on the ground next to a beast who will probably try to kill you in the morning. My wild self can smell fear and doesn't like people he hasn't met."
Lovino's eyes widened. "I… well…"
"It's okay, Lovi. Just overnight," consoled his brother. "Maybe if you want a cloak of your own, we could find someone to make you a nice one."
Lovino started to get very red in the face. "It's the fact that I need a cloak that should be damned," he muttered to his brother. "I might as well… I might as well not have any wings at all. I might as well cut them off and be wingless."
"No, don't say that! You don't want to cut off your wings!" Feli exclaimed. "B-besides, there are plenty of air-cripples—"
"Air-cripples. You say that like it's a bad thing!"
"No, I don't mean it in a bad way! You… you remember how Grandpa couldn't fly when he got older, right? His wings had lots of holes."
"He got older, Feliciano! I'm young! I'm too young!"
"The cloak, really," Ludwig pressed. He felt the starlight seeping through him like freezing water. His stomach bubbled, and his skin started to burn. His palms and fingertips were toughening.
"We can try to find a healer in Allegria for you, and we're searching for the amulet! You can be young and have your wing back."
"But that doesn't mean I'm not a disgrace now."
"You're not a disgrace!"
"I will be the disgrace," growled Ludwig. Marching over, he forcefully unclasped the cloak from Lovino's chest and started to wrestle it off of the fairy."
"This isn't fair!" Lovino howled.
"You have a broken wing. So what? Give me my cloak! I'm changing!"
He became frantic with the fabric, shoving Lovino down and ripping the rest of the cloak away from him. But it was a little too late. Fur had sprung up on Ludwig's arms and hands, and he could feel it spreading and thickening over his body elsewhere. The toughened skin of his hands grew darker and tougher as it swelled into pads. His aching, growing hands made it difficult to hold the fabric, but he grit his teeth and gripped even harder.
He whipped the cloak around him, but such a notion as to keep the light off him was ludicrous. His legs were already twisted out of shape, and the throbbing pain in his hands had traveled upwards, puffing up his arms with steely muscle. The transformation was inexorable now. Like the hundreds of nights before, his humanity was clawed away from him, leaving him a gnarled and grotesque likeness of terror. Bones stretched, and teeth sharpened, and senses heightened, and reason dulled, and he could feel all of it as it happened.
And he had a keen sense of déjà vu when a fairy screamed and whizzed his wings to try and escape.
When the transformation was complete, Ludwig threw the cloak down next to yet another ruined shirt and glanced over at his companions. Now, he thought, was an appropriate time to have pity on Lovino. The elder brother was somewhat lopsided. He flapped faster and faster, straining his wings to lift him, but the broken one couldn't catch the air.
"He's going to eat me! Help me fly! He turned into a monster!" Lovino shrieked.
"He's not a monster, Lovi! He's not going to eat you! He's still human inside!"
"Heh, and which one's worse!? A monster or a mundane!? I can't even tell!"
"I wanted to at least look for a decent place without windows," Ludwig murmured. "Feliciano."
"Veh?"
"Take your brother into town and find a place to rest. I wasn't kidding earlier when I said my wild self won't like him. Find me here in the morning, and we'll ask each other our questions."
"Won't like me!?" Lovino wailed. "Did you just speak? But you turned into a beast! Please don't attack me! I'd rather be turned to stone!" Tears leaked out of his eyes as his consciousness descended into a coward devoid of any pride or reason.
"No, Doggie, I don't want to leave you. What if something bad happens?"
"I'll stay as close to town as I can. Kiku can watch out for me while I sleep. Now go. Take him and buy him some pizza and wine. He's a mess."
"I'm not a mess! I was born into the powerful House of Roma! Shut up, dammit!"
"Aren't you hungry too, Doggie?"
Ludwig hung his head. "Ja, but I could probably find something on my own. Maybe later. I'm tired now."
Feliciano gave him a worried glance, but he turned his attention back to Lovino. He took his lute and slung it around himself before strumming and humming a simple melody. His humming soon turned to singing, and he sang a gentle tune while giving his brother reassuring looks. His voice was weighty with solace. It almost echoed around them as he wove a spell in notes and rests. It was a mere cradle song repurposed for his brother, and he sang tenderly and with love.
Lovino's demeanor shifted. His feelings of panic subsided, and he stopped shrieking. He wiped tears away from his eyes. Gradually, his breathing calmed, and his wings folded back down like nestling birds. He stared at Feliciano as he listened. Then his eyelids started to flutter. His brother saw this and ended the lullaby on a clear high note.
"There. Do you feel calmer now?"
Lovino nodded. "You… you sing so nice. Your voice, it's... really magical," he whispered.
"Let's go find some food. I know you're hungry.
"Sì."
When the brothers were out of sight, the dog-man lay down on his cloak and looked up at the stars. Kiku sat beside him. Each was silent. Their quota for noise had been reached long, long ago.
"Okay, where's the food?"
"There is no food. I just said that so you'd let go of your brother and get up. Honestly, I can't believe he lets you hug him like that. When I entered the room, your nails were jutting out into claws, and you were this close to poking a hole in him."
"W-well," Alfred stuttered. "It's a habit, okay?"
"What? Growing claws in your sleep or constricting your poor brother's lungs?"
"He's warm. I can't help it if I'm asleep."
"Matthew told me about you cutting off his breathing when you were children."
"What? Aw, why would he do that? One time I kicked another calf's face in because he found out about that and laughed at me. Knocked his nose crooked. He had to have it healed by the fairy traders."
"And what of it? Are you going to kick my face in too?"
"If you laugh at me, I might."
"Well, I'm not laughing at you — I'm scolding you."
"But Dad..."
"A gentleman does not use silly voices and names with his acquaintances. Into here, now. I didn't completely lie. Your presence has a purpose."
"There'd better be some food. You got my hopes up and now I'm hungry."
The fairies entered Arthur's room, and Arthur led his companion over to the bed where the great black book was sitting open. He picked up a jar from the desk and handed it to Alfred.
"Rub this gel on your forehead."
"What for?"
"I'm going to cast a mind-meddling spell on you to see if I can break it. This particular one used to be a fairly common spell, and not too difficult. It also seems to have similar effects to the mystery enchantment Feliciano's under."
Alfred stared into the clear-colored slime in shock. "Dude, you can't cast a spell on me!"
"And apparently my words go in one ear and out the other because I said I'm going to break it."
"Uh-uh! I undid my sleeping charm, and you still got mad at me. Plus you said we're not allowed to cast spells on each other. This isn't fair."
"We have to make an exception for spells involving our mission."
"Why use me?"
"I thought you'd be the most accepting of it."
"No, sir! I may be a changeling, but I have dignity. And what if you mess up and I'm stuck beguiled?"
"Alfred, I'll have you know, I have a BS in Magicks and a magician's license, so I'm very confident in my abilities."
"A BS in Magicks from where, Bra—"
"Yaits University. Possibly the best in the world to attain a degree in a magical study, though I won't put down Straffino College in Allegria. I'm the third in my family to attend such a prestigious school after my mother and grandfather. I would be fourth, but my brother Gareth decided to be a Deepishmond choirboy." He said the last part with a bit of a sneer.
"Yaits, huh? Sounds like BS to me."
Arthur caught his laughter in his throat and emitted a sound halfway between a cough and choking. He changed it to full fake coughing quickly before returning his gaze to the book to avoid Alfred's humored grin.
"Hey, remember our little conversation at breakfast yesterday? If one person breaks a rule, the others have free range to break rules too?"
Arthur stiffened.
"Now, I think what you're doing here could be a pretty big violation of your own rule, Arthur, and if you decide to go through with this, you'd be setting an example for your other companions to do just the same."
"You're messing with me, Alfred."
"Am I? You can't really tell, can you?"
"Any minute now, you're going to start laughing like an idiot and calling me out on my gullibility, so this time, I'm not going to buy it."
"Then I won't," said Alfred, his voice taking on a low, serious tone. "You know, Arthur, you want me to be mature, don't you? Well, I'm only thirteen, and it's kinna difficult to live up to your standards. Maybe what I need is some hands-on experience. I've been thinking lately what I'd look like with green eyes instead of blue."
"I swear by the chariot of Queen Mab, if you ever so much as make your eyes green, I will find an iron gate and hold your face against it until it resembles a berry pudding."
Alfred gave a haughty smile. "That would be child abuse, milord, and it's an empty threat. I already completely changed into you and the worst you did was tell me your entire country hates me. I can live with it. A little unsettling in the stomach, but you're one Isle fairy who hasn't tried to kill me, so—"
"Rub the gel on."
"Fine, but you're giving me free range. You get to cast a spell on me, I get to cast a spell on you."
"If I let you do that, it will be a spell pertaining to our mission. One that will help us free Feliciano. And it must be at your skill level, and you must be able to undo its effects."
"Welp, I'll try to make it a spell to help Feli, unless you get drunk off your ass again and I have to detoxify you."
Arthur tried to fill his head with white noise. He feeds off reactions. Don't react. A changeling's greatest weakness is being ignored.
After a bit more reading, he turned to face the changeling again. His forehead was smothered.
"Right then," Arthur said. "It's a 'trigger and response' spell. I'll let you choose the trigger. It can be anything, but make it obscure. Let's make it a word that doesn't appear in normal conversations just in case the spell takes longer to break."
"Obscure word? Hotdish."
"Hotdish?"
"It's made with creamy soup and some meat and potatoes, and maybe some rice, and northern love. It keeps you really warm in the winter. I should tell Francis how to make it!"
"Francis can make a hotdish after I've broken this spell. Now, 'hotdish' will be the trigger, and then what? You'll do or believe something when you hear it."
"I'll believe I want hotdish."
"No, that would be your normal response. How about you'll believe you need to go outside? Easy enough. I'll say 'hotdish', and you'll need to go outside."
"To go get ingredients for hotdish."
"No, but anyway, let's get started. Sit on the bed. Now look into my eyes and relax."
Alfred removed his glasses and stared deeply at Arthur, who tried not to show fear. He studied the book one last time before holding out his hand and staring back into the… hollow… dark…
No, he had to be strong. They weren't Alfred's true eyes. They were mostly disguised by the sky blue color.
Pretend for a moment that illusion is reality. He's like me. Magis omnis, the proud and noble. Great Titania, no he isn't. How could I even think such a thing? He's ugly as hell — the stuff of nightmares, and he's already beguiled to think I want to be friends with him. But, it's not like I'm not friendly toward him. Oh, why am I even trying? No, I don't want to kill him. He's a good lad, but he's just so real and alive, and he does what they do in the legends... he terrifies me. I want to trust him, but I just can't.
"You gonna cast it?"
"I'm getting ready."
"What? Too scared?"
Arthur stared into those terrifying eyes and thrust his hand to Alfred's forehead. Energy of a wild constitution flowed through him in a steady, pulsing rhythm, and he twisted and shaped it into the form of the spell. Then, he released it through his palm into his companion.
"You are under my command," he uttered.
Alfred fell forward, his eyes blazing green. Now the magician had to work quickly. The effect wouldn't last for long. He gripped harder, letting the gel squish under his fingers.
"Now listen to me. When you hear the word 'hotdish,' you will instantly believe it is crucial for you to go and stand outside. You won't know why, but you'll feel an insatiable urge to do so. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good, and when I call you a ninny, you will forget everything that's happened in the last five minutes. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
It was just after he said this when the green started to fade from Alfred's eyes. He groaned and rubbed them.
"Are you going to do it, or what?"
"It's done," said Arthur. "You ninny, you didn't even feel it."
Alfred suddenly looked at his slimy hand in confusion. The faintest flicker of green sparkled in his eyes. "Um, why am I… is this food?"
"It's not food. Don't put that in your mouth. Now, do you feel strange, Alfred? Do you feel beguiled? Do you feel as if someone is messing with your mind and feeding you false ideas?"
"No. Why am I in your room? I remember you said there was food. And then you said you didn't have any…"
"I just cast a spell on you."
"You cast a spell on me? Wait, why? I mean, who cares? If you did, that's against the rules, and I get to transform—"
"No! No transforming! Hotdish!"
Without saying a word, Alfred popped up off the bed and marched with purpose to the door. Arthur followed, curious. The changeling didn't look back. He quickened his pace and darted down the stairs into the foyer, then swung open one door and stood out on the front step.
"Chilly out here this morning," Arthur muttered as he followed.
"Sure is," said Alfred. "Nice, though."
"You're a ninny. It's cold out."
Arthur took his companion's sudden confusion to put his palm to Alfred's forehead again. He grit his teeth as he concentrated to remember the spell, then worked the same twists and curves of energy backwards. The blue burned green again. "Effects cancelled."
When he came to, Alfred was even more confused. "The food is outside?"
"Alfred, you're hideous."
"Um… no I'm not. That kinna hurts my feelies, milord."
"Ninny."
"You donafta double-dip with your insults."
"And it worked."
"Huh?"
"I cast a spell on you and successfully broke it. That's one we might be able to help Feliciano with. Although I'm not sure it's the same spell. Your eyes had sparkles in them. Feliciano's looked more hazy."
"Hey, hey, you can't change the subject. Why'd you just say that about me?"
"It wasn't true. I just said it to make sure my spell was broken."
"What spell? What are you talking about? Why are we outside? You said there was food."
"Let's start from the beginning," sighed Arthur.
And after a good while, he'd explained what he'd done, and Alfred had realized what this meant, and the compromise made so Alfred wouldn't transform into or mock his companion was that he could look through the great black book for a spell to cast on Arthur.
The magician shivered in fear.
~N~
Yes, Arthur's degree is a Bachelor of Science in Magicks. Absolutely no irony intended.
Magis omnis: The species of fairies without wings which are physically able to perform spells of both light and dark magic.
Un cappuccino con cioccolato… grazie, è dolce: A cappuccino with chocolate... thanks, it's sweet.
I Grandi Piedi: Big Feet (A common Allegrian insult to humans.)
Beeil dich: Hurry up
Non parlo folkerburghese: I don't speak Folkerburgese.
Ich spreche kein allegrienisch: I don't speak Allegrian.