Ludwig and Roderich stood there in a blur of confusion, wondering what the heck they were searching for. They barely remembered what it was a second ago…come to think of it, how was Feliciano? They couldn't remember anything at all. The prince turned toward the valet, who shrugged with a look of confusion.

"What were we looking for?"

"Oi! Bruder! There you are!"

The two of them looked up and saw Gilbert charging toward them, holding onto Feliciano's body as he dangled loosely in his arms. Instantly, Ludwig paled and charged toward them, grabbing Feliciano's pale body from his brother. For some reason, he felt heavier than his lighter self just a few hours ago…

"What the heck were you doing with him?"

"Don't ask me! I have no idea what the heck happened either!" Gilbert lifted his hands. "All I remember was that I was in a prison cell with the guards and Feliciano was right in front of the door!"

"How does that even work…? Did he just walk on his own?"

"Stop debating and carry him back to his room. We need to figure out how to wake him up."

Ludwig's gaze turned back to the young man in his arms, seeing his head droop on his shoulder. He couldn't help but frown at just how fragile he looked, unmoving and pale…a little too pale, now that he thought about it. He stopped and stared at him, watching his face shake from the stop, hoping that he could see anything in those eyes again.

"Oi, bruder. Time to go."

"…yeah…"

/=+=/

"My lord, your father wanted me to ask you something on his behalf."

"What is it now, Roderich?"

"He wants to know if you had found a wife yet."

"In case you're wondering, no I hadn't." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I remember one chick, though."

"Someone that might be worth your interests?"

"Really? You're going to ask about this?"

"You ask about my love interests; I have the liberty to asking you as well."

"…touché."

Gilbert walked forward, wondering what he could actually say at a time like this. If anything, he was still worried about Feliciano and hoping that he was going to be all right and pull off a full recovery. Finding a date in a personal crisis such as this? Where is Roderich's brain at a time like this? Then again, this is the king speaking…

"It was that girl that Feliciano knew. The one with the long brown hair."

"Elizabeta? The one that almost crushed your manhood in because you 'accidentally' grazed her butt?"

"Yeah, that chick…I think she's into me!"

"I…highly doubt that."

"I just know it~"

"You have to be the strangest person I have ever met, Gilbert."

"What can I say? I have high hopes for me and this woman~"

"…"

"Why are you asking this, specifically?"

"Well, the king's birthday is soon, and he's inviting as many people as he can-"

"His birthday is coming up? Seriously? Why did I forget that?"

"You just didn't care, perhaps?"

"Maybe…" Gilbert sighed. "Fine, invite all the girls you can. Just make sure that Elizabeta chick is on the list."

"I will make sure of that. What will you do in the time being?"

"Duh. I'm going to figure out how to wake up Feliciano."

/=+=/

Ludwig stared quietly at the young boy in front of him, millions of questions going through his mind. Was it safe for him to be sleeping this entire time? After all the times that he didn't eat, why isn't he dead? Is he holding on by sheer willpower? And most importantly, how in the world did he get to the cell where Gilbert had been imprisoned in…for no reason at all?

The prince leaned back on his chair, a billion questions rolling through his mind. None of this made any sense to him. It was almost as if there was an actual force trying to hold him back from the truth. Why would they do something like that, though? Who was trying to keep him from saving Feliciano? Did they really want him to suffer this immensely?

"Why do they hate you, Feliciano? What did you do?"

He found himself caressing his hair out of his eyelids, watching, hoping, that there would be a flinching reaction from the young boy. Seconds passed…minutes…hours? Nothing. Nothing came out of him. It was as if he was watching a body slowly rotting away into the earth where they were once before…

"Please…talk to me…"

For the first time, he closed his eyes and hid back the tears that welled inside him. From the darkness of his mind, he imagined Feliciano sitting across from him at their dining table. He would be eating his lunch in peace, asking for others to pass the food over with his soft voice. Then he would turn to him and smile, happy that he was alive and that he was finally in a place where he would not be tortured and ridiculed…

Why was the image of his smile impossible to remove from his head?

"Oi, bruder."

He turned his head to see Gilbert standing at the door, staring back at him with a blank look on his face. The prince stood, staring back at his brother with a confused look on his face. Gilbert had no idea what he was thinking; he had never seen that look before. Yet it somehow troubled him…

"What do you want?"

"I really don't be the one to tell you this…"

"What is it now?"

"Well…your father's birthday is coming up, and he's going to be throwing a party in his honor."

"I know that, and I figured that he would. What is your point?"

"That's kind of the problem. If he's going to be throwing a party, then we'll have to be there all day and night entertaining the guests, right? Rules of being a prince?"

Ludwig instantly paled. That meant that for one whole day, no one was going to be watching over Feliciano in his ever-lasting slumber. What if, during the birthday party, he finally wakes up? Would he be lost? Would he have memory loss again? Will he be calling for him, dazed and confused and hungry? What if he was in trouble during that time? What if he…?

Why was he this immensely worried about him?

"So…"

"I could try getting someone to watch over him, if you want. Either that, or I'll tell uncle that you're sick or something-"

"Just…get someone to watch him, that's all. I'll go to the party." He answered plainly. "I can't disappoint father, after all."

"Hey, don't be that depressed. You'd probably make puppies cry with a face that long."

"Oh ha ha." Ludwig grunted. "When do I have to get ready?"

"Um…now, actually. They want to make you a custom uniform for the birthday party."

He couldn't help but find himself hesitating. If he left, would Feliciano be all right under the supervision of whoever would be here? What if whoever attacked him comes back? Feliciano would be too far away from him, he can't call for help, and god knows what would happen if he had died on the one day he went away for the sake of his father…yet something, from the back of his mind, was urging him to go on. Go forward. Leave him alone, for he will be just fine. He'll be asleep when you leave, and he'll still be doing so when you return.

The thought pained him.

"…all right."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to send someone."

Ludwig nodded, staring back unto the boy sleeping peacefully on the bed before him. Before he knew it, he was leaning forward and kissing him on the forehead, feeling the warm skin underneath his lips, and went to leave with Gilbert. He only stopped to take one more look at him before finally disappearing into the hallways.

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"Goodness, I thought he'd never leave."

Arthur hovered outside the wall of his room, watching the two princes leave the room before phasing through the wall and staring at the boy before him, sleeping peacefully in front of him. He never thought that something so cursed would look so innocent. That would explain a lot of things…

"That's good, because he won't be waking up any time soon."

He looked down and felt the warm fire rise up from his palm, the one that he stole from Feliciano. Then again, the better terming would be that he stole Feliciano himself, the very essence of his life. If this were any other horrible person, he would've instantly destroyed it and be on his way. Besides, Elizabeta wasn't going to dress herself up, wouldn't she?

Yet somehow…he couldn't bring himself to do so.

He felt like he could contribute that fact to the strange observation that he could not see any evil on it. Every single person has some form of evil inside them, that's what makes them human. Yet it was nearly impossible for him to find it. Besides, intensifying the evil is a surefire way for him to get rid of this soul…

"This is going to be more of a hassle than I thought…" Arthur spat. "I'm going to have to find that said evil."

Feliciano must've caked himself with so many lies that he was pure-hearted that even his soul began to believe it. He had seen individuals like that; the evil was straight underneath like peeling an orange. All he had to do was take a dive into his deepest secrets and find something he could exploit…