Breakfast came and went rather uneventfully. The four talked quietly, nothing really to talk about other than noble gossip, but even that got old quickly. After breakfast, Emma and Abel told them that they were heading into town for a few hours, then over to a friend's place who lived in the area. Arthur wished them happy travels and they took off.

Once they were out of sight, Francis didn't really know what to do with himself. Ernest was busy that day preparing for something and the other maids wouldn't let him help since he was a guest. Still, he wanted to do something productive, so he decided to sit in the library and read. As much as he wanted to absorb all the information he could while being on land, his mind wandered elsewhere. Not surprisingly, it wandered to Arthur.

He's so cute when his face goes red, like an angry little kitten.

By now, he had been acquainted with the animals known as cats that lived in the horse barn. Francis was somehow able to gain enough trust from the mother cat that she allowed him to gently, oh-so-gently, stroke her small kitten's fur. He felt honored to have the trust of this cat that had just met him.

Francis sighed and looked out the window. His eyes followed the road that snaked away from the mansion and (presumably) towards a town of some sort.

Is a human town like a mer-town? Do they sell the same kind of stuff we do? I suppose they must have some different stuff, someone has to make all these clothes and books. I wonder what it's like.

He found himself wondering what the human towns were like. He imagined the smells, the sounds, what they looked like, what the dirt underneath felt like, everything he could think of. The book was still in his lap, unread as he gazed out the window, daydreaming.

Arthur, meanwhile, could do anything but daydream. He was dealing with a serious crisis, one that he wouldn't be able to fix until he was crowned prince, but was still expected to fix. But no matter how he looked at the problem, he could see no way out of it.

"Come on, there must be something!" he yelled to himself, slamming his hands down on the map-covered table.

For weeks on end, he had been dealing with this, and still nothing. Now, Arthur was a mess trying to figure this out.

"I can't think straight anymore; I've gotta get out of this room."

With that, he made his way out of his study in a small huff. But even as he walked the halls of his mansion, his brain was still going a million miles an hour, still a jumbled mess that was making him angry. Arthur slowed his speed after a while, realizing just how still everything was. Where was everyone? Quietly, Arthur wandered the house, trying to find someone, anyone really.

Minutes later, he finally heard something. Paper moving, like the page of a book being flipped. Arthur cautiously moved toward the sound, as if afraid of whatever was in the room. It was the library, he realized. Very quietly, he peeked into the room. He, too late, realized he wasn't ready to face what he was about to see.

There was Francis, sitting in one of the window seats with a book in his lap. He was not looking at the book, however; he was looking out the window, at the beautiful scenery of the trees surrounding the mansion. Francis himself looked…

… beautiful.

The sun filtered through the window and Arthur could have sworn that it made Francis' hair shine and his skin glow. The tunic framed him gently, as well as his hair. Admittedly, the boots didn't compliment him quite as much, but they (along with the trousers) seemed to be a nice reminder that Francis was indeed a man. But by god he was a gorgeous man.

Arthur felt his face burn. He ran a hand through his hair.

Why, why God did you curse me with being into men and then put this beautiful man in front of me? No wait why am I thinking that Francis would never want me he isn't wearing that to seem flirty it's just what the maids gave him oh god I'm rambling again.

Internally, Arthur sighed. He decided that he was going to have to get Francis some less feminine clothing, otherwise he was going to a blushing mess the rest of the week, which was the last thing he needed with all the guests that would be coming soon. Still, he couldn't deny that he was kinda into it.

No, Arthur we've talked about this. You might be attracted to men, but that doesn't mean you can just… assume they are as well. Francis doesn't want you, no matter how much you would like him to.

It was only then that he realized that he had been staring at his guest for god knows how long. How rude of him.

He gave a soft knock on the door as he said "Oi."

Francis looked up at him, a bit surprised. Arthur once again felt his face flush when Francis' pretty blue eyes landed on him.

'Hello,' Francis signed with a smile.

Bloody hell that smile. Oh wait I have to say something.

"What book do ya got?"

Francis held up the book. It was Pilgrim's Progress, a classic.

"Ooh, that's a good one. You like it?"

His guest nodded happily, turned his head, as if confused.

'Are you alright?' he signed.

"Hm?"

Francis stood.

'You see upset. Is something wrong?'

"Oh… uh, no. Well... "

Francis once again cocked his head. Something about the utterly innocent look he had made Arthur melt inside. A small voice told him to let Francis help him, if not just to spend more time with the blond.

"Actually, could I ask something of you? I've been working on some stuff for when I become prince, and there's this issue that's been bugging me for the past few weeks and I've gotten nowhere with it. I think I just need someone to bounce ideas off of."

'What's the issue?' Francis quickly signed, much to Arthur's surprise.

"Here, let me show you," Arthur said after a moment, then led the way back to his study.

Francis looked at the map on the table. It looked complicated to say the least.

'What exactly is all this?'

Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more.

"So, there's a lumber shortage going on right now," he began to explain. "Well, I should say that there's a law that states that only a certain amount of forests can be cleared at a time and we're starting to exhaust that limit, which is leading to a shortage. And because of that, what lumber we do have is very expensive. That's causing the people to be pretty bloody upset, so I have to do something to get it cheaper. But no matter how I look at it, I can't think of anything I can do."

Francis thought about this and stared at the map. Given the marks on the paper map already, it seemed roughly half the forests were already exhausted.

Didn't Papa have to deal with something like this? I could've sworn he did. What did he do about it?

Nothing he thought of could bring up those memories. Francis was now mentally hitting himself for not paying attention during the few times his father had tried to teach him something. Arthur is still pacing, red in the face from being so deep in thought and being slightly angry. Something was bugging Francis.

'What did you do last time there was a shortage?'

Arthur took a moment to think before replying: "There wasn't a last time."

What the putain?

The strange look on his face must have tipped off Arthur.

"The law was only made about a decade ago."

Ten years… I don't know how quickly trees grow but sounds like something that we use back home. How do we regulate that again?

Francis was once again deep in thought. None of this was adding up; if they were doing it right, there shouldn't be a shortage. Then he thought of something, a potential flaw.

'Arthur, is the maximum amount of trees that can be harvested dictated by the amount of mature trees or out of the total trees in the forests?'

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

'Let's say there are 100 trees initially, and you harvest half of them because that's what you're allowed to, then replant 50 new trees, does that mean you could harvest the other half once those new trees take root?'

Arthur stared at him, the cogs in his brain turning loudly.

"Replant new trees?"

Now it was Francis' turn to stare.

'You… you do replant your trees, right?'

Arthur shook his head slowly. Then it clicked in Francis' head.

If they only implemented the law a decade ago... before the law they chopped down as many trees as they wanted, that means they probably didn't replant new trees. They probably didn't even think about replanting new trees before since there were supposedly enough to go around while nature replanted what was taken. Seriously though, they must have thought of something like this, right? I mean we do that back home, but we can't be the only ones, can we? Sure seems like it though.

'I think I know how to solve your problem,' Francis signed when he got Arthurs' attention.

Francis took the next few minutes to explain that they needed to replenish the forests that had already been maxed out by replanting new trees artificially. Then in the other forests, replant the trees that had already been chopped down, maybe a bit more, then pace themselves when chopping the rest of the lumber. That way, he explained, they would be able to always have some mature trees, some almost mature trees, and some baby trees, so each year they should be able to have the same rough amount of mature trees they can harvest without impacting the total volume of the forest. When he finished, Arthur was staring at Francis with wonderment in his eyes. For a few moments, he contemplated what Francis just presented to him.

"That's… bloody brilliant actually," he said in awe. "Why the hell didn't anyone think about this before?"

There were a few more moments of rambling from Arthur before he stopped and looked up.

"One thing, there's going to be a few years before we get into that kinda rhythm, which means there will still be a shortage for a while. Have any ideas about that?"

Francis wanted to suggest that they simply use less lumber, but it was common knowledge that humans built more in general, so that was out of the question. However, also unlike merpeople, humans didn't have to rely solely on themselves for all resources.

'Easy, import it.'

"Huh?"

Francis pointed at the world map.

'You must have some allies that you can trade with. Surely someone will have some kind of excess lumber they would be willing to give you in exchange for something. Just import enough to keep you going until the new forests are ready to use.'

"Ingenious," Arthur muttered after a moment, then looked up, stars in his eyes. "Francis you're a genius! Hold on I gotta right all this down."

With that, Arthur grabbed paper and a pencil and began frantically scribbling down everything they had discussed, muttering to himself the whole time. Francis found this adorable, especially the way his eyebrows scrunched together in determination.

God he's cute. Hm… Papa would have a fit if he knew I was going after a man.

Thinking of his father made him feel strangely nostalgic. He never thought it would happen, but he actually missed the amenities of his ocean home. Even the way his father would talk to him was somewhat comforting, when he wasn't yelling, that is. When he was the prince of the sea, he at least knew what was going on, but here, as a mute castaway, he didn't know anything about this world and its rules.

Francis quietly walked up to the window and glanced out to the sea. It still looked just like a flat blue plain, but now he could appreciate how pretty it was. It was his home, and no amount of talking to himself would convince him otherwise; he was born and raised there after all.

Meanwhile, Arthur had gotten everything written down and had finishing a letter explaining the plan to regulate the forests.

"Hey Francis how do you spell your name again, is i or S I C?"

'C I S, Why?' he signed.

"Well, I need to credit you in this letter I'm writing to Parliament. Y'know, credit where credit's due."

Francis didn't respond other than a curt nod. He honestly didn't know what to think knowing that Arthur was actually sending his idea to… well someone to help fix a problem of his kingdom. Speaking of which, he was going to have to ask what Parliament was later. But for now, he let himself get lost in thought.

Arthur wrote a bit more, then tucked the letter into an envelope. He turned to thank Francis for all of this, but found himself unable to speak when he looked at the man. Like in the library, Francis looked beautiful standing by the window. Arthur felt himself blushing again.

I really have to get him some new clothes, he thought to himself. I mean the servants already found the clothes that fit him the best. I suppose I could give him some of mine, but they probably wouldn't fit him.

Arthur watched gently as Francis looked down at his tunic, admiring the soft blue fabric. An idea worked its way into his head, one he was unsure about, but it was nice in theory.

"Say Francis," he said after a small cough. "I'm going to have to run into town to post this letter, it'll only be for an hour or two. Uh… I was wondering if you maybe wanted to tag along?"

Francis was not expecting this by any means.

'Really?' he asked with somewhat shaky hands.

"Only if you want to… I just figured since you grew up on an island that you might want to see-"

'I WOULD LOVE TO!'

The excitement was obvious in Francis' gestures, so much so it was a surprise he didn't break his wrists signing it like that. Arthur couldn't help but feel a soft and mellow happiness deep down in him, one that he hadn't felt in a while.

Oh shite, he thought as they were getting ready to go. He knew this feeling. No Arthur, you are not allowed to. You cannot, not now. You promised that you'd buried those feelings.

But alas, Francis, intentionally or not, was making some serious progress on digging up that grave.

Soon, the pair was heading down the snaking road toward the town. Francis had given much admiration to the horses and was now looking out of the carriage at literally everything. Arthur watched as his guest looked around with stars in his eyes and was wildly throwing his hands trying to ask what everything was. Once again, Arthur had some pink on his face.

Francis didn't actually notice; he was too busy looking at all the different trees, small cottages, and farms along the road. It was all so new and interesting. He was excited enough just by seeing the farms, but by midday, they made it to the small town and Francis found himself overwhelmed by the amount of new things. The first thing that he noticed was the church steeple, which slowly spread to the rooftops of other buildings, then, all at once, Francis found himself right smack dab in the middle of the bustling town.

There were so many people; men in everything from dirt stained clothes to the silkiest of business suits and women in simple work skirts and lace covered dresses. The kids seemed to be fairly consistently covered in dirt from playing with the other kids. But there were just so many it made Francis' head spin. The carriage stopped in front of a building, at which point Arthur got out after telling the driver to wait for them somewhere. Francis, on the other hand, found himself rather timid; there were just so many people that wouldn't understand if he seemed strange. Still, he had to be brave, so he left the safety of the carriage and stepped gingerly on the dirt ground.

Immediately he felt like that was a mistake. There was so much noise, so many bodies in so little space.

Francis, calm down, calm down, it's just people.

Then, out of nowhere, someone grabbed his arm. Before he had a chance to properly freak out, he heard Arthur say: "Just follow me."

With that, Arthur carefully led Francis through the crowd. On the way there, Francis had admitted to him that he had seen very few people while living 'on the island', so Arthur wasn't terribly surprised when Francis froze like a deer. He knew that Francis was overwhelmed. Francis gladly followed, trying to ignore the stares of several people.

Why are they staring? Am I doing something wrong?

Before he could ask, Arthur opened the door to a small white building. It was blissfully quiet inside the building. Francis took a few moments to get his bearings and saw that the quaint building was basically cut in two, as a long counter went from one side of the room to another. One wall was covered in papers, and opposite of that wall was fifty or so little doors. The wall behind the counter was filled with similar doors, but they were bigger.

"Well, if it isn't the prince to be!"

Francis looked over to see that someone was standing behind the counter. He had black hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a simple light gray suit. His smile made it clear he was a friendly soul.

"I thought you said you wouldn't have time to visit with all the work you're doing," he continued.

"I said it would be unlikely," Arthur corrected. "And besides, the maids are busy."

"Still short staffed? Too bad…"

It was then that the man behind the counter noticed Francis standing awkwardly to the side.

"And who might you be? I haven't seen you around here before."

Francis instinctively looked to Arthur, who understood what he was asking.

"Ah, Seb; this is Francis, a guest of mine."

Francis signed: 'Hello'

Seb cocked his head. Arthur met his eyes, then remembered.

"Oh, right, Francis is mute."

"Ah that makes more sense." He looked back at Francis. "Sorry about that. I'm Sebastian, but everyone calls me Seb. Nice to meet you."

They shook hands. For a few minutes, they chatted mostly about where Francis came from and why he was staying with Arthur and a bit about Seb's life. Then Arthur and Seb talked business for a bit while Arthur gave him the letter for Parliament and Seb gave him his mail. Meanwhile, Francis walked about the post office, reading the new print tacked up on the wall.

Once Arthur was finished with his business, they bade Seb a good day and the pair made their way into the crowded streets again. Now that he had time to adjust, Francis wasn't quite as nervous amongst all the people; he still stuck close to Arthur, though. As they walked, he couldn't help but notice that a good amount of people stared at him as they passed by.

Why are they looking at me like that? I must be doing something wrong.

Arthur had also noticed the odd looks that people were giving them. Like Francis, he didn't know why they were staring, but was pretty sure it had something to do with what Francis was wearing. All the more reason to get him some new clothes. But first, he needed to stop by the general store and sort out the mix up with the food delivery earlier.

Francis followed Arthur into a large brown building; this one had a lot more people in it. Unlike the post office, this building had lots of shelves, barrels, and burlap sacks strewn about the area. All of the shelves were filled to the brim with everything from feather quills and sealing wax to beef jerky and twine. Also unlike the post office, this place had more people in it, leading to Francis still sticking around Arthur like a scared puppy.

Making their way to the back of the store, the pair went up to a counter, where someone was standing writing stuff down. This man was a bit gruff, not nearly as clean-shaven as Seb had been, and was clearly a no nonsense get-in-get-out kind of person. It only made Francis a more nervous, but did his best not to show it.

"Excuse me?" Arthur asked, a bit annoyed, when the man didn't look up.

"Yeah?" The man's voice did not do much to quell Francis' nerves.

"You the one who made the delivery to my place this morning?"

The man just looked at him, clearly pissed off to a small degree.

"The Kirkland mansion?" Arthur clarified.

"Oh, yeah that was us."

Arthur sighed, then said: "So, you're the one that delivered nearly 30 kegs of the wrong liquor to me?"

"What do you mean 'wrong'? I sent what was ordered."

At this point, both Arthur and the man behind the counter were staring daggers at each other. Francis decided that he did not want to be anywhere near this, so despite his fear, he slowly moved away from the counter. While carefully avoiding the other customers, Francis looked at all the sacks of sugar, flour, oats, and salt, the barrels that were filled to the brim with fish and salted meats, and the shelves of papers, inks, buttons and needles, and so much more. One shelf that caught his attention was the one filled with sweets, some that looked like colorful rocks, others that looked like hooks with red stripes, and yet others that looked like little light, airy, white swirls. It made Francis hungry looking at them and was half tempted to ask Arthur if they could get some, but decided against it when he still heard the nasty tones being used.

He was looking at the leather-bound journals, which wasn't terribly far from the counter, when he heard the man behind the counter say something about "that sad excuse of a man."

Who is he talking about?

"Like I said, he's a guest," Arthur muttered angrily.

"Whatever; still doesn't negate the fact that he's a damn homo that's never going to amount to anything."

"He isn't from around here, that's not his fault, and I find it rather rude the way you are talking about my friend."

It was only then that Francis realized they were talking about him. He couldn't move as he continued to listen to their argument. More derogatory words (which were pretty bad even for merpeople) and much more swearing ensued.

"Just get me my goddamned booze. I paid for it; I want what I ordered. Don't think I won't come back here if you don't."

Some angry footsteps came right up to Francis and before he realized what was happening, Arthur grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the store. Even out on the street Arthur didn't stop until Francis had to pull on his arm, silently begging him to slow down. After a few moments of this, Arthur did slow down. He looked around and found a quiet alleyway that they could duck into to get out of the crowd.

'You okay?' Francis asked.

Arthur's face was still red. He sighed heavily before replying: "Yeah… just a douchebag not getting my order right and being a moron about it."

He doesn't think I heard. It won't hurt to keep it that way I guess. Francis thought.

'Well, I hope you got it all sorted so you don't have to go back.'

This made Arthur smile, just a little bit.

"I hope so too."

They were quiet for a moment before Arthur remembered one of the main reasons why he wanted to come into town.

"Hey Francis," he asked quietly. "How many clothes did the maids give you again?"

'It was only a few outfits, the ones I've worn already. I think I have another shirt and another pair of trousers… Why?"

"Well…" Arthur took a second to think. "You know how I'm having that party the day after tomorrow with all the ambassadors to kinda accept me as the new prince?"

Francis nodded. Although no one had told him directly, he had overheard enough from the maids to know that something like a get together was going on.

"Anyway, I was just thinking that, if you're going to be here for a while, then it, y'know, might not be a bad idea to get you a proper wardrobe. And you are a guest afterall, so you'll need something nice to wear…"

'I'll be alright,' Francis cut him off with a bit of an awkward smile. 'Really, I don't need much.'

Arthur frowned a bit upon understanding this.

"Okay, but you still helped me with my forest problem, so let me get you something as a thank you. That alright?"

He does seem insistent… I would like some more clothes like the ones I found in the shipwrecks… oh what the hell?

'Okay, but only if you are sure.'

"Of course I'm sure," Arthur replied. "It's settled then. But first, I'm starving, so let's get some food first."

With that, the two went to a small pub. Unlike the other stores, the pub was a lot darker and made Francis quite nervous (like anything wouldn't make him nervous today). After getting their fill of food and a bit of beer, they left and tried to find somewhere to find Francis some clothes. Several minutes were spent just getting through the crowd, but it was Francis that first saw it. There, in the window a small dark red building, was the clothing that compared to the clothes he had only seen in the trunks of sunken ships, the clothing he had very often longed to wear.

It was a beautiful rich blue coat with long tails yet open in the front. Over the sleeves was what looked like a short caplet of the same blue fabric. It was double-breasted, meaning it had two rows of buttons instead of one. It was paired with a pair of bright red trousers. Clearly there was military inspiration in the design, but it was nevertheless stunning.

"Francis?"

Oh merde it's beautiful. It's such a pretty blue color and everyone keeps telling me that blue looks good on me and it has the cape thing and oh my god it's just so pretty and-

"Francis!"

Francis snapped out of his daze and looked at Arthur, who was looking back at him with a hint of concern. Before he could even ask what was wrong, Arthur noticed what was in the window. A few seconds of deep thought later and Arthur's gaze was back on Francis.

"You like that?"

Francis nodded timidly, unsure if this was something he should like; human customs were weird after all. He watched as some doubt crept into Arthur's eyes.

"Well, alright," he said, much to his guests' surprise. "Let's see what they have."

Of course he had to choose the one French shop here, but I guess they do know what they're doing when it comes to clothes, Arthur thought as they went inside the small shop.

Inside the shop was very similar to outside, mostly dark colors. There were very few shelves in this store, but they were packed full of clothes in so many different colors. On one wall there were several bolts of fabric, ranging from plain white muslin to rich purple silks. The store was completely dead in terms of customers.

"Hello?" someone called.

"Hello," Arthur called back, following the voice.

There was a counter toward the end of the shop with a man standing behind it. Francis was relieved to see that he looked curiously at them and not angrily like the general store and pub owners had. This man had dirty blond hair and was wearing a very nice navy suit with white piped trim. He didn't seem much older than 25.

"Ah, and how can I help you two?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, my friend Francis here just arrived in town and is in need of a few wardrobe staples."

The man looked at Francis and immediately took note of his tunic.

"Wow, I haven't seen something like that in ages. Did you live in France for a while by any chance? I seriously haven't seen a tunic like that since last I visited."

Francis shot a nervous glance toward Arthur. Arthur didn't seem any more confident.

"It's just something one of the servants had, so who knows…"

The man seemed to think about this reply. Then he got an odd look in his eyes.

"Hold on a second; are you that Kirkland that's becoming prince?"

"Yeah, that's me," Arthur admitted.

"My god, it's nice to meet ya then; I heard you were living not far but they all said you wouldn't be around anymore by the time I got back from my trip home."

"Well, I'm sticking around for a little while longer," Arthur replied as they shook hands. "Like I said, I have a guest that needed some more staples."

"Oh of course." the man sounded excited. "The names Pierre by the way."

'It's nice to meet you,' Francis signed, which resulted in a confused look from Pierre.

"He says it's nice to meet you," Arthur explained. "Francis is mute."

"Ah, my apologies sir."

They chatted for a few moments, then because the store was dead besides them, Pierre helped Francis the clothes that he needed, with Arthur translating the whole time. After nearly thirty minutes, Francis had picked out a few shirts in different colors as well as some trouser and a couple vests. There were a few other staples he had to get, but he was happy with just the shirts since they had color (as much as he appreciated the white ones at home, color was welcomed). All the while, Pierre kept commenting that Francis looked very French and seemed to have a similar taste in clothes.

Francis really didn't know what to make of this, but had Arthur explain how he'd come from an island and knew nothing about anything from the mainland. Really, Francis was hardly paying attention to Pierre and Arthur's side conversations; he was in heaven just looking and feeling all of the clothing. The warm wools, soft cotton, durable linen, all of it were sensations he could have only dreamed of experiencing as a merman. The colors were just as exciting, if not more since he could see them as they were not in a dingy salt-watered down state like the clothes he'd found in shipwrecks. He thought of the clothes from his old collection and how his father had ruined them; he decided then that he would hold these clothes preciously in their place.

Even as he was looking at the shirts and trousers, he couldn't help but look over at the coat in the window. The beautiful garment looked just as good from the back as from the front. Francis longed to feel how that rich blue fabric felt, but held his hand back for some reason. He didn't really need a coat, he had two back at Arthur's place, but still, it was so pretty. As Arthur paid for everything, Francis continued to wander around the store.

He wandered a bit close to the coat, but turned to look like he was looking at more dress shirts. Oh he was so close, he just had to get a little closer. It was then that he heard Arthur quietly exclaim something along the lines of "22 for just one shirt!" which Pierre confirmed. Now Francis didn't know if 22 was a normal amount, but it didn't seem like it. He made his move to the coat and gently held the fabric in his hand.

Oh lord that feels amazing.

Indeed it did feel amazing. It was not too heavy, but not too light either, soft but durable, beautifully stitched with a matching blue thread. The cut, the drape, the color, the everything made Francis fall in love with it even more. He very desperately wished he could try it on, to feel the weight of it on him and feel the fabric wrap around him when it would sway around him. Then he noticed the price tag. It read 300.

Merde, if 22 is a lot for a shirt, then…

Then he was not going to get that coat, plain and simple. As much as it killed him to admit, it was expensive and he didn't need it; he had a coat or two already.

But it's not this one, they're not as beautiful.

Francis stopped his internal debate by sadly walking away from the coat to look at something else. It still pained him to leave it, but he'd get over it. He was sure he would.

After a few more minutes, Arthur finished the purchase and they bade Pierre goodbye. They stopped by the carriage and dropped off the parcel of clothing, Francis thanking Arthur the whole time. The two decided to stop by the pond that was just beyond the church, mostly because they had silently agreed that they weren't ready to leave yet. Francis couldn't have asked for a nicer afternoon; being side by side with Arthur next to a peaceful pond with all the water plants and the fish and ducks on a gorgeous day.

I wonder if this is when… I mean, when do I know if he likes me? Do I just ask or…

He didn't have time to continue those thoughts.

"Hey Francis," Arthur said awkwardly. "I know this is gonna sound shitty, but I need to take care of something quickly; can you wait for me while I go do that?"

Francis didn't want to show the hurt he was feeling, after all Arthur had done a lot for him today. So he forced a smile and nodded.

"I'll be back soon," Arthur promised, then left back into the town.

Francis realized after just a few moments how fond of Arthur he was. He knew it because he felt lonely the moment Arthur was gone. It was an emptiness that he did not like and wished would be filled.

Calm down Francis. He doesn't like you like that yet and even if he did, he's entitled to his own space.

He sighed. Being in love was turning out to be much harder than he thought it would be. Francis waited for Arthur to return, but he didn't. Time passed, the sun moved in the sky, but Arthur didn't come back. After what felt like an hour of waiting, Francis was getting very worried.

He should have been back by now. Soon means less than an hour, right? Where could he have gone? What if he's in trouble?

The terrifying thoughts were filling up Francis faster than he could get rid of them. In a fleeting moment of courage, he decided he was going to find what had happened to Arthur. After all, Arthur would have done the same for him, wouldn't he? Francis made his way into the crowded streets, trying to find his sandy-haired Englishman. But now that he was braving these crowded mess alone, he was getting quickly overwhelmed; voices seemed to meld with one another, faces blended together. Oh god there were so many faces, so many bodies too close together. He had to get out of there.

With some difficulty, Francis managed to get out of the crowded street and into a deserted alleyway. He caught his breath as he scanned the crowd for Arthur.

Come on, where are you?

All at once, he felt a very, very strong grip on his arm. He couldn't do anything before he felt himself being dragged further down the alley and slammed up against a wall. Francis wanted to scream, but he couldn't.

"Well, well, well… look what we 'ave 'ere."

The slurred speech made Francis open his eyes. In front of him was a very big and very scary unshaven man who looked in his late 30s. His one hand was over Francis' mouth and the other held him up against the wall by his throat. The man's breath reeked of alcohol. Francis tried to struggle, but his nerves were getting the best of him and he merely fidgeted.

"What's a pretty thing like you doin' 'ere?" the man asked, not even trying to hide the predatory tone.

Francis once again struggled, this time with a little more success. But the man's grip was too tight on him and it only got tighter.

Francis for the love of god if you cry right now.

Too late, the tears were welling up.

Get out of here, how the hell do I get out of here? I need him to let go of me.

The man squeezed Francis' neck painfully, leading to a tear spilling over.

"Oh, don' cry sweetheart, Imma take good care a' ya."

In that instant, Francis knew what he had to do. With what little strength he had in the moment, he threw his knee as hard as he could into the man's stomach. Surprised by the pain, the man dropped Francis, who took that opportunity to run towards the crowd again. He was almost there, almost safe amongst the crowd.

Then a hand on his ankle pulled his feet out from under him and he fell face first onto the ground. He was just able to roll on his side to get to his feet again when he stopped in fear. The man was standing over him, a knife in his hand.

"Don' even think 'bout it, bitch," he slurred angrily.

The man grabbed Francis by the scruff of his neck, then slammed him into the ground so he was on his back. Francis' brain was going a million miles an hour as the hand around his neck pressed him into the dirt.

Oh merde mon dieu oh shit what the hell do I do I'm going to die here aren't I oh god no please no.

He felt the hem of his tunic being messed with, much to his horror. He struggled again, but was stopped quickly when the hand around his neck choked out any air and the tip of the knife was pressed against his chest. He prepared for the worst.

"Hey!"

The voice came from behind the man. Before either could react, there was a deafening sound of glass shattering and the man flinched. He let go of Francis and whipped around, allowing Francis to scramble away and get to his feet.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to him?"

Arthur.

Sure enough, Arthur was now face to face with the drunk man, the neck of a broken bottle in his hand. The man was much taller than Arthur and was glaring down at him. Arthur was not scared, he was angry.

"Listen, that one's mine, get lost," the man slurred, jabbing the knife in Arthur's direction.

Arthur dodged, which only pissed the man off more. He moved scarily fast and was just about to thrust his knife into Arthur's chest when something stopped him. Arthur saw a blur of blue come between him and the drunk man.

It was Francis, throwing a very hard punch to the man's face. It hit dead on. There was enough force behind it that the man stumbled back and tripped. He fell to the ground, and then lied still, likely unconscious. Alcohol and being hit in the head (even lightly) didn't mix very well, apparently.

Francis and Arthur took a few deep breaths.

"Francis? Are-"

He was cut off by the feeling of arms wrapping around him. Francis was hugging him tightly out of fear and by the sound of sniffling, he was trying not to cry. Although hesitant, Arthur eventually reciprocated. He had seen what the man was doing when he walked by the alleyway and knew full well that he had to do something. Although he got the man away from Francis before he could do anything, it was still scary, even for him, and he wasn't the main target.

"It's okay, you're okay," Arthur tried to comfort.

Francis was trying very hard to process what had just happened to him without crying, but too much had happened in too little of a space that he wasn't doing very well. The adrenaline was wearing off and he was beginning to get shaky. Then… very slowly, he realized something. Suddenly, Francis shoved away from Arthur.

'Where the hell were you?' he angrily signed.

Arthur, surprised as this, replied unsurely: "I told, I had something to take care of-"

'You said you would be back quickly, you were gone for nearly an hour! I thought something happened to you!'

"I was on my way back, I swear Francis, I just got caught up with-"

'I don't care honestly, I nearly got murdered or worse because I couldn't find you!'

"Well how do you think I felt when I couldn't find you by the pond?"

'Then you shouldn't have left.'

This went on for a few more minutes, both parties getting more angry by the second. Finally, Francis threw up his hands and quickly signed:

'Just take me back.'

Arthur, with a glare, conceded. Without a word, he led Francis back to the carriage. Francis followed, his emotions still threatening to spill over. He was pissed and he wasn't even sure why.

It's not Arthur's fault if anything it's yours because you left the pond.

He knew that wasn't true. Part of him leaving was the fact that Arthur was gone for so long, which was Arthur's fault. Besides, he'd already said the nasty stuff, he was still angry, and it seemed that Arthur was still angry too.

They got in the carriage and were just outside of the town when Arthur looked over and noticed Francis' knuckles were bleeding, as well as a spot on his face. As much as he wanted to be upset, Arthur felt compelled to help his friend. He pulled out his handkerchief.

"Here," he said, offering it to Francis.

Francis merely side-eyed him, then shook his head and looked away.

"Francis," he tried again, but stopped when Francis signed a curt 'no'.

So he didn't try again. He didn't know that Francis really wanted to accept it, but there was an unknown that was making him refuse. Now that he had nothing else to do, Francis could feel the injuries on his knuckles and on his face beginning to throb painfully. Still, that unknown force kept him from saying anything about it, so he tried to act like they were no big deal.

Needless to say, it was a very awkward ride back to the mansion.

Author's Note:

Oh dang, a fight! Sorry about the slight cliffhanger ;)

Hello once again! My dudes, we have reached 380+ view! You have no idea how happy that makes me as an author and I'm so thankful that you all seem to enjoy the story. I want to give a special shoutout this time to otherrealmwriter, who has been leaving reviews since chapter 1 and has given me so much motivation to keep writing, so to otherrealmwriter, thank you so much!

So, I'm sure you noticed this chapter was a lot longer than the others (it's like over 7 thousand words when normally chapters are 4,500 or less). I'm gonna be honest this chapter was pretty hard to write, not because of the content, but it was just not easy to get the words on paper for some reason. Then going back and editing made my brain hurt so yeah. But I really wanted Francis in a slightly different setting and this was the best I could come up with. Also, anyone notice that the coat Francis was swooning over was the one he wears in general in the anime?

Oh, one more thing before I peace out; otherrealmwriter, don't worry, Arthur's magic will be coming back and you'll just have to see what he does with it. I know it didn't come up in this chapter, but next chapter there will be some of Arthur's magic and a little bit more of an explanation behind it!

Alright, it's about 12:45 AM right now and I need sleep. Both Penny and Sasha are laying next to me and want to say hi. See you all next chapter!