Author's Note: *Le gasp!* It's finally here! I have two other chappies typed up, but they need to be edited and there may be even more chapters! My darling Francis must make an appearance at some point.
A Note on the story: this version of The Firebird is by Cherry Gilchrist and it's the only one I have read. If you know a different version, the events and perhaps even characters may differ. If you do know this version, I've cut down the violence slightly-just enough for T-rating. No smut, ya'all-I only do fluff.
So, that's pretty much it-the less obvious pairings (cough, GeIta, cough!) will unfold as the plot does. Enjoy!
Chapter 1 - Three Icicles, Two Princes, and One Crazy Plan
Once upon a time there lived a king named Father Winter who covered the land in ice and snow, whipping his people into submission with his cruel minions, the Winds. Not caring much for living things, unlike his counterpart Summer, the king allowed very few trees to grow his land. He had but one favourite plant-a tall, spiraling tree on which golden apples grew, glittering brighter than all the world's snow in daylight.
One night, a mysterious thief found the tree and began stealing these precious apples. But who could this thief be? Surely no person could creep past the guards and rob the tree night after night! Every morning, more of the fruit was missing and Father Winter flew into a freezing whirlwind of rage. Not even his brightest subjects could solve the mystery until finally, the king created a plan to solve more than one of his difficult problems.
Winter has many, many sons and daughters; he called upon his three favourites, who he believed were cold and strong enough to help him: Siberia, his eldest son-a devious and cunning man with icy blue eyes who many believed lacked a heart. Belarus, his eldest daughter-a beautiful and terrifying girl who constantly chased after her unlucky younger brother, Ivan. He was the youngest son, a large, quiet young man who tried to keep to himself, secretly loathing his oppressive father.
"My children, you must catch the thief stealing from my precious tree. Whoever catches him will win my Northern Kingdom." Siberia, Belarus, and Ivan nodded, cold grins forming on the eldests' lips. Siberia wanted all the land and power for his own. Bella was confident she would win her younger brother over if she succeeded in catching the thief first., for it was no secret that she desired Ivan, however depressing and gross. Ivan's face held no expression; he nodded curtly to his hated father and said, "You will not need to give me a change. Surely Siberia or Belarus vill catch him, da?" His siblings chuckled as they left to prepare their plans.
That night, Ivan could not sleep, as he worried about what would happen come daybreak. What would happen when Siberia caught the thief? For surely he would...
A bright light coming from the top of his single bedroom window brought him out of his thoughts and he walked over to open it. Ivan blinked, his vision disturbed as if the sun had risen in the night. His jaw dropped at the sight of the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on.
Delicate, fire-red and golden feathers swept from the gleaming bird's head to tail-tip, radiating-dare Ivan think it-brighter than the sun against night's shadow. It balanced with unmatched grace on a thin limb, stretching its long, soft-looking neck down to take a bite of golden apple. No one could even look at the apple and pretend it to be more beautiful. This could be none other than the mysterious firebird, said to be a legend throughout all the world; there was only one in existence.
"Боже мой..."
"Forgive me, monsieur!" the bird chirruped-his small, soft voice sounded like music to Ivan's ears. "People don't usually see me, eh? I am so sorry to have disturbed your sleep! I have been resting on the roof above your room today-I hope you don't mind. But I'm afraid to be up here all by myself, in case someone should see me in the night."
Ivan felt so excited at the prospect of having a guest, he talked very fast and did not catch all of the firebird's words. "Nyet, I do not mind! Vhy are you out here all alone, little birdie? Had you asked me, I vould have let you in to rest. But I am glad you found my room and not my siblings-or worse-my father's... I am sure they vould want to keep you here for themselves."
"Oh!" the firebird gasped, feeling quite shy. "Well, I thank you for your kindness. Would you mind if I stayed for a night or two before going off again? I have found food outside, so I'll be in and out during the day. By the way, what was that you said before? Something in a different language, I mean."
"Of course you can stay!" Ivan chuckled, grinning from ear to ear. He had not had such cause to be happy in a very long time. "Visit longer, if you vish. You are velcome to stay here with me, though I varn you, I do not have much to offer, da? Winter rules cruelly over these lands and it makes no good face for me vith my people. I shall keep the door open to make you comfortable," he said, shivering and doing so. "Oh, before? I said Боже мой-it means 'my God!' in your language, I think. I'm so glad to have someone to talk to, even if it is not in Mother Russia's tongue... My name is Ivan. What's yours?"
"I'm Matthew," the bird cooed, "and I feel just the same. You see, I have been traveling to escape my guilded cage in King Ludwig's palace, but he always seems to find me somehow. I've never been to this land before, so I gave it a try. At least this time, I will have made a friend before being dragged back there."
Ivan stroked the Matthew's feathers and smiled. "I am sorry if they do not treat you badly. Perhaps they vill not find you here; there is always hope."
"You are most kind." Matthew chirped. "The King treats me alright, but it is not the same as being free to roam and do what I want. I will never forget what you have done for me, Iva. I will stay, but don't forget-I only go inside at night." Ivan nodded and the pair went to sleep.
The next morning, Matthew woke with the sun, flying outside to stretch his wings and look for something to eat. He flew over to beautiful tree filled with golden apples, which he had feasted on the afternoon before. There were people down below, who looked as if they were guarding the tree, yet they said nothing to him. In fact, when they looked at Matthew, it seemed as if they could not even see him there. So, the firebird continued to eat the apples, promising internally that he would leave a few... But they tasted so delicious! Not to mention that food was not easy to come by around these parts.
Ivan, however, awoke much less peacefully to the sound of his eldest brother's raging roar. "THERE WAS NO THEIF, YET THE APPLES ARE STILL MISSING! VHAT HAVE YOU DONE! YOU'VE JINXED MY CHANCE AT CATCHING THE THEIF!" With an icy gust of wind and spat of hail aimed at Ivan's shivering form, Siberia slammed the door and shook all of Father Winter's palace. Ivan nursed his vodka that whole day, attempting to make the comforting warmth in his belly last. He perked up at the thought of speaking to Matthew during the night to ask about the adventures waiting outside this wasteland.
That night, the firebird told Ivan the tale of King Ludwig and "Queen" Feliciano. The king had accidentally found his bride while trying to scope out enemies. At first, he bickered with Feliciano constantly over laziness and absurd consumption of pasta, but then the King realized he could not live without his beloved and the two royals were married. Ivan had never heard of two kings being married, but it did not bother him for the most part-he doubted Father Winter would care if he married a different species, much less a male.
Ivan slept with a smile on his face for the first time since he could remember. He dreamt of funny, girl-like kings fighting over peasant dishes instead of what might happen now that his sister had her chance to claim Winter's lands. Sadly, sleep could not last forever.
The next morning, Ivan awoke to the frustrated shriek of Belarus. "THERE WAS NO THEIF, YET THE APPLES ARE STILL MISSING! VHAT HAVE YOU DONE! YOU VILL BECOME ONE WITH ME, RUSSIA!" She wailed, and with desperate effort and lack of vodka in his system, Ivan managed to push his sister out the door, despite her creepy scratching on the door that made the whole palace tremble in fear. Russia blindly groped about his nightstand to just barely grip his bottle with shaking hands.
By now, Father Winter had flown into a rage; his precious golden apples were almost all gone! He called Ivan to his chambers that day, grabbing him by the collar and hissing so that frost hit his son's face. "You vill find this thief or I will plunge your allowance of land and people into oblivion!"
That evening, Ivan sat down beneath the apple tree, trying to stay awake. He wished he knew where Matthew went during the day. The firebird was probably worried-who else could he trust here? The young prince's eyelids drooped with exhaustion until he spotted a familiar light in the tall tree's canopy.
"Matvey!" Ivan whispered, but the bird could not hear him from so far away. Careful not to alert the guards, who thankfully had noticed no disturbance, Ivan nimbly climbed the tree toward his new friend. "Matvey?" he hissed, and the firebird almost fell off of his perch in surprise.
"Oh, it's you, Ivan," he sighed. "I'm so sorry I was late-I have something to tell you..." Matthew looked down at the apple he had just bitten into. "Is this your tree?"
"It belongs to Vinter. He put two of my siblings and I in charge of finding the thief" he said with a wobbly smile. "But I vould never tell him it was you... So, vhat news do you have for me?"
The firebird closed his eyes, bowing his great feathered head. "King Ludwig's men have found your kingdom. I am still too tired to journey further by tomorrow."
Ivan held out his arms to gather the worn out yet magnificent bird to his chest. "It vill be okay-you can hide in the palace with me until they leave."
Although he accepted the kind gesture, settling in Ivan's arms, Matthew did not seem much happier. "I can't stay in side during the day. Every day, I must be outside from when the sun rises to when it sets so I can absorb its energy. It is part of my curse."
"Curse?" Ivan asked, protectively holding the firebird closer. "Vhat curse, Matvey?"
"I... I'm really a human prince like you, Ivan. When I was a baby, I got seperated from my parents somehow. King Arthur of Brittania took me in and promised to give me my own land and people one day and we lived happily with another boy my age-Alfred was his name-until one day, Alfred just left. Arthur became so distraught that he worried about me trying to do the same thing. When I became of age, I asked him for the land and people he promised me, but he became angry and used black magic on me so that I took the place of the one and only firebird."
Prince Ivan's eyes were wide with shock. "Is there any way for you to change back and claim your rights? Because you are my friend, I promise to help in any way I can."
"First, I have to escape King Ludwig's land for good and find Arthur again. Perhaps he will forgive me and change me back, but I would need..." Upon glancing up at Ivan, Matthew chirruped with hope. "I have an idea! This will free you from your father's land and help me as well." The crimson bird gently plucked a feather from his own back, holding it out to Ivan in his beak. Ivan took the feather, smoothing Matthew's back and wondering why he had done so. "Show this to Father Winter-once he sees this golden feather, he will want to find me to keep as his own tresure, like King Ludwig did."
"I vill let him do no such thing!" Ivan growled. "Matvey belongs to no one."
"You are the first not to be blinded by greed for my feather," Matthew admitted softly, hardly able to believe his own words. "That is why you could see me. No one can see me unless they first see a golden feather or are not effected by greed for my value... Thank you, Ivan. Don't you see? You can ask your father to join the search party and find me first. We can escape together!"
Ivan nodded and gave a grin as wide as the moon, not trusting his own to betray the rush of emotions flooding his stomach. Ve're going to be free together, Matvey and I. Free to do vhatever we vant.
When the German search party came to retrieve their king's bird, Ivan and Matthew shared a sorrowful farewell. The only thing that kept Ivan from killing King Ludwig's men was the prospect of a brighter future in their secret plan.
Love? Hate? Need to disintegrate? (Ooh, that last one is pretty bad, yikes. :p) Pretty please review? It would be so nice of you! Oh, c'mon, you know you want to-that little blue button is sitting there tantalizing you with its word words of wordness. Yeah. Word up. ;D
