Epilogue
It's been four years since Francis died, three and a half since my brother was falsely imprisoned for his murder, four months since Alfred was exonerated and two weeks since Feliciano Vargas was sentenced for the killing after a lengthy trial.
It felt like from the moment I had decided to pursue the mystery of who had really killed Francis I had opened a dangerous can of worms. The true story of his death was far more complicated and twisted than I could of imagined.
Unearthing it hadn't been easy, myself and Gilbert almost paid for it with our lives (Thanks to Ivan). Then presenting the evidence to the authorities and Feliciano's trail had been a whole media-circus, with newspapers constantly reporting on it and his powerful family trying to do everything in their power to make the judge declare him innocent.
It hadn't worked.
Now finally, finally after all that, we could finally rest easy.
"This is the spot, right?" Alfred said from the driver's seat. I nodded.
"Yeah. Just park here." I replied quickly, eager to get out of the had gotten his lisence the summer before he went to prison, so for obvious reasons, hasn't driven in four years. He's currently taking every opportunity to practice, so I'm in the unfortunate position of being subjected to his jerky stop-start motor skills.
Still.
I can't complain.
It's worth it to have my brother back.
"It's a beautiful spot." Alfred said, wistfully. "This place sure brings back memories."
"It does." I agreed, watching him. We were currently standing before a large grassy meadow about a mile from Globas academy. It was a place we often walked to on Sunny days to lounge in the fields or play sports.
It just occurred to me that this was the first time Alfred had been back to this area at all since we were all in school.
"I remember skipping class and coming here." Alfred said, his tone distant. "It hasn't changed at all. Isn't that weird? I mean, everything else has changed."
"Are you holding up okay?" I asked. Alfred wiped his eyes and plastered on a smile.
"Yeah. I'm fine." He said, before looking down. "I just never thought I'd be able to come back here, you know?"
I was really proud of my brother. Despite spending three years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, he'd wasted no time feeling sorry for himself upon his release. Our Dad got him a management job at one of his factories, and everyone already loves him there. He's been talking about starting college next year and asking me for tips (bad idea- I only just passed my classes).
Only my brother could go from a convicted murderer to employee of the week in a month.
However, prison had still left its mark on Alfred. He sleeps lightly now, waking up at any tiny noise. He keeps food items hoarded in his room and eats like someone's going to snatch the plate away at any moment.
It's a reminder that there are some things that can't be fixed.
"I think Gil's already here- " Alfred said, breaking my chain of thought. He indicated over to the white-haired figure standing near the large tree in the centre of the field.
I smiled when I saw him. I didn't think there would ever be a time I was happy to see Gilbert Beildshmidt, but solving this mystery together I saw another side of him.
"Race you there?" I said to my brother. He took off before I finished my sentence and suddenly it was like we were both kids again.
Alfred got there first. Of course. Even after all these years I've never once beaten him in a race.
I arrived out of breath and sweating. Alfred was already leaning against the tree, breathing heavily.
"I won." He said triumphantly, before turning to smile at Gilbert. "Hi Gil."
"Hey Alfred, hey Mattie!" He said, his face splitting into a wide grin. "How's my favourite exonerated prisoner and partner-in-solving-crime doing?"
"A lot better thanks to you and Mattie." Alfred replied.
"Ja, we'll our awesome detective skills are unrivalled. I admit when Matthew first came to me wanting to reopen the case, I didn't think we'd get very far- but BAM!" Gilbert exclaimed. "We managed to get Feliciano to crack and got it all on tape! As well as some other evidence… now Feliciano is in prison, Ludwig's awaiting sentencing and Ivan.. Ivan's not an issue any more."
Even Gilbert wasn't heartless enough to sound triumphant about Ivan being killed, as much as the bastard deserved it; he made the mistake of trying to kill off Feliciano along with myself and Gilbert. Romulus' men saw to it that he wouldn't make that mistake again.
Gilbert's version of events was pretty abridged. He left out a lot of the nastier parts of our adventure; like how we both nearly lost faith after Ivan revealed in the official court documents, Francis being a 'predator' was listed as a motivation for Alfred (thank god that's not true). How Arthur had to resort to communicating to us through cryptic notes because unbeknownst to us he was under surveillance from Ivan. He lead us to the pictures we found of Ludwig and Feliciano's affair hidden under the floor boards of our old dorm room at Globas academy.
The whole thing had been anything but simple.
"That's not a reporter is it- " Alfred said, squinting to see another car pulling up next to the field. "I thought those guys had finally let up."
I followed his gaze to the car in question, watching as a figure stepped out.
"Man, if that's a journalist, I'm going to deck him." Gilbert complained.
We watched as the figure approached. It soon became clear that this wasn't a journalist, it was Arthur Kirkland.
Arthur had his hands dug deep into his pockets, and even as he got closer, he still looked firmly off to the side, not making eye-contact.
"I invited him, but I didn't think he'd come." Gilbert murmured.
We had lots of interactions with Arthur during our investigation. He /was/ the only known eye-witness, after all. But it felt like we had never /really/ been speaking to him. It was only later that I learned Arthur had been under tight surveillance from Ivan the moment the Russian realised we were re-opening the investigation. There had been bugs in the walls, and at one point, Ivan had literally been in the next room without us even knowing.
I glanced at my brother. He was looking intently at Arthur with an expression I couldn't quite read. I felt a spike of anxiety; Just how was he going to react? This was his first time seeing Arthur outside of a courtroom since he'd been freed from prison. A prison sentence he served on Arthur's false testimony.
"Gilbert said you were doing a memorial to Francis- " Arthur started, looking anywhere but at our faces. "I can leave if you want- "
Alfred took a step forwards. I felt Gilbert tense beside me and I was doing to same.
Alfred took another step, suddenly he was only an arms-length from Arthur.
Arthur had evidently frozen, his speech trailing off to silence.
There was a sudden movement. I thought for sure that Alfred was going to punch Arthur in the face. Evidently Arthur thought the same too, based off the way he flinched but didn't block.
But instead, Alfred pulled him into a tight hug.
"I missed you- " Alfred exclaimed, sounding completely genuine. Alfred's capacity for forgiveness is greater than my own.
He stepped back, and Arthur really looked at Alfred for the first time.
"You don't want to hit me?" He asked, dazed.
"Well. I kind of do." Alfred admitted, looking practically jubilant. "I spent a lot of time being angry at you, Arthur, but now I know why you said those things. Truth be told if someone was threatening to kill Mattie if I didn't help frame you… I probably would of made the same decision you did." He paused. "Besides. I can't be too mad- Gilbert and Matthew said you helped them solve the case!"
"I just pointed them in the right direction.. they got all the evidence." Arthur replied, looking rather bashful, before adding sincerely. "Thank you, Alfred."
"No biggie- " Alfred said, as if Arthur had caused him a minor inconvenience, not been (unwillingly) part of a plot to ruin his life. "Now let's get this show on the road!"
He looked expectantly at me and Gilbert, who then both looked at each other.
This had been my idea, to have a small memorial for Francis. We didn't want to do it on the school grounds themselves (too many bad memories and paparazzi everywhere), and his actual grave felt too somber.
So instead, we came to the meadow we used to go to. Somewhere I knew Francis loved. So here we all where, the remnants of that awful school, here to remember our fallen comrade.
Gilbert coughed, suddenly looking a little awkward at the prospect of orchestrating this thing. "Do you reckon we should.. say a few words or something?" He suggested. We hadn't really planned anything out. All of us nodded in agreement.
"Um- I can go first. I'll probably be the quickest." Alfred nodded. All of us agreed, glad to be free of the daunting task of starting this thing.
Alfred took a deep breath, addressing the Dogwood tree in front of him.
"Francis. I'm sorry I misjudged you when we were at school. I thought some really awful things about you that I found out weren't true." Alfred started. "Since the trial I've found out you were actually a super cool person. You were looking out for your friends and you tried to do right by everyone. I would totally let you date my brother now. You know… if you were still here."
Not the most eloquent memorial speech, but I knew Alfred was speaking from the heart. I smiled at him when he finished. We never agreed on an order, but when Gilbert started speaking, it felt right.
"Hey, Franny." He said. "I know I've said this to you nearly every night, but I'm sorry. And I hope that you're some place you can here me saying that. You were one of the best friends I ever had. You were so much fun and I'd give anything to go back to those days where me you and Antonio felt like we ruled the world. You put up with so much bullshit from me, and I never really appreciated that. You always gave the best advice- and you always made the best food. I really hope I can see you again some day- I'll have a beer and you can have some wine, and it'll be like old times." Gilbert paused, and we all pretended not to notice the tears forming in his eyes. "Until then."
We all stood in silence for a moment, soaking up Gilbert's words. It resonated with all four of us. I'm sure all of us wished we could go back to the time before everything got so complicated.
"I've never really been good at giving speeches.. I'd never admit it to him, but Francis was far more eloquent at these things than I ever could be." Arthur said, rubbing his eyes already. He paused a few more seconds before properly starting. "Francis has been in my life for as long as I can remember. We were always fighting even when we were little kids. Everyone said we couldn't be more different from each other. But then, if I was ever hurt or in trouble, Francis was always there to look after me. He was like a brother."
He rubbed his eyes again.
"These past few years without him haven't felt real. I wish more than anything there was a way to bring you back, Francis, I wouldn't even mind the teasing any more. But at the very least, I'm glad your killers have faced justice and the truth is out there. I hope that brings you some peace."
When he finished, Arthur looked the other way pointedly, eyes averted. I felt my heart clench for him. Arthur wasn't a person I often had a lot of sympathy for, but in that moment, I realised he cared about Francis as much as I did, just in a different way.
I became aware of the expectant looks from Alfred and Gilbert, and realised it must be my turn to speak. I took a deep breath before opening my mouth.
"Francis- " I started, before trailing off. "Francis. I don't even know where to start. Everything got so crazy so fast, and it hasn't really slowed down since. The time we had together was probably the happiest I've been since- well- ever. I just wish we had longer together. I wish we had forever together. I wish- I wish I had listened to you when I had the chance."
I paused, feeling a sob in my throat as grief gripped my heart making words temporarily impossible.
"You should still be here, Francis. But you're not. And I'll always be sad about that."
I chocked out the last part behind tears that were suddenly spilling from my eyes. I glanced up. I wasn't the only one crying. The other three all had tears in their eyes, neither looking at the other.
At first the grief felt overwhelming, but by the time my tears stopped it felt cathartic. Like something dark and ominous had been lifted somehow.
It was Gilbert who broke the silence.
"Well. Should we head down to the pub? Now we're finally all old enough to drink legally?" He asked, wiping his eyes. Arthur actually smiled at that.
"Is that old shit hole still open?" He asked incredulous. Gilbert laughed, putting an arm around him and steering him towards the pub.
"That 'old shithole' is where we made some of our best memories!" Gilbert cackled. "Don't think I've forgot about you vomiting in a vase there, Artie."
Arthur turned pink and scowled. "I don't think I recall that."
Alfred laughed in turn. "Man? Did that really happen?" He said. "I never went the pub when I was in school."
"Me neither." Matthew echoed.
"You were a pair of goodie-two-shoes in school. That changes tonight." Gilbert said as he headed towards the pub with the rest of them in tow. "Drinks are on Arthur- since he's a big-shot author."
"I'm not a 'big-shot author' and I didn't agree to that!"
"Fine. Then we can fight to decide who pays."
"I don't get into silly fights anymore. I'm a gentleman now." Arthur said indignantly. Alfred laughed at that.
"Wow, it sounds like we have a lot to catch up on, dude." He said. And then he and Arthur were walking ahead, Alfred chatting loudly and Arthur nodding along still looking somewhat awkward.
I felt myself smile. Alfred and Arthur would probably never go back to being the friends they were. I knew my brother well enough to realise he'd never fully trust Arthur ever again. He may not trust anyone fully again.
But still.
At least they've both found some sort of solace.
I felt a hand placed on my shoulder and turned to see Gilbert looking uncharacteristically bashful.
"Me and you still meet up after all this is over, right?" Gilbert said, red eyes darting to the side. "I mean even after Ludwig's trial and everything is over, we can still hang out. I mean. If you want to?"
I felt surprised for a moment at the request, before realising I want to same thing too; the thought of Gilbert not being in my life after everything we'd been through together the last month or so felt so sad.
"Of course we can." I said with a smile. Gilbert looked practically elated for a moment.
"Awesome! I mean- you know. That's cool." He said, folding his arms and trying to look cool.
"What?" He asked when he noticed me laughing.
"Nothing." I said, still feeling myself smile. "Come on. Let's go catch up with Alfred and Arthur- "
So the four of us left that makeshift memorial together a little lighter. Francis' death will never leave me. It won't leave any of us. But finally all of us are finally free and we know the truth. We're still alive and we can keep going.
That must count for something.
I know I don't have many readers for this story but I wanted to do a semi-happy ending. I ended up skipping over the mystery solving part of Gilbert and Matthew's adventure since it seemed kind of redundant know I've written the answer to the mystery in full.
The hardest part of writing this was definetly deciding how to play out Arthur and Alfred's dynamic.. Initially I was going to have Alfred be a lot more resentful towards Arthur after all, no matter the reason, he did help frame him for murder. But then on reflection, I decided Alfred had enough time to think about the situation and realise Arthur didn't really have much of a choice and obviously didn't want to be part of the cover up. it doesn't mean things are perfect between them now; Alfred probably still feels hugely betrayed by Arthur, but is able to compartmentalise that, and despite everything, he still cares about him a lot.
Because this is another faucet of the story I didn't get a chance to write, I'm going to briefly summarise the character's lives directly after the murder.
Matthew: Matthew had a bit of a breakdown immediately after Francis' murder. He left the school pretty quickly after. When his own brother was arrested and then charged with the murder it just made things worse and he actually beleived Alfred did it for a bit. For the first time in his life, his father was interested him since Alfred was out of the picture, but it just made Matthew feel used/guilty. He went to collage but his heart wasn't in it and he didn't do particularly well. He visited his brother in prison for the first time after a few years and realises there's no way Alfred did the murder and decides to find the truth.
Gilbert: Similar to Matthew Gilbert had a bit of a breakdown, but went down a more angry/rebellious route. Rule-breaking went up to 100 and was constantly getting into fights and drinking more regularly/ devolving into more serious drug use. He disengages from all his friends at school. Vows to kill Alfred one day for the murder, but over time realises he doesn't believe he did it, especially because Arthur wasn't a very convincing witness. He gets kicked out of school before finishing and never really has a proper job after that, living off his families wealth and indulging in self-destructive tendencies.
Alfred: Poor Alfred. He was shocked when he was accused of Francis' murder and even more shocked when it turned out Arthur was the wittiness. He never once admitted to killing Francis because he knew he didn't do it, but eventually was found guilty. His father used his influence to protect him as much as he could when Alfred was in prison. But it was still prison. The only thing keeping Alfred going was the knowledge he was innocent and the beleif the truth would be found out.
Arthur: Arthur was basically a shell of himself after the events. He wanted to get as far away from the school and those memories as possible after he was made to testify against Alfred in trial, but Ivan and Ludwig threatened him into staying since they wanted to keep him close to make sure he didn't crack and tell the truth. Even after graduation he was kept under their thumb. He lived with the knowledge that Ivan would probably come and kill him as soon as it wouldn't be too suspicious to do so. Lived alone with very limited social interaction- having friends would just be more people who could get hurt by Ivan (Ivan and Ludwif were constantly keeping tabs). He drank probably too much and wrote a lot which is proabably the only reason he didn't loose his mind completely.
Ivan: The murder situation was stressful. Especially since there was still a loose end left he couldn't kill. Ivan carried on with school and then left and took over his father;s business (maybe killed him, I haven't decided) and becomes the ruthless mafia boss he was always meant to be. He continually kept tabs on Arthut to make sure he didn't snitch, which was an extra stress he could do without. He wants to kill him but Ludwig keeps convincing him it isn't the right time. He really wants to kill Feli for getting them into this situation but that isn't so easy.
Feliciano: Lives in a delusional world. Thinks everything he has done is justified and buries any feelings that say otherwise. Still willing to do anything to keep Ludwig, becomes increasingly more yandere/obsessive over Ludwig over the years and increasingly jealous. Maybe the murder is messing with him subconsiously and making him more unhinged. His family is rich enough to allow him to live in luxary with Ludwig without really working, just doing painting and cooking and things he loves. He's pretty renowned in the art world.
Ludwig: Ludwig hates the whole murder situation and does actually feel guilty. feels he can redeem himself by keeping Arthur safe from Ivan. He stays with Feli, but it becomes more about keeping people safe from Feliciano's dark side than actual love. It feels like a prison, but Ludwig feels he may deserve this. Basically living as Feli's lover/man servant/protector.
