Alright Guys... this is it, the last chapter. I would like to thank all of you for sticking with me for as long as you have, and for leaving such helpful reviews on my posts. This has been a wild ride, and after more than a year I'm proud to say my story is complete. Obviously, with the way this chapter ended, there will be a sequel. Also, sorry for the long wait, I was contemplating whether or not to write a next chapter. I decided against it. That being said, it isn't perfect, and I will be taking a break from writing fanfics, but that doesn't take away from the fact that we finally made it to the end.
Also, spoiler alert: Not so happy ending...
Again, thank you all so much, and I love all of you!
7 years later...
Julius's POV
He sat still as he father inspected his wound, a large gash on his thigh caused by a lance jutting into his leg while jousting. You have to be at least 19 years old to officially start jousting under a mentor, but Julius was 17 years old.
"I thought you knew you're too young to do this." The king muttered, ignoring when the door flew open dramatically. The queen had his hair cut into a messy bob, his large green eyes wet and worried. The queen hadn't aged since the moment Julius had met him, and neither had the king. He stumbled in breathlessly, rushing over to the blond child, placing a hand on his forehead. Julius leaned into the cool touch, his mother kissing the top of his head.
"What happened?"He asked softly, but Julius had a feeling he already knew. The 17 year old shrugged. Arthur pulled away and folded his arms across his chest. "Don't be difficult." He said sternly, the boy sighing.
"I didn't want to wait two more years." he groaned, the king opening the door for Davie. Warm Indigo eyes looked over the room. Arthur hummed.
"For what?"
"To joust." Davie set down his med kit, analyzing the other's wound. "It's definitely from a lance. How could you be so reckless? Were you there alone?" Julius nodded. Davie sighed, cleaning off the wound. In the meanwhile, Alfred and Arthur were whispering to each other hoarsely, obviously about his recent behavior. Within the last 2 months, this was the 14th time Julius had done something reckless, but the 1st to actually wound him. Blue eyes focused on his parents's mouths, trying to read them. "Julius." His uncle mumbled, getting his attention.
"Yes." He said softly.
"What's been going on with you? Geoffrey told me about this morning..." Davie trailed off quietly, so the other two adults couldn't hear them. The 17 year old squeezed his eyes shut, swearing internally.
"It's a long story, but it was all Geoffrey's fault." He deadpanned, Davie smirking.
"Funny, he said the same thing." He chuckled, sewing up the cut on his leg. "But you boys shouldn't have been out there in the woods so early, something could have happened." Julius blushed, something did happen. Nothing awful, but something great. Something controversial, something powerful. "Throwing pebbles at his neck is one thing, but wrestling out there is another. Julius, please be responsible. You both only came out with a few scrapes and bruises, but if something serious were to happen, no one would have known where you guys were."
"I'm sorry." He said simply, Davie patting his knee before standing up.
"All clear. He just needs to keep it clean and not disturb it." He turned, the royals sighing. Davie hadn't aged since Julius had met him either, which is wild, because the man was almost 37 years old. The queen himself was turning 35, and the king had just turned 33. Don't even get him started on Uncle Chancy. Were these people frozen in time? Arthur glared at him.
"Do you have any excuses this time?" he snapped, Julius hanging his head down, his long blond hair resting past his shoulders. His long lashes fluttered as he thought up an excuse. He scratched his freckled cheek, and scrunched his narrow nose.
"No, not this time. I fucked up." he said bluntly, Alfred smirking.
"Well, as long as you know that." He chuckled, walking over to his son. "What's been going on with you lately? Are you sure you're okay?" Julius smiled warmly at his father.
"I'm sorry that I've been so troublesome. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble." Julius had an English accent, developed after years of emulating the queen, and no longer being able to speak any other way. Alfred patted his back.
"Unfortunately, I don't believe you one bit." Alfred said coldly. "From now on, since you can't exactly train with a wounded leg, you'll be kept in this room for all hours of the day except dinner, bible study, and tutoring. When you do leave the room, you'll be supervised by either Arthur and I, or some guards." Julius winced, but he didn't argue.
"Yes, father." He looked up to see his father's eyes flash from annoyed to satisfied. Alfred was always particularly happy when his kids didn't talk back. "Will I be allowed guests?"
"Of course." There was a sudden knock on the door before it swung open without invitation. Geoffrey and Byron walked in, swords at their hips, smirking at their friend.
"So it is true?" Bryon laughed, grabbing onto Geoffrey's shoulder. "You rode your horse into a tree!?" Geoffrey snorted as Byron doubled over in glee. Julius couldn't help but smirk, the situation was quite comical. Arthur, however, didn't find it very funny.
"Why are you two laughing?" He snapped, the children silencing themselves. "He could've died, you idiots." He grabbed them both by their ears, sending them into a fit of giggles. Arthur huffed, not seeing what was so funny, and appeared to be getting angrier. Julius cleared his throat.
"Mom..." He started, the queen turning to him with heated eyes. "You have to admit, it's kind of funny." He smiled, his friends chuckling, and even his uncle snickered a bit. His parents, however, were not amused, and stared at him like he was a mad man. Arthur released the other's ears and clenched his fist, visibly shaking. He turned around and left the room without a word, his father following soon after, leaving the three teens and Davie alone in the room. The dark haired adult tilted his head formally before going, Byron heading to follow him before stopping.
"Aren't you coming?" He asked Geoffrey, who had made his way to a chair beside Julius. He shook his head, the omega shrugging before walking out of the room. "Just don't be late." Geoffrey hummed, Julius groaning.
"Don't." The prince said sharply, the 15 year old patted his back.
"You are an idiot." He retorted after a long pause. His brown curls were kept short around his ears, and his green eyes surveyed the room. Though he was two years younger, he was a little bit bigger than Julius in all dimensions. He was taller by a few inches, far more muscular, tanner, broader... Julius shivered. That bastard. Julius himself stood at around his aunt Chancy's height, around 5 feet and 6 inches. Geoffrey was around 5 feet and 11 inches, and he was still growing.
"I know." He said sourly, Geoffrey grabbing his hand. Julius didn't react on the outside, but his pulse definitely picked up. He looked to the side, heat crawling to his face. "Our parents could barge in any minute, yet you're just holding my hand." He snapped, Geoffrey snickering.
"We did a lot more this morning." Julius tensed up before relaxing, laughing a little too. "Did my dad tell you my excuse?" Julius smirked.
"I threw pebbles at your neck, then we wrestled. God he couldn't have fell for that!" Geoffrey began to laugh heartily before leaning in and pressing a hard kiss to the other's forehead.
"To be fair, I was pretty beaten up, you can hardly control yourself." He criticised, smiling. Julius rolled his eyes.
"Well, I'm the one with the sore ass, so." He turned to the other and kissed him gently on the lip. Geoffrey kissed him back before pulling away.
"Why did you ride your horse into the tree?" He asked. "You've jousted before, and you've never gotten hurt."
The prince shrugged. The whole accident was actually really bizarre. He was riding the horse along the training grounds when he had lost track of time, and scheduled practices were about to start. He had stopped the horse, and was about to get off, but something spooked the horse, and he went running. Julius pulled on the reins and tried to calm him down, but the horse wasn't responding. In fact, it actively avoided the fence around the training ground, and the shrubs lining the forest. It was almost as if it were aiming for the tree. It hadn't gotten hurt, in fact, it had just flung Julius, with his lance, into the tree and kept running. Geoffrey cleared his throat, the prince realizing he had gotten lost in his thoughts. "Er-yes... I really don't know what happened. The horse was spooked, and took off. I was just thrown off and collided with my lance." The younger frowned before pulling the prince in for another kiss.
"Alright."
1 week later...
Julius cuddled into his mother's side, resting his head on his shoulder. Arthur stroked his hair as he sniffled into his tissue, Julius whispering softly. "Mom, I'm so sorry." His voice was heavy, as if he were close to tears as well. Arthur groaned, probably in physical pain. "Please let me call Davie." Julius begged, but his mother hushed him. They were currently in Julius's bedroom, in his bed with a few towels underneath them. The day had started off with them chatting, but then suddenly, Arthur rushed to the bathroom. After a few minutes, Julius opened the door to find his mother sitting in a pool of blood, sobbing silently. He was pregnant, for the third time since the twins were born, and this was the third time he had suffered through a miscarriage. Julius washed him off very quickly and rushed him into a change of clothes, a loose blouse, and tucked him into his bed.
He had never seen his mother so devastated. He had only heard of the other two miscarriages from his father the day after it had happened, and he wouldn't have been able to see his mother until about a week after. He had never witnessed his mother in a such an agonizing situation, and his heart ached knowing he couldn't do anything about it. Arthur shifted his body so his face was buried into his son's chest.
"H-he'll t-tell Alfred." He mumbled miserably. He began to cry again, and Julius began to wonder how many times this had actually happened to his mom. The last miscarriage happened a year and a half after the first one, and that was nearly 8 years ago. Julius knew that since then they were always trying to have a baby, but what if the problem wasn't conception, just maintenance? What if the queen had gotten pregnant many times, but just lost it before he could tell anyone? Julius's eyes began to water as he took a shaky breath in, running his hands through his mother's hair. They were in this position for about an hour and a half, the teen unsure if his mother was still leaking, and whether or not he was uncomfortable.
"Did dad know you were pregnant?" He asked softly, Arthur slowly shaking his head.
"I only found out a week ago." He sighed. He had calmed down quite a bit, and sniffled occasionally. "It was about a month along." The pain in his voice was enough to have Julius's eyes water once again, but he needed to be strong for his mother. "But no, I was gonna tell him when I was three months." Julius quirked a brow.
"Why three months?" He asked, and Arthur looked up at him with puffy, dull eyes.
"After the first trimester, chances of miscarriage drops greatly." He explained. His lips began to tremble as his eyes watered up again. "But I never make it to three months." Julius hushed him.
"It's no one's fault. There was nothing anyone could do." He assured, but the queen began to cry anyway, and this time out loud, very loudly.
"W-why does this keep on h-happening to me?!" He practically shrieked, Julius flinching away slightly. "How many times do I need to go through this?!" Julius tucked his head underneath his head and commanded him to breathe.
"In and out." Arthur followed his advice and took audible breaths, Julius repeating "in and out."
2 days later...
Arthur was still pent up in Julius's room, cancelling the prince's schedule for the day once again. Julius wasn't complaining, he wanted to stick by his mother's side, but his dad would be returning tonight from his little business trip to Canada. Arthur was currently staring blankly at the ceiling as Julius recited some prayers out loud for the lost child, he figured it would bring peace to his mother. Every now and then food would be delivered by a maid, and Julius would have to force feed his mother.
When word arrived that his father had come home safely, Julius was excited, he had missed his father. But then dread had washed over him. Would he have to lie to his father? There would be no doubt that the king will ask where his queen was, seeing that he was always the first to greet him when he returned from a trip. Once he learned that he was with his son, wouldn't he be curious as to why? Julius was getting nervous. "Mom?" He asked, the queen not responding. The prince glanced over at his mother to see him just barely looking at him through his swollen eyes. "Should we tell dad?" Arthur slowly looked away, back to the ceiling. Julius stroked his mother's hair, the queen, despite his expressionless demeanor, leaned into it. "I don't know if I should lie." Arthur remained silent. There was a knock on the door, and Julius could feel the presence at the back of his head. It was dad.
"Are you guys gonna open up, or do I need to unlock it." From the tone of his voice, he probably knew something bad had happened. He probably felt the pain Arthur felt. Julius heard keys jingle, and soon the door was squeaking open. Alfred stepped in slowly, blue eyes analyzing the room. All the evidence of the incident had been removed by loyal maids who swore to secrecy, so Alfred wouldn't be able to find anything. He closed the door behind him and slowly made his way to his husband, who was still gazing up at the ceiling. "What happened?" He asked him softly, kneeling down so that his face was leveled with the other. The queen didn't respond in any way. The king waited there patiently for about ten minutes before Arthur finally acknowledged him.
"Pardon?"
Alfred stroked his cheek, kissing his hair. "What happened Artie?" Arthur scrunched up his nose.
"It's Arthur, not Artie. It's not as if we haven't known each other for more than a decade." He snapped softly, but the king wasn't phased. Instead, he looked up at Julius.
"What happened while I was away?" He asked, eyes penetrating Julius's resolve.
"I-uh we-er... I um... I don't know." He stumbled over his words, Alfred quirking a brow. Julius groaned, glancing down at his mother, who looked at him blankly. His mother didn't want anyone to know about this, and, despite how depressing the last two days were, he never felt closer to his mother. This could just be their little secret. But he needed an elaborate lie, a lie that was big enough to elicit such a reaction from his mother, or at least his father. "H-he had c-caught me with..." he trailed off, blushing, where was he going with this?! He looked away scared, Alfred interpreting it as a reaction of guilt.
"WHAT?! JULIUS WHAT DID YOU DO?" He jumped up and walked around the bed, standing over his son almost threateningly.
"I was wearing his clothes again, and I might have ripped the new one a bit." Arthur wouldn't have minded all too much, but his father would have gutted him like a fish if he were to have seen this play out. The way his father's eyes had darkened confirmed Julius's thoughts, and confirmed that he had fallen for it. In actuality Julius hadn't crossed dress in over 3 years after his father threatened him real bad. The king sat down on the bed, hands covering his face.
"I thought we agreed that you were an alpha, that you would start acting like one." He sighed, his voice getting angrier. Julius pursed his lip.
"I'm sorry. Mom and I talked, and I won't do it again." He said nervously.
"First you joust, then this... do you just want to burden me?" Alfred whispered to himself, but it was loud enough for Julius to hear. His heart felt like it was going to burst it has never beaten so fast. "Why are you so nervous?" The king asked the prince. Julius was shocked that he could tell, but he just shrugged. "I'm not mad or anything. God, what if someone else walked in one you!? A maid, a guard!? You would have been ousted!" he was raising his voice, Arthur finally hushing him.
"Stop yelling at our son like that!" He snapped, finally moving from his place and grabbing julius protectively. "There's no need for that, we've talked long and hard about this before your arrival, so please." He sounded extremely hostile, the king eyeing him briefly in shock, then confusion, and then annoyance. Arthur pursed his lips before speaking again. "I think you should return to your chambers... or conduct your business elsewhere. For the time being I'm going to council Julius." He commanded. The king stared at him blankly before releasing a hollow chuckle.
"God, I did not miss this." He sighed, standing up quickly. "I'll check on my more stable family members." He said sharply, Julius's eyes watering at the venom behind his words.
"Dad-"
"Let him go." Arthur advised. The king closed the door behind himself softly, leaving the pair in silence.
5 days later...
"I don't know, Des, ask Jules." Micah shrugged as he took a bite into his apple. His shaggy blonde hair was covered in hay, and his squire attire was dirty. Desdemona huffed, his red cheeks puffing out in annoyance.
"Jules!" She called, Julius looking down from the tree he was perched on. They were in the courtyard, having a mini sibling picnic. He didn't really want to interact with them though, so he was eating his sandwich in the old sugar maple they were sitting underneath. He groaned as he heard his sister call. He had heard their exchange of words, and he knew what she was about to ask him. Gosh, this was going to be fun.
"Yes." He muttered, not looking down at her.
"Have you ever gotten a rut?" She asked bluntly, not caring how inappropriate the question was. However, after 13 years, he was used to it.
"No, not yet." He replied. She scoffed.
"Are you sure? Micah had his last month, and I heard Geoffrey had his 2 months back." She informed. Julius knew this information already, he could smell the pheromones very sharply when they had.
"Mom says I'm just a late bloomer." He said calmly. She hummed, taking that answer, satisfied.
"What time of month do you shift?" She asked suddenly, followed by Micah hushing her with his finger. Julius glanced down in shock. They knew?! His heart rate began to skyrocket. He hadn't worn any woman's clothes in three years, unless his little lie had turned into a rumor? Julius shook his head. He was always careful about not letting his siblings find out, how did they know? Julius paused to take a deep breath. Shift? She called it shift? That's a little rude isn't it? It wasn't some transformation, it was a temporary thing, a brief change, a superficial one at that. Julius had no intention of being a woman, women's clothes just making him feel more docile, like a beta, or sometimes even an omega. It wasn't that big of a deal.
"Shift?" He snapped. She remained silent. "What did you mean by shift?" After an awkward silence she sighed.
"You do shift into a wolf, right? Daddy said you just do it on a different schedule than we do." She confessed, worry in her voice. Julius knit his eyebrows. She sounded truthful, but damn was she making no sense. He chuckled at his own worries a bit, finding it truly hilarious that he thought they knew of his practices, well old practices anyway. She scrunched up her nose when she heard him chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"Humans can't turn into dogs, Dezzy." He said softly. He was genuinely amused that his father would play along. She smiled up at him, blushing and laughing.
"Sure."
Arthur gave Alfred a quick peck on the cheek as they watched their children from the balcony. Alfred stiffened before he sighed.
"They still don't know, huh?" He asked, Arthur smiling sadly.
"As far as they know, they think he's their biological brother." The queen sadly relayed. The royals were always planning on telling the twins that Julius was adopted, and therefore had no magical or supernatural abilities, but one day when the twins were 3, Julius had asked them to not tell them, that he had wanted to tell them himself when he felt the moment was right. The king had ordered that not a single person was allowed to even mention the adoption of Julius, to basically pretend Julius was birthed by the royals. Of course that made no sense in the timeline, but the twins had no interest in their parent's love story. All they cared about was magic and shifting, which Arthur specifically remembered banning the subject of magic from discussions with Julius. He figured one of the twins brought it up, probably Desdemona. Julius still has no idea about it, and Arthur had no intention of ever letting him know.
"Oh, yeah." Alfred cleared his throat, shaking his sandy blond hair. His thin wired glasses rested lazily on his hair, functioning as a bandana pinning back his bangs. He smiled sadly before sighing. "I overheard some maids speaking this morning." He started, the brit humming in curiosity. "Mom isn't getting any better." He frowned, the queen grabbing his hand and holding it. The queen-mother had fallen terminally ill a little over a year and a half ago, and about 6 months ago she was taken to Canada for treatment. That's why Alfred had gone to Canada a couple of days ago, to visit his mother. From Alfred's description, the woman was a shell of herself; her skin was pale, her eyes were sealed with crust, and her dry lips were stained orange. She was about 2/3rds of her original weight now, and the doctor had no idea what the disease was. Alfred wasn't surprised, even Davie's never come across the symptoms.
He tilted his head, frowning. He had come to terms that his mother would be passing away soon, so he was just bracing himself for the devastation that would be crashing into him. He had sent for her and her doctor to stay at the castle until her passing, that way he could say a proper goodbye. Alfred sighed again. "It's not about me." Alfred said mostly to himself. "They're gonna lose their grandmother." He gazed down at their children, who were now bouncing around the courtyard, laughing.
"I know. The twins will be devastated. I can't even imagine how Micah will react." Arthur groaned. Alfred nodded. Micah and the queen-mother were by far the closest, and their was no doubt this was going to be tough for him. "Julius... he's mature now, he'll cope." Arthur added, but there were hints of doubt in his voice. Alfred knew why, and he was almost certain that his oldest wouldn't shed a tear. The queen-mother had treated him like a guest ever since the twins were born, and their was no doubt that the prince resented her for that. Alfred was grateful that he never held any animosity for his younger brother, the two were practically best friends. He looked down at Julius, who was getting pinned down by the twins.
"Hopefully he'll at least pretend to care." He grumbled. "He's a sweet boy, but he's too blunt." Arthur hummed.
"All of our kids are... a little blunt." Arthur could think of numerous occasions where their children threw their manners out of the window and spoke brashly to international leaders. Micah once told King Ivan of Russia that he looked like he had crawled out of the devil's ass. Alfred was laughing hysterically, but luckily it was just a private get together between the US and Russia. Gilbert found it hilarious, and mocked his husband about it for the rest of the night. Ivan hadn't taken offense to it though, he accepted it as a genuine critique, which made Arthur appreciate the Russian more. Desdemona... oh god the mouth on that child. She would walk up to anyone and ask them very inappropriate questions. She walked up to a young nun once and asked her why her ankles were so fat. She walked up to a crippled knight with one leg and told him to join the navy so he could pretend to be a pirate. She also sent a letter to Fulgur demanding he send her a unicorn, the salvatore instead sending her a light brown pony. She asked questions that were typical of her age, which Arthur appreciated. He didn't have to worry about her growing up too fast.
As for Julius, he would pick and choose when to be rude, which was why it made Arthur all the more furious when he would do it. As the crown prince, Julius was handed the respect of the people, but over the last 13 years, he had gained their favor in what Arthur considered unsavory ways. He would occasionally make speeches calling out public figures who he felt were frauds or criminals, and he would urge citizens to bring up a suit. Arthur was surprised that all of the nobles and bankers Julius had accused were actually guilty, but it didn't negate the fact that his tactics could easily lead to unrest. What if he calls out the wrong person one day? Honestly Arthur feared for the boy. Especially nowadays. He was grateful to his son helping him throughout his miscarriage, but he was putting himself in constant unnecessary risk, and he didn't even care. It's as if his health is secondary to him. Arthur rubbed his temples.
"Not as bad as... 'They'." Alfred offered, and Arthur nodded with a shudder.
He was referring to Geoffrey and Anya, their niece and nephew. Those kids were perhaps the most conniving, twisted, and manipulative people he had ever come across. They fear no one, with the exception of their parents, and will stop at nothing to get what they want. The two were gifted, Anya with her mother's magical ability. She was much farther ahead of Desdemona in her studies, Anya taking witchcraft much more seriously. Geoffrey, though he too doesn't know he's adopted, looks quite a bit like Davie, and shares some quirks with Chancy, so he fits right in comfortably. Personality wise, Arthur would have to say they took it from their mother. Don't get him wrong, he loved Chancy, and Chancy was sweet heart, but as the French ambassador, in meetings, he always had his way, be it through smooth talking, or straight up threats. That being said, Chancy only acted like that in meetings, at home, he was passive and pretty much let Davie do much of the decision making. They accompanied him to these meetings for much of their youth, which explains things, but still.
Geoffrey was straight up bat shit crazy. He was handsome, and he was built strong like Davie. He was a powerhouse in training, and he knew that. He held nothing back on the training grounds, and would often send squires to the infirmary. He could beat up grown knights and would publicly challenge them and defeat, stripping away their honor. Alfred had threatened to take away his squirhood, but Geoffrey literally laughed in his face, and proceeded to say this: 'I know it's hard to see your comrades fall at the hands of your best friend's son, but I assure you, your majesty, taking away my birthright won't stop me.' Arthur had almost choked when Alfred had told him about the meeting, and Chancy begged the king to forgive him. The Frenchman had talked to him of course, and he had stopped challenging knights, but he hadn't apologized to the king for his rude words. Instead, he had began to silently challenge the king through Julius. There was no doubt in his mind that Geoffrey was behind Julius's strange behaviour recently. Arthur just wished he knew how.
He glanced down once again at his children, and to his dismay they were joined by the devil children. Fortunately Byron and his sisters had also came along. Those three were the most positive children he had ever met, so full of respect and grace. Arthur genuinely loved them. Don't get him wrong, he loved Anya and Geoffrey too, when they weren't plotting something, they were great to be around and talk to. They were sophisticated and wise for their age, which probably helped fuel their initial issues. Geoffrey, for one, was very well versed in public affairs and he was always a valued opinion. Anya loved tutoring Micah and Desdemona in magic, and the palace wards in basic math and reading. They were good kids when they weren't out to ruin lives.
Arthur could hear Alfred huff as Julius, Geoffrey and Byron left the courtyard, of course after kissing their sisters goodbye. Arthur always found that cute, how Julius would always leave a kiss on Des' forehead, and ruffle up Micah's hair. Geoffrey did the same to Anya, and Byron to his sisters. Alfred pulled away from the railing of the balcony, returning inside the castle.
"Do you have a meeting?" Arthur asked, he king shaking his head.
"I want to know what they're doing. He's still under punishment." Arthur sighed.
"Well, don't get yourself caught. I'll stay up here and watch the kids play." The queen felt warm lips press against his cheeks. "Have fun playing spy."
"I will Artie. I will."
