One Last Fairytale (GerIta Bonus Story): We're Friends, Right?
Since he was a child, Ludwig was always known to be a mysterious child at his age. Even his father, Crown Prince Germania can never fully understand his son at all. Ironically, his brother, Gilbert was way the opposite, loud and obnoxious and full of energy. He was just an abnormal boy who refused to speak even already at the age of two, and too quiet for his age.
Ludwig remembered clearly on the day when his father had gotten busy and rushed up and down, saying that there'll be guests coming over to their place. While Ludwig was being rather quiet, he's a good observant. He could notice some hint of worry in his father's eyes but he's not going to ask about it.
Later on that day, Ludwig was having his nap when he heard some noises upstairs which woke him up from his sleep. He could make out his brother's laughing sound as he played in their playroom, not like he's interested in it after all.
The young prince crawled out of his bed and slowly made his way outside. There are sounds coming from downstairs, Ludwig could only assumed it to be his father entertaining his guests. Too noisy, he thought to himself and walked down deeper into the hallway in hope to find somewhere where he can hide himself from the noises.
It was then the sound reached him. No, another sound, coming from somewhere else. He listened carefully, just how beautiful the melody is. The blonde prince walked down the hallway, trying to locate the source of the voice. An ornate wood door came into view and he could heard the sweet voices coming out from the room inside.
Slowly and gently, he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door slightly ajar and peeked into the room. There were two boys in the room and the both of them looked alike. But with Ludwig's sharp observant eye, he could differentiate them in no time. Both of them have dark brown hair, but one of the twin's hair colour has a reddish tint to it. Their hair styles were also slightly different, one has a curl on the left and the other's curl was on the right. They have different expression too, the boy with the right curl was frowning at the noise his brother made while the other boy ignored him and chirped on happily. It was then when he caught sight of that cheerful boy, and his heart made a very sudden leap. He don't know what that feeling is, but he is confident to meet up with the boy next time.
It was a cool December afternoon when Ludwig decided to have a little stroll at the garden. The leaves has long turned a hue of red and yellow and scattered all over the place. He walked down the garden trail, his feet crunching on the fallen leaves. His brother was playing around with a tall chubby boy with platinum blonde hair whom he could assumed to be one of their guests staying in the castle.
It was then when he noticed some adults walking towards the castle gate. They were all blonde, two men and a young woman. One of the man with spiky hair seemed to be quite… fat? The other man was wearing something like a wartime suit, as if he's ready to go to war while the woman clung onto him as if she was not willing to let him go.
"Hey look, that's Arthur." His brother called out. "It seems that they are preparing to leave. Let's go see them." Gilbert was about to take off running when he noticed his little brother not too far away.
"Oh hey, West." He greeted with a grin. "What brings you here?" He gently nudged the boy's hair. "C'mon, let go and see Vatti off." Holding his brother's hand, the boys headed off to the castle gate where both Germania and Roman were mounted onto their horse, weapons in hand ready to leave for the battlefield.
Ludwig remembered the very last time when his father carried him onto his lap. He never raise a voice and make a sound before. Even now, he still has yet to utter a single syllable of word. Ludwig regretted it, even until now. He regretted not saying a word to his father for the one last time, he regretted not giving his father one last hug before his father went to the battlefield. But he was just a child back then, and he could barely understand what his father was saying.
When High Prince Germania had left on his horse along with his troops, Ludwig could feel a sudden emptiness in his chest as he felt his brother gently squeezed his hand in comfort. He lifted his head to see tears glistening in his brother's crimson eyes. The Western crown prince had never cried even when being scolded or humiliated, because he claimed it to be 'so not awesome' when cry.
And then, they returned back to the castle. Gilbert let Ludwig joined other kids in the playroom. The room was in a big mess, children were scrambling all over the place with toys scattered all over the floor and some of them were crying, screaming, laughing… He don't like this at all, he just wanted to take a nap. Slowly, he walked along the walls and crawled onto bed so as not to get other children's attention.
But then, he finally saw it! The twins with brown hair and resembled their father, High Prince Roman. The cheerful of the twin is drawing and scribbling on papers with crayons while the other twin just watched with a frown. They did not realised that Ludwig was just above them on the bed, so he watched as the young boy made a big mess on his paper with colourful crayons.
Ludwig laid with his stomach pressing on the bed, watching the cheerful twin drawing a paper followed by another until his twin brother got bored and went off to play by himself. He did not remembered what happened the rest of the day, the only thing he remembered was that his brother mentioned the child's name to be… Feliciano.
The next day, Ludwig never saw his father again. Gilbert eventually delivered the news of his father's death in the war to him. He didn't show any emotions at all, but refused to accept the truth. When he was alone, he went off wandering in the dark hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks when he came into something familiar, his father's room.
Small little fists banged hard on the door but there was no reply. The small blonde prince reached for the door knob and twisted it open, only to find himself standing in the middle of the dark room. The bed was not made and papers littered all over the place, books on the shelves were covered in a layer of dust. At the sight of the place, Ludwig fully understood that his father was gone and he was alone. Unable to take it anymore, he knelt on the floor and breakdown, letting reality sank in, something so cruel for a young child.
"V-Ve…?" Feliciano let out a whimper as he walked on the dimly lit hallway. Just not too long ago, he and his twin brother were taken to the kitchen to drink some milk. Antonio was bringing the two child back to their room when Feliciano suddenly noticed a little cat in the hallway. Curious, the boy let go of his grip on Antonio and began chasing the cat. That was until he found himself alone in the dark hallway with no one as a company. He began to feel scared and wandered around aimlessly in hope to find a way out.
As he walked down the hallway, he heard sounds of someone crying. He noticed one of the doors was slightly ajar. He went to peek into the room and saw a boy of almost the same age as him, blonde hair and blue eyes, crying in the room.
Ignoring his fears, the little auburn hair boy approached the little Western prince. "V-Ve?" He stuttered and reached out a hand to pat the boy's blonde locks.
Ludwig looked up to see the boy whom he had grew attached too. The boy looked back at him with confused brown eyes. Ludwig wanted to turn away but the boy suddenly wrapped both his arms around his waist. He felt something jolt in him but he accepted it eventually. It was warm and comforting, like how his father used to hug him.
"Y-You sad?" The boy said in broken syllable. He flashed a smile at the boy and used his hand to wipe the tears away. "Don't cry… Smile." For once, Ludwig was stunned. How can this boy, so young but smiling all the time, as opposite of his brother?
The two boys sat on the floor and stared at each other for a moment. Feliciano don't know what to say in front of the boy, so instead he enveloped the blonde boy into a hug. "Don't cry, Feli hug you." Ludwig faltered a bit at the sight of the infectious smile that he could feel his lips tugging upwards too.
Ludwig didn't remember what happened after that. But he did remember that he took the little Southeast boy out from his father's room and led him to the garden. He remembered how the boy ran in the field of fallen leaves as fast as his small legs can carry him, the cool autumn wind blew over his auburn hair and his smile radiated in the sunlight, it was so dazzling. And for once, Ludwig felt a sense of security in this little boy.
Once the boys had gotten tired of running in the garden, they retired in a small shed at the corner of the garden watching the golden yellow scene. Ludwig suddenly felt the urge to reach out and grabbed Feliciano's hand. Nervously biting on his lips, he reached out his hand and held Feliciano's subconsciously. When he realised it, it was too late, and his face heated up. He expected Feliciano to shove his hand away but instead, Feliciano smiled back innocently at him and began running his hands over Ludwig's, radiating warmth from the contact.
"F-Fe…" It was then Ludwig remembered the moment his voice began to come out from his mouth. "F-Feli-ci…no…" It was hard in the beginning but he could barely feel embarrassed, and this is the only way he can express himself. Gathering all the courage he could muster, his mouth began to form words, voices coming out from beneath. "F-Feliciano…" his name, that was the first word he actually said in his life.
Feliciano smiled back and patted him gently on the head, he then pointed to himself while pronouncing the word, "Feli!" Ludwig didn't understand what the boy was trying to tell him, but he knew that Feliciano was happy with him. Mimicking the boy's motion, he used his finger to point himself too before telling the other his name, "Ludwig." And the word feels so strange whenever he said his name with his own mouth.
"Luddy." The boy repeated back and presented him a red maple leaf which Ludwig accepted it. "Luddy and Feli, are friends, right?"
Ludwig was puzzled by the fact. Friends, what was that word again? It sounds so warm and comforting, and happy too. Is this what it feels like to have a friend? Ludwig has never had a friend before in his life as he always shut himself away from people. Is that why his brother had gotten so happy because of meeting a new friend?
"Luddy, you Feli friend?" When Ludwig did not replied, Feliciano gotten worried, and a little sad too. Ludwig snapped at Feliciano's hurt tone and blue eyes gazed into a pair of beautiful innocent brown eyes, his auburn hair gave a glassy feature on his face.
The usually stoic boy felt his heart melted away and gave in to the boy's innocence. "J-Ja. Friends." Not willing to see the younger boy cry, he quickly embraced the whimpering boy into a hug in hope to soothe him. "Luddy is Feli friend." He had never felt so happy in his life before. He has made a friend! A true friend where he will keep on living.
Feliciano and his brother were no longer in the castle the next day when Ludwig went to find him. From what Gilbert mentioned, Antonio must have taken them back home as he prepared himself to ascend the throne as High Prince. Ludwig was sad but he's never going to show his feelings. All he could hope that god will let them reunite one day in the future.
Time flies faster than one could imagine. During all these years, Ludwig found himself increasing in height. Not only that, he spoke quite often (though still considered quiet to the people) and he learned many things. And then, memories of the boy in his dreams slowly slipped off his mind.
Ludwig found himself on a horse galloping in the fields full of flowers and greenery. It was then when he heard voices of someone singing. He stopped in his tracks and listened intently to the beautiful yet familiar melody that lingered in the woods.
Getting off from his horseback and tied it to a tree, he looked around in hope to search for the source of the voice. The young Western prince walked deeper into the woods and spotted a young lady with rich auburn hair tied up in a ponytail with a curl on the left side of her head. She has eyes of the same colour as her hair.
Ludwig gasped, awestruck at the girl's beauty, though he couldn't understand what caught his heart. He watched from his hiding spot as the girl twirled around and sang along with the birds. Ludwig wanted to get closer to the girl, but a vine caught his leg and he tripped.
The song stopped abruptly as the said girl turned around and noticed Ludwig limping by the tree. She hurried towards him and helped him up. "Vee, are you alright, mister?" She asked him. Ludwig was about to answer her question but when he tried to stand up, he lost his footing and slipped into the nearby riverbank. The girl screamed as the current dragged him away.
Ludwig woke up with a start, only to find himself laying on his bed. Night has long crept in the sky with only the moon to illuminate his room from the window. Blank blue eyes gazed into the silvery moonlight as he contemplated his dreams. It was the same dream again, the one he had two years ago. What was that dream trying to tell him? And most importantly, who's that girl in his dream?
Ludwig remembered the day before he and his family left for Main Hetalia castle. His brother has been training the whole day with Roderich no matter how tired or how much time Roderich had took him down. He's just not going to give up until he scored a win.
"Why are you working so hard at your lessons all of a sudden, brother?" He asked Gilbert when they were finally going to turn in for the night. "Well, that's..." Gilbert thought for a moment before replying, "There's... Someone that I want to protect, West. Do you understand?" Ludwig nodded as his brother patted his hand reassuringly, "Good boy. Now come on, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, ja?" And the two of them went to bed.
It takes two days of travel in a carriage to arrive at the castle of Main Hetalia. King Arthur and King Francis welcomed them and had the servant ushered them to their room. Gilbert and Ludwig would be sharing a room, which was quite comfortable for them.
Once they had managed to settle down, the boys were given some free time around the castle. Ludwig decided to have a look around the castle since his brother was so busy in pestering that Ivan. He walked into a playroom where he met with two child who bears a striking resemblance to each other. There's also a young girl with platinum blonde hair and a small boy with short black hair. The twins were playing, one particularly was trying to pull up some pranks but the girl was undaunted at his tricks. The black-haired boy just sat near the window as he gazed out of it only to be disturbed by the loud twin.
Ludwig hurdled in the corner as he tried to avoid getting any attention. He just don't feel like getting along with these bunch of people. He listened intently as they talked about the past referring to the ceremony that the adults were attending in the grand hall. That was until when the loud boy sudden exclaimed his hunger and they herded off to the kitchen to get some food, he was left alone unnoticed. Once they were all gone, he ran out of the room and went to search for his brother.
On the day of the Crown princes' birthday, Gilbert helped Ludwig into his garment, which Ludwig found it quite uncomfortable. Usually, he won't attend such event and would shut himself away from the people but Roderich and Elizaveta said they need to give the visitors a good impression and he must attend since his age is allowed to. When they were done dressing themselves, Roderich and Elizaveta came to pick them up to the grand hall where all the royals would be greeting their guests.
Ludwig stood next to Gilbert as his family greeted the visitors that were invited to the princes' birthday. He watched as the people, in their glamourous outfit shuffled into the room one-by-one as they began filling up the ballroom. He almost fell asleep when suddenly in came the nobles of the Southeast kingdom.
Crown Prince Antonio greeted their hosts as he shook their hands. Behind him was two young girls whom the official introduces them as Princess Lovina Bonnefoy and Princess Felicia Bonnefoy. At the sight of the twins, Ludwig felt a sudden familiarity to them. He watched as Princess Lovina tugged Antonio's leg nervously as she scanned the unfamiliar crowd around her. A servant tried to serve her some drink but she turned it down and threw strings of dirty remarks at him, causing a scene. Antonio came up and apologized to them while taking Lovina under his wing. He could see some of the nobility scowled at the princess attitude, so un-ladylike.
The other girl, however, as Ludwig noted was quite the opposite compared to her twin. She greeted everyone with politeness and smiled the most dazzling smile that could charm people's heart. She went on talking with the people as if they had met for quite a long time. That was when Ludwig felt his heart skipped. He recognized that face, it's the girl in his dream! Her smile, her cheerful behaviour, it reminded him so much of that boy he met when he was just an infant. He remembered that day when he finally said his first word- his name, but he can't remember what that boy's name is. And he also has a grumpy, scornful twin, so does this girl? Is it just a coincidence or had he mistaken the boy (girl?)'s gender? He can't tell.
Ludwig was pulled out from his trance by a 'Ciao!' He turned around and met Princess Felicia eye-to-eye. Her eyes, Ludwig noted, was the same as his as he could remember, even her hair colour and that curl too, it all resembled him.
"Ciao, you must be Ludwig, right?" Felicia laughed a little as she placed her hand in front of him. "I'm Felicia, nice to meet you, ve." Ludwig pondered for a moment before he held Felicia's hand in his and felt sparks being sent over his body. "N-Nice t-to m-meet you, Princess Felicia." The young princess sent him a dazzling smile as she said, "Ve, you can just call me Feli." Feli? Isn't that the same nickname with the boy he first opened up with?
For the rest of the day, Ludwig spent his time together with the young girl. Felicia told her many things including her life, like how her father died in the war and memories of her beautiful mother and how her twin sister got into trouble. All those keep reminding Ludwig about the boy that kept him living these entire time, and he started wondering if this was just a mere coincidence.
At the end of the night, Ludwig sneaked out from his room to meet up with Felicia at the other side of the garden outside. Felicia was already waiting for him at the shed in the garden as she picked some flowers in the garden. When she saw Ludwig coming, she flashed a bright smile and approached him like a little bird. "Ve, you finally come, Ludwig." She then led him to a tree and they sat under it.
After quite a while, Felicia broke the silence. "Luddy, what do you think of me?" At the mentioned of the word 'Luddy', his memories stirred up again, reminiscing the time when the little boy called him Luddy.
"W-What are y-you saying?" Ludwig stammered.
The smile soon disappeared from Felicia's face and she looked down. "… Nothing…" She said barely in a whisper. "I-I just thought we could be friends…"
"Friends…" And it hit him, the first friend he had made in his life.
"Ever since I started wearing dresses, my friends stopped talking to me." Felicia ignored him and continued her rambling. "They had stopped being my friend because I'm a girl."
Ludwig blushed a little at the girl's confession but he also felt pity for the girl as she loses her friends. After all, why would her friends laughed her just because she wear dress? They look good, and beautiful on her, for him.
"Feli, do you want to listen to my story?" Ludwig asked, causing the girl to perk up.
"Ve, what is it? What kind of story?" Felicia asked excitingly.
"You know, you always reminded me of someone whom I met when I was just a young boy." Ludwig said. He then related the past where he met someone just like Felicia and how they became friends and all the things the Felicia reminded him of.
"T-That's… That's very nice of you, Ludwig." Felicia said in awe after Ludwig finished his story. "You're lucky to have such a nice friend."
"But Felicia, you can be my friend." Ludwig said. "Ever since that boy left, I have been lonely. Now that I had found someone I can confide to, won't you be my friend, even if it is just for a while?"
"Ve, you will really be Feli's friend?" Felicia asked, her voice a hint of excitement.
"J-Ja." The smile returned back at Felicia's face and she hugged him. "Grazie, grazie, Luddy."
The two little children walked hand-in-hand back into the castle since it has gotten late. Ludwig offered to escort Felicia back to her room. But when they arrived at the princess room, they stumbled into Felicia's fiery twin sister, Princess Lovina, her face was red painted with anger.
"Felicia, so this is where you have been to!" The other princess, almost a splitting image of her sister but with an opposite personality. Princess Lovina practically yelled the moment when Felicia came into sight. "Don't you ever go out so late at night! It's dangerous outside." She then noticed Ludwig and instantly recognized him as the boy whom Felicia talked to just now at the party. Anger razed up in her brow and she began spatting strings of cursing words, "You stupid potato bastard, what are you thinking you're doing here with my sister?! You better get your dirty hands off her or I'll kick your asshole!"
"Ve, sorella." From aside, Felicia made a whine, "Luddy didn't do anything to me. Luddy is my friend."
"F-Friend?" Lovina repeated the last word in confused before her face seemed to heat up. "Don't get yourself into trouble, Felicia!" She yelled back, "Don't forget what Antonio had fucking told us about our family! No one is allow to get close to us, or we will fucking be in trouble!"
"But Lovi, I just want a friend, ve…"
Lovina given up persuading her sister since Felicia had gotten so attached to the prince. "Fine, you can do whatever you want, just don't get yourself into trouble."
Just then, Antonio appeared at the hallway. "What's so noisy here?" He asked while stifling a yawn. "Lovina, why are you shouting in the middle of the night? You're disturbing everybody you know?"
"Oh shut up, you tomato bastard!" Lovina retorted back. "Felicia sneaked out late at night again, and this time she claimed to have made friends with that stupid potato bastard."
"You jealous?"
Lovina's face heated up again. "Of course not! I don't need a friend." She said and went back into her room and closed the door with a loud slam.
Antonio soon noticed Ludwig who was standing next to Felicia, he smiled an apologetic smile at the young prince while saying, "Oh, it's you, Prince Ludwig of the Western Kingdom. It's a good thing seeing you getting along with Felicia and I'm glad too." He thought for a while before he added, "Please don't take Lovina's words into your heart, Prince Ludwig. She had some… problem whenever it comes to her behaviour but she didn't mean any harm. I hope you can forgive her." Ludwig just nodded as a gesture that he understood. Antonio smiled back before he went to pick Felicia. "Now, now, Felicia. I know you're happy with your new friend but please don't do that again especially in the middle of the night. If anything bad happens to you, it will be a big trouble."
"Si," Felicia replied obediently, "Sorry Antonio, I promised I won't do that again."
"Alright, and I guess it's time you all get to bed. It's quite late already." Felicia yawned and she entered her own room. Ludwig walked all his way back to his room to find his brother sleeping soundly in his bed. He tiptoed into the room and crawled into bed while trying not to wake him up. As he laid on bed, he felt as if he was betraying someone but it's alright to be selfish once in a while. All he wants is just someone he could trust and confide to.
But then, the day they got together didn't last long, just like last time. Fate was cruel enough to force them to separate again and he was forced to forget that girl that lightened his days.
Not too long after the twins' birthday, Ludwig woke up to find a portrait being laid on his room doorstep. It was a beautiful portrait with him and Felicia sitting at the garden full of flowers by the lake. Someone must have drawn them as they sat idling at the garden. Not only that, there's a line of crooked words written messily at the bottom of the paper, it read 'We're friends, right?' Then, it hit him. He raced to the princess room only to find it unoccupied, they must've left earlier. He felt his heart sank again, as if he was being betrayed again. Why his heart does has to break everytime he has just met someone he could finally open up to?
Things did not go well after that. Ludwig remembered clearly the day when a mop of mad soldiers invaded the castle, killing everyone in the castle. It still terrified him when one of the soldiers took him as a hostage but his brother managed to save him, though the thought of his brother killing someone scares him too.
The adults did all they can do but there were still casualties. Two unfortunate ones, he heard, one of the princes and a servant boy were among the death. Many people grieved over their loss ones and for the first time, Ludwig actually saw his brother's crimson eyes glistened with tears.
And soon, the time for separation comes again. Gilbert left without saying a proper goodbye to his childhood friend and Ludwig felt that his heart was empty and hollow. Is this what it feels when someone important to you were no longer by your side? Ludwig can't tell the answers.
And now, here he was, standing at the throne next to his brother as they observed the dance taking place in the ballroom. Growing up would means responsibility. During all these times after the tragedy at Main Hetalia, Ludwig and Gilbert were thrown into lives of adulthood where they began endless training lessons to become the kingdom future ruler that they almost forget about that 'someone' that was once their world.
"Have you found any awesome people, West?" Gilbert asked from the throne he's sitting. Piercing blue eyes hidden behind silver mask scanned the ballroom uninterested and disgusted clearly on his face.
"Not anyone I like," Ludwig said, totally uninterested. He watched the adults danced in the spacious room, suddenly feeling that he hated adulthood. He never thought it would come so soon, his courting and engagement. Well, Roderich and Elizaveta has their own points after all, and he can't blame them.
"If it wasn't because of the kingdom and throne, I would have enjoy this party already." Gilbert said, as if he knew what his brother was thinking. It was true that they, princes of a kingdom need a spouse to secure their place in the throne so that their lineage can continued for the kingdom. But there's also a danger in it too, there are many people who were trying to lure the princes just because they wanted the throne and fortune. Of course, they just can't simply married someone just because that person has a very good etiquette or very good in managing things, like very people, they just want a chance to fall in love.
Ludwig shrugged at the burden that was on their shoulder. "I wouldn't be surprise." Then an idea struck him, "But didn't you said that you want to enjoy the time of your life, here?"
"Ja. Do you have an idea how to enjoy my time?" Gilbert asked sipping his wine.
Ludwig edged closer to his brother so he could whisper in his ear. "Just let us forget about work and all the marriage stuff we have to face and enjoy our night here, we can worry about the rest later. You said this is the time of our life, isn't it?"
A smirk spread across the West Kingdom High Prince face. "So, you wanna have a dance?"
"But I need a dance partner."
"Then I will be in it." Gilbert said, standing up from his seat. "It's just us tonight, so let's enjoy it." The two brothers held each other in their arms as they waltzed into the crowd. Soon, they got lost in the music, in their dreams and thoughts.
It was then there was a change of a beat and the dancers began to change partners. Ludwig did not paid attention too much until he realized that his brother was gone, off dancing with some other unknown people in the dance hall. And his partner was being replaced by a young man with auburn hair with a single curl on the left. He can't see his face, of course, being obstructed by a mask that seems to be made of flower petals.
"Ve, did we meet before?" The familiar voice echoed in Ludwig's mind and he felt something struck him. And then, he felt his heart leaped vigorously in his ribcage. What was this feeling? He never felt this since eleven years ago, can it be…
The music changed its beat again but they did not change partner, too absorb in each other. They didn't even realized when the music died down. Ignoring the crowd, Ludwig led the stranger to the border of the dance floor, slowly guiding him off the dance floor until they came to the balcony.
The two broke off from their dance and gazed into the night sky and the garden below. Ludwig then decided to break the silent, "Y-You look familiar…" He said nervously.
"Ve, I have the same feelings too." The young man said as he flashed a smile. Ludwig watched the boy intently, the same hair colour, even that curl looked the same too, and that smile… Isn't it… He just can't make it out anymore, Feliciano and Felicia, why they seem to be overlapping? Why he always get confused with the two of them? Are they the same person or just one of them is a fake? Or maybe the both of them didn't exist at all? Who's this young man that made his heart skip a beat like the last time? He just can't answer the questions.
"Why don't let's see each other's face? Maybe we can recognized each other better, ve?" The young man said as he reached for the knot that held his mask. Part of Ludwig wanted this but he decided to adhere to the rules and keep it a suspense until the end of the event. Quickly, he reached out his hand and hold the young man's arm. "Ve?" The young man stopped his motion and stared back at him in confused.
"The party is not over yet, so it's not the time to reveal your face yet." Ludwig said.
"But will you still be my friend even after I show you my face?" The man asked back, his voice full of innocence. Ludwig was puzzled by the man's statement. He looked into the man's auburn orbs and noticed tears glistened in his eyes.
"Friends? What's that?" Ludwig asked, that word sounded so familiar yet strange in his ears.
"You don't have any friend? That's very sad of you." The man continued rambled on, "Friends are people whom you can get along and be happy together."
Ludwig just listened intently to whatever the young man was trying to say. The word seemed to bring back the time where he almost forgot, the time when he spoke his first words, the time he learnt how to smile and be happy. "But… Does it matter if I be your friend?"
"I… I just don't want to be alone anymore." The young man said almost inaudibly. "The last time when I actually has a friend was so long ago that I can't remember much about him."
"What happen?" Ludwig asked, intrigued.
"That time, I was taken to this castle as well with my brother. It was one of the princes' birthday party, if I could remember properly. That was when I meet him, and we spent the whole day being together. On that night, we even sneaked out of the garden to have some fun." And again, Ludwig found the story to be oddly familiar to him as well.
The young man's face suddenly turned solemn as he gazed into the sky. "But after that, we left so suddenly, saying that it's dangerous if anyone knew about me and my brother. I was sad and wanted to see him for the last time but my brother said that person will just forget about me and forces me to leave the place before I can even said goodbye." Ludwig felt something stabbed him when the man related his story. "But he won't abandon me, right? He had promised to be my friend so he will always remember me that I'm his friend too, won't he?" The young man voiced his doubts, "Will he still be looking for me?"
As a reply, Ludwig embraced him as a way of comfort. "If your feelings for him is real, then maybe he's looking for you too. That's what friends are, right?"
"Ve, but I thought you said you don't have a friend."
"I had a friend too but that was a long time ago. A girl, to be specific." Ludwig leaned himself at the bars as he reminisced those days. "When I was young, I was lonely and rarely talks with other children of my age. Not that I care, but when this girl came into my life, she has become my world. She told me many things and how she felt lonely being left alone by her friends. So I promised to be her friend, but in the end she left me without a word as well. And I was left wondering if she will ever return."
"T-That's very sad too." The young man snivelled a bit at Ludwig's story. "But don't worry, I will be your friend, ve. You don't have to be lonely again."
Ludwig got stunned when he felt the young man embraced him and found himself returning it too. He started wondering all over the incident again. Is this meeting merely a coincidence? He had met three different people but of the identical behaviour and backstory, and they all made into his heart as he fell for them, only to break his heart again and again. He wondered if he had betrayed them by befriending another, or maybe he's still far from the truth. He can't tell.
They wished to hold each other like this as long as possible for the rest of the time but someone suddenly stormed into the balcony and pulled the young man away from him.
"So this is where you have been?! Once you got missing, you have really made me worried about you!" Another young man with darker brown hair and wearing a leafy green mask, appearance and built almost identical to that man, Ludwig assumed that he must be this man's brother.
"Ve, but I had a good time with him." The young man said trying to persuade his brother. The leafy-masked man eyed Ludwig suspiciously as if trying to judge him.
"He's just a stupid potato bastard!" That nickname, why does it sounds so familiar? "He'd better fucking get back inside here or the other stupid tomato bastard would be worrying about you too!" He said trying to pull the young man into the room.
"But darling, he seems happy being together with that potato bastard." Another man came in, also with brown hair like the duos but taller and wearing a brown mask that seems to be made of leather. "And I'm worry about you, my cute little tomate, you know it's dangerous to wander around alone." The man said in a drunken stupor.
"Chigi!" The leafy-masked man yelled under his breath. "You only come with me just because you wanna touch my ass!"
"That's because you're really hot and sexy." The taller of the man said as he leaned onto the grumpy man's shoulder.
"Ve, Fratello, he really loves you." The cheerful young man said which caused his brother's cheeks to flare up in red. "Bastard!" He yelled in anger and embarrassment. "Anyway, it's time to go back! The party has ended already!"
"Oh, but my love, I still wanna dance with you." The 'tomato bastard' said in a sing song voice. "Just shut the fuck up and get going!" Looks like that man isn't going to give way. Angrily mumbling something about 'stupid tomato and potato eater' before he came to drag the tall of the man out from the balcony. "And you better fucking come along too, if you don't want to get into trouble!" He said to the young man before leaving.
"I guess we have to say goodbye for today, ve." The young man said. "Goodnight, Luddy. See you tomorrow." He said in an almost charming way that he did not noticed his words had slipped.
"Ja, guten natch." Ludwig bidded him. Then the man did something surprising to him, he leaned in and planted a kiss on Ludwig's cheek. Ludwig was shocked by this outcome but when he regained his senses, that young man had left the balcony.
The portrait years ago laid on the table. Ludwig had framed it and he brought it with him wherever he go so he could always remember the girl in his life while imagining how she would look like when she grow up. Come to think of it, the boy in his dream, Princess Felicia and that mysterious man seemed to merge together as if they were one piece. But no, it can't be. They were different people.
Piercing blue eyes fell onto the portrait as he ran his hand on the wooden frames. At the bottom of the portrait was the words, 'We're friends, right?' It has blurred with time but Ludwig remembered every single word and how it was written. He had promised to be the girl's friend, she will still remember him, won't she? "Feli and Luddy are friends, right?" The boy in his dream sounds so real, somehow Ludwig had the feeling that they will meet again.
"West, it's time. Let's get going." He brother knocked gently on the door as he spoke. "In a moment." Ludwig answered back. He made sure his suit was in good condition before taking the mask that was on his dressing table. He met his brother outside and strode down the halls together.
The dance went on as usual during the entire night. Ludwig sat at the side of the ballroom as he watched men and women danced to the music. Taking a sip from his wine, he saw his brother sitting near the dining table trying to persuade or talk to a certain tall man with platinum blonde hair as the man drown himself with endless bottles of alcoholic drinks. Ludwig knew that his brother wished to reunite with the person he cared for while trying to mend and complete the fairytale he wished to end with a Happily Ever After. He too, found himself in the same problem like his brother. All those time he heard of his brother telling him endless stories of his heroic father whom he did not remember much and all the stories would end up being a happy ending and his father will always be the winner. Only at his last battle, his father was gone, but his efforts were not wasted as the people finally live happily ever after.
His only wish, is to have his very own Happily Ever After. He wanted to know who the person he meant to belong was and whom he can spent the rest of his life with. He knew that he was on the verge of breaking the rule, but he can't wait any longer. He just want to talk with that young man.
"Ciao!" Ludwig was shocked for a moment when someone suddenly hugged him from behind. He quickly whipped his head backwards and sighed in relief when he saw that it was the man from yesterday. "Oh, so it's you." Ludwig said calmly.
"Ve, why are you sitting here alone? You should enjoy the party." The young man said cheerfully.
"You want to dance?" Ludwig asked him. The man flashed him an infectious smile, "Ve, I would love to." And so, Ludwig led the young man into the dance floor and they began to sway to the music.
By the time they stopped dancing, midnight was already at bay and the music ended. Instead of bidding each other goodnight, Ludwig led the young man to the garden outside so that they can spend some time being alone (rather not getting trouble from this man's over-protective brother).
"Ve, it's such a beautiful night." The man chirped as he walked in the grassy lane. "And I remember this place." He said as he spun and danced among the grassy terrain.
"You have been here before?" Ludwig raised an eyebrow and asked him.
"Si, I met my prince here on the night and that's the best day ever in my life." The man said. "Just like what I said before, we just met for a very short time and became friends and then I was force to be separated from him." This piqued Ludwig's interest even more. He also remembered that night when he sneaked out to see Princess Felicia in this spot too, where the beautiful oak tree stood witnessing their promises.
The young man ignored the stares from the Western Prince as he began to sing a song in a low but sweet voice.
I wonder, I wonder,
I wonder why each little bird has a someone
To sing to, sweet things to.
A gay little love melody.
I wonder, I wonder,
If my heart keeps singing, will my song go winging
To someone who'll find me
And bring back a love song
To me
Ludwig walked behind the man as he listened to the young man sang his gay little love song. "Have you found someone you love?" He asked out of the sudden, disrupting the song the man has been singing. "Or maybe that prince you once met?"
"I like him. We are friends." Was the man's curt reply, "In my dream, he was tall and strong. We met, like, in this place. We talk and talk and then I say goodbye, he takes me into his arm…" Until this, he stopped talking and frown again, as if reminiscing the sad moments. Ludwig found it surprising that he almost had the same dream with her, just that he was a young boy.
"I had a dream too." Ludwig said, trying to lighten up the mood. "I dream that I was a little boy running in the field. Then I met someone, two people to be exact, a girl and a boy, they looked identical. They said they are my friends and we played together."
"T-That's… Very nice." The man said. "They said if you have the same dream every time, it will come true. I wonder just when my prince, my friend will return."
"And I was wondering when I will see my friends." Ludwig said as if it was a song. "But I guess, it doesn't matter now because I already met another friend."
"Ve, you are right. And I had also met a prince too, just like those years." The man smiled again and continued singing his song.
I know you
I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you
The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true
That visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you
I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
The way you did once
Upon a dream
The man sat down by the trees and began picking some flowers around it. Ludwig followed soon as he watched the young man began to make something like a flower ring with the flowers while continued singing. He soon felt himself falling into the song as well and let himself carried away. As gently as ever, he held onto the man's hand and sing along.
They don't know how long they had spent sitting under the tree holding each other like that. Just as the flower ring was about to be done, with just one more flower to bind it up, but there were no more flowers around the tree. He looked around his surrounding and noticed a big beautiful night blooming cereus that grew on the bark of the tree. It would make a perfect one as a finishing touch for his flower ring.
"Ve, can you give me a hand?" He asked Ludwig. "I need to get up that tree to pick that flower." Ludwig just nodded and lifted him on his shoulder. "Ve, it's so tall up here." The man exclaimed as he reached out to pick the cereus. He managed to pick it but the inclination caused Ludwig to go off balance and the two of them ended up falling onto the ground.
"I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Ludwig quickly sat up and went to help the man, only to realise that both their masks had fallen off and their faces were revealed. He could only gasped at the sight of the young man. Can it really be him?
"Ve, I'm alright." The man stood up with the cereus in his hand. He turned to look at Ludwig and widened his eyes when he saw Ludwig true appearance. "Ve, you're Luddy?" He asked back.
Luddy? Isn't that the name he heard long ago? "H-How do you know my name?" Ludwig took a caution step backward.
"Don't you remember me, Luddy? It's me, Feliciano." And then, Ludwig was struck. This boy, Feliciano? He does resemble the boy in his dream but he never remember much, is he really mean to be with him? As he moved, something dropped off from his coat. Feliciano saw it and went to pick it up to find that it was a picture of something. Ludwig was trying to stop him but he ignored Ludwig and looked at the picture for a moment before jumping in joy as he tackled himself onto Ludwig for a hug.
"Ve, it's really you, Luddy. I knew you're my prince." He exclaimed while hugging him.
"B-But y-you…" Ludwig pointed a finger at him before stuttering, "A-And that girl… y-you know… T-This p-portrait?" He eyed Feliciano in a confused manner.
"Don't you remember?" Feliciano frowned and asked. "Feli and Luddy are friends, the best friends." He repeated the vow they made when they were young.
Memories of the past flooded in his mind as he remembered all those short but sweet little moments they spent being together, his first word, his first friend… All of them, it was him, it was HIM, but he just don't understand, about the princess he met last time…
"You must be wondering why I dressed as a girl last time right?" Feliciano asked, as if he knew what was in Ludwig's mind. "After my father had died and everything had settled down, Antonio made me and my brother to cross dress as girls in order to protect us. He said that we're a pair of very special twins, known as half-blood and it was also rumoured that the late king of Main Hetalia hated us and was setting off to kill us like how he did to one of our brother Francis."
"Then why didn't you tell me before hand?"
Feliciano smiled a forced smile before he continued, "Antonio actually kept the reality away from us, so that we won't simply spill it all out, to keep us safe. When he realized I had feelings for you, he decided to leave back home because he don't want to risk our identity being revealed and gotten in danger." He smiled a little thinking about how oddly protective his half-brother Antonio could be.
"Is that because your friends ended up rejecting you because you're a girl?" Ludwig asked, concerned. Feliciano just shrugged his shoulder and continued, "Can't blame them. Antonio has been protective of us since our father died and he wanted to keep us away from the public as much as possible."
"Your father?" Ludwig asked questioningly, this boy also lost his father at a young age. It was really surprising that he can still be laughing and remained cheerful all over the place.
"The late High Prince of Southeast Kingdom, King Roman Alfonso Carriedo. Though my last name follow my mother, he gave me the name as Feliciano Augustus Bonnefoy, just like my half-brother Francis." Feliciano told him. "Antonio told us that father was good friends with High Prince Germania from the West Kingdom and he's a very good fighter. He also said to let me handle in trades and culture of the kingdom when I grew up because of the artistic talent I inherited from him." He added.
"It's a sad thing that you don't get to spend much time with him." Ludwig commented.
"Ve, he might never be part of my life or I may not have much memories about him. But I knew he was alive, somewhere very far away watching us, just like how he will live forever in my heart." Feliciano said brightly. "What about your father?" He suddenly asked Ludwig.
"My father is High Prince Germania, your father's friend died when I was young, like yours." Ludwig replied. "At first, when my brother told me, I refused to accept it but that's when I met you and you comfort me." He smiled a small smile at Feliciano. "And I realized that there's still someone for me, even when my father had died. And I will shower the person I love with endless happiness, even if it means getting drunk and fight like my father with High Prince Roman."
"Hehe," Feliciano giggled a little, "Aren't we just like our fathers, ve?"
"I guess so." Ludwig said in humour.
"So Luddy," Feliciano called Ludwig by his nickname as he looked up at him with shiny auburn eyes, "Will you still be Feli's friend?"
Ludwig could feel his heart increase in beat as he felt Feli closed their distance and watched him with brown eyes full of expectation. Gently, he cupped Feli's face in both his hands and said, "We're… more than friends now, Feli." With that, the two shared their first kiss under the moon, the flower ring that now rests on Feli's head seemed to glow under the moonlight, especially that beautiful cereus. "Just… Please don't leave me again." Feliciano gave him a reassuring hug and smiled a dazzling smile at him, "I won't, I promise. We can be together now."
They hugged and kissed for a moment when they suddenly realised something. "Ve, w-what time is it?" Feliciano asked as he suddenly jumped from Ludwig's grasp. There's no way for them to tell the time but they knew instantly that it was late, very late. "We have to go back."
"Ja, let me walk you back." Ludwig offered. He wanted to let Feliciano moved ahead first but Feliciano suddenly stood still. "Feli, what's wrong?" Ludwig asked.
"Ve, Luddy, my shoelace has loosen…"
And came the third and last day of the masquerade ball. Ludwig watched as his brother attempted to calm his 'lover' with amusement. A pair of arms suddenly circled him from behind. "Feliciano." He said softly, recognizing the shorter man immediately.
"Ve Luddy, how have you been feeling?" Feliciano chirped happily.
"Fine… I guess." Ludwig said. He then turned around to face Feliciano and bowed. "It's the last day of the party. Would you have this dance with me?"
"Of course I would dance with my Luddy." Feliciano smiled, his eyes shone with happiness behind the mask. "After all, this may be the last day of the dance but our love has just begun." He accepted Ludwig's offer and Ludwig spun him into the dance floor.
"Ludwig," Feliciano asked when they were in the midst of the dance. "Ja?" Ludwig raised a questioning brow. "W-Will you s-still be my friend even i-if we are in love?"
"Of course I will." Ludwig said without hesitation. "Because I know you, like a once upon a time."
xXx
I hate writer's block, I hate university assignment, I hate friends that talk too much but most of all I hate my university nightmare. Yeah, it's the middle of the semester and practical, project, assignments, homework and tests are piling up into a heap. And I ended up having trouble writing my story here. Grrr…
And so here it is, a bonus chapter featuring GerIta fluff. It took quite the time for me to finish it. It was quite lengthy (and somewhat a blabbermouth too…). GerIta is not quite my favourite pairing, but I found myself liking Gerpan instead. No offense, GerIta fans, and the story may not be good or nice to read, just hope you like and enjoy reading it. I appreciate your attention and reviews very much.
If you remember from several chapters from before, Ludwig was actually produced when Germania got drunk and fucked up a certain lady, which may make Ludwig being quite strange as compared to other children. Feliciano is also Francis and Antonio's half-brother (same father with Francis but different mother, though their mother were sisters). And I had a hard time thinking about Roman, Feliciano and Lovino's middle name. I decided to go with their last name as Carriedo since Antonio is in line to the throne, that gives his name a larger role. Hope you all are satisfied with it.
The title is based on Memories of Hetalia: We're Friends, right? composed by HeroicPlight and the story idea basically came from Sleeping Beauty and the story of Pastaaddict.
Next chapter we might continue a bit with the storyline. What will be Ivan's reaction when Alfred told him his love? There will also feature some other side story like Spamano and LietBel coming soon. So please stay tune.
Aiciel: Thank you for the critics you voices from the story. Truly speaking, I didn't manage to write the second attack well and detailed enough, especially the characters' emotion during the attack. And about Yao and Ivan's relationship. Yes, Ivan did indeed made a forced relationship with Yao because he believed that sex is a method of expressing love (from what he learned from Arthur and Francis' relationship and his 'yandere' behaviour and he's still young at age). Yao practically agreed to be in a relationship with Ivan just to satisfy Ivan for the time being. He loves Ivan but knew that he can never be with him and someday Ivan will find someone whom he truly loves. Next, about Kiku's relation with his brother, Yao. Kiku did love his brother and is also sadden when he knew that his brother was dead but he just choose not to show his emotion in front of people (Japan has good ability in hiding his emotions and is also more mature) and cared for Alfred instead because Alfred was the other one closest to him besides his brother. And a servant is not allow to show any emotional outbreak or throw tantrums in front of people, not only it will cause them trouble but bad impression to their master too, so that explains why he never behave like Alfred does. And yes, I also sucks at writing Gilbert trying to comfort Ivan. He's actually trying to convince Ivan about the truth but Ivan was too deep in his sorrow to actually listen to him. And the tragedy is not Gilbert's dream sequence, it's actually Natalia's dream, Gilbert just do what he thinks he should do to protect the ones he truly love but somethings still goes out of control and ended up depressing Ivan. Don't worry about that, there's still another chance where Gilbert can finally prove his feelings for Ivan and make Ivan realized that he had his own happy ending. So please be patient while I make progress. I'm glad that enjoy the overall story, the plot will be rising again soon.
Everlasting-luv: Thank you for reading and liking this story. This is not any of a new chapter but I hope you will like reading the romantic moments between Feliciano and Ludwig.