One Last Fairytale: Something That I Want

The next day after the ball, Ivan notices Alfred walking down the hallway to the dining area while humming to himself. For some reason, Alfred seemed to be in a good mood today, from how he behaved today. That could mean two things, either he just literally enjoyed the ball or it can be more than that. He was about to follow Alfred to the dining room when he felt someone tugged at his arms.

"Sup' dude, have an awesome dream last night?" The High Prince of the Western Kingdom greeted him while showing his trademark grin, crimson eyes gleaming and beaming at him.

"Sorry, but I don't want to talk to you right now." Ivan huffed and tried to swath him away. This caused the grin to fade away instantly from the albino's face.

"I'm worried about you!" The Western prince yelled back. "You have been drinking the whole night that I thought you'd have a hangover!"

"I don't need your pity." The younger of the prince replied coldly, "I have taken up that habit quite a long time ago." Gilbert, however, do not look convinced.

"Even if you had taken it for a long time and you had gotten used to it, it was still not good for you." Gilbert rambled on like a worried mother hen. "I know how you feel and I understand the all the difficulties you have been through, but it's not good to just keep mourning the past. You are just wasting your life."

Ivan shot him a dark and cold gaze, that creepy aura began radiating from him. "There's nothing else for me in my life, what could I expect?" He questioned the High Prince, sending chills down his spine. "I'm only living for the sake of Alfred. Once all this is over, I might reach the end of my life's journey."

"T-That's not true!" Gilbert said, even though his voice was quivering. "There's always something else for you. You just haven't seen it."

The elder prince of Main Hetalia ignored what he said and walked past him down the endless hallway. "You will never truly understand at all." His cold voice tone echoed in the hallway, "The pain of losing someone you treasure the most has left a scar that can never be erased no matter what."

Gilbert just watched the prince lonesome figure disappeared in the hallway. Somehow, he just wished that he could alleviate the pain of the scar that had inflicted on Ivan. Or is it Ivan has still yet to realise his feelings? He can never tell…

Meanwhile…

Alfred stepped into the dining hall, his clothes straight and his posture full of confident. His father was already inside the room waiting for him. They seemed to have noticed something was off seeing their son was behaving a bit off usual, but decided to speak about that later.

"Good mornin', papa, dad." The prince greeted them heartily and took his seat opposite to them as the servant brought in the food to be served.

"It's good morning, you must say your word properly." The usual scowl appeared again on Arthur's face as he grumbled on. Francis had a little mischievous smile on his face as he said, "My, you seemed to be on a good mood, mon fils." Arthur's mood, however, did not lighten at what his husband said at all. "Putting that aside, I need to have a serious talk with you." Alfred gulped at the stern tone in his father's voice, making Arthur angry is the worst thing to happen on the list. "D-Dad, I-I can explain…" Alfred stuttered, but Arthur just cut it off.

"Enough of all that stupid explanation you have, this is something serious!" Arthur silenced him and continued rambled on, "You have been absent from the ball every night when we are supposed to bid the guests goodnight. Just where have you been? Are you up to some sneaky things again?"

"I-It's not like that." Alfred said, trying to keep his stance. "I-I had found someone I l-like, I just went off to spend some private time with him until I realised that I-I missed everything." He tried to make up with a proper explanation.

"And? Is that it?" Arthur questioned back, raising his eyebrows while crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You know how people would imagine you to be, leaving the ballroom in the midst of the party and then not there to greet the guests. People won't be happy if you don't behave properly."

"Oh cheri, cut it off. Doesn't the way he behaves is just like our first time?" Francis cut Arthur off as he teased in a mischievous way. For once, Alfred swore that he saw a tinge of blush coloured his father's face as he tried hard to hide it.

"Oh shut it up, you bloody frog. That was a long time ago and we do it not just because of love, it's because someone is trying to stop us." Arthur shot Francis a glare before he turned back to Alfred. "But you," he said motioning at Alfred, "You behaved far worse than me when I was young."

"But because you force me into marriage and I don't like it." Alfred whined. "We didn't force you to marry but you're supposed to find your future spouse in the ball. And yet, on that last night in the ball, not only you're not present, the counsel are also furious that you didn't find yourself a spouse for the future." Arthur rambled on, which makes Alfred felt wronged.

"I didn't mean to be absent and I'm sorry. But do I really have to get married soon?" Alfred asked, his voice appeared to be pleading for sympathy.

"It's tradition that the Crown Princes has to find himself a future spouse and get married when he was eighteen and before nineteen." Francis informed Alfred like he read it from a book, his mischievous voice no more but seriousness. "We're worried that if you don't find a spouse sooner, it will give you a bad impression for the counsel and citizen, thinking that you are a person with no love." Arthur added on, "And in order to prevent that from happening, we will have to pick a future spouse to marry you. In other words, an arranged marriage, but surely you don't want it, do you?"

"Of course I won't. You all had told me, marriage out of political reason bring no happiness at all." Sky blue eyes shimmered with determination as he struggled to prove himself. "And a marriage can never be completed if there's no love and happiness in it."

Both High Kings nodded their head in agreement. "I believe you had the right to pursue that happiness if you really want it." Francis stated. "You should try to find yourself a spouse and introduce to us before time ran out, or you'll ended up in an arranged marriage."

"B-But, I had already found someone I like!" Alfred announced aloud, cutting his father's voice. Arthur and Francis stopped their sentences halfway upon hearing Alfred's revelation. "I met him in the ball a-and… We fall in love…"

"Excuse me?" Arthur blinked his eyes in disbelief, but hope has begun to tug in his heart.

"I-I said that I had finally found the right person I want to marry." Alfred said it, clearly this time. "That's why I spent too much time with him during the night and ended up forgetting to bid the guest."

"My, my, now you sounded like a love sick boy, Alfred." Francis teased as he winked. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Putting that aside, who is that person? We need to meet this whoever it is to approve whether he or she is suited enough to have your hand in marriage." Arthur questioned on but Alfred put it on a suspense. "When the right time comes, you will know." Arthur and Francis don't seemed to be happy at Alfred's answer, but they don't want to force him to tell them so all they can do now is just be patient and wait for the right time.

Kiku was at outdoor helping Natalia doing some chores when he witnessed Alfred practicing swordsmanship with his brother Ivan. It was a good weather today and Kiku was glad that Natalia had chosen to stay in Main Hetalia for a good two weeks just because she wants to spend some time with her father. He too, was happy with this decision, he missed being in Main Hetalia and he could get together with Alfred as well.

Kiku continued on with his chores as he hanged the garments and clothing on the hanging wire. That was when the wind blew and send one of the cloth flying in the air. Kiku quickly chased after it and found it landed not too far away from where Alfred was practicing. He was about to bend down and pick it up but his back ached that he tried to bear a little longer while trying to pick up the cloth.

"Hey, you okay?" But before he can reach the cloth, he felt a pair of strong arms pick him up. He turned towards the voice to notice that it was Alfred. "M-Master A-Alfred?" He stuttered and blushed in shyness.

"Kiku, are you alright?" Alfred asked and Kiku just nodded. The prince then helped him picked up the fallen cloth and handed it back to him. Kiku gratefully thanked him while Alfred gave him a smug and a grin before they returned back to their own chores.

After finishing hanging the clothes, Kiku sat from a corner admiring Alfred practiced fighting with Ivan. It's not that he's slacking off but he just wants to see Alfred. Alfred noticed him when he was in the middle of a duel and waved at to him. In the sunlight, the sweat appeared to have glistened, showing the muscles he had developed from past years of training. Somehow, Kiku was a bit jealous. Alfred continued on his training but would occasionally turned back to look back at Kiku, until Ivan stabbed him lightly on the arm when he wasn't paying attention. This made Kiku skipped his heart a bit. He wanted to rush and help Alfred but out of all times, Natalia called out for him. Having no other choices, he went off to tend to Natalia instead.

It can't be… This can't be happening, right? Ivan tried to convince himself that this was just an illusion, but seeing how Alfred behaved towards that servant boy told him something was beyond his imagination. Why Alfred choose him out of all people?

The moment when he saw a servant trying to get the cloth that was being carried by the wind. Alfred immediately went up to help him. Ivan knew his eyes weren't lying because he saw Alfred's hand went to help up the boy and picked up the clothing for him. And what makes Ivan furious was that Alfred was making that silly smile at him! Just what he'd think he's doing?!

Both princes parried side-by-side as if they are really engaged in a swordfight. Ivan noticed Alfred's eyes would dart off elsewhere and his gaze would softened a second before returning to his fierce fighting stance. They continued on their duel for several rounds. That was when Ivan noticed the familiar servant standing at a corner watching them battle. So that was what Alfred's attention is on! He gritted his teeth in anger, he won't allow this to happen, not on Alfred! By anger, he accidentally struck Alfred on the arm when Alfred's attention diverted to that servant whom he no longer remembers the name.

"Urg…" Alfred winced a bit in pain as blood seeped out from the cut. Ivan quickly went up to help him before lecturing him. "You're not paying attention again."

"Sorry…" Alfred said softly before standing up. "I guess I will have to retire for today." Ivan nodded his head in understanding and Alfred took his leave. Turning around, Ivan's mask began to fade away and covered in a dark aura. He's not going to let Alfred suffer the same thing as he did.

Later that night after dinner, Alfred had a secret meeting with Kiku in the garden's secret spot. The moment when Alfred arrived, Kiku fumbled over the wound Alfred had during his training.

"I'm fine, Kiku, just a scrape." Alfred smiled trying to reassure him. The servant, not convinced, rolled up his sleeves and inspect the red gash that spread over the prince's arm. It didn't look bad but Kiku knew better.

"The wound would have spread if you didn't take proper care on it." Kiku said as he used a bandage and some disinfectant he brought along to help Alfred bandage the cut. Alfred just smiled dreamily as he let Kiku helped him with the bandage.

"Why are you making that face?" Kiku asked the moment he noticed Alfred's expression. Alfred snapped out from his trance and went to cup Kiku's face in his hands. "It's nothing. I'm just happy being together with you and you really looked beautiful." Kiku blushed slightly as he let Alfred kissed him in the face.

"Alfred, I know we love each other, but are you really going to choose me as your spouse?" Kiku asked after Alfred let go of him. "I'm sure that there's someone else better than me and more suitable for you." The servant fiddled with his clothes, thinking about Alfred how Alfred leaving him made him sad.

In response, Alfred reached out his hand and entwined his fingers with Kiku's. "Then tell me, will you be happy when I married someone else?" He asked, Kiku didn't said anything but shook his head. "The same is for me. How can I be happy when I married someone else but you?" Alfred said as he gazed into the night sky. "You're already perfect for me. There's no one else as good as you. I like you more than anyone, your voice, your looks and all you have."

Kiku remained silent for a while as he allowed himself to sink into the strong arms of Alfred, his prince. "What if someday my voice changed, or I do not look beautiful anymore, or I had changed completely, will you still love me?"

Gently, Alfred reached out for his hand and used his other free hand to point at the sky. "Like the stars, no matter how far they're apart, or what happen to them, they are always together." He said before enveloping Kiku into his arms. "You are my one and only person I love and I will cherish you until the end of my life."

From his chambers, Ivan clearly sees everything unfold in his own eyes. He saw Alfred and Kiku embraced each other in the garden, and how Kiku helped Alfred on bandaging his wounds. The scene of Alfred and Kiku kissing each other is the last straw to him. He couldn't take it anymore. He is not going to let Alfred go in deeper, or else he will just ended up like him.

"Ivan, what's wrong with you?" Gilbert, who was also at his chamber noticed something was wrong with Ivan and asked in concern.

"It's no of your concern." Ivan said coolly, trying to conceal his expression but Gilbert knew more.

"That look in your face tells me you want to kill somebody." Gilbert sighed and closed the book he's reading.

"And you have good eye." Ivan said, his tone a hint of mocking.

"C'mon, what's wrong with Alfred's love? He doesn't seem to be any problem, though he was just a servant but Arthur and Francis weren't like Arthur's psychotic father, surely they will approve Alfred's choice." Gilbert tried to reason to him.

Ivan shot him a glare as the pair of furious purple eyes ordered him to silence. "It's because of that servant, I was worried that Alfred will ended up having the same fade like me."

Gilbert sighed and shook his head in disapprove. "Are you still thinking about Yao?"

"It's because I failed to protect Yao, he died." Ivan said bitterly. "If the same thing ended up on Kiku, Alfred will be sad and broken again."

"It isn't your fault that Yao died." Gilbert said, "It was just a bit of a… coincidence and by fate's decision that took him away. But Kiku and Yao are of different person, you can't say that Kiku will ended up in the same fate as Yao does." The white haired prince walked to the window and see Alfred and Kiku shared their lovey-dovey relationship in the garden. "I don't see what's wrong with them being together, so long as Alfred's happy, that's fine for me."

"He is happy, but only for now." Ivan, however, was not happy at the thought of it. "When the time comes and Kiku left him, he will ended up in sorrow and grief. Kiku took them away from him."

"How can you said that?" Gilbert questioned back. "Isn't it obvious to you that the two of them love each other to the depth of their heart? Their love is just like your love between you and Yao." At the mention of Yao, a scowl began to form on Ivan's brow and Gilbert immediately remembered that Ivan won't be happy if he mentioned about Yao. For a safety measure, he decided to flee the scene instead. "Uh… I-I am just telling you w-what I know, all I just hope is that you find someone you can love just like how you love Yao…" The Western High Prince laughed nervously before leaving the room. Ivan watched as Gilbert left the room before he whipped his head back to the window, mumbling to himself, "There's only one person I could love in my life, and that person is gone forever."

The next during breakfast, Arthur and Francis tried to make Alfred spill out the chosen one but Alfred would shut his mouth whenever they brought up the topic. The truth is, Alfred felt that he wasn't ready to tell anyone about his love to Kiku. He knew that his fathers were fine with him marrying a commoner but how would the public viewed about this? There are so many uncertainties laid before him that he doesn't know what he should do.

Thanks to the wound Ivan inflicted yesterday, he had an excuse to skip his training. The prince mopping around the hallway aimlessly. Speaking which, he wondered what Kiku was doing right now. With that in mind, Alfred ran off to the servant quarter in hope that Kiku was his room. It wasn't much of a problem finding the man's room since he had escorted him back to his room last night. And he was glad that Arthur did not questioned why didn't he wear his outer coat just now during breakfast and only he knew the answer.

There was not much servant at their quarter during this moment, probably they had went off to their chores and work. Alfred managed to find Kiku's room in no time and gently knocked on it but there was no response. Alfred's heart sank a bit. Perhaps Kiku had work to do at the moment, Alfred thought to himself. If that's the case then where would he be?

The prince once again walked out of the servant quarters and out to the castle garden. Ivan was practicing swords fighting with Gilbert today. But the moment when Ivan caught Alfred standing aside, he stopped abruptly. "Alfred, I thought you don't need to practice today." Ivan said, a smile plastered on his face. Gilbert darted an eye at the platinum blond prince but said nothing.

"I just came here to find Kiku." Alfred said.

"Kiku?" Ivan raised his eyebrow, feigning a tone of surprise in his voice. "Isn't that the servant who follows you when you're young? But I thought he has left a long time ago."

Alfred didn't seemed to register the hint of anger in Ivan's voice as he continued telling the whole story Ivan had knew for quite a while. "He left but he return again and he attended the ball as well. And that's how we fall in love."

Upon hearing Alfred mentioning the last sentences, Gilbert could see Ivan's brow furrowed a bit before returning back to normal. He decided to try to lift the atmosphere a bit. "That sounds awesome, Alfred. If you had already found the person you like, why didn't you tell King Arthur or King Francis about it?"

A silly laugh escaped the prince throat as he fiddled with his clothing for a while. "I-I want to tell them… B-But I was just thinking how…"

A snort escaped Ivan's as Gilbert noted how he relaxed a bit when Alfred told them his difficulty. The taller of the prince turned and looked at Gilbert, those deep violet orbs seemed to be pleading for some private space for them to talk. Gilbert just nodded in understanding before he left the scene.

"What's so hard about telling Arthur and Francis about your choice of spouse?" Ivan asked the moment Gilbert left.

"Well… How should I say that?" Alfred thought for a while before replying. "It's not that I was worried that they won't accept Kiku as my spouse but I'm just not ready to do so." Alfred mumbled, "Everything happened so fast. Once I get married, my life will change. And I wonder, is this the right thing to do?"

The two of them walked in the garden and went to sit under a shady tree. "It shouldn't be that bad. If you think it's alright to you then you have to do it." Ivan told him. "It's up to you to decide it."

"I understand that thing…" Alfred mumbled. "But is it really alright to choose Kiku?" He questioned himself.

A malicious glint suddenly appeared in Ivan's eyes as he plotted a way to separate them. "Perhaps you should reconsider your choice of spouse." He said darkly.

"Wh… What is it?" Alfred looked back at him confused.

"I understand that you look Kiku. But sadly, I don't think he's suitable to be your spouse." Ivan told him.

"B-But why? Didn't you understand? About the love story between and prince and his beautiful servant girl, you know that story and you understand. But why you won't allow me to marry Kiku?"

"Alfred, think about it." Ivan snapped back at him. "Even though I understand your feelings for him is strong, and even I understand your relationship with Kiku is just like the fairytale I told you, it will not happened as you expected to be."

"B-But you want me to continue in believing them…" Alfred stuttered, tears at the corner of his eyes.

"Alfred, I am not the one who has the last say on this. It's Arthur and Francis that would decide your future. A mere servant like Kiku can never get their approval because of the status gap."

At this point, Alfred really began to weep. "That's not true! Papa and dad told me that they will still respect my choice even if I choose a commoner as my spouse. They know Kiku since the start, so they will understand."

Ivan, however, continued to crush the prince's hope. "Just how much you can trust their words? They just said it so that you can behave properly on the ball. Even though they know that Kiku is a servant, they can't accept him into the royal because of his bloodline."

"But I love Kiku, how can this thing be so unfair?"

"That was fate, Alfred. If you truly love Kiku, then you have to give up him and let him go."

"As if I will do that?!" Alfred spat in disgust.

"Then what will you get if you insist on marrying Kiku?" Ivan questioned back. "The nobilities will make fun of him and shunned him away. Until the end, he will receive ill-treatment from the nobility because he was not accepted into the family. Do you want to let Kiku suffer like that?"

Believing in what Ivan said, Alfred slowly let reality sunk in. "Is that thing really the truth?" He asked shakily. Ivan smiled bitterly and nodded his head, "I'm sorry, Alfred. There's nothing I can help you. If you really want Kiku to be happy, then you have to let him go."

"As if I will do that!" Alfred yelled and sprinted off back into the castle. Ivan watched him left with tears. He didn't meant to let Alfred cried, but he just had to. He just don't want to see Alfred shed even more tears in the future.

Alfred returned back to his own room and slammed the door shut. He curled himself on bed while weeping onto his pillow. He was a prince, a crown prince god damn it and it wasn't regal to cry! Ivan's words may be right, what if Kiku was not well-accepted in the society? What if something bad happened to Kiku? He had to give up Kiku if he really wants Kiku to be happy, but will he be happy, will Kiku be happy too? How should he explained to Kiku? It was just all too much to handle.

Alfred found himself walking in the meadow. The grass was green and tall and almost engulf half of him, reaching his thighs. From a distance away, he saw a young man almost at his age, with spiky blond hair and thick eyebrows, his irises were as green as the grasses. "Dad?" He recognized him, is that Arthur when he was young? The young Arthur ran forward and reached out the hand of another young man. To Alfred, that man was just like his papa! "I missed you." The two embraced each other as if they are afraid to lose each other before planting a kiss on each other's cheeks. Holding their hand together, they continued to walk and fade into the distance.

She's a princess who search for her own happiness

He's a commoner prince of his own intention

She looked out the window

He walked out the door

But she followed him and he said

'Watcha lookin' for?'

Alfred was about to follow them when he noticed something else. He saw Ivan and Yao holding hands together and the white hair boy whom he recognized as Gilbert was following them from behind. At some point, Yao stopped in his tracks and turned back to face Ivan. "It's time we part, aru." Yao said, Ivan was reluctant. "You're leaving already?" Yao gave him a sad smile before giving him a kiss and ran off into the horizon and disappeared. Ivan ran towards the direction where he disappeared in hope to find Yao, Gilbert hot on his heels behind.

There was a gush of wind as someone ran past Alfred. Alfred looked around to see the familiar figure of his twin brother, Matthew. "M-Mattie?" He blinked his eyes in disbelief. Matthew turned around and smiled at him before he continued running. "W-Wait, where are you going?" Alfred panted as he began to chase after him. Matthew stopped again and turned back at him, "T-This is a goodbye, brother…" Alfred was puzzled, "N-No, don't leave me, Mattie. We're great brothers, and we are born together so we must die together." Matthew shook his head. "P-Please live on, Al. Stay alive for me, and papa and daddy and Kiku and Natalia… All of them." Alfred reached out his hand in hope to grab him, "No, Mattie! Don't go!" But Matthew slowly vanished in the thin air.

Alfred was left standing still on where he was, Ivan continued running with Gilbert chasing him. He vaguely saw Kiku running to his side but Natalia soon took him away. Gilbert who was chasing Ivan also stopped in his tracks and turned another route. He was left alone in the middle of nowhere.

He's been living in a pure illusion

She's gonna come to her own conclusion

Right when you think you know what to say

Someone comes along

And shows you a brand new way

Alfred was lost and he began to weep while having no idea which way should he take. Just then, he saw the figure of Matthew standing next to him. "You're not alone in this…" His voice barely above a whisper but Alfred seemed to hear it. "There's always someone there for you when you need them. You must cherish and treasure them while they are still in your life…" And from afar, he saw Kiku running towards him with tears visible on his eyes. "You have already hurt him… Just remember not to do it again."

She said I want something that I want

Something that I tell myself I need

Something that I want

And I need everything I see

Something that I want

Something that I tell myself I need

Something that I want

And I need everything I see, yeah...

"Kiku!" Alfred yelled, calling out for Kiku's name, only to find himself lying on his bed. Everything just now… It was a dream? But why is it so real? He then remembered that his father told him that member of royal blood can have prophetic dream, could it be trying to tell him something?

You have already hurt him already… Just remember not to do it again. Matthew's words from his dream echoed again. He had made up his mind, he has once shunned Kiku away and that didn't make the poor servant boy happy at all. And this time he has to give him up again, that will be repeating the same thing again and will broke the boy's heart even more. No, he's not going to let Kiku get hurt again! He, Alfred Antonio Bonnefoy will be his hero and protect him from all troubles no matter what.

"Alfred, Alfred, are you in there?" There's someone banging at his door at the moment. Alfred stood up and dusted his clothes before running up to answer the door. He was surprised to see Natalia standing by the door. When was the last time he saw her this close?

"N-Natalia, or should I address you High Princess Natalia?" Alfred bowed politely as what his etiquette taught him.

"Natalia is enough for now." The High Princess said coolly, though there's a hint of worried in her tone. "I just came here to ask if you saw Kiku." The princess inquired.

"O-Oh, Kiku? I-I was looking for him as well…" Alfred stuttered. Speaking of which, he did not see that servant boy at all, almost the whole day. He was trying to convince himself that maybe Kiku is somewhere else in the castle doing his own work but he still can't help but worried about it. "Is there a matter?" Alfred asked Natalia out of concern.

"I can't find him." Natalia told him. "I went around searching for him just now, but he's nowhere to be seen."

Alfred felt his heart skipped a beat, does it means that Kiku is missing? I-It can't be! "Did you check his room?" He asked her.

"I had checked it a number of times!" Natalia replied, "I even checked other places where the servants worked."

Worried, Alfred pushed Natalia out of his way and began running towards the servant quarters. He found Kiku's room and knocked on it but there was no reply, again. Impatient, he went to twist the doorknob, surprise to find it unlocked. Both he and Natalia entered the room but found nothing unusual with the arrangement of his room.

"Where could he been?" Natalia pondered. Alfred searched around the room, feeling something sensual tingling him. He soon found himself staring into the cabinet. He didn't know why, but there's something pulling him. "Kiku, are you in there?" He asked as his shaky limb reached to open the closet.

Kiku was not in the closet, nothing seemed wrong with the arrangement in it. Alfred was about to close it when something caught his eyes. At one corner of the cabinet is his coat, he gave it to Kiku last night. He went to pick up the smooth, light fabric and examined it, only to notice a piece of note fluttering onto the ground. Natalia picked the note up and read it.

To my prince Alfred,

By the time when you read this note, I had left the castle. I'm sorry for not telling you but after some consideration I realised that it was a very ridiculous idea for a servant like me to marry someone of a nobility like you. There is no way that we could be together even though we wanted to.

I had left the castle and will never return again. You don't have to remember me, for a servant do not deserve anything to be remember, just forget about me. I hope you can find another person who is nice to you and can take care of you, you will be a great king, I know you will. A servant will not get in your way.

Yours faithfully

Kiku

"Wh-What is this all about? How can he be like this?" Alfred exclaimed in exasperation. Just when he realised how important Kiku was in his life, that servant boy vanished before he can even made a move.

"This is surely not like Kiku." Natalia said. "Even if he behaved like this, he won't run away from the castle. Something must have happened to him."

"This is my fault." Alfred blamed himself. "If only I arrived earlier, then he won't be gone." Natalia patted him gently on the shoulder. "It is not you to be blamed, Alfred. I'm sure someone must be trying to separate you and Kiku from being together. What matters now is that we have to find Kiku. He has nowhere to belong other than the castle. What if something bad happened to him?"

Then, it hit Alfred. He's not going to let Kiku be out there alone suffering all by himself. He swore to himself that he will be Kiku's hero no matter what, right? So he must do it, he would save Kiku!

"Natalia, stay here! I'm going out to find Kiku!" Before Natalia could even call out for him, Alfred rushed out of the room like a gust of wind. "They do love each other…" Natalia mumbled to herself as she saw Alfred running out of the castle.

It was already near sunset by the time Alfred left the castle gate. The crowd of people has begun to decrease in numbers, each returning to their home respectively. But he saw no sight of Kiku.

He then started searching around the back alley and deserted street. Ever since eleven years ago when his father shut down the castle door, it did not stopped Alfred from sneaking out for some adventure. During those times when he managed to escape out of the castle into the street, he had grown familiar with every single twist and turn in the street. Getting lost here is out of the problem but with the surrounding being so dark, it's hard to navigate in the street.

The prince ran into one of the alleys but only to face a dead end. He was about to search another alley when he heard muffled scream coming from elsewhere. He turned around and quickly headed towards where the scream came from, only to find himself running deeper into the labyrinth of alleyway.

"How can a man be so beautiful and small?" He heard someone saying. "It would be a waste if we just let him go without raping him." Worried, Alfred raced to the scene and saw Kiku being held by two big thugs while the petite man struggled in hope to free himself.

"What are you doing?! Let him go!" Alfred demanded. The thugs turned to face them and one of them walked up to him and glared at him in a threatening way.

"What 're yer doin' her'?" He questioned.

"I came to save him!" Alfred said, showing how brave he was. "He's mine, not yours! Give him back to me!"

The thugs smirked at him as they stood up tall and menacing. "That's too bad. But if you want him back, you have to defeat the two of us."

"Alfred…" Kiku murmured quietly as the thugs blocked his way of escape. "Just run… Don't care about me…" His weak tone is more than enough to break his heart.

Gritting his teeth, Alfred unsheathed his sword and began charging towards the thugs. The thugs tried to attack but with Alfred's inhuman strength, he easily swung them aside and wounded them. The thugs, knowing they are losing quickly fled from the scene.

"Kiku, are you alright?" Alfred quickly came up to the servant boy's side and inspect him. There was a bruise on his cheek and it tears Alfred's heart to see his beloved getting injured.

"A-Alfred… w-why are you here?" Kiku stammered, tears pooled in his dark brown eyes. "W-We are not supposed to be together…"

"Kiku, I don't care what people said about us. All I want is you at my side." Alfred gently cupped his face and wiped off the tears. "I have already lost you once, and I won't lose you again. I love you, Kiku. Please don't leave me again."

"Alfred… I love you too…" Kiku sobbed as he accepted Alfred's embrace, Alfred hugged him protectively, until Kiku suddenly flinched when Alfred touched the bruise on his face. Alfred grimaced a little at the bruise left on the boy's cheek. "Let's go back, shall we? You'll catch a cold here." He said quickly helping the boy up and they returned to the castle.

Alfred helped Kiku back into his room and began to nurse Kiku's bruise. "Kiku, who did this to you?" Alfred asked. From how the bruise look, it could have been there for hours, or maybe a day, those thugs couldn't have done it, have they?

Kiku fiddled with his clothes as he pondered for a while, but looking at Alfred's eye, he couldn't lied to him. "I-It's Prince Ivan…" He revealed.

"Brother Ivan?" Alfred exclaimed. "W-What did he do to you?" The prince noticed tears began to streak down the servant's face and he tried to wipe them off. "He… He told me… t-to stop getting a-along with you… H-He said… He said that King Arthur a-and… King Francis will never accept our marriage… s-so he wants me t-to… stay away f-from you…" He sobbed while relating what had happened.

Ivan… Ivan has been doing this? It confused Alfred. But what that matters is, no one is going to approve their relationship, not even Ivan whom he had trusted for a long time. But he just cannot bear to separate from Kiku, he don't want to lose him again. What should he do?

"Kiku, I heard it from Brother Ivan as well that papa and dad will not approve of our relationship because of the difference in our status." Alfred said as he sat next to Kiku, holding Kiku's hand in hope to comfort him.

Kiku held Alfred's hand in his as he whispered to him, "I think it's better that you just forget me and find yourself another future spouse. There's no way that we can be together." He sounded convincing, but Alfred didn't miss the slight hurt tone in his voice.

"But Kiku," Alfred said looking straight into his eyes. "Kiku, the person whom I loved is you and only you, don't you feel the same?" The servant boy nodded timidly in response. "There's no way I will give up on you. I promise that I will never hurt you again and I will love you and only you until the end of my life. No one can stop us." Alfred said, determination in his eyes.

"B-But what if they reject our engagement?" Kiku asked.

"Then we will show them what we can." Alfred said. "Like a fairytale, the lovers will always be together in the end no matter what. Their undying love for each other is the power for them to conquer everything. We can do that too."

The prince said I want something that I want

Something that I tell myself I need

Something that I want

And I need everything I see

Something that I want

Something that I tell myself I need

Something that I want

And I need everything 'cause

It's so easy to make believe

It seems you're the one that made my dream

Don't you see that you are all my world

My world that is you and you alone

My one and only beloved

"Then what are we going to do?" Kiku asked, uncertain. Alfred closed in their distance and whispered into the servant's ear, "Let's runaway…"

xXx

I'm sorry for not updating this story for almost 2 months. This chapter was supposed to be upload 2 days ago but I'm stuck with my writer's block and personal slacking off that delayed everything.

I have my semester break for a moment, so I would try to upload as fast as possible whenever I could. There are also some stories I'm trying to finish to submit for competition purpose.

For those who read my completed long story, The Prince and The Frog, I have a question to ask. Someone PM me suggesting I submit this story in a competition at Inkitt Fandom Writing Contest. Mind giving me some suggestion and helpful advice? I would appreciate it if someone was willing to help me to correct the story and grammar so that story is more completed.

This chapter is based on Rapunzel Tangled soundtrack, Something That I Want, though I changed the lyrics a little to suit our scenario. Ivan, you bad brother, telling Alfred so much lies. Oh no, now Alfred is planning to run away! What will happen to him and Kiku? Will Ivan finally accept their relationship? Review, and I will tell you in the next chapter.