One Last Fairytale: Love Hurts
Waking up in the morning was something Ivan hated. No matter how pleasant his dream seem to be, all changed the moment he returned back to reality to find himself laying alone on his cold bed.
He hated it. He hated the moment when he and Yao was forced apart and never to be seen again. He hated reality that was filled with nothing but pain and grief. He hated fairytales because they are nothing but pieces of shit and crap that only a mad man could dream of. But most of all, he hated the fairytale which was Alfred's favourite, the story of the prince and the beautiful servant girl. To him, it was a broken desire, a false hope that gave him nothing in the end. He convinced himself that he will never listen to fairtales again, but he just continued to drown himself in that endless, irretrievable desire of his.
"Ivan, are you in there?" He turned back to the source of the sound, the cause of his rude awakening. The banging has gotten louder. Heaving himself out of bed with a sigh, he'd rather ignored it and continued his sleep but knowing that he will be in big trouble if he did not do so. Groggily, he reached out to open the door and found both Arthur and Francis standing by the door.
"Ivan, is Alfred in your room?" Arthur asked, his voice bordering panicking.
Ivan just shook his head. "He hasn't come into my room since his eighteen birthday."
"Now zhat's strange." Francis mumbled, "Where could zhe boy be?"
"Is there something wrong?" Ivan asked them.
"Zhis nothing." Francis said, though Ivan could sense a hint of lie in his voice. "We're just looking for him. He didn't turned up for breakfast and we couldn't find him in his room."
After the kings left, Ivan quickly got himself dressed up and headed off to the dining room. There were two other occupants in the room, one being his sister, Natalia and the other is Gilbert. The two gave him a stare the moment he entered before returning back to their own meal. Ivan could sense a tense atmosphere but he just don't know how to question them so he just tried to ignore it and ate his platter.
As soon as he finished his platter, the platinum blonde haired prince headed off to the crown prince's room in hope to find him. His hope, however, was dashed the moment when he saw the state the room was.
Alfred's bed remained neat and tidy, which was probably the maid's doing. As he hung on to that glimmer of hope, he began searching and ransacking the room high and low but found no sight of his younger brother. The only thing he noted, was that some of Alfred's belongings were gone. It can't be… T-This can't be happening, right?
As Crown Prince Alfred remained nowhere to be seen, his worried parents quickly sent troops of soldiers and search teams to locate the prince. Ivan started to feel his nerves ticked off but for some reasons Natalia and Gilbert seemed unfazed by it, especially Natalia's expression was enough to send chills down his spine.
The day passed on and Crown Prince Alfred was yet to be found. This worried the castle occupants, especially his family. That night, as Ivan leaned by the windows in the chambers in hope to see Alfred's return. He didn't remember how long he has stayed awake when Gilbert suddenly entered the room and joined him.
"What are you doing here?" The taller prince asked in a cold tone.
"What else? I was worried about you, seeing how you behaved today." The albino prince snorted and sat not too far away from him.
"Speaking of which, where's that brother of yours?"
Gilbert shrugged his shoulders, wondering why his brother's matters concerned Ivan but decided to answer anyway, "He has found the person whom he loved, and that person invited him to stay at Southwest Kingdom for a while."
"I see…" Ivan smiled a bit at the replied, "Tell him he has my blessing."
Gilbert grimaced a bit. "And I will say thanks in West's place."
There was a tense silence between them. Ivan seemed to be lost in his own world, while Gilbert seemed to have something in his mind. That was until Gilbert broke the silent.
"Why do you give West the blessing?" Gilbert asked all of the sudden.
"Is it wrong to give people their wish since they had found someone they loved?"
"I don't see it wrong." The Western High Prince said. "But I think someone else needed it more than West does, like that brother of yours."
"You mean Alfred?" Ivan quirked an eyebrow at the statement. "Of course he will have my blessing, but he is yet to find his true love."
"How can you say that? Alfred has found his true love, but you refused to give him your wishes."
"Then how many times should I tell you about my reasons?" Ivan snapped, "I just don't want Alfred to suffer the same thing as I do."
"And you're just too stubborn to let go the past." Gilbert retorted back. "Are you expecting Kiku to end up on the same fate as Yao does?"
"Whatever you say, he's a servant boy, just like Yao. Alfred may be happy being together with him but when he left, Alfred will end up being broken just like me. I don't want to see him broken like that."
"You had already broken him. You tried to separate him and Kiku." Gilbert snapped. "Why don't you just tell him the truth rather than trying to conceal it? I understand both Arthur and Francis and they are more than willing to accept Alfred's choice seeing that Kiku isn't much of a problem but you're trying to stir up trouble for them."
"Why don't you tell me what should I do if Kiku died suddenly? How am I going to talk to Alfred?"
"Ivan, snapped the fuck out of it! I believe that Kiku will not die. Even if you tell Alfred this piece of shit, he will not stop loving Kiku because he has already made up with his decision. Do you think he will still be happy when you forced them apart?"
"And the same thing here too. Do you think I really wish Yao to die? It was me myself that caused all this to happen, I would have die together with Yao if it wasn't because Alfred need me."
"Shut the fuck up, Ivan! It's no one's fault Yao's dead and of course I understand your feelings for Yao, but don't you think it's a bit harsh if you think that way?"
"That's because I had lost everything in my life, even the love of my life." Ivan said sombrely. "I had nothing else in this life other than waiting for my death."
"That's not right. How did you convinced Alfred to keep on living even after his brother's death? Why can't you think the same way as Alfred's does and move on? There are so many things you missed during those times."
"I don't care anymore!"
"Ivan, don't you realise that that attitude of yours has caused Alfred to run away." Gilbert tried to explain. "I know you don't want Alfred to suffer but what you had done is wrong. I mean, come on, that's not unawesome to tell him something like that. There're still other better ways and options to handle it."
But the words do not seem to register in Ivan's mind as he began to throw his tantrums again. "Alfred is my brother and it's none of your business to care about my family matter. I will find him by myself!" As he said so, he began dragging Gilbert out of the room. Gilbert tried to fight back but the younger prince was stronger than him. "There's no need for your help in this matter." Ivan snarled at him before slamming his door shut at the albino prince.
Sad crimson eyes looked at the locked door as he got up from the floor. "Ivan, just when will you finally see the truth and move on? You're just hurting yourself even further…" The High Prince mumbled sadly before leaving the place.
Ivan don't remember when he fell asleep in the midst of his watch. But he remembered vividly every single images in his dream.
Lights, colours and masks that concealed everyone's face from being recognized danced all over the hall. Ivan found himself standing in the middle of it. He tried to get away from the crowd but a certain red-eyed albino prince was pestering him up and down all over the place.
"C'mon there, Ivan. It's been a while since we last saw each other, shouldn't we enjoy each other company for a while?" The Western High Prince chuckled as he cracked a joke.
"I would like to, but you're just too annoying." Ivan grumbled. "I need a break for a moment."
"Aww, but I'm just trying to catch up the lost time." Gilbert said as the two made their way out of the dance hall.
Ivan had the nerve to ignore him at the moment as he intended to get himself drown for the night. That was when he caught sight of Alfred leading a petite, young man out from the crowd and leaving the hall.
"Don't tell me you're going to get yourself drown again, that's so not awesome." Gilbert complaint. "It's better you enjoy tonight…" Those words, however, fell deaf on Ivan's ear as he began following the crown prince out.
His curiosity had brought him to the garden where Alfred and that mysterious guest were currently enjoying their lovey-dovey moment. They seemed to be whispering to each other but Ivan cannot make out what they were saying. That was when he noticed Alfred reached out his hand and gently removed the person's mask, revealing a pair of dazzling brown eyes that glowed in the moonlight.
Ivan could feel his heart skipped a beat at the sight of that man. No, this can't be happening! But reality betrayed his wishes as he saw Alfred tenderly planted kisses all over the young man's face as he poses a question, "Will you marry me?"
And that was the last straw for Ivan. Unable to take on this any longer, he reached out for the nearest object next to him and flung it at the man that was currently in Alfred's embrace. The object flew and hit onto the person's back, causing him to scream in pain and blood seeped out from the spot where the object had landed.
Sorry Alfred, you deserve a better happiness than this… Ivan muttered to himself as he went to check on the dead body, only to notice that he was not in the garden but in the kitchen. What the hell had happened? Startled, Ivan looked into his hand only to see a bloody butcher knife in his hand, staining them a crimson red. Violet eyes trailed down onto the floor to find a bloody mess at his feet, but it was not that man's body, it was his beloved Yao broken body!
This can't be true! He remembered clearly that the person talking to Alfred was not Yao, it was him… What has happened and what was all this about?
Ivan was about to run away when he heard someone's timid voice. "Nii-san…" He turned around to see the servant boy's younger brother coming out of the cabinet and stared at the scene, his eyes clouded with shock and confusion.
"Ivan, what had you done?!" Someone yelled at the doorway. Panicked violet eyes turned to the source of the voice to see the silver-haired young prince standing by the doorway with Alfred next to him. "What are you thinking you're doing?" Gilbert questioned.
"You're getting it wrong. I-I was just…" The tall prince stuttered, trying to find his words of explanation.
At the same time, he moved towards them, causing Kiku who stood nearby to think he was trying to kill him and run towards the doorway where Alfred and Gilbert were standing.
"J-Just listen, p-please don't get me wrong…" Ivan pleaded, Gilbert quirked a suspicious eye at him. "I was j-just trying t-to…" As he moved closer to them, he didn't realised the knife he was still holding in his hand pierced Alfred's as the young crown prince tried to protect Kiku. Ivan could only watched helplessly as Alfred's body became numb and rolled onto the ground with a thud.
Ivan gasped in horror at the realisation at what he had done. Kiku just watched with teary eyes as he backed even further. The taller of the princes turned to the shorter one as if he was begging for mercy and forgiveness but the later crimson eyes were soon filled with anger and hatred as he accused him.
"Crown Prince Ivan of Main Hetalia had murdered his own brother!" That sentence rang loudly in his ears and the hallway as he felt his world began to spin and his conscience slipped off.
The next thing Ivan remembered was sitting up on his bed with sweat and tears marked all over his face. A shaky hand rose to touch his face. Those scenes, how long has he saw such thing happen? Yet, it remained so vivid in his mind that would haunt him.
After having a quick breakfast, Ivan headed off to the garden where he would be having training lessons together with Gilbert. As he walked down the stone pavement, he caught sight of his sister Natalia doing laundry at not too far away. That was really odd, why would a high princess be doing something that was supposed to be a servant's job.
"Natalia, why are you doing house chore instead of a servant?" Ivan closed their distance and questioned Natalia. The Northern ruler met his gaze and glared a frightening glare which caused her older brother to back away a bit.
"It's because there's no other servants at the moment and Kiku is gone." Natalia hissed under her breath as she picked up a linen to be hung. Ivan volunteered and went up to help her.
Speaking about Kiku, Ivan had not seen that servant boy the same time when Alfred had gone missing. But he do remembered that he was the one who chased Kiku out of the castle in hope that Alfred will give up his relationship with him. But does his words really changed Alfred's mind? Knowing Alfred's personality, he could have… No, he can't let that thing happen!
"Anyway, I though you should be going out to search for Alfred. Who knows what will happen to him if he was all alone at outside." Natalia said, a signature scowl on her face as she carried the laundry basket preparing to leave. "Something was bothering him. But he wouldn't bow no matter what stand in his way and was determined to get what he want, it was why he ran away with that behaviour of his."
Wait a minute, if Natalia can be so calm about this, could it be that she might know something about Alfred whereabouts. Quickly, he reached out to grab one of Natalia's arm, causing the said princess to turn around and scowled at him.
"Natalia, do you know where Alfred is?" Ivan pleaded her. "Please tell me, I need to find him as soon as possible."
Natalia didn't uttered a single word as she released her arm from Ivan's grasp with certain strength no one did not expect for a lady. Well, she already was Ivan's weakness ever since she was just a baby. He was always intimidated by her unpredictable behaviour and cunning attitude, which was something befitting for a ruler. Yet, there was no reason for him to hate her as she was his sister, his only living family member. But their relationship has been severe and tense ever since then, they never even had a proper brother-sister talk before. Back then, when Natalia was growing under the wing of Francis and Arthur, he had been watching her silently all the time and was sad when he heard that she was going to return back to her kingdom where her throne lies but he was afraid to face and speak to her, which caused them to become quite distance.
"Will you tell Alfred the same thing? Or will you gladly accept his choice?" Natalia asked him as her cold blue eyes leered him.
"I don't care what will happen. All I just want is to make sure that Alfred will return back safe and sound." Ivan pleaded, tears visible in his purple eyes.
"If it wasn't because you're my brother, I wouldn't have care for your pleading." Natalia said with a sigh. She led Ivan through the hallway until they came across Natalia's room. Natalia went in to fetch a letter and handed it to him. "I don't know exactly where Alfred had been. But he told me that he will be running away until King Arthur and Francis approved his relationship with Kiku. Though I know more than he did, but seeing that he was so determined in finding his own happiness, I have to let him be."
Purple eyes stared at the piece of letter in his hand before reaching his shaky hands to unopen it. But all he could do was stared at the paper, his mind was unable to process the words scribbled in it. Natalia saw the confusion written across her brother's brow and politely asked, "If you will, may I read it for you?" All she got as a reply was a nod from her brother as he handed the letter to her.
Brother Ivan,
I have decided to run away and pursue my own happiness with the person I love. I can't stand seeing my happiness being destroy because I was forced to marry someone else I don't like, so I decided to do the only best option available to me.
You understand how I feel, right? After all, you are the only person who truly understand me, so you understand, right? You know I love Kiku, but we cannot be together because of our status. That's why I must run away, you understand that part right? Even though I believe that there's no such thing as fairytale in real life but you told me to believe in them because some day I will have an ending with a Happily Ever After no matter what happened. And so, I believe in them, because I want to be happy, so I have to run away, like the story of the prince and his beautiful servant girl which you always told me. It doesn't matter to me anymore if I had to give up my title as Crown Prince because I'm more than happy to live a normal life with someone I love rather than an arranged marriage, just like those stories papa would tell us about the prince and his beautiful princess running away and giving up their title to be together.
I won't be coming back, unless papa and dad approved my relationship with Kiku. You don't have to come and find me, perhaps you can help me convince papa and dad to accept our marriage only then I will come back. For now, I wish you luck. Farewell.
Alfred
For some reason, Ivan wanted to snatch the letter from Natalia's hand and ripped it but Natalia managed to hold him down. "And that's what Alfred has been trying to tell you." She said calmly. "But he don't know that the problem isn't about King Arthur and Francis, but is you yourself."
"Wh-What do you mean?" Ivan asked.
"I understood that you truly wanted Alfred to be happy but your over-protective behaviour will end up ruining his happiness." Natalia said. "Also, you have been lingering in the past for too long. It's time you should let it go and pursue your own happiness. You can't just keep on mourning over the past."
But there's no way I would love another person like how I love Yao… Ivan thought to himself. And what does Natalia meant by him ruining Alfred's future? Thousands of questions and uncertainty flooded in his mind.
"What do you mean with that? It's not like you know how I feel and I don't need someone that is younger than me to care about my business." Ivan said coldly as he tried to hide his surprised expression.
"Do you think I'm the type of person to care about other people business?" Natalia rolled her eyes at her brother. "If it wasn't because my brother is making a fool out of himself, if it wasn't because somebody is trying to destroy the happiness of my other siblings, it wouldn't have wasted my time on settling little problems like this." The High Princess said to her brother eye-to-eye. "You can't force a person to do what they don't want to do, it will hurt them and yourself."
He was about to ask Natalia a question but she suddenly excused herself, saying she still has business she needed to attend to. With that, she took her leave, leaving the letter and Ivan behind.
For some reason, Arthur and Francis weren't as frantic as yesterday regarding Alfred's disappearance. Ivan guessed that perhaps Natalia had said something that reassured them or maybe they knew that Alfred will be alright. But Ivan could care less about them at the moment as he was still worried about Alfred being outside.
The prince retreated back to his room, Natalia's words still ringing in his mind. Somehow, he felt ashamed that he was being advised by Natalia who was seven years younger than him. It bothered him, what was love? For Ivan, he can never find the real answer.
After a while, he decided not to bother about such trivial question and decided to do something to forget about it. His tongue came across the little scar Yao had once marked on it during their make-out. It still hasn't fade till now and it made him heartbroken whenever he thought about it. When was the last time he did that on bed covered in sweat and making the bedsheet sticky? When was the last time he actually held someone dear close to him? That feeling has been long gone and replaced by emptiness and despair.
The lone prince explored on the bookshelves where dust has accumulated after years of being untouched. He remembered these things, the books where he and Yao enjoyed reading together when they were just small kids. Strong, solid fingers trailed around and landed on one of the books as images began to flash before his eyes. Ah, those memories again… He thought to himself as he dusted away the books (Yao usually does that for him) and caressed them lovingly as if the person was there.
"What about this one?" Yao asked, removing a volume from the shelf and holding it up. Snow White. Ivan nodded. "Do you remember the traits of Snow White? Specifically, what she was aptly named for?"
"Skin as white as snow," Ivan said evenly, eyes half closed, "Fairest in the land, blah blah blah. So what?"
Yao laughed softly, "Yes. Do you remember what saved her from the spell that had been cast on her? The death-like state she was in?"
"A kiss," Ivan deadpanned, "Woo-hoo. And the point is..."
The older teen ignored him, placing the book back on the shelf and withdrawing another, "And this one? What saved the girl in this one, Ivan?"
"Aurora was saved by True Love's First Kiss," he frowned, as if it was obvious, eyes lingering uneasily on the ornate cover of Sleeping Beauty for a moment longer than he intended.
"Correct, aru." Yao nodded, moving on to another book on the shelf, "And this one?"
"True love, again," Ivan said, biting his lip, still feeling unsettled by this procedure. What was Yao getting at? "The Beast was saved by Belle's love for him."
"That he was," Yao smiled slowly, placing the thing back on the shelf, wiping away a bit of dust from the wood with a frown. Mental note, he thought, dust Ivan's room, aru. "Remember these stories, Ivan. They'll be worth more than you know one day." He shifted his hand across the shelf until his fingers rested on Snow White once more, "Especially this one. Remember how her life was saved, and why she was called Snow White."
And that caused him to ponder again. What was Yao hinting to him about these fairytales? He did not have an answer, but from what he knew, Yao said Ivan deserved someone better than him and he will be happy even if that person was not Yao. But then, who else did he has feeling with? Who else but Yao could have been his true love? Until the end, Ivan did not manage to figure it out at all.
Slowly, the prince reached out his hand and pulled out a book from the shelf. He blew and dusted off the dust that covered on the thick cover. Snow White, the golden engraving on the book displayed the title as shown. Gently, he flipped open the book as his eyes leafed through the pages carelessly. That was when a piece of paper suddenly fell onto the floor. Ivan noticed it and picked it up, only to gasp at the handwriting and words on the paper.
Ivan,
By the time you noticed this note, I was dead already. I'm sorry for not telling you in the first place, I don't want to sadden you or perhaps I do. Kiku told me about his dream that someday I will die and I knew I cannot avoid it so I just had to accept it.
I understood how you felt for me, you love me and I love you too. But I cannot brought myself to do so not because I was afraid Arthur and Francis will not accept our relationship (I lied to you though), but it was because I knew that someday our relationship had to be ended eventually. I know that this is hard for you but this is reality and you have to accept your fate no matter what.
You don't have to cry for me, Ivan. I don't deserve your flattery. There's someone else for you in the future and I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Don't you remember? The first time when you and Gilbert met, the two of you spent time playing together. You were happy and I had never seen you being so happy before in my life. After all, he's the one who managed to cheer you up. I hope that the two of you will be nice to each other for the time to come.
I may have died, but you don't have to think about me. I will always be by your side praying for your happiness. You should cherish the people whom you treasured.
Love,
Yao
The second note came out so sudden that Ivan just don't know how to react to it. He clutched the note in his hand and began weeping. The pain and the lost he had carried years ago, he finally feel it again. And it was just too much to bear it that he felt on the verge of breaking.
Gilbert walked down the hallway towards Ivan's room. It worried him that the younger prince did not came for swords practice session. Perhaps he was worried about Alfred running away. No matter what, the albino prince was determined to make it clear to him.
What surprised him, however, was that he found Ivan in his room crying with a piece of crumpled letter in his hand and a dusty book laid not too far away on the floor. Seeing the prince shedding tears was something Gilbert hated to see, especially it reminded him about the time during Yao and Matthew's death. He was not going to let Ivan cried anymore.
"Ivan, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" The Western High Prince asked in concern as he closed his distance with Ivan, but the later ignored him as he turned away and continued crying.
Gilbert frowned a little and went to pick up the letters scattered all over the place and read through them. "So, it seems like you ended up creating your own demise." Gilbert quirked an eyebrow after reading the letters.
"It's none of your own business." Ivan snarled at him and tried to snatch the letter back but Gilbert managed to hold him down.
"It is my business too, because you're my friend." Gilbert insisted. "Ivan, do you know how broken I am when I saw you cried? Do you know how lonely I have been when you shut me out? I just don't want to see you suffering in the past again."
"Then what can you do? It's not like those people will come back again. They're gone forever." Ivan said solemnly.
"So, have you finally realised that? Just when you will finally let it go and start your life anew instead of mourning over the past? I'm sick of waiting."
"And when can you stop sulking?" Ivan glared at him as he picked up the mess on the floor. "If you are so good at talking about it, then why don't you tell me a thing or a two?"
There was a moment of silence as all emotions seemed to drain away from his face before he began to speak. "Ivan, for truth sake, do you believe in fairytale?" He asked almost inaudibly.
Silence followed again and a tense atmosphere began to cloud the room. Ivan heaved a sigh as he stood up. The platinum blonde prince gathered his stuff and went to sit at the bed as he clutched those things close to his chest as if they were his lifeline.
"I… I don't know…" Ivan mumbled. "At first, I believe in those things because I wish my life to be as happy as those people in these stories." Violet eyes set gazed faraway at the scenery outside the window frame. "But then, too many things had happened, first mommy then Yao and Matthew… I just can't take it anymore… And I realised that things won't be happening like what I expected to be in a fairytale, so I gave up my hopes…"
"If that's the case, why did you convince Alfred to believe in those things when you think that life isn't as happy as you had thought? Are you doing it just merely to make him happy?"
"One of that reason, yes." Ivan replied, a small smile crept across his cheeks. "It pained me so much to see that boy, so young and innocent having to see a person die at a young age. It reminded me so much of that time when I witnessed everything when I'm at the same age as he does." He added, "I just don't want him to suffer so much at such young age. He still has a long way for him to go…"
So does you… Gilbert thought to himself. "So you convince him to believe in it? Then why didn't you tell yourself to do so?"
"You know the trick of comforting a child. It won't work the same way for me." Ivan rolled his eyes. "After all, there's too much pain to think that life would be a fairytale, it is all a lie."
"Even if it means that Alfred had found his true love and you rejected the idea because you thought the outcome won't be a Happily Ever After?"
"I'm doing this just to protect Alfred. There's no such thing as fairytale in real life!" Ivan insisted. "I don't want to see Alfred crying over Kiku's dead body in the future just like how Yao and I ended up to be."
Gritting his teeth, the Western High Prince reached out a hand and slapped it across the platinum blonde prince's cheek. "Just when will you snapped out of it? You're just as stubborn as always." The albino prince said as tears began to flood in his eyes. "Sometimes people's death can't be helped. It's not because life is not a fairytale, it's just that some people had lost their belief in it that caused them to lose their mind. And you're just one of them, you had lost sight of your light."
"Just… Cut it out!" Ivan yelled at him.
"Don't you try to interrupt me when I'm speaking!" Gilbert snapped at him.
"Someday, you will be the causer of trouble like eleven years ago. You will lose yourself and ended up hurting those who are your precious. Imagine it yourself, the person who caused Alfred's grief is not Kiku, not anyone, but you yourself!"
As Gilbert was about to continue in his rambling, a purple aura began to surround Ivan. "Kolkolkol…" The prince muttered under his breath and began yanking the shorter prince and tossed him out of the room before slamming the door shut at him. Gilbert ended up being in the same situation just looked at the closed door that slammed him out. He huffed in annoyance and sank onto the ground, "just like that…"
In his room, Ivan paced all over the place as he pondered about what everything he has been through today. First, his nightmare, then Natalia's confession and Alfred's letter, later came Yao's letter and lastly, Gilbert's words. It was so much that he needed to sought it out.
"You can't force a person to do what they don't want to do, it will hurt them and yourself." The last sentence Natalia told him at her room…
'I can't stand seeing my happiness being destroy because I was forced to marry someone else I don't like, so I decided to do the only best option available to me.' Alfred's will on insisting his own way just so that he could get his own happiness…
'There's someone else for you in the future and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.' Yao's last word in the letter…
"Tragedy happened it's not because life is not a fairytale, it's just that some people had lost their belief in it that caused them to lose their mind. And you're just one of them, you had lost sight of your light." And Gilbert's words just now, it all rang hard at the back of his head that it hurt.
It all made sense to him now. Realisation hit him hard as he realised how wrong he has been during those years. Not only that, he hurt those whom he had treasured so much during his lifetime. If this went on, he will end up losing everyone. He won't let this happen, he won't!
The platinum blonde prince suddenly shot up from where he was sitting. If he was freaking so worry about Alfred, shouldn't he be going out to find him instead of sitting in here sulking? Quickly, he rummaged the cabinet and pulled out some outdoor clothing that would help in keeping him warm, not forgetting to fetch the sword that hung by his bedside before running out of the room. He had decided, he will find Alfred and bring him back no matter what, all matters is bringing Alfred back alive.
"Ivan, where are you going?" As he opened the door to head outside, Gilbert who was still at the doorway noticed him leaving. "Don't tell me you're going out at this time? It's fucking dark already!"
Ivan just turned back to face him. Determination shone in his eyes. "I'm going to find Alfred and get him back." He said emotionlessly.
"But Ivan, it's late already. Why not tomorrow?"
"I don't care. If I'm a minute late, Alfred might be in trouble." Ivan persisted. "Please tell Arthur and Francis that I'm leaving for a while, they don't have to worry about me." Once finished his sentences, he rushed all the way down the hallway to reach the stables, probably.
"Hey, wait up!" Gilbert called out as he gave chase.
xXx
Sorry for the late updates again, I slacked off again… D: And recently, I'm busy with the story writing contest which also delayed the update.
For some reason, I seriously felt something being quite ironic for this chapter. I just don't know how to stick up a conversation, if not, some statement just ended up keep repeating again and again. Still, I hope you all will enjoy with this chapter as the progress rise.
Even though that many things had somehow convinced Ivan that he's hurting Alfred, but this doesn't mean that Ivan has finally snapped out of his 'not a fairytale' thought. He still insisted that life is not a fairytale and went to find Alfred because he's worried for him. So it seems like Gilbert has to do something to make Ivan realised what he was wrong.
After this, I estimated there would be another 8 chapters before this story ends. And I would really, really be happy if you would kindly post a review here to show your support, the lack of comment and feedback really disappointed me to continue the story. ;A;
Guest (the person who reviewed on Oct 9): Yes, it was indeed sad to see that Gilbert feelings' for Ivan had been rejected. Someday Ivan will finally realise it and return his feelings, I promised. ;)