And this update is so late. Sorry.

Review! :D

In exactly ten minutes, Gilbert was waiting by the stairs.

If anyone had been watching, he would've seemed confident, but those who knew him better would note from the tapping of his fingers on the balustrade and the way he kept glancing around him.

He was indeed nervous. This was like a date, sort of. And that by itself was worrying enough, without the added bonus of what he was planning to do...

He tugged fitfully at his sleeves, trying to pull all the creases out of them, and when he looked up, there she was, descending the stairs and smiling at him.

His breath caught. She's so beautiful...especially in that dress...

She'd been beautiful before, but this sent his brain into freeze mode.

The lavender part of the dress was cinched in at the waist and flared out to demurely cover her feet, while the rich emerald overlayer was somewhat like a jacket or a shawl, wrapping around her lower arms like a ribbon before covering her hands as gloves. Her hair cascaded down her back, curling gently above the emerald and lavender silk. Those two colors didn't seem to match, but on her...

"Speechless?" she teased once she reached the ground floor.

"I am indeed," he managed, mentally whacking his brain back into a functioning state.

Perhaps taking pity on him, Elizaveta held out her arm. "Will you escort me to the room, dear sir?"

"Do I get paid?"

Elizaveta bit her lip in a deliberately provocative manner. "You'll see."

Gilbert quickly took her arm and said, "Then I shall gallantly escort you to the room," and she laughed.

He felt a warm glow kindle inside him. It'd been awhile since he'd heard her laugh.

And that was your fault, a voice reminded him, but he ignored it.

In the room, their faces lit by romantic candlelight, they ordered their meals. The albino nonchalantly put an arm around her, and felt his heartbeat quicken when she took his hand.

This is like a pleasant disease, he thought to himself, a smile curling the edge of his lips. If only she knew what she did to me...

A cheerful, ponytailed man came out of the kitchens. "Here is your food, aru. I hope you enjoy it." He smiled at them before retreating to the kitchens.

The albino smiled at Elizaveta, and, slightly curious, she smiled back. "Why do you look so happy?" she inquired.

A handful of indigo butterflies fluttered in the flowers at the center of the table as he answered. "I'm glad to see you happy," he replied. Taking advantage of the fact that she was momentarily speechless, he reached out to his glass of wine, and then over it to grab hers, intending to drink it.

"Hey!" she said, mock-indigiantly. "Get your own!"

Gilbert obediently picked up his own glass, and raised it in a toast. "To the most beautiful woman here."

"I'll drink to that." Elizaveta lifted her own cup. They clinked their glasses and tipped them up to drink the red fluid. Gilbert watched the curve of her neck, golden in the candlelight, and then silently counted down in his head. Ten, nine, eight...

Elizaveta put the cup down and frowned. "This wine is a little strong." Her words were slurring. Six, five, four...

"Gilbert, what..." She tried to push herself to her feet, but her legs gave out under her, and she fell backwards. Three, two...

Feigning concern, as if he didn't know what happened, he quickly walked around the table to her, cradling her head and back. "Lizzie, what is it?"

Her eyes closed. One.

I'm going to thank every nation that viewed this story in September, when it was just a plot bunny. *inhales*

Thanks to the US, for the astonishing 1.07k views! Next up is Canada with 149 views, and then we have the Philippines, Australia, Germany, Belgium, the UK, Singapore, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Thailand, Honduras, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Romania, Spain, and last but certainly not least, Greece. Thank you all for viewing, even if not all of you reviewed! I appreciate it. :)

For those of you who know the actual song Cantarella, it's going to get much more...y'know. Soon. Very soon.