Louise's POV

I had always loved hanging around La Rambla, that big gathering of artists, artisans, merchants, and knick-knacks salesmen which spread from la Plaça de Catalunya to the old harbor of Barcelona. Everything there was only laughs and happy clamors, and walking over the place gave me the real impression of living to Spain's heartbeat. Which was quite a surprising thing, knowing that it wasn't – and would never be – my homeland.

I had woken up early that morning, in order to be one of the first person trotting on the place. My shopping list partially written in French and Dutch between my fingers, I had gone from stand to stand, seeking ingredients for the pastries Antonio would serve tonight.
I had found everything I needed within fifteen little minutes. However, such a speed had given me consequences as overheated feet in their boots, a bad bellyache, and arms loaded with bags of spices, icings and fresh fruits. And a totally empty wallet.
I thought of my brother ; he wouldn't be too happy knowing that I had spent all our monthly income of money, and certainly not for Antonio.
Which was why I intended lying to him.

I walked back home, but more slowly because of the bags which obstructed my vision. I wasn't in a hurry so I hang out excessively, stopping sometimes in front of a shop window or taking a twenty-minutes-break. I was perched on a thick wall this time. I had taken my boots and socks off and, feet waving in the air back and forth and had leaned back on my stretched back arms, eyes glued to the cloudless sky. The pain in my belly vanished.
I started to think : as far as I remembered, Anthonij had always been a little asocial bully. Stammering when he came to the matter of the heart, he couldn't merely whisper sweet words without going red and being extremely embarrassed. So, many times, he said sentences that were offensive or very rude, and anyone would have felt upset. But Dad and Mom knew their elder son very well, and I knew perfectly my brother's true problem. Our parents used to teach him the same important morals endlessly – at that time, he seemed not paying any attention to it, but, given on how he acts now as an adult, I must believe that he had been a particularly good listener – which tended getting him nervous towards his responsibilities as the elder of the family. But I was always the first one to reassure him.

Then, there had been the Spanish invasion. And everything had changed. Dad, Mom and Luxembourg were dead. Anthonij and I had been brought up in Spain and had to do various chores sometimes – but never too much, as the reason we were in captivity was to embellish Antonio's conqueror image before everything else-. And apart from that, he liked us a lot. After accommodating to his presence, I had never laughed so much but with him. Anyone could tell he liked children. Even though Anthonij was – and still is- distant towards him, Antonio always came back to him, teased him and tried to make him laugh. He did success on some rare occasions.
We had grown up, me as my complicity with the Spanish, and my brother with his distance. As the time passed by, I had ended up not knowing how to talk to Anthonij anymore.
And even more when I had fallen in love with Antonio.

Anthonij's POV

I was humming a song. Dunno which one. My father's pipe in the mouth. That's marijuana which's burnin'. And some fuckin' good one !

I was in the kitchen, doing the dishwashing. It was dark outside. I could hear the laughs of the little party Antonio was throwing, just on the other side of the door. Have fun dickhead, while I'm washin' your plates ! I can't stand him. First, for some personal reasons that are quite obvious, and then, because he goes around my sister way too much. And recently, because he has always been heel dom.

-Salut !

The door of the kitchen opened on my sister, pushing it with her back, her arms full of bags. I dropped the plate I was washing and hurried towards her to ease her from her charge.

-Merci ! she sang as passing in front of me.
-Ya are late, I muttered, the pipe in mouth.
-Put that there, she ignored me pointing the counter while she put an old apron on and washed her hands.
-Ya are very late, I repeated, it has been a lon' time since the guests have arrived.
-I know !
-What took ya so lon' ?

I got back to my sink and dirty plates while she was making a fuss on her work plan.

-I hang out.
-Waar ?
- la Plaça de Catalunya.
-Since this mornin' ?
-Yes ! she sighed, quite exasperated, now, tell me, are they far from the dessert or not ?

She showed me the door from which laughs came from with her chin.

-That's alright, they've just finished the starter, calm down, I said, turning my head towards her.

I took off a hand of the water to make it grab the pipe and blew a big cloud of smoke in my sister's face. She jumped with a start and swept the air quickly, muttering.

-Anthonij !
-What ? That's just marijuana, that's not bad.
-I know what it is, thank you ! she answered dissipating the last clouds from a gesture of the hand.
-Want some ? I asked, rubbing feebly another plate.
-No.

She started breaking eggs in a round dish and added butter and flour with the dexterity of people who know what they're doing. She had her eyes glued on her work, and me, on her face.

-You look tense, I said beginning another plate.
-I'm tired and my body aches from everywhere.
-Take a hot bath.
-Maybe tomorrow. I don't have time tonight.
-Ya are plannin' goin' late to bed ?
-Yes. You know Antonio; after a party, I'm the one who has to clean up.
-Het is dom.
-Wat ?
-That ya wash after each party. Alone.
-Antonio doesn't want you to help me.
-En het is heel dom.
-It doesn't stop you from disobeying him, though.

She showed me the plate I was washing. I slowly let go of it in the hot and soaped water.

-Ya want me to go ?
-No, stay. I like to have you by my side when I'm cooking.

I nodded and got back to my dishwashing, exhaling a new marijuana breath. Louise grimaced.

-Anthonij, stop that !
-Why ? Does the smell bother ya ?
-Very much, indeed.
-It has never bothered ya before, why now ?

She said nothing for a moment, her hands mixing mechanically the paste in the round bowl.

-I'm cooking; the ingredients are going to take the drug smell. Antonio won't be happy about it.
-Good, the saddest he's, the better I'm.
-Don't say that, she said softly.
-And don't protect him ! I retorted, surprised.
-I'm not protecting him. I'm just advising you not to say such cold sentences, she said, irritated.

A silent fell which only lashes, the drop of plates in or out of the water, Antonio's laughs and my inhalations were all we heard. Then, my sister sighed, passing a hand on her forehead. Placing the last dried plate on the pile of clean plates, I turned towards her, and watched her attentively :

-Ya are exhausted. Lemme take care of the after party cleaning, only for tonight.
-No, that's my chore. You have yours.
-I'll negotiate with Antonio, I ignored her, as obvious as it is that he appreciates ya, I'm sure he won't say no.

She froze in every of her movements. Even her hands had stopped cooking. She blinked and looked at me, smiling in a bizarre way.

-Anthonij, Antonio doesn't appreciate me ! Gosh, of course not !
-It's blindingly obvious.
-You know, he likes you too.
-Gross ! I spat with disgust.
-You should be a bit more thankful to him.
-For what ? For killing both our parents and stealing away our life ? Yeah, sure, thank ya Antonio I guess !

Louise didn't like me screaming, and even less on her. I could see that it made her sad. She looked down and got back to her cooking.

-He has brought us up with love nonetheless. And nothing forced him to do so, she whispered.

I found nothing to add and a cold silence fell. If she wanted to do her chore so badly, it was her problem after all ! I started to tap my fingers nervously on the border of the sink.

-Louise, I have a project, I eventually said.

I waited a moment for her reaction, but she didn't look at me.

-What kind of project ? she weakly asked.
-A project… that could set us free again.

She raised her head.

-What on earth are you saying ? she exclaimed, eyes wide opened.

The door slammed suddenly, making us turn our head. Lovino stopped in front of us.

Lovino's POV

-Anthonij ! I screamed, smoking your illicit drug again ?
-Want some ? the fair-haired man asked me, casual.
-NEVAR ! Don't you know those things mess up with your brain ?
-So what ? It doesn't stop you from livin', even if ya are a retard; just look at yarself, he smiled, inhaling a new breath.
-Are you saying I may be stupid ? I said, utterly upset.
-I'm not sayin' ya may be stupid, I'm sayin' ya are stupid.
-Anthonij, take that back.

It was Louise's voice. I hadn't seen her, hidden behind her brother's massive height. A proud smile came on my face and, adressing myself to the Dutch man, I said :

-You are lucky Louise is there, or else, I would have knocked you out for a long time you bastard !
-Oh gosh I'm shaking, he said in a half-afraid, half-nagging tone.

I strongly controlled my vivid will of punching him hard in the nose. I calmed down, thinking of Louise ; I knew it would cause her grief if I used violence. And above all, I hadn't come in the kitchen for that.

-Anthonij, Antonio wants you in your quarters.
-That must be the joke of the year ; he wants me to go into my room now !
-That's an order, I insisted.
-I won't go, he retorted.
-You will !
-Sì !
-Nee.
-Sì !
-Nee.
-Sì !
-Cut it out you two ! You look like children, Louise laughed.

She passed between us, a dish covered with pots where a light paste laid. She turned her head towards her brother.

-Anthonij, gaat naar boven hebt je niets te doen hier.
-Ik zal niet gaan !
-Anthonij.

Louise gave him a black, insisting stare. I don't know what they had said to each other, but in the end, it seemed to work because Anthonjij sighed, turned on his heels and left the kitchen. The door waved quickly and lengthily the air, showing he had pushed it with strength and anger. Meanwhile, Louise had place her dish in the oven and set the temperature. She rubbed her hands on her apron and approached me with a soft smile.

-Don't worry, he's always like that, she said.
-He's an idiot, I snorted.
-I know, but you must not blame him. When you understand him, it's truly a lovely person, she assured me.

She yawned while she put one of her hand in front of her mouth and another on her belly. My eyes had stayed on the second one.

-Haven't you still told him ? I asked calmly.
-No, she answered.
-And for you and Antonio ?
-Neither. I'm waiting for the right moment.
-You know, you should tell him now, before he finds out by himself.

I indicated her belly.

-There's someone who won't wait many months before showing up.
-I could pretend I put on some weight.
-Anthonij is not as stupid as I'd like him to be Louise, you know that better than I do. He will maybe be fooled for the first trimester, but then ? Doesn't he already suspect you when you're throwing up or getting tired without any peculiar reason ?

I grabbed her hands and looked at her in the blank of her eyes.

-Let me tell you this as a friend and confident, Louise. Don't wait anymore.
-I… I don't know, Lovi.

Hearing her saying my nickname as fondly made me shiver.

-And if he gets carried away ? If, in his anger, he …
-Then I'll be there, I cut her short, to protect you. You, as il bambino.

Ouuuh Louise's pregnant ! x3
Why's Anthonij smoking drug ? Because he represents Netherlands, and especially the city of Amsterdam in this chapter, which is veeeery liberal on the drug consummation.

PS : Sorry guys it took so long ! But school work is school work right ? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it see you around for chapters 3 :3
As always, reviews are much appreciated ! ;D
But if you don't want to leave one, that's fine !
Sorry for spelling, grammar... Plus, it's 4 in the morning and I'm still up for you guys ! I had promised a chapter today, and a chapter it shall be !

Vocabulary

• Spanish

la Plaça de Catalunya : The Catalans' Place
Barcelona : Barcelona
La Rambla : La Rambla ( famous place of Barcelona )

• Dutch

heel dom : silly/stupid/retarded
En het is heel dom : And that's very stupid/silly/retarded
Anthonij, gaat naar boven hebt je niets te doen hier : Anthonij, go upstairs you have nothing to do here.
Ik zal niet gaan ! : I won't go !

• French

Salut ! : Hi !
Merci ! : Thanks !

• Italien

il bambino : the baby/the child