"L-Look out!"

He looked up to see a flash of red, and a branch falling towards his face.

"Schiße!" Gilbert hissed as he jumped out of the way, hardly missing the branch that would have given him a very bad headache. He looked back into the trees and searched for the red again. "What the hell! You fucking…" his voice trailed when his eyes caught the red, and followed the flow to the person sitting in the safety of the leaves. Against the dark green foliage were long waves of gold and pale white skin. The sun took this moment to come out from behind the clouds and frame the silhouette through the gaps in the leaves.

"J-Je suis désolé!" the voice called again, soft and gentle, pleading for forgiveness, most definitely female. Gilbert cursed again and shielded his eyes from the sunlight, trying to get a better view of the female in the tree as she shifted around, wiggling her way from her perch and climbing down. With a light thud, she jumped down once she reached the lowest branches, landing gracefully on her feet. "Êtes-vous d'accord?" she asked, but her voice was lost to the German as his eyes flickered around her round face, taking in her wide violet eyes, thin rosy lips and flushed cheeks. His attention was evenly divided by her sparkling eyes, and her…

….Wow. Boobs. Her dress was cut perfectly for a taller man like himself to get a view down her cleavage, which were a fair size.

Don't blame him about where his eyes are drawn; he is a man after all.

"Sir?" Her voice, louder this time, brought him out of his staring. Her thin eyebrows furrowed with worry and a few strands of her blonde hair fall lightly over her eyes.

So cute!

Clearing his throat and mind, Gilbert gave her a confident smile. "I'm fine," he assured her. "Or, would you say…" he paused to think. "Je.. Je suis bien? Did I say it right?"

Her eyes widened slightly, before she giggled madly. "The accent is atrocious, but oui, you did say it right," she said in near perfect English, her accent only mild in her voice. "I am glad you are not hurt." Her smile faded, worry overcoming her features. "I'm so sorry, I could have seriously hurt you!"

Gilbert held up his hand, giving her a reassuring smile. "I am far too awesome to be hurt by a measly twig," he told her simply.

The maiden gave another quiet giggle, all worry wiped off her pretty features. "I see," she said with a sigh. "I'm glad you're fine. I wasn't paying attention when I should have been, but I was silly and tried to climb higher and I guess I stepped on a dead branch or something, or maybe I'm just gaining weight or-"

Gilbert raised his gloved hand to silence her once again. "I'm fine, birdie." He wanted to laugh at the blush that flashed onto her face, but he held back. "A pretty maiden like yourself shouldn't worry so much; it will turn you old."

Her blush darkened, but she giggled again regardless. She looked to the ground before looking at him again, opening her mouth to say something, but when their eyes locked her words seemed to vanish.

Damn.

"Your eyes…" she muttered. The albino tried to look away but a small hand reached out and kept his face turned to her. She gave him a shy smile. "Your eyes are beautiful."

Any and all thoughts, comebacks, mental images, everything, vanished from his mind as her words sunk in. He felt an unfamiliar heat rise in his cheeks; no one has ever said that about his eyes before.

Once again she giggled, seemingly at his reaction. He coughed, looking away bashfully, letting her hand drop from his face. He knew he should have said thank you, or compliment her own eyes, but before he could stop himself, he spat out, "Tch, red eyes aren't supposed to be beautiful. They're supposed to strike fear into people's hearts."

He didn't get a response, which worried him, knowing he said something stupid, but there was no way to take it back. With a little hesitation, Gilbert looked back at the girl. Her eyes were wide with shock, her mouth open slightly. A moment passed, a moment full of him cursing himself mentally, before her shock expression washed away and was replaced with a smile. A beautiful, innocent smile. "Red is my favorite colour, though," she said with hidden confidence. "Because it gives off so much warmth in otherwise cold environments."

Gilbert turned his head to her, his expression softening. This girl was something different, and he was both intrigued and mystified. Her smile widened and his heart clenched.

"I am Madeline Bonnefoy," she greeted, grabbing hold of her long dress and bowing herself into a curtsy. "It is a pleasure meeting you."

When she straightened, Gilbert took hold of her hand and bowed himself leaving a chase kiss on her thin fingers. "I am Gilbert Beilschmidt," he paused to look up at her flushed face. He couldn't hold back his grin. "And it is an honour to meet you, Princess."

Her blush darkened as he straightened himself. "Y-You know?" she whimpered, her eyes glistening slightly. Panic ran through them both.

Before ether of them couple speak again, a third voice caught their attention. "East!" They both turned to see Ludwig running towards them. He slowed to a stop when he reached them, and his gaze traveled to the blonde girl. Almost immediately, he pushed away all evidence of being young away and bowed to her, his back straight and his demeanor now mature, clearly an attempt to impress her.

Gilbert watched as her eyes travel over his little brother, looking over every muscle that seemed to show through his clothes. He wanted to push his brother over when he saw her face redden slightly, clearly attracted to him.

His feelings made him freeze. He was jealous? Why would he be jealous? This girl was going to be courted by his brother, he should be happy. She seemed like a good girl, clearly sheltered from the harshness of life. She seemed smart and caring, gentle and optimistic. Perfect for his little brother…

"Will you be joining us, Sir. Gilbert?" Madeline's gentle voice thrust him from his deep thoughts. She and Ludwig where both looking at him, both with hopeful expressions, however with far different hopes. He cursed himself metally for the thousandth time, this time for not paying attention

Bros before hoes, Gil. Whatever it is she's talking about… "I will politely decline, princess," the taller german said with a stiff voice, professional and proper. He caught differences between the blondes in front of him, a sad frown and a thankful smile. "Have a good time." He bowed his head and turned to walk back to the French castle. He took a step, before turning back to his brother with a grin. "Bruder, vergessen Sie nicht das Pariser*!"

Ludwig's face turned a bright red, only a few shades light of the princess' dress. "Verpiss dich!" he yelled as his brother ran off laughing loudly. Madeline tilted her head in confusion.

Gilbert returned to his room, silently closing the door behind him. He had to get his loins in check, he had to forget about that forgien beauty. "This is a diplomatic visit," he assured himself. "This is for Ludwig. The prince…" His mood immediately shot down. He sighed, leaned against the door and let himself slide down. "The prince, the one who's going to succeed when gramps dies…" It should be me.

He shook his head quickly. No, he was happy that his little brother could get that honour. While his brother got to live as a king, which is what the blonde wanted, he himself got freedom. As soon as his brother took power, he can leave and lay with all the hot women he wanted.

A grin spread over his lips, the thought motivating him enough to stand back up. "That's right!" he cheered. "Sacrificing one beautiful girl, who is WAY too young for me and probably a huge prude, for thousands of hot woman who would be more than willing to open their legs for my five meters!" he laughed loudly. "That's right!"

He bounded to the window and looked out it, and once again, his mood was shot. He had the perfect view of Ludwig and Madeline walking around the gated yard, talking.

Ludwig stopped, his gaze seemingly on a bush of flowers. She also stopped, saying something. The prince made his way to the flowers and knelt down next to them, the princess following close behind. She leaned down, holding her hair back as she ran her fingers over the peddles of the large flowers.

Gilbert wanted to laugh when his brother said something, judging from the blush it was probably an attempt at complimenting the girl. Her laughter was heard all the way from the window. Ludwig's blush faded and he stood, his expression perplexed. She straightened, her face red from her laughter. Something she said made the teen blush once again, his hands flying to his face in embarrassment.

Gilbert's eyes narrowed when her flawless laughter reached him again. Her small hands reached up and took hold of his brother's hands and pulled them from his face. Seeing them standing there, next to a bush of large flowers (Lilies? Maybe that what explained the smell.) holding hands and talking in hushed tones… the whole thing made him depressed.

"They look good together," he muttered to himself. It took a moment for him to realize what he said, and he quickly shook his head violently. "Good for them! I'm happy alone, I don't need anyone except for the occasional chick who I'll never see again.

And here he was, back in the wonderful solitude.

With the perfect view of Madeline brushing something off of his brother's face, laughing and smiling brightly as his embarrassment, and pulling him towards something and gesturing to it, talking happily and seemingly having fun in the company of Ludwig.

Gilbert frowned, forcing his eyes away from the pair. "Who needs a constant companion?" he spat. "They only get in the way." Tugging the blinds closed, he threw himself onto the bed and began to do what he always does when he had this sanctuary of isolation.

"Reason one of why I am awesome…. Well, I'm awesome! " He let out a hollow chuckle. "Reason two of why I'm awesome, there is no girl who could forget my five meters. Kesesesese. Reason three!"

It's the sun, he reasoned. Too much sun made him tired. That's why he decided to stay in his room. He, unfortunately, ran out of things that made him awesome, finding himself repeating "Just cause" after every half assed reason. Because of this, his thoughts unknowingly were drawn back to the blonde haired maiden he met that morning.

"Stupid Gilbert," he muttered to himself. "She's just a chick." Yeah… the sun was his problem. Definetly the sun. "Ja, just a stupid girl, I've invaded many girls in my life already, why should this one bother me?"

A soft knock, barely audible to the disgruntled German, put his thoughts on hold. He sighed, sitting up from the comfortable bed for the second time that day. "Geben Sie!" before he could correct himself, the doorknob turned and the door was pushed open.

Madeline poked her head in. "Monsieur Gilbert?" she called with her quiet voice. "Are you feeling alright?"

Once again, instead of saying what he wanted to say, which was 'I am feeling alright, especially now that you are here,' he snarled, "Bah, I'm too awesome to feel unalright! I just like being alone, is all."

He instantly regretted saying that when he saw the hurt flash through her eyes. "Je comprond…" She muttered, looking to the floor. "Je voulais vous dire que- oh!" she blushed, catching herself when she saw the confused expression on the German's face. "Je suis désolé… I mean, I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you that dinner is ready."

He stared at her, unblinking, although he wanted to do more. "Danke," was all he could say. She nodded slowly, turning to leave. Something in him jolted him awake. "Warten!" He cursed himself again for using German, but she stopped, turning back to him. He swallowed the lump in his throat that was polite enough to show up suddenly. "You should speak French more often," he muttered, turning his face away. "It's… very pretty." He paused to look back at her. "E-Even though I can't understand it, you could insult me and it would still sound…" he let his words drift away, his mouth finally listening to him for once to shut up. The warmth returned to his cheeks, much to his distain.

Madeline stared at him, her face flushing slowly. She smiled and giggled. "Merci, Monsieur Gilbert. Je vais essayer de ma mieux. Now please hurry, before the poutine gets cold." Her smile widened slightly as she once again made a move to leave. This time, the Germanic prince did not stop her.

…What the hell is a poutine?

Translations:

*"Bruder, vergessen Sie nicht das Pariser!" Brother, don't forget the condom! (Pariser is slang for condom, which I chose specifically because it makes apparently reference to french people. Direct translation, it means Paris.)

"Verpiss dich!" F- off!

"Geben Sie!" Enter/Come in!

"Je comprond…" I understand…

"Je suis désolé…" I am sorry…

"Danke," Thank you

"Warten!" Wait!

"Merci, Monsieur Gilbert. Je vais essayer de ma mieus." Thank you, Sir Gilbert. I will try my best.

Once again, if anything is wrong with the German or French, do tell me.

Thank you CanadaHetaAnon for correcting "Je suis bien" (Really, thank you, that was a silly mistake on my part.)

I AM SO SORRY! This took so much longer then intended… I've been dealing with a good amount of things, and I just haven't been in the mood to write, you know? I'll write the next chapter uber long, okay? My way of asking for forgiveness.