The Pursuit of Happiness 1
Weeks had passed since the infidelity episode with Arthur, and Alfred's so called "Marriage" was going as well as could be expected. Arthur kept his promise and did in fact combine their rooms together. So now they shared not only a room, but a bed as well. The first few nights were a bit awkward for the couple. Alfred still didn't quite trust Arthur even after they had agreed that Arthur wouldn't see his mistresses again and that he would try to be a better husband, so Alfred decided to personally follow him around. After his morning lectures with Roderich, Alfred had accompanied Arthur to each and every one of his meetings right until bedtime.
"Did you honestly have to follow me around for the entire day, Marie?! And honestly, sitting next to me at every meeting too!" cried Arthur. Obviously the Princess' constant presence had taken a toll on the poor Emerald King. "Well someone had to keep an eye on your cheating butt." said Alfred with a cheery tone. Unlike Arthur, Alfred actually had a fairly nice day.
"Oh come on, Arthur. It wasn't that bad! I think the meeting with the Generals and the Minister of War had gone very well."
"Whatever." said Arthur in a slump, as he lazily striped off and tossed his coat onto a nearby desk. His voice was low and depressed. It was just not Arthur's day. "I'm tired and going to bed."
"Hey dude, shouldn't you shower first?" asked Alfred. Arthur thought about this notion for a second before he realized that there was something that he very much needed to do. He glanced down at his pants.
"I definitely don't wanna go to bed with a stinky old man!"
Arthur frowned at the "old man" part. "Oh, do shut up!" cried Arthur "And besides, what about you? You've been up all day too. I'm sure you're just as disheveled and soiled as I am."
Alfred bated his eyes and pouted his lips playfully. "A Princess is never unclean or unkempt, silly Arthur! Didn't you know that?" Arthur rolled his eyes at his wife's response. "But!" continued Alfred, no longer in teasing mood. "A nice hot shower sounds nice…I think I'll hop in real quick."
Alfred grabbed his sleeping wear and robe and walked over to his bathroom. "I won't be long, and don't get any perverted ideas into that head of yours. Remember, I got eyes on the back of my head." And just before closing the door, Alfred stuck his tongue out at Arthur.
Arthur scoffed and shook his head once again at his wife's silly behavior. Honestly, she's more childish then Peter, thought Arthur. He stood next to a tall dresser upon which a golden framed mirror rested, Arthur turned and observed himself. "But…she does have a point."
What he saw in the mirror wasn't exactly making him happy. He actually did look like a hot mess. His already natural ruffled hair looked even more disorderly. His eyes were a bit red and he could see the beginning stages of developing dark circles under his eyes. His clothes were wrinkled, loose and bit messy. He looked oh so tired. Damn, I look like something the cat dragged in.
He reconsidered his wife's suggestion about taking a shower. A shower would do him some good, he thought. It would freshen him up and calm his nerves before going to bed peacefully. Not only that, but taking a shower would be the perfect scapegoat. He once again looked at his downstairs anatomy. There was also some other…personal matters that needed to be take care of as well. After all, the poor sex deprived Arthur had gone without any kind of touchy-feely for quit sometime. And sometimes a guy's gotta do what a guy's do. "Actually…yes. I think you're quite right. Thank you for that fabulous idea Princess." And with that, Arthur went to go take care of his business in the blessed bathroom.
When it was time for the couple to actually go to bed, they had constructed a makeshift wall made out of pillows which distinctly separated the two. Alfred slept one side and Arthur the other. They even got an extra comforter and blanket so that the conflicting dilemma of "stealing the sheets" would never arise during the night.
They would both curtly mutter good night and would blow out the candle or turn off the oil lamp. Such was the routine for the king and the princess. However, one problem did occur during the time nocturnal creatures lurked about.
"No! Please! Don't leave me!"
"Marie, get a hold of yourself!"
Tears were streaming down Alfred's face. He was sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I 'm sorry..." He kept repeating that phrase over and over again, as if he was chanting. Arthur pinned his wife's hands to stop the thrashing, but his wife was too loud and too distressed.
Alfred cried in a hushed voice, "I promised… come get you…"
His eyes were cracked open. He saw Amelia. Again.
Arthur hoisted his wife in a sitting position. "I'll be right back. I'll get some water."
Alfred hugged his knees. Homesickness is a terrible disease, he thought fleetingly.
Arthur would give his wife a glass of cold water, and if it seems fit with his gentlemanly mood, he would take out an old nursery book and read a story. Such was the routine for the king and the princess.
Even though Alfred knew that he should preserve his flawless complexion by taking in as much beauty sleep as possible, he just couldn't manage to sleep a wink for the past couple days. Needless to say, this was taking a heavy toll on his body and enervating his once seemingly never-ending, abundant amount of energy. Arthur called every person within the medical profession, ranging from the natural herbalist to the local pharmacist in order to find a cure to the princess's insomnia. His actions were not out of concern; rather, it was for coddling to his court and Francis to trust in him that he is treating Marie fine. Sure, he did some mistakes back then, but ignoring those dents to their relationship, he has given her everything and forced everyone to be subservient. Besides, her weird sleepiness will tarnish his golden reputation if his wife was to show off her garden of pimples to the paparazzi. To his avail, his efforts went down the drain for no concrete answer was given. Some said that his wife was under a spell or perhaps the stress was kicking in. A few even hypothesized that his wife was pregnant!
However, Alfred knew what the true problem was: his recurring nightmares. These nightmares have been going on for about a month now, each one revolving around a certain bright-eyed girl. She haunted his dreams, laughing her familiar laugh that sound remotely like bells and chimes. She would always call out to him in his dreams, singing, "Alfred, Alfred, Alfred…"
Yes, Amelia was the culprit. However, there is unfortunately no definite cure for lovesickness.
Arthur's patience was waning by the time he had to prepare to set sail to the Jade Palace for a peace conference, which would approximately be a two week trip to and fro. It was absolutely outrageous for him to take a ship rather than riding the sky in his personal jet, but the thrill of the ocean aroused the pirate spirit within him, beckoning him to once again sail the ocean blue. Old habits die hard, as the elders say, and Arthur dearly missed the sea. It rekindled memories of his teenage years, and his mouth began to salivate just thinking of the fresh air and salty water.
Like they said, old habits die hard.
One day when the king and the princess were having their daily tea time, it gave Arthur the occasion to rudely ask the query that was bothering his kingdom for the last time. He slammed the tabletop, shaking the top slightly, almost spilling the contents of the hot liquid inside the small cups, and demanded Alfred a direct answer.
"Damn it Marie, why the hell are you being so stubborn?"
Alfred took a sip from his mug of coffee nonchalantly, cherishing their private tea time since their last one hadn't been in ages, and was smugly advertising his antagonistic coffee to the tea loving man.
"I'm not stubborn; you just assume that. If I recall, I told you that nothing is wrong with me."
"Point taken, but there is acne and bumps on your skin that shouldn't be there in the first place." Arthur noted, "Dark bags are drooping under your eyes. It's unattractive. You almost tripped down forty flights of stairs the other day while your head was up in the clouds. There's proof in every nook and cranny and yet you still deny it. You are obviously in the river called, 'The Nile'."
"How do you know if I'm not in my menstrual period?" Alfred interjected.
Arthur coughed and choked on his relaxing tea; the tea had gone down the wrong tube. He blushed at his wife's frank retort, he would have never thought that in a million years that she would so plainly stated such a thing. Furthermore, the idea never occurred to him. Could she be already bleeding?
He coughed awkwardly, trying to cooperate with the princess, "Ummm, w-well…are you on your-?"
Alfred interrupted the middle of his question, "Of course not, you idiot. I'm not PMSing, am I?"
Arthur flushed a scorching red, angry that he was duped by Alfred's trick of words. Alfred was amused by Arthur's chagrin. The princess was quickly developing new schemes and figuring out ways to stump and fluster Arthur. And they were getting craftier.
"Tea time is over." announced Arthur.
His neck and ears were red, and if he hadn't been restraining his tongue with a bite, he would have done a lot more than just end their afternoon tea. He raised his teacup and downed the Earl Grey tea in one gulp, running the hot, herbal liquid into his throat. He then whipped his mouth and walked away, leaving Alfred to sit alone on the balcony.
Alfred let out contemplative sigh and slumped deep into his chair. He felt downright guilty. Here he was, distressed and disturbed because of some silly dreams about Amelia and was unintentionally destroying the very small thread of a somewhat weird, mutual relationship he was staring to develop with Arthur. Even Alfred had to admit to himself that he was being childish, acting like a big lovesick crybaby, but he couldn't help it. Amelia had been his first love and finally facing the reality of not ever seeing her again was starting to take its toll, even to the point where her memory haunted his subconscious. It wasn't long until Arthur started to take notice of his princess' declining health. He even went as far as to ask him about it…in his own rude, selfish way.
It was strange, and though he hated to admit it, but for once Arthur wasn't being a dick.
A drop of rain slithered down Alfred's cheek. A gust of wind whistled through the air, slicing through the darkening clouds which caused them to let go another rainfall. Since Alfred couldn't stand the rain (it reflected his current depressing mood all too well), he hurried back into the study room and closed the French doors of the balcony behind him. The large windows rattled, the wind howled like moaning ghosts, and Alfred, who hates having to withstanding this winter, cocooned himself inside layers of warm blankets. In a situation like this, he figured sheltering himself and waiting until the rain subsided was the best thing to do.
Even though Arthur was being a bit rude, he had struck a point. If he didn't resolve this nightmare problem soon, the he would continue to be exhausted. And if he wasn't alert and concentrated enough, he was bound to slip up at some point and would then stupidly reveal himself. Alfred cursed his own foolishness. He had already revealed himself once because Kiku had caught him writing a stinking love letter to Amelia; no way was he going to repeat that mistake again.
Hence, he decided to promptly summon for Kiku's audience and planned for Kiku to indirectly mention to Arthur about a certain important date that was coming up in the next two weeks. No way is he going to beg for Arthur to do something for him; talking to him may further Alfred from his goal. It may seem manipulative and guileful but he much rather walk the walk than to talk the talk, and Alfred cannot afford to show any openings to his disguise. He has to take action now.
"What is it now Alfred-hime?" Kiku stepped out of the shadows.
Alfred jumped a bit, apprehensive of Kiku's sudden spectral entrance.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny Kiku," Alfred laughed sarcastically at Kiku's subtle joke, "I need you to do something for me."
"Hai, Alfred-hime, anything for you." Kiku opened one eye and smirked.
"Still not funny." Alfred pouted and leaned over to Kiku's ear and whispered the words that were meant to be delivered to Arthur's.
"Arthur, have you heard? In about two weeks from now, it will be Marie's birthday, and coincidently, it'll be the same exact day when you depart for the Jade Parace."
Arthur responded with a grunt while he peered out of the window. With his arm supporting his kingly head on the armrest of his Burgundy Accent chair, which was decorated with golden carvings, Arthur watched his princess hopping maniacally across the rose garden below.
"Arthur?"
"I guess I'll have to take a detour and return her back to her kingdom." he muttered. His eyes were still immersed in whatever was outside the window; Kiku couldn't tell who or what he was looking at from his perspective.
"Your majesty?" He sounded hopeful. Perhaps Alfred would get his wish after all.
"Overall, she was well-behaved. And it's natural for the girl to be homesick. Maybe that's why she has been having nightly spells." Arthur turned to look back at the window and he stared intently at the young princess below. "Why not?" He turned his head back to Kiku.
"Kiku, can you please call Miss Edelstein here? We are going to embark on a journey to the Lapiz Kingdom."
Kiku smiled.
"What's with the smile?" His full attention was on the eyes of Kiku now.
"I'm sorry, Arthur. But I find it ironic that for once, we aren't trying to set siege to or barricade the Rapiz Kingdom." and with that last comment, Kiku leapt into the shadows and disappeared as usual.
Alfred was in the pinnacle of ecstasy, hugging and embracing Arthur as if he was an ethereal being sent from heaven to give him the good news, and in return, Arthur pushed the touchy princess away from him. Even though Arthur wasn't keen on scheduling the Royal Air Force to drop them off in the Lapiz Kingdom in such short notice, he figured that the surprise visit to the princess's home kingdom would cheer her up and perhaps even cure her insomnia.
"Thank you so much Arthur!" squealed Alfred as he tried to once again bear hug his "husband".
"Fine, fine, whatever! Will you please let go of me?!" yelled Arthur. He disliked this type of human contact; a simple hand shake and "thank you" would have done just fine. Arthur finally managed to wiggle his way out of his "wife's" embrace.
"Sorry, got carried away I guess." Alfred smiled brightly. This was the best news he had gotten in a long time. "Thank you again Arthur." He then skipped away happily.
Arthur was surprised; he hadn't seen that part of her in a long time. "Well I suppose that made her day didn't it?" said the shocked King Arthur.
As mentioned before, it was wintertime and although winter was Alfred's most hated season, it did have a couple of pluses to it. Did we all forget that CHRISTMAS was in December? That's right, it was Christmas time. This special holiday, combined with the news that he was going back to visit Lapiz Kingdom, finally brought out his old cheerful self. Maybe things were turning around after all, Alfred thought to himself.
"Time to spread some holiday cheer!" Alfred clapped his hands and set off to do the things Santa's little helper do.
Alfred mailed Christmas letters to the children of the orphanage, donated the giant stash of trinkets that Ivan had gifted him over the past few months, baked cookies and served them to servants and helped wrap presents with the castle's Christmas decorators. Time pasted; past the sparkling Christmas trees, eggnog, magnificent feasts, mistletoes, present exchanging, and snow. And for the most part, Alfred's memories of these happy holidays were of a Merry Christmas spent with Antonio and Lovino.
It was only a week before the 6th day of January, which is actually Marie's real birthday, but the castle was so busy that Alfred fainted and had a blackout twice while he was zooming back and forth signing bills and doing training all in the same week. His episodes of insomnia along with the rush of the holidays had strained his body enough, but combined with this week's workload, Alfred's energy levels were severely depleted.
The end result: Alfred has a dizzy head.
This was so serious that Kiku decided to postpone the meeting of their training until after their political visit to the Lapiz Kingdom because seeing drops of blood on one contract was the last straw for Kiku. The people who were accompanying the king and the princess were Kiku, Tino, Lovino, Antonio, and Ludwig.
"Home, sweet home," Alfred sang.
One more week before Marie's birthday, thought Alfred.
A blast of the wind and dirt ruffed up everybody's hair while the immense heat and power of the jets landed on the asphalt. Alfred took a deep breath and was steered by Tino to get inside and to put on his passenger seatbelt before gluing his face to the window.
ALFRED'S POV
How long have I been absent? Is Matthew healthy now? When will I see Francis and Marie? What will I do? I can't sleep, and you can see me squirming in my tight seatbelt, wiggling my body and tapping my foot. I'm nervous, so nervous that my heart is erratically beating from the excitement and nostalgia.
Thwack.
"Cease that tapping or pay the price. I can't sleep."
Oh phooey. Arthur's sitting next to me. Can't this guy ever give me a break?
"Arthur," I whined, "Why are you soooooo difficult? What have I done to get you soooooo angry at me?"
I mean, seriously, I know that I screwed up with the lotion on the first day, but no human being could have resisted. It's been like, what, three months? This dude seriously knows how to hold a grudge.
"Bugger off. You're a Lapiz person so it only makes for me, the King of Emerald Kingdom-the, until recently, archenemy of the Lapiz Kingdom, to unleash my inner exacerbation on you."
The sad feels I am getting. *Insert super sad face here*
Whose idea was it to let us sit together? Ludwig would have been a better replacement than this selfish, pig-headed, egotistic butthole. I turned my head to stare at the starry night sky; good thing I got the window seat. Being this close to the stars, I planted my hand on the window and, because of my body heat, a dusty fog outlined it. If only I could be a star, and shine brightly in the sky, too.
They remind me of the time when Matthew and I would camp outside with ol' Gilbert even though he's on night duty. For a couple of orphans living under Gilbert's wing, we turned out okay. We were companions together, and I remember when we silly goofballs would count the innumerable stars in the sky at night. Sometimes Gilbert would mess with us and say that if we look carefully, the dots in the sky would draw Old Fritz's face on the constellations. And we would jokingly but kindly rebuke to that. Ah, those were the good ol' times.
I like flying, though. Well, this is actually my first plane ride, but you get the point. Flying is nice. The only downside is that I have to sit next to this stinky-poo named Arthur Kirkland; such a downer.
So here I am, with a jerk face, and bored out of my life.
… If only boredom was curable.
"Hey Arthur, I know this might sound dumb, but have you ever liked anybody from the Lapiz Kingdom? You must have had at least one friend there."
To let you know, I am pretty proud of myself for using correct grammar. Props for Al!
He crossed his arms and his leg swung over the other, and he had a laid-back look, probably not concentrating on my question. Sometimes I wonder why EVERYBODY in the castle respects him. Even Roderich and Kiku love him. Why would anybody love a twisted soul like him?
Now I know he is actually thinking on my question since his mouth is sort of puckered as if he was sucking on a lemon. I guess that is his thinking face. It's cute…in its own stupid way. As if.
…
Alrighty, so when someone asks a question, they usually expect an answer…right? The question doesn't necessarily have to be answered quickly if it's a really important one, but I'm pretty sure that the general rule for waiting for an answer states that the thinking period shall never exceed two minutes. I mean, it has been almost five minutes since I asked. This guy is a bastard. Is it that hard to find one human being to like in all of Lapiz Kingdom? What does he take us Lapiz for? Losers? I know we had a huge war, in fact it was a twenty-year war, but he must have met at least one Lapiz that he respected or liked at some point in his miserable life, right? Okay, that's it! It's final-he's a hater. A born hater.
"Well… there was one person."
Jackpot!
I deadpanned. What a second… I know the kind of reputation Arthur developed in Lapiz. What kind of "person" did he actually liked? It wasn't another one of his whores, was it? "Wait. Was it a girl? An older woman, maybe?"
"Going after Francis' girls is not my cup of tea, Marie." Arthur rolls his eyes "Actually, surprisingly enough, this person was a small, naïve boy from some ten years ago."
"Ten years ago?"
Ten years ago would mean that I was…eight years old, according to the fingers that I am counting off on my hand. I remember that year well; it was a horrible year. That was the year Mom and Dad died.
"Yes, if I recall it, my parents died that year and so the burden of being King was thrusted upon me. Moreover, I remember that I had insisted on leading a rookie army into the front lines that year as well. Why I thought of that ridiculous idea, I may never know."
"Cool! You were king that young? That's pretty epic."
You have to admit, being king and staying sane is pretty awesome. Francis isn't a paranoid since he has Marie and "le amour" to keep him occupied and busy. Ivan, on the other hand has some issues he needs to work out. He a good guy, sure, but based off of what I read in books, his life story seems implausibly violent and super bloody. Now that I think of it, all rulers have their own issues. Francis, even though he is entitled King, his court controls all the buttons in that kingdom; and Arthur here obviously has some emotional issues.
But back to Arthur's storytelling, people of all races must know: It's a big mistake to commend and boost Arthur's ego. With my last comment, Arthur became more talkative about his past. Adding wood to the fire is never a good idea folks.
With a wave of his hand, and with his nose growing longer, (Tengu nose, as Kiku would say; he would call me this whenever he thought I was being a bit too egotistical) Arthur kept going on and on.
"…He was an oddball that one. The palest, white-arse man I had ever seen. He had the most ridiculous laugh too. It annoyed me senselessly when he boasted about how he had capturing me. It was a stupid little booby trap, nothing more. I should have been wise enough to have seen it earlier. That preposterous little albino-what a bastard he was! Anyways, after getting cut off from the main troop, I was lost in the woods and I tried to find my way back. It was during that time of aimless wondering, that I found myself hanging upside down. And so, I was unfortunately given the humility of being captured by an obnoxious geezer named Gilbert Beillschmidt, ironically he is Ludwig's brother."
Wait. Holda holda HOLD UP. How. How is he related to...well, the man that's behind me? Mind blown! My eyes bulged like those puny goldfish swimming in Arthur's pond next to his garden, and the thought of the genetic makeup that Gilbert and Ludwig shared scared the crap out of me. Gilbert never told me he had a brother. I wonder why.
Pushing those tantalizing thoughts to the back of my head, I circled my hand, cueing Arthur to continue his insightful rambling about his preteen years.
"Yeah…that boy was the strangest one. You may not believe it, but I was captured by that Gilbert. Yes, he tied me up and everything. He was such an irritating fellow and a great pain to my ears, boasting about his awesomeness or something."
Yup, that's my Gilbert.
"But before I was cruelly beaten and dragged by my legs by his horse, a little boy, younger than me by a couple of years in my opinion, appeared and jumped onto that albino. Based on what I observed, they were acquainted with each other; friends. The young boy edged closer to me and looked at me like a normal human being, not one of an enemy but rather a long lost companion. Then when Gilbert, I believe that was his name, wasn't looking, the young boy cut off my bonds and told me to run away while he was distracting his friend. Distract him indeed. Ha! He picked up a hunk of mud and bombarded Gilbert's face with it; quite hilarious if you ask me. I escaped of course. I can't remember the lad's name or what he looks like, though; he always looked fuzzy in my memories. Either way, he was a stupid boy."
Arthur's eyes hardened at remembering the ambiguous boy. What's so wrong with that boy?
"Why is that? I think he's brave!" I defended.
Kudos to that kid who was brave enough to chuck Gilbert with mud! I would so do that.
"Brave? Ha! My Marie, never one for critical thinking, are you? Just think, if I wasn't saved, the war would have ended ten years earlier. If the boy knew who I was back then, many lives would have been spared. Brave? I think not. Blissful ignorance if you ask me!"
Whoa. That came out pretty strong. Very deep.
His eyes aren't even open, but his cynicism is definitely showing. However, I did think about the cause and effects of that little boy. If Gilbert kept Arthur, then he would have more than likely tortured and killed him. The war would be over; without a King, the Emerald Kingdom would cease to exist. Perhaps this kid had a greater impact in history then anybody would have thought. Amazing that Arthur can remember a memory that vividly from ten years ago.
Now I'm confused. Why would Arthur like him then? I decided to probed a bit further into the situation.
"Okay Arthur, now you're trolling on me here. Why would you like some guy from the Lapiz Kingdom, whom you thought should have left you for dead?"
Arthur's eyes flickered and his eyelashes fluttering open. He looked at me with a stare that looked as though he was staring into my bare soul. I know that sounds weird, but that's what it felt like. It was like my flight or fight response activated and all I wanted to do was jump out of my window with a parachute, because those icy, green eyes penetrated right into me. And I couldn't look away from them.
"Because…that boy gave me hope." he whispered.
I shut up. We both closed our eyes, and I allowed the rumbling of the jet convulse me as I drifted to sleep, where in my dreams Amelia was swinging on a swing attached to the moon and Arthur, with his eyebrows and green eyes, jumped over the moon. Seriously, my dreams are fucked up.
We never revisited this subject again because Arthur would usually just ignore me for days and dump me in the guest room if I made any remarks about the context of that event.
XXX Third Person POV
An array of colorful streamers and sparklers collided with a jamboree of poppers as they all flew about in the air. It was a glamorous welcome-back celebration, in honor of the once-Lapiz-now-Emerald princess, Marie. The joyful gathering of people was the complete antithesis to the silent treatment Alfred would probably receive once he returned to Emerald Kingdom-cold and unemotional.
"Welcome back Princess!"
"It's so good to see you again my Princess!"
"Oh how we have missed you my dear Princess!" exclaimed the servants who came to welcome their long gone Princess. "Pleased to see you again, Princess!"
"Hello everyone. Thank you all so much." Alfred smiled brightly at the happy servants. A much better welcome party then the one he usually receives at Emerald Kingdom.
The optimistic weather restored Alfred's smile. He sighed as he realized that he had been gone for far too long. In the Emerald Kingdom, he felt neglected, like a whittling flower in a flower pot with no nutritious soil; but here in the Lapiz Kingdom, there was no such thing as a hidden dark corner for sunshine was bountiful. It's hard to imagine now that just only two years ago the bloody Twenty Years War had taken place ten miles away from this very land. The war had left many scars and the people of from both kingdoms never did quit forgive one another. Anger and resentment lingered in the air, feelings of hostility remained.
"Ah, welcome…King Arthur. Always nice to see you." said one Lapiz official, his voice low and serious. The official grinned sweetly, but his eyes were full of hate.
"Likewise Sir McAvoy. I trust that you have been well." Arthur replied.
Arthur's face was hard, and his tone icy.
The official pleasantly said, "But of course…King Arthur. For why on earth wouldn't I be?"
They shook hands, roughly. The tension in the air was evident. Many instances, which to the untrained eyes looked like a simple exchange of quick, kind words between civilized men but were actually laced with clever banter and discreet sarcasm, like this occurred many times between Arthur and his Emerald men and the government officials from Lapiz.
The animosity between the two kingdoms quickly turned the once happy celebration into a chilly reunion of old foes; even Alfred could sense the mood. Oh come on, not now! thought Alfred, he had seen and dealt with too much coldness and aversion back in Emerald kingdom, and he did not wish to see and deal with it here in Lapiz-his home.
Alfred had heard rumors of certain women possessing the powers of persuasion. Maybe if he could calm them down a bit, then the mood would pick up and they won't want to wring each other's necks anymore. Alfred decided that now was as good a time as any to try and test to see if he himself possessed such a trait. Was he qualified?
"Oh, come now everyone. Shall we go inside?" He smiled one of his award winning, heart-melting smiles and tried to speak with a tone like that of a loving mother. "I believe the chefs prepared a delicious meal for us. Can't let it go cold on our account now, can we? Come now…let's walk together."
The deadly electric shocks which bounced between the eyes of Emerald and Lapiz people ceased. Whoa, apparently, Alfred did have the power of persuasion. "Ah, y-yes…you're right, my dear princess Marie. Let us go in!" exclaimed Sir McAvoy, the Lapiz government official, shaking his head as he realized just how silly he was acting.
"Fine. I am not particularly fond of Lapiz cooking, but I suppose it is high time for lunch anyways. I might as well eat." stated Arthur as he tried to recompose himself, straightening his coat and wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead.
Alfred sighs, Thank God that's all done and over with. All the stress from dealing with these blink-and-die morons, traveling, and lack of sleep was starting to get to him. He rubbed his head and tried to think of a happy place.
"Oh, yeah…that place." Alfred thought back to the time where he was being trained to be Marie's body double, and he remembered a particular place of peace that he would go whenever he felt sad or upset or just wanted a quiet place to think. Alfred sneaked away from Arthur, leaving him to confront the explosions of flowers and glitter at the end of the road. He managed to sneak away from the main entourage and took a different path to the back of the castle where his special place was located. However Alfred wasn't the only one who had taken a little detour.
"Kesesese, aren't damsels not supposed to wander off on their own?" The voice was unmistakable. It was him-Gilbert Beilschmidt.
"G-Gil!" exclaimed Alfred, half in shock and half in excitement. "Omg dude! I haven't seen you in forever!" Alfred ran over and glomped his childhood best friend.
"GAH! STOP THAT YOU MISERABLE BRAT! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" screamed Gilbert. He hadn't been expecting the sudden display of affection.
"Hell no bro!" squealed the happy Alfred. This was probably the happiest he had ever been in a long time. Seeing his old friend really did him some good. "I've missed you so much Gil!"
"…ah, you're hopeless." Gilbert eventually returned Alfred's hug. The scene was very much like a big brother giving his little brother a much needed bear hug. They quickly caught up and told each other what had passed since their last meeting.
"So wait, you knew about the whole thing all along? How?"
"Francis, of course."
"But how?"
Gilbert let out a hearty laugh "Kesesesese! Don't you even know who you're talking to kid?! I am the Awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt…High General of Lapiz Army!"
"W-WHAT?! NO WAY!"
"Kesesese! It's true! I got appointed a little while after you left to Emerald Kingdom to be Marie's body double. But I didn't know anything about the scheme while I was staying at the castle. Didn't even know you were there! Francis eventually told me everything, though. Actually I've been keeping close tabs on you for a while now. I couldn't let my friend go into enemy territory without making sure that you would be safe and supervised."
"…so you had Antonio secretly sent you messages about my well-being?"
Deadpan; fatality punch to the feels. Gilbert was at loss for words. "H-h-h-how did you figure that out?!"
"Isn't it obvious? You, Francis and Antonio are like bestest bros! Didn't you guys even use to call yourself the Bad Touch Trio in the old days? If you had someone keep tabs on me, then it had to be Antonio." Even though most people take Alfred for a simpleton upon first glance, he is actually really smart and has really sharp deductive reasoning…well, most of the time at least.
Gilbert smiled; he wasn't upset; in fact, he was somewhat impressed. Sure Alfred words did hurt his ego a bit, but he had enough sense to figure it all out on his own. He had trained his companion well. "Heh…you know, you turned out okay Alfred." he reached out and pulled his friend into a tight grip around his neck as he nuggied his head.
"H-HEY! Stop that Gil! You're ruining my hair!"
They continued to walk and talk up until Alfred reached his special place. "Thanks for walking with me Gil."
"Kesesese! Don't worry about it. Besides an awesome guy like me gotta watch over poor little damsels in distress, no?" They laughed merrily as they continued down the path to Alfred's special place.
"Oh yeah, dude!" exclaimed Alfred last minute. "You gotta tell me all about your so called long-lost little brother Ludwig!"
Gilbert stopped mid-step. Apparently, the mention of Ludwig had apparently struck a nerve. He was quiet and motionless for a while, which made Alfred worry a lot. The concept of quiet was a phenomenon unknown to Gilbert. Usually.
"H-hey…are you alright? Was it something I said?"
Gilbert blinked back to reality and shook his head. "It's…It's nothing!" he playfully punched Alfred on the shoulder and chuckled as he said, "Perhaps that's a story for another time, ja?" It was then that they finally reached the place Alfred had been itching to go to.
"Well then, I'll take me leave here. You know your way around, right?" asked Gilbert with a bright smile, but Alfred could tell it was fake. He nodded a positive. They said their good-byes and promised each other that they would meet again later on.
I hope he isn't mad at me, thought Alfred. He trudged a little higher to reach the entrance to the special place. It was like a secret garden snuggled between the back of the castle and the surrounding forest. There was a nice pond with a tiny waterfall flowing downward from a higher elevation. Unlike the other grounds of the castle, this "small" plot of land, which was approximately 5,000 square feet, wasn't infested with Francis' ridiculous Neo-classical statues, and thanks to Marie's insistence, this spot was off-limits from statues of erotic, naked works of art and red rose bushes.
Alfred hiked his polka-dotted flared skirt up to his knees and dipped one foot into the pond, liking the cool temperature enveloping his feet. High-heels are still difficult for Alfred to tromp on. Regardless of the "supposed" gel pads he was given to by Kiku (who said that they have healing powers that would evaporate all the pain away- damn advertisements), his feet still ended up with swollen ankles. What happened in the history of Women Fashion for these to be invented? He dipped his blistered feet into the cold, bacteria-infested pond water and sighed in relief of the relieving temperature. Then he heard a familiar voice.
"What a coincidence, princess."
Alfred recognized that voice; but unlike last time, the owner of the voice didn't come alone, for there was a long, brown-haired young man with dull blue eyes clad in a military uniform beside him. The sudden presence of the unexpected audience surprised Alfred. How did they get here? Alfred slipped his feet back into the detrimental shoe wear and ruffled his skirt in disinterest, not minding the two men across from him. One was trembling and pale, while the other wore a long scarf despite the burning heat.
Alfred mentally and physically prepared himself to change once again into the delicate princess he was supposed to be and act. He didn't like having to do this, but it was necessary in order to pass for Marie's body double.
Warming up his vocals, he spoke with mock surprise, "Oh my! It's you again! How long has it been? How did you get here? For a while there, I thought fate would never entwine us to meet again!" What? He had seen a few chick flicks in his life before. Now was as good a time as any to say one of those cheesy lines.
"Forgive my rudeness, princess. But do you remember me? My name is Ivan Braginski, and this is my right hand man, Toris Laurinaitis."
"But of course, I remember you! Ivan Braginski, ruler of the Rudy Federation, right? Yeah, I remember you from the ball back at Emerald Kingdom." Alfred though back to that rainy night where Ivan had attempted to cheer him up by offering him to dance. "You wanted to dance with me, but I had to refuse because I was only allowed to dance with Arthur. You were quite the gentlemen…thank you." He smiled cheerfully, feeling grateful to him.
Likewise, Ivan smiled and spoke with a tone which implied a suggestive banter "My, my, your memory is sharp."
Lest be known to Alfred, Ivan Braginski, the leader of the Ruby Federation, had long been suspected of personally owning five nuclear weapon factories and had a fierce reputation. It's said that he even once replaced his new assistant because he had lightly mocked him once for carrying around a pipe like a makeshift cane. Later on that day, they had found the same assistant dead in his car, his face completely beaten up and a bloody pipe was left at the scene. However, one cannot exactly blame the man for his harsh temperament; after all he had to go through a lot in his life. In fact, it was Ivan himself who had to build his country out of nothing.
In the past, the now Ruby Federation used to be a vast land plotted with small tribes which were loosely connected and had refused to combine into one large state like the Jade Palace. Ivan came from one of the most powerful warring tribes from these lands. His father had attempted to unite these lands into one country but had died before he could see his dream come true, and so the difficult duty of leadership was passed onto Ivan when he was just twelve years old. Many people had high hopes for their young leader; after all, his father was one of the greatest warlords their tribe had ever seen and despite his young age, Ivan was already such a skilled leader and warrior. Ivan reluctantly continued to do his father's work. The time he was fifteen, Ivan had claimed half of the vast territory. However, old tribal rivalries soon led to genocide, and before he knew it, he was losing all that he and his father had gained.
This was perhaps the darkest time in Ivan's life. He was forced to make decisions that he had hoped he would never have to make, and it slowly killed him inside. He had always lived a difficult life, as expected from men from his tribe, but all those dark memories and horrible nightmares finally began to take its toll. Something changed within him during that time. Before, he had always managed to keep a smile on his face and would always try to look on the brighter side of things, but no more. Now it didn't matter to Ivan if he was viewed as the bad guy. As long as it meant that he would save millions of his people instead of having to bow down to some savage dictator from another nation, he would taint his hands with any amount of blood.
It wasn't until he was nineteen that the genocide finally ended and he was finally able to achieve what he and his father had tried so hard to accomplish. Ivan had finally created his own country-The Ruby Federation. It had taken him a long time, but Ivan finally had that one thing he had always craved: peace. From that day forward he promised himself that he would strive to live happily and peacefully. It was finally his time to be happy.
Years pass and here he stood in front of the object of his affections, looking innocent and pristine as a warm, tingling feeling bubbled deep within his stomach. Yup, it was undeniable; he was utterly and completely taken away by this fair maiden. Woe is the hopeless man who loves a lovely married dame. He opened his mouth, wanting to spark a conversation with the pretty princess, but he never got the chance.
Alfred caught the flitting, startled eyes that belonged to the so-called Toris. He then looked back at Ivan disapprovingly and walked toward the taller man, staring at him dead in the eye. Was he treating this young man badly?
It was a bizarre thing to do, but he couldn't help it. Maybe it was because he was feeling so unusually awkward and flustered right then, but for some unexplainable reason, Ivan had cupped the princess's cheek with his hand. He reveled in the aesthetic view of the princess's face and quickly became lost in her gorgeous blue eyes. Thinking back to when he was amongst the crowd of people who welcomed the princess home (had purposefully traveled to Lapiz to wish the princess a happy birthday), Ivan had found it awfully lamentable to see Arthur's hand on the princess's shoulder as if he claimed her as his territory. But now here he is, staring directly at the princess's face, trying to etch her celestial features into his mind. However, this precious moment was only temperamental and ended soon. Alfred moved away Ivan's hand from his face, which in turn caused Ivan to come out of his trance. Toris gasped at the princess's noteworthy valor to physically defy Ivan.
"What did I say about making that rape face? Chin up. Come on, Ivan. Smile with your lips curved upwards like this." Alfred coached.
Alfred demonstrated one of his heart-stopping smiles but ended face-palmed at the epic fail of a smile Ivan endeavored.
Alfred gave a nervous laugh as he said, "I guess smiling is a god given gift… Nice try though."
Alfred patted on Ivan's shoulder tenderly. Ivan blushed. This was so unlike him. "I guess…I'll just keep practicing, da?"
There was an awkward silence; both didn't know what to say and poor Toris felt like an invisible third wheel. Finally Alfred was the one to break the silence. "So Ivan, what do you like the most in the entire world?"
"Sunflowers."
Alfred guffawed as realization hit him like a bullet in the back. "Is that why you sent me twenty baskets of sunflowers?"
Please note that when Alfred says "twenty baskets", he's actually talking about the twenty or so giant, dumpster-truck loads of sunflowers which are currently sitting majestically out on the front lawn of Emerald Castle. Unfortunately the large amounts of flora had aroused Alfred's allergies. Little did they know that in the future, Emerald would be a hot spot for tourists mainly due to the millions of sunflowers planted throughout the kingdom.
"Did you not like the presents I sent you during Christmas?"
Ivan looked hurt. Maybe it was his emerging womanly instinct, or maybe it was his manly empathy, but Alfred smiled reassuringly at the overgrown child that he thought the thoughtful Christmas presents were lovely. "Of course I did! They were very beautiful. It was really nice of you, Ivan. Thanks."
God, Alfred hated having to take up the role of a pleasing and entertaining hostess. After all, he much rather be wolfing down the gourmet platters in the dining hall, or venturing out into the village to visit Matthew; but then again, leaving a grumbling Ivan alone with the feeble man was a bad idea for some reason. It wasn't like Ivan was a bad man; he was just a little odd and had weird social patterns.
"Hey, I bet people are going to start wondering where I slipped off to. Shall we go inside?"
He took Ivan's and Toris' hand, and led them to the right side of the castle. "But first, there's something I want to show you." exclaimed Alfred. "Think of it as a belated Christmas present…da?" Alfred's use of Ivan's native tongue, made Ivan feel warm and fuzzy inside and he smiled (well attempted) back.
They pasted the lilacs, daisies, irises, and roses before they could finally reach their destination. The scene was breathtaking. They arrived at a field where rows upon rows (perhaps it was even acres) of sunflowers stood up proudly towards the sky, never bowing down to the radiant sunshine. Petals scattered about in the wind, fooling around with Alfred's allergy-sensitive nose, and he sneezed rather loudly. So loud in fact, that it made the other two men jump at the sheer ferocity and volume of the sneeze. My goodness! She could use this as a weapon if she wanted to, thought Ivan jokingly to himself.
"AAACHOOOO!" said Alfred in a weak daze. "S-sorry…s-s-s-stupid allergies…"
Ivan searched the remnants of his front pocket. "Here. For your nose." Ivan handed Alfred a hanky.
Alfred smiled at the tenderness of Ivan's actions; he was truly playing the part of the gentleman. See? This guy was actually pretty nice and not as scary as people often thought of him to be. He took the hanky with much appreciation. "Whoa. T-T-T … A-ACHOOOO! … Thank you Ivan!"
"Пожалуйста."
This sweet transaction between the two made Ivan love the princess all the more.
Meanwhile…
"My goodness Arthur, it appears as though the princess is enjoying his company, no?"
Francis stepped forward from his one of his custom-made statues of a Greek nymph and looked up at Arthur who posted atop on a balcony overlooking the sunflower fields. He was observing his wife and the Ruby as they diverged to the sea of sunflowers, where his wife flopped down on one patch and began to laugh as she played hide-and-seek with the other two Rubies. Arthur's face was emotionless as he stared off into the distance.
Hmm? Does he not care then? thought Francis.
Suddenly, Arthur climbed up the railing, and then did a magnificent triple back flip and landed right next to Francis. He patted his suit to dust off any invisible particles, but in actuality, he just wanted to do that to show off his amazing gymnastic flexibility. Francis groaned mentally, stupid eyebrows.
Arthur, completely ignoring Francis' complacent question, then stated while still looking at their direction, "So, you're getting married."
Francis plucked a rose from the ground, twiddling it around with his lanky fingers. "Lisa and I will be wed near June since she wishes to be a June bride. Have any comments to add?" Actually, in all honestly, it really baffled Arthur and the other kingdoms as to why Francis, the romantic man of love, would choose now of all times to be wed. In the later years, he would simply shrug and say, "You can't rush amour."
"It's ironic that a pervert like you got married later than me. Moreover, I'm twenty-two while you're twenty-five."
"Qui, but I'm surprised she accepted my proposal. I am the happiest man alive."
"If it were up to me, I would have chained you to your bed for the next five months to prevent you from groping anyone with feminine genitals. I would be terribly insecure when you are roaming free."
Francis puckered his face into a sour expression, not amused by Arthur's left-handed comment and clumped the rose in his hand, not wincing at the pointy thorns prickling his dainty fingers and stomped away, not wanting to argue especially when it was so close to Marie's birthday. The two have been at each other's necks ever since their coronation ten years ago because it was implanted into their young and naive brains that the only way to resolve this idiotic war would have been to obliterate each other. But thanks to Arthur's treaty for a truce, they had to bite their tongues in order to not lash out at the other.
In the corner of Francis's eye, there was "Lisa" who was loyally waiting for her king to end his brisk meeting with King Arthur. She was sitting on a marbled bench, smiling beautifully at her fiancé even though on the inside, her mind was shocked to see the two males actually having a civil conversation. Francis, after sticking out his tongue childishly at the other king, joined his future wife, and laid his head on her shoulder, inhaling her flowery fragrance with love.
"Comment était ta journée? (How was your day?)"
"Overall, it was good."
Lisa told him that Alfred had recently left the castle while being escorted by Ivan and Toris because Alfred was impatient to meet his brother, who was outside fetching bouquets of pink carnations for tomorrow's event. The girl slid closer to the man and tickled his face by brushing the stubbles on his face. Then the bad news came.
"Kaoru of the Orchid Flame escaped." She said solemnly.
Francis jumped at that. "What?"
"He was aided by General Im Yong-Soo, his accomplice, and not only that, he broke Mei out of jail, too."
Arthur would eventually learn, too, of these turn of events, but the consequence of these jailbreaks will be revisited later.
Alfred remembered the nostalgic feel of the cobblestones below his feet, the musky, polluted air from the blacksmith's forge and the clanging of the rickshaws whenever they bump over the potholes. In his perception, this was home. Home was where the honey-drizzled baumkuchen could be smelled from Gilbert's window and the yapping from ol' Berlitz could be heard as he barked at the passing children. All of this warmed his heart.
He moved in quick spasms, filled with anticipation at the prospect of meeting Matthew after six months. Out of nowhere, he suddenly saw a procession of trumpets marching down the flowery field nearby the church. The church bell was ringing, ringing, and ringing, and the organ could be heard inside, whistling out the celebrative wedding song for celebration. Alfred boasted to himself that Roderich could top that musician any day.
The married couple came out, embracing each other in pure, divine matrimony, and the flower girl dumped her white basket full of red and pink rose petals, which were Alfred's least favorite flowers, onto the bride.
A wedding in January- how odd, thought Alfred, but the happy couple didn't seem to mind, apparently, for the groom smiled a cheeky grin. Then, Alfred's eyes widened because behind the all too familiar veil, was her face. She was dressed in a low-cut flowery dress which was the complete contrast to his imagined long-sleeved, lacy one that he would have picked out for her. Her shoulders were bare, and she was being carried off to her carriage by a man with silver cropped hair, laughing with his bride.
Shatter.
His heart was shattering into a million pieces, each dropping and crashing down and destroying Alfred's world. His lip was quivering, trembling, and his mind was running, trying to repress the sight, but it was too late. The woman looked at her husband with a loving smile as she lively raised her chin to give him a kiss.
That kiss was intended for Alfred in his dreams. The ring on her ring finger was meant to be bought by Alfred after raising enough money working for her father. Her heart was supposed to be his, not to some random guy standing across from him. Her eyes used to be for him when they were children but no more. Someone else is having his happy ending with her.
Alfred remembered crying over his parent's death when he was five, crying over his brother's failing body when he was eight, and today, when he is only eighteen, another tear escaped and slid down his cheek, in exactly the same way as that raindrop fell onto his face last time during tea time. Even though he is considered a young adult, it didn't stop him from crying.
He didn't cry when he left his comfortable lifestyle, didn't cry when he was shunned by hundreds of people, didn't cry when Arthur punched his stomach, and he absolutely didn't cry when he missed his first dance in his first ball event. Yet, he is crying now because of his unbearable loss, for losing someone he never had. Alfred's heart was in the midst of breaking. He ran away, tears blissfully obscuring everything from his sight, leaving Ivan and Toris befuddled in the fields of dandelions.
A/N:
Okay, first things first, things you might have missed in this chappie:
• Hime, referring to Kiku's subtle joke, means "Princess". So basically Kiku is just poking fun at Alfred by calling him princess.
• The guy who was with Ivan and Alfred at the garden was Toris Laurinaitis a.k.a Lithuania.
• In the scene where Ivan says to Alfred: "Пожалуйста", it means "You're welcome" in Russian.
• Also, in case ya didn't know, ol' Berlitz is Ludwig's/German's dog.
• Oh, yeah and the chick who was getting married at the church was Amelia. Her husband turned out to be male!Belarus. LOL! PLOT TWISTER~! (Don't ask how it happened)
Comments from "T": I'm still an amateurish author, but even my heart was breaking to write this. ;_; Also, just in case if you have been wondering, why on earth did I name Jeanne Marie when I could have kept the name? Well, funny story actually. I thought Marie was Jeanne's reincarnation's name, so I wanted to name her after that but it was actually Lisa. Thank you for reading this!
Comments from "J": Sorry it took so long you guys. Things got really rough during the summer and then when I got back, technology decided to ruin my life (a.k.a charger exploded on me and then my laptop got a vicious virus). However, things eventually got better and I'm really glad to finally get this posted on here for ya guys, 'cause you totally deserve it! XD
Stay tuned and I hope to get the next one out as soon as possible. Sigh, editing is hard work folks! Xp THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS! 3