Chapter 9

Hey there guys! Another lack of inspiration with the introduction… ugh! This is probably the biggest challenge of my writing endeavors… Anyway, on to today's chapter!

It was not morning yet when Elizabeta woke up with a strange feeling. She propped herself in one elbow as she patted her nightstand for the matches to light a candle. The Hungarian grew aware that there was someone on the other side of her bed who was loudly snoring, growling and… stinking. What the heck? Eventually managing to light up her bedside candle, she cautiously turned and directed the flame on her companion. A horrid looking, rather pumpkin shaped creature with grayish skin and an ancient nightcap which looking strikingly similar to Arthur's came into view. Two big crooked fanglike lower teeth were popping out of its mouth each time it snored.

Elizabeta shrieked in utmost horror, unable to comprehend what was going on. Was this Arthur who had turned into a monster and had eventually managed to find Feliciano and eat him? If so, why was the Englishman still in her bed? Was he maybe going to devour her too, as a punishment for her betrayal? Her scream woke up the troll, who also sat up and gave her a cross-eyed glance that couldn't have been more confusing.

"M-master? Is… is that you?" the girl stuttered, terrified.

"Gorgog!" the troll exclaimed with a blood curdling chuckle and blew off her candle. Suddenly left in the dark, the Hungarian could do nothing more than jump off the bed and stumble blindly towards the door, hoping for a quick escape. At least she was pretty sure now that the unexpected guest was not Arthur, but that wasn't much of a solace. In fact, it was all the more disturbing. And where was the Italian?

"Feliciano?"

There was no answer but the troll's malicious laughter.

"FELICIANO!"

-x-

Not far away from Elizabeta's room, in the castle's kitchens, Feliciano - who was hungry and had ventured out in search of food - heard her screaming but did not think too much of it. Maybe she is having a nightmare, or maybe one of those dreams, veh? I mean, if she were really in some sort of trouble, she would not call for him, right? Right. Having drawn this convenient conclusion, he resumed the preparation of his beloved pasta. It had already begun to smell nice, he thought, adding a few more spices to the sauce, and the flavor had eventually overcome the horrible smells which usually lingered in the kitchen. No wonder, in one corner there was a large cauldron full of something the appearance of which resembled a stew, but which with all benevolence the Italian had not deemed edible. In fact, the sheer odor that had met his sensitive nose the very moment he had attempted to lift the lid had made his knees go weak.

Much to his surprise, not everyone agreed. As he was slowly stirring into his pasta pot, he caught sight of a figure that was soundlessly sneaking behind his back, towards said cauldron.

"Who is there, veh?" he asked fearful, in a cracking voice. In the dim light the Italian distinguished something that looked like a white rabbit, except it was way larger than his favorite bunnies and for some reason it also had a cross shaped hairclip behind one ear. It also seemed to be holding something like a phial in his paws.

"Who the hell are you? Leave me alone!" the rabbit retorted irritated, shooting him an angry glare.

After having fallen prey yet again to the troll's twisted sense of humor and being thus transformed by a half asleep and piss drenched Arthur, Lukas was more determined than ever to see his plan of pouring his much toiled upon love potion into the Englishman's stew to fulfillment. Squinting in the obscurity, he did not recognise the small Italian whose survival he was not aware of anyway, but he was at any rate displeased to meet some random nosy servant who could obstruct his endeavor.

"Veh! You can talk?" Feliciano wondered out loud, drawing closer. The white rabbit ignored him blatantly as it hopped towards the cauldron, then up on a small stool and pushed the lid off.

"What are you doing there, veh?" the Italian insisted, much to the Norwegian's despair.

Right then, the double doors swung open and Elizabeta burst in. She was instantly relieved to see that her roommate was safe and sound.

"Feliciano!" she cried. "Oh Feli, I was so scared! I woke up and there was an ugly monster in our…er… my bed and you were nowhere!"

"That is pretty strange, veh! I just found a talking rabbit in here and he's trying to cook too!" the Italian said in turn. "Although I don't think that it knows how…"

The Hungarian blinked, completely puzzled. "What? Where?" Her gaze trailed to the white rabbit who was now glaring at both of them.

"Why the hell can't you leave me alone, you idiots? I'm an evil rabbit and if you don't get lost this instant I will eat you both!" it shouted menacing, startling the two of them.

"Oh my God, do something!" Elizabeta shrieked, desperate that she'd forgotten her favorite frying pan back into her room. Feliciano rummaged feebly through his pockets and almost instantly pulled out an extendable white flag. "No, don't hurt us, don't hurt us, we surrender! White flag, see?" he cried maneuvering it with an expert hand.

Lukas did see the white flag, especially as, energetically wielded as it was by the little Italian, it knocked him off the stool in one swing. The phial of magic love potion was swept from his paws and flew spectacularly, smashing into a remote wall, while he took a nose dive into the stew filled cauldron, with a loud plop.

A thick purple cloud erupted in the spot where the potion had spilled, while a mysterious voice resounded out of thin air:

A word of warning to all those who try to use wicked potions to inflict the most powerful magic that is love upon innocent and unsuspecting hearts: not only that love potions do not work as wished, but most often they backfire monumentally, as you may have discovered already, so that you should probably devote your toil to more worthy and noble purposes than that which you have so foolishly attempted. And if you're ugly, tough shit! On a happier note, for more disastrous magic recipes, don't forget to visit Harmonius Peake's Magical Jokes Shop! Open 24/7

Hope you enjoyed, although it was a short one :) (Always hopeful… that's me:)) Next update as soon as I figure out how things will evolve… In the meantime, let me know what you think :)