Again there is no time skip as we continue on… So Ivan (a.k.a Russia) forced Gilbert to remain in his room and have no contact with anyone. Even Ludwig. (Try imagining like his room door is the Berlin wall. Bringing history into this!) Ludwig didn't understand why his brother no longer came out, whenever he asked Ivan about it the Russian simply said Gilbert wanted to be alone. Ludwig had the feeling there was something else he wasn't telling him, but knew it wasn't in his place to question it.

Meanwhile Gilbert was starting to feel more and more insecure about his appearance.

"You must hide it!" Ivan snapped at him.

"I know."

He did his best to keep his eyes hidden behind contacts, and shove his hair into a wig. He was even forced to rub some sticky brown substance on himself to hide his pale skin now.

"If you are ever going to be king you must learn how to rule properly." Ivan continued. He paced the room as Gilbert sat at his desk. It was piled high with papers and files as he studied for his life as a ruler.

"Don't worry." He said. "I'll be a great king. The awesomest king ever, kesesese."

He began to laugh happily. His laughter was suddenly cut off as a loud smack echoed in the room. Gilbert looked up from his position on the floor to see Ivan glaring down at him with anger and hatred. He brought a hand up to his cheek only to hiss in pain and pull it away.

"Never use that word again." Ivan ordered, disgust and malice soaking his voice. "Monsters are not awesome."

"Yes sir." Gilbert said, scrambling back to his feet.

"And you are a monster."

"I am a monster."

"You are a freak."

"I am a freak."

"You are a demon."

"I am a demon."

He kept his head down the entire time, not allowing Ivan to see the tears stinging his eyes.

It soon became a habit for Ivan to make Gilbert recite those words three times a day, and the more his did, the more he believed them.

Ivan began to beat Gilbert if he so much as hint that there was something good about him. It seemed to him that any form of confidence the young prince might have, had to be crushed.

He continued to uphold his rule of Gilbert being fully disguised by the time he entered his room in the morning. Unfortunately, one morning, Gilbert overslept and awoke to see the larger mans face, with a psychotic smile, pressed up next to his. He screamed and back away so far he fell right out of bed. Ivan giggled as he watched Gilbert become so flustered. His laughter frightened Gilbert more than the albino would dare admit. When Ivan was angry it meant a beating, however when he was happy, that usually meant something so much worse.

"What did I tell you, you must always have done by the time I enter." Ivan asked, his voice sadistically happy.

"Uh… I…. M-must have my hair a-a-and eyes hidden…" Gilbert stuttered.

"Right. And do you?"

"…No…" He whispered, getting very scared now.

"Well then I have no choice but to punish you." Ivan said, like it was a matter of fact. Gilbert climbed back to his feet and stood waiting to see what Ivan would do. On the outside he looked defiant and uncaring, on the inside he was terrified. He had horrible memories of Ivan's previous punishments, from that time he broke the flute his grandfather had given him to when he'd locked him in his cupboard for an entire day. By now Gilbert was use to hiding his fear from his guardian, or more accurately, tormentor. However, when Ivan produced a whip from under his coat, he couldn't help but take a few steps back. The shock of seeing the weapon caused his mask of indifference to crack slightly and allow a look of fear to overcome his face. A look Ivan reveled in.

"Stand over there." Ivan instructed, pointing to the window. Gilbert didn't move. "I said stand over there!" Ivan grabbed Gilbert's arm and gave a harsh yank. Gilbert gave a cry of surprise as he was shoved towards the window of his room. Once there Ivan asked no more of him, choosing to do everything himself, unwilling to wait for Gilbert. He stripped the young prince and bound his hands, which were then tied to the window frame. The fear in Gilberts chest began to rise as he realised he was trapped. He also began to feel embarrassed about being seen naked, especially by Ivan.

The older man gave one last giggle as he pulled the whip back, then brought his arm down as fast as he could. It hit Gilbert's back with a satisfying crack, and the poor boy cried out in pain. He'd never experienced anything like this before, never had anything caused him so much physical pain, and it was only the first strike. After ten slashes he felt tears begin to accompany his screams, and after twenty he'd been reduced to a sobbing mess. His entire back was caked in blood. Ivan untied his hands and he feel to the ground, howling and crying in pain. The Russian man simply watched the child for a few minutes, his face showing no emotion, almost as though he was studying the albino. After about ten minutes Gilbert's sobs began to turn into sniffs and coughs. He was still unable to stop the flow of tears and all the blood he'd lost was beginning to make him feel light headed. Ivan went to the bathroom across the hall and got a first aid kit. He cleaned and bandaged Gilbert's wounds then left him alone, promising to be back within two hours, and he hoped, this time, Gilbert would: "Look more appealing."

As soon as he was alone, Gilbert curled in on himself and began sobbing into his knees. His emotions were so mixed up right now the only solution was to cry it out. He felt like his back was on fire; he felt humiliated at having broken down in front of the man causing him pain; he felt ashamed that he hadn't hidden his 'deformities' before Ivan arrived and more than anything he felt alone and unloved. That was the day he removed the word awesome from his vocabulary. Up until then he'd still continued using it in his diary of whenever he was alone, but now he gave it up all together. Crying, naked, and whipped, he felt the exact opposite of awesome. He felt like the freak he already knew he was.