Dust to Dust

by Conlaoch

A Golden Compass/Hetalia crossover following APH America and APH Canada through the early years of their lives and their growth into young adults. Hints of FrUK and likely to end in AmeCan. You can find this on Ao3 as well! As always, enjoy.

2. Leaps and Bounds

The dawn of a new day brought warmer weather and clear skies for the city of Oxford and all its residents. The sounds of the fresh spring kept the air buzzing and alive even in the early hours when the people were first awakening, daemons curled up or nestled nearby. The peeking glance of Eos on the horizon was quick to alight upon the silvery remnant of the rapidly evaporating dew, creeping through the streets shyly before She went leaping Her way through windows and shedding light across the doorways of all She could reach. Helios ran at Her heels, quickly bringing in the rising sun.

Somewhere buried away from the prancing light was Matthew, blanket pulled up over his head despite the solid darkness enveloping his tiny room. Ottium, besides his human, was stirring despite the sleep tugging on his eyelids. Blinking slowly to wakefulness the daemon heaved a loud yawn and started to pull himself out of bed. Paw pads landing on the floor with a muffled thump, the currently feline daemon stretched his stiffened muscles and looked around the dark room. His daemon's awakened state influenced his own sleep status; Matthew started to stir in slight aggravation at being forced awake and patted around the bed for Ottium. Snickering slightly, the cat sat back on his haunches and wrapped his tail over his front paws.

"Matthew! Hey, listen! Wake up, sleeping beauty." Ottium meowed in a shrill pitch with his whiskers twitching as Matthew started to waken, stubbornly staying under his blanket. Ottium knew why he was being so reluctant of course. The young boy had slept a little too much last night and was feeling off kilter at the moment. All the same Ottium continued to try and encourage his human to get up and get moving as they definitely had chores to do. Not to mention the paper that Francis had given Matthew to do as homework had ended up abandoned on the floor of Alfred's room; neither of them knew about that yet. Meowing wordlessly now, quickly padding over and hopping upon the bed and onto Matthew, Ottium jostled Matthew around and forced him to get up. This prompted a low moan of reluctance to warble from the little blond's throat as he slowly started to slide from the blanket and stumble his way to the door.

Opening the door let in the flood of light that had since come to illuminate the rest of the building, making Matthew squint his eyes shut against the offense and turn away with a grumble. Ottium merely pounced out into the morning as he morphed from his feline form into long platinum grey ferret and turned tight circles there on the floor as Matthew wandered back into his room. Stripping himself sluggishly of his dirtied and wrinkled clothing the boy let a yawn find its way from his mouth, arms stretching up as he smacked his lips slightly. He was incredibly hungry, for well enough reasons, and could smell some form of breakfast being made already. This was what finally managed to spur the boy into action as Ottium chattered impatiently and chided at him to hurry up. Throwing on a simple cotton t-shirt and a pair of dark brown shorts with long socks and loafers, Matthew ran his fingers through his hair and tugged out the tangled in it. Several snags made him wince a bit, but by the time he had finally made it to the kitchen the boy's mouth was watering and he could hardly care less about the dull ache of his scalp when faced with the scent of sizzling meat and baking biscuits.

Making his way through the bustle of people in the kitchen, Matthew made to grab his apron from the rack they were all kept. Upon Matthew putting on his apron Ottium jumped into the air and morphed into a sparrow before diving into the pocket of his apron in the form of spotted white and brown rat, his tail peeking out of it. Giving the now Ottium filled pocket a gentle pat Matthew carried on his way to his first station of the day. As he made to the sink where he would be washing the last bit of last night's dinner dishes Matthew greeted the people he passed by with a good morning and how do you do. Each came with a smile and a pleasant response to which Matthew would smile in return and say that this was good news to hear. Arriving at the sink, the blond boy stooped down and reached an arm under the raised basin to fish out the stool that had been shoved under there, tugging it out and getting back up before stepping onto it. Recently he had grown a bit, but he was still a bit too short for some things which never ceased to aggravate him. It was then, as Matthew stood on tip toes to turn the water on that he thought on something he hadn't expected. Alfred would probably be able to reach these things. The thought of Alfred made Matthew pause in his work.

It almost seemed like yesterday had been too good to be true in retrospect but Matthew knew that what had happened was no dream and that made a smile creep up on his face. Ottium shifted in Matthew's pocket, turning himself right-side up and peeking from the depth of the pocket to watch others and their daemons pass by while Matthew finally took up a sponge and rubbed a bar of soap across it before he started on cleaning the dishes. By the time he would be done breakfast would have been finished and dished out to those who had the time and the appetite to eat it—which of course most did. The dish that had been prepared was ground beef in a thick white gravy with a healthy dose of salt and pepper in it served over freshly buttered biscuits and, coupled with a glass of fresh milk, Matthew got himself a heaping bowl full of it to eat for his breakfast.

Matthew sat by Mikyla when he ate his breakfast, a young man on the other side of him at the table. His daemon, a large golden dog with long fur and flopping ears, sat in her own chair with her paws on the table. Occasionally the man, formally named Riley Stein, would pass over a bit of gravy soaked biscuit to his daemon and give her a pat on the head. Ottium had crept out onto the table while Matthew ate and watched the spectacle with interest as the pair would sit in silence, cast glances to one another, and then burst into poorly contained giggles. It was not long before Matthew had finished his food completely which surprised most of the others with the fact he had managed to eat so much. Quickly dismissing himself after washing and drying his own dishes the little blond made his way first to the washrooms to clean up and then to the coat room where he plucked up his blue jacket, just in case, before slipping out the door before anybody could question on where he was going.

The second Matthew made it to the bottom of the small flight of stairs leading up to the building he resided in he started to run. The sky was a bright blaze of unreal blue and the usually dreary backdrop of Jordan College was currently illuminated with much needed sunlight that brought out the color and life of everything it touched. It brought a strong pull of joy to the child's heart as he smiled beside himself. Wind whipping at his face and hair as he sprinted, Matthew felt Ottium shift into the form of a young colt and start to dash ahead. The sight of chestnut with white stockings prancing around in the open field made Matthew laugh as he called out to his daemon with an inquiry to ride. Ottium stopped and stood in place, thinking over this and if he could physically carry Matthew or not. After several long moments of thought Ottium's train of thought was interrupted by his partner climbing onto him with no real warning. Luckily for the both of them the currently equine daemon was just strong enough to do the deed and as Matthew knit his fingers into Ottium's mane the daemon started off to a canter. They both knew where they were going but out here in the open air and the sunlight it was hard to keep track of tasks and ideas.

Ottium spun round in circles, kicked his legs about, and went jumping over small make shift hurdles like flowerbeds and low curbs. It was a good while later than the two expected that they finally made it to the other building where Matthew could only guess he would be finding Alfred. Hopping off Ottium's back with a small stumble the young boy righted himself and made to straighten his hair out a before entering the building. Once he deemed himself ready, Matthew turned to Ottium who had taken the form of a small wyvern and was now hovering beside him. The reptilian fire-spitter blew several rings of smoke in his happiness and lighted upon Matthew's shoulder, hooked wings gripping into his clothing as he perched and kept himself securely on the boy.

"Do you think he's awake?" Matthew suddenly questioned, toying with the cuffs of his sleeves due to his jittery nerves. Ottium nipped his ear lightly and Matthew twitched a bit at the hot air blown into it.

"We won't know if we don't go check! Come on, let's go!" And without second guessing Matthew, with some difficulty, opened the front door and went to retrace the steps that had been taken yesterday. A couple of mistaken steps were called out by Ottium as Matthew made with haste to arrive where he could only hope where his new friend would be. Upon arriving to the staircases Matthew knew he was getting closer and with a deep breath tested himself, taking the stairs a little faster than yesterday. Ottium flew in the air at his side, urging him to keep going even as his breath started to leave him. No scholars hung around to stare and make snide remarks, which was probably due to the fact that most were either asleep because of rigorous study the night before or were already to their books and lectures after a short but filling breakfast.

The stairs were scaled with only a few slips but no slides and by the time Matthew made it to the top he was panting quite heavily, a hand holding his chest as he swallowed dryly and looked to Ottium. His daemon gave a pleased chirping noise and flipped in the air, wings beating the air languidly as the little dragon swooped around. Once the blond had regained enough of himself to continue on he spent no time lollygagging and carefully went to go indentify the room that Alfred had led him to the other day. He had to recount the doors several times over and at some point ended up accidentally entering a room where a scholar was sleeping, his small owl daemon slumbering on a perch near the bed. Matthew didn't linger there, feeling embarrassed that he had invaded on somebody else's personal space like that, and quickly scrambled away. Feeling a bit disheartened due to his struggles with finding Alfred's room Matthew almost gave up and concluded that maybe he would run into Alfred later; it was then that Ottium nudged him and flew in the direction of a door that Matthew had to have passed by several times over. On the door were a couple of poorly painted over pencil marks and several nicks.

Looking at his daemon with uncertainty the boy arched an eyebrow. The wyvern, currently struggling to hang on the wooden door, merely gave a silent assurance with a nod of his head. At last Matthew tentatively knocked on the door only to be met by silence. Now entirely unsure of what to do, the blond looked to his daemon for advice. In a soft voice Ottium answered Matthew's silent plea.

"Open the door! I promise this is the one." Taking a deep breath the boy decided that he had really nothing to lose so… why not? Grasping the door handle tightly Matthew quietly turned it and pushed the door open slowly. The room was already completely lit up, the window curtains drawn back and lo-n-behold there was Alfred. The boy appeared to have made some kind of effort to get out of bed, whether by choice or force was up for debate. He was currently sprawled across the bed half clothed in daywear and the other half in vaguely loosened nightwear. Sprawled over the bed next to Alfred was Lysimanche who was occupying the shape of a bear cub. Matthew sat listening to the soft snores coming from Alfred and his daemon, both of which had fallen asleep on their backs, and suppressed a small laugh when Alfred snorted in his sleep. As Ottium landed on top of Matthew's head the young blond started to creep towards the bed with a smile on his face. The older of the two boys stirred unexpectedly with a groan but did not waken, nor did his daemon. Making it to the side of the bed Matthew peered at Alfred silently.

Alfred was now turned on his side slight, a small dribble of dried drool crusted at the corner of his mouth and eyes closed shut tightly as his grip on sleep started to edge away. His hair was sticking up in strange places and some of it was plastered to his skin. After staring for several moments, Matthew finally reached out and nudged Alfred gently. This did nothing and Matthew repeated the action a bit harder, whispering to the other boy. Ottium rustled around on Matthew's head while the blond tried harder still to waken Alfred. Francis' previous thoughts would prove true. Alfred really did sleep like a log. Raising the dead might've been easier than this was. With one final rough shove Alfred was woken up and promptly started to operate on autopilot, spluttering and trying to focus on Matthew. He chattered something out about getting up now and yeah he did his work and then stumbled out of bed. Matthew watched the older boy in humor as he shook his daemon awake and shucked off his shirt and rushed to his dresser to put on a clean one. Finally, while Alfred was struggling to put his shoes on and Lysimanche was finally crawling out of bed, Matthew laughed and called out to him.

"Alfred! Alfred, it's just me! Matthew." Stopping dead where he was Alfred finally looked up at Matthew and blinked rapidly before stopping what he had been doing and grinning widely.

"Matthew, hey! Sorry, wow—I guess I mistook you for Sir Bonnefoy coming to wake me up again..." Matthew shook his head and smiled back at the older boy, wringing his sleeve ends in his hands absently while Ottium hopped off his head and went spiraling down to Lysimanche and started to tug on the bear cubs ears good-heartedly.

"No, no, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if you could… could maybe come play with me." Alfred jumped up almost immediately, surprising Matthew. In contrast, Lysimanche batted Ottium down and pinned the dragon to the bed with a playful snarl. Matthew tilted his head at Alfred minutely as the other stretched and then came walking over.

"Yeah, I'd love to actually! Wait," Alfred stopped suddenly a couple feet away from Matthew and clasped his hands over his stomach as it gave a low growling sound out of nowhere. Matthew stared at Alfred blankly before slapping a hand over his mouth and laughing into it. Lysimanche, who had released Ottium after the little dragon bopped her on the nose, now meandered her way over to Alfred and head-butted his leg gently.

"Hungry?" Matthew inquired jokingly, cocking his head to the side minutely with the questions. Alfred smiled back and arched his eyebrows up.

"Yeah, just a bit... I think breakfast is over though so I'm out of luck. Say, what game did you want to play?" Matthew stopped Alfred there, closing the space between the two and grabbing the older boy by his hand. Alfred seemed a bit surprised at the gesture but didn't pull away and rather let Matthew start to gently lead him away while Lysimanche grumbled and barged past Matthew's legs as if she wished to be in the front of the line. Ottium merely fell behind Alfred.

"I know where to get you food, no worries. I'm sure they won't mind since you're so important and all."

"Did you say I was important?" Alfred parried back while trying to make sure he heard Matthew correctly, curiosity piping up through his voice. Matthew slowed to a stop and looked back at Alfred. Truthfulness written plainly across his face and lacing itself into his voice, the little blond nodded solemnly.

"Yeah… Your uncle is the Lord Kirkland, right? I remember you mentioned it yesterday… That means you're pretty important, don't you think?" And with that clear proclamation, which gave Alfred a bit to think over while he followed Matthew, the two continued on with a faster pace in a surprising bout of quietness. When Alfred realized that Matthew was leading him out of the building he quickly went back to normal and perked up. Tugging Matthew's hand the older boy looked down at his companion as Lysimanche skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Are we going to see your place? You said you work in the kitchens and stuff right? And because you don't live in this building that means you live in another one—we're going to that one now, right?" Matthew nodded along as Alfred spoke, nibbling at a bit of deadened skin that was clinging to his lip as he did so. Alfred seemed almost unreasonably excited to see the other building given he knew full well that Matthew was technically just a butler-in-training. What was there that could possibly be exciting about where they were going other than the fact he was getting food? Matthew could not imagine the reasoning.

"Great- Come on then lead the way. I'm starving!" Lysimanche seemed reluctant to be following instead of playing leader but fell back behind by Alfred's heels while Ottium wheeled up in the air above Matthew's head. The ground dwelling daemon promptly fixed her sharp spiting gaze to the airborne one who paid no heed to her but rather started to fly off, careful not to dwell too far from Matthew. Slipping his hand from Alfred's nervously, as he had started to get clammy for reasons unbeknownst to him, Matthew jogged after Ottium with the other boy in tow. He honestly didn't want his palm to sweat all over Alfred's; the thought grossed him out.

Bursting out into the open air after descending the various flights of stairs and navigating the halls Alfred practically took off. He seemed to momentarily forget what it was he was outside for and simply indulged in being out in the sunlight. Matthew quickly fell behind him as the older boy jogged, and eventually started to sprint ahead. He watched with dull wonder, unsure of what it was that Alfred was doing but rather watched as Lysimanche finally changed from her lumbering bear form to that of an impressive looking golden bird of prey. The daemon quickly shot up in the air and tried the limits of her range before diving back down at a frightening pace, pulling up right before she collided with the ground, rocketing back towards Alfred as the blond rounded and waved to Matthew. It seemed he had just realized how far he had gotten away from the other boy. Matthew merely took a deep breath and started to jog after Alfred, Ottium landing on his shoulder as he pressed forward. Alfred was gracious enough to back track a bit to meet Matthew mid way.

"Hey, come on slowpoke. We've got places to be, right?" Matthew almost countered that it was Alfred who was running around but held his thoughts for the time being, merely flashing a tested smile at Alfred. It wouldn't be until later that he would admire Alfred's ability to get drunk on nothing but the sheer feeling of freedom. For now he simply gestured out towards their final destination and caught his breath.

"It's that building over there. The food will end up cold by the time we get there…" Alfred didn't give Matthew a chance to finish and rather grabbed the younger boy by the hand and started to tug him along. The little blond was forced to overexert himself, moving his legs faster than he previously thought he could in order to keep up with the longer legged Alfred's strides. Ottium was still resting but as Matthew started to run he almost slipped off the boy's shoulder. Several out of breath attempts to tell Alfred to slow down a bit end up sent to deaf ears as Alfred kept a step ahead of his friend and his eye on the prize. Lungs and throat burning and mouth dry, Matthew forced Alfred to a stop several yards away from the entrance to the desired building by digging his heels into the ground and coming to a dead stop. He almost fell over as Alfred ended up in a delayed halt, barely managing to stop himself before he turned and looked at Matthew. Realizing that the younger boy was ready to fall over he quickly grabbed Matthew by the shoulder to hold him upright.

"Oh—Jeez, Matthew, are you going to be okay?" Lysimanche landed by them, peering up at them from the ground. Her sharp yellow eyes narrowed slightly she clacked her beak in humor as she spotted Ottium climbing his way up Matthew's shirt and dragging himself on to the boy's shoulder again. The younger boy couldn't answer Alfred right away and he struggled to swallow his own saliva and get enough air into his body to sufficiently allow verbal responses. In the meantime he gave Alfred a weak thumbs-up and a partially strangled laugh that was meant to convey the fact he was indeed fine. Alfred didn't buy it completely and was fine waiting for Matthew to catch his second wind. Ottium, now realizing that Lysimanche was laughing and him and Matthew, was quick to spit an ember at the other avian daemon with little regret even as the other's feather fluffed up as she narrowly managed to avoid having her primaries set alight.

"I—I'm okay. I'll be okay. We're here though, right?" Now assured that Matthew wasn't going to pass out, Alfred's usual cheery smile returned and he nodded along. His smile was infectious as always and Matthew found himself smiling back. Now having arrived the two boys were free to enter the building where, amid the hustle and the bustle of the people cleaning rooms and the likes, the bell signaling their entrance was not heard. Alfred seemed mystified with the whole thing, watching as several servants went from one area to the other balancing heaps of laundry while still holding a dust tray full of waste and a broom. Matthew, who was used to these sights and could do so himself, was not so enthralled but rather waved at the few people who could still see past their loads of chores being precariously carried to and fro.

"This is where you live?" Alfred finally asked as he followed Matthew absently in the direction of the kitchen. Matthew nodded as Ottium turned on his shoulder and looked back at Alfred and Lysimanche.

"No way, we just work here don't you know? We live in the bush outside." Alfred laughed at the sarcastic remark, taking it as a joke while Lysimanche simply stared at Ottium from the boy's shoulder.

"Funny—I didn't think you were a joking kind of person, Ottium." Ottium merely made some kind of indescribable noise before Matthew finally opened the doors to the kitchen, hushing his daemon effectively as he turned back to Alfred.

"Here we are! I think they cleaned up all the breakfast sadly… There's still plenty of stuff here; try not to pick anything that needs to be cooked. I'm not very good at that." Alfred nodded to Matthew and slowly split from the younger boy, examining the contents of the kitchen. The place was impeccably clean even for such a big and obviously busy area and he had to give props to whoever worked here. Thinking back on it, Matthew had mentioned that he worked in the kitchens didn't he? Grabbing an apple from a sack sitting by an island Alfred rubbed it against his shirt before taking a bite out of it, satisfied with the noise it made as he did so. Looking back Alfred saw that Matthew was simply watching him as he went about his business and for some reason the look on the other boy's face made Alfred giggle to himself. Matthew only ended up looking confused at Alfred's laughter in the end.

"What's funny?"

"Huh?"

"I asked, what's funny?" Matthew repeated, speaking up this time. Alfred shrugged a bit, taking another bite from the apple he'd taken and strolling back over to Matthew casually.

"It's just your face." He offered up, holding his apple out to Matthew to let the other take a bite if he so pleased. Matthew didn't take the offer and rather shook his head as his face screwed up slightly with insult.

"Eh? What does that mean?"

"No offense! I just… You were making a funny face is all?"

"Personally I think Matthew's face is always funny." Lysimanche interjected with a light twittering sound, not particularly being bitter but for once inputting with a friendly joke. Even Ottium snickered slightly at the eagle's remark as Matthew made another face in response, obviously trying hard not to smile. He had accepted that Lysimanche was blunt which he could only guess meant that Alfred made an active attempt to be nice. He knew that the other boy would be quite mean and stubborn when he so pleased as that had been showcased yesterday, but it made Matthew unreasonably happy knowing that Alfred was trying to be friends.

"What face was I making then? Can you show me?" Alfred thought over the request for several seconds before attempting to mimic the expression Matthew had had on just prior, lips pursing and quirking up and to the right as he pushed his eyebrows together, one going up and the other down, and finally narrowed his eyes a bit. Matthew automatically grinned at Alfred and laughed openly, the sound of it light and airy but still packing just as much amusement into it as a loud boisterous laugh would. Alfred couldn't hold the expression for long as he started laughing with Matthew only to muffle the noise by taking another bite from his apple.

"Say! I want you to show me around here. This place is actually pretty cool and there's a ton of people here." Matthew looked a bit surprised at the request but nodded anyways, arms already opened to catch his daemon as Ottium shifted from his form as a wyvern into a medium sized canine with long floppy ears and short fur. Lysimanche cocked her head at the display and after several moments she flew down from Alfred's shoulder and landed on the floor in the form of a grey cygnet. Matthew ended up setting Ottium down as Alfred looked at Lysimanche in silence, probably sharing some kind of moment between one another. When Matthew nudged Alfred in the arm the blond snapped out of it and looked to him, eyebrows raised and blue eyes bright.

"Ready? There's a lot to see but not much of it is interesting…"

"Are you kidding? I'm ready as ever! And come on, you're just saying that. I promise I really want to see it all, okay? It's like an adventure!" Matthew mulled this over, still unsure on if Alfred was going to get bored halfway through or not. He was being truthful when he said that there wasn't much excitement to be found here; who knew—maybe Alfred was right. It would be like an adventure. They could turn it into a game or something to make it more fun if they got bored of it after all. Finally agreeing Matthew turned and started off at a brisk pace, Ottium trotting along at his side while Lysimanche waddled after the canine daemon's tail. Alfred followed up the rear, still working on finishing off the apple while they wandered around.

As they walked Matthew would point and gesture to rooms and other such things and explain what they were the best he could. On occasions he would point out certain people and tell Alfred who they were and when at a loss for where to go next Ottium would take up a pointing position and lead the way. In the end the two boys had since been through the kitchen and the servant's dining hall as well as the resting quarters. On request of Alfred they ended up sneaking into the women's wing and peeking about there before quickly making a leave when someone's daemon, likely waiting for their human to come from just around the corner, saw them. Ottium gave them a small talking to about having done that but Alfred ended up brushing it off, obviously still very curious about it.

"Eugh, I really hope that whoever that was doesn't come looking for us later… there can't be many more kids wandering around, huh?" The little incident didn't deter their trip much in the long run as they circled around and ended up near Matthew's room. Matthew quietly pointed it out and almost automatically Alfred changed direction to go and look past the closed door, Lysimanche quickly waddling herself after him before changing into a more convenient shape—that of a white furred cat. Matthew rushed after Alfred, meaning to tell him that his room wasn't much to look at but it was all but too late as Alfred shoved the door open and peered into the dark room, squinting. Swallowing hard Matthew halted and stared at Alfred's back, now unsure of what to say. When Alfred turned back around he appeared confused before finally speaking.

"Why do you sleep in a closet?"

"It's not a closet, it's a pantry!" Matthew felt a bit alarmed at the question Alfred asked, quickly choosing some other word that would maybe help make the room seem bigger; Alfred didn't budge on his stance and shook his head.

"No, this is a closet. Come on, why do you sleep in a closet? Isn't a closest where you hide things? Why would you put a kid in a closet?" Matthew could feel the heat rising to his face from the embarrassment of it. Alfred did have a point now that he thought about it. The other boy had a big airy room with plenty of space and meanwhile he was sleeping somewhere that barely fit two people. Missus Jovanneson had always told him it was because of certain circumstances but now the little room just felt shameful. Not answering the older boy's question Matthew let his gaze drift down while every so often looking up through his eyelashes at Alfred.

"I'd think that it's pretty strange, huh? I've heard stories about people who keep kids in closets, did you know?" Matthew could tell that Alfred wasn't trying to be mean right now; his face was thoughtful as he elaborated on the topic at hand and slowly wandered into the room. There was no real hint of malice in his words but it still made the young boy's stomach churn and eyes sting at the thought of it all

"Really… What happens to them?"

"Well, I'd think they stay there. Like, not always physically but…" Alfred paused as he tried to find the words to express himself. "…In a different kind of way. Like they're real reserved and never taking risks or telling other how they feel." With this said Alfred turned back to Matthew, the light from the open door being the only thing to illuminate him from where he was standing.

"Say, is that why you're so shy and stuff? And you talk quiet? Man. That must really suck…" Matthew opened his mouth to object only to find himself holding his tongue which alarmed him more than it really should have and just upset him. Pursing his lips together as his eyebrows dipped down the little blond shook his head with sure insistence.

"No, I'm just like that because I'm me. Mister Francis says I'm a good kid because I don't talk much and listen well… So, I don't think it's a bad thing." Alfred thought over what Matthew had said before casually placing himself on the other's bed and petting Lysimanche as she jumped up with him and started to snuffle around the bedding.

"Really? But don't you ever worry that people will just walk all over you?"

"No?..." At this Alfred made a face and shook his head in turn. This was obviously not the answer he had been looking for; after a moment Alfred stood up and walked back to Matthew.

"Well I still don't like that you sleep in a closet. It seems mean to me- My room is really big and yours is small and I don't think that's fair, you know? Oh well… Anyways, is this the last stop? I want to go back outside." Matthew nodded slowly, looking at Alfred still in a bit of a daze. He couldn't say he found Alfred's thoughts repulsive or something he didn't like. In all honesty Matthew was more curious as to why the other boy thought that way than anything. It scrambled his brain a bit trying to understand but in a way he kind of liked it. Being able to think on something and not be pressed to come up with a conclusion about it; Alfred didn't mind much that Matthew didn't understand.

"Woof, okay, good. That was way too serious for my taste, and I have a feeling the gardens are going to be really nice today—let's go!" Matthew was almost grateful for the shift in mood, reaching out his hand expectantly to Alfred who glanced from the younger boy's out stretched hand before looking at him and letting a smile creep across his previously grim and aggravated face before taking hold of Matthew's hand. Exiting the room together the two children started their way out of the building slower than they had going in. Lysimanche had once more taken up a spot on Alfred's shoulder in the form of another avian and currently had the stem of Alfred's finished apple clamped in her beak. Ottium fell back by Matthew's heels and trotted along after while they walked. Eventually Matthew started to talk.

"Alfred?"

"Huh?" The older boy looked down at Matthew with his eyebrows raised and lips quirked to the right minutely. The younger stared at him for several moments before finally snapping back to reality and clearing his throat.

"I was just wondering…" Several questions floated through Matthew's head and dribbled onto his tongue before bouncing off his teeth. He didn't want to stay down and keep talking about their previous conversation. In the end the first thing that came to mind was what tumbled from Matthew's lips.

"What's your favorite color?" That question was simple and a decent conversational starter. Alfred was quick to answer, body lurching with enthusiasm.

"Blue! Like, light blue. Sort of like the sky and the color of the ocean. What about you?" Matthew nodded as Alfred spoke before looking down at their twined hands and thinking over the question.

"I kind of like blue too, but I think my favorite is dark blue. Like the night kind of."

"The night sky is black, dummy."

"No, it really isn't, I promise! When the sun goes down I'll prove it to you." Alfred laughed at Matthew's claim, swinging their hands as he walked. It was an unrestrained laugh that showed the true amusement felt that the night sky could be something other than black. After all, why else would you color the night sky black in a picture if it wasn't really black? The short blond made a face halfway between a smile and a sneer, giving Alfred's hand a squeeze as he bumped his shoulder into the older boy's arm.

"It's true you know. I wouldn't lie about it."

"I'll just take your word for it, alright? You are pretty smart, so maybe you really are right! But say, why do you like such a dark color? Don't you think something brighter would be nicer? Like yellow!" As the two went out the front door of the building Lysimanche finally dropped the apple core and butted into the conversation.

"It's because he's a drab person, obviously! Or maybe he's just trying to be cool—all dark and mysterious because he likes the night and stuff." Ottium saw his cue now and slapped a comment back Lysimanche's way.

"Or maybe it's just because it's a nice color! I'd think it'd be a bit typical of someone who's daemon is always a bird to like the color of the sky, huh?" Alfred and Matthew alike looked from the other's daemon to their own before back to one another. By the time their eyes met they were both trying to suppress laughter, amused at the back and forth banter of their other halves. Lysimanche's dark brown feathers merely fluffed up with embarrassment as Ottium gave a wolfish grin at his victory over the haughty daemon.

"I can't think of you as someone who's very cool and mysterious, Matthew."

"Really? How come? Am I really that plain?"

"Oh, come on! Have some bite! Don't you want to be cool and mysterious?" Matthew nibbled at the skin of his lips, mind racing to come up with a reply to what Alfred had said. With his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed slightly he finally responded.

"Well, I'd think that it'd be weird! I'm too small to be cool and mysterious. Your uncle is cool and mysterious though, right? Would that make me like him if I was?" Alfred swayed against Matthew with a long drawn out groan.

"Man, I wish you didn't know about him! He really is cool I guess and mysterious to boot… but he's also just scary sometimes! You'd know if you met him!" Alfred whined this, kicking the dirt under his feet as he tipped his head back and stared up into the endless blue expanse of the morning sky. It made his vision swim slightly with the vastness of it. Matthew broke into his wandering thoughts with a soft laugh.

"Is that so? Does being cool and mysterious mean you have to be scary? I think Mister Francis is cool and he is sort of mysterious…"

"Have you ever seen him mad? Trust me, he's pretty scary!" Matthew looked shocked at this, blue lavender eyes widening with the notion that his caretaker could ever be scary. His free hand came up to tug on Alfred's sleeve as he stood on his toes.

"No way! I've never seen him mad, no. Is he really scary when he's upset?" Alfred looked down at his walking companion and nodded furiously, lips pressed together in a line as his brows came together.

"His eyes get all hard, like stone, and he raises his voice and everything. It's his daemon that really completes it though! She bares her teeth and growls and stuff. And then they come at you and your bones go all to jelly—not like that happened to me though! I mean, he's scary to others but I don't think it's that bad." Lysimanche nodded as if to back this statement up; Matthew knew from experience that even if Alfred could keep up a good act his daemon did fear Britainny if only a bit. Instead of pointing this out Matthew smiled silently to himself, teeth flashing white between his pink lips, and released Alfred's sleeve as he fell back to the flat of his feet.

"I think I'd cry if Mister Francis ever yelled at me. I'm glad he doesn't."

"Well, if he ever yelled at you it'd be for no reason! I'd be pretty mad if he yelled at you because you're way too good to be yelling at." Alfred came to a halt then and Matthew stopped with him, vaguely feeling Ottium bump into his leg from the abrupt stop. The older boy gestured to the garden several yard away still and released Matthew's hand.

"There, see, we're here! You want to race the rest of the way there?" Matthew didn't get a chance to answer before Alfred went tearing away, kicking up dust with his first few powerful kicks. Scrambling after him desperately Matthew found himself managing to actually get there around the same time as Alfred although the dash left his throat burning the same as earlier and his legs wobbly. Ottium arrived several paces behind Matthew and Lysimanche lighted back onto Alfred's shoulder after practically falling off when the boy suddenly broke into a sprint. Alfred, who was barely out of breath and had only the barest traces of a rose flush to the apples of his cheeks, clapped a hand on Matthew's back and laugh out loud once more.

"Hey, you did better this time! We should race more often, although I'm sure I'll beat you every time. It'd be good practice though." Matthew swallowed hard and shoved at the older boy's chest with a huff. It didn't do much to Alfred but with the gesture a look came on his face that Matthew wasn't sure how to respond to. It slowly melted into a mischievous grin, a certain kind of twinkle appearing in the boy's blue eyes as he took a step away from Matthew. Lysimanche was in on it automatically, dropping from Alfred's shoulder and landing in the form of a scruffy looking canine with one ear flopped over. It was the second that Matthew opened his mouth to question what Alfred was doing when Lysimanche pounced on Ottium and the taller blond rushed him. With a short abrupt cry of surprise Matthew was tugged to the ground, Alfred turning so he landed on his back with Matthew tucked to his chest before rolling over to loom over the boy.

"Got'cha!"

"No fair!" Matthew tried to turn the two of them back over but Alfred grabbed one of his wrists and held it back over the boy's head with a laugh. To the side of them Ottium was rolling in the dirt with Lysimanche hanging on for dear life. Using his free hand Matthew reached over and started to poke Alfred in the sides which prompted an almost immediate reaction of the blond gasping and then laughing as he was forced to let go of Matthew's trapped hand to protect his weak spot from the younger's fingers. Of course this left him wide open and the smaller of the two managed to throw Alfred's weight and flip them both over. Sitting on Alfred's stomach, his hands on the boy's shoulders, Matthew smiled.

"Hmph— who has who again?"

"Unfair advantage; you tickled me, so that means you're out." Before Matthew could protest Alfred was flipping the both of them back over, hands going down to the other blond's sides as he tried to tickle Matthew. It was only half successful as the second he started to tickle the other boy he was met with intense squirming and a hand that pushed his face away. In the end Alfred fell back away from Matthew, quite literally, and just laughed as the pink faced boy struggled to sit up from his position on the ground. When Matthew tugged on his leg, Alfred used a foot to gently push him away before laughing at the indignation that was clear on the other boy's face.

"That was cheating! You tickled me back!"

"Only because you tickled me first, duh." Unable to find a way to combat Alfred's reasoning, Matthew simply huffed and tried to not smile back at Alfred who was grinning away, eyes narrowed with humor. It was then that Lysimanche and Ottium finally stopped rolling about, the former pinning the latter down into the ground triumphantly. Watching Alfred pick himself back up Matthew pulled his knees to his chest and let his fingers curl into the compressed dirt beneath him. The older boy went about dusting himself off but didn't do much but rub the dirt further into his clothes and smear it onto his face. Realizing Matthew was still on the ground Alfred offered up a hand to help him up.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better I'll let you win next time. Maybe." Giving Alfred an unimpressed look, Matthew took the other blond's hand and let Alfred help him up. He pat himself down, careful to avoid the mistakes that Alfred had made as to not smudge the dirt into his clothes, and then smoothed down his hair. Right as Matthew had fixed his hair there was another hand there tussling it up again and when the child looked over to his companion he was met with a sly side look and a poor suppressed smile. Eyes narrowing at Alfred, Matthew tried again to straighten his hair out to be met with the same result. Alfred merely reached over and rustled his hair up again. Behind them Lysimanche was still toying with Ottium, chasing the other daemon in circles and nipping at his tail. Matthew hopped to his toes and reached up, attempting to ruffle Alfred hair back only to have the taller boy duck away and tease his hair even more.

"Why do you keeping doing that? You're making my hair all messy…" Alfred just put his hand back on Matthew's head and ran his fingers back through the shorter boy's hair with a smile.

"I'm just admiring it—promise! It's nice... I really like long hair, but my uncle insists that guys have to have short hair. I don't know why. I mean, Sir Bonnefoy has long hair and nobody gripes about it." Lysimanche butted in then as Ottium streaked over to the two boys and hid behind Matthew's legs to escape the other daemon.

"Long hair is cool and Lord Kirkland doesn't like it because he can't have it I bet."

"Plenty of girls have long hair. All the maids do at least." Ottium added in helpfully, eyeing Alfred strangely.

"Say, I've seen a lot of the maids with braids—can you braid your hair?" Matthew stared at Alfred blankly before slowly reaching a hand up to gently push the boy's hands away from his hair as he straightened it out and tugged at the ends to test how long it was.

"I don't think I can… I know I can pull it back though. "

"Can I see?" Giving Alfred a slightly confused look Matthew brought his hands back as he carefully bunched up the gentle curls and pulled the whole mass of blonde into a short ponytail, his bangs falling back over his forehead and into his eyes despite his attempt to pin them back with the rest of the hair. Alfred seemed pleased with this, nodding as he gazed at Matthew with a sort of calculating quality to his expression. Matthew released his hair back down at this time, shaking his head to spread it out again. Almost as soon as he did so Alfred went back to toying with the younger boy's hair, rubbing the strands between his fingers before smoothing it all back down only to mess it back up and repeat the whole process. Matthew wasn't entirely sure how to react to the situation and was only thankful that Alfred wasn't tugging on it or something equally as painful. He could deal with the gentle tussling.

"Are you going to let it grow out any longer?" The older boy finally questioned.

"I'm not sure, really. I hadn't thought of it actually." Alfred nodded to this in understanding before finally releasing the younger child's hair and looking back to the gardens as if remembering the reason they had come here in the first place. Turning on his heels, the older of the two started the stride into the trimmed and kept display of flowers and other assorted plants with his daemon trotting along at his side. Matthew followed, Ottium butting his head at the back of the boys legs occasionally.

"You were right," Matthew murmured after several dragging minutes of idled chatter between the two of them. Alfred leaned down with traces of confusion painting his expression to which Matthew repeated himself, louder now.

"You were right, Alfred. The garden is really nice today—thank you for suggesting we come here." Alfred stared at Matthew, blinking repeatedly in silence before laughing lightly and cocking his head to the side as he raised an eyebrow at his companion.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk old? You sound like an old lady sometimes! It's sort of funny, but also really weird."

"I… I do? I mean, it would make sense… When you think about it."

"Because you hang out with a bunch of oldies?"

"Not all of them are old, obviously."

"They're ancient! But hey- it's cool that there are so many little things about you to notice like that, right? I wish I had little things like that."

"But don't you?" Matthew's words made Alfred pause in his speech, the boy slowly moving to a bench by a thicket of tulips. Lysimanche propped her front paws up on the retaining wall separating the tulips potting soil from the dried compacted earth of the trail and stuffed her nose into the flowers curiously. Ottium crept over, watching the other daemon while Matthew moved over to sit by Alfred.

"You think so?"

"Well, yeah. Everybody has little things… Mister Francis has a collection of ribbons he ties his hair back in, Mister Riley is always carrying around cookies and stuff to munch on and no matter what he always shares with his daemon. And Missus Mikyla? When she laughs she almost sounds like she's barking! Maybe I haven't been paying enough attention to notice your little things…"

"Ha, that's okay! Really though. And who are those people you mentioned? Are they the oldies you hang out with back in your building?"

"Mister Riley isn't that old, Alfred!"

"No way, he's probably older than all of Oxford."

"Impossible."

"Not if he's… a vampire!" Matthew jolted slightly as Alfred abruptly moved closer to him, hands moving back as he redistributed his weight to keep himself from falling backwards.

"A what? That sounds like something you made up." Alfred laughed as the younger boy's skepticisms and shook his head as he leaned further forward towards Matthew, a smug look on his face knowing that he knew something the other boy didn't.

"Nuh-uh, they're totally real. They're monsters too! They're people who died and came back to life, and they've got loooong fangs and claws." When Matthew didn't say anything, instead opting to move backwards until his back hit the arm rest of the bench, Alfred continued.

"They go creeping around at night, charming people. And they move really fast and they're super strong! And then you know what they do to those who get too close?"

"Wh… What do they do?" The younger boy's reply came in a hushed tone, barely audible.

"They suck out all their blood!"

"That's terrible!" Alfred burst out laughing as Matthew gave a squeal of fear and shook violently at the thought of something sucking blood as his hands went flying to his face. Ottium jumped up into his lap quite suddenly even as he was pulling his legs up and started to lick the boys face in an effort to comfort him.

"Hey, hey! There's no need to be scared!" Alfred scooted farther over and set a hand on Matthew's knee, seeing at the boy was genuinely upset over what Alfred had told him.

"Mister Riley isn't a vampire, he can't be okay!"

"Shhh—there are plenty of ways to tell if a person is a vampire or not! Does he go out in the sun? Because that's the number one way you know he's not a vampire. Vampires can only come out at night or else they turn to dust—they sleep all day in their coffins and stuff." Matthew peeked through his fingers at Alfred when he said this, seeming at least a bit relieved at the idea that Riley Stein couldn't be a vampire. He had seen the man just that morning after all.

"But… What happens if one comes after you?"

"Well… In your case you've got me! I know all the tricks and trips on fighting baddies—vampires included." At this the older boy gave a wink, grin wide and tone light. Matthew finally lowered his hands, petting Ottium for a sense of assurance as he let his daemon rest his head on his chest. Alfred sat back then as Lysimanche finally morphed back into a form she was more accustomed to and went to perch upon her companion's shoulder.

"You just said they're super strong though—how would you be able to stop one?" Matthew had his doubts about Alfred's boastfulness and as the other boy pursed his lips in a pout it was obvious he felt a bit rejected by Matthew's inquiry.

"With a cross and some church water, obviously. They hate that kind of stuff. Plus they can't come in your room unless you let them in—with like special permission and stuff."

"Where did you even learn this all from?"

"Er—books?" A suspicious frown crept onto Matthew's face as his eyebrows rose up at the answer. Alfred made a face back at him and then reached out to bop the boy on the nose. Matthew blew air from his nose quickly at the sensation and scrunched his face up while Alfred flashed another smile.

"Whatever! It doesn't matter if you believe about it or not but you'll see when a vampire creeps up to your door and asks to come inside. Remember to say no, alright?"

"Blah blah—stop talking about it already."

"Haha! Alright, fine!" Dropping the subject, Alfred leaned farther towards Matthew, making the boy duck with an attempt to cover Ottium from his touch, and then plucked a tulip from the flowerbed behind the younger child. Leaning back to sit on his heels he held the flower to Matthew. The tulip was in full bloom, its petals a pretty deep red presented in a fashion that allowed Matthew to peer into the flower itself. Right hand extended expectantly still, Alfred nudged the flower forward a bit more until Matthew finally reached out with both hands and gently took it from Alfred.

"What's this for?"

"Just because. It is pretty though. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course it is—hey, Alfred?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know how to make flower chains?" Matthew's question seemed to stump the older boy as he raked his brain for any knowledge he had over the subject. He had never even heard the term before but honestly didn't want to admit it. It was Lysimanche who blurted an answer out instead, inciting a slight shrivel of anger in Alfred as she told Matthew the truth of the situation. No, he didn't even know what it was. He of course had a good idea. He was not dumb after all. The younger boy only laughed lightly and gave the older blond's daemon a duly amused glance as he twirled the tulip between his fingers.

"They're ornaments made with flowers. I've seen some of the younger maids make them when they're on days off. They turn them into necklaces and wreaths and even crowns. They're really pretty and… well, there are plenty of flowers around." Alfred blinked silently before nodding enthusiastically, a grin spreading back across his face as he shifted his weight forward and clutched his own knees.

"Those sound great! You know how to make them too, right? Can you show me?"

"Yes, I do; I guess I can show you how to make them yeah! What flowers do you want?" Matthew moved his legs about, careful to not kick Alfred as he did so, and watched the other blond as he looked around wildly for a flower he deemed suitable for the chain making. The tulips would have done but the second Alfred's eye landed on a thickly populated plot of daisies he knew what he wanted and was quick to make sure Matthew knew so.

"Those! The daisies. Can you make them with daisies?"

"Of course- come on. Help me pick them and then I can show you how to weave them together, okay?" Alfred was on his feet automatically and already strolling his way over to the chosen flowers, throwing back an affirmation to Matthew without turning. The latter looked down to Ottium with a slightly weary smile and got a long lick across the face in reply before the daemon jumped down from his lap and started off after Alfred and Lysimanche. Matthew brought up the rear, his strides long.

When Matthew pulled up behind Alfred the other boy had already plucked several flowers while Lysimanche watched his work from his shoulder. Matthew stared at the other boy's back for several seconds before slipping next to him and checking to see how many flowers he had picked so far. Several flowers were currently stacked on the edge of the planter already and another handful were set down on top of that as Alfred cast a sidelong glance to Matthew, checking nonverbally if he had picked enough flowers. With no affirmative response he continued plucking the daisies until the other boy finally gave a quick and quiet 'enough'.

The two both took a seat upon the ground by the planter, not paying much mind to the dirt getting on their trousers. Matthew leaned across to grab several of the flowers having been picked and held one up to Alfred, face serious.

"So, here's how you do it. Just pay close attention, alright?" Alfred nodded slowly and shifted so he could watch Matthew properly. The younger blond then quietly went to work, easily bending the stalks of the flowers and carefully braiding the blossoms together. Ottium casually rested his head on Matthew's leg as the boy continued adding flowers into the growing chain. While he did all of this he made sure to curve the stalks as he braided them and in time had managed to transform the whole thing into a ring, the flower heads facing out. Alfred, who had been utterly silent the entire time, looked vaguely confused at how point A had gotten to point C but said nothing as Matthew tied the two ends of the ring chain together and looked the craft over critically.

"So… is that it?" It was Lysimanche who said this, appearing to be torn between being impressed and disappointed. Matthew looked at the daemon with a small smile and a shrug.

"You can add more things to it, I think. Like other flowers and stuff. Like…" As Alfred slowly tilted his head at this exchange Matthew took the tulip he had been given and tucked it into an opening in the chain. The red clashed harshly with the otherwise undisturbed pattern of white and yellow and with a single motion of his finger Matthew had Alfred lean down as he placed the freshly made crown on top of the boy's head.

"There, it's perfect!"

"Does it look okay?" The question was only slightly out of place with Alfred's usual confidence as he slowly brought his hands up to touch the flowers, hesitant about doing so incase he messed something up. Matthew laughed softly at this before nodding surely and eyeing the extra flowers.

"It looks fine, Alfred. Daisies look nice on you." This was enough to please Alfred as he lowered his hands and nodded curtly.

"Okay, now you pick something! It's my turn to make one." Matthew blinked blankly before looking around the garden. There was plenty to choose from admittedly but that was the hard part. What did he want? He would probably do best choosing a flower with a stalk that was easy to bend, if only to make it easier on Alfred. Matthew's gaze eventually fell on several very overpopulated pots of pansies lined up one after the other according to colors. Alfred already saw where he was looking and before Matthew could say anything the older boy was making his way to the pots.

"These? They're pansies right?"

"Yeah, they are. They should be pretty easy to braid together so it shouldn't be difficult. Do you want me to help you pick them?" Alfred thought this over very briefly before nodding and turning to the flowers without saying anything more. Lysimanche took her place on the side of the pot, perching there, and watched as Alfred began to pick the colorfully patterned flowers. Matthew pulled up beside him and watched him pick them before joining in; he silently started showing Alfred how long he should try clipping the stems off at and which flowers heads he should leave be to let them grow. When the older boy finally started to attempt the braiding process the younger moved closer to watch with attentive stillness. With a bit of clumsiness, given it was Alfred's first time braiding anything ever, a chain was made.

Tongue peeking out between his teeth Alfred glanced up at Matthew, seeing that the other boy was engrossed in watching what he was doing, and promptly looked back down to focus on braiding the pansies together. Of course he wanted to make it nicely but it was harder than Matthew had made it look. When he did it the whole process looked smooth and easy, but keeping all the stems bundled together and avoiding the leaves was just a tab bit more challenging than Alfred had expected. Following the same curve of thee chain that he had seen the younger boy make, Alfred continued to diligently braid away in concentrated silence. Occasionally Lysimanche would twitter just to do so and Alfred could just make out Ottium lying on Matthew's feet, seemingly very relaxed contrary to how intensely Matthew was watching Alfred. Once the chain was touching itself Alfred felt a rush of relief before realizing he had no idea how Matthew had connected to the top opposing ends. Before he, or his daemon for that matter, could say anything about it Matthew's hands quickly grasped his own and guided him through the last step. It was then that the younger boy's spell of intensity broke and his usual soft and deer-like expression came back. Alfred was almost dumb-founded by the sudden shift between the two modes but said nothing instead opting to merely smile slightly at the other boy who in turn flashed a small smile back.

"Done?" Matthew asked, reaching up to tuck loose hair back behind his ear. Alfred nodded and looked over his work with a twinge of dissatisfaction

"Sort of looks wonky…" Lysimanche flew up to Alfred's shoulder at this point and pecked at his ear gently with an indiscernible noise that made the boy's eyebrows lift up minutely and his eyes widen. Matthew could only tilt his head in inquiry as Ottium stirred at his feet.

"But here, let's put it on." And before Matthew could answer Alfred had set the crown atop his head. It was a bit big and slide down in the back because of the loose tying but by some miracle managed to stay on. Alfred's finger lingered in Matthew's hair, tugging painlessly before the older blond let go and his hands returned to his sides.

"You look really pretty." Alfred blurted out shamelessly. Matthew wasn't sure how to reply to this but in the end murmured a bashful 'thank you' that he doubted Alfred had actually heard. Lysimanche finally spoke up now after her long silence, at least to the ears of Matthew.

"Boys are supposed to be handsome, but you sort of look like a girl anyways so I guess pretty works with you, huh?" The younger boy has a feeling this was supposed to be some kind of compliment coming from Lysimanche but Ottium quickly betrayed him by gruffly barking up in response.

"Don't you think you're not in the best position to talk about what girls and boys can or can't be?" Lysimanche chattered in slight aggravation back at the other daemon but said nothing that either Matthew or Ottium could make out that was intelligible. Whatever she had said made Alfred snort back a laugh. Matthew nudged Alfred's chest with a quirk of his lips as the boy shared some sort of jabbering with his daemon that was nigh impossible to actually translate to coherency. Alfred quickly looked back down to Matthew and blinked as if he was remembering the boy was there. With that he nudged Matthew back in the shoulder and smiled.

"What do you think? What's better, pretty or handsome?"

"I never really thought it mattered. A compliment is a compliment, right?" Matthew shrugged it off as something to not be concerned about even if he could feel his ears burning from having to talk about it. Did it really matter? Did it?

"Okay! Good, so then it's settled. You can be pretty and handsome—got it Lysi?"

"Pah!" Was the avian's only response to this as her feathers ruffled and she tucked her head under her wing in defeat. Ottium finally stood and stretched with a yawn, looking up at Matthew. With a bark he spoke.

"We should go someplace else."

"Like where?" Matthew questioned in response. It was Alfred's turn to ponder over what the two of them were talking about. Matthew glanced up at him briefly before looking back to his own daemon.

"Like… the library. It'd be a nice change of pace. Maybe you can convince Alfred to sneak us into the Grand Scholar's library where all the really good books are." The suggestion was something phenomenal. Matthew, being Matthew, hadn't even thought about something like that. He didn't think thoughts like that often at all, really.

"What are you thinking about, Matthew?" Alfred butt into Ottium and Matthew's nonsensical sounding talk casually, causing Matthew to jolt slightly before regaining composure.

"Your building has the Grand Scholar's Library right?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so. I don't know—I don't pay much attention to that stuff."

"Do you think you… you could take me there?" Alfred seemed surprised at the request but if he had learned anything in his short time of befriending Matthew he knew that the boy had a passion for reading. It was a skill of his in Alfred's eyes. They had gone twice where Alfred had wanted to go so perhaps it was only fair that he take Matthew to the library now. Mulling it over the blond boy nodded and held out a hand for Matthew to take—which he did and gifted Alfred with a full smile of gratitude in return.

They started off at a leisure pace, Alfred with his head tipped back as he stared up at the large snow white clouds that had started to meander their way through the clouds like a flock of sheep; Matthew in the mean time kept his head down staring intently at the ground beneath his feet while he walked. Lysimanche soon took flight off of Alfred's shoulder while Ottium trotted ahead of the two boys and romped around a bit before falling solemnly back to Matthew's side. The silence was comfortable and a couple of unintelligible words were passed between each boy and their corresponding daemon—either Alfred warning Lysimanche she was going too far or Matthew merely murmuring random things to Ottium about what the library might be like.

Arriving to the building took less time than either of them could have guessed and before Alfred opened the door he paused and then turned to Matthew, leaning back against it.

"Hey, I just remembered something…"

"What is it?" It was then that Lysimanche dived down and avoided a nasty collision with Alfred by changing rapidly into the form of a sparrow and landing among the daisies still atop his head with a twittering noise.

"There are going to be a lot of scholars in the Grand Library… You don't suppose Sir Bonnefoy is among them, do you?" Matthew hadn't considered this at all and looking to his daemon it seemed that Ottium hadn't either. This could prove a lot more complicated than he thought. Brain working quickly and thoughts zipping to and fro Matthew pulled an answer from thin air, eyebrows arching up minutely and a hopeful light entering his eyes.

"We can just sneak in then. Scholars are smart but they also don't noticed much when they're distracted. That's why they don't even jolt when the maids replace their beverages for them—They don't pay attention to it." Alfred seemed surprised that Matthew would suggest sneaking into anywhere. Not to mention his information on the scholars. Alfred had always found it hard to sneak anywhere when everybody and their father seemed to know you were supposed to be studying not throwing rocks at passing crows on the roof tops of the greenhouse. Maybe it was just a difference in their roles again.

"You really think that will work? Won't someone notice two kids with flowers slinking into a heavily occupied library?" Matthew's face hardened with the intense expression Alfred had seen only prior and honestly the older boy could probably get used to it.

"Of course. Just show me where it is and I'll figure out how to get us in there. I really want to see it, Alfred. All those books… They're from all places of the known world. Some of them weren't even written by humans, from what I've heard. I've got to get in!" Alfred was duly surprised at Matthew's spurt of determination and, with an expression that, he turned and opened the doors before holding them for Matthew. The two boys entered the building with a pep in the step as Alfred led Matthew to the library quietly, careful to avoid any other areas that were thickly populated by scholars. Most of them probably were in the library at this time, either trying to find a book they needed for their studies or in search of one of the last few spots they could get to sign up for some new research expedition. The library was, in a sense, the hub of the entire college. The Grand Scholar's Library was basically the heart of the establishment.

The library was several levels tall and the main entrance was on the second story; when Matthew and Alfred got to the stairs the younger of the two looked confused seeing as he didn't know this. The biggest library he'd been in was the small one where they kept all the cookbooks and other assorted hand-worker books. Many of them were merely instruction manuals. Francis was the man Matthew had to ask for more advanced books. Story books, history books, dictionaries… the list went on. He was in for a sure shock when they finally got to the Grand Scholar's Library that was for sure.

When they finally made it near the entrance Alfred stopped Matthew and turned to face him, leaning down slightly to whisper.

"Okay, so do you see those really big doors over there? That's the way in. There's a balcony there and then the stair cases down and another up. There's probably somebody there to make sure nobody sneaks any books out but normally they're asleep… You got this? Like, really?" Taking his time to answer Matthew's brain went into overdrive trying to make a layout of what the library must look like in his head. Staircases? Balconies? God, this was going to be one Hell of an adventure. Swallowing thickly the younger boy finally nodded and watched as Lysimanche slowly pushed Alfred's crown of flowers off. The boy caught them but then carefully tucked them under his arm and Matthew followed suit, removing his own as Ottium transformed into a moth and fluttered up to rest on the collar of the younger boy's shirt.

This was it- time to see how this would really work out. Matthew had always found that just by acting inconspicuous and thinking as if you were invisible that people would often pass you by without a second glance no matter what. He'd tried it out when he snuck sweets from the kitchen. At first people would look at him confused as he repeated the same thing over and over in his head like a mantra—I am not carrying sweets, I am not carrying sweets, I am not carrying sweets… And a couple times in the beginning it hadn't worked and he had gotten a good lashing over the wrists for taking without permission. Eventually with a bit of practice with things not so coveted he'd finally gotten the hang of it. He wasn't sure if Alfred would be able to adopt the skill quickly in this case but if all else failed at least he would have gotten in.

So now, taking a deep breath, Matthew closed his eyes and started to think long and hard. He is not visible, he is not visible, he is not visible… The boy heard Alfred ask him something but it sounded far away before finally Alfred stopped talking altogether. When Matthew opened his eyes Alfred was staring at him, eyes glazed over and his face a mask of confusion. The older boy then slowly looked away as if looking for something else and then turned to go into the library with a small shrug. Matthew followed, slipping into the library behind Alfred. He almost gave himself away to the old man who had just fallen asleep behind the checking counter as he did so.

The place was gigantic compared to any place that Matthew had seen. Sure, he should have guessed that Jordon would never be outdone with its preposterously high ceilings and winding passage ways and spindling rooftops so high up you'd swear they'd scrape the sky. But this... This was something else entirely. Keeping himself concentrated was hard in a setting like this. As Matthew watched Alfred go to find some form of cover so to keep himself from being seen the boy merely whispered softly to Ottium as he went to descend the staircase leading to the main floor. A couple scholars would look up from their work and look at Matthew for a couple of seconds before just looking away as if they hadn't seen him in the first place. It was a bit of a thrill to the boy, being able to walk out in the open like this without actually being seen. He was certainly proud of his strange skill and as the young blond looked back to see Alfred narrowly miss being spotted by a book browsing man as he swooped behind a bookshelf he quietly agreed to himself that he would have to teach Alfred how to do this.

Meandering around the library floor plan Matthew stopped by a couple of scholars he'd seen Francis speaking with before and peered at whatever they were reading or working on. One of them, a man with short cut dark brown hair and deeply tanned skin, was reading a book over agriculture and the differentiation among farming cultures across the world. Occasionally he'd move this book aside and start to write, pen held firmly in his grasp as he jot down notes. Matthew had trouble remembering the man's name… It was something different, as the scholar had come from over the strait to this land and as Francis had told him the two of them had met while he was on some wacky adventure with Lord Kirkland himself. It secretly pleased Matthew very much that he was not the only Bonnefoy to have befriended a Kirkland.

Moving on, Matthew caught sight of another one of the scholars Francis often lingered by. He was younger than most of the scholars in the university and certainly someone most people in the Oxford area would double-take upon seeing. Matthew distinctly remembered the young man being Francis' apprentice of sorts—His name was Michael. For nothing could the boy remember what the teenager's last name was. He was simply Michael. The aforementioned scholar was standing near a bookshelf that had most of its contents stripped from it. Perhaps it was a popular spot to read from? Looking for some kind of markers on the shelves Matthew almost ran right into someone else only to end up practically tripping on the occupied man's robes.

The young boy caught himself before he could end up face down on the hard wood floors but as consequence lost his train of thought and had his concentration broken. The result being that he was now perfectly visible to the library now. Before anybody had a chance to turn and spot him crouched over Matthew crawled to safety behind the nearest book case. What a bust. He should have guessed that something like this would happen.

"Matthew!" A harsh whisper came from somewhere nearby and made Matthew jolt. Turning to face whoever was calling him the young blond found it was merely Alfred trying to subtly get his attention from another part of the library. He hadn't done for good on the subtle part but he had certainly gotten the other boy's attention that was for sure. Making sure to look both ways to check for anybody actually watching him Matthew made a mad dash across the library floor and skid to a stop by Alfred, catching himself on the other child to keep himself from sliding back into the open.

"Jeez, where'd you even go? You were with me one second and gone the next—do you have some kind of super secret power I don't know about, huh?" Before Alfred could blabber anymore Matthew pressed a finger to his lips and shushed him quickly. The older boy may have been trying to be quiet but he wasn't doing much to actually muffle his voice. Alfred almost seemed insulted at the gesture but when Lysimanche sharply pecked her beak into his scalp he promptly shut up.

"It was a trick—I'll show you later; can you believe this place? It's huge." Matthew had a hard time containing his excitement while remaining near silent. Alfred just nodded along and let the younger blond enjoy himself. He'd never found much use for the library. Either because he just didn't read, seeing as he very barely knew how, or because it required him to be quiet was anybodies' guess. While Matthew started to trace his hands over the spines of the books behind Alfred the latter moved out of the way and peeked around the corner of the case they were creeping about. Francis was practically right there.

Alfred couldn't quite tell what the man was doing at the moment, as the blond had his back to the two hidden children, but Britainny was close at hand and very much turned to where if she chose to look up she would clearly be able to see Alfred. Lysimanche, for once, was insisting that they get out of this adventure and as soon as possible. Even if Alfred's gut was agreeing with the softly twittering bird, his head surely wasn't. Matthew was in the middle of tugging a book from the shelf when Alfred almost got himself caught by the lioness currently grooming herself from sheer boredom.

"Hey, Matthew? Do you think we should hurry this up? Sir Bonnefoy is sort of right there and it'd be easier to not be seen if we move to the upper floors of the library."

"Upper… upper floors?" This caught Matthew's attention automatically as he looked up, book open on his lap. The book was snapped shut loudly and Alfred winced at the noise while watching Matthew stuff the book back where it came from and get up off the floor.

"Let's go." Before Alfred could say anything to Matthew the younger boy was tugging him along with surprising force back to the front stair case and then up said flight of stairs. He was still shocked that they hadn't been caught yet but at the same time it was a satisfying feeling. Maybe it was some kind of insane good luck? Alfred didn't know or find that he cared that much. He was just having fun watching Matthew going bonkers in his own little way over these books. The older boy had a feeling this wouldn't bet the last time they would be sneaking in here.

"Alfred, Alfred look!" Matthew's whisper was even softer than his usual mumbling which Alfred was sure was worthy of some kind of award, so because of this he almost missed it when Matthew tugged a book out from a spot that was just a tad bit too high for him and almost went tumbling backwards. Almost. He narrowly managed to catch the younger boy and steady him, watching as Matthew's mouth pulled into a 'o' of shock and his eyes went wide.

"Whoa, close one—What'd you find?" As Matthew gained his wits about him again he quickly showed the cover of the book to Alfred who paused and stared at it dumbly before squinting and attempting to decipher what it said. It took him several moments to realize that his last name was on the front of it and automatically it all clicked together.

"Oh no… The Grand Feats of Arthur R. Kirkland… They have a book on him!?" Matthew shushed the older blond and cracked a grin at him before snickering.

"It's an autobiography."

"What!?" Alfred didn't seem to understand lowering his voice at this point and instead seemed mortified. Matthew was ready to burst with laughter at the other boy's reaction towards his dear old uncle's book.

"I want to take it!"

"No way!" The two boys were doing a shotty job at being discreet and the noise they were raising had already caught the attention of a couple scholars who had been in the middle of studying. Matthew shushed Alfred again as Ottium quivered with anxiety on his collar.

"Come on, it will be fun to read—"

"I refuse! As a Kirkland I forbid you from reading that book!"

"Unfair usage of your surname!"

"What even?"

"I'm telling you no." It was at this point that Matthew grabbed Alfred and pulled him around the corner behind another shelf just as a man coming to investigate the noise appeared. Upon finding that the place where the noise should have been coming from was empty the confused scholar resigned from his search as Matthew and Alfred took their hands off one another's mouths. Alfred automatically opened his and tried to take the book away only to have his wrist slapped sharply and a finger pressed to his lips.

"Shhh…" Matthew had good reason to shush the older boy this time as he listened intently. A smart move on his behalf given the two boy's bickering had caught Francis' attention. He was a scholar for a reason after all. He wasn't dull and he sure as Hell knew the two boys from a crowd of deep voiced murmurs. All the man had left to do was wonder if he was merely hearing voices. Looking to Britainny with his eyebrows raised he was met with the same confusion and skepticism. It couldn't possibly be the children. They were clever, but they weren't masterminds. Somebody would have caught them by now. Obviously.

When Matthew finally deemed it safe he removed his finger from Alfred's mouth and clutched the book he had chosen to his chest. Alfred seemed entirely too insulted at having his wrist slapped like a naughty child—especially by someone he was quite sure was younger than he. Lips pursing together tightly the older boy's blue eyes narrowed considerably at Matthew who merely stared back with a cryptic smile he'd seen far too many times from Francis.

"Don't be so upset about it, Alfred. Consider it an indirect form of flattery okay?"

"Whatever. Get the rest of your non-Kirkland-related books and let's get out of here. This is stressing me out." Matthew merely nodded before shoving the book at Alfred who took it with confusion only to be forced to jog after the other blond as he darted off to go to the next level of the library. By the time they got to the top floor of the Grand Scholar's Library Alfred was carrying a total of five books; even though he claimed to be strong he was definitely struggling at the moment and when the boy saw Matthew pick up a sixth book he gave a loud 'ahem'.

"Huh?" Matthew looked Alfred over and watched as the older boy put the books down, not minding to keep quiet now that they were so far away from the main thrum of scholar activity. Nobody was on the top floor with them at all.

"Don't you think this is a little much? I'm turning into a pack mule back here!" Lysimanche spoke up finally, throwing in an agreement and chattering incoherently. Matthew seemed to be struck by this realization before looking down at the book he had picked up. It was a book of short stories and poems penned under the name E.M.B. He was curious as to whom the author was and given his ever growing hunger to read it was no surprise he had picked up a variety of different books. Ottium stayed silent to both Matthew and Alfred, not even bothering to gripe back at Lysimanche for once. Making his own decision Matthew tucked the smaller book by the otherwise anonymous author under his arm and went to pick up a couple of the books he'd accumulated.

Alfred almost seemed shocked by this, probably having assumed that Matthew would agree to the option Alfred was going to propose—putting them back –and that would be the end of the story. But he really did underestimate how much Matthew wanted these books. By the end of it Matthew was carrying the two books he could with the poetry book still tucked tightly under his arm.

"Sorry… I'll carry these if you carry those?" With a sigh Alfred picked the remaining three books back up and shifted his hold on the, obviously not entirely content with the set-up but not as ornery about it as he was with the previous arrangement.

"Okay, so how do we get out of here now?" Alfred looked down at the books and back over past the railing down the floors and to the scholars still milling around. It was then the clock chimed and the whole of the library seemed to still before lurching with simultaneous movement. Scholars by the hundreds were flooding from the library and the check out man had been woken in order to fulfill his duty. This left Alfred and Matthew stranded on the top floor of the library where there were no exits available except…

"How are we supposed to…" Matthew's voice trailed off as he watched Alfred go from the railing to a window, head tilted in confusion and eyes narrowed. Watching the boy reach up on handedly, standing on a chair, and then popping the window open and letting it swing out, Matthew was entranced. What did Alfred think he was doing?

"You coming?" Alfred finally asked as he started to climb out the window. Matthew felt Ottium fall from his collar and transform into a rather large bird of prey and promptly dropped the smallest of the books he was carrying. Ottium grabbed it and fluttered over to the window, waiting for Alfred to get out of the way. The young blond could feel his heart suddenly slam against his rib cage at the prospect of climbing out the window and onto the roof but in the end he found himself moving forward either way, careful to keep a grip on the books. Alfred held out a hand and helped his companion up a good way before pulling himself out the window completely and onto the roof.

Once Matthew had managed to get himself through the window he was taken by the sights from the roof. They weren't on the very top of the building, seeing as that was a couple more floors up, but they were very far up that was for sure. Matthew could see almost all of Oxford from here, or so he thought. He could only stare for several long moments before Alfred's laugh jostled him back into reality.

"Pretty great, right? Now, try to keep your footing with those books, alright? The ground is pretty far down there." Alfred was right. Matthew didn't even have to go peek over the edge of the rooftop to know that. It was plain to see that it was indeed a long way down from their spot on the roof top.

"I hope you know how to get down from here…" Matthew murmured, cheeks flushing with a head rush. Alfred nodded but hesitantly which honestly didn't help the younger child's nerves any as he gave a nervous laugh and shifted the books in his arms. Alfred moved past Matthew and tugged the window closed behind them before finally turning back to the feat before him.

"I'll figure it out. From this angle we… And…" The boy was quick to fall deep into his own thoughts, muttering out loud about degrees and angles. Something that made no sense to Matthew but he could guess it was something important that had to do with them getting down from the roofs. It was then that Alfred started to creep along the shingles, seeming to still be absorbed in his thoughts. Matthew could feel his heart catching in his throat as his stomach flopped nervously.

"You know what you're doing?" Was all Matthew managed to get out before Alfred quite suddenly lept down from a roof, prompting a startled yell to erupt from his younger companion as said child watched the boy disappear. Scrambling over to the roof edge Matthew was ready to cry when he saw Alfred simply standing there on another roof top, grinning back at him as if he hadn't just scared the boy bloodless. Ottium swooped down to join Alfred on the other roof and Matthew felt a small painful tug from somewhere deep in his chest as his daemon left his side.

"What the Hell?!" It wasn't often that Matthew would use such a phrase but in that moment it was the only thing his young mind could procure to express itself in that present moment. Alfred's grin faltered slightly as he cocked his head at Matthew's reaction before he called up to the other child.

"Come on, just jump! I did the math in my head. Trust me!" Matthew stared at Alfred as if he had absolutely lost his mind. Looking to Ottium, who was stilling beating the air with his wings as he stared at Matthew from by Alfred's side, Matthew took a deep breath and jittered anxiously. Staring down the ways between the two rooftops made his gut fall to his feet and he automatically backed up, hearing Alfred call out to him again.

"Matthew, come on! You got to trust me—You can do it! Jump! I'll catch you!" The young boy could only clutch the books to his chest and shake his head before attempting to temper his nerves and swallow his fear. He had to get over there somehow right? Alfred seemed to know what he was doing after all. So now or never. With another deep breath Matthew closed his eyes and rushed the ledge, leaping a bit too early and landing a bit too soon. The boy's knee caught against the shingles and scraped roughly against the piping and for a long agonizingly drawn out moment all he could think of was the fact his feet were first of all not on the ground and his shoulder felt like someone had wretched it out. When he was quite suddenly hauled up onto the roof top with little to no delicacy the boy took a moment to just sit there shaking in silence, not even acknowledging the awful stinging in his knee.

"Jesus Christ! You almost took a nasty tumble there; I told you I would catch you." Matthew's eyes finally focused as he stared at Alfred blankly before reaching out and grabbing the older boy's hand and squeezing it so tightly he practically cut off the circulation to the blond's fingers. Alfred said nothing about it and rather helped Matthew up, catching sight of the nasty wound the boy had gotten on his leg. Wincing slightly Alfred merely remained silent, Lysimanche making a sheepish comment about Matthew keeping a hold on the books. Ottium was stiffened in the same silence, feather ruffled up completely and eyes blown wide. When Matthew finally spoke he sounded surprisingly calm but his voice still shook minutely.

"Thank you for catching me, Alfred."

"You're welcome…" The older boy smiled as much as he could in the current situation before simply leading Matthew along. They'd made a pretty impressive leap for a couple of young boys even if the younger of the two had miscalculated the jump a bit. Alfred should have walked him through it better than just asking him to jump. For next time if he could even convince Matthew to do that again.

"We should be down to the ground soon, okay? Uhm… Is your leg okay?" Matthew was still in shock over his experience and slowly looked up at Alfred with a dazed look on his face. His leg. The pain hit the young boy at just that moment and his soft face screwed up into a grimace as he looked down at it.

"I… I'm not sure. It's not broken or anything. I'll be fine. If anybody asks I'll say I fell will doing chores or something." A little white lie no doubt but all Matthew really wanted to do was get down from the roofs. The adrenaline pushing its way through his small body was almost overwhelming and he felt he might faint from sheer rush than anything. The little blond kept a firm hold on Alfred's hand the rest of the way, making sure that the older boy led him through anymore jumps and spotted him for when they to climb down from places. By the time they were down to the ground Matthew's sock was saturated with blood Ottium was flying funny. Now that the child's head had cleared some the pain was really bothering him. He certainly wasn't used to pain whatsoever and Alfred was now hovering over him insistently, a worried expression on his face.

"Come on, Matthew. Let's go to my room, okay. You think you'll make it?"

"I don't know… This really hurts, Alfred."

"If it helps I think you're handling the pain pretty well! You've got really good uh… It's like… Right, self control." Alfred's words managed to make Matthew smile at least a little before he nodded slightly and let a small shiver shake his shoulders.

"You think we should get Mister Francis?"

"Only if we hide the books first." Alfred's answer was simple enough and Matthew agreed to it quickly as the two boys circled around the building shortly and crept their way back in through the front door. Scholars were not meandering their ways around everywhere but all now had their head down in thought, faces shoved in books, or were simply too busy rushing to seminars and the likes to actually look at Alfred and Matthew for too long. The trip to Alfred's room was easy and on the way there the older asked a favor of one of the scholars in the nearby area to fetch Francis for them.

Once the two were seated in the room Alfred quickly shoved the books away except the one that Ottium was holding seeing as he quite bluntly refused to touch the daemon and Ottium was clearly not giving the book up any time soon. Matthew sat in the window seat with his leg propped up on a chair with a make shift bandage made out of an old shirt Alfred said was too small to be of any use. When Francis arrived in the room he seemed vaguely annoyed but altogether curious as to what Alfred could want with him on the day that the child had freedom from his studies; when met with Matthew and his injury the man's mood swung around in a complete three sixty.

"What in good Heavens?" Francis made quick haste to Matthew, dropping to his knees by the boy without much thought to his robes and took a hold of the child's leg firmly. Alfred seemed to go meek automatically as he looked to Matthew for some kind of wording.

"Alfred and I were playing and I tripped." The younger boy lied effortlessly for someone who rarely did it. If Francis had known any better he would have questioned it but with Matthew he really thought he had no reason to. Instead he scowled slightly and looked over to Alfred, as if this had confirmed his suspicions that Matthew would get seriously hurt around the older boy. Which, really? He hadn't been entirely wrong. It was better he didn't know the truth about the wound.

Britainny stared at Alfred intently as well and Lysimanche was quite effectively hiding in Alfred's hair in the form of a dormouse now. She didn't wish to have the lioness' gaze upon her for fear the intense stare might make her spill the truth. Britainny did have a strange effect on others like that. Francis left momentarily to go collect supplies after making sure Alfred got the correct look to tell him that they would be talking later. In the mean time Alfred turned to Matthew with a look of unease and slight awe plastered over his face.

"How did you manage to get him to believe you? Every time I try to lie to him I end up grinning…"

"You smile when you lie?" Matthew seemed a bit surprised at this and couldn't help but laugh a little as Alfred gave a dejected shrug over it.

"Yeah… It's not really very convenient."

"I guess I'm just good at it? I don't know… I don't lie much." Alfred accepted this and went silent as Francis reentered the room with a small bowl of warm water and a rag along with bandages that Britainny was carrying in her mouth. He went back to Matthew, shooing Alfred away, and knelt there before getting to work. First he went about cleaning the wound which made Matthew whine with pain more than once to which each time he was firmly hushed by the man attending him. After most of the blood and grime was cleared away and Francis had tugged away the boy's shoe and sock the bandaging was wrapped around it. All said and done the wound was properly bound and the boy given a pat on the head and a kiss on the cheek for his good behavior during the whole ordeal.

"Now, no going outside just yet and absolutely no rough housing, understood?" Francis seemed to be directing this more at Alfred then he was Matthew, his tone stern as blue eyes narrowed.

"I shall come on your wound when I am actually done with my own work for the day. I will have Mademoiselle Jovanneson fetch you when she can—" Alfred cut off Francis at this point, daringly so one would add.

"Why can't Matthew just stay here? This room is big enough for the both of us and I saw where he really sleeps. It's not fair that he has to sleep in a pantry like that." Matthew duly noted that Alfred had used his own wording of pantry rather than closet this time and suppressed a small smile at it. Francis on the other hand seemed shocked over what Alfred had just said, looking between the two boys before folding his hands together and looking over at Britainny. They shared short private words between the two of them before Francis looked back to Alfred, obviously skeptical.

"After seeing what happened just with you two playing, Alfred, I am very unsure if having the two of you lodge together would be a wise idea." The look of insult that came onto the boy's face at this was so much alike to that of Arthur Kirkland's that Francis almost laughed aloud to himself and ruined the mood. If he had known that Alfred could imitate his uncle like that he would have said something even brasher if only to see his face turn bright red like Arthur's always did.

"It was an accident! That doesn't count at all. You can't just say that because he fell and hurt himself that he can't sleep someplace big enough to where he can actually stretch." The second the characteristic grin popped up on Alfred's face Francis was cued in on something amiss. Matthew's face bleached of color at the realization of it as well as he stared at Alfred only to find the boy staring back at him. As the silence ticked by in agonizing seconds the three of the room's occupants sat there and stared at one another before Francis finally spoke.

"Fine. We will see." And without another word both he and his daemon left the room. Alfred felt faint with relief as he very abruptly fell back onto the bed and lay there. Matthew stood carefully from where he was sitting and walked his way over to Alfred, sliding onto it with a soft laugh.

"You almost ruined it there for a second, Alfred."

"Yeah, I know! No need to remind me. What a close call." With the whole ordeal out of the way and a small rest taken Alfred sat up and looked Matthew over, brow drawn together and lips pursed.

"Is your leg going to be okay though?" Matthew looked down at the bandages currently wrapped securely around his fresh wound. The pain had officially set in and it made him want to cry but he kept his head about him and sucked it up so as to not cry in front of Alfred. It was then that Ottium dropped the book he had been carrying in Matthew's lap and promptly followed in the form of a bundle of nervously purring fur. Ottium ended up being pet absently as Matthew picked up the book dropped and stared at it.

"What books did you all get anyways?" Alfred asked after a moment of silence. Matthew thought over this. He had just started grabbing books that seemed interesting to be honest. He hardly remembered what the last few had been given the terrible tumble had wiped most of his memories right out with sheer terror.

"Bring them out and I'll show you." Alfred's eyebrows arched at this in silent questioning before he did as he was told and slid off the bed before stooping to pull the books in mention out from under the bed they were seated upon. Pushing the books onto the bed where Matthew could get at them Alfred climbed back on and sat on his knees, palms pressed into the bedsheets as he waited for Matthew to explain what he had selected. The first book was one that Alfred had carried- a big behemoth of a book with leather bindings that were dyed red and the title stenciled in gold leaf.

"This one is about the known world and its history… I thought it would be cool to read, you know?"

"It sounds pretty cool! Is it like about Africa too? You mentioned that place yesterday, I remember." Matthew nodded to answer Alfred's question before tugging the next book over. This one was a book with a soft cloth binding that was blotchily dyed a faint blue violet color with the title painted onto it.

"This one should be about plants and how you can use them… medicinally." Pausing to make sure he pronounced the word right Matthew looked up to see Alfred staring at him blankly. The older boy obviously had no clue what the word medicinally meant and if Matthew hadn't been such a humbled child he might have laughed in the other blond's confused face.

"Like, for helping you when you're sick."

"Medici…nally? Medicinally. Okay, okay. And this one?" Alfred picked up one of the books that Matthew had been carrying- a smaller one with a strange binding of tanned hide that neither child could really make sense of. The title was pressed into the spine of the book and then painted with stain.

"This one is about… Well, I can't entirely tell from the title itself… But I think it's supposed to be about the people of the New World- the Americans." Alfred seemed a bit confused at what Matthew was saying but didn't question it. Instead he nodded along and let Matthew continue as he set the strange book aside and picked up the next to last one. This book was the smallest, but thickest, besides the one Ottium had carried and was bound tightly in royal purple fabric with gold details that were a part of the cloth itself. This was the one that Alfred had complained about; it was Arthur Kirkland's autobiography. All the older boy did was grimace as Matthew quickly put it out of reach seeing as it was self explanatory what it was.

"And that last one?"

"It's a book of poetry." Matthew's answer was quick as he showed Alfred the small baby blue book with the silver printing on it. It had no real title on it other than the swirling cursive on the spine that even Matthew had a hard time reading and the simple initials pressed into the pristine cover. It was as if nobody had really read the book which was odd since all books in Jordan were in some kind of disarray from being read so many times. Maybe that was why Matthew had been drawn to it.

"That sounds… Really boring." Matthew shot Alfred an uncharacteristically sharp look that made Alfred raise his hands palms out in his own defense.

"I thought it would be nice for light reading."

"I'm hoping the rest of this is heavy reading?"

"Sort of." Alfred laughed dryly a this and merely shook his head with a sigh.

"Wow, you really are too smart for me aren't you?"

"Are you kidding?" Matthew seemed shocked at Alfred's words, setting the book back down into the pile and nudging the older boy in the arm.

"You knew how to jump off that roof and you're really good at mathematics. Like, really good. Plus you're older than me so… age is experience right? And you know what vampires are." Alfred held a stubborn pout before his expression dissolved into a smile at Matthew's words. Laughing lightly the older boy nodded before freezing suddenly.

"Hey Matthew- Where did the flowers go?" Matthew hadn't even realized that somewhere in their adventure the two of them had misplaced the crowns. It upset him slightly but after all that had happened in that short time span he could hardly blame Alfred or himself for having lost them.

"Oh… We can always make more I guess. It will be good practice." Alfred relaxed automatically before looking back to the books, head cocked minutely as he seemed to contemplate something. Matthew watched him, hand drifting back down to pet Ottium who had finally managed to calm down now that everything was righted and the action had ceased officially. Hand drifting over to the book pile Alfred picked up the one written by his uncle and stared at it with a mixture of curiosity and distaste.

"So, you're really going to read this thing?" As Matthew gave a sure but soft yes Alfred flipped the book open to a random page and squinted, starting his own slow process of deciphering the words within the book. Lysimanche finally popped up out of her hiding place now, saying something to Alfred who snapped the book closed from frustration and passed it back to Matthew. The younger boy took it with a twinge of concern and obvious perplexion but didn't say anything at first. When he did he did so hesitantly.

"Read something bad?"

"No." The answer was short and sharp and Matthew had half the thought to recoil but instead pressed forward.

"Then what is it?" Alfred made a sour face, like one might make when they taste something they really don't enjoy but can't find a drink to wash it away with. Lysimanche scampered down from Alfred's hair and landed on his shoulder with a shrill wordless squeak. After a couple moments her shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Couldn't read it." Matthew blinked at Alfred's answer. He was aware that Alfred did have trouble reading but the fact the boy was telling him he couldn't read from the book at all was, admittedly, a bit shocking to him. Picking up the discarded autobiography Matthew flipped to the first page after skimming through the table of contents and getting past the acknowledgements and notes sections. Both of which were… unnecessarily long.

"You think, Alfred… That since we have separated skills we could teach one another? You can help me with mathematics and I can help you with literature. Maybe I can even help you with that, ah…" There was a pause for a slight laugh as Matthew looked up from the book to see Alfred slowly going red in the face. "Smiling thing." That was what made Alfred's face really flair as he looked down and grumbled something while Lysimanche gave a chittering noise akin to laughter.

"Yeah, okay I guess. And the smiling thing isn't that bad alright?"

"You grin like you need to fart, Alfred." Alfred seemed to choke on his spit at this and Lysimanche was causing quite a ruckus laughing at her partner as he stared at Matthew in shock, the insulted look from earlier finding its way back on his face. Matthew started to laugh as well at this point, slapping a hand over his mouth and looking away as Alfred tried to find a way to respond to what had been said to him.

"Do not, totally do not. Lies and slander."

"Lies and slander huh? You're smiling right now you know." Automatically the smile that had popped up on Alfred's face widened even as he tried to force it away. Even Ottium was starting to giggle now, intensely amused by the current situation even if he wasn't letting on that he was.

"Come on, Alfred!" Lysimanche finally spoke up, morphing suddenly into a parrot with pretty blue and yellow feathers. "Just give in, he's right you know." Matthew looked at Lysimanche in surprise, noting how she was agreeing with him. Alfred quickly butted back into the conversation with a groan and some vague hand motions.

"Fine, fine! The smiling thing is a problem… I'll accept the help if it means it'll stop. I haven't been able to get away with anything ever since Sir Bonnefoy caught on to that."

"It's a deal then! I'll help you with your fart face and reading and you help me with math."

"Hey, don't call it that!... Eugh, okay—It's a deal."

"Great, we can start now." Matthew responded with a smile of his own, grabbing the biggest of the books, the one bound in red leather, and moved so he could lay the book down where they could both look at it. Careful of his wounded leg the young blond let Ottium settle on one side of him while Lysimanche went to go rest on the feline's back and started to preen his fur while Alfred settled next to Matthew.

As it would be, Francis eventually agreed to let Matthew move into the same room as Alfred. The move from one building to the other was a slow process that involved taking the few items that Matthew actually owned and taking them to the room him and Alfred would soon share. Mikyla was the one that seemed the most emotional about it all among the crew of workers and handmaids that had grown fond of Matthew in the years that he had been with them. Matthew himself found out last minute that his usual daily chores would be revoked as well and that he would have much more free time to himself. It was all going to be new strange and confusing and Matthew wasn't quite sure what he would do without his work and determined that he would perhaps start helping around the scholar's building with things such as bustling books and helping to sort and inventory the library- Anything that wouldn't leave him too idle in his spare time.

The months glided by from April and eventually to June and finally to July. The two boys were at peace, content with their running around and studying and sometimes Alfred would even help Matthew out with his insistent manual labor and all and all the two boys grew bit by bit while Alfred grew jittery about the coming days that would lead to his birthday. After all, his uncle would be visiting on that day and if he could get the lord to listen Alfred would surely tell him all that he had missed over the year. Ah, but a whimsical wish it was. The two boys of Jordan College in the good settlement of Oxford would find that their simple lives would only get a lot more complicated with the appearance of the mysterious Arthur Kirkland. A whole lot more complicated indeed.