A/N: Once again, thank you very much for the lovely reviews! This chapter is rather uneventful and light-hearted compared to the previous one, though.

– CHAPTER 7 –

Astray

Lovino avoided everyone else for the rest of the day. At first he had half a mind to find Bella and ask her to explain herself, but when his eyes began to sting with the threat of more tears, he quickly discarded the idea and isolated himself somewhere well out of sight. Damn it, he was a grown man, so why did he keep crying like a baby? He hated being weak, hated it so much...

He just couldn't believe it had come to this. Just when he had begun to feel more at ease after his soul-cleansing confession, he'd promptly lost his only friends in the world. What he had always suspected had finally revealed itself to be true. Everyone was against him. There was no one he could trust. He was completely alone. Everyone hated him. Hell, even he hated himself, perhaps most of all.

To top it off, that damned sickness – that curse – had resurfaced. Punishment, it had to be punishment. God must really hate him. From the moment he had been born, nothing had ever gone right for him. It was almost cruel, really, to be given hope that things were finally changing for the better and then have it all taken from him. Then again, he supposed maybe he deserved that.

He spent that night curled up in a protective ball in his hiding place, eventually falling into another fitful sleep. He dreamt of his grandfather again, but they weren't nightmares or depressing memories from his childhood. They were just recollections of all those stories he had heard from when Grandpa had been a young man, proud, wealthy, powerful, strong, brave, and admired by all. In his dreams, he was his young grandfather, travelling around the world, easily crushing his enemies, winning over the hearts of pretty ladies, surrounded by glory and riches.

When he woke up much earlier than he normally would have – which was still earlier than most people – he couldn't remember much of those dreams, but he felt oddly reinvigorated. Physically, he felt much better than he had in days, if slightly sore from sleeping for so many hours in such an uncomfortable position. In his heart, he could still feel the bliss of living like his grandfather, which filled him with strength and determination.

Once again, he wondered, what would his young grandfather think if he could see what his future self and his progeny had been reduced to? He would surely be mortified! This whole family had become horrifically decadent, and Lovino was the greatest culprit. Granted, he wasn't the one who had lost the family's fortune, but he perpetuated the disgrace, exacerbated it with his weakness and cowardice.

He suddenly realised that was partly because he kept relying on other people, which was a dangerous thing. Even those he had thought he could trust had turned their back on him, so now he was falling apart. He could only trust himself. He couldn't count on friends. He didn't need friends. He would stand on his own feet, just like his Grandpa.

The plan was still the same, but now it did not depend on other people.

While everyone else slept, he "collected" a few things he would need for his trip. Food, water, Bella's cloak, Ludwig's sword, gun, and whatever travelling equipment he could find, though the map was his main priority – he still needed to know where he was before deciding which way he should go from here. By the time he was done collecting all these things, the priest – Lovino never caught his name – was also up, so Lovino went to see him. The elderly man was kind enough to donate him some clothes, which Lovino eagerly put on after washing up. These clothes weren't as nice as the ones he had been wearing; they were plain and a little tattered; but at least they were clean. He thanked the priest for everything and took all the stuff he had collected outside, when the sky was already paling as the time for sunrise approached.

Part of him wondered if this wasn't a form of suicide. He wasn't his grandfather, no matter how much he wished otherwise. There were still hired assassins out there looking for him. There were bandits and wild animals. There was his own weakness. The world was a dangerous, frightening place. If anything went wrong, no one would help him.

He decided, however, that taking all those risks had to be worth it. Even if he failed, it was better than going back to what he was. He could do this, if he put his mind to it. Just trying was enough. He would make his grandfather proud for once.

He mounted on Ludwig's horse and set off.

oOo

After the scuffle with Lovino, Antonio tried to avoid him, which wasn't difficult, seeing as Lovino seemed to be doing the same thing to him. He hurried back to Bella, but found her fast asleep, taking a well-deserved rest, so he did not disturb her. He, himself, turned in much earlier than usual, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day for everyone. It took him a while to fall asleep, though, because he was beginning to feel a little guilty about what he had done. Maybe his remark about the twins' grandfather liking Feliciano better had been a little too harsh and uncalled for.

That was why he rarely got angry and confrontational. He hated all the unpleasantness it generated and always felt guilty afterwards, even if he felt completely justified. It was just as well that it took a lot to get him that angry.

The following morning, he considered seeking Lovino to apologise to him, or at the very least have a more reasonable talk about what he had done to Bella. Guilty or not, Antonio had not forgiven him for it quite yet. He was still angry, but at least now he felt more in control of himself.

He had expected Lovino to have quietly come back into the room some time during the night and slept in the mattress they had prepared for him. However, the mattress lay empty and untouched. He searched the rest of the church, but Lovino was nowhere to be seen. Was he sulking in some hidden place as usual? Well, in any case, he would eventually have to come out of his hiding spot to eat, right?

Breakfast time came and went. Time for lunch drew nearer. Yet, there was no sign of Lovino.

"Have you seen Lovino today?" he asked Bella when they both met in the room with the mattress.

She shook her head. "No, not at all. I thought he was with you."

"No, I haven't seen him since the fight yesterday."

Bella blinked, suddenly a little more alert. "What fight? Did—did the Russos find us?"

"No, I meant the fight between us... me and Lovino, I mean," said Antonio, feeling a little awkward.

"You two had a fight?" Her green eyes widened and she seemed to be taking a closer look at Antonio. "My goodness! So that thing on your face is a fading bruise, isn't it? I assumed—What—Why on Earth did you fight? How come I didn't hear about this at all until now?"

Antonio touched his right cheek, where he assumed was a fading, almost imperceptible bruise.

"Well, he insulted you, so I had it out with him."

"You what? What are you talking about?"

"I mean, I couldn't just let him get away with it!"

"Wait, let me see if I understand. You thought he had insulted me, so you decided to, uh, 'defend my honour' by picking a fight with him? Are you out of your mind?"

"Er, I didn't really mean to fight him—Well, okay, maybe I did, but I know I shouldn't have. Anyway, he kind of had it coming."

"But why?" Bella, who had finally calmed down since yesterday, began to look quite distressed again. Antonio couldn't figure out why.

"He insulted you—"

"Where did you get the idea that he insulted me?" She looked as puzzled as he felt now.

"You—but—You told me he said horrible things to you!"

She stared at him for a moment, astonished.

"He did say horrible things to me!" she admitted, and Antonio's brain almost exploded, because this conversation made less and less sense. Fortunately, Bella soon elaborated, "But he didn't say horrible things about me! He said horrible things about himself!"

"Wait, what?"

"You should have heard him!" Bella sighed, acting as if she hadn't just broken Antonio's brain. "He called himself worthless and disgusting, among other things. And he expected me to think the same! He wouldn't even let me reassure him... I could see how much he was hurting himself saying those things – believing them – and seeing his pain made me die a little inside..."

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight!" said Antonio. "You mean you were only crying and sobbing uncontrollably like that because Lovino was throwing a pity party? Not because he rejected you or insulted you?" Antonio didn't mean to sound unsympathetic towards Lovino's suffering. Many times in his life had he witnessed Lovino in a self-depreciating mood, and it never failed to tug at Antonio's heartstrings. However, it was no news that Lovino had an inferiority complex the size of a small continent, and it boggled his mind that such a simple and obvious fact had come as such as shock to Bella after all this time.

"Well, I was quite sad when he rejected me. I guess that might have made me a little emotional..." Bella conceded. "But he didn't insult me at all! What you did to him was totally uncalled for!"

"But then... this was all a silly misunderstanding?" concluded Antonio, increasingly dismayed as he remembered his fight with Lovino the day before and all the harsh things he had said and done. As if the guilt he had been feeling when he believed his actions had been justified weren't bad enough! Now it was just overwhelming. "My God, what have I done? I'm such an idiot! I need to find Lovino and apologise to him right away!"

"HE'S GONE!" a roaring voice resonated throughout the church, making both Bella and Antonio cringe. Ludwig seemed to materialize out of thin air right behind Antonio, who yelped in surprise and backed away, instinctively shielding Bella with his own body when the other man looked even more intimidating than usual. His face was livid and he loomed over the slightly cowering couple as if he planned on crushing them under his foot and sprinkling their mortal remains on his lunch.

"Eek! Have mercy, sir!" begged Bella.

"What's wrong?" asked Antonio.

"He's gone! Lovino Vargas is gone! He's left town on his own while we were all asleep!"

"What?" exclaimed the couple in unison.

"But that's impossible!" Antonio protested.

"Then explain to me where he is, and who stole my belongings!"

"What—what belongings?"

"My horse, my weapons, my map, my compass, all my money—How did he even steal the things that I had with me all the time, anyway?"

"He's an excellent pickpocket," said Antonio sagely, then yelped when Bella cuffed him chidingly to make him realise he was supposed to be defending Lovino. "I-I mean... he must have got caught by the Russos!" he said, unable to offer an alternative explanation about the misplacement of Ludwig's belongings without possibly offending the man.

"Oh, God, if that's what happened, we need to go save him!" said Bella.

"Nice try," rumbled Ludwig, irritation emanating from him like heat from a blazing bonfire. "But one villager witnessed his departure from the church. He was alone and left of his own free will."

"But that doesn't seem like him at all!" Antonio insisted, shaking his head repeatedly. "Why would he sneak out while everyone else was sleeping and leave on his own? The Lovino I know would be terrified of travelling by himself when he knows there are people out there who want him dead!"

"Well, apparently he has got over his fear!" Ludwig retorted.

"But why leave us behind? We've come this far together!"

"Maybe he was upset about the fight from yesterday?" suggested Bella.

Antonio flushed bright red, knowing in his heart of hearts that that would indeed be very typical of Lovino. He did tend to overreact whenever the two of them had a fight or an argument. He covered his face with both hands and just let out a wordless yell to release all the pent-up frustration that had been accumulating since the day before.

"That idiot! What was he thinking? We need to find him before he gets himself killed!"

"As much as I would love to wring that idiot's neck right now, I have to agree that we should find him as quickly as possible and make sure he is not hurt," said Ludwig. "But that's only because my master would be most displeased if he found out that any harm had come to Mr. Lovino Vargas."

"Well, as long as you can help him, I don't care about your reasons!" said Antonio, truly relieved to have someone who inspired so much confidence and reliability on their side.

"There is only one little problem, though," said Ludwig.

"Yeah?"

"He stole all my belongings, including all my money!" Ludwig shouted right in Antonio's face, spittle flying everywhere. "We're stranded here in this village until we can find a way to make some money or meet someone who just happens to be going in the direction that brainless idiot went – whatever that is – and is kind enough to give us a lift for free!"

"Oh..." Antonio frowned and scratched his head. "One would think he didn't want us to come after him."

Ludwig threw an incredulous look that seemed to question his intelligence, but he didn't know Lovino like Antonio did. Upset or not, he was sure that, deep down – even if he didn't know it yet – Lovino wanted his friends to come after him to make sure he was all right. Antonio was completely convinced of it. And that was why he would not waste any time. He didn't care that they had no money and no means of transportation. They would find a way. They had to, not only for Lovino but for everyone's sake.

oOo

As a matter of fact, Lovino might have felt a little guilty about leaving his former friends virtually stranded in that small village, but he assumed that they would eventually manage to leave and go back to Monterosso, where they would resume their normal lives and forget all about Lovino, so he didn't dwell on it any longer. As for Ludwig, Lovino didn't feel guilty at all and actually hoped he would starve to death and rot in hell.

They would be fine. It was himself he was worried about. He was the one being hunted by murderous men sent by the powerful Russo family. He was the one travelling all by himself at the risk of being mugged or having a fit and falling off his horse to crack his head open on the ground. God help him...

For once, though, luck seemed to be on his side, and he soon arrived in the city of Terraverde. The place was absolutely stunning, much larger and livelier than Monterosso. Lovino had heard of this city before, but never had the opportunity to visit it. His grandfather in particular had told many stories about it, having visited it frequently in his youth. Grandpa had always wished to live here, for it was, after all, the so-called "city of the arts", where many artists came to live in. Even the houses and the streets looked like works of art, so full of vibrant colours, tasteful contours, and beautiful statues and monuments.

Lovino dismounted and began to stroll around the city, fascinated. He happened to find the local church, which, judging by its size, might as well be a cathedral. He would make sure to visit it later; it was guaranteed to be as magnificent as the rest of the city. He gaped at the sight openly, not even caring that he probably looked like an ignorant yokel to the locals.

"Oh, my God!" some maniac screamed in the background at the top of their lungs. "Oh, my God, my God! It's you! It's really you! Lovino!"

At the sound of his name, Lovino finally paused and averted his gaze from the row of buildings he had been watching to see who was making all that racket. He didn't even have time to see them, however, because in the blink of an eye he was having the life squeezed out of him by a pair of thin arms. The person embracing him was laughing and babbling something that came out mostly unintelligible.

"What the hell? Let go me of me, you sodding freak!" Lovino screeched, struggling to extricate himself from the other's embrace.

"It is you! I'd recognise that foul mouth everywhere!" the stranger laughed.

When Lovino finally succeeded in pulling away to see who this person was, he froze in his tracks. For a moment, it was like looking in a mirror, though the longer he stared at the one before him, the more he took in all the little differences between them. Differences that were a little too familiar. The light auburn hair, slightly fairer than his own, the squinting eyes, the dopey smile...

"F-Fe—Feliciano?" he asked in shock and wonder, even though he was sure his mind was playing tricks on him. This couldn't be his brother; surely it was only some random guy who just happened to bear a striking resemblance to Feliciano!

However, the other younger man grinned in delight when Lovino uttered his name.

"You recognised me! You remember me! You really are my brother!" he tried to hug Lovino again, but Lovino held him off.

"Feliciano? Is that really you?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, it's me, Lovino! What a surprise, huh! God, I'm so happy to see you! I missed you so, so, so, so very much, my dearest brother!" he cooed, having succeeded in catching his brother in another tight hug. "We haven't seen each other in—what, almost fifteen years, right? Let me look at you." Feliciano pulled away and eyed Lovino from head to toe. "Wow, you've grown a little taller than me!" He examined Lovino's face a little more closely and his expression faltered. "You look—good—I mean, good grief, Lovino, have you been sleeping at all lately? You look terrible! And what are you wearing?" he looked distastefully at Lovino's ragged attire as if it were a sinful thing that caused him great offence.

"You, on the other hand, look like you're in the pink of health, as usual," Lovino commented in the same tone, noting how Feliciano, albeit paler than him and still on the slender side, seemed to have a little more meat in him in a way that made him look well-fed, and how he had bright energy and exuberance pouring out of him in waves like water from a fountain. "And what the hell are you wearing? Those are some really fancy clothes, aren't they?"

"What, these? Nah, they're just my casual clothes. Come with me and I'll give you something even more stylish to wear. You can't go around with those... rags you're wearing! They don't suit you at all!" He grabbed Lovino's wrist and began to drag him along.

Lovino was still reeling from the shock of meeting his long-lost brother in this place, in such an expected manner. He had never known where Lord Edelstein, along with his young servant Feliciano, had moved to when they left Monterosso, because by that time Feliciano had long stopped visiting Lovino and sending him letters. He didn't even know what to think or how to feel about this encounter. However, there was something very off about all this. He planted his heels on the ground and forced Feliciano to stop and turn to face him again.

"Wait a minute!" he demanded. "How come you're wearing such fancy clothes? You can't convince me that's the uniform that guy makes all his servants wear! Even he's not that flashy! What's going on here?"

"Oh! That's actually a pretty funny story! Um, I mean, not funny as in haha-funny... Actually, it was quite tragic. But it's strange how the world works! You see, Lord Edelstein had a son, and he was supposed to be his heir. He was a really great friend of mine, too! Too bad you never got the chance to meet him. But then, one day, he disappeared. Lord Edelstein tried really hard to find him again, but he failed and his son was given up for dead." Feliciano had grown increasingly solemn as he told this little sob story, but suddenly he was all smiles and sunshine again. "So he had no choice but make me his heir and I inherited all his fortune! Now I'm rich just like Grandpa used to be!" A giggle punctuated his speech.

"What," said Lovino in a flat tone, unable to even make it a question. He just couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"That's right!" Feliciano laughed. "And that's why we were finally able to meet again! Since you never replied to any of my letters when we were children, Lord Edelstein didn't let me send you any more because he thought it was a waste of time and money if you weren't even going to bother replying. But now that I've inherited his money, I can do whatever I want with it, so I sent Ludwig to bring you here so we could see each other again! Because I missed you so, so, so, so very much!" He opened his arms wide in preparation for another bone-crushing hug, but Lovino held him at a safe distance.

"Wait, wait, what the hell are you saying? Ludwig? That foreign bastard we met on the road? So... you're the mysterious master who sent him after me. That guy—he's your servant?"

"Noooo, Ludwig is not my servant! He's my friend!"

"He said his master had sent him to find me!"

"Ah, Ludwig is so silly... I keep telling him he shouldn't call me master, but he insists that's not proper."

"You have servants? You—you inherited that Edelstein bastard's whole fortune and now you're a nobleman?"

"That's what I said! Isn't it wonderful? Um, by the way, where is Ludwig? Wasn't he with you? I told him—"

"God damn you!" Lovino burst out, shocking his brother into silence. His breathing was heavy with barely contained emotion. "You mean to tell me that you've turned from a dirty poor servant to a filthy rich nobleman just like that? You—you have fancy clothes, and servants, and you live in this city, the place Grandpa had always dreamt of—I bet you also have a huge mansion and stuff yourself with delicious food all day, too! And I bet everyone in this goddamn city loves and worships you! Grandpa would've been so proud of you, wouldn't he?"

"Well, that's—"

"And what about me?" Lovino shouted over his brother's voice. "While you've been here living like a little prince, I was left to rot in that goddamn orphanage, and then in that goddamn monastery, and all I owned was half a bedroom and a few coins I managed to steal! And then, when I finally thought things would get better, I—I—" Lovino choked and felt his eyes sting again, but he fought not to let any tears fall and keep talking. "It's just not fair! It's not fair that you've got everything and I've got nothing! But it's always been that way, hasn't it? What have you done to deserve all that?"

"Aww... Lovino, please don't cry..." said Feliciano, moving to comfort him.

"I'm not crying, damn it!" Lovino slapped his brother's hands off. "And don't touch me! Look at you! It's like you're mocking me! It's like the whole world is mocking me! It's always been like this, ever since we were children! I'm sick of wallowing in the mud while you're always on top of a fucking pedestal! I hate you! I hate you so much! I wish you'd never been born! Then I wouldn't have to live in your shadow and maybe my life would be a lot better! Damn you!"

"But... Lovino..." Feliciano's bottom lip was quivering and tears were pooling at the corner of his eyes.

"Don't you dare cry!" hissed Lovino. "That doesn't work with me, so don't even try it! Just stay away from me. If you send anyone else to kidnap me again, I'll fucking kill you! As far as I'm concerned, I'm an only child!"

He turned away and stormed off, ignoring the shocked stares from the few passers-by who had been watching the scene.

He was almost disappointed that Feliciano had just taken his words to heart and didn't even try to stop him from leaving.

oOo

It hadn't taken Ludwig, Antonio, and Bella as long as they had first thought to get out of Pontebianco. They all agreed on one thing; they needed horses, at the very least. They disagreed on one other thing; how they should get those horses. Antonio, for all his child-like naïvety and kindly nature, had no qualms about taking what he needed by illegal means, if it was necessary. There were more important matters at hand, he would argue. Ludwig could not accept that point of view. Bella didn't think it was right, either, but she thought Ludwig's idea – that is, politely asking someone to lend them some horses – was quite ridiculous. Who in their right mind would just lend their horses to complete strangers just because they asked politely?

So, unable to reach a consensus, the three of them split up. Each one would try their own method and see which one would succeed.

Antonio was sneakier than people took him for. He easily crept into one stable and took one horse. There, it was all very simple. He couldn't understand why Ludwig and Bella had been so adamantly against his idea. It wasn't as though he didn't plan on returning the horse. He would return it! If he remembered it. Maybe.

Ludwig, as well, had a lot less trouble acquiring a horse through his own method than his two companions had expected. He just approached the first horse-owner he met and told him, "I need a horse!"

Next, he meant to ask, in a polite and straightforward manner, if he could borrow his horse for a few days, and then promise that the horse would be returned in perfect conditions and that his owner would be rewarded for his kindness. However, he never got the chance to say all that, because the horse owner, whose eyes had strangely widened at the sight of Ludwig, suddenly started shaking as if he were cold and shouted:

"Y-yes, um, just t-take the horse! A-any horse you like, s-sir! Just take it and g-go! N-no need to return it!" The man seemed to be crouching a little and he had raised his hands over his head as if to shield himself against an attack, but since Ludwig had never made any threatening move towards him, he could only assume the man was protecting his eyes from the sunlight.

"Really? Can I really keep it?" asked Ludwig, pleasantly surprised. "Thank you, sir. Thank you!" he said. The man flinched and shivered a little more. Ludwig decided not to keep the man in the cold any longer and left with his new horse.

Who said no one would give him something if he only asked politely? These villagers were a lot kinder than Antonio and Isabella gave them credit for! Ludwig laughed good-naturedly, failing to notice the kind horse owner's utterly petrified expression.

Meanwhile, Bella had been considering just asking politely like Ludwig or, failing that, "borrowing" a horse like Antonio had suggested. However, she soon found a young man taking care of a horse and began to flirt idly with him.

"So, where do you come from?" he asked her at one point.

"Oh, I'm from Monterosso. It's a town nearby."

"I've heard of it, but I've never been there before. We usually go to Terraverde for business."

"I wouldn't have expected you to go to Monterosso. It's a very poor town, so no one ever has any business there. They all go to Terraverde or some other big city like that," she lamented and looked up at the sky, hoping that the sunlight would irritate her eyes a little. "It's not a very pretty town. Our people are impoverished and have barely enough to eat. We don't have any medicine, either. My grandmother... my poor, dear old grandmother is very, very ill. So I left my home town to get some medicine for her in Terraverde, you see."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," said the young man sympathetically.

She pulled her handkerchief out and covered her face, dabbing at her eyes, even though they were still quite dry. "But now that I've lost my horse, I'll never make it to Terraverde and back to Monterosso. My dear grandmother, who raised me since I was a baby... Oh, Grandma, I'm sorry I couldn't save you!" She buried her face into the handkerchief and let out some muffled sobbing noises.

"Th-that's horrible!" said the young man, flustered. "Um... Here! Take this horse!"

Bella gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely! Take this horse so you can get the medicine your grandmother needs!"

"Oh! Oh, thank you! Thank you so very much! God bless you for your kindness! Ah, now I can save my grandmother! I am eternally grateful to you!" She planted one kiss on each of the boy's cheeks, making him blush to the roots of his hair.

"N-no problem! Er, will I, um, will I ever see you again?" he asked her shyly.

"Once my grandmother is cured of her terrible illness, I might be able to come back here," she answered, with a smile. Then, taking the horse's reins, she skipped away, saying in a joyful, relieved tone, "Wait for me, Grandma! I'm coming to save you!"

In the end, it only took the three of them about fifteen minutes to find each a horse owner, get a horse, and come back to the arranged meeting point. They were all smug about the success of their respective methods and secretly impressed by the others' success, so rather than gloat or ask any questions, they exchanged meaningful looks and triumphant smiles and left in silence.