Antonio walked quickly through the castle hallway, anticipating that Roderich would not be pleased at Antonio's tardiness towards their meeting, especially with recent events.

The castle seemed so still this night, Antonio mused. None of the usual happiness of the regular parties or feasting could be heard echoing through the halls, no wine could be heard being poured, no could be heard musicians playing their various instruments, no clanging of cutlery or scraping of chairs was to be heard graining through one's ears like a rusty knife to a sheet of metal. The castle had always seemed so warm, so welcoming. One could place his hand upon the walls and almost feel the kind, motherly warmth emitting from them, welcoming them back with open arms, as if the castle were everyone's home. Whatever calm, comforting, happy atmosphere the castle usually maintained had long since departed, along with its deceased owner, replaced by one of mourning and sorrow. The staircases that lead to the Grand Hall, where Roderich waited, felt cold and uninviting, and the once warm castle itself now emitted a sickening, cold apathy. The walls seemed to bleed sadness from them like blood, and a pain could almost be heard wailing throughout the halls like the cry of a child. Antonio could have sworn he was shivering as he walked, a surprising action, given the warmth the castle usually maintained. But today, the castle felt as cold as the dead.

Many years ago, the castle had played host to the coronation of King Romulus of Italy, a wise, kind and fair king, one the people of the kingdom loved and adored. Under the king's rule, the people of the land experienced a golden age of prosperity, innovation and peace. Everywhere in the kingdom, the people were content. The people were prosperous. New ideas and inventions were found all over, embraced by all, even the king, himself.

The king was a jolly, kind fellow. Charismatic and charming to everyone he met. Romulus held many parties and surrounded himself with the most beautiful women in the land. But he never felt content with his own life…Until he fell in love.

The woman was a beautiful Greek princess by the name of Helen, who also had relations to the French court, a common trade partner to Italy. Helen and Romulus met each other often over the next few weeks, taking long walks with each other and Romulus even treated his flame to music he himself had written, to which Helen seemed to always fawn over. The two became inseparable, and it wasn't long before Helen moved into the castle permanently. Within months of meeting, the two had decided to be wed.

The people rejoiced at their marriage, and the kingdom celebrated for many nights after, as did the king and his queen, and it was not long before Helen was pregnant, again, with much rejoicing from the people.

However, as the pregnancy went on, it was clear that something was wrong. The queen began to lose weight, she began to look pale and sickly, even becoming bed ridden for weeks with a fever, and the king feared not only for her life, but the life of their child. No doctor could discover what was wrong with the queen, and her sickness became worse and worse by the day. Soon, the queen went into labour, but was far too weak to try and deliver the baby. Nevertheless, the doctors told her if she did not try, then both her and the baby would die. After hours of labour, Helen delivered two healthy, living, breathing baby boys, much to Romulus' delight. However, Helen was so weak after giving birth she had begun to succumb to her illness and was dying. Romulus stayed by her side as she faded away, their children in his arms, promising to her that he would look after their children.

With her dying breath, she took Romulus' cheek into her hand, wiping away his tears and said in a soft voice, "Never fear, my dear Romulus…For my love will follow you wherever you go. Such a love has no mortal bindings…"

Romulus looked up at his wife, surprised by her words. Upon seeing her pained, yet still soft face, his face began to ease slightly. "I will always love you, my sweet violet," Romulus replied, tears welling in his eyes as his voice shook with remorse "No matter how far away God may take you from me…"

Helen smiled weakly at her husband. As Helen began to drift away, her hand slid from Romulus' cheek, falling to her side, her smile was fading and her eyes were slowly shutting as she peacefully passed away. Without his wife's hand on his cheek to support him, Romulus began to weep for his beloved.

As the news of the queen's death was announced, there was a great mourning in the land. Although many were glad to hear that the babies had been born without a problem, there was no celebration for this news.

In the years that followed, Romulus began to pay less attention to the administration of the kingdom, and instead focus on raising his two new born children, even allowing the Italian Parliament more legislative power in order to aid the king in governing.

As the children grew, it was clear that the king did not regard both with equal love. It was clear to all that he had his favourite. The youngest, Feliciano, was given all life's luxuries, and his father's unconditional love, as Romulus always talked of how much he reminded him of Helen. A sweet and well-mannered boy, if not a little naïve to life's works, Feliciano was loved by all of the king's court. His brother, Lovino, however, did not receive the same treatment. Often he was treated with neglect by his father, sometimes many questioned if the king even realised he had two sons. Of course, Romulus loved Lovino, too, but spent far less time on him as opposed to his brother. As a result, Lovino was far crueller and ill-tempered to the people around him than his brother, and none in the king's court so much as liked him.

All except for Antonio.

Antonio treated Lovino as if he were his own son, being the king's younger brother, Antonio knew how it could feel to be abandoned and unloved by your own father, and took it upon himself to father Lovino whenever his own father was not there, even if Lovino did not return any sort of sentiment.

The two brothers, regardless of how others treated them, treated each other like the best of friends, and were usually inseparable. Though they had their disagreements, and their fights, the two brothers shared a close bond, looking almost exactly alike, save for their distinctive hair curls, which often defined the two of them. Lovino, as the eldest, felt as if he should always be there for Feliciano, protecting him and serving him as if he did not realise his own superiority as the eldest prince, as if he did not understand the kingdom was rightfully his.

As the years went by, the two brothers grew together, fought together and played together. The two princes seemed happiest when together, and even when Feliciano was taken away by his father to play with him, he could not help but feel less content than he would with Lovino. Soon, however, when the princes were but 7 years old, the king fell deathly ill. Like his wife before him, none of the doctors of the land were able to diagnose him, and treating him seemed futile. It seemed as though the only thing they could do was make his last few days more comfortable for him.

When confronted by his nephews about why they had not seen their father for so long, Antonio did not know what to say. After a while, he simply said that their father was ill, and need some time to get better. Feliciano, being young and naïve, accepted this explanation without question, but Lovino caught on to Antonio's lie.

"Don't give me that!" Lovino scoffed at his uncle, much to Antonio's surprise. He stood tall, almost defiant against Antonio, stepping in front of his concerned brother, who only seemed to stare in awe at him. "I've heard what the servants have been whispering, how he's been in bed all the time, how bad he seems, how much he seems to have what mama had…" The young prince's voice shook with less rage than Antonio initially thought. Lovino seemed far more upset than angry. After a moment of staring into space, Lovino's head suddenly dropped.

"Lovino..?" Antonio asked with concern, stepping closer slowly.

"He's going to die, isn't he?" Lovino whispered so softly Antonio barely heard him, making him take a step back.

"W-what..?" Antonio asked in confusion, tilting his head slightly.

"The bastard is going to die…Just like mama…" Antonio simply stared at the boy with the utmost sympathy. He expected Lovino to at least not seem to care about the fate of his father; however, he could see in his teary eyes the pain of this news. Lovino stood there, staring blankly into the floor, his eyes glistening with tears, his hair curl seeming to droop as he opened and closed his mouth, unable to find the words he wanted to speak. Lovino was many things, but heartless he was not. Even if his father did not seem to care much for him, Lovino still loved him. Antonio could do nothing kneel down to his level and hug his nephew as he began to cry into his shoulder. Feliciano, not understanding Lovino's sadness, asked with confusion, yet concern, "Fratello, why are you crying..? Papa will get better, you'll see!"

Young Lovino sniffled into his uncle's shoulder, speaking softly to his brother, "You think so..?"

"I know so!" Feliciano said optimistically, "Soon papa will come out of his room and hug us both and say how much he loves us, you'll see!"

Lovino smiled slightly, wiping tears from his eyes with his fists. "Yeah, I hope so!" he said to his brother, looking up at Antonio. "Do you think he'll get better?" Lovino spoke to Antonio in a gruffer voice.

Antonio considered his nephew's question, before answering with a brief, "I hope so, mi pequeña, I really hope so…" The Spaniard pulled both princes into a loving embrace, kissing them both on their heads, much to Feliciano's giggling delight and Lovino's groaning disgust.

On the night before he died King Romulus summoned his two most trusted friends, Minister Roderich Edelstein and Prince Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, to his bed-side.

The two entered the dimly lit room to see Romulus warmly tucked into his bed, a wet towel upon his head to help with the fever, the king staring blankly at the celling of his bed, slowly sat up ever so slightly to get a better view of his visitors.

"Hello, my friends…" Romulus said softly, his voice shaking as he talked.

"How are you feeling, brother?" Antonio asked hopefully, walking over to Romulus, kneeling down beside the king's bed, taking his hand as he settled.

Romulus coughed into his elbow, weakly and with much effort, before turning an even weaker, yet friendly gaze at his brother, "I've felt better…" the king joked meekly, his eyes slowly swivelling to see Roderich standing by the door. "Come closer, my old friend…" Romulus beckoned to the Austrian minister, "Surely your time in parliament hasn't made you forget your old friend, hmmm?" The king hacked a sickly cough, which only made Roderich recoil slightly, a handkerchief covering his mouth.

"I'd…I'd rather not…" The Austrian said stuffily.

Antonio glared at the minister. His outfit was one of an extremely high class, having been a noble before becoming an elected minister. His personality matched his class to a tee, a snobbish, self-important exterior, but with a kinder, caring interior that he rarely showed. Antonio thought himself his exact opposite. His clothes, despite his royal background, were plain and simple, and he always prided himself on how much he cared for people, and how much he refused the lavish lifestyle of royalty. If anyone deserved those riches, Antonio thought, he certainly did not. He hadn't done anything for it.

Romulus gave his friend an understanding look, quite unlike his brother's glare, nodding softly and looking between them both.

"My friends…I've asked you two to come here to discuss the terms of my succession…"

The two looked at each other in a confused manner, before Antonio turned to his brother and asked, "Uh…Hermano?" Antonio began, "What are you talking about..?"

The king observed his brother with a benevolent smile, sitting up slightly more straight. "As the two of you know, the heir to the throne, rightfully, is Lovino…." The king's kind demeanour slowly slid into a more serious, heavy look. "And no matter how much he may mean to me, and no matter if the law states the crown is his, it is still very clear to see that Lovino is not the proper heir this Kingdom deserves…He is brash, rude, unkind and vulgar…He lacks an empathy necessary to rule, and has proven in the past to be a volatile brat…And though I love him dearly, these traits are very unbecoming of a future king…Therefore, I wish-" the king gave a hacking cough, which made Roderich recoil once more. He continued, "I wish…That the succession be changed to favour Feliciano as the heir to the throne, and deny Lovino's claim to the throne…"

Antonio's eyes sparked with protest, "Hermano, no! You can't do this!" he cried at the weakened King. "Lovino is the rightful heir to the throne! Is this truly what Helen would have wante-"

"SILENCE!" exclaimed the frail King Romulus, his cough returning to him afterwards, clinging to him for a few seconds before he said weakly, "Don't you dare to suggest what Helen would have wanted…" Romulus glared at his brother coldly, making Antonio recoil ever so slightly, "I knew my own wife! And If you believe that I would leave my kingdom, our kingdom, to someone as undeserving as Lovino…You are mistaken…"

Antonio bit his lip, unsure of whether or not to argue his point further or hold his tongue in his elder brother, and king's, presence. Roderich, who had remained silent for the time being, suddenly piped up softly, a sense of arrogance in his voice. "Sire…" He began gently, taking a small step closer, his handkerchief still clenched in his hand and close to his face, "While I agree Lovino is a violent and volatile individual, and as do the rest of the ministry…I doubt that Feliciano would be a wiser king. He is naïve, sire, and does not have the realistic hold on the kingdom that Lovino would rather maintain."

Antonio looked up at the minister with a surprised, yet glad face. He did not anticipate Roderich being on his side, but his point did make sense. Feliciano lacked the wisdom of the kingdom his father commanded, and his naiveté would surely be dangerous for the nation. Even the king, with his almost blinding love of Feliciano, could not ignore this factor.

"You are quite right old friend…" Romulus said gently, in a sudden change of demeanour, stroking his light stubble gently in thought, a smile appearing on his face slowly. "And that is why I suggest you be the one to teach him."

The room fell deathly silent. Antonio and Roderich looked between each other before looking back.

"Me…Sire..?" Roderich said with confusion, which Antonio shared. "But…What would I have to teach?"

"The reality of the kingdom." The old king smiled simply, "Teach him everything he needs to be king…One day, he'll be as wise as his father." Romulus smiled warmly, "Under your wing, he'll become a great king…"

Roderich, overcome with the compliment from Romulus, smiled and bowed slightly, thanking him. Antonio, on the other hand, made one last attempt to change his brother's mind. "But brother!" he said quickly, only to be interrupted before he could say another word by his brother.

"No, Antonio!" the king raised his voice with venom. "I will not allow you to jeopardise the future of this kingdom by allowing Lovino to take the throne!" Romulus coughed for a short while, before taking a deep breath and speaking calmly "I ask you simply follow my dying wishes…"

"But wont the boys figure out for themselves Lovino's right to rule as the eldest..?" Antonio reasoned with the king.

After a moment's thought, Romulus replied simply, "Separate the boys. Bring Feliciano up as the future king, and in turn, Lovino as his servant…They are still young, Lovino will never know his right to rule. They will both assume this future we have planned for them is what was always to happen."

Both Antonio and Roderich looked at each other, in shock of the audacity of the plan.

"Your majesty," Roderich began carefully, "If I may say..."

"No you may not!" Roderich recoiled as Romulus raised his voice once more, it sounding weak, yet intimidating. "I am still your king, and as such you must follow my command, especially if it may be my dying words to you both…"

Roderich quickly retreated back into his own protection, hugging his arm with the other. "Y-yes, my lord, I understand…" He said softly, looking at the floor and bowing slightly.

Antonio looked towards his brother with a saddened gaze, destroyed by the idea of this plan. Antonio loved Lovino like a son, though he knew Lovino would never return the feeling, and felt that this plan cheated Lovino. He was the rightful heir to the throne!

"Hermano…" Antonio begged, holding his brothers hand firmly, "Please…Surely you must see this is not the right path…"

Romulus sat up straight and talked to Antonio with a firm, commanding voice, one that seemed to fill the room with sheer power of speech. "Antonio, I speak not as your brother now…But as your King. This is what I find to be right for my kingdom, right for our kingdom. You have never been king, Antonio. So you shall never know the burden that I now must pass on. It is not only my burden as king, but my power and authority which I must surrender upon my imminent death. With my wisdom, I have foreseen Lovino to be a most horrible king that will lead our nation to arrogant ruin…But I have faith that my Feli's kind heart will see him through. He is naïve. But he will learn. I beg of you, now, Antonio…To respect my dying wishes…" The king then sat back upon the bed coughing slightly after his speech.

Antonio stared at his brother in shock at his words, and the way he persuaded his hand. Though Antonio did not like the idea, and thought it a betrayal of Lovino, he had no choice but to bend to his dying brother's wishes. Perhaps, the king's old wisdom would shine through once again. But Antonio still had his doubts.

Antonio sighed softly, "Okay, hermano…I'll agree to this plan…"

Roderich looked at the Spaniard in surprise, but said nothing to him. Instead, he simply nodded and said, "I agree to watch over Feliciano…I will do my best to teach him the ways of governance."

Romulus nodded slowly, weakly thanking the two for their co-operation. "I know you both accept this with a heavy heart." He said plainly, to the surprise of his friends, "And I know you both have your own visions on how we should go about this. But I ask you only to respect my wishes, for I make them in, what I confide as being, the best interests of my Kingdom. But as they say," the old king smiled with a frailty much of a man who knew he had reached the end of his days, "Truth is given by god, in our time, in our turn. Perhaps it will be my turn soon…" He coughed harshly, but not without keeping his smile constant.

After a discussion of their plan, and a brief talk about all the times Romulus had missed of his two sons, both Antonio and Roderich paid their respects to the king, before leaving his chambers, an unusual hush about them. Either through respect for the dying Romulus, or shock of his words, the two were left speechless. Passing them on the way out of the king's bed chambers was the Archbishop. By the morning, the king was finally pronounced dead by his doctors. Romulus was buried in the royal cemetery a week later, with throngs of people, both common and noble, attending the ceremony. At the graveside stood Roderich and Antonio, Feliciano and Lovino by their respective sides. Though usually so naïve and innocent, the young Feliciano cried into Roderich's long over-coat over the death of his father, the Austrian minister stroking his head comfortingly, trying to maintain his own composure, but failing quite adequately as he wiped the tears from under his glasses. Meanwhile, Lovino stared straight into the grave, silent tears running down his face fast and profusely, as he bid his last goodbye to his seemingly loved, yet seemingly unloving father. All the while, Antonio found he was remarkably useless to comfort the clearly distraught young Lovino, and resorted to mimicking him in staring into the grave, giving a silent goodbye to his elder brother, and he, too, like all the rest of them, standing next to the open grave, was unable to hold back his tears.

Together, with the rest of the kingdom, they mourned the loss of a friend, a brother, and a father.

The glorious reign of King Romulus, had finally come to an end.

Antonio quickly made his way towards the grand hall of the castle, where he knew Roderich waited for him to discuss the king's final words. With his death being so near to these words, they had had little time to go over the details of the succession of the throne, but they had both known they would have to discuss it sooner or later. They thought it best to do it as soon as they possibly could.

Antonio walked swiftly through the large, mahogany doors of the grand hall, noticing Roderich standing beside the empty throne, observing it absentmindedly, in deep thought as his fingers traced the arms of the throne. The Grand Hall was without question the largest room in the castle, and extremely impressive. All of Romulus' old banquets and balls were held in this very room, and it had seen many of each, not to mention more. On one side of the Hall were towering windows that stretched the height of the room, with the most elegant of curtains dressing them with red, gold, and purple velvet. On the other side were coats of arms from the various provinces of Italy, each one ornate with banners and flags of the most important towns and cities in their region. The floor of the hall was wooden, and a lone, long, lavish carpet, ornate with red, gold and purple snaked it's way straight towards the impressive and glorious golden throne, the seat of the king of Italy. Above the throne, crossed over each other, were two Italian flags, covered by the Italian coat of arms, which was far larger and more elegant than any other coat of arms in the room.

As Antonio jogged the length of the hall to meet with his friend, his books clacking on the wooden floor as they echoed around the room, and reached the throne, Roderich said sternly, "You are late." He turned slowly, observing Antonio with a contemptuous look. "I told you to be on time…"

Antonio chuckled slightly, scratching his neck and saying, "Lo siento, mi amigo. I was just putting the princes to bed…Today has been a long day for them both…"

Roderich sighed sadly and nodded, "It has been long for us all, Antonio," He walked over to place his hand on the Spaniard's shoulder, his eyes staring into Antonio's, "And it is not over yet. There is still much to be done."

Antonio tilted his head in confusion, saying, "Well yes, there's the succession we need to discuss, but I don't think…"

Roderich raised his hand to cut Antonio off, shaking his head and looking away, "I know your position on Lovino. He means a lot to you." He then took his glasses off, turning back and staring Antonio dead in the eye. "But we need to do what is best for the kingdom…Even if it means…" Roderich trailed off, seeing the pain in Antonio's eyes, watching as his two, large, violet eyes began to quiver with sadness.

"Even if it means separating them…" Antonio said, nodding softly as he stared at the throne.

"Exactly…" Roderich nodded, staring at the throne as well, hugging his arm with the other.

"But could we not wait?" Antonio sighed and looked up hopefully at the minister, who had replaced his glasses and turned back to Antonio. "I mean, why do we have to separate them now? When so much pain has been caused…"

Roderich considered the Spaniard's proposition, before rejecting it with a shake of his head, "No." He replied firmly, "We cannot wait. Every moment we wait, the more the children will begin to question the idea of kingship. We cannot have Lovino believing he is the rightful heir. If he were king, Lovino will not have the support from the people and parliament that Feliciano will command. If Lovino took the throne, the nation itself might reject him…I shudder to think what will happen to the kingdom if we were to sit idly by and let Lovino take the throne…As much as we would like to do the opposite, we must follow the ki-" Roderich stopped himself, looking toward the throne again with a sad and tired face. He sighed, swallowing a knot in his throat and turned back, "We must…Follow…Romulus'…dying wishes…" His voice had lost its firm edge. It had become mournful and filled with resent.

Antonio looked to protest, but seeing Roderich's downcast, pleading face, held his tongue. He could not bring himself to make Roderich believe he had failed his king, his friend. Suddenly, Antonio held his old friend close to him, rocking ever so slightly in his embrace. They stood for a while before Roderich pulled apart, wiping something from his eye and breathing shakily, as if he had been sobbing silently. He eventually spoke again, "Please Antonio…This decision hurts me as well as you…But it must be done. For the good of the kingdom…It has to be this way."

Antonio bit his lip, thinking for a moment before sighing and relenting his opposition to the decision. "Bueno…What shall we do?" Antonio said finally.

Roderich straightened up, walking purposefully down the steps off of the elevated throne podium, speaking to Antonio as they walked to the door. "I will arrange for a cab to take you to the docks of Rome, in order to board a ship to your Villa in Barcelona. There you will teach the boy humility, respect and service to Feliciano."

Antonio walked just behind the Austrian, uncomfortable at the things they discussed, but nodding nevertheless. Even if he did not agree with the plan on personal grounds, surely if Romulus had thought it best for the kingdom, then it would be best.

The two agreed on their conditions, and went to take Lovino away.

As Antonio left through the door, Roderich took one last fleeting look at the empty throne room, looking around it and sighing gently to himself, before staring straight to the golden throne itself for a second, and leaving without another word.

Antonio's heart was restless. It threatened to beat a hole out of his chest. This decision felt so horribly wrong to him, and yet he knew, or at least thought, it was the right thing to do. And in any case, it was his brother's dying wish, and Antonio could not bear to see Roderich's face of failed self-disappointment and sadness once again. He knew how much it meant to Roderich to fulfil his closet friend's dying wish, and did not want to take that away from him. Even if it meant denying all what he held dear to be true.

Antonio slowly crept into the prince's bed chambers, the moonlight shining through the curtains. The two princes lay asleep on their beds opposite each other. It would be simple enough to take Lovino.

As Antonio walked across to pick Lovino up, he felt his heart sink at how innocently he slept. He had no idea what was about to happen, what Antonio had to do. Antonio hesitated in his plan. He knew Roderich was outside this very room, waiting for Antonio to finish his side of the plan. A plan they both hated, but Antonio absolutely despised. He hated himself for having to do this. But he had no other choice. This had to be done…But did it have to end this way? While Antonio mused, Lovino began to stir. In a panic, Antonio proceeded to quickly scoop Lovino into his arms, placing him on his shoulder for support. As Antonio rushed to the door, Lovino woke in his arms.

"Wha…What's happening..?" Lovino spoke slowly and confused, before he realised where he was. "What? Let me go you Tomato Bastard! Let me go!" He screamed at Antonio, who did not respond, but kept his course to the door, where Roderich was stood, the door wide open, waiting for Antonio.

In the confusion and noise created by Lovino, Feliciano woke from his sleep. "Ve~..? What's going on..?" Felicano spoke sleepily, rubbing his eyes slowly before seeing Lovino upon Antonio's back. "Fratello..?" Feliciano asked, wondering where he was going.

"Feli, this Bastard is trying to kidnap me! Help me!" Lovino screamed to his brother.

Antonio did not respond to Lovino's cries, trying his hardest to block out the pain he felt. As Lovino continued screaming to his brother, Antonio passed Roderich through the door and ran to the main entrance hall, where a cab was waiting outside to take them both away.

Meanwhile, Feliciano, despite his small stature, jumped out of bed, and ran after Antonio and his brother, Roderich failing to catch him as he ran through the door after his brother's supposed captor.

"Lovi! Please come back! Don't go away!" Shouted the young Feliciano, Roderich hot on his tail.

As Antonio ran through the castle, he cursed himself at how poorly he had handled this. He cursed himself for the decision itself. He could never forgive himself after this incident. He could only hope that Lovino would one day forgive him, and see his reasons behind this decision. He could only hope one day they would both forgive him. But he knew he could never forgive himself. As Antonio rushed through the halls, he took in the castle's interior, for he knew he would not see it for many years yet. The grand decorations, the paintings, the carpets, the coats of arms, everything about the castle. He would miss it all. Even as he left, the warm feeling the castle used to maintain seemed to bid him farewell. This place that had been his home for so many years, he now had to leave behind.

As he exited the castle, the cab was there for him, waiting as promised by Roderich. The fighting Lovino began struggling against his grip in a vain attempt to escape, screaming every curse word he knew. Antonio, trying not to look at Lovino, opened the cab's door and placed Lovino inside, slamming and locking it before Lovino could escape. Inside the cab came the sounds of Lovino struggling against his captor.

"Let me out Tomato Bastard! Let me out!" Lovino screamed at Antonio, slamming his fists against the door of the cab.

Meanwhile, Antonio rushed to the front of the cab, taking the reins of the two horses that were attached to it. As he was about to leave, a small shout came from the door.

"Lovino!"

Antonio turned to the source of the voice, seeing tiny Feliciano running out the door, carefully hopping down the steps of the castle entrance, Roderich closely behind him.

"Lovino! Come back! Please!" Feliciano begged, as Roderich closed his grip around his waist, holding him back.

"Antonio! Go! I will explain Feliciano everything, please just leave!" Roderich cried to Antonio, a begging look in his eyes. The same, hopeless, begging look was in Feliciano's own face. Silently, he told Antonio all he needed to say, to bring his brother back to him. Antonio's heart sank. He could only look down at his hands and mutter a soft, "I'm so sorry, Feliciano…" Before using the reins to make the horses ride on and out of the castle grounds.

Behind him, Feliciano began to cry. Confused by he's brother's departure. "Mr Eldestien…Where is Uncle Antonio taking Lovino..?" his tears ran down his face like rain down a window.

Roderich stared at the poor boy, his eyes filled with tears and pain of his brother's departure. He did not know what to say.

"Well…" Roderich began slowly, his hair curl drooping just like Feliciano's. "Y-you see Lovino…Had to go…"

"But why..?" Feliciano pleaded, "Why did he have to go? Why did my fratello have to leave?"

Roderich stared into his eyes, his own tears beginning to fall gently down his face.

"I don't know…" Roderich lied, not wanting to break the boys heart, "But he won't be gone forever, Feliciano! He'll return, maybe sooner than you think!"

The little Feliciano wiped his eyes and sniffled, asking a small yet hopeful, "Really..?"

"Of course he will!" Roderich smiled slightly in an attempt to raise Feliciano's spirits.

"So if I wait by the window every day, one day will I see Lovino coming back..?"

Roderich paused, his heart dropped at the little one's question, his face beaming with hope through the tears. Roderich couldn't bring himself to teach him the reality of the situation.

"Of course, Feliciano…" Roderich said very slowly, smiling weakly as his eyes began to water, "One day you will see your brother returning."

Felicano smiled brightly, hugging Roderich by the neck and giggling, "Yay! Thank you Mr Edelstein…"

Roderich recoiled slightly at Feliciano's actions, but felt his heart sink deeper at the young boy's hope and happiness, holding him closer and saying gently, "I deserve no thanks, my prince…" his voice began to shake, "I am only serving the crown…To the best of my ability…"

As Antonio road through the Italian countryside, he tried his hardest to block out the shouts and banging from inside the cab, focusing as hard as he could on the road in front of him. His thoughts seemed to explode inside his mind, throwing feelings everywhere. The events preceding his moonlit journey to the docks of Rome had left an empty, horrid feeling in Antonio's stomach; a feeling of shame accompanied his guilt, and Lovino's words against him did not ease that pain. Antonio had to blink back the tears that threatened to fall.

After a while, the sounds from the cab started to cease, and there was nothing but silence.

Worried for Lovino's safety, Antonio stopped the cab by the side of the road, demounting the front of the cab to run to the side door, unlocking it and looking inside.

"Lovino? Are you alright?" Antonio asked quickly and worriedly.

Inside, he found Lovino, curled up and whimpering in the corner of the cab, sobbing to himself.

Antonio slowly climbed into the cab, asking gently, "Lovino..?" He kneeled inside the cab, reaching out to touch Lovino's shoulder lightly, only to find him suddenly pulling away.

"Don't touch me!" Hissed Lovino, curling up even tighter into his protective ball, not even looking at Antonio, who slowly pulled back.

"Lovino please…I'm sorry…I didn't want to but…" Antonio tried to explain himself, but found no words could justify his actions, "This is something your father asked me and Roderich to do on his death bed, and we had no other choice!"

"You did…" Lovino sneered, "Of course you did!" he screamed at Antonio, still refusing to look at him, but slowly beginning to come out of his ball. "You could have left us alone, but no, you had to follow what dear father thought was best! You had to take me away from Feli!" He finally turned on Antonio, his eyes red and filled with tears, pain, and anger. "Did you even think about us? About how we'd react? Did you for once think this was the right thing for us?"

Antonio had little to say back, his mouth opened and closed as he saw Lovino's rage melt onto him. Tears falling down his face, Antonio simply pulled Lovino in for a hug, one which the crying Lovino did not reject, instead he simply cried more, saying gently, "I won't see him for years, will I..? I won't…See him forever…Please take me back…I…I never got the chance to say goodbye…"

"I…I can't…" Antonio said simply and slowly, holding him closer and despising every word he had to say. "A boat for Barcelona is waiting for us. It's all been arranged, Lovino. You'll see him again. I promise to you that you will see him again. This is not forever, Lovino."

The young prince sniffled as he held onto his Uncle's clothes tighter, pulling himself into him and repeating, "I never got the chance to say goodbye…"

In response to his crying, Antonio cooed soft words, shushing Lovino gently in the way a father would to his child, rocking him backwards and forwards carefully.

After a while, Lovino had calmed down, and began to pull away from Antonio, rubbing his red, watery eyes, and saying nothing, but staring at the floor, almost submissive to the way things were.

Antonio spoke gently to him, saying, "We need to leave, now, Lovi…You can ride with me in the front if you want? Are you okay with that..?"

Again, Lovino said nothing, but nodded in agreement, still staring at the floor.

Antonio tilted his head, lifting Lovino's head to face him by the chin gently, smiling and saying, "Don't be so glum, mi pequeña, everything will turn out for the best, you'll see! I just hope one day you'll forgive me for having done-"

"You did…What you were told to…" Lovino interrupted, speaking shakily and nodding softly and looking up at Antonio, "I just can't see why you had to take me away…Away from mi fratello…"

Antonio frowned, hugging him gently and saying "In time, you'll see…In time, with age and experience, you'll grow to know…One day, you'll find everything will be better, you'll see!" Antonio smiled optimistically at his nephew, pulling away to ruffle his hair slightly, to which Lovino protested in his usual manner.

"Don't touch my hair, Bastard!" Lovino hissed at his uncle, much to Antonio's amusement.

"Oh Lovino…" Antonio chuckled, ruffling his hair even further, much to Lovino's continued annoyance. "Come on," Said Antonio, "Let's hop onto the front of the cab! You can even help me to steer the horses, if you want!" Antonio then lifted the small Lovino in his arms, taking him to the cab front and placing him beside himself. Before he was about to gee up the horses, Lovino pulled on his wrist and asked, "Antonio…Did papa…Ever love me? Because…If he sent me away…" His eyes were filled with sadness at the thought of being unloved. He looked down at the ground, his hair curl drooping.

Antonio looked back at his nephew, considering his question for a second before replying simply, "Yes he did. Very, very much. Don't think for a moment he wanted to send you away because he hated you. On the contrary, he loved you so very much, even if he didn't show it well. And that's because there was even something about you that reminded him of someone. Someone he sometimes didn't even remember he knew."

"Who was it? Who was it?" Lovino demanded, intrigued by this information, hopping up and down in his seat.

Antonio chuckled gently, ruffling Lovino's hair and saying, "You reminded him of himself when he was younger…"

"I did..?" Lovino asked very slowly, tilting his head in surprised confusion.

Antonio laughed, "Of course! You have his eyes, Lovi…"

Without another word, leaving Lovino an awed shock, Antonio whipped the horses with the reigns of the cab, moving slowly, again, through the Italian countryside, with only the moon and stars to guide their way.

The young Felicano woke up early the next day. The moment he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he jumped excitedly to the window, looking out of it, And waited for Lovino and Antonio to ride back into the Castle grounds. Eventually, after a while of waiting, Felicano shrugged disappointingly and thought that they'd be back tomorrow, running off to ask Roderich if he'd heard anything about their return.

Felicano repeated this procedure every single day, without fail, for almost a year. Every morning he watched and waited. Day after day, he hoped to see the small cab return. Day after day he wished to see his brother run out of it, up the stairs, and into his room to hug Feliciano. Day after day he dreamed of their return.

But they never did.

End of Chapter 1

And after what seems like years and years and years, I have finally finished my Servant of Evil FanFiction! Chapter one! Yeah!

So the story behind writing this is that eventually my internet just died on me. Didn't work at all. Thus I finished thisYOU SEE? BROKEN INTERNET CAN HELP IN FANFICTION WRITING! Reasons for not finishing sooner? Complicated and private. Apologise to all who lost hope I'd ever write again! D: I'll try and make mini updates of little ideas I have here and there! Have fun reading! Thanks again to BFTLandMWandSEK for all the help while writing!

The Cover art has been gracefully given to me by

Here is also the artwork itself, in case you're interested! art/Hetalia-Servant-of-Evil-347672487

List of Foreign Words:

Fratello: Italian for 'Brother'

mi pequeña: Spanish for 'My little one'

Hermano: Spanish for 'Brother'

Lo siento, mi amigo: Spanish for 'I'm sorry, my friend'