So who's ready for another chapter story involving switcheroos with everyone's favorite Italy brothers? Because I certainly am! This one is based upon my favorite Prince and the Pauper story- The Barbie Princess and the Pauper ^.^
I hope you enjoy, this was fun to start writing. Hopefully it will be as long as my other story, the Wedding! I also hope no one's done this- but even then oh well.
I do not own Hetalia. Please enjoy!
For the Prince Feliciano Vargas, life was easy.
When he woke up in the morning, all he had to do was ring the bell at the side of his bed and a maid would run in with every king of food imaginable. Scrambled eggs, pork, bacon, delicious fruit. Sometimes even spaghetti with Alfredo sauce. He didn't have to lift a finger to get ready for the day, with servants tripping over themselves to pick out his clothes and dress him.
Yes, life was easy, but he hated it.
All day he was pampered and groomed, and all day he was forced to sit in too big castle with a tutor who loved to teach him about meaningless things- like how to eat his food properly or the correct way to address a letter. And when he was free from all of that, there was always trade to negotiate or problems that his people needed fixing. He, of course, was never the one that the people talked too. They instead looked right over Feliciano to his mother, Queen Katerina, who was the one really running the show.
Feliciano never got to do anything. And right now, sitting in the throne room surrounded by nobles who loved to look disapproving, Feliciano was so bored he could die.
"Your Majesty?" One of the more prominent nobles asked, raising his voice so that the distracted prince could stop daydreaming for once. "What do you think?"
Feliciano immediately straightened. "Think- about what?"
The noble who addressed him sighed. "Which colors for the masquerade ball week? Should they be red and white, or green and white?"
"I like all three" Feliciano said, looking at the flags the man held in his hands. Next to him, on her throne, his mother coughed. "What do you think, mother?"
"I think" The queen said. "That red and white are lovely colors." The nobles nodded approvingly before she snapped, "Lovely colors if we were holding up a surrender flag at war! Green and white, as always."
The nobles, like puppets on strings, immediately agreed, looking a little worried for their heads. Feliciano was no better, shrinking into his chair like he was. "Green is my favorite color" He muttered to the collar of his shirt.
"Of course it it, dear. That's why I chose it after all." The queen patted his knee in an affectionate gesture, but the touch just seemed to hold him to the chair like a ball and chain. His mother meant well, Feliciano knew, but still there were sometimes that she even scared him.
Nobles continued to come through the throne room, directing questions toward the queen and her son for a final verdict. It was hours before Feliciano finally began to look attentive again. The sun was almost completely over the castle. That meant it was almost time for his favorite part of the day- his tutoring session with his favorite person in the world
But before Feliciano could escape his duties, the queen stopped him. "Dear, before you leave for your lessons, I have something very important I'd like to discuss with you"
Feliciano nodded, sitting up. "Is it good thing?" He asked in a hopeful tone.
His mother smiled. "Good for the kingdom my dear!"
Oh no. Dread welled up and Feliciano lost a touch of his happy demeanor. After years of hearing that phrase, he knew he wasn't going to like what comes next. But his mother continued, oblivious to her son's distress. "Now, as you know these have been some troubling times since your father has gone missing. I fear to say our treasury has run almost completely dry. But, I have received word that King Carriedo of Spain is looking for a suitor for his son, Antonio."
"Oh!" Feliciano sighed, relived. He knew Antonio. When he was very little, Queen Katerina had taken him to visit Spain and he stayed at the royal court for two months. In that time, he had gotten to know the prince and his friends, Sir Francis Bonnefoy, the prince's adviser from France, and Gilbert Belishment, a knight in training. They were a little mean toward the four year old to be honest, but Feliciano really enjoyed their company.
However, distracted on his little trip down memory lane, Feliciano didn't understand why his mother was bringing this up.
"Feliciano" The queen snapped, dragging him back down to earth. "I accepted the offer for you. In a week's time, Prince Antonio -soon to be king mind you- will arrive to hopefully choose you to marry."
Something in the back of his mind screamed and Feliciano froze. "You offered?" He asked, horrified. "You accepted?"
"Of course I did. The merger between our two kingdoms will certainly do a world of good for our economic problems. You can thank me later" Queen Katerina straightened her back with a smile. "I always choose best for you and the kingdom, and I expect you to do the same. Now run along to your lessons. Ludwig does not like it when you're late, as you well know"
Feliciano tried to move and speak at the same time, but he could accomplish neither. "Mother-"
"This is not open for discussion" His mother snapped. "Now off with you." There was nothing Feliciano could do but scuttle away, horror clouding his mind.
[=]
"You're late", was the first thing to greet Feliciano when he arrived at his lessons. His stupor broke and a smile immediately came over his face.
"I'm always late, silly!" He chirped, forgetting his troubles temporarily. Ludwig, his personal tutor and best friend, sighed and shook his head.
"That is not an excuse. And if you plan on being late and distracted, then you can forget about going on the trip I have planned for today."
"Trip?" Feliciano asked. "To town? Please tell me we're going to town!"
"We might be" Ludwig said. "If we just get through the schedule. I don't suppose you have your books on you?"
Feliciano stopped to check his person, acting as if his supplies were tucked into the waist of his trousers. When no such thing turned up, he shrugged his shoulders. "Nope"
Ludwig sighed, but began the lesson anyway. Feliciano tried to pay attention- he really did- but what his mother had said had him distracted in less than a minute.
Feliciano didn't like to worry about things. But marrying someone he didn't love! That was where he drew the line. It was even worse when he compared this problem to another one he had been having.
It seemed, unbeknownst to him, Feliciano had started to develop a small crush towards his tutor. He paused to watch Ludwig as he spoke, lost in sciences and mathematics that went far over Feliciano's head. Ludwig stood with a regal air to him, rigid like a military general, but Feliciano knew from experience that Ludwig could be very kind and gentle at times. His blond hair was slicked back, showing off his square jaw and stern blue eyes.
Feliciano could get lost in those eyes.
But thinking of Ludwig just made him feel guilty. He didn't want to marry someone else. He knew his mother meant well, but Ludwig was nobility. He was strong and self-assured, he easily possessed the qualities a good king should have. Maybe if Feliciano ever had the guts to tell his mother, she would accept it and the entire kingdom could be happy. But due to his cowardly nature, he doubted he would ever be able to do it.
It took Ludwig twenty minutes of straight lecturing to realize he had lost Feliciano's attention completely (at least, his attention toward academic pursuits), and twenty more minutes after that to realize that it was futile to keep going on.
"Alright" Ludwig finally relented. "Since this is obviously going no where, grab your cloak"
"Why?" Feliciano asked, confused.
Ludwig smiled. "Because we're taking a trip into town."
At the mention of his favorite pass time, Felciano jumped out of his seat. "Really? Oh thank you! This is so amazing" He exclaimed, jumping around in a little happy dance. It was rare he was allowed into town due to his mother's protective nature, and Feliciano had learned to treasure those moments.
"One thing first" Ludwig made his way to Feliciano and put his hands on the prince who was bouncing up and down at an alarming rate. "Promise me you will try to be less distracted when we're out? That means no begging for sweets, no breaking any of my rules that are for your safety, and most importantly: no leaving the carriage. Promise?"
Feliciano grinned his best Cheshire grin. "I promise!"
[=]
The carriage ride was long and bumpy, with most of it spent with Ludwig being clutched onto by an excited and terrified Feliciano. They had chosen to go with less guards and in the only carriage without the Vargas family's emblem on the side.
"Incognito" Ludwig had explained.
Feliciano couldn't care less about subtly. He loved being surrounded by his people, all of whom adored him. Not to mention he had Ludwig by his side. What could go wrong?
The scenery blurred as the carriage passed through the small town surrounding the castle gates. They were going a little fast for Feliciano's liking, but he didn't complain. As they neared the market square however, the carriage began to slow down until it all but completely stopped.
"What's the problem?" Ludwig muttered, sitting up so that he could see through the carriages' windows. "Why are we stopped?"
Feliciano, too, got up so he could see out better. It wasn't hard to figure out that a crowd had formed in the square, blocking any sort of path large enough for a carriage and two horses. The prince craned his neck, eager to see what all the commotion was about.
"Is it a circus performer?" Feliciano asked.
Ludwig shook his head. "It shouldn't be. There are no such caravans passing through this month. I think I hear music though. It's probably some sort of singing group-"
"A singing group?" Feliciano gasped, his eyes sparklingly.
Immediately Ludwig attempted to back track."I meant it's probably nothing interesting-" But it was too late. Feliciano had already opened the door and disappeared into the crowd. "Mien Gott" Ludwig cursed, reverting back into his native tongue.
Meanwhile, Feliciano was trying to force his way to the very front of the surprisingly pushy crowd. He was following the music, which seemed to get more and more enchanting as he went. He was only so close to the front however before the crowd surged and he was shoved hard into someone.
"Oh!" He exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"
The girl he had knocked into stumbled but recovered herself before she could fall. "That's alright" She said, waving her hands in a 'no harm no foul' gesture. "The crowd to hear the Sirens is always a little forceful."
"The Sirens?" Feliciano asked, trying to stand on his toes to see over the heads of everyone in front of him. "Is that where the music's coming from?"
The girl gawked at him. "You've never heard of the Sirens? But they're amazing! I suppose it can't be helped though, they only come every so often. We're super lucky they've come through this year."
Feliciano nodded. It made sense that he'd never heard of them; traveling singers never came into the castle. It was considered terribly uncouth. Instead, they had trained professionals elected to the court. Honestly, none he had ever heard were as good at the Sirens.
The two stood next to each other in silence, drinking in the last of the songs. It was a while before the soft melody came to a stop and the crowd began to disperse. It wasn't until it was just the two of them in the square that Feliciano stopped to look at the girl he had run into. She had blond hair cut to her shoulders, and a green ribbon tied around her head. He also realized with some shock she was a good two inches taller than him.
At the same time, the girl was staring at Feliciano. But instead of a quick glance over, she was scrutinizing every part of him and with each passing moment, she seemed to get more and more puzzled.
"It's so weird." She finally said, making eye contact. "You look scarily like my friend."
"Who's that?" Feliciano asked.
The girl smiled. "His name's Romano. Actually, you know what? He's got to see you- you two look like twins I swear. Come on!" She reached out to grip his arm before practically dragging him through the crowd.
Feliciano looked backwards, torn on deciding what to do. Ludwig didn't want him to leave the carriage, much less go off with a stranger. He was probably looking for him at that moment. But at the same time, this was the first exciting thing to happen to him in a long time.
A little longer wouldn't hurt.