Arthur was about to reply when the door slammed open, "Your majesties, they are back."
~~~~~UKUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arthur who was sitting down launched himself from his seat and approached Yao, "Where are they?"
"They are in the main entrance. We are taking them to the kitchen to eat, aru." Yao replied as he bowed.
"Well Francis we'll continue this discussion later." Arthur began to walk towards the kitchen.
"What do you mean? I love drama. What else could be more interesting than zhis?" Francis said following Arthur.
"Alright fine come with me. Either way, Captain Lewis and Alfred's twin brother may have some information concerning the Umbra Cor."
"Who is this Alfred?" Francis asked.
"I'll explain later. Follow me." Arthur said even though Francis was planning on it.
"As you say mon cheri." Francis chimed only to earn Arthur's famous glare.
~~~~~~~~~UKUS~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matthew was staring at the bowl of warm soup in front of him. 'Where is he?' He thought to himself. He wanted to see Alfred. He needed to tell him what happened. He kept staring at the bowl hoping that Alfred would appear.
"Hey are you aright Matthew?" Lewis asked him worriedly. Was the boy sick? He had hardly touched his food let alone eaten any of it. He had eaten the same soup and it was delicious.
"It's just that Alfred didn't have a chance to say goodbye . . ." Matthew said softly imagining what his brother's reaction to the news would be. Matthew wondered if Alfred would cry. Matthew definitely wouldn't because he was sure he cried away all of his tears.
Lewis stared sadly at Matthew when the door opened to reveal Yao followed by two elegantly dressed people. Matthew guessed they were the royals. One was adorned in the Royal Spades outfit with its national color blue. The other was dressed in the Royal Diamond ensemble with a bright orange crown to top it off. They looked quite funny standing next to each other. The one in the spade's outfit spoke first, "Are you Matthew brother of Alfred?"
"Yes." Matthew replied shyly.
Arthur noticed the boy seemed intimidated by him. He then noticed they were one person short. Their mother was missing.
"Where's your mother?" He asked.
Matthew's face went pale and his hands covered his face, "S-she's gone." He sobbed.
Arthur's face went blank and his mind went back to that time, with his mother. All the memories of her spun in his head: when he was a baby, when they went out to the garden to watch the roses, when they played pretend (she was the only one who believed him about the faeries), or when she sang to him her lullaby (If you'll be my star I'll be your sky, You can hide underneath me and come out at night. . .) and then the day when she died. He still missed her terribly. All he could say was, "Oh. . ."
"Mon Dieu Arthur. That's not how you treat to something like zis! Especially you! Have more compassion. Are you alright mon cheri? What is your name?" He asked Matthew.
Matthew looked up at the Diamond royal. His expression was soft and caring. His face was that of an older man with a hint of a beard on his chin. His eyes were blue just like Alfred's. Alfred! Matthew nodded and replied, "My name's Matthew. Where's my brother?"
Arthur shook himself from the reverie and looked at Matthew. "He is in the guest room. I will take you to him." Arthur said keeping his composure. He signaled for them to follow him to the room. Matthew stood up and followed close behind. Francis walked closely by Matthew who seemed to enjoy the presence.
'This is getting interesting.' Francis thought to himself.
Yao was left in the kitchen. Within two days their peace had been all but destroyed. Hopefully they wouldn't have to lose another royal.
~~~~~~~~~~~UKUS~~~~~~~~~~~`
Alfred was once again staring at the door. He hoped the hinges would move and open the door. He hoped he would see two smiling faces safe and sound. 'Were they alright? Did they get hurt? Are they safe? Was it his fault?' He had contemplated this for a while now. After all if it weren't for being cowardly his family wouldn't be in danger. His eyes began to tear up but he quickly brushed them away.
"I can't think like that! Heroes don't think like that! They don't blame themselves, pout and cry all day. No they face the world!" Alfred said to himself. Giving himself a pep talk seemed to be the only thing he could do at this point.
He turned to the window by the bed for the umpteenth time. He would occasionally glance between the door and the window for any sign of the two figures he wanted to see. He sometimes would glance and the letter. It was neatly folded within the unsealed envelope. Alfred would take the letter out and reread its contents hoping that in a way he was mentally sending his words to his mother and brother. He then would carefully fold the letter, almost as if his mother's life depended on it, and placed it back inside the envelope.
"I know what to do!" He said to himself. He sat up slowly taking care not to jostle his injuries and inched off the bed. He grabbed one of the pillows and dropped it on the ground before him; he then gently placed his uninjured foot on the pillow and slowly brought the other one down. He placed his hands together palm to palm and stared up at the window.
"Hey God or whoever is out there listening, I know I don't talk to you as often as my mom says I should but I really need you to listen now. Can you keep my mom and Mattie safe? I mean Mattie's always been good and nice. And my mom she's super sweet and cooks super awesome. But if it's too late," He holds back the tears threatening to fall, "I hope they are happily in Heaven and that they wait for me, Amen." Alfred finished his prayer and then let his head fall on the bed. He was too tired to climb back up.
"Don't worry Matthew is safe." A familiar voice said to him. He spun around but saw no one.
"Who's there?" He called out tentatively while scanning the area. There was no one in sight. He tried to stand but it was futile given his current condition.
He didn't notice the ball of light that glowed softly behind him. He didn't see it as it grew and took a more humanoid shape. A hand reached out and patted Alfred on the shoulder. Alfred turned around quickly and was shocked at what he saw, "MOM!"
AHHHHHHHH SNAP! Well that was quite the huge delay. I'm so sorry DX This chapter is also short _ but I realized this would be a better way since it a cliffhanger ;D. I'm so mean. I have the memory of a clam just saying. I couldn't even remember my Calculus take home test . Anyways I hope to have the next chapter done by Saturday! I swear! And yes Alfred was knocked out for a day and woke up the next. More explanation will be provided in the next chapter ;D Kung Fu Panda 2 gave me inspirations XD Why mama why?
Anyways thanks for the reviews: Mintbunny07, Renuki, l Ashuri l, kitlinausa and IceQueenMirrorQueen ! Your reviews are appreciated :)