I. FUCKING. HATE. SCHOOL! Because of that PRISON I've been having a blank mind for weeks! I've got HSA's, finals, and the freakin ACT...I'm swamped...at least I got SOMETHING up here...enjoy.
Chapter 7
Amelia yawned as she stretched; what a night. She rubbed her eyes and cracked them open to find a slight surprise; she was still in the parlor, sitting in the large armchair! She must have dozed off after patching up Feli and the beast. Wait. Amelia recalled what happened last night; they had apologized to each other and made up, and the beast told her his name. It was…Lovino.
Speaking of the beast, Amelia heard a loud snoring on the floor. She looked to see the beast curled up like a dog next to the fire, sleeping peacefully. Feli was also there, curled up against the large creature like a puppy to its mother. Amelia tried not to squeal from how cute they looked when she noticed that she had a blanket wrapped around her. She didn't remember getting one, also wasn't the beast-er Lovino the one sitting in this chair before? Amelia blushed; there was no way…was there?
She let out a small gasp as Hanatamago jumped onto her lap, his tassel tail wagging happily, "Good morning," Amelia whispered, stroking the footstool. She looked at a large grandfather clock that rested against the wall in the back of the room and saw that it was about eight. The clock began to chime causing Feli and Lovino to stir.
Feli woke up first and froze as he realized that he was against Lovino. With jerky movements he jumped up and slowly limped away from the beast and Amelia couldn't help but notice a tint of fear in his eyes. The be-er Lovino opened his eyes and let out a loud yawn as he stretched, "Uh…good morning you two," Amelia said awkwardly from the chair as Hanatamago jumped off her lap and out of the parlor.
"Buongiorno Amelia!" Feli replied happily, his smile looking a bit uneasy as the b-Lovino stood on all fours behind the small wolf. Lovino nodded to her without a word making the tension in the room even more uncomfortable so Amelia got up from the chair, "How do your injuries feel? Any better?" she asked.
The two creatures examined their bandaged appendages, "It still hurts a little, but it feels better than yesterday!" Feli said with a smile. Lovino avoided eye contact with the girl and was definitely not blushing as he remembered their conversation last night, "It's alright," he muttered and Amelia nodded, "Good…that's good," she said before coughing awkwardly, "Well…I think I'll just go…wash up in my room," she said and hastily exited the parlor before letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
That was certainly the most awkward conversation she had ever been in; I mean, talking to Gilbert when he's flirting with her is one thing, talking to a massive beast who just last night went bat-shit crazy was another thing entirely. Amelia sighed and managed to find her way back to her room where Antonio and Katyusha were waiting for her, "Buenos dias amiga!" Antonio greeted. "Good morning," Amelia replied, feeling a bit more comfortable around the two familiar servants.
She took a quick bath in her bathroom and put on a new outfit that Katyusha picked out (I have no fashion sense; just use your imagination on this one…). She was just going out the door when she saw Elizaveta coming towards her down the hall, "I was just coming to get you; breakfast is ready," she said.
Amelia nodded and followed the teapot into the dining room where two simple bowls of porridge were set and waiting. Amelia took her seat and Feli took his as well. They ate in an awkward silence (with Amelia trying to not stare at Feli eating his food like a dog) for a while until Amelia cleared her throat, "So…where's Lovino?" she asked.
She found it odd that he wasn't here since there were three chairs at the table. Feli hesitated, "Um…I'm not sure; he left the parlor a while ago without saying anything," he answered. Amelia nodded and played with the porridge in her bowl until she asked quietly, "Has it happened before?" The wolf tensed up slightly, "Ve?"
"Lovino; has he…lost control like that before?" Amelia repeated. Feli looked at the ground, "…Si…" he said barely above a whisper. Amelia noticed the wolf shivering and slowly got up. She walked over and placed a hand on the wolf's shivering form causing his head to snap up. Amelia could see the fear and trauma that last night had caused and tears of hurt and betrayal brimming his eyes; Amelia almost felt like crying herself from the sheer amount of emotion in his eyes.
Feli muttered something Italian and got out of the chair, heading for the door but Amelia ran in front of him and knelt down. She took Feli's head in both her hands, wiping away some of the tears in his eyes, "Feli…" she said softly, "Don't bottle it up; just let it out," Feli stared at the girl for a moment before putting his front paws on Amelia's shoulders and lying his head on her shoulder and allowing the tears to flow.
Amelia wrapped her arms around the tearful wolf as Feli began to spill everything in one long rush, "Oh Amelia, I don't know what to do! You're right, this has happened before but never like this! It was never that bad! Whenever it happened it was only for a few minutes! Usually he would always stay in the West Wing and not hurt anybody! But when I saw him last night he didn't even recognize me! Even if he went crazy like that outside the West Wing he would never really hurt me like that! He would knock me aside or something but he never made me bleed before! Now I feel really scared of him! I'm afraid he's going to go crazy and hurt me or my friends again and I don't know why! I want to love him because he's my big brother but he's really never been the same ever since-"
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Amelia cut him off and pulling away to look at Feli, "Go back; Lovino's your brother?" she asked. Feli sniffed and nodded causing Amelia's eyes to widen, "As in, 'he's related to you' and 'you grew up together'? That kind of brother?" she asked in disbelief. "Si…" Feli said sadly before getting off Amelia; he wasn't ready to talk about a sensitive subject like this yet.
He put on a small smile, "Thanks for listening Amelia; I feel a little better now," he said. Amelia blinked, "O-oh, no problem Feli," she said and the wolf walked out of the dining room. Amelia got up after recovering from that mind-blowing discovery. Seriously, brothers?! How was that even possible?! I mean, Feli was innocent and sweet and Lovino…well…he's the exact opposite!
Amelia sighed and put a hand on her head, "This place is just full of surprises," she muttered before walking out of the room, not noticing a tall shadow peeking in another doorway, who had witnessed the whole conversation.
Amelia let out a huge sigh as she wandered aimlessly throughout the castle; how could a castle this big be so boring? Her eyes wandered to the window where ice painted the glass with delicate designs and eventually fell on the deep snow outside. Amelia smiled softly as she remembered when she was a child and long time ago, when her mother, Emily was still alive…
A young Amelia giggled as she ran through the snow that reached her waist. She tumbled and rolled around in the white fluff when she was lifted into the air, "I gotcha!" Amelia looked down at her mother who was grinning up at the small girl. She was almost the spitting image of Amelia, only her golden hair reached her back instead of her shoulders.
Amelia laughed as she hugged Emily who then fell backwards into the snow. Arthur leaned in the doorway of their house and smiled at them, "You two just have unlimited energy; I don't know how you can keep up with her like that." he said.
"That's 'cause we're both younger than you!" Emily replied, sitting up placing Amelia in her lap. "You're only three years younger than me Emily," She smirked, "Sure, you old man," she teased.
Amelia jumped off Emily's lap, "Come play with us daddy!" she called. Arthur shook his head, "I can't; you know daddy has work to do," he said. Amelia pouted, "Awww, can't you skip?" she asked. Emily mimicked her pout, "C'mon Artie, relax a little for once; you only live once you know." She said.
Arthur shook his head, "That's not going to work this time," he turned to go inside, "If I have time I'll come-ow!" Arthur was cut off by a snowball nailing the back of his head. He whirled around to glare at Emily who innocently pointed to Amelia; the girl was smiling and holding a second snowball in her hands, "Play now daddy!" she said before throwing the second snowball. Having her mother's throwing arm, Arthur narrowly avoided the attack, but was simply hit with another snowball, this time courtesy of Emily.
Arthur smirked and grabbed his coat, "Alright; this means war!" Amelia squealed and ran as Arthur ran after her and lifted the small girl into the air, "Mommy help! He's got me!" Amelia yelled playfully. Emily laughed and picked up another snowball, 'Don't worry honey; the heroine will save you!" she threw the snowball at Arthur, hitting his arm.
Arthur pretended like it had hurt with an imitated cry of pain and placed Amelia back on the ground, "I'm not giving up that easily!" Arthur said and picked up a snowball. Emily laughed, "You'll have to catch me first!" she taunted, sticking out her tongue at her husband. Arthur ran after her with Amelia close behind. Arthur grabbed Emily around the waist and spun her around a bit before Amelia ran up and somehow managed to tackled them both to the ground, all of them laughing as more snow began to fall.
That was the last time she had had real fun with her whole family. It was shortly after that day when Emily caught pneumonia. Arthur had done everything he could to make her better, but it was no use. All Amelia remembered of that fateful day of her mother's death was a little piece...
Amelia looked up from the fireplace as she heard movement from upstairs. It had been a few weeks since her mother had fallen ill and the doctor was now checking on her. She ran over to the staircase, her young eyes shining with excitement hoping to see her mother and father coming downstairs together.
The doctor walked down the stairs with a grim look on his face. He gave the young girl a sad smile and a pat on the head before going out the door. Amelia turned back towards the stairs as her father slowly came down; his eyes were red and there were traces of tears on his cheeks.
Amelia tugged on his pant leg, "Where's mommy, daddy? Did the doctor make her better?" she asked. Arthur said nothing as he lifted her into his arms and held her close before saying, "Mommy isn't with us anymore…"
Amelia felt her heart freeze as she comprehended what he had just said. The girl burst into tears as she held her father tightly and sobbed into his chest. Arthur sat down on the stairs as fresh tears fell from his eyes as well while he whispered apologies and soothing words to his daughter.
The two stayed in each other's arms for the rest of the day as snow began to fall outside the window.
Amelia shook her head to get rid of the tears that she knew was coming; she hadn't brought up those memories in so long. It felt somehow…refreshing to get those feelings out of her system.
A sudden urge then came to her mind; she wanted to play in the snow. She spotted Feli walking down the hall and an idea came to her mind that could help them both feel better. "Hey Feli!" Amelia called as she walked towards him, "You wanna play in the snow?" she asked.
Feli looked confused, "Ve?" "Play in the snow; it's just sitting there! C'mon, let's have some fun!" Amelia said. A small interested smile came to the wolf's face, "O-okay," he said.
Lovino walked through the hallways of the castle away from the West Wing. He had spent a good hour and a half in there moping over what he had heard Feli say. Did he really feel that way about him?His thoughts came to a halt when a snowball hit one of the windows. Lovino looked outside to see Amelia and Feli running around outside. They were smiling and laughing while they threw snow at each other. Even Hanatamago and Minty were with them, running around.
Lovino felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched Amelia laugh; she looked so happy. He shook his head and briskly walked away from the window to rid his head of the thoughts, but Amelia's cheerful laugh and smile still rang in his ears. For the next few days, all Lovino would hear was Amelia's laughter, and not only because she was outside playing with Feli.
He would often spot her talking and laughing with the other servants; they would sit and tell stories from their pasts. But the strange thing was, Amelia wasn't the one talking; she was just listening to the other servants. She was definitely a strange girl.
The next day, Amelia put on her cloak for another day out in the snow; Feli had convinced a few of the other less fragile servants to join them when they had the time, so today was bound to be fun. As Amelia walked towards the door to the gardens she noticed a familiar dark figure sweep the hall. Amelia followed the figure and called out to him, "Hey, Lovino!"
The figure turned at hearing his name as Amelia slowly walked towards him, "What do you want?" he asked roughly. "I was just wondering…if you'd like to play in the snow with us." Amelia answered. Lovino's eyes widened in shock; she was asking him to play with her? "I mean, you've been cooped up in here for a long time, and I'm sure you must be lonely," Amelia continued, "You don't even have to play; you could watch if you want."
Lovino was quiet as he comprehended what was going on; this girl, wanted him, a hideous beast, to go outside with her. How was this even possible considering how he's treated her? "S-Sure, I'll-I'll watch," he eventually said. Amelia smiled, "Great; let's go!" she said and took his paw causing Lovino to totally NOT blush.
Amelia led him outside where Feli, Antonio, Peter, Minty, and Hanatamago were waiting. They all froze when they spotted Lovino behind Amelia. Lovino stood by the doorway as Amelia made her way towards the others, "Feel free to join in if you want," she said with a smile before running into the yard, "Alright guys, let's have some fun!" Her smile seemed to break everyone out of their trance and they proceeded to chase each other around in the frozen powder.
As Lovino watched he had to admit, it did feel nice to be outside for a change; everything was so peaceful and bright. Lovino was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a ball of snow collide with his face. The playing abruptly stopped and silence took over as Lovino roughly shook the snow off his face. Finally, the silence was broken with Feli breaking down and shivering, "Waah! I'm sorry fratello! I really am! I just didn't look where I was throwing! You know I didn't mean to do it! Please don't kill me! I don't wanna die!" he wailed.
Lovino could feel his temper boiling up; it was happening again. He could feel his control slipping away, he was going to lose control again!
"Lovino?"
Lovino's head snapped up at the unfamiliar voice. He looked up to see Amelia walking towards him with slight…concern(?) in her eyes. "Lovino, are you okay?" she asked. Her blue eyes seemed to emanate a calming aura as the beast regained his control. Amelia stared up at him, waiting for an answer, but got none.
Lovino turned and bounded back into the castle, running straight to the West Wing. After slamming the door shut, he hung his head, "Damn…it's getting worse," he muttered, "It's happening more often now, even when I'm not mad! God damn this fucking curse!" he yelled, punching the wall.
How long until he completely lost it? Until he could no longer regain control and forced to give in to the monster inside him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another petal fall from the glowing rose. It was now or never; he had to break this curse…or his whole family would be subjected to his wrath.
Oh boy...Amelia better move it and start REALLY liking this guy! But of course that means Lovino needs to stop being a dick. We also finally learn that Feli and Lovi are related. I think Amelia reacted the same way I did when I found out about Italy and Romano being related when I first watched Hetalia...mind-blowing right?
Oh, and Shivavixen, thatnks for the suggestions! They really helped! :D
Next chappie we're gonna have some good ol' angst and family rebuilding which is KINDA the reason I put quite a bit about Amelia's mother in here. I guess you could say she knows how it feels when you're family's having problems due to a traumatic event...plus, we never hear ANYTHING about Belle's mother in the movie, they don't even bring her up! But who cares, the movie still rocks. So, we're gonna have a few fluffy chappies and then we can get to the REAL plot points!
Please review and send love scenarios if you want to see any!