Raina, you're a great friend! a wonderful best friend! i'm uploading this early just for you, hoping you're feeling better, hon!
Kismet
Chapter Twenty-Five: Romana and Santino Vargas
Lovino held his head high like Antonio as the older man opened the door. The room was bustling with people, talking and snacking. They all stopped what they were doing just to look. Lovino fought away his scowl and tried to look indifferent.
Antonio gave his hand a light squeeze, "You're doing fine." he encouraged. Lovino felt a small smile pull the corner of his lips. Antonio stopped them near the stage like front (where Antonio gave speeches at parties) and helped Lovino onto it, "Welcome! I hope you have fun, I know I will." he brought Lovino's hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. Lovino turned red and the crowd clapped before the music started.
"Would you do me the honor of sharing the first dance?" Antonio bowed lightly. The Illonian hesitantly took his hand, letting the older man lead him to the center of the dance floor and begin the dance. Lovino leaned against Antonio's chest and just soaked in the fact he was actually with Antonio at the party with out being dressed as 'Chiara'.
At one point, two women came to cut in and Lovino got to switch partners several times and he thoroughly enjoyed the night.
The day after, he began training with a tutor to eat properly at the table, walk right, talk right, and learn a whole bunch of other things he couldn't care about. He was also taught how to handle the duties that would be passed to him after he became queen.
Antonio had been right. They definitely weren't too difficult and could be done within an hour when they needed to be done. It was mostly just party planning when needed, and going over certain lesser problems that Antonio couldn't be 'bothered' with, as his tutor claimed.
The wedding … his brain froze even thinking of that word … was three months from then, a little bit after his sixteenth birthday.
He growled again as his tutor smacked his head lightly, "Stop daydreaming! You need to learn this information before we move on!"
Lovino looked up at him with a dark glare, "How about you stop fucking hitting me?"
"How about you watch your mouth?" the man snapped back, "That is no way for a Sverran queen to speak."
"I don't care …" the Vargas man muttered under his breath.
His tutor sighed, "Listen, my lord, this is how you spoke and acted when you were a servant, but this is not how you should be acting anymore! His majesty expects a proper bride who knows his place and this information and is not crude."
Lovino crossed his arms and rose from his chair, "What if I don't want to learn this crap?"
"Then you can't marry the king. I have no clue why he chose such an offensive, vulgar, foul-mouthed person such as yourself, but since he did, it is my job to prepare you for this life."
The Illonian glared, "I'm done here." he turned away, having enough of being insulted by a man because he refused to learn the history of Sverran. Nor did he care to learn which kind of party should be held at what time of year. He didn't want to learn all that crap because Antonio loved him for who he was …
The future queen stormed down the halls and stopped when he reached Antonio's office. The guards bowed and opened the door for him. He stepped inside and Antonio looked up at him, "Hey Lovi~ I thought you were with your tutor?"
"I hate him. I hate the lessons so far. I'm not going to do it again." he glared at his fiance, "Do I really have to learn that shit?"
The king smiled and shook his head, "I wouldn't mind if you didn't, but the court is having problems with me marrying a commoner and I figured if you learned what most nobles learned then maybe they wouldn't give you and me such a hard time." he stood and wrapped his arms around Lovino and pressed a kiss to the side of his head.
Lovino glared, "I don't care! I'm tired of being smacked upside the head because my mind is on anything but how Sverran was founded by some dragon hunter or whatever."
Antonio glared, "He did what?"
Lovino cringed at the dark look, "Nothing. I'm just done with that crap … I'd rather keep doing chores than sit in the room and be bored." he kissed Antonio, hoping to calm the king down. Luckily, it worked and Antonio kissed back.
"Did you at least learn how to do your duties?"
The Illonian nodded, "Yeah."
"Good~" Antonio smiled, kissing his forehead, "I have to get back to my work, but I'm expecting you to visit me at lunch in the throne room~"
Lovino nodded and said goodbye. Now that he was freed of those stupid lessons and he hadn't voided the marriage, he made his way to the laundry room, wishing to just return to a little bit of normalcy.
He walked in the room and Femke looked up, "Wow … you look all royal and stuff~!" she laughed, washing a blanket in the hot water, "What brings you here?"
"Trying to escape." Lovino grinned, sitting on the steps.
"Escape? That bad, huh?" she threw the blanket over a wire and pulled another from the water to wash it.
He shrugged, "I hate this. The fuck was trying to turn me into someone I wasn't. Antonio told me I didn't have to go back if I didn't want to. But now I have nothing to do all day. I came to see if you needed any help."
"So bored you're wanting to help with chores?" she laughed, "Sure, grab the other wash board and you can help clean the blankets~!"
Lovino nodded and slipped his long sleeveless robe off and tied up the shirt sleeves before leaning over the tub to help her.
"So how are you and nosy bastard?" he lifted a different blanket and began scrubbing it against the board.
"Wonderfully~! We were at the dance last night, too! Oh you and Toni looked so cute dancing together! Anyway, after the party, we went through a stroll in the gardens~!" they continued talking for about an hour.
The door opened and the servant who'd been in charge of waking Lovino and Antonio up walked in, "My lord! What are you doing in here doing this?"
Lovino felt a vein pop on his forehead, already sick of being treated like some useless being who was supposed to be sitting on a pedestal just because he was getting married to the king, "I'm in here helping my best friend with chores. I had nothing else to do. After this, I'm going to lunch and then I will be taking over my old chores."
The girl sighed, "My lord, you don't need t-"
"Fuck! I don't care! I want to!" he muttered a quick goodbye to Femke and stormed out of the room, slipping his robe back up over his shoulders. It was going to be a long … forever … with the way things were going. He loved Antonio and the thought of actually being married to him excited him. He may have looked down on the idea before … but now that it was happening … the idea was growing on him quickly.
He stopped by a window and looked out to the gardens below. His fingers slid over the choker and he blushed. While there were definitely down sides to being with Antonio, like becoming queen, when he honestly didn't want to, dealing with that nosy court, being related to the former queen, being treated like some princess … and many other things … he wouldn't give Antonio up for anything.
The Illonian made his way to the throne room, knowing he was early. Antonio would probably just be sitting down for his appointments. Sure enough, Lovino heard Antonio discussing new trade routes with some trader. Lovino seated himself in the doorway and watched from a distance.
"What are you doing on the floor?" he jumped and looked up. A youth stood a few feet away with Antonio and his lunch.
"Nothing." Lovino muttered standing up.
"Oh! I didn't mean to pry or offend! Sorry! I was told I was supposed to bring these here for the king and our future queen!" Lovino raised his brow, looking him over. He seemed new.
"You new here or something?" he asked, crossing his arms. The kid nodded, "Uh, yeah, I was sold here this morning …" the kid was about a year younger than Feliciano would be, so maybe about twelve. A curl twisted from the soft brown hair and his eyes were bright green. The curl was kinked and made sort of a square shape. He also had a thick accent that seemed like a mixture of Fayldyren and Illonian.
"Where are you from?" Lovino asked, leaning against the wall.
The kid bit his lip, "A small kingdom in northern Illonia. My mother and father were killed by a bunch of naga and I was picked up and sold here. My name is Savino, by the way."
"Savino, huh?" Lovino looked him over once again, but noticed Antonio was done and leaning in the chair holding his head, meaning the man had a headache, "Nice to meet you, little bastard." he remarked before motioning for him to follow him into the room.
Antonio looked up and smiled, "Just what I needed." Lovino rolled his eyes and allowed Antonio to pull him into his lap and press a kiss to his lips.
Savino squeaked, "Y-you're the future queen?" he set the trays down and quickly bowed, "I'm so sorry if I seemed rude earlier! I had no idea!"
Lovino rolled his eyes, "You weren't and I couldn't care less … Antonio, this is Savino … one of your newest servants from …"
The boy looked up, "Oh! I'm from Silinneo, a small kingdom in northern Illonia …"
Antonio tilted his head, "Illonia … when were you there last?"
Savino raised his brow, "Um … maybe a few days ago?"
"What's going on there? I can't get in touch with their king."
The boy's green eyes turned sad, "Neither could our king. After further investigation, our king discovered that the dragons have made the capital their home. Apparently, no one was there, just the dragons. From what I know from my father, the rest of Illonia has fallen into disrepair. With no king to lead the people, they have either turned to crime to survive or have had their villages locked down to keep safe from the rising creature attacks. Naga like to surround villages, boxing the people inside … it's what they did to Silinneo. After making sure the people can't get away, they pick them off one by one." his eyes were misty, "I was lucky to end up here."
Antonio looked at Lovino. The Illonian was clenching his fists tightly against the older man's chest, refusing to let the tears fall.
"I … thank you, Savino … you may go now …" the servant bowed and hurried from the room before he got in trouble for upsetting the king's fiance.
"Feliciano is probably oka-"
"He's dead! I just know it! My baby brother is dead and I'm sitting around doing nothing!" the tears fell, "I'm the most awful older brother in the history of older brothers!"
Antonio held him close and let him cry and scream until he finally calmed down, "Now that I know the Illonian king is gone, I'm going to send some soldiers into Illonia and find Feliciano, okay?"
Lovino nodded, feeling hopeless. The king called immediately for a servant and gave him the orders that were to be followed exactly. The group of no more than ten would get into Illonia and began searching for surviving villages. They were to help anyone they could, perhaps bringing anyone willing back to Sverran. They were mainly supposed to test the waters before Antonio would send larger troops into the country to pull as many survivors as possible from the land and set up barriers to keep the reptilian creatures from ascending up north any further.
Antonio lifted a bite of food to Lovino's lips, but when Lovino refused the bite, he sighed, "Lovi … please eat … you're not helping by not eating …"
Lovino hit his arm, "He could be starving! And here I am, eating like some fat house cat! I need to do something …"
"You are, by sending those soldiers, not only are you trying to help him, but you're also saving other lives."
"I didn't send them, you did!" Antonio kissed him gently, but hissed in pain when Lovino bit his lip hard, drawing blood.
"Ouch! Lowi~! That huwt!" he rubbed his lip, "Those are your soldiers as well, and you sent them, I just gave the order~"
Lovino turned away, "I'm going to take a nap, bastard …" he felt his own headache forming. Antonio grabbed him, refusing to let him up and he let his hands slide to his shoulders and begin rubbing at the knots from his love's neck.
"Okay, my love, I'll be finished early today, so maybe I'll give you a massage?" Lovino moaned softly under his breath, feeling Antonio's fingers work the muscles. The older man let go and kissed Lovino's cheek, "I love you~"
"Love you, too, bastard …" he sighed, leaving the room, not feeling hungry at all.
Several days passed and many refugees were seen leaving Illonia, but none matched his brother's description. Soon months had passed and it was February.
Lovino had finally found a schedule that he liked. No one bothered him about doing light chores around the castle after the stupid tutor helped him work on his duties, which he found out was only a little bit since he wouldn't be trusted with the full extent until after his coronation.
He ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with Antonio and even got to spend some extra time with him in the office (mostly by sitting in his lap or on the desk) while Antonio worked.
Lovino had also taken a liking to the the Silinneon boy and hired him as one of his personal servants, Femke was the first, though.
She was ecstatic to be earning more and spending more time with her best friend on his bored days. On another up side for her, she got more free time with Christian and to help her mother with her chores. While the two helped out, Lovino was still the one to draw a bath for Antonio and him.
It was a bright early spring, late winter day and Lovino was sitting in the library, staring out the window, instead of reading the book on front of him. Savino set down a cup, "Here's some wine for you, Lovino."
Lovino nodded and thanked him before taking a sip, "Hey, I'm bored. Sit down so I can talk or something."
Savino sat down, "What do you want to talk about?"
The Illonian shrugged, "Tell me about yourself … or something …"
The boy stared at Lovino, whom turned his head to stare out the window again, "Well, as I said before, I was born in Silinneo to a traveling merchant and a young woman. They raised me like any other kid, I guess.
"My mother had always lived in Silineo, but my father was Illonian. He had moved there after he met my mother on one of his business trips. I didn't know much, but I heard him talking about how he had a wife back in Illonia or something like that.
"They were k-killed after our small kingdom was taken over …"
Lovino looked at him, "I see … my brother and I are Illonian."
"I figured as much. It's kind of faded, but I still hear your accent."
"I've been told. I ended up here, much like you did. My mother died when me and Feli were very young and our father walked out on her before Feli was born. We lived with our grandfather until he died. We were kidnapped and sold to a jerk faced freak, but he got tired of having me around and sold me, separating me and Feli for … for ever …
"I ended up being found by Antonio and he hired me as his personal servant … been here ever since." Savino's eyes widened, "You worked here?"
Lovino raised his brow, "I thought you knew. Fucking everyone around here can't stick to their own damned business and like to gossip about me and Antonio." he growled.
"No. I don't really talk to anyone but the ladies~" he laughed, "And they're usually too busy flirting to gossip about you and the king."
The Illonian looked and him and laughed, "Really now?"
Savino nodded, "I inherited my flirting skills from my father and he said he got them from his father and so on~ Vargas family special skill!"
Lovino froze, "Vargas? Your last name is Vargas?"
He nodded, suddenly going still, wondering if he'd insulted Lovino in any ways, "Uh … y-yeah … Savino Marcello V-Vargas … w-why?"
The man shook his head. It was just a coincidence. There had to be plenty of Vargas men out in Illonia, "Did you ever actually meet this grandfather of yours? The one you 'inherited' your 'skills' from?"
The kid shook his head, "No, papa said that grandpa hated him for leaving his wife in Illonia."
Lovino leaned back in his seat. That didn't necessarily mean anything, "What … what was your father's name?" his voice became tense and his eyes narrowed.
"Santino …" Savino said, "Santino Vargas …"
Lovino felt his head cracking with confusion and anger. Santino was his father's name. So either it was a really intense coincidence or Lovino was sitting in front of a half brother he never knew existed.
He had felt nothing but anger for his father. He and Feliciano's mother had died because of that bastard leaving her alone with one toddler and a baby on the way and no one to helped her deliver said baby.
"L-Lov … M-my lord … are you okay?" Savino asked, trembling slightly at the anger pouring off of Lovino.
"No. I'm not okay. That fucking bastard left my mother. Romana died because of him. I wish he was still around only so that I could watch him suffer the way she had." he rose from his seat and stormed out, leaving a very confused twelve year old behind.
He went out to the tomato field to blow off some steam. Lovino threw rocks around in the field and he gripped his head and screamed out in anger. So while their family had suffered, that bastard had gone on to live a happy life, completely ignorant of the family he had abandoned? The thought made Lovino sick and he wanted nothing more than to go piss on the man's grave. But he was satisfied enough to know that he was gone as well.
Lovino sent a small prayer to his mother and felt a calming peace settle over him. He smiled lightly and decided he should probably meet his fiance for lunch.
TBC
~Lady Pyrien