I have a little challenge for my SpaMano writers and readers~ Toby the Turtle is a beloved character from Bai-Marionette (formerly BrooklynBabbii)'s fic 'In Tune'. In this chapter, I have mentioned Toby~

Now here's the challenge: On NaNo, they have several fun characters that you can slip into a story for no reason, like the traveling shovel and what not. So let's see if we can make Toby the SpaMano version of the shovel and put Toby in your fics~! Toby doesn't have to play a huge part, but could be mentioned, in a scene, or could actually be the cause for everything in your plot!

Stories with Toby in them can be added to my community for the cute little turtle~! Have fun and send me a PM if you do this so i can read the story, too! Bai has given the permission under the rule that you give her credit in an AN because Toby is her character~ I would love to see this happen ^_^ thanks guys for reading and reviewing and making me a happy author~

Kismet

Chapter Fourty-Five: In Hiding

Lovino growled in frustration as he sifted through message after message. Fayldyr was happy to ally with Sverran and were sending soldiers to the southern borders to join in. However, the southern villages in Sverran were more than happy to join the fight, but the northern villages were putting up their own fights with the slight tax increase. They didn't understand that if Sverran lost land like it was, southern Sverrans would have to go north to find new home, new jobs, new lives, taking away from the northerners.

The queen pushed aside his work and longed for the days where the hardest thing he had to worry about was Antonio at the end of a day. Now he was stuck thinking of how to reply to a lesser noble about how he was supposed to handle the uprising in his village. Lovino wrote him that he should remain calm and at least attempt to explain what the war meant if they won, and they'd only win if they cooperated.

He clutched his head and wanted to slink back to the nursery and play with the twins, but instead he had to take the new information back to Antonio and let him know that one village has already rioted against the war and many more were on their way. He also had to give grim news that the Extryren armies have halted but have burned down three villages, killing hundreds of their citizens.

Lovino sighed. He may have been born Illonian and still very loyal to his dying homeland, but he swore an oath to do all he could to protect these people and when he married Antonio he'd become Sverran as well. These were his brothers and sisters and they were suffering.

He knew the war was needed to save more lives, including his precious family, but he hated the suffering that was taking place. It was almost as if the south Sverran villages were forever going to be plagued with dangers.

The queen rose from his desk and rubbed his eyes. Lovino grabbed the important documents and had the guard escort him to Antonio's office. Lovino liked to complain to himself about how much harder his work had gotten since the war started three months prior, but he knew Antonio had it much worse.

When he opened the door to the study, he found Antonio sleeping. The queen couldn't be mad, but only smiled lightly. Antonio had been having late nights, sleepless nights, and stress filled days. Lovino tried to make things easier or better, but it was hard when you saw your husband three times a day IF you were lucky to catch him at night when he crawled into bed and passed out. It had been the longest three months ever and Lovino was getting antsy for a few different reasons.

One, this war was taking a huge toll on Antonio and Lovino would rather not have the man greying before his twenty-fifth year.

Two, he was worried about the war dragging out and his children being brought up in wartime. He wondered if they would ever know peace, or if they would be forced into hiding if they lost the war. The twins, born of unnatural and almost miraculous causes, were already treasured enough without being crowned prince and princess of Sverran and the children of your current enemy.

And three … it had been three long, stress filled months and there had been no sex for Lovino. He occasionally couldn't help himself and would relieve himself in the bath or sometimes the office when he was desperate, but Antonio was already stressed enough without having to worry about a turned on husband.

Though … Lovino smirked, setting the paper work down. He hated waking Antonio up … but maybe he wouldn't mind so much.

Lovino slipped under the desk and carefully and gently began undoing Antonio's belt. Antonio had not received this little gift in well over a year or two. Antonio stirred, but didn't wake as Lovino untied his pants and started rubbing his member.

At this Antonio moaned in his sleep and began to wake up. His member sprung to life under Lovino's fingers and he surprised the sleepy king twice over by taking the swollen organ into his mouth. "L-Lovi~? Oh god!" he gasped, staring down at his beautiful queen. A blush dusted Lovino's cheeks and his lips slid over his member, lightly sucking.

He shuddered and let his head fall back and a low moan escaped him. A knock came at the door and he jumped, giving a worried look to his love. Lovino smirked quickly, his eyes darting up to meet Antonio's, but he didn't show any signs of stopping. Instead, he took a breath and pulled more of Antonio down his throat. Antonio bit back a moan, knowing Lovino was challenging him to keep his cool while he dealt with his work.

"C-come in!" he bit his lip. The door opened and the thrill of getting caught peaked. One wrong move and Antonio or Lovino could reveal their sexual deeds to the intruder.

"Your majesty, I came to pick up the documents you sighed." he muttered, "Also, King Francis is here to talk about future plans in the war … your majesty … you look feverish … should I call a medic?"

Antonio blushed darker and stifled another moan as Lovino managed to take him all in. The first time his love had done this, it was experimental and while he'd done a good job, it was nothing compared to this. He seemed to pay close attention when Antonio did it for him.

"N-no … I'm fine!" he yelped a little louder than he wanted, "And they are right here!" he took a deep breath and pushed the papers forward. The man nodded, raising his brow, "Um … thank you, your majesty … are you sure you're okay?" he tried to step closer to him.

"YES!" he shouted, shuddering with a wave of pleasure, "I'm fine … g-get out … now!" the man yelped in surprise and gathered up the documents before running out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, Antonio gripped Lovino's hair and let out a stream of moaned curses. His hips bucked and he yelled out Lovino's name as he released into his love's mouth. But the images of what his love had done were still fresh in his mind. He'd never woken up to something so surprising. His stiff member remained so, begging for more attention.

He watched Lovino swallow his seed and smile up at Antonio with a mocking, yet happy look in his eyes. Antonio grinned back and grabbed Lovino's arms, pulling him up to his feet where Antonio quickly ripped the pants down. He pulled Lovino into his lap and thrust into his love. Lovino hissed in pain, but waited a moment before lifting himself and slowly he began riding Antonio.

Antonio moaned, realizing his queen was full of surprises, "You're spoiling me, Lovi~!" he groaned, grabbing his Lovi's hips and thrusting up to meet him.

Lovino held on his shoulders tightly and continued moving, "This is what you get for depriving me of sex for so long, bastard …" the queen moaned into Antonio's ear.

"Nnnn … Lovi~!" he gasped, "I didn't mean to, my love …"

Lovino grabbed his own throbbing member and began pumping, "I- oh … god … - I know, bastard …" he kissed his husband. Antonio moaned into the kiss and brought Lovino down on him hard, sending Lovino into ecstasy as he came. Antonio grinned and thrust into Lovino once more before spilling his seed a second time.

They held each other, panting, for a long while before Antonio lifted Lovino off of him and placed a kiss to his cheek. He cleaned them up and helped Lovino out, by retying his pants, "Thank you, my love~" Antonio kissed him deeply.

Lovino blushed and rolled his eyes, "I told you, it was for me."

Antonio grinned, "I see~ well, thanks anyway~" Lovino growled and laid his head on Antonio's shoulder and closed his eyes, feeling slightly guilty for his selfish behavior. He knew Antonio had work to do, but now that he was in the older man's arms, he couldn't help but stay there. It seemed like years since Antonio buried his face in Lovino's neck and placed gentle kisses to his skin. Or decades since his hands made small comforting circles on his lower back and hum softly. He couldn't help but miss it all. And he didn't know how long it would last since this war was weighing down on them.

"I'd better go now … I've already been away from the twins longer than usual …" Lovino reluctantly pushed away from Antonio.

The Sverran man frowned and grabbed Lovino, pulling him into a loving kiss, "I'll see you tonight."

Lovino nodded, knowing it wasn't true. Antonio would crawl into bed late and be too tired for anything more than sleeping. Lovino occasionally woke up when he came in and after the door was locked, the man tended to crawl right into bed with boots and crown and all. Lovino, if he was feeling nice, would take more uncomfortable things off and cover him up.

He kissed Antonio good bye and walked slowly to the nursery. At least he could see his precious babies whenever he wanted. Sometimes he had to sneak away from his study to do so, but they only had to worry about nap time.

The guards opened the door for him and he went to the nursery door and unlocked it, slipping inside. Femke was on duty, holding a sleeping Romana in her arms, "Hey, Lovi … sorry, I know I'm not supposed to hold them while they sleep, but she's not feeling well."

Lovino nodded, "It's okay," he felt the baby's forehead and frowned since she was warm. His first reaction was to go grab the medicine, but Ray warned against using it for simple ailments and hold back for real emergencies, such as Tristán's sickness.

He picked her up and held her close, rocking her back to sleep after she woke.

"It doesn't seem too bad, just a small fever." Femke smiled, walking over to the crib to check the napping boy, "I already fed them lunch, so they should be good until dinner." she smiled, gathering her things, "Well, mama will be here to check on you later, I have to go. Bye~!"

"See you." Lovino muttered, bouncing Romana in his arms. Femke was becoming sparse now that she was engaged. The wedding was not far off and everyone was getting excited over it.

Romana pulled her baby blanket over her head, her brother sitting close by chewing on a block. Lovino smiled softly, "Where did Romana go?" he asked, "Where's Romana?"

The baby girl pulled the blanket down and giggled when Lovino gasped, "There she is!" he leaned over and kissed her forehead, checking her temperature. She was feeling better now that she'd taken the fever reducer he'd given her a few minutes prior.

Tristán stood up and toddled over to his mama to hand him the block, "Thank you!" Lovino smiled, kissing his fingers. The toddling child laughed and stumbled back. The queen sighed, realizing it was their bed time and that he had to go set up the bath that Antonio would probably not be attending. He laid the twins down and made sure they went to sleep.

"What do you mean we're leaving the castle?" Lovino glared up at Antonio, who had in fact kept to his word about coming to the bedroom early. They finished their bath and of course Antonio went and dropped a bombshell.

He sighed, knowing his husband was unhappy, "The war is over … the prince called it off. Apparently, he didn't condone what his military commander was doing and put a stop to it. But because our money went into this war the refugee camps are suffering more than usual and the Illonians are having trouble setting up their camps and what not.

"We need to head there ourselves and put up protection for them (And ourselves). Since the war was unneeded and used up money, we're in danger here. Among the people we're trying to save … we'll be far safer. At least until this whole things blows over … and, I thought maybe you'd like to help your own people. Illonia is getting closer to being safe … so …"

Lovino huffed and crossed his arms, "You know I would. I'd be able to look for my brother myself. God knows he probably thinks I'm dead …"

Antonio pulled Lovino into his arms and held tightly despite Lovino pushing against him angrily, "But I still don't understand why you're forcing us to go into hiding like this. We're fine here at the castle."

The king became unusually dark and he held Lovino's head to his chest, "I received a death threat to you and the children today after you left. I don't want to take any chances. What with things taking a turn for the worst. I'll still be able to run my country, but we'll be safe among people who … it's hard to explain love … we just need to -"

A loud crash sounded from the nursery, followed by the babies' screaming in fear. Lovino whipped the dagger from his side out and Antonio grabbed his axe as they ran into the room. The queen saw no one, but he snatched up his babies and ripped open the door, calling the guards into the room. Antonio followed after him.

"Fine. You fucking win bastard, but only for them!" he cried out, clutching the screaming twins close. Tessa and Savino packed up their bags and Tessa tearfully said goodbye to Lovino and the twins. Tessa made sure he had plenty of children's health potions as well as adult for him and Antonio. It would be tragic for anything to happen to them while in hiding.

Femke and Christian also came to say goodbye and bid them good luck. They climbed into the carriage and Lovino clutched the twins close as it pulled away. Lovino refused to talk to Antonio for an hour or so but finally broke down when he came to terms that his children were in danger. Antonio held him close and took Romana off his hands to keep her entertained with her stuffed turtle toy, Toby.

The first night, they were forced to stop since the twins were getting sleepy and cranky. The inn was run down and dirty, but as long as they kept a low profile, it was safe. Lovino rolled his neck, feeling little pops. Antonio sat down on the bed and curled up beside the babies, whom had no where but in between their parents to sleep.

"They haven't been in our bed in a long time." Antonio commented, pushing Tristán's hair from his sleeping face.

Lovino nodded, laying down as well. Romana yawned and rubbed her face with her little hand, "Yeah …" he muttered, recalling a few sleepless nights where one of the twins just wanted to sleep in between their parents.

The Sverran queen gently ran his fingers over Romana's head, checking her still warn temperature. He smiled softly, glad she wasn't getting worse.

Antonio reached over and grabbed Lovino's hand, holding it across the children, "I love you … so much … I know you're not too happy about this, but it's for the best."

"I know, bastard." Lovino closed his eyes, giving Antonio's hand a squeeze, "I love you, too and these babies … besides … I think it might be good for them to have a similar, less pampered lifestyle I had. I wasn't raised on silver spoons and I turned out better than you, pampered brat." he grinned at Antonio's mock hurt expression.

"That hurt, Lovi~!" he smiled and ran his hand over Lovino's cheek, "Sleep well … we have to leave early tomorrow if we're going to make it to the refugee camp on time."

Lovino nodded and fell into a light sleep.

The camp was like nothing that Lovino expected. He'd honestly thought he'd find people gathered together around fires and sleeping under the stars, but long tents filled with cots were placed everywhere. Small, family size and single size tents were also put up. It was like being in a small village. People were trading blankets for food and clothes for water.

Though Illonian was the main language spoken, a few were speaking accented Sverran. Lovino had no problem conversing with the few people he talked to. Their lodging for the next who knows how long, was a decent sized tent. Inside was an actual bed and several other things to make life easier for the royals.

Romana and Tristán seemed to fit right in with many of the other children (since several groups also followed the white gown traditions), though Lovino was disinclined to let the one year old babies play with anyone their age as of yet. Tristán was weak against illness and Romana … she barely got along with her brother.

It was their first night in the refugee camp and Lovino was walking around with the twins on each hip. Antonio had mentioned it would probably be better if Lovino went out and began getting to know a few of the people and talk to them, become personal with the men and women he would be living and hiding among and helping.

"Oh! Your majesty!" he turned to the old woman speaking to him in Illonian. She smiled, "Thank you for giving us a place to stay and helping us escape the horrors that plague Illonia. You have given us hope."

"Uh … you're welcome …" he smiled in embarrassment.

The woman smiled at the children, "Would you like to join my family and me for dinner? We've made plenty for you and your children as well."

It had been about nine or ten years since Lovino had eaten authentic Illonian meals and his mouth watered lightly, "I don't want to impose, especially since food is so sparse."

"Nonsense!" she laughed, startling Romana and Tristán with her musical laughter, "This place is actually flourishing right now and we'd be honoured to have one of the men responsible for our luck to dinner!"

He nodded and followed her to a rather large gathering. It was obvious that the family wasn't actually related, but he was greeted to the circle and many of them expressed gratitude for everything he'd done to help them.

Tristán and Romana sat in his lap, on each knee and when he was passed a rather large plate of eggplant parmigiana, one of his old favorites. He smiled and thanked them, before sinking his teeth into warm memories of sitting at a large table with Feliciano and their grandfather eating the very same meal. He smiled and speared a small bite and placed it at Romana's lips. She took the bite and chewed while Tristán received his bite. He was proud to introduce them to authentic Illonian food.

They ate the meal up and were even given a little bit to feed the twins later.

"So, how did you enjoy the food?" a young woman smiled, sitting next to him.

Lovino looked up, "Just like grandfather used to make." he sighed sadly, missing the old man. He hated that he'd left them so early, almost ruining his and Feliciano's life, but he did miss those nights they were all together, more.

"Your grandfather knew how to make good eggplant?"

"Yeah. He was one of the best, taught me and my brother. I miss my home in Illonia, but I'm sure it's long gone by now."

"You're Illonian?" the old woman sat down, "I'd heard rumors that Sverran's queen had come from Illonia, but you know how out of hand news gets sometimes."

"Oh? Yeah, Illonian from birth, but unfortunately I haven't been back once since I left." he stated sadly, remembering his brother.

"Such a sad fate had fallen over Illonia … you are lucky to have escaped and made such a wonderful life for yourself. Hopefully, things will be getting better now that you and the king have taken action." Lovino nodded. He picked up the children and carefully made his way to their new 'home'. Antonio was sitting at the little desk and viewing some message he'd probably received from Francis about helping keep an eye on the castle with the soldiers he'd stationed there.

"Lovi?" Antonio smiled, turning around, "How was walking around?"

Lovino shrugged and set the twins on the floor to play, "I met a nice family. They fed us and thanked us for helping out the way we have …" The Sverran queen sat down in a chair beside Antonio's.

He grabbed Lovino's hand, "You should probably get some sleep. The real work begins tomorrow."

The queen rolled his eyes, but kissed Antonio's forehead and went to feed the babies before putting them to bed in the cribs they had been supplied with.

He lied down in the bed and tried to get comfortable in the foreign sheets. Not long after some tossing and turning, Antonio climbed into the bed as well and wrapped his arms around Lovino, "Good night, Lovi, I love you."

"I love you, too …" Lovino sighed, curling up against Antonio's chest, both falling into a nice sleep.

TBC

~Lady Pyrien