Applying for college is a pain in the ass. Being an adult is going to suck. But I've put it off long enough I suppose. Though how much you wanna bet even when I start college I'll still be an immature child most of the time, JUST TRY AND MAKE AN ADULT OUT OF ME, YOU'LL HAVE TO TAKE ME KICKING AND SCREAMING.

Anyways, enough of my ranting, on to the chapter!

Chapter 11

Feliks gasped seeing Arthur at the entrance. The room was silent. Roderich's jaw dropped at the sight and Elizaveta, much like everyone else, was speechless. The smile on Alfred's face grew as the long lost prince came inside, walking down the grand staircase. Passing by the chamberlain, the fake Arthur winked at the Polish man. Toris recognized him from Ivan's illusion the previous day. Feliks however didn't pay much attention to the surprise guest, as he was too distraught thinking that he had indeed missed someone on the guest list, not knowing that this person was not actually formally invited.

"Well it's not the milkman..." muttered Feliks.

Elizaveta made her way to the front of the crowd to get a better look. Of course everyone knew who this person looked like, but it was hard to believe that it could really be him. The queen knew that by the look on Alfred's face, this must be the one he intended on marrying.

"It can't be..."

She squeezed through her guests trying to find Roderich. When she found him she gripped his arm and shook him around a little. "Do you know him?" "No, I-" Elizaveta shook the musician more. "Oh come on, I know Alfred confides in you, who is it?!" "I promise, I've never seen him before! But...he does look quite a bit like..." Roderich let his sentence hang, almost as if saying the missing prince's name would make this situation more real and not like a dream. "But it couldn't be...could it?" the queen questioned. Of course they wanted to believe it was him, but it seemed so unrealistic. The prince had been missing for months after an attack where his father had died. So naturally it would be thought that he himself had also died.

The false Arthur came up to Alfred, smiling at his fiance. Alfred let out a sigh of relief as he grinned back. "I was starting to get worried. I almost thought.."

"Nothing could keep me away."

With a snap of Alfred's fingers, the music started up again. He pulled the smaller male closer with one hand on the other's waist, his other hand holding 'Arthur's gently. Alfred led him around the dance floor, a little surprised his fiance went along so easily.

"If I die during your crazy mission, I will come back as a ghost and haunt you," Francis complained as he prepped himself to jump into the moat.

"Yeah yeah, sure. So Toni will lure the gators away while you jump in and find the hole in the wall."

"If the alligators don't eat me before I can get to it."

"Don't worry, just scream and Toni will rush to your rescue."

Francis just rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, the turtle will rush to save me."

"Yup, that's the awesome me's plan!"

"Suddenly I feel so much more confident," the French frog said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

But Gilbert just ignored it and gave out orders. "Good, now stretch out. You ready, Antonio?"

"Ready," answered the turtle from the water. He splashed around and taunted the gators, getting their attention. "Hey, over here! Bet you can't catch me!" Then he swam away as they chased him. With the threat momentarily distracted, Francis got ready to run.

"On your mark, get set...go!"

Francis leaped forward, making a jump for the water.

"Faster, faster!" Gilbert tried to encourage.

"I'm not so eager to race to my death!" Sadly one of the gators noticed Francis and went after him instead. The frog skidded to a stop at the edge of the water, throwing him off balance and causing him to fall into the moat. "Ahh!" He tried to climb back out but kept slipping. Just before the beast with large teeth could eat him, Francis jumped out of the way, and the gator slammed face first into the moat's wall. Antonio sped by, quite fast in the water.

"Get moving, slow poke."

"Slow poke?! Who are you to call me slow?"

Francis dove down underwater with now both alligators following him. But they stopped when Antonio zoomed past them, catching their attention once more. He teased and taunted, doing his best to keep the attention on himself.

"Na na na na na, you can't catch me," he called in a sing-song voice.

With the beasts distracted, Francis searched the outside wall of the dungeon, looking for a big enough hole to get through. Once he found one, he began squeezing into the crack, his legs sticking out. As Antonio passed with the gators following him, one of them noticed Francis' little green legs wiggling about and decided to try and take a snap at them. In his attempt, he slammed into the wall, giving Francis that extra push he needed to get to the other side of the wall. He popped out the other side and out of the water, bouncing off the walls a couple times until he caught on a chain hanging on the wall.

Arthur and Lovino were startled to see the frog suddenly. "Francis?"

"Oui, to the rescue," said the frog before falling back into the water.

Outside the dungeon in a tree by the moat, Gilbert sat on a branch looking down into the water waiting for Antonio to give him the signal. Just then the turtle shot out of the water and spun around before landing back in. The signal.

"Time for me to show off my awesome diving skills!"

Now that Francis had found a way in, it was Toni's job to help make the hole bigger. While he was busy with that, it was now Gilbert's turn to distract the gators. He dove into the water in a swan dive (haha) and waved his wings around gaining their attention.

"Hey! You don't want that turtle. How about something a little more awesome? Like me!"

With the gators chasing Gilbert, Antonio was free to dig the hole bigger on one side while Francis pulled stones aside on the other. When the hole in the wall was big enough for Toni to get through, they deemed it large enough for Arthur to fit through, too. Francis swam back up to the surface.

"We broke through, let's go!"

"Thank you, Francis...I just might kiss you when this is all over."

Francis thought maybe he imagined it. But when he realized it was real, he whooped with joy. "Woohoo!"

Arthur swam to Lovino, who was still holding onto the chain on the wall, and tugged on his sleeve. "Follow us out when you think it's safe."

Lovino just nodded, pretty freaked out that animals were talking. Even when he figured out that it was Arthur, it still weirded him out.

The swan prince took a deep breath and dove underwater. He swam to the hole where Antonio was looking out to see if the coast was clear. The alligators were still chasing Gilbert, perfect. "Alright, let's go."

Antonio went first, then Francis. As soon as Arthur swam out behind the frog, one of the gators made a snap for his tail. "Ah!" When Arthur passed Antonio, the turtle bit down on the tail of the gator chasing him. That soon earned him a face full of sharp teeth, a growl passing by them. Antonio smiled and said nervously, "Amigos call me Toni.."

When the second alligator went for Arthur's tail feathers as he made it out of the water, Gilbert scratched the beast in the snout with his talons. Finally free, Arthur took to the skies towards Alfred's castle.

While Alfred and 'Arthur' danced to the song Alfred had requested from Roderich earlier that day, the taller prince couldn't help but think that something was different about the other. He appeared too calm for the situation. Sure, Alfred was happy that Arthur was able to forget the bad things while they danced, but it wasn't like him. He didn't know how Arthur managed to escape that evil man to be here tonight and he didn't seem worried that the enchanter might come looking for him. "Something seems different about you."

The fake Arthur may have seemed calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside Toris was starting to panic. He didn't feel good at all about what he was doing, the loving looks Alfred gave him made his heart ache, but he couldn't disobey Ivan. He knew what the sorcerer was capable of and knew that he wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he didn't do this. He had to do whatever it took to keep the prince believing he was Arthur. Toris stopped their dancing to dig into his pocket, pulling out the golden swan locket Ivan had giving him after taking it from the poor cursed prince. He hoped that having the necklace would prove without a doubt that he was Arthur.

"Don't worry. Tonight, everything is perfect," he tried to reassure with a smile.

Alfred smiled at the sight of the locket. He took it from the other and clasped it around 'Arthur's neck. "Of course." It was enough to put Alfred at ease, not being one who could read the atmosphere very well. Alfred held the other's hand again and continued their dance. As they moved past Roderich the prince said to him, "Roderich, I want to make an announcement. Stop the music."

Arthur flew as fast as he could, he was close enough he could see the brightly lit castle.

As the music stopped, Alfred guided his love to the center of the room where everyone could see and hear him.

When the swan reached the castle, he came to a large window looking in at the ball room. He breathed heavily, never having flown with such urgency before, even when he was leading Alfred back to Swan Lake. When he spotted Alfred inside, he gasped, shocked to see someone who looked exactly like himself standing next to him.

"Kings and queens, ladies and gentlemen, mother.." Elizaveta was tearing up with happiness. "I have an announcement to make."

Arthur tried to get his attention. "Alfred, no! It's a trick!" But he couldn't be heard through the glass.

"I have found my bride! I present him to you as the future queen of our kingdom." The guests clapped with excitement and joy at the news. As he continued, he turned his back to the window Arthur was tapping.

By now Arthur was panting not with exhaustion, but with panic. He was beginning to hyperventilate. He flew around to another window trying to catch Alfred's eye. But every time he came close to Alfred's field of vision, the older prince was turned away or distracted by his double.

Alfred continued his speech, oblivious to the frantic swan outside. In the presence of the representatives of the world, he was ready to make his vow. "As proof of my love for him, I make a vow to break all vows..."

Arthur flew around the castle, trying to find another opening to get inside. An open window, an unlocked door, anything. When he had no luck breaking in, he returned to the ball room window, his mind racing trying to think of what to do.

"A vow stronger than all the powers of the earth, before you and before the whole world, I make a vow of everlasting love..."

"ALFRED!" Arthur screamed as loud as he could, desperate to be heard.

"...to Arthur," said the prince as he gestured to the false Arthur next to him. The wrong prince.

"NO!" As soon as Alfred finished making his vow, Arthur felt a pain in his chest. He felt like he was being ripped open, like this heart was being torn into two pieces. He knew this must be it. He was dying.

Okay so there should only be two chapters left, the next one and the epilogue chapter. I know I've said it before, but then Thanksgiving came around and I made the previous chapter shorter than I wanted to, yada yada yada. Anyways, this is almost over.

I'll see you all next week, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review!