Chapter 24

After the five minute mark, the other group returned, finding everyone there. Half of the soldiers were unconscious, Sasha with them, while the girls just stood, staring in shock.

Natalia had watched the way they'd worked together. They were a well rounded group, and worked well together. She wondered if she'd be allowed to join them. After all, this was the whole reason she'd decided to try out alone.

Ivan held Arthur in his arms as the soldiers who were still conscious stood around the bodies lined up on the floor. Nikolai sat in his throne, staring below at the men with a chuckle, knowing it must have been an interesting fight. Not only had they gotten Sasha, but the girl group looked to be on the verge of tears.

"I think a clear winner has stood out." Ivan spoke. "Girls, your group is good, but it's very physical, without the strategy or magic their group uses. Thank you for your time." Ivan nodded to the group, who bowed low before turning and knocking on the door, awaiting the bar to be removed so they could leave. "Natalia, your strength with weapons is something I don't know if I've seen before. Would you be willing to join with the others?"

"Yes, your Majesty." She smiled as she bowed low.

Ivan turned back to the group. "Antonio was right. I joined the boot camp to keep an eye on Arthur. I was Piotr, and as Ivan, I want you to treat me the same way." He waved them all closer. Gilbert, having already heard this, sat comfortably at the top of the stairs and leaned back, smiling. "I don't want you to be all reserved. I want you to openly greet me. Call me Ivan, not your Majesty or anything like that. We're friends here, not just working together." He watched as the group around him nodded, smiles coming to their faces. "Don't treat Ivan any different than you did Piotr." He watched as they all nodded. "Congratulations, you've all made it as my Assassin's Squad."

A collective cheer ran through the group as they high fived and hugged each other. "Tonight, we'll celebrate, after Arthur and Vladimir have rested up a little bit." He smiled as he stood and took the group down a back hallway. They went up a few flights of stairs before a large hallway laid out before them. "Welcome to your new home." He turned to the group with a grin. "There are bedrooms on either side of the hallway here. These are yours. Use them as you see fit. You can use all of them, or do what you did in school and only use four. In the end, it's your decision, just remember what room you're in, alright?" He smiled as the group nodded. "Follow me." He turned back to the stairs, taking them up one more flight. "This is the main rooms. Arthur and myself will have the room on the right." He turned, seeing Natalia blush at the comment. "The first room on the right is Sasha's, the room behind it belongs to Nikolai. Are there any questions?"

"Do our rooms have bathrooms?" Antonio asked and Ivan nodded.

"Each has a bathroom similar in setup to the ones at the school, only with two of each, and a little more privacy." He smiled as they sighed in relief. "For the ones who were at the school, you have until sunset to rest and get your belongings into the castle. At sunset, we hold a party to welcome you. You will be expected to dress nicely. If you don't have appropriate clothing, let me know."

The whole group, save Natalia and Vladimir, raised their hands. She rolled her eyes as Ivan smiled.

"I'll have something made up for you then within a couple of hours. Go and explore your rooms." He turned to his room, knowing Arthur needed to rest.

He walked into the room, laying the other carefully on the bed with a smile. Arthur was his now. He would be knighted tonight, and after that...

Ivan smiled as he sat, pulling off his boots and laying his coat on the hook near the door. He slid off Arthur's jacket and pulled off his boots as well before laying down beside him. He closed his eyes and drifted off, having not been able to sleep the night before without that warmth at his side.

When he awoke, he could tell that hours had passed. Arthur was awake, though he hadn't moved. "Dobroe utro, lubyov'." Ivan smiled softly as Arthur shifted, bringing his lips up to greet Ivan's.

"Good morning, love." He smiled, watching as Ivan sat up and stretched, before doing so himself. "We're probably late, you know."

"I'll find a way. Come." He crawled from the bed and showed Arthur to the bathroom. It was larger than Arthur expected. A large bath, big enough for both of them sat in the corner of the room, marble pillars stretched to the ceiling. A large mirror shone on the wall, polished silver. Another set of showers were off to the side of the bath and Arthur turned, an eyebrow arched.

"You already had two showers in your personal room?"

"Da, I had the second put in last week." Ivan blushed. "No matter the situation, I wasn't planning to let you escape." He watched as Arthur smiled.

After a shower, they were dressed in fine robes. Ivan grabbed something he hadn't worn in a while and had Sasha help with the magic to shrink it down to his size, while similar things happened with the rest of the group. Sasha, realizing Ivan was dead to the world, called in a shop to make some outfits quickly. They added a little flair to Ivan's old suit and everything was finished about an hour before the ball was to start. Ivan made his way through the kitchen, finding the new girls were, if nothing else, efficient. The food was good, thanks to the recipe books, and it looked good as well. He made his way to the basement, finding Roderich still in the beginning stages of training Elizabeta.

"Elizabeta, I thought I'd let you know, your brother made it to the Assassin's Squad. He'll be living in the castle as well." He smiled as the girl's eyes widened, a smile breaking across her face.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Now, there will be none of that." Ivan sighed, Arthur giggling at his side. "It's just Ivan, alright?"

"Yes, Ivan." She smiled softly with a curtsy.

"Your Highness," Roderich spoke, making Ivan roll his eyes. "She won't be ready for tonight. I hope you realize this. She still has weeks of training."

"That's fine." Ivan smiled. "I'd still like you both to attend. It's a big celebration, after all, and I'm sure she'd like to congratulate her brother." He watched as she nodded.

"I already have the perfect dress, as well!" She cheered and Roderich smiled, watching her excitement.

"In that case, would you allow me to escort you, my lady?" Roderich bowed low, extending his hand and she nodded, a blush coming to her cheeks as she took his hand.

"I would be delighted, Sir Edelstein."

As Ivan walked through the halls, back to the ballroom, Arthur smiled. "It's good to see we're not the only ones with a new romance." He smiled, watching as Ivan nodded.

The ballroom was in the middle of preparations. Nikolai oversaw the work, the maids as well as a few soldiers working hard to set up the tables in the throne room, as well as add some decorations. A smaller fountain now stood in the center of the room, lights coming from the pool at the bottom. It was only about ten foot around, but it was beautiful. "That's amazing!" Arthur spoke as he watched the water shoot about five foot into the air from a flower.

"It's something my father made. He was an amazing magician, and loved doing things like this. What do you see in the center of the fountain?"

"It's a rose, isn't it?" Arthur asked and Ivan shrugged.

"For you. For me, it's a bear." Ivan turned, seeing the surprise on Arthur's face. "It shows something that represents you. My family's crest carries a bear. Yours must have a rose."

"But... I don't have a family." Arthur spoke and Ivan stilled, realizing.

"I wonder why you see a rose, then?" He looked at the fountain. "Interesting."

"Oi, Ivan?" He heard and looked up, seeing the group come in, their outfits looking magnificent on them. "What do you think? I look awesome, right?" Gilbert grinned as he walked closer and Ivan eyed the group.

"You all look wonderful. Perfect for the night. Where's Natalia, though?" Ivan asked just before she ran into the room.

"I'm here, Ivan." She wore a blue ball gown, reaching the floor. Layers of petticoats puffed her dress, her sleeves cut from the elbow down nearly reached the floor, exposing the layers of lace within. It was a low cut dress, showing a bit of cleavage, but it wasn't too much. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, a few delicate curls framed her perfectly.

"Mademoiselle, Tu es très belle ce soir. Maybe you'd be willing to save me a dance?" Francis bowed low as Natalia stepped away in disgust.

"I'll... consider it." She spoke softly, but it was easy to see she'd find a way out of it.

Gilbert chuckled, sliding his arm over Francis' shoulder. "Looks like you're stuck with me, ja?"

"It's a good place to be stuck, though." Francis smiled, not the eye catching, brilliant smile he normally used when out and about, but something a bit softer as he leaned his head back against Gilbert's shoulder.

Sasha came in, dressed in a thick tan coat, similar to the one Ivan normally wore. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck, but instead of the pinkish tone Ivan's had, Sasha's was a pale blue. Arthur looked over, realizing Nikolai wore the same suit in black. "Why are your outfits identical?" He asked as he looked up. "Even Nikolai has the same outfit on, only in a different color."

"It's the royal family's outfit. Something the guards a few generations back thought would be a good idea." Ivan rolled his eyes. "Personally I like it, but I think the outfit doesn't quite suit my brothers."

"He means Nikolai." Sasha teased as Nikolai yelled from the other side of the room.

"I look better in this outfit than both of you." He walked up, offering a slight twirl as he reached the dais.

"You look good, Niko." Ivan patted his head, an affectionate smile plastered on him.

"I'm not five anymore, you know." He grumbled as he straightened his hair. Sasha offered a light smile as they looked around.

"Somehow, I never thought I'd see the day this happened." He smiled, looking down at Ivan. "You've come a long way, little brother." He watched as Ivan looked up with a nod.

"So have you. I still think it's funny we're both the king, but no one seems to even remember." Ivan brushed the shoulder of Sasha's coat, admiring the tan material over him and Sasha chuckled.

"They couldn't revoke it, after all. The kingship wasn't the City Council's, after all. All they can do is complain and try and drive me mad. It's not much of a surprise, it's already too late for that." He smirked as he turned, looking over the room.

"You don't strike me as mad." Arthur smiled, patting his shoulder with care.

"That's because all you've really seen of me is my personality at school. You'll all learn quite quickly, I'm not quite what I appear to be." He winked at Arthur, who stared back a little dumbstruck at the comment.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" The group turned, seeing Elizabeta walk in with Roderich.

"Beta!" Vladimir ran up, hugging her and she could only giggle as she hugged him back. "I'm so glad to see you're alright!"

"And who is this?" Roderich eyed the boy over.

"Vladimir Popescu, meet Roderich Edelstein. Roderich works in the castle as the etiquette instructor. Vladimir's my little brother. He's on the Assassin's Squad." She beamed with pride, looking over her brother, his dresscoat reaching near the ground, brown leather gloves and boots added a touch of color to the red attire.

"You look beautiful, Beta. A tad much for a maid, Da?"

"I've been promoted to a lady of the court." She chuckled, a bright smile lighting her face. "I helped defend the castle from the invaders. It was only about ten I was able to take out, but all I had was a skillet!" She chirped and they all shared a laugh. Roderich smiled, looking over her. He was surprised to find himself jealous when she'd hugged the other, but finding it was her brother, the feeling vanished.

"If you're on the Assassin's squad, I'll be teaching you all as well. It'll be a pleasure working with you." Roderich smiled.

"She's my precious little sister. Watch yourself around her, Da?" Vladimir's eyes narrowed at the man, who nodded a little surprised.

"A little protective for a little brother, isn't he?" Roderich spoke up and Elizabeta patted his head, causing Vladimir to groan, trying to straighten it back out.

"Ja, but it's saved my life once already. I couldn't complain." She smiled, watching as Vladimir shone. He was just happy she was alright.

"Saved your life?" Roderich looked at her, surprised as she nodded.

"Ja, and Father will be here tonight, won't he?" She sighed. "It'll be interesting when he discovers I didn't run away. Could you let the king know so he doesn't get caught unaware of the situation?" She asked, looking up at the man standing and talking with the others. She was, whether he liked it or not, intimidated by him.

"Da, I can. You should come talk to him as well. He's actually really nice once you get to know him." Vladimir smiled. "He was in Boot Camp with me, and we hung out a lot in the last week, since you came here." He watched as both the others stared at him, surprised.

"Your Highness," Roderich spoke as he walked over, Ivan cringing at the title Roderich refused to drop. "Is it true you were in Boot Camp for the last six weeks? Is that where you were?"

"I had to keep an eye on this one." Ivan patted Arthur on the head. "Also, it keeps me from getting rusty, Da? Training is important." He smiled, looking down over Elizabeta, who looked downright terrified. "It's just a party. Relax. It's for fun."

"My... father will be here." She spoke. "After he tried to sell me off, he'll be upset this is where I am, your Highness." She spoke softly.

"Ivan. And I already figured I'd have to deal with that. It's fine." He waved it off, a smile at the corner of his mouth. "He won't dare to complain." Ivan glanced up, looking as the maids started clearing the room, just as the cooks started bringing out trays of supplies, napkins and silverware, plates and cups. "This will be our first ball since Father passed away, won't it?" He asked as Sasha smiled and nodded.

"Took us long enough." He glanced over at Ivan who grinned, grasping Arthur in his arms.

He spun with the other in his arms, fighting to escape before leaning down, so Arthur's feet touched the ground. "As your first ball, I insist you save me a dance."

"If you insist." He smiled as he leaned up, giving him a soft kiss.

"Oh!" Elizabeta stared, her eyes wide at the scene before her.

"You shouldn't look at such crude behavior." Roderich frowned, turning away from the couple. Elizabeta turned to Roderich, wondering if she'd get the same sensation from him kissing another man. It wasn't something seen every day, after all, and somehow it was more exciting than she expected.

Or maybe she should just kiss him herself, she thought.

"Vlad, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" She asked, grabbing his hand and ran to the hallway behind the room. "I know I'll never get it from father, I'm disowning him, as he will me tonight, so you're the only man in my life. You're the only family I have left." She grasped his hands. "I'm really starting to like Roderich. He's very kind and caring-"

"And pretty..." Vladimir crossed his arms, arching an eyebrow as she flustered, turning pink under his gaze.

"He is, but... he's very kind to me." She grasped his hand. "I'm not asking for permission to marry, maybe only to flirt? Court even, if he's interested."

"He is." Vladimir rolled his eyes. "He was practically shooting daggers at me til you said I was your brother." He watched as she waited, softly panicking. "Nothing too much. If I hear your pregnant I'll kill him." Vladimir sighed, holding his head to his hand. "Kissing, nothing more, understood?"

"Ja, Danke, brother!" She hugged him as she nearly danced back out to the throne room. Vladimir watched as she walked up to him, asking him to a dance after the ball started, and he couldn't help but smile as he bowed low, kissing her hand as he accepted.

An orchestra came in, setting up behind Sasha's throne, and Nikolai moved the throne between Ivan's and his own, so the band could be seen. When he saw a piano brought out Roderich nearly cried.

"I forgot. I'll buy you one tomorrow, Da?" Ivan patted him on the back as Roderich nodded.

"Maybe they'll let me play a song tonight." Roderich smiled, wondering if Elizabeta would enjoy his playing. He let a soft smile tug up the corner of his mouth and Ivan laughed, patting him on the back.

"Looks like romance is running rampant in my castle, da?"

"Ja, Your Majesty. It certainly seems like it." Roderich stared, seeing Feliciano hug Ludwig, and Francis kiss Gilbert's cheek. "In a slightly insane way."

The food was brought out, the last platter laid just as the entry doors swung open, allowing passage of the first guests. "Welcome to the castle! Enjoy the evening!" Ivan grinned as he greeted them at the door.

The first guests were Elizabeta's father and his wife, Vladimir's mother. When their eyes settled on the woman settled on the stage, still chatting animatedly with Roderich, the father started as if to tear her from the building.

"You can't remove her." Ivan spoke in a calm, but dark tone.

"She's my daughter! I'll do as I damned well want!" He yelled as he tried to tear his shoulder from Ivan's grip, but failed.

"She's serving as a worker in my castle for an attempt on the life of one of my beloved knights. If you want her free, you'll have to offer your life in exchange." Ivan glared and the man turned, staring.

"An attempt on the life... She's here as a prison sentence." His eyes widened. "She was the reason we were called in last week." He stared as Ivan nodded.

"No, your highness, in that situation, I'm disowning her. She's yours to do with as you please." He stood, straightening out his outfit, trying to calm himself.

"Such kindness. Disowning your own daughter, allowing her to stay a prisoner of the castle, even when I said you could take her place." Ivan glared at the man who sputtered, turning red in anger at the insinuation as well as in embarrassment. "You must have really loved her."

"I loved her mother. That was all." He stated as he turned back to his wife, who stared, her eyes narrowed at him.

"You just left her like that... I'll take her place, if your highness allows." She bowed low and Ivan smiled, patting her softly on the back.

"I don't think that would be wise, considering your husband had promised her hand already to one who killed his last wife. I feel maybe she's safer here, and since he has disowned her, and her brother is a resident of the castle as well, he'll be the one to say how far her new romance can reach, Da?" He watched as she laughed, softly touching Roderich's hand. "I'd say it looks promising so far."

"They really do look happy." She smiled. "Regardless of my useless husband, who I'll have a talk to later about agreeing to that abomination of a proposal," Her eyes shifted to him for a moment as he cringed, knowing she told him from the first moment to say no, "If he proposes, tell Vladimir I said she should follow her heart." She smiled and Ivan bowed.

"What kind words, My Lady. I'll be happy to belay the message, if you don't tell him yourself first." Ivan glanced over the room, seeing Vladimir still glaring at the couple before pointing him out to the woman at his side. "Go and enjoy the ball, My Lady. There is much for you to celebrate, after all."