Waking up came reasonably easy. Alfred wanted to make the most of the day so with a genius move, Matthew suggested leaving all the curtains open so that when morning came - the natural light would wake them up. Alfred wanted to complain as he tried to cling to sleep for as long as possible, but eventually, he groaned and kicked off the thick covers as the intrusive light pierced his eyelids.
He stumbled around with his eyes half closed to preserve sleep and ducked into the bathroom to splash his face with water. The water was cold and made him flinch, but was successful in making his surroundings come into sharp clarity as slowly the light went from 'scorching' to 'tolerable'.
Alfred waltzed back into the bedroom and as he passed the big window overlooking the front garden and driveway, he noticed Arthur's advisors were floating around and chatting around a fancy-looking car, seemingly waiting for something... or someone.
"Hey Mattie," Alfred asked as he stared down, trying to figure out what was going on. The lead advisor made brief, accidental eye contact but hastily looked away before Alfred could wave. Weirdo. "Is Arthur 'sposed to be doin' something today?"
Alfred waited for a reply but didn't get one. There was a possibility that Matthew just ignored him. Sometimes he did that if he believed Alfred asked a "stupid question", or if the answer was obvious.
"Yeah, of course he's doing something. He's a busy Lord or whatever," Alfred rambled and leaned on the window as he stared at Matthew. His brother was still a lump under the covers but Alfred had no idea how he was still sleeping. It was so bright in here!
"You're not dead are you?" Alfred said as he approached. Matthew didn't respond, probably because that was a stupid question.
"Are you sleeping or ignor- Hey!" Alfred gasped as he saw Matthew had somehow acquired an eye mask and was still sleeping soundly, swaddled with the blankets and curled around the pillow.
"Are you actually serious!?"
"What?" Matthew groaned as he stirred.
"Uh, hello? Good morning?" Alfred swiped the mask off of his brother's face, who squinted and weakly tried to shield himself from the sudden bright light.
Matthew let out an unintelligible groan and shoved his face into the pillow.
"What happened to waking up early?" Alfred criticised, feeling betrayed.
"You wanted to," Matthew argued.
"And you agreed!" Alfred exclaimed. "We both agreed we didn't want to waste the whole day away! We're in a literal 'nother country, when in Rome do as the Romans or something!"
"We were up at one last night... five more minutes..." Matthew cut himself off with a yawn and Alfred threw his hands up.
"Fine! But just so you know you're my least favourite brother," Alfred said snidely as he paced back to the window.
"Ditto."
"Hey no-! Oh shit, Arthur's going somewhere."
"He's running for Prime Minister, of course he's busy."
"Damn, how cool is that though? Imagine if he gets in! Then our dad would literally be running a whole country!" Alfred sucked in a breath as he realised what that would mean. "But wouldn't that mean he's too busy? If the Prime Minister is the President, then... no, the President still has a family and all that, so he'd still have time for fun, right."
"Yeah, probably," Matthew said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, having given up on gaining any extra rest. He grabbed his glasses, silently pushed the covers off and moved to see out of the window.
"These look like they can open," Matthew suggested and Alfred jumped.
"Fuck, Mattie, again with the teleporting! Stop being so sneaky!"
"Not my fault you probably damaged your hearing listening to music so loud," Matthew retorted and flicked the latch on the window.
"Yeah, but you're so quiet! Seriously, have you considered becoming an assassin?"
"I don't think I can do that through college," Matthew shrugged and pushed the window open, letting fresh air in.
"Yeah... I guess that's true," Alfred said in a normal voice before leaning out the window and hollering, "Good morning Arthur!"
Arthur jolted and turned the noise and Alfred waved as big as he could, practically unhinging his arm in the process.
"You going to work or something?" Alfred yelled.
"Well, um, yes," Arthur, taken off guard, failed to respond for a moment. He didn't want to shout back, but there wasn't an alternative and he wasn't about to ignore his son. However, he found he didn't have to shout for his voice to reach so Alfred really didn't need to either. But from what he's gathered about the boy so far, it's that he's oblivious to how his own voice sounds.
"That reminds me," Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "We must get an outfit sorted for you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? What's happening tomorrow?"
Arthur tried not to cringe at such a brash, loud tone. He saw Matthew standing beside his brother, his hair a mess and not quite as alert as he usually was, but even now he seemed immune to Alfred's tone.
"Ball at the Orwoods'," Arthur explained. "Appearances, hands to shake, business. It's routine for me I suppose. Though you might find it more interesting by merit of novelty."
"There'll be food, right? Then we're all set!" Alfred reassured cheerfully.
"Just make sure you're ready on time," Matthew muttered.
"Yeah, yeah, lesson learnt," Alfred defended.
"I can help them find an outfit!" Came Clarissa's voice and the twins leaned out of the window to see her leaning out of the one next to them.
"Not happening," Alfred grumbled.
"Now, we know that won't be a good idea," Glynnis said from the opposite side. "I have just the thing at my designers, darling. I'll have it put in your room, it's absolutely ravishing."
"Who unironically describes clothes as ravishing?" Alfred laughed to Matthew, who snickered.
"Excellent, I'm glad that's sorted," Arthur smiled. "Thank you, Glynnis. I'm counting on you and Clarissa to give the boys some pointers."
Then with a curt wave, he stepped into the car. Alfred spared a suspicious glance both ways before closing the windows and exaggeratedly locking them.
"Yeah, I don't think we're getting any pointers from Clarissa," he rolled his eyes. "We looked like plonkers -whatever the fuck that is- because she tricked us!"
"Yeah, it's obvious Clarissa doesn't like us. I guess I can see why, at least from her perspective. We just show up and now there's three of us and one Arthur... maybe she feels threatened."
"You're way too nice if you give a shit about why she's being mean. And it's too bad she has to be a dick, wouldn't it have been nice to have a stepsibling! I mean, we have Yao and Kiku but the more the merrier, right?"
"Yeah, shame."
"Maybe it's because we're not British?" Alfred pondered. "I mean, we got some weird looks at the fashion thing, but that could've just been our outfits. But I heard some people saying we're American like it's derogatory, so maybe Clarissa doesn't like us cus we're cool Americans - North Americans and she's unfortunately, Bri'ish."
"Maybe it could be a class thing. She might think we don't belong here."
"Cus we're not fancy pants British..." Alfred tutted and shook his head. "If she wants to mess with us at least we know how far she can go. Oh well, it's only one person we gotta look out for. One dumb, immature and stunted plonker."
Matthew thought about bringing up the strange vibes from the fiance and advisory council, but he could rationalise those thoughts away. It's a confronting change for Glynnis, who up until now was confident in her union with their father. Adding two extra children would probably skew the balance. As for the advisors, they wanted Arthur to do his best in the election, which meant controlling public perception of him to the best of their ability.
He'd just have to keep tabs on it. He wasn't distrusting by nature, if anything he always saw the better in people and sometimes gave them more chances than they deserved. It balanced out Alfred's scorched-earth attitude, anyone who crossed him was always and forever a bad guy in his books.
But at the same time, Matthew knew how blind his brother could be sometimes, wrapped up in his own little world he was sometimes like a horse with blinders. While they were two separate people, more often than not they operated as a unit. So if Alfred was oblivious to other's intentions, then it was up to Matthew to try and work them out.
So it was both curiosity and obligation that made him wonder what had Clarissa acting the way she was.
They didn't say anything when Glynnis handed them some clothes each and insisted in such a lovely tone that these clothes would 'suit them very well' and then ushered them to get changed.
They wasted no time changing in their room. The clothes fit, but the moment they looked at each other and then in the mirror, they knew something was off.
"Okay, I don't know shit about fancy suits," Alfred said as he glared at the outfit. "But even I can tell this is fucking ugly."
Matthew nodded. He couldn't exactly name what was wrong with the clothes, other than he definitely agreed with his brother's assessment of the vibe being that it was 'for old people', the fabric was 'like an old rug' and its design 'looked like curtains'.
What confirmed the twins' suspicions about the clothes was when Clarissa barged in and failed to withhold giggles. Clearly there was something wrong with the suits if it caused Clarissa to laugh without prompt.
Or maybe it was their discomfort, but Matthew didn't feel like the devil's advocate could win this when he already knew the truth. He could tell Alfred was already getting pissed off, so Matthew kept his face impassive, trusting that Alfred would handle it. And of course 'handle it' meant 'scorched earth'. Clarissa should've never let him know that she was an enemy.
"Arthur said to give you some pointers, didn't he?" Clarissa said like it had just occurred to her. "Here's pointer number one, go home. Mother and I belong here and it's quite clear that you just don't fit in."
Alfred withheld a giggle and Clarissa's face morphed into annoyance that they were challenging her. Matthew mentally noted that his theory of classism was correct.
"Pointer number two, while you're packing do restrain yourself from embarrassing us further. You Yankee embarrassments need to stay away from Armistead Stuart."
"Okay, who? I don't know who that guy even is, is he actually important? He can't be with a dumbass name like that!" Alfred cracked and amusement was evident in his tone. "Sorry, I just can't take you seriously. Like, you're unironically acting like a Disney bully right now. Pointer number one, gO hOmE, pffft, you actually said that out loud and thought that was a good roast? Bruh."
Clarissa went red and her mouth moved to keep talking but Alfred wasn't done, trying to withhold laughter so he could keep mocking.
"No, seriously, you could not be more black and white bully if you tried. Alright, if you took your head out of your ass you'd see that you're designer and I'm vintage-"
Matthew knew damn well that Alfred had no clue what that meant and he was just quoting a 2000's chick flick movie. It seemed that Alfred had taken this argument with Clarissa and turned it into a parody as he blew it out of proportion.
"-you've got a mansion, and, I'm not like other girls - I've got a five-floor walkup," Alfred said in a mocking tone, even if it wasn't strictly Clarissa he was mocking. Then he chuckled at his own reference. "You're snotty and I go with the flow. We are not the same. Here's a pointer for you, get over yourself! And stop trying to be my dad's daddy's little girl! Cus we ain't going anywhere!"
Clarissa glared, her eyes burning with hate as she just stomped out, apparently realising the argument was one-sided and the twins would not be pushed around.
"Buh-bye!" Alfred said and clicked his fingers, then laughed. "I can't believe she actually talks like that. How out of touch can you be?"
"You're more obnoxious," Matthew said.
"Thanks!" Alfred said, completely unironically. "So, what about these outfits? I think we could spruce them up a bit."
Well, since Alfred suggested it... Matthew definitely didn't want to wear this and Alfred would happily say it was his idea...
After brainstorming for a bit, the twins decided they needed a break and wandered outside to investigate the periodic strange noise that kept echoing from the garden.
"No way!" Alfred exclaimed and ran over to where Lady Kirkland was standing with the butler guy. "Is that a gun? I didn't know you guys were allowed to have them over here! I thought I heard gunshots but I kept telling myself it was probably fireworks or something."
Lady Kirkland lowered her weapon and the butler paused from launching targets from a machine.
"It's a rifle," Lady Kirkland corrected, "and one must have a proper license."
"Is shooting a proper British sport?" Matthew asked conversationally.
"Marksmanship is an acceptable hobby for a lady," Lord Kirkland waved for a target to be shot and lined up the rifle. "Of course, it comes with all the expected and unwanted quips, remarks and comments."
"Like what? Chicks can't aim right or something?" Alfred said as he watched intently, taking in the pose and trying to pick up the proper posture.
"Fortunately not. Usually, I get remarks about those not wishing to get on my sour side."
The twins flinched as a target was launched into the air only to be blown up by an expertly aimed bullet.
"Holy shit! That was so epic! Can I have a turn?" Alfred babbled as he had to refrain from just taking the rifle and shooting.
"Yeah, that was a good shot!" Matthew said with awe. "How long have you been doing marksmanship?"
"All my life," Lady Kirkland lowered the rifle and put the safety on. "I needed an acceptable outlet for the 'feisty Kirkland attitude', lest my demeanour become unacceptable."
Matthew tilted his head as he quickly tried to add that up.
"Kirkland is my maiden name," Lady Kirkland confirmed.
"Oooh, wait... No! Does that mean you and Grandpa were siblings!" Alfred said, completely horrified. He squawked when Matthew elbowed him for asking such a rude question... that couldn't possibly be true?
"My husband took my last name. Political reasons that I'm certain would bore you. He married into the legacy of the Kirkland family."
"Oh, that's actually kinda cool," Alfred said. "I mean, I definitely wasn't expecting that."
"It wouldn't bore us," Matthew insisted. "We'd love to hear about our family."
"Well," Lady Kirkland paused with a smile. "I'll make sure that Arthur fills the both of you in. It would be much more fitting to come from him. Everything is passed through this family, from parent to child."
There was a split second where Lady Kirkland held the rifle out, waiting for it to be taken by one of the two eager boys. Alfred and Matthew cast a side glance at the other, waiting to see who would lunge first. Usually, it was Alfred who took the lead, but there were a few instances when Matthew gave him a run for his money.
All that passed between their shared glance in less than a second and they resorted to the age-old tie-breaker of rock paper scissors.
Alfred fist-pumped when he won and was practically bouncing with energy as he took the rifle.
"First, the rules," Lady Kirkland said. "Treat a gun like it is always loaded and never point it at any living creature. Safety on when you're not aiming. Understood?"
"Hell yeah!" Alfred cheered then turned to Matthew. "I bet I can get more targets than you!"
"We'll see," Matthew's eyes were alight with the promise of competition.
"So, have you enjoyed your stay so far?" Lady Kirkland asked as she sat at a nearby table and poured herself a cup of tea from the beautiful china set waiting.
"Of course! It's been awesome!" Alfred said distractedly.
"Thanks again for letting us stay," Matthew added.
"Well, of course," Lady Kirkland gestured for Matthew to sit. He shook his head when she wordlessly offered him a beverage too. A target was launched in the air and Alfred scrambled to hit it.
"Loosen your shoulders," Lady Kirkland suggested as she sipped from her dainty teacup. "So how did you find the dress show?"
"It was alright..." Matthew flushed and averted his eyes. He could only hope Lady Kirkland hadn't heard about the disaster he and Alfred caused.
"Yeah, we had fun," Alfred said with a cheeky laugh, clearly referencing how they crashed it. "I think we embarrassed Clarissa though. Uh, before I say anything else, how exactly do you feel about her? Isn't she your granddaughter now?"
"Not legally until the wedding. As for my feelings, I can't say I don't feel very strongly for her. She can be a twit at times but fortunately, I haven't had much exposure to her. Though I do feel sorry for judging her so harshly, she's only a child and she cannot choose her family, for better or worse."
"Soooo..." Alfred started, lowering the rifle as he thought about his words carefully.
"He wants to complain about her," Matthew cleared up, "she was mean to us earlier and Alfred wants some more uh, context."
Matthew didn't have to say that he wanted the details too.
"Yeah, exactly right! So first of all, she tricks us into wearing the wrong vibe at the dress show to try and make us look dumb. I mean, we looked great but still. Then she made Arthur leave without us and-
"Actually that was Glynnis," Matthew corrected.
"Oh really? I still hate her."
"Well, she agreed though."
"Okay, so she's guilty of leaving us behind. Exactly what I thought in the first place. But does that mean that Glynnis wanted to leave us behind too?"
"We were running late," Matthew reluctantly said in their potential stepmother's defence.
"Okay, well, that's old news because today, we were trying on these ugly-ass suits - which weren't they from Glynnis? She has to know how ugly they are, there's no way she doesn't know they're ugly. Are you sure she's not sabotaging us too?"
"Maybe she personally doesn't think they're ugly," Matthew's reasoning sounded weak to his own ears. The more he thought about it, the more he realised the truth-
"They're in cahoots, aren't they?" Alfred threw his head back. "What is their problem with us!?"
"Perhaps if I had a look at the suits, I could offer my opinion about whether they have questionable taste or not," Lady Kirkland interjected. "And I suspect their problem is they're threatened by you."
"Threatened?" Alfred questioned while Matthew put all the pieces in place. He did suggest they felt threatened, but maybe Lady Kirkland's idea of 'threatened' differed from his.
"Clarissa confronted us this morning demanding we go home because we don't belong here and we're embarrassing her," Matthew reported.
"I'll embarrass her even more now," Alfred scoffed.
"Don't listen to a thing she says. Her mother is about to marry my son and they will gain a title and every benefit that comes along with it."
"Wait, so she- Glynnis doesn't actually love Arthur?" Alfred gasped, concerned. "Is she just using him?"
The same worry crept into Matthew. Despite not being in their father's life for very long, the thought of someone taking him for granted and using him was really making him uneasy.
"For years, Alistair, the head of Arthur's advisors and by coincidence, Glynnis' father, has tried to elevate his position through my late husband's political career. Now he's after Arthur."
"Okay, what the fuuu- I mean, someone has to stop them!" Alfred proclaimed.
"Wouldn't Arthur know?" Matthew asked desperately. He was certain that Arthur was intelligent enough to see what was going on.
"I can advise my son all I like, but he is a grown man and Alistair and Glynnis have their claws in him. He surely feels he can't go back on what he started. Sometimes he's too proud for his own good. A trait of a Kirkland unfortunately."
Matthew didn't know what to say in response to that and glanced at Alfred. His brother had a look of shock but from his faraway look, Matthew had an idea what he was thinking. No doubt his idealistic brother thought he could solve everyone's problems and be the hero they needed, even if his 'help' wasn't asked for. Matthew wanted to shake his head and tell him no, but Matthew was thinking the same. He was compassionate by nature and it sickened him that he couldn't make things right.
But that explained the strange vibes he'd been getting from Glynnis. At first, he thought she was just shaken and needed space from such a big change. But the more he thought about it, if she was secure in her relationship with their father, then why wouldn't their potential stepmother try to bond or get to know her future stepchildren...
"For people like Alistair and Glynnis, social standing is everything," Lady Kirkland swirled her teacup around as she mused to herself. "It's silly, but they live by it. I lived by it too, once. That was, until I saw the toll it took on those I loved."
Lady Kirkland finished her tea and placed it back on the matching saucer, refilling it with the matching teapot.
"Just ignore them and focus on what you came here to do. Believe me, there will be plenty of people rooting for your downfall. That's what makes it so much more satisfying when you succeed."
After their heart-to-heart with Lady Kirkland, the twins were left with a lot to think about. Though it went unspoken that they would wait until later to discuss it. Alfred had to explain his pun about Lady Kirkland 'spilling the tea,' finding it ever so amusing that an older Bri'ish person was confused by teenage slang.
At that moment, they were more concerned with bonding with their grandmother and trying to win their unofficial shooting match. Alfred was more than pleased that his aim was slightly better when they took turns with the rifle, even if between the two of them Lady Kirkland absolutely decimated them.
It wasn't long before they forgot about the worries that Glynnis and Clarissa brought, they were too consumed with finally making up for lost time with a piece of the family they never had.