09 – Metamorphosis
Francis sighed, only managing a wry smile as his hand toyed with the rim of his wine glass. His blue eyes merely gazed out of the window, watching as Ludwig and Gilbert galloped out of the
Arthur cleared
his throat, not bothering to think of the smallest insult to throw at the man.
“It’s something that has to do with our own Kingdoms…Francis.” The name left a bitter taste in his mouth. “Something I must tell immediately.”
“Hm? Then why
not call Antonio and Ludwig back?”
“I’ve already
told Ludwig. Antonio, I can owl. I want utmost privacy regarding this topic.” Francis
remained quiet. Arthur seemed to be bothered – not because of him, but because
of where the conversation was going. He felt that he wouldn’t like it one bit.
Arthur rarely stopped pushing his buttons. The green-eyed male looked around
the room, and spotting the closed door, he stood and drew the curtains shut. This
caused the room to decrease in the amount of light, giving the atmosphere an
almost creepy aura. “Francis, have you found a suitable partner?”
“…no,” he admitted.
“Not quite. If I did, then I would be more relaxed than the three of you put
together. However, here I am. A fool chasing after an empty dream.” His smile
turned almost nostalgic. “I am guessing that you have not, as well as Ludwig
and my dear friend Antonio.” Arthur released a sigh, sitting back down.
“Correct.”
“Well, what of
it? The longer I am here with you, the lesser my chances of finding my own
Queen. Yao
“…I have
formulated some kind of solution to our problem?”
“Oh? Tell me.”
“It’s not that
easy to explain.” Francis cocked a brow.
“Surely not as
hard as dragging you away from your own pub.” Arthur flushed and glared, but
went on as if Francis didn’t say anything at all.
“Take me
seriously, you twit! I’m serious with my words. I have thought of a plan to get
rid of our problems so that we may be judged equally when Ivan arrives to
inspect us all. Ludwig doesn’t like it, and I can see why – but this is our
only choice left, unless any of you can provide a sound and far better idea.”
“Arthur, stop
beating around the bush.” The King took a sip from his wine. “And tell me
already what has been going on in that head of yours.” Arthur waited until he
had Francis’ gaze. At that, he looked the man dead in the eye.
“We should use
the four girls to our advantage.”
Francis’
expression was filled with nothing for a moment. Arthur could tell he was
registering his words, and out of nowhere, Francis exploded.
“No, Arthur!” his
voice was outraged. “I – I wouldn’t expect this from you !”
“It’s not what
you think!” the other snapped back. “We should – we should ask them to help us,
to at least do us a favor…we can repay them with whatever they like, but they
seem to know nothing about the Flush!”
“This goes
against my morals,” Francis spat, taking another drink. “I flirt, yes. I am a
charming man, yes. But to force someone – to bribe someone to become my wife
just so I can retain my throne – I’d rather give up my Kingdom to the Jokers
than ever agree with your disastrous arrangement!” Arthur watched Francis in
shock, unable to reply. “This is despicable. It is an insult to me. I can see
why Ludwig denied even following it.”
“It’s our only
chance left.”
“It will break
their trust.”
“I’m not
stupid.” Arthur stood, pacing around the room. “I don’t like it as well. But
what else do we have left?”
“Something much
better than that mess of a plan.” Francis rose. “Yao
Arthur didn’t stop him.
Elly slowly
walked to the gardens of the castle, having waved off Alfred’s offer to help
her around. She told him that she knew where she was going, and that she would
probably wind back in the room with Rianne anyway. The usually jolly Knight
eyed her for a moment and shrugged, letting her go off. This was good. She
needed time to herself to think about what was happening.
It had been two
days since they had arrived in the new, strange, but welcoming place. Arthur
could be grumpy, but he was nice once he was gotten used to. Alfred was a
bundle of energy. Matthew was silent, but overall kind. She hadn’t met anyone
else in the kingdom aside from these three, and though the King was
accommodating of them, she wished she could go out and actually interact with
the people of the land. After all, the Kingdom of Spades
Just missing out
a misplaced stone that would have caused her fall, Elly found a wooden bench
that sat in front of a large marble fountain. The sky rumbled and she looked
up. The sky was dimming slightly, shifting from a light aqua to a menacing
grey. However, rain would not come for a time, she thought, sitting down. That
is, unless Arthur was in one of his many moods that for some reason, caused the
weather pattern to change drastically.
Her darker blue
eyes fixated themselves on the fountain front, watching in mild interest as the
water spurted out and soon flowed back. It was shaped like a mermaid, her hair
down and wavy, her tail seeming playful as it seemed to flick the air around
her. Elly bet that the fountain had been there for a long time – she could see
a small crack starting to form around the mermaid’s bust.
She pulled her
knees up and hugged them, silently watching the water flow and dance. Her eyes
drooped slightly, but snapped open at the sight of something quite peculiar.
She saw a pair
of orange wings buzzing around. They were orange up to the middle, slowly
fading into a buttery yellow color that reminded her of Arthur’s hair. She
could make out the slightest bit of a flower tiara, and for some reason, she
called out.
“H-Hey…are you
real?”
The buzzing
seemed to stop. The being turned its face away from the fountain and looked at
Elly. She could hardly believe her eyes – a pixy, right in front of her! She
got a clearer view of the small creature, hesitantly holding out her finger. The
pixy didn’t seem to notice Elly’s nervousness and gently landed on the girl’s
pointer finger, stretching its dainty wings slowly. The pixy seemed about the
size of her thumb, wearing a small orange dress that crept up her thigh and
reached her knee. Her hair was a cropped blonde.
“You’re that new girl, right?”
Flabbergasted,
she could only nod.
“Huh. Well. It’s nice to meet ya, then! What’s your
name?”
“Elly. Call me
Elly.”
“Elly, eh? That’s a nice name. Well, see you around,
Elly!” before she could say anything else, the pixy
flew off her finger, and she swore she could hear the smallest trace of
giggling as the creature flew away, probably off elsewhere around the Kingdom.
The initial shock of the short encounter wore off quicker than she
expected. So the pixies were real, then…she had seen traces of them in the
castle, but never really had an actual interaction with them. Leaning back,
Elly looked back at the sky. It was still the same color as it was just minutes
ago, but seemed to slowly turn back into the calm blue.
“Monitor the
city. I have things to attend to.”
With that,
Ludwig Beilschmidt left his brother (and head Knight) Gilbert with Elizabeta
Hedervary, a known physician who served Herzen. The silver-haired man turned to
smirk at the brunette, who merely rolled her eyes and ignored him.
“Well, we should
do some scouting around.”
“I’m surprised
you didn’t try to harass me yet.”
“Just keep that
pan in your pocket and we’ll get along.” The female scoffed, walking.
“I didn’t bring
it today, you wiseass.” They walked out of the boundaries of the castle and
into the city. Gilbert had to admit, he missed the place, even though he was
gone for only a night. “I have something to tell you.” He looked at the woman
next to him, who seemed to be her usual self – but was more excited than usual.
Elizabeta had her hair down (for once) and was smiling more, and that confused
the Knight. She would usually be irritated around him. And he didn’t seem to
mind.
“Oh yeah? What
is it?”
“Well…” she
stopped and looked up. They were in the middle of the pathway to the town. “It’s
rather sudden, but I figured you would want to know. We’re sort of friends
after all, right?” Gilbert nodded, though felt himself wanting to walk away in
slight sadness. There was no hope for he and Elizabeta now – his closest friend
was in a relationship with Roderich Edelstein, a heated rival of his. “Gilbert,
it’s about –”
A scream.
Both of them
looked at each other and sped off to the town, Elizabeta’s news saved until a
later time. The twosome ran, Gilbert holding on to his sword and Elizabeta’s
hand gripping her own, both of them running at equal speeds. They only seemed
to stop upon reaching the Town
Square
Gilbert felt his
skin crawl.
Down on the
ground was Vash Zwingli, his cheek bleeding and face bruised. He was held down
by a Knight that Gilbert was familiar with, though couldn’t exactly remember
his name at the moment. The Knight looked at him and roughly shoved Vash
towards him, the man landing by his feet, his wrists bound and a rope around
his mouth.
“What’s the big
deal?!” he demanded. The Knight – Jerome, he recalled – gave Vash a sneer and picked
up something he didn’t quite notice.
“Don’t you
remember? This man’s been on the list for numerous crimes.” Beside him,
Elizabeta didn’t make a sound. He guessed she was just as shocked as he was. “We
bring him to court. Ludwig would want to hear of this.”
A sickening lurch
swiped around in Gilbert’s stomach.
The caught…the
crime…the guilty.
Numerous cases
that remained unsolved.
At this point,
Vash had no choice but to turn to the unspeakable.
Gilbert felt sick.
Before he knew it, he was running off back to the castle, beads of sweat
running down the side of his face. Upon reaching the castle, he spotted Ludwig
making his way out, already in gear and the crown on his head. “Lud – wait, you
seriously can’t tell me you’re planning to do something to this guy,” he started,
but the King stopped and looked at him with a blank expression on his face. “You
can put him in jail for all I care and keep in there forever, but that can’t be
the only alternative –”
“It’s the only
choice I have left.”
He left, leaving
his older brother there, crushed and definitely upset. He was made to go to the
court and he did, stonily watching as Vash Zwingli was put to the test. Only
few had ever been made to leave Herzen for the crimes they did, but Gilbert had
only witnessed the change of one that had to go. He was sickened at the act.
The charges had
been made, and Vash had to go. Ludwig stepped forward, brandishing his sword. Vash’s
tired eyes locked with the King’s, and he bowed his head, willingly accepting
what fate had given him this time. It was over. It was done. He had been
caught, and a criminal’s fate was the inevitable.
As Ludwig lifted
the sword, a scream pierced the whole room.
Everyone stopped
and looked at the front, different emotions on their faces.
Lili Zwingli
came in, apparently in tears as she couldn’t bear watching her older brother be
ridden off just like that. Gilbert liked Lili. She was a sweet girl who tended
to the flowers and fruits; he would pass her weekly and silently hope someone
would take her in soon. Vash, in reality, had adopted Lili. But after Vash’s
constant vanishings, Lili had to take care of herself.
And so she did.
“What are you
doing, King Ludwig?!” she tried to take Vash away, but the older male wouldn’t
move. “M-My brother is innocent, he didn’t do whatever you charge him off!” the
female was in tears, clinging to her older brother and trying to desperately
convince Ludwig that her brother was innocent and the trial was a mistake.
She was wrong.
Ludwig knew
that. Vash knew that.
Everyone knew it
except for her.
“Lili,” sighed
Vash, and the girl looked up at him. “Let go.”
“B-But brother…”
“Lili, let go!” his
voice was hard. The girl let go of him, biting her lip anxiously. “Listen to
me,” he added in a softer tone. “Stay with Elizabeta. Not with that coot
Roderich. She will take care of you.”
“No, I won’t!
I’m going with you wherever!”
“You don’t
understand, Lili.”
“Brother…”
The King looked
at the younger girl.
“Brother, I want
to go. I don’t care if you did anything wrong. I don’t care if you broke the
law. You saved me, and I’ll go wherever my big brother goes – this is my
payment to him for saving me on that night!” her voice was earnest. “Even…even
if it means…”
Vash paled.
Everyone
listened on.
“Lili, don’t do
this…”
“Even if it
means…” she took a deep breath. “Even if it means betraying this Kingdom.”
From that point on, Gilbert Beilschmidt could only see madness.
Arthur
stiffened. His eyes opened, and before him was Alfred, watching him with a
puzzled look on his face. “Hey, are you okay? You blanked out for a moment.”
The King of Spades digested how he felt. It was a mixture of anger, rage,
confusion, and sadness. He didn’t know why he even felt this way. His Knight
didn’t do anything – what was the big deal all of a sudden? Just as he was
about to reply, his green eyes spotted a pixy quickly making its’ way to him,
looking panicked.
“Arthur, Arthur!”
The King
listened to the pixy, lifting a hand to stop Alfred from talking. He needed to
listen to her. Never mind if he looked like a moron. Knowing his Knight,
however, he would just think that the King of Spades was just thinking to
himself as usual.
“Something terrible just happened in the land of Herzen
Two new ones.
How many lived
in the dark forests of Relisotai?
He couldn’t
count. Fifty, a hundred, more than a hundred perhaps?
“It was Vash Zwingli.”
No surprise
there. Ludwig was looking for him for a long time.
“Vash Zwingli…and Lili Zwingli.”
Arthur stopped.
Lili?
Was that the
little blonde girl who offered him a fruit during his visit a long time ago?
“Vash and Lili have turned into Jokers. Their genetic
alliance to the Kingdom
of Herzen
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