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The Past That Dances With Dragons:

Chapter 4-

Yao sat by his bed, where your sleeping figure lay fast asleep. Your face wore a pink tint, similar to the way he had first found you. A washcloth was strewn across your forehead, acting as fever reducer. It had been nearly three hours since Gilbert and Ludwig had left the palace, and right as they had shut the door behind them, you crumpled to the ground. Yao had caught you, keeping you from falling face-first into the tiled floor.
The windows sparkled, the light of the night sky flooding through the colorful glass. Yao glanced over at you and sighed. 'Looks like I will need to sleep on the floor once again…' Your fever had calmed since he'd started nursing you, causing Yao to sigh again, this time in relief. Yao brushed a few loose strands out of your face, and then stood to prepare his temporary bed once again. He grabbed a thick, padded quilt he had made awhile back and spread it across the floor next to where you lay sleeping. Next, he took the pillows resting on his window seats and placed them at one end of the quilt. Yao nodded in approvement and finally sat down on the spread, and drifted off into a dreamland.
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"Ow! Dammit!" Alfred cried as he cut him self for nearly the 15th time on the remaining pieces of vase you had left on the floor. He could almost hear your mocking tone, 'I told you, you'd be helpless without me~!'
"Here, Al, let me finish picking it up. You'll only hurt yourself more…" Alfred heard Matthew say in his little voice.
Without a word, Alfred got up and went to flop down onto the couch. "I'm sorry, Matt. I'm really no good with anything chore-related." He said covering his eyes with his forearm.
Matthew chuckled as he swept up broken pieces into a dustbin and dumped it into a trashcan. "You think I don't know that by now?"
Alfred sat up and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. You're hilarious, bro." He fell silent.
Matthew glanced up at the usually rebounding loudmouth worried. "Al, you okay?"
Alfred's steady gaze met Matthew's. "What are we going to do about _______? She's in some weird place we've never heard of. She doesn't know anyone and not to mention they're all GUYS." Al shuddered.
This made Matthew laugh again, "Well, isn't Al being just the cutest lil daddy?"
"M-Matthew! I'm serious! Damn…When did you get to be such a smartass all of a sudden?!" Alfred stuttered, turning beet red.
"I pick up on things living with you and _______." Matthew smiled softly and sat down next to Alfred. "Al, I know you're worried about her, I am too, but I'm sure she's fine. She's a strong girl… she can take care of herself. And, they don't seem to be treating her badly."
"That we know of." Alfred muttered, covering his face in his hands.
"W-What?"
Alfred glared up at Matthew. "Think about it, Matt. Do you think she'd be the one to tell us she was in trouble and worry us? No, she'd keep it a secret and bare it on her own."
Matthew looked surprised for a moment then hugged Kumajiro tighter. "I-I guess you have a point…that place…Hoplin. That was the place where all of Mother's stories took place, right? Is that only a coincidence?"
Pausing to think about this, Alfred glanced over at the bookshelf resting on the wall next to the cobblestone fireplace in the corner. "Maybe our clue is in one of her books?"
Matthew followed Al's gaze, "It's probably where we should start."
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"….__...___...." A voice called. "…____...__....."
Your eyes flutter open, and you notice you're down by the river again. Sitting on the very rock Yao had found you; it was midmorning, and the sun's rays maneuvered its way through the trees and reflected in chunks across the water. A family of birds were chirping in the branches of a willow that hung above your head. A deer, (an actual deer!) was sipping some of the river's water about 20 feet from where you sat. 'It's…so peaceful here…'
"…___...___..." the voice called again.
You froze. "U-Uh…Who's there?" you replied standing and beginning to back away from the river's bank.
A breeze lifted your messy hair up around you, tangling around your face. You could feel a presence, a set of eyes looking at you from somewhere. Whipping around in alarm, you scan the forest that outlined the river. There was nothing there.
You turn back towards the water and your eyes meet a figure standing in the water. You freeze. The figure wasn't in the water…but ON the water. By then, you noticed the figure was a blonde, model-like woman. She had her back turned towards you and her head lifted, arms outstretched bathing in the sunlight. 'This…seems oddly familiar…' You said in your head.
"Uh…Miss?" You called cautiously. "Who…are you…?"
The mysterious woman laughed, a laugh that echoed like bells across the river's water, but didn't make any motion to turn towards you. You couldn't shake the feeling that the woman's presence, so familiar, that it sent chills of déjà vu down your back. 'It looks just like….' You began in your head, 'Yeah! That's it! It just like that oil painting I saw in Yao's room…' Cocking your head to the side, you continue to study the woman and realize it wasn't only the memory of the picture that made you stand frozen in place. The beautiful woman was just barely looking over her shoulder at you when the whole world turned white. You had only seen the radiant smile and perfect set of teeth before your eyes snapped open.
'What the hell…?' You thought gaping at the elaborate ceiling in front of you. A tiny spasm of panic racked your body, no recognition of the place where you lay. 'Oh, right. I'm still in Hoplin…' Sitting up, you notice the early morning's sun was pouring over the room, the multicolored light reflecting off the walls and furniture. You were still in Yao's room you realized, and looked for any sign of the young dark haired boy. With no luck, you decided to stand and begin your search in the other end of the palace. Much as the first day, you let your legs fling over the edge of the bed and hop down from the squishy mattress. 'For a servant, I have to say Yao's got a nice set up here…' You admitted to yourself just as you stepped on something, and your weight rolled from your foot and sent you straight into the ground.
"Aiya!" Yao yelped, "Honestly, _______, must you step on me every morning, aru?!"
Luckily, your face had buried into a pillow lying next to where Yao had been laying, and your body was spared thanks to landing straight on his stomach. Your legs were thrown behind you, your hips resting on his torso. Glancing up, you see Yao staring at you surprised with a slightly pink tint resting on his cheeks.
"U-Um…would you mind moving..?" Yao asked.
You scurried off of him and sat beside him on the floor.
"My bad…" You chuckle softly, avoiding his eyes. "I'm not usually this clumsy. I'm not used to having people sleeping on the floor next to my bed…"
Yao scratched the back of his head and sat up, gazing at the ground. "It is fine…"
You both sat in awkward silence until he suddenly shot up and rushed towards his wardrobe. "M-Master Ivan will be waking up soon…We should prepare…" He said refusing to meet your eyes, obviously trying to change the subject.
This makes you laugh again, Yao was so adorable when he was flustered like this. "Sure thing. Do I just wear the clothes I wore yesterday?" You asked standing.
"Unfortunately that is all we have prepared. We washed them after you fell asleep and they are waiting in the washroom. Today, after Master Ivan has settled in, we will go to town and buy you proper attire." Yao said.
'Funny,' You thought, 'I don't remember falling asleep…' you shrug this off and notice resting on the window seat you had sat on yesterday, the sketchbook you had been skimming through. The one that contained the oil painting your dream had reminded you of. Walking over to the seat, you pick up the book and hold it up.
"Hey, did you draw these?" You wave the book around gently.
Yao glanced over at you and smiled. "I see you went through my bookshelf. Actually, my Father drew those. He was an amazing artist and my inspiration."
Curiosity over took you and your eyes lit up. "You draw too, then? Can I see them?"
Yao laughed and nodded, "I will show you after we have done our jobs."
For some odd reason, you were excited to see his artwork. You assumed he was pretty good at drawing for the most part, seeing as much of a prodigy his Father was. Then again…your Mom had always been great at things like needle work, where as you can't seem to hold a crochet hook without dropping it every 5 seconds. Your focus snapped back to the book and the mysterious painting you were meaning to ask about.
"U-Uh…The woman in this painting…" Flipping through the pages you found the picture you were looking for and held it up. "Do you know who it is?"
Yao studied it for a split second before answering, to your astonishment, "It was my Father's first love. I believe she was a Goddess like yourself. She ended up marrying a knight from the Kingsley palace…She came from a totally different world from us…her and Father became great friends and they shared so much about each other's worlds." Yao's eyes fell and his face seemed to look almost…sorrowful. "I could tell Father loved her so much. He always talked about how she made his life light up every time she smiled. Father was actually a servant in the very palace we are in right now, as a head servant, like myself, to Master Ivan's father. The golden haired Goddess stayed with the Kingsley royal family, but every day at sunrise, Father and her met by the river I found you next to. After years of friendship, Father had gained the stomach for confessing his love. He arrived as usual to the river's edge and waited anxiously for his Goddess to appear. Hours passed, and the Goddess was no where to be seen. Father got worried and decided to go in search of her. He walked to the market square of Kingsley, not at all concerned of his punishment when he returned to the Braginski's manor. He asked around, searching for his love among the busy people. The Goddess he had fallen for, was no longer present in this world. The residents, who had seen her leave the palace, noted she was with a handsome knight around her age and had left early that morning before sunrise. No one had seen them since."
When Yao finished his story, the room fell into a silent hush. "So she left without saying another word to your Dad?" You breathed.
"Actually, she had left him a note. I have it for safe keepings in my desk drawer." He walked over to the desk and opened the lower drawer. Shuffling through the papers, Yao looked for the note. When he found it, he handed it to you.
"Father's heart was broken in two and she left him this strange scripture that no one of this world could read. Scholars of all lands have tried to crack the code, but none succeeded." He said.
You glance down at the tiny piece of paper and notice the words were in English. 'Go figure.' You thought. "Continue to smile…" You read. "Always."
Yao looked at you in astonishment. "You can understand it?!"
You nod and hand him the piece of paper. "It's written in my world's language."
"Your world's… ______!" He said suddenly, his eyes lighting up like a child's on Christmas morning. "You must tell me of where you're from!"
You couldn't help thinking his sudden excitement was adorable. Giggling at his reaction, you said, "Weren't you the one that told me we had work to do? I'll tell you all about my world when we go out later, deal?"
Yao's face fell slightly but he continued to grin. "I am looking forward to it, then."
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You went through pretty much the same chores you had the day before. After changing into Kiku's old clothing, you went to the kitchen and helped prepare Ivan's breakfast. Honestly, you hated being that guy's so called 'maid', but you loved being around the others, they always seemed to put you in a good mood. Even the arrogant Lovino was better company than the haunting fake smile of your "master". Breakfast went by in a flash, unlike last night, Ivan seemed to finish his food quickly and retreat back to his chambers in a hurry. Also, unlike the previous day, Ivan didn't speak a word to you and more or less ignored your presence. You just shrugged it off and completed all of your chores by noon.
"So, is the town pretty?" You ask as you walk next to Yao on a gravel sidewalk towards what you presumed be the direction of the marketplace.
"In the daylight, it just looks like any other marketplace," Yao gazed up at the sky, his arms resting in his sleeves and murmured, "At night, however, the lanterns are lit and everything seems as if it glows like lantern bugs."
Looking over at him, you could see he was lost in thought. "You really love Hoplin, don't you?"
He blinked a few times and met your eyes with his and a wide grin spread across his face. "This is where I grew up. I know everything there is to know about the town people, know all the secret places, any nook or cranny."
As if on cue, you rounded around a tall cluster of bamboo stocks and caught sight of the town. It was close to three in the afternoon and the marketplace was packed with families buying produce for their dinners and wandering shoppers. Everyone wore the same types of clothes that Kiku and Yao wore, coming in all different arrays of color and style; some with long sleeves, some sleeves only hanging from the bicep area of their arms, some had sashes, some were without. The variety of the clothing astounded you, even if the same type of idea for all of the robes were all alike. You continued to follow Yao as you surveyed the area. A group of kids stood in the middle of the square, a circle that all of the walkways and stores seemed to surround. The kids were kicking around a rock, as if playing some old style of soccer.
You were so engrossed in watching the kids play you didn't realize where you were walking and completely ran straight into someone. Snapping back into reality, you looked up at the person you ran into. He was fairly tall and was very tan with shiny brown hair. He was handsome in a country boy way, and his green eyes laughed at you in amusement.
"Are you alright there, Senorita?" The boy was holding onto your shoulders, catching you from falling backwards when you ran into him. "You should be more careful, I wouldn't want you to mess up that pretty face of yours." He had some kind of accent you wanted to place as sounding Hispanic…but who knew, this place was obviously race-confused or something.
You took a step back from him, and he let your shoulders go. He kept smiling, a dazzling array of white that complimented his dark skin. "Ah…I'm sorry! I mean, I wasn't paying attention…my bad." You saw something flicker in the boy's eyes and then vanish and he stared at you in curiosity.
"You're not from around here are you, Senorita?" He stretched out his hand to you. "Nice to meet you, I'm Antonio. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo."
At first you were confused. All the people you've attempted to greet with a handshake had been on your account. Now, with this Antonio guy holding out his hand, you studied him with the same curiosity you had seen in his eyes just a second ago. You noticed he wore clothes totally different than everyone else. He didn't wear a robe, but a simple, light tan colored button up. He also wore pants, a slightly darker brown than his shirt and black boots. He seemed…almost close to your world's styled clothes than anyone. Then again, for all you knew, he could just be a foreigner from another land. Still curious, you started to go in for a Kingsley greeting. You were quickly stopped as Antonio put his hand in yours and shook it.
You were surprised, he had shaken your hand as naturally as people did at home. He released your hand and chuckled. "And your name is, Bonita Chika?"
Blinking a few times, you realized he was waiting for your reply and you stammered, "Oh! U-um…I'm _______. _______ _______."
Antonio's eyes lit up again as it did the first time you spoke. "That's a very unusual name, ________. Where're you from? Kingsley? Maybe somewhere…far away?" His face turned serious and he studied you closely, watching for your reaction. Then he suddenly remembered something and added, "Also, sorry if my way of greeting was strange. That's just how I greet in my home country, Bonita."
Your eyes widened in shock and you were about to ask him where he was from, when Yao, who had entered a shop while you were blindly strolling along, found you. "_______! There you are! I was looking everywhere for you, aru!" Yao walked up to you and noticed Antonio and he smiled. "Ah, Antonio, how are you doing?"
Antonio's sturdy gaze left your face and he trained his green eyes onto Yao, his smile never faltering. "Yao-Yao! It's been 'while, no? I'm doing well, thank you. How come you only send Lovi to get the produce these days?"
Yao sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, you are no better than Master Ivan and ________ when you call me that! You all know how much I despise that name!" His response made you giggle and Antonio raised his eyebrows and glanced over at you. "Anyways, it has been busy at the house. Master Ivan's had many guests…I have barely anytime to myself." He motioned towards you. "Now we are caring for ________ because she has no where to stay after I found her by the river. We are out to buy he suitable clothing."
Antonio nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "I see. So ________ isn't from around here. She seemed…different somehow." You were confused again. Not by what Antonio said, but by the way he said it. So far, he was the easiest one you had talked to. He spoke a lot like you, and he wore clothing somewhat like yours. "Well, Amigo, I'll be seeing you. I have some business to attend to." He began walking past you and he waved over his shoulder. "Don't be a stranger, now!"
Both of you watched him run off to do whatever it was he needed to do. "Well, he certainly a chatty one isn't he?" Yao glanced over at you and then nodded.
"He is very outgoing and the way he speaks and acts, I just noticed reminds me a lot of you." You peered over at him and saw his eyes cloud in thought then quickly light up. "Anyways, I think the place to go would be to Feliks' shop. He specializes in women's clothing and I hear he is a professional."
You followed Yao into the shop he exited earlier, still curious about Antonio. The boutique was very colorful and had many displays of different styles and patterns. To the right, row after row of fabrics were lined up, giving the shopper a variety to choose from. A fuzzy white rug sat in the middle of the room, 20 feet behind it stood a counter. Behind the counter slept a blonde, skinny boy. His golden hair draped long over his ears and down a little past his chin. He slept silently and looked almost peaceful sitting there, the light from the sunroof causing his hair to look even more blonde than it already was.
"Hello?" Yao called, still standing the entrance.
Behind the sleeping boy, another boy popped his head out from the curtain separating the store from what you guessed to be the work room. The boy's wavy, dark hair and big, innocently bluish-green eyes made him seem almost childish. When he stepped out from behind the curtain, you almost changed your mind. He was way taller than you had expected him to be, but no where near the height of the towering Ivan.
The boy stood behind the sleeping golden haired boy and shook him. "Feliks, you have customers." Feliks grunted in his sleep and stirred. The dark haired boy smiled an apologetic smile up at you. "I am terribly sorry, he is not usually this unorganized. I am Toris, Feliks assistant. Is there something I can help you with until I can get him to wake up?"
Toris shook Feliks and this time Feliks lazily opened his eyes and sat up. Feliks glared at Toris and snapped, "What have I told you about waking me from my beauty sleep?"
Toris rolled his eyes and nodded in our direction. "You told me to 'wake you when we had customers.' So, that is what I did, Princess."
Feliks held his glare then shifted it towards you and Yao. He gave a heavy sigh then stretched dramatically. "What is it you need?" He asked you.
You glanced over at Yao and he gave you a reassuring smile. "We need her fitted for proper clothing."
Feliks rolled his eyes and stood up from the stool he was sitting on and strolled over towards you. "Well, obviously. Do you need formal, casual, or work garments?"
The way he spoke made you giggle silently. Feliks sounded like a total valley girl or something. He would dramatically hold out his vowels, and make everything seem like a high school girl was speaking for him. He even had the girly hair flip down, twisting his fingers around a few strands to show his complete and utter boredom.
"We need 5 casual, 2 work." Yao stated simply.
Feliks nodded, taking this all in and a grin spread across his face. He began circling around you, trying to figure out what style to use. The way he was eying you made you slightly uncomfortable, but you stayed where you were. Toris looked worried from where Feliks left him and gave you a sympathetic smile.
After what felt like a million years, Feliks stopped in front of you, flipped his hair once more, and said, "Let us see what I can do for you."