Shinigami-cat: Hey everyone! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get the next chapter up. How many months has it been? Too many! But thankfully I have managed to get so much stuff done! I managed to finish my major project for uni and I graduated too. Yay for me. So I'm going to try and get back into a more regular rhythm when it comes to updates, but no promises… I OWN NOTHING!

Romance is Hard

Knowing what he knew now, had caused Gilbert a fair bit on internal turmoil. He kept telling himself that he wasn't a traitor, and wouldn't hurt or attack anyone that he cared about just because he's not really Maverick and Ula's child. However there was now that nagging thought in the back of his mind that he could do those things. If just a few things were different he would be attacking the ones he loved.

Speaking of that, he noticed the heightened security that seemed to be around him now. He couldn't walk two feet in the castle without seeing a guard. He almost felt like the Queen had decided to act with extreme caution after Maverick told her his origins. He couldn't blame her for it. He would have done the same in her position.

This did make keeping his relationship with Matthew rather difficult to say the least. The young monarch wanted to be able to hold hands and steal a kiss when no one was looking. He was still kind of embarrassed about being in a relationship with someone. His position didn't allow him to date freely like other people could. However he couldn't do any of those things because of the high portion of guards about now.

Gilbert didn't really care that they couldn't be together in that sense. He wasn't too good at romance anyway. Almost all of his romantic encounter, if they could even be called that, involved alcohol, bad decisions and one night stands. Touchy feely stuff was still new territory for him.

At the moment, Gilbert and Matthew were walking in the palace gardens. In every direction, Gilbert could see the tip of a soldier's helmet or the glint off their chest plate. He felt like they were waiting for him to mess up so they could kill him where he stood.

"I wish there weren't so many people around…" Muttered Matthew. "I thought there would be less people in the gardens…"

Gilbert shrugged a little. "Your parents just wish to protect you, Matthew." He had thought about telling Matthew what he knew, but he wasn't sure how the Prince would take it. He grew up on stories of how horrific and terrible the murderous Night Kin were. He could turn on Gilbert and have him thrown in the dungeon for treason if he was so inclined. "They want what is best for you."

"I know… But I still want a little alone time with you… Don't you want that too, Gilbert?" Asked the blond.

He smiled and put his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I do want that, but things will probably get difficult for us… Your parents probably want you to have a kid or something… Might also have an arranged marriage in the works for you too."

Saying that seemed to upset Matthew a little. "Oh… Yeah… I forgot about that. I really doubt that though. My father is consulting with the Lords about trying to find a diplomatic solution to the recent, um… problem with the Night Kin… And Mother seems like she's preparing for war. It worries me… If we go to war again will you have to fight?"

Gilbert shrugged. "I go where the King and Queen send me. If they wish to send me to battle I will. I won't stop them."

This seemed to upset Matthew even more than before. "I wouldn't let them do that to you. You know that… I'd keep you safe. Wrongly accuse you of some crime so you'd be locked away instead of out there if I had to."

That was a slightly unsettling answer, but he appreciated the sweet sentiment behind it. "… Accusing me of something I didn't do, even if it is for my protection is kind of a deal breaker for me."

"… Sorry. I didn't… Sorry…" It seemed as though Matthew wasn't just inexperienced at dating, he was awful at romance too. They could be awful at dating and romance together.

"Don't worry about it. Neither of us are good at this stuff." Said Gilbert with a slight smile passed on his face. "But I think we can agree that threatening imprisonment isn't really that romantic."

"Yeah…" He sighed a little. "I'm such an idiot… I just want you to be safe. I don't want something horrible to happen to you. Especially after what happened… You almost died so many times…"

"To be honest I almost died… Three or four times." He wasn't sure if the guards would have killed him on sight or just detained him and brought him back to the castle. He was also counting potentially catching hypothermia when he fell in that underground water way.

Matthew frowned and took on a scolding tone. "You always make light of these situations." It reminded Gilbert a lot of Ula when she got mad at him.

He just smiled and shrug off Matthew's worry for his health like it was nothing. "You remind me so much of my mother when you talk like that. She's still going crazy over me. I feel like a child again."

It was true too. Ula had started to impose rules on him left and right. He had to come straight home after work, he wasn't allowed out after dark unless it was for work, no going anywhere without someone else, stay at home when not at work, and of course, don't talk to strangers. Ula had gone way overboard on this, but Gilbert couldn't really oppose her. He understood where he was coming from and at least when he was at home he knew that the royal guards weren't watching him like a hawk.

Matthew sighed a little and sat down under the shade of an evergreen. "Why don't you just move out? You obviously have more than enough money to do so."

He shrugged and took a seat beside him. "Why don't you move out of your parent's home?"

"… Fair enough."

Gilbert hummed a little and went from a sitting position to a lying one. "Besides, there are hardly any houses that are close to the castle available to purchase or rent. I'd have better luck getting a house half a day's ride out South. I do not want to ride a horse for that long."

"True…" The young monarch seemed to have his mind on something else. He had a vaguely distant look in his eyes as he looked out over the garden.

It gave Gilbert some time to try and clear his clouded thoughts. He needed some kind of guidance as to what he should do with his new found knowledge. He wanted to confront Maverick about what he heard, but just didn't know how to put his confusion into words.

How could he confront him about it? The man was clearly worried he had turned on the kingdom if he finally confided in the Queen about the abnormal circumstances of his birth. He felt like he had a target on his back now. What if the Queen had told the King? Things would be even more complicated and difficult for him if that were the case. In fact, was it possible that the Queen had told Matthew too? Now that was a really worrying thought.

Matthew suddenly cleared his throat, pulling Gilbert out of his inner turmoil. "Something wrong?"

"I know a place where we can get a little bit of privacy, even if it's just for a few moments." He gestured as subtly as he could towards the garden's hedge maze. Apparently it wasn't very old in terms of plant years. The King had commissioned it be grown and maintained a few years after he and the Queen were married. If someone were to climb to the highest point of the tallest tower on the castle, they would be able to survey the entire structure with ease. Though they would need a telescope to really see who was in the maze.

"… I see. It's going to suck when we get lost."

"The maze isn't that big."

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The pair easy walked into the maze and winded around enough twisted foliage to lose any guards that might have been trying to keep a close eye on them. However there was probably someone watching them from the tower just to make sure that Gilbert didn't do anything to harm the Prince. Not that he would anyway. For one thing it was broad daylight in the middle of the castle.

Once they were deep enough, Matthew seemed to build up enough courage to hold onto Gilbert's hand. This caused the both of them to blush a little. Neither of them were quite sure of what to do after that, so they walked around a little, hand in hand.

"… Do you really think that another war will start?" Asked Matthew in a worried tone.

"You tell me. Your parents are the ones who have a say in the matter. But I do think the King will try and be diplomatic like you said before. Though negotiations will have to be on neutral grounds of some sort." Gilbert was thinking tactically now. "Some place along the border. Similar to that village I ended up in when I escaped. Maybe even in a neighbouring kingdom that is willing to host our talk…"

The blond nodded a little and gently squeezed his hand in apprehension. "I hope things go well… No one wants this to escalate more than it already has. The peace we have is paper thin as it is."

"I know."

"… Do you think a new war will start?"

Gilbert was hesitant to answer. "Honestly? I don't think so. When I happened to meet Queen Gwen she doesn't want war." If Gilbert's hunch was correct she just wanted Gilbert dead or at least to be away from her family, but she wasn't bitter enough to convince Torvlad that going to war was the best option they had just so she could get him killed, or something.

Matthew seemed to calm a little at Gilbert's words. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I hope everything gets sorted out in the end. I want our people to live in peace. Peace enough for a hundred lifetimes."

"Yeah… Everyone wants the peace to be kept. As far as I know, only a complete idiot would want war. I'm sure that when you start to rule the kingdom it'll be one of peace and prosperity."

"I hope so."

The albino smiled a little and looked over at the hedge maze, picking a small branch dotted with a few small blue flowers. He placed it behind Matthew's ear and quickly kissed his cheek. This caused Matthew to blush bright red.

He grinned. "You know, you're very cute when you blush like that, Matthew."

"As you and others keep saying…"

"Those others being your mother?"

"Pretty much."

"Sucks."

"Yeah…"

"But you are cute."

"Wish I was sexier than cute."

"Never said you weren't sexy."

Matthew covered his face with his hands, continuing to blush horribly. "For crying out loud Gilbert…"

"Please don't tell me your mum calls you that too."

"Oh Goddess no! Gilbert!"

"Just asking."

"That is sick!"

"It is… But there were stories of inbreeding and incest amongst the royals of our ancestors."

"And there are stories that our ancestors could climb into giant metal birds to fly from place to place."

Gilbert shrugged. "Good point."

"And I'm pretty sure that you can get punished for saying such a horrible thing about my mother."

"… I take it back."

"Good." The pair continued to walk through the maze and eventually made it to the centre. In the centre was a large fruit tree and a marble bench. Matthew sat down in the shade and smiled a little. "Gilbert… I um… I have some things to ask you."

"You know you can ask me anything Matthew, my Prince."

"… Do you think we have a future together? Like really?" This seemed to be something he was questioning a lot. Pretty much ever since the talk of war was filling the kingdom.

"Honestly? I hope there is, but I don't know." He had to be honest with him. "Hypothetically if a war did start, like I have said before, I will probably have to fight. If that happens we both know that because of my skills I'll be forced to, if not obliged to go and fight in the front line… However, if that doesn't happen, I still doubt we will be able to stay together for very long."

"Why's that?" Asked Matthew.

The young monarch seemed hurt and confused by his words, but Gilbert had to be blunt with him. He also couldn't just go and tell him that he's actually the first born Night Kin Prince. He didn't know what the consequences would be if he said anything. "You need to have a child to take over once you are gone. It's as simple as that. Your brother is with another man and therefore can't have biological children of his own. It stands to reason that the responsibility to marry and have kids would fall onto you… Plus I'm relatively sure that Alfred would permanently lose his ability to have kids if he knocked someone up. His… partner's family doesn't seem like they would be too pleased if he did that…"

"… Are you kidding me?" Asked Matthew in disbelief. "The war thing I can understand, but marrying a woman just to have a child to appease people? I have relatives that have kids. If I don't have a child in my life time the crown passes onto… you know what, just as Francis." He stood up and started to march out of the maze.

Frowning, Gilbert followed Matthew. "What did I say? Isn't some of what I said true?"

"You make it sound like it's a royal's duty to have children for the sake of the kingdom."

"In a way, isn't it kind of?" Asked Gilbert. "Having a child insures that there are no messy arguments about who gets the crown next. There's no stupid civil unrest over power, influence and what is best for the kingdom?"

Matthew gave Gilbert a cold glare. "Isn't that how our most vile and neanderthal of ancestors saw women? Baby factories that bent to the will of men?"

"This is completely different. For one, you can't get pregnant. Secondly I never said royals are baby factories or anything like that. I don't expect you guys to pop one out every few years. You guys do lots of other important things, and I have just realized that no matter what I say you're going to twist it into something you don't want to hear."

Matthew rolled his eyes and kept walking.

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It was two days later, and Matthew was still mad at him. Unfortunately he wasn't sure if Matthew was more upset over him pretty blatantly saying they won't stay together because he needs to have a child in the future, or just because he worded it so badly it sounded like he was insisting that it was part of his royal duty to marry a woman and have a child with her for the sake of the kingdom. Either way he messed up pretty badly.

Thankfully though, he had some time to contemplate a way to try and make up for his stupidity. He was standing by the wall in the castle's hall as the King went over final preparations to talk diplomatically with the Night Kin. They had contacted the Emperor of Hofuna Minato to set up a neutral location to talk. Gilbert suspected that the King was worried that something would happen if they held talks on Light or Night Kin territory.

Gilbert didn't really bother to pay attention much to anything else that was being said. It was all just stuff about who was going and what things they would need. He was just keeping an ear out to see if he was going to tag along, and he'd only have to tag along if Matthew had to. Judging by the displeased look on Matthew's face, they were most likely going.

The Lords that gathered in the hall had started to leave. Matthew however had stayed behind to talk with his father, and so Gilbert stayed too. He didn't care too much for their talk. He knew it was just going to be mediocre things about travel and potentially the possibility of staying here instead of going.

While the conversed, they didn't seem to notice the Queen slip into the room and stand next to Gilbert. Thankfully, even when he wasn't paying much attention, Gilbert had some sense of special awareness. "So this is it huh? The boys are off to try and get things back together, huh?"

"Pretty much your majesty." Said Gilbert calmly. He was still very wary of her and what she could do to him with the knowledge his so called father had given her. "Am I to go with them?"

"Of course you are. Where Matthew goes you go. You pledged an oath, remember?"

"Your highness, I don't need a reminder of my oath."

"Do you?"

Gilbert was a little taken aback by the harshness of her tone, but he wasn't very surprised at all. He was after all, an enemy of the kingdom. But with a lack of proof even she couldn't really do much to him. "I do not believe so your highness… And despite what you might believe or have heard I will never betray the people whom I have sworn to protect. I hope you can believe my words, or at least know that I am telling the truth."

The Queen sighed a little. "I know your word is as good as any oath, but I also know you have been trained from a young age in the arts of deception. All I know is that the Goddess is the only one who truly knows who you are, your actions and what is in your heart…"

"That she does your highness."

Suddenly the King looked over at them and smiled. "How long have you been here, love?"

Queen Jade smiled at her husband. "Only a few moments. I have made the basic preparations for your departure, however you need to check and make sure you don't have any last minute changes. I've also started getting the army organized in case things go wrong."

"Excellent. You were always the more organized one." Praised the King. As they talked, Gilbert and Matthew took this opportunity to quickly leave.

TBC

Shinigami-cat: And that was that. I hope you all like this chapter. Consider it my Christmas present for all those that still read my stuff. I appreciate it a lot… Please review.