A Normal Tea Party

— by Codename—SN

.

.

.

Edit : 01/30/2016

The morning was crisp. A cool breeze swept up the stray leaves, making them dance in the air.

Orcelito watched from his office as a flock of birds chirped merrily on one of the trees. He had always loved observing nature, and today was no exception. It was, after all, moments like this that kept him sane through the ordeal all those years ago.

Unbeknown to him, a sad smile crept upon his face.

It may have been years since then but, to him, it still felt as if it was just yesterday. The way the sun seemed overly unbearable that day, and his own desperation that drove him to stand firmly against his brother. Could still feel the way relief flooded his veins, when Belca claimed that he did not care about their lineage and only wanted his brother back. Even after knowing the real history of Reizt the First, he disregarded it so easily.

It was just so... like Belca that he could not help but chuckle fondly.

From then onwards, peace had never been too far from their reach. Especially after all of those corrupted elders were taken care of. The animosity between the citizens of Azelprade and Hokulea had also, finally, lessened. Maybe not disappeared all together, but it was just a matter of time. He could not have imagined a better conclusion for the country.

The prince did however, wish that his brother had stayed at home with them.

Immediately after things had calmed down in the country, Belca had set out to travel around the land with his odd group. He really had changed between brother Hector's death, and the day they met after a long while, but Orcelito did not think that it was necessarily a bad thing. He had only been momentarily surprised by it. Overall, he was happy that his brother had found something he enjoyed doing, even if it was just travelling, but he had really missed his presence in the palace. Even though they kept in touch through letters... it just was not as same as talking with him face to face.

Thus, he could not have been more glad when he found that Belca was coming back, and since it was today that he was supposed to come back, there was nothing that could dampen his mood.

He could not wait to, finally, meet Belca after all these years!

As he was working through some documents, something blue caught his attention from his peripheral vision. He turned his head, looking out of the window, to see Musca out in the garden with her maids. Twirling randomly to show-off her velvety crimson dress. Which was nothing out of the ordinary. What caught his attention however, was the dark-haired female dressed in royal blue with pale yellow flowers.

He had never seen her before, and he was sure that she was not one the nobles. So, Musca interacting with a commoner? That was highly curious.

"Kiliko?" He questioned his companion as turned his gaze away from the window.

"Yes, Your Highness?" The said male intoned without looking up from his work.

"Do you know the lady who is with Musca today? I do not think I have ever seen her before."

Only then did Kiliko turned curious eyes to look outside, taking a few seconds to observe her before responding.

"I do, actually. Her name is Mariebelle, and the Princess met her when she was... travelling around the country. She helped them when they stopped at a town." There was a queer expression on his face as he paused for a second. "She was also invited by Lady Musca for today's Tea party."

The fair-haired youth's eyes widened slightly at the information. It was no wonder that Musca would invite the older female to the palace. He looked at the woman with a new-found appreciation.

"Which reminds me, Your Highness, you should be getting ready for the Tea party." A smile adorned Kiliko's face as he gestured towards the prince. "Do not worry, I will take care of everything for today." He added as if to reassure.

It was a polite smile but Orcelito could not make sense of the knowing as well as mischievous glint in his eyes. Deciding to not dwell on it for long, the prince made his way back to his bed chambers.

After a while, just as the clock was striking close to ten, Orcelito made his way towards the garden. He could see his sister as she laughed happily from there, and the indulging smile that graced Mariebelle's lips. He savored the fresh air and the carefree atmosphere with a warm smile.

"Good morning everyone!" He cheerfully greeted the people with a warm smile.

The maids only bowed their heads in greeting, as the princess perked up from her seat.

"Orcelito-oniisama, you came right on time! Meet Mariebelle-oneesama! Onee-sama saved Musca from those meanie soldiers." She chirped excitedly.

The exasperated sigh, which was very un-lady like, that came from the aforementioned female was completely ignored as the little princess nodded her head to convey her seriousness. It was a failed attempt. Her brother only chuckled, patting her head as they both sat down, before turning to the black-haired female. Upon looking at her up-close, he found that she looked very similar to an Adine female.

Orcelito had to admit, that he could understand why his father would have fallen for Belca's mother. She really was beautiful. A few black locks, that were kept free from the neat bun, fell in curls around her face, and the dark dress complimented her eyes very nicely.

"Thank you, for taking care of my sister while she was away from the palace. I do not think we have met before...?" Orcelito started politely.

However, his smile faltered at her blank expression, as she stared at him intently. It was after a few seconds that she opened her mouth to say something. What she said however, only thickened the awkward atmosphere.

"..Did you... did you forget me after all these years brother?" Her voice was somewhat incredulous.

'After all these years...?'

"B-brother..? You are... B-bel..- Belca?!" He spluttered in shock. Surprise could not describe what he was feeling at that moment.

"Obviously."

The, now revealed, young male said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The pale-faced prince could only stutter incomprehensibly. He wanted to ask many things. Like why was he even dressed as a woman. Or if it was only him that was not informed of this... whatever this was. Kiliko had, after all, looked very amused at that time. However, his ability to form coherent words had left him. The only prominent thing that flared brightly in his mind, like a red neon sign, was the fact that he had just called his brother beautiful...

The people around him were very concerned, when the leader of Azelprade suddenly fainted on them.

| La Fin |

SN : Hehe... never thought I'd write Orcelito's POV! However, I just had to write this after reading the end.

Well, the original plan was to find a fanfic about this, since as far as I know Orcelito never met Belca's female persona. But... the pitiful number of fanfics for this manga left me miserable. So, in the end, I decided to write it myself. Also, this is the first time I'm writing for humor (It really isn't my forte... but I tried! I really did!), so I hope I did a decent job at least. Please do excuse any mistakes I would have made... though you're free to inform me about them so I may correct it! ^-^

And I just love Mariebelle! She's so adorable that even I may blush... not to say Belca isn't. They're the same person after all. (It's actually no wonder that Linna, as weak-willed as he is, was almost overwhelmed by her cuteness! XP)

Well, later then! Don't forget to share your thoughts on it! Also, I may write another fanfic for this manga, perhaps... I'm not too sure yet.