Along the Great Divide

Chapter 6—History

As Mamoru continued to lead him down the long halls, they stopped at a single portrait of a small family that contained the King, a Mage and two small children. The mage was smiling warmly though the Prince and King looked a little disgruntled.

“Look! There’s us Wiggy, back when we were smaller…My, what a difference since then…You hated your haircut.”Mamoru laughed light-heartedly.

Ludwig managed a small smile but his eyes were focus on the teal almost blue ones staring back at him in the portrait. Hezekiah had been a good King and a great teacher since they arrived at the Palace. Though they didn’t get together often because of meetings and such, there was always dinner and evening play that let them really have fun.

“What was Hezekiah…Papa… like…after I disappeared?”Ludwig asked, looking to his lover with saddened eyes.

“As much as I think that crying would have been right at the time…He was strong about it. Though, I know he would only show those tears to Theron-Pappi at times.”Mamoru said, looking down. “Things went so wrong afterwards…I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“I see…So you left and came searching…”Ludwig said with a sigh, gently leading them both away from the portrait. “That was a brave and a very good thing you did…”

“I know. I felt terrible though…leaving them alone. Especially since I didn’t tell them that I was leaving to begin with…”Mamoru said, leaning a little more on Ludwig. “Tomorrow…We should go visit their graves. Perhaps the current King will let us pick some flowers from the garden?”

“Well…We’re still technically royalty here. I think we do have right or two still left.”Ludwig said softly, bringing his hand up to pet Mamoru’s hair a little. “They’ll be happy to see us…And I bet Theron will really like those flowers.”

Mamoru nodded, leading them back to their room they had been given to rest in. Ludwig helped Mamoru out of his robes, tucking him in before settling down himself. A maid had lit the fire in the room to warm them up at Yuri’s insistence though eventually they would have to break the news to him that Ludwig…wasn’t quite as normal as he seemed. As he petted Mamoru’s hair as the mage started to drift to sleep, he stared at the curtains around their bed, peering through the dark.

‘While we’re here…I want to figure out just why we were in the refuge…Just what was the King thinking keeping us both alive…’Ludwig thought, looking down at Mamoru’s sleeping face. Craning his head down, he gave him a little kiss before he settled down himself.

Mamoru, as always, was up and around before he was. Sitting up, he crawled to the curtains and pried them open to see just how bright it was. The curtains were well closed and he could hear splashing in the connecting bathroom. Stepping out, he slinked to the other room, peeking in.

“Mamo?” Ludwig called.

“You can come in Wiggy, you’ve seen all of it before.”Mamoru laughed softly, sitting up from his pile of bubbles. Ludwig laughed a little, stepping in and starting to strip down.

“Well…It’s not just us anymore. We’re in an entire palace…again. I know how it is with servants and nice baths. A couple of them got the leather for sneaking in a bath.”Ludwig said as he slipped in behind Mamoru, wrapping his arms around him warmly and giving him a playful little nip on the neck. “Tasty…I think I may sneak in a—“
“Don’t even think about it sweetheart.”Mamoru laughed. “Tonight would be a safer time for you. It’s supposed to be sunny today…for once.”

“Was the weather always bad?”Ludwig laughed.

“Well, it could have been better. At least it’s not a rainy day we would be freezing right now.”Mamoru laughed, reaching back to give Ludwig’s head a little scratch as the Vampire kissed and nibbled along his neck. “Or at least I would be.”

“Mmm…”Ludwig agreed. Reaching around, he grabbed a wash cloth, bringing it to the bath water and swirling it around. “Lean up.”

“What?”Mamoru asked, sitting up.

“I’ll was your back and if you wash mine, love.”Ludwig chuckled.

“Ooohh…”Mamoru said with raised eyebrows, chuckling and lifting his hair out of the way by twirling it and tying it up in a bun. Now with a pale back exposed, Ludwig licked his lips, as he started to wash his back, careful of every little crevice and curve. “Mmm…that feels good…”

“Good…”Ludwig cooed, kissing the back of his head and getting a face full of bun. Mamoru laughed lightly, turning and coaching Ludwig to turn so they could switch off. “How much do you want to bed all the pale against my back is just flour?” He joked.

“Mmm, I doubt it. You haven’t cooked since we left the manor. Maybe you can actually use the kitchen here?”Mamoru said with a chuckle, running the cloth gently along his back. He hadn’t really noticed before but then again Ludwig showed his back to no one and his hair covered up everything quite a bit. Along his back was a criss-cross of scars ranging from short ones to long ones. His eyebrows furrowed, moving the cloth to run his fingers along the bumps.

“Wiggy…your back…”Mamoru whispered softly.

“Those? They’re nothing…Just my mistakes.”Ludwig said as he moved his hair back down, turning back to look at him. “Besides, they’re healed right? And the master is dead…So there will be no more of them…okay?”
“Okay…”Mamoru said, looking down. Ludwig smiled, leaning forward to kiss the pale forehead, rising up from the bath to wrap a towel around him. He offered Mamoru one, helping to wrap him in it.

“I’m going to ask about the gravesite and go to the library…can you see about picking some flowers for them? You always did have much better taste then I ever did.”Ludwig joked, walking out with his arm filled with clothes.

“Don’t be silly! You cook!”Mamoru called, laughing and joining him in the room to dry off then dress in his robes. However, he found that his travel robes had been taken away and a set of beautiful, dressier robes were put in their place. Ludwig had been given some apparel as well.

“That was fast…”Ludwig sighed, scrunching his nose a bit. He held up the shirt, running the cloth through his fingers some. It was actually much softer than he imagined. Slipping it over his head and then the jacket, he found that they were just the right size. The pants however, were a little short but the boots were just the right height to cover that up. Princely garb or not, they were comfortable.

“Wiggy, can you help me tie this?”Mamoru asked, holding two ends of a piece of cloth behind him. Ludwig glided over, grabbing the two pieces. With a quick jerk, he made sure it was as tight as Mamoru liked it before making a neat, butterfly bow. When they were dressed, they parted ways. Ludwig recalled where the library was and settled into digging around old records. Mamoru had gone to ask the current queen about flowers from the Palace garden.

As he rummaged around, he tried to go back as far as he could recall. One hundred years…and finally around one-fifty, he struck what he was looking for. The palace kept detailed records of occurrences. He found records of the takeover of Mamoru’s home country and slowly traced it up to the last bits and remnants. He even found the occasion when Yuri’s existence was brought to truth. Finally, he found the case of a child of mixed races being brought in by an elderly woman.

Rising to his feet he paced around the room, his eyebrows furrowed as he read it aloud.

“An elderly woman brought in a young child of the apparent age of three years. She set the child on the floor in front of the King and looked to be as if she was infuriated. In spite, she hit the child with her cane but a guard picked the child up and moved him away. The child seemed to be of mixed origins: Black hair, Violet eyes, Dark skin. The elderly woman was of pale skin. She seethed at the King, pointing at the child. She complained that the boy had been of the age of three years for over thirty and six years. She bore the child at the age of twenty and five years. An order had been decreed that any child, man or woman found to be of Albinjian origins were to be killed. Yet, for some reason, the King showed pity on the child and sent him away from the throne room. However, the elderly woman, who had been the boy’s original birth Mother, had been sentenced to death according to the second decree of the birth parents of the child to be killed. The father, apparently, had died in boating accident on the lake and the number of siblings was unknown. The elderly woman was then taken to the gallows and the child taken in by the guards. It was then, when the refuge in the northern mountains had been completed that the boy, of sound mind and skill of cleaning as well as culinary skill, was assigned to mind the refuge until his own life ceased.” Ludwig read.

Sitting back down, he leaned forwards, rubbing his eyes. Bringing his fingers away, he saw that his tears were actually blood. Sniffing, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned his face. His Mother and Father were dead, that he knew very well. He probably had relatives but they probably didn’t even remember him nor ever knew he existed. Shaking his head, he knew he had to continue.

Skimming through the pages, he found one that caught his attention. Leaning back, he stared at the page.
“Boy of age three brought to palace by citizen of foreign nation. The boy, clearly of Albinjian birth, was most likely one of the last of his kind. The King, expressing interest and having a kindness unrivaled, allowed the boy to live. His name, expressed, was Mamoru. Parents were deceased from a battle with soldiers. Boy Mamoru was then assigned to the care of Ramund and then reassigned to the refuge in the northern mountains until his own life ceased.”He read, shaking his head. He closed the record book, sighing. Mamoru’s entry was so short but it explained so much in so little writing. Cleaning everything up in neat stacks, he rose to his feet but found Mamoru standing in the doorway.

“Ludwig…Are you okay?”Mamoru asked, walking over with two bouquets of flowers in his arms.

“Yeah…Just…I was learning something and I just got overwhelmed. Don’t worry. Now…Let’s go visit the graves now shall we?”Ludwig said with a smile. They swung by their room to grab their cloaks and head out of the palace. They asked for no company and took none despite insistence.

The graveyard felt like a solemn, dark place but it seemed the further they walked down, the sun peaked through the clouds and sparkled down onto the dewy grass. Stopping close to the royal burial site, they found the statues that they had been told was their fathers’ gravesite.

“They really overdid I think…Angels?”Ludwig said as he looked to the statue which was of two angels, one with long hair, one with short with their clothes and bodies intertwined together.

“It’s beautiful…I think it suits them.”Mamoru said with a soft smile, bringing his hands away from Ludwig’s arms to fold in front of them in a small prayer while Ludwig held the flowers for a moment. He gently took one while Ludwig held the other, both of them setting them down at the stone feet of the statue. They stood back, looking up to the faces that would be forever being content and happy with each other, taking the term ‘death do us part’ to mind.

Ludwig felt his hand start to burn, looking down and wrapping his cloak around both of them. “We should go…”He said lowly.

“Yes, of course…Do you want a…”Mamoru said, pointing to his chest.

“Later.”Ludwig whispered lowly as some visitors passed them into the graveyard. They didn’t know exactly how Grayharte was handling the Vampire hunt but seeing as they hadn’t seen any hunters around, it was a safe bet that they would be much safer there than anywhere. At least until they could leave again. When they were safely indoors, they were called to lunch. Of course, Ludwig skipped out.

While Mamoru was introduced and got to know the remaining royal family, Ludwig had retreated to his room when he stopped to see a figure slinking around the halls. They had their hood up but he could tell just by the dark chestnut hair underneath it that it was Rhoma.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”Ludwig called, Rhoma jumping and moving his hood back.

“No and that’s none of your concern. Just who are you?”Rhoma inquired, correcting himself and stepping up to him. Now he could see the Mage’s face clearly. If there had been a copy of Theron made, Rhoma would have been it. Every little detail seemed to match. To add on to that, Ludwig could very well a see that now as an adult, he would have been taller than his Pappi, Hezekiah’s lover and the 9th Lord.

“Ludwig…And you’re Rhoma, correct?”He inquired.

“Indeed I am. You must be the fellow who pulled me from the water…Though why YOU are still here, I shall never know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to return to and a King to brief!”Rhoma said with a huff, marching past him. Ludwig sighed, reaching back and grabbing Rhoma by the tail of his robes.

“No you don’t. You’re still recovering. Get back to bed, Mage.”Ludwig said, pointing back down the hall.

“I’d like to see you try and make me!”Rhoma argued, tugging his robes but Ludwig had a firm grip. Reeling him in by the robes themselves, he grabbed Rhoma, the mage kicking and squirming as he hauled him back to the room. “Let go! Unhand me! Don’t you know who I am?! Who my fathers were?! Put me—oomph!”

Ludwig dropped Rhoma on his bed, standing there with his hands on his hips. “I do know who your birth father was and your father-father…Hezekiah was my father as well…and Theron his lover. You are Theron’s son.”He huffed. “I don’t expect you to know who I and your elder brother are.”

Rhoma stared, his eyes narrowing with some thought. Rising to his feet, he brought his hands to squish Ludwig’s cheeks in some, making them chubby and more child-like slightly. Tilting his head, he brought his hands back, putting one to his chin. “You can’t be…You are the mixling boy from the portrait? But…That would make you nearly 200 years old! That’s only slightly younger than Yuri but still!” He said, startled. He sat back down on the bed.

Ludwig sighed, shaking his head. “I’m only part Albinjian, part Amestrian and part…Oh only Reyah knows what but I am who I am. Mamoru, the mage who was with me, is your brother.”He said, pulling Rhoma up from the bed and pulling back the sheets. “Get in before you perish of shock or other things…”

Rhoma didn’t argue, removing his outer layering of clothing and sliding into bed. This Ludwig person was very convincing and he had proof. Shrinking down under the covers, he snuggled under, looking at Ludwig with big violet eyes. “You…know what my father was like when he was younger?”He asked, looking hopeful.

“Yes…We’ll talk when you’re warmed up again okay? Try and get some sleep Rhoma.”The older Amestrian sighed, pulling the blankets over Rhoma’s shoulder more and slipping out of the room as quiet as a soft breeze though he was stopped by a figure slightly shorter than he was.

“No one has ever gotten him to sit still for five seconds to listen…Just who are you?”The man asked, staring into Ludwig’s eyes with a deep intenseness and the near teal eyes to match with it. Most likely, a descendant of Hezekiah and almost a mirror…except for the lighter blonde hair but the eyes were close.

“An old friend of your great-great grandfather probably…Rhoma’s is asleep…and I’ll be returning to my chambers.”Ludwig said, stepping around the man and slipping away quietly without so much as another word. When he returned to the room, Mamoru was already slipping out of his robes and into some clothes to nap in.

“There you are…I hope you weren’t too bored.”Mamoru said softly, walking over to give him a kiss. “What were you doing?”

“Dealing with some trouble…Your younger brother is just as stubborn as Theron was…”Ludwig huffed, receiving the kiss and giving Mamoru a little bump to start walking backwards towards the bed. The only thing he wanted right now was a nap and a snack when he awoke. Tackling Mamoru to the bed, he leaned on him a little heavily, kissing a little ways down his neck.

“Wiggy…are you alright?”Mamoru inquired.

“Just tired…”Ludwig mumbled.

“Aww…Though…I can kind of tell. Here, let’s get into bed. I take it you’ll what your snack afterwards?”Mamoru said, helping Ludwig to sit up and drag his butt into bed. He knelt down, removing his boots and coat so he was just in his trousers and shirt. When he was stripped, Mamoru pulled him up into the bed properly, snuggling up to him and giving him a warm squeeze.

“Sleep tight, Wiggy.”He whispered but the Vampire was already asleep.