A Prince's Love

Royal Painter

"Turn your head to the right, my king." The artist requested. The king complied and stood stiffly. The painter carefully captured each detail of the king. His brush reached to get more red when the doors bursts open.
"You can't catch me, Kitty!" Alfred shouted startling everyone in the room. Matthew giggled and looked behind him to see a white cat running after them.
"He's catching up!" Matthew laughed and jumped onto a couch with Alfred to escape him. Everyone glared silently at the twins for the disruptive behavior.
"Alfred! Matthew!" The twins gasped and saw their father at the door. He glared at them before turning to king with an apologetic face.
"I am so sorry, your majesty. They found a cat and haven't stopped playing with him. Do forgive." Francis bowed and picked up Alfred while taking Matthew's hand. He heard the painter giggle and looked over to the brunet.
"What adorable children you have!" The painter put his brush down and ran over to them. He lifted the cat to kiss his fluffy, white face earning him a loud purr.
"And what a handsome kitten!" He began playing with the affectionate cat. King James cleared his throat to take the attention away from the pet.
"Feliciano, would you mind picking up where you left off? I have more important matters to attend to, so please finish the painting." Feliciano put the cat down and picked his brush up from the paint can. He looked at the unfinished painting before resuming.
"Sorry your highness! I love kittens. They're just the cutest! One time, I found an adorable brown and white cat when I lived in Italy. He liked eating the breadsticks that were in my picnic basket. He was fun to play with until he started licking my hand with his really rough tongue! Did you know cats have rough tongues? I didn't until he licked me. It felt so weird! It reminded me of sand. Other than that, he was a nice friend. Anyways! I'm done with the painting!" He turned the large portrait around to show the king who was impressed. A loud groan cut through the room. It was from Arthur who was standing in an awkward position holding a heavy flag above his head.
"Finally! May I leave now?" He whined. He had been standing for nearly three hours, and his arms were sore.
"Yes, you are excused." Arthur put the flag down and hurried out of the room before his father could change his mind.
"Your artwork is marvelous! I love the way your brush strokes make the clouds look like they're moving." Francis stared in awe at the gorgeous painting. Feliciano giggled and wiped any paint from his hands onto his apron.
"Thank you! My grandfather taught me everything I know. Do you know Romulus? He traveled Europe many times, and so many people have met him." Francis eagerly nodded and smiled at the fond memories.
"I did meet him when I was younger; he visited my parents when I was around 10." The two sat down on the leather couch and chatted for a while. Alfred and Matthew grew bored and went to their room to play with their cat.

"How many mice do you think Kitty can catch?" Alfred looked at his fingers to count with them.
"Six." He held up his hands to show, but he had one too many. A loud sneeze, which was followed by several others, caught their attention. One of the servants was coughing and sneezing horribly.
"Who-achoo! Who has a c-*cough cough* cat?" He noticed the twins carrying the fluffy kitten and groaned covering his mouth.
"Please ta-*cough* take your pet-achoo! Outside." The twins nodded and quickly went to the garden. They aimlessly ran in circles trying to find a way out of the maze, but their tracks in the snow were mixed together.
"I think we're lost." Matthew tried to push aside a few branches to go through the hedge, but there were too many.
"We're gonna be stuck here forever! We won't see Papa, w-we might freeze, and-and..." Alfred whimpered as tears fell from his cheeks onto the snow. He sat down and sobbed thinking of all the worst possibilities.
"We *hic* we won't go home, and-and *sniff* Papa can't help!" His loud wailing echoed in the empty sky. Matthew frowned trying to fight off his own tears. He hated it when Alfred cried in front of him. Matthew was the oldest! He shouldn't be crying with his brother! He should be hugging him and making him feel better.
"Stop crying, Al. Y-You'll make me cry. We'll find a way out. I-I promise." Matthew joined his wailing sitting next to his brother and cuddled Kitty for comfort.

Arthur looked around the village while walking home from his fairy visit. He placed his hand against a cold, stone wall and dragged it along the rocks. He was so captivated it took him a few moments to hear two children crying. He paused and tried to find the source. The sound was loudest on the other side of the wall he was next to. Arthur jumped up and grabbed the ledge to hoist himself onto it. He looked over but only saw shrubbery. He got down and ran to the gate pulling out the emergency key.
"Damn gardeners. I told them to trim the bloody hedges." He unlocked the rusty, metal gate and pushed it open. Arthur ran inside following the crying until he saw the twins clutching Kitty. He sighed and stood on the stone bench to see where he was in the garden. Once he mapped out the maze, he went to the twins.
"Stop crying!" They looked up and ran to him soaking his pant legs with tears. Arthur groaned at the disgusting act hoping the maid could get the stain out.
"We thought we wouldn't see you ever again!" Arthur sighed and tried walking away, but the twins clung to his legs.
"You can't leave us. It's against the rules." Arthur lifted the leg Matthew was hugging and glared at him. The blond smiled at him and held his boot tighter.
"What rules?" He asked in an annoyed tone. Matthew only shrugged and glanced at his brother. Alfred mouthed something to Matthew that Arthur couldn't catch.
"The friend rules." Arthur picked up their cat and trudged into the castle; it was very difficult with the two holding his legs.
"You're both lucky I'm fond of you." He pushed the doors open and sat Kitty on the tile floor allowing him to run upstairs. He looked down at the brothers and crossed his arms lightly shaking his legs. It only made the twins giggle thinking it was for fun.
"We're inside. You can let go now." They shook their heads and clung tighter.
"No! You're our friend, which means we have to be nice to each other. It's another rule." Arthur groaned and stumbled to the living room trying to find Francis so he could give him his children.
"I want to know what idiot documented these rules." He muttered and found Francis still talking to Feliciano. He pried the twins off of him and sat them next to Francis.
"Finally. They were so fond of me that they wouldn't let go." Francis chuckled and hugged his still cold children. They huddled against him for warmth wrapping his coat around them.
"You're skipping ahead in your romance lessons." Arthur blushed and sputtered excuses hoping to explain himself.
"Th-they got attached to a cat for Christ's sake! I wouldn't be shocked if they loved a ball of yarn! I'm too tired for lessons, so don't bother with teaching me today!" He stormed to his room to think of everything that would prove himself right.
"The Prince is hilarious! He'd make a wonderful husband." Francis smiled and stirred his blood red wine when a tint of pink came to his cheeks.
"Oui, he would."