Rapunzel, Eh? {To Be Continued Soon!}

~Chapter 10~

The castle was quiet throughout the night. 

The only sound that could be heard was the rain falling onto the windows, and the quiet rumbling of slow thunder. Everything was dark, inside and out. 

Matthew awoke to that same darkness. He blinked and yawned, sitting up, and looking around the room. His dreams were fuzzy, and a little unclear, but he could still remember some of it vividly. 

They were in a small cabin, in the middle of a field, next to a small stream of water, the current slow and steady. The grass was unusually bright, and everything had a hazy glow that just wouldn't go away. 

Matthew was younger here, he knew that immediately, by how high the table suddenly was to him. It was dinner time, and his papa Francis was just finished cooking. 

It was only them. 

Matthew looked around, to see if he could spot his brother or Arthur. "Pap_, _ere's __fred?" 

His father looked at him in confusion, and replied. Matthew couldn't hear a thing, and couldn't read the man's lips. 

Suddenly, they were in a castle. Matthew recognized it as his own, just slightly different. They were exiting a carriage, and walked through the gates surrounded by guards. The slightly older-than-before boy tried to look at what was beyond them, but he found his head being held gently in place. 

"Don't ____, Ma_____. It's ____ sa__ fo_ your e___." 

The boy kept on looking forwards without a choice, and they were inside. He could hear footsteps. 

"Hello there." Matthew looked up to see Arthur walking towards them. Again, there was no young Alfred, running up behind the Englishman to greet them as well. 

Time skipped once more. They were running. He had a hold of someone's hand. Someone around the same height as him, in a hooded cloak. He could instantly tell it was his brother. 

Something about this seemed familiar. They were fleeing through a hallway, one of the many that he'd walked before. He knew where it lead. Outside. 

For some reason, the thought of exiting the building made him sick, like whatever was out there was bad enough to make him want to face whatever was chasing them. He could see the doors approaching quickly, and braced himself as Alfred shoved them open. 

 Blood was the first thing he saw. 

Then, it was the people.

Everyone.

Everything started getting hazy, and he realized he'd been engulfed by smoke. Was the castle on fire? He tried to look, but his eyes stung, and he couldn't breathe. 

He felt his hand let go of Alfred's. 

 "MAT-"

That's where the dream ended, and he woke up. He was slightly relieved to see his brother still snoring soundly in his bed across the room. He wasn't sure why; it's not like the dream was real in any way. The castle had never been on fire, and he'd lived here his entire life. 

'I'm probably only worried because of the storm.' Matthew looked out the window, smirking to himself slightly. He was the only one who'd ever known about Alfred's silly fear, and had discovered it once on a night like this, many years ago. The night when Alfred had clung to him like he needed his little brother to protect him for once. 

Deciding he'd wait a while before going back to sleep, Matthew got out of bed, and walked down the hall. He watched as the drops of water rolled down the glass panes of the windows, leaving a trail of the drops left behind. 

 Funny how he could relate to rain so much. 

He kept on thinking about it. What would happen, in the future. Alice would settle in, become sort of a part of their family. Alfred was already chasing her, so there was no point. And then, there was Matthew. 

Prince Matthew, who would keep the same title his whole life. Not that he wanted the title of a king anyways, he just found the idea of Alfred ruling...a little bit wild. Sure, he'd be nice, but...

 He didn't know when to stop. He was overconfident, extreme, and his imagination ran into his reality, and he tried to make the impossible possible. He was lacking in patience and the ability to accept other's opinions, and he wasn't open to new possibilities. 

Matthew paused for a second. He internally slapped himself. This wasn't the way to think about his brother. Capable, strong, smarter than he may appear. That's what Alfred was, and he would figure out a way to run the kingdom right.

 He turned quickly to his left, suddenly feeling unsafe in this hall. He didn't see anything, but for some reason, kept on staring. 

 "Hello, Matthew." 

 The man froze, the voice emitting from behind him. He couldn't move. He tried and tried, but to no avail. 

"It's been a while, huh? I mean, not that you'd remember." The woman smirked, stepping out of the shadows, and into the pale moonlight pouring in from the windows. Her heels clicked as she moved forwards, her eyes narrowed and locked like a predator, ready to catch it's prey.

"W-who are you? How d-did you get in here?!" He exclaimed, staring straight ahead with wide eyes.

"That doesn't matter, not yet...all you should know is this; midnight has arrived, and you're my little messenger boy." 

She'd walked right up to him, and he was able to feel her breath reach the back of his neck. She grinned as he shuddered, and he suddenly gasped. 

The dagger was thin, yet sharp. Purple blended with crimson, and Matthew fell. 

"That's a good boy," She mumbled under her breath, flipping back her black hair and looking out the window.

"Soon, my revenge will be complete..."

 -

 Um. Yeah.

 Please don't hate me.