CinderIce: Iceland x Finland Hetalia!

4 (V.2)

The morning flew by and Emil was in the dressing room with his brothers, helping them get ready. Lukas wore a lovely dark blue suit with a light purple flower on the right side of his suit jacket and Berwald wore a light blue suit with gentle ruffles sewn down the middle of his dress-shirt, along with a bow in a lighter shade of blue.

Mr. Køhler came in and admired his young men. "Emil, for once you didn't completely screw it up. Let's keep this up, yeah?" 

"Yes, Mister Køhler." 

The words slipped through one ear and out of the other for Emil, as he was too excited for what he was going to do. He occasionally caught Berwald glancing at him and flashed his stepbrother a quick smile, then continued working on their suits. 

Eventually their outfits were fitted perfectly and the two men got into a carriage with Mr. Køhler. Lukas stuck his tongue out at Emil, who stood on the steps as the carriage drove away, and smirked. 

Once Emil couldn't see the carriage, he raced into Berwald's room and pulled the suit out from under his bed. To his absolute horror, the suit was shredded up and there was a note in one of the torn pockets.

"How stupid do you think I am? -Mr. Køhler."

Emil exhaled sharply, feeling his heart drop to his stomach. "No, no, no! No, come on! Why me?"

He sighed and looked around. "How did he know?"

Suddenly getting an idea, he raced to the dressing room and grabbed anything good he could find. Eventually, he threw together a purple striped shirt and a white jacket with brown fur around the hood. He quickly put on a black tie and white pants, along with black shoes.

"This looks fine enough." He walked outside and looked around, "Wait, how do I get there? It's so far."

Suddenly, a giant puffin flew down and landed in front of him. It was Mr. Puffin who, for some odd reason, was incredibly huge.

"Puffin, what happened to you?!" Emil asked, reasonably terrified.

"Well," Mr. Puffin replied, "I may have eaten somethin' weird in the woods over there and...yeah!"

"Wha-how?"

"Don't worry 'bout it. Hop on my back, I'm takin' ya to the castle!"

Emil carefully climbed on and Mr. Puffin took off with the wind. They were there within ten minutes, and Emil ran up the stairs. The guards let him in and he casually strolled into the ballroom where hundreds of people stood, and watched the people dancing for a moment.

In the distance, he saw Mr. Køhler and his brothers talking away. In the center, the prince stood, speaking to various men and women. "Prince Tino! Wow, I'm really here." Emil thought.

Nervously, he walked down the stairs, but stood nearby. Soon enough the floor had been cleared by those unwilling to dance, and he made eye contact with the prince. Embarrassed by this encounter, Emil immediately looked away and blushed.

A moment later, he saw the prince appear in front of him. "Hello!" Prince Tino spoke, "I'm Prince Tino, it's nice to meet you! What's your name?"

"It's, uh..." Emil stared at him with his jaw on the ground, "E-Emil."

"Emil? I like that name. Emil, Emil!" The prince repeated, "Emiiil."

Emil laughed nervously, oddly charmed by the prince's interest. 

"Anyway, care to dance?"

"Sure."

For the next few hours, Emil and Prince Tino danced, laughed and bonded over their favorite whatevers. They soon found themselves alone together on a balcony that led to the secondary exit in case of emergencies. They stood at the edge and sipped wine together as they watched the stars dance in the night sky.

"This is great, your highness." Emil stated.

"It is." Emil didn't notice, but Prince Tino had been admiring his beauty in the moonlight. "You know, Emil, I'm surprised to have met someone like you here. Tonight, of all nights."

"Well, you wouldn't be saying that in a positive tone if you met me during a robbery tonight. I being the robber, of course."

They both laughed and quickly returned to the soft mood. "Yeah, that's true." The prince agreed, "I don't think I would've wanted to meet you any other way, though."

"I agree. This is really just so magical. I can't believe I'm here, and with you."

"Emil!" A voice boomed from behind the two men. They turned around to see Mr. Køhler storming towards them, with Emil's brothers following closely behind. Tino stood in front of Emil defensively and held a hand up to stop Mr. Køhler from coming closer. "Who are you, sir?"

"I'm Mister Køhler, who the h-" He quickly realize who he was talking to and visibly shrunk, "Oh, your highness! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was you."

"I accept your apology. Now, what business do you have with my company here?"

"He's my stepson. He's not supposed to be here!"

"Why not?" Prince Tino inquired.

Mr. Køhler cleared his throat and stood up straighter. "He's grounded, I'm afraid. I must bring him home immediately."

Emil cowered behind the prince and whispered to him, "Please don't let him get me. He's a liar!"

"Sir, this man obviously does not trust you." Prince Tino turned to look at Emil, "If what you say is true, we may have to investigate this matter."

Mr. Køhler jumped to protest, "We'll be fine, your highness! He just needs a good talking-to, is all."

"Emil-"

Before the prince could say more, Mr. Køhler had snatched Emil away and was dragging him down the stairs to the carriage. He forced Emil inside, along with his brothers, and called to the prince who now stood a few feet away in concern, "We'll be just fine, your highness! You needn't worry!"

Emil attempted to stand up, but was shoved back down as Mr. Køhler entered the carriage. "Prince Tino, help! Please!"

The carriage sped away and Emil was left to defend himself as Mr. Køhler stood above him, screaming abusive obscenities. He quickly noticed that his words were ignored and resorted to kicking and stomping on the poor boy, with his brothers watching from their seats. 

When they arrived home, Mr. Køhler dragged him out of the carriage and up to the attic, where he proceeded to use the belt on him long before bedtime. 

Emil went to sleep completely broken that night.