Street Mouse [Yandere Archduke x Female Reader]

11. Birthday Cake.

It had been several months since Y/N first arrived at Castle de Crivell, and all of the residents had fallen into a pleasant rhythm. Y/N would get up in the morning and help Tola with breakfast. After they finished cleaning up, she would go to her daily tutoring with Frosino. Even though the two did not talk about much other than the subject matter of the lesson, they had still bonded; so much so that it had become part of their routine to eat lunch together afterward. After lunch, she would go outside and help take care of the animals with Alfonse, or walk the hiking trails with Tola, looking for cooking ingredients.

On one particular morning, Y/N awoke to the smell of something sweet emanating from the kitchen. Pushing the door open, she was surprised to find both Tola and Alfonse in the kitchen.

Tola had her back turned to the door, and was busy tending to one of the cookstoves. Meanwhile, Alfonse was sitting on a stool, while gazing longingly at a bowl of fresh mountain strawberries that Tola picked earlier that same morning.

"Morning little miss," Alfonse greeted her, before turning his attention back to the bowl of strawberries, and placing several in his mouth. "Sleep well?"

"Oh, yes," she replied, doing her best not to giggle as Alfonse continued eating the strawberries while Tola's back was turned. "What is Tola making?"

"Ay'm making a main dish of steak, with a side of cheesy potato soup, and a strawberry pound cake for dessert," Tola stated as she continued her cooking. "It is the Archduke's birthday today."

"Really? I didn't know that," Y/N said, looking down. She felt bad, she wanted to give Frosino something for his birthday to show her gratitude, but it seemed unlikely that she would be able to find something with such short notice. "How old is Frosino?" Y/N asked. His exact had never been clear to her.

"Hhmm, let me think," Tola placed a hand on her hip, as she thought about it. "This 'ill be his twenty-second birthday."

"And this will be his will be his fifth year as Archduke," Alfonse continued, mouth full of strawberries.

"Oh, five years," Y/N repeated, finding in hard to believe that he had been in charge of the village for most of her life.

"YA GOOD FOR NOTHING SLOB, AY LET YA IN HEAR 'CAUSE YA SAYS YA WAS LONELY, AND THIS IS THE THANKS, AY GET!" Tola yelled as she pointed to the strawberry bowl that now had a singular strawberry left inside it. "WHAT IS THE MEANIN' OF THIS?!"

"I was only testing them," Alfonse said meekly, cowering away from the angry woman.

"YE DIDN' NEED TO EAT THEM ALL," Tola cried as she chased him around the kitchen, brandishing a broom.

Alfonse hurried, and made his escape through the door that led outside. Tola continued her pursuit, but stopped just shy of the door, grumbling.

"Oh, now I see why you don't like having him in the kitchen," Y/N commented in sudden understanding.

"Come on littlen," Tola beckoned, still irritated. "We've gotta get some more strawberries."

. . .

Y/N followed Tola as they walked down the mountain trail. It was truly stunning. Tall trees lined the path along with moss-covered boulders. The clean mountain air smelled wonderful, and was still pleasantly cool, even though summer was fast approaching.

Tola was still muttering angrily about the whole thing, but Y/N could tell that her overall mood had improved since the had started their walk. She had noticed that the housekeeper seemed to be most at peace when she was out in nature.

As the two continued collecting strawberries, Y/N's thoughts began to wander. She wished that she had known sooner about Frosino's birthday, but she figured that there wasn't much she could do about it now.

Out of the corner of her eye, Y/N caught sight of a flower, growing just a pace away from the path. It was a lovely white daisy standing happily in the sun. She walked over to it, thinking that if nothing else, she could at least give Frosino a few flowers.

Looking around,  the little girl spotted another daisy, and hurried to pick it. This continued for several minutes until she had a sizeable bouquet. Turning, planning on continuing to help Tola with the strawberries, Y/N discovered that she could no longer see Tola, or the path.

She tried to go back the way she had come, but realized that in her quest for flowers, she had wandered around aimlessly and could not simply walk back in a straight line. Her pulse quickened, and her chest fill with fear, as realized that she was lost and alone in the middle of the wilderness.

She began running this way and that, trying to find her way back, but it was no use. Still, she kept moving, over boulders, through bramble thickets. She tripped and fell, skinning both her hands on the rocky ground. Tears started to fall from her eyes from the pain, and the fear of what would happen to her if she didn't find her way back.

. . .

Meanwhile, Tola had glanced up from her berry picking, only to find that Y/N was nowhere in sight. She quickly scanned the area for the little girl, calling out for her. She searched all around for the girl, and after what felt like hours, she gave up. She hurried back to the castle, leaving the basket of strawberries forgotten.

A/N

Oh no, Y/N is lost in the woods! Whatever will happen to her?

^~^

You will just have to wait and see.

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~