Street Mouse [Yandere Archduke x Female Reader]

19. Surprise.

It was a beautiful day in spring. All but the snow on the highest peaks of the mountain had melted, and the forests and hills were already a beautiful shade of green.

Plants were starting to flourish, and the songs of the many cheerful birds had returned to the mountains.

Inside one of the rooms in the servant's wing of Castle de Crivell Y/N had just woken up.

One look out of the high window in her room told the little girl that she was waking up later than she ever had before.

She hurried to get herself dressed for the day, and was moving so quickly that she nearly forgot to take her wooden ring from her nightstand and place it on her finger.

The H/C haired girl raced down the hallway and threw open the door to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Tola, I overslept," she began, but stopped abruptly.

The kitchen was empty. Completely empty.

Tola was nowhere to be seen. Nothing was in the process of being cooked, and the hearth was little more than a pile of dying embers.

Y/N hurried to check the pantry on the left side of the kitchen, but the small storeroom cut into the mountain was as empty of life as the kitchen.

Feeling utterly confused, Y/N walked out of the kitchen. She decided to go and look for Alfonse outside, he would surely know what was going on.

Going over to the chicken coop, she had gained enough hight during the winter that she could now look over the fencing that held in the poultry. She saw that the birds had already been fed, but there was still no trace of the other residents of the castle.

She searched the cow barn next, but apart from the four gentle eyed cows, there was nothing in there either.

Y/N hesitated as she knew that the best place to find both Alfonse and Frosino was the stable. As much as the little girl hated the thought of it, she had to check it there as well.

She crossed the courtyard with tiny steps, wishing that she would never reach her destination. But of course, she eventually did arrive at the doors to the stables. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.

Limbs shaking, she stuck her head inside, and looked around. It was just as empty as everywhere else. One of the horses let out a soft whinny and Y/N quickly slammed the door shut, completely terrified.

She took another deep breath, but the panic she felt didn't go away. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to everyone else, and what would happen to her if they never returned.

The H/C girl had to choke back a sob at the thought of never seeing any of them again. She nearly started sobbing right there, but reminded herself that she had yet to search the upstairs of the castle.

Pulling herself together as best as she could, Y/N headed across the courtyard and entered the castle through the main doors.

Y/N sped through the entrance hall and began to search the castle at a frantic pace the dining room was empty, and so was the portrait gallery next to it.

The little girl ran up and down the corridors, trying in vain to find any trace of people.

Tears welled in her eyes as she continued her fruitless search. She finally came to the door of the library, the last place she could think to check, and burst through the door.

It took her blurry vision a few seconds to understand what she was seeing. Inside of the library, a variety of pastel ribbons had been strung up all around the circular room, some of the reading tables had been pushed together with a white cloth over the top, and sitting on top of the table was a small pile of brightly wrapped boxes.

But what made Y/N let out a sob of joy was the sight of the three people whom she had been looking for all day putting up the final touches of the decorations.

Frosino was the first to notice the small figure of the girl in the room with them. He immediately got down from the chair that he had been using as a stool and walked over to her.

"You are just on time, we were just finishing up now," Frosino began, but he stopped as soon as he saw that Y/N was crying.

The little girl was so relieved that everyone was alright that she could no longer contain the tears in her eyes and started to sob.

Frosino rushed over to her, and scooped her into his arms like she weighed nothing. Y/N clutched onto Frosino's chest as she continued to cry.

"I-I was so worried," she whimpered. "I thought that something terrible must have h-happened to you all, or that you had left me behind."

"Oh sweet Y/N," Frosino murmured soothingly as he hugged her tightly. "Don't be foolish, we will always be here for you."

"Now, please don't cry," Frosino begged as he gently whipped away her tears. "Today, is a day of great joy after all."

Y/N looked up at him is confusion. Unsure of what made that day in particular so special.

Catching on to her confusion the Archduke began to explain while he carried her over to the table.

"Today is the one year anniversary of your arrival here at the castle," Frosino told her with a smile. "And it is also the day that we chose to celebrate as your birthday."

"You mean that I'm nine years old now?!" Y/N exclaimed happily.

"Yes, that's right," Frosino answered, stroking her hair. "Now come celebrate with us and enjoy the cake and presents."

. . .

The four of them had a glorious afternoon together. They ate the amazing cake that Tola had made, then after a few games moved on to opening Y/N's gifts.

She received an elaborately embroidered handkerchief from Tola, a dainty leather belt that Alfonse had made, and a book from Frosino.

Looking at the cover, Y/N realized that it was her favorite book from the library. The small collection of fairy tales that she had learned to read from.

She looked over at Frosino in surprise, "I can't believe that you gave this to me," she said. "It's a library book."

"Well, with how much time you spend reading it," Frosino responded lightly. "I thought that we might as well make it yours officially."

"Thank you!" Y/N cried out in joy. "Thank you all so much! This is the best birthday that I have ever had!"

"You're more than welcome little miss," Alfonse said. "We are all glad to have you."

"That reminds me," Frosino stated, his smile widening. "I have one more present for you Y/N."

He leaned under the table, and grabbed a small box. He placed it in front of Y/N and told her: "Now, I don't know much about what girls your age like, but my acquaintances assure me that every girl of culture has one of these, so I took the liberty of ordering the finest one from Bocio."

Unknotting the fancy bow, Y/N removed the lid to find a lovely porcelain doll. Her little face was smooth, and reminded Y/N of the fancy plates that they had eaten off of during that winter's feast. She had locks of hair the same H/C as Y/N, round glossy eyes, and a frilly F/C dress. Y/N took her out of the box and stared at her in amazement.

"I love her!" Y/N said as she held the doll close to her heart. "Thank you so much."

"Glad you like her," Frosino's indigo eyes filled with great warmth at the sight. But then his gaze turned serious as he said: "it has now been a full year since you have arrived, which means that we can avoid the conversation no longer."

He played idly with a scrap piece of ribbon before he continued: "The time has come for you to decide whether or not you want to continue to live here at Castle de Crivell as my ward."

A/N

Aaaww, Y/N is growing up so fast. ^~^

Sorry to leave you one a cliffhanger, but I would love to hear any speculations you have for where you think the story will go next.

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

~J. C. Coltt.~