Big Bruder

Chapter 6: The Guests

Due to Roderich's absence for the dinner, Elizabeta decided to wear something more casual. Wearing a burgundy dress with shoulder sleeves, it outlined her waist as the fabric lightly sparkled with the dim lighting. Looking within the full body mirror, she awkwardly grinned while pretending to present herself. "Why hello there, Mister Beilschmidt, sir. I hope you enjoy yourself tonight," Elizabeta joked with a low voice, eventually bursting out laughing. "Oh my, I sound completely nuts."

She glanced towards the bed, Roderich's unconscious body spotted among the mass of blankets and pillows. Guilt clouded her mind as she could think of nothing else more than how she wasn't able to be by her partner's side when he had gotten hurt, and instead, was telling stories of the past to little Elise.

Elizabeta had found out about the accident. She realized it when she tucked her hand under Roderich's head to give him an extra pillow for comfort. There was a small bump under his head, and as she inspected it, she had come to discover that he had experienced a concussion. Astounded, Elizabeta immediately wanted to blame Basch for not informing her, but she kicked herself, accepting the fact that she could've stopped this if only she'd done something.

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeta cracked up a smile at the mirror. "Aight, you got this," she winked at herself. She made sure she kissed Roderich on the forehead, silently wishing him a quick recovery. And with that, she quietly shut the door behind her.

It seemed that Basch was already at the dining table and had taken his seat nicely towards the corner of the room. "Do you know where Elise had wandered off to?" he asked, his tone still frosty.

"As a matter of fact, I do not. You should probably go look for her," Elizabeta replied, knowing well enough that he didn't know his way around the place.

Basch returned a cold glare as Elizabeta's eyes narrowed, getting ready to stand her ground once again. The two were interrupted by a loud knocking.

"The guests are here!" Elizabeta exclaimed as she hurried herself to the front door, completely ignoring Basch.

She whipped open the door as two men appeared before her. The taller one wore a military uniform, his blond hair slicked back professionally as he held his hand out for a handshake. "Guten Tag, Miss Hedervary. Thank you for inviting us for dinner," he politely addressed.

Elizabeta laughed, "No need to be so formal, Ludwig. It's wonderful to see you too. Come in, come in!" She waved the two boys in with an exasperated smile.

The other boy- uh, man, jumped into the house, his platinum blond hair was untidy as he boldly presented himself. "Liz, how unfortunate to meet you again," he laughed as he put his hands on his hips.

"Brother, please act more mature. Remember that both Mister Edelstein and Miss Hedervary invited you here," Ludwig chided, his pale blue eyes glaring at his older brother.

"Ludwig, don't take this so seriously," Elizabeta giggled as she elbowed Ludwig's brother in the stomach. "It's been forever since I was able to elbow Gilbert in the stomach anyway."

Gilbert coughed as he knelt over from the impact. "Ouch, that hurt...," he muttered. Elizabeta raised an eyebrow at Gilbert as his red-violet eyes glazed over while he stared back at her. "Oh right, where is that prick anyway?" Gilbert asked while getting back up.

Elizabeta glared at him as she raised her hand to smack him, but Ludwig stopped the lady. "What's for dinner?" he politely changed the subject.

She completely ignored Gilbert as she perked up. "Oh, right! I have schnitzel tonight!" Elizabeta led the way for the new guests. Upon entering the room, she froze.