Traveler's Inn (2)

They were sitting opposite to each other on their own beds. Alfred sensed Arthur's stare on him, expecting an explanation. And he himself avoided the other's eyes, somehow afraid his own would start glowing again - and he didn't want Arthur to think that he was strange or abnormal.

So he crawled under the cover, curled up into a ball.

They had managed to avoid the crowd, and had left them with the corpse. It shouldn't be too much of a great deal, they thought, since a corpse was only interesting for a short amount of time. It was something natural already in this period. So they had no fear to leave the body there, and to tell the truth, they couldn’t care anymore. They just wanted to be far away from that person.

Alfred, who had miraculously gained a bit of his lively energy back, threw the cover and sat up. But he still wasn’t looking at Arthur.

“I’m sorry…Majesty. I acted hastily, shouldn’t have killed him off. Hahaha it was my first time killing even,” he rubbed his palm, it didn’t hurt anymore.

He pondered about telling Arthur about his vision; he theoretically had the right to know. After a few moments of conflicted lip chewing, he finally decided to speak. Still no eye contact. “I had a vision. A vision of me destroying. Taking people’s lives ruthlessly with immense bloodlust. The first one that I saw was when I was still a child; it was shortly before I met you. I woke up crying, and my parents told me it was just a nightmare. And I thought they were right until more were coming in varied versions, later even when I was awake,” he gulped. “My parents brought me to the palace’s court magician and astrologer, and he gave me these glasses. And the visions never came up whenever I wore the glasses.”

And it was unclear to him why people would have interest in him. Did they know of his visions? Even so, how could he be of any use for them? He really shouldn’t have killed him off.
He eyed his palm and smiled.

“Your Majesty...thank you,” it was for the healing of course. And for even more.
Suddenly, he felt shy for some reason. He was one useless hero, he thought.

Arthur listened to Alfred's story with slight surprise, his gaze still directed at the other despite his apparent refusal to face him. He thought him to be only a knight, he had never heard of a boy being brought to the palace for such a special reason. Of course he remembered when Alfred was first brought to the palace by his parents. Something had made him curious about the younger blonde, but when asking his own parents about him, they simply gave him a kind smile and told him not to concern himself with it.

"That is quite a story, it is the first time I have heard of it. I must admit I never knew why you were brought to the palace. But you have my word, I will help you find out why this is happening, and what those visions mean. It is all too much of a coincidence!"

A grim smile was on his face. Of course he was used to all this, at his age (rather young age thank you) of thirty, keeping peace whichever way he could. Though with war being threatened between two kingdoms, he ventured away from his own precious realm to try offer his assistance (though him leaving was not advised). This was not what he expected to come across.

"But there is no apology or thanks necessary Alfred, we are both just doing our job!" He also wanted to add he thought that is what a friend would do, but wasn't really sure.

Removing his cloak and straightening out the white cloth shirt he was wearing, Arthur then reached for the object he had taken from their attacker that was in his pocket. He turned it over repeatedly in his hand, nothing really seemed to stand out about it, it was rather plain looking but it didn't take an idiot to know that it was more than what it seemed. Looking back back to Alfred, hoping he would at least look at him this time.

"If you wish to rest Alfred, then please do so. In fact I insist that you do but I will be awake a while longer!"

Alfred was taken by surprise at the promise of his monarch. For a king to go that far...
Arthur was really offering him his help? To him, who was merely a subordinate (oh how he hated that word) and even a stranger (oh how he wanted to call himself a friend)? His head made a command to decline and say you don't need to and fuck a hero does not need support. But those words never actually left his trembling lips. It was cold, no it was warm. The room was freezing, yet he also felt warmth. Why is that?

"You...couldn't know of course. Nobody should ever know of the monster, cursed with dreams of bringing destruction and discreation of men. I hated the time in the palace," but the meeting with you turned the memory of it into something happy, "I hated the examinations of my body and mind. I was a child."

Alfred looked up the ceiling, tried to break his gaze through it and wanted to search for the sky. The sky that had always meant freedom to him. He closed his eyes and imagined it, an endless layer of blue. He believed that every human being, no every living being, has the right for freedom. But sadly, they had chosen to imprison themselves, putting chains called gravity on their own body. They lost their wings. They were bound to wander around the limited space that wasn’t theirs. They fought against each other, liked to possess power over other beings, for it gave them the illusion of freedom and movement. In truth though, they were all the same and still in chains.

He had a dream of setting all free. One day he was going to cut through the chains and mankind shall fly. In order to do that, he himself had to break free from his own gravity first. For he was yet another wingless prisoner.

And maybe, just maybe...it would prove that he wasn’t a killing monster.

Alfred sighed, awakened from his daydream and realised that he was mumbling. He chuckled. Oh right, now he was also crazy. For the first time in what seemed forever Alfred was directing his gaze onto Arthur again and his eyes were bright.
An object, the one Arthur had picked up from the fight, was taken out to be examined. Alfred saw his king looking at it thoroughly. Alfred pushed himself up and walked towards the other, bent himself forward to have a better look. It was most strange.

Suddenly he was overwhelmed by a sensation that pierced his head like thousand needles. He saw shadows, but it could not be, wasn’t he wearing his glasses? The object on Arthur’s hand, Arthur, the surrounding, all became blurry and he lost balance. His legs gave up on him and he collapsed. His left hand grabbed Arthur’s shoulder for support, his knees collided with the floor and a hard thump was to be heard. The other hand grabbed the sheet. Over Arthur’s lap his eyes were shut in pain. He panted, felt his heart racing and it felt like it could explode anytime.
And all was gone within one blink, leaving only an aching in the back of his head. He looked up and emerald eyes stared back at him.

Arthur noticed immediately that Alfred seemed to be having some kind of funny turn, like before. His face went extremely pale.

How own eyes widened as Alfred collapsed and grabbed his shoulder, wincing slightly at his grip. He wouldn't push him away though, not when one of his own people and now a friend needed his help. Looking into the blue pain-filled eyes of the other, words seemed to fail him. Asking him if he was okay seemed to be a stupid question right now. Instead he settled for helping Alfred to one of the beds, he didn't look like he would be able to move on his own anytime soon. With determination in his eyes, he leaned forward to move him.

"Alfred, I am going to move you around to the bed, so I need you to move as best as you can alright?" Arthur then helped him to stand and then wrapped an arm around his waist to support him, it was not easy task though.. Alfred was rather heavy. He then had the even more difficult task of actually getting him round to lie down. Taking it one step at a time and tightening his hold until he could set him down.

After setting him down, Arthur sat down on the bed next to Alfred with a sigh.

Alfred's story and the things their attacker had said made him think back to his youth, memories of a stranger telling him a story of an evil being, that he himself would assist. That he was special ( Unfortunately back then he loved hearing that he was special). He never got to hear the whole story though because the stranger had pulled away from him. The memory flashed forward to him being somewhere that he shouldn't have been, a huge stone chest completely protected by a magic he didn't know, caught his attention. He spent years trying to figure it out, till this very day he still had not completely figured out how to open it. But something told him that he needed to open, unknowing of what was in there.

Again he sighed and looked down at his friend.

"I'm okay," he said apologetically, sighed. He swung his body forward into a sitting position to demonstrate that he was perfectly okay.

He looked at his king intently, tried to make out what the other was thinking. Something had made him space out. Alfred frowned. He hoped Arthur wasn't thinking too much about it. He wanted to have a conversation, so he crawled to Arthur's side and sat there. Though the other man was still elsewhere and didn't snap out of his reverie; only when Alfred gently placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder did he look to his side.

Alfred grinned triumphantly. It didn't last long and an awkward silence filled the room. Suddenly he wasn't that determined to talk anymore. Conversation my ass, he thought. He didn't even know what to say, yet he felt like he had something that he wanted to express. Sadly, while he was always talented with words and even more with wild gestures, he was never gifted with the subtle tounge.

His eyes wandered from Arthur's eyes to his own feet whilst chewing on his bottom lip. To say or not to say...to say what? He sighed, this wasn't going anywhere.

"I," he finally began. "I think I'm happy that I'm not alone in this situation. Majesty, you really are a great help."

Once again his eyes searched for the sky, and this time they were bright and optimistic like his usual self. His arm reached for the infinity. He smiled brightly.

"Let's both lose our gravity and set mankind free! Actually I was supposed to be the only hero, but you can be my royal sidekick!" He laughed heartily, then turned to face the king directly. And as swift his confidence came it was also gone in no time. Smooth Al, smooth. His rather (but really only a slight bit) chubby cheeks went rosy.

"Wh-what I wanted to say is..." his gaze shied away.

"Please stay with me...Arthur."

His mind was now completely clear of all memories. All thought gone and eyes completely widened with shock. Arthur wanted to laugh at how many times this man had shocked him in one night!

After Alfred's statement, he was the one who created the new string of silence. He wouldn't call it awkward though (mearly pleasant, if he said so himself). Mainly because he already knew how to reply, the answer already there before the question was even asked. He copied what Alfred had done, and raised his hand to reach for the infinite sky.

"Set mankind free?" He gave a small laugh, " I think I like the sound of that. Although... Royal sidekick? Maybe we can work on that part, hm?"

Again he laughed, genuinly amused, then turned to face Alfred completely and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Alfred, that is not something that you need to ask me. I had already decided that I would. I made that promise to help you because I never intended to leave your side!"

Alfred's gaze was soft as he heard the answer and his smile grew tender. He lowered his hand, the earth was enough for now. It was an odd situation and he felt embarrassed, though he didn't want this moment to end. He really should work on his emotional stability or lack of, he thought with a half confused scowl. Contradicting feelings are pretty new to him.

"What if...I would become worse? You know, like a moment ago. I might also..." he didn't wish to finish. He didn't believe that his dreams and visions were of prophetic nature, he didn't want to believe that. "When that time comes, it's okay...to leave me, I'm strong and all you know, I could easily manage on my own you know...yeah."

He bit his lips and wanted to slap himself for being so complicated and well he did just that.

Well... He was not expecting that.

"Al- Alfred!" Grabbing his hand as he spoke. "There.... really is no need for that! Listen to me, I WILL help you figure out what is going on., why all of this happening, and if you're worrying about what that lunatic earlier said.. then to hell with him! Visions or not, just be who you want to be. Do what you want you want to do. Don't let anything or anyone decide for you!"

Arthur offered a reassuring smile! Well, as best as he could, he had worries of his own. But now was not a really good time to speak about them. Besides, this moment was so peaceful, he didn't want to do anything to change it, simply reassure Alfred as best as he could.

"And... how many time must I say, I'm not going to leave!" He realised he was still holding onto to his hand at the point and let go, then got up to move to the other bed... suddenly feeling awkward. "Perhaps... we should sleep now?"

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Arthur was right. It was indeed better to carry on with life that was led by yourself. He was sick of being a useless whiny mess. So he nodded in agreement and he did it with more determination. An Alfred never knew of pessimism, and it should stay that way.

And then there was Arthur's hand warm on his. Arthur's promise echoed in his mind endlessly and dominated his consciousness. Alfred felt how his face was radiating a strange heat that made him want to whimper or just hide behind a pillow, for he knew that it was definitely red by now.

He felt empty as Arthur let go of his hand and he was disappointed. He watched with regret how Arthur moved to the other bed, about to go to sleep. "A-ah okay, let's sleep."
Fuck sleep, all he needed was that hand. And he refused to acknowledge that he was thinking that way. Yes, Arthur was just a good friend and his royal sidekick...nothing less and especially nothing more.
"Arthur...sweet dreams," he whispered and hoped for himself to also dream of nothing destructive.

It was only a whisper but Arthur still managed to hear it in the silence of the room. He lay down and got comfortable, a smile clearly on his face.

"Sweet dreams to you as well Alfred!" a whispered reply, then his eyes began to close as sleep took over. Dreams again of that stone chest and somebody ordering him to open it. A familiar voice. Why? He wanted to ask because he did not understand. But everything went blank before he could.

Morning came and his eyes opened to bright sunlight hitting his face, he hissed and turned over, now facing Alfred again. He still appeared to be asleep, Arthur got up and walked over to the other bed, he looked rather peaceful so hopefully he had not had no horrible dreams. Walking over to the window, he looked out, a new day had begun. People were setting up stalls to start trading and selling for the day. He wondered what would happen today, would someone come after Alfred again? He sighed and then thought of that item he had taken from their attacker last night, he had forgotten to look at the damn thing.

He grabbed it off the small table where he had left it and sat back down on his bed to look it properly while his companion was still asleep.

(( and this is the part where I apologise, XDD I still have not thought details on that damn thing! So yeah! I'll think of something for the next post XD)

Alfred had an almost dreamless night. True, he got haunted by sparks of nightmares - but only once that night. Warmth and a kind of tenderness dominated his sleep and wrapped him up in a deep slumber. And all was silence.

That's why that morning was his best morning in a long time. The cover was thrown to the side and Alfred jumped out of his bed, stretching himself with a content smile and sleepy eyes. Sunlight grazed his tanned skin, tickled his nose. Charged with energy and a new load of optimism, he felt like he could handle hundreds of monsters today.

"Good morning!" He chirruped.

Alfred disappeared inside the bathroom and left it with a fresh appearance, his grin grew wider. Arthur was sitting on his own bed, apparently deep in concentration over an object familiar to him. Right, that thing from yesterday. Alfred sat next to Arthur. He chuckled as water drops from his still wet hair hit the king's cheek because of the movement.

"So, found out something about it?" He asked, eyed yonder item with a mix of curiosity and displeasure. He suspected that he shouldn't be anywhere near it, as it was making his whole body feel uncomfortable and heavy. Though he didn't want to distance himself from Arthur's side. He would even move closer, he really wanted to. Good thing he was able to restrain himself from being too obviously clingy.

Funny, he never felt that way towards his father. And why was he comparing Arthur to his dad? It didn't feel---right. And also, the king wasn't that old, right? No surely not.

To think of it. Alfred knew nothing of his monarch. He was interested in Arthur's private life, though he knew it was none of his business. He murmured something about unfair. It was all about him, and he went that far to even tell him about his past. And what did he know of Arthur? Nothing. He wanted to know. His pouting expression was endearing and not so surprisingly childish.

He shot a glare at the dubious object for stealing Arthur's attention.

The cold drop of water that landed on his cheek and rolled down his face was the first thing that drew his attention away from what he was concentrating on. He didn't even hear Alfred approach. He laughed and wiped the water off his face, at that point he decided to clean himself up also in a moment. He was really getting no where with this thing, he continued to turn the sphere shaped object in his hand, the centre of it looking rather misty. It was encased in what looked like gold swirling all around it. Nothing about it was rather interesting.. only the strange looking writing that was inscribed on the metal itself. He would have to search to try and find what it was and what it said.

" Good morning Alfred! I see you slept well?!" It wasn't that hard to tell really, the fact he was bouncy and energetic again, after what happened the night before and the visions, it made Arthur quite happy to see him back to, what he would only assume, his normal self. "Nothing really of great interest about it, although the writing here.. I do not quite know or understand it. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

It was then, when he looked over, that he caught sight of a rather pouting look on his face. It was kind of... well adorable really, that he could only laugh more. He placed the object on the bed beside him, only to see Alfred glaring at it..... Well that was odd.

"I will move this out the way! Seeing as you do not seem to like it!" He moved over to the side of the room and placed in the table again "Now if you will excuse me, I am going to get washed up!"

Arthur then disappeared into the bathroom, only to reappear five minutes later with dripping wet hair and a grin on his face.

" Did you say something about unfair?"

He had used Arthur's absence as an opportunity to get a closer look at that thing he hated so much. He approached it like an animal, with a constant frown; the suspicious look never left his expression. And there they were, the engraved writings. Just like Arthur, he wasn't able to decipher it at all. It was a language unknown to him, yet it was familiar. He knew he'd seen those characters countless times in his dreams and visions. He knew, for it was him, who wrote in that language on stony surfaces, using a liquid that suspiciously looked like blood. Still, he didn't know what those writings meant.

He sighed and backed away from that object, it was starting to make his head ache again. Also, he decided to not tell Arthur about that writing being somewhat familiar to him for the time being. He should savour the precious peaceful moments for now. So fuck that evil thing. He waited for the object to actually fuck itself, yet nothing the like happened. Somehow he was disappointed.

Then Arthur returned...and how he returned. Walking around with wet hair should be criminal, Alfred thought. Someone had to arrest Arthur.
"Holy mother of God..." he gasped in a half whisper.

"Hm? Everything Alright?!"

Noticing that Alfred was staring, his face warmed up a little. Shaking his head a little and heading back over to the table, cheeks still heated up, he picked up the newest cause of trouble.

" So, did you get a chance to look at this? Anything about it familiar to you? I think maybe we start looking for anyway to find out what it is and what it means if you don't. It might be important, it might not be. Best to find out I think"

Ranting seemed to be the only thing to distract from the staring. Grabbing the newest source of a headache, and his cloak (which was defiantely filthy now )

"Maybe... we should start looking around or.. something!"

He did not stop from staring until Arthur was making the suggestion to look around. He blushed in embarrassment, having noticed that it was pretty rude to stare. He couldn't help though. Should he apologise? But that would make it even more awkward, wouldn't it? He bit his lips, pondering.

"Ah...no, not really. I'm also lost, just like you," he lied and shrugged. "Maybe it's just random ornamentation."

He then walked over to the door and waited for Arthur to come. He liked the idea of going out, he really needed the fresh air to alleviate the throbbing headache. And maybe...

"Let's enjoy the market today!" He suggested with a happy grin. The other probably wanted to look around for more hints, he was aware of that, but he really wanted to have fun today. The last time he had fun with friends seemed like an eternity ago to him. "Pwease?"

His puppy eyes of evil persuasion was the mortal enemy of his parents, it was his weapon to get what he wanted. So maybe they would also work on Arthur? Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it?

Oh gosh that look, it was quite unnerving. Even if it did somewhat feel like Alfred would use it to get what he wanted.

"Enjoy? As in... have fun?" A pause and a glance away from that look. "I may not be the best company for that! The only rare moments of peace that I get now a days are in my rose garden, which is lovely enough. It does make me think back to when I was younger though, heh, there was a time when I used to sneak out of the castle very often! I realised at some point that I had to grow up though, it all became lessons and learning and boring parties after that! I guess that is what it means to be royalty though! Oh dont get me wrong, I love my home and all the people in it, being able to protect it and them 'and you' he thought Makes me happiest!"

His lips had turned up in a fond smile, talking about home made him realise how much he missed it! Maybe a little from remembering what it felt like to be a little normal too. Looking at Alfred again... Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have fun for a while!

"I guess it would not be so bad to enjoy our ourselves while we can, it IS important that we still look for information though!"

Arthur then walked towards the door and opened it in a gesture to leave!

Alfred's poor heart skipped a beat. It was a little bit of insight into Arthur's private life, wasn't it? The little bit of humanity, and he dared to say endearing youth. It was unbelievable, even nearly comical, that his king was someone who used to sneak out of the castle to have fun and taste the naughty side of life. He tried to imagine his king partying around, enjoying one or two or more glasses of ale.
Alfred's mind somehow wandered off to a darker side of imagination. He then met this (bitch) vulnerable girl with watery eyes, and with the help of alcohol he fell in love (that was not love but just the hallucination of love and probably also lust). They would then retreat to a cheap room and they had sex. And somewhere in Woodland Realm a child, that was produced in that night, is wandering around. His expression fell.

That didn't happen, right?

"Bullshit. You're just the right person!" If you can make someone pregnant, having fun would be a piece of cake for you, he added in his mind. Alfred beamed a cheerful smile and caught Arthur's arm, he pulled at it playfully.

The market was even more crowded than the day before. New merchants, many of them were pretty exotic, had joined the selling hype. And Alfred was happy. He wanted to at least pretend to be mature, but all the colours and music and games made him jump around in excitement. All problems from last night were forgotten.

"This is awesome Artie! We will definitely have fun today!"

Alfred collapsed onto his own bed with a loud groan as soon as they entered their room and lost consciousness soon after. The peaceful blackout however did not last very long and he was pulled back into a painful awake state, eyes wide open. He gasped.

What was happening? That was the last coherent thought until he was stripped of all awareness. Alfred felt hot, but the sweat on his skin was freezing cold, all his limbs were in pain. His head felt like it wanted to explode.

"No," he moaned, his eyes wide open in fear. There was the horror scenario again and in that he was once again the angel of death - or the devil of destruction. He didn't want to see. Why were his glasses not stopping the visions? Tears ran down his burning cheeks. He kept saying no in between choking sobs.

The visions were finally gone, yet he was still in great pain. Alfred looked up and saw another person looking at him with serious concern, Arthur. Sweet heavens he must have looked terrible at the moment. Oh how he wanted to lift his arm, touch the other as if it would cure him from his suffering, but he wasn't even able to do that.
"Arthur... "

"Alfred.."

The pain in his voice was quite heartbreaking. It must have been another nightmarish vision. Arthur had been halfway through making the potion, when he had heard him moaning. Now he was down at him with concern filled eyes and his hand wiping away a tear that had trailed down his face, it then moved up to brush the honey blonde hair, that was stuck down to his forehead by the sweat, to the side. Why did Alfred affect him so much?

"Just give me a few minutes, then the potion will be done! It will make everything better for you!" He then wondered off back to the table, where a bowl and a glass that he had manages to find (and clean repeatedly with his cloak before anything went in them) and several ingrediants scattered all around, some empty bottles. He stirred in some herbal ingrediants, then measured a small amount of a yellow powder and threw it in, smoke rising from the bowl as he did.

"Right, that should do it!" He poured some into the glass, and walked back over the bed. Alfred had drifted off to sleep again, Arthur gently shook him awake.

"Here you go, drink this all up! It is not going to taste nice, but it will help"

It really did taste like crap. He had to cough at the burning feeling on his tounge. He was barely conscious but the mean liquid sent an awakening shock through his whole body. He forced it down, gulped without breathing. He was relieved, when the glass was finally empty. For a moment he felt fresh and healthy. Then a piercing pain. Alfred jumped up, nearly knocked against Arthur and dashed with the speed of light to the bathroom.

Dying. That's how it felt like. Not enough oxygen and he gasped heavily, clutching at the edge of the basin. Was it the end? Without permission to tell Arthur that he...tell him what?
His body was burning, as if his bones were bent and broken at the same time. The pain was reaching its climax and Alfred screamed.

And then it was gone. All pain. Gone. Alfred smiled and thought that the pain was actually just a pre-effect of Arthur's potion. Such an awesome potion. He crawled to a bowl full of water to clean his face, it was all sticky and wet. He dipped his hands in the water...Mother of God. The reflection in the water stared back with shock. It's just...it wasn't his reflection. Unless, he was now a woman, which was not possible. He grabbed his chest by reflex and squealed when he felt that it was soft and round...and nicely big. The first boobs he ever groped. But that was trivial, since HOLY SHIT HE HAD BOOBS.

"ARTHUUUUR!" Even his voice was high pitched and very very feminine.

He stumbled out of the bathroom, and as a natural reaction, Arthur stared. First at his face, then at his breasts. Typical men, he thought.

In front of Arthur was a woman. She had wavy blonde hair, shoulder length. And there was this stubborn strand of hair, just like Alfred's. Her small face was roundish and her sky blue eyes huge and sparkling. She was smaller than Alfred, so her figure was also frailer. The shirt, now too large for her feminine frame, had slightly slipped from her right shoulder. And of course, there were the full round curves making themselves noticeable through the fabric.
Why was Alfred a girl?

The moment he had heard the high pitched coming from their bathroom, he knew something had gone wrong. He stood by the door and waited, untill Alfred stumbled out, well he thought it was. A range of expressions must have crossed his face in a matter of thirty seconds. Okay, so his eyes did roam up and down a few times, hey, so would anybody else if their companion who a few minutes ago had been perfectly male was now standing before him looking... not male.

"Al...." He started, but words failed him, he was utterly horrified. All he could do was stare, mouth gaping. He raised a hand and pointed, "You are Alfred? Right? I'm not crazy and you're not some random person who happened to just stumble out the bathroom?" Panic was setting in now. It was even worse that his face was turning red from how cute he/she? looked, how the clothes looked much too big and revealing the soft looking skin of his...her skin where the shirt had slipped off the shoulder.

"I just... do not understand how this happened. I really....". He walked over to the bed and sat down on it. Alfred was still standing in the same spot, looking extremely shocked, not that he blamed him...her, damn this confusion. Was this his fault? The potion maybe. It couldn't have gone wrong though, he had made it loads of times in the past.

"How are you feeling? Do you still feel like you... Minus the obvious of course!"

Why was Alfred a female exactly?

Alfred eyes were misty, because he, or better she?, was having a great deal fighting off the tears that were threatening to just run down her red cheeks. "A-Artiee~ what have you done, I want my body back you perverted old man!" That wasn't intended to sound that whiny - damn girly voice.

"I don't want these!!!" He squeezed his boobs for emphasis. He ran off to stand in front of a full-length mirror to look at himself, whirled around, gasped in shock and was devastated. Calm down, he said to himself, this couldn't be a permanent change. He was convinced, at least he tried to be, that this was all temporary. On second thought though...

"I look gorgeous," he said in his girl-voice. "Don't you think? What a babe and too cute and innocent looking. Have you seen these pretty curves?" Alfred was squeezing them again. The ex-man turned around and was now approaching Arthur, using seemingly skilled graceful, yet playful steps. Alfred took a seat next to Arthur and smiled an unreadable smile. "So, Artie..."

So much for being completely in shock over the entire situation, he was now adoring himself in a mirror. This was a strange turn of events, the potion must have seriously messed with his head. Now it seemed like Alfred (it was strange to call a woman by that name!) was trying to mess with his head, walking over in that way. Was he aware how to use girlish charms already? Because that sure seemed to be what he was doing. Punishment maybe.

Then she (He had to stop calling her 'him', not when she looked like that) sat down next to him, and looked at him with a smile that made him think she was planning some kind of revenge for this whole mess. Not that he would blame Alfred for it, it was his fault. Next order of business, find out what wrong. After dealing with pretty blonde sitting next to him.

"To be perfectly honest, even though this whole entire situation is a mess" He started, with a charming smile of his own, taking hold of a delicate hand and kissed the back lightly. It was hard to believe that not too long ago he had been holding this hand and it was very different.

"I think you are most beautiful. No doubt whatever you are planning I surely deserve" Still smiling that pleasant smile, he waited to see what she would do.

That caught him off-guard. Speaking of backfired evil plots, here he was, trying to threaten Arthur and that guy was doing that. And why was he blushing anyway? But Arthur's lips were so soft and gentle on his skin, he couldn't help but feel blood rush up all over his face. A man, even though in a female's body, was not supposed to be so affected by that act.

"You think, I'm pretty?" He half-whispered while looking up at him through his long lashes without raising his head. He linked his arm with Arthur's and leaned in, along the way pressing his new breasts lightly against the other. Okay, his girl body has a mind on its own, but he also had the feeling that he himself was the one taking advantage of this situation, even though only subconsciously.

The main question was, why was Arthur so good in this? He truly was a gentleman, wasn't he? After all he was a king, courting women was surely his daily routine. Thinking about that made him angry for some reason and he found himself tightening the grip around Arthur's arm.

"This is all your fault, make it better, I demand it. The hero can't be a woman and become completely useless, not able to protect you," he said, yet all hint of accusation was gone. But seriously, he needed his original body back, also he was afraid of beginning to like this situation - with Arthur being so gentle to him. Ah, the virtues of a woman.

It was hard to tell what she was planning, (although him kissing her hand was clearly now what she expected, it amused him) what with clinging onto his arm and pressing ever so closer because yes he certainly could feel it and yes he was accustomed to it, he just wasn't expecting it from this person, maybe that explained why he felt so warm all of a sudden. The grip on his arm becoming tighter as well. It was actually kind of comical, it was like Alfred had a spilt personality for a moment there, the first question was expected of a woman. The second statement was more of what he was expecting right now!

He stood up suddenly, hopefully taking his arm with him, and gave an apologetic smile.

"Listen, all I can do is apologise to you. I will figure out why this happened, obviously something to do with the potion. I still don't understand what went wrong though, I have made this potion a thousand times and am pretty sure no one has ever turned female because of it" He walked back over to the table and started inspecting all the ingredients, to make sure they were all indeed the right ones, that moment of distraction earlier when he was buying them may very well be the start of the problem. He picked up an empty bottle to inspect what was left of the contents, he turned his head slightly first to look at his new female friend.

"To answer your first question though, I do think you are very pretty. I also think that until this whole mess has been corrected dear lady, I should be the one protecting you!" He truly did mean what he said, but the last part was said with maybe a tiny bit of humour.