What If by fang_shinobi

Disclaimer: Ludwig Kakumei is owned by Yuki Kaori. Now if only we can get her to continue it…

Summary: What if Idike didn't die? What if Lui became king, and Idike his queen? What if… What if there really was a happy ending?

…

"Lui…"

He didn't need to hear the sinister edge of her voice to know that she was mad at him again. Somehow, he could already sense the ominous aura behind him.

"What is it, my Dearest Queen?" he asked, turning around to greet his wife.

It was no surprise that a pair of small, slender hands suddenly grabbed at his orange hair, pulling his face down. God, she'd already demanded to have his hair cut that short, and here she was trying to rip off what was left of it.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing?" Surprisingly, she looked lovely despite the anger etched into her face. Well, yeah, so did his trigger-happy mother.

"Nothing, Sweetie," he replied, a neutral look on his face.

"Does that look like nothing to you?" She pulled his face towards the window, still by the hair, where a clear view of a group of pretty, young women could be seen from over the castle gates.

"It's not like I'm down there with them," he grumbled, one of his eyebrows already twitching in annoyance. "Can't you let this go already?"

She continued glaring at him, her hands still clutching at his hair, and he could swear he could almost feel his hair being ripped out of its roots.

Though her silver-blond hair had grown out, almost reaching the floor, her face still held the childish roundness to it, reminding him so much of the annoying fifteen-year-old he had first met in that dream. Well, she was barely a child anymore, and he was pleased that she'd grown out there, thank god.

But then again, marrying her was like marrying his mother – he had not had a day of peace in his life since the marriage. Why was she so goddamn jealous all the time? Sheesh, she should've realized by now that a playboy would always remain a playboy. It wasn't like he slept around anymore. Can't he just… look and not touch?

"Tell you what," he said, lowering the tone of his voice as he wrenched her hands out of his hair, "let me make it up to you."

He saw her gulp, her face turning a light shade of pink.

"Lui…" she complained when he continued looking her in the eyes. She looked away, trying to pull her hands free.

He leaned closer and lord knows what he would have done next if a sudden voice hadn't interrupted him.

"Mou, shouldn't the King and Queen be more modest? Doing such lewd things out in the open! You should have the decency to find a room. I mean, there has to be at least a hundred of rooms in the castle. What if the servants saw–"

"Ah, so does the Princess Julianna want a piece of me too?" Ludwig threw back.

The previous Queen's pet blushed crimson red at the remark. "You, you-!"

"Master Julius, maybe we should just leave the two alone," Gretel said from behind her master. As embarrassed as she was for him, she owed Lui too much to suddenly attack him just for that. This sort of exchange has been going on so long it was already an everyday occurrence. Besides, assaulting the King, even if it was Lui, was only acceptable if you were Queen Frederike.

Her brother Hansel just stood by their master's side, silently observing them. No blood, no foul, right?

"They are husband and wife after all," added Gretel.

Julius pouted in defiance. Though he was almost already out of his teens, his effeminate features remained – the baby face, big, round eyes, and a small, androgynous built that would have fooled anyone he was a girl if he'd been put in a dress. He was no longer referred to as Princess Juliana around here, but Ludwig liked to use it as some sort of trump card whenever he needed a good comeback during similar circumstances.

"Just go get a room," said Julius, defeated, before turning on his heel and marching off, his faithful servants following after him.

Ludwig chuckled. It almost seemed as if the Little Princess still had a crush on him.

"Stop being so childish," the Queen suddenly snapped at him, pulling her hands away from him and crossing her hands over her chest.

"What happened to the mood I made just now?" demanded Lui.

"What mood?" his wife growled back.

They glared at each other for a minute or so until Lui grew tired of it and suddenly picked her up.

"What the – Lui! Put me down this instant!" With her petite frame, he easily placed her in his arms in a lover's carry.

She started squirming and shoving when he started heading down the corridor. "Lui, what are you doing?"

"The same question again?" he grumbled. "Well, we lost the previous mood, so…" His voice dropped a notch again. "I'll have to make it again, don't I?"

Idike was speechless, her face scarlet.

…

"And I'll make sweet, sweet love to you all night," said Lui, kissing and nuzzling against her neck.

"Oh, gross! No! Let me go!" Idike struggled against his arms, which were already wrapped tightly around her.

"What? You asked me what it would be like ten years from now if we were married," the Prince said matter-of-factly. "Just telling you what I think." His mouth returned to her neck.

"Well, leave out some details, would ya?" She continued squirming, trying to escape his lips. "And don't you dare do what I think you're about to!"

"You can kick me out of this dream if you want. It's your dream, isn't it?"

She grew silent and stopped flailing around.

Sitting their on his lap in her favorite meadow of heathers felt like paradise – it seemed so perfect. Then he started telling her how he imagined they would be like ten years from now... If that was all he could think of at that moment, there was no way she was going to sit there where he could take advantage of her! Well, other than the fact that they were only in a dream, and that she had no physical body to speak of, and that she had no other means of escape other than booting him out, and that she truly, truly loved him, she wouldn't dream of doing such a thing!

But…

What if…

What if she hadn't died… if she was his bride and he didn't need to go search for another princess elsewhere… if they'd gotten married… if they could only meet somewhere else besides their dreams…

To think about it, well, his story – though as lewd as some parts of it were – actually made sense. She could just imagine it that way… except ahem, for that last part, ahem.

"Well?" he asked after a while.

"I'm not kicking you out."

"That's more like it."

As chauvinistic as he sounded right now, and as submissive as it made her feel, she didn't mind it one bit.

"Come more often, okay?" she asked.

"Hmph, I've only been away a year."

"Hah. A year of sleeping around with other women… searching for your princess."

"I've already found one."

She squirmed uncomfortably in his arms.

"Well, you can still visit… if you want…"

She felt his chin on her shoulder again, the warmth of his breath on her ear.

"But she's already here, in my arms."

She felt her face grow hot, and he must've felt it too, because he said, "Oh, look who's blushing."

She shook her head and squirmed her body to face his, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face against it.

She mumbled something, her voice muffled.

"What was that?"

"I said," she moved her face away from his neck to face him. "I said, I love you."

She leaned towards him, closing her eyes.

…

That was when he woke up.

"Ugh, morning already," he groaned, stretching out from his uncomfortable position on the ground. Hell, these heathers would seem like a heavenly cushion, but, man, the rocks beneath them were a real pain.

"Sweet dreams, Master Lui?" came Wilhelm's nervous voice.

"Yeah, but my damn biological clock woke me up and – Wilhelm, why are you tied down in a net?"

"Master Lui, heeeelp meee!" whined the poor guy, barely able to lift his head from the ground. Standing on top of him was Little Red Riding Hood herself, leather boots and all. She had a rifle resting against her leg and a long blade in one hand.

"Morning, Lui," she greeted him, a sinister smile on her face.

"Ah, you found us," replied Lui, rubbing at a sore spot behind his neck.

"It's been a year."

"Master Lui," Wilhelm whined again, already tearing up.

"Bah, suck it up. What's she done to you anyway? Worst she could do is molest you. Wait, did she already, or–"

The barrel of the rifle met his face.

"I'm taking Wilhelm home with me," demanded Lisette, looking like she was seriously considering blowing Lui's face off. "And I'm not giving him back."

"Look, Red, my date just got interrupted, and I'm not feeling too nice about it. I need to find a princess, and I'm not going back home with Wilhelm until I do. I already have Princess Frederike, but she's dead, and unless I can find some sort of spell to bring her back from the dead, I'll have to go look for another princess. But for the meantime, I can loan you the carriage, and you can do whatever you want with Wilhelm in it and–"

"Master Lui!" Wilhelm whined even louder.

"I already told you, I'm taking him with me," growled Lisette, her face aflame.

"Wait a minute," said Lui. "I just remembered; what did you do with that squirt Dorothea?"

"Hmph. She's in the carriage… In a chest…"

"Oh," he said, as if it was a piece of information that was of no consequence. "Anyway, I have a deal for you. Help me find a way to get my Idike back, and you can have your Wilhelm here all to yourself. Is that a deal?"

"I've had enough of your deals! You never keep your side of the bargain!"

"Come on, think of the perks." He grabbed the sniveling Wilhelm by the face. "You get to travel with your little pet here."

"Oh, you owe me a lot more than that."

"A carriage loaded with gold?"

"A golden carriage loaded with gold."

"That's a deal then?"

Red just rolled her eyes. She bent down and cut Wilhelm free. "You should stop crying like that," she scolded him. "That's why people keep on pushing you around some more, you weakling."

"But you tied me up."

"Enough excuses!"

"Master Lui!" Dorothea shouted as she clambered out of the carriage on her backwards broom towards them. "I finally got out! I'm here to save you!"

"Ah, there you are, Dorothea. Thought you'd die of suffocation by now."

"Aw, so mean, Prince Lui. You know this is my last life. I won't be able to spend more time with you if I die!"

"Like I care." He shook his head. "Ugh… servants…"

He faced the derelict remains of Frederike's castle, a gray and glum reminder of what once was, amongst the vast field of heather.

"Why not?" he mumbled. Out loud, he added, "I'm going to take a long nap, so if you want to do something naughty, don't do it in front of the kid, okay?"

"Master Lui," groaned Wilhelm, who already had Lisetted attached tightly to his arm.

"I'm not a kid!" complained Dorothea. "Once this body grows out–"

"Don't wake me up!" was Ludwig's last reminder, already lying on the ground.

Next thing he knew, he was back in that endless heather meadow with Idike on his lap. No castle, carriage, Dorothea, Wilhelm or Lisette in sight.

"Now, where were we?" he asked.

…

END OF ONESHOT

A/N: I'm usually a shounen addict lol. Here's a little something for Yuki Kaori and Ludwig Kakukei fans.

Idike – has been the most used nickname for Frederike (as I've seen in fan fiction), but I've read one version of the manga which calls her Erike. A typo? Or just another version? Uh… Well, I'll stick to what I know…

Short hair – yes, we all love Lui's stylish long hair, but someday, his Queen might demand that he looked more grown up… or maybe she doesn't want people to make the mistake of thinking he's prettier than her lol.