A/N: Thank you very much for your support! I've been not very nice making you all wait, I feel warmed there are still people reading this.

And special thanks to Foofmeister for the enthusiastic encouragement and MoonlightShadowMaiden for the long review. Thanks to you, Moon-san, there's more 'fluff' in this chapter haha.

Chapter 2.15.2: Gotta accept both the good and the bad

"Let me go through the symptoms again," the same middle-aged doctor who pronounced Arthur's pregnancy was back to his bedside, "Profuse sweating, nausea, blood in vomitus, rapid heartbeat?"

Arthur gave his attendant a tiny nod. His heart still felt like it was racing out of his chest, even starting to ache like it burned. "A-and chest pain," he wheezed.

The doctor watched the flower as he gasped for air. "Difficulty breathing as well, I see," he frowned. "Any numbness?" He began to touch the green-eyed blonde's face and neck.

Arthur panicked when he couldn't register the sensation of the doctor's fingers on his jaw. "…I could not feel that."

"Don't worry," the medic was quick to reassure the concubine. "It's most likely temporary. How about headaches? Stomach pains?"

Arthur anchored himself on the older man's voice to dislodge the terror that was feeding his heartbeat. He focused on feeling his body. "My head's fine. My stomach…only a little," he finally answered.

"Good, good," the doctor murmured absently, his hand twisting his greying beard in thought.

Like déjà vu, Emperor Alfred hovered around the two. It was hard to not absorb the nervous energy he was emitting. "So?" he urged the doctor after the latter was quiet for a couple of minutes. "Is he okay? How about the baby?" the pitch of the monarch's voice rose with each syllable.

"The baby is unharmed," the doctor didn't snap, but he was clearly only an inch away.

Alfred deflated from relief, but only for a while. "So," he started again, "what's wrong?"

The doctor looked around the room. It was, again, filled by way too many people. The Northern siblings were there, along with every flower. Every single flower, including Yao and Karla Dubois, the Lilac. It was like lunch was continued in Arthur's bedchamber.

"First and foremost," the doctor raised his voice, "Lord Rose needs a good rest."

His intention was unmistakable. The Emperor shot his harem and his (unwelcome) guests a glare. "You heard what the good doctor prescribed," he ordered firmly. His eyes, though, met Kiku's concerned ones, and he couldn't help but soften. Alfred knew Kiku got along well with Arthur. He's stumbled to the sight of them having tea at least twice already. The teenage blonde reached out to hold his friend's hand. "I'll let you know once Arthur gets better," he told him softly and squeezed.

The slender Easterner gave his Emperor a grateful smile. "Thank you, Your Majesty," Kiku's voice sounded weak.

Soon enough, everyone had exited and only three of them were left (well, four, if you count Arthur's maid). The Emperor narrowed his eyes at the doctor expectantly. "Well?"

The older man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Your Majesty, there is an off-chance I may be wrong," before the monarch protested, the doctor plowed, "I highly suspect Lord Rose was poisoned."

Alfred inhaled sharply, while Arthur stopped breathing.

Somebody was targeting him. Somebody wanted him to die.

"Please breathe, milord," the doctor's voice cut through the flower's paranoia, and Arthur released a lungful of air.

Subconsciously drawn to his beloved's distress, the Emperor sunk to the bed, his hands searching blindly until they held on to Arthur's hand and hair. Alfred was, however, unable to say something soothing, his jaw clenched shut in horror and fury as his eyes were trained on the older blonde's familiar face, drinking the sight in.

The atmosphere in the room remained heavy as the silence dragged.

"This is serious," Alfred finally managed as he wrenched his intense gaze away to the rise and fall of his flower's chest. He saw that his desperation were making Arthur more upset. "Are you sure this is not…"

The doctor waited till he was sure he was not going to interrupt his sovereign before he explained, "While pregnant women and begetters might be plagued with serious nausea and heartburn, palpitation and numbness aren't natural. The blood in his vomitus is a dead giveaway." He gave the Emperor some time to process the information, and added, "I hope the remnants of Lord Rose's food haven't been cleared."

That got the Emperor to jump out his seat like his feet was on fire. "You!" his expression wild as he pointed at Arthur's maid. "Tell the kitchen helpers to not dispose or wash anything! On pain of death, you hear me? Dash now!" he barked.

If Arthur was in his right mind, he would have chided his husband for being so rude to Xin.

At the moment, though, it took him everything to not succumb to fear.

Despite his best wishes, Alfred found himself standing behind the entrance to Yao's apartment with knights and investigators on his back.

The thick-browed Oriental slave who opened the door was startled by the presence of his sovereign, not to mention the small army behind him. His dark eyes were as large as saucers, before he bowed. "His Majesty?"

"Don't bother announcing me," the monarch nearly hit the wooden furniture against the wall with the force of his slam.

The three Eastern flowers were in the living room. Mei was practicing a musical instrument. Yao was writing something with a brush. And Kiku was folding numerous rectangular white papers to some kind of shape fervently. He looked most distraught.

Something was caught in Alfred throat as he spied Kiku's palpable worry.

The trio looked up at the slam. "Your Majesty!" Kiku shot up to his feet. The slight relief on his face turned to shock and wariness as the knights and investigators barged into the apartment and trampled all over the place with their noisy footsteps. "W-what…" Mei joined him at his arm. Yao only looked up, and narrowed his eyes.

It was hard to say what he had to demand. But Alfred wasn't the ruler of his lands if he were a coward. "Lord Chrysanthemum," the sound of his official title was warning bells to Kiku, Alfred could see. He fought hard not to swallow. "We're here to request the ingredients you gave the cooks to prepare Lord Rose's meals for lunch earlier."

Something seemed to click in Kiku's mind. "It was just the huai shan," his eyes searched for their slave's, and once he had the man's attention, gave him a non-verbal cue. As the ingredient was being retrieved, the flower's socked feet peeked out of his silky maroon kimono and slid against the floor, approaching the Emperor slowly as the owner gauged Alfred's reaction. The blonde tried to let out nothing.

"Alfred-sama," hearing his given name from Kiku's lips threw him off. It reminded him of those peaceful days at the Wang's clan's backyard a couple of months ago, of them crafting mechanical toys, of Alfred laughing and ordering his new friend to call him that way. In the chaos of preparing for the showdown, the coronation, his grandfather's siege, Ivan, Arthur, the baby…the blue-eyed blonde just realized he missed that friend, the easy companionship.

Before he could look away, the slight begetter's fingers had ventured to his face. Kiku's penetrating dark brown eyes were locked on Alfred's own when he whispered. "Is Rose and his baby well?"

Kiku didn't refer to Arthur with his full title. Alfred felt punched in the gut when he realized that the two were closer than he thought. He still forced himself to let out no emotion when he spoke, "Doctor Bonnet alleged that Lord Rose was poisoned. Harming the Empire's heir is a serious crime."

Kiku's other hand clenched on the fabric over Alfred's shoulder. The blonde watched a dozen of emotions battling in those gorgeous eyes before concern won over. "Is Rose and his baby well?" he repeated.

Alfred was speechless by his spouse's tenacity. They continued staring at each other in silence until the Easterner slave came back to their side with a bag of thin stripes that resembled white-coloured potato flesh.

"That's our entire stock of huai shan," Yao declared from his place. He was finally on his feet too. "I swear we are not guilty. You can search our place as much as you want," his gaze was direct and strong, almost challenging. "But don't leave it in a mess. I refused to be treated rudely," he reminded sharply, everything in his tone screaming, you will pay otherwise.

Alfred held Yao's gaze. He knew the Peony could be a good liar, but it was hard to believe he could be lying now. "Thank you for your cooperation," he acknowledged it.

Yao humph-ed and returned to his writing, like the investigators didn't faze him.

Alfred avoided giving Kiku one last glance as he turned around to leave.

"No!"

Alfred was woken up from his accidental nap by an elbow to his collarbone. His first reflex was an uncoordinated swat at his attacker, but a few blinks later, the teenager realized that his bedmate was flailing, the begetter's brows furrowed and his mouth open and emitting a high pitch whimper.

"Arthur! Arthur!" Alfred grabbed the slighter blonde and shook him. "Wake up!"

The latter came to the world of the living with a gasp, luminous green eyes unseeing.

"Sshh," Alfred quickly tucked his husband under his chin and rocked him slowly. "It's okay. You're okay. Nobody's hurting you," he murmured tenderly.

"…A-al?" his precious bundle choked a sob. "Is that…"

"It's me, dear, yes, it's me," Alfred caressed Arthur's face softly as he leaned back to let the older blonde see him and confirm his identity, to ease his mind. As recognition entered Arthur expression, the monarch gave him a small smile and drop a chaste kiss to his lips and temple. "Wanna tell me about it?"

Normally, his former tutor would have scowled and corrected the Emperor's grammar. This time, though, Arthur only clung to the bigger blonde, as though he wanted to burrow himself under Alfred's skin.

The nightmares weren't an uncommon occurrence. They plagued the nights the Emperor held vigil at Arthur's bedside as his pregnant flower suffered through more restlessness, nausea and worsening pains in his stomach. Once, he even had seizure. The good doctor visited every few hours, when he wasn't busy supervising the inspection over the food materials Arthur had ingested that lunch. Lacking knowledge of what the toxin even was meant his treatments were limited in their efficiency.

The good doctor never looked worried when his Emperor asked after the baby.

"I don't think the baby is directly targeted," he described, "Lord Rose doesn't experience any cramps or bleeding in his lower body. The poison isn't an abortifacient."

But of course, if Arthur lost his life, his baby would automatically be no more.

Alfred didn't want to entertain the possibility of such a scenario.

Meanwhile, the huai shan was out of suspicion. The investigators had fed it to animals and even human testers. None of them so much as fell ill.

A day after the Emperor had someone return the remaining huai shan to the Peony's apartment, Kiku showed up at the doorstep of Arthur's apartment with a bouquet of Christmas roses and an arrangement of many, many bird-like shapes folded from beautiful patterned papers, held together by a string.

At the Emperor's curious gaze, the Chrysanthemum explained, "They're origami cranes, Your Majesty. In my homeland's culture, the crane is considered a holy creature. This senbazuru - a thousand paper cranes - is believed to bring good luck and can grant a wish." The flower had looked scared, determined and hopeful at the same time. "And, from the bottom of my heart, I wish for Lord Rose and the baby to be well."

Guilt flooded Alfred's chest as he faced his friend. He knew shouldn't let him in; just because the weapon was not the huai shan, all of his concubines were still prime suspects. But Kiku was…Alfred trusted Kiku.

Arthur, though – delirious, weak Arhur – his eyes were lost in terror when Alfred asked him whether he was up to meeting Kiku. He even flinched away from the bouquet.

Whenever Arthur was not unconscious or distraught in pain, he was becoming more and more withdrawn each day, his eyes darting all over the place, jumping over the smallest noise. Alfred could only slip into bed with him and wrapped him in his arms, assuring him that he was protected.

One sunrise, Alfred opened his eyes to Prime Minister Edelstein sitting next to the bed.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," the bespectacled Infante greeted calmly.

Alfred rubbed his eyes and groaned in response. It wasn't the first time Roderich had visited Arthur after the poisoning. They were friends, and Alfred knew the former Edelweiss never meant the Rose any harm.

This time, though, he held official documents in his hands, and he was dressed very formally. "Reports from Lille and Metz," he answered the Emperor's inquisitive stare, "our armies have subdued the enemy's armies."

A lopsided smile broke on the young sovereign's face. Finally, some good news! "That's great!"

"However," Lord Edelstein didn't hesitate over interrupting his ruler this time, "Chartres and Evreux were attacked in the dead of the night barely ten hours ago. Lord Archambault and Lord Bissette were mad with grief over losing their families. [1]"

If Alfred wasn't awake before, he certainly was now. His mouth went dry.

Roderich's stare was patronizing as the silence enveloped them. After an eternity, he broke it with a sigh. "Your Majesty," his title sounded mocking from the diplomat's lips. "I understand that you're worried for Arthur. I am worried. We are all worried. But please don't forget we are at war. Waging wars in winter is the North's specialty. That you have an Empire to rule and protect." His tone was gentle, but they were worse than if he were shouting.

The blue-eyed blonde snapped at his most trustworthy advisor. "What do you-"

"Sshh," a gloved finger was placed on Alfred's lips. Roderich's violet eyes were watching over Arthur, who stirred from the sudden movement of his bedmate, but didn't wake.

Alfred's face burned in shame.

"We all care for Arthur," Roderich whispered as he leaned back to his seat, "Vash, my wife, Prince Matthew," his poor, poor brother who returned from his best friend's house (hopefully, hopefully NOT his future in-law) to chaos. "We can set up a rotary, share our time to take care of him."

"But-" he needs me, Alfred stopped abruptly when his most trustworthy advisor shot him with a look the blonde hated the most: patronizing, with a touch of exasperation.

"Your Majesty, you've only been on the throne for two months. If you keep this up, your life can be in danger too," the bespectacled diplomat sighed.

Alfred grimaced like he'd swallowed a bitter lemon. "…All right," he conceded, begrudgingly.

Roderich showed his ruler and grateful smile. "Then please get ready, Your Majesty. There are subjects to be appeased."

The daily life of a sovereign, indeed.

The day His Majesty and the investigators invaded Lord Peony's quarter, Hong was seriously afraid for his life. Suddenly, his master didn't seem so invincible after all.

In the wake of that chaos, nobody visited the petite Oriental begetter anymore. Nobody wanted to be associated with the family suspected of hurting His Majesty's favourite (no matter how much the sight of the former slave was an eyesore to many). Days in the apartment had been too quiet.

But, on the second day since the bag of Chinese yam were declared innocent, a guest knocked on Lord Wang's door.

"I am not stupid, despite what you believe in," the long-haired Easterner humph-ed as soon as he caught sight of the bespectacled brunet in his guest room and retorted in a biting tone.

Prime Minister Edelstein remained unfazed. He merely pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

Lady Plum and Lord Chrysanthemum were both out in the gardens. Xin was staying indefinitely at Lord Rose's until the blonde recovered, Hong supposed. There were only three of them there right now.

What a convenient coincidence.

Lord Wang heaved a sighed before he slipped out of the table he normally write letters at, and approached the other begetter. "You are the stupid one if you think that I'm behind this," his hand waved vaguely in the direction of the tower where Lord Rose resided. "I could not care less whether he gives birth to a Crowned Prince or not. You do know what the strength of my position in this court is based on, don't you?"

The Prime Minister snorted. "The degree of your influence on my decisions and recommendations to His Majesty."

Lord Wang barked a high-pitched laugh. He was seldom so bad-mannered with his other guests. (But then again, this diplomat was the one profile that surprised Hong the most.) "Well, if you want to be vindictive, yes," the Peony sneered. "But our business relationship exists because you need several things from me. Money, of course," he ticked off a finger, which was covered by a golden claw-shaped nail-protector. His red, full lips curled to a smirk as he ticked off a second finger. "Information...and an agent."

Lord Edelstein sipped his green tea quietly. He didn't rebut any of Lord Peony's words.

"And none I can obtain without maintaining a credible reputation," the Easterner continued as he crossed his legs and leaned back. "Which is seriously jeopardized by the bastard who started this whole drama, whoever he…or she is." He narrowed his amber feline eyes and hissed.

The Duke sighed. "And here I am hoping you would know more about it."

"Oh, trust me, it's not from lack of trying," Lord Wang chimed sarcastically, "I'm pretty much just sitting around uselessly these days, squandering riches off your treasury," he commented off-handedly as he inspected his bejeweled claws. "Which is not a bad deal for me, really."

Lord Edelstein leaned forward and looked hesitant for half a beat. "And you're sure it's not…" his violet eyes shifted to the rest of the apartment at large.

Another snort. "Mei's an idealistic simple girl, and I didn't raise Kiku to be stupid."

The Westerner's frame seemed more deflated. "I see," he crossed his fingers and rested them under his chin.

"I'm not that useless," Lord Wang huffed, "What you requested me last time is on my work desk. Of course, it's more expensive to acquire now," he grumbled as he gave Hong the non-verbal cue to retrieve the envelopes on said furniture.

"Unfortunately," the Prime Minister replied absently as he took the documents from the slave and flipped through them. He raised a fine eyebrow at a letter addressed to the Easterner Ambassador in Oriental pictographic characters. "…What is this?"

"Just a message to the Ambassador to cash in a favour," the Peony gave a dismissive gesture, "Please help me send it. And make sure to let some people see along the way."

The bespectacled brunet pursed his lips disapprovingly. "This would spark friction between the two Empires' relations."

"As if," the flower snorted again. "It is so, so unlikely for the East Empire to use me to plot against Alfred's future heir. If they wanted to conquer the West, they would have done so when that Duke who didn't have a legit claim to the throne was playing Emperor. They're not about to battle Mikhalkov's armies to get to the West, either. Too much hassle, the high cost unjustifiable."

"And you absolutely need this because…?" Lord Edelstein sounded wary. "I'd rather not play with chance."

Lord Wang gave his guest a stare that screamed, 'are you really a diplomat?' "I want your nobles to think that I have my Empire's protection, of course. After all," for the first time since the other set a foot in his apartment, the Peony crossed his arms, "my 'opponent' in this drama may be the monarch of another militarily sound Empire."

Lord Edelstein inhaled sharply. He rubbed his face as though he was plagued by headaches. "Oh, God."

"Indeed," his distress was mocked.

The Prime Minister glared at his business partner before he took his leave pointedly, without any greetings.

When Hong went about clearing the leftover tea, Lord Peony spoke at the slave without looking at him. "If I so much as catch wind of what is spoken inside this room today," he let the threat hang.

Hong's heartbeat stumbled. "Yes, milord."

TBC

Review Please :)!

Notes:

1. I'm not pulling French last names out of my arse…they're from: surnames dot behindthenames dot com slash names/usage/french

A/N: I'm breaking it here coz I'm evil ;). Haha no...it's coz there's a natural break (cough cliffhanger) and my next job assignment is going to be tough...work 15 hours seven days a week that kind of tough...so I hope this chapter will last you a while till end of June. Cheers!