For whatever reason, I started reading old fairytales and this particular Italian fairy-tale, that shares the name of this fic, was perfect for this pairing! By the way, Alfred and Gilbert are 2 years older than Matthew in this story aka, the same age~

So without further ado, on with the fairy-tale!

Prince Matthew Jones-Williams lived with his father, a king, his mother, the queen, and his older brother, Prince Alfed. They lived a quiet happy life in their house. His father was a very proud and kind king, who was outspoken. His mother was kind and gentle, he inherited his violet eyes from her. His older brother Alfred was strong for his age, he looked mature, but acted like a child, many people in the kingdom mistook Matthew for Alfred for some odd reason.

His content life crashed when his mother passed away for unknown reasons, the King could not run the kingdom alone, so he remarried. Though the woman he chose was horrible and bitter.

"Lock him away! Matthew's a terrible child!" Matthew's horrible stepmother, and the new queen, yelled at her husband for the nth time that day.

Matthew flinched at his stepmother's harsh words, his older brother Alfred, stood in front of him protectively. Matthew was only eight, but he understood clearly why his incorrigible stepmother wanted him to spend the rest of his days in that castle deep in the back woods of the kingdom.

She was jealous, Matthew was described as to being "prettier" than most females. The adults doted over him, mostly because he had large violet eyes, naturally soft and wavy blond hair, and a quiet disposition. The stepmother wanted him gone, so they would pay attention to her more.

Her husband sighed tiredly, "We've been over this already. Matthew's not going anywhere, he's staying in the house, and living with us."

"Mattie stays here, I won't let you take him!" Alfred cried indignantly.

"Quiet, brat!" The stepmother hissed.

The King and Queen argued for a long while, Alfred took Matthew to his room, and slammed the door behind him. Alfred proceeded to creak the door open ever so slightly, so he could hear the conversation. He peeked back occasionally to see how Mattie was doing. Matthew's sat on the bed, his eyes downcast, Alfred couldn't see his expression, his little brother's bangs covered his face.

"W-why, Al?" Matthew sniffed. "What have I done? I don't want to leave...who would want to put their child in a tower? I don't get it."

"Don't be so sad, Mattie! Dad won't let it happen!" Alfred rushed to his brother's side. "Just take a nap, when you wake up, everything will be alright again!"

Matthew smiled sadly, got himself under the covers, and fell asleep. Alfred grinned, turned off the lights, and left the room.

He entered the living room where his father sat in a chair, his face buried in his hands. Alfred's grin faltered as he walked slowly toward his father.

"What happened?" Alfred asked hesitantly.

"He's leaving. Tomorrow... as soon as the sun rises." His father choked out the words, it tore him apart inside to remind himself that he let his new wife persuade him.

"You...agreed to it? Just like that?" Alfred fists were clinched, it took every ounce of his being not to destroy the entire room he stood in.

"Don't look at me like that! You don't think I tried?" Alfred's father stood up, his anger about to boil over as well.

"Well you obviously didn't try hard enough if the witch in the back room convinced you!" Alfred exploded with rage, he threw a glass cup against the wall.

"Calm down and stop yelling!" His father punched a hole through the wall.

The two males literally destroyed the living room in their fit of rage, but did not lay a hand on the other. They both panted heavily when all the anger dissipated from them.

"No matter what... I promise you, I won't let you take him." Alfred wasn't mad anymore, but determined. "Do you know where she's planning to put him?"

"No." The King mumbled hopelessly.

Some hours later, he stepmother crept along the corridor and into Matthew's room, where Alfred was waiting. She gasped when she saw him, but soon realized (because of the incredibly loud snores) that Alfred was in a deep sleep. Matthew was too. She picked him up easily, he was much lighter than most boys his age.

The stringy-haired woman cackled to herself and whisked him out the abode, and down the moonlit path. She carried the words of her husband in mind.

"Make sure that wherever you send him, he will be comfortable...I will not let Mattie be mistreated."

"Have no fear of that, dear husband."

She smiled wickedly and carried the still sleeping Matthew. She entered a castle in the deep woods. To keep Matthew company, the Queen selected a few maids from the castle, and she told them strictly to never let Matthew leave the castle for any reason or even look out the window. She informed them that they would receive payment that was worthy of a very successful nobleman. The Queen then bode them farewell and left, the sun rose up in the sky bright and beautiful, though it was such a somber day.

(******************************************************************************)

10 years later

"Oi! West! Catch up! We're gonna lose that boar!" Prince Gilbert ran swiftly through the grass, keeping his eye trained on the brown wild boar bounding in and out of sight.

"Why don't you slow down a bit?" Prince Ludwig called after him, gaining speed.

"No way! If you can't keep up with my awesomeness then you should go back to the castle!" Gilbert retorted laughing haughtily.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, I'll see you when you get back, bruder!" Prince Ludwig switched directions and ran back.

"Hey! I was kidding! West! C'mon!" Gilbert yelled back, but Ludwig was already out of earshot. "Tch."

Gilbert was the prince of a neighboring kingdom, he heard a rumour that the game in this kingdom was much better than his own. Being the person that he was, Gilbert wanted to see whether it was true or not. Much to his surprise, animals were much more abundant.

Crap! He lost the boar. With his target lost, he slowed down to a jog, and then a complete stop. Gilbert couldn't see his shadow...why was that? He glanced skyward, and looming over him was an abandoned castle. It was immense and empty. It even had a moat! Gilbert grinned and decided that he would explore it, then claim it as his own, but before he could take another step forward something else caught his eye.

Someone was already in the castle! He squinted his eyes to get a closer look. It wasn't a ghost, he could tell that much. He had better eyesight than most people, the person in the castle had blonde hair, it was wavy, they had purple eyes. Though he couldn't tell if they were a guy or a girl... either way she or he... was very beautiful.

Prince Gilbert soon found himself blushing at the thought. He shook his head, and slapped himself twice, lightly, mind you. He wasn't the kind of guy to start going ga-ga over someone leaning out of a tower! Whoever it was, it could be some kind of psychopath with a motive.

He couldn't bring himself to walk away, though. The beauty that the person above him held... it was captivating. Gilbert walked under the part of the castle where the person was being kept. He was standing directly under him, looking up.

"Hey!" Gilbert yelled.

The person didn't flinch, or move. It was like... he was being ignored. Wait! The person waved.

"Hey! My awesomeness is calling to you fair maiden! Or dude..."

Prince Gilbert's words merely got carried off into the distance. Something finally clicked in Gilbert's mind, the person couldn't hear anything but a lot of loud noise. The person was too high up. He sighed and turned around to leave, trying to formulate how he would communicate with the person in the tower. He'd come back the next day with an idea.

Matthew watched as the silver-haired man disappear into the woods. His heart fluttered and he was overjoyed that someone had actually come deep into the woods. He probably didn't come just to find him, but hey, it was a long while since he'd seen an actual human being.

The blonde was too happy... Matthew laughed loudly, for the first time in a long while. He had gotten used to his tower life. He wasn't sure if his stepmother had felt any remorse or something because the castle was a great place to live in. It had running water, and indoor garden, not to mention a library with a plethora of books.

The only setback was that he couldn't leave the castle, his wicked stepmother had three maids guard the castle so that he couldn't escape, but they left as soon as they received enough money to have a fortune for themselves. Though before they did, they sealed the door shut in such a way that nothing could go in or come out. The closest thing to leaving for him was leaning out of that window every day. Or going to a different world when he got lost in his books. How Matthew wished that he could set foot on cool green grass once more, but that's only a distant dream.

(******************************************************************************)

Matthew formed his thumb and index finger into the shape of a circle and blew a bubble from the suds of his bath. It hovered above him for a moment, then it popped. He couldn't get the mysterious stranger out of his head, for various reasons. One reason is that he'd never seen someone so young with that hair color and another reason was that he had been the first person he had seen in approximately 10 years.

He tangled his hands in hair and washed it thoroughly. Even though he wasn't and hasn't gone anywhere, he still kept up his hygeine habits. Matthew unplugged the drain, stepped out of the tub, and wrapped a white towel around his waist. The castle was empty, but he didn't know whether was being watched or not.

Red pajamas were already laid out on the bed, Matthew put them on and retreated to the library. He flipped mindlessly through the various books in the library, he had read them all so many times. His mind was still reeling with thought, he wanted to talk to the stranger so badly. He slammed a book shut absent-mindedly, it made him jump a bit, it was loud and resonated throughout the room.

It gave him an idea.

(******************************************************************************)

Matthew leaned on the ledge of the tower that afternoon, he knew how to communicate with the stranger now. If only he would show up. He waited well into the evening, the sun had about an hour before its shift was over and the moon took its place. His heart sped up when he saw the silver-hair come out from the clearing.

Gilbert brushed leaves off him and waved his arms high above his head, trying to get his attention.

Now was Matthew's chance! He grabbed a book that was of little importance to him and ripped out the table of contents page. Matthew quickly scribbled down a message, stabbed the pen through the page, and sent them fluttering down to the ground.

Gilbert picked it up, but became confused when he saw that the paper had the table of contents of some book. He flipped it over experimentally and found the message Matthew wrote in a pretty cursive.

"My name's Matthew. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, so Blondie's a boy." Gilbert mumbled in realization.

Gilbert wrote a message back. He then removed his bow from his satchel, along with a single arrow. He put the pen back through the small hole, stuck the arrow through the paper, and with an expert aim, he shot the arrow directly under the ledge.

Matthew plucked it and read the reply.

"Likewise. I'm Prince Gilbert, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Beilschmidt."

"He's a prince like I am?" Matthew chuckled lightly.

Gilbert and Matthew sent messages back and forth until the sun dipped below the horizon, and Gilbert could no longer see what was written on the paper. The very last message that Gilbert sent was one promising that he would come back tomorrow, and a little earlier.

Matthew retreated to his room, located directly downstairs from the tower. He flopped on his bed and hugged his small, white stuffed bear, he named Kumajirou. He was the only thing that Matthew snuck away during his kidnapping.

He had learned a lot about Gilbert, he was the oldest of two. His younger brother was named Ludwig Beilschmidt, he was a big muscly guy with pale blonde hair, who always kept a straight face except when he was around a peasant named Feliciano Vargas. Gilbert was an albino, he had silver hair, with red eyes. He was the best hunter in his kingdom, and the King of his kingdom was his grandfather named King Odacer.

After that day Matthew and Gilbert chatted regularly, via paper and pen of course. It would be safe to say that they now knew absolutely everything about the other. They had a lot of things in common, but there was one particular thing they both absolutely wanted, they wanted to be able to see and talk face to face. Truthfully they had no idea how the other sounded when they spoke. They had to figure a way out.

(******************************************************************************)

Matthew got up and went to the library, to search for another book he could use for tomorrow. When he entered the door, a woman in a black cloak was waiting for him. Matthew jumped back in surprise, how could anybody get in? The doors were sealed shut forever by those maids.

"H-h-how did you get in here?" Matthew whispered.

" It doesn't matter. My name is Elizabeta. I've been watching you for a while Prince Matthew." The woman smiled warmly. She had long sandy brown hair with a pink flower as an acessory.

"How do you know my lineage?" Matthew asked.

"I live in your kingdom, and I have come bearing a gift, I've never ever seen to people so much in love as you and that Prince Gilbert. It's too adorable and I couldn't just stand by and watch." She pulled out a very thick book from the sleeves of her black cloak.

"Um... thank you." Matthew didn't what to think, he accepted the book reluctantly.

"Your very welcome. Open to the first page and read the instructions carefully. I'll tell Gilbert about it when I leave." With that being said Elizabeta disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"She was a witch..." Matthew realized.

He waved off the thought for the moment and stared at the book he was given. Matthew got a good look at the book, it was dingy and dirty, the spine was falling to pieces, and the pages were yellow. Though Matthew wasn't one to judge. He sat down and opened the book to the first page, reading the first page cautiously.

This book is has magical properties. Turn these pages forward, and man shall become a bird.

Turn the pages back, man shall be restored to their original form.

(******************************************************************************)

Matthew woke up early that morning, he noticed that the castle was starting to become dusty. He grabbed a broom and started sweeping the entire castle and dusted it from top to bottom.

This was a great way to kill time, by the time he was finished it was well into the evening. He leaned out the tower, waiting for Gilbert to come. Matthew trusted Elizabeta the Witch when she said she would tell Gilbert. Sure enough, Gilbert emerged out of the trees and stood waving to Matthew. Matthew hastily ruffled the pages forward and Gilbert instantaneously became a yellow canary, he flew straight to the window, and perched on the ledge. Matthew's smile intensified as he ruffled the pages back and Gilbert turned into himself.

Gilbert slowly approached Matthew, the silver-haired prince wrapped his arms around Matthew, embracing him in a tight hug. Matthew was so overwhelmed, he felt tears stream down his eyes. He buried his face in Gilbert's broad chest.

"It's nice to meet you, Matthew, to feel you, and to hear your voice. I love you." Gilbert whispered huskily in Matthew's ear, he had a deep voice, but not to the point that it would be considered base.

"Same here. I love you, too." Matthew sobbed, he had never felt such warmth.

Gilbert pulled away from him and slid his hands over Matthew's tear-stained face, he brought him closer, and gave him a kiss. Matthew's very first.

"G-Gil..." was all Matthew could say. He returned the kiss, though he had absolutely no experience.

"Quick learner." Gilbert thought to himself. He led Matthew to the wall and placed small kisses from his jaw to his neck.

Matthew started to panic and his face turned red, he knew where this was going... he was happy, but wasn't ready! He pushed Gilbert off him and started to breathe heavily. Gilbert wasn't surprised at all, you could even say he expected it to happen.

"Sorry, I'm sorry." Matthew apologized sincerely.

"Hey, it's no problem. I came onto you, remember?" Gilbert got up and helped Matthew to his feet. He intertwined his fingers around Matthew's waist.

"Have you eaten anything yet?" Matthew asked tucking a stray hair behind his ear.

"Mmm...I haven't eaten dinner?"

"Let me cook you something." Matthew motioned Gilbert to follow him, they went across hallways and down flights of stairs.

When they arrived from the kitchen, Gilbert sat down at table and waited patiently. Matthew, however, quickly got out an assortment of ingredients,a big bowl, and a frying pan. He turned on his stove, put a cap full of oil in pan, and set the pan down. Matthew then added water to the bowl and poured each ingredient in. He hummed softly while mixing the batter he created, Gilbert stared at him in fascination, smiling a little. When everything was to his satisfaction, Matthew let some of the batter fall onto the frying pan, stopping it when it became the shape of a perfect circle.

"He'd make a good wife..." Gilbert propped his elbow up on the table and rested his head on his hand.

"It's done!" Matthew turned around, showing off a stack of pancakes drenched in maple syrup with a fork sticking out the top. He set it in front of Gilbert softly and stepped back.

Gilbert wasn't really a fan of pancakes, but for Matthew's sake, he'd try them. He stabbed a fork into one and lifted it to his mouth, as soon as he took a bite, his head slammed on the table.

"Gilbert! Does it taste bad? I forgot to ask you whether you liked pancakes or not! Are you okay?" Matthew honestly didn't know what to do. He reached to take the plate away, but Gilbert grabbed his wrist and sat up.

"No! This is the absolute awesomest thing I have ever tasted in my entire freakin' life!"

Matthew beamed.

Since that night, the princes saw each other regularly, and Matthew continued to make pancakes for Gilbert. Their love for one another grew stronger with each passing day. Everyday without fail pages were turned and Gilbert was transformed, life was perfect. They always ended their day with a kiss and an "I Love You." They had never felt so much contentment.

One day, the Queen decided to check on Matthew for the first time in years. She thought herself lucky when she witnessed what was going on between Matthew and Gilbert, this made her angry. She became even angrier whe she discovered that the maids disappeared.

"If this foolish boy believes that he has any right to flirt, I have something for him." The Queen thought to herself, she turned around and sought out the witch named Elizabeta.

(******************************************************************************)

The Queen barged into Elizabeta's abode, angry and irritable.

"Are you Elizabeta the Witch?" The Queen demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yes! That's me! What can I do for you?" Elizabeta smiled brightly.

"I know you were the one who gave that boy the power to turn into a bird and to fly into Matthew's room, so I want you to do something for me."

"And that something would be?" Elizabeta pressed.

"I want you place invisible shards of glass on the ledge of the window in her tower, I want them sharp. So sharp that it would cut hair if you happened to drop it on the shard. That'll teach him to lean out the window!" She laughed maniacally.

"What if I refuse?" Elizabeta asked, she was now frowning, she didn't like the idea at all, true love is true love.

"If you refuse, I will expose you as being a witch in our kingdom, then have you stoned while being burned at the stake in the Town Square." The Queen's expression was steely, she never made threats, but promises.

Elizabeta gritted her teeth as she thought about her possible consequences, Elizabeta answered, "Y-yes ma'am, I'll do it."

The Queen smiled, "Wise decision, witch."

Elizabeta closed her eyes and whispered incantations, she held her hands out in front of her. She closed her left and into a fist, while the right one stayed open with the palm facing up. The shards appeared in her right hand, gleaming like polished diamond, though they were jagged and dangerous. They shot up into the air and disappeared through the ceiling. Elizabeta sighed in relief.

"It's done." Elizabeta said, regret laced in her tone.

"Good."

(******************************************************************************)

Prince Ludwig became suspicious of exactly where his brother was going every single day for the past few months (he was always leaving under the pretext of going "hunting") though he always came back empty-handed. Since Gilbert was the best hunter in the kingdom, something was obviously up. He accompanied his brother this time, much to Gilbert's chagrin. Prince Gilbert went his usual path on his way to Matthew, with Prince Ludwig following closely.

"Hey...uh West, why don't we split up? We'll cover more ground that way, I'll call you if I find something worth tailing. What do you say?" Gilbert hoped that he didn't make it too obvious that Gilbert wanted him to get lost.

"That's fine. I'll call you if I find something as well." The two made a beeline, with Gilbert continuing on his path.

Matthew stood, staring outside the window, the magic book held tightly to his chest. He ruffled the pages forward, and he saw Gilbert flying fast he was showing off his aerial skills. When he was high enough he did a nosedive aiming straight for the ledge. Matthew watched in awe, Gilbert was coming towards the ledge quickly. He hit the ledge like an arrow did a tree. As soon as Gilbert touched that window sill, the invisible glass shards that were meant for Matthew pierced his feathers. He rose with erratic flaps of his wings and tumbled down to the earth, his feathers stained a deep red.

Matthew wasn't aware of what happened, he still didn't grasp what was going on. Though he was incredibly frightened by this out-of-the-blue incident, he had enough sense to turn the pages backward, restoring Gilbert back to his human form, hoping that it would help somehow.

Alas, it did not.

Gilbert was dripping with blood, even his normally silver hair was saturated by the dark red substance. The glass shards did their job and the stab wounds were incredibly deep. Gilbert groaned in agony, and before he passed out from the pain, he let out an incredibly blood-curdling scream, one that tore Matthew apart inside.

"GILBERT!" Matthew yelled, even though he knew that he wouldn't receive a reply of any sort.

Prince Ludwig emerged from the words, reacting to the sound of screaming. Matthew immediately took refuge in his castle, hiding in the farthest corner he could find. Ludwig was beyond words when he got a look at his elder brother, he picked him up and slung him over his shoulder, then frantically ran back into the woods.

Back at his palace, King Odacer didn't know what to think. Ludwig believed that he had been gored by something, but from the doctors' observation. His wounds were long gashes across his chest and abdomen, Gilbert was slashed by something, but no one knew what it was. Prince Gilbert didn't show signs of recovery. His cuts refused to heal, he was in and out of consciousness, and when he was awake, Gilbert was constantly in pain.

The best doctors in their kingdom could do nothing but hope for the best. King Odacer spread a message throughout the lands, promising a fortune to anyone who could cure his ill grandson. Unfortunately no one turned up to try.

(******************************************************************************)

Hours later, Matthew was on his bed, still in tears and agonizing over what happened. He didn't know what caused Gilbert to start bleeding and it scared him to death. Matthew wanted to go to sleep forever, so this haunting reality would disappear. He flopped over to his side and sighed, though it sounded

But he also wanted to see Gilbert. More than anything else.

With this current mindset, Matthew flew down the stairs, (almost fell down a few,) and approached the main entrance. He stared at the mahogany door in front of him, it was beyond massive. He reached out for the brass knob, grabbed it, and gave it a twist. The doorknob complied and made Matthew a little bit hopeful. Though when he pulled it, the door wouldn't open.

He tried again.

Nothing.

"No! Open up!" Matthew took to beating on the immense wooden door. New tears streamed as Matthew attempted to open the door by brute force. It was all in vain.

"Open up! Open up! OPEN UP!" Matthew collapsed to the floor. "Please..." He should've known it was hopeless. It's been closed for a decade, what made him think that just because he suddenly wanted the door open that it would do exactly that? His fate was to stay in the castle...forever. Matthew rose glumly from the floor and went to his library. He grabbed the first book he saw... something called The Tree's Shade. The beginning had the main character running away from home. She left by tying her bedsheets together and climbing out of window.

"That's it!" Matthew cried, he slammed the book closed and dashed to his room. He walked out carrying the bedsheets from his room, Matthew laughed to himself when he got to the tower. He peered over the ledge, he was higher up than expected, they surely wouldn't reach anywhere near the ground. He went back to his room and carried his mattress back upstairs. He dropped it out the window and watched it fall to the ground, the mattress landed with a soft, "thump."

Matthew tore the three bedsheets he gathered in half, tied them together, just like the girl in the book. He wrapped one of them around a sturdy wooden dresser located right next to the window, then dangled them out the window. Like Matthew speculated, the sheets just barely reached halfway down the castle. He went to go retrieved another mattress, when he returned he dropped that out the window, it landed right on top of the first one, to Matthew's relief.

He got a tight grip on the bedsheet, shut his eyes, and jumped out the window. He felt his stomach flip, air rushed past him as he made his descent. Since his eyes were closed, he had no idea when the bedsheet rope was going to end. Well, he found out very quickly, his eyes snapped open when he no longer felt the sheets. Matthew panicked while free-falling through the air, he hit the two mattresses, bounced off, and landed on his feet. Matthew panicked when he felt the grass between his toes.

He realized that it would have been smarter if he had put on shoes before he left. Matthew cautiously took a few practice steps, then started to sprint into the woods. He followed the hunters' trail, but because it was pitch dark and the distant howls of the wolves, he decided it would be in his best interest to wait for daylight. He found an ancient oak tree that had a hollow trunk, made himself comfortable in it, and fell asleep.

Matthew woke up, it was still night, but he was sure he heard some type of whistle or a whistling sound. It wasn't the wind, he knew that for a fact. Listening closely, he heard another whistle, and two more after that. After the fourth one, Matthew saw four candle flames advancing. It was the four witches coming from the four corners of the earth to an appointed meeting under a tree. He identified one of them as Elizabeta, she looked forlorn. Through a crack in the trunk, Matthew could see the witches clearly, though he was left unseen by them.

They sat down on logs and lit a bonfire to warm themselves.

"So what's up with you guys? Have you seen anything interesting?" One of the witches asked gleefully. She had piercing green eyes and a smile that resembled a cat's mouth.

"I saw something Bella! I saw the sultan of Turkey, and you might not believe me when I say this but, he bought himself twenty new wives!" This witch had her hair in two ponytails, with red ribbons holding them in place.

"Nyahaha! I totally belive you Michelle!" The one called Bella laughed. "I saw the emperor of China! He let his ponytail grow 3 yards long!"

"I saw the king of the cannibal and he ate his chamberlain...accidentally." A softspoken witch with short blond hair and sea-green eyes tugged at her cloak.

"I'm sorry you had to witness something like that Lilli." Michelle said sympathetically.

"Don't worry, I've seen worse things." Lilli reassured.

"Hey, Elizabeta, why so quiet? Nothing interesting to share?" Bella nudged her shoulder softly.

"I've done something terrible." Elizabeta mumbled.

"Well, you're a witch. Isn't that normal?" Michelle didn't understand.

Elizabeta sighed and told them the story about how she was threatened by the Queen, how the shards of invisible glass was intended for Matthew, and that Prince Gilbert is currently dying a slow and terrible death...all because of her.

"I alone know the remedy that can cure him." Elizabeta said, concluding her story.

"Well, what is it?" Lilli inquired, she was quite the inquisitive witch.

"A vial. On the floor in the prince's room, there's a loose tile. When it's removed the vial is exposed. Inside it is an ointment that heals any wound imaginable. It could even reattach lost limbs, it's so potent. Sadly, if I even step foot in their kingdom, I would be killed. They don't take kindly to us witches, good or evil."

Matthew did everything in his power not to leave the hollowed tree and thank Elizabeta. The four witches were done with their meeting at this point, so they bode each other farewell, doused the fire with water they conjured, and parted ways. Matthew waited until he could no longer hear their footseps, then dashed out the log and continued his journey.

The sun was just beginning to rise when he entered the Kingdom of Beilschmidt. He dawned a disguise purchased from a merchant who happened to be setting up. He put on large-rimmed glasses and a doctor's gown, then knocked on the door of the royal palace. The guards were extremely hesitant about letting Matthew in, he had no type of equipment with him.

When King Odacer got words of this, he simply said, "What harm could he do my grandson who can't be put in a worse state than he is already in?"

Matthew asked if he would be left alone with him. His was request was granted, and the room was immediately emptied. There he saw Gilbert, he was paler than normal, his breathing uneven. Finding Gilbert in such a state made Matthew feel like crying again and smothering him with kisses. He restrained himself from doing so, however, he had to find that vial. Matthew paced up and down the room until he almost fell flat on his face, he had found the loose tile!

He raised it and there he found the vial containg the ointment! He lightly rubbed Gilbert's wounds, no sooner had his fingertips touched them, the cuts had dissapeared completely. Like it was never there to begin with, Matthew was overjoyed, and called for the king to come back. King Odacer strode into the room and saw Gilbert sleeping peacefully, with the color back in his cheeks and not a single trace of the gruesome wounds, the King smiled sightly (which was a very rare thing for him to do.)

"Ask for anything, doctor, anything at all." said the King. "As promised, my wealth is your wealth, what is your price?"

"I do not desire money, Your Royal Majesty," Matthew answered timidly, "just please give me the prince's shield that bears the family coat-of-arms, his standard, and the clothes that were bloodied."

"Such an odd request..." the King thought to himself, "I have no right to question his choice of reward, however." Matthew took his leave when he recieved the items he requested.

(******************************************************************************)

Three days later, Gilbert was hunting once again. He passed Matthew's castle in the deep woods, but refused to look up at it, or Matthew. Matthew flipped through the pages of the book, Gilbert turned into a bird, he had no choice, and flew into the room. Matthew changed him back and stared at him solemnly, his hands hidden behind his back.

Gilbert's eyes were cold and unsmiling, so was his tone, "Let me go." he said harshly. "Or is it not enough that I was pierced with whatever you used on me and caused so much agony?" Gilbert, honestly, loved Matthew no longer, he blamed him for his almost untimely demise.

"It was me who cured you!" Matthew exclaimed. "I saved your life!"

"That's a lie." Gilbert replied. "My life was saved by a doctor from another land who asked for nothing in return except for my coat-of-arms, my standard, and the bloody clothes I was wearing!"

"You mean these?" Matthew asked pulling said items from behind his back. "Well, here they are! Your coat-of arms, your standard, and your clothes! I was the doctor! It was not my doing that hurt you, it was my cruel stepmother's!"

Gilbert gaved into the angry violet eyes of Matthew, speechless. He fell in love with Matthew all over again. He embraced him and begged for his forgiveness, Gilbert declared his love for Matthew and expressed his gratitude.

"I think a kiss is in order." Matthew teased.

"Really? I might agree to that." Gilbert answered slyly giving the blonde a kiss on lips.

Matthew smiled, feeling relief for the first time in days.

That evening, Gilbert informed his grandfather that he was going to marry the male that lived in the castle located in the deep woods.

"You may only marry the daughter of an emperor or a king." corrected King Odacer.

"I shall marry the man who saved my life when no one else could." Gilbert replied.

King Odacer could not refute this logic, and they began preparations for the wedding. Invitations were sent out to all the kings and queens throughout the world. The day of the wedding came, and the streets were filled with both nobles and peasants, kings and queens. There was much merriement, it could be described as one of the happiness days in history.

Matthew's father was present, as was Alfred, who had been informed of absolutely nothing. When Matthew came out, the king's eyes bulged as he exclaimed, "Mattie? Is that my son Mattie?"

"Dude! That totally is Mattie!" Alfred yelled quite loudly.

"Pardon?" said the royal host, King Odacer. "My grandson's bride is your son? Why wasn't I told about this?"

"Let me explain, " said Matthew. " I don't consider myself the son of a man who let my stepmother imprison me." He pointed to the Queen.

"Did she not make everything to your liking? She told me that you were happy and coping well." the King was surely confused.

"To my liki-?" Matthew scoffed. He told his father about the misfortune that befell him, his father was filled with remorse and pity. Though his resentment for his wife grew tenfold in the few minutes it took for Matthew to explain all. He did not wait to return to his kingdom to have the woman seized and thrown into the dungeon. And thus the celebration of the marrige was continued to the satifaction and joy of all, with the exception of that wretch.

The evening after the wedding, a banquet was held, just for Gilbert and Matthew's family and friends. Matthew formally met Gilbert's younger brother Prince Ludwig and his close friend (though Gilbert begged to differ) Feliciano Vargas. Gilbert's description of Ludwig was pretty accurate, especially about his mood changing when Feliciano was around. Feliciano was very friendly and a chatterbox, with a big heart.

Alfred was wary about Gilbert and sent a death threat (actually a promise) that he would hang Gilbert from the rafters of his palace if he ever made his "precious baby brother" cry for any reason whatsover. Let's just say that it resulted in a food fight. Matthew had been through a lot while away from his kingdom, but today made up for all of that lost time. The word happiness wasn't enough to describe the ecstacy that Matthew was feeling.

So I read a synopsis about this thing on Wikipedia and I based the story on what I read in the summary. When I actually looked it up on google and read one that someone on wordpress made, I realized that it was all wrong! I had to go back and change A LOT... I repeat, A LOT of things. So it would've been online sooner.

You could say that this fairy-tale is like a variation of Rapunzel.

This fic now holds the record for being the longest oneshot I have EVER written. It took about... a week? And it was fun! It was originally supposed to be rated M, but I just couldn't bring myself to insert the er *ahem* "scene" I wrote... So you'll just have to cope with this T rated one...

This might be just me but... you always watch or read M rated yaoi doujins and animes, but when it comes to writing about you think "No... it's too perverted! My friends are going to read this, probably, maybe, not really, but they might!"

I guess I'm not ready to lose what I call my "writing virginity" by posting M rated fics.

Anyways... I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

The Canary Prince Retold by Italo Calvino