Behind the Veil

Part 1

All Ludwig needed right now was a nice, long shower. Scalding-hot. A shower powerful enough to wash away all the stress that seemed a constant part of his life. He could imagine it now; the steady stream of hot water running down his body in a silent shower room. No having to deal with intolerably slow, bug-infested computers that should've been replaced years ago, but hadn't because Mr. Edelstein was a skinflint. No having to deal with his insane roommate and his even more insane friends.

Just nice, hot, cleansing water.

Unfortunately, reality seemed to have a personal grudge against Ludwig.

"Ve~ Ludwig! You're just in time! Can you adjust the lamps for me? The lighting from outside is getting weak and I want to finish this part before tomorrow!"

"Ah, bonjour, Ludwig! How was work?"

"Hola, Ludwig!"

Because Ludwig opened the door to his dorm room to find—find—Let's just say that he would have turned and walked straight out of the room if it weren't for the fact that his entire body had just gone into shock and he couldn't move an inch.

Feliciano was currently standing in the centre of the room, paint palette held in one hand, brush held in the other, an easel holding an almost-finished painting set up in front of him. His head was cocked to the side as he stared at one spot on the canvas, the tip of his brush held a few centimetres away.

Francis, one of Feliciano's friends, was seated on Ludwig's bed. He was watching the younger Italian with obvious interest as Feliciano mumbled to himself, obviously debating some point of the painting.

That wasn't what caused Ludwig to completely lose all basic motor skills, however. No, what startled Ludwig was the presence of Francis's roommate, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, lying on Feliciano's bed, propped up by a few dozen pillows, completely nude...

Francis caught Ludwig's horrified expression and grinned. "Isn't it beautiful? Antonio's a perfect model, right, Feli?"

"Ve~" Feliciano glanced up from his painting and grinned. "Sì. He's very good at this."

Antonio beamed at the praise, completely oblivious to Ludwig's horror.

He was used to Feliciano doing odd things. Like the time he randomly decided to paint the ceiling of their dorm room like a miniature Sistine Chapel; Ludwig was still unsure how they managed to keep from getting into trouble for that. Or the one night when Feliciano decided to treat the entire dorm to pasta. The school's president even showed up for that one...

But this... This was just too much for Ludwig.

"Feliciano... Why is Antonio naked in our room?"

Feliciano turned around at this, his eyes widening slightly as he noticed the displeased expression on his roommate's face. "Ve~ Are you angry, Ludwig? I needed a model for my new painting and Antonio and Francis happened to come by. And Francis volunteered, but Antonio was closer to the body structure I needed. You aren't mad, are you?"

Ludwig had no idea how to respond. He really really just needed that hot, relaxing shower right now.

Which was why he finally walked into the room, grabbed his tote, towel, and a change of clothes, and then walked out without another word. Leaving Feliciano to his painting and Antonio to his modelling and Francis to his—whatever he was doing there...

Ludwig often wondered how in the world he ended up rooming with Feliciano. He distinctly remembered the process of filling out the compatibility survey the college sent him. He'd slaved over answering every question as accurately as possible. And there'd been dozens of questions, asking what his personality was like, his ideas on cleanliness, what kind of person he thought would be a good fit for him. He'd spent weeks working on that sheet, trying to make sure his answers reflected his thoughts perfectly.

And he'd somehow ended up with Feli.

Not that he disliked Feliciano. He was pretty sure it was impossible to dislike Feli. The kid was sweet, eager to please, ridiculously friendly. When Ludwig walked into his room on the first day, Feliciano greeted him with a huge hug and a barrage of questions. "What's your name? Where are you from? What are you studying? Do you like pasta?"

He'd gotten Feliciano's whole life story within a few minutes of meeting him. He was an art major; he brought dozens of paintings with him to make the room feel 'more homey', which he proceeded to hang while continuing to talk with his new roommate. He was here with a full-ride scholarship; he'd always wanted to go to this school but never thought he'd be able to afford it. It was an answer to prayer when the letter arrived in the mail...

Ludwig sighed, shaking those thoughts out of his head as he made his way down the hallway to the showers, passing a few open doorways in the process. One of which held a group of students watching a movie that caused them to burst into laughter as he passed.

He heard a loud, boastful exclamation from within. "Well, it's just 'cause I'm awesome like that..."

"That's because I'm your awesome big brother, Luddy!"

And he immediately hurried on, faster than before. No, he couldn't think about that. Not now. Not ever. He just needed to focus on the shower he'd soon be taking...

Shower. Warm water running down his skin...

Washing away all the stress—all the worries... Washing away everyth—

"Shit. I can't read my own fucking handwriting... Hey! Does anyone here know which room is Ludwig's?"

Ludwig turned, startled from his contemplations by the sound of his name being shouted down the hallway. Then, he groaned as he recognized the man who was precariously balancing a box in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Mathias Køhler. Also known as one of the most obnoxious, loud, chaotic students in this entire university.

"Anyone know what room Ludwig Bail—Beil—Ludwig B. is in?"

Ludwig sighed and considered just ignoring him, but he'd probably just keep screaming until somebody answered him. Probably Kiku, since he was the only truly helpful person on this floor. Then the two of them would go to his room, open the door, and be greeted by a naked Spaniard. And he did not want to deal with the chaos that would cause. So instead, he set his tote on the floor and headed toward the shouting man. "I'm right here, Mathias."

"There you are, Ludwig! I knew you lived on this floor, but I couldn't remember what room you were in!" Mathias beamed as he stepped forward, holding up the box proudly. "Look what somebody dropped off in the post office for ya! You got a secret admirer or something?"

Ludwig sighed. He recognized the gleam passing through Mathias's eyes. It didn't matter how he answered, the whole university would know about Ludwig's non-existent secret girlfriend by the end of the night. "I have no idea who could have sent it."

"It was a guy." He grinned, as he continued to balance the box on one hand. Ludwig hurriedly stepped forward to grab it before the cocky boy dropped it. Knowing his luck, it'd end up being some priceless Ming vase that was addressed to him by mistake and he would end up having to pay for... "A blond guy... Shy, soft voice, kind of effeminate looking..." He smirked and suddenly punched Ludwig in the shoulder, making him wince. "Luddy, my man! I knew you were popular with the ladies, Mr. Muscles, but the guys too?"

Never mind, now there were going to be rumours spread around the campus about Ludwig's non-existent, secret, homosexual lover. Perfect. Just perfect. As if people didn't already talk because of Feliciano's ridiculous clinginess around him.

"I didn't know the post office made personal deliveries," he stated instead, hoping to change the subject.

"We don't." Mathias grinned, showing a set of overly-white teeth as he leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "But this guy was real suspicious. He wouldn't leave his name or anything, just said it was incredibly important that you get this package as soon as possible. Even gave me twenty bucks if I promised to take it to you personally!"

"I thought you technically don't even work at the post office, you just hang out there during Nikolas's shift?"

Mathias just grinned and waved the remark aside. "Can you really see Niko making the trip all the way up here just to deliver a package? He said I could keep the twenty bucks. That does remind me, though, I should probably head back to the Campus Centre before my buddy misses me..."

Ludwig had the feeling that Nikolas wouldn't miss him at all. He probably sent Mathias up here so he could finally have a moment of peace by himself.

"All right, well, thank you for bringing up the package. I'm sorry you had to make the trip..."

Mathias waved this remark aside as well. "No problem! Although, since I did make the trip all the way up here, I think I deserve to see what's inside that box of yours!"

Ludwig sighed. How had he known that was coming? "It probably was just a mistake. I don't know anyone who'd send me anything."

"Besides your secret admirer."

Ludwig flashed a weary look toward the other man, who just laughed and motioned toward the box again. "Come on, open it! I wanna see what you got!"

He knew there was no way he was getting out of showing whatever was inside to the other man. Hopefully it was something boring and not something that would provide the Danish student with any more gossip fodder. He did not want to be this week's hot topic...again.

"All right, but it's not something from a secret admirer. I can tell you that much already." Or it better not be, although knowing his luck...

Mathias watched with interest as Ludwig carefully began to remove the tape from the box, and then opened the flaps.

Roses.

A huge bouquet of red roses.

For a moment, he just stared at them in shock. Wha—what?

"I told you it was a secret admirer! Ludwig, you dog!" Mathias smacked him on the back again, chuckling s he tapped his chin with his clipboard. "Ah, Ludwig..."

"This—it must be a mistake—" Ludwig just stared at the flowers, not wanting to touch them... What in the world? Why would someone suddenly give him flowers like this? He couldn't think of anyone who'd ever expressed interest in him...

"Hey, why don't I help ya figure out who sent them, Luddy? I'll find out about the guy who brought them. Ya never know; you might have inflamed some passion in his soul!"

Ludwig sent him an irritated glare.

"Or it could be a mistake. You're no fun." The student grinned again, saluting him with the hand holding the clipboard. "I'll see ya around later, then. Although, you should really come down and visit me and Niko sometime. It gets so boring down there; I don't know what Niko would do if I weren't there to liven things up."

The poor kid would probably be able to actually get some work done, Ludwig thought, barely paying attention as Mathias disappeared into the elevator. Instead, he ran his fingers through the packing peanuts filling the rest of the box. Maybe there was a note?

Then, he felt something underneath his fingertips.

Something cold, metal, with an easily-identifiable shape that made his stomach clench in a mixture of shock and horror.

He jerked his hand away, but managed to lose his grip on the box in the process. It fell, spilling packing peanuts and roses across the hallway. He could see a dark, shiny object peaking out from beneath the long stems.

"Ludwig-san, are you all right?" His suddenly-panicked thoughts were interrupted by a concerned voice coming from a few doors down. It was Kiku. He was peering out from behind his door, looking slightly nervous. His eyes dropped to the package, which Ludwig automatically moved in front of... His first instinct was to hide it, even as his mind whirled about in confusion and terror.

Why? Who would send him—It couldn't have anything to do with...

No. No. It couldn't possibly. He was gone. He walked out of Ludwig's life without a backwards glance almost seven years ago. It couldn't...

"I'm fine, Kiku. Just...Slipped..."

There was a moment of silence, as the Japanese student just stared at him. Ludwig knew Kiku could tell he was lying; his face had probably gone completely white and his hands were now shaking uncontrollably. He also hadn't moved to pick up the box yet. All rather obvious signs that something was wrong.

"Well, if you're sure, Ludwig-san..."

Thankfully, Kiku was much too polite to ever accuse him of lying. If Ludwig said things were fine, then the other boy wouldn't question him. Thank God.

He just stared at him for another moment, then said, "Well, good night," before disappearing back into his room. Ludwig let out a sigh of relief, then hurriedly bent down to clear up the mess. He shoved the...object inside the box, as quickly as humanly possible. Then he finally found it. An envelope.

And there was a name on it. It was written in a loopy, unfamiliar script, but it was his name. Meaning this couldn't be a mistake.

Couldn't be a mistake...

He had to go. Somewhere else. Somewhere away from Feliciano and everyone else.

He was suddenly hurrying toward the stairs, too distracted to notice that he'd left his shower supplies in the middle of the hallway. The Classroom Building; it was late enough that there wouldn't be many people there. He should be able to find an empty classroom and then he could stop and think.

Who sent this? Why did they send it?

His boots pounded heavily as he ran down the stairs. He was so wrapped in his own thoughts that he didn't notice when he almost ran into Alfred Jones—a freshman who lived on his floor.

A gun. That was the object resting in the bottom of the box he was currently crushing against his chest. Why? Why would anyone send him a gun? His mind could only arrive at one possibility...

"Hey, don't worry, Luddy. It's only a precaution. It's not like I'll ever actually use it..."

But, that didn't make any sense. It had been seven years... It didn't make any sense.

Ludwig honestly had no idea how he managed to make it to the building. He felt like he was moments away from having a complete nervous breakdown, but apparently he was still aware enough to automatically slow himself to a more reasonable pace before entering. There were two girls sitting on one of the couches on the first floor; they glanced up for a moment when he entered, but then immediately returned to their conversation. No one else was currently present.

Ludwig took the stairs to the second floor. Then, as an extra precaution, made his way up to the third floor. No one was currently present, but he still decided to walk down the hall and begin trying the doors of the classrooms. It wasn't long before he found one that was unlocked.

He slowly opened the door and peeked inside, feeling a wave of relief pass through his body when he was greeted by the sight of a completely empty room. He entered, then immediately closed and locked the door behind him. It was unlikely that anyone else would show up at this time of day, but he needed to be careful...

He just needed a few minutes. Because it couldn't be... Maybe he'd been wrong and it was just a toy or something like that.

Ludwig didn't turn on the lights. He instead crossed the room and set the box on top of a desk near the window. There was a full moon, providing him with just enough light to see what he was doing. Although, for a few long moments, all he could do was stare at the innocent-looking box.

It couldn't be. There was no way it had anything to do with him.

He took a deep breath in an attempt to relax himself. Calm down. He was acting like he was afraid the thing was going to blow up or something. It was just a box; just a box. His fingers settled on the flaps, carefully pulling them apart. Revealing the roses and packing peanuts and the letter sitting on top...

He took that out first, setting it aside for a moment. Then he removed the roses, unsure exactly what he should do with them. They must be fresh, since they weren't showing any signs of wilting. So, the box must have been packed recently—probably sometime earlier today.

Which meant that he might be here. In the city. So close...

He hurriedly pushed that thought away, now dipping his hand amongst the little pieces of Styrofoam. His fingers soon settled on the cold, metal object again...

"...Only a precaution."

A precaution against what?

He slowly, slowly pulled it out. Hands shaking as he stared at the gun that was now rising from the mess of curled greenish-white shapes.

Definitely real. A real pistol.

Not just any pistol. That same pistol. The one he had last seen in his brother's hands.

That night. The night before he disappeared... The night before Gilbert left without even saying goodbye. Abandoned him without any attempt at explaining why...

Gilbert's pistol. Ludwig ran his fingers along the carefully polished metal, feeling the scratches his brother had once attempted to carve in the shape of a 'G'.

Why? Why was he— Did this mean Gilbert—

Now he threw himself at the letter, fingers clutching and bending. He tore at the envelope so violently that he almost ripped the letter inside in half.

There were only two words. Two words in spiky, violent, so familiar handwriting...

Protect Feliciano.

A/N: So, this idea has been in my head for probably close to a year... I wrote the first half forever ago but then got distracted by other stuff and couldn't work up the motivation to continue.

So, what do you think? I don't want to say much about the story, since it's supposed to be a semi-mystery/suspense/adventure story and saying pretty much anything will give it away. It'll focus on a lot of different characters. There will be romance subplots... And yep.

Ummm, and I'm kind of using this as a replacement for Galehus. Since that one is on hiatus for a variety of reasons. I will work on it again, someday. But probably not for a while. Sorry... -.-

Title for this came from a line in Lord Tennyson's poem "In Memoriam"; which really has nothing to do with anything except for the fact that I love Tennyson... :)

And a warning that updates for this story will be slowish, since the chapters are going to be longer and the plot is incredibly complex so I'm going to need to do a lot more planning, plotting, and proofreading to make sure that everything works together and I don't contradict myself... Which I have a tendency to do, as I'm sure some of you have noticed... Haha...