Flower Gleam and Glow

Freedom

There's been a minor edit to the previous chapter concerning the timeline because apparently I can't do basic math.  Basically, Tolys's birthday is in three days, not two.

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Alfred leaned against a tree trunk, trying to catch his breath when he spotted something; a wanted poster.

"Oh no," he said. "Again?"

The Vargas brothers looked at him.

"What?" Lovino asked.

Alfred pulled the poster off the trunk and showed him.

"They can't keep my brother and me straight!" he cried. The poster read "Alfred Jones", but the picture displayed a boy with wavy hair and a stray curl.

"Seriously?" Lovino said.

"Easy for you to say, they can tell the difference between you and Feli--"

"What's that?" Feliciano said; Lovino and Alfred fell silent.

"What's--what?" Alfred asked.

"I thought I heard--" Feliciano began, then jumped as a twig snapped.

All three of them waited with bated breath, but a deer simply dashed through the woods.

Still, Alfred cast a look in the direction of the castle.

"We should split up," he said.

Lovino and Feliciano stared at him.

"What?" Lovino said.

"I'll take the crown," Alfred said. "You two head on back."

"Hey, asshole, are you out of your fucking mind?" Lovino snapped.

"The punishment for thievery's been really severe since the Lost Prince went missing," Alfred said. "you and Feli could get into a lot of trouble," Alfred said.

"So could you, asshole!" Lovino said. "And I don't want to be the one to fucking explain to your brother about why you're in prison for the rest of your goddamn life! This isn't some "rot in a prison cell for five years because you stole some bread" thing, this is the Crown of the Lost Prince."

"Aw, don't worry, Lovino! The Hero won't get caught! And it's not like they know who was working with me. You and Feli will be fine, just go on back to the tavern," Alfred said.

Lovino's face went redder than a tomato.

"I'm not worried, asshole!" Lovino snapped. "I just don't want deal with Matthew interrogating me!"

"Lovi, maybe Alfred's right."

Lovino turned to look at Feliciano.

"Well, they're kind of big and scary. Wouldn't we be safer at the tavern?" Feliciano asked. "Alfred can handle them! He's amazing!"

Lovino just glanced at his brother before looking back at Alfred.

"Look at it this way," Alfred said reasonably. "If we split up, only one of us has to lose the guards. I'll meet back up with you at the Snuggly Duckling."

Lovino held his gaze for a moment longer, then sighed.

"You'd better, bastard," he finally said. "We'll be waiting with your brother."

He watched as Lovino and Feliciano took off in the direction of the Snuggly Duckling, and he turned and headed deeper into the woods.

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