♠️ Exceptis Centrum ♠️ ✔︎

Chapter 16

Notes:
This chapter features a little time skip, however the next few chapters are going to reveal some things that’ll hopefully clue you in to what’s going on. I’d loved to hear your theories :) it’ll let me know if I’m hiding my secret well.

The days seem to fly by but that week felt like it lasted a lifetime, not that it bothered Alfred though he only wished it would last longer, as well as the days or rather the time he spent in Arthur’s garden. On every single day of that long week Alfred would spend between one to two hours over in Arthur’s garden and every time he went there he’d wish that time would stand still so he could stay longer. Wether it happened in early the morning or late in the afternoon or even in the middle of the night, wether it happened before he tucked into a delicious meal or a sweet treat, Alfred was always happy to visit.

Arthur had just become another part of his life, it was like his own personal best friend that he didn’t have to share with anyone, and no one knew about him. He was just an interesting person to talk to, and despite his smug attitude and stubborn nature Alfred enjoyed their chats together. Sure they had their fair share of arguments but they always made up, and for some reason Alfred would actually enjoyed that part of their relationship. Arthur would always tell him interesting stories, teach him wonderful things about his plants, and just engage him in intense conversations that even someone like him could enjoy. He would show him plants and flowers he was growing when they were outside in the garden and when they were inside Arthur would either read him stories or try and teach him some skills in embroidery. Alfred would help boost his confidence with inspiring pep talks, tell him jokes that either irritated or got him laughing, and often tease him which eventually resulted in the pair of the teasing each other back and forth. However their time together would always end with the pair of them content with each other’s company.

When he wasn’t visiting Arthur, Alfred worked hard as a King. He kept on top with his work much to Yao’s relief, pushing himself to make the Kingdom run smoother than he ever could before. He went over the plans for the dinner party a few times, talked with his staff to make certain that everyone was happy with what they had to do, and finally decided on a winner regarding the dessert contest. He inspected all the guest rooms and went over the ceremonies that were planned for when they greeted the other Kings and their courts when they arrived. When he wasn’t doing planning out the dinner party, Alfred worked with all of the high ranking officials of his Kingdom, listening to the concerns of his people and working his arse off to get rid of those worries. Everything was going according to plan, with Yao overly satisfied with his work effort and his Kingdom was doing so much better than ever.

As the days passed Alfred would eagerly anticipate his next visit with Arthur, wondering what would occur during his visit. He eventually forgot about his own investigations and no longer took notes, and he didn’t seem to care as to how and why he went to the garden. Alfred found himself living in the moment and it soon came to pass that he found he couldn’t imagine a day without spending it in Arthur’s company.

He only had one complaint; he wanted to meet Arthur for real. It still felt weird to him that he couldn’t even touch him or anything else in his garden, and could only assume it had to do with the fact he was randomly teleported there. He wasn’t certain where Arthur was in the world but he had to be somewhere, maybe on another continent or something as he did mention he lived in an isolated area. He had thought about asking Arthur but he never did, and he wasn’t certain why. Maybe it was out of fear that if he did learn where Arthur was he wouldn’t be able to see him anymore.

Arthur had recently read him a story about a man whose goose laid golden eggs and then he got greedy and he cut open the goose to get more eggs, but there was nothing there and his goose was dead, so no more golden eggs. Arthur explained it was a moral; to be thankful for what you have. He told him many other stories like that but it was that particular one that stuck with Alfred. To him his visits with Arthur were like those golden eggs, so he wondered if he tried to figure out this mystery he’d end up killing the goose and loosing his golden eggs forever? Maybe for now he’d ignore the mystery and be thankful for what he had. It wasn’t as if it was hurting anyone.