#very very much so heavily inspired by vinsmoke lore and obelisk

[peefartress2]

frederick wakes up in a bedroom just like his. he takes in the details once he blinks a few times, processing the new surroundings of the room: his own is so bare that the library feels more his room then the bedroom.

he knows something is wrong when he sees books in his room. frederick jolts out of bed, warily reaching out to trace the spines of the books in a shelf that was not there before. there's history books, books on politics and government. things he considers boring- yet, on his bedside table there is a book on wartime preparations. he may have not exactly let go of fairytales, but that didn't mean he immediately converted himself into a nonfiction purist.

everything else seems the same, except for the things that aren't. his closet is the same, but his desk is not. there's notebooks and open books, and plans and records. the last thing frederick remembers doing there is reading the dogyssey and falling asleep.

what is going on?

if that wasn't enough to tip him off, breakfast definitely was. his mother was absent; but nobody commented on it, so he didn't ask about it.

even in whatever universe this was, the "last one to dinner has to do push ups" rule remained a constant. and that happened to be frederick.

"you're slower than usual, son," said leland, a jovial tone. "are you being overworked? do you need more time off?"

"uh," frederick is unsure how to respond to that. there's a lot to take in there, but he knows leland, and knows what he usually wants to hear. "...no?"

"good. so i can except those plans this week? with counsel from our generals, of course,"

frederick has no fucking clue what he's talking about. "umm... yeah!"

the conversation over breakfast takes a turn. lance jokes around and steals food from his plate, which is fairly normal. what's off this time is blaine, who is joking around with frederick. in all seventeen years of his life, frederick swears that has never happened.

"hey, frederick," blaine said. he seems happy, which is weird, cause when is blaine ever not annoyed or on edge? "we'll see you at practice today, right?"

frederick numbly agrees, because it seems that's all her can do today.

he walks around, observes the changes in the palace. it's more fortified, more dark, more guarded. the decorative sets of armor don't seem so decorative anymore, but like they were guards that could spring to life any moment.

he comes across a huge portrait in the hall. he recognizes leopold's painting style from lance's birthday party, but... frederick couldn't ever imagine leopold painting something like this. though it does capture the gloomy expressions perfectly...

it dawns on him on what the portrait is. who is the portrait is of. king leland and his sons; even laverne, dressed even more extravagantly than normal. leland looks grim, dark and serious. dare frederick says: straight up murderous. his sons are wearing their colors proudly, backs straight and chins up as they glare into the distance. medals and badges decorate their sashes... and frederick is among them, holding what seems to be a book. lance holds a sword, and blaine holds a shield with their family's crest.

his mother is not with them.

frederick is astounded- and when he backs up, he notices more and more portraits. he wanders closer to one of them, and sees the words "siege of the pastel kingdom" on a small plaque underneath. the painting is of his father standing dramatically before the pastel palace. many guards have fallen around him, while his foot is planted on king jack's unconscious. he's... probably sleeping.

and holy shit frederick is scared. this was supposed to be home? no, this was enemy territory- and he was right there with them- was he the enemy? what happened to everyone? what happened to gwen?

"ay, lil bro!" it's lance's voice. "courtyard's this way!"

could he trust lance? lance took a part of this too- was he the same lance? good-natured and excitable and sometimes not so bad. cooler than blaine, in frederick's opinion. his older brother lance.

"i'm with you," frederick called out after him, his throat feeling dry. he jogged through the echoey hall.

outside was startling. it was grey and dull; probably just how his father liked it. lance and blaine's attitudes highly contrasting the scenario frederick found himself in.

there's once thing he knows for certain: he needs to find out what's going on.