N:   Anglo nodded as he let Sofia go, while Johann huffed in annoyance as he fixed his hair. Once they had left them alone, the Englishman's wings vibrated as he felt not one but two pairs of wings, both of whom seemed to be very happy. "What have you done, Royal" he chuckled as he led the group to her. Even from a distance, they could hear hysterical laughter and when they arrived they could see why.

Royal and Wales were on the floor, laughing their heads off as a large white figure stood before them. Prometheus was nearby, snickering until he saw the group, indicating the figure to turn around.

Slowly, it turned around to show Scotland's face peeping through a hole while he was dressed in a large unicorn costume with a pink horn and mane. As he took some steps to turn, his costume would wobble around, and his arms and legs seemed to just stick out from his huge pear-shaped outfit.

"Don't laugh," he muttered, his face showing how completely fed up he was.

M:   It was far too late for that, Mandoria was trying his absolute best to hold in his laughter, and failing miserably, while Askad was laughing his ass off. Sofia was still terrified of Scotland and clung fearfully to Anglo's leg.

"Oh Scotland ... you look ... lovely," Mandoria strained, still trying not to laugh, "you- you look good in white."

N:   "Don't need to make such a wonderful comment," Scotland grumbled as he took a step, but Royal made sure that her foot was sticking out, and since the Scot didn't see her, he tripped over her foot and landed face first to the floor.

Everyone laughed harder, and when he lifted up his head, making the unicorn head he was wearing jerk up, it only made the fall seem even more comical.

Anglo laughed until he felt a tighter squeeze from Sofia, so he crouched down to her. "He's not Chrysalis," he reassured her, "he's much better than him and he will never hurt you, isn't that right Wales."

"Yup," he giggled as he went over to his father and bopped his unicorn costume on the nose.

M:   Mandoria's resolve finally cracked and he doubled over laughing, which it and everyone else's laughter could be heard from inside the castle and attracted the attention of Rowen, Odrus, and Uskaine to come out to see what was going on, and then start laughing.

Sofia didn't find any of this funny, she was trembling and whimpering in fear, trying her best to hide further into Anglo. Askad realized this and stopped laughing.

"Scotland, can you at least try to embrace this," he said, "we're trying to get rid of Sofia's fear of you."

N:   "And how am I supposed to become one with the unicorn," Scotland asked, raising a brow as he stood up from where he fell.

Wales, seeing the problem, suggested, "Maybe we show her how friendly you are. Remember how you used to make me 'fly' as a kid?"

Scotland smirked as he got onto his knees and allowed Wales to climb up on his shoulders, and once the Welshman was secure, the Scot stood up. Wales seemed to be holding onto the unicorn's head as he spread out his wings. Knowing what is going to happen, Anglo and Royal asked for everyone to give them some space while the hybrid stood next to the duo.

"Three laps around the gardens," Royal spoke, "are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Scotland answered, and when Anglo gave them the signal, they were off while Wales laughed with his wings wide open. Celtica came over to see what was happening, and she just stared at her son in disbelief for a moment before bursting out laughing as she saw the costume wobble about as he ran.

M:   Everyone else followed Celtica's lead, dying laughing while some just rolled around on the grass, never in their lives would they imagine bearing witness to this, and probably never again.

Sofia was slowly starting to enjoy seeing Scotland running around like a madman, it wasn't enough for her to let go of Anglo but she would giggle every now and then.

N:   Scotland was laughing, enjoying himself as he was able to get the lead on Royal, so the hybrid was concentrated to beat him, but while doing so on the last lap accidentally stepped on the tail of his costume, causing the Scotsman to abruptly stop and for her to run into him.

Wales was able to just escape and fly off but Royal wasn't so lucky, as she and Scotland rolled together and eventually stopped, with her buried under a large unicorn. Both were too dazed to register what happened while the rest laughed.

M:   Upon seeing this, Sofia finally gave in and laughed, she completely forgot that Scotland was in that costume and ran over to play too.

She tripped a few times and face-planted, but that did not deter her as she bounced around the two adults, laughing and tugging at them to get them to keep playing.

"I think it's working," Askad said as he calmed down

N:   Royal eventually returned to her senses and began to roughly shove Scotland off her. "Get off me you overgrown blueberry," she grumbled until she eventually was free.

The Scot didn't bother to move further, laying face up in the grass as he saw Sofia prancing around in his peripheral vision. The hybrid saw this and smirked, walking over to the Scot and asked, "How squishy is this costume? Do you feel this?" she pressed her hand into his unicorn stomach, getting an 'Oof' from the Scot. She then turned Sofia and patted Scotland's unicorn stomach, "Come here, you can jump on it," causing Scotland's eyes to widen with shock.

M:   Sofia hesitated, still not fully sure that Scotland wasn't Chrysalis, she cautiously stepped forward and sniffed the Scot, she recoiled at first because he did smell similar to her captor, but after some coaxing and further sniffing, she finally realized that this was not the man she feared so deeply.

With her caution and fear dispelled, she gladly hopped onto Scotland's stomach and sunk into it, purring at the comfiness and kneading with her one reptilian paw.

N:   "Oh God," Scotland wheezed as Sofia sunk further, and when he was about to move Royal stopped him.

"Dear Scotland," she spoke with a smile, "it is now your duty to remain where you are while Sofia rests on your stomach, and it would only bring you shame if you made her get off you."

Scotland narrowed his eyes as he whispered, "damn you," before plonking his head back on the grass.

M:   Sofia giggled at the funny noises Scotland was making, so she decided to jump up and down on him to get him to make more.

Back with the others, they were surprised to see that Esha had come to join them, though she was being pushed in a wheelchair by Neflen.

"I wasn't about to miss Scotland's punishment," she explained before anyone could ask, "I may have given Royal the bet but I still want to see it happen. So on that note, did we miss his admittance that he was wrong?"

N:   "No and you're not getting it from me," Scotland grumbled, "I'm already suffering as it is."

"Scotty, I never raised you to be a dishonorable man," Celtica spoke as she crossed her arms, although a small smile did tug at the corner of her lips, "I saw that you accepted the bet, so go through with it."

"Besides," Royal smiled, "I could always ask Johann to bring Edel to join Sofia-"

"NO," the Scotsman blurted out, and he sighed, "Fine. I am wrong, I lied about my skills and I'm bad at it. Are you happy now?"

M:   Most everyone either laughed or applauded, though Esha did both, "Well done Scotty, at least you're two-thirds of the way done, now you just have to do whatever Royal tells you to do, isn't that lovely."

"I'm scared now," Odrus admitted with a chuckle, "knowing Royal she's got something very embarrassing for him."

N:   "See, that is where you're wrong, my friend," Riyal said as she closed her eyes, "I, Royal, have passed that responsibility of disintegrating Scotland's reputation to me," she opened her eyes to show her bronze iris, "Wren."

The secondary alter crouched next to the Scotsman, who clearly wasn't ready to face her, and continued to speak. "Scotty, you know that I've always asked how you and England got together, knowing your history, and I wasn't there to see how it happened so," a mischievous grin stretched across her face, "since Celtica told me that you were the one who proposed, I want you to reenact that fateful moment."

Scotland blinked repeatedly for a couple of seconds before answering, "Wren, you're the worst person ever."

"Thank you, so let's kindly ask Sofia to jump off so you can meet your husband. Also, you can't walk through the castle, you have to walk all the way round, showing the whole world how handsome you are as a unicorn."

M:   The eternals all oohed in disbelief, out of all the things they thought Wren would pick, no one expected that.

"You have outdone yourself, Wren," Askad complimented as he came over to retrieve his daughter, "I don't think there is any other way that could be better."

"Anglo, if you and I ever do something similar, and you bet me to reenact how Rowen and I got together, I will personally feed your ass to Sleipnir," Mandoria warned, "you got that?"

"Wouldn't be the first time he's eaten someone," Esha chuckled as she overheard their conversation, "I legally can't tell you how many, just that Sleip got us banned from five different kingdoms and on the personal kill list of a reputable crime lord."

N:   "Don't worry Mandoria," Anglo chuckled as he patted the other's back, "I'll just ask Wren to do that for me, isn't that right?"

"Do you know what would be better," the hybrid smiled, "if I did it to the both of you at the same time, wouldn't that be fun?" When Anglo gave her the death stare she laughed, "What? It's not every day someone has this opportunity to embarrass both you and THE Mandoria at the same time. I think your respective husbands would like it very much." She turned to Scotland, who had finally stood up, "So, are you ready to let go of your remaining dignity, Scotty?"

"As if I have any left," he mumbled as he began his walk of shame, ignoring the snickering of servants as he walked past them, and unfortunately for him, England was working on the other side of the castle, so as he walked he was definitely sure that everyone had seen him.

When they arrived at the Hundred Steps, England was busy working while Ireland was patching up a cut on BE's leg, and when the two saw their father, they immediately started laughing, getting the attention of their other father, who turned around and stared wide-eyed at his partner and began to chuckle. They were all dirty from the stonework, and the Englishman had his hair tied back so it wouldn't get in his eyes.

"My, my, Scotty," he laughed as the Scotsman approached him, "well aren't you wonderful," but he began to wonder why all eyes were on them two, and began to further panic when Scotland took his hand.

"England," Scotland, "we had gone through decades of war, and honestly I don't know why I'm doing this because you're a complete arsehole most of the time, but the few times you're not, I never want to leave you."

"Scotty," England whispered, "what are you doing?"

Ignoring the Englishman's pleas, Scotland went on his knee and looked up, making sure that his unicorn head doesn't smack England in the face. "You care for your people and you are a strong leader, and I admire that. There has always been detestation between our people, and between our families, though it's not hard to see when Saxon is your father, but we are a new generation, one who doesn't carry the hate of our parents, and there was a moment of peace before the war that I always relive and I want to experience again."

At this point, England had gone a dark shade of red that could rival his father, and he mumbled, "Why are you proposing again?"

Ignoring him again, he continued, "So may I ask, as someone who once was a friend and has been through these wars, someone who has helped you through your ups and downs." He smiled through his embarrassment, "and I'm pretty sure that you're with a child from one of our many 'times' together, from how you've been unwell all of a sudden, and we both know how Papal States would make an example of our child if he were to be born a bastard. So, will you marry me?"

England was too shocked to speak, and when he tried to speak, it just came out as random noises, so to save him from having to say anything, Scotland stood up, placed one arm around the other's waist and his other hand on the back of England's head, and drew him in into a kiss. England initially was further shocked but then relaxed as he returned the kiss.

Ireland and BE just sat nearby, not sure whether to laugh, hide from embarrassment, cheer, or just react in general as they got a new insight into their fathers, so Ireland leaned closer to his brother and whispered, "I knew you were a bastard, Albion." BE was about to retaliate when their collars had other plans and shocked them both.

Celtica stared in disbelief as she muttered, "I didn't know England was with child," so she turned to Anglo, "Did you?" The winged country's awkward silence was enough of an answer, so she growled, "You better watch where you go from now on, Anglo," getting a nervous laugh from the other.

M:   Everyone else was silent at first, but soon a round of applause sounded off, they were proud that Scotland could do that in the costume and keep his cool. Esha especially was proud of Scotty, she admired his resolve and commitment, plus the proposal was quite moving.

Sofia wriggled out of Askad's arms again and ran around the two lovebirds, happy that they were happy, and jumping up on them to doggedly rub against them, causing the others to laugh.

N:   When Scotland and England finally separated, they were surprised to see Sofia jump right in between them, and luckily the Scot was able to catch her and he laughed with pure happiness when he saw that she was happy. Meanwhile, England hasn't fully recovered from what happened, so he walked back as if like a robot to where the two brothers were and sat down, still trying to process everything.

"Now that you have done that," Wren smirked, "the next thing you should do is-"

"Tell me to do one more thing," Scotland growled, "and I will personally throw you into the dungeons."

"Then I might as well do just that," the hybrid laughed, "because you will be walking around with that ridiculous outfit, but I will leave it up to them," so she turned to the group, "What should Scotland do next?"

M:   "No no, he fulfilled his end of the bet," Esha dismissed, "his punishment is over now."

"Aww, but we were just getting started," Rowen whined, "I wanted him and England to reenact that drunken duel Saxon was talking about, while he was wearing the costume."

"Ok, I admit that does sound fun," Esha agreed, "but his tolls have been paid, plus we got Sofia to warm up to Scotty, so I'd say today has been a win."

Sofia gurgled in agreement and hugged Scotland, mostly just to feel the fluffiness of his costume, then ran off to meet BE and Ireland. She sniffed them a bit but froze when she recognized Ireland's sent from her time in his country. She growled in her throat and flared out her wings, hissing at Ireland for not helping her when he was talking with Chrysalis.

N:   Ireland was taken aback by Sofia's reaction, although because she was small he wasn't frightened but he was confused nonetheless. He turned to his brother for an answer, who was wondering why she was flaring her wings too until he remembered. "Before now, you were the closest to find her," BE explained, "remember you said that Chrysalis was in your country."

The Irishman hummed as he remembered, and spoke, "I didn't even know she even existed, but I'm sorry either way."

Johann looked around and was wondering where Wolfgang and Erna were since he hasn't seen them yet, so he excused himself to go and find them.

M:   Askad pursed his lips when Sofia started hissing at Ireland, he slithered over and picked her up, "I'm sorry Ireland, she must have recognized your scent from when you met with Chrysalis. Don't worry though, I'm sure she'll warm up to you eventually, isn't that right Honey."

Sofia just hissed in response, her snake fangs popping out a bit to convey her dislike, then she pushed out of Askad's arms and ran over to Anglo to hide behind him, still growling.

N:   "I guess it's different now," Anglo muttered, "with Scotty, she mixed him up with Chrysalis, but with Ire it's betrayal," he looked up to his grandson, "I think it's best we leave you to work, and hopefully she will get used to you."

Ireland nodded solemnly as the three of them got up and went back to work, and while he did, Anglo crouched down to Sofia and smiled, "Hey, why don't we go and see what Johann is doing?"

M:   That brought the smile back to little Sofia's face, she bounced in excitement and ran off in the direction that Johann went, though stopped to make sure Anglo was following.

Everyone else cleared out too, either going back to the infirmary or resuming their daily activities. Askad pat Ireland's shoulder reassuringly and followed after Anglo and his daughter, "Too bad Saxon wasn't around, he'd be laughing his ass off for weeks, I wonder where he is actually."

N:   "I'm not sure," Anglo replied, "and I'm not sure if I should be worried either. He could be just working in his office, but at the same time, I am not certain. Regardless, I'll check on him later."

As they walked, they heard chatter down the corridor, which they soon recognized as Wolfgang and Erna, and when they turned the corner, Anglo gasped, not from shock but from amazement. Outside of Prometheus' door, the two of them were fooling about, the both of them wearing their Yule ball outfits as they did a little dance, Wolfgang's overall dark suit with a half cloak that went over his shoulder complimenting Erna's white dress with gold sequins. She ditched the gloves and opted for a more sleeveless look, and when they saw the group, they waved to them.

"What do you think," Wolfe smiled, "we went to check on Prometheus and he said that all of our outfits are done and you can check yours. Jo is changing right now into his."

M:   "Oh that's right, I forgot that a ball is coming up," Askad realized, "it sounds fun and all but I don't know if I'll be able to come, being a cold-blooded creature in winter is not the best situation."

"Oh come on, you'll be fine," Uskaine said as he walked up behind the naga and Anglo, "if the migratory winged folk, not to mention the whelp, lives in this cold weather permanently."

"Actually you have a point," Askad agreed, then turned to Anglo, "How does Wales handle the cold weather so well, his subspecies is supposed to be a tropical variant and really don't do well in the cold, it's not unheard of for them to freeze in winter to the point of breaking bones if they try to move too much."

N:   "That's what we thought," Anglo replied, "when Wales was born, we were scared that he wasn't going to survive the winter, so we asked the only person we knew with draconic features, Dai Viet, but he couldn't come here since it would be too cold for him, and all he said is keep him as warm as possible. Honestly, those were the scariest couple of months, especially for England as he grew a particularly strong connection with Wales. But he was fine, yes occasionally he would sleep for days, but he was able to stay awake for most of it, so we wanted to know why. Celtica began to dig into her late husband's records, since he had lived in the British Isles longer than any of us and was the closest to Nessy, and we found a record of a countryhuman who used to live here, his name was Silures, and he had similar features to Wales and was able to live here perfectly well before being killed by Roman Empire. He was cold-blooded but was able to control his body temperature to some degree, so we assumed that Wales adapted the same way and was like him."

"What about you," Wolfgang asked, "how do you handle the cold?"

"By wearing multiple layers, sitting beside a fireplace, and avoiding flying for too long outside," the Englishman grumbled, "I mean when I was back home on the mainland, the conditions weren't too different, and I have lived enough to adapt, but the added breeze when you're near the coasts are just annoying."

M:   Uskaine and Askad hummed at this knowledge, causing Askad to take out a journal and write something down very quickly, which he refused to share.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see how it goes, though I think it would be adorable to see my little munchkin in a dress," he added.

Uskaine chuckled and walked away, he was going to grab Mandoria and Rowen so they could see Johann's outfit.

N:   While he was gone, Johann came out of the room and revealed his outfit. He didn't want a fancy coat but something more practical but suitable for the occasion, so Prometheus made him a blue waistcoat lined with gold, and the waistcoat had two tails that reached to the back of his knees, and the color would fade into a silvery white. While wearing a simple shirt underneath with black bands around his upper arms, he wore a dark pair of trousers with black knee-high boots, which had golden decorations on them.

Doing a little twirl he asked, "What do you think?"

M:   "It's not bad at all," Askad complimented, "the color scheme really looks good on you, I'm quite jealous really, my colors have always been on the warmer side of the spectrum, but I like how it looks on you.

Sofia seemed to agree as she rubbed against Johann, purring happily. Soon Uskaine came back with Johann's parents and they were quite surprised to see their son looking so fresh.

"Johann, aren't you the most handsome man ever," Rowen announced, "I don't remember the last time you looked so spiffy."

N:   "Danke," Johann smiled, going a bit red from the compliment as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked on his feet, "I'm not into the fancy clothes such as the ones Derogan and Mandara wear, but I guess I better get used to it. Besides, this is really comfortable to wear and pretty nice too. Thank you, Prometheus."

"No worries," the tailor called out before stepping out of his room, "ah, seeing that some of you are here now, you might as well see what you will wear. I was able to get everyone's done."

M:   "Sure, I don't see why not," Mandoria declared, "I hope mine matches with my family because I don't want to feel left out."

"I'm sure you'll fit in quite well," Uskaine said, "besides you already embrace the miss-matched nature of humans and countryhuman, why stop now?"

"Is Uskaine going to wear a decorative saddle," Askad asked, "if so we might want to clear out before he starts bucking, he's not exactly broken if you know what I mean."

His comment earned him a slap with the centaur's tail, though he just laughed it off.

N:   "You will see what you're going to wear," Prometheus smiled as he went further in to collect the outfits, and when he did, they were still covered up and he hung them on a coat rack. Slowly, he began to unveil each of the outfits, starting with Sofia's, then the two Eternals', then Anglo's, and finally Mandoria's.

"I guess that you wanted to match with your family," the tailor spoke, showing the Mandorian the fur-lined coat, reminiscent of the former king's old cloak, although this time it was connected by a silver chain that went across his upper chest. Just like Johann's and Rowen's outfit, it starts off blue at the top and then would fade into a silver-white.

Anglo stepped forward and touched his clothes, and smiled, "This is perfect. May I try it on?"

"Yes, you can. All of you can."

M:   The Eternals did as suggested and one by one they tried on their outfits.

Askad and Uskaine's were similar to Johann's in terms of a simple waistcoat, since their animal lower halves prevented any fancy trench coats like Mandoria and Rowen. Askad's was a more reddish-purple hue that got darker as it got lower down the arms and waist, two embroidered snakes of gold decorated the lapels, their ruby eyes glittered in the light.

Uskaine's suit was also on the blue spectrum but closer to the lapis side, the dark blue faded from purple to pink to orange and yellow at the bottom, causing a beautiful twilight to leap from the fabric. Rather than a saddle, Uskaine had a semi-short saddle blanket with the same ombré but was decorated with constellations of many mythical creatures such as Pegasus, Draco, and of course, Sagittarius.

"I'm speechless," Askad admitted, "there are no words in any language to describe the impeccable work here. Absolutely outstanding."

N:   "Well I'm glad you like it," Prometheus smiled before turning to Anglo, since he just came out of the changing room, "So, how do you find it?"

Anglo suit consisted of mainly gold and silver, where his blazer was sliver with golden lapels which matched with the gold epaulets on each shoulder, and coming from the right epaulet were three golden silk ropes which went around his shoulder and attached back to the epaulet. When he took off the blazer, it showed his white sleeves with small blue embroidered diamonds decorating it, and his dark gold waistcoat contrasted well with his black trousers, with a gold strip down the sides of them.

"It really makes you look like a royal," Johann complimented, "perfect for a member of the British family."

M:   Uskaine and Askad chuckled at that, in their eyes the Brits were a bit too dysfunctional to be called royal but they would never say that out loud.

"It certainly does bring out the regal side," Mandoria commented, "mine as well, I haven't worn anything like this since ... he came." The former king went quiet as he said that, but he snapped out of it quickly thanks to Rowen patting his shoulder.

"What I want to know is how you're going to get Esha to wear anything fancy," Uskaine joked, "she's been wearing animal skins and homemade clothes since long before the fall of the empire. If you can get her to wear anything fancy, girly especially, I would be extremely surprised."

N:   Prometheus chuckled at the thought, "I thought that would be a challenge, but luckily I already have Royal as a reference. From my experience last year, she doesn't mind the fanciness, but she doesn't like it too feminine."

The tailor walked over to a mannequin, which had a rough skirt design in place already and he explained. "I assume that Esha would like to stay practical, and a dress isn't the most practical item of clothing, but you can add some changes which will definitely help." He ran his fingers across the skirt before he found what he wanted, and using his hand, he was able to reveal a slit that went up to the waist, showing a beam that represented a leg. "It is in the dress code for women to have dresses, but how exactly the dress shall be made is up to the tailor, and I'm no ordinary tailor. This should allow more room for movement, as well as putting fewer layers for the skirt itself."

"Where did you learn to become a tailor," Johann asked, "is there a school that teaches you this?"

"When you have lived for eons like I have, and have made the things around you," the tailor answered, "you develop an eye for design."

"Then you should be best friends with my son," Anglo chuckled, "that man would just gawk at different buildings, telling me endless facts and pointing out the design of different structures when he was a boy and a couple of times when he grew up."

M:   "I think it's safe to say that Prometheus has become best friends with everyone here," Mandoria declared, the others nodding in agreement, "we will be saddened to say goodbye since for most we will probably never see you again, but you'll forever have our respect and gratitude, as well as our friendship."

Uskaine and Askad clapped at Mandoria's speech, and Sofia rubbed against Prometheus to show her gratitude for her new friend.