(And here is the fateful encounter that changes everything! I was inspired by Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and another one that I cannot think of at the moment. However, yes, Croatia is a character that does exist in Hetalia. I thought he would be fun to use for this. Enjoy!)

          "Uh, Vlad" the prince spoke completely unsure about the Fire Mage's idea, "Please know that I am touched that you and Lukas are willing to help me achieve my dreams even if it is for a day, but are you sure about this plan of yours?"

Lukas threw a cloak over the prince's head to cover his blonde hair and hide the emerald eyes that would give him away if anyone knew anything about the royal family. As for Vlad, he took off his glove on his left hand and created a small ember in his hands. So far, his plan was to set something on fire and distract Arthur's older brothers with it.

"Are you sure nothing is going to burn down?" Arthur asked hesitantly as he was tempted to sway Vlad's idea to something less destructive and prone to catch on fire too.

Vlad only waved his gloved hand to reply casually and confidently, "You worry too much, Arthur. You have nothing to worry about! I am sure we can handle your brothers!"

The prince trusted his friends dearly, but he didn't want them to be alone. He couldn't thank them enough for their help already and just being his close friends. Also, Arthur didn't want anything happen to his friends. He knew his brothers wouldn't mind his friends and some of the mischief they've caused. No, the prince was worried about the advisors. Although Duncan was able to rid of most of them, some of them still had a hand in the kingdom and controlled some of their lives. He wouldn't want them to take away his friends.

Lukas placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder and whispered, "Nothing will happen to us, I promise. When we give you the signal, run as fast as you can to the gates and explore the village. Everything will work out"

Arthur stared at the deep purple eyes of his friend who held a small smile. Vlad turned to look over his shoulder to grin at the prince with his burning, red eyes filled with conviction. Laughing and placing their hands together, they let out a cheer and rushed forward to help the prince escape.

"Oi! Up and at them!" Duncan shouted as he was exiting his room and looked at the other doors to see it slowly open to reveal his brothers, "Ok, next order is the money issue. Dylan, that's where your area of experience"

Dylan nodded his head as he rubbed his eyes of sleep. All four waited in front of Arthur's door for him to come out, but nothing happened. Sean groaned as he ran a hand through his red hair with Duncan pounding his fists against the wooden door while shouting with all his might to get his little brother out of his room.

The Magic Trio gazed at the corner with Vlad on the bottom, Arthur in the middle, and Lukas on top. They shared a confident smile as fire appeared in an orb in Vlad's hands. With their brothers' back to them, Vlad tossed the sphere of fire on the carpet to burn it!

"What in the fuck?!" Sean yelled as he grabbed Liam with Dylan screaming and jumping to Duncan's arms.

"Sean let Liam the fuck go! He has power over the water!" Duncan shouted as Liam broke free from his older brother with his hands out.

Water dripped from Liam's hand and poured onto the fire to douse it. The entire floor was covered in water and over their feet. Lukas took off his glove with the air around his hand. He kept his breathing calm before placing it on the floor. A sheet of ice covered their feet and prevented the brothers from moving! The ice even rose to their knees to keep them from moving!

"What the fuck?!" Sean shouted as he complained about the cold, but Duncan recognized it!

He turned to the direction of the caster and growled when he saw the Magic Trio together with their magic glowing!

"Oi, you wee little bastards! What are you doing?!" Duncan yelled as steam began to rise from his knees, "You better start running, because when I get me hands on ya, you'll regret ever stepping foot into the castle!"

Sharing a laugh, Vlad taunted, "I would like to see you try, you muscle head!"

Realizing his fatal mistake of taunting the oldest prince and strongest one with magic, Duncan used his blue flames to easily melt the ice holding him! Vlad let out a panicked yell as Lukas took a stance to prepare himself to freeze Duncan, in a similar fashion of how he would freeze Magnus whenever he was acting like a fool. Arthur knew his friends couldn't handle his oldest brother so easily, so Arthur ran in front of them with his hands sparking!

"Sorry brother, but I am going outside! You cannot stop me!" Arthur declared as he held his hands out with lightning bursting from it!

"Oi, hell no!" Duncan roared as he tried to stop running with their brothers staring with wide eyes in fear and amazement.

Arthur smirked with confidence as he cast his lightning to crash on his oldest brother! A flash of lightning and loud crack, Duncan was paralyzed in place with yellow sparks bursting from his form. He was on his knees and couldn't move due to the spell!

"Now!" Lukas and Vlad encouraged with grins of their own as Arthur ran as fast as he could out of the palace!

"Get back here, rabbit!" Duncan roared in frustration as more ice was cast to hold him and their brothers in place!

Arthur turned over his shoulder to smirk at them with confidence and excitement.

"I will prove to you that I don't need you and our family's wealth, ya tits!" Arthur declared with all his might as he ran through the old, powerful castle and pulling the cloak over his head to march right out without cursing them one more time, "Kiss me, ass!"

He ignored the constant yelling from his older brothers before taking his steps into the kingdom that their mother left them. Yes, the youngest prince of Spades is frustrated that his advisors and older brothers would treat him as a small defenseless young rabbit. They were always so overprotective of him for no reason at all! Once their mother died, they would never let him do anything! Today was the day the prince would finally leave the comfort of the castle and his nagging brothers to see the world for a day! He will finally have his life of adventure, danger, and full of experience! Of course, romance wouldn't be terrible either if you asked the prince.

Pushing the grand, metal gates of the castle open, the prince held a grin and took his first steps into the village and entered the busy crowds going about their day.

Taking it all in, the prince whispered in anticipation, "Yes, I shall survive just fine on my own"

With his first steps into the busy market, the prince found himself being pushed around with the people making quite rude remarks about how he was either in a daze or not focusing on his surroundings at all. He wasn't paying attention to them though. His focus was on the market itself.

The market held many stalls filled with wonderful foods, clothes, trinkets, and even weapons. It was amazing to see it displayed among the people rather than brought into the castle. It delighted him so! For another reason, it brought him a feeling of freedom that no one recognized him nor treated him as if he were glass! Yes, this would be the life for him! One with adventure and no one to hold him back! Though, he wondered why people were so angry, rude, and kept to themselves as the morning began. He decided to keep to himself for now and walk through the market with a pleasant expression, soaking in the words and chatter the people would constantly create as they went about their days.

As the prince was immersing himself in the market, Francis was preparing to open his boulangerie for the day with help from Erzsébet. She was cleaning the tables with him moving some of the chairs. Though, Francis sighed he noticed a few of the people were already in a foul mood. He sighed in dismay as he wiped the sweat from his head and tied his long, blonde hair into a ponytail. He gazed at the bakery's windows and sighed in relief to see his little sister working away in her room to count the money they were making.

"Sacreblu, I believe it is too early for this" he murmured in a tired tone before turning his attention to the stony castle, "I do hope the princes know what they are doing. I can't imagine us continuing to live like this. Gah, at this rate the people will take the castle, and that might be for the best. The sons haven't done anything, and who knows how long they will continue to do nothing for. Away with the monarchy"

"A bold declaration from you, Francis" Erzsébet spoke in a surprised manner as she tied the rag around her wrist, "But I cannot say there are not anyone who do not share your sentiments either. Perhaps a change in rule would be a better event to occur. That is one of the many reasons I left the Kingdom of Deck after all"

She held a somber expression as she reflected on her homeland. If there was a way for her to live there, she would've stayed, but the people were not ok with how the kingdom was being run. She feared that a revolution would break out soon enough. She only carried clothes and few items that were precious to her.

Francis held a somber, understanding expression as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She only nodded her head in a thankful manner before shaking off the forming tears. She reassured him that she would be fine and left to help Yao with preparing for the day.

Francis sighed before returning to his task to make the bakery look presentable and heard the people shouting at each other already. As he stood up from moving a chair, Arthur passed him with those pair of emerald eyes. Francis stopped and turned as he held a hand to his chin. Who was that? Although he didn't know all the people of the kingdom of Spade, he knew that none had a striking pair of emerald eyes. He did hear that one of the sons of the late queen did have a pair. This intrigued him.

Francis decided to follow the mysterious human who stopped when he noticed a pair of orphaned kids approaching a stall to feed their empty stomachs. It made Francis's heart ache at the sight of the orphans. Food was slowly becoming harder and harder to find. He wanted to give them food and water, but he barely had enough for him and his little sister. On the occasion that he could give them food and water, they would steal and cause trouble again.

With the queen's death, the food was slowly becoming hard to find. To make matters a little worse, the Kingdom of Diamonds didn't help at all with their citizens who stole, attack, and pillage from time to time. Francis shook his head at their situation as Arthur simply shrugged his shoulders without a care.

"Are you hungry?" Arthur asked them as he tilted his head and accent present that caught Francis's attention, "Here you are. Eat it up! Make sure you get your nutrients!"

He took two apples from the stall and gave it to the two kids without a care nor second thought. The prince knew that his late mother would feed these kids, and since he is the heir and her son, he believed he should do the same thing. The kids' expression brightened as they thanked him before running off. Arthur smiled after them as his heart warmed at the sight of them sharing a meal. It almost reminded him with his brothers, but he would never admit that aloud and shook the thought out of his head. Francis also found it rather sweet with the same sentiment when it came to him and Clarisse until he heard a disgruntled shop owner turn and glare at Arthur for his stunt.

"Are you going to pay for that, ya little shit?" a stern yet angry voice asked as Arthur turned to him with one hand pointing at the prince with the other on the hilt of the blade.

Arthur was insulted and snapped in his defense, "Pardon? No, I don't have any form of currency, but that shouldn't matter. Especially since those children were clearly starving. They should get food when they need it to not go hungry! Do not have any sense of obligation or willingness to help others in need?!"

Francis was awed by the words the prince spoke as well as his willingness to stand up for himself and have that belief, but he knew this was not going to end well.

That shop keeper is Dražen Krleža, a Diamond trader between the Kingdoms of Spade and Diamonds who would do anything for money. He wore a fancier brown coat with a black shirt and matching pants. There is a belt that is holding many pouches that Francis didn't know the contents of. The shoes were lighter and quiet. He has messy brown hair and a roughed-up beard with piercing, dull, red eyes. His hands were covered in dark gloves with a sword at his side.

Oh, he's going for a sword since Arthur didn't pay him a cent. Dražen drew his blade and roughly grabbed Arthur's wrist to slam it against the wooden stall. The prince struggled to pull away, but Dražen raised the blade above his head with his intent clear as the crowd gathered around them for the spectacle!

"Then pay with losing a hand!" Dražen yelled as the people only stared in horror with the blade above his head!

Arthur wasn't going to give up and prepared to punch him with his magic, "LET ME GO!"

Francis sighed before lunging in. His rapier was secured at his side, so he drew the thin blade, and swung it to knock the blade out of Dražen's hands in a single strike! Dražen was thrown back as he let go of Arthur's wrist before glaring at the person who dared stopped him. As for Arthur, he stumbled back and hit the ground to stare at the person who saved him with a confused expression. The prince felt his wrist and was curious to why Francis even bothered to help him.

"Francis! What are you doing here and saving this man?" Dražen asked in an angered expression when Francis held his coin bag to pay for it, "Why do you even bother being nice when everything else is going shit?"

The baker sighed before putting the coin bag at his side to answer, "There is no reason to spread hate to others when things are bad enough. I only want to spread love and joy if I can"

Arthur stared in awe and felt warmed by his words. Despite it being phrased differently, this was the same ideas he agreed with and tried to spread to the best of his abilities. He secretly grinned before he noticed the coin bag. It was loose and filled with money. Money does make the world go around. He could use that. With a flick of his hand, he used his magic to steal the coin bag and place it in his hand. As Francis was busy speaking with Dražen, Arthur decided to take this chance to run far away, so he took off in a sprint in the other direction!

"Speaking of that, good luck with that" Dražen gestured as he pointed after the fleeing prince who had his coin bag!

"Sacrebleu..." Francis cursed as he checked his side to see the bag was indeed gone and in the hands of the prince before running after him, "GET BACK HERE LAPIN!"

The prince only laughed in delight as he ran pass the crowd of people who stared at him and tried to lose Francis in the crowd. Arthur made sure his cloak covered his blonde hair with the smirk ever present on his features as he continued to run. Francis scowled before he turned to run through the alleyway. He jumped over a few crates and carts with people startled and moving away to avoid him.

Francis knew his way around here better than Arthur. The baker will cut off the prince off as he exited the alleyway to see the prince approaching. Francis drew his rapier and threw the blade before Arthur to pin his cloak to the ground, rendering him still and crashing to the dirt path with hood off. Arthur grunted in pain as the coin bag was tossed into the air to land right before its rightful owner. Francis picked up the bag to then secure it to his waist and sighed at Arthur.

"Nice try, but you clearly don't know anything about this place. You have no chance to survive here" Francis stated with a disappointed expression with his arms crossed until they heard the guards coming.

Arthur panicked as he quickly pulled his hood over his head to hide his hair. He knew his brothers would send guards after him, but he didn't believe it would be this soon! He needed to escape or hide somewhere! Otherwise, his day adventure would be very short lived! Francis raised a brow at Arthur's reaction and sighed again. Francis assumed that the guards came because of the commotion caused by the prince. He didn't want any more trouble, so Francis grabbed Arthur's hand to pull him away!

"What are you doing?!" Arthur snapped with a flushed expression while using his other hand to ensure that the cloak covered his head, "Unhand me, fiend!"

"In the span of five minutes, you robbed a shop, shouted a radical declaration, and stole from me. Luckily, I am willing to let that go since I got my money back. However, I don't want any more trouble in the market. Come with me, please be quiet, and let me handle this!" Francis snapped with a glare as Arthur remained quiet throughout this.

They ran through the alleyway Francis came from, but they didn't return to his bakery. He didn't want guards to approach it nor bother his little sister and friends, so the baker had another location in mind for them to hide in until the guards left for now. Francis had a secret room all to himself that he and his friends found.

They ran through the broken alleyway filled with broken windows, walls, and discarded items. Arthur had never seen houses in such a state until they stopped at a house with a broken, wooden door. They ducked and climbed up the stony stairs to arrive at the top floor. Arthur was about to comment, but Francie quickly used his other hand to cover Arthur's mouth and press him and the prince against the stony walls.

"Un... Deux... Trois.... Sigh, we are fine. They should be gone for now" Francis whispered close to Arthur's ear before pulling away in utter relief to fall back into a comfy, velvet sofa that could use a good wash.

Arthur stared at the broken house that most would react with disgust and horror. He reacted with awe and wonder. It was an old, stony house with the old, velvet sofa. There was a small pile of old blankets of many colors with a few pillows. A small rug was underneath that. There are wooden cabinets filled with some drinks and food. Francis even had a bookshelf filled with books he could read and sketches he could draw. Arthur sighed in a dreamy manner.

Francis raised a brow at Arthur's curiosity of his little hideaway to ask in a peculiar tone, "Are you ok?"

"Yes, it is just amazing" Arthur answered in bliss as he enjoyed the wonderful room, "You own all of this, don't you? That's incredible"

Francis shrugged as he didn't think it was much. It was a little place that he, Gilbert, and Antonio made to meet up and exchange stories. Of course, both left to pursue their own dreams and goals which was now left in his care. He grinned at the memories before turning to the large, deep, blue curtain with an idea.

"I object to that when I have a view like this" Francis spoke as he pulled the curtain down to reveal the glorious Palace of Spade, "But this view certainly takes my breath away"

Arthur's heart sank at the sight of it, but he noticed the dreamy expression Francis had. It was strange to see another person care for a life he wished he was never born into. Although, he knew he was in the same situation as well. Arthur found it oddly sweet before shaking his head when he saw the castle.

"It isn't everything you think it is" Arthur commented as he turned away and picked up an old book to read to sit down with his back to the view.

"No one will know you're dreams and ambitions" Francis added as he continued to stare at the palace while sitting right behind him.

Arthur replied with distaste as he snapped the book shut, "To the point where everything is done for you and cannot make any choices for your life at all"

Francis leaned back to add with a sigh of bliss before agreeing, "And they will never listen to you and your pains"

"And in the end" Arthur spoke with Francis joining in to speak in unison, "You are trapped"

Both were surprised to hear the other speak the words they were feeling. Arthur turned to Francis with wide eyes as his hood fell with Francis smiling in honesty and warmth that could make anyone feel safe. Both soon burst into a fit of laughter before shaking and enjoying each other's company.

"So, what brings you to the Kingdom of Spade?" Francis asked curiously as he turned around to give Arthur his full attention, "You could've come at a mediocre time due to the recent death of the queen and the lack of her sons appearing"

"Ah, well" Arthur spoke as he tried to hide the worry and hurt in his voice, "I suppose that would be adventure and living a life by my own terms. I was getting sick of my older brothers doing everything for me without my say"

Francis chuckled in a warm manner to point out, "Do you think they only do that to care for you? I may know a thing or two since I am older brother myself. I often look after ma douce petitie soeur in a protective manner. After all, it is just me and her, much like you and tes frères. If anything were to happen to her, I wouldn't know what to do entirely. You see, an illness swept the kingdom and took the lives of our parents. It is just us now. You cannot imagine the worry we have about trying to live our lives in our home. Tes frères must feel the same, oui?"

Silence of realization and comfort flowed through Arthur as he reflected on Francis's words. It was true that the death of their mother caused a lot of changes. It wasn't just the kingdom that changed, but it was their lives. Now that the prince thought about this, he wondered if that is why his brothers were always cautious and caring for him.

Francis could see the mysterious guest was deep in his thoughts, so he stood up and walked to the broken cabinets and open it to reveal a bottle of wine and some treats he baked. He opened the bottle and held out some sweets for Arthur to have.

"Je suis désolé" Francis spoke with a shake of his head, "I didn't mean to cause trouble to your mind. Well, it should be my turn to be uncomfortable"

Arthur took a sweet and ate it before staring at the baker with a questioning expression. There was no way the baker would know of his daily life and relationship at home. It wasn't his fault at all. Arthur pouted a bit and waited to hear Francis's worries.

"Truth be told, I am worried about my abilities as an older brother and myself" Francis reflected with a disappointed expression, "I do not have a lot of talents. I can only bake and cook. I am worried I will never be enough to care for myself and little sister. I did have two close friends, but both have left, and I haven't heard from them. I used to sing and write in my off time, but I haven't done that in years. Will I be able to ensure that we will live our lives and achieve our dreams? Or will I sink like a stone in the water?"

The prince wondered if that is how his brothers felt. He didn't think about much, but his brothers did take a lot for him too. Perhaps he should pick himself up and do more for them if he could. Sure, he would give anything to be free, but he should be a better brother to them. He shook his head and groaned as hide his face in his hands.

Francis turned to the mysterious person to ask, "Ce qui est faux? Did you realize something, mon ami?"

"Yes, I am just a pain in the ass" Arthur answered before raising his head to laugh, "I suppose I was being selfish when I ran away from home. I should've been more considerate to them, but I just couldn't help it! I wanted to get out of there! Ah, what a pain in the ass I've been"

The baker shook his head to answer, "I think you've been keeping that in for too long too. Did you even tell tes frères how you felt? I am sure if you sat down and talk about it, you can come to an agreement. You would be surprise how agreeable us frères plus vieux can be"

"It doesn't hurt to ask, I suppose" Arthur confessed as he leaned back and glanced at the baker, "Thank you for speaking with me, good sir. I didn't catch your name in all that, but my name is Arthur"

He held his hand out and realized how much of a relief it was for him to talk with the baker. He didn't realize how easy it was for him to even talk to the stranger at all! He didn't have nearly have an easier time when he first met Vlad and Lukas. It didn't make sense to the prince, but perhaps he could think about that later.

As for Francis, he found the company of the mysterious guest wonderful and a nice change of pace. Sure, the guest didn't understand the village, his mischievous and rebellious nature was wonderful to him. That, and how the guest shared a similar viewpoint to him as well. It was rare to even speak freely with someone else. It warmed his heart.

"Merci! Je m'appelle Francis" he introduced warmly and shook the prince's hand.

Sharing an understanding expression, they stared at the setting sun with Arthur slowly realizing that he would have to return home! He stood up and noticed a breeze was coming!

"Apologizes Francis, but I must depart!" Arthur spoke as he prepared to leave before the baker could see him be tossed into the air and back to the palace.

As he turned to leave, he didn't realize how sad and reluctant Francis was to let him go. He stood up and grabbed the prince's wrist to stop him from leaving. Arthur's face flushed red as he turned to face the baker who only held his wrist gently.

"Je suis désolé" Francis spoke again as he realized what he did and let Arthur's wrists go, "But I was wondering when I would see you again, or if at all? You are welcomed to use this place if you would like"

"Really? You would be fine with that?" Arthur asked in awe as Francis nodded his head, "Then, yes! You will see me again! I will be here at night tomorrow! I promise, Francis! But I really must be off! Have a goodnight, Francis!"

With a bow, Arthur grinned and left the baker with a skip in his step. Francis only grinned before twirling to then laying on the couch again. He knew he would have to return to his bakery soon, but he also knew his little sister and friends could handle it without him. A wide smile never left the baker's face as he hummed a little merry tune to himself.

Arthur was able to leave the abandoned house as the breeze picked up around him in a protective manner. He didn't care this time as a grin was still present on his features before the wind grabbed him to violently threw him into the air to then have him crash into the gardens with a thud.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Duncan yelled as he, Sean, Dylan, and Liam were staring over him.

Dylan pulled him up and fretted over him as Sean and Liam were leaning against him. Duncan had his hands on Arthur's shoulders and stared right at him with a perplexed expression. He thought his little brother would be aggressive with them, but Arthur held a pleasant expression.

"Rabbit is everything ok?" Duncan asked softly as he checked him, "Nothing happened, right?"

"Oh, right. Nothing happened" Arthur answered with a nod of his head, "I am sorry about everything. I should do a better job of helping you with things and being less of an ass. I would like to continue this conversation with you further, but I would like to turn in for the night. It was a day to say the least. Is that alright with you?"

Stunned silence filled the area as his brothers stared at him. Sean checked his head to make sure Arthur wasn't sick. Dylan even whisked his hand to make sure there wasn't a curse over him either. Liam nodded his head in understanding as they let their little brother retire for the night. All four were stunned as they weren't sure what to even say about this. One thing was for sure, they would be discussing it later.

"Arthur!" Vlad and Lukas shouted in relief as Arthur entered his room and embraced him warmly.

Vlad loudly worried over him, but Lukas noticed how happy their friend was. Lukas placed a hand on Vlad's shoulder and pulled them to sit down on the floor.

"I think Arthur would like to tell us everything, Vlad" Lukas spoke softly, "So, what happened today?"

The prince excitedly discussed his adventure he had with the baker and what he had done. They were happy to listen to the prince and what a wonderful day he had with the baker. They spoke well into the night before sleeping together on the floor with pleasant expressions. Arthur was surprised he could fall asleep and couldn't wait to go outside again and meet with Francis.