Arthur and Francis hurried along, both boys struggling to keep up with Allistor's long strides as they talked quietly.
"Angelterre, why did he bring me?" Arthur could feel his face heat up. He couldn't tell Francis that he was worried about him and that his uncle had brought him along to ease Arthur's nerves. That would mean admitting that he cared about Francis, if only on a human-to-human basis. And it would make Francis feel bad...."
"Uhm... I guess he just didn't want to leave anyone in LaFluer's hands..." Francis nodded slowly, letting the subject go. "Oui, if you say so...." He was silent for a moment before piping up again, quietly.
"I've seen coats like that before, when I was coming here by ship. He dresses like a Captain..." Arthur smiled proudly, a bit smug about his uncle's status. "Yea, he's the Captain of his own ship! He says he's going to take me with him, too. He'll probably take you, too, because he's nice like that." Francis laughed quietly.
"Oui, I'd heard that Brritish sailors were crazy. I thought they were only rumors, though..." Arthur scoffed. "He's not crazy, he's just... a little bit odd. In a good way. Would you rather be in LaFluer's hands again?" Francis shuddered. "Non, actually. I think he was the worst example of France that I've ever laid eyes on..." Arthur smirked briefly. "Indeed. We agree on one point, I guess." Francis nodded slowly.
"I still think he's insane..." Allistor suddenly laughed, making both boys jump. "Nay, not insane. Just a bit eccentric. 'Odd', as Arthur put it. It makes me good at my job!" Francis blushed bashfully at having been caught and smiled as Allistor's hand landed on his head good-naturedly.
"Now, we've got to meet with me lads briefly, and then we're going to go sometwhere very special." He looked the two of them over, a grin finding it's way to his face. "How'd you two like some new clothes?"
Half a candle later, they were in a tailor towards the center of London, both boys being measured carefully while Allistor chatted with the woman at the desk, who looked very flustered as he charmed her. Arthur nudged Francis with his elbow, ignoring the complaint from the seamstress as he grinned. "That's how you charm a lady properly. None of that silly French stuff you were pulling on that girl." Francis laughed quietly.
"I was telling her about French wines, Angelterre." Arthur frowned firmly, eyes following his uncle as the redhead kissed the lady's hand gently, winking at her.
"Oh. Didn't sound like it... Holy Mary." Both boy's eyes were wide as Arthur's uncle leaned in, whispering in the lady's ear and making her face flush pink under her fine power. Arthur grinned for no particular reason, mostly because his uncle was apparently perfect at being a man. Arthur's grin faded a tiny bit as he watched his uncle slip something into his pocket carefully.
"-terre? Angelterre, you're staring into open air. Stp ignoring me." Arthur rolled his eyes in distain at Francis, who looked quiet whiny at the moment. "Do shut up, frog. I'm thinking." Francis' response was cut off as the seamstresses dispersed with the measurements. Arthur and Francis glanced at each other before jumping down from the stool and scampering over to the front desk, where Allistor was still in full charm mode.
"Uncle?" Allistor glanced at them, grinning. "You're done in there? Good time." A woman stepped out, handing a piece of paper to the lady who Allistor had been charming. She glanced up, face still pink faintly. "It'll be two hours 'til they're all done. Can I expect a pickup this afternoon?" Alistor smiled at her warmly, her blush coming back full force. "I'll be busy by then, but if you'll give me a ticket, I'll have someone come along and pick it up." The lady nodded, quickly giving him a tag before he bade her farewell. They exited the shoppe and set off down the busy street, the boys again having to work at keeping up, neither of them wanting to ask for him to slow for them.
"Now, I want you to be on your best behaviour when you meet the lads I brought, alright? The Kirkland name has good status among their kind, and I'd like it to stay that way, so no courting any lasses while we're there, eh?" Arthur could feel his face light up, but Francis nodded happily. "Yes, Monsieur Kirkland." Allistor rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers at them. "Arthur?" Arthur happily nudged the boy next to him.
"You're supposed to call him Allistor, but you call him Captain in front of his men. Respect is important on a ship." Arthur said this very knowingly, smug in his supposed intellectual advantage over the frog. "It's very simple." Francis nodded slowly, making a mental note of this as he smiled. "Indeed..." They both glanced up as Allistor stopped.
"I'm not sure if I want to take you two in here, so would you be good lads and wait out here while I inform them of business affairs?" Arthur and Francis nodded in sync, Arthur giving Francis a look of disgust for the maneuver as Allistor looked around. He crouched down to their level, pointing out a bakery across the way and down a bit as he took a pound out of his coin purse.
"Why don't you two go and get some biscuits while you wait? Split it fairly, now." Arthur nodded, eyes bright as Allistor stood, patting Arthur's head quickly before ushering them off. "Go on, then. I'll meet ye there when I'm done, lads." Arthur scampered off with Francis in toe, leaving Allistor to smile after them before turning to go inside the tavern.
Arthur was very aware of the look the baker was giving them as they browsed. Artuhr had never even seen some of the varieties of pastry, much less tasted them. He was having a bit of a difficult time making up his mind. Luckily for him, Francis appeared to know his way around a bakery, and was a hard-set bargianer, and by the time they'd paid, he'd gotten them half of based on the age of the pastries, which really weren't stale, but the baker obviously didn't know that, for one reason or another.
"How'd you get so good at this?" Arthur waited for Francis' answer, the French boy finishing his bite of biscuit before speaking.
"I was rented to a baker in France for a while. I seemed to have a knack for it, but the man's father died and he was forced to sell his bakery to pay the old man's debts. It was a shame, really..." Arthur nodded, taking another bite of a ginger biscuit that he'd taken quiet a fancy to before responding.
"You certainly have the bargaining skills to run a bakery." Francis nodded slowly, lost in thought. "Oui, I worked a lot of jobs in France... Angelterre?"
"Hm?" Arthur didn't want to speak around his mouthful of some wonderful thing called a popover, that was filled with a honey jam. Francis smiled at the look on the Brit's face as he answered. "Merci.... for being kind to me... I'm sorry for being a burden." Arthur rolled his eyes, managing to choke down the sweet treat as he answered.
"Don't mention it. Seriously. I don't want it getting out that I was nice to a frog. It would ruin my reputation." What little of it there was. Arthur really hadn't had time to make many friends, other than Catharine, and she had the pox... Francis nodded contentedly, sliding a biscuit with frosting and a delicate slice of strawberry on top at Arthur before sighing.
"I'm still very sorry. I would've fought coming if I knew I was to take your place. your uncle is a good man. I would've held me responsible, as well as LaFluer..." Arthur scoffed lightly, taking the offered biscuit joyfully and biting into it, whimpering a bit out of sheer enjoyment. Francis had to laugh at the look on Arthur's face. "Take it easy, Angelterre. Don't eat yourself sick." Arthur shook his head happily.
"No way. And I wouldn't have held you responsible. It's that French bastard's fault, no offence."
"None taken." Arthur nodded firmly as he consumed the second half of the biscuit. "You still put me in a cell, Francis. Why?" Francis shifted a bit, face aimed at the floor as he chewed his lip.
"I... I saw your uncle earlier that morning. LaFluer sent me to get more potatoes- do you people ever stop with those?- And I saw him fighting and grinning like a madman outside a tavern, and a few policemen showed up to arrest him and the other three men, and I guessed that you'd probably come in contact with him if you were jailed, and since you didn't exactly have time, I figured you'd be well off if I could get you away from LaFluer and nearer your uncle."
Arthur was more than a bit flabbergasted. "You actually had a good reason for that?!" Francis smiled slyly as Arthur stared at him like he'd grown a third head. "Angelterre, you look ridiculous, stop staring. It's rude." Arthur shook his head, still just shocked.
"What... when you tried to convince them to sell me, when we first met?" Francis shrugged. "It was obvios you were being abused, and honestly, you'd have been better off being some fine Madame's toy. You would have been cared for and treated well, and raised among members of high society." Arthur hadn't thought he could be more shocked, but he was.
The frog was smart.
And the frog had been looking out for him from the moment they met. Arthur felt that little crack spread a bit as he shook his head, a grin spereading across his face. "Sly bloody frog. You... Holy Mary, Francis, that's.... amazing. You're like a uppet master...." Francis blushed, waving a hand easily. "Non, I am just very aware of how people work. It's a family trait, from what I hear." Arthur tried to stop grinning. It was giving the frog power. He finally got control of his face as he took a bite of a tiny cake.
"Well, the French are manipulative." Francis laughed easily, shaking his head as the bell on the door rang and they glanced over to see Allistor sweep into the shoppe, a silly grin on his face as he nearly pranced over, grabbing a biscuit from the table, ignoring the boys' complaints. He waved them off easily. "Oi, it's my coion, lads, so they're technically my sweets! Now," He ruffled Arthur's hair quickly before sitting down on the last chair at the table. "The boys are all ready to be out of town by nightfall, and we only have one more place to go."
"Can we bring the biscuits?" Allistor laughed lightly, nodding. "Yea, we can bring your sweets, but you'll have to eat them all up before we get to where we're going, alright? It's a very special place that I'm going to get something at."
"What are you getting, uncle?" Allistor grinned, shaking his head.
"It's a secret... for now."