Chapter Text
Ferdinand first encounter with a snake happened when he was 10 years old.
Like every other afternoon, Ferdinand von Aegir, the only son of Duke Aegir, was on a happy walk through the garden of his big mansion when he witnessed one of his father's hunting dogs, Gabriel, run after a greenish speckled band that was trying to escape from him until the dog managed to take it in his muzzle and shake it violently. He didn't stop until the band started to bleed.
That was the moment Ferdinand realized that thing wasn't a speckled band.
When Gabriel thought that his prey was already lifeless, he wagged his tail and barked at the small human, perhaps expecting a reward, but the ginger boy looked at him in horror as a sob of indignation escaped from his covered mouth. After not receiving even a compliment, the dog decided to leave the crime scene.
Ferdinand knew that his father was scared to death of snakes and had made sure to train his guard dogs to detect them. However, the boy had never seen an animal kill another one before (he was still too young to go fox hunting), so witness it had left him somewhat shaky and confused.
And when Ferdinand was about to run back into the house and seek comfort from his nursemaid, the snake stirred. It seemed writhing in pain.
It was alive!
Little Ferdinand hurried over and knelt down next to the reptile. Luckily, the snake didn't appear to be all that injured, nor did it appear to be venomous (if his textbooks about Aegir endemics animals could be trusted), so the boy took a brief look around the garden and found the gardener's gloves. Putting on the gloves, the boy carefully picked up the snake by the tail, lowered it into a discarded compost sack.
The snake tried to bite him a couple of times, but his fangs were so small that it couldn't pierce the thick material of the gloves.
Ferdinand was very bad at lying, so he made sure not to be seen by the servants as he made his way back to his room upstars, where, upon arriving, he decided to emptied his toy chest, hid the contents under the bed, and put the snake inside along with one of his pillows and a blanket from the closet. He wiped off the snake's blood with an old rag, took a vulnerary from his personal medical kit and poured it in a teacup before closing the chest lid. He hoped the snake would drink the medicine of its own accord.
When the adrenaline had worn off, Ferdinand realized what he had done.
Oh, his father was going to kill him…if he ever found out.
The first days caring for a snake were difficult. The maids tried more than once to open the toy chest to clean it, but Ferdinand pretended to throw tantrums to distract them, which made him feel quite guilty as his father was prone to physical punishing servants who upset him or his heir. At least they left the chest alone.
On the other side, feeding his new friend was a different matter than feeding a dog. Ferdinand was able to find food that snakes needed thanks to his animal books. Finding insects was easy, but catching rats was another story.
The first time it happened, Ferdinand had gone down to the basement as soon as he remembered the mousetrap that was stationed there, which trapped rats and mice inside a small cell, since they would be submerged in water afterwards.
With a glass jar on his hand, he mentally prayed to the Goddess for forgiveness.
When returning to his room and opening the chest, Ferdinand's heart was relieved to see the snake had coiled up on itself, the teacup now half full of water. It seemed to be sleeping peacefully on the pillow, Gabriel's bite now a prominent mark on the beautiful pattern of its scales. But the snake soon opened its olive-green eyes, raised its head and bared its fangs in warning.
Would he seriously feed the snake a live rat…?
Yes. Rats were a plague and spread the black plague, at least that's what Ferdinand had heard one of the servants say once.
A great torrent of air passed through his nostrils as he tried to calm himself and, with a trembling grip, he twisted the lid of the jar and drooped the rat into the chest. It didn't take a second for the snake to uncoil and jump on the defenseless little animal.
The boy watched with morbid interest as the rodent's legs and tail slowly disappeared through the reptile's jaws until a bulge was formed in the middle of its long body. The snake had swallowed the rat with absolute, almost hypnotic calm. Elegant, without violence. Ferdinand stood fascinated.
"I will call you Viridis." Ferdinand suddenly said. The snake looked at him, tilting its head with something that looked like curiosity. "Because you are green and your eyes are green too. Do you like that name, Viridis?"
The snake stuck out its forked tongue and returned to its previous position to continue sleeping. Ferdinand took that as a yes.
After that Ferdinand continued to get food for his new friend. He could even swear he formed an unbreakable bond with Viridis, since the snake had stopped trying to bite him and sometimes crawled up his arms to crawl over his body, seeking warmth while the ginger boy recounted his day.
"I do not understand why father is so afraid of snakes." Ferdinand had commented one night. He was lying in his bed, a book in his hand and Viridis crawling up his shoulders and hair, squeezing his neck from time to time. "I think you are sweet and cute." He kissed the snake's head and it hissed before biting his right cheek.
Ferdinand quickly ran a hand over his face, expecting to see a red stain on it. However, the bite hadn't hurt nor left a wound. Maybe Viridis was just playing.
But all good things come to an end, and one day, without knowing how he found out, his father came fuming into his room and went straight to open the chest, grabbed the snake and threw it against the wall. Ferdinand screamed and tried to lift his friend, but his father yanked hard his arm, preventing him from moving forward. Fortunately, that was enough time for Viridis to regain consciousness, climb up the desk and escape through the open window.
The boy sighed in relief. His little friend had escaped. It would be sad not to see Viridis again, but at least it was alive. The only drawback was that his father had punished him in such a way that the ginger boy ended up with a black eye, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken rib.
Officially, Ferdinand had fallen off his pony after recklessly attempting a riding trick.
-o-o-o-o--o-o-o-o--o-o-o-o-
In his next encounter with a snake, Ferdinand was 17 years old.
Like any noble parent, his father had started looking for noble girls to marry his heir when he came of age, so once a week Ferdinand had to meet with a different girl at the gazebo on his garden to talk to them and see if they were compatible. The girls were personally chosen by Ludwig, which explained the ginger boy's zero interest in them.
Then he met Monica von Ochs... who presumably tried to kill him.
During a not particularly unpleasant date, Ferdinand and Monica had sat together to drink tea after a walk. They drank in silence while Ferdinand was trying to find more topics of conversations, but for a second his eyes got distracted by a butterfly flying nearby, then he heard a thud behind him that startled him. Turning around, he saw Monica shaking on the gravel floor, a dagger in hand, which seemed to be pointed at his back. Ferdinand could swear that he also saw a snake quickly hiding in the bushes. The dogs were barking.
He got up and ran for help. When he returned with his father and some servants, Monica had stopped moving and the dagger was gone.
"The tea was poisoned." The doctor had said. “I think someone tried to poison Lord Ferdinand. Lady Monica was sadly a collateral damage."
"Thank Goddess my son did not drink from that tea." Ludwig said with the typical act of a concerned father, a hand over his heart and looking at the ceiling as if he was looking at the Goddess.
"Are you sure there was poison in the tea?" Ferdinand insisted, not entirely convinced.
"Absolutely." The doctor said with a yawn.. “The teapot and both cups had traces of poison from a deadly plant. Your cup was full, so obviously you did not drink from it."
"Uh, I see..."
The thing was that Ferdinand did indeed drink from that tea. He and Monica had drunk the same tea from the same teapot just minutes before her death. Whoever had refilled his cup, Ferdinand was sure that had to be same individual who put the poison in the teapot and also took Monica's dagger. But why…?
Although, in the event that the poison was already in the teapot, how come Ferdinand was still alive? Or was the poison put in afterwards by the murder and Monica was bitten by the snake he saw earlier, even though there were no injuries in her body?
Ferdinand did not believe in the poisonous plant hypothesis, he would have noticed. He was a tea expert after all! But why would the doctor lie about that?
And the biggest mystery of all: Had the girl tried to kill him? Ferdinand was sure Monica had been sitting in front of him, so he wasn’t sure how the girl got behind his chair in just a blink.
Monica's parents, of course, were devastated by the news. But, strange as it may seen, they didn't look for culprits and disappeared from Aegir the next day.
Despite the mixed feelings and lack of answers, Ferdinand was relieved that at least his father stopped trying to marry him off for a while.
-o-o-o-o--o-o-o-o--o-o-o-o-
Ferdinand was 23 years old when his father died…bitten by a snake.
The irony.
As a noble and new Duke of Aegir, Ferdinand knew it was improper for him to shed bitter tears in front of everyone present at the funeral, one hand caressing his bandaged forearm. But he couldn't help it. He loved his father despite the last 'gift' he gave him just a couple of weeks ago; a broken arm. Ferdinand never knew what he did so wrong to deserve such a punishment.
Many noble friends of his father's came to him to offer their condolences, murmuring words of encouragement. The ginger man nodded slowly, pretending to listen to them. However, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
A petite woman, with long white hair and dressed in red garments, was looking at him from the farthest tombs. Next to her was a tall man, dressed entirely in black, who looked more like a spectral shadow than a human being.
Still… something about the man seemed familiar. Was he some nobleman that he couldn't remember due to stress? Ferdinand took a step to meet them and ask about their identities, but he was stopped by more nobles. The next time he looked in that direction, there was no one there.
-o-o-o-o--o-o-o-o--o-o-o-o-
Ferdinand had been was standing in the lobby for hours, looking at the paintings of his ancestors, one by one. The servants had greeted him by bowing their heads every time they passed by. No one had dared to speak to him since it was evident that he was absorbed in his own thoughts, and they had learned years ago not to bother their master (even knowing that the new Duke wasn't cruel as the previous one).
Ludwig had been buried only a few days ago but the mansion atmosphere lightened considerably, as if his absence had been a blessing to the servants. Ferdinand felt guilty for feeling the same as them.
But he also felt more alone than ever. He had no more relatives in Aegir. His grandfather, who was the current Prime Minister, lived in Enbarr, but he was always so busy that he didn't even attend his own son's funeral (at least Ferdinand got a touching letter from him). And his friends were nobles whom he visited once every few years and with whom he maintained communication by mail. He didn't have commoner friends because his father insisted on him being educated by tutors instead of going to a private school. Also, Ferdinand had send Gabriel and the other dogs to a farm where they could have more freedom and a quiet life, because they were already too old and he could not take care of them. But Ferdinand hoped to get his own puppy when things were more stable.
The ginger man sighed and began to walk towards his new office. He had a letter to write to let Count Varley know about his decision to cancel the marriage with his daughter. He was now free to marry whoever he wanted to, at least.
After crossing the threshold, the door of his office closed hard behind him. Ferdinand at first believed that it had been the wind, since the windows were open, the curtains and the fire of the lanterns dancing, until he heard the click of the doorknob. Startled, he turned around and saw that the tall man from the cemetery had been the one closed the door with a gesture of his elongated arm.
The room stayed silence for a moment.
"Who... who are you?" Ferdinand finally asked, nervously, when the man did nothing more than adopt a form of statue and stare at the Duke with his only visible green eye, the one who wasn’t hidden under tufts of black hair.
The butler had not tell him that he had visits, therefore, it was evident that this couldn't be a common social visit... Still, Ferdinand wasn't sure if he was in danger. An assassin wouldn't be so dumb as to show himself in front of his victim.
"I'm known as Hubert von Vestra." The man said after a few seconds of consideration, moving away from the door to taking some steps towards his interlocutor, who backed down. "But you can call me 'Viridis' if you wish, Ferdinand." He added with a smirk.
"Viridis ..." Ferdinand blinked. Why did that name sound so familiar? And why the presence of that man felt so... so not alarming?
"I should have known you wouldn't recognize me with this human skin." The man continued, giving a brief sigh of disappointment. "Maybe this will help."
After saying that, the man... Hubert took off his gloves, stuffed them into his black jacket, and green scales quickly began to appear on his fingers and around his face, giving him a reptilian appearance. The redhead gasped.
"What kind of magic is this?!"
“This is not magic. I'm a Naga." Hubert simply replied with a shrug, as if it were a natural thing to say.
“A…Naga?” Ferdinand repeated, his amber eyes wide. His common sense screamed at him to get away from the man who kept advancing towards him, but his curiosity kept his feet anchored to the ground.
"I see Ludwig never told you about us." There was no surprise in his voice as he casually reached up a hand to tangle his fingers in a long lock of orange hair, as if he were inspecting it. Ferdinand gasped but didn't back down. "Makes sense. He was planning to take his place as Prime Minister when the current one died and then, I think, he would tell you about all his misdeeds so you would rule Aegir under his tutelage. But I killed him before that could happen."
"Killed?! You killed my father?!" He exclaimed, stunned. And this time he did try to run, but his hips slammed into the desk behind him. When he saw himself cornered, Ferdinand raised his head and realized that Hubert's gaze reflected… calm, perhaps even affection, and not baleful intentions towards him as anyone might assume in that situation.
"Yes. And I'm ashamed to say that it was not an easy task. It took me years to accomplish." He answered unceremoniously, proudly baring sharp fangs under a barely concealed smile. "Your father was a truly cautious human and he took every measure possible to keep me and my people away. Even one of your dogs caught me, remember?" He cocked his head a little. Ferdinand then could see a scar on his neck, the kind of wound that results from torn skin. "If not for you, I would have died that day."
"But! That was…" The Goddess finally took pity on him and a flash of recognition lit up his mind. "Viridis…"
After Viridis escaped through the window, Ludwig made sure that his son stayed away from snakes. He got more hunting dogs, hired guards, set snake traps around the mansion, and even ordered servants to thoroughly check the rooms every night. Ferdinand couldn't even have friends over without his father's approval first.
Ferdinand never really understood his father's extreme fear of snakes or why he tried to keep his son away from them... until that moment.
The Nagas were mythological beasts that were only supposed to exist in the collective imagination. Half-human, half-snake creatures with the ability to transfigure into a human or a full snake. They were always the villains in the novels, the ones who kidnapped the princesses or terrorized the towns, the ones who always ended up falling at the hands of the hero. Ferdinand tried many times to find a story where the beast had a happy ending.
"Yes, you saved me." Hubert confirmed, placing his hand now on the human's cheek. Ferdinand flinched. Hubert was cold, but his scaly skin felt so familiar and soft… "I was a child back then, and it was just a reconnaissance mission, but Ludwig, that ungrateful man, had trained his dogs to keep nagas away. He knew we wouldn't dare come to the surface even in human form unless it was absolutely necessary, and his assassination really wasn't a priority until recently."
"Ungrateful? What… what did my father do to your people?" Ferdinand knew his father too well. Ludwig had been an ambitious man who had made many enemies in his footsteps. And although nothing justified his murder, surely he did something to provoke it.
"Ah. Right. You don't know anything about it." Hubert murmured as he ran a thumb over the human's pink lips, as if he was curious about them. Ferdinand shuddered. "Do you remember your father's older brother?"
"Uh. Y-yes. Uncle Reginald…" He said, making an effort to speak and not bite the intruding finger. “He was supposed to be the next Duke Aegir until he mysteriously died…ah!” Ferdinand's eyes widened as he understood the implication. Hubert nodded.
"Ludwig asked us to get rid of his brother so that he could be the next Prime Minister after your grandfather dies. In return we only asked for a piece of Aegir land to serve as a sanctuary for the Nagas and thus be able to get closer to humans. However, as you may have noticed, that never happened. In fact, he exile my people from our caves and forests, and erased all existing information about the veracity of our existence from the historical records of Fódlan. He even went as far to tell the Emperor that we tried to take Aegir by force and therefore our banishment was justified. But of course, we Nagas also have our own form of writing, we aren't savages; so that will be easy to remedy when you, the new Duke Aegir, join us to undo the damage… Unless you decide to follow in your father's footsteps.” He said the last thing gravely, narrowing his eyelids for a effect. His green eye flashed dangerously. “You saved me, so I will give you a chance to escape if you choose the wrong option.”
The redhead didn't speak for a long moment, just stared wide-eyed at the man in front of him, who had lowered his arms to clasp his hands behind his back in an attempt to look imposing. The naga was some inches taller than Ferdinand, and the faint light from the lantern made the shadow of his eyes looked grimmer, making the pose three times as effective.
A mental debate raged in Ferdinand's brain and heart. Could he believe what Viridis… no, Hubert, was saying? Hubert admitted to murdering his father and his people murdering his uncle. But if everything he had said about the unjust banishment of the Nagas had any truth...
It was not time to doubt. If Hubert wanted to hurt him, he would have done it already instead of starting a conversation. Besides... It had felt good the way the man slid his fingers over his face so delicately, as if he was afraid of hurting Ferdinand, watching carefully as his expressions changed over the seconds, first to apprehension and then to contentment. No one had touched him with such candor and care before.
“Please tell me more about it. If it is true that my father betrayed your people, then I, Ferdinand von Aegir, will do my best to undo that mistake!” He said with determination and a hand on his chest, showing as much sincerity as he could despite the nerves.
"That is what I wanted to hear."
Hubert didn't smile, but Ferdinand could feel his posture relax as his long arms wrapped around his waist, letting his head fall onto Ferdinand's shoulder, breathing into his neck, the skins of their cheeks brushing against each other.
"Hu-Hubert." Ferdinand's protest was weak, so the naga ventured his hands up Ferdinand's back, gently rubbing the nape of his neck, then moving his palms down to touch his shoulder blades and a finger along his spine with inhuman slowness. The ginger man couldn't do anything but shiver under Hubert's long fingers. It felt so intimate and innocent at the same time, like a snake slithering over his body… which made sense.
"You are as warm as I remember." Hubert murmured into his ear. Ferdinand though that Hubert felt as cold as he remembered Viridis, which, strangely enough, filled his entire body with an aura of calm and warmth that he hadn't felt in a long time.
Ferdinand, feeling a bit daring but still shy, returned the hug, pulling the man tight against his body. Hubert spoke after a few seconds.
"What happened to your arm?"
"Wh-what?"
“I saw you the day they put Ludwig's body in that hole. You insistently touched your left arm. You seemed to be in pain, and now you are using less pressure on it. Something happened."
"Oh. It-it's nothing."
"Don't lie to me, Ferdinand." Hubert said gravely, then pulled away and glared at the redhead as he gently took his left wrist. Hubert lifted the sleeve of his red jacket and saw white linen bandages under it. Ferdinand could feel the naga's suppressed rage because of his trembling hand. "He was the one who did this to you, I'm wrong?"
Ferdinand turned his head and looked at the floor, feeling ashamed that he, an adult, had allowed himself to be abused in such a way. But a moment later he nodded.
“I'm glad I killed him. But I'm sorry it took me so long."
"Me... Me too."
"Good." He cupped Ferdinand's cheeks and brought their forehead together. “You are my mate, and as such, you are mine. I will not tolerate anyone touching you again."
"Mate? What are you talking about?" Ferdinand inquired, confused. He was sure that the term was only used with animals.
“My mate, my other half. What is the word humans use? ...Husband?"
"Husband!?" He exclaimed, face flushed, turning around to rest his hands on the desk. That must had been a joke. However, Hubert didn't seem like the type of man to tell jokes. “This is the first time we have seen each other in years! B-Besides, we cannot be a husband and husband without a wedding! We have not even kissed yet!"
Hubert cocked his head thoughtfully.
“I'm not sure what a wedding is. But, if I remember correctly, a kiss is when two humans with the intention of copulating join their lips, and I admit that would be appropriate in our case if we want to have offspring. By the way, this isn't the first time I have seen you. Like I said, it took me years to plan Ludwig’s murder, therefore, I kept an eye on you and him for a long time.”
“Offspring?” Ferdinand turned to look at him and blinked. "Hubert! If you have been watching me for years as you claim, I am sure you have already noticed that I am a man! We cannot have offspring, I-I mean babies! Male humans cannot get pregnant!"
What was happening? Why was Ferdinand more concerned with the naga's little knowledge of human biology than with him admitting to having been watching him for years?
"Really?" Instead of looking disturbed by the information, Hubert wore a rather annoyed expression. Then he sighed and his shoulders dropped a little. “In that case, I will be the one to carry the young. Unfortunately, since we are both male, it will be more difficult for you to fertilize my eggs. I just hope that doesn't lessen your desire to inseminate me."
"Eggs…? Inseminate? Oh, this is too much information for me. I think that I am going to faint. Or maybe I already passed out and this is all a dream.” He put a hand to his head, definitely feeling dizzy.
Only a few minutes ago they had been talking about betrayals and murders, snake people and transmutations, then the topic changed radically about his future with the naga that ended his father's life, the same snake that Ferdinand saved from death and nursed years ago.
It was a strange day. But the strangest thing is that Ferdinand was not at all disgusted by the idea of a life with Hubert.
"You are right." Hubert moved closer again, placing one hand on Ferdinand's waist and another on his chin to lift his face and caress his right cheek with his thumb. “We can continue this conversation later. I'm not going anywhere. I have waited years to finally be with you, my mate.”
Ferdinand's heart leapt with joy at those words. He felt as if he had finally found the novel he was looking for. He was a romantic at heart after all.
"Hubert, please... Kiss me." He requested in a whisper.
Ferdinand knew it wouldn't be noble of him to share a kiss with someone who was not his still official fiancée, and that he was probably asking for it in a rush of adrenaline, but it just felt right.
"... As you wish." Hubert dipped his head and tentatively pressed his lips to Ferdinand's in a soft, almost shy way.
The kiss had been short and a little clumsy, denoting the lack of experience that Hubert had, but Ferdinand didn't care all and smiled. That had been his first kiss too.
However, both ended up separating when someone knocked on the door.
"Lord Ferdinand, dinner is served."
Ferdinand made a noise and looked at Hubert, who quickly hid his scales with human skin, and then the redhead hurried to unlock the door. The old housekeeper, who had also been his nursemaid, wore her usual friendly smile, but she was surprised to see a guest that she didn't remember having been announced.
"One moment, please." Ferdinand hastened to say. "Lord Vestra here will dine with me tonight." He said, looking at his companion in a totally non-suspicious way. Hubert managed not to roll his eyes. "Anything in particular you would like for dinner, Lord Vestra? My kitchen cupboards has the best ingredients in Aegir!"
"I will have the same as him." Hubert answered in the kindest way he knew how. He was aware that his human form was just as terrifying as his real form, but sadly, that was not something he had power over. The woman seemed to relax a little, though she seemed suddenly troubled again.
“I-I'm so sorry, Lord Ferdinand, I didn't know you had a guest. The cook only prepared one dish and…”
"It’s all right, Mrs. Smith." Ferdinand smiled and placed a hand on the old woman's frail shoulder. “It is my fault for not letting the servants know that I had a visitor. I assure you that Lord Vestra and I will not be upset by the delay."
"I understand. Thank you, Lord Ferdinand. Dinner will be ready soon.” The woman smiled with alleviation and curtsied before closing the door, surely relieved that she wouldn't face punishment.
The ginger man breathed a small sigh of relief when they were alone again. For a moment he had been afraid that Hubert was going to ask for rats or something weird, since it was obvious that he didn't know much about human customs. Oddly, Ferdinand found himself excited at the idea of teaching Hubert more things about humans later.
“Ferdinand. Before we leave this room, there is something I need tell you…”
"Yes?"
"You need better guards." He said with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. Ferdinand for a moment felt like an admonished child.
"U-uh? What do you mean?"
"Another Agarthan tried to assassinate you, again." Hubert took the lantern from the table and directed the light behind the desk, where the ginger man saw a pair of motionless legs. "Don't worry, I already took care of it."
"Wait. I-is that a… corpse?”
Ferdinand finally passed out.