What Do I Stand For?

Chapter One: And So the Web is Spun

Warnings: Cursing and innuendos

Disclaimer: Mr. B and I do not own Hetalia or the Middle Ages

A cheerful tune filled the small guild house. It was an old Italian song, beautiful and joyous, yet gentle and soothing. No words were heard, only the melody, hummed quietly. It was a familiar tune to many, especially all members of the small guild. The tune lead to the kitchen, were a small Italian cleaned dishes. It was much too early for chores; most of the guild house hadn't even awoken. Yet that didn't deter the small Italian one bit. He washed dishes, pruning his hands, and causing his thin shirt to become wet. He didn't honestly mind, even he wasn't supposed to do the dishes or any chores for that matter. The small Italian was too consumed with the task and the tune that he didn't hear the floorboards creak behind him.

"Feliciano?" Came a tired voice from the kitchen doorway.

The small Italian, Feliciano, quickly turned around. He hid his soapy wet hands behind his back and placed a smile on his face, though he was terrified. "C-Ciao, fratello, please don't sneak up on me like that again."

"What are you doing?" Feliciano's brother, Lovino, questioned. He raised an eyebrow, looking at his wet shirt.

"Nothing," Feliciano lied.

Of course Lovino didn't believe him. Quickly, Lovino made his way over to the Feliciano and moved him aside. He caught a glimpse of Feliciano's wet pruning hands, but he focused on the dishes in the sink. They were wet and some had soap on them. Lovino glared at his brother.

"Feliciano! We have apprentices for this! Don't do their work for them!"

"But, fratello! They've been working so hard recently, I thought they needed a break," Feliciano countered not looking Lovino in the eyes.

"They signed a contract, they made a commitment! They are here for this reason, idiota!"

"But, fratello-"

"No buts, Feliciano! Now go wake the apprentices and send them off on their usual chores. Half outside, half inside. "

"Si, fratello," Feliciano said submissively. He hung his head low, turned away from Lovino, and started towards the apprentice's quarters

"Also wake up Grandpa," Lovino said to the retreating form.

"What if he is with a woman? He was up late last night," Feliciano pointed out.

"So? He is the guild master. He needs to get his lazy ass up and do his damn job."

"Fratello! That is disrespectful! If Grandpa had heard you-"

"Well, he can't because he is still fucking asleep, idiota!"

Feliciano quickly scrambled away towards the apprentice's quarters, not wanting to prolong the conversation. Lovino honestly scared Feliciano to death sometimes. He was always raising his voice and cursing. Berating Feliciano seemed to be an everyday occurrence. Feliciano was so used to it by now that he didn't even think twice when his brother called him an idiota or told him he was useless. But no matter what Feliciano knew his brother loved him deeply, and that he would risk his life for him.

Feliciano walked at a slow pace, dragging his feet across the wood. He knew every nook and cranny this old building had to offer, each floorboard that gave away your position when playing hide and seek. He had been raised here after all. Yet every time he walked down a hallway he studied the walls like they were a cathedral's newly built walls.

Eventually, he made it to the small hallway where the apprentices slept. There were two bedrooms adjacent to each other and a washroom at the end of the hall. Inside the bedrooms were small groups of apprentices sharing the rooms. There were five in total, three boys and two girls, ages ranging from twelve to eighteen. Feliciano remembered finishing his apprenticeship when he turned nineteen. He might have been born into the guild, to become a member he'd still needed to become an apprentice like his brother of twenty-one, Lovino.

Lightly, Feliciano knocked on the door to his right, were the three boys slept. He didn't want to harshly disturb their peaceful slumber, so his knocking gradually grew louder. Eventually he peeked inside and drew the long curtains, flooding the room with warm sunlight. The window wasn't too large but he allowed enough light inside to stir the boys. Feliciano started to lightly shake their shoulders, one by one, oldest to youngest, till they all awoke. He gave them instructions to go outside and tend to the usual chores of gather water, fire wood, and things of that sort.

Once all the boys had awoken, Feliciano moved on to the girls. He exited the boy's room and closed the small space between him and the girl's room. He did the same routine of gradual knocking before entering and drawing the long curtains to a small window. The room was pretty, much identical in size and shape, the only thing different was the contents. Slowly Feliciano woke the two girls and told them to wash the dishes and clean up along with their usual chores. Feliciano exited the room and waited outside as the two groups finished getting ready for the day. The boys came out first, wearing work shirts and work shorts along with rubber boots. Their hair was messy and unkempt. They seemed rugged as they raced each other outside. Next came the girls in their dresses, with their hair in neat braids. They didn't look the best, but they were very beautiful.

Feliciano watched as the two girls walked passed him into the kitchen. When Feliciano was sure they were working he headed up the narrow staircase toward his grandpa's, the guild master's, quarters. It was a larger room down a narrow hallway. Slowly and attentively he walked down the hallway till he made it to the wooden door. He knocked lightly, gradually increasing the force like he had before with the apprentices.

Feliciano was very hesitant when opening the door, not sure what he would see. The room was dark and rather messy. The door creaked, causing Feliciano to wince. He peered into the room not finding his grandpa at first. After searching the room with his eyes, not daring to move from the doorway, he spotted a bundle of blankets on the floor next to the bed. Slowly Feliciano crept into the room and to the bundle poking it gently. He poked it again, gaining a groan from the pile. Feliciano peeled the blankets off one by one till he revealed human skin. It was his grandpa's, thats for sure. But it wasn't his face, it seemed to be his side. Feliciano moved the blankets, gladly keeping his grandpa's nether regions hidden.

"Grandpa?" Feliciano said as he moved hair from his grandpa's face.

A groan was his reply. Romulus, Feliciano's grandpa, slowly opened his eyes. They were tired and glazed, but nevertheless held a hint of happiness in them. Slowly, Romulus arose, propping himself up with his elbows. He yawned, breath reeking of alcohol. "Ciao, Feli," Romulus said sleepily after registering where he was.

"Buongiorno, Grandpa Roma," Feliciano said cheerfully. A large smile grew on his face. "You smell bad," he giggled.

"Come now, Feli, you should be used to the smell of a townsman! You go to the ville almost everyday," Romulus teased. "I'm surprised you don't smell like them yourself."

"The stench bothers me, Grandpa."

"You smell like a prince, Feli. Are you looking for a princess?"

Feliciano blushed lightly, avoiding eye contact. "No, Grandpa, a maiden hasn't caught my eye yet."

Romulus looked at his grandson quizzically. "You know, Feli, I am an old, old man."

"Si, Grandpa, I know. But you are still very handsome, and don't look a day past twenty-five!"

Romulus chuckled. "I doubt that, Feli. I am nearly twice the age of a working man. I'm surprised I lived this long, with all the things I've been through, all the thing's I've seen-"

"Please, Grandpa, don't make me sad. I couldn't think about losing you!"

Romulus chuckled again. "Losing me? Why, Feli, it'd take more than my old age to end me! I'm talking about why the hell I'm on the damn floor! What happened last night?!"

Feliciano let out a relieved laugh. "You went out to the town. You probably went drinking in celebration of a successful mission. I didn't know whether I should've expected a women in the bed, or ground in this case."

"Well Feli you see- Wait you know what until you get a bride I won't talk to you about this," Romulus said, standing and wrapping the blanket around his waist tightly. "Now go unless you want to watch your Grandpa change. And if you do we need to have a serious talk," Romulus playfully teased.

"No, Grandpa! I'm going, I'm going!" Feliciano said quickly and scurried out of the room, closing the door on his way out.

After a moment's consideration, Feli thought he could wake up Antonio to be nice. He went down the hall to Antonio's quarters. Slowly he knocked on the door, repeating his previous actions. He peeked into the room to find it completely empty and clean. Confused, Feliciano closed the door and continued walking down the small hallway to the stairs. As he did so, he heard snoring coming from Lovino's room. Curious, Feliciano peeked inside his brother's room, not bothering to knock.

What was inside the room surprised the Italian immensely. Clothes and blankets were thrown haphazardly around the room. It reeked of sweat and something else Feliciano couldn't place. But the most surprising thing in the room was Antonio, stark naked on Lovino's bed. Said man didn't even stir, apparently deep in slumber. Quickly and silently, Feliciano closed the door and hurried down the stairs.

Lovino walked over to the base of the stairs, raising an eyebrow at his brother's frantic scrambling down the stairs. The youngest girl behind him looked at Feliciano happily, oblivious to the shocked expression on his face. Lovino shooed her away, effectively getting her back to work and he and Feliciano alone.

"Feliciano...?" Lovino took an attentive step towards Feliciano, as he reached the landing. "What's wrong with you?"

"N-Nothing! I just saw something that I shouldn't have." It was the truth, just not all of it.

"Grandpa Roma naked?" Lovino guessed, giving a small laugh.

Feliciano looked away and shrugged, not confirming or denying Lovino's statement. Technically, it wasn't lying if it he didn't answer, so Feliciano stayed silent. He didn't like lying at all, especially not to his brother, but sometimes he had to. Feliciano didn't think Lovino wanted anyone to know about what was in his room. It even shocked Feliciano himself and he had been expecting something like this ever since he had first met Antonio.

Lovino patted his brother's back before walking away, towards the front door. He needed to collect a few eggs and some materials from the Market. He slipped on his rubber boots and grabbed a burlap sack before heading outside. The ground was muddy and hard to walk in, but the market wasn't too far. Lovino hurriedly walked down the well worn, muddy path that lead to the town. The Market was the center of the small town, for it provided most of the average person's necessities and more.

Many people met in the town to discuss news, rumors, and gossip about other town dwellers. Things were lively in the town, kids singing and playing. Music filled the streets as minstrels played tunes, and performers did the usual plays. Everything was normal, as it should be. Lovino sidestepped so a shepherd so he and his sheep could pass, but not all of them did. After a majority of the sheep had passed by a small lamb approached the Italian. Lovino bent down and patted the soft creature, gaining a baa in return. He gave a soft smile before straightening up and shooing the lamb away. He was distracted by a commotion across the street and found it to be a worried mother yelling at her young boy.

"Don't do such stupid things! You could get hurt! Or worse, Der Teufel will come and steal you away at night!" And with that the young boy's face grew to a terrified expression. Lovino rolled his eyes. What a load of shit.

A/N: Hello there readers. I must thank you for taking a chance on this story. And I hope you enjoyed it. I must thank my dear friend and beta Mr. B. They have been a wonderful inspiration and journal for my ideas. I wouldn't have been able to get this done without them.

'Tis I, Mister B. Any grammatical/spelling errors are my fault. Please don't hesitate to point them out, beacuse my ass needs a little help sometimes.