The heat of the blazing fire was something he lad grown used to, watching the fire until the metal had turned that bright orange. The pretty color he longed to touch but if he dared touch it his fingers would melt! That's what the older blacksmith often told him and how was he to know the truth? Feliciano was but 18 years old! (Since he had been ten anyways)

The boy was a blacksmiths apprentice, he had been forced into this position (well no he had taken it up for his interest in it) and so far he had enjoyed it. Living in the castle was rather nice, even if he still dressed like a peasant and went out onto the street to sell his merchandise. He had been doing this for well over 12 years now and was satisfied with his life.

The day was sunny and humid, the poor apprentice had to ditch his black apron and roll up his long sleeved white paupers shirt uncomfortably. He ran his fingers along the blade of a sword his mentor had skillfully made, it was shiny and almost like a mirror as he stared at it. Someone stared back at him, brown eyes faded and sleep bags under his eyes. Feliciano rubbed them and stood back up straight.

"Good day to you, what are you selling here?" A man asked in a suspiciously deep voice, Feliciano looked up and immediately brightened.

"Arthur? What are doing here?!" He asked the noble, running around the cart to hug the noblesman.

"Keep it down, Feliciano!" Arthur hissed, gently prying the boy from himself. "I'm not supposed to be here." Suddenly the hostile voice was replaced with sincerity and his face softened considerably, "Feliciano, you are in trouble. Grave trouble, I need to escort you away from here before they-"

The blacksmith eyed him warily, "what do you mean? I'm perfectly safe within the castle walls and who is they?"

Arthur looked down, almost ashamed of himself. "Feliciano, you have to trust me. Everything you need is packed in my coach, please come with me."

Feliciano was usually afraid of nobles and would run away at the sight of them, they often spit on him as if he were dirt. Arthur, however, had been around the castle an had even rescued him as an orphan. (Albeit dumping him on the blacksmith) Feli did trust his friend and hearing he was in danger only out him off even more. "Alright, Arthur." He smiled and was immediately whipped away from his cart and drug down the street, into a rather nice looking coach headed by two horses. One black and one white one, they were marvelous. Once they were in, the driver immediately started off and they were on their way to God knows where.

Well into their journey, Feliciano was falling asleep to the gentle rhythm of the bumpy road. His eyes drifted but before he could fully fall asleep, a loud commotion broke his trance. Loud shouts came from behind and even gunshots, horses hooves on the dirt road pounded like thunder. Arthur asked the driver to hurry it along and let the commotion pass to which their coach sped up a little bit faster but the horses soon caught up to them and the coach stopped.

They forced the drive to drop the reigns and for everyone to step out quietly, Arthur took Feliciano's hands in his and murmured softly so only the boy could hear. "Feli, do not panic, okay?" Was the only thing he said before the door slammed open and Arthur was ripped away from him. Feli cried out, reaching for Arthur and in turn he was also pulled out and shoved to his knees. Out of the blue he began to cry, loud sobs racked his chest.

"Shut up! God you are so annoying!" And the Italian was hit upside his head with the butt of a gun, the impact knocked him out cold and he fell to the floor. Arthur growled.

"You barbarians! Release us! I am on a journey by order of the King-"

A large man stepped forward, blond hair slicked back with ice blue eyes that pierced into Arthur's soul. "Yeah yeah, King blah blah whatever just shut up." He ordered, "we are taking the boy with us, we need him for the Resistance." He paused before adding with a snicker, "We aren't the barbarians, asshole." The man walked back to his horse and jumped on top of it, he gestured to the Italian on the ground, "load him onto the back of my horse and we will get out of here, let's get a move on."

The noblesman spit at one of the barbarians which earned him a face full of mud. The men laughed before releasing him and shoving him into his coach.

"Slap the horses asses!" One of them yelled. This was done and the carriage took off led by spooked horses. The large German snorted and kicked the side of his horse and they were off, back towards the Resistance camp.

-x-

In the depths of the Resistance camp, the blacksmith apprentice woke up screaming at the sight of men surrounding him with guns. He kicked and struggled, they did nothing and simply watched him squirm like a worm. Only when their leader, the blond haired German, told them to drop their guns did they drop them. He approached the Italian with his eyebrows furrowed and sighed, sitting beside the blacksmith who seen this as an act of kindness and hid behind the German.

"T-those men tried to shoot me!" He accused and stuck his tongue out secretly at one man who looked questionably at the Italian. Feliciano whimpered when the German turned around and undid his bonds, he immediately went to rubbing his raw wrists.

"My name is Ludwig, leader of the Resistance." He rubbed the nape of his neck, "sorry for you know, doing that to you. We honestly did not mean to hurt you." Ludwig flicked a piece of lint from his shoulders with his gloved hand and helped the Italian off the floor. "You're an important piece of our Resistance, Feliciano. Your father was the-"

"No! Shush about him!" Feliciano covered the Germans mouth (this made the blond blush, for some reason unknown.) "My father is long dead, he was killed in a bad accident." Feliciano sadly looked down.

The German eyed him quizzically, "Feliciano, how much do you remember?"

The Italian shrugged, "I remember Arthur appearing out of the flames and disasters of my house and saving me." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "but that's it. I don't remember my parents or any memories of them." Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and he coughed to hide it, turning his head away.

Ludwig sighed, "just as I expected." He sat down on the cot in the tent, "Feliciano, Arthur killed your parents. He had been ordered by the King to kill the Rebel's leader, your father."

Feliciano blinked, "you're lying, Arthur couldn't and never would." He looked down at his purple wrists and shook his head, "no.." He murmured in denial.

The German shrugged, "suit yourself, Feliciano. Just know one thing." He paused before standing up and walking to the flap of the tent, "you're the key."

A memory flashed into Feliciano's head and he suddenly remembered something, it triggered a memory and Ludwig hurried out.

"You're the key, Feli. Please, remember that for papa. Okay?"

A young Feliciano nodded and beamed at his papa, "what am I the key to, Father?"

His father gently caressed his sons cheek, almost delicately. "Digi, you are the key to Digi."

The memory stopped there, almost as if he had hit a brick wall and Feliciano held his head painfully. "W-what? What did he mean?" He sat there, woozy and dizzy trying to figure out what Digi was.

Authors corner~ Hello~ so what do you think of the story? This is a story that does not take place on Earth but on an alternative universe on a planet called Arinthian Terka, this takes place long before my original timeline but it also happens in a Drabble I had created about the construction of Arinthians technology and explains the development of how such a rural planet came to be one of the most advanced planets out there. I simply replaced my characters with your beloved Hetalia characters. Ciao!