"Gil, watch out!" The flaxen blond knight warns the other knight, as a massive fireball is shot at them.
His silver headed friend barely dodges the attack. "Thanks, Mattie. That was too close."
Mattie, or Matthew as is his real name, and Gil, short for Gilbert, are currently battling an evil dragon. As the knights in charge of protecting the Kingdom of Hetalia, they were sent on a quest to investigate the local sorcerer. Rumors spread that the bewitched man had been "a little off" and "was not behaving as he normally would," according to some of the villagers. The man, albeit slightly deranged, aided the kingdom by attracting visitors from faraway lands. He was neither an ally nor an enemy to Hetalia; however, after hearing the recent rumors, the king ordered his two best guards to question the old wizard.
The duo, once exiting the kingdom, broke off from the main road and trekked the expansive forest.
"I do not understand why we are the ones assigned to this lowly quest. I would rather stay in the castle guarding the beautiful queen. I mean, uh, sleeping in my quarters."
"Stop being lazy, Gilbert. The king regards us the most out of all his knights, and he has entrusted us to successfully carry out his duties," Matthew lightly chided his fellow companion.
Despite being the best of friends now, it did not start off that way. Their first impressions of each other were, to say the least, second-rate. What, with Matthew's reserved nature and Gilbert's pretentious personality, they believed the other incompetent, or in the former's case idiotic. After their first week of training, Gilbert learned that Matthew was quiet yet strong-willed and Matthew found that Gilbert was proud yet surprisingly loyal. With new understanding, the young squires pushed each other throughout their entire training regime and supported each other during times of battle. The two grew rather close.
"I am not lazy, Mattie. I am awesome. How else did I become a knight?"
"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that your brother, being in charge of the new recruits, –"
"Kesesesese."
"– let you get away with causing trouble for the others half the time. Why are you laughing?"
"I may or may not have finished all of West's beer and replaced it with apple juice."
". . . How does that even make sense? I will not be surprised the day that Ludwig throws your belongings out of his home."
"That will never happen. My bruder loves me and my awesome pranks!"
Matthew shook his head. He learned fairly quickly it was better not to question his friend's mischievous hobby. That was simply how he showed affection, he supposed. At least his antics have mellowed out in recent times. Back in their training days, Gilbert would team up with two fellow squires, Francis and Antonio, and wreak havoc all around the camp. It was entertaining, well, when they didn't drag him into their shenanigans.
"As I was saying before, all we have to do is talk to the sorcerer, see how he is fairing, then return to King Roderich and Queen Elizabeta to deliver the news," Matthew continued.
"Sounds like tedious work to me. The man is already crazy. Of course there will be times when he seems 'a little off' as the king put it oh so nicely. Why didn't they send a messenger instead?"
"Gilbert, King Roderich was preparing for the worst. If Feliciano went, the queen would have had a heart attack, not to mention your brother."
"Ja ja. Feli would hightail it out of there as soon as he saw the wizard's face."
"It is not the old man's fault he has huge eyebrows."
"You would think that with all that magic, he'd have casted a spell to rid of those fuzzy caterpillars."
They both laughed. Matthew couldn't get the image of an easily frightened Feliciano running away from the sorcerer's abnormally large eyebrows out of his head.
His giggles stopped upon arriving at the scene. It seemed too quiet. The atmosphere plummeted instantly as soon as the two knights noticed the door creak open. Matthew turned to see the serious look on his friend's face. His claret red eyes showed no sign of his usual playful disposition. He knew himself that this was going to take longer than expected.
The house was eerily barren except for a few miscellaneous items. With only sunlight filtering in through the window, they split up to thoroughly search for clues. While Gilbert examined the abandoned letters on the desk next to the man's workspace, Matthew scanned the area. Towards the opposite end of the small abode, there were signs of a struggle – crinkly papers strewn around, broken vials, potion remains, claw marks on the wooden walls – all leading towards the back entrance.
"G-gil? I think I found something," Matthew stammered, accidentally using the man's nickname. Gilbert quickly made his way to his friend when he heard the anxious tone in his voice, kicking an abandoned cup in the process.
"We need to follow the trail. See where Arthur went," Gilbert commanded.
"Arthur?"
"That's the sorcerer's name."
"How do you know th –"
Suddenly, they heard a loud rumble coming from outside not too far off, birds cawing frantically.
"Mattie, we do not have time. We have to pursue Arthur now!"
Steeling himself, the blond chased after Gilbert. The million and one questions racing through his head saved for later. They ran back into the forest, towards the distant sounds as fast as they could.
Gilbert ran ahead of Matthew. From reading a few of the letters addressed to Arthur, he was afraid of its contents becoming a reality. The man was mysterious and preferred isolation, which is the reason why no one knew of his name. Everyone in Hetalia refers to him as the old sorcerer, despite him not looking a day over twenty five. His shaggy blond hair, bright emerald eyes, and lack of wrinkles would fool anyone, yet it seemed as though Arthur had always lived there.
The letters were in correspondence to a person named Sir Vladimir, a fellow wizard from a neighboring kingdom. According to the note, Vladimir attached his latest workings of a spell meant for transfiguration, along with a warning: "For study only. Do not repeat incantation." Gilbert put two and two together almost instantly, fearing the effects of the spell may be too big and dangerous for him and Mattie, based on the foreboding, thunderous sounds.
As soon as Matthew caught up, the two saw a massive scaly, red creature. They hid between decimated tree barks. As they slowly approached, the creature sprouted mighty wings and a terrifying tail. A piercing, animalistic screech soon followed, along with bursts of fire leaving its mouth. Gilbert turned to his friend, who was trying to still his heavy breathing.
"We need to contain Arthur within the perimeter. Make sure he doesn't leave the forest and cause damage to the village," Gilbert explained, keeping his voice low both to hide from the beast and calm down Matthew.
"That's Arthur?!" Matthew's eyes widened. "How can that . . . thing be Arthur?!"
"I promise I'll answer your questions later. But right now, we need to keep an eye on him."
When he was sent on this quest, Matthew did not expect to encounter a dragon. His plan was to speak with the infamous sorcerer, recount the tale to the king, and at nightfall grab a few drinks with Gilbert, his brother Alfred, and all their friends. He was in no way prepared to fight a dragon. As far as he knew, dragons only existed in fairy tales.
Gilbert kept one eye on the dragon and the other on Matthew. He can tell that Mattie was having a slight panic attack. Gilbert remembers the last time his friend experienced one. It was right before the kingdom launched into war, and they were sent to the battlefield. They had only just become knights, and the King ordered for all available knights to fight. As soon as Matthew heard the news, his breathing became irregular. This would be their first taste of battle. He only became a knight because he wanted to provide for his younger brother Alfred, and it was the quickest way he knew how. Matthew believed that if he made it through training, he would be stronger. Perhaps he gained physical strength, but he was not prepared to kill another man, other men. Gilbert was not entirely sure how to calm down his anxiety. As Matthew sat on the floor, knees pulled toward his body, arms wrapped around himself, head bowed, Gilbert rubbed small circles on his back. He spoke to him gently, reassuring him that he is a skilled marksman, and promising that he will protect him. Within a few minutes, he was surprised when Matthew looked up at him with his glassy amethyst eyes and a small smile. Since that day, Gilbert promised himself that he would always look out for his best friend and would do whatever it takes to protect that smile.
Gilbert placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Mattie. Birdie, I'm right here. It's okay. Breathe. Breathe with me," he said calmly yet firmly.
Matthew tried to focus on Gil's voice. It was difficult to decipher through all the thoughts rampaging around his mind. What did Gil say? Oh, to breathe.
"Breathe in. Hold for two. And breathe out. That's it." Gilbert continued this pattern until Matthew was breathing normally again.
"I'm sorry, Gil. I don't know what came over me. We're supposed to be fearless knights, and here I am messing up everything. I'm sorry," Matthew sighed forlornly.
Gilbert wound his arm around Matthew's shoulders and pulled him close. "Hey, it's okay to be frightened. Just because we are trained to fight doesn't mean scary things will disappear. You have the knowledge to defeat your enemies. Remember that and they will be powerless. And, don't forget that I'm here too. I got your back." He flashed him a genuine smile, unlike the smirk Gilbert usually wears.
Matthew took another look at the menacing dragon. Gil was right. As long as he had his best friend by his side, he can survive any situation. Once again, Matthew grit his teeth and prepared for action.
Gilbert noticed the change of attitude. That look of determination, the same one Mattie wore during the war, told him that they will succeed. In the same way as they pulled through then, they will prevail now. The normally dark green, luscious forest was quickly turning charcoal black. The wild animals and mystical beings long since fled. The beast continued to spew more flames, fanning them with its large wings, strengthening the forest fire. There is no turning back.
They studied the creature from a safe distance. They needed to act fast or else the entire forest and subsequently the whole kingdom will be destroyed. Gilbert relayed the plans once again to Matthew, and although it sounded just as crazy the first time, he believed in him. With a final nod, they sprinted towards the dragon.
When Matthew deemed himself close enough, he hid behind a nearby boulder. He noticed that the dragon, or Arthur as he should say, was not aware of his surroundings. His actions were erratic and unpredictable. Matthew hoped for the best and shot an arrow in front of the dragon's sight. Miraculously, the creature whipped his head around questioning the arrow's whereabouts, barely missing Matthew crouching down. He ran to a different spot with cover and fired another arrow at the red beast. Expecting the attack, Arthur hissed, now growing irritated, still searching. He repeated this a few more times, each time the dragon becoming more and more infuriated.
While he distracted Arthur, Gilbert was setting up a trap. All he needed was some rope. He searched for anything he can use to create a makeshift rope. He knew from experience that making cordage out of an oak tree would take longer than leaves, however since a good chunk of the area burned to a crisp, he didn't have much of a choice. After finding a dead tree and hacking off the outer bark with his sword, Gilbert split the fibers from the inner layer of the tree and twisted them meticulously. He worked as fast as he could, bringing the ends of the long string together, then twisting them the opposite way, making the cordage twice as strong.
Gilbert had told Matthew that it would take him fifteen minutes to prepare the trip rope, and that he would signal when it was finished. Matthew mentally kept track of the time. He was about to start worrying when he faintly heard the familiar bird whistle. He had a general idea as to where the sound came from, so he let Arthur spot him in order to lead it to the trap. As soon as the red dragon discovered the source of the sharp projectiles, he took off and followed the human. Matthew counted himself lucky when Arthur didn't use his wings. He guessed that Arthur, despite losing almost all control of the beast, was still consciously aware albeit small. Though, the reverberating stomps and the occasional fire attacks were not helping the situation.
A few ways away, Gilbert was finishing up the final touches. Securing the ends with overhand knots, he tied one end to a boulder about fifty meters from the ongoing action and repeated the process on a tree farther away. He prayed that the mere fall will be enough to knock out Arthur. That was as far as his plan went. He heard the rhythmic thuds fast approaching. As soon as he tied the last end with all his might, he heard a scream.
"Birdie!" Immediately, Gilbert sprinted towards his friend, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He prayed to the heavens that Matthew was unharmed.
Gilbert spotted the dragon first. As he grew closer, he saw Mattie cowering behind a burnt tree, eyes closed. He grabbed his friend's hand and pulled him along.
"Gil?" Matthew gasped. Gilbert, relieved to see him without a scratch, sent him a wink. Still holding hands, Gilbert led the way.
With an earsplitting roar, the dragon pursued his fleeing prey. He was growing tired of this silly cat-and-mouse game. To stop them in their tracks, the creature gathered air in his lungs and projected an enormous fireball towards them.
Matthew turned back in time. "Gil, watch out!"
Gilbert could feel the undeniable heat reaching them quickly. He crouched down, pulling his friend in the process. In that instant, the fireball landed right in front of them.
"Thanks, Mattie. That was too close." Once again, they rose and ran around the fire.
The trap he set up earlier was not that far from them, if Gilbert calculated correctly. He spotted the familiar rope in the distance. He signaled to Matthew and together they made a break for it. He just hoped Arthur wouldn't burn it to smithereens.
As they reached the rope, they jumped over it and rushed forward. The dragon being so high up couldn't see the trap. As planned, Arthur tripped and the beast fell over, a resounding boom echoing throughout the forest. He was out for the count.
Matthew collapsed to the ground, spread-eagle, his bow and arrows tossed carelessly to the side. He was finally able to take a breather. Gilbert joined him. They were both panting from exhaustion, their chests rising and falling.
"Gilbert?"
A pause. "Yeah?"
"Would you mind . . . explaining to me . . . what just happened," Matthew asked between breaths.
"Arthur . . . spell gone wrong . . . dragon."
"Because that explains everything." The blonde was not amused. He sighed. "What are we going to do now? Arthur won't stay out for much longer."
"Don't worry, Mattie. The spell is supposed to wear off soon," Gilbert replied nonchalantly.
"How soon is soon?"
"In a couple of minutes, I think."
"Gilbert, we almost burned to death. Please tell me the truth."
"Hey, the awesome me is always right. Arthur will turn back to normal iiiiin right now!"
Gilbert pointed at the dragon with both hands, pretending to do magic of his own. Matthew shook his head. Even after their "exciting" adventure, Gilbert was still Gilbert. He supposed it was a good thing, though, meaning they really are safe, at least for the moment.
A few seconds later, tiny twinkling lights swirled around the dragon. The knights stared in awe as the bright specks of magic danced about, accelerating as the transformation progressed. A sudden blinding burst of light caused them to cover their eyes, and when they looked back, Arthur was a human once more.
The two friends looked at each other, wordlessly debating who will check on him. As soon as Matthew propositioned his infamous pancakes, Gilbert wholeheartedly agreed. He was about to walk over when they heard a moan coming from Arthur.
"Ugh. Where in the bloody hell am I?" Rubbing his headache away, the sorcerer slowly stood up and dusted himself off.
"You are in the Axis Forest," answered Matthew.
"Ah! Who are you?" Arthur hadn't noticed the pair of men standing a few feet away.
"The name's Gilbert. Gilbert Beilschmidt," the silver-blond man readily replied, "and this is my knight in crime Matthew Williams." He pointed at his friend with his thumb.
"We are knights from the Kingdom of Hetalia, sent by King Roderich under orders to check up on the local sorcerer," Matthew added.
"Meaning you." Gilbert elaborated.
Arthur coughed. "Ahem, yes, well, I am embarrassed to admit I do not recall the past hour, and I have a sneaking suspicion you lads know what happened. Let us continue this discussion in my home. You can tell me over tea."
He turned around and began to lead the way. The other two, confused by the word tea, quickly gathered their few belongings and followed the wizard.
"So, you say that I was turned into a dragon then burned down the forest," Arthur summarized as he sipped his hot tea.
They were sitting in the common room of the magician's cottage, discussing the events that took place. Arthur had performed magic to clean the place up and add furniture for his guests.
Matthew nodded. Gilbert was distracted by the drink occupying his hands. So this is what he meant by tea. Boiled leaves? What a strange concept.
"Ah, yes, tea won't be introduced to Europe for another century." As if reading his mind, Arthur noticed the knight's bewildered look. "I trust you will not spread this information."
This time, Gilbert heard him and agreed without haste, fearing the wizard will curse him.
"According to Gilbert, you had a letter containing a transformation spell. I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but why would you read it out loud?" Matthew was genuinely interested. He surmised Arthur would know how to properly care for spells and the like.
Arthur sighed. "I did not want to reveal my actions, but I can see from your insatiable curiosity that I have no choice." With a flick of a wrist, the page with the aforementioned spell appeared in his hand. "A close acquaintance of mine, Vladimir, also dabbles with magic. He wrote me a letter a few days ago stating he discovered a transfiguration spell, and I wanted to test it for myself. He has a history of playing jokes, you see. As I recited the incantation, I noticed the postscript. Why he would write the warning on a separate page, I will never know."
"But why a dragon?" Gilbert blurted out.
"I was getting to that part, you tosser." Arthur glared at him. "As I was saying, the spell requires the caster to fully concentrate on the desired outcome. I was using a bronze cup, imagining it to transform into a dragon statue. I noticed my reflection during the last line and lost focus as a sharp pain shot through me. It was too late by then. I tried to reverse the spell, but I could feel my body stretching, bones breaking, and I could not handle the insurmountable pain and cast the reverse spell. I blacked out instantly. I am thankful the spell was only temporary."
Arthur set his empty tea cup on the saucer with a small clink. After he asked his guests if they would like a refill, he continued.
"I am truly sorry for causing you lads all that trouble. To make up for it, I will restore the forest back to its original state. The animals and magical creatures should return within a fortnight. I will also bestow upon you this feather." A feather appeared in Matthew's palms. It was the whitest feather he had ever seen. Whiter than white like untouched snow, he thought. It felt softer than a sheep's woolly covering and it was surrounded by a slight glow. Gilbert poked it.
"I would be careful with handling it," Arthur said. "These feathers are extremely rare and extremely delicate. Each feather represents the possibility to grant one wish, one desire. If it is cast with selfishness and or malice, the wish will not come to pass and the feather will burn up, leaving in its place a hideous scar that will cause outbreaks of unbearable, scorching pain for as long as the owner lives. If the owner's desire is one of humility and righteousness, the feather will shine brightly and their wish will come to fruition. There is no expiration date."
Matthew soaked up the information like a sponge. He glanced down at the feather resting in his hands. He wasn't sure what to think.
"This is so awesome! I have so many awesome wishes lined up," Gilbert exclaimed. He could not wait to try it.
"Fool, did you not hear what I just said?"
"What, the awesome me is always careful." Gilbert laughed his ridiculous laugh.
"I do not believe you, which is why I gave it to Matthew. I have faith he will take good care of it."
"What?" Matthew was lost in thought, but when he heard his name he looked up at the other two bickering. "Oh, thank you Arthur for giving us this beautiful gift and for entrusting me with it. I don't know when we will use it, if we ever use it. I would rather not use it at all, to be honest."
Arthur hummed in agreement. "It seems I made the right choice. I hope it will serve you purposefully in the future."
Matthew smiled. Gilbert grinned at his friend. It went unsaid that Gilbert trusted Matthew completely. He will know what to do about the magical feather, even if he didn't at the moment.
"Well, we should get going, Mattie. The sun is going down and we still need to tell the king what happened." Gilbert stood up. Matthew followed suit.
"Thank you for having us, Arthur. It was nice to meet you." Matthew went to shake the magician's hand.
"Nonsense. It was my pleasure, love. Please feel free to visit anytime. And, give King Roderich my sincerest apologies."
"We will. Goodbye." Matthew walked out first.
"Later, eyebrows!" Gilbert sped off.
"Why you ungrateful –" Arthur's colorful speech was lost to Gilbert's ears.
It was a chilly afternoon in Manitoba. It was partly sunny with some fluffy clouds in the blue sky. In a spacious back yard, a child can be seen playing with his best friend. Along the well kempt grass and field of flowers was a play structure with a swing set, tall bars to hang from, and a slide. The children, they looked to be about ten years old, were sitting among the flowers, laughing uncontrollably. The story they just imagined whirring in their heads.
"That was so much fun, Gil!" Matthew beamed.
"I can't believe you pretended that that snobby aristrocat and tomboy chick were royalty."
"It's aristocrat."
"You know what I meant." Gilbert stuck his tongue out.
"They seemed to fit the king and queen the best. And what about you with Arthur being a dragon?"
"Fuzzy-brows likes wearing that dark cape, and he takes his Harry Potter spell book everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he really is a wizard."
They laughed again. Their class was a strange and diverse bunch.
Matthew and Gilbert were neighbors. The Beilschmidts had moved into the East Kildonan neighborhood in Winnipeg a couple of years ago, and six year old Gilbert noticed the silent, were those purple eyes?, blond that lived next door. He had a strange curl that fell in front of his face, and he carried around a polar bear plush toy. The color of his hair and his calm nature reminded him of his pet bird Gilbird. And, Gilbird is awesome, so this kid must be awesome too, he reasoned.
He had seen him and his twin brother, he had a cowlick on his honey colored hair, running around the block one day and Gilbert went to join them. Cowlick didn't like Gilbert at first because he thought he was loud and said the word awesome too much. The quiet boy snickered at that, pointing out that he was the same way. Gilbert was surprised at his teasing, thinking he was extremely shy from his first impression, and deemed him awesome enough to be his friend.
Gilbert's appearance had startled Matthew that day. He had never seen anyone with shaggy platinum hair and deep red eyes. He really liked the color of his eyes since red is his favorite color. Curiosity begged him to befriend this mysterious boy.
Matthew learned that his new neighbor was just as energetic as Alfred, yet Gilbert was perceptive and actually listened to him, unlike his oblivious brother. That was probably why Matthew was able to get along so well with Gilbert; he was accustomed to rambunctious people and his new friend always paid attention to him.
The two were inseparable ever since.
Every school day, in the morning, they would walk together to Hetalia Elementary, (which wasn't that far from their homes, and after much convincing from Gilbert promising he will protect his friend, both of their parents allowed it), and after school they would alternate whose house they would go over to and play until dinner time. It has been their ritual since they met.
Playing pretend was their favorite pastime. Sometimes Alfred would join them but only if they played heroes or video games. Gilbert's brother, Ludwig, was a few years younger and would occasionally be forced by Gilbert to play with them, unless little Ludwig was busy with his own friends, namely Feliciano, their other neighbor that lives across the street.
The two friends decided to play on the swing set next. They raced towards the wooden structure with Matthew reigning champion. They sat on the yellow swings and pumped their legs as hard as they can, going higher and higher into the orange tinted sky. As they calmed down and let gravity bring them back to the ground, Gilbert turned to his neighbor.
"What are you going to do with the feather, Birdie," he asked, sitting sideways on the swing with it in between his legs.
Matthew pulled out the white feather from his pocket. He twirled it in between his thumb and index finger. He figured it came from a duck or a swan during the bird migration in March.
"I don't know yet, but I'll put it in my secret box for safekeeping."
"Boys, dinner!" Mrs. Beilschmidt called from the back entrance, her voice loud and clear.
"We better hurry or else my mom will give us more vegetables like last time, blegh." Gilbert made a disgusted face.
Matthew giggled softly at the funny look. He tucked the precious item back in his pocket, and the boys got up and ran to the house, neither of them realizing the faint glow emitting from the feather.
A/N: Thank you for reading! This is my second story here on FF. Please, all reviews are greatly appreciated.
I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers, nor any of its characters. All rights go to Hidekazu Himaruya.