Arthur stood there watching the water that surrounded his kingdom, well his father's kingdom. Arthur strode across the beach, it was a warm and breezy day. More often than not it would rain, so Arthur was spending his day out in the nice weather. He and the other princes of the neighboring kingdoms were going to have a meeting today, but that stupid Alfred canceled it because he got himself and his brother Matthew sick. Though it was completely their fault as Francis was also busy and Antonio too. Not that Arthur cared much about Antonio, mostly Antonio started fights with Arthur that ended in someone getting hurt. Then there was Ivan, Arthur didn't know much about the Russian prince, as he tended to keep to himself. The one thing Arthur did notice about Ivan was that his smile hid something. There were also others, but Arthur wasn't really sure what they were doing. Arthur was deep in his thoughts when he heard someone call for him. Arthur looked around before heading into the forested area that was near the beach. He walked through the thick brush like it was a walk in the park, he had gotten use to it by now. He pushed past the last few trees and came to a hidden cabin, he and the other princes built a hidden cabin in each of their kingdoms. These cabins were used for secret meetings they would hold. The meetings had to be secret because their parents never approved of them being friends. However they had only meet each other once to decide they would be best friends. When Arthur walked into the cabin he found that someone had been there. Arthur calmly closed the door behind him and took deliberate and cautious steps, until he came to the long table that sat in the middle of the room. He let his hands slid across the smooth wood as he examined the rest of the room. There was no one here that was for sure, but there had been someone. Arthur's left hand rested on the table, while his right hand was on his holstered sword. Arthur's head snapped up and he looked at the door as he heard someone coming. The door flew open and Arthur leapt out, sword drawn. Only to have his sword met by another and then he knew who it was. Arthur stepped back to see Antonio and the rest.
"I thought you all weren't coming" Arthur said
"Well I wasn't so sick" Matthew said "so I thought I would drop by"
"We got done with our business so we decided to show up" Antonio said
"Oh and we actually ran into Ivan on the way here" Francis said
Arthur stepped back and allowed the others to enter. Hopes that everything would start smoothly was a dream as Antonio had to try out his new skills. Antonio drew his sword and lunged at Arthur, who must have known he was coming because he ducked to the left and dodged the attack. Arthur turned around as Antonio came at him again and yet again Arthur simply ducked to the side and dodged the attack. Matthew and Francis sighed at the usual fight that was going on, while Ivan watched with bemusement, a smile creeping onto his face. He watched as Arthur seemed to flow like water while he was dodging the Spanish prince's attacks. Then all at once Arthur came at Antonio, his sword hitting the other's so hard that it knocked the Spaniard off his feet. Arthur stood proud before he walked to the table.
"Do you two always have to fight?" Matthew asked
"Antonio starts it" Arthur said before standing opposite Ivan.
"So how has everyone been?" Francis asked
"It's been pretty good here" Arthur said
"I don't think Alfred is going to get better anytime soon" Matthew said "so I may not be around much, I should probably be taking care of him"
"Well if you feel you should be with him then go on" Arthur sad "you don't have to be here if you would rather be there"
"Yeah, I am sure he needs you more than we do" Francis said
Matthew nodded his head before he got up. He smiled at the others before he left. Antonio was looking at Arthur like he was ready for round two. Francis got up and was going to stop them, but Ivan stepped in front of Francis.
"No, let them continue" he said
Francis was confused but he and Ivan stepped back to allow the two room. Antonio came at Arthur quickly and Arthur decided to jump left, however Antonio spun his sword around and gave Arthur a small cut across his cheek. Arthur snarled a little before he spun around and swung his sword and Antonio ducked the attack. With a quick move Antonio headbutted Arthur in the gut. The Brit stumbled back and growled at his friend. Francis could tell that the fight would soon get out of hand. Arthur swung his sword and cut Antonio across the arm. Antonio quickly countered the attack by cutting Arthur across the chest. Arthur leapt back and had to jump over the table in order to gain some ground. Ivan and Francis had to jump back in order to make it out of the way. Francis looked pretty freaked, while Ivan looked like he was enjoying the fight. Antonio was quickly over the table and Arthur was on the run. The Spaniard lunged forwards, causing his friend to dive to the right, which was in the direction of the two bystanders. Francis stepped back while Ivan stood completely still. Arthur landed on his knees at Ivan's feet. Antonio was coming at Arthur, sword drawn and ready to kill. Ivan noticed this and was barely able to pull Arthur out of the way before the sword was impaled into the ground right where Arthur had been.
"Alright the fight goes to Antonio" Francis said
Arthur snarled and would have made a move towards Antonio, but Ivan's grip on Arthur was firm.
"Alright let us all calm down" Ivan said with a smile
Francis walked over to the closet where they kept the bandages and things. Francis placed the things on the table.
"Now you get cleaned up" he said
Arthur pulled away from Ivan and cleaned up his two cuts while Antonio cleaned up his one cut.
"Please tell me you two aren't going to go at it again" Francis said
"Maybe another day" Antonio said "but for now I should head back."
"I should probably head back home too" Francis said
Arthur slowly nodded his head. He hated that they could only hang out for so long every few days. Ivan nodded his head to Arthur, which meant he was also heading out. Arthur smiled back before he followed them out. Arthur made his way back towards the center of the kingdom, where the castle he lived in stood. The castle was nothing special, the halls were long and the ceilings tall. The walls each had a number of pictures that hung, depicting the area in which they lived. Nearing the center of the castle the pictures became those of honored kings and the ones who first occupied this land. Arthur made his way up a long set of stairs before he came to another long hall. His own room lay at the end of this hall because his father didn't want his room to be found by raiders easily, not that the king actually believed his kingdom could get raided. Arthur walked into his room, it wasn't overly decorated like a lot of people believed it to be. It was very plain, almost like a servant's room would look. He had only what he needed, plus a artist drawing of him and his father. There was a closet beside his bed and a window on the opposite side of the room. He had a chest full of his special belongings under his bed. Arthur dropped himself onto his bed as he didn't really know what else to do.
While Arthur's home was inviting and warm, Ivan's was completely the opposite. When he got back his father stormed over to him, even before he could enter the castle. Ivan bit his lower lip as the taller man walked over to him. Ivan closed his eyes as he felt a fist connect with his face. Ivan landed on his butt in the snow, he knew he was going to fall but he also knew that was a bad thing. His father reached down and pulled Ivan to his feet by the scarf he wore. His father dragged him into the castle, the dim lit place made it feel like there was no life here. Ivan kept a strong outlook when inside he was as afraid as a little child. He knew what his father was capable of and that scared him.
When Francis got back he quickly went to his little hide out as they had decided to get together the tomorrow as well. He wanted to make sure that everything was all set up and ready for the group.

Arthur and Antonio showed up, both looking like they were trying to race on another to the cabin. Francis couldn't help but laugh at the sight of them.
"Alright you two settle down" Francis said
Out of the blue Matthew and Alfred walked in. Alfred looked like he was the happiest person anyone had ever seen.
"I thought he was sick" Arthur said
"Oh he was" Matthew said "looks like he gets better quicker than i had thought"
Everyone sat down and started to talk about things when Arthur got a strange feeling, without a word and without being noticed he slipped out the door. There he saw someone standing in the distance. Many thoughts ran through Arthur's head about who that could be.
"Arthur?"
"Ivan?" Arthur said "What are you doing out here?"
"I can't come in" Ivan said "in fact I may not be coming anymore."
"What? Why?" Arthur asked
When Arthur got no answer he ran over to where Ivan was. He pulled the taller man out of the shadows and noticed the cuts and bruises on his face.
"Don't tell them alright" Ivan said "just tell them I won't be around anymore"
Arthur wanted to demand an answer on who did this to him, but before his mind could finish processing the whole situation Ivan was gone.

A few years later Alfred, Matthew and Francis had been crowned as kings of their kingdoms. Antonio had more work to do in his kingdom before he accepted the crown and Arthur was simply days away from being crowned.
Arthur left the safety of his island kingdom to venture out into the unknown. He was riding a horse down a small dirt path when he heard something behind him. Arthur looked around but there was no one to be seen. He turned forward again and there was a man standing before him.
"Ah bloody hell it's the Russians" Arthur muttered before a man pulled him off his horse. Arthur struggled to reach for his weapon but sadly the men had pulled all weapons away from him, in a record time. Arthur kicked wildly as the men came at him. However it was five against one and soon they were able to subdue him and knock him out.
When Arthur woke up he was freezing and in what appeared to be a dungeon. With an exhausted growl Arthur pulled against the restraints that held him to the wall. It wasn't long before someone came into view. He was tall and wore thick clothing. The man walked into the cell and knelt down beside Arthur.
"I have come here to offer you a deal" he said "I will return you safely to your kingdom if I get half of it."
"Not going to happen" Arthur said
The man didn't look too happy with that answer, he stood up straight before striking Arthur in the face. the man knelt down again and grabbed Arthur by the chin.
"Now I will ask again" he said
before the man could finish Arthur maneuvered his head out of the man's grip and bit down on his finger. With a scream the man took out a knife and stabbed Arthur in the shoulder. When Arthur released his hold on the man's finger the man pulled and turned to the guards.
"don't let him die yet" the man said
The soldiers walked over and pulled out the knife and loosely bandaged the wound and left the room. One of the two soldiers left, while the other stayed in front of the cell doors. The one who stayed turned to look at Arthur, and a small smile appeared. Arthur tilted his head in confusion before he closed his as he felt sleep would do him good.
"Ivan there is a new prisoner and your father wants you to do the interrogation"
Ivan gave the guard an almost dead look, which caused her to turn on her heels and head back to the dungeon. Ivan got up and followed her to the dungeon in which Arthur slept. In the moment that he saw who it was, it was like time stopped and everything around him was frozen. He stared at Arthur, unsure of what to feel. He felt a strange happiness in seeing his friend again and a feeling of horror upon seeing the condition of his friend. Ivan turned to the guard, he needed to be alone for this.
"Go now, and do not let anyone down here" Ivan said
The guard respectfully bowed her head and left the dungeons.
Unknown to the others Arthur was awake and listening to the conversation. From what he could hear he figured he was about to be tortured. Arthur opened his eyes to see someone standing just outside the cell door. Arthur was getting a feeling of fear as the man opened the door and walked in. However when the man came into view Arthur couldn't believe who it was.
"Ivan?" Arthur questioned with the little breath he had
Ivan knelt down beside Arthur, a smile on his face.
"I... I haven't seen you in forever" Arthur said
"I know and I am sorry" Ivan said
Ivan unbandaged Arthur's wound carefully before cleaning it.
"What happened?" Ivan asked "how did you end up here?"
"I was scoping out the lands around my, well the kingdom that soon will be mine. When I got ambushed" Arthur said
Ivan gently touched the bruise that started to appear where Arthur had been hit. It took a moment before Ivan realized what he was doing and he pulled his hand away. Before anyone could do anything else that guard from before came running back in.
"Ivan the king is coming" she said in a hushed yell
"Kira, give me the keys" Ivan said
She fumbled with the keys for a moment before tossing Ivan the correct keys. Ivan quickly unlocked Arthur and helped him up.
"Kira what's the fastest way out of here?" Ivan said
"Out the exact same way the king is coming from." Kira said
Ivan thought for a moment before an idea came to him.
"I apologize for this" Ivan said before he knocked Kira out.
Ivan then pulled Arthur into a small secluded section in the dungeon and they waited. After like a minute the king walked in and saw Kira unconscious and the cell was open and it was empty.
"Gather The Guards The Prisoner Has Escaped!" the king yelled
The king and the others ran out of the dungeon in search of Arthur. A moment later Kira got up and walked over to where Ivan and Arthur were.
"Ivan you could have just asked me to pretend to be unconscious" Kira said
"It didn't come to mind fast enough" Ivan said
Ivan was pretty much carrying Arthur, as he was feeling exhausted.
"Kira you stay" Ivan said "I do not want you to get in any trouble"
Kira was about to protest, however Ivan was already leading Arthur out of the dungeon. The place was dim lit and hard to see, and that made knowing where the guards were impossible. Ivan couldn't see them but he could hear their footsteps. Most of the running was clear and easy feeling. However they soon came to the last room before the exit. They were about to get out when a group of guards came out of nowhere. Ivan let Arthur sit down before he got ready to fight them off. This battle was a four to one and Ivan wasn't even sure if he could win. Two of the guards ran at Ivan and he kicked the first and punched the second, however a third guard punched him in the face and the fourth went after the barely conscious Arthur. Ivan noticed where the fourth guard was going and he pushed the two he was fighting away. Right before the guard could reach Arthur, Ivan caught the guard by the back of the coat and pulled him away. However the other two guards grabbed Ivan and threw him to the ground. Arthur noticed how the fight was going, he wanted to help but he felt so useless. The guards were about to beat Ivan down when someone came out of the shadows and knocked two of the guards down, while Ivan knocked down the third. The fourth already being down and out.
"See I knew you would need me"
Ivan turned to see Kira standing there looking proud. With a shake of his head, Ivan picked up Arthur who looked like he was going to die. They hurried out the door and ran into the deep snow, the snow that reached up to their knees. Even though they made it out of the castle they still had to watch out for guards on patrol outside. The blizzard outside was making it hard to see, which also made it easier for them to leave undetected. Kira could hardly see Ivan who was right in front of her. Ivan on the other hand didn't really care that he couldn't see, he just wanted to get out of here.
They walked for so long they had no idea where they were, they just knew they were no longer in the snowy climate as it was sunny here. Kira was no longer able to walk so she collapsed. Ivan was hardly able to continue, especially with an unconscious Arthur on his back. Ivan set Arthur down and then dropped down on the ground. Before he knew it he had fallen asleep.
When Ivan woke he saw someone standing above him. The man looked familiar but Ivan just couldn't place where he knew the face from. The man poked Ivan with a stick, which annoyed the Russian and caused him to grab the stick and snap it in two. Kira jumped up as she thought the snapping sound was someone's bones breaking. She looked around and then saw a man standing in front of Ivan, who didn't look very happy.
"Who are you?" the man asked in a french accent
"Wait, Francis?" Ivan said
"Ivan?" Francis questioned
It took a moment before Francis noticed Arthur lying beside Ivan, still fast asleep. Francis jumped next to Arthur and shook him awake. Arthur could only respond with a groan, as he didn't really want to wake up with Francis in his face. Francis set Arthur down and then tackled Ivan, who had just gotten up.
"What Have You Done To Him!" Francis yelled
Francis was shaking Ivan violently until Arthur tackled Francis to the ground. However Arthur's headache kicked in and he fell over groaning. Ivan reached over and tapped Arthur lightly, who turned to look at him.
"Seriously What did you do to him?" Francis asked
"He only saved my life" Arthur almost yelled
Francis looked pretty surprised, he actually couldn't believe what he had just heard. Kira was just sitting by a tree watching the interaction between the three. However Kira's head perked up when she smelt churros. She looked around and saw someone holding a plate with churros. She ran over towards him at full force.
Antonio and Francis had decided to meet at this spot and when he headed over and when he got there he saw a girl running right at him. Antonio yelped and ducked, leaving the plate of churros in the air. Kira leaped over Antonio and caught the plate.
"Oh wow thanks for bringing me my favorite food" Kira said happily
"Oh uh you're welcome I guess" Antonio said
Arthur was finally able to stand without feeling the pain from before. Francis looked like he was finally starting to understand everything. After that was all straightened out Arthur realized that he had to get back to his kingdom.
"I have to get home like now" Arthur yelled
Francis was about to say something about how to get Arthur home in time, but before he could speak Ivan lifted up Arthur and actually started carrying him back to his home. Francis tilted his head in confusion but said not a word, instead he turned and saw Antonio sharing his churros with some random girl.
Surprisingly Ivan and Arthur made it back in time for Arthur cleaned up and changed. While Arthur was being crowned king, Francis was busy watching Antonio and Kira because he thought the whole situation was funny.
About five years later Kira decided to visit Arthur and Ivan. She knocked on the door only to hear a child screaming and then giggling. She tilted her head and then the door was opened by Arthur.
"Oh Kira" Arthur said "what are you doing here?"
"I came to visit" Kira said happily "and who's kid was that I heard before"
"Oh that uh was no one" Arthur said a little nervously
Before anymore could be said Ivan walked up carrying a little boy with blond hair and purple eyes.
"Oh now who is this?" Kira asked
"Uh Peter" Ivan said
"Oh is he your son?" Kira asked
"Why yes he is" Ivan said with a smile
"Daddy!" Peter said happily as he reached towards Arthur
It took Kira a moment to process this information, however once she realized it she smirked widely.
"Oh my gosh!" she yelled
"Oh dont you start" Arthur said
Antonio leaned in to look at what was going on, only to smile widely at the scene.
"Oh how adorable" Antonio said
Kira turned and then caught Antonio by the arm and pulled him over.
"If you watch from afar you'll look like a creeper" Kira said
Antonio slowly nodded his head.
"So how have you two been?" Arthur asked
"Well actually we're married and have a daughter whom is safely at home" Antonio said
Ivan grinned before Peter started to squirm and he had to hand him over to 'his daddy' Arthur.
"Wow when did that all happen?" Ivan asked
"Well it's kind of a story" Kira said
"Come in then, we would love to hear it" Arthur said
Antonio and Kira walked in and closed the door gently behind them.