Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, or its characters. All rights belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.
The usual sound of the creaking wood under his boots brought a sense of familiarity to him as the young soldier welcomed the feeling of the floating vessel with each splash of water that bombarded its side. Days such as these had grown to be nothing short of usual for the man, but today he could already tell something was different among the fellow soldiers. Their chatter circulated through the ship almost in a gossiping manner, slightly hushed, but with that hint of excitement.
"Oi, Arthur!" Arthur was caught off guard as a voice called his name, only to be followed by an approaching figure with a grinning face. His wondrous brown eyes were shining with eager news as he brought a strong arm around Arthur, nearly knocking the latter to the ground in the process. After regaining his composure, Arthur looked up slightly to meet the joyous smile of one of his best mates.
"Why you seem as chipper as ever, Edwin."
Edwin was a man Arthur met the day he joined this ship. The man happily presented himself to Arthur, and since then was about the only joyous person on the ship. No matter what took place, he always did his best to cheer others up, saying he "did everything for his country" with each prisoner that came on board. No matter what, it was always "for the king," or "for Great Britain!" It was that same loyalty that made Arthur respect the man from day one. Anyone willing to give their life to the king deserved respect in Arthur's terms.
"Didn't you hear?" The cheery man asked. Arthur could practically hear the brunette bursting, just ready to tell Arthur whatever news had him so excited. The blonde patiently waited for Edwin to continue, but the man's eyes only stared down at him in anticipation. Realizing he wasn't going to continue any time soon, Arthur moved out from under the other's arm to look up at him impatiently.
"Didn't I hear what?"
With that, Edwin bound even closer to Arthur so his brown eyes were about the only thing filling Arthur's vision. "We caught him." The excited man's voice was nowhere above a whisper as he inspected Arthur's green eyes, only for them to glisten slightly as his large eyebrows furrowed over them.
"Caught who?" He asked cautiously, and again let out another sigh. "Edwin, for the love of God, could you be specific for once in your bloody life?"
the targeted man leaned back, away from Arthur, and crossed his arms in defense. "Huh. And to think you would be just a little happy to find out we have The Hero in our hands finally." He did his best to hide the grin threatening his lips at the way Arthur's brows shot up in response. He turned away from Arthur, letting out an over dramatic sigh. "Should have known you'd be a damper on this day." Now having his back to the other, he began to walk away from his now silent companion.
"E-Edwin, wait!"
A triumphant smile won its way on the man's face as he turned back to look at Arthur's wide eyed expression.
"The, you mean, The Hero?" Arthur found himself frozen, not quite able to form coherent thoughts as the man before him only flashed his white teeth. "Well I believe that's what I said, isn't it?"
Arthur wasn't sure if he truly heard what was coming out of the other's mouth. The Hero! And they've caught him finally? None of it quite made sense.
The Hero was a man nearly everyone had heard about, but no one really expected to catch. Of course, there were other patriots that held more fame to the British, but still; The Hero was up there. Arthur, along with many other redcoats, craved to put the ignorant yank in his place. Arthur himself practically hated this "Hero." Come on, nobody's ego could be that insanely large to call themselves "The Hero," right? As far as Arthur knew, The Hero acted no more than a boy it seemed, and a foolish one at that. Not to mention he was a part of the group that separated themselves from a nation that did nothing but support them from the beginning. And now look where that put the filthy rebels, in a bloody war they could barely fight standing up straight!
Now, Arthur had never actually met this Hero, but a part of him wished he could. Oh the elation he'd feel to be able to give the git a piece of his own medicine. He only ever saw a small amount of prisoners on board, but perhaps, he thought to himself, perhaps I could manage to find out where he's being kept. Arthur was never one to torture prisoners like a few other soldiers on the ship liked to do, but he did think just giving the idiot a swift kick in the gut might be a bit satisfying.
"You alright there, Arthur?"
The blonde quickly snapped out of his thoughts only to be greeted by Edwin's curious eyes glistening with mirth. "Ah, I see," a small smirk appeared on his face as he observed his friend who still had a faraway glint in his eyes. "You're actually excited about all of this!"
His voice came out as though he were astonished by this new discovery and Arthur rolled his eyes. "And just what is that tone supposed to suggest?"
"Oh nothing. Just that I'm surprised I finally managed to get that stick out of your ass!"
Arthur couldn't help but scowl at the other's words. "Oh, please! It's not my fault I actually do my job, instead of frolicking around like someone I know."
"Don't know what you're talking about there, Arthur."
"As if you don't!"
"Hey! All I'm saying is sometimes in the brink of war, you just have to look up! Sure it's nice to look at your feet and know where you stand, but to the sky..." Edwin left his sentence hanging, and took a moment to look up at the blue sky. For once, that large grin was wiped off his face, and instead a smaller, more sincere smile appeared. His eyes seemed to light up as he took in the drifting cotton clouds and soaring birds. His voice now came out much quieter, as if he wasn't even talking to anyone any longer. "Up there Arthur," Suddenly his bright eyes met Arthur's, never losing their shine. "There's a whole realm of possibility, of not knowing. Sure it can be scary to never know what truly lies ahead, but isn't it also wondrous? And to think we actually caught The Hero... You know Arthur, it might not be too long before we're hopping the pond back home. All because we never forgot to look up."
For a moment, just a brief moment, Arthur couldn't help but also look up into the sky. The sun had just fully rose from its ascent of the morning, making the sky almost overwhelming; Its blue was absolutely mesmerizing. The sky was an artist's palette with swaths of cerulean, cyan, and the purest azure imaginable. Arthur was found with nothing left to say as the wide blue became his every sense. nothing else came through to him, not the scent of the sea, not the voices of soldiers as it was all just... blue. Had the sky always been like this? Somehow, from somewhere deep inside, he managed to finally lower his head. His friend seemed to almost be in the same trance, until he finally looked away with a much more calm demeanor in his eyes.
"Well, how does it feel?" Edwin smiled at Arthur almost knowingly, but he wasn't quite sure what to think of this feeling that had overtaken him.
"W-What do you mean?"
"You know... To finally look up for once."
What did it feel like? Arthur could hardly even explain it, until he began growing more and more impatient with Edwin, who had decided to start spouting some half assed poetry all of a sudden.
"Nothing. It felt like I was looking at the sky. Nothing remarkable about that, is there? Look, it's still there and it always will be, so what's the big deal?" He snapped.
Edwin only chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Finally, he looked back up at Arthur with a gentle, almost empathetic smile on his face. What was there to be empathetic about? "Shoulda' known you wouldn't understand. That's okay Arthur. I believe one day you will."
"Understand what exactly? For God's sake Edwin, could you learn to actually make sense for once in your-"
"Kirkland, sir!"
Arthur found himself halted as a soldier approached him, his hand in a proper salute. His emerald eyes glared daggers at the new recruit. "What is it?" His voice was as cold as ice. The soldier visibly flinched, but soon recovered and stood tall. "Er, the captain has asked for your attendance in his quarter's sir." Arthur could see Edwin glancing at the pair curiously, but said nothing. "Yes, let him know I'm on my way."
"Yes sir!" The soldier saluted once more, and not wasting another moment, he took off.
"Do you have any idea what that's all about?" Edwin asked. Arthur finally shook off his daze, smoothing his crimson coat from any wrinkles. "Can't say, but I mustn't keep him waiting."
"Right." Edwin merely nodded at Arthur and watched as the latter tightened his coat before walking off to meet with the Captain.
Why would the captain want to meet with Arthur? Meeting with the captain could either mean something horrible or wonderful for Arthur, and with no middle ground. Arthur could only remember one time he had met with the Captain, and it was only when he was first assigned to his ship. Ever since then, messages from the captain were simply given around the ship when it came to new prisoners. Arthur tried to swallow the lump growing in his throat while clenching and unclenching his fists at his side. "It's okay Arthur; this meeting could mean practically anything." He tried to calm himself, but almost all attempts of doing so failed miserably.
Finally, after a walk that took all to long, but no time at all; Arthur found himself in front of the large door leading to the Captain. He shakily lifted a fist, and with one last moment of hesitation, knocked on the door twice.
The silence that followed was almost sickening, until one voice projected through the door.
"Come in!"
Oh God, there really was no going back. Arthur cautiously opened the door before him. The Captain sat as his desk, his head bent over some papers as Arthur tried to calm his breathing and cleared his throat. He was a tall, middle aged man with tousled brown air and a thick beard coating his chin. "Ah, you wanted to see me, sir." Finally, the Captain's head snapped up at Arthur's voice and a small smile overcame his features as he took in Arthur's appearance.
"Yes, Arthur! Why don't you close the door and sit down?"
"Yes sir."
After closing the door, Arthur felt a cold sweat trickle down his collar upon being secluded in the room. He tried to put some confidence, as false as it may have been, into his step as he made his way to the chair opposite the Captain. The whole room practically screamed authority, as it's appearance was nowhere like that of any other room within the ship. plaques flooded the paneled walls, telling of all the Captain's achievements. In the center of the room stood an ornate desk where the Captain was seated. He set down the elegant quill in his hand and leaned back, his dark eyes scrutinizing Arthur.
"You've been on this ship for a while now, haven't you, Arthur?"
"Yes sir, approximently a year now."
"Right, and you've been in the military even before this, correct?"
"Right, sir." Arthur's fingers twitched on his lap. He had joined the military the minute he was able to. He had nearly forgotten what his life was before he was even enlisted. The captain folded his hands and leaned on the desk, looking Arthur in the eye.
"Look Arthur, what I'm trying to say is that it's apparent that your loyalty lies with Great Britain." He didn't even know what to say to that, he only nodded once, never avertng his eyes from the captain. "I take it you heard that we have captured this 'Hero?'" Of course Arthur had heard, but the words coming out of the captain himself only made Arthur's eyes light up.
"I have sir. Congratulations." The captain only let out a hearty laugh.
"Thank you, but we should be congratulating Great Britian!" Arthur smiled in response. "Well since I know you heard, I wanted you to know that he will be kept here until further notice."
"Here?" Arthur's voice rose in shock and he almost forgot who he was speaking to. "er... My apologies sir, I just wasn't aware of that information." The captain grinned at Arthur.
"Yes lad, and I need a guard for him. Someone I know I can trust who will keep him from pulling any stunts on us. Those rebels, you know how they can get, and I heard he's worse than the usual."
"Yes, sir." Arthur wasn't sure if the captain wanted him to help assign someone, but either way he sat up a little higher. The captain only scrutinized him for a moment before speaking again.
"You see Arthur, I think you'd be just the right man to take on the job."
Arthur's breath left him in a hurry as his eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Me?" He asked, all formalities aside. Him? That had to be about the last thing he expected when walking into the captain's office.
"Yes Arthur, I believe I can really entrust you with this task. You'd be his lone guard during the day, and one of the night guards would take your place later in the evening. Do you think you're up for it?"
"Of course sir." He found himself answering before he truly took the time to consider it; but there was no need for consideration. He was going to be tasked guarding "The Hero." Only a fool would say no to this. The captain smiled and stood up. Arthur also rose.
"That's the spirit. He's in the room with the single cell. Here are your keys to the door." He reached for two keys that hung from a peg on a ring. "The other is for his cell in case you'd need it." Arthur took the keys and noticed how the polished metal gleamed in the light.
"Thank you sir."
"No, thank you. You may start your shift now. Someone will come by in about five minutes before the night guard arrives to let you know when you're free to go. Feel free to to come by with any concerns."
"Of course. Have a nice day sir."
"As should you, Arthur. You've deserved this."
The second Arthur was out the captain's door he felt like jumping in the air. A strange elation flooded his chest at this new feeling of finally being recognized. This day started as one as simple as any other, but now here he was, about to go to the room that contained The Hero.
Without wasting another moment, and making sure to not actually jump in the air; Arthur headed to the one door that he knew contained the single cell. His hands shook as he struggled to set the key into the door, but once he did, the creak that came with opening the door caused Arthur's heart to pound. He carefully stepped into the room and let the door close as darkness pooled in around him.
Contrasting with the harsh sunlight outside, a torch was lit on the wall, letting a warm orange glow fill the room. Across from him was a simple barred gate that ran from ceiling to floor. It was the only thing separating him from his prisoner at the moment. He could barely see his shadowy figure that was crouched against the opposite wall. Arthur took a deep breath and quickly strode to the steel bars. He noticed the man turn towards the noise. Arthur slammed his hands down, gripping the bars between his fists. He smirked as the figure stood up.
"Hello... 'Hero'" He sneered. "Tell me, who's going to be your hero now?"
The man finally stepped forward until the light from the flame illuminated his features. Arthur couldn't help but take a small step back, his hands still glued to the bars, but his eyes widening. This man... Was young. Arthur's age. He had honey blond hair and his face didn't look enraged like a lot of prisoners, or even in despair. He was just... calm.
But what really shocked Arthur, what sent chills down his spine and his heart pounding, was his eyes. They were so blue, and so bright as they swam in the orange haloed darkness. And his eyes were on his as though they would never leave him and it finally made sense. He didn't even begin to understand it yet, and he wasn't sure if he ever would, but this was that same feeling. That same weightless, overwhelming, indescribable feeling that he just witnessed earlier. The entire sky, the entire world.
They were there in those eyes.
Those freedom eyes.