Author's Note: Wow. WOW. This chapter turned out so well. IT'S SHO BEAUTIFUL. *sniffsniff* C': At least, it looks that way to me. I hope you think so too, since I worked so hard on this... Now that I think about it, it's probably not that good. xD BUT I TRIED, THEREFORE NO ONE SHOULD CRITICIZE ME. I joke. xD I need le criticism~ Anyway, this chapter is mainly plot-based, but there are a couple filler moments to fill in the gaps that the original RP had. Now, I'm not not perfect, so I make mistakes! Please let me know if you spot a spelling or grammatical error! c: That is all for now, so I hope you enjoy! SAPPHIRE OUT!

Awesome11: Gorgeous? A MASTERPIECE? Eh... I wouldn't call it that. ^^' But thanks for thinking that! It means a lot coming from my Lovina roleplayer. c:

Warning: Mild language, OCs, or genderbends will be used! Don't like, please move along and don't read~

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia (though I wish I did xD). It's just fan stuff! :D

Chapter Two: The Golden Locket

After a few awkward minutes by himself, Matthew was debating on what exactly to do. He could not run away, because of how severe his wound still was, and even if he could leave, the others were still looking for him. It would not be wise to try and run while it was not only dark, but also raining outside. No, he would sadly have to wait it out until his wound healed, but what was he supposed to do here? It would probably take Lovina a while to cool off, not that he really cared much, but it at least gave his mind something to think about. He had to do something to pass the time...

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he began to think of his mother. He closed his eyes and felt a smile tug at the edges of his lips. She was so kind and wonderful. She had the most amazing voice as well. Then Matthew had an idea. Why not sing to himself? It was not as if there was something better to do, nor was there anyone listening in on him. It did not take much thought until the words of the Fae language dripped softly and royally from his mouth, reverberating and silky, yet at the same time almost unheard.

"Una deo,
Mona tselata.
Una deo,
Treta ma.
Matta farley tei kola.
Tali kane me~"

Matthew kept his eyes closed as he sang and felt as though his mother was right beside him once more. He felt as if nothing was wrong with the world, just like he did when he was a child. His still wet, golden hair framed his face perfectly and his lips seemed to move in a way no other creature would ever be able to copy.

He continued this for a while before his pointed ears twitched at a sound, causing him to stop the song abruptly. His eyes snapped open and focused on where Lovina peeked out from a doorway, her face openly showing her awe and a blush. He quickly turned his gaze onto his hands, which were neatly folded in his lap. He was a bit angry that his sense of peace had been ruined and brought to a screeching stop, but there was nothing he could do about it. He really should have known better than to think that Lovina would not be able to hear him. Humans were not deaf, after all, and had ears like everything else in the world.

"It's a lullaby," Matthew eventually said softly, as well as a bit angrily, "Fae sing it to their young."

"Oh," Lovina said rather dumbly and seemed embarrassed that she had been caught eavesdropping, "That was very beautiful." There was an awkward silence between the two when the female seemed to remember the fact that Matthew hated humans and probably wanted nothing to do with her. She turned her body as if to leave and apologized in a way that made one think it was something she did not do very often, "I-I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Stay if you want," Matthew said stoically. "Just... Don't try anything. I'm not sure what you've heard about the Fae, but the part about us having strong magical abilities is true. One wrong move..." he trailed off, leaving the rest of the threat unsaid.

"I've heard enough," Lovina said solemnly. At the mention of the legendary Fae magic known to all, albeit known in different ways, she found herself flashing back to when she was first studying magic. She had practically glorified the Fae, who embraced the study of magic as a way of life instead of a cursed evil that had to be vanquished.

Matthew watched Lovina head over to the kitchen with a tense posture and suspicious eyes. His suspicion, however, quickly turned into ignorant confusion as he watched her start to make two mugs of a drink that he had never seen before. The liquid was clearly warm and of a brownish color that made the drink somewhat resemble coffee, but it had a pungent smell that gave off the impression that the drink was sweet instead of bitter. As suspicious as he was of Lovina, his curiosity got the better of him in this situation. Just what kind of drink was she making?

He watched in newfound confusion and curiosity as Lovina quickly finished up making the strange, foreign drink, but felt himself tense up once more as she handed one of the mugs to him. Matthew took the drink despite the fact that Lovina, a human, had made it and eyed it cautiously. "What is this?" he asked skeptically. It smelled just so sweet... Much sweeter than most of the things he would drink.

"It's, uh, hot cocoa," Lovina answered with a raised eyebrow, "It's almost like tea, but it is much sweeter and rich."

Matthew's violet eyes flicked between Lovina and the drink in his hands, distrust evident in his orbs. "Maybe... it's poisoned? No, I didn't see her put anything in the drinks... Then maybe... A taste wouldn't hurt?" he debated before bringing the cup to his lips and swallowing some of the liquid. His eyes could not help but widen in surprise at the sweet and wonderful flavor that burst into his mouth. He stared in complete surprise at the mug after taking it from his lips. "It's... actually good," he noted to himself quietly. Lovina could not help but giggle a bit at his reaction to the drink, watching his violet orbs go wide.

"Yeah, it's one of the better things us humans have to offer," she said, taking a sip from her own mug before she added curiously, "So... what kind of magic do you know?" Matthew raised a slender eyebrow at her question. Why would a human, whose race hated and despised magic, want to know about the magic he knew? What possible use could that be to her?

"I am able to do all kinds of magic, but I particularly excel in ice, nature, and blood magic," he replied simply.

"Blood magic?" Lovina asked, curiosity weaving its way into her voice. Matthew felt himself frowning the more he was questioned. It was clear that Lovina understood that ice and nature magic were his elemental affinities, that much was obvious on her face, although humans were supposed to be ignorant to this knowledge. She seemed to understand and embrace the concept more, even. With the limited knowledge she was likely to have, she also seemed like she had never heard of blood magic, but at the same time was curious about it, despite how ominous it might sound.

"It's a... dark type of magic," Matthew began, "Blood magic can be used for healing or control. You can stop bleeding and repair wounds, if you are extremely good, that is. You can also create more blood if you have lost too much. On the other hand, a blood magic user can also manipulate the blood to move the body however the person wishes. Your body can be moved completely beyond your own control. It's an abnormal magic to be good at." Lovina shivered visibly at the darkness of it, but at the same time seemed entranced with the new knowledge.

"Could you heal your leg?" she asked.

"Like I said, you have to be extremely good to heal. I can heal wounds on a smaller scale, but I can only partially stop the bleeding on a severe wound like this," Matthew explained. He took the bandage that Lovina had wrapped his injury with off and stared down pensively at his wound. He muttered something muddled and strange under his breath, causing the blood from the wound to suddenly retract back into his body. Although the bleeding had clearly been stopped, the wound did not close, just as Matthew thought it would. He still needed much more practice. "Just like that," he said, looking as if the action had taken much energy from him.

Lovina's golden-brown eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight. "D-Do you think you could teach me blood magic and how to find your elemental affinity?" she blurted out before she could stop the question coming from her mouth. She froze and swallowed thickly, knowing the question would give everything away.

Matthew whipped his gaze onto Lovina, the shock and surprise displayed plainly upon his face. "You want to know magic? But..." he trailed off. Did that mean that she was a witch, a person who had gone against the human race to learn and embrace a life of magic and was practically shunned for their beliefs?

Lovina turned a bright red and started to silently curse herself for being such an idiot. "Uh," was all she could get out before she did what she did to all her problems... She ran away, up into her room, closed the room, and screamed into her pillow, trying to think of an alibi. Matthew coughed awkwardly at the sight. Well then. He certainly had not expected that. Lovina did not seem to be the type to become a witch. He did not know why, but she simply did not.

He let out a sigh. He should not even be sticking his nose in a human's business. She seemed nice enough, but he still did not trust her. It could be a simple façade made to deceive him. He needed to back off. It was not wise to be getting into a human's affairs. After he was fully healed, he just needed to leave and forget all that had occurred in this cabin in the middle of the Elthean Forest. Nothing good would come from associating with a human. That was a certain factor of this life, but maybe he should not wait until he was healed. Maybe he should just leave already. It would probably be better for the both of them. Lovina being a witch, though, did make him think. She had gone against her own kind, she had claimed to hate the way her own people had acted, and just maybe was telling the truth about not wanting to harm him...

The thought was gone as quickly as it had come. He could not think like that. It would cause a repeat of the last time he had tried to venture in the human's territory.

Matthew tried to stand up, using the couch for support. He grunted in pain. He was still weak, but he had to push through the pain. He looked at the door in determination. He could do this. He was a Fae that had trained with the Spades' Ace since he was a mere child. He left the safety of the couch and attempted to take a step forward. He screamed instantly inside his mouth, which muffled the sound only slightly. He found himself having a flashback to the moment his foot was caught in the bear trap as he fell in real time, feeling much like he had earlier, except on a smaller scale.

"Or maybe I can't do it..." Matthew thought with a groan.

At the sound of a dull thump resounding through the house, Lovina had instantly ran back into the room, thinking that her "visitor" had done something very stupid, which was not far from the truth. She sighed at the sight of Matthew groaning face-first on the floor and put her hands on her hips much like a mother would when she caught her children doing something they were not supposed to.

"Idiota," she muttered as she helped the Fae up. "Look, you can leave whenever you want when you are better. I don't want you getting hurt again or getting an infection, okay?" she said, placing the grumbling male back onto the couch, who currently resembled an angry ten-year-old that had been taken away from playing with his friends.

Matthew tensed at being touched, but didn't voice any thoughts. "Oui, oui... I get it..." he muttered with irritation lacing his voice.

"Speaking of infection," Lovina suddenly said as she remembered something, "I forgot to put some herbs on that wound." She scampered out of the room and fetched some herbs that, when mashed together properly, would prevent an infection. She quickly returned to smear the remedy onto the gaping wound, then replaced the bandage that had been taken off so Matthew could show off his abilities. After this was done, she glanced at her watch and whistled at the time.

"I'm heading to bed since it's gotten so late. See you in the morning," she said, moving her hand to her mouth as she yawned and walked out of the room.

"Boa noite, Nena," he said, not even noticing that he had slipped into his native tongue as he spoke. He leaned his head back on the arm of the couch, shifting awkwardly since his body was still soaking wet, then closed his eyes and fell into a light, restless sleep full of nightmares and fevers.

Matthew groaned and twitched as his eyes fluttered open. His body felt abnormally heavy and as though it was on fire, yet at the same time he felt as if he was freezing. He coughed and sneezed roughly almost immediately upon waking, his body shivering and his teeth chattering beyond his own control. As he tried to remember what had caused him to feel so ill, the memories of the night before flooded back into him.

Running away from home.

The bear trap.

Lovina.

Oh, and the fact that he was still wearing his soaking wet clothes. No wonder he felt sick! Maple, he should have known better than to sleep in soaking wet clothes, but, he supposed, it was not as if there was an extra pair of clothes readily available to him. This was not his home, after all.

He looked around the room groggily, groaning as his head spun just by moving it, and looked with blurred vision at the nearby window. To no one's surprise, it was still raining as heavily as before. He sneezed roughly once more and hugged himself, trying to retain some of his warmth. Maple, who knew sneezing was so annoying? Seriously, there should be something that will ban sneezing for all time...

...

Oh maple, the fever was making was making him so delirious that he was beginning to sound like his brother. He really hoped this would wear off soon.

"Hey, idiota, is everything all right?" Lovina suddenly asked as she poked her head in from another room. Matthew tried to answer that he was perfectly fine, but a coughing fit prevented him from doing so. At the sight of the coughing spell, Lovina seemed to finally realize that Matthew was still wet from the rain. She quickly exited the room, the sound of her scurrying up the stairs echoing through the house, then returned with a new set of clothes that presumably belonged to her father.

"Here," she said as heat rose to her cheeks, "T-This should fit you. I can dry your other clothes."

Matthew looked at Lovina blankly, only nodding his head due to obligatory politeness. "Thank you." he muttered as he took the clothing and ran his hand over the fabric of the clothing. It was just a simple white button-up shirt, grayish-brown vest, and black slacks. It was stiff and scratchy, like all human clothing, at least when compared to the satiny fabric that the Fae used. "Humans wear the most uncomfortable clothing," he thought with a silent snicker.

He stared the clothing for a bit longer before looking awkwardly up at Lovina, shifting in his seat. "Do you mind, er, leaving so I can change?"

The minute he was sure Lovina was gone, Matthew shed his shirt. He briefly paused to stare at the deep scars that ran across his ribcage, chest, back, arms, and neck, encasing and strangling him like a constricting snake. They were all from a single human, he thought bitterly.

He shook away the memory and put on the white shirt and vest, then awkwardly slipped his pants on as he tried not to touch his wound. That was when he realized something. One of his hands shot to his chest where an object would usually be hanging. It was gone. The locket his mother had given him was gone. He... must have dropped it while he was running. His shoulders sagged at that. It was his only memory left of his mother. It was a simple, golden locket with a small painting of his mother and him. He smiled softly as he remembered the inscription on the back of the golden object, 'A prince to the Fae, but a baby boy to me.'

Matthew rested his head back on the arm of the chair, still feeling the effects of the fever. He was back to square one again. What was he suppose to do until he recovered? Sleep? Sing? Twiddle his thumbs? He really hated not being able to move! He sneezed suddenly, making himself sniff. And he was sick too. Maple, the world hated him.

Matthew did not have much time to himself, however, for ten minutes later Lovina burst back into the cabin, looking as though she had run a long distance. She tossed her jacket to the side and looked she was holding something shiny in her left fist, but held yellow flowers in the other. She smirked at Matthew, much to his confusion, and walked to the Fae's side. She suddenly made a deep bow and revealed what she had in her left hand, which was, in fact, the locket that Matthew had thought he had lost forever.

"I found this while trying to find out whose bear trap it was that you got your foot caught in. I believe it is yours, Your Majesty?" She said eloquently, almost as if she was having much fun with introducing the knowledge that she had found to Matthew.

"Your Majesty...?" Matthew said in bewilderment, before his eyes flicked to his locket. His locket! He had thought it was lost forever, never to be seen again, yet here it was in front of him! He quickly snatched it and held it close to him in sheer relief. Then he realized. Lovina knew he was a prince... Crap.