Lukas surveyed the chess board with satisfaction. It was a very clean win. He looked up at Jan. "Do we have a deal?"

Jan started to reset the board, "Have you ever lost?"

"Twice."

Jan's face darkened. He clearly was surprised by Lukas's chess skill and was not pleased by loosing fifteen times in a row. Or maybe he didn't like the idea of risk him money on someone who had lost at all.

"Mathias got me drunk once, and once Emil made me switch sides with him half way through the game." Lukas said, "I don't actually recall the game with Mathias, but Tino and Berwald said they saw it."

Jan shifted in his seat and made his opening move, "This won't work for long. People will stop playing."

"I am offering my skill." Lukas left it at that and made his move. It would be up to Jan to keep the other inmates playing with him.

Jan and Lukas played in silence. Lukas had expected to be adopted by some group in prison long before this. He had underestimated their hate for people who rated out to the police . He had figured that his reputation as Norway and all of the North's success would earn him some protection. Apparently Ludwig and Gilbert had ensured that wasn't the case. Long before he was convicted, it seemed that everyone in the prisons knew who he was. It didn't help that the North had been split up and put in different prisons. Then again, Lukas wasn't worried about Tino and Mathias. Tino had a reputation even the police didn't know about and all that Ludwig and Gilbert said would just support his reputation. Sometimes, Lukas wondered how much he really knew about Tino, it was a dark past and Lukas had never asked.

Mathias was charismatic and held the 'betrayed leader' card which would be sure to bring him kindred souls. Of course, knowing Mathias, he would probably slip up and tell people the Lukas's 'betrayal' was planned. Mathias would either do very well in prison or very badly. Lukas didn't waste time worrying about it.

Berwald was a different matter. Berwald was not a criminal before Mathias and Lukas convinced him to work with them. He was a math teacher. He was a scary looking, mild mannered, math teacher. Berwald in prison was difficult for Lukas to wrap his head around. Then again, Berwald didn't have the whole snitch factor to make his life miserable. Lukas hoped Berwald had been adopted by some group and assimilated into prison life without conflict.

"Do you have much contact with the outside?" Lukas asked.

"Phone calls are expensive." Jan said noncommittally.

Phone calls were ridiculously expensive. Lukas knew that first hand and had only called home once a month.

Jan hadn't said no. Lukas surveyed the board before making his move, "Could you find out how Berwald is doing for me?"

"Who is Berwald?"

"Sweden."

Lukas could see his win. Jan clearly could too, the man chose a piece then replaced it, he stood, "Trade me sides."

Lukas didn't show his surprise. He was about to win, it made sense, but it didn't seem like Jan to make such a low blow. Lukas stood and traded seats with Jan. The board looked depressing from this side.

"Win, and I'll ask around about the other North." Jan said, sitting back, "It's your move."

Lukas met Jan's eyes. A small knot was forming in his stomach. He had messed up. He had practically told Jan his weakness. Jan seemed to have every intention of using the other North against him. Then again, fair was fair; Lukas had been using Jan's obsession with money this whole time. They now stood on even ground. Both had a button that they could push, but neither knew how far they long they could hold it down.

Lukas looked back at the board. Win this game, and learn how the others were doing? That didn't sound like a bad deal to him. One for three. There was no way he was loosing this. Jan was good and now had the winning side, but Lukas had yet to meet his match at chess.

Arthur had called Lukas a mastermind and Lukas had taken it as a complement, even if he didn't agree. Lukas was clever and he knew what he was good at, it was simple.

Lukas selected a piece, oh no he was not going to loose. He began systematically picking off Jan's power pieces and keeping his own king safe only by putting Jan in check as often as possible. Only they were both down to four pieces each, Lukas went in for the kill. It was not a neat check mate, nor even a clever one. It had come down to a race of moves, who could trap the other first and Lukas moved faster.

Jan looked at the board with a thinly veiled annoyance. He stood, "We start tomorrow."

Lukas watched Jan leave, his unspoken question hung in the room and he could tell Jan was ignoring it. Lukas wasn't worried. Jan was an odd bird, but Lukas believed he would keep his end of the deal. Lukas would hear about the others.

He leaned back in his chair and gave a small sigh. If he had Jan's protection, life would be looking up very soon.

"So, when are you graduating high school, Vladimir?" there was a hint of scorn in her voice and an emphasis on 'high school', "How old are you now? Nineteen? Twenty? Is this your third time being held back or your fourth?"

Vlad glared at his plate of food and took a huge bite to avoid having to answer right away. He chewed slowly and looked up at the person sitting crossed the table from him.

Elizabeta Hedervay. The only person in the world he truly hated.

He swallowed and took a sip of water, "I've only been held back twice and I WILL be graduating this year."

"How?" she retorted, her voice taking on a mocking quality, "You've missed so much school, how can you possibly hope to get all of your credits?"

Vlad glanced at the head of the table where Rodrich sat. He was eating silently and had barly looked at Vladimir since he and Aurel had arrived. Rodrich's version of a 'party' meant a fancy dinner and sitting around in his drawing room listening to him play piano and complain about his life and only then would they work around to talking about anything important. It was annoying.

Even more annoying was his instruction to Vlad to 'behave' with Elizabeta, but the boss made no effort to rein her in. Fine. Two could play the ignoring game.

Vlad looked pointedly at Leopold, "So how has your school been coming?"

Leo looked up, as if surprised someone was talking to him, "Fine. I guess."

"Leo is home schooled!" Elizabeta said cockily, "Didn't you know that?"

"Of course I knew that, Liz, but I was having a conversation with Leo." Vlad said coolly and watched with some satisfaction as Elizabeta frowned and turned her attention to her dinner. "That is nice Leo, what have you been up to lately?"

The boy picked at his food for a moment then shrugged, "Drawing. Painting. Clay modeling. Paper mache."

"Ah, that's nice." Vlad said, trying to think of a way to continue the conversation, "So, are you learning any music?"

Leo nodded.

Vlad waited for a response.

Leo continued eating.

Vlad sighed, Leopold was so weird. "Like what?"

"Piano, Violin, Flute, Double Bass, and French Horn."

"That is quite the mix. Aurel is learning Violin too." Vlad shot a smile at Aurel, who was sitting next to him, "He's in the school orchestra!"

"That's nice." Leo said flatly, never looking up.

Vlad sighed and the table lapsed into silence. He wished the boss had invited some other people over. Vash and Lili would be nice right now, then again they weren't apart of the boss's 'work', so it made sense that they were absent. However, Feliciano, Lovino, and Marcelo weren't here, which was strange.

"Where are Feli, Lovi, and Marcel?" Vlad asked, trying to sound offhand and directing the question toward Rodrich instead of Elizabeta.

"Feli refused to celebrate East's conviction and is spending time with West." Rodrich said, his tone just as flat as Leopold's.

Of course. If Feli didn't want to come, Lovi would take it as an opportunity to ditch his brothers, and Marcel wasn't legal to drive.

Then again, Vlad didn't recall the three being very fond of the North. After all, the North robbed them. Still, this was a party for East's conviction, not the North's.

Whatever. They were not his concern. The only thing he wanted was to know what the boss wanted from him.

The table lapsed into silence once again. The food was good, but Vlad started getting the unsettling feeling of sorrow. He was glad Gilbert was in jail, but Rodrich looked sullen and Elizabeta's jibs at him were mild compared to their normal verbal show downs over dinner. Even Leo seemed to zone out faster than normal.

Why did they care? East was, and always had been, a nuisance. He and West were clever and attracted buyers that would be interested in the wares that Rodrich's group trafficked. Plus, East and West had an almost invisible network, Vlad wasn't even sure who worked with them, even during the time that Vlad had been under their wing, he never knew who he would be working with when he showed up to a job.

Yes, Vlad was glad Gil was in jail. Gil was the one who had dragged him into the whole North problem.

So much would have never happened, had Gil not showed up with that detective looking for information. Of course, of all of Gilbert's network, he had to ask Vladimir. Drag Vladimir back into his problems. Vlad knew it was probably some sort of quiet revenge for Vlad's leaving them and turning to Rodrich, but it was irrelevant. Yes, Vlad heard things, but he didn't want his reputation to be sullied with police.

Then again, it was too late for that too. He had ratted out the North. He had been used by the North. And he had paid. Sure, the police had protected him and Aurel while the North were still at large, but there was nothing they could do about Vlad's life in the shadows. The shadows now shrunk back from him, as if his loose tongue was contagious. It was as if they all expected him to rat them out next. No matter where he went, the Vampire was not welcome with open arms anymore. He was watched with wary, distrusting eyes that would hide their secrets and speak carefully.

Vlad hadn't gotten a job in a month and this was only the second time that Rodrich had contacted him since the North were locked behind bars. It was tiring constantly watching your back, but hoping someone would approach you with a job.

Then there was school. School was dull and contained Emil Steilsson. Iceland. The youngest member of the North and the one Vlad had discovered. Vlad avoided Emil. They hadn't spoken since Vlad had gone back to school. It helped that Vlad was a senior and Emil a sophomore, but it seemed that now that he was avoiding Emil, he saw the white haired boy more often.

"Vlad? Are you going to continue moving food around your plate or actually eat it?" Elizabeta snapped, "Watching you is annoying."

He looked up at her with a frown, "Well, you are annoying. Has anyone ever told you that before? No? Well, don't take it too hard, it's probably not contagious."

Elizabeta scowled, "So rude, it's no wonder you don't have any friends. You drive them all away and they left you behind when you didn't graduate high school."

"Why must you keep bring that up? It's almost you like you can't think of anything else to get under my skin with!"

"Why would I mention anything else with your high schoolness is so effective and true?"

"Elizabeta, please." Rodrich said, his voice polite, "Let Vlad be."

Elizabeta looked like she wanted to argue, but she seemed to think better of it and again, silence fell over the table.

After dinner, they settled down in the lounge and Rodrich sat down at the piano. Leo vanished upstairs and returned with a violin. The boy sat down, quietly tuning the instrument, then looking attentively at Rodrich. The boss lifted the piano's lid, running his hands over the pearly keys for a moment, then music filled the house.

Vlad had no clue what they were playing, but it was beautiful. Their two sounds weaved in and out of each other, dropping to barley above a whisper then filling the house with the reverberating sound. Eventually, they stopped and the silence that followed was heavy and thoughtful.

"Vladimir, do you want a job?" Rodrich spoke polity and his voice was calm, "I have one for you."

Vlad studied the floor and nodded mutely. He hated the looks other people in the underworld gave him. But bills had to be paid and money was running low.

"Do you intend to go the the police again?"

Vlad couldn't help but scowl, "We've already talked about this." This had been the topic of thier last conversation and Vlad suspected that it was the reason that Rodrich hadn't contacted him again.

"Answer the question."

"I will if I need to."

Silence filled the room. Slowly, Vlad looked up ant met Rodrich's gaze. Vlad couldn't help it, for a moment his eyes flickered to Aurel and then locked on his boss again. The man was studying him carefully then gave a curt nod.

"Be here at 5 on Wednesday." Rodrich said, turning back to the piano, glancing at Leopold, "How are you feeling about Betoven?"

Leo shrugged and Rodirch began to play again.

6:00 AM - Personal Message from RuleroftheWeb to Art:

Yo! I'm going out today so don't message me

6:12 AM - Personal Message From Art to RuleroftheWeb:

Ok

6:12 AM - Personal Message From RuleroftheWeb to Art:

I'll let you know when I get back

6:14 AM - Personal Message From Art to RuleroftheWeb:

Ok

6:15 AM - Personal Message From RuleroftheWeb to Art:

I get to visit Berwald today

6:16 AM - Personal Message From Art to RuleroftheWeb:

Ok

6:16 AM - Personal Message From RuleroftheWeb to Art:

Berwald is Sweden, you know that right?

6:16 AM - Personal Message From Art to RuleroftheWeb:

Yes

6:18 AM - Personal Message From RuleroftheWeb to Art:

Bye!

6:19 AM - Personal Message From Art to RuleroftheWeb:

Ok

6:20 AM RuleroftheWeb left the chat

After the usual bus ride, the boy known as RuleroftheWeb walked into the big grey building and up to the desk and to smile at the lady who sat there.

"Oh, you back again Avrid?" The lady smiled at the boy and pushed a clipboard through the opening in the glass and over the counter toward him, "Sign in, you are his second visitor today!"

"I am?" Avrid pulled the clipboard toward him and signed in, passing it back to her, "Who else?"

"Another boy and a gentleman, they come a lot, I'm sure they will be done soon." The lady said, "Unless you don't mind sharing your visiting time?"

Avrid hesitated a moment then nodded, "I'll share."

She smiled, "Let me check that they are okay with it, I'll be right back." She stood and disappeared behind a door.

Avrid's eyes wandered the room, it looked pretty much the same as his last visit. Blank grey walls, the guard posted at the door to the visiting area and the glass that separated the waiting room and the front desk. Nothing changed here, it reminded him of a blip in time. While the world continued on outside these prison walls, everything here remained stagnant.

The door on the other side of the glass opened and the lady reentered nodding, "They are fine with it!" she motioned to the guard at the door and Avrid was let into the hallway beyond. He was brought to the big room filled with tables and his eyes searched the little glass cubicles, looking for the man he came to see.

There.

Berwald had a distinctive, statue-like way of sitting, his eyes met Avrid's and a small smile flickered crossed his face. Avid was let into the cubical and froze as he looked at Berwald's other visitors.

One was a blonde man who he looked livid, and the other was a boy who looked to be about Avrid's age. He shared the man's messy hair and they were clearly related, but he looked so happy he was practically radiating. He spun on heel as Avrid entered, he was already beaming, but his smile seemed to grow as he saw the other boy. It was a bit unnerving. Avrid wasn't sure a person could possibly look that happy without exploding or something.

"Hi Avrid! Berwald was just telling us about you!" The boy grinned and offered a hand out, "I'm Peter! It's great to finally meet you!"

Chapter two! I hope you like it! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Please do let me know how you like this chapter! I know so far this story is not going as expected, but I hope you keep reading!

There as been some confusion as to who Leopold is, he is Kugelmugel, a micronation in Austria. He has about 70 seconds of screen time in episode 10 of Hetalia World Twinkle. Avrid is Ladonia, a web based micro from Sweden, and Marcelo is Seborga, an Italian micro, who appears twice so far on screen when we first meet Wy, an Australian micronation. I know that the micros don't have much time, but I find them fascinating and expect most to show up (after all the name of this story is Micro Law). If you have a free five minutes and haven't seen it yet, I suggest going to watch episode 10, it's pretty great! Sorry about the confusion in my using obscure characters!

Oh, and Jan is Netherlands, ever since I read Gutters, I have to use Jan as his human name.

So yep! Thanks for reading! Expect chapter three in a few days!