"Alfred, I didn't expect to hear from you so early on. I assume you have made progess?" Alfred snorted in response, reclining on his bed, an arm thrown across his forehead as he looked up at the ceiling.

After his enlightening... talk with Arthur, he didn't think there was much premise to their current assignment. If what he said was true, and he didn't find much doubt in himself, then they should busy themselves with more important matters.

"Way more than Mathias."

"Yes, I heard his target was rather... hesitant to even speak to him."

"Poor guy tried to lose him in a crowd. I don't blame him, if he hadn't decided to go off first I would've ditched him there. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. Arth- the target assigned to me said that their form of magic wasn't harmful, and I didn't really find any marks to prove otherwise. A gradual descent into that sort of damnation would have left a noticeable change in physical appearance and, quite frankly, he looks good. I think this is a dead end," he said, sitting up with a small noise of exertion. He had intentionally left out the part where Arthur had admitted to being a witch, for his own safety.

He had a point. A witch was a witch in the eyes of the Organization, and he wouldn't doubt that Matthew would have been targeted the same if he hadn't proven his loyalty.

"Hmm... I'd still feel safer if you kept an eye on them. It could be a form of glamour, but those spells don't hold up long, so try to occupy his time for as long as possible."

"Not to be rude, dude, but that's stupid. I mean, why a glamour? Those spells are basic and easy to see through. I don't think there's anything wrong with the guy. Let's just end this now before we fuck something up."

"You will follow orders, Alfred. If that is all you had to say, then-"

"It's not." He paused, trying to find a way to phrase his question. He heard Ludwig give an impatient huff on the other end. "Did you... did you tell Gilbert to sweet talk Mattie? I mean, you sent him to watch over him, and next thing I know, they're fucking. Mattie isn't the type of person to grow so attached from nothing. He's shy.

"Gilbert must've done something to draw him closer. I don't know- flirt, drop hints, something. I just want to know if you ordered him to do it. He's my brother, you should at least understand that I want to protect him." There was no sound on the other line and Alfred felt himself becoming more frustrated.

He would have appreciated honesty, after all, things worked out relatively well; Matthew was happy, Gilbert treated him much better than he gave him credit for, and at least he hadn't led him on. They were married for fuck's sake. But after a long silence, Alfred was almost completely sure Ludwig had hung up. Just when he pulled the phone away from his ear, he heard Ludwig speak.

"He was only to find out what he could of Matthew's intentions and how far his want of power went. He was by no means asked to seduce your brother."

"But we both know what that means, right? It's the same fucking thing you told Mathias and I to do."

"Alfred-"

"Look, forget it, I'll call you if there's an update," he said and hung up without giving Ludwig a chance to speak again. He stood from the bed and began pacing the room. He didn't know what he wanted to hear; what he expected to hear.

Mathias had told him, or at least suggested it to him, he only wished he had noticed it sooner. Maybe even noticed it when he just began. He would have stopped him; he would have taken Matthew away from there. His thoughts built up and he gradually became angrier.

Ludwig had lied to him, Gilbert had lied to him. Two of the people who he saw every day, who could look him in the eye and claim they were his friend.

Maybe he wouldn't have cared if it had only affected him, but Matthew was innocent in all this. He didn't deserve to be toyed with. He had only joined the Organization to appease Alfred. He had put himself at their mercy, had been the object of suspicion, had been ostracized for his use of magic, and on top of all that, the one joy he was able to achieve was a lie. It made Alfred want to rip his hair out, to hit something; someone.

He grabbed the closest thing to himself (a rather unfortunate chair) and flung it at the wall where it splintered and exploded off the wall. He made to grab the other chair when he steadied himself. Too much noise would have the other residents asking questions and calling the authorities and he didn't want to deal with that. Nobody else deserved to be hurt in his rage. It wasn't their fault.

He didn't know what to do. For the first time in a while he felt... lost, unsure. What was he supposed to do? He was against this assignment to begin with, and knowing all that he knew, he didn't think there was a point. Even still, he couldn't really find it in himself to never see Arthur again. He was honest and smart and strong and good looking. He was incredible, and was able to carry himself with a distinguished pride, despite what others around him accused him of or thought of him.

He made up his mind.

He took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and started dialing again. It rang a few times before anyone picked up.

"Yes?"

"Hey! Arthur, it's Alfred. Listen, I- well I actually had a really good time with you today and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out, or go out. Whichever you want, I'm game!... Or, I guess if you don't want either that's cool, too, I mean, we didn't really know each other for very long. I was actually kind of surprised you gave me your number at all- Anyway, I'm beginning to babble, so I'll stop there and, um, yeah." Alfred felt a heaviness in his chest as he waited for a reply. He was busy mentally reprimanding himself when he heard a light laugh on the other end. He quickly pulled himself out of his self loathing and listened closely.

"It's quite alright. Entertaining, too," he said, laughing breathily. "When did you say you were thinking of going out?"

"O-oh. I uh, guess I didn't. How about tomorrow?"

"Hmm.. with the solstice coming up I don't think I can-" There was a lot of shuffling about on the other line and a bit of shouting before another voice came through.

"Tomorrow's good. So are most days, actually. He doesn't do much but read and complain. Lukas and I can take care of the preparations for the solstice, he needs an excuse to keep busy, anyway. He'll meet you at 2 in the afternoon-" Alfred struggled to keep up with the rapid speech of the man, who was most likely Vlad, from what he knew from his file. He quickly gave the address, making Alfred scramble around the room for a pen and paper.

Just as he had finished, there were more sounds of a struggle and Arthur's voice came through this time, although it sounded like he was arguing with someone, but his voice sounded close, so it must have changed hands again.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Alfred teased, a smile spreading across his face as he heard Arthur splutter indignantly. In the end, all he said was an "I-I suppose" before he hung up.

Alfred put his phone down with a small smile, before he noticed all the damage he had done and grimaced. Still, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He'd clean it up in the morning.

Alfred flopped back onto the bed and stared at the phone in his hand. He found himself feeling giddy, despite his end goal and his conversation with Ludwig, but he quickly caught himself. It's not like it was a real date. Not really, he was just extracting information, or, that's what he was supposed to be doing. Suddenly, he was curious over Mathias's date. He had assumed that Lukas 'having to keep busy' was to avoid Mathias.

Ludwig hadn't restricted all contact, right? He had just said that they couldn't be seen together, at least, that's what Alfred remembered and what he was sticking to.

He quickly found him in his contacts and waited as it rung once, twice-

"Hey, Al, what's up? Did you call him? How'd it go?"

"Damn good," he said proudly. "I got a date tomorrow. What about you?"

"Uh... You were right, he's a pretty hard catch. I managed to get a phone number to set up a date, but he's not answering. It might just be random numbers, and I'm not going to try again just to sound like a dumbass to the poor bastard I call."

"You should stop talking, if you don't want to sound like a dumbass, man. Otherwise, it's too late. So, what are you gonna do? I mean, you seriously got absolutely nowhere?" He laughed to himself, but Mathias completely blew off his insult.

"Yeah! At one point he was so distant I thought he knew what I was there for! Whatever, I'll try again tomorrow. I'm almost totally sure my cover hasn't been blown. By the way, I saw Mattie and Gil today. Your brother totally waved at me, you think-"

"Step off my brother, man. I swear to god, I'll kick your ass if you try anything. Gilbert's one thing, but-" Alfred stopped.

Gilbert wasn't one thing. He was everything. He was an asshole, close minded, reckless, and he took advantage of his brother to get the information he needed. Even Mathias was better than that. "You know what? You totally have my blessing to go after Mattie."

"Shit, I was just joking. The kid's cute, but if I wanted cute, I would've tried to step in between Tino and Berwald. What happened? You're usually more or less okay with them."

"You were fucking right. I asked Ludwig, he said he 'was only to find out what he could of Matthew's intentions and how far his want of power went,'" he said, mimicking Ludwig's voice. "I just... don't want to think Mattie got screwed over. I mean, now that he's married to Gilbert he's watched almost 24/7. His stuff is Gil's stuff. He hides his magic junk in my room because he doesn't want him to find it. I mean, you don't think the marriage was just... an extension?" He asked, creasing his brows.

In any other case, he wouldn't have asked Mathias. He was usually too uncaring to pay attention to most things. He was pretty smart, but he had the tendency to act like a dumbass to the point that, even with his qualifications, he wasn't given the title of team leader.

"Has Gilbert ever fucked with your brother before?"

"No."

"Has he ever made him cry, or sad?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Al, I'd never seen either of them as happy as they were at their wedding, and Gilbert's a shit actor, okay? Not to mention that absolutely nothing could tie him down before then. He doesn't cheat because whenever he's not with us on a mission, he's with your brother. I know you don't want to acknowledge it, but I think they actually love each other. It may have started out bad and he may be limiting Matthew's freedom with his magic, but have you ever considered what would happen to your brother if they found him with all the stuff you sneak in for him? Gilbert's been in this business longer than either of us, he's probably seen it happen before."

"Seen what?" Alfred asked, nervously.

"A member of the Organization get burned alive for being a traitor, which is exactly what would happen to Matthew if anyone knew. Look, Al, you two just have different ways of caring-"

"They- that wouldn't happen to Mattie. They wouldn't do that to him."

"Why not? We're here to fight the plague that is witchcraft, no matter where it surfaces, especially within our ranks. Look, man, nobody has found out before, nobody will now. Even if you're not there, Gilbert is. He'll keep him safe, so just- focus on your assignment, okay? It's pretty late, so I'm turning in for the night. Don't think about it too much, goodnight."

Alfred held the phone to his ear, long after he no longer heard anything on the other end, lost in his thoughts.

He couldn't think. Not about a single thing, anyway. Everything was coming up at the same time: Arthur, Matthew, his parents, Gilbert, Ludwig, the Organization, magic, witchcraft, the queen, every witch he had killed. It made him dizzy how easily all those thoughts swirled around in his head in brief flashes:

Matthew clung to him, the two of them only a few years old, their home in ruins as they hid in a rotting old cellar that smelled of musk. Screams that wormed their way through the small space between the doors, then the sounds of guns, footsteps, the trembling fear as the door was torn open and figures in uniform appeared and carried them out.

The faces were a blur, then the whole thought was as he recalled his welcome to the Organization. Himself and Matthew were baptized to avoid further complications, he was told. After that followed his harsh training, the exhaustion, his first kill under Tino and Berwald's watchful eyes, his first team, both men older than him. His reassignment into his current team was as unceremonious as passing a baton, and the welcome was equally cold. There were no introductions, he was just told to follow orders and slowly pieced together profiles on the two men.

Meanwhile, Matthew was found to be an inadequate fighter and was trained to be a priest, or should have been, but the scripture didn't sit well with him, neither did the baptism. He was sick when Lovino told them it wasn't his calling. That their God refused to accept him. Alfred didn't know what that meant, but he did now.

His own gods had chosen him, whichever branch that was, and the baptism and religious practices worked as well as trying to exercise him of his very soul. The two simply weren't compatible and that scared Alfred. There was only one religion the Organization would acknowledge, only one god. Matthew would have been cast off, or even killed if Lovino hadn't intervened.

As the eldest of the Organization's two priests, he was the highest religious authority. Alfred didn't know if he had lied, or if it was true, but he told them that Matthew should have been kept alive, that He had commanded it, and so, Matthew idled through a few years in the Organization's ranks, helping where he could.

That is, until they had gone to the market and he felt attracted to a small spell book that he talked Alfred into buying him.

Alfred's thoughts suddenly shifted to Arthur. If he could have, would he have helped Matthew? Could he have taught him what he didn't know? Would they have gotten along well? Alfred paused again. Why was he thinking like that? It didn't matter at this point. Alfred and Mathias would look further into their situation, they would either find them guilty or innocent, and after the solstice, they would kill them or never see them again.

Suddenly, that sounded a lot harsher than usual to Alfred; It didn't sit well with him and he couldn't think of a way that things would turn out okay. He didn't want to think about it anymore. He turned off the light, performed his nightly routine, and willed the thoughts away as he submerged himself into a deep sleep.


Alfred slowly became aware of rhythmic panting just beneath him. He felt his body moving and an intense, pleasurable heat around his dick as a spontaneous fog suddenly cleared and he saw Arthur writhing and moaning beneath him, wrists pinned above his head. He felt himself buck harder and faster into the tight heat as Arthur's cries became more erratic; each word that came out of his mouth was his name and he was intoxicated by the sound.

He felt a part of himself coming up with a ridiculous explanation as to how they had come to that situation, but he completely disregarded it, focusing on the incredibly tight heat, the painless scratches dragging down his back, and the pale, unmarked figure beneath him.Arthur's eyes were hazy with lust, yet their toxic green shone through clearly and beautifully. His plump lips were parted as he panted, his body jerked with each thrust. His golden hair darkened with his sweat and clung to his face, enveloping it and accenting his red streaked form.

Alfred hooked a leg onto the bend of his arm and thrust harder as he bent down to kiss the entrancing form when Arthur's eyes suddenly had a look of fear. He tried to pull away and began screaming, trying to fight Alfred's grip. Alfred quickly dropped his leg, but his other hand was locked onto Arthur's pinned arms as he continued to struggle.

"Arthur! Hey, what's wrong? Did I hurt you? Arthur?!"

"Well done, Alfred." Alfred turned at the sound of a familiar voice and saw Ludwig standing behind him, looking satisfied.

He looked down at himself to find that he was fully clothed in his Organization uniform. The incredibly white clothing appeared radiant in the dark surroundings.

"What do you-?"

Alfred turned to find his hand gripping Arthur's neck as the man was tied to a wooden post, barely conscious and bleeding. He quickly let go and ran behind him, trying to undo the ropes, but with every knot he attempted to undo, he strengthened until he heard Arthur begging and crying.

"I'm trying!" He screamed in frustration, pulling on the ropes with his bare hands. Around him, there was an applause that echoed through the room, but no visible figures.It steadily grew louder, until all he could hear were clapping and Arthur's panicked screams. Suddenly, a fire roared alive, pushing him back, and engulfing Arthur's body.

He registered his pained cries and the smell of burning flesh, but couldn't completely acknowledge it. A part of him even felt proud of it.

"Looks like you finished your mission," he heard Gilbert say.

When Alfred turned, he saw another figure burning, one that he knew all too well. "I did, too," he said, nodding towards the wooden beam, where Matthew stood tied, noiselessly accepting his fate as tears ran down his face. His head was pressed against the post, turned up, with his eyes squeezed shut.

Alfred slowly approached him, and, as if hearing him, Matthew opened his eyes and regarded him with a hateful look. "You did that to him," he said, signalling to the burning figure beside him.Arthur's skin, pale and gleaming only moments ago was now a sickly red and black, his brilliant, green eyes saw only, and showed only, the flames, and his golden hair had blackened.

"You did this to me." Alfred turned back to see Matthew's skin burned off, revealing muscle that was slowly charring.

His once sweet face was horrifying to look at and he let out a single, blood curdling scream as he disappeared altogether.


Alfred woke up with a start. He was sweating, making his clothes and hair cling to him, but he had no time to think about that as he ran to the restroom to empty the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl. His mind repeated flashes of the burning forms, the screams, and the panicked look on Arthur and Matthew's eyes, as well as his own satisfaction, and he continued to heave long after he had nothing left to throw up.

After being unsuccessful in simply willing it to go away, he stumbled back to his room, and picked up his phone with shaky hands.

5:34, it read. Still too early for him to be awake. His finger hovered over his contacts before he quickly scrolled through and clicked on his brother's name. It rang for a few moments, but someone quickly picked up.

"Al? What are you doing, it's 5 in the morning," he heard Matthew groan sleepily, barely beyond a whisper. His voice was thick and his words came out as slurred, obviously having been woken up by the call.

"H-hey, Mattie, I- sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, I just... I wanted to check up on you." He felt his voice tremble despite himself, and he could almost see the concern on Matthew's face as he spoke next.

"Al, are you okay?" There was movement on the other side and he heard the click of a door close.

(Matthew had probably gone into another room to keep from waking up Gilbert.)

"I- um- It's stupid, I just had this dream and it shook me up a little. Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about, can... do you think you could sneak out to meet me?"

"Now? I think so?" He said with a tone of uncertainty, but Alfred knew he would at least try.

"Meet me at the tavern by the market, okay?" Before Matthew could ask him any more questions, he hung up, releasing a loud sigh. He rubbed his tired eyes before realizing he was missing his glasses and stood to look for them and get ready.

I'M 19 NOW OAO FEAR ME.In other news...

Have you ever paid attention to getting hurt while you're sleeping? It's like when you're playing a video game and you get your ass kicked and you subconsciously say 'ow' at least, my brothers and I do XD. Like, you acknowledge that there's supposed to be pain, and you react as if there is pain, but you didn't feel a thing .-.

Anyway~ oddly enough, the problems in this story are getting resolved pretty quick and I actually don't know what the main conflict is- or rather, I do, it's Alfred's choice between his morals or his allegiance to the Organization, but I dunno, to me, it seems pretty simple what someone like Alfred would choose, and yet I don't really know how im going to make him go about choosing it. I think Gilbert, being in a similar situation, was fortunate enough to be able to choose both because Matthew was equally loyal, but Arthur really isn't?

Whatever, sorry, I'm talking too much about this, and I think it's only for my own understanding XD.

Anyway, for anyone mildly curious as to what Mathias and Lukas are up to, I will be writing, but in Lukas's perspective because I can't imagine myself ever knowing what really goes on in Mathias's head XD. You know what I mean? He's outwardly very slow, but has the makings of a leader in a way similar to Alfred's, but still somehow unique, like, more mature? I understand that this is my characterization, or interpretation, but I haven't got a clue.

Anyway! Sorry about that XD.

Side notes:

Christianity and pagan religions did not get on well AT ALL, (if the wars and persecution weren't indication enough) actually, a lot of pagan spirits were later mimicked in the form of malevolent spirits and their rituals made barbaric.

Actually, you know that goat looking version of the devil? Yup, that was a pagan deity. His name is Pan and he was pretty nice? I mean, the people liked him, and he was really just a god of fertility, shepherds, and music. He was usually depicted as playing a flute prior to his demonization by Christianity. Modern pagans (neo-pagans) have depicted him more as woods god?

Anyway, the stark differences between Christianity and pagan religions were both violence and sexuality, which is why many pagans were hesitant to convert and also why as much as I feel a little out of place writing smut, I can't exactly ignore it because it's an actual aspect of paganism. (I'll suck it up and try my best, though XD!) Pagans were simply far less conservative and having sex with ONE person and only after marriage was a little... unappealing. Sensual pleasure was something enjoyed by the gods, and nothing to be ashamed of in their religions and they had a hard time accepting it as a sin.

ALSO! This disgust and repulsion with their sexuality and "lust" was carried into many religious beliefs such as that of the incubus and succubus, which were pretty much nymphs and woodland deities that were also demonized! Another example is of what witches were accused of doing and why they were so... immoral? I mean, I've heard a bunch of things, but one of the main things was really weird orgies and sex with the devil :0. Even still, Christianity did adopt several pagan holidays corresponding to several important dates on the pagan calendar and just kinda stamped Jesus over it.

Pagan religions were polytheistic and believed that nature held a great deal of power, a lot like the modern day Wicca, which is said to be a surviving descendant religion of paganism.

Also, witches were burned to purify their bodies or something like that, but I think I might have mentioned that a while ago.Also, a glamour spell is one that changes the user's appearance to whatever they want. I mean, some species of Fae folk can cast it, I couldn't have possibly made them considered a super high level spell XD.

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