A/N: : D I'm a real bonehead. Seriously, I completely forgot to upload the second chapter of this story onto after I was done fiddling with it in the document manager. I guess I got distracted or something. It's not hard to do with me. I get distracted easily. oAo Immediate Music is love. 3

Chapter Four

Aashiyana quickly put the handkerchief to her mouth, her brow knitting tightly. Arthur shot to his feet as Alfred leaped to his and made it to her side quickly. Arthur glowered at Alfred a moment before remembering that Aashiyana came first. "We need to get her to the bath upstairs," said Arthur quickly. Alfred wasted no time. He lifted Aashiyana easily into his strong arms and took the steps two at a time to the second floor as Arthur hurried up behind him to direct him.

"She's got a bad fever, Arthur," said Alfred, "I can feel it through this dress of her."

"I know. It comes with the fits," said Arthur as he dashed in front of Alfred and opened the door to the bathroom. Alfred placed her on the tile floor and Arthur came in from behind him after closing the door to unbutton her dress on the back and then pull the gown from her quickly, handing it to Alfred. Alfred placed it on a chair, watching from a small distance as Arthur untied the laces of the corset. Aashiyana's sudden intake of air was loud, making both men wince at the painful sound. For a moment it seemed that was all she needed, a relief from the corset so she could breathe.

And then the blood came.

She coughed violently, jerking as her skin turned ash colored while blood poured from her mouth onto the floor. Arthur pulled her hair from her face and rubbed her back, trying to comfort her as well as he could. Alfred, for every atrocity he had seen in both the past and in recent years, had never seen so much blood come from a nation. Not even that amount had come from him during the War Between the States when his stomach was split open thanks to the rift between his north and south and lives he lost on both sides.

Arthur whispered to Aashiyana is calming Hindi, "It's all right. Just let them go." Even as he said that he knew it wasn't all right, but, being the gentleman and her sovereign, he couldn't just say "You're in trouble. You might die." That was unthinkable! He couldn't imagine India dying out utterly. To do so was a very lonely prospect.

Looking at Aashiyana he could feel that her weight had dropped once again. No more did she feel as soft as she did even the night before. Now, Arthur could feel her ribs sticking out. He could feel her hip bones starting to jut out. What if he did lose India? The thought came to him and made his insides freeze.

Slowly, she looked up at Alfred and tried her best to smile at him, though Alfred was already very white in his face, his blue eyes staring at her in fear of her life. Without Arthur having to tell him, Alfred grabbed a towel and poured water on it from the pitcher next to the wash basin. He knelt down to Aashiyana carefully and started wiping her face. Aashiyana leaned into the touch desperately, making a small noise as she did so. For a moment, Arthur's jealousy made him want to punch Alfred and knock him away from Aashiyana, but he stifled it and settled on glowering at the younger nation.

Arthur wrapped his arms around Aashiyana to help her sit up some, though she didn't seem inclined to move away from the wetted towel in Alfred's hands. Alfred swallowed and smiled just a little for Aashiyana, stroking her hair from her face. "You'll be all right," he said, though his tone wasn't nearly as hopeful as he looked, "As you said, you're getting help." Then, Arthur found himself on the receiving end of one of the sharpest looks Alfred had ever given him. The only time when he had received a similar look was when Alfred confronted him and yelled at him for drafting his own twin, the embodiment of Canada, Matthew Williams, into the British military to fight against the Americans. "She is getting help, isn't she?"

"Of course she is," snapped Arthur, "It will just take a while to get there. You can't just snap your fingers and then make food appear in India. Not even I can do that and I'm the one who can perform magic. You can't make something from nothing."

Alfred relaxed a little and continued to stroke Aashiyana's hair. Arthur, suddenly with a bad feeling in his stomach, looked on at the desperate shape Aashiyana was in. He ignored the feeling in lieu of comforting her for the moment. "Right now what she needs is to eat something. Her people may be starving, but she can at least try to get something in her to combat some of this leeching that's occurring."

"Oranges should help some," said Alfred.

"Or lemons or limes," said Arthur absently.

Aashiyana didn't seem to register anything of what they were saying. She trembled as she tried her best to keep herself from falling over outright into the blood that was slowly draining into the drain under the tub. Alfred picked her up into his arms and stood up, looking to Arthur. "Where is her room?"

Arthur, instead of taking her to her room where her luggage still sat, took her to his room instead where the bed was still in poor shape and the sheets were strewn about. Alfred took one look at them and then raised his eyebrows at Arthur. "What happened here?"

"I would rather not talk about it," mumbled Arthur. "Set her on the bed and then get one of the maids to bring up a peeled orange." Alfred did as he was told and then walked out, leaving Arthur with Aashiyana. Arthur walked over and got on the bed next to Aashiyana, looking at her worriedly. She had pushed herself too far; the journey to England, the night they spent together, the corset, it all counted against her in very big, very bad ways. Arthur rolled his sleeves to the elbow and took his tie and collar off; tossing them aside for the added freedom he needed to keep her comfortable.

Aashiyana's head rolled to the side, her eyes fluttering open and closed as she seemed to be going unconscious. Arthur gently slapped her cheeks and turned her face toward him. "Aashiyana," he said, "Aashiyana, wake up! Don't go to sleep!"

For the moment she seemed to wake as he held her head in his warm, though shaking hands. He sighed in relief as she looked up at him with those black and green eyes of hers, dimly registering his presence. "Please stay awake," he whispered; his voice so soft and frightened that it sounded more like a child's plea than something from a grown man. Carefully, he lifted her in his arms and sat down with her against his side, holding her upright. For a moment it seemed she would be all right. Then, her head thumped very gently against his chest and he couldn't feel her breathing anymore.

Arthur's heart stopped. Shaking slightly, he looked down at her with wide, fearful green eyes and saw her eyes closed and her face relaxed. She looked like she was sleeping, but he couldn't feel her breathing at all. He patted her cheek, trembling worse. "Aashiyana? Aashiyana?" Her head only moved when he touched it, lolling side to side and against his chest with every motion, but there was no life in it. Panicking, Arthur pushed her down onto her back and laid his head on her heart. There was nothing.

Alfred came in, though Arthur was only dimly aware of it as he sat up and hit Aashiyana over her heart to try to make it start again. Arthur's face was white, as white as the sheets beneath him and Aashiyana. Alfred put the oranges down and almost shoved Arthur aside to grab Aashiyana's legs and push them into her body. He did that a few times before moving over her and breathing air into her mouth. Arthur jumped to his feet and hurried to the door, shouting out "Get a doctor! Someone get a doctor!"

Alfred continued to pump Aashiyana's legs against her before moving back to her mouth and breathing into her. Then, he stopped and checked her pulse. He sighed in relief, causing Arthur to practically launch himself from the door over to them both. "Is there a pulse?" asked Arthur frantically.

"Yeah," said Alfred, smiling a bit at Aashiyana, "Yeah, there is. It's very faint, though. It's getting better though." Slowly, he wiped the blood from his mouth that had come from hers with the back of his hand.

Aashiyana coughed so hard it made her body arch off the bed. She rolled onto her side and continued trying to breathe as Arthur rubbed her side gently. Her breathing was very vocal, very painful to hear. She rolled onto her back again and opened her eyes to look at them both. The ring of unnaturally bright green was thicker and brighter than ever. Arthur sighed and smiled a little, stroking her cheek. "There's a good girl," he said softly. Then, he lifted her up against him again and sat back against the bed frame as Alfred picked the bowl of orange pieces and handed them to Arthur.

"Get a cold cloth and bring it here, Alfred," said Arthur as he set the bowl against his leg. Aashiyana nuzzled close against him, desperate to feel his warmth, his power and his money as though she could somehow absorb it into her just by touching him. He could feel her desperation like a physical force and it hurt to feel it.

Alfred brought the cold cloth to Arthur and Arthur put it to Aashiyana's neck to cool her feverish blood. Carefully, Arthur put a piece of orange to her lips, nudging her mouth open with it. "Try it, Rani," he said softly. The word—"queen" in Hindi, spoken only by the Maharaja—seemed to startle her a little. Slowly, she accepted the piece given to her by Arthur. Arthur smiled gently and kissed her forehead. "Slowly," he said in Hindi, "Suck on it and chew it slowly. Citrus is best appreciated that way."

Slowly, ever so slowly, she ate the pieces of orange that Arthur fed her. In a way it was almost erotic how he brought up each piece to feed her and she accepted it, her tongue flicking out before she took the pieces into her mouth. It made Alfred's cheeks flush as he watched. "Should… should I leave you two alone?" asked Alfred.

Arthur didn't seem to hear him or register what he said. Arthur looked up at Alfred and asked. "What did you ask?" Alfred, embarrassed, looked off, though there was a small mischievous grin on his face. Arthur put the question and the look on Alfred's flushed face together and kicked Alfred on the shin. "You rotten bastard! Stop thinking thoughts like that!"

Alfred laughed and rubbed his shin a moment before moving away to the door. There, he leaned on the frame and watched them with a small smile on his face. Arthur took the wet towel from Aashiyana's neck and handed it to Alfred to refresh. When Alfred left the room, thunder rolled overhead. Arthur looked to the window, the dark clouds roiling above and lightning flashing quickly. The room looked dark from the cloud cover as rain pummeled the window. "Looks as though a storm has come up," he said softly, stroking Aashiyana's loosened hair, "But that's all right. I like the rain."

Another much louder crash of thunder made Aashiyana jump against Arthur. Alfred walked in then and closed the door, his face white as a ghost and his face fearful. Arthur eyed him with mild annoyance. "Don't be stupid, Alfred. You get worse weather back in your home than we do here."

"I know," said Alfred, getting some bearing on his fear. He laughed a little nervously as he sat down on the bed, handing the wetted cloth to Arthur. Arthur took it and put it around Aashiyana's neck carefully and held it in place. "That doesn't mean it makes it any easier to hear thunder, you know."

"You're such a child," Arthur chided. He was reminded of when Alfred was a little boy and would crawl into bed with him when the storms would come overhead. Now, Alfred was no longer a little boy, though sometimes he seemed to act like he still was.

"Am not," said Alfred. Another clap of thunder made Alfred jump again, putting a smug smirk on Arthur's face to prove Alfred wrong.

Aashiyana moved away from Arthur to sit up. Arthur pulled a blanket up and wrapped it around her shoulders as Alfred pushed the wet cloth back around Aashiyana's neck. "Hey, you have to keep this around your neck, Aashiyana," he said softly.

"Thank you," said Aashiyana softly, shivering just a bit from the chill of the room.

"Further west this sort of weather brings on tornados," said Alfred, "I've seen the damage and it's not pretty."

"Much… of my country is… prone to flooding," said Aashiyana softly.

"Yeah, we get that too," said Alfred, smiling at her.

Aashiyana pulled the cloth from her neck and the blanket from her shoulders to lay down. Arthur frowned faintly as he watched her. "Aashiyana?"

"I'll be fine," she said in a quiet voice, "I'm just… very tired… and a little cold."

Arthur lay down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He gazed gently into her eyes as he stroked her cheek. "Does this help?"

"A little."

Alfred, as if on cue, lay down behind Aashiyana and wrapped his arms around her as well, jumping again as thunder crashed overhead. He nuzzled into her hair, into the back of her neck, making her move a little between them both. Arthur glowered at Alfred, but looked away when he saw that Aashiyana's shivering had stopped. "That's better," she said. Another thunder clap made her twitch and whimper, however.

Slowly her body warmed with their combined heat. Arthur hummed softly various tunes to calm both Aashiyana and Alfred; tunes he had learned from his older brothers Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It seemed to calm them both as the storm moved overhead, the noises from the sky and the rain growing lighter and lighter. Arthur very gently rubbed Aashiyana on her stomach to soothe her as Alfred unhooked his spectacles from his ears and put them on the bedside table. Aashiyana took hold of one of their hands with each of her own and held them to her as she kissed their foreheads.

As Arthur watched, she seemed to be more drawn to Alfred than him, as though Alfred was more appealing to her. She sniffed at him, the smell of clean air and freshly turned earth, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and oiled leather was strong on Alfred. Even Arthur could smell it. Arthur, however, smelled more of cologne and pomade than anything else. For a moment he wondered if he washed all that off what he might smell like to Aashiyana. Would she be just as drawn to him as she seemed to be to Alfred?

Aashiyana turned toward Alfred, making Arthur suddenly feel left out. He leaned closer to her and nuzzled into the back of her neck, getting her attention. She turned slowly to face Arthur, her cheeks faintly flushed. Alfred stared at her, his cheeks becoming pinker as he watched her lay back against the pillow under their heads as though to take in the two of them and savor it.

She smiled faintly, knowingly, as though she knew she was creating a tension between the two men on either side of her. It was the sort of look that made both men feel as though a challenge were being set before them. "And what is so amusing, Aashiyana?" asked Arthur, eyeing her with more heat than he held before.

"She's probably smiling because she's managed to keep me in the room," said Alfred, smirking at Arthur, "But then, of course, I'm special."

"Only in your own head," said Arthur, snorting in derision.

Aashiyana chuckled softly at their bantering. "I am enjoying both of you, actually. To tell the truth, I am enjoying you both a lot. You both hold very calming scents to me."

"Do I?" asked Arthur.

"Yes. I never lie." Then, Aashiyana smiled at him in a very gentle way. "Unfortunately, you cover it with cologne and pomade, but it is still calming."

"I'm glad my smell is so calming to you," said Alfred, grinning broadly at her.

"How are you feeling?" asked Arthur; carefully, he stroked her cheek as though afraid she might break at more contact.

"As well as can be expected," she said in a softer, lower voice. It sent a strange sensation into Arthur, making his heart beat just a little quicker. Slowly, he brought his hand down over her neck; his fingers trailed over her skin until he slowly rubbed her stomach again. She smiled at him again and Arthur felt his cheeks heat. In response, she writhed just a little between them, the motions slow, deliberate, like water flowing over rocks. Alfred looked at her with fascination as Arthur leaned in and kissed her, losing just a little of his gentility. Her mouth opened to him and he could still taste the sharp, tangy taste of the orange in her inviting mouth. Arthur groaned low in his throat as he ran his tongue languidly against hers.

Aashiyana gripped Alfred's hand and held him in place as Arthur felt him start to leave them alone. Arthur, for a moment, started to pull away, but she pulled him back as well. Her kiss was mind-blowing, the smell of her intoxicating. It was like the night in India when he was trying to get to sleep, but couldn't. Instead of oppressing heat from the weather, he had a slowly burning heat on one side of him that seemed to want the pair of them to make even more heat for her.

"You should rest, Aashiyana," said Arthur, his breath warm against her lips.

"You don't want me to rest," said Aashiyana, her eyes glowing to life. Again, Arthur kissed her with even less gentility than he had before, growing more possessive as he moved his tongue against hers.

Alfred moved closer to Aashiyana's ear and whispered, "I'll just leave you two alone." Arthur waved his hand dismissively at Alfred, but barely acknowledged his presence. Aashiyana, once again, pulled Alfred closer. Alfred, as though drawn to her as though she were a fire, slowly leaned into her and kissed her shoulder, pulling the chemise from her to reveal more of her skin to him as he peppered kisses to her neck and ear. Aashiyana moaned softly and arched between them; her hands coming up to snake into each man's hair and grip it with a gentle force.

Arthur's hand came up under her chemise and pushed the garment up to her breasts. He cupped one of her breasts and rubbed it, teasing the peak of it with his thumb. Alfred nipped her earlobe and suckled at it, he kissed and swirled his tongue against her neck just under the ear. His hand moved to her hip and slid over her rear where he rubbed and fondled her in slow, deliberate motions. Aashiyana moaned in approval, panting softly as she arched again.

Arthur moved his lips over her neck, suckling at her skin as he made his way to the breast he had been teasing and replaced his thumb with his mouth. The grip in his hair grew stronger as she breathed a little heavier, her heart thumping a bit harder in her chest. Alfred turned her face toward him and kissed her. His kiss was less possessive than Arthur's; like his hand on her rear his tongue moved against hers in ways that elicited more heat from her body. Alfred groaned as Aashiyana responded with more enthusiasm, though that might have been because Arthur was teasing her between her legs with his fingers as he occupied his mouth with her breasts.

Arthur flicked a sharp look at Alfred as Alfred's much bigger body seemed to pull Aashiyana toward him, though her hips moved against Arthur's hand as he continued to rub her. He pressed his fingers into her, feeling her heat even more, and thrust his fingers slowly as he watched her writhe. She was his and there was nothing—not even if Alfred pleased her more than Arthur—that would change it!

Alfred's free hand moved from her rear, up her side to her breast where he rubbed her and made her arch into him and rub against him. Aashiyana broke away from Alfred's mouth to gasp softly as Arthur pumped his fingers a bit deeper into her. She looked drunk on sensation. It was a beautiful expression on her face. It was a deeply erotic expression that made his blood feel like it was on fire just looking at her. "Do you like that, Rani?" he asked. Alfred, meanwhile, suckled at the vein her in neck, his eyes closed as he too looked drunk on the sensations of being near Aashiyana.

Aashiyana practically purred as she gazed up at him with those strange eyes of hers that sucked him in and never seemed to let go of him. "Yes, my Maharaja," said she as she pressed her hips more into his teasing hand, moaning again.

Arthur pulled her undergarments from her one piece at a time as Alfred gently bit her on the curve of her shoulder and neck. She cried out softly in approval and pressed her rear against him. He groaned loudly and rubbed himself against her, her body taut and trembling, needy. Arthur pulled his shirt off and his suspenders, his trousers following closely and settled back in front of Aashiyana as Alfred pulled away finally to do similar. Aashiyana quickly moved more toward Arthur and kissed him hungrily, groaning loudly. Alfred laid back behind her and groaned as she rubbed against him with her rear once more, this time feeling fully the effect she had on Alfred. In response Alfred bit the back of her neck and pressed his hips against her, making Aashiyana cry out loud enough that the maids listening at the door jumped back and fanned themselves.

Arthur growled loudly, possessively, as he pressed a leg between hers. She thrust her hips on him, desperate for him, her eyes half-lidded as she looked to him for more. He pressed himself into her heat and groaned loudly as he thrust into her, watching her need grow with each motion he made. For a few moments she seemed to forget Alfred was even present as she clung to Arthur as he kept a fair pace with her, his eyes molten green. "Do you like that, Rani?" he asked in Hindi.

Aashiyana cried out louder, gripping herself to Arthur, her nails biting into his back. Alfred reached down and pulled her leg up off of Arthur's hip and pushed it up a bit to change the angle for her. The resulting cry from Aashiyana was beautiful, Arthur taking the leg and lifting it further as he thrust faster into her. Alfred then moved back to her neck and bit her gently again, making her moan and whine alternately.

Arthur noted dimly that she looked a bit uncomfortable with the angle so he dropped her leg and pulled her legs around his hips so he was closer against her as he quickened his pace a bit more, gripping her hair at the back of her head; remembering how she begged him for such passionate treatment. Alfred, uncertain of how to enter into this strange situation, kept himself busy with licking her skin at her neck, feeling her quick pulse, and then moving down over her shoulder. He kissed her waist which was bruising from the corset, and flicked his tongue there as though to make it better with just him doing that.

"Do you like that, Rani?" he asked again, his voice as hot as his eyes.

Aashiyana gasped and dug her nails more into his back, nodding a bit against the restraining, possessive lock his hand held in her hair. "Yes! Yes! Please! I need more!" she begged. Not wanting to disappoint her, Arthur moved savagely into her body, making her voice echo off the walls with how loud her cries were.

Arthur spoke in Hindi once again, his tone as aggressive as his words. "You're mine, Rani. I'm your Raja and you belong to me!"

Alfred watched, but even though he was simply watching the intensity of the pair's coupling was so much that Alfred felt he was a part of it no less; his heart in his throat and throbbing as he watched the marks where Arthur's teeth made contact with her skin, her nails draw blood from Arthur's skin. Then, all at once, Aashiyana screamed. Her body jerked slightly against Arthur as he let out a loud growl, following her into ecstasy. As if Aashiyana weren't close enough to him to be satisfactory, Arthur pulled her closer against his body and held her there as they slowed down together.

Dimly, Arthur was aware of Alfred's presence still behind Aashiyana, still sporting a very stiff manhood, and still looking very left out. It served him right, the ungrateful child! Aashiyana was his and America was not going to get a hand on her any time soon. Alfred stood up away from Aashiyana as Arthur nuzzled into her ear. Arthur watched as Alfred attempted to calm himself enough to get dressed. Arthur wanted to laugh at the poor fellow, but felt the damage done was enough.

When Alfred left, whistling cheerfully as always, Arthur grumbled finally as he voiced what he had been keeping in. "I wonder why that idiot stuck around."

"Is it that troubling?" asked Aashiyana softly, her eyes drowsy.

Arthur's cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red as he looked away from Aashiyana's gaze. "As long as he doesn't try to have a go with you again," he said, mumbling almost, "I expect he learned some foul habits from that idiot France." Of course, there was also the fact that Alfred also had over forty women in his State Girls to please and practice with as well, but Arthur didn't mention it.

Alfred was a whore by occupation, because he made a promise to the original Colony Girls that if they would not fight over him he would do whatever they wanted of him; which carried on to the states that got added to the union. Francis, meanwhile, was a whore because he simply loved having sex with anything pretty and pliable, be it man or woman, though he seemed to very strongly to gravitate toward the fairer sex. He wasn't always so. Arthur could remember Francis Bonnefoy used to be less prone toward such behavior. When Jeanne died Arthur knew something had broken inside Francis' heart and later there was that man, the Marquis de Sade that Francis tended to keep time with.

Aashiyana looked drowsily at Arthur, bringing a small smile from his face. "I need to remember to keep my head about me when I'm with you. You can't afford to have many other bouts of passion like this with me. Not in the shape you are in."

"It is twice you have lain with me," said Aashiyana, her voice thick. She yawned and covered her mouth.

"Yes, and you looked positively awful before. You're getting so thin," said Arthur, shaking his head, "The famine is leeching from you so very quickly; ever so much as it does your people."

"I know," said Aashiyana softly, "It is not my first famine. However, even I need a distraction. I need to feel the way you make me feel so that I may continue to feel strong and not let the weariness overtake me." Arthur moved closer and kissed her gently as she chuckled.

"What?"

"It was just a thought," said Aashiyana. She looked to his quirked thick eyebrow and chuckled, her smile impish. "If you are so afraid of harming me with your attention," said Aashiyana as she ran her fingers over his lips in a very suggestive fashion, her voice dropping even more, "There are other ways you may bow down and worship this Rani."

Arthur smirked a bit. "Indeed there are," he said against her fingers. She chuckled again and leaned closer to him, kissing him. Soon Aashiyana fell asleep in Arthur's arms, snuggled against his warm body. As he started to drift off he heard a small gasp from down the hallway where one of the guest rooms was. Alfred had picked off little Olivia and was making her gasp and tremble as his mouth pleased her under her skirt. Arthur sighed and shook his head, nuzzling into his India until sleep overcame him as well.