I has returned! *7*

Okay two week break over, next two or three chapters will have to be in succession and I've got more time now so expect this to keep going just like before

I didn't actually realize how many chapters this would be, maybe I should split this up into 2 stories or something I dunno

Anyways! Back to story time :3

/One does not simply own Hetalia/

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Chapter 4: Beginning of Hope

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The tower was grand; every hallway was decorated with intricate art work of all shapes and sizes. Many objects that had been accumulated over generations lined the halls, holding great importance in both public and sentimental value. And yet, the ones to witness such beauties were mostly just the guards and servants who called this place home. Only one master stayed in this house, a master who had been content with his unchanging surroundings for a large span of his lifetime. Although now he had decided to open his home to a special guest, a new friend who he designated to stay by his side, and care to his daily personal wishes.

"Is this really necessary?" The new servant stood scowling at his employer. Ludwig felt humiliated, sure this was better than rags but what he was wearing could barely fit the description of a uniform.

"Ve! It's perfect~!" The childish man beamed with glee. He was so much more bubbly and enthusiastic than anyone of his importance should be; it was almost like he was doing it on purpose.

Ludwig sighed for the thousandth time that day. Of course he was happy to be out of the prison, and he was blessed to be given the chance to be so much closer to his goal, but putting up with this patronising idiot was almost unbearable. He had been transported by guards, given a room to stay in for the night and was fed a hearty meal in the morning, but after that he has been at the mercy of the prince's demands.

And he knew this was no-where near the end.

"Let's see, we've got you cleaned up, given you some new clothes, did you like your breakfast?"

Ludwig glanced at the guards whom had their weapons at the ready. He had already been 'disciplined' several times that day for his tone of speaking alone. "It was… good, very good."

"I'm glad!"

Sure you are

"Okay, now all that's left before you start work is to show you around! I can have some guards show you, that way I'm sure you'll make friends quickly." His voice was so squeaky and peppy; it really twisted the blonde the wrong way.

"Yeah, sure, what ever you say." He tried so hard not to sound bored or irritated but he still got glares from the others in the room. Whatever they do to him he refused to respect this man.

With a simple wave of his hand two guards stepped forward for the Prince. "Please show him and teach him to the best of your abilities." He turned to face his new servant with a smile plastered on his face. "I hope you enjoy it, come and see me again when you're ready to start working." The Prince began to return to his quarters, a cue for his staff to get back to their duties. But as the two guards started walking away the Prince seemed to remember something and called back to him. "Oh yeah! What's your name?"

The blonde was surprised but looked back anyway. "It's Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt." Shouldn't this guy have found this out before hiring him?

Either way the Prince sure seemed happy about it. "Ludwig huh? That sounds strong, I like it~" He smiled, such a soft and genuine look in his eyes. "I'm Feliciano. I'll wait for you, okay?"

And with that the prince left, skipping back to his quarters and leaving only Ludwig and his 'escorts' in the hall. It was all… very weird. There was a noise behind Ludwig and he turned back seeing the guards looking back briefly as if telling Ludwig to follow or get lost. He scowled once more, but followed for now. Just as he got to the door he glanced back in time to see large gate like doors shut behind the man dressed in white.

Ludwig couldn't help but wonder: why did he purposely put himself where no-one else can see? He quickly shook his head and corrected himself. This man stood himself out for a reason. He hid himself where no-one else could reach him, until now at least.

Ludwig allowed himself a small smile.

Soon the oh-so-benevolent prince would regret his cocky attitude, and trusting others so easily.

...…...

The only way to describe the tour around the tower was… awkward.

The other servants didn't seem to mind too much – or rather didn't know – where he had come from. The guards on the other hand seemed less than happy for Ludwig to be there, some more enthusiastic in their opinion than others. The feeling was very much mutual, so he felt perfectly fine ignoring his presumptuous overseers. The two guards escorting him told minimal information while expressing minimal interest in doing so; however Ludwig wasn't listening anyway. He was already formulating his plan out of his new surroundings. He had started making a mental map of the place that he would memorise over the day. When they came to the end, the guards did little more than dismiss him before returning to their duties.

Ludwig decided to take his boss up on his offer to take his time before going back.

He decided explore more, without the authoritative chatter in his ear, and reviewed the layout of his surroundings. Many of the rooms were unnecessary, and he doubted even the Prince himself ever used them for anything. His thoughts became a jealous clutter and he started mumbling things such as not working for what he has and not knowing the pain of those outside.

Eventually he accidentally came across someone he regretted to meet.

The captain of the guards.

With a small gasp Ludwig tried to back up the stairs he had been going down but it was obviously too late, both him and the three guards before him stopped when their eyes met. He recognised him; the captain was the one that protested the Prince from 'concerning himself' with him. Most likely the guards at his sides giving him looks of disgust were familiar with the tale. "Oh, so you still ended up as his lackey eh?" From his tone of voice the guard was obviously as pleased to see him there as he was. "Well just don't go poisoning our food with your rotten street mouth alright; even the servants here have standards higher than you."

Despite an all too familiar anger building up inside of him, for the sake of his goal Ludwig remained calm. "I assure you, I will do anything and everything to serve at the best of my ability."

"Hmph. Well, I guess we at least can't count on you to start an uprising. I might as well give you a tip if you really are going to be staying here." He motioned for the other guards to carry on and made sure he was speaking with him in privacy. "You're going to be the lordship's personal servant right?" With a quick nod of the Captain's expression turned to a more bored, casual one. "If I was in your position, I really wouldn't bother even trying to do it."

"What?"

"Seriously, the Prince can be demanding, but he won't be able to kill you if you just don't show up. He'll probably find a replacement in no time, so you're being here is pretty much unnecessary."

"You seem to know him well, but what makes you so sympathetic of me? Do you have some sort of grudge against him?"

He shrugged "The Prince doesn't show himself to the public eye. All he does is spend leisurely time doing whatever he wants, giving orders from behind a silk curtain. It's up to people like you and me to take care of things around here and do all the dirty work. You might as well do whatever you want, like say, leave at any time."

Ludwig gave him a sceptical look. It was growing more and more obvious that this man was not in favour of Ludwig's stay. "I thought a guard's only job was to protect and serve, not advise against his master."

"You thought wrong." The Captain left without another word. Ludwig looked at him curiously.

Something was definitely going on here.

...…...

At first glance everything seemed so different from what he had expected. The Prince acted strangely around all of his staff, shameless even, and his captain of the guards seemed to have no respect for him. He simply couldn't shake this weird feeling he got every time he remembered the Captain's words.

Ludwig shook his head once more. Of course his guard would say that, any man with common decency wouldn't want someone to work for that cold hearted bastard. He could envision it now, the Prince wasting his time while ordering his guards to do unspeakable things behind closed doors. Ludwig knew he was right to think these things. He knew because he had lived it, seen it, witnessed it with his own eyes. Despite the Captain's words he wouldn't back down now. If all was to go as planned he had to get on his new master's good side, at least so that he wouldn't suspect anything. If there was one thing Ludwig was sure about for now; it was that he couldn't trust anyone.

And so he continued searching the palace, pinpointing the exact places he would want to come back to later. He returned to his master's chamber just as the sun was setting. The large wooden doors opened with slight difficulty and Ludwig slowly and regretfully entered the room where his new life would start.

He had pictured it to be a little more dramatic.

As soon as he walked in not only was the room filled with useless things strewn about across the floor and tables, but the owner resembled them quite well. The young Prince was lying across his messy bed, limbs falling off at both sides, with a weird sleepy smile across his face. Ludwig couldn't believe his eyes. This was the man who ruled all from above? This was the idol of hundreds of thousands, making fate-changing decisions behind closed doors? He had expected the lazy part but this was just plain juvenile.

"Good grief." Ludwig sighed as he began his chores of cleaning up someone else's mess.

Ugh, I read back over the chapters and realized I've been using commas weirdly, I'll try to get out of that habit but it's going to be tough, so after I finish the story (which might be quite a while) I'm gonna go back and redo all the chapters to hide my shame

Anyways! Hope you all liked Ludwig's first day in his personal hell, just how long will he stay there? And what could he be planning? Who knows~