Okay... this would have been up long ago, but I got kinda lazy :P (not the first time...) That, and my sister's computer was giving her trouble. She's my 'editer' I guess you could call it and threatened me. Nah XD she just wants me to say a thanks in my A/N, so thanks Sissy ^^
Anyway... this chapter also only seems to be more of a filler/some-what-plot-development chapter.
But enough for now, my end A/N will say more XP
"When was the last time anyone seen him?" The king asked, looking at Francis, who had come to him about the prince's disappearance.
Clearing his throat the foreign man stiffen under the older man's gaze. It wasn't that it was a harsh or intimidating gaze by any means, it was just that Francis didn't see why he had to be the one to tell the king his only son and heir to the throne seemed to be missing. Along with Roderich. The reason he even had to was because Roderich was gone and Vash (a former mercenary who now worked for the king as a knight mainly), Bella (the chief maid), Heracles, and himself had fought over who would inform him that nobody had seen the prince and his adviser in almost two days. In a battle of rock-paper-scissors Francis had been the loser. He should have known, he never won.
"Well..." The steward began, "I remember seeing him the day before yesterday at supper. He was eating more of those bland and terrible hamburgers... but anyway, nobody saw him yesterday, and nobody has seen him today either. Nor have they seen Roderich."
Letting a sigh escape his lips, the king hid his face in his hand, "That boy... what am I to do with him? I know he does not wish to be king... but it is his obligation, his responsibility!"
Francis nodded, "I know. What shall you have us do?"
The king looked up and looked at Francis. To Francis, he looked far older than his fifty-three years.
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"So... where is it you got your training or whatever to be a wizard?" Alfred asked, sitting with the other under a tree, watching the sun sink into the sky slowly.
"Oh no. It's your turn to share something personal Mr. Mercenary." Arthur shot back, but a smile was plastered on his face none the less.
Right. Arthur was the last to share, wasn't he? Damn. What was he supposed to tell him? What would honestly count as interesting information other then the fact that he was the crowned prince and he didn't wish to be king so he was going to find his long lost twin to be king, but he already decided he wasn't telling him that part. "Like what?" He asked.
Arthur frown and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the tree, "I don't bloody know. Why were you staring into my eyes when we first meet, git?"
"You were staring into mine too!" Alfred cried, suddenly filled with memories of his mother again. Her smell, like roses and coffee grounds. Her hair, like strands of gold in color, but as soft as silk that they traded with the east for.
"But I asked you first wanker, now answer!" Arthur demanded, now looking at him with a slightly angry expression.
Alfred sighed. It was no use arguing it would only further enrage Arthur. Closing his eyes he said, "The color of your eyes brought back a memory of my mother."
The angry male's face softened and his bushy brows lifted up slightly in surprise, "What?"
"The color. Like a flawless emerald. It reminded me of this one on one of my mother's necklaces..." Alfred told him honestly. A pain suddenly tugged at his heart. He missed his mother a lot. Even if he acted like he didn't. Even if he had been a strong boy for his father. He missed his mother tucking him in, kissing his forehead before she left his room.
Arthur, who was blushing a bright pink due to the way he had described his eyes, jumped a little when a drop of clear liquid rolled down from Alfred's eye. Was he... crying? No. If had to just be water that dropped down from the tree above them. Yes, that had to be it.
Looking down, he broke the silence they had fallen into, "They took me from my home. These wizards. When my father found out what I was he called for them. He didn't want me there anymore."
"Huh?" Alfred asked, opening his eyes and looking at him, "What are you-"
"Just shut your trap. I'm answering your damn question." Arthur snapped, but his cheeks were pink from the topic. He obviously found it embarrassing to talk about.
Alfred found himself smiling and wiping the tear he just realised had fallen, hoping Arthur didn't see it, "Alright. Shoot."
Arthur's eyes fell shut, "Well... I might as well tell you the whole story. It all started one day when I was with one of my brothers..."
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On a windy summer's day ten year old Arthur was walking down the road that lead from their farm into town with his brother, Allistar, and the family dog.
Allistar was the oldest of Arthur's three brothers. They had similar eyes, but while Arthur's hair was blonde and sunny, Allistar had wild flame color hair. Their father was very proud of how well he had come to handle his sword. He even started ignoring the fact that his son snuck bottles out of his liquor cabinet and drunk it down in the fields with Arthur's other two brothers.
"So, what were ya thinking, not closin' the gate to the sheep pen wee lad?" Allistar laughed as he walked down the hill with his brother, going to help him fix his latest blunder.
"Oh, shut it! I didn't mean too... I-I just forgot to latch it..." Arthur admitted, on the verge of tears. His father would surely scold him again, maybe make him go without supper.
The red head ruffled his hair, "Ah, don't worry brother! That's what I'm here for."
Arthur looked up at him, "So... you won't tell Daddy... right?"
"Aye laddie. I'll take the blame if it comes to that."
"Y-you will?"
The elder brother just smiled down at the younger and ruffled his hair.
Since their mother had become very sick due to being with child the whole family seemed to do a one eighty. The most notable difference was how Allistar acted towards his brothers (mainly Arthur). He never used to take his role as the eldest sibling very seriously, but with how protective and caring he was now, you wouldn't know if he'd been born with this need to care and protect his brothers (instead of the need to pick on them relentlessly.)
After walking down for what seemed like ever they found the flock of sheep huddled on the side of the road. Laughing slightly, Allistar sent the large, shaggy sheep dog to go do his job and herd them back to the farm.
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"Wait, wait... what does sheep have to do with your training as a wizard?" Alfred asked, tilting his head to the side.
Arthur glared at him, "I thought I told you to shut your trap. Do you want to hear the story or not?"
"Fine, I'll be quiet..." Alfred pouted.
Trying to fight smiling at his childishness, Arthur continued, "Well, that night after we got the sheep back in their pen..."
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Arthur's father, a tall man with hair similar hair to Allistar, entered the house. There was a blank look on his face.
"Something the matter father?" Allistar asked, continuing to cook. Some days their mother was too ill to do much, so he had taken to cooking the meals, being the oldest and all. He wasn't the best cook but sadly he was better than the other three.
Their father shook his head, moving at sit at the table, "One of the sheep just died. It was perfectly healthily yesterday. The only thing I can think of is that is must have eaten something harmful... but where would it get something like that?"
Arthur, whom was listening from the other room, froze.
"Well, if it was just one wee sheep-"
"But it isn't just one, another two are sick that I know of. How could this have happened? We cannot afford this..." The man sighed and let his head fall on the table, his hand resting on his head.
Damn it. Why was he always messing up? Arthur wondered this as he snuck out to the door, exiting as quietly as possible before running off to the sheep pen.
The sky was golden and pink already. It was the harvest season, the time the leaves on the trees turn the bright colors of vibrant painting. The chilly air seeped through his clothes and nipped at his small body. Soon they would need to harvest the crop, for it would not be long until the first frost.
He stopped at the wooden fence and stepped up on it to look in.
He couldn't see any dead sheep among the huge pile of fluff the was the flock, but he did see one sheep lying on the ground. Sure, a couple others were too, but this one was flat out on it's side, a small trail of blood leaking out of it's nose.
Needless to say, being as young as he was, Arthur was horrified. He let go of the fence and fell back onto the ground. As quick as he could he scurried to his feet before starting to run back to the house. Half way there he stopped.
This was his fault. He had to fix it.
First he took a deep breath to calm himself. Then he turned and walked back to the pen.
Once there he climbed over the fence. He walked slowly over to the sheep, guilt quickly overwhelmed him, causing him to run over and kneel over the sheep. He held out his small hands on the sheep's wooly body.
"I... I'm going to help you..." he whispered to the sheep. A warm, green light glowed around his hands as he did his best to try and heal the fluffy animal.
Arthur had discovered his powers by accident one day, and had been secretly practicing. Mostly so he would be able to hide it.
Healing, though, he read about and practiced a lot. He figured with all the trouble his brother's got in it would come in handy. Then went his mother got sick, he began sneaking into her room and healing her while she slept. In fact, he was convinced it was the only reason she was still alive.
However, giving his mother strength and bringing this sheep back were two entirely different things. Healing his mother, believe it or not, took less or his 'magic'. Bringing something back from deaths door seemed to be taking more than he ever remembered using before. By the time the sheep got up and ran off his whole body was shaking. He paid no mind to it as he got up and looked for the other sheep. He found it, this one only kneeling down. Only a little drop of blood leaked from his nose.
Breathing a little uneasily, he laid his hands on it and did the same as he did to the other sheep.
While this one was easier to heal and took a lot less 'magic' he was still dizzy by the time the sheep got up. His breath was labored and he fell onto his hands and knees. His body felt sickly hot, his vision blurred, and his head was spinning.
He emptied his stomach before falling over and blacking out.
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"Okay, I don't want to hear anymore..." Alfred told him, looking at the ground, his brow frowning.
"What? Why?" Arthur asked.
"I... I'm just tired. Okay?" He sounded a tad more defensive then he would have liked.
Arthur just shook his head and leaned back against the tree. "Whatever..." He replied, closing his eyes.
Alfred pouted slightly. How on earth did he make Arthur mad at him now? All he did was say he didn't want to here anymore of the story! Then again... he did ask. And the topic was obviously painful for Arthur.
And yet he was going to tell him about it anyway...
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Alfred was the first to wake the next morning. He was about to stretch when he felt a weight on his arm. Looking over he spotted the smaller male leaning on him. They had both fallen asleep against the tree, so he didn't think anything of it. He must have simply fell against him in his sleep. A small smile worked onto his face as he watched him sleep. He looked peaceful for once.
For some reason that made him happy.
Just then his good mood was ruined when a shrill sound filled the air, making him raise his hand to his ear (he didn't bother to move the arm Arthur was on.)
The sound caused Arthur to wake up, cupping his ears with his hands, "Bloody hell-?
They both jumped when a large spider creature emerged from the trees, knocking over a few small ones in the process.
Running purely on instinct Alfred drew his sword after staggering to his feet.
"You twat! You'll get yourself killed!" Arthur cried, not knowing what to do. If he had his magic this wouldn't have even fazed him. God how he hated feeling helpless!
"Just run out into the water! The spiders won't do out there, they'll drown!" Alfred told him, running at one of the spiders and swinging his sword, chopping one of it's legs off, causing it to shriek and try to attack him, only for Alfred to jump over to the side out of the way of it's hit.
Arthur bit his lip but did as he was told. He ran over to the river, walking out into it, fighting hard against the current and making his way over to a large rock which he threw himself onto. Kneeling on it he twisted around to look back to see Alfred chop a spider in half before turning and sticking his sword into another.
Relief filled Arthur before he reminded himself that the other was mercenary, there was never any need to doubt that he could take care of these monstrous spiders.
Alfred was covered in their blue blood by the time they were all dead. He sheathed his sword before walking over through the water to the rock Arthur was kneeling on, reaching out a hand out to him, "Come on, we've got to get going."
Arthur actually shivered. It was kinda creepy to see Alfred this 'in control'. But at the same time, it was kind of a turn on. Not that he would admit it.
The wizard grabbed his hand and allowed him to lead him back to land where they continued on their way.
"Are you hurt?" Arthur asked him as they followed the river once again.
Alfred grinned, clearly back to his old self, "Nah, I'm fine! By the way..." He stepped in front of the other, stopping, "What are we going to do about your wounds? They aren't looking any better..."
Arthur, whom was forced to stop walking, groaned, "Thanks... and I don't know. I'm just so use to just healing myself..."
"Then let's work on removing that seal on your powers!"
"Have you forgotten you're already on a quest? On you have limited time for?" Arthur reminded him, giving him a questioning look.
"So? I'm a hero, I can't turn down helping you! Plus, I still don't even know where he is. I know where he was taken when the king had him sent away... but I don't even know if he'll be there." Alfred told him.
The wizard shook his head and rubbed his temples, "So.. Why are you going to Italia if you don't know if he's there?"
Alfred just shrugged, "I honestly didn't know where else to start."
Sighing, Arthur crossed his arms, "Well, I guess if you helped me remove the seal... I can perform a ritual to locate him for you. That is, if you don't mind using a little magic."
"Dude! That would be sick! You would actually do that?"
Arthur laughed a little, "I'll take that as we have an agreement?"
"Totally!"
Well, it seems the two finally make an agreement XD Seems he finally has a way to find his brother, but how will he break the seal? And will his father go to drastic measures to find his missing son and adviser? and where in the world is Roddy?
To find out, you'll just have to read the next chapter XD
Oh, and on another note, my fav Hetalia character was supposed to appear in the end of this chapter. However, I added the flashback to Arthur's past, and it got to the point in which this is the longest chapter so far. Honestly, I prefer a lot of short chapters then a short amount of long chapters. Not sure why :P Anyway, as payment for the two slow progress chapters I'll write the first person to guess my favorite character a one shot of their request (unless you can't stand my bad writing, then I guess I'll spare you XD). Just message me or leave it in a review or whatever :)
Oh, and cookies again to all those who have writen a review, favorited this story, or even just read it. I love you all ^^