AN: It's been a while but finally here is the next chapter. Thank you for following this story and reviewing! I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter and have an awesome day!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Alfred frowned as he reached out into the sunlight shining through the window shutters. Quickly he pulled his hand back as the sunlight scorched his hand. The beams left lines of burns where it touched his skin. He gritted his teeth at the pain but it went away quickly as the wound healed before his eyes.

"No matter how many times you try the sun will burn you every time." Arthur called out from his chair as he flipped through his book casually.

"I wanna head outside." Alfred whined.

"'Want to'," Arthur corrected. "You can head out when the sun goes down. Just like yesterday and the day before. Now sit down and drink your tea." He gestured towards the chair next to him.

"I'm not a big fan of tea." Alfred muttered defiantly but still sat down. It didn't take long for him to start fidgeting in his seat. Drumming his fingers, shifting his position, sighing over and over again, until finally...

"Will you stop it?" Arthur snapped.

"But I'm bored!" Alfred groaned as he slumped in his seat.

Sighing Arthur closed his book and frowned at Alfred. "Then find something to do besides irritating me."

After a moment of silence Alfred stated; "Maybe I should get a hobby."

"Maybe you should."

"...got any ideas?"

"Read."

"That's boring."

"It's good for you."

The bickering went on for hours until Arthur suddenly put an end to it. "Look, I have better things to do than entertain you," He scowled, slammed his book shut, and glared at the young vampire. "It's sun set now. Head out, explore, find something to entertain yourself with."

Alfred pouted as he watched Arthur reopen his book and continue reading. Sighing Alfred stood up and walked out the door. "Have fun, poppet. Don't stray to far." Arthur called out to him. He rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him. A low fog covered the grave yard and the air carried the sent of autumn. As the seasons changed the world grew colder but for Alfred it didn't matter. Now that he was dead it was like he was frozen in time as everything changed around him. He could feel the crisp cold of the air on his skin but the cold didn't register with him.

He scanned the surroundings listening to every little sound that reached his ears. The sky turned crimson and grew dark as the sun sunk bellow the horizon. Alfred pouted as he thought about what to do with his free time. It's been a week since he last fed on his own and Arthur has been sharing his meals with him. The unnatural desire to kill was still there, taking the form of dark whispers that urged him to feed, but they mostly quiet as long as he fed.

Finally he made his choice and set out into the woods. He has always been a restless child with an urge to explore. Now this was his chance to explore the surroundings of Monte. He has to admit that he was excited to see more than just the village and the graveyard.

The forest was peaceful and filled with the musical sounds of the wilderness. The twigs and dead leaves crackled underneath his feet with each step. As he walked, Alfred watched the sleeping trees sway in the gentle breeze. It was relaxing, peaceful, quiet, and it wasn't long till Alfred started to get restless. The forest was exciting at first but the sight of tree after tree began to wear off quickly.

He sighed as he kicked a rock across the ground and thought about heading back to the house. "Entertain yourself, he says," Alfred pouted. "It would be easier if I wasn't stuck in this village," He gave the rock a hard kick and watched it fly through the bushes. The sound of the stone hitting metal made Alfred raise an eyebrow. "What was that?" He wondered.

Alfred pushed the bushes aside and saw that hidden among the bushes was a ruined metal fence. It was in pieces, utterly destroyed by the elements. He eyed the bits and pieces of the fence and realized that it once bordered a path. When he pushed the moss and veins with his foot it revealed a broken up cobblestone path. Looking towards the left it seemed that it headed back towards the village. "So that means...," Alfred smiled and looked right. "I should head right. There has to be something at the end of this trail." He kept his eyes on the ground and occasionally had to stop to brush aside plant life.

The sound of rushing water reached his ears and grew louder as he made his way down the trail. Alfred struggled to push past some over grown bushes that were blocking the path but when he finally made his way through he found himself in a clearing. The clearing was beautiful and would probably look better if it was summer. A short cliff wrapped half way around the edge of the open space and bordered a pond that covered most of the clearing. A steam, probably coming down from the surrounding mountains, reached the edge of the cliff and tumbled down into the pound. Moonlight reflected off the surface of the water causing it to sparkle and shine.

"Wow," Alfred whispered. He approached the edge of the pond and sat down on its shore. "This is beautiful." He sat in awe at the beautiful scenery. After a moment of admiring the scenery Alfred debated about what he would do next. He was just about to leave when he noticed something in the water.

Alfred waded out to near the center of the pond and looked at it's surface. Underneath the water was a metal object shining up at him. Reaching into the icy water Alfred grabbed the object and pulled it out of the muddy lake bed. It was a bronze box with strange engravings on it. He looked at it curiously as he made his way back towards the shore. Alfred sat back down in is spot and looked it over. It looked like the outside could move in many different ways. Even circular ring on the sides could move inside their slots. The object was complicated and Alfred was having a hard time just trying to figure out how it's suppose to move.

"You found it." A voice agreed. Alfred jumped and looked to his left. Sitting right next to him was a woman with long soft wavy brown hair and shinning green eyes. She was beautiful, fair, and looked at him with a warm smile.

"Holy-!" Alfred tried to stand up but stumbled and fell into the pond.

The woman giggled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Y-You didn't scare me," Alfred defended. "I was just startled."

"Oh, of course," She teased. "I'm sorry that I startled you."

"Who are you anyways?" He asked.

"I'm Elizabeta. I live here... sort of."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "You live here?"

"Mhm."

Alfred looked at the box in his hand. "You said that this was yours?"

Elizabeta nodded. "Yes. It's a special box."

"Can it be opened?" He eyed the edges looking for some signs of an entrance.

"Well, yes. It takes a bit, though. It's a tough puzzle." She smiled as she watched Alfred fiddle with the box.

"Why is it so hard to figure out." Alfred scowled. "I can't figure out what these markings mean either. Are they words?"

Elizabeta blinked. "You can see the markings," She stared at him in thought before continuing. "You should keep it."

Alfred looked at her with a small smile on his face. "Can I?"

"Sure. You look bored anyways. Maybe figuring this out can keep you entertained." She smiled at him as he looked at the box gleefully.

"Are you sure you don't want it?" He looked at her cautiously secretly hoping she will say yes. Alfred desperately needed something to distract himself while he was at the house.

Elizabeta nodded. "I'm sure, just promise me you will keep it safe," Alfred nodded in agreement. She sighed in relief then gazed down at the water with sad eyes. "Besides, I can't even use it or else I would keep it."

"Why can't you use it?" Alfred asked the question but he kept his eyes on the box as he messed with it.

"Well," Elizabeta smiled sadly. "It's hard to use it when you're dead."

Alfred froze. "W-What?" He stuttered and his eyes widened. He slowly looked toward Elizabeta only to find that she had vanished. His quickly looked around the clearing hoping that it was just a prank but he saw no sign of her. Shaking he stumbled to his feet and ran as fast as he could down the trail. He ran until he finally reached the familiar graveyard and saw the house.

"Arthur!" He shouted as he burst through the door.

Arthur stared at Alfred from his seat, surprised at Alfred's outburst. "What is it, poppet?"

" I-I. She. It. I. By the pond." Alfred panted.

"Are you alright," Arthur looked at him with worry. "Did something happen? Why are you soaked?" he added eyeing Alfred's wet clothes.

"I-I." Alfred held out the bronze box to Arthur as he tried to catch his breath.

"What is this," Arthur took the box from Alfred's hand and looked it over. "You found a plain bronze box?" He raised an eyebrow at it.

"P-Plain?" Alfred watch Arthur stare at it.

"Yes," He gave it back to Alfred. "Well, dinner is ready. I don't know what scared you but it's gone now, so why don't you relax and eat." Arthur patted Alfred's head in an effort to comfort him.

"I'm not scared!" Alfred defended.

"Well, no matter what you are, you're probably hungry. Come and eat before it gets cold." Alfred watched as Arthur set the table. Sighing he looked down at the puzzle box in his hand and wondered about what happened to Elizabeta.