Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. I can't come up with a concept that cool.
I suppose I'm in a bit of a predicament, shall we say.
Yes, I'm referring to the fact that I'm locked in a small apartment-like space and have no idea where I am.
But I'm also referring to the fact that this place has nothing in it but a bed, a small trunk full of clothes, and a door. Locked, of course. No windows, unless they're hidden.
Nothing.
Whoever brought me here evidently didn't care much if I got bored to death.
Lili's here too, but she's asleep on top of my trunk, and I don't think she'd know what's going on, either.
Now, hopefully I can remember all this to write it down after I get home to wring the neck of whomever is responsible…
I suppose that we're being treated decently, by a prisoner's standards. After I got over the initial shock of waking up in an unfamiliar bed, I've figured a bit more about this mess. It could be a lot worse, honestly. At least whoever brought me here brought a trunk for me, and brought Lili along, too-but that's another clue. It definitely indicates that someone's planned all this.
Come to think of it, why is Lili here? I honestly doubt Vash would allow something like this... He'd probably kill anyone who came close to his sister. Unless he's been duped, just like us.
Or is Vash on the other side, too? That's a scary thought. But I've got a lot of those running around my head. A lot of theories, each more convoluted than the rest.
I suppose we'll just have to wait it out. But if this involves what I think it involves, I think I might be sick.
The effect was immediate.
Come to think of it, in all of his thirteen years, he'd never seen the idiots in this place be completely silent.
Lovino shook his head, scowling. There had to be some reason that the king had chosen to drop this nugget of information on everyone at the same time, including the servants. Probably because he was a flamboyant bastard on all accounts, and wanted a little bit of drama. Annoying.
Still, someone must've known this had happened before the king had-after all, he didn't think that jerk of a king cared enough to check on the princess-his only daughter, for heaven's sake-without prompting. Maybe the princess's little maid friend-Lili, one of the few people Lovino could tolerate-had found out first. He scanned the crowd of disbelieving faces, cursing under his breath as he recognized none as the smaller, blond girl's.
"Damn…" he whispered aloud. This whole thing just kept getting weirder and weirder.
Suddenly, the dam burst, and a barrage of questions flowed forth from every corner of the ballroom.
"What do you mean, gone missing?"
"When did this happen?"
"How is that even possible?!"
"What are we supposed to do?"
"What about, like-"
"SILENCE!" the king roared, his stormy gray eyes giving off a steely, manic glint under thick silver eyebrows.
Lovino rolled his eyes. Of course, the king was probably enjoying dragging out this whole affair, just to drive them all mad. And whatever other motive he had for allowing any of this to happen probably required him to hold out for a while-because everyone knew that if the king was really worried, the entire army would already be out scouring the kingdom, overturning villages and arresting 'suspicious' people on the way. No one in the kingdom would be able to rest without his permission until the princess was found.
Well, it was likely that no one would rest anyway, not with this information hanging over their heads.
Lovino didn't know the princess. He, like all the other servants, had only seen her from a distance, and for a very short space of time. Lovino himself had only seen her once, in the midst of what looked to be a pretty big argument with the king and two other princes-one of whom had been this Roderich fellow, interestingly enough. Later, on the gossip mill, he'd found out that it was because the other prince had been… He shuddered angrily. No, he wasn't going to think about perverted bastards like that fellow.
The king's strong, intimidating voice continued, rising high into the air and echoing slightly among the frescoes on the ceiling. "She was stolen from her chambers some time last night, and we can safely presume that she is locked up somewhere. We caught her kidnapper as he was trying to sneak back into the castle, but he hasn't said anything as to her whereabouts. All we know at the moment is that she's hidden somewhere in this kingdom."
The king paused for a moment, turning to pace along the length of the raised dais he stood upon, and the audience, now rapt with attention once again, was quiet enough that Lovino could hear Roderich's barely-audible intake of breath. He scowled, his amber eyes narrowing in annoyance. The pathetic bastard couldn't still be panting, could he? All he'd done was run down a few hallways, honestly. But no, that wasn't it-passing a sidelong glance at the other man, he saw wide brown eyes focused on entirely on the king from behind gleaming glasses and a face that had visibly blanched quite a bit.
He knows something. More than what the king's giving us. Lovino couldn't help but feel irked by that thought. So this foreigner knew more about this whole thing than any of the trusted servants here did. How reassuring.
Continuing, the king raised his weathered hand. He didn't look very concerned or angry, but his eyes were glowing in an odd way, a way that made a cold shudder run through every one of the guests who dared to meet his eyes, a way that made Lovino unconsciously clench his fists around his broom and dig his fingernails into his palms. "To all the princes in this room I offer a challenge: help us search the kingdom, and whichever prince finds the princess first may take her hand in marriage.
"But first!" he rushed on, smoothly quelling the outcry of excitement that burst forth from the male population in front of him-as if he hadn't been expecting it-"I must offer you a warning: the princess may not take kindly to you at first." He smiled coldly out at the crowd.
There was audible grumbling among the throng; evidently, not one of them had managed to get on the princess's good graces. Lovino had to stifle a laugh behind his hand. As if any of those arrogant bastards had a chance.
"But there is a way for that to be easily remedied; a simple kiss on the lips should do it. Perhaps it will even be enough to make her-" There he paused, glancing around impressively, and Lovino had to resist the urge to run up to the man and whack him with the broom he wielded- "love you."
His gaze prowled challengingly among the crowd, locking eyes with several of the princes in turn, as if he didn't know how important that information was and was looking for confirmation. They stared back, sheer lustful excitement marring the thin veneer of worry and consternation that had been covering their faces until then.
Bastards. None of them really cared about the princess. They just wanted to marry her because she was pretty and so they could have the power of her nation on their side. It's no wonder she keeps a frying pan under her bed… Anyone treated like that all the time would have to be stupid not to.
And now… with this new development, suddenly, everything made sense. The isolation, the reaction of the king at the ball, and now, how he was carefully and deliberately phrasing everything he said… All of it had been in preparation for this moment, this one, big reveal.
He heard Roderich-still next to him, but standing straight now, his eyes still focused on the king-utter something under his breath, so quietly that Lovino had to lean in to hear:
"And what about the princess? What about what she wants? Is she safe? Will she be happy?" These questions seemed to be genuinely upsetting for the young man, his face a pale mask of honest emotions, his eyes swimming with a mixture of sadness, fear, and righteous anger from behind his glasses. And seeing the other man like that told Lovino that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't just another prince.
Lovino turned and stared up at him, his eyes tracing the delicately wrought features. (Damn, even the pansy bastard was taller than he was). "You're going to find the princess," he stated blandly. When the man didn't respond, he prodded him with the tip of his broom handle. "Oi, bastard-Roderich-whatever your name is, I'm talking to you."
Roderich turned, his lips forming a thin, strict line. "Of course I will," he said, his eyes now resolute and alert. "I won't let anyone take advantage of her." He blinked, his dark eyes peering directly into Lovino's amber, and for just a moment, Lovino saw a glint of the kind of man who could lift mountains, redirect rivers, shape a kingdom or tear it down all on his own, hidden deep under the aristocratic visage. Then that moment was over, and again he was just a pale youth with no physical abilities whatsoever.
"But I'm going to need your help first. I need to find Vash Zwingli."
Narrowing his eyes once again, Lovino crossed his arms, his broom tapping against the marble floor impatiently. "And how do you know about Vash?" Another thought crossed his mind, and he changed tacks. "Actually, what do you know about Vash?"
Surprisingly, the other man quickly returned the gesture, crossing his arms and glaring coolly back. "If you must know, I made his acquaintance yesterday at the dance. And at the moment, I don't know much. But I'll need to find out." Brown eyes-dark and piercing-stared into his, full of a strange fire, a strange fury.
Lovino raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Oh? Are you sure you've got the right Zwingli in mind? The other one's the princess's handmaid-the only one who got to know her before yesterday happened."
"Yes, in due time, but as I said, I have a hunch about Vash I'm going with here. And, if that hunch is right, we won't be seeing Lili any time soon," Roderich replied ominously, his eyes darkening until they were almost black.
Lovino shivered a little in spite of himself. No, he wasn't scared, dammit! Just a little bit worried about-well, what was going to happen to this Lili girl and her brother. Something had obviously gone wrong for them.
Something was wrong with this whole setup, really.
His thoughts were interrupted as the crowd began to disperse and each person searched for other members of their faction, alight with excitement. Cries of names began to fill the air, multiple voices melding together tumultuously. No one else noticed the king slip off the podium and stride down the hall alone. But both Lovino and Roderich's eyes followed the movement of his thick ermine cape as it trailed like a red flag from his shoulders.
"So, will you help me?"
Both looked each other over. Their eyes met, stared into the recesses of each other's souls. Then, at the same moment, their hands stretched out and entwined in a firm handshake.
"Let's go."
I changed the rating just for this chapter, in which we get another blast of Lovino's mouth. I think it'll just be him swearing, though. Still, just to be safe... since I'm more than a little bit paranoid of this not turning out well.
I have some strange love for cliffhangers. I think all writers like dragging it out so that their readers nearly have apoplectic fits while waiting for the next chapter (especially work published in serials, like a lot of Charles Dickens's works were originally). Either that, or they like making their writing as emotionally scarring as possible (e.g. John Green, who always finds a way to kill one of the most awesome characters ever). Since I can't cram both in here, I'll just settle for annoying you all to no end. Sorry? ^-^
By the way, anyone have theories about what's going on here? I want to know if I'm giving too much away or if my writing is confusing the heck out of you all as you read. So please PM me if you think you know what's going on. I need to know what you think so that this can be less messed-up at some point.
Thanks for reading, and please review?
