Happy birthday Alfred! This chapter is dedicated to every poor tortured soul with a deformed pinky who knows what it feels like to go through the pure agony of marching in a Fourth of July parade.

And happy belated birthday to you too Canada! See, I didn't forget you Mattie! :)

review reply time!

Kigaroo: Asians vs Russians! Woot! XP

Deemo: yay a bloody jack fan! (hugs) and that's not unreasonable at all! In fact...(sniggers evilly) oh yes, I know exactly where I'm gonna put Arthur! XP but I'm afraid he won't be able to show up for quite a while, I'm planning on making this a very long story and I won't be able to fit him in anytime soon. :\ sorry

Story Weaver1: yeah I kinda feel bad for doing that to poor little Ita-chan...but he'll bounce back! He always does! :)

kittycloud: (tears up a little) t-thank you :)


"Liiiiiiizzzzzzzyyyyy!"

"What is it Gilbert?" she asked, trudging onward through the thick brambles that covered the forest, not bothering to look back at me.

"I'm tiiiiiireeed!" I moaned. Gilbird chirped, seconding my statement. We had been walking for ages, I was about to drop dead from exhaustion.

"Oh come on Gil, be a man! Just a little farther ok?" she called back over her shoulder.

"Lizzy, come on already! I know you're worried about your step-dad sending out a search party, but seriously, can't we take a break?"

She simply gave a noncommittal grunt in reply, then changed the subject. "Hey, how did Gilbird get here? I thought you left him at your house?"

I reached up to pet my feathered friend perched on my head and laughed. "Kesese! I really don't know actually! It doesn't matter where I leave him, he always manages to find a way back to me!" Gilbird cheeped again, confirming my story. "It's like he has his own awesome meter that lets him find me wherever I am!"

She chuckled, and I smiled. I loved hearing her laugh.

We walked along in silence for a few more minutes when she suddenly stopped. "Hey Gil, come look at this," she said, beckoning me closer as she crouched down in the bushes, peering over them.

I crouched down next to her, moving a branch out of the way so I could see what she was staring at. Up ahead, the trees were thinned out, and I saw a well used dirt road.

Lizzy and I glanced at each other nervously. We nodded, coming to a silent conclusion. Then she crept along quietly through the trees a good distance from the road, me following close behind, the two of us wordlessly deciding to follow the trail to see where it would lead.

It wasn't long before the path widened with smaller trails connecting to it like tributaries of a river, and we started seeing travelers, walking or riding horses, going the same direction we were. We kept going, and soon came upon a charming little inn. It was a two story building, built with warm honey colored wood and, along with the bright flowers spilling out of the window boxes, was very well kept. A worn wooden sign hanging outside the front door identified it as the Golden Flower Alehouse, and, peering in the windows, I could see people drinking and looking like they were having a grand old time. Overall, the whole place had a wonderfully cozy feel.

I gave a low whistle. "Dang, this place looks really nice." I glanced over my shoulder at Lizzy. She seemed lost in thought and more than a little worried. To be honest, as I looked back at the cute little tavern, I couldn't help but feel worried too. Lizzy and I both knew that if Sadik had sent out a search party for her, which he must have, inns and alehouses would be the first places they looked. We couldn't live off the land and steal supplies from farmers forever; sooner or later we would have to go to an inn for either food, directions, or proper beds.

Interrupting my musings, Lizzy suddenly spoke up. "Hey Gil, no one knows you're with me right?" I nodded, and she continued. "Why don't you go in there and find out if anyone there is looking for me? Come back and let me know if the coast is clear alright?"

I nodded again. "Good idea. But are you sure you'll be ok all alone out here?"

She rolled her eyes and punched me in the arm, making me cry out with pain. Lizzy could punch hard. "Oh please Gilbert, I'll be perfectly fine! Just get going already!" she said, roughly pushing me out of our hiding spot behind the bushes.

I stumbled a little then straightened up. Casting one last furtive glance at my best friend, I brushed the dirt off of my clothes and made my way towards the inn.


I pushed open the heavy wood door, breathing in the wonderful, heady smell of ale that permeated the air and ducking as a glass was thrown, shattering upon impact with the door with a soft tinkle. Not fazing me at all, I edged around the good natured bar fight and walked up to the bar. Standing behind it a young brown haired man absently cleaned a glass while watching the fight.

"Shouldn't you be breaking that up?" I asked, jerking my head towards the two men fighting, one of which now had the other in a choke hold.

"Hm? Oh, no, they just do that for fun. Besides, if they get too rowdy or start destroying too much of my stuff then Feliks will sort them out," the bartender said. "My name's Toris by the way. What can I get you?"

"Well Toris, I'm Gilbert, and I'll have a pint of the best beer you've got."

He nodded. "Sure thing," he said, disappearing around back.

While waiting for my drink, I leaned back against the bar and watched the other patrons. The two burly men who had been fighting were now staring at the ground, shuffling their feet as a young blonde in a pink barmaid dress scolded them, wagging a finger in their faces.

I guess that's the Feliks person Toris was talking about? ...But Feliks is a boy's name...whatever. Moving on.

My gaze swept the room, several people were playing cards, a large crowd surrounding them shouting out bets on who would win, there was a drinking contest going on over to the left, three Asian men appeared to be in a deep, intense discussion in the corner to the right, and over there by the window...

I frowned, those men certainly didn't seem to be in the mood to kick back and have a good time. In fact, that one guy seemed like he was about to fall asleep right into his tankard! How he managed to be drowsy in a loud boisterous bar was beyond anyone's guess. It was almost an art form.

The rest of his company didn't seem much better. They all looked tired and frustrated, and they simply stared down at their drinks, not saying a word.

My speculation as to why the poor men were in such a bad mood was interrupted by Toris returning with my beer.

"Here you go," he said, sliding the glass along the bar. I smiled. Ah, beer, truly the greatest thing ever created.

"Cheers!" I said before raising the glass to my lips and taking a swig, draining nearly a third in just one gulp. Wow that was some good booze!

"Say, Toris?"

"Yeah?"

"There wouldn't happen to be anybody here...say, looking for someone?"

"What do you mean?" Toris asked, looking confused.

I sighed, wondering how I should put my awkward question so it would make more sense. "Ok, so uh, well, has anyone been asking around for a specific person? A girl named Elizaveta?" I spoke quietly, just in case someone working for Sadik happened to be lurking nearby, listening in.

"Um actually, yeah," Toris said, still looking puzzled. "Those guys over there were asking if anyone had seen a brunette called Elizaveta." He nodded over to the group of sullen men sitting by the window. "But why do you ask?"

I shifted around a little uncomfortably, not really wanting to discuss it, but maybe Toris could help...

"Well...Eliza is a very good friend of mine."

"Why does this friend of yours have a search party after her?" Toris asked curiously.

"She pissed off her step-father and ran away from home. You ever heard of a guy named Sadik Adnan?"

Immediately the easygoing barkeep stiffened, his mouth turning down in a grimace.

"I know him alright. The arrogant bastard comes through here every time he goes on some business trip or whatever. He always pisses off all the customers, acting all high and mighty and being a pretentious prick. No wonder the poor girl ran away."

"Yeah, he is kinda an asshole isn't he? He hired those guys to drag her back home. Do you think you could help her? Maybe give them a false lead...?" I glanced up at him hopefully and saw that Toris's eyes were filled with determination.

"Certainly," he said, giving me a curt nod then strode off to speak with Sadik's search party. After a few minutes they all got up and left. I saw them hitching up their horses and watched with satisfaction as they rode off.

I smirked into my beer, draining the last of it before setting my glass down with a thunk and getting up to go get Lizzy.


Once the search party was gone, Elizaveta kicked back and let loose. Without the threat of being dragged back to her step-father, she relaxed and soon became the life of the party, dancing and singing and making friends with everyone. She immediately hit it off with Feliks, who turned out to be a cross-dresser, and they talked and laughed for hours. Elizaveta even gained the respect of the roughest and toughest bar patrons by nearly winning an intense drinking contest, finally loosing to a rowdy Dane, who collapsed right after beating her.

Gilbert just sat back and watched her, happy that she was having so much fun. But there was one thing that was dampening his good mood. When Elizaveta had walked into the inn, the three Asian men Gilbert had seen earlier looked up in surprise and started leering at her. They went back to talking, but every now and then, one of them would glance over and smirk at her.

Trying to put them out of his mind, Gilbert scowled and ordered another beer. What perverts. I'll have to make sure Lizzy locks her room tonight, he thought to himself, drinking his beer and watching as Elizaveta laughed at the group of surly men she had just schooled in a game of poker.


It was late at night, nearly midnight. The stars, sparkling like diamonds, were scattered across the dark sky. The wind whistled through the trees, making their leaves rustle in the soft breeze. Everything was calm, serene, and safe.

Or so you would think.

Elizaveta was sound asleep. After horsing around with Feliks for hours and that drinking contest, she was dead tired. She and Gilbert rented rooms at the inn for the night, and for some reason Gilbert warned her to lock her door. Elizaveta didn't see why she would need to lock her door, the search party after her was headed north on a false trail, and as far as she could see there wasn't any danger. But, too tired to object, she did as he said then collapsed onto the bed, succumbing to sleep instantly.

Lost in her dreams, Elizaveta almost didn't hear the scraping of metal as the bolt on her door was slowly pushed back.

The door opened with an ominous creak and a man walked in. She blinked blearily at him, still half asleep.

"Is that you Gil?" she mumbled, drowsiness slurring her speech. When two more men came into the room, Elizaveta started to realize something was wrong. She struggled to sit up.

"W-what-" she was cut off by one of the men pressing a strange smelling cloth to her face. She kicked and squirmed, trying to call out for help, but the drug quickly overwhelmed her.

The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was an Asian man grinning down at her.

"Nighty night da ze~," he whispered in her ear as Elizaveta's world faded to black.


DUN. DUN. DUUUUUUUN!

and just a little FYI, there's gonna be some JapanXTaiwan and ChinaXVietnam later on :)

sorry if there's any grammar mistakes and shtuff, i was kinda lazy with my editing :P