Chapter 8: Do I Dare Disappear

Roderich sat quietly on his bed, not making an effort to relight the fire that had gone out ages ago. Even as the temperature slowly dipped below zero, he made no other movement, staring blankly at the whitewashed walls he insisted that he would paint when he had the time. Unconsciously holding his breath, once in a while, he would laboriously take a deep breath as if that was what had pained him. But he was tired of living in a world where everyone and everything held its breath.

An hour… and another, and yet another passed by, and the Russian still hadn't returned. Tears began streaming down the Austrian's face when there was a knock on the door, which sent him scrambling to regain his composure. And wipe his face. "C-Come in!" The one who entered the door, however, was not Ivan, but Lithuania, whose passive and emotionless face had always put Roderich on an edge. "I brought your dinner, Austria. Russia told me he wouldn't be dining with you tonight." He set the tray down on the nightstand, and noticing the red-rimmed eyes of the Austrian, quickly turned towards the fireplace, smirking gleefully as he ignited the wood.

So… the schwein had planned it all along, hadn't he? Roderich clenched his teeth, his facial contours sharpening as he shuddered with rage. Feeling the intensity of this emotion, a snicker escaped from the lips of the Lithuanian.

"WHAT…" Austria, standing up, exploded at Toris, who still had his back to the now sobbing aristocrat. "What are you laughing for?" Giggling, the brunette turned around slowly, training his dark eyes on the Austrian. Tilting his head ever so slightly, he replied with a question. "Have you learned your place yet?" Roderich supposed himself with a trembling arm. "Wh-What for-?"

With a lazy smile on his face, Lithuania sauntered over towards the bed and leaned towards Roderich, who was wearing a shocked expression on his face. He spoke softly, "You've never noticed, have you?" Baffled by this sudden question, Austria could only manage to stammer out a startled "uh-"

The expression on Toris's face quickly turned to unbridled disgust as he spat out words of venom. "All mister Russia has been doing nowadays is talk about you. Always going on saying 'Roderich this', 'young Master that', has no time for me, he doesn't. No, none at all. Do you have any idea how… deplorable that is, he paused, holding the aristocrat's face by his cheeks and forcing him to look up, "to see MY Ivan fawn over you like a homely puppy?" Grabbing ahold of Austria's hair and dragging him forcefully to the floor, he laughed hysterically as he kicked the other man repeatedly.

"Oh look," He crouched down, addressing Roderich in an uncharacteristically mocking tone. "now you've made my shoes all dirty... something as pathetic as you don't deserve to have Russia. I wish you would just… disappear." Getting ahold of his victim's hair once more, he slammed Austria's face to the floor, whispering, "I'm sick of seeing him fuss about you, and I'm glad he doesn't want to keep you around anymore… But I wonder…" He smiled innocently, "does anyone want you? Poor young master…" He crooned. "Look at the helpless little thing you have become." Toris petted Roderich's head in mock pity, tucking his disheveled hair behind his ears.

"Where will you go where you're not wanted here?" Gently stroking the Austrian's bruising cheeks with cold fingers, he stood up, walking towards the door. He stopped at the entryway, turning around. "By the way, has he ever told you that he loves you?" He grinned. With a cheerful "Enjoy your dinner", the Lithuanian left the room, smiling all the while.

Roderich pushed himself into a sitting position against the bed, shivering all the while despite the blazing fire. "Would it really not matter…" He mumbled to himself as he stared at the frozen world outside the mansion with a glazed expression.

A few moments later, the Austrian was seen hurrying out of the mansion with nothing but a backpack, stopping only for a moment to stare at the immense forest that separated him from the rest of the world. Shortly after, he continued on, forcing his hesitant feet towards the place he, once upon a time, used to call home.

All the while, a smirking figure watched him leave from the safety of the mansion shadows.

Translations:

Schwein: Bastard/Pig

[[Slowly recovering from a REALLY long hiatus… This is probably one of the darker chapters I'll write. I have so much to do, so little time… I'll try to post regularly from now on! Yandere Liet… what a shocker… Reviews/comments please!]]