Author's Note: Hey how is everybody doing? I just got confirmed the other day then went out for Japanese food to celebrate yummm! :D Anyways chapter 9 is here and I hope everyone enjoys it. I'm introducing a new character this chapter can you guess who it is? I'll give you a hint; I would like to thank Olliebaz9 for inspiring me to write him in. Cookies for you Olliebaz9!
Disclaimer – I don't own Hetalia
Chapter 9
Alice's Point of view
Alfred shook me awake at what seemed to be the crack of dawn. "Alice, hey, Alice, wake up," he said softly.
Drowsily I opened my eyes and looked over at my friend who was standing beside me already dressed for the day, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID HE WANT AT THIS HOUR IN THE MORNING? I rolled over on the bed careful not to smack into William who was sleeping next to me and buried my face deep into the pillow trying to block out his voice. Stupid git, I decided I would kill him later once I had enough energy.
"Alice," he said again causing me to groan in annoyance.
"Go away," I moaned as I burrowed deeper into the warm covers.
"Get up we have to go to work," he said shaking my shoulder gently.
Oh yeah, that's why the wanker was bothering me so early, we had made a challenge last night that I could beat him in sword fighting. It was so on, once I was done with Alfred F. Jones he wouldn't dare to insult my gender again. Forgetting how sleepy I was I sprung out of bed practically knocking Alfred over from the leap I had made from the covers.
"Ready to lose?" I asked him as I combed out my tangled blonde hair with my fingers.
"The only one who will be losing is you," Alfred retorted.
"That was a terrible comeback," I stated dryly as I put my hair up into pigtails.
Alfred stuck his tongue out at me, "whatever just get dressed and meet me downstairs."
He turned to leave so I could get changed but I stopped him. "Um, Alfred, you're kind of forgetting something important?" I told him.
"What?"
"All I have to wear is dresses, I can't fight in a dress," I told him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You could borrow some of my clothes," Alfred suggested.
"Yeah that'd be helpful," I said sardonically as he left the room in search for something I could wear.
I sat on the bed as I waited for Alfred humming a cheerful tune. I was excited to go with him to work, not only because I was totally going to crush him but because I had never seen a blacksmiths workshop before. I pictured it to be similar to the weaponry room back at the palace only there would be metal working equipment and no training dummies. I sighed in anticipation, I hadn't been able to pick up a sword in forever, it would be brilliant to fight again. Just then Alfred returned carrying a bundle of clothing.
"They'll be a little big on you," he said as he tossed me the clothes.
"That's okay I don't mind," I told him as I caught them, "now leave so I can get changed." I stood up from the bed and pushed him towards the door.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," he assured me, "just don't take too long, I can't be late for work."
"Don't worry I'm not one of those girls who take hours to get dressed," I promised him as I shut the door.
…Line Break…
When I descended the staircase I found that Alfred was already at the bottom of the steps waiting for me holding a pair of work boots in his hands.
"Here put these on," he said to me as I reached the first floor. "If you're not able to fight in a dress then odds are you probably won't be able to fight in those slipper thingys you wear as shoes."
"They're called flats not slipper thingys," I corrected him as I kicked the flats off my feet and took the boots from Alfred.
"Do the clothes fit alright?" he asked me as I tugged on the boots.
Alfred had given me a pair of baggy brown pants that stopped just above my knees and a long sleeved white shirt that was two sizes too big for me. Over the shirt I wore a loose-fitting vest the same color as the pants and a black belt drooped around my waist.
"Like a glove," I answered sarcastically.
"Hey it was all I could find," he defended himself.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist," I said waving him off. "I actually kind of like the extra space, it will be easier to move around in when we fight. Besides that though this outfit is really quite comfortable, do you mind if I wear this often?"
Alfred cocked his head to the side, "You like my thirteen year old hand-me-downs?"
"Yes I do as a matter of fact and wait… you were this big when you were thirteen?" I asked in surprise holding out my arms to show him how big his clothes were on me.
"That's not big, that's the normal size of a teenage boy, you're just small," he stated gesturing to my body. "Now come on if I'm late my boss will slaughter me in front of you."
He opened the front door and we stepped outside. The sun shone brightly, in fact it was so blinding I had to put one of my hands up as a visor so I could see. The sky was a clear blue and a warm breeze drifted through the air, all signs of yesterday's rain storm had been washed away. After shouting a quick goodbye to William Alfred locked up the apartment and we began our two mile journey to the blacksmiths.
…..Line Break...…
The blacksmith's was a sturdy rectangular building constructed out of bricks and the lighting was dim due to the fact that there was only one window that resided in the far corner of the room. On every wall there were shelves upon shelves decorated with various pieces of metal and chairs and workbenches that I assumed were for the employees were scattered about the floor plan. There were three massive fireplaces all in a row aglow with bright flames making the room hot and stuffy.
"This place is real wicked but it's like a bloody oven," I complained as I fanned myself.
"You get used to it," Alfred told me as he grabbed an apron off of a hook on the wall. "Just so you know this isn't my room, this entire area belongs to my boss, my workplace is in the back room just over there," he said leading me to the back of the shop tying on the apron as we walked.
Just then his huge guy stepped out from behind the doorway Alfred was taking me to. He towered over the both of us and stood with a sense of superiorly. The man was clad in a green uniform and had well toned muscles that showed through his shirt. He had blonde hair that was slicked back on his head and icy blue eyes that were glaring at Alfred, but they softened when he saw me.
"Hello, Miss, are you a customer?" he asked me politely with an air of seriousness in his voice.
"No she's with me," Alfred told him, "she's the girl I told you about the other day."
"Ja?" he said looking me over in a curious manner. "So you're the one who's been living with Jones? How's he treating you? Are you getting enough to eat?" he fired questions at me. "This boy can barely take care of himself let alone a young lady," he said.
"Alfred is an excellent host and a good friend," I informed him. I didn't like how he was putting Alfred down like that it really bothered me.
"Well that's good to know," he nodded. "But why did you come in with him today? Jones had told me you were only interested in sightseeing."
"Uh...um well I'm done looking at the outside of the village and now I want to look at everything from the inside starting with the blacksmiths," I lied to him. God that was a stupid lie, I could have come up with something better then that but it didn't matter because it looked like he bought it from the look of delight he wore.
"Only the best minds can appreciate the forge, I'm glad you're taking an interest in the world of metal working," he said proudly. "Miss, I hope you enjoy your visit."
He walked past us to get to one of the workbenches but stopped midway there turning to look at us again. "Oh and Jones try to get some work done today, I know you have a pretty girl with you and all just don't let her distract you." he gave Alfred a stern glare then continued on walking.
Alfred's ears were red and I didn't know whether it was from anger or embarrassment. "I really hate him sometimes," he muttered under his breath as he opened the door to the back room.
We stepped inside, "yeah he reminds me of a drill sergeant," I told him. "And he kind of seems like he's serious all the time."
"That's Ludwig for ya," he said sourly.
The back room which Alfred worked in had no windows; the only source of light was a large fireplace holding a cauldron in the center of the end wall. Flames crackled and shadows danced across the space giving the room a soft orange glow, it would have been kind of cozy if it wasn't so hot. Like the other room there were many shelves that were adorned with metal and equipment lay in the far corner of the room. There was a long counter off to one side that held what looked like molds for blades and there was one workbench that sat in the middle of the room.
I watched as Alfred went to the fireplace and looked into the cauldron, he then went to fetch a long stirring pole that sat in the corner. I observed what he did with great interest; I thought the art of crafting metal was fascinating. I sat down of the floor and watched him quietly not wanting to distract him just in case Ludwig came back and started yelling at him. Alfred seemed to notice the lack of sound coming from my mouth and he turned to me and asked "why so quiet?"
"I don't want you to get distracted by talking to me, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your boss," I told him.
He smiled, "thanks for your concern but aren't you going to be bored just sitting there for hours as I work?"
I thought a moment. "Do you have any paper?" I asked.
Alfred set the pole against the fireplace and went over the workbench. He started to rummage around in the desks drawers searching for what I asked for. Finally he pulled out a clean sheet of paper; he tossed it to me along with an ink pen.
"Draw me something cool," he told me with a grin as he went back to pick up the pole.
I spread out on the ground and propped myself up with my elbows. The sheet of paper lay in front of me, a blank canvas waiting to come to life. I tapped the pen against the ground as I starred at it wondering what to draw Alfred. Something cool hmm… what did Alfred find cool? I figured this would be my chance to repay him for all that he did for me in the last couple of days. He had let me into his house and hid me from the knights and accepted me for who I was. Alfred was my friend and I wanted to do something nice for him, I wanted to let him know how grateful I was to him. Suddenly the idea hit me and I took to the paper immediately. I sketched out gentle lines curving the pen ever so lightly to get those rounded off edges that Alfred told me he liked. I became absorbed in my work and as Alfred labored over the hot fireplace my pen raced across the paper as the hours passed.
"Can I see it?" Alfred suddenly asked.
I jumped up from the ground in fright, I was so focused on my drawing that I didn't notice that Alfred had stopped working and had snuck up behind me. When I space out I somehow block out all sounds so hearing him kind of freaked me out.
"Don't scare me like that you git!" I yelled at him.
He backed away smiling that goofy grin of his. "Wow three hours passed and you didn't realize? I didn't know you were so into your art, Alice. It must be a really awesome drawing, can I see?"
"No," I said firmly, flipping the paper over on the blank side so he couldn't see the picture.
"Why not? It's for me isn't it?" he inquired as he tried to snatch it form my hands.
I placed the drawing behind my back so he couldn't get to it. "Yes it's for you but I'm not finished yet," I told him.
"Please can I have a little sneak peek?" he whined trying to be cute.
"No I want it to be a surprise and why did you stop working anyways?" I asked.
"Ludwig went on a lunch break," he smiled mischievously, trouble glinted in his eyes.
I returned his devious look while smiling my own menacing grin, "you know what this means don't you?"
"Yep," he replied going over to the counter and picking up a black sword with a curved blade. I recognized the model he had chosen as a falchion, a deadly sword used for fighting while on horseback. "Just so you know I'm totally going to win," Alfred said confidently.
I set my drawing down and followed his lead going over to the counter and choosing a sliver sword called a rapier with a decorative hilt for my own weapon. The weight of the rapier was perfect in my hand, I felt balanced and dangerous. "And how do you know that?" I asked him with a smirk on my face.
"Because I'm the hero, hero's always win," he stated simply.
"Well we'll see about that," I said as I walked to the center of the room and kicked the workbench effortlessly aside with my foot. Now without anything in the way the back room of the blacksmiths had become Alfred and I's arena. Just as we were taking our positions, him at one end and me at the other, it suddenly hit me what we were about to be doing. We were having a serious swordfight which meant that there was the possibility of one of us getting hurt. But I couldn't back out now or Alfred would think I was scared of losing to him. Pushing the thought that one of us could get injured aside I looked Alfred dead in the eye. "Don't go easy on me," I warned him.
He grinned, "I wasn't gonna."
Alfred was the one who made the first move, he advanced towards me with rapid speed I didn't know that he had had. He lunged and I blocked his attack by slamming my blade down on his own, with his weapon trapped under mine I made a quick turn and slashed at his side which he nearly dodged.
He retreated a few steps back to regain his composure. "Not bad for a girl," he said.
"I was just about to say the same thing to you," I retorted as I made another slash at him.
"You calling me a girl?" he asked as he blocked my hit.
"Maybe," I admitted as I made a low swing.
There the two of us were talking while in the middle of battle, a battle in which we were actually trying to hurt one another. Back and forth we went swinging and sidestepping and blocking for what seemed like forever. Every time someone was about to be victorious the other would come up with a new trick to stop them from winning. Our skills were at the same level and we seemed to know each other's moves like the back of our hands, if I wanted to beat Alfred I had to try something that he wouldn't expect.
I decided to spice it up by making an advance and tumbling into my hit. I rolled on the ground past Alfred so that the sides we were standing on were now switched.
"What was that?" he asked in shock.
I smirked with pleasure; I had managed to get him worried. "Oh nothing," I said casually as I made another hit. This time as I swung at him I quickly flipped my sword around and hit him in the gut with my hilt; Alfred stumbled backwards at the attack. "You're kind of slow, anyone else could have dodged that," I teased him. "I guess it's from all of those hamburgers that you eat," I told him as he recovered from my hit.
"What have hamburgers got anything to do with it?" he asked as he pushed his glasses up a little irritated that I was bringing his favorite food into our fight.
"Well they're kind of greasy and not very healthy; if you cut back on them maybe you would be quick enough to beat me," I said as I made another hit.
He blocked then made a lunge, "I thought you liked hamburgers?"
I retreated, "not really, I mostly just ate them because I was really hungry and I know how much you like them."
For some reason when I had said that Alfred's bright blue eyes became dark and stormy, they glared at me angrily. Was it because I had insulted his hamburgers? If it was then this guy was way too obsessed with fried meats.
"That's it. I'm ending this now," he practically growled and with that he charged at me putting all of his strength into that one hit.
I panicked. He had lost it, he had bloody lost it. Alfred F. Jones was going to kill me, what started as a little challenge was going to end in chaos over a freaking hamburger! I knew that if I didn't block this the deadly blade that Alfred was wielding would end the existence of Alice Kirkland forever. I had to think of something that would finish the fight that involved both of us walking away unhurt, time seemed to slow down as Alfred came at me.
I felt I like I was moving as slow as syrup but I knew for a fact that I was actually going much faster. As the black curved blade made a fatal slice at me I ducked and the sword swung cleanly past me barley centimeters above the top of my head. Now that the sword was out of the way and I was crouched below Alfred I did the only thing I could do which was to tackle him.
I landed on top of his chest with a thud and soon after he quickly flipped me over so that he could have the upper hand. Alfred had me pinned to the floor, that determined look of winning still in his eyes. Then suddenly he did something unexpected. Alfred got off of me and offered me a hand back up.
I stared at him in shock, Alfred started to laugh.
"Why the hell are you laughing? What the bloody fuck is wrong with you? You just tried to kill me," I shrieked.
"Relax I wasn't trying to kill you," he reassured me, his blue eyes were free of the deadly look that they held moments before, they were now cheerful and lighthearted like they always were.
"Then what was that!" I exploded. "It looked like you were pretty serious about destroying me!"
Alfred chuckled, "I was only acting about being serious about hurting you. I mean really, Alice? A guy wouldn't kill his friend over a hamburger." He started to laugh more, "That's my revenge on you for all of the times that you've punched me. Now we're even."
Oh. My. Bloody. Fucking. God… "YOU BASTARD!" screamed. "YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE!" in my rage I pulled Alfred back down onto the floor and punched him repeatedly in the gut calling him some nasty names that weren't very appropriate for a young lady to be saying.
Suddenly a roaring voice interrupted our quarrel.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE JONES!" a booming voice screamed at Alfred.
I stopped mid punch and turned to see who had spoken. Shit it was Ludwig. I quickly got off of Alfred and helped him back up. The two of us brushed the dirt off our clothes like nothing had happened.
"Um, Sir," Alfred coughed as he pushed his glasses back up. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough," Ludwig sneered angrily.
"Since the part with the hamburgers," spoke a new voice that I didn't recognize.
A guy with snow white hair and piercing red eyes the color of blood stepped out from behind Ludwig. He wore an arrogant look of his handsome face and he stood with posture that just screamed I'm-better-than-everybody-here. I immediately disliked him.
He seemed to notice me looking at him, smirking he walked over to where I stood. "The names Gilbert, Gilbert Beilschmidt," he said as his bright red eyes scanned me up and down, "and you are?"
This guy was bothering me; I didn't like how close he was standing to me and I didn't like the way he was staring at me. "Alice," I answered curtly. I moved away from him but he just followed.
"So, Alice, why don't you change out of those boys' clothes and into something pretty and let the awesome me take you out on a date, how bout it?" he whispered seductively into my ear.
Before I could tell this Gilbert guy off with one of my snarky replies Alfred interrupted. "She's not interested," he said, he looked really pissed off.
Gilbert cocked an eyebrow at Alfred. "What are you her boyfriend or something?" he asked loudly. When Alfred became flushed and didn't say anything Gilbert laughed, "Yeah I didn't think so."
Ludwig seemed to sense the tension that was building up between the two boys. Stepping in he said, "Gilbert is my younger brother (A/N Okay I know that Gilbert is older than Ludwig but I'm making him younger for the story so just go with it :)) he's nineteen. That's around the age the two of you are right?"
"I'm seventeen," Alfred and I both told him at the same time.
Gilbert put his arm around me, "that's alright; it doesn't bother me if I date a younger woman," he said grinning."By the way, Alice, you've got some awesome fighting skills, not as awesome as mine of course but still pretty good. Anyways it works in your favor because I like my girls feisty."
Suddenly Alfred pulled me by the hand away from Gilbert, "Sorry but we have to go," he announced.
Ludwig gave Alfred a confused look and Gilbert kept grinning his smug grin. "Until next time, Alice," Gilbert bid me goodbye, "The awesome me will be waiting for you."
After I grabbed my drawing from the spot I had left it Alfred led me out the front door and away from the blacksmiths in a hurry. His strides were angry and he wouldn't look at me. "I hate him," Alfred muttered, "I really hate him."
Smoke practically was fuming from his ears. But why was this happening? I puzzled over it as we walked further and further away from the blacksmiths. Could Alfred have maybe been jealous of what Gilbert was saying to me? No, that was a stupid thought. Why would Alfred be jealous of Gilbert it wasn't like he liked me or anything. Alfred and I were just friends… right?
Dear Readers,
Okay well that's it for now, I promise to update soon :) But before you all go I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for following this story. It means so much to me when I see a new review or another story alert. This is my first chapter story and I was so afraid that no one would like it but you guys are great, thanks again for being supportive :) Until next time.
-Spoonmeister
