As I said in the last chapter, I split a huge chapter into 2 more manageable ones, and updated it RIDICULOUSLY early, in my standards! A huge amount of thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, reviewed, or at least took the time to read this very unoriginal story of mine. I freakin love you all! You are all Prussia-awesome! Hugs for everyone! :D
Hetalia does not belong to me and belongs to Hidekazu Himaruya. Hetaquest also doesn't belong to me. You can watch the actual thing on SotetAG's channel. Hetalia~!
"...ici...no."
Italy was surrounded by calm empty blackness, a dreamy content feeling encasing him in its gentle embrace. With a daze, his conciousness stirred slightly at the sound. What was that voice? He felt a bit irritated, since whoever was calling him was disturbing his siesta. So sleepy... so...
...
..
.
"Feliciano!"
Italy's eyes snapped open. As his blurred vision slowly came to focus, he was greeted by the sight of a very agitated Ludwig. Judging by the fact that Ludwig was fully dressed again and tapping his foot very impatiently against the floor, he had woken up and was just about ready to leave.
"Why are you lying on the floor in another room?" Ludwig asked drily.
"... What?"
Ludwig pressed a gloved hand to his forehead, before staring Italy down with exasperation flaring in his ice blue eyes.. "I thought you'd gone out on your own again."
"I'm sorry..." Italy shivered under Ludwig's stare. Did I fall asleep while he was talking to me? Oops...
"It's time. Let's go to Wang Yao's place."
"Understood, Captain!" Italy replied with a salute. He followed Ludwig out of the inn, trotting beside him as they walked past the doors to the patriarch's home. The patriarch stood in front of the desk housing the Jewel, skirted by the other four Saians. All five of them greeted Ludwig and Italy with a gracious bow as they entered the room. Italy carefully stepped aside so as to let Ludwig walk through.
"Are you well rested now?" Wang Yao asked.
"Yes," Ludwig replied curtly. "There should be no complications in the meeting."
"Veeeeh, I feel as good as new!" Italy added.
The patriarch smiled. "That's the most important thing." Carefully, he cleared his throat and spoke," Again, I am Wang Yao, the patriarch of the village of Saia. Ludwig, your efficiency has been noted here in Saia, as well." He then gestured to the four younger adults standing just behind him. "These four are all related to the Guardian. I want them to participate in this meeting. Is that alright with you?"
"Fine by me. Now, let's go straight to the point." Ludwig turned his head to Italy, eyes expectant. "Feliciano, start."
"O-okay!" Italy stammered. Ugh, I'm so nervous... With the use of both of his hands, he gently clasped the twinkling white gem around his neck and closed his eyes. His voice was halting, but clear. "I-I, Feliciano Vargas, am the keeper of time."
A brilliant beam of pure light emitted from the Memory Stone, filling the room with a shining whiteness. The light dimmed just as suddenly as it had appeared, but the stone began to pulse with a shimmering soft glow. Italy carefully placed a hand on the jewel so as not to let the light distract anyone. "May the meeting between the Ara Empire and the Autonomous Region of Saia begin," Italy finished. He then began to mentally panic. Am I supposed to say it like that...?
Much to his relief, it appeared that his guess was true. Ludwig began to speak. "Well, then, I'll go first. the monsters - they were called 'chimeras', right?" Yao nodded, and Ludwig continued like nothing had happened. "First, I will inform you of their progress from the moment they appeared until now."
"Great! You succeeded!" Italy heard Feliciano murmur excitedly in his ear. Italy only smiled as a reply.
"The chimeras were first found a month ago, in the plains in the west of Ramneyg. They crossed the plains and the mountains and arrived at the outskirts of Ramneyg. At the present time, they are found as far as Lytia, but they should reach Saia as well. They have hindered food transport from Lytia and invaded villages and the castle town. They have also brought harm to the population. A few days ago, soldiers were sent to protect Lytia, but that still wasn't enough. Thus, His Majesty decided that we need the support of the entire continent to deal with this situation."
Italy listened with a quiet fascination. I see... That's what this meeting is about.
"So, you want to annex the Autonomous Region of Saia, is that it?" Yao asked bluntly. Yong Soo, the farthest toward the right, jumped forward in indignation. "That's too sudden!"
Yao shot a look over to his inferior, silencing him. "Yong Soo, be quiet."
We want Ramneyg to have control over the distribution of goods, the people, and the military force inside the Ara Empire," Ludwig explained patiently. "Since Saia is also part of the Ara Empire, you will have to cooperate with us."
The patriarch closed his eyes. "Cooperate..."
"Since Saia is the westernmost part of the continent, the chimeras won't cause much damage. And then the mages of Saia can help protect the imperial capital, since it is short of soldiers..." Ludwig trailed off, faltering in his words for a moment. "Or so we thought, but..."
Yao raised an eyebrow. "Something else came up, didn't it?"
"Exactly... The chimera we encountered in the forest and the chimera we fought in the mountains both told us to give them the stone. Assuming they were referring to the Jewel, we can't possible take away the force of arms of Saia that protects the Red Jewel."
Italy spoke hesitantly. "Umm, listen, Lud..."
"Feliciano, the mediator is not supposed to randomly cut into discussion," Ludwig spoke with a touch of irritation.
"I-I'm sorry...!"
Yao smiled kindly toward Italy. "It's fine. You may speak."
Feeling uncomfortable under the stares that suddenly swiveled his way, he said," Er, no one but the User can use the power of the Jewel, right? So, why would the chimeras want the Jewel?"
Ludwig looked surprised at the question, but was willing to quench Italy's curiosity. "That's quite a straightforward question, coming from you. A Jewel that does not exhibit any powers is nothing but an ordinary stone. However, even if we know that, it doesn't make our situation any better."
"User..." Yao murmured to himself, and Ludwig turned his attention back to the patriarch.
"Wang Yao?"
"I'll send military force to Ramneyg," Yao finally spoke.
Ludwig was quite startled. "What made you change your mind?"
"Take Kiku with you. As my representative," Yao said, not answering the question.
"Mr. Wang Yao... what do you have in mind?" Kiku asked.
"For now, we will humbly be annexed. But on one condition."
"What is it?" Ludwig asked.
"There are some people I want you to protect. I want you to protect them in the imperial capital."
Ludwig furrowed his brow. "That's it?"
"Mr Wang?!" Xiao Mei exclaimed. "You don't mean..."
"If you agree to this condition, then Saia will accept to be annexed by Ara and join military forces. Apart from this condition, nothing will move Saia. I want Kiku to tell the emperor so directly."
Kiku interrupted. "Wang Yao, is the outcome of that prediction by any chance weighing on your mind?"
"Prediction?" Italy felt his curiosity stir once more.
As the gazes of all the other people in the room bore into him, Yao sighed and began to explain. "It's part of the patriarch's duties. At the beginning of every month, I predict the flow of the month."
Xiao Mei's eyes were dark and frightened. "The outcome of that prediction was something dreadful that has yet to take place."
"Oh? And what was that outcome?" Ludwig asked. Yao closed his eyes, speaking slowly and clearly, reciting from memory. "The sowed seeds of chaos shall bud, and its children shall start throbbing. The crimson dragon's heads will be stolen one by one and lose their powers."
"That's very bad luck!" Yong Soo explained fretfully.
"The sowed seeds of chaos... the crimson dragon... What does that mean?" Italy inquired.
Kiku answered. "The sowed seeds of chaos are probably the monsters. As for the crimson dragon, it must be the User of the Red Jewel. The image color of the red Jewel is also 'crimson', and the coat of arms of Saia has a 'dragon' as a motif."
Italy's eyes widened. "Then who are they after?! We have to protect the User of the Red Jewel!"
"I don't believe that prediction!" Yong Soo said stubbornly. Xiao Mei nodded in agreement. "Indeed! I think even predictions can be wrong sometimes!"
"Why are you so adamant on denying it? Shouldn't you at least consider it as a possibility?" Ludwig argued.
Yao's eyes lowered to gaze at the floor, a deep sorrow swirling in them. "It's a matter of life or death to them."
"What do you mean?"
"You all, show your hands," Yao instructed, making a gesture. Slowly, they pulled back their long sleeves, revealing a distinct black mark on each of their hands. Tao's was three dashes at each end of his hand, Kiku's was an underlined backwards three, Mei's was a pair of short dark lines with a dash toward her left, and Yong Soo's was a pair of parallel lines - the one above shorter than the other - with a small dash intersecting them at the center on his palm. Unlike Italy's mark, their marks were more like the well-chosen strokes of an inked brush.
"So, the other Guardians that Kiku told us about were all of you," Ludwig realized. Italy stared with shock. Is it possible for several people to have a contract at the same time?
Feliciano whispered again in his ear. "If you replace 'I' with 'we' in the contract incantation, then all the people touching the Jewel get a contract. Whether they'll succeed or not is a different matter, though."
"They are the people I said I want you to protect," Yao spoke. "They became the successors over ten years ago. At first, I was going to choose only one out of the four, but they were against stopping time for only one of them. That's why I decided to make all of them Users, but I never thought that that would be their doom..."
"In other words... If they are targeted, you can't protect all four of them."
"If they're in the imperial capital rather than here, maybe they can all survive. I don't know if it'll actually happen or not, but I want to do something about it."
"Very well," Ludwig agreed. "I'll arrange an audience with His Majesty. Though I don't know what will come of that condition until we consult him in the imperial capital. Since this concerns human lives, I believe that His Majesty will give a positive response."
"If that is decided then, then we'll have to leave the village...?" Tao asked quietly.
"As it is my duty to be Wang Yao's representative, I will do whatever it takes to fulfill it. I don't want to die without at least trying to do something," Kiku said firmly.
Xiao Mei looked toward him. "Kiku..."
"If that is how you feel about it, that makes things easier. Tomorrow, you will come with us to Ramneyg," Ludwig decided. "Depending on the outcome, I'll fly a pigeon. In case your condition is accepted, I want the remaining three to depart immediately."
"Very well. Kiku, you will make all preparations immediately."
"Yes, sir."
"Feliciano, you can stop now," Ludwig said calmly to Italy, who in turned jumped with surprise. He stared blankly for a few moments."... What?"
"Wait a minute! Feliciano! How do I stop this thing?! I forgot to ask you!" Italy whispered frantically. Feliciano gave his answer promptly.
"Ah, sorry. I was distracted. The incantation to stop it is,' I, Feliciano Vargas, hereby stop this memory here!'"
"Thanks!" Italy replied gratefully in a soft whisper. A barely distinguishable chuckle was his only response. He cleared his throat, a hastily recollecting his thoughts as he recounted Feliciano's words. "Er... I, Feliciano Vargas, hereby stop this memory here!"
The Memory Stone dangling around his neck flashed once more, but this time, the light completely faded from the stone. With a final wink, the soft white glow dimmed.
"Thank you. You did a good job, mediator," Ludwig acknowledged Italy. "Shall we go back to the inn now?"
"Yeah!" Italy agreed enthusiastically. With a curt nod in farewell to the patriarch and the four Users, Ludwig exited the room with a sweep of his emerald cloak. Italy tailed him closely. As Ludwig began to walk down the stairs, Italy froze just outside the entrance.
Oh! I forgot to ask Mr. Wang Yao how to go to other worlds! Italy realized. He called down to his companion, who in turn paused in his descent.
"Lud! Lud!"
"What?"
"I think I left something back in Mr. Wang Yao's room! I'll go get it!"
Ludwig sighed and gave a roll of his eyes, giving a reluctant nod of consent. "Just don't bother him."
"Okay!" With a quick turn on his heel, Italy sprinted back into the patriarch's home.
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