Ten reviews do a lot towards my updating spirit! THANKS SO MUCH! And this one happens to be the longest chapter so far! Let's continue this, m'kay?

I drew a crappy map if you guys are getting confused. Although its kinda confusing and I drew it with a laptop mouse on DAmuro. knock yourselves out. htt p: / / mistamie. deviantart. com/ gallery/ ? catpath= scraps#/ d4hikcc (remove spaces)


Dude, is my fur longer? I think the cold weather is making it grow, man.

"Wow, did you always have such horrible grammar? Or was that the side effect of the potion you drank that gave you the lion's body?" Arthur felt warm and cozy in his cloak, the hood soft against his cheek.

They'd left the village behind them for almost two days, yet they were only on the outskirts of the mountains, the worst of the cold and steep terrain before them. It was frustrating that they weren't moving as fast as Arthur had anticipated, and if they were any slower, it would simply get colder, winter coming very early in these parts. This meant he snapped at Alfred a lot more than necessary (in the back of his head he knew the lion didn't deserve most of it) and was of a shorter temper.

No, man, I think the magic and crap is making my fur grow! Its like wearing that cloak you made. And yes, thank you, I always talked like this when not in my father's presence or during the royal court. That was when I talked like a spoiled little ass, not a lion. If you're going to be pissy the entire way to Magic land or whatever, I might as well stuff snow in my ears.

Arthur sighed. "I'm not being pissy, I just want to move faster!"

Then why don't you? I can move a lot faster if I put my mind to it.

Arthur gave the lion a look. "I don't think I can run as fast as a lion, you dolt."

Alfred paused in thought, then sat down on the lightly snow dusted terrain. Hmm…if you couldn't run as fast as one…have you ever ridden a horse before?

"I rode the family donkey. That was a job, let me tell you! He sat down all the time unexpectedly. I was the only one who could get him to move. I realize now that was because I was gifted." Arthur paused as well. "Why? If this is something stupid, come on, we're wasting daylight!"

So, you can ride well enough, and you can magick things to make them lighter, yes?

"Alfred, I was ten when I rode the donkey."

I know, but can you magick yourself to make yourself lighter?

"Yes. Yes I can. But what…oh. Alfred, no, no, that won't work. I rode a donkey not something big enough to hunt donkeys!"

Alfred gave him a look. Arthur continued to shake his head. The lion snorted, turning his blonde head away. Fine. Then it will be another week until we get out of here, and if we run out of meat or water we'll die slow horrible deaths, all because you decided to be prissy at the moment it mattered most…

"Fine!" With a quick chant, Arthur hopped onto Alfred's back, grabbing two handfuls of his mane. With a hum of excitement, he felt Alfred leap and break into a run, and for one of the few times in Arthur's thus far short life, he felt true fear and thrill as the lion underneath him took off, his powerful legs racing up the path.

Although it got rather uncomfortable after the first fifteen minutes, Arthur found that their traveling time was being cut in half. Alfred eventually slowed his reckless pace a bit so he was going at a fast trot that was about as fast as a carriage and much faster than they could walk. Arthur gave him a little of his own energy, but for the majority of their journey that day, Alfred traveled for the both of them.

Arthur, its really nothing, you don't have to keep reducing your weight, I know that puts more pressure on you. You feel like five pounds, seriously!

Arthur nodded, although Alfred couldn't see him, and hooked his legs around Alfred's ribcage as best he could, ducking his head down so to prevent snow from getting in his eyes.

"We want to go left here, there is a cavern here we can spend the night in, if I remember correctly."

Good, because I'm hungry! Plus, the sun will set soon, and we need firewood before that.

With the two of them, they collected enough firewood in about a half an hour to last the night and then some, and Arthur began to stack and arrange the wood while Alfred went to scout out the surrounding forest.

He used a simple spell to dry out the wood, then another to light it, feeling the warm from the flame begin to be coaxed out. He exhaled, warming his face and slipping off his mittens as he settled down next to the fire. He pulled out different cooking utensils from his bag and began to get ready for dinner, whenever Alfred brought it back. He'd been gone a fairly long time, but Arthur wasn't worried. Alfred could contact him at any time, and he could do the same if it came down to that.

He looked around him, noticing it was snowing, and that everything around him was in a state of quiet. It was so pretty, and the magician watched as a squirrel collected some fauna before traveling on, his fur a strange black color. Probably to absorb heat, although he had to hide in the shadows to evade predators.

There was a snapping of branches off to the south outside the cavern, the direction they'd come, and Arthur stood right up, the squirrel running away.

Alfred, is that you I heard? Arthur asked hesitantly, his mind searching for that spot in the magical field where there was a blip, signaling Alfred's strange manipulation of energy. He finally found it, but in the opposite direction, and farther off.

I dunno, I just caught this big rat thing! I'm running it back to you now! And Arthur heard soft thumps as Alfred ran back, nothing as disruptive as the crackling and snapping he'd heard. But as he looked out the opening in the cavern, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, the white covered forest giving nothing away.

Alfred arrived soon enough, and in his eagerness, caused Arthur to forget about the noise, having to take care of the gore-y corpse that looked a lot like a badger, but he wasn't going to rain on Alfred's parade about catching the 'biggest rat of the century', seeing as he wasn't actually sure if Alfred knew the difference between a badger and a rat, but he wasn't going to bring it up.

It was only when he was wrapped up in his cloak snuggled next to Alfred (purely for heat's sake and for a pillow! For no other reason!), the only one of the two awake. He'd convinced the lion not to go hunting during the night, and now he was glad of it, the noise bothering him. It could have been an animal, but how large? He wasn't all that familiar with the strange animals of the Adanac forests, which during the deepest winter saw no sun. Or could it have been a human? A hermit, perhaps? They could be dangerous if angered. They usually had weapons on them, and if you had something they wanted, they had no reservations about slitting your throat while you slept.

Finally, he just decided he was being a prat, and fell asleep as the moon started to descend towards the earth.


Natalya wasn't happy. The cold hearted woman looked down at her manicured fingernails, a sneer decorating her beautiful face. The small blonde man in front of her sniveled, pale and frightened. Good.

"So, you say you search all of Acirema, you find no trace of the beast? I pay you well, I don't kill your families, and this is the thanks I get?" She was sitting at Francis' desk in the study, the imbecile still asleep at eleven in the morning after what they did last night. But it didn't matter, the less he was around, the more power she gained. And Ivan would still love her after he was brought to his senses, even if she was defiled by the idiot named Bonnefey.

"Yes, ma'am, we se-searched the na-a-ation for him!" The man in front of her, (his name was John, if her memory was correct, and it always was) began to quake uncontrollably. Pitiful.

"And you see the map over there?" She pointed with one of those lethal fingernails at the old map that had been put there by Francis' predecessors.

"Yes-s ma'a-am?"

"Do. You. See. It?"

"YES MA'AM!"

"Good. And where are we now, if you please would humor me?"

"The capitol."

"Good. And If I were a frightened animal on the north side of town, and I ran about fifty miles north, where would I be?"

The man gulped, and realization dawned on his features. "Not Acirema, lady Nat-alya…" He hunched down, his small form on the verge of a seizure from fear. "He-e'd-d be in Adanac…"

"Yes. He is. Round up your little group, Raivis, grab Toris and the nerd with the glasses. You are to help my newest employee. I knew you would fail, and I. Can. Not. Fail. So I hired him. Help him. If you screw up his mission, You. Are . Dead. Am I clear?" A nod. "Dismissed. Get out of my sight." And he ran out of the room.

He probably picked the shortest straw to get stuck talking to her. Yes, that was it, she could hear the other two's voices outside the door. The cowards. Vanya wasn't a coward.

When they were children, Natalya scared their sister to no end, and eventually the nanny picked up on the fact that the youngest of the family (or what was left of it, her mother in an abbey somewhere for being "possessed of the devil" and their other siblings…) wasn't as sane as normal children. As she grew older, the worse she apparently behaved. Of course, she hadn't done anything wrong, everyone just seemed to only see her as her mother, that crazy lady who tried to kill all the children one night so only those of her blood would inherit the family name. They had worried she would follow after this.

Natalya was perfectly sane. Those pigeons had looked at her wrong, that was why she'd killed them. And when she fed one of the dogs dog meat from an elderly pooch that had died earlier in the day, they all were disturbed for some reason. Why? They shouldn't let the meat go to waste!

It was when she killed a little girl from the village that they'd thrown her in the asylum. The girl had stared too long at Ivan, and had giggled over him with her dolled up friends. And Ivan didn't even care for the girl. So, Natalya had gotten rid of her. They carted her away the next day when they found the body.

The reason why she went through all the trouble to break out of the asylum was when she figured out that Ivan was gone.

All her life, no one was there for her. Her father was one who believed children were only worth a name and later, the inheritance or the dowry. The girls were married off, and the family line continued. Her mother, after her birth, was carted away as well. Natalya's older sister was too much of a crybaby to be respected and too easily hurt, as Natalya often demonstrated, and that left Ivan. Ivan, handsome, strong Ivan, who was always there for her, would always sit next to her, even after the horrible things that she did. She'd fallen in love with her own brother.

He even visited her at the asylum. Once a month, he'd come. And then, he missed one. One of the nurses, when Natalya had held a glass shard to her throat, had told her that he'd left to go to the court of Acirema. To find a bride, possibly. Natalya had raced after him, and had found him the night he'd danced with the princess, both of them in disguise. She had been too late. Now, the love of her life had filled his heart with someone else, someone perfect, light, innocent, someone better than Natalya. That was why she had to win Ivan back. No matter what the cost.

Even if she had to keep sleeping with Francis, even if she had to slit Ivan's little sunflower's throat. Even if she had to find that lion herself. But of course, there was no reason to worry. Her investment was taken care of.


Arthur woke up to find he was alone in the cavern.

Alfred?

Yeah Artie? Is that you over there by the tree? Wait no…Arthur…

Arthur sat up quickly, his heart beginning to thump. Alfred, I'm back in the cave, where are you?

Arthur, there is someone else here, he's got black hair…

ALFRED! Where are YOU?

Up the hill behind the cavern, about a quarter mile away. The guy is watching me wearily, I'm not sure if he knows I'm intelligent.

Arthur stood up and slung his cloak off, running for where Alfred was.

He climbed up the rocky sides that surrounded the cavern, ignoring the cold, not wanting to be weighted down by his precious new cloak. He tried not making any noise as he trotted quickly over the snowy tundra, weaving through the trees. He stopped short at a clearing, watching as Alfred shook his mane, letting snow fall to the ground, a bird in his mouth. On the other side was the man with the sharp swords from the Inn.

"You, lion, you are smarter then you appear. Same with your friend, in the trees. Come out and fight me like real man." The man drew his swords. He moved into a crouch, his blades at the ready.

Artie, you know this guy?

Alfred's eyes drifted over to him, making sure he was there, like the sword man had said.

I saw him in town, he was with a gang of other foreigners. Seemed like he was the leader. They have one magician, if not more. This one, he doesn't have magic.

Got it.

There was a rustling over head of the sword man, and crackling, "If you know there is another guy here, why doesn't he just come out, he's a freakin' coward! Kiku, you idiot, attack him! The lion is probably an illusion anyway! I should know, illusions were totally invented in…" Arthur watched as the obnoxious man with the long sleeves dropped out of the tree, and the man with the swords sighed.

"Yong Soo, would you shut up? You just ruined the element of surprise, and he would be an imbecile like you to step out without figuring out how many of us there were. He saw us at the Inn, if you recall." Arthur watched them carefully, trying to look behind them to see if there were any more hiding in the trees, his spot behind the tree making it hard for them to see him but not the other way.

Arthur, behind you!

Arthur swung around to find a steel fan with sharpened edges at his neck and the girl with the long black hair looking straight into his eyes.

"So, how did the cute little magician hear me? I am silent as the night. No one hears me until I kill them…" Arthur gulped and stumbled backwards into the clearing, knocking back into Alfred, who growled as Arthur's back slammed into his nose.

"It's the cat! The blondie can talk to the cat, that's how he trained it to let him use him like a pony!" Yong Soo bounced up and down like an excited puppy, while Kiku put a face to his forehead, trying to rub away the headache that was beginning to form.

Wow, I don't even know the little shit and I wanna kill him. Me and that Kiku sword guy have something in common.

It's Kiku and I, and yes, I see what you mean. We're going to have to fight this out. Are you rea…

Flames shot down between them, and a gust thrust the two of them apart, Alfred with a roar over through the trees, Arthur skidding down the length of the clearing.

"I can feel them speaking. I'll take the lion, since you two can't handle magical creatures like I can, you two take blondie. Magic man against gifted animal, two against one for you guys." Arthur's eyes flew open as he tried to claw his way out of the bush he'd collided with. Another magician. And he knew about Alfred.

"Who made you boss, Yong soo? Kiku is the boss…"

"Mei, he's right. He knows he can't take on another magician without back up, he's not that skilled."

"HEY!"

"And he knows how hard it would be for the magician to fend off both of us. His magic style is different from what we're familiar with, not as in tune with his surroundings as those back home, better suited to attacking hand to hand, he'll rely on spells, not games of the mind. Plus, it would be easier to take down the beast without getting close." Mei, the girl, obviously was peeved towards Yong Soo, but set it aside, and instead began to close in on Arthur himself. He watched her slink closer, so he scrambled up, watching as the two encircled him, the magician running after Alfred. They were separating them.

Alfred, the kid is a magician, he's coming after you!

Got it! I'll try to get him into another clearing, I don't want to fight him in the trees.

Be careful.

Don't worr—holy shit! He singed by mane!

Arthur sighed, before facing his attackers. "Why are you attacking me? What have I done?"

The girl narrowed her eyes, but said nothing, nodding to Kiku, who was twirling his swords experimentally in his hands, rolling his neck a little.

"We were paid to come after you."

"By who?"

"Can't say. Can't tell you anymore. Now, please prepare yourself for battle, or dishonor your family." Arthur snorted at the mention of dishonor and family together. He'd dishonored his family many times in their eyes, they wouldn't care. Mother was dead, there was no one to care about, even Peter was repulsed by him. But, hey, he wasn't going to correct the man with the swords, their eyes connecting for a moment, no tell tale flash…like…

"Hey, wasn't there another per…" Arthur drifted off confused. Another what? He just had it…how could he have forgotten? Or…what was he talking about?

Arth…whoa! Art, you ok over there….YOU LITTLE SHIT TAKE THAT….you ok?

He could hear Alfred's angry roar, and the magician's yell. There was a bright flash, and Arthur shook himself out of whatever had come over him. Yeah. Just fine. You?

A sword swung at his face, and he felt his unnatural flexibility kick in, his magical wards slowing the blade, allowing him to duck underneath, sliding his foot to hook around Kiku's ankle, only to find he moved, and so had Mei.

Just fine, not as tough as he looks. But we can't talk like this, I think he might be able to hear us somehow, he sometimes knows my move before I actually move. He's limping, though, so it shouldn't be much…

Arthur turned and sent a gust of air crashing into Mei, slamming her against the trunk of a nearby tree. She quickly recovered, but it gave him time to pull a dagger from his belt and dangerously parry a blow from Kiku, who was unrelenting. If not for protective wards, Arthur wouldn't have a hand.

Alfred didn't continue his sentence, so Arthur assumed he had a lot on his plate at the moment, and instead focused fully on his opponents. He remembered the words of his teacher for a moment.

"Every fighting pair has a weakness, whether it be emotional or physical. Find it, exploit it."

Arthur noticed the slight little shift of eyes Kiku made towards the girl as they circled each other, and he began to get an image. Emotional, if ever so slightly, he cares if she's all right, whether for his own gain, or for other reasons. But the magician needed more before he acted. The basic emotional bond wasn't enough to go on.

He looked Kiku over, getting a feel for his character. Hard-working, strong, moral to a 'T', not one to give up.

Arthur swung backwards, fighting another attack back, noting the girl was standing up, and out of the corner of his eye, was watching closely, almost nervously. Ah. Now to make sure it went the same way for both of them.

As he surged forward and lunged the dagger at Kiku, he noticed something in the man's side pocket. A flower, the one she's been wearing in her hair the night before. It was slightly crushed, but saved all the same. They had affections for each other, of course! She'd been in the tavern with her head on his shoulder, she'd asserted that he was the leader.

And he was the type who if she was hurt or killed, would pause only for a moment to look upon her, before fighting until the death, either way it went, as honor would call for it, and mourn after the fact. He wouldn't stop fighting…but she just might if he…

Arthur waited, watching as Mei cautiously entered the fight once more, and he formulated a plan, which, if it failed, might be his downfall. He swung back in a circle and shot off his dagger with a burst of flames, watching as he directed it to slice across Mei's cheek, her gasp loud, her pale cheek soon blood red.

While he had his back turned, one of Kiku's blades sliced down Arthur's back, not deeply, but still tremendously painful, and it took a massive amount of willpower for him to keep his spin trajectory, pulling the snow around him into a blade of ice, shooting it into the black haired man's side as Kiku paused to look up at Mei's yelp of pain. He crumpled like a house of cards.

"KIKU!" Arthur pulled away as Mei wiped the blood on her cheek away with her sleeve as she ran to the man on the ground. He was struggling to get up, but he kept falling down.

"I don't wish to fight either of you! Please, I call a truce!" Arthur moved far away from the two of them, Mei ripping off part of her billowing sleeves to staunch Kiku's bleeding.

"Fine. And, no Kiku, don't say a word." The man in question glared up at Arthur, but nodded all the same.

"Fine. If we all agree…"

Alfred! Alfred, how are you handling the magician?

I would say not very well, Arthur Kirkland.

Arthur spun around, the voice very, very wrong. There was the man in red who'd stared at him at the tavern. "Where's Alfred?"

There was a rustling, and Alfred appeared, edging around the small man with the powerful eyes. How could Arthur have forgotten the magician? Alfred stood next to him, but said nothing.

"Alfred, did he do anything to you?" Arthur bent down, his eyes never straying far from the black haired magician. "And what of Yong Soo?"

Alfred turned his head, and Arthur looked into his blue eyes.

There was no light shining through them, they simply stared glassily up at him as his lips pulled back in a snarl, and Arthur barely had time to move before the lion pounced.


Tell me if it is confusing or too fast paced. Watching NCIS isn't helping.

Fun Fact: The term "middle class" was first coined around 1745 in a book about Irish wool trading.

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