I'm getting Writer's Block again! Don't you just hate that! Here we go, Enjoy!
Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya!
Hetalia Tales 5:5 : A Fairy Tale Job Pt 10
Having left the Snuggly Duckling and the guards behind, Flynn/Alfred and Natasha made their way down the tunnel, their way lit by the fire torch that Flynn/Alfred carried. He expressed his amazement at the way she had won over the ruffians back at the inn. Kiku smiled at the memory of Natasha's little bonding session with the criminals. Kiku and Hercules just used a little magic to suggest things they want to do anyway, mind control being against Magical Law. Natasha did the rest!
Natasha asked Flynn/Alfred about himself and where he was from but Flynn/Alfred was not receptive of that and refused to give any personal information, turning it around and began asking Natasha about why she had never left her tower before. Natasha was not comfortable with that question but she was saved (if you could call it that) from answering by vibrations in the ground and soldiers coming down the tunnel. Kiku mentally said 'Run!', a sentiment that was echoed by Flynn/Alfred verbally.
Kiku clung to Natasha's hair as she ran down the tunnel, creating a little distance between them and the soldiers who were hampered by the narrow tunnel. All three squinted as they left the tunnel and ran into sunshine but there they had to stop. They found themselves on a ledge that over-looked a quarry and Kiku groaned. This was not a part of the Tale he had been looking forward to as things were about to get dangerous.
There was no way down to the quarry floor but a rickety old rope ladder that looked like it would snap the moment they put a foot on it and there was a massive dam above them. They had to get down to the quarry floor as that was where the exit was but as they looked for a way down, another boarded up exit near the tunnel they had to get to burst open and two identical brown haired men burst out.
"Who are they?" Natasha asked, warily.
"Let's just say they don't like me," Flynn/Alfred replied. They turned as guards emerge from the tunnel behind them.
"Who are they?"
"They don't like me either!" Then a large German Shepherd dog burst through the guards.
"Before you ask," Flynn said. "Just assume that nobody here likes me!" Kiku look over at the wooden aqueduct that was carrying water from the dam down into the valley and clicked his tongue to get Natasha's attention. She turned to look at him and then at where he was looking, seeing a wooden outcropping that would take her to another ledge on the other side of the quarry. Slapping the frying pan into Flynn/Alfred's stomach, she threw her hair like a whip and wrapped it round the wood, swinging to safety with Kiku clinging to her hair.
She looked back at Flynn/Alfred who was facing off against the soldiers with nothing but a frying pan and doing surprisingly well but once the soldiers were out of the way, he had to face the dog.
"How are we going to get Flynn across, Kiku?"
Kiku looked round and saw a piece of rock, sticking out from the ledge. If she wrapped her hair around that …..
He clicked his tongue again and looked down at the rock and Natasha realised what he was hinting at. She wound her hair round the rock and then she took the end of it and threw it toward Flynn/Alfred who had just lost the frying pan and was at the dog's mercy. The hair wrapped around his hand and Natasha pulled him off the ledge.
Flynn/Alfred swung down toward the quarry floor where Kiku saw with alarm that the Jones brothers were waiting for him with swords drawn. Fortunately, Natasha saw it too and pulled on her hair, raising Flynn/Alfred above the swipes of the swords. Flynn/Alfred's laugh at the looks on their faces was cut short when he smacked into the aqueduct.
Both Kiku and Natasha were relieved when he was only winded and climbed on to the aqueduct instead of falling but suddenly there was a thud and they looked behind them. A large beam of wood from the dam had fallen, spanning the gap between the two ledges and the dog was coming for them. There was nowhere to run to until Natasha felt a tugging on her hair.
"Come on, Blondie!" Flynn/Alfred shouted. Kiku anchored himself firmly to Natasha as she gathered her hair and swung out into the open air, just as the dog almost caught them. Kiku felt the wind rush past him as they swung down to the ground. That was when they heard the crashing sound behind them. They looked back to see the dam collapsing and the water flooding over the top, right at them. The aqueduct began breaking apart and all Natasha could do was run! Flynn/Alfred leapt from falling part to falling part of the aqueduct and made it down to the ground, running behind Natasha and pursued by the Jones Brothers. They were save from them by the water but now, unfortunately, the water was coming for them.
Kiku was dreading this next bit. He knew it would all end well but …...
It would get worse before it got better!
While Natasha did not dare to look back at what was creating that shadow that was falling over them but Kiku could spare the time and saw that a tall, stone pillar that had stood in the centre of the quarry had been toppled by the force of the water and was falling directly over them. Kiku saw Flynn/Alfred running as fast as he could while gathering Natasha's trailing hair into his arms. Kiku looked back the way they were running and the tunnel was was merely feet away but water was already beginning to over take them and he knew that the tunnel was not as safe as they thought.
But he was still relieved when they made it before the stone pillar squashed them flat, even the frying pan was washed in after them but, just as Kiku had read, there was the tunnel. Blocked!
Water was leaking in through the gaps and the tunnel began to fill, with seemingly no way out. Flynn/Alfred quickly put his glasses in his pocket and dove into the rising water. Natasha took the frying pan and tried to break through the walls with it but it barely made a scratch. Flynn/Alfred emerge and tried to help her but he just ended up cutting his hand so he went back to tried to find a way out under water but he came back up with no success. Kiku really wanted to show the two of them the way out but a heart-to-heart had to happen first.
"There's no use!" Flynn/Alfred said. "It's pitch black down there!" Natasha began to sob.
"This is all my fault," she wept. "Mother was right, I shouldn't have done this! I'm so, so sorry, Flynn!"
"Alfred!"
"What?"
"My name," 'Alfred' replied. "It's Alfred F. Jones. I'd like someone to know." Kiku knew Natasha was debating whether or not to tell him her secret and he willed her to do so.
"I have magic hair that glows when I sing," she revealed. Alfred looked at her confused and Kiku smiled as she realised how this could help them.
"I have magic hair that GLOWS when I sing!" she gasped and then she began singing. "Flowergleamandglow," she rushed. "Letyourpowershine." And then the water closed over their heads. Kiku took a deep breath in the last few inches and prepared for the longest seconds of his life.
The dark underwater area lit up as Natasha's hair began glowing and Alfred noticed it being pulled towards some rocks and swam down to them and began pulling them away and Natasha helped him while Kiku hung on to her hair. As more rocks were shifted, the flow of water became stronger and then, just as everyone's breath was reaching their limit and Kiku seriously considered taking his human form and transporting everyone to safety, there was a massive surge and the water carried them out of the tunnel and into a river created by the collapsed dam.
All of them gasped for air as they made for the nearest bank and Natasha climbed out of the water, depositing Kiku on the bank to recover his breath as Alfred gasped beside him.
The things he went through in his line of work!
Alfred began to freak out.
"Her hair glows! I never saw that coming! WHY DOES HER HAIR GLOW?"
"FLYNN!" Natasha had been trying to get his attention and he turned toward her.
"It doesn't just glow," she told him and Kiku smiled up at Alfred, knowing what she was about to show him.
"Why's he smiling at me?"
Kiku sat on a log by the cracking camp-fire while Natasha wound her hair around the wound on Alfred's hand who watched it all, perplexed.
"Are ya gonna to tell me why you're wrapping your hair 'round my injured hand?" he asked and then winced in pain.
"Sorry!" Natasha apologised. "Now please, don't freak out!" She closed her eyes and began to sing the song she sang in the blocked tunnel. Kiku watched as light lit at the roots of her hair and began to grow through the strands that lay in front of him, going on toward Alfred who watched the glow come toward his hand, warily. The glow wrapped itself around his hand and Alfred looked really nervous and then the glow faded and he unwound the hair from his hand. As he stared at his completely healed hand, despite promising not to freak out, he freaked out!
"Oh my god! Magic hair! Magic, glowing hair! Magic, glowing, healing hair. Oh my god! How long's it been doing that?"
"Forever, I guess," she replied. "Mother said when I was a baby, people tried to take it from me. They cut it, wanting it for themselves." She pulled her hair to one side, revealing a short, auburn lock.
"When it's cut," she continued as Alfred looked at her hair. "It becomes like this and loses it's power. My gift has to be protected so that's why mother never allowed me ….. That's why I never left ….. " Natasha broke off.
"Why you never left the tower," Alfred guessed and the look on his face told Kiku that Alfred had his suspicions about Natasha's mother and the tower and did not like what he suspected.
"Are you still gonna go back?" he asked. Kiku hoped not and clearly Alfred did too.
"No! Yes! I don't know!" Natasha put her head in her hands in frustration and rubbed her face. Then she turned back to Alfred.
"So Alfred F. Jones, huh." He shrugged.
"Boring story," he replied. "Found in New York, America by Frederick Jones, hence the F. Jones. Bit of a downer, really." Natasha looked anything but bored.
"The twins back at the quarry," he explained. "We kinda travelled together but I began to dislike some of things they did and because they were called F. Jones too, people thought we were all related. So I decided to change my name. Well, there was this book, I used to read it to the younger orphans. The Tales of Flynnigan Ryder. Swashbuckler, rich, ladies man. He'd never brag, of course."
"Was he a thief?" Natasha asked.
"No!" Alfred admitted. "Actually, he was a hero. He was wealthy enough to do anything he wanted to do, go anywhere he wanted to go and to a kid who had nothing, well, it just seemed so much better." Natasha smiled at Alfred.
"Did you steal that crown?" she asked. "Do you really want to be wealthy that badly?" Flynn looked thoughtful.
"What I said about my dream," he said. "Back in the Snuggly Duckling! It wasn't true. I just said that because I thought that's what they wanted to hear. I stole the crown to help make my real dream come true."
"What is your real dream?" Natasha asked.
"To find my family," he admitted. "I've no memory before the age of eight, except my first name. But I dream of three people and I know they're my family. I want to find them but that takes money so I stole the crown."
Natasha did not really approve of the stealing but understood why he would do it and told him she thought it was sweet.
"Don't tell anyone, okay?" he begged. "It could ruin my reputation if it got out."
"Oh! We wouldn't want that," Natasha teased. Then their eyes met and Kiku smiled at the tender moment.
They're beginning to fall in love, he thought. The Tale is still on course. He was still a little worried though because he still had not read the last of the Tale. He hoped he would find time to return home to read it, otherwise he would be working blind. Then Alfred broke the moment.
"I'll just go get some more firewood," he said, getting up and walking toward the trees.
"Hey!" she called after him and he turned back to her. "Just so you know, I like Alfred F. Jones better than Flynn Ryder."
"Thanks," he replied. "You're the only one so far." And he disappeared into the trees.
Kiku sat beside Natasha as she watched him disappear into the woods. The look on her face said it all and Kiku could not be happier but it was too bad he knew something was about to spoil the moment.
"I thought he'd never leave!"
And guess who shows up! This is taking longer than I thought to write but what can you do? I'd like to get this finished soon but I don't want it to be rushed so we'll just have to see how it goes. :)
To themusicalcat – Once again, thank you for telling me about my little error! D: Technology can be fickle and I've had more than my fair share of problems with it! But, in this case, I probably did upload the wrong chapter (oops!) Yes, they do but it is only suggestion, they can't control anyone's mind, only encourage them to do stuff that, deep down inside, they want to do anyway! ;) I know the problem of writing too much, I can't seem to keep one-shots as one-shots, they always end up as two, three or, in the case of this story, more than ten shots. Oh well! And Kiku's job will get harder, that you can be sure of! DX
To Maveriqua – Kiku and Hercules have many weird and wonderful abilities to aid them in their task ;D If you remember, 'a message seemed to pass between them as they disappeared into the tunnel' :) And Sadik! Mean! Nah, he's a pussycat! XD
To takuya – Yeah, getting to the good stuff now. :D You know, I'm getting De-ja-vu too. Occupational hazard of telling a story again from another point of view. I'm trying not to follow too closely but I constantly fall into that trap of getting sucked into the original story. :( I'll try to do better with it, I promise!
And that's that for another week. Next week, they'll meet Berlitz and head into the city for Natasha's birthday. Fun and lanterns!
So till next time,
Hasta la Pasta!