Author's Note: Oh my god, guys... I am so sorry. I have put this off for WAY too long. I really have tried to do this sooner, but... Every time I started a new document I would just stare at it, no ideas coming WHATSOEVER. That, I realize, is a horrible excuse, but I honestly couldn't think of anything to write. It wasn't until I was introducing one of my friends to Hetalia that I finally thought of something. Anyway, thanks for being patient. This chapter isn't too long, but it finally gets the ball rolling again on this story. Anyone have an idea how Gloriana plans to crush Matthew's spirit? ;) I'm not perfect, so I make mistakes! If you see I make a spelling or grammar mistake, let me know so I can change it! That's all for now, and I hope you enjoy! SAPPHIRE OUT!

Warning: Mild language, OCs, or possible genderbends will be used! Don't like, please move along and don't read~

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia (though I wish I did xD). It's just fan stuff! :D

Canadatheninja: Yep! XD You were right, though I'm pretty sure the "Kesese" gave it away. :3

Awesome11: Thanks, though I feel the chapter went to crap at the end. O.o And that's okay; that summer really helped me to become a stronger person!

Chapter Ten: Don't Trust the Mint-colored Wings

"Matthew..." Alfred began, "Your right eye is completely violet."

"Eh?!" the prince exclaimed, his hand touching just below the eye that had been blinded.

A silky, almost melodious laugh echoed through the top of a dark, dreary tower. It echoed from every point in the tall building, just echoing and echoing, until it finally faded out of all hearing.

The laugh belonged to that of a darkly beautiful woman who was bent over some kind of glass sphere. Her long midnight black hair was cut just at mid-back and resembled a river that had been completely blackened by the night sky. A glittering, silver circlet sat upon her head that could not be mistaken for anything but a crown because of its otherworldly gloriousness. She was also gracefully tall and had a perfect hourglass figure that was flattered wonderfully by a black dress with a strange, mystifying green shine. Her eyes were bright green and cat-like, which gave her a sinister look combined with her dark cherry lips.

The woman had a smirk upon her dark lips as she stared into the aforementioned glass sphere, the face of the prince of Hearts displayed clearly on it. It was obvious that the woman was amused by the prince's reaction to having a violet eye.

"Oh, how amazing and hilarious. It seems that the prince's curse is coming along faster than expected. How absolutely delightful that is," she giggled, "Oh, and look at that priceless reaction! Isn't that so funny, King of Hearts?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," responded the King, his normally bright green eyes now dulled and lifeless. It was as if the King was not truly in his own body anymore.

The woman pouted at the King's dry reply. "The spell I used on you is no fun. I almost think it would be more entertaining to have you without it, but then you wouldn't listen to a thing I had to say! What am I suppose to do with you?" she whined with a sigh, crossing her arms.

"I am unsure of how to respond, Your Majesty."

"No, no," the queen said dejectedly and bit her lower lip in thought, "You weren't meant to; it was rhetorical. Anyway, with the prince in such a weak state, I should find a way to take advantage of the situation. After all, he thinks I can't see him, so he won't expect it at all. Hmm... Oh! How could I have not thought of this before? I know exactly how to crush his spirit into millions of tiny, little, miserable pieces. Flying Mint Bunny, dearest! Come here!"

At the call, the once lovable creature flew into the room, her chocolate brown eyes now clouded and lifeless. She fluttered around the woman, waiting for whatever command that would be given to her. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Please be a dear and lead the Prince of Hearts into the Temple of Choosing. Tell him that you've finally gotten away from being captured by me and that his father is locked up in the Choosing Temple. Does that sound easy enough?"

The green bunny nodded and replied quietly, "Of course, Your Majesty. Anything for the good of the Eagle kingdom."

"Good. Now run along. You have much to do."

The bunny flew out the window and out of the tower, making her way towards her newfound mission. It seemed easy enough to the small creature, and even if it wasn't, she did not mind. After all, Queen Gloriana D'eu was so kind to trust her with the duty of bringing the cursed chosen one to his knees. That was one of the greatest honors of all. The Eagle kingdom would finally rise to power.

"He is going to die soon, and all you're bloody thinking about to do is 'Remain calm and continue with the original plan.' Do you realize how bloody stupid that is? We obviously don't have as much time as we thought, so there is no possible way of continuing with the original bloody plan, you wanker! It'll take way too long to instruct him in all of the magics!" Arthur yelled in anger, clearly more than irritated with the man before him. Tristan, however, remained calm while looking at the Brit. It was obvious that he would not let Arthur upset him.

"I will agree with you that teaching him all of the magics will take far too much of the precious time he has left, so the plan will change in that regard. I will instruct him the best I can in his ice magic and teach him how to fight with his blind eye. All we need to do is remain calm and think. Gloriana doesn't know where we are, after all," Tristan tried to convince diplomatically.

"Stay calm, my a-"

"That's enough, Arthur!" Matthew suddenly exclaimed in a rather irritated manner. Both of the men turned towards the prince, a bit surprised that he had not only spoken up, but also yelled. Even Alfred and Kayla, who had so far been silent, looked surprised that he had raised his voice. Matthew had always talked in that shy, whispery voice of his. It was almost unheard of for the man to shout.

"Contrary to what you may think, Arthur, I do have a mind of my own to think with! You, Tristan, and Alfred have absolutely no control over what I say or do! I appreciate your concern, but I will say what I will or will not do. Understood?" the prince asked with an intense glare, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers impatiently on the sides of them. Arthur sighed and glared to the side, muttering angrily under his breath.

"Yes," said the Brit, straining the word, "I understand, you dolt."

"Thank you." The prince smiled gently and became less tense, despite Arthur insulting him directly after he had said that he agreed. Matthew understood that it was just the man's way when he said words that would normally seem hurtful. It often was a way of showing worry or that he cared; it was not truly meant to hurt the person.

"Now, with that settled, I will say what I want to do. I would like to go with what Tristan has in mind. It seems very sensible to just be taught in ice magic," he decided in his quiet tone of voice.

"Haha! Sounds good to me, Matthew~" Kayla sang playfully and flew up into the air, flying circles around the prince. All but Alfred stared at her with an amused eyebrow, his expression being more of confusion than anything else. It took him a moment until he finally asked the question that had been nagging at his mind for clearly a while now.

"You know, I've been wonderin'," he asked, "How do you fly around like that? You obviously don't have wings or anything, so how do you do it?" The joker paused in mid-air for a split second then suddenly moved very quickly over to Alfred, smirking as she squished his cheeks to make him resemble a fish.

"It's called magic. You know, the thing that Mr. Hughes has been teaching your brother?" she said with a snicker, "Specifically, though, it's 'Joker Magic,' which is a different branch of magic than the ones that humans can preform. It has to do with the fourth dimension: space and time stuff. Very complicated." After this had been said, she could not help but add, "You know, you look good as a fish! It suits you!"

The American slapped the teenager's olive-skinned hands away and glared at her sinisterly. "Don't do that!" Almost immediately after he had spoken, a thought occurred to the blond, "Wait, you said 'Different branch of magic than the ones that humans can preform.' Does that mean you're not human? You look pretty human to me."

"Jokers are very similar to humans, but have the Guardian's blood inside them," Matthew answered for Kayla. The female gave a small nod and smile towards the prince.

"What he said."

"Oh," said the American, feeling rather dumb, "I get it now."

Before anything more could be said, there was a rapid tapping on Tristan's front door. The group froze for a moment until Tristan finally managed to move and open the wooden door. As soon as the door was opened, Flying Mint Bunny flew in, looking rather weak and exhausted. She fell onto the floor, her chest heaving with uneven, shallow breaths.

"Flying Mint Bunny!" Britain exclaimed in horror, practically running towards the creature and picking her up. His emerald eyes scanned over the bunny's form anxiously, looking for whatever would be causing her pain. She generally looked fine, much to Arthur's relief, excluding the few scratches, bruises, and dirt covering her body.

Flying Mint Bunny opened her brown eyes, making a weak smile at the one holding her. "M-Mr. Britain . . . It's so good to s-see you . . . " Arthur immediately noticed something odd upon the creature opening her eyes, which seemed so clouded and so unlike the cheerful orbs that they usually were. It was disturbing to see the usually childish bunny like this.

"What happened, Flying Mint Bunny? How did you get like this? Where have you been all this time?" he asked worriedly.

"I w-was captured by Queen Gloriana D'eu . . . "