I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, I know I was to update a lot sooner but I was caught up in exams and finish curriculum! I will try and update again soon but no promises because we can see how that ended.

But tenth chapter which means it's my turn to introduce!

Thank you so much for reading this, I know it's slow right now but I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am enthralled by writing this. Thank you especially for unluckyXIII and my friends for helping me edit this and continue writing with their criticism and thrill of new chapters. Thank you!

I also want to say, for my readers across the sea, you guys are so awesome. And I think it's insanely cool that people in France and the Philippines are reading this. You guys rock!

Please don't feel scared to bash this, let me know if you think it sucks, heck let me know if you want people to show up! I'm trying to work in as many people as possible. Tell me about characters you think need changing or would like to see more of, I'll read review promise. Hey guys feel free to guess what you think will happen!

I don't own Hetalia that is Hidekaz Himaruya's claim to fame.

Enjoy~!

Lasting Promises

"Arthur~! Don't walk away I was only tease you mon amour!"

Arthur stomped toward the camp sight water dripping from his hair his white shirt clinging to his thin body. Ludwig looked up from beside Felicia with a messy daisy chain in his hands. Anca was beside a fire with a pot; that to Felicia and her brother Lovino, who was currently missing, had brought with them.

"Swimming with the fish eh Arthur?" Anca teased flipping her lovely black locks back as she waltz up to him. Anca draped one arm around the scowling Brit flashing a toothy grin; Arthur rolled his eyes.

Jean felt a heated anger course through her briefly as she forcefully pushed the fish into the Transylvanian's face. Anca red eyes turned back to Jeannette's wide smile.

"Lots of piosson non?" Jeannette smiled leaning her face in a way she had practiced often to look confident.

Anca raised an eyebrow before smiling sweetly, "Yes that should do. Arthur do you want to dry your shirt or will you wear it wet?"

"No I rather enjoy trying to get a chill" Arthur snapped pulling his wet shirt off causing Jeanette to blush and stare. He was pale and thin but built, long faded scars etched like pale fingers across his torso. Suddenly he seemed to catch Jeannette blue eyed stare. He blushed glaring with his large eyebrows; Jeannette's heart skipped a beat but she covered it by smiling with her perverted smile.

"tu es très beau" she grinned causing him to glare and mutter angrily under his breath.

Jean grinned skipping off to sit beside Felicia, who had now put her daisy chain on top of Ludwig's head.

"Vee see? It does look pretty on you!" Felicia smiled up at the German brushing her brown locks back from her face as she peered up with bright amber eyes, "Daisy do look pretty, what's your favorite flower? Mine is the veee… well I like all of the flowers but I really like olive trees. Outside of our place there is a forest and I always use to sit in the olive tree, fratello would play music and I would draw and sing."

"Olive trees are not flowers." Ludwig smiled gentle rubbing his large hand through the girl's hair gently as the said girl pouted

"Well they should be! Vee, but what's your favorite flower!?"

"Have you ever seen a Kornblume, or a cornflower? It looks all spiky but it's still beautiful. Mein sister would pick them and place them in our hair sometimes we would get many flowers und throw them up in ze air during the evening let zem land into the little lake beside our cottage. She always loved the cornflower. She would tease me by warning me that if my hair ever got too long she would braid cornflowers into it. Once, just once, she did too."

"Who knew you actually had a heart?" Anca snickered flashing her merry eyes at the blushing German.

Jeannette rolled her eyes, "Oh mon anime anyone raise by Gilberta Beilschmidt has a heart big enough to take care of a world, no matter how small that world is hn~ West?"

The German glared at the French woman who merely laughed, "My favorite flower is the lily, the white lily. I had a dear friend once, Joan, she was a strange girl, she would always play with me and she would argue. We would fight too; but whenever we got in too much of an argument she would always leave a white Lily on my door step."

"You sound like an old woman" Arthur snickered from beside the French girl he sat down beside her.

"Oh yeah well what's your favorite flower? Or do you not have one black sheep!" Jeannette snapped back huffing in annoyance.

"Black sheep?" Arthur asked before shrugging, "I don't really know I like roses, the red rose is beautiful."

"Haha!" Jeannette smiled triumphantly, "You're a romantic type! Dreaming of your princess you can carry off into the sunset! I bet your favorite stories are fairy tales!"

Arthur turned bright red sitting upright he retorted, "I am not a romantic! And my favorite story is Peter Pan and that is NOT a fairy tale!"

"But it has the base of being a fairy-tale!"

"Does not!"

"Yes it does!"

"Stop being stupid Peter Pan is completely … I'm not a romantic anyways!"

"Honononon!" Jeannette smiled, "You just admitted your Romantic! Don't fret mon amour I am too"

"How did I admitted that I'm Romantic?!"

"You just did."

"Wha-! That doesn't count! Stop laughing!"

Jeannette clutched her stomach from her happy laugher, Arthur huffed turning pointedly away blushing fiercely. Jeannette covered her mouth quickly trying to hide the loud snorts of giggles and air that she emitted with her un-lady like laughter.

"Oh mon cheri your priceless!"

Anca had joined in the laughter, "You know Jeannette is right you about as romantic as they get. The first time we met you called me a damsel in distress because I had fallen in a puddle and had a couple of men chasing me."

"I was 10! All I was reading was fairy tales and the tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table! I was obsessed but it does not mean I'm romantic! I'm a god damn blood thirsty pirate!" Arthur shouted his face completely red as he jumped up.

"What's wrong about being romantic? "Felicia smiled, "I think it's cute."

Ludwig only snorted from beside Felicia his eyes glimmering in amusement. Arthur glared at the pair of them. He opened his mouth a couple of times but ended closing them looking very much like a fish.

"Will you idiotas stop shouted for Dio's sake?" Lovino snapped as he struggled out of the bushed looking positively peeved tugging on a branch that had snagged onto his coat and the leaves in his normally perfect dark brown hair.

"Where were you fratello?" Felicia asked walking up to her twin gently brushing the leaves out of his hair.

"I was busy god damn it! Shouldn't we be moving to Britannia we need to keep moving damn it!"

"Arthur told us to stop" Jeannette said turning curiously to the Brit.

"Aye about that." Arthur sighed sitting down again; he glanced up at the mid-day sun shining through the trees casting gentle shadows. He raised his hand to his lips and let out a piecing whistle. Flinching from the sound the nobles quickly raised their hands over their ears.

"Mr. Arthur please don't be so loud!" Felicia whined earning an annoyed glance from Arthur who repeated the whistle only a semitone higher
than before.

The piercing sound hung in the air then sharply rose fading into the air. He nodded turning back to the nobles would didn't seem as amused.

"I need to talk to you. I have a way to get to Britannia in about four days. But I need you to trust me."

Silence spread over the group as Ludwig narrowed his eyes immediately suspicious, "Why should we trust you? You're a pirate."

Arthur stared back in his unfaltering green eyes of his, the same piercing look that Gilberta would always give when she was being serious for once, the same strength of determination.

"Because Mathew is my adopted brother, I care about him and Alfred" Arthur said evenly, "I have gotten you this far in the frankly stupid quest to go after a myth. When is the last time you've seen a dragon? Why should I even care about some girl who disappeared before I even cared? I don't frankly. But it's keeping me alive and my head attached to my body and now Mathew is part of this game. So I'll play along but I need you to trust me and trust me when I tell you I won't back down on my word."

"Fine I'll play game" Ludwig said pulling the Italian girl closer to him just in case, "What is your idea?"

Arthur smiled but it wasn't a gentle pretty smile, "I will remind you that I AM a pirate. I've set our course we are heading toward the shore about and good evenings walk from the nearby sea town. The whistle that I did should be sending some of my ravens to my ship members."

"wait you're not saying that we are taking the sea rout? That could take five days at least plus walking to Britannia!" Jeannette blurred out.

"No fucking way we finally caught you to let you back out to sea is just kissing your reward good bye!" Lovino snapped pulling his sister closer to him and away from the potato freak.

"Nien I don't trust you enough for that."

"Look I know you don't have any reason to trust me but please believe me that enough is enough we have find out where the dragons have gone." Arthur sighed, "I won't run."

Jeannette frowned twirling a hand through her hair, "You know a lot about dragons"

"Gilberta was my friend too" Arthur laughed, "I just want to help Alfred. I need to get Mathew back, trust me just this once."

Biting her lip Jeannette forced herself to hold Arthur's gaze, "Fine" she muttered, "I'll allow this. Ludwig, Anca, Lovino, Felicia what do you think?"

"I believe Arthur" Anca said staring hard at the pirate, "He does help those in need as much as he denies it."

Arthur snorted rolling his eyes in disagreement

"Vee will there be pasta?" Felicia smiled

"No, you don't want to waste water on sea" Arthur replied deadpan.

"I don't like it." Ludwig muttered his hard eyes on Arthur's equally cold ones, "You seem willing to help, almost too willing."

"Mathew and Alfred are my reason I'm still alive and not floating in Davy Jone's locker." Arthur replied.

"I agree with the potato freak but I will go with it." Lovino said glaring at the pirate, "One wrong move and I will kill you like a true Italian."

Anca snorted, "Italian's kill people?"

Arthur Jeannette and Ludwig snorted in laughter which the rest of the group join in on, even Lovino.

Line break

Gilberta made the first move, leaping up into the air she spread her pure white wings catching on the wind gliding forward her teeth and claws bared as she dropped on top of the tawny fur of the manticore. It screeched under her sudden weight immediately snapping its bat wings open as his bolted slipping under Gilberta's claws.

Spinning around the beast met with Gilberta dark ruby eyes; its black eyes filled with rage as it shook itself out. Large bat wings spread out from its shoulders but it held the body and head of a lion. Snarling it roared charging at the dragon.

Gilberta snorted leaping high into the air landing behind it spinning quickly on her feet she shooting her head forward snapping her jaws into the hind leg of the beast. Warm blood seeped into her mouth as the flesh moved in spastic flexing. Suddenly a piercing sensation vibrated through her body as something sharp plunged into her neck narrowly missing a vital pipe. Gilberta snarled lifting the manticore into the air throwing it with all her might into the stone wall.

It yelped slumping down onto the dirt floor of the area, it let out a pain yowl as it tries to stand. Gilberta crouched snarling furiously but she felt off, sick the wound in her neck burned as if it was rolling and peeling back all of her pure white scales.

Fear flashed though the beast's eyes as Gilberta propelled herself forward pushing the lion head hard into the ground as she dug her claws into the beast flesh. She curled her lips back as the tail aimed to strike, her eyes narrowed as she gripped it near the base with her teeth pulling it out of its socket. It fell; helpless and limp blood pooling out of the puncher holes. The tail was strange it had a pointer dripping with a strange liquid.

"Poison" she muttered horrified bring her attention back to the poison now seeping through her body, no wonder she felt so sick, "Kacke."

Growling she brought her paw up slamming it down hard onto the beast skull. Blood poured out between her claws as the body stiffed then relaxed going limp forever.