Story: Spellbound
Author: ShrapnelGirl
Exclaimer: All Hetalia characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.
Author's comments: Here's the tenth chapter of Spellbound. Ciel Farron, your character finally gets the appearance I promised! And as you see, she's actually rather important ;). I'm sorry if I don't portray her well enough and that not all the info you sent me could be fitted in. I did my best! If you want me to change anything, be it details about her, her way of speech or anything else, just PM me and I'll get to it!
This might be the only chapter I post for the next couple of weeks. I have finals to study for and essays to finish since it's the end of the term. I'll try my best to have the next chapter ready next weekend, but if I don't manage, please don't be mad at me! I'm human too…
Enjoy!
Chapter 10 – Reunion with the NorDics – London, winter of 1946
They arrived in London shortly before midnight. Iceland yawned through the ramblings of the flight attendants and made an honest try to reset his watch to match the local time before he remembered that it was winter and that the time in England matched the local time in Iceland. Lauren, the friendly girl he had chatted to for most of the flight, was snoring lightly into her scarf. Iceland shook her gently.
"Lauren," he said. "We've arrived. Welcome to England."
Lauren opened her violet eyes, blinked and brushed a dirty blond lock out of her face.
"How long was I out?" she asked.
Iceland shrugged.
"Longer than Herra Lundi," he said, nodding towards a sleeping Mr. Puffin on his other side. "No more than half an hour though."
Lauren yawned.
"M'kay," she said.
At the baggage reclaim, Iceland and Mr. Puffin waited around with Lauren even though they only had hand luggage. For some strange reason, Iceland felt almost responsible for the girl. She had told him during the flight that she had been on a weeklong backpacking tour around his country – in the middle of winter. When Iceland asked her if she was crazy she just laughed.
"I have my reasons," she said, but refused to go into more detail. Iceland had left it at that. He didn't ask why she wore combat boots either – he figured she had got them at one of the stores that had popped up everywhere after the war, selling old uniforms and used army stuff. Maybe she was a spy?
But then again, what would a teenage spy be doing in Iceland?
"Do they have puffins in this country?" Mr. Puffin asked while the trio watched bags and suitcases go round and round on the baggage carousel, waiting for Lauren's bag to show up.
"Probably," Iceland said.
"You sure?"
Iceland shrugged.
"Nope," he said.
The trio stood in exhausted silence until Lauren found her bag. It had a large, Greek flag sewn on it.
"You from Greece?" Iceland asked. "You on a transit flight or something?"
Lauren flashed him a bright smile.
"I'm Greek, but I grew up speaking Greek and Welsh. I'm visiting some people in Wales before I head back to Greece."
"That's nice," Iceland said.
The trio made their way to the exit of the airport. There they stood, watching in silence as people got into cabs and drove away.
"What hotel are you guys staying at?" Lauren asked, breaking the silence.
Iceland and Mr. Puffin looked at each other. They had completely forgotten about a place to stay. Iceland usually never left his country unless he had a meeting with some other nation, and then he usually stayed at said nation's place or at a hotel prepaid by his government. How was he supposed to know that usually you needed to book a hotel in advance when going to a foreign country?
God, he was so useless.
"We actually didn't think about that…" Iceland said. Mr. Puffin coughed embarrassedly.
Lauren's eyes grew wide.
"You flew all the way to England without thinking about where to stay?" she practically yelled. A couple of people turned their heads towards her, which made Lauren visibly shrink and flush pink. "You guys…" she said, shaking her head.
"I guess you have a room reservation already?" Iceland asked.
Lauren nodded.
"Theoretically," she said, "you guys could come with me to the hotel and ask if they have a room…"
"Let's do that," Mr. Puffin said. "I'm so tired – right now, all I can think about is something warm to eat and a soft bed."
"Let's grab a taxi then," Iceland said.
Right as he finished the sentence, a black car pulled up. Iceland instinctively walked towards it and got in, ushering his two companions to do the same. He didn't pay attention to the fact that this black car didn't look at all like the other taxis he had seen around the airport, nor that it didn't have the trademark yellow sign…
When all three travellers were safely inside the car, the driver stepped on the gas so that the car shot forward abruptly. A low clicking sound was heard as the doors of the car locked simultaneously. For the first time, Iceland noticed that the passenger area of the car was separated from the front seats with iron bars. Also, there were two people in the front seats instead of just one.
"Hello there, Ice," said the driver. He adjusted the rear-view mirror so that Iceland could see his eyes. They were deep blue under blond eyebrows. Not that Iceland needed that detail to recognize the driver. That gravity-defying hair could not possibly be missed. Except Iceland had just managed to climb into the car without noticing it.
"Denmark," he said. And to the man in the passenger seat: "Norway. What are you guys doing?"
Denmark chuckled as he changed gears and sped past the other cars on the driveway. Someone honked angrily.
"Preventing disaster," he said.
"By kidnapping us?" Iceland asked, his voice cold. He should have expected something like that. Fae had probably realized he and Mr. Puffin were gone and put together two and two – she wasn't stupid, not matter how forgetful she could sometimes be. If Iceland knew her right, and he very much thought he did, she had probably made a tearful emergency call to the Nordics and begged them to stop him.
Iceland regretted having called the situation a 'kidnapping' when he saw the frightful look on Lauren's face.
"Do you know those guys?" she asked, her voice slightly shivering. Iceland put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her protectively.
"Don't worry," he said. "They won't do anything to us."
Two pairs of violet eyes met, one worried, the other expressionless.
"You sure?"
Iceland attempted a reassuring smile.
"Positive," he said.
"Sure baby!" Denmark yelled loudly, adjusting the rear-view mirror again to get a better look at Lauren. "We won't hurt you. We're actually nice guys, when our little bro here isn't doing foolish things. We'll drop you off at your hotel as soon as we're done asking you some questions."
Iceland wasn't sure if those words had comforted Lauren or not. She grew restless in his arms, so he let go, instead locking fingers with Mr. Puffin. The usually rather talkative former-avian had been terribly silent ever since they got on the plane to London. Iceland studied his friend's face for any signs of fright or nervousness but found none. Mr. Puffin was as expressionless as the champion of expressionlessness: Norway. His darkly tinted sunglasses didn't help either.
Mr. Puffin squeezed Iceland's hand when Denmark made a dangerous turn into an alley somewhere in London. Iceland cursed himself for not having paid attention to where they were going.
The car came to an abrupt stop in front of a red brick house – identical to about a million other red brick houses that they had sped past on the way. They all looked damaged, some more than others, probably from the air-raids during the war. Iceland wondered how Denmark knew that exactly this house was the one he was looking for, but then again, it's hard to miss a place when a tall Swede and a worried Finn are guarding the entrance – along with a practically dancing Ålander who's grinning side to side and bubbling with excitement. The young one probably found it hilarious that his uncle Ice was being kidnapped by his own family.
"The whole gang is here?" Iceland asked and raised an eyebrow. "Even Åland? I thought he wasn't allowed to go to meetings…"
"Sve and Fin couldn't find a babysitter," Norway said. "So they took him with them. Also, Greenland isn't here. Neither is Fae, but you knew that."
Denmark and Norway left the car to join the other Nordics. The group seemed to discuss something before approaching the car in two groups. When Sweden and Denmark opened the doors on either side, they made sure to give their prisoners no chance to escape.
"You know," Iceland said when Denmark grabbed his wrists and steered him inside the little brick house, "I could just scream and it would make someone look out the window and grow suspicious enough to call the police."
Denmark's answer was to kick the front door open and usher Iceland inside. He was led to a small bedroom on the second floor and made to sit on a bed there.
"Stay here," Denmark ordered. "I'll come back to get you later."
"What about my friends?" Iceland asked.
"Norway will decide on that. First we need to find out what they know about us already." Denmark stopped at the door to give Iceland a disappointed look. "Really, Ice. I thought you were smarter than that. Trying to go to the meeting is one thing, but to bring humans along? Really? You are lucky we love you so much, or you would go before the Council of Nations and possibly be put in prison for that."
"Thanks," Iceland said sarcastically when the door to his prison slammed shut.
That didn't go so well, he thought to himself as he lay down on the bed. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. I hope Lauren isn't scarred for life… And that they don't decide to send Mr. Puffin to some hotel far away. That guy's a puffin for god's sake. He won't have a clue how to take care of himself in a foreign country…
Somehow, Iceland felt rather distant to all that had happened. Maybe it was because the shock was still sinking in, or because Iceland felt rather tired after the flight. He hated flying. If it wasn't so much slower, he would rather travel solely by ship.
Why hadn't Iceland expected this to happen? He could have prepared, been more careful…
It's because you're an idiot, Laki snorted in his head.
Look who's talking, Iceland retorted. You didn't think of this happening either.
Laki went silent. Iceland grinned. It felt good to be on the winning end of their little banters for once. He rolled to the side and closed his eyes. He was so tired…
Resting for a few minutes did him a world of good. Iceland sat back up on the bed and cupped his chin with his hands.
We need to get out of here, he thought. I need to get Mr. Puffin and go find the other nations before the meeting commences tomorrow morning. I have much better chance at convincing the nations one-on-one before everyone gets riled up – especially the former Allies and Axis Powers. A meeting with their former enemies will probably not soften their moods to my pleas.
Get up and do something then, Laki said. Think of something! Or are you going to stay useless for the rest of your life?
Iceland stood up.
Like hell I am, he thought. He had an idea already.
The other Nordics were much too trusting when it came to Iceland. Since the newly independent nation had spent most of his life following the orders of others, they naturally assumed that as soon as he was apprehended, Iceland would roll over like a limp sausage and be a good, obedient boy. They hadn't even thought of locking the door to his room.
It hurt Iceland's pride to be regarded as such a weakling. But he did not dwell on it. He ignored Laki's snide remarks in his head and tiptoed down the stairs to the living room where he heard voices. Iceland hid behind a wall, not daring to peek inside and be seen by the others.
"What do you mean when you say you live with Fae and Ice?" he could hear Denmark say. "We have heard nothing of a man staying with them… And Fae would definitely have told us."
Iceland smirked. He had told Fae to keep Mr. Puffin's human transformation a strict secret between the three. He had planned to give Mr. Puffin some time to assimilate and then hire him as a personal butler… Hopefully Mr. Puffin remembered that plan.
"I'm telling the truth," Mr. Puffin said, seemingly offended by the attack on his honesty. "I've been living with them for two years now. I am their personal butler."
Good boy, Iceland thought. If Mr. Puffin was getting paid for his service, Iceland might have even considered giving him a raise for his outstanding performance.
"Butler?" Denmark said. He paused, probably to look Mr. Puffin over. "Is that why you are wearing an overly dressy suit?"
Iceland almost snorted. You were the one who bought me that overly dressy suit, you idiot, he thought. And now you don't even recognize it. Bastard.
"Sirs," Lauren's voice chirped in. "Won't you please let me go? I have to show up at the reception of my hotel before two a.m. or they'll lock me out for the night."
"What hotel are you staying at?" Finland said. "We could drive you there…"
"Not yet," Denmark interrupted. "We haven't yet established if she knows anything or not…"
"Please," Lauren said. "I don't know anything. I just met those guys in the plane and when they said they forgot to book a hotel I offered them to come with me. I don't know anything about your weird gang or why you've kidnapped us or why you keep referring to each other by weird code names…"
Iceland heard someone chuckle, but wasn't sure who. Lauren was probably referring to how they kept using their country names instead of the human names they had been given. Turns out I'm not the only reckless one, he mused. At least I was smart enough to introduce myself with a human name…
Iceland decided it was time for action. He needed to get Lauren out of there before Denmark or Åland said something classified that could result in her losing her freedom forever. Carefully he peeked inside the living room. Lauren and Mr. Puffin were sitting in a sofa in the middle of the room with the Nordics lurking over them to make sure they couldn't escape.
Any idea how I'll attract Mr. Puffin's attention without being seen by the Nordics? Iceland asked the voice in his head.
I thought this was supposed to be your mission, Laki replied. What? Too much of a baby to deal with one kidnapping?
Fine, Iceland thought. I'll do it on my own.
He snuck carefully inside the room and hid behind a grandfather clock. He made sure to be especially alert to Åland's movements. The boy was growing restless already – apparently kidnapping people and interrogating them proved to be not as exciting as he had hoped – and Iceland predicted that sooner or later the boy's attention would wander away from the two prisoners. He needed to act quickly. But what could he do?
There was only one thing he could do to get close enough to his companions to form an escape plan with them. And that was to simply go to them. Iceland snuck back out of the living room, found a paper and pencil in the kitchen, scribbled down some notes and then returned to the living room. As casually as if he wasn't a prisoner, Iceland walked across the room and sat on the sofa. It took his fellow Nordics a couple of seconds to realize that he wasn't supposed to be there.
"Why aren't you in your room?" Norway asked like a stern mother. "I thought you were told to stay there."
"I got bored," Iceland replied in his usual, cold fashion and leaned back in the sofa. He pretended to stifle a yawn. "I also wanted to be with my friends."
Norway raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Dude," Denmark said. "Not cool. Go up to your room, now. We…"
"Let him," Sweden said. "He might be helpful."
"Is Lauren clean?" Finland asked, ever the practical. "Can we let her go?"
Iceland and Lauren exchanged looks. Behind Mr. Puffin's back, Iceland slipped her the note he had written for her before giving Mr. Puffin one as well.
"She is. We just met her at the airport by coincidence. She knows nothing more than you guys have told her with your reckless behaviour." Iceland even dared to eye his fellow Nordics judgingly. Some of them shuffled around awkwardly. Iceland glanced over to Lauren. She was looking down, pretending to be shy and sullen while she tried to read the note Iceland had slipped her. Mr. Puffin was trying the same. Iceland needed to create a diversion so that the two could read their notes.
I guess a sacrifice is in order, Iceland thought. He mentally sighed before fixing his gaze on his brother. Norway stared back, locking their eyes in a silent battle. It only took a few seconds for Norway to notice that something was off about Iceland's eyes. Norway's irises widened a little bit – his version of a severe shock.
"Brother," he said in Norwegian – probably so that Lauren would not understand. Finally Iceland's family showed some caution around the human girl. "What's happened to your eyes?"
The other Nordics immediately turned to stare at Iceland.
"Cool!" Åland yelled in Swedish and ran right in front of Iceland, blocking the view to anyone else. "Your eyes are purple! How did you do that? Can I get purple eyes as well?"
Finland grabbed the young boy and dragged him away from his uncle. The Finn gave Iceland a worried look as he placed his charge in a safe distance from the sofa.
"Ice?" Denmark said in his native Danish. "Is there something we need to know?"
Iceland shook his head. He was tempted to speak his mother tongue as well, but since the other Nordics had long since forgotten how to speak their former common tongue, he opted for Danish instead. That choice of language made Denmark smile satisfactory for a second before his worried look returned.
"It's nothing serious," he reassured his fellow Nordics. "This just happened the day I got independent." The mere mention of Iceland's independence caused Denmark to frown. "My eyes hurt for a while, and when they stopped hurting, they were purple. This has nothing to do with my… condition."
He could see his family breathe lighter.
"That's strange…" Norway said. "I've never heard of such a drastic physical change taking place in a Nation before… I'll need to look this up."
"I would have told you earlier," Iceland said. "But I didn't want to worry you needlessly. This doesn't affect anything. Seriously." Although I wonder what you guys would say about the voice in my head… Iceland added in his mind. Laki chuckled. Iceland promptly ignored him.
Iceland glanced again at his companions. Both of them nodded discreetly at him, signalling that they had understood his message. Iceland nodded back. Let's do this.
Suddenly, Lauren stood up from the sofa, tugged at her shorts and started bawling her eyes out. All the Nordics looked at her in shock.
"I want my mama!" Lauren cried between her – entirely fake – sobs.
Finland immediately rushed to her side and started stroking her back comfortingly.
"There-there, darling. Don't you cry. We'll let you go soon enough. You'll be safe and sound in your hotel before you know it. We're practically finished anyway…" Finland looked to Denmark for confirmation. The tall Dane nodded, stupefied. Apparently he wasn't used to girls spontaneously bursting into tears in his presence.
"Will you guys just… let her go?" Iceland said in an irritated voice. "She's only 15 and you guys are holding her here against her will, surrounded by only burly men and two little boys…"
"Two little boys?" Finland asked. "I don't see…" He then realized that Iceland had been talking about him. "Hey, that's not nice. I'm a proper grown up! And I wouldn't exactly call you burly…"
Iceland shrugged. He looked at the still crying Lauren.
"Just look at her. She's terrified. Please, just let her go already."
Denmark ruffled the hair on the back of his head awkwardly.
"Oh man," he said. "We never intended to… Here," he said to Lauren. "I'll drive you to your hotel. Right this instant. How would you like that? We can even take Fin and Ål with us to keep you company…"
Lauren stopped crying suspiciously soon and nodded at Denmark. She was innocence incarnated, with large shimmering drops of tears hanging from her dark eyelashes.
"I'd like that very much, sir," she said. "Can I say goodbye to my friends first?"
Denmark nodded.
"Of course," he said. "I'll go warm up the car."
Iceland and Mr. Puffin stood up and hugged Lauren goodbye. Iceland used the opportunity to whisper his thanks to her, and to remind her about the second part of their plan. She nodded fervently.
"I'd like to give you something," she said and reached for her backpack. From the inside, she pulled a jar that seemed to be filled with shining jewels. She handed the jar to Iceland. "It's a jar of Goddess tears. They help heal any wound… I got it from a salesman in your country and was going to take it back home with me, but I figure that you might need it more than me."
Iceland turned the jar in his hands. That is a little strange gift, he thought, but a very nice one. Suddenly, he felt very sentimental. He wanted to give something to the poor unlucky girl in return. After all, it was his fault that she had gotten kidnapped and maybe even locked out of her hotel. Iceland undid his ribbon, pulled it from around his neck and handed it to her.
"I know it's not much," he said. "But here's something to remind you of me and this bothersome adventure."
Lauren flashed him a bright smile. She brought the ribbon up to her chin.
"It's warm," she said. "Thank you."
Iceland shook his head.
"No," he said. "Thank you." Without giving anyone much time to react, Iceland pushed Lauren into Sweden's arms, grabbed Mr. Puffin and ran out of the house. The big, strong Mr. Puffin pulled a stunned Denmark out of the driver's seat of his car and scooted into the passenger seat so that Iceland could sit at the wheel. With no time to spare, Iceland stepped on the gas and sped away to freedom. He could see Denmark just sitting in the snow with a dumb look on his face in the side mirror. Iceland smiled. This had gone better than he had hoped.
"How nice of that Dane to heat the car for us," he said to Mr. Puffin. Iceland chuckled at his own joke. Mr. Puffin didn't react. "You've been strangely quiet ever since we left Iceland," Iceland said. "Are you nervous?"
Mr. Puffin huffed.
"Nervous? Me?" he said and folded his arms. "Never."
"What's your deal then?" Iceland said. He shifted gears as he entered the main road in the direction he hoped would lead him to the downtown area. The road was wet with melted snow and only sparsely lit. It seemed that the city of London was still awaiting extensive rebuilds after the war. Iceland tried his best to drive safely and converse with his partner at the same time – what luck that he was such an excellent driver, and in such an excellent mood.
"I'm just…" Mr. Puffin said, "a little baffled about all this. I mean, why are we going to this meeting anyway? You know it will be full moon tomorrow night. This could get dangerous. And now we're using this poor girl to our advantage… It just doesn't feel right."
Iceland snorted.
"You're such a prude," he said. "Lauren won't be harmed. She'll stay with the Nordics for tonight and Sweden will probably deal with her hotel tomorrow. If I know him right, he'll probably get her upgraded to a better room or something…"
"I'm not talking about that," Mr. Puffin said. Iceland had the feeling that the former-puffin was staring at him, but he couldn't see it because of the sunglasses. "You are lying to your family and putting everyone at risk. And for what? Could you explain that to me?"
Iceland sighed. He had hoped that Mr. Puffin's loud and arrogant personality made him welcome adventures, but apparently not. The poor guy had probably been spending too much time with Fae – or he was just naturally reserved when it came to going against authority.
"I have a valid reason," Iceland said. "A very important one."
Mr. Puffin looked sternly over his sunglasses at Iceland.
"Go on," he said.
Iceland nodded. It was time he told his plan, or at least some of his plan, to his partner in crime. After all, as soon as Iceland started negotiating with the other nations, Mr. Puffin would be able to put two and two together and realize his plan. It was better Iceland told him now and soothed his anger than to have to drag a pissed off former-puffin around all of London on a cold winter's night.
"I'm going to talk to some of the Nations before the meeting, and the rest during the meeting itself," Iceland explained. "I need them to join me in my battle against my curse… Our curse. I think… I hope, that if we can take Titania down, this blasted curse will be lifted."
Mr. Puffin unfolded his arms.
"You should have told me this sooner," he said. "I would have been much more cooperative had I know that you were attempting to get rid of the curse. I want that too, you know."
Iceland winced at the accusation in his best friend's voice.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I guess I'm getting too used to keeping secrets."
Mr. Puffin shook his head.
"That's a dangerous sport," he said. He combed his greased hair with his fingers and removed his sunglasses. There was affection in his black eyes. "You are my best friend and master," Mr. Puffin said. He laid a hand on Iceland's shoulder. "We share the same home, the same family and the same curse. You can tell me anything. Especially when it comes to something like this, something that has to do with both of us. You should know that."
Iceland patted Mr. Puffin's hand on his shoulder and smiled briefly before focusing again on the driving. They were getting closer to the centre of the city. Already, the streets were better lit and seemed to have been fixed with more care.
"I know," Iceland said. "You are also my best friend."
And possibly a spy of the elven queen, Iceland added in his mind. As much as I would like to see an ally in you and to share with you all my burdens – I can't. I'm afraid that you will stab me in the back as soon as you're able.
Iceland hoped he was wrong about this, but he had no way to tell. Until Mr. Puffin would prove his loyalty, Iceland would have to keep being careful about what information he gave his friend – and even to feed him false information to spill to Titania.
You are such a good friend, Laki snorted in his mind. Not.
Iceland bit his lip. He decided to ignore the accusation, despite the knot of guilt that was forming in his guts.
"So…" Mr. Puffin said and put his sunglasses back on. "Where are we headed now?"
"To England's house," Iceland said. "He's the nation holding this meeting. He probably knows where the other nations are staying."
"Will he be our first ally?" Mr. Puffin asked.
Iceland shrugged.
"I hope so," he said. "I really, really hope so."
Author's comments: So… Guess where we are headed? It's England's home guys! Hehe. So, he'll be the first nation of your voted ones to appear in the story, both because the meeting is held at his place and because he's currently in the lead of your vote! Just to prove it to you guys, here's the current score:
England has five votes; Japan four; Russia, Germany, Latvia, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, South Italy and Prussia all have two votes and France, Estonia, Romania, Poland, North Italy and Sealand all have one vote each.
Just to clarify guys, the voted nations will all appear in the story, but it will range from just a mention to a major plot character depending on their scores. For instance, based on the current score, England would be a major key character while Sealand would only appear as a background character.
If you guys would like to push your favourites up the scale, remember to vote! You have time until I post the next chapter (which will possibly be next weekend, possibly later because of finals) but after that I'm closing the shop. You will still be free to request background characters, but the main cast of this story will be decided. I might also take the liberty of adding key characters from the group as I see fit (upgrading – but I will never downgrade characters. If you guys want them as key characters, then they shall be key characters). Also, even if you have voted before you can still vote again, just not for the same characters!
