Author: Thanks for faves and reviews… special shout out to someone who read my last story… and then actually wantedto read this one…kudos to you! Enjoy everyone
Gilbert had been sat still for about two hours now, and he had pretty much reached his limit, but didn't really want to wake Arthur… who was asleep rather unceremoniously, sprawled all over the bed, breathing so deeply that Gilbert thought he must have smoked heavily for the last 100 years, (although this wasn't true at all). Luckily, he didn't have to wait long for Arthur to wake, and he in something of a foul mood too. His mobile phone alarm clock went off with such a shrill bell that even Gilbert jumped out of his skin, for a small alarm, it certainly made a massive noise. It was 6:30 am, and Arthur banged the phone, but it continued to ring.
"Morning boss…" Gilbert smirked at Arthur's noise of disapproval at his own phone.
"Morning? No…surely not." Arthur mumbled into his pillow. "It can't possibly be…" Arthur then did a double take at the clock face and then finally pressed the small button that stopped the horrendous noise. "Well…it seems it can…"
"Come on Arthur, get out of bed…" Gilbert said. "We've got heroing to do!"
"Heroing?" Arthur shook his head and sat on the bed edge, as if he was just about to get out but couldn't quite face that metre walk to the bathroom. He was looking at the floor, dreading that the moment he committed to getting up would be the moment his whole body would freeze as he stepped out of the warmth of his bed. He looked extremely tired in Gilbert's eyes… and had a clueless expression on his face that wasn't typical.
"It's one of many verbs I've invented whilst you were asleep... awesomeing… heroing…winning…"
"Winning is already a verb Gilbert." Arthur rubbed his face and stretched his arms.
Gilbert continued, as if he hadn't heard Arthur's comment. "I wasn't even frickin' tired Arthur!"
"You won't be tired…you're not technically alive…" Arthur rubbed his eyes thoroughly and made a horrendously loud yawning noise. "I, on the other hand… am supporting the both of us… you're my familiar at the moment Gilbert… and you're eating through my energy like a live wire… so could you please learn to calm down a little…"
"SERIOUSLY YOU'RE SLEEPING FOR BOTH OF US? DOES THAT MEAN I'M NEVER GONNA SLEEP? IT WAS SO BORING!" Gilbert moaned. "I'm gonna have to watch you sleeping for the both of us…while I'm awake…ALL THE TIME! Please don't tell me it's gonna be like that every night Arthur!"
"…Alright then… I won't tell you." Arthur walked (staggered) to the bathroom "I'm freshening up Gilbert… I'll be no more than fifteen minutes, I expect you to be ready to go... then again… you don't have any belongings do you?" He smirked. "That being the case… sit still and don't use any extra energy."
"Goddamn… I knew there was a catch to this back from the dead thing." Gilbert murmured as he read the menu for the hotel. "It's awesome protector… not servant… and I don't even get what 'familiar' means in this context…"
Arthur stepped into the bathroom and looked in the mirror and sighed, he wasn't looking t his best today, but still it wasn't anything a good wash and tidy wouldn't cure. He started running a hot shower and was about to start undressing when he noticed something strange when he took his shirt off.
His left arm was stiff. Not ridiculously so, but it seemed heavy and lethargic. Not at all like usual. He tried to shake the feeling off, but it didn't seem to work. He tried to look around the back, as that was where the pain seemed to be coming from, but he couldn't see anything because the mirror had steamed up. He sighed and shook his head,
'What terrible ventilation' He thought to himself. 'I expected something better from a hotel of this calibre…'
A shower would probably make it feel much better. As he was about to take the rest of his clothes off, he heard a banging on the bathroom door.
" ARTHUR!" Gilbert's voice sounded urgent.
"What in blazes? GILBERT I JUST TOLD YOU TO BE QUIET!" Arthur pulled the door open to a minimum, and held a towel around his body.
"BUT ARTHUR! I NEED TO KNOW IF I CAN EAT OR NOT BECAUSE THESE CHICKEN STRIPS ON THE DINNER MENU LOOK AMAZING!" Gilbert continued to shout. "ANYWAY POT CALLING KETTLE! YOU'RE SHOUTING LOUDER THAN ME!"
Arthur opened the bathroom door fully with such a pace that Gilbert was surprised, and was a little frightened that Arthur would be naked… and was indescribably relieved when he saw the flash of a white towel. Arthur's face suggested he was furious that he had to open the door in only a towel, and it was wrapped around his waist like a women's sarong.
"Hey boss… nice skirt." Gilbert mocked.
"Gilbert, what time is it now?" Arthur said, his voice almost squeaked, Gilbert would have described it as a mix of anger and humiliation. His cheeks were red with both embarrassment and anger.
"…I dunno… 6:49 or something."
"Therefore it's breakfast time… and we are going to Paris in a few hours… THEY DON'T SERVE CHICKEN STRIPS AT BREAKFAST GILBERT AND WE'LL BE GONE BY DINNERTIME! STOP BEING AN IGNORAMUS AND SHUT UP!" Arthur then slammed the door in Gilbert's face.
Arthur could then hear Gilbert chunnering to himself. "I'm just trying to keep my mind occupied so I don't worry about Ludwig…that's all-"
"…Yes…well shut up all the same-" Arthur snapped.
Gilbert guessed that Arthur had given him the cold shoulder.
"Fine…whatever…" Gilbert started drumming on the table. He then looked at Arthur's mobile phone. Gilbert didn't really know how to use it, but it seemed fairly self explanatory. 'Slide to Unlock'… He did and it worked. He victory punched, then noticed that there were missed calls on the phone…from…
"Ahhhh! Ludwig! That's got to be my brother! Kesesesesese!" Gilbert pressed his brother's name on the screen until it said 'Ludwig calling'. "…Just…calling Ludwig…'missed calls' and shit-"
Again Arthur didn't speak. He must have been in the shower.
Gilbert didn't have the phone near his ear, he was sat with it on the bed, he was expecting some form of loud speaker to talk to him and he saw that Ludwig had accept the call. "HELLO LUDWIG!"
He heard nothing… just an odd squeaking sound coming from the phone, it sounded like a mouse or something.
"…Ludwig?"
Gilbert had assumed that this phone would speak aloud to him… which it didn't… he became very confused and picked up the handset of the hotel phone "Hello Ludwig?" Of course, Gilbert thought that maybe the call would be routed to the landline.
The phone made a dead tone noise.
He turned the TV off, just in case that was the reason the phone didn't work. Then a text message appeared on the phone. Gilbert looked at the screen as it flashed. It said…
From:Ludwig
Hold the phone near your ear
So Gilbert did (upside down… but it was a start) "Hello?"
"…How could I have guessed that you were talking 'at' the phone rather than into it…"
He could hear a very muffled Ludwig on the other side of the line.
"Yoshhhhhaaaaaa! You must have read my mind… like a totally legend!...Wait a sec…Is that you Ludwig? You've gotten totally quiet since we last spoke!"
"…Just try turning it the other way Gilbert… upside down… if that makes sense…" Ludwig sighed heavily. Gilbert could just picture him pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Oh…." Gilbert said slowly and turned the phone around as if the penny had finally dropped.
"Is that better?" Ludwig said.
"CHRIST LUDWIG STOP SHOUTING! IT'S EARLY IN THE MORNING!" Gilbert urged in a loud stage whisper. It seemed that Ludwig hadn't gotten any quieter over the years, his voice was clear, awake and alert, and in the background, Italy could be heard chattering excitedly. "So…Yo bro! What's kicking?" Gilbert smiled cheerfully
"…Mein Gott-" This wasn't a joyful 'mein gott' or even a shocked 'mein gott', it sounded like a much maligned 'mein gott'.
"YO LUDWIG IT'S ME GILBER-" Gilbert started.
"As if I wouldn't know it's you Gilbert!… I'm just… too shocked to say anything logical…" Ludwig said. "…Tell Arthur that we're going to get to Paris early, we're thinking of catching a plane at about 10 o clock, that should give us time to get to the train station to meet you at the eurostar terminal."
"Eurostar?" Gilbert sounded clueless.
"You'll understand when you see it."
Arthur had the briefest of shower's as Gilbert was shouting over the phone. He rushed his shower especially so he could tell Gilbert that there were other people in the hotel who were actually asleep… and they might not bloody appreciate him squawking like a parrot at seven in the morning. He quickly dried himself and changed into his clothes. Leaving his hair dripping wet, he never really bothered doing much with his hair… it just did as it pleased anyway. The closeness of the steam in the room actually made him cough and he wiped a portion of the steam away from the mirror, so he could have a once over look at himself and brush his teeth before they set off.
"Hello little brother…very impressive little summoning there..."
Arthur became tense as he heard another voice from the past come back to haunt him. It wasn't Alastair this time… but someone equally unsettling.
"Oh God-" Arthur concealed his fear with an irreverent comment. "It's you…"
"Oh now… don't be bashful! Or…surely you haven't forgotten me too? Alastair won't be happy when he hears that-"
Arthur could see his elder brother's reflection in the mirror. It wasn't Alastair this time, it was Wales, or by his human name Rhys. Unlike Alastair, Rhys had well maintained black hair that was styled perfectly, and it framed his face rather well. It seemed that the terrible curse of Kirkland hair had skipped this brother. He was a slender, tall man with dull green eyes, he was pale… and some would even consider him rather frail in comparison to his other brother's. Whereas Alastair was intimidating in something of an obvious way, big and brawny, Rhys…was as equally unapproachable, but not due to his appearance, there was something about his demeanour that was unsettling. It was subtle, but this often made his cruelty all the worse, as it often came out of the blue… out of all of them, Rhys hated Arthur the most. Arthur shook his head and carry on washing his face, trying to pretend Rhys wasn't there at all.
"He's just in my head… some stupid… irrelevant part of my consciousness-"
Arthur was quickly interrupted "OhArthur!Entertainyourolderbrother!YouspoketoAlastair!Whynotme?I'mnotbeyondjealousy… justbecauseI'm…inyourhead." Rhys added the final part of the sentence sharply.
"…" Arthur didn't speak.
"Silent treatment is it? How rude… But I'll tell you what's really rude Arthur… the fact that you would summon some…dead Germanic nation over one of your own brothers to protect you…that makes me sick so it does."
"Why the hell would I summon someone who hates me?" Arthur scowled as he brushed his teeth, trying to be not intimidated, but it was obvious that he was at least slightly troubled by Rhys' appearance. At least Arthur knew Alastair's scary tactics, he didn't like them, but knew exactly what to expect… him and Rhys hadn't seen each other for so long, that he had no idea what kind of trick he would try to pull. His reason for being there was obvious… he wanted to be brought back to the world of the living… unlike Alastair who liked teasing, Rhys would only appear to Arthur for one reason, to either plead for freedom, or try to obtain by… unsavoury means.
"NottakingmeveryseriouslyareyouArthur?" His brother's reflection grinned. "Letmeremindyouofyour…precariouspredicament.YouaresurroundedbymythicalcreaturesthatbelongedtomeandAlastairorPatrick… theylikeusfarmorethantheylikeyou… Icouldsummonthemhererightnow…"
"Don't you dare Rhys!" Arthur sounded paranoid. "Now isn't the time for that! Our feud will have to wait-"
"KeepingthatGermanzombiearoundmustbequitetiringArthur… meandAlastairknowthatitputsatremendousamountofpressureonyou…" Rhys didn't seem to care about Arthur's pressing need, he had his own agenda.
"Thank you for reiterating the obvious." Arthur snarled. "I didn't realize that you enjoyed rehashing the same well known facts over and over again… if it's an attempt at a guilt trip… it will do you little good."
"Arthur… why don't you summon me to your side?"
Arthur laughed dryly as he turned away for a moment. "So now we're adding stupid questions to the list of your more charming traits Rhys?"
Rhys shook his head. "You'resoboringArthur…Where'syourlittlepetmintrabbit?" hesneered. "ApatheticfamiliarifeverIsawone."
"I thought it was too dangerous to bring her." Arthur said quietly. "That's why Gilbert's here."
"AndJesuswept." Rhys' voice cracked, a fierce temper was bubbling underneath. "Ifonlyyou'dbeensoconsideratetomeduringyourwarmongeringyearsArthur… unfortunatelyIalwaysgotdraggedalongfortheride… sometimesIhadtowatchyoucutthroughAlastair'smen… evenmyowngallantWelshboys…Ioftenwonderhowdidyousleepatnight?"
"…Things change Rhys… I'm not proud of the things we've done to each other…But if you're not willing to forgive me I don't see how things will change-" Arthur replied as he was about to leave the room and ignore the mirror all together.
"YouarerightaboutonethingArthur… thingsdochange…Iknowthatrightnow… you'reverysusceptibletothemagicalandmythicalareyounot?Imeanyou'reresistanceisweakatthemomentbecauseofthatdeadGerman… thisworksinmyfavour…"Rhys smiled, "Say…mylittlefriends…areyouthere?"
"OhRhys!" The voice of a fairy started to ring in Arthur's ears.
"It'sRhys!" Another chimed in, sounding joyful.
"Wales! It's you!"
Arthur became paranoid at the excited tone of voice coming from the increasing number of fairies who answered Rhys' call… there must have been about ten of them there. Arthur was aware that there allegiance to him was tenuous at best. They were hardly dependable creatures, he knew that they would prefer Rhys and his mischievous streak to Arthur's almost painfully predictable duty to maintaining order. He also knew they were fickle creatures and would turn on him in an instant. He had nothing to offer them to persuade them and what Rhys had said was true, he was susceptible to their charms and magic. Arthur knew that if the fairies focused their powers on him, he wouldn't be able to resist.
"It'sme…so… HowdoyoulikeArthurbeingyourmaster?" Rhys smiled.
"Well…he'sprettyboring!" One of them commented.
"Hedoesn'tletusplaylikeyouusedto!" The other moaned.
"He's always busy with his meetings… he's always telling us to be quiet and not cause trouble… he's so dull… he isn't charismatic like you Rhys!"
Arthur's head whipped around quickly, looking at the fairies who were insulting him rather liberally. This was a particularly cruel twist of fate. He had always been very fond of the fairies… and it was slowly becoming clear that they weren't all too fond of him. Well, some of them were, but none of the ones that were present at this moment in time. "A-"
Before Arthur could speak his brother cut in. "Ohdear!Wecan'thavethatcanwe?" Rhys smiled. "But…ifIwasaround…thenyou'dbefreetodowhateveryouwished-"
"Don't listen to him!" Arthur snapped. "He's trying to deceive you!"
"Now…doesthatsoundlikemeladies?" Rhys said, knowing he had the upper hand. "No…notatall…Ionlywantforustobetogetheragain… likeintheolddays."
"Ohyes!Thatwouldbebrilliant!" One of the voices squeaked.
"But I'm afraid we can't do that right now… because Arthur's being so…boring…aren't you Arthur?"
"RHYS! STOP THIS-" Arthur began. But Rhys began talking before he could continue. He had been the same when they were younger, Arthur had never been able to get a word in edge ways when his brothers were around… that was partly why he spent so much time alone (it was probably also the reason why he was so bad at talking to people).
"Maybe you ladies could…I don't know…sing him a song and persuade him to summon me back… what do you say?"
"Ohyes!" One of them chirped. "Thatwouldbeagoodidea!"
"MaybeAlastairtoo?...HecouldsummonMasterAlastaircouldn'the?" One of them said excitedly.
"One step at a time ladies… we'll try one of us first and then see how it goes after that."
"No no no no no no no ." Arthur put his hands over his ears. "Come on… you know better than to trust him! It's just a trick! I'm your master too! You can't betray me like this-"
"AndyoushouldknowbetterthantocoveryourearsArthur… youcan'tblockoutfairysonglikethat." Rhys said with a smile. Rhys seemed to be coming closer to the front edge of the mirror. "AndweweretheirmasterslongbeforeyouArthur… theywouldfollowwhatme,PatrickorAlastairsaidabsolutely…"
Arthur knew he was right, his head was becoming full of noise, noise that was stopping him from being stressed, or worried…or upset… he started to become unnaturally giddy, for no reason what so ever. He felt a smile creep onto his face as he went into something of a blissful stupor. Everything was fine…
… everything was fine. Arthur couldn't really think of anything… except how fineeverything was. His head drooped slightly and he closed his eyes with a content smile spreading across his face.
"Arthur!...come on!" Gilbert banged on the door. "Arthur! Open up!"
"Don'tlistentohimArthur… whydon'tyoubringRhysback?...Comeonhurry… bringhimback…bringhimback." The fairies kept repeating over and over.
That's all Arthur could hear. Gilbert's voice was a million miles away. "…But I…"
"You can draw the summon on the mirror easily! There's enough steam in here to do that! Then you only need to say the words!... We know you can do it Arthur!...Everything is fine…"
"Every…thing…" Arthur's finger was slowly rising up to the mirror and tracing the symbols on the mirror. "…Is…"
