Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

All I can say is: Oh. My. Goodness. I feel like each chapter is getting longer and longer. Obscenely longer. I've actually split the original chapter as two... I might submit the other half later "tomorrow" (it's 12:30 AM right now) or maybe later in the week. Thanks for your reviews, views, follows, favorites, all that good stuff. I hope you guys like this chapter :)

Matthew's eyelids grew heavier as they rode back to the castle. He could register Howel telling him to take a nap somewhere in the background and Freida urging him to do the same thing.

He tried to resist sleep at first, but the rhythmic sound of hoof beats along with the Lycan's naturally deep voices finally lulled the prince to sleep.

Matthew sighed in contentment when he was finally in his dreamscape. He was naturally a lucid dreamer so it was only normal for him to have created his own little world.

Matthew absentmindedly walked through the green grass and seated himself under a beautiful maple tree. Matthew leaned back against its trunk and under the shade of the red leaves to get out of the sun.

The white clouds gently drifted across the blue sky and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves.

"T-This is a nice change." Matthew remarked to himself and absentmindedly shredded a piece of grass.

It was so calming; it was a nice change of pace considering his last nightmare with Ivan.

Matthew frowned at the thought of the man- when he got back he really should talk to Ivan. Matthew absentmindedly rubbed his throat and thoughtfully looked out into the scenery, at least the pain in his throat was dulled to near non-existence.

Up in the sky

"…Is that him?" Landark whispered to Boer as he silently glided down with the two on his back. He was much bigger than before in order to accommodate his two other personalities on his back.

Boer refused to look down to their potential grave so it was up to Hira to determine Matthew's fate. She grinned when she spotted the prince and gave Landark the O.K to land.

Boer clasped onto the dragon for dear life when they nosedived toward the ground, if he were human he was pretty sure his face would've been as white as snow.

Matthew tilted his head and looked around him. He felt like he could hear someone's voice but couldn't quite place where it was coming from.

It never occurred to Matthew to look up.

Matthew yelped when he was blown back by a large dragon crashing onto the ground and froze when he felt claws threateningly dig into his chest and another over his mouth.

Hira leaned forward so her enormous maw was right next to Matthew's ear and licked her lips.

"This is an abduction da?" Hira said gleefully.

Boer lumbered up right next to her and eyed Matthew with distaste, if only Vanya wasn't so dependent on this human.

"It is Matthew. Landark!" Boer shouted over his shoulder. T

he large white dragon smirked and flied up a few hundred feet with his powerful wings.

"Yes General Boer." Landark mocked before diving back towards the ground.

Matthew's eyes widened in recognition at Boer's name and slapped Hira's paw from his mouth.

"You!-" Matthew managed to get out before Landark smashed through the ground. Matthew barely grasped what was happening and yelped when Hira grabbed him from the back of his coat with her powerful jaws and tossed him into the black hole.

"See you on the other side comrade!" Hira sang and did a small wave with her paw.

Matthew watched as the hole got smaller and smaller as he fell farther and farther down into the black hole. Matthew angrily swung his arms and groaned.

"Why does this have to happen to me?" Matthew shouted with frustration.

The wind howled in his ears and Matthew oriented himself so he could at least see where he was falling.

The prince wanted to puke as soon as color returned to his world, or rather this new world.

The sky was a disorienting light purple, the clouds were bright yellow, and the ground was a mixture of neon orange and charcoal black. Why the hell was he even here? He tried to stop himself by casting his magic but something blocked it.

Matthew glanced at the ground and gasped when he saw a figure right below him.

"L-Look out!" Matthew screamed.

Ivan sat in a field of black sunflowers. He smiled at the feeling of the warm sunlight on his face and breathed in the scent of his hometown. This was a good change from last night, he thought as he watched a purple butterfly fly past him.

His internal musings were interrupted by the sound of someone shouting at him.

"Look out!" It screamed.

Ivan paused, the voice was coming from… above him? He slowly looked up and narrowly dodged something, or someone by the looks of it. Green dirt particles flew up into the air as it crashed into the ground with impressive impact. Ivan covered his mouth with his scarf and warily eyed his unexpected guest.

Matthew hacked up his lungs and stumbled out of the small crater in the ground.

"What's wrong with this place?" Matthew said under his breath and dusted the green dirt from his clothes. The colors were all wrong and he was pretty sure animals didn't was wrong with his dreams lately?

Matthew was so disoriented he failed to notice a dumbfounded Ivan staring at him from a couple of feet away.

"Matthew?" Ivan asked uncertainly.

The prince froze at the all too familiar voice and slowly turned to face Ivan.

"You!" Matthew startled the Russian by angrily pointing at him.

"Y-You killed me!" Matthew said accusingly. He angrily stomped over to where Ivan stood.

Ivan automatically responded back with equal anger and scowled. "What does this imitation have to say now? Stop harassing me or I will permanently purge you from my mind." The Russian snarled.

Ivan's icy gaze clashed with Matthew's and the prince angrily explained how he was dream walking and that it was somehow the Russian's fault.

"T-These weird animals then abducted me from my perfectly normal dream and then dropped me here in this abomination of a world!" The prince angrily motioned around them.

Ivan roughly grabbed Matthew by his jacket and shoved him up against a black tree.

"You will no longer speak in that boy's body, you will no longer pretend to be something you're not. You are not Boer. You are not Hira. You will never become Landark and I can guarantee you that I will not allow a fourth personality to manifest itself as Matthew's body. Get. Lost." Ivan threateningly whispered and increased the pressure between Matthew's back and the tree.

Matthew panicked and latched onto Ivan's arm. "I-Ivan- I-I don't know what you're talking about. P-Please, let me explain." Matthew wheezed. He had to end this madness.

Ivan kept his silence and only increased the pressure. Matthew had to think fast, he had to prove to Ivan that he was real- which would be extremely difficult.

"H-How do you e-even know w-what I look like eh? Y-You've n-never seen me in person before! H-Have you ever seen a p-person with a f-face like mine?" Matthew challenged.

Ivan paused and the pressure against Matthew's chest stopped increasing. It was only for a brief second, but a flicker of doubt passed over Ivan's eyes as he seemed to inspect Matthew with greater scrutiny.

It was all the encouragement Matthew needed to continue pointing out that if he were just a figment of his imagination, his face would continuously change shape.

Ivan firmly kept Matthew in place though and deeply inhaled, "Nyet. That is not true, if you are like those three then you would keep a solid form… Where have I seen your face before?" Ivan asked himself under his breath as he dug through age-old memories.

Matthew bit his lip, he had at least bought himself some time. He needed something more, something more concrete. Ivan growled with impatience and Matthew decided on something rash, it would either make or break Ivan.

Matthew grasped onto Ivan's hand, it was a risk he would have to take. The desperate prince quickly cast out his magic circle and raised a large dust cloud so Ivan couldn't see anything. Matthew bit his lip and ducked out of Ivan's painful grasp but made sure to keep contact with Ivan's ungloved hand.

All Ivan could see was the faint glow of Matthew's magic and the entire world became brighter.

The Russian retreated out of the dust cloud and automatically materialized his saber to defend himself. Ivan narrowed his purple eyes and spotted Matthew on the other side of the grass field. The boy warily eyed Ivan and simply pointed to the sky.

Ivan frowned and paused to think. Something was different- Matthew had done something.

The Russian looked up at the blue sky and paused, had the sky always been that color?

It finally dawned on him what had happened. He immediately dropped his sword and observed the new scenery. The colors were different, and fields were different, the sun was different, everything was different.

Matthew had overlaid his own dreamscape with Ivan's. Something that was only possible by another living creature.

"I-Is that proof enough?" Matthew anxiously shouted from the other side of the grass field.

A wind passed through the field and the two men looked at each other as equals for the first time since they've met.

Ivan was not the oppressive and violent creator, and Matthew wasn't an imaginary fantasy.

Ivan deeply inhaled the scent of grass and closed his eyes with bliss.

"Da." Ivan said under his breath. His purple eyes softened at the sight of yellow sunflowers and put his hands in the pockets of his long tan coat. "Shall we talk?" Ivan offered with his usual smile fixed on his face.

Matthew took a deep breath and walked towards Ivan.

"Oui." He softly replied. They had a lot to talk about.

The two leisurely strolled through the grass and three creatures watched from afar. Hira rolled on the green grass and Landark happily ruffled his wings.

"See? Bringing that child here was a good idea." Landark said pointedly to Boer, who was also pleased at the change of scenery.

The bear glanced at the dragon and merely shrugged, "I never doubted you, I simply doubt your methods." Boer wearily replied. Today's events had him drained. Vanya was happy, the grass was green and the sky was blue, and more importantly- Landark was in a good mood as well.

Boer turned away from the scene and tossed his head in farewell, "I will take a nap. Do not cause Vanya any unnecessary stress." Boer called over his shoulder before he faded until he was all but gone from sight.

Hira raised her eyebrows with surprise, Boer usually never left them alone with Ivan.

Landark seemed to share her thoughts and blew a puff of blue fire.

"That is probably the highest praise we will ever receive from him." Landark mused and turned his attention towards the two humans, who were now settled in comfortable conversation underneath the shade of a rather large maple tree.

The dragon thoughtfully sat down on the grass and rested his head on his massive paws. His mind was already filled with his mischievous plans.

Ivan hummed after Matthew explained everything that had happened since they last thought each other and rested his chin on his hand.

"Matvey is surprisingly rebellious da?" He mused.

Matthew blushed with embarrassment and semi-glared at the Russian, "M-Matvey?" Matthew repeated the nickname with uncertainty.

Ivan grinned and lazily stretched out on the grass. "Da, I dislike the 'th' sound in your language. While it is a necessary sound in your language, it would be nice to reduce how many times I must say it. I hope you don't mind." Ivan said. Matthew sighed in response and leaned against the tree behind him, even if he said no- he doubted Ivan would listen to him.

"N-No, I guess not." The name made Matthew's heart flutter a little, it was the first time someone had given him a nickname other than Alfred. A gentle breeze passed through the field and the sun began to set.

"Y-You're not angry?" Matthew finally asked after some time. The question had been nagging at him for the entire time. They did have a pretty big fight earlier, but now it was as if nothing had happened. The Russian merely shrugged in response, "I killed you. I think that is enough. Anger fades with time." Ivan said practically. He would know.

The prince sighed and rolled his shoulders. "W-Well I don't know when I'll be able to visit you again. O-Our kingdom's representatives have to travel over to King Fenris' land for the games…" Matthew trailed off.

Ivan's smile remained fixed on his face when he replied.

"But you will visit?" Ivan affirmed.

Matthew smiled and nodded, "I will." He promised.

Ivan stood back up and stretched his large back. "I am going to explore for a little while." Ivan waved goodbye to Matthew.

The prince bit his lip and waved goodbye. He wanted to go with Ivan but he respected Ivan's alone time. This was probably a lot to take in.

Matthew sat there under the maple tree until he began to fade from the dream. The prince took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for what he was about to face.

Ivan glanced behind him when he felt Matthew's presence disappear from the dreamscape. He paused for a few minutes in the middle of a grassy field. Ivan had no doubt that his three personalities had some play in this little arrangement.

While he was grateful for the arrangement- the fact that they could cast such a high level spell without his knowledge was concerning. A gentle breeze blew past and he paused to enjoy the fresh scents it brought. He cast away his troubles for the moment and rolled his shoulders.

Ivan rubbed his chest and softly smiled, now he had something to look forward to.

When Matthew woke up, all hell broke loose. His parents and his brother heatedly argued over his previously asleep body and it seemed like things were about to end badly.

"He is sick and I shall not permit him compete in the games!" Gregory shouted at Alfred, who knew it was all bullshit.

Alfred deeply inhaled to calm himself, and their head representative for the games joined the young prince's side in favor of letting Matthew compete.

"My King, he's a valuable asset to our magical skill and theory composition team. Perhaps simply pulling him out of the melee themed competitions would be adequate enough?" Samus suggested. Samus was one of the brighter of the court mages and was entering his 35th year on this earth. Samus rather liked Matthew for his magical prowess… as well as his godly skill in the kitchen.

Gregory pursed his lips and tightened his grip on his wooden staff. He was firm in his decision.

Matthew closed his eyes when his father also added that it was only natural for him to remain at the castle to lessen the strain on his body and speed up the healing process. He pointed out that Matthew also had a rather nasty bruise on his chest and neck.

What was even worse to Matthew was that he couldn't even defend himself in this argument because of the unbearable fire that seated itself in his throat. Whatever numbing sensation Matthew had from before was gone and now he faced the full brunt of his injuries.

Matthew decided that he needed to quell the oncoming storm that Alfred was preparing to brew and stopped everyone from speaking with a single motion of the hand. He silently motioned for Alfred to fetch him a pen and some paper. The younger prince took in a deep and calming breath once he had the materials in front of him.

His father had won the war- Matthew took his pen and paper and tightened his grip on the writing utensil. His father had won the war, but he would win this battle.

Matthew fiddled with the cool metal pen for a brief moment and contemplated the blank sheet of paper before he wrote out a long series of complex formulas.

The pen flew over the papers as he wrote exactly twenty pages, front and back, that were chalk full of all the theories the team would need for the competition. The young prince simply handed Samus the papers and didn't even spare his father a glare. Matthew looked to Alfred and used him as a medium to talk.

"…Mattie says that everything the team needs for the theory competition is right here…" Alfred relayed his brother's telepathic message and laid out carefully constructed instructions.

Samus appeared increasingly uneasy as the tension noticeably rose and Matthew offered his friend a smile.

Matthew pointed out how he was simply a last minute addition to the team- they were going to be fine. The court mage took the encouragement with a grain of salt. While he was used to the submissive ways of Matthew- he found that he favored the mildly confident and discretely assertive side of him.

"Get well soon Prince Williams. I shall now take my leave." Samus stiffly bowed before he made a swift exit.

As soon as he was out of the suffocating atmosphere of the infirmary, he allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief and warily looked at the door behind him. Whatever mess the family had entangled themselves in- he wanted no part in it.

A minute later the father strode out of the infirmary and briefly glanced behind him and mysteriously smiled before he walked down the halls to prepare for their journey to the Kingdom of Fenris.

Matthew looked at Alfred and nodded towards the door.

Go. You guys are leaving soon. I'll be in touch.

Alfred gave his brother a pained look that spoke volumes. A chill ran up Alfred's spine and he swooped down and give his brother a lingering hug. The overly affectionate action made Matthew laugh, but he relished in it nonetheless.

What's up? I can't look that awful

Matthew pat Alfred's back. The crown prince sighed, he honestly didn't know what had come over him. He couldn't even explain it to his younger brother and simply left his for his room. Alfred had a bad feeling- a silly one. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.

Three days later

Matthew had graduated from his little bed in the infirmary and had a letter of good health from the head healer and was allowed to freely move about the castle once again. King Fenris and his company had left with his father and now Matthew was left to freely do as he pleased- as long as he occasionally checked in with the doctors.

Matthew closed his eyes while he laid down on the bed in his room. Nothing was wrong with him except for his voice.

It was still scratchy beyond recognition and he was forbidden from speaking for an entire week. Along with a daily dose of sickeningly sweet tea and plenty of soup, he was due for a speedy recovery.

Matthew rolled over onto his side and fiddled with his blanket's sheets. More than anything, he was just anxious to get back into Ivan's cell- as odd as that sounded. There was something about him- there was a certain giddiness whenever he talked with the Russian. Ivan was dangerous- oh so dangerous.

But Matthew was still drawn to him, perhaps, Matthew concluded, he was drawn to the danger Ivan offered. The recovering teen took another deep breath and forced himself to relax in his bed, he would entertain the idea of visiting Ivan after his voice was healed. It would be difficult to converse with a sightless man when he couldn't talk.

As soon as he fell asleep, Matthew awoke to the sound of winds roar past his ears. His eyes widened and he screamed as he descended towards the ground. The sound of his own voice startled him and then he almost angrily sighed- he was dreaming again. The ground was a lot closer than Matthew thought- because he now found himself on top of something very firm, but squishy.

"Ehem. Once again comrade, I would like to thank you for dropping by." Ivan's disgruntled voice pulled Matthew from his thoughts.

The prince looked at Ivan with confusion. It took a minute for him to register how close he was to Ivan's face, and another second longer for him to realize he must've landed on top of Ivan.

"Mon Dieu! I'm so sorry!" Matthew ignored the pain in his side in favor of scrambling off of the large man's lap.

Ivan raised an eyebrow, "You are in pain?" He remarked- Matthew's slightly scratchy voice did not go unnoticed.

Matthew shrugged and nervously laughed, "I should be asking you that question. I did just drop onto you."

"It is a dream, such damage will not harm me."

"I see…"

"You have not answered my question." Ivan stated.

Matthew made a dismissing gesture with his hand. "It's nothing... I've had a sore throat since I got back to the castle so I'm not supposed to speak." Matthew informed.

Ivan's smile never left his face and he revealed a very snarky and blunt side of him Matthew had never seen before.

"I see. So that is why Matvey hasn't visited. Although if you had defended yourself better you would not be in this situation da?" Ivan said with a condescending tone.

Matthew was a bit put off by Ivan's sudden onset of heavy sarcasm and mockery. The Russian was unrelenting in his verbal abuses and it drove Matthew to the brink of insanity- but he replied in his usual passive way.

He was tempted to smack the Russian upside the head a few times but restrained himself through constant meditation.

"Well, since Matvey is so silent I will take a short walk." Ivan lazily waved goodbye to his Myrlian friend and disappeared amongst the tall grass.

Matthew frowned and rested his cheek on his hand. Ivan's English- although it was slight- had noticeably degraded. There was a stronger accent and Ivan oversimplified his sentences that only a foreigner would do. A frustrated sigh escaped Matthew's lips and he looked up at the blue sky.

The Russian was just so… rude was the only word Matthew could come up with. He was rude, insensitive… but distinctly warm with just a hint of awkwardness. It was like the Russian was trying to fill the looming threat of awkward silence with offensive language. Perhaps this was the real Ivan?

This very thought concerned Matthew to say at the very least.

While Matthew pondered his troubled thoughts on a hill, Ivan dealt with his troubled thoughts by tensely pacing back and forth in a field of sunflowers. He was just out of the prince's sight as he nervously paced back and forth.

Hira and Landark with great amusement. "This is the first time I've seen Vanya so nervous." Hira remarked to Landark, who nodded in agreement.

"It's funny. I never believed Boer when he told me that Vanya becomes quite sharp and insulting when he's nervous… I see I still have much to learn." The dragon said absently.

Ivan rubbed his chest again and pursed his lips. He couldn't seriously be falling for the boy. They were friends, acquaintances by force. Sure, Ivan reasoned, Matthew was a nice man. They were around the same age too…

The Russian angrily grit his teeth and went to take a stroll to clear his head. His heart wouldn't stop aching.

Ohhh yes. It's finally more RusCan. Their relationship can finally blossom- or crash and burn. Whichever. Thank you guys so much for all of your support! I'm not sure if you can tell or not, but I don't have a beta. As a result, I proof read everything myself so sometimes things slip past me. If there are any spelling errors or grammar pointers you can give please do it! I appreciate every bit of feedback/love/constructive hate via reviews and PMs :)
Make sure to drop a review with your thoughts and make sure to favorite this chapter if you liked it or follow it if you want to get notified of its updates. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

-Preuss