Alright, so you guys already got the five reviews! I'll post this, but I like Allorahfox' idea, so five more chapter and I'll post chapter 15 today! I'm feeling generous since my writer's block I've had for the last four days seems to have disappeared, and I'm halfway through 27! (It starts getting really interesting by then, and they'll be starting to discover part of the emotional blocks with Alfred at that time.)

Silverheartlugia2000- I'm thinking this is more what you'd expect from Mattie at the current situation? I love Mattie to death, he's so cute! XD

Allorahfox- Matthew explains a little bit about what happened here. Of course it's easier to explain, but it loses it's detail, which you'll discover a little more indepth much later!

Pugshugs- It seems like he gains them all back really quick. It really does, unless you really look closely at how Alfred starts to behave... (I should have been a therapist.)

I-Heart-Sesshoumaru13 and Luna M. Moon- Thank you for your support! I love you guys!

Anywho, on with the show, again!

Disclaimer- Under no circumstances should you EVER piss off Mattie!

Chapter 14

Arthur sat in the library with Matthew, looking over a few things when Vladimir ran into the room, racing to the other as fast as he could. "Arthur!" He swallowed hard and Matthew looked up with a frown and held his hand up to his mouth, shushing him. Vladimir glared for a split second before turning back to Arthur. "Help me! I'm in love with your sister! What do I do?!" He asked and Matthew jumped up and grasped hold of Vladimir by the arm, glaring in a way the other wasn't expecting. Arthur, who had just discovered that she was his sister, didn't hold a candle to the protectiveness of the one who had known her from birth.

"Sit. Explain. NOW!" He snarled and Vladimir stared. The same brow. The same basic facial shape.

He realized a second too late and stared, surprised. "You're her brother as well... and His Highness... She's too far out of my reach, isn't she?" Vladimir looked to Arthur, who chuckled as he watched.

"You might want to explain. I just discovered they were my siblings, but he's been watching her his whole life, through slavery and his own violence he protected her." Arthur watched as Vladimir turned and quickly spilled every detail.

Matthew turned and smacked Arthur when the story was complete, hard enough to jar him from his seat, sending the magician to the floor, but all he could do was laugh. He couldn't deny he'd earned it. "Sounds like she's interested as well." Arthur stated, gaining a dark glare from the librarian before him.

"You didn't even ask me! I could have told you about her!" He sat hard and both men sat up, now staring at the man before them as he sighed. "The first man who tried to claim her, he had tested us both for magic, worried we would try and use it to escape if we were under harm. He discovered quite quickly my abilities were strong, and when he tested her, he took a drop of her blood to mix in with crystal. His testing was more definitive than yours, but also more invasive. He had to look for three days to find out what it meant when the powder reformed into a crystal. It caused and attraction. She attracts. That's why I was able to convince the man not to rape her. With her attracting abilities, she would cost a fortune. I think he knew what I was planning, but thanks to Ivan, I didn't have to worry. Or explain!" He turned to Arthur, who frowned and curled back into his chair.

"You always told me she didn't have magic! I wanted to test that! How was I supposed to know if you lied to me?"

"Why was anyone except me, who was her protector, her brother, and the man I entrust her to supposed to know such a thing?!" Matthew yelled, slamming his hands down hard on the table as the door opened.

"Madeline!" He jumped up with a gasp and she strolled in, her eyes set enquiringly on Matthew.

"What on earth have you two done to gain his wrath?" She giggled before realizing the man seated before her was one she hadn't really seen yet.

"You're Nikolae's brother, Vladimir, right?" She asked, and he could only stare, his throat dry at the sight of her. He nodded softly and watched as she smiled and nodded.

"He was very good today. You should be proud." She said and he again, just nodded, all sense wiped clean from his mind.

She turned to Matthew and grinned, hopping. "I need to tell you what happened! It was amazing!" She gasped, her cheeks burning red before she grasped his hand and dragged him to the hallway, not wanting the others to hear her gushing. She'd only seen Vladimir for a second this morning when she'd picked up Nikolae, but he seemed sad to her. Withdrawn and a bit overly attached to Alfred, whom he'd just met, but when she realized she was in the same boat she could only giggle. "I think I'm in love!"

"What?" Matthew stared at her, eyes wide, horror showing across his face.

"I don't know who he is, but he bit me! It wasn't painful at all! It was amazing! I could feel my heart flutter and for a moment I could feel his heart! Like when he was connected to me, I was also to him! I've never felt anything like it!" She giggled and Matthew stilled.

He had heard about something like that. It was said when a man was born just to love someone, when he first came into contact with her, she could see into his heart. "What?" He asked, staring. She saw tears in his eyes and rushed forward, brushing them away.

"Why are you so upset? It's alright for me to grow up too, you know." She smiled and Matthew stared, shaking his head.

"I have been protecting you with every ounce of my being ever since I can remember. You're my precious little sister. How am I supposed to hand you away happily? How can I know he won't hurt you?" Matthew panicked, grasping her hand and pleading, hoping she would regain her senses.

"So you want me to be alone with only you forever? You wish to have no other purpose than just watching me grow old and die?" She asked and Matthew stepped back.

"That's not what I meant." He spoke and Madeline nodded.

"I know. All the same, I love him, and I want to find him. All I know of him is his voice. He has a weird accent, almost like the King's, but it's higher. Do you know who it is?"

"Madeline, I can't help you with this. You have to find him without me." Matthew looked down, his heart breaking.

"Mattie?" She asked and he shook his head.

"I'm not angry. You're right. You do deserve to find someone who loves you. I preserved your innocence so you could give it to someone you truly love, but I can't help you find him. Just watch, and keep your ears open, alright?" He spoke softly and Madeline nodded, turning and walking away. She stopped after a few feet and looked back, seeing him standing alone in the hallway, his eyes wide in shock.

"No matter what happens in the future, you will always be my beloved brother." She spoke softly as his eyes looked up, seeing her and he smiled before nodding and turning, heading back to the others in the library.

"Out." He snarled and both others took off at a dead run. Matthew made his way to his desk and reached the lower shelves, where people seemed to think he kept books with dangerous knowledge. (Those were actually hidden in a secret room.) He pulled out a very old bottle of rum and yanked the cork, downing a third of the bottle. Tonight was a good night to forget everything.

The next morning brought new promises. New hopes. New dreams. As Alfred awoke, seeing Ivan's chest pressed against his own, his head resting on his shoulder, he sighed, a contented smile reaching across his face. He was feeling horribly content, and happy. Alfred sat up with a smile. He could feel joy again, though he understood he could feel anger and hurt as well. As he gained new emotions they would mix into the feelings he already had. He looked down at Ivan, still sleeping peacefully and smiled as he crept over him, sneaking from the room. As he made his way into the hallway Vladimir stared, surprised as he noticed the room he'd just snuck from. "You actually slept in there with him?" He giggled as Alfred grinned, surprising Vladimir as he crept to his own room, waving the man in.

"I didn't want to wake him. Still asleep." Alfred spoke, but kept his voice low.

"You seem to be feeling better, Da?" Vladimir watched the bright light in his eyes and the smile that didn't seem to be able to break from his face.

"Sometimes all it takes is a little rest to reset. I'm kind of a new case, so everyone is kind of just going by what they can expect. It's good that I wasn't stuck without emotion for longer. It's horrible to feel like that." Alfred shivered, letting chills run down his back as Vladimir leaned back against the wall, turning away as Alfred tossed off his robe, getting dressed quickly.

Alfred ran up to him and patted his shoulder, letting him know it was safe to look before tossing open the door and running out, a brilliant smile on his face. "You seem a tad drab today. Something happen?"

"Maybe a little." Vladimir watched Alfred's smile, wondering if he was going to be struck down by lightening or something at his next words. "I think I'm in love with your sister." He spoke and Alfred stood straight up and turned around.

"What did Mattie say?" Alfred stared and Vladimir almost choked at the nickname.

"Mattie?"

"Yeah, he's the closest of the siblings, even though we're twins. I thought they were dead, they thought I was dead, it was a big mess. I just found out him and Lin-lin were still alive." He sighed and Vladimir stared in shock.

"How did you think each other dead?"

"I ran from my house when the locals caught it on fire. We'd run separate ways, and they weren't seen leaving the back door. They made it a few streets over, while I was sent the other way. I stayed in the village for almost a week, three years old with nowhere to go. I was gotten off the streets by a slaver. They thought I was dead and went to the next village before the same fate befell them. All of these years, and when I found them a few days ago, I still recognized Mattie, though I didn't realize who Lin-lin was until after I saw him. She was just a baby, a few months old. I can't imagine how hard it was for him to raise her while in slavery." He spoke and Vladimir nodded.

"It doesn't sound easy." Vladimir nodded. "I'm pretty sure he wants me dead."

"That seems hard to believe. What, did you bite her or something?" Alfred joked, but the laughter fell silent as Vladimir turned red at the memory. "You BIT my SISTER?!" He yelled and Vladimir reached out, trying to quiet him and hoping Madeline wasn't in the area.

"She doesn't know it was me! If she hears my voice she'll know! Quiet down!" He panicked as Alfred stared, completely flabbergasted at the situation.

"Explain!" He yelled and Vladimir did, telling in hushed tones, checking around the walkway as he spoke out the same tale he'd told Matthew the night before.

After the story was explained, Alfred jumped at him, his hands reaching for his throat as Ivan, who happened to have heard the story from the other side of the door, rushed out and grabbed the man, hugging him tightly to his chest. "Calm down, Alfred. It was an experiment. Arthur asked him to. It wasn't his fault alone." Ivan purred, slightly calming down the man before him.

"But my guard molested my sister! Never without permission!" He yelled, still fighting against Ivan.

"Pardon us." Ivan smiled to Vladimir before grasping hard and lifting Alfred, his feet kicking as he fought to escape and attack the petrified man before him.

Alfred was easily carried into Ivan's room where he rested his head against Alfred's, leaning back on the wall for stability. "Why are you so angry at this? You didn't think she'd be just a little girl forever, did you?"

"I missed most of her life! I didn't see her grow up, lose her first tooth, get her first haircut, but Mattie kept her innocent! To hear she was molested without her permission is too much! I can't stand for it!" He yelled and Ivan sighed. He leaned his head forward, kissing Alfred's neck, feeling the pulse beneath speed before he bit. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but enough to cause Alfred to whimper, though neither could tell if it was from pain or ecstasy. Ivan kept his mouth over that vein, kissing, sucking and biting for a moment before releasing Alfred and watching as he stood still, lost in the fog of the sensation as it left him.

"Now, you can go hurt Vladimir if you can explain to your brothers and sister what I just did to you."

"Why would you say that?" Alfred turned, though the anger he had shown earlier was gone.

"Because that's why you're mad, aren't you? That it wasn't explained to you and Matthew what Arthur was planning first, to preserve her modesty in such a situation." He watched as Alfred's shoulders dropped.

"I guess it was a little silly of me, when you put it like that." Alfred spoke and sighed, unconsciously reaching up to rub his neck where Ivan had kissed him.

Ivan watched as Alfred's cheeks reddened and he couldn't help but chuckle.

Vladimir watched with worry as Alfred passed him in the hallway. He glanced over at him, but didn't move to hurt him. Instead he sighed, shaking his head. "If you touch her again without permission from herself AND Mattie, I will end you." Alfred said before walking off, Ivan left chuckling after.

"Thank you, my King." Vladimir glanced up and Ivan looked back down with a grin.

"I guess I should thank you as well. I'd never really seen him angry like that. It was fun!" He chuckled as he turned, heading back into his room to get dressed and Vladimir stared, paled. Did Ivan not realize if Alfred really wanted to, he could kill all of them easily? That wasn't fun! That was terrifying!

He'd work the rest of the day as hard as he could, doing everything he could imagine to try and work off that anger. He didn't want Alfred mad at him, and not just because he didn't want to die. He wanted to see that smile he'd seen that morning. The goddess had smiled at him. Vladimir couldn't help the corners of his mouth pull up, a smile he couldn't seem to fight away at the realization he'd seen something absolutely amazing.

He ran behind with a smile, catching up to Alfred quickly and wasn't able to hide his grin as Alfred turned to him. "Why are you so happy?"

"I got to see Your Highness smile at me. I may have made you angry, but I will work hard to see that smile again. Never without permission, I promise, but if she's actively trying to find my voice, I have her permission, right? I'll speak to Matthew after you've gone to sleep tonight. I'll earn his permission with everything I have. This should make you happy, right?" He asked, a little worry seeping into his happy exterior and Alfred sighed.

"Trying to gain Mattie's permission... Yeah, I guess it does. It sounds like you already thought about it too, not like I was the start." Alfred said with a sigh and Vladimir nodded.

"I was thinking about it last night. He was really upset, and I don't want that. If he's not happy, she won't be either, right?" Vladimir spoke with a happy tone and Alfred nodded.

"I'm glad to hear my guard is thinking about things like that. I've placed my own trust and life in your hands. If you're not planning and thinking things through, it would cause me trouble in the future."

"I'll do my best, Your Highness. Anything you want, Anything at all that you desire, I shall do my best to get it or make it happen." Vladimir knelt down to one knee, bowing his head. "As your guard I swear my life to you. I will die rather than to let any harm befall you. I will keep you safe and happy at the cost of my own life. This is my promise to you and you alone, My God." Vladimir spoke with a conviction Alfred had rarely heard. Wide eyes watched the man kneeling on the floor, his sword now held in his hands, showing his subservience to the man before him.

That didn't settle well in Alfred's stomach.

"Do you wish to be free of this promise?" Alfred asked, not liking the thought of someone being a servant to him, now that he thought about it. Slavery was the last thing he wanted.

"Never." Vladimir looked up into his eyes, a fire showed, a grin with each pearly tooth showing and Alfred realized he'd made the right decision in keeping this man as his guard.

Tears came to Alfred's eyes, though he wasn't really sure why. Was it happy? He felt happy. He felt confused and prideful. He felt a touch of sadness and loss, but with everything jumbled up in his head, he couldn't for the life of him tell which emotion had made him feel like crying. Ivan stepped out around the corner of the hall, seeing Vladimir on his knee, holding up his sword with his head bowed and Alfred looking at him with a brilliant smile and tears in his eyes and stilled.

"If she would have you, I would be happy to have you as a brother, Vladimir. And as a guard, I know I've made the right choice putting my trust in you." Alfred wiped tears away as a chuckle bubbled from his throat. Ivan walked up and hugged him.

"I'm glad to see you're in a better mood. Can you smile like that for me as well?" Ivan asked and Alfred looked up at him, red seeping into his cheeks before he grinned. Ivan watched, captivated as Alfred leaned back against him, resting in his arms.

"Always, Ivan."

That's it for now! Five more reviews for a THIRD chapter today!

See you soon!

Jasmin