Chapter 29. Stalling.
"That was a lot easier than I thought it'd be," the albino laughed happily and Ivan simply sat still, deciding to bide his time for the time being. There was a chance that they might even be able to tell him where Alfred was, whether that be on purpose or accident.
"I guess this lord just isn't as scary as the last one," the blonde sighed heavily.
"I take that as a compliment," Ivan said simply and the three seemed equally startled that he had spoken in the first place. Ivan nearly smiled that it was so easy to intimidate them. He assumed General Winter's aura helped him in that aspect.
The brunette was the first one to speak after that. "You were talking to no one for a while and it's really similar to what Alfred does with Arthur." So they did know about Alfred, well this was rather lucky, as long as Ivan knew how to play his cards right. "Does that mean you have the same…situation with Nikolas?"
"It's not exactly the same, but it is the same idea," Ivan said simply. He could, at any moment, allow General Winter to use his magic to free him and General Winter was more than ready, but thankfully he was subdued by the idea of finding out more about these three, as well as the Trickster, wherever the man had gone off to.
"And you don't like him?" the blonde asked.
"I would have thought that was obvious," Ivan said simply, a small smile finally forming on his lips. He had to think of some way to get them to give something away. General Winter could get impatient rather quickly.
"And you still work with him?" the blonde asked carefully.
"I don't have a choice," Ivan shrugged as best as he could with the restraints on him as they were. "Alfred does not quite have the choice, either."
"Does it really have to be you?" the albino groaned impatiently and Ivan was rather curious. "I mean, of all people?"
"Shush, Gilbert," the blonde snapped at him while the brunette motioned for him to stop.
"I wasn't gonna give it away," the albino, Gilbert, groaned impatiently. "You guys give me no fucking credit, do you?"
"We've known you for 400 years," the blonde said bluntly. "No, I don't give you any credit."
So they were immortals. The mere thought set General Winter on edge, but it simply made Ivan all the more curious. These were the first Trickster's companions and, despite being captured, they managed to get away and stay hidden for so long. This held Ivan's interest, certainly.
"Do you know where the Trickster is?" Ivan asked casually, causing all three to jump once again. "If you were listening to me, you understand that I have no intention of killing him."
"You may not have the intention," Gilbert scoffed. "But your little mind buddy does, if the wounds he came to us with were any hint to that."
"You have about as much control over Nikolas as Alfred does over Arthur," the brunette chuckled slightly. There was some information on the matter. Ivan always figured that Alfred and Arthur got along well enough to work cohesively, but the way the brunette talked about it, they didn't seem to work quite as a team. Ivan had to choose his next words carefully if he wanted to continue getting information, no matter how small the facts were.
"From what I heard, Alfred was seen earlier with you three," Ivan said. Actually, the only information he received as that Alfred was with three men before he vanished, but he could figure that they were the three standing before him. "I would have assumed you would know where he disappeared off to."
"If we did, would we tell you where he went?" the blonde scoffed. "To us, that is not just Alfred, but also a dear friend from a long time ago that we didn't even know we'd see again. We would never willingly tell you where he is."
"So you don't know," Ivan said simply and the blonde glared at him.
"Of course we know," Gilbert scoffed. "We just won't tell you."
"You would be more nervous if you did know," Ivan said simply. "More afraid of giving it away. You're far too relaxed now to know where he actually is."
They were set on edge, obviously so, but they attempted to play it off as if nothing was wrong.
"So what?" Gilbert asked simply. "No matter what, you don't know where he is."
"Why did you decide to do this?" Ivan asked simply, looking down at the bindings around him, preventing him, at least for the time being, from using magic to get out. He could freely use his hands, yes, but it seemed as though there was a spell around the ropes that disabled him, though somehow not General Winter from using his magic. "I don't believe I'm giving you any information."
"At least stalling you could be helpful," the brunette chimed.
"And who knows what information we could get from you?" the blonde shrugged. "We haven't even started yet."
"You guys do know he can get out any time, right?" Alfred's voice asked and Ivan froze. General Winter, who had been silent for quite some time, groaned in his head. The three also froze to look at the man, who was, apparently, behind Ivan at this point. "Spirits kinda don't need their hands to cast magic. Arthur taught me that one."
"Alfred, what the fuck are you doing here with him around?" Gilbert snapped and Ivan was almost afraid to look back, but his curiosity got the best of him and he glanced back. Alfred seemed relaxed, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. Something was…off, though. With the way his auras flickered around him and the magic around him seemed to shine…something was wrong.
"I'm fine, relax," Alfred shrugged. "What the fuck do you guys think you're doing? Isn't kidnapping the lord, like a major offense or something?"
"Well, he hasn't exactly come out of the manor often, I don't think that's ever been a major law," Gilbert shrugged nonchalantly. Alfred rolled his eyes. Ivan narrowed his. Alfred wasn't looking at him. Normally, the boy would at least glance at him. This was definitely odd.
Ivan nodded minutely to General Winter, giving him the okay to start freeing him of the bonds.
"You aren't really answering my question," Alfred said simply. Ivan was curious. Yes, it looked like Alfred and it seemed like Alfred, but it…wasn't quite him. Ivan could tell. "What are you doing?"
"Considering you three have been alive for so long, it is amusing how little you understand," Ivan said simply as the bonds were frozen and he was able to break them easily, standing up and thoroughly surprising everyone except for "Alfred."
"I should have expected you would have gotten it so soon," "Alfred" smirked. "I was looking for you, anyway, I still don't know what those idiots are doing."
"Fucking hell," Gilbert groaned, evidently finally realizing what was going on.
"Dammit, Arthur," the blonde cursed under his breath.
"We were trying to help," the brunette shrugged and "Alfred" rolled his eyes.
"Call off your soldiers," "Alfred" said clearly and Ivan was…surprised, to say the least.
"What on Earth could he be planning?" General Winter asked.
"Why?" Ivan asked as he stood and brushed himself off, hoping that General Winter's aura could finally be of some use and keep those three away from him. Ivan looked closer at "Alfred" and noticed that he wasn't quite all there. It was almost like he was…an illusion. But Ivan didn't even know if that was a spell someone could even do.
"You've gotta trust me, alright?" "Alfred" sighed heavily. "And I don't have a lot of time. I can't go around this whole time sneaking around. Call off your soldiers and I'll explain everything later, got it?"
"Do not trust him," General Winter warned. Ivan was already skeptical, yes, though considering the fact that this was most likely the other Trickster, Ivan wasn't sure what to expect. He knew Alfred better than he knew this "Arthur" and so he couldn't expect anything.
"What, exactly, are you doing?" Francis asked and Ivan nearly laughed at how calm they were now that they had someone who they suspected was stronger than Ivan around them.
"Don't have the time," "Alfred" hummed. "I'm afraid if you want answers you're going to have to trust me and tell your soldiers to stand down."
"While he goes off and does what he wants and ruins what already exists? Don't trust him," General Winter scoffed.
"I hope you realize that my soldiers were not there to stop you, but to find you," Ivan said simply and "Alfred" bit his lip momentarily.
"I'm afraid I'm not the one your words are aimed at," "Alfred" muttered under his breath. "Will you have them stand down?"
"Yes," Ivan said simply, despite the shock of the other three behind him. "Alfred" seemed pleasantly surprised as well. "Though you can assume it will take some time to accomplish that."
"We've already been sneaking around a lot," "Alfred" smirked and, all of a sudden, he vanished. So he was an illusion.
"If you three are finished stalling me, I have something important that needs to be done," Ivan said simply, walking past the three and returning to town. He stopped the nearest soldier and gave him new orders. Keep a lookout for the Trickster and aid him whenever necessary. Ivan just hoped that he could manage to find the Trickster as well.
Alfred groaned heavily as he barely managed to climb the last bit to get to the roof of a building. He panted for a short while afterwards but stood and looked forward. He was getting there. He had placed the last protection ward he was sure they needed, now there was just a little bit left to do. The sun was already starting to set behind him as he faced the manor and he let out a deep breath.
"I'm back," Arthur said and Alfred nearly jumped.
"Jeez, took you long enough," Alfred laughed, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked ahead. "What the hell were you even doing over there? Aren't you hesitant to use your magic all willy-nilly?"
"It was necessary," Arthur sighed. "Though you shouldn't worry about it. I used your face, knowing that he would be kinder to you."
"So you did talk to Ivan, huh?" Alfred slumped slightly before he started to move again, running along the rooftop and jumping at just the right moment to land onto the building next to it, rolling to his landing. "I bet he knew it wasn't me."
"He knew right away," Arthur chuckled slightly and Alfred chose to ignore the knot that grew in his stomach at his words. "Still, using your face and voice has its advantages. He's backing down his soldiers so we can move a little easier."
"Great," Alfred sighed. "Perfect now that I'm mostly done."
"It will assist you with getting to the manor, won't it?" Arthur scoffed. "Honestly, I don't do anything without reason."
"Right, right, whatever you say," Alfred laughed. He ran again, lunging over the roof and onto another one, which was slightly lower. This tactic would only work to shield his presence for a short while, as there was a big gap between regular houses and the manor. He wasn't exactly hiding from the soldiers anymore, but he still had to hide from Ivan. He couldn't deal with distractions right now.
And…the less he could think about the people he was going to leave behind…the better. That was why Alfred refused to even go near his house, where Matthew most likely was. If he was going to die, he couldn't say goodbye, he'd just want to stay. So, he plowed straight ahead, hopping over buildings and aiming right for the manor. He could do this, he really could.
He placed his cloaking spell on him as he dropped to the ground, the closest he could get to the manor, and he ran quickly. Sadly, he saw that there were soldiers in his way, right at the doors of the manor. He groaned, turning off the spell as soon as he was sure Ivan wasn't nearby, and continued to run, ready to use a spell if he needed to. Surprisingly, though, the soldiers simply moved out of his way, even opening the door for him. Alfred nodded to them and ran right inside.
"Okay, then," Alfred muttered, continuing his run. He stopped all magic use at once now. He had to save what he could for when he cast his…final…spell. Alfred swallowed thickly and Arthur chose to be quiet for the time being, apparently unsure of how to comfort Alfred in this situation. Alfred ran up the nearest stairs he could find, using his limited knowledge of this place to guide him through. He had made sure that the manor had a special protective ward on it earlier in the day, just to make sure that all of the people inside, including Ivan's crazy sister, could be safe, even if the wall was so nearby.
Maids giggled and moved out of the way as he ran by, moving as fast as is feet could carry him. He tried not to think on the after…just focusing on what he would do to cast his spell. He had to focus on the present, or he would slow down and stop. He shook his head roughly to shake all of the thoughts out and away. He had reached the top floor and he dove for the nearest window, looking up to see how far away the roof was.
He grumbled under his breath when he realized he needed to use a teleportation spell to get him there, but he did it anyway, appearing on top of the building in a second. The sun had disappeared over the wall and it was getting dark now. Alfred felt a horrible pit grow in his stomach. He felt himself shaking, but he couldn't allow himself to tremble. Not now with so much at risk.
He looked around, checking on his wards and making sure he had everything placed correctly, nothing forgotten. He checked on the spells he placed around the wall and he nodded. Everything was good, ready for him to go. He could move at any minute. He had a few hours before he turned 26.
"Alfred."
Alfred froze.
That was the word he didn't want to hear. Especially not from that voice.
"Ivan."
And another cliffhanger! It's because so much is happening and it's all intense. I think you guys are getting what Alfred's going to do. At least some of it. There's a lot of pressure on him, too, especially when you think about the fact that he is going to die, he's already accepted that fact. He just hasn't quite accepted everything that he's going to lose and leave behind and the fact that he really won't be there. Arthur doesn't have very many words of advice, considering his decision was kind of spur of the moment and he wasn't exactly leaving as much as Alfred is, if that makes any sense. There will be kind words of wisdom next chapter, from Arthur and Ivan, but we will have to wait to see that day!
Anywho, please review! It's totally awesome and stuff!
