Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 4

Lukas stared at the two men in front of them. Raj had one hand gripping Vlad's arm, while the other one was loosely wrapped around Vlad's throat. Vlad looked afraid and confused, and Lukas wondered how much of this Vlad knew. But that wasn't what he needed to focus on now.

Raj knew their names.

"Who are you?" Arthur demanded. "And how did you know who we are?"

"I knew it the moment I saw you in the market," Raj said. "That's one of the gifts my master gave me to fulfil any job I receive from him. But my name is Raj, just to answer your first question."

Lukas turned cold. He realised who Raj was, and he also realised how much trouble they were in.

"You're one of Nemthys's followers," Lukas said.

Arthur's eyes widened, and he took a nervous step back. Raj just smiled.

"I'm glad to see that you're not entirely ignorant of the matter at hand," he said. "Now then, I have a proposition for you. If you agree to come with me, without any fuss, then I won't hurt Vlad."

"You… you're trying to coerce us with someone we don't even know?" Arthur asked.

Arthur's voice was shaky. He was trying to act dismissive, but Lukas knew that Arthur was worried. He had the same feeling. Just the thought of Vlad getting hurt because of them filled him with disgust. Raj just chuckled.

"I know that you three have a connection," Raj said. "I know more about it than you do, I suspect. But, if you're trying to convince me that it won't bother you…"

Raj's hand was wrapped just underneath Vlad's elbow. Lukas could see Raj starting to squeeze. Vlad's face morphed, and soon he started to whimper, and then struggle, until finally he started to cry out in pain. And then…

Snap!

Vlad screamed in pain as his arm broke. Arthur and Lukas both let out cries of alarm, instinctively taking a few steps forward in order to help Vlad. Raj's smirk widened.

"Do us all a favour," Raj said. "Don't try to lie to me."

Lukas clenched his fists. It bothered him that Vlad wasn't trying to put up more of a fight, before he realised something crucial: Vlad was a slave. How many times had he been 'punished', and what would happen to him if he tried to resist the 'punishment'?

Lukas, like so many others, knew what happened with slaves, but they had been taught to consider them as so low that they weren't even a part of society. Lukas felt sick. But what made him feel sicker was the question of whether or not he would have cared if this had happened to a different slave.

"You want us to go with you?" Arthur asked. "Why? So your master can kill us?"

"I assure you, we have no interest in killing you," Raj said. "As much as we'd like to, we can't retrieve the jewels without your help. And unfortunately, we need all three of you."

Lukas filed that piece of information away for later. He was trying to think of a way out of there. In the distance, he could still hear that there was a commotion. The place, the time…

"I want to know something else," Lukas said. "It was awfully convenient that there was an explosion around the same time we were all in the market together. And I know you were aware of us. You had something to do with it, didn't you?"

"You have good intuition," Raj said. "Just so you know, I'm not the only one here. My allies are scattered throughout the city. When it was necessary for me to get a distraction, it was only too easy for them."

"And you blamed sorcerers for that," Arthur said. "You wanted things to be even more difficult for us than they already are."

"Actually, that one's more of a bonus. Magic just seems the easiest way to stir up trouble. Besides, we've been making trouble for sorcerers long before your parents were even born. We needed a place where it wouldn't be safe for them, and this just so happened to be the place."

Raj suddenly screamed as a bright flash of light pushed him back. Vlad stumbled, the fingers of his unbroken arm still smoking from his spell. Lukas's eyes widened when he realised that Vlad must have been preparing a spell while they were talking.

Vlad ran over towards Lukas and Arthur, clutching his broken arm against his body.

"W-we don't have much time," Vlad said. "I-I think I only m-managed to stun him."

"Brilliantly done!" Arthur praised. "Come on, then. Let's go back to the inn. Can you lead the way to The Black Duckling?"

"N-no. I-I didn't have m-many opportunities t-to go into t-town."

"Let's just get out of here," Lukas said, grabbing Vlad's uninjured hand and Arthur's hand and pulling the two out of the building.

They only managed a few paces before they heard an enraged scream. Lukas turned back, worried that it meant that Raj had recovered. As he did, he noticed the uncomfortable look on Vlad's face. Their running must have jolted the injured arm.

When they rounded a corner, Lukas forced the other two to stop.

"Vlad, do you need help with that arm?" Lukas asked. "I can heal it, if you'd like."

Vlad looked around before shaking his head.

"It's not a good idea out here," Vlad said. "If people saw it…"

"Understood," Arthur said. "But that arm must be hurting, and the running might be making things worse."

Vlad smiled and shrugged.

"I've had worse," he said. "Don't worry about it. But… who are you two? And… What was he talking about?"

Lukas's chest tightened when Vlad said he'd had worse, and he didn't think that he was lying about it. And he was right to wonder if Vlad knew anything about it. He also realised that they were in danger. If Raj wasn't lying about his allies being around, then they would be in a lot of trouble.

"Try to keep your arm as still as possible," Lukas said.

Vlad looked confused for a moment before Lukas scooped him into his arms. Vlad yelped, and Arthur was staring at the scene.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked.

"It'll be easier on him if I carry him," Lukas explained. "Come on. I'm sure we can find the inn if we can get back to the market."

"N-no, not the market," Vlad said. "We'll draw too much attention."

"He's right," Arthur said, before looking back. "We'll need to start going. I'll send a message to my brothers. If even one of them went to the inn, then I'll be able to track them."

Lukas nodded, and he and Arthur started running again. Vlad was very light, and Lukas only sacrificed a little speed. He looked down at Vlad, who seemed to be a bit more relaxed while he held his injured arm tightly to his chest.

After a while, Arthur started to lead the way, and his directions seemed to have purpose now. Lukas followed, and eventually they reached a familiar street. Lukas placed Vlad on his feet before they walked to the inn. The area was more crowded, and they didn't need unnecessary attention.

Arthur led the way to their room, and Lukas saw one of Arthur's brothers waiting there. He scanned their faces, eyes lingering on Vlad before he opened the room door.

"Get in," he said.

The three of them went into the room, the door closing behind them. Lukas couldn't remember the name of Arthur's brother, but he was grateful for him.

"Thank you, Dylan," Arthur sighed.

"Leave the thanks," Dylan said. "I want to know what happened. There was an explosion, and I saw people using magic. I didn't go closer, because I thought something was wrong, and when you sent for the message, I knew something was definitely wrong."

"Nemthys's followers are here," Arthur said. "We had a confrontation with one of them." He turned to Vlad. "Can you remove your shirt? Those sleeves don't look like they will be easy to lift up, and we need to see that arm."

Vlad took a step back, fear flashing through his eyes.

"I-I don't think that's a g-good idea," Vlad said. He tried to lift the shirtsleeve, only to wince about halfway up.

"Just take off the shirt," Dylan sighed. "You'll need new clothes anyway. I get the feeling that they'll be recognisable."

"What do you mean?" Vlad asked, looking down at the simple clothes.

"When everyone else is wearing colourful clothes, seeing black and white attracts attention."

"But… I-I don't have anything else."

"I'll go buy something," Dylan volunteered. "I'll leave the three of you to talk."

Vlad looked as though he wanted to protest, but Dylan was already out of the room. The three were silent for a few seconds, before Arthur and Lukas turned to Vlad.

"Take off the shirt or we'll cast a binding spell and take it off anyway," Arthur said.

Vlad flinched, before he slowly started to lift the shirt. When it became clear that his injured arm was making it difficult to remove the shirt, Lukas moved to help him. Vlad's breath hitched. Lukas tried to be as careful as possible, but soon he understood Vlad's reluctance.

His back was littered with scars, and between his shoulder blades, Lukas could see the brand that marked Vlad as a slave. He felt sick, and he wanted to find Vlad's master in order to punish him for everything he'd done to the smaller male. Lukas reached out to touch the brand, and Vlad flinched at his touch with a gasp.

"Arthur, can you tend to Vlad's arm?" Lukas asked. "I'm going to see if I can do something about this."

Arthur nodded, his eyes blazing just like Lukas thought his own were. Lukas gently guided Vlad to sit on the nearest bed. Lukas positioned himself behind Vlad while Arthur positioned himself next to Vlad. Soon enough, both of Lukas's hands were glowing as he tended to Vlad's scars. Arthur's hands glowed as well. The only difference lay in the colours.

"Why are you doing this?" Vlad asked meekly. "I-I mean… You don't know me, and I'm nothing but a slave. I'm not someone that deserves any kindness."

Lukas gritted his teeth. He hated hearing Vlad talk about himself like this.

"The three of us are bound by destiny," Arthur said. "It's only right that we take care of each other."

Lukas felt his face heat up. The way Arthur said it made him embarrassed, and he didn't know why. But, technically, he was right. The three of them were bound by destiny. They had a task they needed to fulfil.

"What does that even mean?" Vlad asked.

"…The demon god Nemthys awoke from his long sleep," Lukas explained. "He's looking for his crown jewels that will help him regain his full power. We were chosen to find the jewels and seal him. Raj was one of Nemthys's followers."

"…Why would I be chosen for something so important?"

"Fate chose us," Arthur said. "I don't know either why any of us were chosen. I don't think we're the only three sorcerers in the land."

"And, how are we going to find these jewels?"

"…That is a very good question. I was only told that we would get a clue once we were together."

"Same here," Lukas said. "Arthur has a map, and my god gave me a compass. Did… Did your god make contact with you at all?"

Vlad chuckled bitterly.

"I was a slave for ten years," he said. "I think it's fair to say that my god abandoned me a long time ago. He probably thought I abandoned him first. Some of those… things on my back are because they found me praying to him. When you're a slave, you either pray to the god of your master or not at all."

Lukas gently stroked one of the scars, seeing Vlad flinch again at the contact. Lukas stroked the scar again, and the scar disappeared. He'd already healed the brand that marked Vlad as another person's property. He wondered how Arthur was progressing with the broken arm.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore," Lukas said. "You're not a slave anymore."

"That would be nice," Vlad said. "But just because you got me away doesn't mean I'm not still a slave. As long as I have that thing, I'll always be a slave."

"That's the thing: you don't have the brand. Not anymore."

"…W-what?"

Vlad looked back with wide eyes, and Lukas smiled at him.

"The brand is healed," Lukas said. "There's no trace of it left."

Vlad stared at Lukas for a while before he threw his arms around Lukas's neck. Lukas had to keep himself steady so that they didn't fall over on the bed. Arthur exclaimed something about the arm not being fully healed yet, but Lukas wasn't really listening. He was focused on Vlad, who was trembling and crying.

"Thank you," he sobbed. "Thank you."

Lukas looked over towards Arthur, who had a tender look on his own face. Lukas returned Vlad's hug, rubbing his back. He could still feel many scars on Vlad's back, and he would return to healing them once Vlad was calm again. He also felt how thin Vlad was, and he remembered how light he was when they were running.

Once they were finished healing Vlad's wounds, they would need to get food.

It took a while for Vlad to calm down enough to allow Lukas and Arthur to continue healing him.

"You don't have to do this," Vlad said. "You've already done more than enough."

"We want to," Arthur said. "And we haven't done enough yet."

Two minutes later, Arthur had finished with the arm and he moved behind Vlad to help Lukas to heal the scars. They worked in silence, and Lukas was just pleased that the scars were almost entirely gone. And when they were finally finished with all of the scars, Arthur and Lukas fell back in exhaustion. Healing spells required a lot of energy, and healing old wounds would often require more energy as they needed more attention. Lukas smiled, stroking the smooth back.

"It's done," Lukas said.

Vlad turned to them, his eyes brimming with tears and a smile on his face. He launched himself at them, pulling them both into a hug. Lukas and Arthur exchanged a look and smiled.

"This was our pleasure," Arthur said. "And I promise, we'll make sure that something like this never happens to you again."

Vlad sobbed and hugged them tighter. They remained like that for a while until the door opened. The three of them jumped and turned towards the door. Dylan had returned, and he looked at the scene in confusion. He was carrying a package.

"Did I interrupt something?" Dylan asked.

The three pulled away from each other, and Lukas noticed that the other two had faces as red as his felt.

"I-I'll go get us something to eat," Lukas said.

He got off the bed and pushed his way past Dylan. Now that the moment had passed, he realised exactly how awkward it had been. Even if it had felt nice. Even though he knew that the only reason why they were in that situation in the first place was because Vlad was thanking them for freeing him and wiping away the traces of his past.

But it had been worth it to see Vlad so happy.

It was strange for him how he could be so protective over someone that he had only just met. It might have had something to do with the dreams showing him Vlad. He'd already seen what Vlad was like, and what his life was like. And that smile…

Lukas felt himself blushing again. He would have to admit that it seemed as though Vlad had the ability to worm himself into other people's hearts. Well, good people, at least.

Lukas thought back to the scene in the market. He thought about the way Raj had his grip on Vlad, and how he'd spoken with Vlad's master. They didn't see him as a human. They saw him as an object that could be given away. And after seeing Vlad's smiling face, he couldn't think of those two as anything less than evil.

He forced himself to calm down when he reached the main part of the inn. He didn't want to have to explain why he was in such a state. And then he realised that it wasn't necessary. The innkeeper wasn't even there. In fact, no one was.

Lukas frowned, looking around. After a few minutes he had to admit defeat. He wasn't going to find anyone. Just as he thought it, someone entered the inn. He sighed in relief when he realised that it was a familiar face.

"Tino," he said. "Where are the others?"

"I lost them after those explosions," Tino said. "I thought it was a good idea to come back to the inn. The others should probably be on their way here too."

Lukas hoped that Mathias would think of doing that. Now that the subject of the others came up, Lukas was worried about them. But there was also the niggling feeling at the back of his head that he couldn't quite figure out.

"So," Tino said, "could you at least manage what you came here to do?"

"Yes," Lukas said. "Sorry, I need to get back."

"I understand." The smile on Tino's face unnerved him a bit. "By the way, how's Vlad's arm?"

Lukas's blood ran cold. First, how did Tino know about Vlad? And second, how did he know that Vlad's arm had been injured? Tino's smile changed, and Lukas understood.

"You're one of Nemthys's followers," he whispered.