Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers, Teen Wolf: The Series, or Twilight.

Chapter 2: Arthur The Vampire

"Miss Braginsky I-I didn't mean to push you like that. Are you hurt?" Arthur asked, walking towards her.

Natalya scrambled to get back up and stepped back from him. She raised her knife, "Stay back!" Natalya needed a moment to think.

She was so caught off guard that she couldn't analyze the situation clearly. Natalya shook her head and took a breath to calm herself. With her expression stoic she walked up to Arthur who regarded her curiously. She reached up to pull his lips back and gaze at his teeth.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" He jerked backward and swatted her hands away. From the brief glimpse she got of them, they were normal now.

Super strength,

pointed teeth,

glowing eyes,

an extreme reaction to the possibility she was going to chop his head off.

"You're a vampire!"

"No! I-it was just the lights! They made you see things. I'm a perfectly normal person!"

Natalya put a finger to his lips, "Your secret is safe with me."

"But I'm not a vampire!"

"I always wanted to meet a vampire. Would they be enamoured by the sight of my pulsing veins? Or the scent of my rich crimson blood?" She asked, tracing a finger delicately along one of the veins that was visible on her neck.

Natalya also wanted to be a vampire but it wouldn't look favorable if she was trying to follow in her brother's footsteps. Maybe she could get bit accidentally on purpose.

"M-maybe we should continue to walk to your home."

Natalya knew Irunya was worried already about where she was, so she huffed, "Fine." At some point she'd get Arthur to bite her. They'd be traveling together so there was plenty of time.

Natalya and Arthur then walked back on the path and towards her home. When they were right outside the door it slammed open and her sister Irunya stepped outside. Their oil lamp was the only one still burning by the door.

"Alya! I was so worried! Where were you?" Irunya gripped her arms.

"I washed clothes for the Kirklands. Mister Kirkland forced me to stay for dinner so he could boast about his son Dylan."

Irunya gasped before a smile spread on her face. "Mister Kirkland the banker! Did his son seem like a nice young man? Did he seem interested in you? What did you say? What did he say? Are you going back anytime soon?" Irunya shook her.

And then Arthur cleared his throat quite loudly. Irunya and Natalya turned their attention to him.

"Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to make sure Miss Braginsky got back home safe. I'll take my leave."

"Oh! Silly me, I'm Irunya, Natalya's sister." Irunya said before letting her go and rushing over to the young man. She curtsied for him. "Thank you so much for walking her home. I hope you won't be a stranger. Natalya's a really nice girl."

Arthur gave her a nod and said goodbye to them both.

The next day while she was reading through Ivan's journal, Irunya said it made her tear up when she tried to read it, Irunya called for her. It was Sunday, the only day neither of them worked, and they'd just gotten out of church.

"Someone is here to see you!" Irunya said in a cheery tone.

Natalya closed the book and got out of bed. She and Arthur hadn't discussed when they were meeting up to go look for Ivan and the werewolves. So she thought it was him.

She rushed to the doorway only to frown upon seeing it was Dylan.

Natalya mentally chastised herself. Of course! Vampires burn in the sun.

Irunya was beaming from ear to ear. "Why didn't you tell me the young man who walked you home wasn't Dylan. Now I feel silly!"

"You didn't give me a chance."

"No matter, Dylan wants to take you for a stroll in the park. And look, he brought you flowers."

Irunya showed her the bundle of roses.

Natalya nodded and walked over to Dylan who held out his elbow for her to slip her fingers through. He held an umbrella to shade them from the hot sun. Irunya waved frantically at her, "Have a good time sweet sister!" Before she closed the door.

"How are you today Natalya?" he asked.

Natalya frowned, "My brother is still missing. Law enforcement said that they were going to stop looking and put his face in the paper, so I'm not too thrilled."

"That's such a strange phenomenon. Maybe he ran away from the wolves and into another town." Dylan said, lips pursed.

Natalya looked at the row of houses ahead, "If that is true, why did he not call?" They owned a telephone, and had gotten one last year.

"Maybe he doesn't have enough change to use a phone." Dylan said as they walked further down the path. They soon came upon Derdosa Park, and in its pond sat a few ducks swimming leisurely.

"Mother is not taking Connor's death well. We don't know what business he had out in the forest. He was a bank teller and usually ended his shift before nightfall. There was no need for him to be out so late," he said as they took a lap around the pond.

Natalya shrugged, "Maybe he heard their screams from the attack and went to help."

"That doesn't seem like Connor. He wasn't one to jump headfirst into danger. He would have gone to the constable."

Natalya crossed her arms, "I don't trust the constable, but that is a personal vice of mine."

"You think he's a puppet of the mayor? A pretty bold political stance for a woman." Dylan furrowed his eyebrows but still held a smile on his face.

"He follows Mayor Janssens blindly, enforcing higher property taxes, paper taxes, and stamp taxes without question. And water taxes? It's ridiculous how much we have to pay when we earn so little. I'm sure the mayor doesn't pay taxes."

Dylan let out a chuckle, "It is just the way the world works. If I move up economically then I won't have to worry about that and neither will you."

Natalya nodded, knowing that it was true, but it didn't make her dislike Constable Beilschimidt any less.

They perched themselves on a wooden bench, a noticeable space between them, although she was still shaded by the umbrella.

Dylan made a comment about the ducks and how they have excellent vision which Natalya didn't know much about. She tuned him out, staring blankly at the pond. She thought about the fact that soon she would be venturing off into the forest, going the same path her brother had gone. The last entry was a week ago, he'd written in his journal that they stopped in Beavergonie, a town just west of here, separated by the forest.

It was nearing midafternoon and Dylan suggested they should get back. He walked her home and wished her farewell. Irunya was almost bursting when she got back.

"Well? How was he?"

Natalya shrugged, "He was nice."

"Do you not want to be engaged to him?" Irunya furrowed her eyebrows

Natalya had more pressing matters than getting engaged at the moment. She only went on this walk to be polite. But the opportunity of the money to be gained from marrying into the Kirkland family was not lost on her either.

"I cannot make a decision yet. Another walk is in order."

"These things should not be rushed. Take your time but do not stall idly." Irunya shook an accusing finger at Natalya.

00000000

Natalya was awoken by a knock at her window in the later hours of the evening. She looked over to see glowing green eyes. In haste Natalya raised her window and let the vampire into her room. She lit a candle and illuminated the room for them both.

"What are you doing here? You know what will happen if someone finds you here." she whispered.

He rolled his eyes, "I know that. I came to discuss our plan. While you dawdled about with Dylan I talked to the survivor of the attack." His lips were pursed, as he whispered back.

"Dawdled? It's not my fault that you can't go outside in the day time."

"Are you daft? I just said I talked to the survivor of the attack." He hissed.

Her eyebrows furrowed."Why didn't you come get me then? You could have said we were going on a walk, Irunya wouldn't have cared."

A moment of silence passed between them.

"We don't have time for arbitrary details!" In the dimness of the room, she could see the crimson coloring of his cheeks.

Vampires can blush?

"Anyway the survivor said they were following a group of vampires out of Beavergonie when they were attacked." Arthur continued.

"That's the last place mentioned in my brother's journal."

"Then that's where we're going." Arthur furrowed his eyebrows.

Natalya gave him a nod.

"We'll meet at the edge of the forest tomorrow at dusk. Pack what you can carry." Arthur said as he sat on her window sill. Then he jumped down onto the ground below and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

0000000

The next day Natalya was outside washing the Joneses clothes. Mr. Jones's wife died of smallpox about 3 years ago, so Natalya did the washing for the family. Sometimes Irunya would cook for them, and they would all eat together.

"I heard your brother's missing, Alya. I'm so sorry." Natalya looked up from her washing momentarily to see the violet eyes and round bifocals of the younger sibling. She didn't remember his name.

"At least he is not dead."

The blond nodded, "I'll pray that God returns him safely."

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Natalya continued washing.

"Nat! Is it true you're courting Dylan Kirkland?"

Natalya let a breath out of her nose and pursed her lips. She looked up to see the ocean blue eyes of Alfred. He smiled at her, mischief in his eyes, as he slung an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"How did you know that?" She threw the shirt in her hand into the soapy water.

"I shine shoes Nat, gossip is all I hear. Mr. Kirkland certainly wasn't quiet about it either."

Natalya rolled her eyes, "Yes we went for a walk yesterday."

"Nat you were my backup to get father off my ass. You weren't supposed to go into courtship yet."

"Al!" The other blond chastised him.

"Oh don't give me that Matt, you tell father the same thing. He thinks we're fighting over her."

Matt's cheeks turned a familiar shade of crimson.

Alfred lowered his voice, "Truth is Nat, there aren't many ladies in town and we're just stalling until we can take a trip out of town."

Natalya understood that. She also had no interest in the Jones brothers anyway.

"It is fine. I had no interest in either of you."

Alfred grinned, "That's the spirit."

000000000

Natalya walked into the Mr. Popescu's bookstore after she finished washing clothes for the Joneses. The now greying man looked up at the sound of the bell jingling over the door.

"Miss Braginsky, what a surprise. I'm sorry to hear about your brother. You know he was my favorite customer."

"I'm going to find him. I need a few things for my trip. Do you happen to sell anything that kills werewolves?" She approached the counter.

Mr. Popescu smiled, " It's brave of you to do so, I'm in no position to stop you. Yes I do. Silver bullets if you can afford them."

She watched as he brought out a wooden box. On the price tag she saw $9.00 which was way over her budget. "Does this include ammunition as well?"

"Just the shells."

"I can't afford that. Is that the cheapest?"

"These bullets are meticulously handcrafted, and this is for a set of 20 shells, the lowest quantity."

"What about wolfsbane?"

"Seventy-five cents for a pack of 25 seeds."

Natalya grit her teeth, "You don't have any already grown?"

"If you can't tell already Miss Braginsky the business of selling supernatural items is a bootleg practice. It's incredibly difficult to obtain these things to sell them. It's easier to distribute seeds instead of whole plants."

"But I need them tonight!"

"I suggest you stay away from werewolves until then. You don't want to run into one unprepared."

Natalya frowned, "I'll take the seeds." She then slammed the change onto Mr. Popescu's counter.

Natalya gathered sticks off of the ground and sharpened them with her knife. She cherished her knife, her father had given it to her to protect herself. Irunya had one too but she rarely took it out. Natalya would practice aiming with it when she was younger.

Natalya wrote Irunya a letter telling her that she was going to find Ivan and bring him home. She also told her to stay with Mr. Jones if she got scared of being all alone. She told her not to worry and that she would write her letters every week to let her know she was alive.

Natalya pocketed half of the money she'd saved, it wasn't enough to put in the bank, as well as her knife and stakes. She tied up a sack with a few spare dresses, a coat, the pack of seeds, and Ivan's journal. She snuck out of her window and when her boots touched the ground she felt excitement course through her veins.

She held an oil lamp and walked to the edge of the forest. When she got there, Arthur was leaning against the bark of a tree with an oil lamp in one hand, and a sack in the other. He looked in her direction as she approached.

"Don't you have night vision?"

"It's a secret for a reason Natalya. If we spot someone they'll be sure to ask."

"Right, right." Natalya nodded.

"Come on then." Arthur turned and led the way into the forest.

They walked for what felt like hours before they stopped upon a clearing. Natalya sat on the ground as Arthur sniffed the air.

"We're going in the right direction of where they were attacked."

"Hey! If you can follow the scents, could you smell my brother's journal?" Natalya opened her sack and stuck her hand in it to pull out the journal.

"I could try." He said as she handed it to him.

She watched with interest as he sniffed the journal.

"There are alot of smells on this journal. I can't distinguish your brothers from the other ones." He handed it back to her.

Natalya frowned, "It is fine. We will run into him, it has only been 2 days." She stuffed the journal back into her sack.

"We can rest here if you want and I'll take the first watch."

Natalya rested her head on her sack and laid on the ground.

"Did you bring a blanket?"

"I brought my coat."

"That's not practical for sleeping!" Natalya shrugged and closed her eyes. It was usually warm at this time of year. "See if I care if you get frostbite!"

Natalya later awoke to red eyes staring down at her, and a mouth full of teeth. She noticed the fangs and almost screamed.

But the vampire was thrown off of her a second later. Natalya sat up and fumbled with her pockets.

Arthur had the vampire pinned to the ground on its back, and he was growling quite loudly.

The vampire hissed, "If you wanted her, you would've eaten her already! It's only fair." It struggled against the other vampire.

Natalya readied her stake and stabbed the pinned vampire in the heart. It screeched a horrible sound before it vanished into a pile of ashes.

Natalya blinked, mouth agape. "Wow. It is dead...because of me."

Arthur got up. "Thank you," he muttered.

"He wasn't your kin right?" Natalya got up and stared him right in the eyes.

"Good God I'm not a vampire! Why can't you understand that?"

"You just don't want to scare me. I could very well kill you. I understand that."

Arthur groaned, "Can you keep watch?"

"Yes."

Arthur curled up under a blanket, rested his head on a sack, and closed his eyes.

Natalya sat down with a knife in one hand and a stake in the other and watched and listened for any movement.

Natalya watched as the sun rose, causing specks of light to flicker through the trees. She hadn't been attacked by another vampire. It had been relatively quiet aside from a few small squirrels and hoots from owls.

Natalya turned back and shook Arthur's shoulder to wake him up.

He groaned, "We're sleeping in Inns from now on." He stretched and cracked his neck.

"Only the nicest of bedding for you, princess." Natalya muttered.

They walked through the forest again and soon came upon the dirt road. They'd finally made it to Beavergonie.

"If anyone asks about our status we should say that we're-" Natalya could tell where this was going.

"Engaged." She said as she nodded.

-siblings." Arthur looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Engaged? You're engaged to Dylan aren't you? If they find out, we'll be shunned for the scandal!" Arthur's eyes widened.

"I am not engaged to him. Siblings makes no sense. We have different last names." Natalya crossed her arms.

"Just pretend that your last name is Kirkland." He copied her motion.

"Why do I have to? You pretend your name is Braginsky!"

"You'll have to change your name anyway if you're marrying my brother! What's the big deal?"

"My name is family and my pride. I will keep it as long as I can."

She stared him down, and he did the same thing to her, and for a moment it seemed as though they were at a stalemate. Until Arthur huffed, "We need to find a third party. Until then," he let a breath out of his nose, "we'll be engaged."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Criticism welcome.