Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers, Teen Wolf: The Series or Twilight.
Chapter 7: Francis The Amber-Eyed Vampire
Natalya felt as though God was giving her a test. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on with Arthur and this vampire but she had a few options. She could either get involved or mind her own business.
It bothered Natalya just a little because it seemed Arthur was friendly with this vampire. Why hadn't he mentioned talking to him before?
Francis furrowed his eyebrows as silence had settled between them. "Well I'm going to get a morsel of food to eat and we can discuss this further." Francis then went into a hallway just past the couch.
"So you're just not going to say anything, huh?" Lovino asked as Arthur stared at him blankly before cocking his head to the other side.
"I think there's something wrong with him."
"You think it has to do with that vampire? Should we do something?"
"I don't think we should ask about it. It's his choice. He left us, remember?"
"I understand that but if he's in trouble–!"
Just then Francis reappeared, teeth buried into the carcass of a rat and sat in the arm chair. Natalya frowned.
"So how did you all meet to become such good friends?"
"We're not friends." Lovino said rejoining her on the couch.
"He was traveling with us and wanted to go off on his own." Natalya said.
"Oh! So you do not mind if I keep him for a few more days?" He asked, lowering the dead rat from his mouth.
"Keep him? Like a pet?" Lovino furrowed his eyebrows.
"He is here. So why are you asking us?" She asked.
"Well usually I have to return him because his brother is looking for him. But if he is traveling with you all, he is expected to be gone. I could drop him off in town when you return. When are you expected to return?"
"What? Did you not work it out with Blondie how long he's staying with you?" Lovino asked from beside her.
The vampire chuckled, "He can't. He is hypnotized to think he is a dog. He would not work with me otherwise."
Natalya knew if they fought with Francis for Arthur, he wouldn't tell them anything about where the Vampire King was. And they would have to fight the Alpha's alone. Arthur technically had left them anyway and there was no guarantee he wouldn't leave again if they freed him.
"We'll let you keep him if you tell us where the Vampire King lives." Natalya said, to which Lovino gasped.
"No! He's not a goddamn pet." Lovino stood up then, "If you want him, you're gonna have to go through me."
"Lovino, what are you doing?" Natalya hissed. She wasn't going to let him mess this up for her.
"I'm not going to keep him long, just until your trip is over. I would say about a month's travel to the Vampire King's castle and back to his hometown. He'll be safe, I promise. I don't want his brother after me either." Francis chuckled, "I still remember the first time."
"That sounds fa–" Natalya started. His guarantee of bringing Arthur back to town in a month lifted a bit of the burden off of her shoulders.
"No! I said no! I will fight you for him. If I win, you can't have him anymore."
Francis let out a chuckle, "So if I win, I get to keep him for the month you're gone and then you'll be on your way to the Vampire King?"
"Yes." Lovino said.
"Are you positive that giving this information is not a betrayal of your kind?" Natalya asked.
"I do not care about the Vampire King's affairs. I was cast out for proposing an alternative method to human blood sucking. With any hope you'll kill him." Francis smiled.
Natalya sighed and dug inside her pocket and handed Lovino a stake.
They had to wait until dusk for the fight to be fair. To pass the time Francis played the accordion for them, Natalya thought he was pretty good. And for a brief moment she could almost overlook that he was a blood sucking vampire.
And then she and Lovino cooked the caracarases of the animals Francis had caught and sucked blood from. They were sitting around a fire outside, roasting rabbits on sticks, Arthur stood guard in front of Francis's cabin.
"Lovino, I thought we were going to do this on our own." She frowned at him
"You know that our odds are slim without Blondie." He frowned as he glanced at his roasting rabbit
"I do, but our odds are even slimmer if we don't have directions." Natalya glanced back at her rabbit as it started browning. She put it a bit closer to the flame.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take. If I fail, once that vampire finds out…you know…he's going to keep Blondie forever. Do you think God would have mercy on our souls if we didn't at least try?"
Lovino made eye contact with her, and she could see that beyond the tough front he was putting on, he was actually terrified. Terrified of fighting a vampire, or terrified of losing Arthur for an unknown period of time, or both, she couldn't tell.
It made her stomach uneasy but she gave him a nod to tell him she understood.
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It was now nightfall. Natalya squatted down to pet Arthur, who was just staring blankly off into the distance. He was docile and it kind of unnerved her.
Lovino failed to stab Francis. He caught Lovino's wrist and pushed him backwards. Once Lovino was on the ground, Francis pinned his arms above his head.
"This will only take a second. Think of it as a light nap." Francis bared his fangs.
Lovino squirmed and struggled before rearing his head back as hard as he could to knock it against Francis's. The vampire paused for a moment but it was enough time for Lovino to get one of his arms free to stab Francis in the neck. Lovino was able to roll away then as the vampire screamed in agony. But just as Lovino got up Francis rushed at Lovino and slammed him into a tree. Lovino groaned, and to Natalya it looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.
"You're more intelligent than I first thought." Francis continued.
Natalya frowned and decided if she was truly Lovino's partner she should support him and that meant not leaving Arthur behind. She snapped her fingers in front of Arthur's face. But he didn't stir.
"Wake up!" Natalya shook him.
Francis by then had bitten Lovino and he screamed, "Ahhhhhh!"
Natayla stopped and got up to run towards Francis. He dodged her, just as she was about to stab him. He let go of Lovino, causing the man to slide down onto the ground, unconscious.
"The deal is off." She said as he turned to face her.
"Well I suppose you won't have Arthur or the Vampire King's location. It does not bother me. I will return him into town when I do not need him anymore." Francis shrugged before punching her right in the throat in a quick motion.
Natalya gasped as she stumbled backward onto the ground. In an instant the vampire was on top of her, her arms were pinned and his fangs were bared. Her heart beat in her chest, panic quickly started to take hold.
Now we'll have to keep going and we might die and Arthur's parents won't even know where he is and Vanaya—
Then she heard growling and some cracking sounds as though branches were being snapped, and the ripping and tearing apart of muscle to reset bones again. Natalya had a pretty good idea what that was. Momentarily she could feel the vampire bury its teeth into her neck. And then Francis was shoved with his back to the bark of a tree. Arthur had a hand around the vampire's throat.
"Did you have a nice nap mon ami?"
Natalya breathed to gain her bearings before getting back up.
"You slippery bastard. I've been awake this whole time and we're not friends."
Francis shrugged, "It was fun while it lasted, non?"
"You call temporary imprisonment fun? I've been waiting six years to break your neck."
"Hey now, you can't kill me yet. I know where the Vampire King is." He smirked.
Natalya gripped Arthur's arm, the one that wasn't being used to hold Francis. "Not yet."
He turned to look at her, fury in his eyes. "You were willing to leave me just to get some information you weren't sure he had! That sticking together rhetoric only matters when it benefits you!"
"As though you weren't going to leave again after you killed him!"
"I wasn't!" His cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson.
"Awww. You really have made some friends, you are growing up." Francis said, his smile now filled with pride.
"Quiet you cretin!" Arthur broke eye contact with her to yell at Francis.
Natalya blinked and just then Lovino groaned.
Natalya looked over to see the young man shaking his head, "I guess I lost." Lovino looked up and at the three of them, "Or not?"
"What were you thinking? Don't you still have a concussion?" Arthur asked, letting Francis go and walking over to Lovino. He leaned down to hold out a hand to help Lovino up.
Lovino allowed him to pull him up, "What does it matter to you? Go on, you're free now."
Lovino waved him away.
"I apologize for what I said before. You're not useless Lovino. You try and that's more than anyone else can say. I want to rejoin your group." Arthur said, voice quiet.
"I know I'm not useless." Lovino crossed his arms, "Even though you're an ass, I apologize for treating you like a dog and I'll stop calling you Blondie."
"I'll let you keep the nickname." He muttered.
Lovino pulled Arthur into a hug and Natalya walked over and hugged Arthur from her place behind him,"Don't you ever leave us again! We were almost going to have to face alpha werewolves alone. They would've ripped us into pieces!" Lovino broke down into sobs.
Natalya nodded.
"I'm not wearing any clothes! Get off me! Why do you both insist on doing this?" Arthur protested.
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Francis gave Arthur a blanket to cover himself because he hadn't picked up Arthur's clothes. Arthur thought it would be a waste of time to go back for them. Luckily Lovino hadn't thrown out his sack that contained his extra clothes. Arthur went to go get his clothes before changing into them somewhere beyond the tree line.
Francis promised not to hypnotize Arthur anymore as Arthur rejoined them just outside of Francis's home.
"But if you all are in the area, feel free to stop by."
"No, we won't be taking you up on that." Arthur said, clenching his jaw.
"Aww come on don't be so upset. It was for my survival. You made things so much easier, mon ami."
"You forced me to help you and you never asked! If I never see you, again it'll be too soon." Arthur turned and stalked over to Lovino's coach.
Francis shrugged. "I admit I could have gone about it a different way. It'll be hard now to catch food in the winter."
"How about you ask John? He is a werewolf, they are about the same, da?" Natalya spoke up.
"Oui, c' est magnifique! I will ask. I'm sure we can come to a compromise." Francis smiled.
He glanced over at Arthur who had gotten an apple to eat from Lovino's coach. His eyebrows furrowed, "I worry about him, even if he says he wants nothing to do with me. You two will watch out for him, non?"
"He left us!" Lovino said.
"He's how you say 'rough around the edges.'"
"We have a mutual interest, so we have to. Do not worry." Natalya told the vampire.
So because Arthur hadn't killed him, Francis kept his word and told them the location of the Vampire King. The Vampire King lived in a location in what was known as Arizona territory, deep in the Antelope canyon. They were still on the right track; they would be following the Rio Grande to Albuquerque before heading west.
Lovino gave Betsy a few apples.
Arthur drove the coach for a few hours, until the witching hour. Natalya and Lovino had slept through the ride. They set up camp at a clearing and Natalya took watch until dawn. She decided to write another letter for Irunya that she would send her in Albuquerque.
Dear Nyah,
I hope this letter finds you well. We are on the right track. Vanya might be where we are heading. I am hopeful that we will find him.
I know that you are worried, but I am still alive. One of my companions who I said had left us in my previous letter, came back. He said he would stay with us, and I am relieved. He's really good at keeping Lovino and I safe, so without him I was worried we'd die.
I hope you are safe. Are you staying with Mr. Jones? I know it is probably lonely at home without me.
Love,
Natalya
Natalya, Lovino and Arthur were sitting around the fire passing around a basket filled with the last of the food Natalya had taken from Lovino's parents, and taking spoonfuls.
Natalya set the basket down, and she and Lovino looked at Arthur.
"What?" Arthur asked and she could see he was frowning.
"Lovino and I were worried you might have been stuck with Francis for a long time after he found out about Connor." Natalya said and she glanced over to see Lovino crossed his arms.
Arthur looked between them both, his mouth still in a frown before he sighed, "When I was younger if I wasn't at home by a certain time, Connor would come looking for me. I used to wander off in the woods a lot just to test out my powers." His gaze fell into his lap, "Francis had me one of those times and Connor almost killed him, but Francis is a slippery bastard and managed to get away before he could do him in. So as long as Francis dropped me off in town before Connor noticed I was gone, he was free to continue." He fidgeted with his hands.
So Lovino was right to be worried, good call.
"Well why didn't you just fight that son of a bitch after you got back?" Lovino asked, eyebrow raised.
"When I run into him in the woods, before I can do anything he has me in a trance. Then I'm forced to catch animals for a few hours. I'm usually tired once he stops it and he manages to avoid any retaliation I had planned." Arthur avoided his gaze briefly as he said, "I've never been able to break the spell myself...before today."
"And what was so different about today?" Natalya asked.
"I-I've never had traveling companions before...or friends." His cheeks turned salmon colored, and the corners of his lips were curled briefly into a smile. She had never seen him genuinely smile before.
"Damn Blondie."
"Does this mean that you are loyal to us now?"
He gave her a nod, "In appreciation, I owe you my life, and I will do whatever it takes to help you find Ivan and take revenge on those werewolves." And the look in his eyes told her that he meant every word.
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Natalya, Lovino and Arthur were fishing in the Rio Grande the next day. Although instead of Lovino being in the middle, Arthur was.
"So Blondie, were you born a weredog?"
"No, I was bitten."
"Like a werewolf?" Natalya asked.
He gave her a nod before looking back at his line, "The process is exactly the same."
"C'mon tell us, how'd you get turned?" Lovino asked.
"None of your bloody business!"
"It was probably in the woods." Natalya spoke up.
"Why are you being so secretive?" Lovino asked.
"It's really none of your business!"
"Boo. I bet it was in a really boring way. You went to pet a dog and it bit you." Lovino muttered, his cheeks puffed out a bit, before pulling his stick.
Natalya felt a smirk on her lips.
Arthur pursed his lips and upturned his nose. "How'd you get in possession of that rifle then? You obviously don't know how to use it, so it couldn't have been yours."
"It was Antonio's. His parents had stopped by, said that he was dead and this was what they found with him, and that he would have wanted me to have it. Said some Constable in Sraftbridge found him so, I headed in that direction." Lovino shrugged as he took the carp from the line.
Arthur frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, "You cared about him that much?"
Lovino let out a snort before he smirked, "Nah, he cared about me alot though. I couldn't just let the fool die in vain." Then Lovino frowned and turned away from them both, "He was a nice man, didn't deserve to be mauled by werewolves…H-he just wanted t-to p-protect, you know?"
Lovino excused himself to go into the woods to gather more sticks for their campfire. Natalya knew he was just going to go cry.
"Hmm, now I see." Natalya said, and she could feel Arthur staring at her.
"What?"
Natalya felt that although she didn't care that much for friendships, it was what they would need if they were going to find Ivan.
"He wants you to fill Antonio's role."
"What?"
Natalya gripped his ear, "You hear me!"
"I heard! I just don't understand where you come up with these ridiculous ideas! I cannot replace his friend!"
"At least try to be nice. You're always so guarded." Natalya frowned. He gripped her wrist and pulled causing her to let go. He then let go of her.
"Stop acting like you know me. We've lived in the same town all of our lives and this is the first time we've interacted." He pulled his line.
"I usually don't wash in your part of town." She shrugged, "You don't look like you'd want to talk to me anyway."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Natalya noticed his cheeks were crimson. The fish flopped up and he scrambled to catch it.
"What I said. You don't look nice or friendly."
"I don't have time for such frivolous things. Work and protecting our town from supernatural creatures doesn't leave room." Arthur pulled the medium sized carp from his line, eyebrows furrowed, cheeks puffed in a pout.
"Seems like your brother was able to balance it out." Natalya felt a mischievous smirk curl on her lips.
He narrowed his eyes, "You're not the most approachable young maiden yourself."
"Good point. That's why my sister is always pushing me: smile, go out, look nice for a man."
"There are plenty of men in Sraftbridge." He muttered, "You won't have a problem."
"Yes but will they understand that I want to hunt vampires?"
"No, of course not. You're not supposed to be out here."
"Bite your tongue! I will follow my brother to the ends of the Earth. If there are vampires that need to be slain, I will help him, marriage or not."
Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, "You're not going to find someone who understands and you're just going to have to live with it." He turned away from her and muttered, "I know I have."
Natalya frowned, "How did your brother do it then?"
Arthur scoffed, "Do you really think he told his wife? She's probably scratching her head just like everyone else in my family. 'What would Connor, who kept to himself, be doing out in the middle of the woods?'" He aggressively stuffed the carp into a sack. "He could have told me but no, he wanted to play hero and now I have to pick up his slack."
Natalya didn't know how to comfort someone like Arthur. So they settled into silence for a few moments.
"I'm going to go find Lovino. He's probably gotten lost." He said before getting up.
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They managed to scare off a pack of werewolves that surrounded their fire yesterday because Lovino killed one by shooting it in the eye before it managed to bite Natalya. The fish weren't biting then either so they would have to get more food in Albuquerque.
Having traveled for 2 more days, they were now less than a day away from were sitting around the fire, having set up camp for the night. Natalya and Lovino had just finished filling Arthur in on their excursion with the beta werewolves.
"So you mean to tell me that you were taken in by werewolves and they didn't eat you?" Arthur asked.
"They said someone could have been looking for us. I guess they didn't want any trouble." Lovino shrugged.
"Well I suppose you have quite a bit of luck to not have been killed."
"No, not luck. We know how to protect ourselves." Natalya said, pride swelling in her chest.
"Ah yes as long as you have someone supernatural around." Arthur smirked.
Natalya waved him away to poke at the fire, "That is just a minute detail."
"What is our plan for when we get to the Vampire King's castle anyway?" He asked her.
"To infiltrate the castle through brute force."
"You can't possibly be serious."
"We are strong together." Natalya gave him a nod.
"No they're not just the run of the mill vampires, they're the higher up ones. They've got special abilities. We have to be smart about this if we want to look for your brother."
"What do you propose then?"
"We get captured intentionally."
"Blondie, that is the most foolish thing I've ever heard you say."
"How is that a sufficient plan?"
"Presumably they know that you would be looking for Ivan, Natalya. Anything they could use against Ivan would be in their benefit. We'll better prepare when we get to Albuquerque."
It would be wise to see if they could find a shop specializing in the supernatural to better defend themselves, just in case this plan failed.
A/N: The three musketeers are back together again.
I recently found out about the official UK bros designs and who's actually who. This story will have cannon Scotland and refers to cannon Northern Ireland.
Oui, c' est magnifique!- Yes, that is magnificent!