Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 15
"So, where are you from?" Bella asked.
The two were in the park in front of the library. Berwald hadn't been too happy when Mathias told him that he was going outside, but assented when he realised that Mathias was too bored to be useful anyway, and that it would probably be a better option to allow him to refresh himself in some way. Mathias didn't mention Bella, knowing that Berwald would most definitely not approve of Mathias slacking off in order to flirt with a girl.
Even if Mathias told Berwald that she had started the flirting, the taller blond wouldn't have allowed him out of his sight.
"I'm from near the Paqlea Sea," Mathias said. "What about you?"
"Oh, I'm also from around that region," Bella said. "Akedo, to be exact."
"Really? If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here? I mean, it's a long way from home."
"I'm travelling with my brothers. I suppose you could say we're the adventurous types. And… you're here to do research, right? Which friend are you helping out?"
Mathias knew that he couldn't give too much information, so he tried to think of a good answer for Bella.
"He's busy with work," he said. "Important work. So, he's not in the library right now."
"I see…" Bella said. "Was he the same one who hit you when you greeted him?"
A cold stone settled in Mathias's chest. Something was wrong. He looked over towards Bella, who smiled and held up her hands.
"Sorry," she said. "I happened to see it. So… Is that your friend?"
"…Yeah," Mathias said. "And when he hit me… It was my fault. He was attacked recently, and I caught him by surprise."
"Oh, he was attacked? Was it bandits or something?"
Mathias didn't feel comfortable with the fact that Bella seemed so interested in Lukas, so he tried to change the subject.
"Um, so, where are your brothers right now?" Mathias asked.
Bella only shrugged. She seemed disinterested. The hairs on the back of Mathias's neck stood up. He was starting to think that it was a mistake to go with Bella. He looked back at the library.
"Uh, it was nice speaking to you," Mathias said, standing up, "but I really need to get back. Um, maybe we could do this again sometime?"
He didn't really think that Bella would accept his offer, if it was even an offer. Mathias's instincts were screaming at him, and he wanted to go back to a place where he knew that he would be safe. Bored, but safe.
"Oh, are you going to do research for Lukas again?" Bella asked.
Mathias froze, his breath stopping in his throat. He turned back to Bella, and she stared at him with a calm smile.
"I never told you his name," Mathias said.
Bella's smile widened into a smirk, and Mathias felt himself shudder.
"I know," she said. "You know, I assumed that you were a fool that would share everything about your friend. You've proven me wrong. I'm impressed. You're smarter than you look."
"You're one of Nemthys's followers," he whispered.
Bella nodded, her smirk widening, if possible. Mathias swallowed a lump in his throat, before he turned around and started to run. He needed to warn the others. He needed to warn Lukas.
Mathias had only managed one step before he slammed against a wall. A wall that hadn't been there a moment ago. And the bright sunny day was gone. He looked around. He was in a cold, dark, damp room. Just him and Bella.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"I just made sure that no one would interrupt us," she said. "Now, let's talk a little bit."
…
Lukas watched the other two through hazy eyes. He didn't know what Lars had done to him, but it hurt. He could see the doubt in Vlad and Arthur's eyes, and he just wanted the two of them to run away. He didn't care what happened to him at this point, he just wanted the other two to escape.
Of course, he couldn't tell them that at the moment. He tried to free his mouth, but Lars managed to have a good grip. He was surely familiar with doing this to other people. He shuddered at the thought. How many other people were harmed by these hands?
"Alright," Arthur said, "we'll 'play nice', as you said."
Lukas shook his head, and Lars's hold on him tightened. Vlad and Arthur looked towards him, and he could clearly see the sorrow in their eyes.
"Excellent," Lars said. "Now then, come along, and don't even think of using magic against me. I cast an anti-magic spell before I came here, so what you did to Raj and the others, you won't be able to do with me."
Arthur and Vlad exchanged looks. They knew that they shouldn't go with Lars, and Lukas continued to try to get away. If they went with Lars, then Nemthys would have them, and the world would be doomed. Lukas was also nervous, because he still had the Desert Heart with him. Nemthys would be able to get the first of the jewels.
Lars sighed when he saw the others' hesitation, and Lukas felt the same pain going through his body again. He screamed, making Arthur and Vlad jump.
"Stop it!" Arthur cried out.
Lukas slumped when the pain stopped. He panted as best he could with his mouth covered. Sweat coated his entire body.
"Don't make me ask you again," Lars hissed. "Come now. You don't want to keep me waiting, for Lukas's sake."
Lukas looked up to see Arthur and Vlad walking closer. There was terror on their faces. All three of them knew the danger, but none of them could see a way to get out of this. Lukas could feel the tears stinging his eyes, knowing that Nemthys was going to win. They had failed.
A vision popped into his mind. Lars and his siblings were standing over a bloody figure, while another, near-identical figure was on his knees in front of them. Tears stained his face as a familiar expression twisted his features. The same expression that Arthur and Vlad had on their faces. The same expression that Lukas suspected was on his own face.
It was a look of utter despair.
"What is going on here?"
The vision faded, and Lukas was looking at Arthur and Vlad again. They stopped, their eyes wide. Behind them, Vlad could see the person that had spoken. Because it was important to remember that they were still in an inn, and there would naturally be other guests, not to mention the staff. And the person that interrupted was one of them.
The man looked at the scene, understanding slowly dawning on him as he looked towards Lukas. Lukas tried to tell the man to run, but he was still muffled. And he could feel Lars's nails sinking into his skin.
"Help!" the man shouted.
Lars cursed, before he whispered something else. A spell. Lukas watched as the man was thrown backwards against the wall behind him. But in the brief moment of distraction, Lukas had an idea. Lars couldn't be hurt by magic at the moment, but Lukas could still harm him in other ways.
Lukas stomped on Lars's foot, causing a hiss of pain as his grip loosened. Lukas jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow, causing Lars's grip to loosen enough for Lukas to break free. He could feel Lars swiping at him as he moved towards Arthur and Vlad. He grabbed their arms and pulled them along.
"Come on!" Lukas urged.
"Wait," Vlad said, pulling back slightly. "We need to help him."
Lukas paused and turned his attention to the man that had been knocked away. Unfortunately, it also caused Lars to catch up to them. He grabbed Lukas by the hair, pulling him backwards. Lukas cried out in pain.
"Where do you think you're going?" Lars hissed.
"What's going on here?"
"What are you doing?"
The man's call for help had been answered, it would seem. Other guests had come out of their rooms and the main area, and even the innkeeper came along. Lars pulled back, growling in annoyance. Vlad and Arthur tried to pull Lukas away, but Lars's grip was tight, which only caused pain to explode in Lukas's skull.
Lars cried out, and the grip on Lukas's hair loosened. He pulled away and turned around. Some of the other guests were pulling Lars away. They didn't know what was going on, but they noticed that Lars was trying to do something to them, and so they reacted.
"Run!" a large man said. "We'll hold him until you kids get to safety."
Lukas felt a brief flash of annoyance when the man referred to them as 'kids', but if he looked at that grizzled man, then he supposed that they were children in his eyes. And Lukas didn't want to waste this opportunity.
Someone else had already gone to check on the person who had called for help, so Lukas saw no reason to linger. He pulled the other two along, and they ran out of the inn. People stared at them oddly as they ran, but Lukas couldn't find it in himself to care. They needed to get away.
Arthur and Vlad, luckily, didn't need a lot of pulling, and the three of them ran alongside each other. Lukas led the way to the large park that was close to the library. It was a fair distance away from the inn, and they could go to the others. He needed to make sure that Mathias was alright.
…
Henri looked over at the men who thought that they could find information on his master. It was a foolish endeavour. However, there was still a chance that they might find something that they shouldn't find, in which case, it would be necessary to deal with them. But before resorting to drastic measures, they needed to determine if it was possible for them to sway them to their side. And that was the current problem.
Bella might have been able to see potential in one of them, but Henri was having trouble doing the same. When he looked at them, he couldn't see anyone that would be easily swayed. They were far too loyal towards those three, or at least, each was loyal to one of the three. Loyalty that couldn't falter. The last time he'd seen loyalty like that, it had resulted in their master going to sleep for centuries, and all of them being hunted down, or at least, they had tried.
There were a few who were captured because their hunters found out the hard way that only their master could give the authority to kill them.
Henri gritted his teeth at the thought. There was still a traitor to deal with. For the moment, their master didn't want them to kill him because he still needed to answer for his crime. Unfortunately, he was very hard to find. They'd been searching for him for centuries without any luck.
But even if their loyalties proved to be too difficult to sway, there was still a use they could have for Arthur and Lukas's friends. At the very least, they could be the perfect bait.
Henri shuddered and his eyes widened. Lars had failed. The three of them had slipped from his fingers, one of them literally. And unless they could rectify the situation, they would be punished.
He focused on the youngest member of the group. He would be the easiest person to grab. He stepped closer, but suddenly, it was difficult for him to move. He grunted before he looked around. He was caught in a spell.
"I was starting to wonder when Mathias disappeared," the spellcaster said. "And then I noticed you keep looking between us. You're one of Nemthys's, aren't you?"
Henri's eyes narrowed, before he looked around as much as he could. The others had come along as well. It would be impossible for him to convince them to even consider anything now. And he was surprised by how strong this spell was. A simple sorcerer wasn't supposed to be able to hold him like this.
"Where is Mathias?" the tall one – Berwald, Henri believed his name was – asked. "What did you do to him?"
Henri smirked.
"He's with my sister," Henri said. "She has a way with men, especially ones as stupid as Mathias. And my brother is with those other three."
The panic on their faces made his current situation worth it. Of course, he wasn't going to mention that they had managed to get away from Lars. But panicked humans tended to make mistakes. And he was going to take advantage of their mistakes, as soon as he managed to break free from the spell.
"Dill, Pat, find Arthur and the others," the spellcaster – Alistair – ordered. "You two, help me restrain him."
"How?" Emil asked. "We can't use magic."
"Find rope. Or chains. But we can't let this guy out of our sight."
Henri narrowed his eyes. He couldn't help but feel as though they were underestimating him. After all, why else would they leave only one sorcerer with him? Then again, he could also see the sense in sending the sorcerers to deal with Lars.
He still couldn't believe that Lars had failed. He needed to check in with his brother to find out what exactly happened, and then they would need to find the three of them again. They were hard to sense, unless they were in close proximity.
Well then, he hoped that Patrick and Dylan managed to find the three of them. Henri could still turn things around. So, for now, he would remain patient.
…
They had found a bench, and the three of them were resting after their escape. Arthur turned his attention to Lukas. He was pale, but otherwise he looked unharmed. Arthur reached out to take Lukas's hand. Lukas closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before he squeezed Arthur's hand.
"Is the jewel safe?" Vlad asked.
Lukas nodded, reaching into a pocket and removing the red gem. Vlad shuddered, and the gem returned to Lukas's pocket.
"I don't think we should stay here for much longer," Arthur said. He turned his attention to the direction they came from. "I hope those people are alright. I'd hate it if they got hurt because of us."
"Lars and his family…" Lukas said. "I had a vision about them. They're dangerous, and they're not above destroying towns. And they have Mathias."
"What?" Vlad asked. "How…?"
"That's what made me leave. I needed to find Mathias, before they hurt him."
"Maybe he lied?"
"No. Mathias being in danger was part of my vision."
"If that's the case," Arthur said, "then we need to meet up with the others so we can find him."
"And what if they already have the others too?" Vlad asked.
Arthur opened his mouth to reply, before he paused. He could sense his brothers searching for him, and he turned around to that direction. He could see Dylan and Patrick, and after a moment, the two of them turned to their direction as well.
"I don't think we need to worry about that," Arthur said. He waved his arm, and his brothers walked towards them. The other two also turned to look. "Now then, we'll be able to learn the truth of the matter."
Patrick and Dylan came up to them soon enough. They looked panicked, even though it was clear that they were trying to hide it.
"Are you three alright?" Patrick asked. "We heard…"
"Alistair managed to trap one of Nemthys's followers," Dylan continued. "He said that his brother was with you."
"Lars," Lukas said, hand going to the back of his head. "We managed to get away. We've been trying to catch our breath for a while."
Patrick and Dylan looked relieved.
"That's at least one less thing to worry about," Patrick said. "But we have another problem."
"Is this about Mathias?" Lukas asked.
"Oh, so you already know," Dylan said. "We'll need to find him. There's no telling what they're going to do to him."
Lukas shuddered.
"Actually, I think I do have an idea," he said. "I keep getting visions of the three of them, and Lars mentioned that he has some sort of history with the Ocean Soul. We think that Vlad has a connection to the Desert Heart, since he's more reactive to that one, which means that I might have a connection with the Ocean Soul."
"And Arthur's the Forest Mind," Patrick said. He nodded his head. "That sounds a lot like something I read. 'Three connected and separate. Heart, Mind, Soul, united and apart.' I didn't think much of it when I first read it, but if it means that you all have a connection to each individual jewel…"
"I don't think we should discuss this out here," Dylan said. "We don't know when Nemthys's other followers could come along."
They agreed, and they made their way back to the library. Arthur wondered what happened to the people in the inn.
…
Lars looked around at the people. They had been brave, he would give them credit for that, but they had come to regret their choice. So noble, trying to protect three strangers. Things had certainly changed in the last seven hundred years.
"Well, what do we have here?" Lars tensed when he heard the voice. "It's not normal for you to fail like this. Ludwig also failed. And Tino, Antonio, Miguel and Raj. This generation must be something extraordinary."
"Do you think that you would do better?" Lars snapped. "You've spent the last three hundred years in a prison. You don't have the right to criticise me of failure."
"I was exactly where I was meant to be," the other said, his eyes flashing darkly.
