Here we are again! This is a little shorter so I could get it out on time. Enjoy!

I don't own Hetalia!

Chapter 8 : Act of War

As much as Alfred was grateful that he knew what Arthur was saying now, the fact he could only do so with his brother interpreting meant that alone time with his Artie was a little thin on the ground and poor Matthew was often left feeling like a third wheel. Good news was the rumour that Princess Erica was having her entourage pack up and Alfred took this as Erica finally getting the message and he wondered how his uncle was going to smooth this over with King Voss as the story that Erica would tell him would not paint him in a good light but Alfred had to admit he had been rather harsh but when she attacked Artie like that, he had seen red.

His uncle had not been pleased when he heard about Alfred's little outburst but what was done was done. Besides, Mertoris was not about to go to war about it, the offence was not severe enough and Altheia had Vynlande as an ally, through an actual established marriage contract, as well as friendship and family ties, and Mertoris would not be a match for them. However, King Alex was prepared to negotiate a different treaty and willing to offer some concessions to smooth over any ruffled feathers.

Without the shadow of the overly-possessive princess hanging over them, Alfred and Arthur were able to get closer without any interference and they walked together through the gardens. Wanting to talk to Arthur alone, Alfred asked Matthew to hang back for a while and they fell back on their old system of miming what they wanted to tell the other but the language of love needed no translation as most of their interactions consisted of kisses and caresses as they moved into the most isolated part of the gardens, away from prying eyes.

Despite being back to the language barrier for the time being, Arthur was happy to have Alfred to himself for a while. The little kisses and touches told Arthur that Alfred was falling for him more and more which suited Arthur fine. The more Alfred fell in love with Arthur, the more it might draw Alfred closer to the idea of transforming. Arthur did not know what he would do if Alfred rejected the idea of transforming because Arthur could not do without Alfred now.

"Artie," Alfred said and Arthur turned to face him. "I wish I could talk to you the way you talk to Matthew." He pointed himself and then clenched his fists in front of him, like he was begging for something then pointed back to himself before making a talking motion with his hand and pointing to Arthur. Then he pointed in the direction of Matthew whom they could see at a distance before making the talking motion again and pointing to Arthur again. Arthur pondered the hand motions for a moment before realising what Alfred was telling him. Then Arthur pointed to himself, made the same clenching motion with his fists and pointed back to himself, made the talking motion before pointing to Alfred. I wish I could talk to you too.

"I love you," Alfred replied and pointed to himself then made a heart shape with his hands before pointing to Arthur. Arthur wondered why Alfred made the symbol of the Hearts Kingdom and he copied it, cocking his head, questioningly. Alfred realised that Arthur did not know what the heart shape meant so he made it again but this time put it over his chest, above his actual heart. Arthur gave a look of recognition and repeated the hand gestures back to Alfred. I love you too!

Alfred smiled and put his finger under Arthur's chin to raise it and he placed a light kiss on Arthur's lips and was about to go in for a deeper one when the sound of running feet reached his ears. Both Alfred and Arthur turned to see masked men running toward them, their intent clearly not friendly. Alfred pushed Arthur behind him and prepared to defend him, managing to land a punch of the first attacker before more flew in to restrain him and others headed for Arthur. Arthur did not even bother to moderate his form of attack as the masked men reached for him.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCHHHHH!" the sound came out at Arthur's most piercing and was no warning shot but a full-on battle cry that made everyone reach for their ears in pain, including Alfred but he took the opportunity to free himself, grab Arthur and they ran toward Matthew who had heard the screech and turned to see Alfred and Arthur under attack and began running toward them. He was unable to screech himself as the change in his vocal cords restricted his ability. Arthur and Alfred had almost reached Matthew when they were suddenly overwhelmed by more attackers who, forewarned about Arthur's ability, were not caught so off-guard. One grabbed Arthur and put his hand over Arthur's mouth to prevent him from screeching again.

Matthew, just as any Ace would, went to defend his queen but two masked attackers intercepted him before he could reach him and was stuck in a fight to free himself but, as well-trained as Matthew was in combat, it had been in water and the open air combat was different. He could throw a punch but his co-ordination was off-kilter and it gave his opponents the upper hand.

Alfred had gone to protect Arthur at the same time as Matthew, to free Arthur from his captor but he found himself facing off against stiff odds as more attackers came to subdue Matthew and himself as Arthur struggled with the masked man who held him in his grip. Alfred managed to punch another two of his opponents before his arms were grabbed and he was forced to the ground beside Matthew who had already been incapacitated and they were tied up leaving Arthur to struggle alone. With his mouth covered, Arthur could not use his voice and he tried to thrash about to dislodge his captor but he was firmly caught in the man's grip and the man shifted his hand to, not only cover Arthur's mouth but his nostrils as well.

Arthur began to panic. The inability to breathe, whether water or air, was not a sensation that Arthur was familiar with and he did not like it at all. His lungs began to scream with the need for oxygen and, in some detached part of his brain, Arthur wondered if this was what it was like for land-dwellers to drown. He tried to move his head left and right to dislodge the hand but his attacker held his head firmly in place and the hand stayed where it was. Arthur's lungs began to burn, spots appearing in front of his eyes and blackness closed in from the edge of his vision. He began to feel weaker and his struggles lost power as the blackness grew and the last thing Arthur heard before consciousness was Alfred shouting his name before he sank into darkness, falling limply over his captor.

"ARTIE!" Alfred screamed as the attackers began to tie up the lifeless Arthur, making sure to gag him so he would not wake up and screech at them again. "If you've harm him in any way..."

"Gag them as well!" the leader said. "We don't want them making noise and alerting anyone." And strips of cloth were put over Alfred and Matthew's mouths to stop them from calling out. Then they were picked up and Arthur was thrown over a strong shoulder.

"Let's get to the ship quickly," the leader said. "We'll need to sail before they're missed." And as quickly as they came, the masked men disappeared into the gardens taking the two Spadian royals and the Altheian Sea Prince with them.

King Alex and Prince Jason were seeing off their troublesome guest who had no trouble making her displeasure clear. Alfred and Matthew were missing and Alex offered to send someone to get them so they could give their farewells to the departing Mertorian princess.

"Don't bother!" she snapped. "I have no wish to see their faces, especially Alfred after what he said to me!" Alex sighed.

"That was not well done of him," he admitted. "Alfred does not always employ tact, I'm afraid, although trying to attack Sir Artie would not have …..."

"Don't mention that fiancé thief to me!" Erica was in a snapping mood. "If not for him ….. and as for 'Prince Matthew', I find it entirely too convenient that this long, lost brother showed up just as Alfred was about to marry me ….."

"Your Highness, Matthew is my cousin," Jason replied. "We have no doubt about that, it was just bad timing."

"And the marriage had not been arranged yet," Alex added. "Therefore, Alfred was not about to marry you, Your Highness, it was only ever a vague possibility."

"I was led to believe that..."

"Not by us," Alex said, adamantly. "I'm sorry for your disappointment, Your Highness and I will talk to your brother and make amends for this." Princess Erica turned to climb into her carriage.

"Not if I talk to my brother first," she huffed. "You'll be lucky if this doesn't lead to war. Coachman, drive on!" The carriage door was shut behind her and the entourage set off and rode out of the gates.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Jason breathed a sigh of relief. "Does she really think that Mertoris will declare war on us?" Alex gave a derisive laugh.

"I really think she does," he replied. "Fortunately, I have had conversation with King Voss and the man is not a fool, except when it comes to his sister it seems. He knows his kingdom could not win a war against Altheia and I think he'll be happy to negotiate a new treaty with me. For the benefits and to avoid war so I don't think we have anything to worry about. Send someone to find Alfred and tell him it's safe to come out of hiding."

Princess Erica sat back in her seat and smiled. Everything had gone to plan. The moment she got word that Alfred, Matthew and Sir Arthur had been captured, she had ordered their departure. The three men should be safely stored on the ship by now and soon they would be on their way, back to Mertoris and she and Alfred would be man and wife.

"Your Highness," her servant said. "I beg you to reconsider. This will start a war and Mertoris can't win against Altheia, not with Vynlande as their ally. We can let them go now and no one would ever know of our involvement." But Princess Erica was too far gone now that reason could not reach her and it would have far reaching consequences for all of them. He could only hope that King Voss could handle the fall out from all this.

Arthur fought his way back to consciousness to find himself with his hands tied behind his back, his ankles tied together and a piece of covering filling his mouth and tied in place. He looked around and found himself on a pallet on the floor of a small area with bars around it and it all felt like it was swaying. Beyond the bars, he could see Alfred and Matthew in similar cells, however they were not bound and gagged like him. Seeing that Arthur was now awake, Alfred got to his feet from his own pallet and moved to the bars.

"Artie!" he called. "Are you hurt?" Matthew translated for Arthur and Arthur shook his head but he hated the cloth in his mouth that forced him to breathe through his nose. He struggled to sit up, resting on his knees.

"Why did they untie us but not Artie?" Alfred asked Matthew.

"So he can't remove his gag," Matthew replied. "They've already had a taste of his war screech."

"Why didn't you use a war screech, Matthew?" Alfred asked.

"I can't," Matthew replied. "When the Jokers transformed me, they also transformed my vocal cords so I could speak Land-dweller again. It affected my ability to produce a war screech. I should get it back when I become a mer again. Until then, I'm screech-less."

"Who grabbed us anyway?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know," Matthew admitted. "But I think I can guess ….." Before anything more could be said, there were the sound of footsteps and men appeared outside the cells, sailors by the look of them.

"Who are you?" Alfred demanded. "Why have you brought us here?" He was ignored and one of the sailors pointed at Arthur.

"Bring him!" he ordered. "Take him on deck!" The door was opened and two men went in, grabbed Arthur under his arms and dragged him out.

"Why are you taking him?" Alfred demanded. "Let him go!" Once again, he was ignored and Arthur was dragged out of sight. "Why are you doing this? On who's orders?"

"You'll find out in due time," the leader replied and followed his men. Alfred went to the door of his cell and shook it hard but it stayed firm. He screamed his rage at his frustration of being unable to stop them from taking Arthur.

"Matthew," he growled. "You said you could guess who's behind this. I think I can too." Matthew nodded.

"There's only one person who would be insane enough to do something like this." he agreed.

"But what's her plan for Arthur?"

It was an hour before the sailors came back for them and they were taken on deck to face their kidnapper to find that they were not wrong in their suspicions as Princess Erica stood on deck, looking out to sea with a smug look on her face. She turned as Alfred and Matthew were brought over to her and she greeted them like they were willing guests.

"Prince Alfred," she smiled. "Prince Matthew. So nice of you to join me."

"You've gone too far, Erica!" Alfred declared. "Do you have any idea what my uncle will do once he knows what you've done. You could well have started a war and what have you done with Artie?"

"By the time your uncle realises," Erica replied, ignoring Alfred's demand about Arthur. "We'll be married and our kingdoms will be joined so no war." Matthew snorted.

"You're insane if you think that will work," he said. "A forced marriage won't stop a war and you have to get Alfred to marry you in the first place." Erica merely smiled.

"That's where you come in," she replied and gave a signal. Matthew was pulled away from Alfred by some sailors and other restrained Alfred when he tried to go to Matthew's aid and Erica approached Alfred and stood in front of him. "Simply put, Prince Alfred...either you marry me or your twin brother, if that's who he really is, will join your precious Arthur."

"Dead, at the bottom of the ocean."

Arthur swam in the direction of Spades, thanking Princess Erica's ignorance of his true heritage that had saved Arthur and gave him the chance to get help, as unpleasant as his survival had been.

Arthur was dragged on to the deck to find that they were at sea, a familiar sight for Arthur, just like the other sight of the last person in the world that he wanted to see. Princess Erica stood in the middle of the deck with a look of almost hatred on her face as she watched him dragged along the deck to face her. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eyes as she sneered at him.

"It's a pity you can't understand me," she said, mockingly, the words falling on Arthur but meaning nothing. "I want you to know exactly why you're going to die. You dared to try and take Prince Alfred from me and nobody takes what's mine. NOBODY!" She gave Arthur's chin a hard, painful pinch before she released him. "Put it on his legs!"

Chains were wrapped around his ankles and a cannonball in a small net was attached to the end. At another signal from Princess Erica, Arthur was pulled to the railing. A sailor carried the cannonball on put it on the edge and Arthur was lifted and sat on the railing beside it.

"It's funny," Erica chuckled. "You saved Prince Alfred from the sea and now you're going to die by it." She put her hand on the cannonball.

"Goodbye, Sir Artie," Princess Erica said. "It has not been a pleasure." And she pushed the cannonball off the edge and into the water, pulling Arthur down with it. Arthur felt the brief rush of air before he was submerged in the salt-water as the cannonball pulled him down to the bottom of the sea, the cannonball hitting the sand with a soft, muted thud, the water flowing into Arthur's nostrils, into his lungs and Arthur began to get the true feeling of drowning.

Arthur tried to dispel the water from his nasal passages but he had no air in his lungs to do so and nothing to replace the water but more water so he tried to stop more water from entering his body but his lungs were already burning from the effort and he was getting light-headed as he struggled as hard as he could to free himself and Arthur understood now why Matthew had suffered so many nightmares about it. He could not hold out any more and his lungs involuntarily tried to take a breath, taking in more water instead and a small part of Arthur's brain marvelled at the irony that Arthur was drowning in the very sea he had been born into.

His vision was dimming now, his lungs on fire and his struggles getting weaker and darkness began to swallow him up.

Then the mark on his chest blazed.

Arthur's body began to glow and the coverings he wore burned away, along with his bindings and gag and the chains around his ankles melted and disintegrated as Arthur's legs fused back together and his feet morphed and fanned out into his tail fins. Slits appeared in his neck as his gills re-emerged and Arthur could 'breathe' again while his hands regrew their webbing.

The glowing dimmed and Arthur floated in the water in his original mer form and he pulled water into his starved lungs where air had been required before and he felt the life giving liquid restore his strength. Then reality set in.

Alfred and Matthew were still at the mercy at the insane Princess Erica and she had to be stopped!

Arthur swam toward Conclave to summon the Jokers. He would need their help and that of his kingdom. It was the King's task to command the army but, until Alfred, if he chose to, became the king, that power was Arthur's and he was going to use it to save Alfred and Matthew.

Spades was going into battle.

Can anyone feel a battle coming on? I can feel a battle coming on!

So till then,

Hasta la Pasta!