Anastasia 13
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Don't use me as a history reference.
Ah, just my luck. I missed my flight back home a couple of days ago, but that also meant that I had more time to write! That being said, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY/INDEPENDENCE DAY/FREEDOM DAY! I'm sorry for being obnoxious about it, but I need to show my American pride on the Fourth. Read on!
"Hey guys, it's lunch time already!" Alfred shouted into the hallway. There were a few muffled replies behind the doors, but no one came out of their rooms.
Matthew nervously laughed and nudged his brother. This really wasn't a good idea.
"Come on Al, let them rest. They must have pretty bad hangovers." The Canadian tried to pull Alfred away, but he refused to move.
"Don't be such a chicken Mattie. You get Ivan, and I'll get Berwald." Alfred moved to leave his brother with Ivan.
Matthew furiously shook his head. "No, let him be Al. I'll go and wake up Arthur." Before his brother could even object, Matthew entered his former charge's room. Matthew had to squint because it was so dark.
"Arthur?" Matthew quietly called out.
There was a groan, and the bed rattled. Matthew went pale, did the bed just move? He ventured a bit closer, "A-Arthur?" His voice was a bit higher, and he put up his fists.
"Q-Quiet down. I'm down here."
It seemed like Arthur's voice was coming from… under the bed? The Canadian checked under the bedframe and let out a quiet sigh of relief. England covered his face with his arms to block what little light Matthew had let in when he opened the door.
"Close the door." Arthur waved his hand.
Matthew quickly did as he was told and pulled him out. "A-Arthur, what were you doing down there?" Matthew grunted as he helped Arthur to his bed. Arthur massaged his temples and leaned back against the headboard.
"Captain Hook and the Lady of the Lake wanted the bed, and so I gave it to them. Thank God they're gone." Arthur grabbed a bottle of water from his nightstand and took a long swig.
Matthew sighed and waved goodbye.
"Lunch is ready."
Matthew walked towards the door, but Arthur stopped him.
"What do you want lad? Mint bunny says you need to ask me something important." Arthur closed his right eye and took another drink of water. Matthew raised an eyebrow, but he didn't let the opportunity slip by. He could question his privacy later.
"Y-yeah. I was talking to Toris about Ivan pre-World War I" Matthew watched for Arthur's reaction. The Englishman opened both of his eyes in surprise and threw his empty water bottle into the trashcan.
"And?" Arthur asked apprehensively.
Although he tried hard to conceal it, Matthew detected a faint amount of unease in his voice.
"And Toris mentioned Ivan going over to England around 1909?" Matthew toned his statement as a question. Arthur shook his head and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
"I can't answer that."
Matthew blinked and immediately shrunk away, "I-I'm sorry-"
"You know that I'd never ask that, so why bother even mentioning it Minty?" Arthur barely paid any attention to Matthew and talked to his lap.
The Canadian wryly smiled, sometimes Arthur was a bit too strange for even him to handle. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go into his room and die from embarrassment, but he willed himself to stay. He felt like something was telling him to stay.
It was weird, and it was creepy, and he just wanted to go. On second thought, maybe he would go.
Arthur nodded his head and stroked the air a few inches from his lap. He muttered something and paused. His eyes constantly flickered over to Matthew, before his bushy eyebrows seemed to shoot off of his face.
"You don't say? A little warning would've been nice. No, you never told me!" Arthur snapped, his gaze climbed higher until it was on the ceiling. Matthew shivered when a breeze passed by in the room. Matthew immediately noted that the air conditioning was, and then he noticed that the windows were closed.
"I-I'm going t-to go." Matthew spun on his heel and tried to turn the doorknob.
The metal was cold to the touch, and it refused to budge. Matthew was ready to faint now, this was too much for him. He was just about ready to jump out of the window when Arthur called him over.
"Don't be so scared. Come and have a seat next to me." Arthur pat the space next to him on the bed. Matthew hesitantly sat next to him and nervously looked around.
These damn ghosts, no wonder Alfred was so terrified of them. Arthur chuckled and leaned back on his hands.
"Calm your nerves. I suppose I will tell you the reason for Ivan's visit. But this is just between you, me, and Ivan. No one else can know, and no one else must know. Understand?" Arthur firmly gripped Matthew's shoulder. Matthew thickly swallowed, unable to tear his eyes away from Arthur's green ones, and rapidly nodded.
"O-Oui." Matthew managed to squeak out.
Arthur curtly nodded and crossed his arms with a thoughtful expression.
"You must have certainly heard of my seafaring days?" Arthur asked Matthew.
Matthew enthusiastically nodded.
"From the frog?" Arthur guessed.
There was a slightly less enthusiastic nod.
"And from Antonio?" Arthur hit the mark.
Matthew's silence seemed to confirm his suspicions, and Arthur covered his right eye with his hand.
"And they've certainly talked about this?" Arthur referenced when he used to wear an eye patch.
Matthew nodded, "Papa used to talk about it all the time. He said it was a phase you went through."
Arthur snorted and lowered his hand. "Of course the frog would. Well he was wrong." Arthur snapped and closed his eyes.
"It wasn't just for show." He quietly added. If not for the near silence of the room, Matthew would've never heard it. Matthew tilted his head in puzzlement, "What? But Arthur, our body-"
"-Automatically regenerate as long as at least 50% of our body is in one piece. I know lad. But like I said, it wasn't just for show." Arthur touched his right eye and bitterly smiled, "I loved my monarchs too much. Back when I was an empire, I was in awe of my kings and queens. No matter what their flaws were, I would always see their ancestors in them.
"Tackling the seas and charging into battle, I would do anything for them. And that was my mistake. Ivan knew how I lost my eye all those years ago, and he wanted to learn how to perform the magic. Yes, I used magic to permanently remove my eye."
"But Arthur, your eye-" Matthew stopped himself when Arthur shot him an exasperated look.
"Let me finish!" He lightly chastised the impatient nation.
"Yes, I do have my eye. While I removed my eye from its usual… place, it still manages to function as it normally would. The magic never wore off, it's permanent."
Matthew felt queasy and stared at Arthur's right eye. It didn't look like it was detached from his eye socket. The nation sighed, "I'm not going to show you. First, I have to tell you about Ivan."
-Buckingham palace, 1909-
Arthur sipped his usual cup of morning tea in his room at Buckingham palace. The city of London was devoid of it's usual fog that particular morning, and the sunlight gently filtered through his drawn curtains.
The Englishman smiled and read the morning newspaper. He couldn't have asked for a more peaceful morning.
"Identify yourself!" He heard a guard shout underneath his window. Arthur sighed, it was an almost peaceful morning. He ignored it though. There were always hooligans who came up to ask for an audience with the queen.
"That is none of your business." Arthur nearly fell out of his seat when he dear Ivan's faint, but very distinct voice.
"I am here to see Arthur Kirkland." Ivan stated.
"Apprehend him! If you move, we'll shoot!" The guards shouted at the uncooperative nation.
Arthur scrambled to his window. He pushed the windows open and shouted for the guards to hold their fire.
"Stop! Good God, you lives just flashed in front of my eyes! Ivan! What the bloody hell are you doing here? The World meeting isn't for another month!" Arthur shouted down at the Russian.
Ivan's ever present smile broadened and he waved to his 'friend'.
"Hello Arthur! I have come to visit you! I need to ask you some questions." Ivan shouted in his cheery voice. Arthur scowled and slammed his windows shut.
No shit Sherlock, of course Ivan would choose now of all times to visit him. Compulsive bastard.
Arthur hurried out of his door and met Ivan down by the doors of the palace.
"Ivan, good god you look terrible! Is that your horse?" Arthur looked behind Ivan to see a very, very, very large horse eating his tulips.
Ivan nodded, "Da, he is very hungry." Ivan cheerily said.
Arthur critically eyed Ivan. While he showed no obvious signs of fatigue, he could tell that Ivan was tired. How could he tell? Ivan's purple aura was oddly subdued. The other nations couldn't see it, but Arthur constantly saw the Russian's purple aura shroud him in a protective purple layer. But right now, he saw nothing.
"…I'll have one of the guards take care of him. Let's go to my study." Arthur led Ivan to his rather cozy room. Ivan inspected the room with great interest. His walls covered in various texts, both new and old. There was a nice desk in the corner and a very large leather sofa in the middle of the room with a small tea table in front.
Arthur motioned for Ivan to sit down on the couch and poured his fellow nation some tea. He would normally have his visitors pour it themselves, but Ivan looked like he needed it.
Ivan grabbed the tea and nodded his thanks. His purple eyes wandered across the walls and deliberately avoided Arthur.
The English nation pulled up his wooden chair and sat across from Ivan with an expectant gaze. "So? What do you need to talk about? This is the first time you've visited me on your own." Arthur said between his sips of tea.
"You know a lot about magic, yes?" Ivan's straightforwardness caught Arthur off guard and he did a spit take. Magic? Ivan had come to learn magic from him? Like hell he needed to learn any magic from him. Ivan knew plenty already.
Arthur immediately got up from his chair and bolted his door shut.
"Magic?" He hissed and stomped back over to his chair.
"You," Arthur jabbed his finger in Ivan's direction, "Are the last person who needs, or should learn any more magic." Arthur's words were laced with anger. Back in the old days of magic when the human race knew how to use it, Arthur remembered the unrecorded massacres.
All of the European nations and their apprentices would use their magic to wipe out armies, and Ivan had been the most ruthless of them all.
Magic was a curse, it was something that shouldn't even exist in this world. After the disastrous modification and revival of the Black Death in the 1500's, every nation had called a cease fire in regards to magic.
"We all agreed to quit magic. Magic is something-"
"That shan't be used for warfare, da? I know, Arthur. I am not intending to break our agreement. I wanted to ask you about healing magic." Ivan waved off Arthur's accusing stare.
The English nation raised both of his eyebrows with surprise and leaned back in his chair with a thoughtful, but suspicious gaze. "Well… that should be fine. Let's hear it then." Arthur motioned for Ivan to speak. He might as well hear him out.
Ivan leaned back against the sofa and sighed. "You can't tell anyone what I am about to tell you." Ivan warned. His purple aura briefly flared, and Arthur hurriedly waved his hands.
"I understand. This is our business. Not our country's." Arthur assured him.
Ivan smiled and tucked away his purple aura for later. "You know Alix? Nikolai's wife?"
Arhtur nodded, how could he not? Alix had been Queen Victoria's favorite, and she was his favorite too.
"She turned out to be a Hemophilia carrier." Ivan's words hit Arthur like a thousand ton weight. His heart sunk, and his throat contracted.
"No…" Arthur whispered.
Ivan's smile humorlessly widened and he rested his elbow on the armrest.
"Da, Alexei has hemophilia. He probably has the worst case I've ever seen." Ivan's words were smooth, but the underlying message was clear.
Your house has cursed my country's future Tsar.
Of course it wasn't entirely Arthur's fault, but he also wasn't free from blame. He had been the one to assure Queen Victoria that Alix would be safe, he had been the one who supported Nikolai and Alix's marriage.
"I-I'm so sorry Ivan." Arthur said with every ounce of sincerity he had. Hemophilia was a terrible thing, and it was especially for Ivan because if Alexei died, then his royal family no longer had an heir.
Ivan wryly smiled, "I don't need your pity. I need your help." Arthur sharply inhaled, but gave Ivan a curt nod.
"If it's within my abilities, I will try to help." Arthur said slowly.
"I'll be direct then. What magic did you use to heal Mary the second?"
Arthur's blood ran cold, and he felt a chill pass through the room. So that's what Ivan was after.
"I… don't know what you're talking about." Arthur lamely lied. His tongue turned to lead when he remembered his seafaring days.
Ivan's smile broadened and he put down his cup of tea. "Don't lie. Mary II, and even Queen Elizabeth, they all had underlying illnesses that would ordinarily proved fatal. However one day, their symptoms suddenly got better, and their illness was written off as a small cold. The strange thing is," Ivan continued with a glint in his eye, "is that they suddenly got better when you had an eye patch. Why is that?" Ivan sweetly asked.
Arthur abruptly stood up from his seat and began to pace around his room. Ivan knew about what he had done, and it was pointless to hide it now. But the bigger issue on hand, was that the magic he had used was a forbidden spell.
"No, Ivan. I can't pass this one off to you. I could teach you a spell to relieve Alexei of pain, or perhaps even heal a cut. But Equiseraphilus spell is too dangerous." Arthur looked Ivan dead in the eye. The Russian seemed unfazed, "To the caster, or the receiver?" He asked.
Arthur narrowed his eyes, "You bloody idiot!" He angrily shouted before he slammed his hands down onto the table.
"What game are you playing at? We aren't invincible, Ivan. Even when you die, the effects of this spell are still permanent! There isn't anything you can do about it, I've tried!" Arthur's anger didn't seem to reach Ivan, because the nation merely shrugged.
"I will live."
Ivan's response infuriated Arthur. Did Ivan not value himself at all? Did he have no pride as a nation? As a living being?
"You owe nothing to your rulers! You can't do this because your monarchs told you so!"
Ivan bitterly laughed, "Nyet, you seem to be mistaken. Nikolai and Alix have sent me away for an indefinite amount of time to do whatever I wish."
Arthur remained rooted to his spot when Ivan told him everything that had happened. By the end of it, the nation couldn't believe that Ivan still wanted to help them. Arthur massaged his temples and shook his head.
"Ivan, you need to take a break. You've been working for too long." Arthur tiredly advised.
He took a seat right next to Ivan and stared up at the ceiling. "You don't need them to live. Why do you even bother with them? From what I hear on the news, things aren't looking very good for your monarchs."
Arthur leaned forward to take another sip of his now cold tea. Ivan thoughtfully inspected his scarf, and he merely shrugged. "I tend to not think about politics when I think about the children."
Everything seemed to click into place, and Arthur couldn't contain his radiant smile. "You care for them?" Arthur inquired with a raised eyebrow. Ivan shrugged again- apparently uncomfortable with the subject.
"I suppose so. They are very sweet, and very kind. They are like family." Ivan admitted. Arthur pursed his lips, "I see… Well I guess I could teach you this magic." He could relate to Ivan, and now they shared something in common. The English nation popped up from the sofa and scratched the back of his head.
"Now listen Ivan, I know that you know a lot of red magic." Arthur pushed back one of his bookcases to reveal a secret staircase behind. He motioned for Ivan to follow him down the stone stairs and talked the entire way down. His words echoed down the staircase, and he sometimes had to pause to let his echoes die down.
"Blue magic, or healing magic, comes in two forms. The safest and the most predictable type of healing magic is called Cah, and the more dangerous one is called Verkes. What I used to heal my monarchs while I was away was Verkes magic." Arthur explained and opened another door to a much larger room.
Ivan carefully avoided stepping on the lines of the magic circles on the ground, but Arthur told him it was okay. The magic in the circles was long dead. Arthur kicked around some dusty old books to look for a magic circle in particular, and after a few minutes of coughing and kicking, he found what he was looking for.
"Ivan, move everything off of this green magic circle here." Arthur instructed as he threw his books against the wall. Ivan treated his things with a bit more care and stacked them up against the wall, much to Arthur's pleasure. Perhaps he could learn to get along with Ivan after all. Sure, sometimes Ivan was a bit intimidating. However he didn't seem like an unpleasant person.
Once everything was clear, Arthur wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his sleeve and curtly nodded. Ivan inspected the runic circle with great interest and seemed to take in every detail.
Arthur grabbed his notebook from his back pocket and drew the same magic circle with his pencil. Ivan knelt down and inspected the circle. "It's best to have chalk with grass mixed in. It stabilizes the magic." Arthur explained before he tore out the magic circle from his notebook and handed it to Ivan. The Russian gratefully accepted it, but Arthur held on to it a little longer. "This is a dangerous spell Ivan. You should only use it when Alexei is on the brink of death." Arthur couldn't emphasize enough how dangerous and risky this spell was. He let go of the piece of paper, and Ivan carefully tucked it into his inner coat pocket. "Da, I understand. How does this magic work?" Ivan asked.
Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he shouldn't have burned the book with the spell in it.
"You need to choose a body part that you don't mind losing." Arthur tapped his right eye, "The way this magic works, is that you cast the spell on a part of your body and endow it with a powerful healing magic. The body part is the medium of the magic, and it never goes away. In other words, that body part will always be able to come out."
Arthur walked over to a cabinet and began to mix some questionable ingredients together into his cauldron. "However that part of your body will still continue to function as if it were still inside of you. For instance, I could always see through both of my eyes. While I was out at sea, I could periodically catch a glance of the queen to check and see what she was doing. If I had used my lung, I would still be able to breathe as if I had two lungs. That being said, if my eye was destroyed, I'd be able to feel that too." Arthur grabbed a cup of water and poured it into the steaming pot.
"If that happens, then the body part will automatically regenerate back to its original owner. Ordinarily, it would be gone forever. But since we are nations, it regenerates."
Ivan walked up to the cauldron and curiously leaned over to see the bubbling concoction.
"The closer the medium is to the ill patient, the stronger its effect. Ideally, you'd want it to be making direct skin contact, but an arms length will normally suffice." Arthur coughed when the pot bellowed smoke and poured the contents of the pot into four steel bottles.
"Listen here, the spell only works to people who are contracted to it. So in order for it to work for Alexei, you need to put him in the center of the circle. Then, take this liquid," Arthur handed Ivan the bottles of liquid, "and draw this symbol on whichever body part you want." Arthur scribbled out a rather simple looking symbol on a scrap sheet of paper and dropped it into Ivan's hand.
Arthur put his hands on his hips and got up into Ivan's face. "Take this green chalk, and be responsible with it! I don't want to be the reason why you are miserable for the rest of your bloody life." Arthur snapped.
Ivan innocently tilted his head as Arthur dragged him out from under his basement. "I will be fine. Thank you, Arthur. You should come to Tsarskoye Selo during the spring." Ivan turned around to shake Arthur's hand.
Arthur smiled and took his hand. "You know what, I really just might. Take care, Ivan." He wished Ivan the best and walked him out of the door.
Arthur crossed his arms when Ivan mounted the horse, and felt a pang of worry. The fairies were abuzz with anxiety and they were all giving Ivan a pat on the back. It was as if they were consoling him. He watched Ivan trot off, but he suddenly remembered something and shouted for Ivan to stop. The Russian immediately turned his horse around and waited for Arthur's response.
"I forgot to tell you! The closer the body part is to the heart, the stronger the magic will be!" Arthur shouted at the top of his lungs. Ivan waved in acknowledgement of his words and continued his way back to a boat that would take him to France.
Arthur took another drink of his water and stood up from his bed. "And that's that. I don't know where he went after that, but I'm pretty sure he went to visit his sister." Matthew quickly shuffled through the door right after Arthur. He thought back to all of the times Ivan's heart fell out onto the table, and how many times everyone asked Ivan about it.
"So, Ivan's heart…" Matthew began, he was afraid of what he might find out. Arthur's sharp nod confirmed his suspicions, and his chest swelled up in indescribable sadness.
"He was a bloody fool. He loved those children too much." Arthur angrily said under his breath and walked down the stairs to where the rest of the nations were.
Matthew spotted Ivan sitting on the couch with a bowl of soup in his hands and looked away. How could he keep asking Ivan about his life like this? Arthur sensed his hesitation, and he gave Matthew a reassuring pat.
"You've come this far lad, don't back out now. That's not the gentlemanly thing to do." Arthur squeezed his arm before he left to grab some lunch in the kitchen. Matthew sighed and looked out the glass walls to the lush green mountains.
It was too late to back out now.
I'm sorry that I didn't put a scene with Anastasia and them in this chapter. This was a really fun chapter to write because I got to be a little creative. I hope you guys liked it, and have a great weekend/fourth of July!
As always, criticism and thoughts about the chapter are always appreciated. Make sure to favorite this story if you liked it and follow it to get regular updates :) Hope you guys liked the chapter!
~Preuss
