Chapter 5: Truth

"Alfred!" Arthur woke with a start. He just had a horrible dream. In it Arthur was in a small group of British soldiers that broke into a house and shot a man and a woman. There was a small boy, that looked strangely like Alfred, who cowered in a corner, crying. The troop leader was about to shoot the boy as well, but Arthur had stopped the man in just enough time. He convinced him that there was no reason to kill him, that he was just a boy. However, this wasn't just a dream. Arthur really had been in that situation, but he wasn't sure if the boy was Alfred. If it was, then that could explain why he wouldn't talk.

Arthur shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked over at Alfred, who was sleeping peacefully. It had been a week since Alfred had dislocated his ankle, and was told by Arthur to stay in bed for a while until it healed. The Brit smiled at how the boy reacted when he heard that. He gave a big pout and crossed his arms in anger. Arthur wasn't sure if the boy was really angry or if it was just to show that he did not approve of being stuck in one place.

Getting up, the man stepped outside of their tent and looked around. Dawn was slowly approaching. He was honestly surprised that he had woken up this early. His hand slid through his hair as he let out a sigh.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself. "Did I plan on living with this boy in the wilderness forever?"

He stood there in silence for a while until he felt a small hand grasp his. Looking down, he saw Alfred yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Alfred, why are you up? I told you not to walk."

Alfred didn't respond, he just continued to stand there. The Brit turned and lifted the boy, taking him back to bed. He was very light and petit despite his age and living in the woods for two years. Arthur laid him down in bed and the boy fell asleep again in a matter of minutes. Soon, the man realized that he was still tired as well, so he laid down as well and fell asleep.

When they woke again, it was almost midday. Alfred got up before Arthur could make him lay back down and ran out of the tent. Arthur sighed in annoyance and crawled out of the tent.

"Alfred, you know better than to..." Arthur was cut off by another voice.

"Arthur? What are you doing here? Especially with this brat."

The Brit looked up to see who the voice belonged to and saw William, the man who he had tried to save on the battlefield, holding Alfred by his hair. A small grunt of pain came from the boy's lips and he tried to twist out of the man's grasp only to have it tighten. Alfred gasped as tears began to roll down his face.

"William? L-Let him go!" Arthur was both surprised and angry.

The other Briton complied, releasing the boy. Alfred fell to the ground holding his hands to his head. He remained there, continuing to cry.

"Alfred, come here," Arthur said calmly.

The small boy looked up and stood, walking over to his friend. A slight limp was noticed and Arthur figured that he hurt it again while trying to get away from William.

"He kind of looks like the kid that you stopped from being killed." William stared Arthur down and continued. "Remember that kid, the one who's parents that Liam killed?"

Arthur stiffened and his eyes shifted to Alfred who looked at him with questioning eyes. A look of realization slowly came over his small face as he recognized Arthur from that time. He pulled his hand away so fast that it felt as though he took half of Arthur's heart with him.

"Alfred, please. I tried to stop them. I didn't mean for..." Before he could finish, Alfred had taken off and disappeared through the trees. "Alfred!"

"Looks like when it comes down to it, he just can't trust you." William chuckled.

"Shut up! I'll kill you!" Arthur lunged at William, not caring how he had found them, or why he was alive. It turns out that after Arthur was helped by Alfred, a group of British soldiers passed by and found a few survivors, William being one of them. They found that Arthur was missing from the soldier's bodies that they found, so they figured that he was still alive. William volunteered to find him and now he had.

William pulled out his gun before Arthur could grab him.

"Just stay right where you are." William aimed at Arthur chest, his finger fiddling with the trigger, ready to fire if he needed to. "Now, come quietly and hopefully you won't get too harsh of a punishment."

"What happened, William? I thought we were friends."

"Well this is what happens when you desert your post."

"I never wanted to join the army! You didn't either, but they forced us into it! Did they finally brainwash you?"

"They didn't brainwash me, I just know my place!"

Arthur gave up. There was no way he could reach William, instead, he readied himself to tackle the man when he wasn't paying attention.

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Alfred ran as far as he could before his foot gave out and he fell to the ground in pain. The swelling that had gone down completely was now back up and causing the boy immense pain. He broke down and began to cry, thinking about how he had been betrayed by the closest person in his life. However, he remembered the hurt that he saw in Arthur's eyes when he pulled away from him. Alfred didn't know what to do. Maybe Arthur really had tried to save his parents. He remembered hearing a man yelling for the others to stop, but they didn't listen. Maybe that was Arthur.

Slowly, he stood testing his ankle then turned around, trying to find Arthur. He hoped that he wasn't too late. Coming to the clearing he found that they were still there, but something was different. Not only did the other man now hold a gun, but he also had a devious look in his eye that told Alfred that he was probably going to shoot. He tried to think of what to do, and he had to do it fast. Finally, without thinking, he stepped out of the bushes and yelled, "Arthur!"

Both of the Brits were surprised at the sudden sound and both turned. William's finger squeezed the trigger in fear and a loud bang signalled the release of the bullet. It zoomed past Arthur and lodge itself into Alfred's chest. Pain erupted from the wound and the boy was left gasping. The last thing he heard before passing out was Arthur calling his name.

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Don't hurt me please... I know I'm a horrible person but it's not my fault! (It really is) Anyway, don't forget to review~!