Bwah! 20 reviews on the first chapter? (dies from the awesomeness)

But seriously guys, thanks so much for the support! One person had a question about the end of the last chapter and I'll put a note to clarify here real quick: Ivan was not possessing actually Arthur, only controlling him so he could stay in the circle. It's why he only used one hand to touch Alfred and not two. Does that make sense to you guys? (sadface) Sorry if anyone else was confused by that. Anyway, to the story.

Disclaimer: I do not have any ownership over the Hetalia series nor over any of the characters that appear in the story. If I did, RusAme would be SOOO canon.

Alfred had tried to worm his way into the servant's quarters but Matthew had rejected his need for companionship and had left him outside his shack, cold and alone. His brother could be so heartless sometimes! He pouted as he curled himself into a ball under his sheets.

He sighed as he remembered what Kiku had told him earlier before they left the barn.

ooo

"Be careful," Kiku made sure that the colonist met his gaze before continuing, "We never closed the door connecting us to the spiritual plane and I doubt that the… thing that came into the circle will give up on you so easily."

Alfred shuddered, the violet eyes resurfacing in his mind's eye against his will. "What was it anyway? You said that it should not have been there earlier, right? Was it a…a demon?"

The dark night was perfect for bringing back the memories of his mother warning the two boys of monsters and demons leading them astray when they were younger. Maybe it was because of those stories about demons eating their flesh that had made Alfred so terrified of anything ghostlike.

Kiku paused before turning away, "Just be careful."

He shrieked and fell out of his bed when a stray breeze moaned against the walls of his little shack. Alfred quickly darted under his bed, forgetting momentarily about his mother's stories about monsters that lived under them, and curled into a ball. He soon fell asleep in that position.

ooOoo

"Wake up, time to get to work." An obnoxious voice interrupted Alfred's peaceful, food filled dreams. When his eyes opened the first thing he saw was a familiar albino grinning down at him. He blinked and sat up slowly, scratching his exposed stomach as the sheets pooled around his waist. From the open doorway past Gilbert, he could see that the sun was just starting to rise.

"How's it dawn already?" Alfred yawned out slowly as Gilbert grabbed the colonist's boots. The Prussian tossed said boots so that they would land beside the bed.

"It's dawn because the sun wanted to see my face." Gilbert bragged as Alfred rolled his eyes.

"You're starting to sound like Francis."

"Ha! That fruit wishes he could be as awesome as me!"

"Yeah, yeah," Alfred was just about to place his feet on the floor when he remembered last being under the bed. He glanced downwards at the floor, wondering how he had ended up back under the sheets.

Gilbert grinned at Alfred on his way out, "Don't forget to put on your pants!"

The pillow hit the door as it closed.

"That only happened once!"

The blonde-haired male huffed and quickly changed into his work clothes, his not-quite-right boots slipped on with minimal complaints. He would always swear up and down that they were just a little too small for him; they always felt like there was less space than there should be when he wore them but his brother said he was being critical for no reason.

Alfred yawned a second time on his way to the stables, his route lit by the slowly lightening sky. He could hear the horses inside already jostling around and he smiled. No rest for the weary any day of the week, it seemed.

"Hey, big brows!" He greeted one of the chocolate brown horses. The horse had an unfortunate name that also belonged to a certain Briton. So ever since he met Arthur, the human, he had taken to calling Arthur, the horse, a variety of nicknames having to do with eyebrows. Arthur, the human, found it insulting when he had figured out what Alfred was doing and had stopped talking to him for a week. That did not stop Alfred's tradition and so every day without fail he greeted the cool Arthur, the horse that is, with his rude nicknames.

The horse lifted its huge head over the barricade to nibble gently on Alfred's hair.

The blond laughed, "We've been through this before, my hair may be yellow but it isn't hay!"

He moved out of nibbling range and moved along the rest of the stalls. Some of the horses were still dozing in the far corners of their stalls while others were eager to greet Alfred as he passed. He gently stroked these early birds along the sides of their muzzles and laughed quietly when they reciprocated with energetic head bobbing or nuzzling.

Alfred had always loved horses, the rush when riding one was incomparable. The freedom he felt when he was on a horse made him feel like he was flying. Luckily, for him, he had helped at a local farm when he was younger which had given him plenty of experience for his current occupation. As well as assisting in labor around the estate, his chief job was to tend to the horses. A job he was all too happy to do any day of the week.

He picked up his faithful bucket, the one that housed his brushes and picks, and set to work grooming Bushy Brows.

ooOoo

Francis kept his eyes trained on the book in front of him, not showing any outward sign of hearing anything Arthur was saying.

The Briton felt the remnants of his composure shriveling as the Frenchman continued reading.

"Are you listening to anything I am saying?"

Francis merely waved his hand nonchalantly at him.

"Of course I am, go on."

The side of Arthur's mouth tried to twitch into a scowl but he forced it to remain in its neutral state and continued, "Like I was saying, the séance did produce results but it did not proceed in the manner we expected. While we were able to establish a connection, something… else came through."

The Frenchman glanced up from the book then, his face uncharacteristically serious, "Something else? Are you trying to be overly dramatic? You may look creepy but you're not fit for the role you're shooting for."

The last shreds of his control dissolved and he yelled, "What? I am being serious! A monster broke into the circle, and if that thing hadn't gotten distracted by Alfred who knows what it would've done!"

"A monster?"

"Yes! Exactly, a demon, a monster, a beast! We can't possibly try another séance anytime soon; God knows what else must've been drawn nearby due to its presence."

Francis paused before turning his attention to the window next to him, the pulled back royal blue curtains were covered in rhinestones and gaudy accessories. Sometimes Arthur wondered how the curtain rod had not already snapped from its weight. Francis' whole study was decorated to the point it was an eyesore at times.

"So you think that it is impossible to continue until when exactly?" The Bonnefoy asked slowly.

"Two weeks would be the minimal time frame necessary, but it could take much longer than that."

"Unacceptable!" Francis' head spun around, his wavy locks bouncing as he jabbed a finger at the Briton, "That's too long, just chase away whatever's around and try again."

"With what? I'm not a bloody priest!"

Francis scoffed, "I should think that since no living person can stand your presence for long that a ghoul should be no problem for you to scare away on purpose."

"Are you trying to irritate me today?" Arthur managed to ground out as the Frenchman flipped his hair.

ooOoo

Alfred picked out stray bits of gravel and muck from the corners of the hooves. The painted mare he was currently working on contentedly waited for him to finish. When he deemed her hoof was free of debris he released it and stuck the pick into one of his pockets. He walked up to the front of the horse, patting the side of her neck.

He heard one of the horses cry out sharply, flinching at the sound before hurrying to the door. As he exited, he saw the horse Arthur shaking in agitation.

"Arthur? You alright?" He asked aloud, hurrying past the stables to attend to the stallion.

As he got closer, the horse pressed up against the gate to his pen and reached his large head over to the blond. Hesitantly, Alfred patted the horse's head, wondering what had upset him. He was about to pull away when he saw something out of the corner of his eye and looked down. On the dusty floor of the stables were dark patches of red liquid. As his brain deciphered it, a small droplet of the substance was added. Was it…?

He tilted his head to the side. In the dim lighting he saw a small scrape along the side of Arthur's neck.

"Blood," the word escaped through his lips.

A loud, clattering noise caught his attention and Alfred quickly turned to see his supply bucket roll across the floor outside the pen he had just been in. He always left his bucket outside the pens when he was tending the horses so if anyone came looking for him for whatever reason they'd know where he was. He swallowed a dry breath and debated with himself over what to do. As much as his feet wanted to go running for the daylight outside, his conscious shot down the notion. It was his job to take care of the horses and he was not going to go running for hills like an idiot just because a breeze knocked over his bucket.

Alfred chose to ignore the fact that there had not been a breeze earlier and began the tense walk back to the tipped supplies. When he was next to it he paused, paranoia overriding his thoughts. After a moment, he crouched down to pick up the bucket.

It was only after he had started gathering his tools that he had the feeling that something was watching him. It felt strangely familiar to him and without warning the memory of gleaming violet eyes appeared in his mind. Alfred froze, his body stiffened as he fully registered his situation. There might or might not be a demon behind him: a scary, freaking demon. A monster that might just have tricked Alfred into going further into the stable to separate him from the only exit.

He heard the dull thud of boots approaching him and he looked at the ground in front of him hesitantly, trying to decide what to do. Alfred's heart thudded loudly in his throat and he was certain that he was starting to tremble. The hand that was on the bucket tightened fractionally.

When the footsteps sounded like they were right behind him he leapt to his feet, raising the bucket above his head to get ready to hit whatever was behind him.

A pair of violet eyes was the first thing he saw but the blond hair that he registered next was familiar. Why was- oh crap, it's Matthew! Alfred somehow managed to stop the arc of his bucket-wielding arm from bludgeoning his twin.

Matthew flinched backwards, a quiet yelp of surprise escaping him.

The twins stood there for a moment, one frozen in shock and the other wondering what he should do to explain himself without getting yelled at. Alfred laughed awkwardly, lowering his arm as his brother stared at him.

"Hey Mattie, you would not believe how close I came to attacking you with this. You seriously scared the living shit out of me, y'know? You should have said something."

Alfred could have sworn he saw his brother's eye twitch before he groaned quietly.

"I said your name."

"You did?" Alfred replied, honestly surprised.

Matthew paused before answering, "Forget it. What were you doing? Crouching on the ground like that? Are you sick?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I was just, uh, thinking." He replied, looking down at the tools in his bucket. His twin's eyes narrowed slightly as he raised an eyebrow. He obviously was not buying it.

"Does this have something to do with last night?" When Alfred did not reply, he sighed. "Alfred, I'm sorry about what happened to you but you shouldn't worry so much about it. It's not going to show up and try to steal your soul."

"That doesn't comfort me at all." Alfred said bluntly, not missing his twin's annoyed frown. "Why're you here anyway?"

Almost immediately Matthew blushed and slouched as if he was trying to curl into himself, not meeting his brother's eyes.

It took Alfred several seconds to figure it out, "Were you worried about me? Aw, Mattie!" He leapt forward to hug his brother; a quiet squeak from the meeker twin was all Alfred heard before he began laughing loudly. "You shouldn't have been; heroes like me can take care of themselves!"

Matthew sighed, patting his brother's back softly, hoping his brother would let go soon. It was not that he did not like being hugged, he just couldn't breathe. After Matthew's lungs were allowed to function properly, Alfred decided that it was time to take a lunch break and led them out of the stables.

ooOoo

"I can't believe they let him cook." Alfred groaned later, clutching his stomach on their way back to work. Matthew shook his head as his brother made pitiful noises.

"You didn't have to eat it."

"Well I didn't know that it was toxic until Arthur showed up in an apron!"

Matthew decided not to point out that the meat in the stew had been obviously charred, which Alfred would have noticed if he had not been stuffing his face. He did not voice his criticism on his brother's sense of taste and let his sibling complain about his stomach freely. When they parted at the backdoor to the manor, Matthew going inside, Alfred found that his complaints were not as satisfying without an audience.

It was when he had reached the stables that he noticed an odd smell. He paused in the entrance, wrinkling his nose. It was not especially strong, but it was noticeable to the point that even Alfred could not ignore it. He frowned as he walked in to pick up the bucket, wondering what could be causing the smell. When he got close enough to see into his tool bucket he stopped, blinking in disbelief as he absorbed what he seeing. A hand shot to his mouth before he ran back out of the stables, his stomach threatening to empty itself on his way out.

In his tool bucket there had been a dead bird, its beak and eyes wide open. Flies were already investigating its body. But what made Alfred run out was the fact that its mouth had been stuffed with wildflowers, a rotting mockery of a bouquet.

Please review~! It makes me happy! :D Oh, would anyone like to start betaing for me? I have someone who does it for me currently, but I kinda want someone who actually knows the characters personalities and is into Hetalia.