Chapter 9

He was drowning again. Saltwater was everything. Taste. Smell. Feeling. Burning in all the wrong places. Air, he needed air but all he breathed was saltwater. His limbs scrambled for an anchor, some way out, but there was nothing but unresisting liquid. If only he could swim. If only he could scream…

Though they were burning from the salt his eyes looked down and saw the sandy bottom of the sea. There it was; that little green shell. Its call to him was greater than air. In all his frenzied panicking he reached out desperately, fingers grazing the rough-

"Artie! Wake up!" Arthur jolted up with a start; nearly hitting the merman who just seconds ago was shaking him awake.

"You okay?" Alfred whispered softly, rubbing his back, "You were having a nightmare."

Arthur was staring at the blankets around him, bringing a shaking hand to wipe his sweaty brow. He didn't swat Alfred's hand nor did he grace him with his customary scowl but closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. The dream…he could only remember snatches of it now, he was definitely drowning, and something about sand, "Could you…" Arthur swallowed, "Could you…get me some water?"

Alfred nodded and sprinted out, returning moments later with a mug of water. Unthinkingly, Arthur took the drink and said, "Thank you."

The merman froze. He stood there for a moment before he realized he was being rude, "You're welcome," he murmured shakily.

Alfred fetched some bread that Arthur accepted and slowly ate. They sat there in silence except for the sound of Arthur's steady chewing when Arthur suddenly spoke, not looking at the merman, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I've already eaten."

"Well it's bloody uncomfortable."

Alfred rubbed the back of his neck, "If it bothers you too much I'll eat with you. I just kinda thought you wouldn't want to see me pig out on raw fish." Arthur gave a noncommittal grunt and continued to eat.

Alfred stood up, "We're running out of water and we're out of seaweed so I'll go get some," he said, grabbing a bag and jumping into the water before Arthur could respond.

Still feeling the effects of the nightmare, Arthur was thankful for the solitude and the time to calm his thoughts. All he had to focus on was the mechanics of eating. Bring food up to mouth, take a bite. Chew. Swallow. Bite, chew, swallow. Something digging into his side. What? His hand searched and found the culprit, the small green shell. He glared at it, "Little bugger," what is so important about you?

Pocketing the shell he finished his bread and looked over to the pool. Any moment now a blonde head would pop out.

Nothing came.

Arthur heaved himself to his feet with a loud huff and gazed around the cave. His eyes spotted a wooden masthead that once belonged on the front of some destroyed ship. It was leaning against the wall in the form of an angel. Arthur was almost entranced as he walked closer. She was a woman, bigger than Arthur himself, with long flowing hair and wings instead of arms spread out like she was in mid-flight. At closer inspection he could see her serene face and the paint eroded bt the water it was almost non-existent. He wondered if the ship was already sunk or if it was afloat when it was taken by Alfred.

Arthur counted seven other mastheads, four women, a dragon, an eagle, and an ancient front that had no figure but was beautifully carved in the likeness of cresting waves. None of them were from the Black Britannia, no short curly haired woman scantily clad and carrying an olive branch (something that gave the crew a good laugh). He cursed himself for even thinking of it, there was no doubt that there was nothing left of the ship besides broken planks of wood and tangled rope.

He was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of dripping water. Turning he saw Alfred getting out of the pool, barrel in one arm and bag of seaweed in the other, "I'm back!" Alfred yelled as if Arthur didn't notice his presence.

"Get some clothes on, git," Arthur said, turning away with a small blush.

"Okay," Alfred put the barrel and bag down and went to fetch some clothes.

When the merman returned he was wearing both pants and a shirt. Arthur raised an eyebrow, "You're wearing a shirt? Are we expecting company today?"

Alfred laughed then froze, slapping a hand to his forehead, "Aww, shiiiiit. Today is that day!" he hurriedly tore off his shirt and ran back into the tunnel.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked and followed the merman into the cavern.

Alfred was digging through glass bottles amassed by the rum barrels, "Well, you're right, someone is coming over."

"You mean another siren?"

"Yeah and you don't have to be in the cave with him if you don't want to. Now that I think about it that'd probably be best. He promised not to eat you or anything but you never know with this guy. Aha!" he pulled out three rectangular bottles, "Either way you'll be fine; I'll protect you!"

Arthur frowned at him in return and followed him out of the tunnel, "I'm not afraid of something that can't get out of a pool without crawling."

Alfred smiled, "Thought you'd say that," the merman walked over to the side of the pool to the silver and gold chess set, crouching by the former. Placing the glass bottles on the floor, he scrutinized the pieces, turning his head from side to side, "Hey, you haven't moved these have you?"

Arthur shook his head, "No, I have not."

The merman breathed a small sigh of relief and returned his gaze to the pieces, now contemplative, "Good to hear, wouldn't want an angry Russian on my hands."

"Russian?"

"Yeah, he used to live in a sea or something by Russia. Moved to these waters 'cause the ones by Russia were too cold or something. Want anything to drink?"

"Rum if you please," Arthur said and watched Alfred walk back into the tunnel. A Russian merman? Arthur tired to imagine the concept and turned.

Arthur was suddenly bombarded by the sight of a pale, ashen-haired merman staring back at him from the pool. Shocked, he stepped back. The siren did nothing, only watching him with eerie violet eyes. Curiously he wore a long scarf around his neck; even though Alfred had given him the impression that merfolk did not wear clothing. For a few seconds they just stared, green and violet. Slowly a smile grew on the merman's face, small and childlike. Something about it gave the man goose bumps, "So you are Alfred's little домашнее животное?"

Arthur blinked in surprise. The voice that came from the rather large merman was soft and, like his smile, childish. Before the man could register the comment or respond another voice piped up behind him, "Ivan! You big lug, how you doin?"

Alfred strode over to the pool, handing Arthur his drink as he passed. Ivan broke his ominous gaze from Arthur to look at Alfred, "Good, Fredka. And you?"

Alfred smiled and sat down on his side of the chess set, "Great! Ready to royally lose?"

Ivan just gave a creepy giggle and swam to the opposite side of the ivory box and grabbed one of the bottles. Arthur saw a flash of a grey, white speckled tail as he did so. The merman looked over to Arthur and said something in a language he didn't understand. The words were lost on him but Arthur could still hear the demeaning tone in the merman's voice, like the gibberish the Russian said to him a minute previous. Alfred frowned and (to Arthur's immense surprise) responded in the same language quickly before saying, "English, Ivan. That's not nice to Artie."

"Arthur," said man stressed. Ivan glanced over at him with a small smile that felt more threatening than any glare Arthur had ever seen.

Another creepy giggle, "I am very happy to see that you haven't moved any of the pieces, Alfred."

"Psh, like I need to."

"Your turn, correct?"

"Hell yeah!" Alfred eagerly moved a pawn and the game continued. Arthur watched from a distance but for the most part he observed the playful banter between the two sirens. They exchanged insults easily, neither getting angry though Ivan always wore his threatening smile. Arthur, in the nicest of terms, did not like Ivan. The violet-eyed (really that unnatural color was freaking him out) merman never so much as frowned at him, quite the opposite. But there was both an air of condescension and an almost ghostly aura coming from him. Alfred didn't seem to notice, chatting and smiling like the idiot he was.

"I'm surprised Alfred," Ivan said as he moved a knight, "You haven't indulged on your little…treat."

Arthur fumed. Alfred's smile turned at the edges, "Heroes don't do that."

Ivan's smile widened, "And heroes abduct others? But never mind that, I am impressed with your self control; I did not think you had any," Ivan moved a pawn closer to Alfred's golden king, "Check, da?"

"Yeah, yeah," Alfred took the pawn with his bishop almost impassively, "I don't care what you or anyone else thinks."

Ivan nodded in thought and moved another piece, "Your father disapproves your lodging and company."

A golden knight, the last one on the board, moved forward, "I don't care much for royalty."

A silver rook slid to the side, "You are royalty."

Alfred rolled his eyes, "Like anything about me is royal," Arthur couldn't agree more, "So how're the sisters doin? Still as busty and psychotic as ever?"

For the first time Ivan gave a little glare, "Natalia is fine. And fit. Chased me halfway across the Atlantic." Ivan took one of the

Alfred shivered, "Don't pity you there bud. What about Kat?"

"Katysha…" Ivan picked up one of the bottles Alfred had brought in, uncorked it, then took a long draught, "She is not faring well. At the rate she is going I fear…the worst."

"You mean the curse still isn't broken? Damn shame," Alfred took the bottle from Ivan and took a drink. Arthur began to think this was a common practice. There was a moment of silence before a smile cracked on Alfred's face as he moved a bishop, "And that's check mate."

Ivan raised a brow and looked over at his king, "Yes, indeed it is." Arthur looked over as well and to his shock confirmed that Alfred did win.

Alfred jumped into the air, pumping his fist, "Booyah! What's that, twenty-five out of forty-eight?"

"You are mistaken the score is twenty-four out of fifty," Ivan corrected, "Twenty-four wins, twenty-six losses." It blew Arthur's mind away to think that the idiot could win just one game. Hell, he didn't think the idiot had the brain capacity to play chess. The Russian was obviously not an airhead, and even with the losing statistics Arthur could tell it was impressive that Alfred had won twenty four games against the other siren.

"Hey! Two of those 'losses' were not conclusive!"

"Only because you flipped the table when you were about to lose."

Alfred rolled his eyes and began to arrange the pieces, "Yeah, sure." Both sirens reached for one of the pieces lying to the side at the same time, knocking a silver rook over. Alfred desperately reached for it but the piece slipped through the tips of his fingers and fell into the pool, "Damn."

"I will get it," Ivan said but Alfred stopped him.

"No, it's probably fallen into another tunnel and it's pretty easy to get lost around here so I'll go," Alfred stripped his pants off, "Don't do anything weird to Arthur when I'm gone. I mean it," Alfred said with some force.

Ivan just stared up at him smiling and nodded. Taking that as a good enough promise, Alfred dove into the pool. As soon as the merman's blue tail was out of sight, Ivan turned back to the chess set. He delicately put the pieces in their places, humming a song with a beautiful yet haunting melody. Arthur, meanwhile, sat on his blankets feeling terribly awkward, looking around for something to distract himself. He settled on observing the gold at his feet, messing with the coins with his toes but was shortly interrupted by a chilling voice, "You are a lucky one, da?"

Arthur looked up at the merman still arranging the pieces. He willed himself to glare at Ivan and show no fear, "Oh, I don't know. That's only if you consider being shipwrecked and held captive as 'lucky'."

Ivan only giggled, "The mere fact that you are still alive is all the luck in the world, капитан."

"I highly doubt that Alfred is the type of merman that would kill me."

The siren cocked his head, "You do not know much of merfolk, little boy, or of Alfred. My kind only feels one emotion towards humans: lust. A lust for food or the lust for…pleasure," Ivan gave the closest thing to a smirk that Arthur had seen all day, "Even now I see you as little more than a snack," Ivan licked his lips. Arthur held back a shiver as violet eyes scanned his body with disgusting intentions.

Ivan's eyes returned to the captain's face and rested his head in the palm of his hand, "But you are too skinny for my tastes and I'd rather not have Alfred annoyed with me. Alfred, no matter how nice he may seem, is the same way. For that reason I am surprised at your good health."

Arthur steeled himself, "Alfred is not like you."

Another giggle. Arthur wanted to scream stop it, "Do you even know him? Do you know of his age or the nature of his family? Do you know the ships he has destroyed, the men he has killed? Tell me, does he leave often and never eat around you? Ask for small things, perhaps a kiss?"

Arthur couldn't help the thoughts Ivan brought to his mind, the automatic yes's and no's of his questions. And the blush that was a dead giveaway, a mix of anger and embarrassment from the last question. Ivan watched the speechless human with a look of amusement, "I wonder when Fredka will crack. I eagerly wait for the day that he does; when he breaks your body or devours it completely…"

Silence. The words hung heavy in the air. Ivan was unaffected, happily waiting for Alfred while flipping his gray tail. Arthur tried to return to the gold but ended up trying to rein his thoughts from the nightmarish places they were traveling to. It was in that moment that Alfred emerged from the water, holding the gleaming rook high, "Got it! Man this place is deep. I swear I had to swim down this cave that was twenty ships lengths deep to reach it," smiling, he ran a hand through his hair in a fruitless attempt to tame the cowlick standing proudly at his forehead.

Ivan smiled back at him and took the rook, "I believe it's time for me to leave. I'd hate to overstay my welcome," he said as he put the rook in its rightful place.

"Alright! Okay, Arthur I'm going to escort this big guy out of here and then I'll be-Arthur?" Alfred's brilliant smile faltered and was replaced with a worried frown at the sight of Arthur.

Before Alfred could ask any more his attention was diverted by Ivan with a tap on the shoulder and a slightly impatient, "Alfred?"

"Oh, okay," Alfred turned back to Arthur with a quick smile, "I'll be back real quick Arthur, don't worry," and with that the two sirens disappeared under the water.

Alone in the now quiet cave Arthur shivered and pulled a blanket around himself as he walked over into the neighboring cavern. Crouching down by the dying fire he grabbed a long piece of wood and worked on rekindling the flames. He huddled closer to the revived fire and stared into the flickering flames and lost himself in his thoughts.

It seemed eons later when Alfred returned, "Artie?" he called and looked into the cavern, "Hey there dude! You okay? Sorry, that guy can be a creep sometimes."

Arthur gave a weak nod. Oblivious, Alfred accepted it as a sign he was okay and sat on the opposite side of the fire, "Yeah, we used to be arch enemies; hated each other's guts and all. Couldn't help but to hate him for being such a psychotic freak show…" Alfred sighed at the memories, "Things are better now, our fights are only verbal and over a chessboard. It's been a few weeks since our last physical fight," Alfred laughed.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Arthur asked, "And his sister?"

"Well he has two, Nat is worse than her brother in the insanity department. But Kat is a nice girl when you get past her ginormous," Alfred made a motion towards his chest with a small laugh but his face fell, "She fell in love with a human. And desperate for his love she went to a sea witch to get her legs, like me. But…she made a mistake, swam to the wrong cove, took the wrong current because she went to a different witch than the one I went to, an evil one that cursed her. 'Get this human to fall in true love with you before the new moon and you will become human. If not, you will die, killed by the man you so fawn over,'" Alfred sighed, "From what I hear she's hooked up with the guy but he only lusts for her body and it's nothing close to true love."

Alfred looked at the flames with an uncommon amount of sadness and as Arthur looked at him he found Ivan's questions resurfacing. Unable to stop himself he blurted out, "How old are you?"

The siren looked surprised at the question then thoughtful, "I guess around 19 cycles," at Arthur's blank look he spoke up again, "Oh, don't know cycles don't you? In years I'd be…two hundred and thirty something."

Arthur's mouth dropped open, that was two whole centuries! The merman looked so young Arthur guessed he was in his late teens or early twenties. At that age he could be his great, great, great grandfather!

Alfred blushed and rubbed the back of his neck as he saw Arthur's reaction, "It's really not that old in my kind's terms. Maturity wise I'm about as old as you, younger actually. Please don't look at me like that!"

Arthur just shook his head and rubbed his forehead. Who could have known?

Ivan, his mind answered.

AN: So sorry for the late chapter! I'm hoping to get into Rice and their early admissions are due this Tuesday so I've been working on essays lately. Not to mention my new USUK fic that you guys should totally read-*shot* Hopefully this longer chapter with Ivan makes up for it.

The idea of America and Russia playing chess together is not mine but I can't help but to looove it. And the relationship between the two? *squeals* Hopefully you could pick out how Ivan is jealous of Alfred's attention and in response lashes out at Arthur, hoping he would be devoured so he can have Alfred's attention once again. (yes I am a Russamer fan but this won't turn into that kind of fic)

I always never do it enough but THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! I don't think I got respond to all y'alls reviews because of time but please know that I cherish all of them. Reviews, constructive criticism on this chapter would be GREATLY appreciated (:

EDIT: Forgot the translations!

домашнее животное- Pet I believe, I'm sorry I don't really know Russian

капитан-Captain