A/N: Hello, my dear readers! Thank you for waiting patiently (those of you still with me that is) and I hope you enjoy this. To those of you who read this way back around the time I first posted, you will recognize a certain portion of this but since I've moved/changed things around, it would be important to read. To my new readers, please enjoy and ignore this note!

Chapter 3: Whispers in Ashes

Canadia sighed softly, something he noticed he had been doing a lot lately, as he anxiously traveled his way over the Bridge. His rubbed at his arm, still sore and raw by the fire, but that was not the only thing bothering him.

Red. He was certain they were the same red from centuries before. Now more alive and incredibly bright, thanks to him. And seeing them in the fire begged the question: Had that demon been responsible? Canadia shuddered at the thought. It felt like he had been betrayed, but why would he expect anything else from a demon? Even if he had saved their life…

"Canadia!" As soon as he recognized who it was that was calling for his attention, Canadia paused in a fluid mid-stride, turning to greet the other Hetalian that caught up to him, landing elegantly from his flight with wings disappearing in warm scatters of fireflies, and robes wisping around his wiry figure.

He was shorter than Canadia, the top of his golden head just reaching his shoulder with a thin, golden ring floating just above his head. It told him of his higher status, despite them being of the same kind out of a special few. His pure emerald eyes, eyes as vibrant as everything green, met his with a gleam of sympathetic affection.

"Britannia." Canadia greeted in a soft tone and with an inclination of his head; a bow to convey his own respect and affection for his older brother, this older brother who had all but raised him and taught him all he knew. Britannia chuckled softly and slipped his hand into Canadia's, tugging him along back on his path gently.

Britannia was one of the few who knew of Canadia's unique ability to connect his emotions with others, be they human or angel, animal or demon. It had been his idea to keep quiet about it, but not hide it, for surely their Father had known since his Birth. So when their hands connected, Canadia was able to feel his brother's concern and – was that anticipation?

Canadia was pondering what sort of things Britannia could be expecting when he spoke, his accented voice echoing all around them and in his mind.

"You are headed to the Gate, yes?" He inquired in a soft, gentle tone. Was he expecting something bad? Was he suspicious? Canadia nodded hesitantly and hoped that his brother would not notice. He forced his hand to relax in the other's grip, holding on firmly as they calmly walked to the Crystal Gates that lead to the Bridge.

"I never thanked you for helping me…" He frowned, the memories flashing through his mind, and his heart clenched in pain. He raised his right arm, clenching his hand, causing the horrible sensation of fire to course through his arm once again, forcing him to recall that tragedy. Britannia squeezed his hand, his sympathetic emotions seeping in and comforting him.

"That is why I am accompanying you. It may not seem like it, being only your arm, but a large portion of you had been destroyed. I fear I am the only one able to help you, but you should not face this alone. Am I safe to expect you to allow my assistance?" The pair came to a halt when they reached the Bridge that would lead them to Canadia's land in the Earthly realm. Canadia smiled down at his brother. Yes, of course that would be the reason for his concern. He leaned down to nuzzle the side of his forehead to Britannia's in a display of affectionate gratitude.

Yes, of course… How paranoid he was becoming.

The Crystal Gates stood tall and wide before them, vines and small flowers winding around it and up the sides of the walls on either side of it. Beyond the Gate, they could see the other side of the Bridge; it's winding path eventually diverging into different paths that led to places beyond their sights.

Together, Canadia and Britannia raised their hands, pushing the heavy gates open and stepping out of their domain, following the path that would take them to Canadia's homeland.

Everything was soaked to its core. Everything was an ugly black.

For a moment, Canadia could have sworn he was back on that battlefield; charred and black with poisonous blood seeping into the ground and tainting it. All around him, what had once been a forest was now ash and dead animals and naked trees. The burnt wood and shrubbery crumbled under his feet. The air was thick with floating ash that nearly blocked out the surely grey sky.

That battlefield covered in a thick blanket of white had been a cold sight. He could not help but wonder what it had looked like before the war. Before he had claimed it and made it a replica of this piece of land. One of his favorite pieces. Had it been beautiful? Had it been far and wide and clear as the waters in the spring? Perhaps it had been young and new, a place created just for he and his siblings to roam and nurture and love.

What had it looked like when the poison set it? What had it looked like as it fought for its life, only to succumb to its death? He had a feeling he knew now. It had been ugly and devastating. It had been painful for anyone to watch but while they and he had managed to stop the ferocious fire from eating away everything it could in his homeland, while in the middle of that old war, there was most likely nothing anyone could do to stop it.

"Can I ask what happened? I mean… besides the obvious?" Britannia had stayed behind to help him sort things out while the others had returned to their realm. Some stayed to watch over their dying humans and others left to ferry their dead human's souls to wherever it was they must go. Since they were not Hetalian, they could not help him with his land. This was why only Britannia stayed, watching him steadily with his eyes; eyes that were no longer the pure emerald they had been in his Hetalian form. They now resembled that of a human's, as did the rest of themselves.

Canadia gazed forlornly at the desecrated forest, his forest, as he absently ran his fingers over the white-gold plate armor now decorating his forearms. He once again recalled the sensation of his arm burning, he recalled the bright pain coursing through his arm, and he recalled his desire to rip the limb off. This time he could feel the tears prickling at the back of his eyes. He quickly wiped them away.

"I am not sure, really. I… I could just see the fire and I could feel… I really do not know what caused it." Even as the words passed his lips, he could not help but think of that demon and that red in the fire. Another wave of sorrow passed through him, but he dismissed it as best he could. Now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. He turned his eyes to his brother who was listening silently, with eyes narrowed and a frown on his human face.

It was not necessary to have skin-contact to allow Canadia to connect with another's emotions, but as he was slightly weaker in his human form, he could not simply reach out with his will any longer. The cloud of ash may have been thick, and though he could not be certain, he could clearly see the expressions on his brother's face; those of suspicion and doubt.

"Brother? H-How did you know about this anyway? I mean, it is not your home and…," Canadia worried his bottom lip, stopped when he caught his nervous act, and waited as still as he could. Britannia's frown became deeper, his thick human brows furrowing dangerously into one indistinguishable blur.

"Canadia-," he froze at the sharp utterance of his name, "You have looked troubled for a while now. I believe for quite a few centuries, almost, so how could I not notice something was wrong?" He went straight for the point, not even bothering to elaborate on how he knew and when had he started to keep track?

Canadia clasped his hands behind his back as calmly as he could. So he had noticed? How obvious had he been, then? Four centuries had felt like a long time for him, but only because he had been keeping track. It should have been nothing more than a blink of an eye. He unconsciously began to worry his lip again. How long had it shown? Had others noticed then, too? Why had no one approached him sooner if he had been so obvious? Then again, no one other than his brother before him really paid him any mind, and he had not seen the few friends he had, as he had taken to wandering back there and it would have been terrible courtesy to intrude on him during that time.

Could he avoid it? Maybe he could still avoid it. No one else suspected anything yet, so just maybe…

"Oh. I… I am sorry. I did not mean to worry you…" He lowered his head, darted his eyes here and there but never lingering in the same spot for long before they once again connected with his brother's. Like he had been for the past two weeks, Canadia was acutely aware of the long seconds that dragged by. The thick cloud of ash began to coat their pristine robes and clean armor the longer their forms stood still.

"It is not just this, is it?" Canadia froze once again, blue eyes wide. Britannia clicked his tongue with a shake of his head and met his gaze dead on.

"As horrible as this is, brother, it is not just this that has been troubling you. If you do not want to tell me, fine, but I do not want you to lie to me about it or pretend that nothing is wrong, you understand?" All he could do was nod, a rush of heat rising to his face. Britannia's features softened as he stepped forward to clasp their hands together, his wrapped around Canadia's in a gesture of comfort and support.

"So will you tell me what is wrong?" He inquired gently. He gestured to the land surrounding them. "This. We can fix this. I can help with this. But if there is something else I could do to help you I would want to. If it is something bad, I do not want you to get hurt."

And at the honest concern gracing his brother's face, Canadia found he could not dismiss the offer. However, what would he say when he told him? He would have to eventually, for surely something like that could not be kept secret for much longer. Canadia took a shuddering breath, averting his eyes once more.

"I… Brother, I did something… I think I can be punished for it, and-,"

"Punished?" Britannia exclaimed. "Canadia, what did you do?" Canadia winced, but he could not stop now, he suddenly could not keep it to himself any longer.

"Please! Please, listen, please! I… during the war four-hundred years ago, I wandered away from that last battle and I… I wandered into an old battlefield, and it was being healed. I had not realized I did, but then I felt something wrong. So I followed this path forged by some dark energy and when I arrived at the end… I found a demon…"

"A demon? Is that all?" Canadia sighed as he shook his head. He barely realized the snow that had started to fall around them, and he realized he did not want to stand any longer. They kneeled in the thin patch of green that had started to grow at both their presence. And thanks to the snow, the thick fog of ash slowly began to disperse.

"No, that is not all. I found the demon, but it was dying." He took a deep breath and though he could not lie, he decided to omit the part where he had connected with the demon, and of the hollowness he now bore in his chest. "I had intended to destroy whatever was preventing the battlefield from healing, but that is what I came across and…,"

"You healed it." It was not a question. Canadia lowered his eyes, nodding meekly. His brother knew him too well. They sat in silence for another while longer.

"It would be best if we admitted this." At this Canadia's head snapped up, panic rising in his chest.

"Please, brother. I know what I did was wrong, but-,"

"Oh hush! If you really wanted to, you would have told me sooner." Britannia gave him a dejected sigh. Canadia's hands gripped his brother's tightly, urging him to understand.

"If I do this, it can escalade, I know it. But… but something… I do not understand what it is, but I have a feeling it is something I must do." As the words passed his lips, he realized that it was true. Though he could not come up with a good reason for any of his late foolishness, he was at least certain of this.

"Brother, please. You cannot say a word of this to anyone."

Small buds began to pop up around their legs and ankles. Patches of snow were scattered everywhere. Eventually it would cover the entirety of the damaged forest and the humans would be none the wiser, except for those rare few gifted with enough spiritual power to see it, and possibly them.

"Promise me you will be careful, at least." Canadia smiled, not brightly or in relief, but as a gesture of reassurance, but whether for himself or his brother could not have been said. Britannia offered a smile in return and moved to raise them both back up. "Let us get a move on. We cannot help your land if we just sit around all day."

At the reminder of his initial objective, sadness swelled in his chest as he took in the awful sight once more, though he was glad that a few inches of snow had already blanketed the ground. So the Hetalian brothers patted their robes and summoned their pure energy just enough so they would not attract any attention from those strong enough to feel them.

Canadia took another long look around, feeling something amiss but unable to tell what exactly it was. There was a strange bubbling in his chest. He dreaded it might spell another sudden disaster and yet he knew there was some vain hope within him that wanted something else, dare he even think he longed for it. His fingers tingled the way they did moments before he found himself with a bow and arrow in his hands, aiming, then targeting, and finally shooting.

He only realized he was disappointed a long while later, when Britannia advised they return and rest. He thought he might have realized what that bubbling in his chest and that tingling in his fingers meant. It terrified him. How could he feel such a thing? His brother left with the best of wishes for him and the news that Italia would be here soon, and after more reassurances on both their parts, Britannia left for home before Canadia had the chance to summon up his courage and confide in him.

That bubbling in his chest had subsided, but it was still there, as if it were waiting in the shadows. It felt awful. Canadia felt like crying.

A/N: I'm sorry they're so short, but, eh… And is it just me, or does this chapter feel rushed and sloppy? Hmm… -3- And, I'm thinking about changing the title of this fic (actually I really, really want to) but I shall do so when it has been completed to save confusion. Let's see, am I missing anything…?

Oh! Prussia will hopefully come out next chapter guys! You know, if things go according to my not-really-a-plan… and stuff. And Canadia kind of sounds like an arcade/utopia doesn't it? :D Or is that just me? _