Arthur was a great man. Berwald knew it. Whether it was kindness or cruelty that made him great, he was great. As they took the marble paths through the garden city, everyone, all of them, moved aside, at the same time, reaching out to brush their fingers across his arms and cloak. He smiled politely at them, but his eyes showed that he didn't want to receive this attention. He was humble. Berwald hated this more. Humble greatness… how could he be evil? It seemed impossible.
His hands had been untied upon entering the city, and he had been lead with Tino to the large circular building. Arthur said it had used to be called the coliseum, an arena where battles of entertainment were held to please great masses of civilians. Now, it had been expanded and turned into a place for war preparation and the Saviour and his closest associates to live, for refugees to begin and a safe place to flee in times of fear.
Inside the walls, there were spiralling staircases, but they took none up… only a few of the group dispersed until it was only Arthur, Alfred, Ivan, Yao, Berwald and Tino. The six made their way to a section of the great monument that was deserted, save for the rare guard or two. Apparently this area was off limits. Or it was important enough that people knew to stay away for the sake of protection or success.
Eventually, they came to the end of a long curved corridor, where a guard stood either side of a trap door. Seeing their Shadow King, they bowed and each grabbed a hold of the handle, they lifted the trap door open, revealing a staircase leading downward into the abysmal earth. Arthur and Alfred first… Berwald and Tino second, with Ivan and Yao straight behind them, particularly keeping an eye on their silent captive.
Berwald thought that this was what he had been dreading to a degree… cold, damp dungeons that reeked of decay and rot. Rats to fight for scraps of food if food be given at all and great halls of torture… Stoic and silent as ever a stone man could be, he couldn't stop the sliver of fear that worked its way up his spine nor could he prevent the bead of betraying sweat that peaked across his temple and left a trail down his cheek.
/
Mathias was ecstatic when they saw the edges of mountains and even then, sparse greenery which lead to a denser forestry. It was a remarkable site and a greater still reality when they stopped at a stream, refilling their canteens for the first time in days. Their cracked lips and sore throats sang in silent rejoice as they drank their fill with the cool water and all three of them, Mathias, Alexander and Katuyasha lay back onto lush grass as the horses cooled off and had their fresh grazing…
"How far…?" Mathias asked after a time, looking over at their lady companion as Alexander dozed lightly, using his chest as a pillow.
"Beyond this mountain range, there is another smaller desert… after that we pass through a large forest before crossing another mountain range, bigger than this one… then from there it is about eighty leagues to the city…" The woman said with a smile. "The next desert is only a three day ride so provisions shouldn't be a problem…"
"Good… I've had enough of deserts… "
"As have I… And trust me Mathias, you and Alexander are going to love this city… it's the most beautiful thing you'll ever see…"
The Dane hummed in tired agreement… but truthfully, the most beautiful thing he could ever lay eye upon, was Alexander and a quiet place with just them… this stupid war was all he had ever known. He wanted something better than that for those he loved… But right now…
His mission was to get Alexander to a safe place… and to find Berwald… Everything seemed to be circling that damned Swede right now… and he wanted to know why.
/
Well… there was no dungeon. Berwald and Tino had been lead to a small circular room deep underground, which they had reached through a long dimly lit passage. But the room itself was well lit and not by fires. By an unnatural glowing blue circle on the floor, like a ring… It was like water but there was clear glass between the surface and the glowing water so that if stepped on they could not touch the source of the light.
"W'ut 're we doin' her'…" Berwald asked, frowning in confusion. He felt like he knew what this might be but at the same time, there was a haze over that information.
"This is old technology from before the wars…" Arthur said and Berwald frowned at him.
"But…. Isn't that what put us where we are?" Tino asked, timid yet somewhat amazed. It was strange, to be afraid yet fascinated by one thing.
"Well… Yes and no… we only know a very little about this machine… but… We think that it holds stories of the past… we'd reach them if we could… but we haven't figured out that part."
"W'ut kind 'o inf'rmation…?" Berwald asked and Alfred smiled brightly, stepping over to a box and undoing the locks at its lid.
"Well… Information about the past… it might tell us about everything that's happening today… why are there elementals? Why are women disappearing? How can men fall pregnant?" The blonde shrugged and pulled something out of the box.
It was a pair of gloves. Not leather gloves… metal gloves… and they had little switches and dials along the wrist with strange patterns and symbols around the palm and fingers. He gave them to Arthur who put them on and they lit up upon attachment, the same eerie blue as the ring on the floor, which seemed to hum in recognition.
"I suppose you've heard tales of the Shadow king's heinous heretical magic, aru…" Yao said, a warm motherly smile putting tiny dimples in his cheeks. "Well this is it…"
The swede looked at the doctor before curious and somewhat awed, looked back to Arthur. The magic wasn't real? It was a trick from old inventions…
"How'd y' get it workin'…?" Berwald asked, fists clenched at his side.
"Alfred fixed them…" Arthur said simply. "Remember, I told you that Alfred came from across the sea when he was a small boy… across the sea they tinker with the remnants of the past and mend them… but there's a catch… it takes years for them to learn how to actually use them… Some people say that there's a tribe of people out there, that when they look upon these technologies, that they can simply use them immediately, as if they had been doing it all their life…" the shorter blonde smiled.
"'nd Y' beli've th't?" Berwald asked with a sceptical brow. Arthur merely smiled and shrugged it off.
"We have been fortunate enough to figure out how to partly use it… But not to what we truly wish… I think this machine…" Arthur looked to Alfred before the taller of the two nodded and let him continue. "We think that this machine might hold some information… information about the past… about the war… about elementals… and something we're all noticing… women… they're what we could call a dying species… Some whole towns have not a woman amongst them… Last week, a baby girl was born in the farming village… it's been three years since a girl has been born… every precaution is been taken to ensure that child's safety… But…" He paused again and the young man at his side continued for him.
"If we can access whatever information that this device holds, we might just be able to fix this problem. Or at least… find out what has happened to everyone… "
"At least we know the human race isn't going to end, da…" There was a cool chuckle and Ivan smiled. "Even with lack of woman, it does not eradicate childbearing persons… why, there's sweet Feliciano and Ludwig… They have two children and a third on the way, da…"
"… So it's true then?" Tino asked before smiling. "Feliciano… I've heard of him…"
"Yes…" Arthur smiled brightly. "Quite a legendary figure, isn't he…"
/
THAT! THAT WAS THE LEGENDARY FIGURE!
The 'legendary figure' was known throughout the world… well, this part of the world anyway from what was once England to Egypt and the Russian clans. He was a boy of extraordinary power. The most powerful elemental one could ever find. And it was said, that the Saviour believed that he had the power to change the tide of the war. So he was endlessly seeking out elementals… Berwald first thought that the Shadow King seemed quite smug about having the world's most powerful magic being under his influence… but… but…
Berwald couldn't see anything legendary about him.
First of all, he was Ludwig's lover. Second… he had children… born naturally. A young son and daughter, the son being the eldest, and a taught bump tightening the fabric of his shirt.
At first glance, he appeared a woman… but he had slight masculine features to define him… but other wise… He had short caramel hair with a bouncing curl just off his left ear. His smile was a lot like Tino's, but his lips were fuller. Following that, he had pale skin and Hazel eyes.
"Oh… Ciao… You must be the man Ludwig told me about…" the young male said with a smile, holding his hand out and Berwald, though hesitantly, shook it. Frowning, just more slightly that per usual, as he shook his hand. His temperature was just a little higher than that of a normal person. But… he spaced out for a moment, not letting go of his hand. It was merely brief however, and he soon smiled again, letting go of his hand.
The swede couldn't help but notice he was exchanging glances with Ludwig and Arthur, as if in silent conversation.
"W'ut?" The tall blonde asked, another crease in his brow. The Italian before him laughed a little and held onto Ludwig's arm.
"It's nothing… Just glad to meet you…"
But something in his eyes said he was keeping a secret now. The greeting continued and Feliciano introduced himself to Tino.
Meanwhile, Berwald was left wondering. What did the boy do…? And asides from that… Arthur and Alfred had showed them a bit of how the machine worked… it let Arthur move objects with his mind… but that was to the untrained eye… the gloves apparently let off a gravitational pull that he could control the power of… this lead everyone to believe that he had supernatural powers over the elements and powers over formable matter… but what Berwald was thinking about the machine and the gloves himself.
Why did they seem so familiar?
/
Katuyasha wandered around the grove, collecting apples and wild berries that were abundant here. They wouldn't last long in edibility, but they would make for a good day or two of feast on with some of the salted meats left over from the checkpoint for the next day or two.
She had an all sorts of edible berries in her side satchel and plenty of apples in her apron. Contented with her supply, she made her way back to the day camp site they had set up before moving off again, checking on the horses on her way. She was about to announce her success in foraging when she stopped and quickly ducked around the tree and peaked over a low bracken.
Mathias and Alexander were sitting and talking about something, as Mathias twiddled a piece of grass in his hands. Alexander said something that made the taller smile, and he moved forwards, kissing him chastely. But… it grew deeper. And the woman grew worried about interrupting some personal moment and the flush on her cheeks only darkened as Mathias kissed and bit softly down Alexander's slender neck. The Norse bit his bottom lip, fingers buried in the other's fading black hair.
But it didn't advance further. Another brief kiss was chanced before they pulled apart. Mathias lay back on the grass and Alexander was left blushing and a few faint marks on his neck.
Trembling, Katuyasha sat down with her back to the tree, her companions gone from sight.
Was she jealous? Yes… she was… because a man could love a man freely these days… fewer and fewer women were being born, and so it was, that fewer and fewer men had an interest for women. Katuyasha had only ever lain with one man… and that was the owner of the orphanage she had grown up in. And that wasn't even of a romantic nature… it had been forced until the point she could take it no more and had abandoned her family.
Ivan… she hadn't seen him since, but at least she knew he was safe… but their younger sister… what had become of her? She felt she'd never know…
/
Berwald lay down on his new bed. There was a guard outside the door, but otherwise, security measures were low. They trusted him… He couldn't truly grasp why…
He had promised Tino he wouldn't do anything without good cause to… but his whole being screamed at him to get to the Shadow King… Get to Arthur… Kill him… make him pay for his family.
He sighed, resting an arm over his eyes to shut out the world and its troubles, shivering slightly from the cool night breeze.
/
Roderich lay curled up in a foetus position in the dampest corner of his cell. A lonesome rat scurried across the floor. It would have once terrified him and repulsed him… but he had long grown accustomed to its presence and could not thank it more for the company it had given him.
Running right up to him, the rat twitched it's nose, silky brown fur turning silver as it moved, the moonlight filtering through the barred window making it shine. Roderich ran a hand over its back in a type of stroke, smiling softly, silently… In response the rat curled up against his chest and dozed off, having changed its sleeping pattern to suit that of the warmth the other's body had to offer. Was it survival instinct? Or was it a friendship no one could explain…?
Roderich didn't care… at least he wasn't alone.
/
"Gilbert… where are you going?" Ludwig asked as he leant against the door frame, watching his brother pack his bag. He was being meticulous… something he rarely was in anything. Whatever he was doing must have been important.
"I have to go West… I can't sit by and wait any longer…"
The albino looked at the younger brother, a look in his eye that gave it all away.
"You can't save him on your own bruder. We're not ready… and Arthur has said-"
"Look! I don't care what Arthur has said… we're never going to be ready… he keeps saying, sooner than you think… not long now… but how long until they kill him bruder… he's not useful to them anymore…"
The two men looked at each other in silence. But after a short time, Gilbert slung the bag over his shoulder and started walking past the taller of the two.
Ludwig caught his arm and stopped him, pulling him closer and pressing their foreheads together.
"Then please Bruder… Be safe. Save him…"
"…. Without a doubt… I'm going to get him out of there."
They looked at each other a moment longer before Gilbert was gone.
/
Whoo, Finally. I got the gist to finish this chapter. I hope you lot approve.
This is where everything officially starts happening. Gilbert sets off a chain reaction of events but please don't blame him.
So Gilbert is off to Save Roderich. Berwald is drowning in seas of thoughts about the Saviour, the Shadow king, and ofcourse, Tino. Katuyasha is jealous of her companions. And Feliciano has the power to change the tide of the war.
What do you guys think will happen next?
Keep reading because I ain't gonna stop writing.
Love Forever
Prussian Mongrel