Chapter Ten: England and Magic
Twilight had woken up earlier than Arthur, as she had been doing since she had arrived. It was essential that she be ready for the day before he was. Why? Because Princess Celestia had made it clear that her student keep her mark hidden. If she didn't, it would be a give away to who she was. Sure, the others could keep theirs hidden with just clothing. Twilight, however, couldn't. Her mark was imprinted on the right side of her neck, and it would be hard to cover it up with a scarf if the princess had to constantly make sure that the clothing article covered the six-pointed star, which of course would draw Arthur's attention to it. So, before they had separated, Rarity showed Twilight how to cover it up with only a little bottle of concealer. Sure, it would have been easier to use magic to make their marks disappear, but cutie marks could not be made or removed by magic, unless the girls' abilities were taken. That was something Twilight did not want to do.
The princess was currently trying to find the small bottle Rarity had given her before she left for London. It had been on the vanity the night before...or at least, that's where Twilight remembered having it last. She might have misplaced it the night before.
"I know I put it on the vanity last night!" She said in a harsh whisper while searching through the room. "It couldn't have just gotten up at walked away!" Twilight groaned with an obvious frustration and continued to search. However, she was interrupted by a knock on her door. The alicorn straightened up with a yelp.
"Twyla? Are you already up?" said a voice with an unforgettable British accent. Twilight's violet eyes darted over to the clock on the side of her bed. It was 9:28. She groaned again.
"Yes," she answered back. "I've been awake for the last two hours."
"Hurry up, then. I have a lot of things to do today, and I want you to come with me."
"Give me a few more minutes!" Twilight heard a sigh from the other side of the door.
"We don't have a few more minutes."
"Then leave without me."
"...How about no?" There was a small silence between them. "I'm opening this door." Twilight's eyes widened. In a panic, her hands glowed their magenta color, and the lock clicked shut.
"You can't! I locked it!" Twilight continued on with her mad search. She didn't notice when the locked clicked again, and the door opened.
"What are you doing?" At the sound of the sudden voice, Twilight's hand flew to her cutie mark, covering it completely. She spun around to face her English caretaker.
Twyla laughed nervously, rubbing the area on her neck where her hand had clamped onto as soon as England entered the room. The Brit tapped his fingers against the door's handle.
"I repeat, what on earth are you doing?" He said.
"Just uh...looking for something?" England raised a thick eyebrow.
"You've been looking for something for the past two hours?" Twyla nodded hastily. England stood in the doorway for a moment. "If it can get us to leave faster, then let me help-"
"No!" Twyla shouted. The Brit was taken back a bit. She had never raised her voice before. "I mean...no...I can find it..." She bent back down, continuing to look for whatever she was looking for. Her hand remained plastered to the side of neck. England took a few steps into the room. He leaned up against the dresser.
"It's going to take you longer if you search one handed." There was a thud as Twyla hit her head against the dresser before she stood up. Her hand still hadn't moved. "Here's an idea. Why don't you use both hands?" Twyla shook her head.
"Get out of my room," she stated in a firm tone.
"My flat," England reminded her. "I can go where ever I please."
"Get out, Arthur." England shook his head, denying her request. Twyla was hiding something from him. He sighed.
"At least let me help you look. What is it you're ransacking the room for?" Twyla's face turned a heavy red.
"Just a concealer bottle..." Neither one of them said anything. That was it? All the fuss she had been making was over that? England blinked as he realized something. Twyla's hand had stuck to her neck only when he entered the room. She was hiding something...a scar maybe? However, it would be impossible to recover from a cut to the neck deep enough to leave a scar unless you were a Nation, so that possibility was ruled out.
England took a step closer so he was standing in front of Twyla. He wrapped his hands around both of her wrists. While the black-haired girl tried to keep her hand on place while attempting to push England off of her wrists, the Brit proved to be much stronger. He pulled her hand away from her neck. England's eyes widened. He did not expect to see that. Embellishing Twyla's pale neck was a six-pointed magenta star. Five smaller white stars surrounded it. The girl pulled away from England. Then...
SMACK
Britain touched his fingers to his face where the red handprint was now forming. Did she just actually slap him? All because he saw some tattoo on her neck? England did have one as well, on his left shoulder blade. It had been a result of America taking him out for a few drinks after a meeting.
England's emerald eyes met Twyla's violet ones. Tears were welling up in them. Again, why was she getting so upset over this?
"Twyla I-" the Nation tried to say before Twyla pushed past him, running out of the door. England stood there for a second before heading after her.
"Twyla, come back!" She ignored him and ran out of the flat. England watched as she ran off. His eyes widened when she disappeared in a cloud of sparkling magenta mist. "She's a magic user... like I am..." England shook his head, restoring his senses. "Well... this is an interesting plot development..."
Britain rushed back into the flat, making a whistling noise as he did. He went straight to Twyla's room. London was a dangerous place for Twyla to be right now. In her state, her magic would be unstable and could cause all sorts of disasters. For example, destroying Big Ben. England shuddered. He did not want that to happen again.
"Britain?" a soft voice called out. England turned around to see his familiar behind him. He sighed in relief.
"Flying Mint Bunny..." he said, "I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?" England quickly explained the situation to the rabbit. She nodded in response.
"Her magic is unstable, and I'm concerned about her safety."
"You should be. You caused it." England shot Mint a quick glare, but she had been right.
"Nevermind that, I need you to track her down and watch her. In the meantime, I'll use a tracking spell to find you both. Keep her out of harm's way, she isn't a Nation like I am. And don't let her know you're my familiar. She's mad at me, meaning she won't want anything to do with me at the moment. Understand?" Mint nodded and flew out of the room. England looked around. In order to cast the tracking spell, he need an object of Twyla's that was important to her. The Brit sighed.
"Time to see what I can find..."
Meanwhile, Twilight reappeared in Hyde Park. Tears still slid down her pale cheeks. She wiped them away. She let him see it. Twilight knew she wasn't supposed to, but yet it happened anyway. And she had used magic in front of him. So, he knew about that. Twilight walked through the park as she cried.
"He probably thinks I'm a freak..." she muttered to herself. "A magical freak!"
Twilight's tears soon dried up, and she looked at her surroundings. This isn't exactly where she was trying to teleport to. She tried to teleport back to Equestria, back home. A pain grew in Twilight's heart. Home. How she missed it so much. She missed her brother and Cadance and Celestia and Luna and Spike... Most of all, Twilight missed the warm embrace her friends would have provided her by now. Maybe she could go to them. Or at least one of them.
"Who's the closest?" She muttered, trying to remember where each of her friends had been sent. Fluttershy was in Tokyo... Rainbow Dash was in Berlin... Pinkie Pie was in Venice... Applejack was in New York and Rarity was in...Paris.
Paris wasn't that far. England and France were very close to each other geographically.
"That's it. I can't stand being here any longer!" Twilight picked up her pace. "I'm going to my friends."
Suddenly, something hit the back of Twilight's head with a squeak. She stopped and whipped around. To her surprise, it wasn't a person. Instead, it was a small rabbit. Or at least that's what it looked like. The creature, unlike a normal rabbit, was a soft mint green color with feathered wings. Twilight blinked.
"Hello...?" She said with uncertainty as the creature straightened herself out. "Are you alright?" The rabbit nodded, and her eyes lit up when it saw Twilight. She began to fly in circles around Twilight's head. "Whoa... calm down..." The rabbit stopped. "Who are you? More importantly, what are you?"
"I'm a familiar," answered the rabbit. "You can call me Mint. Brit-" Mint stopped halfway through her sentence. Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Well... I've never seen a familiar before. But I have read about them," said Twilight. "Aren't familiars assigned to a wizard?" Mint nodded. "My only question is this. Whose familiar are you, Mint?" Mint shook her head.
"Brit- ... He made me promise not to tell you."
"Why...?"
"Because he said you're still most likely mad at him." It only took Twilight a moment to piece together the wizard Mint belonged to. Her hands clenched together in anger.
"THAT JERK!" She yelled. "I can't believe Arthur sent you-" She stopped. Arthur Kirkland, that tsundere whom she had been boarding with for about a week, was a wizard. Twilight didn't see that coming. She shook away her surprise and began walking away with Mint following her.
"Twyla..." said Mint sadly. "Arthur sent me to keep an eye on you. He's not a jerk, he's just-"
"Wizard or not, Arthur's still a jerk, no matter what you say. He disrespected my wishes, and he sent you after me. I don't need a babysitter!"
"But he's-"
"I don't care! He doesn't understand that I have boundaries!"
Back at his flat, England was in middle of crossing Twyla's boundaries. I mean, he was searching through her things to find something he could use for the tracking spell. No matter how I say it, it still sounds like he's going through her stuff. He is, but that isn't the point. He had been doing so for the past hour. So far, the Brit could not find anything he could sense that Twyla was attached to.
England straightened up and shut the nightstand's drawer. He sighed.
"Nothing," he muttered to himself, "I can only hope that Mint found her. Maybe I could use Mint's magical signature to trace them b- Ow!" As England had been standing, he hit his head on the nightstand, causing something to fall on the floor. After releasing a select few curses, England stood up. His eyes fell on what had fallen. It was a picture frame. The Englishman sighed, knowing that it must of have been Twyla's. He picked it up, but raised a thick eyebrow as he surveyed the image. He could clearly tell it was Twyla in it. However, she was surrounded by five other girls and a small boy. Her hair was not black, but a dark indigo although the streaks stayed the same. She had a crown upon her head with a six-pointed star gem in the center, similar to what she had tattooed on her neck. She wore a beautiful dress that looked like a ball gown. But that's not what surprised England the most. It was the lavender wings Twyla had in the image. They made her look like an angel. England blinked several times. This couldn't be Twyla, right? She was human... was she?
England shook his head, clearing the thought out of it. He looked down at the photo. Its frame wasn't damaged, but its glass had many fingerprints on it. England could also see the dried places were tears had fallen. Wait... tears?
"What is so important about this that it had her-" England stopped midway his sentence. He briefly remembered Twyla mentioning her friends a few days ago. He looked at each figure in the image. "These girls are her friends, aren't they?" No one answered. "And I'm talking to myself. But still... she must be close to them. She did shed a tear over this image many a time." That's when it clicked. England grinned. "Arthur Kirkland, you are a genius!" The Brit ran out of the room with the picture in his hand.
A few hours had passed since Twilight left Arthur's company. Mint still wouldn't leave her alone, but at least the rabbit had fallen silent. Twilight had begun to walk around London, not sure of where she was going.
"This is all Arthur's fault," the princess muttered to herself. "I wish he would have just left when I asked him to."
"He was probably worried about you," Mint chimed in, causing Twilight to groan silently. "I know he is worried about you now." Twilight stopped.
"He's what?" She asked. Mint flew over and landed on her shoulder.
"I said that Brit- Arthur is worried about you. He said something about your magic being unstable while you were so upset. That is why he sent me to look after you until he can find us. ... Why did you get upset, anyway?" Twilight looked down at the concrete as she began moving along again. She unconsciously put a hand over her cutie mark.
"It's... complicated. I was told not to let anyone see it. This mark makes me easily identifiable."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Given my situation, yes." Twilight took the rabbit in her hands, stroking Mint's head softly.
"What's wrong?" Twilight sighed.
"Mint. There's something I haven't told Arthur," said the alicorn, "I... I didn't come here on a mission like I said. I came here for protection." Mint raised her head and put it against Twilight's chest, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
"Why?" The familiar asked. "I can feel your magical signature is very strong and powerful. Almost as powerful as Arthur's. Why would you need to be protected?"
"They can track me if I use powerful magic. And honestly, do I look like I can defend myself using hand-to-hand combat?" Mint shook her head. "That's what I thought."
"But who are you hiding from? Twyla, you're confusing me."
"And that's why Arthur doesn't know even the half of it. He wouldn't understand." Mint wiggled out of Twilight's arms and began flying beside her again.
"I think he might. It's the same for you. I don't think you'll understand the truth about Arthur." Twilight laughed.
"That's another thing we have in common," she said. But would Arthur understand? Either way, Twilight knew that he deserved to know the truth about the girl he had been with for living the past week. "But you're right, Mint. I should tell Arthur the truth." Mint smiled and flew around Twilight's head, making the foreigner laugh. "So... do you know the way back to Arthur's flat?"
"Not unless he calls for me..." The pair sighed.
"Okay then... Plan B: We walk around until we find something familiar that will lead us back to the flat." Mint agreed and the two began wandering around London. Unknown to them... they were being followed.
Meanwhile, our favorite Brit was getting ready to cast his spell. He had everything ready. The photo sat in front of him. England held his wand in his hand. He could cast the spell without it, but he felt much more comfortable with it in his hands.
Anyway, England held the star-tipped object out to the photo. He closed his eyes.
"Use the magical bond from this offering to help me find her," he said, picturing Twyla clear in his mind. The photo and his wand glowed a brilliant green. "VESTIGIUM!" England tensed as the spell did its work. A white ball of light formed above the photo and in front of England. The Englishman stood still for a moment. He gathered up the photo and his wand, dropping them both on a nearby table. He approached the ball. With one small move, England brushed his fingers against it. The orb responded by glowing green at his touch before returning to white. England grinned. The spell had worked.
"Take me to her," he said firmly, "Now!" The orb spun in the air, its color changing to magenta. It whizzed out the door. England followed after it, slamming the door behind him.
Twilight walked side-by-side with Mint. Night had almost fallen, and they still hadn't found their way home. Only the lit streetlamps were their guide now.
"I spy with my little eye something gold," said Mint, who had come to rest on Twilight's shoulder.
"My cr-" Twilight said, stopping herself from revealing the transformed object's true nature. "I mean my headband." Mint nodded, nuzzling her face into Twilight's neck. The girl yawned, wondering how late they had been gone. How long they had been walking... well flying in Mint's case. The rabbit had begun to fall asleep, so Twilight was talking to her to keep her awake. She was doing this because Arthur might call her.
Twilight sighed.
"I spy with my little eye something..." Twilight stopped dead. In front of her was a flickering streetlamp. Under its light was a black-hooded figure. But Twilight knew who it was. Her heart pounded. The figure emerged from the streetlamp's glow and began walking towards her.
"Twyla...?" asked Mint. "Why did you stop?" Twilight lifted the rabbit from her shoulder, her hands shaking.
"Go find Arthur," she said with a wavering voice. "Now."
"Twyla what's-"
"Just go. And don't look back, no matter what you hear." With a sad and worried look, Mint flew off. Twilight planted her feet firmly on the pavement as the figure got closer. She could fight him, but truly... she was terrified of him.
"Hello, princess," said the man. Twilight could tell he was smirking from underneath his hood. She took a step back away from him. Her fingertips sparked with magic. "What aren't you pleased to see me?" With a wave of her hand, Twilight sent out a magic blast, hitting the man in the shoulder. He hissed. "Nice to see you too, princ-"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Twilight snapped, sending out another magic blast. Her opponent dodged it easily. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"No can do. You see..." The man sent out his own dark magenta magic, striking both of Twilight's arms. Her golden blood leaked slowly out of the tears in her clothes. "We have a plan...and we need you to do it." He sent out another blast, cutting Twilight's leg.
"We...?" Twilight asked through the pain. The man smirked, sending out one more blast that hit Twilight's stomach. The princess stumbled, catching herself on her knees. The man stood over her.
"We," he repeated. Suddenly, Twilight was jerked upwards, another person wrapping an arm around her arms and waist. The other held a wet rag to her mouth. Twilight began to feel lightheaded and dizzy.
"Calm yourself, princess," said a voice Twilight knew, yet its accent was sickenly sweet. Black spots began to dance in her vision. "Everything will be just fine..." And that was the last thing Twilight heard before she blacked out.
England was still following the orb, which had slowed down enough to let him walk behind. It had gotten late. Shouldn't he have found Twyla by now?
"I'm starting to think I cast this spell wrong..." the Nation muttered to himself. "How long have I been out here? Three hours?" England sighed. "My only other option is to phone the police. God knows what they're doing..." England groaned. "This is hopeless."
"ARTHUR!" shouted voice from behind the Brit. "Arthur Arthur Arthur ARTHUR!" England turned around, snatching the glowing orb from out in front of him in the process. He then came face-to-face with his familiar. The rabbit was out of breath and fell into England's other hand.
"Flying Mint Bunny?" He said in a little curious disbelief. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to follow Twyla and keep an eye on her until-"
"She sent me to you," Mint cried out, "She sounded scared."
"What happened? Is she alright?"
"I don't know." England felt something wet against his skin. It was Mint's tears. "She told me to go and not look back, but I didn't listen to her. I stayed behind in the shadows. This man came out of nowhere, and she attacked him. Twyla's powerful, Arthur, but her attacks barely did anything! Then the man used magic to cut her up very badly and...and..."
"Calm down," said England, calming the creature. "I'll do the best I can to find her. Then, I'll take her back to the-"
"You can't Arthur..." England look down at Mint.
"Why? Is there something you didn't tell me?" Mint nodded.
"He has her."
"Who? The man who attacked her? I think I could probably take him on myself." Mint shook her head.
"Not him... the other one... the other you." England almost dropped his familiar right there. Him? That psychopath had her? Why? They haven't been active in weeks, and Twyla was just a normal girl, not counting her magical abilities.
England regained his composure and stiffened.
"Mint," he said firmly. "Go back to the flat. Wait for me there. If I'm not back within two hours, go to Cole, Dylan, Seamus, Alistair or whoever is closest. Tell them what happened. Understood?" Mint nodded and hovered out of England's hand.
"What about you?" She asked.
"Don't worry about me. Go." Mint nodded and flew off. England released the tracking orb, which just lingered in the air. He sighed. "I'm crazy. Just bloody mad to be doing this." He straightened up. "Take me to Twyla. And be quick about it!" The orb whizzed in the ir before barrelling down the street. England ran quickly behind it. Adrenaline was running through his veins.
'I hope that she can hold out a little longer...' he thought, 'Stay alive! Please... be alive!'
A scream rang out in the darkness. Hot tears ran down Twilight's face. She had woken up not that long ago. And now, the once confident and powerful Spirit of Magic was in pain and absolutely terrified. Someone had cut into her flesh with a knife, allowing them to collect her blood.
"Oh come now," said the sickenly sweet voice from in front her. "There's no need to cry about it, poppet." Twilight heard someone approach them. It was the man from before. He pulled the one cutting her arm away from her. The knife clattered to the ground. Twilight looked up, getting a look at them both. The first was the man who had hid his face with a hood, which was now unpresent. Twilight could make out his pale skin and his gold hair that had a light green streak and a yellow streak. His hair was cut similar to hers, only shorter, going to the back of his neck. His yellow eyes pierced the darkness. He was still dressed in the dark clothes from before. He looked like a male Twilight... sort of.
The second man, however, confused Twilight with his appearance. He looked almost exact to the man she had begun to put her trust in. Arthur. But there were several differences. He had strawberry blonde hair, though his was more relaxed than Arthur's was. He had freckles spotted along on his cheeks. His eyes were a bright cerulean. This Arthur imposter also wore similar clothes to him, only to have the color scheme mixed around. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, a dark pink vest, a bright blue bowtie and neat dress pants.
"What do you think you're doing?" seethed the male Twilight. "My orders were to bring her in unharmed." The imposter Arthur laughed.
"I'm afraid you already broke that rule," he said, pulling himself out of the golden haired man's grip. He picked up the knife off of the floor and ran a finger along the clean edge, wiping the blood onto his finger. "And I wanted to see if the rumor was true."
"What rumor?"
"When Kuro said that the royalty and Elemental bearers had the blood of the gods." The other Arthur popped his bloody finger in his mouth, wiping it clean. Twilight's eyes grew wide. How did he know about that?! "Yummy, isn't?" The male version of her scoffed at him.
"You were suppose to stay here."
"Oh, but it's so much more fun with two! And besides, if Magic here was with Artie, you would be in a jar, Sunshine." The male Twilight growled at the last word.
"If you're going to say my name Oliver, say it right. Dusk Shine. My name is Dusk Shine."
"But I think Sunshine fits you better." Oliver laughed and turned to Twilight. "Just like Twilight fits for Magic!"
"Magic..." Twilight repeated. Something clicked in the back of her head. "How do you know that?" Oliver laughed again and put the flat end of the knife under Twilight's chin, lifting her head so the two were looking each other in the eye.
"I know everything about you, princess," he told her. "After all..." He pulled something out of his pocket, holding it up for Twilight to see. Her eyes couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was her element. Magic. "This is what you're missing, right? This is why you're here."
Twilight made a grab for it, but her hands were bound behind her back. Oliver pulled away. Dusk laughed and took the gem from his partner. He twirled it between his fingers.
"We can't let you get this, my dear Twilight," he said, running his hand down her face. Twilight turned away.
"You have my Element," she spat, "Why do you need me?" Oliver laughed.
"Silly little princess," he laughed, "None of our hearts are pure enough to use them. And I know that you know that only you and the other Elemental bearers can use them." Twilight groaned and looked at ground.
"You did your research."
"Naturally. And since we have you, we can use this leverage to draw out the other bearers if the others-" Dusk covered Oliver's mouth.
"Shut your mouth," he seethed. Dusk slid the Element of Magic into his pocket and walked out of the room, taking Oliver with him. As soon as they were gone, Twilight let her barrier break. Tears slid down her face and onto the floor as she cried silently. Why? Because she knew that she and her friends were as good as dead.
England stopped outside a normal looking home. The orb dissipated before him, giving him the signal that Twyla was in the building before him. His eyes narrowed.
"So... this is it," he muttered to himself. "I'm going in there. God, I feel like I'm walking into a trap." England ran up to the door and tried to open it, only to find that it had been locked.
"Figures." Britain raised a hand, slamming it down on the wood several times. "OPEN THIS BLOODY DOOR!" There was a second of silence.
"Hmm... how about a 'no', Artie?" said the sickenly sweet voice so much like his own from the other side.
"Oliver! Open this bloody door before I-"
"Before you what? If I recall, I did nothing wrong... this time."
"I know what you did. Mint saw the entire thing." England hit the door again. "I'm asking before I lose my temper. Where is she?"
"Where's who?" England clenched and unclenched his hands.
"OLIVER! OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR!"
"The answer is still no, darling." England pressed his hand against the door handle.
"Alohomora!" He muttered through his teeth. The lock clicked open, allowing him to open the door. The two doppelgangers faced each other.
"Hello, Arthur," said Oliver. He was holding a knife that had the faintest traces of gold on it. England crossed his arms.
"I want an answer," he stated firmly. "Where is she?" The second player laughed.
"Who?" He asked. England gritted his teeth together.
"Her name is Twyla. She's sixteen years old and looks similar to Kiku with violet eyes. But you should know that since you took her." Oliver looked up at the ceiling, twirling the knife's handle in his fingers.
"Oh yes, her. I didn't know if you would come after her, Artie. The poppet seemed to be upset with you. You were never the perfect gentleman, were you?"
"Shut up! She's just an ordinary human girl. She has nothing to do with the Nations!"
"An ordinary human being? No, Artie. I'm afraid the magic she possesses is you'll never understand. That princess you're calling ordinary isn't even human!" England didn't move. The last sentence repeated in his mind. "Oh, did I hit a nerve? My bad!" England ignored his 2P. He was still trying to find the words to form in his mouth. The girl he had been living with for a week was a princess. On top of that, she wasn't human. The photograph from before flashed into his mind's eye. Now, Twyla's appearance in it made sense.
England shook his head, clearing it of all thoughts.
"Human or not, she still has nothing to do with you or me," he said. "Hand her over or else." Oliver shook his head. With a simple flick of his wrist, the knife in his hand pierced England's shoulder. The Brit cried out in pain for a split second. The force of the throw pinned him to the wall. Oliver walked towards him.
"That's where you're wrong," said Oliver. "She is the key to your downfall! Well, her and five others. But that is none of my concern." England narrowed his eyes.
"No, I'm afraid you're wrong. She not involved in any of this."
"No, I'm right. 'Twyla' as you call her, is one of the bearers to six... Elements as they're called. They are very powerful. However, only the bearers can use them. We have plans for them. Big plans." Oliver pulled the knife from England's shoulder, using a free hand to pin him still. "All we have to do is get the other bearers. In fact, we were just about to deliver our prize. Too bad you won't be around to see her true power!" Oliver pulled England away from the wall and wrapped his arm around his neck. Just as he had done this, two people entered the room. The first was a man. He was dressed in black to cover his features. The second he held tightly in his arms. It was Twyla. Her pale face was stained with tears, and her violet eyes had gone bloodshot. Her clothes were torn in a few places, and the skin underneath had a dried gold substance on it, along with the edges of the tears. The man held a hand over her mouth. She looked absolutely terrified.
"Am I interrupting something?" The man asked. Oliver shook his head.
"Not at all. How's our princess?" Oliver responded.
"A pain in my a- neck. She tried to bite me at least ten freakin times." England could feel Oliver smile.
"I like the feisty ones. Although, I think we should put Artie here out of commission. Permanently. We can't have the first players knowing about our little plan, now can we?" England put his hands on Oliver's arm. He pulled it off of him and seized his 2P's wrists.
"How the hell?!" exclaimed the man.
"Oh, you never play fair, Arthur," said Oliver as he tried to pull free of England's hold.
"Since when do you?"
"Well played." Oliver pulled the hand in which he held the knife out of England's. He swung the blade across Arthur's torso, missing by only an inch when the first player moved back. England kept his ground. His fingertips sparked with energy. He looked at the second player. Those blue eyes of Oliver's were now swirling with pink. "Magic, Arthur? Haven't you learned?" Oliver swung again, cutting into Arthur's arm. England winced. "Never use magic when battling with a blade. Did your pirate days teach you nothing?" Arthur's emerald eyes narrowed.
"No," stated the Nation. "I learned plenty." England could feel the magic flowing through his veins. "For instance... Expelliarmus!" The bolt from a England's hand shot onto Oliver's wrist. The knife flew out of his hand and into the wall. Oliver laughed.
"Clever, Arthur. Very clever," he said. "But you forgot one thing." Before Arthur could even react, Oliver had him on the floor with his arms pinned over his head and a short knife above his heart. "I always have two."
"You bloody bastard..." said England. "YOU GODDAMN BASTARD!" Oliver laughed.
"You know, I always thought the first out of us to kill their 1P would be Luciano. Feliciano was always so easy a target. Of course, that's when he's alone. Oh well. Luciano's loss is my gain. Goodbye, Arthur Kirkland." Oliver raised the blade.
"NO!" Someone screamed. England shut his eyes as a bright white light spread out across the room. Something pulsed inside of his mind and pounded against his skull. Pressure off of his body was released, followed by a sickening crack. England managed to sit up despite the pain. He opened his eyes. He could make out a figure about a yard away. England pushed himself off of the floor and turned to face the source off the light. Behind him, there was only Twyla left standing. Her eyes had gone pure white, and her hands were crossed over her chest. It was from here the light was emanating. The headband she wore had morphed onto the crown from the picture, gem and all. Her hair turned from black to indigo, and Twyla had lavender angel-like wings on her back. Oliver was right. She wasn't human.
Twilight's world had faded into blankness. The last thing she could remember was her scream just as Oliver was about to kill Arthur. Something just... pounded and pulsated in her mind... She managed to get her hands free... then her vision blurred with white.
Suddenly, something grabbed what Twilight knew was her hands. They moved to her back, and full arms were wrapped around her. Slowly, her vision returned. Twilight blinked. Halfway across the room was Oliver. He was unconscious. Arthur had his arms around her.
"What happened?" She asked. Arthur pulled away from her, steadying his hands on her shoulders. He just looked at her. "Arthur. What happened? And how are you even alive? Oliver was about to kill you! Then there was this white in my-"
"Twyla," said Arthur in a firm tone. "You... you did it." Twilight blinked.
"Come again?"
"You did something. I can't explain it. You just..." Arthur removed a hand from Twilight's shoulder and pulled something off her head. Twilight almost gasped. Arthur was holding her crown. Not her headband. The six-pointed star gem was snugly fitted into its place. "I feel like it has something to do with this." Twilight looked at the ground. "I'm right, aren't I?" She nodded. Twilight took the crown from Arthur.
"I can't tell you," Twilight replied. She held her crown closer to her face. "Mutationis." The crown melded and morphed back into a headband. Only this time, the gem was it its place. Twilight slid it back on her head. She looked up at Arthur. "What?" Arthur shook his head.
"Nothing... it's nothing..." Arthur turned towards the door. "We should leave. Before they wake up." Twilight nodded.
"Let's hurry then." The Englishman and the princess quickly left the place, walking as quickly as they could back to Arthur's flat.
England went straight for his mobile phone as soon as the pair got home. He made a beeline for the kitchen, and Twyla headed to the guest room to change her torn clothing. As soon as he heard the door shut, England dialed the last person to have called him. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to check the name.
"Hey," said America from his end. England cursed silently in his head. "What up?"
"Don't 'hey' me," England said sternly.
"Jeez, what's got your panties in a knot?" He sighed.
"A certain blonde, blue-eyed twat."
"Hey! What did I-"
"It's not you." There was a relieved sigh from America's end.
"Okay then. Hmm... France?"
"No."
"Uh... Germany?"
"No."
"What about Belarus?"
"No."
"Hmm... how about-"
"America if you even finish that sentence, I swear I will slap you next time I see you." There was silence for a moment. "Just listen." America hummed a yes. "Alright. To start out, I have a guest staying with me."
"Are they the one who pissed you off?" America asked.
"No. Shut up. As I said, she and I-"
"So it's a girl? What she look like?" England gritted his teeth together in frustration.
"I said to shut your mouth. She and I got into a fight this morning. She ran off. I went after her. I don't know how it happened, but then he managed to capture her along with some... man. I couldn't see his face."
"So... you need help getting her back?"
"No!" England snapped. "It was him. The one who took her. America, it was my second player." An abrupt silence fell.
"I'm sorry, but did you just say that your insane, cupcake-loving 2P got your girl?"
"Yes. And she's not 'my girl', she's a person that is staying at my home for the time being that happens to be female."
"Sure..." America said with obvious sarcasm.
"Don't be sarcastic with me, Alfred. He said that she was able to use powerful... something, I forget what he called them, along with five others. They're going to use them to kill us."
"And you're telling me this why...?" England slammed his hand on the counter out of frustration.
"ALFRED F. JONES!" America laughed.
"Calm down, dude," he said. "I gotcha. So, why are you calling me?"
"Because. Oliver isn't far from my flat in London. I think I have somewhere else I could we can stay until he leaves, but until then, I can't leave Twyla alone. Otherwise, he'll come back for her. And then it'll be off with our heads." America remained silent.
"Dude, just bring her to the meeting," he said after a while.
"And what? Have her find out about the Nations?" questioned England. "There's no way I'm doing that."
"It's cool. A few of the others are doing the same thing. Apparently the same thing happened at their places. Well, minus the whole actually getting kidnapped part." England raised one of his eyebrows.
"And that doesn't strike you as strange? That this happened to us? Us Nations specifically?"
"Nope! Not at all!" America laughed, but it came out slightly nervous.
"America, is there something you're not telling me?"
"What do you mean? I'm not hiding anything!"
"Alfred..."
"Uh... gotta go! Dinner's done! Um... Later!" The dial tone rang for a minute. England stood silent, wondering what his former colony was hiding from him. Eventually the Brit just shrugged it off, and went to see how Twyla was doing.
She was alright, as far as he could tell. The girl was sitting in one of the chairs out in his living space. She had her knees brought up to her chest and was dressed in her night clothes.
"Twyla." Twyla jumped and turned to face England. She relaxed.
"Sorry," she said. "You just scared me." England nodded and sat adjacent to her.
"I understand. That whole... thing that just happened would have frightened anyone."
"It didn't scare you." England sighed. "My only question is why. Why weren't you scared? It seemed like he knew you, too. Do you know him?"
"All I can say is yes, I do." He ran a hand through his blonde hair. "There's a large handful of things I can't tell you. After all, everything's built on secrets. They keep us sane. The Nations specifically..."
"What was that last part?"
"Nothing. Just nonsense. Anyway, I believe I have a question for you." Twyla perked up.
"What is it?" England's emerald eyes looked into her violet ones. The one question that came to mind was the one England knew she wouldn't answer, but he had to ask it anyway. He sighed. Given what had happened that morning, Twyla was proven one to keep her secrets.
"I was one the phone with a colleague of mine. I told him what happened." Twyla blinked.
"You what?"
"Listen, he wants you to come with me to the meeting tomorrow. He thinks you'll be a lot safer there than here." Twyla remained silent. She eventually nodded.
"Alright. I'll go." England nodded as well before standing up.
"Well, it's late. I'm going to sleep." He started for his bedroom. "Good n-"
"Arthur, wait." England stopped as Twyla grabbed his arm. A jolt ran through her fingers, shocking both Twyla and England.
Twilight let go of Arthur immediately. She drew her hand close to her chest. Arthur looked down at his arm.
"Did you just electrocute me?" He asked. Twilight shook her head.
"No..." she said, "I don't think so. Even if I did, it was an accident. Electricity is something my magic can't control." Arthur shook his head with a sigh.
"It was probably just static. Why did you grab me anyway?" Twilight shifted in the chair.
"I just wanted to say thank you. For saving me earlier. I don't want to know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up. So... thanks."
"It's fine."
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Arthur stiffened.
"I was in the military. I told you this."
"Right..." Twilight sighed, twirling her fingers around each other. She was remembering the promise she had made earlier. She was hesitant in her action, not sure if the Englishman would believe her. "Arthur. There's something I need to tell you."
"Can it wait until morning?" Arthur asked. Twilight hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. Arthur sighed. "Fine then. What is it?"
"I... I haven't been completely honest with you."
"Neither have I, what's your point?"
"You remember when I said I was here on a mission?" Twilight said, ignoring the previous statement. Arthur nodded. "I lied."
"Then why are you here?" He asked.
"I came here for protection." Twilight sighed. "Arthur, I'm not really normal."
"I know."
"I'm actually a princess from another country that I'm pretty sure you can't find on a normal world map."
"I know."
"Not to mention that I control this powerful Element that when combined with the power of five others could have the potential to either save the world or destroy it!"
"I know."
"And on top of all that, I'm not even human!"
"I know."
"Just please listen to me, I'm not-" Twilight was cut off halfway through her sentence when Arthur put a hand over her mouth.
"For the fifth time, Twyla. I know this already, most of it anyway." Twilight's eyes widened as Arthur removed his hand.
"You... know?" He nodded. "How? I never told you this, and I'm pretty sure I don't talk in my sleep." Arthur sighed.
"Oliver told me. When I went to get you." Twilight's face fell.
"How much did he tell you?"
"Not much. About everything you just told me." Twilight nodded. "So... if you're not human, then why do you look-"
"It's a spell I found that changes my appearance," she said, cutting him off. "In reality, I don't look all that different. It's still me. Even if I'm not human."
"I understand. Well then," Arthur said as Twilight stood up. "We better be off to bed then. Both you and I have a plane to catch in the morning. Hopefully I can get another ticket." Twilight nodded and the pair headed off into their separate rooms.
"Arthur? Were you in my room?"
"... No. Why are you asking?"
"A picture in my room was moved. Are you sure you weren't in my room?"
"Er... yes."
"... Liar. Stay out of my room. I thought you learned that by now."
"It's learnt."
"Sorry, but I don't speak the Queen's english!"
"Are you mocking my accent?"
"Hahaha, No!"
"Twyla!"
"Good night Arthur!"
"... Good night 'your highness'."
...
"Shut up."
A bond stitched together by enchantment. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Spirit of Magic are connected