When things looked bleak, one simply had to look at the positives to find their way again—a philosophy Alfred was often told as a child. It had always seemed like a strange bit of advice to him, but that didn't change the fact that he was currently trying to invoke it to the best of his ability. So, what could be considered good about his situation? For one thing, he was still inside an RPG game. Come what may, the fact that he was personally experiencing one of his favourite genres of video games would always be a boost to his mood. There was also the fact that, against some pretty unfair odds, he had managed to get away from the guards and evade capture. That had to be a good sign, right?

But that last thought only brought him back to his current problem.

Alfred was frozen where he stood. After barely even waiting for an answer, Arthur had lunged for the sword and pointed it towards Alfred in an obviously threatening way.

"Who the hell are you?" Arthur repeated in a much less wary tone, as if deciding he now had the upper hand.

"Alfred!" he stammered after finally tearing his eyes away from the sword. "My name's Alfred. Look, um, I think we've got a bit of a misunderstanding here. Yeah, I'm technically a prisoner, but I was arrested on completely false charges! I'm not a criminal, I'm not dangerous or anything, so you can just put that thing down..."

Arthur didn't look convinced. He did, however, lower the sword, though Alfred figured this was only done because the weapon was so damn heavy. How Gilbert had managed to constantly have it jabbed at his back would forever be a mystery.

"Why are you here? Better yet, how did you find this place? Only the highest ranking guards know this room even exists."

"Well..." Alfred wasn't too sure how to answer. He couldn't exactly say a disembodied voice that only he could hear had helped him without sounding insane, could he? "Luck? I was in the middle of my escape, I reached a dead end but then I found a door, I went up the stairs and here I am."

"And how am I supposed to believe that?" Arthur's eyes narrowed, his voice suddenly a hiss. "This room is hidden with magic. You can't just accidentally find it. Unless you hold even greater magic the door won't appear if you don't know what to look for. You definitely don't look like a mage, so how did you find this place?"

"I don't know! The door was just there, okay? Why even bother hiding this room in the first place? It's just a tiny library with a bed; it can't be that important!"

For a few seconds, Arthur looked genuinely amazed. His grip tightened around the sword's hilt as if he was contemplating whether or not to take Alfred's head off. "If there's any semblance of intelligence in that head of yours, you will hold your tongue. This 'tiny library' is the holds hundreds of the most powerful grimoires in existence and is also my home. Oh, but are you trying to say you don't know who I am, either?" He let out a dry laugh. "I am Arthur Kirkland, the high sorcerer of Altsap."

Arthur was stood in a way that suggested this was a title that demanded respect, but that was the least of Alfred's worries. At the word 'sorcerer' alarm bells rang in his mind, clearly remembering the goddess' warning. 'If you think there is even a chance you are in the presence of the sorcerer, do not tell him of your quest. He would do away with you there and then…'

Wait, wait, wait. Alfred shook his head, now paying no attention to the man opposite him, Arthur blinking in a way that barely even tried to hide his confusion. If this world was like any RPG game Alfred had played, then there had to be plenty of sorcerers or mages or whatever around. That meant it was possible this sorcerer had nothing to do with the evil one, right? Alfred couldn't be so unlucky as to have met him already. Besides, if he avoided every single sorcerer he met out of fear they were secretly evil he'd end up missing out on some useful party members.

Arthur spoke again, bringing Alfred out of his mental debate.

"You're here for the book, aren't you?" Arthur was looking at him with a new sense of caution, tightening his grip on both the sword and the book at his side. "You're just acting like an idiot to let my guard down, and then…"

"Hey, I'm not a—" Alfred stopped himself. For the sake of his quest and the plot, he decided with some reluctance to let the insult go. "What book?" he asked instead. "Dude, ask anyone—there's no way in hell I'd go through all of this just for some book."

"It's not just some book." Arthur's voice was harsh. "Without it, the kingdom of Altsap would be open to attack."

Alfred blinked, frowning. "So, the safety of Altsap all depends on one book? Yeah, no offense but that's kind of stupid."

If he lived through this event, Alfred decided he would have to follow the advice of every adult he had ever met and learn when not to voice his opinion. Being cheerful was all well and good, but a child and especially a teenager who didn't seem to understand the difference between telling the truth and being rude wasn't exactly appealing. Alfred could only remember all the times his loose lipped 'honesty' had inadvertently yanked him into arguments and fights as Arthur's face turned almost red with anger.

"I'm calling the guards," Arthur muttered, obviously fighting the urge to yell instead.

"Huh? H-hey, wait a minute—!" Alfred practically lunged for him, but Arthur immediately lifted the sword again and Alfred faltered to a stop. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sure it's a very awesome book, and I shouldn't have, um, insulted it," he stammered, stepping away from the sword's point. "But come on, doesn't that just prove I have no idea what this thing is? How can I be trying to steal it?"

"You… you're just playing dumb," Arthur countered, though he sounded uncertain.

"I'm not!" Alfred was starting to feel very exasperated with this whole situation. He was experiencing what was probably the worst start to a quest in the history of protagonists and, adding an extra layer of irritation, he hadn't heard a word from Kiku since entering the strange room. Where was his friend when he needed him?

"Look, I'm going to be a little honest with you, okay?" Alfred continued, sighing. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about because I'm not from here. I was given a very important quest that brought me here and I just want to get on with it 'cause all these interruptions are seriously taking the fun out of the whole thing…"

"Wait." Arthur frowned slightly. "What do you mean you're 'not from here'?"

Alfred bit his lip, wondering if he had said too much. Even if he didn't think Arthur was that sorcerer, the idea of the bad guy knowing who he was, what he was doing, and having every opportunity to kill him all because he revealed the details of the quest was too troubling. It was with this thought in mind that Alfred said, "Oh, um, I don't know. I have amnesia."

In all honesty, Alfred had no idea what prompted that last part. It had somehow slipped past the guard that was rational thought and made its way out into the open. He wasn't even overly fond of the Amnesiac Hero cliché; besides that, it was probably one of the worst excuses he could have come up with. There was no point in even hoping Arthur would believe it, and Alfred desperately tried to think of some way of taking it back and saying something a bit more plausible.

However, instead of losing whatever patience he had left, Arthur's expression softened.

"Amnesia…" he said, and, surprising Alfred even further, Arthur laughed—a short and quiet noise, but it was definitely a laugh. It was almost amazing how a smile could suddenly make him look much younger.

"That is the worst excuse I've ever heard," Arthur said, shaking his head, though he was still smiling. He had lowered the sword again. "No sane person would lie about that."

It took a few seconds for Alfred to comprehend just what was happening, and even when everything finally registered another second was needed to make sure he hadn't misheard. It almost sounded as if Arthur believed the lie, if it could even be called that.

"W-well, it's true!" Alfred insisted, relief practically flooding his body no matter how hard the pessimistic part of his mind tried to hold it back. "I woke up in a forest and—"

"—the only thing you could remember was your name," Arthur continued for him, looking almost amused. "Soon after you were given the quest to save the world from evil, correct?"

"Um, yeah." Alfred felt a slight stab of worry. If Arthur was suddenly going to reveal himself as the evil sorcerer Alfred didn't really have a way to defend himself. "How'd you know that?"

"That… isn't important. You need to continue with your quest, right?" After a quick glance around, Arthur went to the bed on the other side of the room, lifting the sword and hiding it under the sheets so that it couldn't be seen. After so much scowling, the smile he turned to Alfred with seemed almost too nice.

"Hey, man, don't change the subject. Seriously, how'd you know about my quest?"

Arthur might as well have not even heard the question. He had opened the book at his side and begun quickly turning the pages, deep in thought. Alfred found he could only wait impatiently for some sort of answer.

"You need to continue with your quest," Arthur closed his book with an almost smug expression, "but the layout of this castle will be unfamiliar to you. If you spend too much time wandering about you'll surely be captured. I know a way outside—I could take you there." He must have noticed a sense of stunned caution from Alfred because he quickly added, "Don't worry. I'd only be accompanying you until we have both escaped this castle.

—Chapter end

Wow, it feels like forever since I last wrote something… probably because it has been forever since I last wrote something! :D Writing this chapter took a lot longer than it should have—it seems my exams have left me still motivationally drained, but I think I'm slowly but surely getting back into writing ^0^

Guessing time! Could Arthur be the evil sorcerer Alfred was warned about? Could it be that he is secretly plotting something? Only time will tell, and that might end up being a lot of time because my updates are pretty sporadic. Sorry ^^'

Well, please review and tell me what you think ^_^