Here's the second part I promised!

"So let me get this right; you're going to use me as a hostage?" Alice asked. She didn't seem worried by the idea, which made Alfred admire her more than he already did. He'd only known her for two minutes but already he was impressed by how she stood up for herself against Maria (something he rarely tried to do for safety's sake). She was also impressive to look at; her bright golden hair shone in the small amount of evening sunlight coming through the windows, and her green eyes flashed like a cat's. Her quick gaze caught his and he looked away swiftly.

Maria's head gave a sharp nod. "Yes." She reached up to scratch her shoulder but Matthew rebuked her.

"Maria, don't irritate the wound," he whispered. Alfred wondered how his twin managed to sound so forceful even though he had vocal cord paresis.

Their sister stuck her tongue out at them but stopped scratching. She cradled her burned hand against her chest and let out a tired sigh. Alfred felt guilt knot in his stomach as he looked at her. She had gotten hurt because of him…

"Fine then, how exactly will this work? We don't have much time to think up a plan." Alfred blinked as Alice's question snapped him out of his reverie.

Maria chewed on her lip for a minute before pulling out her machete and pointing it in Alfred's direction. "Simple. Alfred will hold this to your throat."

"WHAT?!" Alfred yelled. His eyes widened in horror while Maria just looked on calmly. "No way! Why do I have to be the bad guy?! I can't threaten a girl like that!" he protested.

"I thought you said women were treated as equals in your time," Alice commented, looking at Romano.

Romano rolled his eyes and replied, "Alfred's just stupid."

"No I'm not!" Alfred moved from his place at the door to confront the Italian. Romano responded to the challenge by stepping around Maria and shoving his face to Alfred's.

"Yes you are, bastard!"

Alice stepped in and pushed them apart. "Gentlemen, please!" She turned to Alfred and smiled kindly. "It's alright. I said I would help you and if this is how to do so, I will. I know you wouldn't really harm me."

"R-right…" Alfred muttered, faintly dazzled by her smile.

Matthew shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Romano grabbed Maria's arm when she swayed and looked at her worriedly. The bloodstain was getting bigger… He shook his head and concentrated on guiding her down the spiral stairs.

After a few minutes of waiting the lord of the castle had shown up outside the room and asked what their demands were. Maria had replied, in a such a commanding tone that would make any general weep, that they only wanted safe passage out of the fortress. Furthermore, they would continue holding Lady Alice hostage until they were outside of the walls. Alice's father had agreed to all of these (though he seemed to be more worried about the fact that they doubted his integrity than that his daughter was still in potential danger) and ordered his men to let them leave.

The small group had waited until they were sure the knights had left before opening the door. Romano repressed a snicker when he looked over at Alfred and Alice. The idiot had an arm around the lady's waist and Maria's machete held awkwardly in his other hand. He'd insisted in the end that the mere sight of a weapon would let them know they were serious and had refused to hold it up to Alice's throat. Both were blushing at the close contact, though Alice handled it a bit better.

Matthew led the way and stopped near the door at the base of the tower. "So, how should we do this?" he asked.

Maria immediately took charge (as always). "Alfred and Alice will go first; I don't want Lord Kirkland to get any funny ideas. Romano and I will be right behind them, and Matthew will cover our rear." Her voice left no room for argument, and everyone nodded.

Alfred and Alice shuffled toward the door and the lady awkwardly pushed it ajar. Romano gently pulled Maria along and blinked as they stepped out into the open. A cluster of knights was gathered around the large front doors (he was surprised to see it was smoking slightly), and various servants and vassals watched them, stony-eyed, from doors and windows. The men still fighting on the wall tops would glance back once in a while to make sure their lady was still alive.

Romano felt Maria tense under all the unfriendly gazes; Alfred looked just as worried, and he couldn't see Matthew but he knew he was probably nervous too. The sooner they got out of here, the better.

"You won't be hurt; my father always keeps his word," Alice whispered to them.

"No offense, but this isn't exactly the most civilized time period!" Maria spat angrily. She reached up again to scratch her shoulder but Matthew's hand shot out and slapped her arm. She twisted around to glare at him while still walking forward - not an easy thing to do - but was distracted by Alice growling,

"What are you trying to imply, madam?"

"I'm trying to imply your time SUCKS!" Maria hissed. Romano cringed at her tone; she was really cranky. Alice's mouth snapped shut and it looked like she was trembling. Romano had to admire the fact that she hadn't burst out crying like many who had faced the wrath of his girlfriend. He became concerned again when her defiant expression crumpled into one of pain and she leaned heavily against him. Hot, sticky blood smeared on the front of his suit. He covertly brushed back some of the ripped fabric around Maria's wound, his brow furrowing when he saw the arrowhead still lodged there. As soon as they got back to the future he was taking that out. For now, it was best for it to stay where it was and prevent additional blood loss.

Alfred held his breath as their small group approached the knights and the dreaded gatehouse. Lord Kirkland watched them with hooded green eyes. While Alice's eyes were catlike, her father's were more comparable to that of a hawk's. Alfred had a feeling these eyes wouldn't miss a single detail as they scrutinized them. He was almost glad to step into the dark tunnel of doom.

Everyone was silent as they walked through the gatehouse. Puddles of lukewarm water littered the way and they could see the silhouettes of men through the slits along the wall. Alfred was relieved to see the portcullis at the end had been raised.

It was Alice's silence in particular that worried Alfred though. She'd been quiet ever since Maria's unkind remark. Leaning in so close that his lips brushed her ear, he whispered, "Hey, my sister's bite is a lot worse than her bark, so the fact that she only barked at you means she likes you… Or respects you at least."

Alice eyed him oddly. "What?"

"R-right, you wouldn't know about that expression," Alfred chuckled sheepishly. Alice smiled softly and he felt his heartbeat increase rapidly. He released his hold on Alice's waist and stepped away a bit. "Umm… Maria, here you go." He handed Maria's machete back to her… or tried to at least.

"Are you really that stupid?!" Maria hissed. "Hang onto it until we're across the moat! I don't want to be shot from behind!"

"Father wouldn't do that. I don't mean enough to him to risk his honor." Alice's voice was soft and tinged with bitterness as she said this.

Maria looked her up and down. "Yeeeeah, it's not like you're a boy or anything. The most you're good for is marriage."

"Maria!" Alfred yelped. Maria could be insensitive, but this was low!

Alice brushed her comment aside. "She's right. Still, I'll accompany you to the end of the moat."

They were at the end of the tunnel by this point and they'd all stopped to look out. The Norman invaders were occupied with the defenders along the wall.

"On the count of three?" Matthew asked. Everyone nodded and Alice hitched up her blasted skirts in preparation.

"One…" Matthew began.

Alfred hear Romano gulp. "Two…" There was a long pause as everyone waited for someone to speak up.

"THREE!" Alfred yelled suddenly. Everyone faltered but soon recovered and began running. The unstable bridge wobbled under their weight but held until the reached the end. Alfred could see the forest just in front of them. He turned to Alice and grasped her arm. "Thanks for the help, now get back to-"

A loud crash interrupted him. The group turned and gaped; the portcullis had closed again! Alfred searched the wall top until he found Lord Kirkland. The man wasn't even looking in their direction. He saw Alice's shoulders slump and indignation clawed at his chest.

"Great, what now?" Romano asked. For once, Maria didn't have an answer.

A shout from their left caught Matthew's attention. "Normans!" he whispered.

Sure enough, a band of invaders was jogging towards them. Maria groaned and pointed to the forest. "Split up and meet back at the portal." She grabbed Romano's hand, snatched her machete from Alfred, and ran with him into the forest on their right. Alfred spun around to look for Matthew, but he was already gone.

"I hate it when he does that…" he muttered. Alice caught his eye and she pointed to the trees.

"Mind if I accompany you a bit longer?" she asked teasingly.

Alfred reached out and nervously grabbed her hand. "Y-yeah." He vaguely wondered why running from Normans was much easier than looking this medieval beauty in the eye.

Romano may not have been good at most exercises, but he could run for his life quite easily. Especially when he could hear enemy knights with large swords behind him. If not for Maria's wound they could have easily escaped the bulky men, but the pain was obviously getting to her. She stumbled blindly over roots and bushes, making them lose ground.

"Come on, almost there," Romano panted. Maria cried out as she tripped and her shoulder slammed against a tree trunk. Her legs crumpled underneath her and she fell to her knees.

"I'm sorry Romano…" she whimpered. On of the Normans thundered towards them, his sword raised high above his head. Romano pulled her out of the way just as the man swung at her, the sword biting deep into the wood. The knight growled and swung again, this time at Romano, but once more missed. Romano kept dodging the man, hoping to distract him long enough for Maria to get away.

Much to his dismay, Maria stood up, but instead of running she gripped her machete tightly and stabbed at the Norman's neck. Her jab missed and instead scraped against his armor. The man turned and renewed his attack on her. Surprisingly, she fended off his blows until a particularly powerful swipe snapped her blade. Defenseless and trapped against another tree, Maria squeezed her eyes shut.

Romano flung himself at the man, but the giant swatted him off easily. He grunted in pain as he landed on his back. Struggling to his feet, a flash of light from a nearby bush caught his attention. It was his gun! He remembered back two weeks ago when he'd dropped it before he'd been captured. He desperately lunged for it, ignoring the branches that scratched his arm. He saw the knight grab Maria's arm out of the corner of his eye and with a final adrenaline-fueled effort he grabbed the weapon, aimed, and fired three times into the man's back.

The bullets easily pierced the Norman's armor and his confused expression was almost comical before being replaced by a mask of death.

"Ciao, stronzo," Romano huffed.

Maria stared at him, wide-eyed, before laughing and tackling him. "That was amazing!" She peppered his face with kisses, ignoring his steadily increasing blush.

After a minute she stepped back and gazed sadly at the broken hilt of her machete. Romano bit back a laugh as she she pouted. "Aw man… I really liked this machete. Now I'll just have to beat people to death." With a sigh she tossed it aside.

Romano wasn't quite sure if she was kidding.

Alfred grinned when he saw the purplish light through a break in the trees, made all the more clearer by the ensuing darkness. "We're almost there Alice!" he said. They'd thankfully managed to avoid any Normans a while ago… while also getting lost in the process. But, ever the hero, Alfred had found the portal! …With Alice's help. Apparently she knew the surrounding area very well. He grabbed Alice's hand again and guided her into a thicket where the portal was.

Her eyes widened at the purple, green and red vortex that spun slowly before them. "It's incredible," she breathed.

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome." Alfred swung their hands lightly and gazed at her unabashedly.

Alice reached out a hand as if to touch it but paused. "I've heard a bit about your time, but it's hard to imagine," she admitted.

The next sentence escaped Alfred before he could stop it. "You could come with us if you wanted."

Alice looked down. "No, I couldn't leave Father."

"Why?!" Alice looked up sharply at his exasperated tone. "Your dad was totally fine with those Normans killing you!"

"I don't expect you to understand!" She pulled her hand out of his and glowered at him. "My father is the only family I have! I can't just leave him! It's not his fault I'm a woman."

"It's not your fault either! He's a jerk!"

"Shut up!"

"Did Alfred say something stupid again?"

They both jumped in shock as Maria and Romano stepped out of the trees.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Alice replied. Maria smirked and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"I know. You want to strangle him too, don't you? Hey… Where's Matthew?" she asked looking around.

"I'm here." Matthew seemingly appeared out of thin air. He was holding a bloody spear and grinning pleasantly. "We don't have to worry about those Normans."

"...Right." Maria sidestepped around him. "Let's go home; I want to get that blasted arrow outta me before I get gangrene." Romano wrapped an arm around her waist and together they stepped through the portal. Alfred saw Alice flinch as they disappeared. Matthew followed behind them, and soon they were alone.

Alfred stared at the intriguing, annoying, mysterious girl and awkwardly shuffled his feet. The sun had set fully now and it was hard to make out her face. "So… what'll you do if you won't come with us?"

Alice answered back stiffly. "There's a village nearby. I can wait there."

"Oh, okay. It was nice meeting you…" He walked towards the portal but spun back at the last moment. "CanIcomevisityou?!"

Alice blinked. "What?!"

"C-can I come visit you? I mean, I am a time traveler…" Alfred trailed off, unable to meet her eyes. His blush deepened when he felt her grab his hand.

"Yes. Just remember to come after the battle, or I won't remember you." She used her other hand to tilt his chin up and he froze under her intelligent gaze. She gave him a swift, featherlight kiss on his cheek. His face completely red, Alfred tried to speak but all that came out was a strangled sigh.

With a smirk, Alice shoved his chest and he tumbled into the portal.

-_-" I get the feeling that I put in too much RoMexico and not enough USUK. *sigh* Ah well.