Hey everyone! Sorry I'm not doing AN's again, every time I get a chapter back from Cryptic Butterfly I'm so excited to do the finishing touches and get it up half of the time I don't realize I didn't do them until a day or two later!

I know a few of you are upset I'm not putting up chapters as often, but something I've realized in the last few days, with more time to write and look over my work, I'm getting better at sliding in the smaller details that will show up huge in later chapters. It may take longer to get out, but the storyline is going to be so much better because of it!

Trust me, around chapter 18, you'll thank me for this!

As always, a huge thank you to my beta, Cryptic Butterfly, who has been helping me take this from a hastily written disaster to the story it's growing to be! You're awesome!

Anywho, on with the show!

Disclaimer- 5 mile walks make you lazy the next day.

Wait, that's disclaimer, not danger...

Chapter 8

Arthur, Alfred, Viktor and the two men who had shown up at their house made their way out of town, back to the field they'd originally landed in. Ivan turned, stripping off his clothes and the shorter of the two strangers called out in alarm. "What is he doing?!"

"I like this suit. I don't want it to be torn up," Viktor spoke softly, turning with a worried expression as the taller of the two men rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around the shorter.

"T's fine, ja?" he asked and the shorter blushed horribly, looking down at his feet while Arthur stared, surprised at Viktor. The same pale skin, the same muscles, he looked exactly the same. When he turned to the group, he closed his eyes hard, stepping away.

He was exactly like Ivan.

"Arthur?" Viktor asked softly and Arthur looked up, trying to hide his pale complexion with his hands. "Help me, please?" he requested and the shorter man slowly stumbled forward, his hands still over his face. Viktor slid the chain off of his neck and reached out with the hand that didn't hold the lock to him to grasp Arthur's hand and bring it to the lock. "Hold it for me. When it's time for me to change back, place it on my neck until I'm back down to size, and slide the chain over my head, alright?" he asked carefully, hoping maybe the task would distract him from the nudity that he was sure had surprised the man.

"I- Yes," Arthur nodded, and Viktor smiled softly at him, lowering his hands.

"I trust you," Viktor whispered and Arthur sighed, looking up at his face. They looked exactly the same. Every detail, down to the freckle right beside their manhood was the same. So why was Viktor so different? He took another breath before lowering his hands, pulling away the lock that had been on his chest and Viktor stepped back as he felt the shift. Viktor's head grew dizzy, his stomach suddenly empty as he felt his back arch and open, the wings seemed to be growing from his shoulder blades. It only took a minute, and honestly he was surprised the change didn't hurt.

He looked down, seeing the men staring up at him in shock. "This was a bad idea," the shorter of the two whimpered as the taller one stepped to the front as the large head was brought before them. Viktor didn't move from that, just regarding them, waiting for them to say something.

"He's not gonna hurt ya." Alfred rolled his eyes. "I told you, he's safe. It would be pointless for us to kill you. We're not on Ivan's side." Alfred turned to them, seeing the men still staring ahead in shock as the dragon nodded, still waiting.

"You really are the dragon," Arthur murmured in awe and Viktor's head shifted, coming before him. The giant nose nudged his shoulder and Arthur reached out, his hand shaking and softly ran it down the nose, staring into his eyes. "You're the same one. You really are... everything was true, wasn't it?" he asked and the huge head before him nodded. The nose came forward again, softly rubbing against Arthur's cheek and he couldn't help but chuckle, reaching out to touch it, to feel the scales of the face against his hands.

"You're warm." Arthur spoke, staring with surprise and intrigue. His eyes were wide in wonder, his hands feeling over the scales of the face before him. He finally smiled, and Viktor let out a soft sigh, contented in knowing he was able to help bring it out. He nudged his head towards the others and Arthur nodded, stepping back as Viktor moved his head back to the kings, staring. He opened his mouth to speak, having been able to for long enough he forgot as a dragon he couldn't. The sound was almost like a very large dog grumbling and licking its lips. Alfred stared for a second before he nearly fell over laughing and Viktor turned, surprised before he could respond.

"You're in your dragon form! You can't talk!" Alfred howled in laughter, now laying on his side, smacking at the ground. The two kings stepped back as the eyes of the dragon shifted from violet to mauve, a light glow in the dimming light of day. They were instantly terrified, the taller shifting his hand to his sword as Alfred looked up, seeing the tension and stood. Alfred walked over and flicked the dragon's nose while still chuckling.

"I've known you too long, you spoiled rotten brat. You don't scare me," he grinned and the dragon rolled its eyes before they turned affectionately back to the other. He let out a large 'poof', the air knocking Alfred over, who scrambled back to his feet, bewildered as he yelped. Viktor was already throwing his head back and letting out a sound everyone could recognize as a laugh.

"The dragon can laugh..." the shorter of the kings stated in surprise, his eyes wide as the other frowned.

"'E c'n talk too," the other mentioned and the shorter king gawked.

"Are dragons supposed to be able to do things like that?" the shorter asked, his brown eyes shifting up to the stoney blue of the other. He merely shrugged before they turned back to the creature, still chuckling as Alfred fought to straighten his hair.

"Dammit! I haven't gotten a hairbrush yet! I probably look horrible!" he grumbled as the dragon turned back to the kings and nodded politely before turning his head back to Arthur. He lifted his head, but instead of just pushing the lock to his skin, Arthur examined, reaching out and walked down the length of the throat. His hand softly ran against the hard scales of Viktor's skin. He felt the warmth of the other, but somehow he still seemed soft under his fingers. He lifted his hand, placing the lock right where the neck met the body and watched as the dragon's body drew in, pulled into the lock. It wasn't long before the man stood before them, the black hair whipping in the wind of the magic the lock put out before carefully sliding the chain over his neck. Viktor looked up with surprise before a light smile came to his face and he fell to his knees, gasping for air.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked, startled and reached out, feeling for his pulse before realizing dragons might not have the same pulses.

"Hard... change. Fine," he said and Alfred frowned, staring before sighing.

"You forgot how to speak again?" Alfred called out and Viktor looked up, his eyes now lined with black from exhaustion. "Alfred, could you help him get dressed?" Arthur asked before turning to the kings, who stared at the man on his knees, gasping for breath before them.

"Will he be alright?" the shorter asked and Alfred nodded.

"It's the same as yesterday. It's hard for him to shift between bodies, so I'll ask you don't make this a regular occurrence, alright? Seriously, we just need a place to rest and recoup. I don't know if we'll end up moving here or not, or what, but we can't be in Russia right now. Arthur will be sacrificed, Viktor will probably be killed after the spell is cast, and I've already made my own life forfeit by Ivan's standards by yelling at him." Alfred sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"You were an adviser to the king for almost your whole life," the shorter king stated and Alfred sighed before nodding.

"He walked Arthur through the town. He was beaten and bleeding. He could barely walk with the weight of the shackles and cuffs that were on him, and Ivan was leading him through town on a dog collar. He laughed about it and when I said I thought the whole reason had been an accident, he told me I was no better than Arthur was. He said that I had no more importance than him, and I found out that bastard planned to rape and kill him that night. I may have been Ivan's friend, but Ivan made himself my enemy. I couldn't allow it," he spoke softly, his eyes shifting to the boy currently helping Viktor get his clothes on. "He couldn't rape him before the ceremony, so he shoved himself down his throat. Arthur didn't even mention it. The doctor noticed severe stretching of his trachea, and aspirated vomit," Alfred's eyes turned dark, his hands started to clench at his sides as he remembered. "He's a good kid. He's scared right now, and really uncertain of strangers. He barely knows us even, but he didn't deserve that." Alfred glanced back over, seeing the men now standing, staring at the boy.

"And that's why you're here. To let him heal, and to try and find out what to do from here," the shorter spoke and Alfred nodded his agreement.

"We're going to kill him. We don't have a choice. He lost his damned mind," Alfred said with determination and the two sets of eyes turned to him, wide in surprise.

"Isn't that a little drastic?" the shorter one asked and Alfred shook his head.

"He's dangerous. There's no saying what else he's done by now. He could have just taken someone else to use as a slave, after all, and now I'm not there to stop him. You could tell from the look on his face, if you spoke against him, he'd kill you. It's a whole country. It can't be run by that Ivan. If I could only get the other one back..." He stilled, raising a hand to cover his furrowing brows as his other hand came to his hip, shifting without thought as he ran through scenarios in his mind.

"Th' uther un?" the taller king asked and Alfred nodded.

"It's a confusing situation. Just ignore it. Either way, we have to kill him." Alfred looked up and the shorter of the two nodded.

"Join as my adviser for now. It'll be the best way to figure out what to do, and with your help, we might be able to do something. It'll also help you guys out with money. I'm still trying to figure out how you were able to just up and buy a house like that, but I'm willing to bet your finances are dwindling right now," the shorter man spoke softly and Alfred nodded.

"It would be a good idea to find another means of getting money. Viktor had to tear off his nails as a dragon to get the money to have Arthur healed up. It bought everything so far, and he tore off another one, but I don't even want to know how painful that had to have been." Alfred watched the two, Viktor still on his knees as Arthur gently slid the sleeves up his arms, looking worried the whole while. Alfred cocked his head, looking at them. The look on Arthur's face was warmer than it had been before. "I'll be damned," He smiled and the other two looked over, seeing Arthur helping, his eyes worried as he buttoned the shirt over Viktor's chest.

"You said he barely knows either of you?" the shorter man asked and Alfred nodded, an affirmative hum coming from his throat as he smiled.

"It's good to see him with an expression that isn't hurt or lost. I was scared I'd never see one." Alfred smiled and the other two looked at each other before nodding.

"Alfred, we'd like to have the three of you help out at the castle. You have a lot of experience as an adviser, and we could find something for Viktor and Arthur. You'd all be able to be together, and I think that would be for the best right now," the shorter man asked softly and Alfred turned to him.

"I don't know what Viktor and Arthur could do. I have no idea on skills or abilities for Arthur, and Viktor would have to make sure his lock isn't removed. It'd probably break the roads or halls or something." He rolled his eyes and the taller king frowned, looking him over.

"'E moves like eh soldier," he noticed as Ivan stood, sliding the pants up his legs with a wince. His back was hurt, it was easy to tell. "Was 'e in trainin' before?" he asked and Alfred turned, nodding.

"He commanded the Russian Army for a while," he said, half shrugging with the shoulder that had the hand on his hip. It wasn't a lie, after all.

"We need many new soldiers, as well as a new lieutenant. The man we have is readying to retire, so maybe we can test him, find out if he has what it takes?" The shorter man turned to Alfred, a grin breaking across his face. "If you're planning to stick around long enough, that is." He watched, waiting as Alfred stared, his eyes wide.

"I'll ask him tonight," Alfred spoke softly and the two nodded.

"We'll come by in the morning to find your answers. If you agree, we'll find something for Arthur too, if you want," the shorter man commented before he turned to the taller. They each gave a short nod before turning and walking away. Alfred turned, seeing Viktor slide on his boots, his eyes just as tired as they were earlier.

"Come on. Let's go home. I'll make dinner, and we'll have a little chat about a possibility that just came up," Alfred sighed as the other two nodded.

This was the first time Arthur really got to see the city. It was easily a hundred times more populated than the small wood village he was from. It seemed the village stretched for kilometers, white or gray paving stones for the roadways with occasional horses, or people walking in small groups, chatting happily as they came through. The buildings were all stone or brick, though some had wooden design work on them. Wooden shutters seemed to cover every window, and smoke rose from many of the fireplaces. The roofs were nearly all covered in wooden shingles and the occasional flag hung by the doors of the houses. A white field with a pale blue cross flew across the doorways, meeting Arthur's eyes with interest. The castle nearby was almost over a part of the city, built right into the edge of a cliff. It was huge! It looked to be probably half a kilometer itself, with lights coming from many of the open windows. A tower at each corner and one in the center seemed to stretch out into the sky, the same flag sticking out from the top of the center tower.

The walk back to town was slow. Viktor was exhausted, and Arthur did what he could without Viktor's knowing, trying to use magic to take his fatigue, but it backfired slightly and Arthur was gasping for air, struggling to get in the next few steps, while Alfred stared, confused.

"Was it too much?" Viktor asked sadly, bringing his finger up to his lip and nibbling his nail in worry while Arthur sighed, shaking his head.

"No, everything's fine. I'm still just healing, right?" He looked up with a forced smile and Viktor sighed, reaching down and grasping him behind the shoulders, his other arm scooping his legs out from beneath him and Arthur let out a startled gasp, getting Alfred's attention. He watched as Arthur kicked a little, pushing away with his arms, yelling. "Unhand me! I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own! There's no reason for this!"

"I don't want to." Viktor looked down, a look that was almost too much smiling to seem real shone down on Arthur. He startled at the look, quieting quickly, slapping his hands over his mouth as he gazed up in horror. "Don't be like that. I don't want to startle you, but after what you just did, I thought you might be tired. I'm trying to help," Viktor said softly, his smile dying off quickly as his eyes looked over the other.

"What he did?" Alfred asked and Viktor looked up with that too sweet to be sincere smile. He nodded, but didn't elaborate as he turned and started walking. Arthur stared up with wide eyes. His hands stayed over his mouth, but the tense muscles soon started to relax and Viktor looked down, offering a soft smile, but this one seemed sincere.

They reached the house and shuffled in, Alfred immediately getting to work on dinner while Viktor looked around the house. "Arthur, why don't you get in a bath while the cooking is being done? I think it would do you some good to relax a little," Viktor spoke and Arthur frowned, looking down.

"I don't know how they work here," Arthur mumbled, his eyes looking towards a random corner, his hands clasped in front of him. Viktor stared, his eyes wide for a minute before he cocked his head to the side, his brow lowering in confusion.

"You don't know... how they work?" Viktor asked, not quite understanding. What did that even mean? He didn't know how to bathe? How backward was the little village he came from?

"There's obviously not a fire in the bathroom, which means I don't know what to do." Arthur frowned, his head lowering further, his hands clasped to each other so tightly his knuckles started turning white.

"A fire in the bathroom?!" Viktor stared, surprised before he frowned, his lips tightening, the sides crushing in a little to make them pucker a bit. "How did baths go where you were from?" he asked and Arthur looked up, a touch pale, and his hands looked a bit shaky.

"I got water from the spigot and brought it to the tub, then started a fire under it until it was warm enough," Arthur answered, staring, his eyes still glued to a corner somewhere behind Viktor.

"Come, I'll show you how." Viktor reached out for Arthur's hand, but didn't move. He wanted Arthur to reach out for him as well, and it took a second before he did so. Arthur's hand was small in his, almost dainty. It was warm, but a touch clammy and Viktor realized how nervous Arthur actually was as they stepped into the fairly large bathroom. "It's not unusual for things to be different between countries, you know. Different magics are in use, and with cities like this, there will be more magicians to keep things running right." Victor smiled and Arthur stared, shaking his head.

"I was the only magician in my village, and I had to hide it. Magic was a taboo there," Arthur nearly whispered and Viktor sighed.

"So that's why you don't know. Many things will be different for you here," Viktor said with a soft smile as he sat on the side of the tub, pointing to the spout. "This is where the water comes out. The left is hot water, the right is cold. You have to add them both to get a temperature you want." He put the plug in the tub and turned the two knobs, showing Arthur what to do. "When it gets about halfway, start feeling the water to know if it's too hot or cold. You can turn the water down or off to change the temperature coming in." He stood and walked over to a small cabinet above the sink. "There are soaps and bath oils in here. Use them as you'd like."

"Bath oils?" Arthur asked, his brow tilting in confusion.

"They're scented to make the bath smell good. Some can have healing effects as well." Viktor shifted through the five oils that Alfred had bought before choosing two. He poured in about a cap full of each before rinsing them out in the hot water that rushed in. "I went ahead and added two I think will do you well. Sage to purify and chamomile to help sooth and relax you. Go ahead and get your bath in. I'll be outside if you need anything." Viktor looked up at him, seeing Arthur watching him with wonder before he left the small room, carefully closing the door behind himself.

"He alright?" Alfred asked and Viktor nodded.

"He just needs to calm down and heal up some." Viktor sat at the dining table, resting his elbows on the wood with his arms crossing over each other, gripping to his biceps. "So, you've realized who I am, right?" he asked softer, trying to keep Arthur from hearing.

"You're the actual Ivan, aren't you?" Alfred asked, barely a whisper as he turned and Viktor nodded. "How are you this dragon?" Alfred leaned over the table and Viktor shrugged.

"I was in bed with Arthur, having him... compare us..." He cringed at the words, knowing it sounded worse than it was. "And he panicked and knocked me out. I woke up as the dragon," he said with a groan, leaning forward. "I was thinking about using Arthur as the virgin sacrifice, I won't lie, but I was going to kill an animal. Maybe a cow or something. You know I wouldn't kill a human for that. It was terrible. I can't believe he was going to do something like that in my body." Viktor shuddered, feeling goose bumps break out on his arms. "I was trying to find a way to make him comfortable for it." Viktor leaned down, a sigh breaking free of his lungs.

"That explains a lot, but there's one thing I can't figure out," Alfred asked, his eyes narrowing and his brows lowered in suspicion. "Why do you care so much about him now? You were just playing with him before."

"I wasn't, actually." Viktor looked down at his hands on the table, his cheeks turning pink. "I was going to make him my courtesan," he whispered, and Alfred stared, his jaw dropped so the water he'd just started to drink dribbled out of his mouth, pooling on the table and his hand below.

"Jeez, I- Viktor! You can't just- What about now?!" He stumbled through his thoughts, though after so many years Viktor understood what he'd meant.

"I can't do that to him now. All I can do is be nice and hope. If I can't even stay human, I can't ask him to stay with me, after all." Viktor's eyes shifted to the table. "Those days I was chained to those pillars, the only thing that kept me going was remembering the green of his eyes. I'd only known him a couple of days, but somehow he became very important to me." Viktor sighed softly, the pink never leaving his cheeks. "I probably sound like a sentimental old man, da?" He looked up, seeing Alfred with a soft smile, his eyes kindly locked on Viktor's.

"Nah, dude. Sounds like you fell in love."

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think so far! I'd be happy to hear what you have to say!

Til next we meet,

Tchüss!

jaßmin flower & Cryptic Butterfly