Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 36

Vlad didn't know how it happened. He had just gone to the trees to relieve himself. And the moment he was finished, he felt arms on him and the surroundings changed. Things were foggy for a while, and when the fog cleared, his wrists were tied behind his back and his ankles were tied too. The area was dark, and it took a while for his eyes to adjust enough for him to realise that he was in a cave, though the rocky sensation under him was a clue. And he wasn't alone.

Raj grinned when he saw that Vlad could see him, and Vlad shrank back. He was bound with Raj in front of him. This could not be good.

"Looks like someone's finally returned to full awareness," Raj said. "It was really boring, watching you slip in and out."

Vlad bit his lip. He couldn't ask questions. Asking questions would just result in more pain than he would get just by being with Raj. Though, he couldn't help but wonder where Arthur and Lukas were. He could sense that they weren't with him. And…

His eyes widened. Their emotions felt… weaker. He couldn't make out what they were feeling, just that there was a dull feeling for both of them. Did that mean that they were really far away?

Someone else moved, and Vlad's attention flickered to him. He recognised Henri, who was involved when Arthur's brother was killed. In fact, thinking back on it, Henri was the one that killed Dylan. Did that mean that Lars and Bella were nearby too? And, out of everyone, why were Raj and Henri together?

Yet another person came into view, but this one came out of thin air. Vlad reeled back. This one had used magic to arrive. And judging by Raj and Henri's casual expressions, they had expected him.

"They're on their way," the new arrival said. "There's no way they'll abandon their heart, after all."

Vlad realised that this was Tino, the person that Lukas had thought was his friend, only for him to betray him in the end. He remembered the last time he saw Tino. He, along with Raj, Antonio and Miguel, were threatening all of them. Vlad had seen the struggle in both Lukas and Arthur's eyes that day. They were torn between protecting those they cared about and self-preservation. Vlad had never seen the conflict reaching a draw until that day. He and the other slaves had always chosen self-preservation, but after travelling with Arthur and Lukas, he could understand.

He grew cold when the realisation dawned on him that he was nothing more than bait for Arthur and Lukas. Because his bladder couldn't hold out anymore, he had put them in a difficult situation. He shuddered, and Raj's eyes flickered towards him. Vlad grew repulsed when he saw Raj licking his lips.

"That leaves us about three hours alone with Vlad here," Raj said, standing up. "You know, one thing I regret about the two weeks we spent alone together was that I didn't take advantage of the situation. I think it's time to rectify that."

Vlad's dream came to mind, and he shrank further back, a pitiful whine escaping his throat. The other three laughed, and Raj stepped closer. He grabbed Vlad's jaw and forcefully kissed him. This was nothing like the soft kisses he'd shared with Arthur or Lukas. This one was painful and violent, a show of dominance. Vlad closed his eyes and trembled as Raj's tongue snaked into his mouth. His life as a slave returned to him. No matter how repulsive he found this, he had to allow it to happen. And all the while, he kept the image of Arthur and Lukas in his mind.

Raj yelped and Vlad opened his eyes. He saw Raj collide painfully with the other wall of the cave, with Tino and Henri rushing to help him.

"What happened?" Tino asked.

Raj didn't answer. He only glared at Vlad.

"You little rat," he snarled, before he attempted to grab Vlad again. He screamed and retracted his hand, which had a horrible-looking burn.

Vlad gasped when someone grabbed his hair. After pulling on it for a moment, the attacker let go, and he looked up to see Henri looking thoughtfully at him.

"Interesting," he remarked. "It doesn't seem that he minds too much if I touch him. He must really not be interested in you, Raj."

Raj growled, continuing to glare at Vlad. Tino cocked his head as he regarded Vlad.

"The Desert Heart reacted to something," Tino said. "Looks like we're going to have to work around that."

Vlad had the Forest Mind in his pocket, not the Desert Heart, but he had no interest in correcting them. They probably hadn't searched for it yet, since they would have known it was the Forest Mind that he had, and not the Desert Heart. If he was not so panicked, then the thought would have occurred to him to wonder why they hadn't searched for the jewel yet.

Raj's features suddenly smoothed, and that scared Vlad more than the animalistic expression he'd had.

"So, I'm not allowed to touch him," Raj said. "I can still think of something that would make him scream."

Vlad watched as Raj's hands started to move in intricate patterns while he muttered under his breath. Eventually, a snake-like creature made out of soft light was wrapped around Raj's arm. Vlad shrank back when he saw this. He was pressed tightly against the wall, and he could not shrink back any further.

"Open his mouth," Raj said.

Vlad tightened his jaw as Henri grabbed him. He whimpered as he felt Henri's fingers pressing and tugging, before Henri pinched Vlad's nose. Vlad released a muffled protest, and he tried to shake his head to free the grip, but it was useless. Eventually, he had no choice but to open his mouth in order to soothe the fires in his lungs, and Henri forced his mouth open farther. Raj grinned as the snake moved closer, and Vlad screamed as the snake started to slither into his mouth.

His jaw ached as the snake forced itself in, deeper and deeper. He could feel the snake settle in his stomach as the rest of it still slithered through him. By the time the tail of the snake joined its head, Vlad was in tears and sobbing softly. And then he screamed.

There was a fire burning in his stomach, spreading outwards and growing in intensity. Raj grinned as he watched Vlad writhe beneath him.

"This spell is designed to change the sensation at irregular intervals," Raj explained. "There will still be pain, but the nature of the pain changes. It doesn't leave a physical mark, and it's difficult to adjust to."

A few minutes later, Vlad understood what Raj meant when the burning sensation changed to resemble the sensation of being whipped. Vlad writhed, the parts of his body experiencing the sensation being unpredictable, and since some of them happened in places where he had never actually been whipped before, the pain was immense. Raj giggled at Vlad's anguish.

"As entertaining as this is," Tino said, "are we just going to sit here for three hours?"

"No, of course not," Raj said. "I may not be able to touch him, but you can. And I believe having the pain compounded would be interesting."

Vlad's eyes snapped open as he heard Tino and Henri chuckle. Raj moved aside as the other two approached.

"Now, what should we do first?" Henri mused.

…

"…This isn't working!" Arthur exclaimed.

Lukas stopped, and Arthur stopped as well. They had tried to run, following Lukas's compass towards where Vlad was supposed to be, but after half an hour of running, they were both rather tired. Arthur's knees shook, and he felt as though he had been stabbed in his side. His lungs screamed for air, and when Lukas handed the water over, Arthur was grateful. Lukas's face was flushed, and his chest moved as rapidly as Arthur's.

"We can't waste too much time," Lukas said. "The longer we take, the longer Vlad is with them. I don't…"

Arthur nodded. Now that he knew that Lukas was in love with Vlad, as well as Arthur himself, he understood exactly how difficult this must have been for Lukas. Arthur wanted to comfort Lukas in some way, but he didn't know how to do so. Instead, he handed the water back and started to jog.

He found it easier to continue when he imagined Dylan's corpse, propped up against the tree. Vlad was with Dylan's murderer. He didn't want to think what Henri would do with Vlad, and he pressed on, desperate to stop them no matter what. He knew that it was a trap, and how they would get out of this was beyond him, but they couldn't abandon Vlad.

Memories of Vlad played through his mind. He remembered the frightened boy in the marketplace. He remembered the joy when they announced that they had removed Vlad's slave brand. He remembered Vlad's face when he was asleep. Vlad had grown so much during their travels, and the thought of all of it being thrown away, even if they somehow managed to save Vlad…

Arthur's chest ached, but this wasn't because of the exertion. No, he suspected that it was the result of him thinking about Vlad, and the thought that they would lose Vlad's smile. He glanced towards Lukas, and the emotions he felt were reflected in Lukas's eyes.

Lukas was in love with Arthur and Vlad. And what about Arthur? How did he feel about his two friends? He imagined Lukas in Vlad's position, and the thought made him just as sick. He wondered if he was also in love with both of them, before clearing his mind of those thoughts. He could ponder it later, when Vlad was safe. If he was safe.

"We need a plan," Arthur huffed.

"Think while we run," Lukas panted. "We can't waste time."

Arthur knew this. He went through all of the spells that he knew, trying to think of a good spell that would be able to help in a cave. There was a darkness spell, and all forms of illumination would be useless while the spell lasted, which was only a few moments, unfortunately. But perhaps a few moments were all that they needed.

He also hoped that they would be able to cast a few of the more destructive and painful spells against their enemies. They had to pay for what they were doing to Vlad.

…

Vlad shivered on the ground. The spell that Raj had cast through the snake had worn off, but his body still remembered the pain that he had endured. Then there were also the things that Henri and Tino had done to him. He was just glad that Raj couldn't touch him. He still didn't understand why that happened, but he wasn't complaining.

"It's been almost two hours," Raj said. "As much as I love the sound of him screaming, we should have chosen a place closer to them."

"Are you getting bored?" Henri asked.

"Well, I thought of something that would make you happy," Tino said.

Vlad couldn't see what they were doing, and he was busy trying to calm his mind after the torture. At least his past as a slave made him more resistant to pain than he would have been otherwise, and he knew how to cut through the pained fog in order to focus on what else was happening in the hopes of finding an opportunity that he could use.

"Oh, that is brilliant!" Raj exclaimed.

Vlad's stomach dropped at those words. Whatever it was that Raj found brilliant, Vlad was sure that he wouldn't like it. He turned his blurry gaze towards his three tormentors, and almost as one, the three turned towards him. Raj had something in his hand, and Vlad's vision cleared as memories flitted through his mind.

"No…" he whispered, before he struggled and his voice rose in volume. "No!"

Raj held the brand, looking at the end which started to glow red. Vlad tried to crawl away, his eyes wide as he focused on the red metal. Henri and Tino walked over towards him and grabbed his shoulders. He struggled against their grip as best he could, and he was sure that the grip they had on his shoulders would leave bruises.

"Where do you have in mind?" Henri asked. "His face? His neck?"

"Please!" Vlad sobbed. "Not this. Anything but this."

"I think it should be a place where he'll always be able to see it," Raj said. "A place that's… close to the heart."

Tino snickered, before he tore the top of Vlad's shirt. He continued to struggle as Raj moved closer, the brand lighting up his features. This was more than simple sadism. There was hatred in Raj's eyes, and tears pricked at Vlad's eyes as he realised that there would be no escape from this.

"W-wouldn't your m-master want m-me u-unharmed?" he tried. "You're taking it too far!"

"Master said we can torture you as much as we want," Henri whispered in his ear. "We only need to keep you alive."

Vlad continued to struggle as Raj crouched down in front of him. He continued to beg until his begs turned into sobs, and he screamed as Raj pressed the brand against his chest. He could feel the skin melting off as Raj pushed the brand harder than necessary against his skin. And it might have been Vlad's imagination, but he was sure that this brand was hotter than the one that touched his skin in his childhood.

It felt like an eternity before Raj pulled away. Vlad melted into sobs as Henri and Tino released him, and he curled up as best he could.

"Do you understand now?" Raj asked. "You will always be a slave. I hope you enjoyed your brief taste of freedom, because you will never taste it again. Once my Master is done with you, there will be nothing more than an empty shell. You, Arthur and Lukas belong to my Master. You are his property. And I hope this is enough to make you realise it."

Vlad continued to sob on the ground, and when someone started to stroke his hair, he moved away from the contact. It was vile and wrong. Where was Arthur? Where was Lukas? Why was this happening to him?

He closed his eyes and tried to reach out to his magic, but he couldn't see it. He was too exhausted and in too much pain. His magic could not be a weapon now, when he needed it the most. He should have used it earlier, when it was still possible.

"…Master is pleased," Raj said. He chuckled. "I guess that was all it took in the end."

"Now we just need to wait for the other two," Tino said. "I can't wait to see their faces when they realise their failure."

There was a silence for a moment, broken only by the sound of Vlad's crying. He didn't know what they were saying, or even if they were saying anything. All he knew was that he wanted to be away from them, by any means necessary.

"Vlad…"

"Well, that's a surprise," Tino said. "They must have run. They're getting closer."

Vlad ignored Tino, focusing on the voice inside his head. He saw a pair of green eyes behind his eyelids, but they were not Arthur's eyes. Soon, a face framed with brown hair took shape. The face smiled sadly at him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help," the face said. "The power of the Forest Mind does not work well with you."

And Vlad realised who this was. Toris nodded sadly at him.

"But, if you are willing," Toris continued, "then I will be more than happy to show you a way."

Vlad's mouth started to move, though no sound came out, and his attackers knew nothing of his words.

Please. Help me.

Toris nodded again before disappearing, and Vlad saw the scenery behind his eyelids change. He wasn't exactly dreaming, for he was fully aware of his physical body, and everywhere there was pain. Eventually, the image took the shape of a corridor built with some sort of stone.

Vlad didn't move – he was sure that he didn't move – but yet somehow, it was as though the walls were moving past him. It was a long corridor, and Vlad wondered what the point was, and then the aching parts of his body told him to ignore the questions and to just continue. Whatever it was he was looking for, it had to be better than the things that his captors would do to him.

Finally, he entered a large amphitheatre. It was night, so the sunlight didn't hurt his eyes, but it wasn't dark, for in the centre of the amphitheatre was a red light. Vlad moved without moving, going towards it. It was a heatless red flame, and in the centre of the flame, he could see a familiar red gem.

"The Desert Heart…" he whispered.

Are you ready?

Vlad jumped at the sound of the voice. He didn't dare to look for the origin. He didn't need to. It came from the gem in the centre of the flame, and the voice sounded like his own.

"Please…" he whispered. "I'll do anything."

Then reach out and take the power that is yours.

…

"…Looks like he's good and broken," Tino said. "Well then, shall we see if we can separate Arthur and Lukas? We can have a lot of fun with them."

Henri nodded, before his eyes snapped towards Vlad. Raj and Tino sensed it too, and they watched as a red light started to surround Vlad. Raj's eyes widened.

"It can't be," he whispered. "How?"

"The Desert Heart is awake," Henri muttered. "Master isn't going to be happy."