Ivan wasn't quite sure what to expect when he walked into Alfred's cell. His entire ride in the elevator consisted of him wondering just what Alfred would do now that he was awake. He had a tendency to act very…randomly whenever he wanted to. What Ivan didn't expect, however, was for everything to be perfectly fine.
He walked into the cell, finding Antonio and Feliciano sitting on the couch while Alfred sat on the floor as close to the wall as he could manage. He still had the restraints on his wrists and ankles, keeping him from both using magic and moving. Now the magic used in the room was generated by electricity, had been since Ivan had left the day before.
"Oh, hey, Ivan!" Alfred beamed at him and Ivan blinked in surprise as all the focus in the room was turned towards him. "Been a while, man, how're you doing?"
"I'm…fine," Ivan said, walking inside with the door closing behind him.
"Hello!" Feliciano waved to him. Ivan nodded to him.
"Do you know where Lovino is?" Ivan asked. "From what I've been told, he shares this shift with me." He had gotten a new schedule over email, along with that spell he would have to work on memorizing. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that…
"Oh, you didn't hear?" Antonio asked. "Arthur told us about it, it'll make our shift a little complicated, but don't worry about it. In a few minutes, they're starting that meeting and we're supposed to stand guard outside just in case. Lovi will show up afterwards and you can start your shift with him."
Oh. Ivan had assumed that he would just guard Alfred with Lovino during the meeting. Then again, Ivan assumed that the board wanted as little people as possible knowing their plans for the future.
"Oooh, a meeting?" Alfred smirked. "Sounds interesting. And I'm invited?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Ivan chuckled. "It's less about you and more about Gilbert."
"Right," Alfred nodded, suddenly turning fairly serious. Then again, he did seem to take the Gilbert situation very seriously. He was just acting light-hearted to pass the time. "Has there been any news about him?"
"No," Ivan shook his head.
"Should we be telling him about stuff outside?" Antonio asked.
"If he's going to help with Gilbert, he should at least know," Ivan shrugged. "I don't see any harm in it."
"He's also in the room," Alfred chimed. "Hi." Ivan glanced back at him, seeing Alfred simply smirk up at him. Ivan rolled his eyes. He was so damn cocky. "So, when is this fun meeting thingy, anyway?"
"Soon," Feliciano shrugged. "It's up to whenever Arthur pops up."
"Great, I get to sit around with boring business guys soon," Alfred groaned, leaning back slightly.
"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask," Antonio mused. "You're so comfortable with the way things are now and even the way we talk. But while you were frozen, you didn't have the time to think or see the outside world, right?"
"Yeah, it was kinda like blinking," Alfred mused. "Waking up was pretty fucked up," he laughed slightly.
"I never thought about that," Feliciano hummed. "If it was like blinking, how come you're taking things so easy? I would've thought that you would be amazed by technology or something."
"Oh, no, I just adapt easy," Alfred shrugged while Ivan glanced to the door, hoping that Arthur would show up and change the conversation soon. There was a chance he could be found out with this turn of events. So far, Alfred seemed like he was keeping their secret… "But don't worry, all of this is…amazing. And I still can't believe that the city looks like this. I was frozen in the middle of a forest near a castle and nothing was really over five stories. And now I'm this high up? It's really weird to think about, you know?"
Ivan looked back and saw Alfred with an almost melancholy expression on his face. He was still smiling, though. Ivan was still confused by Alfred and the way he acted. He was The Dictator, he killed and wrought terror…but at the same time he was just a kid that was forced into an entirely different millennia. Ivan sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened behind him.
"Let's go ahead and get this over with," Arthur stated from the door and Ivan jumped slightly. Well, now he showed up… Ivan nodded as Feliciano and Antonio stood up. With a simple wave of his hand, the wall dropped and Alfred looked in surprise as the restraints around his ankles loosened enough for him to walk around.
"Aw, are you gonna actually talk to me now?" Alfred smirked as he clamored to his feet. "Or are you gonna keep being a loser?" Arthur scoffed and turned away, walking back into the hallway and towards the elevator. Alfred sighed, rolling his eyes. "Would it kill him to loosen up?"
"Apparently," Antonio snickered. They all left, Ivan and Antonio to Alfred's right and left and Feliciano behind him.
"You know, I still feel honored about all of this attention," Alfred stretched his arms forward languidly. "I'm not even close to being able to use magic and yet you have so many precautions put in place. Just so I won't escape…"
"The world has already seen you loose once," Arthur said coldly. "We don't care for a repeat."
"Oh, so he does listen to me," Alfred smirked, completely unfazed.
They entered the elevator, turned around, but still in the same formation. Arthur in the front, staring at the doors, as if willing them to open on the right floor once again. Arthur took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Ivan, this meeting will focus around your roll as well," Arthur said simply. "The roll of the guards but mostly you. We'll go over why during the meeting. And Mr. Williams will be running late as well, but just by a few minutes. He's already made sure to give more than enough apologies."
"My role?" Ivan mused and noticed Alfred giving him a small, hopeful smile. Ivan sighed heavily. What was he getting himself into? He had figured that this job was going to be easy…
"Don't worry too much about it," Arthur said. The doors finally opened, on the top level once again. Ivan wasn't surprised when they walked to the same meeting room. This time, it would likely be only members of the board, perhaps even all of them would be present. The only outsiders would be Ivan, Alfred, and the head of the Williams family.
Feliciano and Antonio waved to them as they stood on either side of the door outside of the room. Ivan straightened his back slightly as they walked inside of the meeting room, the door closing behind them. Arthur acted just as naturally as always, walking to what Ivan guessed to be his rightful spot. Closest to the door, there were two empty seats on one side of the table and one on the other. Upon their entrance, the atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze, everyone looking up. Alfred noticeably smirked.
"Hey, how ya doin'?" Alfred asked, his voice seeming strangely loud in the quiet room.
"Well, I can't say I'm exactly underwhelmed," Francis sighed from where he sat, his head resting in his hand. "Though I do know there are a few members of the board that haven't seen The legendary Dictator."
"I see my reputation precedes me," Alfred smirked. Ivan rolled his eyes, guiding Alfred to one of the empty chairs. He decided it would be best to put himself between Alfred and the board members, just to make everything slightly less awkward.
"Now all we need to do is wait for Mr. Williams," a board member exhaled deeply.
"Who is this guy anyway?" Alfred asked, leaning back in his chair. He seemed perfectly comfortable and at home. Ivan rolled his eyes. "Sounds important…"
"He is the head of the Williams Family," Francis provided. "One of the few families in your family line to make themselves publicly known." Immediately, Alfred's face fell into shock and he stopped leaning back.
Eyes wide, he asked, "What?" his voice incredibly small.
"What?" Arthur scoffed. "Too prideful to think that someone would be unwilling to accept your family name?"
"Do you…are you saying…" Alfred stared at the table. "She was pregnant?" The guilt that laced his voice and reflected on his face was clear from where Ivan sat. Ivan opened his mouth to ask, but the door to the meeting room opened and Alfred whipped his head to look at the person entering. It was Matthew Williams, at least Ivan could guess.
It was almost alarming how similar he looked to Alfred, but his eyes had an indigo tint to them and they were hidden behind glasses. He was also dressed fairly professionally and he carried himself in a cordial, almost shy manner.
"Glad to see you could make it, Mr. Williams," another member of the board said and Alfred made a move to stand, but Ivan held him down. Alfred sent him a glare harsh enough for shivers to travel down Ivan's spine.
"Right," Matthew nodded, sitting down carefully. He seemed almost hesitant to meet Alfred's gaze.
"Do you know anything about her?" Alfred asked him, the words rushing to get out of his mouth.
"What?" Matthew scoffed, obviously disliking the idea of being in the same room as Alfred. His back was stiff and he immediately looked away from him, at the others in the room, as if wishing they could get on with business.
"Amelia," Alfred all but whispered. "Do…you know about her?"
Matthew paused for a moment before sending a harsh glare towards Alfred. "No," Matthew said coldly.
Ivan watched Alfred's expression soften slowly before he nodded, casting his gaze down to the table once again. Ivan was almost surprised by how drastically his mood just…crashed.
"Yeah, of course," Alfred muttered. Ivan raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior. Just who was this Amelia to him? It was obvious she mattered. It's likely she could be a sibling of some sort but…that face wasn't something someone would have when talking about their long-dead sibling…
"With that finished," Arthur cleared his throat. "We need to get started with this…unorthodox meeting."
"A meeting we voted on," Francis smirked.
"Without all of us present," another board member scoffed.
"And after a second vote over email this side still won," Francis said proudly. Ivan blinked in surprise. So they had done it again after all. Ivan briefly wondered what would have happened if they had decided to freeze Alfred in time again. How differently this meeting would go…
"Then first, we should address the elephant in the room," another board member said and Ivan shifted uncomfortably as everyone turned to look at Alfred, who was still staring at the table. He waved half-heartedly, as if only half paying attention to what was going on in the room. "What do we do with The Dictator?"
Alfred sighed, moving his hands so that he could manage to rest his head on his hand, his elbows resting on the table. It was kind of awkward, but it made him look as depressed as he most likely felt. Matthew was staring at Alfred, now that there was no risk of meeting his eye accidentally.
"He's offered to help us," Francis said. "I say we take him up on the offer."
"We don't even know if what he's saying is true," Arthur scoffed.
"Alfred, that is your name right?" Francis asked patiently, almost smirking. Alfred nodded. "Do you think it's possible for Gilbert to do what you can? Get rid of Dark Magic?"
"That's a loaded question," Alfred frowned, but he didn't look up. "From looking at him, though, yeah. He can do what I can." Ivan raised a brow. Alfred didn't mention anything about getting rid of Dark Magic.
"How?" another board member asked.
"It's easy once you know how," Alfred said bluntly. He was obviously keeping information from everyone, but Ivan couldn't place why. "He can do it, that's all you need to know."
"We can't even trust you," Matthew snapped. "You and your…psycho buddies," Ivan blinked when he noticed Alfred tense at those words, "went on a world rampage and you expect us to just take your word?"
"Psycho?" Alfred asked, matching his gaze and Matthew flinched slightly, but didn't back down from the challenge.
"They all must have been crazy to follow someone like you anywhere," Matthew shook his head. "And that girl you asked me about? Even crazier for a poor girl to be anywhere near you, must have been a psychopath, too."
Alfred stood up. Not only that but…his restraints just vanished into thin air, like he pulled them apart. He stood up, slamming his hands on the table as he glared harshly at Matthew, gritting his teeth. His eyes melted into black and it felt like the entire room turned freezing cold. Everyone fell silent.
"Take it back," Alfred growled. Now Matthew seemed more hesitant about keeping eye contact, but continued. He definitely seemed scared now, far less confident. "You can spout shit about me, I don't care. But don't you fucking dare try to pull that on them. Especially not her! Take it back! Now!"
"I take it back," Matthew said, staring at the crack that Ivan had just noticed had appeared on the table between Alfred's hands. Alfred turned his steely gaze towards the rest of the room and Ivan felt a shudder go down his spine at the cold, calculated gaze.
"I know exactly how Dark Magic works, okay?" Alfred stated. "You don't because you're too fucking scared to try anything. You haven't had something like this happen in a thousand fucking years and I am the only line of defense you have against someone with that kind of power. I also know, better than anyone else, why this is illegal. And that is exactly why I am going along with this. But if you keeping sitting around having fucking meetings about if you should trust me, I'll go on my own. And we all know that you are in no position to stop me yet. You still need your fifty people, regardless of if you have two in the room already."
The room remained silent as Alfred straightened his back, taking a deep breath. He blinked and his eyes returned to normal. He sat back down calmly. Ivan wondered briefly at the fact that Alfred knew that they were planning the spell. Not only that, but he knew there were two people of the fifty in the room… When he turned towards Ivan, he couldn't help but flinch slightly in fear. Alfred frowned slightly before looking down at his hands.
"You can put the restraints back on," Alfred muttered.
"I don't think it will do much good," Ivan said slowly.
"I'm sure it'll make everyone feel more comfortable," Alfred sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Just do it, okay?"
Ivan moved his hand slowly and restraints appeared on Alfred's wrists and ankles and Alfred even seemed to relax a little. Ivan couldn't help but stare. He'd talked with Alfred for…for weeks. And he had barely done any harm. Hell, Ivan was starting to question whether or not this really was the man that nearly took over the world. But…in that moment…Ivan knew how much power he put into those restraints, he put them there himself. Alfred barely even reached any resistance when he pulled them apart. He didn't even blink, didn't breathe heavily like it was a problem. He easily overpowered Ivan without trying. And the pure anger that laced his voice, that was clearly evident on his face…
"You are to keep the deal that you do not use Dark Magic unless absolutely necessary," Arthur stated and Alfred nodded.
"I can do that," Alfred sighed.
Ivan couldn't help it. He was scared. He quite honestly feared for his own safety. He sat with Lovino on the couch in the cell and Ivan just stared. Stared at Alfred, who could easily be faking being sound asleep. Stared at the useless wall that "protected" them from him. No amount of magical strength could really keep Alfred at bay. Ivan knew that now.
"What the hell happened at that meeting?" Lovino finally broke the tense atmosphere.
"He showed what he's capable of," Ivan said slowly. "He showed that he's the one in charge here."
"Hell, if he has someone like you scared…" Lovino shook his head. "Those people with that freezing spell can't get here fast enough."
Ivan thought briefly to the spell. The spell he'd been tentative to look at before, afraid to read, afraid to memorize. The spell that now he wished he knew. Wished he was powerful enough to freeze Alfred again. Ivan had never been overpowered. By anyone. It was…terrifying.
"I didn't expect it," Ivan shook his head.
"What did you expect?" Lovino scoffed. "He's The Dictator, feared by the world, a cut throat man willing to do whatever he has to in order to be successful. Did you expect him to bring you flowers and say 'yes, sir' to everything?"
"I've never seen someone so angry," Ivan mused.
He couldn't help but wonder…just who this Amelia was to him? Why did he react so strongly to Matthew talking about her? And he had been so desperate to find out information about her. His other comrades, sure he would protect them. But he was especially fierce about her…And his face when he discovered that she had a child to make that family line…
Who was Amelia Jones?
Some intense shit, man. And Ivan is scared of Alfred. Don't see that happen often. But Alfred can, indeed, without even trying overpower Ivan's magic. And we have seen his angry side, for the first time. Surprisingly, Matthew was the one to press his buttons, but he has his reasons for being so feisty. He's still shy, but when it comes to Alfred, conventional politeness doesn't need to matter, now does it? There are still some characters that I haven't introduced yet, but we have the entire main cast now, so that's exciting!
Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! See you next time!