So... This update is kinda late... Please forgive me?
My sole excuse is this: I absolutely wanted to add a funny scene that involved making waffles but my knowledge about cooking is worse than England's so I just couldn't wrote anything that made sense. In the end, and after struggling for a whole two months (I think), I gave up on it. So instead, the plot goes forward!
Also you guys still have until the next update (that will come much, much faster) to guess who are the two countries Iceland will be accompanying on his magical quest!
Thank you for the support and I do not own Hetalia... *goes in a sad corner*
Belgium slowly closed the door, trying her best to avoid making noise. It was already very late, two in the morning Brussels time, as Greece had done an excellent job at getting lost. How exactly he ended up working in a construction site was a mystery, he himself only had vague memories of being dragged around by French or Flemish speaking people. In the end, all was well; he had been retrieved, Belgium hadn't blown at Russia again, Russia hadn't traumatized little kids… *ahem* too many little kids and nothing had been destroyed except for a lamp-post which unfortunately "bumped into Russia".
Point is, it was very late and the complete silence in the house indicated everyone had gone to sleep. That, revealed itself to be a lie.
"ICELAND WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" Hong Kong's voice bellowed from the living room "He may look like he has no heart with that expressionless face of his, but he cares about his family more than anyone, MORE THAN YOU."
The three countries didn't even glance at each other before all taking off to the living room, where the tension was suffocating.
Netherlands was standing up, staring at the phone in what looked like disbelief. His arms were wrapped around Luxembourg, whose small figure stood in front of his brother's, alarm plaguing his eyes. Irene, the only one who had remained seated, was gazing away from the scene, looking unaware anything was happening as she tried to escape the drama. Hong Kong was holding the phone, standing in the middle and his face scrunched in anger. His breath was short, quick and irregular, but he left no time to refill his lungs.
"Yeah, that's right, just shut up." He continued, tears threatening to slide down his cheeks "You have no idea what you're insinuating! Emil is- Emil is- Emil is the closest friend I have!"
"Hong Kong, listen to me." England said through the speaker. His voice seemed exasperated and at the brink of breaking. "I don't doubt the fact Iceland is a very close friend of yours… But that is little guarantee of his pure intentions or sanity. Norway and Denmark are on the verge of death! Solidarity won't bring them back!"
"IT WAS A CAR CRASH!" Hong Kong yelled. "Denmark and Norway simply crashed into each other! Why is Emil suddenly accused of being a psychotic mass murderer on the run? THIS. DOESN'T. MAKE. SENSE!"
"DO NOT TAKE THIS TONE WITH ME YOUNG MAN!" England warned, his temper already reaching the top.
"WELL STOP ACCUSI-" Hong Kong started.
"And what seems to be the problem Arthur?" Belgium chimed in, smiling at Hong Kong to calm him down. It always seemed to work, her smile.
"Emma!" England couldn't hide his relief "A terrible thing happened. Norway and Denmark were found in a car crash."
Belgium let out a laugh of relief "That's okay, then! No need to make such a fuss about it, they'll heal in no time! They're countries!"
She didn't believe a word she had said. Countries had died before and England would never have panicked if the accident wasn't at least life-threatening. But she couldn't say that; it was her job to be the emotional pillar, to be the optimist.
"Actually, that's the problem." England resumed "They're not healing at all. It seems magic is interfering with their wounds, dark magic… Iceland's magic… The boy has a very particular energy and it's very easy to recognize…"
"Magic? MAGIC?" Hong Kong repeated, fuming in anger "Magic does not exist!" The boy was nearly crushing the receiver with nothing but his glare and his fist strangely seemed ready to punch the brit's face. Luckily, England was nowhere near his ex-colony.
Irene cleared her throat. Hong Kong looked at her.
"Okay, maybe it exists, but are you seriously going to take it as proof?" Hong Kong continued, considerably calmed down by Irene's interruption.
"It's not just the magic!" England sighed "For one, Iceland has become unreachable" England's voice turned bitter as he mentioned the fact, obviously omitting some information "Then, many witnesses have claimed seeing Iceland go into the car wreck, find "Lukas" before impaling him with the broken car brake and then leaving – in a rush, I must add - muttering something that sounded like, and I quote 'a string of dark curses, just like in medieval times'. And all witnesses have described him perfectly! Finally, Denmark let out a few words in his coma, the most common being 'Go away Iceland!'. The countries are all called to an emergency meeting in Norway, the day after tomorrow to discuss Iceland's fate… Regions and islands must come too."
Hong Kong remained silent.
"I see…"Belgium sighed "Thank you... for informing us, Arthur… We'll be there."
"And before I hang up," England quickly added "I'm sorry Hong Kong, I really am… But that's how it is to be a nation, close friends can turn into enemies in a split second and the choice of side is not always yours."
Click.
The room stayed paralyzed for a while, before Russia spoke up.
"We should visit Norway and Denmark in the hospital."
"Visit?! My best friend is about to become an international criminal and you want us to calmly go visit other countries in the hospital?" Hong Kong seethed.
"Calm down Xiang." Irene sighed.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" the island snapped "Do you even know what it's like to be in war against someone else? I refuse to fight against Emil! I don't want to see him hurt to the point of losing sanity, I don't want to be the one to bomb his country, I don't want to-"
"-And you won't have to." Irene finished, speaking slowly as if the other party was a little kid. She showed no sign of her past childish attitude or carpe diem lifestyle; instead, her eyes reflected nothing. Nor anger, nor sadness, nor joy, nor fear. "Look at Russia, does he really seem to want to randomly visit countries with which he almost broke into a fight at the last meeting?"
And she was right. The northern country had collapsed on the couch, his expression equal to Irene's. A crease had formed between his two eyebrows as he frowned in thoughts.
"I think… I think I can prove Iceland's innocence. I may have an idea to what really happened but… It does not make any sense. And if I am right, I also know where he is." Russia said.
"Really? Where?" Luxembourg asked.
Russia smiled. "I would rather avoid assuming, so until I have proof, I am afraid you will have to wait."
Irene got up and stretched lazily. "Then if we have to wait, we should at least go wait in bed and sleep, no?"
Norway really is beautiful, Irene thought. She was looking at the man, peacefully lying down on the hospital bed in curiosity. His hair was messy, his forehead and right eye were covered in God knows how many bandages and his skin was patterned with bruises, yet he kept an untouchable beauty. There was something magical about the man, he was surrounded by some sort of mystical, lunar aura, a powerful atmosphere that Irene – despite not being a witch or a fairy – could almost see floating around. The girl felt as if the air was pushing towards the source, either that or the centre of gravity had suddenly become Norway.
A gust of wind snapped her out of it. It was cold, much too cold for the windows to be opened. Why were they? Irene looked around to find a reason for it, the source of an unpleasant smell or another patient who pinned for fresh air. But there was nothing or no one. Only the half white – half wooden walls were staring back at her, along with the simple but design furniture that accommodated the room. Not only was the hospital room too small to welcome a second patient, it was also a private one; countries deserved comfort and intimacy.
But all that helped little to solve the open windows mystery.
Irene shivered. It was so cold.
She slowly walked towards the windows as to close them, but as she reached for the handle, she heard a voice. It was low, like a hum or a whisper, and it was as if the meanings of the words were directly sent to her head: she was unable to tell whether it was talking to her in English, in Flemish or in French. However, the words still reached her, pressuring her shoulders like the sky was falling on her.
You're mine, Russia…
And immediately, she wanted to wither. She wanted to collapse right where she was standing, close her eyes and die slowly, peacefully and without pain, but something held her back. It was a single thought, a single idea:
She was not allowed to choose her death, to escape her curse.
With difficulty, Irene tore her gaze from the windows, turning around abruptly… only to realize the sight inside the room was no better.
Seconds ago, she had hoped Norway would wake up and tell everyone Iceland had nothing wrong, but now, she only wished he had stayed sleeping. He was still lying on the bed, but his head was turned towards her. Wide open and not blinking, his dark blue eyes were piercing into her mind, reading her every move. Then, slowly, Norway's mouth opened but the words his lips formed seemed spoken by the air:
Wake up…
"Wake up!"
Irene jolted awake at the sound of Hong Kong's voice.
They were in the same hospital room she had been in in her dream but Norway was still sleeping and Russia and Hong Kong were there with her. The Benelux siblings and Greece had decided to visit after the meeting as they were too tired from travelling (no plane could be booked after five a.m. – or in Greece's case, because he was always sleepy) so our main characters decided to go ahead. Irene of course, had not planned on falling asleep slouched on the patient's bed while waiting for the two countries to arrive with breakfast but did so anyway.
"We brought doughnuts." Russia smiled, holding up a paper bag over the girl's head.
"It's that or the, uhm… 'waffles' we made at Belgium's house last night." Hong Kong added, dropping the family-sized lunchbox on the night stand.
The three off them stared at the 'waffles'… in horror.
"We really should have left cooking to Belgium, no?" Irene laughed, holding up a mysterious blue, perfectly spherical and unusually hard piece of dough.
Russia picked another one from the box, one that was so liquid it was stored in a tumbler. "This one looks edible, da?" he took another glance and carefully put the suspicious substance back "Never mind, it moved."
"At least there's always worst: England." Hong Kong shrugged.
"Worst than this thing?" Irene asked, thrusting a humid cookie-like 'waffle' that had a bit of knife sticking out "This is a disaster… I'm sure we just invented new weapons of mass destruction. Hitler would have been proud of us. Doughnuts for me!"
Hong Kong rolled his eyes, dumped the food (they called it that for simplicity's sake. In no way were those… things… edible) in the room's trash can and turned to Russia. "So, were your suspicions right?"
Russia let out a long tired breath "Partly. But I can't prove Iceland's innocence."
Hong Kong groaned and collapsed on the nearby couch. Despite behaving as usual around Irene and Russia, dark circles under his eyes indicated the teen had spent every moment worrying about his friend. It was rare for two nations to be able to share a friendship based on nothing but how they got along; most of the time, political scandals, mutual population hatred or past tensions soiled relationships. Emil and Xiang were friends, not Iceland and Hong Kong. Which is why, Hong Kong was obviously on his last straw, a hair away from exploding.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because if I am right," Russia replied "The country whose magic is keeping Norway and Denmark from opening their eyes, is dead and has been for over five centuries. From what I see, Iceland's magic is the closest one…"
"Iceland is innocent!" Hong Kong growled.
"We know he is." Irene smiled. "Listen, I don't know what happened to make you think that, but it's not you and him against the world, you know. You've been acting like you're the only one who can defend Iceland, not allowing anyone to speak up for him, look around! Iceland is one of the few to see Russia as a friend rather than a threat, Finland, Sweden and Sealand consider him as family, Turkey is also his friend… I am also his friend! He's not alone and the people I just mentioned will stand by him to the end. So stop. Acting. Alone."
"Don't kid me," Hong Kong spat "They're countries! If their boss tells them tomorrow that Iceland is the enemy, the day after they'll be storing up on nuclear power and preparing troops to unleash on him! And you… you don't know him like I do! You've met what? A week ago? Less?"
"And is that really a reason for me not to care?" Irene retorted, looking angry "I probably don't know Iceland as much as you do, but how does that mean I can't want to fight for him? My reasons for caring may not be the right ones – Actually, they're completely wrong – but that doesn't mean I care about him less!"
"Are you serious?" Hong Kong asked, shooting up from his seat "What kind of reasons could bring you to care for a complete stranger? Moreover, even if you did lose him, you have other friends back in your world that can replace him, I don't! Face it; there's no way you care, not with that sheltered existence you've been living. Plus, you're human! You won't put your life on the line to protect him, you won't have the courage to stand in front of the whole world… You'll just let him die, because he's only one of the many people you know."
And then Irene did something neither Russia or Hong Kong had ever seen. She got pissed. Extremely, my-eyes-will-pulverize-you pissed. "'Cause you think it's easy to replace the dead? You think a person can act as substitute?" She sneered, her voice rising with every sentence "And I live a sheltered existence? I live a sheltered existence? Well you know what, you're right. I did live a sheltered existence… Sheltered away from others. Excluded from everyone - not physically, but maybe that's what hurt more. Have you ever been avoided by every soul that knew you? Have you ever been bullied until you lost consciousness, and no one dared to help you because they thought you deserved it? Don't label me as someone who had everything Hong Kong!"
Irene took a pause to breath and calm down.
"You've seen war," she continued, growling "You've seen horrors, treachery, all the terrible things mankind are capable of… But apparently, that did not make you any wiser. If you really thing you can compensate for losing someone, I'm sorry to say you're the one who has been leading a well-protected life. I've had those closest to me taken by death and I know nothing can ever make up for it! So tell me, is it a crime for me to be scared of that happening again? I may not have known Iceland for long but I do consider him as a friend, I consider all of you guys as my friends and to me, friends are rare and just as precious!"
Irene shook her head, wiping her eyes before tears escaped. She turned towards the door and before leaving added "I thought I'd finally find someone who understood how important it is to have allies and friends, to be surrounded with support… Obviously, I was wrong. You're too obsessed with that one best friend to notice the others."
She slammed the door.
What she had said was harsh, even she knew that. However, she didn't regret a single word. All this time, she had thought she was Hong Kong's friend, someone he cared at least a bit about… But In the end, even he was going to be taken away from her. He was going to distance himself from Irene and forget her, because she didn't matter as much as Iceland. And she couldn't even hate Iceland for it! He may have only reminded her of someone she used to know at first, but after actually meeting him and texting him and talking to him, he had become her friend too…
Her heart tightened. What if the two shared the same fate? Losing him once had already been a torture, but losing him twice? No. Iceland was not him and he would not die.
Hong Kong did not know what to say. He was… okay. And that was weird since he just got out of a fight.
He felt somewhat empty inside, but not the I-have-no-emotions-or-depth kind of empty. It was more like all his angst had evaporated into thin air, leaving only a bunch of thoughts he had completely forgotten about. Two nights before, he had different goals, different worries and a wider range of sight. How had he managed to wipe it all off his mind and only focus on Iceland? Life wasn't a narrow corridor!
And while Iceland was being chased, Irene was hurting too.
He remembered the injury on her arm, one that he later learnt via Iceland to be from a ski accident. He remembered the early morning call she had once made. He remembered how excited she was at the sight of guns. He remembered that she could pick locks. He remembered how Irene got attached to Russia, aware of his mental instability and his overwhelming strength. How had he not noticed that she had a lot on her mind as well?
Hong Kong turned to Russia, seeking advice. But who was he kidding? Russia was as clueless as him when it came to Irene… Though Russia was clueless about how to interact with pretty much anyone. The large nation was looking up at him like a three year old kid who couldn't understand why mommy and daddy weren't living together, his hand awkwardly floating in front of his chest, not sure where to go. In the end, Russia really was still a child and Hong Kong could only feel bad for arguing with Irene in front of him. That was just how much he always focused on one single thing; he was so absorbed by his anger that he hadn't notice Russia seating down and uncomfortable with what was happening.
Apart from his guilt, Hong Kong was okay, though he knew Irene wasn't.