Chapter 7. Smoke and Mirrors.
Gilbert grumbled under his breath as he saw Matthew leave. He was alone now…He carefully watched as Ivan rejoined the party. The king always had on this creepy smile whenever Gilbert had seen him. This would make the second time, the first being when Gilbert was incorporated in the group of assassins. He gave the creepy smile to his guests, the big shots from the other countries. Gilbert took a deep breath to center his thoughts. He was alone now, he had to keep up the job. Protect the king, no matter what.
Luckily, the rest of the party went off without another hitch. As the last of the guests departed, Gilbert came down from his hiding spot, entering the ballroom to leave through the entrance and get back home. However, Elizabeta quickly ran up to him to stop him.
"We need to report to the king," Elizabeta said, seeming slightly alarmed. Gilbert was alarmed as well. What kind of job was important enough to whisk Matthew away all of a sudden? "As both Alfred and Matthew are gone, we all need to go together."
"Right," Gilbert nodded with a sigh. Roderich and Kiku joined them as Gilbert followed their lead through the building. He had only been there once before, part of his introduction into the group as well. He wasn't looking forward to being so close to the king.
Once they made it to the room where Ivan apparently normally was, Gilbert stole one quick glance at the man before he kneeled down. He was on a throne of sorts, still dressed like he was for the party, and he had a fairly distressed look on his face. Gilbert dropped to one knee with the others, bowing his head obediently, as much as it made him want to punch something. He hated being submissive to anyone, no matter how important they were.
"Matthew was called away on a mission regarding a reported sighting of Alfred," the king explained simply. "We are unsure if it is true at all." So Matthew was sent on a goose chase? Gilbert clenched his jaw and swallowed thickly. "Though I believe it is worth the risk. You will not have a job until the two return, in which case, we will resume as normal. I…I thank you for your service."
Gilbert fought back a growl as they were forced to continue kneeling. He couldn't move, not a single inch, until the king said that they could. It was infuriating.
"You may leave." Gilbert winced at the words. Like he wasn't free to leave whenever he wanted to…But he stood at the same time as the rest and they left without a word. Gilbert took a steadying breath as Elizabeta gushed to Roderich about being able to be so close to the king, like Alfred and Matthew always got to do. Gilbert shook his head as he followed them out of the damned building.
It was actually a fairly nice day, it was warm and comfortable and Arthur would have been enjoying it if Francis hadn't, once again, run off with Antonio, leaving Arthur alone with Alfred. It was the same as the day before, they were just leaning against a wall, though they were in another part of town. Alfred was observing everyone. That is, until a cat rubbed against his leg and gained all of Alfred's attention. Alfred smiled softly at the creature before kneeling down.
Arthur watched him carefully, just to make sure the man didn't attempt anything, and was pleasantly surprised. Alfred was petting the cat, so delicately that it seemed as though he was terrified of hurting it. It made sense, obviously the man had no feeling in his arms or legs. But it was rather a touching sight to see. The cat seemed eager for more love from him and Alfred laughed just a little under his breath as it rubbed against his legs.
Alfred carefully picked up the cat before placing it on his legs as he crouched and he carefully ran his fingers over the cat's head. The cat rubbed its face against Alfred's and Arthur watched as the man's face softened slightly, looking at the cat happily.
"Do you not have cats in the capital?" Arthur asked. He was hesitant to break up this moment of peace that Alfred seemed to have, but Alfred didn't seem to mind, though he did relapse back into his normal cold façade as he gently stroked the cat's back.
"I normally don't have the time to just sit around and find them," Alfred said. "I've seen a few, but I've never pet one."
"Yes, well, the purring means that it likes you," Arthur chuckled and Alfred nodded minutely. The assassin allowed the cat to flick its tail in his face without his expression changing and the cat deemed the attention enough, leaping from Alfred's legs and standing gracefully to the side. The cat rubbed against Arthur's legs before departing into a nearby alleyway without so much as a meow. "I'm surprised someone like you can actually be that delicate."
"I'm not going to kill anything that doesn't deserve it," Alfred shrugged. "I don't know the strength I'm capable of and what a simple cat can handle."
"What makes someone deserve their death?" Arthur asked coldly.
"Going against the king," Alfred said simply as he stood up. "I already told you that I should kill all of you where you stand, it's just that computer standing in my way."
Arthur sighed, ensuring his grip on the computer. "Francis told me he used it last night. Though from his telling, I believe it was unnecessary. I can't apologize to you on Lovino's behalf, though I do apologize for him antagonizing you."
"I might have killed him if Francis didn't stop me," Alfred said and Arthur noticed him clench his fists. "There's nothing to apologize for. We've all got different perspectives, I guess."
"How did you know he was a soldier?" Arthur asked, changing the subject just slightly. He didn't want to make Alfred irritable, that was the opposite of what he wanted.
"His demeanor," Alfred said. "I've known many soldiers in the past and they all move in the same way because it was so ingrained in them. Lovino acts the same way. I do give you some credit for teaching me something. I didn't know that there was a draft for the military."
"It depends on the time," Arthur sighed. "If it's necessary, there will be a draft, like if there is a war or risk of a war. Currently, there is no draft, though depending on how Eltrack acts in the near future, there may be risk soon enough. Fortunately, there are a few people that are exempt from the draft. For example, none of us seem to exist, including your group. You can't be in the military if you don't exist."
"Some of them used to exist," Alfred said and Arthur definitely took note of Alfred completely leaving himself out of it. He never existed.
"Well, I can assure you, Arthur Kirkland never existed," Arthur sighed heavily. It was in that moment that Arthur saw Alfred's eyes flash up to a rooftop for half of a second. Arthur, however, didn't have the time to look up as well, due to a bullet slamming into a building between Alfred and himself. He hadn't noticed that he had dropped the computer until he saw Alfred pick it up.
No…Not yet…I couldn't happen already…
Alfred saw him as soon as the cat left. Matthew. He had no idea how he had been found, but all that mattered was getting out. It was broad daylight, which didn't work well for him, but they would have to figure this out as they went. He caught Matthew's gaze, subtly glancing at Arthur. He continued the idle conversation, as he and Matthew figured out a plan just by following each other's eyes.
"Well, I can assure you, Arthur Kirkland never existed," Arthur sighed heavily. Alfred allowed himself to pause for only a second to think about what the man had said. Alfred and Matthew never existed, by any means. There were zero records of them. Kiku was nearly in the same boat, but not quite. But Arthur was a foreigner. It was impossible to get into this country as a foreigner without identification… Alfred looked up at his brother to tell him to go through with his plan.
Arthur seemed to have caught onto it, though he was too slow. Alfred knew his reaction time. Matthew fired a single shot into the wall between their heads and Arthur dropped the computer in surprise. Alfred caught it before the device could even hit the ground and he took off running. Matthew had used a silencer and so only a few people seemed alarmed. Alfred rammed through the crowd, not bothering to look back. It would take some time for Arthur to find some kind of reinforcement and to get them moving.
Sadly, a shot fired at him and Alfred barely ducked in time for it to only graze his hair. He glanced to the side and could clearly see Lovino with his pistol aimed right at him. Alfred cursed but turned a tight corner into an alleyway. Matthew dropped from above to stand beside him and Alfred wasted no time in giving him a quick hug.
"What are you even doing?" Matthew panted slightly, talking as quickly as possible. "It looks like you're just standing there!"
"This," Alfred said, holding out the computer. "No idea how it works, but they can shut off my prosthetics with it." Matthew glanced down at the device. The screen held a vast number of things that could easily be pressed and a large range of numbers. They could figure it out in due time, yes, but they didn't exactly have the time. "How did you find me?"
"Routine checks," Matthew sighed, pulling a pistol from his jacket and tossing it to Alfred, who took it and checked to ensure it had all of the bullets in it, just in case. "Far away cities like this, Ivan doesn't send soldiers to check up, he has other spies. They spotted you."
"Where are we?" Alfred asked and a gunshot whisked by them, slamming into a wall at the end of the alleyway, which was a dead end.
"Close to Eltrack," Matthew said. "Really close. About a mile away from the forest."
"They'll have moved by the time we get back to the capital," Alfred grumbled and turned to glance at their problem. "They have a sniper, but I don't know how fast they can get him into action. Arthur would have to find him first. What's the plan to get out?"
"Didn't know how many were going to try to stop us," Matthew sighed. "The king only sent me because it was the middle of a party. We're winging it."
"Great," Alfred muttered bitterly. "Let's get high ground. As long as the sniper's not an issue, we should be able to get pretty far."
Matthew nodded and the two quickly set to climbing up the walls, Alfred securing the portable computer in the back of his pants, just in case they could use it against him; he still didn't know the range of the thing. They ran quickly, jumping over the small gaps in the buildings acting as their paths and going around the larger ones. There were no more shots at them, but Alfred could clearly hear Arthur shouting through the town. From his vantage point, he could clearly see the forest, the only barrier that his country had with any other one.
"According to regular schedules," Matthew stated, checking the time on a wrist watch that he only sometimes kept with him, "a shuttle should come around here in just a few minutes. We've got to get to the station fast."
Alfred nodded and followed his brother. He had never been in a place like this before, this far from the capital. Matthew only knew where he was going because he had to explore this place for who knew how long trying to find Alfred. There were still no gunshots and they were able to reach the small shuttle station just as the machine started to leave, a clear road to the capital in front of it. The doors were already closed and so Alfred and Matthew simply jumped on top of the machine and caught their breath as it started moving.
Alfred glanced back to see Arthur standing at the station. Alfred shook his head and turned back to face the capital. Why did he look back?
Alfred couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face as he entered his home, breathing in the fresh air. He had tried to go to the king first, though he was apparently busy in some kind of meeting with his advisors, so Alfred had to wait for the time being.
"Shit, it's good to be back," Alfred gave a relieved sigh. Immediately, Kiku's door opened and he smiled.
"Alfred," Kiku said happily and Alfred smirked as he walked with Matthew further into their little home. Matthew rushed to Gilbert's room, knocking on the door.
"Gil! I'm back!" Matthew said happily and Gilbert wasted no time in leaving his room. Roderich and Elizabeta apparently heard the sounds as well and left from their own rooms, seeing Alfred and rushing to his side. Alfred laughed shyly.
"Birdie," Gilbert hugged him tightly. "You're alright. Did you find the idiot?"
"Yup," Matthew nodded happily, glancing back at Alfred, who had been watching their exchange before returning his attention to the others.
"Where were you?" Elizabeta asked, rushed. "What happened? How did they keep you there?"
"Well, turns out they've got these two guys that are good at stealth," Alfred shrugged happily. "Don't know how they are, I met them myself…but they managed to knock me out. And then they had one of their guys use this," he produced the computer for them to see, "to disable my prosthetics. I couldn't move without their say so. I played along just to get some information. I knew you guys would find me sooner or later."
"Have you reported back to the king yet?" Roderich asked. "He's been worried sick about you."
"Nah," Alfred muttered, ignoring the small smile that appeared on his face at the thought that the king was actually worried about him. "He's at an important meeting. I won't interrupt him and his business."
"Let's make you some food while you wait," Matthew offered happily. "To celebrate your return." Alfred smiled and nodded and followed at the back of the group as they walked to the kitchen. Everyone was just so happy. He did notice, however, that Gilbert hadn't moved from his doorway, not until Alfred passed him by. Gilbert gripped harshly onto his arm.
"You're not gonna tell the king all of the information you got, are you?" Gilbert asked, his tone oddly dark and serious.
"Why wouldn't I?" Alfred asked, ripping his arm from the man's grip.
"No reason," Gilbert said bitterly, walking ahead of him. Alfred stared at him in interest. He would have to keep a closer eye on him from now on.
"They are not diplomats…" Ivan sighed, not looking up from the table in front of him, where his elbows rested heavily. "They are assassins. Nothing else. You honestly expect them to accomplish what you think they can?"
"If you give the order," one of the old men around him shrugged, "it seems they're more than willing to obey, no matter what."
"This is for the good of the country," another old man huffed. "There is a chance that they could be with the revolutionaries. We need to stop that alliance, if it exists, before it can be a problem to us."
"It is a mistake to send them," Ivan shook his head.
"They may not be diplomats," another old man said clearly, "but they are killers. If they prove to be with the revolutionaries, it will save a trip and save time if they are already there."
"Do you realize what you are suggesting?" Ivan snapped, finally looking up at the old men that circled a table. Normally, their requests were only slightly outlandish and fairly easy to execute. But this? This was madness. "If we kill the leaders of the other countries, what do you think will happen?"
"If your assassins are as good as we have seen, they won't know it's us," another old man said.
"If every leader of a country is alive and I still stand, I believe it will be painfully obvious who is at fault," Ivan growled. "You are all just paranoid old men."
"But we are the ones in charge of you," one old man said. "We can easily strip you of your title any time we please."
"Then I wish you luck finding a person Alfred and Matthew are willing to listen to," Ivan sighed and stood up. He held out his hand as the old men threatened to stand as well. "I will do as you ask. It's obviously not my country to control, you make your decisions as you please. If you make any other big decision, be sure to tell me and I will relay it." Ivan nearly knocked over the chair as he attempted to move around it. His hands in tight fists, he stormed out of the room, where guards stood at the doors. No one was to enter that room. No one was to know what happened at these meetings.
Ivan groaned, massaging his forehead as he stood still.
"Y-Your Majesty," a trembling voice said and Ivan glanced up to see his Captain of the Guard, Toris, standing before him. He was scared around Ivan, certainly, but in battle he proved to be rather effective and brave. "I give you good news." He bowed to Ivan, who grimaced as long as the man couldn't see him.
"Rise," Ivan ordered simply and the man stood upright.
"Alfred has returned, I was told I could not interrupt your meeting," Toris reported and Ivan stared at him in surprise before a true, happy smile spread across his face. Alfred was back and he was okay. Naturally, Ivan would only expect as much from the man…but it was a massive load off of his back. He resisted the urge to hug the bearer of such good news.
"Have him come immediately, then," Ivan said, quickly walking past the man before he could give another bow. Alfred was okay…He would never have forgiven himself if the man died on a stupid mission Ivan was forced to send him on. That eased some of his guilt, though he was sure the guilt would return as soon as he saw the man kneel before him with devotion Ivan had done nothing to earn.
Secrets, secrets, secrets. All over the place. It appears Gilbert has a secret or two, I greatly enjoyed writing from his perspective, though I don't think it will happen often. Ivan's perspective will be even more rare, though I figured you should be able to steal a glance at what's going on behind the scenes here. I will explain what is going on as the story unfolds, but at this point, we can see that Ivan is simply a figure head with a collective group of old men making all of the decisions for him, unbeknownst to anyone. And Alfred has returned safely! But what will become of Arthur's group now? I think we all know Alfred's not keeping any secrets from his king, after all.
Please review! It's a very nice thing to do!