Chapter 21. Lights.
They walked in silence all the way up to the border. There were, oddly, no soldiers about and they could walk freely up to it. Alfred noticed that there were signs of a struggle on the ground, scraping on the concrete, dents from heavy metal hitting it. They didn't seem to be old.
"Where is he?" Arthur asked impatiently, hiding his trembling hands by placing them into his pockets.
"I was, like, waiting for you," Feliks' voice said and Alfred froze. The man appeared from behind a building easily and calmly, many bodyguards following after him, all with guns pointed at the two of them. Feliks looked at Alfred with interest. "No way! I totally knew you were an assassin! What, were you a traitor or something?"
"No, that was Gilbert," Alfred muttered, looking to the ground instead of the king in front of him.
"Whatever, don't be such a fuddy duddy," Feliks rolled his eyes, walking up to Arthur calmly. Arthur was still stiff and on edge and didn't react easily to the man's close vicinity.
"I was told that we would need to talk about timing and the current state of our plans," Arthur breathed heavily through his words and Alfred bit his lip to keep himself from talking. The people he was going to investigate really were going against the king, teaming up with the revolutionaries inside the country. Why? That was one of the many questions popping into Alfred's head. Why waste their time teaming up with revolutionaries in this small, uninfluential country?
"Yeah," Feliks sighed. "President Yao is getting all impatient and junk, especially once he figured out that his advisor, like, totally abandoned him. I think he ran into the country not too long ago. Whatever, we're going to need to move sooner than planned, alrighty?"
"How much sooner?" Arthur asked skeptically.
"Um… in like a week or so," Feliks shrugged. "No legit details since Matthias and his crew need to get their military worked up without Ivan noticing." A week? That soon? They were going to attack the country that soon? What would happen to the king? "Hey, broski, you seem a little off, today, what did something happen on the way over here?"
"Nothing of importance," Arthur sighed. "I make no guarantees with a week. There are still three members in Ivan's assassin team, all of them extremely dangerous to your goals. I have even been told that one of them comes from the village that disappeared years ago, the village of assassins."
"Hm, whatevs, man," Feliks said. "If you can't do it, you can't. You've already narrowed down the team, right? You even broke up the scary twin duo, right?" He started laughing and Alfred winced slightly. He wondered, briefly, what would happen if he were to kill the man in front of him. There were seven bodyguards around him, Alfred didn't have that many shots. Damn. "But, we'll see you in about a week. You'll know when we're coming, I don't think it'll, like, take much time anyway, considering how easy it is to get rid of the military in this place! We could take the capital in a day or two, right?"
"I believe so," Arthur said. "That all depends on the assassins that remain."
"Right," Feliks shrugged, stretching. "Okay, then, Imma head back home, you keep doing what you do and I'll be around! We'll send you a note when we're on our way!" Feliks happily waved, going over the border. The small, insignificant line that separated the two countries.
Neither Alfred or Arthur said a word for a while as they stood there. Eventually, Arthur sighed heavily and turned around to begin the walk back to their hideout.
"So, that's it?" Alfred asked. "We go back and just start moving faster?"
"What other choice do we have, Alfred?" Arthur asked coolly as Alfred followed him. "The original plan was to have your team on our side, we thought it would be rather simple though we were proven wrong. It was your group keeping the revolutionaries at bay, considering just how easy it was for these unseen assassins to take down large groups. If we can, at the very least, bring the number down to two, the chances at victory will be far greater."
"So who do you plan to kill next?" Alfred asked coldly.
"I do not want to kill anyone," Arthur sighed. "If I can avoid it, I will. We will just have to see what happens, won't we?"
Alfred could guess easily enough. The weakest person remaining in the group was Roderich. He was, by far, the easiest to kill. Considering Elizabeta had died, he was most likely extremely volatile and emotionally compromised. Who knew what he would be capable of doing, though he certainly wouldn't join this group now.
They walked in silence the rest of the way back.
Matthew panted, sweat dripping from his brow, but he kept his hands up to block the punch that came his way too fast for him to dodge properly. He stepped quickly around the man in front of him, swiping his leg at him in hopes of forcing him to lose his footing. Sadly, the man worked well with that, using his hands as leverage as he fell to flip, nearly hitting Matthew with his feet if he hadn't moved away fast enough. Matthew bit his lip and charged before the man regained proper footing, trying to slam his fist into the man's gut, but the man was too quick, easily pushing away his fist with little force. The man retaliated by attempting to land a blow on Matthew as well, but Matthew parried, getting out of that situation easily enough.
"I believe we are equals in this matter," the man chuckled slightly as they both stepped away from each other. Matthew smiled slightly as he picked up a towel to wipe some of the sweat off of his face.
"Good spar, Kiku," Matthew nodded to him with a small smile. It felt refreshing to do this again, go into that abandoned building and just fight, without thinking about the king's orders, without thinking of the revolutionaries. He could just let his fists do the talking. Kiku was more than willing to spar with him while Roderich moped in his room. "You've gotten faster since last time."
"As have you," Kiku smiled. "I recall one of the first times we sparred, I took you by surprise with my speed. How fast was I able to pin you again?"
"A few seconds," Matthew laughed at the memory. Alfred made fun of him for days. Until he sparred with Kiku himself and was taken down in even less time. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," Kiku nodded, sitting down on the ground gracefully. Matthew nodded to him and sat down as well, just a few feet in front of him.
"Your loyalty to the king," Matthew began, but he stopped himself. "I don't question it. I'm sorry for having done so in the past. But…Elizabeta, she respected him, more than anyone, he was someone to look up to. For me, I am fully devoted to him, I've seen all of the good in him and his ability as a leader. I thought Alfred felt the same. Gilbert had said something similar to Elizabeta, but he claimed that he would do anything for the country and the man that lead such a thing. Roderich…he was smart, but blinded by what happened with his father. He is loyal like any citizen should be, simply with the ability to kill. What about you? You came from a town that no longer exists, you were…forced to join."
"At first," Kiku smiled slightly. "It was an order. I was young, I did not understand much. I did, however, understand one thing. We were hired assassins, whoever gave you money for a job, you took it, no matter what it meant. This was that job, though it seems the money did go to waste. I feel the same as you, however. The king showed me kindness, he showed strength, and an ability to make a person want to follow his order, no matter how absurd it could be. I am no longer a hired hand, mostly due to my loyalty to the king. There is no money involved, but I do not want it."
"And if they were to take you?" Matthew asked. "If they tried to change your mind? What would you do?"
"I would laugh," Kiku said simply. "Nothing can change my mind. It is due to the king that I have had experiences that would have been taken from me, should I have stayed in that massacred village. Elizabeta died out of loyalty, out of respect."
"Would you die for him, too?" Matthew asked.
"Yes," Kiku said without hesitating. "Would you?"
"Of course," Matthew pressed and Kiku shook his head. "What?"
"Ivan gave you life," Kiku said. "It is different than me. You were on the brink of death and he allowed you and your brother to live, out of no other goal than kindness. If you were to throw that away, what would it show him?"
"I am grateful for the life he gave me," Matthew said, leaning forward. "That is why I am willing to give it up for him!"
"How could he accept that?" Kiku asked. "It is a gift he gave you, no one else. It is not meant to be given back for something as small as loyalty."
"Then how should I show my loyalty?" Matthew asked. "Obey orders until I can't anymore? Protect him like I've been doing for…for years? The man that I would give anything for…he is…falling apart. There is too much for him to worry about and he hardly sleeps. He fights harder for this country than any soldier out there. How can I hold a candle to that? How can I show him that I appreciate everything he does?"
"Listen to him," Kiku said. "I have heard it, I have no doubt you have as well. He sighs when he sees us, Not due to disappointment, rather due to something else. You only treat him as a king. Perhaps treat him like a man."
"If I do that, I am showing to him that his weakness is obvious," Matthew said. "No…it's not weakness…But, he may view it as such. If I treat him like a man, he may think that everyone thinks he is weak. He is my king, he is strong…"
"Then treat him as a strong man," Kiku said.
"You make it sound easy," Matthew huffed.
"You said we would not have many assignments in the near future," Kiku said. "I am sure the king will need this time to rest, at least a little, but perhaps when he calls you in next time, rather than kneel before him, you can stand with him. It may relieve his stress, even slightly."
"Alfred and I used to do that," Matthew smiled slightly. "We would run through the capital building until we found him and Alfred could talk to him without fear, but I've never been good with talking. But then these men came in, the ones that trained us. They told us, in order to truly respect our king, we had to kneel before him, treat him as if he was a God. To us, he was. But Alfred always complained about not being able to talk with him like he used to be able to. I was a little sad, too."
"Perhaps he misses it as well," Kiku nodded. "Anyway, we should return to Roderich, I have no doubt that he is still in his stages of grief."
"Let's cook something," Matthew offered as he stood. "I haven't cooked for a while, have I?"
"I would be happy to," Kiku smiled to him and the two men left the old, abandoned building in the middle of the capital.
"They're alive!" Gilbert called out once Alfred and Arthur entered the house. Arthur simply nodded to him before going to his room, closing the door loudly. Alfred winced at the sound and simply sat on the couch. "Kay, I take that back, what happened?"
"Nothing," Alfred answered. It wasn't exactly wrong. Arthur said nothing happened, therefore nothing happened, right? "Feliks said that we have a week before they start to move."
"Damn, that soon, huh?" Gilbert muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"Where is Arthur?" Francis asked, finally coming from the kitchen.
"He's being a loner," Gilbert shrugged. "Probably planning an attack strategy now that we're on a time crunch."
"He is in his room?" Francis asked and Alfred glanced back at him. He was calculating something in his head, looking right at Alfred. "Alfred, come with me for a moment."
"Sure," Alfred nodded and followed the man to his room. Francis closed the door securely.
"What happened?" Francis asked simply, though the tone of his voice nearly sent chills down Alfred's spine. "Arthur doesn't just go into his room, especially not in the middle of the day. He us usually planning something, researching. What happened?"
"If you ask him, he says nothing," Alfred scoffed simply, sitting down on the man's bed. It still irritated him that Arthur was the one preaching to him that he should allow his emotions more control, and yet he was locking his up tight.
"I know about every aspect of Arthur's life," Francis said simply. "If something happened, tell me what."
"There were chains," Alfred said quietly and Francis' features dropped to…surprise. He hadn't expected that. "He…freaked out, I don't know. He wasn't himself."
"What did he tell you?" Francis asked, kneeling down in front of him and matching his gaze.
"That he was a slave," Alfred said. "That he's still considered property. Why wasn't I informed of this? As far as I knew, slavery wasn't allowed in this country!"
"Arthur's pride hardly allows him to accept it," Francis sighed, rubbing at his forehead as he looked away from Alfred. "He is a leader of a team. What do you think they will say if they discover that their leader isn't even considered human?"
"How do you know?" Alfred asked suspiciously.
"Never mind how I know," Francis said, standing up. "Did he tell you anything else? About his past?"
"No," Alfred shook his head. "Just that he can't forgive the king for allowing it."
"I cannot tell you much," Francis sighed. "That story is for Arthur alone to tell. However, I can tell you this much, to help you understand. Think about Arthur and his features, the way he carries himself. Do you think those are the features of a slave that was forced to do menial labor?"
Alfred looked up at the man, but he was quick and out the door in a second, without a trace. He was right, though. Arthur's hands weren't callused or tough, he was lean, though hardly considered muscular. So if he wasn't used for menial labor, what was he used for?
Alfred stood hesitantly and walked back to the living room. Lovino was lounging on the couch, appearing to be spacing out and staring at the ceiling. Alfred could hear Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis laughing in the kitchen. Ludwig was nowhere to be seen.
"Wanna take a seat?" Lovino asked simply, calmly. It was like he was a different person when he wasn't cursing or angry. "I'm not gonna bite you, idiot."
Alfred silently sat on the other end of the couch and he stared out the open door that allowed him to see the bustling town around him. Was this what all of the towns were going to look like once Arthur's group took control? Would the revolutionaries truly make anything better?
The two of them sat in silence, staring off into space, thinking about different thoughts, until they were jerked out of the silence by dinner. Ludwig had come back in just in time for food.
I'm beginning to really enjoy those Kiku and Matthew moments. By no means am I shipping them, Matthew is taken, whether or not he accepts that at this moment. Kiku is a wise, little guru. And now the action is being forced to advance quicker, despite how ready Arthur may or may not be. More of you may be able to guess what's going on with Arthur's past, but a detailed version of it will come later, after the end of this fic.
Speaking of which, I believe this will end soon, though I make no guarantees. I don't have the chapters planned out, by any means. They do what they want as long as they go in the right direction. I know what else has to happen, but I have no idea at all about how long it will take. Stay tuned and I'll tell you when we're getting really close, don't worry.
And I must apologize again, for I will most likely only be updating once this week once again. I was sick literally all week because of a sinus infection and it's still kicking my ass, despite my antibiotics' best efforts. I don't know what that means for next weeks updates, mostly due to the fact that I now have two weeks to catch up on an entire week of missed school. Should be loads of fun. I still love this story and I absolutely intend to finish it. You'll just have to be patient with me while I recover and all that jazz.
Please review and thanks for reading!