Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 02
The sun was peeking out from under the skyscrapers, doting the city as they swerved up to the driveway. Jumping out of the car as it came to a halt, Alfred raced up the marble stairs two steps at a time, with mere minutes to spare till breakfast is served. The rest however, got out slowly while Wang Yao passed the car keys to a servant to park the car. They had the luxury of time, but Alfred didn't. Even though he had told Francis that he would be back before breakfast is over, he knew without a doubt that Father would still be most displeased with him to not be there right at the start.
"Don't worry, hurry up and go find his Majesty aru. I'll make sure that Antonio doesn't get into any more trouble." Yao called out with a smile from behind while swinging his arm around Antonio's neck, as Alfred stopped to turn to them halfway up the stairs.
With a quick wave of thanks, Alfred ran pass the huge foyer lined with posh sofas and armchairs down the hallway and stopped just in front of the door to the dining hall. Calming his racing heart, Alfred took a deep breath to ready himself and opened the door, to find a ball of soft white fur flying towards his face.
"Alfred, a few more seconds and you would have been late. Now please stop playing with Kumajirou and take your seat," a voice that radiated command said as Alfred who was actually enjoying himself tried half-heartedly to cover his face from licks while prying off the over-excited polar bear cub.
With an obvious grin on his face, Alfred immediately got Kuma off him, petting the whining cub on its head while placing it back down on the floor. Wiping his face with a towel, Alfred quickly thanked the servant who gave it him with a quick smile, before taking his seat beside his grinning brother who gave him a thumbs up. Opposite him sat his father, King Roderich who had his eyes on him as he finally settled down.
"I apologize for my tardiness Father, something came at the last minute." Alfred reasoned as a servant placed his breakfast in front of him.
"It's fine. At least you made it in time for breakfast, and not after." King Roderich said as he picked up his knife while looking at Alfred, making Alfred shift slightly in his seat uncomfortably as he wondered inwardly if that was praise or that he was just merely forgiven.
Halfway through the silent breakfast, King Roderich suddenly spoke. "I do hope that the both of you have made the proper preparations for tonight."
Alfred paused for a moment, his fork stopping in mid-air, his mind a total blank. He had totally forgotten about whatever event was going to be on at night. He remembered Francis rambling over his outfit but he couldn't remember what the event actually was.
Ruffling the back of his head with a small laugh, Alfred smiling sheepishly at his Father merely looked up, as King Roderich said with a sigh, "Oblitus officials are arriving later in the afternoon. We will be holding a ball to welcome them later in the evening, and I expect the both of you to be there."
Slightly embarrassed for forgetting such an important event, Alfred was about to open his mouth to sprout out an excuse when his father interrupted him, guessing what he was about to say.
"It's fine that you forgot about it, I know that you have been having some problems with your nightmares lately. Try not to let it affect your waking hours." King Roderich soothed. "And I can see that you have something to ask me, Alfred."
"Yes Father." Alfred said, putting down his fork unsurprised that his father knew that he had been burning with urge to speak up. "I've heard of a sighting of a strange group of people underneath the bridge. Though their intention is still unknown, I believe that it might be in our best interest to carry out an investigation on them."
"I see, and I'm assuming that you wanted to investigate this yourself?"
"Yes Father."
"Under normal circumstances I would be glad to let you handle this on your own, but I would like you to do something for me. Francis, could look into this matter instead?"
There was a slight pause, Alfred pondered if his brother hesitated, before Francis gave a slight nod while dabbling his mouth with a napkin, King Roderich continued, "I'll tell you what I would like for you to do later in private Alfred, but for now is there anything else the both of you would like to tell me?"
"Yes, actually I-"
"How many officials would be turning up this evening, Father?" Francis interrupted, putting his napkin down on the table. "And is there anybody that we should be aware of?"
Raising an eyebrow, King Roderich answered, "No more than ten I presume. The prince of Oblitus might be coming, so take note of that. Please don't interrupt your brother next time."
Raising his hand out slightly in apology, Francis cheerfully said, "Sorry sorry, I'm just a bit excited for tonight's event. May I be excused? I want to make sure that I'm in top romantic shape for tonight."
"And to check out that group under the bridge." He quickly added as King Roderich looked straight at him.
"You may be excused." King Roderich sighed, waving his hand.
"Alright, thank you Father, I'll see the both of you later." Francis chipped while standing up quickly, almost knocking into Kuma who was lying under the long polished marble table next to Alfred.
Alfred watched puzzled as Francis left the dining hall, closing the door behind him as Kuma huffed softly, irritated that he was almost kicked in the head. His brother normally stayed till the end of breakfast, leaving the dining hall last even if he had finished all his food. And he would never get up from his seat in such a rash manner, often even reprimanding Alfred himself for leaving the cutleries in the wrong position and rushing out of his seat. But for reasons unknown, Francis had left early instead. Petting Kuma to calm it down, Alfred turned his attention back to his father, who had finished the food on his plate and was wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" King Roderich after thanking the servants who cleared their plates.
"It's about the nightmares." Alfred answered, repeating his father's actions though much more sloppily. "All three times had been the same scene, getting clearer and progressing with each occurrence. At first it was just a burning village. Then the screams in the air, the soldier whom I killed, and that strange figure I saw just before I woke up."
"And you think that this is not just some reoccurring progressive nightmare. That this scene you're seeing is actually something that did happen."
"It is possible. I was wondering if perhaps Father, you know about it."
"Tell me Alfred, was the soldier in your dream wearing our nation's uniform?"
"Yes, but how did you know Father?" Alfred asked, puzzled.
"A wild guess." King Roderich quickly waved off. "Did you happen see the face of the figure that appeared to you at the end?"
"No. All I saw was a hazy figure appearing out from the shadows, reaching out its hand towards me before getting woken up by Ivan. Do you know anything about it?" Alfred asked again, watching his Father intently while leaning back and unconsciously stroking Kuma who had jumped onto his lap.
"No. But if you do happen to see the figure's face or if your nightmare progresses in any way, that you accept the hand, come see me at once Alfred, is that clear?" King Roderich said, his tone suddenly serious.
"Y-yes Father." Alfred answered, confused by the sudden change in his father's usual cool tone.
He could see a slight relieved smile spread across his father's face for a second, before it disappeared back to the King's usual slightly stern looking expression. Alfred could tell that there was something his father was hiding from him, and he really wanted to find out want. But he knew better than to pry, knowing from experience that he would never get an answer. Once the King has decided on something, it was almost impossible to change his mind, unless Alfred came up with a really good reason, which is hardly possible at all.
"Now then, for this task that I would like you to do for me." King Roderich suddenly announced, snapping Alfred back in attention.
"I assume that you have forgotten one of the reasons for the visit by the Oblitus Officials as well." King Roderich said.
Guilty as charged, Alfred gave a slight embarrassed nod with a grin on his face.
King Rego continued, "Emperor Roma of Urbis has invited an ambassador from all four nations for a conference in two weeks' time in their capital, regarding an old enemy that threatens our world, which he claims to have returned. A part of the Oblitus officials are passing by for that, while the others are here for agendas of our own. I have thought about it, and I have decided to send you as the representative for our nation. You are to leave with the Oblitus Officials five days from now. To Urbis."
"Ye— wait me? What about Francis, Father? Shouldn't he be a more suitable representative seeing that he's the Crown Prince?" Alfred exclaimed, immediately regretting his slight outburst as his Father looked at him, scarily calm as before.
"I'm honoured Father, but may I know why me and not Francis?" Alfred asked once again in a calmer voice as Kuma sensing its master's sudden slight nervousness jumped back down onto the marble floor.
Breathing in deeply, King Roderich said slowly, "This threat, real or not, that is to be discussed is one of great importance. And even though Francis is the Crown Prince and I am sure he wouldn't be happy that I have decided to send you instead. I believe that the knowledge you'll learn about this enemy will be of more use to you than your brother. I will not go into the details as of why at this moment, but I hope that you would trust me."
Alfred hesitated for a while, but finally with an inward sigh, he stated. "Alright Father, I'll go as the representative. But I ask to choose the people who will be travelling with me. I promise that we will not do anything rash there."
"Very well, you can bring Antonio with you to Urbis." King Roderich said with a slight smile.
"Thank you Father." Alfred smiled appreciatively. "For now, may I know who or what this enemy is?"
King Roderich paused for a while before answering: "What do you know of the Monte, more importantly of the one who calls himself Germania?"
Germania. Strange images suddenly flashed across his mind when he heard that name. Alfred gasped, jerking forward in his seat, his head suddenly in pain like someone had sent an electric jolt through it. He felt as if a pair of invisible hands had reached out from behind and grabbed both his lungs, crushing the air out of them. The images lasted only for a split second, not even long enough for him to grasp what they were, but he felt as if he had been shown something of great importance that should never be forgotten.
His heart was racing, and everything became hazy and blurred as if somebody had shone a strong beam of white light directly into his eyes. The corruption on his left hand started burning, the feeling like sandpaper scraping across his bare skin. Alfred quickly clutched his hand down and hard towards his chest, gasping hard for air, trying to contain the pain as he instinctively curled his body into a ball.
His hand had not felt like this for a long time, and when it started, Alfred immediately knew what was going on, though he was confused as to why the name would trigger it. The corruption was spreading once again. Looking down through half-closed blurry eyes, he could make out small flickers of blue flames peeking out from the edge of the glove as the jet-black scales began to grow.
"Are you alright?" Alfred heard his father ask, his usual calm and strong voice now soft with concern.
Focusing his still blurry sight, Alfred forced his head up, opening his eyes to what seemed like white blinding light, and could see that his father has stood up and was looking at him from across the table with worry all over his face usually calm face.
"I'm fine." Alfred said, forcing a small pained smile towards his father. "I'm a hero after all."
His head still felt like someone was hitting a hammer against it, but the burning sensation on his hand had decreased to a mere aching pain, signalling that the corruption has stopped growing, at least for now. Alfred took in deep breaths to calm his racing heart, slowly letting go of his hand and leaning back against the chair.
"Leave us." King Roderich commanded the servants as he walked around the table as composed as he could towards Alfred.
"Take off your glove." He sat down on the chair beside Alfred as Alfred blinked a few times to clear his white blurry vision.
"It's spreading more than it used to in the past. A few more times and it will reach your elbow" King Roderich stated as Alfred pulled off the glove on his shaking hand.
"Did you see anything?" he asked as Alfred tenderly rubbed the edge where the corruption and his own skin met.
"Flashes of images, but they were too fast for me to focus on. Why would that name trigger an episode?" Alfred both questioned and wondered as he put his glove back on, pushing the pounding headache away.
King Roderich went silent. "I am sorry Alfred, but I… do not know."
Alfred was about to open his mouth to protest, knowing that his Father was lying. But when he looked at his Father deep in thought beside him, Alfred could see his usual stern expression was replaced with one of tired sadness and longing. The last time he had seen this expression on his Father's face was years ago, when he had sat down with a then young Alfred to explain how his Mother was never coming back.
His Father has his secrets, and Alfred knew that with that look on his face, he would not be able to get anything out of him no matter how much he pestered, just like when he asked his Father again and again why and how his Mother died.
"An accident", his Father had bluntly put it. But Alfred could see on his face that it was more than a mere 'accident'. Thinking back, Alfred realized that that was after an episode as well. In fact it was right after his very first episode, the first time the corruption appeared on the palm of his hand.
Finally, King Roderich leaned back on his chair with a sigh and rubbed his eyes. Alfred could hear him muttering something to himself, but he could not make out any of the words his Father was saying. It irritated Alfred to no end, knowing that his Father was clearly hiding something from him, but there was nothing he could do other than continue on.
"So who is this Germania and who is he to the Monte?" Alfred asked, effectively bringing his father out from his thoughts.
The name sounded strangely familiar on his tongue. He felt as if it belonged to someone close to him, someone important. But Alfred could swear that he had not heard of the name before, even after the effect it had on him was as clear as day.
Opening his eyes, King Roderich, realizing that he had lost his composure before his son, quickly sat back up with his usual calm expression and said, "As you should already know, the Monte are grotesque creatures that live in the caves and mountain tunnels throughout the world, appearing out of their nests only at night. It is said that they were once people, who in their greed, tried unsuccessfully to bind the Astral Crystals to their will. And because of that, they became the twisted abominations they now are, with an unquenchable thirst for the flesh and blood of us humans."
"But aren't the Monte not considered as much of a threat? Seeing how they're mindless creatures who only appear in the dead of the night, incapable of any organized attacks." Alfred voiced out, glad that the conversation was now underway.
King Roderich nodded before continuing, "The Monte only appear in groups of four or five at the very maximum. Even then, they are incapable of coordinating among themselves, and tend to only get in each other's way. However, unlike the others, Germania is capable of thought and heard to be plentiful good at schemes. He is able to command the hordes of Monte to do his bidding."
"But how did you know of him?" Now Alfred was curious.
"A few centuries ago, Germania appeared with an army of Monte behind him and a great war broke forth. The lucky ones died while others were tainted by the corruption and turned into the creatures themselves. Our ancestor, the King of Sanctus at that time saw the danger he posted, and together with the other three nations fought against him. It was then that they learnt of his name and intelligence, and the plan he had for the world. Germania seeks to destroy that he had once sought to control, the Astral Crystals. If he were to succeed, he could possibly bring about the end of the world as we know it."
Alfred could hardly believe what he just heard. The Astral Crystals are the source of power for almost everything in the world. Without the power of the Crystals, the life energy of the world would wane, and natural disasters would befall the land.
"But if he was defeated all those years ago… how can he still be around?"
"He was defeated, yes, but not killed. The Monte can live for a long time, and before he retreated back into the shadows, he swore that he would return to finish what he started."
"And now according to Emperor Roma of Urbis, he is back." Alfred finished.
King Roderich nodded, "I don't know what evidence he has that claims Germania has returned, but I must admit that there has been an increase in reports of Monte activity for the past months."
"Now then, is there anything else you would like to ask me?" King Roderich concluded, leaning forward, cool perceptive eyes on Alfred.
"No Father." lied Alfred.
"Very well then, I'll see you tonight Alfred." King Roderich said, standing up. "I have asked for the servants to bring all the documents we have on Germania and the Monte to your study."
"Oh and Antonio is welcome to stay for tonight's event as well. Do try not to be late." King Roderich added, before heading out of the dining hall, as Alfred stood up and helplessly watched him leave, with Kuma beside him.
With a soft sigh, Alfred stood alone in the dining hall, allowing all the details of the conversation to sink in. He was dying to know as to whom this Germania is, and what his Father was keeping from him, but he knew that it would be naught impossible to get them at this moment in time. For now, the answers would have to wait, as Alfred beckoned Kuma to follow as he too headed out of the dining hall to find the others.