Chapter 28

As they set sail from the city Arthur had been raised in, Ivan glanced over. "Is that calling feeling gone?" He asked softly and Arthur shook his head and pointed north.

"It's up there. I didn't know that's why we were here or I would have told you sooner." He giggled as Ivan smiled, patting him on the head. Arthur looked down, seeing Samanthe at his side with wide, tear filled eyes. "Are you alright, love?"

"I'm really happy." She cried. "I thought they killed you and were lying! I thought they were gonna kill me too! I was so scared!" She cried and Arthur lifted her in his arms and held her close.

"You're alright now. And guess what, we live in a castle." Arthur watched as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" She asked, wiping her tears and Arthur laughed as he nodded.

"This feels weird." Arthur smiled, a tear in his own eye. "I never thought of having children before, but it's like we adopted her." Arthur looked up to Ivan who frowned, looking at the girl.

She had his silvery blonde hair, but Arthur's green eyes. "She looks like us." Ivan frowned as he looked at her, starting to really look her over. She had Nikolai's nose. She also had the same color of skin as his brother. "I don't like this after all." Ivan frowned.

"And why's that?" Arthur asked, surprised.

"Because she looks like Nikolai, and it makes me jealous." he pouted and Arthur grinned.

"Didn't you say his mother was from out here?" Arthur remembered and Ivan nodded, curious. "Maybe she's related to him after all." Arthur laughed as Ivan crossed his arms pouting.

"We adopt a girl and it's my brother's relative..." Arthur hugged him, pulling Samanthe from the railing softly.

"You say that as if you want to adopt one for us!" He grinned, seeing worry suddenly shine in Ivan's eyes. "Do you?"

"I don't know." Ivan huffed. "We're still new, so it's probably not the best idea, but still, to be a whole family, it would be nice." Ivan couldn't help a slight smile at the corner of his lip and Arthur hugged him, kissing his cheek.

"Maybe we can. Let's just give us some time first, alright?" Arthur spoke softly and Ivan nodded, resting his head on his lover's shoulder.

"Are you two married?" Samanthe asked and Arthur shook his head.

"No, we're not." He smiled at her as she stared.

"You look like the married couples I see in the village." She responded, and grinned as Arthur turned bright red.

"Well, that should probably come before adopting a child, right?" Arthur looked over at Ivan who stared back in surprise.

"Do you want to get married?" Ivan asked and Arthur looked down, covering his face to hide his blush.

"I don't know, but would it even be allowed? You're the king, you're supposed to marry a... a woman." Arthur spoke, feeling his heart break a little at the realization.

Ivan couldn't be with him forever. Eventually he'd have to marry a woman and have a child to continue the family. Ivan noticed as tears came to his eyes and stood up in surprise. "Arthur?"

"Excuse me for a moment." He turned and ran to the captain's quarters, leaving most of the men staring in surprise.

"He looked heartbroken." Alfred spoke up. "What did you say to him?"

"He thinks I'm going to leave him for a woman." Ivan stared in confusion as Alfred sighed.

"Well, isn't that the way it works? A king marries a woman to become queen so that they can have princes and princesses?" Alfred watched as Ivan stared.

"Is that what he's thinking?" Ivan asked, feeling his heart speed up at the realization of what Arthur was so upset over. He sighed as he handed Samanthe to Alfred and took off running into the cabin, finding Arthur curled up on the bed, soft sobs coming from him.

Ivan walked up, not bothering with taking off his shoes as he crawled over and wrapped himself around him. With Arthur pressed to his chest, Ivan laid his head on his shoulder. "I already considered this, you know." Ivan spoke softly. "Sasha gave his approval and will help me get the City Council's approval as well. I don't intend to leave you." he wiped tears away from emerald eyes.

"But we're both men. We can't have children to continue the family name, or whatnot." Arthur shuddered through another sob as Ivan hugged him, smiling at his lack of some information.

"Did you know there are still ways we can have a baby?" He asked and Arthur turned, staring.

"We're men."

"And you haven't learned all there is to know about magic yet. I have a necklace at my house that can turn one of us into a woman. If we wear it until we have a baby, it'll be fine."

"I don't want either of us to turn into a woman." Arthur sniffed.

"We can adopt a child, and if they're young enough, we can give her our blood, our makeup, and she'd become ours." Ivan smiled and Arthur turned to him in surprise.

"Is that really possible?"

"It is." Ivan smiled. "It would change the makeup of their body. Anything that isn't already set we'd alter. If the baby isn't born yet, we'd determine it completely." Ivan spoke, watching as Arthur turned to him with a frown.

"And that's good enough for you? You'd settle with that?" Arthur asked and Ivan hugged him tight.

"It's not settling, if it keeps you at my side." Ivan softly kissed him and Arthur let out a louder sob, crushing Ivan in a hug. He held him close, realizing he was relieved. He couldn't help but smile when he realized how much this had meant to him. "You need to tell me if something like this worries you. I can't comfort you if you don't tell me what's wrong, dorogoy." Ivan hugged him and Arthur nodded.

"I can't burden you with every thought that pops into my head." Arthur sniffled, pressing his eyes against the crook of Ivan's neck, past his scarf.

"Do you have another worry?" Ivan asked softly and Arthur nodded. "What is it?"

"I have a feeling we'll be heading back with two children." Arthur looked up, seeing confusion on Ivan's face. "What Berwald said is right. The crying I've been hearing, it's probably what's been calling me. It's a young boy, Ivan. If he's in trouble, and he's close enough to call me from this far away, he needs me, not someone else." Arthur spoke softly and Ivan smiled.

"Sounds like our castle is going to be very lively from now on." he whispered, allowing Arthur to relax a little, after the release of his stress.

"You won't be upset?" Arthur asked and Ivan shook his head with a smile.

"Anything that keeps you at my side and happy, I'll consider a privilege." He smiled but he already had a plan forming in his head. "When we get back, after they've had a little time to adjust, let's throw a ball for the children, to introduce them to the city." he smiled, watching as Arthur nodded, a slight smile forming across the red splotches across his face from his tears before he sat up, listening again. "You hear him?" Ivan asked, but instead of answering Arthur shot out of the door, running as fast as he could. He ran to the banister and pointed.

"He's there!" he yelled and Berwald looked over, confused before realizing Arthur's eyes were on him.

The boy he'd heard crying. "Alter th' course t' th' port!" Berwald yelled out and the sailors and a few of the Squad members jumped into action, helping out while Samanthe ran over, confused.

"What's happening?" She asked and Arthur sat down, hugging her.

"Depending on the outcome of the test to find out if you're related to Nikolai or not, you may be getting a brother or a nephew here." He smiled as the girl's eyes widened.

"So I really will have a family?" She asked and Arthur nodded.

"No matter what." he smiled watching as her eyes widened, rimmed with joyous tears. "Calm down, love. I'm not sure what kind of trouble he's in." Arthur looked up at the city that came into view as they passed a rather tall mountainside. Both Samanthe and Arthur stared, quite shocked. This huge village had always been within a day's travel of their village and they never knew?"

"Why do you look so surprised?" Ivan asked as he walked up, seeing their expressions.

"It was so close..." Samanthe stared.

"It's a giant friggin' village, less than a bloody day's travel and we never knew?!" He yelped out and Ivan laughed.

"Language in front of children, dorogoy." Arthur looked down at Samanthe, who looked back up.

"I can't ficking believe this!" She yelled out and Gilbert slipped, falling over at the adorable girl cursing quite loudly in German.

"Language, prinzessin!" He yelled out and Arthur and Ivan looked at each other and just laughed.

As they docked, a rather important man came to the dock to greet what they recognized as the Russian Imperial flag. "Hello, Welcome to our small city!" He grinned and Arthur started cursing about 'do they not friggin know what small means?' which lead Ivan to more laughter. "What brings you out here today?" He asked and Ivan smiled.

"One of my knights is being lead here, by a small boy. He's trying to find him." Ivan smiled.

"One of your... King Braginsky! It's a pleasure! If we would have known-"

"It's fine. We don't have too horribly long. This boy's been crying for a week."

"He stopped for a few days, but he sounds so weak now." Arthur frowned, hearing the soft mewling of the boy's suffering get harder to hear. "I have to hurry." Arthur frowned as he turned to the man. "Is it alright if I run ahead?"

"Sure." The man spoke as the rest of the squad followed behind him, Arthur right behind.

"I'll chat when we return, Da?" He grinned as he took off running as well, Berwald sitting up on the dock with Samanthe at his side.

"Arthur says he's going to bring me a brother or a nephew. It'll be nice to have a family." She smiled and Berwald nodded.

"Ja, I miss mine." He smiled softly, remembering his father's face the day he said he was going to go find the edge of the world, and he never returned.

"If you want, you can be my uncle." She smiled up at him and he could only chuckle as he patted her head. She had no idea how powerful the family she was being brought into was. He'd have loved to have such a girl as a niece, but I wasn't to happen.

Arthur followed the feeling in his heart after the crying stopped. He came to a large building that looked rather abandoned and looked around as one of the city's police strolled by. "Excuse me!" Arthur called out and the man walked over, seeing the group stare at the house. "Does anyone live here?"

"This place? No, the owner died about a week ago. There shouldn't be anyone there."

"Can I go in to take a look?" Arthur asked, something about the desperation he had made the officer nod his head.

"Thank you." He nearly gasped out, feeling the boy grow weaker.

"I don't have the key." The officer spoke and Ivan reached to the lock, tracing it a few times with his fingers before the tumblers fell open and the gate opened on its own. The man stared surprised for a moment before sighing. "Magicians?"

"The Royal Guard of Russia." Ivan grinned as they raced into the house, the man suddenly remembering Ivan's face from a painting that he'd seen a few months back at a local museum. He stared in shock before turning and walking, continuing his normal route. No one at the local police station would believe this.

They ran through the house, finding their way up a few different staircases before they were on the third floor. "He's either here or on the floor above. Please, check every inch til we find him!" Arthur yelled before he started on the closest room, rushing in. He was halfway across the room when he felt the familiar tug and he stopped, running out of the room and into the next one, which had Alfred in it. He wandered in, seeing a blanket laid out on the floor and walked up to it, carefully pulling it back.

The boy was pale white. His hair was almost the same golden color as Alfred's, with the same orange at the ends that Arthur had. He wore a white night shirt and one curl alone stood away from the rest of his hair, laying flat against is face. "We found him." Arthur whispered as he lifted the boy, taking him from the room. "We found him!" he called out as they ran to the first floor, which seemed to be in slightly better condition. Arthur started up some medical testing an they were able to tell the boy was dying of hunger and dehydration. They ran to a local shop and bought some soup, sitting the boy on their lap as the waitress came by to deliver the bowl.

"What happened to him?" She asked and Arthur saw the soup and started feeding him carefully, hoping to get it into his stomach fast enough to allow him to regain consciousness.

"He was left in the house across the street." Arthur spoke as the second spoonful was let into his mouth. His tongue started moving, slowly lapping the liquid from his lip and Arthur nearly cried with joy. "He's regaining consciousness." He looked up at Ivan, who let out a relieved sigh. He knew Arthur wouldn't have handled it well if the boy hadn't made it.

"Please... more..." He pleaded and Arthur slid another spoonful into his mouth. They didn't do much else for the next while, Arthur slowly fed him while Ivan propped him up. The others ordered something to eat, and after thinking it over, they asked the crew to prepare as much as they could of something that could be carried out as they could muster in an hour and they got to work.

"We have three ships full of men who will absolutely love you for this." Alfred grinned, and the woman smiled back, an obvious flirt while Yao rolled his eyes and looked at the child.

The last one looked like Arthur and Nikolai, this one looked like Arthur and Alfred. Now Yao understood what Ivan meant when he said it wasn't fair Samanthe looked like his brother.

"Hey, what you name?" Yao asked and Arthur stared, realizing he was much better at Russian than English.

"Matthew Williams." The boy whispered, though he was still too weak to move. He blinked a couple of times and held his head straight forward in a move Arthur was very familiar with.

His eyes were the same violet as Ivan's, but his pupils were stuck closed like his had been. "You're blind..." Arthur stared. "Is that why you didn't go ask for help?"

"Mommy told me I couldn't go outside. She said people would be scared of me." He cried, realizing he'd now disobeyed that rule. "Please, she disappeared. I didn't mean to go away!" He cried, large fat tears rolling down soft cheeks.

"Don't worry, love. You're fine. Is there anyone else besides your mummy to care for you?" Arthur's soft tone comforted the child.

"Daddy left when I was born. He said Mommy was broken." He cried.

"Yao!" Arthur called and Yao snapped to attention.

"Go, find that police officer quickly! We need some confirmation." Arthur called and Yao nodded before running as Arthur turned back to the boy, feeding him another spoonful of the soup.

It was about five minutes later Yao came back with the officer in tow. "Where'd he come from?" The officer asked as he looked at the boy.

"He was locked, abandoned in that house. He said his father left when he was born and he doesn't have any other family. He's blind. What would happen to him?" Arthur asked and the officer frowned.

"He'd be sent to the orphanage in the next city over. That's where all of the orphans here go." The officer frowned. "Such a pity. He's cute."

"He's my brother." Arthur spoke softly and the officer turned to him with a frown.

"But you just said-"

"We were born with the same eyes. Pupils locked closed. This is why I was abandoned to the next village over when I was born. The woman who lived in that house, what was her name?"

"Aberdine Kirkland." The officer spoke and Ivan stared at Arthur in shock.

"He really is your brother, then." He stared as Arthur nodded.

"Wait, Are you Arthur?" The officer asked and he turned his head with wide eyes.

"I am. Arthur Kirkland." He spoke and the officer stared.

"You've sure grown since the last time I saw you." The officer grinned, looking at him. "I carried you to the orphanage sixteen years ago. Normally they don't come back. It's good to see you've grown so well." the officer smiled and Arthur shook his head.

"They never told us there was a city over here." Arthur frowned. "We weren't allowed to know of this city's existence." He frowned, looking over his little brother.

"Well, I think you have a third brother here as well." the man grinned and Arthur stared, confused. "You're Alfred Jones, right?" The officer asked and he nodded with a frown.

"I'm from America, though. Nowhere near here."

"The birthmark on your shoulder tells me differently." He smiled and Arthur turned, seeing a small crescent shaped birthmark on his shoulder.

"You really have one." Arthur frowned.

"So do you." The officer grinned and Arthur looked up at Ivan, who nodded in surprise.

"I don't even want to know why he knew." The man laughed before looking down at Matthew. "The easiest way to tell for sure, look for that birthmark. Your mother had it as well. It's passed down the family." He smiled as Ivan leaned Matthew forward carefully and shifted back the neck of his nightgown before looking up and nodding. The officer came around and looked, a smile coming to his face. "And now you have proof. Congratulations on finding your brothers." The officer smiled before turning to walk away.

"Excuse me, I have a question." Alfred asked, watching as the officer turned back to him. "How did you know that I was Alfred? How did you know that he was my brother?" He asked and the officer smiled.

"You and Matthew were named after your fathers. Arthur's father hadn't married Aberdine. She was... very young when he was born. It drove her mad. After she abandoned you, she was forbidden from the city to have any more children. That's why we didn't know he was in the house." The officer looked down at Matthew before looking back up at Alfred. "You were the second born, by only ten months. Your father took you after she tried to get us to take you to the orphanage as well. The reason I knew you were Alfred, your eyes and your accent." He smiled. "I've never seen another man to have those eyes except Alfie Jones."

"How do you know all of this?" Arthur asked and the man smiled again, sadly.

"I've lived next door to Aberdine since she was born. I was there when you two were born, helping to keep your fathers from having heart attacks." He smiled. "Do me a favor, take care of that little one, alright?" He asked and Arthur nodded.

"Of course. He's our little brother after all." Arthur smiled as the officer turned and left.

"Is that alright with you, Matthew, if you come to live with us?" Arthur asked, to find him unresponsive again.

"He's only asleep." Ivan smiled. "He drank the soup while you were talking." He motioned to the empty bowl and Arthur sighed, a little resentment he hadn't gotten to finish feeding him, but he realized Ivan must have done it instead. "Thank you." Arthur nearly whispered as he stood, but only got a step in before he fainted. Ivan jumped up, a little startled when Alfred took the boy from his arms and looked up in thanks before lifting Arthur.

Alfred had Yao take the purse from him to pay the woman for the seventy boxes of chicken strips, as they were much faster at making them than Alfred had realized, and everyone with them ended out carrying back ten boxes. Thank goodness Ludwig was so large, he was able to carry two stacks.

"I'm wondering where you got seventy silver from. That's a lot of money." Ivan glanced over as Alfred grinned.

"Yeah, Yao's going to kill me. That was about half of our wedding fund." He smiled as he shifted the boy in his arms. "I'm still in shock, you know. I had two brothers and I never knew. How was Arthur able to hear him and I wasn't?" Alfred asked, curious and Ivan shrugged.

"We might never know."