Hetalia – Of Magic and Might
The Capital, The Winter Palace, Natasha Arlofskaya's Office
The sister of the Emperor sank into her leather armchair in a hefty sigh. The whole evening she had been questioning people suspected of being her brother's 'queen'. The one who would win this war as he had described to her. If Natasha was honest with herself, she was a little jealous. She was irritated that someone other then her was receiving so much of her precious brother's attention. She only hoped he recognised her feelings for him when she presented his 'queen' to him. The last suspect she had been interviewing was a impeccably handsome Frenchman. While she had admired his good looks and charming character. It was his constant flirtatious nature that led her to rising frustration, dismissing the man earlier then regulation stated.
"Who is next?" Natasha asked aloud to her lone subordinate stationed beside her, who was busy leafing through yellow files as she spoke. Her subordinate found the correct file and quickly scanned it before answering.
"Arthur Kirkland. Male. Aged 22, unmarried. Owns and lives in plaza in a self-owned café named the 'The Tea Room'". Natasha sighed and rubbed the bridge of her thin nose in disdain. She hated this, interrogating suspect after suspect. How Roderick had managed to force this upon her bewildered her. It should at least be shared responsibility.
"Peachy, now get me something to drink. I'm dying for a vanilla latte" Natasha stated aloofly and watched satisfied as her subordinate fearfully dashed from her office. As they flung the door open wide, Natasha catch the sight of an attractive blonde paused just outside the door. His fist raised to preparation to knock on the large wooden door.
"Are you mister Arthur Kirkland sir?" Natasha asked authoritatively, flipping her curtain of fine hair that had fallen over her shoulder. The suspect nodded and entered her office slowly, awkwardly sitting down on a simple chair in front of her desk.
" It's regulation to conduct interviews to gauge the operations of surrounding businesses of the Clocktower plaza. The plaza is one of the most famous tourist attractions. You can understand why we aim to uphold its reputation" Natasha effortlessly lied, watching Arthur closely. Arthur silently cursing her, smiled and attempted to get comfortable despite being in the den of his enemy.
Natasha return with her most reassuring smile and tried to make herself appear less aggressive to her company. She reached across her desk and opened Arthur Kirkland's file, which contained a brief official description of the man in front of her. Though it seemed the file hadn't managed to convey the intriguing, veiled air that surrounded him.
" Now Arthur, you've lived in the district how long?"
"Six years, miss…" Arthur answered, trailing off at the end questioningly.
"Arlofskaya, although you may call me Natasha as it can be a mouth full. Tell me Arthur, where did you live before moving to the Capital?" Natasha inquired leaning closer and placing her hands together on the sturdy wooden desk between them.
"I never truly settled on one place. The family business kept me from setting down roots" Arthur answered as selectively as possible. He felt that the dangerous woman in front of him would be able to tell if he were lying.
"Family business. What was that?" Natasha followed up curiously, watching Arthur shift in his chair nervously.
"Archery. Crafting bows and using them to hunt, selling the meat afterward. It was stable trade" Arthur replied twiddling his thumbs together.
"What made you drop it then? Why leave your 'stable' business and take a leap of faith into the Capital?" Natasha pressed, growing increasingly interested with this mysterious Englishman.
"Family matters. I…I found myself in a situation where I was unable to continue the business" Arthur stammered, a lump forming in his throat as past memories arose.
"My apologies Arthur. It is just…odd. What could of been so terrible that it made you so desperate" Natasha spoke softly, blurry lights moving behind Arthur's eyes. "Moving on. Has anyone unusual tried to contact you recently? Someone perhaps unfamiliar to the Capital and its ways?" Natasha questioned finally getting to her point. She did after all have a job to do. Her question must of held some merit as she watched Arthur's eyes widened a fraction.
"No, not particularly. I mean the odd new customer. But no one unfamiliar to the city" Arthur answered with caution, not knowing how Natasha saw his pupils unconsciously dilute. Natasha inwardly smiled, perhaps her golden boy did know something.
"Are you sure? No one at all? Didn't approach you or attempt to engage in conversation you?" Natasha pushed, eyeing Arthur as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"No one. I'm sorry Natasha but I thought this was an interview to assess my business. Isn't asking me whom I've been in contract recently, more then a little off topic?" Arthur laughed attempting to lighten the mood and change the direction of the conversation. He didn't know how much longer he could avoid obviously lying to her. He hadn't suspected the real reason why Natasha was interviewing him. Natasha steeled her sapphire blue at Arthur for a moment before releasing a forced laugh as well.
"Of course, of course Arthur! I'm afraid some disturbing news has arisen. Rebels attempting to recruit innocent members of the public. You can understand why I would show concern if they attempted to involve you in some way" Natasha falsely reassured. She could deduce that at least one rebel had been in contract with Arthur. Though she did not know if it was for the same reason she was. "It would be better to wait" she thought silently . There wasn't enough information for her act confidently upon. Predatorily smiling Natasha stood and reached out to shake Arthur's hand.
"Thank you for your time Arthur. I am glad that the rebels haven't tried to snatch you up. I fear that their continued efforts are confusing the masses, gaining misguided sympathy. They will use whatever they can to overthrow our Kingdom, no matter the cost. You'll find Arthur, that the ones who appear most honest, are often the most deceitful" Natasha finished waiting a second longer before releasing Arthur's hot hand. Arthur now thoughtful silently retracted his hand and bowed his head slightly, before leaving through Natasha's office door.
Natasha sat down and collected her thoughts about her mysterious golden boy. The subtle signs of fear had been there, Natasha had spent years learning how to spot them. She felt as through she had made progress, felt the net draw a little narrower. Arthur…a man forced to leave a comfortable country life to come to the deranged city. Which at the time was highly unstable with multiple uprisings before Ludwig had been forced to retreat outside the Capital. Their base was currently unknown. If it were, the Isle it was stationed on would be certainly destroyed. But the base wasn't her main priority, the 'queen' was. Something told her that she would have to keep her eye on Mr Kirkland.
A loud knock at the door brought Natasha away from her daydreams of victory and back to reality. Sighing and tucking away her fantasies, Natasha closed Arthur's file and looked to her door. Once again she steeled herself as her next suspect, a young rather plain looking girl named Elizabeta Héderváry.