Hetalia – Of Magic and Might

Chapter 33! So fanfiction seems to be very some problems with uploading chapters, so I hope that this chapter doesn't have any problem either.

Questions: tokyoghoul234 asked, 'Who attacked Arthur's mind?'

Unfortunately that leads to spoilers, sorry. I'm glad your enjoying the story though!

Anyway here is the next chapter for you, it's quite an intense one ;)

Enjoy!

Whale-Tail Island, The Resistance's Base, The Training Yard.

Alfred Jones watched Arthur in the training yard being excessively drilled by Gilbert. Arthur was practicing his sit-ups as Gilbert rested on his foot on his back and shouted encouragement, or was it abuse? Alfred couldn't tell. Alfred smiled his signature goofy grin as he watched Gilbert attempt to force Arthur into submission, however it seemed whatever Gilbert threw at Arthur, he could easily keep up with the vigorous exercise. Over by Gilbert and Arthur, Kiku and Matthew were practice sparring with each other, Matthew wearing Alfred's metal protective gloves that could deflect blade, bullets and hurt like hell on the receiving end. Kiku wielded his small subtle ninja knife, or at least Alfred liked to think it was a ninja knife. Matthew's blow were strong but easy to read while Kiku's movements were smooth and quick. Despite Matthew's strength, it was Kiku's skill and precision that gave him the edge in combat.

Formerly Alfred and Arthur had sat side by side watching the match, with Arthur leafing through his spell book before Gilbert had called him out. Alfred turned his attention to the spell book that sat open on the picnic mat they had sat on. The book was fairly large but small enough and thin enough for Arthur to put in into a harness and wear it around his hip. It's cover was made of a thick dark brown leather with metal half covers covering the corners. Alfred remembered watching Arthur creating the spell book, he had wielded a pen knife with infinite care as he scratched magic runes into the leather. Each rune giving a flash of blue when he had finished it and moved onto the next. Arthur had said the engraving of the runes prevented the book from being burnt, torn or water damaged, as well making it summonable and impossible for the book to be opened by anyone except himself. Though the rules didn't seem to apply if Arthur left the book open. Alfred chuckled to himself mischievously as he picked up Arthur's book and looked down at what Arthur was reading about.

' Mermaids

Introduction - Mermaids are not the pleasant fairytales they are fabled to be. They are dark creatures, touch with all things mysterious. The mermaids are known to live in large bodies of water and use the thick fog of the night sky to swim from Island to island. It is during these immigrations that mermaids are prone to entrance and lure men off their ships and drown them. Their diets usually consist of large quantities of algae, kelp, various types of fish and sometimes nocturnal birds.

Appearances- Mer-folk have flexible streamline fish tails that are extremely powerful and able to swim at least triple the speed a average human can. They have slit gills on both sides of their neck that close when out of water and slightly pointed ears and teeth, these are general characteristics of the mer-folk. It has been reported that a mermaid may not look the same to two different people, and this is due to difference in the own people's idea of beauty. Each mermaid will look slightly different to each person to better appeal to them, this in the past has led to large scale confusion and false documenting on the topic.

History and Politics - The mer-folk population structures itself into tribes with there being no one ruling party, rather multiple of coexisting tribes. Despite this system the mer-folk appear to have a natural ranking order based on the purity of their blood. Interbreeding with humans occurred rarely but when it did, it was extremely frowned upon. Notably the mer-folk have shown preference to specific humans, speculated those stemming from the First bloodline.

Attacks - If you are ever unfortunate enough to encounter a mermaid or merman without summoning it intentionally, then you must assume it is an attack and there are only a few courses of action open to you. First you must observe and understand its motives before you decide how to move.

If it is clear that the mermaid/man has violent intentions then it is wise to procure a source of bright light, namely by lighting a torch or casting an illuminating spell. The light is harsh against their night vision and is very distracting, giving you the opportunity to regroup and prepare a counterattack.

If it seems as though the mer-folk wishes to speak to you, (Arthur, Seamus, Dylan, this directly applies to you. You know our blood makes supernatural creatures too curious about us) DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. They are trying to trick and deceive you into thinking that they mean no harm. Under any circumstances you must not allow them to isolate you from your group, this is the most certain way for you to be taken.

Summoning – Mermaids are highly intelligent creatures and have the uncanny ability to know pieces of key information. Mermaids can be very crypt and sometimes intentionally vague, it can be hard to know what is the truth and what is not. Summoning a mermaid is more complicated then performing a ritual. The deciding factor is whether the mermaids deem you interesting enough to appear before and speak to you. The actual summoning ritual requires a song which can be lyrical or instrumental, performed at the witching hour before a large body of water. When summoning it is always safer to be accompanied by someone but to have them a distance away so the mermaids are not aggravated by that person's presence.

When summoning is complete and the mermaids swim over to you, be sure to allow the mermaids to speak first as to not offend them. After you are certain that they did not intend to immediately drown you, you are then safe to ask your questions. Questions are best kept to the point and phased in a way that doesn't leave room for misinterpretation. (It's more then likely that you will get little answers or have more questions then when you started, mermaids can be informing but confusing at the same time. You have to take what you can get).

Fair warning, mermaids can be very distracting and enjoy to use excessive amounts of flattery. Beware of their magic which can cloud the mind and dull its alertness. The worse aspect of the mermaid's magic is that you won't be able to feel its presence at all, this danger can only be avoided if you are accompanied by someone to keep you clear minded against the mermaids' charms.

There is no true determined time limit to how long your meeting will last, my advice would be to trust your instincts. If you feel that all your questions have been answered(ish) and yet the mermaids continue to converse with you, fear for their other motives. The longer you speak with the mermaids, the more at risk you put yourself.

Due to long term disconnection from the species, little is known how the mer-folk have evolved over the years. This entry has been written by Allistor Kirkland.'

Alfred finished reading the passage with multiple questions pressing his spinning mind. Why on earth was Arthur reading about Mermaids? He'd read that Mermaids knew a lot and could answer your questions, but then what questions did Arthur desperately want answering? From reading about them Alfred's opinion was that mermaids seemed to be not worth the risk, actually they sounded extremely dangerous. What intrigued Alfred was that the passage was written by Allistor Kirkland, presumably Arthur's brother. Alfred wondered what Arthur's three brothers were like, he had read Allistor's personal note and it had include two new names; Seamus and Dylan whom he took to also be Arthur's brothers. Alfred set the book down and looked over to Arthur worriedly, did Arthur want to summon Mermaids? And if he did, had he just ignored Allistor's note about their families blood being tempting? Alfred's mind continued to whir as he heard approaching footsteps, looking up he saw Arthur walking towards him. Arthur was breathing heavily and his golden hair was matted to his forehead, his spring green eyes looked suspicious as he saw his book open in Alfred's lap. Alfred coughed awkwardly and closed the book before handing it back sheepishly to its rightful owner.

"I left my book open?," Arthur asked looking confused as though he thought he could never be so careless. Alfred nodded and abruptly stood up and grabbed Arthur's hand, leading him away from the yard and behind a tree away from view. "Wha-what? Why are you leading me here?" Arthur stammered as Alfred spun on him, his eyes confused and desperate.

"Why are you reading on Mermaids dude? I mean, I didn't read all of it in detail but they seem pretty dangerous"Alfred crossed his arms as he voiced his concerns. Arthur shrugged his shoulders in defiance.

"Listen I was just doing some light reading on summoning! Where's nothing wrong with that" Arthur defended feigning innocence.

"Now why specially read on summoning eh?" Alfred smirked catching his friend in the act, Arthur all too late realised his mistake and cursed viciously at himself for his carelessness.

"Alright you twat, you got me. I need to summon some mermaids and ask them some questions, mainly about my brother" Arthur answered rubbing the back of his neck, aware of Alfred stupefied face at his decision.

"Look man, I know you used to deal with this stuff all the time. But if you're really going to do it, then let me tag along. I read your brother's passage and even he said that it was stupid to do it alone. Say why do you want to ask about your brother?" Alfred inquired cocking his head to one side, Arthur's family history seemed to be dripping in mystery today.

"It's strange but recently I've had dreams about someone with red hair, lingering just beyond reach. I know that my brothers are gone but I can't help but feel somethings off" Arthur spoke, his voice breaking on the word 'gone'. Alfred huffed and gave Arthur a queer look telling him that he was being crazy, and yet he would still follow him.

"Okay, fine. Let's summon some mermaids dude. There's lake that should be big enough and the sun has just set, we just need to sneak out before midnight" Alfred planned with a smile playing on his face, he wasn't going to deny that he wanted to see a mermaid. It would be his first time seeing anything supernatural, unless he counted Arthur. Arthur tutted at Alfred over enthusiasm and begin walking back to the manor, Alfred walking beside him. Their hands unknowingly centromeres apart.

Whale-Tail Island, A semi large lake behind the Resistance's base, Lake Noir.

"This isn't right. I mean mermaids? Please don't tell me that doesn't sound weird" Matthew feebly argued as he was dragged behind his brother, coming to a stop roughly seven metres away from the lake. Arthur was already at the lake bank and looked back worriedly at the two brothers. He hadn't wanted Matthew to come because the mermaids weren't likely to appear if there were more people present then they were comfortable with, but Alfred had insisted that it would be safer if they had one extra person. Matthew was confused at the request but came along anyway, he had been too polite to refuse his brother.

"Alright, I'm going to begin! Please don't come any closer or make any noise. Mermaids hate large numbers of humans. Matthew if you could go further back, it'd be great" Arthur called over to Matthew and Alfred, both of them held pistols ready. Arthur knelt and got a quick glance at the moon to double check it was twilight. With the moon position confirmed and the water perfectly still reflecting the night sky, Arthur began to sing one of his favourite sea shanties in a haunting voice.

"Come all you pretty fair maidens, whoever you may be

Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea,

While up aloft, in storm or gale, from me his absence morn,

And firmly pray, arrive the day, he home will safe return.

My name is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair,

And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year,

My heart has been pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,

There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold"

Arthur finished his song and breathed in with anticipation as he saw the surface ripple with movement. Well at least it worked, Arthur thought to himself. His main concern had been that Matthew and Alfred would put them off, which wasn't the case as he saw the rippling smoothly approach him. Arthur tightened his resolve as three heads broke the surface of the disturbed water, two females and one male. Both of the females had long blonde hair except the left one had sky blue eyes with more sandy blonde hair, while the other one had lavender eyes and fairer blonder waves. The male was handsome with tanned skin and longish chocolate hair with an odd cow lick not unlike Alfred's. His dark red eyes held a certain off putting glint, the kind of glint a collector viewing a piece of art would have. The mermaids seamlessly swum closer until they were right up against the bank, their eyes seemingly hungry as they never looked away from Arthur. Arthur was about to speak when his brother's warning rang clear in his ears, 'allow them to speak first'. After a few more seconds of the mermaids observing Arthur, the blue eyed female spoke.

"You have a lovely singing voice, Arthur' The mermaid complimented widening her doe like eyes at Arthur and giving an adorable giggle. Arthur blushed and told himself not to freak out about the fact they knew his name. They were mermaids, and mermaids knew lots of things they shouldn't.

"Yes, beautiful voice, looks and he's special. The whole package" The lavender eyed female purred reaching forward as though to caress Arthur's cheek, Arthur cautiously leaned out of her reach and cleared his throat of the lump that had formed.

"It's been too long since we're made contract with land dwellers. The world has changed so much, there is so little magic. And that just makes what magic were is left, all the more valuable" The merman mused and unbeknownst to Arthur, had began using his magic to influence Arthur's emotions. His touch so gentle that Arthur didn't suspect anything.

"Thank you for meeting me, I wasn't sure if you would come" Arthur replied as calmly as he could, the mermaid's spell beginning to daze his mind. He was feeling more and more relaxed and disoriented.

"How could we deny you? Especially when the blood is so strong" The male spoke again, his voice sounding youthful and tinted with flattery. The two mermaids on either side of him murmured in agreement and the sky eyed female briefly peaked around Arthur and spied Alfred tensely standing guard in the trees. She hissed too quietly for Arthur to hear before putting her sweetest smile for him.

"Oh! You brought some stupid human with you. I wondered what that smell was, Arthur won't you tell them to leave? It would be so much more pleasant if it were just you" She pleaded sounding exactly like a darling princess would, her ringing bell voice made Arthur almost in give to her demands. Almost.

"My friend will stay. I asked you here because I have some questions I would like the answers to" Arthur sternly but formally put. She sighed and looked to the male as he spoke.

"They never want to just talk do they?" His voice coated in sarcasm though Arthur took it to be an invitation and leaned forward slightly. The mermaids eagerly mirrored his movements, ever narrowing the gap between them.

"Is my brother alive?" Arthur asked, embarrassingly aware of the pleading tone in his voice. The mermaids glanced at one another before looking back with what seemed like a sceptical look.

"Which one? They all answered simultaneously before watching as Arthur went into shock for a moment. Arthur opened and closed his mouth with no words, 'which one?'. Arthur placed his hand on the bank and leaned even closer. Behind him Alfred had began to creep forward, he felt paranoid that Arthur was leaning too far over the water. The mermaid's attention was devoted on Arthur as he rushed for a follow up question.

"Which one?! They're alive? Tell me where they are!" Arthur cried with a bleeding heart, hope had began to blossom within his chest. The mermaids made playful musing sounds and the lavender eyed one subtly placed her hand over Arthur's. She webbed fingers enclosed it while her enchanting eyes held Arthur's attention.

"It's not as simple as that sweet Arthur. One is hidden from our sight and the other is not truly living" Her velvet voice soothed as she sounded as though she genuinely cared for the missing brethren. Arthur bent his head and let out a heartbroken sob, his emerald eyes misted as the mermaids made cooing and sympathetic sounds. The merman pushed himself onto the bank and was now extremely close to Arthur, tenderly he reached forward and lifted Arthur's head by his chin and used his thumb to wipe away the building tears. Alfred moved to intervene only to find that he was frozen on the spot, the female mermaids staring intensely at him and were chanting quietly. Alfred opened his mouth of warn Arthur except he was mute, the spell the mermaids were using had him completely immobile.

The male mermaid smirked cunningly at the stuck human before returning back to his Arthur. His too-precious-for-this-world Arthur. Making shushing noises he pulled Arthur to him, his wet naked chest against Arthur's frantically beating one. The merman ran his hand through the golden globe of hair as he increased the pressure of his magic that would Arthur more suggestible.

"It's okay Arthur, don't fret. It's okay," he whispered in Arthur's ear, his eyes devilishly watched the furious squirming human try to break his sister's spell. "You don't need those lying humans. You could be so loved with us. We love you so much Arthur, come with us. Forget them, forget them all. Come with us and you will never, ever have to feel pain again" Arthur paused, his mind dulled and confused from the merman's magic. The merman pulled away so their faces were so close that their breaths mingled and their lips were inches apart. Arthur felt feverish as he swayed, the merman smiled as he manipulated his precious one's mind. The merman reached his hand behind Arthur's head, drawing his head closer and was about to make Arthur his when a bullet passed through his arm.

The merman yelled in pain and scrambled backwards, knocking Arthur back and ending his hypnotic spell. Arthur fell back and smacked his head in the muddy ground, his head clearer now that the mermaid wasn't playing with it. He spun behind and saw Matthew holding a smoking pistol now aimed at the female mermaids. Alfred dropped to one knee and unsheathed his own pistol before proceeding to fire it at the merman who had his arm reached out to grab Arthur in a last ditch attempt to take him. The merman hissed and dived back into the water to avoid Alfred's following shots. Alfred ran over to stand in front of Arthur as he slowly regained his senses, Matthew appeared at his side with his aim steady. The three mermaids swam away a distance from the bank before resurfacing sinisterly, their eyes narrowed with poisonous glares.

"We can't both have him child," the merman's voice echoed eerily from across the lake. "I will take that is mine, this is far from over". Alfred didn't respond and simply raised his pistol in challenge, to which the merman smirked knowingly and dived back into the mirky water. Matthew and Alfred waited a minute to see if the mermaids would return before lowering their guard and turning around to see Arthur struggling to rise. Alfred sheathed his pistol and extended his strong hand to Arthur, who blindly grasped it and used Alfred as leverage to pull himself upright.

"Thank you," Arthur spoke through a rough throat, coughing his embarrassment. Alfred let go of Arthur's hand and gave him an annoyed 'I told you so' look.

"It's a good thing that they didn't notice Matt or you would have been screwed" Alfred stated to which Arthur nodded his thanks to Matthew. Matthew returned the nod and gave him a reassuring smile to say that he had Arthur's back.

"Okay okay, you were right. I can't of handled it alone. I don't know how early on they must have been whispering spells and I didn't get to ask all my questions, but Alfred…," Arthur then smiled with such hope and such joy, that Alfred temporary forgot his anger at Arthur's recklessness.

"My brothers are alive" Arthur breathed before he burst out laughing, running over to Matthew and Alfred and engulfing them in his tight embrace together. Matthew started chuckling and returned Arthur's rejoicing hug with equal strength.

Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur wanting to share his joy, and yet feeling a sense of horrible foreboding from the whole event. That merman had nearly taken Arthur while Alfred could only helplessly watch. Watch as that predator disgustingly coiled itself around Arthur, like a snake around a lamb. 'We can't both have him child, I will take what is mine. This is far from over'. Alfred tightened his grip on Arthur as a wave of intense protectiveness came over him. He wasn't going to let it happen, he wasn't going to let anyone harm Arthur. Not without a fight.

So this was an action packed chapter. Firstly we get a look into Arthur's spell book, which I quite enjoy writing. I imagine myself to be like Dipper or The Author of the journals from Gravity Falls :3

So Allistor's passage in Arthur's book. The passage was originally written in Allistor's journal, however the information was transferred when Arthur combined all his books into one singular one. Allistor was the most talented brother in terms of skill and knowledge, he went on many trips and categorised many supernatural creatures and species. When he would return he would then teach Seamus, Dylan and Arthur what he had learnt and encourage them to go on their own adventures to learn for themselves. Due to his reputation in the community, Allistor was often targeted by jealous mages looking to steal his secrets. Allistor was so what of a badass so he could handle whatever came at him, and it was only when his brother's were kidnapped and used for ransom would he rain hell upon his enemies. So it's not surprising that he didn't die when Arthur escaped. I won't say too much on the other brother, Dylan *wink wink*

Just to clarify, 'My Jolly Sailor Bold' was an English Sea shantie (a song the crew would sing as they sailed) and does not singularly belong to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.

Now the mermaids themselves. The sky eyed female obivously shares her appreance with Alfred and the lavender eyed eye, hmmm... She looks similar to Francis. I know, I know, 'But Arthur doesn't love Francis!' Well this is complicated. Arthur deeply cares for Francis while he doesn't consciously feel any romantic feelings for him, there's something there. It's not hard for there not to be, Arthur and Francis have lived together and gotten through tough times together. Francis was the first person Arthur trusted with his secret after the loss of his brother's, marking a milestone. Francis is important to Arthur.

The male mermaid, well did someone say 2p Alfred? That's right son! I'm not going to go overboard inserting 2p characters in this story, at most there'll be three or four. I'm not a massive lover of them, but I feel 2p Alfred fits nicely into his role. The reason mermaids are so obsessed with Arthur, is because he stems from the First Blood line. The mermaids population is falling as there is nearly no magic left in the world, and so to compensate to their dwindling numbers the mermaids look to humans to repopulate. The reason the humans from the First Blood line are so valuable is because their blood possesses special properties such as accelerated healing and specially potent magic. If a mermaid bred with a human with the First Blood, then their off spring would be powerful and have abilities a regular mermaid would not. The human would be used repetively as a breeder to increase the mermaid population, which is pretty grim for the human.

Bringing it back to 2p Alfred, whom I still have no name for, he feels like he has been directly challenged by Alfred for Arthur. Which means for poor Arthur, 2p Alfred isn't going to leave him alone until he has won. God possessive, disturbing lust really is the best isn't it?

Wow this authors note has been long enough so I'll cut it here. I am so excited for upcoming chapters and the end of this story. Don't worry that doesn't mean I am ending this whole story, it means I'm planning on splitting the story into parts. It'll make it more manageable and means that this story won't be like over 100 chapters, so this will be happening. The next continuation of this story will be 'Hetalia - The Cold of War' and I hope you all jump over with me when I post the sequel :)

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you are enjoying this story, then please leave a review telling me your opinions, questions and predictions. Once again thank you for reading.

Until next time folks!