Disclaimer: The Hetalia characters and their personifications belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. 日丸屋 秀和
What Not to do if You are a Knight by Gilbert Beilschmidt:
22.) Stalking around an old, dark, abandoned castle like a creeper is not proper behavior of a knight.
23.) Do not SIT on your love interest while she/he is having a panic attack.
A Game of Hide and Seek
They heard the great hall doors thunder open and the ringing of rusted locks clattering to the the stone floor pervaded their ears.
Kitty and Lovina raced through the darkened halls. With minor protests, Lovina turned (or, rather, was shoved*) down a left passageway which led deeper into the castle. It was there she sighted a door hanging slightly ajar. In a hasty decision, she entered the darkened little alcove, closing the hatchway regretfully behind her.
Kitty was about to follow suit down a different corridor when she heard heavy footsteps bounding up the main stairwell just behind her.
She was forced to turn to her immediate right, into the nearest room, and quickly shut the door.
Pressing her back against the wood and looking frantically about the space, she found that it was a meager bed chamber... closer in size to a dungeon cell, actually. There were several old, dust-laden pieces of furniture decorating the homely space; however, Kitty quickly decided there was not time to contemplate which would make the best hiding spot.
Hearing heavy boots come to a halt just outside the door, Kitty dove under the bed, trying her best to compress her small frame into the shadows.
She held her breath.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and she saw a figure enter the darkened room.
It eerily scanned the walls, but seemed to see nothing.
She covered her mouth to hide her ragged breaths, praying that the intruder would leave the room and continue his search elsewhere.
But, to her horror, and because someone Up There really had it out for her, the figure stepped deeper inside and closed the door - her only means of escape - tightly behind him.
She watched the boots lumber slowly to the drapery in the corner of the room until they were out of her sight.
Then, they stopped altogether. There was silence.
She took this opportunity to scan under the bed, looking for something - anything - to defend herself with if worse came to worse.
With a soft, shaky hand, she tried to feel around under the bunk.
All at once, she felt two rough hands clamp down on her ankles and drag her out savagely from underneath the bed frame in one, fluid motion.
She unwillingly let out a shriek and instinctively began flailing and kicking to get away.
The man was on top of her, holding her arms down on either side of her head.
"LIZ! Liz stop! Ow! It's me! Gil!"
...
For a moment she stopped and stared up at the man, lips parted, eyes wide.
Then she began screaming uncontrollably.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! No! Nononono! You're dead! I killed you! You're dead, you're dead!"
"Liz! Calm down! I'm not dead. And that wasn't you're fault. sShh! Listen to me!"
She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.
"Leave me alone, spirit!" Tears streamed down her face and she broke into open sobs. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!"
Gilbert relaxed his grip on her wrists slightly. He looked down upon the petrified girl and his creased brow softened. Then, very gently, he said, "Liz, open your eyes."
"Please," she sobbed, "please, just leave me alone. I didn't know- I'm sorry..."
"Liz, it's okay. I promise, it's really me."
He waited. With a few concluding sniffs and gasps, the girl below him cracked one eye open slowly, and then a second, turning her head to face him fully.
He removed his hands and gave her some space.
She sat up and searched his face once more before whispering disbelievingly, "Gilbert...?"
He gave her a modest half-smile and before he knew it, her arms were wrapped around him.
Almost impulsively, his arms fixed themselves securely around her middle and cradled her tightly.
Thus they sat, with her arms around his neck, her face buried against his shoulder and his hands pressed against her back, rocking for a short eternity. Neither dreamed of letting go, for in that moment, they felt as if everything in life - every problem and every fear - had evaporated as they sat that there, lost in each other's tender embrace.
When they did pull apart, Gilbert looked her over. "Elizaveta, God, I'm so glad you're safe."
She wiped her cheek and held his hand. "I... I thought..."
"I know," he stopped her. Not many words needed to be spoken. She could tell from the uniform alone which sector of the Teutonic Order he was a part of now, just as he could tell from her dress that she was a handmaid.
...A handmaid to Lovina Vargas, Princess and Heiress, awaiting the mighty King Romulus' throne.
It was a miracle, really, how after all these years everything seemed to be falling into place.
Two more figures entered through the door and gawked at the barbaric assassin gently holding the hand of a delicate little maidservant. Real Beauty-and-the-Beast-like.
The two rose from the floor and Elizaveta turned to look at the newcomers, a shy smile gracing her tear-stained features.
"Guys," Gilbert said, releasing her hand, "recognize her?"
She waved slightly at them and they stared in confusion for a moment longer before crying, "LIZZIE!" in unison and tackling her in a full hug.
Despite the fact that she was being crushed between them, she began to giggle and almost cried again. "Francis, Antonio, I missed you too. I'm so glad you're safe!"
"As are we, chica!"
"What a glorious reunion! Ah, how my heart weeps!"
They let go, or rather, were pried off playfully by Gilbert, as he once again took her hand in his.
"Let's go, Liz, you're comin' with us! We don't have a whole lot of time since someone set us back by at least a day."
She giggled, "Wh-what! Where are we going?"
He stopped and turned to look at his friends. "Whaddya say, guys? Should we let her in on it?"
"Of course!" they cheered.
"In on what?" she asked, head still spinning.
"All right, Liz," Gilbert began with a mischievous grin. He bent slightly lower and held up each of his fingers, "there'll be time for details later but, we're defecting from the Order."
"What?" she gasped. "B-but, I mean, you spent your whole lives- you love the-"
"It's not the same line of work as you remember, Liz," he said darkly. "There's nothing chivalrous about it."
There was a pause as Elizaveta somewhat began to comprehend.
"Our mission was to kidnap the Queen of Vulgarity - wherever you're hiding her - and bring her back to our troops to hold for ransom. The kingdom would fork over a little dough, get their precious princess back, and then be burned alive by a hoard of knights in the name of the Lord for some bullcrap accusations or something."
Elizaveta gasped.
"Buuut, we've decided to deviate from that plan just a little bit," Francis joined in.
"Sí, we will demand the ransom for ourselves! We'll give them two days to deliver the goods, which will work out perfectly because-"
"-the rest of the soldiers won't make it through the mountains for at least half a week. We'll be able to slip away, money in hand, and leave the rest of those losers to their sorry, un-awesome lives before anyone can come after us!"
"And now that you're here, it's perfect!" Antonio cried. "You can show us where the princess is! And perhaps she'll be even easier to handle now. Plus, you can come with us - just like when we were kids!"
"So come on, Liz!" Gilbert took her arm. "Show us where-"
"No!"
They all looked at her, startled by her outburst.
"What?" red eyes squinted at her.
"I'm not doing that! Why would I turn my mistress over to you so you can steal from her and then leave her to be burned alive by some barbaric hoard!? Are you insane?"
"Liz," Gil chuckled, "you're talking about this chick like she's actually your master or something."
"She is actually my master. I serve her. She's the princess and my closest friend for the last four years!"
"What the fuck?! No, she's not, Liz!" he snapped heatedly. "She's just some snobby bitch with an inferiority complex. You don't serve her! You're acting like you seriously are some lowly handmaid."
"Yes! Because I am! And do you remember whose fault that is?" she glared dangerously at him.
There was a pause as the other two men stood near the doorway, glancing at each other awkwardly.
"Look, Liz... we don't have much of a choice here. Okay?"
"Well I'd love to help you," she eyed all of them, "but you're going to have to come up with a better plan than that. I'm not going to betray the princess and leave her to die. There must be some other way we can-"
"We don't have time for this! THERE IS NO OTHER WAY, ELIZAVETA. This is our shot. We're gonna take the money and run... . We're not going back to that living hell." She looked back at the other boys who guiltily stared at their feet, as if affirming that although the decision may have been a dishonorable one, it was better than what acts they'd be forced to commit among the Crusaders.
She glared. "Well the knights I knew would never have done something this low... They saved princesses, not sacrificed them for their own benefit."
"You'll understand later, Liz, but right now, you're either with us, or against us."
She looked at his extended hand, then disdainfully up at him. There was the slightest hint of sorrow, of regret twinkling in the far reaches of her fierce emerald eyes, as though it hurt her to say it...
but with a shaky breath she declared,
"Then I guess I'm against you."