North American Hurricane (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: In the same vein as Bunnies For Your Amusement, I now bring you my collection of oneshots and short stories featuring the North American twins, America and Canada! Now including non-LJ drabbles.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: Random Shit, Bros Being Bros, Witch/Hunter AU

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"Do you have news for me from your latest patrol?"

Matthew carefully kept his head bowed as he knelt before the king, face impassive. "Yes, my liege. My patrol took me out west, towards the border with Baravia, spurred by several rumors of a mage in the area."

"Oh?" King Ivan asked, tone almost too innocent in its curiosity. "Did you find anything then?"

"I did." Matthew barely hesitated, having gone over his report to the king a thousand times on his return trip from the western borders. "He was older, in his late forties, perhaps. Good with wind magic; he managed to foul my senses until he'd gotten to the border. From what I'd seen of the man in town before he fled, he had darker hair, and a small build; easier for his horse to carry him, I suppose."

"I see." The king's scepter tapped against the arm of the chair several times. "I expected better of you."

"He caught me by surprise." The knight admitted, the second truth of the tale so far. "I won't let it happen again."

"Of course you won't," The royal agreed, Matthew easily able to see the smile he wore. (He barely suppressed a shiver despite not being bothered by the cold of the throne room.) "You are one of my best knights, after all."

"My liege," Here the knight hesitated, hoping (praying) he wasn't getting himself in over his head. "I was wondering if I might be allowed to go through the older archives."

There was silence. Silence wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either.

"I only want to study what spells he might have used, so that the next time I meet a wind mage I can counter it." Matthew continued eventually, lowering his head a bit further and waiting for the denial-

"I suppose I can grant that request," The King told him, giving Matthew pause as he realized he wasn't in trouble. "I trust you a great deal, and trust should be rewarded, yes?"

"By your say, my liege." The knight replied, mouth dry as he realized he would more than likely be betraying that trust in the following days.

(He'd spent long, lonely weeks thinking about his past and future, and about the kingdom and people he had been raised to serve and protect.

The tired challenge from the son of the most wanted man in the kingdom had rung in his ears the entire time, despite his best attempts to reaffirm his own loyalty.)

"Is that everything you have to report, then?"

"Yes, my liege."

The King let his scepter settle with a soft clatter against his knees. "Then you are dismissed for now. Tomorrow you are assigned to help with training the newest recruits, so do not get too comfortable with your research."

"I understand." Matthew rose to his feet, glancing once into the cool eyes of King Ivan before turning and leaving as smoothly as he could. He only swallowed once he was far away from the throne room; he'd never realized until then just how intelligent the man behind that unfaltering gaze was.

(Then again, he'd never had reason to doubt the man before, either.)

He nodded respectfully to the other knights he passed on his way to the library, they just returning from the midday meal he'd skipped due to nerves. A the least, he'd managed to get in a brief bath before his report, removing the sweat and grime of the roads and giving him a chance to think about what he was about to do - both what he had done back in the throne room and what he was going to do in the library alike.

Matthew smiled at the librarian as he stepped in, her flustered greeting making him feel just a bit more guilty for possibly making her an accomplice. "How are you today, Ms. Erika?"

"I'm doing well, Sir Matthew." She smiled. "Did you need help finding something?"

"Only access or the old archives."

Her expression dropped. "But those are-"

"His Majesty gave me permission, since there might be some things in there that help me prepare for future patrols."

"If you're sure…" She hesitated, before smiling weakly and gesturing for him to follow.

She stepped back after unlocking the doors, bobbing her head slightly before returning to her duties, leaving Matthew alone with the dusty scrolls and tomes. He breathed in deeply, coughed to remove some dust from the action, and stepped into the room.

Almost everything in here was far older than he was, written in the times when magic was allowed to be uncontrolled by any but the whims of the mages who lived across the land. They'd been put away for everyone's safety, the dangers of wild magics too much for most to handle without serious training and preparation, not to mention mental fortitude.

(Dangerous by whose standards, though?)

The knight grabbed one at random, opening a leather cover to faded words and images. It was earth magic, useless for him, but he never the less went over the spell as carefully as he had the ones he'd been taught as a squire, raising an eyebrow as he finally realized what it was.

Harvest rituals. A minor form of blood magic, but useful in encouraging crops to grow even in less than ideal conditions. What was something like this doing in here? The rest of the book was filled with similar spells and magics, the worst being one to kill off pests that tried to suck the crops dry.

He set it down, assuming it was an oversight, and grabbed another.

Animal charming. Possibly dangerous, both for wielder and others, especially if the beast broke loose. But most of these were for farm animals, and those that involved more dangerous creatures all encouraged them to leave rather than compelled them to stay and fight.

Three more books pulled from the shelves at random. Annals from the previous ruler's reigns. A collection of cures for many common and not so common ills and ailments. An old legend that, on checking, he knew he'd read before, but nothing like this version of the tale.

(In this version, the mage saved the prince instead of cursing him.

There was a cure for the fever that had taken the old king's life.

Arthur Kirkland had served King Ivan's father.)

("Magic can't be controlled!" A mage had shouted at him once, just before Matthew had cornered him. "It was always meant to serve everyone, not just a handful!")

Matthew sat down in the sturdiest chair he could find, let his head fall into his hands, and wondered what he was going to do now.

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AN: Right, so after a year, I finally wrote more for this old AU of mine. I would like to point out ahead of time that I know almost nothing of how higher class people would address lower class, so forgive me for mistakes there. Also I left it fairly open cause I have no idea what I wanna do with this 'verse tbh, so yeah that's an issue.