Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 23

"Thank you for your help," Arthur said, bowing his head.

Two days had passed since they escaped from Raj and the other two. Both Vlad and Arthur felt better, and it was time for them to leave. The longer they stayed, the more risk there was. Yao's people had already reported that there were many fires in the area.

"The Kirkland brothers and their friends are more than welcome here," Yao said. "Are you sure that you don't want an escort? You're going northwest, right?"

"We're sure," Arthur said. "You've already done more than enough. We're really thankful."

"Alright, if you're sure… Then I wish you all the best."

"Thank you," Lukas said.

Vlad waved as they walked away, leaving the bandits behind. They had managed to avoid having their supplies stolen, including their money – Lukas and Arthur had both checked – and they even got some more food from the bandits. Not many people could say that they had walked away with more supplies after an encounter with bandits.

Once they were a fair distance away, they stopped and Arthur removed the map. They managed to pinpoint their location, and from there, they charted a route. Finally, they had a plan of action.

"How are you feeling?" Arthur asked, turning to Vlad.

"I'm feeling better," Vlad said. "The medicine did wonders."

"I'm glad to hear that, but that's not exactly what I meant. I was actually worried about the effects the jewel might have on you."

Vlad paused and dug into his pockets. He removed the jewel. Arthur shuddered when he saw the jewel, and Lukas placed his hand on his shoulder. Vlad returned the jewel to his pocket.

"I get that feeling too whenever the Desert Heart is out," Vlad said. "I'll be happy as soon as this is all over."

"Then we need to get going as soon as possible," Lukas said. "We have a long journey ahead of us."

They walked for three hours before they decided to take another break. They managed to find a stream, so they took the time to refill their water flasks.

"So, any idea how long it would take to reach the Paqlea Sea?" Lukas asked.

"From my home, it would normally take about two weeks," Arthur replied. "However, we're a few days north, but that's with horseback."

"So, we have about two weeks to get there?" Vlad asked.

"More or less."

"A lot can happen in two weeks," Lukas said. "We need to be very careful."

Vlad nodded.

"My entire life changed in a single day," Vlad said. "Twice. I'm not going to underestimate two weeks. Oh, but, before we leave… the water kind of went right through me."

"Hurry up and do your business," Lukas said. "Remember, not too far away."

"I know!" Vlad chirped, before he disappeared into the trees.

"And what about you?" Lukas asked, turning to Arthur.

"I'm alright," Arthur said. "I'm not surprised that he has to go. That is unfortunately one side-effect of the brew: it causes the bladder to become a bit too active."

"As far as side-effects go, that's not too bad. I remember, when Mathias got sick one time, the apothecary prescribed a brew with nausea as a possible side-effect."

"That defeats the whole purpose!"

"Or, what about that one time Berwald tried to get a headache cure that had headaches as a possible side-effect?"

Arthur curled up as he laughed.

"Honestly, some of these people should really pursue different occupations," Arthur said. "No wonder there are so many people that refuse to be helped. Or why there are so many that come from far away to get help from my brothers and I. I can't help but wonder how many disappointed patients had to turn away in our absence."

Arthur's smile fell, and Lukas's mirth disappeared as well.

"All of this…" Arthur said. "It causes problems for so many people. My brothers, your friends and family, the people at that inn, the villagers from that fire… If all of this could just end…"

He hadn't really thought much of it, but the people influenced by all of this far exceeded just them. Too many people had already suffered, and when Arthur thought of all the people that were potentially suffering…

Soft warmth circled his hand and he jumped. He looked up towards Lukas, who brought his hand up to his chest.

"We're going to complete this task," Lukas said. "We're not going to let Nemthys and his followers win. We're going to end it all and bring peace to everyone. We can't worry about the people who might be suffering now. We need to think about all the suffering we're going to stop."

Arthur took a deep breath and nodded.

"You're right," Arthur said. "We need to…"

Before he can finish his sentence, Vlad returned, and Lukas let go of Arthur's hand. For some reason, he was disappointed at the loss of contact. Lukas turned to Vlad, who didn't appear as though he'd noticed any awkwardness between the two of them.

"Let's get going," Lukas said.

They travelled for hours before they stopped to rest again. They hadn't even bothered with lunch. Vlad noticed that Lukas and Arthur seemed more determined than ever to reach their destination as soon as possible.

Vlad remembered the encounter they had with Raj and the others a few days ago. How many more encounters would they have? And how long would their luck be able to last? Because Vlad knew that the only reason why they managed to escape every encounter was through sheer, dumb luck. Okay, they managed to weaken Ludwig enough to escape, but everything else was based on luck.

He could vaguely remember that his family's patron god was the goddess of luck, but she had obviously not been around on the day when Vlad's life was shattered. Could she have helped him after all this time? And he supposed that he had been lucky enough when he was still a slave. There were others who had suffered fates far worse than he had.

Perhaps he should see if he could seek answers from his patron goddess, even though he had no idea how to do that. He had also forgotten how to pray to her a long time ago. Maybe he could ask Arthur or Lukas about it. They said that their gods had approached them, after all. So, maybe they knew how Vlad could reach out to her.

"I didn't become a sailor so I could do all this walking," Lukas huffed as he sat down.

"I suppose it is a bit of a contradiction," Arthur said, biting back his smirk. "I used to play a lot in the forest when I was younger. Though, I'll admit to never walking this much before."

"We should never have left the horses behind."

"And what good would that do? Yes, we'd get to our destinations faster and we wouldn't be so tired, but what if there was a fire again? The horses wouldn't do well around the smoke, and we'd have panicked horses to deal with and Vlad isn't an experienced rider, so it would be even more dangerous for him."

"Sorry," Vlad muttered.

"I wasn't blaming you or anything. While it would be nice to have horses again, we need to be careful."

"I know you're right," Lukas groaned. "I just don't like this."

"Do you think we should have accepted that offer for an escort?" Vlad asked.

"No," Arthur said. "Not just because we'd be accepting the help of bandits – more than we already have – but because we could also be putting the escort in danger. Don't forget, we're still being hunted."

Vlad sighed, before he picked up a stick and started pushing the point against the dirt.

"I wonder, why, out of all the people, were the three of us chosen?" Vlad asked. "I mean… why us? A sailor, a slave, and… Arthur, how would you describe your job?"

Arthur leaned back and frowned.

"To be honest, I'm not sure," he said. "Perhaps something like 'healer'. I'm not quite an apothecary, and we do more than just herbal remedies."

"I think you mentioned something about charms as well," Lukas said. "Do you think you could make some protective charms for us? Anything that might help us a little would be great."

"Good idea. I'll get to work on them this evening." Arthur looked up. "So, are you ready for the next stretch?"

Lukas and Vlad both groaned. It was a lot of walking, and neither of them were used to the environment, though they had some time to get more accustomed to it. Vlad wondered what it would be like to get away from the forest. He thought that the sea was next. Vlad had never seen it before, and he vaguely remembered his parents telling him about the sea, though he couldn't even imagine it. He would have to see it for himself.

They only walked for about an hour before Vlad suddenly felt unsteady on his feet. Black spots briefly appeared in his vision, and he came to an abrupt stop.

"I think something's wrong," Vlad said, before he felt something hot in his throat.

Arthur and Lukas were immediately at his side. Arthur placed his hand on Vlad's forehead.

"You're burning up," Arthur said. "I guess we're done for today."

"Sorry," Vlad muttered.

"No, I should have realised that you'd still feel the effects of the venom, despite the brew. We pushed you too hard. I'm so sorry."

"You should have told us when you first started feeling bad," Lukas said.

"I did," Vlad said. "It just came all of a sudden."

"Sit down," Arthur ordered. "I'll see if there's anything nearby that we can use as a type of medicine."

Vlad nodded, and he sat down against a tree. Arthur moved away, and Lukas sat down across from Vlad. He checked Vlad's temperature as well.

"I'm sorry you have to go through all of this," Lukas said. "You seem to get the short end of the stick a lot."

"It's still better than it was when I was a slave," Vlad said. "Despite everything that's happened, being a slave was still the worst. And I get to see more of the world." Vlad smiled. "Meeting you and Arthur was the best thing that happened to me."

Lukas's cheeks grew pink. Vlad was pleased that he could prompt a reaction like that from Lukas. Then he thought about the kiss. Was it a week ago? The days felt like a blur, with only the major events standing out. He wondered what prompted Lukas to do that, and if Lukas was also thinking about the kiss.

"Still," Lukas said, "none of that should have happened. Once this is over, we'll try to find a new place for you. I'm sure Arthur would feel the same."

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that it sounded like a proposal," Vlad said.

Lukas's cheeks grew even darker as he glared at Vlad.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're doing this on purpose?" Lukas asked.

Vlad burst out laughing, before groaning as he felt nauseous again. He grimaced.

"Okay, I'm still not feeling well," Vlad groaned.

"Be careful, okay?" Lukas sighed. "And please, stop teasing me."

"But it's so fun. Sometimes, you're a bit difficult to read, so it's fun to get a reaction out of you."

Lukas's eyes narrowed, before he reached out to Vlad's forehead again.

"How are you able to tease me like that with a fever?" Lukas asked.

Vlad only shrugged in response.

"It's distracting," he said. "When I was still working as a slave, then we couldn't let being sick keep us from work. I used to always distract myself in some way. Make a game of my chores or something. It didn't always work, of course, but it worked enough times."

Lukas's face softened. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

"It's always going to be a part of you, isn't it?" Lukas said.

"…I guess so," Vlad sighed. "Like it or not, I spent most of my life as a slave. It's affected me in ways that not even I can imagine. But you should know that I sometimes forget about all of that when I'm with you."

"That's good. Then we'll just have to make sure that all of those bad memories are gone."

Vlad smiled as he leaned back against the tree. It was nice, talking to Lukas like this.

"…Was there ever something you'd like to do, if you managed to break free?" Lukas asked. "There had to be something you dreamed about, right?"

"Not really," Vlad sighed. "I didn't really think that I would ever escape, you know? But if I had to say that there was something I wanted… It was to be around people who cared about me. People who made me feel safe." Vlad smiled. "So, thanks for making my dream come true."

Lukas's face was the darkest it had been yet, but this time, Vlad wasn't trying to tease him. He was being completely honest. Arthur and Lukas were fulfilling his dreams, and he would always be grateful for them.

Arthur returned soon afterwards, his arms full of some sort of berries. Lukas opened the satchel, and Arthur placed the berries in the bag.

"These are golru berries," Arthur explained. "They have medicinal properties, and they're very nutritious."

Vlad took one of the berries and popped it into his mouth. A sweet taste filled his mouth as the berry released all the juice inside. Vlad swallowed before he took another berry.

"This is really good," Lukas remarked. "At the very least, it's a nice snack. Better than those rations we normally have."

"These berries are hard to find," Arthur said, "so I tried to get as many as possible."

"Thank you," Vlad said. He waited for a moment before he smiled. "It looks like I'm starting to feel better."

"That's good. Just don't eat too much or too quickly. It might be medicinal, but too much can still make you sick."

Vlad nodded in understanding as he took another berry. He noticed that Lukas was pointedly looking away from him, and Vlad wondered if he could get another reaction like that out of Lukas.

A few weeks ago, Vlad wouldn't have dared to do this to anyone. Now, he wondered if he could do it again. And he couldn't leave Arthur out of the fun. Arthur was just as fun to tease as Lukas.

As Lukas and Arthur went to set up the wards, Vlad decided to try to practise his own magic. He was doing better, and soon enough, he had some leaves dancing in the air in front of him. He wished that he could do useful stuff like Lukas or Arthur, but ten years without proper training left much to be desired.

He paused when he heard a sound, and he cocked his head to the side.

"Um, guys?" he called out. "I thought I heard something."

Arthur and Lukas were at his side immediately.

"What did you hear?" Arthur asked.

"It sounds kind of like… singing," Vlad said.

"There might be a town close by," Lukas suggested. "Or travelling minstrels."

"No, I highly doubt that," Arthur said. "Travelling minstrels would be careful if there was even the slightest hint of bandits, though they rarely have something of value to steal. And even if there was a town nearby, the odds of us being able to hear the singing from this distance while we can't hear anything else are slim."

"Then maybe a single house or something."

"While that's a little more possible, there's…" Arthur was silent for a moment before he frowned. "No, those aren't humans singing. They're fae."

"Are you sure?"

"The forest is full of them, and anyone can find them, if they know how to look. They shouldn't bother us unless we bother them."

"So, there's no danger here?" Vlad asked.

"Not from them, at least."

"Finally," Lukas sighed. "A bit of good news."

Arthur looked into the distance, where the sound was coming from.

"I could also leave them a little gift," Arthur said. "Something to show them that we mean no harm, and if they're so inclined, they might even return the favour."

"What kind of gift could we give them?" Vlad asked. "We don't have anything, except that music box…"

"That is out of the question," Lukas said.

"Agreed," Arthur said. "Vlad, that is your special gift, and…" Arthur paused. "We don't have to give them the music box. We can just play it for them."

"Huh?" Vlad asked, cocking his head to the side. "How would that be a gift?"

"Well, we became aware of their presence by their singing, right? So, what better way to show them that we're not a threat by giving them some music of our own?"

"Will that work?" Lukas asked.

"The fae don't always respond to material gifts. But music is something they're not opposed to."

"Then let's do it!" Vlad said.

He went to the sack and removed the music box. He smiled as he wound it, and the smile grew bigger as the melody started to play. Then, to his surprise, he started to sing along.

"Hush my darling, don't you cry. The moon is dancing in the sky. The stars are bright to light the night. Close your eyes, and you can fly. Rest calmly, don't be afraid. You must remember how you played. The day is long, so hear my song. Tomorrow dance in the glade."

The music box stopped, and Vlad's song trailed off. He looked around at Arthur and Lukas, feeling his face heating.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't even think I still knew the lyrics."

"What are you apologising for?" Arthur asked. "That was a sweet song, and you have a great voice." He was silent as he cocked his head to the side. "The fae think so too."

For some reason, that just made Vlad blush deeper.

The headache cure that has headaches as a possible side-effect is based on something I once got for migraines with a side-effect of possible headaches.