Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 24
Nemthys glared at his three underlings. Did they honestly think that they would be able to hide their latest failure? Just the fact that they would try to lie about it was already reason enough to be angry. But this was the second time they failed at this one task.
The second time could not easily be forgiven.
They knew that they wouldn't be able to avoid punishment, and that the punishment this time would be worse than what they had last time. They wouldn't relive their worst memories this time. They would experience the endlessness of being trapped in a void without escape. They would not know how long they would remain there. Only Nemthys would, and he wanted to make them understand that their release would not come soon.
The three of them were bowed low, with their foreheads touching the ground. They were not allowed to look up. Not being able to see their master's face as he issued their punishment was already a form of torture.
"You had them in your grasps," he hissed. "And one of them was unconscious. How is it possible that you still managed to fail? And don't you dare suggest that the goddess of luck is to blame. She is not that powerful, and eventually, Vlad's luck would have run out."
"S-sir," Miguel whimpered. "Something happened. There was… a-a light. Two. One red, one green. L-like… Like the F-Forest Mind a-and the D-Desert H-Heart were reacting. T-trying to d-defend them."
"That's impossible," Nemthys snapped. "The three of them shouldn't be able to use the jewels in such a way."
"Master?"
Nemthys turned around and his expression softened. It was one of his few underlings that had not failed him. The man bowed in greeting before turning to regard him.
"Forgive me for the interruption," the man said. "But, all things considered, I thought you would like some good news."
"There is very little that I would see as 'good news'," Nemthys said. "But you may still try."
The man smirked, before he snapped his fingers. A figure appeared next to him, on his knees, in chains and bruised. Nemthys grinned when he recognised the figure.
"Gupta!" he exclaimed. "It's certainly been a long time. How have you been, my little traitor?"
Gupta pressed his lips thin, though he dared not look towards Nemthys. The god stood from his throne and wandered closer. Gupta shut his eyes tight when he got too close.
"Now, don't you want to look into my eyes?" Nemthys asked. "After everything I'd done for you?"
Gupta's teeth buried into his bottom lip. He was desperate not to throw the words that he so desperately wanted to. He flinched when Nemthys moved to stroke his hair.
"You have much to answer for," Nemthys said, his voice low. "Not only for what happened three hundred years ago, but also for helping those three recently. You could have used them to buy my forgiveness."
Gupta shook his head. He didn't want forgiveness. Nemthys frowned and grabbed Gupta's neck, hauling him up to his level. Gupta gasped, but he could not die. Not until Nemthys was truly finished with him.
He didn't bother asking why Gupta did it. He already knew. Gupta had been an unwilling servant from the start, but for seven hundred years had refrained from doing anything drastic. And then three hundred years ago, he betrayed Nemthys in a way he never thought he would. However, there was something he wanted to know.
"You behaved yourself decently for seven hundred years," Nemthys said. "So, what changed three hundred years ago to make you betray me?"
Gupta, despite the difficulty breathing, managed a small smirk.
"Let's just say, I finally found someone who managed to worm himself inside my heart," Gupta said. "And he's long dead, so I don't mind sharing this."
Nemthys narrowed his eyes.
"So, you betrayed me because you fell in love," Nemthys hissed. "Of all the things I expected you to say, I'll admit, that wasn't what I expected. Which makes the betrayal even worse. If you really loved him, then why didn't you invite him into our fold? If you did that, then he would still be alive, you would be together, and you wouldn't have to bear my punishment."
"Because he was nothing like Ludwig," Gupta spat.
And then Nemthys knew. The previous heir to the Ocean Soul… He had a brother. Lars, Bella and Henri had used the brother to get the heir. He didn't know how the brother and Gupta had managed any sort of relationship, but that didn't matter now. The brother was not someone that would follow the person who was killing his brother.
Now he knew the 'why', he only had to figure out how to go about punishing Gupta for his betrayal. It had to be something truly horrifying.
But first…
Gupta screamed as Nemthys probed his mind. He searched for all of the memories regarding those three. There weren't many, but through it, Nemthys could see the possible explanation for why his underlings kept failing.
Their bonds were growing too strong.
This could be a problem. While strong bonds between the three could be advantageous for him, having their bonds being too strong would make it impossible to get them. They would need to damage the bonds before they even attempted to get close to them again, before another unexpected thing happened that would allow them to escape. He turned to his loyal followers.
"It would seem your failures are caused by their bonds being too strong," Nemthys said. "They trust each other too much, and are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. You'll need to find out how to damage those bonds. From now on, do not hold any of them hostage in order to coax the others. It's only going to bring trouble. You need a new strategy."
"Master," the follower that caught Gupta said, "might I make a suggestion?"
"Go ahead."
"Perhaps it would be a good idea to send a few nightmares in their direction. Break their spirits a little. And through the nightmares, the seeds of mistrust are planted. Make them think that one or both of the others will betray them. I think the slave in particular will be a good weak point."
Nemthys thought it over.
"While it would be a good idea to create mistrust among them," he said, "there is also the potential that the nightmares could bring them closer. And we do not want that. How does your task go?"
The man grimaced, and Nemthys narrowed his eyes.
"There has been some… difficulty," he admitted. "The people might not be as devout as they used to be, but the temples are still well guarded. I've only managed to seal one of them. Asnepla, the god of wealth."
"A minor god," Nemthys groaned. "But at least one is sealed. Perhaps I should assign this task to Raj, Antonio and Miguel, so that they could perhaps atone for their latest failure. And until the task is done, none of their injuries will heal."
He could sense the alarm from the three, and his fourth underling winced. The sealing of a god was not a painless process. Idly, Nemthys wondered how many injuries he had sustained in his attempts to seal the gods.
"What is my new task?" he asked.
Nemthys told him, and he nodded in understanding. Nemthys then turned his attention towards Gupta again.
"Now, as for your punishment…" he said.
…
Vlad didn't know where he was or how he got there, which made him think that this was a dream. He looked around, trying to glean any clues from his surroundings, only to find himself thinking that he'd been there before.
This was home.
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. If there was something that pulled him into this dream, then they were a complete and utter monster. He hadn't been there for ten years, but he could still remember much of what it had looked like. And as all the small details were added, he found his frustration growing.
He heard a footstep behind him and turned around. He expected for it to be Nemthys, but instead it was a woman. Something nagged at his mind, but for now, he narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"Of course," she said. "I would not expect you to know who I am. You were only a child when you were stolen. I am Lucania."
He recognised the name. It had been on the tip of his tongue for the first few years of his enslavement. He'd received punishment for uttering it a few times. His eyes narrowed further at the realisation of who this was, and what it meant for him.
"You abandoned me," he hissed.
The goddess hesitated, before she sighed.
"We cannot always make sure that all our followers are always safe," she said. "But once I knew of your fate…"
"You still didn't do anything to help me," Vlad said. "Don't make any excuses."
"…Could I explain something to you? After you were taken, I realised that there was an aura about you. The same aura that three others of my children had. All three of those children ended up being targeted by Nemthys. I had my suspicions, so I didn't do anything to save you from your life of slavery, but I made sure that you weren't too abused. You know what happened to some of the other slaves, if I'm not mistaken."
Vlad shuddered. Yes, he knew full well.
"But still, why didn't you get me out of there?" Vlad asked.
"Allow me to explain the way my luck works," Lucania said. "The more good luck you have, the harsher it would be when the luck runs out, and the more devastating the misfortune that follows will be. The inverse is true. The more misfortune, the greater it will be when you have good luck. Ten years of misfortune can add up. I also wanted to make sure that my suspicions were correct. And when Nemthys awoke, I knew I was correct."
"What do you mean?"
"The moment Nemthys awoke… It was the moment you turned eighteen. Right down to the last second."
Vlad froze as his blood ran cold. He hadn't been keeping track of his birthdays – it was a luxury not afforded to slaves – but he had a rough estimate.
"What could that mean?" Vlad asked.
"I don't know, exactly," Lucania said, "but I found it an odd coincidence. And a lot of luck is based on coincidence. And now, I'm glad for the ten years of misfortune. I allowed the inverse to release in short bursts. Every time you managed to escape, it was because your misfortune was turned around."
"So… that's why you kept me as a slave? So that I can escape when necessary?"
"Indeed. I would have allowed you to be free even if my suspicions were incorrect. You would have escaped even if Nemthys wasn't involved. But it's very strange. I managed to do some research into the matter. It's odd to me that every time Nemthys targets sorcerers regarding the jewels, it is always three sorcerers, and it always starts when the youngest of them turns eighteen."
"You think there's a pattern?"
"I think that we know very little. Nemthys had the jewels' powers for thousands of years. But none of us know the true origins of them, or why they are in cycles every few centuries. I believe that there is something else we are missing. And there's also something else that's concerning. It seems that Nemthys's followers have been trying to seal some of the other gods. They've already succeeded with one. They've also gone on a destructive streak. They managed to destroy a few towns, and there are cities that surrendered to Nemthys's control."
Vlad shuddered.
"So, what do we do now?" he asked.
"You need to continue with your quest," Lucania said. "I will help as much as I am able. But I've sensed some disturbance near some of my temples. As I said, Nemthys's followers have been trying to seal gods. I fear they're attempting to do the same with me. If they suspect that I was responsible for the times you've escaped, then they will try to get rid of me as soon as possible."
"But… what's going to happen to us then? I-I mean…"
"I'm going to help you now in one more way. All of the magical knowledge that you were supposed to have… I will grant it to you."
"So… I-I can help Arthur and Lukas?"
Lucania smiled and nodded.
…
Vlad's eyes snapped open. He pushed himself up and looked around. Arthur and Lukas were still sleeping soundly, and Vlad could hear the sound of singing. The fae were still nearby. Their music was soothing.
Was it all just a dream? Or, did he really have an experience? He closed his eyes, and a few things flitted through his mind. His eyes snapped open again when he realised that they were spells. He had spells!
He looked around, trying to find a target to test it out. He saw a vine climbing a tree and he crawled closer. He froze when he heard Arthur grunt, but Arthur was still asleep. Vlad smiled, glad to see Arthur and Lukas looking so peaceful. He turned back to the vine and got closer.
The vine was bare and wilting a bit. Vlad placed his hand on the vine and tried to remember a spell. He had one in mind, and he smiled. He whispered the spell, and within seconds new life was breathed into the vine and flowers started sprouting along it. Vlad smiled. It worked!
Lukas moaned, and Vlad turned back to his companions. Lukas's face was scrunched up, and Vlad wondered if Lukas was having a nightmare. He also wondered if it was a regular nightmare, or one of those nightmares involving Nemthys or the jewels.
Vlad didn't know how he could help Lukas, but he wondered if he could try to at least soothe him with the lullaby. And so he approached Lukas and started to hum.
Eventually, Lukas's face started to relax, and Vlad smiled. Lukas really looked adorable like that. He glanced over towards Arthur and realised that Arthur's eyes were open.
"You should go to sleep," Arthur mumbled.
"I know," Vlad said. "I just… I wanted to help him. He looked as though he was having a nightmare."
Arthur grunted. There was silence for a few seconds.
"You're too nice sometimes," Arthur mumbled, before he yawned. "I guess that's one of the things I love about you."
Vlad's face grew hot, but before he could think of anything to say, he realised that Arthur's breathing had evened out. He swallowed nervously. First, there was the kiss with Lukas, and then Arthur had to say something like that?
No, Vlad was looking too much into this. Arthur only said that he loved a certain quality of him. It was better than hating the quality. And if one considered it only as a way to express the degree in which Arthur liked the quality… there was nothing special about it. So then, why was Vlad so flustered?
Growing up, Vlad had always known that romance was out of the question for him, though it didn't stop him from dreaming about it from time to time. Slaves were forbidden from having any relationships that their master didn't approve of. Even friendships were risky. Vlad had suspected that he would be forced to enter a union with one of the female slaves so that they could give birth to the next generation of slaves. But now… Now he realised that the option was available to him. And it scared him.
No! Arthur and Lukas… they didn't think of Vlad like that. They were his friends. Friends could… How affectionate could friends even be with each other? Vlad didn't know. But something told him that friends didn't kiss each other on the lips.
He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get a lot of sleep that night. But he could at least try. He returned to his original place and closed his eyes. They opened again when he felt something against his arm, and when he turned to look, Lukas was there, still fast asleep, reaching out towards Vlad.
Lukas really did look like a beautiful doll.
No! He couldn't think like that. He needed to sleep. He needed to forget all thoughts about how beautiful Lukas was or how handsome Arthur was and how thoughtful they were and how safe he felt with them and…
Stop it! He couldn't think like that! They were his friends. The last thing he wanted was to complicate things.
…
Lukas stared at the two on opposite sides. Both Vlad and Arthur were tied to stakes with flames licking at their ankles. He tried to move but could not. A shadow appeared in front of him and grabbed his chin.
"Choose," the shadow whispered. "Which one will you save, and which one will you allow to burn?"
"No," Lukas whimpered. "I can't… Please, don't make me."
"You can have one but you can't have the other. Now, choose."
"I can't! They're both my friends! I love them both equally and can't let one of them die!"
"Will they say the same thing? If you were to change places with either of them, will he be conflicted too? Or will he make his choice? Will Arthur choose Vlad? Will Vlad choose Arthur?"
"Why are you doing this? Who are you?"
"You must choose. Perhaps I should make it easier for you. Who would be most likely to save your life?"
Lukas looked first towards Arthur, then towards Vlad. Their screams were drowning out his thoughts, and they begged him to choose. But he couldn't.
"I don't know," he said. "I don't know. Please. Stop this!"
