I won't be posting anything next week due to my sister's wedding.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 26
"So, where are you going?" Francis asked.
"North," Lukas said. The less they tell these three strangers, the better.
"Is that really all you're going to say?" Francis pouted. "We're going north too, just so you know. Our destination is Adnoa."
Lukas was familiar with Adnoa. It was a city that was within sight of Mount Alasbu. Too convenient. Too suspicious.
"So, what exactly is it that you do?" Arthur asked, looking around at the sacks surrounding them.
"We're artists," Roderich said. "What you see here are our supplies. And before you ask, this cart has the option of creating a roof, in case of rain. We've found that travelling like this attracts less attention. But if we're bothered, Dimitri is an excellent swordsman."
Lukas glanced over towards the driver, and only then did he notice that he was indeed carrying a sword. Lukas had little to do with artists, though the few that he had met were rather eccentric. Which would explain a lot, to be honest.
"And what about you?" Francis asked. "The three of you aren't relatives, that's for sure. And if there were only two of you, I would think that you were lovers."
Lukas felt his face heat up, though he wasn't quite sure which emotion was the cause. He didn't know if it was embarrassment, anger, outrage, or something else.
"What the bloody hell gave you that idea?" Arthur demanded, his face as red as Lukas's felt.
"Oh, are you saying that there aren't at least two of you romantically involved with each other?" Francis asked.
"Francis, contain yourself," Roderich sighed.
"First of all, no, none of us are romantically involved with each other!" Arthur snapped. "Second, even if that were the case, it is none of your bloody business!"
"Oh?" Francis asked. "But you must admit, you must think at least one of your companions is attractive? Out of curiosity, which one do you think is the more attractive of the two?"
Lukas could feel his face heating again, though this time, he knew it was out of anger. Arthur was left sputtering, and Francis looked completely oblivious, as though nothing that he said was out of the ordinary.
Though, a part of Lukas had to admit that he was curious.
No! Even if Arthur considered one of them attractive, it didn't matter. They were friends. They were companions. And they were hiding from a dangerous god and his followers. Even if they wanted a relationship – which none of them wanted – it would be too dangerous, and it would be a complication that they couldn't afford.
…What if it was Vlad?
Lukas glanced towards Vlad, who had been oddly quiet through it all. His face was red as well, and his gaze was firmly fixed on his lap. Lukas then turned towards the driver.
"How long did you say it would be until we reach our destination?" Lukas asked.
"It's only been five minutes," Dimitri said.
"So, it's still close to an hour."
"If there isn't any other distraction, yes."
Lukas didn't think that he would be able to last even one more minute with Francis, and it was clear that Arthur was of the same mind. The other blond was still red-faced, and it seemed as though he was having difficulty forming letters, let alone words. Lukas had to fight the instinct to reach out to try to comfort him. He didn't want to add any fuel to Francis's obsessed probing into their private lives, even if there was nothing there.
"So, how did the three of you meet each other?" Francis asked. "You must be childhood friends or something along those lines, am I right?"
"With all due respect," Lukas said, focusing as much ice into his gaze and voice as possible, "this is none of your concern. You don't see us probing into your private affairs, and we would appreciate if you didn't do the same to us."
Francis pouted, but Roderich sighed.
"Let's discuss other matters," Roderich said. "Have you heard of what is happening up in the Aewern Desert?"
"No," Lukas said. He saw Vlad stiffen, and he hoped that Roderich and Francis didn't notice it too. "What happened?"
"Apparently, there have been a number of attacks by sorcerers. General Adnan is furious, since apparently an escaped slave of his has some sort of connection to the attacks. The slave apparently escaped around the same time these attacks started, or that's the rumours, at least. The general started a campaign to all surrounding areas. It's only a matter of time before they come towards the south and west. He's apparently the one responsible for the attack on Lobato in the north about a decade ago."
Lukas felt cold, and he almost wished that Francis would probe again, just so he can get heated again. Vlad looked pale, and Arthur had lost a lot of red as well. Lukas hoped that the two artists didn't detect their apprehension. This was concerning news.
As for the attacks… Were they only the explosions that Tino and his allies set off that day, or were there others as well? And if there had been other attacks, were Nemthys's followers responsible for those as well, or did the sorcerers native to the region decide that enough was enough, and the chain reaction began?
There was no way of knowing, and Lukas had no interest in finding out. The farther away they, and especially Vlad, remained from the situation, the better.
"Honestly, I understand that these sorcerers are frustrated over not having a voice," Francis said, "but there had to be other ways for them to be heard. All they're doing now is proving to brutes like Adnan that they were right about them."
"And what would you suggest they do about this?" Arthur asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Why, you use art, of course! Art that reflects the love in their hearts, and the capacity for love!"
"He's a bit obsessed with the notion of 'love', you see," Roderich said. "He likes to pepper his works with the theme."
"And what's so wrong about that?"
"You take it too far, Francis. Always too far."
"One can never go too far when it comes to love."
Based on Francis's obsession, Lukas would have to disagree. He wished he had a means to tell time on him, though he suspected that it wouldn't have been so long since he'd asked Dimitri about it. He looked towards the sky, hoping that it could reveal to him how much longer they would have to be in these men's companies. Roderich was alright, but he wanted to get away from Francis as soon as possible. Travelling with Francis was worse than travelling with Mathias.
The moment he thought that, Lukas immediately felt guilty. Yes, Mathias could be annoying at times, but his attempts had always been in an effort to lift their spirits and to keep things light. And Lukas would never be able to travel with his old friend again. He would never hear Mathias's bad attempts at singing songs to pass the time, or Mathias telling them all sorts of random and irrelevant stories.
He wondered how Berwald and Emil were doing. He hoped that both of them were still safe, and that they weren't angry with him because of all the misfortune that he had brought along for them. He also wondered if they had already done something for Mathias. How long ago had it been? The days tended to blur together. Still, uneventful travels were better than eventful ones, especially if those events involved things like Raj poisoning Vlad or something.
Choose.
Lukas held back his shudder. He didn't know why he thought back to his dream. He looked over towards Arthur, who was pointedly looking away from Francis with a frown on his face. And Vlad was awfully quiet. Hearing about his former master going on what seemed to be a rampage must have shaken him badly.
As long as Vlad never had to meet that man again, Lukas cared little for what he was up to.
…
"Thank you for the ride," Arthur said, "but now we must be off."
"Take care!" Francis said as he waved. "I'm sure we'll meet again soon!"
Arthur huffed, before he turned around, with Lukas and Vlad following after them. Once they were gone, Francis lost his smile.
"So, what do you two think about them?" Francis asked.
"We could have easily taken them to Master," Dimitri said. "Why didn't we? Won't he be mad that we let the opportunity slip from our fingers?"
"He knows what we're doing," Roderich said. "You did well, distracting them while I cast my spell."
"Of course," Francis said. "I spent the last three hundred years experimenting on those prison guards. Emotional manipulation is my specialty. I was a bit worried about the empath, but I think the other two managed to keep him distracted."
"Did you see the look on his face?" Dimitri asked, grinning. "I've never seen anyone grow so pale, so fast."
"Now then, we just let them go ahead to the last of the jewels," Francis said. "And then, we can take them."
…
Vlad felt sick to his stomach. He knew that it had something to do with the things that Francis and Roderich discussed, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what in particular the cause of his discomfort was.
On the one hand, he knew that the news about his former master and what was happening there concerned him. He was just a slave, or rather, he had been a slave. Slaves escaped, or tried to escape, all the time. But he knew that his master would be angry. Slaves were the property of their masters, and for Vlad to escape like that…
In a way, Vlad had stolen from his master, even if the thing he stole was his life. He took his freedom, but in his master's eyes, it was not Vlad's to take. And if Vlad were ever to meet his master again, he would be asked to pay recompense. Vlad shuddered to think what it could be, but he knew that his master wouldn't give him a quick and painless death.
And then there were the other things that Francis discussed. Well, 'discussed' was probably not the correct word, but Vlad didn't know how to think about it. Francis had assumed that at least two of them were lovers. Why would he assume that? And… which two did he think were the most likely?
Vlad still remembered the kiss that Lukas gave him, and he remembered Lukas's reaction. Vlad couldn't pinpoint the exact emotions that Lukas was feeling, just that none of them were comfortable. He was almost sure that Lukas had felt shame at that point.
He could feel Lukas and Arthur's emotions throughout the journey, and especially whenever Francis was speaking. Anger, outrage, and… he was almost sure he felt disgust that was not his own. He also couldn't tell where Lukas's ended and Arthur's began. And he had no idea what his own emotions were during that time.
What if both of them had felt that disgust at the mere thought of them being in a relationship with Vlad? They got along well with Vlad, but there would never be something more. Could never be something more. Vlad had been a slave. He would forever be tainted.
And then there was the conversation he'd heard that morning…
He heard Arthur and Lukas as they discussed their dreams. He didn't think that it was a good idea for them to know that he had been listening. The conversation was awkward and he could sense the tension in the air. He hadn't wanted to add to any of that.
"I hope we never see that slimy toad again," Arthur huffed.
"If you're talking about Francis, then I completely agree," Lukas said. "That was definitely a mistake."
Vlad flinched. He was the one that insisted that they could use them to cut some time in their voyage. The mistake was Vlad's.
"I mean, the nerve of that guy!" Arthur snapped. "Where does he go around asking things like that? You don't ask strangers that kind of thing! It's bloody common sense!"
"Well, they did say they were artists," Lukas said. "And artists tend to be a breed all their own. But let's focus on the other matter." At this, Lukas turned to Vlad. "Are you okay?"
Vlad smiled, even though he was far from okay. But he knew what Lukas had in mind. Arthur paused, a look of concern slipping onto his own face.
"I guess I should have expected a response like that," Vlad said. "After all, I did technically steal from my former master."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.
"Everything about me is supposed to belong to him. My life, my freedom… By running away with both of them, I stole from him."
"That is a messed-up thought!"
"But that's the way slaves are viewed. You must have known something about it?"
Arthur flinched and looked away.
"Slavery isn't exactly something that happens around where I grew up," Arthur said. "I mean, I knew about it, but… I didn't…"
"You didn't know about it," Lukas finished. "You didn't know what it exactly involved. How exactly they treat the slaves. I'm guilty of that too. We knew it was happening, but we didn't understand what exactly was going on."
"Exactly!"
"So, if you'd never met me, then you wouldn't have been bothered by all of this?" Vlad asked.
Neither Arthur nor Lukas could say anything. Vlad could feel their guilt, and he knew that he was right. They didn't think that they would have cared, if not for their familiarity with Vlad.
Vlad bit his lip, before he started walking away. He could hear their footsteps behind him before one of them grabbed his arm.
"Vlad, I'm so sorry!" Arthur said. "You were right. I was blind to the suffering people go through, and I didn't stop to think about how it could have felt. And… I probably never would have thought about it, if not for you."
"…I'm not mad at you," Vlad whispered. "But… It hurts, knowing that there's a wall between us. It's the same with everyone. Even if they're the ones doing it to us, they don't stop to think about how any of that could feel. They don't stop to think what it feels like if your humanity is stripped away. To only be considered an object that belongs to someone else."
Lukas wrapped his arms around Vlad, but Vlad stiffened in the embrace. He didn't feel comfortable with the contact right now. Lukas must have noticed, for he pulled away very quickly.
"Sorry," Lukas said.
"I… I just need to be alone for a moment," Vlad said. "I won't go far, I just… I need time to breathe."
They stepped back as Vlad walked away. He stopped after about fifteen steps. He was covered by trees, but he knew that Arthur and Lukas would be able to hear him if there was trouble.
A sob escaped as he sank to his haunches. He curled up into a ball as the tears started to come. He wasn't even entirely sure why he was crying, but everything was pouring out. Perhaps it was that everything unrelated was trying to use this opportunity to escape. When was the last time he really allowed himself to cry?
…
"I feel really bad about this," Arthur said.
"I do too," Lukas said. "I feel sick, to be honest."
Arthur looked over towards the direction that Vlad walked to. He was almost sure that he could hear Vlad crying.
"How do we make it up to him?" Arthur asked. "We basically admitted that we wouldn't have cared about him if we weren't forced to."
"'Force'?" Lukas repeated. "Do you think you're being forced to care about Vlad?"
"That… That's not what I mean!"
"And what about me? Do you think you're being forced to care about me?"
"N-no! I just…" Arthur clutched his head. "What I meant is… Fate forced the three of us together. But I care about you. The two of you… You're very precious to me. I've never felt the same about anyone else."
Lukas was quiet for a while. Arthur pressed himself against a tree. These were the words that he couldn't speak that morning.
"What exactly do you mean by 'precious'?" Lukas asked.
"I don't know," Arthur muttered. "I don't know how to describe any of this. All I know is, I can't imagine my future without either of you two by my side. I know how this might sound, but… I-I can't…"
"…We need to figure all of this out, before one of us ends up saying something we will end up regretting."
Arthur nodded his head. He was worried about what Lukas thought about him now, and he wondered what Vlad was thinking. But if Vlad was crying, then Arthur suspected that his thoughts were not positive.
"I'm really sorry," Arthur said. "I've never been able to express my thoughts very clearly, especially when it comes to my thoughts on other people."
"What are you talking about?" Lukas asked. "I've always thought you were very honest. You're certainly very expressive. And people always told me that it's hard to read my expressions. And Vlad is also pretty expressive."
"Well, while it's true that you're not the most expressive," Arthur said, "there are times when your emotions are very plain. It also makes it a lot more endearing, especially when you yawn or blush."
As though to prove his point, Lukas blushed, and Arthur smiled.
"Like that," he said. "But, seriously, it's nice to see those reactions from time to time. They're a lot better than the look you had when Lars grabbed you."
"…I see," Lukas said. "It's a good thing you were unconscious when Raj and the others had you. It was painful enough to see just Vlad's reactions. I wouldn't have wanted to see yours as well."
Precious. That was why it was so painful to see them so scared. Arthur could at least say that much.
