Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 8
Matthew stared at Feliciano, his mouth hanging open. What Feliciano was saying… it was impossible. It had to be nothing more than a coincidence. There was no way that he could be the same Matthew from back then. He wasn't some sort of… reincarnation or something of a murdered young man.
Feliciano's face fell when Matthew started to shake his head, stepping backwards.
"I'm not him," Matthew said. "I'm sorry. But this is all… this is all a coincidence. And I…"
Feliciano lunged at him. Matthew's eyes widened when he felt Feliciano's lips on his own. They were soft, but they were also cold. They tasted sweet, like syrup, but there was also a salty taste, almost like tears.
An image came to Matthew's mind. They were back in the garden, but this time, it was sunny. Feliciano was pinned under him, but the smile on his face suggested that he didn't mind. Matthew leaned down and kissed him.
Matthew pulled back. He didn't know what was more disorienting: the kiss, or the memory of another kiss. Was that what he'd just seen? Was it a memory from the other Matthew?
Hurt crossed Feliciano's face, and Matthew turned and ran to the door. He needed to be alone for a moment. He needed to think.
As soon as he closed the door, Feliciano's anguished scream echoed through the walls. Matthew flinched. He had to fight the urge to go back and comfort Feliciano. When he realised just what exactly he was feeling, he sank to the ground. What Feliciano had said… it was just a pure coincidence. There was no way that he could actually be the person that…
He gasped as his feet and his back stung. The echoes of what had happened to the other Matthew didn't want to leave him alone.
He curled into a ball. His stomach ached. It felt like he hadn't eaten in far too long. Of course, the other Matthew had been starved. Matthew was feeling that as well. He took a few deep breaths and stood up.
He had no idea where he was, but for some reason, seeing this room sent all of his nerves on edge. Everything screamed at him that he shouldn't be there. If he opened the door, would he be somewhere safe? Or would he be back with Feliciano, who was upset with him?
…Actually, he suspected that, even though Feliciano might have been upset with him, Matthew would still be safer with Feliciano. All throughout the night, Matthew had felt safe with Feliciano. Even if it was only because Feliciano thought that he was the other Matthew, Feliciano had done nothing but protect Matthew.
Perhaps he should go back. He could try to talk with Feliciano again. It was just a coincidence that they looked so much alike, and had the same name. Perhaps they were distant relatives. There had to be a reason for it all.
Matthew turned around and was about to open the door, when a voice spoke behind him.
"So, the house brought you here?"
Matthew froze when he heard that voice. He swallowed and turned around again. Romulus Vargas stood behind him, arms crossed and a cold expression on his face.
"I-I'm sorry," Matthew said. "I-I must have got turned around. I-I'll just…"
"Come here," Romulus said.
The words were like a punch to the gut. Ice filled Matthew's veins at the sound of the voice. He wanted to run away, but his body didn't obey. His back stung, as though it wanted to remind him that it was important to stay on Romulus's good side. Matthew swallowed again and took a step closer to Romulus. The man turned around and went towards a desk, and Matthew's feet followed after him.
This was Romulus's study. It was why the room felt so wrong to him. If he really felt the echoes of the other Matthew, then there must have been a time when he had been punished in this very room. His eyes trailed towards the fireplace, where furniture had been arranged in a circle. He could imagine people in those chairs, raising their hands, like an auction.
Matthew's stomach dropped. Why did he think of an auction, and why did it feel so right? He shouldn't have left Feliciano. Why did he leave Feliciano? Was it just because he was uncomfortable? Because whatever it was that Feliciano made him feel was nothing compared to what Romulus made him feel.
"How much do you know?" Romulus asked.
Matthew jumped as he turned his attention back to Romulus. The man had sat down behind his desk, and his chin rested on his steepled hands as he regarded Matthew. He had to fight the uncomfortable sense of déjà vu.
"P-pardon?" Matthew asked.
"You spent all this time with Feliciano," Romulus said. "You have to know something. At the very least, you should know the nature of this house."
Matthew started to tremble. He couldn't look Romulus in the eyes. He had this strange sense that he would be punished if he did so.
"I… I'm not him," Matthew said at last. "The servant. The other Matthew. I-I'm not him."
"…So, you know that much," Romulus said. "And yet, you stand in front of me looking exactly like him. The only difference between you two are the clothes you wear."
Matthew looked up then, and he had to fight the urge to run away. He couldn't do that. He took a deep breath.
"You tortured the other Matthew," he whispered. "And you abused your son."
Romulus huffed, and for the first time, a small spark of anger flickered in Matthew before it died again. Romulus was dangerous.
"Did you kill him?" Matthew asked.
"No," Romulus said, his eyes narrowing. "Why would I kill a source of income?"
Matthew was confused for a moment, but then his eyes wandered towards the fireplace. He shuddered again.
"There was an auction…" he whispered.
"So, you know about that too…" Romulus said. "And you're trying to argue that you're not him. Tell me, have you experienced any of his memories?"
Matthew flinched, before he turned back to Romulus. It was hard to tell what the man was feeling, which scared Matthew more than anything else so far.
"What is it that you want with me?" Matthew asked.
Romulus leaned back, his fingers steepled in front of him. Matthew's eyes darted to the door. Would he make it?
Feliciano had gotten to Yao before Matthew even had time to blink. Would Romulus have the same ability as Feliciano? Or did he have his own?
"The dead cannot alter our situation," Romulus said, startling Matthew. "However, the living can. You and your brothers are not the first to arrive at this house. All of the others died, whether it was because they refused to cooperate or because Feliciano became impatient or because someone else became unhinged. However, never before has someone who looks exactly like that damned servant arrived. You offer a new opportunity."
"W-what do you mean?" Matthew asked.
"You will go back to Feliciano. You will pretend to receive that servant's memories. And you will tell him that you killed yourself that night."
…
They managed to find a door leading outside. Alfred was startled to see that the night was clear.
"What happened to the storm?" Jason asked, echoing Alfred's thoughts.
"Time and space can be a bit strange now," Lovino explained. "It might have been storming before, but right now, we've got good weather."
"So, where can we find this Lars guy?" Alfred asked.
"Follow me," Marcello said. "I'm pretty good friends with his younger brother, Henri. And Bella…"
"Let's not talk about it right now," Lovino said.
Marcello grinned and turned to look at Alfred and Jason.
"Lovino used to be infatuated with Bella," Marcello said. "And then he got engaged to someone else."
"Marcello…" Lovino warned.
"So, while this Lars guy is a bit of a creep," Alfred said, "you're saying that the others are fine?"
"They have their moments," Marcello said. "But all in all, they're a lot nicer." Marcello's smile fell. "Uh oh."
"What is it now?" Lovino asked, before he followed Marcello's gaze. "Oh, for the love of…"
"What?" Alfred asked, looking between the two brothers. "What's going on?"
"Well, we found the Janssens siblings," Lovino said. "But they have company."
Alfred followed Lovino and Marcello's eyes. Some distance in front of them were five people. Three of them were blond and pretty light, while the other two were a little darker with dark hair. Considering their reaction, Alfred suspected that the other two were bad news.
"So, who are they?" Jason asked.
"The Carriedo siblings," Marcello said. "Antonio and Miguel. They used to be friends, and then Antonio got engaged to Bella."
"Oh, is that why Lovino doesn't like them?"
"The two of them were also at the auction," Lovino said. "Both of them. They stopped bidding pretty quickly, though."
"If they were part of that auction, then they're suspects too," Alfred said.
He would have added that anyone that took part in something like that was evil, and it wouldn't be odd to think that they would commit murder, but Francis's story came to mind. If he had said that, then he would have called Francis evil as well, and he didn't want to do that. In fact, Francis was probably the one person that he wanted to comfort with the knowledge of what happened that night. Even Feliciano didn't deserve that knowledge, in his opinion.
"There's also another problem," Marcello said. "Miguel and Antonio are some of the more dangerous spirits here. Especially Antonio. He has a dark temper, and that can cause us some trouble. It might be safer if we come back later and hope they're gone."
"Safer, maybe," Alfred said. "But it's going to be a waste of time. Let's just get this over with, and if things are starting to get dangerous, we'll run away."
"Al, since when are you someone that suggests running away?" Jason asked. His eyes widened. "Oh, right, they're ghosts. My mistake."
Alfred glared at his brother before he stalked over to the other two sets of siblings. They were probably about ten feet away when all five of them turned to them.
Okay, that wasn't eerie at all.
"Lovi!" the brunet with short hair said, smiling brightly. "You don't usually come here. And you brought guests."
"Shut it," Lovino growled. "We need to talk to Lars."
"About?" the taller blond said, arching his eyebrow. He was probably Lars.
"We need to know about that auction," Alfred said. He glared at Antonio and Miguel, though he didn't know which was which. "And we hear you were there too."
"What does that have to do with you?" the other dark-haired brother asked.
"Because we're trying to figure out who killed that servant, and it might be someone who was part of that auction," Jason said. "And since you were part of that auction…"
"Oh, is that where you'd disappeared to that night?" the only woman of the group asked, looking at her brother. She was most definitely Bella. "What kind of an auction was it?"
"A slave auction," Lovino said. "Your brother and your fiancé took part in that."
"Really? Wait, was it that servant that was killed that night? The one that caused Feliciano to kill us?"
Bella didn't seem bothered by the fact that her brother and fiancé took part in something that evil. Alfred didn't think he liked her that much. Though her other brother frowned, looking at least a little uncomfortable. Alfred decided that he was his favourite person there.
"That's right," Jason said. "We're trying to figure out who killed him."
"And what does that even matter?" the short-haired one asked. "It was just a servant, and it happened so long ago. Listen, why don't you just go? You can leave. And you can carry on with your lives."
"Antonio, their brother is with Feliciano," Marcello said. "Are you saying that they should abandon their brother? Would you do that, if you were in the same position, knowing what Feliciano is capable of?"
Antonio's eyes narrowed, and his brother – Miguel – took a step forward.
"You're asking the wrong set of brothers," Miguel said. "Antonio and I would have left the other to his fate while we cut our losses."
Antonio nodded. Alfred felt a wave of rage at that.
"Are you kidding me?" Alfred roared. "What is it with you people? I'm starting to think that Feli was right to kill you."
"Shut up," Antonio said, his eyes flashing.
"This is the part where you back down," Marcello muttered.
"No," Alfred snapped. "You might be a bunch of selfish jerks who can't care about anyone else, but I'm going to find out what happened to that servant, and I'm going to leave with my two brothers."
"He's stubborn like that," Jason said, nodding his head.
Antonio was positively trembling. His eyes had turned from green to red. His brother looked at Alfred with a blank expression, but his eyes remained the same shade as before.
Alfred reeled back when he saw an axe appear in Antonio's hands, and Antonio grinned at his reaction.
"Suddenly, you're not so brave," Antonio hissed.
"This would be a good time to run," Marcello said.
"No," Alfred said. "This jerk needs to learn…"
Before he could finish his statement, the ground trembled. The ghosts looked equally startled, and Alfred and Jason fell to the ground. Antonio's eyes returned to normal and he looked towards the house.
"Feli's mad," Antonio whispered.
Alfred looked back to the house, and he could see what Antonio meant. Red thunderclouds circled the roof of the house, and green lightning flashed.
"We need to get inside," Marcello said.
When Antonio and the others started running towards the house, Alfred got the hint. He pulled himself up to his feet and helped Jason as well. The two of them ran towards the house just as the lightning started to attack the ground. He looked over his shoulder to see a hole where he had been a few seconds ago.
Just as he reached the house, an anguished scream echoed through the area. He could vaguely recognise Feliciano's voice, but now he was scared.
What happened to Matthew?
…
Matthew stared at Romulus, his jaw hanging. Romulus glared at him, and though Matthew's instinct was to look away, he didn't want this man to have any sort of victory.
Also, the request didn't make much sense.
"W-what?" Matthew asked at last.
"No one knows what happened to that servant," Romulus said. "And we are cursed because of it. But the living have the power to change our circumstances. You have the power to set us free. And you will convince Feliciano that the servant killed himself, so whatever hold he has on us can be released. Once he no longer feels any of us is to blame, we can be free."
"N-no," Matthew stammered. "I can't do that. I-I don't want to lie to Feliciano."
"How can you be sure that it would be a lie? After all, if no one had managed to discover how he'd died in the last hundred years, then how can you be sure that he didn't kill himself? And we were all cursed for nothing."
Matthew's throat tightened, and he wanted to admit that Romulus might have had a point. However…
"M-Marcello said that everyone agreed that it was definitely murder," Matthew said.
"Marcello was wrong," Romulus said, his face hardening.
"…And I think that the real reason why everything happened was because you didn't care. Feliciano was completely alone. The other Matthew was the only person that he felt cared for him. And the way you're speaking… I know he's right. You don't care about your son."
"Don't you dare…"
"I'm right, aren't I?" Matthew asked. "You don't care about Feliciano, or Lovino, or Marcello."
Romulus lunged for him, and Matthew was too slow to move out of the way. Romulus grabbed Matthew's shirt and pulled him closer.
As he looked Romulus in the eyes, he felt as though something similar happened before. And even though he knew that Romulus was gripping his shirt, he could also faintly feel Romulus's hand around his throat. The clothes Romulus wore seemed to change, and Matthew could feel a wall behind him.
"Because of you, my business is suffering," Romulus growled. "You seduced Feliciano and caused him to embarrass the family."
"I-I'm sorry," Matthew stammered. "I-I didn't…"
The grip around his throat tightened, and his words died.
"I should kill you," Romulus hissed. "That is one way to make you atone for your crimes."
Matthew clawed at Romulus's hand, but the older man was far too strong.
"You will never see Feliciano again," Romulus said. "Mark my words."
"You have no right to say anything about my family," Romulus hissed.
Matthew gasped. The past and the present collided, leaving him jarred. He glared at Romulus.
"You told the other Matthew that he caused Feliciano to embarrass the family," Matthew said. "You didn't care about him at all. You just cared about the family name. And you also threatened the other Matthew. You had your hand around his throat and you told him that you should kill him. That it would be one way to make him atone for his crimes. And you said that he would never see Feliciano again."
Romulus's eyes widened and his grip on Matthew's shirt loosened.
"How did you…?" he whispered.
He didn't have a chance to complete that thought. A gasp made both of them turn their heads. Matthew smiled when he saw Feliciano.
"You…" Feliciano growled. His hands were trembling, and it was clear that he was holding back his rage.
"Feli, I can explain," Romulus said, releasing his hold on Matthew. His eyes were wide and he had grown pale. "I promise, I didn't kill him."
Feliciano was beyond the point of listening. He screamed, and Matthew actually flew back as it happened. Everything grew dark after that.