Thanks to Pure for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
EgyWal: Spirit's Curse
Little Will and his brothers were playing in the hallway, which they knew they weren't supposed to do, but being kids, they didn't care. The hallway was a fun place to chase each other around in.
Will let out a startled cry when he slipped and fell forwards, knocking against a display case with an old vase. Will was still pushing himself up when the vase fell, and he flinched as it broke next to him.
"What's going on there?!" their father called out.
"Shoot," Alistair said. "Run!"
Will's brothers scattered, and Will moved to do the same, but the world tilted as he stood up. He pressed his one hand against his head and the other against the wall, and he fell again when he saw his father coming into view. His father's voice was muffled as everything turned black.
…
Will awoke in bed, his body heated. He tried to move, but everything felt heavy. Finally, he satisfied himself by groaning. Soon afterwards, his mother came into view.
"Hey there, Sweetie," she said gently. "How are you feeling?"
"Heavy," Will slurred. "Hot. Tired."
She placed the back of her hand against his forehead, and he leaned closer to the cold.
"Your fever hasn't gone down yet," she said.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Your father heard a noise and went to check. It turns out that you fainted, knocking down that vase of Grandpa Angus."
Will's eyes widened in horror. He knew that vase. His grandfather was part of an exploration party to Egypt, and he'd found that vase in a tomb. It was his own, personal treasure, particularly because it was so perfectly preserved. And now Will had destroyed it.
"Oh no!" Will whined. "Father is probably…"
"Shh," his mother soothed. "Your father isn't angry. You fainted. It wasn't your fault."
He swallowed. He remembered the vase breaking before that, but he didn't dare to say anything in fear of getting into trouble.
His mother held out a glass to him, and Will eagerly drank the contents. He was pretty sure that water had never tasted so delicious.
"Rest now," his mother said gently. "I'll bring you more water, along with some medicine."
She kissed him on his sweaty forehead, and she gave him one last smile before she left. Will closed his eyes and snuggled into the sheets.
"I thought she'd never leave."
Will's eyes snapped open, and he looked around the room. The voice was unfamiliar, and had a strange accent.
"H-hello?" he said nervously.
"Oh, so you can hear me," the voice said. "That should make things more interesting."
"Who are you?" he asked, looking around. "Where are you?"
"I'm inside your body. Before that, I was inside the vase you broke."
Will gasped, and he tried getting out of bed to check in the mirror.
"I'm inside your body. You won't see anything out of the ordinary."
"What… What do you want?" Will asked.
"…Unfortunately, you're too young to be of much help. Still… Perhaps when you're older. For now… Try to get some rest. Your body will take a while to get used to my presence."
…
Will sighed, leaning back in the chair, stretching out his back. It had been ten years since the fateful day he had become the spirit's vessel, and although he had been alarmed at first, eventually he had gotten used to having someone else sharing his body.
The spirit had a name that he couldn't pronounce, so they had tried to find an easy one: Gupta. He had been trapped in the vase for about three thousand years, and was a bit saddened to see what had happened to his precious country.
Gupta explained that he had been trapped because of a crime he didn't commit. He was cursed and trapped. He wanted to use Will's body as a means to escape the curse, and even at a young age, Will had been nervous about what it might have been. So, when he found out what was necessary to break the curse, he was several shades of confused.
The truth of what happened to Gupta had to be revealed to the world, and the easiest way to do that would be to turn it into a novel. They could have posted it online, but it wouldn't have explained the whole story.
Will was studying Literature at university, and was actually doing his Masters Degree. He had to learn a lot about the art of writing to ensure that he would have been able to get the story published. He also needed to learn about as many techniques as possible.
It helped that Gupta told him all of it, and he didn't have to worry too much about writer's block. Gupta had had thousands of years with nothing but his memories for company. He had a lot to talk about.
"I can see you're tired," Gupta said. "We can always get dinner."
Will glanced towards the clock, and he nodded his head upon confirming that it was time for dinner.
"Alright," he said. "What are you in the mood for?"
"What about Indian food?"
Will nodded his head, grabbing his cell phone. Gupta had made it clear on many, many occasions that he didn't like Will's cooking.
…
Will grinned brightly. His novel – Gupta's story – had been accepted by a publisher. It had to go through a few rounds of editing, but it had been accepted!
'This is great!' Will said, communicating by thoughts since they were out in public. 'Why don't we celebrate?'
"What do you have in mind?" Gupta asked.
'What about ice-cream?'
Gupta chuckled.
"I can see you're still a child at heart."
Will blushed at that, but it wasn't a dismissal. He and Gupta would be going out for ice-cream.
…
Will smiled brightly as he read the reviews. His book had been made available for purchase the previous day, and so far, the critics loved his work, and it was only a matter of time before other people would want to read the book out of curiosity. Gupta's story would be told, and the curse would be broken!
"I'm so happy for you, Gupta," he said.
"I can tell," Gupta said.
"Hey, what happens when the curse is broken?"
"For one thing, I'll be able to leave your head. For another… I can move on."
Will was silent for a moment.
"What do you mean, 'move on'?" he asked.
"Once the truth is revealed, I can move on to the afterlife. I can see my friends and family again."
Will felt a jolt in his heart. He didn't know why. He should have been happy for Gupta, so why did he feel sad?
"You must be so excited," Will said.
"It's what I've wanted for a long time."
That was what made it worse.
…
When Will woke up, he was confused. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was. He stood up, and for some reason he felt a bit disoriented.
"Is everything fine, Gupta?" he asked, worried that he might be sick.
Only silence greeted him, and he frowned.
"Gupta?" he asked. "Are you still… here…?"
His eyes widened when he realised what the problem was. He couldn't sense Gupta's presence at all. It had only been a few days ago that Gupta said he would move on, but…
No! It was too soon!
For some strange reason, Will started to cry. This was what they'd wanted. This was what he had been hoping for – to end Gupta's curse. But he…
He didn't expect to feel so empty without Gupta.
…
Will was at a book signing. Apparently, his book had become popular enough that people wanted to meet him. To have his autograph. He tried to smile, but his heart just wasn't in it. He was still missing Gupta's presence.
"Hello there," he greeted the next person. "Thank you for coming. To whom should I make it out?"
He'd accepted the man's book and had opened it to the first page.
"Just make it out to an old friend," the man said.
Will froze. He knew this voice. He'd heard this every day for more than a decade. Slowly, he looked up at the owner of the voice, who had a soft smile on his face.
"Gupta?" he asked.
The man smiled.
The prompt is: 'Imagine Person A of your OTP as a spiritual entity, and Person B as the human vessel they have possessed in order to finish a task they must complete before they can move on. B is fully aware of A's existence and goals. Do they get along despite the situation and work towards the same end? Do they disagree at first and fight for control of B's body?'
Trying to think of a good reason for the possession and what to do… It wasn't easy. I also feel as though I could have done more with this story. Perhaps make it into a proper, longer fanfic.