Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 12
Vlad told Arthur and Lukas about everything that had happened, and everything that he had discussed with Feliciano. And now they were silent, allowing Arthur and Lukas to absorb the information.
"…Have you always been a magnet for trouble?" Arthur asked.
Vlad frowned and shook his head.
"That's the first thing you decided to say?" Vlad asked.
"Did you know that there are vampires here?" Lukas asked, looking at Arthur.
"I'm not sure," Arthur said. "I think I might have heard about something like that, but nothing similar to what Vlad described."
"So, you're saying there's a prophecy?" Lukas questioned Vlad.
"That's at least what they believe," Vlad said. "Hopefully, it was written somewhere, because I don't think it was said accurately."
"Agreed," Arthur said. "I'll see if I can convince my family to share anything about Eastern Europe. Hopefully it wouldn't resort to having to tell them."
"Why not?" Lukas asked. "Most of them would be more experienced mages, and we might be able to benefit from them."
"I don't want them to turn their attentions to Vlad. He has a few uncommon talents. Seeing auras, visions of the past… and since his family magic had been dormant for so long, there's no telling what else might be in the bloodstream. And then there's the possibility that they would consider Vlad a threat, and they would want him out of Meldale. And if he's out of the city, or even just out of this house, then he might be in danger. If the vampires really want him, then they would jump on the opportunity to take him."
Vlad was touched that Arthur wanted to protect him, but now wasn't the time to smile. Lukas looked pained before he nodded.
"I see your point," Lukas said. "So, do you think you'd at least be able to get books or something?"
"I can try," Arthur said.
"And then there's the contents of the visions. The first vision had the Impaler's grandson, right? And the second had the son, where he admitted that he got a girl pregnant, and you said that they said he was attacked by a demon. And the third had the prophecy regarding the son's return. But why was it important to know that the son's baby was born?"
"No idea," Vlad said, frowning.
"I suggest we try to find out what happened to the grandson. I get the feeling that it's important."
"How?" Arthur asked. "Unless there's a family tree or anything, which I highly doubt, it would be impossible to trace someone born centuries ago… Wait. I think there's a family registry. It reacts to magical families, and it uses magic to update itself."
"That's good. We could also use Vlad's visions. Something is triggering these particular visions. So I suggest we try to find out what the trigger is and see if we can exploit them. Perhaps we'll get to the bottom of this."
"Before the vampires decide that they're tired of waiting," Vlad sighed. "We should also try to figure out how to convince them that I'm a mundane, or at least that there's nothing important about me for them."
"I'm sorry to say, but it's too late for that," Arthur said. "They already have an interest in you. Our only hope is to get them to stop believing that you're connected to the prophecy, or whatever it may be. And then there's a matter that has been bothering me."
"And that would be?"
"What could have triggered the visions? The naga proved that people trigger them, not places, and you saw something relevant to the naga. Now, the first and third visions both happened when Feliciano, a vampire, was around, and they all featured vampires. But what of the second one, which happened here?"
"I also wondered about that. Feliciano said that he wasn't anywhere close to here. But it happened the same night I felt the presence here."
"That's what I was afraid of. We can assume that one of them is watching this house. How many of our conversations have they heard? Are they listening to our conversation now?"
Vlad's blood turned cold. He hadn't even thought about it.
"Aren't there wards here?" Lukas asked.
"A few protective wards, yes," Arthur replied. "But I don't think there's anything that can block out the sounds from inside."
"We should send out the fairies to see if they can find any intruders. And then we should discuss everything else tomorrow."
Vlad knew what Lukas's intentions were. Since the threat was nocturnal, they could use the cover of daylight to do or discuss anything important. Still, he felt guilty about them having to go out of their way for him.
"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble for you," Vlad apologised.
"Don't worry about it," Lukas said. "People like us… We tend to be targeted by all sorts. It's just unfortunate that you were the one targeted now."
Vlad had the feeling that there was something that Lukas wasn't sharing with them, but after unloading what he hadn't been sharing, he felt that now wasn't the time to discuss it.
"It that's all, I think we should call it a night," Lukas said. "We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
…
Feliciano gulped before he entered the café. A few minutes ago, he received a text message from Gupta, asking him to meet him at the café. He had a bad feeling about this, but he knew that Gupta was also supposed to be investigating Vlad. For that reason, if Feliciano ignored him, then this could reach his grandfather, and Feliciano would be in trouble.
Gupta was speaking to a customer, handing a box over. From what Feliciano could hear, the customer just bought a cake. He took the opportunity to examine the rest of the place. Other than the three waiters, the place was devoid of humans. One of the waiters moved closer, ready to help Feliciano, but Feliciano pointed towards Gupta and smiled, hoping to convey the message that he was only there for the Egyptian.
Feliciano moved closer once Gupta was finished with the customer. Gupta said nothing, and only jerked his head towards the back. Feliciano gulped before he followed after Gupta.
Feliciano repressed his shudder when Gupta closed the door to the office and rounded on the Italian. And then, he smiled cruelly.
"So, how was your date with Vlad?" Gupta asked.
Feliciano tensed, and Gupta retrieved a paper from his table. It was the note that Feliciano had written to Vlad, asking if he could see him that night.
"You know, you really need to think of better ways to dispose of things like these," Gupta said.
"D-does… Does my grandpa know?" Feliciano asked.
If he knew, then… Not only would Feliciano be in trouble, but Vlad would be in incredible danger. Maybe there was still a way to get past this. Perhaps he could lie and say that he had managed to learn something important about Vlad.
"No," Gupta said. "However… That might change. I must say, I'm impressed that you managed to soundproof your apartment. I had to resort to magic to be able to listen to your conversation."
Feliciano froze. How much did Gupta hear? Because the more he heard, the more danger for Vlad and Feliciano.
"I wonder if your grandpa would appreciate it if he knew what you thought about him," Gupta said.
"…W-what do you want?" Feliciano asked, realising that Gupta was going along the blackmail route.
"Your cooperation. You admitted that you want to be free from your grandfather's influence. I want that too. So perhaps we can work together. What do you say?"
Feliciano hesitated. While it sounded nice… There were things that Gupta wasn't telling him. And Feliciano knew that those things were important. But there was one thing that was more important.
"What about Vlad?" Feliciano asked. "What do you want with him?"
"I'm curious about that prophecy," Gupta said. "But I could tell that it wasn't the true prophecy. So we need to find the original version. And I'm hoping Vlad could lead us to it."
"And… what are you going to do with that prophecy?"
Rivers of blood… That was what Vlad had said. That was what his grandfather wanted.
"First, to make sure that the prophecy wasn't misinterpreted," Gupta said. "That's always the problem. People have a tendency to interpret a prophecy one way, and then there's something completely different. Without knowing the exact words of the prophecy, we're potentially doing something wrong. We also need to know if the prophecy is inevitable, or if it has to be actively sought for, and whether or not trying to cause or prevent it would lead somewhere."
Feliciano gulped nervously.
"And… how do you plan to get the prophecy?" Feliciano asked.
"First, we could try triggering one of Vlad's visions," Gupta said. "That has given us a clue of the prophecy. Now, if we could only guide his visions in the correct direction…"
"But… It's very uncomfortable for him. You want to use him like that?"
"Why do you care? After all, he's just a human. They're meant to be used by us in any way we see fit."
Feliciano tensed. While this wasn't the first time that he'd heard something like that, those words in relation to Vlad were just… wrong.
"I… I don't want you to hurt him," Feliciano said weakly.
Gupta stared at Feliciano for a moment before his eyes widened.
"Unbelievable," he whispered. "I didn't realise it earlier, but now that I look carefully and think about it… Incredible…"
"W-what?" Feliciano asked, a bad feeling settling in his stomach.
"You… You've started to mate with him."
Feliciano's eyes widened and he took a nervous step back.
"That's… That's impossible," he said. "A vampire can only mate with another vampire."
It was mostly a matter of companionship. Since vampires couldn't procreate, the gender of mates didn't matter. And they mated forever.
It was impossible. He couldn't be mating with Vlad. Gupta was lying!
And yet, Gupta's face was too shocked. Feliciano could tell that Gupta wasn't lying about this. And it would explain the shift in Vlad's scent that he had detected. Still… How was that even possible?
"G-Grandpa… He can't know…" Feliciano stammered. "I-if he does, then Vlad… P-please. I-I'll do anything. Just… Don't tell…"
Gupta shook himself, and from the smirk he gave Feliciano, the Italian knew that he had told him exactly what he wanted to hear.
…
Vlad woke up earlier than he would have liked on a Sunday, but he and the other two had to work on audio wards. Still, as they worked, Vlad couldn't shake off the uncomfortably prickly sensation that he was being watched. He knew that the vampires had a few spies for the daylight hours, and he regarded everyone that passed the house with suspicion.
They finally finished about an hour before Vlad had to leave for his shift at the café. He took the time to prepare a light lunch. It was just a simple stir-fry, but after using their energy in order to cast the spells, they would all appreciate something quick, yet filling.
"So, are you going to go home and see if you can find anything about Eastern Europe?" Lukas asked, eyes fixed on Arthur.
"After I dropped Vlad off at the café," Arthur said. "I already warned my mother that I would be coming to fetch a few books."
"Will that be okay?" Vlad asked.
"Yes. We can take any books we'd like. There's really nothing forbidden for the family members on the shelves. We're just careful of outsiders getting those books. And the younger family members, but that's a different story."
"I'm almost tempted to call in sick. I think we need to find an answer soon."
"I'll be looking for any other books that might be useful," Lukas said. "But until we have enough books to start searching, we're not getting anywhere. You might as well go to the café."
Vlad wanted to protest, but he knew that Lukas had a point. There was nothing that he could do until they had enough books to start looking.
"Make sure to get some books about vampires too," Vlad said. "We need to know more about them."
"Ah!" Arthur exclaimed. "I completely forgot about that! Yes, you're right. We need to get accurate knowledge."
"Feliciano mentioned that vampires have a hard time leaving the coven without the sire's permission. We should probably also try and help him."
"Right. I may not know the full details, but I agree that we cannot leave him like that."
Vlad sighed in relief. After taking a huge risk to warn him of the danger he was in, Vlad felt that it was only fair to help Feliciano break free.
…
Gupta watched Vlad as he worked. He appeared a bit distracted, but at least he didn't mess up any orders. Not that there were many customers in the first place.
Gupta sat in the safety of his office, watching through the open door. He arranged for Francis to come later in the afternoon, once Vlad's shift was over. Feliciano had told Vlad about the dhampirs, and Vlad had been able to figure it out, despite Feliciano's obvious attempt to hide it. He was remarkably intelligent, as Gupta discovered.
He wasn't using any magic to try to look through the shell encompassing Vlad. Gupta was too tired for that at the moment, and he didn't want to put Vlad more on guard than he already was. He had been to their house the other night, and knew that Vlad could sense him.
That made him think about another thing that Vlad and Feliciano had discussed. Vlad suspected that people triggered his visions, which meant that there must have been a vampire near his house the other night. But it wasn't Gupta. He'd left as soon as Vlad went to sleep, and he hadn't passed out or shown any other signs of a psychic attack. And it was only one night. Which begged the question…
Who had been watching Vlad at his house?
If there was a third vampire involved, then things could get complicated. If it was one of Romulus's spies, then Gupta would have a hard time working on his own agendas. Regardless of the nature, Romulus would see it as a betrayal, and Gupta could expect worse than a hot poker in his flesh.
They would need to keep an eye on events as they unfolded.
…
Arthur knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open. He felt a bit guilty that this was the first time he came for a visit since moving out, and it was only to get some books. He knew that he would get an earful from his mother, and this entire trip would take a while.
The door opened, and Arthur reeled back as arms encircled his waist. He grunted in pain before looking down, seeing his brother.
"You jerk!" Peter exclaimed. "Why didn't you come back sooner?"
"Sorry," Arthur said. "Things have been so busy. So, did you miss me?"
Peter quickly pulled away, his face red.
"N-no," he stammered. "Of course not."
A lie. Peter had inherited the rest of the family's dishonesty regarding their emotions. Arthur could only hope that it would not one day get Peter in trouble. Or cause a crush to move on to someone else. Arthur had learned that lesson the hard way.
"As soon as he heard you were coming, he found a spot in front of the door to wait for you," their mother said.
"Mum!" Peter whined.
Bridget Kirkland smiled at her youngest son before turning her attention to Arthur. Her eyes raked over him before she pulled him into a hug.
"You look healthy," she said. "Are you eating well?"
"Yes," Arthur said. "One of my housemates is a rather skilled cook."
"That's a relief. I was worried about that. Now, come in."
Once they were safely inside, and away from prying ears, Bridget rounded on Arthur.
"You said you're here for some books," she said. "Are you in trouble?"
He'd anticipated this question, and he and the others had prepared an appropriate response.
"Nothing of the sort," he said. "It's just that Lukas's family has a mage every second generation, and Vlad's family magic had been dormant for a long time. They're not as connected as I am, so I was hoping that we have books that could help them learn more about their own powers. Vlad especially needs the help."
He tried not to look too guilty, and he hoped that his mother couldn't tell that he was hiding something. They decided that telling parts of the truth would help, and that it was enough to keep his mother satisfied.
Bridget stared at him for a while before she sighed, nodding her head in satisfaction. She eyed the duffel bag that Arthur had brought with him.
"I assume that you want to do thorough research?" she asked.
"As I said, Vlad especially needs help," Arthur said. "He doesn't entirely know what his magic entails, so we're hoping for a clue."
"Then you will probably need a registry of the known magical families of Eastern Europe too, I suppose. It's not in the main library. I'll go get it, while you fetch the books you think you may need."
Arthur felt his throat tighten. So, she wasn't fooled, but she still respected his independence enough to leave him to his own devices.
"Just promise me one thing," Bridget said. "If you think that you need help, you can always call on us. As your family, we will help you no matter what."
"I promise," Arthur said.
"Oh, and invite your housemates over for dinner sometime. I feel a bit hurt that you hadn't come to introduce them yet. Alistair said they're rather interesting."
Arthur flinched.
"We work during the week," he said. "So… perhaps next Saturday evening would be better?"
"Don't forget," Bridget said.
