Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 13

"No offence, but your mom sounds scary," Vlad said.

"None taken," Arthur said. "So then, where do you want to start?"

The three students were staring at the stack of books that Arthur had brought along. He had to resort to a lightening charm, since they were heavier than he'd anticipated. And he'd underestimated how many books there would be, so he had to fetch another bag to carry it all.

"I think I'm fine with that book about folklore," Lukas said. "I've been skimming through the pages, and there are a few things they say about vampires, though they don't call them that."

"Miroi and strigoi," Vlad said. "There's a distinction between the two, which means there's probably a distinction between other groups of vampires too."

"What could possibly cause different types of vampires to exist?" Arthur asked.

"Didn't you pay attention in biology class? There are internal and external factors that can cause mutations and eventually speciation to occur. If it can happen with animals, then it can happen with vampires too."

"He has a point," Lukas said. "You said that Tepes's son was infected by a demon, right? Could that have caused a mutation too, if he were to transform people into vampires after that?"

"It depends whether or not he actually managed to change anyone. When I saw him in my vision, he did not look good."

"Let's just hope that the information we actually need is here," Arthur said, before grabbing a book. "I think I'll try something like this. Oh, Vlad, would you like to see the family registry? It might have something interesting."

Vlad smiled before he accepted the registry. Once they decided on the books they would immediately be focusing on, they each went towards their rooms. They all agreed that they would be able to work better when they were on their own, and if anyone found anything, he would have to call the others.

…

Vlad couldn't quite decide whether the registry was fascinating or boring. On the one hand, seeing the different family trees was fascinating. He'd never known that there were so many magical families in his part of the world. Perhaps he could even find his own family in the registry. But on the other hand, seeing so many names, page after page, was starting to get a little boring.

He decided to take a break after an hour, and perhaps he could find another book. As he stretched, the book fell open a few pages away from where he had been reading. He groaned, not looking forward to searching for his place again. But as he reached out to pick up the book, his eyes fell on a name that made him freeze.

It was his own name.

He didn't know how the registry worked, but after a bit of probing, he realised that there was some magic involved. That would probably be why his name would be there, when the magic in the family was mostly just a barely-remembered memory.

Boredom transforming into curiosity, he looked through the names, seeing that some of them were grey or brown while his was black. Since his mother and brother, whose names were grey, were still alive, he deduced that it meant that their magic was dormant, while the brownish colour of his father's name gave him the impression that those names were mundane humans.

He enjoyed learning the names of ancestors he'd never heard about, and there were notes that revealed when the branches of family trees intertwined, or new magic was unlocked. He didn't realise that he'd had so much potential and history in his blood.

Vlad's eyes trailed over to the originator of his magical bloodline and froze. The name was in red, and there were two generations leading up to it, in a grey so pale that it was almost white. He had to squint to make out the names, but once he did, he realised that many of the things suddenly made sense.

"Arthur!" Vlad called. "Lukas! I think I found something!"

He could hear their footsteps before they rushed in the room. His eyes remained fixed on the name at the top.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"Look at the name at the bottom, and then look at the name at the top, almost in white," Vlad said.

He could sense the two looking over his shoulders, and he knew that they realised what he meant when they both gasped.

"Are… are you serious?" Arthur asked.

"How accurate is this thing?" Norway asked.

"It… It's enchanted to reflect the truth, since by normal means information could be lost. But… Vlad, do you know what this means?"

"Da," Vlad said. "It means I'm a descendant of Vlad the Impaler."

…

Arthur had gone to make tea for the three of them. Vlad was still in shock, and it was clear that he wouldn't be snapping out of this anytime soon. Lukas was examining the registry, trying to make sense of it but failing to come to any other conclusion.

"How did something like this go unnoticed all this time?" Lukas asked.

"There are a lot of names," Vlad said. "And a lot of details."

"I also suspect that it has something to do with how faint those names are," Arthur said. "Normally, one wouldn't even have noticed it if you didn't know to look for it."

"Did Feliciano say anything about the children of vampires and humans?" Lukas asked, looking towards Vlad.

"He said that they have less weaknesses than normal vampires," Vlad said. "And that their blood is useful to vampires."

"Did he say anything about the bloodlines thinning? Because I seriously doubt that something like that would stay for so long."

"We have magic for generations, remember?" Arthur said. "Even if a particular branch of the family tree only marries mundanes."

"I suppose so."

"Do you think we should ask Feliciano?" Vlad asked. "He gave me his phone number, but told me to text instead of call. If he's with the rest of his coven, then he doesn't want them to know I've contacted him."

"That's probably wise," Arthur said. "Could you ask him to come as soon as he can? It would be easier when we can have this discussion in person."

"Sure." Vlad typed a message and sent it, before his eyes trailed towards the time displayed on the screen. "Of course, we're going to have to wait until nightfall in any case."

"That can't be helped. So, we at least have a lead. What should we do in the meantime while we wait for Feliciano?"

"We should continue with our research," Lukas said. "That is, if we don't need to finish up any homework."

"I can't believe you're thinking of homework at a time like this."

"No, Lukas is right," Vlad said. "We still have our own lives outside of this. And we need to make sure that we can keep our grip on those lives. We should… We should try to act as normal as possible. Feliciano said there are others spying on me too. We don't want to alert them."

"They could do something desperate," Lukas said. "Like kidnap Vlad to see what's so interesting about him."

"I would prefer it if that didn't happen, thank you."

Arthur closed his eyes, and after a few seconds he nodded.

"I understand what you're saying," he said. "Right then. Vlad, I think you need to take a break. You still appear to be in shock, and I can understand how surprising this would be for you."

"You mean, finding out that I'm descended from the most famous Romanian in history?" Vlad asked. "And the fact that he was really this bigshot vampire?" Vlad was silent for a moment. "I know the names of my ancestors now. And I… I'm pretty curious about the rest of them."

"I don't blame you," Arthur said. "If you want, I could ask my parents if there is some way to learn more about mages in the past that might not have been documented. You said that the son had a child with gypsies?"

"Romani, and da. They were usually off the grid and travelled a lot, so it's going to be hard to find any trace of them unless we can use magic. And there's no telling when my ancestors split off from their clan."

"But even though we found what we're looking for, we can't exactly abandon the research," Lukas said. "There are still so many things we don't know, and we especially need to learn more about the prophecy, and if it pertains to Vlad."

"I'm not the son. Why would it have anything to do with me?"

"The thought crossed my mind when I was going through that book. The way we say things and the way people centuries ago said things aren't the same. For all we know, 'son' could just mean 'descendent'. And since your family's magic was dormant, but it's awake in you now…"

"It could be interpreted as the son returning," Arthur said, eyes widening as he also came to that realisation. "We need to know what that prophecy says. Once we know the exact words, we can pick apart the possible interpretations."

Vlad was barely listening. His mind flashed back to the other night, after his dream. He remembered how he thought his reflection resembled the son. He shuddered, and he realised that the other two had a fair point. If the vampires came to the same conclusion, then he would be in trouble. That part about blood flowing like rivers really stood out to him.

"Is there a way to get the real prophecy?" Vlad asked.

"I have no idea," Arthur sighed. "There's a chance that it might be written in one of these texts. Otherwise, we need to hope that your visions yield fruit."

"Why don't we make a wager?" Lukas asked, an amused smirk on his face.

"You didn't strike me as the type, but alright. What is your wager?"

"We'll see who manages to find the prophecy first. Then we go out to a restaurant, and the other two pay for the winner's meal. And if Vlad finds the prophecy through a vision, then we go to an expensive restaurant."

"Why do I get the feeling that you just want to eat at a fancy restaurant?" Vlad deadpanned. "But alright. That doesn't sound too bad."

"It's not too outrageous, and it's a good incentive for us," Arthur said. "Alright. I accept."

…

Waking up was always a task for Feliciano. Even when he was still human, he hated leaving the land of dreams. Vampires were naturally lethargic during the day, which made it even worse.

Eventually, he opened his eyes, and he immediately saw his phone flashing, alerting him of a message. He quickly checked and was surprised to see that it was from Vlad.

We have a few questions. Could you come by our house tonight?

Feliciano wondered how much Vlad's housemates knew, but that didn't matter now. He wanted to know what questions Vlad might have. But before he could type a reply, he hesitated.

Was Gupta seriously telling the truth when he said that Feliciano was mating with Vlad? And now that the possibility presented itself… Should Feliciano really go? And what if they fully mated? What would happen then?

Feliciano considered ignoring the message, but the idea made him uncomfortable. And he could probably warn Vlad about the possibility. Besides, there was always a chance that Gupta was lying. Feliciano would need to make sure. And so he replied that he would come as soon as he could.

Feliciano looked around. He shared a room with his two brothers, but it would seem that they were still asleep. Feliciano sighed in relief. He didn't want to know what would have happened if either of them saw the message from Vlad. At the very least, they would be the ones with questions. At worst, they could report it to their grandfather, or they could follow Feliciano that night.

Even though he wanted to be there as soon as possible, he couldn't attract his brothers' attentions. So he would have to wait, but he knew that it wouldn't be long. If he already woke up, then it would only be a matter of time before they would awaken as well. The sun had already started its descent, and Feliciano could potentially be at Vlad's house before the end of the hour.

But now he had to wait.

…

Vlad was slowly looking through one of the other books. The family registry was left to the side, since he knew that he needed to take a break from that book. He would have to wait for Arthur to bring back news from his mother. If there was a book – or any other way, really – that would allow Vlad to learn more about his ancestors, then Bridget Kirkland would let them know.

He glanced towards his phone. Feliciano had responded to his message about half an hour ago, and Vlad was anxious for when exactly 'as soon as possible' would be. Of course, logically, he knew that they would have to wait until after nightfall.

Vlad shuddered, before glancing towards the window. He had a sudden cold feeling. Swallowing thickly, Vlad made his way towards the window.

He could see nothing, other than the twilight. And yet, he had a feeling that something was terribly wrong. His eyes scanned the area, but he could see nothing amiss. Another shudder made him realise that whatever was wrong, it wasn't outside.

There was something in the room with him.

He spun around, his eyes scanning every corner. The temperature was dropping, and he was sure that he could almost see his breath. There was something there, and it meant him harm.

He yelped when he felt something grab his wrist, and he immediately wrenched himself away. Even though his attacker remained invisible, he could now see the shadows moving in his room, creeping in from the corners.

Vlad ran out into the hallway, trying to get away from whatever it was. He ran into Arthur, and the two struggled for a bit to not fall to the ground.

"Vlad!" Arthur said, grabbing the Romanian's shoulders. "What's wrong? I heard you yelling…"

"There… There's something in my room," Vlad gasped. "In the shadows…"

Arthur frowned before he went in. Vlad wrapped his arms around himself as he stepped back, his legs barely able to keep him upright. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder but sighed in relief when he saw that it was Lukas.

"Are you alright?" Lukas asked.

Vlad didn't answer. The temperature had gone up, but he could still feel that something was there. Arthur came out of his room after a minute or two, a confused frown on his face.

"I can't find a trace of anything," Arthur said. "Vlad, what exactly happened?"

Vlad took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"I… I felt something," Vlad explained. "I thought it was outside at first, but then… I realised it was inside. It… It felt dangerous. And then I felt… something grab me, and I saw the shadows moving."

"Where were you grabbed?" Lukas asked.

Vlad raised his wrist, and his eyes widened when he saw that his wrist was starting to grow blue from a bruise. Lukas gingerly took hold of Vlad's hand.

"I think there was definitely something," Lukas said. "This is not normal."

"Right," Arthur said, staring at Vlad's wrist. "I'll try to cleanse the room, and then the house. There's still a fourth bedroom, if you'd rather spend the night in there."

Vlad swallowed thickly before nodding. The thought of going into his own room right now was not something he wanted to entertain. He didn't know what it was, and he didn't want to find out. But at least, on an instinctive level, he recognised that whatever it was, it was after him. Arthur and Lukas should be safe.

"Let's go get you some tea," Lukas said. "Arthur, do you think we can order pizza or something?"

"Of course," Arthur said, looking towards Vlad. "I think some food would be good for him, but I don't think any of us are in the right frame of mind to cook. There's a menu in the kitchen, along with the number of a place."

"So, you've ordered pizza before we moved in?"

Arthur blushed.

"My brother left it," he explained. "He said it's 'a lifeline for my future housemates'. Git."

Normally, Vlad would have been amused, but right now he was still too spooked. He couldn't recall ever feeling anything like that. And to have it touch him…

His hand shot towards his chest, and his eyes widened.

"My amulet!" he said. "I… I took it off. It has to be…"

"I'll find it," Arthur assured. "I think you really need it now."

Vlad bit his lip. He wanted to get it right that instant, but he also didn't want to go into his room. And so he allowed Lukas to guide him downstairs. He was anxious to get the amulet back, and hoped that nothing happened in the meantime.

…

Feliciano checked the time. Some of the others had already gone out to go hunting, or to do whatever they went to do at night. He knew that Lovino, at least, liked to go to galleries or theatres when he wasn't hunting, and Antonio and Gilbert enjoyed going to nightclubs.

And so his grandfather didn't question it when Feliciano went out at a relatively early time. He'd kept Vlad waiting long enough. And if Vlad's housemates were involved, then he definitely didn't want to make the mages angry.

There was also another reason why he was eager to get to Vlad. For some reason, he started to feel nervous, and his instincts were screaming at him that Vlad was in trouble. He just hoped his instincts were wrong.