Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 7

Gupta was not excited about the day. As he'd expected, the three mages had decent protection around their house, though he was unsure of how much was their doing and how much was the doing of Arthur's parents. The Kirklands were at the top of Meldale's magical population, and thus they were not to be trifled with. Their magic was impressive, and despite being a few centuries older than all of them, Gupta had no intention of getting on their bad side.

He was just pleased that Arthur hadn't sensed his nature yet, and that none of the other family members had come to investigate where Arthur would be working.

He looked up when someone entered the café and almost smiled. Francis was just who he needed at this time. And there was still some time before the three mages would arrive, so they had enough time for what they needed to do.

"You look bothered," Francis remarked. "Is everything alright? Your request… I thought I…"

"I know," Gupta interrupted. "But Romulus keeps making impossible demands. I'm sorry, but I will need your assistance. I tried someone else, but it wasn't enough."

Francis pursed his lips and nodded. The two of them went to Gupta's office, with Gupta locking the door behind them.

"Is it about Vlad?" Francis asked.

"Of course," Gupta said. "Romulus believes he's the link to something he wants and doesn't want to let him go."

"And? Is he?"

"I don't know! I don't know much of this in the first place. He keeps this information closely guarded. But anyway, I need your blood."

Francis was already rolling up his sleeve, using the clothing as a means to constrict the blood flow. He poked at a vein in his wrist until it seemed satisfactory before holding out his arm to Gupta. The Egyptian tenderly grabbed the appendage and bit down, taking care not to cause pain. Francis wasn't prey. He offered his blood, which meant that they had to be as generous with him as he was with them.

Francis's blood tasted different from humans' blood. While they tasted rich, Francis had more of a sweet taste. If they drank too much, the sweetness could make them sick. And Francis replenished blood faster than ordinary humans, especially after eating a hearty meal or eating something sweet. The benefits that a dhampir provided to a vampire made them invaluable.

There was no need to seal Francis's wound. The vampire blood he had in his veins did a good enough job. Gupta nodded his head in thanks as Francis rolled down his sleeve again.

"It sounds like your assignment has some difficulties," Francis said. "Is there something I can help with? If it's of any use, I'm a teaching assistant in one of Vlad's classes. I can keep an eye on him that way."

"It's more than just keeping an eye on him," Gupta said. "Romulus wants me to use my magic to learn more about him. Specific information. If he weren't a mage, it would be easy."

Francis nodded, understanding illuminating his blue eyes.

"Alright, so I can't help," Francis said. "But if you need a refill, then let me know. I can at least do that."

"Thank you," Gupta said.

Francis smiled, before he left. Gupta followed a few paces behind him. He knew that the three mages would be arriving within a few minutes, so he would need to regain his composure. And he would need to try to weave his spells in a way that they wouldn't detect.

They were on time, as usual, if not a few minutes early. They each greeted him politely before going to the back, where they could change into their uniforms. He understood that their schedules made it difficult for them to get dressed beforehand, and so allowed them to get dressed there. He also allowed them to do their university work as long as the café wasn't too busy. He knew that at least one of them was still awake well into the early hours of the morning, and wondered just how much sleep they actually got with their work.

And it was only the beginning of the year. Gupta might have been a vampire, a creature whose heart no longer beat, but he had enough empathy to feel sorry for them.

The three came out after about two minutes and started with their work. Gupta watched them, particularly focusing on Vlad. The Romanian looked pale, and he had, at the very least, an excuse to keep a close eye on him.

"Vlad," Gupta called out. The Romanian turned towards him. "How are you feeling after last night?"

"I'm okay," Vlad said. "Just a bit of a headache."

"Take it easy. If you feel that you need to rest, then you should go sit down, alright?"

Vlad nodded and smiled. Gupta used the opportunity to peer at Vlad's aura. And immediately noticed that there would be many problems. Vlad's magic was wrapped in layers of other magic. At different points in his life, it would seem that many spells had been cast on him. He wondered if Vlad was even aware of them.

This caused even more problems. Depending on the nature of the spells cast, how long ago they were cast and how deeply they made themselves a part of Vlad's very being, it would be impossible to undo the spells. Undoing even a single one could alert Vlad of his interference, and, again, depending on those three factors, undoing any of the spells had the potential to kill Vlad. Which would be counterproductive.

His only hope was to navigate past those spells and see if he could see into Vlad's own core. A chore that seemed particularly difficult at this point in time.

Another option he could take was to see what type of spells were cast on Vlad and try to see if he could get a trace of the spellcaster. That should be interesting information in its own right.

Gupta was not looking forward to this task. Not only because of how difficult this was, but because Romulus, who had assigned this difficult task, would not be able to appreciate how difficult this was, and would be disappointed in Gupta for not having quicker results. And if Romulus was disappointed…

The worst part was that he couldn't even ask for help. There was no one to ask. And so Gupta would have to suffer through this difficult task on his own.

Now, if only Feliciano could prove himself useful and learn something that the Romanian was willing to share, then that would be a great help too.

…

Vlad kept checking the time, waiting for Feliciano to arrive. He needed to ask Feliciano about a few things, and he didn't want to wait.

"How's your head feeling?" Arthur asked, startling Vlad. The Romanian turned around and smiled.

"It's okay," he said. "Not as bad as this morning. It's just… it's a mouse nibbling at my brain."

"Would you like something for that?"

Vlad shook his head.

"I think I'll be okay," he said.

"It might be a good idea to stay hydrated," Arthur supplied.

"Thanks. Da, you're probably right. It would be a good idea to get some water."

The next time Vlad went to the kitchen, he did just that, rinsing the glass out afterwards. The moment he stepped out, he saw Feliciano walking in.

The Italian smiled at him, though something seemed off. Vlad grabbed a menu as he made his way towards Feliciano.

"Good evening, Feli," Vlad said. "The usual?"

"Si," Feliciano said. "I guess I'm coming by a lot, huh?"

Vlad nodded. He decided to give Feliciano his order before confronting him. Feliciano always ordered a cappuccino, and by now, Vlad was skilled at making it. He returned with the order shortly afterwards, and Feliciano accepted it happily.

"Grazie," Feliciano said, before taking a grateful sip. He looked up when Vlad sat down across from him and cocked his head to the side. "Ve, is something wrong? You look serious."

"I just heard something, and it made me think," Vlad said. "I already told you that I know you're not human, but you didn't want to tell me what you are. Feliciano… Are you a vampire?"

Feliciano jumped in surprise, spilling his coffee. A human would have reacted in pain to the burn, but Feliciano paid no attention. Vlad took note of this.

"W-what?" Feliciano whispered. "W-why…?"

"I already told you that I know you mean me no harm," Vlad said. "And if you are worried about what I think about vampires, I don't mind. In fact, I've met a few of them back home, and I got along with them. But I do have a few questions."

Feliciano averted his eyes, fidgeting in his chair.

"I don't know how much I can tell you," Feliciano said.

"I want to know why you come every night," Vlad said. "Gilbert and Antonio, and your brother are vampires too, right? And I remember how they looked at me at the party. What do you want?"

Feliciano flinched. Vlad actually felt a bit sorry for him. Feliciano was a good guy. He was sweet, a bit timid, and there was this innocence that seemed unreal. He hated to think that Feliciano was involved in something he didn't like.

He also couldn't help but think how old Feliciano was, or what he'd been through in all that time.

"Well…" Feliciano said. "My… my grandpa… When he heard that you're Romanian, and that the others can't touch you, and that you… look like a vampire… He started being interested in you."

"In what way?" Vlad asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I… I don't really understand it. A-and… Well, because I could touch you… He decided to make me try to get close to you. To find… any interesting information. I'm sorry!"

"Like I said, I know you mean me no harm," Vlad said, pointedly placing his hand on Feliciano's arm. "But what kind of information did you tell him?"

Feliciano shrugged.

"He knew you passed out last night," he said. "And he knows about the… magical interference. That's what Arturo called it."

Vlad narrowed his eyes. He was glad that he had told Arthur about the nature of his fainting spell when they were at home. He could see that Feliciano was unhappy about what he was doing, but Vlad still didn't feel as though he could trust Feliciano now.

"Anything else?" Vlad asked.

"N-no," Feliciano stammered. "I didn't tell him about anything else. I didn't tell him about the amulet."

Vlad nodded his head, before he stood. It pained him to see Feliciano's face fall, but the Italian had still betrayed his trust.

"I'm really sorry," Feliciano apologised again.

"If you don't mind, I think you shouldn't come by for the next few days," Vlad said. "I thought we could be friends, but I don't like the fact that you've been spying on me. I need some space. I'll go get your bill."

Gupta had to go into the office, so Vlad didn't have to apologise for spending so much time with Feliciano. Arthur and Lukas were glancing at him, but they probably knew that there was something wrong, and so didn't interfere.

When Vlad returned, Feliciano was gone, his cup was empty, and there was money underneath the cup. Vlad sighed. He counted the money, finding the tip was more than generous. Perhaps Feliciano really did feel guilty. But that didn't help either of them now.

He went through the motions of registering the order as paid and placed the cash into the register before he went to tend to his next customer.

…

Feliciano took great gulps of his coffee, knowing that his presence was unwelcome. He didn't know what he would tell his grandfather, but more importantly, the look of betrayal on Vlad's face… Why did it hurt him so much?

"Outside, backdoor."

Feliciano flinched when he heard that voice. Of course, Gupta would have been able to hear everything, and the Egyptian would tell his grandfather of his failure. But not before chewing Feliciano out first.

Feliciano knew that Gupta would not like to be kept waiting, but he also wanted to be there when Vlad returned. But Vlad was angry at him, and Feliciano didn't want to see the angry look in Vlad's eyes again. And so Feliciano emptied the cup and left enough money and a sizeable tip underneath before leaving the café. He then went to the back of the building, where Gupta was waiting for him at the door.

"I'm sorry!" Feliciano immediately apologised. "I know I messed up, but…"

"Quiet," Gupta said. "I hope you realise that you made things incredibly difficult for me. And that your grandfather would not be pleased that you revealed so much to him."

Feliciano whimpered. He could already imagine the punishment that he would receive. His arms and back already hurt.

"Fortunately for you, I will not be the one that revealed anything," Gupta said. "Because you see, I'm in the position where I will need your help. He said that he wants space for a few days, and we'll give that to him. I need you to learn things he's willing to reveal. Especially his history with fellow magic users, be they mages or otherwise."

"W-wait… You… want my help?" Feliciano asked, completely stunned.

"Not 'want'. I need your help. Romulus has given me a… very difficult assignment regarding Vlad. And until I can make some progress with it, we need something for him to chew on. Make something up if you have to. Tell him that Vlad has experience with the savage ones…"

"Um, actually, I think he might have… I think he mentioned something like that before."

"Be sure. Give him about three days before you come back, and then you be a friend to him. Even if you can't learn anything, you might be able to distract him when I'm trying to break through his magical defences. Defences that he himself didn't build, and that he likely doesn't know about."

Feliciano shifted. He still didn't feel comfortable about this, especially the part about Gupta breaking through Vlad's defences. But he was happy that Gupta wouldn't tell his grandfather about his failure.

Gupta cocked his head to the side, and Feliciano knew that Gupta was assessing his hesitation.

"There are layers of spells around him," Gupta said. "I don't know if I can break them without killing him, so that's not what I'm going to do. Unless I happen to find a curse or something that needs to be broken. Does that make it easier for you?"

If Gupta was right that there appeared to be magic surrounding him that Vlad didn't know about, then Feliciano could see the advantage of Gupta finding anything harmful and getting rid of it. With the thought of helping Vlad in mind, Feliciano nodded. Gupta nodded his head in turn.

"Um, so, what should I do in the meantime?" Feliciano asked.

"Whatever it is you usually do when you're not here," Gupta said. "Now then, I think that's all. I'm going back inside. I suggest you wait another hour before you go back to the coven."

Feliciano nodded his head. He watched as Gupta disappeared inside, before he turned around and headed off in another direction.

He arrived at a studio flat not too far from the river. This was his haven when he felt that he needed some time alone from his coven, and where he went to hide when they were in a volatile mood. He removed the keys and unlocked the door. There was no need for him to turn on the light, which worked to his advantage. The less attention he attracted there, the better.

The flat was filled with art supplies, allowing him the option of creating in at least seven different mediums. He spent a moment thinking about it before he made his way towards the computer that he also kept there. He remembered Vlad mentioning his hometown, and after a quick search, Feliciano was looking at different images.

One photo caught his eye. It was an image of a stone bridge over a stream, connecting one part of the town to what appeared to be the main square. It seemed so pretty. Feliciano stared at the photo until he was sure that he had memorised it. He then sought out his paints and a canvas.

He needed to apologise to Vlad, and this was the only way he could think of doing it. As a vampire, he had an excellent memory, though he acted as though he wasn't too skilled in this regard around the other vampires in his coven. He could perfectly remember the photo, and he knew that he would be able to perfectly replicate the image. He knew what it felt like to be far from home, and hoped that Vlad would appreciate something like this.

Instead of the one hour that Gupta had suggested, Feliciano waited three hours. By then, he'd made decent progress, and a break would be in order. Though, he didn't think that it would be much of a break. He would have to spin a story for his grandfather, and he had at least some idea of what to tell him.

After locking up, he found himself in front of his grandfather about ten minutes later. The man frowned as he waited for Feliciano to speak.

"Um, Vlad seems better after yesterday's fainting spell," Feliciano said. "But he was talking too much about his studies, so… I don't think I managed to get useful information. I'm sorry."

"He wasn't alarmed or anything, was he?" Romulus asked.

"No."

"So… Those fainting spells might be normal for him. We'll have to wait for Gupta to see with his magic. Now, why didn't you come and tell me immediately? You should have left a while ago, right?"

"I was hunting."

Romulus nodded. It was the only acceptable excuse that he would believe. Since they all thought of him as a weakling, they didn't think much if he spent a long time hunting.