#2p!nyo!rombela
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rae-does-stuff · 3 years ago
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The Burger King Parking Lot
Sup! So here I am with Day 2!
Here you go @welovefrukmerunning!
Prompt: Love at First Bite
AU: Vampire and Human
Human Names:
2P!Nyo!Belarus: Piotr Arlovsky
2P!Nyo!Romania: Tassa Popescu
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Piotr shivered as he stepped outside into the cold night.
He just had to pick the night shift didn't he? He should've been studying for his exams, not working a shift in the middle of the night at Burger King.
He made his way to his car but before he could he saw a shadow cross his peripheral vision.
"Probably nothing." he thought to himself like a complete horror movie amateur.
That's when he saw a woman. As she came closer he could see her face more clearly.
She had brunette hair, startling electric blue eyes and pale skin. She was wearing a blue coat and a matching blue hat.
And holy shit she was beautiful in Piotr's eyes.
"Hello," she started, her voice accented, "I need some help with my car, can you help me?"
Piotr like the upstanding citizen (horror movie amateur) he was, agreed.
He followed her towards a secluded area of the parking lot and it was only then that the thought occurred to him that might've messed up.
"Too late to go back now", he thought.
"Hey what's your name?" He asked.
The woman turned around, "I don't think that matters anymore."
She knocked him off balance and caught him, her teeth dangerously close to his skin.
"Is she a vampire?" He thought. He knew that vampires existed, but he'd never met one.
His siblings always told him to stay away from them, especially the bad ones.
"Wait!" Piotr shouted. Maybe he could convinced her to spare him.
She looked exasperated, "What?"
"Um," Piotr's mind blanked. "My name is Piotr."
The vampire gave him a weird look, "What am I supposed to do with that information?"
"I don't know, I just thought that you should know my name before you kill me."
She glared at him, "Do you think this is a game? Do you know what it's like to be hated by society?"
"No? I mean I guess I work at Burger King so if someone hates Burger King by association they might hate me too," he was rambling.
The woman stared at him, "What's Burger King?"
"You don't know what a Burger King is?"
"Whatever, just shut up and let me drink your blood."
"Wait!"
She was getting annoyed again, he could tell, "What?!"
"What's your name?"
"It's Tassa now shut up!"
She bit down and Piotr could slowly feel himself losing consciousness.
"Well, maybe this isn't such a bad way to go." He thought to himself.
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Piotr woke up right on time the next morning in his room.
"How?" He asked himself quietly.
He sat up and hissed in pain.
His neck felt sore. Then he remembered what happened last night (or was it several nights ago? Piotr didn't know how long he was out cold) and felt his neck.
It didn't feel too different, aside from the skin being a bit irritated but he could deal with that.
He looked at his night stand and saw a note in neat handwriting;
"Dear Mr. Arlovsky, I hope I dropped you off at the right address. Your home is very clean. This may be a bit forward but maybe you could show me the Burger King you were talking about. He sounds like an interesting fellow.
Sincerely, Tassa"
Piotr stared at the piece of paper. Tassa might've been a vampire who sucked his blood but at least she had the decency to try and drop him off at his apartment.
Maybe it was crazy but, Piotr wanted to go meet Tassa.
Piotr smiled softly at the piece of paper.
Was he a horror movie amateur? Probably.
But was he a horror movie amateur in love?
Yes.
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Simp. Anyways, I hope y'all liked it and I'll come back with day 3 soon!
- Rae
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vixenofthemist · 7 years ago
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MAGIC COMES WITH A PRICE, Chapter 1
Rating: T
Fandom: Hetalia
Pairings: main- RomBela, Dennor with Nyo!Norway, FruUk with Nyo!France, IceSey Side pairs- PruHun, RusAme with Nyo Russia, Bulgaria x ???? (It’s a surprise :P), PortMano. (I NO LONGER HAVE A COMPUTER AND POSTING FICS ON MOBILE SUCKS BUT I HAVE NO CHOICE!!! Sorry if spacing is weird, have no idea how to fix it :/ plus, no read more on mobile, which is gr8)
-THE TALES OF CIGAM, Introduction- “The country of Cigam was a powerful country, filled with magic and great warriors. Many faced this magnificent country, but all failed. So strong were its mages and warriors that some armies never even made it across the borders before falling. The land itself was ridden with snow and rain and oft covered in a deep mist, but filled with caves full of gems and jewels, so rich was this land that neighboring kings yearned to get their hands on this bountiful yet mysterious land. But with each failed attempt of conquering this land, more land was added to this country’s growing wealth. The royal line of this country used to be pure, but tis know corrupt and filled with pride and greed. The first king, Aengus, was said to be scared of no man or beast as none would harm him, which was true, as everything feared him. His legacy fears nothing as well, as they believed nothing can or will harm them. The fourth king of Cigam got too greedy and tried conquering the wrong land, the land of Stellaria. Stellaria was a peaceful land next to Cigam’s borders, but had been long left alone as they provided Cigam with teaching of how to control the wild magic that coursed through their land. Stellaria was filled with masters of magic, and the world renowned seer Nostradamus was born in that country, and he predicted what would cause the Great Fall of Cigam, and what would bring it back to its glory. It was a simple prophecy that he wrote days before his apothecary was overrun by Cigam soldiers who he knew would kill him. The prophecy was found and brought before the king, who was filled with rage and fear. The Prophecy read as such: During a yearlong wint-” “Natalia, are you reading that dusty old book again?” Natalia Arlovskaya shut her eyes and pursed her lips tightly as her elder sister Ekaterina interrupted her during the best part of the book. Ekaterina waltzed up happily to Natalia and sat down next to her on the couch. “You’ve always really liked that book haven’t you Natalia? I remember when you were a little girl you would always demand for me to either read that book or that book about that family who were really weird and dark!” Ekaterina started rambling about Natalia’s childhood favorite stories, which Natalia tuned out as she sourly closed “Tales of Cigam”. It would be useless to try and read it with Ekaterina here. Not only had she interrupted during the best part, it was also the part that really immersed Natalia in the book, and now to get fully re-immersed in it again she would have to read the page all over! Ekaterina, oblivious to having interrupted Natalia’s reading time, got up and walked over to a shelf and pulled out the book she was talking about. The cover was black and had an iron spine, it looked less like a children’s book and more like a forbidden spell book, but the contents were made for children like Natalia had been. “-And your favorite part was when they went to a family reunion, and an aunt asked what the daughter was interested in, and when the mom said homicide you would giggle so much that you would fall off your chair!!” “Yes yes, I was an adorable child. Is there a reason you came in here Ekaterina?” Ekaterina paused in talking for a moment, sliding the book back into its place as she thought of why she came down. Natalia sat patiently, Ekaterina often got caught up when something reminded her of their childhood, it was a happier time that Ekaterina held close to her heart, which Natalia couldn’t blame her. It took a minute for Ekaterina to remember, during which Natalia found herself watching specks of dust fall against the torch light, until Ekaterina spun around excitedly and clapped her hands together. “Know I remember!” Walking towards her, Ekaterina pulled Natalia off the couch and started straightening her dress. “Alfred is here, and he says he needs to talk to you about something urgent!” Natalia raised an eyebrow as Ekaterina smoothed out a crease in her dress, there was no reason for Ekaterina to act this way when it was just Alfred, Natalia has known him since she was a little girl and very much doubted he would care if her dress was rumpled. As Ekaterina moved to fussing with Natalia’s hair, Natalia voiced her question. “Why are you fussing over my clothes Ekaterina? It’s just Alfred.” Ekaterina shook her head excitedly, she had a glimmer of something in her eyes, which Natalia wasn’t sure she was a fan of. “It won’t be just Alfred for long! He has an acquaintance of Mr. Arthur coming to this house, and I want you to look presentable in case he’s a person of high standing, first impressions are everything for some, and I want you to make a good impression on people!” Natalia allowed a small smile to ghost her lips as Ekaterina fixed her bow. “So, you want them to at least have a good impression on how I dress then?” Ekaterina rolled her eyes and laughed as she took a step back and observed Natalia, making sure nothing was out of place. “Oh shush Natalia! You have a wonderful personality! It just takes a while for it to come out!” It was Natalia’s turn to roll her eyes, she knew very well how her personality was perceived by people, but it was nice for Ekaterina to try and convince her otherwise. “Well, Ekaterina, do you deem me presentable?” Natalia raised her arms and did a small spin as she asked Ekaterina, Ekaterina clapped her hands excitedly and nodded her head. She reached forward and grabbed Natalia’s hands, and gave her such a heartwarming smile that Natalia felt like a little girl again, asking Ekaterina if her attempt at putting on make-up looked good. “You look amazing! Beautiful as always!” Ekaterina’s smile turned a little sad, and Natalia frowned, did Ekaterina know something that she didn’t? But before she could ask, Ekaterina put on a bright smile again and dropped one of Natalia’s hands as she started walking towards the door, pulling Natalia gently behind her. “Come on! We’ve kept Alfred waiting long enough!” Natalia stared at the back of Ekaterina’s head, trying to figure out just what she had been sad about moments before, but she decided to put that issue at the back of her mind. She could interrogate Ekaterina about it later, for now, Alfred was here to annoy her most likely. As they walked up the spiraling staircase that lead from the basement library to a hallway, Natalia asked Ekaterina a question. “Ekaterina, where exactly is Alfred? He usually would come and bother me himself, it’s weird for him to have you come fetch me.” “Oh, he’s trying to be professional since he’s here for Leader business, he even corrected himself when he only called me Ekaterina, insisting on calling me “Miss Ekaterina”! It’s adorable really.” She paused in talking as she opened the door to the fourth hallway, she greeted a passing maid and didn’t continue her and Natalia’s conversation until they were continuing down the hallway. “And Alfred is waiting in the parlor, he is really trying so hard to be formal. When I first suggested waiting in the living room, he said it was to none formal for the serious business he was here for!” A maid scurrying past in the opposite direction stopped and called out to Ekaterina. “Uh, Miss Ekaterina?” Natalia turned and gave the maid a critical once over, while Ekaterina gave her a kind smile. “Yes? Is something the matter?” The maid gulped nervously under Natalia’s gaze, but pointed timidly down the hallway towards the parlor. “I, uh, it’s probably not in my place to tell you this… But I was just in Madame Anya’s office, and she said she was heading to the parlor soon to relax…” Natalia and Ekaterina shared a brief look of shock, before bolting down the hallway towards the parlor, Ekaterina throwing a quick thank you towards the maid. Anya was never Alfred’s biggest fan, and if she went to the parlor to relax and ran into Alfred… it wouldn’t end well. Natalia ran ahead of Ekaterina, and made it to the parlor first. She slammed the door open, and was greeted by a surprised Alfred, his face quickly changed from surprised to suspiciously guilty however, and Natalia narrowed her eyes as she saw he was standing in front of their ancestral display case. She marched into the room with her hands on her hips and murder in her eyes. “I swear if you even laid a finger on the glass on that case, I will murder you Alfred!” He threw his hands up in the air and threw her a nervous grin. “Hello to you to Natalia! Good news! I didn’t touch the glass, I only touched the wood trimmings!” Natalia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before stepping forward. She heard Alfred take a step back and start rambling on and on about how she said she’d only murder him if he touched the glass, so he was safe BECAUSE he only touched the wood. Before Natalia could walk even more towards him, the door was thrown open again, and Anya strode in looking eerily calm. Alfred immediately stopped his ramblings, and Natalia opened her eyes and straightened up, Ekaterina came panting behind Anya, clearly out of breath and a worried look on her red face. It was silent in the room for a good minute, before Anya smiled almost cheerfully at Alfred. “Good afternoon Alfred. I don’t remember inviting you to come here, so why are you in my house right now?” Her voice was calm, maybe perhaps even cheerful, but with a cold and threatening undertone that none of them missed. Alfred straightened himself up to his full height and stuck his hands back into his pockets, and gave Anya a big, cheerful smile. “Afternoon Anya! It will surprise you, but I am not actually here to see you, even though I am on Leader business.” He strode forward and clasped Natalia on her shoulder, ignoring how she immediately shrugged it off and the glare she was throwing at him. “I was asked by Arthur, whose both of our superior Anya, to see if Natalia would help me with something.” Anya took a step forward, and gestured at a seat. The smile seemed to be plastered on both her and Alfred’s face. “Well, if you are here because of something Arthur asked of you I cannot hold it against you. Please, sit down Alfred. You must be tired from the trip here.” Alfred grinned and tipped his hat to her. “Much obliged Anya.” He took his seat and made himself comfortable, and Anya sat down across from him. She gestured for Natalia to take a seat as well, and so Natalia sat next to her on the plush couch. “Won’t you join us as well Miss Ekaterina?” Alfred called out to Ekaterina who was still standing in the doorway. She shook her head and smiled nervously at him and Anya. Natalia felt bad for Ekaterina, she knew how much Ekaterina disliked being in the same room as both of them, the atmosphere that they let out made Ekaterina insanely uncomfortable. “N-no thank you Alfred, I think I’ll go fetch some tea or coffee to drink.” “What a good idea Ekaterina, Alfred here must be incredibly thirsty from his long, odious trip. I’m sure he’d be most thankful for some tea.” Anya put some hard emphasis on tea, and Alfred made a face to show his distaste in tea. Ekaterina squeaked out that she was going to make a kettle of both, then ran away. Natalia let a small sigh slip out. This was going to be a weird meeting. It was silent for a solid four minutes, with Anya and Alfred holding what appeared to be a staring contest. After five minutes, however, Alfred crossed his legs casually and turned to Natalia. “So, Natalia! I need to talk to you about something very important…” He turned and gave a meaningful look at Anya. “Alone.” Silence followed his words. If Anya hadn’t been fake smiling before, she was now. The atmosphere in the room went from calm annoyance to concealed hostility in a blink of an eye. Anya sat up fast and opened her mouth, but Natalia beat her to talking. “why can’t Anya stay? She’s a village Leader just as you are, and if I’m involved why can’t she be?” Natalia had actually stood up, her face set into a deep scowl. Anya was being very nice to him compared to some of his other visits, and for him to be so mean to kick her out of her own parlor was something Natalia wasn’t going to stand for. Alfred, gestured for her to calm down. “Calm down Nat, I’m not asking Anya politely to leave just because I want to, but because I was told not to get her involved.” He turned and smiled good naturedly at Anya, who was giving him an interesting look with her head tilted slightly to the side, a smile no longer on her face as she studied him. “No hard feelings Anya, but I was told by Arthur to not involve anyone but the person I chose to help me. If it bothers you so to not hear my awesome voice explain things, then I have plenty of Leader things I could talk to you about… After me and Natalia finish our meeting.” Natalia watched as Anya and Alfred stared at each other, Alfred smiling kindly and Anya looking at him almost confused. After 30 seconds of staring, Anya closed her eyes and returned the kind smile at Alfred. “I think I’ll go help Ekaterina with the tea. Be good you two, and Alfred… Don’t take up too much of my dear little sister’s time.” And with that faintly concealed threat, she swept out of the room in a flurry of pink. —————————————————————– “…Well, since I don’t want Anya to murder me in my sleep, let’s hurry this up!” Alfred rubbed his hands together excitedly before gesturing Natalia back into her seat. Natalia did so slowly, squinting suspiciously at him. He was acting fairly usual, but something seemed…. Off. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but she knew something was different. “So, I’ll get straight to it!” Alfred leaned forward, a more serious expression on his face. Natalia felt her curiosity rise with this gesture, along with a tiny bit of excitement. But what Alfred said next did nothing more but make her more curious. “Do you remember when we were young, and you would scare me by saying you could see ghosts?” Natalia’s face grew confused. Of course she remembered, but it was such a strange thing to bring up that she couldn’t help but feel a little taken aback. “Yes. I remember clearly.” “And do you…. still sometimes see ghosts?” Natalia couldn’t help herself. “Yes. I see one right now, behind your left shoulder.” As she knew he would, he instinctively looked over his shoulder, ducking down slightly as if a ghostly hand was about to reach out and attack him. When he saw nothing there, he turned back with an expression between trying to be annoyed and serious. Natalia couldn’t help but smile slightly, she of course saw no ghost behind his shoulder, she hadn’t seen a ghost in ages, but she couldn’t let this opportunity to scare Alfred pass. “I’m being serious Natalia! Now isn’t the time for joking! Do you still… sense ghosts or anything similar nowadays?” The serious tone of Alfred’s voice threw her off, she had seen him be serious before, but usually something like that would have made it slip and he would demand for Natalia to tell him where the ghost was for the next five minutes until he was sure it wasn’t going to attack him. Feeling her eyes widen slightly, Natalia realized this was more serious then she had first thought. She went through recent memory, trying to remember the last time she had felt that tiny jolt of magic that she would occasionally feel, and came upon an exact date. “Two months ago on the fifteenth, I felt… something.” Natalia dared not say magic, such a tabooed word shouldn’t be uttered in such a sacred place of her family. “It was in the middle of the night, it was such a strong feeling that it woke me up… I felt nauseous for the rest of the day.” Alfred seemed almost… relieved at her answer. He moved back slightly on the couch, and seemed to ease up a little, the serious expression not leaving his face. “Natalia, do you remember what happened on the fifteenth two months ago?” Natalia shook her head, Alfred licked his lips, suddenly looking pensive. “The very next day, on the sixteenth, was the day that Gilbert was found missing. The leading theory is that someone, or something, took him in the middle of the night.” Natalia felt her hair start to stand on end, and her eyes widened. Alfred couldn’t be insinuating… could he? “You don’t mean…” Natalia couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence, to do so she would have to say magic, and she’d rather not say the name of the very thing that killed her parents. Alfred sat up a grim expression on his face. “We believe that Gilbert was taken by magic users, and I am here to ask you if you will help me track them down.” Natalia knew the dangers, she perhaps knew better than anyone else. She had never met one, but she had felt their magic, felt it pulse through her veins, felt just how terrifying they could be. Yet she found herself looking Alfred straight in the eyes and without hesitation saying; “I’m in.” Alfred Beamed at her. —————– Alfred’s explanation had been brief, and mainly consisted of how they were going to meet up with an acquaintance of Arthur who could sense magic like Natalia, and once they meet up he would tell them more. Though Natalia had felt this explanation was lack luster and she craved more details -especially about this person- she decided that she really couldn’t expect more from Alfred. They left soon after that, Natalia felt horrible for only being able to give an even briefer explanation to her sisters then Alfred had given to her, but the mission she was going on was top secret and Alfred had made her swear not to tell anyone. So her sister’s had no choice but to accept the bad, but not untrue, explanation of “He needs my help. Going to be gone for a couple weeks. Will write.” Something Natalia was glad had been brief was Alfred and Anya’s interactions with each other. They had both been all smiles, and when they spoke you could clearly hear the sarcasm and fake sweetness dripping off every word. And Natalia was sure that if they hadn’t needed to go, Alfred really would have stayed for at least another hour to annoy Anya. (If Natalia didn’t know better, she would have thought they both found talking to each other amusing). But now they were out of the mansion and on the long horse ride to the village of Beilschmidt, where this mysterious person they were supposed to meet was waiting. About five minutes from the village, Natalia finally asked the question she expected Alfred to have answered by now. “Just what is the name of this man we are meeting?” Alfred threw her a cheerful smile. “No idea!” Natalia stopped her horse, looking at Alfred in disbelief. How in the heavens could he not know the name of the man they were supposed to find?! And in one of the largest villages she might add! “Do you know what he looks like at least?” Natalia hoped within hope he at least knew that. But to her disbelief, Alfred shook his head far to cheerily. “Nope, don’t know what he looks like! But don’t worry, Arthur said he would know how to find us!” Natalia stared at Alfred for a good long while. Trying so hard to comprehend just how he could be told to go meet a man, and then get no further information about him! Perhaps Alfred could live with just being told the man would find them, but Natalia didn’t know who this strange man was and didn’t trust him to just find them, nor did she fancy the idea that Arthur had told this man what she looked like. “Do you know anything about this man?!” Natalia asked semi-desperately, and when Alfred shook his head “no” she wanted to take her boot off and throwing it at him. “I wasn’t told his name nor what he looked like, but Arthur reassured me multiple times that this acquaintance will find us!” Alfred threw a relaxed grin at her. “Don’t worry so much Nat! Arthur said something about him being able to sense you, so I’m sure he’ll find us!” Natalia stared at Alfred in almost anger, this man could SENSE her?? And she was supposed to be fine with that? Well, she wasn’t. But as Alfred urged his horse to continue forward, Natalia realized that they didn’t have any other choice, they just had to have blind faith in this random, strange person that Arthur had such faith in. Begrudgingly, Natalia continued her horse forward after Alfred, and she hoped he could feel the frustration she was sending in each of her routinely sent glares.
They were finally in Beilschmidt, and Natalia felt Alfred was far too at ease not knowing when this person was going to show up, but he assured her that they shouldn’t worry about that and should continue searching for things on their own until he showed up. “Arthur said he had some things to do before he would come meet us, so we shouldn’t wait for him!” Making their way towards Gilbert’s house was easy, as Natalia was visible frustrated at this point and people were hurrying out of her way, praying they were doing it fast enough to not catch sight of her glares. They arrived at the house quickly, and Natalia and Alfred both paused to take in the sight solemnly. It was a painted tan stone with a wooden shilling roof, windows lined with plant boxes that gave a natural warmth to it that made Natalia think vaguely of how her own home made her feel; safe and warm. At being only two stories, it was perhaps the most modest Leader’s home that Natalia had ever seen, though she knew that had only been half Gilberts idea to make it so modest and sensible. The yard was well taken care of, with a garden flourishing along the side of the house and running out of sight into the backyard. And though smoke bloomed from the brick fireplace giving it a complete homely feel, there was an emptiness. Something was out of place, and Natalia knew exactly what it was. There was no Gilbert striding up to them across the lawn, a confident smile on his face and a laugh on his lips, he wasn’t there to usher them inside to look at whatever new thing he had built or to brag about how well his garden and animals were doing. No, he wasn’t there to greet them. Since two months ago he had disappeared with no trace, Natalia shivered slightly at the memory of receiving that awful news. Ekaterina had fainted from the shock, and Natalia had barely been able to register just what she had been told. Gilbert had been one of the most important leaders, being the leader of Beilschmidt the largest city in their country and being on the council of three, had made him a nearly invincible person in every one’s eyes. The sound of the front door opening and soft footsteps on grass brought Natalia’s attention back onto the front of the house. Gilbert might not be there to greet them, but striding up through the lawn was a tired looking Elizabeta. Gilberts wife. Alfred tipped his hat at her and Natalia nodded at her in greeting. Natalia could tell that neither Alfred nor herself really knew what to say to Elizabeta. Thankfully Elizabeta spoke first. “Afternoon Leader Alfred, and to you as well Natalia.” “Afternoon Elizabeta. I hope you received Tri Leader Arthur’s letter, and that it isn’t too much of a bother us being here to look around.” Alfred spoke casually, but slightly to casual in Natalia’s opinion. His tone made it sound more like they were going to look around for was something none important, like a lost dog, not to look around for hints of a disappearance. Elizabeta nodded, and that was when Natalia noticed that she had tied her usually free flowing hair into a tight bun on the back of her head, letting only a few strands and her bangs be free. It made Elizabeta look more… older. “I got Tri leader Arthur’s letter, and it’s not a bother. If you can potentially find something- anything- then I don’t care.” Elizabeta opened the yard gate and gestured for them to follow her. “Come in, and close the gate behind you please Natalia.” ………………. Elizabeta lead them through the house into the attic, where Gilberts leader study was. It was finely furnished, with plump chairs and a well-crafted desk, but the walls weren’t painted and were the natural dull gray of stone. Papers were stacked neatly on the desk, and the look of slight wear on the furniture gave the first impression that it was used regularly, but then you looked closer and the thin layer of dust that coated everything reminded you that it hadn’t been used in two months. “Sorry about the dust, I… I haven’t been able to come up here and clean. Its… well- I just haven’t been able to.” Elizabeta voice sounded strained, and when Natalia looked at her she could clearly see Elizabeta’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. “It’s all right Elizabeta, we can work around dust! We don’t however, want you to work around us. We know your schedule is filled, and don’t want to be any more of a bother then we already are, so please Elizabeta, go continue your work you were doing before we came.” Alfred’s voice was gentle, and Natalia felt was once again reminded of how observant Alfred could be. He obviously saw the tears in Elizabeta’s eyes just as Natalia had, the study was clearly a hard place for her to be in, and so he gave Elizabeta a clean excuse to leave it. Elizabeta nodded, clearly not in a rush to stay in the study and was grateful for Alfred’s excuse. “You’re right, I’ll leave you two to look. And please-” Elizabeta reached out and grabbed Natalia’s arm and gave it a squeeze. “Please tell me if you find anything.” Looking into Elizabeta’s green eyes, Natalia saw the wall Elizabeta put up to hide her pain crumple for a brief moment, and she saw the raw pain and anguish that Elizabeta was hiding fill her eyes. Natalia nodded and placed her own hand atop Elizabeta’s. “I will.” Elizabeta gave her a sad smile, and Natalia realized Elizabeta didn’t think they would find anything. No one else had over the past two months, and she was doubting anyone would. Her hopes of finding Gilbert were getting slimmer every day, and know she just wanted some sort of closure. Briefly squeezing Natalia’s arm again, Elizabeta let go and nodded to Alfred, and then swept out of the room, the door closing behind her with a resounding click. Natalia stared after her, and felt a rush of emotions overcome her when she realized how similar this was to her own parent’s deaths. Natalia quickly suppressed the memories and emotions, know was not the time. Turning she swept her gaze across the room, a newfound determination swelling inside her. She was going to give Elizabeta the closure she and her sisters never got. —————————————————————————————————————————— Two hours later, Natalia hadn’t found anything. Nor had she sensed anything. After combing the study from floor to ceiling and back and finding nothing, her and Alfred resorted to carefully going through both his leader documents and the case files given to him by Arthur. Since the documents on and inside the desk were for leader eyes only, Alfred now sat at it reading document after document, while Natalia sat on the only other chair in the room reading the case files. The photographs taken were horrible, and she could hardly see what was supposed to be evidence as it blended into all the other objects in the photo. “They should have just drawn the scene. That would have been more reliable then these shoddy photos.” Natalia said bitterly. Alfred nodded. “That’s what I told Arthur when I first saw them to, and he claims they did have someone sketch it, but he didn’t have it with him. Said he already gave it to the guy whose supposed to help us.” Natalia looked up at that, her brow creased in confusion. She had forgotten all about this mysterious man who was supposed to be here. “I forgot about him. Where is he? I doubt he would have found anything we already didn’t, but more help would have been useful.” Alfred only nodded, his attention back on the documents. Natalia stretched out her arms above her head, muscles cramped from the hour she had been bent over the case files. The air in the study was getting stuffy, and Natalia looked towards the window facing the back of the house. “I’m going to open the window.” She was already standing up, and Alfred glanced up. “Good idea, the air is getting to heavy in here.” She forced the window open with ease, though she did note that it was a peculiar window that slide upwards instead of opening like a cabinet. She was about to voice this oddity to Alfred, when she felt it. A hint of… something, left on the window. Natalia’s eyes scoured the bottom of the window she lifted upwards while her hands ran across it. There was a trace of it there, but it wasn’t where the main source of magic was coming from. A breeze wafted through the window and brought the… scent (Natalia wasn’t sure how else to describe it) up to her. Looking down Natalia immediately realized the magic was being drifted to her from the sill of the window. Her hands flew to touch the spot where the magic was coming from, and that was when Alfred’s incredibly confused voice called out to her. “What in the world are you doing Natalia? Are you trying to kill a fly or something?” Whipping around, her hands not leaving the magic spot, Natalia faced Alfred, her eyes triumphant. “I’ve found something.” Immediately Alfred was out of his seat, “Where? Is it magic?” When he came to the window he squinted down. “I don’t see anything.” “Of course you don’t! You can’t sense magic like I can!” Natalia rolled her eyes at him, but quickly moved onto the more important issue at hand. Lifting up on her hands so Alfred could see, Natalia saw the slight haze that was left by magic forming a shape that she couldn’t quite make out. “It’s here. Something magic was on the window sill. I.. I don’t know what it is exactly yet. But I know it’s there.” Alfred squinted harder, trying his best to see what Natalia was seeing.
“What does it look like? I remember you once told me that it sometimes forms shapes.” Natalia nodded to Alfred’s question. “It is in a shape but… I can’t tell what shape it’s in.” “Perhaps we should wait on Arthur’s acquaintance, he’s apparently well studied in magic residue and might know what this is.” Natalia scowled, she hated that she couldn’t figure out what it was, and she hated even more that this mysterious man wasn’t here yet. “When is he going to get here exactly? We can’t wait all day for him to-“ A knock echoed throughout the house and interrupted Natalia. In almost unison, Alfred and Natalia both spun around and ran toward the front facing window, trying desperately to see who was knocking before they came in. As Natalia shoved Alfred more to the side so she could get a better look, Natalia had a intrusive thought of nostalgia, her and Alfred used to do exactly what they were doing when they were kids. Someone would come to either his house or her house and they would scramble to see who would be able to see the guest without being caught first. Little 12 year old Natalia was always sour that her and Alfred tied more often then not.
Forcing herself back into the present, Natalia realized with disappointment they were too late, Elizabeta had already let the guest in. “Shoot, none of us won.” Natalia could have sworn she heard that under Alfred’s breath as she turned away from the window. But surely it was just her imagination. “Hmph, well hopefully that is our mystery person.” Natalia walked over to where she had been seating before and scooped the case files off the chair and organized them again as she spoke. “He’s kept us waiting too long in my opinion, and it’s about time he shows himself.” The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs to the study reached their ears and they both turned to face the door as it swung open. Natalia’s first thoughts were that the stairs were climbed awfully fast. Her second thought wasn’t really a thought, more the overwhelming feeling of magic that filled the room as a man stepped into it. He wasn’t very tall, only 3 or 4 inches taller than her at least, and he was dressed in a full length coat that was double buttoned and purple. She couldn’t see what he was wearing beneath the coat, only that he was wearing black pants and boots. His posture wasn’t suspicious, but the strong scent of magic on him was enough to make Natalia more than weary around him. Alfred stepped up to him and thrust out his hand, a friendly smile on his face. “You must be Arthur’s acquaintance! I’m Alfred Jones, and this is-” “Natalia.” “Right, she’s Natalia, the woman who can sense magic.” The man looked over at her when she interrupted Alfred to say her own name, and threw her a smile, Natalia scowled in return. She didn’t trust him. In her experience, people with unordinary eyes should earn trust, not expect it. And his eyes were such an intense and deep color of red that it made Gilbert’s bright red eyes seem normal. “Nice to meet you! My names Vladimir, but please call me Vlad.” Alfred started to speak, but Natalia cut him off. “You didn’t tell us your last name. We don’t know anything about you and yet are supposed to trust you, the least you could do is give us your last name. In my experience people who don’t give their last name is always someone with something to hide.” Her voice was hard, but Vladimir didn’t seem bothered by it. In fact, he just looked at Natalia and gave her a sly smile. “Fair logic Natalia, but you didn’t give me your last name either. Perhaps we both have something to hide?” Natalia’s face flushed slightly, and her scowl turned into a glare as his words struck a cord. Before she could open her mouth and retaliate, Alfred stepped forward between them “Enough of this! Come on guys, we aren’t here to argue about whether we should trust each other or not, we are here to try and solve what happened to Gilbert.” Natalia nodded her head, feeling slightly ashamed. It wasn’t time to let her own thoughts interfere. Vladimir nodded as well. “Of course. So, have you found any evidence of magic yet?” Natalia nodded. “Yes, I went to the window to open it and found traces of residue magic over there.” Vladimir turned and walked to the window to examine it, and Natalia and Alfred followed. “Natalia said it was in the shape of something but she didn’t know what.” “It’s not that I didn’t know what it is, just that that I couldn’t quite place what it was.” She didn’t like how Alfred phrased it. She didn’t like feeling as if she couldn’t do something or she didn’t know it, and she was certain she did know it just couldn’t quite tell. The feeling grew bigger however, as Vladimir looked at the remaining magic for barely even a minute before he knew what it was.
“Bird talons. That’s what these are.” Natalia immediately squinted down and tried to make out the talon marks for herself. She could see it now, but it was incredibly faint. “How did you even see that? It’s barely even visible, how did you figure out it was talons so quickly?” Vladimir grinned cheekily at her, revealing his canine teeth to be longer and pointer then the rest. That only made Natalia distrust him even more. “I’ve seen a lot of talon marks in my time, let’s just say that.” Turning away from the window, he rubbed his gloved hands together. “This does help considerably with the case, as it proves that someone with magic did come in here.” Natalia looked at Alfred, he was beaming with excitement. “That’s great! So we know can make an educated guess that magic users did indeed take Gilbert!” Vladimir nodded, but Natalia wasn’t so convinced. Stepping forward, she voiced her doubt. “Wait a minute, how can this confirm he was taken by magic? It just shows the sign that someone with magic did touch the window sill in a bird form, but that doesn’t prove they took Gilbert.” Natalia folded her arms across her chest. “And if they came in through the window, then how did they take Gilbert out? Could they have turned him into something, and if they did we need to find evidence that it did happen.” Vladimir nodded, his strawberry blond hair falling around his face as he did so. “Fair point. And they could have easily turned him into something easy for them to carry, such as a flower or a beetle.” Alfred shifted his weight from his right leg to his left, turning to face Vladimir and Natalia both, forming a triangular shape between them all. “Wait- so you’re telling me that they could have turned Gilbert into literally anything? Like, a spec of dust? How in the world would ANYONE be able to find him then?!” Natalia sucked in a breath, she hadn’t thought of that. How would they be able to find Gilbert if he could be anything? “No, that can’t be possible. Magic has some sort of boundary that prevents it from doing something like that surely.” Vladimir nodded at Natalia’s words. He was studying her, and Natalia scowl returned. “She’s right, magic does have boundaries. And to turn someone into something like a spec of dust would be pushing far beyond the bound. No, Gilbert had to be turned into something…” Vladimir took a step closer to Natalia and plucked a squirming beetle from her sleeve. “It has to be something alive.” Natalia stared at the beetle squirming in his hand, both of them staring at it: Vladimir with curiosity and Natalia with confusion. Alfred coughed uncomfortably. “Hey uh, that isn't… Gilbert is it?” “No.” Vladimir and Natalia said no at the same time, and their eyes quickly flickered at and looked at each other, Vladimir grinned at her. “You’re better then Arthur gave you credit for Natalia.” Natalia wasn’t sure what to say to that, so just nodded. Turning back to Alfred, Vladimir gestured toward the beetle in his hand. “This little creature isn’t Gilbert no, no sign of magic being used on him. But, this little guy can be of use.” Her eyebrows knotted together in confusion. “How is that?” Vladimir turned and looked Natalia over, focusing on the confused look on her face. He glanced at Alfred, a question on his face. Alfred shook his head. “I haven’t told her yet, didn’t think it was my place.” The confusion was now burning into searing curiosity in Natalia’s gut and she stepped forward. “Haven’t told me what.” It wasn’t a question. Vladimir stuck the beetle in his coat pocket. “I’ll tell you later, but right now we need to head back to Arthur’s place. He has something we need.” That did little to answer, only cause more questions.
The ride to Arthur’s house was quicker the Natalia had expected. The usual ride from Beilschmidt to York took almost two days, yet they arrived in York the next day. Natalia figured something weird was going on, and it had all to do with the mysterious Vladimir. He seemed normal, cheerful and liked to laugh, him and Alfred got along pretty well. But despite that, Natalia could sense something was off. He was far to cheery, even compared to the overly cheerful Alfred, Natalia didn’t trust him. She didn’t voice these concerns of hers with Alfred however, she knew Alfred would insist on trusting him purely cause Arthur told him to. The two may argue a lot, but Alfred looked up to Arthur as the older brother he never had. Instead of getting the annoying attempt of reassurance from Alfred, Natalia chose to keep a close eye on Vladimir. As they neared York’s gates, Natalia noticed a slight shift in Vladimir. He sat up a little straighter in his saddle, and his hands kept twirling the reins. That was the change Natalia was able to see, but as they took off their gloves to show their hands to the guard, Natalia could have sworn she saw Vladimir’s fingernails shift shape into pointed claws. She blinked before she could register it however, and when she looked again his nails were completely normal. After passing the inspection, the ride to Arthur’s house should have been fairly simple, as it was straight ahead down the main road. Vladimir however, guided his horse left, and gestured for them to follow. Following close behind him, Natalia stared intently at the back of his head. “If you want to stare at me Natalia, I will gladly turn around. My face is much more appealing then the back of my head I assure you.” Vladimir sounded amused, and when he turned his head slightly to look at her he had a wide grin on his face. “I’d rather look at the back of your head, I much prefer it to your face.” It wasn’t one of her best comebacks, Natalia would admit, but it did the job, and Vladimir turned back forward with a shrug. “If you say so, I have been told that my locks are quite a joy to look at.” Natalia scowled and stared everywhere but at Vlad for the rest of the ride. They rode into the residential part of York, further confusing Natalia. Most leaders houses were either overlooking the village or right on the main road, she hadn’t heard of a single leader- especially one of the Tri leaders- living in residential. What confused her most of all was that she had visited Arthur’s home before, and could have sworn it was on the main road. “Where exactly are we going. I thought Arthur’s house was on the main road.” Vladimir nodded in front of her. “It is, but we are going to… well I suppose you could call it his second home.” Natalia’s eyebrows rose. “A second home in his own village? That is highly peculiar.” “Not for Arthur. He’s always liked having a second home.” Vladimir didn’t say anything else, so Natalia decided not pursue any further, despite how intriguing what Vladimir just said was. It implied quite a bit, that Vladimir has known Arthur for a long time and that Arthur has always had a second home wherever he’s lived, but Natalia had a feeling that if she asked either the first question, Vladimir would turn it into her being interested in him, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with that. The second question would break one of the most unspoken rules of their country: you never ask someone who they were before you knew them. Vladimir pulled his horse to a stop in front of a small round cottage. It was made of oak wood logs and the roof was made of woven reaves designed to keep rain out. Looking at Alfred dismounting his horse, Natalia raised her eyebrow at him from her saddle. “This is his second home? It’s very small.” Alfred nodded, not phased by the house at all. Clearly everyone but Natalia had been here before. “Yep it’s his second house! And it’s not small, it’s actually quite big for a common house! Come inside and you’ll see!” Natalia dismounted her horse and walked towards Vladimir, who was unlocking the door with a key he had pulled from a breast pocket. Raising an eyebrow, Natalia met Vladimir’s eyes. He put his hands up and shrugged.
“What? He gave me a key, I’m going to use it.” Rolling her eyes, Natalia pushed passed him and into the house.
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