[Fic] In Every Lonely Heart -- [01/?]
(Oh god, that was a terrible summary... and I just created a title too... what the hell~)
Title: In Every Lonely Heart [01/?]
Author: sozuki17
Words: 2004
Theme: Epic Fantasy (for the russiamerica Summer Fantasy Event!
Pairing(s)/Characters: Russia/America, England, France, The Oracle (OC)
Summary: Arthur asks Ivan to escort Alfred to see the Oracle in order to fix a problem with his memory.
“Greetings, Arthur.” Ivan smiled thinly at the glowing green mirror he held in his hands. “Why are you contacting me?” It was unusual for people to contact him at all, let alone the King of Britannia.
“Yes, well,” Arthur's small face sputtered on the liquid like surface. “If I had any other choice, I wouldn't have bothered.”
Ivan's smile sharpened. “And again, I have to ask, out of curiosity and nothing more, what are you calling me for?”
“I need your help.” Small Arthur winced.
“Why would I help you?”
“Well, to be fair, it's Alfred who needs assistance.”
His eyes narrowed and his fingers clenched into a fist. Alfred was one of the few people Ivan (sort of, occasionally) got along with. For as powerful as Ivan was, there were many who were afraid to oppose him. Only Arthur came close to him with his magic, but still fell a bit short. Alfred, for being as basically magicless that he is, wasn't afraid to tell him what he thought to his face. It was both an annoying and endearing quality that had drawn to the man soon after they met. Once the first wave of annoyance wore off at least. It's been almost two years since he last saw him and to hear that something may have happened to his (sort of, occasional) friend was something he was not pleased to hear.
“Explain.”
Small Arthur cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable and guilty. “Three weeks ago, I hired Alfred to pick up a magic article for me. A crystal. At my Coming of Age ceremony, I had received it as a gift and was told to seal it away until the time came in which I would need it. I thought nothing of it when I asked Alfred to go to the cave where I sealed it and bring it back. It's powerful, but it wasn't something that Alfred couldn’t handle.” Here Arthur paused. “It should have been something Alfred could handle.”
Ivan frowned. Crystals were often tricky, but they usually never caused any permanent damage. Typically these types of things could be reversed. “What went wrong?”
“We weren't sure at first. It had taken him longer to get back than it should have, but only by a few days. When he came through the castle doors, he was confused and a little disoriented. Seems he can't remember finding the crystal even though he had it in his possession, but he also can't remember how he had managed to get back. It took a while but we think we might have an idea as to what we're dealing with.” Arthur let out a deep sigh and shook his head. “Every morning he wakes up and it's like he thinks he's only just set out to find the crystal. No matter what we tell him, the moment he goes to sleep at night and wakes the next morning, it's like all memory of the previous day disappears and he's back on that first day.”
Ivan was silent for a moment, mentally going through all the possible spells and curses and then rejecting each one. “I'm assuming that you've already tried everything you are capable of? What more could I possibly do? I am more powerful than you, yes, but I doubt that is the problem here. Something like this seems almost like a mid-level curse.”
“Yes, we had hoped that maybe it would wear off, but it doesn't seem to be happening. I tried contacting the one who gave me the crystal,” Arthur's face contorted as he tried to suppress his anger. “That damned woman wont pick up my calls. I had Francis call her and he got through to her so it's only me she's ignoring. She obviously knows what is going on and even laughed when Francis tried to get some answers from her.”
“If she's not answering any of Francis' calls nor yours, she will not pick up mine.” Ivan wondered who would be powerful enough or crazy enough to comfortably laugh in the face of royalty. At least royalty as powerful as Lord Arthur Kirkland and wasn't a mercenary named Alfred F. Jones. He was known for pushing all of Arthur's buttons at one point or another. Arthur would return the gestures in kind and many of their minor arguments would escalate until someone interrupted or one of them, who was usually Arthur, would leave in a fit of frustration. They acted more like brothers than a King with a hired mercenary.
“I considered that,” Arthur began. “I've about had it with that woman, but I can't take Alfred to her myself.”
Ivan stared at the tiny man in his mirror. Said tiny man cleared his throat and met his gaze.
“I need you to take Alfred to the Oracle.”
“...The Oracle.”
Arthur sighed. “Yes, she is the one who gave me the crystal.”
Ivan frowned. This would explain the behavior of both Arthur and the woman he described. The Oracle lived deep in the Southern Land's jungles. She was consulted by kings and other high ranking officials, but she had the final say about who she helped and who she believed could do well enough on their own. Sometimes she sought out those who need her help, but most often she stayed in the jungles.
The Oracle was the one their father had consulted about who was to become heir to their Kingdom. With Katyusha being the oldest it wouldn't have been a problem, if Ivan hadn't turned out to be the more powerful sibling amongst the three of them, even at a young age. The Oracle had advised the King against making his only son the heir and to allow Katyusha to be the future ruler. Since their father's death, Ivan felt that Katyusha was a great ruler but was being over run with politics from the other kingdoms who felt they could take advantage of a woman ruler. Ivan often made sure to be present in the majority of meetings between the different lands, if only to avoid his sister from being taken advantage of. Not that Katyusha couldn't hold her own, but it was just that female rulers weren't always taken seriously. Ivan's presence reminded them all of just how powerful of a family she had if crossed.
“Why should I be the one to assuage your guilt?”
“As I've already said, she's not answering my calls and I doubt she'd be happy if I came even if I could. We haven't exactly been on the best of terms lately.” Which was sort of an understatement in that The Oracle had found almost a perverse joy in watching the young King turn red in anger or embarrassment, which ever came first.
“Why me? I'm sure Francis wouldn't mind taking Alfred to see her.” He argued, if only because a long journey hadn't exactly been in his plans for the next month.
“Francis isn’t' strong enough to stand against her if it comes to it and if how she's reacting to him is any indication, she wouldn't take him seriously.”
“That hardly brings anyone to the conclusion that it should be me.”
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. “You have the power to at least put up a fight or at least make her see reason if she's feeling mischievous. Besides, you like Alfred. Well, at least more when compared to others.”
Ivan's eyes narrowed. “And what makes you say that?”
“You put up with the majority of his bullshit when with others you wouldn't give the time of day.”
“I hardly call what I do as 'putting up with', especially when we last saw each other we both went home with minor injuries.” Those being a black eye and some rough bruising each. Riding back from Arthur's had been a little painful for the first couple days.
“Look, will you help him or not? He can't exactly go on his own and you guiding him and keeping out of trouble, as he is known to do, the daft boy,” Arthur broke off muttering to himself.
“This is quite a distance you are asking me to travel, Arthur. On such short notice as well. I'm assuming you would like me to leave as soon as possible.” Ivan mentally sighed. Arthur was a king and to go on a journey to the Southern Lands would probably be a mistake. Francis while being a king himself, was also indeed less powerful and he had his own kingdom to run, when not spending any extra moment bothering Arthur. With their kingdoms so close, it was no surprise that the two of them butted heads as often as they did. Though getting to know each other through their younger years, it also wasn't a surprise when Francis finally convinced Arthur it'd be okay if they started seeing each other on a romantic basis and that no, hell wont swallow the earth whole if you said yes.
“Yes, as soon as you are able. I've already waited too long to contact you as it is and I don't want to see if Alfred's condition can get any worse.”
Ivan surveyed his room, making a mental list of things he would need to pack. Even if he hadn't wanted to go and be away from his kingdom for as long a time as this would take, he knew himself well enough to know that as soon as Alfred had been mentioned, he was as good as going. He just wasn't in the mood to make anything easy for the King of Britannia, especially since this whole fiasco was his fault. “It is a day ride from where I am now to your kingdom and almost a two weeks journey to the Oracle, da?”
“Y-yes. So you will take Alfred?”
“Hmm.” Ivan affirmed. “I do appear to have some free time ahead of me once I finish up my business here. I can assist Alfred between now and the time of Katyusha's next planned meeting.”
Arthur let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Ivan.”
“For both our sakes, The Oracle better be able to fix him. Else I don't think I could put up with an Alfred mentally stuck in time.”
Arthur nodded solemnly. “I am worried for him as well. Goodbye, Ivan.”
“See you soon, da? Be well.”
The green glow that surrounded his mirror faded, as did Arthur's image on its surface. Sitting it down on his work table, he surveyed his room once more. Papers containing the notes he'd taken from meeting with the village leader were stacked neatly near the end and vials containing potions, one still brewing over a candle, were on the other end. He'd have to have someone forward his notes to Katyusha before he left. He hadn't brought much with him, but he had enough. Anything else he thought he might need he could purchase either here, along the way, or convince Arthur to give him.
Grabbing his cloak, he removed the vial from the candle's flame and set it aside to cool before grabbing the notes and heading for the door. He was already finished with his meeting about the crop output and how much the main city would need for the winter versus how much the village could manage to part with. Now he just needed to find someone to pass his notes on to the Queen before conducting a quick shopping trip. It was getting late so it would be ill advised to head out right away, so he decided to spend one more night at the inn.
Besides, he might need to begin mentally preparing himself early for this new repetitive Alfred.
Title: In Every Lonely Heart [01/?]
Author: sozuki17
Words: 2004
Theme: Epic Fantasy (for the russiamerica Summer Fantasy Event!
Pairing(s)/Characters: Russia/America, England, France, The Oracle (OC)
Summary: Arthur asks Ivan to escort Alfred to see the Oracle in order to fix a problem with his memory.
“Greetings, Arthur.” Ivan smiled thinly at the glowing green mirror he held in his hands. “Why are you contacting me?” It was unusual for people to contact him at all, let alone the King of Britannia.
“Yes, well,” Arthur's small face sputtered on the liquid like surface. “If I had any other choice, I wouldn't have bothered.”
Ivan's smile sharpened. “And again, I have to ask, out of curiosity and nothing more, what are you calling me for?”
“I need your help.” Small Arthur winced.
“Why would I help you?”
“Well, to be fair, it's Alfred who needs assistance.”
His eyes narrowed and his fingers clenched into a fist. Alfred was one of the few people Ivan (sort of, occasionally) got along with. For as powerful as Ivan was, there were many who were afraid to oppose him. Only Arthur came close to him with his magic, but still fell a bit short. Alfred, for being as basically magicless that he is, wasn't afraid to tell him what he thought to his face. It was both an annoying and endearing quality that had drawn to the man soon after they met. Once the first wave of annoyance wore off at least. It's been almost two years since he last saw him and to hear that something may have happened to his (sort of, occasional) friend was something he was not pleased to hear.
“Explain.”
Small Arthur cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable and guilty. “Three weeks ago, I hired Alfred to pick up a magic article for me. A crystal. At my Coming of Age ceremony, I had received it as a gift and was told to seal it away until the time came in which I would need it. I thought nothing of it when I asked Alfred to go to the cave where I sealed it and bring it back. It's powerful, but it wasn't something that Alfred couldn’t handle.” Here Arthur paused. “It should have been something Alfred could handle.”
Ivan frowned. Crystals were often tricky, but they usually never caused any permanent damage. Typically these types of things could be reversed. “What went wrong?”
“We weren't sure at first. It had taken him longer to get back than it should have, but only by a few days. When he came through the castle doors, he was confused and a little disoriented. Seems he can't remember finding the crystal even though he had it in his possession, but he also can't remember how he had managed to get back. It took a while but we think we might have an idea as to what we're dealing with.” Arthur let out a deep sigh and shook his head. “Every morning he wakes up and it's like he thinks he's only just set out to find the crystal. No matter what we tell him, the moment he goes to sleep at night and wakes the next morning, it's like all memory of the previous day disappears and he's back on that first day.”
Ivan was silent for a moment, mentally going through all the possible spells and curses and then rejecting each one. “I'm assuming that you've already tried everything you are capable of? What more could I possibly do? I am more powerful than you, yes, but I doubt that is the problem here. Something like this seems almost like a mid-level curse.”
“Yes, we had hoped that maybe it would wear off, but it doesn't seem to be happening. I tried contacting the one who gave me the crystal,” Arthur's face contorted as he tried to suppress his anger. “That damned woman wont pick up my calls. I had Francis call her and he got through to her so it's only me she's ignoring. She obviously knows what is going on and even laughed when Francis tried to get some answers from her.”
“If she's not answering any of Francis' calls nor yours, she will not pick up mine.” Ivan wondered who would be powerful enough or crazy enough to comfortably laugh in the face of royalty. At least royalty as powerful as Lord Arthur Kirkland and wasn't a mercenary named Alfred F. Jones. He was known for pushing all of Arthur's buttons at one point or another. Arthur would return the gestures in kind and many of their minor arguments would escalate until someone interrupted or one of them, who was usually Arthur, would leave in a fit of frustration. They acted more like brothers than a King with a hired mercenary.
“I considered that,” Arthur began. “I've about had it with that woman, but I can't take Alfred to her myself.”
Ivan stared at the tiny man in his mirror. Said tiny man cleared his throat and met his gaze.
“I need you to take Alfred to the Oracle.”
“...The Oracle.”
Arthur sighed. “Yes, she is the one who gave me the crystal.”
Ivan frowned. This would explain the behavior of both Arthur and the woman he described. The Oracle lived deep in the Southern Land's jungles. She was consulted by kings and other high ranking officials, but she had the final say about who she helped and who she believed could do well enough on their own. Sometimes she sought out those who need her help, but most often she stayed in the jungles.
The Oracle was the one their father had consulted about who was to become heir to their Kingdom. With Katyusha being the oldest it wouldn't have been a problem, if Ivan hadn't turned out to be the more powerful sibling amongst the three of them, even at a young age. The Oracle had advised the King against making his only son the heir and to allow Katyusha to be the future ruler. Since their father's death, Ivan felt that Katyusha was a great ruler but was being over run with politics from the other kingdoms who felt they could take advantage of a woman ruler. Ivan often made sure to be present in the majority of meetings between the different lands, if only to avoid his sister from being taken advantage of. Not that Katyusha couldn't hold her own, but it was just that female rulers weren't always taken seriously. Ivan's presence reminded them all of just how powerful of a family she had if crossed.
“Why should I be the one to assuage your guilt?”
“As I've already said, she's not answering my calls and I doubt she'd be happy if I came even if I could. We haven't exactly been on the best of terms lately.” Which was sort of an understatement in that The Oracle had found almost a perverse joy in watching the young King turn red in anger or embarrassment, which ever came first.
“Why me? I'm sure Francis wouldn't mind taking Alfred to see her.” He argued, if only because a long journey hadn't exactly been in his plans for the next month.
“Francis isn’t' strong enough to stand against her if it comes to it and if how she's reacting to him is any indication, she wouldn't take him seriously.”
“That hardly brings anyone to the conclusion that it should be me.”
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. “You have the power to at least put up a fight or at least make her see reason if she's feeling mischievous. Besides, you like Alfred. Well, at least more when compared to others.”
Ivan's eyes narrowed. “And what makes you say that?”
“You put up with the majority of his bullshit when with others you wouldn't give the time of day.”
“I hardly call what I do as 'putting up with', especially when we last saw each other we both went home with minor injuries.” Those being a black eye and some rough bruising each. Riding back from Arthur's had been a little painful for the first couple days.
“Look, will you help him or not? He can't exactly go on his own and you guiding him and keeping out of trouble, as he is known to do, the daft boy,” Arthur broke off muttering to himself.
“This is quite a distance you are asking me to travel, Arthur. On such short notice as well. I'm assuming you would like me to leave as soon as possible.” Ivan mentally sighed. Arthur was a king and to go on a journey to the Southern Lands would probably be a mistake. Francis while being a king himself, was also indeed less powerful and he had his own kingdom to run, when not spending any extra moment bothering Arthur. With their kingdoms so close, it was no surprise that the two of them butted heads as often as they did. Though getting to know each other through their younger years, it also wasn't a surprise when Francis finally convinced Arthur it'd be okay if they started seeing each other on a romantic basis and that no, hell wont swallow the earth whole if you said yes.
“Yes, as soon as you are able. I've already waited too long to contact you as it is and I don't want to see if Alfred's condition can get any worse.”
Ivan surveyed his room, making a mental list of things he would need to pack. Even if he hadn't wanted to go and be away from his kingdom for as long a time as this would take, he knew himself well enough to know that as soon as Alfred had been mentioned, he was as good as going. He just wasn't in the mood to make anything easy for the King of Britannia, especially since this whole fiasco was his fault. “It is a day ride from where I am now to your kingdom and almost a two weeks journey to the Oracle, da?”
“Y-yes. So you will take Alfred?”
“Hmm.” Ivan affirmed. “I do appear to have some free time ahead of me once I finish up my business here. I can assist Alfred between now and the time of Katyusha's next planned meeting.”
Arthur let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Ivan.”
“For both our sakes, The Oracle better be able to fix him. Else I don't think I could put up with an Alfred mentally stuck in time.”
Arthur nodded solemnly. “I am worried for him as well. Goodbye, Ivan.”
“See you soon, da? Be well.”
The green glow that surrounded his mirror faded, as did Arthur's image on its surface. Sitting it down on his work table, he surveyed his room once more. Papers containing the notes he'd taken from meeting with the village leader were stacked neatly near the end and vials containing potions, one still brewing over a candle, were on the other end. He'd have to have someone forward his notes to Katyusha before he left. He hadn't brought much with him, but he had enough. Anything else he thought he might need he could purchase either here, along the way, or convince Arthur to give him.
Grabbing his cloak, he removed the vial from the candle's flame and set it aside to cool before grabbing the notes and heading for the door. He was already finished with his meeting about the crop output and how much the main city would need for the winter versus how much the village could manage to part with. Now he just needed to find someone to pass his notes on to the Queen before conducting a quick shopping trip. It was getting late so it would be ill advised to head out right away, so he decided to spend one more night at the inn.
Besides, he might need to begin mentally preparing himself early for this new repetitive Alfred.