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Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia or its characters, nor do I own the characters, Eileen Kirkland and Holleigh Burnside. These characters belong to Britannia Angel and __THE N 3 K O of Gaia Online, respectively.

Chapter Summary: Imperial orders arrive for Arthur’s mentor, who has been missing for months, regarding the bounty of a troublesome necromancer. Against rational thought, the fledgling wizard decides to take matters into his own hands.

Chapter Cast: Arthur Kirkland (England), and Eileen Kirkland (Wales).



Viridian eyes stared piercingly at a lonely piece of parchment, never wavering as if the leaf of paper might disappear if they did. The bright incarnadine seal which had previously held it together was broken, and so the paper’s edges desperately curled inward in attempt to close itself. Peeking out from the furling parchment was immaculately cursive writing, with the symbol of the Imperial Union pulling the eye toward it. This was a letter of both great importance and great urgency—the wax used to seal the paper was still very soft.

“We, the members of the Imperial Union of Gaia, request your assistance in the capture and/or removal of the vagrant necromancer, Aron Nordheim. Reports suggest that he is traveling in the direction of Noregr and is highly dangerous. Please present this document to a knightly order should you need assistance…”

This letter was not for him; it was for a very capable and renowned wizard who would likely need no assistance from the knights. She had said that he had amazing potential in magic, but how could that potential grow into skill if she was never there to teach him? Arthur’s mentor had often been called to the Arcane University, so his time with her was short and inconsistent. Now, his studies had come to a trickling stop because his teacher had gone missing. Three months of no contact told him this, and if that had not worried him enough, the parchment lying before him made his gut writhe in anxiety.

Heaving a sigh, he brought his hand up and ran his fingers through his tawny hair, and then stood from his seat. His bones creaked and popped in protest, as he had been seated for quite some time now, and he wrinkled his nose at the sounds. He had heard of this Nordheim man, and of the terrible things he had done. Necromancy had been outlawed due to the ethics and danger of the practice, but there were always those who would do its dark deeds despite this. Green eyes narrowed at the paper as feelings of anger began to surface from his thoughts.

What could be done now that the very person that the Union had reached out to was missing? A strange thought occurred to him, then. What if he…? “Tch, how absurd,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head free of such ridiculous notions. A fledgling wizard like him could never hope to even come close to someone as experienced as Nordheim, let alone capture him. Yet, the thought still clung to his brain; its presence lingering and maddening even as the sorcerer retired to his chambers for the night. It kept its grip on him, poking and prodding until the green-eyed young man could sleep no longer.

He had to do something…

Before he could stop himself, Arthur was completely immersed in research pertaining to necromancy, the knightly orders, and the basic magic that he currently knew. He tacked a map up upon the wall above his desk and pinned markers to Loegria (where he currently resided), Aonaichte (which his research had determined had the best knights), and Noregr (where Nordheim was supposedly headed). Because he did not know the necromancer’s current location, the novice wizard could not estimate how long it would take for his bounty to reach its destination. Aonaichte was also located across the North Atlas Sea, which was a fair distance away. If he wanted to do this and do it right, he would have to move quickly.

Moments after the morning sun’s rays filtered into his room, Arthur was up and dressed in his emerald vestments, scrambling around in search of his staff. The dark circles around his eyes were clear indications of his obsession stealing away his sleep, but his energetic behavior betrayed his appearance. “This is preposterous!” He exclaimed as he made his way out the door, staff in hand. It felt like there were live wires running throughout him; a childlike excitement had overtaken him at the prospect of the journey he was about to take. Despite how ridiculous he claimed these feelings to be, inwardly, Arthur embraced them.

The fledgling wizard had worn his morning away at the docks, and as the sun took its highest position on the sky, the former electricity within him had completely died. According to the ever-so-polite gentleman at the docks, no passenger vessels would be crossing to Aonaichte for the remainder of the month. Apparently, the captains had been feeling an ill wind lately, and were hesitant to set sail. There were, however, plenty of merchant and missionary ships, but Arthur was abrasively refused whenever he inquired about them. Cursing their foolish superstitions, he languidly trudged home, feeling somewhat empty from his failed attempts.

His mood having been completely soured by the ordeal at the docks, Arthur hadn’t noticed the very obvious form of his sister as he shuffled inside and right past her. It wasn’t until she cleared her throat did he make any notice, and it had given him quite a scare. Bringing his staff up over his head in what he thought was a poised position to strike, he blinked stupidly at the blond woman before him. She was silent as she stared at him, her eyebrow raised in that familiar all-knowing expression that made Arthur flinch; that meant that he was in trouble and that there was no way out of it. In her hand, she held the curled parchment that he had so thoughtless left sitting on the table overnight. There was no way he could have explained his way out of this one.

Swallowing a bit, he opted to say nothing and turned away from her to busy himself with something else, but her hazel eyes were on him the whole time. After an uneasy lapse of silence, the fair-haired young woman finally spoke up, turning completely to face her cowering brother. “You’re not going alone,” she stated simply, her voice soft but stern. Had it been anyone else, Arthur would have played stupid and bombarded her with questions, but it was apparent that Eileen knew everything. He inwardly kicked himself for leaving his maps, books, and above all else, the letter in plain sight. Nonetheless, he would have to say something, and it would have to be something to discourage her.

“I’m not going at all,” he retorted bitterly, whirling around to face his sister, arms folded across his chest. Technically, it wasn’t a lie considering that he did not possess the transport to actually go anywhere, but it also wasn’t the truth. If Arthur could find a way, he’d be going.

Disbelief written blatantly on her features, Eileen tilted her head inquisitively and took a step toward her brother. “Oh? Well, if you were going, you wouldn’t be going alone,” she said, repeating her point with finality as she watched Arthur begin to retreat at her advance. Her dear brother had a tendency to try and do everything by himself, and most times it ended badly for him. He just wouldn’t accept help unless he didn’t have a choice to; that’s how she learned to deal with him.

Arthur scoffed, faltering a bit as he retreated from his sister, and then turned his attention to the papers that lie scattered on the table. “Of course I wouldn’t,” he said, noting that her other eyebrow had risen at this statement, “I’d have a knight.” Matter-of-factly and final, he haughtily turned from his sister to place his belongings in his room. Of course, as he had assumed she would, Eileen trailed behind him, a reply ready on her lips.

“Oh, a knight! That’s all fine and dandy after you get to Aonaichte,” she began, hands on her hips as she watched her brother try to busy himself with anything but facing her. He never did win these arguments, and he knew this fact painfully well. “How will you manage to protect yourself up until then, hm? Wave your stick and hope for the best?” She knew that this would get his blood boiling, but it was part of her strategy; the more upset that the novice wizard got, the less smart he became. To put it simply, anger made Arthur stupid. Anyone watching the two argue would ultimately conclude that they were siblings.

Arthur’s cheeks flushed with anger as he whirled around to face his sister again, storming up to her with purpose. “It’s not a bloody stick, it’s a staff!” He exclaimed, wagging the object around in front of him as if the action could define what it was. “And I don’t need to wave it around at anyone, I have magic!” Huffing hotly, he stomped past the blond woman to go inspect his cupboards for something to calm his nerves. Tea would be very nice at the moment.

Eileen’s gaze followed her brother’s movements intently, her expression thoroughly unimpressed, and she shook her head at his temper. Honestly, when someone found the right buttons to push, Arthur really flew off the handle. Still, she egged him on, feeling that she was coming close to winning. “Hmph, about as much magic as a common street magician,” she muttered, making it so that she was audible to her fuming sibling. While it was quite an exaggeration, she did feel that her brother did not know enough wizardry to protect himself outside of Loegria.

At that small mutter, Arthur’s frame shook with rage, but he did his best to contain it; exploding on his sister usually did not end in his favor. Calming down somewhat, he glanced over at her, pouting indignantly. “Oh, and I suppose you’re better off, then? If I recall, you’ve only been at that church for less than a month.” Turning back to her, he leaned against the countertop, an arrogant smirk curling his lips upward. Feeling victorious, he continued with his counter-logic, “How much more could you have possibly learned?” In his pretension, he failed to realize the fact that his magic domain was very different from his sister’s.

Without hesitation, the “fairer” of the two siblings reached behind her and hoisted a large, cumbersome mace onto the table between them. Her brow raised in amusement as she observed her brother’s shocked and humbled expression. “Well, I know how to cure wounds and poison, and I also know how to wield weapons that weigh more than a few pounds,” she said, her tone suggesting that she was bored by this fact. She gave a wide, sweeping gesture toward the weapon, watching Arthur expectantly. “Go on, then. If you are so capable on your own, I don’t see why you can’t use this to protect yourself.” A catlike grin, very similar to Arthur’s previous one, appeared on her lips.

Piercing green eyes flickered between the large, dangerous-looking object on the table to the blond women on the other side. This happened several times, but no other motion was made for quite some time until the wizard-in-training heaved a heavy sigh and glanced off to the side in defeat. “F-Fine,” he began, wincing at his sister’s little hum of victory, and looked up at her with a deep frown before continuing, “But what does it matter if we can’t even bloody well get there?” Really, what was the point of all this arguing? Did she really want to win that badly?

Again, Eileen grinned, one of her hands resting on her hip, the other wagging a finger at her brother. “That’s where you’re wrong,” she said in a teasing voice, and then brought her mace back into its original place at her hip. “You might have forgotten, but I serve the church of Kord…” Both of her eyebrows raised as she trailed off, waiting for the green-clad man to put the pieces together. Now that he was calmer, it should be easier for him to think, but if he took too long, she’d gladly answer for him.

It took a moment, but only a moment before realization dawned on Arthur’s face. Missionaries… “When can we leave?”