The Great Divide (Hetalia x Reader)

A Pact for Two (Continued...)

The Great Divide
Chapter Thirteen
A Pact for Two (Continued...)

The morning air was brisk. The sun had only just risen, displaying a range of hues from deep reds to bright yellows along the horizon. As the wind began to pick up, ______ rose her wand, waving it in a gentle circle around the perimeter of the Ian's tower. Chanting a temporary spell of warmth, the air inside the circle quickly began to heat up, allowing her to shed her sweater.

Compared to the Ailat tower which she would frequent during the school's break, the Ian's tower was much smaller in comparison and it did not have nearly as an amazing view of the woodlands which surrounded the school. This was of course, due to the height of the tower, it was much - much - smaller in comparison. That, of course, meant there were less stairs to climb at this early hour. Something which ______ could not protest as she let out a yawn.

It only took about three minutes longer of waiting before the latch in the center of the room gave out a loud creak as it was shoved open. The door swung up hard and landed just as hard on the stone floor. From the entrance, Darby's mousy brown hair popped up first before his face came into view. As he fully climbed up, he closed the door and cast a locking spell on it before he plastered himself on the floor with a huff.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you're tired already? The day's barely begun." _____ teased.

"I'm so tired. I'm not very athletic. I hate stairs." He groaned out, "Especially not after just waking up and not having anything to eat."

"The way down is much quicker if it makes you feel any better." The girl joked, leaning back on the railing of the tower to look down. From this height, it didn't make a difference how much shorter this tower was from the Ailat tower in comparison as one wrong move would result in the same outcome here as it would there.

"Not sure if you've tried it yet or not, but there's actually a charm that doesn't allow for that." Darby explained, finally catching his breath and sitting up, "My mother casts it anew at the start of each month to ensure that it's as sturdy as ever... But no one is getting down that way."

"Wonder what happened before to cause them to have to cast such a thing." Said the girl, suddenly finding herself sitting against the rail rather than looking over it.

A smile spread across Darby's face but he replied with a quick shrug, "Anyways, I wanted to check in with you, but I also wanted some privacy to do so."

"Oh yeah, I remember what you said about the others..." She trailed off, suddenly looking a bit guilty, "I thought about that some more late last night and I kinda wanted to touch bases on that with you. I still really think we should talk about some of this stuff with my friends. I trust them as much as I trust you, and I really think they can help us a lot."

Darby gave a slow nod as though he was taking in her words and considering them greatly. He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully in his head before he finally spoke. "One doesn't have to be super close to you to see the trust that they all hold in you, you know."

In response, _____'s face twisted, tilting slightly to the side, indicating for him to elaborate further on that comment.

"We can let them all in, but for right now, since we don't have very much to go off of, can we just keep all of this Headmaster as well as Eltanin stuff between us? Your friends might be useful but they also have their own lives that they should focus on for a bit and despite how much trust they have in you, I'm still quite shocked that none of them were able to stay the break with you to help you on your research..." He trailed off for a moment, studying the girl's face as she furrowed her brows and broke eye contact with him.

"______," He said her name gently, bringing her back, "I just don't want their opinion of you to become negative. I don't want them to think of you as obsessing over something nonexistent because you and I both know that there is something sketchy going on here, but if they couldn't be bothered to help you this break, what's going to change now?"

"I get it." She huffed out, agitation threatening to break through her previously cool exterior.

"Then are we on the same page for the time being?"

"We are." She answered quickly.

Darby gave a slow nod as he reached over towards his wand which had been tucked away in a pocket on the inside of his jacket. ______'s eyes followed the movement of his hand cautiously, but as he got to his feet, he reached a hand towards her.

Perhaps it was the warmth in the air cast by her spell, or perhaps it was the gentle breeze blowing through his hair, but as she looked up at him, she was filled with a sense of familiarity. He looked so gentle standing here before her. He gave his hand a little shake, indicating for her to take it. So, she did, and she got to her feet before him.

"You don't have to accept, but I'd feel much more comfortable with you if we could prove to each other that this will stay between us. If you accept however, I swear to always put you first and to protect you from things that might hurt you." Darby said, choosing each word carefully.

"Accept what?" _____ wondered, noting the change in his tone.

"Let's make a pact. The two of us."

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I'm working on these to be longer too lololol

I am forcing myself to get back into the groove of things but since it's been a while and I'm trying to eliminate the plot holes, I'm rereading a LOT of the earlier works as well as previous chapters to ensure everything continues as it should and that all the lines connect right!