Until the End Do We Part BOOK TWO

Chapter Three III

A/N: The song above is a bit of a theme for this series, along with a few others. I don't own it, because it belongs to Starset. (Picture it from Arthur's point of view.)

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October sixth, 2023
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It felt like my whole body was lead. I tried to move, but nothing worked. I could hear paper rustling somewhere nearby, but they soon stopped. Creaking footsteps walked across the room, and I vaguely heard a light switch being flipped. The footsteps squeaked up a set of stairs and soon went silent.

Eventually I was able to open my eyes, and they widened in shock.

I was staring at the decorative paneling on the ceiling of Arthur's living room.

I was suddenly aware that I could move my limbs, and I sat up, looking around feverishly. Normally in these situations, my heart would've been pounding in my chest, but now I couldn't feel anything. Memory flooded my mind, and some of my panic subsided. The rest chased questions around my brain; why am I here? what day is it? has someone found me yet?

Apparently the person I had heard was Arthur, reading and then going up into his room. I stood up, glancing at the empty teacup on the inn table. I was suddenly worried. He must have been exhausted if he didn't clean and put it away. I walked up the stairs and down the hall as quietly as I could, and peeked into Arthur's room. He was laying on his side, staring at the window.

I sighed, and turned to go. This time I didn't bother to be quiet, so my footsteps thumped against the stairs along with a squeak from the fourth step. I started walking towards the kitchen, meaning to go out the back door into the garden.

I tripped over something with a loud noise, and cursed, hopping on one foot. By the time I made it to the kitchen, though, it stopped stinging.

"Wait, why did that even hurt?" I thought, and ran into a side table in the kitchen. A glass crashed to the floor, and I scrambled backwards. After a few silent moments, the door opened and I froze. Arthur stood in the doorway with a pistol raised. He stepped forward, onto the glass, and I winced as he cursed. I stayed frozen in the corner, and I was both glad and disappointed when his eyes passed over me.

I watched as Arthur cleaned up the mess, grumbling, and went back to bed.

"Arthur can't see me... can he?" I bit my lip and glanced outside at the rain pouring outside.

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October 20th

I say lazily on a chair in the corner of Arthur's office; he had been doing paperwork for the past few hours. I was waiting for the meeting he would have in my country in the next few weeks, so I could get to my house and get to work.

I figured out that I couldn't travel anywhere unless Arthur was traveling to the same place. Bonding to a person did have its downsides...

I huffed, getting up and peering over his shoulder. I jumped when he froze, and backed away as he slowly turned around. At first I thought he could see me, but then I realized he wasn't staring at me, he was staring through me.

Arthur turned back around, casting suspicious glances behind him every few minutes. I sighed, leaving the room.

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November 4th

We sat in a car in a traffic jam, and I was trying to get Arthur to pay attention. I considered throwing something at him, but I couldn't get the glove box open and the only other loose thing in the car was his cup of hot tea. (I wasn't that cruel.)

Instead, I settled on yelling at him in frustration.

"Hey, IGGY!"

He shrieked and jumped violently, looking around the car frantically. His face slightly pale (and mine in a triumphant smirk), he turned back to the road.

Finally.

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November 7th

My chest hurt.

Arthur had found the note.

I sat beside him on my bed and had to sit and watch him cry, not able to do anything. I desperately wanted to hug him, squeezing the life out of him and running my fingers through his hair so he'd just stop crying. I can't stand the sound of it.

As I'd hoped, he took a picture of it and sent it to the other nations. I wouldn't stay to find out what they said.

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That night I was thankful Arthur had chosen to stay. If not, then I would've been stuck in this house until he returned.

If he returned, a rogue voice nipped. No one had visited my house but him. No one had visited my grave except for Matthew.

What did you expect? Almost everyone hates you, the hostile voice in my head said, why, do you think people would actually care about you? To most this would be a party.

"Shut up", I countered.

And what if I don't? What will you do? Annoy me to death?

I growled in response, and almost bit back when I heard something from the closet in my room. I walked down the hall, peering in. Arthur lay on his side, facing away from the closet door. I could hear scrabbling and scratching come from inside, but I could also see an ominous red glow coming from underneath the doors. Even in my numb, ethereal body, I could feel the cold begin to creep into the room. I could see white mist coming from Arthur's mouth, and knew it had dropped below freezing.

Arthur sat up, and slowly stood, walking towards the door. My eyes widened, and I ran forward to try and stop him, but he was already reaching for the shaking handle.
The sounds stopped, but what horrified me was the voice in my head.

Why did you try to stop him? He's going to die anyway, It said, almost bored sounding.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" I said back, not paying attention to Arthur any more.

You'll know eventually... Soon you'll be just like me... dark, cold... savage...
...violent.

"No!"

My vision went red for a moment, and I had the explosive urge to break something. If I didn't hear Arthur let out a yell of surprise, I probably would've. The red faded, and I glanced over to see Arthur standing over one of my shirts, the sleeves covered in blood.

I heard a manic giggle, and watched as Arthur gingerly closed the closet and got back in bed, shaken.

I told you so.