What is... "Home"? (Hetalia Fanfic, Part 2)

Chapter 131~!

MERRY BIRFFDAY 'MURICA!!! XD

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"Alright alright alright, should we start now?" I asked, and England nodded like it was obvious we needed to begin immediately. 

"Of course we should start now, if we don't there are a lot of countries that will be in horrid danger," Arthur said in a low voice, trying not to draw attention to us even though we were stuck in the room.  

"I know, I know," I replied, shaking my head. "Gah, I'm so frazzled. I haven't even met this chick, seriously!" 

"Trust me when I say this: you would be better off never meeting her. I personally haven't met her, but she sounds like bad news." 

I nodded in agreement and sat fully on the bed in front of him, taking a deep breath while squaring my shoulders. "Okay, what do we do first? Do we need to gather any items or something?" 

"No, that's one of the things I like most about the communication spells. For the majority of them, all you have to do is concentrate and speak the proper incantation." He let out a heavy breath before speaking again. "Now, repeat after me."  

He said a long string of words slowly so I could get each syllable right, and I tried to follow him silently. I practiced the spell out loud, and he gave me his approval. 

"Yes, yes, very good. Picture who you wish to speak to, and in this case I think America would be our best bet. Picture your brother in your head." 

I formed an image of him in my mind, all the way down to his glasses and cowlick and goofy grin. "'Kay, done." 

"Concentrate on the image in your mind, and say the words slowly, evenly. Don't let anything distract you." 

"Wait, why aren't you doing this instead?" I asked suddenly. 

"Because Oliver drained my magic like petrol from a taxi!"  

"Right, sorry, I'm just nervous about this." He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye with determination. 

"Relax, magic flows best when you aren't under stress. Inhale, exhale. Good, now say the words I just taught you while picturing Alfred in your mind." 

I closed my eyes to decrease any distractions and started chanting, feeling a pulse in my hands grow stronger. It was exhilarating! The words came easier to my tongue, and I was just about finished when it all was suddenly... gone. The pulse died away and even though I spoke the last syllable, nothing happened at all. I opened my eyes and looked around in confusion. 

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked hesitantly, but I was sure I'd done it correctly! What gives? 

Arthur looked at the door and glared, so I turned to see what had made him so mad. Oliver was standing in the doorway, tsking with disapproval. In one hand was the purple cupcake from earlier, and a wicked-looking, elegant knife in the other.  

"It's a good thing I know how prisoners act, no matter who they are," he said in an almost mournful tone. He had a menacing quality to his voice here, and it set the hairs on the back of my neck standing on edge. "They always risk everything for freedom. They'll run, they'll try to contact their friends, they'll fight back. Funny, I've never really had prisoners for very long..." 

"Oliver, what did you do?" Arthur asked authoritatively.  

"I put up a magic barrier around this entire property," he answered with a wily smile. "No magic gets in or out unless I allow it. Your little friend Euskadi won't be able to "do a little scry" and locate you two. You won't be able to get a message out to the others, calling for help." He laughed a little, deep in his chest. "You should feel honored, Arthur ol' chap. You will be the very first prisoner of mine to ever get away without taking the easy way out."