Where Thou Art, That Is Home (Hetalia Fanfic)

Chapter 61~!

I sighed, my chin placed in my palm and my elbow resting on my bent knee. So far, Tael had barely stirred. Not helpful when you're meaning to perform an interrogation.

"What approach should we use?" I asked my uncle, who was reading a novel in the armchair across the room. He looked up at me, using a digit to mark his place on the page. "You know, like good cop and bad cop, or just nice or mean and demanding?"

"He seems to be about the same as a child, other than the obvious," he deduced thoughtfully. "I would say we should try to be nice initially, and then change tactics if we have to."

I nodded. "Sounds fine to me. I just hope he talks, I don't want to try reading his mind yet."

He hummed a vague agreement and went on reading. Joy and Matthew were cooking together in the kitchen, and the occasion clanging of pans or pots resounded quietly from that direction. England had been forbidden from entering the kitchen at all times, and he knew it, which is why he was reading. It was kind of like how he pouted, maybe?

Tael murmured something and his eye flickered open (his more snake-like eye was still covered by his multi-colored hair) to flick around wildly. His teal gaze settled on me and hardened, like he was instantly angered at the sight of me. Because I was his target? Could be...

"Arthur, he's awake," I said in a gentle tone so as not to startle Tael with my sometimes loud voice.

Uncle Iggy set the book down and moved closer, taking a calm stance in front of Tael. "Hello. Tael, wasn't it?"

Tael only glared at him, too. Lifting one hand, he brushed back his hair and tucked it behind his ear so both eyes were visible. If he was trying to scare Arthur with the sight of his reptilian eye, it wasn't and wouldn't work. I'd already filled him in on everything I knew about the boy, so Arthur wouldn't be surprised too much.

I was still amazed at how long his hair was. It's like he'd never cut it, ever. The way it hung was ragged and completely uneven, its colors matching those of Vidya's scales. Red and yellow, blue and green, black and orange. He had to have been merged with an Addor viper, the same species of snake that had nearly taken my life in the year 1750.

"My name is Arthur, Tael. We're here to ask you a few easy questions, alright?" Arthur asked. Tael kept his mouth firmly shut and his unwavering gaze steady. "Here's an easy one. Where are you from?"

"I won't tell you that," Tael snapped. I suppressed my severe urge to groan in utter irritation. This kid just wouldn't give us anything, would he?

"Why not?" Arthur pressed. "Are you forbidden from telling anyone where you're from?"

Tael looked like he was about to retort, but he settled down with a frown that suggested we might be right about that. 'Okay, that's one thing. He's been possibly ordered not to reveal where he's from.'

My inner thoughts met that statement with skepticism. Duh.

"Okay, how about this one?" I said, piping up brightly. "What's your favorite color?"

Tael turned his head and stared at me like I was insane. "... What?"

I smiled. "You heard me. What's your favorite color?"

"Uhm..." He fidgeted with his bindings a bit bashfully, as if he was caught off guard with such a random question. I noted the funny look England sent me, but the message I said to him with my eyes said "Just watch."

"Maybe... That one over there?" he said with a nod at the coat rack. The jacket that caught my eye was Tatiana's purple and green one, hanging up proudly for the world to see.