All's Fair In Love And War (RoChu, Hetalia)

The Shocker

Yao eyed the letter apprehensively. It lay on his desk, containing words of either a miracle or a great tragedy. He didn't want to read it.

Yesterday, he'd received a hastily scrawled letter from Toris, informing him Raivis had been stabbed by a rogue Germanic soldier. It was crumpled and smudged, and patches were warped as if drops of water had fallen on the paper. The letter was little more than a note, but it made Yao very uneasy. As much as he wanted this war to end, he didn't want it to end like this.

He resigned himself and ripped open the envelope. Unfolding the paper within, he began to read.

Dear King Yao,

It is with great relief and joy that I bring you the news of Raivis' condition: he shall live! For the past four and twenty hours, he has been drifting in and out of consciousness, mumbling nonsense, but now he is awake. The only unfortunate thing is, his wound became infected. Our medic was not able to clean it properly, and he deemed that if the infection continued to spread, Raivis could die. So, his leg from his knee downward had to be amputated. It is of only a slight inconvenience to him, of course, he'll learn to walk with a wooden leg soon enough. We are all simply grateful he's survived, especially Eduard. As for our recent streak of bad luck, I can say with fair confidence that it is over. It wouldn't be wise to put down in writing what Toris said, but I can assure you, our bad luck is coming to an end.

From, Prince Feliks Łukasiewicz

P.S.: When are you going to join the rest of us on-site? Forgive me, but one does not need three days to personally pack a bag for the warfront. F.L.

Yao tossed the letter back onto the table with mixed feelings. Of course, he was elated that Raivis was going to be fine. It was Feliks' attitude in the postscript that irked him.

Right after Toris had held the meeting with all their allies, Yao had rushed home to begin planning a night with Ivan. He knew once he arrived on-site, the war would begin to accelerate, and he wouldn't see Ivan for a long time. So, he took three days to pack. It wouldn't have been an issue if Raivis hadn't been attacked by that soldier. At least now he had a reason to fight the Germanic Kingdom.

Yao sighed, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. He and Ivan had arranged for Ivan to sneak in the castle that day, where they could then retreat to Yao's bedroom. It was getting close to the time they'd agreed on, and Yao was becoming impatient.

The clock in his study tolled eleven in the morning. Yao slowly rose from his chair and left the room. He made his way out of the Palace, into the vast garden that surrounded the place. Hurrying to a shady and often overlooked order, he spotted a flash of white-blond hair.

"Ivan!" He whispered.

Ivan looked up, his face half obscured by a tangle of vines. Yao broke out into a grin. He hadn't grinned in a long time.

He was by Ivan's side in moments, and placing a chaste kiss on his lips. "I've missed you," Ivan murmured, taking his hand.

"So have I," Yao said. He cast his gaze around, checking to see if any gardener so lazy servants were milling about. The coast was clear, so he led Ivan out of the shadowy alcove and into the bright sunlight.

"How are you going to sneak me in?" Ivan asked, as Yao hurried him along.

"I know every entrance and exit to this place," Yao said breathlessly. They'd arrived at a well. "Including the secret passageways." He peered into the well. "Go on in."

"What?!"

"It's only a front," Yao explained. "The well has a false bottom. Pull the latch on the left side and you'll open a trapdoor."