The Once and Future King (Hetalia)

VII: Secrets

I realized something. Please don't hate me. Actually, I wrote this chapter a long time ago and forgot to post it, maybe because I didn't like it at the time. Goddammit.

Here it is, though.

~*~*~

The following morning, Arthur awoke to find that Alfred was no longer in his bed. The sun streamed through the cracks in the window and Arthur knew it was already past dawn.

He wondered why Alfred hadn't woken him up right when he did, but the young king figured that even if he was successfully roused he would immediately go back to sleep. And Alfred probably knew that.

Arthur decided to head down for breakfast. After what happened the day before, perhaps sleeping in had been the right choice. Now he could fully appreciate a decent meal, especially since he'd missed a night's dinner.

Downstairs in the tavern, he found Alfred and Kiku seated at a table and enjoying their meals. Alfred waved him over excitedly, his mouth stuffed with bread.

"Hey, Artie! Sleep well?"

"Don't speak with your mouth full, Alfred. I slept well, and you?"

Alfred swallowed after taking a gulp of water and replied, "Like a baby."

"Kiku?"

"Same," said the easterner. "Western beds are very, uh, soft."

Arthur noticed that the last member of their party wasn't here. "Where's Francis?"

"Where do you think?" Alfred said. "That guy takes forever to get ready in the morning."

"I don't understand why he can't just zap himself pretty," Arthur said. "He does have magic, and I don't see him having any other uses for it."

"He was still sleeping when I came down," said Kiku. He ate his bowl of pottage with a pair of sticks—chopsticks, he'd called them. "I think creating those barriers had greatly depleted his strength."

Arthur tapped his fingernail on the wooden table. "Yes," he murmured thoughtfully. "Magic tends to do that to you, doesn't it."

He was so wrapped up in his own fatigue yesterday that he'd failed to take note of Francis' condition. But it hadn't seemed like the Frog was tired at all with the way he was chatting while on their way to the inn. His words had entered and gone out the other end of Arthur's ear, but he could remember that much. Had Francis been concealing his exhaustion, or was he just that good at putting it off until he got someplace to rest?

Whatever the case, he was clearly more put out than Arthur had thought, seeing as he'd slept past all of them.

"Man, I'm still starving," Alfred said. "I'm going to order some soup. You should probably grab something, too, Artie."

Arthur did so with no complaint. He wanted to be carefree after what transpired yesterday, even for a little while. He felt like he earned it. They could worry about their mission and invasions after they got to eat. Arthur was also fairly certain that Lord Fernandez wasn't keen on seeing them any time soon. What with their past together and all.

The young king, not bothering to tell the server at the front counter that he was the king, ordered some slices of bread with salted pork and berries.

"What type of ale would you like?"

Arthur leaned forward. "Sorry? Ale? No, water is fine. I don't drink."

The server laughed, his voice hearty and booming. It was loud enough to shake the entire room. He was a tough looking man towering two feet over Arthur and looked like he had just freshly emerged from a prison. He definitely looked intimidating, but there was not a trace of malice in his tone.