A New World (a Hetalia fanfiction - Book 3) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 11 - The Aberrant

Rosalie's P.O.V

The first thing I noticed waking up was the agonizing pain throbbing in my waist and I heard a groan, most likely my own. My ears began ringing, but as the ringing died away, I heard a voice.
"You awake, ragazza?"
Is that...?
"Lovino..." I managed to murmur, allowing my eyes to flutter open. I expected to find myself on the bed in my room with Romano beside me, but actually, that wasn't it at all.
"Lovino? Who's that?" Flavio asked.
Oh. Wrong Italian.
I groaned again, but it wasn't because of the pain this time. I blinked away the blurriness from my vision. The light above me is dim, but there's enough of it to see Flavio's bright blonde hair and his red eyes studying me. His red-lensed sunglasses sat on his head and he's sitting in a chair next to the bed I'm laying on.
"Wha..." I muttered, looking around to find out I'm in yet another place that isn't familiar to me. The small room we're in is mostly empty, except for the old bed I'm laying on and the chair next to me, where Flavio sat. The old light makes the room appear orange, shining off of the worn concrete walls. It smells like old dirt and must in here.
I was about to sit up, but then thought better of it when I felt the sharp pain in my waist from my wound. I looked down to see that my tank-top has been torn open and there's bandages wrapped around my waist to cover the wound, and an unfamiliar jacket is covering my chest.
I shifted uncomfortably, realizing that he must have seen my bra as he was bandaging me. At least he's decent enough to cover me.
"Where are we?" I asked, looking at Flavio.
"Somewhere safe, that's all that matters."
I groaned again at his lack of specifics and closed my eyes. The pain keeps getting worse! I'd better get some treatment for it, or it might get infected...and with the nasty air of this place, that could be a possibility.
Wait, didn't Allen say earlier that I could bleed to death?
I swallowed and opened my eyes to look back over at Flavio. I was gonna ask if I would be alright, but something else came out of my mouth. "Would it kill you to get me some pain killers?"
He raised a blonde eyebrow. "You're in pain?"
I rolled my eyes and I suddenly felt very irritated. "Well, no shit, I was stabbed. Of course I'm-"
Flavio raised his hands. "Alright, alright, understood. But the problem is that in this place, there aren't exactly any nurses. Or pills."
I sighed heavily. Dammit, I should have taken some supplies while we were still at the hospital.
I looked at him again. "You still didn't tell me where exactly we are."
He gave a half-hearted shrug. "It doesn't have a name, it's just a safe place to hide whenever anyone needs it. The best thing about it is that the countries don't realize it exists."
"How are you so sure about that?"
He smirked. "Then I wouldn't have gotten away with sneaking out so many people."
I wanted to raise an eyebrow at him, but I'm just too tired, so I just gave him a questioning look.
Flavio rolled his eyes and explained. "I sneak people out of executions, okay? I told you that I'm not a fan of killing and I'm one to give mercy on those who deserve it. Ain't that just nice of me?" He asked that question with a wink.
Honestly, that actually is kind of him. Saving people from Luciano and the others...
Wait, how do I know he's not lying? I still can't trust him completely.
"By the way, who is Lovino?" He asked and I blinked at his question. "You said that name when you woke up."
"Oh, well..." How much should I say? Just say he looks exactly like Flavio except for the hair, eyes, and personality? Should I trust Flavio not to hunt Lovi down and turn him into those other countries?
"He's, uh...he's my boyfriend," I said simply. "When I woke up, your voice sounded like his, so I kinda thought you were him."
He looks a little confused, but then he smirked. "Oh, really?"
I was about to speak up, but then I kept my mouth shut when I heard footsteps in the distance.
It sounds like it's a little ways away from the door to this room.
Flavio's expression changed from amused to surprised to serious.
"Fuck," he muttered.
"What?" I whispered, too afraid to speak any louder. Who's coming?
"I forgot to tell you. The only other nation who knows this place is-"
The footsteps stopped right outside of the door and then the door opened, revealing a smiling Englishmen I met earlier.
My stomach clenched and my breath caught in my throat. Oh shit...I'm gonna get killed, aren't I?
"I thought you'd be here," he told Flavio, then his bright eyes met mine. "'Ello, poppet."
I swallowed, not daring to say anything. I wanted to get up and run, but with the fact that I'm injured, that's not exactly a good idea.
"Oliver," Flavio stood up from his chair. "You better have not brought Luciano."
"Now, why would I do such a thing?" Oliver asked innocently.
Why is he here? Does Oliver also know what Flavio uses this place for?
"Why are you here?" Flavio asked, his red eyes looking at Oliver suspiciously.
"Because, do you think you're the only one who senses that something is out of place?"
Flavio seemed to relax a little. "You feel it, too?"
"But whatever the matter," Oliver continued, his eyes meeting mine. "Rosalie isn't safe here."
I looked back and forth between then, sensing some sort of understanding between the two. "Are...you two working together?"
They both looked at me, but Flavio is the one who answered. "Sí."
"Wait, wait," I muttered, shaking my head as I stared at the two incredulously. "So, right now, you guys are betraying the others to keep me alive."
I didn't state it as a question, it was more of my own observation as I processed what's happening. The real question is; why would they do that?
"Well, sí," Flavio replied with a little nod. "But we've been betraying them for years. This isn't exactly anything new."
"But why? What would happen if they catch you?"
"We're not as heartless as you may assume, poppet." Oliver gave me a grin, and I stared at him.
"You kidnapped me."
"Simply to keep up my reputation."
"I could've gotten killed!"
"That was a risk we had to take."
I groaned as I looked down at my stomach, fighting the urge to lift the cloth and reveal my wound.
"You'll be fine, ragazza." Flavio told me. "The wound is deep, but Kuro missed anything vital."
"That's unusual of him," Oliver murmured. "Some may think he missed intentionally to keep you alive. Perhaps he noticed your resemblance to Zoey."
I bit my lip in thought. "Does anyone else know of your secret? It doesn't seem likely that just the two of you manage to keep something like this hidden for years."
Flavio and Oliver shared a glance, but they didn't reply. We sat in unanswered silence for a few moments before I spoke up again.
"What about Italy?" I asked, then quickly corrected myself. "I mean, Luciano. And Allen? What would they do if they found out you two had been lying to them?"
"Allen can't do shit," Flavio snickered, but then quickly sobered. "My fratello, however...he's ruthless. He'll end me, because he knows he can easily gain power over my land. The only reason he doesn't do it already is because we're brothers. However, I believe he'd put our lineage aside when he learns about this."
I gaped at him. "Italy wouldn't do that!"
They both stared at me, and I immediately remembered that Luciano is not Feliciano.
"Poppet," Oliver started as he turned to me. "Where exactly did you come from?"

Zoey's P.O.V

I'm still frozen, unable to move at all. Arthur's spells are about as powerful as Oliver's. Or, perhaps, completely equivalent.
Unfortunately, I have no idea when this spell will wear off, or when Arthur will remove it, if he ever does so.
He's flipping through his book full of sorcery, spells, and rituals of all sorts. He seems to be muttering to himself, and every now and then I'd catch a phrase or two.
Other than his muttering and the sound of fluttering pages, I can hear the pounding of my heart and the ringing sound as blood rushed through my head. I listened for a bit, but then I heard Arthur's "Ah-ha!"
What is he going to do in order to get information from me?
Arthur read the page for a few seconds, then he walked over to me. "Alright, sit still." Then he looked up at me and smirked smugly. "Oh, wait, I forgot."
And he calls me the smartass. That wanker. If I could, I'd be rolling my eyes.
"Now, let's figure out where you came from, shall we?"
Yeah yeah, just hurry up.
He looked down at his spellbook. "I need salt...and white sage..."
I immediately remembered the uses of those ingredients. Salt for protection against evil, and white sage to deprive the area of negative energy. Good choices. Oliver wouldn't care to use those items; no negative energy had dared to mess with him anyway.
"Now I just need an appropriate area for the portal once we figure this out."
Portal? Is that his idea of transportation between worlds?
He sighed, looking up at me again. "I guess I will have to temporarily remove this spell in order for you to tell me what I need to know."
I would be smirking now if it weren't for said spell.
"Do not do anything you would regret, Zoey." Arthur told me in a threatening tone.
Oh, I won't.
His hand lifted to touch my forehead, then I felt an electric pulse shoot through my head, down my neck and spine, and filtered through my veins, releasing my body from the invisible bonds. I collapsed to the floor, my body limp from being so stiff and immobile.
But now that I can move, I can relax my muscles. The right side of my body is a bit sore from the downfall, but I ignored the pain and pushed myself onto my feet, stretching my body and awakening it.
I rolled my shoulders and cracked my knuckles, then, I smirked up at Arthur. "Alright. Let's get this show on the road."
He nodded, then motioned me to follow him, and I did so.
This will be interesting.