Whispering Magic chpt 2- 20 Apr 2020

*Mathew Williams'/Canada's POV*

Mathew had decided that he was going to die alone. Or, rather, mostly alone if you counted his polar bear companion as true company equal to that of being around other human beings, and the comfort that brought. Which, most of the time he did and it truly did help, but right now was not one of those times where he was feeling that way.

It had been three years since his Prime Minister had finished all the legalities in making sure he'd never have to go in person or by call to any of the secret Nation meetings, and would just have recordings of the meetings sent to him, so he could deliberate on them and send his own notes and decisions over the privately-run world affairs between Nations to be made known at the next possible meeting.

Mathew was miserable. And yet elated. He had to be, after all. This self-imposed isolation was his own idea. It would be….something to be so ungrateful to his past self's much wiser decision to no longer interact with other Nations than to follow his own desires to still be around other beings that were like him and wouldn't die so fast like humans would, and who would understand his perspective, and he theirs as beings who were seemingly immortal and had lived already for thousands of years. Being around humans for company just didn't cut it. Not for any of them. They'd realized that long ago. It was part of why they all met in person at least once a month for Nation meetings. Or, well, why they had all used to meet in person but now not all of them were there. Sadly though, it didn't seem like anyone had missed him. He'd gotten calls from Prussia, but he'd ignored those. But the others? The Nations who still had nations and so should be more concerned with him and his affairs, even just to keep track of how he might impact their own countries health, and thereby their own…no one had raised a fuss that he knew of over his decision to go fully virtual contact only.

And he was happy in this new isolation. Really. Even if he was still trying to convince himself of that.

Then his somewhat happy isolation was all ruined when Arthur called him up. Not someone Mathew had thought would do so. But what do you know? Sometimes people do not act in their suspected ways. Or even the ways that he'd commanded them to. And, for someone with a voice that made people do whatever he told them to…to have someone not follow his orders like that threw him for a loop.

*Arthur's POV*
_

His PM had given him Mathew's number the day beforehand... and he hadn't recognized it despite seeing it before, so many times that it was familiar but every time Arthur had tried to concentrate on the feeling it felt more and more unreal, yet also true. It confused him. But his Prime Minister had told him to call the number and figure out what was wrong with...oh well darn, with SOMEONE then. Silly of him to forget a name, that wasn't like him. Arthur bit his lip, pursing them, furious at himself, and hit the call button.

But, even while calling, he forgot who he was talking to, and what they were talking about, and had to ask again, then forgot again, and again, and he knows he asked (several times even, and he knows he should know the other person's name) but why can't he remember? Again, he asked for the person's name after saying what his PM had told him to, 'why aren't you showing up to meetings?' Thankfully he had that written down in front of him.

WHAT WAS WITH HIS MEMORY?

Wait, meetings? He was to ask some random person about meetings? Why was he given this task? He wasn't some errand boy for his government? Goodness, he's made sure his government knew he was merely the physical representation of the people and land's health, and that he only cared about matters that would affect those two things, and therefore himself. Who were they making him call up? Why had he agreed to it? Why did he know that he had known who they'd wanted him to call when they'd asked and now he was left scrambling through his brain trying to figure that out again? And whose meetings was this fellow supposed to be at? The Nation meetings? He only went to private meetings with his PM or the secret department whose sole purpose was just to summarize daily, and projected happenings around his landmass to inform him of what was happening to himself. Besides the Nation meetings and those, he didn't go to any meetings and really shouldn't be running around chasing after someone he had no idea why he or his Prime Minister should be concerned over their attendance.

The voice on the other line continued. While Arthur continued to try and remember everything his PM had said about the person. The person he knew nothing about. And could barely recall exactly what had already happened in his "conversation" with the man so far.

WHY COULDN'T HE REMEMBER?

"I asked for permission. But everyone is even forgetting about that, and you know what. You should really forget about this conversation too. Arthur, my past commands still stand."

Mathew's words were too strong in the magic he could feel wrap around him, and alter his memory, and despite Mathew making him forget about him, Arthur kept and puzzled over the notes he'd been scribbling down for himself while talking, puzzling over the call in his phone log that he couldn't remember.

Was he going senile? He certainly hoped not. Nations were protected from that sort of thing except during civil wars or other times when their inhabitants' overwhelming mentality ended up controlling the Nations who represented the landmass of those people. Arthur took a quick moment to scrawl down on a pad of paper nearby to look into the possibility of if there was a growing movement of people wanting to take over his current government system. If he was going crazy for a time, it would be nice to have a bit of a heads up before he found himself mindlessly fighting both sides of a war, like how Alfred had ended up just a couple centuries back. The poor lad had ended up with a killer headache at the end of that jaunt. And Arthur at least had magic on his side to see if it could help protect him.

As these ramblings went on though, Arthur didn't notice how his magic was stirring underneath his skin and in the air around him. Then, as if in a trance, he felt his own magic take hold of himself and start to battle against a foreign magic that had had him doing its bidding, without his knowledge of its presence despite previous spells he'd cast on himself to warn him of outsider's magic working on him, and begin to fight to rid him of it.

*Mathew's POV*
_

Mathew had made sure no one would remember him outside of the specified meeting times. He'd gone and called up every single Nation, and commanded it to be so.

Even though it had hurt him to hear Arthur and his brother Alfred forget about him as soon as he told them that they were to forget that he had called, and that they were to forget his existence unless they truly needed to contact the Nation of Canada, and even then they would only know there was a Nation and to contact him by letter, recorded video chat, or by email.

The only people he had stumbled over and hadn't made forget him was his papa France as he just couldn't do it, not to the man that had been as close to family as he'd ever had, and Russia.

Russia though was a special case as Russia, for some reason, had General Winter protecting him. Father Frost, as he was also known as, had even come to reprimand Mathew and tell him that while he loved Mathew as his son, he also saw the other Arctic Nation as such and would appreciate Mathew not purposefully using his magic on the other man, and had informed Mathew that he restored Russia's memory of Canada every few years or so in the past, but now would be putting a block to guard the man from his command to forget him. At Canada's pleading though, General Winter had consented to passing along back to the somewhat concerned Russia that Canada would appreciate if his command was to be viewed as a request and for him to please not be talked to again. So, Russia had agreed. The other man was rather solitary anyways and didn't normally go out of his way to talk to Canada, except for a few times when he wanted Canada to translate polar bear speaking (for some reason).

Finally, the last person unaffected or rather, not fully under the effects of Canada's words trying to ensure he was left alone was just Prussia. Canada had never understood why, but his ability didn't work as well on the albino as it did on others. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did, and sometimes it only did so partially. He could command him, but he had to put effort in to it beyond his normal self-control to contain himself.

Mathew felt his magic back away from Arthur for a moment, and he panicked and threw the weight of his magic back as much as he could for something he tried so hard not to use. But it hurt. Hearing someone he'd known so well and had counted as a friend for years now stop midsentence to again ask who he was for what must have been the eighth time at this point.

Hearing Arthur again ask who he was, despite him ordering it, hurt, he could feel his throat closing, tears started to run down as his face as he tried to hold back the sounds of how he was starting to cry, and that distracted him enough that he didn't notice as he could feel his magic on Arthur starting to be attacked at the edges, and Arthur saying, "Mathew? It is you, isn't it? This…this is your magic."

Mathew hiccupped and scrubbed his tears away with his shirt sleeve. Then he registered what had just been said. "Arthur, forget-" He tried to say, desperately grasping hold and shoving as much of his magic as he could attempt to control through his voice.

It didn't work. Mathew kept talking, saying his command of "forget me, forget me, forget me" again and again, but Arthur was talking over him and clearly not hearing him.

"Expect me in three days' time. I'm coming to make sure you are okay."

Mathew tried to get hold of the situation once more, he tried to tell Arthur to forget him and to not come near him, but Arthur cut him off when by saying, "I'm coming." And only the phone was left to hear Mathew try to yell into it, "No! Please don't co-"

Beeeep.

The call signal turned off and Mathew was left staring at a red screen, Arthur's contact disappearing before his eyes and the screen switched over to his call history where it took its place. A place it should not be, as far as Mathew was concerned.

"Fuck."

Mathew immediately tried to redial, and Arthur never picked up. Not that time, or again after that. Until Mathew hoped, for one of the few times in his life, that his magic would control someone. He couldn't have Arthur here. Who knew what he might accidentally say and have the man do? He couldn't do that to him. What if he hurt Arthur thoughtlessly through his magic? He'd never forgive himself. Nation healing powers meaning Arthur was very unlikely to die from anything he might do or not. It was still cruel to even have this power where he could command Arthur to kill himself, and the other Nation would do it.

And on the other side of the world, Arthur's magic was still waging war against the magic it had found and decided was a large enough threat that, despite its host never trying to defend against it before, that it would drive it out as much as it could. The only magic that would remain in Arthur's body by the end of his magic's purge of Mathew's was his own.

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Cheers,

North