Salve people !

I'm sorry for the long, long delay, I had much to do such as presentations and school's trip. This story will go on HIATUS, as I'll open history books to be accurate in it. There's another reason: I've got lots of stories going on and it's eating me a lot of time. I plan on finishing one or two and then continue Don't judge a book by its cover with some advance as writing this story takes a lot of time ( English isn't my mothertongue )

DON'T HESITATE TO WRITE SOME REVIEWS, IT'S ALWAYS WELCOMED

Let's reply to anonymous reviews nao ~

The Imaginator : Thank you very much for reading this ! I hope you enjoyed the story so far!

DISCLAIMER

Hetalia: Axis Powers! belongs to Hidekaz Himayura

Don't judge a book by its cover belongs to me, Lokiitama

This story has been beta'ed by Mika Nakane, make sure to thank her for her hard work :3

(: Enjoy :)

Vino trashed around, scratching the brute's arms, trying to gasp and breathe in something – whatever it was, he just wanted to be able to breathe! His lungs felt as if they were about to explode and he felt his whole body panic and die from the inside. He clawed at the man's hands and forearms, shaking under the pressure on his neck and under the anger, the rage, and the wicked face of the adult.

A gasp sounding more like a strangled cry came out of his mouth when a flash came in front of his eyes. The whole world seemed to slow down as he realized that he already had experienced this situation, he remembered this- it was years ago! This man… This man was… the one who was strangling him in his supposedly 'panic attacks'!

Black spots appeared in his eyesight, around that filthy bastard of a murderer's shoulders. All Vino could see was loathing in the man's eyes, as if they were engraving themselves into his very soul. His head began to pound as he felt weaker and weaker.

With one last struggle, he gave up; he was going to die by the hands of the same killer as Esmeralda… and his brother. The boy felt devastated. Seeing his beloved's death and his beloved's body had put him into shock, sure, but somehow, it felt okay, as if he was going to let the matter go quite quickly, just like he had done with the family of the wandering actors. But when his brother fell on him, he felt so bad, so disgusting. He hadn't noticed anything and he hadn't even helped anyone. He was going to die, anyway. Did it matter? For some reason, yes, it mattered to him. Especially concerning his brother, even if he was going up to heaven, with both Felix and Esmerald-…

He suddenly gasped as he felt his backside painfully hit the ground. And as soon as he gasped, he coughed; he didn't know and would never have guessed that the air he was desperate for would burn his lungs once he inhaled it in. He stayed on the ground, laying down, reduced to a gasping and coughing mess. His eyesight slowly returned but it was still blurred and the only sense functioning perfectly was the feeling of his blood pumping to his ears. At first, he only saw what looked like Esmeralda's bloody corpse, but he slowly looked over a moving figure, going further and further away from him, wiggling his arms around. It was probably the brute, judging the imposing figure it held. Why did he let go? Not that Vino wanted to die, though. And why was he moving like this? Where was Felix? He was supposed to be next to Esmeralda!

His sight cleared, but his head hurt like never before. He took a sharp breath when he finally saw his dear brother.

What… what was he thinking about?! What was he doing? Wasn't he supposed to be dead? How could he still be standing? He looked so frail and weak!

There was Felix: hanging from the brute's neck, as if he was trying to strangle him. Vino wanted to stand up and stop this whole situation, or just to wake up. It couldn't be real, right? He just had a lengthy, six-year-long dream, right? The 'rebel' boy coughed loudly right after the abuser caught Felix by the back of his shirt. He threw him against the wall and both twins were now side by side, the weaker one panting silently with his face contorted in pain.

The man approached them, and put his foot on Felix's chest. "Why can't you just die… monster." He snarled putting more and more weight on his foot, slowly crushing the boy's ribcage- there were some audible cracks here and there, and it sent shivers down Vino's spine. The 'docile' brother began to gasp helplessly, but the three of them knew it was no use. The stronger of the two brothers managed to sit up, feeling dizzy. He wanted to throw up, to empty his stomach as the sickening cracks multiplied. What was this brute talking about? Felix was no monster. It was still hard to breathe, but he would manage.

He slowly placed his hand on the man's leg, feebly attempting to bring it off his suffering brother's chest. "Why… Why… Why are… Felix…" He gasped, unable to form a correct sentence. "Felix… not… not… monst-" He broke into a coughing fit, and, thankfully, the brute pulled away. He looked over him, a contemplating look in his eyes, mixed with misplaced and cruel curiosity. "You mean you don't know?"

He crouched, knowing fully that both of them would have a hard time to move around, and tore Felix's shirt away, revealing all of his wounds. The foot imprint and the cuts being the most visible of course. But what about all the rest? Where were all those other wounds?

When Felix came back to reality, he noticed he wasn't being crushed anymore and that he was in all his naked-glory. In front of his brother. Where were his clothes?! The boy wriggled, trying to hide himself, but he was far too injured to hide anything. Each time he showed a new patch of skin, his brother's eyes would open wider.

Thus, when he noticed he couldn't hide anything, he slowly backed away, tearing up, eyes staring right into his brother's. If the later hadn't been so concentrated on his physical state, he wouldn't have noticed the tiny whisper escaping Felix's lips. "D-Don't look…" But he couldn't stop. How did all of this happen?

The stab wounds were 'normal' as he had been stabbed, but with all of the beating his skin testified, Vino couldn't help but wonder how his brother could still be breathing. Even if he was supposed to be dead in the first place, with the stab, but… every man on this planet would have died with all of those. Felix gently repeated his command, ready to implode under so much scrutiny, and Vino complied, turning away with reluctance- he wanted to help, dammit!

Unfortunately, two strong hands turned him back and prevented him from moving any further. He tried to struggle, to shake his whole body away, but it was to no avail. Once again, his eyes fell onto Felix, who looked conflicted between helping his brother and hiding. The 'rebel' brother turned his head away, Felix wanted him to look away, and moreover, the sight was unbearable. A crushing silence only interrupted by his pounding heartbeat suffocated him as he felt even more disgusting. Why couldn't he hear his brother through the communication link anymore? Or feel him?

A strong grip almost crushed his jaw as he was forced to look up- it hurt really bad.

He shut his eyes closed. He wouldn't look, for the sake of Felix! "Look at him." The brute said harshly. Vino tried to shake his head despite being restrained, but he knew the man would feel the movement. The abuser repeated the sentence, almost screaming, as he forced the boy where he wanted him to be. He shook his head again.

He wanted to scream for help, but couldn't move his jaw even one millimeter. He was yelled at to open his eyes and restlessly, he refused. He wouldn't. He wouldn't! That is, until another sickening crushing noise was heard and he then opened his eyes wide in terror- what was that brute doing to his brother?!

The image of his brother's arm bent the wrong way would stay in his mind for quite a long time, and a punch in the foot print, right over the heart, too.

Vino's dark brown eyes locked with the equally dark brown eyes of his brothers. And for the first time in years, they had the exact same expression at the same exact moment; painfully scared and terrorized. A nagging feeling poked the rebel brother's heart as he saw Felix's eyes lack any light and become dull. He knew what this feeling was: a panic attack.

There was one thing the boy had been proud of these last years; the fact that he managed to weaken his panic attacks. When they first began, they were always overwhelming him and making him pass out from pain. When Felix began to shut him out, though, they became weaker and weaker. Now, he was able to pass through a panic attack without fainting at all. He had been so proud of it when he managed the feat for the first time.

Now, he wasn't proud anymore as he understood every single panic attack he had represented every single death of his brother. The reason of his atrociously painful heartaches was the lack of beating from his brother's heart. He tried to turn around, struggling even more, rage passing through his eyes. He managed to free his jaw of the grip. "You killed him! You killed him!" He yelled, out of his mind. The reply came quickly, almost instantly. "So what? It isn't the first time."

Vino wanted to snap back, hit him, say something, be able to protest, but he was interrupted from any action when the man let go and let him fall on his brother's corpse. The murderer laughed. "Don't worry brat. The monster will regenerate…" He cracked one of his gigantic shoulders – the one which Felix was dangling minutes ago. "… That fucker tried to strangle me… It will be itchy, now."

Vino jumped onto his feet, ready to strike. "You killed Felix and Esmeralda! You are the monster!" He yelled at the man, hiccupping, with a strident voice. It threw the brute in the same state as him: blind rage. "I didn't kill her you piece of shit! You did! You two did! Monsters! Monsters!" He leapt on the poor, fearful and heartbroken boy before slamming him into the wall. How did he dare tell such a thing?!

Lightened by a strike of wisdom, he looked down to the little boy in his hands, struggling, and smiled cruelly. Not knowing he was signing the pact to his doom he made up an idea in his ridiculously small head. They both killed his beloved, so they both would have to suffer the consequences. He dragged the now-coughing twin back to his brother- dropping him midway and went out of the room- making sure he locked it, and strolled down the halls. He had to prepare.

Once the door closed, the adrenaline rush inside Vino slowed down and he realized how much he was hurt. His head felt dizzy and his whole back hurt from being slammed repeatedly into the wall. He tried to stand up, only to bend over and puke. He felt so ill both physically and mentally that it was hard to stay on his feet. Disgust was creeping to his stomach and heart; guilt invaded all of his five senses. It was hard to move in the slightest – each heartbeat of his sent him over the edge. But he had to go to Felix. He had to go to his brother. And then, he would go to Esmeralda. But Felix first.

Ba-…

Vino collapsed next to his twin brother, trembling uncontrollably from the shock, the weakness of his knees, and the whole situation altogether. If only… If only he had been more careful and alert. He put one arm on his face, hiding his eyes in his elbow, his other arm reaching for his brother's. If only he had pressed Felix a bit more on the matter… He shivered when his hand touched the cold fingers of the 'docile' twin.

…-dump

As he was sobbing, he hallucinated once again, seeing his future self. A gush of fear, panic, sadness and depression passed through him, but the image was blurry, unlike the other times, where he could see perfectly, but couldn't feel anything solid. The adult-him seemed to be somewhere dark and cold, all alone, head on his knees. Vino wondered- Would he be all alone in the future? Did it mean that… that Felix was really dead? For good? But he had resuscitated not so long ago so why wouldn't he now? He couldn't be dead, right? He was still alive, so Felix should be too! He just… couldn't die. It felt wrong. But both he and his brother weren't entities- they were mere humans, like everyone else. He turned over, hugging his mangled brother, repeating his name over and over, not able to believe that it was indeed only a corpse in his arms.

The Roman Empire was devastated, utterly devastated.

Although he had begged his general not to send him back to the HQ, which was the palace of the emperor, the human did it anyway. It wasn't his fault if he was worn out; frequently, he had gory hallucinations keeping him from sleeping for days. He often wondered why he was so worried over mere hallucinations-they were barely human for Jupiter's sake!

They were just pieces of his imagination, the proof was that they looked a lot like his 'Papas', Romulus and Remus.

Anyway, he was sent back to the HQ, and his genius decided to make fun of him; now that he could rest without worrying about one attack or another from enemies, he couldn't manage to find peace or sleep. Maybe nations and empires were really drawn to battlefields, after all. So he slept, restless in the building, sighing over the lack of things to do. And then, it took him by surprise: the urge to see the cocoon. Now that he thought about it, it had been six years since he wondered about it.

He hadn't even paid it a visit, he was so reckless! He had been more focused on the hallucinations and the wars raging in Franciae – conquering was his priority as an Empire, after all.

As quietly as he could manage, he ran through the hallways, half-naked, and rushed through the streets of his capital, stopping only once to ask directions to some homeless drunk-looking guy. The man had replied that 'the cursed alleyway was no longer' but shrugged and gave the directions when Rome pressed him on the matter.

With each step he took, he felt worry seep into his heart: the cocoon was still in the alleyway, wasn't it? The poor guy was simply too drunk to form correct sentences, right? Or it just disappeared from human sight. It had to be. Maybe it just broke off its waters and he had a little nation running somewhere in the world… The whole world. The whole world full of raging wars, deadly plants, and poisonous animals and insects, only waiting to eat his little nation alive! What if the baby didn't even know he was a nation?!

Rome shivered, quickening his steps. It couldn't be, right? It just disappeared. But when he thought of it, cocoons only disappeared once they broke out of their waters, and then the little nation would be in great danger. Please, please, please! The Empire mentally begged to the gods. Please let it be there! He did certainly not want his only 'real' descendant to be lost somewhere in the world, without ever meeting him!

As he neared the alleyway, fear had already formed a long, long spear within him to stab and pierce his stomach and heart. A countless number of 'what if's collided with each other in his mind, stacking over, making worse and worse scenarios. He breathed in, closing his eyes as he rounded the corner. Everything would be okay, everything had to be okay. He slowly breathed out, shaking, and even more slowly, he opened his eyes.

A strangled gasp came out of his throat as his eyes landed on a black and red cocoon that used to be bigger than the ones he had seen until now. It was deflated, slashed open – the cut was neat, hanging dead on the wall. The… His… His precious little cocoon…

It wasn't round, soft and breathing anymore. H-He… wasn't even born yet! Rome fell to his knees, tears falling free, who would he be for trying to keep them in? The little nation inside of the cocoon… where was he? Had he died? But… a cocoon only disappeared if the nation within it died too – a miscarriage, a bad turn of history, who knew why they died – or if said nation opened his eyes on the land he was.

The Empire crawled next to the cocoon, despair flowing through his veins. What happened to the baby? What happened to his baby? Where was he? He didn't even know if the baby was a he or a she. He collapsed against the wall. The coldness of the stone hit his bare skin, making the man shiver. What had he done-

Ba-dump

The familiar headache of the hallucinations rolled over him and he clenched his teeth in a bitter welcome. It was the worst time ever to see a gruesome vision that would bring his spirits down to Pluto for him to throw it in his hell-hole of a home.

It was still macabre enough, but it was somehow different. For once, the two pieces of his imagination were together; the one usually surrounded by so many loving and worried people was hugging the mistreated one close, who was unmoving. He was probably dead. 'Poor thing' was the only grim and sarcastic thought passing through the adult's head. Not so far away, the beautiful lady that first appeared in his hallucinations appeared dead as well – what a pity, and he thought it for real this time, she was undeniably a beautiful creature. But humans were such fragile beings.

As the scene was fading away, he heard a sob that wasn't his, seeming distant. 'Felix… You can't go… Come on, you can't leave me alone…'

Rome blinked, tears making small pitter-patter sound on the ground. Apparently, the mistreated figment of imagination finally vanished- good riddance! With chance, he would never see it again! It was weird though: he had been cut into several pieces and was still pretty much alive. Until now that is. But being alive after that, and in one and only one undivided piece was a miracle. But he wouldn't question this supposed miracle; it was only a piece of his imagination.

He looked up to the cocoon, catching his breath but failing miserably at drying his eyes. If only his mind hadn't been so fogged up by the loss of his cocoon, he would have put two and two together. But it wasn't the case.

Vino sniffled a bit, unable to produce any more tears and put his head atop his brother's chest, listening intensively to the silence of his brother's heart. Why wasn't it making the ba-dump sound anymore? It should. It was a beautiful sound. It was probably a joke, right? "Felix… Why don't you come back, now? It isn't funny…. Felix…?" No movement or sound. "Come on, please come back, brother." Nothing.

Sighing a sigh interrupted by many wheezes, he closed his eyes to feel the fleeting warmth of the body. He may die as well. The more he waited, the more he felt his heart ache – not only from the emotion, but also from the twin heart that left him. He was dazed. What was he supposed to do?

Before soon, he fell into an alert sleep, exhaustion taking over.

.

He slept, only to be woken up an hour or two afterwards by a weird sound. It was a deep noise, but was also echoing to the surface- or was it only his ears? Ba-dump. There it was again! Vino suddenly sat up, startled. What was that? Was the brute coming back? He gulped down, clenching his brother's hand, their fingers intertwined. He waited a little bit more, trying to calm himself down. That filthy murderer would never touch his Felix again! His ears met nothing, but he felt something, deep within. Ba-dump. What was this feeling? It was as if… as if he felt – Ba-dump – once again! He gasped, putting his head on his twin brother's chest once again – Ba-dump – What… what was happening?

Vino distanced himself from his brother when he felt his cold and supposedly dead hand twitch, his face wriggling in discomfort. And even if he knew that Felix didn't like him seeing him naked ever since the incident in the bedroom six years ago, he had to see. It reminded him of doing this one or two years ago: he would crawl into Felix's room and check up on him, even though he kept an uncaring façade during the day. In the end, he couldn't control his body and would end up regularly checking on his brother out of worry. Let's say seeing him so badly beaten wasn't helping much to calm him down. Well, he got to see his brother until the latter discovered what he was doing and began to lock his door.

The 'rebel' brother forgot how to breathe until he lacked air. He hated to say this but… Felix's body was ugly and disgusting, as well as gruesome. He was beaten black and blue, the only spots akin to skin-color were coloured crimson-red thanks to the stabs. Speaking of which, Vino's eyes travelled upon them as he flinched: they seemed pretty bad and deep-wait. Were they moving? It looked like they were moving. Vino shuddered but couldn't tear his eyes away.

So he stared instead and earned the occasion to watch his brother's skin patch itself up, healing. It was both amazing and terrifying even if it felt normal, for some unknown reason. Before long, the wounds faded away while the beating marks dulled down. It was incredible. So it looked like this when he healed, too? Felix gave a sudden and unexpected strangled gasp, as if he had been about to drown and got his head out of water just in time. He didn't wake up, yet, falling back into sweet sleep. But he was breathing, and that little fact alone made Vino want to cry out in joy and relief. He hugged his dear brother closelywhispering 'you're back' like a mantra. Several minutes passed, and not once had the strongest twin let go- he would never ever let go again. He was so relieved he had completely forgotten about Esmeralda.

Finally, his brother's eyes fluttered open. "Felix!" Vino exclaimed. "You're there! You're back! You're okay-"He was pushed away with brutality and softness at the same time. The push was so soft it almost seemed like a caress, loving and caring, but also saying 'this is enough', but the affect it had on Vino's mind was brutal: why was he pushing him away again? Did he crush him? Didn't he… didn't he love him anymore? The rebel brother remained astonished as he watched his brother create distance between them both, scared and silent.

Felix had opened his eyes, the familiar feeling of air burning in his lungs, the atrocious headache and the painful parts of his body tingling, pinpointing him he had just awoken from a death. Few things passed through his mind. Things like 'Ah, did the doctor change his work table?' or 'I forgot I went to him.' It wasn't until he realized he was being embraced by Vino that he remembered. The brute. The murder. Esmeralda. Oh no… She couldn't be dead, right? She couldn't leave his brother and the student, both of them would be heartbroken. He pushed Vino away, locking eyes with him.

Why did he seem so happy? After a while, he looked down, too weak to hold his brother's strong gaze. How could he be happy? Esmeralda was dead, and he had been hurt. He should have felt devastated. Not that seeing his happiness was making him unhappy. That's when he noticed he was still naked. Felix's eyes slowly widened as the realization dwelled into him. He was naked. His brother could see! He didn't want him to see. No! But… He didn't know about the doctor, or his healing, or the constant beatings of the brute. No, now he knew about the brute. He gulped down. "Did you see?"

Vino observed his brother hyperventilating, he watched him gasp and widen his eyes once he noticed the lack of clothing on him, and with even more attention he observed his brother look up while he tried to hide his body. "Did you see?" He asked. Vino gave him a confused look. See what? The wounds? Of course he did, it was hard not to. "Y-You… y-y-you d-didn't… d-didn't…s-see…" He half-stuttered, half-hiccupped before halting and hugging himself, head hanging low.

Slowly but surely the strong twin came to a guess. "The healing?" Seeing how his brother stiffened, he guessed he was right. "I saw it!" He continued with a huge grin. "It was scary at f-"

"I'm sorry!" Felix interrupted him violently before he could finish what he wanted to say, not only to explain, but also to sooth his brother's worry. The weaker twin wanted to make himself as small as possible, he wanted to be swallowed by the ground, he wanted to die for real, and not wake up right after. He wanted… he wanted a lot of selfish things.

Vino wanted to approach him, but his brother seemed so afraid of him… Why? Why was he scared of his own brother? Did he do something wrong? Why was he so… distant and unfamiliar with him? Instead of approaching him, he decided to talk first. But each time he tried, Felix would – annoyingly - interrupt him, sobbing how sorry and monstrous he was. So, as he tried for the nth time to just explain and that, for the nth time he was interrupted, he finally snapped. "Felix! Damn it, will you shut the fuck up?! I'm trying to talk to you, not to hit you!"

The 'docile' brother hiccupped and shut up instantly as he was shocked beyond limits – Vino had yelled at him! At least, now, he was listening. "Listen, why didn't you tell me you could heal? Alright, it was scary at first, but I can heal too, so it must be nor-"

"Y-You do?" The voice came out feeble. Felix looked like he was hit on the head brutally. He seemed completely lost. He didn't understand. His brother was no monster, but could heal too. How come?

Vino took his chance and crawled to him before gently cradling him in his arms, holding him tight against his chest. Even when Felix tried to pull back to run away, he kept him close, hushing him, trying to make him understand that everything was okay. Healing was okay, healing was normal. But shutting out his brother wasn't. So he had to stay near him, now. During a short moment, he felt a slight pain in his heart, but he blamed it on the panic his brother was suffering from.

It took some time, but eventually, Felix calmed down and gave up on the thought of running away, clinging to Vino instead, pouring his heart out.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long. As Felix was about to explain something, the door slammed open, startling them both. The brute was back, along with the doctor, who only spared a glance at Esmeralda's corpse. The rebel brother heard his twin gulp down and felt him shake worse than before. "Do whatever you want with them. They're yours." The strong man with the ridiculously tiny head snarled with rage and anger as the small doctor smiled wickedly, eyes falling on his regular experiment. The said experiment shuddered madly, holding his brother even closer. Vino frowned. Why was the doctor here? And why was Felix so frightened?

"Come on, Felix, you know what to do." The shrink said with an overly sweet voice that disgusted the stronger twin.

The weak boy slowly rose to his feet, shaking madly. As he took two steps toward both of his tormentors, he was held back by his wrist. Turning around, he was able to read and almost hear his brother's plea for him not to go anywhere. He had had enough of Felix running away.

But… But he had to go. If he didn't, the doctor would use Vino as a test subject.

They didn't see the brute approach. He trapped Felix by the neck and lifted him up. Vino reacted instantly, jumping onto his feet, yelling at the strong man to let his brother go. The only reply he received was a well-placed kick to the stomach, which sent him to the doctor's feet. The later crouched by his side, still smiling. "Would you happen to heal fast, too? Are you an interesting creature, too?"

Vino, while clenching his stomach with a pain-struck face, wondered about the happy tune in the voice of the small man, his genuine but misplaced curiosity and his choice of wording. He heard a distant and strangled 'no!' as he noticed the man's shadow towering over him. Before he knew it, shackles were locked onto his wrists and he was dragged to the bed – he heard a bit of discussion. "May I use the bed?" asked the doctor. "Do as you please. Just make them suffer." Came the reply. "Pleasure dealing with you, sir."

He saw his brother from the corner of his eyes. He was struggling – now held by the waist – his eyes never stopping from going from his brother to the doctor. "You- ack!" The brute silenced him with a punch. Vino wanted to stand up to do anything to save Felix, even break his own skull on the stupid mass of muscle if he had to head butt him. But the doctor shoved his face into the mattress, muffling his indignant shouts. The man sat on his hips, making Vino unable to move his legs any further. The feeble voice of his brother was heard once again, more pained and stressed. "You… you said you wouldn't! You can't!"

Vino felt the weight on his back shift and the doctor replied: "But you didn't come to me in time when I asked you. Not to say he's in better shape than you. I want to try him!" The rebel brother wanted to ask what they were talking about – fearing the doctor was like the pig. But he was suddenly turned around, unable to move in any way, blinded by a glint coming from the doctor's hand – a knife. What was he going to do with that? As if to check something, he cut a bit of Vino's flesh. The later hiccupped, what was he doing?!

He heard his brother yell some protest before he was thrown into the wall, and before the doctor's knife plunged into his arm. He didn't see the brute nor his brother anymore as his own screams blinded his senses.

Even if it lasted less than two minutes, it felt like eternity- why did such a man exist? As he was screaming his brother's name, he felt something heavy apply pressure on his whole body and on his fresh and newly-made wounds.

If he was already feeling dizzy from the blood loss, this not-so-little weight on him achieved to make him see black spots. Soon enough, Vino passed out.

.

When he opened his eyes again, it was because of blood-curling screams echoing in his head. Apparently, he wasn't out for long as the cuts on his body were only just beginning to heal. He turned his head around, wincing each time he made a small movement with his arm. Where was the doctor? Where was his brother?

Another scream pierced the air, pounding and echoing against skull. The voice, although it was abnormally high, belonged to an adult, to a man. Vino struggled to sit up but eventually managed to after some groaning. He froze instantly; he didn't know if it was the position his brother was in – which could have been pretty suggestive as he was straddling the brute's hips – or if it was the color around and on him – bright crimson red blossoming everywhere – that shocked him the most.

He didn't know if it was the fact that his brother turned around with mad eyes full of tears and terror or if it was the broken laugh he gave off, a laugh worthy of years of suffering. Vino hiccupped his name and stuttered over syllables. He was interrupted by a flat "I killed them." From Felix. The rebel brother began to tremble. "I-Is… rea- really? D-Did… you…?"

Felix took this moment to look down at the corpse of the brute lying under him, allowing realization to hit him.

He quickly matched his brother's shaking and looked down at his hands, seeing the knife that was plunged into his and Esmeralda's chest earlier still lodged into his palm. He squeaked, threw the weapon away and hurried away from the corpse. He looked at his hands again, seemingly ready to explode. Was he… Was he… Did he… O-Obviously, he did. He was a monster, so it was natural, wasn't it? Monsters killed people – people who were beating them, cutting them open and torturing them-no! He was a murderer. His head snapped toward his brother who was still gaping at him. Would he run away? Would he hate him? Would he scream and try to kill him? What would Vino do? What would he do?

"Please… don't hurt me…" His voice seemed so weak and tired, he had enough. He couldn't have taken anymore. His two tormentors had just been stabbed to death by his hands, by the monster he was. He didn't want to be touched by a harmful hand anymore. And… what if he hurt and killed everyone while not being himself? Vino moved on the bed, wincing here and there. He was still cut open, and the blood was dripping from his opened flesh. Felix wanted to puke: his brother had been hurt and it was his fault. If only he had went to the doctor sooner, more quickly. "I'm sorry… Y-You weren't supposed to-"

"Did it happen to you? The doctor. And the brute, too? How often did it happen to you?" Vino cut in, approaching him dangerously fast for someone who was hurt. Felix only shook his head, not saying a thing. He tried to back away, but was held back by the wrist, the wrist that had coldly plunged a knife into himtwo-… "Fuck! Felix! Stop running away, dammit! You've been doing this for six years! Six fucking years. Tell me what happened, and tell me now."

Too tired to even care, Felix spilled everything.

.

As his brother turned into a sobbing mess, Vino was at loss of words. The only thing that was certain, was that if Felix hadn't killed those two… he would have done it himself. He looked around to see the bodies, a disgusted expression appearing on his traits. How could he have been so blind not to see his brother's suffering? His eyes fell on Esmeralda.

There was the reason. He had been blinded by her beauty – who wouldn't? 'I was a fool', Vino thought grimly. He still felt pain when he looked at her but… now he was guiltier than ever, knowing what he made Felix go through. He carefully put an arm around his brother's shoulders, who froze mid-sob, before trying to back away. "What are you doing?" Vino muttered, tightening his grip around his shoulders. Why was he trying to run away when what he needed the most was comfort and support? Felix began to hiccup, sniffling, ready to continue spilling his tears. "But… I… I am… a monster!"

As he broke down again, Vino made hushing noises, hugging him fully and going back and forth. 'You're not a monster', he repeated endlessly, praying to the gods above that he would believe him.

After some time, as the sun began to set, he stood up slowly, gently pushing his brother to do the same. Their wounds had healed up. "It's okay, it's okay, we'll go wash ourselves. Everything will be over after that, okay?"

Felix nodded, exhaustion creeping in. He was oddly comfortable with his brother right now, and it made him sleepier than ever. But he knew that if he was to be left alone this night – well, this morning, he would be plagued by nightmares again. Thus, he let his bloodied self be led to the bathroom.

.

He was feeling self-conscious now that they were in the hot bath, but he let Vino wash both of them as he could hardly lift an arm right now. Even if he was a murderer and a monster, and that the thought of it made him shudder and frightened him, the whole 'killing' ordeal didn't bother him that much. They didn't know what they were yet, but it was pretty normal for nations to be drawn to blood, or more precisely to battlefields, to war, where blood wasn't an uncommon thing.

Vino was still comforting him by muttering sweet and reassuring words in his ears, and it slowly lulled him to a peaceful sleep, a kind a sleep he hadn't had in years. His brother continued to wash them until there wasn't any blood left on their skin. He clumsily carried his light- too light- brother to dry him and, once he was done, he was very careful not to wake him up for the weaker of the two not to flee in his room and shut him out again. Tonight, they would be together, Vino decided. It would be a good thing for both of them.

They didn't hear the cry of joy from other slaves – or ex-slaves – shouting 'the young master's back!' or 'He's back, I tell you!' They were already fast asleep, especially Felix.

And just like the nation they were, they would be indeed drawn to the promised battlefields. Are you ready for the next arc?