Tʜᴇ Pᴀᴛʜ Tᴏ Hɪɢʜɢᴀᴛᴇs

Tʜᴇ Kɪɴɢᴅᴏᴍ Fʀᴏᴍ Bᴇʏᴏɴᴅ Tʜᴇ Mᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴs

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 22

"Not vu."

You bring your head up, eyes reaching the Empire nervously. He had stood up to let Reich out a few seconds before, leaving the German to scamper away fretfully. The driver too sensed it was best to leave and had wondered off a little further away to take a cigarette out and have a short break from the palpable tension. But now the Empire had gotten back in, seating himself back in his original position, his head facing forward. "I vanted to zay..." The Empire trailed off, his head tilting as he thought of an honest word to say.

"I vanted to... vell," German Empire seemed to mess with his hands for a moment, as if he were attempting to distract himself from his own mind, "vat I vanded to zay vas I'm zorry und zank vu." Your eyes widened in disbelief, almost feeling as if you didn't believe his words. "What for?" You acquired.

The country glanced up, bringing his body forwards to rest his elbows against his spread knees. "Vell one for zee vay I treated vu, I know I can be ein bit... much, zometimes, but I vant vu to know it's not your fault, vu've done nozing vrong."

"But why thank me?" You ask, trying to ignore the hollowly warm feeling enveloping your chest. You wouldn't admit it to him, but hearing him apologise felt somewhat relieving, like a burden was being lifted from your chest. It was a hard thing to do, to apologise for something, perhaps he understood that he frightened you at times, perhaps thats why he was staring at you for the whole car ride, he knew in his mind that he had scared you when he found you and Reich some place you weren't supposed to be. But you found it rather endearing that he had chosen to apologise for treating you so.

"Zank vu for taking care of mein zon," the monarch continued, breaking you away from your thoughts, "vu're all he has really, he's got nein ozer friends." At this moment, German Empire seemed a little nervous, as if he was worried his words wouldn't go down well, but once he caught the upwards pull of your lips, he seemed to let all his inhibitions go, and relax into your words. "It's no trouble really, he's a good kid."

Though the Empire had no lips to smile from, you thought in your mind that he was. His face seemed almost painted, as though it had no vessel to display any amounts of emotion from, but you chose to believe in that moment that he was happy. "Schall ve go in zen?" The German asked. "Yeah," you reply, "we should."

With a hesitant turn of his body, the Empire opened the car door again, and stepped gracefully out before he turned back to outstretch a hand for you. You scooted across the seat and took his hand in yours, using it as leverage as you descended onto solid ground. You felt German Empires hand leave yours, and in silent agreement you let your hand fall to your side, but to your surprise, instead of walking ahead of you, the country looped his arm through yours, and began escorting you forwards.

You say naught as you plod along side the towering German. Again you found yourself struggling to keep up with his long strides, though you noticed how he seemed to be used to slowing his pace and shortening his strides, as though he knew you would fare better with him taking you into consideration.

"Who exactly is visiting?" You question as you look up at the monarch beside you. He remained silent for a moment, walking up the steps to his home without a word. But even once he spoke you noticed how he seemed to find the topic uncomfortable, as if it was something he wished wasn't on display for you to notice. "He vas zee perzon I kept telephoning, vu'll meet him in ein moment, he can tell vu himzelf vo he is, I visch not to steal his limelight."

You knew better than to keep speaking, especially after having a heart-to-heart with this man, so you walked on in silence through the widened walls of the Germans house. In the silence of the moment the sound of shoes clattering against the rugged floor of the hall sounded so much louder than it really was. Noise it seemed, could never escape the corridors that winded through the building. The cold emptiness that stretched for miles above you amplified every little noise made by the most diminutive of things. Nothing in this house could ever seem small to you, not even the sounds. It wouldn't surprise you to hear the clicks of echoing heels in your dreams after all was finished. It followed you everywhere at every moment, even as the sound of hushed voices came into earshot through the more homely of corridors, you could still hear the endless clatter of footsteps digging through your mind.