The England Experiment

Gamble

Sealand stood stock still, biting his lip, after Luciano pulled him out of the mirror. The young boy was not wearing a gag, no, he was wearing a thin, grey, and yet completely sealed blindfold. To him, the entire world seemed to collapse around him, he didn't know where he was, who could be around him, nor if anyone would come to help. Just the pitch-darkness around him, and Luciano's warm fingers pressing against his windpipe. 

Luciano chuckled softly at the boy, who flinched at the sound. Arthur was standing straight up, staring in horror at the boy. Peter. The young nation he had raised. The grip on the knives in his hands loosened considerably. Oliver averted his eyes, and put his hands at his sides. 

"Welcome to our little party again, Peter. Have you missed me?" Luciano purred into the boy's ear, grinning, his ruby eyes glinting in the light. Sealand bit his lip harder, but let out a sob. And then another. And a sniff. Small dark dots stained the fabric covering his eyes. 

Arthur was frozen. His heart clenched in regret, fear, and despair. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, only watch the horror scene with gleaming green eyes. He was choked, his lungs barely moving at all, only able to stare at the terrified child. 

"Oh now don't cry," Luciano purred again, squeezing his throat a little harder. Then his malicious eyes darted up to meet those brilliant green ones. "We wouldn't want Arthur to worry now, would we?"

The silence that filled the room in that moment seemed to drop and press on Arthur's shoulders, chest, mind, suffocating him. Waiting for that small, shaking voice.

"A-Arthur?" Peter said into the darkness of his blindfold.

England cracked. His heart pounding, he leapt towards Oliver in a few bounding steps and grabbed his hand. Oliver startled and tried to pull his hand away, but Arthur held it firmly in his, and pulled his sleeve up. He began whispering some words, an enchantment. 

"You know how this works." Arthur growled, his peridot eyes tearing into the lapis-blue ones in front of him. Oliver gave a small nod, folded up his sleeve, and started chanting. 

The other nations were astounded as two circles formed around the two nations' feet. One ring of black and one of gold. They glowed on the floor beneath them, and then stayed frozen in place as they stopped speaking those foreign, and yet so gracefully formed words. 

Arthur locked eyes with Oliver, and although he knew that he needed to do this, he held Oliver's hand a little too tightly. But Oliver held it back. They both thought, that maybe if they held on, neither would notice their shaking hands. It had been so long since they had done this....

Arthur then spoke aloud, clearly and carefully. 

"All of the nations will go free immediately, and none of them will ever again be harmed by you or any from your world." 

Oliver kept his straight face, and said in turn, "You will comply to all experiments done by me on the reaction of your magical abilities." 

A favour for a favour. An eye for an eye. They both gave a nod. 

Arthur carried on. "No more than one experiment a day."

Back to Oliver. "I get to decide when they take place, and for how long."

Another curt nod. The other nations in the room watched in horror at the gamble before them, two sides of a coin forcing agreement.

"None of the experiments can damage, steal, copy, or remove my magic."

"You cannot harm or attack me or any from my world, and neither can the other nations." Luciano nodded slowly at Oliver when he said that comment, but did not smile. 

The other nations opened their mouths to retaliate, but Arthur simply nodded. However, he acknowledged the helpless nations behind him. 

"After each experiment, I will be collected and escorted back to my world by the other nations from my world." 

Oliver gave and understanding smile, but filled his end of the deal. 

"I will get to choose who comes, unless you alone make a request."

Anger coiled in some nation's chests, but Arthur nodded again. 

The two then stared at each other, trying to search for any loopholes in the bargains. After a minute or so, Oliver raised a brow slightly. Anything else?

Arthur hesitated, but then spoke, slightly quieter, his final request. 

"If you are finding research unsuccessful, the Sworn Deal can be broken."

Oliver paused, and for the first time saw a flicker of fear in Arthur's green eyes. 

"No other previously made deals can be broken in the act of this one breaking."

They both nodded, a sense of relief in them both. Then they began chanting again, but this time only one sentence, and in their native language. 

"This deal is binding, and these souls forever shall be tied." 

______________

After those final words they let go of each other, and the rings of light around them faded. On each of their wrists appeared a matching band, a thin black line marked with crosses, marked like a tattoo onto their pale skin. Francis shuddered slightly. It looked like barbed wire. 

As the light diminished completely, the two of them stumbled and fell backwards. Alfred was there in a flash, catching Arthur before he fell to the floor. 

"Da- ugh, England! Are you ok? What on earth happened?"

Arthur didn't stop for long, grabbing Alfred's shoulders he hauled himself to his feet. The young and worried American tried to stop and steady him, but Arthur pushed him away and stumbled towards little Sealand, who was still standing blindfolded in front of Luciano. 

The Italian wisely stepped backwards as Arthur stumbled towards Peter, kneeling before the boy and ripping the blindfold off. Peter was crying, scared of everything around him, and when he found that he could see again, he looked with his big blue eyes up at kneeling Arthur.  

"E-E-England." It was all he could manage. Peter burst out into tears and threw his arms around Arthur's chest. 

At any other time, Arthur would never let anyone even come close to him, but he hugged the young boy tightly, letting his head fall and cry on his shoulder. Arthur kneeled there, slowly rocking and whispering words of comfort to the shaking young nation. 

"Shhh, it's ok Peter, I'm here now. Shhh, nothing can hurt you, you have nothing to fear." He closed his eyes, stroking Peter's hair as he cried on his shoulder. "I'm here."

The other nations looked on at the two kneeling on the floor. The room was hushed, but not silent; captives had been freed from their shadowy hold, and some nations grabbed each other's hands, reassuring them. Yao rushed to Jia, and Antonio to Romano, enveloping them in a hard hug. 

Francis looked at Arthur as he cradled Peter, smiling softly. Even though the old nation was harsh, cold, and full of a pride that nobody could break; when another desperately needed it, he was one of the best people Francis knew, and the best to be a father. 

At that thought, his mind turned to the two nations standing either side of him. Alfred bit his lip and clenched his fists as he watched Arthur, his brows furrowing. Matthew's shoulders caved in on themselves slightly as he watched Arthur, making him seem so much smaller; and he clutched his bear, Kumajiro, tightly. Their body language was so different, but they still had the one thing in common that Francis would never forget. They both squinted the edges of their eyes slightly, Alfred's turning a watery-blue and Matthew's a watery-purple behind their glasses. 

Francis pulled them close, both of them went rigid at first, the way they always had, but then gave a few shuddering breaths and leant into Francis. The French man hugged them both tightly, knowing that American or Canadian, child or grown up, some things about the two boys would always stay the same. 

But Francis's mind wandered again to Arthur, and watched as he held the boy, just like he had once held Alfred and Matthew. Some things about Arthur would never change either.