Where Thou Art, That Is Home (Hetalia Fanfic)

Chapter 88~!

Serenity looked down at Milo with worry-filled emerald eyes. The boy hadn't awoken for a while, just mumbled in his sleep and shifted around some. His breathing had picked up to a quicker rate at one or two points in time.

Andromeda, with all her magical prowess, was cuddled up to herself and trying to sit still so the iron floor of the cage didn't burn her as badly. Not to mention that the metal was hot anyway, so really she was being burned by two different influences at the same time. Poor baby...

"Milo...?" Serenity tried to rouse him for the third time in the last ten minutes. She brushed his hair away from his eyes, fanning his face with her hand like she had done before. It wasn't working anymore.

She looked out across the rest of the room. Everyone in their cages was either passing out slowly from exhaustion and dehydration, or they were just staring boredly at the walls and floor. Because Serenity had been the last one to be taken, she had more of her strength still as well as her determination.

"You know what?" Serenity asked loudly in her British-accented voice to anyone who would listen. "We should try to escape."

"How?" Andi asked curiously, sitting up a little straighter.

"We don't have the keys," Jean pointed out in a weary voice. "How would we get out of these cages?"

"I dunno, but there has to be some way out," Serenity answered as she crouch-walked to the door in her and Milo's cell. It was firmly sealed, the lock having been set into the cage itself so there wasn't really a good way of simply cutting the lock off. "I mean, it's not hopeless."

"Those demons... have the keys," Devyn said in a voice that was bordering a moan. It was getting harder and harder for her to form clear sentences. "How're we... gonna get 'em?"

"I..." Serenity trailed off. The heat was making everyone's brains fuzzy. No one had the volition to do anything. And even if they were awake and coherent, there really didn't seem to be a way out for them.

"We... We can't just give up!" Serenity exclaimed, wrapping her hands around the bars before pulling back with a yelp when they started to really sting her hands. "Ouch... I mean, that's not good! That's not okay!"

"Come on, guys!" Serenity coaxed desperately. "We can't let it end here. We don't even know why we're here, why let ourselves be subjected to their tortures?"

For a nine-year-old, she had an impressive vocabulary. Her parents taught her well.

Suddenly, a dull glow caught her eye and made her spin around. Was it a fairy friend coming to rescue her?

No, it wasn't. Just some sort of light peeking out from Milo's bare chest. His pajama shirt had been unbuttoned to help him stay cooler.  

Serenity's eyebrows rose as she crept over to his side and picked up the amulet hanging around Milo's neck. It was illuminated with a pale blue light, casting both kids' shadows on the floor of their cage. It was almost... eerie. But still a comfort.

"S-Since when did this have the power to glow...?" Serenity wondered aloud.

She could vaguely remember Milo being given this amulet by one of Kadi's boys and her cousin. Sean, wasn't it? She didn't think there was anything remarkable about it, though. So... Why was it glowing?

Slowly, almost sadly, the light dimmed and went out altogether. Serenity Kirkland was left holding a white scrimshaw carving with a Celtic knot design.

"I... I didn't do that, did I?" she asked herself. It didn't feel like she'd done anything...

Alice's POV~