As usual, I do not own Hetalia only the plot of this story.

There were many ways that I had imagined seeing Gilbert again. Many of them ended with me jumping into his arms or him coming back broken or ill. My imagination is honestly the worst, and my optimism had suffered ever since he told me to save myself and ride away from him.

Even if I was not able to protect him, I wanted to be sure that he could never slip away again.

And now I am hearing his voice and all I want to do is protect myself because I am certain that I am imagining things again. Or at least that is what I thought until I turn towards the voice and discover that I am not imagining things after all.

"Gil?" I whisper. I am still not believing it, but his eyes are unmistakable. Even though he looks so unsure of himself, I know that those lips could immediately form a smirk and I want to launch myself into his arms just as I imagined.

"Ja, but we cannot talk right here. Go to Lady Kirk- well I suppose she is Lady Jones now, and tell her that you are leaving early with an escort. Do not tell her that you saw me." He seems distant, but I cannot find myself to care. I scan his face and then quickly make sure that I cannot see any visible injuries.

"I am not leaving you," I tell him. "She will be busy with the other things going on; Gil why are you hiding?"

There are so many questions I want to ask, I want to embrace him but he pushes me away from him when I step closer. "Come on, Liz. You do not want to make it obvious that it is me, right?"

It is then that I realize that he has not called himself awesome at all. What is wrong with him?

"I promise, I will be waiting outside the door, but we cannot be seen leaving together. It was already a risk to come here, I promise you Liz I will be outside that door-" he nods to the one leading to the street. "And then we can properly say hello. Can you please go do what I asked?"

I find myself nodding. Normally I would have demanded answers now, but all I can think about is how he is here. He is safe and nothing is visibly wrong with him, but I can tell that he is not quite himself. And that concerns me more than my curiosity demands to be satisfied.

Though it is the absolute last thing I want to do, I step away from him. I cast one last glance towards him and he smiles at me encouragingly.

"You better be there or I may actually kill you." I mutter, though I am sure he could not have heard me. Still, the thought of making him pay later gives me the strength to push through the crowd at the center of the dance floor where I am certain I will find Alice.

"Alice!" I call when I cannot spot her. Being shorter than some of the males in attendance has its disadvantages. "Alice!"

"Hey!" Alfred calls back, waving his hand over the crowd, "Come on over!"

I make my way to them, trying not to let my happiness be too apparent. Maybe I should concentrate on him seeming distant? Or will that just worry me more and still give away a change in my mood that Alice will be sure to spot.

"Eliza!" Alice says happily once I reach them. She holds out her hand to pull me in, "Have you been having fun? I have!"

My eyes widen, "Are you drunk, Alice?"

"She probably is!" Alfred laughs good-naturedly. "But no need to fear, her hero is here! I will be sure to keep an eye on her. We should probably be leaving soon anyway, but we could not find you anywhere! Where have you been?"

Alice's grip on my hand tightens and I laugh, "Well I was thinking of leaving too. I wanted to say goodbye before I left."

"You are not leaving alone I hope?" Alfred's eyebrows furrow in concern. I am strangely touched that he cares, but I suppose since I am his wife's friend he does not want me to be unsafe.

"Eliza can handle herself! She jumps into burning buildings, she's invincible!" Alice proclaims- rather loudly too. In a lower tone, she scolds Alfred, "And do not be suggesting such things to her! She is a lady, she knows better than to offer herself to any willing-"

"Alice!" Alfred covers her mouth and then frowns helplessly. "Maybe we should leave now."

She shakes his hand away from her mouth, "NO!"

"Then pretend you can be quiet!" He whines, "Alice please."

I stifle my giggle and smile, "Well, it seems that you have your hands full. And yes, I do have an escort home. I disappeared to find someone willing to leave the party." I pat Alice's head and teasingly tell her "Be good to your husband. Maybe listen to him just this once since he seems to be soberer than you are at the moment."

"I am perfectly sober, thank you very much!"

This time I do laugh, "Good luck Alfred."

"Thanks, I will need it." He sighs, but I can tell that he is just the slightest bit amused by his wife's behavior. I am certain that she has had to deal with his sudden outbursts of enthusiasm so he may as well get a taste of what it is like to handle it.

I wave to the both of them and then make my way as quickly as I can to the exit.

Gilbert is here. Gilbert is just outside.

Those words become a mantra in my head, a force of strength pushing me towards the door. I instinctively reach for my necklace, but remember once again that I had switched the usual ring for my mother's butterflies.

Oh no, will he think that I have given up on him? I shake my head at the strange train of thought that my mind is taking. He will explain everything and if he does not then I will force him.

I am just about to reach the door when I hear Antonio call after me.

An overwhelming urge to scream in frustration threatens to overtake me, but I suppress it. I plaster on a smile and turn to face him.

He looks worried as he asks, "Are you leaving by yourself?"

I sigh helplessly. If I tell him no, he will ask who is taking me and I cannot very well do that. It is then that I remember what Roderick told me earlier. Suddenly his calling after me does not seem to be as annoying as I once thought it would be.

"No, I am not. I have a carriage outside for me, but Antonio. Roderick told me something that worries me-" I start to explain the situation to him and the more I explain the darker his expression becomes.

"When does he say he will leave?" Antonio asks quietly.

"In one week. Antonio I beseech you, please talk to him. He does not want to listen to me and I cannot bear the thought of them being separated so soon after they have found each other."

He shakes his head, "Lovi has been the happiest I have ever seen her. I will take care of it, you do not have to worry chica. I was too young to do anything the last time, but this time I will not let Roderick win."

I nod happily, until the last sentence. Last time? "What do you mean?"

Antonio frowns, "Well did Gilbert not tell you?"

"No. I have no idea what you are talking about." Speaking of Gilbert, he is still waiting for me, I hope, outside. Do I have time to get Antonio to explain himself?

"Roderick's family was the one that separated them in the first place. Apparently, he complained about Lovi's attitude from the beginning. Even after my family had offered to take the both of them, he insisted that Feli remain with them so that they would not have to start their search for another indentured servant." He shakes his head. "I do not know what Lovi told you, but she did try to work for Roderick's family before she found work with ours."

Well, she did tell me that they only wanted one servant. But this would mean that Roderick played a key role in separating the siblings, so now it makes sense why it is not hard for him to make this decision now.

"I do not understand. Why would Gilbert know about this?" I question. He and Roderick were never close so I doubt that he would have known about this.

"He was there when they sent Lovi away. He tried to get his aunt to help Lovi find work, but Roderick made such a fuss that his mother sent her off without any compensation for the work she had done while she was there." Antonio frowns, "That is when he remembered my family was looking for someone to do work and he told her to ask my family. Roderick had tried to 'warn' my parents about her, ahem, vocabulary and if Lovi had not come directly to me..." he trails off before shaking his head. "I do not know what my little tomate would have done."

I am speechless. I never knew any of that and to hear it, just makes me angrier at Roderick.

Antonio places a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Thank you for letting me know. I doubt Roderick would have told me. I will take care of it."

I find myself nodding and then I realize once more that I need to leave as soon as possible. "Thank you Antonio, now my escort is probably wondering where I am. I will see you soon."

He nods and I try to control myself so I do not break into a run out the door.

The city air is not as inviting as the country, but it feels much better than the stuffy hall that I broke out of. Immediately I search my surroundings for Gilbert, trying to catch sight of his hair until I remember that he has it dyed brown for some reason.

I frown at my realization. Maybe my happy reunion with him will need to wait until I interrogate him on why he is acting so strange.

"Psst! Liz."

The sound of his voice is coming from behind one of the carriages. It seems comical that he would hide there, considering that many of the drivers are probably waiting somewhere nearby so that no miscreant runs off with their lord's carriage.

I gather my skirt, mindful of the puddles of...spirts know what that liquid is. It was not raining earlier so I can only assume it is a spilled drink and I refuse to think of an alternative. I truly do miss the country.

Once I successfully avoid the puddle, I hurry over to where I heard his voice. And sure enough, he is there, with his arms crossed and a roguish grin. "Hi beautiful."

I smile at him before punching his arm.

Thanks again to all of you who are still reading and supporting this story. And an extra thank you to those that stop and review. It means a lot and it makes me very happy to know you are enjoying the story. I am trying to stick to a schedule when updating this story but something is always happening.

I hope that you enjoy it.