Feliciano shivered, his eyes blinking around through the snow that drifted down. The forest was eerily quiet, and it scared him. His fingers tightened around Ludwig's hand, huddling close to him. His other hand was around one of Antonio's fingers, which he held with an iron grip, as if he was going to lose the man in the snow. He and Ludwig had followed Antonio's orders, packing up supplies and putting out the fire in the hearth before setting out to wait in the snow. The taller man had come running soon after they got to the edge of the forest, a large mound pressed against his shoulder. The mass, in closer inspection, was Lovino, bruised and asleep.

They had entered the forest without a word, the taller man leading them to who knows where. Feliciano licked his chapped lips, opening his mouth to speak out a hush whisper. "Where are we going?"

The taller man sighed, his green eyes gazing down at the small boy, his other hand under the still sleeping Lovino. "To my home," he murmured. "To Spalera."
That had been three years ago. Spalera was just as warm as Convolvulus, only that it rarely did snow. Here it was warm flowing meadows and winding rivers. A warm , happy place. Lovino had said little of what happened the day they ran from their home, but he remained grumpy as ever. In the spring of that first year, Antonio had gotten word that their Nonno had died in battle. Feliciano had been heartbroken. Lovino remained sour, but he supported his younger brother.

It was summer now, the sun at its highest. Feliciano gazed up at the blue sky. He rolled over to his side, blinking up at his blond friend that sat beside him in the grass. "Hey Ludwig?" he asked, tugging on the young man's shirt. "You think Lovino will come to visit us today?" His brother had left that spring for work, saying something about going to sea or on a boat or something.

Ludwig's sea blue eyes turned to gaze down at the shorter boy. "He will be busy," he said simply.

"Yeah, I know," the other sighed, rolling onto his back again. They were quiet for some time before he spoke again. "You know, we should get jobs ourselves."

"What?"
Feliciano sat up, beaming at the Barbarian. "We should get a job! We can't freeload off on Antonio forever! We can travel the world, see all the cool sights, and work to earn our next meal! We can visit the kingdoms, try out all their delicious food, see their lovely ladies, things like that! It'll be fun!"

Ludwig blinked down at his friend, before a small smile crept into the corner of his lips. "Perhaps we can go to my homeland along the way."

"Si! Si!" Feliciano jumped to his feet, clapping his hands together. "We can see everyone's homeland! We can make great friends, see all the strange creatures! It will be an adventure, just like the ones Nonno told me about!"

Ludwig rose up to his feet, patting the shorter man on the shoulder. "You should go talk to Antonio about it first. We shouldn't up and leave with a note like Lovino did."

Feliciano bobbed his head, racing down the grassy slopes, laughing happily. "Ve! Adventure awaits!"

Ludwig sighed as he stared at the dark ceiling above him. Judging by the number of times Elizaveta appeared with food, it had been about six days since he and Feliciano were thrown in the prison. Six days of one meal a day and no word of what was going to happen to them. The servant woman always came down with a smile and words of encouragement, but the Barbarian could see that she was starting to lose hope. Wizard had apparently locked himself in the library and hasn't come out since. He was their only hope in being free of this dank cell.

The Barbarian lowered his eyes to the sleeping Convolvuan, the shorter man curled up against his friend, his head resting in his lap. He shivered every once in awhile, the cold stone stealing any warmth he had. Ludwig wrapped an arm around his friend, pulling him closer. Even his clothes were cold. Unlike the Barbarian, Feliciano wasn't used to the cold. Winters were short and barely cool enough to snow in his home kingdom. Ludwig's home, he could remember clearly, had harsh winters. Further north one went, the longer and fiercer the winters become.

A door opened and footsteps echoed through the quiet prison. Ludwig gently nudged the Convolvuan, watching him stir awake. He knew that his friend didn't want to miss eating warm food. He unwrapped his arm from Feliciano as the man sat up, blinking his amber eyes sleepily before letting out a wide yawn. A sleepy smile appeared on his lips as Elizaveta came into view with her usual tray of food.

"Hello Eliza," he murmured, getting up to move closer to the door. Ludwig grunted and followed suit.

"Good morning," she replied as usual, setting down the bowls of soup and pushing them through the gap in the bars. Feliciano took the bowl happily, hugging it close to himself for warmth. Ludwig took his, though not as eager as his olive-skinned friend.

"Any news on us yet?" the Convolvuan asked between mouthfuls. Elizaveta sighed, pursing her lips into a thin line.

"Not really. I haven't asked since last night, and no one seems willing to say."

"Oh." Feliciano's happy expression fell, staring sadly into his almost empty bowl as the servant turned to push a third bowl into the cell behind her. Ludwig frowned as he watched her. He hadn't seen the prisoner in that one even touch his food or move at all.

A sudden banging of wood on stone jolted the Barbarian from his thoughts. Even Elizaveta was startled, her eyes turning to look down the hallway. "S-sir Alfred!" she stammered, rising to her feet. "W-what are you doing here?"

The dirty blond male stopped in front of the cells, several other guards accompanying the knight. "We're bringing the prisoners up to the throne room," he said, although rather flatly. "Wizard Arthur claims he has found information that is very important." He gestured for the guards to open the cells, roughly dragging the Convolvuan and Barbarian out of their cell. Ludwig gritted his teeth, but didn't fight back. He disliked being handled like this without someone getting their nose broken.

Two more guards entered the other cell, both dragging out the charcoal gray haired man from within. His face lacked emotion, his two colored eyes just staring straight ahead of him, not looking at those around him. His eyes seemed to unnerve the two guards that held him, Ludwig noticed, as they kept themselves as far away from the man as possible without letting go of him.

The knight led the guards and the prisoners up the stairs and through the hallways, the only noise present was the stomping of feet and the clinking of metal armor. They were brought to the familiar oak doors, the knight pushing them open and letting the prisoners inside.

The young king sat in his throne, looking rather disgusted with the whole ordeal. The Steward stood beside him, his arms crossed, looking just as disgruntled. Wizard stood off to the side, alongside Father Cromwell. Both held armful of books and scrolls.

"Can you please tell us what the hell's going on?" the young king snapped, his green eyes narrowing darkly. "Why is it so damn important to bring these prisoners up here?" He sneered the last part out, a growl escaping his lips.

"Yes, Your Highness, I can explain." Wizard stepped forward, letting the books and scrolls fly out of his arms and float around him in a circle. "I can explain why the barrier had been weakened previously, as well as tell you about something quite fascinating that myself and Cromwell found."

"Skip the political drabble and spit it out," the king snapped, waving a hand as if to brush off something disgusting out of the air. Wizard straightened up, nodding.

"Very well." He took a breath before continuing. "The barrier was weakened because of the key," he said, pointing at the silver key that hung around the strange man's neck.

"What does a key have to do with this?" This time the Steward snapped out, agitated.

Wizard gave him a dark look, opening his mouth to possibly say something smart, but the priest beside him stepped in.

"The key isn't normal," Cromwell said, setting down the pile of books in his own hands and picked up a few scrolls, unrolling them to peer at the contents. "We both believe that the key is none other than one of a set, known as the Keys of Saint Peter." He turned the scroll around, showing the others a coat of arms sketched into the paper. "The keys are part of the symbol of the Church, and are written to have vast power. Yet, there has been no record that the keys actually existed."

"Until we found this," Wizard stated, snagging out another scroll. This one appeared much older than the others, and Ludwig noticed he picked it out with much care, as if it would crumble. He gingerly unrolled it and read off what had been written there.

"One fights for a God he does not know

Another believes but does not care

Good intentions were twisted for an evil purpose

While evil purposes enshroud good intentions.

To the first, silver was given

Though second best, its strength is unmeasured.

To the second, gold was his gift

Considered first in wealth, it is the softest of metal.

Weak are they separate

Together, their power is unmatched

Combined, they will open the Gates

Revealing the Kingdom of Heaven."

Wizard rolled up the scroll, his green gaze lifting to look at those staring at him. Yet the first person to speak was not him or the king, but rather the man who had been silent for six days.

"The Kingdom… of Heaven…" the charcoal haired man whispered, his fingers wrapping around the silver key.

"How did you come into possession of the key…?" Cromwell asked quietly, drawing the two-toned gaze from the man.

He was silent for a moment, fingering the key before speaking. "Feliciano's Nonno gave it to me… when he got lost in the forest."

Feliciano jumped up at the sound of his name, blinking. Ludwig put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving too much. "N-nonno gave it to you?!" he asked, staring at the man. "But, why did you give it to me?"

The man looked down at the key and slowly shrugged his shoulders. "You needed protection… I hid myself in the key." His words were simple, refraining from saying more than was necessary. Ludwig sighed, patting his friend on the shoulder before turning his blue eyes on the king who spoke.

"That doesn't explain why the hell the barrier broke!" he snapped. "And what's the big deal with all of this?"

"My lord, the barrier broke because of the key," Wizard said calmly, apparently hoping that would soothe the angry king. "It was not on the proper bearer, so its power caused influxes in magic around it. That is why Feliciano could see the sprites and spirits. Now that the proper carrier holds it, order has returned."

The king scowled but sat back in his seat, his arms crossed. "Is there any use in finding the keys?"

Wizard and the priest looked at each other before the latter nodded. "If the keys and the bearers were found and brought together, we could successfully open the Gates to Heaven. There is huge amounts of power at hand that you can use. One can easily take over the other kingdoms with such power and bring peace to the lands. There will be no more fighting or worry of attack."

The king raised an eyebrow, a curious look crossing his face. "No more war…" he murmured. Ludwig swore he saw a faint smile on the man's lips.

"Sir, with your permission, we could search for the second key," Wizard cut in, the books and scrolls piling up on the floor as he stepped forward. "With the first key in hand, we can judge which direction the second is located."

The king was thoughtful for a long time, resting his chin on his knuckles. "Very well. Wizard, I will let you, the Barbarian, the Convolvuan, this man, and Knight Alfred to head out and search for the second key. Take whatever supplies are necessary. Send me weekly reports of your progress." He turned his attention to everyone in the room. "This conversation will remain confidential. Not a word must be breathed about this. If word gets out about this, your head will be on the chopping block."

With everyone consent on at the king's word, everyone departed from the room. The five who were given the quest set out through the hallway. Alfred hopped alongside the strange man, beaming. "This is so cool. We're going on a mission!"

"You better keep your lips shut about this trip," Wizard warned, stopping at an intersection and turned to them. "Everyone must pack. Bring only what is necessary. I will search your bags if I have to. Alfred, tell Elizaveta to pack food and supplies, as well as help Ludwig, Feliciano and-" He stopped, frowning at the third man. "What the hell is your name, anyway?"

The charcoal haired man blinked at him, before speaking quietly. "Varinius." Wizard turned back to his speech.

"-and Varinius, pack. And give that man something to cover his eye. He's going to terrorize anyone who looks at him. And a better set of clothes. We'll meet up at the stables in two hours."

The two hours passed quickly for Ludwig. He and Elizaveta had to help Feliciano pack, the careless idiot getting too distracted at the strangest things. The only thing the Convolvuan helped at was getting Varinius some clothes to wear. The man didn't seem to care what he wore, so Feliciano was happy to get him to try on all sorts of attire. Eventually he settled on some common britches, a scarlet, high collar tunic, and a black cloak that draped over his shoulders. His boots had been replaced by dark leather ones that went up to his knees, and his eye was covered by some cloth tied around his head.

"You look much better now!" the Convolvuan chimed, smiling as he watched the man pull the hood of his cloak over his eyes and wrapped it around himself, hiding his clothes from view. Ludwig glanced over at them and frowned. He was unsure if the man didn't like what he wore, or didn't know what to think about being dressed in something that wasn't a mantle and armor.

With everything packed and ready to go, the trio took their bags outside to the stables, where another surprise awaited them.

Wizard and Alfred had gotten out several horses for them to ride, and tethered to one large bay was a silvery-white horse that Feliciano all too well recognized.

"Horsie!" he cried, proceeding to drop his bags and rush over to his horse friend, wrapping his arms around its large neck.

"Looks like he found his lost friend," Ludwig muttered, picking up his friend's discarded bag off the ground and went over to them. As it turned out, Wizard had bought the horse from the traveling troupe, on the fact that the horse was actually a unicorn.

"Its horn hasn't grown in yet," he said, matter a factually. The silver horse was suppose to be used as a pack horse, yet Wizard's claim that it was strong enough to carry all the bags didn't win against Feliciano's whining. Eventually another horse was designated to be the pack carrier and Feliciano was happily perched on the white horse, stroking its mane with glee.

"Alright, everyone saddled up?" Wizard called, turning his horse to gaze at the group. His eyes turned to Varinius and nodded. "Can you feel the direction of the other key is?"

The man slowly wrapped his fingers under his cloak where the key hid, his one visible eye closing. "North," he murmured after awhile. "It is in the north."

Keys of Saint Peter/ Keys of Heaven: In Christian beliefs, Jesus gave Peter two keys, saying that "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew16:19) These keys are depicted on the Papal Coat of Arms, and also on the flag of Vatican City.

Alas, this chapter brings the end on Part 1 of this story. I have decided to chop this story up into two sections- three if I get around to it. Part 2, as I already planned on writing, will most likely be called "Key to the Heart". What secrets lie within, I cannot say.

When will I type it up and post the first chapter? Heh, I don't know. There will most likely be a hiatus of unusual size between the two parts, as I am a lazy bastard.

I am thankful for all the reviews and followers. I do pay attention to these sort of things. I hope you will be patient with me and my lazy ass. I don't want torches and pitchforks at my door. In the meantime, I have already started another story about our little Varinius- commonly known as Vatican City. Please feel free to read and review that story at your leisure.

In the meantime, hugs and cookies to you all! I will do my best to get Part 2 out as quickly as school and my jumbled imagination allows me to.