N:   Johann was asleep almost immediately; however, England stayed up a bit, faintly hearing Mandara crying, and the wave of guilt that he may have caused Mandoria's current state came back. Eventually, he dozed off too.

The moment the first rays of sunlight came through, England woke up from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. The moment he tried to move his neck, he groaned in pain from being in that position for too long.

The human boy, on the other hand, enjoyed his sleep so much that he was still fully asleep and didn't hear the country.

M:   Mandara and Derogan didn't hear England either, nor did they hear what was happening to their father.

Mandoria was groaning like last night, but he was also whimpering and slightly shaking. He was having a nightmare, but he was too weak to wake up from it.

N:   England noticed Mandoria and tried to stand up to reach him. He lost his balance a bit, knocking down a book from the king's desk. Johann stayed sound asleep. After placing it back, he made his way to the bed.

"Sir Mandoria," he spoke softly, "are you awake?" Worried that he was shaking, he placed his hand on Mandoria's shoulder.

M:   Mandoria still wouldn't wake up, he flinched from England's touch and whimpered.

"Don't hurt him," he muttered, "Prussia, please, don't take my son."

It was evident that he was having a nightmare about Derogan's attempted kidnapping, it is traumatic for a father to see his son being taken away by people with ill intentions, so even though he was unconscious, he couldn't rest, his unbroken wing was fluffing up from fear, but his sons were too deep asleep to feel it.

N:   England empathized with Mandoria, since he is a father himself, understood the bond between a child and their parent. He crouched down and rested his arms on the bed, his head resting on them.

"Your son is safe, sir," he comforted, not knowing if Mandoria is actually listening to him, "he is right here in this room." He glanced over to the sleeping princes, "they miss you, so the only way to see them is to wake up."

M:   Mandoria seemed to hear England because he calmed down a little bit, he didn't shake or whine but his feathers were still pretty tense. England decided to pet the king's wings to try to comfort him a little more, and eventually, the feathers went flat again.

A few minutes later and Mandoria started to stir again, though this time it was a little more subtle and wasn't because of another nightmare. The wounded king started trying to open his eyes, it was almost unnoticeable but one could tell that he was trying very hard to wake up, he was just still very weak and didn't have much energy to.

N:   Initially, England did not realize that Mandoria was somewhat awake and continued to pet the king's wings. However, he noticed some movement as Mandoria's wings twitched a little so he looked up to see the Mandorian's eyes open a tiny smidge.

"Sir Mandoria," he said slightly too loudly, and he stood up. However, he stood up too fast and lost his balance again, knocking over the same book. The country swore under his breath and placed it back.

Johann, despite being asleep, was startled by England's commotion, so he jerked up suddenly. "Was ist los? (What is happening?)" he muttered, still half-asleep.

M:   Mandara and Derogan were also startled awake, more so the older prince than the younger one.

"It's too early for all this noise," Mandara whined, pulling the blanket over his head, "let sleeping kids lie."

"What's going on Sir England, is everything ok," Derogan asked, sitting up. Since he was on the ground he couldn't see Mandoria trying to wake up, whose eyes had opened a little more and were right now focusing on England, albeit not very clearly.

N:   "I think -," England answered, glancing at Mandoria and noticed he was looking at him, "that he is trying to wake up." He moved so that he was more in Mandoria's line of vision.

"He's awake?" Johann mumbled, so he patted Mandara on the shoulder, but slightly dozing off at the same time, "your father is coming through." However, he quickly slumped back down, still exhausted despite having slept, and dozed off into a light sleep.

"Yes, he is," England replied, "and actually, Derogan, could you come over here so that your father could see you? Earlier he was muttering about you being taken away by Prussia, so seeing you might ease his mind."

M:   Derogan nodded and stood up, Mandara uncovered his head and sat upright after. The eldest child tentatively approached Mandoria's bedside, looking into his father's eyes. The wounded man stared at his son, especially the bandages around his half-plucked wings, but he didn't make an effort to speak.

"Father, I'm ok," Derogan said when he realized what Mandoria was looking at, "I would have been far worse if the English didn't come to save me, they saved you too, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for them."

Mandoria looked to England again when his son said that, then smiled softly like he was saying thanks. Mandara got up finally and very gently hugged his father, crying joyous tears that he was awake, Derogan doing the same.

N:   England also smiled, but not one to show that he is welcome but to say sorry. He shook his head, "We may have saved you, but we have caused the problem to occur in the first place."

When he saw the princes hug their father, his heart melted from the sheer amount of love in front of him. His mind wandered to his own children and remembered that he would eventually have to return. 'We could stay until Mandoria gets better' he thought, wanting to stay here as long as the English possibly can.

The country then walked over to the sleeping Johann and slightly shook him to wake up. "Vater, let me sleep," the boy muttered in his sleep, causing England to weakly smile.

"Sir Mandoria is awake, Johann. It's time to get up," England hushed, slowly stirring the boy out of his slumber. However, when Johann fully comprehended what he said, he jumped up as if he was awake for hours, almost knocking England over, and making his way to the bed.

M:   "Don't do that again Father," Mandara cried, "We thought you were going to die."

Mandoria was still silent but rubbed his son's head comfortingly, his smile growing the more he gained energy.

"Why are you silent Father," Derogan asked, "can't you talk?"

Mandara slowly shook his head no, Derogan didn't like that but he understood why. When Johann came up in between the brothers, Mandoria made a sound like chuckling and reached out to the human child, softly ruffling his hair like he was one of his own.

N:   Johann smiled when Mandoria ruffled his hair, his grin growing with the second. "Welcome back, your majesty. I agree with Mandara; you did scare us when we didn't see you move."

When he realized that the king cannot speak, he asked, "wait, you are not able to speak? Should we get you something? Could we call the physicians? Do you need water? Do you want us to leave? Or wait, should we keep you company? Maybe can we-"

"I think that is enough questions for a lifetime," England chuckled, interrupting Johann's stream of questions, "perhaps you quiet down and give Sir Mandoria some space so he can heal."

M:   The brothers giggled at Johann's rant and Mandoria cracked an amused smile, he then looked to Derogan and started vibrating his feathers.

"He says that he's still tired so some peace and quiet would be nice, though he couldn't be opposed to the doctors coming either," Derogan translated.

"Is there anything else you need, Father?" Mandara asked.

"No, but I don't want you three getting into trouble, I can't come help you right now if you do." Derogan said, then adding, "We won't Father, we'll be good while you heal, we promise."

Mandoria nodded his head, then looked to England and vibrated his wings one more time.

"Thank you for watching over them last night," the prince translated again, "and thank you for defending my son until I could arrive, I owe you a great debt and wish to start by removing the restrictions I placed yesterday. I also apologize for my brashness, I was just trying to protect my people."

N:   England was temporarily stunned; unable to form any words. "I-I," he stuttered, then he paused and bowed, "it was an honor to defend your son, despite it not lasting long. It is a father's instinct to protect their child. I honestly feel that I am not worthy of this and I understand why you placed the restrictions in the first place, but thank you."

Johann grinned, "Sir England did a great job, almost like a parent."

"Haha no," England chuckled, shaking his head, "I already have enough children and I don't need anymore. I believe, Johann, that you will feel quite at home here in this kingdom." He turned to Mandoria, "I will go now to fetch the doctors to come and, in the meanwhile," he glanced at the three boys, "I hope those three do not disturb you too much."

M:   "We'll come too, Father said he wants to rest so we'll leave too," Mandara said, Derogan nodding in agreement.

Derogan turned back to his father when he felt more vibrations, "he says he wants to talk to Sir Saxon and Sir Anglo, wanting to thank them as well," the prince turned to England, "can Anglo communicate with his wings or do I need to stay here to translate?"

N:   England thought about it, "I think he can. Very few members of my family actually have wings to communicate with him, but he has made it his duty to remember how. You don't need to stay, Derogan."

"Since we got that sorted, let's go," Johann pulled England towards the door, definitely containing too much energy, "let's heal the king."

M:   The three Mandorians laughed, though Mandoria just ended up coughing when he tried since his throat hurt so much. After a minute more, Mandara and Derogan said goodbye for now and left, heading to Saxon's old room, knowing that Anglo had taken up residence there instead.

Derogan knocked on his door, "Sir Anglo, Father is awake, he wants to talk to you and Sir Saxon."

N: There was a soft grumble inside, and confused by this, England also knocked, "Fa, are you awake?" Soon, the four heard some movement, a stumble, and finally footsteps approaching the door.

Anglo opened the door, his eyes squinting from just having woken up, and the feathers of his wings were untidy and slightly crumpled. He looked down at the people at the door, "is it not too early to be walking about right now?"

Raising a brow, England asked, "did you not hear what Prince Derogan said?"

Tilting his head, as if trying to remember, Anglo replied, "he said something about his father being awake and wanting to talk to Saxon and I." Then his eyes widened when he realized what he said, "Sir Mandoria is awake?! And he wants to talk? Give me a minute to tidy myself up and follow you to him." With that Anglo closed the door.

"Would Sir Saxon be in his room," asked Johann, pointing to the room adjacent to Anglo's.

"No, he probably woke up a while ago. We will find him along the way." As soon as England finished, Anglo left the room and joined them.

M:   "And I thought Mandara was slow when first waking up," Derogan joked, earning a light punch from his brother.

"Knowing Sir Saxon, he is either in the dining hall or in the training grounds, I wonder if the knights would teach him to fight with a Tamordo?" Mandara then said, "though he probably already knows since he travels a lot."

Derogan nodded at that thought then said to Anglo, "how are you doing after yesterday, did the Prussians ever hurt you or Saxon?"

N:   "I cannot say for Saxon, but he probably inflicted more pain than receiving it, but I did not do much fighting. I only was able to retrieve my son," he then turned to England, "and how is your arm doing?"

The younger country pointed at his sling and laughed, "it doesn't hurt anymore, nothing like a good night's sleep and a cramped neck can't solve."

"Your neck is cramped," Anglo replied nervously, becoming more fatherly, "I told you, fauntkin, to sleep comfortably. You're not a father to babies anymore; you can relax."

"Please, Fa, don't call me that in front of them," grumbled England, so he quickly changed the subject, "anyway, what is a Tamordo?"

M:   The three kids giggled at the nickname Anglo gave England, the way he said it added to the hilarity.

"He slept on Father's armchair because he didn't want to sleep on the floor like a kid," Mandara said, "though he is as clumsy as one for sure."

"A Tamordo is a double-bladed staff, it is a signature weapon of knights and patrol guards," Derogan explained, "it's like if you attach a large knife or an ax head on either side of a staff. It is a two-handed weapon and takes a lot of skill to properly weld one, let alone fight with it, because you need to make sure you don't accidentally hurt yourself or innocent bystanders. It usually takes a long time for someone to learn and since Saxon is an outsider, I have a feeling he'll keep forgetting that it has a blade on both sides."

N:   "That sounds really interesting- FA, where are you going?" England started but was interrupted by his father walking briskly towards the training grounds.

"No husband of mine is going to accidentally stab himself with a double-bladed spear," he called back, so England tried to reason with him.

"Faeder is more than capable of wielding a weapon and the knights wouldn't give a weapon to him, I think." The uncertainty in England's voice wasn't enough to convince Anglo, so he continued his path to find Saxon.

The country sighed, "and this, children, demonstrates that my father Anglo has to take care of two children: Sir Saxon and myself." He soon followed after his father, making sure he didn't leave his sight.

M:   The kids started giggling again, boy were the English funny people.

In the training ground, Saxon was indeed learning to fight with a Tamordo, though he was currently learning through observing. A few of the knights had surrounded two others who were having a friendly sparring session, one of them was Rowen. It was apparent that both men were very skilled, it was like watching Samurai fighting with bo staffs, only these ones had blades.

Eventually, Rowen dislodged his opponent's weapon and brought him down with a sweeping kick to the legs, pointing his own weapon at the other's neck to keep him down. The other knights clapped as the spar came to an end and Rowen helped his partner up.

"So you still think you're up for a fight," Rowan confidently said to Saxon, "it takes years to master a Tamordo and you've only been practicing for two hours."

N:   "Why not?" Saxon challenged; however, he was doubting his skill, "I am a fast learner so I think I'm at a decent level to verse you." He was given a Tamordo and was about to step forward when he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a shout

"Absolutely not," Anglo approached him and grabbed him by the arm, "what on Earth do you think you're doing?"

"I," replied Saxon, shrugging himself free, "am going to fight the best. I have practiced a bit and I think I can handle it properly." He watched as the rest of the group approached behind Anglo.

"Sure," Anglo narrowed his eyes, skeptical about Saxon, so he spun around and asked England, Johann, and the princes, "who here is in support of Sir Rowen?"

Both England and Johann shot their arms into the air. "Thanks for the support," the entity muttered to Anglo before stepping towards Rowen.

M:   "I'm willing to give Sir Saxon the benefit of a doubt," Mandara said, though Derogan shook his head, not sharing his brother's optimism.

"Don't worry Sir Anglo, your husband will still be in one piece when I am through with him, though he might leave this battle with a little less dignity," Rowen joked, earning some quiet laughter from the other knights, "place your bets everyone, I predict this will be over in less than ten seconds."

While everyone placed their bets, including the princes, Rowen took up a starting stance, "last chance to back out Saxon, I will not go easy on you just because you're new."

N:   "I'm not planning for you to go easy," smirked Saxon, copying the captain's stance. He practiced a way to try to balance the Tamordo equally with both hands and kept an eye on Rowen's.

Anglo only shook his head in disappointment, "I tell you not to accept every challenge that comes your way, and look at you."

The entity chuckled at the winged country then turned his attention back to the captain. 'It's probably not that hard,' he thought, as they began to circle each other. However, he knew that Rowen was skilled, so his only hope was to block any attacks that came his way.

M:   "Confidence only gets you so far Saxon," Rowen said in good nature, "pretty soon you will see that you should make sure you know your limits before doing something that could get you killed."

With the monologuing as a distraction, Rowen leaped into the air and bore down on Saxon, initiating the fight. Rowen kept his promise to not go easy on the entity, striking in places where he was most vulnerable and catching the tips of the Tamordo where he had less control of the weapon. Saxon was able to hold his own but was only able to play on the defensive with Rowen battering so hard on him.

"Your Father lasted longer than I thought, I'm impressed," Derogan said to England after a single minute.

N:   "Well, that is one thing that I could be proud of about my father," replied England, "I mean, he must have enough experience in his ancient lifetime."

"You are one to say," pointed out Johann, who was watching Rowen's every move, "are you not super old too?"

"That's beside the point," quickly muttered England, "anyway, he is doing quite well, isn't he?"

However, Saxon was struggling against the captain's relentless attacks, and one of them slammed his weapon so hard that the tip of the blade got stuck in the ground. He was about to pull it out when he ducked to dodge another attack.

M:   Rowen kept attacking Saxon to the point that he had to abandon his weapon and back up, Rowen then pulled the Tamordo out of the ground and tossed it back to his opponent as good sportsmanship, letting him gather his bearings before continuing the assault.

"You've lasted longer than I expected," the captain said when the two had locked each other into a standoff, "I admit that I may have underestimated you, but you're still a beginner and haven't been able to learn all of the tricks yet."

Rowen pushed Saxon away and started spinning his weapon like a baton. He was spinning it so fast that he could have flown away if he really wanted to, making a high pitch whistling sound as it spun. Once he was satisfied with the speed it was going he thrust the blade onto the middle of Saxon's, slicing the wooden staff clean in half.

N:   Eyes wide, Saxon stared at the broken staff in his hands, and looked up at Rowen, "what the bloody hell was that?" He glanced at the spectators and saw that both England and Anglo had equally shocked faces, whereas Johann's was the face of awe. Already, some knights were exchanging coins from their bets.

Now holding two smaller weapons, Saxon twirled in his hands as if they were dual swords. He smirked at the sight, "well, I'm not backing down now." With that, he charged at the captain of the knights.

M:   Rowen was expecting him to retaliate with both halves of his Tamordo, so he dodged to the side and smacked the blunt side of one of his blades on Saxon's back, effectively knocking him down. He rolled away before Rowen drove the blade into the ground where he was laying, and jumped back to his feet, ready for round two.

They went back and forth for a while longer, Rowen was able to slash Saxon's cheek and the entity made things even by slicing Rowen's left arm, but neither backed down yet.

The battle raged on for half an hour when Rowen decided it was time to end this. He blocked a few more of Saxon's attacks then drove his weapon deep into the ground, then with all his might, he used his Tamordo like a dancing pole and spun around on it, gaining enough propulsion to kick Saxon across the face and knock him to the ground, landing and pulling out his weapon to point it at the entity, daring him to move.

N:   When he saw Rowen kick Saxon, Anglo was about to leap forward when England held him back. "Fa, it's fine. There is nothing to worry about, just look," he pointed at the entity lying down on his back, "he's still awake." The younger country did eventually let go.

Saxon, although he is awake, was having trouble seeing as what he saw was a blurry Rowen standing over him. Squinting his eyes to try to focus his vision, and noticed another figure approaching him. He tried to get up but suddenly became aware of the blade at his neck, so he lifted up his hands in surrender.

"Nice match," congratulated Saxon, "and hopefully I don't go half-blind when I fight you again."

"There will not be a next time," Anglo said sternly, and he crouched down so he would be at Saxon's level, "you need to get patched up before we can meet Mandoria."

M:   "You weren't so bad yourself Sir Saxon," Rowen complimented, reaching out a hand to help up his opponent.

The other knights clapped for both warriors and a few of them gave up the rest of the bets, Mandara doing so too with Derogan.

"I do apologize if I was too rough on your spouse Sir Anglo," Rowen said as he noticed Anglo's grumpy attitude, "I must say that I am quite impressed, not many men can say that they managed to wound me in a duel, with a little more practice Saxon will become quite deadly with a Tamordo."

N:   "No, don't apologize," he replied with a hint of a smile, "he got his money's work, as did a lot of others." He turned to Saxon, "Don't get a big head, du blöder Idiot (You stupid idiot)."

"No need to get rude," Saxon said, while pretending to be offended, "THE captain said that will become better with practice, and seeing what I have accomplished, I see this as a win."

The winged country only shook his head as he dragged Saxon back inside to tend to his wounds. When they left, Johann rushed towards Rowen but was wary of the large blades around him.

"Sir Rowen, that was amazing. The way you fought, and the spinny thing you did, and the slice, and the kick, and the takedown, and the -" he rambled.

"My Lord, Johann, where have you gotten this energy from," England chuckled and interrupted the boy so he wouldn't drown Rowen with his waffling. "Although, I must agree. You are quite the fighter, Sir Rowen, and very skilled with that Tamordo of yours."

M:   "Thank you, I didn't become captain because of my good looks after all," Rowen said, he earned a little bit of laughter from the dispersing knights but he ignored it, "it's taken me decades to master my craft, I would offer to teach you but I'm afraid that a Tamordo is a two-handed weapon, it would be too dangerous to wield it one-handed."

"I can't wait to see Johann try to fight with one," Derogan said, nudging the kid playfully, "the weight of it would crush him before he learns to even hold it."

N:   "Hey, I'm not that weak," Johann grinned, and he began to flex his nonexistent biceps, getting a laugh from Rowen and England, "never underestimate these muscles."

He then turned to Derogan with a challenging expression, "I bet that I will be able to learn to wield a Tamordo better than you Derogan, and maybe, just maybe, beat you in a match."

"And what about Sir Rowen, will you challenge him," asked England with a smile.

"No way, I would rather be able to remain in one piece, thank you very much," he shook his head vigorously in opposition, earning another laugh from England.

M:   The three Mandorians laughed too, even Derogan.

"I might not know how to use a real Tamordo but I have watched the knights use them plenty of times, and I practice using a long stick with rocks tied to the ends to mimic the weight you won't beat me, no way."

"That's enough boasting out of you brother," Mandara said, "Sir Rowen, Father is awake, we actually came here because he wanted to talk to Sir Anglo and Sir Saxon."

Rowan's expression turned from lighthearted to surprise and serious at the same time, "he is? Oh thank the gods, our prayers have been answered, have the doctors tended to him yet?"

"No, we came here first," Derogan said, "though they might be with him by now."

"Good, I'll go check upon his Majesty as well, just, no one touch anything,"

Rowen announced, and without a second to delay he ran for the armory to put away his weapon.

"Woah, he must be very worried about Father," Mandara deduced, "I've never seen him move that fast before."

N:   "I'm sure that, not only being the captain, that he is a close friend to the King, so that only makes sense," England stated, and he looked around to see the dispersing knights going back to their duties.

He thought about seeing his parents, but since he has become the de facto carer to the three boys, he suggested, "let's get some breakfast. This morning so far has been quite eventful, and I'm sure you boys are hungry."

Johann was about to give a comeback when he perked up at the mention of food and nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Anglo had cleaned Saxon's wound and was bandaging it up. Soon, they were going to leave and head their way to Mandoria's room.