Studying History

Chapter 1: A Wish

"You do not know mon Angleterre."

Blue eyes widened incredulously behind his glasses. "What makes you say that? I totally know him!"

The other man shook his head. "Non, you don't. You know next to nothing of his past before he met you, and that history is longer than the one you know."

"JUST BECAUSE I'M YOUNG DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T KNOW HIM!"

And with that the young man stormed out of the restaurant, leaving the other to pay the bill.

Earlier that night…

"Mon cher, how well do you know mon Angleterre?"

Alfred looked up at his drinking partner and answered, "We haven't had sex, Francis. I'm trying to tell you I need help getting any kind of relationship with him."

The Frenchman across the table rolled his eyes. "For once, Amérique, I was not making an innuendo. I honestly want to know what you know about him, mon ami."

Alfred rolled his eyes. "I've known him since the 17th century. Why do you ask?"

Francis rested his stubbly chin thoughtfully in hand. "What do you know of him before you met?"

"He was a pirate!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oui, oui, and?"

The American looked puzzled. "And?"

"Anything else?"

"Shakespeare? Unlike what he thinks, I do read the guy. I've made his plays into movies, too!"

"Continuez…"

"Henry VII! I just made a TV series about him! It was awesome! Did you guys really make and break that many treaties between you two and Spain?"

A knowing look was beginning to show on France's face. "Puits, those were années dangereux. A nation's word could not always be taken at face value."

"Ummm… OH! Richard the Lionheart! That is a super heroic name! I bet he was awesome!"

"Now you sound like Gilbert," Francis muttered to himself, and then added louder, "What do you know about him?"

Alfred frowned. "Ummm, not much more than the name."

"Do you remember his connection to me?"

"Did he pillage and sack your countryside or something like that?"

"Non, non, he did not. However, he and his family, well… non. I will not tell you."

Alfred pouted. "Why? I wanna know!"

"Despite being a Duke of Aquitaine, he was not my boss. That was Phillip II." Alfred looked downcast, but he didn't ask again. "Besides, I have something more important to tell you."

Alfred looked up, suddenly very interested again. "What? What is it?"

"You do not know mon Angleterre."

Blue eyes widened incredulously behind his glasses. "What makes you say that? I totally know him!"

The other man shook his head. "Non, you don't. You know next to nothing of his past before he met you, and that history is longer than the one you know."

"JUST BECAUSE I'M YOUNG DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T KNOW HIM!"

And with that the young man stormed out of the restaurant, leaving the other to pay the bill.

Alfred stomped around the streets of Paris. He was pissed off and had just lost his temper, something he was trying to work on with his therapist. Recently his temper had gotten a lot worse. So, in order to calm down, he decided to do what Dr. Medeiros suggested, and list reasons.

1. France claimed he didn't know England.
(But what did that guy know?)

2. He claimed it was because of the age gap between the two.
(Iggy was right to call him a frog!)

3. France just annoyed him!
(Yes, that counts as a reason.)

4. He was probably right.
(…Shut up…)

"FUCK YOU, WORLD!" he screamed, startling a couple making out nearby. The guy gave him a dirty look, but Alfred just gave him the finger and kept on walking.

He needed to learn about Arthur's past, and it was the kind of past that a history book would only get him so far. But it was still a start, so he stopped in a book store. This was followed by more swearing as the American realized that the only history books were in French.

This pattern repeated itself a couple of times before he finally found a bookstore that had an English history book in ENGLISH! After buying it, Al rushed back to his hotel room to read the book.

A couple of hours later, Alfred realized he was getting nowhere with the book, he had only read one chapter, and he could not remember what he had read. What he needed was a short cut, something quick like…

As soon as the thought became a solid plan, Alfred was streaking out of the hotel, and the country, toward an unsuspecting nation for help.

Author's Notes: So, here's my first multi-chapter fanfic! Please R&R! And can you guess who he's going to visit? Well, there was a more obvious cliff-hanger that gave it away, which you will receive as a reward if you message me with the correct pop culture references from this chapter!

Sorry it's so short, but I needed a good catcher, and I couldn't find a way of putting more in without hunting down an English history book.

Also, Richard I of England, or Richard the Lionheart, is an interesting, and awesome!, historical figure. You also get the reward if you can guess how Alfred heard about him.

Translations(I never took French so they might suck!):
mon Angleterre- my England
non- no
oui- yes
mon cher- my dear (I think...)
Amérique- America
Continuez- continue
années dangereux- dangerous times(years, technically)

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. That honor belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya and Gentosha Comics. I also do not own the nations above. Nor do I own any of the "subtly" referenced books/movies/TV shows/music.

Toodles!
-Hikari