Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. Not a single bit. I wish I did, though...

Prologue

A village in North Italy, near Venice

The night air was filled with the sound of terrified screams. The old villa which had stood for decades through war and famine was now burning, the flames dancing merrily; unaware of the chaos they created. The villagers had gathered around, not a single one moving to help. Instead, they watched. Watched as the flames ate up the outside walls and turned the stones black. They watched as the western half collapsed in on itself, unable to stand against the flames. And they laughed. Laughed and celebrated, for the monsters that had brought the famine upon them were now vanquished.

Among the madness of the fire, two young boys were watching their whole life crash down around them. They watched as their grandfather, their nonno, broke down the nursery door where they lay. They watched as he frantically searched for them, the thick, black smoke obscuring their vision. Through the door, the two boys heard the shouts and accusations of the villagers who started the fire. They heard the shouts of 'Monsters', 'Abominations', 'Devil-Children' that were directed at the both of them. And they knew that what the villagers said was true. They were different, cursed and so they had brought about the bad luck that plagued the village.

"FELI! LOVI!" Their nonno coughed, his lungs filling with the choking smoke.

"NONNO, NONNO!" The boys' high-pitched yells finally reached his ears and he headed towards the sound of his grandchildren's voices.

"Feli, Lovi, grazie a Dio!" He scooped up the twins and held them close, heading towards the nursery door. Entering the hall, he looked around for an exit, any exit to escape the flames. He saw a window near the far end of the hall that was just big enough for the boys to fit through.

"Lovino," he directed, "take Feliciano and run. Don't look back, don't come back, run. Head towards Zio Roderich's home in the east…" Their nonno coughed heavily, then continued rapidly, "Take care of your fratello. Love him, support him… Feliciano, you make sure to take care of Lovino, too… Make sure he smiles and relaxes." Their grandfather smiled sadly. He regretted not having spent as much time with his bambinos. He wanted to have more time with them, more adventures, but it was not to be.

Lovino tried his hardest to hold back tears. "Y-yeah…F-f-fine. I'll take care of stupid fratello." As if to solidify that statement, he grabbed ahold of his brother's hand.

"M-m-me too!" Feliciano piped up, not bothering to hold back his tears.

As Roma opened the window and helped first Lovino, then Feliciano through the opening, he whispered to them. "Ti amo. Essere al sicuro. Hurry, you don't have much time."

The two boys were crying and stumbling as they ran away from the burning villa, into the dark forest, away from villagers. They reached the top of a hill and looked back upon their childhood home. Feliciano was crying and wailing for his nonno, tears running freely down his red face. Lovino's tears ran silent and his small hands were clenched into fists, a scowl upon his face conveying his hatred of the villagers.

"HEY! THEY ESCAPED!" An angry villager had spotted the two children and was now rallying a group of his kin. Lovino was jolted into action at the sound of their shouts.

"CAZZO! FELI! We have to go! NOW!"

Feliciano was still sobbing, not paying attention to the situation rapidly approaching.

"IDIOTA!" Lovino yelled, "MOVE!"

His brother looked up, shocked by the harsh words. "B-b-but I'm s-scared!"

"Well stop being scared," Lovino looked him in the eye, brown meeting tear-filled amber. "Feli…We have to go. Nonno wanted us to go."

Feliciano gulped, "O-okay…"

Romano looked at his pasta-loving idiot brother and sighed. "Andiamo."

"S-s-sì!" Feliciano sighed heavily, a soft glow enveloping him, and two snow-white wings appeared, the very thing that the alienated him from the villagers.

Lovino sighed, trying to relax, too. It was always harder for him to summon his wings but eventually they appeared, two crescents the color of midnight skies. He took his brother's hand and they began their journey, their childhood smoldering in the distance.

Translations: Courtesy of Google Translate

Nonno: Grandfather
Grazie a Dio: Thank God
Zio: Uncle
Fratello: Brother
Ti Amo. Essere al sicuro: I love you. Be safe
Cazzo: F! #$
Idiota: This should be pretty obvious…
Andiamo: Let's go

A/N~~ Hello! I hope you're enjoying this story so far! This is my first story for and an experiment of sorts so be gentle with me~ I'm very new to this whole writing thing, so I'm still learning...What fun...I'll try updating this daily, but we'll see...
Ummm...what else? Nothing, I guess...Gawd, this is confusing...Ignore me, please...
Whatever...see you soon!