This is my second Hetalia fanfiction. Well, this story is about the Founding of modern Singapore by the British, so it'll involve Singapore and England. I hope I did alright.
Also, I would like to thank Infinity's Concerto for 'beta'ing this. Danke! I would also like to wish Singapore a happy 47th birthday!
I don't own anything. Enjoy.
The lush green trees parted as a petite young girl emerged from the dense jungles. Gazing into the vast sea before her, she breathed in the salty sea breeze and closed her eyes. She started to think about the times before the Portuguese came and burnt down her small settlement. She could hear people speaking rapidly in different tongues and the grunts of the workers as they hauled bulky items onto her shores. She could remember the flames as they engulfed the settlement in red and orange...
A sigh escaped her lips.
She misses the time when strangers set afoot on this tiny isle and traded with her people; making her home a busy place. But now, it had been forcefully returned to its peaceful state, where one can close one's eyes and hear the soft chirping of the birds when surrounded by tall green trees, or hear the crashing of the waves as they relax on the shore. She likes this life too.
A sharp cry of help jolted her awake from her trance. She spun around to see where the noise came from. A young boy was struggling in the waters, his limbs thrashed about, lungs desperate for air, as he gulped down large amounts of seawater.
She was about to jump in and save the poor boy when a flash of golden sped past her towards the waters, jumping in and swimming towards the drowning child. The saviour hauled him up and returned back to the shore just as swiftly. Once they reached land, the rescuer carefully put the child down. Exhausted but grateful, the boy exclaimed, "Terima Kasih! [Thank you!]" before he scurried back into the deep jungles.
The young island turned to face the stranger. He looked foreign, like one of those people who burnt down her settlement. But unlike them, this stranger had huge eyebrows, they looked like some caterpillars were eating his face.
"Yang anda? [Who are you?]" She demanded, believing that he was going to bring harm to her people. But that stranger just gave her a smirk.
"You seem like a tough young lass," he said. It was a language that she had heard before, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.
His smirk was still on his face. "What's your name, young lady?" He knelt down so they were at eye-level. When no response came out, the man let out a sigh.
"My name is England, or the Great British Empire," he introduced. "But it's Arthur Kirkland, if you would like to know my human name."
She picked up the words 'England' and 'British Empire', so she figured out that this man before her was the one whom she had admired from those pirate stories told by traders from that came to visit her from all over the world. A world she didn't really had a chance to see.
"Nama saya Singapura [My name is Singapura]," The girl, Singapura, introduced.
Arthur put a finger under his chin. "Singapura… That's a lovely name."
"T-Terima kasih, Encik England, [T-Thank you, Mr. England.]" Singapura thanked Arthur, not for the compliment, but for saving that child, one of her people.
"You don't have to thank me, Singapura. It's the least that I can do," Arthur looked into Singapura's charcoal black eyes. But the both of them knew, every single life meant a lot to a nation.
Without saying anything else, Singapura turned and made her way back into the jungle, disappearing behind the trees so quickly, Arthur couldn't follow her.
"Blast it, that is one tough and nimble young lass," he muttered while rubbing the back of his head.
"Bloody Hell, I can't believe I forgot where my ship is located," Arthur cursed under his breath as he walked along the coastline.
Suddenly, something cold and wet plopped onto his cheek. Arthur put a hand over it and pressed down on the substance.
Rain.
A low rumble caught his attention as he looked up to see a large, gray cloud creeping across the sky. Arthur cursed under his breath. He would have to find shelter soon, or get soaked like a chicken.
Not long after, it starting pouring, and the male sought shelter under the huge trees. Though it was not a wise decision, he could not do anything. It was definitely better than running under the rain like some wanker.
Someone tugged at his wet jacket. Arthur yelped, startled.
"Goodness, just who are you to-" He stopped mid-sentence as he saw who was the culprit.
"O-Oh, it's you, Singapura," he breathed. The said girl continued staring at him with those large raven black eyes of hers, before pulling something from behind and giving it to Arthur.
"Is this for me?" Arthur held at the stem of the gigantic leaf.
"Ya." Came the short reply. The Briton said his thanks before putting the enormous leaf over his head. It was big enough to shelter him completely from the rain.
Singapura raised a hand and motioned him to follow her, before hopping away on the thick tree roots with her bare feet.
I hope she knows that I'm not a tropical person, thought the gentleman as he cautiously placed his foot on trustworthy tree roots. Singapura stopped in her tracks and waited for him to catch up, incidentally witnessing him tripping over a rock nicely hidden under the wet grass.
"Blast it, the bloody rock," he cursed, and hopped to the young island's side, only to have his foot slide.
…Luckily, he gripped onto the tree beside him, saving him from an another embarrassing stunt.
Singapura suppressed a giggle, and continued onto path. The rain didn't cease, rather, it was just the beginning. The rain pressed down on the two of them, or more specifically, the leaves. But the green life forms couldn't support the heavy bullets of water and finally gave way. It bent down and the nations were fully exposed to the rain. By some queer explanations of nature, the thick canopy couldn't completely safeguard them from the downpour, and within minutes they were soaked like chickens.
Singapura reached out to hold Arthur's hand as she quickened her footsteps. They slipped and tripped on the way, but would be saved from falling, just in time, by the other.
Finally, the trees parted and presented them a small kampong. They sprinted towards it and rushed into one of the small attap houses; safe from the downpour outside. Before he entered, Arthur noticed a few young lads peeping out timidly from other houses from the corner of his eye.
Arthur sighed as he leaned back against a wall. "At long last…" He then lazily scanned the interior of the attap house. There was nothing much in it, just some old and rusty pans, a small, worn-out bed at the side, and some little items.
Something was hurled in his direction and the reflexes from his pirate days were re-awakened as he grabbed whatever it was. The object looked like something like a cross between a cloth and a towel.
He looked at Singapura's direction who indeed gave him the towel/cloth. The petite girl nodded and took another similar cloth to dry herself with. Realising the purpose of the cloth, Arthur dried his hair with it as well.
After drying off, the two of them sat on the fusty wooden floor in silence, listening to the loud but comfortable drumming of the rain on the roof of the house and the mud outside. The rhythm of the rain put Arthur at peace, and the world before him slowly swirled into darkness.
When he woke up, he found a thin blanket draped over his body. That lass can be quite lovely, if she isn't so quiet.
As the sleepiness was driven away, he noticed the rain had stopped as the warm morning sunlight poured into the room. The house was silent, and Arthur wondered what the other villagers were currently doing.
He also felt something weighing down his lap, and he blinked at what it was.
Singapura was resting her head on his thigh, fast asleep. Although she had no blanket on, she was snoring softly.
Arthur smiled at the innocent picture beholding before him. He knew that, after some centuries, or even decades, that pure image would never be seen again. Instead, it would be replaced by years of troubles, knowledge, be it good or bad and pain. Maybe that was what Arthur liked about newborn nations. That sense of naivety never failed to bring back the happy memories of his younger days… or centuries.
"Singapore," He exhaled, stroking her head, "How about Singapore?"
If you were wondering what language was Singapura speaking in, it's in Malay. I hope I didn't misspell anything.
If you checked Wikipedia, it was said that Singapura had been trading with other countries quite frequently even before Sir Stamford Raffles had found her. It was because of the Portuguese soldiers who burnt down her settlement in 1613, causing her to be in the village-like state like how Sir Stamford Raffles had found her to be in.
A kampong is a village in places like Singapore and Malaysia and such. It is used in the past, and is usually made of wood. Some are still standing up till today. You can just type in 'kampong' on the search engine and it'll show you how it looks like.
Attap, or attap dwelling, is a traditional housing used in kampongs.
I would like to thank Infinity's Concerto once more. You are awesome.
Also, it rains a lot in Singapore, just to let you know. At times, it would rain ever so suddenly. Sometimes, it would rain even as the sun is shining brightly!
About the 'soaked like a chicken' it is a Chinese phrase: 落汤鸡, which means 'chicken soaked in soup' in direct translation. It actually means drenched in rain.
I thought of many ways to make Singapura more like a typical Singaporean. But I finally concluded that that side of hers would emerge when she was turning more modern. And you would be a bit more peaceful and laid-back when someone hurls you back into your old, village-like state, no? Though I was hoping to see Arthur getting annoyed with Singapore's Singaporean ways.