Hello there. This is my story about the rare pairing Russiaxfem!England. I know it's not common and seems strange, but nothing's impossible. I'm not too confident in my skills of England, so please, correct me! Anything that you think can be better, tell me! Advise, critique, reviews, ... everything that can help me is welcome. I'll be working hard on this story. Do please remember that English is not my native language, I don't live in an English speaking nation either. I'm not sure about when I'll be updating, probably once a week or every two weeks. I hope that you'll be pleased with what you'll read!
Enjoy~


Chapter I

It had been a long day, a long conference. England sighed in relief when the final subject, Antarctica, had been finished. She started gathering her papers when a certain American bumped in.

"Heya!" he happily greeted her.

"You've bothered me enough during the meeting, America. Leave me alone", she complained, her headache worsening because of his presence.

The tall nation only laughed, loudly, and then laid his hand on her shoulder. "Are we getting old?"

She shot him a poisonous glare.

"Dude, err, dudette, chill! I was just kidding!" he stated with a grin and turned away from her to disappear as fast as he had appeared.

She was glad he went off to annoy someone else. Slowly she was packing her notes, documents and other into her bag when a large hand rested on her shoulder once again.

"America!" she barked, but stiffened when she saw it was not good old Alfred standing next to her. She blinked and her cheeks turned bright pink.

"Russia, da?" the tall man said.

Unlike America's loud voice, Ivan's tone was slightly softer, lower and much deeper. It was less disturbing for her headache. The same, sinister smile was drawn on his lips as always. She started to feel a bit uncomfortable when looking at it.

"Yes, Russia," she said, wanting to get to the point.

"There are a few matters, concerning some, specific things."

The vague terms he used didn't make any light bulb appear above the Brit's head. "Your point?"

He smiled a bit wider, which made a shiver tiptoe all the way over her spine. His fingers danced over the edge of a few documents he held underneath his arm, and he took a black folder from between the others. There was nothing written on it, just plain black. She frowned as his fingers tapped the document in his hands. Then her eyes widened and her lips parted, "Ah!" Alice had completely forgotten about it. "Yes, right, I'm sorry."

"No problem. I suppose we handle it at your place, da?"

She was a bit taken aback by his intruding statement, that didn't seem to leave place for arguments, but she didn't want to argue about it anyway.

"Sure", she sighed, and decided her day couldn't get much worse.

"I can give you a ride", England stated as she ran her fingers through her golden blond hair; the wind was playing with her locks.

They stood outside, on the car park in front of the building where they had spent almost an entire day.

"Isn't necessary, I'll drive behind you", the Russian said and easily fetched his car keys while walking off to his black car.

She shrugged. It seemed like he was not the person she would have a discussion with anywhere soon. A sigh rolled over her lips as she entered her car. The motor roared when she turned the keys, and she slowly drove out of the car park. The conference had been held in London, so she perfectly knew her way, and she could drive on the left side of the road, which she of course preferred. A big, black car, that looked like it came directly from some secret agency, drove behind her. She swiftly drove over the roads. Though looking at Russia's huge car through her little mirror made her feel a bit awkward, as if she was being stalked.

She lived in a nice mansion; it was a bit comparable with a very small castle. It was rather old, she admitted. A part of the house was pretty much a scene directly taken from a century or two ago. Even though she had modern technology, her furniture and most colour schemes and patterns were still classy. America had sometimes called her a granny for living in this place.

"Tea?" she asked as she took off her jacket after entering the house. She gestured for him to take his jacket off as well but he shook his head.

"No, thank you", he answered her question, sort of politely.

She nodded, "I'm going to make some tea, you can sit down here."

They walked into her living room and he sat down on one of the two soft, little couches. Alice continued to walk to the kitchen, and filled the kettle with water. While it was warming up she took the tealeaves she preferred and some scones.

A few minutes later she sat down on the couch opposing Russia, with a cup of tea in her hand.

"So, what do we need to go through?" she said slowly.

Every few years, Russia would bump in about this matter. Magic. Since Russia knew England was capable of magic, more specifically black magic, he was sent here by his boss, or some other important person, every once in a few years.

"Nothing new. Just going through updates and renewing the contract."

Updates in magic, it sounded strange to her. All she had to do was tell him that no new kinds of magic were performed, no important changes had been made, and no new, dangerous or high-level spells had been performed that could involve Russia. Of course they were very superficial about their magic; the interest for their own doings was much bigger than for each other's magic. She only had to write it down, confirm everything in the documents, and afterwards renew the contract. The contract was just a single paper in which England promised to perform no black magic, or any other kinds of magic, that would in any way involve the nation of Russia. She went through the other papers, her eyes dancing over the letters. Russia watched her, silently, with a blank face. It took about 10 minutes to get through everything. After that had been done, the tall man would normally thank her politely and leave. When he got the papers though, he turned to her again, and didn't get up.

"England", he mused and his usual smile returned to his face, "Can I see your magic?"

Her eyebrows knitted together in a frown. She didn't know whether he was trustworthy at all, and also wondered where the sudden interest came from.

"Why would you want to see it?" she asked, as politely as she could.

To her surprise, the man shrugged, "I've been coming for a couple of years already, but I never saw it. Besides, I'm bored, it sounds like nice entertainment."

He sounded like a curious child, and it seemed like it was impossible to read him; his reactions were usually unpredictable and confusing. Alice huffed, "My magic is no entertainment."

He smiled brightly, amused, but it didn't look anywhere near safe. "I don't think your magic is capable of much anyway. I just wanted to confirm to myself that you form completely no threat."

A vague, challenging emotion played in his eyes. She felt a spark of anger burning inside her chest. Being looked down upon was one of the things she disliked pretty badly. America, France, even her own brothers, she always felt how they all looked down upon her. Sometimes it could frustrate her very much. She had once ruled over one of the greatest empires, and she had once been a pirate that owned the seas. Her self-esteem had been cringed many times; she wouldn't show it at any cost though. She was usually fine with their stupid comments, not caring for them. Russia was succeeding in intimidating her though.

"I am perfectly capable of doing whatever I want."

She might not be the strongest or greatest, but she was certainly a nation one should have respect for, or at least that was her opinion. Russia only laughed, softly, darkly. He was laughing at her. Alice twitched, annoyed and pissed off. She would show him that he was wrong.

"Fine," She clenched her small hands into fists, "I'll show you what real magic is!"

Russia raised an eyebrow, his smile still in place.


The sound of chalk scratching over stone was almost the only sound in the room they had gone to. The walls were covered with high bookshelves, filled with tons of thick, old, magic books.

"I don't understand why you use circles, pentagrams and others. Can't you use magic without?" Russia asked, almost genuinely interested.

England wondered whether the man suffered from severe mood swings, going from cruel and rude to childish or curious, without the slightest effort. Maybe he was schizophrenic. Maybe he was bloody insane.

"I can, but most spells ask a lot of energy. Through circles and such the performance is much easier, and often better."

He didn't say anything in response, and continued watching her draw the figures, following every movement of hers precisely. Even though his presence made her feel awkward, she did like that he seemed to be truly interested in her magic. England knew that he wouldn't admit anything that would please someone though, certainly not if it would somehow please her. She liked observing people, and reading the mood or body language, which she partly learned from her old friend Japan. This made her able to noticed certain little things, that showed Russia might actually be a little fascinated by England's magic. Russia was Russia though, and he was usually hard to read.

His violet eyes followed her small figure, observing every movement, and the concentrated look on her face. Honestly, he hadn't expected her to actually show him her magic. He was very curious, but would never say that out loud. Russia certainly didn't like it when her magic creatures were around. The unicorn, a dwarf and some other magical being, and of course that flying bunny with it's outstanding green colour. It was terribly annoying to ignore their constant talking or bothersome doings, but he wouldn't admit he could see them too. When he was using magic, it often was a quite painful case, since indeed the spells sucked up his energy or even wounded him. But the spells or curses he used often didn't make use of extra requirements, meaning he could use them whenever and wherever he'd want to.

The circle Alice was drawing seemed to be complex, and it would take a while before it would be completely finished. After a few minutes he got bored of just standing there and watching. Ivan was surprisingly easily bored. He was disciplined enough to not show it, if he wanted to. Now though, he allowed himself to seek for something interesting. His eyes darted over the many awkwardly shaped bottles with elixirs, poisons and others. One had a drawing of a puppy on it. He carefully took it, while making sure England didn't saw it. It was a rough little sketch of a dog; he wondered whether the Brit had drawn it. He heard England mumbling some words to herself or the circle, but was too busy eying the funny looking fluid inside the fragile bottle.

"Russia!"

Her sharp, high voice startled him a little. The thin glass slipped through his fingers and shattered apart on the floor. He cursed underneath his breath, taking a step back. For a split second he looked at her like a little boy that had been busted. The liquid on the floor started shimmering.

"You idiot! What have you done?!" she yelled frustrated.

The circle she drew was already activated, and was supporting the working of the elixir or he had dropped.

"I don't know!" he answered defensively, and took a step back from the broken glass.

Sparkles started coming off, and began to dance slowly through the air, in his direction. His eyes widened when he took a few more steps away from it, and it kept following him.

"Don't let it get you!" she said, and he shot her an annoyed glare.

"Then mind to explain me how?"

That question remained unanswered. She had no idea which beverage he had dropped, and hence couldn't tell what they were supposed to do. Russia cursed underneath his breath, again, but it wasn't Russian, nor English. A very dark and intense aura seemed to grow around him as he kept backing away, dark shades seemed to claw around him. He kept whispering in his strange language, and the ominous shield around him became stronger.

A shield, Alice blinked, of course that could protect him. She thought he would need a circle for that though. Magic shields that were strong enough to protect against outside magic were often rather difficult and consumed a lot of energy. As long as the shield could keep him safe from the liquid, it didn't matter to her how he did it. Eventually her circle's effect would fade, and she'd chase the Russian out of her house for disturbing her peace. For a moment things seemed to be close to getting back on the right track. He was summoning the shield, and it kept getting stronger. Until he coughed, it was a loud, deep, painful cough, and a slightly smothered moan. His hand reached for his chest, and he clenched his teeth as he flinched. The shield was gone. It didn't even last a second after his interruption; thin lines of black smoke danced around Russia before it completely vanished.

England's magic was already crawling up his legs. Within a few seconds it had also enclosed his torso, and the rest of his body. Its power could have been afflicted by Russia's shield though, but it could also have left him more damaged. Alice knew what came now, and she also knew that there was nothing else she could do, other than standing there and watching. Just as she expected, there was a flash of light that for a split second lightened up the whole room. Then a specific sound that was different for every spell. This time it was a soft but high vibe, a bit comparable to the voice of a violin.

It was done. Alice sighed, never again would she say her day could not get worse. She hoped Russia was happy with his dose of her magic, and that he had been proven that he shouldn't make fun of her abilities. He would finally leave so she could go to bed and forget today. Judging from what England had seen, she could tell the spell hadn't been too dangerous, and shouldn't cause that much harm. Russia should be fine and well enough to go home and sulk over his stupid act, she reasoned.

His tall figure lay sprawled on the floor. She frowned when he didn't seem to get up, or move at all. "Damn it", she whispered. It has been only a little magic, right? It couldn't have possibly been something serious. Carefully she went to the tall nation, and bend down to her knees at his side. His eyes opened, and the purple colour of his pupils became visible. Then she saw the effect of the spell. She chuckled, and tried to hold back more chuckles, but it only became louder. Laughter welled up in her throat. She started laughing, and it didn't stop as she saw his confused face. It was definitely not nice to laugh in his face like that, but her humour wasn't the kindest one anyway. Seeing him like this definitely made her day.

"Что (shto)?" Russia asked, sounding nothing else but confused.

She slowly stopped laughing, and caught her breath; "Oh, dear, this is, interesting."

Her bottle green eyes followed the form of the two dog-ears on Russia's head. Then she took a deep breath, and fully calmed herself.

"I think it is high time for you to leave", she stated.

He stared at her with the same, confused expression as before, "К-кто (kto)?"

She frowned, "What? Speak English please."

Alice watched his face change in a slightly warily and cautious expression. His dog-ears turned back, the tips of his ears away from her.

"You", the nation said in a low tone, "Who are you?"

There was a silence, a long silence. He stared at her as if he were looking at a stranger; he slowly pushed himself up so he was sitting on the floor and not lying. Suddenly the situation became a lot less funny.

"You've got to be kidding me", her voice was trembling a bit, "No, please, what ironic creature from above the skies hates me so much?"

The ears on his head were still turned away from her. She didn't know much about dogs, sadly enough, but his expression didn't look very happy.

"I'm England, and you're Russia", she said slowly.

Temporary loss of the memory, or a part of it, was a common little issue that would sometimes happen when a spell wasn't preformed well. "I'm Ivan", he said, his ears turned towards her, and he looked less guarded. His eyes were examining her face intensively. He inhaled deeply and blinked; there was a vague spark of turbid recognition.

England pursed her lips a little, "Soon you will regain your memories and things will become clearer, don't worry."

It was a good sign that he remembered his name, his native language as well as the English one, and that he could vaguely recognise her. Only now she realised how close they were; an uncomfortable feeling prickled her. She got up, and gestured him to follow her. Carefully the tall man got up. They went to the living room, and she pointed at the couch.

"Sit down, please. I'll be right back."

Obediently and calmly he listened to her, though it was visible that he was still being cautious. He coughed a few times; it sounded harsh and soar. She went to her kitchen, and started making some tea. England wanted to send him home, right now. The dog-ears would go away within a few days, weeks or months, so he would just have to live with that for a while. The loss of memory was the reason she couldn't send him away. Well, if she wanted, she could, but England knew she'd feel guilty about it.

When she came back with a warm cup of tea in her hands, and she badly needed some tea to calm down, Alice was slightly surprised to see the tall nation had fallen asleep. She sighed and put the cup of tea on the coffee table. He lay curled up on her couch, still wearing all his clothes. Silently she went to get a blanket for him, and lay it over him. If they had a bit of luck, his memory would be fine tomorrow. She stopped and stared at his face for a moment. His skin was pale, and even though he naturally had a pale skin, it didn't look very healthy. He had bags under his eyes. Even in his sleep, she noted, he didn't look peaceful.

It was a little over 10pm when she pulled the warm blanket over her tired body. Luckily this didn't seem to be one of those sleepless, tiresome nights. Finally she allowed herself to fall asleep, and forget whatever had happened that day. Her mind was gladly emptied; she fell into the unconsciousness of her dreams.


The next morning she woke, as usual, at about 7am. Her body was used to waking itself at an early hour, whether she liked it or not. Easily she got up, not too fast, and shortly looked in the big mirror that decorated her wall. She took of the long sleeved shirt and the baggy pants which she used as a pyjama, and picked a plain white blouse and casual grey trousers out of her closet. She dragged herself to the bathroom. Briefly she wondered whether Russia would already be awake. As she turned on the hot water, and stepped in the shower, the droplets seemed to take away her troubles and worries.

A half hour later she came downstairs. Since the Russian wasn't in her living room, England went to her kitchen. Ivan sat on a chair, a glass of water in his hand. He was staring out of the window; apparently he hadn't heard her coming in. His face looked pale, and tired.

"You okay?" she asked, and he blinked.

He stared at her for a moment, "Da."

She went to the fridge; luckily it seemed everything had remained untouched. She took out some soup and turned to him, "You want to eat something?"

He shook his head, and she frowned but didn't say anything. While heating up her soup, every once in a while she'd shot a glance at Russia. He just sat there, staring out of the window, no emotions on his face.

"You need something?"

Again, he shook his head. She sighed, and began to feel a little frustrated. She knew he was a grown-up man and strong nation that could take care of himself, but there was a hint of concern in her mind. Obviously, he didn't look good, whether it was because he was a bit sick, because of things going on in his land, because of his shield or the her elixir, she couldn't tell. But she did know that he wasn't going to get better from doing nothing.

"I'll warm some soup for you", she stated.

He didn't look at her, as his lips parted, "No, thank you. I'm not hungry."

"I can't eat the whole can on my own", she simply said, and poured the soup in two bowls.

This times his eyes averted from the window, and his violet orbs peered at her with an emotion she couldn't place. There was a silence. When she put his bowl of hot soup in front of him, they still didn't said a word. She started eating her soup. He inhaled deeply, and stared at the soup. England wondered whether he was inhaling the scent, as something caused by the few dog features. Slowly he leaned a bit forward, and took the spoon in his hand.

"It wasn't that bad, right?" she said when they finished.

He had eaten about half of the soup in his bowl before he had put the spoon down. She got up and took their bowls to put them into her sink. Somewhere, she didn't like the atmosphere that hung around him, but she did want to talk to him. He was sick, or sad, or both, and she felt that as a hostess she maybe should try to take a bit care of it. Whether it was her motherly side or something else, England did get concerned about him.

"It was alright", he said blankly.

"Good", she said, feeling nervous, "Others always complain-"

He cut her off, looking straight into her eyes, "About your cooking? They don't like the British cuisine, da?"

She blinked, "Yes, indeed."

For a moment she hoped this meant he had fully regained his memory.

"What's your name?" he asked, and studied her.

His soft purple eyes danced over her face. She had a short, tip-tilted, sharp nose and soft cheeks, yet her high cheekbones were just visible enough. The shape of her face was round; it made her look very young, yet serious and still very feminine at the same time. Her blond, straight, long locks dangled loosely as a golden frame around her face. Most outstanding though were her big, green eyes. They were two emeralds, vivid, bright, deep and like a mirror of her emotions. He could stare in them all day, trying to figure what was going on in that little mind of her behind them. Her eyes seemed to speak for her; it was like a detailed, beautiful puzzle of words and feelings. His own eyes were slightly the opposite; it was incredibly hard to see the deeper intentions or emotions he had through them.

"Alice", she answered, and she ran her fingers through her hair that limply brushed over her shoulders, "Is there anything you'd like to do?"

England thought she almost sounded desperate. There was no way she could just continue working while her guest was sitting there, blankly, looking a little unwell.

He blinked, and thought for a moment, "Can I use a bathroom?"

She almost instantly nodded, "Of course, follow me."

He simply got up and followed her without saying a word. She felt a strange, vague feeling of relief; hopefully he'd feel better after a shower. The tall Russian was walking closely behind her as she went to the bathroom on the second floor, next to the guestroom. "Go ahead."

Finally, a satisfied little smile played around England's lips as she sat down in her armchair. In her hand she held a book and opened it where she had last finished reading. The light of the window right behind her shined on the pages of the book as her eyes eagerly danced from one sentence to another. After having read quite some pages, a cough disturbed her from reading further, and she tilted her head. Russia was done, apparently.

"Oh, was everything okay?" she asked casually, and put her index finger on the sentence she had been reading.

He stood in the opening of the door, wearing the same clothes as before entering the bathroom. He scratched the back of his head, his hair was still a bit wet, and the tiny droplets shimmered slightly.

"Yes, it was fine. Though I don't have any other clothes", he said.

She got up slowly and placed her book away, "Okay, maybe we'll fetch you something clean tomorrow, if you won't feel better by then."

He nodded, and then looked outside, through the window, "Can I go outside?"

There were some ominous clouds in the distance, but they should have just time enough to make a walk.

"We'll do that. Anywhere you'd want to go?"

She calmly went to the hallway to get her jacket and Ivan followed her. Of course, he still wore his coat. England handed him a hat. She didn't need anyone to see his ears, neither did she wish for him to catch a cold from going outside with wet hair.

"A park? A forest?" he said as they got outside.

"Sure", she muttered.

Her eyes swiftly went over his back and buttocks.

"Tail?" she said, partly unconsciously, as she saw the mid-long haired tail that was about as long as his thighs.

"Yes, tail", he answered while looking a bit uncomfortable about it.

Alice made a note to herself; she needed to do more research about dog behaviour. This might even get interesting. While casually walking through the nearby park, England felt how the outdoors had a positive effect on her mind. Russia calmly walked at her side. There was something different about him, she noted. Subtly her eyes wandered over him from the corner of her eye. He wasn't smiling; that was definitely something that seemed to make a big change. Actually, she thought he looked calmer, nicer and more sane, without that strange smile tainting his lips. His body seemed more relaxed; he didn't look like a creep, a monster or anything alike, just a normal man. Except for those dog-ears and that tail, of course.


Translations:
Что (shto), is Russian for What.
Кто (kto), is Russian for Who.

So, what did you think of it? How was the technical side (grammar, spelling, construction of the sentences, ...), the story itself (plot, for so far this chapter has introduced it), the characters (OOC?), and others? Please tell me :)
Review~