Estonia had never intended to interfere…but it wasn't as if he had had much choice.
It had all started the night before. Estonia was almost used to seeing Lithuania summoned or dragged off somewhere by Russia, only to return hours later bleeding and half-conscious. Sometimes Russia carried Lithuania upstairs; other times the eldest Baltic dragged himself up two flights of stairs to his room. It never seemed to occur to Lithuania that if he called for help, Estonia and Latvia would come…as soon as they made sure Russia wasn't within earshot. They never, ever interfered when Russia was there. It was the unwritten law. They could all be friends as long as Russia was in a good mood, but when he wasn't, it was every Baltic for himself. With the occasional exception of Lithuania stepping in to help the others, mostly Latvia.
What Estonia was not used to was waking up in the morning, going downstairs, and literally tripping over Lithuania. He had been half-asleep, stumbling downstairs, when his foot encountered something that was not part of the staircase.
Estonia let out a startled yelp as he felt himself beginning to fall. The blonde Baltic landed halfway down the stairs, hitting his head in the process.
Rubbing his injured head, Estonia turned to see what it was he had tripped over. He had not expected it to be a person, but that was what he found.
"Lithuania?"
The brown-haired boy was lying halfway up the stairs, apparently asleep. Confused, Estonia trotted back up to where Lithuania lay.
"Are you all right?" he whispered, shaking Lithuania gently, "Why did you fall asleep here…?"
There was no reply, nor any movement from Lithuania. Estonia frowned, and decided to try and carry Lithuania upstairs.
To his surprise, as he tried to lift Lithuania, his hand encountered a sticky substance. Startled, Estonia jerked back, and discovered that there was blood on his hand.
"Oh…that explains it," the blonde nation thought, "But…it's not usually this bad…"
Estonia finally did succeed in getting Lithuania upstairs, although it took a great deal of effort to do it without disturbing the rest of the household. Once they were safely in Lithuania's room, Estonia set about bandaging the other nation's injuries, all the while hoping that Lithuania would wake up and be feeling all right. However, considering the fact that Lithuania had spent at least part of the night passed out on the stairs, he knew it was an unlikely prospect.
Once Lithuania's injuries were bandaged, Estonia slipped out of the room and went to prepare breakfast. He was already late as it was, and he was sure that there would be consequences for his tardiness, so he did not dare to linger upstairs any longer.
As he bustled about the kitchen, preparing breakfast, he heard soft footsteps in the hallway.
"Estonia?" a small voice asked, "Where's Lithuania?"
Estonia turned to face Latvia, who was standing in the doorway, looking decidedly lost.
"Lithuania's…not feeling well," Estonia said, "He's taking a day off."
"What happened?" Latvia whispered.
"I don't know," Estonia said, "I suspect it was…Mr. Russia."
"Why?" Latvia wondered aloud, "I never really understood why he does that...to us."
"I don't either…" Estonia murmured, "I've never understood it."
Latvia sighed, looking incredibly sad for such a small boy.
Hesitantly, Estonia wrapped his arms around Latvia, hoping to comfort the smaller nation. Latvia returned the embrace, still trembling despite the added warmth.
"You're always so shaky," Estonia commented.
"It's fear," Latvia mumbled.
"I know…" Estonia sighed.
For a few precious moments, the two Baltics stayed silent, slightly comforted by each other's presence. Finally, Estonia pulled away.
"We'd best get to work," he said softly, "Here, go and set the table, will you?"
Latvia nodded, then trotted off to the other room. Estonia stared after the younger nation for a few moments, then turned back to his work, sighing.
Estonia finished preparing breakfast and loaded it onto a tray, then marched off toward the dining room, vaguely wondering where Latvia was. However, when he reached the dining room, the blonde boy stopped short, startled and horrified by what he saw.
Latvia was cowering in the corner of the room, his violet eyes wide and fearful. Between Latvia and Estonia stood Russia, his metal pipe raised above his head to strike Latvia.
Latvia glanced desperately toward the doorway, and the horrified Estonia did not have time to pull away before his friend saw him.
"Help me!" Latvia's expression pleaded. Every remaining bit of Estonia's sanity was screaming at him not to interfere, to run away and hide as he had so many times before. But Lithuania had always been there before to shield Latvia, and now he wasn't. Now, if anything was to be done for Latvia, it would be up to Estonia.
And then there was a loud crash, as the tray Estonia had been carrying slipped through his fingers and fell to the floor.
As Estonia stared down at the shattered plates on the floor, he heard heavy footsteps approaching him.
"Do you want something, Estonia?" Russia asked, his voice dangerously soft.
Estonia realized then that it would make no difference what he did. He had broken one of the unwritten laws of Russia's house by being clumsy. Nothing could save him now.
"Y-yes, I do want something," Estonia said, "I want to know w-why Lithuania is unconscious upstairs, and I want to know why you keep h-hurting us for no reason! It's only plain and simple cruelty!"
He knew he had gone too far, but he couldn't stop now. It was time that Russia knew exactly what the Baltics thought of him, and Estonia was going to tell him.
"Punishment is one thing, torture is another. And this is torture. Punishment is administered to teach a lesson. Torture is living your life knowing that if you slip, if you fall, if you drop a plate, you will be beaten. Torture is knowing that while you are hiding in the corner, escaping punishment, your friend is paying the price for your mistake. Torture is lying in bed at night, listening to your friend screaming and knowing that it will be the same thing tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. I'm done with this!"
Estonia had half-expected to be cut off in the middle of his speech, but, to his surprise, it was immediately after he had finished that he felt something hard connect with his ribs. Estonia staggered backwards, gasping, only to fall backwards onto the floor.
As he stared fearfully up at Russia, the blonde nation vaguely noticed Latvia slipping through the other door, leaving him to his fate. He couldn't blame the tiny nation, though. Latvia had every right to flee.
"I thought you were the smart one," Russia said, glaring down at Estonia, "I see I overestimated you."
Estonia could feel himself shaking. He wanted nothing more than to apologize, to beg Russia to forgive him. But he knew it would do no good, so he forced himself to reply.
"Maybe I was finally smart enough to speak up against an insane tyrant!"
"You will take that back…" Russia said, his voice icy cold and ominous. "Now."
"No."
Estonia braced himself for the strike that would inevitably follow, but it did nothing to prepare him for the pain. Russia's weapon slammed into his ribs again. Estonia bit back a scream, knowing that if he did cry out, Latvia would hear it.
More blows followed, and soon Estonia was screaming, unable to stop himself. His ribs had given way under the repeated abuse… How did Lithuania stand this almost every night? It hurt...
Finally, mercifully, the torture ceased, leaving Estonia sobbing, gasping for breath.
"You have learned your lesson, da?" Russia asked.
Estonia struggled to speak, but found that he was unable to stop sobbing long enough to reply.
"Oh?" Russia said, sounding incredibly innocent, "Has my little Estonia not had enough? For an offense like this, you really should have some more punishment. I think you can spend a few nights in the basement…"
Estonia's eyes widened. He had never personally set foot in the feared basement, but he had seen Lithuania after Russia had locked the eldest Baltic down there in the darkness…
"Please… Russia…" he managed to gasp out, "I…can't…"
"Ssh," Russia commanded, "No protesting, da? Come along."
Estonia felt himself being lifted from the ground, and he was too weak to fight. He allowed Russia to carry him downstairs into a dark, cold room. He would not allow himself to appear weak by begging for forgiveness. But once Russia had left, Estonia collapsed, leaning against the wall, and cried.
There will be at least one more chapter after this, and maybe one or two after that. It depends on whether or not I find a way to continue after chapter two. Please review? :) I've heard that it only takes thirty seconds or something like that...