There's a reason countries seem to remain young forever- they do not forget their past. As soon as a country forgets, they lose some of their youthfulness. England was relatively old and had been around for quite some time now. Yet he maintained his youth beautifully. At least usually under regular circumstances. Arthur loved his history, his past. But he had one regret that consumed him. That regret, that pain, was losing America. After blocking it all out, Arthur could no longer remember anything before the American Revolution because that was all that had mattered to him. His memories of raising Alfred were even a bit fuzzy.

Lately, Arthur was looking a little shabby. Grey hairs were appearing in his thick blond hair and wrinkles were threatening to appear on his once young, pretty face. Needless to say, England was quite concerned. The offhand comments from the others at world meetings were no indicator of good things for Arthur's appearance either. But England was suffering more than physical deterioration- he was becoming more and more tired each day.

He paced madly, trying to remember as much as he could. All he knew was the American Revolution, the wars he fought along side America and the pain when said America betrayed him. Hadn't somebody else betrayed him too? The memory was the faintest flicker. Was this person another lover, or perhaps a beloved family member? Then the already faint memory faded completely. Arthur needed help. Who on this whole wide Earth could help him? Who would know England's history better than anyone else, England himself included? Francis.

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"Francis, please! I need your help!" The Frenchman looked up from his book to face the distressed Brit.

"Arthur, you came all the way to France to ask for my help? I'm flattered Angleterre! What is it you require? Anything for you, mon amour." France blushed slightly before kneeling to place a gentle kiss on Arthur's hand. Arthur stared at him, puzzled by these odd words and actions.

"Angle...tear?" He stumbled over the word. "Is that French?"

"Oui, mon cher. I speak French with you all the time. You were always my sweet, French speaking Angleterre. How can you not remember?" Francis looked deeply disturbed. Arthur bit his lip, thoughts racing. Was he supposed to know French? Mon cher, Angleterre, je t'aime... They all sounded familiar yet they were now foreign words with little meaning. How much had Arthur really forgotten? A sudden wave of fear passed through the British nation.

"That's the thing France- I can't remember any of it."

"French? Well that's no problem beau, I'll simply have to teach you again!" Francis absolutely beamed at the very thought.

"No Francis, I mean I don't remember anything. That is, before the American Revolution." Francis' jaw dropped, his blue eyes shining in disbelief.

"Excusez moi?" Arthur ignored Francis' outburst of French and decided to clarify even more so.

"I have forgotten my history and it's causing me to get older by the minute. Somewhere inside I knew you were the only one who could help me." Francis smiled one of his most charming smiles yet worry still painted his countenance.

"You could not have come to a better person my Arthur. Oh, where to begin? It is a long history- you and I. You may want to have a seat. We'll be here for a while. I'll keep talking until you get that pretty face of yours back completely." England nodded, too desperate to protest the Frenchman's flirtatiousness. Quickly, he took a seat across from Francis.

"Where should we begin?" Arthur asked uncertainly.

"How about we go backwards as it should be a little easier for you?" The shorter blond nodded in reply.

"Ok."

"Let's start with Canada and America- when we raised them." Arthur nodded. He was in for quite the story he believed.

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A.N.: Well some would say working on two multi-chap fics at once isn't smart...I say screw them, I have a short attention span and this is the only way I can write- get bored with one, go to the next. I apologize for any bad French. I believe I'll be getting a lot more skilled with the language by the end of this story. Also, this chapter is supposed to be super short- it's the PROLOUGE, lol. hope everyone enjoys it.