Pairings: Eventual CanPrus. Or UkCan.
Disclaimer: Me no own hetalia
"Sir, sir, sir! Can we have one o' those please?"
A man with sandy blonde hair turns his head away from his drink to glance at the two young children practically, a boy and a girl, clinging to his leg desperate for a bottle of alcohol. He raises a very thick and bushy eyebrow at the sight.
"What would your mums say? I wouldn't want them to think horrid of me."
"But sir!" The girl, brave she is, cries out. "You're a pirate so why would ya care? They already think ya horrible!"
The young man opens his mouth but closes it, as if thinking better. He looks at himself and inspects his tarnished blue uniform that he at one point took so much time to make sure it was pristine. It was lacking in several pieces (not that he cares, it actually felt less stuffy) and once upon a time it flowed to his calves. Now it was torn, tattered and was cut short up to his knees. It was even decorated by dried up blood, a mixture of his and whoever he's killed. The only thing that has managed to remain the same is the admiral badge sewn on his right arm; the only indication left that he was part of the army. He chuckles and hands the girl the bottle.
"Right you are lass. Now run along before I run my sword right through you for being so annoying!"
The children laugh playfully both knowing that he won't actually run his sword through them, but nonetheless they run and quickly vanish out of the man's sight.
The two children run out the door only to crash into a young man who was entering the pub. He has silky and wavy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, and despite the grime, his bright red uniform remains dashing.
The boy grabs the girl and whispers to her, "He was in the Revolution!" as he gestured to the young man's coat.
The girl still has the bottle of rum in her hands, and gives the man a salute. "Sorry fer crashin' into ya, but we're in a hurry ya see!"
The young man regards her with gentle eyes, a hue between indigo and cerulean. He pushes his spectacles up his nose with a gloved hand, and merely smiles.
"It happens," he says, in a soft voice.
The two children nod, and run until they reach a larger group of children who are all gathered around and sitting next to a peculiar man. He has stark white hair, shocking red eyes and pale skin that contrasts heavily with the black garb he wars, but it's his ear splitting grin that makes him stand out the most. He and the other children had all anxiously awaited the boy and the girl.
"Did ye get what I asked fer?" He bellows, and when the girl proudly holds out the bottle of rum all the children cheer and the peculiar man happily snatches it out of her grasp.
"Will ya tell us another story now?" One of the children asks.
"Hmph. Do ye lot really think that I'll tell another one?" He yells. The children know that of course he will, because he's been here for only just a few days and he always tells another story 'til their mums call them home, but they cheer anyways, because it's all part of the excitement.
"Fine!" he says, as he slams his bottle of rum down on the ground next to him. A few children jump, but the rest just giggle.
"Do ye know what the word death means?"
A few children nod their heads. One speaks up, "My brother died. In the North American revolution."
The peculiar man just nods his head. "My condolences is with ye."
Then after a moment of silence, he continues.
"Have ye experienced love?"
At this question, a girl, the brave girl from earlier, shouts, "Ya reckon' I do!" And she plants a kiss on the cheek of the boy next to her. The children laugh and gasp and shriek, but the peculiar man continues on, his voice cutting through the cries.
"Have ye heard of Automatons? Chimeras? Clankers? Sky Pirates?"
Some children shake their head; some don't. One of them shouts, "Get on with the story!"
The peculiar man just laughs. "Eager, aren't ye? Fine, fine, I will."
He pretends to be in thought, and then his eyes light up. "Have ye heard the story of the exiled Prussian prince? He was thought to be mad, ye hear? They say he went crazy, killed his own mother and became a sky pirate."
All of the children shake their head, to the peculiar man's dismay.
"Bah!" he shouts. "Ye lot don't know what you're missing!"
He pauses for dramatic effect, and then continues.
"Have ye heard the story of the defiant Admiral? He captured the Prussian prince pirate –eh that's a mouthful- and he was ever so faithful to his Queen. He fought in the North American revolution and everything! But fer some reason he committed treason and was sent t' the dungeons along with the Prussian."
Once again, all of the children shake their head. The peculiar man observes their reactions, and smiles, as if happy both stories were equally unknown. He continues.
"What about the story of the North American Revolution leader?"
This statement gathers the attention of all the children. They all shout and cheer.
"I heard he was only seventeen!" One of them cry.
"He blew up five Clanker tanks with just one bullet!"
"And his friend – Alfred was it? They faced off against a hundred soldiers!"
"Ye and the soldiers all had guns –"
"but Alfred and him had nothing to shoot 'em back with–"
"They didn't even kill a single soldier-"
"Enough!" The single word cut through the children's babbling. The peculiar man looked amused, and eager to tell his tale. "Don't go stealin' my spotlight, little 'uns!"
The children all settle down, ready to hear the story.
"As I was saying. Ye all know the story of the North American Revolution leader, but did ye know he's searching for the Britannia Angel?"
A state of excitement rushes through the children.
"Britannia Angel!"
"I heard he was just a myth!"
The peculiar man clears his throat again.
"Ye talk one more time and I won't tell the story."
The children stop talking, and there are no more interruptions.
"Ye all know about the Great War. The British Empire against the Prussian. Chimeras against Clankers."
"That's happening right now!" one of the children pipes up. The peculiar man just gives the child a demeaning glare before continuing.
"What if I told ye that the Admiral was once a captain, and when the Revolutionist leader was just a boy, the two fought against each other? What if I told ye before the Prussian prince was exiled, he was the one who trained the young boy to fight against the British?" Then the peculiar man's voice dropped an octave lower, and he says in a rumbling voice, "What if I told ye that the Prince, the Admiral, and the Revolutionist are all planning to take down the Prussian Empire right as we speak?"
The peculiar man pauses, and the children know and take this as their cue to cheer.
"Story, story!" They chant.
The peculiar man grins and with his free hand he fondly caresses the iron cross that hangs loosely around his neck.
The symbol of Prussian royalty.
The peculiar man smiles and starts telling the story as if he's lived through it, and telling it that way just excites the children even more. His accent suddenly drops, but the children take no notice.
"You see, it all started with a bang..."
Idk, am I the only person who has written Britannia Angel NOT being England? Defeats the purpose of "Britannia Angel" but it all makes sense later. And Britannia Angel isn't an OC either.
1:22 AM and my eyes are bleeding and I've proof-read this but it probably isn't enough. I have writers block. I even have Ch3 of How To be Dead rewritten because I realize it was missing a huge chunk of text that was kind of important. And Happenstance... Yeah don't expect those stories to be updated soon.
And this is SLIGHT Steampunk AU. I say Slight because all the gears and shit were just discovered.
I'm so lame because I laughed when I wrote how the children basically meet the three main character's of the story but don't know it. Maybe it's because I lack sleep.
I hope you all realize that I probably won't continue this fic because I'm not getting that "CONTINUE ME" vibe. Maybe I'll get it later.
