It's been roughly fifty years since 1947-The official dissolve of the once "great" nation of Prussia.
As a personified country, his life was in danger. What was he to do then?
Fight for his country?
Plea for his life?
Rebirth as a human rather than a nation?
Well, he could have done either of these things, and no one would've thought any less of him..(Well, any lesser than they already had. He could be a bit of a..)
Moving on.
He'd simply refused. Whether it be his pride or his stupidity, nobody knew for sure at the time..
Hungary and Austria were surprisingly shaken by the loss. Even though his presence had become a nuisance at times, it was nice to have a new face around the house once in a while. Austria was constantly bothered by little tribulations here and there, country-wise or other.
Hungary was still fulfilling her faithful job as a house wife and cooking, cleaning, sewing, reading, and practically everything she could manage to keep her mind occupied.
Prussia had always hated that.
"V'what are you doing? Hungary?! V'where are you! The awesome me is looking for you!"
"What do you mean, what am I doing? What does it look like I'm doing! Buzz off, I have work to do!"
"Something isn't right about you, Hungary. Lately you've been acting allot like a..like a.."
"Like a what?"
"Like a chick!"
"I am a chick, you douche nozzle!"
At the moment, Hungary was currently in the process of hanging Austria's clothes out to dry on the line outside of the manor. As expected, Prussia was soon to show up and bug the hell out of either one of this. It was never clear who he'd bother first, but it seemed that today, Hungary was the unlucky one..
"Ja, I know that, v'whatever. I meant why are you acting like such a girl?"
"Do you want to get hit?!"
"I am just being honest! All you ever do is sit around here and clean up after Austria. Doesn't that aristocrat ever get on your nerves?"
"The only person getting on my nerves here, is you!"
"That is not true and you know it. I cannot get on your nerves, I am awesome, and your being is now blessed with the awesomeness that is me and you should be grateful that I stumbled into your puny life!"
"What do you want, Prussia?"
"I want you to come hunting with me. It's been ages since we shot a few together. Come on Hungary, I know you can't keep up this lady-like act forever. Give in to your manly man side Hungary, do it.", he urged.
"I will not!"
"Come on, you know you want to.."
"I will do no such thing!"
"Just give in, Hungary, put those boring clothes down! Come on, come on, come on Hungary.."
"I..I..No! Ladies do not participate in the sport that is known as hunting, or fighting, or..", she practically twitched as she choked the words out, "Or violence of any kind! Now get out of here Prussia, I am busy!"
"You used to be fun, you know? V'what happened?!"
"I grew up!"
"You became a bore!"
"I did what I had to for my country! Do you think I wanted to give up everything my life had to offer? My life would never have been so difficult had I only been a boy!-"
"..."
"Crap.", she sighed, "I didn't mean a word of that! Don't you dare go around spreading that rumor and such. I will hunt you down like a dog, Prussia!"
He bit back his laughter, in a vain attempt to keep composure, "I knew it! Hungary isn't really a lady, she's one of us!"
"Just what the hell are you referring to?!"
"The Teutonic Knights, crap-wad. Obviously you're one of us!~"
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
"I am not!"
"You are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!~ Don't deny it, Hungary."
"Hungary, will you come in here for a moment?", called a far off voice.
"That is Austria. See what you did? You distracted me and I did not hang all of the clothes on time. Now I am going to fall behind on my chores. That is your fault!"
"My fault? Don't blame me, blame my awesome!"
She huffed as she carried the remainder of the clothing inside, purposely knocking Prussia down on the way to the door.
She awoke with a start.
"What was that?", she yawned as she rubbed her still tired eyes, "Was that a dream about..Prussia? Another one? Damnit. Damnit damnit damnit, damn you Prussia!", she cursed.
This time she sat upright in bed, knocking the covers off of herself as she hesitated to awaken any further.
Lately she'd been having more than her fair share of dreams of Prussia, or I suppose you could call them..memories?..Either way, this night's dream was only one of the many in the past month they'd arrived. Some were nightmares, poking at her inner guilt, or the anxiety of a nation she'd acknowledged as a friend during early childhood dissolving. They stirred her feelings, only slightly, before she pushed them away.
She'd told him then and she'd tell him now, he was not going to interfere in her house work.
"Hungary."
It was pitch black.
"Hungary!"
She couldn't move..
"Hungary! Listen to me and open your awesome eyes right now or this will never work!"
She awoke to a field of grass.
It seemed like early morning..Or at least something around that time..Yeah, the sun was barely rising. There was a small chill in the air and the wind blew through her short hair..
Short?
Now that she truly analyzed the situation, why was she lying in a field anyway? What was the point of that? Of all of the places to fall asleep..
"Hungary."
Why was her hair short again? Did she perhaps cut it without realizing it? She knew it wasn't unheard of in countries feeling a strong sense of overwhelming emotion..Whether it be gratitude or guilt. Liechtenstein had done something in the like hadn't she? Yes, she believed so..Too bad Switzerland shot anyone who tried to get a better look at her.
"Hungary! Get up now! I know you can hear my awesome voice!"
She looked down at the ground around her, then down at her own tiny hands..
This couldn't be. Was she in another dream?
"Who is there?! I will have no mercy on you, if your intentions are..are..less than clean!", she shouted.
"My intentions are awesome, as always, now how long are you planning on sitting on the ground like that? I hope you know you owe me for this. You are wasting precious daylight."
The grass was green, the air was nice, her hands were..tiny. She felt another overwhelming sensation..This time, energy. Energy, power, happiness, was it? What else..
Oh yes, youth. This was definitely youth.
She turned her attention toward the obnoxious voice that had been calling out her name ever since she'd awaken, and saw none other than a pair of gleaming red eyes and dirty white hair.
"Finally, you woke up! It's not awesome to keep a guy as awesome as me waiting you know. You really need to work on that. Learn from the best."
"Prussia?! Is that really you?! Why are we so young?!"
"We are so young because I decided to break the rules a little-Let me explain before you begin with the questions. We don't have as much time as I would prefer."
"Go on then, explain.", she sighed as she crossed her arms.
Even her voice sounded different..
"Fist of all..How is this possible?! You dissolved, you should have vanished!"
"That is where you are wrong!", he declared, pumping his tiny fist in the air, "Prussia exists in the heart of all who believe in it. I know you Hungary, you were a fighter back then, and you are a fighter now. You always have been. Am I right? Of course I am right, I am awesome!"
Though she appreciated the compliment, she did not need his stupid opinion..She was a damn good house wife, not a warrior!
"Now, I know you are clinging onto the past Hungary. You may think I am giving you these dreams of yours but I am not, I am innocent in all of this! I was a little surprised at first..My body had completely dissolved, but somehow I'm still here. Then I realized, who says Prussia is dead? Prussia is awesome, isn't he? What would the crap-wad's say if awesome Prussia wasn't here to steal your pitiful thunder?"
"How very inspirational of you Prussia but that still does not explain why we are children!"
"Hungary, Hungary, Hungary..", he clicked his tongue a few times, circling the girl a bit before adding, "If I could greet you in person, I would. However, I just told you my body was dissolved. On top of that, even if I could, you are still so hung up on that house wife business of yours..But, you cannot be a house wife if you are still a child."
Getting a better look at the man (or rather, boy) she realized he'd also transformed somehow..He also bore the youthful, tiny figure along with his old, almost forgotten outfit which proudly represented the Teutonic Knights.
"You..You..So you mean this is all a dream?! Is this why I can move? Is this why I can't control what is happening..This feels to real to be a dream.."
"It is something like a dream but my AWESOMENESS says otherwise. It will feel just like it would in person!"
"Is this..Is this for real?"
"Absolutely, I wouldn't lie to you, would I?"
..Yes.
"I..I believe you for now. But if you pull anything funny I swear I will beat you to a pulp!"
"The only people we should be beating are the CUMANS."
"Cumans? Is that necessary? Do we really need to-Where are you going you don't even have a battle plan or anything, you can't just-!"
"I AM AWESOME! LOOK AT WHAT I DID, I AM SO AWESOME!"
"That is not possible!"
She froze in place.
How was this possible? Prussia was..unharmed. That's strange, everybody knows that Prussia couldn't hold his own against them if his life depended on it..Which, in most cases, it did.
"I told you Hungary, I'm not lying to you. My awesomeness will make this an awesome experience for the both of us! I promise you that by the end of the day, it'll feel like I never left!"
"So..You mean, we can do whatever we want and we won't get hurt?"
"V'well, I thought so at first but we can still get hurt..For example, have you ever heard the saying "If you die in your dream, you will die in real life" and all that?"
She nodded sadly.
"Good. That is all a load of crap. You have nothing to fear here, but even I can't bend the astronomical odds of the universe..In other words, this is not really a dream, it's just a way I can connect my spirit to yours. The easiest way to do that is while you are sleeping. Sure, I can bend the rules a little, but I cannot break them.."
"I see. So if we were to get attacked by-"
"Yes."
"You weren't hurt because-"
"Yes."
"And that means-"
"Yes, yes, and no. NOW, I am awesome, and the awesome me says that we should go have some fun! We have to make this day last! Come with me, Hungary!"
He grabbed her wrist, pulling her up and off of the soft grass, dragging her to god knows where in a land that seemed all too familiar..
A land she hadn't seen since god knows when.
His first brilliant idea had included climbing a tree for whatever reason. That being so, she was unable to stop him and he found himself hanging upside down by his knees on the tip of the tree, and as she expected, he couldn't get down.
"Prussia, you imbecile! I told you this was a bad idea!"
"I told you, the awesome me does not get stuck! I can get down anytime I want to."
"Then get down now!"
"No!"
"You can't, can you?"
"...Nein."
"I didn't think so.", she said as she sat down on the grass below.
Her form had taken some getting used to..Being an adult, feminine, proper house wife, she was used to physical limitation. However, youth had promised agility, flexibility, reflexes, speed, and even a bit of strength. She'd even dare to say she had the same amount of energy as Prussia..
THUD!
..Well, at least one of them used it wisely.
Their next stop was a trip back to the castle. Upon arrival, Hungary had fetched the bandages and checked his head and mental stability for any signs of a concussion. Per usual, he was fine as there wasn't much to damage up there, but he'd obtained a pretty bump from a fall like that..Apparently he wasn't lying when he'd said it was possible to get hurt, even in this dream-like state of mind..
She was reliving the past all over again..Throughout every battle, or even simple childish schemes, Prussia had always found a way to injure himself, and Hungary would have to treat his wounds as no one else would bother to help two children dabbling in the world of warfare, nations or otherwise. She was fine with that, however. She was used to it, after all.
"Did you see how awesome I was Hungary?! Yeah, yeah I know you did, but try to contain your excitement. I know I can be pretty amazing but you shouldn't worry, maybe one day you'll be that awesome too."
"That's great Prussia, now stay still so I can finish wrapping the bandages."
"My head needs no bandages, I am barely wounded!"
"P-Prussia! What are you doing, stay still!"
"Nein, I am awe-!"
THUD!
Somehow able to endure the throbbing pain in his already dented skull, he'd agreed to sit still on be half of his "awesomeness" and allowed Hungary to tend to his wound and or possible concussion.
"What should we do next, Hungary?!", he bounded around her on the large, grassy field.
"I don't know, Prussia. What is it we can do?"
"Everything! We are children now, we can do whatever we want, we can relive our childhood like we were supposed to!"
"Speak for yourself Prussia.", she huffed, "I have work to do back home. How long is your little game going to last?!"
Cocking his head, his face fell into a confused frown, "V'what are you talking about? V'what game? You're sounding really weird, Hungary."
"Austria is probably worried sick about me..Does he know where I am?! How am I going to explain this to him when I get home.."
"V'why the hell are you worrying about that now?! You're with a lifelong childhood friend who you thought was dead and suddenly all you care about is stuffy old Austria! You should really take notes on what awesome is, because that is definitely not it!"
She shook her head in silence, "Let's not argue about this now. Come on, we'll go..", she hesitated, looking around, "We'll plan an invasion."
"Sounds awesome! Where do we attack first?"
"We attack-Hey! I haven't told you yet!"
"I AM AWESOME!"
After tracking down the wild Prussian, they'd somehow managed to (more or less accidentally) stumble onto the enemy military base. Even if it wasn't much to look at, they were sure it was a war camp as it was guarded with soldiers under familiar flag, escorted many weapons in and out of the premises. Prussia and Hungary, being of smaller frame, were able to hide in the bushes and lay in wait as they stalked their prey.
"Come on Hungary.", he roughly whispered, "Let's attack! Douche nozzle's won't know what hit them.."
"We cannot just attack like this. We are without a strategy, reliable weapons, or an army!", she ducked as she turned around to face the obnoxious boy (or, well, man?).
"Trust me Hungary, we can do this."
"What makes you think we can take on the entire base alone?!"
"I am awesome and you are Hungary, what makes you think we can't?!"
For whatever reason, she really couldn't care why, her cheeks pinked at the compliment.
"Sh-Shut it! They'll catch us if you aren't quiet!", she looked away, half in shame, half in embarrassment.
"Let's do it."
"No."
"Come on."
"No."
"You know you want to."
"I know I want to but I can't do it without some type of-"
"I AM AWESOME! ATTACK!"
"PRUSSIA NO!"
Perhaps a blessing, or a curse, Prussia's cape was caught on the extended thorn of the bush they'd been well hidden under. He was stuck..but his shouts had seemed to have caught more attention than intended.
"Who goes there?! Show yourselves!"
Hungary tried freeing Prussia, as hard as she could, she tugged on the cape, tugged on the bush, and even tried to rip it off entirely.
"Hungary, hurry up!", he hissed under his breath, "They are coming and do you know what they would do if they found me here, Hungary, whose idea was it to come here without an army?!"
"Shut up or they'll catch us for sure!"
Footsteps drawing nearer, time running out, ideas wearing thin, she quickly dug her tiny hand into the bush and caught hold of his cape, pricking herself on multiple thorns before unhooking the fabric and freeing her albino friend. At the drop of a hat, they'd run far off into the woods.
Out of breath, they'd stopped in the middle of the same grassy field..Well, at least they'd managed to get home.
Hungary seemed to be in the worst of shape, despite everything. She dropped to the ground, flat on her back in a vain attempt to capture whatever oxygen was left in the world.
Whether it be out of fear, relief, adrenaline, or simply the thrill of it all, she didn't know, but for whatever reason she'd begun laughing.
"What's so funny?!"
"That..That..That..", she gasped, "That was a lot of fun, even if you did nearly get us both killed!~"
"Now THAT'S the Hungary I know!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"V'well-! Oh crap, you're hurt!"
"What? I don't feel anything.."
"Look at your arm!"
She did so, finding nothing in particular except for a thick trail of blood and a few thorns that had stubbornly taken shelter at the break of her skin.
"..It's nothing.", she shrugged, cradling the back of her head atop both of her arms, "Just a little scratch."
He sighed and shook his head, "You really need to learn how to milk this. Listen, I am awesome but you already know that. So I am going to do you a favor."
"What?"
"I am going to treat your wound!"
"Do you even know how to treat a wound?!"
"Of course I do, I can treat any silly wound, no matter how big or how stupid!"
"You're one to talk about stupid wounds.."
"What was that?"
"..Nothing, just help me stop the blood.", she sighed.
For once he hadn't been lying, he'd managed to quickly dress the wound in the spare bandage Hungary had kept on her person (just in case, you know) and rinsed her arm in the creek. After they were both well rested, they decided to stop in for a bit of a refresher.
"Come on Hungary, don't be a chicken, get in the water!"
"N-No! It's not proper..I-I am a lady!"
"Maybe you were a lady in Austria's place, but here, you are Hungary, mighty warrior, defender of all that is good! Am I right? Of course I am right! Now get naked!"
THUD!
Well, it was apparent that Hungary was still able to injure the poor fool more than his enemies ever could.
Despite that, she took his advice and stripped down to her shorts. Besides, without anything fully developed, she supposed she had nothing to worry about..At least, for now. So long as someone didn't get handsy..
"The water feels nice."
"I know, it's awesome!"
"You think everything is awesome."
"Only because I invented awesome."
"That is a lie."
"It is not a lie, you were there."
"That is not true!"
"But it is not a lie either!"
"That didn't even make sense!", she huffed.
Before returning whatever insult he'd thrown at her (she'd stopped listening) she decided to dip more than a toe or two in the water. Soon, up to her ankles, she watched as the water sparkled in a shimmering imagine of her reflection, distorted by the water ripples. It really was a beautiful sight, she smiled to herself as a fish swam past her foot.
Splash!
"You did not just splash me!"
"Of course I did, I am awe-! That is not fair!"
"All is fair in war!"
"Nein, I am awesome!"
"I told you not to say it!", she rolled her eyes as she splashed him once more, this time, harder.
He returned the favor, drenching her shorts to the core..
"Bastard!", she exclaimed as she pinned him down in the tiny creek, water covering the length of his legs as his chest, torso, and everything above remained atop the water.
They laughed like that for a while as he began to hopelessly fight back, drawing even more of a reaction out of the poor, exhausted girl. She wasn't sure why she was laughing back then before her wounds had cleansed, but now she was sure..This was happiness, this was fun, this was freedom..
It seemed that only then it had dawned on her that this is perhaps what Prussia had been talking about..The freedom to run around, jump, crawl, get her hands dirty, everything her little heart desire be it violence or softer desires.
"See Hungary? Isn't this fun? You should thank the awesome me for showing you such a good time."
"In your dreams, being a house wife is just as much fun as anything we could have done today!", she lied.
"What do you mean could have done? We still have plenty of time! Now hop to your feet and dry off, prepare for another invasion!"
"Another one? Are you out of your mind?!"
"Am I out of my mind? Of course not! I am awesome! Really, how could you have forgotten this much? Don't you remember how often the Cumans would invade? We are never safe, now prepare yourself! This will not be a pretty fight and once again the awesome Prussia will have an opportunity to save your place once again!"
"Oh shut it!", she huffed as she stepped out of the water, dressing herself in dry clothes that had quickly dampened once they'd reached contact with her soaked shorts.
He followed suit, tugging on his dingy clothes before proudly stating he was awesome.
Nothing new, really.
It was then that they'd begun to relax, nearly hand in hand as they walked side by side on their way across the large hill that led to the castle in which they were both determined to defend. However, chatter hadn't consisted of bickering and as much uneasiness that usually followed prior to battles. Instead, they remained in soft unspoken laughter, chatting about this and that which was completely unimportant. Even in this state of mind, they reminisced.
It was only as they approached the castle, that they'd drawn to an eerie silence.
"Something is wrong."
Prussia simply nodded, focus for once evident in his burning red eyes. They stuck side by side, swords in hand.
"Approach slowly.", she whispered, "We are not alone."
"I know.", he whispered as well, "When are we going to attack though. They are no match for us!"
"You are the one who is forgetting something Prussia. Do you not remember how small we were as children? We barely reached their knees! We've always had an army to back us up, with no help whatsoever we are powerless, don't you understand?!"
"I get it, I get it. You aren't as awesome as me and you are afraid to admit it.."
"Prussia, what happens if we are injured in this dream?"
"I don't know, I assume the wound will follow us to the real world but I don't believe we will die"
"That is good..Well, not good, but it is..", she sighed as she took a deep breath, never loosening her grip, "It is better than nothing."
"You're right."
"PRUSSIA, LOOK OUT!"
Without so much as another word, she jumped in front of the boy, tackling him to the ground as an arrow flew right past his head.
"I don't think you would recover from a wound like that.", she huffed.
His eyes were wide with fear and anger, "Nobody pulls a cheap stunt like that, who do they think they are! This is our dream, not theirs!"
"We have no choice Prussia, we have to run!"
"We cannot run, we saved your house in the past and we will do it again!"
"I am telling you Prussia, this is a bad idea!"
"It is not a bad idea, Hungary, just think about it for a-"
"No, I am fed up with your lies! You think you can save my place but you cannot. You cannot do anything without help. That is the reason your country dissolved, Prussia, you are incapable of fighting!"
Silence rang through the air with a harsh glint, similar to that of a sharp knife. In comparison, the words hurt no less.
"Fine.", he sighed, dangerously lowering his voice, "I try to be awesome for you and help, but all you care about is Mr. Austria, isn't it? You just want to go back to him and live your life as a lonely house wive..Have you ever thought about me since that day, Hungary? The day you married him..The day I lost you as a friend?"
"What are you talking about? I've been your friend all along.."
"No, you have been around, but you haven't been a friend. Both of you have pushed me away and none of you bat an eye until the day I dissolved! I try to surprise you with a gift and you repay me by telling me how lame I am!"
"I never said that!"
"You didn't have to say it, you crap-wad!"
"Don't call me a crap-wad!"
"Say I'm awesome!"
"You are not awesome, Prussia, why are you so full of yourself!"
"Why are you so stubborn?!"
"Why can't you just admit that you're weak!"
"Why can't you just admit that you missed me?!"
The suddenty of another arrow hitting the ground right near their feet awoken them both, breaking the deadly tension.
"We have no time for this.", he huffed, "Hungary, I will fight with or without you!"
She lowered her sword as she eyes him harshly, "It looks like you will fight alone, then."