Summary: Post Berlin Wall/Pre Unification. Gilbert struggles with what might become of him. Help arrives in the unlikeliest of places.
Disclaimer: I own no countries, nor their personifications. I suppose Lotte is mine, but the riddle is not.
Little Lotte is Fond of Prussia
Gilbert sat down on the bench, letting the dogs run loose into the park. He knew they wouldn't go far, having been well-trained by West. The dogs had taken to him quickly and he figured there would be no trouble letting them off their leashes. They were normal dogs with short life spans, something he had questioned. West said it helped him keep a perspective. Although Gilbert understood, since being nearly immortal could make you forget that your people weren't, he had a slight feeling that West was still punishing himself by having pets that would die. Gilbird, as well as Finland's dog and Canada's polar bear, was as immortal as his master.
Tightening his coat against the winter chill, he frowned. He had offered to take the dogs out for an afternoon run, but really it was he who needed the break. Having only been home a week – a week?? – he was going crazy. He was thrilled to be back with his brother, but Ivan's reach was long and the silverette was still suffering. He had refused to take a scarf or hat, and if he never saw another scarf before he finally died it would be too soon. His pale cheeks were sunken with hunger and dark circles lined his eyes. He was finally able to relax and heal, but his people and land still needed more time.
Time he wasn't sure he had with them. This brought his thoughts full circle, back to his reason for the walk in the first place. The German Unification. His country had been dissolved into Germany when the war started, and land split up, but he had hung on as East Germany. But no one was quite sure what would happen to him with the official unification. He could disappear, be absorbed into West along with his people. He might be able to survive, after all the Italy brothers shared their country.
Before his dash for freedom along with the dogs, they had been talking about it. Roderich had pointed out that when he was young, he had been attached to the Teutonic Knights, who had no official land. Maybe he could do it again? It was a nice thought, but he figured it would only work so long as people remembered being Prussian or East German. If the people remembered suffering.
He sighed, reaching down to pet one of the dogs that had wandered back.
"Herr Gilbert?"
He looked up, a young voice startling him from his thoughts. It took him a moment to place the speaker. Brown hair in 2 plaits, she looked about 10. She was wearing jeans and a warm coat. Women in pants were still a rather new concept for him. With him sitting, they were eye-level. A soft smile graced his hollow features.
"Little Lotte. Did you find your family?" They had met last year behind the wall, during a moment he had escaped Ivan to stare at it, thinking of his little brother. Upon learning her name, he had taught her the Little Lotte riddle until her parents fetched her.
Her cheeks, pink from the cold, lifted as she smiled and pointed down the path with a gloved hand. He could see her parents along with what looked like aunts, uncles, and grandparents. He sent them a small smile in greeting as they were watching the two closely. He didn't blame them.
"I see. I'm happy for you, Little Lotte."
"Did you find your brother, Herr Gilbert?"
"I did. I am happy too. These are his dogs." His smile widened as she patted the one at their feet.
"Herr Gilbert, you look tired. Are you sick?"
"Perhaps. I had it rough behind the wall. I am not sure how much longer I will last or if anyone will even notice once I'm gone." The tiredness crept back into his voice and he drew his eyes from her as her smile turned to a pout.
"Oh, please don't say that! Surely your brother will miss you, he must love you and missed you all these years! He will be sad, I'm sure. And the dogs, they seem to like you. And I will miss you! Please, take this. It's my favorite flower." She revealed the flower clutched in her other hand. It was a wild cornflower, somehow still blooming in the winter weather.
Taking the flower carefully, Gilbert was sure the surprise showed on his face. Another shock came when Lotte threw her arms around his neck in a fierce hug. As she drew back, she whispered, "I will never forget you, Herr Gilbert." She smiled again and skipped off back to her family, plaits swinging.
Gilbert stared at the flower in his hand. A new determination filled him, a spark of hope in his heart, that he will last. Even if the only one who keeps him alive is his Little Lotte.
Standing, Gilbert whistled for the dogs and quickly headed home. Arriving, he drew a concerned Ludwig and Roderich into a tight hug.
The cornflower gained a vase and place of honor on Gilbert's desk, and bloomed as long as its master lived.
~End~
~Explanations~
Herr – German for Mister
Little Lotte is an old Victorian English game, similar to Twenty Questions, where one person knows the answer, and other people try to guess it. But in this case, the person lists three items, and the others must guess which of the three Little Lotte prefers. The secret is hinted at by the name of the game -- Little Lotte prefers items with double consonants in their names, ie dolls, riddles, Prussia, etc. I'm not sure how well it would translate into German or if they played in English, but I went with it. Lotte, in German, means free.
Cornflower – The blue cornflower is also one of the national flowers of Germany. This is partly due to the story that when Queen Louise of Prussia was fleeing Berlin and pursued by Napoleon's forces, she hid her children in a field of cornflowers and kept them quiet by weaving wreaths for them from the flowers. The flower thus became identified with Prussia, not least because it was the same color as the Prussian military uniform. After the unification of Germany in 1875, it went on to become a symbol of the country as a whole.