Ivan told her not to touch the crops. Ivan told her not to touch the crops. Ivan told her not to the touch the crops.

Ivan was telling her to kill her people.

"Anastasiya, sister." Belarus eyed the basket in her sister's arms, her eyes weary and strained. "Brother Ivan told us not to touch the crops."

A sigh, and then a reply. "Natasha, I know, but it's alright, just don't tell Brother."

Belarus simply stares as her sister picks the crops, carefully choosing the ones she believes are the best. Belarus watches as her sister gets up and leaves, waving a silent goodbye. Belarus doesn't wave back, her hands are kept locked in front of her, she glances as the crops then back to the ground.

Ukraine wondered if Belarus knew the extent to what was going on, what was happening to her people and how bad it was. She left Belarus to stare off into the field, she left her sister to wonder who was in the wrong.

Her eyes stung, she hadn't eaten in days. Maybe weeks, she doesn't remember, the only crops she'd been picking were for her people. The very few crops she was able to pick and fit into her basket. She walks, her head lowered and her eyes shifting. She could hear the sound of the wind and babies crying. The sounds of adults worrying and the older children suffering.

-------

She ghosts through the town, trying her best to bite away tears. Her eyes have gone weak and she lets them go, but keeps walking. She doesn't sit and cry, because she's a Nation. Nations don't sit and cry for their people, they go and help them.

She visits a different family every time, a different family with the same problem.

"He's gotten so small, he's weak." Ukraine blinks away tears as she listens to the small woman. "I try scraping up the best I can, but it's never enough. He's gotten into the habit of not eating to save for bigger meals. I'm afraid... afraid I'm going to lose my child."

Something yanks at her heartstrings. Seeing the boy, so thin, fragile, like glass, just sitting there. He wasn't supposed to be sitting, he's supposed to be out, playing with others and laughing and talking.

"I'm sorry." that's all she can say, that's all Ukraine could ever say. All she can do is apologize and feed them, the best she can.

She's so sorry she let it get so far.

The boy looks at her, with hallow eyes and a thin frame, so very thin. He walks up to her slowly and takes the basket, opening it with time. Ukraine can see a change of expression as his lips weakly curve upward.

"Thank you."

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A few days later Ukraine is back down on her knees, carefully picking the crops, watching for which she thinks are the best. She doesn't hear the footsteps heading towards her.

"Anastasiya."

Anastasiya picks herself off of her knees, turning around.

It's Natasha.

She stares at her younger sister, who stands there with her hands locked behind her back, her eyes straight forward as she stares holes right through her older sister.

Anastasiya bites her lip, thinking the worst is coming. She told Ivan, she told Ivan, she told Ivan.

"Big sister. I want to help."

Natasha holds out a basket, her expression doesn't change, but the tone of her voice does.

"May I?"

Anastasiya smiles, motioning towards the crops. "Of course, little sister."

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written for the kink meme as well.

last night, i found myself reading about Holodomor ( .org/wiki/Holodomor ) which was basically a terrible famine that hit Soviet Ukraine in the years of 1932-33. Ukraine had a good harvest in '32, but Soviet policies prevented them from eating them. which then lead into the famine known as Holodomor, where millions of Ukrainians died of hunger.

also, Голодомор is Ukrainian for "death by starvation."

and yeah, i named Ukraine "Anastasiya." i just pulled up and picked out a name i really liked. she was going to be Nataliya, but i thought that it was too similar to "Natasha." :P

enjoy~

anyway, although i'm posting this second, this was written WAY before And We All Say, "Allah is the Greatest!" obviously, so yeah. just wanted to point that out.