England was standing on the beach, watching the waves and the bump of the distant land. Today was no different than any day, except he could see weird dark shapes floating in the water. And they were not sea dragons either, because he could talk to those. And either these ones were dead, or they were something different, something more. He waited for them to come closer.
By the time that they came close enough for England to see that they were ships, they had also come close enough to see him, if their eyes were sharp and they happened to look this way. He turned and fled behind a large rocky mound as they dipped nearer and nearer.
Finally they stopped, and smaller boats came out of their sides, and rowed up and onto the shore. Various men came out, milling about in confusion and excitement.
"Bonjour!" He heard a loud voice from his right and he jumped, throwing his fists at the unexpected person behind him.
"Non! Non!" He felt large hands batting his small fists away and pinning them together. "Tu vas déchirer ma tunique, enfante stupide!"
"I don't know what you're saying, you fiend." England began to feel tears welling up in his eyes at his fear and frustration. He hadn't even noticed this person sneaking up on him; how was he supposed to be a good country if he couldn't even keep invaders out? And to top it all he had no idea what he was saying. But the older boy in the dress seemed to understand, and his eyes softened. "Ah, je comprends. Tu ne sais pas que je dis. Mais, nous fixerons ce problème maintenant ! »
« Whaaat ? »
The strange boy pointed at himself. "France. Et toi?" he said, pointing his hand at England. He looked at himself. What did they call him again? Britannia? He didn't remember. Oh wait! He pointed at himself in triumph. "Albion… England"
France clapped his hand with glee and turned to the big obsidian next to them, pointing at it. "le rocher" he said.
"A rock" England corrected.
Francis moved closer suddenly and put an arm around England, drawing them close. He pointed two fingers at them both, and grinned. "Nous."
England blushed and ducked his head away and swore. But he said the word anyway. After all, a man who had traveled so far to see him deserved to know.
"Us."