Tears trickle down my cheeks as I watch him take away my, our son. Had my independence really been worth this? Had all this fighting been worth losing the one person I cherished above all else? As I stood there questioning why everything had to come to this a cheer rose up from my people. Never in my long life had I ever anticipated this. Sure Arthur and I hated each other but we understood each other and at times deeply respected each other. But this, stealing away my son in exchange for the one thing I wanted more in the entire world, this was the final straw. We could never see eye to eye again, we were enemies. As my friends gathered around me to shake my hand and to celebrate our new found freedom I could still feel my sons warmth lingering in my arms, I could still smell him and feel his little breaths on my neck. Reaching up to touch the place on my chest were he always lay his head when I held him I could feel dampness. Had he been crying? Did he know that it was probably the last time we would see each other for a very long time? Did he know his father was now stealing him away just to spite me? I struggled to keep up with my thoughts when suddenly blackness.

I awoke in an unfamiliar room. It was large, dimly lit and very well furnished. A nurse sat on the chair beside my bed but she had drifted off to sleep. I slowly crept out of the large four poster bed and made my way to the window to find out I was in Arthurs' old Dublin mansion. People were celebrating in the gardens outside and fireworks were going off everywhere. I was so captivated by this that I failed to notice someone enter the room. "Beautiful, isn't it?" a charming French voice whispered in my ear. Starting I jumped around grabbing the nearest object I could find to hit the intruder with. "Wait stop! C'est moi!" he shouted. My eyes widened in surprise as I recognised who it was. Francis. Without thinking I threw myself into his arms and broke down into tears. Unable to hold myself upright anymore, I let my entire weight fall on him as my body convulsed with sobs and he slowly moved to sit us on the floor. I don't know how long we stayed like that but he refused to let me go until I had stopped crying, regardless of how much I hit him and vented my fury into his arms. "Are you alright now mon petit fleur?" he asked when I fell silent. "Why did he have to take him?" I croaked, my voice hoarse from crying. Francis remained silent for a while, slowly breathing trying to find an answer "I do not know", he eventually replied. Pushing myself free I tried to stand up and leave the room, but instead my legs gave way and I fell hard on the wooden floor. I tried again to lift myself to my feet but my legs had lost all strength and I was forced to stay lying on the cold floor. Francis watched me for a few seconds no doubt pitying me before he got up and then lifted me into his arms and carried me over to the bed. It was then that I noticed the nurse was gone.

"The nurse that was here, where did she go?" I whispered, my voice still harsh and it hurt too much to talk. "Nurse?" Francis replied sounding slightly shocked "There wasn't a nurse in here with you." "There was one, she was sleeping on that ch-chair once I woke up. Sh- she was wearing a white uniform and had bl- blonde hair", I stammered. I knew that I was in shock but there was no way I could have been delusional. Francis looked at me worriedly and put his hand to my forehead and looked straight in my eyes to check if I was sick. "Get off me", I grumbled "I might have been through a lot today but I am not insane or sick, I know what I saw!" He then moved away, sitting on the side of the bed. He shuffled slightly and kept watching me carefully, piercing me with his icy blue eyes. "If you say she was there, then I will believe you. But you must know you have been unconscious for a week now and yes, your people did have a doctor check your health a few times. Once I got here however I sent him away as we both know human doctors cannot help us." He stated. "Can you tell me what she looked like then? In better detail of course." He continued, waiting for an answer. I closed my eyes trying to recollect exactly what she looked like. My memories were fuzzy and the image of her kept flickering in my mind, constantly shifting appearance and making it hard for me to pin down one detail about her apart from her uniform and hair. "She had blonde hair" I started "and wore a white uniform, I think she had loads of freckles or she was very tanned. I can't really remember too well. She had darker eyebrows though, that I do remember and I think there was something else odd about them but I can't quite place my finger on it. Oh and she was skinny, or maybe just a little plump. Why can't I remember who was sitting there on that chair once I woke up?" I sighed defeated. How could my memory fail me at such a time? Was I too stressed or did I need more rest? I put my head in my hands and leaned forward on the bed, trying desperately to remember the nurse, but the more I tried the more she seemed to fade from my mind. Suddenly a crash from outside the door broke the silence. Agitated, Francis marched across the room and threw the door open to find two men lying on the floor in fits of giggles. "Sor-sror-sorry to make sho mush noishe" one of them slurred, using the door frame he moved himself off his friend and propped himself upright. Still swaying slightly on his feet, he looked down on his friend and burst out laughing claiming that he was king of alcohol and his friend has to buy him drinks from now on. "James ya gobshite, what maksh you think you are king of drink?" his friend whined. "Cause I'm.. I'm still standing Sean!" he remarked victoriously. "Oh aye you are, but only cause that door is there" James answered making his way to his feet, "move away from that now and see how long it takes till ya fall flat on yer arse". It was like watching a toddler on ice, both men stood watching the ground very carefully, trying not to fall whilst also trying to make the other fall.

This continued for a while until Francis cleared his throat and they both suddenly became aware of our presence. "Now if you don't mind mes amies, can you kindly leave now or I will have to call someone to get rid of you. As you can see the lady needs to rest." He informed them gesturing towards me. They stared dumbfounded at him for a minute before realising what he had said and then turned their heads in my direction, they caught my gaze for a few seconds before Francis grabbed them by the arms and dragged them down the hall. "Ma'am we're sorry for the dishruption", came a shout from further down the hall which was swiftly followed by a loud thump and an ouch. This was quickly followed by a lot of shouting and a group of guards running down to the door and apologising for letting the drunks past them. They looked terrified and I tried to hide a smirk as they whimpered when Francis returned and then closed the door after him.

"Do I have to ask what you did to them?" I asked teasingly, suddenly feeling a little better. He hit me with his best puppy eyes and pout and simply claimed he did what was needed for my safety. "Now where were we before those 'men' interupted?" he continued, pausing "Oui, we were discussing the nurse who was in here." I sighed as I once again tried and failed to gather my thoughts on the nurse, "I'm not sure anymore... I think maybe it was the stress of this independence? Maybe I just dreamt I saw a nurse?" I answered, secretly hoping this was the case, but deep down I knew something was blocking her from my memories. "Well, if that is what you think then there is not much we can do, is there?" Francis smiled encouragingly at me, "but, it does worry me that there were no guards on this corridor for a while. You must now organise your men otherwise Arthur will try and take you for his own again, and I cannot let that happen." He stared at me, his eyes full of rage, determination and longing. My breath hitched in my chest at this, I stared at him for a few moments completely taken aback by how much one look had affected me. Under Arthurs rule I was essentially kept under house arrest since the famine as he feared what I would do once I was given the chance. He was right to in the end, for as soon as he turned his back I had found enough power and courage to start a revolution and force him to give me independence. But even with all the hurt he had caused me I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had given me enough space to see that my people had what they needed. Would we have come to a mutual agreement and not end up hating each other, but now I was the same as Alfred to him; a traitor and someone who stabbed him in the back. This thought hurt me so much that I had to fight back the tears that were threatening to start again. A sudden hand on my shoulder forced me out of my daze and I looked up to see Francis sitting very close to me and looking straight into my emerald eyes with his crystal blue ones. He looked worried and pulled me into a hug. "It's ok to cry, I know how much he hurt you and I will help you get over this," he whispered softly into my ear as he pulled away, once again holding my gaze. He smiled softly at me, making my heart jump slightly. Regardless of his words however I felt that I had cried enough over a man who had driven me to insanity, starvation and back. I had fought in so many wars thanks to him and made many enemies who I wished were friends. Blinking back the tears I tried to focus my thoughts on the future and how I could become a new nation with good connections and remove myself from fighting forever.

"Francis," I started uncertainly "I think I have cried enough over him. I think I want to start making a new life for my people and make more allies who will actually help me and not abandon me when I need them. I want to stand strong and be proud and defend others from nations like Arthur. I want.. I want to stand on my own and see everyone who I had to abandon again. I want to see Alfred, Christian* and Matthew. I want to talk to Angus* and not have to worry about Arthur getting jealous. I just want to... I just want to be someone who makes everyone who helped me proud. I want to make you proud because you helped me so much." I felt myself smiling as I said those words, for the first time in a long time I felt like I was finally myself and I could become a nation worth all the trouble everyone went through. Francis instantly pulled me into another hug and when I tried to pull away he refused to let me go. We stayed like that for a while until he eventually pulled away and kissed me on the forehead. "That is the Fianna* I know, now use that fire to build a nation that will stand strong against your opponents. Or I might have to claim you for myself." He added teasingly with a wink before turning towards the door. "You might want to rest more now as I am sure the next few weeks will be exhausting," he called as he closed the door behind him. Leaving me alone to contemplate on the future that lay ahead of me. I smiled as I pulled the blankets around me and drifted off into a dreamless sleep free from all the worries that had plagued me before. The nurse completely forgotten.

A woman left the mansion sometime after dawn, she had snuck out through the staff entrance and was staying to the shadows. Ignoring the pouring rain she walked out onto the street and made her way towards the docks. If anyone looked at her they could have sworn she was happy to be walking in the rain as her face was fixed into a huge smile, but her eyes were red and the rain hid the tears that fell mercilessly from her eyes. She turned a corner and disappeared, replaced by a man with startling green eyes, bushy eyebrows and crippled by pain. A man ripped apart once again by someone who he hated to love but did nonetheless.

*Christian = Australia

*Angus = Scotland

*Fianna, pronounced Fee-ina. The name of a legendary group of Celtic warriors led by Fionn Mac Cumhail, in which both men and women fought side by side. They are among the most famous figures from Celtic mythology. It's not a common Irish name for girls, but given Ireland's history and how I think it is a pretty name for a girl I think it fits.

This is based just after Ireland got Independence and I wanted to do a story with my own Ireland and how she reacted to getting Northern Ireland taken away (who the baby is at the start).