Ok...this was also inspired by one of the discussions in the "who is your fav. historical figure" debate.
If you haven't seen the movie "Amadeus" yet, you might not get some of the things in here...and I'd reccomend you see it anyways. it's pretty damn good. 3
Enjoy~
Vienna-1784
Alfred took a deep breath, calming his nerves as he walked quickly down the large, elegant halls of the building. He had gotten completely lost within five minutes upon entering the building, and for the life of him, could not figure out where he was.
It was his first world meeting as an independent nation, and he certainly wanted to make a good impression. He knew he was still seen as a joke, a backwater hick with his head in the clouds, and wanted to prove to Europe and the rest of the world that the new precedent that his people and government were setting could and would succeed. His dearest leaders had spent hours mercilessly drilling various etiquettes and traditions into him, and Martha, Abby, Dolley, and Eliza had pressed many sweets, blankets, and various other presents onto him as well as tearful hugs and kisses before he left.
The aging Franklin had come with him, the mischievous spark still glimmering in his eyes despite his age, but he had been called off to other affairs once they had arrived in Austria, leaving Alfred to fend for himself. Determined to navigate the crowded streets of Vienna, Alfred had been able to find the meeting place just fine. However, once he was inside the magnificent building, he realized that he had no idea where to go.
They didn't have buildings like this in America, but that wasn't to say that Alfred had never been inside such a structure. When he was still under Ar-no, Britain's control, he had been dragged to a number of European affairs (as a trophy, he bitterly reminded himself…nothing more), but had always been ridiculously uncomfortable by the stiff formal and luxurious decadence of many of the parties.
The meeting started in approximately half an hour, and while Alfred had time, he had no idea where to go. Showing up late to his first meeting would certainly leave a bad impression, and he did not want to give Britain another reason to poke fun at him. Running a hand through his blonde hair and growling slightly in frustration, he quickened his pace, all but running through the magnificent halls. Goddamn Austria, no, Europe, for their ridiculously ornate and seemingly pointless structures! Everything was so confusing…nothing like back home.
As he rounded another corner, he let out a soft sigh of relief. There was a man in the hall, seated in a rather ornate (like everything else in the building) chair. He was young, perhaps in his mid-twenties, and was dressed in a rather elegant beige coat. He was smiling to himself, watching the wine in his glass swirl around, a deep and brilliant red. However, what struck Alfred as odd was the color of his powdered wig. Instead of the usual white that nearly every official in Europe seemed to wear, it was, well, pink.
Deciding he really had nothing to lose, Alfred approached the young man tentatively, "Um…excuse me?"
The man looked up, clearly surprised at the sight of another, "Oh. Hello there!" he said, his face splitting into a large grin, "I thought I was alone in the hall. Can I help you?"
"Um..yes." Alfred said tentatively, fumbling with the heavy coat he wore, uncomfortable in such formal attire, "Um. Well, I'm completely lost, and I was wondering if you could help me."
"Of course," the man said, standing up, the wine glass in one hand, "It's easy to get lost in these giant halls. I know I was certainly lost when I first came here!"
Alfred smiled, and laughed politely, nodding. However, the man clearly did not share his sentiment, for he frowned, cocking his head slightly as he stared at Alfred.
"Um…" Alfred blushed, uncomfortable with the man's stare, "Is…is something the matter?"
"Your laugh"
"Ah…is something wrong with it?" Alfred asked, fidgeting.
"Yes!" the man cried, throwing up his hands in the air, "You can't laugh like that!"
"Well then how am I supposed to laugh?" Alfred replied, confused.
"Well, when you're laughing, you're happy right?" the man said, smiling, "So show the world that you're happy! There isn't enough happiness in the world, so when you're happy, you should spread it around. Laugh loudly, show that you're happy! A little tittering won't do that!"
Alfred stared at the man, "Laugh…loudly?"
"Of course!"
"Well…I do laugh loudly, but you're not supposed to laugh too loudly in formal settings…"
"And why not?"
"Because then you end up looking obnoxious and bringing too much attention to yourself?"
"Pah" the man said, shaking his head, "Who cares what anyone else thinks? Come, think about it. If you're something special, and you know it, then the rest of the world can go to hell! As for attention, well a little attention never hurt anyone."
"But…" Alfred said, confused by the man's strange mentality.
"Come, I'm sick and tired of all these fake smiles I've seen of late." The man waved a hand impatiently, "There's only so much a man can take of this aristocracy, and I've been around them my entire life."
"Are you an aristocrat?"
"Me?" the man snorted, "No. I'm just a humble composer. The best in Europe, but some people don't recognize talent when they see it. Either way, you need to improve your laugh, boy. Happiness is fleeting and when we're happy, we need to make the most of it. So laugh loudly when you're happy."
Alfred couldn't help but smile at the man's declaration, and seeing his smile, the man's grin widened, "See? Smiling isn't that hard. It's just the laughing part that you need to work on." With that, the man let out a high pitched series of giggles, causing Alfred to jump.
"That was your laugh…?" Alfred asked. The man seemed to find the expression on Alfred's face amusing, for he doubled over, his giggles echoing off the walls. There was no refinement in his laughter, nothing like the snide giggles of the European elite that Alfred had become accustomed to expecting while in this part of the world. Watching him, Alfred couldn't help a small smile spread across his face. As the man's laughter continued, Alfred found it contagious, and let out a small snort that soon bloomed into an all-out giggle-fest, similar to the man's. There wasn't anything particularly funny, but the ability to smile, to laugh after all that he had been through, after being battered by so many tumultuous emotions from his Revolution just felt wonderful. To finally just throw it out the window and let it all loose…Alfred hadn't felt this relaxed in ages.
Their laughter bounced around the halls, a high-pitched cacophony of sound. Alfred was nearly doubled over, snorting and giggling as the man did the same.
After calming down, the man straightened up, still smiling, "See? Was that bad?"
Alfred finally managed to regain his composition, also grinning, "No, no..that was wonderful. Thank you."
"It was nothing" the man replied, "You'll have more time later to perfect your laugh. Now. I believe you were lost?"
Suddenly remembering the meeting, Alfred started, "Ah, yes! I'm terribly sorry, but there's this meeting I must get to."
"Hm. Well there's a meeting two hallways down that's due to start soon…perhaps that is what you're looking for? It's the only meeting in this building today, so I couldn't imagine what other meetings you could be attending." The man smiled, "There's going to be an after-party. I'm playing there so perhaps I'll see you again?"
"Perhaps" Alfred nodded, "If not, it's been a pleasure meeting you."
"The same goes for you." The man responded, "And remembers to work on your laugh. Laugh loudly, and laugh often."
Alfred finally found the meeting hall, and ran inside, relieved to see that many of the other nations had not taken their seats yet.
"America!"
Looking up, he smiled at the two nations approaching him. One he quickly recognized, an involuntary shudder passing through him as he remembered the brutal training that this particular nation inflicted upon him.
"Still scared I'll whip your ass boy?" Gilbert asked, his red eyes glittering in amusement as he noticed Alfred's reaction.
"That was some terrible training you put me through" Alfred grumbled, looking to the side, "Can you blame me?"
Gilbert let out a loud laugh, ignoring the scandalized look that the nation accompanying him shot him. Alfred didn't recognize the other one; he was dressed in the elegant style of European aristocracy, wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, and had a little mole by the corner of his mouth.
"America" Gilbert finally said, calming down, "This is Austria. His human name's Roderick. He's the one hosting this waste of time today."
"It's a very important world meeting, thank you very much, Prussia" Roderick replied disdainfully, "And you, like nearly everyone else here would do well to take such things very seriously."
"Whatever, pretty boy" Gilbert laughed, swinging an arm over Roderick's shoulders, "Come on, loosen up a little. You certainly weren't this uptight last night, if you know what I mean…"
Roderick instantly tensed up, turning a brilliant shade of red, "You-!"
Before Roderick could finish his statement however, he was interrupted. Something large and metallic went flying over Alfred's shoulder, straight into Gilbert's face. The white-haired nation instantly fell backwards, bleeding heavily.
Alfred turned around slowly, shocked at seeing Gilbert (whom he had considered basically invincible, especially after seeing him on the battlefield) taken down in a single blow. The perpetrator of the mysterious flying object stood there hands on her hips and face flushed in triumph.
"That'll teach that pig" she crowed, stalking over to where the threesome stood (with the obvious exception of Gilbert, who was still out cold on the ground). Alfred instinctively backed away as the woman approached, and she breezed by him, a smirk evident on her face.
She was pretty, Alfred supposed, with thick brown hair and a nice figure. However, after what he had seen, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted anything to do with her.
"Liza…did you have to knock him out?" Roderick said, his face in his hands.
"He was too close" the woman, Liza, responded, pouting slightly, "And please, don't tell me that you weren't tempted to do that yourself." She said, kicking the unconscious Gilbert with her foot.
She finally seemed to notice Alfred, for she directed her attention to him, "Hello, you." Then to Roderick, "Who's this?"
"America."
"Ohhh…" recognition dawned upon her face, "You! You must have been desperate to get away from England. You asked France, Spain, and this pile of shit to help you, right?"
Alfred nodded wordlessly, still too frightened by the woman to say anything. She let out a low whistle and shook her head, "Damn. Those three are total asses alone…how were you able to put up with them together?"
"Um…I didn't really have much of a choice."
"They didn't ask you to do anything did they…? You're cute…I don't think I'd mind seeing that…"
"What do you mean by "anything"?" Alfred asked, uncomfortably. Was it just him or had a strange glint appeared in Liza's eyes?
"Liza. That's enough." Roderick finally interrupted, saving Alfred, "Don't go scarring the poor boy."
Liza frowned, straightening, "Fine" she sighed, putting her hands on her hips, "I'm surprised you were able to find this room though. This building's horribly confusing, especially, I'd imagine, to someone like you."
"Ah. Well, it was difficult, but I had help"
"Help?" Roderick asked.
"Yea. there was this man with a pink wig on here who helped me."
"Pink…wig…?"
"Um. Yes." Alfred nodded, "He said he was a composer and would be performing at the after-party tonight."
"Oh." Realization flooded Roderick's face, "Oh. Him."
"Wait, wait, is it Wolfie!" Liza was grinning at Roderick, who if anything seemed to become more uncomfortable. When he didn't respond she pointed at him, laughing, "It is Wolfie, isn't it? Aww~you invited him to play at our after-party? That's so sweet!"
"He's a brilliant musician!" Roderick cried, "Nothing more!"
"Uh-huh" Liza replied, smirking, "Right. And those hours that you talk on and on about him mean nothing at all. "You should listen to his latest piece!" or how about, "Did you hear that piano? Beautiful. Just beautiful." Admit it. You would marry the man if you could."
"I have a deep respect for his music!" Roderick cried, "He's insufferable, I tell you! He…he writes just such breathtaking pieces…oh god. You should hear his melodies…just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And then the man himself! He's…he's such an arrogant child! That laugh, that insufferable laugh."
"Bet you come from his pieces" Liza muttered, smirking.
"I do not."
Alfred watched the pair bickering, thinking back to the strange man, "If you don't mind me asking…what was his name…?"
"Just call him Wolfie" Liza teased, "Roderick does behind his back, isn't that right?"
"It's Mozart" Roderick replied, choosing to ignore Liza's question, "He's an insufferable child, but good god, a complete genius."
"Really?" Alfred asked, frowning, "I rather liked him."
"His laugh. Have you heard that man's laugh?"
"Yes." Alfred smiled, not really noticing the look of horror that spread across Roderick's face, "I think he had the most interesting take on it…Perhaps I should try to imitate it…"
Alfred's attention was soon caught by France waving at him across the room. After excusing himself from Roderick, Liza, and the unconscious Gilbert, he hurried across the room to where his ally waited.
"Good god" Roderick muttered, staring after the young nation's back, "He said he's going to imitate it…"
"Indeed he did" Liza nodded.
"What have I done" Roderick moaned, "Oh god Mozart…why?!"
Alfred's laugh, high pitched and sporadic soon sounded across the room.
And that is the story of how America's laugh became so fucking annoying. If you haven't seen "amadeus", I would recommend youtubing "Amadeus laughter" to get an idea of what Mozart sounded like...and the pink wig. XD
Oh and "Martha, Abby, Dolley, and Eliza" were the wives, respectively, of Washington, Adams, Madison, and Hamilton. Franklin and Jefferson's wives were already dead at this point.
The way i see Mozart and Austria's realtionship is...strange. I think Austria was COMPLETELY in love with him b/c of his music, but since Austria's all "aristocratic" and proper wheras mozart was most certianly NOT, he kinda wanted to strangle him at the same time..i don't really ship those two mainly b/c i think mozart's just too cute with his wife. plus, mozart (despite his constant flirting) stayed true to her throughout their marriage. So sorry Austria . XD
Mozart at this time had essentially told his former employer (the Archbishop of Salzburg) to fuck off, despite his father's constant efforts to smooth over any mistakes his son made. He went to Vienna in his "Golden Years" (1782-1786) where he became a freelance composer. He refused to take on any wealthy patrons and just wrote music. (he was hoping for a court position but wasn't able to get it...) This time period is where Mozart finally achieved recognition, but unfortunately, not financial stability (which he never really did have...) he was honestly horribly arrogant and enjoyed living well beyond his means...he also met and married his dear wife (even though he was after her sister first) during this period.
Anywho. That was fun to write. I was in the middle of playing "Ronda Alla Turka" when I was just like "screw it. i can't play a piece by mozart when this piece is just SITTING in the back of my mind.."so i ditched the piano and did this instead!
feedback is always love~3