Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

The black woods seemed even more ominous to him now than when he was a child. It wasn't called that by humans, not anymore. It was part of the boreal forest in northern Canada. Few people came here and Canada was one of them. There was one main reason that Canada was back here now. He had visited the fairies in this place every few months ever since he was a small child. Long before he had even met France.

It was they who ended up healing the small polar bear cub that he had found while wandering north. The fairies had followed him almost everywhere those days. They had been the ones to bind Kumajirou to Canada. At the time, Canada hadn't understood why they had done so. He glanced at the polar bear that was making its way beside him. In the centuries that had passed since then, he had found his answer. Canada let a smile grace his lips as his oldest friend stared blankly at him.

"Who?"

"Canada, Kumachi."

"Oh." Then. "Kumajirou"

"Sorry," Canada mumbled.

They reached the last clearing before the fairy haven. The sun shone through the campus overhead. The sheer size of the trees did not allow any air movement so it felt unnaturally warm. Sweat trickled down Matthew's brow and he brushed it off with the back of his hand. He glanced around the clearing and frowned. There were tons of wildflowers... where were the fairies?

Matthew stepped forward hesitantly past the clearing and right into the fairy ring. He sighed in relief as he saw the fairies dancing around in the trees and the familiar circle of purple mushrooms with white spots. He turned his eyes to where they were congregating.

"Canada!" several little voices called in greeting. Some fluttered around his head and landed on his shoulders. Matthew smiled at them and then turned his attention to a figure sitting in the middle of the clearing.

"A-Arthur?"

"Oh. Hello Matthew," England replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit my friends," Canada replied. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't supposed to arrive for another couple of days!"

England ignored all of this. "You can see them?"

Canada stared at him. "Of course I can. Who do you think gave me Kumajirou?"

"I always figured that it was the bloody frog who gave you him," Arthur replied. "Why didn't you tell me that you could see them?"

"I did!" Canada protested. "But half the time you don't even see me."

A shadow of guilt passed over Arthur's face. "I'm sorry, lad. It's just that Alfred was such a handful."

"I know," Matthew sighed. But what about after Alfred left? There was still time after that. Nearly a century!

"It wasn't fair to you," Arthur said. "And my preoccupation with your brother is no excuse for what I did."

"It's okay. I forgave you long ago," Matthew turned away. "So what are you doing here?"

"My friends informed me of their existence," Arthur replied. "And advised me to come meet them. I do wish your brother was able to see them."

"He can on Hallowe'en," Canada muttered under his breath. "I am the reason why he's so terrified of the supernatural."

"M-Matthew?"

Canada looked up, the evil aura that had settled around him dissipating almost immediately. The sweet colony that England had sort of known and raised looked back at him.

"Eh?"

Arthur shook his head. Maybe it was his imagination? "Nothing, my lad. Now how about you get me reacquainted with this land of yours?"

Matthew smiled, and waved a farewell to his fairy friends. He would come back and visit them later.

I just realised that all of the Hetalia stories that I have written so far have had Canada as one of the main characters...

I have a poll up and open on my profile now as I want to start a multichapter fanfiction for Hetalia soon. The summaries of the three ideas I am considering are up on my profile as well. So if you have time...

Thoughts?