Here we are. The third story in the Hetalia Tales series. The chapter is kind of setting the scene for the rest of the story. Hope you enjoy!

I do not own Hetalia or Disney. (Yes, it's Disney!)

Characters

Cinderella - Katyusha - Ukraine

Prince Charming - Gilbert - Prussia

Previously. In Sleeping Beauty …

"Natayla," Katyusha denied. "That's ridiculous. My affection for Ivan is as his sister. To love him any other way is unnatural. I know that and so should you."

"You want to take him from me. He is mine and I won't let you have him. We will become one and you won't stop us."

"Ty zbozhevoliv! (You are insane!)" the ukrainian gasped. "I don't want him, not like that and he won't marry you, Natayla. He thinks it's unnatural to marry your own sibling as well."

"Because you poisoned his mind against me. Well, not any more." Natayla pointed her staff at Katyusha and there was a flash of light.

Chapter 1 : A Life Begins (Again!)

Natayla had confronted Princess Katyusha in the fields that she tended with her magic so the people of her land would not starve. Katyusha did not know where Natayla's unhealthy obsession with their brother, King Ivan, had come from but it grew day by day and Katyusha seriously worried about her sister's sanity. When Natayla accused her of tempting Ivan away from her, Katyusha had tried to reasoned with her but Natayla's jealously flung her into a rage and she lashed out with a curse.

You shall start your life again

From memories of this, you shall refrain

Till you wed the man who wins your heart

Then the clouds in your mind shall depart.

Natayla walked away from the sky blue and yellow robe that her sister had been wearing that was now lying on the ground. No matter how much she had grown to hate her own sister, Natayla could not bring herself to kill her so she enacted a curse that would keep her away.

Away from Ivan.

Baron Gustav Möller loved riding through the fields of the ukrainian countryside and here the fields were particularly fertile. Vast fields of wheat grew as far as the eye could see, tended to by the Witch of the Fields, a sorceress and Princess of Ukraine who kept the yields high and the harvest bountiful. Princess Katyusha had little time for state affairs so Gustav had only met her a few times but found her to be a warm person with a big heart. Among other things.

The Baron was the ambassador from the Kingdom of Prussia who had married a local noble woman and was very happy in his life except for one thing. Both he and his wife wanted a child but to this day had not been blessed. It would be the one thing to complete both their lives and so they kept hoping.

Gustav was about to turn for home when he heard a noise. It was faint like the cry of a creature and was about to ride on when the sound came again, this time a wail and he realised that it sounded like a baby.

He dismounted and followed the noise to a bundle of clothing. He pulled some of the clothing away and there lay a baby girl with tufts of platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked around to see if he could find anyone around but the fields were deserted. The baby continued to cry and the Baron realised she was hungry.

Gustav could not leave the baby there so he wrapped the little girl up in the robe, mounted his horse and headed for home.

Upon arriving home, the Baron immediately called for milk to feed the child and, at the sound of his voice, his wife, Olena, came to see what the fuss was about.

"What's wrong, moya lyubov? (my love)" she asked. Then she saw the baby in his arms. "O! Yaka myla dytyna! (Oh! What a sweet child!)"

"A hungry child," he commented as a servant brought him a bottle, borrowed from the wife of one of the stable hands. Olena took the bottle and the baby and began to feed her. The baby contently drank the milk.

"Where did you get her?" she asked as she cuddled the child.

"I found her in the fields," Gustav replied. "I think she'd been abandoned."

"How cruel!" Olena exclaimed. She knew there was poverty and sometimes parents could not afford to feed their children but to abandon a helpless baby in a field! Then she thought for a moment.

"Could we not take her?" she asked. "We've wanted a child for so long, maybe this is our answer."

"What if her real parents are found?"

"If they abandoned her, they don't want her," Olena reasoned. "Let us give her a home and family that do." Gustav could see the light in Olena's eyes with the child and knew he could never deny her.

"What shall we call her?" he replied and Olena smiled with true happiness.

"You found her in the fields," she said. "So let's name her after the Witch of the Fields. We'll call her Katyusha!"

So Gustav and Olena adopted the baby girl and unknowingly christened her with her own name. Olena asked her closest friend to be Katyusha's godmother, an hungarian fae known as Elizaveta of the Héderváry Tribe who promised to watch over the little girl as much as she could.

A few years past and Katyusha grew into a happy little girl but when she was six, tragedy struck. Her mother was stuck down with an illness that eventually stole her life. Gustav requested to return to Prussia, unable to stay where there were so many memories, and he left the Kingdom of Ukraine and returned to his estate in his native Prussia, taking Katyusha with him.

The disappearance of Princess Katyusha caused widespread consternation and the harvests in Ukraine were not as fruitful. By strange coincidence, the land around the Möller estate became remarkably fertile.

Two years later Gustav decided to marry again, not for his own sake, but he felt little Katyusha need the care of a mother and decided to choose a widow who already had two daughters of her own, playmates for Katyusha. He soon realised he made a mistake as his new wife was dismissive of Katyusha and, while he did not see, he was sure his step-daughters were committing petty cruelties against his little girl. He feared for her if something should happen to him and did what he could to safeguard her future.

Soon his worst fears came to pass. He was found one morning, having fallen from his horse and broken his neck. Katyusha was devastated at the loss of her father. Her stepmother and step-sisters showed no emotion at all.

"What do you mean, I inherit nothing?" the Baroness shrieked as her late husband's man of law told her the terms of the will. "I was his wife. I should inherit everything."

"Unfortunately, the will is quite clear," he replied. "His daughter, Lady Katyusha, inherits everything when she comes of age."

"And if she doesn't," she asked with a look on her face that made the lawyer nervous.

"A distant cousin inherits," he replied. The Baron had carefully worded his will so no matter what his wife did, she would get nothing even if anything untoward happened to his daughter. The Baroness sat and thought for a moment and then turned her cold gaze on the lawyer.

"Then as her legal guardian, it's my responsibility to oversee her inheritance," the Baroness stated with a smug smile which slipped when the lawyer coughed nervously. "What?"

"You're not the girl's legal guardian," he informed her.

"WHAT!"

"Apparently, the late Baron named a friend of his first wife, Her excellency, Elizaveta of the Hedervary Tribe as Lady Katyusha's legal guardian," he replied. "She has all legal power over the girl's affairs."

"So I lose everything!" she stormed.

"The Baron left a stipend for you and your daughters," the lawyer said. "And use of the dower house but, essentially, Lady Katyusha gets everything." The Baroness could not believe this. To go from a life of wealth in a magnificent manor house to a mere stipend and a house. There had to be a way around this. Then she looked at the lawyer, knowing certain things about him. She could get through this with his help.

"What would it take for you to keep quiet about the will?" The lawyer stared at her in shock.

"What you're asking is extremely illegal," he said, sternly. However he was considering her question. He had been syphoning off money from the estate while the Baron had been in Ukraine so the illegality did not worry him as much as he pretended.

"So is embezzling," she replied with a smirk "You think I didn't know. So don't preach legality to me."

"All right," he agreed. "What will you give me for my silence?"

And a life of drudgery began for Katyusha.

Twelve years later

The wedding of the two princes of Italy was fast approaching and the whole country was buzzing. It would not only join two countries but three. Germania, Italy and Spain would become a triple monarchy with the marriages of Prince Ludwig to Prince Feliciano and Prince Antonio to Prince Lovino. Everything was going smoothly but there was one fly in the ointment for King Wolfgang. His stepson, Prince Gilbert of Prussia.

Gilbert's father was King Wolfgang's cousin and unfortunately he died when Gilbert was two. The Queen of Prussia was suddenly under threat as there were several attempts to wrestle the throne from her and her young son so the then unmarried Crowned Prince of Germania stepped in and married his cousin's widow in order to be named Regent to preserve the prussian throne for his new stepson.

Gilbert was now almost twenty four and well passed the age for assuming the throne, something Wolfgang was eager for him to do, but the law said Gilbert had to be married before he could rule, an ancient law passed for a reason no one could remember and never repealed, and Gilbert seemed in no hurry to marry.

The wedding went extremely well. The Three Fae had attended, Arthur taking time out from his search for his son, Alfred, to attend the wedding of his former charge. Together they granted both italian princes the ability to bear children as their wedding gift. Feliciano was delighted to be able to have a child with his Luddy while Lovino asked why they had not given that gift to the tomato bastard.

The reception party was a masked ball and everyone had on elaborate masks to hid their identities and one person was using that to his full advantage.

Gilbert wandered around, wearing a golden, ornate mask, a hat to hide his unique white hair and drinking vast amounts of beer and flirting with everyone and pretending to be someone else but two things gave him away. His red eyes and talking about how awesome he was. Wolfgang, wearing a red mask, stood with his friend, King Romulus who was wearing blue, watching Gilbert wandered from beer to guest and back again.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy," he grumbled to Romulus. "I need him to marry so I can concentrate on my kingdom and he can manage his."

"He just needs to find the right girl. Or boy," Romulus replied. "Maybe a grand ball on his birthday and invited every eligible in Prussia and the other kingdoms. He just might find his soul mate. You have nothing to lose by trying." Wolfgang considered the idea. They would be celebrating his birthday anyway.

"Why not?" he agreed. "You're right! I've nothing to lose and one way or another I'm going to see that boy married. I'll have the Grand Duke arrange things the moment I return to Prussia."

And Gilbert drifted around the room, blissfully unaware that his future was being planned.

Scarlet Phantom, you must be psychic. Yes, Katyusha has magically induced amnesia. As to whether she gets her memory back, well you'll have to wait and see.

Kiku will show up in the next chapter and, to all the Japan fans out there, he will have a much bigger role in this tale. What role remains to be seen.

I used Google Translate.

Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and let me know.

So, until next week,

Hasta la Pasta!