A/N: So, I'm going to try something new with this. I haven't written Hetalia fics or Harry Potter fics for fear of screwing everything up, but I really wanted to just go at this one and wing it. Not too sure how well it is going to come out, but I will try!
I guess this is kind of for someone…who I guess I can just call Amy. I was going to write a Sawtalia (Saw!Hetalia) fic, but she put this into my head, gave me the characters, and let me knock myself out. Pasta!Admin thanks you~!
The sound of small feet running down the hallway echoed off the walls as the little Italian boy, dressed as a girl, searched for the nice lady, Ms. Hungary, to read him a story. It was a wistful idea, to help him cope with the departure of Holy Rome, but Ms. Hungary was very good at telling stories and Italy thought it might make him feel a little better…
He slowed his pace as he approached the piano room that Mr. Austria usually occupied. The door was cracked open, and Italy took it upon himself to timidly peer in to see if anyone was there. The room was completely spotless, the floors glistening from polish earlier in the day; even Mr. Austria's cherished grand piano was shining like crystal. But, no one was in sight.
"What are you doing, Ita-chan?" Italy spun to face Hungary, who was looking down at him questioningly from behind.
"V-Veh, Ms. Hungary! I was wondering if you…would tell me a story." Italy stammered.
Hungary looked thoughtful for a few moments before smiling a kind smile. She agreed before leading Italy to one of the parlors in Austria's house, where she settled on the couch with Italy in her lap. "What story do you want me to tell you?"
"Veh! The one of those three brothers!" Italy exclaimed, much to Hungary's surprise. Before, Italy had protested it every time she tried telling it to him, and now he wanted to hear it so willingly?
"Are you sure, Ita?" She asked, just to make sure. The little boy nodded.
"Alright," Hungary recalled the tale that was of Italy's interest, wondering where she was to start. "Well, there were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too treacherous to pass. But being learned in the magical arts, the three brothers simply waved their wands and made a bridge. Before they could cross, however, they found their path blocked by a hooded figure…"
"Who are you!" the tallest of the three brothers, and the loudest, shouted at the figure in their way. The person was much taller than him, and was cloaked in a strange black cloth that looked almost invisible. Under the hood, violet eyes and beige hair glinted from the setting sun.
"I am Death," the figure said in short, speaking in a thick Russian accent.
The first brother couldn't help but erupt in laughter, ignoring the second brother's scolds of 'Alfred, quit it, you git!'.
Death only ignored Alfred's ignorance, and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. "I have come to congratulate you three for evading me. Many a soul has fallen to their deaths and drowned in that river, but you were smart enough to…cheat Death. For this, each of you has earned a prize for your cleverness, da?"
Alfred was the first in line, excitement glinting in his sky blue eyes. "Yo, creepy Death-dude! I want a wand more powerful than any in existence!" The blond exclaimed thinking only of power and nothing more.
"Seriously, you wanker, couldn't you have thought of anything better?" said the second brother, with choppy blond hair, emerald eyes, and caterpillar eyebrows. His arms were crossed over his chest and he shook his head in an exasperated manner. The third brother stood behind the other two, and had wavy blond locks with piercing violet eyes behind glasses like Alfred that gave him a feminine-like appearance.
But, Death obliged, and from the elder tree standing not far off the riverbank, a wand was fashioned. Death handed the wand over to Alfred and the first brother stared at it in awe. The second brother pushed passed him and stood in front of Death.
A wicked smirked graced his face as he thought of the perfect way to humiliate Death. "I want the power to recall loved ones from the grave." He said. Death seemed to consider this for a moment, but he nonetheless grabbed a stone from in the river and handed it to the second brother, who looked quite stunned.
"Hahahahaha! Artie got a rock!" Alfred crowed obnoxiously loud.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Alfred is right. This is just a rock." The second brother looked at Death as though he were joking.
But he only shook his head. "Arthur that is not just a rock. It is a Resurrection Stone. You wanted the power to bring back dead loved ones, da?" At Arthur's nod, Death tapped the stone with a cloaked finger. "All you have to do is flip this stone thrice in hand and then whoever you wanted to bring back will be back!"
Arthur looked a little skeptical, but thanked Death either way and went back to stand with Alfred, who still kept poking fun at him for getting a rock.
Death turned toward the last brother, standing there quietly and calmly. "And what would you like, comrade?" He asked, smiling eerily.
The brother was going to decline and say 'no thank you', but Alfred pushed him forward, "Go on, Mattie!" Matthew stepped up to Death, and before he lost his nerve to speak, he said, "I would like something that would allow me to go forth from this place without being followed by Death."
Reluctantly, Death cut a piece of fabric from his own cloak and handed it to Matthew. The three brothers and Death parted ways from then on.
The first brother ventured to a town far away where a wizard* lived with whom Alfred had many fights. He killed the wizard with the Elder Wand, and bragged throughout town about the invincibility the wand had now given him. He went mad with power, drunk with everything the Elder Wand allowed him.
That night, however, a wizard by the name of Wang Yao, who was jealous of Alfred's power, stole the Elder Wand from him, and before the brother could do anything, the Chinese man had slit his throat to ensure he wouldn't try to take it back.
"It is mine, aru! All that power that American fool was bragging about is now mine!" Yao chirped, as he was pleased with what he had done. As he walked through town, he paid no mind to the cloaked figure that had passed him, heading back to where the body of the first brother lay.
Death looked down at Alfred with that of a mock frown. "Be careful what you wish for, da?"
And with a wave of his hand, Alfred's body disappeared. Death had claimed the first brother.
The second brother had gone home, turning the stone in his hand three times before opening the front door to his cozy home. To his surprise, in the middle of the room was an elegant young woman with dark brown hair tied in a French bun and violet eyes twirling happily in front of him**.
"Françoise?" Arthur exclaimed joyfully, for the girl he had hoped to marry before her untimely death was returned! However, the happiness did not last long, for Françoise knew she shouldn't be alive. She soon grew depressed, and claiming she didn't belong in that world anymore, took her life to balance the order. Arthur, grief-stricken, hanged himself not long after, longing painfully to join her.
Death pushed open the creaky door to the second brother's home, where the brother's body was hanging from the ceiling, and a look of sorrow still painted on his features.
"You can't cheat death, now can you, comrade?" And so Death took the second brother for his own.
Many years passed, and Death searched and searched for the third brother, but Matthew evaded him throughout much of his lifetime. He had reached a respectable age, well and ready.
Death approached the home of the third brother, where Matthew stood outside waiting for him. Inside the house, his son, Peter, clutched his father's invisibility cloak to his chest, staring out the window wistfully with teary eyes.
"Matthew." Death greeted, nodding curtly. Matthew nodded in return, "Death. We meet again."
Death chuckled darkly before holding out a cloaked hand to the man in front of him. "As equals then, da, comrade?"
Matthew shook his head, grasping Death's hand gladly yet firmly, "I prefer the term…old friends."
"And so he and Death departed from the mortal world on the terms of equality." Hungary finished with a sigh. However, there was no response from the tiny Italian in her arms, for little Italy had fallen asleep.
The faintest trace of a smile could be detected on his face, though; as though he was dreaming blissfully of the day he and Holy Rome would greet each other as old friends again…
~*~END~*~
WELL. THAR YOU HAVE IT.
* – Random wizard. Use your imagination, da?
** – fem!France! Love her!
And yeah, Sealand as Canada's son? I dunno, I needed something. And he looks kind of like Ukraine, and I ship CanadaxUkraine so hard BI
Anyway, I hope it isn't total crap, eh? Reviews are splendid~ if you get what I'm saying.
And, I think I kind of have a huge list of people to thank for this, so skip over if you feel the need. Basically Amy, Feli-chan, Makayla, and Rinny-chan, because their totally super-mega-foxy-awesome-hot compliments of the first half of this made me just wanna continue! This is for you guys~