Birthday Girl
A/N: Yes, trust me to be the one to upload for Wy Day. If you're surprised, then I recommend that you shouldn't be. Now we've gotten through that, enjoy!
Well, it was certainly a "different" birthday for me. I highly doubt that most girls would or could experience a great amount of what I'd experienced on my eighth birthday. Then again, most people who know me can safely say I'm not most girls, which is probably what contributed the most to the goings on during that day.
For starters, I didn't even start the day off in Sydney at my home like you'd expect, which suited my prince just fine, since he'd have a lot to do to celebrate my inauguration and needed to keep me hidden while our place was inundated with ceremonies . Instead, I was about 600 miles away in Brisbane watching Aussie's boys take on the South African cricket team! Top class tickets and 7 days' accommodation in the nearby hotel courtesy of the most generous older brother in the world! As it turns out, Australia had a lot more planned for me than just taking me to 5 days of cricket, the final day being on my birthday. More than a coincidence I feel…
After the fifth and final day of the test match, Aussie was as hopelessly happy as ever and, though I kept to my tendency not to show it, I could say that I probably was to. I'd have taken that alone as a present, but on the way back to our hotel, where we'd been talking about the game, Aussie completely changed the subject.
"I need to do a bit of driving around, so I'll drop you off, let you get settled in and leave you to it, alright? You must be tired!" he said with his eternal grin, while I looked at him a little curiously, unsure what he was up to while he slowed down to park and led me into the hotel and latterly, the room we were staying in. He handed me the key card to the room and I led us in.
"It seems like a strange idea to leave an eight year old in her hotel room alone." I replied as I entered the room, Australia standing in the door way, getting a little laugh from my older brother.
"You'll be fine. A year older and light years wiser. That's you Ash!" he said smiling, giving a little thumbs up as he turned around and walked out, leaving me to sit on the small sofa in the room and dive into my thoughts. For most people, having one supposed gift would be enough, but for a small country trying to grow, I need to be more than just a great artist. Had I done that this year? Had I picked up necessary skills and integrated myself with the right people? Only time will tell.
After a while, my thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Australia had a card for the door, why didn't he just let himself in? I got up and answered the door and to my surprise, there stood a certain Italian, grin wide across his face as he greeted me. "Ciao Wy!" he said in his cheery voice "Australia's-a got something really big-a planned for you and he wanted me to be the first to arrive!"
Typical that Australia, as silly as he sometimes looks to others, was able to orchestrate something behind my back. "Well…I guess you'd better come in then…you did come halfway across the world to Brisbane after all…" I said, still in a bit of shock as I led him into the room and took a seat. I thought he'd simply come for a visit, but then he presented a very brightly coloured and highly decorated box to me with a huge smile.
"Your big brother said I'm-a the first one who'll give you a present! I told him what I've got you and he said it'd be perfect!" he started as he handed it over. I started gently working at opening the box, trying not to be seen to destroy all of Seborga's handiwork in decorating the box. Once I'd got it open, I felt my eyes widen in surprise.
"I hope you love it! I think you should try it on now, before anyone else gets here!" he excitedly said in response when I saw what was inside. He was right about that. If I was going to have guests, which by this point was almost a certainty, I'd need to be in something better than my usual set of clothes after having braved a day's worth of cricket. Without a word, I headed into the small en suite and after a few moments had passed, I looked in the mirror quickly, then came out, much to Seborga's delight.
"Oh, bambina! You look-a so cute and pretty!" he almost squealed as I came out, triggering a rolling of the eyes from me, but Seborga was always one of the few who could tell I was happy on the inside, even if I didn't show it. After all, he had just given me a very beautiful golden dress with green trim, in other words, a custom-made dress in Australian sports colours. In addition, he'd given me a sky blue floral ribbon to wear in my hair (matching the colour in my flag, which I felt symbolised how I was independent from Aussie, but we were still close, whether or not this choice of colour was intentional) along with a card simply saying "Pretty little clothes for a very pretty bambina!" He's so Italian sometimes. I decided to act like I usually do at this time would show ingratitude, so I matched his beaming smile and my voice softened.
"Thank you! I love it!" I said happily, gaining a positive response from him
"And think about it! That's-a just the start! Soon you'll have lots of great presents!" I paused for thought for a moment, before nodding in agreement.
"That's right. Aussie's really worked some magic to get this working hasn't he?" I asked, getting more happy responses
"Yes, he's a very good big brother! He's like my brother without the swearing and the anger and the hatred of Germans. I love Romano too!" A strange comment, admittedly, but with Seborga, this kind of thing was par for the course.
At that point, another knock was heard on the door, getting a few stifled laughs from Seborga. That meant I had at least one more guest. With a quick smile at him, I headed for the room's door and opened it, to not only be greeted by my constantly grinning older brother, but also by an effeminate looking Austrian, my self-proclaimed "senior" nation in his royal purple robe and a very "high and mighty" looking Scandinavian boy, fidgeting with the suit he was wearing. I shot Australia a look as if to say "Thank you!" and "You didn't think to tell me about any of this?" at the same time, prompting him to stifle a laugh before I greeted everyone properly, Seborga now standing behind me.
"Hello all. I'm sure Australia has been good to you all in bringing the three of you here." I said in my 'soft and polite' voice while I smiled at them all, standing aside for them all to head in, Aussie leading the way and giving me a little wink while the others followed.
"I assume you wish to behave with proper etiquette in my presence, Ashleigh." Hutt River said, approaching my and probably expecting me to curtsey or something "However, it is your birthday, so I'll show lenience for today and…." He reached into his pocket and handed me a scroll, with his signature on it, before smiling and explaining it "Look after that. That gives you permission to converse with me, despite not paying me the usual 2 dollars and not having a Rolls Royce."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, but nodded in a way he'd probably want, even if I didn't understand or take to his ego very well. "Thank you Hutt." I said, bowing "I'll be sure to make good use of it." The two of us smiled at one another and he moved on, Ladonia next in line.
"Ha! I got here before that Sealand! Clearly I'm the best!" he started, drawing a sigh from me
"Do you have to make everything into a competition between the two of you?" I asked him. Although, he did raise a good point; where was Sealand? Not that I cared, but he wouldn't have forgotten my birthday, would he?
"Not everything! Just the things I can beat him at!" he replied hastily, before taking out his expensive laptop and loading it up, turning to me. "Alright, so because my present is so pricey and neither of us wants to risk it having to travel 600 miles more than necessary, I've gotten your brother to send it over to Sydney. But, I can show you the picture of it!" he explained while typing frantically, eventually standing aside to show me the screen.
"I call it 'A hop and a leap'!" He began to point at the painting on the screen. The image was basically a painting divided into two halves, on one side was a lovely, emerald green grass land with a white rabbit hopping high into the sky. On the other side, this was complimented by a sapphire blue sea and a dolphin wearing a crown leaping up to a central high point of the canvas, meeting the rabbit.
"Wow! That's impressive!" I said, smiling slightly "Though I wouldn't expect you to do something like that for me…" I said, a little curious to his motived before he folded his arms and began walking away slowly.
"Well…I guess I'm that competitive….I-I needed an opportunity to beat someone!" he replied hesitantly as he headed into the kitchen segment of the room, where Australia and Seborga were already preparing something, while Hutt had taken a seat on the sofa. I knew that would be the closest I'd get to him admitting that he thinks of me as a friend, so I moved swiftly on.
Stepping up to the laptop this time was Kugelmugel, who was much slower at navigating his way to what he wanted, seeming to spend more time inspecting my appearance.
"Fashion is an art, is it not Ashleigh? Yet beauty can also be considered an art form…so I believe it more than just to determine that tonight you bear the resemblance of not only a true artist, but a true work of art also." He said with his usual, slightly deadpan expression as he searched through the laptop.
"Thank you very much!" I said in a soft voice "Though it was Seborga's idea for me to dress like this. I'm taking no credit."
"Of course, I must mention it to him later. As for now however…" he said, pointing to the screen and displaying another picture, but this was a coloured pencil drawing rather than a painting. "I am in a similar predicament to Ladonia, in that your gift is on a canvas making its way directly to Sydney, so I thought to show it on here as he did." One look at the drawing made it clear who it was. He'd drawn me a picture of triple Formula 1 champion and Austrian, Niki Lauda in his glory days of the 70s, driving his famous Ferrari. A very impressive piece of work.
"Very well done!" I answered after examining the drawing for a few moments, genuine impression in my voice and a smile again on my face. This got not much expression from the usually expressionless Kugelmugel, as he simply nodded and held out his hand for a handshake, which I accepted.
"I'd expect artists of similar calibre to acknowledge each other's skill. I am pleased with my work and I'm glad you are too." He said politely before we were called over by a very excited Seborga, who in that fairly short time had prepared a full Italian meal for us all. Pasta, pizza, Bolognese and all such things covered the table while we all gathered around and began to eat. Not before Aussie, being the slightly embarrassing (at times) older brother he was and Seborga being a similar figure, got everyone to sing me a happy birthday, though instead of getting embarrassed and lashing out like I'd been known to, I smiled and began to enjoy it. I was content with being treated like this. These kinds of friendships, I felt, showed how much I'd progressed as a nation over the last 12 months.
We managed to have a lovely meal, during which everyone, Kugelmugel and I especially, complimented Seborga a lot on his cooking. Shortly afterwards, Australia chose to take everyone else to where they were staying, before they headed back home. This, again, left me with my thoughts. I was glad that everyone had left so happy after the meal and didn't even mind washing up, despite Seborga's offers to do it himself. I really felt I had come far as a person and as a country, having made several new friends and developing my skills. But there was one more sting in the tail…
A knock was heard on my hotel door and, admittedly, I got hopeful. Was it Sealand? Could it be? I excitedly opened the door to see a young man, who looked a lot like England only younger and dressed differently, wearing a canary yellow tie along with a green blazer, which notably had a yellow canary embroidered on the left shoulder and black trousers. He also had more of a grin than England, similar to that of Australia. His hair was a little neater too.
"Norwich? You came here?" I asked, a lot more surprised than anything as he smiled, despite looking tired and holding up a large and seemingly heavy bag with one arm.
"Yeah. I did play my hand in looking after you didn't I? So it's only fair and proper." He said as I ushered him in. That was something about him, if he felt he had a job to do, he'd definitely do it. Even if it meant travelling halfway across the world. The way he was walking caught my eye though. He seemed to be leaning forward a lot.
"I suppose, but why are you walking so strangely?" I asked him, a little concerned for him, though my question did get an almost breathless laugh from him as he motioned for me to stand behind him. "Take a look for yourself, Ash." He managed to get out before I looked and saw that he had a very familiar, small sailor boy, asleep on his back. Ritchie laid him down gently on the sofa and whispered to me.
"Little guy couldn't stay awake the whole trip." He smiled at me, then glanced at him before sitting down himself and setting that bag of his down, seeming very relieved to finally get a seat. "Carried him all the way up these stairs. Tiring work."
I smiled at him before whispering to him "I appreciate it. You know what my stance is on that."
He opened the bag while replying "Well, I he wanted to come over here and nobody else he asked before me could or would come with him, so I thought I'd help him out." He looked back up at me and grinned. He did that sort of thing which made me think that he's what Australia would be like if he was English…if that makes sense. "Seems like a certain birthday girl has a lot of friends on the English south coast for some reason…" he continued in an ironic tone of voice, knowing exactly why after all the contact he kept with both them and me.
"So they all got me something too?" I asked, almost in shock
"Several things. For example…" he started as he handed a package to me. Two football shirts, the first being a royal blue Portsmouth FC shirt and the second (bundled in the same package by the sender, appropriately) was the red and white Southampton shirt. I opened them both out and couldn't help but giggle uncharacteristically. While Norwich moved onto the next one.
"I think they want a couple of photos in return, though I'd watch out about that. You might start another civil war!" he laughed, handing me the next present, which was in shining rainbow wrapping paper, a small card attached which read "Ashleigh. Happy birthday! We all hope you have fun! Signed, Brighton, Albion and Blackpool."
I opened it quickly and saw two rainbow coloured scarves, similar to the one Brighton's seagull, Albion, often wore. One much bigger than his, presumably for me, the other a little smaller, more than likely for Alex, my own seagull. I smiled and was handed a larger parcel than the previous two, but not too heavy. Without any more words, I opened up the parcel and saw three different items, each pretty amazing gifts. The first was a chocolate dolphin, wrapped in foil to resemble the one in my flag, which I couldn't help but find cute. The second looked something like a snow globe, except it had a castle inside it, along the bottom, a violet stand with cursive, golden writing simply saying "Dover Castle", all of which made it look very nice. The final one, a clear work of technical genius, was a homemade built-from-scratch pullback replica of Firestorm from Robot Wars, made of the same kind of aluminium shell the actual one was built with, much to Ritchie's envy.
"You got some cool things, like the shirts, the Firestorm, the scarves, the Firestorm…" he started before I interrupted him, playfully sarcastic.
"I know! I know I have a Firestorm!" I turned my attention back to the assortment of presents, which made me smile widely. "I love them! Send them my thanks when you get back!"
Norwich nodded in reply, then leaned in and whispered to me "Now there is one more present, but I think you should wait for someone before you open it, alright?" he said with a warm smile, while I glanced over at the (admittedly cute-looking) boy on the sofa. "I'll get us a drink, alright?" he stood up and looked at his watch. "Aussie told me he'll be a while taking that unruly mob of children back home, so I guess I can take my time…" he grinned as he slowly sidled into the small kitchen "Go for it, Ash." He whispered as he closed the door.
I smiled and stood silently for a second, almost trying to come up with the courage before I nudged him slightly "Sealand?" I whispered "Peter? Are you awake?"
He started to twitch a little before slowly opening his eyes, rubbing them as he sat up. "Wy?" he yawned "Where am I?" he asked, looking around drowsily
"Norwich brought you here!" I replied softly "You're in mine and Australia's hotel room, while Ritchie's in the kitchen."
At that, the boy nodded and smiled slightly, seeing all the presents but his having being opened, causing him to stand and walk over to the bag, reaching in and pulling out a box covered in red, white and black wrapping paper, blushing slightly as he gave it to me. "I got you this for your birthday! Norwich gave me the money to pay for it and get me over here with it…" he said, smiling widely and unusually politely as I listened. I guess Norwich had been playing his part in quietly 'helping me along'.
I took the box and smiled, tearing open the wrapping paper enthusiastically to be greeted by 1/18 scale diecast models of not one, but both Australian F1 drivers' cars. Both held in plastic casing and shining brightly. I was left speechless as I gazed at them, my thoughts getting a soft and welcome interruption from Peter.
"I hope you like them, Ashleigh. I've always liked how you're not too…girly so I thought I could get you something like this…" he said, a lot slower than usual, showing how nervous he was. I gently placed the two models down and approached him, gently taking his hand in mine and whispering.
"I do like them…I've always liked how energetic you are too." I smiled at him softly, gazing into his eyes for perhaps a few moments too long before he quickly swept in and gave me a little kiss on the cheek.
"I'll keep it up then. Happy birthday Ash. You look really pretty in your dress." He whispered while we both blushed madly, though it felt like I did much more so than him.
"Thank you for making it so happy. I'm glad you like it. You looked kind of cute when you were asleep on Norwich's back…" I whispered, while Norwich quietly poked his head out from behind the kitchen door, behind Peter's back so that he couldn't see, shooting me a quick smile and thumbs up before retreating back. It had been a great birthday, thanks to those around me and the leaps I'd made because of them. I'd had a great year, so let's hope the next 12 months live up to the promise that the last 12 have created.
A/N: And I hope you all enjoyed that. I know it was a long one (fun fact: around 1.5x longer than my current piece of history coursework that has a 2000 word limit), but thanks very much for reading! The South Coast cities referenced belong to Shadowraven45662, so thanks to her for letting me use them!