Challenge: Write a story based off of a song

Song: Naruto (Closer) – Cover (Song: youtube - watch?v=bnbG4hFIXEA)

Antonio Carriedo, also known as the personification of Spain, drove from the airport in silence along the roads of his home late in the evening. His brilliant green eyes stared ahead, looking focused, but his mind was anything but that. He reflected upon the meeting that he had with one of his friends, Francis Bonnefoy, also known as France. He received earlier that morning a phone call from the French man. The blond man wouldn't tell him anything. All that he said was that he needed to talk to him about something unbelievable and that he'd pay for the ticket to Paris himself. Not having much of a choice, the brown headed Spanish man got the ticket and left. It was only now that he returned.

Antonio was still in disbelief. Throughout his long life, there were many strange things that he saw. Those strange things would have people scoff at and announce that they were nothing but stories. But this… this was something that truly sounded like something that came out of a fictional book. Yet, he couldn't deny the man, as he saw the proof itself. Francis' beloved human, Joan of Arc, has reincarnated. He would know the girl, as he met her one time during his trip to his friend's place to do something. To be honest, he didn't even remember why he visited during that time. But one thing that was hard to forget was that girl. She was so different from the rest of the French female race at that time. The girl had this innocent charm to her, but when he saw one of her battles, he just knew that God had to be on her side. And the stories that he heard about how she dealt with the English monarchy and church... Antonio shook his head in disbelief. She was strong but still loyal through and through, even though she was naïve at some points. Once he met the reincarnated version of her, he could tell it was her. It was by her personality, looks and the way she acted around her homeland of a previous life.

Once he stopped at a red light, he leaned his body fully against his seat with his eyes staring up at the ceiling of his car. He resisted the urge to rub his eyes.

Of all things the strange things that he had seen in his long life, it just so happened to be reincarnation that made him pause. He could remember how many times it was beaten into his mind by all sorts of religions that reincarnation wasn't real. There was one afterlife and that was heaven or hell. To make them stop bothering him, he acted like he believed in that. At some point, he truly did. But now, it was no longer debatable. Reincarnation was real.

This made Antonio wonder. If Joan of Arc, of all people, managed to be reincarnated, who else has been as well? Now that he thought about it, he remembered how he met many people in the past that just felt so familiar. It was as if he had met them before, even if it was supposed to be impossible. Could it have been reincarnation as well? Had he ignored the proof in front of him for so long, just to keep the church off his back?

If it was true, then could it be that she was reincarnated as well?

Antonio felt a familiar feeling settle in his stomach at the thought of the human woman. It was a pleasant feeling, one that took him so long to figure out what it meant. Even his heart fluttered at the thought of her. He still remembered the first time they met.

-ooOOoo-

It was 1492 and almost the end of summer. Antonio was sent to a village by Queen Isabella I and her husband Ferdinand II, along with a few knights, to make sure that whatever Jews left were converted or kicked out. The priest that would do the conversion was already at the village. The whole thing, to be honest, horrified the nation. There were only a handful of a million people that lived in his home. To expel so many people, even if it appeared so few, made the Spanish man sick, literally. He has been feeling quite weak for the last couple of months. Ever since the marriage of the monarchs and their law has been passed about the Jews. If not for little Romano forcing him to rest, he wouldn't have been sent out by the monarchs.

The village was an average one, located roughly in the middle of the land. But it was forgotten more times than not, even by the nation himself. Nothing happened there. There were no floods, no bandits attacks and... no problems in general, except for the plague that came back again. The only good news about the plague, was that it disappeared 7 years ago. So there shouldn't be any danger of getting it. Yet, the plague has destroyed the supposed big town, forcing it to change its status to a village. Truth be told, Antonio didn't even want to be here. He didn't want to look at how empty the town-turned-village was and see the clear emptiness. He was still haunted by the nightmares of the main one back a century ago and the many that followed afterwards.

It appeared that the queen and king had the plague in mind as well, because they told him to get in, do his job and get out. There was no detour to be made. Even though he, like other European nations, received and survived the illness, the monarchy didn't want to take a chance.

The trip to the village from the main kingdom was only a few days ride. Antonio and the knights had to pass through nonexistence roads to reach it. Their horses, more times than not, had to stop to rest as the non-existent roads became too much for them. Not that he could blame them. It was hot in the summer time and they had miscalculated the amount of food and water that they needed. Though, it wasn't really their fault. The mission got placed onto them out of nowhere. They had to leave before the queen's bad mood would have their bodies turned into ash. Yes, even her 'beloved' nation. Even Antonio had to undergo some abuses from the monarchs, like every other nation from time to time.

"I can see the village!"

One of the knights up front cried out to everyone. The few other knights and Antonio almost cheered out in relief. Now that they were within sight, they had to look professional.

The people of the village were confused at the sight of them, but welcomed them nonetheless. But most didn't stay long enough as they had farming to do. The few that did stay behind were the elderly, who had time on their hands to help the knights and Antonio. The priest of the village, at last, showed up.

"Ah, welcome! I hope that the trip has gone well for you."

The priest was an old man that needed a cane to get around. It bewildered the newcomers that he was still alive, but they didn't voice their thoughts. He appeared kind, by the way that he treated the villagers in a manner befitted that of a saint. The Spanish nation replied to him, as his knights were too busy resting:

"Si, it was well." White lie, but had some truth to it. At least they weren't ambushed. "We were sent by the Queen to make sure that there aren't any… Jews left."

The green eyed man had to pause for a moment. His heavy heart reminded him of how much he hated the actions of his monarchs and the church. He tried not to let any displeasure show. But the priest showed exactly what he thought, with a smug smile.

"We didn't have too many of… those here, but what we did have were mostly expelled." The smug turned into displeasure. "Only a few understood that their way of living were sins, and that they needed to convert to save their souls."

"I am… pleased to hear that. Then my fellow caballeros (1) and I will rest for a few days and return to report it. Maybe you should write a letter to clear any doubts. I am sure their majesties will be relieved to hear that from a priest."

The more that he spent around this priest, the harder it was to be genuinely kind. He was sure that his politeness sounded forced, but either the priest ignored it or didn't notice it. The old man nodded in agreement.

"Very well, I'll go and do that. Please, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

All Antonio did in respond was nodded. He relaxed a bit as he watched the priest turned his back to him and waddled away back to the church. He grimaced while he turned around to attend to his horse's needs before his own. While the other knights focused on their own needs first, he couldn't do that. He'd rest once he was done with his horse.

First he got the hay and placed it in front of the resting horse. The animal made a bit of a noise and started to eat it. The grain would be presented next, which was eaten at a slower rate this time. He had made sure that there was a good size bowl filled with water rested beside the food. His horse was too tired to walk to the river. For the next part, which was to check the hooves, he had to take off his cloak and a bit of the armor. While he cleaned the mud off and took out the rocks, he picked up movement in his peripheral vision. The man didn't look up at first, as he guessed it was just another villager or knight that walked past him. But it wasn't the case.

"E-Excuse me, señor (2)."

A woman's voice asked quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. Antonio's head snapped upwards to look towards the owner of the voice. He stopped what he did when he saw a light pale young woman talk to him. She looked average, with big green eyes and curly brown hair that reached her back. Her hair had a white cloth placed on it with what appeared to be clips, which appeared so out of place. The cloth was a bit short, but wrapped around half of her hair. He could only guess it was for practical reasons, but he wasn't so sure. She held in her hand an old, worn out vintage water bag. Its head was tipped upwards and held shut with a finger. It was cradled in her arms gently before, with a bit of fear, held it out to him.

"I-I noticed that y-you haven't drank anything. S-So I brought you some water."

As any other nation, he had the power to look into his people's pasts. So he did. All it took him was to look into her eyes and had flashbacks of her past and basic knowledge, such as her name. He wasn't sure whether to frown or be happy with what he saw. This woman was Jewish, forced to convert to Christianity. The only relative she had left was her father, as her mother and siblings died in the plague. Unbeknown to the rest of the village, the small family continued to practice their initial religion, in secret. The only reason why her father accepted the conversion was so that his daughter remained untouched.

Antonio nearly flinched at that last part, as he knew quite well how dark human nature could get. Instead, he gave her a thankful smile. He held his hands out and accepted the water.

"Gracias, señorita. (3)"

He took small gulps so to not overwhelm himself for getting a proper drink in a while. During his drinking, he kept an unnoticeable eye on the young woman. He watched as she turned away from him to stare at the horse in wonder and amazement. The Spanish brown headed man grinned at the sight. He wouldn't be surprised if most of the villagers never seen a horse in their lives. After all, they were reserved for the rich. When he spoke, the young woman nearly jumped in her spot:

"He doesn't bite, if you want to pat him."

The brown headed young woman appeared a bit paler, which made the man frown a bit. He may have seen her past, but he could never detect any emotions attached to those memories. He wondered if what happened over the spring had made her frightened of all men and Christians. Before he could ask if something was the matter, she whispered:

"I-I have to go."

With that, she turned around and ran off before he could utter another word.

-ooOOoo-

HUNK

Antonio jumped a bit in fright, almost hitting his head against the roof of his car in the meanwhile. The car behind him continued to hunk and curses could be heard. He looked up at the stop light and saw that it was green, and a second later yellow. He hit the gas and drove off, before it turned red. As he drove, he resisted the urge to rub his face. It was almost funny, how well he remembered her. Just like humans, nations also lost memories here and there. To him, that year was unforgettable, but he still knew that he forgot many things. But not her. She was the one thing that would forever stay in his memories, no matter how many times he tried to forget about her.

-ooOOoo-

Antonio couldn't get the strange young woman out of his mind. Not when he finished to drink. Not when he finished to clean the hooves of his horse. Not when he tended to his own needs. The worn out vintage water bag was tied to his belt at all times, as it taunted him with its appearance. It annoyed the Spanish man, but there was also a bit of wonder and curiosity. He may know her history just by the usage of his power, but there was something about her that made him wonder. Maybe it was why she wouldn't leave his thoughts? Or could it be perhaps that the thought of a peasant girl, a nobody, had caught his attention?

It made him wonder even more.

Once he finished doing everything for the day, it was almost evening time as he searched for her. When he asked around for her, the people of the village made faces that weren't exactly… pleasant. They ignored his interrogation of her whereabouts and continued on their way. It wasn't until he found a middle aged man, also a Jew forced to convert to Christianity, who pointed out the way.

"Her house is between the river and the forest. You can't miss it."

Antonio thanked the man and made his way to the house. As he was told, it was hard to miss. The house that he came upon was one of the few in the areas that still had people live in it. The other houses belonged to the plague victims and were empty. He knocked onto the door. One of the windows' curtains, which was old and had a few holes in it, were pushed aside and a head poked out. The nation made eye contact with a man that looked to be in his late thirties. Without a word, the man went back inside and a minute later the door was opened by him.

"Si? (4)" The man asked with a bit of hesitation, eyeing his armor. "What brings you here señor?"

"Buena noches (5), I wish to return this."

Antonio undid the strings from his belt and showed the vintage water bag. The man's brown eyes lighten up in recognition. He murmured as he took the bag:

"I wondered where this was. My daughter wouldn't say much."

In remembrance to her shy figure, the Spanish nation chuckled a bit. His smile never wavered as he spoke in kind and praise:

"I was attending to my horse and haven't drank or eaten anything since I've arrived. She was the only one that approached me with it, filled with water, and let me drink from it. I'm afraid she ran off before I could give it back to her."

The father didn't respond immediately. He stared at the armed man in front of him for a few brief moments. In the end, he sighed and grinned.

"You must be the kind man that she talked about."

Antonio blinked at the compliment.

"Kind?"

"Si, I'm afraid that we're not well liked around here, especially for the last while." The father didn't say anymore on the subject and changed to something else. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No-"

"Then come, your kindness shall be rewarded. I'd like to invite you for dinner. My daughter is almost done cooking."

"Señor, I don't want to be a burden."

The nation opposed. Food was already few and far in between, even more so for peasants. He didn't want to burden the small family of two for food.

"Nonsense, we have enough food to share. I'm afraid that ever since the unknown illness, there has been more food than usual."

The man looked grim as his eyes looked into the air, as if he remembered something. Antonio could only guess. In the end, he accepted. It was rude to refuse again if someone insisted. Also, maybe it could also get rid of his curiosity about the young woman. With a nod of acceptance, the men walked inside.

The house was small. The dining room and kitchen were in the same room. To separate them from other rooms were two other wooden doors. There wasn't much to see, per accessory wise. Aside from a bit of furniture, the household looked almost bare. He didn't ask why that was. It wasn't any of his business, no matter how odd it looked. Everyone had at least one or two items, even peasants. The brown headed nation could only guess that they either were robbed or hid their belongings. Not that he blamed them.

Antonio looked into the dining room/kitchen, and watched as the young woman from before had her back to them. Next to her was a small fire place, where there was a medium sized pot.

"Raziela! We have a guest tonight for dinner."

"What-?" The young woman, Raziela, paused when she turned around and saw who accompanied her father. As her father placed down the water bag near her, she asked, "P-Papa, why-?"

"He was kind to you, mi hija (6). The least I can do is inviting him for dinner."

The look that the daughter gave her father said something else, but looked away a second later. Her green eyes rested on the guest and waved her hand to the small table:

"Please, sit."

Antonio did. He would have asked if they needed help, but bite his tongue. He didn't want to scare the family, especially the daughter, away. Instead, he held a small conversation with the father as he fixed the table with plates and such. The topics weren't that big. There was a quick introduction between everyone, where Antonio learned that the father's name was Abraham. Then the topics turned to what was going on in the village and his 'adventures' to the places he had been. Though, the latter part had to have things cut out of it and other stories were 'forgotten'. He couldn't tell them that he was a nation or give out any clues, after all. His eyes wondered more times than not towards the young woman. Raziela, such a beautiful name and an odd one too. It was rather uncommon, when he thought about it. It made him wonder more about her, if that was even possible. He tried not to be obvious, and succeeded for the most part. Yet, he caught the eyes of her father who sent him a thoughtful expression. At that point, Antonio did his best not to look at her.

After a while, everyone set down to eat.

That was when the conversation started to get serious.

"What brings you here?"

For the first time since he came in, Raziela asked. She appeared more relaxed, which Antonio was glad for. Maybe being in his presence for a while showed her that he didn't wish her any harm. Yet, the question made the nation almost wince. How was he supposed to explain this? Due to his long silence, the woman asked:

"You said that you were from the kingdom. We don't get foreigners here." Her green eyes stared at him with a calculated look that made him pause. She continued in a slow voice, as if she was testing the water. "You have the knights with you. Are you here to… get rid of-"

"Raziela!"

Her father stopped her from finishing the question, with a strong commanding voice but it was soft as well. She looked at the other human in the room and kept her poster straight with a steady look. Antonio looked at her with surprise. It wasn't that the question, as obvious as it was, that threw him off guard. What surprised him was that she had a good head on her shoulders and wasn't afraid to show it, once comfortable. He met many women that, due to religion or society, were submissive in nature to everyone else. There were only a few that he met that were like this, and didn't just act like they believed without good reasons that they were intelligent. The tanned skinned man stared at her with an amused look. His eyes softened in a sad manner at the answer that they all knew. After all, Raziela just spoke the answer out loud.

"I'm afraid so." Antonio answered as he leaned a bit back against his chair. "From what the priest said, the job was done. I'll be returning with the report." He stared at the father, who leaned to his daughter a bit in a sort of protective manner. But he didn't make it too obvious. If not for his experiences, anyone else wouldn't have noticed. He gave the family a sympathetic grin. "And I'm sorry for what happened."

The family looked at him in surprise. Anyone else would be confused about what he was apologizing for, but they understood, which resulted to their reaction. The father and daughter looked at each other again. Then they looked back. Abraham asked with a bit of skepticism:

"Forgive me for being skeptical, señor, but why would you be sorry?"

Antonio didn't answer right away, but was busy choosing his words carefully.

"I… I don't believe that what happened to you and other Jews was right. For me… I don't really care who believes what. You're part of this land, and should be treated with more respect. I wish that I could have done more for you and your people."

The brown headed woman looked at him with soft eyes, which made the man's heart do weird actions. He wasn't sure if she detected how sincere he was, but… did she believe him? She answered on the behalf of her and her father:

"My father and I are glad that someone doesn't think lowly of us. I wish… I wish there were more like you." She blinked a few times, her eyes became a bit glassier. "But there's nothing that you could have done."

Antonio wished to tell her that there was. He wanted to explain just how much power he had. But she was right on some level. His hands were tied on this matter, as the law was passed before he could get his hands on it. He looked between the family, the guilt from before never has weighted onto him as much as it has now. Not able to talk about the subject much more, the trio turned to something else. For once, that night, the atmosphere felt a bit lighter.

By the time that dinner ended, Antonio stood at the doorway.

"Where will you be staying?"

The head of the house asked.

"With the other knights at one of the empty buildings."

"And you'll be staying for a few days?"

"Yes, we need to gather supplies for the trip back and we're all too tired to head out sooner."

"Then we'd like to invite you to spend dinner with us until you leave."

This time, it was Raziela that spoke up next. Her eyes looked at him with curiosity, something that wasn't new ever since he spoke about his objection to the law that passed. It made Antonio want to chuckle. Cute, was the first thing that he thought. Maybe in these upcoming few days, they could get to know each other better to pass the stage of strangers. He accepted the invitation, seeing that her father didn't object.

"Buenas noches, señor. (7)"

Antonio said to the head of the house. He turned to the daughter. He gently took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. Their eyes never broke contact during the whole action. He spoke in a low voice:

"Buenas noches, mi señora. (8)"

Letting her hand go, the man gave a respectable bow and left.

-ooOOoo-

Antonio's hands clenched onto the wheel in a death-like grip at the memories. As he came upon his home and parked in his garage, he turned off the engine and went inside. He ignored the darkness and made his way to the kitchen. Not once has he bumped into something, as he was too familiar with the layout of the house. He didn't remember much that happened as he walked through the house. All that he knew was that he was deep in his memories and when he snapped out of them, he had a candle set up in the candle holder and was about to light it.

He paused then proceeded.

The small flame erupted on the end of the match. He light up the candle and flicked his hand to undo the flame. He stared at the light candle, as one last memory, the worse of all, pushed its way to the surface.

-ooOOoo-

It had been 8 years since the day that he met Raziela, and it got to be the best and the most confusing years of his long life. He had experienced something that was indescribable, but unforgettable. Every minute that he could, he would journey to the village and be with the young woman. They shared many moments, laughs and hugs. At one point, Antonio went to her father and asked from him permission to court her. He received his full support.

But Antonio, in the back of his head, knew that it was a crazy idea. He was a nation, an immortal, and was going to outlive her no matter what. Yet, his heart ignored the brain's jabs and went on with the plans. Crazy of all, he married her soon after. He was thought of as human. She was a young woman that needed to get married soon, considering the average life of a human being. They had no way out of it, even if they tried.

So they married, and then they hit their first problem. Antonio couldn't take her with him back to the castle, where he lived. It would be hard to explain to everyone why he married, as far as they knew, an ex-Jew. Another problem was that he couldn't give her children. It has never done before, as far as he knew. A human and a nation having a child? How did that work? Would the child just gain a longer lifetime than the average human? In the end, they would become a hybrid of sort, in which he never heard anything about.

On the wedding night he told her what he was, and explained what couldn't be done.

Raziela was angry for a while, but had no choice but to accept it soon after. Aside from that, they didn't have many arguments except for the stupidest of things, like any other couple. During this time, he stayed mostly with her and moved together to one of the empty houses. Much to Abraham's pleasure, Antonio allowed his wife to continue her practices with Judaism in secret. It didn't bother the husband, as he didn't really care what she believed in. As long as she didn't do anything that was pagan or gets her caught. He didn't want to deal with the priest or other super religious people in the village.

Antonio only returned to the castle if the monarchs really needed him. Ever since their little stunt, he put Romano in charge of keeping an eye on them. Romano may appear like a child, but he was older than all the humans in that castle combined. If something happened that they wouldn't tell him, or they tried to pull off behind his back, the Italian would send a letter to Antonio. While he waited for the man to return, he would distract the monarchs and the others from continuing.

During his stay with the small village, he taught the villagers how to read and write, do math beyond the basics, and much more. The priest didn't like that, because they could 'get ideas', but he couldn't stop Antonio even if he tried. Let's just say that the Spanish nation was scary when he had his battle axe in hand. There were many times that he left, with the knowledge that his beautiful, healthy and as bright as ever, wife would be there when he returned. Even his father-in-law moved in at some point, as he was too old to live alone.

Then he received a letter, during one of his trips back to the castle.

It was a letter from Raziela, and it had the worse news possible. The plague started up again, and her father got it and died yesterday.

Antonio knew that the plague started up again. But he thought that the little village in which he lived in was safe, as it was so far away and closed off. He thought wrong. Now that his wife was so close to the strange illness, she might get it any day now.

The minute that he finished reading the news, he got onto the closest horse and raced off back home. Even though he went as fast as possible, it still took him and the horse two days to get there. The minute that they arrived, he jumped off the tired horse and raced to his home. The village was almost deserted, with few healthy people walking about. It appeared that they did the same thing as before. They locked up their relatives and hoped that the illness didn't get out and affect everyone else.

Antonio managed to get to his house and opened the door with a loud bang.

"Raziela!"

Silence

Green eyes looked frequently with panic when he saw the empty house. He ran to the rooms. The first one that he came to was the dead body of his father-in-law. The body was covered with a blanket. It was clear that the person wasn't asleep, as the body didn't move an inch. Even when he looked at the chest area, he saw that it didn't move.

Dead. Dead. Dead!

"Raziela!"

He once more shouted, but didn't receive an answer. He moved to the next room and froze at the sight. The brown headed woman lay in her bed, her body flinching in pain. The skin was covered with the typical symptoms of the illness.

"Raziela"

Antonio breathed out with a pained voice and made his way to her bedside. He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her hand. His green eyes glassed over, looking ready to cry. Familiar green eyes looked up at him in confusion. It took Raziela a moment to realize who it was. She smiled a bit, trying to mask her pain. Her hand in his tightened a bit, before it loosened. Her eyes fought to stay open, but sooner rather than later they closed. The hand in his became limp.

"No…" Antonio whispered in shock, his body shook. "Raziela… amor (9), wake up…" Her body didn't respond. His hands tightened their grip around her cold hand. "Raziela... please…" One of his hands was raised to stroke her face with a tender touch. It shook even more when he felt how cold her face was. Tears started to escape his eyes. "No… NO!"

-ooOOoo-

Back in the present, Antonio snapped out of his memory. His body was shaken to the core. His heart pained at the thought of his dead wife. He collapsed onto the wall beside him, his legs no longer having the ability to support him. He felt useless, like back then. He couldn't save her, and was unprepared for her death.

"Raziela" The Spanish nation whispered in pain. He then remembered his meeting with Francis. "If his human is alive… then so is she. I have to find her. I just… I just have to."

Terms from Spanish - English:

(1) Knights

(2) Sir

(3) Thank you, miss.

(4) Yes?

(5) Good evening

(6) My daughter

(7) Good night, sir.

(8) Good night, my lady.

(9) Love