This is the one ship I allow myself to ship. It's so frigging adorable. ^^
So this story was originally part of something else, but the other thing is discontinued and I'm just chopping it up to make more things. Yay.
Don't trust what I say historically in this. The cake is a lie. Last but not least, I think I exaggerated everything about Switzerland, but who cares.
Review! :D
It had been a while since Switzerland had had any friends over. He didn't have many friends. Well, technically, he'd hardly ever had people over.
Just a bit before the argument that had ended his and Austria's friendship. That long ago.
The refined nation would come over to talk, or for Switzerland to patch him up after the fights he'd lost, and sometimes other nations would come as well. Once, Russia came, near the end of the time of Switzerland's friendship. Switzerland did not particularly care for the larger nation, but he said nothing. It was obvious that Russia just wanted peace and quiet, away from Belarus trying to stalk him. Switzerland escorted him to a bench in the garden and left curtly. It was part of a deal for neutrality between the two nations. Above all, Switzerland prized peace.
Russia had also brought the Baltics, and while Lithuania was talking to Poland, and while Estonia was dozing in the shade, Latvia was shivering. Liechtenstein came over to talk to him, her light brown hair short and wavy in the light breeze. "Hello," she said cautiously, sitting down next to him. Switzerland had warned her not to talk to strangers - "They'll subvert your government and enslave you, and then take all your money!" - but she was lonely with nobody but her brother to talk to, and this stranger looked nice. Not that Switzerland was a terrible brother. He was the best brother ever, if a little overprotective.
Latvia looked over at her nervously. "H-hello."
"What's your name?" inquired Liechtenstein, smoothing her dress into ruffles around her feet. She had a feeling that talking to this nation would be kind of like coaxing a shy animal nearer.
Latvia's eyes widened. Nobody had ever asked his name before. Russia didn't care, and the whole 'family' already knew. After an extended hesitation, he said, "My name's Latvia. Who are you?"
"I'm Liechtenstein," said Liechtenstein softly. She liked this quiet nation, who was so unlike Switzerland's brash roughness. Maybe they could be friends...she'd never had a friend before. She opened her mouth to ask him something else, but Switzerland saw her and stormed over. "What have I told you about talking to strangers?" he lectured. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times you can't do that!" he softened slightly as she turned her green eyes on him. "Come on, Liechtenstein, let's go inside. You've got a cold! He could be carrying bacteria that make it worse. Remember that you wanted to go on a picnic?" Liechtenstein obediently followed him in, stopping at the garden wall to wave at the small nation. "See you later, maybe?" she called.
Latvia waved back and made an ambiguous motion with his head, and then wilted as Switzerland gave him a death glare over his shoulder. "You go on inside, Lili," he said lightly. "I'll catch up."
As soon as she was gone, Switzerland strode over to the smaller blonde. "Stay away from my sister," he said in a way that would've been conversational, if one didn't notice the dark implications behind it. "I'm trying to keep her safe, and I don't know you, therefore I don't trust you, and never will." Latvia shrank in his shadow, looking left and right. Switzerland had his gun, and it wasn't as if he'd done anything wrong, really, besides talk to Liechtenstein. He scrubbed an arm across his eyes. He wasn't going to cry right now and embarrass himself more.
Estonia and Lithuania took their places on either side of them, and he leaned into them gratefully. Even if they didn't want to be brothers, the Baltics looked out for each other. That's just what they did. "Is there a problem?" asked Lithuania pointedly. Switzerland was glaring, but then again, he normally was. The only time Latvia'd ever seen Switzerland not looking angry was when he was talking to Liechtenstein.
"It's...fine." said Switzerland with forced enthusiasm. "I just don't want him-" he jabbed a finger at Latvia, who jumped - "to talk to my sister."
"Well, why not?" asked Estonia, crossing his arms. "It's not as if he's scary." Like you are.
Switzerland gave him the death stare Latvia received. To his credit, Estonia didn't flinch - much. "Because," gritted Switerland, "I said so. This is my home. Do you need to be shown the door?"
"And face Russia's wrath? You know we're not allowed to go anywhere without him knowing, and then only if he lets us." Lithuania said matter-of-factly.
"Well," said Switzerland in a voice that barely covered his seething anger, "I'll just have to ask him to leave, on your behalf."
The three Baltics paled, not for Switzerland, but for themselves. Who knew what Russia would do to them if they pulled away from his mini-holiday early?
"Fine," said Lithuania with as much confidence as he could manage. "We'll wait outside the gate." The three Baltics walked away stiffly, Latvia poking his tongue out at Switzerland when the other's back was turned.
"Hmph." Switzerland muttered as he made his way back towards the house.
Latvia turned around at the last second to see Liechtenstein in one of the high windows, waving.
"Thanks for coming to my picnic, brother!" sang out Liechtenstein sweetly as she skipped along the path to the lake the next day. "You hardly have any time for picnics anymore." Switzerland smiled at her. "I've always got enough time for a picnic with you." He studied her as she walked along. The cold wasn't bad, and it didn't really have any implications on her government as of now, but it may yet devolve into something worse. But she seemed okay today, the only sign of it being the goosebumps spreading across her arms and the clogged sound of the mucus in her nose as she breathed.
They spread out the blankets and the food on a sunny spot, and there was no sound for a while besides that of chewing. Switzerland knew Liechtenstein was working up the courage to say something, and remained silent for her. After swallowing the last bite of sandwich, she looked at him and said, "What's so bad about Latvia? He seemed all right..."
Switzerland closed his eyes. "Well, you remember his brown-haired friend? Lithuania?" She nodded. "Lithuania was positively vicious in a war. And his friend Estonia can hack anything technological, given enough time, and bend it to his own needs."
Liechtenstein looked appropriately in fear of those achievements, but then her look turned to curiosity. "But what about Latvia?"
Switzerland sighed through his nose. He hoped she'd assume Latvia was even worse than the other Baltics, despite his frail appearance. "Just...stay away from Latvia. He's not to be trusted. You can stay with me forever, because you won't need them."
"..O-okay..." she said, almost sadly. Switzerland gave her a hard, searching look. "You like living with me, right?"
Liechtenstein nodded so enthusiastically that her brown hair flopped wildly. "Living with you is great, brother!" Thus reassured, Switzerland sat through the rest of the meal not knowing how much his younger sister wanted him to ask if she were lonely. So she could answer yes. So she didn't have to feel guilty about spending time with him. So she could make friends, and visit friends, other than the few times that Sealand dropped by to be loud and, frankly, rather irritating.
She would like to see Latvia again, no matter his crimes in the eyes of her brother.
The bell by the gate rang the following day. Switzerland had taken all his paperwork outside, as it was an exceptionally sunny day. Liechtenstein was leaning against a tree, half asleep, watching bright slips of color flit around her vision. She yawned and hopped to her feet, losing her balance for a moment before catching herself. "I'll get it!"
"Hn." said Switzerland, looking down at his paperwork, not really paying attention. Then as the events registered, he leaped up, almost overturning the bench he was working on. "Wait! It could be dangero-"
Liechtenstein opened the gate. From this angle, Switzerland couldn't see who she was talking to, nor hear their voices. Since Liechtenstein didn't appear particularity worried by this arrival, he assumed it was Sealand again, come to annoy her even more. She turned and smiled reassuringly at him, and he grunted and sat down again, keeping a sharp eye on his sister.
Liechtenstein was surprised but not worried to see Latvia at the gate. "Hi!" she said in surprise, smoothing back her sleep-ruffled hair. "Ah, what are you doing here?"
"Hi," said Latvia in a softer tone. "I, um, Estonia thinks he left something here the other day. Can I come in and look for it? He's got a rebellion to deal with..."
Liechtenstein glanced over at her brother and smiled at him, and then turned back to whisper, "If you can sneak past my brother, we can look in the west-side garden, where we were yesterday, okay?" Latvia nodded, and Liechtenstein whispered ''I'm going to go distract him, and you can crawl behind the azalea bushes." She pointed at a line of tall bushes with bright pink flowers.
Latvia looked at the bushes dubiously before ducking behind them. "Oh - one more thing!" whispered Liechtenstein urgently. "Watch out for the ornamental pond-thing! It's full of mud!" Then she rejoined her brother as Latvia was dragging his hand out of the gloopy, quicksand-esqe mud.
Through gaps in the bushes, he saw Liechtenstein sit on the bench next to Switzerland and gesture about wildly, obviously telling some incredible story. He focused his attention on crawling under the hanging flowers without getting stung. Another thing Liechtenstein had forgotten to mention were that the beautiful flowers were thick with bees. Almost at the end, he chanted quietly. Almost there-
And then, as the grass at the other end broadened out, Latvia put his hand down on a hornet.
It hurt.
Tears filled his eyes, but he didn't say anything, and just maintained an awkward three-legged crawl until he reached the relative safety of the open area. There was a fountain, and the water played in it merrily. He crawled over to it and huddled behind it. Looking back ever so frequently to make sure he was out of Switzerland's sight, he let out his breath and chanced a look at the sting.
The entire hornet was still smashed against his hand, and he squeaked and scraped his hand against the side of the fountain to get it off. That wasn't the brightest idea. The hornet was off, and oozing its guts on the fountain stone, and his hand now was screaming. Remembering something about some kind of stinging bug giving off pheromones that shouted "Danger!", he scurried around to the other side of the fountain, cradling his hand. He would go look for Estonia's phone, except his hand really really hurt. Where was Liechtenstein? He peered over the top of the fountain to meet Switzerland's eyes. He squeaked again. Ah, I'm dead, I'm so dead...He peeked over again to see Switzerland's strides bringing him closer every moment, with Liechtenstein nervously accompanying him.
Did she give me away? I thought she liked me...I guess I was wrong...
Liechtenstein got there first, green eyes apologetic. "Big Brother saw you in the bushes and was about to shoot you except I had to tell him why you were here so he wouldn't shoot you and now he'd gonna help! I hope you're not mad..." Latvia sighed with relief. "S-so he's not gonna k-kill me?" Liechtenstein sneezed, and then frowned. "Why would he kill you? He'd only shoot you."
"Oh." said Latvia in a small, wobbly voice. "If you say so..."
"Oh!" said Liechtenstein in surprise. "You got a sting. Is it bad?" Without waiting for an answer she took his hand in both of hers and probed it. Latvia felt kind of shivery inside as she then took a tube of faintly scented cream from her pocket and smeared it on the sting. The pain ceased almost magically, and gently she asked, "Is that better?"
He didn't get a chance to answer, as the butt of Switerland's gun came smashing down on the stone next to him, making him jump.
"And what," said Switzerland, "are you doing back here again?" His face was utterly terrifying. Latvia's throat locked up and he couldn't speak.
Liechtenstein jumped in to his rescue. "Come on, he's just looking for his friend's..." She looked askance at the nation that had all but collapsed into quivery jello. "Phone!" sqeaked Latvia at length. "Estonia dropped his phone."
Liechtenstein turnesd her aquamarine eyes on her brother, who only softened slightly. "Please, brother? I trust him completely."
That made Latvia feel nice. He would've chanced a small smile at her if it weren't for the very large possibility that Switzerland would have no qualms about shooting his face up.
Switzerland turned and paced, full of energy Latvia could only describe as angrily fidgety. He let out a short sigh, almost a snarl. "Lili, you're my little sister and I love you for it, but you can't do that. Not at all. You never can trust anyone. Anyone! They could stab you in the back, and could utterly destroy you."
Liechtenstein started to turn to look at Latvia, obviously thinking Him? Destroy me? He could read it in her eyes, and Latvia wasn't sure if he should be insulted or flattered.
"Yes, him." Switzerland barked. "Anyone. Anyone at all could come up and take you away from me, and I'd have to kill him, or her. So you will stay with me forever, and you'll be happy, right?" His voice rang out shakier, almost as if he were convincing himself with the rhetorical question, not lecturing his sister. He turned on his heel sharply. "You will stay here with me, and you will be safe, and if I have to lock you in your room to enforce this then so be it. You will not help him."
"But brother-"
"Enough! Inside. Now. March." Switzerland pointed at the house sternly.
Head hanging, Liechtenstein went, eyes swimming with tears. She cast a lingering, almost pleading glance at her brother, which he ignored, before walking slowly up the steps and closing the door.
Latvia knew it was his turn now, and he pressed back against the fountain as Switzerland turned to him again. When he spoke, his voice was matter-of-fact, dead sounding, barely concealing savage amusement. "You have ten seconds to get your ass out of here before I pump it full of lead. One."
The small blond scrambled to his feet and panicked, whipping his head this way and that. The gardens were huge, and there were rows of flowered bushes everywhere. "Two." Latvia picked a direction and sprinted.
"Three!" he heard Switzerland call behind him, and he picked up speed. A hill rose up behind him, briefly hiding him from the sight of the other nation. There's a wall! Latvia ran at it and leaped for the top edge. It was a solidly made stone wall the color of butter, and it was rough against his hands - or hand, really, as he didn't want to make his stung hand worse.
"Four!" With much effort, he did a pull-up and rolled over the top.
On this side of the wall it was quiet. Enormous willows arched their graceful branches down to brush his face, and green sunlight filtered through the thick nest of leaves. It was like a different world in here, and he stopped to marvel for a second before wondering if Switzerland would come looking for him. That thought spurred him to action, and he looked around. The walls encircled the entire courtyard, and there was a high arching gate nearly hidden behind the stout trunk of a tree.
Latvia took a few steps towards it, and was suddenly ankle-deep in a pond of water lilies. The water was uncomfortably cool, and he sprang out of it again, nearly knocking over an elegant china pot full of amaryllis. Righting the pot, he reluctantly took to the water again-there was no telling what he'd stumble into and destroy- and sloshed towards the gate. The room was bigger than it looked at first, and there was a reddish stone circle in front of the gate, which was thankfully open.
The small nation took his shoes off and hung them to dry, and rested his toes on the stone, leaving dark footprints. It was nice here. It wouldn't be so bad to be lost in this place. Then there was a distant cry of "Ten!" which galvanized him again. He bent to get his shoes, but he heard footsteps on the other side of the butter wall, so he forgot about them and sprinted down the path.
To his absolute horror, he found himself standing in the yard directly adjacent to the house.
Switzerland was behind him somewhere, so he knocked on the door frantically. After a moment, Liechtenstein peeked through at him, hesitated, and opened the door. "Why are you still here?" She didn't look too happy. Perhaps she was still stinging from her verbal dressing-down.
"I got lost," panted Latvia, and, with a nervous glance over his shoulder, he asked "Can I come in?"
Liechtenstein took in his muddy feet, his wet red pants sopping around his ankles, the dirt and white dust from the wall marring his uniform, and the twigs in his hair. "Come in!" she said cheerfully, and after closing the door, said, "I found Estonia's phone. This is his, right?" She brandished a sleek black piece of tech, and Latvia nodded and smiled and pocketed it.
Her pleased expression turned to one of horror. "Switzerland's in the back yard! He's coming in! Hide!" Adrenaline raced in Latvia's veins as he frantically looked for a place to hide. Liechtenstein motioned frantically at a small table with a long hanging tablecloth against the wall. Latvia dove for it just as the doorknob jiggled, and Liechtenstein sprang for a cloth to wipe the damp footprints off the black and white checked tile.
Switzerland's silhouette filled the doorway. "Liechtenstein? Are you in here?"
Liechtenstein popped out of the kitchen with the cloth in hand. "Oh...Hi, brother." Her voice quivered with don't look under the table.
Apparently Switzerland mistook it for something else. He closed the door behind him and sighed. "Listen, Lili, I didn't mean to blow up at you earlier, it's just...you'll get hurt out there in the real world and I don't want that to happen to you. You'll be safe here with me, without any backstabbers to hurt you." His rifle dangled over his shoulder and he leaned over her to hang it back on its customary spot on the wall, amidst all the other species of guns he owned.
"You just can't go and talk to any stranger you please. You have to know about them, know that they're safe. And that could take centuries. So it's best to not have any friends at all."
The cloth dropped out of Liechtenstein's hand. "But I..."
"No," plowed on Switzerland. "You're just fine with me. But I do have to enforce my rules, so as well as staying in the house for the rest of the week, I'll be patrolling the grounds. If anything happens just shout and I'll be there. In fact, I think it's an excellent idea to keep an eye on you at all times. Later in the week I'll be installing cameras and maybe a few more walls. I think I'll take back your gardening privileges for now, in case that weirdo comes back again, and after a month or two if nothing occurs I'll let you go out for an hour a day. This is all for your safety, mind you." His voice softened. "You're a wonderful sister and I couldn't imagine living without you, which is why I have to set up these extensive measures. Do you understand?" By the end of the question, his voice was hard again.
Liechtenstein stood there for a moment longer before bursting into tears and fleeing upstairs.
Switzerland stood there as well before face-tabling on the table that Latvia huddled under. "What did I do wrong?" he heard the green-suited nation murmur. "I didn't insult her, I made sure it was all right and she's not mad...what did I do?"
He slumped out of the room. Latvia noticed he took no less than five guns with him. A great incentive to move...he thought sarcastically.
Afraid that at any second he was going to return, Latvia hardly twitched, except to breathe, and to blow hair out of his face. Once he heard footsteps, but they veered away. As it grew darker outside, Latvia dared to peek out from under the table. In the evening shadows of the kitchen, he slipped out, muscles cramping from being trapped so long. A glance out the window proved no sign of anyone, so he risked standing up completely and taking a break from massaging feeling back into his calves.
I have to get out of here. That was his first and foremost thought, and he followed through on it by jiggling the window locks and searching for the keys to the door. Switzerland's mansion was every bit as imposing and maze-like as the gardens, and his efforts did not come to fruition. After minutes dripped through his fingers in this futile act, he spent his time wandering around the ground floor, burning the hard lumps of hours away. The moon rose and began sinking as the sky bulged with stars. He deduced Switzerland and Liechtenstein were not on the ground floor.
At one point he turned on Estonia's phone to call someone to get him out, but he had to input a 32-character password that he didn't have. When he tried lifting the Swiss nation's phones, the same thing occurred.
There was a door leading to a darkly shadowed basement. He shivered and refused to go near it. It seemed to exude an ominous presence across the room it was in, and being torn apart by a mass murderer was not on Latvia's list. The ghost/murderer/monster/scary thing was always in the basement.
There were stairs leading up as well; creaky wooden things with the varnish worn to nothing. He didn't risk stepping on it and having a groan of aged wood cause his untimely death- Latvia could easily imagine Switzerland leaping over the banister and blowing his brains out. Instead, he climbed the intricate weaving of wood that in normal cases would hold horizontal wine bottles, but was full of guns. There was nothing for it- he'd have to find Liechtenstein and beg her for mercy, and to get out of this infernal house at last.
He reached the top easily, violet light of moon-set throwing tightropes of cool shadow across the richly carpeted floor. There was the scent of burning, of smoke- but as Latvia turned towards the door the scent emanated from it resolved itself into the sharp scent of gunpowder. Shooting?
Suddenly afraid of discovery, he pressed himself into the best hiding spot he could find - a thick thatch of aforementioned shadow that swathed him from head to toe. Not a moment later, there was the sound of a toilet flushing and Switzerland emerged from the door Latvia'd been looking at seconds ago. Does Switzerland piss fire? The thought almost made him laugh, and only sheer common sense preserved him. The Swiss nation drifted past in strangely feminine pajamas, and peeked through a sliver of open door into a room. Satisfied with what he'd seen, he then stalked past into the next room over and disappeared from view.
There were only two things that made Switzerland's face soften like that; powerful guns, and Liechtenstein. Latvia doubted there was a rocket launcher swaddled up like a baby with a blue bow on its head, but the mental image of a wailing baby gun brought laughter to his tongue. For the second time he was saved by sense, and he attributed his current loopiness to lack of sleep. The morning when he'd arrived felt so long ago, a small bright memory blocked off by an eternity of wandering in the labyrinthine manor, covered in the twilight sun.
Labyrinth - the word fit his current world perfectly. A maze of halls and gardens and thoughts that straggled confused between ideas and islands of nothing.
He ghosted over to the room that possibly contained a baby gun and slipped inside, tarnished buttons on his uniform briefly catching the door. As he'd only half-expected, there was Liechtenstein, pale pink nightgown rucked up around her knees, a sea of ruffled blankets around her. She was shivering in the cool morning air, and absently he pulled the covers over her small, curled up feet. With a chill he noticed a plush bear that was nearly the same color as his hair tucked up under her ribs, and he briefly debated pulling it out to actually compare the shades of gold. But no, she might wake, and...
Isn't that the whole point of this endeavor? To wake her up and get out of here? Latvia puzzled over it. He could wake her, should wake her, and yet...wouldn't. She was calm in her sleep, the light slanting through the half-shuttered windows kissing her face with the gentlest of caresses. So peaceful.
He went to the window and pushed aside the curtain, looking out over the beginnings of the corona of sunrise and leaning his head against the glass, filled with a yearning he didn't really understand. A bittersweet taste. He turned around sharply and went back to Liechtenstein's side.
Latvia slumped into a chair next to the bed that Switzerland probably used for the same purpose and looked at Liechtenstein, really looked. The light from outside had changed to a pale lavender that contrasted nicely with her brown hair and the pink flush of a small amount of heat on her pale skin. He remembered Switzerland saying that she had a cold.
Latvia's head felt oddly light, and he leaned back in the chair. It's funny, he thought, that here I am, and yet I'm detached. He was indeed detached, feeling as if he were bobbing around on the ceiling while some other boy, some other nation, reached out to her and delicately laid a hand on her cheek, to see if it was warm, to see how smooth it was.
Liechtenstein stirred in her sleep, moving to grab his hand and hold it lightly, with the most delicate pressure on his fingers, like a butterfly landed on them. Latvia, or ceiling-Latvia, hardly dared to breathe, but the boy in the chair smiled with exhaustion and closed his eyes. And then ceiling-Latvia fell into sleep.
Liechtenstein woke up with another headache. She brought her hands up to rub her eyes, and then found that one of them was gently ensnared in a loose grip. Rolling over sideways, she saw a silhouette of a person in the chair next to the bed, and automatically assumed it was Switzerland. Who else would sit here and watch her overnight?
As her eyes adjusted to the morning light falling through the window, she found to her shock that it was Latvia! She sat up quick with a gasp. Reluctant to extricate her hand from his, she simply sat quietly and observed him. The gold of the morning light played in his gold hair in a way that put flutters in her stomach, and she shook the feeling off and unknowingly copied the other nation by watching him drowse in the chair. See? Brother can be wrong sometimes...
Liechtenstein didn't like doubting her brother. He was a rock-solid anchor in her life, and his word was law. But Latvia was too sweet of a nation just to ignore and have dismissed with a careless phrase; "You can't do that."
Thinking of brother led to her thinking of the carnage that would occur if the Swiss nation found the Latvian in here, her room. She'd probably spend decades arguing with him about if Latvia had - she wrinkled her nose - stolen her virginity or not. As if he would. She stifled a snort, and glanced at the clock again. 6:58. 6:58. Brother always came in right at 7. As she stared at the clock, it ticked up to 6:59.
Liechtenstein would muchly prefer that Latvia didn't die, so she leaned over and shook him awake. His sleepy eyes lifted, and then widened. He started shivering again in that endearing way. "Ah - Liechtenstein - um - Good morning..." he stammered, trying to regain his wits. He stared at the lump of their fingers twisted together as if it were all new to him.
"Good morning to you too," rushed the brunette. "My brother's gonna come in at any moment. You have to hide!"
Right on cue, there was the creak of a door. Latvia glanced around, eyes wide. "But-" The room simply didn't have enough furniture to hide behind or in. With no time to spare, Liechtenstein lifted the rumpled pink blanket and frantically gestured for him to hide under it. Latvia simply stared at her, blue eyes the size of dinner plates. No way am I gonna get into bed with a girl like her-
He changed his mind a second later when Switzerland's fingertips appeared around the side of the door, pulling it open. His heart beating like a hummingbird, he dove under the covers just as Switzerland turned his green eyes on his sister. "Good morning, Lili," he said hesitantly, not what her reaction would be after his lecture the other night.
Liechtenstein did her very best to act like she wasn't hiding a boy under her blanket. Latvia's bare feet were cold against her own. She simply stared at her brother, a little too doe-eyed for innocence. Switzerland shifted in the doorway. "Are you coming down for breakfast?"
Liechtenstein nodded mutely. Am I going to be mad at him for imposing all these terrible new rules? She couldn't decide, couldn't remember a time she'd ever been mad at her brother. But there's a first time for everything... a naughty little voice reminded her, and in the end she just nodded. Switzerland disappeared, and Liechtenstein peered under the blanket, where Latvia was huddled, making a point of not looking up her nightgown. The sight brought a smile to her face. He's not even interested in that, like most boys are. Is there anything about him that isn't good?
"Stay here for a bit," she whisper-hissed. "I don't want you to get killed. After breakfast my brother will normally go and sit in the garden and take a nap, and we'll have an hour to get you out of here. It'll be fine."
Latvia looked up at her, and the morning light was like a halo around her head. The gentle expression on her face made him shiver, and he hoped she would put it down to nerves, instead of...
No, you can't go there. This is Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein, Switzerland's sister. I'll get reamed. But...
"All right," he said finally. "Thank you so, so much."
"Any time," smiled Liechtenstein, and found that she meant it.