Enrico – [en-REE-ko] (Henry) "home ruler" Use: Italian.
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Heta-Generations
Chapter One:
Enrico
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Crystal clear waters, white foam lapping at the shore, I would not give this beauty up for anything. Not my Madre(1) nor my Padre(2) or even my Fratello(3) could know of this passion, this indescribable love for sketching the sea. Painting would be better, but it would take too long to dry, and I had no place to hide it. I would have to wait for a hot, dry day when Madre took a long while to go to the market. I felt the familiar jolt of excitement run up my spine at the thought, and I knew I should have been ashamed when I actually wasn't. With art, I felt wild and free, and I clung onto the feeling as long as I could.
"Enrico(4), it is time to wake up! Hurry or you'll be late!" I heard my Madre call to me. A sigh passed between my lips as I packed up my supplies and stood up. What Madre was not aware of was that I awoke every day two hours before she called me to get up. This gave me time to myself for finishing school assignments or working on my art. It was a time that I cherished.
Walking away from my window, I stopped at my dresser and pulled a burgundy sweater vest over my white dress shirt, completing my outfit and keeping me nice and comfortable for the day. I was about to grab my messenger bag that lied nearby when I heard a meow come from my bed. I looked over at the calico that sat there, staring at me. That, I laughed at.
"Okay! I'm going, I'm going! I swear, Fiore(5), you are so impatient…" I could not help the grin that spread across my face. There was a fresh rush of cheerfulness that ran through my veins as I bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Madre was busy preparing biscotti as I entered the room. "Bunogiorno(6), Madre! Where's my Fratello? Did he go to school?"
"Si; unlike you, that boy is actually prepared in the morning…" I winced ever so slightly at her remark but then relaxed and allowed the words to roll off of me. This was the normal way she spoke to me, always praising my Fratello, always comparing me to him. Madre suddenly handed me a piece of bread with cheese smeared on top of the crust. "Here. Now, got to school or else!" She stretched out the last words threateningly. It was then that I took my leave, and as I was closing the front door, I heard the woman inside sigh and grumble, "I swear… that boy."
Subtle warmth crept behind my honey drenched eyes, tears threatening to fall. I should not have these emotions after hearing it for so long… Why did I have to be such a crybaby? I rubbed my eyes as I walked down the cobbled street but stopped to check the time. I only had ten minutes before school started! My steps turned into a jog and after a few seconds a flat out run. I stuffed the bread in my mouth, barely tasting the richness of mascarpone(7) on ciabatta(8) as I chewed.
I could see the clock tower in the distance and began to sprint as fast as my short legs would take me. My brown loafers passed into the cobbled court yard just as the bell rang and I finished my breakfast. I threw up my arms in triumph and shouted out victory. The gates were closed behind me, and I decided it was then time to head towards my class.
The hallways were empty as I roamed the school. I could hear the teachers beginning their lessons in the rooms I passed by. At last, I reached the one I was looking for. Class had already started, so I peeked through the glass pane that was placed within the door. Our instructor had her back turned, facing the board as she scribbled something in chalk. This was my perfect chance to sneak in. I hunkered down to the wooden floor and slowly slid the door open. No one appeared to notice as I crawled behind a nearby desk while quickly and quietly closing the door behind me. The next part of my plan was to get to my seat before the teacher saw me. I was but a few feet away when the words I oh so dreaded met my ears.
"Mr. Alduino(9), if you intend to sneak into my class, I suggest making less noise." The scribbling of chalk came to an abrupt halt as I swallowed the lump that had accumulated in my throat. As one, the entire room went silent. Having no other choice than to face my fate, I stood to where the woman upfront could see me. She beckoned for me to venture closer, and I obeyed. I hung my head so as my reddish, brown hair covered my eyes. That way, I could avoid her piercing gaze. "I expect you to visit the principle immediately." For the first time that day, I looked into her eyes that screamed the words that I was in trouble.
"Si, Ma'am…" My reply was quiet, almost inaudible, a murmur to my ears and the ones around me. She pointed to the exit, where I had entered just moments before. It was then I turned to leave. A few of my classmates snickered as I passed by them. The only exceptions were my best friends, Abele and Eva(10). They just gave me sympathetic looks, and Abele mouthed a 'Good luck'.
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I was left off easy, thankfully. There was no reason to inform my parents due to me being just late to class. If I had missed school altogether, that would be an entirely different story…
The next time I saw my friends was on the walk home. Eva lived nearby, but Abele's family had a house down the road. We took our time, enjoying the warm spring weather and fresh air. Abe and I made small talk as Eva remained silent and chose to listen. This was highly unlike her; usually, Eva had everything to talk about. She wasn't called Encyclopedia Eva for nothing, but today was different. Eva walked a few feet in front of us, and I made sure not to walk on her heels. It was when she pivoted on her foot to turn to us that I nearly ran her over. Abe, unlike me, stopped on the dime along with Eva's sudden movement. He had to pull me back by my shirt sleeve to keep me from tumbling into the girl in front of us. Eva's eyes glistened with excitement as she grinned and her pulled back, long brown hair flowed in the wind. There was the expression I had missed; I just wish she would not allow it to appear so suddenly.
"I bet you can never guess what my Padre told me last night!"
"Oh great… another wild story." Abele mumbled. Eva's Padre was notorious for sharing the craziest stories. Once, he had even said that fairies were real. To be honest, I believed him to be completely off his rocker. Abe thought the same, so that was why we never believed much of Eva's tales.
"It. Is. Not. Wild." She glared and poked painfully into my other friend's shoulder. "This one is actually believable… so much that I honestly have to say it's a bit scary." Her voice grew deadly quiet, so much that I actually appeared interested in spite of myself. She took us by our arms and pulled us over to the street corner nearby.
"What is it?" I asked. Eva looked around us to see if anyone else was listening. When the coast was clear, she leaned toward us and began whispering.
"Padre started talking yesterday in gibberish…" Her piercing chocolate eyes bugged out.
"I thought he did that every day. What's the big deal?"
"Shut up and listen, the both of you!" She glared at us. "Anyways, me and Madre started talking to him, telling him that he was making no sense. That was when he calmed down and began telling us about these beings."
"Beings?" Abe and I asked; Eva nodded.
"He said that they have been alive for thousands upon thousands of years. They know everything about everywhere and everyone. Padre said they are somewhat immortal, but not necessarily. These beings are harmed when populations are harmed."
"Why is that exactly?" I could not help but ask.
"Because they are the people, the lands, the animals, and everything combined. They are the living embodiments of nations!" It was silent for a few minutes after her last words, but it was soon interrupted by Abele bursting out laughing and me snickering. Abe laughed so hard that he clutched his stomach and had tears in his eyes.
"That's- the dumbest- thing I have ever- heard!" He managed to gasp out between his chuckling. Eva was outraged and ended up hitting Abe very hard with her school bag. I was lucky and only received a sharp smack to the back of the head.
"You're both jerks!" With that, she stormed off. Abe was still laughing as I told him goodbye and headed home.
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I shook my head as I crossed the street. Nations being actual people… how ridiculous! Eva's words stuck with me as I continued the walk home. I just hoped that she was not beginning to follow in her Padre's footsteps. Without realizing it, I had suddenly walked down the wrong street. I really did need to learn to stay focused on what I was doing. Day dreaming was a terrible habit of mine. My eyes then came to a stop on some shady characters that stood across the street. They wore dark suits and sunglasses, cliché garb that any government officials would wear. I quickly forgot about them and turned to go back to the last cross section. It was when I crossed over the road that lead to an alley that I felt nothing and a large truck rammed into me. It was so sudden that I did not experience any pain, an my entire world went black. Quiet…
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(A.N.) ***Translations***:
(1)Madre- (Italian) Mother
(2)Padre- (Italian) Father
(3)Fratello- (Italian) Brother
(4)Enrico- (Italian) The main character's first name.
(5)Fiore- (Italian) Flower. Enrico's cat.
(6)Bunogiorno- (Italian) Good morning.
(7)Mascarpone- (Italian) A cheese that is spread on ciabatta.
(8)Ciabatta- (Italian) A bread that sliced and eaten for breakfast. It is usually served with mascarpone or ricotta cheese.
(9)Alduino- (Italian) Enrico's last name.
(10)Abele and Eva- (Italian) Enrico's very best friends.
Hello, everyone! This is the official first chapter for Heta-Generations! J I have been thinking of this for a while and am so happy that I have finally gotten to write my ideas down. Just to let everyone know, this is set much farther in the future than the original timelines for Hetalia even though it does not appear thus far that there are any technological advances… *Sighs* In fact, it may seem that they are even a step back than present Italy… I'm sorry if I am not clear with my descriptions. *Laughs*
I feel so bad for it being this way, but most of the entire story is going to be OC's… Don't worry though, I am including the original cast of Hetalia in several different fashions. J So far, we do not know what the plot for this story is, and we will probably not find out until the fourth chapter. The first three chapters will be back stories or setting for each of the main characters. The action will really begin in chapter four; I promise!
;)
*Wink, wink*
I hate the ending to this chapter! I'm just not satisfied with it, but I wanted to incorporate some sort of cliff hanger. I know; I'm evil! J Anyway, I wanted to leave it on a note where the audience will be asking questions. Just try not to be too angry with me… Please? Anyways, as always input is appreciated, so please feel free to leave a review!
~Ame-chan777