England burst through the door of the large library dragging Sealand behind him. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" He roared, flinging the boy into a chair.
Sealand landed with a rough thud into the cushions. "Ow! That hurt, Jerk!" He scrambled out of the seat to face him. "This is the world meeting, right?"
England scowled. "No one recognizes you as a nation! You can't be at the meeting unless you are a nation! Go home!"
"No!" Sealand bellowed, "I want to be a nation too! How can I become one if I can't go to any meetings?"
"There is no place for you in there." England turned on his heel and walked toward the door. "I better not catch you in there again! Stay here until I can hire a cab to take you … how the blazes did you get here?"
"None of your business!" Sealand shouted, flopping back in the chair and crossing his arms. His scowl had no impact on the other nation as he left the room and shut the door behind him. "This is no fair!" He jumped up and ran to the door to open it and sneak back into the meeting, but stopped when he heard what sounded like a cat mewing, then someone else hissing like he was in pain.
"Who is that?" Sealand called out, walking toward the noise, which was obviously coming from behind the sofa in the middle of the room. Suddenly, a cat jumped on the back of the couch, stopping in mid leap when he saw the boy standing there. "How did you get in here?" He asked the cat. The cat jumped down and scampered away to find a place to hide.
"Awww, come back!" Sealand heard another voice call out. He walked round the end of the sofa to see who it was. He stared at the man sitting on the floor in a very expensive suit, looking upset.
"Aren't you Italy?" Sealand asked.
"Uhhh," The young man looked worried. "I might be, who wants to know?"
Sealand shrugged. "I dunno, just me. What are you doing in here? How come you're not at the meeting?"
"Meetings are boring! Nothing ever gets done, everyone fights … and I was hungry. I decided to look for the room where the buffet is but then I saw the cute kitty and followed him in here." Italy looked around. "Did you see where he went?"
"Nah, it ran away." Sealand answered. "Won't sitting on the floor ruin your suit like that?"
Italy hopped to his feet. He looked behind himself and smiled. "It's fine." He sat on the sofa and looked at Sealand. "Uh, who are you?"
"Me?" Sealand blinked at him. "I'm Sealand. It tried to come to the meeting, but Jerk England found me and dragged me in here." The boy scowled. "He said I can't be in there because no one recognizes me as a real nation. It's not fair! How can I get recognized if I'm not allowed in the meetings?"
"Uh, I don't know." Italy shrugged. "Nothing important happens at those meetings. I come for the food, and to see any pretty girls if they're here." Italy smiled at the boy. "Did you see any pretty girls?"
Sealand thought about that. "Uhm, I saw Ukraine, but Poland was talking to her about football or something like that. Belgium was laughing about not having a government for almost two years, but the outfit she's wearing looks really shabby."
"Did you see Hungary?" Italy asked.
"Yeah, she was yelling at Turkey. He was yelling back at her." Sealand craned his neck around looking at the books on the shelves. "Have you read any of these books?"
Italy looked up at the shelves, but didn't give them much interest. "No, they are just the minutes of our meetings. Nothing I'm interested in reading."
"Why not?" Sealand asked, walking over to a bookshelf and pulling one of the books out to look at it.
"Because I like reading books about heroes and lovers and romance!"
"Romance? Ewww! That's kissing and stuff."
"Romance is wonderful though! You'll find out some day!"
Sealand frowned at him. "What makes it so great? And how will I find out if no one even looks at me?"
"Uhh…" Italy's face fell a little. "No one even sees you? How can I see you then?"
The boy rolled his eyes and put the book back on the shelf. "They all pretend they can't see me."
"Oh, how terrible!" Italy exclaimed, "To be hidden away … that reminds me of an old story from my country."
Sealand walked over to him. "What is the story about?"
Italy smiled at Sealand. "It's the story of a beautiful girl who wanted to fall in love, and how she overcame her troubles to do just that."
Sealand sat on the sofa and looked at him. "Beautiful girl? I might be interested. Is there kissing?"
The nation nodded his head enthusiastically. "Sì!"
Sealand made a face of disgust. "How much kissing?"
Italy tilted his head, wondering why the boy wouldn't like a story about beautiful girls and kissing. "If you want, I can keep out the kissing in the story."
The boy thought about that. "Okay."
"Excellent!" Italy exclaimed excitedly, "You will love this story, I promise! The title is, 'La Casa del Vento.' Once upon at time –"
"Wait," Sealand interrupted him, "What does that mean?"
"Huh? Oh, it means, 'The House of Wind.' Anyway, once upon a time-"
Sealand burst out laughing. "What, the house of wind? Is it a story about farting?"
"Ehh? No! Nonono! I told you this is a love story! Why would something that disgusting be in a love story?" Italy began to look very distressed.
Sealand couldn't hide his disappointment. "Oh, go ahead and tell me." He thought a story about farting would be much more fun than kissing.
Italy smiled, "As I said before, this story is called La Casa del Vento and …
… there is a peasant's house at the beginning of the hill leading to Volterra, and it is called the House of Wind. The house still stands today. Near it there once stood a small palace where a noble but poor family lived. At least they wanted everyone to think they were poor, but they were actually just very cheap and hated to spend money. They had a single child, a daughter who over the years grew older and very beautiful. Her mother, who was very devout … er, that means very religious, wanted her to become a nun. The girl of course dreamed of meeting a handsome man and getting married, like all young girls do. "One day while her mother played church hymns on the piano, the girl watched the birds from her window sill, delighting in their singing as they flew from tree to tree. She said to her mother, "The birds sound so happy together, I hope some day to have a family of little birds of my own singing round me in a cheerful nest." "When the mother heard this, she said with an angry tone over her loud piano playing "Nein! You will become a nun!" "The girl answered her, "But I want to fall in love!" Which made the mother so angry she jumped up from the piano and slapped the poor girl across the face-"
"Hold up!" Sealand interrupted him. "I thought this was an Italian story?"
"Eh?" Italy looked at him. "It is!"
The boy frowned. "Is it just me, or does the mother talk with an Austrian accent?"
Italy sighed. "It makes her sound more evil, trust me. Let me tell the story."
Sealand became quiet so Italy could continue.
"… Now the young lady cried at her mother's cruelty, but answered her that she had no intention of ever being a nun, and if she insisted on beating her it would only make her find a man to fall in love with all the faster. "One day the mother was patching holes in the family's very threadbare underwear when it occurred to her what she could do about her daughter to make sure she became a nun. There was a woman who was from a good family but really poor, like the mother pretended to be, who was famous for her intelligence and power of persuasion. "Ja, this will be just the person to make sure my daughter remains chaste and pious, fill her head with devotion and make a nun of her." She sent for this clever woman who was also of very strong spirit. The woman came immediately because she knew this noblewoman well and that if she didn't, the mother could be very cruel."
"At hearing this the mother was seriously frightened because she knew her daughter was strong of spirit, and she talked as if she already had a lover. The mother became concerned because the last thing their house could deal with was a scandal; she had to do something fast.
"Wow, this mother lady is turning out to be really terrible. Why don't somebody just punch her lights out?" Sealand muttered.
Italy gave him a pained look. "Then the story would end too soon, that's why."
Sealand kicked his legs. "Punching her lights out would be a good ending to the story."
Italy ignored him and continued …
"The mother introduced her daughter to the very forceful woman, and explained what her purpose would be, "She will prepare you for your future life as a nun." The mother said, "Und she will be your constant companion." "Szia!" The newcomer replied. "It's nice to meet you. I'm looking forward to teaching you what I know." "The girl put on a good face, but she despaired at her mother for forcing her into a life she didn't want. "Ah, Ciao, it is good to meet you too." She answered politely. "At first the daughter hated the idea of always being attended by someone, but as she came to know this woman, she found her to be very kind and instead became completely devoted to her. The woman, although with some behaved in a very fierce way, with the girl she was always sweet and became devoted to her too. They became very close friends. "Everything in this world doesn't always go as we plan, and no one knows what fish or crab may hide under a rock in a river-"
"What is that supposed to mean? Fish and crab hide under rocks? They both do that."
Italy's shoulders slumped. "That's the point! They do hide, so you don't see what's under the rocks! No more interruptions, we're just getting to the good part!"
"Fine!" Sealand grumbled, crossing his arms.
"Now, the governess was not a Christian at all, and did nothing the girl's mother had charged her to do, which was prepare her for a nun's life. In fact, the she actually disapproved of it and instead they spent their days talking about what they truly desired in life. The girl told her companion all about her wishes to fall in love and get married. "Now the girl had the habit of laying awake on moonlit nights to listen to the nightingales sing. One night when the moon was as big and round and full as a pizza in the sky, the girl heard curious sounds coming from her governess's room. The girl got out of bed to investigate, and found the woman's door open slightly. She peeked inside, but could never have been prepared for what she saw – the woman was completely nude! She kneeled on her balcony bathed in the bright moonlight, and she appeared to be praying to the shining moon in the sky! The girl was so shocked by this sight she immediately ran back to her room and laid in her bed, listening to the unfamiliar words her companion uttered. She finally drifted off to sleep as she heard the hollow, ringing sound of something metallic hitting a blunt object, and an unknown animal of the night making strangled noises as it scurried away. "The next morning before breakfast, the girl found her governess in the kitchen removing a dent from her favorite skillet. "Good morning," the girl greeted her, then quickly confessed to her companion what she had witnessed her doing on the balcony under the full moon. "Did you see everything?" The governess quickly asked, hiding her dented skillet behind her back. "No, just you kneeling naked under the moon, praying prayers I have never heard." The girl replied. "I must now bind you to a vow of secrecy for the rest of your life." The Governess stated, "Just like you, I was taught by the church when I was a little girl to worship an invisible god, but a kind person who I had great confidence in instead told me 'why worship a god you can't see, when there is a Moon in all her splendor visible? Worship her, Invoke Diana, the goddess of the Moon, and she will grant your true heart's desire.'" "So the young girl took the secret oath, promising to keep what she knew a secret her entire life. She learned and obeyed the Vangelo and learned all she could about Diana, the queen of the fairies and the moon."
The governess felt great relief, but quickly acted to what the girl did know, because if her employer found out she wasn't really teaching the daughter how to be a nun, she would be back on the streets.
Sealand snorted. "Fairies and the moon? Did Jerk England come up with this stupid story?"
Italy was beginning to get irritated. "No! This is a very old story from my country!"
"Sounds like something he would come up with." Sealand muttered. There were loud footsteps approaching and Sealand turned around on the couch, thinking England had returned.
Italy squeaked and grabbed Sealand as he dove behind the couch. He put his finger to his lips to keep the boy quiet just as the door burst open and Germany's authotative voice filled the room.
"This is the last room, the meeting can't start until Italy is present, and he's the host!" Germany scowled as his eyes swept over the empty room. "Are you sure you didn't see him here?"
"The only one in here is that menace Sealand, I told him to stay put … I say, where did he go?" England spun around, looking for the irritating child. "Where could he be now?"
America followed them into the room, smirking at England. "Little guy didn't stick around? Probably he went to find something fun to do, like
draw stupid pictures of you!"
"Stuff it, git!" England glared at him as he left the room.
"This is just great! Now the meeting will be delayed longer!" Germany followed England out, grumbling about inefficient use of time for important business.
America stood there a little longer, looking around before walking out and closing the door behind him. "Maybe he went to get a piz-"
Italy sat still for a little while longer after the door slammed closed before peaking from behind the couch. "They're gone!" He exclaimed, sitting back down and looking at Sealand. "Let's stay back here, just in case they return, alright?"
"Sure," Sealand shrugged, thinking it was silly of them to hide. He wanted the others to see him.
"So where was I? Oh yes, so anyway …
"… The girl learned about la vecchia religione and how to pray to Diana and ask for what she wanted. In time her devotion to the moon goddess was rewarded when she met a brave and wealthy cavalier, who was as handsome and admirable as any girl could desire. The way they met was very romantic. One day the girl was out in the countryside painting a portrait of a family of pretty bluebirds as they flew about a meadow, when the handsome man stumbled upon her. "Now the cavalier was very polite and smiled as he approached, but when the girl saw him she knew this was the man who would marry her some day. She admired how tall he was, the expensive lace of his collar and sleeves, the rich brightly colored silk sash tied around his doublet with a very large bow in the cavalier style. His wide brimmed hat decorated with a long feather that swept back gracefully from the brim. The girl knew as soon as she saw him that Diana had heard her prayers and answered them. "He approached her and gave her a gentlemanly bow as he took off his hat and asked "Fraulein, am I near the town of Volterra?" "And the girl replied, "But of course! It is my home, I can go with you!" She quickly packed up her art supplies –"
Sealand threw up his hands. "Hold up! Fraulein?"
"He was very gentlemanly, like a cavalier should be!" Italy groaned. "Why do you keep interrupting me like this?"
"Why is your Italian story full of people who don't sound very Italian?" Sealand quipped.
Italy decided to ignore him and went on.
"She quickly packed up her art supplies, handing everything to the cavalier to carry for her like a fine gentleman would, then grabbed his arm and happy led him to her village and right up to her front door. Indoors the mother had been alerted that her daughter was with a man, and burst through the entrance shouting angrily at them. "What is the meaning of this? Who is this man?" She rudely asked, waving a faded shirt in his face in which she was patching the elbow. "The governess followed behind, smiling when she saw the handsome stranger. "Have your prayers been answered?" She asked cheerfully. "They have!" The girl exclaimed, clinging to the cavalier's arm. The cavalier put down the girl's painting supplies and tugged at the uncomfortable but elaborate lace collar around his neck. "Ahhh, Hello, I was just on my way to find the-" "The mother saw the look of joy on her daughter's face and realized this must be the girl's secret lover she suspected her of having all along. The mother's fear of scandal and cruelty overcame her, and before the handsome cavalier could finish his sentence she shouted at him, "Begone from my house and never visit my daughter again! She is for the church and she will become a nun or die!" She grabbed the girl and viciously pulled her into the house, slamming the door in the handsome man's face. "Uuuhhh, okay?" The Cavalier muttered to no one, before heading back to the road and on to his destination, wondering whom those very strange people were and at what had just happened. "The mother dragged the poor girl up to the tower of the palace and locked the girl in a cell with nothing but the stone floor to sleep on. When the girl's mother didn't return for a few hours, the girl's stomach rumbled from hunger. Terrified she would starve in that horrible place, she prayed to Diana that she would be set free. "Suddenly, the door, which acted as if it had never been locked at all swung open. Diana heard her prayers again! The daughter made her escape and left the house. She found some peasant clothes to change into, but being in better shape and not patched decided they were better than what she wore. She began to search for the handsome cavalier, traveling over the countryside. She also told everyone she encountered her story of love and betrayal, and how Diana the moon goddess had granted her prayers. The people came to call her La Bella Pellegrina. "Eventually when the mother found out her daughter was wandering about and telling everyone their business, she became even more enraged. She decided the girl was too much trouble to handle on her own any longer, so enlisted the help of the local priest and had her arrested. The priest came and dragged her to prison. "The priest cursed the girl and interrogated her. "You idiot! How could you fall in love with a bumpkin like that when your mother said you were going to become a nun! Is it true you have left the holy church and now worship Diana? Bastard!" "Yes it is true!" The daughter answered, causing much shock from the priest and her mother. "The Mother in the end decided her daughter was lost, "I told her become a nun or die, and she has chosen death. I can do nothing more with her." and put the girl in the custody of the terrible priest to torture and put to death, as they did with all who willingly left the church in those days. So the girl was locked up in the palace, where the priest was very cruel to her until the day she was to go to the gallows."
"Why would a priest call a girl a bastard?"
"Eh? Because he's an evil priest, obviously." Italy answered.
"An evil priest?"
Italy looked totally deflated. "Can I at least finish? The story is almost done."
"Sure, I guess." Sealand answered, thinking this story was weird, and kinda boring.
"Now the cavalier, who had heard about what was going to happen to the girl from the people who had been taught about Diana persuaded a guard to allow the girl to go into the garden that night before she was executed. The girl did just that, walking into the light of the full moon and prayed to Diana that she might be saved and delivered from her cruel fate. As she prayed, she walked into the little house that still stands there today and stood in the doorway looking up at the moon. "As it just so happens, the priest and the mother were in the palace watching the girl below as she walked in the garden to make sure she didn't try to escape before her execution. "Suddenly, the goddess answered her prayer again when suddenly the powerful tempest with strong, terrible winds blew up. It was a storm no one had ever seen in that country before. The wind was so powerful; it swept away the entire palace, and everyone who was inside. The mother and priest who wanted to kill the girl disappeared that night, never to bee seen again. "The good people of the town came out and marveled at what they had just witnessed, because not even a single stone of the palace remained. The girl was so happy when she found her handsome cavalier; she insisted they get married at once, which they did. And to this day, the house that she stood in is known as La Casa al Vento, or the House of the Wind."
A voice broke in and interrupted Italy. "Dude, she totally farted! Ha ha!"
Italy and Sealand exchanged glances before peaking over the sofa to find America standing there laughing at them.
"No! That's not what the story was about at all!"
"Sure it is!" America replied. "I wrote that story."
"WHAAAA? No you didn't! That is a very old story from my country! How can you say that America?"
"Okay, I didn't write it, but I shortened it up and improved it! There was too much filler in it."
"Filler! How dare you say that about my beautiful story!" Italy shouted.
"Here you are!" Germany strode angrily into the room glaring at Italy. "You have held up the meeting for hours; we should be having lunch now!"
"Lunch! I'm very hungry, good idea Germany!" Italy exclaimed, grabbing Germany's arm.
"Let go of me! Lunch will be delayed until after the meeting!"
"Delay lunch, no way! I can't miss my siesta!" Italy whined, dragging Germany out of the room.
Sealand watched them leave, thinking Italy was the strangest guy he ever met. A sharp pain suddenly stabbed into his ear and he looked up at England, who glared down at him.
"Hey jerk! Let go of me!"
"Absolutely not. Your taxi is here, you're leaving." England pulled on the ear and forced the boy to follow him out of the room.
"Owowow! Jerk England! Let go of me! I want to go to the meeting, you can't make me leave yet!" Sealand shouted, dragging his heals and grabbing onto things to try and stop England from making him leave.
America grinned as he watched the group walk or get dragged out of the room. He left and closed the door behind him, heading to the dining hall to get a bite to eat before heading back to the meeting.
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Author's Note: Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches was published in 1899 and written by American journalist Charles Leland. He claimed to receive the original Vangelo from a woman who was a member of a cult, which worshiped the moon goddess Diana and had existed in Italy since the days of the Etruscans. The book contains stories and magic spells.