Hi, everybody! I've been really uninspired for a while, so that's why I haven't submitted anything (oh, I've written, a bunch, but, the problem is, almost all of it sucks. =P) for a long while. How did I get my inspiration back? I SLEPT! xD Oh yes, sleep gave me this story, 'cause I dreamt it. =3 Sleep does help, da?

Anyway, enjoy the story, and please review (reviews equal love!), add this to your Favorites (also love!), add it to your Story Alerts, heck, add me as a Favorite Author! /shot! Yeah... you most likely won't do the last one. xD Oh, and I will try to update this every day if possible. =3 Again, please enjoy this story!

Hetalia and its characters do not belong to me. =P They all belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.

Harsher Than Winter

CHAPTER ONE

I trudged through the knee-high snow, my breath making little crystalline clouds as panted. The visible vapor cloud trailed behind me, going with the harsh wind as I continued forward. I could faintly register tears running down my face, past my rosy cheeks, and I sniffled. Snowflakes landed on my hair, and each one just seemed to make me colder and colder. ... I felt completely horrible in this wasteland.

What would I be doing here, in a forest, in the middle of Winter, exhausted, wanting nothing more than to just be back at my cozy home, being more or less ignored? I... I really wasn't sure, exactly. I was simply... lost.

You see, it's not a very long story leading up to why I was wandering around lost in a snowy forest, freezing, though it is a rather interesting one. Though, I-I'd really appreciate it if you would listen... it'd mean a lot, since no one ever really listens to me when I speak...

It started with the night before, back at my house.

"Why are you so down, Mattie! What's wrong?" An unusually loud voice called from my bedroom's doorway. I took my eyes off of the carpeted floor and looked up at my brother, Alfred, who was looking down at me with that over-ecstatic smile of his. His blue eyes looked brighter than usual, I noticed.

I shifted my position on the bed, and hugged Kumajiro, my polar bear, closer to my chest. "N-nothing..." I lied, adverting my eyes to the side. I didn't like lying, it felt so dirty. Lying to my brother was even worse, since he was one of the few people that... sort of... acknowledged me... but, I knew that he didn't want to listen to my stories about how no one pays attention to me.

Alfred gave me a thumbs up and winked, the tiniest of blush showing on his face. "Well okay, then, lil' bro'! Guess this is bye for now, then! Arthur and I are going to go to one of his pubs, beer helps you heat up your body in the Winter, ya know, and we probably won't be back for a while! I'll lock the door so that no one will be tempted to steal ya!" He laughed loudly. And with that, he started to turn and jog back down the hallway, to where Arthur must have been waiting for him.

"... W-wait...!" I tried to give a frantic yell, but it just turned into a whisper. I sighed, and buried my face into Kumajiro's head. "Why...?" I asked, my voice muffled by the bear's fuzzy fur. "Why am I so quiet...?"

The bear suddenly turned his face around to meet my eyes, so I pulled my head back slightly to look at him. "... Who are you?" It asked in a cute and unknowing voice.

Again, I sighed. Old habits die hard. I finally answered him after a moment. "... I told you before, I'm your owner, Canada..." The bear stared blankly at me with its black eyes for a second longer and then turned its head back around, apparently satisfied with the answer.

I looked at the digital clock on my bedside table and blinked at the red glowing numbers. It was 9:30 PM. "Well... I-I'm not really tired, but I guess sleep would maybe do some good for my mood..." I pushed myself off of the bed and carefully set Kumajiro on the sheets, sitting up nice and straight. The plush carpet squished between my toes as I made my way over to my wooden dresser. I pulled open one of the drawers, revealing a set of my pajamas (my favorites; they were red with bright orange maple leaves printed on them). I took them out, and headed to my bathroom to change for bed. I shut the door behind me.

A few minutes later, I opened the bathroom door back up and stepped out in my fresh pajamas. None too surprisingly, they had smelled faintly like a lush pine forest, just like everything in my room did. I had tossed my worn clothes in the hamper in my bathroom, so I could put them in the washing machine another day.

I strode my way over to my bed, and, pulling the sheets up, gingerly lay down, making sure not to lay on Kumajiro, whom I brought up in my arms. My glasses stayed on my face, because I had grown accustomed to sleeping with them, and it just felt good wearing them. "Bonne nuit," I murmured to no one in particular, and closed my eyes, later falling asleep and having some rather odd and realistic dreams.

When I woke up the next day, it wasn't because of my automatic alarm clock beeping next to my ear.

... (THE NEXT MORNING) ...

My eyes slowly fluttered open, and I found myself incredibly cold. I curled my body into a tight ball, trying to regain my somehow-lost warmth. ... Only a minute later did I realize that I was completely surrounded by snow and trees.

How had I gotten out here? It took me a while to think of an answer, but then it hit me: my "realistic" dreams. How they seemed so realistic - because they were real.

... Sleep-walking. Why did he have to have an uncontrollable habit of sleep walking - to the extreme?