Reasons and Surprises

by EverythingMath

England's got a secret. A REALLY IMPORTANT secret. And what's up with China?

Hey! This is another (long) story. It just kind of popped into my head. Some notes about the story:

Rome is the father of the UK kids, Britannia is the mother.

POV (point of view) will change a lot, so I will make note when it does. (When I say a lot, I mean A LOT.)

Hetalia, as usual, is not mine.

Now: Reasons and surprises!

America's POV

So, the meeting was started, and England wasn't there. I couldn't believe it, he's always early! (Because he's a stuffy stick-in-the-mud who is obsessed with being a gentleman.) But then, he walked in, with his shirt kinda bunched like he was rushed getting here. He took his place next to me, so I asked him why he is late.

"Hey dude, why're you late?"

"Bloody git. Shut up. There's a meeting."

And a very warm welcome to you, too, Mr. Annoyed.

I looked at England a bit longer, then turned back to my notes. I tried to take notes, I swear, but my GOD Germany is BORING! So I doodled. A bald eagle, a lion, an American flag. I started doodling more flags for the heck of it. And after having been lectured by Scotland multiple times, I remembered Iggy's real flag now. It was a red cross. And Northern Ireland's: A red x. Here's Scotland's, a blue cross. England's flag plus Northern Ireland's flag plus Scotland's flag equals UK flag. Isn't that cool? Oh, the meeting's over.

"Hey Eng-" I start, but he's out the door already. He is sure acting strange. I've got a craving for McDonalds.

England's POV

Today is messing with me. The fairies have turned against me. Today I woke up and realized that I forgot my meeting notes, I was late, and I had nothing clean to wear. (Nothing appropriate, anyway.) And if the fairies hadn't had enough, my clock decided to die. Ugh.

So I threw on some clothes that were okay, and got into my car. The world meeting was in France, so not too far. But then my brain was acting up again and I kept forgetting that those French idiots drive on the wrong side of the road. I nearly crashed twice. So when I got to the meeting, I was NOT in a mood to talk to the git sitting to my left, otherwise known as America.

"Hey dude, why're you late?"

"Bloody git. Shut up. There's a meeting."

After the meeting, I rushed out. Usually, the girls would go off and do their own thing and the men would talk/flirt/yell at each other, but today it didn't feel right. It was lunchtime so I went to a restaurant, too lazy to cook. At home, I simply collapsed on my couch for a nap.

France's POV

Mon lapin sure rushed out if here today. He was in disarray, completely unusual for him. I thought something must be up. So, naturally, I went to his house to make sure he is okay. I knocked on the door, heard nothing, knocked again. A faint "Who is it?" was heard.

"I just wanted to check on mon cher to see if you are okay."

"I AM FINE. GO AWAY, YOU GIT."

Ahh... My bunny does not want to talk. I will come back later.

England's POV

I admit, I panicked a little when someone knocked on the door. I was improperly dressed to meet a fellow country. So I stalled.

"Who is it?"

Of course, Francis knew I wouldn't let him in, regardless, so he said it straight out: "I... wanted to see if you were okay."

I'm only kind of sorry that I yelled at him.

I looked down. I've harbored this secret all my life. That's okay. I've been careful, never letting anyone know, making sure my "fake identity" is so much a part of me that I'm not pretending.

My fingers touch a corner of a display case. Also, no one ever sees this case, but it's because of my pride. Paintings of America as a child, of Canada, France, myself and America. Paintings of many memories. Joan of Arc.

France, I'm sorry I teased you about a girl having to fight your battles. That taunt still rings in my ears. France forgave me but I never forgave myself. How could I?

Ugh, I'm getting all mushy and emotional. Maybe it is time to let myself be free, if only for a moment.

America's POV

There's this coffee shop down at London road that has really good coffee, and according to Iggy, really good tea. It's the day after the meeting; I decide to go to the coffee shop. I look around; one side is fairly full, but there's practically no one on the other side. I walk over and sit down. There's a girl next to me, with blonde hair and beautiful green eyes. She looks kinda familiar. I order a coffee drink it, looking at the girl every once in a while. She totally sees me looking, and she looks like I caught her or something. She finishes her drink quickly and scurries out of the shop. I swear I've seen her before, but where?

England's POV

I decided that I'm going to tell all the countries. Maybe. Actually, I'm not very decided. But... Ugh. What should I do?

America's POV

The G8 meeting was at Canadia's house. I got there and my sis was already there, setting up stuff for the meeting. It's kind nice that I got here early, I got to chat a little with Canada. England is late, again! Seven of us are here, where is he? (It's not Canada who is missing, I checked.)

And then, this girl walks in, she's tiny, but really pretty, and she has green eyes. Oh! She's that girl from the coffee shop!

"Hello, I'm London. E-England is out sick today, so I'm standing in for him."

That's where I thought I remembered her from! She looks so much like England!

"So, you're Iggy's capital?"

"Yes," she replied, walking swiftly to the place England usually sits. Wait, how did she know he sits there?

"Hey, it's like you've been here before! You know where England usually sits!"

"Ah... The, um, that is the, well, it makes sense for me to sit there. The only other chair faces backward," she replied, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Okay!" I reply. The meeting opens with Japan speaking about those whatchamacallits, and I try to take notes. London's handwriting is a lot like England's, I notice. At the end of the meeting, London says goodbye and leaves quickly.

(A/N: by now you've figured it out, right?)

England's POV

Yes, I am female. There is no personification of London, I just needed a fake identity. I couldn't just all of the sudden say, "I am a woman!"

The reason I grew up as a boy starts with my father: Rome.

Rome was a very strong country. No other country could win against him except the Spartan Greeks, but they don't count. They're a polis (city) not a country.

Rome's belief was that women were worse than men at leading. Not necessarily bad, but worse than men. So when I was born, smaller than my brothers, younger, and a girl, Rome was worried. I was to lead my brothers in the UK, after all. So he brought me up as a boy. I learned to think, act, walk, and speak like a boy. England was a boy.

However, my mother Britannia did not want me to lose my woman side. She taught me how to behave like a woman in secret. And so I became Alice Kirkland.

To me, England and Alice were different people. England was male, Alice female. England was strict and no-nonsense, Alice was carefree. But most important, England was a nation and Alice was a normal human.

Many other nations are a little different when they are posing as human. But no one is more different than me.

America's POV

England is sick? I better go check on him.

I knocked on his door and he opened it. I realized I had never seen him in non formal stuff. He was in simple jeans and a tee-shirt with a British flag on it.

"Hey dude, London said you were sick so I wanted to check on you!"

"Um, yeah."

That was strange! England is usually all "GET OUT YOU GIT" when he's sick. So it leads me to believe he is hiding something.

I change tactics. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, git." But the emphasis was on wrong, as if something was up.

I stared at him. "England, I know something's up 'cuz you're acting funny."

He said something in Scottish Gaelic.

"Dude, do you want to come with me, and we can walk around the park?" Because, seriously, he does not do enough stuff like that enough. Whenever I meet him outside of meetings, we always sit somewhere and talk. Never doing something.

England looks shocked for a minute, than says, "Fine."

England's POV

I don't know why I agreed. But here I am, walking with America, and I decide to tell him.

"America," I say softly.

"Yeah?"

How best to tell him? "I'm sorry I've lied my whole life."

"What?!" America stares at me. "Lied... your whole life?" He doesn't believe me. He thinks it's a hoax.

"Yes. I..." I choke on the words.

I might as well start at the beginning.

"Rome, my father, had a strong belief that men were better leaders than woman.

He knew I was to be the leader of the UK. So I was brought up as a boy. So, to you, I am a boy. But recently, women have been getting equal status to men, and lead equally well. So I felt that my disguise was not truly needed. Coming in and saying I was London was a test, to see if you would accept a girl as the leader of England. And you did. So now I feel I can tell you. I..."

I still couldn't bring myself to say that.

"I guess that sounds true. All this time..." America said, "All this time, you've been... a... girl?"

I nodded weakly, and felt smaller than ever as America looked at me like he was meeting me for the first time.

"But you don't- look-" he blushed.

"I used a spell to change my appearance."

"Is there a London?"

And then, apparently the fairies were not done with me. Because as I began to say no, my foot hit a crack in the sidewalk and I full-on tripped, falling forward. America instinctively grabbed me and pulled me upright (very easy for him to do, seeing as he is the super-strength country and I am the one known for being small). After he steadied me, he immediately pulled away with a blush in his cheeks.

"Sorry," he muttered, but at the same time I whispered "Thank you."

He walked me back to the house in silence, but before he could leave, I called softly, "Can I tell them in my own time?"

"Yeah!"

He left. And I was alone in my house, feeling as if a massive weight left my shoulders. I lifted the spell concealing me and changed into woman's clothes. Somehow, I looked like a man wearing woman's clothes, until I pulled my lips into a slight smile. Suddenly I was Alice Kirkland.

Women are just as well respected as men. I will tell them at the next world meeting.

Scotland's POV

"England?" I call as I walk toward his room.

"England!" I bang on the door. "Open up, lad."

"Don't be surprised," he answers. His voice sounds super calm and even, as always.

"What is-?"

The door opens, and a girl walks out.

"Wha! Who are ye and what are ye doing in my brother's room?" I exclaim.

"Scotland, do you not recognize your sister?" The girl says is a perfect British accent. Sounds exactly like England.

"Sister?" I say. I look at her face, and those green eyes are ones I would remember anywhere.

"England, why are you dressed like a woman," I sigh.

"I'm a girl."

"Really. April Fool's, lad, get better clothes on."

"What makes you think I'm a boy?"

"IRELAND!" I call. "Come talk to England, he isn't saying an ounce of sense!"

"Scotland! It isn't anywhere near April! I'm telling you..."

Ireland comes over, smiling cheerfully. "Hello England," he says, "Why are you dressed like a girl?"

"I'm going to try and tell them all the truth."

"That you're a girl?" Ireland starts laughing, shaking with silent laughter. "OI! WALES! GET THE CAMERA!" he calls. This is actually very smart, as we either get awesome blackmail photos or get England to dress properly.

Wales bounces in, holding a camera. "Hey, England! Smile!" he laughs, pointing the camera at England. I expect England to cower and cover his face, but he stands straight and smiles. England! Smiling! And the funny thing is, he looks so much like a girl that I barely recognize him.

"Is he sick?" Ireland whispers to me.

"Maybe," I answer.

"Hey England, are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," he replies. "Why won't you believe me?"

"We are your bothers, lad. We know you're not a girl."

"It's called magic," he replies, frowning.

"Prove it," I said.

He rolled his eyes and shot something at Wales. Suddenly, all of Wales's clothes were pink. Then just as suddenly they were normal.

"It was the fae," I replied. I mean, of course it was the fae.

England glares at me. "Scotland, do you remember dad?"

"Yes, he completely favored you."

"That's because..."

"You were the UK, our leader," I answered.

"NO IT ISN'T! It was because he needed me to learn how to act like a boy-"

"He's finally snapped," muttered Ireland.

"England, why don't you take a nap, you seem tired," I said.

England crossed his arms, but Ireland grabbed him and dragged him inside the room.

"IRELAND!" shrieked England.

"Ye can come back oot when you're talking sense."

"Gah, I need to talk to Southern Ireland."

Southern Ireland's POV

***Note: S. I. is going to be called Amanda, or Mandy. N. I. will just be called Ireland. ***

I look down at the cross stitch I am working on. I am about to jab the needle in when England walks in.

"Mandy, I need your help."

I don't look up. "With what, dear brother?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was a girl?"

"No, not really."

"Well, I'd like you to meet London."

I glanced up. Who is this? Oh, London. Wait, where's England?

"Hi," London whispered.

"Where's England, lass?" I ask.

Then London replies, "There is no London. I'm England. Will you believe I'm a girl now?"

I got a slight shock because he did fool me. It WAS England!

"England, why are you dressed-" I start, but he interrupts, "I already got that from Scotland and your twin. I need you to believe me."

"Well, I can't. I know you're a boy."

England glared at me. "What, did dad hide me when I was born? Why won't you all believe me? It's dad's fault, isn't it!"

"When you were born..."

I can barely remember. I remember dad saying that this child, England, would lead my brothers. I remember that mom had had a fight with dad, and later, it was like nothing had happened. I remember mom and dad both favoring young England, and I remember our trips to town, for fun. We would walk off on our own, and England would stay with mom. I remember that he never laughed, except when mom was with him.

"You were like a different person, with mom."

"I was. When I was with mum, she taught me to be a lady. I was Alice, with her. When I was with the rest of you, I was England. It got to be so that England and Alice were almost separate people in my head. Have you actually seen me posing as a human?"

I thought about it. Did I even know what his human name was? Wait- if he's to be believed, and I realize he puts up a great argument, then he's a woman!

"Uh, I kind of believe you..." I replied.

He said- wait, no, SHE! That's going to be a hard habit to get rid of.

She said, "Thanks for believing me." She looked relieved. "Oh, and you can call me Alice, if you want. That's my human name."

"Hey wait, before you go... Have you told anyone else?"

"Yes, I think America will be embarrassed around me for a week and our brothers think I've snapped."

"Excellent," I replied. "Would you like me to help you convince the UKs tomorrow?"

"Is that what you call us? The UKs?"

"Uh, yeah. See you later!"

H-She left. A singe thought ran through my mind.

So England is a girl.

England's POV

Thank whatever deity exists that Amanda believed me! The next morning, I rolled out of bed and dressed in simple clothes, not bothering to put the spell that changes my appearance on. I wore jeans and a tee shirt, this time a woman's tee shirt with the British flag shaped like a heart. Yes, as Alice, I am patriotic. So what?

I walk downstairs, thinking. I realize Hungary has been in this same situation, maybe I can get her help. Suddenly, someone grabs my shoulders.

I spin, seeing Wales. "Wales! Don't do that!"

"Eh. Are you still cross dressing?"

"No, I decided I'm not wearing boy's clothes again."

"Yeah, you've snapped."

"Go talk to Mandy."

"Big sister?"

"What other Amanda do you know?"

"None, but why?"

"Why what?"

"Why talk to her?"

"So you'll believe me."

Wales sighed. "I doubt it."

"See you later, Dragon."

Dragon is his nickname, after his national symbol. Ireland calls him Dragon most of the time. Me, only rarely.

"Bye, little brother," he replies. That is most annoying because he looks younger than me.

"Sister."

"What?"

"I'm your sister."

I watch Wales walk back upstairs. He knocks on Amanda's door. I turn away.

"I must go see Hungary," I think.

Hungary's POV

I hear a knock on my door, which is rather strange. I open the door and find England, which is even stranger. When I see that he is wearing woman's clothes, I sigh and ask, "Is this a dare or something?"

"No," he replies, "I came under my own terms. I need your help."

"Ah-ha. Come in, sit down!" I say, gesturing him inside.

"I have a problem," he says, "and since you went through the same thing, I thought you could help me."

"What is this problem?" I asked, then looking him over, added, "It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact you're wearing women's clothes?"

He took a deep breath. "When you found out you were a girl, what did you tell people?"

When I found out I was a girl... Same problem as you... Women's clothes...

The pieces fit together in my mind. "Ohmygod, England, YOU'RE A GIRL?!"

She looked slightly taken aback. "You were the fastest to believe me."

"Um..."

I watch WAY too much Anime.

England's POV

At least I didn't have to waste time convincing Hungary that I was a girl.

"So, can you help me out?"

"Of COURSE! Have you told anyone yet?"

"America, Amanda, Scotland, Ireland, Wales."

"Who is Amanda?"

"Southern Ireland."

"Oh. Right. Anyways, I dressed overly girly and acted overly girly... Oh, and Prussia believed me so he would tell everyone. I think that helped a lot."

"So I should go as London to the world meeting?"

"That would be a great idea! Don't worry, I'll help you. I think you should tell one country at a time, though."

I nodded. "Thank you for your help, Miss Hungary."

"Call me Elizaveta!"

Germany's POV

Prussia is annoying and lazy.

I got to the meeting on time, luckily. The same girl from before walked in. London? She took her seat and pulled out her notes. I noticed that she's doing the same thing as England: she runs her finger over the page as she reads her notes over.

"Is England still sick?" I asked her.

"Hm."

Obviously she does not plan on answering, so I leave.

Finally after all of the countries have settled down (something involving London glaring at quite a few curious nations) I call for the meeting to start.

Halfway through the meeting, there is a break. We mingle and talk, and London is a lot more sociable today.

"I'm worried people won't accept what I say," she told me.

"Why?"

"When I was young, female bias was high."

"There's no need to worry," I say. "Female bias is just about gone now."

"Thank you." she says. I wait for a moment, then ask, "How's England?"

She freezes, and I can almost see the debate in her eyes. "England... is... um... fine," she says.

I nod and she walks away, moving into the mob of countries.

Sealand's POV

London is beautiful! She is so pretty! I watch as she comes over to me, then ruffles my hair. "Hey Pete," she whispers, "You aren't a country!"

I automatically reply, "I will be soon!"

That's actually a little strange, how does she know my ritual? Only England does. He always says I'm not a country and I say I will be soon. He's one of the few who care enough to know my human name, Peter.

London walks off, and I watch as France lays a hand on her shoulder. She spins around.

"Hello London!"

"Hey Frog," London answers.

France looks at her. "You look so much like England it is... uncanny."

London places her hand on her hip. "I get that a lot."

"You are beautiful today."

"Thanks," she says.

Suddenly, Iceland pokes me, and I'm so surprised I fall off my stool.

"Hey Icy!" I chirp.

"Hello Peter," he replies.

England's POV

France was... being France. As in grabbing my shoulder, telling me I was beautiful...

Then he whispered to me, "Why are you the only one with a personification, mon Lapin?" and I knew I was just about screwed. He didn't release my arm, just said, "Don't lie, Lapin. I'd hate do have to force you to speak."

"Fine, Frog. I'm England, I've lied to you about my gender my whole life, and there is no London."

France was shocked. He straightened and released my arm, and I punched him across his face. "D'you just flirt with every pretty girl you see, *******?"

Then I ran.

Hungary's POV

So, we are at the meeting, and already I've had to threaten Prussia. Five times.

So it was with frying pan in hand that I approached Francis. He had his hand over his cheek, and I could see blood.

"What happened?" I asked.

"England?" He looked completely confused and flustered, and I put together what must have happened. France must have being his France self, and England must have snapped, yelled in his face, then punched him. Ha, the girls win yet again!

I started laughing, and I guess I must have looked a little crazy (that, or France saw my frying pan). Anyway, France walked away very quickly. I turned to go find England.

(A/N: Female Canada!)

England's POV

I ended up in the back of the room next to what's-her-name. I put my head on my hands and just sat there for a minute.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when Canada interrupted, "What's wrong, England?"

I almost spoke, but then I remembered I was pretending to be London.

"I'm L-London," I stammered.

Canada frowned at me. "You're not fooling me."

"H-How did you know?"

"Canadian sixth sense."

I glared at her. "Really."

"But really, what's wrong, England?" she asked, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"I want to tell everyone, but they won't all believe me. Or they won't trust me."

She nodded and hugged me. "You can get through this."

She's as tall as America, taller, but it doesn't look like it until she's standing next to someone like me.

"Judging from how Miss Hungary is looking at you right now, I guess she is rather happy that you are a girl and can join her cause?"

"Cause?" I ask.

"Oh, you know, girls are much better fighters than boys and all that."

"Ha. That's like how the only war France ever won was led by a girl."

And he beat me. But Joan of Arc was a great fighter and totally deserved the win, so I won't whine.

She stands and grabs my hand. "Come on, let's go talk to people!"

Prussia's POV

So after I... awesomely avoided Hungary... I did not run away, okay?

Anyways, I saw Birdie talking to that new chick, London, so I walked over. When Birdie saw me, she smiled sweetly and said, "Hello, Gil."

"Hey," I replied. "London, right?"

The other girl nodded, then changed her mind and shook her head. "I'm not London."

"You're not?"

She looks at Canada like, "help." Canada says, "You can tell him."

"Tell me what?" I ask.

"I'm England," replies the girl who I thought was London.

"But you're a girl. England is a boy."

"No, she's a girl," says Canada.

"Are you sure this isn't some prank to get back at me for my awesome maple syrup heist?"

"Yes," Canada replies. "I'm still waiting for the perfect time of revenge for that."

"That's... strange. You've been a girl all this time."

It's like I can't wrap my brain around it. England is a girl? England, the perfect British gentleman (translation: stuck up stuffy nation)?

"Bye," I said, kissing Canada's cheek and walking away.

(A/N: Guess what? Italy is a girl, too!)

North Italy's POV

Stupid bias. Everyone thinks I'm a weakling. So you know what? I took advantage of it. By acting even more clueless and weak, I'm stronger than everyone thinks. How do you think I survived two millennia of life, with so many countries trying to capture me?

But that's enough about that. Back to the story.

I slip out from Germany's arm around my waist, and wander off to find Romano. He's probably yelling at someone right now. I push through the nations with the bubbly personality that is natural to me. As I pass Hungary, I nod to her. Instead of nodding back, she catches my arm and spins me to face her.

"I think you'd like meeting London."

"Thanks, Miss Hungary, I will!" I say cheerfully, turning on my heel and continuing my way through the crowd.

"S-shut up, Espagna!"

Ah, there he is. I find my twin brother with Spain, bright red as usual.

"Vee~ Hello fratello!" I say. I know he likes Spain, I just have to get them together...

"Hello, sorrella," he says tiredly.

"Hi, Spain!" I add, hugging him. I think it's working; Lovi looks a little jealous.

"Why are you here?"

"Doitsu says hi!" I chirp. "No reason, I guess. Do I need one?" I tilt my head slightly.

"Bye, fratello! Bye, Espagna!" I say, watching Lovi turn even more red. As I leave, I accidentally-on-purpose bump Lovino, so he falls into Spain. Spain pulls him upright, and because of this, they end up with their arms wrapped around each other, close enough that Lovino cannot look away from Spain's eyes. Victory.

Hungary now has her eye on the couple, so I slip away to find London.

England's POV

Italy ran toward me, hair bouncing with every step she took. I fully expected her to trip and fall, but she was unusually coordinated and graceful as she glided toward me.

"Hello London. I'm Northern Italy!" She smiled cheerfully.

"I'm not London," I said, looking to see what reaction I get out of the flighty Italy.

"Hmm. After what Hungary said, I thought you might be England."

I narrow my eyes. "Who are you and what did you do with Italy?"

She laughs a bright, happy laugh. "Oh yeah! I only told the nations I thought were girls! It's all fake, England, much like you saying you were a boy. I am happy, but I'm not weak! We just worked with the stereotype in different ways, yes?"

"Yes, that does make sense."

"Welcome to the female nations, England. See you later!"

As Italy left, she winked at me.

"Bye, England. Good luck."

America's POV

England was here as London again. I walk up to her and say, "Hi London."

"Hello America," she replies. "I'm not London, remember?"

"I knew that," I huff, "but I thought you wanted to be called London."

"Oh. Yes. Thanks."

"Is it going well? Telling people?"

"Both Hungary and North Italy guessed. I did not even have to tell them. Oh, and Canada already knew."

"Oh yeah, Maddie's kinda creepy like that sometimes!"

"She called it Canadian sixth sense."

"Yeah, this one time it was really sunny out and she said, 'There's going to be snow tomorrow.' I didn't believe her, and then it snowed."

England nodded, then Ukraine grabbed her shoulder.

"London!"

England spun around and walked off with the female nation.

"Bye, America," she called as she was pulled away.

Lichtenstein's POV

The new girl, London, was pulled over to where the girls were sitting by Ukraine. She took a deep breath.

"Hello, I am England. I've been a girl since I was born and I never told anybody." She sat down in one of the still available chairs.

Why am I not surprised?

Maybe we went through this with Hungary already.

"Hello, England," I say, giving her a hug.

"Switzerland isn't here," she notes.

"He isn't allowed over here!" Ukraine laughs. "Girls only! We all kinda need a break from the madness sometimes."

"No kidding," England sighs, leaning back in her chair. "You know, I've never been able to just- just talk with someone before. I always have to think before I speak. And men, well, don't ever talk through problems. It's always fighting."

England's long hair hangs down her back, and I begin to run my fingers through her hair. "Is it all right if I braid your hair?"

"Sure," she says. I start a simple braid as we continue talking.

"On the other hand, I've never had to worry about makeup at a meeting before!" she laughs.

Hungary giggles. "No, not really."

"So why did you hide?" Ukraine asked.

"I was the youngest, and I was supposed to lead the UK. Rome knew that already I'd be on tough ground because I was younger, so if they knew I was a girl too... well... yeah."

Canada suddenly ran over, hair messy. She slipped into a seat facing England.

"What happened?" England asked.

"Er, well, luckily I'm a LOT faster than the Bad Touch Trio... No, no, not like that! They were trying to get me back for..." she blushed, "I might have put a few snails on France's notes. They made these shiny slime trails over the paper, and the shiny paper was pretty."

Ukraine laughed. "Oh, Madeline..."

"I know, that was a great idea!" she joked.

"I thought France liked escargot," England added innocently.

We all laughed.

"Ooh, how did you do that?" Italia asked, looking at the braid under my fingers.

"Oh, it's just a four strand. You go over, under, over, then you do the next one," I say. "And does anyone have a hair tie?"

Hungary always has a few on her wrist.

Spain's POV

Canadia ran away after putting snails on France's notes. Gil and I tried not to laugh.

"Hey, that new girl, London, is pretty, si?" I asked.

"Non. She is as crabby and annoying as rosbif." [Translation: roast beef a.k.a England.]

"Kesesese, someone got slapped!"

"Oui," France groaned, laying his head on the table.

Um, on the notes.

I started to chuckle as France made a disgusted face and ran to the bathroom for some tissue. He hasn't done anything about the slime on the notes yet.

I gained a new level of respect for what's-her-name-again. Ooh, look, there is mi tomate. I'm going to say hi, maybe he won't yell at me this time~

(A/N: Spain can see the fun in everything. He's easy to write when I'm tired.)

China's POV

I sighed as I sat down. The other Asian countries are so hyper, aru! Uh, excluding Japan. He is way too quiet.

I wanted to find out more about London. The women were over on the other side of the room. For some reason, they let me sit with them sometimes.

I swear it's not because I'm girly, aru.

I'm not!

I'm not...

*cough* Anyway, I walked over to them. London's hair was done up really nicely, in a four-strand braid. Thinking her long hairstyle didn't suit her personality, I asked if I could loop her hair into a bun.

London looked askance at me, seeming to have words trapped in her throat. She coughed, blinked, and said "sure."

I took her braid and looped it around and around until I reached the end, securing it with one of the bobby pins that I have on my sleeve. I have many because... the girls forced me to... um...

Yeah that's a lie. I like doing people's hair, aru.

So, I asked London why England was out. I was fairly surprised by the resulting conversation.

"You can tell China, China is trustworthy," said Canada. None of them ever reference me as 'he.'

"Okay," London replied. "I'm England. And yes, I am actually a girl."

I coughed and replied, "Okay."

"This is getting easier," London sighed happily.

"Why don't you just announce to everyone right now, aru?" I suggested. The women nodded their approval.

"All right."

England's POV

I stood in front of the assembled countries. It was now my turn to speak. My hands shook.

"Before I present my information, I would like to tell you about England's current situation."

Murmurs spread in the room.

"England is not sick, I am her."

The room exploded into noise, and Hungary shouted, "QUIET!"

"I disguised my gender since I first met all of you and I am sorry, but I hope you will believe me and accept me now."

The room dissolved into talking again.

"More likely England's embarrassed at a spell gone wrong," France hissed.

"I do not believe her," Austria stated.

"Who is she really?" Switzerland muttered, readying his gun.

"I don't understand why she would lie, but..." Germany started.

I heard the comments, and others similar. France actually managed to convince Prussia that Canada had lied to him when she told him I was a girl. I saw with despair that very few people believed me, mostly consisting of the girls. My vision blurred and I ran outside, to sit on a bench and cry. Tears fell onto my dress as I sat outside alone, knowing that I would never be believed by everyone.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around me. I stiffened, and looked to see who it was.

America.

"Oh! S-Sorry England, I just- you looked l-like you needed a hug," he stammered.

"It's fine," I said, relaxing a little. Not that, um, well, I gently moved out of the embrace. America settles next to me, letting me just think for a bit.

"Why don't they believe me?" I finally sighed.

"They're idiots," Alfred replied.

"B-but will I have to hide my identity forever?" Suddenly I'm crying again, because I don't want to be a boy forever. It's like spending life on the run, except I may live for millennia.

This time, when America wraps his arms around me, I don't protest, and he holds me for a long time while I calm my tears.

Hungary walks toward us, saying, "Are you ready to come back in?" Her camera hangs loosely at her side.

"No, I just want to go home."

This is probably the first time I've even considered skipping a meeting, yet Hungary doesn't argue. Neither does America, who helps me stand and offers to drive me home.

"I've got a car, America. I can get myself home."

Usually he'd argue and pout, but he leaves me in peace and I drive home in silence. One home, I change out of my dressy clothes and into something suitable for England. Then I slump on the couch, suddenly exhausted.

I realize what a sight I must be, with the rare tear lines staining my cheeks and baggy clothes that I didn't bother to neaten.

The sound of the door opening announces Wales' arrival. He's worked at a restaurant as a waiter for the past five years, mostly for something to do. We are already paid by the government because of the important role we play in the well being of the country.

"You're home early, England," he says softly.

"Can it, Wales. I'm tired today."

He ignored me as usual, and sat down next to me on the couch.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I snap.

"Alice..."

"So you've finally decided to trust me have you?" I growled, hating that name as a reminder of who I couldn't be. "At least you do. Go away. I came back here to be alone."

Wales silently stood and left, seemingly taking the hint. I lay down on the couch, closing my eyes. I fell asleep.

North Ireland's POV

"England, England, wake up!" I murmured, shaking her. She groaned and sat up.

"H-hey... North..."

"Dinner's ready."

"Okay." I held out and hand for her and she allowed me to pull her upright.

"You know, it's okay. You can tell us stuff; we're your big brothers!"

In response, she hugged me briefly. "I'm actually glad I'm not the oldest."

"You sure act like it sometimes!" Wales joked.

"What's for dinner?" England asked.

"Fish."

We settled around the table to eat. As we ate dinner, we spoke about our days.

"Business was slow today, so I had it easy," Wales said.

Scotland, who is our accountant, added that he had some paperwork but not too much.

"England, how did the meeting go?" Amanda asked.

"I swear we picked sides," she replied, attempting to make her voice light and joking. It didn't work.

"What happened?" Wales asked.

"What do you think happened? I was stupid to think I could get that many countries to believe me!" she said miserably. "I'll bet people's impression of me just plummeted. I'm a liar and probably crazy in their eyes." Dinner had finished, and she was ferrying the dishes to the sink in a purposeful pacing. I began to gently wash the larger dishes.

"England, we'll stick by you," I said. I paused in my washing to wrap my arms around her, and Scotland and South joined us in a group hug.

Then Wales took a picture, and Scotland started chasing him around the room, and the moment was ruined.

"Wales...! I'm going to confiscate your camera!" I shrieked.

"No, no! I won't take any more pictures, I promise!"

"You say that every time!"

"This time I'll listen!"

I gave up on my lost-cause little brother.

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This is a small insert on China. You can read this now or when it comes up later in the story.

"In the creation of the world, many animals were created. Dogs, cats, horses, monkeys, pigs, wolves... but the most majestic and smart were the dragons. These creatures held untold wisdom and were tasked with keeping order and harmony in the universe.

However, as bands of humans grouped together, one group united under Qin, later renamed Shi Huangdi. The people of this group called themselves the China, after their leader. They began to unify, strengthen, and grow.

Earlier, humans were not a potent threat to the order of the universe. But under Qin, these people began to share, develop, learn, unite, and think as many minds as one. Discord spread, as the Chinese formed an area of massive power, the Americas ran wild and free. The earth was no longer even.

The dragons, keeper of peace in the universe, needed to take some power away from China to even the Earth. So they cast a spell, pouring all their magic and weaving it as a woman does a tapestry. The magic concentrated on the unfortunate personification of China.

However, Shi Huangdi, the paranoid, had filled his tomb with defensive magiks. As he was lain for his final rest, the last breath of magic puffed into the air, weakening one thread- just one. The spell fell on China, and everything, it is said, stopped. Everything started over. All memory that was left in any being was monuments. The dragons had been thorough, but there was now a single flaw in their spell. It was up to a certain person to find that spell, but that is a story for a different day." From Mythical History of the world, chapter four, China. (c) 2012. A story on the Spell of China. ?effects, origin, mythology.

Disclaimer: not actually a real source. I (EverythingMath) made it up.

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China, version 2, the silly version.

China is one of the oldest nations, so it has a lot of history. Just like Greece, Italy, and Egypt, it's pretty ancient in origin. In Italy you have to get special permits to dig up some streets because they were originally Roman! So China is old. Now here is my "legend of China's origin".

A long time ago, the wickedly awesome dragons decided that dinosaurs were boring. So the red one exploded the world. Oh, and these are the Chinese dragons. European dragons are an entirely different matter, and let's not even go into The Americas' dragons and Undersea dragons. Anyway, the red one exploded the world. Then the dragons set out to re-create the world the way they wanted to. The blue-and-white one brought up the point that if they didn't have a creature near the dragons' intelligence, they would be bored again. It was too late to get rid of bugs and stuff so the dragons just created humans. A while later, they realized that humans were not very smart in comparison to dragons, but they didn't want to destroy the world again. The green one had grown attached to his dolphins, and who could hate the Komodo Dragons made by the tiny yellow dragon? So they kept the humans. In order to make them interesting, they made the humans form tribes- after all, the more minds, the easier it is to come up with ideas. The dragons kept making them form bigger and bigger tribes until finally Mother Nature took the driver's seat (the left one, silly Brits) in the human's evolution. The dragons watched the humans wander around with their silly empires. One day, some formed China. The dragons took a special interest in China; for one thing, the Chinese people believed in dragons. So when they found the one person who was literally China, they were quick to meet his acquaintance. However, this made the aardvarks mad, because the dragons were paying WAY A LOT of attention to humans and none to them. The aardvarks called the Magical Echidnas (they and the platypuses are unique and therefore magical) to put a curse on China. Not the people, just the personification. The results of that curse would not be found until centuries later. What China (the personification) did know, or rather didn't know, was what came before he was a teen in human standards. No-one remembers chibi China because China can only ever remember being a teen. And that is the story of China.

[A/N I apologize. I was bored.]

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Scotland's POV

The next meeting is in a month.

We spent that month as normal, except England got texts from a female country at least once a day. All were along the lines of "are you okay?" Poor lass finally got so fed up with answering that she told Wales to respond. Wales is nice so he won't prank her or anything, which is why she asked Wales for help.

Anyways, come the meeting, I ask her the night before what she is going to do. She responds, "I'm not going, you are."

"That's news to me!"

"Yes, well, I am not going. You are going to represent us. You can say you are Scotland."

"They already know I'm Scotland!"

"Don't remind me," England growled, remembering the time Wales, North and I crashed the meeting.

"Right, so... I haven't looked at this."

"A good part of it is financial, and that is your job. You should be okay. Read this over," England finished, shoving a packet of paper at me.

So, here I am, at a world meeting for the first time (with permission.)

A bunch of people asked me about England. I always replied the same thing: "England is fine. I am representing today." People can be annoying sometimes.

The meeting passed without fuss and soon I was home again.

America's POV

I dialed England's number and pressed 'call.'

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

"What is it, America?" a voice on the other end growled.

"God, no need to kill me! I was wondering if you were okay, because obviously this time it really is Scotland, not you..."

"I'm fine, if you can call being totally untrustworthy in the eyes of all other nations fine."

"England?"

"What do I do now?"

"Hey England, I'm coming over to your place. See you in a few," I decided.

A few minutes later, I allowed myself into her house. She was wearing a white skirt that came down to her ankles and a white shirt with a blue butterfly on the shoulder.

"Hey England, I like your clothes," I said.

"What happened in the meeting?" she asked. I told her about the meeting, how France was still annoyed at Canada so he gave her a plate of escargot, saying "If you like snails so much I am sure you will find this delicious." She kinda looked at it funny and tried a tiny bit. It was really funny.

Later, when I finally realized I had to get home, England was smiling. I think she's going to be okay.

England's POV

America's visit had a soothing effect, like calming someone down if they are hyperventilating. However, that night, I placed all my feminine clothing in the back of my closet. My makeup was stashed too, as well as my beautiful jewelry. I would adopt a new character: my human name, Arthur Kirkland.

To me, becoming Arthur was such a definite leaving-my-feminine-side-behind.

You see, obviously they already know me as Arthur. That, however, is a cover, something only used in a professional situation when there are humans around. Applying a nickname means there is a character to go with, so that is why I hated being called Artie.

Iggy is fine because it is derived from "Britain". (That doesn't make it less stupid.)

Now, being called a nickname means I have done my job.

Job. That is a word with heavy implications, no?

I am Arthur Kirkland.

Scotland's POV

This morning, I called "Wake up, Dustin, Alice, Patrick!" (Dustin being Wales and Patrick North Ireland.)

"HEY! Breakfast is ready!"

Same as for the past couple months.

Today, Alice yelled back, "Call me Arthur."

Heh, I guess before I found out she was a lass, I never called her anything other than England.

She came down, except she was back to old England, short hair and boy's clothes and all.

"Well then, Arthur, care telling us what's all this?"

Wales nodded blearily.

"I guess it was a stupid hope. Now, none of you are going to question any of my decisions, and from now on call me brother and Arthur."

"Sis, that's not- if you're denying or something-"

"I'm not your sister," he snapped. "I am your brother. I need to protect us as a nation and I need the others to trust me. The only way to make sure no-one finds out a secret is to get rid of it. Completely."

Her- His eyes hardened, the bright green dull. As if England was trapped inside, and this was a shell. It was, at least, a mask.

France's POV

Today, at the meeting, England was there, on time, completely normal and composed. As if the fiasco of the last four meetings had never happened.

I decided I wouldn't question it and pretend that it had not happened.

So, the meeting went on like normal.

After the meeting, I walked over to England.

"Angleterre-"

"Go away, Frog," he spat, turning and walking away. So much for that.

Hungary's POV

I knocked on England's door, waiting for someone to answer. England finally did.

"Hello, Miss Hungary. What brings you here?"

England's voice was calm and composed, and her face held no emotion.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with us to the park."

"I'm sorry, I cannot."

"Why?"

"Miss Hungary, I am not Alice any more. I am Arthur Kirkland. I am sorry."

England closed the door a tiny bit, so I nodded and left. I did not hear the door close until I slid onto my bike and began to ride away.

I vowed to get her back to being Alice. The poor girl is so sad at having to be a boy, I can tell.

She would, of course, have to live like that until she died, which for us, is a long time.

England's POV

Today I went to visit India.

India is silent. He speaks only when is absolutely necessary. It is a nice break from the madness, when I visit him.

Yeah, it's hot there but I've learned to cope.

India knows I'm a girl. I told him a long time ago, and he just looked at me for a moment, then said, "Big sister, come with me to see the dancers." So we did. India completely accepted me and it did not change his opinion of me one bit.

Today, I came to visit India.

"Hello England, why are you here?" India asked softly.

"No reason really, I just wanted to visit my little brother. There is madness right now in Europe."

India nodded.

"Dinner? It is ready."

"Sure," I replied. He gave me a plate of traditional Indian food, cooked with delicious spices.

"You are wearing the clothing of a man."

"Yeah. India, I can't be a woman anymore. Europe is not friendly to me being a woman, so I'm going to never... well... I don't know. My masquerade is finished."

India coughed lightly at my saying 'masquerade'. "You are going to put on a mask forever."

"Okay, masquerade is wrong. I just don't know how to say it."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Best of luck, England."

"Thank you India."

I silently stood and left.

Lichtenstein's POV

It was meeting time, and big brother was sick.

I went to the meeting alone. By now, Switzerland trusts me enough to speak for him when he is sick, so today I would represent both of us.

England was back to pretending she was a boy. I trust her, by the way. I can just tell. I'm surprised we didn't know sooner.

It's loud at the meeting.

Really loud.

I stood, pulled out big brother's rifle, and shot once at the ceiling, then quickly sat down with an innocent expression on my face. It worked, everyone shut up. They didn't question it either because they thought it was Switzerland, forgetting that Switzerland was absent. One person stared at me.

England.

Did I catch jealousy in her eyes?

Hungary's POV

I didn't mean to knock Prussia out, I swear! He was just being annoying as usual, and I hit him and it totally wasn't my fault that he fell unconscious. Anyway, I was talking to Austria, and among other things we talked about that.

"What if he gets brain damage or something?"

"He's a nation."

"A dissolved one!"

"Yeah, but he gets drunk once a month anyway. I can't do anything to make him worse."

"You are a really strong country. I will try not to get on you bad side, ever."

"Thank you, Austria."

England's POV

"You are a really strong country." Austria's words echo in my head.

I was jealous when I saw Lichtenstein silence the entire world.

Girls are respected. No, they are respected. Why wasn't I?

I watch as Canada writes FREEDOM on Cuba's paper. Cuba, upon seeing that, whacks America on the head.

I know I am jealous. I try to not let that affect me, but I do purposefully ignore most of the women.

"England."

I jump, because my name sounded in my ear.

Belarus slides into the chair next to mine.

"Don't run, please..."

"Why would I run?" I ask.

"Does anyone not run? And if they stay, it is out of pity, and yet they take the first chance to escape. I am proud that I am feared, but I am sad of my loneliness."

For the rest of the meeting, we sit in silence, because neither of us wants each other's pity but both of us want a friend.

"Goodbye, Belarus."

"Goodbye, England."

Ukraine's POV

What am I doing right now?

I am mending clothes. My own and others'. Next I must farm for a while. Then I might get some rest. I would like to cook myself a meal after that.

Does my life not seem planned, mapped in the daily chores that I do?

Oh, but I am not known for being a hard worker. I am Russia's little sister with the back problems because of my size- I was born into both of those.

I am underestimated, aren't I?

England, she has a problem too. Maybe I can be someone to talk to for her.

Maybe I can be the one who listens while she rants, then makes her a cup of tea and says it's fine.

See, I'm good at that too.

I've been thinking. I don't need pity, or understanding. I need something to do or someone to help, and that is my happiness. Aren't I odd?

I wouldn't have it different.

Germany's POV

The next world meeting was normal, except for a slight change in seating arrangement.

Belarus had pulled England to the back of the room, where they both sat completely silent.

Later, I noticed Ukraine had joined them too.

I thought nothing of it because people move around all the time. Unusual, though, was that Latvia joined them.

By the end of the meeting, Sealand, Sweden, and... North Korea were sitting with them. North Korea?

The group sat in silence, speaking when it was their turn and not causing a disruption, but it was a presence that was there just the same. Most of the other countries began to take notice, but said nothing. Those countries seemed to have nothing on common. I wondered, for a moment, why they had sat there.

Canada's POV

The unusual silent display left me slightly rattled. It seemed off, somehow, like their personalities jarred and the rest of the room smoothed out. What I did notice, however, was England sitting in the middle like the leader of a protest.

Not one of the group spoke a word to each other. They sat silently and seemed to be alone, no matter how close to another they sat. It was causing chatter, gossip and speculation. There was a reason that I must find.

North Korea's POV

I... Let me tell you something about myself.

I look like my brother, but my eyes are darker, my hair is trimmed neater, and I am slightly taller.

We are polar opposites.

He is happy all the time, I am serious. My country is thus, right now. And so, I am alone. I am alone for the wishes of my boss.

I am separate. I do not speak to those other than the ones I need to. I am North Korea, the closed country.

I sit next to Sealand, Sweden, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, and England. Not with them, but we know that even as we are alone, we are not the single outcast of the group.

Latvia's POV

We formed a silent protest, I think. Protesting the fact that we are the ones who others do not take seriously. England though... England was there because no-one trusted her anymore.

Yes, I am accepting that England is female. I know the feeling of my words being ignored, as I stutter and tremble under Russia's rule.

Belarus is here because everyone fears her.

North Korea is here because he is alone.

Sealand is here because no-one takes him seriously.

Sweden is here because no-one tries to understand him.

Ukraine is here because she is looked down upon.

England is here because they think she is a liar.

I am here because everyone ignores me.

Tell me, why don't the rest see a connection in this? I can see Canada's eyes when she looks at us, with a question burning bright. She's learned to make use of her so-called invisibility. (I can't help but notice the ones who can see her are those who do not matter.)

What will come of this?

England's POV

Five meetings, we've sat next to each other in the back of the room. Always still and silent. Germany was beginning to get annoyed, I could tell. Most were just puzzled.

However, some were starting to notice. Japan mentioned Latvia, once, in his speech. (He is, however, known for answering 'maybe.' Oh well, baby steps.)

Since my country is rather loud when it comes to opinion, I began to engage more in the conversation. I was even starting to shift a few people's opinion (note I said shift instead of change. Baby steps.) People were beginning to notice.

Finally, a line was crossed. Germany said, "I recognize the micro nation Sealand. Please speak."

Sealand squeaked out his idea, then turned bright red and sat down. Then Switzerland stood.

"That is not a bad idea."

"He likes your idea!" I whispered to Sealand, placing an arm around his shoulders.

"It should involve the oil recourses in Antarctica," Ukraine said suddenly.

"The division of Antarctica for recourses is..." Germany faltered. "Actually, you are correct. Never mind."

The rest of the meeting went smoothly, like maybe, just maybe, we are being taken seriously for once.

A smile crept onto my face, and America walked up.

"England! Wow, your s-smile is p-pretty..." He turned red and continued, "Sorry. I'll shut up now."

I felt my face heat up, and I raised my notes to my eyes to cover my blush.

"A-America."

"Um, you guys had goodideasatthemeetingtodayIhavetogonowbye!" he cried, words speeding up as he spoke. Then he turned and walked away. I was grateful because I was sure I'd only say something stupid next.

Hungary's POV

Someone tell them that they like each other already!

Germany's POV

I thought back on the unusual group in the meetings. I could practically feel the energy in the room, but I am not one for sensing the mood like Japan. I deal with facts, not intuition.

"HEY! Preußen! Where are you?" I shouted in my vast house.

"Over here!" Prussia yelled back.

I walked over. "I am confused as to what all those countries had in common," I stated plainly.

"West, you're too factual. Kesesese, lighten up once in a while! Can't you tell they all were unused to even that much attention? What they have in common is that they all are ignored, brushed off." He paused and added, "I have made my own way in this world and so has Canada, so we did not quite match the misfits." He chuckled a little at his joke and returned to his computer, back to completely tuning me out.

"Brushed off? Do we seem to think their opinions are insignificant?" I wondered aloud. "There was such a big deal over me simply allowing Sealand to speak."

I quietly did some work as I thought, then yelled, "WHY ENGLAND?"

"WHAT?"

"I SAID, WHY IS ENGLAND IN THAT GROUP?"

"EVERYONE THINKS SHE'S A LIAR!"

"WHY? WAIT, WHY DID YOU SAY SHE!"

"SEE WEST, THAT'S WHY! EVERYONE DOUBTS HER BECAUSE NO-ONE KNOWS WHAT HER GENDER IS FOR SURE. NO-ONE CAN TRUST HER ANYMORE."

"OH." I turned back to my work. Shouting conversations were very common between us because both of us had the voice to yell and the lack of motivation to move. (Yes, even me. Yelling is a ton easier than moving.)

I continued to ponder over the 'misfits' as Prussia had dubbed them. If they are ignored, we could be missing valuable ideas and information. Therefore, I must make sure to give them a chance to speak. And listen. Ja, that is a good plan.

Now I have to get back to this paperwork.

Canada's POV

Today at the meeting, the same group sat in their spots, silent as ever. It had become an unspoken rule that you don't talk to them, and they don't talk to you.

I was still wondering why they sat together, because I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Hey, America. Do you know what is up with that group?" I asked.

He ignored me.

Eh.

Today, Germany was trying his hardest to include everyone in the conversation. I noticed as his eyes strayed over to where I sat, and he ignored me. Everyone does.

"Canada, do you have an opinion on the issue?"

Or not. I looked at Germany and realized I had been totally not paying attention.

"No," I said, cheeks turning red.

Germany went back to ignoring me.

Suddenly, it came to me. Germany showed me that I can live with other's opinion of me. I enjoy the invisibility. I had been stuck thinking I was ignored, but in reality it is only that group. Their commonality is their differences from everyone else.

England's POV

Slowly, slowly we got accepted into the whole. It was a bit calmer now at world meetings except that time Turkey got mad at Cuba, who started strangling America, but Greece took the opportunity to punch Turkey and Japan called on Taiwan for help and Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan- anyway, that's a different story. Aside from that, world meetings were calm and mostly productive-ish, which was better than before. However, I did notice most countries thinking I was male.

"Arthur!" Denmark called.

I frowned, this should have been settled. That's not my name.

"Arthur!" he yelled again. I ignored him, the meeting was over anyway and I had to get home.

It was a rare sunny day in England, so I put on a nice skirt and top and went outside. I was surprised to find Hungary waiting for me.

"M-Miss Hungary. Elizaveta. Hello," I said, startled.

"Hey Alice, I was thinking that you need your nails done~" Hungary said, beaming. "Some of the females are going, so I'd like you to come!"

Why not? I wondered.

"Sure!"

I ended up with my fingernails painted in an artful British flag design, recommendation of Hungary. My index fingers, however, were English flags- I felt like it gave me some individuality. I inspected my newly painted nails.

"They're great!"

"I know! Look, I even got tulips on my fingers!"

At the next meeting I don't think there was a doubt I was a girl, because to them, I was no-nonsense enough that I would never paint my nails if I was a boy. God, if I'd known it would be that easy...

Finland's POV

Everything's back to mostly normal, right? There were some positive changes, like the 'misfits' being able to fit in. Also, America and England are officially ignoring each other when Hungary has her camera near them. England is also a female.

There are always new surprises!

Ukraine's POV

Today, Denmark was being an idiot as usual and Norway got fed up with him and one thing led to another until the room was stuffed to the brim with curses, charms, hexes, spells, and general magic mayhem from Norway, Russia, and Romania. I watched my brother and sister causing trouble.

"You will ALL become one with Mother Russia!" Russia yelled, the air humming purple.

"Yay! We can become one!" Belarus shrieked, launching herself at Russia and latching tightly to his waist. Russia screamed and tried to shake her off, while Romania watched with a smirk. Romania shot a spell deftly at Hungary, who deflected it off her frying pan and made it hit Mexico. Mexico found her wrists bound with a strange red light, and began to yell profanities at Romania. Spain tried to calm her down, only to fall to the ground when Romano fell on top of him. They quickly stood and watched Norway continue to batter Denmark with help from Iceland's puffin.

England looked about ready to burst. She spoke quickly to Germany, who then said, "ENGLAND WILL PERFORM A MAGIC CANCELLATION SPELL IN TEN SECONDS!"

The chaos continued.

Ten seconds later, there was a great burst of light as all magic disappeared. The peaceful nations sighed in relief.

Then China screamed.

The shriek was high and piercing, making everyone turn to the Chinese man- er-

China's POV

I screamed as I saw the changes. My clothes hung off my now smaller frame, and my hair was way too long. Also, my body structure seemed to have rearranged itself.

"Oh my god. I may have damaged it," I heard faintly, before a soft hand tugged me into the hallway. I was dragged down a hall to another room, where I finally caught sight of a mirror.

"I'm female, aru." I said, looking at myself in the mirror.

"Something went wrong," said a quiet voice next to me. I looked over to see England with her head in her hands.

"Wrong?"

"I performed a magic cancellation spell which should turn everything back to its normal state of being."

"Why would that turn me into a girl, aru?"

"I don't know. But what I do know is that you need better clothes." England reached into her bag. "Here. These might fit you but I'm a little short..."

"Why don't you just do a gender change spell, aru?"

"Because I'm not quite sure of the effects of the last spell yet. Go ahead and change."

She was facing the wall on the other side of the room so I changed quickly. It was her spare clothes that she had handed me, so the pants were a little too short for me, but they fit a bit better than my clothes.

"How do I look?" I hummed, inspecting my new body. I thanked whatever deity that exists that England could help me out.

"Oh, you got a body to match your hair, voice, and personality," England joked.

"Hey!"

"Sorry. Now what to do..."

England's POV

We came back to the meeting room with China in more decent clothing. I ran over to Norway, knowing he was usually the one who knew what to do when Romania or I messed up really bad.

"Nor, Norway, I don't know what happened..." I started.

"What was the spell you used?"

I carefully repeated the words to him, making sure I didn't actually cast a spell.

Norway checked the words in his mind, then looked at me in confusion.

"Are you quite sure those are the words you used?"

"Yes... Oh god, what did I do?"

"That's just it; nothing should have gone wrong. You actually managed to perform a spell right for once."

I groaned because Norway was patronizing me for how many times I mess up.

"So..."

"So it would appear that China had had a spell on her since before any of us remember her, and it was only lifted now."

"But I've performed cancellation spells before..."

"Not that big, you haven't. Besides, you have stronger magic now because you removed the drain from pretending to be male. My guess is that it was a really strong spell that China had on her, and it might have been of a type we haven't encountered before."

"Thanks Nor, I guess."

"Call me Norway, or I will call you Iggy and I will make all your milk go sour."

"You need better threats, that sounded disjointed," I commented offhandedly. Then I ran back over to China, who had been sitting with her hands folded in her lap after yelling at South Korea.

"China, I need you to tell me about your past," I said.

"My past, aru?"

"Yes, from before any of us met you."

"Okay. I lived on my own for a few years, and then I met some of you- but before that-" China stopped and frowned. "What was before that? I know I was a teenager in appearance, but I can't remember being younger than that. Actually, there was a myth concerning me, aru. Would you like to hear it?"

"Quite."

"Well, the story begins with dragons."

China told me the myth that was written previously in the story. Please read the Insert on China if you haven't alread-

[Fourth wall, England!]

Sorry. Anyway, she told me the myth and I thought about it for a while. Norway had said China had a spell affecting her, and the myth seemed to say the same thing... but that would mean China was a girl.

"Ah, China..."

"Yes, England, aru?"

"I am going to perform a spell that seeks magic. It will find all traces of magic and light them yellow."

"Okay, aru..."

I performed the spell quickly, and it coated the entire room but dissipated just as quickly. There were few traces of magic. In fact, the only area that represented an actual spell was-

"ROMANIA! STOP IT, RIGHT NOW! WE ALL KNOW YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY A VAMPIRE!" I yelled at the nation hanging off the ceiling.

"Aww, England, you're no fun," he smirked, showing a mouthful of magically created fangs.

"I'M TRYING TO HELP CHINA..."

Norway silently zapped Romania, causing his teeth to return to normal and him to fall on his butt on the floor.

"Thanks!" I shouted, and turned my attention back to China.

"Here is what I believe has happened."

China's POV

"Here's what I believe has happened. You are female, but long ago, there was a spell that caused you to both lose your memory and look like a boy, so you would think you were a boy. The intended purpose of this spell... If I'm right, it was meant to make you feel insecure and eventually collapse. I'd say it didn't work."

"I would say so too, aru!" I joked, glancing at America. "So why was I not found of before this?"

"Norway thinks it was a strong and complicated spell. The spell I just performed to cancel magic was different than anything I've done before."

"In what way, aru?"

"I did not focus on a specific type of spell. It was probably really dangerous to do that, but I was annoyed," she continued, her cheeks going faintly red.

"Dangerous? Why dangerous, aru?"

"If, say, the ceiling was reinforced with magic and I cancelled that magic, it would collapse. In retrospect I should have checked first," England murmured, frowning.

"Aiyah, well, it's all good now, right?"

"Right. Lemme just... I can check traces of residual magic to see if I damaged anything-"

As if on cue, the walls groan unhappily. They seem to buckle ever so slightly under the weight of the ceiling.

"Bloody magic walls!" England shouted, green light flowing from her fingertips to the walls. "Okay, that should do it."

Her face looked a little pale.

And then she slumped backwards into Norway's waiting arms, unconscious.

Norway's POV

As soon as I saw England trembling as she did the wall spell, I quietly ghosted over to her. My instincts were right on as she slumped in my arms.

"England, dear, she overtaxed herself," I spoke in a monotone.

"... Again," finished Romania, who was leaning on the table with his arms crossed. "That girl just don't know when to stop."

China blinked at me as I lifted England up, letting her head fall on my shoulder. I nodded to China.

"I'll take her back to her house."

Romania smiled, red magic spilling from his palm to create a circle on the floor. I stepped in and disappeared. As soon as I reappeared, I was met by shouting.

"WHO'RE YE, HOW'D YE GET IN MY HOUSE, AND WHY IS MY BABY SISTER UNCONSCIOUS ON YOUR SHOULDER!?" screamed someone with a thick Scottish accent.

Dang it...

North Ireland's POV

When I heard Scotland's yell, the first thing I thought was that he was just being his overprotective brother self. I glided downstairs and found a strange man holding England, who was deathly white and completely still. So I yelled too.

"Who are you? Why is my sister like that? And what's with the stupid magic hair clip?"

Okay, yelled might be a bit of an overstatement but I am naturally quiet.

The man flinched when I mentioned the hair clip, but said nothing, brushing past us into the house and placing England gently on the couch.

"She overdid herself," the mysterious man said, looking me straight in the eyes. "This is probably the most magic she's used, because now she doesn't have the damper of her gender spell. And she collapsed at a meeting, not at one of our houses where we have revival tea."

I nodded, and Scotland simply stared at me like I was speaking in Irish to Amanda again.

"The revival tea is next to all the other teas and it says 'Romania' on the package. I presume you can handle that."

"Wait, why do ye know where the tea is in our house!?" Scotland interrupted.

"Romania passed out in your basement when the rest of you were away. Duh." And with that, he vanished.

"What is this?!"

"Calm down, Scotland," I murmured, quickly getting England her tea. I supposed I just poured a little in her mouth, so I did.

"Nor, what..." England blinked as she saw me standing over her. "Ireland?"

"Yes."

England yawned. "I wayyyy overdid myself. Sorry. G'night..." And with that she fell back asleep.

"She'll be fine," I whispered, holding my finger out for one of my faeries. She stepped onto my finger and I placed her next to England.

"Stop pretending there's fae, Irey," Scotland commanded, even as he had a hand on his nonexistent Loch-Ness monster. Scotland's delusional sometimes, I swear.

Loch-Ness Monster's POV

Of course I exist! So does Norway's troll, England's bunny, Wales' dragon, Romania's weird bat things... I don't get why they're all so selective on who they see.

Romania's POV

Of course, the minute England collapsed and Norway disappeared, chaos ensued at the meeting. Russia, knowing neither magic-user could stop him, began to use his magic to influence everyone to become one with him. My magic is only for attacking, see, so I fired a spell at Russia, encasing him in red fire. Yeah, I'm not too good with any kind of subtlety. This, however, brought the wrath of the ever-crazy Belarus, who came at me with knives raised. Like I said, I only attack, not defend, so I hightailed it out of the room, leading Bela through the halls until I climbed out a window and up the wall. Bela just fell right out the window and landed catlike. Her porcelain doll face contorted in anger, as she yelled, "NOBODY HARMS BIG BROTHER!"

In Russian, of course, but she's yelled at America enough times that I know all the threats she uses. I ran back in to the meeting room in time to see her slink meekly behind Russia, who was still smoldering.

Norway better get here soon.

North Italy's POV

Except for a weird sudden urge to become one with Russia, I pretended to cower as chaos ensued. What I really wanted to do is steal some tomatoes from brother and join the fight, but I kept my image and clung to Germany. Hahaha... I have an image to keep, but it's being weaker than I am.

Anyways, Norway returned without England, put out the Russia-fire, and froze the room. Literally, frost coated all of us except Norway and Romania. Russia was angry because he can make ice but he can't remove it.

Norway walked around the room, making sure everyone faced forward. Satisfied, he began to speak.

"All right nations, I know you can hear me; I'm not as bad as England at magic. England will be back in a few minutes. In the meantime... You guys need to stop messing around; it is what caused trouble in the first place. China will come with me after the meeting, as England, Romania and I try to figure out your predicament with the spell. I request Hungary, Canada and North Italy as well. That is all."

In six minutes exactly, England appeared in the middle of the room. She was bent over coughing, but then straightened up and looked at the assembled ice sculptures.

"Norrrrwayyyy..."

"I'm not good with regular freeze spells."

"Fine."

England waved her hand twice, and I found myself unfrozen but with cotton balls in my mouth. I tried to take the cotton balls out but my fingers touched air.

"Could you please stop using magic on us?!" I shouted.

"Mmm-hmm, let's continue the meeting!" England said brightly.

The meeting continued, and I found the effects of England's cotton spell: any time someone wanted to say something that wasn't helpful, they'd choke on nonexistent cotton. The meeting was fairly smooth.

After the meeting, I trailed after Norway, wondering what he could want me for.

Canada's POV

I joined Italia, Hungary and China in following the magic trio to Norway's house. Sweden and Finland were off somewhere, and Iceland was who-knows-where (probably in Asia) so all that was left was to get Denmark to go away. Easier said than done.

After threats had no impact came brute force shoving, but the Dane was the strongest. Magic only resulted in his hair turning purple and Romania yelling at England. Hungary got out a frying pan, but the oblivious idiot didn't notice. The only thing left was to... ask politely. Dun dun duuuun.

"Denmark. Please leave, we have magic experimentation to do?" Norway asked.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" exclaimed Denmark, happily bouncing upstairs to his room. England facepalmed. We all walked down to the basement.

Down in the basement, England, Romania, and Norway sat next to each other in a practiced movement. Unsure of what to do, I sat down across from them, and Hungary, China and Italia sat next to me.

"We need to check China for the effects of lasting magic," England said. "It shouldn't have harmed you, I after all recasted the same spell so many times on myself. It probably was a slight drain on your energy though."

China stood and walked to the center of our almost-circle. Norway whispered, "One... Two... Three" and quickly shot a burst of magic at China. Romania and England added their magic, enveloping China in a multicolored combination of ice blue, blood red, and emerald green light.

The light disappeared. "No effects," England commented casually, then shooed Norway and Romania out of the door. "The reason we called you is that China has practiced being male for four thousand years!"

Hungary's POV

"Oh, come on over to my house!" I exclaimed, understanding exactly England's point. The five of us quickly got in England's car to get to my house. I noticed China looked really unsure of herself, wincing a little and being completely silent. She still feels like the odd one out and it makes her uncomfortable.

"Hey, you are really good at braiding hair. Can you do my hair?" North Italy asked quickly. China nodded, and visibly relaxed as she started to braid her hair. We arrived at my house in a minute, Canada taking China's hand as we came up the front walk.

I led the group to a room in my house with dresses and a dresser of accessories. A few full-body mirrors adorned the walls.

"Aaaaaand... Here we are! Miss Hungary's room for making girls beautiful!" I exclaimed, letting my 'fangirl' side take over. What?

"Ah... It... um..." China seemed a bit overwhelmed.

"Aha. First I'm going to work on your outfit, England," I looked at her appraisingly. "Pink isn't your thing."

"Oh no, I'm going to be attacked by the designer monster!" England joked. "You know, I'm actually kinda new to this too. Especially dressing formally. Do you think you could help me out there?"

"Sure!" Canada, North Italy and I set about putting together an outfit for England. China gradually began to offer advice and criticism, and finally ended up doing England's hair for us. It ended up a lot prettier than those two pigtails she had, which had made her look childish in my opinion.

"Hey England, why do you wear glasses now?"

"Oh, I just used to do a vision correcting spell on top of the gender spell. But now I'm going all-natural, if you can call it that!"

Next up was China, now that the girl was a bit more comfortable in this group. She still had on England's spare clothes, so she ended up wearing a floaty dress from my magic closet.

"I cannot believe you got me to wear this, aru."

"But it looks great on you, ve~!"

"I do look pretty..."

Canada set to work braiding China's hair, and wound the braid in French-braid style (a misnomer, France is actually really bad at French-braiding people's hair) around in circles. She pinned the braid in a bun.

North Italy's POV

"Beautiful!" Hungary exclaimed, adding a last dab of makeup before pulling China in front of a mirror. China spun, taking in the simple pale pink dress with darker trim, three quarter-length sleeves and mostly form-fitting with a bit of flair. We hadn't done a lot of makeup, just a lipstick color to match her dress and a slight blush and eyeshadow to bring out her eyes. Last were the golden-brown sandals that matched her eyes- it sounds weird but it totally worked.

"Wow, China, you look good!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks, aru. It is fun to be able to look like this and not be teased by Hong Kong and Thailand, or harassed by South Korea. Not that I wasn't anyway, aru."

"You've dressed up before?"

"Sometimes Taiwan and Viet dressed me up against my will, and then Japan would take pictures."

"At least I don't have sisters like that," England said. "You guys are the style experts and my brothers fill the annoying quota."

"Try being related to America!" Canada laughed.

"My fratello can be hard to live with too. It's really hard to say something without him yelling at me," I added.

Hungary commented, "At least I don't have any siblings. Although, I guess growing up with Prussia, then Austria and Romania, was hard enough."

Suddenly, a frenzied knocking started at the front door.

England's POV

"Aiyah, who is it, aru?!" China yelled.

"I don't know," Hungary shrugged, walking toward the door. She opened it to reveal Lichtenstein, who was holding a plate of cookies.

"Miss Hungary, I brought some cookies over for all of you!"

"Lichtenstein! Come in!" Hungary said happily, ushering her into the house. Now that China and I were satisfactory as far as looks, we could definitely sit and talk, and China will probably be confused about some stuff. Manners and all of that.

"You look good, China," Lili (Lichtenstein) commented.

"Thanks... It still is so strange, aru."

I added, "I understand. I keep waking up and grabbing my clothes, then remembering and getting the correct ones."

"How is it?" Madeline (Canada) asked.

"What?"

"I don't know, this whole thing. Finding out you're a girl. Realizing about the magic. All of it."

China thought for a moment. "Surreal," she decided. "I keep thinking, I'll wake up and this will have been a dream. And energy-wise, now that there is no energy drain I can tell that there was. It's a weight off my shoulders I didn't know I had."

"Wow..." Felicia (North Italy) sighed. "I wouldn't know."

"Hey, guess what!" Hungary announced suddenly. "I managed to install a video camera in Norway's house!"

Madeline, Felicia and Lili all squealed in anticipation or something, but me and China just stared. "Video... camera?" I asked.

"To spy on them!" was Hungary's enthusiastic reply. "Come over here, I want to show you something."

China's POV

Hungary led us to a room with computer screens placed all over it. In the center, there was a screen with an actual computer, keyboard and mouse attached. The screens all showed different houses, and even as I watched, Spain walked across one of them.

"Who are the other houses, aru?" I asked.

"Lessee... That's Spain, there's America, there's Germany, there's Austria, and Norway. France is there, and Greece is there, and Japan... I'm working on Romania."

"You bugged Japan's house?" Canada asked incredulously.

"I know, I'd expected him to find the camera by now..."

I, meanwhile, knew plenty of my little brother's camera tricks. I searched the screen for a clue- especially a flicker, which could show a loop.

Aha. The clock in the far corner showed the wrong time! As I watched, it ticked on, then I saw a flicker and the clock jumped back four hours.

"Four hour loop, aru," I announced, to the confusion of everyone in the room. "It is playing the same four hours over and over again. If I'm right, he's probably known this since you installed the camera."

I felt a quick burst of pride for the brother I raised. He is already technology's mastermind.

"Ahhh, dang, I guess I can't spy on Japan then," Hungary said. "Perhaps I'll get a camera on Russia's house instead."

"Why spy on all these people?" I asked. England was just as confused.

"Oh, information," Lichtenstein said, voice airy. "It's always useful to have information."

"I don't doubt you there," England said.

Canada's POV

We spent the rest of the day just messing around. At the next meeting, our work paid off- England and China both looked great. I'm happy that more people joined the girls, but now that I think about it, it was a funny turn of events!

Romano Italy's POV

After Hungary, then England, China was accepted really fast- or maybe she was just originally girly. The stupid millennium is bringing a whole % &$ lot of magic to us. I hate it. And I wonder if it's a magic century or a magic year or something, I don't care what but make it go away because I hate magic. I wrote a little bit about magic in my journal that definitely isn't a diary, about 21st century and all that, and Veneziano just asked me why I hated magic so much. She is so annoying sometimes.

England's POV

So as our story draws to a close, I'm writing an epilogue of sorts. Here is a look into what our lives were like after the changes.

[England. What did I tell you about the fourth wall.]

Sorry~

I ran down the street to Hungary's house. I provided magic for the girls' plans, my spells working a lot better ever since I removed my gender-spell. We were currently trying, as a group, to get Germany in a dress.

Yes, yes, really mature of us, but we were all free of most responsibility and we needed something to do. Italy's job was getting Germany over here. My job was subduing him with magic. Hungary and China's was to get the dress on him and do his hair- China was sure she could figure out something.

It pretty much worked as planned, with Hungary taking a million pictures and Germany waking up confused as to why he was in a dress. He immediately blamed Prussia because he was now back in his house after we dragged him there.

Otherwise, it was a lot of paperwork like usual, talking to friends, mostly the same old stuff.

On the other hand, all the male countries avoided me and China for the next month or two, still trying to figure out how to treat us. Finally I got fed up with some of my friends being too businesslike around me and yelled at them. Then everything was truly back to normal.

Sealand's POV

And who knows? Maybe the magic of this year will help me BE RECOGNIZED!

Bye everyone!

EverythingMath's POV

Thank you for reading, please review! This was a really fun story to write, with magic and nyo!England and everything in between. I apologize for the rather abrupt ending but you wouldn't believe how long it took to type this. I just wanted it over. So, that's it!

Au revoir,

~EverythingMath