My fic for the Helitalia contest on dA. I was limited to 500 words, which is why this was so short. My brain is fried from school work, but I'll try to edit it when my homework load is lighter. Maybe work out a few awkward patches.
I.
Spain would never unsee it- -the sea flashing with fire under a dimming sky, waves silently swallowing burning masts and hulls of broken ships, while the blood of slaughtered men diluted into nothing in the water. The last of the living floundered and clawed at driftwood as English ships, canons still smoking, loomed closer.
Swallowing the bile that gurgled up his throat, the Spaniard kicked furiously into the ocean so that he could release his splintered board long enough to wipe seaspray from burning eyes and shed the waterlogged red coat that threatened to drag him down into the depths with his men. No, this couldn't be the end.
"And so the sun begins to set on the so-called Spanish empire."
The voice cut through the haze in Spain's mind, and the other turned lackluster eyes toward a silhouette punched out of the fiery streaks marring the sky. Even in the failing light, Spain recognized that it was England smirking down at him from the bow of his ship.
"And don't think that the rest of your armada will escape just because of your valiant little stand. I've got the English Channel blocked, and even if they did return to Spain the long way, they'd soon be eating rope for lack of food and water." The Briton's laughter rang into the hollow silence.
Spain gnawed on his lip and turned to watch the colours seep across the sky, ignoring the splash of the rope-lowered boat into the sea, come to collect him as prisoner. In his last seconds of freedom, Spain could only wonder whether this meant it would all soon be over. If the setting of the sun truly signified the end of everything he'd ever wanted.
II
Some countless miles away, a little Italian boy sat nestled in the rustling leaves of his tomato patch, the wind humming through the open window of the massive house behind him. He shivered despite the warm air and rocked back and forth.
"You jerk, leaving me alone like this in your stupid big house." The Southern Italian grumbled to the sky. "You better come back soon so I can give you a piece of my mind for leaving a kid defenseless in this dumb place."
But, as the little boy glanced up to glare at the evening sun, he found himself taken by the brilliant reds and yellows splashed across the heavens as they ebbed into the deep hues of the night.
Perhaps it was the end of this day, but the Italian could only hope that the morning that followed brought him one day closer to Spain's return.
Because, as hard as the boy tried to deny it, he needed someone.