((One of my more dramatic pieces? I think so. (It might be corny) I did research on this topic, but please forgive me if I get any details wrong. I read plenty, but there's always the chance that I misunderstood/miswrote something.

As a quick summary so you know what's going on: In May of 1707, the Treaty of Union was formed. It was the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, which was a political union of Scotland and England. There had been three previous, unsuccessful attempts to do so before, being that the Scottish population really didn't support the idea.

Again, if any of my details in the story are off, then I apologize. I hope you enjoy the story itself.

Commence~))

:::

He was paralyzed. Well, not completely incapable of movement, but in enough pain to not want to move. He was constantly shaking or trembling for what seemed like months now, not having the willpower to leave bed. Whenever it seemed like he had the strength to get up again, he would only be reduced to nothing but a weak mass of a being. Even during the many important meetings that he had to attend, it took energy to just stay sitting up dignified in a chair among political powers. Even soon after that, he would collapse when it was over and everyone had left.

England really couldn't predict when this was supposed to end. If anything, his condition just seemed to worsen over the months.

It all started almost a year ago…

…

He had stepped off the boat and only to docks, breathing in the air from his own nation. After a visit to his colony in the New World, it was always great to be back home. Leaving behind his charge was always a bit saddening, but the country he worked so hard to make successful was the best place for someone such as himself.

England walked to the edge of the dock, reaching the carriage that was waiting for him. The driver smiled and nodded at him as he opened the door for the power, then courteously closed it when Arthur was seated. After a ride through his land, watching through the window the people going about their daily lives, he had finally reached one of his political centers. It was time to catch up on what he had missed while he was away.

He made sure to quickly stop by in a room set aside for him to freshen up. Boat rides were always a bit uncomfortable and disgruntling. Feeling ready to take on any problem that could be thrown at him now, England headed over towards the meeting room.

"Scotland and England are going to be united," he had been informed.

Alright, so he wasn't quite prepared for anything. "After so many years of opposition?" Arthur asked. "I don't think that this is a very good idea. At least, I don't think the population would be willing to accept this, yet."

"The details of the treaty are already being written up at this moment. It was an important choice to make, so we went ahead."

"Wait, this still doesn't seem right. Suddenly, this plan is being put into effect? It just seems a bit sudden…"

Without a moment's hesitation, one of his advisors came to join him. Much to England's displeasure, he was guided out of the meeting room. His advisor followed him out, closing the door behind them. He beckoned for Arthur to follow him further down the hall. Now curious, England compliantly followed. He was brought to a small room.

"Sir England… It's your brother. We need to unite with Scotland now more than ever, even if his people may not be thoroughly convinced," the man quietly told him.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Arthur asked, even more confused.

"While you happened to be away… he attempted suicide."

…

England opened his eyes, realizing that he had dozed off in his room. It was hard to tell what time it was, since all the curtains in his room had been closed to help him rest. A bit of sunlight was shining through the cracks, making it safe to assume that it was probably in the afternoon.

Being so exhausted… was exhausting. No matter how much he rested, he only felt more tired. He was still achy and light-headed. Arthur had wondered before what it would feel like for two countries to merge, but now he wished he never did. It was constantly draining him, for some reason.

Scotland… I hope that you're happy now…

Before he could close his eyes to sleep again, Arthur realized that he was feeling a bit hungry. This was a good sign. His appetite was very inconsistent, much to his dismay. Therefore, he was sure to eat whenever he happened to feel hungry.

Shakily, England sat up in bed, shoving the covers aside. Fortunately, he wasn't trembling hard enough to keep him down. Carefully swinging his legs over the edge, he put on his slippers. Without moving too fast, he stood up. Thankfully, his legs weren't betraying him. Yet.

Arthur walked over to his door slowly, and opened it. He headed down the hallway. He would take the two hallways to the grand staircase in his entryway. From there, the dining room wasn't too far.

As he grew closer to the stairs, he grew aware of a racket coming from the first floor. He could hear some shouting and stomping. He had the strange feeling that he should check out the situation. Still being sure to move at a slow enough pace to where he wouldn't fall down the stairs, England reached the top. Before heading down, he stood at the banister to look down into the entryway.

Someone was distinctly putting up quite the ruckus. He could see at least five of his maids and butlers trying to subdue someone not too far inside from the front door.

Was that… a child?

Suddenly, one of the men was shoved backwards, flying back as though a horse had kicked him. Another guy was soon to follow, hitting the wall with a good amount of force. But a maid managed to get behind the person and wrap her arms around him.

"No!!! I want to see England! Let me go!!! Stop it, don't touch me! Stop it! England! England!!! ENGLAND!!!" a familiar voice screamed in desperation.

It couldn't be... He was suddenly able to see a certain young, blonde child being held back by struggling staff.

"America!" England shouted, in fear and surprise. He hurriedly rushed down his stairs, almost tripping a few times. "Unhand that boy, right now!!!"

At the demand, his servants let go instantly, stepping back into an orderly line. America fell to his knees while sobbing from panicking. As soon as he saw England coming down the stairs, though, he quickly stood up and ran to meet him.

Before England could reach the bottom step, the boy had come up to meet him, slamming into the older nation hard enough to send him backwards and knock the air out of him. He cried as Arthur tried to catch his breath again.

"They didn't believe me when I said I knew you! I snuck onto a ship to come see you, and I kept getting seasick, and then I made it all the way over here, and found out where you lived, and they tried to throw me out! I was afraid… I was afraid that I would be stuck here without reaching you," Alfred hiccupped, trying to wipe away his own tears.

England wrapped his arms around his colony, amazed that he actually made it here. He then realized just how much danger the kid had been put into by doing at this.

"Are you an idiot? Why did you come here? You could have gotten in trouble, maybe even killed," Arthur scolded him, feeling his heart wrench.

"Because… I waited so long! Every ship that came didn't have you on it. The people kept telling me that you couldn't come. Over and over and over again… I was so sad. I heard that you were busy and couldn't come see me ever again, so I came to you instead," he explained, still distressed.

Arthur held him close to calm him down as they sat on the steps for a bit. "You little bugger… I would have come back to see you. I would never just leave you," he quietly said. England looked up to his maids and butlers, who were still standing by. "Please bring supper for two up to my bedroom," he ordered. They nodded, quickly leaving.

"Come on, I can't pick you up at the moment, unless you want a good roll down the stairs," he said to America. The boy looked up at him, a bit confused, but did as he said.

They both headed upstairs, in the direction that Arthur had previously come from. He could feel his mood uplifting already as he watched Alfred look around at the beautifully decorated mansion in awe and amazement. Eventually, they came to the older nation's room.

America ran forward and jumped onto England's large bed. "Uwaah! It's so fluffy," he exclaimed in happiness as England came to join him. He sat back a bit onto his stack of pillows with a sigh.

"It's not that much different from the one where you live," Arthur chuckled.

"Sure it is! The one back home is a bit stiff, and the pillows are getting lumpy," the boy responded.

"I'll be sure to fix that, then. And take off your shoes when you're on my furniture."

America did so, throwing them off the edge while bouncing lightly on his butt. He was really enjoying the new surroundings. It was all a new experience for him. Though, he looked at England, who had closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"England… You look sick," he quietly said, looking a bit sad.

"Do I?" The last time he had looked in a mirror, he was really pale and had dark circles under his eyes. It couldn't be too different since then, being that nothing had really changed. "I guess I am."

"But, why?"

Arthur sighed as all the memories cycled through his head. "I have been busy for quite a while now. Some rough things have been going on…"

"Like what?"

"Please, let me go see him!" England had begged.

"I'm sorry, but Scotland has requested that you not go to him."

"What do you mean by that? He's my brother! My brother almost died, and now you're saying that he doesn't want to see me?" he responded, thoroughly upset.

"I'm sorry, but yes."

"So what… I'm just supposed to just take and accept his power and let him go? Let him become human?"

"… Yes."

"Someone who wasn't really that close to me, yet he was still important, left me behind," England quietly said, staring up at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?" America asked, not understanding what he meant.

"… I have some brothers. And one of them decided he didn't want to be one of 'us' anymore. He lost confidence in deciding what his people wanted. So he just gave up, and left his responsibility to me," he further explained.

"That's really mean! You should go tell him that you're upset about this!"

England visibly grimaced, which Alfred didn't fail to notice.

Before anything more could be said, a few maids brought two trays of food for the both of them. The colony hungrily wolfed down his supper as they left. England took his time, feeling his trembling coming back again. The last thing he wanted to do was to worry the kid any further. The trip here had to be stressful enough.

When they finished, America instantly said, "You should go back to sleep for a while. I bet you'll feel better when you wake up."

With a warm smile, England nodded. "I think I'll do just that."

Alfred smiled, a smile with the brilliance of the sun. He went to pick up his own tray, placing it on top of Arthur's. He grabbed them both with determination, and then slid off the bed. He left the room, most likely bringing the dishes to the kitchen. Being that he had no idea where anything was in the house, it would most likely be an adventure for the young colony.

Feeling utterly tired again, England laid down while pulling the covers over himself again. He got comfortable, and soon fell asleep.

…

Something was tickling his forehead. Slowly opening his eyes, Arthur tried to focus on what the offending source was. In the dark, he was met with bright, blue eyes staring at him.

He suddenly remembered that the little boy had come to see him, raising a scuffle in the entryway, eating dinner, and actually managing to get England to talk about his problems. It was now night, since there was only a lit candle on his bedside table, providing a little bit of illumination.

America was lying on his stomach beside England, having joined him on his bed at some point when he was sleeping. The sensation was the kid brushing strands of messy hair out of Arthur's eyes using one finger.

"It's nighttime, England," he said with a smile, withdrawing his hand.

"… I can see that. Is something wrong?" he asked, a bit light-headed.

"The people here gave me this nightgown," America said, tugging at the collar of his sleepwear. "They also gave me a room a little down the hall. They told me to stay there and sleep for the night. But then I couldn't fall asleep, so I got bored. When no one was walking around the halls anymore, I snuck out and came here."

"I see," Arthur yawned.

"… England. I was thinking a bit," Alfred said, looking away. He was quiet for a minute or so.

"What is it?" England asked, trying to not fall asleep again just yet.

"Well… I've decided something important. Really, really important. England, I won't ever leave you. I don't ever want to hurt you, because you seem so sad right now… I don't want to do that to you. So no matter what, I'll always be by your side, okay?" he declared.

England knew that the budding nation was setting himself up for a life of hardship and trials by saying that. Being a country was really hard. England had seen many troubles, and experienced the feelings of his people. Even now, he was dealing with one of his biggest problems yet. Someone he had depended on had faltered. And now he was suffering from absorbing his power.

He hoped that Scotland was happy. That maybe he found some peace of mind from being a human, condemned to die of old age one day. Although England would have gone to see his brother to cry and beg for him to reconsider if it would have worked, he knew that this was the best thing to happen. For the sake of his brother. And Arthur knew that he had been thinking of his colony at the same time.

What if America wanted to give up? What if England also had to take his power, and let the boy go?

To hear Alfred's determination both scared England… and made him very happy. He had never had someone swear that they would stay with him. Even to hear such a promise from a young boy who knew little to nothing about the world gave him newfound hope.

"I'll hold you to it, alright?" Arthur asked.

America beamed, and nodded with pleasure. He went to kiss England on the forehead, and then jumped off the bed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, England! Goodnight!" he said, going to leave for his room.

England watched him leave. When he was sure that the boy had left, he buried his face into his pillow.

"… I'll hold you to it…"