All characters are owned by Himaruya Hidekazu except for Chandra Le Fay, who is owned by animeannika1025 on Quizilla.
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Somewhere in the world, there is a place called Europe. And in this particular place is a country called Germany, where I'm staying for a few weeks as an ambassador for the United States of America. It's just to keep up with other countries, but it's still fairly important. Making and keeping connections with other countries is key to being a superpower in this world as it's our aim as a country. So, I, Chandra Le Fay, am here to visit in my country's stead.
Little did I know that I would be making and deepening some very personal connections.
I was walking around and seeing the sights in Berlin, the capital. Having only been to Germany once before, I'd only seen a bit of it before I had to go back to America. Well, I kind of zoned off and a little while later I found myself walking in the Holocaust Memorial. Row upon row of gray stone slabs dedicated to the thousands of unknown Jews that were killed because of one twisted man's dream.
I'm not too emotional, but what kind of heartless person wouldn't be moved by this gesture of mourning? I felt my eyes water and I quickly swiped away the oncoming rush of tears. It was unfortunate that they kept on coming at that particular moment because then a person handed me a handkerchief. I didn't have time to see who it was, all I needed was to blow my nose and stop crying! I absolutely hate it when the waterworks come.
"I'm guessing this is your first time here then." A voice, gruff but kind, came from above me. Instinctively, I looked up to see who it was. The man had longish silvery hair and chocolate brown eyes. He towered over me and had an eyebrow raised. It felt like I knew him...but from where?
"I would be lying if I said it wasn't." I turned around and offered him the hanky, which he took with a slightly disgusted look. Noticing the sun, I checked my watch and realized what time it was. "No! I'm gonna be late for dinner! Thank you, sir!" Not wanting to be late for dinner with the country, I ran off.
...In the wrong direction of course.
Being the horribly clumsy person I am, I skidded to a stop and immediately ran in the other direction, towards the silver-haired guy. As I passed him, he said, "I can take you to Germany's house if you want," to which I replied, "No, no. It's okay! I'll be fine on my own!"
After running for a bit, I started to realize what he'd just said. If I hadn't been in such a rush, maybe I wouldn't have had to go back on my own! But, how did he know I was going to Germany's in the first place? And who was he that he'd know about Germany?
That was when I passed a cat. Guess what? I'm a sucker for the furballs.
I picked it up and looked at it closely. It was definitely a stray, its ribs sticking out like trees in a desert and staring back at me with weak but intelligent eyes. It obviously hadn't eaten very well in months. I felt bad for it and I decided to bring it with me. Could you leave a cat like that on its own? I couldn't and wouldn't.
Reaching my destination, I rang the doorbell. Germany opened up and his eyes locked onto the cat, his eye twitching. As he began to tell me yet again about why I shouldn't bring stray cats back, I continued staring at him. I noticed that he bore a strange resemblance to the man I met by the memorial. Did he know something about him?
"It's so FUZZY!" My other two friends, Italy and Japan, had joined Germany at the doorway and were staring at the cat. Italy swept the cat up in his arms and darted back into the building, probably just to give it some milk. That done, Germany sighed and followed Italy in, knowing that nothing he was going to say was ever going to make sense to Italy. Japan offered a helpless smile and disappeared through the doorway.
Just as I was about to walk in, a voice came from behind me and said, "Good that you didn't get lost or my brother probably would've had me search for you." I turned and found the silver-haired man I met earlier walking toward me. Surprised, I took a step back and stared, unable to say anything. He walked past me and into the house, turning as if to ask why I wasn't already inside.
"Hold on, you just said "brother". Wait! I do know you!"
"Yeah, I'm Prussia. You don't remember?"
"Well, you've changed. You represented the Teutonic Knights before, right? How did you get to be Prussia?"
He dismissed the questions with a simple wave of his hand and invited me in with a warm smile. He'd always been kind to me and he'd always stood by me because he understood how I felt, only representing a country and not actually being one.
After having a wonderfully loud dinner, in which Italy announced that the cat would stay and Japan named him Kumo for his colouring, I went out the back door to watch the stars. I sat on the grass and listened to the wind while watching the moon slowly make its way across the sky. Every time I look up, I'm humbled by how large the sky is. It reminds me that there are a lot of things out there. Hate, death, sorrow, fear, awe, gratefulness, et cetera. I've seen more than my fair share of the things that happen in this world, what with my parents dying when I was 16 and having to raise myself. But the one thing I'd been looking for still hadn't come yet.
As I thought about this, I felt someone come up beside me and sit down. He was silent for a few moments before he said, "You sing just as well now as you did before." I was taken aback by this when I suddenly realized that I had been singing out loud! And Prussia heard me!
"Prussia! What are you doing up here?" I asked, my heart beating faster for more reasons that just being surprised. He was so close...
"Well, I heard someone singing and I wanted to know who it was. I figured it was you but you were singing something I haven't heard yet. A lullaby, I think?"
My eyes widened and I knew which song it was at once. "That was a lullaby my mother sang to me when I was little. I haven't sung it since then." Prussia gently took my hand and squeezed. He looked at me and studied my eyes. I remember him telling me once that he loved the colour of my eyes; a bright, piercing blue. I felt myself blush at the memory and he noticed.
"You're still the same little girl I remember from back then," he said, in an affectionate little whisper.
"Huh? I was sure I'd grown since then!"
He laughed and said, "That's not what I meant. Sure, you're still short but you still act the same way you did all those years ago.
"Chandra," he said while leaning in closer to my face. "It doesn't matter if you've changed or not. I'll always love you."
My heart skipped a beat as our lips met. I closed my eyes and I wrapped my arms around his neck as his hands trailed down from my waist to my hips. Moments later, we were lying down on the grass, his arms circled protectively around me. I nuzzled my face into his shoulders and I felt him smile into my hair.
"I love you, too, Prussia."
As the sun rose, I thought back to what I had been thinking earlier. As I closed my eyes, I sent my thoughts out to my parents, wherever they might have been at that moment.
Mom, Dad. I think I found what I was looking for.