When the Bering Strait plummeted into the ocean once more Ivan felt the greatest agony he ever experienced. It felt like half of his soul had suddenly been ripped away from him and the gush of blood that had resulted from the sudden separation had soaked his entire side in the middle of a world meeting. The man had collapsed into his chair, convulsing in pain at the sudden separation from what had previously thought to be just another part of himself.
Centuries later Ivan would lay eyes on just what it was he was connected to.
And then have that too taken away.
Currently Ivan was sitting in the carriage he had rented for his trip from port to Arthur's home in the heart of London. He had a white wrapped box on his lap for Arthur's young ward who he had heard would be staying there.
Madeline, little Kanata and later Canada, hadn't seen Ivan in centuries and Ivan wondered how big she had gotten since he last saw her. He was slightly nervous that the porcelain doll he had purchased, wearing a red gown and kokoshnik, would be too childish for the girl, if being under Arthur's reign had allowed her to grow even more and she was no longer a child. But to Ivan's understanding she was well and healthy and Ivan simply wanted to give her a gift during his visit.
Arriving at the house Ivan stepped out, box in hand and cane in the other as he walked along the path to the front door, knocking firmly with the handle of his cane.
A servant opened the door and directed Ivan inside, a stiff hand opening to take his hat, coat and cane should he have wished it. Another servant, a stiff woman with a sharp face and flaxen hair, beckoned the tall man to follow her into a parlour where Arthur was, the blonde looking a little bored with the man walking into his house, his hands briskly pulling on a pair of tight suede gloves.
"Ah, Ivan, a little late aren't we?"
"Not all of us were pirates before we became civilized beings." Ivan stated as he placed the box on a table, the older male sitting across from Arthur. "I brought a gift for Madeline from Russia." The man nodded to the box. "Are you well?"
Arthur eyed the box before he resumed straightening his appearance stiffly, like a residual clockwork mechanic that did the same thing day in and day out. "You ought to not spoil that child, she gets plenty of blasted presents from Francis who can't see that his presence is no longer needed," he finished by adjusting his cuffs before fixing Ivan with a look, green eyes hard and quite unimpressed. "I have an appointment today that I cannot reschedule, but since you will no doubt enjoy playing mother while I'm gone, I trust you won't mind keeping an eye on the girl for a few hours?"
"Apparently much more than you would." Ivan stated as he raised an eyebrow at the other nation. "I wouldn't wish to keep you from your affairs, where is she?" He wouldn't lie and say that he was upset that Arthur was being so rude as to leave him right after his arrival, he enjoyed the extra time he would get with Madeline.
Arthur did not miss the look Ivan gave him and the blonde snorted, his eyes rolling in a way that was quite undignified. "I am much more equipped for dealing with boys with muskets in their hands, a lady has no business learning the workings of a firearm or canons, and I can't possibly take her to the palace where I'll be going, if you had wanted to see things end up differently, perhaps you should've offered a greater sum to Francis," Arthur stated with an almost crooked grin before he grabbed his coat.
"She is upstairs in the nursery. Try not to break anything while I'm away, there are things not quite as old as you but still delicate that I would not like to have broken."
Ivan rolled his eyes and watched the other nation leave before he carefully stood, collecting the box and walking up the stairs towards the nursery he was directed to by servants. The older male opened the door and smiled as he peered at the little girl playing with a teaset and the small polar bear cub that he had given her years previous before she had even met Arthur or Francis. "Hello, little Lolita."
Madeline slowly peered up, not expecting to see Ivan standing there. A smile, quite wide and bright and almost out of place, broke out on her face and made her round cheeks flush with happiness as she stood and hurried across the room. Her long hair, once full of wild curls, thick and windswept, was pulled into a tight braid, and the cotton dress she wore was simple and plain and unimportant, as she nearly stumbled over the boring leather shoes she wore.
She still didn't like shoes, not at all.
Her arms encircled Ivan's knees and she pressed her face into his warmth, her little shoulders slumping in what could only be called relief as she tilted her head back to peer up at him with a happy laugh.
"Mr. Baginny! You've come to visit me!"
Ivan laughed and placed the gift on the table that wasn't occupied with Madeline's teaset, bending to lift the girl into his arms and smiling at the little girl as he rubbed their noses together gently. "Did you miss me, Lolita?" He asked, rubbing her back gently. She looked much different, much more tamed and quiet than when Ivan had taken care of her. She looked smaller, paler, much more breakable. "I brought you a gift." He stated with a smile, kissing Madeline's forehead gently.
"It's not my birthday," Madeline stated with a little whisper; her blue eyes dull and the soft shadow of the faintest of purple under them. She curled her arms tightly around around his neck, her little face pressing to his thick scarf as she took a deep breath, her back rising and falling, before she whispered against his ear; "…at least I can't remember if it or not, Mr. Braginny…all I can remember is that I missed you very much!"
Ivan smiled as he sat down in one of the nursery chairs, rubbing Madeline's back and gently kissing at the blonde's temple as he held her close. "I know it isn't your birthday. But I don't get to see you often so I thought I would get you a gift." The man smiled and soothed his fingers over Madeline's shoulders and spine. "I missed you too, little one, my little Lolita."
Madeline smiled, relieved that Ivan had missed her, too. "May I see it?" she asked softly, her fingers tracing idly on the buttons that gleamed dully on the older nation's shirt.
Ivan smiled and nodded, releasing Madeline to let her go to the white wrapped box, the man resting his palms on his knees as he watched her move. She was almost exactly like he remembered, still young and clumsy and beautiful in her own way.
The girl slowly approached the box, her little polar bear sleepily on her heels as she knelt in front of the little tea table. Her hands, almost as white as the paper covering the box, were very careful in removing the paper and the ribbon that held it closed.
She pulled the paper away and folded it delicately, before she lifted the lid, her eyes widening as she peered down at the doll's little porcelain face. Madeline was careful as she pulled the doll from the box completely, her fingertip trailing delicately over the little beads and embroidered flowers of the satin costume.
"She's…she's so beautiful," the girl whispered softly.
Ivan smiled as he gently stroked Madeline's curls. "I asked that they give her blonde hair like yours." He stated as he smiled at the blonde. The older male tilted his head to Madeline and gave her a gentle kiss on her head. "Arthur said that I could stay here and play with you while he went to Buckingham Palace, what should we play?"
Madeline smiled as she carefully smoothed her fingers over the doll's hair before she reached to touch the end of her own braid. "Her hair is very pretty," the little girl murmured before she tilted her head up to peer at Ivan's face. "Mr. Braginny, we could play tea?"
"Of course we can play tea." Ivan smiled as he shifted his chair closer to the tea table, smiling at Madeline. "Are you going to be Ms. Williams?"
The little girl shook her head, a shy smiled on her face that she hid behind her fingers. "Can…may I be Ms. Braginny?" she asked softly, her cheeks flushing softly as she tilted her eyes down to the doll in her lap.
Ivan laughed at that and gave Madeline's wayward curl a soft tug. "Of course, little one." The man chuckled gently, giving the girl's forehead a kiss. "So, Ms. Braginski, what sort of tea are we having?"
"Grey," Madeline smiled as she moved to collect her little tea set, a gift from Arthur so she could learn how to properly give a tea party, or at least pretend to. She bustled towards the table and shyly put a cup and saucer in front of Ivan, then her new doll, before setting one of her own.
"There's no real tea, Mr. Braginny," she murmured softly, embarrassed, as she poured the nozzle of the teapot into the empty cup then went to sit down on the other side of her new doll. "Mr. Arthur says I can't have real tea to play with…"
Ivan smiled and lifted the teacup of air to his lips, declaring that the tea was still delicious as they played, Ivan helping Madeline handle the teapot like a real little lady. They drank and played mother and father, Ivan holding the doll while Madeline served imaginary tea and cakes.
Around lunch time Ivan brought Madeline downstairs, hoisting her onto his shoulders and carrying her down the stairs as she held on, the man grinning as he placed her delicate little feet on the last steps of the stairs, servants giving him a hard look.
Madeline smiled and resisted the urge to hop off the last step, instead she took a delicate little step, her grey dress licking at her ankles as she peered up at him. "We have soup for lunch," the girl declared as she slipped her hand into one of Ivan's.
Ivan smiled and lifted Madeline by her little hands, swinging her up into her chair and giving the girl a soft kiss on her temple. The servants were almost glaring at Ivan as he helped feed the little girl, gently stroking her hair and fondly kissing her temple. Once they were done they went to the garden and Ivan unbraided Madeline's hair, gently giving her a set of milkmaid braids before he wove daisies into her curls.
When Arthur returned the two were still outside and Ivan smiled as he swung Madeline around and held her to his chest fondly. The elder male entered just as Ivan released the girl and she darted off, Ivan running after her and calling, "Lolita, Lolita, Madeline Lolita, I'm going to get you!"
The little girl was laughing and hurrying across thick grass clover, her fingers extending to brush at roses and lavender chutes.
Arthur watched from the window that gazed out onto the garden, his eyebrows pinched. "Quite undignified what he calls her, how he treats her," he murmured, a servant setting out a tea tray behind him. "She'll develop ideas that he loves her more than I should."
The servant, an elder woman with narrowed eyes, tilted her eyes towards the window to watch the two. "I do not presume to know what is proper among nations like you," The woman gave Arthur a look. "But his actions towards her seem less than proper for any man towards a small girl."
"We shall have to turn away any more visits," Arthur declared softly, almost regrettably, before he cleared his throat and moved to the garden door.
"She has been outside much too long, she'll need twice as long of a bath," he barked, the child's laughter cutting off and her head ducking as she hid her dirt stained fingers behind her skirts.
"She seems like she's hardly even seen the sun." Ivan stated as he stood, placing a hand on Madeline's curls as she hid behind his legs. The older male tilted his head to Madeline, giving her his handkerchief to clean off her fingers. "A little extra light isn't so horrible for her."
"Madeline, upstairs. Or I'm not going to heat up the bath water for you should it go cold," Arthur instructed and the little girl behind Ivan's legs waivered. She very much wanted to stay with Ivan, her hand extending to touch his hand before she hurried inside, afraid of Arthur's harsh tone and his piercing glare as she rushed by.
"Are you staying for dinner?" Arthur asked curtly, his eyes roaming up and down Ivan's form.
"If it isn't an inconvenience." Ivan smiled, eyes sharp on Arthur's face. The softness and gentleness that had been shown to Madeline was gone in the face of her caretaker. "We still have our own business to discuss, since you had to leave for the palace earlier."
"Very well then, after dinner, it isn't good to discuss business over good food. Bad luck and all," the blonde man gave Ivan a tight smile before disappearing into the house, leaving the door open for Ivan to follow if he so wished.
Madeline was bathed and her hair pulled back into the same braid, her dress replaced by one that looked exactly like the first. She sat very still and quiet and straight at the dinner table, her eyes demurely down turned through the meal.
She was given warm milk, and when she peered at Arthur pleadingly, the empire just shook his head. "Warm milk is good for you," he declared, knowing the little girl didn't like it, but would listen anyway.
Ivan smiled at Madeline gently as dinner was finished, leaning over and holding out a piece of his own sweet bread for her. "Give me a kiss, little Lolita?"
Madeline's eyes darted to Arthur's face who watched them cooly before she leaned to place a little kiss to the man's cheek.
"Goodnight, Madeline," Arthur peered at the girl and she nodded.
"Thank you very much for the doll, Mr. Braginny," she murmured softly, her voice watery as she kept her head downturned, her bottom lip trembling.
She didn't want him to go away; she missed Mr. Braginny everytime the older nation wasn't around.
Ivan smiled and gave Madeline's temple a kiss. "You're very welcome, Lolita," The man pressed his forehead to hers gently. "I love you, my soul." He murmured before he gave her cheek a soft press. "Go to bed, Lolita."
Madeline nodded silently then moved to the stairs, her steps as quiet as mouse's as she ascended up then disappeared into her room. She was changed into her nightgown and tucked into bed, her room filled with darkness that she was told to face the fear of.
She did however creep out of her covers to gather her new doll into her arms, the little painted face comforting as she curled into the covers and tried to sleep.
Downstairs, Arthur led Ivan into a drawing room, his body sinking into a chair before he offered one for Ivan. "What business do you wish to discuss?"
Ivan tucked his cheek against his fist. "I want Madeline." He stated simply. "I want to bring her back to Russia with me. My boss is prepared to pay ten million rubles for Yukon and Nunavut alone, thirty million for all of her. That's a rather large sum and I am willing to write the cheque for you right now."
Arthur stared at the older nation for a moment in silence before he started to laugh, something forced and tight and uncomfortable. "What on earth…what business do you have with having Madeline as yours? Besides," the man shifted, tucking one knee over the other, "…she isn't for sale."
"Don't play dumb with me, Arthur, you were there just as everyone else was." Ivan gave the man a glare. "Francis stole her in the night and then you purchased stolen goods. I shared land with her, part of my very essence, and when the Bering Strait flooded the last bit and separated us I lost that." The man tapped his fingers. "By all rights she is mine and you and Francis have been doing all you can to keep her away from me." His fingers tightened into a fist and Ivan gave Arthur a look. "On top of the thirty million that my boss will pay I will pay another ten million, plus a promise of stock and open trade between us."
"If she was so much a part of you, a piece of you, then why does she exist?" Arthur hissed, his eyes narrowing. "You catered to her primitive spirit, you never broke land, built, created society and order. I would not have that around my own New World; you neglected her development so she fell into our hands. You have no right to her…the earth itself made sure of that by sinking that damn strait. She is not for sale, Ivan, and even if she was, you would not be considered no matter how many rubles you offer."
"Of course you like broken horses, they're much easier to ride aren't they?" Ivan's eyes flashed dangerously and his jaw tensed. "She needs to be allowed to grow and you especially have a tendency to smother and stifle your colonies until they either become shadows of themselves or until they turn around and use those muskets you taught them to use to break away."
Arthur stiffened and glared at the taller nation. "…the answer is no. And if you think you're going to attempt to sway me with your money every time you come, you can just forget coming anymore. You have no business seeing her. She is my colony, she previously belonged to Francis, and no one else."
"She is mine!" Ivan shouted, standing upright with a snarl. "For centuries my borders were hers and her people and mine were the only ones that she knew! You came in and colonized her and destroyed the people that might have evolved into their own extended society! And every moment since then you and Francis have both been building her into some bastardized version of yourselves! She is mine and you know it!" Ivan's teeth were bared and his eyes blazed with anger. Centuries of pain and he was so close to ending it, to be able to hold Madeline close once more and feel her there. "When the strait sank she was born, she was born from my land extending into her. Give. Her. Back."
"Ask me that one more time, Ivan, and I swear to God and crown I will smother her and break her until there's nothing left. I will strip her land, inch by inch and sell it to anyone, give it to her brother as a goddamn Christmas present for all I care. I will make Canada no more if you ask me just one more time. You thought it was painful when the strait sank? I assure you this will be much worse because I will not let the death of a colony leave your conscious for as long as you live," Arthur hissed, his eyes dark and mouth twisted into an expression that almost didn't look human.
"I have the power to do that, Ivan, are you certain you're willing to test that and find out if it's true?"
A part of Ivan screamed at him to fight, to knock Arthur's head clean off of his shoulders and see how long it took him to regenerate. But then he thought of Madeline, sleeping upstairs, and thought of her being sold off bit by bloody bit. He knew that her hair would go first, then her eyes, his imagination could supply dozens of nations quickly setting upon her to take what they could while Arthur's offer still stood. She was young still, she was a colony, a child by their own standards, and she would be broken.
Arthur wouldn't have to remind him of what he had done, it would haunt Ivan for the rest of his life and fester in his conscience until his own nation crumbled.
Ivan forced himself to relax, inch by inch. He knew that his own teeth were bared, his nose wrinkled in a snarl, the skin around his eyes would be darker now like this, older, the facade faded only slightly in his lack of control. Arthur's own face was gaunt, his lips thin and almost nonexistent over his teeth and his eyes narrowed viciously. Where Ivan looked like a bear, Arthur looked like a wolf, and if they went at each other like this then there would be war and blood.
Ivan stepped back and turned on his heel to the door without a word, feeling a growl rumble up through his chest and throat. He even snapped at the servant who brought him his coat and cane, causing the girl to shriek and pull back suddenly, terrified of the nation that looked less than human before her.
He'd find a way to bring Madeline back, if he had to tear Arthur apart then he would.
The maid had scurried off without even opening the door for Ivan, and she especially did not notice the tiny figure hovering in the dark on the stairwell.
Madeline was not afraid of Ivan as she crept down a few steps, silent and almost weak as she paused at least a few steps before the bottom of the staircase, her hand resting lightly on the banister to keep herself grounded.
She didn't say anything for a long moment, as if listening for Arthur, but the blonde man sputtered and hissed at the older woman who went to refill his tea before the door to the garden slammed so loudly it rattled the fine china in the great wooden cases.
"He's going to make me disappear…isn't he?"
Ivan tilted his head and the expression was gone and he was softer and was staring at Madeline gently. "He won't," He whispered, staring up at Madeline. "He won't make you disappear." He murmured gently. But he couldn't smile, too worried to conjure the expression even for her. "I can't come back, Lolita." He murmured softly. "But I'll see you again."
"Yes he will," she murmured softly, her hand light on the banister still. She felt so much older than she looked, her feet bare as she slowly moved down the stairs until she stood at Ivan's height and their faces were almost level.
"I'm not afraid because…I know it would be better," the blonde whispered, her eyes slowly lifting from the ground to Ivan's face.
"I love you, Nanuk," she murmured softly, the barest hints of a smile tilting up the corners of her mouth. "And I always will."
Ivan gave Madeline a pained look and he reached up to cup her cheeks, pressing his forehead to hers gently. "My Lolita… I love you so much." The man cupped Madeline's face and pulled her close so that he could kiss her on the lips, gentle and chaste and loving, before he pulled back after only a few seconds, brushing his hand over her cheeks and jaws.
The blonde shifted slightly and pulled out Ivan's handkerchief from behind her back, the girl passing it into his palm. "Take care of it…okay?" she asked softly, before pulling away, her feet silent as she moved back up the stairs, a sob locked in her throat and her stomach clenching as she tried to keep silent.
Inside the carefully folded handkerchief Ivan would find a thick curl of her own hair resting against the soft white fabric. If Arthur ever knew, she would surely be in grave trouble, but the girl couldn't care.
It belonged to Ivan, just like she did.