"Bela, come in for supper!" Lithuania stood in the doorway and called out to the young girl, he watched the edge of the forest carefully until he saw the pale child come skipping out from the tall trees; almost white hair flowing behind her as she made her way to the house. She was barefoot, her black skirt covered with a white apron, the edges embroidered in red thread. Her white blouse had embroidery on the sleeves. He noted as she came closer that the girl held a small posy of violets in her hand, tied with a ribbon that matched the color of the flowers. She slowed to a walk when she came closer to the house, holding the small bunch of flowers to her nose as she smiled at the older nation. "Privet Litva," she said in a happy singsong voice as she entered the house and walked over to the basin to wash her hands before sitting down at the table. She skipped over and sat in her usual chair, placing the posy of violets next to her drinking cup and gave the other nation sitting on the other side of the table a small smile. "Privet, Polksa," the young girl murmured quietly, watching Lithuania set a bowl of mushroom soup in front of her. "Dziakuj," She replied, and then was quiet as Lithuania sat down in his chair and Poland said grace before eating.

Occasionally between spoonfuls of soup, Belarus picked up the small bunch of violets and put it to her nose, sniffing their sweet aroma. She looked up at Poland, who raised an eyebrow at her, frowning slightly. Lithuania didn't seem to notice, as he was busy cutting slices of bread. "Did you weed the cabbages Bela?" He asked, handing her a slice of bread.

"Mhmm," she answered, taking the bread and dunking it in her soup. "And I hoed the beets today too, they needed it." She bit into the bread and looked at him.

"So you like, had all these chores to do and still had time to pick flowers in the forest?" Poland asked, giving her a disapproving look.

Belarus looked at him, chewing her bread. "I did all my chores, you can check."

"Don't worry, I totally will," he retorted, picking up his cup of beer.

Belarus put down the slice of bread and picked up the violets again. She smiled at the purple flowers, and then looked at Lithuania. "Litva, do I have a brother?" She jumped when the mouthful of beer Poland had in his mouth sprayed all over the front of him, and Lithuania dropped the bread knife, making a loud clatter on the table.

"What?!" He exclaimed eyes wide with shock. "Why would you ask a question like that?" Lithuania asked.

Poland's eyes narrowed, "Who have you been talking to? Answer me right now."

Belarus swung her feet back and forth under her chair, looking at the flowers. "He says his name is Rossiya, and that I'm his little sister. Is that true, is he really my brother?" She looked expectantly at Poland.

Lithuania's hand went up to his mouth; Poland's eyes grew large as he stared at the little girl sitting across from him. "What else does this Rossiya say?" He asked.

"Well … he says I'm very pretty and he gives me presents, like sweets and ribbons for my hair." She twirled the violet ribbon that tied the posy of violets together with her fingers. "He also says he misses me very much and he wants me to live with him again."

"Bela, did you see him here today?" Lithuania asked; he felt his body begin to tremble.

Belarus nodded, an innocent smile on her face, "Yes, I saw him today. He gave me a ribbon, and picked these violets to tie the ribbon around. The color matches his eyes." She put the flowers down and picked up her piece of bread.

"He's very tall too. I wish I remembered him; I must have been too little then."

Lithuania cleared his throat and picked up the bread knife again, "You were very little when I found you Bela," he gave her a nervous smile. "Finish your supper then clear the table."

"Yes Litva." Belarus answered, dipping her piece of bread in her soup.

Everyone was silent for the rest of the meal. When they were done eating, Belarus cleared the dishes and took them to be scoured and washed.

Poland watched her leave and glared at the other nation, refilling their cups with more beer. "I miss you sister, come live with me again … yeah right, that's what he totally wants." He rolled his eyes and drank his beer. "What are you like, thinking about Liet?"

Lithuania had stood up with his cup and was now pacing back and forth across the floor. "I'm thinking that he's not just after Bela's territory, he wants mine too … even yours."

"Well duh, like of course he does. Do you think the girl's really his sister though? That story sounds kind of hokey." Poland drained his cup and tipped it, frowning at the lack of beer inside.

Lithuania walked to the doorway and leaned against it, his eyes peering into the trees, trying to see any movement between the dark, shadowy trees. "She's never mentioned a brother before now, but she was very little. What if he is her brother, just like he claims?"

"Like no way Liet, she's a part of your territory now, and we have each other's backs."

Lithuania rubbed his forehead; he knew what "having each other's backs" meant to Poland. "I have a bad feeling about this. The Muscovy have gained power and now they want to expand. This Rossiya is going to be a problem."

"Litva, are you my brother?" Belarus's voice asked behind him.

Lithuania turned around and looked at the girl. He gave her a soft smile and shook his head. "No, I'm not."

"Then why do I live with you?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Well … because … " Lithuania rubbed the back of his neck. "Because you were very young, and I decided to make you part of my country."

Belarus thought about this, and smiled. "I see … do you want me to stay with you?"

"Of course I do."

"Would you be sad if I left?"

Poland yawned.

"Yes, I would be very sad if you left." He smiled fondly at the girl. "Now get ready for bed."

Belarus skipped forward and reached up on tiptoe to give Lithuania a kiss on the cheek. He blushed at the butterfly soft peck she gave him. "Good night Litva." She said, then skipped over to Poland and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good night Polska." He had his hand over his mouth as he yawned, waving her away.

Belarus crawled up the ladder to the loft and undressed for bed. She lay there, holding the posy of violets that were drooping now, and thought about the tall boy in the forest who smiled at her and called her little sister. She smelled the violets one more time, then placed them under pillow. Belarus snuggled under the covers and closed eyes. Still smiling, she fell asleep, dreaming of the tall boy with violet eyes who called himself 'Rossiya'.

Author's Note: Historian Norman Davies, a noted expert on Eastern European history and more specifically the history of Poland claims that Russia really can't trace their history back to Kievan Rus' and only made that claim in the 14th century after absorbing lands of that former territory that hadn't been taken by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the fall of the Byzantine Empire and the defeat of the Mongols the Duchy of Muscovy began to flex it's muscle in the region, claiming to be the new head of the Orthodox Church, and also the descendents of Kievan Rus'. One of the goals of Ivan III was to reclaim the lands that Kievan Rus' once occupied … namely modern day Ukraine and Belarus.