A/N: This is in simple terms, a backstory for my OC. But it also tells a good story about Alfred and Arthurs past. If you don't like Hetalia OC's do not read and do not harass. If you apply to none of these traits, please stick around and enjoy!

Entwined in a Brothers Tale

I think I should start off by saying that I'm not a country. Most people assume me not being a country means I'm of no importance, just some normal girl. Well it's not entirely false, but not entirely true either. I'm a region. Meaning I'm a bit of a country, and to be fair I'm a rather small region, New England to be precise. Or if you prefer detail, I in a way, AM New England. I reside over, represent, and physically am the American states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Because of this, I'm immortal. Some consider it a gift; others consider it a curse that I'm this way. But I wasn't always this way. I was granted this job, and this life. But it's a pretty long and complex tale. If you'd be willing to listen, then let's start from the beginning.

I was born and raised in England as a young child. My parents were poor and couldn't afford to take care of me, so I lived with my aunt and uncle. There weren't rich, or even middle class, but they were fine were they stood, and were more than willing to look after me in my parents stead. I grew up like any other child in the 17th century, though I had a terrible habit of running along my own without supervision. But what can I say? I loved exploring. One day during one of my wandering sessions, I heard faint whimpers and cries coming from behind a fence. The fence boarded a very nice house, first class no doubt, but I hadn't thought of it at the time, I was too busy searching for the voice that I had heard before. When I finally managed to climb through a hole into the garden, I came across a small boy. I didn't know his age at the time, but I knew he was younger than me, but only by a few years. He had dirty blond hair, blue eyes, with one long strand sticking out from the top. When I asked him what was wrong he simply pointed to a broken soldier figure in the grass, its torso had broken off its legs. His weeps were painful to the ear, I couldn't stand to hear them, and I had to fix it. I tore a small piece of my skirt off, and tried to wrap up the toy soldier. It wasn't a perfect patch job, far from it if you ask me, but it was enough to make his crying cease. He smiled and held the toy in his hand joyfully. I asked him what his name was; he told me it was Alfred. I played with him for a while after that, he played with the blue coat soldiers and me the red. It wasn't long though before I saw another boy emerge from the house. He had messy blond hair, thick eyebrows, emerald eyes, and he seemed to be the same age as me, when in truth he was a tad bit older.

"Who are you?" He asked me "I don't remember inviting you in here."

He seemed rather stern at the time, it made me nervous seeing as how I had technically been caught breaking n' entering.

"M-My name is Lisa!" I stuttered brushing off the dirt on my skirt. "L-Lisa Cavanaro."

"Big brother! Big brother! Look!" Little Alfred squealed as he waved his wrapped up soldier in his 'big brothers' face. "She fixed it! She fixed my toy!"

His expression and tone seemed to soften after little Alfred told his 'big brother' about our meeting, and later introduced himself as Arthur Kirkland. He left me and Alfred to play some more, until I realized how late it was beginning to get, knowing my aunt would worry if I didn't return home soon.

"Come back tomorrow! Can you please?"

"I'm sorry Alfred I won't be able to come back tomorrow." His face drooped when I spoke, it made me feel dreadful. "But I'll tell you what, next time I get a chance I'll come straight here, and we can play some more okay?"

"Yay!"

After that day I came to play with Alfred as often as I could, even if it wasn't often. When I finally started to get a proper routine going, Alfred had to cut his play time because Arthur had to start tutoring him. Eventually as years progressed, Alfred and Arthur simply became acquaintances of mine often seen on the streets or in the market. They grew into fine young men. I myself grew with the years, but by the time I was meant to be off on my own, I had no idea where to start. Then news had spread, a ship sailing to the new world, with no fee, it was my chance to make a new start, and escape the awful economic crisis that had befallen London. Though the first few years in the new world were rough, food barely grew, and Natives were hard to cooperate with, but all was well in time, and our colonies grew and thrived. Most of all though, I got to see Alfred again. I had met him on the ship in which he was actually heading, he said he would conquer this land and make it his own, and he led the people with pride and strength. However, whenever I asked about Arthur, he would go silent or dodge the question, a thing I found quite curious. But I would soon learn as to why.

I found it curious that Alfred insisted on claiming the land all for him while leading a colony, true he was a fine leader, but still he was only one man, and a rather young one at that. But then the British ships came into Boston the port, and aboard was Arthur. It had been years since I saw him, I figured it would be nice to welcome him, when I approached however, he simply brushed me off. When I found him he was in a heated argument with Alfred, and before I knew it, they had declared war on one another. At that moment I finally understood, those two were more than just brothers I once knew, they were Countries themselves, personifications of great nations from around the world. I had heard rumors of such ultimate humans existing, but I never believed them to be real. Arthur was obviously England, and Alfred… must be becoming this new world… It wasn't long before war broke loose upon the land. Raids happened more often than preferred, and Alfred had attempted many times to negotiate with the natives, some tribes accepted alliances, others wanted little to nothing to do with us. And Me? Well, at the time I was a nurse, a field nurse, and I had seen many battlefronts. I did my best back then to save many lives; I saved some, lost many others, nearly got myself killed a few times. Alfred and the army were assisted by the French, and another country personification known as Francis. He lead the French with great leadership, he and Alfred together was almost a perfect balance against Arthur and the British, but nothing could prepare me for the battle that would settle that war.

"Hey Britain!" The first time he called Arthur by his country name. "All I want is my freedom! I am no longer a child, nor your little brother! From now on consider me… independent!"

The two spared, grunts of pain echoed as they did so, and Alfred lost grip on his musket. In that moment, all went silent; all I could hear besides the rain was the sound of Arthurs heavy breaths as he aimed the musket to Alfred's head. But he didn't shoot. He couldn't shoot. Not his own brother. Instead he sank to his knees, half his men dead, ports barricaded by the French, his pride broken… he cried there on the battle field.

"What happened? I remembered when you were great…"

I remember then too…

For the time, we assumed the worst had past. Our independence was declared, we finally felt…free. But we were wrong, oh so very wrong. Little did we know things were about to get worse… much worse.

After the revolution, Arthur went into a rage, consumed by anger and hatred for his brother. The British began raiding American ships, not allowing us to trade with other countries, forcing our men into the British army to fight the French. We had to cut off trade all together. I was residing in Boston at the time, it was awful, and both I and Alfred knew war was inevitable at this point.

I had given myself some nasty injuries from the last war, and Alfred made it clear he did not want me to nurse again this time around. I was 17 at the time, and I told him I was perfectly capable of serving again. But he was persistent, and just would not allow it. But I was scared, we had little to no men with war experience this time around, not real American navy, we were completely unprepared, and I wanted to help.

For a while I obeyed Alfred's wishes, for the most part. I certainly didn't stay put in my tiny apartment in Boston, oh no, I was traveling through the colonies, checking on the aftermath of battles after the armies passed through. The War of 1812 was an awful time, the British raided far more than during the revolution, burning entire towns, murdering children, raping women, it could drive any person to insanity… how I managed to pull through I have no idea. But there was one turning point for me… one moment were I decided I had to find Alfred and help the army like I did before… the night I was in Washington. The British army they… made their way to the capital burned the city and… and also the White House. Luckily the president and his first lady made it out in time, but still… it was the White House! A symbol of what our country had become, burning right in front of our eyes, and to make matters worse… I saw him there, Arthur.

On horseback, watching the fire burn furiously, he turned and looked my way. In that moment, I saw a fire burning in his eyes like nothing I had seen before. I don't know why he came up to me, perhaps he recognized me? Maybe felt like scaring me for some unknown reason? Either way, he approached me and a large group of people, pointing at the burning building.

"Do you see this, peasants!? This is what's becoming of your great nation!" I take note of the emphasis he puts in 'great nation'. "Very soon, you'll all be in ashes!"

His horse had gotten uncomfortably close, and had me falling to the ground, before I could get up I was lifted up by a cloaked man, it was Alfred.

I had no idea why he was there, even to this day I don't know, but I do know as we walked off Arthur made sure to scream one last time.

"YOU HEAR ME BROTHER DEAR!? YOU'LL NEVER BE A REAL NATION! NEVER!"

Those words still echo to this day, since it was the most enraged Arthur had ever been.

After that, Alfred allowed me to return to my nurse's post. It was hard at the time, we had a lot more amateurs then professionals, our now growing navy was weary and we had little to no help at all from the French. It was a hard battle to face. Up until the Battle of New Orleans, it was finally over. The thing about New Orleans however, the attack was lead after a peace treaty had been made. Not only had Britain not received the news in time, but the battle itself cost several unreasonable deaths and casualties. It seriously bruised Britain's honor.

That battle was won however for the Americans, after that we wouldn't see battle for a long time. That evening after the battle, I needed sometime to myself to reflect, and I'm grateful for those moments I spent alone. For if I hadn't stepped away then, I never would have seen him, collapsed on a hillside, breathing shallowly… You guessed it, Arthur again.

I suppose there was a part of me that wanted to leave him there to suffer, but he was Alfred's brother, I couldn't bring myself to do so. I approached him bluntly; I didn't see the point of approaching with caution. But the closer I got the more I realized, how much blood had stained the grass around him.

"Arthur! You're hurt!"

"S-stay back…" his voice was shaky… and he attempted to get up, rather poorly though. "I said stay back!"

"But your side! It's been badly gashed! It'll get infected if it's not treated!"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY! Just leave me be…"

He attempted to walk on, but I had been fed up at that point and stepped in front of him.

"Listen, we may have fought this war against one another but that's over now! I knew you once as Alfred's brother not some proud war lord! Now you can let me help you or you can turn around and let yourself die! You may be a nation in a human's body but I just see a man who… who lost a brother, as well as his pride and composure… and spent a long time in his life caring for those around him… and for once in his life, needs someone to look out for him for once…"

I should have told him off, but I'm terrible at doing that unless I'm drunk or something. And I had never been so upfront with him before, that I never noticed the far off distance in his eyes. They seemed to hold wisdom within, but also a deep sadness… a sadness that caused me to completely sap up my speech. But, it won him over anyway, and before he could protest, I had him hanging from my shoulder and walked him over to my personal tent. I didn't want to risk any soldier seeing him and possibly mauling his eyes out.

I set him down on my cot and began to work. First there was removing his jacket, easy enough. Then there was applying water, along with a couple herbs generously offered from an allied Native tribe, and then there was the most difficult, the sewing. It's often the least favorite part of any operation since no man or women likes having needles being run through their flesh. It is personally my least favorite bit since squirming tends to make it a rather difficult operation, plus agonizing screams don't make it that easy either. Surprisingly though, Arthur took it rather well. Sure his groaning was a bit obnoxious but, he stood still for the most part, and thanks to that I was able to apply bandages much quicker.

"Do you really not remember me?" I remember asking, even though he was beginning to lose consciousness, mostly from the blood loss. He shook his head lazily.

"No. No I knew who you were. Though it wasn't an immediate realization, but I knew. That one girl who always babysat Alfred when I couldn't…"

"I wouldn't call it babysitting but we did spend a lot of time together back then… I suppose these wars brought us back together again as friends, though I wouldn't have preferred it that way…"

"…I should probably thank you…"

"F-for what?" For the first time in a long time, I witnessed Arthur give a genuine smile. Though it was very faint, I was close enough to see it.

"For taking care of Alfred all these years… when I couldn't. And I suppose… for helping me as well…" He was beginning to fall asleep.

"Don't mention it…" I placed a cool washcloth on his forehead before he passed out. Breathing softly I let him sleep in peace and exited my tent, only to be greeted by Alfred waiting outside. I could tell from the look in his eyes why he was there.

"He's fast asleep. You won't be able to talk to him until he wakes up."

"I don't need to talk to him!" He responded rather curtly. "I just…" I lifted my hand to stop his speech, and I let him into the tent quietly. War opponent or not they were still brothers, and right now Alfred just needed to be by his older brother's side. Peeking in, I could see him sitting on a stool next to the cot, hands clutching to Arthurs left hand, lips moving. Perhaps he was saying a prayer, or muttering apologies never to be heard…

After a few weeks of healing, it was time for Arthur to head home. I lent him some common cloths so he wouldn't be recognized as a soldier, again for his own protection, but just to be sure I escorted him to the docks.

"You don't need to follow me Lisa; I'm perfectly capable of finding the port on my own."

"I know you are," I smiled "but I figured the least I could do now is see you off." In the few weeks Arthur had been healing, I was able to lighten up to Arthur a little. We weren't best friends forever or anything but certainly friendly acquaintances. After the Treaty of Ghent, I came to realize how much of a gentleman Arthur really was, I wasn't entirely sure how his feelings toward me were now though. As we approached his ship, he stopped suddenly. I cocked my head to see his face, only to see him turn to his bag and pull out a quill with paper.

"Lisa, it's not too much to ask, could you write me an address? I- I would like to write to you sometime soon."

"Really?" The request surely took me by surprise "But why?"

He scratched the back of his head "Well, mostly I… I don't know if I'm quite ready to write to Alfred just yet… So perhaps, you'd be willing to write me and let me know how he's doing?"

His shyness to the situation was adorable; I took the quill and paper and nodded, letting him board. We didn't hug or shake hands, just simple smiles was enough for us. As the ship sailed off, I gave a small wave.

"There he goes." I turned and noticed Alfred standing next to me. It was a bit startling but at least he came to see his brother off as well. There was a small moment of silence before I heard Alfred laugh a little.

"What's so funny?" I asked jokingly

"You're too naïve sometimes." Patting my head I looked at him questioningly. "You're not immortal like us, how do you expect to keep big brother up to date if he out lives you?"

I never did think of that concept, the idea of two of my friends never aging while I did… kind of was a sad thought. I suppose after I had passed the brothers would be able to write to each other by then. Then again, with the amount of years they have, who knows how long it would take before that, happens… what if…?

"You know I've been thinking lately," he interrupted my thoughts "I'm thinking of expanding westward spreading the colonies out a bit, making peace with the natives that kind of thing."

"Right? So?"

"So if I'm out west I can't take care of business here, and I've known you ever since we were tikes so maybe you wanna take my post while I'm away?"

Now this was the biggest shock I had bared witness to yet. "You really think I'm capable of such a responsibility?"

"Sure you are! You got all the quality's: Responsibility, respect, smarts."

"How do I have all those traits?"

"There's just one thing your short on!"

"Oh? And what would that be?"

He leaned in toward my ear as if to whisper "Immortality."

And with that he latched on to my hand and dragged my away from the port. He lead me to his current home in Boston, a few houses away from mine, and dragged me down into the basement, were it smelled of dankness and fish.

"Are you implying you intend to make me immortal Alfred? It's impossible there no way I can be done!" My protests were in vain however, he finally let go and un latched an old chest that had been covered in dust and dirt.

"But there is a way." He grinned at me reassuringly, opening the chest and pulling out a small leather sack. He held it out in front of me and explained. "I never told you Britain likes to dabble in black magic, when I was younger he gave me this, one miracle."

"A… miracle?"

"A miracle! He told me a long time ago I was only to use this in a dire emergency. But so far every dire emergency I've had has already been solved!" He chuckled to himself. Then his smile suddenly grew a little sad. "In a way Britain's right, I'm not a perfect nation, maybe I never will be… but I figured if I'm gonna try to be the best country I can be, I'll need someone to keep me on my toes! For as long as I need them to of course!" He looked over to me and smiled. "So what do you say number one assistant? Wanna take a chance?"

Obviously there were a lot of things that could go wrong with this, but looking at Alfred that moment he seemed determined… and desperate, and scared. It seemed he didn't want to face the big bad world alone, he needed a friend someone to; as he said before, keep him on his toes. He was full grown now, yet I still felt responsible for him, like a little brother, or a mother with her child, and for that, I was willing to take that chance.

He opened the bag after I nodded, and from it emerged a small orb of light. It was warm and inviting, it floated gently from Alfred's hands to my own, and with a deep breath I brought it close to my chest, and let it merge with my soul. In that moment… I felt a surge like I had never felt before, like my heart had grown in size, like my body became one with the earth around me, like… and extra strand of hair grew on my head…

When my eyes opened I noticed Alfred snickering.

"What are you laughing about?"

"HAHAHAHAHA HA HA- DUDETT YOUR HAIR! YOU GOTTA COWLICK STICKING UP TOP! HAHAHAHA!"

I felt the top of my head, he was right, it was a stray strand. I licked my hand and tried putting I down, but just felt it pop back up again. I tried again, and again, and again… nothing.

"So ultimate immortality… and I get a cowlick?"

"We both have cowlicks now Lisa!" He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and laughed some more. "We're like legit siblings now! Hahahaha!"

Oh yes, these were going to be some long, long centuries ahead of me.