Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

No, I'm not (entirely) dead.

But this idea struck me last night, struck me hard, and it, unfortunately, won't leave me alone.

So before it can materialize into a physical form and punch me in the face for my lack of writing over the last whenever (which it's been threatening to do)...I shall supply this crappy one-shot. 8I Hey ho, let's go.

Warnings: Heterosexual couples, EnglandxFem!Canada being that hetero couple, implied rape, people being out of character, French words, etc.

Last before note: I intended for it to be done in a somewhat childish prose, as if Maddie is the narrator, but doing so in third-person.

Enjoy.

Once upon a time, France came to what was called the new land.

Well, we could say that everything started with him.

He would tell grand stories, of tales from all around the world, tales that weren't true (but, of course, France never told her this), but people enjoyed them anyways. Most would come from people with last names that was non-understandable. Madeline enjoyed the ones with the talking animals the best, for it was amazing to know that animals other than Kumarie were capable of speaking.

France called them conte de fées, or, fairy tales.

In the fairy tale sense, Francis was a feline, of sorts.

He was sleek and graceful, and had such an air about his person that said he didn't care what anyone else thought about him (at least, to Madeline it seemed this). He was also very cunning, and cared greatly for the tiny colony, snapping at anyone who mistreated her, even if it was just an accident.

And, like a cat, he became cross at the oddest of moments.

This particular occurrence happened more and more, during the years that Canada flourished and grew.

When Maddie noted France on this - she, of course, skipped out on the part about him being quite moody, mind you - he smiled greatly and let out such a loud laugh that Madeline started.

He exclaimed that he was very happy that Maddie thought of him as so, and went on to say that if she were of a fairy tale, she would be a lapin, or rabbit.

"Why a lapin?"

"Because you are tiny and adorable, with bounds of intelligence brought down upon you, and others cannot help but want to protect you."

"But doesn't the chat try to eat the lapin?"

"Not this chat. He found the lapin all alone in the woods, but could not bring himself to eat her or hurt her in any way, for the moment he saw the lapin, the chat was in love. Oui, this was unusual, but he simply couldn't help it, and took the little lapin in as a daughter."

"What about Kumarie?"

"A friend of the lapin's, of course. She was there to test the chat, and see if he would be a good enough father."

The explanation sounded positively wonderful to Madeline, and she accepted it with no immediate worries. She didn't mind being Papa's lapin, if he would be a good chat.

And yet...that itself didn't last too long.

The years grew short, and Papa became more and more grew to adopting all of the bad characteristics of a cat. His mood would change in such an abrupt, frightening manner, and more than often than not he would hiss, or sometimes roar, when he was especially mad. At these times, Maddie supposed this was what a lion sounded like.

Now, it wasn't as if he would direct his anger towards Canada, by no means - it was always towards the help of the house.

This didn't stop the tiny Canadian from huddling in the corner, clutching Kumarie and trembling miserably, her overly active imagination seeing the world in the fairy tale state that her Papa had poured into her mind - of the rabbit hiding while her feline father stormed and raved, his ears flat against his skull in his fury, praying that he wouldn't turn on her.

If something was left accidentally unclean, he would spat. If the smallest bit of food was cooked wrong, the claws would come out and someone would be scratched. And if something was broken...God forbid.

This went on for quite a while, until one day, France came to the house, looking absolutely dreadful, and brought Madeline to the sitting room.

"Mon lapin...I am going to have to leave soon. For a very, very long time."

"For chat sort of things?"

He smiled a bit at that, and let loose a tiny chuckle. Maddie didn't know that she had made a joke. "Oui, you are correct. But these things are going to take so long that I don't want you to be alone, with just the servants. So you're going to be staying with some other people for a while."

"What are they?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand, cheri."

"What animals are they like?"

His eyes has flashed, and his lips has curled into a terrible smile that Maddie wasn't too fond of. "I suppose you can say that one is a wolf. You'll have to decide for yourself what the other is."

But why would he be sending the rabbit to the wolf?

Maddie never understood why wolves were the villains of many stories - especially Little Red Riding Hood, where the wolf gobbles up the little girl. She's saved by the hunter, but the wolf still dies. Personally, Madeline loved the canines. They had never hurt her before.

But a human wolf could be different.

...

And naturally, he was.

The first thing that Madeline found off about him was the fact that he was blonde.

Who ever heard of a blonde wolf?

There were cats of light yellow hue, and sometimes rabbits, but never wolves.

France and the wolf - who's name was actually Arthur, he represented England, as Maddie soon found out - conversed for a bit, before the stranger took Maddie away.

There were other stories, other than the ones with the animals.

There were ones about beautiful Princesses of faraway lands, ones that were stolen and had to be rescued by their Princes. The Prince was always their true love, despite that they hadn't known each other for too long - and Papa always said that love should take a while to bloom - and they went off and lived happily ever after.

Maddie was kidnapped, Princess Rabbit, by the evil wicked wolfy witch Arthur.

There was another, a little boy named Alfred, who was apparently Maddie's brother. But he was too loud to be a rabbit. He was more like playful young wolf club, really.

Maddie would tell Alfred of the stories her Papa told her. They would sit on Alfred's immense bed, Maddie using her special voice to tell the tales, and Alfred sitting cross-legged in front of her, his fingers stuck in his mouth and his eyes wide with childish fascination. Arthur had often told him stories as well, but it was nice to hear some new ones as well.

Unlike Maddie, he liked the Princess ones the best.

They would play rescue the Princess often, with Kumarie as the fearsome dragon. Alfred would always heroically slay her and save the lapin Princess, often demanding for a kiss from the timid Canadian. It wasn't always delivered, but she tried her best.

But as time went on, Alfred wasn't satisfied with Kumarie being the dragon.

In the later games...he demanded for Arthur to be the villain.

Madeline simply did not understand. She had grown attached to the blonde wolf; had, we daresay, fallen in love with him, as she had with her brother.

He was sometimes mean, and would curse often, but he also knew how to be kind.

Why did Alfred want him to be bad?

More time passed, it seemed like centuries, and Alfred left the castle and the Princess and the witch who wasn't so wicked anymore.

It was because he and the blonde wolf were fighting. They always had in the last couple of years, reminding Madeline terribly of whenever her Papa would become angry.

Maddie sat in her room, wondering, ever wondering, if they will ever stop fighting, if they'll ever get their happily ever after.

Arthur came back to the house one rainy night, crying (I didn't know that wolves were capable of crying) and explaining that Alfred was finally gone. He wouldn't be coming back.

He had managed to escape the castle. Why didn't he bring the Princess with him?

And, with Alfred now gone, the Prince Cub vanished and not able to protect the little rabbit...the older wolf struck.

He pounced on her, not like he was before, he was the Big Bad Wolf again (I'll huff and puff), the mix of the evil witch who wanted to prick her finger and the snarling wolf who wanted to gobble her up, like that poor girl with the red hood.

But there was no hunter to save her.

His ears were pinned back in anticipation, his tail was curled delicately around her slender waist. She watched fearfully as he salivated over the terrified rabbit, curled up underneath him. Fangs poked out from underneath his upper lip as he stared back, hungrily, delighted by the delectable rabbit meat he was about to dine on.

There came the pain next, such excruciating pain, so much that Madeline was sure she was being eaten.

But she wasn't. The wolf was biting down, leaving burning marks all over her neck and chest, particularly to the tender part of her breasts, but never hard enough to fully pierce the skin.

More pain washed over her being, everything was moving at such a rapid and hurried pace, their bodies molded and rocking wildly together in a strange rhythm -

- and just like that, it stopped. With a strange, overwhelming, almost nice feeling, it ended.

The wolf fled not long after, leaving the rabbit dazed and frightened and sore.

In the morning he was a meek wolf again, weary and apologizing over and over and offering the blank-faced lapin her favourite foods for breakfast.

There was no appetite for such things.

The Cub Prince came back not long after, requesting now to take the Princess from the castle.

Madeline would not have it. She could not tell why (why didn't Papa tell me everything in the world before he left me?) but she couldn't leave the wolf, who was such an old, tired wolf now. He had never hurt her again since that one time, lavishing her just as her Papa had, once upon a time.

But then there was fire - and Alfred had turned into the Big Bad Wolf.

All Maddie could see was fire, all she could feel was pain - and then Arthur was there.

Arthur came to here, cuddling and whispering sweet-nothingness into the rabbit's burnt ear.

"I will never let that happen to you again never never never, you will never be hurt again I won't allow it you're alright now Madeline it's going to be okay oh my little girl I love you so much I'm so sorry-"

He and Alfred had switched places, somehow. Now England was her Prince.

Though not for long.

She left the castle - for the people of the kingdom were not happy with England, for some reason.

Being the lapin Princess, Maddie had to follow her duties and make her people happy.

Her newfound Prince wasn't happy, but he accepted it anyways.

And then he forgot about her.

No prince was there for her. No chat, no Prince Cub, not even the good Wolf Prince.

Papa had never told her that fairly tales weren't real. No one ever bothered to tell her that fairy tales were real. And because of how everything happened...she never herself realized that they were made simply for the entertainment of children.

If fairy tales weren't real, does that mean there's no such thing as a happily ever after?

But she almost had happy endings...like when Alfred was a good brother, and when Arthur came to save her.

Why did they suddenly switch?

There must be a happily ever after that ends such as so, with no cheating.

And as Maddie grew to a great country, a great Queen, she began to doubt the prospect of fairy tales all together.

The Prince Cub turned bad grew up as well, but he wasn't bad anymore. He was now just Alfred.

Chat was just Francis.

And her older Prince...he came back to the kingdom one day, as just Arthur.

He looked at the lapin with a strange expression, one that could have been righted off as affection, and hugged her tightly, claiming that he wanted to catch up.

"Remember when you used to call me a prince?"

She did remember...but he wasn't a prince anymore. He was just a country.

Arthur hugged the timid little blonde again, and apologized, though Maddie didn't believe he needed to.

"Well, yes, I do suppose you're right...I'm not one anymore. I don't believe I ever was one.

You were so obsessed with fairy tales...and wanting nice endings...I know that it was almost impossible, with everything that happened, but now...it's all over. We can start over. I can't promise a happily ever after...but we can try."

She looked up to the man, the one who was truly her hero, the one who would now be her King, skeptical, but nevertheless accepting of his words.

Fairy tales weren't real. They were made up people who enjoyed writing stories.

But...with the right words...the right thoughts...and the right people...

...they may all live happily ever after.

Looooooooooord, that was a terrible ending.

So, I first started thinking about this while thinking of a bunny!Canako and a wolf!England. Somehow, I turned it into younger Canako being obsessed with fairy tales and such, because in my head canon France told her piles upon piles of stories, and she sees the world as such. I can see France being the kind of parent who's a bit afraid of telling their kid that fairy tales aren't real, lest they ruin the magic.

And yeah. I stuck MapleTea in there for the hell of it. Deal with it.

I'm not expecting them, but a few reviews would be appreciated.