America quite liked living under the care of England. England told the best stories, making beautiful moving pictures out of magic while he did. He had a nice house and was near enough to town that he could get things if he needed to. But England made sure that he never needed to go anywhere out of necessity. Of course, England was not around frequently, so America often wandered up and down the coast while he was gone. He had no particular goal, just a pull to go past England's property.

He hadn't intended to meet the Virginias, in fact, they met him in a way. He had been away from his new home for a couple of days. Rather long, if you considered the fact that he looked like 6 year old child. In any case, he had ended up in a decently sized town near the James River. It was market day, and there were many carts and horses and people going to and fro to get everything done. America was getting hungry. There was a conveniently placed stall of apples at the corner just across the street from where he was watching. The tender was dozing off and not paying close attention. Glancing back and forth across the street, America darted forward. And was promptly yanked back by his collar as a horse and rider dashed through the road, right where he would have been.

America fell backwards from the force of the pull and landed heavily on the ground, which gave out a great 'oof' as he landed on it. He blinked upward as the clear blue sky was filled with England's face.

America let out a small laugh of delight, "Hey Iggy! You got short! When'd you get so young?"

England frowned in confusion, "I'm not...Who is Iggy?"

"You?"

"No. I'm not Iggy. … Could you please get off my sister?"

"What?" America looked down and finally saw what, or rather who, he had landed on. A girl with long blond hair and sharp green eyes was sprawled on the ground beneath him. She looked about 2 or 3 years older than he was. America scrambled up in a panic, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall on you. It was an accident, I swear! I -"

She smiled quietly, "Don't worry. It's no problem. Help me up?"

"Oh-Oh, yes! Of course."

He hauled her up and, when she was standing, proceded to brush off her dress fervently. It was a pretty dress, a light tan color. The dirt from the ground was obvious all along the back.

"Stop!" she cried, "It's fine, I swear to you. I can wash it when I go home."

"I am sorry. Miss...?"

"My apologies for not introducing myself." she smiled, "My name is Virginia."

"Like the colony?"

"Yes, exactly so."

At this, her brother let out a sharp cough. America turned to face him, but he was looking devoutly at the ground between his feet. America frowned and turned back to Virginia. She was looking at him oddly, a frown on her features. America didn't want her to frown.

"Tell me," she began, "How old are you?"

"6" he smiled. That was the answer England told him to give.

"No. I mean really. How old are you?"

"I don't know."

She frowned again and turned briefly to her brother. "Let's take you home. Give you a meal and a warm bed. No matter how old you are you ought to be well fed."

"Ginny" her brother finally spoke, "are you sure?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

They lived in a nice house near the middle of town. It happened to be the house of one of the major families in the area; the wife was barren and had taken the siblings in one day. She was more than willing to order a larger lunch prepared so that the three of them could eat together. However, she insisted everyone be clean, so America ended up wearing some of the boy's old clothes and Virginia changed into a nice blue dress.

The three of them ended up having lunch on an old table cloth in the yard in the back. The Missus was busy inside, and her husband was out on business. At least that's Virginia said. She was very talkative, her brother was content to sit and let her speak for him.

"And by rights I ought to be with her, learning to run a household. But I'd rather be with the people, don't you agree?" she turned to her brother, who only nodded. Unswayed, she continued on, "And he ought to be with the master, learning business. But he won't go anywhere without me and business is no place for a lady. At least, that's what everyone says. I don't see why I can't run a business. I'm expected to run a home and what's the difference between the two?"

"Not much." smiled America through the pot pie he was steadily devouring.

"You're right. But I don't want to rock the boat, so to speak." she paused and looked hard at America. "Well, enough about me. Tell me, where are you from? Who are your people?"

"I live up to Potomac River. To the north of here."

"Quite a journey then, to end up here by the James River."

"Yes. And my people. Hmm. Well, my brother is Arthur Kirkland. He looks an awful lot like you" America nodded toward Virginia's brother.

"Ah." she smiled, "and what is your name?"

"Alfred Kirkland."

"And how old are you, Alfred Kirkland?"

America was suddenly struck with the feeling that she knew more than she was letting on. "About 68? I don't rightly know myself."

Virginia smiled and turned victoriously to her brother, seeming to say 'I told you so'. She soon turned back to America.

"And who are you exactly, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The British American Colonies. But Iggy calls me America."

The boy spoke up, scorn obvious in his tone, "The British American Colonies. How incredibly useless."

Virginia turned on him, "Hush bràthair. It's not his fault he isn't aware."

"Aware of what?" asked America

"I am the colony of Virginia. So is my brother, but we haven't found a suitable name for him yet, so I just call him bràthair most of the time."

"Oh." America smiled widely, "You can keep me company and stay when Iggy's gone away! I won't be alone anymore!"

"I assume Iggy is England?" when America nodded yes, she said, "Well, I'd rather not meet him. I'm sure he has his hands full with you. He wouldn't need two more. And we've settled comfortably here."

"You'll visit though, won't you?"

"As much as we're able." she smiled and stood up. Her brother stood as well and they both began to pack away the remains of their lunch.

America ended up staying with the Virginias for about a week before he felt the call again and decided to leave. Both Virginias were sad to see him go, certainly her brother had warmed up to him quickly enough. He had helped America pack a sack filled with food and clothes for his journey, as well as a small knife. They had spent hours together learning how to use it properly.

The Virginias walked him to the edge of town to see him off. When they got there America tackled them both in a bone-crushing hug. "Goodbye Ginny." he said, "Goodbye bràthair." And with that, he went north.

A/N

Wow! some more writing! This is my attempt to study for the APUSH exam coming up, not sure how successful I'll be, but still. I hope you liked this, and if you did please rate and review. You have no idea how good for the soul it is to have tangible proof of people reading what you write.

Some Historical notes:

this is set roughly in 1675, 100 years before the Revolutionary War

bràthair - brother in Scotts Gaelic