Whoever suggested this, is total idiot, just throwing that out there. Oh, it was dad? Well, that figures. Countries can't even get along with each other, states likewise, and putting us English ones into a single room together is just asking for a free for all MMA brawl. Hey, I try to get along with my fifty some odd siblings, not to mention my two dads. Yes, I am one of those few states with two dads (most have more), but they're polar opposites which provides for an interesting atmosphere. Unfortunately, that means I'm the mix of them both, my Papa I don't mind, my dad...yeah.
My Papa is Canada, I've known him for a very long time and he took care of me when I was very small. Papa himself was very young when he took care of us so he wasn't very experienced with handling kids. It was me, a couple of his kids, and couple of my dad's kids. I also lived with Grandpapa France for awhile too, about one hundred years. I don't remember much of what happened when I really young, but Papa told me that he found me in the forest when he and Grandpapa were talking to the Native Americans. Papa said I was very quiet much like himself when Grandpapa found him, he's still quiet today...
Naturally they took me to their house where I lived with them happily along with my other siblings. Grandpapa was often away, bickering with Grandpa Britain about territory claims and such. Memory serves that was shortly before the Seven Years' war, so Papa was taking care of me, his six children, and the other ten that would become Dad's. We all had to speak French because Grandpapa said that 'English is a language with no love', little did we all know that he actually spoke it quite fluently. Then, war broke out.
Grandpapa and Grandpa began fighting over some quarrel of land that escalated into a full out winner take all war. Papa took all of us farther north of his land to keep us all safe from the war, but we still felt it. Papa continued to care for us, although it was evident that he was struggling as much as we were. He had ripped his shirts dozens of times over to stop the blood that would come from people fighting on our land when he himself could barely stand. After what seemed like forever, Grandpapa came home, but I could tell that Papa was not entirely thrilled with seeing him. He looked like a mess, his light blue uniform tattered and stained with blood. Papa told us to go into the other room while he and Grandpapa talked. It was very short and it ended with Grandpapa each giving us a kiss on the forehead and a small smile from him.
"Do not forget about me, my children. Remember that I will always love you and I will try to see you as soon as I can."
It would be centuries before we ever saw him again.
Papa ushered us out of the wooden house, those that lived in the west went with Grandpapa while I, some of my siblings, and Papa, went with two men. The one looked remarkably like Papa except for a pesky cowlick and blue eyes. The other seemed to be much more serious and his green eyes stared at us as though we had some disease. The blue eyed man gave Papa a hug while the rest of us cowered behind him. Papa spoke something softly in English, and the dirty blond gave him a small smile.
"Everything will be okay, I promise." We were shocked to hear him speak French, with his being a British colony and all. The British man scoffed, turning his back to us while they led us south, not so much as looking in our direction. The younger man extended his hand towards us, a genuine smile spread across his face.
"I will not hurt you." I looked up to Papa with Kumajirou in hand.
"He is my brother, he will never hurt any of you." A couple of us nodded, I personally had no grudge against him since he didn't attack me. My siblings thought otherwise and only moved closer to Papa's legs. I hesitantly placed my small hand in the American's, he smiled and we began the long trek to his house with Papa by my side.
Some amount of time had passed before any of us had talked. The wind was harsh and there was an inch or two of snow on the ground. Because most of us were shorter, we had a hard time not falling on hidden branches and such. Papa had taken the smaller states, like Newfoundland and Labrador into his hands while Ontario clung to his back. The blue eyed man, whose name apparently was America, took Ohio and Indiana to his arms and Illinois to his back. He was much stronger than papa, carrying the three without so much as a strain. The green eyed man and pessimist, Britain, took Wisconsin, he wasn't as strong as the other two, so he could only carry one of us. Quebec and I, living farther north, being larger, and older, trekked alongside while making sure that our fur coats wouldn't be lost in the wind. I tugged at Papa's sleeve, he looked down to me with his violet eyes, I looked up at Indiana, who was clutching onto America, his hands bare.
"Papa, Indiana is cold, can I give him my gloves?" I asked in a small voice as to attract attention from the two countries. They noticed however and I moved my gaze to the ground. Papa grunted and looked at me at eye level, which I was only 3'9" to his 5'2".
"Of course, ma fifille." I smiled, since I was the only girl. America had smiled whereas Britain sighed. I approached America, taking the deer hide gloves off my large hands and handed them to Indiana. America had to bend over as well since he was about 5'4". Indiana peeked his green eyes from under his hood, reaching his arms out towards mine. I slipped them on over his small hands and he instantly went back to snuggling into America's chest.
"Thank you, soeur." He called from America's chest. America flashed a wide smile at me and his baby blue eyes sparkled.
"That was very sweet of you." I gave small shrug, hopping over a fallen branch, my skirt snagging on the branch. I shook my head and inspected the torn fabric. This was one of my favorite skirts, and it reminded my much of my homeland with the Native American pattern and trim. I decided not to make a big deal out of it, since there would be nothing that could be done to fix it.
"I have to watch out for my siblings." I said quietly. Britain looked at my tattered skirt, a frown spreading across his face. Thankfully I had worn my long brown boots, but the cold was seeping through. I remained quiet though, they didn't need to know of my pain, they had others to worry about.
"Soeur, let me fix your skirt." Quebec kneeled, tying the fringed ends of my skirt together. He stood back up quickly, whispering 'I'll fix it when we get there.' into my ear.
"Thank you, frére."
The rest of the trek was very quiet, and once we reached New York the snow disappeared almost instantly and was replaced with thick forest. America surveyed the landscape, it had been at least three weeks since our departure, and we had been in the U.S. for almost a week, or at least that's what I thought. America turned his head in each direction while the rest of us watched him, Papa had done this while we were still in Canada. Papa had said that Countries (and states), have the ability to sense the surroundings of their homeland, and since none of us were from America, we had to rely on him for directions.
"How much farther, America?" Britain asked, not that I understood him. America cracked a smile, setting Indiana onto the ground.
"We're almost to New York, we'll be there before nightfall. There's a dirt path that we can take about three hundred feet that way." America pointed eastward and quickly translated the basics, being not entirely fluent in French but he knew enough. Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin sighed in relief, as did Canada. With everyone on the ground we began running east towards the dirt road, smiling once we saw the dirt road and small carriage. Britain walked up the carriage owner, asked him something, and we were ushered into the small car. Britain sat next America with Indiana and Illinois on his lap. Canada sat parallel to them, patting for me to sit beside him since I was a girl. Quebec sat on the floor with Newfoundland and Wisconsin while Labrador sat on Papa's lap. Those on the ground fell asleep instantly as did Indiana and Labrador so that Illinois and I were the only ones awake. I stared out of the window, watching the green pine trees pass by. I fingered the robins feather that hung in my hair, attached by a thin strip of hide. It was given to me by my people, and I had treasured it by wearing it every day. Canada nor France had an issue with me wearing it, Britain, however...
"Why does the girl have a feather in her hair? She isn't Native American!" When he pointed at my feather, and I realized that he didn't like the idea of the feather being in my hair. I swallowed, edging closer to Papa. "It isn't civil to wear things like that." He said, pulling on the feather. I gave a small yelp as he pulled it out with some of my hair.
"Give it back!" I shouted, tears streaming down my face as I tried to grab my precious possession back from the Brit. America's face turned into shock, while papa stood up with Labrador still asleep in his hands.
"Give it back to her!" Papa shouted, although it came out as nothing more than a whisper. Britain scoffed, twirling the feather in his hands.
"That's another thing, while you all live under my roof you will learn how to speak proper English and not that frog of a language!" America took the opportunity to snatch the feather away and carefully tossed it over to me. I hugged it, tucking it deep within my fur coat.
"Merci!" I cried, Papa sat back down, stroking my blond, wavy hair.
"Britain, that was totally uncalled for! That would be as if I would take away your wand, or if you pulled out Nantucket!" America whispered/yelled. Britain rolled his eyes, staring out of the window. Britain was much more strict than grandpapa. Papa continued to stroke me until we reached the city, which was far larger than any in my land. I remained quiet as we exited the coach, I didn't want to attract any more attention from Britain than what I needed to. America said that he had a house that we could stay in before going to Philadelphia and I was more than happy to be in a house, since it had been over a month since we slept in an actual bed, or near a hearth for that matter. All of the non countries sat close to the fire, extending their arms towards it for warmth. America didn't keep any skirts at his house so I had to use boy's pants, which Britain was not thrilled with.
"Tomorrow we need to get her some lady clothes, she can't walk around here wearing men's clothing." He said while sipping tea. I ignored what he was saying and instead focused on making dinner for my siblings, well, I helped papa at least. I chopped up the ingredients and handed them to papa, who was busy stirring the pot above the fire. Kumajirou was snuggled up against Quebec while Newfoundland rested his head on his fur. I smiled at the sight, and I picked up Wisconsin and set him onto the couch since he was falling asleep in a position that would cause him to ache later.
"What are you making, Canada?" Papa looked over to America, who was sitting beside Britain on the couch who was messing with some papers.
"I am making some of zhose pancakes vith zhe maple syrup." All I understood was pancakes and maple syrup, and that was good enough for me. Unlike the rest of us, papa actually knew a decent amount of English, minus his heavy accent. I knew only a few words, but Britain said that we all needed to know it, and I was hesitant on learning the language.
"Sounds good."
We ended up staying there for about a week before we went to America's house in Philadelphia, this time by coach. Britain didn't end up coming with us, saying that he had business in Britain to attend to and I was more than thankful to hear that. I was able to put my feather back into my hair and on the way there and America taught us some basic English phrases, but he said that he would find someone to properly teach us English. America said that he had thirteen kids of his own and that they were like us, only that they spoke English instead. I just wanted a place to call my own, a place to hide while I lived here. Not that I minded America, nor my siblings, but Britain controlled this place, and it was difficult for me to accept the fact that he wouldn't harm me anymore. I didn't speak very much, and I only spoke when America was teaching us English or I was asked a question.
It took us two weeks to reach America's house, and when we did, we were swamped with children much like ourselves, except they all seemed to be younger than I with the exception of a select few.
"Hey kids, meet the newest additions to our family. They don't speak much English, so be kind and introduce yourselves!" America bellowed. The first one that came up had dirty blond, almost brown, hair. His eyes were brown and his sandy hair fell in front of his eyes as he bowed before us.
"Hello, my name is Delaware, it is nice to meet you all." The next was a blond boy with striking electric blue eyes.
"My name is Pennsylvania, a pleasure." We continued on throughout the rest of his children, and only Georgia, Maryland, and Virginia were girls. They were excited to see me I bet, with my being the only new girl. Canada stepped forward, adjusting Indiana so that he would be facing the American children.
"Bonjour everyone, I am British Canada, and I can tell you zhat we are very excited to be here with you." He said in his quiet voice. Each of us stepped forward and introduced ourselves, and I was, of course, last to go. I slowly stepped forward, curtseying.
"B-bonjour, my name is Michigan." I said almost as quietly as my Papa. America looked around, satisfied that everyone had introduced themselves.
"Well, there's no use sitting out here, everyone make yourselves at home!" The girls instantly flocked to me while the rest headed inside. I nervously gripped the royal blue fabric of my dress while my other hand ran alone the canary yellow that ran along the trim.
"What's it like?" Maryland asked, her brown hair whipping around her as she became closer to me.
"What? I zo not speak English very well." I said. Georgia elbowed her in the stomach, vausing the brunet to cough.
"Don't ya remember? Pa said that they don't speak much English." Virginia rolled her eyes.
"Girls, I think that she's had a rough day and all and would like to have some peace." I nodded, pointing at the house.
"Is zhere a place where I can..." I cocked my head, uncertain of the English word I was looking for.
"Sleep, rest?" Virginia supplied. I nodded once more. Virginia smiled and led me inside the grand house. It was comprised of wood with a large hearth and a small kitchen. It was much larger than ours and it was definitely more roomy. They didn't have as many furs as we did, but it looked nice none the less. Papa was sitting with America on the floor while some of my siblings played with America's kids.
"Papa, I'm going to bed. I'm very tired." I said quietly, stopping before the stairs began. He turned his head around, his long strand of hair bouncing in front of his violet eyes.
"Good night, ma fifille. Sleep well." I smiled under my breath and picked up my dress, not wanting it to get caught on the stairs. My brown boots made soft clicking noises against the wood flooring while I climbed the stairs. Virginia led the way to the bedroom, which was a decent size as well, but would be crunchy with all four of us.
"You can sleep here, Michigan. Dad'll probably get you a bed within the next few days, so you can sleep in mine until he does." Virginia led me over to her bed, patting it so that I understood what she had said.
"Merci!" I said happily, taking off my boots and I placed them beside the bed. Georgia smiled at me, her chocolate eyes brimming with happiness.
"Let's leave her 'lone, y'all. She prob'bly wants ta sleep." The girls ushered out of the room, leaving me in peace for the first time in several months. I thought about the long trek that my family had to make from Canada into America, and how it was probably because Grandpapa lost his war to Britain. Grandpapa held hostility towards Britain, which is why Britain doesn't like us much himself. Papa had said that those two had bickered ever since they were 'born' and haven't done anything else since.
Peace didn't last long. Britain came home after a month of absence and while I was entertaining Wisconsin when he knocked on the door. Canada let him in, but only because America had asked him to. He was in his suit, as per usual for the man. I stayed on the ground, my back towards him as I played with some toy soldiers that America had given us. Thankfully my English vocabulary had expanded somewhat, although I definitely didn't know everything.
"Hello, everyone." Britain said, removing his coat and placed it on the rack. He seemed to be somewhat happier, but his eyes were more dull than I had last seen them
"Hey Britain, how've you been?" America asked, pushing in his chair at the table.
"It's 'how have you been', America. Speaking of which, have you been teaching them proper English yet?"America sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"They are still young, you cannot expect them to learn an entirely different language in less than a month." Britain scoffed.
"I had to learn Spanish, America. If I can learn to speak Spanish fluently then they can do so with English."
"English and Spanish and two totally different languages, not to mention you've known it for centuries." America retorted. Britain rolled his eyes at his colony.
"Teach them, find a tutor, or I'll do it." Britain said simply.
"Zhey have been learning English, Britain." Papa said, holding Labrador in his hands.
"I see your English has improved, Canada."
"It's because zhere are British people coming to my place, zherefore it makes it easier for me to understand." Britain nodded his head thoughtfully, scanning the rest of us that spoke French.
"Maybe I should have my people immigrate there as well, it would help with starting a decent governing branch instead of it being nothing but wilderness." Britain scratched his chin, analyzing his ideas. I pretended to not be listening, but if this were to go through...well, it wouldn't be good. I could already feel the British occupation in Detroit and it was slowly expanding outward. I could feel what my people were thinking, and they weren't too thrilled with British occupation especially at the forts along my 'coastline'. They were tearing down my trees, the trees that I had called home for over a hundred years. The British were taking away what was mine without any form of consent, and the Brit wondered why I didn't like his country.
"That's Michigan and Wisconsin over there, right?" Canada turned his head towards us and ruffled Wisconsin's hair while America smiled and crossed his arms.
"Yup, that's them. The others are probably outside enjoying the spring air..." America looked outside to see Massachusetts reading on the bench while Rhode Island and Connecticut sat nearby. Britain, for once, gave us a smile once he saw what we were playing with and kneeled beside us.
"I see you've found another use for them, eh America?" Britain picked up one of the soldiers and slowly stroked it with the tips of his fingers. "I remember making these not so long ago, how you've grown up so fast." He placed next to my burgundy cotton dress. His character had changed so much in such a short amount of time and he wasn't even giving us a foreign look anymore. Instead, he gave us a warm smile once he saw how delicately Wisconsin was treating them.
"You made zhese, Mr. Britain?
"Yes, I did. I made these many years ago when America looked no older than yourself." The Brit chuckled, and turned towards America. "You gave me such a hard time about me injuring myself too." America rolled his eyes at his caretaker.
"You were never good with tools to begin with." He sighed, sitting on the floor beside us.
"How long have you been zaking care of Mr. America, Mr. Britain?" I moved the dolls around, attracting Wisconsin's attention as he grabbed at them.
"Oh, come now, there is no need for such formalities, Michigan. It's been what, close to two hundred years, America?" America snorted.
"You make me feel old, old man," He said playfully, giving him a jab in his side.
"You git, I'm not that old, France is older than me!" America shook his head, diverting the attention back to us.
"How old are you two?" America asking, blue eyes reflecting the fire. I looked over to Wisconsin, who had turned his head in confusion. I quickly translated it for him into French, he responded and Canada translated it back into English.
"I zhink the English is One hundred and twenty nine?" Canada said.
"Drop the and, and it would be proper English." Britain said with a nod. "That would make you...?" I had to think about the conversion factor for a moment, counting on my fingers.
"Eh, I zhink it is one hundred forty zwo. I'm not zhat much older than zhem, but I'm the oldest south of my lakes." I said with pride, although that meant that I had to take care of them. "How old are you, America?"
"About three hundred, give or take a bit." I was taken aback, he didn't seem to be three hundred, then again none of my siblings looked older than twelve and we were all over one hundred. I hadn't noticed it earlier but Papa had disappeared into the kitchen to work on lunch for the twenty some odd of us. I could smell the bacon cooking in the small stove while tomato soup slowly simmered on top. Since America and Britain were now playing with Wisconsin, I quietly excused myself and wandered over to where Papa was.
"Do you need any help, Papa?" I asked, standing on my tip toes to peer into the pot. Papa gently pushed me away from the flame with the edge of his spoon.
"Don't get zoo close, ma fifille, the stove is very hot and I don't want you zo burn yourself." I pouted and crossed my arms.
"Is zhere zomething I can do?" I asked again. He went back to his stirring, wiping his brow with the inside of his arm.
"Could you zell everyone zo wash up, lunch will be ready shortly." I turned heeled and passed the message along to the two nations in the living room. Then I calmly walked over to the front door, I peeked my head out of the window and yelled.
"Time zo wash up, it is time for lunch!" Instantly seven states tried to ram the door down, knocking me out of the way and onto the ground. I sighed, brushed the dust off from my dress, and placed my hair behind my ear as I trudged up the wooden stairs. Not wanting another stampede, I halted at the very top of the stairs while I gripped the railing.
"Lunch!" I called, then I ran as fast as I could down the stairs. I swung around the railing in the nick of time, dodging probably fifteen or so states. Many of them were already at the table, eagerly awaiting their lunch. I sauntered over to Indiana, who was having difficulty reaching the water pail. I grabbed under his arms and balanced him on one of my knees, least to say, I was having some difficulty with it. I fell backwards, only for Quebec to catch me.
"Would you like some help, Michigan?" He asked. I placed Indiana onto the ground while I nodded my head.
"If you would not mind, zhat would be most appreciated." I said in a quiet voice. Quebec picked up Indiana while I washed my hands with my younger brother. Indiana squirmed after a few moments, and Quebec placed him back on the ground, only for him to run full speed to the table.
"Zhank you, Quebec." He waved me off as we walked over to the oak table.
"You do enough as is, Michigan." We were the last to find our seats. Britain said a prayer, and while the French states devoured the food, the English held puzzled looks.
"What is this?" Britain asked, holding up a sandwich. Canada sighed and placed his back on the plate.
"It is a bacon zandwich with vegetable soup, have you ever had it before?" America nodded.
"We've had vegetable soup, but this doesn't look like bacon."
"Yeah, bacon's fried and it's crispy!" South Carolina muttered.
"It's Canadian bacon..." Quebec said quietly. Several 'oh's' sounded from the table. I sighed and shook my head, dipping my sandwich into the broth. The other states tried it as well, including America and Britain. The Brit raised a single eyebrow, but said nothing. America, meanwhile...
"Dude, Canada cooks way better than you!" America shouted. All of America's kids nodded in agreement. "It tastes so amazing!"
"Hey, I'm perfectly capable of cooking!" Britain sipped his tea, shooting a glare at the American, who was furrowing his brows in disgust.
"Every time you cook you end up giving at least three of us food poisoning, not to mention it tastes like ass." He shuddered at the memory, shoveling more of the food down his throat.
"My scones are top notch, thank you very much! I'm certain they taste nothing like arse, in fact they are far from it! Maybe I should whip up a batch so you can see how wonderful they are..." America paled, his fork slipping so that it clicked with his plate. A ghastly silence ensued, leaving a very awkward atmosphere as we ate. Britain excused himself to start on his scones, while America's kids fled in a blind panic, we remained, uncertain of what we were facing.
"Get out while ya still can!" Georgia whispered into to my ear. I bit my lip, this wouldn't turn out well, would it?
"Whatever you do, don't swallow." Maryland said to us, but not loud enough to where Britain would hear her. I looked over at Papa, who was quivering with Labrador in his lap. I frowned, nervously playing with my blond locks.
"Just another moment and they'll be all done~!" Britain said, his voice comparable to that of a small girl, the trilling of his voice scaring us even more. I looked over to Quebec, who was gripping the sides of the wooden chair, his nails digging into it. Britain placed a plate of... black onto the table...and were they moving?
"Eat up everyone, let me know what you think!" He exclaimed, pulling up next to Illinois who looked as though he was about to toss his cookies. Papa swallowed it without even tasting it, and even then his face turned a ghastly shade of pale. Wisconsin took one of the hardened scones, sniffed it, and threw it against the wall, and it didn't even break... Britain stared at Wisconsin in disbelief, but he pouted and crossed his arms.
"W-why did he do that?" Britain asked.
"As I said earlier Britain, your scones, not to mention your cooking, tastes like ass." America said, popping his head back into the dining room. Britain looked as someone had punched him in the vital regions and he stormed from the room, muttering curses at the American. America took Labrador from Canada and patted Papa on the head.
"You shouldn't have done that bro, Britain's 'food' is undigestible."
"Indigestible..."
"It will be for you soon."
That's how life went while we lived at America's house, Britain visited us when he could, but America and Canada took care of us the most. Things were going well for about eleven or so years, and it felt as though a decent home had been reestablished. I was with New York a lot, Pennsylvania too, and of course the other girls. A sense of normalcy had returned to us all in our house, but lately America left the house for hours at a time. Now once in a while it wasn't unusual, but it soon became weekly, and then escalated from there. I could tell that Papa knew something was up, but he didn't say anything to either Britain or America and since he didn't say anything, I decided not to either.
One day, while I was up in the girls bedroom sewing Virginia flew in, her hair frizzy and messy. She slammed the door shut and slid to the wooden floor with a soft thump.
"Is everything okay, Virginia?" I asked, burying my needle inside the fabric. She looked up to me with her brown eyes, seemingly afraid. She crawled over to me and I hopped down from my bed to look her in the eye.
"Michigan, something's up, Pennsylvania overhead Dad talkin' to some strange people, he says they're from his state, but that's beside the point. Dad's at some meeting and Penn said that it's a secret meeting too. He told me to fetch Massachusetts, but he had to go to Britain about some new taxes that he's proposin'. I can't find Georgia, so I was wondering if you'd come with me?" I raised my brow at her skeptically.
"What do you mean by zhat?"
"Spy on him, whatever Dad's doing it's somethin' big because he's never done anything like this before." Now this peaked my interest, so I cracked a smile and nodded my head. Though this entire thing happening wasn't good in itself, I still wanted to go out and see what he was up to. We quickly changed out of our comfortable clothing and into something a little more presentable. I had changed into my dark green and gold trimmed dress while Virginia chose her blue and white dress. With our bonnets secured on our heads, shawls wrapped around our body, and combat boots tied, we trudged down the stairs as confident as possible.
"We're going out for a bit to look around town, zhat okay, Papa?" He nodded his head, and that's all we needed. Once the house was no longer in view we sprinted towards the city of Philadelphia, only about a mile away. It was November, so the muddy road was frozen but snow had yet to cover the ground. Halfway through we were slowed to a walk, not being entirely in shape and still fairly young at that. Well, I was, Virginia slowed down with me and we chatted to pass the time.
"What do you think he's doing, Virginia?" I asked in a hushed voice. I could see her eyes falter, looking down to her hand as it clutched her shawl.
"Honestly Michigan, I don't know, but as I said earlier I don't think what's happening is good." I sighed, I knew something was happening just by looking at how Britain had been treating us these last few years. It wasn't as good as it had been, which worried me.
"You don't think it's about America and Britain, do you?" She stopped for a minute, her chocolate eyes spilling into mine.
"...Sadly, I think it is. But we shouldn't dwell upon that now, especially if we don't know that it's for certain yet. Penn said he'll meet us at town square at noon, which is only a few minutes off." We quickened our pace down the road. The buildings soon grew and we could see the bustling city and its people swarming the streets. I dropped my shawl to my elbows while Virginia kept it wrapped tightly around her body.
"Cold?"
"Little bit, not used to the cold weather like you are." I chuckled, but that soon passed when we saw Pennsylvania standing awkwardly in town square, his cap pulled down over his face while his scarf bellowed around his tall and slender body. We sprinted towards him, picking up our dresses so they wouldn't drag.
"Will!" Pennsylvania turned around, his expression neutral as we bounded over to him.
"Elizabeth! And...?" I sighed, whispering my human name into his ear.
"It's Michelle, remember?"
"Ah, yes, sorry. Hard to keep everyone straight...Anyways, where's Mass-Thomas? "
"In Britain, I couldn't find Geo- Savannah, so I brought Michelle instead." Pennsylvania nodded his head.
"Okay, here's the deal, I saw Dad enter that building over there about fifteen minutes ago. There are a couple of people in the front, but the back was forested. I snuck back there and there's a door that we can use and I made a pathway so that we could use that. You both should fit since you're both smaller than me..."
"Then what are we waiting for?" I said. "Let's go!" We wove through a bunch of people, most ignored our presence, thinking we were some rascally kids or some such. Penn led the way, I was in the middle, and Virginia brought up the rear. Sticks crunched under our boots, so we had to tread carefully. When we made it around the back Penn motioned to me that there was a window that we could look through, but it was higher than any of us. So he grabbed around my waist (since I was smaller than Virginia, only now being 4'6" to her 4'9" and Penn's 4'11") and hoisted me up to have a look through the glass. I wiped the fog away, peering inside the building.
"I don't see anyone, I think they're all in some sort of conference room."
"Is the door closed?" I turned my head trying to get a better look at the inside.
"I think so, the glare's in my way so it's hard to tell." Penn set me on the ground and twisted the knob, which was thankfully unlocked.
"No talking from here on out, keep your heads down, and follow my lead." We nodded our heads, and Penn opened the door. I could feel a knot forming in my stomach and shivers were spreading throughout my body. Once the three of us were inside we brought the door forward enough to leave it ajar, but not noticeably from a distance. We crawled on our hands and knees, stopping once we made it to the two grand cherry doors. We pressed our ears against the door, trying to catch their conversation.
"...Something needs to be done! We cannot allow this to continue for much longer!"
"What do you suggest we do then? Britain's been tightening our leash ever since the Seven Years' War!"
"Gentlemen, we need to think about this rationally, declaring war on Britain is serious business. We could be hanged for even discussing the matter, so we must tread carefully to how we approach this."
"Britain's not going to let go easily, that much I can tell you." Penn's eyes widened, he mouthed 'That's Dad!' to us. I pressed my ear even closer to the door, now very intrigued.
"Because they won't 'easily' doesn't mean that they won't, Alfred." A couple moments of silence passed and we exchanged glances at each other, uncertain of what to do. Penn was paying no heed to our expressions, and kept his face planted to the door.
"Let's call it a day, shall we? The stress seems to have gotten to the better of us." Virginia and I scrambled to our feet trying to grasp Penn's attention while we started down the hallway.
"Penn, let's go!" Virginia whispered harshly. He shook himself and stood up and ran towards us, but the giant door swung open, hitting him in the head and he fell onto the ground. He grabbed at his head, and I saw his try to shake the stars away, but he was caught.
"My, my, who do we have here?" A rather plump man asked, poking Penn in the stomach with his cane. A crowd gather behind the man, all staring with piercing gazes towards him. Penn looked like a startled deer, nervously fumbling on the ground.
"It appears that we had an eavesdropper." Another said. Virginia pressed me against the wall, trying to blend into the wall. Penn looked over to us, and sent us a signal to flee, but we were frozen in place. The next person that exited we easily recognized and we held our breath.
"Will, what the hell are you doing here?" The plump man turned towards the blond.
"You know this boy, Alfred?" I could see that America was not happy to see Penn whatsoever, and in fact he looked quite pissed.
"Yes, I do. But the real question is why are you here?" Penn's eyes once again fell upon us, and this time, they didn't go unnoticed. The plump man, America, and several others dropped their jaws in sight of us. Penn stood up and brushed the dirt from his trousers, and stared right into America's ice cold eyes.
"Don't be mad at them, I asked for them to come along." Penn stated.
"It doesn't matter, but we to talk. Now." He said, Virginia and I kept our heads lowered as we stood next to Pennsylvania. I heard America sigh and shake his head.
"Mr. Franklin, is there another room that we could perhaps use?" The plump man frowned, shaking his head.
"No, but my house is just down the street. My family is away for the time being, if you would like I could take you all there, since it seems as though we are done convening for today."
"That would be appreciated, sir." The man led us out of the building while everyone else stood as though they were statues. I didn't dare look at America, but the man seemed to be someone that he trusted so I looked at him and scanned his features. He was rather old, and I was sure to have seem him somewhere before, his name ringing a bell, but I couldn't place his first name.
We only traveled a short distance before reached Mr. Franklin's house, and it was a very grand house at that. The elderly man let us inside and he sat in a cloth chair. America ushered us to the man's loveseat, which we were slightly cramped. He sighed once more and folded his arms.
"Why were you there?" I looked over the Pennsylvania, whose head was lowered and he twiddled his thumbs nervously.
"You've been away from home a lot, so I followed you into town. I saw Vir- Elizabeth getting food and I told her to go let someone at home know what was going on. I didn't think that she would come back with someone else. But we wanted to know what was happening...a-and why you and Bri-Arthur haven't been as friendly anymore." Mr. Franklin looked as, inspecting what each of us were doing.
"Pennsylvania, why didn't you just ask me what was going on?"
"Erm, we're not alone..."
"I'm well aware of that fact. Mr. Franklin knows about the existence of countries, so I can use your real names as much as I want. And my question stands."
"You've been acting all secretive lately dad, and you know it. We wanted to find out what was going on for ourselves since it seemed unlikely that you would tell us what's happening." Virginia said calmly.
"It's for a good reason, and I don't want any of you to get caught up in all of this."
"America, from what we've heard, this is going to involve us. We're your family, we'll be in this one way or another. The longer you keep things from us the harder it's going to be. I can tell you that Papa's very worried for you, he doesn't know what's going on, but nonetheless he's worried for you." I said quietly. America ran a hand through his hair, carefully avoiding Nantucket. He sighed and looked outside the window, watching as two British officers marched down the street in the red uniforms, sticking out from the American citizens easily. He turned back to us and he looked as though all of the pain had suddenly flowed into his body, he refused to look at us in the eye and instead lowered his head before uttering.
"I'm rebelling against Britain." Penn stood up and his blue eyes held shock, yet they were understanding.
"Dad, we'll back you the entire way. I can tell you that Massachusetts will too after what happened in Boston."
"It's not a question of you all backing me, it's putting you all in danger that's the issue, Canada too. If I-we revolt against Britain then Canada will be caught in the middle. If he could take over when France was there, there's no doubt he can do it again, especially now that Britain's been sending his people there..." I grabbed at my skirt uncomfortably. I refused to look up as a tear rolled down my cheek.
"I don't like it, America. Zhere's nothing us western states can do to stop Britain from attacking through us, how do we know that he won't and take us with him back to Quebec, or even Britain?" I sighed and brushed my wavy hair from my face, my violet-blue eyes now watery from sadness. "I may not like it, but I understand your reasons, America. As the eldest south of the lakes I say on behalf of all of us that we support you in your fight for freedom." America cocked his head, a smile creeping to his mouth. Mr. Franklin gave a small chuckle and tapped his hand on his brass knobbed cane.
"All of you are quite intriguing, different in your own ways, yet united you stand. I am glad to see that you support...eh, Alfred in his quest for independence. I'm sure that you will all come out of this stronger than ever before and more respectable." Mr. Franklin sighed, pushing himself from his chair and he walked over to us, his blue eyes shining. "Unfortunately for us, numbers are not on our side so there is no way that we can accomplish this by ourselves. However, there is something we have that Britain does not." He removed his glasses from his face and stared America right in the eyes.
"And that's a home field advantage." America's eyes twinkled as he realized this, slapping the man on the back.
"You're a genius Ben! I should ask France for help, he and Britain have each other since forever, and Spain's still bitter about the Spanish Armada incident..." America paced back and forth with his arms folded across his chest.
"What's on your mind?" America's eyes rose and gave us all a look, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
"When's the next meeting, Ben?" The bespectacled man's lips pursed, unable to decipher what America was trying to get at.
"A week from now, why?"
"We're going to bring Spain and France into the war with us! And the kids need to know, so do you think the guys would have any issue with that?" Mr. Franklin frowned, creases folding above his eyebrows.
"...I do not think that they would have an issue with having Spain and France join the war, America. I believe that the problem lies with your secret, to me it seems unwise to have them know of your existence. I would select a certain few that you deem worthy and could be counted on to keep mum, but then again this is an old man speaking in a rapidly changing country." America tilted his head in what I guess what was realization. Penn snapped his fingers and hopped off the couch.
"Hey, what about the Continental Congress?" He exclaimed. Virginia nodded her head.
"I think it's a good idea, if we can't trust them, then we can't trust no one anymore." She stated simply.
"I think so too, but I don't really want to wait a week to get them together, most of them are here already anyways... Do ya think you could get everyone to the meeting hall in two days?" A smile made its way to Mr. Franklin's face and he chuckled.
"America, if it's one thing old men know how to do, it's lounge around, and gossip." He winked at America, who was flashing his trademark grin.
"Thanks so much, Ben! I knew I could count on ya!" Mr. Franklin merely nodded his head and walked over to the door, grabbing his brown overcoat and cap before calling.
"Well, I'm off then, just lock the door when you leave and feel free to make yourselves welcome in the meantime."
"Bye, Ben!" He called once more. The wooden door shut and we looked at each other, uncertain as to how to start a conversation. America seemed to be beaming, our little stunt earlier appearing to be forgotten.
"Well, I don't know about y'all, but I'd like to head home. We're going to need to tell the other states what's going on too." Virginia said quietly. America looked outside, and judging by the position of the sun it was approaching mid-afternoon by my perspective.
"Yeah, Mr. Franklin was generous enough to lend us his house for a short while, not to mention Matt is probably worried." America fumbled with his brown jacket that he had previously draped on a nearby chair. Virginia and I exited the house at the same time followed by Pennsylvania and last America. The city was as bustling as it had been prior to our arrival, although now there were British patrolmen watching the civilians. Penn inhaled sharply and fumbled with his hat.
"Don't give them any reason to suspect us, Penn. IF we look like we have nothing to hide, then why would they stop us?" Penn nodded quickly and shoved his hands into his pockets, the bitter cold stinging the tips of his fingers. I lowered my head as we passed the British guard who looked as though he could beat America up without so much as a fight. I grabbed at Virginia's arm nervously, she seemed to be afraid too but was trying to hide it behind a poker face. Luckily the town of Philadelphia wasn't too large, so we escaped it rather quickly and we were home bound, once the wooden house was in sight all four of us ran towards it, including America.
"I'm home~!" His loud voice rang throughout the house, sending an eerie echo. South and North Carolina were sitting at the table and were carving something out of wood with a small knife.
"Hey dad, where'd ya go?" South Carolina asked, blowing the sandy colored bangs from his face in an exhale.
"Oh, I went to town to pick up on news... Where's Canada?" America asked in monotone. North Carolina looked up, he looked near the same as South Carolina apart from his hazel eyes and he was only a tad taller. He set the knife on the table and stared curiously at America.
"He's out in the backyard with his 'provinces' , why?"
"Perfect! Hey, can you round up everyone else?"
"I guess." The two responded and disappeared up the stairs.
"You're not going to tell Canada?" I asked.
"I will, but not at this point. I want to hear what my states have to say about this since this is my problem and he doesn't need to be caught up in it." I sat on the couch and crossed my legs, not entirely satisfied with the answer I was given.
"You're only prolonging things, America." I retorted, he flashed me a glare of sadness and annoyance.
"I know." South Carolina returned with about eight or so of the states and then darted out the front door.
"Dad, what's going on?" New York asked, plopping down onto the couch beside me. I rolled my eyes at him, he was always the center of attention, but we all loved him anyhow.
"Be patient until everyone gets here." Ohio sat next to me while Indiana and Wisconsin sat on the floor in front of me. Ohio began to poke at my sleeve, sending several stares at me.
"What is it, Ohio?" I responded in an icy tone. He huffed and began to kick my legs, which I gave a gentle slap on the head. He recoiled from the impact, his face full of anger.
"What was that for?" He shouted, I sent an icy stare towards him.
"Stop touching me." He grabbed at my hair and pulled on it, hard. That done it in.
"What the hell?" I shouted, pushing him onto Penn who did not looked happy in the least to be dragged into this.
"Guys, break it up!" Yelled America. "Wisconsin, please sit between them so they don't kill each other."
"Sure, I guess." He said while climbing onto the couch in between us. He had matured so much...
"How did you two ever live together at Canada's house?" America questioned.
"Easy, we stayed as far away from each as possible."
"Yeah, you can smell Fish Girl from a mile away!" My head slowly turned towards Ohio, Wisconsin looked as though he had just made the mistake of a lifetime by sitting between us.
"Care to rephrase that?" I said as bitterly and as menacing as possible. America brought his hand to his face just as both of the Carolinas walked in with everyone else.
"What did we miss?" Connecticut asked.
"Nothin' other than Michigan trying to kill Ohio again." Virginia sighed. Ohio and I initiated a staring contest, and I was not about ready to back down either. Indiana and Minnesota watched from near our feet.
"Who's gonna land the first punch?" Minnesota pondered while stroking his chin.
"Dude, I feel like they're staring through each other's souls." Rhode Island piped up, barely registering in my peripheral vision due to his size.
"All right, quit it you two, we have urgent business to attend to." America said in a pleading voice. I huffed and turned away, not even looking in the same direction as Ohio.
"So Dad, what's going on?" Said New York, his green eyes sparking with curiosity. America for some reason looked behind him to see if there were any eavesdroppers, detecting none, he sighed in relief and moved closer to all of us.
"Okay guys, what I'm about to tell you must be kept between all of us in this room. Britain, Canada, his kids, no one else."
"But why is Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan here?" A certain Connecticuter asked.
"'Cause that's how Britain divided the land between me and Canada. But that's not the point really, I need you guys to listen to everything I say and tell me what you think from your heart." Several nods came from every direction, signifying for the American to continue.
"Okay, so here's the deal, I know you all have gotten restless from Britain's control over us and frankly, I have too. I've been going to meetings around here composed of people that want to break away, and I'm thinking that it's our best option. You all have seen what Britain's been doin' to us, especially in the north. What happened to Massachusetts...I can't tolerate having that happen to you guys. You guys follow?" During his speech America has nervously shifted his eyes from one side of the room to the other while massaging his knuckles. The house was very quiet, almost as though a blanket of death had settled upon us. Several of the states shared looks with each other out of both shock and puzzlement.
"...You're suggesting that we become our own nation, no longer a part of the British Empire?" The quiet New Hampshire mumbled.
"Yes, we'd become our own nation."
"Then what about Canada?" I looked over to Illinois who had a frown on his face.
"I...don't know. I mean, we wouldn't drag him into the war, but-"
"War? What do you mean war?" Rhode Island yelled.
"Well, there's no way that Britain'll jus' give us our independence." Georgia responded, apparently Virginia hadn't looked too hard to find her as she had been here almost the entire time. "We've gotta fight for it."
"I'm all for it!" Delaware shouted, a smile wide on his face. America beamed, not expecting such a reaction from the former Dutch colony.
"Well, how about you put up your hand if you support it?" Delaware's hand shot up instantly, Penn right behind him. New Jersey saw their hands rise and did the same, Georgia gave a small smile and raised her hand. Connecticut raised his hand slowly and uttered.
"I'm sure I can say on Massachusetts behalf that he'll agree too." America nodded, causing Maryland's hand to rise as well. This continued for about another minute or so, I had already raised my hand and my siblings mirrored my movements, which left Rhode Island to be the last one. All eyes were on the small boy whose head was between his knees while his hands were clenched into fists.
"I don't know Dad, I mean, what to stop him from taking me? I'm the smallest one!" He shouted, tears leaking from his eyes. America calmly walked over to the saddened state and wrapped a single arm around him.
"We'll all protect you Rhode, I promise. We're gonna go into this as a family, and come out as one too." Rhode Island sniffled and looked up to America.
"Promise?"
"Of course, I swear I'll protect you or my name isn't America!"
"O-okay." America clapped his hands and spun around.
"Thanks so much guys! There's meeting in two days and I want them to meet all of you, but keep low until then, 'kay?" Right on cue Papa walked in through the door with his provinces behind him. He stopped once he saw us all gathered in the family room.
"America...what's going on?"
"H-huh? Oh! We were just discussing the new rules the Britain wanted me to tell the kids. Don't fight, no stabbing each other, blah blah blah." Papa raised an eyebrow.
"You had sugar again, didn't you?"
"...Maybe~!" How America pulled it off without Papa getting suspicious was way beyond me. But the crowd dispersed and resumed whatever they were doing previously. America resumed his childish composure and was bouncing around the house like a rabbit, it was scarring to say the least...
The next two days passed without any issue arising, everyone had kept quiet although a noticeable amount of stress filled the atmosphere.
"Whaddya think about this, Mich? I mean, we ain't ever told anyone who are." Georgia muttered under her breath. I sighed while tying the bow around the back of her dress, the red cotton and white bow complementing her darker skin nicely.
"They seemed nice from the little bit that I saw of them. They were a little skeptic of course, kids just don't eavesdrop for nothing." I tied her short hair back in a braid, which she proceeded to take the hair and twirl it nervously.
"While that all may be true, I can't help but feel a bit nervous about all this. I mean, Dad's goin' all out on this war. I wanna break away from Britain as much as any of y'all do, but at the same time the whole idea of us governin' ourselves... How are we s'pposed to stay afloat?"
"We need to get through this before we start worrying about the future, Georgia. No good can come of anything if we just sit around and question what's and if's." I said in a calm voice.
"You soun' wise beyond your years, eh Mich?"
"Papa talks like zhat a lot, only natural we pick up on it too." She chuckled and tied the bonnet around her chestnut colored hair.
"I s'ppose so." I rolled my eyes at her and grabbed my jacket, according to New York it was much colder today than in days past.
"You ready?" I asked her. She gave a final sigh and nodded her head.
"As I'll ever be." We slowly walked side by side down the wooden stairs. We lifted our heads to see most of the family gathered near the entry way, Papa nowhere in sight.
"Canada's out in the back trying to get some more plants or somethin' before winter sets in." Indiana supplied, as though reading my mind.
"Are you a mind reader, now?" He raised his brows at me in amusement.
"I don't know, am I?" I ignored him and proceeded to mingle with Maryland and Virginia who were chattering in their own circle. I didn't really pay much to their conversation, and instead stared at them with a face that seemed to be interested. I didn't like going behind Papa's back, but somehow this felt right, like this is what we were supposed to be doing. Maybe Papa would join us...
"Everybody ready?" America called, doing a quick head count.
"Everyone's here." Pennsylvania said in monotone, he was such a stoic sometimes...
"Cool, let's head out then! The faster we get there hopefully the faster we'll get out." America locked the door behind us and we walked the dirt path into town. New York was right, it was colder, but the wind still smelled of fall.
"I hate winter." Virginia said quietly, trying to hide herself deeper within her coat. She had her hands in front of her face while trying to blow warm air onto them unsuccessfully.
"I secon' that, we never get snow at mah house." Georgia looked up at me, her chocolate eyes faltering once they met mine. "Please tell me you ain't cold now?"
"I'm used to being trapped under several feet of snow, I've built an endurance up to it over the years."
"Lucky." Maryland's tone sounded more irritated and tired than anything else. I took the chance to smirk.
"I never get a real summer unlike you guys, I'm stuck with the cold all year round."
"True, but still." The rest of the hike was rather silent apart from the Carolina's throwing balls of grass at each other, much to America's displeasure.
"Come on guys, we're going to an important meeting so can it wait until we're done?" The two boys shared a look of disappointment and nodded their heads. America saw the town of Philadelphia come into view and turned to the twenty or so of us.
"Okay everyone, pair up! We don't want to get lost now!" Everyone grabbed a partner, Georgia went with Delaware and Maryland and Virginia stuck together. I looked at my siblings and found that they we are all partnered up as well, apart from Ohio, that is. I sent a scowl his way and turned heel. The only person that didn't have a partner was New York, I watched as his black shaggy hair moved with his head and his green/blue eyes bore into mine. He came up to me and extended an arm.
"Would you like to join me, Michigan?" I suddenly found my feet very interesting as a blush extended across my face.
"S-sure, zhat would be lovely." I stammered, placing my arm in his. He led me down the path, which we probably looked strange with his being five foot (I was six inches shorter). I could feel my body start to shake, I could feel the muscles in his arms... Oh gosh, what am I thinking?
"Michigan, are you okay, do you have a fever?" He asked, genuinely concerned.
"N-no, just a bit cold is all." I lied. He brought me closer and opened his jacket so that I would be hidden under it as well. I heard a whistle from behind, probably one of the Carolina's. We slowly made our way into town in our own groups, pretending to be there for shopping purposes or something of the sort. New York pointed over to a small store that seemed to be an antique store of sorts.
"Would you mind if we were to take a look in there Mich..."
"Michelle." I whispered, my voice faltering.
"Very clever, mine's John, also known as the most common name ever created."
"Well, I like it." He smiled at me.
"Really? No one has ever said that before, except Dad, but he doesn't really count." A small bell sounded from above the door, signaling our arrival. An elderly man approached us, a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He had a cane in hand and once I saw his face I immediately recognized him.
"Mr. Franklin, is that you?" He brought the glasses closer to his eyes and squinted a bit. He gave a small chuckle.
"Ah, you must be Alfred's kids! I haven't met you before young man, but I remember you, eh, Mich-"
"Elle," I interrupted, he winked at me, as though he knew what I was about to say. He turned his gaze to New York and carefully studied him.
"Hmm, and your name would be...?" New York shook himself from his stupor, the grip on my arm loosening.
"Oh! Erm, I'm N.Y. but you can call me John."
"What are you doing here, Mr. Franklin? I believe we are to convene shortly." The man took out a pocket watch and observed the time.
"I believe that is correct, but I was here picking up a gift for my wife, Deborah. She's been awful restless with everything that has been going on recently and I thought this might cheer her up a tad." He showed us a small silver ring with an even smaller gem in the middle. I let go of new York's arm and examined the piece of jewelry.
"Ah, it's so pretty!" I said, Mr. Franklin gave another small laugh.
"Yes, well, as you stated previously I believe that we should be on our way; we don't want to be late after all, do we?" I nodded my head and placed my arm back in New York's. New York held the door open for Mr. Franklin and we exited as well and made our way to the 'courthouse'. The sky was now dreary and seemed that there would be snow arriving very shortly. The town seemed to have emptied rather quickly as people headed in the direction of their homes. A strong gust relentlessly blew at our heels and we huddled together for a vain effort of warmth.
"It's only a little ways farther down the road on the left." Mr. Franklin lifted his cane and pointed to rather small building that seemed to blend in easily with the nearby buildings. We hurried inside and I brought my shawl closer to myself.
"I haven't felt a wind like that in a long time." I murmured. We saw a couple of the states nearby although most of them were the southern states. The adults were on one side of the rooms while the states were on the end near the door. I saw America talking to some of adults that Penn, Virginia, and I had seen two days prior and I turned my back to them in embarrassment.
"Hey sis~!" Indiana shouted. He leapt into my arms and swung him around.
"Did you have a good time in town, frére?" I smiled and placed him back onto the ground. The boy was now rivaling me in height, something that saddened me.
"Yup! I forgot to tell you, but look how tall I am now, I'm almost as tall as you!" My smile fell a bit but I rubbed the top of his hair.
"I have some time left, but don't forget that we'll probably grow a bit more than this."
"Yeah, but still I'll be taller than you one day sis!" I giggled and brought him into a hug. I could hear him protesting but I continued to squish him nonetheless. "Stop it, you'll give me cooties!" I placed a hand on my hip.
"Oh, you think your sister has cooties now? I held up my hands in a menacing manner and slowly crept towards Indiana.
"No sister! I don't want your cooties!" He screamed.
"Ohonhonhonhon~!" I gave chase to Indiana while ducking under and through several of the other states.
"What the hell kinda noise was that?" South Carolina's faced turned into puzzlement with jaw unclenched fully.
"Oh God, bad memories..." The American said. "T-that laugh, oh it's sounds just like Francis's." America shuddered. I refused to stop until I caught up with Indiana and pinned him to the wall. Wisconsin peeked over my shoulder, looking between me and Indiana.
"You knew better than to start something Indy."
"He's right you know~!" I tickled him fiercely, "Who's you big sister?"
"Y-you are!"
"What? I'm afraid I couldn't hear that."
"You are!" He practically screamed, slumping down the floor. I helped him up with the extending of my left hand. He brushed the dust from his dress pants and huffed.
"Jeez sis, you messed up my awesome hair!" I licked my hand and pushed the stray hairs back into place.
"There, happy?"
"Now there's spit in my hair."
"Oh, you'll live." Indiana grumbled under his breath and walked away. I frowned at the realization at what I had done, and was thoroughly embarrassed. Several of the other states were giving me looks that told me that I was an oddity. Not again...
"What the heck was that, Mich?" Virginia asked. I shook my head at her.
"I don't know, just happened I suppose." Virginia decided not to press the issue and went about her chat with Maryland. I felt a shiver run through my body. "Figures." I said under my breath, refastening the metallic buttons on my jacket. Darn blizzard.
"All right, everyone's here so if all of us can make it to the hall that would be appreciated!" A middle aged man called. States and humans alike filed into the hall to find several rows of chairs and one grand row in the front. The leading members of the Continental Congress saw in the reserved row while we filed into the remaining rows on the right. America and his kids sat in the first row while the rest of us took to the second row. Many of the men appeared to be in their fifties or older and their stares seemed to be cold and calculating.
"Is it me, or does this feel a bit creepy?" I looked over to Wisconsin whose shoulders were slumped. I removed the bonnet from my head and placed it on the long desk in front of us. I sighed and fingered the wavy braid.
"It's not just you; I thought zhat there would be a lot more younger people here. We almost look like... "
"Outcasts..." His sea colored eyes lowered to the ground. Illinois nodded solemnly.
"Y-yeah, us more than the others too." My eyes scanned the elderly men who were still in search of their seats. I made a note that several of them were staring at Mr. Franklin skeptically. It was only then that I noticed that he wasn't among those in the front, but standing next to America with one hand on his shoulder in support. Everything was as silent as the grave, causing the tension in the room to soar. Several nervous glances were exchanged between America and Mr. Franklin. Mr. Franklin bent over and whispered a few words into America's ear, he in turn nodded, and Mr. Franklin nodded to the center chairman.
"Are we ready to start then?" He inquired.
"Yes, Mr. Adams, I believe we are." Mr. Franklin affirmed. With a final sweep of his eyes the man opened his mouth and began to speak.
"Mr. Franklin has informed us that there is something important that you need to discuss with us, correct Mr. Alfred?"
"Yes, Mr. Adams." America answered.
"Well, shall I infer that this has something to do with the fifteen or so adolescents in this room?"
"They are more than that, Adams. I suggest that you do not disrespect them." Mr. Adams raised a graying eyebrow.
"Oh, would you to care to enlighten the rest of us then?" Mr. Franklin turned to America.
"This is as much as I can help you, America. The explaining is up to you."
"Thanks Ben," The American gave his signature grin and took his place in front of the gathered men. He quickly glanced back at us with a small grin before diverting his attention back to the CC.
"First of all I thank of all of you for coming today, a-and what I'm about to tell you has been kept a secret for hundreds of years. S-so please keep quiet about it." America sucked in a large breath and his hands balled into fists. "We may look human, I-I mean we are, but we aren't! We're states," He gestured to his kids in the front row. "Territories," His hand moved back to us. "...And a country."
"W-what do you mean by that?" A man with white hair asked. Several murmurs spread through the gathered people like wildfire.
"We're personifications, putting it simply."
"You represent our country, Alfred?"
"Yes, I use the human name Alfred Jones but my true name is The United States of America. For as long as America has existed, I have too." He stated simply.
"You don't look a day over seventeen though."
"I age as the country does, the same applies for the states as well. The more people that come to our land and the larger the land the taller we are. Since I'm America, I'm the tallest and because of our wanting of independence from Britain and rebels I have grown stronger and I appear older." Several jaws dropped amongst the men and a couple of us laughed at their expressions.
"Y-you're essentially tied to your country then, o-or state?"
"Until the state or country dies, yes. Just as we're created when our state or country is 'born', we die along with it." The men exchanged glances of uncertainty with each other, several of their eyes shifting to the papers that were spread across the table.
"And you haven't told any of this prior to this day because...?"
"The government in control only needs to know of our existence, which is the way that it has been for close to thousands of year. The fewer people that know, the better chance that this will all be kept under wraps. Wouldn't you agree?" America cocked his head, a knowing smile on his lips.
"I suppose I see the rationale behind this, and assuming our current situation with Britain explains why you have now chosen to reveal yourselves." He scratched his chin in thought. "But I cannot help but feel as though this is a trick. Tell me, do you have any proof?"
"I suppose I have nothing but my word, my children's, and Ben's."
"Your children, all of which are sitting in the rows there?"
"...Yes? Minus Massachusetts who is in Britain, and some of them are Canada's too but I consider them my kids too."
"Which ones are Canada's?" Mr. Adams pushed, America then frowned.
"Second row, the front row are the states."
"Hmm, would you all mind introducing yourselves?" I gripped my cotton dress, twisting the fabric in my hand. America gave us a look of uncertainly before sliding back into his chair. Delaware stood up and he trembled slightly.
"I'm Delaware." He sat down and Penn stood up next him.
"Pennsylvania,"
"New Jersey,"
"I'm Georgia." A couple of the men gave her odd stares, noticing her darker complexion and the fact that she was also female.
"Greetings from Connecticut." Maryland gave him a jab in the side and looked at the empty space next to her.
"As America said, Massachusetts isn't here because of what happened in Boston. Regardless of that fact, my name is Maryland." She curtsied and took her seat.
"South-"
"And North Carolina!" The two shouted while hanging on each other's shoulders. Georgia sighed.
"New Hampshire," Was all he said, he was a boy of few words anyhow.
"I'm Virginia!"
"New York," The black haired boy said under his breath.
"And I'm Rhode Island."
"Those are the states, and if you heard them talk more you'd hear the differences in their accents. Anyways, these are the territories, formerly part of Canada." He smiled at us and whispered a few encouraging words into Ohio's ear.
"I'm Ohio, nice to meet all of you!"
"Indiana,"
"I'm Illinois, yeah..."
"Michigan." I sighed and sat back down as Wisconsin introduced himself. The men gathered in the room didn't so much as speak to another, their eyes darting nervously from corner to corner.
"W-we'd like some time to think about this, is that fine with all of you?"
"Yes, of course. We'll just take a recess outside in the lounge-"
"Except for you America," Interjected Mr. Adams. "I'm sure we have a few more questions that we would like to ask you."
"S-sure, everyone head outside, Penn, you're in charge, please don't fight..." He sent the plea specifically to me and Ohio.
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Ohio said stubbornly. "We'll behave." We quietly exited the room, leaving America to face the wrath of his and our people. Delaware was the last out and closed the door behind him, he fell to the ground a buried his head in his knees.
"They don't believe us, they think we're crazy!" Maryland knelt next to him, slapping her hand over his mouth.
"Del, they can probably here you, I suggest we move a bit farther down the hallway if we're going to discuss this." Delaware's cheeks were stained with tears as he gripped Maryland's arm, she in turn stroke his hair, muttering sweetness into his ear. The Carolina's began to fool around with a folded piece of parchment paper, throwing it at each other so that it bounced off their heads. I sat on the ground and placed my head upon the wall in the mean time, closing my eyes in a desperate attempt to rid myself of my conflicting feelings. I balled my hands into fists and I smacked the ground, tears now falling from my face just like Delaware. My eyes shot open as someone gripped my hand, to my surprise it was Wisconsin.
"Sister..." I said nothing and instead replied with a tight squeeze of my hand. He sat beside me, eyes lowered to the ground. I slowly looked up to him and without uttering anything I extended my arms out towards him. He embraced me and I buried myself into his chest, muffling my cries.
"Mich, I know you've known Canada the longest of any of us. I understand that this is more difficult for you than it is for the rest of us...we know. Just as you held me during the French and Indian War, I'll hold you for this, no matter what happens." I clutched his dress shirt, which was a beautiful royal blue with a coat loosely hanging from his shoulders.
"Thanks...though probably seeing me like this must be odd for you." I said quietly.
"I've seen weirder things at home, especially from the Carolina's." He wrapped his arm me to support my body. I felt a shiver run through his body, but he pulled me closer. A warm smile cept to face as I nuzzled my head onto Wisconsin's chest, sleep beckoning to me, and I welcomed it, unaware of the hell that would wait for me when I awoke.
Timeline, in case you were confused with this chapter, these events occurred during this time (1400-1774) and are significant in showing the early beginnings of the USA and to the plot.
1400's- Canada is Discovered
USA discovered by Leon (modern day Florida)- April 2, 1513
First English settlement in Canada (modern Newfoundland)- 1583
First (unsuccessful) English colonization of America, Jamestown, Virginia- 1607
Establishment of Virgina-1607
Thirteen colonies of the British Empire is established- 1610
Dutch settle around modern Delaware and New York- 1614
British colony of Plymouth- 1620
Establishment of Massachusetts-1620
Michigan discovered- 1622
Ohio discovered- mid 1600's
Wisconsin discovered- 1673
Indiana discovered-1679
Illinois discovered- 1680
British Molasses Act is passed- 1733
American Enlightenment- 1730's-1740's
Navigation Acts is passed by the British- 1754
French and Indian war (Seven Years' War)- 1754-1763
Proclamation of 1763- 1763
British Sugar Act- 1764
Boston Massacre- March 5th, 1770
Boston Tea Party- December 16th, 1773
Coercive Act (Closing of Boston Harbor)-1773
First Continental Congress- September 5th, 1774
Other notes (history related, story, etc.)~
The states included currently are the original thirteen colonies and later the states in the Northwest Territory (organized in 1783).
France originally controlled Canada (modern Quebec) until the Seven Years' War with the exception of the Louisiana Territory. Spain was forced to give up some of its land as well since they sided with France.
Ma fifille- my little girl in French.
Soeur- French for sister
Michigan was the first U.S. (by France) to be discovered after the colonies, there I picture her as a more motherly role model towards the other French states.
Michigan's feather- A lot of different Native American's are from Michigan, I thought it would be nice to show her heritage.
Philadelphia- A major U.S. city located in Pennsylvania, also the original location of the U.S. capital before Washington D.C.
New York- A Dutch city in New York
Merci- French for thank you
Nantucket- An island off the coast of Massachusetts, it's the cowlick that's seen in both the manga and anime in America's hair.
Georgia's accent- It's a southern accent, they typically drop their g's and say y'all.
French accents- I changed the t's to z's, I'm not entirely fluent with French nor experienced with how people sound with it as their second language (and I'm French-Canadian T.T).
Canadian bacon = American ham, WTH
'Your scones taste like ass'- A reference to the series
Pennsylvania's name- Named for William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania.
Virginia's name- Virginia was named for the virgin queen of England, Queen Elizabeth I.
Michigan's name- Mich + French name = Michelle
Height of states- related to territory size and state status (commonwealth, territory, state).
Georgia's name- Savannah, a river and city located in Georgia.
Benjamin Franklin- A famous American and founding father, he's the guy that 'discovered' electricity and was the U.S. diplomat to France during the Revolutionary War. He's known as 'the rock star of his day', his wife is Deborah.
France and Britain haven't gotten along since they were formed, Spain and Britain used to be buddy-buddy for a long time until the pirate era.
America's indecisiveness regarding the war- America was heavily back and forth regarding the war between the Loyalists, rebels, and neutralists, thus reflected in America.
Who states get along with- Largely based upon future events and their gender ;)
Michigan's personality- Michigan is known to have chaotic weather and it's very unpredictable. Michigan even has a reputation in the others states because of this.
Samuel Adams- One of the founders of the Continental Congress
Long Author Note's is long, sorry ^^". But I'm gonna try and cover the entire American history (may or not be from Michigan's PoV). I tried to stay as accurate to history as I could, (I passed World History with flying colors and I'm in advanced US history), and I apologize if anything seemed to be missing.
What happened in the beginning paragraph will be revealed in the last chapter ;D.
This took me a month to do, eeessh. But I wrote this for my sis, Topaz Skye (it's a really late Christmas present). Sorry if they're a little OC, it's my first Hetalia FF, so please be a little lenient T.T. Pleasssseee review~! I'll appreciate it greatly and thank you for reading!
~ForeverHalfa