Disclaimer—Hetalia does not belong to me, 'cause if it did, Ludwig would do more than just kiss Feliciano on the cheeks—it'd be the full throttle, baby!

La Figlia del ricco

The rich man's daughter

"Mein Gott, Vargas! I've had just about enough of this"—

"Scusate, Captain."

That just made Ludwig angrier. "You don't understand, Vargas! Dies ist die Grenze! This is the limit! I"—

Kiku stepped up at that. "Ludwig-san, it isn't"—

"No, Honda! A person cannot make the same mistake immer wieder! This"—

"Listen, West, you're being too harsh"—

"Harsh? Listen, Bruder, this is happening today because I haven't been harsh enough!"

"Le mie scuse, il Capitano. I shall speak to my men. Please leave tomorrow's battle to us."

At that, both Kiku and Gilbert launched themselves at Ludwig, demanding him to stop her. But they didn't know the power within the will of the Vargas—Ludwig did.

"Vargas!"

"Sì, Capitano."

"Don't screw this one up."

"Sì, Capitano. I shall take my leave now."

Kiku watched as Daisy raised her hand. Throughout the entirety of Ludwig's tirade, she had kept her head bowed, her hands fisted to her side, her long bangs falling over her face, hiding her eyes. She just kept saying, "Scuse, Capitano" the entire time, and it was only after the fifth time did Gilbert and Kiku step into the fray.

She saluted Ludwig, Gilbert, even Kiku, turned on her heel, and marched out of the tent.

"What is wrong with you, West?" Gilbert yelled as Ludwig fell into the chair. "Did you see Daisy's face? She was biting her lip to keep quiet! This is not awesome!"

"I have to agree with Beilschmidt-san, Ludwig-san. This is unusual for both you and Daisy-sama. I did not see the need to yell at her like that for nearly half an hour."

"Daisy. Quiet. For. Half. An. Hour. Don't you see what you've done, West? I"—

"Out of my tent. Both of you. Now!"

Both Gilbert and Kiku flinched. Kiku moved to leave first, leaving behind the words, "I hope you know what you're doing, nakama."

Gilbert stormed out without a word.

Ludwig leaned back into his chair, fishing out a photograph from his pocket. It was him standing next to Daisy. She had been wearing an emerald green gown that left her pale shoulders bare. She'd pushed the sleeves off her shoulders, so that they rested on her forearms. She'd looked up at him and grinned. "Now, everyone can see the necklace you gave me."

He had presented her a necklace with three tiers of diamond chains, converging into a slender, luminescent staff that curved around an emerald whose brilliance only rivalled the resplendence of her amber eyes.

She'd piled her hair up, entwined a string of diamonds in her burgundy-brown hair. But he hadn't cared for those, either. Their glitter did not match the luminescent glow that resided within her, that she was so determined to spread to others.

Ludwig sighed, and threw his head back. She had endangered the lives of his men. She hadn't meant to—she would never endanger anyone's life meaningfully.

Yet, that was what he was asking her to do.

If she got hurt, even the slightest bit, he was going to drag Arthur Kirkland to the ground and make him understand exactly what Daisy Vargas's fiance was capable of.

And if she died, he would see till the end of the war, gain victory, and kill himself.

"Lovino."

Lovino Vargas looked up at his younger sister, and the joke that lay on the tip of his tongue died out. Instead, he moved aside, and patted the log next to him. "Sit."

Lovino knew his sister well. He had to wait for her to tell him what had happened, or what was to happen herself. Until then, he would give her the silence she needed.

"We're going to battle the England forces tomorrow."

"We've been doing that"—

"You and I shall be the first to fire a cannon at the England forces."

"What?"

Lovino jumped to his feet. Daisy continued to stare into the fire.

"We can't do that, sorella! E 'sciocco!"

Daisy didn't react.

"Whose orders are these? That german's? I'll"—

"Lovino! Smettila subito!"

Lovino took a step back, shocked. His sister had never yelled at him before. "Daisy"—

Daisy rose to her feet, too. "I've been a waste of space this entire war, Lovino! I have done nothing but cause trouble!"

"That's not"—

"It's true, fratello! We've been talking about the matter of life and death here, and I, la figlia del ricco, have been taking it as a game! People could've died today!"

"People die everyday, sorella."

"Not like this. Not by their own comrade's foolishness." At Lovino's silence, she continued, "And even if they do, I'm not going to be one of them. I've got to prove myself, Lovino—not as the rich man's daughter, not as the Captain's fiancee, but as a soldier. And I'm going to do it tomorrow."

With or without your help. The unsaid message passed from brother to sister. Lovino sighed. His sister truly had inherited the will of the Vargas. "I'll help you tomorrow."

"We will, too."

Both of them turned around, and saw Kiku and Gilbert standing there.

"Honda. Beilschmidt."

"Vargas-san."

"Vargas." Gilbert turned to Daisy. "We'll join our forces to yours Daisy. My brother might be a prick, but he loves and adores you. And the woman who has my respect shall have my help."

Daisy remembered what Gilbert had told her on the day of her announcement—"You could've chosen to stay at home, to be safe where the war cannot hurt you. You could've stayed and searched for a replacement for my brother, in case he never came back. I don't know how good a soldier you are, Daisy Vargas, but you shall always have my respect and my power by your side, whenever you need it."

"You have us behind you, Daisy-sama," Kiku said. "Just tell us what to do."

"I'm not good with military tactics," Daisy began, "but here's the plan..."

When he had risen that morning, Arthur had been feeling fairly lucky.

The sight of Daisy Vargas at the head of the battlefield, standing on a ledge above the cannons raised the mood of all of his soldiers.

"What is the Vargas heiress doing there?" someone asked.

"Beats me."

"Their cannons are out of range. What do they think today is, target practice?"

"Well, they offence sucks, and I can't see any defence," Arthur said. "Men, charge!"

As his men began to move, Arthur looked at Daisy Vargas. Her usually expressive face was now impassive, and her amber eyes were inscrutable. He frowned. Was she really that serious, or had the german replaced his fiance with a doll? He looked back at his men. They'd marched right into the battlefield, and she still hadn't yelled out a single command.

She finally raised her left hand, and swung it down. "Fire!"

But not a single cannon fired.

If that wasn't a doll, that was a puppet. The Italian had no idea what—

"Now fall in the awesome trap laid by the awesome Prussians!"

The ground began shaking, and before anyone could even scream, the ground beneath the first British wave crumbled and caved in.

Arthur looked up from the enormous hole in the ground, to the Italian. Even with their distance, he could make out that tiny, smug smile that curved her mouth.

He had been had by the Italian!

"Men"—

Daisy raised her staff. "Men, prepare your cannons!" she yelled in a voice that sent a chill down Arthur's spine. She wasn't—

She banged the staff to the ground. "Men, fire!"

The cannon balls flew into the sky, zooming through at speeds that cut the air. And when the first cannonball went down, Arthur realized that his first wave was in perfect range of the cannons—not too far and not too near. And now, thanks to the blown up underground mine, they had nowhere to go.

Arthur roared in his rage. He was not going to be had by an Italian—and a female General, too! He waited for the second volley of cannon balls to end, and then yelled, "Men, charge!"

Daisy watched as the second wave of British soldiers arrived, moving around the enormous hole in the ground in two separate files.

Well, she wasn't going to give them time to rejoin.

She raised her left hand and brought it down. "Men, fire!"

Thousands of fire-tipped arrows took to the air, burning fiercely with the will of the Japanese, lighting up the day sky like a thousand stars at the pinnacle of their flight.

The volley didn't stop—arrows were fired again and again, taking off at Honda Kiku's command. And when the arrows were exhausted, the big guns were brought in.

She stood there and watched the massacre of men, wondering whether it was all necessary, when an operator arrived. "Generale, Arthur Kirkland's on the line."

She took the telephone and held it to her ear. "How do you do this day after day, Signore Kirkland? How do you send men to die?"

"You're killing them, Lady Vargas. Have you had enough of real bloodshed?"

"We'll stop if you stop. We promise to stop if you stop. Please, just stop."

"We're on a battlefield, Lady Vargas. This is not governed by a small child's playfulness, or a lady's whimsy...We will not stop."

"If you don't stop, signore"—

The phone was plucked from Daisy's hand. "If you don't stop, Kirkland, your third and final wave will have to fight against rested, trained and well-fed German soldiers. Was sagen Sei dazu, Kirkland?"

"..."

"What do you say, Kirkland?"

"We shall retreat."

"Good." And Ludwig handed the phone to the operator.

Daisy's eyes widened. She couldn't believe he was here. Her heart thundered in her chest as she took in the sight of his face. He was here.

He was here, by her side.

His hand entwined in hers, cradling hers in his protectively, filling her with the warmth that the bloodshed had snatched away. "I'm sorry, meine liebe."

She raised his hand, and pressed her lips to it, grateful for his warmth, his protection, him. "I'm so glad you're here, il mio amore. If the war had lasted another second longer, I...I would've probably pissed in my pants."

Ludwig chuckled. "I'm glad I'm here, too." His smile changed as remorse entered his face. "Es tut mir leid. I'm sorry, my"—

"I'm not, Ludwig. Don't be."

He sighed, his smile still full of repentance. "I don't deserve you, meine liebe."

"I..." Daisy stared thoughtfully at his large hand. "Sometimes, God gives us things we don't deserve, so that we cherish them and protect them even more, and one day, probably become worthy of such things. And, Ludwig Beilschmidt?"

"Yes, Daisy, my love."

"Ours is not such a case."

With a small laugh, he drew her closer to him. "Ich liebe dich, Daisy."

"Ti amo, mio Ludwig." She rose on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

He drew her closer and kissed her with the pure, simple love in his heart, while the sun rose, on the land, on their love, on their life.

Fin.

A/N: Okay, my battle tactics suck more than Daisy's in this story, but I didn't want to draw it out too long, so I kept it short (if you think it isn't suckish, let me know—you'll have no idea how happy that'll make me.)

I really didn't want to make Arthur the villain in the piece—trust me when I say I absolutely adore Arthur to bits...but Arthur is easily the most scariest person in the world to Daisy, and so...yeah. But let me elaborate on a line he said, "This is not governed by a small child's playfulness, or a lady's whimsy. It is controlled by the pride of wise men." The last bit is a play on itself—if men are really as wise as they claim to be, they would not have the egotistical pride that rises to insults hurled by small, ignorant men. Arthur is a lot of things, but to me, he isn't a hypocrite, so although he did say that line, he didn't mention that last part.

In this fanfic, Ludwig, Gilbert (I love Gilbert's awesomeness, so I put him in here as well!), Kiku, Lovino and Daisy aren't the personified countries as much as they are the Supreme commanders of their country's armies...and between Lovino and Daisy, Lovino's the more powerful Commander, mostly because people expected him to fight and expected Daisy to stay at home and wait for Ludwig to return. The fic was inspired by the coverpic—it took me AGES, and I mean AGES to find that picture...my brain was turning into fem!Italy mush, searching through all those other pictures. Glad I found it, though.

Basically, what I wanted to do was have Ludwig finally lose his patience with Feliciano, but, for some reason, Feliciano kept turning to a girl. So, Daisy it was! I really hope you enjoyed it, and do let me know what you think!

Love,

R. K. Iris.

P.S: I've got a PruHun coming up next, so do check it out when it comes out!