History: Antarctica was first discovered by a British explorer in the 1700's. Unfortunately they waited until the late 1800's to actually get territory. But since Norway has the most territory for time being, I chose for him to gain custody of the child. While England does follow in second Norway owns rights. This will help you understand the story in later events.
"EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" Antarctica lifted her head from her desk and moaned, not again. She was in her last and probably most despised class of the day, history, and because her normal teacher was sick Ludwig Beilschmidt or known as the personified human of Germany was filling in.
He was a tall man with slicked back blonde hair, blue eyes that could glare heart piercing daggers, and the build of a pro wrestler. With a menacing aurora to him that caused most to cringe when he opened his mouth to speak, he was probably one of the most respected and most feared, besides Russia of course, students in the entire school making him a perfect person to be chosen for substituting. Not to mention with that thick German accent of his every phrase he said sounded like he was yelling at someone in pure anger. Which it was in most cases anyway, she trained with him on a daily basis and had to sit through World Meetings with him so she knew the true extent of the terrifying fury of Ludwig.
The blonde glared at them with his penetrating tele eyes. "Now, despite vhat you say I actually do know how much you all hate zhis but ve are going to be doing a partner project," Germany folded his thick arms over his chest and set his face in a scowl as the class let out a simultaneous groan, "Ja, get over it. I enjoy zhis as much as I enjoy your vhining. I know you all are going to head for your buddies but part of zhis is picking someone new zhat you have never met. And if you start to argue zhat you know everyone here, zhe answer is nein. Sure you know of most people in this classroom, but knowing zhem personally is a whole different matter. If you can't name zhey're human name, favorite color, or favorite food zhen you do not know zhem."
Hearing that Ann stifled a sigh and ran her fingers through her long pale-blonde curls, this was definitely not going to end well. It wasn't that she didn't like the people here exactly, she just didn't like people in general. Especially the way they all judged her, she saw the look in their eyes. They sneered at her, and were always taunting her to see how far they could push her off the edge and make her lose her mind. Yup, that was her to everyone else. The antisocial, insane, depressed, weirdo that no one liked. And she did admit she was a little, okay, a LOT withdrawn from society at times but she just didn't want them to know. The less friends she had, the probability of someone uncovering her secret would drop immensely. Like England always said, "Better safe than sorry!"
"…now vizh zhat in mind, pick a partner and decide on zhe topic you vill be researching. It vill have to be based on a large, or even small, event zhat you personally zhink impacted the whole vorld. Create an argument backing up your claim and add visual affects to make it interesting if you vant an at least decent grade. If you vant an exceptional grade you need to make zhe exceptional debate. Class dismissed." Everyone rose almost in unison and headed out trying to pick their, or "zheir", partners. She glanced around hoping to find someone to work with, and her first thought was her boyfriend Canada.
Matthew Williams, or the personified human of the country Canada was a quiet, soft spoken, and extremely shy guy who actually went on most of time unnoticed. But while everyone knew him as a nobody, she knew him as much more; He was actually a sweet, adorable, awkward, sensitive guy and the nicest man you could ever meet.
Antarctica actually had her first official encounter with him at her first World Meeting, well, the first one she had actually been given the privilege to speak at. Ever since her brothers had taken her into their care they always took her to the world meetings since they didn't trust her to be home alone just yet. She had to sit either on one of their laps (this option stopped when she turned 10 years old and was too much of a distraction to do it) or in a corner of the room staying quiet throughout the entire thing for an hours. No comments, no playing around, no making distractions, no climbing on the table, no eating, no drinking, no messing with the other countries unless they were France (England hated him with a burning passion over some long and probably pointless rivalry), and absolutely no getting into trouble whatsoever. Just sit, draw or read to entertain herself, and wait until the meeting came to a close.
Not that it was boring, actually it was quite interesting seeing them yell, fight, and punch each other for no good reason. Now that the two brothers thought about it, they regretted not getting a babysitter and making her stay there no longer exposing her to that kind of violence. But the day she turned 15 (physically speaking of course), they took her to the meeting and gave her the big news. They had finally decided after much discussion and debate that she was old enough to be allowed to participate.
Of course that was exciting being told she was able to speak, it felt like she had become a full-fledged country! Not to mention they were going to let her pick her own seat even! Looking around she had tried to find one but almost all of them had been taken already. Innocently Italy had tried to find her one but like most countries didn't see a certain someone sitting in his seat and pushed her in it. Ann fell right onto the unsuspecting man's lap and just about fell off before an arm caught her. "S-sorry," she stuttered as she looked up, "I-"
That was when she saw him.
He had wavy blonde hair that went slightly below his chin, bright violet eyes that sparkled like jewels behind wired glasses, the most handsome face she had ever seen which made her guess he was about 19 physically speaking, and a hair curl that came out of the part in his hair and created one little loop before hanging down. He wore a long almost beige coat with brown gloves and a small polar bear sat next to him.
All of a sudden, her heart started to pound at an accelerated speed as their eyes met, blue and purple colliding. Her voice wouldn't work and her stomach was doing 360's. W-who was this man? And what was he doing to her that made her so tongue-tied? "Uh…" the male country swallowed hard and gave a small awkward and kind of crooked smile as he used his other hand to push his glasses up his nose, "Bonjour?"
She felt her cheeks heat up, he was French? His accent was actually adorable, soft and sweet almost like honey running down her ears. Well, except this was pleasant and wouldn't cause a huge mess or ruin her ears. She gave a small smile in an attempt of self-control to get over her emotions. "H-hi..."
'Oh come on! You've got to be kidding me!' she scolded herself as she tried to not freak out for time being, 'Do you have to be such a dork Antarctica?! Pull yourself together! Even though he IS an extremely hot… doe eyed… SHUT UP!'
His face started to turn red and she realized he was blushing too! Did she have something on her cheek? Was her hair messed up after the fall? 'Wait… why am I worrying about how I look in front of him?' she thought to herself, 'Why is my heart going so fast?'
That was when she realized that love at first sight was definitely real, he was that perfect guy she had a picture of in her mind. She felt his hand moving to the middle of her back to help her sit back up. "I-I'm Antarctica, what's your name?"
"I-I know," was the first thing he blurted out but his face turned, if possible, even redder, "I-I mean I'm C-Canada." She found his stuttering absolutely adorable, and it fit his cute timid manor. Giving a welcoming smile, she put her other hand on his shoulder so she could regain her center of balance.
"Nice to meet you Canada," she said sincerely, it was more than nice actually. MUCH more. It was perfect in her opinion. But before Matthew could even open his mouth to say anything back to her, England had scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the seat next to his and made her sit there the entire meeting. Apparently Arthur was fine for her choosing her own seat as long that it wasn't ON a man or even near a man. Yet the two continued staring at each other the whole time.
They started out as simply friends for the longest time, going to see movies or hanging out at each other's house. When she turned sixteen he finally got the courage and asked her out on a real date which started their boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.
She loved working with him on projects because he was a great listener and actually pretty smart so they were a great team. Unfortunately, as she looked for him someone else had already taken him as a partner, well that was just perfect. She gave a long sigh and looked around for someone else, someone who would be smart yet nice and hopefully didn't judge her.
Then after a few moments… THERE!
A girl still sat in her seat, absorbed in her manga. 'Perfect,' Ann thought as smiled and walked over slowly. "Um, hello. I'm Antarctica Kirkland. I-I was wondering if you would like to work on the project together?"
The small, curly-haired brunette looked up in surprise obviously startled and closed the manga slowly. She blinked, adjusting her glasses over her hazel eyes and smiled shyly, a light blush tinting her cheeks. "S-sure, if you want to. I'm Megan by the way," she added quickly the blush spreading.
"It's a pleasure to finally talk to you Megan." Giving a glance at the petite girl Annabelle started to pack her stuff up throwing books and random papers of probably already late assignments into her blue and black shoulder bag carelessly. If you couldn't guess, she really didn't care about organization, (to England's absolute annoyance and always blamed America saying that he taught her how to be a slob) at all unless it was something of importance or precious to her personally. A book report that was about The Stamp Act and an essay about some people wanting to have Meatless Friday, yes some countries are vegetarians, did not go under either of the two categories in her opinion.
"It's nice to meet you too." Megan smiled, copying her action and beginning to put her papers back in her binder. Hers was neatly organized with brightly colored tabs and individual folders for each different type of assignment for each class. Now Ann felt like a complete failure and almost envied those skills, but pushed those feelings away.
"Well we could work on the project at my place if you want. I have some supplies that would be helpful for whatever topic we choose." She hated being at other people's houses, it honestly made her feel insecure. Anything unfamiliar to her made her uncomfortable.
"If you wouldn't mind, that would be great."
"Oh but I have to do a quick cheerleading thing first. It won't take that long, I just need to stop by the gym and pick up a couple of forms. You know, physicals, uniform contract, schedules, etc." Antarctica looked over at the brunette, "You don't mind, do you?" Sure that was the polite thing to do, but in reality she actually hoped she would end up minding, Ann hated cheerleading with a burning passion and all the cheerleaders around her.
"Of course not; that's perfectly fine!" Megan said immediately as she finished packing everything up and zipped up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder and pushing her glasses up her nose.
Ann started to walk off then glanced back at the girl with her hypnotic bright blue eyes. "Well, are you coming?"
"O-oh! Yes, s-sorry," Megan stuttered her glasses sliding down her nose as she hurried to catch up and fell into step with the blonde girl eventually, a light and delicate blush dusting her cheeks once again. Antarctica hid a small smile, this girl was a little timid. "So how long have you been interested in cheerleading for?"
Annabelle sighed running her fingers through her hair, she really hated talking about the stupid so-called 'sport' when in reality it was just a showcase of pretty girls in skirts so short wearing spandex would be longer and cover more skin and tops so low they couldn't bend over without everything falling out. Sure in the movies it was all about "teamwork" and "perseverance" all of that moral crap when in reality it wasn't even close to that. She knew all of that was another fairytale. "I was never interested in it but since one of my brothers is the captain of the football team (she was of course talking about America) I was recruited," she gave a weak smile, "I kind of look like a stereotype cheerleader don't I?"
When you had the blond curls, the blue eyes, and the pale skin life made you a life-size Barbie doll. Some people kept saying that she was pretty, but she never had believed it. It wasn't just the fact that other girls constantly told her she was ugly, which she knew she was already so she didn't need the reminding her anyhow. But she on the other hand saw right through and saw a monster, no, DEMON brewing underneath. One she had sadly created herself in a sense actually.
"I wouldn't say that exactly." The short girl patted Antarctica's shoulder. "Or at least, all the cheerleaders I've met aren't nice like you are so you aren't like them on the inside." She shrugged slightly, brushing an unruly strand of hair from her face. "I'm sure you'll be fine, don't worry."
She shoved her hands in the pockets of her sweater and continued walking down the cold isolated halls. After school let out it was almost creepy walking through them alone and there be no noise. "Actually, one of the requirements was how pretty I was on a scale of their own opinions," she laughed, "I guess the book are right!"
Megan smiled slightly and tucked a brunette strand of hair behind her ear shyly. "Well, I'm pretty sure your brother will appreciate having your support at least. If I may ask, who exactly is your brother?"
"Brothers actually," she corrected turning towards her, "And they're England and America, you can probably figure out which one plays football without me having to tell you right? Sorry, that's just me babbling again. But do you know either of them?" 'Oh God please say no!' her mind yelled.
Megan blushed slightly pushing her glasses up her nose. "I-I've seen them around, but I haven't really talked to them, except that time that Arthur helped me find a book I was looking for in the library."
Ann's smile faded immediately, oh this was just absolutely perfect. Could she ever meet one person who DIDN'T know England or America? She meant as a person of course, everyone knows of the countries since they were two of the most popular ones in a sense. "Oh… you do?" she looked at the ground, "I'm nothing like them though, trust me. I mean I was adopted so we shouldn't be expected to do so right? I was actually hoping you didn't know them but then again," she chuckled bitterly as she struggled to keep her facade, "Everyone knows them I guess."
"Hey, it's good that you're your own person." Megan smiled slightly. "I like you the way you are, and I'm sure your brothers do too. I'm sure your brothers wouldn't have offered to work on a project with me."
Annabelle grinned and walked into the hall that led towards the gymnasium, this girl wasn't all that bad. A bit shy, but once she actually opened her mouth she was not that bad. "Well… maybe England as a nice gesture or something like that. Always trying to be a, 'gentleman' no matter what or where he is."
"It's sweet," the brunette laughed quietly, "You don't get many of them nowadays; at least he tries." She held the door open and gestures for Antarctica to go in. "The only 'gentleman' I really know is my big brother, and he's more motherly than anything." Her eyes brighten as she smiles.
Antarctica chuckled then glanced at her walking inside holding the door for her as well. "Who's your brother? I think I might know him."
Meg smiled even brighter at the mention of her older brother. "Tino? Tino Väinämöinen?" She followed Annabelle inside the gym, shying away slightly at the large crowd that had already gathered.
Ann's eyes widened at the all too familiar name, one she hadn't hear in decades practically if you were counting in human years. "You're Uncle Finland's sister?!" she shrieked skidding to a halt.
She stopped so she didn't run into the blonde, and she looked beyond startled at the loud outburst. "Y-yes?!"
Annabelle stared at her as her blue eyes started to flash as memories passed by. "I-I was Norway's daughter..." she swallowed hard as she started to shake uncontrollably a hard tight knot forming in her throat, "Finland was one of the reasons I'm still alive."
"I-I..." Megan stuttered, her eyes widening as she bit her lip. "I-I'm so sorry, I-I had no idea..." She gently pulled Antarctica into a hug, despite their significant height difference.
Ann sniffled and wiped her eyes, she had been on the verge of tears but luckily none had escaped. "I-I'll tell you everything later," she mumbled.
Megan quickly pulled a packet of tissues out of her pocket and handed one to Antarctica. "A-Alright, i-if you feel comfortable with it..."
"It's fine really." She turned back into her normal self, smiling brightly. "Well I'll just pick the papers up and we can head to my place."
She smiled back, but gently. "Okay... But you don't have to be strong about it...It's alright to cry."
Ann's face hardened, she hated when people said that. Crying made you vulnerable, crying made people see your pain. "Crying shows your weak," she whispered taking the papers from a cheerleader who gave her a bitter glare, "I learned that a long time ago."
Megan's eyes closed and she bit her lip. "No..." she whispered. "It shows that you're not afraid to show weakness..."
Antarctica turned away, what did she know?! Who did she think she was talking to her like some professor would talk to a mislead pupil?! She buried her emotions deep down and started to walk. "Shouldn't we be going now?"
"Oh, um, yes..." She quickly followed the blonde, tugging at her sleeves.
Antarctica started to walk up a hill towards a mansion that stood on the top. "That's Kirkland Mansion, my place."
It was a quite big estate, and the property had over 300 acres of land surrounding it. On the outside it looked like something ancient yet delicate, like it should be in a painting. Every detail made each individual piece its own unique part, yet it was also symmetrical. The coloring was white and a grey color that went with some bright gold adding an interesting contrast to everything else around it.
The short girl blinked soaking in the house before her and pushed her glasses up her nose once again. "It's beautiful." She let a smile grace her lips. "Very Arthur."
Antarctica couldn't help but laugh. "That's the British for you," she said smiling. Ann got her iPod out again and Megan glanced at over. "What are you doing?"
She glanced over and scrolled through her playlist. "Playing some music, I can't help myself," she shrugged, "It's kind of like therapy for me I guess."
Meg nodded slowly before turning her attention back to walking. "So… what song are you going to listen to?"
"Stop talking and you'll hear it," Antarctica said with a smirk tapping on one of her favorites. She felt in a very sad mood since she was walking with the sister of her uncle from her old family so the song fit her right now.
Megan perked up as it started to play softly and looked up at her as she listened to a few of the lines. "Who is this even by?"
"Nickelback," Annabelle said with a grin, "Love all of their songs. This one would definitely be my favorite though. If Everyone Cared."
Meg paused as she realized the reason, the true message and why she loved it so much. "Oh Ann… I never would have…"
Antarctica smiled weakly at her. "It's okay, I'm used to it. People always have a freak out when they realize I'm a depressed sad little girl," she stared up at the sky watching the clouds roll by in a hypnotizing manner, never having the same shape. "I find the pain in this song actually beautiful. The truth is bittersweet in everything, but this really brings it out in the open for once. When you think about it," she glanced at the shorter girl, "It explains life. People die because people hate. If you take away all of those horrible things in life then people would have a chance at life. Suffering would no longer be a problem. Even dying of old age wouldn't be a problem because if we would all get along then we would have solved that and find cures to many other diseases as well. I mean the Bubonic Plague only happened because the Chinese were at war with Europe. You find it throughout all of history, people fight and there's death involved even if it's not their own."
Megan was looking at her in some form of awe, her hazel eyes wide. "How can you even do that?"
Ann turned towards her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you're so calm about everything… I can tell you have been through some ups and downs but still…" she shook her head in disbelief, "You still manage to smile. It might be a fake one but it takes a lot of strength to act like everything's okay. Don't you ever just feel like it's too much? Do you ever just get pushed off the edge of your limits?" the small Brunette asked. Antarctica paused and pursed her lips, pondering before finally giving her answer. 'Should I really tell her?' she wondered, 'maybe she's going through something similar.'
"Well," she said hesitantly, "It's definitely not easy I can tell you that. Some days are worse than others. But I can manage I guess. Like I always say, fake it until your break it. Sometimes it takes a lot to break making it hurt more. People were made to be loved and things were made to be used," she looked Megan right in the eyes, "The reason why our world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used. It's a terrible truth, but our very existence revolves around it."
The brunette just stood there, absolutely dumb founded. "Just…" she hugged her tight without warning.
Annabelle let out a small yelp at the surprise hug and looked down at Megan, raising an eyebrow. "What the heck?"
Megan glanced up at her and let go automatically, blushing slightly before regaining her composure. "You, are something else Antarctica."
She tilted her head to the side, yeah she was a lot different than most but was this something else she meant? She didn't sound like she was trying to insult her. "Really? Well yeah I'm a country and all so that's going to of course make me different but do you mean something else? Is your meaning a good thing or a bad thing?"
"It's a very, VERY good thing. I wish there were more people like you. The world could definitely use them I'll tell you that. All we have are selfish, power hungry, war mongering, savage, malevolent, and all around messed up people in the world so it seems. But when someone sees that there are still heroes out there, it starts a movement."
"Seriously, I've never seen or thought for that matter that I'd meet anyone like you. To see someone this strong after going through all of that crap in life is about as rare as a pig flying. You serve as a role model to so many people, including me."
"Yeah, but what about my brothers-"
"ESPECIALLY THEM! Now, don't ever even think about giving up or stopping okay?"
Ann smiled slightly, she honestly had never thought of herself as some 'hero' or whatever. She wasn't anything special, she was the opposite. But seeing Megan's pleading hazel eyes stare at her with this sense of respect, astonishment, and absolute admiration made her keep her thoughts in her head for time being. So instead, she was at least going to play along with all of this and try to show the brunette that she could be something and someone worth placing their faith in. "I'll definitely try.
"Then maybe we could finally,
See the day when nobody dies."
