Yay, this didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would! Big thank-you's for Love-Me-Insanity (my cultural advisor), Sunny-Blue-Sky, Chibifox (my wonderful beta), and Fanime-Sensei Strikes Back for their reviews! Also, thanks to TheRainbowStyle and ElizabethHoWey for favoriting! I'd love to see reviews from all of you, you know...;)

Anyways, here's chapter 2, enjoy!

Chapter 2

Wind gusted down from the plains, carrying with it the sounds of metal on metal and the screams of wounded men and horses. The ranks of my cavalry were falling back into formation behind me, faces set and weapons at the ready. The pursuing Knights only realized the gravity of their mistake once they were trapped between walls of swords, pikes, and charging horseflesh.

Then came the overwhelming noise of the clash. Blood filled the air. It was everywhere, a scarlet mist in the air, a river seeping around the horses' hooves, a rain soaking my children fighting around me. Through the chaos, the flashing colors of standards and the sheen of swords dulled by gore, I saw my target, unmistakable with his pristinely white hair and cloak, seemingly pure and untainted by the death that surrounded him. Blood-red eyes met mine just a moment too late as his soldiers fell around me like wheat before a sickle.

My sword was at his throat, my eyes burning into his and his burning back. His forces fled around him. He let Poland's battered form fall to the ground as his snowy banner was trampled underfoot. The sounds of battle retreated gradually towards the Prussian camps.

I forced him to his knees in the muck. Red and brown seeped into his clothing. It was the clothing of a self-assured victor, pure white, made for one who thinks himself above the dirty business of actually fighting in a battle.

His arrogance was disgusting. He needed to learn humility.

"You have lost today, Beilschmidt."

Lost to a filthy, soulless, barbaric pagan in disguise. Lost to an inferior army. Lost to a boy nearly 200 years younger and nowhere near as promising. And lost handily.

The shame was too much.

Just before he melted into the darkened forest to rejoin his retreating forces, he looked straight at me so I could see how much he hated me with every breath in his body.

He would have his revenge.

0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0

Tannenberg. My eyes shot open as I woke in a panic, tangled in the sheets. Where was my armor, the battlefield, the funeral pyres? Had I been captured? Drugged? When...? My breathing slowed as my dream-muddled brain dragged itself sluggishly into the present. Of course...but was I in my house? The air smelled wrong, felt wrong...

Oh right. New apartment. And the movement in the other room would be my bodyguard. Advisor. Master of disguise. I sat up slowly, stretched, yawned. It was...9:30.

...Well, it felt early. I threw off the covers and slowly stood up, still feeling the exhaustion of battle in every bone of my body. The clothing I'd left on the floor the night before had been folded up and set on top of the dresser, which had been fully stocked with our purchases.

Apparently, she was my maid too. Just one more thing to add to her list of titles.

Strands of my dream (memory?) still clung to my mind like stubborn cobwebs, and I felt filthy. I needed a shower but I needed food first...I threw on one of the looser t-shirts and followed the scent of coffee to the kitchen.

Rasa stood over a cutting board, her knife making sharp, rhythmic clacks as she sliced. The clean smell of cucumber filled the kitchen, and a plate of light cheese sat on the table. She was fully dressed and showered already; her hair hung damply across her shoulders, soaking her t-shirt. She focused intently on her work, as if she desperately feared that the knife might slip.

I spoke up quietly, a little worried about breaking such intense concentration. "L-labas rytas, Ms. Stankevičiūtė."

She didn't take her eyes off the sizzling pan. "Labas, Viltė. Please, just call me Rasa."

"Alright...R-Rasa, do you need any help with that...?"

"I've got it." Her answer was a little sharper than it needed to be, I thought. She finished up and carried the plate over to the table. I picked at the food; the hot ruby glare of my dreams still burned behind my eyes, and the cloying scent of blood seemed to linger around the room. I didn't feel much like eating.

A mug of steaming coffee appeared at my elbow. "You look like you didn't sleep so well."

"…No, not really."

"Well, eat up then, because it's going to be another long day." A bowl of small rolls took its place between the cucumber and cheese. When did she go shopping?

This was...a little uncomfortable to be honest. I could fix breakfast for myself, there really wasn't any need for her to do it. I'd been...well, someone's servant since the 1700's, and having someone else do all this for me was just...strange.

She picked up one of the rolls and split it with her thumb, pushing a chunk of cheese and a couple slices of cucumber between the halves. She leaned against the counter, took a bite of her creation, and stared out the front window, chewing meditatively.

"…I'm curious…"

She snapped her gaze to me. "Hm?"

"…How is all this being paid for?"

"Well believe it or not, there's a budget for these sorts of things. Either way, you don't need to worry about it. No one cares about a few thousand here and there in a general budget of billions."

"Ah…"

Another lengthy silence as she set her roll on a vacant napkin and started on a cup of coffee.

"…Thank you for fixing all this."

A long sip. "No problem."

"You really don't have to do all this, you know...getting up early and cooking and cleaning…" I tried not to sound ungrateful. I had been exhausted the night before and it was nice that I didn't have to worry about grocery shopping or getting up and fixing something for breakfast. But watching her do all the work was just…bothering me.

I wasn't sure if she was just taking her time to consider the statement as she juggled her breakfast again, setting down the steaming mug and finishing off her food. She brushed her hands off on her dark jeans and shrugged her sturdy shoulders. "Well, this is my job. The government's paying me for this. So just relax and accept your right to be pampered for a little while." Her tone carried a note of finality.

Well, fine. Sure it would be a little uncomfortable, but it sounded like she wasn't going to let me do anything even vaguely resembling housework.

She saw that I had left the food mostly untouched and abruptly changed the topic. "You done?" I hesitated and nodded. "Getting a shower this morning?" Another nod. She proceeded to search around in a plastic shopping bag. What is she looking for? And then she found it. The package waited in her outstretched hand.

Šūdas.

"I think you know what to do."

I nodded resignedly and took it from her. Might as well get it over with…

0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0

"'Mane 'n Tail'?"

She looked up from her perch on the sofa. "What? It works. And you have no room to talk, Herbal Essences."

"W-well, I like it…" I replied lamely.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's see 'em."

I pulled the hems of my jeans up to my knees. She walked a full circle around me, inspecting the shining skin of my shins and nodding her approval.

"Great, now we can get you some shorts so you won't melt come July. Maybe even a nice dress or two." She stopped in front of me, having completed her circuit. "I'm going to assume you took care of those too." She gestured vaguely to my shoulder area, but I caught her drift and nodded, unabashed.

She fell silent for a moment; she seemed to be studying my expression. "…You know, forgive me for saying it, but you're a lot less uncomfortable with this than I thought you would be."

It was true. I was even less uncomfortable with it than I'd thought I'd be. "Well, I have a…friend…who tends to dabble in…something of the sort. And he's the kind of person that likes to drag others with him into everything he does."

"He sounds…obnoxious. No offense meant, just my opinion."

"None taken." You have no clue.

Her eyes skimmed over me briefly, absorbing, categorizing and comparing every detail. "A tip for future reference, when you're just standing like this, don't stand so still. Shift your weight some, or preen a little. Act self-conscious." I brushed a few wet strands of hair behind my ear and shifted onto my left leg. "More than that. You'll feel it in your knee when you've got it right." And I did feel it, the locked up tension. She was silent. My knee was starting to hurt; I stared at the floor and shuffled my other foot a little impatiently.

"Perfect, that's it." I looked up, astonished. She was grinning crookedly. "Add a hand on your hip every once in a while and you've got it." I winced when my knee popped as the weight was shifted off of it. I'm getting old…

"That's all. Go ahead and finish getting ready. I've got some things to take care of." She wandered back into the kitchen, her battered cell phone pressed to her ear, nervously fingering the pack of cigarettes in her pocket.

0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0

From: Feliks
Time: 10:49 AM, 6/28/XX
Message: yo liet i had liek the weeeeeiiiirdestt dream

From: Feliks
Time: 11:01 AM, 6/28/XX
Message: hey dont u evn wanna hear about it

From: Feliks
Time: 11:06 AM, 6/28/XX
Message: fine b that way c if i care

From: Feliks
Time: 11:09 AM, 6/28/XX
Message: cuz i totally dont no way

From: Feliks
Time: 11:43 AM, 6/28/XX
Message: tooooooooor im waaaaaayyyyyyy booooooreddddddddddd)))':

From: Feliks
Time: 11:55 AM, 6/28/XX
Message: how coud u liek ignor my triple frowny face not cool

From: Feliks
Time: 12:12 PM, 6/28/XX
Message: now ur just totally being mean!1!11! DDDD':

From: Feliks
Time: 12:23 PM, 6/28/XX
Message: hey u bettr not b hanging out with ivan cuz that guy gives me the creeeeeeeeps and hes liek totally stalkng u and its liek not healthy believ me i no

From: Feliks
Time: 12:37 PM, 6/28/XX
Message: haha im liek boredd with my own stores so im totes goin shoppppppiiiiiinggg at some of urs! c how much fun i can have without u. wen u get back ur soooo gonna c aaaaalllll of the hawtt dresses i get and ur gonna be soooo jeeeeelllllyyyyyyy lolollolololololol

0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0

It actually wasn't my first time in a makeup department. Or my second. Or even my fifth. I honestly didn't know how many times Poland had dragged me here to get my opinion on a new kind of mascara, a different color of eye shadow. And all the trips had a tendency to blur into one another…loud women in white coats, fussy wives and their incredibly bored husbands, a chaos of scents drifting over from the nearby perfume section, and always Feliks, dragging me frantically from one section to another.

At least Rasa had efficiently driven away all the pushy "specialists" and was searching through the endless racks, murmuring to herself in that special tone of hers that suggested she was only very grudgingly sharing her thoughts. "You're so pale…" She had gone through four or five different skin tones already, and shortly she emerged with yet another. "'Ivory'. Sounds promising." She rubbed the cool cream into what had to be the last untainted part of my cheek and grinned triumphantly. "It's a hair dark, but it'll be fine." She recapped the sample and searched the racks for an unopened tube. "There, that's the worst of it over, try not to look so tortured."

I slid off the high stool and rubbed at my face where the smears of foundation marked me. "You're enjoying this a little too much."

Frighteningly enough, she said nothing to deny it, only shrugged. "Now for shadow. I think an olive green would be lovely…" I watched her compact frame moving amongst the countertops, shifting my weight and running my fingers through my still unfamiliar short hair. I tried my best not to catch the gazes of the suffering husbands and boyfriends; I was too sympathetic to their plight.

Thankfully, my companion quickly finished her search without forcing me to try out anything else. It was as she was checking out that I caught sight of an all-too-familiar blonde bob making its way through the crowd towards the single register. I froze. "Rasa…"

She obviously heard the tension in my voice, but she stayed deceptively calm, giving nothing away. "What is it?"

"You remember that friend I told you about?" A barely perceptible nod. "Well, he's here…and he's ready to check out."

The ancient woman behind the register was moving agonizingly slow, saying something about a problem with the barcode on one of the products. She tapped away at the keyboard and frowned at the screen.

"…And how long have you two been friends?"

"A long time. A very very long time."

Her tone was low, sharp and efficient. "Relax. Pitch your voice up, just a little. Throw in a 'like' or two. Have faith in your cover and if he tries to make conversation, just…don't say anything stupid."

The clerk gave Rasa a wrinkled, apologetic smile. "I am truly sorry for the wait, dear, but I need to call my manager for the service code."

Rasa forced a smile. "Of course, I understand. Go ahead." The creaky voice rang out over the store, summoning a Jonas to the cosmetics department.

"Oh. My. God."

And there he was, flashy as ever in a blouse and colorful skirt. Relax, relax, trust your cover, he can't know this quickly…I turned slowly to look at him and put on my best questioning look.

His flat green gaze pierced into the (now) dark brown of my eyes.

And then, he exploded.

"Girl, that blouse is totally a-freaking-dorable! Like, where did you find it~?"

"Um…" Pitch your voice up. I could feel Rasa's eyes on the two of us. I tried not to overshoot. Just a little higher. I was a singer, I could do this… "T-thanks! I…like...found it here, actually…"

"Oh, wow, here? Like, I had no idea they had anything that cute! I'm totally going to have to look around some more!" He was practically bouncing with excitement; his paralyzing shyness and awkwardness would probably kick in at any moment.

The opening of the cash drawer announced the arrival of the manager and drew my focus away for a second or two while Rasa (finally) paid for everything.

His momentum broken, Feliks began to sink back into himself. "Well, like…seriously that blouse is super flattering, and- Oh, I think your friend's ready to go!" She was indeed, gesturing impatiently for me to join her. "It was totally cool talking to you, um…?"

"To-…Viltė."

"Like, cool. Anyways, Viltė, you better hurry before that girl like totally strokes out."

0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0

"Keep your legs together."

I paused, a french fry halfway to my mouth. "What?"

"The way you're sitting. Only men and loose women sit like that."

"…You know, there's a reason we sit like this."

"Yes, I know, I'm not an 8-year-old." She paused to eat the last of her fries. "I'm not saying you have to clamp them together or anything, just don't sit like that. It looks like you're advertising. No offense."

Well, I certainly didn't want that. I fixed my posture quickly and turned my attention back to my food. Yes, it was McDonald's. No, it wasn't terribly good. But it was cheap and quick, and as long as it wasn't a hamburger (in fact, it was a chicken sandwich), it was acceptable.

It was well past 2, so the food court wasn't packed, although it still buzzed with activity. Vendors' stalls ringed the area, selling everything from small toys to cell phone covers…and speaking of cell phones…

"Rasa…"

"Mm?"

"I…think I left my cell phone back at the house. My house, I mean."

"Oh, you didn't. You tried to pack it, you just didn't see me put it back." I was about to comment but she cut me off. "Think about it; your cell phone is traceable. It's better if you don't carry it around. We can get a new one for you soon, if you want, but it would be fairly pointless since none of your friends' numbers will be in there, and you can use my phone for government calls if you must."

I rolled that over in my mind for a few minutes while I finished my sandwich.

"…Rasa?"

"What?"

I winced a little at her tone. It didn't bother me as much as it had at first, I don't think she knew how sharp it sounded, but still…"Speaking of the government…how is all my work being handled?"

"Madame President spread it out and dumped it on her secretaries. They'll take care of it until Monday, and then they'll just start sending it here so you can work like you usually do. If they need you in any meetings, I've got Skype on my laptop."

Monday…that meant tomorrow was clear too, and then I'd start working again. "Oh…alright…"

We ate in silence for a while. Rasa was edgy, as she always seemed to become in large crowds, and only ate about half of her sandwich. She spent most of her time tensely watching the people who walked by and-

"OHMYGOD, LIKE HEY YOU GUYS!"

…And Poland. Rasa visibly jumped and looked around agitatedly for the source of the obnoxious burst of sound. The blonde waved frantically, drawing the eyes of nearly every person in the area, including us. And he directed the attention of the entire food court straight to us as he weaved his way among the tables.

I thought I heard Rasa curse under her breath. Trust Feliks to make a scene.

"Hey, like, you mind if I join you?" He took a seat before either of us could answer. Rasa's muttered answer was quickly drowned out as he continued his thought. "Like, I'm Feliks, by the way, I meant to tell you earlier but I like got excited and totally forgot about it. I like thought about it as soon as I was out the door, I'm like such a spaz, I can't believe I totally forgot to tell you my name! Wow, those fries look really good, can I like have one?" He reached over and grabbed a few, before continuing on his rant, occasionally pausing to munch on his loot. "So you know that like way sexy eye shadow you got earlier? Well," Chew, chew, swallow. "I saw this totally great dress that I think would look A-MA-ZING on you with that shadow and like a little mascara, and-" He devoured what was left of the fries he stole. "And I've sooo got to show it to you A-S-A-P!"

I winced. He was as loud as ever. "W-well, we're sort of eating right now, and we were planning to leave after this-"

"Actually," Great, now Rasa was interrupting me too. What was this, a World Conference? "You could use a couple dresses, Viltė. Every woman at least needs an LBD."

I sent her a questioning look. An LBD…?

"You mean…You don't have an LBD?" He was incredulous.

"Um…n-no, I don't think so…"

Suddenly, his face was set seriously. "This is an emergency. Like, you're done eating, come on." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of my chair back towards the dreaded department store.

"Wait, shouldn't we clean up after lunch? And we need to wait on Rasa, and-"

"Stop worrying! We totally have like…" He struggled briefly to think of the word and gave up. "Cleaning people for that stuff! And your friend will catch up! This takes priority!"

0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0

"Go, like hurry up and try them on!" Feliks ushered me into a dressing room, hung a selection of dresses on one of the hooks and closed the door on his way out.

I sighed. I was perfectly comfortable in my jeans, irritatingly fitted as they were. Oh well, the quicker I got this over with, the quicker we could be out of this place and on our way home. Temporary home.

The first dress was the LBD that had been the original focus of our search. Simply and modestly cut, rather unremarkable black knit, as the name would imply (while Feliks was hunting down the dress he'd said I "like HAD to try on", Rasa pulled me aside and explained the acronym).

My OCD dictated that I fold my t-shirt and jeans as I took them off and placed them in the corner. I did my best to ignore the strange reflection in the full-length mirror and pulled the dress on. It was comfortable if nothing else, and the knit had a nice weight to it. I caught a brief glimpse of myself and did a double take. There was no way that was me

It was beyond disorienting, staring at that person in the mirror. Her dress fit perfectly, the neckline reaching below the collarbone and the hem hanging just past the knees. The cut of the fabric smoothed the edges of the girl's shoulders, her hips…she had curves.

I shook my head and turned my gaze to the nondescript walls of the dressing room. That was just…too weird.

"Viltė, hurry up!" Rasa. Right, they were waiting on me…I took a steadying breath and opened the door.

She was silent for a long moment, and I began to get nervous as her eyes traveled over me.

"…Wow."

Well, that certainly hadn't been what I expected.

She nodded slowly. "Turn around." I did so, feeling the hem swish around my legs. "That looks…pretty great, actually. Feliks did really well with that. How does it feel?"

"Um…good, I guess…where is he?"

"He saw something and ran off," she answered dismissively. "By the way, I'm intrigued…how did you already know your dress size?" Her gaze wasn't critical, but I winced and felt my face go hot and cold at the question and the memories associated.

"…I-it's sort of a long sto-"

"Wow, Viltė, you look like totally hot in that dress!" For once, I was almost glad of Poland's noisy interruption. Almost. I felt sure my face resembled a ripe tomato by that point. He gestured towards the section he had come from. "I thought I saw another one over there, but they like didn't have your- Hey!" His hands were on his hips now, and he was staring up at me in disapproval. "Like what're you blushing for? You look amazing in that dress, like, be proud!"

"A-alright, um…thanks-"

"Yeah, yeah, go try on the others now, I like soooo wanna see them!"

0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0

We ended up buying the black dress, along with a more embellished ankle-length dark green dress that Feliks claimed made me "totally look like a supermodel or something". We had spent the last hour and a half wandering through every other store in the mall and I could tell the crowds and the pointless window shopping were starting to take their toll on Rasa's already limited patience.

Feliks, of course, was oblivious. "Hey, you remember that cute top back at the like second or third store? I think we should like go back and get that one, I bet it would look totally great on y-"

"You know Feliks," Her voice cut sharply through his rambling; her impatience was audible. "It's getting late, and Viltė and I actually have a lot that we still need to do today."

What…? Dievas, please, no…

"Oh…" He pouted slightly and considered the monkey wrench that had just appeared in his otherwise perfect plan. "Well…it like won't take long at all…just really quick, let's go and like check that store out one more time!" He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me back towards the other end of the store. I wasn't sure which was worse at this point, going back through another clothes store, or doing everything Rasa said we still needed to do…

It turned out I had no say in the matter. Rasa's strong arm wrapped around my shoulders, effectively preventing Poland's attempts to continue the shopping spree.

"We have a lot to do today. We need to go." Her tone was dangerous, and her grip around my shoulder was almost painfully tight. Please Feliks, just let us go before she goes into…bodyguard mode or whatever it is and kills someone…

He pouted and huffed, but let go of my wrist. "Fine. But like, we totally need to do this again. Like what's your phone number?"

Sensing escape, Rasa quickly gave him the number to the flat and he finally let us go, waving energetically as we left.

Rasa was silent as we got in the car and pulled back onto the highway. Her agitated driving was making me nervous, but I finally decided I had to know exactly what torture I had yet to go through today. I clung tightly to the door as she sped angrily around the car that had been in front of us. A chorus of honking only urged her to go even faster. "Um…"

"What?"

I was almost used to her snappy replies by now, and I honestly didn't blame her. Three hours with Feliks was enough to irritate anybody. "What exactly do we have left to do today…?"

She stared at me blankly until the car edged onto the stripes at the edge of the road. The sudden noise caused her to pull sharply back into her lane, knocking me into the door. Surely she was going way over the speed limit…

"…Oh, right, that. I lied."

"…Ah."

She was silent for a minute or two as she gritted her teeth angrily and weaved through the traffic. She spoke again as soon as the traffic thinned. "And you said you two have been friends for a long time? I really don't know how you deal with him."

"W-well, friends is a loose term, we were sort of…forced to be friendly."

"…Huh."

She fell silent and remained so until the moment that she parked in front of our home.

"…How long did you say you've been friends with him?"

"A long time-"

"How long?"

Ah. I had known she was curious, but she'd been holding herself back until now. She wanted to know, and I didn't blame her. It wasn't really classified information, but the president was a little uncomfortable with it herself and had probably edged around the topic as much as she could, even before an assignment like this. After all, if Rasa needed to know, I'd gladly tell her everything. I assumed that she'd heard rumors. She probably knew something of my strangeness, something of my rank, but they were only half-formed whisperings that refused to solidify into an understandable picture for her. The vagueness and half-answered questions were grating on her nerves. She wasn't satisfied with rumors; unlike many in our bureaucracy, she was willingly seeking the truth in this, regardless of its strange implications.

"How long, Viltė?"

"…Almost 500 years."

Her expression betrayed nothing but I could see that she was turning that information over and over in her mind, trying to make some sense of it.

"And…how old are you?"

"I…don't know for sure. Probably...around 1000 years."

Again she rolled that information around in her brain until it lost its edge of shock and she was able, to a certain extent, to accept it.

Then came the real question, always the most difficult to answer.

"Viltė…what are you?"

"W-well…I am your nation. Aš esu Lietuva."


That ended up being a lot longer than I intended.

Notes:

Tannenberg - The decisive battle between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Prussia, the two major Eastern European powers in the mid 1500's. The Commonwealth kicked butt. If you want to know more, search Battle of Grunwald on Wikipedia.

Labas rytas - Good morning

Labas - Hey

Šūdas - As far as I know, something along the lines of "shit". I could very easily be wrong.

McDonald's - Yes, they have McDonald's. There are 5 in Vilnius alone. This has convinced me that there are far too many McDonald's in the world.

LBD - For those of you who may not know, it's a Little Black Dress. Solid black and often plainly cut, it's wonderful because not only does black go with every other color making it easy to accessorize, it's also an appropriate color for almost every occasion.

Aš esu Lietuva - I am Lithuania. Again, I could be wrong.

That's it for now! Prussia will show up soon, I promise. ;)

Really guys, reviews=happy dance, and happy dance=funny video on youtube. You know you'd love to see more funny videos on youtube. So review please!

~Erisu Koumei