My eyes slowly opened to a light-bathed room. There was no sun; the light was just normal daytime light being reflected off by the constant blanket of snow that glued itself to the ground during winter. If I went outside and wasn't wrapped up properly, I would only make it about one hundred metres before having to turn back. It had happened to me before.

I wondered what time it was, and rolled over to check. I suddenly noticed that my hands were spotted with a dry, crumbly, dark substance, which surprised me, as I didn't remember putting my hands in anything like this. I raised my hand to my face to see what it was, and my body gave a jolt as I remembered the events of last night.

Suddenly, it was like I was experiencing everything again. The blows, my retaliation, Russia bleeding on the floor. Blood. That was what it was. My hands still had blood on them from the beatings.

My breath was ragged and I was shaking; I could tell how close I was to crying. I took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in my throat, sitting up and wincing at the main in my back. I remembered one of the blows that had been dealt to me at the start of the beating, and I guessed that I had a few more bruises to add to my collection.

I managed to stand up after checking the time and realising that it was roughly half ten. Normally I would get punished for sleeping this late, but Russia was nowhere to be seen. I suddenly felt paranoid, expecting him to come out from anywhere and punish me for oversleeping. And what about his scarf? What was he going to do to me? His scarf was one of his most precious possessions, given to him by his older sister whom he hadn't seen for years. I almost didn't want to go out of the room because I was so scared that he would be waiting for me outside.

I suddenly stopped. What was I doing here? The last thing I remembered was sitting in a ragged heap and crying on the floor of the hall, praying that I wasn't insane and that everything was going to be okay. How had I ended up here?

I jumped as a knock on my door sounded from outside. "C-come in..."

The door opened and Lithuania stepped in, carrying a tray. I sagged in relief when I saw that it wasn't Russia, and sat down again because my knees felt weak for some reason. Lithuania glanced at me, then averted his gaze and went over the table, setting the tray down. "You're awake."

He sounded half-scared. I felt almost guilty. I had no idea what had happened to me downstairs, but clearly their impressions of me had altered; negatively. I didn't want people to be scared of me, like they were of Russia. I wondered if Russia sometimes felt like this, and immediately told myself to stop feeling sorry for him. That made me even more scared, and I tried to think normally and clear my head.

"I brought you some breakfast," Lithuania told me, still avoiding eye-contact. I looked at the tray, seeing a cheese sandwich and a glass of orange juice on it. I wasn't really in the mood for eating, but I nodded slightly. "Thanks." My throat felt sore.

There was an awkward silence. I could tell how tense the atmosphere was. Lithuania broke the silence, guessing what I was thinking. "You passed out in the hallway," he said quietly. "Whether it was from shock or something else, I don't know, but me and Estonia took you upstairs. Are you feeling okay?"

I wasn't, but I didn't want them fussing over me, so I nodded. He looked at me, unconvinced, but didn't protest. "You'd better eat something," he advised.

I nodded again. He lingered for a bit longer and then left, closing the door behind him. I glanced at the food, then got up and walked over to the table. My legs felt weak again, but I forced myself to get the tray and walk back to my bed, sitting down and setting the tray next to me. I picked up the sandwich and bit into it, reluctantly swallowing it down. I drank some of the juice to see if my throat would stop hurting. It helped a bit, but it tasted too sweet. I ignored it and drank the rest. I was feeling hungrier now, so I finished my breakfast and put the tray back on the table, feeling stronger now I had eaten something. My mind was still cluttered with thoughts which the food couldn't send away; my eyes cast over to the bottle of Kvass next to my bed, although I decided not to give in because if I drank now, I would just become tired again. When I drank, I never got happier or more violent like others. I got quieter and felt sleepy. I couldn't think that well afterwards and got less confident, so most of the time I would just sit there or go to sleep.

I loud ringing noise rang through the house, making me jump. I realised it was just the phone, but I still didn't relax. When we were called, it was usually by one person. My heart thumped in my chest.

I heard rustling downstairs. The noise stopped and I heard someone say "Hello?" from downstairs. I thought it was Estonia, but I couldn't tell. I tried hard to listen, but all I could make out was some mumbling before he called slightly louder, "Lithuania!"

There were some footsteps from downstairs and I heard Lithuania say "Is everything okay?" before their voices became inaudible. I tried to listen from where I was, but it was too quiet.

I had a bad feeling about this conversation. I got up and went to the door, opening it and slipping outside. I crept downstairs until their voices became clearer, and crouched on a step, listening to what they were saying. I wasn't one who usually eavesdropped on people, but this was something I had to hear.

"We can't tell her! Who knows what'll happen?" That was Estonia speaking. I leaned closer.

"But if we don't tell her, then she'll just come round to see for herself, and then it'll be even worse," Lithuania protested, his voice hushed.

Estonia spoke again, this time more stern. "We have to. She'll come over anyway. If we don't and she comes, she'll take it out on us too for not letting her know sooner."

"But she might not come over straight away if we don't, and that could give us enough time to get Latvia away safely!"

My head jerked up at the sound of my name. I was barely listening as my head whirled, trying to guess what they were talking about. Why did I have to leave? Where would I go? Who were they talking about?

Then it hit me. My limbs froze, and my breath seemed to catch in my throat. Suddenly everything seemed to be unreal. Why hadn't I taken this into account when I had snapped?

"Latvia?"

I looked up in alarm, and saw Lithuania standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up at me. I stared at him for a few seconds. "Is it true?"

"Did you hear the conversation?" He looked worried.

I gave a small nod. "But not all of it."

"We told her." Estonia came out of the room to stand by Lithuania. "Latvia, you need to hurry. We have to get you away, and fast."

My heart thumped in my chest. "Who called?" I dreaded the answer.

The other Baltics exchanged a glance. Estonia's gaze darkened. "Belarus."

So I had been right. Belarus, Russia's sister, had found out about last night. I began to shake slightly. They were right; I had to run. Belarus was right next door, and if she found me, I would probably not escape the house alive. I swallowed, trying to calm down. I opened my mouth, but no words came out, although fortunately Lithuania saved me. He walked up the stairs and put a hand on my shoulder. "You have to go. Can you stand?"

I nodded quickly and stood up. Lithuania led me up the stairs to my room. "You'll have to take a few things with you. It's snowing outside, so wrap up warm." He left, leaving me to my own choices. "Call me when you're done."

I realised that I was still in the same bloodstained clothes from yesterday, having not changed into my sleepwear before everything happened, but I didn't want to change now and risk being still here when Belarus arrived. I looked around for my coat, took it and yanked it on. I grabbed the nearest bag, a plain brown satchel, and looked around for some things to take. A jolt of realisation hit me as I realised that I had barely any items of my own, so the best I could do was grab a change of clothes, a half-empty bottle of Kvass and another of Riga Black Balsam, the nearest poetry book and get out of there. Lithuania was waiting for me outside when I went out. His eyes cast over me before nodding. "Okay. You already have your boots on. Is there anything else you need?"

I thought and shook my head.

"Right, come downstairs." He was being more brisk than normal. Whether it was from stress or anxiety, I couldn't tell.

I followed him downstairs and grasped my scarf from the banisters. I wrapped it around my neck, put on my gloves, then looked up in surprise when Estonia tapped me on the shoulder. He held something out to me, and when I looked at it I realised that it was a pair of dark red earmuffs. I blinked in surprise. "Where did they come from?"

Estonia shrugged. "Russia keeps winter things around the house. I'm not sure what these are doing here, but you might as well take them. You'll need them."

"Um, thanks," I mumbled, putting them on and not caring how silly I must look.

Lithuania suddenly gave a yelp. "She's coming!"

My head jerked up and I saw a dark shape moving behind the window in the unmistakable form of a young woman. My mouth opened slightly, and it was only when Estonia shook me that I regained control of my limbs. "Come on! You have to go out the back!"

I managed to move and let him lead me down into the kitchen. He opened the back door and I looked in terror at the snow, my heart pounding. This was it. I was going to leave the only proper home I had ever had- probably forever.

"Go!" Estonia gave me a slight push on the shoulder, just as there was a fierce knock at the door. I stepped outside, my feet sinking into the snow with a crunch. Why did it have to be winter?

I looked back at the other Baltic. His face softened as he looked at me. "I'm sorry. Go, okay?" He paused, trying to think of something. "Go southwest towards Austria and Hungary. You may find nations who are willing to shelter you. I would suggest going to Germany, but he might not take you in because he doesn't want to be attacked by Belarus and Russia." There was another knock, stronger this time, and I heard Lithuania call desperately, "Just coming!" Estonia glanced back, then at me. "I can't hold you up. Go now! Hurry!"

I lingered for no longer. I turned away and ran around the side of the house, waiting until the door had opened and Belarus was inside before making my move. I ran through the snow and out into the wilderness, down the street and turned left. I realized I should've taken a compass, but it was too late for that now. I would just have to rely on my instincts.

There weren't many roads near the place where Russia's house was. It would take me a while to get away, and if I actually made it out of Russia's land then I had to be careful not to stray into Belarus or Ukraine's territory. I made a mental note not to go off course and end up in Switzerland either, or Germany, for that matter. There were so many countries I had to avoid, so which one should I go to?

It didn't matter right now. All I knew was that I should get away from here. I decided to go round some houses and get to the places where there were less houses and people to see me. If they did, they would surely report my appearance to Belarus, and then I would be in trouble. I could skirt round the outskirts of Russia, maybe get to Poland's house or something. Even though it wasn't the best of places to stay, it was still a place to take refuge until I moved on. Trouble was, it was right next to Ukraine and Belarus, so going there would mean I had to go through one of them...unless I went through mine and Lithuania's previous homes first.

I barely ever went to that area, but when I did, I got too anxious so I had to turn back. I'd never been very far into it except when I was very young before I had been taken by Russia, and I was scared of what it would look like as I couldn't remember anything about it. What was there? Would I remember anything if I went back? What did it even look like? It made me even sadder to think that I'd forgotten the appearance of my own home.

I shook my head to clear it and ploughed on through the snow. By going that way, I would be passing Belarus and a small bit of Russia as well, but I had no choice.

I was going home. Which seemed almost as frightening as going through Belarus.