Here's the long awaited chapter two of The Maid Effect! Beware of fluff! Also, I'm really nervous about out-of-characterness in this one, so let me know if I should change something! Enjoy!


The Maid Effect

Chapter 2: Hidden History

Austria took a chair from a desk on the wall and carried it to the end of the bed. He sighed as he sat down. "I'm not sure how to begin," he said, rubbing his hands together.

"Then you can start with my question," Germany ordered. "Who is this Holy Roman Empire?"

Taken aback for a moment, Austria's mind seemed to be working at record speed. At last, he took a deep breath and said, "He was a country that idolized the great Roman Empire so much that he decided to name himself the 'Holy' Roman Empire and started a conquest of the world. He wanted to become even more powerful than the Roman Empire and be the greatest country in the world. Even though he was only a child, he gained many territories, including myself and Hungary."

"Really?" Germany said, impressed. "Why haven't I heard of him before?"

"Let me finish," Austria responded, pointing a finger at him. "One of his main goals, as you can imagine, was to conquer Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire. He never did, but he managed to get Northern Italy from taking my territories." He nodded curtly at Italy.

Germany glanced at Italy also. He didn't seem to be paying attention and his eyes shone with a sad faraway look in them. Germany wondered why Italy had never mentioned his former conqueror before.

"Holy Rome…" Italy suddenly murmured, coming out of his stupor. "He…he loved me." Italy was looking down at the floor and smiling, though his eyes still looked very sad. Germany stared at Italy in awe. Reading the atmosphere, he could somehow tell that Italy had not spoken about this in a long time.

"He loved me," Italy repeated. "Even though he could be scary sometimes, he was nice to me." He paused to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye with his palm. "Then one day, he asked me to come with him to fight a war, saying that together we could be even stronger than Grandpa Rome. But…but I said no and he went off to war anyway…" He sniffled. "I saw him a few more times when he came to visit, but at one point he suddenly stopped coming." Italy gripped his pants above the knee and fell silent.

"What happened to him?" Germany asked Austria.

"The end of that war, the Thirty Years War, had left him basically powerless. Most of his territories gained independence, such as myself and Hungary. Italy, you were still under my rule so you didn't notice much. Prussia supported him, as well as that idiot could, but then France got himself a new boss, Napoleon. He picked an easy fight with Holy Rome and won."

"Eh? But Austria, you told me he died from that Thirty Years War thing! What did Big Brother France do to him? Italy cried, shaking.

"Is that how he died?" Germany guessed.

Austria sighed, closing his eyes. "No," he replied. "He didn't die." He opened his eyes and stared apologetically at Italy. "I'm sorry that I lied to you, Italy. At the time, I thought I was protecting you. I don't think you could have handled it."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Austria furrowed his brow. "I'm not exactly sure of the details, but Napoleon did something to Holy Rome when he conquered him. It was as though he was brainwashed. He was renamed the Confederacy of the Rhine and he fought alongside Napoleon like some kind of robot soldier until Napoleon fell a few years later. France told me he had nothing to do with it, whatever it was. Usually I don't trust his word, but that time, he seemed…regretful." Austria's hands, which had been folded in his lap, clenched for a brief moment.

"What happened to Holy Rome?" Italy cried, trembling with emotion.

After a pause, Austria continued. "After Napoleon fell, it seemed that whatever he had done wore off. The problem was that he couldn't remember a thing, not even that he had been controlled. We weren't sure what to do with him, until Prussia agreed to take him in and rehabilitate him. We agreed." Austria cleared his throat nervously and smirked. "He was his older brother after all."

"Hold on," Germany interrupted, a realization dawning on him. "Just what are you saying?"

There was a long minute of silence as Austria and Germany stared at each other. Italy looked back and forth between the two countries, looking distressed and confused.

Finally, Austria took a deep breath. "Germany," he stated, squaring his shoulders. "You were once the Holy Roman Empire."

Italy felt his skin tingle as Austria's words sunk in.

"Wh-what?"

Austria sighed. "I know this must be quite a lot for you two to digest at once, but now that you know the truth, you must understand—"

Germany folded his arms and closed his eyes. "This makes sense, actually."

"Germany?" Italy murmured.

"I've never been able to remember my childhood. My earliest memories were of myself as a teenager living with bruder. If what you say is true, Austria, this gives me a bit of closure, actually."

Suddenly, Austria's cell-phone began to ring to the tune of a classical symphony. With an apologetic nod, he flipped it open and read the text. He gave an irritated sigh. "I'm sorry to leave you like this, but my boss says he wants to see me. I'll be back later. Call me if you have any more questions."

As soon as Austria closed the door, Italy got out of his chair and crawled on top of Germany's lap.

"Italy? What are you —" Germany stammered as Italy reached for his head, a solemn look on his usually cheery face. He needed to check this for himself…

"Let me see…" Italy murmured, grabbing Germany's cheeks and pinching them. For a few minutes, Italy silently poked and prodded his face, twisting it in odd shapes. Germany started to blush as Italy's face leaned closer and closer. Suddenly, Italy saw it. It was only faint, but as Germany stared at him, he thought he could see Holy Rome's blushing face.

"It's true!" Italy yelled, letting go of Germany's face and wrapping his arms around him. The joy that he felt was overwhelming and he began to sob into Germany's chest. "I still don't understand it, but it's true!" He squeezed tighter. "…Holy Rome…"

"Did he—did I really mean that much to you?" Germany asked quietly. Italy nodded silently and dug his head deeper into Germany's chest. He still felt like the same Germany Italy had already known, but now it was like a light had been turned on in his brain. Italy recalled the way Germany glared, how he blushed, how his lips felt against his cheek when he greeted him. They were so much alike, how did he not notice?

"I…I'm sorry," Germany apologized, placing a hand on Italy's head. "I can't remember any of it…I wish I could."

"But that dream you had was so accurate!" Italy responded, lifting his head to look up at Germany.

Germany was silent for a moment, thinking. "I have an idea," he said finally. "This might seem weird, but I believe that seeing you in that maid outfit caused some sort of reaction that gave me that memory. Maybe…maybe if I saw you in it again, I could remember more." He blushed again.

Italy's face lit up instantly. "I still have it with me!" he exclaimed, jumping off the bed. "I'll go get it."

"G-good," Germany stammered. "I'll wait here." As he watched Italy bounce out of the room, his blush deepened. Even the anticipation of seeing that maid outfit on Italy caused his chest to tighten. Part of him was embarrassed by these uncontrollable reactions, but at the same time he felt that he was regaining a lost part of himself by feeling this way.


In another bedroom, Italy patted out the wrinkles in the apron as he looked at himself in the mirror. A multitude of emotions were raging a war in his head. He was still a bit confused about Austria's story. How could a country be brainwashed into forgetting its past? But it fit so well with Germany's life. He started to imagine Germany wearing a large version of Holy Roman Empire's black cloak. The thought caused his cheeks to redden and his skin to tingle. Of all the emotions he felt at that moment, the biggest was joy. Joy on having discovered the truth, joy being able to help Germany remember, and despite the occasional cold breeze that brushed past, joy on being able to wear the maid outfit once again.

As he walked back down the hallway towards Germany's room, he wondered what kinds of things Germany would remember first. Suddenly, he had an idea. He reached for the closet door…

~.~

Germany sat on the end of the bed with his arms folded stiffly. This whole situation was so strange and confusing. He closed his eyes. He had resolved to deal with it the same way he did everything else: with hard work and strong determination. He would regain his memories at a fast, steady pace. This was the only way to control the situation. All he had to count on was Italy…Another vision of a sun-filled valley crossed his mind at the mention of friend's name. His heartbeat flittered for a moment and a stab of pain shot through his brain. He grimaced, rubbing his temples. Yes, he needed all the control he could get…

Germany almost jumped when he heard a knock on the door.

"Germany! It's m-me!" he heard Italy call nervously. "Are…are you ready?"

The blond-haired nation squared his shoulders and set a determined stare on his face. "Yes," he stated. "Come in."

Italy opened the door slowly and peeked his head in, blushing furiously. "I-I'm coming in to clean," he stammered, shuffling in with a broom in his shaking hands. He began to push the broom across the floor, nervously glancing at Germany every few seconds.

Before Germany could ask what on Earth he was doing, he felt a wave of dizziness hit him. He gave a gasp of pain and clutched his head. Italy immediately stopped cleaning and rushed over to the bed.

"Germany! Is it working? Are you remembering?"

"Italy…" Germany murmured, one of his eyes closed in pain. "Wh-at was that? What were you doing?"

Italy held onto one of his arms. "I had the idea of acting out some of the stuff I used to do at Austria's house." He blushed again. "That was how I always acted whenever I was told to sweep in Holy Ro-, I mean, your room."

The worst of the pain subsiding, Germany closed his eyes. Suddenly, he was able to see it.


There was a tiny knock on the door. Holy Rome looked up from the book he was reading on his bed.

"Come in," he called. He gasped quietly as he saw little Italy come in the room, dragging a push broom twice as tall as her.

"I-I'm coming in to clean," she announced nervously. She carried the broom to a corner of his bedroom and began sweeping.

"Italy!" Holy Rome yelled, a bit louder than he meant to.

"Y-yes?" she responded, shaken.

"Y-you don't need to sweep today," he replied. Italy shouldn't be doing so much work, he thought to himself, blushing. "You just did yesterday."

"B-but…" Italy held the broom tighter. "Mr. Austria told me to sweep."

"O-oh," Holy Rome murmured. He quickly buried his face in his book to hide his blushing face. "Okay. Co-continue then…"


"Italy?" Germany said, opening his eyes. "I think I remember…some."

"You do?" Italy exclaimed, beaming. "Hooray! I'm so happy!"

"I have one question, however." Germany studied Italy's face. "Why were you so afraid of me during those times?"

Italy blushed, smiling. "Because you were so intimidating…you've always been very intimidating." He laughed. "I'm still scared of you sometimes! Especially during training."

"I suppose that explains it," Germany concluded. There was an odd moment of silence. "What should we try next?"

"Hmm…" Italy played with one his sleeve ruffles as he thought. Germany blushed. "Aha!" Italy suddenly yelled, pulling on Germany's arm. "I know! We can go to that place!"

"What place?" Germany asked as he let himself be led out of his bedroom.

"You'll see!" Italy said, almost singing the words. He looked back at Germany and winked. "It's a surprise!"