IMPORTANT: I forgot to mention last chapter, but the ice spirit is Norway. This chapter's shout-out goes to LolliDictator for being able to guess it! You get Denmark's axe for being so awesome! Also, SanguisRubeus gets Russia's sunflowers (the non-cursed ones XD) for being the first reviewer ever! ^^ Thanks for all the reviews guys, I didn't think this story would be so liked! I hope you enjoy this chapter too!
Chapter 2: Setting the Stage
Alfred breathed in deeply, his lungs greedily sucking in the fresh summer air. He heaved the last of the heavy burlap sacks containing the season's harvest onto the massive wagon and stepped away, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The teenager smiled, surveying all the sacks filled with vegetables and animal products. The Kirkland family farm was prospering.
"Alfred!" a feminine voice yelled out. Alfred turned and spotted his oldest sister, Juana, at the door of their large cozy house. "Come inside! Lunch's ready." She had barely finished the sentence before the tall, hungry blond rocketed towards her. She laughed as he reached the house in 5 seconds flat. Alfred stepped into the doorway beside his sister and breathed deeply once more, but this time he was inhaling the sweet, heavenly scent of excellently prepared food.
"Whose turn was it to cook today?" he asked, glancing down at the petite woman by his side. Juana shrugged. "Bituin cooked today I think."
Alfred whooped. "Yes! I hope she made chicken adobo!"
The two made their way towards the large dining and kitchen area, where the mouth-watering scents came from. Juana quickly walked inside to help prepare dinner for the large family, but Alfred stayed in the doorway, smiling fondly at the dysfunctional group of mismatched people inside.
Eleven years ago, Alfred and his twin brother Matthew were taken from the orphanages they had been living in by one Arthur Kirkland. Arthur turned out to be the twins' half-brother, and the reason he had adopted them was a long and confusing one.
Arthur claimed that he was the first and oldest son of the dread pirate Arthur Kirkland Sr. and that both Alfred and Matthew were his brothers, but had a different mother than him. He explained that Arthur Sr. had been not only an infamous pirate, but a notorious ladies man as well. On his voyages, Arthur Sr. had managed to knock up many women, and the result was that he had many offspring and Arthur Jr. had many half-siblings. At first, Arthur Jr. had grown up on his father's ship, The Britannia Angel, but as time went by, he began to loathe the life of a pirate. Arthur Jr. longed to be a gentleman.
One day, when The Britannia Angel dropped anchor in a small port town, Arthur Jr. had grabbed a small pouch filled with some of his father's stolen treasure and left, never once looking back. Arthur Jr. had of course been told of his father's many conquests and had resolved to find as many of his brothers and sisters as he could and take them in.
The very first ones he had found were Alfred and Matthew. Alfred and Matthew's mother had been a high-class society woman, and having two bastard children would have ruined her image. So she opted to give Alfred to the local orphanage and had sent Matthew to an orphanage in a neighhboring kingdom, not wanting the twins to be traced back to her.
However, Arthur had managed to find them, and he took them away from their orphanages at the age of seven. Alfred had been amazed to have been adopted by family, and even more amazed to learn that he had a twin. The two were very different; Matthew was quiet, shy, and easily forgettable, and the time he had spent in the neighboring kingdom had given him different mannerisms and the knowledge of another language. On the other hand, Alfred was loud, a headache at best, and so tactless it made Arthur want to throw a steaming cup of Earl Grey in his face; and Arthur never wasted a good cup of Earl Grey.
But, despite their differences, the three brothers loved each other dearly. Arthur managed to buy a plot of land near the border of the Kingdom of England, and there the trio built their house and set up their farm. For a while they lived on the vegetables they grew, the fruits they picked in the surrounding forest, and the animals that Arthur would hunt.
Life for the brothers went on like this, until they happened upon Juana in the forest one day. Juana was a beautiful tanned girl from the Republic of Mexico, with sparkling hazel eyes and a feisty attitude. Juana was another half-sibling of theirs. She had left the house of her cruel mother to seek her fortune in the world, and had discovered the Kirkland farm quite by accident. She had asked for lodging in exchange for help around the house, and the three blonds eagerly agreed, knowing that their household needed a feminine touch.
The deal worked out so that while the three boys were out working the fields, Juana cooked and cleaned. In fact, the three slightly oblivious blond boys didn't find out that Juana was their half-sister until the day Arthur saw that the pendant she wore had their father's crest emblazoned on it.
The next addition to their family was little Peter. Peter looked like a mini version of Arthur, right down to the bushy eyebrows, and he was actually given to the growing family by his mother. She did not feel like she was fit to raise a child, so when she had heard about Arthur taking in his siblings, she sought him out to give him Peter. Arthur had of course taken responsibility for the infant, and the lovable little brat became theirs forever after.
Finally, the three last members of their family came to the Kirklands as if they were a package deal. Bituin, Guoliang, and Chen-chi had journeyed across the vast seas from their homelands to the Kingdom of England. Bituin came from the island Kingdom of the Philippines and Guoliang hailed from the tiny port nation, Hong Kong. Both Bituin and Guoliang were half-siblings to the Kirklands. Chen-chi, who came from the Kingdom of Taiwan, was not. She had met Guoliang when the ship he was working on stopped in her village.
The two had become best friends, and when the time came for Guoliang to leave, Chen-chi stole on board with him. They had then met Bituin, and finding out that Guoliang and Bituin were related, sailed to the Kingdom of England to find the rest of their family. The rest was history, and the family of 7 had been living happily with each other for going on 4 years.
Alfred was knocked out of his musing when he felt someone punching him in the hip. "Bloody move, Alfred, I'm hungry!" Peter whined.
Alfred rolled his eyes and strode and into the dining room, plopping down in his usual seat at the table. Today was the day that Arthur would be traveling into the city to sell the leftover crops that they had harvested, so Alfred knew that his sisters would be preparing something extra special for lunch. The blond felt himself drooling just thinking about it!
After lunch, the large group gathered outside to say goodbye to the head of their odd little family.
"All right, I'm off. Is there anything you lot would like me to buy for you while I'm at the market?"
"You should buy me a new dagger! A hero can't be going around with a rusty, piece of crap dagger!"
"Ooooh, please buy me a new dress, Arthur! I want to put blue flowers in my hair, and my pink dress won't match with the blue flowers…"
"…Fireworks. Anything that explodes or is flammable."
"Um, can I have some more books, Kuya Arthur? I've read all the new ones twice already."
"Definitely spices and candy! We're running out of spices and my personal candy stash is running low, Hermano."
"I want a sword, Jerk-Arthur!"
Arthur nodded at his family, mentally reminding himself to buy Peter a wooden non-lethal sword, before turning to Matthew. The shy blond was the only one that hadn't spoken up, and was instead cuddling his little stuffed bear, Kumajiro.
"What about you, Matthew? Would you like anything?" Arthur asked kindly.
The timid boy sighed, knowing that his brother wouldn't leave without some sort of answer from him. "U-u-um, ah, a…flower…maybe? " he suggested, trying to think of things that weren't expensive or hard to obtain. Matthew really didn't want anything in the first place.
Arthur cocked his head to the side. "What type?"
"Er, a sunflower…? " Matthew replied, throwing out the name of the first flower he could think of.
"All right, then." Arthur said, before smiling and giving his family one last wave. "You behave yourselves. Juana is in charge and if I come back to find the house on fire, you are all in big trouble." Alfred rolled his eyes. Honestly, some people never let anything go! Arthur fixed everyone with his most menacing glare before grabbing the reins and shaking them. His horse, a French trotter named Frog, shook its yellow, wavy mane and started down the road at a steady trot.
The assembled teens watched until Arthur disappeared from view, before heading back inside. Alfred grinned, thinking about the new dagger he would be getting in a couple of weeks. He remembered Mattie's request and scoffed. Who wants a sunflower as a gift anyway? Boys shouldn't be messing with girly shit like that. Nothing good can come from that present.
...You don't know how right you are, Alfred D:
Anyways, I'm sorry about how filler-ish this chapter is ;A; But next chapter makes up for it because it has MOTHER (err, Father?) RUSSIA in it ^^
Notes:
Translations!
Kuya: Tagalog for older brother
Hermano: Spanish for brother
Miscellaneous!
Alfred and Matthew are now 18.
Arthur is 26 and Peter is 12.
Hong Kong's name is Guoliang, which means "may the country be kind". Hong Kong is 17.
Ok, I know that Taiwan's name in fanon is Meimei, but I liked Chen-chi, meaning "brilliant dawn", better -3- Taiwan is 16.
Juana is Mexico ^^ Her name doesn't mean anything, it's just a popular/common Spanish name and the feminine version of Juan. She looks 18, but is 20.
The Philippines is Brituin, meaning "the stars" in Tagalog. She is around 15-ish.
Chicken Adobo is a dish prepared in Latin America, Spain, and the Philippines. The Filipino adobo refers to chicken stewed with vinegar, while the traditional Spanish chicken adobo is chicken marinated in a sort of sauce. Other meats can be used, and the name changes accordingly. i.e. if pork is used, the dish becomes pork adobo.
References!
The reason Alfred has soooooo many siblings is because in one of the variations of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty has 3 older brothers and 3 older sisters. So I made countries with ties to both the US and England Alfred's brothers and sisters :D Please don't kill me OTL They're important to the plot, honest!