I collapsed to the floor as something slammed into my stomach, whatever it was, it was extremely strong. My throat burned as I attempted to consume as much air as I could, It felt like I was breathing through a straw after running a marathon! The pain in my stomach was even worse, it was even too painful to spill out my early breakfast. I swallowed the acid liquid before it could travel any further up my mouth. The water from the wet sidewalk quickly damped my clothing, but I had no energy to push myself up. Suddenly hands were placed under my arms and I was hoisted to my feet. My legs were jelly, and I had trouble removing the stars that have occupied my vision. "Thank you," I finally mustered out.
The stranger nodded, "Yes, however I was unable to pin point the exact direction of where your attacker took off."
My senses were starting to recover, even though my legs still trembled and it felt as if my head were wrapped in a plastic bag, I could no longer see stars, now all I could see was the memory of my former colony power kicking me in my stomach. I'm going to make him wish that I would forgive his apology that he will soon spill out, I thought. "Did anybody else witness this event?" I asked. I then found my answer the second the question escaped my lips when I looked around to see the group of citizens that have gathered. "Where did he go?"
At once, they pointed behind me, I was about to sprint blindly in that direction before a wave of pain filled my body. With a groan, I allowed my knees to collapse. "Sir, are you alright?" One of the crowed members asked with concern. I landed with a thump on my hands and knees, glaring at the ground. I'm the United Kingdom for crying out bloody loud! Why can't I do something as simple as run? Something on the dark pavement caught my eye, bright red petals connected to a garden green stem. A rose? The image of the oblivious American carrying the flower flooded my mind, was he holding this? I placed the gentle plant into my hand and pushed myself up.
"I am perfectly fine, I no longer need help." With a nod, the crowd started to disappear, leaving me to stand there with my national flower in my hand. Where ever he went off to, he must be long gone by now.
My next action should be to call an emergency meeting to try to make sense of this all. I fumbled through my pants pocket for my cell phone. Flipping the old contraption open, I contacted the G8 members.
XXX
I sat in the cushioned chair tapping my foot, checking the time for about the tenth time this minute. With a sigh, I stared at my golden pocket watch and shoved it back into my coat with frustration.
"Angleterre, paying attention to the time will only make it go slower. Can you please tell us what information you have about America?" Everybody was in the meeting room excluding the most important nation at this current moment. Even Romano and Prussia had come along when they heard that I had information about America, most likely from Germany and Italy.
"I am not starting this meeting without Canada." Just at that moment, Canada walked through the double doors. "Canada!"
"We are all here, now where is America?" He didn't even bother with a greeting and went right to the point. His eyes burned with determination and desperation.
All nations turned to me, waiting for an explanation. "I saw him today."
Just that sentence sent the meeting into chaos, "Is he ok?"
"What was he doing in England?"
"That bastard, I bet he was vacationing this whole time!"
"SHUT UP! I will tell the story exactly the way I remember it, no questions until the end!" Once I was satisfied with the silence I continued, "As I was saying, I saw him today. He looked a little paler, same hair though. It was him with no doubt. He had luggage with him and he was carrying a camera. I got his attention, and he acted like he didn't know me. I tried to get him to come with me and he resisted."
"You let him go?" Russia questioned.
I shook my head, "He resisted, and I put up a good fight…"
"But you lost," Germany finished for me. I nodded.
"Wait, this doesn't make sense! Why would America fight you?" Canada questioned.
"That is why I called this meeting, we need answers." I then decided to show them the rose.
"Oh Britain you didn't have to do that!" France snatched the flower from my hands and fluttered his eyes. "For me? How lovely! You know that I love roses!"
I growled and glared at the Frenchman, "No you bloody frog, it is not for you! America dropped it when he ran off!"
"We should go to a flower shop," Russia suggested. "He obviously got the flower from somewhere, we should just walk around and ask if anybody saw him."
"That's a start, good job Russia," Germany complemented.
With all seriousness, Canada turned to me, "Lead the way Britain, we have a lot of stops to make."
XXX
"I cannot believe how long this is taking!" I had to agree with Prussia, not a single individual has seen the missing country. I dragged my feet in disappointment. Why didn't he want to come with me in the first place? When I approached America, he seemed very confused, upset, sacred even. He didn't look like he had a clue of who I was. I stared at the red flower in my hand, why did he have this anyway? Maybe he fell in love. Countries are not supposed to fall in love with humans, especially humans that are in a different country. It creates tension between countries and leads to wars. Sure you can date them, flirt with them, spend the night with them, but falling in love was out of the question. Perhaps he fell in love with one of my citizens, and he went in hiding to spend time with them. That would not explain the luggage then, and the camera. No, he most likely didn't fall in love.
"Britain, there is another flower shop ahead." France called out.
I rolled my eyes, "Yes frog, I know my way around my own country. Where do you think I have been leading you all this time?" I pushed open the glass door belonging to the small building. A loud bell rang as the rest of the countries followed.
France inhaled deeply, "Just smell those roses!" He started to twirl around in delight.
Germany glared at him, "Can you do something as simple as sniffing a flower without getting a boner?"
"For once, the potato bastard's right, will you quit fooling around?"
"Why should I? It's really fun, you should all tr-" His outstretched hand whipped against a vase full of pure red roses, causing it to smash on the floor. France looked as if he were about to cry since he caused the wreck of the gorgeous flowers.
"That is why," Japan said quietly. "Please France, we came here for a reason."
"What reason would that be?" Came a female voice. A woman appeared, standing in a doorway most likely leading to a back room. She wore a button down white shirt that was tucked into a leaf patterned, wavy skirt that went down to her knees. Her brown eyes studied the broken vase and she reached for a broom. "I just swept the store this morning," she muttered. Despite how upset she sounded, she stared at us with her lipstick covered mouth formed into a smile. "What can I do for you boys?" Her voice was gentle with a slight English accent.
I reached into one of my coat pockets and pulled out a small picture. The picture, was one that was taken long ago. It was on America's birthday, America had on the bright smile that could light up any room. His blue eyes sparkled, and he was gesturing to his giant red, white, and blue birthday cake. I held up the photo and said the same exact thing that I said to the other florists. "Excuse me miss, but have you seen this man?"
She blinked a couple of times before speaking, studying the picture. "Why do you want to know?"
She knows something, it's obvious. "We have been looking for this man for ten years," Russia took a step forward smiling innocently, but the tone in his voice said it all. "We would really appreciate it if you were to tell us where he is. Why we want to know is not any of your concern, miss."
"Rose, my name is Rose." She wasn't fazed at all when Russia towered over her. Brave, not very smart, but brave. She reminded me of America whenever he talks to Russia, always talking back to him and testing his patience. "I believe that it does concern me, my question is why do you need to know? You do not think that a group of people who walk into your flower shop and demand the location of a random stranger is not a little weird? Make sure you pay for those roses you knocked over before you leave. I do not know who that man is."
Canada shoved his way to the front of the crowed and Rose let out a little gasp when she saw his face. "Yes, I know, I look exactly like him. That's because I'm his brother." Her hard stare softened then filled with confusion, before she could ask a question that was clearly floating around in her mind he continued. "Ten years ago, my brother went missing. Ever since then, things have gone downhill. Yesterday a couple of us thought he was dead." France and Japan looked down. "Just when we have almost lost all hope, this man," Canada pointed his finger in my direction, "who has practically raised us both, said that he saw him today. He was unable to get his attention, but my brother has dropped a red rose, giving us a clue that he recently went to a flower shop." I placed the rose on the wooden counter to let her examine it. Her eyes widened in shock. "Now please, we have been traveling on foot for hours, searching for anybody who has the slightest idea of where my brother could be. DO. YOU. KNOW. WHERE. HE. IS?"
Rose crossed her arms, and ignored the evidence."The story fits, except for one thing, your 'brother' as you would like to title him, doesn't have a family."
"So you have spoken to him before, da?" Russia asked.
"Miss please, we have told you the story, and we have a picture of him before he went missing, what more do you want?" I asked, this girl was stubborn, we have the proof, but for some reason she will not say anything.
"Yes, I have talked to him just this morning, I do not know why you are trying to bother him. Alfred is completely happy as he is, how do you know he didn't run away and does not want to be found?" She went back to sweeping up the sharp pieces of broken glass.
Alfred? He even changed his name? What if he ran away? No, he would never do that. "I know he did not because Alfred is a very loyal person. He has passion for his work, he would not leave those he cares about on purpose. There must be some logical answer of why he went missing."
Rose stared at me in disbelief, "Loyal? If he stays in one country for more than a month he will have a mental breakdown and go into a depression! Alfred is a great person overall, but he is not loyal."
France handed Rose a wad of cash, "Here you go mon cheri, there is also a little extra incase a young, charming lady like you would like to spill a little more information about our Alfred."
Rose smirked at France and counted the money. Then, much to France's confusion gave him the change. "Trying to bribe me are you? I will not accept such atrocities! Money doesn't control everything, and it certainly will not control me! Now get out!"
"Wait!" Italy cried. "If I can prove to you that we know America, will you please consider telling us where he is?" The Italian now had his phone out and was wildly waving it in the air.
"America?"
"Yes, it's his… er… nickname," Japan cut in quickly.
"You have a whole minute, if I do not believe you by then, you are going to leave."
"That's all the time I need!" Italy cheered. I had no idea of where he was going with this, but it's not like we were going to just leave if this stubborn red-head refused to believe us. Italy was scrolling down with his phone and then clicked on a video. "Here watch this!"
"Sup Italy? It's America, I know that you're hosting the meeting and all so I'm sending this video to you to tell you that I can't come. Election Day is coming soon, and my boss has me doing a ton of work. On the bright side, I'll text you all of my kick-ass ideas to improve the world! It's the least a hero could do. Call me later to tell me how it went! Bye!
I remember that day. Italy was reading the outrageous text messages, and we were laughing the whole time. Every single one was more crazy than the last, one even involved shipping a ton of hookers all around Germany to improve the economy. Germany didn't like that idea, but the rest of us thought it was hilarious. I still have no idea of whether America sent those outrageous text messages just to be funny or because he thought it would actually work. He has never confirmed which one it was.
Rose stared at the now blank screen for a moment, most likely having a debate of whether she should trust us or not. Then she just nodded, "Alright, you win. Alfred seems out of character in this video, but that is definitely him."
"Now where is he, and where has he been for the past 10 years?" I questioned.
"He's a photographer, he says that he has traveled the world, and has been taking pictures for as long as he could remember. He has lived on the money he could make when he sold the pictures he has taken. We first met when he came here, and asked to take pictures for my shop in exchange for money. He has been in England for about four weeks, but he left today for France."
All of this was too confusing, why the bloody hell would he travel around the world and become a photographer?
"Grazi!" Italy jumped up in down in excitement.
"Thank you so much for your understanding." Canada said, "May I ask how he is? Is he in good health?"
Rose shook her head, "He's very vulnerable to sickness, he claims that it's allergies, but he said that he does not know what he is allergic to. So I'm pretty sure that it's just sickness."
"Where is his address?" Italy asked.
"He doesn't have one, like I said, he has been to a plethora of countries and had never settled down in a single one. The closest thing he has to a house is a cheap motel room."
"How many countries has he been to?"
With a shrug Rose said, "I didn't even know some of the countries he talked about existed, I cannot count how many he has toured."
"Which city in France did he say he was going to?" France said.
"Paris."
"Merci."
There was an awkward silence, showing that they should make their next move. "Well thank you for being so cooperated, we really appreciate it. If there is nothing that you would like to add, then we will be on our way."
"Well, there is one thing."
"What is it?"
Rose did an exact replica of Russia's cold smile, It gave me chills. "I can guarantee you that if you hurt Alfred in any way, not only the crime rate will increase, but so will the murder rate."
"Wah! We will not hurt America!" Italy cried. Germany rolled his eyes at Italy, then attempted to calm him down.
"Good." Her dark aura cleared and she handed me the red rose. "Just wanted to get the message across, make sure that Alfred gets his rose."
Saying our goodbyes, we exited the flower shop, once we were a distance away France asked the question that was on everybody's mind. "Am I the only one that did not find any of that making sense?" France had a point, so America went missing, became a photographer, doesn't know who I am , and traveled to many countries, how does that make sense?
"Yes I agree, the puzzle pieces do not fit together well."
"Maybe he became a spy," Canada suggested. "That would explain the camera and the traveling."
"Oh yes, because spies converse with random florists for no apparent reason."
"Do you have any better suggestions?" Russia asked me.
"No, but I'm sure that America can explain this all when we find him. We must travel to France immediately, I have a plan."
XXX
Author's notes: I feel bad for Britain, I made the country with super strength power kick him in the stomach... I'm sorry Britain! Just incase you were wondering, Rose and America will not be a couple. I am horrible at writing romance. You guys have me jumping up and down in excitement. I am one of those Hetalia fans that almost screams of joy every time I look at a map. One of my favorite things about FanFiction is the Traffic Stats, that is where you can see which country your story is viewed in. So far this story has been viewed in so many different countries! Some of you might be wondering why I brought Romano and Prussia into this... they play an important part later along with the rest of the G8. Thanks to insanelaughtler I gave you more Russia! It's still the beginning of the story so don't worry if I didn't give your favorite G8 member much dialogue. Also you have to check out some of insanelaughtler's fanfiction's. I just love His Own Haunted House and A Game Of Dice! Please review or message me! I love feedback!
Next chapter will be in Alfred/America's point of view in France!