I didn't matter if he'd told me those words a thousand times, nothing could have prepared me for the following four and a half decades. It started with a phone call. England told me that we were at war. I did the only thing imaginable. I joined the army. England had forbid me to, claiming that I was too young for these kind of things and that he would take care of it but I'd be damned before I stood back from a fight. I wanted to support England like he'd supported me. At my side was New Zealand. England had been furious but after some arguing he had agreed to send us with soldiers to the Ottoman Empire in order clear a sea-rout for Russia. We were young, we were naïve, we were excited to help. In the matter of days, our image was shattered by the harsh reality of war. The sounds of guns being fired and people dying. My people were dying. For the first weeks I could barely sleep at all and when I did it was filled with nightmares. Even so, I continued in the morning, or got up even if I'd been shot. It was horrible and had it not been for New Zealand, being amazingly calm about all of it, I would have lost it somewhere along the road. But I didn't, and I kept struggling. I could live with being shot, I could live with the dying, I could live with loosing my children. I had to. Despite fighting for Britain, it took me until the end of the war until I actually saw him again. He looked thinner, paler and more tired but I guessed that I looked the same. My tough exterior soon crumbled as I felt the last years run over me and I allowed him to pull me into a warm comforting hug.
"There, there, lad. Everything will be fine. I am so proud of you. You are so strong." And so it went on as I wept into his dirty uniform.
"Not too used to war, huh?" a sudden voice spoke and for the first time in my protected life, I was met with the United States of America. Politically we would come to get along very well with each other but on the emotional level this marked the beginning of our rivalry.
"Shush it America, you're new to this as well." England reprimanded but there was little bite to it. America was stronger than him and England needed him. The tall blonde scoffed in annoyance.
"This aint exactly my first war, Artie. And nothing, wrong with not wanting to fight, kid, the sidelines are pretty good as well."
I glared at him, not liking in the least how superior he acted. This wasn't just a battle against Germany. This was our battle for England's affection.
"I missed you dad." I said in a pathetic tone, and hugged him tighter, watching gleefully as America's face darkened at the gesture. England patted my back.
"I've missed you too, boy, but no more tears." He took a step back and proceeded to wipe away some stray tears. "There, you've been through so much and I don't doubt for a second that you can survive this as well."
I nodded bravely, but chose to bite my lip just for the show.
"Thanks dad. I won't let you down." Like America did was left unsaid.
I didn't let him down that day. Instead, it was a large victory that in the run would end, what I hoped would be the last war for a long time.
I didn't see much of England or America after the war. Both were busy building up their countries after the war and I was busy doing the same. It wouldn't be an easy decade, nor would the one after that be. For a big part of the 20's I was simply trying to process the war and rid myself of the nightmares while the 30's found me bedridden with New Zealand tending to my faltering health. At the end of it I was getting well enough to stand out of bed but that was a weak joy considering the worries that came from Europe. With the attack on Poland, a man I had only met once, I was yet again at war, as announced by my current boss Robert Menzies. I fought wherever people told me to. New Guinea, Sidney, Singapore, just to name a few. I was terrified of the Japanese and dreaded the day that I would have to meet their nation in person. Several times, they'd launch small attacks on my cities with the result of me being in constant pain and trying to survive. By my side was New Zealand. He had his own worries yet he gave me the support I needed. During the first half of the war, I only saw England once. I met him at the harbor in Sidney but was shocked to see him in bandages and paler than usual. Even so he embraced me and I hugged back, looking for some kind of reassurance. An attack from Japan lay in the air and it terrified me. We walked together along the harbor although England had to stop several times as though he was in pain, which he probably was.I still remember the conversation clearly.
"Aren't you scared?" I asked him hesitantly. He patted my arm.
"Dear boy, on a good day I'm worried, on a bad day I'm absolutely petrified. But you can't let that fear stop you from moving forwards. It won't do any difference. Whether you fear this war or not, it is there."
I bit my lip in worry and a heavy sigh escaped the Britton.
"You don't have to be afraid, Australia. No matter what, I will always protect my colonies."
Then he was gone, lying to us both about him being fine and then leaving. The war would't be over in another couple of years and I had yet to learn the full extent of what it meant to be under attack but I made it through all of it, knowing that England would always be a safe place to call home.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" The fight between Hong Kong and Singapore instantly came to a halt as we all turned to the fuming Brit in the doorway. Behind him stood a slightly apologetic America who I chose to ignore in favor of my angry father.
"I leave you alone for 15 minutes and all of the sudden it's like a war-zone. Honestly you are impossible."
I pouted a bit.
"Please don't hate us." I said in a sad way, which I knew would get England to soften up. Like anticipated, England quietly shook his head with a fond smile on his lips.
"Why don't you all head home." He said tiredly. "It's been a long day and I'm sure we can wrap this all up over breakfast tomorrow."
There was a gathered cheer from the nations in the room and one by one we left the room.
"You're not mad about the question, right? You know that I can be mean when I can't control this chaos." New Zealand asked as we walked out of the meeting room together. I answered by placing a chaste kiss to his perfect lips. New Zealand instantly starting blushing but he kissed back just as chastely. I thought I heard Amercia mutter something about 'fags' but even so, I knew that he would be walking home with England tonight so I didn't take it too seriously. Hopefully England would just get angry at him for speaking like that. After I pulled away, New Zealand smiled at me.
"You don't have to kiss me all the time Oz, just because you can.
I grinned widely at him.
"But I want to kiss you."
New Zealand huffed a little and stood up on his tiptoes until he reached so that he could kiss me.
"Love sick idiot." He said fondly and our hands slowly intertwined. "Are you coming over to my place after we get home tomorrow?" he asked shyly.
"Actually…" I said with a scratch to the back of my neck. "There's something that I really need to do.
Memories of my last run-in with my children were still in my memory as I approached the small village. As always, Koko (that's what I'd come to call the old koala) was resting on my back and offering his comments. I felt like I needed to ask for his advice.
"How come those villagers didn't recognize me?" I asked thoughtfully as we carefully neared.
"Cause you wore pants, had paler skin and talked English." Koko replied without hesitation. "You also looked like a mad-man."
I would have shot something back but I was too busy freaking out about what he had just said.
"How could I possibly have forgotten my own language."
"You haven't forgotten it, you idiot." Koko said in annoyance. "You just grew used to speaking English so you forgot to change language. With all the new people influencing you, it's a miracle that I recognized you. "
I swallowed guiltily.
"I can't believe I forgot my warren." I said in misery.
"There's still time to make up for your mistakes." Koko said, being unusually kind.
I nodded in resolution as a saw the village nearing ahead.
"These are my warren as much as I am their lahan."
The End