The rest of the day was uneventful as the countries were more entertained with their food than my own prescence. I was glad to leave when Britian did, because my ears were burning. I could hear France starting rumors, weaving webs of deceit, sometimes leaving the others to fill in their own blanks.

"And just think, she has been in Britain's house this whole time!"He whispered in a conspiring tone. Some gawked at him in surprise, and shook their heads in disbelief. "Why do you think she's so plain and shy?" He continued on with his propaganda. What are you up to? It's like he's trying to start another war! Whispers circulated throughout the room. I choked down my emotions, trying not to show how upset I was. Cruel, and I was told that every country was respectable in one way or another. I never expected to see such a dark side to them,how easily they turned into a suspicous people.

Kira was silent as I was driving back to my house that day. Without a word, she retired to her room. What's going on? Why did she look so gloomy?

"Ah, to the plank with your worrying thoughts!" The captain had appeared in my living room, his feet propped up against the table as he leaned back in the chair.

"Hook?"

"As you see me. Now, how 'bout a game of Black Jack?" he said, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.

"To the death!" I proclaimed, and the game began.
We always played by money, one of our main rules was to keep it playing, no passes or retrys. any cards you had left over was the amount of money you forked over. It didn't last long though, and before I knew it, hook called

" Out! Let's see how much you've got in those pockets,"he chuckled, with an open hand in my direction.
I still had a stack of cards in my hand. 10 for a suit, 20 for a crown- when did I get so many eights?Hesitantly I fumbled through my wallet, still in shock from losing. This bugger's going to bleed me dry if I keep playing like this!

"Ho!Avast with your jib,look to the window!" Hook pointed out, where a figure was running toward my house.

Who is that?

Bang ! Bang!

Gunshots could only mean one thing.

"I see you! Don't try to hide you've been trespassing!

Swizterland.

And his prey? Kira. She must have snuck out without my noticing, and wandered to switzerland's estate who was presently shooting at her like a maniac. Good thing the bugger's got bad aim. I'm starting to think he blasts that thing for show. Seeing me, Kira changed directions and leapt through the window.

"You can't hide for long in Britain's house!"

I came through the front door to get his attention away from the window. A bullet nearly grazed my face when the door creaked open, splintering the wood.

"Stow the shooting Switzerland, It's only me!" He lowered his weapon only slightly, his finger still on the trigger. " Strike me a light, you could have killed me!" I tried to laugh it off to calm him down, but he still had that determined look in his eye. Seeing as I couldn't convince him to lower it any further, I spoke again.
" Now, what's all this about you blasting at innocent girls?"

" She was trespassing. Anyone that reads knows that!" He said, gesturing to the sign pinned to the nearby oak. I didn't like how fidgety he was acting, and he seemed more agitated with every word. I could have taken him on from there, But after going through so many wars because of petty fights, I came to a slight compromise.

"Look, I'll make it up to you. I'll lift that embargo for one day, if you let go of this tiny mishap?After all,you do need the money don't you?"

That clicked in his head quite well. He shook my hand, slung his gun back on his shoulder, and left. Relieved that I avoided a lot of trouble, I went back inside. A shattered porcelain vase sat in the hallway, the bottom some how still intact in kira's hands. Her eyes looked at me in despair. In her haste to get away from Switzerland Kira had knocked it over, and now she was trying to piece it back together.

"Put it down before you hurt yourself. I'll clean it up."

She shook her head, and groped for a larger piece. Why? Why are you doing this? what could make you so determined, so defiant? I kneeled down to her as she reached for another. Reacting to this, I grabbed her wrist.

"Just don't. I told you I'd clean it, and I'm a man of my word."

" I know you are. But I made this-" A hoarse cough came out. Kira averted her eyes, still ashamed. I let go of her wrist and she murmured a soft apology. Comforting her, I pulled out my handkerchief. She took it with a nod, wiping her teary face. Eventually she calmed, and let me help her stand. Kira refused to be walked back to her room though, and made her own way. As I looked for the broom, Questions played in my head. How did she leave so quietly? Why did she go to swiss's land? I didn't want to bring it up right after she had been accosted by one person. I'll ask later, when she's not quite so ruffled. People are always bound to speak when they don't feel targeted.

Where's that broom and dust pan? I opened the storage room door only to find it was devoid of all my cleaning supplies. A yellow note lay on a crate.

Hey dude!

My place is looking kinda junky and my new boss is getting elected soon,
so I thought I'd borrow some of your stuff. I'll bring it back whenever.

Thanks!

I couldn't believe it. That berk had made off with all of my stuff, all in one trip! Well that's not going to phase me! I thought. So I went straight to America's house.

But after an hour of driving, one fact made me reconsider.

Distance between my house and Alfred's : 3,000 miles.

( Unfortunately, history tells us that because of America's distance from Britain, it was easier to revolt and become an independent nation. Britain couldn't always be around to check up if America was following all his rules, like, paying his taxes. So America turned into a rebellious teenager, surviving on fast foods, turning him into the country we know him as today! )

I wish I would have remembered that before I got onto the highway.

So instead I made a call through a public telephone. After fiddling around with my pocketbook and depositing the coins, I dialed the number. The tone played for a minute, and just as I was going to place it back into the reciever, Someone picked up the phone. I brought it back to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Alfred, it's Arthur and I need those-"

" Yeah sorry, I can't come to the phone right now, I'll call back!" He laughed.

The beep followed shortly afterward, almost mockingly. After a length of time of conveying my message, I stopped recording, still steaming with frustration. Alfred would most likely check after election day. I'm going to have to look into some extra locks for my house when all this is over. When I went back to my car, Uni was sitting in the driver's seat so I pushed her over to the passenger's side. she snorted in dissent, but didn't resist. I ruffled her mane.
" I suppose you wanted to drive?" She nibbled my sleeve, pulling my arm back to her head. " Uni, I can't pay attention to you and the road. You're going to have to let go." Uni didn't relent, instead she nickered and knocked her head against my shoulder affectionately. A honk blared in my ear, and I turned with a screech, slamming on the brakes. The man hollered something foul out the window as they drove away.

"Uni! I told you! No more of that!" There was no answer. Just the rumble of the engine and the rattling A/C for the rest of the ride.

jib: sad look

The rules are different when it comes to a Brit's version of Black jack. it's played like crazy eights , and not like the American banking game.

so how was it? sorry about the delay, things got hairy at home, so, i had deal with that.