The mix of colours swirling around me dissolved into a dark purple, all the space surrounding me was dark purple and, even though I felt as if I was standing on some kind of floor or platform, my eyes were not so sure about that assumption.
Then, all of a sudden, bright yellow letters materialized right in front of my eyes, the colour contrast was ofuscating but I managed to read the words before they disappeared:
'A life for a life...'
"What?" I demanded, squinting my eyes. The possible meaning of the words scared me, so I turned around and walked away but, interrupting my escape, another set of words appeared, this time they were pure white:
'A time for a time...' Now, I was getting officially freaking out; I turned around and, in blood red letters it could be read:
'A memory for a memory...'
My eyes widened, what the hell was going on, where the hell was I? This time, I really started to run and I would have continued, had it not been for a little boy standing alone.
"Why? Why does everyone hate me?" he cried, tears falling freely from his big violet orbs, his blond-silvery hair shaking with every sob that left him.
"H-hey, are you okay?" I asked, still a little afraid from the prior occurrences.
"Huh!? Who are you?" he asked, looking up at me with a sniff.
"Me? I'm (f/n), what about you?" I said.
"My name's Ivan!" he answered, his little face suddenly lighting up. "Do you want to be my friend?"
"Sure, I guess..." I nodded dumbly, not quite understanding the turn out of the events. The child cheered, only for his expression to darken again just moments later.
"If that's the case, I have to ask you to do something!" stated the boy, a dark aura suddenly starting to raise from the ground around him.
"Alright, what is it you need?"
"You've seen the sentences from a while ago?!"
"Sure thing!"
"You have to make a trade!" he informed, the mysterious aura started to take form around him.
"W-what kind of trade?" I stuttered, stepping back in fear.
"A life for a life... A time for a time... A memory for a memory... All of them are trades you will have to do if you really wish to be my friend, but one other is the most important of all..." chanted the child. "A WORLD FOR A WORLD!"
With this last shout, the dark aura surrounding the kid was projected in my direction; startled, I stumbled backwards and, before I could notice, I had been swallowed by a blue, red and white vortex. The boy's last words echoed in my head:
"I hope us to become good friends! Have a good new life, (f/n)!"
A soft violet light enveloped me; when it disappeared, the food covering me had disappeared, my clothes were clean.
Then, out of a sudden, a wind started to pick up, I closed my eyes as it's unexpected appearance startled me; seconds later, I blinked my eyes opened at the cold I started to feel.
"What the..." the following words never left my throat; I was somewhere in a deadly cold forest covered in snow during what seemed to me to be the Winter. I started to walk, trying to find a way out of this place; don't get me wrong, the place was beautiful, but it could be the death of me, considering I was wearing Summer clothing. After god knows how long of wandering around, every move was starting to get painful; the cold was biting harshly at my skin and my whole body was starting to feel numb. It wasn't long before I fell down to the snowy ground.
'So much for the good new life...' my final thought as I felt unconsciousness taking over my body.
(3rd person's POV)
Not so far away, a rather large man walked around the forest; he had come out today to say hello to General Winter and to see the white scenery. This is what he always did whenever he was feeling a bit down; what wasn't usual in this routine of his and he honestly did not expect to see, was a female passed out on the snow in clothes that surely didn't fit the place or season.
He stepped closer to the fainted female; touching her skin, she was freezing, her pulse was barely existent, nevertheless it was still there.
"Hm... Maybe I should take her in..." mused the man, revealing a thick russian accent.
- Time skip -
Long hours passed before the girl even twitched; tired of waiting for her awakening, the russian left the guest room.
"I have a meeting with the other Allies, keep an eye on the girl!"
"We will, Mr. Russia!" acceded a brunette almost immediately.
Hours passed and the female didn't seem even close to awaken.
"D-do you think she d-died?" stuttered the youngest of the trio.
"No, she's still breathing, but she might be in a comma..." stated the estonian.
"Let's hope not, otherwise god knows what could happen to her." commented Toris with a shiver.
"God knows what will happen to her, whether in a coma or not!" corrected Eduard.
Meanwhile, in a certain guest room, (e/c) orbs were blinked open to face the unknown surroundings.
"Eh!? What place is this?" she wondered to herself. Confused, she got up and quietly, almost as if afraid, she stepped out of the room and walked down the rather large corridor.
She trudged along the halls and looking into several and various rooms, until she finally found one with someone inside. In that room, two males played chess, one being clearly younger than the other, while a third man watched. Thinking about whether or not to interrupt them and ask the questions bothering, she decided on it.
"E-excuse me?" she called, poking her head inside.
"Ah, you're awake!" stated the older player, a young man with glasses, obtaining a soft nod from the girl. "We were starting to think you had entered a coma or something."
"Are you feeling okay?" wondered the only brunette, the man who was watching the others play. "You were almost getting a pneumonia when you were brought!"
"I'm fine, thank you!" assured (f/n) with a smile and a light shake of her head. "But, if it's not much bother, could you please tell me where I am?"
"In the surroundings of Moscow, Mr. Ru-, I mean, Mr. Ivan found you fainted in the snow!" informed the older blond. "Why were you wearing Summer clothes in plain Winter, anyway?"
"I, uh... Well... I-I don't know..." stuttered the female. "I don't remember..."
The males traded worried glances.
"Where do you live?" it was the youngest of the trio who had finally find the courage to talk.
"That's easy!" a bright smile took over the (h/c) head's features, before it quickly disappeared. "It's... I live at... I... I..." Realization hit her; her memories were rapidly fading, she couldn't remember her home, family, friends...
I... can't remember... anything..." she admitted.
Despairing, she fell down to her knees, tears threatening to fall.
"There, there, I'm sure we'll find a solution..." comforted the brunette, softly patting her back. "I'm Toris, by the way, Toris Laurinaitis!" he presented. "And they are Eduard von Bock and Raivis Gallante!" he said, pointing respectively the older blond and the youngest of the three.
"You... remember y-your name?" stuttered the one who had been introduced as Raivis. Wiping the few tears that had escaped her eyes, she half-shook half-nodded her head and, in a whisper said:
"(F/n), I'm (f/n)..."
"That's a good thing!" stated Eduard with a smile, causing the girl to send him an inquiring look. "If you remember something, then your memories shouldn't be hopelessly lost!" he clarified; that statement earned him a light smile from the female.
"Thank you..." she whispered.
A couple of hours passed...
The Baltics were getting along extremely well with the girl; and the only factor worrying them in what concerned to the girl's presence, Mr. Russia, had yet to return home.
"Can I help?" she asked, watching the two blonds moving around in the kitchen, cooking.
"No, it's not necessary." Eduard brushed off, carrying ingredients from one place to the other.
"But I want to help~!" she whined.
"Well... Why don't you go ask Toris?" suggested the estonian.
"Yeah! I'll do that!" chirped the (nationality), hopping off the bench and skipping to the dining room, right beside the kitchen.
"Let's just hope Mr. Russia doesn't find out about this..." sighed Eduard, quickly returning his attention to the boiling soup. Raivis nodded in agreement.
"Hey, Toris~!" she called, moving to stand by the lithuanian. "Can I help?"
"I-I don't know if that's a good idea, Mr. Ivan might be mad if he finds you working!" he stuttered.
"But your boss isn't here yet and I'm bored, please let me help!" she begged, pulling out her best puppy eyes.
"O-okay, but you'll only help getting the table ready, nothing else!" he conditioned. In glee, (f/n) agreed and quickly concentrated herself on the task ahead.
The minutes passed rather slowly, and the sound of the front door opening and closing announced that this wasn't a lucky day for the baltics. The trio paled at the sight of a large russian stepping into the dining room as (f/n) arranged the napkins; the tall blond was in the company of a much smaller asian man.
"Is that her, aru?" asked the brunette newcomer, his tone low; the question was clearly being directed to the russian only.
"Da, but she was still unconscious when I left!" nodded Ivan, only then noticing that she was helping the terrified trio doing their tasks; a dark aura surrounded his bear-like form. "Why is she working?" he demanded.
"W-well..." stuttered Toris.
"I-it is not our f-fault...!" Eduard gulped.
"We shouldn't have let her help..." Raivis cried. Hearing the familiar voices panicking, (f/n) walked up to the newcomers.
"Oh, you must be Mr. Ivan, the boys' boss!" she stated, looking up to the russian. "I'm (f/n)!"
"I am sorry they made you work in your condition, I'll be sure to punish them later!" Ivan apologised.
"Made me? Punish?" blinked the girl, suddenly starting to chuckle. "Oh no, no, no, you got it all wrong! They didn't want me to help, but I convinced them to let me help, since I was getting a bit bored on my own."
"Huh, (f/n), would you mind giving me a hand in the kitchen?" requested the youngest of the males, after having received a certain look from Ivan.
"Oh, sure thing, Raivis!" nodded the female. "Come on, then!"
And so the duo left the four males to talk on their own in the dining room.
"She seems to be fine, Rus-... Ivan, aru. Why did you need me to come?" asked Yao.
"She had been sleeping for hours when I left!" stated the russian. "But I have to agree, she does appear to be fine now..."
The two remaining baltics traded glances.
"If I may, Mr. Russia, Mr. China she isn't all that well...!" stated the lithuanian, trembling lightly.
"What!?" Russia demanded harshly, leaving the two smaller countries whimpering.
"What is the problem?" wondered China, in a more nice manner than his ally.
"She doesn't remember anything except for her name, age and personality traits!" informed Estonia, blurting out everything he knew regarding the matter.
"Strange, I've never heard about such a memory loss, aru... Just the basic things about herself, you say, aru?" mused Yao; the baltic duo nodded vehemently.
"We thought that, maybe, finding her family we could take her to them, but..." started Lithuania.
"But?"
"She can't even remember her last name, how are we supposed to find any relative of hers?" finished the brown haired european; as he finished this sentence, the disappeared duo reentered the room, carrying two large pans and heavily placing them on the table. Returning his attention to the female guest, Ivan said:
"You will be staying with us until you remember something that can take us to your family, da?"
"Huh... O-kay, I think...!?" After dinner, (f/n) allowed Yao to examine her condition, since the russian seemed to trust him on this; from that day forward, the chinese man started visiting the household in order to see how she was handling things.
Two years passed and (f/n)'s memories never returned; but she created a new life, a life she considered to be nearly perfect.
Yao's often visits had turn the asian into a good friend for the girl, he was always nice and his advices and opinions were wise and relevant. He had also been the one telling her about them being countries and about the points she would have to be careful in concerning Russia; even though the large man had gained the habit of protecting the girl from everyone else, despite all her mistakes and carelessnesses.
The baltics, she would frequently help them in their tasks, despite Ivan's opposition to this, she couldn't care less.
Toris had become an amazing friend, he was loyal and had become her confident and one of her bestfriends; he also presented her to Poland, who immediately created a friendship bond with her.
Feliks was sweet and would often take her out for shopping or going to the cinema.
Raivis was almost like her little brother, it was too easy for her to forget that he was in fact much older than she was.
Eduard, her favourite nerd; the two of them would often play chess together and play with the mochis, it was always guaranteed fun.
Then, we had Ivan's sisters!
Ukraine had been mostly happy that her little brother had made a new friend, and a girl overall; Katyusha was a sweetheart who loved her siblings and wished for nothing but their well being; the two girls were quick to become friends.
Belarus had a difficult personality; now, not only did Natalya run away from Lithuania and run after her big brother, she had a new 'game', as she put it, that consisted of trying to hit (f/n), preferably with something sharp.
The (h/c) head also got to know the other Allies: France, America and England. She found them to be unexpectedly nice, having in account Russia's stories about them; Ivan especially disliked the american, who she actually thought to be nice and childishly cute.
England had acted like a gentleman and even invited her for a tea and a walk every once in a while.
France had initially freaked her out a bit, but, after getting to know him a little more, he was sweet and romantic and was very good giving advices concerning love and passion.
And, finally, there was Russia. The large man could be scary sometimes, it was the truth and she had to admit it; but he had his reasons to scare others away... After suffering such a harsh history, of which he could forget nothing, he had become lonely and scared and scaring others away was the only defense he had from suffering further; he scared the others because he was afraid of being hurt if he didn't do so... But he was also the more caring, the sweetest, the more loving person she had ever met; but also the saddest and the more damaged one...
Ivan was a strange person, but, with all the differences and good points and bad points and memories and everything that made of him who he was, (f/n) had come to love him; as you might guess, no one knew of her feelings, no one but Toris, her confident, that is... As much as the lithuanian told her how dangerous Russia could be, as much as he said that such a relationship could bring nothing but grief; nothing mattered anymore, after those two long years...
But let's go back to the story, shall we?
"What are you doing, (f/n)?" asked Estonia, seeing the girl preparing a cake. "You do know that Christmas was 5 days ago, don't you?"
"Of course I do, silly!" giggled the (h/c) head, placing white, red and navy blue frost on the cake.
"But this is not for Christmas, it's for Ivan!"
"Mr. Russia?" muttered the estonian, before something flashed in his mind. "Oh, that's right, today is Mr. Russia's birthday!"
"Exactly!" she nodded happily. "And we have to celebrate, it's not everyday that you make... Huh... How many years does he have, really?"
"I'm not certain myself!" admitted the blond. "Either way... Do you need any help?"
"Actually... Yes, I do. Can you get the living room looking at least a little bit more festive? And can someone pay attention to the door?" requested (f/n). "Katyusha should be arriving soon; I tried to get Natalya to come but she says she wants to celebrate with Ivan in private, I honestly don't get how she can be so obsessed, it's her brother we're talking about, for goodness sake..." she ended with a sigh.
The baltics quickly started and finished the task they had been given and, just as the (h/c) head had predicted, it didn't take long for the ukrainian to arrive; now only a certain russian was missing.
"You're so nice, (f/n)!" cheered Ukraine. "Doing this for brother, he'll be so happy!"
"It's nothing much..." muttered the (h/c) head out of embarrassment. "I just think it's fair for him to celebrate his birthday, just a small gesture but I believe it's important for everyone to feel they actually belong somewhere. My opinion is that even the smallest of things can contribute for the gain of that same feeling, or for it's loss..."
"You're too kind!" chuckled Lithuania, who had been listening to her words. "Even more than I am!"
"Well... It's the least I can do if we have in account all the troubles I get..."
"You cause no problems at all, sunflower!" came a familiar voice from the doorway.
"Mr. Russia!" exclaimed the baltics.
"Welcome home, Ivan and congratulations!" wished Katyusha, giving her little brother a hug. Smiling, (f/n) observed the siblings' moment, and, only after they parted, said:
"Happy Birthday, Ivan!"
"Thank you..." he thanked, taking the small girl in a hug.
The celebration took it's time but all the six seemed to be enjoying. Time passed quicker than expected; soon, Katyusha returned home and the trio started to clean and organize everything. Traversing the door that lead the greenhouse, Russia found the (h/c) haired female standing right in the middle of his sunflowers, but looking at the snowy weather outside through a window; silently, he approached her from behind.
"You didn't need to do it." he stated.
"I wanted to!" she said, then turning around to face him. "And I'm sorry that last year I didn't know when your birthday was, I would've done it then had I known!"
"Normally no one but my sisters remember my birthday... " he murmured.
"Yeah, I noticed!" she chuckled. "But I'm going to promise you something..."
"What?"
"Give me your pinky finger!" she demanded, raising her own. The russian did as he was told, they laced their fingers and, promptly, (f/n) declared:
"I promise that from now on, I will never forget your birthday. This day will be celebrated for as long as I live!"
At the last sentence, the male's smile dropped and his expression turned bitter.
"For... as long as you... live..." he echoed lowly.
"Hm...!? What's wrong?" wondered the female.
"You..." he muttered, falling down to his knees. "You're a human..."
"Oh..." she released, finally getting his point.
"I... You'll die..." he sniffed, suddenly throwing his arms around her torso in a pitiful and hopeless manner. "I don't want you to die, I want you to stay, here, with me, forever!"
"I-Ivan, I... I don't know what to say..."
"The truth!"
"What?" she blinked in confusion.
"I want you to tell me the truth." he requested, before gulping rather loudly. "Do you... Do you like me?"
The question caught the girl out of guard. She didn't like him, she loved him; but wouldn't the truth end up to be an even stronger blow to him? What was she supposed to say?
Misinterpreting her silence, heavy tears fell from the violet orbs as he refused to let his grip on her to falter.
The humid feeling of her now wet shirt and the intensified sniffs and shudders caused her to leave her thoughts for now. Seeing him in such a state, she couldn't lie to him, she needed to tell the truth. A small hand softly started to caress the male's snowy blond locks.
"I love you, Ivan, and don't you dare to ever think otherwise, ever..." she whispered, tilting his face up with her hand so he could look up into her eyes and understand that she really meant every word that left her lips. Tears also ran down her cheeks; her tears joining his on the ground under them. His eyes widened at the confession and, instinctively, he pulled her down to meet him in the floor and positioning the girl so her head was placed on the crook of his neck and his face was buried in her hair as the loving words abandoned his lips after so long:
"Ya lyublyu tebya, sunflower..."
"But I'm afraid of loosing you to death...!" he admitted after they parted, looking worriedly into her (e/c) orbs.
"We'll find a solution! You'll see..." she assured with a smile, softly caressing his cheekbone.