div class="preface group" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 19.4443px;"
h2 class="title heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 2.143em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.429em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; clear: right; text-align: center;"The Roots Run Deep/h2
h3 class="byline heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; text-align: center; background: transparent;"a style="color: #666666; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 19.4443px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" /users/otakuashels/pseuds/otakuashels" rel="author"otakuashels/a, a style="color: #666666; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 19.4443px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" /users/Shuriken7/pseuds/Shuriken7" rel="author"Shuriken7/a/h3
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div id="chapters" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 19.4443px;"
div id="chapter-9" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; text-align: center; background: transparent;"br /a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 19.4443px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" /works/2422280/chapters/10065788"Chapter 9/a: Changes and Returns/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; background: transparent;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; word-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England finally returns to North America to find that while some things haven't changed, his little colony is growing up faster than he ever expected./p
/blockquote
/div
/div
div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1088.63px; float: none; word-wrap: break-word;"
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"January 1716/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"The frontier between New France and British America/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The snow dropped heavy and wet with a plop. America's eyes darted towards the shrubs where the sound had come. He stepped through the knee deep snow. His body had recently stretched again, shooting him up another few inches in height. The last glimpse he'd gotten of himself in a reflective surface showed that his face was starting to match the older boys in the towns. If he was a human he would likely be 13 or 14 years old. His adolescent limbs cut through the snow as he walked through the clearing in the forest./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The snowball hit the back of his head and soaked into the wool of his coat. He turned around, Canada grinned at him from the other side of the meadow. "How do you do that?" America asked./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Canada shrugged and then bent down to gather another fist full of snow. America wasn't going to give him the chance. He darted across the snow, stepping quickly through the trenches he'd made with his footsteps. Canada looked up just as America slammed into him, tackling him into the nearby snowbank. They laughed as they tumbled, trying to bury each other in the snow drifts that collected near the trees./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Neither of them would call it hiding, but they had needed an escape. The people on the continent they shared had been in turmoil with one another. France and England had sent letters telling the two that they should not play together until the issue was resolved, but neither had really understood. They only had each other as far as they knew, so they had left the letters folded in the writing desks in the houses that had been set up for them and left. They had hoped that the older brothers they had not seen for many years would perhaps return in the spring and help them with all the troubles./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"While they played though, the problems faded away and they could be the children their bodies reflected, although far more self sufficient than any human child would be. America just managed to get the better of Canada in one of the snow drifts, the slightly smaller boy making muffled noises as America sat on his back./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What?" he asked, moving so that Canada could lift his head./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""It will be dark soon." he said. America looked up at the sky and the fingers of sunlight were starting to lose to the stars and a large snow cloud that threatened to cover their tracks in the night./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Yeah, we should head back." America said, climbing off the other boy and helping him out of the snow. They fetched their snowshoes and hurried home, still trying to get each other with covert snowballs. Their giggles echoed off the bare trunks of the trees as they made their way to the little cabin they had built during the summer. They made it to the space and stopped. A horse was tied up inside the lean-to that protected the firewood from the winter drifts. Smoke drifted from the stone chimney that leaned slightly to one side, they had not quite mastered stone masonry when it was built./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Qui est-ce/span?" said Canada./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I don't who it is, but I do know one way to find out." America replied. Canada looked at him and nodded. They crept forward together through the snow, stepping lightly so they wouldn't sound any different than a deer creeping closer to the house. They came around the side, there was a spot of loose chinking between the logs they had been meaning to fix. America reached up with his gloved fingers and tugged at the rag they had been using to block the cold from seeping inside./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He pressed his eye to the hole, Canada close by. They could not both look at once, but America caught sight of a person sitting in one of the wooden chairs by the fire. His hair was unbound and he was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. America moved aside and let Canada look./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Is that who I think it is?" he whispered./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Monsieur France... He looks sad..." Canada said, nodding at America's questioning look, "We should go inside." After stuffing the rag back into the hole, they walked around to the other side of the cabin, making noise this time, stamping snow off their boots and brushing it off their coats under the eaves of the roof. They pushed open the door and feigned surprise. France had collected himself and did not portray any of the sadness the boys had seen when he did not know they were looking. The calm only lasted a minute as his eyes widened and he took them both in. America shuffled his feet, uncomfortable with the examination, after all, England had told him he should not be speaking to France. Should he go somewhere else?/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Before he could make a decision of whether he should leave Canada with his elder brother, France spoke. "You boys have gotten so tall!" He stood up from the chair and walked closer. Canada immediately embraced him, but America hung back./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Amerique/span, what is wrong?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""England said that I should not talk to you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France stretched out an arm so that he could welcome the other North American into the embrace, "It is all right now, we are not fighting here anymore."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""But your people hurt mine." said America, "You made Canada's people hurt mine." Canada looked at him, America looked back, not wanting to back down. England would not want him too./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France sighed and dropped his arm. "As much as we would like to shield you, that is not the way the world works. I am not here as a combatant, America. You will someday understand that although our people may fight, we do not have to. I'm here as a brother, I wanted to see you and Canada." Canada's arms tightened around France's waist./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I don't understand." America replied./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Canada's voice was soft, "We did not fight even though we were supposed to, maybe that is what Monsieur France means?" France patted Canada softly on the head./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Oui, mon bon fils./span" Canada smiled, flushing slightly from the praise. America still was not sure, but he settled himself on the other chair listening to Canada and France speak to each other. He knew some of the words, but he did not join in. He could never get his French to sound quite right./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America sat for a while, but got hungry and headed towards their small cupboard to find something to eat as France and Canada continued to talk./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Pourquoi ĂȘtes-vous venu ici/span?" he heard Canada ask. America wanted to know why France had come too, he had not gotten to see England for nearly a century, his letters always spoke of how busy he was. France must certainly be just as busy, America thought. France was silent for a few minutes. America turned and watched him./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The chair was turned away from where he stood, so he could only see the back of France's head. Canada had pulled up a stool and sat close beside him. His face was turned up to his elder brother in concern./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Mon roi est mort./span" France replied, his voice quiet./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Who is dead?" America asked, blurting it out from curiosity. France turned slightly in the chair to give him a sidelong look./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""My king, America. He had been my king for 72 years, that is a long time for a human." He took a deep breath and continued, "When we lose a human we care about, we often want to see our own families. We do not leave each other nearly so often." France smiled and ruffled Canada's hair./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""England never gets sad when his kings die. They die all the time." He ticked them off on his fingers. Since the last time he had seen him, England's ruler had changed seven or eight times, America wasn't entirely sure. He just knew that the royal colonies got new pictures of the person every time it changed./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France gave him a stern look. "You do not know him as well as I do. He would scold you if he heard you say such a thing." America turned away. He could feel his ears burning, youthful pride pricked from the reprimand, as he finished making his food./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""He would come here if he was sad, wouldn't he?" he asked, turning back to France. Part of him feared that France would laugh or tell him that England did not want to see him the way France had wanted to see Canada./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France's expression softened, "He does love you. I have not seen him for some time, but he will make his way to you when he is able."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America stared down at his food, jealousy tightening his throat. He wished England were here instead of France so that he could sit beside him and listen to stories. He brooded in one of the dark corners of the room while he finished eating. Canada was trying to distract France from his sadness with a story about the bear that had stolen all of the fish from their lines two weeks ago. It had been quite a negotiation to get their fish hooks back. America agreed that it was a funny story, but he was bothered by what France had said./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"It was not until later, when they were laying down to sleep that America thought of something. His back was pressed up to Canada's in the narrow bed as they made room for France. He faced the hearth and could hear the other two nations breathing softly./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I won't be sad." he said to the dark room. He jumped a little as France reached across Canada and put a hand on his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You'll understand when you are older."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"I want to understand now. And I want England./span America thought to himself as he fell asleep./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"August 1719/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Off the coast of Florida/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Sacrebleu/span! So it was true! I thought Spain was telling tales when I last asked him to surrender."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England glared at France's surprised visage in the looking glass of the cabin. He had a pair of barber's scissors in his hand and was half-tempted to grab the other man and stab him with it. His eyes shifted back to his own reflection. The ocean had tanned his skin from the years he'd been on it. A scar was fading on his cheek from a cutlass belonging to a crew member of an unlucky prize. He was still wet from having his ship sank beneath his feet courtesy of French cannonballs to the hull. It was instinct that had made him grab for a floating board and then accept being pulled aboard the new ship./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He'd only been in the brig a moment before the captain recognized him. England could not recall the man himself, but it must have been from what felt like another lifetime. The ship's captain was probably in his forties, so maybe when the man had been a boy? He'd accepted the hospitality before ever realizing that the French nation was also on board./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He'd needed it, putting his ship in the fleet of Queen Anne's Revenge, led by the now notorious - and executed - pirate Blackbeard, pillaging ships from the Caribbean to the coasts of North America. He had looked at the coastline hundreds of times, desire to see America clenching his stomach, but not being able to set foot on shore. He nearly fancied himself as cursed as Davy Jones, unable to set foot on land more than once a decade to see those he loved. He told himself that he did not want to set a bad example for the boy, but the truth was he could not face him with any of the anger over the last several decades chewing at him like a dog with a bone./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He trimmed at the hair that had become bleached by salt and sun, trying to make his appearance more respectable. He had not expected that the vessel he'd attacked for plunder would be one of France's naval ships in disguise, looking for unsuspecting Spaniards. He had settled his deep red captain's coat over the back of a high backed chair and carefully unwound beads and shining coins from his hair as he grudgingly accepted his return to civilization. He was caught like a rat in a trap./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France closed the door behind him, hiding them from view of the curious men on the ship deck. The wood creaked and the furniture shifted slightly as a wave hit the side of the ship, now anchored off the coast of Spanish Florida. England would not have sailed into the Gulf at all, but in a bout of drink and an ironic wind he'd had half a mind to attack New Orleans, rum dream that it was. He did not want to consider that part of him wanted to get caught by one of the other nations. Piracy had become a love affair that dragged him deeper and deeper, as intoxicating as the drink they carried in barrels below deck./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Give me those before you cut your throat." France said, grasping England's hand and wresting the silver scissors from him. "Sit." He pulled a stool from under a nearby cabinet and pushed England down upon it. England could not help but remember a moment centuries ago when they had sat just like this, France taming his hair and forcing him back to a reasonable state./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What has been going on?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""We are allies against Spain."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Good to know I was helping the cause everytime I sank one of that bastard's ships. Just us, or are there others?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Of course there are others. Prussia sends his regards."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England made a disbelieving noise deep in his throat, "I'm sure he does."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""He said, and I quote, that island brat talks big but he needs to get back here and prove it." England snorted at France's impersonation of the German./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You can tell him I owe him a punch in the nose."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""That is a fight where you would end up bleeding too, mon ami." England had to grudgingly admit that France was right. He took a moment to consider whether it would still be worth it. He savored an imagined image of the other nation's surprise that he would dare to do such a thing. They sat in companionable silence as France finished. "I would offer you something else to wear, but I get the feeling that a French uniform would only be ruined for you wearing it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England gave him a dirty look. "My clothes will be fine until you can put me on a British vessel. Especially since you so abruptly sunk my ship."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I could do you one better."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm really not in the mood."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France waved a hand dismissively, "There is plenty of time for that when you don't stink like brine. I was thinking I could drop you off at a port in your colony. You could see little span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Amerique/span."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England felt the flash of want that had buried itself in his breast so many times when he was within landing distance of that shore. It echoed the excitement he'd felt when he first set foot ashore in the New World over a century ago. He picked at a loose thread on his shirt sleeve./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You do not want to see him?" France asked, taking England's hesitation as a refusal./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England stood up from his seat and paced. He finally settled himself against the bulkhead. The captain must have fancied images from home, a painting of French farmland clung steadfast to the wall stained at the corners from water. England turned and pressed his shoulder blade into the corner of the painting's frame. The pain kept him grounded. England eyed the other nation from across the captain's room. "In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate." It was a diversion and the twitch of France's lips betrayed that he realized it too./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I did not think you liked Descartes." France crossed his arms and watched him, "Are you saying that you are afraid to learn the truth of what has been going on for him the last 100 years and want to keep your image of him?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""No." England replied immediately, "Maybe, God, I don't know. I've been drowning Francis."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You certainly look it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You know what I mean."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France sighed. "I do." He walked across the room. England noted that the dark blue navy coat suited him well, although France never seemed to be as easy on the ocean as England himself. He followed England across the room and leaned beside him, England could feel the warmth of him through his wet clothes. "I went to see them a few years ago. I was afraid too, I had this vision of Canada as he was before. Small and innocent, oui?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England nodded. He had held to the image of America as he had last seen him, a child, begging him not to leave./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""They have grown so much. Almost as tall as we are. I could not believe it. I expected them to stay small for centuries, like you did."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England did not say anything, fixing his eyes on the blurred sea through the salt pocked glass across the room./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France continued, "But when I held Canada in my arms I did not care. He may be taller now, but he's still the boy I know. America will be the same."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England was silent for a few minutes. He heard France take a breath to speak again but he stopped him by raising a hand. "I don't need you to tell me that. Take me there."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"September 1720/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited near the docks. A fishing ship had brought the letter yesterday. It told him to expect a frigate at the harbor. It was signed by England and America's heart had leapt into his throat. He was certain his pulse had not slowed the entire night, which he'd spent trying to clean his rooms by candlelight. He wanted to run down to the water with the human boys that were calling to the sailors on board the ships that were closer in the harbor, no doubt calling to fathers and brothers. The other boys were probably only 13 or 14 years old and his lanky form would have fit right in with them./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He waited as the ship drifted closer. A longboat was lowered from one side, the ship apparently was not intending to stay long. He sprinted out to the docks, darting between the men who reached up to grab the anchoring ropes from sailors aboard a larger merchant ship. A heavy plank was lifted and leaned up alongside the ship so the passengers could disembark making way for cargo to be unloaded. America dodged this to make his way to where the smaller boat would pull alongside the dock. He could see England's blond head coming up the ladder, striding onto the dock. America restrained himself for the moment, excited to show England how grown up he'd become./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England walked right past him, not seeing him at all./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America could not believe it. "England!" he shouted. England turned around. His expression showed confusion, looking for the person who had called out for him. America waved at him and in a moment surprise spread across his face./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""America? Is that you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America grinned. England looked as though he had been struck by lightning, the way he gaped at him. America came closer and stood in front of him, measuring their heights. He was almost as tall as England now. His smile widened. He wrapped his arms around the older nation's neck and pulled him into a hug./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England watched the teenage boy across from him as they ate. A woman in a nearby house had taken pity on the boy living alone and would bring him meals every so often. Upon seeing England, the "famed older brother who did business abroad", she had left and then returned to make them a meal. England had asked her to stay, but she smiled at him and said she wouldn't want to impose on a family reunion. America talked through each bite telling England stories of everyday minutiae and the interesting experiments of some man named Franklin down in Philadelphia./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""America, slow down. I can't understand you when your mouth is full." England suppressed a smile as America paused after taking a particularly large mouthful of bread. He looked like a squirrel caught raiding another's midden. England did chuckle then, genuine mirth breaking out of him. It almost hurt, he had not laughed in a long time./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America took a big swallow. "I was worried that you wouldn't like the way I sound."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""The way you sound?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Well, I don't sound like you. Canada doesn't sound like France either, France was trying to teach him to pronounce words right. You won't do that will you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England considered this for a moment. "I will have to find you a tutor," America's face fell, "But not right away, I will educate you while I'm here."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America chewed thoughtfully, he was on his fourth plate of food and showed no sign of slowing, he took another big swallow, "I think I'm doing okay. I've been spending time at Harvard College, they let me use the library."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England frowned, America did not see it as he had turned back to his food. He would have to investigate this school further. It had been chartered here in the colonies, who knew what they were teaching. He felt a pang of regret that he had not come sooner, but there was nothing for it. Obviously, the world was marching on. America's rapid growth was proof of it./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Hmmm?" he said, coming out of his thoughts at the sound of America's voice./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What are we going to do tomorrow?" America repeated, his bright blue eyes expectant./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England gave the boy a half smile, "You will have to show me around. Things have change quite a bit it seems."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America grinned, no doubt proud of his growth. England could not help but feel a bit of pride as well./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"January 1722/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"New York City/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The winter snows pressed against the sides of the frame house and through the front windows England was able to see the white piles drifting on the edges of the roadway, pushed there by the movement of people coming and going. It was the third winter he would endure in North America, but he looked forward to the cold and the quiet. It was impossible for most armies to wage war in the winter, and there were no guaranteed safe passage across the ocean./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He closed the heavy inner shutters before turning into the room and back toward the warm hearth. America sat near the fire, having dragged his writing desk close by. He was bundled in layers of clothing, a woolen hat covering his hair, and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He sat hunched over the book England had instructed him to read and shivered slightly./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England frowned, concerned over America's chill. Even when he was small some winters fazed America far more than others. Some he would be out in the snow as if it were nothing to him, but others he would sit huddled like this as if the very snow had seeped into his bones and did not allow him to warm up. Perhaps it was a sign this winter would be a long one. He dropped his own coat on top of America's shoulders and the boy looked up at him./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Do all of the countries in this book have people like us?" America asked, pointing at a map of the known world. England nodded./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Yes."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""And you know all of them?" England shook his head in the negative./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Some of them like to keep to themselves." He pointed at some of the nations of Asia, "The people on these lands are very different from us and I have only met a few of them while traveling."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I want to meet them." America insisted./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England smiled. "Perhaps someday you may. Keep reading, my boy, I will be testing your comprehension later." America made a face showing him exactly he felt about exams. England gave him a stern look and America turned reluctantly back to the book, any hopes for a break from his studies lost. England walked to his own writing desk to read over the letters he had received on the last ship. He sorted them and then broke the seal on an update from his brother, Wales./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The letter was several pages and informed him of the goings on in Europe. He raised his eyebrows as he continued to read. "Does Prussia think to rule eastern Europe? Picking a fight with Sweden now is he?" he mused aloud./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Who are Prussia and Sweden?" America asked, looking up at him over the large book at the writing desk. England appraised him. America was getting that look in his eye that he would find an excuse to sneak off if England didn't give him something else to work on. The boy had no head for staying all day indoors./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""If I show you their homes, will you continue to study quietly for the next hour? And I believe you met Sweden once, but perhaps you were too little..." America nodded and shrugged. "Well, then come over here, a new gift for the house arrived this morning that should help demonstrate national boundaries. It's in the front hall in a crate. Please unpack it and bring it to the drawing room."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America jumped out of his chair, all youthful long legs and headed out of the room. England finished his letter and made some notes of what he would reply to his brother before walking into the room. England left the room and walked down the hall to the drawing room, moving the candlestick from the small tea table to make it into a stand for what he sent America to fetch./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The boy returned momentarily. He sat it on the table and stepped back. "It's a globe. The governor has one in his study."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm sure he does, but this one is made from the most recent advances in cartography." England spun it gently and the orb circled. It was a fine piece of craftsmanship, the wood had been painted with a meticulous eye to detail and the brass stand and arm had delicate metalwork roses all along it. He put his finger on the globe to stop its progress, his finger over the word Moscow. For a moment, he thought about how much borders had shifted over the last hundred years, sometimes he barely recognized the shapes on the map himself. "This is Sweden. What do you remember from the book you have been reading?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""His weather is really cold." England sighed, and was about to add more when America interrupted, "So where's Prussia?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England turned the globe just slightly to the right, so that his finger moved west along the continent. "He is from here." He pointed at the Kingdom of Prussia. "I don't know him that well, although we have been allies in the past."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Whose this?" America asked, then got close and read the words, "Poland."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""And Lithuania." He pointed at several other nation names within the border./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Why are they all together."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Currently, they live together. Sometimes when our humans make alliances, we come together like a family."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""But what does that make me, your King is my king, right?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You are a colony, America. I am building an empire." England replied. America seemed to consider this, spinning the globe so that it turned even further to the right./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""This is you." He pointed at the island of Great Britain. England nodded. America spun the globe even further westward, across the Atlantic. He pointed at the color that represented British holdings in North America, and this is me. What's over here?" He pointed at the rest of the North American continent, or as much of it as cartographers had been able to surmise./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Well, Spain has colonies along here. But the rest is probably just wilderness." England shrugged. It was possible that there was something worthwhile, but there was simply too many unknowns to warrant any such ventures. America leaned on his elbows on the table and examined the New World. England left him to order afternoon tea from a servant and came back to find the colony still contemplating the map./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Come, America, you said you would get back to your studies." With his words, America blinked up at him. He made a show of reluctance upon going back into the study, but when England found him again, the young colony had his nose dutifully in the book./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England smiled, and settled back into his own work./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"August 1744/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Connecticut/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America leaned back against the apple tree, he had been in the orchard all morning until the heat of the sun had driven all of the boys out of the sun to seek sanctuary in the shade. He pulled out a copy of the book England had ordered out of his satchel and sat down to read it. He had been learning more and more about science recently and this man with the funny name, Linnaeus, had some really interesting ideas./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Ah, there you are, America."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""England!" America smiled and jumped up from his spot, catching England in a hug. "I thought you would be at the assembly all day."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""It wrapped up early, there seemed to be a consensus that no one wanted to be in that building when the heat set in for the afternoon. The farmer's lad told me you were up here helping." America went back to settle down in the shade and England sat down beside him. "Taking a break are you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Just until the sun starts down the other way. I was reading that new book you brought." England looked at him curious, he peered at the title./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Learning about natural history with Linnaeus then are you?" he said. America grinned at him and nodded./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""The animals he talks about are really magnificent. ...I want to see all of them someday!" England smiled at his enthusiasm, and it pleased America. His smile widened. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Want to become an explorer do you?" br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Yes, just like you." England settled down beneath the tree beside him, a small smile still on his lips. America liked making England smile, he got the feeling that it was not England's usual expression unless he was around him. England pulled out a stack of letters from his satchel and set to work sorting through them. America turned back to the book, interested in the description of long-necked animals on the African continent. America scooted closer to England so he can lean on him as he read. After a while he found himself less focused on the words on the page on on the little twitches and noises from England as he read the letters. He grew still at one, America wondered if what was within was serious. England had gotten a lot of letters lately, he always seemed cooped up at his writing table, a candle always lit to melt the sealing wax as he completed letter after letter. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Are you going to leave soon?" America asked, looking up at England. England looked back, a surprised expression on his face. He wrapped an arm around America's shoulders, a gesture of affection that would have normally made America feel happy. America could feel something off about it, it was one of the most formal hugs he'd ever received from the elder. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"What makes you say that, America?"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America frowned. "I'm not a baby anymore. You can tell me. I won't cry." His voice wavered slightly, giving him away, but he tried to look determined, as opposed to worried. England seemed to consider his words. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"No, America, you are not as little as you used to be. But you are not ready to deal with all of this." He held up the letters and America pushed away from England's embrace. He turned and looked down at England. England's expression was one America had never seen directed at him and it made his stomach twist. England was genuinely shocked at his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Just because you don't think I'm big enough to know doesn't mean you are keeping me safe. What about France's people attacking mine at the Battle of Ackia. You not telling me you and he were fighting again didn't keep me from getting hurt." Before England could reply he turned on his heel and ran down the path through the orchard. He didn't stop until he had gone all the way down the lane to his Concord home, a small frame house that he himself had white-washed as soon as the snows had melted. America liked this house because it was small enough not to need servants. He was grateful for that because he knew he would have to fix the door later, it had come off its hinges when he'd pulled it shut too forcefully. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The parlor was cleaner than he'd left it that morning. England had no doubt cleaned up some of his things that he'd left laying about when he'd decided to escape into the great outdoors. One of his little soldier figures had been sat upright on the tea table and America snatched it into his fist and sat down in England's brocade arm chair near the hearth. As it was summer no fire burned, but the discoloration of the flames clung to the stones. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America had grown too big to curl up in England's chair as he had done in the years he was gone. He tried now anyway, his teenaged limbs gangling over the edges as he lay his head on the arm. England had insisted last week that it would need to be reupholstered. America could feel the threadbare cloth under his cheek, but it would not be the same if England changed it. The afternoon sun came spearing through the linen curtains and bothered his eyes. He shifted in the chair so that his back was to the room and his view was filled with the red, white, and rare blue threads of the chair. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The anger that he had felt at England did not cool and laying here now, he felt it was justified. He had told England the truth, even if the other probably did not like it. Facts were facts, he got hurt whether or not he knew what was coming. And despite all of the military might of England's growing empire around the world, he would not always be able to be there. I have to be stronger... America thought. Maybe if he sees that I can fight as well as he can he'll start letting me help. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /It had become obvious to America, after the sheer joy of England's return had worn off years ago that England was determined to still see the little boy from the wilds. England seemed suspicious of his universities and did not seem all that impressed with America's discoveries. England was interested in them, but America could feel his men and women's frustration as their works were scrutinized across the Atlantic and then published under an Englishman's name. America was fond of looking at the globe and the Atlantic did not seem so wide, why was that side so much more important then? He had asked England if he could go with him on a short trip England had taken not too long ago, but he had been refused. England said it was hard for your nations to be outside their borders and therefore America should stay put. America plucked at a loose thread in the back of the chair, the excuse England had used seemed thin, but he had not thought to question it class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The door opened and closed again, the broken hinge squeaking. He heard England's sigh as he attempted to get the door to stay in the frame. He must have managed it, or given up, because it was only another minute or so until England's footsteps echoed on the wooden floor and then were muffled by the Oriental rug he'd gotten from a trade with India some years ago. America could remember staring at the intricate design on the rug and watching as the colors weaved in and out of each other. When he asked England if he could trade with India to get such things himself, England had again told him that it would be better if he just dealt with the other nations. England took the chair that America usually sat in, the legs creaking a little beneath his weight. America waited for the lecture, but none came. Just the occasional sound of England shifting in his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The afternoon light lengthened and brushed the top of the chair where America stayed, as silent as the elder. The other chair creaked again as England stood up, America wondered for a moment whether he was going to pull him from the chair and strike him for being obstinate and childish, but still nothing. Curious, America shifted so that he could look over his shoulder and see what England was up to. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England's back was to him. He stood in parade rest, his hands clasped behind his back and observed a sketch that hung from the wall. It was one that England had made years ago, a sketch of the ships in the harbor of New York City, the masts towering as high as the trees they once class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I'm sorry for yelling at you." America said, England turned his head so he could listen to him, "But I'm still mad at you." England's shoulders straightened before he turned around. America righted himself in the chair, assuming the pose he'd seen England take when visitors had come to their parlors up and down the coast. He wanted England to see that he was big enough to have his own ideas, and that they were worth being listened to. England came back to the the smaller chair and settled in it once again. He sat as straight as America was, trying to look class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I am leaving, America. You are right to be angry. I should have warned you." America's heart felt as thought it had plummeted to the floor. He had not wanted to be right about class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"When will you be back?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I do not know. There is a war brewing on the Continent and I need to be present. France will not stop harrying us here if I stop him over there." England said. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I want to come with you." England shook his head. "I can help!"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England's lips twitched in a small smile. For the life of him, America could not tell what the elder found so amusing. "I need you to stay here where I know you are safe. I am sure once I'm gone Canada will be allowed to spend time with you again, you won't be alone."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I'll be fine, right?" England flinched slightly at the sarcasm in America's voice. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"You assured me you were not a baby not two hours ago." England bit back. America stood up from his chair. He turned towards the door, intent on stalking out as soon as he received an answer to his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"When are you leaving?"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"At the end of the week." Two days. England would be gone again. America nodded and walked out of the room, intent on the stairs. He flew up them as quickly as he could and pushed his chair against the door to bar any entry England might attempt. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /He crawled under his quilt and let the upset overtake class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /~*~br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The room suited America just fine for the next two days. He could hear England's step pause outside of his door as though the elder was going to knock and check on him. He could imagine England on the other side of the door, hand raised to knock, but then his footsteps would begin again. America heard him packing and hauling his trunks down the stairs, and still he could not pull himself up to help. He did not want to have any hand in England leaving him. It was the morning that he was going to set out that England finally spoke to him class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"America, I am leaving. Will you come out and say goodbye?"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /Silence. America felt stiff and could not move from his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I will miss you. I will write to you. I-" England seemed unsure of what else to say, and he only waited a moment more before turning down the stairs and walking out of the house. America lay there longer, hearing the wagon pull away from the house and out towards the docks that would take England away from him. His body seized up with a desire to move and he scrambled from the spot he'd occupied and out into the street. He began to dash down the streets and over the fences of the neighbors so that he would be able to beat the horse and wagon to the docks. As angry as he still felt with England, he did not want him to leave without any words of goodbye. His voice had been frozen in his throat, but he was determined to find some. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /His lungs burned as he skidded to a stop near the docks, trying to find the ship that would take England back to his lands so that he could ready for a new war. There. He saw England disembarking from the wagon and directing the dockhands to carry his trunk on board the ship. America flew towards him and slammed into England's back, wrapping his arms around the older nation's chest. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I'm going to miss you too." America said, his voice muffled in the back of England's summer jacket, the fabric soft on his face. England twisted in America's grip so he could hug him around the shoulders. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Now, now we don't want to make a scene do we?" England said to the top of America's head, his own arms not loosening even as he chastised America for being too affectionate in public. It took several more minutes for America to step back, wiping at his eyes with his cotton shirt sleeves. England looked a little watery eyed as well. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Good luck, England." America said, trying to look braver than he class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"With any luck this conflict will be over quickly and I will return."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America nodded. England patted him on the head. "Next time I'm going to be big enough to help you."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England's smile slipped, he gripped America by the shoulder. "Do not wish to grow up too fast." He pulled America close for an embrace and kissed him on the top of the head. "Be a good boy while I'm gone." br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America nodded, "Goodbye England."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England smiled and nodded back. He was soon on the ship and America watched until it had sailed beyond the horizon, wishing he knew when England would be back./p
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h2 class="title heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 2.143em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.429em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; clear: right; text-align: center;"The Roots Run Deep/h2
h3 class="byline heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; text-align: center; background: transparent;"a style="color: #666666; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 19.4443px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" /users/otakuashels/pseuds/otakuashels" rel="author"otakuashels/a, a style="color: #666666; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 19.4443px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" /users/Shuriken7/pseuds/Shuriken7" rel="author"Shuriken7/a/h3
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div id="chapters" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 19.4443px;"
div id="chapter-9" class="chapter" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"
h3 class="landmark heading" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; height: 0px; clear: both; color: transparent;"Chapter Management/h3
div class="chapter preface group" style="border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.5em 3em; padding: 0.643em 0.643em 0px; float: none;"
h3 class="title" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; text-align: center; background: transparent;"br /a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 19.4443px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" /works/2422280/chapters/10065788"Chapter 9/a: Changes and Returns/h3
div id="summary" class="summary module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.643em; position: relative; width: auto; float: none; min-height: 5em;"
h3 class="heading" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: 400; font-style: inherit; font-size: 1.286em; font-family: Georgia, serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.5375em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; background: transparent;"Summary:/h3
blockquote class="userstuff" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1em; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0.643em; padding: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; word-wrap: break-word;"
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England finally returns to North America to find that while some things haven't changed, his little colony is growing up faster than he ever expected./p
/blockquote
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/div
div class="userstuff module" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 1088.63px; float: none; word-wrap: break-word;"
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"January 1716/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"The frontier between New France and British America/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The snow dropped heavy and wet with a plop. America's eyes darted towards the shrubs where the sound had come. He stepped through the knee deep snow. His body had recently stretched again, shooting him up another few inches in height. The last glimpse he'd gotten of himself in a reflective surface showed that his face was starting to match the older boys in the towns. If he was a human he would likely be 13 or 14 years old. His adolescent limbs cut through the snow as he walked through the clearing in the forest./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The snowball hit the back of his head and soaked into the wool of his coat. He turned around, Canada grinned at him from the other side of the meadow. "How do you do that?" America asked./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Canada shrugged and then bent down to gather another fist full of snow. America wasn't going to give him the chance. He darted across the snow, stepping quickly through the trenches he'd made with his footsteps. Canada looked up just as America slammed into him, tackling him into the nearby snowbank. They laughed as they tumbled, trying to bury each other in the snow drifts that collected near the trees./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Neither of them would call it hiding, but they had needed an escape. The people on the continent they shared had been in turmoil with one another. France and England had sent letters telling the two that they should not play together until the issue was resolved, but neither had really understood. They only had each other as far as they knew, so they had left the letters folded in the writing desks in the houses that had been set up for them and left. They had hoped that the older brothers they had not seen for many years would perhaps return in the spring and help them with all the troubles./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"While they played though, the problems faded away and they could be the children their bodies reflected, although far more self sufficient than any human child would be. America just managed to get the better of Canada in one of the snow drifts, the slightly smaller boy making muffled noises as America sat on his back./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What?" he asked, moving so that Canada could lift his head./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""It will be dark soon." he said. America looked up at the sky and the fingers of sunlight were starting to lose to the stars and a large snow cloud that threatened to cover their tracks in the night./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Yeah, we should head back." America said, climbing off the other boy and helping him out of the snow. They fetched their snowshoes and hurried home, still trying to get each other with covert snowballs. Their giggles echoed off the bare trunks of the trees as they made their way to the little cabin they had built during the summer. They made it to the space and stopped. A horse was tied up inside the lean-to that protected the firewood from the winter drifts. Smoke drifted from the stone chimney that leaned slightly to one side, they had not quite mastered stone masonry when it was built./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Qui est-ce/span?" said Canada./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I don't who it is, but I do know one way to find out." America replied. Canada looked at him and nodded. They crept forward together through the snow, stepping lightly so they wouldn't sound any different than a deer creeping closer to the house. They came around the side, there was a spot of loose chinking between the logs they had been meaning to fix. America reached up with his gloved fingers and tugged at the rag they had been using to block the cold from seeping inside./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He pressed his eye to the hole, Canada close by. They could not both look at once, but America caught sight of a person sitting in one of the wooden chairs by the fire. His hair was unbound and he was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. America moved aside and let Canada look./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Is that who I think it is?" he whispered./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Monsieur France... He looks sad..." Canada said, nodding at America's questioning look, "We should go inside." After stuffing the rag back into the hole, they walked around to the other side of the cabin, making noise this time, stamping snow off their boots and brushing it off their coats under the eaves of the roof. They pushed open the door and feigned surprise. France had collected himself and did not portray any of the sadness the boys had seen when he did not know they were looking. The calm only lasted a minute as his eyes widened and he took them both in. America shuffled his feet, uncomfortable with the examination, after all, England had told him he should not be speaking to France. Should he go somewhere else?/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Before he could make a decision of whether he should leave Canada with his elder brother, France spoke. "You boys have gotten so tall!" He stood up from the chair and walked closer. Canada immediately embraced him, but America hung back./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Amerique/span, what is wrong?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""England said that I should not talk to you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France stretched out an arm so that he could welcome the other North American into the embrace, "It is all right now, we are not fighting here anymore."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""But your people hurt mine." said America, "You made Canada's people hurt mine." Canada looked at him, America looked back, not wanting to back down. England would not want him too./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France sighed and dropped his arm. "As much as we would like to shield you, that is not the way the world works. I am not here as a combatant, America. You will someday understand that although our people may fight, we do not have to. I'm here as a brother, I wanted to see you and Canada." Canada's arms tightened around France's waist./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I don't understand." America replied./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Canada's voice was soft, "We did not fight even though we were supposed to, maybe that is what Monsieur France means?" France patted Canada softly on the head./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Oui, mon bon fils./span" Canada smiled, flushing slightly from the praise. America still was not sure, but he settled himself on the other chair listening to Canada and France speak to each other. He knew some of the words, but he did not join in. He could never get his French to sound quite right./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America sat for a while, but got hungry and headed towards their small cupboard to find something to eat as France and Canada continued to talk./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Pourquoi ĂȘtes-vous venu ici/span?" he heard Canada ask. America wanted to know why France had come too, he had not gotten to see England for nearly a century, his letters always spoke of how busy he was. France must certainly be just as busy, America thought. France was silent for a few minutes. America turned and watched him./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The chair was turned away from where he stood, so he could only see the back of France's head. Canada had pulled up a stool and sat close beside him. His face was turned up to his elder brother in concern./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Mon roi est mort./span" France replied, his voice quiet./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Who is dead?" America asked, blurting it out from curiosity. France turned slightly in the chair to give him a sidelong look./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""My king, America. He had been my king for 72 years, that is a long time for a human." He took a deep breath and continued, "When we lose a human we care about, we often want to see our own families. We do not leave each other nearly so often." France smiled and ruffled Canada's hair./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""England never gets sad when his kings die. They die all the time." He ticked them off on his fingers. Since the last time he had seen him, England's ruler had changed seven or eight times, America wasn't entirely sure. He just knew that the royal colonies got new pictures of the person every time it changed./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France gave him a stern look. "You do not know him as well as I do. He would scold you if he heard you say such a thing." America turned away. He could feel his ears burning, youthful pride pricked from the reprimand, as he finished making his food./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""He would come here if he was sad, wouldn't he?" he asked, turning back to France. Part of him feared that France would laugh or tell him that England did not want to see him the way France had wanted to see Canada./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France's expression softened, "He does love you. I have not seen him for some time, but he will make his way to you when he is able."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America stared down at his food, jealousy tightening his throat. He wished England were here instead of France so that he could sit beside him and listen to stories. He brooded in one of the dark corners of the room while he finished eating. Canada was trying to distract France from his sadness with a story about the bear that had stolen all of the fish from their lines two weeks ago. It had been quite a negotiation to get their fish hooks back. America agreed that it was a funny story, but he was bothered by what France had said./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"It was not until later, when they were laying down to sleep that America thought of something. His back was pressed up to Canada's in the narrow bed as they made room for France. He faced the hearth and could hear the other two nations breathing softly./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I won't be sad." he said to the dark room. He jumped a little as France reached across Canada and put a hand on his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You'll understand when you are older."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"I want to understand now. And I want England./span America thought to himself as he fell asleep./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"August 1719/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Off the coast of Florida/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Sacrebleu/span! So it was true! I thought Spain was telling tales when I last asked him to surrender."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England glared at France's surprised visage in the looking glass of the cabin. He had a pair of barber's scissors in his hand and was half-tempted to grab the other man and stab him with it. His eyes shifted back to his own reflection. The ocean had tanned his skin from the years he'd been on it. A scar was fading on his cheek from a cutlass belonging to a crew member of an unlucky prize. He was still wet from having his ship sank beneath his feet courtesy of French cannonballs to the hull. It was instinct that had made him grab for a floating board and then accept being pulled aboard the new ship./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He'd only been in the brig a moment before the captain recognized him. England could not recall the man himself, but it must have been from what felt like another lifetime. The ship's captain was probably in his forties, so maybe when the man had been a boy? He'd accepted the hospitality before ever realizing that the French nation was also on board./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He'd needed it, putting his ship in the fleet of Queen Anne's Revenge, led by the now notorious - and executed - pirate Blackbeard, pillaging ships from the Caribbean to the coasts of North America. He had looked at the coastline hundreds of times, desire to see America clenching his stomach, but not being able to set foot on shore. He nearly fancied himself as cursed as Davy Jones, unable to set foot on land more than once a decade to see those he loved. He told himself that he did not want to set a bad example for the boy, but the truth was he could not face him with any of the anger over the last several decades chewing at him like a dog with a bone./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He trimmed at the hair that had become bleached by salt and sun, trying to make his appearance more respectable. He had not expected that the vessel he'd attacked for plunder would be one of France's naval ships in disguise, looking for unsuspecting Spaniards. He had settled his deep red captain's coat over the back of a high backed chair and carefully unwound beads and shining coins from his hair as he grudgingly accepted his return to civilization. He was caught like a rat in a trap./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France closed the door behind him, hiding them from view of the curious men on the ship deck. The wood creaked and the furniture shifted slightly as a wave hit the side of the ship, now anchored off the coast of Spanish Florida. England would not have sailed into the Gulf at all, but in a bout of drink and an ironic wind he'd had half a mind to attack New Orleans, rum dream that it was. He did not want to consider that part of him wanted to get caught by one of the other nations. Piracy had become a love affair that dragged him deeper and deeper, as intoxicating as the drink they carried in barrels below deck./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Give me those before you cut your throat." France said, grasping England's hand and wresting the silver scissors from him. "Sit." He pulled a stool from under a nearby cabinet and pushed England down upon it. England could not help but remember a moment centuries ago when they had sat just like this, France taming his hair and forcing him back to a reasonable state./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What has been going on?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""We are allies against Spain."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Good to know I was helping the cause everytime I sank one of that bastard's ships. Just us, or are there others?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Of course there are others. Prussia sends his regards."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England made a disbelieving noise deep in his throat, "I'm sure he does."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""He said, and I quote, that island brat talks big but he needs to get back here and prove it." England snorted at France's impersonation of the German./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You can tell him I owe him a punch in the nose."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""That is a fight where you would end up bleeding too, mon ami." England had to grudgingly admit that France was right. He took a moment to consider whether it would still be worth it. He savored an imagined image of the other nation's surprise that he would dare to do such a thing. They sat in companionable silence as France finished. "I would offer you something else to wear, but I get the feeling that a French uniform would only be ruined for you wearing it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England gave him a dirty look. "My clothes will be fine until you can put me on a British vessel. Especially since you so abruptly sunk my ship."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I could do you one better."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm really not in the mood."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France waved a hand dismissively, "There is plenty of time for that when you don't stink like brine. I was thinking I could drop you off at a port in your colony. You could see little span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Amerique/span."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England felt the flash of want that had buried itself in his breast so many times when he was within landing distance of that shore. It echoed the excitement he'd felt when he first set foot ashore in the New World over a century ago. He picked at a loose thread on his shirt sleeve./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You do not want to see him?" France asked, taking England's hesitation as a refusal./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England stood up from his seat and paced. He finally settled himself against the bulkhead. The captain must have fancied images from home, a painting of French farmland clung steadfast to the wall stained at the corners from water. England turned and pressed his shoulder blade into the corner of the painting's frame. The pain kept him grounded. England eyed the other nation from across the captain's room. "In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate." It was a diversion and the twitch of France's lips betrayed that he realized it too./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I did not think you liked Descartes." France crossed his arms and watched him, "Are you saying that you are afraid to learn the truth of what has been going on for him the last 100 years and want to keep your image of him?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""No." England replied immediately, "Maybe, God, I don't know. I've been drowning Francis."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You certainly look it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You know what I mean."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France sighed. "I do." He walked across the room. England noted that the dark blue navy coat suited him well, although France never seemed to be as easy on the ocean as England himself. He followed England across the room and leaned beside him, England could feel the warmth of him through his wet clothes. "I went to see them a few years ago. I was afraid too, I had this vision of Canada as he was before. Small and innocent, oui?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England nodded. He had held to the image of America as he had last seen him, a child, begging him not to leave./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""They have grown so much. Almost as tall as we are. I could not believe it. I expected them to stay small for centuries, like you did."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England did not say anything, fixing his eyes on the blurred sea through the salt pocked glass across the room./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"France continued, "But when I held Canada in my arms I did not care. He may be taller now, but he's still the boy I know. America will be the same."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England was silent for a few minutes. He heard France take a breath to speak again but he stopped him by raising a hand. "I don't need you to tell me that. Take me there."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"September 1720/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited near the docks. A fishing ship had brought the letter yesterday. It told him to expect a frigate at the harbor. It was signed by England and America's heart had leapt into his throat. He was certain his pulse had not slowed the entire night, which he'd spent trying to clean his rooms by candlelight. He wanted to run down to the water with the human boys that were calling to the sailors on board the ships that were closer in the harbor, no doubt calling to fathers and brothers. The other boys were probably only 13 or 14 years old and his lanky form would have fit right in with them./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He waited as the ship drifted closer. A longboat was lowered from one side, the ship apparently was not intending to stay long. He sprinted out to the docks, darting between the men who reached up to grab the anchoring ropes from sailors aboard a larger merchant ship. A heavy plank was lifted and leaned up alongside the ship so the passengers could disembark making way for cargo to be unloaded. America dodged this to make his way to where the smaller boat would pull alongside the dock. He could see England's blond head coming up the ladder, striding onto the dock. America restrained himself for the moment, excited to show England how grown up he'd become./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England walked right past him, not seeing him at all./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America could not believe it. "England!" he shouted. England turned around. His expression showed confusion, looking for the person who had called out for him. America waved at him and in a moment surprise spread across his face./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""America? Is that you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America grinned. England looked as though he had been struck by lightning, the way he gaped at him. America came closer and stood in front of him, measuring their heights. He was almost as tall as England now. His smile widened. He wrapped his arms around the older nation's neck and pulled him into a hug./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England watched the teenage boy across from him as they ate. A woman in a nearby house had taken pity on the boy living alone and would bring him meals every so often. Upon seeing England, the "famed older brother who did business abroad", she had left and then returned to make them a meal. England had asked her to stay, but she smiled at him and said she wouldn't want to impose on a family reunion. America talked through each bite telling England stories of everyday minutiae and the interesting experiments of some man named Franklin down in Philadelphia./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""America, slow down. I can't understand you when your mouth is full." England suppressed a smile as America paused after taking a particularly large mouthful of bread. He looked like a squirrel caught raiding another's midden. England did chuckle then, genuine mirth breaking out of him. It almost hurt, he had not laughed in a long time./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America took a big swallow. "I was worried that you wouldn't like the way I sound."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""The way you sound?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Well, I don't sound like you. Canada doesn't sound like France either, France was trying to teach him to pronounce words right. You won't do that will you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England considered this for a moment. "I will have to find you a tutor," America's face fell, "But not right away, I will educate you while I'm here."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America chewed thoughtfully, he was on his fourth plate of food and showed no sign of slowing, he took another big swallow, "I think I'm doing okay. I've been spending time at Harvard College, they let me use the library."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England frowned, America did not see it as he had turned back to his food. He would have to investigate this school further. It had been chartered here in the colonies, who knew what they were teaching. He felt a pang of regret that he had not come sooner, but there was nothing for it. Obviously, the world was marching on. America's rapid growth was proof of it./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Hmmm?" he said, coming out of his thoughts at the sound of America's voice./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""What are we going to do tomorrow?" America repeated, his bright blue eyes expectant./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England gave the boy a half smile, "You will have to show me around. Things have change quite a bit it seems."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America grinned, no doubt proud of his growth. England could not help but feel a bit of pride as well./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"January 1722/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"New York City/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The winter snows pressed against the sides of the frame house and through the front windows England was able to see the white piles drifting on the edges of the roadway, pushed there by the movement of people coming and going. It was the third winter he would endure in North America, but he looked forward to the cold and the quiet. It was impossible for most armies to wage war in the winter, and there were no guaranteed safe passage across the ocean./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"He closed the heavy inner shutters before turning into the room and back toward the warm hearth. America sat near the fire, having dragged his writing desk close by. He was bundled in layers of clothing, a woolen hat covering his hair, and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He sat hunched over the book England had instructed him to read and shivered slightly./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England frowned, concerned over America's chill. Even when he was small some winters fazed America far more than others. Some he would be out in the snow as if it were nothing to him, but others he would sit huddled like this as if the very snow had seeped into his bones and did not allow him to warm up. Perhaps it was a sign this winter would be a long one. He dropped his own coat on top of America's shoulders and the boy looked up at him./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Do all of the countries in this book have people like us?" America asked, pointing at a map of the known world. England nodded./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Yes."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""And you know all of them?" England shook his head in the negative./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Some of them like to keep to themselves." He pointed at some of the nations of Asia, "The people on these lands are very different from us and I have only met a few of them while traveling."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I want to meet them." America insisted./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England smiled. "Perhaps someday you may. Keep reading, my boy, I will be testing your comprehension later." America made a face showing him exactly he felt about exams. England gave him a stern look and America turned reluctantly back to the book, any hopes for a break from his studies lost. England walked to his own writing desk to read over the letters he had received on the last ship. He sorted them and then broke the seal on an update from his brother, Wales./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The letter was several pages and informed him of the goings on in Europe. He raised his eyebrows as he continued to read. "Does Prussia think to rule eastern Europe? Picking a fight with Sweden now is he?" he mused aloud./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Who are Prussia and Sweden?" America asked, looking up at him over the large book at the writing desk. England appraised him. America was getting that look in his eye that he would find an excuse to sneak off if England didn't give him something else to work on. The boy had no head for staying all day indoors./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""If I show you their homes, will you continue to study quietly for the next hour? And I believe you met Sweden once, but perhaps you were too little..." America nodded and shrugged. "Well, then come over here, a new gift for the house arrived this morning that should help demonstrate national boundaries. It's in the front hall in a crate. Please unpack it and bring it to the drawing room."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America jumped out of his chair, all youthful long legs and headed out of the room. England finished his letter and made some notes of what he would reply to his brother before walking into the room. England left the room and walked down the hall to the drawing room, moving the candlestick from the small tea table to make it into a stand for what he sent America to fetch./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"The boy returned momentarily. He sat it on the table and stepped back. "It's a globe. The governor has one in his study."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""I'm sure he does, but this one is made from the most recent advances in cartography." England spun it gently and the orb circled. It was a fine piece of craftsmanship, the wood had been painted with a meticulous eye to detail and the brass stand and arm had delicate metalwork roses all along it. He put his finger on the globe to stop its progress, his finger over the word Moscow. For a moment, he thought about how much borders had shifted over the last hundred years, sometimes he barely recognized the shapes on the map himself. "This is Sweden. What do you remember from the book you have been reading?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""His weather is really cold." England sighed, and was about to add more when America interrupted, "So where's Prussia?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England turned the globe just slightly to the right, so that his finger moved west along the continent. "He is from here." He pointed at the Kingdom of Prussia. "I don't know him that well, although we have been allies in the past."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Whose this?" America asked, then got close and read the words, "Poland."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""And Lithuania." He pointed at several other nation names within the border./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Why are they all together."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Currently, they live together. Sometimes when our humans make alliances, we come together like a family."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""But what does that make me, your King is my king, right?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""You are a colony, America. I am building an empire." England replied. America seemed to consider this, spinning the globe so that it turned even further to the right./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""This is you." He pointed at the island of Great Britain. England nodded. America spun the globe even further westward, across the Atlantic. He pointed at the color that represented British holdings in North America, and this is me. What's over here?" He pointed at the rest of the North American continent, or as much of it as cartographers had been able to surmise./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Well, Spain has colonies along here. But the rest is probably just wilderness." England shrugged. It was possible that there was something worthwhile, but there was simply too many unknowns to warrant any such ventures. America leaned on his elbows on the table and examined the New World. England left him to order afternoon tea from a servant and came back to find the colony still contemplating the map./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Come, America, you said you would get back to your studies." With his words, America blinked up at him. He made a show of reluctance upon going back into the study, but when England found him again, the young colony had his nose dutifully in the book./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"England smiled, and settled back into his own work./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;" align="center"~*~/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"August 1744/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Connecticut/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"America leaned back against the apple tree, he had been in the orchard all morning until the heat of the sun had driven all of the boys out of the sun to seek sanctuary in the shade. He pulled out a copy of the book England had ordered out of his satchel and sat down to read it. He had been learning more and more about science recently and this man with the funny name, Linnaeus, had some really interesting ideas./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Ah, there you are, America."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""England!" America smiled and jumped up from his spot, catching England in a hug. "I thought you would be at the assembly all day."/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""It wrapped up early, there seemed to be a consensus that no one wanted to be in that building when the heat set in for the afternoon. The farmer's lad told me you were up here helping." America went back to settle down in the shade and England sat down beside him. "Taking a break are you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Just until the sun starts down the other way. I was reading that new book you brought." England looked at him curious, he peered at the title./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""Learning about natural history with Linnaeus then are you?" he said. America grinned at him and nodded./p
p dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5;""The animals he talks about are really magnificent. ...I want to see all of them someday!" England smiled at his enthusiasm, and it pleased America. His smile widened. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Want to become an explorer do you?" br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Yes, just like you." England settled down beneath the tree beside him, a small smile still on his lips. America liked making England smile, he got the feeling that it was not England's usual expression unless he was around him. England pulled out a stack of letters from his satchel and set to work sorting through them. America turned back to the book, interested in the description of long-necked animals on the African continent. America scooted closer to England so he can lean on him as he read. After a while he found himself less focused on the words on the page on on the little twitches and noises from England as he read the letters. He grew still at one, America wondered if what was within was serious. England had gotten a lot of letters lately, he always seemed cooped up at his writing table, a candle always lit to melt the sealing wax as he completed letter after letter. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Are you going to leave soon?" America asked, looking up at England. England looked back, a surprised expression on his face. He wrapped an arm around America's shoulders, a gesture of affection that would have normally made America feel happy. America could feel something off about it, it was one of the most formal hugs he'd ever received from the elder. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"What makes you say that, America?"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America frowned. "I'm not a baby anymore. You can tell me. I won't cry." His voice wavered slightly, giving him away, but he tried to look determined, as opposed to worried. England seemed to consider his words. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"No, America, you are not as little as you used to be. But you are not ready to deal with all of this." He held up the letters and America pushed away from England's embrace. He turned and looked down at England. England's expression was one America had never seen directed at him and it made his stomach twist. England was genuinely shocked at his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Just because you don't think I'm big enough to know doesn't mean you are keeping me safe. What about France's people attacking mine at the Battle of Ackia. You not telling me you and he were fighting again didn't keep me from getting hurt." Before England could reply he turned on his heel and ran down the path through the orchard. He didn't stop until he had gone all the way down the lane to his Concord home, a small frame house that he himself had white-washed as soon as the snows had melted. America liked this house because it was small enough not to need servants. He was grateful for that because he knew he would have to fix the door later, it had come off its hinges when he'd pulled it shut too forcefully. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The parlor was cleaner than he'd left it that morning. England had no doubt cleaned up some of his things that he'd left laying about when he'd decided to escape into the great outdoors. One of his little soldier figures had been sat upright on the tea table and America snatched it into his fist and sat down in England's brocade arm chair near the hearth. As it was summer no fire burned, but the discoloration of the flames clung to the stones. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America had grown too big to curl up in England's chair as he had done in the years he was gone. He tried now anyway, his teenaged limbs gangling over the edges as he lay his head on the arm. England had insisted last week that it would need to be reupholstered. America could feel the threadbare cloth under his cheek, but it would not be the same if England changed it. The afternoon sun came spearing through the linen curtains and bothered his eyes. He shifted in the chair so that his back was to the room and his view was filled with the red, white, and rare blue threads of the chair. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The anger that he had felt at England did not cool and laying here now, he felt it was justified. He had told England the truth, even if the other probably did not like it. Facts were facts, he got hurt whether or not he knew what was coming. And despite all of the military might of England's growing empire around the world, he would not always be able to be there. I have to be stronger... America thought. Maybe if he sees that I can fight as well as he can he'll start letting me help. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /It had become obvious to America, after the sheer joy of England's return had worn off years ago that England was determined to still see the little boy from the wilds. England seemed suspicious of his universities and did not seem all that impressed with America's discoveries. England was interested in them, but America could feel his men and women's frustration as their works were scrutinized across the Atlantic and then published under an Englishman's name. America was fond of looking at the globe and the Atlantic did not seem so wide, why was that side so much more important then? He had asked England if he could go with him on a short trip England had taken not too long ago, but he had been refused. England said it was hard for your nations to be outside their borders and therefore America should stay put. America plucked at a loose thread in the back of the chair, the excuse England had used seemed thin, but he had not thought to question it class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The door opened and closed again, the broken hinge squeaking. He heard England's sigh as he attempted to get the door to stay in the frame. He must have managed it, or given up, because it was only another minute or so until England's footsteps echoed on the wooden floor and then were muffled by the Oriental rug he'd gotten from a trade with India some years ago. America could remember staring at the intricate design on the rug and watching as the colors weaved in and out of each other. When he asked England if he could trade with India to get such things himself, England had again told him that it would be better if he just dealt with the other nations. England took the chair that America usually sat in, the legs creaking a little beneath his weight. America waited for the lecture, but none came. Just the occasional sound of England shifting in his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The afternoon light lengthened and brushed the top of the chair where America stayed, as silent as the elder. The other chair creaked again as England stood up, America wondered for a moment whether he was going to pull him from the chair and strike him for being obstinate and childish, but still nothing. Curious, America shifted so that he could look over his shoulder and see what England was up to. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England's back was to him. He stood in parade rest, his hands clasped behind his back and observed a sketch that hung from the wall. It was one that England had made years ago, a sketch of the ships in the harbor of New York City, the masts towering as high as the trees they once class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I'm sorry for yelling at you." America said, England turned his head so he could listen to him, "But I'm still mad at you." England's shoulders straightened before he turned around. America righted himself in the chair, assuming the pose he'd seen England take when visitors had come to their parlors up and down the coast. He wanted England to see that he was big enough to have his own ideas, and that they were worth being listened to. England came back to the the smaller chair and settled in it once again. He sat as straight as America was, trying to look class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I am leaving, America. You are right to be angry. I should have warned you." America's heart felt as thought it had plummeted to the floor. He had not wanted to be right about class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"When will you be back?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I do not know. There is a war brewing on the Continent and I need to be present. France will not stop harrying us here if I stop him over there." England said. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I want to come with you." England shook his head. "I can help!"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England's lips twitched in a small smile. For the life of him, America could not tell what the elder found so amusing. "I need you to stay here where I know you are safe. I am sure once I'm gone Canada will be allowed to spend time with you again, you won't be alone."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I'll be fine, right?" England flinched slightly at the sarcasm in America's voice. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"You assured me you were not a baby not two hours ago." England bit back. America stood up from his chair. He turned towards the door, intent on stalking out as soon as he received an answer to his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"When are you leaving?"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"At the end of the week." Two days. England would be gone again. America nodded and walked out of the room, intent on the stairs. He flew up them as quickly as he could and pushed his chair against the door to bar any entry England might attempt. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /He crawled under his quilt and let the upset overtake class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /~*~br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /The room suited America just fine for the next two days. He could hear England's step pause outside of his door as though the elder was going to knock and check on him. He could imagine England on the other side of the door, hand raised to knock, but then his footsteps would begin again. America heard him packing and hauling his trunks down the stairs, and still he could not pull himself up to help. He did not want to have any hand in England leaving him. It was the morning that he was going to set out that England finally spoke to him class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"America, I am leaving. Will you come out and say goodbye?"br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /Silence. America felt stiff and could not move from his class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I will miss you. I will write to you. I-" England seemed unsure of what else to say, and he only waited a moment more before turning down the stairs and walking out of the house. America lay there longer, hearing the wagon pull away from the house and out towards the docks that would take England away from him. His body seized up with a desire to move and he scrambled from the spot he'd occupied and out into the street. He began to dash down the streets and over the fences of the neighbors so that he would be able to beat the horse and wagon to the docks. As angry as he still felt with England, he did not want him to leave without any words of goodbye. His voice had been frozen in his throat, but he was determined to find some. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /His lungs burned as he skidded to a stop near the docks, trying to find the ship that would take England back to his lands so that he could ready for a new war. There. He saw England disembarking from the wagon and directing the dockhands to carry his trunk on board the ship. America flew towards him and slammed into England's back, wrapping his arms around the older nation's chest. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"I'm going to miss you too." America said, his voice muffled in the back of England's summer jacket, the fabric soft on his face. England twisted in America's grip so he could hug him around the shoulders. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Now, now we don't want to make a scene do we?" England said to the top of America's head, his own arms not loosening even as he chastised America for being too affectionate in public. It took several more minutes for America to step back, wiping at his eyes with his cotton shirt sleeves. England looked a little watery eyed as well. br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"Good luck, England." America said, trying to look braver than he class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /"With any luck this conflict will be over quickly and I will return."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America nodded. England patted him on the head. "Next time I'm going to be big enough to help you."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England's smile slipped, he gripped America by the shoulder. "Do not wish to grow up too fast." He pulled America close for an embrace and kissed him on the top of the head. "Be a good boy while I'm gone." br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /America nodded, "Goodbye England."br class="kix-line-break" /br class="kix-line-break" /England smiled and nodded back. He was soon on the ship and America watched until it had sailed beyond the horizon, wishing he knew when England would be back./p
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