SO, more than two characters. You. Are. EXCITED. I can tell, don't try to hide it. Also there is now a link to some sketches of Annabel on my profile, if you are interested. :3
"What are they playing at!" The door banged open with enough force to make everything on the wall tremble dangerously. A small party flitted after the one who had thrown it open, trying to get a word in as they raged. "How dare they pull this, who do they think they are? Bloody hell." Stopping instantly so that the men following nearly slammed into his back, the blond spun on his heels to glare at them. "What exactly did the message say?"
"W-well, sir, the letter merely requested that there could be a meeting with you. It said it was important."
"But not so important that America could bother coming?" He sneered.
"Well no, it wouldn't seem so. The letter is not from Washington, and it does not say that he will come."
"Then why for bollocks sakes are we even bothering with the damn thing?" The nation growled, clenching his teeth.
"It seemed to be an official letter, and didn't you yourself say you wanted to see them just to give them a piece of your mind?" The man said timidly. The blond turned to glare at him, earning a meek squeak, before continuing on his way.
"Only those bloody Americans would be classless enough to request a meeting with me and not bring their own nation. Especially after that damn Crimean War." He growled, banging open the final door with enough force to make the entire room rattle. He flopped himself down angrily in a fancy chair in the middle of the "meeting room". Actually it was the room he usually took his tea in, but bugger all if he was going to show these wankers the respect of seeing them in the room for official business. His little group stood nervously around him, waiting in anticipation. Finally a man popped his head in, looking dead serious.
"They're here." He said.
"Well, bloody well send them in." the nation snapped, still fuming.
"Yes sir." He said, popping his head back out as quickly as possible. They all waited in tense anticipation, until a distinct rustling was heard on the other side of the door. The nation in their midst opened his mouth, poised to ask who ever this what in the name of buggery they thought they were doing here. As the person in question rounded the corner, however, the words caught in his throat, entire body freezing. A young woman had walked in, Soft blond hair coming down in waves around a face that was delicate, yet showed a ruggedness deeper down. A single bow sat atop her head, looking slightly old, yet elegant none the less. Dark blue eyes flitted about the room, looking everywhere but at the man sitting directly in front of her. Her dress was a dark green, made of a material that shone and moved with every step, showing off her slim shoulders. She held a fan.
There was a tense silence for a few seconds, before a voice broke through.
"Leave." The man in the chair said. "Everyone, get out of here. Now." There was zero hesitation as all of the other men rushed out of the room, all giving strange looks to the new girl. Once the room had emptied out, the newcomer gave a deep curtsy.
"It is a great honor to-"
"Who are you?" The voice that cut in was all business, sharp and flat. There was the tiniest flicker of something like nervousness in the eyes that were trying to look so confident.
"Ah'm not sure ho-"
"I said who are you?" The man said, scooting up further in his chair, voice slightly louder. "I can tell what you are; we can all feel each other. You must know that. Now bloody well tell me who you are."
"If Ah must give mahself a name," The girl answered, revealing a thick accent "The Southern United States." She gave another deep curtsy, a sure smile on her face. There was a long silence as the nation in front of her processed this information, trying to keep his face blank as he looked her up and down several times.
"Well, sit." He said finally, motioning to a chair across from him. She obeyed quickly, smoothing down her skirts. "Does America know you're here?" He asked immediately. Her eyes darkened.
"No, mah big brother made it clear-"
"So he's your brother?"
"Yes." She said with a little nod, before continuing "He made it clear he had no intention of letting me meet any other countries. I'm just an embarrassment to him; something to be kept secret, best not let everyone know about his shameful little sister. Best just pretend she's not there." Her hands clenched visibly, death-gripping her little fan. "Best not let the world know he's losing the south, don't show that. Pretend she's not there, he's scared of me I know it. I'm a threat to him, so he tries to keep me locked away-"
"You look like him."
"What?"
The man across from her looked up quickly, snapping out of his stupor. "Nothing." He said, brows furrowing, trying not to notice her look of concern. Clearing his throat he continued. "So why are you here?" Face relaxing ever so slightly she answered.
"Ah had to take matters in mah own hands. Meet with nations, speak to them. Establish….relationships." She looked down a little, "And Ah've always wanted ever so to meet the British Empire." Her eyes flicked back up. England managed to suppress a look of being pleased with himself, still looking grumpy, but he couldn't help his cheeks from tinting ever so slightly. She laughed nervously. "Ah know it's silly, but Ah've admired you for quite some time. Ah wanted to meet you first."
"Well," He said, shifting ever so slightly, unsure of what to say next. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something sufficient to be a distraction for the moment. "Would you like some tea?"
"Oh yes." Annabel responded with a smile "Ah love tea."
"You do?" He said, raising one of his rather impressive eyebrows.
"Very much so." She said, taking the cup that he handed over to her. "Ah always have. A tall glass of sweet iced tea is simply the loveliest thing imaginable on a July day." He watched, face becoming more and more horrified as she scooped one, two, three, four…scoops of sugar into the little cup, and kept going. His eyes followed the cup at it was brought up to her lips, before the green orbs flicked up to meet dark blue ones, looking slightly uncertain. The girl put the cup back down carefully, averting her eyes. "Ah…Ah had so many things Ah had planned to say to you. But now that Ah'm here, it seems Ah'm too nervous…"
"Well, you're here now." He replied bluntly "So what is it exactly that you wished to accomplish?"
"Like I said," She said squirming slightly "Ah wanted to…Ah mean I need…to make friends." She looked away slightly.
"Friends?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow again "Well, I'm afraid I'm not the greatest at making…or keeping friends." His voice got darker as he spoke, and she looked back up.
"But…you're the British Empire.." She said cautiously " You….you control the world, everyone looks up to you, respects you, the sun never sets on you, right?" She tried to give a soft nervous laugh.
"None of that requires friendship." He said blankly, not returning her gaze. They were silent for a moment, before Annabel finally spoke.
"Ah….Ah suppose, but that…doesn't change the fact that Ah've admired you for a long time…and Ah've wanted to meet you. Ah may not be a country…not really, but perhaps if you wanted, we could try to…establish some sort of diplomatic relations." Why did she sound so nervous? Normally she was almost as bold as her brother, and this was not exactly how she had envisioned their meeting. England was quiet for a moment, eyebrows still knitted in his perpetual frown.
"Would you like to see London?" He finally asked. She perked up immediately.
"Oh yes, Ah would love to!"
"Let's go then. We can discuss more in the carriage. Like why you exist for example." He gave her a calculating look, and she responded with a simple nod, getting up to follow as he left the room.
"Sir, your guest is here."
America turned, giving a grin. "Thanks. Send him in." There was a nod, and moments later a tall, serious looking man came in, sitting across from the exuberant nation.
"So," The blond began "You're the man who gave Douglas a run for his money in the Senate election. You've gotten quite a reputation, face of the new party, right? You Republicans." His grin grew wider as he finished.
"I suppose so sir, but I'm not sure I could be called the face of the party." He said humbly, with a somber nod.
"You seem pretty close, those debates you had, they really caught the people's attention." He paused for a moment. "Just wondering, if you were to stay in politics, what exactly is your agenda?"
"To stop the expansion of slavery." The man replied gruffly "But I have no intentions of interfering where it is already established."
"Of course." America replied crossing his arms "Wouldn't want to send those Southern States into a tizzy." He scoffed.
"Of course. With all this sectionalism…"
"What do you think of the sectionalism?" America asked, cutting in "Surely you have a view on why this happened." The man was silent for a long moment, before taking a deep breath and beginning in a low voice.
"I cannot speak for the South, but I have tried to understand the feelings of the people of the North. To them, in contrast to democracy, the South represents aristocracy. In place of economic development and expansion, they seem stagnant and backwards. In place of a society which affords dignity and advancement to the laborer, they seem to look down on them, both white and black. Poor whites of the South have no hope of social advancement, because their society is so tightly controlled by an aristocracy of slaveholders. To the people of the North….the south is a completely alien society. Now it seems the question is; will North or South dominate the West?" The man finished with a slight frown on his face, and the young nation simply stared, slightly in awe at how well all his jumbled feelings had been put. "Now, I don't wish to be too bold, but I would assume, learning of your sister's existence, your feelings would mostly be those of the North."
"I can barely feel the South at all anymore…" The blond murmured, not sure why he felt it was okay to tell the man this. It just felt right. "My sister and I didn't part on such good terms. Honestly….I don't know what's going to happen." He shook his head, grinning again. "But you won't go telling everyone I said that and scare them, would you?"
"Of course not, Sir."
"I like you." America said, grinning even more "I hope we'll get a chance to meet again."
"As do I, Sir." The man said, standing with a bow and placing his tall hat back on his head before leaving.
"I beg you're pardon?"
"Oh Ah'm sorry, "The blond turned her head so that her face wasn't directly against the glass "Ah said, Ah appeared because of how far the North and South are drifting apart. Mah brother was no longer sufficient to represent both. "She stared straight at her companion. "The way he talks now, Ah doubt that he can feel the will of the Southern people at all."
"So…that would leave you?" The man across from her said, frowning as though he was thinking hard.
"Yes," She said, eyes shining. "Ah realize now what Ah truly am, they are becoming mine now. Ah can feel them, and Ah intend to make sure they get what they want."
"Is there some question that they will?"
"If mah brother has his way-"Her serious expression changed instantly as something out the window caught her eye. Instantly she was back up towards the glass, face shining with excitement. "Oh, oh mah, is that the Tower of London?"
"Why yes." England said, barely glancing out the window "It is."
"Oh, Ah can see the ravens." The girl said, sounding almost giddy. "As long as there are ravens at the tower of London, England will never fall, right?" She looked back, only to have her face fall slightly at his unreadable expression.
"Where did you hear that?" He said, voice sounding as though he was suppressing genuine curiosity.
"A-Ah just read it somewhere, and Ah guess Ah just…remembered." She said, slightly sheepishly. To her surprise she received a genuine smile at the news, albeit a small one. "You know, Ah really don't think it was right, all this business with the Crimean War." Instantly the smile was gone, replaced by a glowering look. "Letting Russia build ships in his harbors, and not allowing you? Not to mention the doctors that went to help the Russians." She was watching him carefully now as his cheeks flushed with what seemed to be rage. "Mah brother talked about improving relations with England, but…." She smirked a little "Ah'm really not sure how much he meant it." By now the nation across from her's hands were balled into tight fists, shaking slightly. There was a vain in his cheek that could be seen pulsing from how hard he was clenching his jaw. Her smug smile fell quickly "Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't mean to upset you, Ah just-"
"It's fine." He said curtly, closing his eyes and trying to relax "Where else would you like to see?"
"Oh, anywhere, everywhere!" She replied, smiling widely. "Everything's so beautiful here, so different."
"Thank you." He replied, voice sounding much less tense. "Perhaps I can show you the crown jewels if that sounds interesting to you."
"Oh yes, anything," She said, sounding genuine. "And if you have any other questions, Ah'll answer them for you, if Ah can." A small nod was her reply.
"So." England said finally, averting his eyes slightly, still frowning "Are you planning to meet anyone else?"
"Oh…" She said, looking away slightly too. "Well, Ah was going to see France if Ah had time," At the mention of France England's face seemed to contort slightly. "But if Ah could only meet one person, Ah really wanted it to be you." She added quickly, trying to give a meaningful look.
"Well," The Empire said, looking out the window. "I hope you find it…worthwhile."
"Don't worry." The blond said, a real smile appearing on her face "Ah'm sure it will be."
Firstly, I have to apologize to what I did to British slang, I kind of...murdered it with an axe. I also may not have gotten Crimean War facts completely right. :'D And you get five bucks if you guess who was talking to America. It's REALLY HARD. Anyway...let me just reiterate one more time that I ship USUK. HARD.
