Woo! The chapters have reached into the double-digits! *Ahem* Anyway, next chapter. Hope you like this one - it has France in it, after all.

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CHAPTER 10

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It was early in 1852. Germany and Italy stood alongside one another behind a podium in Berlin. Hundreds of observers looked on as the two nations brought their quills to bear on the paper before them. With the alliance sealed, the two turned to one another, shaking hands. Germany cracked a rare smile as he did so. "I'm looking forward to working with you in the future, Feliciano."

Overjoyed by Germany's approving words, Italy quickly segued the handshake into a hug, much to the blond nation's embarassment. "Yahoo! I can't wait either!" He delivered a polite kiss to Germany's cheek as he spoke, not noticing his ally's cheeks turning redder by the second.

"Feliciano..." Germany growled, somewhat irritated.

Italy pulled back, loosening his grip on the other nation slightly. "Yes, Ludwig?"

"...Please get off me." The blush on his face had now faded, replaced with his standard stoic-yet-irritated look.

Somewhat disappointedly, Italy withdrew from his embrace. However, as he was about to apologise, the doors to the hall they were in violently flew open. A single figure emerged from the entrance, far taller than anyone else in attendance. As he approached the podium, everyone moved out of his way, not willing to impede the movement of this violet-eyed scarfed giant. Upon reaching the front row, the man looked up at the two above him. "You have room for one more, da?"

"You wish to ally with us as well, Ivan?" Though he didn't show it for the most part, Germany was stunned. A few years ago, he had feared Russia would be the one crushing his revolution to unite Germany, the one fighting against him in Denmark. Yet here he was now, trying to align himself with the nation-states whose very existence threw the entire balance of power on the European continent into chaos. "We will see."

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Meanwhile, many miles to the west, two Frenchmen stood on a balcony, overlooking Paris. One, a blond man dressed in bright hues of blue and red, produced a rose from his coat. "Ah, democracy. So brilliant, yet its life in this nation is like that of a mayfly... C'est la vie." A somber expression upon his face, he tossed the rose over the balcony and onto the cobblestone pathways below, a floral tribute to the death of his nation's democracy.

"Do not be so hasty, Francis," came the reply from the brown-haired Frenchman beside him. "While it is true that, since I launched the coup, all the nation's power lies in my hands, I cannot rule this nation as Emperor without a mandate from the people." The dark-suited brunet looked Francis in the eye, his look and posture self-assured. "And a popular mandate I shall get."

"Then, monsieur Bonaparte, French democracy shall commit suicide?" A look of sadness entered France's eyes. He had fought alongside the revolutionaries to re-establish a French Republic, and now here his boss was, dismantling that dream before his eyes - and in the most ironic of fashions, too. "How... tragic."

Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte put his hand on France's shoulder, in an attempt at reassurance. "Do not be so down, Francis. Our people merely seek a return to the glory days of the Empire... And they have not forgotten my uncle. I'm sure you have yet to forget him, either..."

It was true. While Napoleon Bonaparte, the uncle of the man now standing alongside him, was a dictator in every sense of the word, he led his nation to glory time and time again. Under his leadership, he had personally crushed Prussia under his heel, razed Russia's cities to the ground, taken Italy for himself... Never before had he had the opportunity to sieze so many nations by their vital regions. As much as France hated to admit it, he too was nostalgic for those days long past. Producing yet another rose from his cloak, he presented the blossom to the man beside him. "Vive le Empereur, monsieur Bonaparte."

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Additional notes: The 'balance of power' is the delicate system of alliances, country sizes and military and economic capabilities of the nations of the European continent designed to maintain a state of competition between states without allowing any single state or bloc to become so powerful as to allow them to impose their will upon all the others. The balance of power which existed at the time of the 1848 revolutions was established in 1815, and was designed to prevent an encore performance of the Napoleonic Wars. The sudden event of two powerful nation-states forming, then forging a three-way alliance with one of Europe's largest, most powerful extant empires of the time, would of course throw a major wrench in the works.

As for France, we all know that he - being the perverted, lovable freak he is - would always be nostalgic for the days of the Empire; seizing the vital regions of so many nations, one after the other, must have been Heaven for him. And it's also true that, in our world, the French leader Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (nephew of the somewhat-more-famous Napoleon Bonaparte) launched a coup to seize all power in France for himself late in 1851. He then launched a referendum the following year - giving him the popular mandate he needed to maintain his power and crown himself the Emperor of France. Very little has changed here in this universe.

Also, some quick translations: 'C'est la vie' translates as 'such is life', and 'Vive le Empereur' translates as 'Long live the Emperor'. Just so you know.