(Prussia)

I awoke with a start from my feverish sleep. I ached all over, and my leg felt as if it was on fire. I winced, and pulled myself up to a sitting position. It was dark in the stuffy tent that I soon discovered was the location of my battered body, and gentle sobbing was the only sound in the room. I strained to see who was the cause of the pitiful noise.

"Who's there?" I called gruffly, and the noise stopped. A sound of shuffling feet was heard, and a candle was lit. The light from this small instrument lit up France's concerned face as he stepped over to my bedside.

"Prussia! How are you feeling?" He whispered, and glanced behind him. He put the candle down on a makeshift bedside table he had made out of a box, and rubbed his eyes.

"Fine. Who was crying just now?" I asked, and watched concern begin to riddle his already weary features.

"What on earth do you mean, crying?" He said with a frown.

"I distinctly heard the soft sound of someone sobbing." I said, puzzled that my comrade hadn't heard. I studied his face for signs of a late night, but all I saw was tiredness, as if I had just woken him up.

"Hrmmm..." He said, and got up to examine the room. The light of his candle shown upon two other faces in beds similar to mine, and I stiffened at the sight of them.

"France? What are they doing here?" I asked, and struggled to grab my sword, which was leaned against the wall next to me. France quickly pulled it out of my reach. Damn it...

"Relax, Prussia. Their both completely harmless right now. One's in extreme pain, and the other..." He winced as England let out a blood-curdling scream. France rushed over to his cot.

"Angleterre! Are you alright? What is wrong? Tell me what hurts!"

His chest heaved in pain as I watched. A trickle of yellow flowed down his bare chest. "My...chest..." An unbidden tear rolled down his cheek as he gritted his teeth in agony. France quickly tore off his soiled bandage, and gasped in horror at the deep red lines criss-crossing his stomach. Somehow his wound was sinking into him, and I almost couldn't bare to look at the awful damage. France ran to dip a cloth in an unseen basin of water . He then wiped off the cause of his pain, and England's moans subsided to a manageable tone. France muttered soothing words in his native tongue, and the room filled with silence. France crept over to my bedside, his candle shaky as he moved.

"What happened to him?" I asked in shock.

"He has a pretty nasty stomach wound. It oozes a sort of acid and the acid is slowly eating away at him on the inside and outside. It is extremely painful..." England moaned again.

"I see..." Another wave of pain hit my leg like a bolt of lightning, and I winced.

"Whats wrong?"

"My leg...Shizel!"

He ran off again, and returned with a half empty brandy bottle. He quickly poured some into a small glass, and poured it down my throat. I choked a little, but was soon able to swallow. I nodded my thanks, and he pulled my soiled blanket further up my body.

"Now, the time is before the sun even thinks about rising. Please go back to sleep."

He turned to walk away, but I stopped him weakly. "Wait."

"What?" He didn't face me.

"What happened to Austria?"

He stiffened, and his ears turned red. He turned on his heel, and the stress of a thousand years showed on his face.

"Do you really want to know?" His expression was pained.

"Yes."

"Very well. You..." His voice broke, even for one of his greatest enemies. "...killed him."

"What?!"

"You heard me!" He was yelling, and his eyes were full of fury. I shrank back into my cot. "HE'S DEAD!"

England moaned again, and the mysterious sobbing started up again. But France was too much in hysterics to notice. "DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOUV'E DONE! YOU AND YOUR STUPID ANTICS! THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR! I SHOULD HAVE JUST LEFT YOU ON THE BATTLEFIELD TO DIE WITH HIM! OR BECOME LAME! WHEN HUNGARY FINDS OUT..." He collapsed into a nearby chair, dripped wax on his blood spattered shirt, and winced as it burned through to his skin. Silence filled the room once more. Francis buried his head in his hands, unkempt hair spilling out around the edges of those usually tender appendages. His candle burnt out, and the room plunged back into darkness.

_

(Spain)

I awoke with a start and sat up, wincing at the still sore wounds that covered my body. I could hear the sounds of Romano and his sister playing in their room, and a smile crossed my face. I lugged myself out of bed to greet the strong sunlight that filtered through the window. The blues of the room that were so like the ocean I loved sparkled in a spectacular display, and a wave of contentment swept over me. I quickly got dressed, and headed downstairs to the wonderful smell of breakfast being cooked by a beautiful woman.

"Buenos días, mi amiga generosa!" I drawled as soon as I saw Hungary. She gave me a small smile, and I sat down at the table. Her eyes were circled by dark rings again, and my pleasure was at once snuffed out.

"Is their anything wrong?" I asked, concern written over my features. She shrugged and continued to concentrate on the food she was preparing.

"It's nothing. Can you go get the boy- I mean little ones?"

"Sure." I headed up the stairs, bracing myself for the impact of two restless children. I stopped before the door, cracked my knuckles, and took a deep breath.

"Romano, Feliciano, its time f-"

"Big brother Spain! Big brother Spain! Good morning! I was up early this morning, and a messenger brought this for you! I saved it for you, even though my brother didn't want me t-"

"YOU WERENT SUPPOSED TO TELL HIM THAT YOU IDIOT!" The latter roared, and rushed at poor Feli. I caught him by the scruff before he could do any damage, and winced as he began to kick my stomach.

"Now now Romano, you know your not supposed to hit a girl!"

"But but but-"

"No protests! Your breakfast is ready, and I have tomatoes if you behave." He immediatly stopped kicking, and I let him down.

"Aww fine you big bully. Only for the tomatoes." He crossed his little arms, and I patted him on the head.

"Thats better. Now, what was this about a message?"

"OOH OOH I GOT IT I GOT IT!" Feli cheered and I chuckled. He handed me a slightly crinkled letter that had tomato juice spilled on it in a few corners. I tucked it in my vest pocket and pulled the two children into my arms. The protests were loud by both of them, but I managed to keep a grip on both of the cute little things all the way down the stairs before letting them down into their chairs. I will have so many new bruises after this...I thought, and smiled at the adorableness of my little Romano.

"All-right szeret, here's breakfast!" Hungary's cheerful voice rang out, and the two children cheered. She came in balancing three heaping plates of food. She set one down in front of each of us, and we each mumbled our thanks as we tore into our food. She glided back into the kitchen with a certain grace only possible with flowing skirts, and returned with a big juicy tomato. Apparently she heard my conversation. Oh well...I rejoiced in the big smile on my usually grumpy charge's face. He bit into the scarlet side of it, and I felt my mouth water. She placed another hidden one on my plate.

"Gracias!" I beamed, and followed suit in Romano's actions.

"Your very welcome!" She replied, and sat down with a small bowl of leftover goulash. My smile dissapeared.

"Why didnt you make yourself a nice breakfast?"

She picked at her food. "I didnt feel like it. I love my goulash."

"But you need to eat m-"

"I'm fine." She said, a little more sternly than she meant to. A momentary silence filled the room, and Italy raced over to her.

"Hungary? Why are you mad? I want a hug!"

Hungary lifted her into her lap, and Italy buried her face in the former's hair. "Don't be sad, Hungary. Its like you told me! Death is just the transition into a new world! It will be oka-"

She stiffened. "What did you say?"

"That I-" Realisation crossed Ita's little face at what she just said, and she covered her little mouth. "Nothing."

"Okay, then..."

Italy crawled sheepishly out of Hungary's lap, and looked at me helplessly. I glanced down at my plate.

"Spain? Do you know what that was about?"

"No." I picked at my plate, and the meal was eaten in silence from then on. Hungary had a worried expression on her tired face, and I sighed. I soon finished my delicious breakfast, and got up from the table.

"I'll be in my room." I said hurriedly, and swept off up the stairs, coattails streaming behind me. I closed the door, locked it with a click, and plopped down to read the soiled letter. It had a ripped corner, tomato juice , and a few mysterious water droplets on it, but other than that it was perfectly legible. I silently read, eyes wide and hands shaking.

My Dear Spain,

Dearest friend, the worst has come to be. Austria has stopped noticeably breathing, and it is assumed that he is dead. It is up to you to keep this regrettable information and decide how to let Hungary find out, but I highly suggest that this doesn't come to her knowledge any time soon. I am worried for our other dear comrade England as well, for it seems that my best efforts to cure him are slow, and an acid that oozes from his torn apart chest keeps him in daily agony. I believe he will survive, but it won't be an easy recovery. Keep us in your prayers, and I will continue to keep you updated on their very precarious situations.

I was forced to tell Prussia of what he has done, and I am happy to say that he has finally come to his senses. Sadly, this means that he is depressed and has nightmares every night, always waking up speaking of an unexplainable sobbing that only he can hear. He thinks it might be Austria's ghost. I shall have nightmares myself at the thought of that. I guess that means that he should be kept in your prayers too. His leg is healing well, thanks to our beloved Joan of Arc. I dearly hope that you are doing fine yourself with your considerable wounds from the battle, and give Hungary my condolences when you choose to tell her. I wish you the deepest luck in keeping her under control, but if you can do it with your Romano, I'm sure you can do it with a lady.

Votre Ami,

Francis Bonnefoy

So that was what poor Feliciano was talking about. She must be so traumatized...I thought to myself, and carefully folded the letter. I slowly got up, and went to get that poor soul who decided to read my letter.

"Feli?" I peeked out my doorway, intently listening to the sound of quiet sobbing in the next room that soon filled my ears. I pushed open the door to the sibling's room, and stared heartbroken at the sobbing little girl.

"I'm so sorry..." I said, and sat down next to her.

"What happened to him? Why did he die? Will Hungary die too? I miss him!"

"He was in a fight with someone, and that someone took advantage of him." I explained as simply as I could. She crawled into my lap, and buried her face into my shoulder. I hugged her tight.

"Why would anyone take advantage of Mr. Austria?"

I sighed, and attempted to answer her innocent question without babbling in my native toungue. "Some people are jealous of him I guess. All of his sucess..." I gasped. Suddenly it all made sense, Prussia's vague responses when he was asked about the cause of this newest scheme he had created against Austria, his mysterious use of the word love when I asked him if he knew what he had done. He wanted something that he would never have gotten, something that he had been burning in jealosy about forever. His excessive drinking, his request for a kiss that so puzzled me and France. His trip up on the battlefield- it all made sense now. He loved...

"Spain?" A quiet female voice whispered in the hallway outside the door and I realized that Ita had fallen asleep in my arms. I gently placed her in her bed, and quietly moved towards the sound of Hungary's voice.

"What were you doing in there?" She asked, confusion plain on her graceful features. I took a deep breath.

"Flor mia, I have news-" I began, but stopped at the disturbing sound of a huge crash downstairs. We locked eyes, and ran downstairs. Romano was standing off to a corner, staring with wide eyes at the remains of a vase.

"Romano!" I started, but was cut off by a soft hand to my mouth. "Wait..." She walked up to the guilty little one, and stooped down to look him in the eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry! I really am Ms. Hungary! It was a complete accident I swear! Please-"

"Shhhhhhhhhhh...Its okay...I understand..." She lifted him to her shoulder, and they embraced tenderly. He started to cry into her shoulder.

"I..." His voice was muffled and he pulled his face out of her hair for a moment to speak. "I...I cant do anything r-right..." He sobbed, and she soothed softly, murmuring praise into his little ear and rocking him gently. She turned to me, and nodded for me to come to her and comfort him. She handed him to me, and he whimpered as he was switched between us.

"Hush now, mi amour, its okay, your not a failure..." I tried my best to pick up where Hungary had left off, akwardly rocking him back and forth. His head and hands were tiny compared to mine, and he had latched on to one of my fingers. I stroked the back of his tiny hand with another finger, and slowly moved to the kitchen to get him a tomato. He sensed what I was doing, and reached out to grab it.

"I guess your not so much of a jerk..." He trailed off, and I felt my heart grow warm.

"Thanks for that, mi querido amor." I murmured in his ear, and he grunted an unintelligible response.

"What did you say?"

He blushed. "Ti amo di più."

I laughed, and my soul seemed to soar with the eagles as I replied. "Lo ti amo di più."

He started to sob again, and I took him up to his room, where his formerly sleeping sister was staring at us with wide eyes.

"Fratello?" She asked. "Are you all right?"

He looked up, and sniffled. "I'm fine." He crawled into his bed, and I planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Goodnight."

He grunted, and closed his eyes. I backed slowly out the door and walked down the stairs, wondering how on earth I was supposed to accomplish my latest task..

...