Hello dear readers. Sorry that this chapter was late in coming, I ran into difficulty articulating it. Well, I think this story has about one more chapter left after this one. Thank you for reading my story, and I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Please enjoy this chapter.
The ceremony went beautifully and without a hitch. Afterwards, the two monarchs drew their guests to a magnificent feast. Beer and wine were kept in a steady flow, and there were beautiful cakes, towers of fruits and cheeses, and intricately cooked meats of varying kinds. Lithuania and Poland had started off drinking beer, but a well-meaning adult took it away, instead, replacing it with milk, mistaking the two as children and not centuries old nations. When Jagiello and Jadwiga left the feast, Poland and Lithuania threw rice over them with the rest of the guests and cheered them on. Poland watched his king depart, and a pang of worry flared in his chest. She was so young, and Jagiello so much older and unknown. Silently he passed a prayer to the Virgin Mary for the young girl's protection.
While the majority of the men left to wait outside the widow of the newlyweds, and be the first to hear of the consummation between the two, Poland stayed in to socialized a bit longer with his nobles who were too old to brave the cold. Occasionally, Poland glanced over at Lithuania, who was huddled in a corner looking miserable. Occasionally a person would pass by and the brunet would try and make brief polite conversation only to be quickly rebuffed.
The old man sitting with Poland let out a snort. "That little Lithuanian does not belong here, would you not agree? I tried having a conversation with him, the boy knew next to nothing. He should be hidden away, where he belongs, and leave the finer things to his betters."
Poland pursed his lips. "He is learning, and it is all very new and scary for him."
The old man chuckled. "Oh, he is just scared? Perhaps a firm whipping would straighten him out; teach him to be a man, not a coward."
Poland opened his mouth, a sharp retort ready to come out and put the man in his place, but his wife saved him. "Darling, would you be so kind as to fetch me another glass of wine? I am afraid I have finished my cup already." Her husband obliged and when he left, she lay a hand on Poland's arm. "Forgive my husband. He means no harm."
"He has no right to talk to about my friend that way. He doesn't even know him! Sure, Liet is a little…odd…in social situations, and he dresses weird and talks funny, but he is no coward. I have heard some of his men talking about him in battle. Liet's far braver than that old goon."
The woman smiled faintly. "I apologize for my husband's behavior, he has had too much to drink. I have talked to the nation of Litwa and found him to be very polite, and appeared to be very smart."
"He's great. His polish has improved so much. People should give him more of a chance." Saying so, he glanced over to see Lithuania still in his corner, trying to respectfully hide a yawn.
Taking pity on his friend, and feeling rather sleepy himself, Poland said his goodbyes to the woman and motioned Lithuania to follow him out. Lithuania immediately did.
Poland skipped down the hallway when he noticed Lithuania was not behind him. The other had stopped and was standing awkwardly in the middle of the hallway. Without warning, he burst into tears. It startled Poland. "Liet! What's the matter with you?" he questioned frantically.
"M-my boss does…doesn't want me anymore! And…and…I don't have a place to sleep because I always slept in his room, but now I can't because he's married and…and…" Lithuania hiccoughed. Poland stared at him. "Liet," he whined. "You were going to sleep in my room tonight. Remember?" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Lithuania's hand and pulled him along the hallway, ignoring his tears. The blond chattered absently mindedly while Lithuania sniffed, trying to control himself.
"So yeah, I helped pick out her dress. That's why it looked so good. I'm really great at things involving clothes and fabric and stuff. I If I weren't a nation, I would want to be a tailor. Hey, now that we are part of a union, I can pick out your clothes all the time! With my help, you could actually look good."
"T-t-thank you." Lithuania whimpered. He didn't catch a word Poland had just said.
They arrived at Poland's room and he set about discarding his clothes into a heap on the floor. When he finished rummaging through his closet for pajamas, he turned around to see Lithuania folding the clothes, placing them off to the side.
"What are you doing?' Poland asked.
"Putting your nice clothes away."
"But they're dirty."
"I know, but you can't leave them in a heap on the floor." As he worked, Lithuania seemed a little less upset, so Poland gave him more dirty clothes to fold for the maids to take away the next day.
As Poland got dressed for bed, he continued to talk to Lithuania "Hope you don't mind but I told them to move your trunk into my room."
"Thank you."
"Your trunk has some really pretty carvings on it."
"Thank you." Lithuania sniffed, and Poland pouted. Now that the work was done, Lithuania was back to trying not to cry.
Poland climbed into bed, while Lithuania looked around distraught and confused. Poland rolled his eyes. "Hey Liet?"
"Y-yes?" Lithuania sobbed.
"You're sleeping with me."
"Thank you." He clambered into bed, laying on his side away from Poland.
Poland felt a surge of anger. This was meant to be a fun night for him and Liet, but Lithuania was ruining it. And all because you were too dumb to realize your boss is staying with me and you get a new one. Poland thought bitterly. The bed shook slightly as his friend cried. After what felt like an eternity the little nation angerly turned on his side, accidentally taking the covers with him. Lithuania yelped as the cold hit him. "P-Po?" he stuttered from sobs and cold. Poland pretended to snore. Lithuania lay shivering a moment longer, before cautiously scooting toward Poland. Carefully Lithuania snuggled up to him. "Po?" he whispered. "I need some of the blankets please." No response. "Polska?" Poland turned his face sleepily into the pillow, trying to keep from laughing. You are so much fun to tease! This is going to be great! The blond thought gleefully decided to plan another prank on Lithuania in the near future. Eventually, Lithuania lay down beside him, trying to keep some of the covers. "I'm sorry for crying," Lithuania whispered. "I just-I'll miss Jagiello so much, and he didn't even say goodbye. And now I have Vytautas and I don't know about him, and I'm really scared for what the future holds." Lithuania poured out his heart to whom he thought was a sleeping Poland. The blonde nation knew that if he revealed that he was not asleep, any trust he and Lithuania had built out would be shattered. "But," Lithuania continued, "I really like having you as a friend. Some good has definitely come out of this. I'm really glad to have met you." Lithuania was silent for a long time, and Poland smiled when he realized Lithuania was no longer crying but was breathing evenly. He was asleep. Poland sat up and looked at the Baltic's sleeping form. "Tomorrow Liet, our sleepover is going to be much more fun." He whispered. Poland lay back down and started to make a list of the things he would need. I'll ask Agata for some warm milk and some snacks. Then maybe I'll bring chess board, some books with the most decretive pictures so Liet can "ooh" and "aah" over them, a candle, socks for puppet shows, and an extra blanket for Liet. No. he decided. I like having my best friend close to me. I think I'll always steal the covers.
