"Ve~ Can I go next? Please?" Veneziana hadn't left the stage with the other girls. "I just thought of a song!"
Japan nodded. "Hai, you can sing your song next, Veneziana-chan."
"Yay! Big Brother Spagna, can I borrow your guitar?"
Spain snapped out of his Avril Lavigne-induced trance and looked at Veneziana. "¿Qué? Mi guitarra, oh, sí, you can use it." Spain produced an acoustic guitar from nowhere and handed up to North Italy.
"Ve~ Grazie, fratello. I don't need a track if I have the guitar."
The usually-bubbly girl was acting uncharacteristically serious, and everyone wondered what song she would sing.
In answer to their unspoken questions, she began strumming and, after a few notes, she leaned forward and began.
"Na na na na na naa, na na na na na naa, na na na na na na na naa.
"Grew up in a small town, and when the rain would fall down, I'd just stare out my window. Dreaming of what could be, and if I'd end up happy, I would pray."
Everyone was shocked at how different her voice was when she sang. It was beautiful and clear, and almost...melancholic. She was like England, however: once she started, it was like she was in a different world.
"Tried so hard to reach out, but when I tried to speak out, felt like no one could hear me. Wanted to belong here, but something felt so wrong here, so I'd pray, I could breakaway!
"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly, I'll do what it takes, 'til I touch the sky! And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway. Out of the darkness and into the sun, but I won't forget all the ones that I love. I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway."
Veneziana was too focused on hitting the right chords to notice, but nearly everyone watching her was in tears. Even Prussia, who had said before that he was "too awesome" to cry, was sniffling and blinking rapidly (although he'd never admit he had cried at Canada's song as well). Veneziana continued.
"Wanna feel the warm breeze, sleep under a palm tree, feel the rush of the ocean. Get onboard a fast train, travel on a jet plane, far away, and breakaway!
"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly, I'll do what it takes, 'til I touch the sky, and I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway. Out of the darkness and into the sun, but I won't forget all the ones that I love, I've gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway."
The little Italian girl's spacey look had returned, although it wasn't air-headed as per usual. Instead, it seemed calm and at peace, perhaps with just a trace of underlying determination. Her gaze was still completely concentrated on her fingers, though, which began moving quicker and more forcefully as she moved away from the short instrumental break.
"Buildings with a thousand floors, swinging 'round revolving door, maybe I don't know where they'll take me, but I've gotta keep moving on, moving on, fly away, breakaway!"
The pace of the song slowed down after that, and Veneziana's eyes actually opened all the way for the first time in a while, shining with hope and solemnity.
"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly, though it's not easy to tell you goodbye, I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway."
She sounded as if she was on the verge of crying as she sang the last verse.
"Out of the darkness and into the sun, but I won't forget the place I come from, I've gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway...breakaway...break away."
She finished the song with a final flourish and strum of the strings, before she bowed and smiled through joyful tears at the applause she received. She ran off the stage, dropping Spain's guitar beside him as she went, and hopped into Hungary's lap, allowing her guardian to run her hands through her hair.
"Oi, sorellina!" Romana caught her attention from next to her. "Where the hell did you learn how to sing like that?"
Veneziana shrugged. "I don't know. Was I good?"
Romana turned pink and looked away, muttering something that only her sister heard.
"Yeah...yeah, you were."
Alright, well, sorry for not updating yesterday. I burned my finger with a hot glue gun :P
We have fanart~ Courtesy of the lovely and talented LaBlanc, also known as WhiteMaid on deviantART. Here's the link:
gallery/#/d5l87i2
