MissiriKoharehn, TheOldKaiser, pinkdoughnuts, Abc, Polish reader and awesome cookies, thanks for the reviews! (And thanks for pointing out my mistake!)
Ah... I can't answer that question, now can I, TheOldKaiser? Those who've read Rising and Trouble (and paid attention to details) would know a bit more. But you'll see in the next 2-3 chapters, including this one. So you won't have to wait long for the answer!
By the way, 'the next 2-3 chapters' (excluding this one in this case) is all that's still coming. Yup. It's nearly Hope to Die's turn to, uhm, turn up here.
So yeah, Cross Your Heart is nearly done. Doesn't mean that this story is nearly done, too, no worries. Hope to Die will pick up where this one leaves off. Or a couple of years later, perhaps.
Anyway, on to the chapter:
2 July 1866
Tomorrow I am to face off with Austria yet again here in Bohemia. His old army isn't a match for me at all.
Therefore I am ashamed to admit that I have not won every battle against this idiot. Hanover won against me, too, but he has already surrendered, so that's good. Either way, really, this war is already won. Austria cannot win, he should know as much, so why not follow Hanover's example and just give up? I'm not planning to take any of his land, really, I just want him to stay out of my way as I go about creating Germany. Is that too much to ask for?
Well, the damn aristocrat will sure get what he's got coming, I can promise you!
The battle had lasted a few hours now, and Prussia was taking a break in one of the towns his army had managed to capture from the Austrians, patching up some of the injuries on his soldiers already; he wore a satchel on his belt today, containing needles, a small bottle of alcohol and stitching thread, so that he could help when necessary.
Right now he was busy patching up a young man, basically still a boy. "Don't worry," he said to the young soldier with a reassuring smile, "just give your arm some rest now, and your shoulder will be good as new. You'll be able to go back home to your family in one piece –and with a battle scar to brag about." He smirked then, and in a hushed voice he added: "If I were you, I'd spice the story up a bit, too! Always works."
The soldier smiled at this and thanked him, and Prussia then got up and looked around. There wasn't anyone else who needed his help immediately now, so he could go back to work out on the battlefield. Silently he hooked his satchel back onto his belt and grabbed his sword again, too, heading out. He climbed back onto his horse and rode to where he knew his army would be fighting now at high speed.
But he hadn't gotten too far yet when he heard a loud bang, and moments later he lay on the ground, his left shoulder burning in pain and his horse whinnying frantically. Before Prussia could very well sit up, something sharp pricked into his chest, and he opened his eyes to see a bayonet just about piercing his skin. Following the weapon, he saw Saxony standing over him, and he felt a twinge of fear. Surely Saxony wouldn't try to kill him?
But he showed none of that fear as his brother pressed the bayonet a millimetre or so deeper into his skin and gritted his teeth in rage. "You damn bastard," the Saxon began angrily. How I never saw how treacherous you can be is beyond me. Someone should have killed you long before you even became a kingdom –that's when everything went downhill for all of us."
Prussia listened in silence, and though the words hurt, the pain they left wasn't too bad. He pulled the tip of Saxony's bayonet out from between his ribs and flung his brother's weapon away with ease, then got to his feet. He didn't draw his sword yet, but he kept his hand on it threateningly. "Back off, Saxony," he told the Saxon in an angry growl. "You should've just thought like Hanover and surrendered already. This is the day that I'll crush Austria; I have no desire to hurt you as well."
"Liar," the older nation protested, eyeing Prussia's left hand carefully; the kingdom had tightened his grip on his sword as he spoke. "Ever since you rose to power, hurting others is all you've done. Don't you realise that? Don't you see how much suffering you've caused?" He gave his younger brother a shove, and Prussia had to do his best to stay on his feet. Saxony was still as strong ever. "Austria's right about you!" the Saxon then exclaimed, brown eyes ablaze with anger. "You're just a power-hungry bastard who doesn't give a shit about his family! How are we all supposed to trust you with all you want to change for us? Haven't you done enough? You've taken over so much land in the past 150 years, you've established your Zollverein, you have become a goddamn legend among some for the speed with which you rose to power –when will it be enough?" He didn't give Prussia a chance to reply, and instead hit him in the face a second later.
Prussia was tempted to grab his sword for real now, but he reminded himself that this was his brother just in time. Instead he glared at Saxony. "It will be enough once I've established Germany," he told him. "Once we're all united and working together as the greatest empire the world has ever seen!"
"Don't make me laugh," Saxony grumbled, pure hatred in his eyes. "You don't want us to work together, you just want to be the next Holy Roman Empire. Don't think I've forgotten how much you adored him from basically day one. You may be a real hotshot within the family these days, but don't you forget that, deep down, you're still just a little kid who just misses his big brother and hopes he can bring him back to life."
For this Prussia punched him in the face, knocking him back. "You have no idea what you're talking about!" he yelled at Saxony. "I'm not so stupid that I believe I can bring Holy Rome back –he's gone forever, I know that! But that doesn't change the fact that I want us to live and work together and-"
"You're just a fool, Prussia."
"You're just a sore loser!"
Saxony then charged forward again, trying to draw his sword, but Prussia was faster. In a swift, instinctive movement, the albino slashed at Saxony in an attempt to defend himself. His heart skipped a beat in distress when his sword cut into his brother's face, from his jaw to his right brow and crossing his nose. Blood spurted from the wound, and Saxony fell back again with a scream of pain.
"Saxony!" Prussia exclaimed, crashing onto his knees beside his bleeding brother. "I didn't- I'm so sorry, I- H-hang on, Sax, I'll-!"
"Shut up!" the Saxon interrupted him, sounding scared and in pain, and he flailed both his arms into the air, and Prussia noticed he was trying to push the younger kingdom away, but… "Goddammit, Prussia, I… I can't see, dammit!"
Prussia's breath caught in his throat as he traced the deep cut in the Saxon's face; it ran from the left tip of his jaw over his cheek, across his nose… and it has cut into his left eye, as well. The right was left untouched, but the blood that oozed into it blinded him on that side now, too. He felt sick as he reached for the satchel on his belt. "I can help," he told his brother, trying to sound calm. "Let me help you, please."
Saxony shook his head, but his protest was feeble, and he gave in. When he heard Prussia fumble with his things, he asked nervously: "W-what are you doing?"
The Prussian decided he would have to tell him everything he would do. "I'm soaking a bit of my uniform in alcohol," he explained with a trembling voice. "To clean out the wound. It'll sting, but-"
"I'm not a baby, Prussia," Saxony huffed, though he sounded terrified. "I know it stings, and I don't care. Just… just do it."
The wounded Saxon grunted in pain when Prussia cleaned out the wound, but the albino kept going. "I'll make stitches over your left cheek," he then said softly. "The skin on your nose is too close to the bone, I don't think I can very well… A-anyway, the bit on your brow will be stitched too, a-all right?"
"Stop talking and just…" Saxony sighed then, trailing off, and didn't speak afterward.
Of course that made Prussia's work easier on him, but it got him more distressed with the second. Saxony wasn't the type to be quiet, and it scared Prussia. Stay alive, stay alive… He was terrified for his brother as he looked at his blood soaked face and he felt sick with guilt. I can't kill again, not again… Please, Saxony, you have to survive!
When he was done, Saxony let out a shaky sigh. "That hurt…"
"Don't move," Prussia warned him. "Don't talk, you don't want to bust the stitches." He then carefully helped the partially blinded nation onto his horse and sat down behind him, moving quickly but carefully. Saxony leant against him heavily, his breathing coming in quick gasps by now, and he was trembling.
Despite Prussia's warnings, eventually Saxony started talking again. "I'm sorry if you thought I hated you," he told Prussia in a trembling voice. "Because I don't… I despise you for all you've done, but you're my brother. I don't like you, but I could never hate you. In fact… I admire you." Prussia hushed him, but the Saxon ignored the younger nation. "They all saw something in you… Holy Rome, Brandenburg, even Hesse and Hanover and Württemberg. I suppose it wasn't all misguided on their part."
"Saxony, be careful," Prussia insisted, getting scared for his brother all over again. What if something went wrong?
But the Saxon sighed. "I'm being careful, I promise. I need to… I need to talk. For my own good right now… You understand?"
Prussia nodded, but Saxony didn't react to that. His stomach twisting, the albino choked out a 'yes', feeling sick as he thought about how he had no choice but to speak now, simply because it reminded him that Saxony couldn't see, that he'd blinded his brother. Prussia held him closer subconsciously. He hoped he could find the enemy camp in time –Saxony could not give him any real directions anymore now.
Meanwhile Saxony kept talking softly, his words sometimes inaudible to Prussia, other moments he could follow him quite well. He spoke of the past, of how things had changed between him and Prussia. Random things, really, just to keep himself talking as he had said he needed to. And eventually, when Prussia could barely hear him anymore, he whispered: "You know, I… Actually… I'm scared."
"I'm trying to find your army," Prussia then explained, realising that he hadn't cleared that up to his brother yet. "There's no need to be scared of anything, Saxony. I'll find them, and they'll have supplies to help you more, and…"
Saxony hummed, not at all convinced. "And then what?" he stammered, sounding terrified. "I should just live like this for the rest of my life? Blind?" He whimpered then, pressing even closer to Prussia all on his own now. "I'm not sure if I want that… It's that which I'm scared off…"
"I know," Prussia replied calmly. "I understand. It'll be fine, Saxony, we'll find something."
An eternity seemed to have passed before Prussia reached what looked like a base of operations for his enemies. It took until Prussia threw his sword onto the ground and held up one hand –holding Saxony with the other- for the Austrians and Saxons to rush to his side without their weapons drawn. He let them take Saxony from him as he jumped off his horse himself, then saw that one part of the stitching had opened up again somewhere along the way and had started bleeding massively again.
Immediately he started explaining what had happened. "It was an accident," he choked out, eyes wide and his entire body trembling. "H-he attacked me and I was trying to defend myself and before I knew it, this happened and I didn't mean to but he-!" Someone told him to shut up quickly, but he couldn't control himself anymore now that he finally had people who could help his brother. "I tried to do what I could with the stitches, and he should be fine for now, but he needs help and-!"
"Shut up!" someone then yelled at him, staring at the Prussian with blazing green eyes. "Can't you see? He's dead."
Prussia fell silent immediately, staring wide-eyed at his brother. He'd thought Saxony had run out of things to talk about. He'd hoped he had, when he'd stopped talking a few minutes before they got here. Now he saw he wasn't breathing anymore, either.
His stomach made a somersault, and then a rock seemed to land in it. His heart sank and his knees buckled. Saxony was dead? By his hand? He shook his head, refusing to believe it yet. "He's not," he protested feebly. "H-he's not dead. He shouldn't be, he can't be!" But he was.
Prussia had killed his brother.
Numb, he looked around at the soldiers surrounding him. They stared at him with hostile gazes, and they had all the right to be furious with him. Still, he couldn't help but try: "Please… I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I… I tried to save him." Warm tears welled up in his eyes, and when he saw the looks the others still gave him, he didn't try to stop them. "He's my brother… Please, may I have a moment alone with him? I'll be… forever grateful…"
Finally the humans seemed to accept his presence more, and one of them –the highest in command present right now- nodded and told his men to leave Prussia alone for the time being, then ordered two others to bring Saxony somewhere where the kingdom could have some privacy with his brother.
Prussia thanked him, then requested for some water to be brought into the room as well –he wanted to at least clean the Saxon's face a bit. He couldn't do anything about the giant gash in his face, it wouldn't heal post mortem, but he could redo the stitches and clean the blood away. He deserved to be seen looking as much like himself as he could be, when the family would lay eyes on the kingdom for the last time.
"I'm so very sorry, Saxony," Prussia whispered to his brother as he dabbed at his bloodied face, careful as though he could still feel it. "For everything. I know I've hurt you, I know… I know I should've been more grateful for all the things you've given me. You've helped me and supported me so much in the past, and how have I repaid all that? By basically taking all you had…" He felt choked up, and he could feel fresh tears welling up in his eyes. "You had all the right to be so angry with me. I would've hated me, too, if I had been in your position. And yet…" I could never hate you. Prussia bit back a whimper. "How can you not?" He gritted his teeth as he finished cleaning away all the blood. Saxony was nearly himself again now, if only it wasn't for… It was so deep. Prussia could basically see his cheekbone. The bone in his nose had actually been cracked by the sword. His eye…
I did this…
Suddenly the Prussian threw the blood-soaked cloth away, screaming in frustration. "Why?! Why me?! Why must it always be me who ends up doing… doing… this! I didn't mean to kill Bavaria, I didn't mean to kill Saxony, so why?!" But then, Bavaria hadn't been an accident, had it? Maybe one could view it as such, considering that when he'd regained some sense he regretted it with all his heart. But when Prussia thrust his sword into her chest, he had wanted her to die, and he had wanted to kill her.
He had murdered Bavaria, but he hadn't murdered Saxony. Murder was intentional.
But what did that change? Prussia was still the one thing he had sworn to never become. He was still a murderer, and he had just killed again.
How was he supposed to live with himself, knowing that he was the one thing he hated most in this world? He was the man who was supposed to do great things, so why did he screw up all the time in such a horrible way?
When Prussia finally returned to his troops, the battle was over, and he'd won. The kingdom was immediately being told off by his commanders for not showing up for the majority of the battle. He only needed to reply that 'Saxony died' for them to leave him alone for the rest of the day. Prussia wrote letters to both his allies and his enemies, to try and explain the situation before they would accuse him of murder. He didn't want them to have the wrong idea.
The loss of Saxony dampened his spirit, and he didn't feel nearly as victorious when, after mere weeks, seven to be more precise, he beat Austria and got to disband the German Confederation; he kicked out Austria and all pro-French states, being Bayern, Bavaria and Württemberg, the southern layer of the former German Confederation, and with the remaining states he then formed the North German Confederation instead.
Much to Prussia's relief, no one, not enemy and not ally, blamed him for Saxony's death. Everyone appreciated it when he declared he would take the care of the kingdom's reincarnation unto himself, though. But no such reincarnation was born in the months after the war, and Prussia lost hope that he would be reincarnated at all. But why not? Sure, Prussia occupied a lot of his former land, but there was plenty to still be represented separately. So why?
His mind was taken off all that when he received a letter at the start of 1867, one that got his blood boiling.
To the Kingdom of Prussia
It is our great pleasure to inform you of the soon to be established union between the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary.
We hereby invite you to attend the wedding between these two nations, which is to be held on 30 March this year. It-
He stopped reading. His heart and his mind were empty, devoid of any feeling, any thought, any life. Then he looked at the letter, and thought about what a sick joke it was. But Hungary had rebelled against Austria! They'd fought, and it looked like they would break up and-
And they were getting married?
He ignored the letter for the rest of the day as he went about his work, but late in the evening, when he finished for the day and had dinner, he saw it lying on the corner of his table. He lost his appetite in a heartbeat, and with a sigh he picked it up and read the rest of the letter. They wanted him there? Prussia guessed a human had written this rather than Austria or Hungary themselves, and probably not too willingly. His king would probably tell him he had to go, and he wouldn't be allowed to refuse.
Was this punishment for the accident with Saxony?
He huffed and grabbed paper, an inkwell and a pen, then began to write quickly:
12 January 1867
To the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary,
My apologies that I won't be able to attend your wedding. I'm trying to establish an empire that will outshine any empire before it and it's keeping me very busy, as you can probably imagine.
Also, Austria, you've got some nerve, pulling something like this shortly after I kicked your sissy ass in that war. I beat you in just seven measly weeks, after all. Must hurt, doesn't it?
Lizzie, you're a fool for marrying this guy. If you're being forced into this against your will, send me an SOS letter asap, and I will come get you out of there. No, I won't force you to marry me instead. (Can I, though?) If this is your own free will, I stick with what I said about you being a fool. But then, I've always called you Crazy Woman, haven't I? Name suits you, idiot.
Then, I suppose you're not exactly waiting for my blessing for this wedding, which is good. Because you're not getting it. Ever.
In short, I'm not coming, I hate you, leave me alone.
Watching the woman I've loved for centuries marry the man I've hated for centuries?
No.
Fuck you kindly,
Prussia
Well. It was a rough draft, but it got the message across pretty well.
Prussia then crumpled the letter from Austria and Hungary and threw it into the fireplace he'd lit a few minutes ago, watching it burn to as crisp.
Still, on 30 March, Prussia was in Vienna with the rest of his family. It was quite the grand wedding, more so than his own had been, and he hated being there with so many people. He avoided Austria and Hungary as much as he could, but they were hard to miss once the actual wedding ceremony started.
Hesse and Hanover had placed themselves on either side of Prussia, as if they were bodyguards. And frankly, they were acting as bodyguards, but to Austria and Hungary instead of Prussia, and the albino kingdom felt like a prisoner between them. Prussia just huffed and sat with his arms crossed over his chest, his shoulders raised and his eyes narrowed grumpily.
Just before Austria and Hungary would say their vows, Hesse nudged Prussia, whispering sharply: "Stop pouting like a child, Prussia." He sounded angry. "You don't need to ruin this day for them. At least pretend to be happy for them."
"But they know I'm not happy," the Prussian protested in a mutter. "Why should I care, anyway?"
Hungary was then asked that godawful question, would she take Austria as her husband. Prussia gritted his teeth. "Please say no."
"I do."
"Fuck off, girl. Worst mistake in your life, I tell you."
"Prussia, do shut up."
The albino huffed again and went back to pouting as he watched the wedding. Austria seemed much too willing to say 'I do' as well, and Prussia's stomach started doing backflips when they kissed. It wasn't the first time he'd seen them kiss, but this one… this one was so official. They were married now. They were married, they still loved each other, they were probably very happy together.
It was all over now.
Hungary was officially Austria's wife, far out of Prussia's reach, something he could only dream of now. You've won, Sissy, he thought sadly as he watched them part after the kiss. Hungary's beautiful green eyes were sparkling brightly as she gazed at her new husband. You've won…
Prussia kept to himself as much as he could at the reception, glancing at Hungary now and then, but his heart ached when he did so. He'd loved being her friend, it had been so much better than having her hate him. But sometimes being her friend just wasn't enough. Maybe it would've been easier on him if she'd married someone he actually liked, someone of whom he could understand what she saw in them. But Austria was just… just Austria. He was an arrogant prick, a real sissy aristocrat boy, and he was so different from Hungary; she was strong in every definition of the word, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and never sugar-coated her words like Austria did. She was a free spirit, while Austria was stuck-up and too much a stickler for the rules. Hungary was so kind deep inside… Her words could sting like a sword but still hold traces of warmth. Austria's voice could be sweet and smooth as honey but with hidden mockery and disdain for anyone 'below' him.
They were opposites! Complete, utter, polar opposites. How could she love him? How could he love her?
Suddenly the wineglass Prussia held in his left hand shattered in his grip, which he hadn't even noticed had grown tighter. Red wine dripped from his fingertips, soon mingled with blood as the glass cut into his hand. He grunted and rolled his eyes, sighing when Austria, who stood close enough to have noticed it, turned to him with an annoyed shimmer in his eyes. "Prussia, can't you be more careful? Those aren't very cheap."
Prussia turned to him with a smirk, sarcasm evident in every inch of his face as he sneered: "Well, it's not my fault that these expensive glasses are too fragile for my awesomeness." He was plucking glass from his palm as he talked, ignoring the pain, and threw the shards onto the floor around him. Austria stared at it all with a grimace, and that became even worse when Prussia walked over to him and gave him a 'friendly', rather patronising pat on the cheek with his bloodied hand. "Hey, congrats on the wedding, sissy," the albino said sharply in a hushed voice. "The worst time of your life has just begun. Marriage always ends and it always ends in pain." His breath caught in his throat and his gaze hardened as he looked Austria deep in the eyes, adding: "Now when the time comes, if you don't do everything in your power to spare her that pain, I swear I'll kill you."
"Like you killed Bavaria?" Austria demanded angrily, glaring. At least he had the sense to whisper, still keeping this a secret between him and Prussia. Why, though, Prussia didn't understand. "And Saxony?"
Prussia only gritted his teeth and turned around, walking away angrily. That had just crossed the line, crossed it a million times over. Like he wasn't feeling guilty enough yet!
But Austria was just as angry, and called after him. "Typical Prussia! You're fine with taunting others, but when the response gets a little too close to home for you, you turn tail and run!" Prussia stopped beside a table, standing completely still, letting the words wash over him. He grabbed another wineglass and calmly drank that as he listened to his cousin's rant about him. "You know what I hate most about you? It's how you always try to find excuses for your behaviour. 'I wasn't myself at that moment', or 'it was an accident!' Even better: 'Whatever I did, it was unintentional'. Unintentional my ass! You know as well as I do that you're a murderer, Prussia, so why don't you take responsibility for your actions? Grow up and admit that you're a criminal who's killed people in cold blood!"
Prussia had gotten more tense with each word, trying in vain to control himself. It might be a wedding, it might be a celebration, but Austria was asking for it. At lightning speed the Prussia spun around and flung his empty wineglass at Prussia, missing his stupid face by a hair. "They're not excuses if they're the truth!" he retorted, yelling. Everyone had gotten quiet by now and stared at the two in shocked silence, but Prussia ignored them. It was just him and Austria, no one else. He wouldn't hold back. "If you're too stupid to let go of your grudges, that's not my problem! If you're too blind to see that you have no reason to complain, that you have every fucking thing a man could wish for, that's not my fault! Yes, I've done things I regret, but between us, you're the unbelievable one! You resent me for trying every day to climb up and make something of my accursed life while you were born with everything you could ever need. You hate me for the mistakes I've made, but you fail to see that you are the most insufferable prick in the entire world! You're the one who's never satisfied with what he has –at least I have reason for all my actions, I really started from nothing and had to fight and make sacrifices for every goddamn thing I've ever achieved in my life! And you, goddammit, you have no idea how hard all that has been and still is –of course I make mistakes!"
Then, without waiting for an answer, he turned around again and walked away, slamming the door shut behind him.
It felt like hours had passed before Prussia saw another face again; he'd gone off without paying attention to where he was going, but when he found himself in what appeared to be a storage room and found a collection of different wines in there, he counted himself lucky. Being drunk was exactly the thing he needed right now, and by the time he heard the door creak open, he'd drunk an entire bottle already and had just started on the second. He was rather drunk indeed.
His stomach twisted when he saw that it was Hungary who had come to look for him. She looked uncomfortable being alone with him while he was in this mood, but could barely see that. Austria was so lucky, once again. She looked stunning in her wedding dress, a goddess. She sighed as she saw him take another sip of wine. "Gil," she began carefully, "I think you've had enough of that."
Prussia sighed and turned away, though he did put the bottle away; he had to admit that she was right, if not for the amount of alcohol then for the amount of plain liquid. "You should be with you precious husband," he told her with a huff. "Go away and leave me alone. I'm perfectly fine here on my own."
"I don't think you are," Hungary replied calmly, sitting down beside him. It appeared to be a bit of a struggle in that dress, but she managed, and soon looked more comfortable again. They were both quiet for a little while, until Hungary sighed deeply. "Prussia, can't you try to be more… likeable? It's my wedding day. You haven't quite ruined it, it wasn't that bad, or rather, it wasn't unexpected. But still, I…" She trailed off as she looked at him, blinking once. "Roderich stepped out of line, too, I told him that. He was seeking a confrontation as much as you were, and he shouldn't have."
"I wasn't seeking anything other than solitude," Prussia protested, still not looking at her. "I didn't want to be here in the first place!"
Hungary was silent for a moment, and Prussia feared those words had hurt her. But then she answered softly: "I know. Gil, if you… if you love me even half as much as I do Roderich, then I can only imagine how much being here today must hurt you."
Prussia laughed dryly and shook his head. "I think you've got it backwards, Lizzie," he whispered, turning to look at her now, locking gazes with her. "If you love him… if he loves you even half as much as I do you… then you're lucky to have married him." He kept staring at Hungary, and saw her eyes turn glassy at his words, tears slowly welling up in them. He could see that she was biting the inside of her lip, trying not to make a sound.
Not thinking, he crossed what little distance there was between them and kissed her. Much to his surprise, she didn't pull away from him, but neither did she kiss him back. She just let him do so, and waited patiently until he let go of her again. There was no anger in her gaze once he did, no surprise, not much of anything, only a silent apology before she told him softly: "You shouldn't do that again, Gil. Please… please don't. It's inappropriate now. I mean, it was so before, but even more now. I'm married, Gil. I'm married to Roderich." He nodded solemnly, sighing deeply, and Hungary then wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Oh, but I do still love you, Gil," she told him. "I told you once and I will tell you again, that will never change. You will always be my dear friend."
"Stop saying that," he pleaded, hiding his face in the crook of her slender neck. "Please, I… I don't want to be your friend."
"But you are," the Hungarian answered, sounding more stern now. "Nothing will change that, it just is as it is. I'm sorry, Gil."
Prussia sighed and nodded. He would probably just have to put up with it for the rest of his life or something like that. Sure. So easy, he could do that, no problem at all. He was about to say something, but then his stomach did a somersault yet again, and he grunted instead before he could stop himself. Hungary turned to look at him again, in surprise this time, and her eyes began shining mischievously when she saw the look of discomfort on his face. "You're feeling sick, aren't you?"
Prussia snorted, grinning. It was maybe a grimace, as well. "Maybe a little," he said dismissively.
But Hungary wouldn't let it go that easily. She got to her feet again and stared down at him, smirking. "Ha! The Awesome Prussia has finally met his match, then! I remember you saying once that you can handle any amount of alcohol no problem." She leant down and ruffled his hair, chuckling softly. "Well, maybe that bit of boasting was just boasting after all, then?" Prussia just glared at her, and it only took Hungary until she saw him cringe again when bile rose in his throat to walk away and grab a small, empty grain container for him. "Just use that, all right?" Prussia gratefully accepted the thing and thanked her for it. The young woman then smiled at him. "I'd better head back before anyone misses me," she told him softly. "It's my party, after all. Just hang in there, Gil; not even the worst hangover can last a lifetime."
Prussia watched her go, finally feeling like he could forget his confrontation with Austria. When had it ever been different between them, after all? This was just another of those moments that would come and pass again, and soon they'd find something else to fight over.
When Prussia got back home a couple of days later, Bismarck was there, waiting for him. Prussia was surprised to see the human in his home, but he said nothing about it when the Chancellor asked him simply: "So, how was the wedding?"
Prussia huffed. "Have you read my reports on Hungary and Austria?"
"They were practically the first I picked up, yes."
"There's your answer," Prussia just stated, sitting down at his desk and staring at Bismarck. "The wine was nice, though. Got pretty darn drunk on that, too." Bismarck huffed in silent, held-back laughter at this, as Prussia went on to ask him: "So what are you doing here?"
Bismarck looked at Prussia calmly as he said: "I'm here to discuss the matter of Saxony with you." Prussia's heart sank at this, and he asked hoarsely what there was to say about him. The human looked unfazed by how much his kingdom seemed to hate this topic. "I know that you've been wondering why he hasn't been reborn yet," he went on, still calm. "Why do you think it is?"
Prussia was taken aback by all this, and shook his head. "I don't know," he confessed. "I thought maybe I had taken over too much of his land before his death, but that can't be it, countries have survived on much less than he has –some permanently live on much less –my cousin Liechtenstein for one, plenty of other members of my family, too." He fell silent, thinking of other things that might have caused it, but he couldn't think of anything. He looked up at Bismarck with a pleading gaze then. "Do you have any idea, then?"
The human didn't answer for a moment, only met his stare with an even one of his own, then shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Prussia, my apologies. I wish I could clear this up for you and your family." He then got up from where he sat, staring at his kingdom with a tiny smile on his lips. "Well now, I'd better get going again; I'm rather busy, as you can imagine. I'm glad to see you returned safely, Prussia. Goodbye for now."
Prussia said goodbye as well, staring after the human as he left the nation's home, silent and confused. What had he come here for, really? He'd said they'd discuss Saxony, but then when they were just getting started, he just left? Prussia was still glad that he could work with Bismarck, the man was a genius, but sometimes…
He hated not being able to tell what he was thinking.
16 July 1870
France declared war on me today. He doesn't like the idea of the unification I'm pursuing. Well, not my damn problem, Stubble-face! I'm going through with this whether you like it or not. We're so close, so damn close now, and I'm not going to give up just because you're afraid of me.
Because that is all they are, all of them. Austria, France, everyone who tries to oppose my plans. They're all just afraid of me and what I can do.
Hungary wrote me a letter just weeks ago. She said "I don't care what others think or say, I know how important all this is to you, so I will support you in uniting your family. I hope, for your sake Gil, that you succeed. But I also hope that you can do it without causing too much trouble for others. Saxony was sacrificed to create Germany, and I don't want you sacrificing anyone or anything else. Still, though I cannot and will not help you on a national scale, I just want you to know and remember whenever you're in a pinch… You've got a friend in me, and I will cheer you on. Go, create Germany, and lead your family to brighter days."
She understands! Hungary finally understands and she supports me in this. I couldn't be happier.
Yes, Saxony was sacrificed for the sake of creating Germany, I see that now. I will not watch anyone else die to achieve this. I will make sure of it.
But I will not stop no matter what.
We're too close now to give up.
Saxony's death? Blame my sister for it. I sometimes go to her for advice if I'm not sure what to do with a certain plot point, and when I'd written the accident between Prussia and Saxony I went to her again with the question: "Shall I let him live (he'll be half-blind then) after this and (...), or shall I let him die?"
"...Kill him."
That's kind of how it went XD (though she was being merciful on the poor man, really. He was honestly terrified at the idea of going blind, understandably, and he wasn't exactly afraid of death, so...)
So yeah. Sorry for that.
By the time the next chapter is posted, I'll probably be back in school. Oh, good stuff... (I'm one of those weird people who loves school). And even better stuff is the fact that we'll do German Unification and the World Wars in history class this year. Well, mix that up with the ending chapters of CYH and the main plot in HtD... Ah, the bliss~
Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!
