Alfred woke up sometime to find that Arthur was laying next to him. He blinked. Why was his dad sleeping with him? Was this a thing parents did with their kids? Whenever he was upset, Etsi would only send him outside or inside, depending on where she was, and make him spend some time alone until he had calmed down and gotten out of his hair. He tried to remember if she was like that with her tribes...but most of the tribes were ages older than him. Maybe it was just a European thing.
Alfred blinked when Arthur shifted, letting out a slight groan. He felt Arthur start rubbing Alfred's back softly. "Well, you got some sleep. Perhaps that will do you some good. I think we both needed to take a little bit of a break," he said. Alfred swallowed before scooting closer to his father, snuggling his face into Arthur's church. Arthur chuckled and ran a hand through Alfred's hair, continuing to stroke the coloney's hair. "Get some sleep lad. You're safe here," said Arthur, sensing that Alfred was close to being wide awake. Alfred let out a sigh before falling asleep.
Once Alfred was deep asleep, Arthur pulled away and placed the pillow he had been using in Alfred's arms so the boy had something warm and soft to hug. He went downstairs and started working on something to eat, making sure that what he made was carefully prepared. England was especially careful to make sure that everything was made exactly as the townswomen taught him, though he did start it a little bit aflame. He was certain that Alfred wouldn't mind the meal being slightly crisp.
After a couple of hours, Arthur heard a groggy Alfred make his way downstairs. He smiled to himself. "You're up just in time. I was about to wake you. Dinner is ready if you're hungry. Did you sleep well?" he asked. Alfred nodded. "I-I'm sorry I cried so much...I know it was probably troublesome…" he whimpered. Arthur blinked. "No! Nononono. You weren't troublesome at all. You were reliving what sounded like a traumatic experience. You're in a new place. You're in a new situation. Don't apologize. You could have reacted a lot worse," he said.
Alfred sniffed and waddled over to Arthur before hugging Arthur's leg. England blinked before smiling as Alfred sniffled and nuzzled him. "Thank you," said the boy slightly. Arthur smiled. "No need to thank me either my boy. Now, let's sit down and eat this meal. Hopefully, you like it. I worked hard on the meal. Do you need help getting into the chair?" he asked. Alfred nodded, face still buried in his father's pants. Arthur picked up Alfred and placed him into the chair.
He wiped Alfred's face, making sure that the boy's sudden runny nose was cleared up as well, before serving him food. "Eat up. Growing boys need their food," chuckled Arthur. Alfred brightened up at that. "...I can have as much as I want?" he asked. "As much as you can reasonably eat. Don't want you getting sick after all," said Arthur with a smile. Alfred nodded and dug in happily. Arthur chuckled. "How is it? Do you like it?" he asked. Alfred nodded. "I like it a lot. It tastes really good! Thank you for making it for me!" he said. Arthur smiled. "It was a pleasure lad," he said.
Alfred happily dug into the food, hoping Arthur wouldn't talk about what had happened. Luckily, Arthur didn't bring it up. "So, what do you want to do? I have some work for the evening, but I can spare and hour or two playing with you or doing something," said Arthur nicely. Alfred shook his head, already feeling bad for what he perceived as a fit a few hours earlier. "No, I wanna see you work? What do you do? Are you a...um...explorer? Or a king? You sounded imporant in Roanoke," said Alfred.
Arthur found himself smiling proudly. "No no, I'm not royalty. Nations aren't ever allowed to be in charge of their own nations. It turns out very badly if we ever try. No, what I do is I work for the British government. I am in charge of all the coloneys and maintaining order and standards the royal family has set forth. So, yes, while I work with the King very often, I am not the king. My work isn't that exciting. For tonight, I have to go over accounts and fill out paperwork. It won't be interesting to you," said Arthur.
Alfred shook his head. "I wanna watch you work," he insisted. Arthur sighed but nodded. "Alright, alright. I think what I'll do first is some sewing. I'm sure you're tired of tripping over your sleeves," he said. Alfred smiled. "Alright! That sounds like fun!" he said. Arthur nodded and started doing dishes, finishing quickly before taking Alfred over to the livingroom. "Here, why don't you help me by handing me the materials I need? I'm certain I have some scraps of cloth somewhere around here. Just give me a second to retreive everything," said Arthur.
Alfred nodded and sat on the couch, dangling his feet. Arthur dug around in his sewing chest. "Ah here we go. This will do nicely," he said, sitting down next to Alfred. "Could you please hand me the scissors and pencil you have sitting next to you?" he asked, gesturing to the chest next to the boy. Alfred nodded excitedly and handed him both of the tools. "What are you drawing?" he asked as he watched Arthur trace something onto the cloth. "Sit still my boy, you'll be able to see it when I'm done," Arthur said before starting to cut the cloth, handing Alfred the pencil once again.
Arthur started sewing the pieces of cloths together, letting Alfred help every now and again. Alfred was excited about the project, not caring that he didn't know what the project was. After an hour or two, Arthur smiled proudly and hid the object behind his back. "Now Alfred, I want you to close your eyes and hold out your hands," he said. Alfred looked confused but threw his hands out and closed his eyes. Arthur smiled as he put a small toy into the coloney's hands.
"Alright now lad, open youreyes and tell me what you think," said Arthur with a smile. Alfred slowly opened his eyes before beaming. "You made me a rabbit! It looks just like Cinnabunbun. Ooohhh, can I name her Bonny? Because she's pretty! That's her name, Bonny the Bunny," he chattered excitedly. Arthur chuckled at the boy's excitement. "You can name her whatever you wish dearheart. Just do your best to take good care of her, alright? I don't know when we will be getting another shipment of cloth, so we need to be careful with the amount we have," he said.
Alfred nodded vigourously before hugging Arthur tight. "Thank you so much! I never had a toy like this before! It's so nice and soft and I can even sleep with it at night! Right? I can take it to bed with me if I want to, right?" he asked, looking a little unsure for a moment. Arthur nodded. "She can keep you company. Don't worry, I am just happy that you seem so thrilled about the toy. Now you have something to play with while I do my work," he said. Alfred nodded and started playing.
Arthur smiled and started doing his paperwork, chuckling to himself when he heard Alfred talk to Bonny in his strange language. "Alfred dear, can you please use English? It'll help you get better adjusted," he said. Alfred blinked and slowly nodded. "Alright...I think I can do that. ...Will you get mad at me if I don't do it very good?" he asked. Arthur smiled. "No, but I'll be happy to gently correct you. It's not very good. It's very well. See? We're learning already," said Arthur. Alfred made a face but nodded, picking up Bonny.
"Okay Bonny, I think you'll like it here. The other bunnies left. They said that there's too many hunters in this village. But I'm kinda confused by that. Who would hurt a bunny? You guys are too nice and sweet and cute...like me! But I guess people will be mean to sweet things as well….Anyways, this is the living room. I'm not sure why it's called that, but it's where...living people live? I don't know. I live upstairs! I have to show my things! They're pretty nice. I have feathers and oh! You stay right here! I want to work on something!" said Alfred, placing Bonny next to his very amused father before running upstairs.
Alfred went upstairs to start working on something. Arthur sighed and paid it no mind. There wasn't much upstairs that the small boy could get into to make too much mischeif. England continued before finally finishing his paperwork late at night, a bit delayed due to the hectic past few days. When he was finished, Arthur went upstairs, got ready for bed, and checked on Alfred. He knocked on the boy's door. "America, have you gone to bed?" he asked softly.
There was no answer. Arthur hesitated before slowly entering his room, finding Alfred laying facedown on the floor, some sort of craft thing scattered around him. England chuckled. "Tried to stay up to finish your project as well, hmm? Well, I think it's time for you to take a break," he said, gently picking up the boy and ruffling his hair. Alfred let out a snort but nuzzled Arthur, relaxing at the touch. Arthur smiled and gently got the boy ready for bed and tucked the boy into the covers, carefully tiptoeing around the materials spread out on the floor.
Alfred snuggled into the blankets and fell asleep. Arthur smiled and put the stuffed bunny on the pillow next to the boy, who immediately pulled the bunny into a cuddly hug. Arthur kissed Alfred's head and left the room, making sure that all of the candles and any other hazzards were taken cared of before he went to bed. Arthur let out a small sigh before finally turning out the light and flopping onto his bed. Is this what being a parent is like? This is a lot more work than Mother ever made it look.
Arthur woke up to someone tugging at his sleeve. "France, go away. I'd like to go one night without you bothering me," he groaned, trying to roll over. "Y-You said I could come in if I have any nightmares…" whimpered a small voice. Arthur blinked, a bit more alert now. "Hmm?" he asked, rolling to face the small voice coming from the dark. He blinked to clear his eyes, finding the small coloney standing in front of him. "I had a nightmare...a-and I don't want to be in my room by myself...I'm sorry. I-I know you worked really really late last night," said Alfred quietly.
Arthur smiled. "I don't mind at all. In fact, I was having a little nightmare as well. Would you like to keep me company? Maybe that way we can protect each other from anymore nightmares," he said. Alfred smiled and climbed into the bed, Arthur helping him by hoisting him into the bed. "There you go. Get under the covers and make yourself comfortable. Just don't hog the covers," said Arthur. Alfred nodded. "I promise! Is it okay if Bonny sleeps with us?" he asked, holding the stuffed toy. "How could we sleep without her? She may get lonely," said Arthur.
Alfred brightened up and snuggled close to Arthur. "Thank you!" he said, nuzzling his dad. Arthur found himself blushing. "N-No need for thanks. N-Now go to sleep," he said. Alfred nodded and quickly fell asleep, throwing a little arm onto Arthur's chest in an attempt to hug him while his other arm hugged Bonny. Alfred was even sucking the little thumb of the arm hugging Bonny. Arthur pulled him close. "I can't believe this. I'm smitten by you, and so quickly. I'll always be here for you my boy and do what I can for you," he said before falling asleep.
The two got closer through the next few decades until Arthur started to leave for England and the rest of Europe for his job. He had convinced the king to let him stay with America for the first few decades after his discovery, wanting to make sure the child was thoroughly intrigrated into the British culture and mostly trained and ready to interract with villagers and any dignitaries that may reach his shores. At least that was the originial goal. While the boy was eager to please, many things seem to fly over his head or appear as unimportant to him.
"But England, I don't understand why you have to go all the way over to Europe. You said your home is here with me. You do all your work from the house. Why do you have to go?" whined Alfred, tugging at England's sleeve. Arthur sighed and pried his arm away. "Alfred, we've been over this many times before. It's for your own good. My meetings make you stronger, helps you grow and keeps your people safe. If I don't go back, things could end up going bad for us," he said.
"B-But you leave me all alone with boring old humans and teachers that yell at me. Why can't I come with you? I'm sure I'd learn a lot more about Europe if I actually got to see it! I'll be good! I know I make a lot of accidents around the house and things get broken or lost around me...but I can be better! Please let me come with you?" begged Alfred, running in front of Arthur to give him the biggest and saddest puppy-dog eyes he could possibly manage. Arthur sighed.
"Alfred, you are too young to be away from your country. When you're older and more mature, you will be coming with me to Europe. I'll introduce you to the other members of our kind. But I'm doing it to protect you. Francis, for some reason, hasn't gone after you, not after what happened, but Spain would be happy to take you away. Half of those countries would be happy to take you away and the other half would be happy to do away with you in order to get any riches your land may hold," he warned.
Alfred swallowed. "B-But...Arthur the people are mean when you're gone. None of the kids that look my age want to play with me because they think I'm weird. The older townspeople avoid me because they know I don't age. I'm all by myself. C-Can't you wait until I'm older s-so I can come with you?" he asked. Arthur shook his head. "No. I'm sorry Alfred, but you need to get used to being on your own. You're a nation. All nations need to know how to stand their own ground and help themselves," he said. "I already know how to do that. I've been on my own for a while before I met you!" snapped Alfred.
Arthur frowned. "Alfred, temper does not become you. You know better than to talk back. Go to your room. Maybe in the morning, you will be willing to behave well enough to see me off," said Arthur. "B-But this is your twentieth trip. How many do you need to make?" asked Alfred, starting to tear up. Arthur frowned. "Crocodile tears do not help your case. Keep a stiff upper lip and go to your room. I don't want to see heads nor tails of you until you have calmed down enough to apologize," he said, ignoring how the young boy seemed to only deflate at that.
Alfred swallowed. "I-I just don't want to be alone again…" he whimpered, staring at his slippered feet before going upstairs, not bothering to look at his father's reaction. Arthur, on the other hand, felt his heart break a little. Oh...That's why he's so upset. He's afraid of being left behind… Arthur swallowed. There was a knock on the door. He swallowed and recomposed himself before answering it, finding the neighborlady waiting for him. "Hello Arthur. I thought I'd help watch Alfred while you prepare for your trip. How is the little scamp?" she asked warmly.
Arthur ran a hand through his hair. "In all honesty, he was grounded due to talking back but...I think it may be due to something he isn't telling me about. Adeline, does Alfred have a lot of friends his age? People to play with?" he asked. Adeline shook her head, the old lady already turning to clean the pots and pans left behind by the nations' dinner. "No sir. To be honest, many of the children seem afraid of him or make fun of him. They do not understand him and the adults have been spreading rumors of him not being completely human...in fact of the adults claim to have seen him at the witchtrials sir," said Adeline.
England froze. "The witchtrials? Which one? Britain had declared that trials on witches be banned," he said. Adeline huffed. "Well, the British crown knows not all that goes on these shores. The people here are wild, prone to rebellious thoughts in the face of fear. It was a strange case, which is why I am surprised you haven't heard about it," she said. "Well, tell me what happened. As an offical of the British government, I need to be aware of these things," said England, his heart pounding.
"Salem sir, the Salem Witch Trials. A group of girls were speaking in tongues, hallucinating. The townspeople assumed they were witches and tried to hang them. A young boy had stopped them, pleaded for their lives, at least that's how the story goes. Some say they spotted the boy escaping the cart used for the bodies of the gallows," said the woman in a low voice. Arthur swallowed. He had never in his life felt so ashamed. And I wrote him off...I knew nothing about what life was like for him here…
"I will talk to the boy. He might be spreading stories. I know his tutor is from that area, could be he's just doing it in hopes of getting some petty revenge," said Arthur, stretching slightly. Adeline nodded. "Of course sir. Did you want me to watch him tonight then?" she asked. "No, if he is telling stories I will be the one to handle him. I need to give him a good lecture and I'm certain he will not be the most compliant afterwards. I couldn't have you deal with him when he is in that mood," he said.
Adeline nodded. "If you say so Arthur. Get some food in yourself as well. You're much too skinny for a man of your standing," she huffed, noting the uneatten plate of food on the table. Arthur chuckled. "Of course Adeline. I will see you tomorrow morning. Thank you," he said. Adeline nodded, quickly taking care of the dishes before leaving the house. When he was sure she was gone, Arthur took the walk of shame up the stairs over to Alfred's room. He could hear sniffling. His own throat tightened.
"Alfred...Alfred, I need to talk to you. It's up upmost importance," said Arthur. Alfred sniffled. "Are you here to yell at me again? You already sent me to my room with no supper.." trailed Alfred. It was one of the worst punishments he can think of. It wasn't like Alfred had grown up with much access to food. To be denied food was an extreme form of punishment back when he was in Roanoke, even with Etsi. He would have thought his father of all people would be more understanding of that.
"Alfred..I'm sorry. But, open the door. I need to speak to you urgently. Do you know anything about the Salem witchtrials? Adeline told me that the boys in town apparently believe you to be a witch that somehow survived the hangings," said Arthur sternly. There was a pause, a sickening silence that with every second only affirmed what was currently Arthur's worse fear. Alfred had died on his watch. Alfred has died...and Arthur had done nothing, failed even, to protect him.
After a bit, the door slowly opened and Alfred appeared, not looking at him. "I don't want to talk about Salem," he said firmly. Arthur sighed. "I'm sorry boy, but you don't have a choice in this case. Now how about you and I sit on the bed and you start explaining to me exactly what happened," he said. Alfred simply sulked and walked over to his bed, clambering on and hugging Bonny with a grumpy look on his face. Arthur sighed and pulled Alfred close. "They said that you died…" he said quietly.
Alfred swallowed. "The girls...I knew them. I was friends with them. I would visit their bakery and play with them pretty often when you were gone. They were nice and never pried about why we were new in town. B-But then they started going...crazy. Saying weird things. Doing weird things, but not like they were witches. More like they were...sick. I tried to tell the townsfolk...and they didn't believe me. They took the girls and threw them in jail. I tried to free them...I wasn't able to," he said.
Arthur hesitated. "...I was told that you died in Salem. That you...had to walk away from a cart full of dead bodies," he said slowly. Alfred slowly nodded, still not looking England in the eyes. "I know you said not to do anything that might give us away...but I had to do something. The girls...they weren't witches. They were nice. They were my friends...my only friends. Everytime I make a friend or find nice people...they leave me," said Alfred, mumbling the last sentence quietly. Arthur tried to blink away tears.
"How...How did you die?" he asked, knowing what the boy probably died from, but needing to hear it to make it more real. "T-They...put a rope around my neck and hung me.. I was so scared, trying to find a friendly face in the crowd. I remember the girls whispering prayers next to me and then something squeeze my throat before feeling a sharp pop. The next thing I remember, I was in a pile full of dead bodies, Anne's hair in my face. I got up and went home, sending word to tell you that I was going to the back up home because I think I was going to get discovered soon," said Alfred quietly, lying.
Arthur swallowed, pulling the boy close. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize something was off. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. You must have been so scared...Could you ever forgive me my boy?" he asked, holding Alfred tight. Alfred nodded. Arthur didn't need to know the truth, that Alfred had tried talking to the elders on behalf of the girls. When that failed, he had gone to the jail after dark and tried to use his magic to free them. One of the girls, delusional and half out of her mind, had started screaming even though he told her he was there to help. They screamed, calling him a warlock. One of the Elders came running, caught him red handed. The rest, well, was history.
Arthur held him tight, shaking slightly. Alfred decided to milk it for what he got. Can you blame him? He may have been decades, centuries old, but he still had the body and partially the mind of a five year old. "T-That's why I get so upset that you leave me...no one here wants to talk to me. I'm all alone. A-And everytime I make friends of my age, or as close to it as I can get...t-they all die...like Davey," he said, starting to whimper. Crap, his attempt to get out of trouble lead him into bad memories.
"Davey...Wait..That boy you wanted to bring flowers to? The one back in Jamestown?" asked Arthur softly. Alfred nodded "He...He kept getting bigger. Everytime I went back to let him know about the progress on the flower searh...he forgot me. He didn't recognize me, but I could recognize him perfectly fine even though he got old. Then, he started treating me like I was a little kid. A-And when I came back to him the last time...I thought he was young again...but he was in a box. It was his funeral," said Alfred quietly, barely within Arthur's hearing range.
Arthur blinked, slowly realizing what happened. "Alfred...was that the first human that you've seen...age? Age and then die?" he asked softly. Alfred slowly nodded, still not looking at Arthur. That's two. Two things that I wasn't there for Alfred. Two promises to myself broken. Every word out of Alfred's mouth was like a needle in the heart for Arthur. "It's why I don't bother making friends anymore. At least not with humans my age. They always...go away. Leave me. I'll always be by myself," said Alfred.
"But...you always have me around," said Arthur in a half hearted attempt to reassure the child. He felt like a hipocrite. He knew that the reason Alfred was alone was because Arthur left him alone, prioritizing work over his little warden. His responsibility. "I'm so sorry Alfred. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to have you go through through those experiences. I didn't want to leave you alone. I-It must have been horrible. I'm so sorry. I-I don't know how you must have felt," he said, squeezing half of the life out of America.
America choked. "It's fine England! It's fine! I'm used to it. You must really not like being lonely….Have you ever been lonely?" asked Alfred, trying to squirm out of his father's grip. England sighed. "Growing up, never. Well...to a certain point, but there were always people there for me when I needed. My people believe in magic, so an immortal child was nothing to bat an eye at. In fact, I had some human friends. I had my awful brothers and that horrible France. I had my mother. Europe is a small contient with a lot of countries in a small space, compared to what you're used to. I suppose...in comparison I had no reason to be lonely growing up," said Arthur.
"Well...you can be surrounded by people and still feel alone. So you never felt lonely?" asked Alfred, innocently looking at his father. "I'll tell you a secret. I did...I did and then I started exploring the world. And you know what I found?" asked Arthur in a low voice, as if letting Alfred in on a secret. Alfred climbed onto Arthur's lap, leaning in. "What? What did you find?" he asked, hoping that it might be the key to his own happiness. Arthur smiled and started tickling him. "I found you! My silly boy, what other treasure could I have found that may have been as great?" he asked.
Once he finally got Alfred to giggle, Arthur quickly pulled the boy close and held him, simply held him. "I'm so sorry Alfred. I...I know how you feel about being alone. I know how life was like for you before Roanoke with Aiyanna and the tribes. While I know you left out the...harder details, I know you've felt betrayal and deep seated hurt before. It hurts me, sincerely hurts me, to admit that...I promised myself that while you were in my care, you would never experience those things again. I would be there to protect you. I'm so sorry...I failed. I broke the most precious promises a caretaker could ever make for his ward. I don't expect your forgiveness...but I will do my best to make it up to you," said Arthur.
"How?" asked Alfred in a small voice. Arthur gently ran a hand through his hair. "My dear boy, I will make sure you aren't lonely, not while you are under my care," he said. Alfred perked up immediately. "You mean you won't leave any more? O-Or do I get to go with you?!" he asked excitedly. Arthur blinked. "No, I-" he was interrupted by Alfred jumping up, running around the room to stuff his things into a little drawstring bag that he had made for himself. "Alfred…" trailed Arthur. "It's going to be so much fun! We'll have adventures and everything!" gushed Alfred.
Arthur got up from the bed and walked over to Alfred, gently stopping the boy from rushing to his dresser by the shoulders. "Alfred...I'm sorry my precious boy, you can't come with me. You're stuck here. You are still too young to come on the boat with me, to travel too far from your country...but I promise, I will get you company. Someone like us. Someone your age who can age with you and be your friend," he said. Alfred blinked. "B-But...wouldn't they have to leave their country? How can they do that if they are my age?" he asked.
England smirked. "Well, what if they're another colony like yourself? They would technically still be a part of the British Empire, just another piece of a whole. I have a feeling that you would be able to go back and forth if you're at least geographically close," he said. Alfred blinked. "You...You know a colony my age?" asked Alfred. Arthur shrugged. "Not my colony, but a colony nonetheless. But don't you worry about the details. I'll iron them out smoothly with plenty of time to spare. In fact, don't be surprised if I come home with your new little friend with me," he said.
Alfred hesitated. It wasn't as good as having England around and yet...it was almost too good to be true. "...He'll be my friend? I'll have a real friend? A real chance of having a friend with someone who is like me?" he asked softly yet hesitantly. Arthur nodded. "Not only a chance, a fighting chance. You're a good boy Alfred, adventurous, yet a bit of a troublemaker. You're a sweetheart. People love you, don't you ever doubt that. Alfred, we really need to work on building your self-confidence," chuckled Arthur, ruffling America's hair.
Alfred smiled slightly. "Alright...I guess it's worth trying. I really don't have to be alone again?" he asked. 'You were never alone…,' thought Arthur, biting his tongue. Instead, he said, "Of course my sweet. I'll make sure you have someone to keep you company. Don't you worry about it," he said, getting up. Alfred smiled. "Does that mean I can have dinner? I'm hungry?" he complained. Arthur chuckled. "I'm certain your plate is still waiting for you. Come along, let's go see what you can eat," he said.
After Arthur finished getting Alfred settled in, he finished making preparations for his departure the next morning, sent out some letters, and found a map of New France. "I may have failed to uphold my past promises, but I am the British Empire. I will get you your friend my dear boy," muttered England as he looked over the map. He got some initial plans made and smiled to himself. "I believe France is paying his colony a little visit. I suppose I'll just have to make a pit stop in England before I pay them a visit," he said, packing the plans away.
So Arthur got a peek into Alfred's tough childhood, but little does he know...it gets tougher. Will this drive him to become a better and more present father? Nope it will not because history. Reviews appreciated!