Chapter 7:
Belarus' POV:
The snow gently packs around the walkway of my home. Small stepping stones are covered in a brown mush as my boots slosh with every step. I look at the cottage, it felt bigger when I was younger, running through the halls as if it were a large manor. I feel a crisp breeze and I am quickly reminded that winter still has some bite in my home country.
"This weather isn't as forgiving as Alfred's." I remind myself as I fish through my pockets for the single silver key that bids entry to my home. I manage to find it in the hidden pocket of my jacket and place the key into the lock. It takes a little jiggling to pop it open, but I blame it on the age and lack of use as I stroll inside the home.
It's dusty and feels like it's been vacant since the day it was built. Spider webs hang on the furniture of the den, if I were younger the mere image would have terrified me. I slowly enter the house, locking the door behind me, hoping that while I'm out here on my own no one dares to trespass. I roll my ankle in a clockwise fashion, the cold metal of a 9mm Glock reminding me that I am safe in my own home. I take a breath before carrying on, remembering that this is home, not foreign territory.
I walk into the den, looking at the quaint sitting area and the pictures of my family. I see photos of Ivan and myself playing as though we were innocent. I can't help but frown when I remember those days are long behind me. I see a picture of my parents, my father's silky blond hair and my mother's soft curls caressing her face.
They seem happy, happier than I have ever been when I was with someone. I nibble my lower lip, not wanting to be reminded of memory lane. I flip the photographs down, hoping their gazes will not intrude into my memory. I see a set of old worn stairs that lead up towards the second level, three bedrooms and a bathroom and a backroom that leads to an attic that no one truly used.
The steps creek under my weight as I slowly go up, I blame it on the age of the house and push any terrible thoughts or ideas to the back of my mind, slowly praying that they don't give out under my weight. I walk towards the first bedroom, slightly smaller than the average, but it will suffice wonderfully once my child is born and will require their own space.
I turn on my heel and head towards the other bedroom, which was a nice size compared to the other one. I turn on the lap on the bookcase and my gaze is brought to the window and the view before it. It's beautiful, a soft wooded area with only the twittering and tweeting of birds to disturb your peace. I smile softly, knowing this paradise would never have been known to me in Ivan's home. If I had stayed America probably would have invaded Ivan's country, causing endless gunshots and cannon fire. I sigh at the unfortunate mess they've managed to land us in.
"I bet you could bring us all together." I whisper to the human growing inside of me, kicking and punching me with every turn and twist he makes inside of me. I sit on the bed, musty covers smelling up the room. I sigh and lie back, resting my severely swollen ankles. I can't believe I'm this tired and nearly five months along. I question myself on what I'm going to do with the other four months as my fingers tap at the curve of my stomach.
I notice that I'm smaller than most women, I blame my Belarusian build, but I truly think it's the stress of everything that's happening around me. I worry about Ivan, Alfred, and myself; wondering what will happen if things persist as they are.
I roll over and close my eyes, listening to the chirping and humming of the birds outside of the window, smiling as I'd forgotten this peace. I yawn and close my eyes, succumbing to a short nap, hoping to replenish the energy this child has stolen from me.
It's dark when I wake, the crickets chirp in the moonlight and I yawn as I sit up. My arms stretched wide and my muscles tight as I adjust to living once more. I stand up off the bed, admiring the rest of the room with a positive attitude.
I walk over to the wooden dresser under the windowsill and notice a picture in a plain black frame. I pick it up, smiling softly as I notice how old it is. It's from my younger days when I was less careful and wandered dangerously in love. I stroke the photograph of my old, ill-advised love. The memory is bittersweet as I recall it from my memory. It was winter and Ivan had just gotten back from a battle with England, he was injured when he walked into the house. He grabbed me from behind and wrapped me up in his arms. Blood dripped everywhere and stained whatever it touched. I gasped when I turned around, but he quickly sealed my lips with his own. They were dry and chapped, but I didn't refuse his touch.
"You're going to be mine." He whispered roughly in my ear, I thought he meant in a more sexual fashion as he pulled back from me, but I noticed his hand rummaged through his pocket. My heart skipped and raced as I noticed what he was putting on my finger.
"You're mine, you're never going to be touched by anyone else, understand?" I nodded with enthusiasm as I celebrated my engagement to the most powerful country this world has ever seen. I come back to my reality, frowning at the picture. I hold it by the corners before I quickly tear it in half and send both pieces into the garbage can beneath me.
I make my way out of the room, coming to the stairs. I hold onto the walnut railing and walk out, grabbing it firmly and hoping I don't fall as I cascade down. I walk through the den and pick up my luggage, it's heavier than I remember, but I recall that it needs to go up anyway and struggle with it up the stairs.
I stumble at the top stair, throwing into the room and slamming myself against the wall. I groan in pain as I catch my breath, kicking the case over to the bed after a few moments. I pick it up and hurl it on the bed and carefully unzip it. I'm shocked when I see the zipper burst and shoot my clothing everywhere. I look at the mountain of clothing and only shake my head as I throw my hands up, feeling defeated by the struggle of a mere suitcase.
I dig through the clothes pile and find the manila folder that was sealed and stamped with a confidential information seal. I tear the folder open and brief the information. I read all the reports on Ivan's moves and theories about Alfred, hoping to keep him out of my country. I toss the information onto the table by my bedside and pace around the room, thinking of my next move, trying to quickly think up a plan that will keep me five steps ahead.
I grab my phone and dial my boss, whom still had roots with Ivan. I tell him quickly to shut down all borders into my country. He protests my thoughts, but I stand my ground and demand it to be done, he quivers as he confirms. I smile as he conforms to my thinking, and I believe I've found why Ivan likes power as much as he does.
I push my clothing into the corner, finding myself cursing Alfred's name as I pull my legs up towards my chest, hoping it'll help with the pain and uncomfortable situation. I think up how I've ended up here, alone and hell-bent on raising the child that Alfred and I never truly desired. I feel saddened, when I recall that I never wanted children, but I rub my stomach and feel like kicks and punches.
"Despite everything we need to go through…I'll always love you." I whisper as I lightly thump back. I cradle my stomach and end up falling asleep after relaxing in a peaceful position. I dream about my future, my freedom, and my child.
America's POV:
It windy and dark, possibly midnight, by the time we cross over the Belarusian borders. I look over to Arthur, who's sleeping peacefully.
"Yo, we just crossed over!" I shout and some of the men pelt me with random shoes, belts and clothing. I cheer and they only grimace as I dodge their objects.
"Let us sleep before we go to war with the Russian bastards!" They all shout back and I sit in my cot, mumbling and cursing under my breath. I look out of the window and look at the greenery under us.
"She's here." I whisper to myself. "I'll see her and…" I cut my words, only smiling towards the cold floor of the plane. I recall being told that we'll be setting up camp her cottage outside of Minsk, her wonderful capital.
I feel the plane descend from the air and I go back to wake the men, who are less than thrilled that their sleep is over. They quickly jump into their formation and await orders from Arthur and myself. I quickly throw on my bomber jacket and hear Arthur shout objectives and what each of them need to do once we're on the ground.
Suddenly, we hear a high pitch red alarm and the men look panicked. I look to Arthur and mumble under my breath before a quick jerk from the plane pulls my footing and forces me to the ground.
The plane skids along the greenery I observed from the window and throws us all around. I hear cargo slide and fall from their positions and manage to pull myself along the wall of the plane, avoiding being crushed by anything.
The plane comes to a rough stop and I step out with Arthur and our men; dirt and grass cover the bottom of the plane and I see the torn-up ground that seems to go on for miles. Arthur orders half of the men to unload cargo and the other half begins collecting firewood so we don't freeze in this icy hellhole. Arthur comes up next to me and places his hand on my shoulder.
"I can see why Natalia is such a cold bitch." I turn around and slug him in the jaw, bringing him to the ground.
"Brother, do not insult her." I warn harshly before helping the men with the cargo, leaving Arthur to wallow in his pain.
"Damn brute." He whispers to himself as he sits on the ground, cursing under his breath.
Once the cargo is unloaded and the firewood is gathered the men set up camp, I see Arthur sitting by the fire he'd made. I take a seat next to him and he only manages to glare at me.
"You know, you shouldn't insult her, I mean, come on…she's the only person I've brought home, have some respect bro-ha." I start laughing to myself, thinking about how I've managed to land myself here.
"Despite everything we've been through, I regret leaving her that night. I wish I had stayed, I wish I would have…" I sigh and look to the ground, I hear Arthur sigh before putting a hand in the center of my back.
"Alfred, you know why we're here, right?" I look up and into Arthur's large green eyes.
"Yeah, I'm going to bring Nat home." Arthur can only shake his head as he gets up.
"We're here to kill Ivan so he doesn't kill you, keep your priorities straight, or your mistakes will slip you up and cause your downfall." He warns as he walks away, slipping into the tent he'd set up earlier.
I look up to the sky, it's cloudy, but if you look hard you can still see a few stars. I get up from the ground and decide to talk a walk, wondering what my priorities are, and if they put Arthur in danger while he's over here. I walk towards the woods, hoping I'll be alone and able to focus on my thoughts.
I sigh as the wind blows gently. I think of life where Ivan is dead, where Natalia is by my side and everything else under the moonlight.
"What do I want most?" I question with each footstep in the slush beneath me. I think about what winning this war will entail, what being with Natalia allows, and what my heart wants. I recall my mother in these moments, I barely knew her, but I like to think about her as though I did know her.
That she had a gentle soul and a loving heart. I recall a conversation I had with her before she left my life.
"Son, you are my world. You can never disappoint me, you can never make me wish you weren't my son." Her tanned hands roll through my dirty blonde locks and she kisses my forehead. "The only thing I want you to do with this life is be happy. Be proud of your roots and love freely. If you love someone I want you to never let go of them." I revel in those words, breathing deeply as I ponder on how to make those words true for me. I lean against a tree, my back to it and firmly crack my knuckles.
I take three deep breaths and notice the smell of burning wood, turning around I see a clearing. Before I can think clearly, I'm following the clearing, the smell of burning wood becoming clearer in my mind as I start running through the woods. I come to a field, a small home and instantly I'm reminded how I know this home.
Flashbacks of a happier person flood my mind as I think of the tender kisses that fill my mind, as though they force me towards the home. I see a dark silhouette in the upper bedroom and without thinking, I burst through the door, not scared of the consequences that may come from breaking into this home.
The lights are turned off downstairs and I rush up the stairs, my heart racing with adrenaline with every step I take. I get to the top of
the stairs and see Natalia. My eyes go wide as she looks back at me, a look of confusion and terror crosses her face as she processes what she's seeing. "Nat…" She bites her lower lip as I enter the room calmly.
"Alfred, what are you doing here?" She questions, a quiver in her tone as she pulls her robe to cover her more. She seems bigger than I last remember her, but I can't tell if it's the plushy robe or her arms crossing her stomach.
"Natalia, I came to see you." I approach her and I grab her, holding her tightly. She wriggles out of my grasp and grabs a blade from the nightstand.
"Alfred, do you know what kind of trouble you'll be in if you're captured by Ivan here?" She shakes her head, mumbling to herself as she thinks of different outcomes.
"He doesn't know I'm here. He won't know I'm here until it's too late." I grab her hand and she presses the blade towards my pinkie finger.
"You're so stupid! He has me under watch. He's watching everything I do and reporting it to whoever he deems fit. You need to leave before one of us ends up dying." I grimace as she presses the blade into my skin and draws blood from me, it stains the plush robe she's wearing and I pull her firmly into my grasp, hoping to ease her mind.
"He doesn't know I'm here. Arthur lead our invasion. Nat, relax. I'm here to protect-" I feel something thump against my arm and I look up at her. I'm speechless as I try to find an explanation to the thumps I've gotten on my arm, but they're all ridiculous ideals.
"I don't need protecting." She pulls away from me and grabs her robe and pulls it tighter. I throw my hands up, blood drying and staining my pale skin.
"Natalia, be straight with me for once in your damn life!" I shout at her and she turns her back to me, spewing back Belarusian slang that I only half-understand, "Natalia-" I call again when she turns around and stomps towards me.
"WHAT?!" She shouts and I jump at her tone. "What do you want from me? Do you want me to tell you it's your child? That I've managed to become pregnant with the largest free country in the world ergo I'm set for life?" She throws her hands on my chest and I grab her shoulders. "Do you want me to say how I never wanted children, yet…I've done everything in my power to save this one? Ensuring that this child doesn't get hurt or worse killed? I've left my home, I'm blowing off a marriage prospect because I know if I have this child and he finds out who the father is…I'll be a mother to a dead child." She sobs and I only hold her, she lightly punches my shoulders and I am lost at what my actions have brought me tonight.
"Natalia," I softly whisper, rubbing her back as I hold her. "I'll ensure your safety." She looks up at me, disgusted, she pulls back from me and regains her composure.
"I don't need a hero. I need a plan, a good plan mind you." She paces in the room, blonde hair swaying along her back as she does so. She finally pauses before looking over to me, her eyes softer, tender like they typically are when she's looking at me. She forces a smile as she approaches me.
"Alfred, I want you to go back to Arthur. You cannot be here. It does more harm than good." She reaches her hand out to me before she begins caressing my cheek. Her hands are cold as I feel them on my skin, she cups my cheeks before bringing me closer to her face and gently pressing her thin lips to my own. It doesn't take me long to realize that this isn't her usual kiss. This one is more tender and softer, not like her more passionate and rougher kisses. I also make a note that she doesn't allow me to deepen it, to allow me to move towards making her mine once again.
She pulls back quickly and I stand in front of her, terrified as I think about the next words from her mouth. As far as I can tell she's changed, she's no longer concerned with bouts of love. She's concerned as a mother, she's worried about the child she's growing and wants her child's safety to come first. I bite my lip as she grabs my hand and gently tugs me towards the door.
She leads me down the steps, each one making her more distant than the last. "Alfred," She whispers softly, my ears pick up and I look at the back of her neck. "When we met, you were arrogant. You were despicable. You were…strong, but a bully like France." She sighs softly as she steps off the last step and leads me through the den.
"When I got to know you, you were loveable, charming, concerned, but also scared." She turned around when we go to the door, tears filled her blue eyes and she shook her head, trying not to cry as she forced her words out of her parted lips. "But now, there is too much for us to work with. There is too much fear, resentment, distrust, hurt, and anguish. For us to both be happy I believe the best thing for us to do is part. I will protect you from Ivan, ensure he doesn't know that you're the father of my child and as such I will ensure your child is fine as I raise it. What you must do for me is never say a word about us, keep it a secret until you die. Our child, they must never know either. You must move on, you need to." She caresses my cheek, as I stand before her, lost and failing to understand why she would pull this type of bullshit with me. Her eyes are blank as I stare into them, I've seen her cry a hundred times, yet, I've never seen this blank, emotionless side to her, but after seeing this, there's no doubt that she is indeed Ivan's sister.
I can't help but push her against the wall, pinning her arms above her head. "You will regret this, Natalia. You will wake up one day and be miserable. I won't be around for you to call." I see her bottom lip quiver with my brute nature and I finally see the emotion she was holding back.
"If you're going to be an emotionless bitch like Ivan, you need to practice." I grab the door and step out onto the stoop, slamming it before I leave, I feel empty as I walk off the stoop and step onto the medium-sized stepping stones that lead towards the woods.
When I get to the base line, I turn around and stare at the cottage. The lights are off and Natalia's gone to bed, I ball my hands into fists and glare at the house. I take a short, shallow breath before turning on my heel and walking into the woods.
As I walk through the woods, I recall old memories of her which only race through my mind, haunting me and forcing my stomach to churn as I walk on, heading back to the camp. It takes about fifteen minutes and when I approach the campsite I see Arthur joking with his men at the fire and he looks up at me.
He slaps his friend's shoulder gently, possibly mentioning he'll come back later if he has time and gets up, I guess he suspects I went to see her. That he knew who I would chose and what my motives were. I feel as though my heart has been torn into halves and before I can even tell him what happened he hugs me tightly. I hug him back just as tight as I seek comfort in my family.
"I'm sorry." He whispers into my ear and I nod. I only manage to shake my head, unable to even communicate with my voice what happened tonight.
We sit down on a thick, fallen tree and he looks up at the sky. "What did she say?" Arthur asks me, guessing if talking would make it better than bottling it up. "That we're too far gone, that I'm a dishonest person." I numbly whisper and Arthur starts laughing.
"Well she isn't exactly a saint, I mean who got caught cheating in Moscow? Who lead you on for ten years with prospects of a relationship? I mean geez, she's such a cunt. Better to leave her here and move forward." I can't help but laugh a bit at his words, but I look at the ground with folded hands I let out a large sigh.
"She's pregnant, maybe halfway through…" My voice trails and I shake my head. "It's definitely mine. She never told me, she didn't care to." I whisper and Arthur looks as though he's seen a ghost. "Holy shit…" He whispers and bites his lip.
"Alfred, do you know what danger you'll be in if it's discovered that you impregnated Ivan's sister?" Arthur stands up and he helps me to my feet.
"I don't even care, honestly…Nat wants nothing to do with me and that child…I'll keep my mouth shut in order to keep them safe. We were so…stupid. Thinking love could overcome any unfortunate outcome." I start crying and I hug Arthur tightly. "I messed up and got Nat pregnant with a child I can never see…what kind of hell is that?" I whisper and Arthur is speechless as we walk back to my tent. He reassures me that everything will be fine between us.
England's POV:
I make my way back to my tent, hoping that I wake up before dawn to ready the men. I unzip the sleeping bag and crawl in. The covers are cool against my bare skin and I hear my phone vibrate next to my head. I turn over and grab it, the bright LCD screen blinding me for a mere second as my eyes adjust. I swipe my finger over the screen to review the new message I've received; the contact name doesn't surprise me.
New message: Natalia:
"I hope you're happy. He's destroyed because of your plotting, Arthur."
I can't help but laugh as I read her message. She's as full of it as ever and I nibble my bottom lip, wondering if I make her pain worse. I knew she loved him deeply, I know she wasn't thrilled about breaking up whatever make-believe life they both desired. My fingers start tapping to compose the message to her:
"Natalia, dear girl,
You need to grow up, you need to learn that you don't always get everything you want. You should also realize that you wouldn't have gone through with hurting him as bad as you did if you truly, honestly believed you had a shot at being future Natalia Jones, or your bastard child being Alfred's prized and adored child. Natalia, face it. You managed to screw your own life, you just want to place the blame on someone else, but you've run out of people to blame. Do you finally believe love doesn't conquer all? That love does not matter when you're a free country, or when your enemy country has 500,000 nuclear weapons ready to be released at any minute? Don't be a dumb twit. I can only hope Eduard or Ivan accept that child and doesn't kill it, it'll be a cute one.
I press the send button before blocking Natalia's number and erasing all the messages between us. The last thing I need is a trail that leads Alfred to me and blaming me for his destroyed relationship, when truly it was doomed to fail from the beginning. I roll over in my sleeping bag and close my eyes, expecting to have peaceful and wonderful dreams, when truly, I'm left with nightmares ranging from Alfred's childhood to the future, where he finds out I've destroyed what once made him happy.
( I apologize for the long period of not updating. This chapter…is honestly not how I pictured it to go, and I'm kind of excited to see where this story is taken, since this just steered into unknown territory for me. I hope you all keep pouring in what you think and continue to read this story.
With love,
EmoDieKaninchen.)