Paris, 1992

Slovakia was now at her first World Conference. It had been several months since she left Prague for Bratislava. They hadn't been officially split yet, but her brother insisted she came, just to see what it really meant to be a country.

A shitload of work, that is, Eva thought.

She looked at the papers all over her desk. She was supposed to take care of everything and everything was urgent. Public speeches to announce their amicable divorce, the language problem, new flag design, new laws, looking for new investors, Czech minority politics… And then there were plenty of other difficulties. The Hungarian border issue, her forests in the north getting ill, underproduction of wheat, catastrophic state of her health care system, constant emigration… The list went on and on.

She wasn't even a sovereign state yet and she already felt lost. The worst thing was that Hynek was angry with her, giving her silent treatment ever since the day she moved out.

Despite all that and to her own surprise, she couldn't bring herself to regret her decision. Somehow it still felt right. She reached out for the file with paperwork concerning their separation and started to fill in the numerous forms. Right now, this is the only thing I am sure how to handle.

France, the host country, was walking through the library, looking for a free table to organize his notes on or people to tease, preferably both. His gaze fell upon a desk occupied by a lone young woman. He knew he'd already seen her before, but couldn't quite remember where and when.

Then it came back to him. He leaned towards Austria.

"Isn't that the mad butcher?" he whispered, pointing in the girl's direction.*

Roderich looked at him, anger distorting his fine features.

"That was like a century ago!" he hissed.

Francis chuckled.

"Bien sûr, but it haven't become any less funny. I'll go and introduce myself properly."

"Na ja, go if you must, just remember she is of innocent heart," said the other man reproachingly.

"Didn't stop you from making a move when she was a century younger!" The country of love made his signature laugh, running away from the Austrian before he could say anything in return.

"Excusez-moi, Mademoiselle, do you mind if I join you?"

Slovakia raised her head to see a breathtakingly handsome blond man. If life with her brother had taught her anything, it was to be wary of attractive men and generally assume they were all jerks.

Nevertheless, it seemed like an excellent opportunity to meet some new people and in her position, it was desperately needed. That was why she had come there in the first place.

"Of course not! You must be Mr. France. It's a pleasure to meet you." She stood up to greet him.

"The pleasure is all mine." He grinned as they shook hands, then both sat down.

"I understand you will be separating from your brother soon. If you don't mind me asking, how is the whole business going?"

The Slav gulped. Well, it's not like I can tell him the truth.

"It's… alright," she managed. It's a mess, actually. Then, she remembered the other side of the coin. Independence, hope, a new start and the excitement that went with.

"I am doing my best. It's always difficult in the beginning." She shrugged.

"It is indeed."

She noticed his peeking at the divorce form she was filling and desperately wanted to hide it. Why did he have to come over at such an inappropriate moment?!

"If I may, you shouldn't put 'he never does his own laundry' in there."

Eva blushed ruby red. He was right. How silly of her to have written something that personal on an official document!

"It goes in the section 9A, additional comments."

"Oh." Eva nodded. "And… How would you know that? Can you read my language?" she asked, intrigued.

"It's more like I've filled that form in so many languages before."

Following his words, the Slav couldn't help snorting.

"Well, that's one way of discovering foreign cultures."

They shared a laugh. She's not as judgmental as I would have imagined, the Frenchman observed. I like her personality. And her boobs, too.

"You seem a bit worn out. Have you been taking time to relax recently?" he inquired. Slo didn't know what to reply, so she shrugged again.

"As I already said, it is difficult to be a new state. It's time-consuming, I need every minute I have to take care of the necessary."

The man thought for a while.

"That's true. Anyway, you seem to be on the right track. From what I've heard, you have a good attitude. Having said that, you also need to learn to loosen up from time to time."

And how do I do that? the other personified country wondered. She hadn't loosened up once since the day she left Prague.

"You probably think I have no idea, but I can assure you I do. This is indeed a big change. And another big change is happening inside you, ma chérie."

Eva didn't like being called that way. Moreover, the short-tempered adolescent she was, that Frenchie was starting to tire her, acting like he knew everything.

"And what would that be?" she retorted, sulking a bit.

"You're growing up." He winked. Blood rushed into her cheeks once more.

"You are so focused on becoming a country that you forgot to take time to become a woman."

The girl just sat there, her mouth slightly open.

"But I can help you with that. That's what my place is famous for, after all."

Ah. She felt like running away to her brother's arms, asking him to get rid of that pervert for her. Then, she realized she was supposed to be independent.

"I'm not interested in that kind of relations, thank you," she said as politely as possible.

Honhonhon! You're a tough one, amour.

"I was talking about something else. My women are famous for being well-groomed and well-dressed. Maybe we can teach you a thing or two. I trust that will help you get in touch with your feminine side."

Suddenly, Slovakia started to feel insecure about herself.

"I am sorry I'm not as pretty as your women are," she retorted in defense.

"It's not really about prettiness. It's more that you look like you just came from a farm," Francis explained without ceremony. Eva had a look at her plaits, her baggy dress and old shoes. It hurt, but the arrogant man was right.

France saw a sparkle of interest in her eyes and decided to make it grow.

"Looking your best will also help you to get accepted by other nations, you know."

That intrigued Eva even more.

"What do my looks have to do with any of this?"

Francis Bonnefoy sighed. So sweet and so naive.

"Mademoiselle Slovaquie, you still have so much to learn about men, politics and the way this world works."

-END OF CHAPTER 1-

*This is a reference to my very first fanfic. It wasn't very good so it's no longer on the web. Anyway, in the story, Austria confuses Slovakia with Hungary and makes a move, which results in him getting hit by a meat hammer.

Translations:

Bien sûr (French) = Of course

Na ja (German) = Alright

Ma chérie (French) = My dear (feminine)

I'm pretty sure you can figure out the rest :)