Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. If I did, Austria would have the power to summon Germany at will. Of course, he'd only do that to insist that he make Prussia leave him alone, but...
Come to think of it, wouldn't Germany just ignore him?
"The name is Anna Elizabeth Kirkland, it's a pleasure to make your, rather sudden, acquaintance," Anna smiled, shaking the groggy woman's hand vigorously. "I have the feeling we're going to get along quite well Miss...?
The brunette tilted her head, making her class fall onto her head, and blinked. If Anna had been anyone besides her antisocial self, she would have squealed at how cute the other woman was. Cloudy, purple eyes enhanced the look, making the other woman look adorable.
Clearing her throat, Anna released the other's hand and waited for the bespectacled woman to introduce herself.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited some more. Finally, Anna examined the other closely and almost cried out in exasperation at what she saw.
Those same purple eyes had closed, and a light snoring sound radiated from the petite body.
She had fallen asleep.
Somehow, Anna couldn't blame her, but at the same time, she found it ridiculous that someone could fall asleep after being kidnapped. In fact, the Briton had been so nervous last night, that she was glad Lovino "found" some liquor. The drink had a kind of calming effect on her, making it easy for her to sleep and forget some of the danger she was in. Plus, it helped that she normally fell asleep with the help of her liquid ally.
Hopefully, that didn't sound as pathetic as she thought it did.
But, when the sunlight reflected off the woman's glasses and her hair sprayed across the pillow, cradling her face like a shadow, Anna thought the lady looked almost... unearthly. Almost as if she wasn't human. If the English woman didn't know any better, she would have sworn that the fae were conspiring against her, lending their magic to another.
But, of course, she did know better. She knew that her faeries weren't easy to befriend; very few people successfully did. The only reason she had accomplished it was because her parents taught her how to talk to the beasts before their deaths.
Anna blinked. She couldn't think to hard in the mornings, that never turned out well for her. Standing up, Anna exhaled and counted to ten. Then, she grabbed the blanket and pulled hard, sending both it, and the brunette woman, to the floor.
"Die Hölle?" The woman called groggily, lifting her head up slowly. Anna winced when she saw the cracks in the other's glasses. Whoever the other woman was, there was no way she'd be pleased by that.
Looking past the glasses, Anna stiffened when she recognized the language.
"Oi, so you're one of the cursed Krauts, eh?" The English woman hissed, her tone coated with barely contained malice. Any sympathy she once held for the other woman left her body immediately; she was probably sent up here as a trick! She wouldn't put anything past the slimy bloke who locked her in this tower.
The brunette seemed alarmed, and then disgusted. When Anna looked closer, she saw that the woman had a mole on her face, below her lips.
Under different circumstances, she would have found it endearing. Now, all she felt was contempt.
The bespectacled woman turned her nose, glaring at Anna. "Hmm, it is quite an English thing to insult others, nein?" The woman sneered, taking off her broken glasses. "I am not German, I am Austrian. There is a difference, a rather important one."
"Excuse me, do I look like I give a damn? I'd hate to give off the wrong impression, especially to the likes of you," the blonde jeered, moving to the other side of the room and leaving the brunette on the ground.
Standing up, the Austrian pulled a new pair of glasses from the the inside of her bodice. Anna narrowed her eyes even more. Only someone of wealth could afford spare glasses in the trying times that the kingdom had recently been facing. The mystery surrounding the woman grew!
A long silence fell between the two stubborn women, neither willing to be the first to break it. Anna had to give it to...to... Dammit. "What's your name?"
"Excuse me?" The other asked, her eyes narrowing.
Anna rolled her eyes. "Your name? It's awkward addressing someone without knowing who they are."
The brunette raised an eyebrow and smirked. Inwardly, Anna seethed. Was there no limit to the arrogance that the other woman possessed? "Oh? And who are you to ask for my name?"
"I've introduced myself already. I'd like to save myself of such humdrum," the blonde replied loftily, not missing a beat. It had been awhile since she'd had a good verbal battle; Tino and Berwald were usually too busy to humor her.
"Repetition sharpens the mind," the other quipped, a small smile on her face, "everyone should indulge themselves once in awhile."
"Overindulgence breeds carelessness," Anna stated, humorlessly. "In a place such as this, I feel that we'll need to keep a clear head."
The brunette scanned the room, walking over to the window and noting how high the tower truly was. Soon enough, the woman slumped. "I fear you are right. Do you happen to know where we are? Or why we're here?"
"Hmmmm," Anna said, tapping a finger on her lips. "I was actually hoping you would have some idea about that. I've been here a day longer than you, and the only thing I've been able to gather is that I was captured by a large, threatening German man."
"Which explains why you are so wary of me," the Austrian said, pushing her glasses up.
"I'd think it only logical."
"Oh, it would be completely understandable if I knew of any German men. But that is not the case, I am as clueless as you are." The last part was spoken bitterly, the other obviously hating her uselessness.
Anna nodded. She could relate to feeling worthless; hell, she felt like that now. "Perhaps, under these circumstances, we should call a truce."
The two woman looked at each other, silently assessing whether they could, even fleetingly, trust the other. It was if the two woman had the same thoughts running through each of their head, neither wanting to bare the burden of another, neither wantingto rely on another. There was no way of knowing the dangers surrounding them; even the slightest mistake could be fatal.
Anna couldn't afford to tolerate mistakes. She didn't know about the other, but there were things that she needed to do, people she needed to look after. Anna couldn't, wouldn't, leave Peter alone.
Through the glasses, Anna could sense that the other felt the same way. There were people she needed to protect as well.
Both women extended their hands slowly, nodding before grasping the other firmly and shaking. Smiling keenly, Anna withdrew her hand, noting the other woman's tight smile. "I don't believe I ever caught your name."
The brunette hesitated. "...Renate Edelstein. It is a pleasure Frau...?"
"Kirkland, Anna Kirkland. And trust me, Renate, the pleasure is all mine."
For the next few hours, both women tried to learn as much as they could about the other, hoping to find something that linked the two of them, something that would answer why they had both been kidnapped. However, nothing seemed to add up. Renate was polite, where Anna was blunt. Anna was a horrible cook and loved to drink, when Renate could bake and abstained from drinking.
Hell, even their hair colors were completely different from one another.
A mutual love of books and tea is the only thing that they could find that connected both of them, and both women doubted that either a beverage or musty (yet wonderful) books were the cause of their capture.
Sighing, the blonde woman twirled her hair. This whole experience was extremely peculiar for her, while she wouldn't call herself a sociable person, she couldn't think of anyone who loathed her to the degree of taking her hostage. There are only a few people, er, creatures that Anna would suspect of doing that.
"I wish this was just a trick that the fae are playing on me," Anna confessed, her voice low. "But, that doesn't sound like a possibility since you're here."
"The...fae?" Renate asked slowly. The Austrian was sitting on the bed, watching her English counterpart pace back and forth. Both despised the fact that they were cooped up; they felt like convicts sent to prison.
Anna sighed, rubbing her temples and wishing that she'd kept some of Lovino's wine. "Yes, the fae. Mythical, magical beings. Don't you dare mock me, I've been able to see them for as long as I can remember. They look somewhat like little pixies, multi-coloured—"
"—and with little butterfly wings!" Renate finished, smiling widely. The Austrian was now standing up, her eyes wide and her face lit with excitement.
Confused, Anna gaped at her roommate. She had never met anyone outside of her family (except for Lukas, but the Norwegian was like family) who could see the little buggers... The blonde was almost convinced that her family had been cursed.
"Renate, do you think—"
"—that the reason we were kidnapped—"
"—was because we—"
"—can see—"
"—and talk to—"
"The faeries!" The finished together, excited by the prospect of understanding why they were here. The two woman were face to face now, Anna gripping Renate's shoulders.
A million thoughts flew through the blonde's head. How was Renate able to see the faeries? How long had she been able to do this? Was her ability common knowledge? If so, was that the reason why they were captured? What did Ludwig want with the fae? How did he plan to use both her and the brunette?
However, the most important question was how the bloody hell they were going to get out of this mess.
Turning towards her accomplice, Anna was surprised to see her bewildered expression mirrored on Renate's face. It appeared that they were each as skeptical as the other. Exhaling, the Briton sat down on the bed, her roommate following soon.
Anna knew it was childish, but she wanted nothing than a stiff drink. Just two days ago, her life had been normal. Holding a pillow over her face, the frustrated blonde let out a small wail.
"Excuse me," Renate began, "but what are you doing?"
Scowling, Anna flung the pillow away. "I'm trying to let off some steam. This whole thing is pissing me off. If they're going to hurt the fae..."
The Austrian hummed in agreement. "The first thing we should do is determine how to escape."
"Yeah," Anna said, sitting up and fixing her hair, "although I'd like to know how you know about magic. Or, how much you know."
Renate looked down at her hands, avoiding the English woman's eyes. "Earlier, you said you wished for the "fae" were playing a trick on you. Do they do that often?"
"Sometimes. They're a bunch of smarmy bastards." Anna said flippantly, twirling her hair. "Don't they prank you?"
"Prank?" Renate echoed. "They tease me, of course, but I have always assumed that it was how they showed their love and concern. The zauberwesen have always been my muses..." At Anna's confused look, Renate broke off, smiling. "For my music. I compose for, and play, the piano; the magic inspires me."
"I can understand that," Anna said, closing her eyes. "I'm an author, I write stories under a nom de plume. I can safely say that the faeries have motivated me to write more than one tale. However, I'm curious. You said always, just how long have you been able to see the fae?"
The Austrian chuckled awkwardly. "For as long as I can remember. I was an only child born into an aristocratic family; the Fabelwesen played with me, kept me from being lonely. In thanks, I play my music for them."
Anna chuckled bitterly, nodding her head. It was almost the same for her; to escape the brutes she called her brothers, the blonde often went out with her fairy friends as a child. Now, she wrote stories about their exploits and read them aloud to her friends.
After all, the fae had always loved to be loved.
"In my opinion," Renate began, standing up, "this is enough chit-chat for right now. What we need is an escape plan. I do not plan on standing idly by and letting anyone use my friends."
"Of course," Anna said, standing. "That's our jobs, yes? Any ideas, or am I going to be the mastermind of the whole charade?"
"Please," Renate said smugly, "try and keep up."
Smirking, both women knew that everything was just about to get much more difficult. However, Anna couldn't bring herself to care. She was fighting to defend herself and her friends, nothing was going to stop her.
Within a few hours, Anna was sure that both Renate and herself would be free of this tower.
A/N:Okay, so sort of a short filler/sorta-kinda-plotty chapter here. Coolio~
I know it's been a long time since I last updated, and I'm hoping y'all don't mind too much. The good news is that I've got the rest of the story all planned out, so hopefully there will be another chapter out soon. :D
Now, revising, I realize that I didn't write fem!Austria saying any contractions. Somehow, this makes me think of Rock Lee from Naruto. The Power Of Youth compels me.
Translation: (They're still based on the internet translators so... feel free to correct 'em)
Die Hölle — The Hell?
zauberwesen — Magic Creatures
Fabelwesen — Mythical Creatures
Thanks for reading, and please leave a review xD
Till later, Space-cadets~