Step 7: Hocus Pocus! Trick or Treat Your Audience
"Vhat on earth vas that scream?" Germany asked as he came through the bedroom door.
Arthur stood up from where he'd been pushed by Alfred/Amelia. "It's nothing," he said, straightening his clothes. "Alfred just was startled by something."
Prussia stuck his head from behind his younger brother. The crimson-eyed nation eyes twinkled with amusement. "Kesesese. Al screams like a little girl," he said, laughing.
"Well then, that makes at least one more male nation who screams like that, right Gil?" Hungary said from behind them. She crossed her arms and smiled.
Prussia's mouth dropped open. "Is it my fault that your stupid Hungarian water heaters don't work in the morning?" he protested.
"That sounded like a confession to me," Hungary said, smirking. "I was actually thinking of the two Italys and Poland when I said that. Is there something you want to tell us?"
Some of the other nations who had come running when they'd heard the scream snickered from the doorway.
"Gott I hate you!" Prussia shouted. "I'm never staying at your place ever again when the World Conference is in your country!" He pushed past the other nations and stormed out.
"So vhere is America?" Germany asked.
Arthur looked over to the four-poster, king-sized bed, the curtains now drawn. She had run over there after Arthur's accidental "grope" and pulled them closed. "He's hiding," Arthur said.
Germany walked over to the bed and pulled the curtains apart. They flew open easily. There was a lumpy shape under the covers where Alfred/Amelia had obviously crawled. "Come out and apologize for inconveniencing everyone this morning," Germany said, tugging at the covers. They wouldn't move.
"Please don't pull back the blankets," Alfred/Amelia squeaked in a falsetto tenor. "I'm still 'in costume', and I don't want anyone to see it yet."
Germany let go of the blankets.
"I really am sorry that everyone was looking for me," she continued. "I didn't mean to spoil anyone's day."
Several nations murmured.
The lumpy shape moved. "Will that do?" Alfred/Amelia asked, her voice cracking slightly.
"Ja, that vill do," Germany said.
"Could I ask you all to leave now, so I can come out of here?" she asked.
Everyone murmured again.
"Seriously, it's no big deal, Amérique," France said. "We'll see your costume in a couple of hours anyway."
"Yeah, but it's not finished," Alfred/Amelia said, her voice cracking again. "I really would rather you all see it when it's completely awesome. Come on, pretty please?"
More murmurs.
"Well since you asked so nicely . . . let's go everyone," Hungary said. The nations all shuffled out of the room, and Arthur closed the door behind them.
Alfred/Amelia didn't uncover herself.
Arthur walked over to the bed. "Are you going to come out from under there now?" he asked.
"Not while you're in here," she said. "You might try to grope me again." She sniffed.
Arthur felt the heat rise up in his face from embarrassment. "That was an accident!" he protested. He reached up and tugged on the blankets. "Why the hell would I want to touch you anyway?"
Alfred/Amelia moved to the head of the bed and lowered the blankets until she could peek over the top of them. Her cheeks were wet from crying. "You mean you didn't like them?" she said, tearing up again.
"No. No. That's not true," Arthur said quickly, holding up his hands in surrender. "They're great. Fantastic!" He clapped his hand over his mouth. What is this idiot making me say?
"Artie, you pervert. I hate you!" Alfred/Amelia said, burrowing under the covers again.
"You bloody idiot! You're the one who's making me say crap like that!" Arthur tugged at the covers again. "You aren't making any sense! First you tell me to touch them, and then you freak out when I do by accident. Now come out of there right now!"
"No!" She pushed down the covers with her right arm. "You're the idiot. An idiot and a pervert!"
"Bloody hell! Come out!" Arthur reached over and grabbed her arm.
"No!" She tugged on her arm. "Stop treating me like a child."
"Then stop acting like one!" he said, pulling on her arm.
"I'm not acting like one!" Alfred/Amelia said, tugging back.
"You are too!" Arthur countered.
"I am not!" She knelt up on the bed, trying to give herself leverage, and tugged at her arm again. The blankets slipped down and revealed the rest of her swimsuit.
Arthur looked up at her and crimsoned. Even though it was a modest suit, it left very little to the imagination. The suit went in where she went in and out where she went—
"Get out of that indecent outfit right now!" he shouted, blushing even more.
"It's not indecent," Alfred/Amelia countered. "You're just a pervert." She picked up the covers with her free hand and pulled them up, trying to hide under them again.
"Oh no you don't. You are going to change out of that right now!" Arthur said, tugging on her arm with all his might.
Alfred/Amelia lost her balance and fell forward. The forward motion caused Arthur to lose his grip on her arm. She face-planted onto the bed. She quickly sat up and then started crawling towards the side of the bed farthest from Arthur. "You can't make me change if I don't want to," she said as she struggled to free her foot, which had managed to get trapped in the blankets. She finally freed it and started scrambling away.
"Yes I can!" Arthur said, his competitive nature rising at that challenge. He climbed onto the bed and clambered after her. He clamped a hand on her leg.
Alfred/Amelia let out a small scream and tried to get away, but Arthur held fast to her calf, hindering her escape. She turned around and started smacking at him with both hands in a very girly, open-handed way while leaning away from him. It irritated more than it hurt him.
"Stop that. Stop that," Arthur shouted, his temper climbing as he grabbed at her hands and moved forward on the bed.
"Leave me alone. Don't touch me!" Alfred/Amelia said, continuing to smack at him.
Arthur managed to grab both of her wrists. This sudden action along with the inertia of Arthur's forward motion caused Alfred/Amelia to lose her balance and fall backwards onto the bed with a small squeak and a "Poof", pulling him down with her. He fell face-first into something soft. Arthur quickly sat up, hoping what he face-planted in wasn't what he thought it was.
The fire of competitiveness started to ebb away, allowing Arthur's senses to return. They both were panting heavily, trying to catch their breath from the struggle. He noticed that somehow he'd managed to straddle her during the "battle". He still had his hands clamped around her wrists, and he marveled at how soft her skin felt. Arthur looked down at Alfred/Amelia.
Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath and the light from the setting sun bounced off her curves, emphasizing her cleavage. She glared up at him, but when their eyes met, she looked surprised and then her expression softened.
Arthur felt heat flow into his face and then envelop his whole body. His heart start pounding and— "Dammit!" he yelled, clamping his hand under his nose and running out of the room as he felt the blood start to trickle through his fingers.
He rushed to the bathroom across the hall from the bedroom and grabbed some tissue, stuffing a little bit of it in his nose. He pinched the bridge of his nose and considered filling the basin with cold water and dunking his head in it. "Fairies, come out right now please," he said.
The sound of tinkling bells filled the bathroom and several fairies floated in the air above Arthur.
"What is it, England?" the one in the red dress from the other day asked.
Arthur looked at her and the others. "Did any of you turn America into a woman?" he asked.
Their mouths dropped open.
"Why on earth would you think we'd do something like that?" one in a pink dress asked.
"To play a prank on either me or him," Arthur proposed.
They all started giggling.
"To do that kind of a transformation spell requires a tremendous amount of magic," one in a yellow dress said, "and a very powerful magic at that. Our collective power can't even begin to reach that level." She snickered. "It is a funny prank though."
Arthur sighed a breath of relief. "I didn't really think it was you," he said, "but I had to make sure. Well, then that leaves only one explanation."
The fairies twinkled away as Arthur pulled out his cell phone and dialed Madam Irfon's number one more time.
"Arthur Kirkland, again," he said after the voice-mail message. "The situation is more convoluted than I first believed: the spell turned Alfred into a woman. I know it sounds crazy; I don't know how a spell for a ghost summoning could go so wrong. Please call me as soon as you get my messages, no matter what time it is. I can't think of what to do about this. It's taking everything I've got not to panic." As he hung up, Arthur heard a knock on the door.
"Artie, are you okay?" Alfred/Amelia asked.
Arthur opened the door to see a blanket monster in front of him. He could only see her eyes and nose as she peeked out of an opening in the blanket. He tried to suppress a laugh. She looks so silly and cute right now, he mused.
"I changed out of the costume," she said.
Wait. Does that mean she's naked under there? Arthur wondered. His mind reeled at that thought. Focus, he told himself. Think about Prussia in a bikini. The image that popped into his head made him shiver and feel nauseous.
"Do you want to see the next costume?" Alfred/Amelia asked, bringing Arthur out of his mental-image hell. "Or are you still mad at me?"
"Mad at you? What makes you think that?" he asked.
"You ran out of the room so fast without saying why that I didn't know what to think," she said. "But you were right. I was acting immature. I'm sorry."
Arthur stared at the blanket monster in front of him; she drooped in humility. His mouth dropped open: Alfred/Amelia had just apologized for being immature. "I'm not angry with you," he said.
"Then can we keep going?" Alfred/Amelia asked, sounding excited and perking back up.
Arthur nodded.
The blanket monster turned around and stumbled back over to the bedroom. She almost tripped and fell flat on her face as she walked into the room.
When Arthur closed the door, she let the blanket fall to her ankles.
Arthur gaped.
Alfred/Amelia was dressed in the most bizarre outfit he had ever seen. She was wearing a knee-length flowy skirt that looked like it had every type of fruit imaginable in its pattern: cherries, strawberries, kiwi fruit, watermelon, grapes, blueberries, and orange, lemon, and lime slices. For a top, she wore a sky-blue, fluffy angora cardigan. It had white pom-poms hanging at the collar and a white fluffy collar. The cardigan was left open to show what was underneath it: a royal plum-colored bra. Arthur knew it was a bra because it was satin and had a little ribbon tied in the middle.
"You see this one is modeled after the song 'America the Beautiful'. I think it was very clever of me to think of it, and I can't tell you how many stores we had to go to before we found just the right items," Alfred/Amelia rambled, looking at her outfit and not noticing that Arthur's entire face had turned bright red.
"You know: Oh beautiful for spacious skies." She gestured toward the cardigan.
She fluffed her hair. "For amber waves of grain."
"For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain," she sang, flowing her hand from her chest down to the skirt to illustrate her words. She stood up straight, sticking out her chest and saluting. "America! America—"
"T-t-that will do. I know the song," Arthur interrupted. He marched over to her, picked up the blanket, and draped it over her shoulders so that it covered her entire body, except for her head. "C-c-costume rejected," he said, pulling the blanket closed.
Alfred/Amelia looked at Arthur and blushed. "What happened to your nose?" she asked.
Arthur touched his nose with his right hand, still holding the blanket closed with his left. A small piece of tissue was still twisted in his right nostril. Blast it! I forgot about the tissue, he thought, covering his nose. He felt the tissue come loose into his hand, and he quickly stuffed it in his pocket. How do I explain this?
"Did I hit your nose when I was smacking at you earlier?" Alfred/Amelia asked.
Arthur blinked. Finally, that clueless part of America is useful, he thought. Wait. Does that mean she doesn't know the other reasons someone gets a bloody nose? How can a flirt like America be so naive about that? Ah who cares . . . as long as she doesn't realize the real reason. He released the blanket, folded his arms, and tried to act indignant by closing his eyes and lifting his chin. "You should be more careful with that brute strength of yours," he said.
Arthur jumped a little when Alfred/Amelia grabbed his hand. She led him over to the chair he'd sat in earlier, her blanket dragging behind her like a coronation cloak. She then pushed him softly to get him to sit down. She took hold of his face using only her fingers. Arthur noticed how delicate and warm her fingertips felt on his skin. She leaned in until their faces were only about 15 centimeters apart* and examined Arthur's face, a look of concern on her face. The blanket slipped off her shoulders and fell to the floor again.
Arthur felt his heart leap to his throat and his face grow hot again. What the hell is going on? he thought. It's just America. She shouldn't be affecting me like this. And why is she acting like she cares that she hurt me? That's so . . . feminine.
"It doesn't look like there's any bruising or scratches or anything," she said, her eyes roaming over his face. "I'd feel so embarrassed if I had to explain that you were all bruised up because of me." She laughed, not releasing his face.
Arthur hesitantly laughed with her and looked down to look away from her face. It was making him nervous to look at her. Looking down was a mistake too because now all he could see was cleavage and her plum-colored brassiere inside that sky-blue cardigan. Arthur felt an urge to wrap his arms around the fluffy bunny splendor before him when he felt the blood start to flow from his nose again.
"Oh no. You're bleeding again," Alfred/Amelia said. "Quick! Pinch your nose."
Arthur did as commanded.
She ran over to where her suitcase was and grabbed a smaller bag out of the dressing table's drawer. Unzipping the bag, she dug through it, pulled something out, and ran back over to Arthur. She grabbed his free hand and put a packet of tissues in it. "I got a ton of these when I went to visit Kiku," she said. "Those people are so considerate. I love free stuff."
Arthur looked down at the tissue. "Pink Lady Parlor" was printed on it. Does she not know why they were handing these out? he thought. "Thank you Al . . . Amelia," he said, grabbing a tissue out of the packet.
She smiled. "Okay. Costume rejected, then," she said. "I've got a few others. Hang on." She grabbed several of the shopping bags and hopped back on the bed, pulling the curtains closed.
Arthur could hear bags being rummaged through and clothes shuffling.
She pulled back the curtains after a minute or two. Clothes littered the top of the bed.
Arthur got up from the chair. "Don't leave everything all over the place," he said. "At least try to keep your things nice by folding them up." He grabbed the cardigan and immediately released it. It was still warm from when she was wearing it. His hand had tingled when he touched it, bringing back the memory of how she looked in it. Arthur felt the blood flow into his cheeks.
"I'll get to that in a minute," she said. "What about this costume?"
Arthur noticed her outfit for the first time. She was dressed in a red-and-white striped blouse with a dark blue skirt that had white sequins on it. They looked like little stars.
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Do all your costumes make a reference to your name," he asked, "or reveal who you are as obviously as this one does?"
Alfred/Amelia laughed and looked embarrassed. "I just didn't think anyone would recognize me otherwise," she said.
"Don't be silly," Arthur insisted. "We're all clever enough to figure it out."
Alfred/Amelia grinned. "Great! Then let me show you my more symbolic ones," she said, unzipping her skirt.
"Dammit Amelia! At least get back in your 'changing room' first," Arthur said, looking up at the ceiling. "You're a girl now, remember?"
"Oops, sorry." Alfred/Amelia laughed and hopped back on the bed, pulling the curtains closed again.
Arthur returned to his seat to wait for the next option. The next outfit was a baseball uniform, only with a short white skirt instead of baseball pants.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because one of your props could be considered a weapon, and you are eating your other prop," Arthur said, pointing at the baseball bat and the hot-dog respectively. That skirt is too short; I don't want anyone else to see those legs, he thought, glancing at them. Suddenly he realized what he was doing and felt the blood flow into his cheeks. Why was I . . . what the hell is wrong with me? He looked away from her legs, hoping she didn't notice his flushed face.
"What the?" Alfred/Amelia said, looking at the half-eaten hot-dog. "I don't even remember chomping down on this . . . guess I'm hungry." She finished off the rest of it.
Her next two outfits were simply ridiculous. The first one was a brown dress made completely of feathers. She had a white feather hat on to complete the outfit, and her feet were clad in orange boots. The feathers in the hat went in all directions and almost covered her entire head.
"Bald eagle rejected," Arthur said when he finally managed to stop laughing.
Next Alfred/Amelia came out from her "changing room" wearing a leather skirt, gloves, and boots, all a warm brown color. She wore a top, made of wool, still in its fluffy sheep's skin form and also dyed a warm brown. She had on a brown curly wig with little black horns on top of the wig.
Arthur almost fell out of his chair from laughing.
"What? You don't like the American bison idea?" she asked, pouting. She crossed her arms. "I thought this was the most creative one. There's just no winning with you, is there? I thought really hard about each and every one of these costumes."
"No, the bison costume is great! You should definitely go as that," Arthur said, trying to catch his breath and wiping away the tears coming out of his eyes. His stomach hurt from the laughter. These ideas are all typical of America, he concluded, feeling relieved that even though the outside looked different, the same personality and mentality was still on the inside. "Really, I'd love to see the other nations' reaction to that one," he said.
She pouted more and took off the wig and horns. "Nah. I'm going to reject this one after all," she said. "Something like this is just too warm to wear inside." She climbed back into her "changing room", pulling the curtains closed.
"If you want to use that as your excuse, go ahead," Arthur said.
Alfred/Amelia poked her head out and stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing again.
Arthur started to chuckle, then stopped. I shouldn't have rejected those silly ones, he thought, suddenly remembering that he'd arranged this whole party to humiliate America. How did I get distracted from that objective?
Alfred/Amelia stepped out onto the floor wearing those red court shoes again. She was dressed in a flapper-style dress, but instead of fringe, the entire dress was covered in red rose petals (or at least something that looked like rose petals). She wore a red rose in her hair.
Arthur stared; this outfit had the opposite effect on him than the other two had. He actually liked it.
"Is this one too subtle?" she asked, looking worried. "The red rose is the United States' national flower."
"No this one is beautiful," Arthur said, "but you probably didn't realize that, though not specifically the red rose, the rose is also the national flower for Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Maldives, Iran, Iraq, and the United Kingdom."
Alfred/Amelia sighed. "Well, then this one is going onto the reject pile then," she said. "If only to avoid wearing your national flower."
"Why you cheeky little brat!" Arthur said, getting up and walking over to her.
Alfred/Amelia laughed and hopped back on the bed. "Just kidding, dude!" she said, putting up her hands in self-defense.
Arthur looked down at the clothes on the bed. He picked up a white with yellow polka-dot dress. "What does this one symbolize?" he asked.
Alfred/Amelia cringed. "That one was actually an impulse buy," she said. "I was looking for a dress with apples or apple pie on it when I saw that one. Once I had tried it on, it looked so cute that I found myself buying it. I'll take it back to the stores with the other rejects. I won't waste your time by trying it on for you."
"Too bad," Arthur said. "I would have liked to see you in a dress so cute that you couldn't reject it." He looked up from the dress.
Alfred/Amelia's cheeks were bright pink. She grabbed the dress and closed the curtains.
After a few minutes, she stepped out of her changing room. "Well what do you think? Of course, I need to curl my hair for this look, but you get the idea," she said. She was wearing a floor-length, sea-green dress. It was a wrap-style dress, so it looked like a Roman-style robe. Her shoes peeked out from the bottom of the dress and had little silver chains on them, but they hung off the shoes as if they were broken. Alfred/Amelia was wearing an emerald tiara with 7 points to it.
Only her props seemed out of place: she held a green notebook with "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" written on the front of it in her left hand and a green torch in her right hand. She noticed Arthur staring at them. "I couldn't find the old-fashioned versions of these, so I had to improvise," she said with a shrug. She turned on the torch and held it under her chin. "But I can tell scary stories with this flashlight or ward off enemies by flashing light in their eyes, so it works— Ow. My eyes." She turned off the torch and blinked several times.
Arthur let out a chuckle and smiled. Suddenly it made sense how she had been able to see while the curtains on the bed had been drawn.
"What? No snide remark, rejection, or uncontrollable laughter this time?" Alfred/Amelia asked.
Arthur shook his head. "This is the best one," he said. Not too silly, not too provocative, he thought. Wait . . . why should I care if she's exposing too much or not?
"Of course, it would be the last one I tried on. I guess I'll go with it then. It's the only one left," she said. "On the other hand, I could always go back to the 'Miss America' one." She looked as if she was actually considering it.
"Absolutely not!" Arthur said. Big Ben rang out five chimes in the distance. Arthur pulled out his pocket watch. "Is that really the time? I need to go change. Amelia, the party starts at six o'clock tonight, so don't be late. As for a costume, I think you should go with either the rose costume or this Lady Liberty one." He opened the door to leave.
"Artie."
"Yes?"
"Will there be food at the party? I'm starving," Alfred/Amelia said, clutching at her stomach.
"Of course, you git," Arthur said. "Now clean up that mess you made." He pointed at the pile of clothes on her bed and walked out of her room, shutting the door behind him. Arthur hummed as he walked towards his room. Noticing his own mood, he stopped in the hallway to ponder what had caused it. Why don't I care anymore that my plans have been ruined? he wondered as he shook his head and continued to walk to his room.
I'm glad I laid everything out beforehand now that I only have an hour until the party, Arthur thought as he splashed on his favorite cologne as planned and then quickly put on the long-sleeve, ruffled white shirt and brown trousers. Next came the forest-green waistcoat. Arthur always liked this elegant waistcoat; it was almost as long as the overcoat. He fastened his black and silver belt and the scabbard-belt on and then layered a plum-colored sash over the belt for some flair.
Arthur slipped on his boots, polishing where they had been scuffed from battles and everyday use. He sniffed the long, red overcoat he'd pressed and aired out earlier. He couldn't smell the gunpowder scent anymore, but he was glad he took extra precautions anyway. He took down the coat and slipped it on.
He looked in the full-length mirror and smiled. Queen Elizabeth had often commented on how dashing he looked in this outfit. Unfortunately, none of the original items managed to survive to the 20th century. How many times have I asked a tailor to re-create this overcoat? Arthur mused. If only favorite clothes lasted as long as their owner, then life would be perfect.
Arthur picked up his three-cornered, captain's hat. The white plume on this re-creation had to be one of the most exquisite and beautiful ones he'd had in years. After putting it on, he went back to the hatbox; he'd remembered the "gag item" he'd purchased a couple of years to go with this outfit. Normally he wouldn't wear something like this because it distorts his depth perception, but this particular eye-patch was a child of modern technology. Comfortable and realistic-looking, it also enabled its user to see through it just like dark sunglasses.
There was a knock on the door, and Alfred/ Amelia walked in without waiting for a response. She stopped as soon as she saw him. "Wow. Pirate . . . that looks . . . great," she said, her cheeks coloring slightly. She propped herself up on a small dressing table by the door as if she had trouble standing and looked down at her shoes.
Arthur smirked. It was unusual for Alfred/Amelia to be at a loss for words. Not quite as eloquent as Elizabeth, but approximately the same expression and reaction, he noted, recalling his former queen from a few centuries ago. Why did she react that way again? Lizzy told me, but I can't remember. "Thank you," he said. "But how many times have I told you to wait for someone to say 'Enter' before entering? What if I'd been undressed?"
Alfred/Amelia looked up and laughed. "Big deal," she said. "You've been to swimming parties at my place all the time. Plus there was that time we all went to Kiku's favorite hot spring for his birthday. There was nothing left to the imagination that time."
Did she just get redder when she said that? Arthur wondered as he studied her face. "Why haven't you gone downstairs?" he asked. "I figured you would already be there by now, pigging out."
"Yeah, well . . . I thought I was ready to make my big entrance," Alfred/Amelia said, "but when the time came to go downstairs, I got nervous. I'm worried they'll laugh at me, or worse, not recognize me at all. Will you go down with me, Artie? I really will feel more comfortable if you come into the room with me."
"If you insist," he said, pretending to be annoyed and holding out his hand as he walked over to her. Secretly, he felt a small wave of delight. He'd felt slightly disappointed that he didn't get to see Alfred/Amelia freak out from a ghost haunting her as originally planned, so seeing the other nations react to her transformation was a nice compromise.
She grasped his hand.
Arthur felt his face grow warm.
Alfred/Amelia walked gingerly down the hall with him, whispering something to herself.
"What are you doing?" Arthur asked.
Alfred/Amelia giggled and stopped. "I'm reminding myself not to fall in these shoes. High heels make your legs look sexy, but they require a lot of balance," she said.
Who could even see your legs in that dress— Arthur started to think until he noticed for the first time that her dress had a slit on one side that went all the way up to her mid-thigh. "Well, if you fall, I'm letting you go down on your own," he said, trying not to stare at her leg and failing miserably. "No point in us both looking stupid."
"Jerk," she said.
Arthur stuck his tongue out at her.
She laughed.
When they reached the staircase, Alfred/Amelia tucked her props into one arm and clutched Arthur's arm to keep from falling. Arthur silently did multiplication tables as he glanced at the ceiling: a certain soft and round part of her was rubbing up against his arm. They could hear party already buzzing when they arrived at the ballroom Arthur had decided to hold it in.
"Shall we?" Arthur said.
Alfred/Amelia nodded as she released his arm but not his hand. They entered the room together. The entire assembly fell silent as they stared at the woman next to Arthur.
"I knew it!" Prussia hollered, walking up to them. "You did have your girlfriend here." He grinned, nodding towards their hands.
"I'm not his girlfriend," Alfred/Amelia said, releasing Arthur's hand and blushing.
Prussia laughed, then leaned in. "How much do you cost per day then?" he said, leering at her.
Alfred/Amelia glared at him.
A fist hit Prussia in the face, and he went flying backwards. Several nations stepped back and let out cries of surprise.
Arthur shook his right hand as if to shake off the pain. "I think I just found proof that you're head is full of rocks, Prussia," he said, closing the eye that wasn't under the "eye-patch" and wincing. He shook his hand again.
"Warum zur Hölle schlägst du mich?" Prussia yelled, standing back up and cradling his jaw.
"Why do you think, you wanker?" Arthur said, glaring at him. "That was a nasty thing to say to any lady, and my honor as a gentleman demands that I defend damsels, even if that damsel happens to be this guy." He nodded towards Alfred/Amelia, and she blushed.
"Guy?" France asked, walking over to Alfred/Amelia. "Surely you have used the wrong word. Your companion is definitely a woman." France winked at Alfred/Amelia, and she threw him an incredulous look.
"I'm sure Prussia deserved the punch, as usual," Austria said.
Prussia let out a sound of protest as he rubbed his jaw.
"But you are also in the wrong here," Austria continued. "It is clear you've invited someone who is not part of our 'group' to the party. Anyone can see that."
Several nations nodded.
Canada, dressed as Iron Man, rolled his eyes and sent a crooked smile to Alfred/Amelia.
"Pfft. I told you they wouldn't get it, Artie," she said, laughing. "I shoulda went with one of the more obvious costumes."
"Vhat are you talking about, Fräulein?" Germany asked.
Arthur sighed. "Take a good look at her before you assume she's not one of us," he said. "My companion's costume is linked to her identity." He laughed inwardly. Being vague like this and making them guess was actually fun.
Prussia looked her up and down. The group moved in a little closer. A few nations behind him started murmuring. Kiku laughed quietly, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Artie, we should just tell them," Alfred/Amelia said. "I don't think they get it. You'd think at least Francis would remember since it's thanks to him my costume's inspiration even exists."
Arthur held up his hand. "Give them a moment," he said.
Alfred/Amelia looked as if she realized she wasn't holding her props correctly and fixed them so they were in the correct hands.
"Zat outfit does look familiar, very familiar," France said. He opened his mouth to say something more, but stopped, his eyes growing wide as he realized what the costume was symbolizing. All that exited his mouth was a squeak.
Arthur let out a small laugh. That reaction alone is worth the spell not working properly, he thought.
"I know what you're saying, Francis," Elizabeta said. "I feel like I've seen this 'look' somewhere before." Hungary walked up to Alfred/Amelia and paced around her, giving her the once-over as she did.
Chef Gordon walked into the room and set down some snacks he was carrying on a tray. He turned and glanced at Alfred/Amelia. "Bloody brilliant Lady Liberty costume!" he said, flashing a thumbs up. "Reminds me of my visits to New York. Even the shoes offer a wonderful interpretation of the real thing, yes?"
Alfred/Amelia looked excited. She hurried over to him, switched both props to her left hand and grasped his hand with her right. "Yes!" she said, enthusiastically shaking his hand. "You're awesome! I thought I was the only one who knew about that detail. By the way, I've watched every one of your shows. I love them! You rock!"
Chef Gordon smiled a sheepish smile, thanked her for the compliment, and then left, stating he and his assistant needed to finish bringing in the rest of the food.
"I need to get his autograph," Alfred/Amelia raved. "It's so awesome that he's here! He's like a cooking hero!"
Arthur looked around the room. Almost every single nation's face was now mirroring France's, (except for Feliciano, Antonio, and Prussia who still looked confused). Someone dropped a glass, and it shattered. Arthur cringed. I'm positive that was one of my good goblets, he inwardly moaned. The noise from the glass broke the silence as well.
"Amérique?" France said finally.
"Yeah. Took you guys long enough, and you had to have help at that," Alfred/Amelia said, glancing at the assembled nations and smirking.
Suddenly the room was filled with noise.
"Mon Dieu!"
"Bloody Nora!"
"Mi a fene?"
"咦? Zhè dàodǐ shì zěnme huí shì?"
"Che Diavolo!"
"Verdammte Scheiße!"
"Ve~What are you and everyone else getting so excited about, Ludwig?"
"Ah! I get it now. Buhyoo~ that's so cuuuuute!"
Alfred/Amelia walked over to the food and picked up a candied apple. She bit into it and placed a hand on her hip. "Yeah. Artie used one of his spells for this costume. Pretty 'magical', huh?" she said.
Arthur face-palmed. That pun was terrible. . . ugh, he thought.
"So are we going to start partying or not?" Alfred/Amelia asked.
"Vhat the hell?" Prussia suddenly yelled. "First Hungary, now you, America? How on earth did you hide it all these years? Potztausend!"
All the nations turned to stare at Prussia, and Germany mirrored Arthur.
A/N
*That's 6 inches for us non-metric users. Their faces are pretty dang close to each other if you ask me.
Hocus Pocus: two of the purposes for using this magic word are for distraction and deception. I thought it was perfect for what's going on in this chapter.
"America the Beautiful" is one of the most beloved and popular of the many American patriotic songs. From time to time, it has been proposed as a replacement for "The Star Spangled Banner" as the national anthem (even other nations know this song and have played it for US dignitaries from time to time).
American cultural icons: the American flag, baseball, and apple pie. United States' national bird: bald eagle; national animal: American bison; national Flower: the red rose.
The Statue of Liberty a.k.a. "Lady Liberty" is one of the United States' most recognizable, famous, and beloved icons. Her official name is "Liberty Enlightens The World", and the torch she holds in her right hand symbolizes that idea. The seven-point crown represent the seven seas and the seven continents of the world. The broken chains at her feet symbolize freedom from oppression. The tablet in her left hand reads July 4, 1776, the date the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Roman-style robe she wears symbolizes that the United States is a Republic, just like Rome was. Lady Liberty stands as a welcoming symbol of Hope, Freedom, and Liberty to all who enter the New York City harbor, whether they are new immigrants, visitors, or citizens returning home. She represents the ideals of the United States and is an enduring symbol of the American spirit.
Yes. Alfred knows all of this b/c he loves Lady Liberty.
I'll reveal the other nations' costumes in the next chapter. I tried it in this one and it slowed down the pacing. So. . . the party continues next time (with a slight flashback from America)!
British to American English Translations:
court shoes (British English) = high heel shoes (American English)
torch (British English) = flashlight (American English)
Language Translations:
Warum zur Hölle schlägst du mich? = Why in the hell did you hit me?
Some of these other translations I'm going to give you the toned down version of some of the expressions (there are some things I don't like writing in English):
Mon Dieu! = my goodness! (French)
Bloody Nora! = expression used throughout the UK and some of its former colonies to show extreme surprise. This one came from Australia BTW
Mi a fene? = What the devil/hell/heck? (Hungarian)
咦? Zhè dàodǐ shì zěnme huí shì? = Eh? (Chinese simplified) What the hell/on earth is going on? (Chinese phonetic)
Che Diavolo! = What the hell! (Italian-this is coming from Romano BTW)
Verdammte Scheiße = Holy shit! [literally Damn shit!] (German)
Buhyoo~! = Spain and his catchphrase/meme
Potztausend = Prussian for "By Jove" but it also can mean "Damn", which is more what I was going for.
=_= it wasn't easy finding all these expressions of surprise (especially the Hungarian, Chinese, German, and Prussian ones . . . expressions just don't translate well from language to language). I'm sorry if I got any of them incorrect. If there are any really offensive or incorrect phrases, or any phrases that would be OOC for the nation to say, please let me know about a good alternative expression, and I'll change it.
If you liked what you've read, please let me know in a review. Faves and Story Alerts are as wonderful as a new pair of cute shoes for me. If you have some concrit for me, please let me know as well (you can leave it in a review or PM me, I'll be happy for it either way). If you didn't like what you've read, thank you for taking the time to read this far ^_^