(Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or anything else!) Okay, I'm glad that's off my chest. Thanks to all the people who have read (or accidentally clicked) this! Make sure to comment! I take all criticism. I want to dedicate this chapter to Yukinataangel (for the third time) because of her patients for reading the crappy unedited version of this before I fix it up! Luv you girl!
The morning started out with chores, as usual. While Sharon sulked in bed, Daphne was helping Mrs. Jones with cleaning the house.
"You seem shaken dear. Did you have a nightmare?" Daphne shook her head.
"Not really. The dream was more of a realization for me. I think Sharon and I are finally starting to recover." Mrs. Jones paused, stroking Daphne's cheek.
"It's good to hear that honey. You were very brave, not leaving Sharon. It's selfish to say, but I'm glad you didn't. I'm not sure how she would have fared alone. She doesn't have the best self-control, and I think her mouth would've gotten her killed if she didn't have anyone that needed her to be quiet. Thank you." Mrs. Jones hugged Daphne, and Daphne hugged her back.
"I wouldn't have left her if they tried to make me. And if I hadn't gone with her, I wouldn't have met Ludwig and Arthur. In any case, it's all over now." Mrs. Jones nodded, and they both got back to taking care of their chores. Soon, Lily came in from tending the garden.
"Mommy! I brought a flower to cheer Sharon up! When is she allowed out of bed?" Lily pouted, obviously unhappy that her sister couldn't do the things she did before she got captured. Daphne and Mrs. Jones chuckled.
"When Kiku comes to take out her stiches, she can get out. But the flower's a good idea. Why don't you put it by her bed in that lovely vase you made?" Lily's eyes sparkled and she ran into the bedroom, and Daphne smiled.
"She's so happy all of the time. I'm glad she has so much joy in her life. Every day you two were gone, she'd pat my hand and say they were just taking a break, and you girls would come home any day now." Mrs. Jones sighed. "I'm glad you did." Daphne nodded, patting Mrs. Jones' hand.
"I'm going to see if Lily missed anything; I'll be back in a few minutes." She turned around and walked out of the door.
Outside, she noticed someone looking at her through the trees. He stepped forward, and her worst fears came true.
The captain of the other ship smiled at her, holding a sword. He looked pretty beat up, and she noticed the rest of the crew wasn't with him. She froze.
"Ah, hello Daphne. It's good to see you again. I'm assuming Sharon's inside. It's too bad you and her family are home; three more people to kill. And I do hate going back on my word, but what can one do?" Daphne nodded, backing up to the door. If she could reach the handle in time, she could get inside. To safety. She could help Sharon out of bed and Sharon would kill him. Easy as that.
If she could get inside before the captain got closer. He smiled, taking a step towards Daphne.
Out of nowhere, Ludwig ran in front of her, holding a gun. Daphne gasped.
"If I let you go, you'll try to kill them again." The captain's eyes widened as a bullet landed in his head; he fell down, dead. Ludwig put his away, turning to face Daphne.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that. Are you okay?" She nodded, throwing her arms around Ludwig, sobbing.
"Thank you. That was so close." He hugged her back, stroking her hair with one hand.
"It's all over now. I'm so sorry." The door swung open, And Mrs. Jones looked around wildly.
"What happened?" Ludwig sighed, explaining everything. Daphne calmed down, and they all went inside.
"Is Daphne okay?" Sharon and Lily yelled in unison. Mrs. Jones, Ludwig and Daphne went into the bedroom, explaining again. Sharon looked at Ludwig.
"I owe you then. Daphne, come here." Like she had in the ship, Daphne walked over to Sharon and huddled, relying on her to hold up. Ludwig watched from the door. Sharon whispered a song she had written that always calmed Daphne and Lily down. Hearing it, Lily climbed over both of them to rest on Sharon's other side. Mrs. Jones motioned for Ludwig to follow her out of the room.
"She was always the rock of the family. When her father left, a part of me did too. She cooked and cleaned, and I just stayed in bed. Around that time was when she learned how to protect us. I'm still her mother, but can you understand why she's who she is now?" Ludwig nodded. "And thank you for saving Daphne again. As I said, she's like a daughter to me." Ludwig nodded again. Daphne and Lily came out of the room, calmed down. Wordlessly this time, Lily hugged Ludwig. When she stepped back, Daphne took her place.
"Thank you." He nodded again, stroking her hair. Mrs. Jones brought Lily out of the room with her. Ludwig put his hand under Daphne's chin, bringing her face up to look at him.
"You don't have anything to fear now. I promise you will be safe for the rest of your life." Daphne nodded, giving him a small smile. She blushed a little bit, and Ludwig chuckled. He leaned down and quickly kissed her, then turned around and left. Daphne blushed like there was no tomorrow. She walked into the bedroom, all fear forgotten.
"What happened? Daphne, you have to tell me. Lily, can you…?" She rolled her eyes, but walked out of the room.
"He…he kissed me!" Daphne whispered, blushing even harder and smiling a little. Sharon and Mrs. Jones had a little screaming /giggling fest, but calmed down after Daphne asked them for the tenth time.
"Oh my gosh! That's so amazing Daphne! I'm so happy for you!" Mrs. Jones nodded in agreement, giggling.
"Daphne, my dear, we have to celebrate tonight. I'm going to make cake! Oh, there's so much to do, I need to get started! I'll see you girls later!" She quickly left the room, leaving Sharon alone to drill Daphne.
"How long did he kiss you?" Daphne looked down, blushing again. She bit her lip.
"Not very long. Maybe a second or so?" Sharon giggled.
"I'm assuming there wasn't any tongue?" Daphne looked up at Sharon, gasping.
"Of course not!" She was turning redder with every question. Sharon smiled.
"Good. I don't think it's the best idea in the world. Did he blush?" Daphne shook her head.
"He was pretty calm actually. He smiled at me though…" Sharon laughed.
"So he did it to get your mind off bad things, eh? Well, I don't blame him. And I bet he was blushing when he turned around!" Daphne giggled, looking down.
"Why is it such a big deal?" Sharon rolled her eyes.
"Because! It's your first kiss! That's like asking why children are important!" Daphne laughed. Suddenly, Sharon's face got dead serious.
"So what does this mean for Arthur?" Daphne looked down, shoulders sagging. Sharon sighed.
"You don't have to decide now, but if you want some advice, I'll give it to you. It's from a long time ago, but I'm sure it's still just as valid as it was before." Daphne looked up, nodding. Sharon cleared her throat.
"If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it is yours forever. If it doesn't, it never was." Daphne frowned.
"Are you saying I should ignore both of them? And when did you use this advice?" Sharon closed her eyes.
"No, I'm saying the one who loves you the most is the one you should choose. Don't worry about anything you do or say around them, even together. Whoever loves you the most will fight hardest for you. And I used this when my family left town; when dad left. I loved him, the town, my other friends. You were the only one who truly cared though, because you didn't even leave me when I asked you to. You're like my family, not a close friend." Daphne smiled.
"Thank you. But how will I know who's fighting the hardest?" Sharon laughed.
"I hope you'll be able to figure that out on your own. You'll see it in their eyes, if they're going to let you go if that's what you want. In any case, you're going to tell me every second you spend with either one of them!" Daphne groaned, and playfully slapped her leg.
"I don't have a choice, do I? I wonder if Kiku will come and take out your stitches tomorrow." Sharon groaned.
"He better! I am so done with being bound to one place all day! If he doesn't come by noon, will you please get him?" Daphne laughed as Sharon gave her the best puppy dog eyes she had to offer for the first time since they were children and she had asked her to borrow one of her necklaces.
"Fine! You know those eyes don't work on me though, right?" Sharon laughed with Daphne.
"Well, I think they're so funny that it makes you impossible to ignore me. And thank you!" Daphne laughed.
"Well, it's time for your morning gel-" Sharon groaned.
"Can't we skip that just once? It's not like I'm going to die because of it!" Daphne laughed, shaking her head and getting out the small bottle and putting it on Sharon. Her eyes fluttered closed.
"Remind me to punch Kiku before…" She fell asleep before she could finish her sentence. Daphne chuckled quietly, putting the gel away and getting up to rinse it off her hands.
In the kitchen, Lily and Mrs. Jones were madly making cake batter, which you had to stir at a consistent pace for one hour, along with making breakfast and cleaning up. Daphne shook her head.
"I suppose telling you that this isn't necessary won't do anything to change your minds?" They shook their heads, a five year old and her mom as focused as they could be. Daphne rinsed off her hands, helping them with anything they needed.
At around two o clock, there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Jones stopped what she was doing and answered. Daphne heard her talking from behind her.
"Oh! It's so nice of you to check up on Sharon, I wasn't expecting it!...Oh, yes of course we've been putting on the gel every morning and night. Please, come in!" In the corner of her eye, Daphne saw Mrs. Jones leading Kiku to where Sharon was. Smiling, Daphne followed them-she couldn't miss Sharon's reaction.
When they got into the room, a cross between surprise, annoyance, happiness, and something else Daphne couldn't describe flashed across her face.
"I really hope you're here to take out my stitches and tell me I can walk again Kiku, because if you're not I'm going to be really p-"
"Sharon! You should be thankful Kiku came all the way here to check on you! Now if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!" For a second, Daphne thought she saw Kiku smile. Sharon sulked, crossing her arms again.
"Fine." Lily actually laughed.
"You're so mean Sha-Sha! He's going to help! And then we can play like we used to!" Sharon sighed, but couldn't help smiling for a second. Kiku walked over to Sharon.
"You've healed amazingly fast since you've been able to stay still. I think I can take the stitches out today." Wordlessly, Mrs. Jones and Daphne grabbed each of Lily's hands and led her out of the room.
Kiku helped Sharon sit up, carefully taking the stiches out. She ended up just gritting her teeth, refusing to hold on to Kiku like last time.
"Even though you can walk now, you shouldn't walk very often. And no physical exertion, alright?" Sharon sighed, nodding as Kiku got the last stitch out. He reached over and grabbed the bottle of gel.
"Hey! Can't we be done with that already? It's really starting to get annoying. Please?" Kiku sighed, shaking his head.
"Until the wound is healed completely, I need to keep out infection." She sighed, closing her eyes as he rubbed it on.
"I'm…so gonna…get you…" She fell asleep, and Kiku gently set her back down on her bed. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"Is she gonna be able to walk again Mr. Kiku?" Lily asked, almost bouncing up and down. He chuckled.
"For a while, but she'll need to rest often. And she's still not allowed to run or pick heavy things up, okay?" Mrs. Jones, Daphne, and Lily nodded at the same time. Kiku smiled and excused himself.
"Mrs. Jones, may I please go and visit with Ludwig and Arthur?" Mrs. Jones rolled her eyes.
"You know you're allowed to go anywhere as long as it's not dangerous. Go visit them!" Daphne laughed, walking out of the house and over where Ludwig and Arthur were.
To her surprise, when she made it to the captain's quarters, she saw a man with blonde hair tied into a ponytail. He looked at Arthur.
"You didn't tell me you had such a beautiful woman coming to see you today." He turned to wink at Daphne, and she rolled her eyes.
"She's not here to see you Francis. Now get out!" The man rolled his eyes, stopping to smile at Daphne before he left. Daphne laughed.
"I'm assuming that was your brother?" Arthur sighed.
"I can't fathom how we're related, but yes." Daphne chuckled, sitting down on one of the chairs.
"Arthur, the captain of the other ship came today. He was going to kill me, but Ludwig killed him first. Did he tell you anything about that?" Arthur's eyes widened, and he shook his head.
"I'm surprised he was able to find you so quickly. But everyone's okay, right?" Daphne nodded.
"Good." Arthur sighed. "I'm not sure what I'd do if something happened to you." Arthur said without thinking. Both of them blushed. There was a knock on the door, and The man stepped in.
"Well, well, well! What have we here? Is love in the air?" Daphne blushed even more, looking down, Arthur did too, but he started yelling at him.
"Get out! Why are you here Francis?" Francis rolled his eyes.
"I'm simply here to tell you that I'm going to leave tomorrow."
"Leave now!" Francis laughed, and blew a kiss to Daphne before he left. Arthur groaned.
"I'm sorry about my brother. Honestly! I don't know what goes on in his mind." Daphne laughed.
"Me either. So, what are you going to do next?" Arthur sighed.
"I'm not sure yet. I might go back home for a while, it's not far from here. What are you going to do?" His eyes were more intense than the question he asked. Daphne bit her lip, still swaying on her choice.
"I'm not sure. I'll probably stay with Sharon for a while at least. I'm going to go and make sure she's not chasing Lily around. I'll see you later!" With that, she turned around and walked back to Mrs. Jones' house.
Arthur sighed, deciding to take a break and walked out into the woods. After he had been walking for some time, he heard someone behind him. He got his gun ready.
Ludwig stepped out of the shadows. Arthur sighed, lowering his gun.
"What are you doing here?" Ludwig asked, narrowing his eyes. Arthur glared.
"I'm taking a walk. And you?" Ludwig stared at him for a minute before answering.
"I'm going to visit Daphne." Arthur's hands balled into fists.
"Ludwig, I saved her from the ship. I took a bullet for her. I met her first." Arthur took a step toward Ludwig, his hands still balled into fist. Ludwig's did too.
Before anything could get serious, there was another rustle and a very surprised Sharon came into view, holding a basket half full of berries. She rolled her eyes as Ludwig and Arthur took a step away from each other.
"Shouldn't you still be bed bound?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms. Sharon smiled cheerfully.
"Kinda! But they should've known when they let me out of the house…" She shook her head. Ludwig sighed. Sharon's face became serious.
"I'm going to tell you guys my motto, okay? And the meaning isn't how it seems." She cleared her throat. "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it is your forever. If it doesn't, it never was." Ludwig and Arthur looked down, trying to understand why Sharon was helping them. She sighed.
"Whichever of you love her the most, Daphne and I will be able to see it. And remember, if one of you kills or hurts the other, she won't forgive you." Sharon started walking back towards the house, letting the news sink in. She stopped to grab more berries, and eventually made it the house after resting five more time. She braced herself for the wrath of Daphne and her mom.
"How far out did you go? You know you're not supposed to walk for an extended period of time!" Daphne looked just as mad as Mrs. Jones.
"Sorry I was gone so long, I had to rest every couple of minutes. But I brought enough berries for everyone though!" Lily charged into the room, laughing. Mrs. Jones and Daphne smiled.
After they ate dinner and celebrated with berries and cake, Mrs. Jones made Lily and Sharon-on account of walking so much-go to bed. Daphne sighed.
"There's something she's not telling me, Mrs. Jones. Do you think I should ask?" Mrs. Jones shrugged.
"She usually has good reason to hide thing from us, if she resists once, drop it." Daphne nodded, making sure that all of the dishes were put away. When that was done, she walked into the bedroom. Lily looked at her face and frowned, walking out of the room. Daphne shut the door behind her.
"What happened Sharon?" She sighed, biting her lip. Daphne waited.
"I just saw Arthur and Ludwig. I told them my motto. Don't worry, I also told them the meaning behind it. Which reminds me." Daphne frowned, not liking the determined look on Sharon's face.
"Pretend you have no feeling for what other people care about. Pretend you would be able to kill someone and not think twice about their family or friends of they were putting someone you loved in danger. In other words, pretend you're me for a second." Daphne frowned.
"But you do care about other people, and you wouldn't mention that last part if you hadn't thought about the pirate's family. But I'll do what you asked. Now what?" Sharon sighed, but continued to talk.
"Remember, you don't have pity or sorrow or worry about someone's feeling, whether they're going to be hurt by you or not. Now think about Ludwig. And now think about Arthur. Who can you spend more of your time with? Who do you want to be with right now? Do they have more good or bad qualities? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with either of them? Or do you think there could be someone else out there? Don't tell me, but think about it. And I'm always here if you need me okay?" Daphne nodded, eyes wide.
"Thanks Sharon. I…I don't want to have to pick though! One of them will be so hurt…" Sharon sighed, eyes softening.
"I know. But make sure you still end up being happy with your choice. Make sure that you still love whoever you choose the most. Remember what happened with mom, okay?" Daphne nodded, giving Sharon a hug.
The night was stormy, all except for a ray of light that came from somewhere in the middle of the clouds. Daphne raced toward it, wanting peace instead of the roar of the wind and rain.
Before she could reach it, the clouds formed a barrier letting just enough light escape for her to know it was there. They formed a sentence.
Who will you choose? Daphne's mouth dropped open. Slowly, she nodded.
"I think I do know." The clouds left, leaving a peaceful, light feeling.