Hong Kong blinked multiple times, clarifying if what he saw was real. Sadly for him, the figure in front of him was real.
The Empress of Hearts was his older brother, China.
Hong Kong was now so very confused. He knew for a fact that China was a guy; so how is he 'empress'. Sure he was quite feminine, but still!
The preteen continued staring at his brother, soon figuring out everything. China, who for some reason had a fan in hand, smacked the mint bunny's head before harshly saying, "Emperor! I am a man aru!"
"Y-yes, your majesty! F-forgive me!" the mint bunny replied.
"I thought the ruler was an empress." Hong Kong whispered to one of the Baltics, which happened to be Lithuania.
"His majesty has such a great gender ambiguity that most people mistake him as a women." Lithuania nervously explained in a hushed tone.
"I-it doesn't help that he is p-pretty, too." Latvia stuttered, also hushed.
"Introducing! His majesty! The Emperor of Hearts!" the mint bunny re-announce, this time correctly. China only shook his head at the mint bunny and sighed.
The flying mint bunny was now a nervous wreck and Hong Kong could tell. The bunny was sweating from its heads to its wing. There was a tap on the mint bunny's shoulder and both it and Hong Kong turned to who it was. The Chinese nation's eyes widen again at who it was.
"And the King..." the mint bunny announced with less enthusiasm. It was England.
Hong Kong just really could not believe his eyes. All day, he witness the strangest things, but this was by far the most unreal.
After the mint bunny's introduction of him, England gave a whimsical grin, earning him a giggled from China. The Chinese emperor hugged the Brit's arm with a sweet, content smile. England then looked back down at him, cheeks tinted pink as his smile changed to match China's.
Normally, a pre-teenage boy would look away with disgust, but Hong Kong didn't. The scene didn't really disgust him, but made him feel warm inside. At home, his brothers would be at each other necks; always yelling at one another or, as Japan would say, being all 'tsun tsun'.
At home, Hong Kong could see that the two of them didn't reallyhate the other; they were just horrible at saying how they really felt. The Chinese nation really hoped his two brothers would be like the two in front of him, no matter how embarrassing it will most likely be.
Hong Kong's thoughts abruptly stopped when China noticed something, walking over to him and the Baltic tiles. The Baltics were outright terrified at the moment, Hong Kong being able to feel their bodies shaking.
China pasted the four bowing on the ground, looking skeptically at the flowers. Hong Kong inwardly cursed; how could be have forgotten about the painted peonies for even a second. He was involved with the painting, so he'd probably get punished, too.
The Chinese nation noticed paint dripping off a half white half pink peony, touching the wet flower, he examining the contents on his fingers. What had really made the three tiles nervous was China's straight face, not sure what to draw from it.
"Paint aru..." he said mostly to himself. The Baltics gulped. "White...?" China questioned a bit harshly, now looking at the peony. "Who painted my peonies pink ahen?" China roared, turning to the Baltic tiles.
"Y-y-y-your majesty–" Estonia started, trying to defend him and the others, only to be silenced by a fan headed towards him. Luckily, the Estonian was able to duck in time, but China had thrown it so fast that burned the tip of his head and hair.
"Silence!" he had shouted. "You wanted me dead, didn't you ahen? So you painted the peonies pink so I wouldn't notice!"
"N-n-n-no! I-it was the two!" Estonia panicked, pointing to Lithuania. China turned to said tile, glaring and striking fear into the Lithuanian tile.
"What?" Lithuania shouted, panicking from the betrayal. "N-no, your majesty! The one! The one!" China then turned to Latvia.
"Eh?" Latvia shrieked at the Lithuanian tile pointing at him. "N-n-n-no! The three!" the Latvian cried, not knowing what to do.
"Tìhng dài!" China finally shouted after much irritation. "For planting white peonies and painting the peonies pink, all three of you will be punished ahen!"
All three Baltics crowded together, holding their own heads. They were beyond terrified now.
"Off to the woks ahen!"
"B-b-but that's going to leave a headache lasting for months!" Latvia started, hyperventilating.
"Raivis!" Lithuania and Estonia both yelled, also thinking the same as the younger.
"Bāai-baai." China said, nonchalantly.
"Off to the woks! Off to the woks! By order of the king! Um, you heard what he said..." England said with not much force. Right then, other mahjong tiles started dragging the Baltics away towards the woks.
"Ai!" Hong Kong shouted before realizing he still had a brush in hand and tossing it away before anyone noticed. "That was quite extreme and uncalled for–"
"And who might you be aru?" China asked in a less harsh tone before turning to the other. The emperor looked down at Hong Kong blankly as he did the same. A moment had pasted in silence. After the silence, China's face lit up like a firework as he pounced towards Hong Kong with a glomp, squealing, "You're so cute aru~"
The two Chinese were now on their knees, China off in his happy little world, squeezing the other, and Hong Kong not feeling comfortable with all the hugging.
"Why, who might this be, Love? He seems familiar." England asked China, kneeling down on one knee to get a better look at the preteen. "A character? Perhaps one of the winds?"
"Arthur, he is a little boy aru." China corrected, now looking at England. "And if anything, he would be a dragon." he added, continuing to hug Hong Kong. "A green dragon aru."
China finally released Hong Kong, getting up from the ground with some assistance from England. Hong Kong also did the same, dusting the dirt from his clothes.
"Now," the emperor started, also dusting off his robes, "Who might you be and what brings you to our palace aru?"
"Oh, well, my name is Hong and I'm trying to go home, but I've lost my way–"
"Excuse me; your way?" China interrupted Hong Kong with a threatening tone and glare, still keeping his composure fairly well. "All ways belong to me; my ways ahen..."
"Of course..." Hong Kong replied with a nod, not wanting to upset the other after seeing what may happen if he did.
The Emperor of Hearts tilted his head, eyeing the preteen with curious eyes. He circled him, examining him skeptically. Hong Kong only faced forward, eyes following his suspecting brother.
"Hmm... Your posture is exceptional, you seem to be fairly well mannered, speak with a loud and clear voice, and your demeanor is well kept. You were raise by acceptable guardians aru." Hong Kong inwardly snorted at the irony of the comment, still able to keep his straight expression. "But, there are still some improvements that can be made."
China was now standing a few feet away from Hong Kong, starting to give his directions. "When meeting royalty, you should always bow and say, 'Yes, your majesty!' aru."
"Yes, your majesty!" Hong Kong repeated loudly with very little emotion, bowing on one knee.
The two royalty of hearts looked down with confusion at him before turning to each other. They looked back down again at the preteen before England snapped his fingers, realization appearing in his head.
"Yao!" the Brit called with much cheerful enthusiasm, "The lad's British!"
"What?" China responded with a raised brow. Hong Kong was looking up at his brothers, still kneeling on one knee. "That can't be aru. His hair is far too dark and his clothes resemble those of China's." England turned back to Hong Kong with inspective eyes. His hand was on his chin as he nodded to each of his spouse's giving points, considering each point and his own remark.
"Hong, please raise." England bade and Hong Kong did as told. "Won't you please explain yourself to us?" the Brit asked with a kind smile.
"Sure..." the Chinese nation answered, honestly a tad creeped-out by the England before him. "As a young child, I was raised by a Chinese... individual..." Hong Kong started, "Later on in my childhood, there was issues with... custody, and I was then in care of a British individual for a while. After years have passed, I was then return to my first guardian."
As China and England digested Hong Kong's story, the preteen couldn't help but feel very awkward about explained everything to the two who basically caused everything.
"So, you are both a Brit and Chinese." England remarked. Hong Kong nodded. "What a dejecting story." The Chinese preteen just stared blankly, refusing to acknowledge the comment from him.
"It's nothing really. Now, how do I find– a way out?" Hong Kong said, pausing and substituting his words to not make the same mistake as before.
"How about a game first aru?" China suggested. Hong Kong inwardly cringed, being reminded of the Italian twins from before. "Do you like croquet?"
"Croquet?" the preteen repeated, making sure he heard right. China nodded his head, confusing the other. Hong Kong knew China hated almost anything 'western', especially anything remotely English. Why would he want to play croquet?
Instead of questioning the brutal emperor out loud, Hong Kong nodded his head in agreement of the plan.
"Wonderful aru!" China cheerfully said, taking Hong Kong's hand and leading him to an open part of the garden.
Right then, another gong of a gong could be heard from the mint bunny. England has appeared next to it, shouting commands. "By order of the king, to your stations, mahjong tiles!" The tiles scurried about, doing what the king had said before he even said it.
Notes:
-Tsun tsun - tsundere - tsun = hate, dere = love (may not be accurate; found off kouchagumi page...)
-Tìhng dài - Stop (pretty sure incorrect...)
-Bāai-baai - Bye-bye (meant for accent...)
-Winds - Winds suit of North, South, East, and West; special suit
-Dragons - Dragon suit; special suit
-Green Dragon - Usually good luck
Reviews are Loved, please excuse grammar, spelling, and/or language...
Author loves tea pairing/tea family...