Austria tried to tie his tie as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. No matter how many times he tried, he never succeeded. Austria did know how to do it, the reason for not being able now was because of wildly shaking hands. Austria was very nervous for tonight as he was going to perform with the orchestra for the first time. He has been in orchestra practices for a long time. The others from the said practices found Austria quite talented and wanted him to take part in a performance. Austria accepted since he wanted to show and share everything he has learned along with the others he has practiced with. The orchestra had a yearly performance and this year Austria was going to take part of it. Even though Austria is a country and has been through wars and participated in many good and not so good situations no ordinary human could ever do, Austria felt as if he was going to have a nervous breakdown. Music was very important to him, he feared if something was going to go wrong he, and the people of his country, would be mocked for many generations. Austria also had a slight stage fright.
Austria tried tying for the 13th time but it didn't go any better.
"Scheiße!" Austria cursed.
"This is the first time for a while I have heard you curse, drágám"
His wife, Hungary, stood by the door. She wore an emerald green gown with matching long gloves and her long, wavy hair was tied up in an elegant ponytail. Austria got his breath taken away by the view. Hungary looked absolutely stunning; she had to be the most gorgeous woman in the world! He was so happy how his fight spirited wife was able to look so sophisticated. Of course, Austria loved her for who she was, but it was just so nice to see how she was easily able to fit in his "style". Hungary styled herself up so well for his performance. Austria was both happy and not happy for that. He was happy Hungary came along to support him but it also made it more dreading for him if he failed and his own wife would witness it.
"Here, let me help you with that" Hungary stepped forward.
Austria let go of what he was doing. Tying his tie or fiddling with it, he wasn't really sure.
"Danke…" Austria said.
Hungary loosened up the knotty mess Austria made and started tying it properly.
"What is the matter? You never mess up when tying the tie…"Hungary said as she was making the knot.
Austria turned his look to the wall as he didn't want eye contact with Hungary as he explained.
"I-I-I am so nervous; I don't think I can do this…" Austria stuttered.
Hungary put her hand to his cheek so Austria automatically made eye contact with her. Her grass green eyes looked gently at him.
"It's all going to be just fine, don't you worry. You have played with the orchestra many times"'
"Only at rehearsals, but I haven't played in front of a big audience. What if I mess it up? What if I forget how to play the instrument? What if they all laugh at me?" Austria got more and more panicky and was almost hyperventilating.
Hungary put her other hand to the other side of his face so she was now cupping both his cheeks.
"Take a deep breath and calm down" She said.
Austria breathed in and out slowly and Hungary followed suit. Hungary stroked his cheeks down to his waist.
"Just relax, drágám. Don't think like that, I know you can do it. If anyone mocks you, they will certainly hear something from me" Hungary kissed his cheek.
Austria knew Hungary would take action if something bad happened to him, but it would be more than just saying something to them… Austria looked at his reflection in the mirror. Hungary tied his tie perfectly.
"Danke" Austria said.
"We have to go so you won't be late. Are you ready?"
"I suppose I am" Austria said.
He and Hungary put on their coats. Austria took Hungary's hand and they went out.
"
Austria felt as if his heart was about to beat its way out of his chest. The whole orchestra hall was completely crowded! Just to be sure, Austria listed up things that had to be ready before the performance in his head:
Was the violin tuned? Yes. Were his clothes proper and clean? With Hungary checking for him, yes. Did he remember the earplugs? Austria dug in his pockets. No, he didn't remember. The earplugs weren't there! Before getting more panicky, Austria tried to think this through. He would never even ask others to "borrow" their earplugs and he knew they never brought extras. Besides, they needed their earplugs themselves. Austria didn't think of it as a big deal. He raised Italy, who screamed "Nooooo!" a lot during that time. Italy might have been pretty small back then but his screams were loud enough to crack the windows. Thinking those thoughts, Austria relaxed. This was not some rock concert; he didn't really need them for playing sophisticated music. Despite this little thing forgotten, he was ready to perform.
The stage was big with 2/3 of it being a flat floor at front and 1/3 in the back with three step stairs. Austria was one of them on the top step, standing almost in the middle along with other violin players and a few with the triangle. Austria placed the end of the violin to his neck and looked at the audience with a calm expression. As the conductor started waving, the orchestra started playing.
Austria managed to play the violin perfectly, nothing was forgotten. However, he was feeling uncomfortable. It was not stage fright or fear of messing up, he felt as if his arms were playing for him automatically. The music next to both his sides and those under in front of him felt like sharp slicing to his ears. The sound was not bad, it was really nice music, but it was just a bit loud and pressuring. Being in the middle and in the back of the stage made him feel cramped and choking. The sweat poured down his forehead and down his back, his breathing was getting heavier. His vision was getting foggy and without any preparation, he collapsed. As the ones in front of him could feel his weight falling on them, they moved out of reflex so Austria flumped on the second step and rolled down to the first step and then to the flat floor. The whole orchestra stopped playing. The people on the stage crowded around the unconscious Austrian.
"Move, give him some air!" Hungary appeared on the stage to take a look at what happened to her husband.
Hungary ran toward her man on the floor and dropped down on her knees in front of him. Austria didn't move but he was breathing. The breathing was heavy and he was soaked out of sweat, it looked like he just rolled in a puddle.
"Someone, call an ambulance!" Hungary yelled.
Hungary put his head on her lap and dried his forehead with a paper tissue she got from her purse.
"Hold on, the help is on its way" She said to his unconscious form.