Hey dudes/dudettes! Another chappie for you, it's my longest one! Though, I might try breaking that record ;D
I hope you guys'll like it! There's Russia! :DD ^J^
Enjoy~
The thin body underneath Prussia shifted a bit; Prussia's face was still pressed against her neck, so he could almost hear her heartbeat.
"A-ah" a very silent, hoarse voice uttered in a short breath.
Gilbert lifted his head and stared at her eyes that opened slowly, still hazy and clouded as the eyelids parted a little.
"Are you feeling better?" he muttered while stroking her white cheeks carefully.
Even though his body laid over hers, he felt like her could not touch her too roughly; she looked so weak, so white and fragile.
He was afraid his hands would only break that little girl underneath him.
She didn't answer him, her eyes were looking at his eyes, half opened, but she was looking far past him, right through him as with he were an illusion.
Prussia stared at her; such a small beauty, she was a like a little piece of thin, complex glass, formed well into a masterpiece, but so fragile.
Beautiful art, a magnificent sight for the eye; but so breakable, an expensive, precious piece of gold, with the fragility of thin glass.
Unconsciously he had stopped caressing her soft face; he stared at his hands.
What had there hands done?
They had destroyed, fought, killed, battled, protected, handled swords and build cities; they had never been gentle and admiring.
He had never held anything carefully, held it with tenderness and love, afraid to make a crack.
Gilberts eyes wandered back to her half conscious face; how long would it take him to break her, to destroy whatever innocence she was built of?
"Schätzchen? Liechtenstein, how are you feeling?" his voice trembled just a little; he wouldn't forgive himself if he would ever break this little princess.
Nor would Switzerland.
How could he allow himself to take another person into his heart, to allow someone in his arms, when everything he ever had was taken from him and destroyed merciless, even up to today.
He wasn't even his own real nation anymore, even though he had adapter to share a part of Germany's land.
"Wer bist du?" she narrowed her eyes, but it was neither mischief nor suspect she hid in them; she was searching, trying to link things and complete the puzzle.
"Ich bin Gilbert, Ost-Deutschland, einmal Preußen" he muttered, her eyes closed again.
"Das bedeutet mir nichts", she breathed, still a bit weakly.
His eyes saddened a bit, "Liechtenstein…" but her eyes reopened. And she took a shaky breath when her lips parted again.
"Bist du immer noch meine Ritter? Ja oder nein?" she then asked, demanding, no subdued, kind little girl voice, but a more strict voice.
As if she was demanding him to either be brave or get away, he snickered softly.
"Deine Ritter, aber allein wenn du bist meine Prinzessin."
He took her small hand in his and brought it to his lips; she felt his warm breath.
Only when she said, "Ja", he kissed her hand, his warm lips against her cold knuckles.
She started to breath a on a normal pace, and her eyes cleared up.
"Prussia, why do you look so sad?" he blinked; surprised, not knowing he had been so obvious.
"Liechtenstein, why are you here?" she frowned, looking at him as if it was obvious, then hesitance crossed her face.
"Meine Dame, this is such a dangerous place, why did you come here? Do you want to be crushed by the devil himself?" he told her, not scolding, but worried.
Her face hardened, "Preußen."
"I'm not a country that has been in war, I'm small and have not much meaning to the rest of the world. But this does not mean that I am weak", her voice was stern; she grew stronger and her recovery from the hypothermia was going quickly.
"But look at-" she cut him of, her green eyes colder.
"I'm not weak. I might be a lady and not a warrior, but I've just walked for at least two days straight without anything in temperatures below zero with barely anything to eat and not enough clothing. I do not accept from you to call me anything that even comes near to weak."
Prussia's eyes narrowed as he stared at her face.
Her soft face, a bit childish yet clearly a lady, a pointy nose, her face was round, maybe a bit heart shaped.
Her cheeks and jaw fluently went over into her little chin, her soft lips were starting to get back their light pinkish colour; Liechtenstein had no sharp cheekbone, it was placed in her face subtly, drawing the attention to her gorgeous mint green eyes.
They were staring at him with all seriousness in their vivid green.
"I wouldn't dare to do so", he smiled his charming smile and kissed the fine point of her nose.
"You wouldn't, I see, but you did. And since you so dearly said you wouldn't, I wondered, can my knight apologize?" her she blinked a few times with those mighty eyes that captured his stare.
Her still serious face made Prussia realise he was ordered to say sorry; a smirk decorated his face but he bowed his head humbly.
"I beg you, my princess, would you accept my deepest apologies for the ill-mannered behaviour?" he looked back up and his playful red orbs met her stern face.
A smile tickled her mouth, the ends of her lips curled up.
"I shall gladly accept them", he brought his face close to hers, breathing against her lips, hovering over her.
"Then, will you accept my kiss-" he got rudely cut off by a door opening.
A surprised brunet stood in the opening of the door, "E-eh…"
But the man regained his senses quickly, "Mister East Germany! I told you to call me as soon as she woke up!"
Lithuania turned away and ran to the kitchen to get the food he had prepared.
Liechtenstein and Prussia both blushed a crimson red; he quickly got off Lili and took his pants and other clothes embarrassed.
Lili covered her body with the blankets; she looked at Prussia, at his pale skin, thin and long figure and fine muscles.
The man's broad shoulders, his wide, flat chest and rather thin waist and hips.
Just when he turned around she drew her eyes away and pretended to stare at the rest of the room with interest.
He dressed up quickly while the other man came back with a bowl of warm soup.
Now that she thought about it, the room she was in was gigantic.
The walls were coloured red and white, decorated richly with both subtle ionic and Corinth columns mixed through the interior, the wood was carved into the finest details and painted a plain white.
The curly pattern decorated the red wallpaper; a huge, silver, chandelier with little diamonds lighted the room.
The couch was big and comfortable, brownish and soft, there were two other, smaller couches next to it; all of them surrounded an ionic style fireplace in broken white stone.
The fireplace looked used and taken well care of, just like the rest of the room, but the sofas looked new, barely used, though they had been there for maybe centuries.
She took the spoon she got and slowly started to eat the soup, the brunet sat next to her.
She smiled politely at him for a moment and looked back at the fireplace, on top of the fireplace were pictures.
Nice, wooden, expensive looking frames holding a lot of pictures; Liechtenstein recognised the man next to her in a few of them as well.
Those pictures held all kinds of faces; she regularly saw a beautiful woman with long, silver blond hair and an icy stare.
Another woman had shorter blonde hair; this one wore a simple shirt and clearly had quite large breasts.
Lili saw a more childish, young guy with short creamy blonde hair that was a bit curly; he usually smiled but also looked uncomfortable.
Another man had short blonde but straight hair, a pair of glasses and a usually stoic expression on his face.
All kinds of people, with different emotions, different time periods, different positions.
Something missed, Liechtenstein stared at the picture until the answer snapped in her head and she almost dropped the spoon in her hand.
"W-why is Russia not on those pictures?" she asked, realising that had been rather bluntly and she looked ashamed at her red soup while continuing to eat.
The brunet offered her a kind smile, "Honestly, I don't know."
She noted Prussia had settled himself on her right side and stared blankly at the fire, hands in his lap.
"Didn't he put those there?" she asked, trying to be a bit more politely.
"Mister Russia certainly did, he designed the whole room and everything. It can be quite a bother sometimes because he wants everything in place, even those pictures have to be set right", he smiled while scratching his neck.
She looked around with big surprised eyes; the room was filled with detailed work, from the way the carved wood shined in the light of the light from the curly chandelier to the curved lines in the edges of the wooden furniture and frames and the specific, fitting pattern in the carpet.
"Everything?" she said, frowning in disbelieve, everything in this roomed fitted with each other, it was a smooth puzzle; the carved patterns, curls, curves, they all look perfectly matching with each other.
The colours, varying from a deep red, a softer almost orange red and dark brown to creamy white, matched with each other, creating a kind of warm sphere.
The man's brown hair danced over her shoulder as he nodded, "Sir Russia likes handmade things, some of them are really his work, but even if some were ordered, he at least designed everything. The whole house is his work. He even helped building it."
Prussia huffed, "Time waste. It looks as ugly as it would've looked without his help."
Liechtenstein didn't care what opinion Prussia had about Russia, but such disrespect about a self made house that was probably worth billions?
She almost chocked on her soup; if she would've worked years on something and people would speak about it that way, she'd definitely say something about it, if not punch said person in the face for the rudeness.
"Prussia, how can you say such thing? That you don't like him doesn't mean his work is crap and you should not be childish about it."
Gilbert looked at her calmly, thinking, "This house might be beautiful, it might be a masterpiece and all the work that Russia put in it certainly earned him a very expensive, special house", Prussia sighed and looked back at the fire.
"But all that fancy work in this mansion, this castle, it doesn't make it better. It doesn't make you feel homey or not even close to any kind of home. It's a flamboyant way to cover up what a crappy place this is. As if expensive artwork can erase scars and extraordinary handwork can soften the pain."
Lili looked at him, her eyes sliding over his face.
He certainly lost weight, not too much though; was it due to the food or stress?
His cheekbones were high and sharp, pointing out his flashy red eyes more and making him look sly.
His chin was pointy but not too outstanding; he had a low jaw, making his face longer.
Above his long, deep set eyes were two fine, black eyebrows, slightly furrowed into a frown as he stared into the flames, whose reflection melted in his eyes.
Liechtenstein finished the soup, a little deep red, pinkish bit was left, already cooled down; she looked back at the brunette.
"U-um, I'm sorry, but who are you sir?" she asked softly to break the silence.
He immediately offered her a kind smile, "Oh, I'm Lithuania, one of the Baltics-"
Prussia cut him off, "And Poland's little slave puppy."
Lithuania didn't look hurt or anything; he smiled indulgent while Prussia's smirk was accompanied with his, "kesesese!"
"It's not like that now, were not that close anymore after, Russia", Lithuania didn't say more, Liechtenstein didn't know the exact story but she felt like she knew enough.
"I'm Liechtenstein, I'm right between Switzerland and Austria."
Prussia bumped in, "She's German as well, that makes her more awesome! She's a tiny nation but sure tough, kesesese!"
Liechtenstein flinched at the word 'tiny' but didn't say anything.
"Oh, Miss Liechtenstein, let me get you some clothes. I think some of Latvia's should fit you. I'll be right back", he said while lifting himself up.
For a moment she stared at Lithuania; at first the man looked rather innocent, a bit weak and the one to hold back whatever he had and be polite.
But his broad shoulder, height that was about as big as Prussia, his slightly wider body and very fluent movement made her think differently.
Lithuania was certainly a strong nation, more agile then Prussia probably was but it could indeed mean that he held back his powers.
Self-control was a very important thing though, and even though Gilbert would be better in the front, maybe better with swords and fighting on pure manpower, Lithuania seemed to know his moves and a smart 'think before you do' person.
The brunet was back soon, between Liechtenstein and Prussia had been a comfortable silence.
"Please, I'll bring you to the bathroom. These clothes should fit you, I'm sorry I couldn't give you anything better", he said, gesturing her to follow him.
Prussia watched him with narrow eyes, "Speichellecker."
Lili had taken a hot shower in the bathroom, glad her health had been resorted.
Standing in front of a mirror that was large enough to easily reflect her whole body she took the clothes in her hands.
A soft, beige sweater, it was close to her size but since it was male it looked a bit baggy on her slim body; the other was a light pink, short, pleated skirt.
She recognized it as her own; Lithuania must've found it in her backpack.
There was a pair of socks for her and underwear, all her own; she was a bit embarrassed knowing the Lithuanian had seen but luckily he looked like a neat man.
Once done she got out of the bathroom; looking at the endless hallway she felt herself shrink.
It was so long and big; when she was brought here she didn't mind, but now it was more of a labyrinth.
Liechtenstein cautiously went the direction she came from and quickly she saw the wide staircase; she sighed relieved because it luckily was only one door apart from the living room.
Once down, she looked around amazed, this house was fine in all details, some rooms more in wood and others more stone.
There hung all kinds of beautiful paintings; she couldn't read the names in Cyrillic but she guessed it were tsars and other rulers.
Before searching the right door another painting drew her attention.
It was a painting showing two noble women and a man on horses.
The woman on the left had a soft, round face, her kind, blue eyes watched lovingly over the other two while she handled an elegant kind of draft-horse, white with black stains, a Tinker Horse.
She had a very well developed chest; her pale blue dress, decorated with all kinds of white, frilly things and ribbons fitted her gentle features.
It was one of the females Liechtenstein had seen on the pictures in the living room.
The woman to the right had a hard stare, directed right onto the person who made this painting and the person that afterwards watched it.
Her dark purple dress, with black patterns, ribbons and lace wrapped itself around her thinner silhouette and formed a gorgeous contrast with her pale blond hair that looked like a mix between platinum blonde with a silver shine melted through it.
She was also riding an elegant draft-horse, but this one was plain black.
The horse looked down submissively underneath her hold and it's nicely combed, wavy, long manes framed its disciplined head.
This woman that rode a Friesian was also one of the females Lili has seen.
But in the middle was what interested her the most, a very tall man with pale, creamy blonde hair that had a whitish shine.
His face held two light violet orbs that looked up at the sky, dreamy, almost in a daze, and a nose that was what she assumed a Russian nose; it was slightly bigger but only in length, but not in width.
He smiled softly and he seemed the most relaxed of the three, yet still about as happy as the golden blonde on his left.
A brown, enormous, calm and kind looking Shire horse looked lazily up from underneath him.
That man, that was Russia, his simple yet fancy, black, long jacket and white, frilly shirt underneath made his posture look even wider and magnificent.
It probably dated from back to the 80's; so far, it had been the only object where Russia himself was visible on.
The door of the living room opened and she was snapped out of her thoughts.
"Oh, Liechtenstein, are you coming? Lithuania made tea", Prussia asked, surprised to find her in the hallway; he followed her eyes and saw she was examining the painting.
But she turned away from it and smiled at Prussia, "Ja, I'm coming."
Gilbert held the door open and she entered the living room; the warmth hugged her instantly and the crackle of the fire sounded nice.
On the couch sat Lithuania with a cup of tea in his hand; he smiled politely and with a nod he gestured her to sit next to him.
She'd gladly sit down there if there weren't Prussia who placed his ass just there next to the brunet and smiling defiantly.
A sigh rolled over her lips but she ignored his behaviour and sat down next to him.
Just when she reached for her cup of tea the door slammed open.
Prussia and Lithuania almost dropped their cups and quickly smacked them on the table before they perked up from the sofa.
In a split second they stood up and Lithuania swiftly walked towards the hall while Liechtenstein also put her cup away and nervously stood up as well.
Confused she looked at where the man fled to but she couldn't peek into the other room.
Prussia next to her looked just as shocked as she did, thousands of thoughts stormed through his head about the Russian, Liechtenstein and his chores.
The moment she saw who walked into the room, fear washed over her and her body froze in shock while her eyes widened.
There stood Russia; he looked terribly frightening and incredibly pissed off.
The Lithuanian took his drenched coat and hung it away talking rapidly about the cold weather, just made tea and some soup.
The man didn't say a word; he was about a head larger than Lithuania and didn't even look at his stressing servant.
Walking further into the room he stopped halfway; his dark violet eyes met hers.
They weren't lively and dreamy like on the painting, they were darker and a dangerous shine covered them.
He slowly walked towards Liechtenstein, his eyes pierced through her little body and she felt like she was being crunched underneath his hard glare.
The room was deadly silent and both Prussia and Lithuania didn't dare to move.
She tried to control her breathing, tried to move, but her muscles didn't listen.
He stood a few inches from her eventually before he stopped.
Lili's heart nearly stopped beating; he was at least twice her height, towering over her.
He was wide, she could fit in three times, and that wasn't just fat behind those clothes; maybe she was exaggerating a bit about his posture, just a bit.
She looked back into his eyes, forced her lungs to keep breathing and felt like she could faint any moment.
The next second his face changed so fast she had to rewind it in her mind to understand what just happened.
His jaw had been set but relaxed, his mean frown lightened up and his menacing eyes turned a bit surprised, a kind version of surprise though.
Russia smiled and put his hands on his knees as he bend down a little until his face was about the same height as hers, facing her with a kind smile.
"Кто это вы?" he smiled, then repeated himself in English when he saw her confused face, "Who are you?"
She took a deep breath to get some air in her slowly restarting system.
"I'm L-Lili", she said, due to the fear still beaming in her brains her voice sounded high, very childish and girlish, like she used to sound when Vash had found her.
She almost twitched at that voice but Russia's looked at her as if she were a little puppy; he looked as if he was almost admiring her.
Also she would not tell him she was a nation because he might see this as an attack.
"Where you lost, little girl?" His thick accent made it difficult for her to understand everything if she didn't concentrate.
Hesitantly she gave him a shy smile, trying to look cute as she blinked with her big, forest green eyes, "Da, I was lost in the big forest."
All three nations in the room let out a sigh of relief when Russia seemed to have bought the whole thing and he looked happy like a kid that got an ice cream.
Lili also noted that his face looked much younger, even childish, when the Russian smiled that happy smile.
"I'm Ivan, Toris will bring you to a guestroom, da?" Russia looked at Lithuania.
Lithuania blinked and his mouth opened before he could stop himself, "A-ah Mister Russia but maybe she'd like to go home?"
That moment Russia almost literally shot daggers at him through his glare; then he turned to Liechtenstein with an intimidating stare.
"You stay here for a little longer, da?" Lili's head nodded instantly as if it was an instinct to save her life from the danger that hung in the air.
"See, she likes to stay!" he said with a proud face and then turned away to leave the room, "Восточная Германия, Пойдемте со мной."
Russia's voice had been emotionless in that last sentence that she didn't understand but Prussia's eyes widened and he stiffly followed the tall man without looking back at Liechtenstein.
Knowing his slightly scared expression would only worry unknowing Lili.
Schätzchen is German for Darling.
Wer bist du? Is German for Who are you?
Ich bin Gilbert, Ost-Deutschland, einmal Preußen is German for I am Gilbert, East Germany, once Prussia.
Das bedeutet mir nichts is German for That means nothing to me
Bist du immer noch meine Ritter? Ja oder nein? Is German for Are you still my knight? Yes or no?
Deine Ritter, aber allein wenn du bist meine Prinzessin is German for Your knight, but only if you are my princess.
Ja is German for Yes.
Meine Dame is German for My lady.
Speichellecker is German for Lickspittle, toady, bootlicker
Cyrillic, is the alphabet the Russian, Ukrainians and most Slavs use, the Baltics and Poland do not.
Tinker Horse, is the European name for (USA) a Gypsy Vanner Horse, or (UK) an Irish cob.
Восточная Германия, Пойдемте со мной, is Russian for East Germany, come with me.
Heh, what a chapter XD
I woke up with the idea of making a silly, cute Russia, so my bad if you think it's just awkward. I'm known to be awkward at times so don't blame me for that!
Review~