Author's Note: The main headcanon of mine present is that Liechtenstein is Austria's and Hungary's kid, so there will be a little bit of that. Also, I have NO idea how an Imperial Diet ran much less how they talked or did ANYTHING, so I just wrote a quick something to get the main points across and that's all, nothing fancy. For this chapter, I really wanted to focus on Austria's and Holy Rome's relationship (because there's barely anything for them T_T). In the canon storyline, Austria really did seem to take on the role of being Holy Rome's guardian from what I saw (and I've rewatched the series three times now) and I personally feel that Holy Rome would have had a much closer, friendlier relationship with Austria (irony for HRE = Germany theory) than with either of his other brothers, Switzerland and Prussia, because Switzerland was becoming an increasingly-autonomous, isolated region of the Empire to the point where it broke away and Prussia was over in the Baltic/Slavic area of Europe trying to convert pagans to Christianity through violence (way to go Prussia) and then later becoming a Polish fief because of the Protestant Reformation.
Other Notes: Francis II was Austria's boss during the Napoleonic Wars and the one who declared the Austrian Empire (before Holy Rome was dissolved). He is the nephew of Marie Antoinette and a grandson of Maria Theresa. New France (probably la Nouvelle France, in French) is what Canada was first called and consisted largely of Québec initially, but by the time 1806 came around, the province of Québec was already divided into Upper and Lower Canada and wouldn't become a united province again until 1841.
Dissolution of Holy Rome: Austria
It was never a good thing when the boss of the country who defeated you – soundly even – came calling. It was even more suspicious that Napoleon came with everyone but France and wanted to speak to his emperor, Francis II, without him, his national representation, present. Austria didn't like it one bit and he had every reason. The Treaty of Pressburg signed in December of last year had removed him from the war and the Third Coalition (whatever remained of it), which meant that he was now a nominal French ally. He had lost Italy in December, last year, but he was a young adult, he could handle it (and he'd been moved about far more frequently in his youth anyway), but this summer, France and Napoleon had gone too far. Napoleon wanted a buffer state between him and the rest of Europe and he couldn't oppose it, but to take Liechtenstein, his own daughter, to help create it was absolutely unforgivable! Technically, it was her boss [willingly] taking her away (and against her will) but it wouldn't be happening at all if it wasn't for Napoleon.
He'd been furious when he found out (because once again he hadn't been allowed at the meeting between Napoleon and Francis II). Furious at Napoleon. Furious at France. Furious at his own emperor. Naturally, he was furious at Napoleon; he was the one proposing this separation and France too because he was the representative, but how could he? ! He of all European countries should be against the separation of children from their parent(s) as a result of war terms!
"Did New France mean so little to you? ! !"
And he really hated his emperor for allowing them to have her. To his own immediate family, he was wonderful, but to anyone else's, he couldn't care less. His apathy towards his aunt's plight during the French Revolution was proof enough of that. But his own anger had been nothing compared to Hungary's. There was no frying pan in her hands but a proper, deadly-sharp sword, when she confronted France and Austria made no move to stop her. France barely-escaped with his life that day. Liechtenstein had been beyond distressed when she was told that she would be leaving them, but she had been somewhat-consoled by the fact that she would get to see Italy again, considering that he was at France's house and she would be too, under "Napoleon's protection" with the other more-indirect German relatives that would make up the Confederation of the Rhine. They'd come and get her as soon as they could. Hungary braided her hair one last time before she had to leave.
But now Napoleon was back and even with the injuries he'd sustained that hadn't healed from Austerlitz yet, he wanted nothing more than to boot him out the front door. Nothing good ever came from his arrivals. He waited and he developed a tic in his cheek. What. were. they. doing? ! ! Why was Napoleon back again? ? ? And then he felt it. A sharp throb of pain where his heart was. Vienna? ? No it was deeper than the land; it went straight to his blood. This feeling... it was just like when Vater (1) and Mutti (2) disappeared! Someone in his blood family was gone, but who- no! No, it couldn't be! He'd been missing for nearly 160 years, yes, but how could Holy Rome be killed? ! ! But Austria knew that there were two ways to kill a nation. One was to destroy it entirely such as Father Germania had done to Roman Empire and the other way was to order a nation's dissolution. There were only two people who could have killed Holy Rome and they were standing on the other side of that door!
The two of them came out and it took all of Austria's self control to keep quiet and remain where he stood especially when his blood, his Germanic blood was screaming for vengeance against his little brother's killer. Napoleon looked smug, but that didn't mean anything and neither did Francis II's thin-lipped expression. His boss didn't even so much as look at him until Napoleon was well out of the palace. Francis II finally turned to him and met his angry gaze head on with a solemn, dignified air.
"I cannot maintain the realms of the state in their present condition. As of today, the title of Holy Roman Emperor no longer exists."
Austria had no idea how he kept a civil tongue when he asked, "By whose authority?" His boss? Or France's? Which one?
"By mine, Kaiserthum Oesterreich (3)."
It took every. single. centimeter. of his being to not to completely explode at his... his Emperor. And he only just barely succeeded, for his jaw was firmly set, his hands tightly clenched at his sides, and his voice a growl of barely comprehensible words, "You killed my little brother!"
"I cannot be the ruler of someone who has been missing for nearly two centuries of rulers, Austria. The Holy Roman Empire never returned to its full strength after the Thirty Years' War, you should know that better than anyone living. And now the Holy Roman Empire is at its weakest and most pathetic as never before; I can only imagine how this must have degraded and ruined your little brother, if he was indeed, still alive after all this time. Consider it a mercy killing on my behalf."
Austria was speechless. Speechless in his silent fury and shock as Francis II walked away as if he hadn't just effectively ordered the execution of a small child and his youngest brother!
"NOO!" he screamed and threw his fist into the wall with a solid slam, "NO, Holy Rome! HOLY ROOOME! !"
Austria fell to his knees and pressed his head against the wall, staring with blank amethyst eyes at nothing tangible. Holy Rome...
June, Year 1156
"Who are you?"
Austria stared down at the small boy who asked the question with a curious expression. The boy looked very young and his clothes were all black and looked very nice, but his pale blue eyes and slight frown gave off an air of superiority that Austria didn't quite like. He looked like a brat. He didn't understand why his bosses, the Babenbergs, wanted him to meet this person. He knew he was by no means old, himself, but this country was even younger and probably very arrogant. Why was he so important? A smart hand suddenly cuffed him on the back of the head and he winced. He was used to this.
"Answer the question, boy, and don't dally!" his boss, Henry II, hissed urgently.
"I am..." he paused a moment, wondering if he should go by his simpler name or his full title. He decided upon the latter. "I am the Margraviate of Austria."
The smaller boy nodded slightly, "Ah, Austria. You've been living with Bavaria... Wait, Austria?" the smaller boy's eyes widened in surprise, "You're not... You're not a son of Germania, are you?"
Taken aback by the sudden loss of dignity in the younger boy, Austria could only nod. "Yes, I'm his second son."
There was a sudden newfound look of admiration in the boy's eyes that had not been present before, but the younger boy quickly shook it off. "Right then, well, Bavaria sure has put you in a tight spot. I am here to set right the conditions between Bavaria and my house. We will decide on the conditions here and my boss, Emperor Frederick I, will call for a Diet as soon as feasibly possible after all has been decided, so let us begin."
His boss? His boss was Emperor Frederick I? But that... that could only mean... that he was Roman Empire Jr.? ! !
Holy Rome...
September, Year 1156
Austria could barely contain his excitement and nervousness with all the people in the diet around him. He had known since June when Roman Empire Jr. had formalized the Privilegium Minus, but today, it would be real! The full details of the document had already been read aloud to all present, including the part about women of the family being able to inherit him. Roman Empire Jr.'s boss stood up. Good Lord, it was really happening!
"As per the agreement of the Privilegium Minus signed and dated 5 June of 1156 in Regensburg, Margrave Henry Jasomirgott shall renounce his claim to the Duchy of Bavaria and shall be passed to Henry the Lion of the Welfs."
"I renounce Bavaria in the name of the Lord, our Father."
"And in exchange, with the consent of all ruling princes present and accounted for, the Margraviate of Austria shall be raised to the status of a duchy and shall be held in fief as hereditary land and given to the House of Babenberg as compensation."
"I support the elevation," Duke Vladislaus II declared first and Austria could see Bohemia nodding in vigorous agreement, her dark blond braids bouncing happily against her shoulders. All the other princes followed immediately afterward along the duke's lead and thus the terms of Privilegium Minus were official and out in the open. He was now a duchy independent of Bavaria.
It had happened so quickly that Austria could hardly believe it! He was a duchy now! And even better, he would no longer have to live with Bavaria! He could start working at trying to be his own country now and not just be a tag-along or a servant! He was so happy that day that he felt his heart would burst into a bunch of pieces! The new Duchy of Austria made sure to thank Roman Empire and his Emperor appropriately before he left for his land.
Holy Rome.
November, Year 1276
"Austria, why are you wearing glasses? You're not going blind, are you? ! !"
"No, no, I can still see just fine!" Austria said hastily as he took them off and showed him. The fact that they were uncomfortable on his nose and ears gave him enough of a reason with the perfect excuse. "But... my new boss, Rudolph I, he says that I look too plain, so I have to wear these now."
"I don't know what your boss was trying to achieve because now you look weird."
Austria scowled a little. It was bad enough when Teutonic Knights taunted him for every little thing he did or didn't say or do; he didn't want to start taking that from Holy Rome too.
"Not any weirder than you would if you took off that big hat for once," Austria retorted.
"No, I can't!" Holy Rome shouted and grabbed the top of his hat, "My bangs would fall down on my forehead and then I'd look too pla-" he paused upon realizing what he was about to say and Austria raised an eyebrow in expectation. "Plain," Holy Rome said with a smile as he finished the sentence.
They both laughed.
Holy Rome.
Year 1356
"You sure have gotten powerful rather quickly!" Holy Rome told him once, admiration filling his young voice.
"It's because of the Habsburgs," Austria explained with a slight shrug of indifference and then gave a grim smile, remembering how his friendship with his little brother, Schwyz... Eidgennosen, had completely severed when Bavaria's boss (and later Holy Rome's), Louis IV, recognized Eidgennosen's independence from the Habsburgs, his bosses. "But really, I should thank Hungary for helping out with the switch. If he hadn't gotten rid of Ottakar II, then I might have been forced to live with Bohemia again."
"Hungary did something good for you, then?" Holy Rome asked in surprise and disbelief. Holy Rome wasn't too fond of Hungary.
"Yeah, he did, though I didn't know it at the time. Bohemia was very angry and upset that Hungary killed probably her favorite boss. I didn't really like him, he caused too many problems at home for me and I much prefer the power and strength that I've acquired from serving under the Habsburgs instead. Hungary really helped me out though I don't think he meant it like this."
"Do you like him or something?" Holy Rome asked and he looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"I guess you could say that. Even though he beats me up a lot, he's probably my best friend and I really admire his strength. I hope to be able to match him one day. You might even say he's my source of inspiration."
"Ugh, can you please stop talking about Hungary so positively?" Holy Rome asked, "It's making me feel nauseous."
Austria gave him a dry look, "I fail to see how my talking of Hungary is any different from the way you talk of Italy except that Italy is a girl.
Instantly, Holy Rome's face turned bright red and immediately retorted, "It just is!" in a very high-pitched voice. "But this is completely off-topic! The point I was originally trying to make was that you're getting so powerful that your bosses may end up becoming mine one of these days. From one direct son of Germania to another, I just wanted to tell you that I would like to share bosses with you if it ever came down to that. I mean, of the rest of Germania's sons, I never even see Teutonic Knights and Eidgennosen is isolating himself more and more in the mountains with each passing year. Then there's that other boy – what was his name, Sweden? – that Vater took care of for a time, but he lives far up in the north, so I don't see him either. And working with the bosses of our relatives like Bavaria or Saxony or Swabia, it's just... those guys just aren't quite like us. Even that one little County, Luxembourg, is easier for me to work with and he's not even family."
Austria understood exactly what he meant. Bavaria and all those others. They were the immortal representations of their land/people/government/whatever, just like them, but at the same time, they were different and they knew neither why nor how, though Austria guessed it had something to do with their Celtic mothers, whatever it was.
Holy Rome.
March, Year 1452
"See, I told you! I told you it would happen someday!" Holy Rome cried out jubilantly as he gazed happily up at his dark-haired older brother, "We now have the same bosses, Austria!"
"We sure do," Austria said as he smiled fondly down at his youngest brother and then lowered himself to his knees to meet him at eye level. "And I promise that I will do the best I can to take care of you," he added as he removed Holy Rome's hat and ruffled his hair just enough for those paternally-inherited German bangs to fall down across his forehead.
"You've been taking care of me since long before now, bruder (4)," Holy Rome said as he took off Austria's glasses and messed up his own hair in retaliation so that Austria's bangs fell forward as well.
"We're so plain," Austria stated with a chuckle and Holy Rome laughed too because it was so true.
Holy Rome!
November, Year 1527
"Austria, are you alright? You look like you just saw a demon," Holy Rome asked the Archduchy seeing as how his older brother had just unexpectedly come into his room and locked the door behind him, looking very pale.
"No... No, I'm not alright, Holy Rome... Hungary..." Holy Rome waited, wondering what Austria had to say about Hungary that had him so shaken up. "Hungary's a... a... a girl!" He squeaked out the last bit.
Wait... "What?" Holy Rome was way too confused.
"Just what I said! Hungary's a girl!" Austria exclaimed, "I was just going to meet up with him because he was supposed to come live in my house when his boss died except then Ottoman Empire got in the way, but then- AH! He is a she and aaaaagh!" he buried his face in his hands and slumped to the floor in utter humiliation, "My best friend and rival was a girl; how is that even possible?! Hungary was my role model for what a strong country should be and he was really a girl! By Vater, I feel like such a fool! Somebody kill me right now!"
Holy Rome was going through his own mental shock at the moment, but he wasn't nearly as bad off as Austria was. "Are you... going to be alright, Austria?" he asked tentatively.
Austria slowly shook his head, "I'm not leaving this room for the next century."
Holy Rome pouted upon this declaration, "Oh yes, you are; it's my room. I'll let you stay in here for tonight, but after that, I'm kicking you out. You can't avoid this forever and the sooner you accept that you got your butt kicked by a girl for several hundred years, the sooner you can move on from this."
Austria gave a very dry laugh, "Don't play superior to me in this. She kicked your butt too, don't try and deny it."
"I can decide to kick you out of my room right now," Holy Rome reminded him sharply, his face burning with embarrassment.
Holy Rome!
Year 1574
Ah, there he was. Sitting at the table with his face pressed against an open book and the candle wax burned down to a half-length of his smallest finger. Austria sighed with a shake of his head as he entered the room and strode over to the sleeping Empire. It was good that Holy Rome was trying to improve himself under his direction, but he was perhaps taking it a bit too far. Falling asleep during his studies like this wouldn't be effective in helping him to master the concepts. He carefully picked up his youngest brother from the chair and blew out the tiny flicker of fire on the candle before leaving the study. He carried him all the way back to the boy's bedroom and laid him down on the bed. He was still fast asleep. Austria was just removing Holy Rome's hat when he heard a knock on the open door and he looked over to see Hungary standing there with a sleeping Italy in her arms.
"Ah, so Holy Rome passed out too, huh?" she asked with an amused smile when she saw the little one in the bed.
"Yes, he studied himself to sleep again."
"He's such a diligent boy," Hungary agreed with a fond smile and then her beautiful green eyes brightened up magnificently, "Do you suppose it would be alright if he and Italy shared the bed tonight? They'd look awfully cute sleeping together."
Austria frowned in concern, "I'm not sure that's a good idea. Holy Rome is bound to wake up first, as always, and you know how he freaks out when he's near Italy."
"Yes, but I think Holy Rome would really like that," Hungary persisted eagerly, "He really does love Italy very much."
That was true and very obvious too. He relented. "Very well, bring Italy over," he said with a beckoning gesture to Hungary and she was by his side in an instant, laying the girl beside his brother, "But if Holy Rome is angry at you tomorrow and gives you more work, don't blame me."
"Oh, I don't think it will come to that," Hungary answered confidently, "But even if it does, this is well worth it."
When Hungary had finished with Italy, she stepped back and Austria pulled the blanket over the two sleeping children, tucking in the corners around them to prevent them from catching a chill.
"It's almost like you're their apa (5) with how diligent you are in taking care of them. Holy Rome really respects and admires you; it's quite cute."
"I don't try to be," Austria defended, recognizing the Hungarian word she threw in with the German, "But they're both so little and without either Holy Rome's or Italy's birth parents around, somebody has to take care of them. I feel so overwhelmed though. I've been taking care of Holy Rome since I was young, but it doesn't make raising children any easier."
"Well, then why don't you let me help you?" Hungary asked, "You could be their apa and I could be their anya (6)."
"D-Don't say things like that!" Austria blurted out and instantly became flustered.
Holy Rome!
October, Year 1648
"He's gone? ? What do you mean 'He's gone'? ! Where is he? ! Where's Holy Rome? ! !" Austria demanded of Ferdinand III when he got home from signing the treaties for the Peace of Westphalia.
Because of the nature of which these particular treaties were signed, it was unlikely that any of the other countries were aware of Holy Rome's absence, but he was Holy Rome's guardian. Holy Rome should have been with him, but he wasn't! Just the Holy Roman delegation without their nation representative.
"I don't know where he is, Austria," Ferdinand III said, his patience thinning, "The last time anyone remembers seeing him was during the last battle. Nobody saw him after the battle ended or since. Now excuse me."
Austria immediately stepped out of the way out of habit as Ferdinand III strode past him, leaving Austria standing lost and worried. Holy Rome. Where was he? Where had he disappeared to? Where was his little brother? ! !
"Holy Rome..." Austria cried in a broken whisper as his German blood pounded painfully through the place in his physical heart where Holy Rome's familial blood connection once flowed.
Translations, yay!
(1) Vater (German) - Father (I just get the feeling that Austria wouldn't be as close to Germania as perhaps his other siblings, hence the respectful 'Vater' over the more informal 'Vati'.
(2) Mutti (German) - Mom
(3) Kaiserthum Oesterreich (German) - Austrian Empire (I read somewhere that this is the Old German variant of the name, hence my usage).
(4) Bruder (German) - Brother
(5) Apa (Hungarian) - Dad
(6) Anya (Hungarian) - Mom
From the previous chapter to this one, assume that France met up with Napoleon before he actually arrived in Vienna. Also assume that, from the previous chapter to this one, Napoleon had originally come to Vienna to order the dissolution of HRE, but (because of France's slight of hand and non-instant-kill attack) instead only ended up calling for an ultimatum and wasn't the one who actually declared the dissolution of Holy Rome.
It is canon that the war that Holy Rome left to fight in after saying "goodbye" to Italy (and kissing him) was the Thirty Years' War (which actually makes sense seeing as how after that war, the Holy Roman Empire was more decentralized and lost a lot of its original power to the supporting components of the Empire.
I have decided that Bohemia is another name for Czechia/Czech Republic which (considering that if you look at the Hungarian words for Bohemia, Czechia, and Czech, you will see the Hungarian word for 'Czech' (Cseh) in all three of them) is a pretty valid and well-supported assumption, I'd say!
Schwyz is the name for one of the original three cantons that composed of the Swiss Confederation and then became known as Eidgennosen (which was just the German word for "confederacy" or something like that), but eventually the entire group came to be known as Swiss/Switzerland because the Schwyz were the most dominant of the three (and then later, additional) cantons.