Yes... I'm an awful person...

I'm sorry! I've had really bad writer's block for, like, a month. I actually ended up cutting this chapter short, just so that I could get it up. Blegh. I hate doing that.

Again, I'm sorry!

Alright, let's get this over with...

Destination: Reached

"One more thing." Ugh. The stupid rabbit was talking again. "You'll probably be expected to change once we get to the castle."

"Why is that?" Canada asked.

"Because," The stupid rabbit replied. "There's a ball tonight."

"Really?" America asked. "For real? With like, formal wear and stuff? And dancing?"

"Yes," The stupid rabbit replied. "That is what a ball normally entails. Have you not been to one before?"

"It's not that." America explained. "It's just been a while."

"How long?" The stupid rabbit asked.

America thought for a second. "I think it's been a little over a hundred years since I've been to a real, formal ball." He said.

The stupid rabbit took a double take. "A hundred years?" He asked. "Just how old are you?"

America realized his slip-up. "Um, nineteen?" He voiced his answer as if it was a question. Sure, he looked nineteen, but he was really about five hundred or so. "Haha! The hero was just joking, man! I was at a ball a few months ago!" Now he was lying.

"Oh yeah?" The stupid rabbit asked. "Where was it held?"

"Uh… Netherfield Park?" Now he was just copying from Jane Austen!

"Netherfield Park, eh?" The stupid rabbit mused. "Hmm… Never heard of it! Must be boring! But I can assure you, tonight's ball will be like none other!" The stupid rabbit began to perform strange twirls and hand gestures to emphasize his point. "Surely Vivaldi will be beautiful, but my Alice will be the show stealer, no doubt!"

"Alice?" America asked. "As in, the Alice? From the story? ROCK ON!"

The stupid rabbit gave him an annoyed look. "I have no idea what you're talking about," He said. "But there is only one Alice. And she's adorable!" Again, there were strange hand gestures. He stopped suddenly. "Alright, here we are! Best behaviors everyone! Unless, you actually want to be beheaded. I wouldn't object."

I rolled my eyes at the stupid rabbit's statement. I looked to where he was pointing. Sure enough, there was a castle. And boy was it huge. And covered in hearts. Like, everywhere. He led us up the steps, and through the larch archway of the opening. The guards, who were faceless might I add, gave the stupid rabbit a questioning look when they saw Canada carrying me. But they let us through nonetheless.

The stupid rabbit stopped in the parlor. "Stay here." He told us, then started skipping off, shouting. "Vivaldi! We have some guests!"

Canada stood me on the ground between him and America. He and America both stood up straight, brushing off the fronts of their shirts. I looked down at the hoodie. It was dusted with dirt. Whatever. I just shrugged, looking back up.

The stupid rabbit came back into the room, followed by a woman. She appeared to be in her twenties or so. Her hair was a strange purplish color, with huge ringlets pulled into pigtails, and a long fringe pulled down to the sides. Her face was petite and pale. Her eyes had a cold glint, and long lashes. Her mouth, though set in annoyance, had an almost catlike quality. Her outfit was immaculate. She wore a black corset, with a read collar that rose up way high behind her head. Her sleeves puffed at the shoulder, and flowed down her arms. Her skirt was elaborately layered, ruffles everywhere. Hearts decorated every inch. The small crown tied to her head just topped it off.

"This had better be good, Peter." The woman said as she entered the room.

"Oh, it will be…" The stupid rabbit said in response. I couldn't be sure. But it sounded like a double meaning. The stupid rabbit cleared his throat. "May I introduce, her majesty, Queen Vivaldi. Queen Vivaldi, these are… Actually, I don't know their names…"

"Matthew Williams," Canada said as he gave a small bow from the waist. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Alfred F. Jones," America said, also bowing. "Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Kumajirou." I said. I cocked my head to the side. "Your hair is weird."

Canada hissed under his breath. "Kumajirou," He whispered. Not much different from the way he normally spoke. "That is not polite."

The woman simply laughed. "I take it that you are Outsiders?" She asked. "Come along." She led us to a plush room, with red hearts everywhere. She plopped down on one of the big couches. "Tell me, who are you?" She asked. "I mean, not your names. But, who are you?"

"I'M THE HERO!" America exclaimed.

"I'm… Canadian." Canada said quietly.

"I'm a polar bear." I stated.

"Interesting." Vivaldi said. She looked thoughtful for a second, then her head snapped up. "Polar bear? Then, how are you human? You're an Outsider, so you don't have Duties. You shouldn't be able to change."

I simply shrugged in return.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Canada said. "Would you know anything, milady?" I noticed that Canada was being uber-formal. Sucking up, I guess.

"No, of course not." Vivaldi answered. "That sounds way too complicated, we don't know anything." All of us were curious to the 'we' part, but kept quiet. Me, mostly because I wasn't that interested. "Anyways, let's talk about something interesting." Vivaldi continued. "Hmm, how old are all of you?"

"Nineteen." Canada quickly answered before America could shout out his 'real age'.

"I'm nineteen!" America followed.

"And, the young lady?" Vivaldi asked, looking at me.

I thought for a minute. I was always a cub, physically, so I never had to come up with an age. Not like the countries did, as part of their rouge. Thankfully, Canada spoke up before I had to.

"She's sixteen." He said quickly.

"Really?" Vivaldi asked. "Wonderful! She's the same age as Alice! It's so refreshing to have these adorable young girls around! Speaking of which! We're having a ball tonight! We assume that you are coming?" She asked. There was a slight undertone to her voice, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Well," Canada started, scratching the back of his head. "We would love to milady, but we really need to get home."

"Pish posh, we have plenty of time for that!" Vivaldi responded with a wave of her hand. "You may stay at our castle as long as you need! For now, come to the ball!"

Canada sighed. "Thank you very much for your hospitality," He said politely. "Although, I'm afraid that we don't have the proper attire for a ball."

"We can take care of that." She replied with another wave of her hand. "Just stand over there." She pointed to a spot that was just a few feet away. "One at a time."

Canada sighed(he sure sighs a lot) and stood where she was pointing. She smiled a catlike smile, and clapped her hands. "Sacre bleu!" Canada exclaimed as he was quickly enveloped in light. It disappeared after a second, to reveal Canada in a completely different outfit. Rather than his jeans and long sleeve T-shirt, he was now in a tux. It was simple, but fit him rather well. The jacket and slacks were black, and he wore a white dress shirt underneath. He wore a red tie, and a red handkerchief peeked from his breast pocket.

"It's the hero's turn!" America shouted. He stepped forward as Canada came back next to me. He went through a similar process, light flashing quickly, changing his clothes. His tux was similar to Canada's. But rather than the red tie and handkerchief, America's were both blue. "Rock on!" He exclaimed as he came back next to us.

"Now, the young lady." Vivaldi said gesturing to me. I looked at Canada. He nodded in return. I walked over to where she was pointing. As she clapped her hands, I felt as if I were temporarily blinded. I felt fabric move across my body. It was over in a second.

"Sacre bleu…" I heard Canada whisper.

"Oh, would you look at that." Vivaldi said, a bit smug. "Come, have a look at yourself. We have excellent taste." She led me to a full body mirror. I was almost surprised at what I saw.

AN:

And... That's it. Like I said, I cut it a bit. I chopped off about two paragraphs so that it could be a bit of a cliffhanger.

Can I get any opinions? I like opinions. They make me happy!

Anyways, I should work on writing more. But, I'm working on writing an origina novel(It's on Fiction Press . com), so that is holding quite a bit of my attention. But I will try to work on this one whenever I can!

Alright, thanks loves!

PS. Please review!