Year 1641

A young woman, a young man and a small, about eight years old, child emerged from the ship that had just arrived to Jamestown. The woman had platinum blond hair and lavender eyes, the man had bleach blond hair and jade green eyes and the child had honey coloured blond hair and baby blue eyes. They were dressed like a well-off family from northern Europe, meaning not too flashy but clothes made with better materials than normal. The woman held the child's hand tightly as the child seemed ready to go explore the new area.

"Momma, where are we going? From here, I mean?" the child asked.

"My magic tells me that we should go north. I'm not sure how long but there's where we're headed," the woman answered. "The climate will be better for us than here, you see."

"Okay," the child chirped as he let go of his mother's hand and jumped on one of their travelling trunks that had been unloaded from the ship. He was about to pick it up when his mother took hold of his hand again, preventing him from doing anything stupid.

"Alfred, you're not supposed to show inhuman strength when there are normal humans around. As soon as we are far enough from here without any company you can do as you wish but for now, do as I say, please?" the woman said with large, pleading eyes turned to the child, Alfred.

Alfred nodded solemnly, not really understanding but still obeying the woman he thought as his mother.

Berwald, the man, motioned for the workers to load their things to the carriage and helped with the heaviest things (i.e. trunks filled with books, working tools, etc.). While he was busy with their things the woman, Aino, and Alfred had gone for a walk around the port.

There weren't many things to see, mainly men working and building different buildings, women gossiping, some in quality clothing, others in worn-out things, and children running around, apparently playing tag or something.

Then Aino saw someone she knew and ventured over to him.

"Hello Arthur!" she greeted the other nation happily.

The other nation had been looking over some reports from the workers when she had called him and was quite startled when he saw her.

"Good morning miss Aino," he greeted neutrally. "What are you doing here?"

"Su-san has a little colony in north from here. We decided to sail here and from here to travel there through the terrain," Aino explained. "Also it gives Alfred the possibility to get to know some of his people and so on."

"Ah, yes, young America," Arthur nodded. "And where is he now?"

"He's playing with some of the village children over there," said Aino and pointed to the general area where the children were playing.

Arthur lifted an eyebrow. He wasn't sure if that was good parenting... "And is this a good idea?"

"Oh, sure! If the children don't have their freedom their more bound to rebel. If they have flexible rules and things are negoated between the parent and the child then the rebellion will be a lot less violent," explained the female nation. "For exampled, you know how Russia got his independence back ten years ago? Well, at first Russia was decreased to a small child and since Su-san and I gave him a better childhood than Ivan's first one was he has almost completely reformed..." "Well, except that he doesn't see me as a mother but more like his... crush or something..." "He's still large but now he's a bit gentler. So there was no bloodshed, only negotiating. And we still have his respect which wouldn't have happened if Su-san had ruled with an iron fist..."

"I see..." Arthur said, sounding confused which confirmed to Aino that he had never had children.

"I better give you an example from the other end as well..." she decided. "I believe you know how Ingvar, I mean Denmark, ruled Su-san's lands for a long time and with an iron fist?" An agreeing nod. "Well, Su-san's people didn't like it and killed the governing Danes. Had Ingvar's boss not been so uptight the Swedes wouldn't have rebelled or at least not killed the governing Danes... but, well, you know what happened."

"So... you mean that you should always give into the child's demands?" Arthur asked.

"Heavens, no!" Aino almost cried with wide eyes. "Then the child wouldn't learn to earn what he needs and would always rely on others and be a spoiled brat! The best way to bring up a child is to have rules that can be negoated when the child grows and let it get independence when it wants it. If it isn't ready yet it comes back to you, if it is then you can still steer it to the right direction by giving good advice."

Arthur nodded along. "What about punishments?"

"Absolutely no physical punishments. It might make the child unstable. The perfect punishment would be something like to send the child to bed without desert that evening or to take away something they like or to keep them inside or to make them do chores," explained Aino enthusiastically. "Or to tell them stories of what happens to children that don't do as their parents tell them. That's one of my favourites."

"And what happens to those children?" asked the curious Britt.

"They get taken by näkki or some forest spirit or a black man or a ghost," Aino told him cheerfully. "Take your pick."

"Ah…"

Their conversation was interrupted by a crash and then by loud crying coming from the direction of the children.

Aino gathered her skirts up. "I'm sorry that I have to cut this short but I have to go to see if that's Alfred," she said and ran where the crying was coming from.

As soon as she reached the crowd Alfred flung himself at her so that she barely caught him. The little nation was crying fat tears and his face was blotchy. His clothes were ruffled and had dirt on them.

"What's wrong, honey?" asked Aino as she bent down to his level.

"Th-the ch-children said th-that you didn't love m-me be-because I don't look like anyth-thing like you do!" Alfred cried between his sobs as his hands clutched his mother's dress and his face was pressed to her unusually stiff (because of the stiff clothes) chest.

Aino was horrified. She didn't look like her own parents at all yet they had loved her as long as they had been alive. And then Ingvar and Su-san had found her and she had been loved again by her brothers and Su-san. Then there was the fated journey to pre-America and she found little Alfred. She had loved him since she set her eyes on the little bundle of joy.

"Don't listen to them, Alfred, do you hear me?" she asked slowly from the crying nation. "It doesn't matter that you're not from my own womb. I loved you from the moment I laid my eyes on you in the forest I found you in. Your papa too. Uncle Ingvar… came to love you when he got to know you along with uncles Mathias and . You shouldn't listen to the other children because they're the ones that are insecure about their parent's love, not you."

Alfred looked up ate her with his wide blue eyes. "Really? You love me? And papa does too?"

"Yes, sweetie, we love you very much," Aino confirmed and hugged the boy tightly to her chest. Then she stood up with Alfred in her arms and walked back to Arthur who had been looking at the scene in wonderment. "Alfred, say hello to your uncle Arthur. He's also England."

Alfred lifted his head from Aino's shoulder to get a better look at Arthur. "Momma, are his eyebrows real?"

Aino sighed and looked apologetically at Arthur before turning to Alfred with a frown. "Alfred, it's not polite to ask such things, at least while the person you're criticizing is right in front of you. If you have such questions, could you please wait until we get home or an inn? Now, apologize to Arthur."

Alfred looked at Arthur with bright and innocent eyes. "S'rry uncl' Arth'r… Tis jus' not evr' d'y tha' ya see such ey'brows."

"Alfred! Speak properly!" scolded Finland her child.

"Bu'- bu' papa spe'ks lik' th's all th' t'me!" protested the smallest nation.

"And not even half the people he talks to understand a word of what he's saying," Aino reminded. "Now, again with proper grammar this time please."

Alfred glared at the ground. "Sorry uncle Arthur… It isn't every day that you see such eyebrows as yours…"

"You're forgive, young Alfred," Arthur said, looking impressed. Alfred didn't seem like a guy that easily gave in…

"A'no! Alfr'd!" Berwald shouted from their carriages. "We'r' re'dy t' g'!"

Aino smiled one last time at Arthur before dashing to the direction of the shout Alfred still secure in her arms. Once she reached the carriages she lifted Alfred to the back with the trunks before climbing to sit next to Berwald.

"Su-san, did you know Arthur was here? Alfred and I just saw him! I gave him some parenting advice… my magic tells me he's going to need it… Anyway, you should speak a little bit better English around Alfred. He totally mucked up his words in front of Arthur. Some children were teasing Alfred about the fact that he doesn't look like us and he had a crying episode over that. I think we should have a family discussion about that. Or it could be that his country's in a vulnerable state right now… Oh! And Su-san, my magic informed me last night that Alfred's going to need me here for the next century or so, and as I don't have a country to lead, I thought I'd stay here for the time being. You, on the other hand, are going to have some troubles back home… Don't worry, you can come over twice a year!"

"Th't's gre't," Berwald said between his wife's excited chatter as he steered the horse to North.

A/N: And that's how Alfred gets back to America!

Sweden had a colony in the modern-day Delaware-Pennsylvania area between 1638–1655. At least half of the immigrants were of Finnish origin. Though… I dout that's where they'll end up…

Review?