Thank you all for your reviews, I seriously love them to death. ^_^ And yes, I know the whole 'Kirkland' thing is confusing. However, if I don't do it, then this story won't work. I believe I have found the loop hole, however! XD I am trying to be as realistic (history-wise) as possible, so I have been doing nonstop research the past couple of weeks. However, this IS fanfiction, and to be quite honest with you, Hetalia really isn't always very accurate at all. So, for my story, all I can say is that I am not going to 'throw history out the window'...BUT I probably will end up 'adding some extra history' so to speak. ((Shrugs)) Just wait and see. ;)
Also, if I get any 'state stereotypes' wrong, please let me know. I did my best. I also have no idea if this is even remotely accurate, but I really do see Mississippi holding a cast iron pan as a weapon. :3 Also, if anyone from other states reads this and is offended, please remember that this is a Hetalia fan fiction, and Hetalia is very stereotypical and a little racist. For example, yes, I live in America and technically am an American...but I seriously loath McDonald's. Seriously.
Oh, and constructive criticisms and opinions are appreciated.
One of Arthur's large eyebrows twitched as another crash of what sounded like some sort of pottery hit the side of Matthew's house. Yelling ensued quickly after the crash, causing Arthur to grit his teeth in annoyance. He tried to distract himself by skipping to the end of his Harry Potter book and reading one of his most favorite scenes, the one where Harry saves Ginny, but he simply could not focus on it because of all the ruckus outside.
"Please stop throwing things at my house!" Matthew tried to yell out the window.
The folks down below were having none of that, and simply continued to throw food and pottery at the sides of the house. At one point he heard some frog croaks, which in all honesty may have been humorous if it were not for the situation.
Francis sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Honestly, now I zee why Alfred haz been trying to avoid zem, non?"
Arthur gripped his book tightly while trying to keep his anger in check, "Why in the bleeding hell are they taking it all out on Matthew's house?"
"They are trying to lure him out," Matthew sighed. "They've been doing this for about three days, now."
When a live chicken was thrown up through the open window and into the house, Arthur absolutely lost it. He flung his book onto the ground and stormed over towards the window. His expression was murder itself.
"WILL YOU BLOODY IDIOTS STOP THROWING FOOD AND POTTERY ALL OVER THE PLACE LIKE A BUNCH OF NEANDERTHALS? I AM TRYING TO READ!" He screamed down at them.
Arthur had not actually seen the people who had been flinging objects and yelling curses, but when he did he realized exactly who they must be. He thought that it was simply American citizens, or even American politicians, but the closer he looked at them he saw that they were the states themselves. Not many of them were actually there, but their number did not make them seem any less intimidating.
He had seen a few of them before, so he could see just which states were this angry at Alfred.
There was a man in the front with a pitchfork in his hands, and he had wavy brown hair, big blue eyes, some stubble, and was wearing farmers clothes. Arthur knew that was Nebraska, seeing as how his daughter seemed to hang out with him sometimes.
Next to him was a girl with a bucket of frogs, and he realized that she was indeed throwing frogs at the wall. She had dirty blond hair (that he thought may actually be dirty), navy blue eyes, tan skin, and was wearing what appeared to be camouflage pants, a green tank top, and rain boots. How she was not freezing to death Arthur did not know. However, he did recognize this girl as Louisiana, because apparently Samantha thought that she made the best 'fried frogs legs' in the world.
Arthur was slightly disappointed that his daughter seemed to enjoy frogs legs; a remnant of when France had had an influence on her, no doubt.
Besides Louisiana was a young, negro woman wearing a bright blue dress, and curly black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. She had bright brown eyes, and she seemed nice enough except for the rather large, cast iron pan that she held, which reminded Arthur exceedingly of Hungary. He recognized her as Mississippi because they had actually met before, and Samantha had told him many times before that her catfish was like heaven itself. Of course, Samantha loved catfish anyway, but apparently Mississippi catfish was the best.
On the other side of Nebraska was another young man, who was wearing a cowboy hat, had a rifle, and was also wearing farmers clothes. One might have actually thought he was the state of Texas if they did not know better, but Arthur knew immediately who this man was because he was neighbors with his daughter. There had been times when Arthur had been invited over the phone to go 'lasso tornadoes' with his daughter and the personification of Oklahoma. For a long time Arthur could not figure out if his daughter actually liked the boy, because when he had first seen Oklahoma, the two states had been yelling at each other about who was going to win football that year. Well...at least what they called football...it was not actually proper football.
Stupid America.
All in all, it seemed that the majority of state representatives were Southerners, save for Nebraska, which explained all of the yelling. He wished Virginia was there. She was living proof that a southern state could be kind, and polite...unlike the hooligans who stood before him.
The states stared up at him blankly, not sure whether to yell back at him or listen. Arthur took the opportunity to talk, because he knew that if he waited too long he would not have a chance.
"Alright, who threw the bloody chicken?" Arthur growled out. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would remove it."
"Er, that would be me," A young girl with yet another pair of farmers clothes, and brown hair pulled into a bun.
"And who are you?" Arthur asked curiously.
"I'm Kansas! Ya know, like the Wizard of Oz?" Kansas said with a small smile.
"Yeah...and beef's for dinner," Oklahoma laughed.
Kansas whacked him on the top of the head, "Oh hush. At least people don't think I'm Texas."
Oklahoma's eyes narrowed at that, but said nothing.
"Oh yeah...Texas this, Texas that," Nebraska said with an eye roll. "Everythin's bigger in Texas ya know, includin' her ego."
"Hey, be nice," Louisiana said. "Texas is not any worse than any of you idiots."
"Think about it, Louise," Nebraska said with a huff. "Which states do tourists want to visit when they come to America? Florida, California, New York, Texas... Need I go on?"
"Actually, I get a lot of tourists too-" a young man with tan skin and sun kissed blond hair spoke up quietly.
"Shut it, Arizona, nobody wants to hear you rant on about your 'Grandios Canyon' again!" Nebraska said.
"Nebraska be nice!" Kansas said in disapproval. "The Grand Canyon is pretty cool..."
"Yeah, but that's all he ever talks about!" Oklahoma chipped in. "Isn't there something else cool about Arizona?"
Arizona stood there awkwardly for a moment, "Well...I've got some parks...and there are some pretty freaking cool rocks that you can find-"
"Okay, so there's nothing," Oklahoma said. "Fair enough."
"Would you all please quit rambling on about tourism, and explain why you are throwing food and rather nice looking china at the wall?" Arthur asked with a huff.
"We want Alfred to get his butt down here, before I drag it down!" Mississippi yelled, raising her pan.
"Yeah! We're tired of him treatin' us like we're his servants!" Nebraska said.
Arthur turned around and looked into the room to see what the others were currently doing. Alfred was sitting there in a chair staring at Arthur in deep thought. Arthur raised an eyebrow at him, because he knew full well that Alfred just heard that entire conversation. He tried avoiding his states long enough, and it was time to finally settle things once and for all.
Alfred stood up and slowly walked towards the window, and then peeked his head out with a frown, "What?"
"Get your ass down here!" Oklahoma yelled.
"Hmmm...no," Alfred said folding his arms. "I'm not talking to any of you, because you are all acting like idiots."
"Oh haha, like you are one to talk!" Mississippi yelled angrily.
"Look, I know I've messed up big time, but I'm not talking to any of you until you agree to act like adults!" Alfred yelled down angrily.
Arthur stared at Alfred in disbelief. In all of his life, he had never seen Alfred act so stern and angry towards his states. During the Revolutionary War the few that had existed had been by his side the entire time, and during the Civil War he helped everyone settle things out while they fought. Not once had he ever seen Alfred yell at them like he was yelling now, nor had he ever seen Alfred act like an adult.
"He's right," Kansas said touching Nebraska's arm to get him to calm down a little. "We can't settle anything until we agree to actually talk it out."
"Yeah," Another state chipped in. This one was a girl with bright blond hair.
"Yeah, remember the civil war? We don't want another on'a those, do we?" Louisiana said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh please, like you'd do anything if there was one," Oklahoma said. "You'd be too busy wrestling alligators in yer giant swamp of a state!"
"Hey, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to shoot your butt cheeks off if there was another war," Louisiana said with a glare. "You seem to need the discipline."
"Nah, Sam would beat'cha to it!" Arizona grinned. "You know how she can get."
"No she wouldn't, because she's too good to be a state anymore," Nebraska said with a frown. "'Cause, ya know...who'd want that?"
"She started off as a country, so you can't really blame her," Mississippi said. "She was annexed, and we all knew it would only be a matter o' time 'til she went off on her own again.
"Yeah, but now it's like we don't even exist in her life anymore!" Nebraska frowned. "I don't think anyone has even seen her since that world meetin', or whatever."
"So that's what this is about..." Louisiana said with a smirk. "Y'all all miss her, dont'cha?"
Oklahoma shrugged, "She's cool to hang out with. Besides, it's not the same tippin' cows by yourself..."
"Yeah, and she always thought my Grand Canyon was cool-"
"SHUT UP ABOUT THE DANG CANYON ALREADY!" Nebraska and Oklahoma yelled.
Arizona muttered to himself as the rest of the states looked amongst each other silently. Some of the more northern states, like Montana, did not really relate to Texas as well as the Southerners did, but some of them did miss hanging out with her on occasion. Sure, her accent could be hard to understand at some points, but then again they all had strange accents that were hard to understand. And of course, she would make fun of practically everything and everyone she saw, and at times she could be considered racist, but she made fun of herself just as often. Plus, she was a great ally to have in a war. She was always loyal to her friends, and she always treated them like family. Samantha Kirkland was one of those 'best friends' that would get you into trouble, but would stick by your side the entire way.
After her secession, however, she did not really have time to spend with anyone. At first everyone sighed in relief because she was always complaining about their decisions for their state, how they were always wrong, and how she was always right. Yes, Texas was clever and smart, but sometimes her pride could get the better of her to the point that she literally disagreed with any decisions that the other states made. Most of the states loved her to death, but she could be a handful.
After a few weeks, however, they realized just how dull it had become without Texas hovering over their shoulder and pointing out mistakes like a teacher. Depression was slowly sinking in. Besides, Texas was always the first to speak up when they thought one of Alfred's decisions was wrong. So, when Texas seceded, Alfred and his government made stupid decisions nonstop, but nobody ever said anything because Texas had always been the one to do it for them.
One day they finally had enough of it, and decided that they would do the first thing they could think of.
Threaten to secede themselves.
Of course, none of them really wanted to secede, they just wanted to be heard like in the old days.
They realized at that moment, standing out in the freezing snow, that then was as good a time as ever to settle things once and for all. There was no doubt that the United States government was pretty much screwed, but they would try and recover as much as possible...one baby step at a time.
"Alright," Oklahoma said. "Let's talk."
"Ha ha, and remember the time she couldn't say 'Arkansas'?"
"Yeah, she kept sayin' 'Our Kansas'! To this day she still calls you 'my Kansas', don't she?"
"Teehee, yeah she does."
Arthur smiled at the group of states who were chatting happily amongst themselves. They had yet to actually discuss any political matters, but at least for a moment everyone seemed to be getting along. As it turned out, the states of America argued about as often as the countries did during world meetings.
Arthur fiddled with the documents he had fetched from his suitcase, knowing that they might come in handy later on. Alfred was nowhere to be seen. The last Arthur had seen of him had been when a large brown-haired man known as 'Georgia' reeled him away from the crowd of people, and locked themselves in the bathroom. Arthur did not dare even ask them what they were doing, but Mississippi assured him that 'George' was probably just making sure Alfred was okay.
Everyone was sitting around the dinner table Matthew owned, and were all patiently awaiting Alfred and Georgia's return. Well, as patient as the United States of America could be. Matthew was currently in the kitchen, whipping up some hot chocolate for everyone. He figured they must all be freezing, especially since they were southern states.
Arthur sat beside Francis at the table, and for the first time in his life he was grateful to have the frog next to him. He was comfortable with the familiar presence next to him even if he would never admit it.
On his left sat Mississippi, who in all honesty was much friendlier when she was not angry. She continuously offered to cook something, but Matthew (being the generous host that he was) refused kindly.
Arthur turned when he heard the sound of the bathroom door opening, and was relieved to see that Alfred seemed unharmed. Arthur had never met Georgia before, so he did not know if the man was kind or not. Alfred quickly sat down in an open seat in front of Arthur, while Georgia sat down next to Mississippi.
"Well?" Nebraska asked while Matthew placed cups of hot chocolate in front of states.
Georgia took in a deep breath, "It's worse than we thought."
"How so?" Louisiana asked.
"You should have seen all of the marks on 'im!" Georgia said with a worried glance towards Alfred. "Texas definitely did not go easy this time."
Louisiana buried her face in her hands, "Wonderful. If I had known it was this bad..."
Kansas patted her back comfortingly, "None of us did, it's alright."
"Yeah," Nebraska agreed. "It ain't our fault no one tells us nothin'."
"Anything," Arthur corrected.
Nebraska stared at Arthur with a blank expression, "Whut?"
Arthur shook his head, "Never mind. So, what's so terrible about having marks? That's highly common after a war or secession, you know. And it is most certainly not the first time Alfred has ever been scarred."
"Yeah, but he hasn't exactly been scarred much by us," Louisiana explained. "Sure we have our little feuds, but we've never actually gone out of our way to hurt him."
"Exactly, and it doesn't help that Texas doesn't talk to us anymore," Oklahoma muttered. "For example, I went over to her house last week because there was this cool football documentary coming on-"
"Ooh, she loves those!" Kansas said with a smile.
"Yeah, I know," Oklahoma said with a frown. "Anyway, I went over personally to her house to ask her, and she said no. But not only did she say she did not want to come, she was staring at me with this really weird expression on her face. And she looked kinda sick, like she hasn't been eating anything lately."
"Weird expression?" Louisiana asked curiously.
"Yeah, kind of like when Alaska stares at you," Oklahoma shuddered. "Oh his eyes..."
"Alaska is one creepy dude," Nebraska agreed.
"You're strayin' away on the subject," Mississippi said with a frown.
"Right. Sorry," Oklahoma said.
"Oh, Matthew this cocoa is really good!" Kansas complimented with a smile. "We should come visit you more often!"
Matthew blushed, "As long as you don't throw stuff at me."
"Guys! Really! We need to talk about our problems, not cocoa!" Louisiana said sternly. "Look at Alfred! He's obviously covered in wounds, and apparently Sam is actin' weird!"
"Yeah, and those damn Yankees up north are threatening to start another war," Oklahoma muttered.
"Exactly!" Louisiana said.
"Of course they're threatenin'! But they are all just a bunch of wusses, they won't do anything!" Nebraska said with a frown.
"I dunno," Kansas said, curling in on herself slightly. "New York can be kinda scary sometimes..."
"You fought on her side last time!" Louisiana said, nudging Kansas slightly. "What are you so scared of?"
"You know how she gets," Kansas said. "She switches sides on people depending on who she's mad at most, or whoever mentions that 'Lady Liberty' was originally French..."
"Eh, New York's a pansy," Mississippi said. "All she cares 'bout is money. She couldn't care less if we started another war."
Kansas sighed, "I suppose."
"Yeah, but what about New Jersey? He's a little ball of fire-" a state that Arthur did not recognize spoke up.
"Hold on," Arthur interrupted. "Pardon my interruption, but I honestly have no idea which states I am speaking to. So if you would please state your names, that would be much appreciated."
"Oui," Francis spoke up. "Zat would be good."
"Alright," Alfred said after chugging down some hot chocolate. "States...let him know who ya are, except for the ones he's already met. You should go around the table one at a time, starting with you."
Alfred pointed to the young, auburn haired man sitting next to him. The man had bright, baby blue eyes, and was wearing a T-shirt that said 'Alabama Crimson Tide'. He was eating what appeared to be a crawfish, and kept making strange faces at Mississippi...who returned them without a second thought.
"I'm Alabama," the man said with a small smile. "Nice to meet'cha."
Arthur nodded politely, and turned to the woman sitting next to him.
The woman had dark brown, wavy hair, and dark brown eyes. She was very tan, wore a white tank top with a picture of an orange on it, and he had seen that she was also wearing green flip-flops. She had a pair of large orange sunglasses on her head, and was admiring her french manicure. She looked rather familiar to Arthur, but he could not quite place where he had seen those brown eyes before.
She smiled at Arthur, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth, and giggled, "Hola, I'm Florida."
Florida...of course. How could Arthur have not recognized Spain's little sister? She looked so much like him it almost seemed as though they were related by DNA, and not from his adoption of her. Plus, she seemed to have the exact same smile that he did.
It annoyed Arthur, somewhat.
Next to Florida sat Georgia, who Arthur noticed had dark brown hair, and emerald green eyes. He was wearing a red T-shirt with the words 'Coca-Cola' on it, and was poking Florida (who was trying to ignore it).
"I'm Georgia," he said curtly, and then went back to pestering Florida.
Beside Florida was a young man who could have passed for her twin brother. He had very tan skin, dark brown eyes, a mop of brown hair on his head, and a little stubble on his face. He had on a plain white T-shirt with the words No estoy México on it. He merely sat there with a somewhat grumpy expression on his face, unimpressed with his surroundings.
"I'm New Mexico," he said nonchalantly. "New Mexico, mind you."
"You should give yourself a different name," Florida said with a shrug.
New Mexico turned to glare at her half-heartedly, "¿No crees que lo he intentado?"
Florida shrugged before turning to Georgia and swatting his hand away, "Stop that."
"Well," Alfred said turning to Arthur. "That's everyone."
Arthur nodded, "Thank you, it was very much appreciated."
Alfred stared at Arthur blankly after he said that, and Arthur raised an eyebrow. Alfred turned away and shook his head, dismissing the subject. Arthur eyed Alfred in silent question, but said nothing.
Arthur did not realize the connection Alfred had just made between he and Samantha. The term 'much appreciated' was a very common saying in Texas, after all.
"Alright," Alfred said after taking a very long sip of hot chocolate. "Who wants to yell at me first?"
"I wouldn't necessarily call it yelling," Louisiana said pursing her lip in thought. "More like boldly speaking to make sure ya get the message."
Alfred gave her a weak smile, "I guess it hasn't been working very well lately."
"No, it hasn't," Oklahoma said simply.
"Well," Francis spoke up. "It iz all in ze past, oui?"
"He's right," Florida said with a wide smile. "All of that is behind us, so now's the time to fix it. Kind of like during the Civil War!"
"The Civil War was different..." Georgia said. "This war is way worse than that one...and I never thought that would even be possible. And technically it hasn't even started yet!"
"Yeah! And football season's getting canceled this year!" Alabama whined.
"Do you really think anyone cares right now?" Mississippi said, giving him a weak glare.
"Well...it is kind of sad..." Oklahoma muttered.
"There are more important matters at hand!" Arthur exclaimed. "Now quit this rubbish about American Football, and settle your disputes!"
"Alright, me first," Nebraska said, and then he leaned over the table slightly. "I want to know why you suddenly decided to tax my citizens twice as much as before, after almost literally taking away their jobs!"
Everyone turned to Alfred for an answer.
Alfred leaned back in his chair with a small frown plastered on his face, "I don't recall taking away any jobs."
"Well you did! I currently have about a million jobless people, who are required to pay taxes with money that they are selling their own houses to get!" Nebraska said, slamming his fist down on the table. "And it's only getting worse!"
Alfred's eyes widened, but he was interrupted just before he could speak.
"Me too!" Kansas exclaimed. "My people have resorted to eating their own farm cattle because they can't afford store-bought food anymore, which in case you didn't know, is pretty much my main source of money."
"My people are literally hiding in swamps to avoid getting taxed," Louisiana said. "And Duck Dynasty was canceled last month so I'm not getting any money off of that..."
"I had about five tornadoes blow through this past month, and two of them tore up millions of dollars worth of gas pumps," Oklahoma said with a frown. "And...I don't have any money to replace them. A few of the small family gas and oil companies in my state went out of business, and a lot of people lost their houses in the tornadoes. I think we've already explained the taxing situation. It's like the world has literally become an Apocalypse..."
"Hold on," Alfred said quickly. "When the hell did all of this happen?"
Everyone stared at him with blank expressions.
"You mean you honestly have no idea about our economic situation, Alfred?" Louisiana asked in disbelief. "Well no wonder we're having so many problems!"
"I was never informed that the taxing went up that high!" Alfred said, and his hands clenched into fists. "I knew it was bad, but I...I never made that decision! They've been doing things behind my back, the bastards!"
Alabama put his hand on Alfred's back, "Woah, calm down dude!"
"How can I calm down?" Alfred exclaimed before bringing his face into his hands. "This is all my fault! If I had just paid attention during all of those freaking boring political meetings, I bet some of our problems wouldn't even exist! It's just...I mean...I trusted them."
"Yeah, that was a stupid move," Louisiana muttered. "Never trust humans. They are dumber than buckets of mud."
"I think the correct way to say that is 'dumber than'a bucket 'o mud'," Oklahoma said with a small smile.
Louisiana stuck her tongue out, "I wasn't copyin' Texas!"
"I think what Louise was tryin' to say is that trusting humans is usually a bad idea," Mississippi said. "But at least now we know that everythin' that has happened hasn't exactly been your fault..."
"Yeah, I guess we should have been payin' attention too," Nebraska pouted. "We could have tried harder to get ya to listen."
"How...how have we lasted this long?" Alfred asked looking up through his hands.
Everyone looked at each other.
"I think...Texas..." Florida said quietly.
"Yeah, it was her, wasn't it?" Louisiana said. "She always made ya listen when something was going really wrong, and managed to fix it just before it got too awful bad. For the most part anyway... She's a natural born leader, and has been that way since...since she was a lil' girl."
"It's almost always been like that," Georgia spoke up. "We have always just sat back and waited her to start yelling at you."
"And now she's gone," Louisiana said softly. "This ain't her problem anymore."
"I miss her," Kansas said sadly. "She always loved cooking with my beef."
"More like smotherin' the poor cow in gravy," Louisiana said with a smile.
"Didn't she say once that Chicken Fried Steak was just a gravy boat sent down from heaven?" Arkansas asked.
"Yeah, she did," Oklahoma laughed.
Arthur felt his heart clench upon hearing the words spoken from the states. He never knew how much the states actually seemed to care about her, or how much they missed her the moment she left. He always thought that she was like he was; alone. He always saw himself as the only person that truly cared about her, but now that he saw the states personifications he came to the conclusion that the person who neglected her the most was himself.
Hearing the comments the representatives said about his daughter made him realize just how little he knew her.
He never even knew she liked gravy...
"Well, now what?" New Mexico asked. "We sort of know about our problems, but how are we supposed to fix them?"
Everyone turned to Alfred, who in return looked down at his lap. He sniffed loudly, and cleared his throat.
"I..." he spoke softly. "I don't know."
"You mean to tell me you don't have any idea? How did you fix the depression?" Mississippi asked.
"I didn't, I mean you all helped that out," Alfred admitted. "And...I kind of asked Sam."
"Of course you did," Nebraska said with a groan. "I swear, you'd think she ruled the world by now since she's so all-knowing."
"Erm...Nebraska..." Kansas said quietly.
"I mean, I swear! Texas is literally about the only thing anyone has even talked about since we got here! She's gotten into your heads, I swear!" Nebraska exclaimed. "Texas is gone! She ain't coming back, so let's just stop talking about her already! It's not like she knows everything! She isn't even the oldest!"
"Nathan!" Kansas whispered, pushing Nebraska's arm roughly.
"What?" Nebraska asked with a small glare.
Arthur frowned when he noticed that everyone was staring behind him. He also took notice that Matthew must have slipped away from the room a few moments before without anyone noticing. He had a thing with sneaking around, and no one could ever seem to find him during hide-and-seek. So the fact that nobody noticed Matthew leave did not exactly come as a shock to Arthur.
Arthur also noticed that Alfred's face had almost horrifically drained itself of all color.
Arthur turned around slowly, and met someone he had most certainly not been expecting to see.
"You were saying, Nathan?" a cold, southern accented voice broke the silence.
Nebraska slowly turned around the meet a rather angry, Texan face.
Samantha Kirkland, and all of her glory, stood in the doorway of the room. She was wearing a dark blue sweater, a pair of dark blue jeans, black cowboy boots, and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. She obviously had not put much effort in her appearance. Arthur might have actually been worried about her since he noticed her hat was currently absent, but her gun remained strapped to her side so he figured everything was probably alright.
Where did she even come from?
Nebraska smiled widely, "Hehe, nothin' sweet thang."
Samantha glared and smacked the back of Nebraska's head, hard.
Nebraska clutched his head, "Ow! The heck, Sam!"
"Don't worry, Nate. When I rule the world with my 'all-knowing self, I'll make sure to keep you as my personal shoe-shiner," Samantha said folding her arms.
"Smart-aleck," Nebraska muttered.
"So, what's goin' on here?" Samantha asked before looking at Matthew. "Oh hey, Mattie, do you have another chair?"
"Yes, there's one behind you," Matthew pointed out as he reentered the room.
Samantha turned around and saw the chair, and pulled up next to Arthur. Samantha turned to him and broke into a wide smile.
"Hey Daddy!" she said wrapping her arms around him weakly. "Didn't see ya there!"
Arthur sighed and hugged her back, "Hello darling."
Samantha was smiling so wide it became blatantly obvious to Arthur that something was off. It was almost as though she were relieved that he was there, which led Arthur to the conclusion that she was not completely alright. She did have rather dark circles under her eyes...
"Bonjour belle~" Francis said with a smile.
Samantha pulled away and stared at Francis suspiciously, "Bonjour."
Francis leaned over Arthur to close the distance between he and Samantha a little; his wide smile never left his face, "Dites-moi, how have you been faring lately, my little Texan rose?"
Samantha pressed her eyebrows together a little, "Keep your distance, French Fry."
Francis frowned, and Arthur could not hold back a smirk. At least he and his daughter shared a mutual feeling towards Francis, although his dislike was much greater than hers. However, although she was a very good actress in the art of hiding her true emotions, Arthur could most certainly tell that her insult had no bite behind it. Insults ran in her Kirkland blood, and that had to be the weakest insult Arthur had ever heard his daughter give the Frenchman. In fact, it could hardly be called an insult; it was more like a tease.
Samantha sighed, turned forward, and met a pair of baby blue eyes. Arthur followed her gaze curiously as he noticed her stiffen beside him. Alfred had not stopped staring at her since she entered the room, and Arthur could not tell if he was angry or not. Alfred's eyes were dull, and his expression remained stoic. Samantha's smile faded, but she did not frown. Instead she simply raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"Do I have somethin' on my face?" Samantha asked with disgruntled stare.
Alfred shook his head quickly, and looked away, "No."
Samantha's eyebrows pressed together slightly, but she said nothing. Odd. She usually retorted to anything Alfred said, whether statement or insult.
"So, Sam..." Louisiana spoke up. "Alfred said that during the Depression, he asked you for advice on political matters. Ya know, all that jazz."
Samantha stared blankly at Louisiana for a moment. She seemed a little shaken by the question.
"Yeah, he did," Samantha said simply. "But I asked Virginia for advice first, so I was sort of just relaying her message. I hate politics..."
"Wait...so Virginia is technically the one who knows what to do?" Mississippi asked.
"Of course, isn't she always?" Samantha asked while raising an eyebrow. "She is one of the oldest. Plus I always go to her, 'cause she seriously has the best pie ever."
"Yeah she does," Kansas nodded with a dreamy smile. "I can just taste it now..."
Everyone sat there in silence for a brief pause, letting Samantha's words sink in. She wasn't the one who gave advice...Virginia was. It was not unusual for Virginia to hand out words of wisdom and comfort in times of need, but no one ever assumed that Samantha spent much time with Martha Dawson, Virginia's personification. Samantha was never really one to ask for advice, at least not in the eyes of others.
"Wait...what are you doing here, anyway?" New Mexico asked with a frown. "Ya que es político."
Samantha turned to him slowly, mysteriously staring at him straight in the eyes, "Matthew and I are plotting world domination."
Everyone stared at her as she continued to eye New Mexico warily. Nobody knew quite how to respond, and she seemed to be deadly serious. That is...until Louisiana burst out in mirthful laughter.
"Good one Sam!" she laughed. "For a second there I thought you were serious."
Samantha grinned, "Maybe I was."
"Yeah right!" Louisiana giggled. "Matthew would never agree to it."
Matthew blushed and looked down, "I might...if you say please..."
Samantha smiled at him, but no one else seemed to have heard him.
"So, why are you here?" Oklahoma asked.
Samantha leaned back in her seat, "I just came to pay Mattie a visit, but it seems y'all beat me to it. Oh, and may I ask why there is green and yellow slime on the outside of his house?"
Samantha turned to Louisiana suspiciously, and Louisiana turned pink, "Oh, well we were tryin' to get Alfred to come out."
"Why?" Samantha asked unimpressed.
"Well...this is why," Oklahoma said. "We needed to discuss political crud, and that's what we were doing before you showed up."
"Oh, well if I'm intrudin' I'll leave-"
"No!" Louisiana interrupted. "You should stay. I mean...I kind of wanna hang out afterwards. Haven't seen ya in ages!"
"Oh," Samantha said nonchalantly. "Okay."
Arthur looked over at Samantha and noticed that she seemed a little out of place. Not only did she look abnormally cold, but she appeared to be nervous and he did not know why. Besides, he knew his daughter well enough to know that she did not usually pay anyone visits in the winter. She was used to hot weather, and during the winter she would stay at home and drink coffee if not just spend the entire time asleep. She was always excited during Christmas, but once Christmas was over nobody would really see her until spring. So why exactly was she going out of her way to visit Matthew?
Arthur wrapped an arm around his daughter as a subconscious sign of affection, and she responded by leaning into him. The two of them never really spent much time together since they lived so far apart, but when they did see each other they both went out of their way to show the other that they cared. Arthur did not really know how to be fatherly, but it seemed that the little things he did do, Samantha appreciated.
Arthur jumped out of his thoughts when Samantha let loose a rather violent shiver, and she huddled closer to him. It was then that Arthur realized just how cool Samantha felt. Well, cooler than she usually felt. Seeing as how Texas could get pretty steamy during the summer, her natural body temperature reflected the weather by maintaining an average of about one-hundred degrees.
Arthur leaned down towards her ear and whispered, "Darling, are you feeling well?"
Samantha looked up and smiled weakly, "Yeah, don't worry 'bout me. It's just a little cold in Texas today, that's all."
Arthur nodded, but in all honesty he did not believe her. Even when it was cold, she did not shiver that hard.
"So, what were we talking about again?" Kansas asked.
"Well, we've pretty much established that the taxation in America is ridiculous, and it needs to be amended," Georgia said.
"And that it's not entirely Alfred's fault," Florida pointed out with a mouthful of orange slices.
"What?" Samantha asked with a frown. "It's not?"
"No," Louisiana said. "Apparently the government has started raising our taxes without Alfred's conformation."
Samantha's mouth snapped shut, and her frown deepened. She did not already know that.
Alfred rubbed his temples, "Louise...how far in debt are we, exactly?"
"You don't know?" Nebraska asked in disbelief. "For heaven's sake, Alfred!"
Alfred glared at Nebraska, "Look, just tell me! How far are we in debt?"
Everyone silenced, and a few states exchanged worried glances at each other. Everything had finally begun to get to Alfred, and he was nearing his breaking point quickly.
Slowly, Arthur unwrapped his arm from Samantha, and stood up to hand over the documents he and Francis had brought with them a few days before.
"Francis and I are willing to do all we can to help ease your burden a bit, if you would allow it," Arthur said benevolently. "Although, we can not do much. Our economies are not exactly up to par."
Alfred took the papers slowly, obviously not wanted to actually look at the numbers written down on them. He had purposely been avoided them the past few decades. Alfred glanced down at them, and everyone waited anxiously for his reaction.
Samantha stared at Alfred with a piercing gaze, waiting for him to realize just how big of a hole he dug himself into. Part of her wanted to laugh at his face and say, "I told you so!". Another part of her wanted to pull him into the hug that he so desperately needed, and tell him that everything would be alright. However...she decided it would be best to do neither.
Alfred's eyes slowly widened and his mouth fell open as he stared at the documents. He slammed the papers down onto the table, and his hands clenched into fists. He shut his eyes tightly, and shook his head roughly in disbelief.
"Eighteen-trillion, going on nineteen-trillion..." he said with a broken voice. "How is that even...?"
Matthew patted Alfred on the back comfortingly, but he did not really know what to say. Everyone was silent, and nobody wanted to be the first to speak.
"Ya want some advice?"
Everyone turned to Samantha, who had taken the moment to speak. Alfred looked up at her with a half-hearted glare.
"No, I don't," Alfred growled. "Not from you."
Samantha stiffened, and folded her arms with a huff, "Fine, teach me to try and help. Don't come cryin' to me when you finally fall apart."
"I wasn't planning on it," Alfred hissed angrily. "And don't make assumptions, Samantha."
"Alfred, Samantha, stop," Mississippi chided. "This isn't helping anything."
"Yeah, Missy's right. And I want to know what your idea is," Arizona said. "Does it involve a certain Grand Canyon?"
Samantha rolled her eyes, "No, it doesn't-"
Samantha's nose wrinkled up, and she let out a loud, violent sneeze. She rubbed her nose with her sleeve, and shivered violently once more.
"Excuse me..." she muttered right before a wave of 'bless you's were spoken.
"Darling, are you sick?" Arthur asked worriedly, feeling her forehead to find it ice cold. "You are freezing!"
"Nah, I'm fine," Samantha said with a small sniff. "I told you that already. It's just the weather."
"What's wrong with the weather?" Matthew asked quietly.
"Nothing, I'll tell you later. It's not important now," Samantha said, although she began shaking a tad more.
It obviously was important.
"Alright," Matthew said. "Oh, would you like some hot chocolate? You look a little cold."
Samantha's eyes lit up, and she smiled, "Sure! Thanks Mattie!"
Matthew blushed and gave her a small smile in return as he left to get some hot chocolate.
"So...what was your idea?" Louisiana asked Samantha.
Samantha's demeanor changed immediately from happy to ice cold, "Well apparently Alfred doesn't want my help, so I'm not going to say."
"Sam," Oklahoma complained. "It'd be helping all of us!"
"I'm not sayin' nothin' until someone gives me an apology," Samantha said as she glared at Alfred.
Alfred glared right back, "For what?"
"For being a moron!" Samantha complained.
"Look, if you know so much why didn't you start helping a few years ago?" Alfred yelled at her, standing up in his seat.
"Because you wouldn't listen!" Samantha yelled back, also standing up in her seat.
"Samantha..." Arthur began with a frown.
Why on earth did she have to somehow inherit Alistair's temper? Did it secretly run in Kirkland veins, or was it just the ones with odd accents?
"You didn't try hard enough! If you had just shown me the numbers, I would have started realizing just how bad everything was getting!" Alfred yelled angrily. "I know for a fact that you can get what you want if you just press hard enough, so why didn't you do that with me?"
"Because..." Samantha froze, her hands clenching and unclenching. "I don't..."
"Wait..." Alfred began with an icy cold glare. "I know exactly why you didn't. You were waiting until I was weak enough to not be able to win a war against you! You're the reason we're all in the dumps! You knew from the beginning just how bad things were going to get!"
Samantha's throat clenched, and her eyes widened "Alfred..."
"You let it get this bad! This is all your fault!" Alfred yelled.
Samantha stood there with her eyes shut, and her hands clenched into fists. She was shaking, and this time Arthur did not think it was from the cold. Not a single soul dared to speak, and the air was so thick a person could have cut it with a knife.
"Alfred..."
Her voice rang out in the silence like a siren.
Samantha's eyes opened to glare menacingly at Alfred, and everyone in the room shivered at the rather angry blue aura surrounding her. Her eyes nearly glowed in anger as she continued to stare Alfred down. She looked ready to kill.
"That is the biggest load of bullcrap I've ever heard in my entire life!" she hissed at him.
Samantha stomped over to where Alfred stood and smacked him in the face, causing everyone to flinch at the loud sound that came from hand to cheek contact.
"I would never do something so low! And to be honest, I thought you knew me well enough to know that!" Samantha said with angry tears in her eyes that she refused to let fall. "Supongo que estaba equivocado."
Alfred stared at her in shock. Samantha had never hit him like that before. There was something off about her, he could tell.
Samantha spun on her heel and stormed towards the doorway. However, as she did so, she began to sway off to her right as she lost her balance. She quickly grabbed a nearby chair, regained her balance, and then continued to walk away. She stopped when Matthew appeared with a mug of hot chocolate, and she took it with a quiet 'thank you'.
"I'll be in the living room watching Corner Gas," she said to him. "Tell me y'all are done."
Matthew nodded, and stared after her worriedly as she left the room.
Arthur turned to give Alfred a reprimanding stare, but froze when he saw that Alfred had not moved from the spot he had been in when Samantha hit him. The angry fire in his eyes had disappeared completely, and his expression became stoic. He slowly sat back down, and stared at the table in front of him.
"We never did hear her idea..." Nebraska muttered.
A fist slammed onto a tile bathroom wall, causing the walls to shake. The fist slammed onto the wall once again, and then once more for good measure. It was a surprise to see that the tile had not broken.
"Estúpido idiota!" Samantha hissed as her hand hit the wall again. "Él es un idiota!"
It was not common for anyone to hear Samantha Kirkland speak Spanish willingly, at least not since she had left Mexico those many years ago. She would never admit that it was, in fact, her first language, and would argue with anyone by saying she only spoke English as a child. Of course, everyone knew that was a lie, but nobody ever really bothered to argue with her, knowing it was futile.
However, even though she refused to speak Spanish often, it would often spill from her lips when she was upset or surprised. In fact, she did not usually realize that she had switched languages until someone would point it out. It was not unusual for someone to ask her something in English when she was upset, and have her answer in Spanish.
"Lo odio tanto!Me gustaría que sólo iría morir en un rincón!" Samantha whispered to herself with a growl as she slammed her fist down once more. "Deseo... Deseo..."
Samantha had been on her way to the living room, just moments before, when a wave of nausea came over her. She quickly went into the nearest bathroom just in case her stomach decided to not digest the hot chocolate she had just been given. The moment she closed the door, however, the emotions she had pent up and hid from the eyes of others burst forth. She could not help it.
Samantha turned to look at her fist, which would no doubt probably be an ugly purple color the next day, and noticed it shaking violently. She slowly turned around to look at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her face was horribly pale, and she had ghastly dark circles under her eyes. Her hair stuck up at odd angles as if she had been grabbing at it. She looked like a madwoman...
Samantha closed her eyes tightly when she felt a dizzy spell come over her for the millionth time that day.
"Stupid wind..." she muttered. "Stupid Texas weather..."
She felt hundreds of rough gusts of freezing cold air blow over random areas of Texas. She could feel everything happening within her borders. She felt it when trees snapped from the wind's strength, and she felt it when the Brazos River froze over from the abnormally cold air. She stiffened when she felt her oil pump jacks freeze to the point that they could not pump, and she twitched when she felt cars crash into one another due to the connection of slippery roads and car tires that were not meant for snow.
Samantha's hands gripped the bathroom counter top to the point that it began to crack under pressure. Her knuckles turned snow white. She opened her eyes to see they had become bloodshot, no doubt from nearly crying in frustration.
Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.
Even when it did snow in Texas, it never snowed that much. Especially not all at once. Every inch of Texas was covered with feet upon feet of snow, and it was starting to really worry Samantha.
Samantha nearly toppled over when tornadoes hit Texan soil one by one, tearing up nearly everything in their paths. Her jaw clenched tightly when she felt houses being ripped up, and her head pounded at the screaming of her people. There was not anything she could do, and that was what bothered her most. She could keep certain areas safe from certain weather destruction, but only a mile or two at the most.
Tornadoes did seem to always have perfect timing, didn't they?
Samantha merely stood in Matthew's bathroom, enduring the inner torture of her people's death and injuries. She could feel it when someone was injured. She could feel it when every single one of them died. She could name each person who lost their life, how old they were, what they looked like, who they were related to, and so much more. Samantha clawed at her hair, and froze when she noticed many strands beginning to fall out.
She had forgotten about that...
After all, when her citizens died, it was like she lost a part of her. Literally.
Samantha bit her lip to hold in a cry of sadness, remembering the last time she had felt this way. Alfred had been there then...there to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she realized just how alone she was. It was what she had asked for, so she had only herself to blame. Samantha's head pounded loudly in her ears as she tried to keep herself from crying. She had told Alfred to leave her alone, and eventually he did. He was gone. He wasn't coming back.
Samantha felt her heart skip a beat as a gruesome chill ran down her spine. Her eyes widened to their peaks, and her entire body went rigid. Her mouth was open in a silent scream. She stared at her reflection through the mirror, and began to stop breathing as her throat constricted slightly.
No...
"SAMANTHA! OPEN THE DOOR!"
The pounding...it was not in her head. It was the door. Someone was knocking on it, but Samantha did not care. She could not move a single muscle. She could not even blink.
The door broke down, revealing a very disgruntled American. Alfred glared at Samantha, "WHY THE HECK ARE YOU BEATING MATTHEW'S WALL?"
Everyone else stood behind Alfred, wondering the exact same thing. However, when they received no answer from Samantha, they grew concerned. She was just standing there.
"Samantha?" Louisiana said slowly. "You okay?"
Alfred stared at Samantha, and took in her position. She was leaning against the counter, her hands gripping it so tight that her knuckles turned white, and she was shaking violently. One might have thought she had been vomiting if they did not know better. Alfred knew her well enough to know that it would have to take a hell of a lot to get Samantha Kirkland to vomit.
Alfred walked forwards ever so slowly, "Samantha?"
"Woah guys! Check this out! I was checking my weather on my new phone, and look at the huge cloud covering Texas! It think it's snowing!"
Oklahoma came forward and held out his phone for everyone to see the yellow, red, and purple cloud, that nearly covered all of Texas. Alfred's eyes widened, and he turned to see Texas slam her fist into the mirror in front of her. She let out a yell of frustration.
"SAM!" Alfred exclaimed, grabbing the girl's hand.
"No!" Samantha growled, trying to pull away.
"What's going on in there? I can't see over this buffoon!" Arthur exclaimed from behind Nebraska. "Is Samantha alright?"
Alfred tried to keep Samantha still by holding her arms, but she pulled away with a hiss. Alfred stared at her intently, and she stared back weakly. Alfred was no doubt furious with her for everything she had done before, but there was something very off about her...and it was not just the weather.
"Sam..." Alfred said softly. "What's wrong?"
Samantha merely stood there for a long moment, staring at Alfred with a slightly fearful expression. Then her eyes narrowed into slits, her eyebrows pressed together, and her hands clenched into tight fists.
"The Alamo."
Goodness that took a while to write. xO I'm going to go pass out somewhere now.
Drop a review? :3