OK! It feels like it's been such a long time but here I am! Many thanks go to Hannibalrider for favoriting this story and following this story and yours truly. You rock!
And now we're back with Jean and Olivia along with their 1ps. I'm glad; these 4 are so much easier to write. Enjoy, I don't own.
Chapter 6: Hydrangea
Arthurine sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she shut yet another spell-book without getting any results. Francis looked at her and she shook her head.
He smiled at her sympathetically and went back to signing documents.
Arthurine picked up another spell book and flicked her hair out of her eyes. She had been searching for weeks and still had nothing.
Olivia was no help at all; Arthurine found she actually got more done when the bouncy pinkette was out of the room.
So Arthurine was studying spellbook after spellbook while Olivia picked flowers or talked with Jean or murdered unsuspecting bystanders or whatever it was the other England did in her spare time.
Arthurine had barely opened the newest book when she growled in frustration and flung it over her shoulder. That was a book for cooking spells! It was going to be absolutely useless! Not to mention Arthurine had no idea when or where she'd gotten a cooking spellbook. Her cooking was fine on its own thanks!
Francis walked over to her and rubbed her shoulders reassuringly, "take a walk Angleterra, you'll feel better. Don't give in, we need you, you're the only one who can do this."
His kind words made her smile and Arthurine touched one of the hands on her shoulders as she looked up at him. Truthfully Francis had been nothing but kind to her since their other selves had shown up. Maybe the way Jean treated Olivia had made Francis vow to treat Arthurine kindly, as much as they fought, their other selves were living proof that their relationship could be a lot worse. The way Olivia treated Jean had made Arthurine promise herself she would always respect her France's personal space.
"You're right, I think a walk might do me some good." Arthurine wouldn't trade the love-hate-physical violence relationship she had with Francis for the world but she had to admit the past few weeks of him being nice to her had been…well…nice. "Thank you for being so nice to me all the time," she said sincerely, "I don't know why you're doing it but…thank you."
Francis looked bemused and rubbed one of her shoulders as she stood, "you think I have an ulterior motive, ma cherie? What if I don't? What if I'm just being nice to you because I feel like it?"
Arthurine snorted in an unlady-like way and turned so she could look into Francis's blue eyes.
She blinked, disorientated, had France's eyes always been such a vivid, bright blue? They were… mesmerizing… What had she been about to say again?
"You…you always have an ulterior motive to be nice to me Frog." She said, giving herself a mental head-shake.
"But if I don't?" Francis asked, leaning down so their eyes were almost on level. He was very close…
England snorted again and grabbed one of Francis's blond locks, yanking on it, forcing his head down and breaking eye-contact. "Yeah right, like I'll believe that. You're going to have to do better than this, you damn Frog!" She said.
"I'll remember that mon amour," Francis said, smiling wryly and rubbing his head.
Rolling her eyes England walked off, get it together Arthurine, anyone looking at you now would think you're in love with Francis, not Alfred. And you're not, I'm not. I'm NOT.
That reminded her, she needed to call America, she normally kept in regular correspondence with him but since her and France's other selves had come to stay with them she hadn't had much association with anyone but the three of them, her boss, the two Chinas and the two Russias.
This annoyed her. While she didn't really mind Olivia and Jean, their presence was keeping her from the things she usually did.
After explaining to America why there were two Englands and two Frances in her house and forcing him to promise to stay silent, Arthurine had chatted with Alfred about trivial things for a few minutes before it all just got too weird and he left. She hadn't seen or heard from him since.
I hope he isn't avoiding me now. The idea saddened her.
She paused to look around her when she was in her rose garden. Stopping by her red roses she looked around and realised she wasn't alone.
There was a figure seated on the white-painted bench by the roses, elbows on their knees, hands cupping their face, deep in thought.
Arthurine walked up to the person, "good evening, do you mind if I sit with you?"
The figure, not having heard her approach, blinked and looked up in surprise, "not at all, this is you're house after all." Said Jean, moving over slightly.
"Arthie~! Are you in here?!" Olivia sang, throwing the door open.
Francis looked up and smiled at the other England, he loved his England with all his heart but he admired Olivia's constantly perky attitude and good humour. The two of them had become fast friends and France hoped they would stay that way, whether Olivia put people in her cupcakes or not.
"She's not here Liv, she just left. Angleterra went out for a walk in the garden to take a break. And don't call her 'Arthie,' she despises that." Alfred had called her that once and Arthurine had nearly broken his nose, and if her beloved America couldn't get away with it her bubby other-self certainly wouldn't
Olivia pouted, "fine, be that way, I don't need her anyway, if a certain French cook who can actually cook will start dinner with me?" She linked her fingers behind her back and leaned forwards ask she asked her question, pale eyes glimmering.
Francis smiled, "with a request from a beautiful lady like yourself, how could I say no?"
"Yay!" Olivia squealed and raced out of the room. Francis was so nice like that, always willing to help and saying kind things, even when he was just teasing Arthurine.
Olivia sighed and shook her head, yup. Her blonde self didn't know how good she had it. And she was wasting her feelings on her America, Allen or Alfred or whatever. Some people never learnt.
Olivia smiled, well Arthurine might not learn from her mistakes but Olivia would certainly learn from her other self's mistakes. She wasn't going to give up on her France. No matter what.
"Tell me. How are you liking my world?" Arthurine asked after a minute or so of not-awkward-but-not-quite-comfortable silence.
Jean shrugged, "aside from the countries I've met so far it seems exactly the same. But I do like your house more than Olivia's it's less…loud."
Arthurine snickered, amused, "well thank you very much," she teased. There were a few more seconds of silence then; "you know she's in love with you, right?" England didn't feel like she was betraying Olivia's trust or dobbing her in, it wasn't like her pink-haired self wasn't exactly subtle about her feelings for the red-eyed France.
Jean snorted, "Yeah, I know. It's not like she was subtle about it." He said, echoing Arthurine's thoughts.
"And how do you feel?" Arthurine asked curiously, "If you love her in return, you're doing a bloody good job of hiding it."
Jean dragged his long-fingered hands down through his hair and across his face, letting out a pent-up breath as he did so. "I don't… feel for Olivia…what she feels for me." He said finally.
England winced in sympathy for her pink-haired self, unrequited love sucked. "What do you feel for her?" She asked softly, "is there any chance that all of Olivia's hopes and dreams might not be in vain? That her feelings might be returned, one day? Perhaps?"
Jean shut his ruby eyes for a long second, "'All of Olivia's hopes and dreams?' Wow. Low blow Arthurine, guilt trip me why don't you? No really, I insist."
England smiled apologetically and pulled in her flowing white skirt, "my apologies Jean, I didn't mean to make you feel guilty. But you are avoiding my question."
Jean winced; she was a lot more perceptive than Olivia. "I don't really know how to feel," he confessed, "don't get me wrong, I do love Olivia, just not the way she loves me. She is my best friend and worst enemy. She is the light of my life and the darkness in the corners of my mind. But I never loved her the way she loves me. Until recently I hadn't felt romantic love since… a long time ago. And the woman I loved back then was a human, not a nation. After she died I forgot what it felt like to experience romantic love for a very long time."
Arthurine made a sour face, as though she had sucked on a lemon, "Joan of Arc?" She asked.
Jean glanced at her, "how did you know?"
England's frown deepened, "let's just say Francis and I had a similar experience with his Joan of Arc, albeit on a much smaller scale, at least you two have one thing in common." She said.
Jean, who knew a sensitive topic when he saw one, didn't push, Arthurine didn't either.
"As for whether I could return Olivia's feelings one day, even if I could, I'm not sure I would," he admitted, sighing again, "what with Jake threatening to bash my head in with a bloody baseball bat if I ever did."
"Who's Jake?" Arthurine asked, the name sounded familiar, she thought she'd heard Olivia mention it once or twice.
"Our America, he's crazy in love -emphasis on crazy- with Olivia but she only sees him as a little brother."
How ironic, thought Arthurine with a mental eye-roll, while wishing Alfred would see her as something other than an older sister.
"So that's it then?" She asked, "even if you loved Olivia, could make her happy and be happy yourself, you'd let America stand in your way?!"
Jean almost smiled, "you say that, but you've never met Jake. Olivia is the only person who can control him, and trust me, even if it would hurt her, he'd kill me if I took her away from him. Instantly. The only reasons he hasn't killed me yet is because it would hurt Olivia and, although he has a strange way of showing it, he does genuinely love her and she cares for me. But that can change, the moment I show the slightest affection in return, my life is forfeit…messily." It was the most England had ever heard Jean say in one go, but he did seem to be rather open and talkative today.
"So you would let him stand in your way." Arthurine summarized, she wasn't quite contemptuous, but she definitely didn't look impressed.
Jean actually did crack a smile this time, just a small one, which flitted over his handsome features so quickly Arthurine wasn't sure it had ever really been there.
"No," he said quietly, "I've decided I wouldn't, I won't. I said that I hadn't felt romantic love until recently. Well I do now. I'm in love with England and, if she wants me, I won't let Jake or anyone else stand in my way."
Now Arthurine was really confused, "ah Jean? What are you talking about? Yes, you said you'd started to feel romantic love recently, but you just said you didn't feel that way about Olivia. And of course she'll accept you! This is the thing she wants most in the world!"
Jean smiled again, "when I said I didn't feel that way about Olivia I meant that, Arthurine. And no, I don't think this is what she wants at all."
Jean laid one hand over Arthurine's on the bench and cupped her face with his free hand.
"What are you-" Arthurine broke off as Jean's mouth brushed against hers for a split second in a chaste kiss.
Jean pulled back to look at her face, his eyes filled with more emotions than Arthurine could name.
"I didn't say I was in love with my England," he whispered.
Arthurine's face went white with shock and dismay; her heart began to thud erratically.
Ducking back behind the corner, tears streaming from her pale eyes, hands clutching the material over her shattered heart, Olivia's heart did too.
Ouch. Poor Olivia. Nice timing Pinky! Anyway, R & R to tell me what you think and what you think should happen. I named this chapter 'Hydrangea,' because they symbolise 'thank you for understanding', but also 'frigidity' and 'heartlessness.' A good double-sided coin for Jean and Arthurine. See you all next time, hope you enjoyed!