I'm so sorry for the wait, I'm trying to update all of the stories and juggle school. I would like to thank to all who read and are patiently waiting for the updates. I will have to apologize for the grammar, I shall edit them when I have time.

Spain walked down the halls of France's house. He bit his jaw down when he heard of the news. England. He clenched his fist and kept his head up. He was not about to hear of this kind of relationship. What was the French nation thinking? They were in the opposing sides during the Italian wars, now this? He gently pushed a maid away from the door of the Frenchman's room. She tried to tell him something, but he did not want to hear it. Instead he opened the door only to be surprised even more.

There he smelled roses. Not the roses that France usually has, but this one had a different scent. He brought his eyes to look at the bed. There he saw France covering Alice with a shirt. He buttoned the first button and looked at her. She looked towards the windows, paying attention to the birds. Spain watched as France rubbed his hands against Alice's shoulder, apparently she was cold. He watched as France hugged her and kissed her forehead. He watched as Alice looked up to look at France, but her eyes locked with Spain. He watched as her breathe became uneven, and her eye brows furrow. France did not miss this and looked back. He calmly sighed and patted Alice's head. He grabbed the blanket and covered her body. He stood up, kissed her forehead again, whispered something in French, and caressed her face. He watched as Alice nodded and laid down, curling herself into a ball. Francis grabbed his discarded coat on the floor and put it on. Much to Spain's surprise, the man was already wearing his trousers. He followed Francis outside and to his office. There France had some wine. Spain sat on the other end of the table, he sipped it and sat back.

"Why are you here"

"To check if it's really true" Spain said. "Alice going back to you" he said. France smiled and tilted his head to his left.

"Well, that would depend on what you mean by 'back to me'" he said. "Alice and I have the tendency to join up sometimes" he said. "But romantic wise…no" he said.

"Then what was that?" Spain asked pointing towards the direction of France's room. "Alice would not have sex unless it's for love-"

"Ideally all of us would" he said. "Say does she know that you were my first?" he asked. Spain scoffed.

"She doesn't need to know that minor detail" he said. "So what made her break?" he asked. France smiled and looked at Spain.

"You" he said. Spain looked at him.

"Don't you dare use me as the excuse for her becoming a whore"

"I'm not blaming you, I'm thanking you" he said. "It is much easier to get her to agree on terms now, though she still has one of the sharpest minds, even when it is clouded with lust" he said.

"And you like taking that advantage?" Spain asked. France grinned.

"advantage?" he asked. "I'm not taking advantage of Alice" he said. "I'm just accepting her offer"

"offer? Alice would never offer her body-" Spain stopped in mid sentence. France finished his wine.

"You may not know it Spain, but you have scarred her mentally" he said. "She may have caused your small naval downfall, but you, leaving her on such a whim like you did left her vulnerable and fickle" France said. "She is weak inside" he said. "She can not take to much stress, she would collapse-"

"Is that why you were being so gentle on her?" Spain asked. France shook his head.

"No, I am always gentle with her, she is a girl after all, and everyone single one is fragile in their own way"

"Even Jeanne" Spain said. He smirked when the Frenchman's face turned grim.

"What do you expect me to do? Take care of her?" he asked.

"I didn't say that-"

"your eyes were begging me to do it" he scowled. "Alice is already going to fall, we all built her up, then let her fall" France said.

"Put her through the pain she put us through" Spain said as he sat back down. "I suppose that is fair…" he trailed. Spain frowned at himself. Intentionally hurt Alice. What is he thinking? He sighed.

"You don't want to"

"What?"

"You don't want to" France repeated. "I can hear it all over your voice, you do not want to hurt the girl"

"It's my conscience-"

"You still love her-"

"don't you dare suggest such a thing, you are the country of love-"

"And you are the country of Passion" France interrupted. "Tell me, how long can one hide their passion?"

"As long as they are willing to hide their love" Spain said. "I am not feeling that kind of affection towards her-"

"But who would want to hide their love?" France asked.

"Someone who follows their head-"

"Ah but the head can be dazed with lust no?" France said.

"The heart can be too selfish-"

"So can the mind" France said. "Antonio be honest, can you honestly bare to watch Alice fall into the arms of another man?"

"That whore can do as she please"

"So you say, but your eyes beg to differ" France sighed.

"You two are both stubborn. Not even admitting that you have this sexual tension going on." France said. "It's obvious Antonio, I see the face of a jealous man every time I look at you"

"are you sure you're not talking about yourself?"

"I'm sure" Suddenly there was a knock.

"Come in."

"Sir, Lady Alice is asking if she should leave."

"Tell her that she will stay for another night, I enjoy her company" He said as he stood up. "Oh and prepare a dinner for three tonight, Antonio is staying for the night" he said as he walked out. Antonio sat on the seat, knowing that once the Frenchman has announce his stay, he has to.

The afternoon was hell, Spain was forced to see Alice follow France around, let the Frenchman be all romantic with her. Spain would frown when she would give half hearted responds. There was one incident where he did run into her. Alice was trying to walk past the garden. There Spain saw her, heavily leaning on the wall, breathing sharply. Her right shoulder was pressed on the wall, and her left hand was on it. Spain painfully watched as Alice tried to walk by. He sighed to himself and walked over to her. At first Alice stiffened when she saw the shadow approach her.

"Does he let you walk around like this?" Spain asked, following the girl's pace.

"Ha, as if he would" She retorted, continuing her difficult walk.

"So he doesn't know?"

"Does it seem like the git knows that I can't walk?" Alice retorted.

"you shouldn't let him be so rough on you then-"

"rough?" Alice asked, finally looking up to see the Spaniard. Spain immediately looked away, trying to dodge eye contact. Alice blinked and then looked ahead. "the reason I can't walk is not because of sex" she said. "certainly not that" she said. She then kept moving forward. "I just have off days where my legs would be too lazy to do any work" she said.

"Where are you headed?" he asked.

"The bath" Alice said. "I need one" she said. Spain raised a brow. He sighed and quickly picked Alice up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alice asked. She was flailing at first, but then she stopped. Spain shrugged and looked forward.

"Helping you" he said. "I can't stand to see a helpless woman you know" he said.

"ha, you seem to contradict yourself there" she said.

"pardon?" Spain asked, looking down on Alice. Alice scoffed and looked away.

"nothing"

"oh my" someone said from behind. Spain turned around to see a maid. "Madam, can you not walk again?" she asked. Alice nodded. "Have you been leaning on your shoulder again?" she asked. Alice nodded. "Gracious, I told you to tell any of us if you need assistance! What will Sir Francis say when he finds out about your inability to walk?" she asked. Alice shrugged.

"Wait, Francis has no clue that can't walk?" he asked. The maid stared at him.

"You mean you don't know sir?" she asked. Spain shook her head.

"Madam Alice has been having leg problems, why do you think she only stays in the room? Rather, why do you think she doesn't move much?" she asked. "now follow me to the bath, we can drop her off from there" she said.

"She has leg problems?"

"Only this time of the month" the maid said. Spain felt Alice hold onto him tighter.

"What is it mi querido?" he asked. His eyes widened and he froze. At that instant, Alice looked up at him. Her eyes widening, mouth gaping into an 'o', and her eye brows furrowing. Spain watched as she brought her hands to her face, covering it. He felt Alice shiver and flail her legs.

"I can walk" she said through her fingers. "I can move my legs, please let me walk" she said.

"Now now Miss Alice, you know that I can't let you do that" she said. Alice shook her head and begged, but the maid ignored her. When Spain and the maid reached the bathroom, Spain placed Alice on the chair, staying right behind her to make sure that the girl does not fall off. The maid kneeled in front of Alice and lifted her head up.

"Have you been crying? Is it hurting you again?" she asked. Alice slowly nodded. Spain watched as Alice grabbed the fabric covering her thighs, he watched as one hand slowly moved up to grab the cloth where he abdomen is.

"I'll get some herbs for it later, now please, your bath is ready." she said. "I'll be back with some towels, so please be careful." she said.

"This may be a random request, but can you please help Lady Alice get into the tub?" the maid said. "I have to fetch her clean clothing and some towels." she said. Spain nodded and looked at the nation in front of him. Alice tried to stand up, but she nearly fell back, Spain caught her. He carried her bridal style, and carried her to the tub. He looked at the water and saw that Alice has began to unbutton her blouse. Spain looked away and helped Alice tug off her shirt. He then placed her on the edge of the tub, where she covered her torso until the Spaniard turned around. Spain turned around when he heard the splashes of water and saw Alice sink into the tub. He grabbed the chair and put beside the tub and sat on it. He still looked away from Alice. He did though looked at the soft hue of yellow of her hair. Her hair has gotten a lot longer since he last saw her.

"It must be down to your waist now" Antonio whispered. At this Alice opened her eyes and turned to look at Spain. Spain looked away, but he looked back again to see that Alice was fully submerged in the water, with the exception of her nose and the her upper face. He watched as Alice hugged herself, covering herself with her arms and legs, and closed her eyes.

"How's Elizabeth?" he asked. Alice scoffed.

"You ask about the 'heretic Queen'" she said. "Why do you care?"

"Because I know of the dilemma you are in" Spain.

"What are you saying?"

"That her reluctance to marry anyone will leave the throne open"

"And you plan to take it?" Alice asked. Spain shrugged. "as If I would like to be ruled by you"

"You did"

"I don't remember that" she said as sat up. Spain looked away from her. He heard her laugh.

"My, my, staying faithful to Austria now are we?" she asked. Spain scoffed.

"faithful? I was always faithful"

"yes you were married to two people at once" she said.

"Look at you now, nothing but a pleasing whore"

"Atleast I don't break hearts like this" she said. Spain looked England, he looked her hair, her eyes, her body, then he noticed a straight line on her abdomen.

"What?" Alice asked, hugging her legs to her chest, hiding the small line.

"Nothing, just looking at the scar you gained…wondering which ones I dealt on you" he said. At this Alice turned quiet.

"What?" Spain asked. He noticed how Alice's hand moved from hugging her legs to hugging her waist, as it she's hiding something. He saw her eyes getting glossy. She looked away and closed her eyes. Spain frowned and looked down. He placed his hands on the top of his head, he began to mutter incoherently and pulled his hair. Suddenly the door opened and the maid from before entered. Spain looked up and looked at her. The maid sighed as she closed the door.

"Thank you so much for watching after her" she said. "But now I must ask you to please leave the room, we must give lady Alice some space. Spain nodded and quickly got out of the room.

He walked around France's estate. Through his walk he wore a frown, he would stop walking occasionally and hit the wall with his fist. Some of the maids who saw him would scurry while some would stay and stare. He constantly berated himself for the harsh words he said and for the instinct to call her 'darling' in his native tongue. He shook his head and refused to acknowledge what he was feeling.

"You are worried about Lady Alice" someone said from behind. Spain turned around and saw Monaco.

"Nadia" Spain said. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I just arrived, I was wondering who the fourth guest for dinner was, turned out to be you" She said. "I'm just visiting, I was really bored and figured that I would like some sort of company for the day" she said. "Plus, it's kind of interesting to see Alice paint"

"She paints?" Spain asked.

"Yes, she paints, is she were to have a daughter or younger sister I think that they would inherit such trait" she said.

"She paints?" Spain asked himself outloud. He heard Monaco sighed.

"She never showed you any of her paintings?" she asked. Spain shook her head. Monaco crossed her arms and huffed.

"Why must that woman be so modest about something she shouldn't be modest about?" she asked herself out loud. "Wait…weren't you married to her some time ago?" Spain nodded.

"And she never showed you any of her paintings?" she asked. Spain nodded again. Monaco then began to scratch the back of her head.

"would you like to see some of her paintings?" she asked. Spain looked at her. Before he could give a respond, he found Monaco's hand on his arm as he was dragged to a room.

The room was dark. Spain looked around and saw nothing but dark red velvet curtain refusing to the light in. Despite that, he saw white fabrics over shapes and an easel.

"She hasn't been here for a while…" Monaco said. She then walked forward to push one of the curtains to the side. She looked back at Spain and huffed.

"Help me will you?" she asked. Spain nodded as he walked to a curtain.

Alice sat quietly in the bath tub. The maid was behind her, rubbing her back with soap.

"Why are you crying?" the maid asked.

"I don't know"

"Do you still love him?"

"I don't know"

"Have you asked your heart?"

"It doesn't know"

"My lady you must face the truth, you love Antonio"

"What a scary truth"

"the truth is meant to open your eyes"

"Yet it forces mine to close"

"My lady"

"I can't fall in love with him! Never again should I let my soul fall into the hands that you people talk so highly of"

" His actions in the pasts have been ruled with the feeling of anger and bitterness, I'm sure he did not mean to leave you"

"Oh yes he did" Alice retorted. "He meant to leave me" she said. "And it was meant to happen" she said. "The sun cannot stay with the person whose face is always covered with the doubting clouds"

"My lady…."

Monaco sneezed as the dust filled the air. "Can you please open a window?" she asked. Spain nodded and quickly opened one. Monaco sat on the floor, uncovering all of the paintings. Spain then looked around.

"This is a big room" he said. "I wonder why Francis added this to his house" he said.

"For Alice" Monaco said as she removed another fabric. "He felt that if she ever needed to go away from her house, she would be welcome here" she said. "He does see her in a platonic way and feels that he must be by her side" she said. "He built this room for Alice, as a sanctuary I guess."

"If it's a sanctuary…then why are we in it?" Spain asked.

"she lets me in" she said. "She allows me to stay here, and I really like it" She then looked back and motioned for the Spaniard to come over. Spain nodded and sat next to her. Monaco was smiling as she held the picture.

"This picture was painted a couple of weeks ago"

"weeks ago?"

"She visits as often as I do" Monaco said. "It's a picture of a sunset. It's really pretty" she said. Spain picked up the one painting that was laying face down in front of Monaco. He looked at it, his eyes widened.

"Oh." Monaco said as she smiled. "I was meaning to ask her about that painting" she said. "did you ever have a child with her?" she asked. Spain shook his head. "that's odd" she said.

"Did you ever manage to ask her about this painting?" Spain asked. Monaco shook her head.

"I was going to this one time, but the head maid stopped me, saying that it's private matters and that Alice would be bothered about it" She then looked at Spain. "He has her beautiful eyes" she said. "They shine like gems when she's happy…though she's only happy when she's in the garden."

"you observe her too much"

"there's nothing to do here really, plus I find her interesting"

"does she have more paintings?" he asked.

"This whole room is filled with them" she said. Spain looked around and saw that the room was filled with covered paintings.

"Most of them are about this boy…and some sort of ship confrontation" she said. Spain then stood up with the painting in his hand.

"Monaco, I must go see others" he said. Monaco nodded.

"Close the door on your way out" she said.

France was quietly reading in his study, until Spain barged in. He put the book down and look at the man.

"What is it this time? Did you get into an argument?" he asked. Spain slammed the painting on the desk. France just stared at it.

"It' a painting of a child" he blankly stated.

"Yes, I know it's a painting of a child, now tell me, what is the meaning of this?" Spain asked.

"It's a painting of a child, with Alice's eyes and your hair, what else would you want it to mean?" France asked.

"What I meant was, why is Alice painting it?" he said. France blinked and then smirked.

"Oh, she has been dreaming" he said. Spain looked at him.

"You mean you don't know what motivated her to paint this?" he asked.

"I have no clue, I have not seen any of her paintings" he said. "this is quite amazing though…" France said as he looked over the picture. "Get it out of my sight" he said. Spain blinked and grabbed the picture. "The painting irritates me" he said. Spain raised a brow.

"Why does it irritate you?" he asked.

"She's painting a picture of a child if you had one with her" he said. "She really loved you didn't she?" he asked. Spain shrugged. He looked at France. "You think Gilbert may know anything about this?' he asked. France shrugged.

"Gilbert and Alice's relationships are a bit out of the blue, unpredictable, and more human than any of the relationships she has." he said. "And you know Gilbert, if he feels like we don't need to know, he won't tell us, let alone tell us that he knows something" he said. "Why don't you go to Alice and asked her about it?" Spain stared at the Frenchman for the longest time. He then nodded. "Her room is right by the garden" he said.

Alice sat down on the edge of her bed. She was wearing a small robe, while a towel covered her shoulders. She was looking outside to the garden. The beautiful flowers were blooming and the birds were singing. Alice closed her eyes and tried to relax, she tried to rid herself of the memory of her goodbye with Spain. When suddenly she heard the door to her room open. She opened her eyes and turned around. There she saw Spain. He was holding something in his hand and he was panting.

"What the hell have you been doing?" Alice asked.

"Running" he said. Alice quickly stood up and walked past him. She opened the door again and stood by it.

"If you don't mind, I'm changing" she said. Spain just stared at her silently. "Please get out of my room" Alice said, pointing to the hallway. Spain sighed and walked toward the door. He saw Alice sigh in relief, until he quickly dropped the picture in his hand, grabbed Alice's wrist and slammed the door shut with the other. He was astonished at how Alice seemed to be a bit more frail. He heard Alice hiss in pain as he dragged her a bit so that he could lock the door. He then picked the picture up and dragged Alice to her bed. He pushed her on it, she quickly sat up, her elbows propping her up. She looked at the Spaniard with anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed as she tried to straighten herself out.

"no" Antonio said as he picked the painting up. "the more important question is why are you painting this" he said showing Alice the picture. He watched as Alice paled. Her eyes widened. She reached for the painting, which Spain gladly removed from arms reach. This caused Alice to stand up.

"give me that!"

"why?"

"that's my property!" she said.

"But look at the child itself" Spain said. "He has your eyes-"

"I know what the child has! I painted that myself!"

"Why?"

"With no particular reason!"

"Alice he has my hair-"

"Why does it matter to you anyways! Does it disgust you to have the thought of having a child with me!" she asked.

"YES. YES THAT THOUGHT DOES DISGUSTS ME" Spain yelled back. He saw Alice froze. "IT DISGUSTS ME TO THINK ABOUT HAVING A CHILD WITH A HERETIC WHO WOULD HURT A CHILD WITHOUT HESITATION-" before Spain could finish the sentence, he was hit with a glass. He dropped the picture as he heard the sound of breaking glass and looked towards Alice. She was breathing heavily, her eyes again glossy. You can only give her misery. Antonio thought. You can't ever make her happy.

"GET OUT" Alice said. "JUST GET OUT!" she said as she grabbed the nearest object and threw it to Spain. Spain dodged it and quickly ran to push Alice back. He heard Alice gasp for air when she landed on the bed. His hands were holding onto her wrist, pushing them against the bed, while his left knee landed on the edge of the bed. Spain looked at Alice, the tears were running down her face. Is this really what you want to see? Antonio asked himself. He felt Alice trying to move her legs. "Who do you belong to?" he asked.

"NO ONE" Alice retorted.

"How do you see me?" he asked. Alice stayed quiet. "So you they say that you'll sleep anyone" Spain asked. He saw Alice froze. "I've been hearing that you're good" he said. "that you would do anything to please the man.."

"I'm not a prostitute!" Alice yelled back.

"you're a whore" Spain said. Alice looked away. "Let's see how good you really are" he said. He heard Alice gasp in desperation, she began to cry. Is this what you really want to do? his heart ask. Spain frowned and ignored the small voices in his mind. He then lowered his lips onto Alice, his hands moved from her wrist to her side. He felt Alice clawing at his arms, scratching the fabric with her nails. His hands moved to the places where he knew he would get a respond. He took the advantage when Alice would gasp. He broke off the contact of his lips from her and kissed her neck, slowly moving down. I want to ruin my image. Spain thought. I want to show you that I'm not that gentleman you knew, that I'm not that husband you married, that I'm now the caring man that protected and embraced you with my arms he thought. He bit on her collarbone, sucking on it. He followed it until his lips brushed against something cold. Spain opened his eyes and looked at Alice. She already covered her face as her body shook from fear and breathing. Her body shook again as she sobbed. Spain looked at her neck, looking for the cold metallic object his lips brushed against. That's when he saw a silver chain. He traced the chain with his fingers until he found a pendant. The pendant was in the shape of a cross, a cross that was all too familiar, then it suddenly struck him. Romano. This was the cross that Romano made and proudly showed off.

Antonio was sitting in the carriage. He just picked up Romano from his brother, Alfonso. He watched as the small child looked outside, he felt that something was missing.

"Where's that necklace?" he asked. He saw Romano jump.

"I gave it to a friend" he said. Antonio raised his eyebrows.

"a friend?" he asked.

"yeah! A friend that I met at the market!" he said.

"You went to the market?" he asked.

"Yes! Portugal took me out to the market to buy some ingredients for carrot cake!"

"carrot cake? What made him want to make it all of the sudden?" Spain asked.

"He was going to send it to Alice" Romano lied. "Anyway I gave it to someone important to me" he said.

"And what are you going to pray for?" Spain asked.

"For their protection" Romano said. "I'll pray everyday that my friend will be protected and cared for!" he said. Spain smiled. He reached out and patted Romano on the head.

"I'm sure that if He will protect your friend, with or without your cross" he said. Romano smiled and looked at the passing scenery again.

Spain stared at the cross. He covered his mouth and got off of Alice. He sat on the edge of the bed, collecting himself. "His friend" he mumbled to himself.

"I'm just joking" Spain said as he stood up. "I will not allow myself be seduced by a low person like you" he stood and picked up the painting. "As for this, no more of this, got that?" he asked. "I'll get the maids to clean up this mess you maid. He then walked out of the door.

As soon as Alice heard the door closed, she hugged herself. Her whole body shook from the fear, she kept mumbling to herself. 'He would never do that, he would never do that to me, never" she said. She then held onto the cross that was hanging from the chain. "never" she mumbled.

Spain walked out into the hall, he then punched the wall. He looked up to see the maids looking at him.

"WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU STARING AT?" he asked. They just kept staring. "DON'T YOU ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO DO?" he asked. They all began to scurry except for one, the maid from the morning.

"I'm guessing that Lady Alice will be needing some sort of an assistance right now?" Spain nodded. He was walking in the hallways until her heard Monaco.

"What a beautiful sunset!" she exclaimed. Spain stopped and looked past the girl. He saw the colors of the sky blending and following the sun. Monaco then looked back and smiled at him.

"You must be lucky!" she said. Spain just blinked at her. "You are the empire that the sun never sets on right?" she asked. "So that means every time you see the sunset…you quickly see the sunrise!" she then looked back at the sky. "It's amazing isn't it?" she asked, Spain stood next to her and placed his hands on the railing of the windows.

"Yes, it is pretty amazing" he said. Though I'm glad that the sun will never set on my empire…I won't have to see my true sun, who this sun has betrayed, I don't have to see the moon, who is the sun on my empire. He thought.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. Again I would like to thank all of you who are patiently waiting for these updates.

I do have a couple of author's notes:

1. I do not know if Monaco has a human name yet, so I gave her a name, 'Nadia' which means hopeful.

2. What Spain was talking about was England's participation in the Eighty Years' War. England was sided with France throughout the main war, but there was a particular time when England was in war with Spain during Elizabeth's rule. This was the Anglo-Spanish war in the late 1500s, which were a part of the Eighty Years' war.

3. I am so sorry for Spain's actions towards the end of the chapter.

4. "The sun on which the sun never sets" There are two empires in our current history that has attained this title. First was the Spanish Empire for about two centuries, then the British Empire for one century. What Monaco simply meant by the sunset turns quickly into a sunrise alludes to this title.

If there's any questions, jut ask away. Again thank you for patiently waiting for the updates and thank your for all the reviews I've receive. Again, thank you for giving this time to read. Sorry for the off grammar.

Tell me what you think!