Did you ever wonder how long a flight was to Vienna from Summerland?
Here's the answer: thirteen hours, well to be precise twelve hours and forty-six minutes. Believe me you would count every agonizing minute if you had to spend it with Arthur as he quizzed you over history, current events, people and which countries they were.
"Amy," Arthur called out as my eyes began to droop to a close.
"What? I'm here," I yawned.
"Pay attention," Arthur said as he held up his phone with a photo of a young man with brown skin and dark hair. His eyes were light brown and he wore a white tunic with gold trim, matching pants and a red scarf draped over his shoulders. "This is Akram Verma, also known as India."
"Cool." I said in a monotone.
He slid to a photo of a tall man with light skin, spiked blond hair and pale green eyes. A girl stood next to him, she had blond shoulder length hair, green eyes, and the same light skin. "This is Lars Vermeulen," he pointed to the man, "and his younger sister Bella Vermeulen. He's the Netherlands and she's Belgium."
"Neat." I said in the same tone.
He moved on to another photo of a young man with light brown skin and dark eyes. He wore some kind of plain white head dress and a white tunic dress, most likely to protect him from the sun, I'm guessing. "This is Gupta Muhammad Hassan, he's Egypt."
"Woooo," I said in a tired tone.
"Amy, you have to take this seriously," Arthur hissed in irritation.
"Arthur," I groaned, "It's been seven hours, and you want to know what we're been doing? Going over historical events which I already knew thanks to Christopher, an infuriating British man I had to deal with when I was a kid. Now fate decides to screw with me and put me next to you. Then you decided to go over current events, which, I will admit it was interesting till it was one o'clock in the morning. Then you decide to go over all of the countries, their names, and pictures even though I'm about to kill over. It may be eleven am in Vienna right now, but I'm still on Summerland time, and guess what it's two am and I'm tired."
He sighed, "I know Amy, but-"
I gripped him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close so our foreheads were touching. "No buts. I want to sleep and you will let me sleep or-God help me, I'll bang your head against that window as many times as needed for you to go night-night." I threatened in a whispering tone. "Do we need to use the window Arthur?"
He shook his head and I let him go, "Goodnight then." I turned over on my side and finally allowed myself to sleep.
Arthur sighed in relief, "that girl has to control that temper of her's."
"Maybe, you shouldn't have pushed her," Francis said from behind him. "We still have at least two days before Roderich's party, that's enough time to prepare her."
Arthur rubbed his temples, "No matter how much we tell her about the nations, she'll never be ready."
"You're still worried about Ivan aren't you," Francis proclaimed.
"And you're not?"
"We'll be with her the entire time and she will be surrounded by the other nations, he won't have a chance," Francis said as comfort.
"Dear God I hope so," Arthur mumbled to himself.
Our plane landed at four fifty pm Vienna time, during the next hour we walked through security and waited in the bagging area for our luggage. Francis had a car waiting for us outside the airport and gestured us to follow him, but I couldn't help but notice Peter and Raivis were walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey, where are you guys going?" I ran after them.
"I got to meet my parents at the hotel," Peter proclaimed, "And it would look suspicious if another country saw us walking with you."
"Oh," I was kinda disappointed; Peter and Raivis were fun to talk with, and I was just beginning to like them.
Raivis must have noticed my gloomy expression, "Don't worry Ms. Amer- oww." Peter gave him a light punch to his arm.
"We're in public," Peter hissed.
"Oh right," Raivis nodded and turned his attention to me, "Don't worry Ms. Hawkfeather, we'll see you at Mr. Edelstein's party."
The way he said Hawkfeather sounded like he put too much force on the 'a' and forgot the 'h', I couldn't help but giggle. "Call me Amy, Raivis."
A slight embarrassed blush spread over his cheeks, "Yes of course."
"Say it with me now," Peter said, "Amy."
"Amy," he whispered loud enough for us to hear.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he works on it," Peter grinned and pushed Raivis in the direction of the south exist. "We'll see you at the party, bye-bye."
"Seeya later you guys," I waved goodbye.
"Amy," Arthur cried, "our car's here."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," I called out, and then mumbled to myself, "geez, who died and made him my mother."
I walked out of the north exist with Arthur and Matthew by my side. Kumajirou was sleeping in Mattie's arms and Arthur carried a large brown luggage in one hand and his cell phone in the other. He was currently talking on it, "Hello Roderich," a pause, "yes we're here." He gave me a side way glance, "Yes, your guest of honor has arrived." He nodded, "Yes of course, we'll see you then, goodbye." Arthur ended the call.
"I'm guessing that was Austria," I whispered as I slid the strap of my carry-on off my shoulder and handed it to the cab driver. He nodded to me and took my bag as he grabbed Arthur's luggage and walked over to the trunk of the car.
"Yes," he answered, "he is anxious to see you."
"So what I'm supposed to do when I see him? Give a curtsy?" I said as a joke.
"Yes," he said seriously, "do you know how?"
"I was joking."
"I'm not, you going to need to know how to curtsy."
"What kind of party is this?" I asked.
"Think of it as a royal ball set in the late 19th century," Matthew whispered in my ear.
"Are you serious?" I gave him a shocked expression.
He nodded and I cursed, "You people are old, like O-L-D old."
Arthur knitted his large brows in annoyance, "Get in the car."
"Oh did I make you mad," I bashed my lashes innocently at him.
His eye twitched and I grinned, "Annoyance level reached eye twitch, twenty points."
I slid into the car before he could make a comment, Matthew sat in the middle with his bear in his lap and Arthur sat at the other end. Francis took the passenger seat next to the cab driver, leading him to our hotel in his accented voice.
"We're staying at the Vienna Marriott Hotel," Francis said in German, "Do you know where that is?"
"Ja," the cab driver nodded and pulled out into the road.
I stared out of my window, observing the landscape as it passed by. The buildings were old fashion and they seemed to be styled in French and Roman décor. People walked the streets, mostly locals or tourists that were able to get some time in before tourist season came into full swing. The architecture of one building I was able to spot, was tall with windows only inches apart from one another. There were plenty of buildings in this style but in different shades of color. I had my face practically against the window, taking in all the sights. I still couldn't believe I was here, along with the fact that my parents actually gave permission for me to come.
"It will be an amazing experience," Mom's voice spoke in my head.
"You should meet the other countries, they are going to be part of your life," Dad's voice came after.
"Your first time in Vienna," the cab driver asked me in English.
"Yes, it's beautiful," I proclaimed in German. I had made a promise with Laura that when I spoke to locals, I would use their native tongue.
The cab driver gave me a surprised look through his rear-view mirror, "You know German?" he asked.
I nodded and he smiled, switching to English. "Good thing, it won't be long till people will mistake you for a local."
I grinned and continued to stare out of the window.
The Vienna Marriott Hotel was a massive building with hundreds of pine windows and glass roof tops for the dome area in front. The lobby was filled with red couches and matching love seats, the walls were painted with a bronze color and the ceilings were white along with the tile on the floor.
Arthur immediately walked to the reception's desk, "Hello, I'm Arthur Kirkland."
The woman behind the desk smiled, "We've been waiting for you Mr. Kirkland," she pulled out four card room keys. "The rooms are made and ready."
"Thank you," he took the keys and gestured for us to follow him to the elevator. We all piled in and waited as the elevator pulled us up the seventh floor. Arthur leads us to four rooms, two of the rooms across from the other two. "Francis and I will be staying in 712 and 710, Matthew you'll be in 709, and Amy your room is 711."
"Cool," I smiled as I received my room key. This was the first time I ever got a hotel room to myself and I was excited.
"Get some rest," Arthur said, "we have a big day tomorrow."
Everyone nodded and retreated into their rooms. When I swiped my card through the lock and opened the door, my eyes widen and my lips smiled in delight. When I entered, I'm met with a small living room with tan carpet and a light green couch with matching single seats on its sides. The room was painted white and filled with all around shelves with small statues and little knick-knacks here and there. The small dark brown coffee table was polished and clean with a gift basket from the hotel. The basket was filled with honey milk soap, a bath robe, candles and other bathroom supplies.
I walked over to the tan colored curtains and pulled them apart to reveal the sun and the view of Vienna. When I turned on my left I found a pair of French doors, I stepped towards them and opened to find a large bed with three white pillows, simple green covers and a small decorative red pillow on top. Above the bed was a green drape that seem to be connected to the ceiling as the cloth fell to each side of the bed.
On my right there was a small light brown work desk and a matching seat. I sat down my bag near the desk and pulled open the curtains in that room to allow the light in. In front of the bed was a plasma screen TV with white wall shelves surrounding it. I walked across the room to the bathroom; it was designed with dark tan tile walls and black tile floors and sink. I turned back to face the bed and leaped into it. I wrapped myself in the sheets as the thought of room service came to mind.
I grabbed the phone from the night stand, "Hello room service," I said in German, "What's the best dish you guys got?"
The next day, Arthur woke me at nine am and told me to be ready in an hour. We had brunch in the hotel's café as he and Francis planned a route filled with boutiques for us to visit. Matthew had to leave Kumajirou in his hotel room, but we made sure there was enough fish for him and instructed the maid service to leave his room alone.
Once we were out and about, Francis would lead us through the streets till he found a dress store and forced me to try on ballroom gowns. The first one was a strapless white dress with large puffy cloth starting below the waist down to the floor.
"Guys, this isn't me," I tried to pat down the dress.
"Are you saying you're not a virgin," Arthur said with a vengeful smirk.
"No," I said with a slight blush, "White's too plain."
"She's right," Francis proclaimed as he came in with ten different gowns, "She needs color!"
I groaned, I'm gonna be here awhile.
After discarding another gown over the changing door to Francis, Arthur called out, "Amy you have pick something."
"I know," I exclaimed, "But my mom always said if you don't love in the store you won't wear it. And you guys are paying for it; I don't want you guys to waste money on me."
I heard Arthur sigh, "Amy, we're not wasting anything on you, think of it as a gift for all of the Christmases and birthdays we've missed."
I smiled, "thanks." I inhaled, "Bring on the next set."
Matthew's voice ringed out, "I think I found something she might like."
I hope so, I thought. This was the twelfth boutique were been to and I've forgotten the number of dresses I've tried on. Matthew flipped it over and I knitted my brows in wonder at the light violet dress. It was a simple long gown with a lace covering the violet cloth; it was sleeveless with a small sweetheart neck line that leads around the shoulder to the back. I shrugged and quickly slipped it on.
"How does it look?" Matthew called out.
"Come on out, let us see," Francis exclaimed.
I opened the door and stepped in front of them, "Whatcha think?"
All three of them sat on the couch in the waiting section right outside of my changing room. They looked up and their faces were stunned with awe.
"What?"
Francis's mouth grew into a large grin that spread from ear to ear, "turn around."
I lifted a brow at him; confused but I followed his orders. I turned to a three way mirror and had the same stunned expression when I laid eyes on my reflection. The dress hugged the curves of my waist and chest. The sweetheart neck line was below my collar bone, right above my breast. The straps were just lace, showing off my shoulders under the light violet colored material. These straps that were connected to the neckline, wrapped around my shoulders and lead to a backless design. The lace outlines the sides of my back and connected to an arch at the lower back, playing at the curve of my bottom. The cloth of the dress covered my front, bottom, and legs. The lace covered dress fell to the floor smoothly and dragged a bit from behind. The color made my eyes darker, my hair lighter, and it blended nicely with my light skin tone.
"Please tell me you like this one, cause this bloody torture," Arthur's comment broke me away from the mirror.
I smiled, "Yes."
After we found a matching shawl and silver flats, we headed back to the hotel for Arthur's dance lessons.
We're in my room now as Matthew played simple ballroom music from his phone while Francis stood in front of me.
Arthur instructed me to hold Francis's hand as his other hand was placed on my lower back and my hand was on his shoulder. "The waltz is a simple ¾ time dance."
"Arthur-"
"Don't interrupt," he held up his hand to me. "The male always leads and the female follows."
"Arthur-"
He ignored me and turned his back to us, being dramatic. "This dance is supposed to be graceful and elegant."
I shook my head, "Francis start dancing," I whispered.
He grinned and together we danced the waltz in perfect sync right behind Arthur's back. Matthew grinned mischievously from the couch as he watched us and Arthur continue in his monologue, "You will need to know this dance for the party, for Austria does love the waltz and he has me to thank for it of cour-" He turned around to find us dancing perfectly.
"When I told Mom I wanted to dance, she signed me up for ballet and ballroom dancing the next day," I explained as Francis waltzed with me around the room.
Arthur crossed his arms, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I tried, but you don't seem to listen to anyone but yourself."
Francis laughed, "She got you there mon ami."
"What other dances do you know?" Arthur asked.
I took a moment, "The Tango, the Foxtrot, even the slow one. The Quick Step, the Cha Cha, the Rumba, the Samba, and the Viennese Waltz."
Francis stopped, "We're only doing slow dances at the party, unless Antonio begs for the Tango, most likely he will, so you're ready." He stepped away from me and sat himself on a single seat.
I grinned to myself, and once the music ends it quickly changes to the song called 'Wobble Baby'.
Matthew jumped, "I'm sorry my music is on shuffle." A slight blush lit his face as he made a grab for his phone.
"No," I cried out, "I love this song."
"Why I'm not surprised," Arthur shook his head in disappointment.
I ignored Arthur and pulled Matthew to stand with me, "do you know the dance."
He nodded guilty, "yes."
"Then dance!" I started to shake my hips to the rhythm, and after a minute Matthew joined me.
Francis smiled and even joined us on my right. Together we danced in a straight line doing the wobble. I wish I was video tapping this.
"Arthur, join us!" I gestured for him to stand next to Matthew.
"No." He said bluntly.
"Oh come on," I pulled him in the middle of me and Francis. "It's easy." I showed him the foot work, how to sway his hips and to jump and 'wobble' when instructed. He was hesitant at first but after another minute he danced along with us. Now I really wished I was recording this.
Later Arthur continued to show me pictures of the nations. Countless names and faces invaded my mind as Arthur, Francis, and Matthew added in stories with the photos. I will admit, I blocked out what they said most of the time, and now that I think about it, I should've listened.