The moment the song ends, Matthew was pushed aside by an overly excited Italian.
"Dance with me! Dance with me!" Italy grabbed my hand and waist before I could answer and yanked me into another waltz on the dance floor.
Italy spins me around till the faces of the crowd blurred, but I could tell they were dancing along with us.
"You look so pretty tonight," Italy smiled.
Once I was able to get my footing for the dance, I nodded, "thank you Mr. Italy."
"Ve, that's too formal, call me Feliciano."
"Okay," I stayed quiet after I answered. I focused on my footwork and made sure Feliciano wouldn't try and spin me again.
"Can I call you Amy?" he asked.
"Sure," I answered quickly and continued with the dance in silence.
Feliciano frowned, "Why are you so quiet? Did I do something wrong?"
"No," I gave him a kind smile, "I'm just," I decided to be truthful, "little nervous."
He beamed, "That's easy to fix." He pulled me closer to his body and began to twirl me around the dance floor. He danced at a fast tempo completely forgetting the slow melody of the orchestra.
"Please-" I almost tripped, but I caught myself, "Feli-" he swung me around, bumping me against a girl around my age. She had long dark brown hair tied in red ribbons and wore a matching red dress. Feliciano continued to spin and I had no choice but to follow. I called out to the girl, "I'm sorry."
Feliciano swung me around to collide with another dancer; his hair was blond and spiked to the side. I was able to meet his blue eyes before Feliciano pulled me away, "sorry."
Feliciano continued to dance with a happy carefree expression, I was quickly becoming irritated. "St-" before I could snap a person placed a firm hand on Feliciano's shoulder and forced him to stop.
"Italy, stop, you're causing trouble," the man had broad shoulders, slick back blond hair and blue eyes. The same man I met at the book store; Ludwig also known as Germany. I took my chance to back away from Feliciano.
Ludwig turned to me, "I'm deeply sorry for the trouble this idiot has caused."
"Its fine," I reassured.
Then a hand grabbed me by the shoulder and jerked me back, "Good job West, take care of him, I'll handle the lady."
I was turned around by this person and twirled back on to the center of the dance floor. This partner followed the slow tempo, allowing me the chance to catch my breath. I looked up, meeting his strange red eyes and sarcastic smirk. "You can thank me now."
"For what?" I lifted my brow at him in confusion.
"For saving you," he shook his head, "not so bright are you, well I'm not surprised, you are Alfred's kid."
I narrowed my eyes at him, "and you are?"
"Oh you silly little girl, I'm the Awesome Prussia!" he seemed to be waiting all night to say that.
"Never heard of you," I said bluntly.
His composer broke slightly but he quickly recovered, "How can you not know? I'm the most Awesome country there is."
"Not ringing a bell," I said in a monotone.
His smirk was falling, "but it was in the east of Germany."
"Keyword: was." I said harshly. Before he could say anything else, I proclaimed, "Wait, I'm starting to remember." His face became superior again, "You were demoted to East Germany," I said in my most Mean Girl way, "No one knows of East Germany, they know only of Germany." His face fell, and I continued, "I wonder? How does it feel to be over shadowed by your younger brother? Quite sad I imagine."
The song ends and I stepped away from a shocked Prussia, "It was a pleasure to dance with you, Mr-" I gave a sarcastic curtsy, and acted like I needed to take a moment to think, "East Germany, wasn't it?" I gave my sweetest smile and walked away.
Take that bitch, I smirked to myself.
In the next two hours I danced with various countries; faces blurred together till I was only able to remember a few. Denmark, the man I was thrown into earlier was making jokes the entire time we danced. He was funny and he made me laugh, he actually made my nerves settle as well. China wore a red Chinese styled outfit and complemented me on my dress. Cuba was practically pushed into dancing with me; he was polite but he seemed distant. Japan wore a white eastern style suit with gold buttons down his shirt and matching pants. He was formal and polite and asked for my forgiveness for Italy's recklessness.
"Its fine, he was just excited," I smiled.
"Thank you for understanding," he bowed when the music ended.
"No problem," I continued to smile. When Japan turned away, a waiter with champagne passed by, I quickly grabbed a flute and walked along with the waiter. I dodged through the countries and ducked into a corner. I sneaked a peek at the party; no one seemed to have noticed my disappearance. I sighed in relief and walked further down the hall. I wondered till I found a stair case. Part of me was curious to explore while another part urged me to return to the party. I ignored that urge, swallowed my champagne, placed the flute on a nearby hall table and ran up the steps.
I explored the rooms, took moments to admire the paintings and sculptures, and because the hallways were empty I decided to twirl as I walked. I've been forced to act serious and polite the whole night, I needed to loosen up. With the massive house, and its numerous rooms along with the party going on at the bottom floor, I couldn't help but imagined myself as a super spy. Trying to gather intel on world leaders, for one was trying to take over the world, and I have to find out who it is. I ran down the halls, leaped up the stairs, and used some pallor rooms as short cuts to avoid the wait staff. I pretended that I had a communicator on my wrist, which allowed me to contact HQ. I wrapped myself around walls and corners along with making a gun with my fingers. I even started humming the James Bond theme song.
I'm such lame-ass dork, I thought to myself. I sighed and leaned against the wall, the memory of my friends and I running around New York came to mind. It's more fun to be a dork with friends. I imagined Sam being HQ, and giving me assignments and telling me if the mission was ghost protocol or not. Heisuke would be the scientist with all the cool gadgets and also be a badass ninja. Ella would be the master of disguise, Dimitri would be the driver, but he can do all those cool Fast & Furious tricks and drive planes, ships and even a tank. Daniela would be the incredible hacker that can bring down nations with a tap of computer key. Jamie and Michel would be my partners and together would be the most epic spy team to ever exist.
God, I miss them.
"Well Amy," I mumbled to myself, "If you want to see them, you have to play nice with the countries." I sighed; I should probably get back to the party.
Francis held in a chuckle when Gilbert finished his story of his encounter with Amy. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo on the hand burst out laughing.
"It isn't funny Toni," Gilbert glared.
"No you're right, it's not funny. It's hilarious," Antonio laughed harder and Francis finally joined in.
Gilbert narrowed his eyes, "France, you're the one to blame here."
"Me," Francis gave him a look.
"Ja, you need teach that girl some manners," Gilbert crossed his arms, "teach her some respect for the older nations."
Francis rolled his eyes, "I'll get right on that." He grabbed a flute from a waiter and sipped the champagne.
"France," a voice called for him and he turned to find Arthur. "Have you seen America?"
"No, why?" he asked.
Arthur cursed, "You haven't been watching her?!"
"I thought you would."
"I was but- I only took my eyes away from her for one second and she was gone!"
"Did I hear you correctly," Gilbert stepped in between France and Britain, "Little Ms. Sassy Pants is missing?" A large grin appeared on his face.
"Stay out of this Prussia," Arthur warned.
Prussia's grin never left his face as he walked away, I know that smile, Francis thought, it never leads to anything good.
And just as Francis feared, Gilbert ordered the music to stop and grabbed a microphone. He first called out for the wait staff and the orchestra to be dismissed into the kitchen, and once all the humans left the room, he continued. "Evening everyone, this is the Awesome Prussia here and I'm here to announce the first annual Hunt for America. America has gone missing and she's somewhere in this house, the first who finds her and brings her back to the ballroom, wins!"
"What's the prize?" Mikkel Densen (Denmark) asked.
Gilbert grinned evilly, "A kiss from Ms. America, but remember you can only get the kiss when you bring her here."
"Germany! Japan! We have to find her!" Italy grabbed Germany and Japan by their hands and pulled them into a random a hallway.
Victoria Marie Lambert (Seychelles) smiled, "That sounds kinda fun."
"Vic," Peter whispered to her, "we need to find her first."
"Why?"
"Cause I haven't found Mr. Russia," Raivis whispered on her other side. "He must have already left."
"Then we have to find her before he does," Peter grabbed Victoria's hand and pulled her up the stairs with Raivis right behind them.
"Hey buddies," Mikkel wrapped his arms around Lukas Bondevik (Norway) and Erik Steilsson (Iceland). "Let's go find America."
"Do we have to?" Erik complained.
"Yes. Hey Swedi, Finni you two joining?" Mikkel called out to Berwald Oxenstierna (Sweden) and Tino Väinämöinen (Finland).
Tino smiled, "This would be fun, ya." Berwald nodded and both of them walked to stand with Mikkel and the other Nordics.
"Oh right! Team Nordics are back!" Mikkel cried out in excitement.
"Do you have to be so loud," Erik sighed.
"But who gets the kiss?" Tino asked.
"We all do! But I'm first, cause she likes me best," Mikkel grinned.
Lukas rolled his eyes and pulled Mikkel by his tie, "Let's go." He walked into another random hall with a choking Mikkel right behind him. The other Nordics followed.
"Lovino!" Antonio ran for the Southern Italian.
"What the hell do you want?" Lovino hissed.
"Be on my team!"
"No!"
"I want to be on your team Boss!" Bella lifted up her green gown so she could run to stand with Antonio.
"Sister, wait," Lars called out for her.
"Okay," Antonio grinned, "Come on Lovi, join us!"
"Join us!" Bella grinned.
Lovino blushed and mumbled, "Okay for you, Bell."
Bella clapped her hands together and turned to her older brother, "Lars! Join us!"
Lars crossed his arms, "Not with Spain."
"Come on, please," Bella batted her eyes and Lars sighed. Bella grinned, "He's in!"
"Then let's go!" Antonio leads them up the stairs.
In minutes, the countries broke up into groups and made their way through out the house; leaving Francis, Matthew, and Arthur alone in the ballroom.
"What the bloody hell just happened!" Arthur exclaimed.
"Were you not paying attention?" Francis said sarcastically. "Prussia just called out a hunt for Amy."
"I know, what I'm shocked about is that everyone joined in."
"Calm down," Matthew soothed, "We'll just find Amy first."
"I doubt it," Francis sighed, "This house is massive; we'll never be first."
"Wait! That's it!" Arthur grinned.
"What's it?" Matthew asked.
"I'll put a spell on the house-"
"Oh no," Francis cried out, "Your spells never work!"
"Yes they do," Arthur glared and pulled out his wand from his sleeve. "Now stand back!"
Francis groaned and Matthew stepped back. Arthur chanted in ancient English, summoning the elements to his side. Thunder roared, shaking the building. Lightening flashed as the sky darkens and the lights of the house began to flicker.
"Arthur," Francis warned but Arthur continued to chant, till finally the lights shut off and engulfed the house in darkness. Francis could hear the girly screams of countries as he himself held back a scream.
The lights came back on just as quickly as they were shut off and the house was once again filled with light. "What did you do?!" Francis exclaimed.
Arthur smirked, "I simply placed an enchantment on the house, to allow Amy to be one step ahead of everyone else." He turned around and walked up the stairs.
"Then how are we supposed to find her?" Francis asked as he followed.
"The spell is immune to us, so we will be able to find her before anyone else can." Arthur explained as he opened the door to the parlor room and stopped in his tracks. The room was now filled with ceiling high shelves with leather bound books filling each shelf and a dark brown work desk in the center. Leather chairs and couches scattered around the room.
"Last I checked this was a parlor room," Matthew proclaimed.
Arthur closed the door and reopened it again to find a dark secret passage way. "What the-"
Francis wrapped his hands around Arthur's neck and shook him, "What the fuck did you do?!"
Arthur pushed him off, "I don't know exactly, but the rooms in the house seem to be changing locations."
"I don't remember a dark hallway," said Matthew.
"This house is filled with secret passage ways, they were built so whenever this house was invaded Austria and royal family could escape."
"So the passage ways are changing too," Francis threw up his hands in frustration. "Arthur, stop the spell."
"I can't," Arthur answered. "This spell can only be broken by Amy."
"What do you mean?"
"Magick needs rules, so when I cast the spell, I used Prussia's rules from his game. The only way this house will go back to normal, is when Amy is found by another country, brought back to the ballroom by that same country and then be kissed by her."
"That's when the spell will be broken?" Matthew asked.
"Yes," Arthur sighed.
"This is why I don't like magick," Francis mumbled to himself.
I opened another door to find the kitchen, on the second floor. "What the hell." I walked in and found the wait staff and the orchestra band passed out on the floor. I ran to their sides and tried to shake them awake, but all of them were out cold. I ran back to the door I entered from and opened it to find a bedroom, not the hallway. I closed the door and for some strange reason I reopened the door; it was bathroom now. "Okay, this is just random." I closed the door, "I must have had too much to drink," I massaged the bridge of my nose. "Yeah, that's it, I'm going with that."
I ran to the back door which leads outside, but instead I found another hallway. I threw up hands, "of course it leads into a hallway, not the backyard, why did I even think it would." I sighed and walked out into the hall, further down this hall I found a small balcony that over looked the maze. I leaned over the white stone rail, hoping to spot anyone that might know what's going on, but the backyard was empty.
I groaned in frustration. "Well, at least I know I'm on the third floor," I mumbled to myself. "What is happening to this house?"
"Da, I would like to know that as well," a deep voice said.
I jumped and faced a tall, broad chested man with silver hair and dark violet eyes. He wore a simple black tuxedo but instead of a white dress shirt underneath the blazer he wore a white turtle neck sweater.
"I didn't see you there," I tried to laugh off my nervous, but it didn't seem to work under his intense stare. I took a breath, "Hello, I'm Amy Hawkfeather," then I corrected myself. "America," I held out my hand for him to shake.
He took it in his hand and brought my hand close to his lips, "I'm Ivan Braginski."
A cold chill ran up my arm the moment his breath made contact to my skin. I had a split second thought of pulling my hand away, but I ignored it, I didn't want to be rude.
"Russia," he finished and kissed my hand.
"Should've known," I smiled and tugged my hand away. It took couple of tries but I was able to free my hand, that guy had a grip.
"Sorry," he gave a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Your hand was every soft and warm, it felt good."
"Thank you," I said uncertainly.
A moment of an intense silence engulfed the atmosphere, and the chill quickly spreads to my spine down to my toes the longer I stood under his gaze. "I should probably get going," I tried to walk around him but he blocked my path.
"You shouldn't travel alone, the house is acting strange, its best to stay together," he said.
"I'm a big girl, I can handle it by myself," I stepped away, but he hooked his arm around my waist and forced me to face him.
"Da, you are a big girl," he smiled and guided his hand from my face to my neck, "Almost a woman."
Alarm bells began to go off in my head as I slammed my fists on to his chest. He didn't even flinch and pulled my waist closer to his. His hand continued to travel as he pushed away my sleeve to reveal my naked shoulder. "Your skin is as smooth as new snow," his other hand found my lower back. "I will enjoy leaving my marks on you." His cold fingers forced themselves under the cloth my dress, searching for more skin.
I lifted my fist ready to make contact to his face, but before I could throw a punch, someone yelled.
"Let her go!"
Ivan and I both took notice of a slim toned young man standing at the entrance of the balcony. He had chestnut brown hair that barely touched his shoulders and dark aquamarine eyes that seem to change from blue to green in different lighting.
"Lithuania," Ivan smiled, not effected by the other's tone. His hands lose their grip and I took the chance to push myself away from him, fixing my strap.
Lithuania took a hesitant step towards him, "Leave her alone, Russia." He tried to put force into his warning but I could see him trembling.
"Oh, and what would you do if I don't," Ivan steps in front Lithuania and I watched as Lithuania's eyes widen in fear.
"Oh Lithuania, do you wish to be the hero? To rescue the damsel in distress?" In one swift move, Ivan tangled his hand into Lithuania's locks and forced his face up to meet with his. "Or, maybe you're just jealous. Have you missed me that much Toris?"
Then he did something I didn't expect; he kissed the smaller man. Pressing his lips harshly against Lithuania's and using his teeth to force open his mouth. I watched with surprised eyes as Ivan forced himself on Lithuania. I caught Lithuania making eye contact with me for a brief second; his gaze was a mix of fear and humiliation.
Once he was able to gather his courage; he slapped Ivan hard across the face. The balcony was then filled with heavy pants and a building tension.
Ivan turned back to Lithuania with a mean smile, "You will pay for that." He smashed his fist into Lithuania's cheek and gave another to his gut. Lithuania gasped for air and was rammed against the rail. Blood traveled from his lips and dripped off his chin. Before Lithuania could even defend himself, Ivan grabbed him by his shoulder and leaned him over the edge.
I finally burst into action and threw my shoe at Ivan with all my strength. It slammed into his face, the heel making a direct hit to his eye. It wasn't much to knock him off his feet but it was enough for him lose his grip on the smaller nation. I quickly ran to Ivan and shoved him to the floor.
I pulled Lithuania by his arm, "Come on."
He nodded and followed me as we ran back down the hall. Then, as if fate wanted to screw us; the lights shut off, sending the house into complete darkness. What the hell?! This isn't a horror movie!
But for some strange, stupid reason, both Lithuania and I stopped and turned around to find Ivan slowly rising back on to his feet. He violet eyes found us through his silver hair. The pair of eyes glowed with pure cruel delight.
Or maybe it is. I pushed Lithuania forward, shouting, "Run!"