Dear Reader,

Thanks for reading this far!

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do!

Please, leave me a review and tell me what you think, all right?

Also, I give special thanks to The Scheming Turtle for being a Beta reader in this chapter and elsewhere.

~+~ PioneeringAuthor, the pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell

Chapter 1

"The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice of the woman we love."

-Jean de la Bruyere

((((pppppqqqqq))))

((ppqq))

(pq)

Lithuania heard a knock at his door and answered, unaware of how it would affect his life.

"Lithuania! I have some news for you: you are marrying my sister, Belarus! Read this contract and sign it under where she signed it!" Russia demanded as Lithuania opened the door.

Lithuania gaped at Russia and the piece of paper before him. Did Russia really just utter that?

"What are you talking about?" Lithuania sputtered in surprise as he took the piece of paper and began to read it.

"Listen, I cannot handle Belarus anymore! I convinced her to marry you for at least a year; you have that long to make her fall in love with you so that she won't want to be with me anymore!" Russia swiftly explained as he entered Lithuania's house.

As usual, he had to slightly duck to enter the door. He was wearing his usual heavy beige coat with his usual long scarf wrapped around his neck. His pale skin and hair looked ghostly in the afternoon sunlight coming through the door as he entered. Although he looked like his usual self, this was not a usual day.

Turning around, his purple eyes caught Lithuania's green eyes as he ordered, "Sign the contract!"

Lithuania stared at the paper again, hardly believing that Belarus would agree to such an arrangement. With one hand, Lithuania combed his brown, shoulder-length hair away from his face while with the other he held the paper.

"Did Belarus actually agree to this?" Lithuania inquired as he read the page for a third time.

"Yes; that's her signature at the bottom! Can't you see? Oh, that's right: you don't know her human name… Well, you do now!" Russia elucidated as he pointed to the bottom of the contract.

Placing the paper on a nearby table, Lithuania wasn't sure what to think. For countless ages he had been madly in love with Belarus and deeply wanted her to love him back… but he didn't want her to be ordered into a relationship with him; he wanted her to willingly marry him, not be shoved into a marriage with him. Lithuania wanted to object, but he didn't know what to say. Since Russia had a habit of beating Lithuania and anyone else that got in his way, Lithuania didn't want to say anything. Simultaneously, he didn't want Belarus to be FORCED to marry him; surely she wouldn't want anything to do with him under those circumstances. On the other hand, he was desperately in love with her; the very thought of marrying her took his breath away in ecstasy. With another look at Russia, Lithuania nervously signed the paper, unsure of what else to do.

"Excellent! Come to my house tomorrow at ten and you'll marry her!" Russia commanded as he merrily walked out the door.

Before Lithuania could say "Tomorrow? I don't have anything to wear! What am I supposed to do?" or anything else like that, Russia slammed the door on his way out, which left Lithuania speechlessly alone in his house.
After a few moments, Russia's words sunk into Lithuania's mind: he was marrying Belarus. Suddenly, an overwhelming joy surged into his heart. He was finally marrying the woman he pined for all these years! Indeed, there were certain conditions, and he only had a year, but he was still marrying her! The more Lithuania thought about it, the happier he became. Surely, within the next year he would be able to convince Belarus to love him, and they would be together forever. He didn't worry about what would happen if he failed to win her heart; he was too happy to think about that possibility right now. After Russia departed, Lithuania decided that he needed to tell his best friend about this situation.

Quickly, he grabbed his car keys and drove to Poland's house, and told him everything.
For a few minutes, Poland had trouble believing what Lithuania just elucidated.
He read the contract twice, but still found it hard to fathom.

"Okay…Let me…Tell me...let's see if I… am hearing this right: Russia, like, out of the blue comes over to your house, and, like tells you that he convinced Belarus to marry you? Liet, I see the paper, I heard the story, but…this is just…totally...I'm sorry…I just…totally…don't… get this right now," Poland uttered, scratching his blonde head as he spoke. His green eyes stared into Lithuania's, trying to detect if Lithuania was drugged or somehow making this up as a joke.

"Poland, I am getting married tomorrow!" Lithuania repeated while waving his hands for emphasis.

Poland flipped some of his shoulder-length, golden hair away from his face as he stared at his friend. He knew how much Lithuania loved Belarus, and how insane Belarus was reputed to be. Surely, this contract would not end well, in Poland's opinion.

"Listen, Liet, I…I…I really don't know what to say right now," Poland admitted as he read the contract again.

"Well…do you know of any places to get a nice tuxedo around here?" Lithuania probed.

"Oh, yeah, like, there's tons of places around here! You can totally get something to get married in…I'm just not sure if this is going to work out…" Poland answered with a wave of his hand.

"Well, I think it will be wonderful! I'm sure that I'll win her heart and she'll want to stay with me!" Lithuania proclaimed ecstatically.

Poland snorted. "Liet, I know you love that… girl, but, if she was ever going to love you, wouldn't she have done that by now?" Poland pointed out to his best friend.

"Well, we were never in a relationship like this before; we'll be spending so much time together that surely she'll love me!" Lithuania insisted with a big grin on his face.

Poland buried his face in his hands. Truthfully, he believed that Belarus was going to either divorce Lithuania in a year or that she would find a way to secretly kill him. Either way, Poland decided that this whole affair would be a disaster. If there was one thing he didn't want, it was his best friend getting himself killed.

Standing up and glaring at his friend, Poland objected, "LIET, DON'T YOU GET IT? SHE'S INSANE! You are going to DIE! Then what will I do? I, Like, will be alone without a best friend! "

"No! The contract clearly states that she cannot make me bleed or abuse me too often! I'm not going to die, Poland! Besides, " Lithuania reminded him calmly, "I am sure that after a while she will see how much I love her and return my feelings."

Poland sighed and buried his face in his hands again. After a few moments, he decided that, perhaps, he should just encourage Lithuania. After all, Lithuania was his best friend... even if he was possibly insane.

Looking at Lithuania again, Poland conceded with, "Well… Eventually she'll HAVE to see how much you genuinely care… Many things can happen in a year… Yeah, you could totally win her heart in a year."

Jumping to his feat, Lithuania exclaimed, "Thanks Poland! I'm so glad your with me on this! By the way, can you help me get something suitable to wear at my wedding?"

"Of course I can! I just need to, like, get my shoes on," Poland agreed.

Abruptly, Poland said, "WAIT! Am I allowed to help you? Does the contract say anything about me NOT being allowed to help you or come to the wedding or anything like that?"

"Uhm… It only says that I cannot tell anyone about it outside my family or best friends… "Lithuania answered with another look at the contract.

"Well… Liet, I like you and all that, but, like, it may be best if I don't attend, because… you know… Belarus would probably be totally upset if there are too many guests there," Poland decided.

"Oh… You're probably right," Lithuania agreed.

Within the next twenty-four hours, Lithuania was married to Belarus. They didn't have a fancy ceremony, or dozens of guests. In fact, they merely went to a judge and became legally married. Only Russia and Ukraine were there as witnesses. Of course, when Lithuania was allowed to kiss his bride, the bride in question said that they didn't have time for that, and walked out the door. Although she hated every minute of it, she went home with Lithuania and ate supper with him. She refused to speak during their first meal together, even though Lithuania tried talking to her. When it was time for bed, she slept on her side of the bed and ordered Lithuania to stay on his side. Indeed, it was a very interesting twenty-four hours.

Despite Belarus's rudeness, Lithuania was overjoyed that he was finally married to his beloved Belarus. For Lithuania, simply hearing her voice made him glad. Belarus had been harsh to him countless times before that day, but he didn't care; her voice was musical to him and he was honored to hear every note, even if it was a sour one. Indeed, he was in love with her, and he had no idea how the next year would affect his life.

Dear Reader,

Keep reading!

Please let me know what you think in a review!

I would deeply appreciate it!

By the way, please do not spoil my story in a review, thanks!

PioneeringAuthor, the pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~