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

Chapter 3

"The art of love... is largely the art of persistence."

~Albert Ellis

"… It [love] is not provoked, It keeps no account of wrong,"

~ 1 Corinthians 13:5

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If ever there was a persistent lover, it was the country of Lithuania. Day after day, he tried to woo his wife through giving her splendid meals or talking to her, but she rebuffed him repeatedly. No matter how gentle or how patient he was with her, she pushed him away, and avoided him as often as the contract permitted. After some time, she began slapping him away. Soon, she was hitting him harder and harder every day. Nevertheless, Lithuania still pursued Belarus.

One day, as Lithuania was folding some laundry, Belarus walked by him. Seeing Lithuania, Belarus immediately turned away, attempting to avoid him. However, he spotted her.

"Belarus! You're just in time to get your laundry! I already have it all cleaned and folded for you; I would put it away myself, but I thought you may prefer to handle your own clothes," Lithuania announced with a loving smile.

Slowly, Belarus turned around and glared at him.

"I'll do my laundry when I feel like it!" Belarus snarled at him.

Although they had been married for several weeks, Belarus still didn't like him at all.

"Well, I'm just letting you know!" Lithuania replied quietly as he tenderly folded Belarus's socks.

After several moments of watching Lithuania fold her clothes, Belarus decided that she should handle her own items.

Stomping over, she snapped, "Give me my things! I'll handle my own stuff, understand?"

"All right, I was just trying to be helpful," Lithuania consented as he stepped aside from the clothes.

"I don't need your help!" Belarus objected as she shoved him aside.

Unfortunately, she pushed him a bit too hard. Lithuania knocked into a nearby wall, his face directly hitting it. Instantly, he felt pain shoot through his nose. Pulling away from the wall, Lithuania put his hands on his nose, and felt something leak out of his nose. He inspected his hands and saw that his nose was bleeding.

For a few moments, Belarus was oblivious. Suddenly, she heard Lithuania gasp, and something told her that it was serious. Feeling something crawl along her skin, Belarus turned and saw that Lithuania's nose was bruised and bleeding. She gasped and dropped her laundry. The contract clearly stated that she wasn't allowed to make him bleed, internally or externally… and if anything was bleeding externally, it was Lithuania's nose.

Lithuania looked at Belarus and asked nervously, "Is my nose… is it bad?"

He knew it was bad by the disgusting taste running down the back of his throat, but he asked her anyway. All Belarus could do was nod slowly. Her face lost all its color as she dreaded what Russia would do when he found out. Lithuania covered his nose with his hands, leaned forward and quietly exited the room as he searched for a paper towel. Belarus followed him nervously.

"I… I… I didn't mean to… do that," Belarus whispered, wondering what to say in her defense.

"I know that you didn't mean it," Lithuania calmly replied as he leaned against the kitchen counter, grabbed a paper napkin and put it to his nose.

"When will you tell Big Brother?" Belarus inquired sullenly as she stared at her feet.

She believed that she would be punished… and that may mean another year of being forced to be Lithuania's wife, which she abhorred. However, she legitimately made him bleed, which was against the agreement. She knew that she deserved punishment.
However, Lithuania defied the rules.

"I am not going to tell him anything," Lithuania answered gently.

Shocked, Belarus whipped her gaze back to him.

"What?" She whispered in astonishment.

"I said that I won't tell him," Lithuania illuminated as he grabbed another paper napkin.

He knew that he should tell Russia, but his love for Belarus told him to keep it quiet… after all, it was just an accident, right?

"But… I made you bleed; I broke the contract!" Belarus pointed out, not comprehending how Lithuania could be so… soft.

Locking eyes with his bride, Lithuania replied, "It was an accident; you didn't do it on purpose, so I needn't tell."

"But… I pushed you into the wall! Your nose is bruised and bleeding!" Belarus wailed.

"It was the wall that made me bleed, not you," Lithuania quietly insisted as he leaned forward, preferring the blood to go out of his nose instead of wash down his throat.

For several minutes, Belarus had no idea of what to say to her husband. She couldn't believe that she wasn't going to be punished.

Eventually, she meekly asked, "Well… what do you want me to do?"

"Well… I don't want to get blood on the laundry… " Lithuania offered with a shrug.

Belarus nodded and left. Confused and relieved that she wouldn't be reprimanded, Belarus decided that she owed Lithuania some help, and did the laundry without complaints. After that day, Belarus tolerated Lithuania, and willingly spent fifteen minutes a day with him, not only listening to his words, but also talking back to him. It seemed that Lithuania's persistence was beginning to pay off… but would he be able to love her for a complete year?