Disclaimer: The Hetalia characters and their personifications belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. 日丸屋 秀和

BONUS CHAPTER - (FLASHBACK) - Learning to Dance

The three 13-year-old boys stood rigidly along the wall.

The light, festive atmosphere of the crowd flowed around them, leaving Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio with their backs awkwardly pressed to the stone. The music played jauntily and they watched as pairs of young nobles danced to the spritely melody.

May was definitely in the air.

Sir Frederick was not far away; he watched his young apprentices with an amused smirk for several minutes before leaving the company of older men and walking up to the triad of youths.

Lowering his mug, he asked, "Now, you boys aren't, dare I say, scared to ask one of these lovely young ladies to dance, are you?"

"What?!"

"No!"

"Come on!" came all three retorts at once. The older man, grinning larger, only took another sip of beer and calmly strolled on, satisfied with his subtle prompt's effect on the lads.

The boys, in earnest, hadn't been so much shy as... transfixed.

The row of blue, green, and scarlet eyes had been following the gliding steps of a certain young Lady Elizaveta Héderváry as she gracefully moved about the floor.

"She certainly is a beautiful young woman," Francis commented.

The other boys nodded in agreement.

When they saw Liz, usually her hair was messily pulled back and clotted with dirt; but at the moment, her hair was intricately done up, sitting atop her head in an indescribable weave of braids and curls - pieces of which fell down at the back of her neck and the sides of her face.

Her dress was a faded rose hue that, coincidentally, matched perfectly with her lips and cheeks.

Yet what made her most remarkable was the genuine smile - energetic and heart-warming - which creased up the corners of her eyes and gave them a certain sparkle.

It was so odd to see her as Elizaveta and not Eli...

She spotted the three along the wall and smiled brighter, offering a shy wave.

Francis and Antonio smiled fondly back with a nod of encouragement.

"I just don't understand how she can go from vicious psychopath to elegant dress-up doll in a matter of hours!" Gilbert complained.

"Vicious psychopath?" Francis repeated.

"She THREW me out of a TREE earlier!"

"No, you threatened to pull her pants down, chased her up a tree, then she kicked you and you fell," Antonio corrected.

"Well," Francis clapped his hands together, changing the subject. He moved off the wall and faced the other young gentlemen. "What are we waiting for? You heard Sir Frederick. Shall we dance?"

"With who?" Antonio asked.

"Why, with the line of lovely young damsels over there waiting for a partner, that's who!"

Gilbert and Antonio glanced to where Francis had indicated. A row of unimpressed-looking upper-class (I mean way upper class) noblewomen were standing in fragile solitude across the hall.

"Ha. That's a good one, amigo."

"Those women don't wanna dance with us! They're waiting for one of these young lord guys to ask them! We haven't even been knighted yet. Plus, they don't really look like they're into the gruff soldier type if you ask me."

"Nonsense, Monsieur! I am a speaker of women, and I know that those poor, weeping souls over there are simply begging for a man's affections... waiting desperately for a hand to pull them on to the dance floor and hold them close!" Francis said dramatically.

"Hey, 'Speaker of Women', why don't you go show us how it's done then and womanize a couple of the girls from that flock of crows."

"You don't think I can do it? You wound me, Monsieur. Just watch as the master works his charms!"

With that, Francis adjusted his hilt higher on his waist, fixed his hat and marched confidently over to the opposite side of the grand hall.

Antonio and Gilbert watched, and Elizaveta also watched, as Francis bowed in a flourish to a fair-skinned blond woman with bouncy curls who stood at the end of the gaggle.

He said something to her and she immediately burst into a fit laughter. She covered her mouth with her hand and held her stomach with the other. She closed her eyes and when she opened them to look at Francis again, only laughed the harder, as if the mere sight of him was too much for her to bare. She turned, still giggling, and walked away dismissively with two of her girl friends.

Francis displayed a troubled frown and barely glanced back toward his own two friends.

He quickly moved on to the next group of young ladies who looked altogether repulsed by his appearance.

They leaned back slightly as he introduced himself, as though he gave off some horrible odor or if he touched them they would burst into flame.

The oldest woman, a girl right around the age of 18 with long, dark hair, only rolled her eyes and walked away when he addressed her. She lead the rest of her flock away as well, all of whom continued to gag and look frightened by the smaller Frenchman.

Antonio and Gilbert, who had been snickering previously, ceased their chortles once they saw their comrade's crest-fallen expression.

Francis slumped forward with a glint of shame in his eyes which were cast downward at the floor.

His pride was not easily damaged, but no one else had heard what the women said... it was enough to be pride-damaging.

Elizaveta, watching the scene, looked back and forth several times from the group of cackling ladies to her confidence-shattered best friend. Then, creasing her eyebrows together and clenching her fists angrily, she stomped up to the adolescent Francis.

When the blond boy looked up, however, he only saw a delicate-looking hand extended coquettishly before his face and a bashful, sun-tanned girl with large green eyes smiling at him. Her chin was tucked low and her shoulders pressed up, as if she were nervously asking a stranger to dance.

Francis, confused at first, broke into a bright smile and gladly clutched the offered hand.

The young pair then proceeded to glide about the dance floor, their steps in sync and their motions in perfect harmony; they were both excellent dancers. For Elizaveta, it was the most enjoyable dance of the evening.

The gaggle of women off to the side watched awe-struck as the enviously-beautiful Lady Héderváry was led this way and that by the mysterious golden-haired stranger.

"I want to dance with him next!" declared the girl with long, dark hair.

"No, no, he asked me first!" argued the curly blond.

All the while, Francis and Elizaveta continued to smile and giggle as they lost themselves in the music. Elizaveta told him he was a spectacular dancer, and he replied with a wink that he had, after all, learned from the best.

And when the instruments halted momentarily and the melody ceased, the two friends parted and Elizaveta was immediately pushed aside by the flocking young ladies and stumbled right into the arms of...

Gilbert.

"Fallin' for me, Liz?" Gilbert smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Haha! It is funny because she fell!" the Spaniard noted.

Elizaveta righted herself and joined them against the wall, watching Francis thoroughly enjoy his second dance of the evening.

Eventually, a short red-headed girl with freckles approached the Spaniard, and before she had to say anything, Antonio graciously bowed and asked her to dance. They went off.

Gilbert turned to Elizaveta with a shrug. "Wanna dance?"

"No, I'm worn out," she laughed. "I think I'm going outside to get some air."

Gilbert accompanied her through the halls and past the guardsmen near the main door.

They walked atop the damp blades of grass, allowing the fresh night air to cool their heated skin. The castle was crowded and stuffy, but out here was open and serene. The pair ambled around the side of the castle and leaned their backs lazily against the wall.

"I didn't say you had to come with me," Elizaveta admonished, looking up at the moon.

"What? Oh come now, Lizzie! You are just a poor, defenseless woman right now. I couldn't possibly leave you alone out here at night! In fact, you should be thanking me."

Elizaveta, with a sly idea slipping into her head replied, "Oh? Alright then..." She leaned over suddenly to peck Gilbert lightly on the cheek (with the intent to cause the boy immense discomfort, hopefully evoking a red-hot blush and a whirlwind of flustered indignation at the unexpected gesture).

But instead, as she closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss him, Gilbert cleverly turned his head at the last moment, foreseeing the trick. Her lips met his his own instead of his cheek, and she pulled away rapidly.

She gasped with HUGE, startled eyes. "You! You-you-you-"

"Awww, did I leave you speechless, Lizzie? Kesesesese!"

"Cheeky bastard!" she erupted, face red. As the boy closed his eyes and continued to laugh, Elizaveta looked around until she spotted a large, rounded stone at the bottom of the castle's wall. She took it in her hand and immediately bashed the weapon upon the boy's head, leaving him unconscious in an instant.

She dropped the stone and dusted off her hands, looking angry, but satisfied with her work. And for the moment, she did not care about the consequences.

Then a chirping sound assaulted her ears and she saw a familiar yellow bird fly down from its perch in a nearby tree and begin to circle its unconscious master.

"Come on, Gilbird," Elizaveta said as she placed the tiny ball of fluff and plumage on her shoulder, "you shouldn't see Daddy like this."

And with that, she strutted confidently back inside the castle.

However, once she had rounded the corner, she paused, touched her fingers to her lips, and smiled slightly. Gilbird gently pecked her cheek, as if giving her a tiny kiss, and she nuzzled him with her cheek.

Then she headed back inside.

Aww, thanks everyone for sticking with this story, I really hope you all enjoyed it!

And yes, there is a sequel that wraps up Ludwig's story (and Francis's too in case anyone was wondering what became of him!)

Historical Notes

* So, during this scene the first thing one might envision is a formal, 18th-century-style cotilllion; however, that image of a couple's social dance is actually a little inaccurate...

Couple dances did not become popular in Germany until the latter half of the High Middle Ages. The first appearance in literature of a couple dance appears in 1023 from the German poet Ruodieb with a basic motif of a boy wooing a girl, and the girl repulsing his advances. (Folk Dance of Europe. Nigel Allenby Jaffé. 1990. Fold Dance Enterprises. pages 148, 149.)

At the end of the 13th century, which would be the period this story is set in, nobles and wealthy patricians danced as couples in procession in a slow, dignified manner in a circle. Lower classes (i.e. the farmers, peasants, etc.) were known for dancing in a more spritely fashion to upbeat music. Upper-middle class individuals, which I consider our little trio of knights to be in this case, combined the two styles, beginning with a slow procession and picking up towards the end, known as a 'fore and after' dance procession.

Illustrations from the 1400s also clearly show couples embracing each other with one arm and holding their partner's hand with the other. (Folk Dance of Europe. Nigel Allenby Jaffé. 1990. Fold Dance Enterprises. pages 155, 156.)

Also, the reason I chose to set this scene in the spring is because:

1) Love is in the air!

2) Walpurgis Night is a traditional Germanic festival set on the night of April 30th, which traces back to the 8th century abbess, Saint Walpurga, although it does not appear in English literary records until the 1800s. This would be a day of celebrations, festivities and feasts. (Collins English Dictionary Millennium Edition. 1998.) I decided it was the perfect night for a dance.

(Variants of Walpurgis Night are also observed in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, although in the United States it is generally correlated with paganism and/or satanism).