"Thank you so much for agreeing to help, boys," Arthur began as he led Alfred and Matthew into the living room. "Francis is in a delicate state right now and I can't leave him alone tonight. And both of you would protect him better than an army of humans would."

"Of course," Matthew replied politely. "We will do anything to protect Papa."

Beside him, Alfred nodded seriously.

"There are some things you need to know before you see Francis. First, he has been through quite a bit lately and is wary around new people." The two younger nations glanced at each other in confusion. New people? They had both known Francis for centuries. "Second, Francis is currently in a most unusual condition so prepare yourselves."

"Alright."

Taking a deep breath, Arthur called for Francis. The group waited for a few minutes before a little boy entered the room. When he saw the two unfamiliar men, he nervously hid behind Arthur. Trying to put him at ease, the older blond gently placed an arm around the boy's shoulders. The other two tried not to show their incredible surprise on their faces.

"Francis," came Arthur's soft voice. "These are two very good friends of your father," he explained. "They are also the boys from that picture you looked at before. As you know, I have to go out tonight so they will be staying with you while I am out. They will not hurt you, I promise."

Even though Arthur was attempting to soothe him, Francis' large, doe eyes still watched the other two warily. Alfred walked over to him and knelt down to be on his level.

"Hi there, Francis," he whispered with a kind smile on his face. "My name is Alfred." He turned and pointed to the last person in the room. "And that's my brother, Mattie. We're gonna play with you while Mr. Arthur is out. Is that okay?" Francis nodded his head slowly. "Great! Mr. Arthur says that you like to draw so why don't Mattie and I make you a cool fort to draw in?"

"O-Okay."

Beaming at his small success, Alfred continued. "I'm glad you like that idea. If you want, we can play Knights and Princes after that. Mattie and I can be your loyal knights and do whatever you say. We could even make you a crown to wear."

Francis took a step out from behind Arthur.

"C-Could I be a princess instead?" he asked, voice full of uncertainty.

"Of course you can. Why don't you go get into your best princess dress and Mattie and I will start building your fort?"

Francis nodded happily and ran out of the room.

"How did you do that?" Matthew asked, taken aback. "I thought he would beg Dad to stay with him."

"Fifty states, Mattie," he explained with a wide grin. "This is not my first time around kids." He stood up and turned to Arthur. "So why is he a kid?"

The other let out a tired sigh.

"I'm not sure. I'm still trying to figure that out so I can turn him back."

"Does he still remember everything? Is he still the representation of France?"

"As for his status as a nation, I have no information either way. There has not been any instance where he has expressed feeling tied to the country or felt pain from it." He cleared his throat. "His memory is odd. It seems like he doesn't have any memories past the beginning of the Common Era. However, he also seems to be knowledgeable of everything a modern child of his age would be." He paused, listening for any sound that would signal Francis was returning. Hearing none, he continued. "It is almost as if his mind and his memory have separate recollections. It is very odd and I am attempting to discover what caused this."

"Is that why he is able to speak and understand modern French as opposed to the Ancient French or Latin he would have been using at that time?" Matthew asked.

"Yes. It seems his mind is in control of language instead of his memory." He opened his mouth to continue but at that moment Francis came back into the room wearing one of the dresses Arthur had made him. Glancing at his watch, Arthur instead said, "Well I need to get going. Francis, have fun with Alfred and Matthew."

He bent down to give Francis a hug. The boy hugged him back tightly before letting go.

It was nearly midnight when Arthur finally returned. The first thing he did after entering was check on Francis. Even with the knowledge that Alfred and Matthew were with him, he couldn't help but worry. He was pleasantly surprised to find Francis asleep in his bed with a cardboard crown on top of his head. He had expected to find the boy still up and have to put him to bed himself. Returning to the living room, he again gave his thanks to the two men.

"No problem," Alfred replied with a wave of his hand. "Mattie and I had fun. Francis sure is different as a kid."

"Yes he is. That's not at all how he acted when I was a child."

No one spoke for a while.

"Dad," Matthew began cautiously. "You seem very attached to this Francis. Why do you feel so strongly that you need to protect him?"

"Right now he is incredibly vulnerable. He needs a nation to protect him so that nothing happens to him."

Matthew shook his head.

"I understand that part. I meant why do you need to be the one?"

The English turned his back to the pair, looking out the window wistfully.

"When we were young, Francis always took care of me. He raised me far more than my brothers did. He kept me from freezing or starving and didn't ask for anything in return. He freely shared his possession with me and protected me from serious harm. I never once let him know how grateful I was for that."

Matthew walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"And you believe that if you take care of him now, when he truly needs help, you'll finally be able to repay him for everything he's done for you."

It wasn't a question but Arthur still nodded.

AN: Italics- speaking in French or internal thoughts

No Italics- speaking in English