APH - Kingdom Come PT 9

Prussia was neutral about the weather.


Holy Rome, a time after holding a funeral for Germania, had asked his brother what he thought about both sunny days and rainy days.  His brother was so young then, barely able to understand that their father was now dead; and not asleep.


Prussia had answered anyways, “Sunny days, little bruder are with laughter and being with the ones you care about. Rainy days.” that was where he had sighed lightly and shifted the young boy he held in his arms closer. “are that of grieving and without those loved ones.”


Even with those words, as Holy Rome grew to who he was before he died, the young German loved days that were filled with the laughing sun and those filled with the grieving rain.


Prussia couldn’t decide which fit the best, yet the morning of the funeral, he discovered it to be a cloudy sky.  Dark colors.  As he forced himself to eat a piece of toast with jam and another with egg, he looked out the dusted window to see a poorly shining ball of light at the horizon.


A wonderful combination of both.


The albino went to the living room of the broken house, as it was his makeshift sleeping area at the moment, and picked up the bundle of clothing he had stolen during the night several hours past the Empire’s death, even if Austria was awake forcing the mournful music from the piano in the late hour and Hungary was comforting a sleep-deprived Italy.


He couldn’t face the others so he had run off, back to the house his father built.  Holy Rome’s body had been delivered by Prussia himself the day after his death to a church beside a cemetery, where the ceremony would be held.  That trip had been just three days ago.


“Are you going to just stand there or get ready?”


Prussia’s heart beat quickened for a moment, then sunk back.  There in the mirror, standing a small distance behind him, was Hungary.


The Hungarian had donned a gray dress with a dark blue scarf tied carefully about her neck.  She wore boots that went to her knees underneath the dress, their color dark brown.  Her hair was placed into a bun, several strands loose from it while her bangs hung into her eyes. A flower, white, was in her hair as well.


She stepped closer to him, and pulled him away from the mirror.  Her green eyes studied him, and she raised her hands to fix his tie.


“I’m relieved you can dress yourself properly, but after so long you still don’t know how to do your own tie?” she attempted to tease, green eyes flickering up to meet his.


“How did you learn it then?”  Prussia asked softly, watching her nimble fingers fix up the knot he had created.  


“... Your brother.  He always came to me when we all had to dress up for an occasion.  I’m guessing now he knew you couldn’t do it yourself either.” she answered.


“... Besides that.  Did Austria have you learn it?”


“No.  Holy Rome knew what he was doing, but he always messed up at the same place… He was polite but terribly nervous when he asked me.  I don’t think he remembered me much since I hardly saw him as a baby.  In my opinion, he came to me because he knew I would help no matter what.”


Sad smiles slowly touched their lips.


“You know Austria… that he...”  Prussia trailed uncomfortably.


She tightened his tie.  “Yes, I know, but… please trust me when I say you shouldn’t look at him in that sense-!”


“Why shouldn’t I look at him like that, Hungary?!” the albino suddenly hissed.  “Austria killed Holy Rome.  Am I supposed to look at him like it never happened?”


Hungary stepped away, still facing him.  The tie was neatly about his neck, done.  “It was blackmail, Prussia! Blackmail!” she stated with a slight quiver.


That had his face screw up in slight confusion.  “... Was?” he whispered, staring at the brunette.  What is she trying to tell me…?


“France blackmailed Austria into killing Holy Rome and dissolving his Empire.  He asked me to get some documents from his study the other day while he was on the phone and I found the letters from France while searching.” Hungary explained, green eyes finding interest on something across the room.


Prussia took a deep breath, trying to accept what he just heard.  “Hungary, please, bring all of the letters if you can to me, here at midnight.” he eventually managed to get out.


She nodded, a thin, cloudy line of what looked like ink trailing down her right cheek.  Several more followed.  Her bangs hid her emerald green eyes.


“Don’t cry… Lizzy.” he whispered, hesitantly pulling her into his embrace.


She shook and cried silently, though it was several minutes later the Hungarian girl calmed down and pulled away once again.


“Maybe if I just looked in the study before…” she tried to say.


Prussia got a rag, soaking it lightly and wringing it at the sink.  He dabbed at the ruined makeup she had put on to clean her face.  He was blushing just slightly, since this was something he wasn’t sure he should be doing.


“We should have been there, and we should have been right by his side to protect him… But we couldn’t… And at times like this, we have to follow the damned rules set out for us.  We couldn’t intervene.” he murmured.


A shaky laugh left Hungary’s lips.  “My God, why is something like that coming from you?”


“Now cheer up.” he forced himself to say.  “He’s in a better place.  He no longer has to suffer.”  Hungary embraced him, as if seeing him trying not to break.


“Come along.  The carriage will be coming to pick us up at Austria’s soon.” she murmured.


“And I’m guessing to fix your makeup?” he teased on the way out of the house, fixing the jacket of his suit.  She punched his arm gently.  They started down the road to Austria’s.


“Hey…” Prussia started after several minutes of silence between them.  Their footsteps were soft against the dusty road, faint shadows out around them.


“Hm?” Hungary replied in placing her attention on the albino.


“How did you know where I was?” he asked.


“Aren’t we best friends, Beilschmidt?” she scoffed, referring to their younger days.  “I know that when you’re upset you run back here and hide for a couple of days.”


Prussia glanced away, an embarrassed blush dusting his cheeks.  He expected some reason that would make her seem girly, not a stalker.


They neared the mansion quicker than the albino thought, but sighed at noticing Austria and Italy waiting outside for the carriage.  Austria was dressed in an outfit similar to his, and Italy was in the same gray dress Hungary wore only her scarf was green.  She looked like she had just gotten over crying by her sniffles.  The Italian attempted a smile for Prussia, coming to him so he could lift her into his arms.  Hungary disappeared inside with Austria behind her.


“Are you alright, Mr. Prussia?”  Italy whimpered, opening her glossy brown eyes at him.


“I will be, Ita.  Broken hearts take time to mend.”  he answered softly.


“How long, do you think?”


“It always depends…”


The two nations remained in silence, until Austria and Hungary returned.  A closer look, Prussia managed, revealed that Hungary had, once again, applied the little touches of makeup to her face.  Austria wouldn’t look at the albino.


At last, the carriage appeared coming down the dirt path, and paused in front of the mansion.  Austria opened the door for Hungary while Prussia took Italy with him to the other side so they could get in.


Prussia looked out the window, drowning out the soft chatter between Hungary and Austria - and soon Italy too.  They passed the tree where Holy Rome often sat, talking with Italy.  He only knew this from falling asleep in the branches with little Gilbird, and woke up up when the two younger nations had bid each other farewell for the day.


The landscape outside of the carriage halted to a stop.  Grass stretched out, dotted with trees.  And little tombstones.


Prussia felt sick.


None of them should be there.  Holy Rome shouldn’t have died.  This whole war shouldn’t have started.


He opened the door to the carriage, getting out with Italy still in his arms.  The albino set her on her feet, watching her run off to a young boy in a dress shirt and pants who stood with a brown-haired Spaniard.


Prussia watched the silent minute as Italy greeted her older brother, Romano, who came because his caretaker forced him to, and then the brunette caretaker, Spain.  But today Romano would be Lovino and Spain would be Antonio.  He would be Gilbert, Austria would be Roderich, Hungary would be Elizabeta, and Italy… He sighed, walking away from the carriage so it could pull away from the cemetery; carrying himself to the set of chairs for those in grief of  Karsten Beilschmidt.


They definitely shouldn’t be there.


“... Bonjour, mon ami.” the voice was soft, holding with it a French accent.  Probably the same tone Holy Rome heard when he was given the crucial blow.


Prussia paused at the gentle tap on his shoulder, the one asking for his attention.  His turn was rigid, like trying to move a porcelain ballerina  that was glued to the spot.  He didn’t look forward to having to rest his burning crimson eyes on the Frenchman’s ocean blue.


“Why are you here, Francis?” he asked, sounding more tired than he expected it to be.  True he hadn’t gotten much sleep, plagued with nightmare after nightmare of his brother’s death, but he had gotten enough to not sound like that.


The man made a hand gesture, a sad smile on his lips.  He wore a gray suit, collar neat and a small flower in the breast pocket.  After a moment he tucked his hands away into his pants pockets just slightly.  “To pay my respects, of course.  What happened to young Karsten is such a terrible thing.  And in your arms, so said the obituary.” he eventually stated.


“I know what you did.” Prussia growled, painfully forcing the last part the blonde said away.  “I never thought you would stoop so low just to win a war.” he added in a lower voice, so no one else but France could hear.


“Orders are orders, mon ami.  I know you’ve done some things too that you didn’t want to do but you had to.” he answered slowly.


“Killing a nation was never on the list, I would instantly back out if it was; something you obviously didn’t do.” replied the albino.


“I was so confused in the end, Gil, when my time of confirmation came ticking down” France stated.  He looked like he was about to drop to the ground and beg.  “And I just… did what sounded right.  But the words spoken to me were twisted and mixed.  You have to forgive me and let what happened go.”


Prussia simply glared.  He needed time to think now, and having all of this being revealed to him on the day of his brother’s funeral had him lost amongst different answers.  It was so much in one day.  Too much.


“I’m going to sit down.” the Prussian grumbled, running a hand through his hair and hurried forward to join the other nations going for the front row of seats directly in front of the bier and casket.


It was closed.


Prussia sat with who he had come with amongst the front row, with Spain, Romano, France, Garrett, and Dustin in the row behind them.  There were more men of the army seated who had known the Empire, and many of those who lived there in the village he had gotten to know around them in the other seats given.


After several minutes, an eldered priest stepped up to the platform, standing behind a podium off to the side of the casket.  Prussia saw him sit down a Bible that would go unused as his insides twisted into a knot.


What have we done to deserve this?


“Welcome everyone as today we honor the life of Karsten Beilschmidt.”


The albino took slow, deep, and silent breaths.


“He has accomplished much in his young life.  The first he had done was touch the hearts of his family and friends.  In the end, he fought for what he believed was right and protected what he thought was worth protecting.”


At least it’s a short ceremony.


“Karsten was the youngest son of Nikolaus Beilschmidt, now passed; younger brother to Gilbert Beilschmidt;  apprentice to Roderich Edelstein in the education of music and society.  He held a relationship with a young girl, Felicia Vargas as well.”


Behind Prussia, little Romano gave a faint snort that Spain nudged him for with his elbow.  Beside him, the young maid had a small frown gracing her lips.  Well, he had to give her some name for the priest to say since she couldn’t go unnamed or unmentioned in the speech.


“In the army he was a soldier under the leader, Garrett Adler.  He also held good terms with Dustin Hartmann along with numerous others in the units of the army.”  the priest continued, “Now, before we place this soul to rest; Garrett Adler?”


Garrett went up to the podium, delivering his speech about the young blonde he helped train for war.  Others stepped up, like Dustin and another man from the army, to a woman Holy Rome had helped in a shop.  There was Austria, who gave his thoughts on the deceased nation.  Hungary tried getting Italy to go up, and that she would go up as well with her, but the offer was shakily denied.


So at last, it was his turn.


Prussia stood.  This isn’t the end of it…  He walked across the strip of grass to the platform, stepping up and standing at the podium.  His red eyes gazed across the mourners.


Austria and France held the same look in their eyes, a forgiving one.  Hungary mouthed Be strong. before bringing Italy into her lap, as the younger one had broken out into crying silently.  Spain was for once, emotionless, and Romano didn’t have that grumpy look on his face.  Instead, the Italian boy looked upset like the others, understanding that the death of a nation was now possible.  All of the other faces blurred into the same sad expression.


He took a deep breath.  “I never thought my brother’s time would come so quickly.  When he came home, I thought he’d recover and then I could mess with him again… not watch him die in my arms.”  Prussia looked around through a squinted gaze as the wind around them picked up slightly.  “Or that, maybe… I would be the next one to go and not him.”


“I remember, when my father died, he asked me: “What do you think about sunny days and rainy days?” And I replied to little four-year-old Karsten: “Sunny days, little bruder, are with laughter and being with the ones you care about.  Rainy days… are that of grieving and without those loved ones.”  He came to enjoy both sunny days and rainy days.  Look around us; gray clouds hang in the sky, yet the sun still shines.”


“He’d want us to be laughing, enjoying today despite what’s happening.  But then, maybe crying too, to get rid off all the bad feelings inside.  Right?”


Prussia paused to look around once more, to take in the nods and muffled agreements of what he had just said.  A sad smile touched his lips.


“Uh,” he had give a small, brief laugh at the new memory.  “Vater and I were always entertained when Karsten was just to my knee. In the kitchen, Nikolaus would be across from me at the table just staring as I worked on my studies, waiting to check them.  All of a sudden we would hear “Bruda, bruda!” as Karsten ran into the room, and-” he cut off smiling as the others chuckled.  “It was reasonable since he was just learning to speak German. and walk  But it was the cutest damn thing I’ve ever heard, and it even got big and strict Nikolaus laughing. Bruder would probably kick me right about now...”


“I kind of don’t know what else to say, which is, well, strange I guess.” he took a deep breath before continuing. “But, in the end… I wouldn’t want to change a single thing.  Forever and always will he be the highlight of my life.”


Gilbert had finished with glittering red eyes, as he took the flower attached to his jacket breast pocket and walked to the casket.  The white rose left his fingertips, fluttering down to rest on the lid.


“Danke.” he murmured softly, yet they all heard his voice and understood.


The albino went to stand off to the side, since he knew what was happening next.  Once more the Priest took his position at the podium.


“Those who are to lower the casket, please rise and come forth.”


Prussia stood with Austria, Garrett, and Dustin.  Last minute, Spain and France rose from their seats and joined them.  The six of them eased the casket off of the bier, and they easily walked off the platform to stand on either side of the dug-up pit with the dark-colored casket in between them.


The casket was lowered, and the six of them forced themselves back to where the others were beginning to rise and slowly disperse.


It was over.


But the nations, along with Garrett and Dustin, they all stayed.  They watched workers take up shovels and work at the pile of dirt placed off to the side of the new grave.  Then after a while, it was just the nations.


Prussia held back his tears, going against the words he had said just earlier.  He was holding back on the feelings Holy Rome would want to go away, if he were standing beside him.  Finally, the tears fell.  What was he supposed to do now?  He had nothing.


“... Nothing.” he whispered, having stated it aloud.


Hungary nudged him, still standing beside him with Italy and Austria;  France, Spain, and little Romano in the brunette’s arms on the other side.  “Hey, Gil?”  she murmured.  He glanced to her, waiting for her to continue.  “Don’t be an idiot, you have us, and you still have him.”


Prussia accepted that silently, walking off away from them a bit.  For a while the albino stood alone, the falling of some tears every now and then going unnoticeable by the others.


Then he looked up at the sky.


The gray clouds were floating off towards the horizon, though some still hung about the sun.  But he could see the sky, burning a bright blue.


Prussia could make out a faint rainbow.


“Ita!” he turned and called, beckoning to the young maid to come to him.  She ran up to him, leaving the others behind.  Italy squeaked upon being lifted up onto his shoulders.  “Look!” Prussia pointed up at the sky, and Italy did as told.   They stared up at the rainbow silently.

“Do you see it, Ita?  He’s safe.”