[Winter Challenge Day 7]
Title: Aftermath of War
Author: miss_auto1621
Characters: Britain, Belgium, Scotland
Challenge: Holiday Winter Challenge-Theme #7: Cute
Rating: K+ for some language
Summary: She woke up to find herself in his home. EngBel
A/N: For Vanessa.
She awoke in a dark room, surrounded by obscured, red velvet.
She recognized the color and texture right away, connecting it with Britain because she knew his preferred color was that of fierce determination. She refused to believe he liked it because it was the color of blood. As far as she knew, Britain would never consider a color his favorite if it was related to violence or harm.
She looked around and realized the curtains were not raised, obstructing the light from the sun from coming into the room. She felt a different kind of material against her skin as well. It was far different from her usual uniform, which was sometimes a little rough, but she had gotten used to it.
It was silk. And if Britain had purchased it, it had to be the finest silk in the world.
She stood from the soft bed (the softest she had slept in years), and made her way to the curtains to let in some light. She located a mirror and looked at herself from top to bottom.
She felt so fresh and…new. The nightgown she had on looked so beautiful and expensive…
‘Did Britain…buy this for me?’ she asked herself as she scanned her arms for any scars.
She had bandages all over her forearms and bruises around her upper arms, but she didn’t spot any severe wounds. However, she felt so fatigued and beat up, as if someone had strangled her and thrown her into deep water. In addition, she felt a sharp pain coming from her back. Germany had gotten her good, invading her country just to get to France. Although it could not be helped at the time, the Allies still tried to help her. She tried staying optimistic and cheerful, even if it was a time for nothing but hatred and loss. She could not curse Serbia for starting this, or Germany for knocking her down. However, she would ask for him to pay when his dues were up.
She was so tired and felt like collapsing, but she had to find Britain and ask how she had gotten in his home.
However, when she opened the door to exit the room, she found guards outside, who saluted her and bowed when she graced them with her presence. She blushed.
“Excuse me, but where can I find Great Britain?”
“He is in his room, madam,” one of the guards said.
She smiled. “May you please take me to him? He and I need to have a word.”
“You will have to excuse him, but his is still deep in slumber,” the guard answered.
She simply looked at him. “Well, then, I’ll wake him up. Take me to him, please.”
“That is not a good idea, madam. He does not like to be disturbed while he sleeps.”
“Well, if he gets upset, I will make him delicious Belgian waffles.”
The guard sighed. “This way.” He had a feeling he should not make her angry since she could tell Britain, who did not have the patience to deal with any nuisances in the morning.
He came to a stop and stood beside one of the large doors, letting her know they had arrived.
“Belgium, lass! Hou ar ye?”
She turned to greet the man with the silky, musky voice. “Goedemorgen, Scotland,” she said softly. “I am well, but for the most part, a little hurt.”
“I can see that. Should you not be resting, then? I don’t think my bothersome little brother’s going to be of any help at the moment.”
She turned the knob to Britain’s door and gave him a final smile. “I’ll rest up here. And…your brother will help in any way he can.”
Before she closed the door, she saw Scotland smile slyly as he raised his eyebrows.
---
His snores were adorable.
She had heard him before when she visited him in the 1800’s, but now, they were as soft as her silky nightgown and the velvet furniture.
She made her way to his bed and carefully raised the covers so she could lie next to him. For the past few years, she had seen him with hard expressions, anger taking over his face, and the desire to end it all soon, so it made her heart swell when she saw him as relaxed as he was. His face was child-like, his right cheek pressing itself against the bed. She wanted to fix him up, but he would wake up if she moved him.
However, he was alert, even in his sleep.
“Did you like your room, dear?” he asked without opening his eyes.
She found herself blushing again and sighed. “It’s lovely, thank you.”
“Hopefully, you found everything to your liking.” He opened his eyes then, showing her they were capable of having a natural green glow.
“Well, now that you mention that, your guards think you are a grumpy morning person,” she said as she snuggled closer to him.
“Well, that I am, but it’s not every day a lovely Belgian visits me, much less lies next to me.”
Her cheeks were burning now.
“I may add that Scotland now has the idea that we may be up to an impure act,” she said.
“Then, he must not remember I treat ladies with respect,” he answered.
She began to think. “Does he respect ladies?”
Britain raised his eyebrows in surprise. “He’s Scottish.”
“Yes, and you’re British.”
“There is a difference.”
“As far as I remember, you and he were unified, making you both British.”
Oh, she was smart. But everyone generalized the English as being Brits and Scottish as Scots and nothing more.
“Yes, but I represent our island nation,” he answered nonetheless.
Now, she raised her eyebrows. “That is true. And I’m glad you do.”
He gave her a confused look.
“Did you save me?” she asked.
“Now what kind of question is that?” he countered.
“Okay, did you let my brother know I would be spending some time in your home, in your room…in your bed…?”
“When you phrase it like that, you really make it sound as if we were not chaste, dear.” But he was smiling and muffling a chuckle after he said that.
“My brother would surely stop being neutral and begin a war with you,” she said as he giggled.
“I’m sure he would do everything in his power to kill me.”
Her smile slowly died as her fatigue kicked in. Britain took notice and stopped his chuckles.
“What’s wrong, Belgium?”
She gave a weak smile. “I am very exhausted and my back aches. I feel as if I have been cut through and my wounds are still open.”
Britain stared into her eyes. “Well, I did give orders so you could be washed and cleaned of all your wounds, and so you could be cared for until you regained your strength.”
“Oh, Britain, you didn’t have to do that.”
“My conscience would not let me rest if I did otherwise.”
She stared back. “Thank you.”
The last thing she saw before blanking out was him nodding and smiling at her as her head met one of the pillows.
----
She had not noticed that Britain had a rather large bed, fit for the king he was. A beautiful plum dress was laid out for her when she awoke once again. As she observed her surroundings, she noticed that on the dressing table, a flurry of accessories was laid out as well. While she felt the jewelry, she remembered he was an empire with all the money in the world and he was spending it on this…
‘He didn’t have to,’ she thought as she set the things down. It didn’t feel right to her, but she felt like she would act as ungrateful. She didn’t like these kinds of situations, but the dress and the jewels were so beautiful.
She found a note.
Love,
My servants have gone ahead and laid something out for you so you can get dressed. If you find anything missing, or if you like something to be brought to you, do not hesitate to call them and give the order.
-Britain
She sighed. He didn’t realize it, but when he used his power and acted like the ruler of the world, he looked like a spoiled child to her. And that was alright with her. Because children were cute, weren’t they?
---
She exited the room wearing the beautiful gown and the matching accessories. What she loved was the headband. It had delicate stones embedded, making a wonderful design of silver and amethyst. She sometimes couldn’t believe how wealthy he was, or how well he lived. She had riches in her land, but he was more than ‘filthy rich’. This was just exaggerating. And he didn’t even realize he was showing off.
She asked for his location and one of the guards took her to his office where he was giving his back to the world and showing how much of a morning person he was over the poor telephone.
“Tell him I don’t have his time!” he yelled at the person on the other end of the phone.
Silence for a few seconds.
“You better believe I am more than a little angry.”
Silence.
“This is why we have you, don’t we? To figure this out so we are not stuck in a bloody rut.”
Silence.
“You of all people know the British Empire will not stand for this. Get your head out of the gutter and start working properly again, or else I will replace you with a snap of my fingers. Do you understand?”
Silence.
“Well, then, tell the Queen we won. So she can drink her bloody gin and be happy for once! Good day.”
He then hung up. And turned to meet her gaze as she stood across his desk.
“Did you hear all that, dear?”
“It depends on what you mean by all that,” she answered.
“Forgive my sudden outburst. As you might have noticed, I am a little outraged by some of the results from the war, but nothing we can’t fix, right?”
She nodded.
“How do you see the dress?”
She looked at her outfit. “Everything is lovely, thank you. But you didn’t have to do this. I could have worn a dress that wasn’t so expensive-”
“Nonsense.”
“But Britain, you spent so much on this. I don’t think it’s necessary.”
He walked towards her and took her hands in his. “But whatever I buy for you, I do so with the sincere intention of pleasing you. I know money doesn’t buy love, but that does not mean I don’t have the right to give you nice things.”
“You are too kind with me.”
“Only because you are with me.”
She blushed for the fourth time that day.
He smiled at her. “Come on, love! Rejoice and accept the gifts. The war is over and the Central Powers have calmed down. And, we can focus on other things now…”
“Like breakfast!” she exclaimed as she raised both of their hands. “Have you had some, dear?”
Britain blinked at her. She was sometimes oblivious to his intentions of being romantic. “Just an English muffin and some tea…”
“You have given me so much hospitality that I want to show you some of mine! I’ll make you waffles!” she said as she spun around.
“Homemade Belgian waffles?” he asked holding back a chuckle. Her bubbliness was adorable.
“Yes! You will love them and be begging for more! You can even give me an English muffin so we can mix our food.”
“If you don’t mind passing me the recipe to your waffles,” Britain said.
Belgium kissed his cheek. “Of course! But you can always call me if you want me to make you some! Now then, off to the kitchen!”
“But dear, we have servants,” Britain pointed out.
Belgium looked at him with mischievous eyes. “Yes, but even the king and queen need to know how to cook for themselves. The servants won’t always be around,” she said.
She just wanted an excuse so she could have him help her. Which was alright. He thought it was rather…cute.
A/N 2: Okay, so I was researching and found out Belgium was beat up during WW1. I also loved how in one article, Britain was described as ‘the victor, the most powerful country in the world’, and I was just fangirling because that is proof of my head canon that he is, in fact, filthy rich at the time. Belgium was the 4th greatest power in the world, but after WW1, her economy crumbled, so I made Britain buy her nice things. I can just imagine him living in a castle and giving orders like a boss, and Belgium secretly loving that. XD
Translations!
“Hou ar ye?” = How are you in Scottish.
“Goedemorgen” = Good morning in Dutch. Belgium doesn’t have a ‘Belgian’ language. Instead, she speaks Dutch, French, and German. However, they are termed as Flemish and Wallonia. I just like Dutch better because Netherlands is her brother, which would be her primary language in my eyes. I hope you all enjoyed!
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