America was going to punch England when he got home. Not many knew how much he liked history(not the history that happened while he was alive, unless it had a connection to him like the revolution or the civil war, but the history of what was going on in Europe. Which was a lot, those guys sure had problems with each other). What he liked the most was the Middle Ages, just think of if. The Middle Ages had:

1. Fairytales about even older time

2. Believes in stuff like witches and magic and warlocks

3. Princesses and knights in shining armor

4. Knights in SHINING ARMOR (seriously, how cool wouldn't it be to stroll down the street in a shining armor? In a time where doing that wasn't lame)

5. Castles and tournaments

6. France told him stories about how cute England once could be (not that he, America, believed him)

In short, America every now and then had a thing for the Middle Ages. Often when he had that he would visit England to find proof of those centuries in his basement (America didn't like it down there, since England never bothered to rebuilt the part of the basement that he didn't use, it was what was left of the destruction that happened when one of the bombs from the world war two had hit two houses down and taking the left sides of England's house with it. Giving good ol' Iggy a chance to rebuilt his house in Victorian style, but with modern insides), or attic.

He always found something when he was looking around. He found a thin duel sword, books, paintings and a lot of clothes from different times. He even found letters (but England came home before he had the chance to read them, and now he has hidden them somewhere else).

But not once that he found anything with connection to the Middle Ages. In fact, everything he found was from the 15th century and forward, and it was a lot. And England was old, and America had even seen England himself from...before or in the beginning of the Middle Ages (he still wasn't sure where exactly in time he was) so he should have stuff.

When he told England what he was doing looking around in his house; England just laughed at the fact t that America actually wanted to know, and said that he didn't have that stuff in his house ("I have, just like you different properties, that I have lived in during different times. Part of them my government want to turn into museums, but as long as I can pay for them they don't bother me..."

"And you can?"

"Well, of course I can, unlike many nations, I was smart enough to save part of my money for this" Smart or just self-loving enough?

"Aha."

"Anyway, my belongings from this time is probably in my c-...where I used to live during this time."). He never did say where though.

Which probably had something to do with the fact that he apparently lived in a freaking castle. Yes, a freaking CASTLE!

Not the white type with ten towers and red roof, standing on a cliff (like Disney castle has a tendency to look like). But a CASTLE built by hand (any other was wasn't possible considering where in time it was built).

The castle was smaller than the ones he had seen in pictures, and in the middle of the forest, hiding from the outside world not in the wide open with fields around them. But still it was a real castle left as a reminder of Rome (in fact it was even a gift from Rome to that time England).

Arthur Kirkland aka England aka United kingdom aka Americas once guardian owned a freaking castle, and never said anything about it. How could he not say anything? This is big news. I anything is big news, this is!

"Mr. Alfred" Kid-Arthur's tiny voice said. "Mr. Alfred, if you have your mouth open likes that, flies will fly in. Disgusting.

"You live here?"

"Yes" the kid beamed. Wow, America had never seen Arthur do that before, that he can remember at least. "Uncle Rome built it for me to live in, so he would find me when he had the time to visit..." Alfred just looked at him dumbfounded... wait Rome. England knew Rome, Italy's Rome?

Why, oh why haven't he said anything? Stupid annoyed Brit. To stuff like this, America might actually listen. Wait he did say something about it yesterday in the woods, right? Nevermind.

"...and Rome was smart enough to build my castle in the woods, so it would be hard for him to find-" Yeah, real smart. "- otherwise Papa Celt wouldn't let me live here. But he isn't around anymore. Once Rome and he talking, and said that it was time now, for a younger generation. I have no idea of what that means, but Papa Celt left after that, and said now we can only find him in our dreams."

Kid-Arthur took Alfred's hand and dragged him closer to the gate. At first, Alfred's legs didn't seem to know how to walk.

"What's wrong with you? Haven't you seen a castle before?"

"Well yes, but I never lived in one."

"...it's only temporary." Kid-Arthur looked at him. Alfred stirred as the door opened, and an elderly man stood before them. A human man.

"Little Master..." the man said, gave Alfred a look, and stepped aside for them to step in. Kid-Arthur waved at the man and dragged Alfred along with him. The man following them a few step behind.

"Humans are funny" Kid-Arthur whispered. "They think that I am a fairy. And that they have to mission to protects my home, and me, from outsiders. They really think I'm a fairy" he laughed. Alfred forced a smile, he somewhat thought kid-Arthur was a fairy too.

They stopped in front of another door.

"This is you" Kid-Arthur said to Alfred. "Help him" he said to the man, and then he run down the corridor. Alfred looked after him. To him it was clear as daylight; his brain had so not caught up with him yet, that's what he was so out of character. Yep, that was it. The servant opened the door and Alfred stepped into a small, round room with a bed, a dresser and carpets on the floor and the walls.

"Summer room" the man said. "No fire-place, to cold in the winter" he explained to Alfred's confused face. "Rest, and then I'll come for you when dinner is served." With that he bowed, and closed the door.

America nodded to himself absentminded. Then it hit him. He was like their prisoner now.

oOoOoOoOo

The door, however, wasn't locked. A fact America figured out all by him self by trying to open the door an hour later. The castle was so much alive. Everywhere he went there were people. chatting, working. Somehow he found himself in the garden, within the castle walls. He could see Kid-Arthur practising with his bow and arrow. Then he turned his head towards Alfred, lowered his bow to greet him with his head. Alfred smiled and waved, the next thing he knew Kid-Arthur had re-positioned himself, let go of the arrow and made his way over to him. The arrow went exactly where it should.

Wow. Note to oneself, America thought; never mess with England when he has a weapon in his hand. Any weapon apparently.

"Mr. Alfred! Loreen will be here in a week or so."

"Really, grate." Another week... damn.

"So I was wondering if you want to go with me to the market tomorrow?"

"Market, you have a market?" Alfred couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Yes." Kid-Arthur said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Are you sure you're from Prussia?" Yeah, right. He was from Prussia. Hopefully that is a detail that grown up England won't remember.

He probably will, and America is going to have to live with it for the rest of his life. Fuck.

"Aha, yeah. I'm prussian alright, awesome and all that." That truly hurt to say. Kid-Arthur just gave him an odd look, before looking down at his hands.

"But you must promise to stay near me."

"Okay, why?" Alfred sat down on a stone bench. All this "stone-home" talk made sense now.

"Because you're big."

"Are you calling me fat?" Alfred all but shouted.

"No I said you are big!" Kid-Arthur shouted back. If it were any other kid, they would have started crying. A fact America knew out of experience. "You can scare Francis away."

"What?"

"Francis" Kid-Arthur repeated and sat down next to Alfred. "He's from across the waters, and Rome told him to 'take care' of me. My brother didn't like that... and I don't wanna play with him, he's always hugging me." Kid-Arthur looked genially concerned.

Alfred stared right in front of him without really seeing anything. Tomorrow is a good chance that he would get to see France as a kid. An older kid than England, but still a kid. Come to think of it, if he met the Nordic's he probably wouldn't recognize them; from what Kid-Arthur had told him at least Norway and Sweden were children.

"Do you know anyone else from Prussia?" Alfred asked.

"Hm, Gilbert. He used to come here now and then... He somewhere Francis age, I think." Then again, the boy didn't seem to recall their conversation either, maybe Alfred was off the hook then.

Alfred looked at the sky. For as long as he could remember Prussia, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, anyone he might meet here and especially England had been adults. Never once had he even considering that they once had been small. Alfred glanced over to the boy next to him.

It's amazing how much one could change through centuries, Alfred thought. Not about England, because here and there he could see his old caretaker glance through, or at least the beginning to what would become his old caretaker. But if he took his brother instead(what was his name again? M...something) once would have to try really hard to find something he had in common with his younger self, if you looked beside the shyness. Heck, America wouldn't even recognize himself he ever went beck to a time when he was a kid.

Alfred looked at the boy again. Maybe using new lifetimes as a start over was a new world-thing(that didn't mean that America didn't have a lot of old garbage known as memories in his storage room). He would never understand Europe as a whole, let along the european nations.

Kid-Arthur met his gaze and smiled. He didn't belive for a second that his guest was prussian. Alfred smiled too, and looked at the sky again. He could imagine airplanes drawing pictures, or spelling words, and he could feel the sun on his face. He should remember to ask old England to bring him here.

oOoOoOoOo

They had dinner in the throne room. And it actually was a throne room, because the room really had a throne. A large chair, covered in green and...fresh leaves. And it had weird drawings along its sides.

"I sit there" Kid-Arthur shouted and pointed at the chair. "My brother did it for me."

Alfred sat down towards him. Kid-Arthur seemed to belong there, he was just as unreal as the chair was. No wondering he became the worlds most powerful man.

The room was rather dark, the sun was on its way down, and Alfred suddenly realized that he would not be able to see anything, at all, if it wasn't for the candle lights. Kid-Arthur still had his bow in his hands, he never left it far too away, and America absentminded wondered why that was.

"What happens when Loreen comes?" the boy asked. "You'll leave?"

"That's the plan" Alfred said as the food (eatable food that Kid-Arthur was too young to touch) was brought in. "You don't want me too?" he joked.

"I don't even know you" Oh, Arthur, you're so wrong about that. The food didn't taste bad at all.

"So, you're brother made youre chair, huh?" Again with the mysterious brothers.

"Yes, one of them." How many does he has? "And he enchanted the leaves so they never die, like me an my siblings-" (that really confused America, at one moment Kid-Arthur made sure, or at least tried to, keep the whole being a nation thing a secret, and the moment after he talked like everyone knew of the whole being a nation thing. Did he say something about magical leaves?...) "- and then he took a knife and crafted pictures from my favorite fairy tales from when I was little."

Little? Like smaller/younger than he was now?

"It gets pretty dark here, doesn't it?" Alfred asked, thinking of his old country home, where one could see the sunset in the evening. He should invite England over once he comes back from this time. Really show England that there is something special about the countryside, and later when the sun is set, they could lit a fire in the fire-place, turn the lights out and sit in front of the fire, and England could tell one of those stories from when America was a child, and America could just sit there and listen to his voice and lets stop the train of thought there, thank you very much.

"How are you?" Kid-Arthur suddenly asked. "From what I saw in woods you don't like the dark."

"I like the dark" Alfred defended himself, it was the ghost (who turned up to be young England) that he didin't like.

"Oh, good. In that case, I bid you good night." Kid-Arthur held his bow to his chest, picked up his basket of arrows and jump out of the chair. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Alfred couldn't say anything, since he was too confused over the abrupt end to their dinner. Suddenly the man was there again, ready to show America to his room. God, he missed toothbrushes.

oOoOoOo

There is just something about London, Alfred thought as he sat in the carriage watching the city come closer and closer. Kid-Arthur was sitting next to him, the old man from yesterday sat in front of the carriage, and then there was a woman (who America was surprised to see since it was clear that she came from south Italy, especially since all she talked about was food and well, south Italy). Kid-Arthur was in fact sitting in her lap. He didn't seem to enjoy it though.

I am so gonna tease him for that, America thought.

"Do you think Francis is there yet?" Kid-Arthur suddenly asked.

"What, you wanna meet him?" Alfred joked.

"Yes, he brings me food."

"doesn't Maria cook?" Alfred asked uncertain, nodding towards the woman, who didn't seem to hear.

"No, she just talks about food, but won't step into the castle kitchen. Don't know why though." Kid-Arthur shrugged. He didn't even know why Maria lived in his castle in the first place.

"Wait, you want to meet Francis?"

"He might not even be there, his food is good." Suddenly Kid_Arthur no longer sat in Maria's lap; he stood in Alfred's, with his tine hand over Alfred's mouth. "Sch, it's a secret. Don't tell him, if I'm nice he'll just hug me again." With that being said he sat back in Maria's lap.

America found himself again at a loss of words. He really should try to be better reading people relationships with each other.