The stench of blood filled the air as the army stormed away from the scene. Riding at the very front was a young man, looking no older than 20. In one hand he held proudly a banner of a black eagle, flying effortlessly through the wind. In the other, the reins of his black stallion, galloping with grace and gallantry. His full body metal armor glistened brightly under the striking sun.

His handsome face was decorated with his lips curling upwards; partly smiling, partly smirking. He wore no helmet, letting his silver hair flow freely under the caress of the wind. His bright crimson eyes projected courage, spirit and energy. His sturdy back stood tall with dignity.

At a first glance, he looked like a normal young soldier returning victorious from the battlefield.

Difference is: it's his army, fighting his battles, under his banner, all for his sake.

Königreich Preußen.

The Kingdom of Prussia.

That was his name. The name under which his men unite and strive. And it was also the name his people will hail when they enter the city.

That day, another land fell into his hand.

And that alone was enough.

.

"Sire," a middle aged man in uniform approached him in his office. "The Diet will hold a meeting in two hours, and they expected you to join them." "Oh? What is it about?" He asked, his crimson orbs eyeing every movement.

"It is about the idea to form a union with the Austrian Empire."

The younger looking man suddenly started chuckling. "Well, might as well tell them to cancel the meeting. I already told them my answer before, and it hasn't changed since then. To hell with that stuck-up aristocrat boy. I do not approve of this union."

The other man sighed and scratched his graying hair. "You haven't told us why yet, though." Prussia rose from his seat and gazed outside the opened window.

"Jedem das Seine."

Then he turned to his aide. "Isn't that the principle we live on?"

"Certainly, sire." The older man smiled slightly. The nation he was serving really is something. "Well then. Shall I deliver your message right away?" "Sure."

Before he went out of sight, Prussia called to him again. "Oh and one more thing. Tell them that it's useless to place guards at my door or even below my window. If I can sneak in whenever I want into that prissy boy's place, then they can be sure as hell it's as easy as walking through opened door for me to escape my own house. If you need me urgently, send the black messenger eagle. I'll be home right away." With that, he threw one last smirk before leaping out of the window. God knew where or how he landed, but the other man was relieved when he didn't hear any crashing sound.

"Oh my," he mumbled while rubbing his temples, "Telling me to clean up after his mess every time. That's quite cruel, isn't it, Mr. Prussia." But he smiled nonetheless, and went to do as he was told.

.

"Damned Diet, I told them many times it's a no!" Prussia muttered under his breath in irritation as he strode at the edge of a small forest nearby his fort. "Who do they think they are, locking me up at that horrid place all day long. From day to day it's all paper works, meetings, balls, more paper works, more useless meetings," he continued grumbling as he started kicking around a pebble, slipping curses every now and then. "Sure, training the army was fun, but that was only twice a month! They should try picking up a sword for once. I'll rust if I don't practice often! Oh, that's right! I should start practicing now while I have the chance." With that, he reached to his belt for his sword, but he stopped as he felt nothing but air.

He froze for a moment.

"ARGH DAMN IT I FORGOT MY SWORD!" He grabbed two fistfuls of hair and started pulling at them in frustration. He considered going back to get it, but it was pretty far already and he didn't want to waste time. "Ugh, damn idiots… All these nonsense made me forgot." He squatted down and continued to spit curses under his breath.

His body tensed and he held his breath at once when he suddenly heard a twig snapped.

"Who's there?" He demanded, his voice turned to a dangerous snarl.

He heard no answer, but he didn't let down his guard. Instead, he moved slowly and soundlessly towards the direction of the sound. Then he heard the rustling of leaves and twigs, as if a small creature had scampered away to cover. He wanted to brush it off as a small animal, but his decades of experience told him otherwise.

Moving closer to a trunk of a dead tree, he heard a small whimper. By now he was sure it wasn't an animal. It could be a child lost in the woods, or a trap. Either way he had to find out.

He cautiously moved around the trunk and found a hole at the bottom of it. He knelt down and peered inside.

What he saw shocked the afterlife out of him.

Inside was a small boy, looking no older than 5. His small hands clutched the hem of his oversized simple tunic that covered all the way to his knees. He crouched and pressed his back to the furthest end of the hollow trunk and looked as if he could faint any moment. Dirt and sweat covered his skin and messy blonde hair, and tears were flowing freely from his round blue eyes.

"Please don't hurt me," he said quietly while still crying, his voice and shoulders trembled violently. "I-I didn't mean to do any harm. I just… I-" He couldn't continue speaking. He just sniffed and hiccupped through his tears.

Prussia just stared wide eyed at the boy for a few moments. "It's alright," he said after he managed to pull himself together, trying to sound as friendly as possible. Now he was glad he didn't have his sword, otherwise the boy would've fainted right away. "I won't do anything to you. Why don't you come out so I can see you better, eh?"

After a moment of hesitation, the boy nodded lightly and slowly crawled out of the hole. Prussia stayed kneeling on the ground so his eyes were at the same level as the boy's.

Prussia observed the child before him. Head to toes, and back up again. There's no mistaking it.

"Are you the same as I am?" He asked cautiously. The child seemed to understand what he was referring to, and nodded his head. "Do you know who I am?" The little boy nodded again. "The Kingdom of Prussia, right?"

Prussia let his lips form a small smile. "How long have you been around?" The boy wiped his snot with the back of one hand before answering. "I don't know. I just remembered waking up one day in the woods, and it felt like I've woken up like that thousands of times before."

'Of course,' Prussia thought, 'we never do remember when we were born.'

"Where do you live?" The boy pointed to the tree trunk he was hiding in. "I usually sleep here. When I feel hungry I find fruits to eat, or sometimes go to the town market. Sometimes there are kind ladies who give me a loaf of bread or some sweets."

Prussia didn't know what made him say what he said next. He knew full well it could bring his downfall, but something inside him compelled him to do so.

"Well guess what," He said with a grin as he stood straight. "You're coming home with me."

.

He carried the boy on his shoulders and snuck into his room from the window.

As soon as he got in, he dragged the boy straight into the bathroom. 'I should at least make him look presentable before anyone sees him,' he thought. He then rolled up his sleeves and pants, filled the tub with warm water, undressed the boy and placed him inside. The boy stared in delight and astonishment at how the warm water felt against his skin. All his life he had only known the ice cold water from the river.

Prussia told him to scrub himself clean as he scampered outside to find a change of clothes for the boy. He called a maid to bring him a little boy's clothing and watched in amusement as the old lady furrowed her brows in confusion. She returned a few minutes later with a plain tunic, undergarments, a pair of knee-length pants, a pair of socks and shoes.

When he returned to the bathroom, he was a little annoyed that the boy was still far from finished. He then took the soap and helped the boy scrub the dirt from his skin and hair. As he took the boy out of the tub and dried him, he noticed how messy his hair was. He dressed the boy in the undergarments and grabbed a pair of scissors.

The sight of it drew all colors from the boy's face. Prussia had to spend the next ten minutes to convince the boy that he wasn't going to hurt him. He then placed the boy on a chair and began trimming his hair. It wasn't the best haircut, but it was decent enough to make the boy look tidy and presentable. Prussia brushed away all decapitated strands of hair from the boy's neck and ears before helping him getting into the rest of his clothes.

Once he was done and satisfied enough with his work, he placed the boy to sit on his bed before running outside. He found his aide and immediately approached him.

"Tell the Diet to assemble in the conference room at once. I expect everyone to be ready in the next 10 minutes." Without waiting for an answer, he dashed back into his room where he found the boy bouncing slightly on his bed.

"You like it?" he asked with a snicker. This sent a fluster on the boy's face. "That's my bed," Prussia said as he sat next to the boy. "But I'll let you sleep on it too if you want." The boy said nothing, but his blue eyes lit up brightly at the offer. "By the way, you still haven't known my name yet." Prussia said with a smile. The boy looked at him, confused. "I thought you're the Kingdom of Prussia?"

Prussia laughed a bit. "True, but that's what I am, not who I am." He reached out his right hand. "The name's Gilbert Beilschmidt. Pleasure to meet you." The boy sheepishly reached out his hand to shake Prussia's.

"What about you? Do you have a name?" The boy shook his head. He had a somewhat sad smile on his face. "I always dreamed someone would take me in someday and give me a name I will answer to." Hearing that, Prussia grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. "You're in luck then. From now on I'll call you Ludwig."

.

Prussia stepped inside the conference room alone. He had told Ludwig to wait outside until he called. Facing the men sitting around the conference table, he steeled his resolve and spoke. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. Thank you for assembling here in such a short notice. I'm sure you're pretty irritated right now so I'll save you the pain and cut it nice and short. Today I have something of great importance to inform you all." He then turned back to the door, took Ludwig's hand in his, and led him inside. The faces of those in the room turned to that of bewilderment and confusion.

"Before anyone asks anything, let me make some things crystal clear. First. No, he's not my son. Second. No, I did not kidnap him. And third. No, he's not Austrian. But yes, I'm taking him in." Prussia raised a hand as the rest of the room began shouting in protest. Ludwig clutched Prussia's pants and hid behind his legs. "I found him today in the woods. One thing is certain. He is the same as I am." At that the room fell quiet again. "It is still uncertain whether he represents a micronation, a province, or who knows, maybe even the future empire that will reign after me."

"I object having him under our care! God knows if he'll stab you and take over one day!" One of the older men shouted, followed by a chorus of agreement by some others. Ludwig cowered further behind. Prussia took a hand to pat his head lightly and shot the men a menacing glare. "I believe I said I had something to inform you, not ask for your agreement, neither your opinion." The room fell silent once again.

Prussia let out a sigh before he continued. "He will be my full responsibility. However, his existence will not be announced to the public. Nobody else should know who he really is. All of you here must swear to hold your tongue, and speak of him only with my approval."

"But we cannot stay silent forever. Sooner or later the people are bound to ask." A younger member of the party spoke.

"They can speculate all they want for all I care! But if you absolutely must speak," Prussia glanced at the little trembling figure behind him and smiled, "tell them he's my brother."

.

"Here are the documents you asked, sire." Prussia's aide entered the room and handed him a stack of papers. "Thank you. Wait here while I finish this letter and send it to Spain." He said as he placed the papers at the corner of his desk and resumed writing without glancing up.

The middle aged man stood straight and observed the room. It was still messy as usual, and the windows were open like they usually were. The only difference is that there was now a smaller table at Prussia's left side, with a young boy writing on it. Ludwig glanced up and nodded his head sheepishly.

Prussia noticed his aide looking at Ludwig, and smiled. "If he's gonna be nearly as awesome as me, the first thing to do was to make sure he's well educated. I just recently taught him language and maths. Thank goodness he's a fast learner." He said as he folded the letter and tucked it neatly inside an envelope before handing it over.

"If I may ask, sire," the middle aged man said, "whatever happens to 'Jedem das Seine'?"

Prussia stared blankly at him for a while, before finally breaking into a huge fit of laughter. He wiped a tear at the corner of his eye before answering. "I don't really know myself. Why I did what I did, still a mystery even to me." He glanced to his side as Ludwig climbed off his chair and handed him a piece of paper.

"Are you done?" He asked, only to be replied with a nod. He quickly scanned the paper and smiled. "Alright, you did this one perfectly. Do the next exercise, okay? After that we'll get lunch." Ludwig nodded his head happily before he returned and buried himself in the next set of questions.

Prussia set the paper aside and turned back to the man in front of him. "I don't have the slightest idea why I did what I did, but I felt that it was my duty to care for him. God knows what came to my mind back then, but now I don't regret the decision one bit." He said, a genuine smile graced his lips.

Hearing that, the middle aged man bowed and turned to leave. Before he exited the room, Prussia called again. "Send one of the black eagles. Spain is expecting it tomorrow evening the latest."

A few minutes later, Ludwig climbed off his chairs and approached Prussia with an expectant look. "You sure are fast," Prussia smiled as he took the paper from him and examined it. Not a minute later a wide grin was pestered on his face. "Alright. As promised, let's get lunch now." He tidied his desk as Ludwig walked towards the door.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Prussia called from across the room. Ludwig raised one eyebrow, looking puzzled. "The dining room?"

Prussia gestured for him to come back with a mischievous grin. "Who says we're eating there?"

Without another word, he scooped up the boy and balanced him on his back as he stepped onto the window frame. Ludwig's face grew pale immediately.

"Make sure you don't scream now," Prussia said devilishly, signaling for Ludwig to clasp one hand over his mouth while the other clung onto Prussia's neck for dear life.

Not one moment later, they were both gone, off to having the greatest adventure of the day yet.

This is not based from historical events.
"Jedem das Seine" means "for each man his own". It was the motto of the Kingdom of Prussia.
The Diet was basically the legislative assembly of Prussia. Somewhat like the council or parliament of Prussia.
Critics welcome ;w;