I tried to keep this as historically accurate as possible, which is why there isn't a whole lot of sensory detail. I'd rather sacrifice the description than the accuracy.

Anyway, enjoy!

–

Quiet. Everything was quiet. Austria walked down a dark hallway, lit only by candle flames. He came to a stop in the doorway of Italy's room. Oh, Italy. With so many of her people sick with the Plague, it was inevitable that the poor girl would catch it, and, because she was so young, her death was inescapable.
Austria entered the room, keeping his face steady as he stared at the little girl, barely recognizable, laying motionless in a pile of blankets that were dirty and matted with blood, sweat, and substances markedly more unpleasant. The only signs that Italy was still alive at all were the shallow, gasping breaths from the girl's barely open mouth that came at intervals much too far apart.
As Austria watched, the breaths seemed to be slowing down. Italy was dying and all Austria could do was stare and hope that it came quickly so the girl would not suffer too much. Even as he hoped, Italy gave a weak, gasping cough and breathed no more. Austria waited for a few seconds. When still no signs of life came, he gingerly picked up Italy's little body and moved it to the corner of the room, only a slight improvement to the soiled blankets on which Italy's body had previously been resting.
Austria watched calmly as Italy's blackened skin regained its healthful cream color. She took in a deep breath and sat up slowly.
"Mr. Austria?" she asked in her high-pitched voice. "What happened?"
Not wanting to scare the child, Austria pondered a moment on his answer. "You've been asleep for a long time."

–

I really wanted to add in the Italian "version" of Ring Around the Rosie (well, according to Wikipedia, anyway), but I couldn't find a place for it:

Giro giro tondo

casca il mondo

casca la terra

tutti giu' per terra

Apparently, the translation is:

Spin spin around

The world is falling

The earth is falling

We're all tumbling down

I don't know about you, but I found that creepy as hell, especially when you take into account that many thought that Ring Around the Rosie is about the Black Plague (even though it actually probably isn't.).

My sources for this chapter are:

Wikipedia

Please feel free to correct me if I've got something wrong! I'll fix it as soon as possible!