Author Note: Kinkmeme de-anon. See the end of Chapter 1 for link and additional notes. This story is 20 chapters long.

The small, blond child peered around a tree into the clearing beyond, watching with wide blue eyes as the strangers argued. Their language wasn't like Mama's or any of the other people who lived nearby but somehow he just knew he would understand it if he got close. And he wanted to, so very badly. These strangers felt like Mama, tugging at his head, and they even looked like he did when he saw his reflection in the water!

"What are you doing?" a voice hissed behind him. Uh oh.

"Just looking," he protested as Mama seized his arm and pulled him from his tree. "They look like me," he declared. "And I can feel them, here," he added, pointing to his head, "and here." He pointed to his chest. "Just like I can feel you. Why?" he asked.

"You stay away from them," Mama insisted, scooping him up into her arms and turning away from the clearing. Her leather moccasins were silent as she broke into a run. "Those strangers carry sickness," she panted, causing the child in her arms to squirm and huff at the frequently heard warnings. "Everywhere they go, our people fall ill in numbers greater than any sickness that has ever come before. A great many moons have passed, the seasons change again and again, and yet over generations, never have I seen the peoples of this land face so great a threat as these."

Mama slowed, then stopped to sit on a log, sweating and out of breath.

"They took your brother," she whispered, cuddling her only remaining son to her chest, "he is far from us and we will not see him again." Her body shook with weakness. She seized her son's chin and forced him to look at her. "Promise me," she pleaded, "promise me that no matter what happens, you will stay away from the strangers. The ones that are here" she touched his head "and here" then his chest.

"I promise, Mama."

Alfred tugged his stolen trousers up with a twinge of guilt. He hated having to steal clothes, but he didn't have any coin at the moment, and a sudden growth spurt had left him bereft of properly fitting garments.

He'd left his old clothes behind, although his old white nightgown was bundled into a knot at the bottom of his pack, too precious a memory to be discarded.

The gown was the first thing he'd been given after Mama and their people had disappeared. Lots of them had gotten sick, and then the others had left. All his childlike mind had known was that Mama must have gotten sick somewhere far away because he couldn't find her anywhere.

The animals that lived near his home had seen to him, showing him what he could eat and letting him snuggle up close at night when it got cold. It wasn't until the snow started to fall that one of the strangers had found him.

Mr. Samuel had been very surprised to meet him. He'd gotten upset when he told him that he was looking for Mama and how long she'd been gone and insisted he go home with him. And he remembered promising Mama to stay away from the strangers, but Mr. Samuel wasn't like the two he'd watched argue in the clearing. He just knew instantly that Mr. Samuel was a nice man with a wife and several happy children.

Mrs. Elizabeth, Mr. Samuel's wife, had named him Alfred, saying he was like a little elf from the woods. They'd given him the nightdress and let him live with them until he decided he needed to go look for Mama again.

But then everything changed. He was growing too slow. Mrs. Elizabeth didn't want him to leave, but Mr. Samuel said that he was a changeling and that the neighbors were getting upset, so he needed to go.

"Alfred," Mr. Samuel had said, taking him aside one day, "no matter what happens, what folks say to you or about you, remember you're a good boy at heart. You've been given very special gifts, and I've seen how much you want to help others. You keep that close, and you won't go astray."

Then he gave Alfred new clothes (including trousers!), a blanket, food, and his own knife, and told him it was time to leave.

In the years that followed, he'd kept the memory of Mr. Samuel and Mrs. Elizabeth close to his heart. He learned not to stay in any location too long, lest his seemingly ageless existence be called into question.

In the end, he had grown, until he could nearly look any man of the New World in the eye. He'd learned about these people, these Americans, (oh, how that name sang to him). He'd learned to hunt and to farm, turning his hand at whatever task would help those he met as he traveled up and down through the Colonies.

He fiddled with his new garments as he continued down the forest trail. He'd be at the crossroads soon. There were always farmers in need of help . . . and yet he couldn't help but feel drawn towards Massachusetts. Lexington and Concord were close . . . he could go there for a time. So many of the American colonists were feeling restless of late. Surely he could be of help there . . .

The first chapter of our first completed Hetalia Kinkmeme story! You can follow the link below to the full story or wait for updates here as the Mayhem21 writing team edits and cleans up the story.

For those of you not familiar with the Kinkmeme, stories there are posted anonymously in segments. While this makes the author-reader relationship a fun and unique experience, it does mean that it's not easily possible to edit a story segment. Over the next few months, errors, grammer, and confusing/poorly written elements are going to get a hearty polishing and the results will be posted here. We hope you enjoy!

Kinkmeme link: hetalia-kink. dreamwidth ? thread=513208539#cmt513208539