A suffocating darkness tore away images of the present, only to replace them with that of the past. A gentle smile. One that made the hearts of many skip a beat or two. A smile that brought joy to one in particular. The smile that she came to know for centuries.

Her emerald orbs opened again as time after time, the man that the smile belonged to called out her many names. He was being dragged forcibly away from where she laid, exhausted and defeated, in the blankets of pure white snow.

"Lenkija... Polska... Polonia... Poland... Lechia..."

Each time he called, he used a different way to say her name. Going as far as calling her 'Lechia', a name most forgot she once had. Yes, she was the 'human' Representation of Poland; and the man? He was her everything.

Poland's eyes shut and her mind flashed with images once again. The throne room at Wawel. The female King. Oh her dear King Jadwiga. How odd it was for the other countries to hear she had a woman for a King. There were also some other noblemen she didn't remember the names of. Then a messenger, and finally the face she waited to see in the memory. There he was, old clothing. Eyes as green as the grass. Well kept brown hair that still managed to look like a mess. Her first meeting with Lithuania. Before his arrival, she was shy. Yet that soon changed as she put on a mask of confidence. Polska still remembered the hilarious face Litwa made when they first interacted in that castle. Oh how she wished she could be back within the warm walls of Wawel again.

"Litwa... Lietuva... Liet..."

The vision ended as her eyes opened again. Those are his names, at least those that Poland could still recall in her half-conscious state. The young by looks blonde wondered if he could even hear her. Her usually loud voice was so weak.

The nation willed her eyes to focus, hoping to see the man whom she helped and who in turn helped her at least once more, not in dreams but in reality. The Green eyes met, so different to each other's yet so similar at the same time. Was this the final glance before the girl would slip into unconsciousness while Lithuania disappeared from sight? Poland's focus shifted to the figure a few centimetres ahead of her Liet. She remembered now, the lost battle against him. Muscovy. Wait, no. That was no longer what he went by, now it was Russia.

Another flash of darkness and voices filled her head. The current king, if you could even call him one. She hated him. Hated how much he was destroying the country she and the previous rulers built from nothing. He already agreed upon the first two partitions, ones she had never agreed to herself. He was with Russia's Catherine. The king nothing more than a puppet in the woman's hand.

Eyes open again. Lithuania was already so far away but he didn't give up struggling. Poland didn't understand it, he was reluctant about the Union from the very beginning and as of late, things between them weren't the brightest. That damn fool of a king hurt them both with the partitions. Both falling sick, and of course, the blame fell onto her shoulders. With tears in her eyes due to the pain all over her small body, the nation struggled to stand. Knees buckling under her weight and weakness. A single hand, reaching out towards the other nation who still called out to her.

The curtain of black returned, showing her yet another vision of the past. Her and Lithuania sitting by the Vistula river, where exactly she did not know. They only knew each other for a small amount of time, but they now had to be brothers in arms. Their countries were ruled by one pair after all.

She remembered what they talked about. Legends of their countries. This was when she first mentioned her long forgotten name that was Lechia as she talked about the legend of the three brothers that founded three different countries. The brother that founded her country was called Lech.

While Lithuania listened closely to her, story after story. Poland pretended not to listen to his. She did.

This time, it took more time and energy for the blonde to find the will to force her eyes open and look at Lithuania. There was no chance that it couldn't be her last. He was too far. She was too weak.

And so, she did the only thing she could to keep him from living in guilt with a heart shattered because of her.

Poland pushed the only man she ever truly loved away as she knew her own days were numbered.

He had a chance. She did not.

The blonde nation's heart however shattered into millions of pieces as she smiled. She wanted to cry, scream that her words weren't true once she saw how the brunet reacted. Yet she knew she couldn't. She broke his heart, but in time it would heal. He wasn't resisting so much now.

Russia took Lithuania away, leaving Poland behind in the red snow.

Her eyes closed, hoping for yet another memory but it never came. All she saw now was black. Maybe that was the darkness that came with a shattered heart. She was alone. She was wounded. She was defeated.

For a while now, Poland knew that she deserved no better than to die alone in the cold. The nation didn't know why but it just seemed appropriate with how she treated people sometimes. She couldn't help but be that way. It was her only way to defend herself.

As the nation waited for the sweet embrace of death, she laid in the snow soaked with her own red blood mixed with the icy water from the snow. The aged mind of the blonde thinking of all the nations she ever met. Prussia, Russia, and Austria won't miss her. They took everything from her.

Czech seemed more like a memory of an old rival than a nation herself.

Hungary...Her poor best friend, sister even, would probably miss her the most. She wouldn't know that this forest was where Poland spent her final moments alone.

And Lithuania. Her dear, dear Liet whose heart she broke with her parting words. Poland never deserved the happiness that he brought her. It truly was fitting for her to be alone.

Not much longer after, Poland's tear-filled eyes shut. The nation being plunged into the darkness as her country was no more.

Lithuania couldn't contain his tears as he watched Poland disappear from view. He still refused to register the blonde's final words to him as true. The girl he knew loved to joke around, it had to be one of her cruel jokes. Or maybe she was just bored with him. Or maybe there was a different reason. Russia continued on dragging him farther and farther away, to where, he did not know. It was difficult for Lithuania to stay upright. After all, he also took quite the beating yet Poland got it worse. The courageous, determined fool.

Thoughts of his partner nation plagued his mind. Her eyes, her smile, her voice. What will happen to her, to them? Why did Russia take him and not her? She was the dominant half of their united nation yet she was left behind. Did Russia just simply despise his western cousin? Would anyone know what happened to the representation of Poland?

The questions just kept flooding in, the nerves mixed with pain eventually caused Lithuania to collapse into a state of unconsciousness. He wondered if the same happened to her.

The brunet Nation awoke in a quite comfortable bed, his wounds treated and on their way to being healed. Lithuania didn't know where he was or how he got there. At first, he imagined Poland played a prank on him and moved him to another castle but why was he wounded? The thought of the female nation brought back the memories of the cold that caused their defeat. Lithuania took a few deep breaths to calm down and concentrate. However, when he did, something didn't feel right. His connection to the people of Poland and the girl herself. It was all gone. He could still feel those that considered themselves Lithuanian as there still was a divide between the people of their now fallen commonwealth. It seemed like the third and possibly final partition dissolved the union. Another round of questions overwhelmed his mind, causing the country to panic.

The door to the room opened and his green eyes looked at the newcomer through tears. Despite the blurriness of his vision, Lithuania recognised the person, or rather people, to be Latvia and Estonia.

"Lithuania! You're awake!" Latvia exclaimed with a slight stutter, rushing to his side. How long were they here for? For how much of it was he unconscious?

"Mr. Russia was beginning to think he killed you. We were worried," Estonia added before Lithuania could reply. He took a few breaths, hoping to calm down enough to speak without his voice shaking too much.

"What happened?" He asked, looking between the two younger nations as he tried to sit up. The wounds were no longer so painful so the brunet didn't have any trouble doing so. "After I got here, what happened?" He corrected himself after Latvia and Estonia exchanged worried looks. Both Nations breathed out in relief as they didn't have to explain as much as they first thought.

"Well, we don't know everything. About two days ago, Russia brought you here unconscious and pretty badly beaten. Maybe a day later, if that, we got news that...Your commonwealth was gone. The third partition, Austria, Prussia, and Russia took all of the land. As far as we know, there was no news of what actually happened to Poland," Estonia explained with his usual calm tone. So his assumption was correct. Yet it still left one question. Poland. Was she still alive like he was? Or did she truly disappear?

His mind showed him an image as he blinked.

Poland was struggling to get up. She reached out from where she was left behind in the snow.

It hit him like a horse. Poland was injured in the snow, her country didn't exist, no one was around to save her. The tears and quick breaths returned to Lithuania as he imagined the usually cheerful girl, living out her final moments alone and cold in the darkness and agony.

"Poland...I don't...She was injured... No..." He whispered out, hoping it was enough for Estonia or even Latvia to figure out why he reacted like this.

"Oh no... Poor Poland" Latvia said quietly, a certain kind of sadness in his voice. So they did get it. It came to Lithuania as no surprise to see the two younger nations on the verge of tears. She truly was like a big sister to them. Much more to him but still important to them.

~~~~~

Lithuania sighed as he went through another pile of paperwork for Russia. It must have been decades since he started doing this. His hands ran through his long chestnut brown messy hair.

"You need to wash it Liet! And let me brush it of course!"

A small smile crept on to his face as he heard her voice. He always did, maybe the guilt was still trying to eat him up for leaving her all alone that snowy night or maybe the shred of hope that if he remembers she would still be alive. There never was a confirmation of death when it came to her. He also never knew why he smiled when he heard it. But the little voice in his head was right. He needed to wash, but that was easier said than done with all the work Russia gives him and the other Baltics.

The green eyes of the nation looked down onto to the pile of papers he had yet to go through, the top one stabbing him in the heart. Another armed struggle against the Poles who still fought back against Russian rule. How many of her people died this time? Did he even want to read? Yet these documents and reports gave him hope. Hope that someone spotted a girl that would've matched his Poland's description. Last time he came close to believing she was truly alive and doing quite well, he was mistaken. The woman's name was Emilia Plater. A woman that caused quite a lot of trouble for Russia's soldiers years back. It was a shame to hear the girl died so young. Not that many people here even knew that.

As he filed the reports, nothing stood out. He wondered how much longer he could stand to do this and still hang onto that thin rope that just kept getting thinner. Hope would soon disappear at this rate.

"Oh come on Liet! Don't you dare get mopey on me, the frown doesn't suit you,"

The voice sang, another smile tugging at Lithuania's lips. He wouldn't lose hope just yet.

A blonde kneeled on the ground of a rundown house, facing the cracked window. The stars already shone over the cold night as Poland prayed. The first world war was over. Lithuania was once again an independent country, at least to some extent. Hungary seemed to be soon out of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as the union seemed like it would surely collapse soon. All in all, her friends finally were getting the freedom they deserved. It only left her as the broken nation. While Hungary visited her from time to time in the hideout she was provided by her friend, Poland didn't know much about current affairs of the world. She was sure that if any other nation found her, Russia and Germany with Prussia at his side especially, she would be crushed. Poland was already lucky enough to have been found that snowy night of 1795 and brought back to health.

She must have said a dozen prayers by the time her door slammed open. As quick as a flash, the blonde nation had a gun in hand, aiming it at the intruder.

"Woah, it's Okay Lengyelország. It's just me!" Poland's gun immediately clattered onto the broken stone floor and her arms wrapped around her best friend since both of their creation. The brunette laughed, swiftly returning the embrace. When the two girls pulled away, Poland faced Hungary with a pout.

"You totally freaked me out Węgry! How are things? Any news?" Poland's speech became very rapid, due to either excitement or nervousness. Hungary still couldn't tell, even if she knew the other country so well. A grin replaced the pout on the smaller girl's and the other's face did the same. Happiness radiating from both yet more so from Hungary.

"Good news! Austria Hungary is no more so I'm on my own again!" She exclaimed, beaming. Poland looked at her in delight and some disbelief. Then the brunette continued before her excited blonde friend could respond,

"But the best news is that Poland has been brought back onto the maps," Hungary said, she didn't scream it out like she probably wanted to. Her voice was soft, and the brightest smile Poland ever saw was gracing Hungary's features. The brunette's hands were on the blonde's shoulder at the smaller girl began to shake slightly. The green eyes belonging to Poland filled with tears and even larger disbelief. Her breathing quickened and a few sobs escaped her lips which she now covered with her left hand. Shielding the smile that crept up onto her face.

"After more than a century... after so many deaths, so many uprisings and revolts. Węgry, I'm not dreaming, right? This is really real?" Poland blurted out through her sobbing. She clung onto Hungary, both girls slowly descending to the floor when the bearer of great news realised that her fellow nation wouldn't be able to stand on her own two feet with her current flow of emotion. Hungary smiled at her friend, holding her as close as she could while still being able to look Poland in the eye.

"You're not dreaming. This is real. The fighting is over and you've returned like a phoenix from the ashes," Hungary reassured, tears pooling up in her own set of green eyes. The girls stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like centuries before they both ended up crying from the sheer happiness while keeping close. They didn't know how long they were there, in the dark, cold place. But neither was in despair or alone.

Poland was back in her military uniform. The design was certainly different from what she had before the partitions or what she wore during when she joined in as one of the partisans fighting to gain their nation back, yet it felt right to be dressed like this. The nation stood in front of her new leader, one she already held a lot of respect for. Someone she trusted to bring the broken nation back together and thrive as years went on.

She explained what and who she was, and he promised to keep her safe. As she was, in a way, his motherland. Even with years of experience as a nation, Poland was still not used to being treated this way. She'd rather stand equal with her people. She didn't need to be protected. Yet she also understood that it didn't always mean protecting her physical form. This time, he meant the country and its borders. She smiled and they talked about what their country used to be, what it was and what it could be.

The meeting didn't last too long and as soon as it was over, Poland headed towards Vilnius. The city was hers, but it didn't feel right. It was always Lithuania's capital. She hoped that maybe something or someone there would be able to tell her where he was. In her mind, it was still his city.

The city that should be his heart.

The travel from Warsaw to there took over six hours and she arrived quite late but it didn't stop her from wandering through the streets of the historical city. Her memories flashed with a smile she could never forget. Poland wiped at her eyes that were quickly filling up with tears that threatened to spill. She still remembered the first time she was here, Lithuania brought her here not too long after the wedding between their first joined monarchs.

The nation didn't know where she was headed, her feet lead the way as she kept wandering through the streets. Her memories clouding her vision. At last, Poland found herself in hers and Lithuania's spot. They once found this little patch of land and always spent any free moments here when they were in Vilnius. It was a miracle that it was barely touched since they were last here. This place caused Poland's mind to return to that snowy night. The night she lost everything. When she broke Lithuania's and her own heart.

The blonde wandered how he was doing. Did he still think of her like she did of him? Or did she truly broke everything that was left?

Poland no longer bothered trying to stop her tears and just let them form streaks down her cheeks. Her shattered heart once again fell apart after she spent years trying to desperately put it back together. However, now, when there were no distractions left in her mind. It all crashed down again.

It came to Poland as a surprise when she realised she could see the first streaks of sunlight, yet she was unbothered by it. Her tears just wouldn't stop falling, even when she heard faint shuffling in the distance. Her green eyes looked in the direction of the noise, but it was still too dark to see.

Another figure appeared in the small clearing by Vilnius. The male took notice of the crying girl because of the sobbing that could be heard from time to time. He couldn't see her though and he didn't think she could see him. Lithuania sat down beside Poland. Both of them unaware who they were next to. They didn't know why sitting so close to what they believed to be a stranger felt so comforting.

"I didn't expect anyone to be here, is everything alright?" He asked in perfect Polish. The girl felt as if she knew the speaker but she couldn't place her finger as to where she knew it from. She knew that the person was male and Lithuanian now though.

"I haven't been here in years," Poland replied, wiping her tears and hoping to avoid the question. Explaining the situation would be much too hard. Lithuania heard Poland's voice, just like he had for the past century without her. He never thought then that the girl beside him was the one who spoke, however. He believed it was his mind playing tricks on him again.

"Are you going to reply?" Poland said after a while of silence. Lithuania remaining in his ignorance. The blonde sighed, preparing a sentence in her head. This time she decided that if the guy was Lithuanian, she could speak in his language. She just hoped she still remembered it.

"What's on your mind? Seeing as you've gone so quiet" She said, tripping on a few words as she tried to recall how to speak the foreign language. Poland was never that great at speaking Lithuanian. Usually when she talked to Liet, she spoke Polish while he was the one using his language. Many people saw it as odd but it was the norm for them. This time Lithuania realised that he was being spoken to. A smile appeared on his face as the girl struggled through his language. Just like Poland, he was sure he knew the voice but he didn't understand it. He was almost sure that it was Poland speaking but it's been years since her supposed death and the girl besides him just... couldn't be her. Poland refused to speak in Lithuanian to him unless she was being overly kind. Even then, he always laughed at her awful attempts so the brunet didn't mind the blonde speaking her own language to him. His eyes noticed that the sun was just high enough to finally cast some light onto the two of them. Poland got a similar idea when the man took so long to answer once again and their eyes met.

There was no lying there. They were looking at each other with a complete mix of emotions.

Before either of them could speak a single word, Poland threw herself to hug Lithuania. Not caring if he hated her or not. She just had to hold him at least one last time. She would've lied if she said that she wasn't surprised to feel him return the embrace let alone feel the dampness on her hair, indicating tears.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I? I mean yes your country is back but... how can you be alive?" Lithuania muttered into Poland's blonde locks, their old odd habit of speech returning to them. The girl had trouble calming down her sobs just enough to answer him but she did. She had to while he still held her rather than pushed her away.

"I thought I was dead too but, someone... God, it was a miracle I was found there even if it was on the brink of death. I never died Liet. I'm here for real," Poland said, clinging to Lithuania. She was so glad when she felt him hold her closer on that sunny morning in Vilnius.

It was noon when they finally finished telling their stories since they parted a hundred and twenty-three years ago. Lithuania made sure to keep hold of Poland so that she couldn't disappear for so long ever again. Poland was in a constant state of fear as she still believed that Lithuania despised her for the last words she spoke to him before they were separated. She was just waiting for the moment he would push her away and leave her alone. He was just being nice like he always was, he was just being nice because of what happened and how she reacted.

"How long have you been in this clearing?" Lithuania asked, breaking the momentary silence between them. Poland's eyes closed as she thought for a little bit.

"Probably since around midnight or before that. I got to Vilnius yesterday at around eight or nine right after a meeting in Warsaw" Poland explained, leaning against Lithuania. He didn't flinch like she expected him to. The brunet's eyes widened as he heard this. The Poland he knew would've never been able to stay awake for this long but then again, she was a nation with only people and no land for a century. She fought for her nation and lived in the shadows, hiding from the knowledge of anyone that could make sure she never returned.

"You need sleep Po. I'm really curious as to why you rushed to get here so fast but that can wait," Lithuania said with the usual softness in his voice but the concern in his tone was clear. It made Poland wander if she was wrong, but she still didn't want to risk going to sleep only to wake up all alone again.

"I don't want to sleep. I came here because Vilnius should be yours, not mine" She explained, finally opening her eyes to look into Lithuania's. A small smile tugged at her lips, she missed his eyes. She missed him.

"Don't argue about this, please. You really do need rest. If not here then I can bring you back to where I'm staying," Lithuania insisted. How could Poland refuse when he was like this? She sighed, defeated and grinned.

"Fine, but carry me?" Poland laughed and as did Lithuania. The two of them calmed down before the brunet complied with her joking request. Startled by the sudden lack or solid ground under her, Poland clung onto Lithuania.

"For once I was actually joking," She stated, looking between him and the ground. The male nation just smiled, not even thinking about putting her down.

"And for once I'll carry you willingly. It's no far anyway," he said, walking off in the direction of a small apartment building where he rented out a place. Soon after they left the little clearing, Poland was sleeping peacefully for the first time in years in Lithuania's arms.

Hello! Hope you enjoyed this little LietPol one shot and that it provided at least some feels.

Feel free to give me some feedback and say what you thought as that would be very much so appreciated.

Now, Yes. I used Nyo!Poland only because I like the idea of Poland being a female more, no other reason. I need the cuteness and just general awesomeness of that girl.

I tried to make it as historically accurate as I could but I am not an expert on Polish history so there might be some mistakes.

All of the words that are not English are the three countries speaking in their respective languages. They all simply say the other country's name with the exception of the first two cases but it all just means Poland/Lithuania

Either way. This is all, if this gets enough views I might consider doing a Part 2. But for now, Goodbye!