Hi! Author here. The first chapter is mostly character introduction, but there are a few points you may want to take note of, though I won't say which. It may be confusing at some point, but keep reading and you'll find all the little (and big) secrets in time. The best advice I can give you is just to pay attention to details.

The day the curse was placed, it was a relatively normal July 28th.

It was after the world conference when ten countries decided they wanted to go to get something to eat. It seemed every restaurant in town, however, was closed. Even McDonalds was closed, to America's horror. They resorted to going to the shadiest, eeriest place in town for a bite to eat. It was a run-down shack. That should have been the first sign something was wrong. All the countries, even Russia, seemed a bit irked about being there. Upon seeing the door, all the nations stopped in their tracks.

On the door, the letters "XXn't toXcX thX sXXXeXwXre." were etched in obvious haste. Some of the letters were messily obscured, so nobody could make out what they even said, try as they might. That should have been the second sign something was wrong.

"D-doooitsuuu! I don't want to go in there!" Italy clung to Germany's shirt. Germany simply clenched his teeth.

"C'mon guys, don't be a bunch of fraidy-cats!" said America nervously. The way his teeth chattered betrayed the meaning of his words.

"The awesome Prussia is never scared!" shouted Prussia, as a cold wind blew past. Everyone shivered, and then the door they stood in front of swung open, even though no country touched it. That should have been the third sign something was wrong.

"Greetings, my children." They were greeted by an old man, easily in his early 90s. The man was wearing a black suit. The sagging of his face was extreme, almost as if it had been pulled for months on end. The only thing that overshadowed his face, was his lack of body fat. It looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, months. A feeling of dread pulled on the pit of their stomachs. That should have been the forth sign something was wrong.

England was the first to speak after a few moments of absolute silence "W-well, we won't bother you. We were just walking around."

"No, no, my children, I insist on feeding a few lost souls. You look so hungry, so come in. Come in." replied the man, with a smile that looked so big, it was almost insincere. He herded the countries into the tiny hut. They sat at a table. It was white, long, and rectangular. There were ten chairs: a plate, a spoon, a fork, a butter knife, napkin neatly placed for each seat. Each was pure, clean white. How coincidental. That should have been the fifth sign something was wrong. But nobody noticed this "coincidence", seeing as they were all so skittish. Each person sat at a chair.

"Now, what would my children like to eat? I can make anything for you." Everyone exchanged horrified looks and said their respective order.

"H-h-ham w-with gravy, please." said Estonia.

"A hamburger for the hero, sir!" grinned America, teeth still chattering made it clear that he was watching his tongue.

"I'll have Raclette for myself, and Hafalab for the girl, please." Said Switzerland stiffly, gesturing to Liechtenstein next to him.

"Might you have scones? If so, I ll be grateful for those" England murmured. He was staring at his feet, having avoided eye contact with the man from the start.

"P-pasta, mister." Italy whimpered. Usually Italy was much more vocal about his love for pasta, but the setting was getting to him. Everyone, really.
"Wurst for the awesome me and Wes-my brother." Prussia said plainly.

"I-I-If you don t mind I d want baco-ham with maple syrup, please and t-thank you very much." said Canada, when the old man looked at him expectantly. Canada would have actually liked to, for once, be invisible, in this case.

"May I have Kotlety?" Russia asked.

The old man bowed, grin still in place, and left through the door. It was silent; nobody dared to speak a word, as if the slightest noise would make something horrible happen. In less than 5 minutes, the old man appeared again, with each country's dish. That should have been the sixth sign something was wrong. He gently set the food on the respective country s dish.

Estonia looked around for his silverware. He saw the pearly white silverware, and leaned forward to pick up the spoon. The door from earlier flashed though his mind in a white-hot way. He paused. It seemed each country had a similar experience, when reaching his/her needed objects: Napkin, spoon, fork, knife. Everyone was frozen in the memory for a second.

"Something wrong, children?" Suddenly, Gilbird, previously resting on Prussia's head began chirping wildly. This snapped everyone out of their trance.

"No-no not at looks jolly good." stuttered England unconvincingly, still not daring to touching his meal. "I will my children right, please do not be nervous." Everyone, still nervous, began to eat anyway. When they did pick up their items, they felt cold. As if pieces of their souls had been viciously plucked out. It was a kind of emptiness that made people want to die, purely to avoid living such a empty, hollow life. A mental duct tape kept anyone from thinking about it. Somehow, it was hard to focus on the mysterious feeling that consumed them, no matter how hard they tried. All the attention in the room was instead directed to their food. When they had eaten their meals, which were absolutely delicious, they felt blurred, confused. The old man had watched them eat their meals with that same grin, unmoving.

"You ve treated us to such a lovely meal. What is your name, mister?" asked Liechtenstein, with less reserve than she probably would have shown before eating.

"My name?" The old man's grin grew impossibly larger. At the sight of the grin, everyone grew unnerved, even with their clouded minds. My name, my innocent children, is Xeh. You must wonder what that means, yes? Every head at the table nodded automatically,hearts racing in panic. It was like they were puppets.

"It means-" And that was all they remembered before it was dark.

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first installment of my (hopefully long-running) story! Leave a review telling me how you liked it! I'll include deds to it in chapter 2! I would be very grateful if you did! Thanks for reading!