Well, here's the newest story from me~! This one is Baltic-centered. Yay for brotherly Baltics. Despite the title, it is not a Song Fic. I have just been listening to "The Great Escape" while writing this. I think it fits, no?
So, the plot...
The three Baltics have never liked being under Russia's rule. But it isn't until one of them is dangerously hurt before they finally decide to run away. They run to America hoping to find peace and freedom
In a nutshell? Me trying to cover for abusing poor Latvia.
T for child abuse, blood, and swearing. I don't think the rating will need to go up, but if you have any concerns please tell me!
Anything else? Oh, pairings. Slight Estonia/Lithuania, Sealand/Latvia, and US/UK. SLIGHT, though, as romance is not the central theme here x3 We also have Brotherly!America especially towards Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania
Aaaand that's about it. So enjoy~!
Fear. Fear strikes the hearts of many children world wide. Many times it is just a fear of the "monsters" in their closets. Other times it is a fear of the dark. Sometimes it is a social anxiety. But every now and then, these children are afraid of people-namely their care takers.
Many children are abused all around the world. Sometimes, these children are never discovered and are forced to live their childhood in fear. Other times, they are discovered and are able to escape their dreadful environment. Still, the memories will remain and they will usually never forget the things they went through.
Now, what about the children who don't have parents and are not in school? What about the countries; the small ones. The young ones overpowered by the older, stronger ones? When they are abused who is there to help them? A child is still a child. But a country is also a country.
"Latvia! Latvia hurry up! We have to get dinner started!" Pots and pans banged and doors slammed. Two of the three Baltic countries were in the kitchen of Russia's house trying to prepare dinner for the large and terrifying nation. Latvia was not there, but was supposed to be helping in some way.
The small nation burst into the room running as fast as he could. Violet eyes darted around, looking from Lithuania to Estonia. "S... Sorry," he stammered, "I was... Going to the restroom."
"Well hurry up," Estonia said simply, "You need to cut the onions so I can throw them in this pot to cook." Latvia nodded and darted to the cutting board. He quickly got to work chopping up the onions.
"Chicken and onion soup?" Estonia sighed, "What will go through that man's mind next?" He stirred the pot, waiting for Latvia to finish chopping the onions.
"Hush, Estonia," Lithuania said kindly, "It's what he wants; it's what he gets. Who are we to judge?" The oldest of the three gave a slight smile. "Besides, it's not that hard to make. At least, as not has hard as it sometimes is. Right, Latvia?"
"R... Right," Latvia stammered keeping his eyes focused on the task at hand. Lithuania shoot a worried look at the younger nation. Usually, the short nation was a little talkative when he was in the kitchen. He would chatter on about Sealand or poetry or some silly thing he had heard from another nation. Today he still seemed nervous, although the three nations had a very good relationship with each other.
"Feeling alright, Latvia?" Estonia asked noticing the change in the younger nation's demeanor. Latvia simply nodded, still not looking away from the onions. Estonia and Lithuania exchanged glances but said no more. Latvia finished quickly and scooped the onions up. He brought them over to Latvia and popped them in them in the pot. The young nation did not so much as make eye contact as he went back to clean up the area he had just used.
"You're not catching a cold, are you Latvia?" Lithuania asked pulling the now finished chicken out of the oven. He set the bird on top of the stove to cool and turned around to face Latvia. The boy's face was a little flushed, but no more than it usually was. His eyes seemed dazed, though, and he was obviously zoning out.
"I... I'm fine," Latvia told him, still looking down at the counter. Lithuania didn't buy it. He walked over to the boy. Brushing away the curly golden bangs, he placed a firm hand on his forehead. It felt normal and Lithuania was just about to pull his hand away when something caught his eye. He bent down and parted the hair a little more. There was a small purple bruise on the side of his forehead, close to his right ear.
"Did you bang your head?" Lithuania asked brushing over the area with his thumb. The boy winced at the touch, but did not make eye contact.
Latvia was about to shake his head, when he changed his mind and nodded. "Y... Yeah," he said, "I... Uh... walked into... A wall."
Lithuania sighed, believing what Latvia had told him. "You need to be more careful," he said with a kind smile, "Now go bring out the chicken to Mr. Russia." The older nation stood up and walked over to the stove. Latvia let out a small audible gasp and looked up at Lithuania.
"A... Are you sure?" He stammered frantically, "I... I mean... I'm... Clumsy, and stuff. May... Maybe you or Estonia should b... Bring it out!" Lithuania raised an eyebrow.
"You're strong enough," he said. He then paused and looked at the boy. "Are you sure you're Ok?"
Latvia gulped, but nodded. Estonia came over with a bowl of soup. Lithuania handed the bird to Latvia giving him a serious look as he pushed open the door to the dining room.
The two nations stepped in. Russia was seated at the head of the table looking over paperwork with a smirk on his face. As the two got closer, they could see that the large country's mouth was turned up in a wry smile, but his eyes were cold and dangerous. Something was obviously bothering him.
"H... Here you are, Mr. Russia," Estonia stammered to the man. He looked up from his paperwork, his facial expression unchanging.
"Ah, thank you Estonia," he said in his creepy cheerful voice, "It is good, da?" Estonia simply nodded and placed the soup on the table. Latvia followed by placing the chicken next to the soup. He did not make eye contact as long as possible, but realized the consequences if he did not lift his eyes to meet Russia's.
The large nation's eyes flickered with amusement. But there was something more in his eyes. Possibly hate; maybe even a warning. Latvia quickly lowered his eyes. Estonia nodded to Russia and turned to leave. Latvia was right on top of him as he couldn't wait to get away from Russia.
Lithuania had started and nearly finished washing the dishes. The kitchen was almost clean, save a few small items. When the dishes were done, he brought three cups of hot chocolate over to the shabby, wooden kitchen table-something he did almost every night. Once dinner was on the table, the countries were off for the night. They could do as they pleased until morning.
Estonia and Latvia sat down at the table with Lithuania. "You'll never guess what Russia said to me today," Estonia began, "He said that I was 'no longer needed' in his study in the afternoons! I've brought him tea everyday for months and he decides now that he doesn't want it from me anymore? Crazy!"
Lithuania thought for a moment. "Maybe he got sick of tea," he suggested and took a sip of his hot drink.
"No, it's not just that," Estonia waved his hand, "He said he doesn't want me bringing him the tea anymore. He wants Latvia to do it now!"
This took both Lithuania and Latvia by surprise. The poor young boy began choking on his hot chocolate. When he calmed down he turned to Estonia.
"M... Me?" he asked, "But why? Why me?" His eyes held a panicked look as he begged for more information.
Estonia just shrugged. "I dunno," he said, "But I guess it just goes to show how lucky I am!"
There was nothing more to say after that. The three finished their drinks and then headed up to bed. Although the house was large, they all shared one queen sized bed in a small room at the end of the upstairs hallway.
Estonia and Lithuania lay on the ends, Latvia slept in the middle. The other two nations feel asleep rather quickly, but Lithuania could not help but be a little worried. Latvia was not acting like himself. He was not sick, so what could it be? Could it be that his fear of Russia had deepened over the past few days?
The oldest Baltic nation decided to not worry himself too much over it. Latvia was still young and just finding his place in the world. It was probably just a phase that would pass as quickly as it had come on.
The days went by and there seemed to be no change in Latvia. He still avoided making eye contact, even with his friends. On Sunday, their day off, he went to go see Sealand. Lithuania hoped that would cheer the boy up, but it didn't seem to do much. It wasn't until Tuesday night that Lithuania began to really worry about Latvia's well-being.
It was a normal night and everyone was asleep. Lithuania, though, was rudely awakened by a yelp coming from his right side. He turned and saw Latvia shaking in his sleep. The small boy was curled in a ball crying and shivering. Lithuania wrapped his arms around the sleeping nation and held him close. He did not wake up, but stopped shivering after a few moments although the tears still streamed down his face.
This was when Lithuania became worried. Sure, the boy had nightmares when he was younger; it was only normal at the time. Besides, being taken as a servant for Russia certainly did count as traumatizing. But that was a few years ago. Now that he was older, the nightmares were supposed to have stopped. Something must have happened to frighten or worry him. And Lithuania was going to find out what it was.
Another week passed and there was still no change in the small Latvia. If anything, the boy had gotten worse and did not talk unless directly spoken to. Even then, he would not make eye contact and would answer in as few words as possible. Lithuania had yet to find the cause of the problems. Little did he know that he would find out soon enough.
It was a normal day, just like any other. Lithuania was doing the laundry and Estonia was dusting the old furniture in the living room. Latvia had been sent to Russia's study with tea, but had not been back for a while. Neither of the two older countries thought much of the delay until there was a loud crash and the slam of a door.
Lithuania, worried, dropped the clothes he was folding and ran to Russia's study. The door was teetering off the hinges from being slammed so hard. He stopped in his tracks, utterly shocked by sight. Then he turned his head and saw Latvia crumpled on the floor.
Lithuania ran over and crouched down next to the small nation. Blood was coming from his forehead and his eyes were closed. He smelled faintly of tea, probably because there was some dumped in his hair. The boy's breathing was shaky and, although he was unconscious, tears flowed out of his closed eyes. Lithuania picked him up and rushed him to the kitchen. He set him down on a chair and turned on the sink, placing a cloth under the stream that flowed from the pipe.
Estonia came into the room looking worried himself. When he saw the boy a gasp escaped his lips. "Latvia!" He shouted rushing over.
Lithuania took the cloth and placed it on Latvia's forehead. He dabbed away the blood that was flowing from a cut on the right of his head. It wasn't very deep and the bleeding stopped quickly.
"Latvia," Lithuania whispered, "Latvia wake up. Come on. It's me, Liet. Everything's Ok." Estonia was next to the older nation gently shaking Latvia's shoulder, trying to rouse the young boy.
After a few moments, Latvia opened his eyes revealing sad violet orbs. He blinked with surprise at seeing the two other nations so close to him. Both Estonia and Lithuania sighed with relief.
"What happened?" Latvia asked looking from Estonia to Lithuania.
"You tell us," Estonia replied with a frown.
"What did Russia do?" Lithuania asked. His voice was hard and stern. Latvia realized with a gulp that he was going to tell the whole truth. "Look at me, Latvia," he said. The young boy's eyes met Lithuania's concerned but stern face.
"He... He got a phone call," Latvia said shaking slightly, "I... I dunno who it was from, but he got real mad... And I... Was the o...Only one there. So he... Got mad at me..." Tears pricked at Latvia's eyes. "My arm hurts," he said innocently lifting his right arm. There was a wound on the arm, not too deep, but bleeding all the same.
Lithuania's eyes widened, but he took the cloth and dabbed up the blood. He set the cloth on the table and looked at Latvia intently. The boy squirmed under the harsh gaze.
"Can you still work?" Estonia asked breaking the silence. He hadn't meant to say it as harshly as it came out, but it was getting closer and closer to dinner time.
"Y... Yeah," Latvia said looking at Estonia, "I feel fine. Just a little sore 's all." He looked back at Lithuania who was giving him a questioning look. "I swear!" he cried.
"Fine, then," Lithuania sighed, "Just be careful. And go to bed early tonight." Latvia nodded eagerly and jumped up to help Estonia begin dinner. Lithuania went back to finish the clothes. Try as he might, he could not shake the bad feeling off of himself.
I really hope you enjoyed and will continue reading. Let me point out that Lithuania is the oldest of the Baltics, in case you didn't already know that.
Anyway, I hope I was able to capture your attention x3 Please review if you have the time. I'd really like to know what you think and what I can improve on. As always, I love constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate flames. But then again, who does?
Thanks for reading!