Title: A Cottage in the Woods
Pairing and Characters: Eventually Spain/Romano, but Romano isn't in the chapter. Pairing for this chapter is a ~surprise~ but it'll be totally obvious probs. Prussia also appears in this chapter.
Rating: K+ for this chapter, T overall just in case.
Note: This is an Enchanted AU. As in da Disney movie. That might tell you a bit, but it's not a verbatim remake or anything, ah promise!

Far, far away, beyond the borders of dreams and wishes, just past where fantasies live, there sat a quiet, peaceful little kingdom. Beyond the edges of this town sat a castle, tall and magnificent, keeping watch over all the people of the land. If one were to take a moment to look away from the splendour of this building, they might notice an expansive tomato field nearby, filled with every possible kind of tomato known to man (and some that were not yet known, for this field went on for ages). This field, the prize of the kingdom's royal family, was home to not just the fruit that grew unendingly, but also to a cheerful, modest little cottage seated right in the middle of the vines.

This cottage is where our story begins.

Oh this wondrous fruit
That fills me with such glee
Hue so red, and oh so cute!

Inside the cottage, a young woman danced around, tending to a lone tomato plant on her windowsill. She'd found the poor thing growing all alone in a patch of dirt beyond the borders of the field, and after some careful digging, potting, and transporting, the plant had found itself a newer, more nurturing home. It had yet to bare any fruit, but that wasn't a problem, as this woman's home was surrounded by the food she held most dear.

So tasty, there's no dispute
They're the best, if you ask me
Oh this wondrous fruit

Her task of watering the tiny plant done, she began dancing around, her long mahogany hair whipping around her as she twirled and sang, her song no doubt an ode to the fruit that surrounded her.

Sometimes large, at times minute
Flesh so soft and blemish free
Hue so red, and oh so cute!

Though she seemed oblivious to the rest of the world around her, so caught up in her song and dance as she was, the outside world was not quite so oblivious to her (though, for all intents and purposes, this particular "outside world" was just about as oblivious as she in every other sense).

"Do you hear that, Gil?" In another part of the field, one inhabited by only tomato plants and not stray cottages with random singing girls inside, a man was busy picking the ripest of the tomatoes and placing them in a basket. The rich, golden tan on his skin spoke of many days spent outdoors under the ever-shining sun, though his green eyes held the carefree glint of somebody who was used to spending his days as he pleased. True enough, this man was not a common labourer sent to harvest tomatoes, but the prince of the kingdom, enjoying himself on a lazy afternoon.

"Eh," another man, one of the prince's most trusted (or perhaps most only-person-around) friends piped up after a long pause. "I don't hear anything, you probably just spent too much time out in the sun again."

Without their love, my song'd be mute
The sky would not be sunshiney
Oh this wondrous fruit

"No, no, there it is again!" the prince cried out, nearly dropping the basket in his arms in his excitement. "Isn't that the cutest song you've ever heard? I wonder where it's coming from?"

"Like I said," nervous laughter filled the air as the other man tried to deny hearing the song that was so obviously (and rather oddly so) echoing through the fields, "Don't hear anything at all."

The prince sent his friend a concerned look. "Did you dare yourself to see how many cotton balls you could stick in your ears again? I know it was really funny that one time when we were drinking and you did it, but-"

"I am too awesome to not be hearing things!" the friend insisted. "You're just going crazy, s'all."

The prince wasn't listening to his friend, however, but to the continued song of that fair maid in the cottage...

"Oh screw you, Tonio, I'm not taking your basket back for you while you run off to find some crazy singing chick."

And off to find the source of that voice he was! Despite being quite far from where he was, the song was as loud and clear as if it were playing right next to him. He continued onward through the fields, guided only by that sweet voice, until finally, he stood outside that strange little cottage he'd somehow never noticed before. Pushing the door open, his voice lifted up in song as well, echoing the sentiments of the previous refrains.

Happiness, they're at the root
They smell so wonderfully
Hue so red, and oh so cute!

The woman inside took a moment to notice him, for she was now busy serenading a ripe, juicy tomato she held in her hands, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she spun around and saw the man standing in her doorway.

Two sets of the greenest of emeralds met across that small cottage, and a spark ignited in both the heart of the prince and the heart of the maiden.

"I'm Antonio," the prince said cheerfully, smiling brighter than even the sun above could manage. "You love tomatoes too?"

"Of course!" the woman responded, grinning back at Antonio as she held her hand out to offer him another of the precious fruits. "They're my favourite."

"Mine too."

And just like that, the song picked back up again, louder and with more passion than before, as it was now being sung in perfect harmony, by two people whose hearts beat just in time with the melody.

For the best, I'm in pursuit
Never leave, please hear my plea
Oh this wondrous fruit
Hue so red, and oh so cute!

Twin bites of the soft red flesh of that tomatoes sealed the deal, and Antonio smiled once more. There was only one thing left to do after such a perfect first meeting. "We'll be married in the morning, then!" It may have seemed a hasty proposal, but Antonio was a passionate prince, and why wait when it came to true love? Almost as an after-thought, he added, "And your name?"

"Oh, it's a lot like yours actually!" the woman replied, the smile she gave back rivalling his in intensity. "My name is Antonia."