Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

It burned. It burned so badly.

Alfred lay there, panting, feeling a terrible burning sensation go through his body. He winced as he turned his head towards his beloved, burning White House. Something wet ran down his face; Alfred figured it was tears. But his face was so numb he couldn't tell. He wanted to move but everything burned and Alfred was in more pain than he'd been in before.

Alfred was a fool.

He had hidden in the already burning White House until he was sure the redcoats were gone. The fire had burned an entire side of his body, including part of his face. He looked at the cloudy sky above him with one eye. A storm was brewing and Alfred wondered if God was giving the redcoats what they deserved.

He hoped so.

"Come, Matthew! We don't have much time to see our grand victory!" Alfred heard a very familiar voice call out. He let out a pained groan. He couldn't deal with this. Not now, not ever. Alfred used his good arm to push himself off the ground. He gripped his pained side and began limping away from the direction the voice came from. Unfortunately, Alfred was so dazed from the pain he limped straight into what he had been trying to avoid.

Arthur.

No…..not Arthur. England.

Alfred looked up at him with one, wide eye. He was unable to open the other one. Alfred tried to stand up straighter but he was he too much pain so he simply stumbled away from his former care-taker. He tripped on his own foot and landed flat on his ass. A sharp pain shot through Alfred causing him to let out a strangled yelp. He faintly heard Ar-no, England laughing at him.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" England asked sarcastically while approaching Alfred. The young nation glanced wearily at his former brother, now enemy, Matthew, whose expression was unreadable.

"A maggot," Matthew replied darkly. He looked much older than Alfred remembered him to be.

"Yes, a maggot. A maggot trying to suck the life out of the British Empire and," England smiled cynically, "failing miserably."

Alfred stared numbly at England's mud-covered boots and mumbled, "I only wanted you to be free, Mattie. Free like me." Matthew rushed over to England's side and Alfred in his burned side. Alfred let out a pained cry.

"I'm not you, America. I want to stay with Arthur. I want to be a good son." Matthew-no, Canada growled. Alfred was done. He was done with all of this. He just wanted to go home. To the White House, before it was a burning inferno. He just wanted to have a nice, warm meal with James and Dolley. He just wanted anything but this. Anything.

England bent down so he was eye level with Alfred. "You give up yet, little boy?" He sneered. Alfred couldn't take it anymore. He used his good arm to push England away and push himself off the ground. He was in so much pain but he didn't care. He just didn't care anymore.

"No, I don't give up! I'll never give up! You don't control me anymore, England! This-this is the second revolution and this time you'll learn. You'll learn that I'm not yours anymore!" Alfred shouted. He turned towards Canada. "And you! I hate you and everything you stand for! You're not a good son, not good at all! If you were a good son, you'd never call England your father and you'd still spell your name M-a-t-h-i-e-u. And you're wrong! I am a good son!" Alfred pointed to England. "But not his 'good son'."

Alfred stared at their shocked expressions for a moment then turned around and started limping away. When he was far enough away from them, he called out, "I'll be a good son by following my father's advice! I'll stay away from you and everyone else as long as I can!"

And that was the last time both Canada and England, or anyone else, for that matter, saw Al-no, the United States of America for a long time.

Historical Notes:

-The War of 1812 is often referred to as "the Forgotten War".

-America invaded Canada in an effort to get more land but ended up failing and burning the capital.

-Likewise, the redcoats invaded the US and burned down all of the government buildings in Washington, D.C. except the Postal building, where cabinet meetings were held immediately following the destruction.

-Redcoats raided the White House before burning it, taking along many "souvenirs", including James Madison's love letters to his wife.

-"James and Dolley" refers to the president of the US, James Madison, and his wife, during the War of 1812.

-"Mathieu" is considered the French spelling of Matthew (not really historical but whatever…).

-Alfred's "father" is George Washington, who, in a speech he gave before leaving office, said not to become to friendly with other countries and remain a mostly closed off nation (very similar to Japan).

Hoped you liked it! The War of 1812 really is "the Forgotten War" so I thought I'd write a story about it Hetalia-style so not everyone would forget it.

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