Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Guardian Trio

It was yet another meeting. It was chaos, as usual. However, there were a few exceptions to the norm.

England wasn't engaged in a fight with France and/or America, completely ignoring their provocations. Norway wasn't strangling Denmark with his tie, or trying to get Iceland to call him 'big brother'. And Romania wasn't engaged in a fight with Hungary, telling scary stories to Bulgaria and/or Moldova, or even attempting to shrink away from Russia, who was sitting nearby.

The members of the magic trio were simply too tired to do anything.

It was a secret that only the three of them knew.

For centuries, it had been their job to protect the world from any supernatural threat. A threat that no one else knew about. A threat no one else believed in.

They were usually mocked for their 'imaginary friends', their scary stories, and the activities they would usually do as the magic trio. However, a few of the other nations had realized that there was some truth in what they claim.

Belarus was able to see ghosts, so she had to admit that what they claimed was possible. Russia could also perform curses, so he wasn't too quick to judge them regarding their magic. And then there were the times when England accidentally summoned him. And China was superstitious, so he wouldn't simply disregard their claims right away.

Some supernatural cases were minor. England and Norway were followed by their magical friends, after all. And, whenever one of them would encounter a haunted building, they would simply negotiate with the spirits to keep things quiet.

Other cases were far more serious, where the lives of humans, and sometimes even nations, were at stake. It was then that the time for talking was done and the time to take action began. They had to fight to protect their people, their friends, and everyone else.

They had expanded their territories, not because they wanted more land, more resources, or more power, like the other nations often did. No, they did it so that more areas became accessible to them, and they could fight threats that were previously out of their reach.

They had to expand their territories, protect what they already had, manage their country and fight against the supernatural threat. And then they had to get grief from the other nations.

In the beginning, the three of them would fight the battle alone, unaware that there were two others that fought the same battle. There were many days where they would scream out of frustration, cry in despair, or draw into themselves. They fought a war that had been waging against their world since the dawn of time. And they couldn't gain allies, they couldn't tell anyone. It had been them against the other realm. And it wasn't nearly enough.

There were those that came before them. Britannia, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. But, when they faded away, the other three took over. England took over from his mother, and he was sad to see that neither Egypt nor Greece inherited the duty from their mothers. None of England's brothers inherited the duty either. And he had to grow up being tortured by them for being the runt of the family. But while they fought battles with their physical strength, England fought his battles another way.

It had been pure coincidence that the three of them found out that they were allies in a secret war.

It had been after the First World War, when the nations had opted to relax and recover. They were all gathered in a single place. It was then that each member of the magic trio felt it. One of the greatest threats they had ever experienced. While everyone was still vulnerable after the war.

In spite of their injuries, and in spite of how tired they were, they engaged the threat, even going so far as to go into their true forms. Only once the battle was over did they turn to look at their two new allies.

Norway was dressed as a Viking, the only difference being the pair of raven wings on his back. England resembled an angel, complete with dove's wings and a toga. And Romania looked like a vampire, with the wings of a bat.

Once the three of them realised what they were, they were washed with relief. Relief that they had been denied for centuries. For the first time, they each managed to find someone that was aware of their pain.

The other nations had watched in surprise as the three of them took the time to bond with each other. No one could understand how the three of them became the closest friends literally overnight. It wasn't as though they were allies before. And they would not tell.

Eventually, they were faced with a truth they didn't want to face when looking towards one of England's dominions. England was the only one that still had some power over other countries. But, as they all knew, it would soon end, and with it, those territories would become blindspots. That's when the concept of the Commonwealth of Nations came into play.

It began with the Statute of Westminster, and the first to join were Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Currently, there are now over fifty nations forming the Commonwealth of Nations. Some of them were still out of reach, but the Commonwealth was spread widely, and they were able to sense dangers to the nations surrounding the Commonwealth nations.

They made sure that they had great international relations. The more allies they had, the more territories they could sense, and the more threats they would be able to act on.

They were a little annoyed that a particularly dangerous threat decided to make itself known the night before a world meeting. A threat that was big enough as to force them to engage it in their true forms, which always left them drained.

So now, they were in the meeting room, completely ignoring the rest of the world, literally. They were going between dozing and sleeping. It's not like they were missing something. These meetings were a waste of time anyway.

Time that they could have used to recover after the last threat, and prepare for the next.

"Yo, Britain!" America called, startling said Brit, and also awakening the other two sleeping nations.

"What is it, you git?" England grumbled.

"Dude, you shouldn't sleep during meetings," America laughed in his obnoxious way.

England grumbled.

"Sod off," he said. "I'm too tired to deal with you."

"You know, England," Norway said, "you're looking a little pale. Are you feeling okay?"

England looked over towards the other nation in confusion.

"I agree," Romania said. "England does look pale. Maybe he's sick?"

He caught the conspiratorial glance shared by the other two, and England immediately knew what they were doing.

"I bloody don't feel alright," England said. "My head's pounding, and I feel completely nauseous."

"Perhaps you shouldn't go to the pub?" France teased.

"No," Norway said. "I've seen hungover England. This is not it."

"Maybe we should take him to his room?" Romania suggested, looking at Norway.

"I would appreciate it," England said. "Thank you."

The other two made their way towards him, and he stood up, making sure that everyone believed he was dizzy as well. Romania and Norway made a move to steady him.

"Come on," Norway said soothingly. "Let's get you to bed."

"Us too," Romania hissed.

England nodded, and the magic trio departed from the meeting room, the whole world watching curiously.

They couldn't slip up. For the sake of the others, they must never know. They must never know of the threat that they would be powerless against, or the threat that had always been there. No matter how much they wanted to let their friends know of the dangers they went through to protect them.

For it was a thankless job, but one that only they could do. The more nations that know about it, the more danger those nations are in. So, part of their duty in protecting them was to keep them in the dark.

It was the unfortunate fate of the guardian trio.

The reason why I didn't add Newfoundland and Ireland when I mentioned the Statute of Westminster is because Ireland is no longer a member of the Commonwealth, and Newfoundland merged with Canada. But out of the current Commonwealth Nations, the four mentioned above were the first to join, and the magic trio are only focussed on the current nations.