Memories: Rewritten

Chapter 10: Lines of Questioning (Part 2)

 The basement's sparse light casted shadows of shock and deceit across Germany and Prussia as they stared at one another. Prussia stood in front of his brother, his entire frame trembling to its core, and Germany sat in the pile of his old clothing, the small cloak nestled against his leg like it was elated to be reunited with its owner. Prussia remained quiet as Germany spoke again, his whispering still hoarse.

"What happened to me?"

Prussia sank to the floor and sat criss-cross on the cold concrete. His head fell into his hands and his hair fell with it, sweeping forward to further mask his expression. Prussia's body continued to shake as Germany watched in disbelief. He knew. However long Germany was locked out of his own memory, Prussia knew. Prussia looked him in the eye every day, fully aware of his true identity, yet never said a single word. As the fog lifted in his mind, Germany recalled pieces of his early childhood, an era of memories previously stowed in deep recesses he couldn't access. He ate dinner with Austria. He painted in the meadows with Italy. He swam in the stream with Prussia. He said goodbye. He stood on a battlefield, ready to charge against the enemy, and it was then that his memories faded into nothing, a new wall creeping into place as it blocked out the details, and then he was a teenager once more, where his life as Germany began. The whole story still slipped through his fingers with a gap between the battlefield and adolescence, but if Prussia knew he was Holy Rome all along, he surely knew what transpired during that pocket of time. The veil of deceit began to unravel, and with a taste of the truth, Germany wanted the entire thing.

"What happened to me," he repeated, this time phrasing it as a direct statement. His voice regained its strength. He wasn't asking any longer: he was demanding.

The stairs above them creaked as a set of footsteps grew louder. Austria called out for Prussia and Germany as he made it to the bottom step and rounded the corner. "Is everything all right?"

Both brothers sat in silence as Austria reached them. Like Prussia, his eyes widened as his pupils darted from the photo album to Germany's teary face, then to Prussia, then back to Germany. Slowly, Austria sat beside Prussia and placed a hand on his back. Austria's still hand against Prussia made his tremors more visible. Austria sighed and pursed his lips together, yet said nothing. Frustrated, Germany continued his attempt at prodding for a response.

"I know I'm Holy Rome," he declared, "and pieces of my childhood are coming back to me, and the last memory I have of that time is standing in a battlefield, and in the next moment, I'm–" he paused. Me, he wanted to say, but he was not Germany, and yet he was not Holy Rome, either. Though his brain and body were reconnected, he felt like every action he took were happening in a mirror, his physical body Germany and his reflection Holy Rome. Me could mean anything.

Austria tilted his head and leaned into Prussia, attempting to catch a glimpse of his face. "Did you tell him?" Austria asked him.

Prussia, refusing to lift his head, shook it vigorously.

"Tell me what?" Germany cut in.

"Germany–"

"I want Prussia to tell me," he snapped back. Hearing his name in Austria's mouth made him seethe. It wasn't even his real name.

"Look at him," Austria retorted, tilting his head towards Prussia, "give him a break. He needs a minute to process this."

Germany opened his mouth to speak, but Austria cut him off.

"This has been on my mind since I retreated to the drawing room, so hear me out: legally, we aren't supposed to discuss your connection to Holy Rome, but the way you discovered it acts as a loophole. It was unprecedented for you to discover it on your own, so much so that there is no clause stipulating what would happen if that were the case," Austria leaned into Prussia again and directed the last sentence towards him, "so hypothetically, if we were to provide more information without being involved in the discovery, would we really be violating the treaty?"