Swapped Around

Eleven~ Hide and Seek

The ship silently floated into the harbour. The mist that dusted the grey sea was so thick I could hardly see from one side of the boat to the other. I could faintly hear people milling about on the shore, and the faint clanging of a bell.

"So... Zhis is America?" I ask cautiously. "It doesn't look as good as you made it seem."

"Trust me. It's just a spot of bad weather, it'll clear up no problem." Canada replied. I had hardly noticed it was him in the bad visibility; I thought I was talking to America.

The sailors clattered around with various ropes and knots, throwing them overboard as workers on the barely visible harbour pulled them in and tied them to metal pegs jutting out of the paving slabs. Further along the deck I see England watch intently every move they make, his blonde hair damp from the mist and dripping onto his nose.

A loud thud echoes across the harbour and Canada ushers me down the slippery gangway onto the land. My legs sway a little, being used to the gentle creaking of the boat for so many days. Canada steadies me, but doesn't manage to catch England, who falls flat on the ground.

An American accent mutters something and America slips past me, picking up the small boy from under his arms and wrapping him up in his fluffy jacket. Canada does the same for me, but without a jacket to give me lets me hug his polar bear cub for warmth instead.

They hurry us through a dense crowd of soaking wet people and into a dark, warm place. America lights a lamp, and I see the interior of a horse drawn carriage, sheltered by a black leather layer over the top. Through a glass pane in the front, I see the back of a black-coated man wearing a weird tall hat.

"So dudes, any first impressions?" America asks, sitting down on one of the padded benches that lined the side.

"It's too misty, so I can't see anything." England's voice says, and it takes me a moment to find him before I see his little face peeking out of a bundle of America's jacket. He looks like a baby sheep.

"Maybe when zhis weather clears up you could ask us again." I added.

"Yeah... I guess so." America mumbles. He stretches his long arms behind him in a relaxed manner, yawning. "Welp, it's good to be home again!" He adds, smiling, trying to up the grizzly mood that matched the weather.

"Where do you live, daddy?" England asks, rolling onto his side in his ball of fluffy jacket.

America's eyes give off a little twinkle and his face perks up. "We live in this massive mansion like house on top of this big hill, it's about a couple of miles from here, and the there's this really nice meadow place and a forest we own cause we're countries and stuff, and it's so cool, and there's all these secret passageways and stuff and-"

"Okay, America, that's enough." Canada whispers, although his brother keeps rambling on. I curl up next to the fluffy polar bear and listen sleepily to the stories that America tells. The slowly 'breathing' jacket on the bench by the American shows that England had already nodded off.

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I awake in a bright room. Sunlight filters through translucent creamy curtains and spills across a smooth wooden floor. Sitting up and moving aside the pile of warm blankets, I slip my feet over the side of the large bed and tiptoe across the room to the White painted door.

The hallway is long, with a cream carpet running down the centre of the polished wooden floorboards. A long wooden rail runs along the side of the hall opposite the line of doors which lead to other halls or rooms. Skipping over to the rail, I look down at the symmetrical sweeping bannisters that curve elegantly down into a spacious entrance hall. Windows run from the ceiling to the floor, towering above a polished oak double door with a shiny silver keyhole.