Hetalia: The Sapphire Kingdom

Short: England

  "I'm glad we finally get a chance to talk to each in private," England told me as he reclined in a chair.

"Yes..." I looked down, suddenly sensing the tension in the room. I watched as he stirred his tea with the little silver spoon. He seemed quiet, unsure... nothing like the pirate-man I met all those years ago. "There's something on your mind," I spoke, placing my finger on the source of the awkwardness.

He looked up at me, almost in shock. "Wow, what is that telepathy or something?"

"No, it's just painfully obvious. So, what is it?"

"Well, there's still a question I want to ask you, but..." he shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure if I should. I've been made fun of so much, that I just..."

"Just go on. If I don't understand, we can pretend that it never happened."

"Alright," he nodded, taking a breath. He began leaning a bit closer to me as he spoke. "Your country operated on something more powerful than just electricity. I was wondering..." he suddenly sprung up, excited. "What is the source of your magic?"

I sat there a moment, blinking in surprise.

"I mean- I assume it's magic! Those things you did on the ship—it looked like magic to me! And I've been studying it ever since, but nothing I find is- Oh, oh drat, I'm scaring you," he groaned as he clasped his hands over his head and began pacing. "I'm so sorry. Gah! One chance to make a new friend, a clean slate, and I screw it all up-"

"Cap—England!" I grabbed his shoulder, stopping his mini-freak-out. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I didn't...?" he asked, slowly uncovering his face.

"No, I actually know exactly what you are referring to as 'magic.'"

"You- you do?" he suddenly calmed down. "Well, in that case, um... do you mind if I show you to the cellar?"

"Dae," I smiled. "And I suppose I could teach you a few old tricks from my days."

"This is so amazing," he began excitedly talking to himself as he led me down the stairs. "I'm going to learn from a master!"

"This is a very nice set-up you have!" I smiled, looking around the room. "I see this is a hobby of yours?"

"Ya, a big one," he answered, taking a book from the shelf. "I've been studying this for quite a while."

"I can tell. In my country, we believed in a harmony of magic and reality, you could say. We kept a steady, material and spiritual ratio of half and half. It seems that most these days are only focused on one or the other, sadly..." My eyes drifted to the center of the floor, where a somewhat familiar symbol was drawn. "Is that a pentagram?"

"Uh, ya," he shrugged. "That's where I preform all the spells and rituals and stuff.

"Is that so?" I narrowed my eyes. "Your magic must be weak then." I wiped the chalk drawing away with my foot.

"Hey, that took me a while to make!"

"A circle and a few straight lines?" I chuckled. "You don't need it, anyway. I have something much more powerful, and pure." I smirked as I threw a little crystal down into the center of what used to be the star. "Watch this."

OOOOOOOOOO

It wasn't long before we made our way upstairs. It was late at night at this point, and we were nearly close to starving.

"How about I make us some dinner?" England asked.

"Sure, do you- oh, I see," I smiled. I knew exactly what he was going to try. "Never mind, I'll just wait in here." I plopped down onto the sofa, exhausted from a day of practicing magic.