Once Upon A Time | A Hetalia x Reader

Ch 6: Recite

[ REVISED ]

late late edit: to avoid confusion, this is a flashback. the next chapters aren't flashbacks -- just this specific one. thank you for your usual understanding~
also apparently this is a third person POV.

-=-

"(lord/lady) (Name)!" yelled Dana as she popped out of the bushes, nearly stumbling over.

(Name) giggled, and said, "What makes you come here so urgently, my messenger?"

"I have brought you a princess from the Kingdom of La-van-deer!" Dana replied, trying to pronounce the word with little knowledge she had, before taking someone by the hand from behind the bushes. Then there appeared Yukina, the oldest of all the sisters, staring towards (Name) with a solemn look.

"why, oh why, have you decided to bring me..." she responded with such exasperation.

"Because I have captured you!" (Name) replied, laughing malevolently. "But I am a good (princess/prince), and good (princesses/princes) introduce themselves."

"do tell."

"I, (princess/prince) (Name) of some random kingdom name, decided that you are to be captured by my own hands out of pure spite!"

"i see."

"(lord/lady) (Name)! What ever shall you do with Steve?" Dana said whilst standing above a tree stump to match the current height of Yukina.

"dana, we talked about this." Yukina pointed out.

"Um..."
Dana seemed to have lost her train of thought within that given moment, before settling with an immediate decision.

"...Stevette! What shall you ever do with Stevette?" Dana corrected herself, speaking with such confidence.

From afar, you can barely spot Yukina's nod of approval.

"Lock her in the dungeon!" (Name) demanded, pointing to a tree. Dana hesitantly moved forth to do such, as if wondering if a dungeon was actually just some random tree in the middle of the forest.

"i thought you were a good princess, (Name)." Yukina once again pointed out.

"You're an enemy kingdom!" (Name) claimed, inclined to agree with Yukina's statement. "Enemy kingdoms are scary kingdoms! Now begone, peasant."

Once Yukina was set in place by the tree, her expression shifted from unconcern to mere befuddlement.

"wait...how does a four year old know what 'peasant' means?"

"What is a peasant?" Dana asked, confused. Despite being the same age as (Name), her knowledge and awareness on specific things are simply nonexistent, or haven't been introduced to her yet.

"you don't need to know..." Yukina replied as she sat on the tree with a bored look.

"It's--" (Name) tried to explain, but then Yukina cut them off.

"oh, may you please let me out of your treacherous dungeon you call...dungeon?" Yukina pretended to cry out, but in which her actions proved otherwise. She merely looked as though she couldn't care less about the situation.

"If only I could, but it is (lord/lady) (Name)'s orders, and I must be loyal to them." Dana replied. She was a sympathetic kin, the moment she saw her sister locked away and forced to stand by a tree.

"You shall be freed on the 5th of May!" (Name) announced, holding out a twig and pointed it her way. "Otherwise, you must do what I say until your life diminishes!"

"how do you even know all these stuff?" Yukina mumbled under her breath before standing up. It seemed as though she felt that the little play-act that she was involved in was too much for her. "i'm just going to leave. this is ... honestly boring me out." 

(Name) was at the point of telling Yukina to stay, but it was too late. Older sister Yukina left without another word. This led for the child to sulk, leaving them helpless. What were they to do now, now that Yukina is done playing with their childish games?

They proceeded to sit down, hugging their knees, and gently traced the ground with their twig.

A/N: what twig? (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Dana's expression turned into a look of concern as she sat down next to them, slowly rubbing circles around their back using the palm of her small hand.

"Don't be sad, (lord/lady) (Name)," Dana chirped with a small hint of hope left in cheering the child up. "Yukina is always grumpy, but she can always change."

"She's always grumpy when I'm around. It's as if she doesn't want me here." (Name) mumbled, staring at the grass with emptiness. "I'm just a nuisance, a burden, an irritant and a useless individual to your family."

Despite being a small child, Dana felt that the words that (Name) had said were negative. She went to part her lips, as if to speak, but she closed them with furrowed brows. All Dana could do was sit silent for a few seconds.

"What does that mean?"

"It's just ... things that I tell myself."

"Well, tell yourself that you're loved and that there's someone who is hoping for you to be okay! You shouldn't think that you're useless, and a bird den-"

"A burden."

"Ah, I meant that. I'm sorry!" she chirped, with feelings of embarrassment. "You're not a b-burden ... and I'm sure that Yukina doesn't feel grumpy when you're around. She always looks grumpy, as I've said!"

"I bet she'll still look grumpy after I leave and never come back. Nothing would change if I just left, now, would it?"

"If you leave and never come back, I'll follow after you and ask for you to come back."

"And what if you can't find me?"

"I will," Dana said with a smile."Because when that day comes, I will be there. And so will Mum, and Pa, and big sister! We would be a big happy family again."

All (Name) could do was think over their words. Sighing, they stood up and smiled back.

"We should go back to the others, then." was all (Name) said before walking forward. With pure delight, Dana giddily followed suite.

As the two proceeded to walk back to home, they stumbled upon the old bridge that they always walk over to get to their little safe haven. Under that bridge was a rapid-flowing river, but they were reassured that the bridge would not break.

Dana gently held (Name)'s hand as they walked over the bridge together. Beaming with happiness, Dana nearly missed her instinctive hesitance as she walked along a few feeble planks.

The floorboards under them creaked excessively, startling (Name) from time to time.

Before they made it, (Name) tripped. They cursed the bridge as they helped themselves up. (Name) looked down to the floorboards with a glare, and with all their might they stomped on it.

"Stupid floorboards for making me trip!" (Name) yelled in exasperation.

"(Name), we should go now. Mum and pa might be worried by now."

(Name) sighed. "Okay," was all they said. Before they followed Dana, they stepped on the floorboards one final time, unaware of the floorboards final creak before suddenly,

It fell apart.

(Name) cried out a scream, in fear of falling to their death. They fell right through the opening, causing a panicked Dana to scramble to the opening in hopes that she could help (Name) back up.

Dana reached out her hand, attempting to catch (Name), but...

She couldn't.

Little Dana tried to call for help,

. . .

But nobody came.

-=-

"People would laugh at me for being different. But I laugh at them back for being too common. At least I'm original, unlike everyone else here in this world I have been fated to live in."