Chrysalis

Chapter 1

Notes: This story has been sitting in my laptop since... like... forever, and I probably would have waited just as long before publishing it. One of the prompts for HetaliaExtravaganza2k17, however, fit it perfectly, so I decided that why not? I could publish this first chapter to test the waters.

Warnings: This story is going to include violence and child abuse, don't read if you are triggered by that. I don't think any of the above is going to be graphic, but still...

AmeCan will be the main pairing (and obviously, they aren't related since this is Nyo!Canada as opposed to canon Canada), but there are also some other pairings in the background. (Ask if you want a full list.)

That said, I hope you will enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nor do I get any profit from writing this. Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. The cover for this chapter was drawn by the wonderful verymemeingfulart (verymemeingfulart.tumblr.), thank you!

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Chapter One

Maggie's hands clutched the strap of her schoolbag as she stood completely still, almost holding her breath.

The woman in front of her – Martha Evans, the headmaster's secretary – kept ignoring the girl while her grey eyes swept over the papers in her hands. She mustn't have been very old – probably in her early fifties – but the skin of her face was drawn, and her eyes, behind a pair of huge glasses with a spotted frame, looked dull. Her hair was styled in a short cut that was probably meant to be practical and fresh at the same time, but at that moment only looked messy and in need of a washing, and the dishevelled appearance wasn't helped by the way grey strands showed among the dull dark brown.

'She works too much. She probably has children at home, and a husband that doesn't help her. She's tired and stressed.'

As soon as those words crossed her mind, Maggie realized that she had been staring at Mrs Evans and she was quick to lower her eyes, blushing violently.

Mrs Evans was running a finger under each line as she read.

Her hands were big, with long fingers and short nails covered by chipped red nail polish. A thin wedding ring stood out on her ring finger – she was married, just like Maggie had thought.

Maggie shifted on her feet. Mrs Evans was almost done with the files from her old school and she could feel her stomach knotting with the rising tension, she had to remind herself how to breathe. Mrs Evans's eyes stopped over one of the last lines, making her heart skip a beat.

'Did I do something wrong?'

Not being new to changing school in the middle of the year, Maggie had already contacted the administration through e-mails several times to explain her situation and provided the required documentation, which should, at that point, be all correct, and yet... Leonardo Da Vinci High was an extremely prestigious school. Both Mrs Evans and the headmaster had stressed it more than once. Not only it had strong connections with one of the most prestigious universities in the United States of America, one that each year made it to the list of most important universities in the entire world, the high school itself was highly renowned, attracting students from all over the world. It even had an entire campus-like building to house them, just like the nearby University.

Of course, that also reflected in the fees. How Maggie had managed to get a full scholarship, she would never know. She had always managed without problems in school, she had even skipped a grade, but she wasn't anything special and none of her previous schools had been particularly demanding... surely, there had been a mistake. On top of that, Mrs Evans looked quite cross. She had been fairly annoyed when Maggie had shown up in her office, snatching the papers from her hands without uttering a single word.