Rising Fascination

Salem

America shot up out of the bed, instinctively grabbing his neck, rubbing his skin. He closed his eyes, taking deep breathes to relax.

Tears silently fell down his cheeks slowly, somewhat in relief that his dream was over and the sudden flood of memories that suddenly came back to him.

He always knew the witch trials happened, they were an important part of his history. Although, it was apparent he had repressed the memory that he was there, he had died.

For a nation it was temporary of course, but the emotional damage still sat with them.

England was the first to wake up out of the other nations, rushing to America's side to grab his hand.

Alfred looked to the side to see his former caretaker, he hadn't even noticed Finland had also ran to his side when he had seen the sudden display of emotion.

Followed not far behind England was Canada, who through habit climbed onto the bed right next to Alfred pulling him in close for a hug. Matthew guided his brother's head gently to press against his shoulder. "Are you okay Al?"

The blonde nods, inhaling the fabric of his twin's shirt relaxing as he takes in his presence.

Although they typically show it in front of others, the North American brothers were close. Of course not as they used to be, when they were still young colonies living under the same roof the two were practically inseparable. After the revolution, things between them obviously changed; not to mention 1812 was another story. However, eventually the two reconnected and became the close pair of twins again. Getting together on Holidays, weekends, and major sporting events (as long as it wasn't America's football) they had a tight bond.

Many nations didn't see this side of their relationship though, mostly because at meetings America constantly had eyes on him with Matthew taking his spot in the background of his much louder sibling. They typically didn't stay together during meetings either, despite being quite the goof off Alfred was prone to being a workaholic from time to time.

At this point, the other nations had woken up, standing awkwardly around to see the display in front of them, not for any other reason besides how strange it was to see America seem so vulnerable.

A few more moments of silence passed as Alfred calmed down, once he was he sat up to looked to Arthur, waiting for any questions he had. The process of how things were supposed to occur was still rather confusing to everyone.

England gave America a sympathetic look, as much as he wanted to reach our to his ex colony and be a shoulder to cry on knowing what he let him go through as a child; he found his stubborn pride sitting in the way.

Aside from that, there was still much more to come, it was too soon to be soft.

"Well, for starters we must visit that last location, Alfred can you tell us where this was?" England asks as he fixes his posture to stand up straighter.

America nods, his hand running over the skin of his neck slowly taking a moment in his own thoughts before speaking. "Salem." He averts his gaze to look at his comforter, his feet shifting underneath to brush up against each other. "Um, Salem Massachusetts. It's about an hour plane ride to Boston, then a thirty minute drive to Salem."

He was met with a collective group of nods, followed by the Brit speaking up again "Then we should get moving, Tino?" he turns to the Finnish man just over his shoulder "time?"

Finland removes his cellphone from his pocket to check "Almost three am."

"Then we should get moving, everyone should return to their hotel rooms and collect their belongings. Also call your bosses and tell them you will be extending your time in the states. I'm going to remain here with America for the time being, book our flights and arrange a place to stay. For now, we'll sleep on the plane and in the airport if we need to. Time is of the essence, meet at the airport in an hour."