knocks on Canada's door with some freshly baked scones.
blinks and looks at the door. She had been reading, but... Gets up and goes to open the door, a little hesitantly at first. But upon
seeing England, she opens the door more and smiles a little. "O-oh! Hello."
looked a little confused. This girl looked a lot like Matthew... "Ah... hello. Is Canada in?"
looks a little confused and VERY awkward. "Um, yes...? I'm... Canada." This is weird, hnngh.
frowned slightly. "But Canada is male."
"Well, that... is weird b-because I'm female." Her voice gets quieter and she sounds really unsure of herself.
definitely... had to look into this. Somehow. "Err... so I'm guessing that Can-- Matthew isn't in?"
"I... I haven't seen him?" There was definitely a questioning inflection to her voice. Then she hastily added, "I'm sorry!"
immediately shook his head, feeling a little guilty. "Ah-- no, it's fine. Something... must've happened, but we'll figure it out."
nods a little, then gasps softly and steps aside. "Oh! Would you like to come in?" Always polite.
nodded, just slightly hesitant. "Erm... here," he said, holding out the scones. "They're not much, but..."
takes the scones and offers him a soft smile. "Merci." Lets him inside. He seems so familiar! Hnngh.
followed Madeleine inside. "You're welcome."
closes the door behind him, then heads toward the kitchen. "Would... you like something to drink?"
went to go sit down on the couch. "Some tea would be lovely, if you have any."
"Of course...!" Smiles at him a little again before disappearing into the kitchen to start some water boiling. Comes back out. "Um, it'll
just be a minute." Awkward!
smiles politely, wishing he knew what to even say. Why was Canada suddenly a girl?! "Take your time."
stands there. And staaands there. And... a soft gasp! "I-I'm sorry! I... forgot to ask your name. M-mine's Madeleine." How could she have
been so rude??
also realizes that he forgot to introduce himself! "Oh, how rude of me; I'm sorry as well. It's a pleasure to meet you, Madeleine._
My name is Arthur Kirkland."
"A-ah. Nice to meet you too." Small smile. Then she looks back to the kitchen. "Um, I think the water's done, I'll just..." And she
disappears and comes back a minute later carrying two cups of steeping tea. Sets one down in front of England. "There you are!"
takes the tea. "Thank you, Miss Madeleine. I apologize for my... ah, unannounced visit..."
sets her tea down and waves her hands a little. "Oh no! It's... it's fine, really! And, please, it's just Madeleine. Um, or Maddie."
takes a sip of his tea. "...Madeleine, then. I simply must ask; have we... met before?" Because it was possible that Matthew turned into_
a woman. Right...? Through one spell or another...?
sits down awkwardly and brings a hand up to tug on one of her braids lightly. "I don't think so. I'm sorry.." But he reminds her of someone.
pigtails* not braids
(Fuuuuu, I'm tired or something.)
(*sobs in a corner*)
[ xD Go get some rest! ]
frowns. What was going on, then...? "Ah... I see. You just... reminded me of someone, that's all."
worries her bottom lip between her teeth. "You... kind of remind me of someone too." Tug tug.
(I'll rest in a bit. XD ; )
Arthur
wonders
who. "Was that someone English?"
nods a little. "O-oui, she is." Not really looking directly at Arthur right now.
raised an eyebrow. She? ...No way. "...By any chance, which country did she represent?"
blinks. "Oh, um. England. Th-the United Kingdom, actually." She corrects herself quickly there.
frowns. "...-I'm- England. But officially, I represent the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
And she's blinking again. "W-what? But... that's... That's what she represents!" Slightly raised voice. But only slightly.
didn't know who this 'she' was. "...No, that's what -I- represent. It's what I've -been- representing for over a millennia."
frowns a little at him. "...but you thought I was a boy..." This is weird and she doesn't like it.
"Ah-- that is... the Canada I know is male..."
"And I'm not. So ... so what makes you think that there can't be a United Kingdom that's female?" She got a little offended there.
frowns, still rather confused. "Ah, well... I've just never seen one, that's all..."
pouts a little. "Well I've never seen a male Canada either. B-but that doesn't mean you're lying to me." Pause. "...right?"
shakes his head. "Heavens, no. I assure you, Miss-- ah, Madeleine, that I'm telling the truth."
"Then..." And now she is watching her feet and choosing her words carefully. "I'll believe you if you believe me." That was fair.
Arthur
thinks
about it, then nods. "...Alright." It's a little hard to wrap his head around, but... he's sure that he'll figure it out eventually. "My
apologies for the confusion and trouble."
looks up and smiles at him. "Merci. It's fine. I'm... um. I'm sorry I got so testy." She feels like she was very rude, erk.
shakes his head. "No, it's alright; this... was a rather confusing situation. I could've handled it better."
raises a hand to cover her mouth. She's trying not to giggle at him now. "I think you handled it like any normal person would."
reddens slightly, a little embarrassed. "Ah... perhaps with not as much finesse. Though, I must ask; how are relations between yourself and
the... other England?"
"Oh! Um." Worries her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment. "She raised me a little. And I hated her for it! But now we're really
close. I.. I think we are, anyway."
chuckles. "...It sounds like we share a common history, then."
brightens a little bit. "Really? So... you're... like her then?" Somehow, this is a comforting thought.
"I... suppose so? I can't make such an assumption just yet, since I've... yet to meet her."
smiles. "Well, um. You do remind me of her." Lifts her shoulders in a small shrug.
chuckles. "Do I? It makes me curious."
"Maybe you'll get to meet her!" Pause. "Since I'm here." Longer pause. "U-unless I'm all alone..." Terrifying thought!
tries to smile encouragingly. "I'm sure you're not the only one, Madeleine. We'll find the people you know."
takes a few deep breaths and nods, trying to keep herself calm. "You're right... of course..."
"It's highly doubtful that you're the only one here, after all. We can go look for more people later, if you'd like."
blinks at him. Then slowly pushes her glasses up her nose. "... That... that would be nice. Thank you."
nods. "You're very welcome. I'm also curious to see the other... ah, counterparts, I should say."
covers her mouth and giggles quietly. "I'm curious too! I ... I kind of want to know what I'm like as a boy." Awkward.
smiles a little. "...Very sweet. Quiet, gentle... shy, I suppose."
blinks. "The... um. The quiet and shy parts sound like me..." Oh, so he's not big and brave. That's sad...
chuckles. "Well, he's very brave when he needs to be. The Germans were absolutely frightened of him during World War II."
And she is blinking again. "O-oh." Flushes slightly. Now she wants to meet her male counterpart even more. "... oh! Is...
would you like more tea?" It's probably gone cold, hasn't it?
blinks, looking down at his cup. "Ah... that would be lovely, thank you."
gets up and bustles into the kitchen to get him some new tea. This also gives her the opportunity to try and stop being so awkward.
waits for her to come back, looking around.
comes back after a bit with a new, hot cup of tea for him. "I'm sorry it took so long..." Sits herself back down.
shakes his head, smiling a little. "No, it's fine. Thank you very much, Madeleine."
"You're welcome." Smiles back and shifts so she's sitting on her hands. It's an attempt to keep herself from playing with her hair. "So...
were you visiting for a reason...?"
can't believe he almost forgot! "Ah! My apologies; I just baked these, and thought Canada-- ah... Matthew, but... now you, I suppose, would
enjoy them," he replies, gesturing to the scones he brought.
"M-Matthew?" His name is so similar to hers and...! Looks thoughtfully at the scones. She knows how to handle this. "Thank you very much."
Smiles. Doesn't reach for the scones though.
nods in reply, sipping the tea. "Yes, Matthew. Matthew Williams."
blinks. "... he even has my name." Grumbles a little to herself.
chuckles. "Well... theoretically, you two are essentially the same people..."
"I guess that makes sense then, eh?" Crap. She just said 'eh'. Now she feels dumb, and she's blushing.
chuckles, reaching over to pat Madeleine's head, but stopping himself just before he did. "Ah... sorry, it's... habit."
looks up, notices the hand, and flushes a little more. "N-non, it's okay. Don't worry about it."
draws his hand back and clears his throat, embarrassed.
watches him. Now it's awkward! Tries to think of a way to be not-awkward. "Do... um. Do you visit... Matthew often?"
appreciates her efforts. "Ah, well... not as much as I should, I think."
"Oh. W-well, I'm sure he really likes it every time you visit!" Trying to sound convincing, yep.
chuckles, glancing at her as he sips his tea. "Perhaps, but he's far too nice to say no. Do you like it when the... ah, other England,
visits you?"
perks up a little. "I do...! Um, most of the time. She can be... overbearing?" Thinks that's the right way to describe it.
frowns just a little, hearing that. "Ah, I see..." Was that how Matthew saw him as well...?
"But I still like when she visits!!" Crap, she messed that one up, didn't she?
tries to smile a little. "It's alright, Madeleine. I'm not upset."
tugs on one of her pigtails nervously. "I-if you say so..." Could tell it upset him a little bit, though...
just smiles politely. "What was she like? The other England, I mean."
"...well. She, um. She's a little bossy. But she always seems really happy to be with me." Flushes a little.
hums, nodding. This other England sounds a bit like him - though, 'bossy' isn't really what he'd use...
"Oh! And she gets embarrassed really easy, so it's fun to ..." Trails off. ... darnit, she forgot she was talking to another England...
blinks, a little curious. "Fun to...?"
mumbles. "...tease her..."
pauses, just slightly amused, and sips his tea. "I wonder if Matthew does the same."
Madeleine
is
so very red right now. "I... I... w-wouldn't know." Small voice is small.
chuckles, looking at her. "What do you tease her about?"
"Lots of things... Her hair a-and her clothes." Bites her lip. "I... I know I shouldn't! But it's just so funny..." FEELS BAD, MAN.
Arthur
wonders
what his counterpart looks like. "...You're starting to sound like Alfred."
"...Alfred?" Has a sneaking suspicion as to who that might be, and now she feels WORSE because she doesn't want to be anything LIKE her
sister.
"Ah, sorry; I meant America."
frowns. "I... well, I don't... do it ... to her face?" That just sounds worse. Ohgod.
That did sound worse. "...So you make fun of her behind her back?"
flushes so red. "... in my own head? A-and I laugh to myself when other people make fun of her?"
sighs, feeling rather glum now. Was this how Matthew thought too...? If only his counterpart knew...
Now she feels REALLY BAD. Looks at her knees. "But... but that doesn't mean I don't ... care about her." Was going to say 'love her', but
that felt... weird to say.
shakes his head. "It's alright, Madeleine. It isn't as if everyone else does that too. Laugh at me, I mean."
bites her lip hard. "I'm sorry..." Now she feels terrible, ohgod.
forces a small laugh. "No, don't be. It's true."
"That... doesn't mean I can't be sorry. I... I mean, you seem like a really wonderful person!"
"Perhaps..." But if his counterpart was similar to himself, wouldn't she be a wonderful person too...? "It's really alright, Madeleine."
Madeleine
is
trying not to get teary-eyed, because that's a useless thing to do. But she knows she upset him and... just nods a little, tugging her hair.
takes another sip of his tea. "I'll just hope you don't tell her any of these things; I'm envisioning that she won't take it too kindly."
nods again. And now she really is a little teary-eyed. But she's trying very hard to hide it!
notices, and feels a little bad. "Ah-- no, Madeleine, really, it's fine...!"
takes a deep breath. "I know. I'm sorry. I just... um. I feel bad. Even though you're not her, I feel like I hurt her and I don't like it."
doesn't like doing this, but... "Well... what she doesn't know won't hurt her. That's been the mentality all along, hasn't it?"
nibbles her lip. "T-true. Maybe I... shouldn't make fun of her, though."
"I'm sure she'd appreciate that."
smiles softly. "... would you appreciate it too?"
pauses, just slightly embarrassed. "I... suppose so..."
Her smile gets brighter. "Then... I'll stop." Nods decisively.
blinks. "...It's alright. Everyone needs to derive some sort of amusement from something."
"I have plenty of other things to amuse me." And she's made up her mind. So there.
can't help but smile just a little bit. "...If you insist," he replies, feeling a little pathetic for being happy.