Independence chapter 1: Dependence

Early 17th Century

"Seventeen... eighteen... nineteen... twenty! Here I come, America!" England shouted as he began his search for America. The two had been playing hide-and-seek for an hour now with England hiding himself easily for the child and counting much slower for him. Usually, the former pirate wouldn't play such games, but little America desperately wanted to play something with his big brother, especially since he was busier than usual and finally found some time to spend with America. "Now where could he be...?" England asked himself, looking around the large house.

America was still quite small so he could fit in many spaces. However, the growing country had one disadvantage. The child had a ton of energy and had a hard time controlling it. Giggles quietly echoed in the bedroom England was in, indicating America was hiding somewhere near. Following the sound, the British country easily figured out the location. Silently, England crept up to the wardrobe that was near the left most window in the room. England grabbed the handles and quickly opened the doors. A tiny yelp of surprise came from behind a white jacket.

"How did you find me?" a voice asked.

"It's quite easy when you follow the giggling," the green-eyed blonde answered, moving the jacket out of the way to reveal a young boy with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He appeared to be about eight years old and was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt; a green sweater vest; and a pair of short brown pants. England helped America out of the wardrobe and onto the wood flooring. When the sunlight hit the younger country, England couldn't help but notice a few bruises on the boy's legs. "What happened, America? You weren't hurt when you ran off to hide."

"Oh these? I just tripped a few times while finding a hiding spot. I was sure, I was going to win this time..." England couldn't help but smile a little. Sure, America was hurt but his energy and cheerfulness made it seem like it was nothing.

"Well, let's take a break. I'm pretty sure you're at least a little tired," England said, gaining a pout from America.

"But I want to play more!" America shouted. Playing with England was fun (and rare) and the growing country wanted some attention after being left alone for some time.

"We'll play after our break. Besides, it's lunch time. Don't you want to eat, America?" America gave the idea only a small amount of though before his stomach growled loudly. It made England chuckle.

"Fine. But I want to eat outside! Under that huge tree over there!" America declared, pointing to a fairly large tree outside the house.

"Alright then." As the English country prepared for the their little picnic, America slipped away and headed to the tree. He wanted to try out something. "Alright, America. Let's g-" England stopped talking when he noticed America had already gone ahead. All he could do was sigh and catch up to the little one. When he got to the tree, he didn't find the younger country anywhere. "America?"

"Hey, England! Look up here!" England did as America shouted and shock quickly crossed his face. America was sitting on a high branch in the tree, a proud grin across his face.

"America! Get down from there! You can fall and seriously hurt yourself!" the older brother ordered. The younger just looked at him, tilting his head.

"But I can see so much up here! And I won't fall, I promise!" As if irony was waiting to strike, the branch snapped and America fell. Luckily, he grabbed a hold of another, but he was still a ways up. It didn't look like the branch would hold his weight for long either. "O-Okay, England! Y-You were right! H-HELP ME!!"

"I'm coming, America!" England shouted as he climbed up the tree. He may have retired from being a pirate, but the country still had some skills from back then.

"Hurry, England! I-I'm slipping!" America screamed. England quickened his pace but it proved to be useless. About half way up, the branch gave away and young America fell once again.

"America!!!" England grabbed America's hand as he fell, preventing the younger one from plummeting further. America was quite heavy and was putting a ton of strain on the older country's arm. "D-Don't worry, America... I'll pull you up so we can both go down..."

"E-England..." America mumbled. England struggled to pull up the boy but succeeded after awhile. The two quickly advanced down the tree with America gripping his brother quite tightly. Once at the bottom, America fell apart. "I-I-I'm sorry, England... I-I didn't mean to sc-scare you... I-I j-just wa-wanted to show you what I could do..." England looked at America sadly and began to pet the younger one's head. He wanted to be angry and lecture the boy but he couldn't. America was still quite young and still growing up.

"It's okay, America. But don't it again..." America nodded, calming down a little. England bent down to America's level and smiled at him a little. "Do you still want to have our picnic?" England asked. America wiped his eyes and looked at his older brother, nodding. The Britsh country smiled and began setting up the food and the blanket with America helping. Once they were done, the two enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. As the sun began to set, they packed up their things.

England glanced at America and extended his hand. A kind smile was spread across his face. "Let's go home..." The young country smiled brightly and took his brother's hand.