[FANFICTION] For Queen and Country
Title: For Queen and Country
Author/Artist: Rea, or geogirl15
Character(s) or Pairing(s): England,mentions of Sealand and America, and the following OCs- Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Rating: PG-13, violence, language, and bizzare sibling relationships. Also zombies.
Warnings: Violence and warfare, language, an implied crossover (YOU GOTTA FIND IT THOUGH), OCs, craploads of mentions of death, and a bit of angst.
Summary: It is the height of the zombie pandemic, and the United Kingdom goes to war.
Notes: I believe this is the first bit of H War Z that actually takes place DURING the zombie war, without flashing back to it. This is also the first fic to feature England, as well as Arthur's siblings, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
It was mentioned that the UK was largely unaffected by the zombie war, but I tweaked it a bit so there'd be some fighting and violence, but not a lot. Despite that, Artie and his family came out ok.
Again, I'm hoping to make this chapter a bit less serious, especially considering the last one...
OH. First one to spot the not WWZ related crossover gets a free internet cookie AND a drabble of their choice! If you know me, it should be fairly obvious! :3
Arthur Kirkland was no stranger to war. He'd been an empire, a conqueror, a pirate. He was old enough to have seen a great deal of fighting in his life, and how to handle war.
He'd survived the fucking Blitz, for Chrissake!
But nothing--nothing, had prepared him for this.
Zombies. Fucking ZOMBIES were invading his country.
If it wasn't happening, it would be impossible to believe. But then again, this was coming from the man who could see fairies and communicated with unicorns on a regular basis.
Who was he to judge the impossible?
But these weren't mythical creatures. The zombies were a disease, a walking plague with no cure that spread across the globe and tore apart society.
They had all heard the rumors...Israel passed out that report of hers as soon as the signs became clear. They'd all thought she was paranoid, quarantining her entire country when nobody believed her.
But then they had reports from Africa, of a bizarre new strain of flu. News leaked out from China, suppressed reports of isolated outbreaks coming through, and it soon became very obvious that something was wrong.
And then the was the Great Panic, and the whole world dissolved into chaos.
In hindsight, Arthur felt stupid for not having listened to Israel, for having barely glanced over that report before tossing it in the rubbish bin. He'd joked with Alfred about how Adalia was a bit jumpy, paranoid from years of conflict with Palestine, how it was probably nothing.
Well, he wasn't laughing now. Nobody was.
He had to do something to protect his people.
He knew the other nations were fighting and evacuating and running...He knew that almost all of Kiku's population had fled, he knew that there was a massacre in the Catacombs of Paris, and he knew what happened to Iceland.
Everybody knew what happened to Iceland.
He wasn't going to let that happen to him. No bloody way.
He'd do whatever it took to keep his people safe...
...Unfortunately, it meant talking with his siblings.
It's not that he didn't love his siblings...he just didn't like them very much at times. They were...well, his siblings.
Scotland and Wales had bullied him when he was younger, and even though they got along better now, they still had their moments on occasion...as for Ireland...well.
He and Ireland were always fighting about who should look after Northern Ireland, and every time they seemed to come to an agreement, somebody would shoot somebody else or blow something up and they'd be right back at it.
Besides, she was just an irritating person to deal with.
In a way, all of them were...
Really, meeting with them usually caused more problems than solved.
But given the choice between dealing with his brother and sisters and the zombies...he'd take the siblings any day.
--------
"Ok, people. As you're all aware, we've got a real problem on our hands. I want to know what you've all been doing to protect yourselves from the zombies, and what we can do together to stop them."
Arthur was holding a meeting in his house, having finally managed to get a hold of his siblings.
It took a lot of arguing and yelling, and a great deal of swearing on Ireland's part, but they were all here now.
Except they weren't really paying attention. As usual.
Scotland was staring off into space, fiddling with a bottle of empty whiskey. No doubt he had another full one on his person, and was just waiting for an excuse to pull it out.
Wales was fidgeting, checking her cell phone every five minutes.
The only ones paying attention were Ireland and Northern Ireland, but that didn't mean they knew what was going on.
Ireland just blinked at him, confused, the only person to respond to Arthur's question at all. Her expression was mirrored by the much younger Northern Ireland, sitting in her lap.
"Arthur, my people haven't had any problems with the zombies...no reported outbreaks, no mass immigrations, nothing." Fiona continued to stare at her brother, confused, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. If she'd been having problems, she'd already be dealing with them.
The little boy in her lap, Alroy, nodded in agreement with her.
"We haven't had any problems, Artie..."
Arthur frowned. Perfect. Couldn't get any help from them. Not like he really wanted it, anyway.
"...Well, ok then. I'll get back to you two in a minute. I may have a job for you, Fiona."
Fiona just snorted in response. "I bet you do, Iggykins."
Arthur ignored her.
"Duncan, what about you?"
Scotland, who had been staring intently at his empty bottle, didn't respond for a moment. Arthur coughed, smacking the table lightly, finally getting his brother's attention. Duncan blinked, slightly confused, before shaking his head.
"Aye, we had a bit of trouble, but we've got protection. The old castles in the south, we're using them as fortresses. The Zee's aren't smart enough to get in, and those that do...well, they don't get out."
Duncan laughed, grinning a bit.
"Arthur, we're fine. Honestly, we are. We've had a few issues, but we're dealing with them."
Arthur nodded, satisfied. Duncan was capable of handling himself, after all...
"Lanette...? What about you?"
Wales didn't look up from her cell phone as she responded.
"I've got people, Arthur. You know that."
Arthur sighed.
"I know you do, Lanette...but zombies aren't exactly their specialty, are they? And really, I think you need more than 5 barely competent people to defend your capital, let alone you..."
Lanette looked up from her phone and glared at her brother for a minute, before going back to staring at her phone.
"You're just jealous they won't work for you anymore."
"That's beside the point, and you know it. I really think you're going to need more help--"
Lanette's phone started ringing, and she instantly answered it, jumping out of her chair, ignoring whatever her brother had been trying to tell her.
"Jack? I swear, this had better be good news..."
Arthur just stared at his sister as she listened and visibly paled before darting out of the room, screaming into her phone in Welsh.
Well.
She wasn't going to be of any help.
For a few minutes, there was silence in the room. Everybody was staring at the door where Lanette had exited, expecting her to return. When she didn't, Arthur sighed and resumed the meeting.
"Ok, so I guess we're not going to be getting help from her. I suppose it's my turn now...and yes, I've been having problems, which is why I called you all here in the first place. I know we don't exactly get along, but we'll have to if we're going to get through this in tact."
Arthur sighed before turning to Fiona and Alroy.
"You two are completely clean, right?"
The two nodded, still looking rather confused, although Arthur swore Fiona looked more angry than confused.
"Good. I think I'm going to need to evacuate London, and I need someplace safe for the people to go until I can get it cleared. That's going to include the government and the royal family, so I need you to be extremely careful, got it?"
Fiona nodded, still looking rather irritated.
"We'll take them in. We've been checking constantly for any signs of trouble, and there's been nothing yet...so we should be ok."
Alroy smiled a little, nodding in agreement with his older sister.
"I bet we can do more than just help the people, though!! We could make stuff for ya, Artie...like weapons, and food, and all other kinds of supplies!!"
Arthur nodded. It was a good idea...They were going to war, they'd need more supplies than normal...
He was about to turn and speak to Duncan when Fiona coughed, redirecting Arthur's attention back to her.
"Arthur. I'm only going to do this for you on one condition."
...Oh no.
"I'm taking Alroy back, permanently. No fighting, no treaties, nothing. Got it?"
Arthur blinked and sighed, rubbing his forehead. He knew this was coming, and really, he was in no mood to deal with this right now.
"Fiona...can we not talk about this now? I think that there are more pressing matters than a custody battle, and really, I'm sure that Alroy would rather stay with me..."
Duncan sighed as Fiona started yelling at Arthur, the two of them starting yet another shouting match. Alroy, who was more or less being ignored by his brother and sister, had started to cry from all the yelling, and if he listened closely enough, Duncan could hear Lanette still screaming to her captain in Welsh over the phone.
He sighed again, reaching into his pocket for another bottle of whiskey, leaning back in his chair, watching his brother and sister fight.
Really, all things considered, the meeting went pretty well.
-------
"Your Majesty, please. You've got to leave the country, it's for your own safety! Your people need you safe, your family needs you safe!"
Elizabeth II shook her head, making no movements to get up and leave. This was the third time today that Arthur had tried to convince her to leave Windsor Castle, to go to Ireland with her family and government, and this was the third time today that she had refused.
Arthur couldn't understand it. Well...actually, he could. His queen was a stubborn woman. Once she set her mind on something, no power on earth could make her change her mind.
But they were at war, with an enemy both unpredictable and practically impossible to kill.
For her own sake, Arthur just had to make her leave the country.
"Your Majesty, I don't think understand the severity of the situation..."
"No, Arthur. I understand completely what is going on, and that is why I am going to stay."
Arthur sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Your Majesty, we are at war. Your people need to you be safe and protected, away from danger."
"My people need me here. You forget, Arthur, that my mother and father stayed here while the bombs were falling, because they would not be intimidated. My people need me here, to show them that I will not be intimidated by this, or any threat."
...Damn. She really wasn't going to leave, was she?
"I can't do anything to make you change your mind, can I?"
"I am afraid not, Arthur."
He sighed and was about to try and argue with her again when his cell phone began to ring. The queen gave him a small smile and nodded towards the door, signaling that it was ok for him to leave. Arthur nodded and bowed slightly before leaving to get the phone.
"This had better be important."
"Sir, it's very important...I...we found something. You need to come out here and take a look."
"Found something? What do you mean, found something? You were supposed to be digging a trench, how could you find something?"
"Well, sir...we found it while digging."
"Well, what is it?"
"...we think its oil, sir."
-------
It took them 5 years to clear London out completely.
5 years of being afraid to fall asleep because they never needed too.
5 years of leading men through deserted streets, armies of dead outnumbering them a million to one.
5 years of shooting and splattering organs on pavements, slicing limbs and stabbing hearts and watching the enemy just keep coming, never stopping, no matter how much you fought them.
5 years of slicing heads off only for them to bite frantically at ankles, only becoming still when a bullet was shot into its brain.
5 years of brains and blood splashing against Arthur's face as he sent zombie after zombie to death, not once thinking of the person they had once been. No matter how hard he tried.
5 years of watching men that were barely men die.
Watching them being devoured and infected and driven to insanity by the eternal moaning of the damned.
5 years of shooting poor, terrified boys in the head to save them from a fate worse than death.
...He'd survived the Blitz, for Chrissake...
He survived the FUCKING Blitz! Why the hell was this so hard?
They were just zombies...just zombies...they weren't even alive, why was dealing with them so fucking HARD?
He'd fought wars before...he'd killed before...but those were wars of men, not monsters. At least, not physical, literal monsters.
And he'd never had to kill his own men before. He'd never had to order them to kill each other.
Going out there, every day, to win an inch and lose a yard...to watch his men kill and die for nothing...
It was hell. Pure hell.
...But he was alive.
At least he had that.
That was more than so many people could say now...
5 years from hell...
...At least it was over.
-------
"Yes, Peter, for the last time, I know you're a real country now, you don't have to keep reminding everybody, we all get it. ...Yes, I know you told me so. Once again, stop reminding everybody.
...Ok, the filters will be here by Monday? Good, we need to get those set up before Elizabeth gets back from Ireland on Wednesday... Listen, I've got to go, Alfred is visiting, finally, and I need to pick him up from the airport.
...Peter, are you listening to me? ...Peter. I'm hanging up now."
Honestly, sometimes Peter was too much to deal with.
Ever since Sealand was recognized by the UN as a proper nation, he called Arthur every day and bragged.
And bragged.
And bragged.
He couldn't take it much longer...if that boy phoned him and told him to bow down to the might of Sealand, he'd...he'd...well, he didn't know what he'd do, but it wouldn't be good.
He had been a pirate, after all.
The war had been over for about 10 years, and things had gone back to normal in England. Their government never collapsed, their economy was stable (with the help of their oil and transportation industry), the people were happy, and all was well.
Things had changed, however.
Arlon was living with Fiona again, and Ireland was united once more. Arthur knew he was going to lose that fight with his sister, but it really couldn't be helped. After the war, Arthur lacked the power and motivation to put up a fight against his sister.
Fiona's country was one of the wealthiest in the world, making and supplying the rest of the world with food and weapons.
Her population boomed during the war, with countless refugees fleeing to safety, and the population growth continued after the war ended.
And, just like Peter, she loved to rub it in his face. Git.
Duncan was...well, Duncan. That would never change. The same went for Lanette; The two of them would never really change, no matter what happened.
Things were going back to normal, at least...
Arthur smiled a bit, going to grab his jacket. It was the first time he'd actually seen Alfred since the war ended, and the last time he saw him, Alfred had been a bit of a wreck...
But things were going to go better this time. Arthur would make sure of that. They'd survived, and that was all that mattered in the end. He'd make Alfred see that if it killed him.
Of course, I bet he'll find some way to screw up...ah well. It's what he does best, I suppose....
He sighed and started to head off to the airport. Alfred was waiting.
NOTES
-Did ya'll find the super seekret crossover yet? :3 If not, I'll give you a hint. The crossover itself is mentioned in a previous journal, but I won't tell you which one!!
-The UK came out the Zombie War relatively unscathed, with Ireland becoming one of the richest countries in the world, maintaining a huge farming industry.
-England discovered oil at a Windsor defensive base, and, following the war, became a major supplier of oil.
-Also following the war was the invention of the 'fortified elevated highway' system, developed in England, which is now used around the HWZ world.
-The majority of English wartime casualties came from soldiers, not civilians.
-Scotland and Wales suffered the worst outbreaks out of the entire UK, although Scotland fared better than Wales. Both ultimately began using their old castles as part of their defense systems, and as a result were able to save countless lives.
-Sealand, as a result of the zombie war, was able to expand and become a very, VERY large seasteading nation, and was eventually recognized by the UK as a real country, making it the first and currently only seasteading nation, as well as the only micronation to make the transition to real nation. How did this happen? :3 That's coming soon.
-But, if you're reeeally curious, Sealand the nation looks something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AndrasGyorfi.jpg
-Israel was the first country to recognize the threat of the zombies, and released the Warbrunn-Knight Report, which was ignored by most countries. Israel was the only one to quarantine prior to the Great Panic.
-Japan and Iceland were both overrun by zombies. While the entire Japanese population was able to evacuate the island, Iceland was essentially destroyed and has the highest concentration of zombies in the world.
-Some of the worst casualties in the war came from France, particularly during the attempts to retake Paris and the Catacomb battles, which are infamous in the HWZ world. More on that later, though.
-Queen Elizabeth II remained in England during the entirety of the zombie war, while the rest of her family fled to Ireland and the Isle of Man. Her reasoning behind this was that her mother and father didn't flee England during the Blitz, acting as an inspiration to their people, and she wouldn't flee from this threat.
-The reason why Alfred apparently looked horrible the last time Arthur saw him, as well as his meeting with Arthur in London, will be explained and shown in more detail in a future ficbit.
-Out of all of Arthur's siblings, only Fiona escapes the cursed eyebrows. The others all have them.
-The 'custody battle' that constantly occurs between Fiona and Arthur refers to the Troubles. Technically, the Troubles are over, but there's still a lot of violence, so, make of that what you will. It's really a 'custody battle' that went out of control when religion became the prime reason for the extreme conflict. Read about it, it's very sad and interesting.
-I recognize the fact that this was a very...dialogue heave ficlet. Lots of exposition, not a lot of action. And I do apologize, but I honestly wasn't sure about how to show all of this without the talking. I know it's not as good as the other parts, but hey...to tell a story, I suppose you have to have good and bad chapters.
-SO. TO MAKE UP FOR THIS CHAPTER'S LAME, LET ME GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT IS COMING UP!! The next few ficbits will include: France and the Catacomb Battles, SuFin, the Evacuation of Japan, the Warbrunn-Knight Report, Russia/Canada, US/UK, Stalker!Female!Mexico, Alaska and Oregon, The Great Panic, Antarctica, and the GLORIOUS KINGDOM OF SEALAND. Also, zombies. ALWAYS WITH THE ZOMBIES. But I'm not telling you what order that's gonna go in, cuz I honestly don't know yet. I just make this stuff up as I go along, people.
So there's that to look forward to. I hope you enjoyed, or at the very least, accepted, this little ficlet.
Author/Artist: Rea, or geogirl15
Character(s) or Pairing(s): England,mentions of Sealand and America, and the following OCs- Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Rating: PG-13, violence, language, and bizzare sibling relationships. Also zombies.
Warnings: Violence and warfare, language, an implied crossover (YOU GOTTA FIND IT THOUGH), OCs, craploads of mentions of death, and a bit of angst.
Summary: It is the height of the zombie pandemic, and the United Kingdom goes to war.
Notes: I believe this is the first bit of H War Z that actually takes place DURING the zombie war, without flashing back to it. This is also the first fic to feature England, as well as Arthur's siblings, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
It was mentioned that the UK was largely unaffected by the zombie war, but I tweaked it a bit so there'd be some fighting and violence, but not a lot. Despite that, Artie and his family came out ok.
Again, I'm hoping to make this chapter a bit less serious, especially considering the last one...
OH. First one to spot the not WWZ related crossover gets a free internet cookie AND a drabble of their choice! If you know me, it should be fairly obvious! :3
Arthur Kirkland was no stranger to war. He'd been an empire, a conqueror, a pirate. He was old enough to have seen a great deal of fighting in his life, and how to handle war.
He'd survived the fucking Blitz, for Chrissake!
But nothing--nothing, had prepared him for this.
Zombies. Fucking ZOMBIES were invading his country.
If it wasn't happening, it would be impossible to believe. But then again, this was coming from the man who could see fairies and communicated with unicorns on a regular basis.
Who was he to judge the impossible?
But these weren't mythical creatures. The zombies were a disease, a walking plague with no cure that spread across the globe and tore apart society.
They had all heard the rumors...Israel passed out that report of hers as soon as the signs became clear. They'd all thought she was paranoid, quarantining her entire country when nobody believed her.
But then they had reports from Africa, of a bizarre new strain of flu. News leaked out from China, suppressed reports of isolated outbreaks coming through, and it soon became very obvious that something was wrong.
And then the was the Great Panic, and the whole world dissolved into chaos.
In hindsight, Arthur felt stupid for not having listened to Israel, for having barely glanced over that report before tossing it in the rubbish bin. He'd joked with Alfred about how Adalia was a bit jumpy, paranoid from years of conflict with Palestine, how it was probably nothing.
Well, he wasn't laughing now. Nobody was.
He had to do something to protect his people.
He knew the other nations were fighting and evacuating and running...He knew that almost all of Kiku's population had fled, he knew that there was a massacre in the Catacombs of Paris, and he knew what happened to Iceland.
Everybody knew what happened to Iceland.
He wasn't going to let that happen to him. No bloody way.
He'd do whatever it took to keep his people safe...
...Unfortunately, it meant talking with his siblings.
It's not that he didn't love his siblings...he just didn't like them very much at times. They were...well, his siblings.
Scotland and Wales had bullied him when he was younger, and even though they got along better now, they still had their moments on occasion...as for Ireland...well.
He and Ireland were always fighting about who should look after Northern Ireland, and every time they seemed to come to an agreement, somebody would shoot somebody else or blow something up and they'd be right back at it.
Besides, she was just an irritating person to deal with.
In a way, all of them were...
Really, meeting with them usually caused more problems than solved.
But given the choice between dealing with his brother and sisters and the zombies...he'd take the siblings any day.
--------
"Ok, people. As you're all aware, we've got a real problem on our hands. I want to know what you've all been doing to protect yourselves from the zombies, and what we can do together to stop them."
Arthur was holding a meeting in his house, having finally managed to get a hold of his siblings.
It took a lot of arguing and yelling, and a great deal of swearing on Ireland's part, but they were all here now.
Except they weren't really paying attention. As usual.
Scotland was staring off into space, fiddling with a bottle of empty whiskey. No doubt he had another full one on his person, and was just waiting for an excuse to pull it out.
Wales was fidgeting, checking her cell phone every five minutes.
The only ones paying attention were Ireland and Northern Ireland, but that didn't mean they knew what was going on.
Ireland just blinked at him, confused, the only person to respond to Arthur's question at all. Her expression was mirrored by the much younger Northern Ireland, sitting in her lap.
"Arthur, my people haven't had any problems with the zombies...no reported outbreaks, no mass immigrations, nothing." Fiona continued to stare at her brother, confused, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. If she'd been having problems, she'd already be dealing with them.
The little boy in her lap, Alroy, nodded in agreement with her.
"We haven't had any problems, Artie..."
Arthur frowned. Perfect. Couldn't get any help from them. Not like he really wanted it, anyway.
"...Well, ok then. I'll get back to you two in a minute. I may have a job for you, Fiona."
Fiona just snorted in response. "I bet you do, Iggykins."
Arthur ignored her.
"Duncan, what about you?"
Scotland, who had been staring intently at his empty bottle, didn't respond for a moment. Arthur coughed, smacking the table lightly, finally getting his brother's attention. Duncan blinked, slightly confused, before shaking his head.
"Aye, we had a bit of trouble, but we've got protection. The old castles in the south, we're using them as fortresses. The Zee's aren't smart enough to get in, and those that do...well, they don't get out."
Duncan laughed, grinning a bit.
"Arthur, we're fine. Honestly, we are. We've had a few issues, but we're dealing with them."
Arthur nodded, satisfied. Duncan was capable of handling himself, after all...
"Lanette...? What about you?"
Wales didn't look up from her cell phone as she responded.
"I've got people, Arthur. You know that."
Arthur sighed.
"I know you do, Lanette...but zombies aren't exactly their specialty, are they? And really, I think you need more than 5 barely competent people to defend your capital, let alone you..."
Lanette looked up from her phone and glared at her brother for a minute, before going back to staring at her phone.
"You're just jealous they won't work for you anymore."
"That's beside the point, and you know it. I really think you're going to need more help--"
Lanette's phone started ringing, and she instantly answered it, jumping out of her chair, ignoring whatever her brother had been trying to tell her.
"Jack? I swear, this had better be good news..."
Arthur just stared at his sister as she listened and visibly paled before darting out of the room, screaming into her phone in Welsh.
Well.
She wasn't going to be of any help.
For a few minutes, there was silence in the room. Everybody was staring at the door where Lanette had exited, expecting her to return. When she didn't, Arthur sighed and resumed the meeting.
"Ok, so I guess we're not going to be getting help from her. I suppose it's my turn now...and yes, I've been having problems, which is why I called you all here in the first place. I know we don't exactly get along, but we'll have to if we're going to get through this in tact."
Arthur sighed before turning to Fiona and Alroy.
"You two are completely clean, right?"
The two nodded, still looking rather confused, although Arthur swore Fiona looked more angry than confused.
"Good. I think I'm going to need to evacuate London, and I need someplace safe for the people to go until I can get it cleared. That's going to include the government and the royal family, so I need you to be extremely careful, got it?"
Fiona nodded, still looking rather irritated.
"We'll take them in. We've been checking constantly for any signs of trouble, and there's been nothing yet...so we should be ok."
Alroy smiled a little, nodding in agreement with his older sister.
"I bet we can do more than just help the people, though!! We could make stuff for ya, Artie...like weapons, and food, and all other kinds of supplies!!"
Arthur nodded. It was a good idea...They were going to war, they'd need more supplies than normal...
He was about to turn and speak to Duncan when Fiona coughed, redirecting Arthur's attention back to her.
"Arthur. I'm only going to do this for you on one condition."
...Oh no.
"I'm taking Alroy back, permanently. No fighting, no treaties, nothing. Got it?"
Arthur blinked and sighed, rubbing his forehead. He knew this was coming, and really, he was in no mood to deal with this right now.
"Fiona...can we not talk about this now? I think that there are more pressing matters than a custody battle, and really, I'm sure that Alroy would rather stay with me..."
Duncan sighed as Fiona started yelling at Arthur, the two of them starting yet another shouting match. Alroy, who was more or less being ignored by his brother and sister, had started to cry from all the yelling, and if he listened closely enough, Duncan could hear Lanette still screaming to her captain in Welsh over the phone.
He sighed again, reaching into his pocket for another bottle of whiskey, leaning back in his chair, watching his brother and sister fight.
Really, all things considered, the meeting went pretty well.
-------
"Your Majesty, please. You've got to leave the country, it's for your own safety! Your people need you safe, your family needs you safe!"
Elizabeth II shook her head, making no movements to get up and leave. This was the third time today that Arthur had tried to convince her to leave Windsor Castle, to go to Ireland with her family and government, and this was the third time today that she had refused.
Arthur couldn't understand it. Well...actually, he could. His queen was a stubborn woman. Once she set her mind on something, no power on earth could make her change her mind.
But they were at war, with an enemy both unpredictable and practically impossible to kill.
For her own sake, Arthur just had to make her leave the country.
"Your Majesty, I don't think understand the severity of the situation..."
"No, Arthur. I understand completely what is going on, and that is why I am going to stay."
Arthur sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Your Majesty, we are at war. Your people need to you be safe and protected, away from danger."
"My people need me here. You forget, Arthur, that my mother and father stayed here while the bombs were falling, because they would not be intimidated. My people need me here, to show them that I will not be intimidated by this, or any threat."
...Damn. She really wasn't going to leave, was she?
"I can't do anything to make you change your mind, can I?"
"I am afraid not, Arthur."
He sighed and was about to try and argue with her again when his cell phone began to ring. The queen gave him a small smile and nodded towards the door, signaling that it was ok for him to leave. Arthur nodded and bowed slightly before leaving to get the phone.
"This had better be important."
"Sir, it's very important...I...we found something. You need to come out here and take a look."
"Found something? What do you mean, found something? You were supposed to be digging a trench, how could you find something?"
"Well, sir...we found it while digging."
"Well, what is it?"
"...we think its oil, sir."
-------
It took them 5 years to clear London out completely.
5 years of being afraid to fall asleep because they never needed too.
5 years of leading men through deserted streets, armies of dead outnumbering them a million to one.
5 years of shooting and splattering organs on pavements, slicing limbs and stabbing hearts and watching the enemy just keep coming, never stopping, no matter how much you fought them.
5 years of slicing heads off only for them to bite frantically at ankles, only becoming still when a bullet was shot into its brain.
5 years of brains and blood splashing against Arthur's face as he sent zombie after zombie to death, not once thinking of the person they had once been. No matter how hard he tried.
5 years of watching men that were barely men die.
Watching them being devoured and infected and driven to insanity by the eternal moaning of the damned.
5 years of shooting poor, terrified boys in the head to save them from a fate worse than death.
...He'd survived the Blitz, for Chrissake...
He survived the FUCKING Blitz! Why the hell was this so hard?
They were just zombies...just zombies...they weren't even alive, why was dealing with them so fucking HARD?
He'd fought wars before...he'd killed before...but those were wars of men, not monsters. At least, not physical, literal monsters.
And he'd never had to kill his own men before. He'd never had to order them to kill each other.
Going out there, every day, to win an inch and lose a yard...to watch his men kill and die for nothing...
It was hell. Pure hell.
...But he was alive.
At least he had that.
That was more than so many people could say now...
5 years from hell...
...At least it was over.
-------
"Yes, Peter, for the last time, I know you're a real country now, you don't have to keep reminding everybody, we all get it. ...Yes, I know you told me so. Once again, stop reminding everybody.
...Ok, the filters will be here by Monday? Good, we need to get those set up before Elizabeth gets back from Ireland on Wednesday... Listen, I've got to go, Alfred is visiting, finally, and I need to pick him up from the airport.
...Peter, are you listening to me? ...Peter. I'm hanging up now."
Honestly, sometimes Peter was too much to deal with.
Ever since Sealand was recognized by the UN as a proper nation, he called Arthur every day and bragged.
And bragged.
And bragged.
He couldn't take it much longer...if that boy phoned him and told him to bow down to the might of Sealand, he'd...he'd...well, he didn't know what he'd do, but it wouldn't be good.
He had been a pirate, after all.
The war had been over for about 10 years, and things had gone back to normal in England. Their government never collapsed, their economy was stable (with the help of their oil and transportation industry), the people were happy, and all was well.
Things had changed, however.
Arlon was living with Fiona again, and Ireland was united once more. Arthur knew he was going to lose that fight with his sister, but it really couldn't be helped. After the war, Arthur lacked the power and motivation to put up a fight against his sister.
Fiona's country was one of the wealthiest in the world, making and supplying the rest of the world with food and weapons.
Her population boomed during the war, with countless refugees fleeing to safety, and the population growth continued after the war ended.
And, just like Peter, she loved to rub it in his face. Git.
Duncan was...well, Duncan. That would never change. The same went for Lanette; The two of them would never really change, no matter what happened.
Things were going back to normal, at least...
Arthur smiled a bit, going to grab his jacket. It was the first time he'd actually seen Alfred since the war ended, and the last time he saw him, Alfred had been a bit of a wreck...
But things were going to go better this time. Arthur would make sure of that. They'd survived, and that was all that mattered in the end. He'd make Alfred see that if it killed him.
Of course, I bet he'll find some way to screw up...ah well. It's what he does best, I suppose....
He sighed and started to head off to the airport. Alfred was waiting.
NOTES
-Did ya'll find the super seekret crossover yet? :3 If not, I'll give you a hint. The crossover itself is mentioned in a previous journal, but I won't tell you which one!!
-The UK came out the Zombie War relatively unscathed, with Ireland becoming one of the richest countries in the world, maintaining a huge farming industry.
-England discovered oil at a Windsor defensive base, and, following the war, became a major supplier of oil.
-Also following the war was the invention of the 'fortified elevated highway' system, developed in England, which is now used around the HWZ world.
-The majority of English wartime casualties came from soldiers, not civilians.
-Scotland and Wales suffered the worst outbreaks out of the entire UK, although Scotland fared better than Wales. Both ultimately began using their old castles as part of their defense systems, and as a result were able to save countless lives.
-Sealand, as a result of the zombie war, was able to expand and become a very, VERY large seasteading nation, and was eventually recognized by the UK as a real country, making it the first and currently only seasteading nation, as well as the only micronation to make the transition to real nation. How did this happen? :3 That's coming soon.
-But, if you're reeeally curious, Sealand the nation looks something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AndrasGyorfi.jpg
-Israel was the first country to recognize the threat of the zombies, and released the Warbrunn-Knight Report, which was ignored by most countries. Israel was the only one to quarantine prior to the Great Panic.
-Japan and Iceland were both overrun by zombies. While the entire Japanese population was able to evacuate the island, Iceland was essentially destroyed and has the highest concentration of zombies in the world.
-Some of the worst casualties in the war came from France, particularly during the attempts to retake Paris and the Catacomb battles, which are infamous in the HWZ world. More on that later, though.
-Queen Elizabeth II remained in England during the entirety of the zombie war, while the rest of her family fled to Ireland and the Isle of Man. Her reasoning behind this was that her mother and father didn't flee England during the Blitz, acting as an inspiration to their people, and she wouldn't flee from this threat.
-The reason why Alfred apparently looked horrible the last time Arthur saw him, as well as his meeting with Arthur in London, will be explained and shown in more detail in a future ficbit.
-Out of all of Arthur's siblings, only Fiona escapes the cursed eyebrows. The others all have them.
-The 'custody battle' that constantly occurs between Fiona and Arthur refers to the Troubles. Technically, the Troubles are over, but there's still a lot of violence, so, make of that what you will. It's really a 'custody battle' that went out of control when religion became the prime reason for the extreme conflict. Read about it, it's very sad and interesting.
-I recognize the fact that this was a very...dialogue heave ficlet. Lots of exposition, not a lot of action. And I do apologize, but I honestly wasn't sure about how to show all of this without the talking. I know it's not as good as the other parts, but hey...to tell a story, I suppose you have to have good and bad chapters.
-SO. TO MAKE UP FOR THIS CHAPTER'S LAME, LET ME GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT IS COMING UP!! The next few ficbits will include: France and the Catacomb Battles, SuFin, the Evacuation of Japan, the Warbrunn-Knight Report, Russia/Canada, US/UK, Stalker!Female!Mexico, Alaska and Oregon, The Great Panic, Antarctica, and the GLORIOUS KINGDOM OF SEALAND. Also, zombies. ALWAYS WITH THE ZOMBIES. But I'm not telling you what order that's gonna go in, cuz I honestly don't know yet. I just make this stuff up as I go along, people.
So there's that to look forward to. I hope you enjoyed, or at the very least, accepted, this little ficlet.