[Fanfic Translation] The Door into Summer - Chapter 3/?
Title: The Door into Summer
Author/Artist: ayami
Character(s) or Pairing(s): America/England
Rating: T
Summary: Arthur and Alfred has been going out for a while now, but Arthur seemed to be afraid of something. As Alfred comes closer to the truth behind Arthur's reaction, things turn out to be more than he expected...
Translated from Chinese with permission.
Permission found here.
Part 1 found here.
Part 2 found here.
Chapter 3
After hanging up the call from Alfred, Arthur flipped through the documents on his table with a distraught mind.
Before Alfred called, Arthur had received a call that was also from the other end of the Atlantic Ocean. It was only an ordinary greeting; the current situation of Alfred was casually mentioned too. He didn't know what the other person's intention was, so he responded politely and inquired with careful wordings.
He admitted that an Englishman--especially a typical Englishman like him was always labeled as an indirect person, but it was also beneficial at the same time. At least he thought the person at the other end couldn't tell what his intention was when he asked questions.
After their quarrel last time, he guessed they were both upset to some degree. Alfred was inattentive, lazy, and absent-minded from time to time during a meeting. This is a warning. Arthur frowned and pondered secretly. The same situation didn't last such a long time for him. He supposed it had already been at least two months. He listened to the other person's tone; they were worried about whether Alfred was sick, and whether this situation would continue or not.
He had originally thought perhaps he should call and confirm Alfred's situation, but decided not to after some consideration. Why should he call when Alfred hadn't apologize yet? If he didn't apologize, then there would be no need for Arthur to pay attention to him. In the end, Alfred called him. Under such a rare circumstance, he softened his attitude and decided to put off their cold war. He even said something against his belief--a hero? What a scary word.
But Alfred could still make fun of him (even though it made him really angry), so things were not at the worst yet. He only hoped Alfred could return to his normal self.
The Door into Summer
Alfred continued to stay at home. He was out only when taking a walk in the morning and in the evening. He would take a walk down to the downtown area from time to time. His civil officer would visit him regularly, bringing him documents for him to sign. But his civil officer always replied ambiguously to Alfred's request to go back to work, saying it would be better for him to have more rest.
"I'm really fine." Alfred said with discontent again, "I feel energetic."
"But before the doctor can find the cause, I think it is better for you to stay at home."
"Even if I'm sick, it can't be cured by the medicine for 'a normal person'."
"Yes, that is why we have to be more careful." His civil officer tried to reassure him, "Because you are very important..."
"Oh." Alfred sat down in frustration and helplessness, "How long do I have to stay at home?"
"We are not sure, but hopefully it will be as short as possible."
After hearing this answer, Alfred's bad mood improved.
"We also hope you can try not to travel too far during this period." The civil officer said in addition.
"What?"
"So we can help you immediately when something happens to you."
Alfred thought it was ridiculous, "Nothing's happened to me yet, and you guys already sound like I'll have a car accident or something."
"They're precautionary measures." The civil officer concluded concisely. He picked up the signed documents and put them into his bag. He also took care of the coffee cup on the table, noticing the grids and lines pattern on it. He quietly took the cup downstairs and put it away after washing it in the kitchen, examining Alfred's newly decorated installation in the meanwhile.
"It looks nice."
"What was that?"
Alfred asked curiously after following the civil officer from the small office upstairs. He was wearing his indoor slippers.
"Your new kitchen."
"Oh, I know it looks very nice. No doubt about that." Alfred smiled with pride, "I decided on it after viewing catalogs for a week. I bet Arthur won't have any complaint after seeing it." He walked over to the counter, gesturing with his hands. "The countertop is made from scratch resistant material, so there's no need to worry about leaving any scratches no matter how he wants to torture the food."
His civil officer couldn't help but smile. Alfred then said with even more pride, "To match his weak arms, I chose a cabinet that's not too high for him. Also, he was nagging and complaining about how he doesn't have a place to put the biological weapons he made before, so I installed a bar counter this time. Hmm, I can wait for him on the side and watch him like this so he doesn't blow my kitchen up again. This is the main reason, yup."
Alfred was acting like a child who liked to show off. He was going on about all his plans and ideas, as if their cold war was over and Arthur would be visiting tomorrow.
"... This is a really thoughtful choice." After a while, the civil officer praised sincerely, "I believe it would make Mr. England very happy for sure."
"You think so too?" Alfred gladly accepted the praise, "I always have to make sure he doesn't have any objection about me."
Watching Alfred's satisfied face sideways, the civil officer's smile deepened. His country was like a child whenever he mentioned Mr. England, whether he was complaining, being angry, or... showing off like this.
When he knew he would be appointed as Alfred's subordinate in the beginning, he had some unrealistic fantasies about Alfred indeed. Wouldn't any ambitious, passionate young man inevitably imagine pink light surrounding the image of their country? He knew the personification of his country was a young man. He had seen Alfred's serious work face during meetings. But when he actually became his civil officer, he realized that while Alfred had his shrewd side, he was like a child more often.
Unlike the prudent, distant Mr. England, Alfred was more passionate and fearless. He was straightforward, embarrassing or troubling others from time to time. On the matter of national interest, however, he never made concessions easily. The civil officer never doubted Alfred's awareness as a representation of a country. He also hoped that Alfred -- his country -- grew as a one that truly upheld justice and conscience in the future (of course he knows it's only an ideal, but the American dream always sounds so nice, doesn't it?).
Alfred's recent situation, however, was worrying him.
The government higher-ups were currently busy investigating the cause to his odd behaviors and physiological changes. Some even suspect it to be a sign of the approaching end of the United States.
But aside from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or other ungraspable natural disasters, there were little differences in people's activities. Economic-wise, trades were operating normally; there were no problems with the military or diplomatic influences either.
And Alfred himself was standing in front of him and talking excitedly about his kitchen decoration and the new bookshelf. He wanted to end this cold war early because he planned on taking Mr. England to explore South America on his vacation...
People that fell in love were all blind. The civil officer knew Alfred had been together with Mr. England for twenty-six and a half months and three days. Logically, they should already be far from madly in love with each other. Besides, Alfred wasn't into it this much when they were together in the beginning. It was like he only had eyes for one person and no one else. But wasn't this a normal phenomenon for those that fell in love?
"... I hope you make up with Mr. England soon." The civil officer said with a smile, "I should head back now."
"See ya." Alfred bid him farewell with a smile like a friendly boy from next door.
Who is the third who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together.
-T.S. Eliot
It was eight in the morning.
Alfred's civil officer got up and freshened up, leaving for work at nine o'clock. The meeting started at ten. He was tapping his keyboard, noting down the key points of the meeting. After he finished organizing the data, he would then report it to Alfred. The meeting was adjourned at one. Soon almost all the participants had left, leaving him to revise the report at a slow pace.
"Knock."
There was a moderate tap on the glass door. The civil officer looked up and saw Representative Kingston Lee, the poor guy that had been embarrassed by Alfred last time. The civil officer nodded in greeting and Kingston walked toward him with a smile.
"How diligent."
"I'm just doing my job."
"Yes. How's our 'country' doing?"
"Not bad."
The civil officer didn't stop moving his hands. He was considering which participle would be more appropriate to use for this sentence. Kingston was leaning on the back of the seat next to him, crossing his arms and staring at the words on the laptop screen from the corner of his eyes.
Representative Kingston was around fifty years old. He started out as a basic civil servant, working his way up and overcoming all the difficulties before reaching this position. He was proudest of the fact that he wasn't an elite from the Ivy League. But thanks to his ideal to serve the people and hard work, he pulled through fearlessly.
"What does Mr. Jones generally say when he finished reading these documents?"
"It depends on the situation. He gives positive answers to the good ones, of course, and opposes the bad ones."
"Oh. How simple and clear." Kingston smiled, "I do hope he'll be back to work as soon as possible. One could not relax for one moment when burdened with the people's trust."
"But sometimes proper rest is needed as well. That's what I think." He finally finished the report and sent it.
"I thought as a servant of the people, he wouldn't want to rest."
"Every person needs a break sometimes... Don't you too?"
"Yes, I do. Playing golf from time to time is good for the body and mind. But you see, I am obviously like you, but Mr. Jones is a 'country'. Am I right?"
"But he needs to rest too..."
"Excuse me for putting a reasonable question forward here, but do you really think he's a 'country'?"
"Of course he is."
"And the evidence?"
"He... he's just like a typical American."
"Hey, we're Americans too. This is no evidence. Perhaps you'll say he never ages, or that he sounds like he's reciting a textbook whenever he speaks of history. But that only explains his physical structure is different from us at the most."
"I don't think it's respectable to suspect the identity of Mr. Jones. Perhaps he had angered you before, but that's not a legitimate reason to suspect him now."
Kingston shook his head, "I'm not suspecting him. I'm merely stating a 'fact'. That's the truth. There's no evidence to suggest he's really the so-called 'consciousness of the country' or something. And I -- a member of the Congress, is here to speak on the behalf of my voters not because of his consent."
The civil officer refuted, "These are two completely different things. Even if he's a country, he can only control so much."
"Now this is where the paradox is. With no evidence and no basis of public will, what does he represent? 'What' in the world is he? If he's really the so-called 'country', then why do we need elections?"
"Please stop your speculations."
"Mr. Jones is worried recently because of Mr. Kirkland, is he not? Did they have a fight? They finally broke up?"
"I don't know where you got their private information from, but I can't and won't discuss the private affairs of my superior."
"Oh, there's no need. We don't need to discuss about it." Kingston's white hair shined with the light, "As his civil officer, I hope you'll think about it."
"He's together with that Englishman, isn't he? So I suppose he 'loves' Mr. Kirkland. First of all, I have to say I have nothing against homosexuals; I actually support the same-sex marriage act, truth to be told. But when one country falls in love with another country, I don't think it's caused by the people -- or our consciousnesses. We have many descendents of the French and Irish people too! Don't you think it's an act of treason that he loves his Englishman? He's betraying the very meaning of his existence, because he betrayed us, the patriots of the country!"
"That's enough, Mr. Kingston Lee!"
The civil officer finally had enough and stood up from his chair, slamming his laptop shut.
"Regarding my boss, or your country, you shouldn't insult him! I hope you can take your anger out on something else, like golf!"
He picked up his laptop and documents, pushing the glass door angrily to leave.
*****
Alfred clearly felt the inconvenience of losing his superhuman strength. Now he couldn't carry the cupboard in with one hand, and he had to go through all the trouble of using supplementary equipments like jack in order to place it in an ideal position. The renovation of the living room was about done too. He planned to set a precedent by inviting Arthur over once everything was settled. Since Arthur had admitted he was a hero... then it would be nice to do something a hero would do. He laughed in his mind, deciding to put all the unpleasantness and the damn sexual desires aside. After all, they would have to make up first in order for anything else to have a chance to happen. (But maybe he really got carried away by what Arthur said)
Taking a step back (to be honest, he felt he took more than a step back), maybe Arthur really wasn't ready yet. But he had already waited all these years, it wasn't like he couldn't wait longer...
He remembered the thought of "love" towards Arthur emerged during the period of the First World War. Back then, Arthur was still that elated empire on which the sun never set. In comparison, despite having vast lands and resources, he was incomparable with those old guys in Europe in terms of military technology.
After the War of Independence, he also fought many battles with England. Arthur didn't really come to America much in person; he still had to deal with colonies and the war with the French beard. And their cooperation in the First World War gave him some kind of subtle intimacy. It was like the younger brother that ran away from home had come back, and helped out the older brother that had once suppressed him. He wasn't really reluctant, but nor was he voluntary. Germany's indiscriminate U-boats were no doubt one of the reasons, but it was the telegraph intercepted by England that made them decide to move.
Alfred dared not say he never suspected the appearance of the telegraph. Perhaps it was because they couldn't hold the Western Front anymore, so those sly guys fabricated a lie for him to dispatch the troops. But his boss said they would fight the war, so he followed and set off.
The Blitz hadn't happened yet back then. He saw Arthur drinking a can of soup in the trenches, the gun beside him. Arthur's military uniform was somewhat dirty; his boots were full of mud. Arthur saw him too, but he didn't put the can down. Instead, he finished drinking it in one go and wiped his mouth dauntlessly. Despite having many of his people die in this battle, Arthur was still that incarnation of the proud empire.
For some reason, Alfred thought he looked very cool. This is what an empire is like, Alfred thought.
Then they got down to business immediately; Arthur was never careless when it came to official duties. He valued strategies more than tactics. During their stay in the trenches, they were surrounded by British, French and American soldiers. Whenever Arthur walked passed a British soldier, he would call him a soldier. When he walked passed an American, he would call him a brat. He would just say nothing and smile whenever he walked past French soldiers. That smile was in no way of good intention; it would only make people feel like they were ridiculed instead.
Oh, what a mean way to express things, Alfred thought as he observed Arthur.
But it was very Arthur-like. And he thought Arthur criticized them in a pretty clever way (no one would really want to piss their allies off after all-- and silence is golden). Arthur didn't stay in the frontline trenches for long; he was transferred to the rear after one month. After all, they had succeeded in defending the Hindenburg Line. There probably wouldn't be any change in the Western Front anymore. Not soon after, Alfred joined the rear too and participated in the Paris Peace Conference.
Arthur was still wrapped in bandages when Alfred saw him again. Francis too, of course. Alfred wasn't really injured himself. Those two old guys were arguing with each other as always. Arthur thought it would be best to treat Germany fairly and unharshly; Francis spread his hands out and said his boss thought otherwise. They had lost too many people. They also needed to get them back this time for the serious humiliation in one of the battles somewhere.
Alfred was listening to their arguments for the whole afternoon in boredom. He agreed with Arthur's opinions more, so he spoke on Arthur's side heroically that time. He noticed Arthur casting him several glances because of this.
Alfred winked at him, but Arthur turned his head away immediately and ignored him.
=====================
Somehow I feel my grammar fails in this chapter..
Thanks to my summer classes, July has been a busy month of assignments and projects for me..
I'm almost done with them though, so I'll be able to translate more.
Next chapter is where things really start to happen! Look forward to it!~
Author/Artist: ayami
Character(s) or Pairing(s): America/England
Rating: T
Summary: Arthur and Alfred has been going out for a while now, but Arthur seemed to be afraid of something. As Alfred comes closer to the truth behind Arthur's reaction, things turn out to be more than he expected...
Translated from Chinese with permission.
Permission found here.
Part 1 found here.
Part 2 found here.
Chapter 3
After hanging up the call from Alfred, Arthur flipped through the documents on his table with a distraught mind.
Before Alfred called, Arthur had received a call that was also from the other end of the Atlantic Ocean. It was only an ordinary greeting; the current situation of Alfred was casually mentioned too. He didn't know what the other person's intention was, so he responded politely and inquired with careful wordings.
He admitted that an Englishman--especially a typical Englishman like him was always labeled as an indirect person, but it was also beneficial at the same time. At least he thought the person at the other end couldn't tell what his intention was when he asked questions.
After their quarrel last time, he guessed they were both upset to some degree. Alfred was inattentive, lazy, and absent-minded from time to time during a meeting. This is a warning. Arthur frowned and pondered secretly. The same situation didn't last such a long time for him. He supposed it had already been at least two months. He listened to the other person's tone; they were worried about whether Alfred was sick, and whether this situation would continue or not.
He had originally thought perhaps he should call and confirm Alfred's situation, but decided not to after some consideration. Why should he call when Alfred hadn't apologize yet? If he didn't apologize, then there would be no need for Arthur to pay attention to him. In the end, Alfred called him. Under such a rare circumstance, he softened his attitude and decided to put off their cold war. He even said something against his belief--a hero? What a scary word.
But Alfred could still make fun of him (even though it made him really angry), so things were not at the worst yet. He only hoped Alfred could return to his normal self.
The Door into Summer
Alfred continued to stay at home. He was out only when taking a walk in the morning and in the evening. He would take a walk down to the downtown area from time to time. His civil officer would visit him regularly, bringing him documents for him to sign. But his civil officer always replied ambiguously to Alfred's request to go back to work, saying it would be better for him to have more rest.
"I'm really fine." Alfred said with discontent again, "I feel energetic."
"But before the doctor can find the cause, I think it is better for you to stay at home."
"Even if I'm sick, it can't be cured by the medicine for 'a normal person'."
"Yes, that is why we have to be more careful." His civil officer tried to reassure him, "Because you are very important..."
"Oh." Alfred sat down in frustration and helplessness, "How long do I have to stay at home?"
"We are not sure, but hopefully it will be as short as possible."
After hearing this answer, Alfred's bad mood improved.
"We also hope you can try not to travel too far during this period." The civil officer said in addition.
"What?"
"So we can help you immediately when something happens to you."
Alfred thought it was ridiculous, "Nothing's happened to me yet, and you guys already sound like I'll have a car accident or something."
"They're precautionary measures." The civil officer concluded concisely. He picked up the signed documents and put them into his bag. He also took care of the coffee cup on the table, noticing the grids and lines pattern on it. He quietly took the cup downstairs and put it away after washing it in the kitchen, examining Alfred's newly decorated installation in the meanwhile.
"It looks nice."
"What was that?"
Alfred asked curiously after following the civil officer from the small office upstairs. He was wearing his indoor slippers.
"Your new kitchen."
"Oh, I know it looks very nice. No doubt about that." Alfred smiled with pride, "I decided on it after viewing catalogs for a week. I bet Arthur won't have any complaint after seeing it." He walked over to the counter, gesturing with his hands. "The countertop is made from scratch resistant material, so there's no need to worry about leaving any scratches no matter how he wants to torture the food."
His civil officer couldn't help but smile. Alfred then said with even more pride, "To match his weak arms, I chose a cabinet that's not too high for him. Also, he was nagging and complaining about how he doesn't have a place to put the biological weapons he made before, so I installed a bar counter this time. Hmm, I can wait for him on the side and watch him like this so he doesn't blow my kitchen up again. This is the main reason, yup."
Alfred was acting like a child who liked to show off. He was going on about all his plans and ideas, as if their cold war was over and Arthur would be visiting tomorrow.
"... This is a really thoughtful choice." After a while, the civil officer praised sincerely, "I believe it would make Mr. England very happy for sure."
"You think so too?" Alfred gladly accepted the praise, "I always have to make sure he doesn't have any objection about me."
Watching Alfred's satisfied face sideways, the civil officer's smile deepened. His country was like a child whenever he mentioned Mr. England, whether he was complaining, being angry, or... showing off like this.
When he knew he would be appointed as Alfred's subordinate in the beginning, he had some unrealistic fantasies about Alfred indeed. Wouldn't any ambitious, passionate young man inevitably imagine pink light surrounding the image of their country? He knew the personification of his country was a young man. He had seen Alfred's serious work face during meetings. But when he actually became his civil officer, he realized that while Alfred had his shrewd side, he was like a child more often.
Unlike the prudent, distant Mr. England, Alfred was more passionate and fearless. He was straightforward, embarrassing or troubling others from time to time. On the matter of national interest, however, he never made concessions easily. The civil officer never doubted Alfred's awareness as a representation of a country. He also hoped that Alfred -- his country -- grew as a one that truly upheld justice and conscience in the future (of course he knows it's only an ideal, but the American dream always sounds so nice, doesn't it?).
Alfred's recent situation, however, was worrying him.
The government higher-ups were currently busy investigating the cause to his odd behaviors and physiological changes. Some even suspect it to be a sign of the approaching end of the United States.
But aside from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or other ungraspable natural disasters, there were little differences in people's activities. Economic-wise, trades were operating normally; there were no problems with the military or diplomatic influences either.
And Alfred himself was standing in front of him and talking excitedly about his kitchen decoration and the new bookshelf. He wanted to end this cold war early because he planned on taking Mr. England to explore South America on his vacation...
People that fell in love were all blind. The civil officer knew Alfred had been together with Mr. England for twenty-six and a half months and three days. Logically, they should already be far from madly in love with each other. Besides, Alfred wasn't into it this much when they were together in the beginning. It was like he only had eyes for one person and no one else. But wasn't this a normal phenomenon for those that fell in love?
"... I hope you make up with Mr. England soon." The civil officer said with a smile, "I should head back now."
"See ya." Alfred bid him farewell with a smile like a friendly boy from next door.
Who is the third who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together.
-T.S. Eliot
It was eight in the morning.
Alfred's civil officer got up and freshened up, leaving for work at nine o'clock. The meeting started at ten. He was tapping his keyboard, noting down the key points of the meeting. After he finished organizing the data, he would then report it to Alfred. The meeting was adjourned at one. Soon almost all the participants had left, leaving him to revise the report at a slow pace.
"Knock."
There was a moderate tap on the glass door. The civil officer looked up and saw Representative Kingston Lee, the poor guy that had been embarrassed by Alfred last time. The civil officer nodded in greeting and Kingston walked toward him with a smile.
"How diligent."
"I'm just doing my job."
"Yes. How's our 'country' doing?"
"Not bad."
The civil officer didn't stop moving his hands. He was considering which participle would be more appropriate to use for this sentence. Kingston was leaning on the back of the seat next to him, crossing his arms and staring at the words on the laptop screen from the corner of his eyes.
Representative Kingston was around fifty years old. He started out as a basic civil servant, working his way up and overcoming all the difficulties before reaching this position. He was proudest of the fact that he wasn't an elite from the Ivy League. But thanks to his ideal to serve the people and hard work, he pulled through fearlessly.
"What does Mr. Jones generally say when he finished reading these documents?"
"It depends on the situation. He gives positive answers to the good ones, of course, and opposes the bad ones."
"Oh. How simple and clear." Kingston smiled, "I do hope he'll be back to work as soon as possible. One could not relax for one moment when burdened with the people's trust."
"But sometimes proper rest is needed as well. That's what I think." He finally finished the report and sent it.
"I thought as a servant of the people, he wouldn't want to rest."
"Every person needs a break sometimes... Don't you too?"
"Yes, I do. Playing golf from time to time is good for the body and mind. But you see, I am obviously like you, but Mr. Jones is a 'country'. Am I right?"
"But he needs to rest too..."
"Excuse me for putting a reasonable question forward here, but do you really think he's a 'country'?"
"Of course he is."
"And the evidence?"
"He... he's just like a typical American."
"Hey, we're Americans too. This is no evidence. Perhaps you'll say he never ages, or that he sounds like he's reciting a textbook whenever he speaks of history. But that only explains his physical structure is different from us at the most."
"I don't think it's respectable to suspect the identity of Mr. Jones. Perhaps he had angered you before, but that's not a legitimate reason to suspect him now."
Kingston shook his head, "I'm not suspecting him. I'm merely stating a 'fact'. That's the truth. There's no evidence to suggest he's really the so-called 'consciousness of the country' or something. And I -- a member of the Congress, is here to speak on the behalf of my voters not because of his consent."
The civil officer refuted, "These are two completely different things. Even if he's a country, he can only control so much."
"Now this is where the paradox is. With no evidence and no basis of public will, what does he represent? 'What' in the world is he? If he's really the so-called 'country', then why do we need elections?"
"Please stop your speculations."
"Mr. Jones is worried recently because of Mr. Kirkland, is he not? Did they have a fight? They finally broke up?"
"I don't know where you got their private information from, but I can't and won't discuss the private affairs of my superior."
"Oh, there's no need. We don't need to discuss about it." Kingston's white hair shined with the light, "As his civil officer, I hope you'll think about it."
"He's together with that Englishman, isn't he? So I suppose he 'loves' Mr. Kirkland. First of all, I have to say I have nothing against homosexuals; I actually support the same-sex marriage act, truth to be told. But when one country falls in love with another country, I don't think it's caused by the people -- or our consciousnesses. We have many descendents of the French and Irish people too! Don't you think it's an act of treason that he loves his Englishman? He's betraying the very meaning of his existence, because he betrayed us, the patriots of the country!"
"That's enough, Mr. Kingston Lee!"
The civil officer finally had enough and stood up from his chair, slamming his laptop shut.
"Regarding my boss, or your country, you shouldn't insult him! I hope you can take your anger out on something else, like golf!"
He picked up his laptop and documents, pushing the glass door angrily to leave.
*****
Alfred clearly felt the inconvenience of losing his superhuman strength. Now he couldn't carry the cupboard in with one hand, and he had to go through all the trouble of using supplementary equipments like jack in order to place it in an ideal position. The renovation of the living room was about done too. He planned to set a precedent by inviting Arthur over once everything was settled. Since Arthur had admitted he was a hero... then it would be nice to do something a hero would do. He laughed in his mind, deciding to put all the unpleasantness and the damn sexual desires aside. After all, they would have to make up first in order for anything else to have a chance to happen. (But maybe he really got carried away by what Arthur said)
Taking a step back (to be honest, he felt he took more than a step back), maybe Arthur really wasn't ready yet. But he had already waited all these years, it wasn't like he couldn't wait longer...
He remembered the thought of "love" towards Arthur emerged during the period of the First World War. Back then, Arthur was still that elated empire on which the sun never set. In comparison, despite having vast lands and resources, he was incomparable with those old guys in Europe in terms of military technology.
After the War of Independence, he also fought many battles with England. Arthur didn't really come to America much in person; he still had to deal with colonies and the war with the French beard. And their cooperation in the First World War gave him some kind of subtle intimacy. It was like the younger brother that ran away from home had come back, and helped out the older brother that had once suppressed him. He wasn't really reluctant, but nor was he voluntary. Germany's indiscriminate U-boats were no doubt one of the reasons, but it was the telegraph intercepted by England that made them decide to move.
Alfred dared not say he never suspected the appearance of the telegraph. Perhaps it was because they couldn't hold the Western Front anymore, so those sly guys fabricated a lie for him to dispatch the troops. But his boss said they would fight the war, so he followed and set off.
The Blitz hadn't happened yet back then. He saw Arthur drinking a can of soup in the trenches, the gun beside him. Arthur's military uniform was somewhat dirty; his boots were full of mud. Arthur saw him too, but he didn't put the can down. Instead, he finished drinking it in one go and wiped his mouth dauntlessly. Despite having many of his people die in this battle, Arthur was still that incarnation of the proud empire.
For some reason, Alfred thought he looked very cool. This is what an empire is like, Alfred thought.
Then they got down to business immediately; Arthur was never careless when it came to official duties. He valued strategies more than tactics. During their stay in the trenches, they were surrounded by British, French and American soldiers. Whenever Arthur walked passed a British soldier, he would call him a soldier. When he walked passed an American, he would call him a brat. He would just say nothing and smile whenever he walked past French soldiers. That smile was in no way of good intention; it would only make people feel like they were ridiculed instead.
Oh, what a mean way to express things, Alfred thought as he observed Arthur.
But it was very Arthur-like. And he thought Arthur criticized them in a pretty clever way (no one would really want to piss their allies off after all-- and silence is golden). Arthur didn't stay in the frontline trenches for long; he was transferred to the rear after one month. After all, they had succeeded in defending the Hindenburg Line. There probably wouldn't be any change in the Western Front anymore. Not soon after, Alfred joined the rear too and participated in the Paris Peace Conference.
Arthur was still wrapped in bandages when Alfred saw him again. Francis too, of course. Alfred wasn't really injured himself. Those two old guys were arguing with each other as always. Arthur thought it would be best to treat Germany fairly and unharshly; Francis spread his hands out and said his boss thought otherwise. They had lost too many people. They also needed to get them back this time for the serious humiliation in one of the battles somewhere.
Alfred was listening to their arguments for the whole afternoon in boredom. He agreed with Arthur's opinions more, so he spoke on Arthur's side heroically that time. He noticed Arthur casting him several glances because of this.
Alfred winked at him, but Arthur turned his head away immediately and ignored him.
=====================
Somehow I feel my grammar fails in this chapter..
Thanks to my summer classes, July has been a busy month of assignments and projects for me..
I'm almost done with them though, so I'll be able to translate more.
Next chapter is where things really start to happen! Look forward to it!~