[hetachallenge] 12/Marriage
Title: Empire
Claim: Romania/Bulgaria (gen)
Table/Prompt: 12/Marriage
Word Count: 516
Rating: G
Summary: It was a team effort, even if Bulgaria won't admit it.
A man's greatest strength is quite often his greatest weakness as well, and in Bulgaria's case it's his perpetual determination to be remembered. Big names and big kings and big actions, sometimes big words but nobody was ever remembered for ceaselessly running his mouth. It's why he had a first empire, and it's why he now has a second. Grit, sweat, blood and hard work on his and his people's part have led to the ultimate successes against Byzantium, against Hungary, and Serbia.
Mostly his part, anyway.
"The Romanian-Bulgarian Empire," Mircea pronounces in Bulgaria's own language; he's a fast learner, his accent is good. "What do you think?"
Mircea is a child. Bulgaria, honestly, is not much older but he refuses to accept that. He's taller, after all, and old enough to work. "I think it's ridiculous," he replies, looking at pages of facts and figures about the kingdom that he mostly understands.
"Why?" is the indignant retort.
"It's my empire," Bulgaria says. "I built it, not you."
"I helped."
"You did not. You aren't a nation, you're a group of people who happen to live next door and get too involved." Bulgaria would have, after all, been able to rebuild his empire on his own after a while. Mircea's people didn't do anything beyond set the ball rolling.
Mircea's sitting on the table, thin legs crossed beneath him. He picks up Bulgaria's quill and a piece of scrap paper and begins making marks on it absently. "Isn't that what a nation is, though?"
Honestly, Bulgaria has no fucking clue what a nation is and what defines it and how he, personally, even qualifies as one. It's just what the men who he's known and travelled with his entire life have told him, and considering he doesn't really die, he's inclined to take them at their word. Other nations treat him as one of their own. Byzantium and Serbia and Hungary. They seem to know what they're doing, so he has to know what he's doing, too, or at least let everyone else think he does.
Mircea's an anomaly, though. No one's really sure why he's around, why there's not a separate Wallachia and Moldavia.
"No," Bulgaria says, just to argue. "A nation is united under one ruler, and all lives in the same place, and there are agreed currencies and cities and. . . ."
"And that's why you're here!" Mircea cheerily interrupts like the kid he is. "That's why we have the Romanian-Bulgarian Empire."
"Just Bulgarian. It's my empire."
"I helped, I should be in it somewhere!"
And so they come full circle.
Look, Bulgaria wants to say, you didn't even know it was happening until it was already finished, but he's used this argument three times already and Mircea ignores it every time. In exasperation, he picks up his papers and snatches the quill from Mircea's hand, leaving black streaks of ink on both their hands, and leaves the room in a huff. Damn kid can call it whatever he wants.
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Romanian Second Bulgarian Empire
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