M:   Esha smiled at the Celt, "Don't thank me, you've done so much for me, you really are the closest thing I have to family aside from our friends, so even if I can't have a biological family to spend the rest of my life with, I'll make sure that the time I spend with my found family is even more special."

They watched the natural beauty for a few minutes more until Esha's dragon ears picked up a certain Scot calling for them, so she slowly made her descent back to the old oak. Scotland and England were both there, the former seemed to have dragged his spouse along to find them, which Esha was amused by.

N:   When they had finally landed, England grumbled to Scotland, "Look, they're alive and well. Now let's head back indoors before we freeze our fucking toes off."

Scotland ignored the Englishman as he walked over to his mother, and seeing her happy expression, he asked, "What happened?"

"Well Esha here showed me the Northern Lights," the Celt replied, still smiling from the experience, "it was so beautiful up close."

"Hey, not fair, how does Ma get to see it but not me," the Scot laughed as he gave his mother a hug, "at least you're safe."

England rolled his eyes at the whole thing and began to trudge back in, "I'll be inside where you can find me when you're done family-ing."

M:   "Oh get back here you big baby," Esha said, wrapping her tail around England, "you are a part of this family and you are going to accept this love."

She pulled the country close and enveloped everyone in a hug, her dragon heat increasing to give an extra warm one.

"I love you guys so much," she said, "the pain of not having a birth family may never truly go away, but I will gladly live with it to have my true family here with me."

N:   England grumbled but accepted the hug, as well as knowing that he can't escape the group huddle.

"We're happy that we can be a family together, aren't we Scotty," Celtica smiled while the Scot nodded along, "And we go through troubles together."

"Yeah yeah," the Englishman grumbled, "now can we finally head indoors?"

M:   Esha huffed at England for ruining the moment, but a mischievous grin spread across her face as she thought of how to punish him for that.

"Sure thing you big baby, sounds like someone is ready for his nap time," she sneered, "would the wittle baby like to go back to his mama?"

Without waiting for a response, she picked England up by the scruff of his shirt and carried him with her head held high. By some terrible and/or wonderful luck, the group passed by BE talking with the newcomers.

"Hey there fellas, don't mind us, I'm just returning someone to their mama for his nap time," she joked, "if you wish to see a wonderfully embarrassing show, do follow, Sir. Whiny Baby would love your company."

N:   England pouted at what Esha said, which only made Sweden laugh harder after he had seen the Englishman, while Finland was trying to suppress a smile.

"We have to, don't we Father," BE chuckled before turning to the others, "This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, trust me."

"I would but I'm way too tired," Fin replied as he stifled a yawn, then he elbowed the Swede, "but tell me what happens."

"Will do," the Swede nodded before waving goodnight then he turned to HRE, "you coming?"

The empire only shrugged, as if to say 'I see why not', so the three of them followed Esha to where she was taking England.

M:   The eternal happily paraded England to his mama hen, though made sure to keep the pace a bit slow so Celtica and Scotland could warn Sweden and HRE to not freak out.

At last, the caravan had arrived at their destination and Esha opened the door, the room wasn't as large as the dining hall for sure, but a decent size for the family that occupied it. Edel and the cubs perked up when Esha came in with England, she started making a rapid clicking sound, like the noise of an insect but deeper. Edel made the noise along with the draconic eternal, seeming to communicate with her, and after she "told" him about his troublesome child, he huffed and knew just what to do to punish him.

The dragon pinned England in his paws and began to bathe him, knowing that the Englishman didn't like it at all, he even allowed the cubs to join in the fun.

N:   England's face was so deadpan that the others laughed, even HRE got a chuckle out of it, while the country was bathed. The Englishman's eyes landed on Scotland, and he gave the most 'I'm going to murder someone' face at him.

"Relax, everything is fine," the Scot chuckled, and when one of Edel's licks made the Englishman's hair stand on end, he let out a hearty laugh, "This ... this is golden."

"Shut it, Scotty," England grumbled as he smoothed down his hair only for it to be right back up, to which he sighed, "I have to shower after this, that, and murder someone," to which he glanced at Esha.

Meanwhile, both HRE and Sweden were fascinated about how there was a literal dragon in front of them, even the latter crouched down so that he was at the same level as the cubs.

M:   Quinn was the one who came up to Sweden, ever since KoF kicked Byron the second born had become the brave one, his brother and sister staying close to their mom. Edle was also a little wary of the countries, he stopped mid-lick and carefully stared at his son get closer to their guests, but relaxed a little when Esha said that she wouldn't have brought them if they were a danger to the cubs.

Quinn on the other hand, was trying to impress his siblings by trying to intimidate Sweden, and failing miserably since he was too cute, especially with his awkward mix of paws and hooves making it easier to lose balance.

N:   Sweden only chuckled as he scratched under Quinn's chin. "Vad fina ni är (well aren't you cute)," he smiled until he eventually got up, "England, how can you reject such cuteness?"

"I don't; I reject this," the Englishman grumbled, and after a bit, he managed to bury his head in his arms, stopping Edel from bathing him, "I just want to sleep at this point."

M:   Edel purred and playfully nudged England, as if saying to lighten up, nonetheless, he obliged to England's wishes, but in his own way. He let go but gently pulled on the country's shirt to tell him not to leave, the dragon then made up his nest and called his children over for bedtime. The cubs came over as their mother pulled England down and curled up with him, they all then joined in and cuddled up to their "big brother."

"Well, at least you get your wish," Esha said, smiling at the family in front of her, "let me clean you up before you sleep." She said this in a genuine and caring tone, it almost sounded motherly, far different than the mischievousness a few minutes ago.

She lowered her head to him and gently tapped his head with her horn, a wave of light ran across the country, cleaning all the dragon spit off him and changing his clothes to pajamas, his previous clothes materializing, neatly folded, on a chair in the corner. Esha then grabbed a blanket and draped it over everyone.

"Have a nice sleep everyone," she addressed the family, "we'll see you in the morning."

N:   "Yes, try to get as much sort as you can," BE nodded, "more people are going to come tomorrow so you won't get a proper night's rest for the next couple of days."

"Well, that's one way to bring down the mood," Sweden grumbled before waving goodnight to everyone and leaving.

Meanwhile, HRE had been silent the entire time, mesmerized by the creatures in front of him that the Brit had to call his name a couple of times to get his attention.

"Hopefully the bed you've provided is large enough," was all he said before he too left the room.

"If it seems that everyone is going to bed, we might as well too," Celtica spoke up, then she turned to Esha, "You coming?"

M:   Esha looked over to Celtica, then to herself as she unshifted, returning to her normal adult form. She frowned at this, she kind of wanted to stay a kid for a little bit longer, but an idea popped into her head and she tried shifting again, and successfully turned back into a child form, but this time her eyes weren't shattered.

"Ok, now I'm ready," she said cheerfully, "I want to spend one more night with you please, if that's ok."

N:   "That's perfectly fine with me," Celtica smiled as she led Esha back to her room, meanwhile Scotland yawned.

"Now I can take up the entire bed to myself," he grinned.

"I heard that," England called out while the other laughed and shut the door behind him.

The night went smoothly, and soon the final day before the hall arrived, and countries slowly trickled in. The Italians were the first to arrive that day, with the Kingdom of Italy greeting Mandoria once before avoiding him for the rest of the stay. Next came the Low Countries, with Dutch Republic checking to see if the Mandorians and Saxons were alright before having an argument with BE while his brothers Belgium and Luxembourg watched from a distance.

The dining hall was bustling with activity, with kingdoms either questioning or silently judging the Eternals, while the few countries who were nice had a wonderful conversation with the residents. However, BE had been stressed the entire day, with one kingdom after the other asking whether they could discuss their issues, even informally, and every time he replied with, "When Russian Empire arrives."

He had silently been wishing for the Russian to arrive sooner rather than later, so when he heard the news of someone arriving, he immediately lit up before deflating once again.

When Saxon enquired about this, all he could mutter was, "the Iberians," before getting up to leave.

"They're here," Celtica repeated in excitement, then he turned to Esha, "You should come along. There are some people I would like you to meet."

With that, they made their way to the main entrance, as well as Castile and PE, and they saw a bunch of carriages, as well as a group of countryhumans standing in front of them.

One of them turned, with her red and yellow striped flag, and her red eyes bore into Castile, who let out a sigh. Next to her was a younger but more extravagant country, with a red saltire as a flag, he had his mother's red eyes.

"Let me take my wife and son away from here," the Spaniard muttered as he walked down the steps to reach Aragon and Spanish Empire, and quickly ushered them indoors so that they don't cause a public spectacle, and the family was followed by BE.

However, Celtica was focused on another pair, and when she called out their names, they turned around. One was a tall well-built woman, her flag a mixture of red and gold, and she smiled gently and waved while the male country beside her was ecstatic. With his blue and golden face and hair, claw marks that ran down the length on the right of his face was what stood out, along with his grey blind eye.

"Celtica! My beautiful Neto (grandson)! How are you?" he cheered as he walked over to them and gave them a bear hug.

"We're doing fine, Gallaecia," Cetica laughed while PE was being crushed in his grandfather's embrace, so she patted the other to let go, then she turned to Esha, "Esha, there are my friends from the Roman times: Gallaecia and Hispania."

"Celtica here has mentioned you a couple of times here and there," Hispania spoke as she approached the group, "and you sounded like a good person, so it's nice to finally see you in person."

M:   Esha, who had returned to her adult form by now, respectfully shook hands with Gallaecia and Hispania, she also took off her mask that she was wearing. She still couldn't shake the shyness about her scar and had been wearing her mask while the countries have been arriving, which certainly earned her some unsettled looks and a general avoidance of everyone, though she didn't mind. When Celtica's friends came, and especially after seeing Gallaecia's scar, she felt ok to show her face.

"Hello there, it's nice to meet you too," she greeted, slinging her mask on her back so it was out of the way, "sorry about the frightening mask, I'm not used to so many people in one place. It can be a little overwhelming for a hermit like me."

N:   "That's understandable," Hispania nodded, "we've some experience of meeting a lot of people, and compared to our relatively simpler lives we had a couple of centuries ago, I understand your overwhelming feeling."

"Besides, the mask looks amazing," Gallaecia added, "that's a deer's skull, no?"

"Calm down, Gal," the other laughed as she rested her hand on his shoulder, "you've barely met the woman."

"But it's cool," he frowned, which got a chuckle from the Spaniard and Celtica, whom the latter suggested that they should head inside and show the pair around.

M:   Esha chuckled at Gallaecia's enthusiasm, she certainly wasn't expecting anyone to be bubbly, or at least what her definition of bubbly is.

"It sure is, it came from a red deer that I hunted about a couple of centuries ago," she said, removing the mask from her back to show the Spaniard, "if you take the time to properly tend to your possessions, they can last a very long time. I was able to annoy BE enough for him to let me wear it to the ball, it just needs a bit of decorating."

N:   "Well, you will definitely outshine everyone with that mask, it's magnificent," Gallaecia smiled before turning to PE, "Neto, por favor, tell me that you brought something as stunning for the ball?"

"Probably not as stunning but it will make do," PE smiled.

"Hopefully it isn't your ceremonial uniform; you practically live in uniforms," the Spaniard joked, which got a loud 'hey' from the Portuguese, which only made the other laugh harder.

While the two men began to blaze ahead, the woman trailed behind with Celtica snickering at the pair. "Boy will always be boys," she commented, "Esha, I don't know how you survived with the other Eternals for millions of years."

M:   "Well, technically speaking, I only spent the last 500,000 years in the colony, not including the centuries I was on my own after you," Esha corrected, "sure Neflen was a former mate, but I never met the others before the fall of the empire, I've lived a hermit life for my whole life."

"So how did you three meet," she then addressed the Celt and Gallaecia, "You said that they are your friends from the Roman times, are you talking about the time when you were ... you know."

N:   The three of them fell silent, even PE went quiet as he watched with concern as the light in his grandfather's eye dimmed.

"It was ... a long time ago, and we don't usually talk about it," Hispania finally spoke, "lots of things happened and some things are harder to unpack than others," she then turned to Gallaecia, "we didn't get our scars from nowhere."

"Thank goodness that cabrón (fucker) is long dead," he grumbled before letting out a sigh, "Hispania here was the first captured, then I was when I was a boy, so she took care of me. Then Celtica was taken a century later, and that's how the three of us met. There were others but sadly some have since passed on."

"Not the best way to meet, but when life gives you lemons," Celtica shrugged not knowing how to continue the conversation so she suggested that the two guests eat and meet the others.

"Is the barbarian there," the male country asked, and when the Celt nodded, the other smiled, "Let's go meet my favorite barbarian," and he walked off towards the dining hall.

"He's referring to Saxon," Celtica explained, "and he knows that the name annoys him. I would very much want to see this."

M:   "Well, at least he picked a name that fits," Esha joked, "especially when it comes to that man's table manners."

Before they could follow Gallaecia, there was a loud shriek that came from the carriages, clearly, someone was scared to death by something, but what really grabbed Esha's attention was the sudden smell of a wolf, causing her to shake her head in exasperation.

"Oh boy, sounds like someone didn't like Sabeth's arrival," she sighed, "let's go rescue the poor guy first before someone tries to shoot him with silver bullets."

She led the way over to where the sound originated from, the first thing she was surprised to see was Sabeth being protected by someone, and the second thing was that someone being Russian Empire. Apparently, a group had come to welcome the rather late entity, that's why there was a scream, though it was so shrill that Esha couldn't figure out if it came from a male or a female.

"Is that any way to treat a guest of British Empire's," RE remarked, still protecting Sabeth, "I give this man a ride when we cross paths going the same direction, and he is greeted by screams, how very rude."

N:   "I apologize on behalf of the servants," Celtica spoke, having followed Esha while the Iberians went to the dining hall, and she approached the Russian, "I guess that they weren't expecting the both of you to arrive at the same time; that's why they were scared, but it's not an excuse for such a greeting."

After giving out some orders to unload the carriages, the Celt ushered the pair indoors. "Speaking of arriving early," she inquired, "we thought you would arrive late. Were you able to travel, and how are you so quick?"

M:   "It's the strangest story, I'll tell you in detail later," RE said, "but to keep it short, a rather unusual countryhuman came across us as my men were trying to clear a path, and they led us through a cave system that cut days off our time."

"I think he met an eternal," Sabeth remarked, "he said that they had the tail and ears of a snow leopard, but the antlers of an elk. I'm pretty sure modern eternals don't look like that."

"Well, Japanese Empire does, she's like a red-colored Siamese cat," the Russian told him, "but it's certainly not a common occurrence."

"How about that, there are still eternals out there in the world," Esha smiled, "wait until Askad hears about this, he'll be thrilled."

N:   They continued to talk as they made their way to the dining hall, but before they even reached it, BE stepped out of the hall and shut it behind him, letting out a long sigh.

When he finally noticed that RE was there, he sighed in relief as he walked over to them, "Finally, you're here. I'm so happy to see you; I don't think I would have lasted a day from all those kingdoms' issues."

"Are you going to do your meeting now," Celtica asked, "Russian Empire just came"

"Depends on how he feels," the Brit shrugged before turning to the Russian to see his verdict.

M:   "I do not mind starting if everyone is so impatient," RE shrugged, "honestly though, and no offense to you, my dear British Empire, but we simply must find someone who can dedicate themselves to these matters full time. It's hard enough to rule one-third of the world, but when countries you don't control are hounding you with their problems, I don't understand how you haven't dropped dead yet."

"We could ask Mandoria to do that," Esha said, half joking and half serious, "he already has experience from ruling all winged countries, not to mention that he has plenty of time to spare."

"Hmm, you actually may be on to something there, Miss," RE agreed.

N:   BE contemplated the suggestion, "Mandoria could be the answer. He definitely has the experience and knowledge for the role, although I would advise him that he should seem like the ruler of every kingdom, winged and wingless alike."

He turned to Esha and continued, "he could act as a counselor, someone to go to for answers for the issues within one's kingdom, but some of us empires and kingdoms are too proud to allow Mandoria to boss them around. Winged countries may have their differences, but what brings them together is who they are; we wingless countries just have our differences, and more often than not, the times when we are united are under mutual understanding or a common enemy, so he would have to switch tactics with us."

"Well, it shouldn't be hard, right," Celtica asked uneasily, to which the Brit gave her a 'are you serious' look.

"I don't know what experience Mandoria has with large-scale kingdoms and empires with lots of unrest, but trust me, it isn't easy. You have to think about the consequences of your actions." The empire sighed as he looked in the direction of the dining hall, "enough said, we should ask Mandoria about what he feels about this."

M:   "I mean ... I guess," Esha said awkwardly, "I was mostly kidding about Mandoria, but if everyone agrees, I guess we could ask him."

Sabeth looked in and saw Prudoria standing with his fathers, talking with some of their old friends, "how has the boy been, it seems that he's being ... tolerated, so far, has anyone been mean yet?"

N:   Celtica and BE looked uneasy about the question, to which the former finally spoke up. "There have definitely been some ... confrontations," she spoke carefully, "but otherwise, it's been the usual response: look at him, wonder why he looks like Prussia, then ignore and walk away."

Then, BE clapped loudly to get everyone's attention, which he soon did, and said, "The meeting will start in ten. All major empires and kingdoms please get all your papers ready and be at the map room without delay, and everyone else may stay here and continue with what you were doing beforehand. Mandoria," he faced the Mandorian, "may I talk to you somewhere else?"

M:   Mandoria raised a brow but nodded, "Sure, Prudoria, will you be ok by yourself?"

"Yeah, the guests haven't chased me away yet," the boy smiled, "besides, I got Rowen and the eternals to keep me company, Sir Switzerland and Emperor Qing Empire have been quite nice as well."

"Well, we believe that you do not judge a man by the sins of his father," Switzerland said, "and even if we had to, I think your real father is quite a saint."

The group chuckled at that, so Mandoria bid them ado and followed British Empire.

N:   Once they were further away, BE briefed the Mandorian about what the conversation earlier; however, he frowned.

"I would think that you would be good for the role, but, I feel that there is something that wouldn't qualify you," he stated bluntly, "you do remember the last time that you were in my office and, umm, let's just say that you don't do well under pressure."

M:   Mandoria looked at him with confusion, "When was I in your office, I think I would have remembered that."

Mandoria had a tendency to experience some form of amnesia when he experienced something traumatic. It only started after he was resurrected, so he would sometimes completely forget the sessions with Prussia, but they did come back eventually. The former king thought long and hard about the last time he was in BE's office, but he shook his head.

"Sorry, but I don't remember ever going to your office," he said, "but back on the topic, I'm not sure if that's something I want to do, thousands of years I ruled over the winged community, thousands of years I spent already doing what you're suggesting. I only have 97 years left in this world, I want to spend them with my family. For too long my work has stolen away precious moments that I can never get back, and I don't want my last days on earth to be similarly taken away. I hope you understand, but if it makes you feel better, I could be a part-time royal adviser, I don't mind helping you out if you get too overwhelmed."

N:   "It's fine, don't worry about it," BE shook his head, "You'd be as busy anyway, and besides I already have my own advisor and he should be arriving here any day now."

When the empire saw some other empires walking past, he rubbed his temples as he mentally prepared himself for the hours ahead. "Seems like I have to go now, and hopefully someone doesn't get injured. Wish me luck," and with that, he was gone.

-----

Just as the Brit thought, the meeting lasted for hours, well into the night, with the occasional ruckus and a couple storming out in rage, treaties were signed and pacts were formed. When the meeting was finally over, all the empires and kingdoms involved were drained and quickly fell asleep.

Many hours later, a couple of hours before sunrise, Royal sat to watch as she scanned the sea, her office located on top of a cliff that overlooked the ports and the English Channel. Thoughtlessly feeding a swift that was perched on her shoulder, she suddenly stood up as she saw something in the distance, and once she looked through her spyglass, she was sure.

"Go fly to Mandoria and BE," she told the bird as it hopped onto her forearm, "and tell them that the Mandorian brothers are finally here."

M:   As per usual, Derogan was on his perch in the crow's nest, he wasn't up there to avoid anyone anymore, he just liked being up there, to feel the ocean wind blow through his feathers. He was half falling asleep since he has been up there all night, but when he spotted the faint outline of land in the distance he was wide awake.

He flew down to the deck and jogged up to RoV, "hey, we're almost there, the shore is a few kilometers away," he reported.

N:   "Grazie, Derogan," Republic of Venice replied before facing the English coast, "let's start waking the others up so that they're ready when we port."

The Venetian then stifled a yawn, unlike the Mandorian, he wasn't able to get any sleep, so then he said, "And once we arrive at BE's home, I'm sleeping."

M:   "Well why don't you take a nap, I can take the helm for a while," Derogan offered, "it looks like the shore is still a good thirty minutes away. I've been watching how you steer, I'm a pretty fast learner, go get some rest, I can handle it."

N:   RoV just glanced at Derogan before setting his eyes on the English coastline, and after a moment to think about the offer, he sighed and stepped aside for the Mandorian to hold the wheel.

"You better not hurt my girl," the Venetian warned as he walked away, "she's been with me for a very long time and I'm not going to let a novice crash it. Take care of her."

M:   "I will, don't worry," Derogan reassured him, "you just go get some rest, everything will be fine."

The Mandorian had to stop himself from making a joke about smooth sailing, he felt that it would make RoV worry that he wasn't taking this seriously. He was serious about this, he had always been a careful observer ever since he was a boy, he could learn or learn about anything if he was dedicated enough, he wouldn't have offered to steer if he didn't. He did notice that a human was sent up after RoV left, probably to step in if Derogan was about to crash, he couldn't be mad at it.

The young country was surprisingly good at steering, especially for someone who had lived in a landlocked kingdom for most of his life, the only jerking from the ship was made by the waves. As the coast came closer, Derogan did get a little nervous about parking the ship, he even wondered if he should have RoV come back to do that part, but being the stubborn person he was, he took a deep breath and steered towards the dock.

Slowly he inched the ship into place, the crew doing their part in lowering the sails, and he brought them in safe and sound, with nothing but a small tap against the dock. He smiled proudly that he was able to captain a ship, but internally he was still a bit jittery from the adrenalin.

N:   The dockworkers on the port also helped bring the ship to the stop, and helped eased the gangway and secured it to the port. Royal soon flew down from her office and landed not too far off, immediately sensing unfamiliar wings nearby, but she guessed to whom they belonged to.

Standing at the bottom of the gangway, she greeted the crew who were bringing out the travelers' luggage, and smiled when the Mandorians disembarked.

"Welcome, the both of you, to Great Britain," she greeted as she shook the pairs' hands, "I'm Royal and I'll escort you to Windsor." She was about to continue when she saw Deutsche and Austria-Hungary also show up, to which she muttered, "I was not informed that you would be here, Sir Austria-Hungary."

"Slight change of plan," Wilfred spoke as he and RoV followed after the Germans, much to the hybrid's happiness, "sorry I didn't notify you, sis, but they're not planning to stay here for too long."

Royal quickly embraced her brother, hugging him tightly while the others laughed and Chester was prancing around them. "It's nice to see you too," the older twin smiled.

"So now that you two have had your family reunion," RoV grumbled, still drowsy from his nap, "let's let others have theirs, right?"

"Of course," the hybrid nodded before letting her brother go, "I sent a sparrow ahead to tell Mandoria and BE about your arrival, and it should be halfway there already. However, we can get a head start and start heading over there to save some time."

"Bene, because this man needs some sleep," the Venetian muttered before walking away to a set of carriages and horses in the distance.

M:   "I can't believe this is really happening," Mandara exclaimed excitedly, "we're really going to see our family again, alive, this is the best day ever!"

"Hold your horses, brother, we aren't there yet," Derogan tried to calm him, "hold on to that enthusiasm for a little bit longer, I don't want you causing the carriage to take flight."

Deutsche chuckled at the brothers, it was quite heartwarming to see them so excited, to be reunited with a family that actually loves them.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he addressed Royal, "I have to ask, are there going to be, other family reunions, if you know what I me?"

N:   Royal hummed as she walked along with Deutsche, "It is highly likely that Prussia will crash the party, especially given some signs we've seen for a while, including a threat to a member of the British family, so brace yourself when he arrives."

"Who did he threaten," Wilfred asked firmly.

"Anglo."

The male Brit walked silently for a moment, a low grumble emitting from his throat. "Has BE continued testing our ... last resort," to which the other nodded, so he gave a firm nod, "Then I'll make it perfect then."

With that, Wil walked ahead, and once they had reached the carriages and everything was ready, they started their way to the castle.

"Also, just so all of you don't freak out when you arrive," the hybrid spoke just before they headed off, "there's someone in the castle that you have never met but you will definitely feel a range of emotions when you see them, and maybe," she glanced at Deutsche, "you might get an earlier reunion."

M:   The brothers and Deutsche glanced at each other in confusion, none of them understood what she meant by that.

"Um ... could you care to elaborate on that," the German asked.

N:   "Ha, no I will not," Royal smirked before looking ahead, as she was riding beside the carriage on Wilfred's horse, "you'll just have to wait and see," before she trotted ahead.

They then turned to Wilfred, who held his hands up, "I don't know what she's talking about. I haven't been here for a while." He did in fact know about Prudoria, he just didn't know how to break the news to them, or knew how they would react.

After hours of riding, the sun began to appear on the horizon, and BE was leaning against the castle door, a mug of coffee in his hand as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Meanwhile, the Mandorians were standing just inside, peering through the window and Johann couldn't hold his excitement in and was buzzing with energy.

Even Heinrich was there, curious to see Deutsche after Prussia had told the knights that he had killed his own son, and since the Saxon was in the personal guard stationed at Prussia's stronghold, he was among the few who actually thought about the German prince.

"Here they come," one of the watchmen shouted from their towers, to which the empire nodded.

"I guess this is the family reunion we've all been waiting for," he spoke.

M:   "Well, maybe not," Prudoria said from further back, standing next to Anglo for comfort, "you forget that they don't know about me. Mandara and Derogan watched Prussia kill Father, and Deutsche will most likely see me as a replacement, all I can think about is that they will hate me."

"They won't hate you, my son," Rowen reassured him, "yes, it may take some time for them to be comfortable around you, that I will admit, but they won't hate you, that's a promise."

Meanwhile, the carriages pulled up and Derogan and Mandara were the first ones out, and although they wanted desperately to run inside and find their family, they stayed put to go through the pleasantries with BE.

"It's so good to finally see you again, British Empire," Derogan greeted, bowing slightly, "I apologize that it was so hard to find us, Ottoman Greece took extra care to hide us from prying eyes."

"We hope you don't mind Deutsche being here," Mandara said, looking back to the German helping A-H out of the carriage, "he's helped us so much since we were banished, we wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him."

N:   "Then I should give my thanks to Sir Deutsche then," BE replied, waiting for the said German and A-H to walk over, "besides, I already knew he was going to come; however, that's not the same for Sir Austria-Hungary here. I specifically didn't invite your father here to avoid any confrontations."

"My bad," Wilfred called out as he walked with Royal towards them, "so, where are they?"

"Just here," the empire replied as he stepped back and faced the Mandorians inside, "you can finally hug them now."

"You don't have to say that again," Johann grinned as he ran past his fathers and BE and almost crashed into and knocked Derogan and Mandara down, giving the pair the biggest hug he can.

"Ich habe dich so vermisst (I've missed you so much)," he wept, but with happy tears as he gave them a little squeeze, "It's so good to see you again."

M:   The young countries stumbled backward at first but instantly embraced their brother, also shedding tears of joy. Rowen was the next to run up and join the hug, Mandoria hung back just a bit to reassure Prudoria that it was all going to be ok.

"We've missed you so much more than you can imagine," Mandara sobbed with delight, "we thought you were all gone, we thought we'd never see you again."

The four hugged for a bit more, then Rowen pried Johann away so his brothers could see Mandoria. The two stood there like statues, they clearly couldn't believe their eyes, the man they saw die right before their them, the one whose heartbeat they felt stop, was standing there alive and well like none of that even happened.

Mandoria also stood still, it had only been three and a half years but it felt like he hadn't seen his sons in eons. He eventually smiled as tears began to fall down his face, from eyes that were no longer storm gray but crystal blue.  He held his arms out to welcome his sons, and they ran into his embrace, all three crying with such relief as they knelt down to the floor, soon joined by Rowen and Johann again.

N:   The Brits watched as the Mandorians were back together, even BE smiled at the reunion before Wilfred caught his attention with a question about Anglo.

"He's right here," the empire replied as he beckoned his grandfather, "and he has someone with him too."

Anglo stepped forward into view with Prudoria wrapped in his wing. The Englishman had a walking stick to help support himself after losing lots of blood, and his face was half wrapped with bandages, covering most of the scars although a bit did peek through.

When he saw Wil's horrified face, he simply said, "KoF," before turning his attention to Mandara, Derogan, and Deutsche. "Here beside me is someone I would like you to meet. He is your brother and his name is Prudoria. Respect him as you would respect family, and care for him, and if you don't, you have a lot of people to answer to."

Looking down at the Prussian, he smoothed down his wings which had clearly fluffed up from the nervousness, and smiled, "It's alright, Pruds, they're your family."

M:   Prudoria whimpered a little but nodded, though that didn't stop him from hugging Anglo's arm quite tightly. He waited for everyone to stand back up before he attempted to greet his brothers, which just was a shy wave and a barely audible "hi".  Mandara, Derogan, and Deutsche all gave different expressions for Prudoria; curious, scrutinizing, and indignant respectively.

Mandara was the first one to walk up to Prudoria, who took a step back and hid a little deeper in Anglo's feathers.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," the young country greeted, "my name is Mandara, I don't really know how you got here, and I'm not sure if I want to, but I'm more than willing to call you family, so is Derogan, there's always room for one more."

Prudoria gave a grateful smile, happy that they accepted him, or at least Mandara did, he couldn't quite tell how Derogan felt about him, he had this poker face that still seemed distrustful, though he did shrug like he was saying that he would give him a shot.

Deutsche on the other hand, huffed indignantly, "Well, that's good for you two, but I for one do not accept him as a brother. Prussia hated me for not having wings, and to see that he completely replaced me with someone who does, it's like a punch to the gut. Nevertheless, I will respect him as a Mandorian, but I will not see him as a German."

"Honestly I don't mind that," Prudoria murmured, "I don't want to be German, I want to be Mandorian, so thank you, I guess."

Deutsche scowled at him for a split second, but nodded in respect and said, "Well, then I see that we should get along fine then."

N:   "Well that's settled then," BE clasped his hands as he ushered everyone inside, "The servants will bring your belongings into your designated rooms, and make sure you're well rested for tonight."

"Bene, now I need to sleep," RoV muttered as he walked through and followed a servant to his room.

While all this was happening, Heinrich was observing Deutsche the entire time, unable to believe his eyes, and when the German finally was indoors, the Saxon instinctively bow before stopping himself and straightening himself up.

"It's nice to see you again, your highnes- sir," he spoke, changing how he referred to the country since he guessed he doesn't want to be associated with his father anymore, "alive and well too. Could I ask a question in private? Bitte?"

M:   Deutsche raised a brow at Heinrich, wondering who he was and why he spoke German, A-H leaned to his ear and whispered something, that's when Deutsche made an "ah" sound.

"I remember you now," he declared, "you were that tattle-tail twerp that kept getting me in trouble with my father. Why the hell should I give you any attention, Esel, all you ever were was Prussia's lap dog, doing whatever it took to please him at the expense of those around you."

Not waiting for an answer, the German turned away from Heins and walked away. Derogan heard the conversation and went over to comfort the Saxon.

"Just ignore him, he hasn't been himself ever since A-H showed up," the winged country told him, "that cunt is like a parasite that's infecting Deutsche, turning him into a dick."

N:   "Ja, well, he's not wrong," Heinrich grumbled as he unconsciously reached for his upper arm, "You sort of conditioned to please Prussia after a while, and there have been times where I told the King about what his son has been doing."

After a moment of silence, the Saxon furrowed his brows and asked, "Wait, were you friends with Sir Deutsche before A-H," and when he got his answer, Heinz chuckled in realization. "So he didn't tell you- wow," he smirked, "der schlaue Fuchs (the sly fox)."

When Heinz was about to walk away, Johann asked what he was talking about, to which the Saxon shrugged, "Just something I might exploit in the future," and then he walked away.

The Mandorian was confused but shrugged it off, suggesting to give his brothers a tour of the castle, "and make sure you keep up too."