Walking swiftly along the long corridors of the palace, the walls guided her way throughout the whole structure in an intent of heading towards the conference room. She tried her best to keep a stern and straight face, like she always did in previous meetups.

Wherever she went, from her country to the ends of the world, she uses this expression to let them know of her monstrously humungous power and authority, a force capable enough to overthrow whoever was seated on the throne over all countries. It was only a matter of time they'd actually strike, proving those whose hearts were filled with doubt against what she could do.

She did not like any of this at all. She never wanted to appear as a monster not just to her people, but to the whole world as well. Unfortunately, she was trained and taught to keep face, and hold her chin high, told that not a single thing in life was worth even an inch of her smile, knowing of its end and dreaded backstories.

Yet why was she laughing earlier? In the arms of her old friend, where did that excitement come from? Upon landing on fresh Filipino lands, what came in her senses to burst in pure joy?

The Philippines itself was no different than other countries, people shared of dark secrets, as well as a broken history of seemingly never-ending colonialism. Was it maybe because of the fact that she adored the way its people smiles nevertheless, no matter how fatal their situation were in?

Her own people were however, just like her. A little too honest of showing how negative they were in, she felt bad for the Filipinos, hurt for them of being impurely dishonest of how they feel. It's as if they were taught and ordered tto do whatever was the opposite of what she knows.

As if all the excitement drained out of her, she arrived at the doors of the conference area in a numb manner. Different country leaders from all over the world were scattered; some were inside, seated on their corresponding positions, while others were at the door, chatting with countries they considered as friends.

She was slightly hoping she'd run into her best friend, Martial, but she knew the girl would never leave her twin brother's side, so instead, she stood tall, right behind another one of her friends, which was Germany.

"Ahem." she casually coughed to catch her friend's attention, who was focused on talking to Mexico. The black, red, and yellow striped country looked back, her amber eyes widening at the sight of her.

"Sia??"

"Hi, Emma." she greeted, forcing herself to tug a smile. She was her friend after all, of course it's a huge reason for her to be happy.

"Oh my goodness, Sia! You're here, you finally made it." Germany smirked, planting a hug on Russia. At the mention of her name, however, all countries faced their direction, recognizing that particular stone cold white, red, and blue face most of them learnt to fear. Some of them managed to sneak a hateful glare at her. Well, it's a whole new world when she isn't with her brothers.

"I kinda heard you played in the... rain?" Emma asked in wonder. This caused for the larger country to choke a bit on her words, her complexion reddened heavily in embarassment.

"Who told you that?" she awkwardly asked.

"Martial did."

"Martial?!" she stood there, shock. Of all people, why would her best friend tell her, or probably everyone that? And how did she know she basked under the light showers?

"Yep. I ran into her earlier. I asked about you, and told me about this, reassuring me you'd probably arrive late."

As Sia was about to pepper her with more confusion, she quickly froze at the sight of a familiar orange and yellow bordered country leader, dressed fully in a formal white polo underneath a red blazer and pencil skirt. The country skidded her red heels to stop right in front of the two friends.

"Hola, Sia. Didn't expect you'd arrive this early before me." Spain smirked, her tone coming out like how antagonists in most tv dramas do. It was kind of true to; the Spaniard prima donna usually comes in meetings first before Russia could. Today, she proved her wrong.

Spain was someone she didn't have time to deal with, no thanks to all the workload she receives back at the Kremlin Palace. She met her during the time she was a little child, when the Philippines was under the hands of the Spanish Empire. The señorita would always interrupt her 'play dates' with Joe and Philip, it annoyed not only her, but the two boys to. Back in those days, Russia was nothing but powerless, and ends up having her day with her friends, especially with Philip, being snatched away by the brat.

Even until then, the two are more hostile to one another, but Sia tries her best to ignore her and keep a straight expression. This woman in front of her, however, I'm afraid she's a tad eager to get to her nerves.

"Um, yes. It isn't a big deal, I was never late anyway." Russia retorted, mumbling the last part of her statement. Though the powerful country did not mean any harm at all, it made the Spaniard lady twitch a bit, harshly seizing her arm much to her surprise.

"No big deal, hm? Let me get this straight, stupid Doña. Felipe will never notice you no matter what time you arrive, so stop pretending like you don't know what I am talking about, because I could see right through you, how much you wanted to be by his side so badly especially now that we are in his territory. He is mine, and will never be yours!"

So that's it?! That's the only reason why you're being a britch right now? Sia was irritated more than ever, and as many of the guests seemed to notice her boiling, they silenced, standing back. "Grow up, slut." she growled under her breath, which unfortunately, reached Spain's ears.

The smaller european country's golden eyes widened in shock, "What did you just call me?"

"You're so childish, living in a past you couldn't return to." Russia spat in mocking laughter, which Germany slightly giggled at in return.

"How dare yo-"

"What show is ongoing right now, folks?" a deep voice asked in a strict manner, all of them turning to look at the general in white uniform. He seemed pretty unamused by where this is going, so no one dared explain what happened.

"I see, so we're undergoing the silent treatment now, huh?" Del sighed, pinching the bridge of his perfectly shaped nose, "Please, may you all be so kindly head in to your seats, since the meeting is about to start. In addition, we are all gathered for peace, not a fight, Ms. Russia, and Señora Espanya."

It's quite hysterical there situation is in. Russia is supposed to be one of the most powerful countries in the world, ranking 2nd next to America, and just as Spain's one of the capitals of the mighty Europe. Now it's as if they're children from kindergarten, being lectured by the general of the small but vividly fierce country, Philippines. The noticeable irony, I know.

"Do they get demerits, chief?" Germany chuckled, not seeming to be affected by the tension. She had no reason to be, since she was also a friend of his... Uh, sorta. Then again, Emma, you are not helping., the Russian facepalmed silently.

"Is everything a joke to you now, Germany?" she heard the general whisper in slight frustration. Honestly, if those two would've gotten along without the whole war occuring in the past, she would've been shipping them all day long, now that would be a sight to see.

"Just go in." Del groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, with Emma playfully replied with a salute, "Yessir!"

Sia, on the other hand, doesn't know if she should thank her for the daring acts of recklessness or be mad at her, but either way, she just remained dazed the entire time. She watched as Pilar walked past Spain, before promptly calling out to here, "Espanya, come."

"I'm not some dog, Pilar." the spaniard squealed in annoyance. Giving Russia one last threatening glare, she soon followed after him, leaving Sia to only notice now that Nekomi was right behind Spain all this time.

Nekomi was not someone she was very familiar of, since the girl seemed to be extremely shy. But she did notice her lurking right behind either her best friend, Espanya, or her brother, Japan. The last time she did talk to her, was some time back when her dad, USSR was in a gathering with the terrible Japanese Empire. This however, confuses her whether Nekomi was hostile against her or not. She wouldn't have any reason to, right?

Well, there's no better time to know other than now. She gave the Japanese a small but friendly smile, adding a little welcoming wave.

Whatever the shy girl saw in her smile made her extremely terrified, before proceeding on sprinting to her older brother's side. So much for being 'nice'.

But she's quite used to this, so it wasn't such a surprise if anyone would automatically run away at the mere sight of her. To them, it's as if she was the USSR himself all over again, so no one dared try to speak ill of her, even if how much they hated her. For no reason, she frowned. She wasn't like her dad, and neither do he seemed the same way they thought he was like.

It was the cause of that stupid war, and a hint of America being involved in it, that ruined her father, and their family's entire image. She frowned at her mention of her old friend. Maybe... her brothers were right. That he was nothing but selfish and greedy, manipulating those he 'helped' just to do his bidding. It's basically what they all aimed to purge.

Speaking of America, she thought of really needing to find and talk to him. She wanted to confirm if he was really the peculiar person she met earlier. As she was about to begin her search, however, she froze as she sensed someone coming her way from afar. From there, she could hear several distant heavy footsteps being amplified by the empty corridors.

The moment she actually caught a glimpse of blue strands at the end of the hall, it was at that moment, she realized she must quickly dash to her seat. She didn't have the courage to meet him yet.