3Please read the cultural notes, they are important. I do not own Hetalia.
Cessation
Hush now, mo stóirín
Close your eyes and sleep
Waltzing the waves
Diving in the deep
A hauntingly sad melody reverberated in the tranquil city, breaking the silence of the night. The voice, normally excited and vibrant, was serene and subdued today, but still having an undercurrent of joyousness.
Veneciano looked over his city, his heart, from the rooftop of his house.
The city was sinking.
Most of his capital has already sunk below the sea, with only the rooftops of the buildings showing. All the stunning monuments that Venezia was so proud of had long been hidden by the sea, but this was Venezia, this was his capital, this was his heart, and it was still beautiful.
He was not sad, really. He had known that this would happen. The acqua alta have been happening for years after all. The city has been sinking day by day. It was slow, it was subtle, but it was happening, and now the effects could be fully seen. Soon, Venezia would become one with the
sea. Every nation has a relation with the sea, that's where the land came from, but he always had a closer relation than most. He was, after all, the bride of the Adriatic sea. Various marriages flashed in front of his eyes, from when he was a young country till the ceremony held the previous year.
Stars are shining bright
The wind is on the rise
Whispering words
Of long lost lullabies
But he never saw the sea as his groom. The fathomless sea, both serene and raging, being the lover of a small, small country like him? The very thought was ridiculous. No. The sea was like the mother, that gave rise to the world.
Venezia was born from the sea, and now it was claiming it's child. In a way, it was like returning home.
How many nations have coveted death? To escape from the pain and be at eternal rest? If he was to be truly honest with himself - and he saw no reason to lie to himself, in this lonely night with only the wind and the sea as company - the answer would be all of them. The foolish humans, fearing death and chasing after immortality. Didn't they realise how fortunate they were? To grow and to die, to truly live, that was a desire of every nation, even if they do not admit it. If Romano would have heard what was going on in this head, he would have certainly thrown a fit with Antonio trying to calm him down. He chuckled at the thought.
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold
And in the morning sun
We'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
Oh, fratello...Now that he would cease to exist, Romano would be the representative of the whole of Italia. It would be good for him, and it would be good for the country. It always pained him when the others couldn't see how simply amazing his fratello was. He would make a fine leader of the nation, even better than him. He had already talked to Seborga to fill in the role that his brother would leave behind and help Romano in any way possible, like Romano helped him. He remembered the day when he told them...their faces would be etched into his memory forever. Even if the forever was only for a few hours more. Romano had cursed and cried and shouted, refusing to accept the fact that he was going to disappear. Then he hugged him and cried on his shoulder. Sebastian has looked on with disbelief colouring his features, unable and unwilling to believe. He too, had joined Romano crying and hugging him. The last hug with his family. He had also gone to visit Roderich and Eliza, but he could not muster up the courage to tell him. It was cruel and selfish of him, but he simply couldn't find it in himself.
I had a dream last night
And heard the sweetest sound
I saw a great white light
And dancers in the round
His mind turned to Ludwig. Sweet, stern Ludwig. The German had protected him from lot of things over the years, but this was one thin he could not protect him from. As with Roderich and Eliza, he has also not told Germany about his fate. He knew Germany would face a lot of grief when he learnt about it, but he trusted Ludwig with all this heart. He knew that Ludwig was strong enough to move on without being overcome by sadness. He would miss him, as he would miss everyone he has ever known, who have touched his life in various ways, from the kind citizen who helped him when he fell down to his brothers, who were his blood and soil. He hoped Ludwig didn't overwork himself, the blond had a tendency to do that. He hoped that Ludwig took his meals properly, he hoped that he got enough sleep, he hoped that Ludwig was happy, forever and always.
Castles in the sand
Cradles in the trees
Don't cry, I'll see you by and by
He had lived a long life, and he had lived it well, in sorrow and pleasure, and even though it was not the best life one could have had, he had no regrets. He just wished he could have said his goodbyes, but perhaps it was better this way.
And with that thought, Veneziano plunged into the sea.
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold
And in the morning sun
We'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
This plot bunny won't just leave me alone, so here it is! I heard this song when I was halfway through the story, and it just seemed perfect for it. It's 'The Song Of The Sea' by Nolween Leroy. It's a really beautiful lullaby, you should definitely give it a listen.
CULTURAL NOTES
There are two very important cultural notes in this fic, the acqua alta and the sensa.
Acqua Alta - Acqua altais a natural phenomenon that has occurred for centuries when especially high tides caused by the moon's gravitational pull coincide with a strongscirocco, a warm wind blowing across the Mediterranean that forces water from the Adriatic into the Venetian lagoon.
It is not really that serious, and usually lasts for 3-4 hours, i.e., during high tides, but for fanfic purposes, I have made into a grave issue. As said the website Europe for visitors-
"The phenomenon is often mistaken for proof that Venice is sinking. Although the city did sink about 10 cm in the 20th Century because of industrial groundwater extraction, the sinking largely stopped when artesian wells on the mainland were capped in the 1960s. Today, subsidence is estimated at 0.5 to 1 mm per year, mostly due to geological factors and compression of the land beneath the city's millions of wooden pilings."
Bride of the Adriatic Sea - I actually learnt about this from the doujinshi 'Sposa Di Adria' ( give it a read, amazing dj ) by Hakoniwa.The Sensa – Ascension in Venetian – is an thousand year old ceremony where a symbolic marriage ceremony between La Serenissima and the sea. The celebration has its origins in 997, following a military victory in Dalmatia which brough those lands under Venetian control.
The central part of the ceremony is a procession on water from 's to San Nicolò on the Lido, where the Patriach of Venice will bless a golden ring, which will then be tossed in the water by the Mayor (in lieu of the Doge) as a symbol of the Venetian dependence on the sea and its dominance of the seas.
I believe that in the Hetalia universe, it would be Veneziano who would toss the ring.