Orange and Navy (The Many Colours of Life and Death AU)

Chapter Thirty-Three

"He is not dead!"

Denmark-Norway's heart froze with fear.

"He's right h—" Lezhe was saying.

Don't you fucking dare, D-N told him telepathically. The League of Lezhe paused. Everyone's eyes were on him.

"How are they not dead?" the British Empire asked.

"Uhm... well..." Lezhe said, looking embarrassed. "I know who he—they are. But I'm not going to say. Because they don't want to be figured out..."

D-N sighed. Only half of the secret was revealed. So long as nobody noticed that he was pretty badly injured.

"Who is it?" the Golden Horde wondered aloud. Countries began whispering to one another, speculating on who they thought it could be. D-N swore he could hear his name, being whispered over and over, but it wasn't clear. Nobody was looking at him.

"What about Denmark-Norway?" Britain said very loudly. Eyes were turned towards the blue country, then towards D-N. He froze. His breathing became uneven. Unorganised.

"No, doesn't he have ice powers?" WRE said. "There's no way he could have hidden an entire armada of powers up to this point." D-N swore she winked at him.

I know the truth, but I'll do my best to make sure you aren't figured out, she said, using telepathy.

"Well, it has to be someone here. Besides, he is very injured. And he doesn't even have a story for it!" Britain pointed out. D-N sank further into his own skin. His arm continued to throb.

Actually, I do, he said, having to repeat the signs over and over again because of how anxious he was. I was... retreating from the battle. I was scared. I spotted the stranger fighting with ROE. It wasn't going well for them. I tried to help, but ROE threw me off the cliff and gave me numerous wounds. Then France found me.

There. He was done. A few countries looked convinced. At least he hoped so. Maybe they were silently judging him. If only the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was still alive. Then he would be able to steal his power and turn back time so that this never happened.

Just pretend you're invisible. But don't actually turn invisible. That would be a dead giveaway, he thought to himself.

"Still, there's a lot of evidence piled against you. Plus, you had plenty of time to make that up," Britain snorted. "You are mute, just like the stranger. You've hardly ever shown off your powers. The stranger cried when your father died. It all adds up." Countries started to nod along with him, looking thoughtful.

I am not them. I wish I were, but I am not, D-N signed, running out of defences. His signs were sloppy.

"Prove it."

How?

"Is the Tatar Confederacy here? He could convince D-N to tell the truth," the Ottoman Empire suggested.

"No, he left near the start of the battle with a few others," the Teutonic Order replied.

"Okay, fine then. Sweden-Norway, can you swap Denmark-Norway's powers with someone else's?" Britain said.

"Uh... sure?" S-N said.

D-N breathed in deeply.

"He can swap with me," WRE jumped in. D-N had a spark of hope, which was quickly snuffed out when OE shook his head.

"You were defending him earlier. It's better to get someone unbiased," he said.

"I have no idea to believe," DE offered, stepping to the front of the crowd.