A Taste Of Payback

Spanish Lessons

Esmeralda sat down in her chair not even bothering to listen to the Spaniard in front of her. She was too busy reflecting on the past event that had just occurred between her and Lovino. "You can also say 'dame un beso'. So what does 'besa me' mean?", Spain was writing on the board and looked over at her. He pulled up a chair in front of her and held her chin, causing her to tear out of her thoughts. She looked directly into Spain's green eyes and tried to pry away from his grip but he only grabbed her chin back and snapped it in his direction, forcing her to look at him. "Hmm, you are obviously not paying attention to me princesa. Am I rite?", he smirked as she finally stopped trying to pull away. She shot daggers at him through her eyes, "Yeah. So whats your point?". He couldn't help but chuckle, "What's going on in your adorable little head? What could possibly be more interesting then learning Español with me?". She gave out a rude laugh, "You'd be surprise at how many things I'd rather be doing rite now". The two looked at each other for a time period that seemed to last forever. Finally Spain decided to break the silence. "Why do you strive to be such a pain in my ass princesa?", he was still holding her chin and had no intentions on letting go. "Why do you strive to teach me another language?", a bratty tone was heard in her question that made Antonio tense up. He quickly shook it off and loosened his grip. "Oh dear. Your such a bad girl. If I could, I'd have you punished to where you never see the light of day. If you were anyone else, that would be your fate. But you see," he paused to stroke her cheek, "I just want to keep you happy. You are my most prized possession and I have no intention on loosing you. And I don't see why your complaining on the Spanish. You are my perfect little colony and your country needs a language, therefor, you will be speaking my language. And your pretty good at it too. Your a fast learner, I like that. Also, it would be pointless of you to try to rebel and not learn the language since I've got plenty of men over there making sure your people are learning and speaking the language everyday". Esmeralda continued to glare at him in disgust, "I'm not a possession Spain. And if your only in it for the land, why don't you send me back home?". Spain let out an amused laugh, "My bosses are in it for the land, not me. I just want you to be mine. Have I not made that clear? And I suppose Your rite. Your not a possession. You are much more then that. You are a free spirit, a beautiful flower blossoming. A very, very beautiful girl indeed. Your growth is stunning. I can't wait to see what you look like when your aging catches up to me". She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Anything else? Or is that all that I am? A blossoming flower!". She put on a dramatic voice and raised her arms up to mock him. He leaned froward, "Si. There is something else. The biggest of them all. You are my princesa. Now, forget today's lesson. I'm sure you already know the properties of the word 'kiss' rite?", Esmeralda crossed her arms and nodded. "Okay, then I want you to learn this before I let you go", he turned back to the bored and scribbled something Esmeralda didn't understand. Spain pointed at his sentence. "I want you to say this please", New Spain read over the sentence a few times. She couldn't put t together but she was sure she could pronounce it well. "Um, okay. It says Estoy Españas pequeña princesa. Yo lo amo y soy su princesita hasta el final de los tiempos. Spain, what the hell does that mean?", Spain ignored her question. "Damn straight you are", he was about to exit when Esmeralda threw her chair at him. "Spain! What the hell did I just say!", he gave out a cheerful laugh, his usual hopeless self coming back out. "It means 'I am Spains little princess. I love him and I will be his until the end of time'. How adorable rite!", she looked at him in disbelief. "No! It's not adorable and I am not your little princess until the end of fucking time!", Spain frowned and patted her head. "Aw come on. Don't be like that. Don't worry, you'll warm up to me. I am trying very hard! Parenting is hard work! Come on, smile for mister Spain", he bent down and gave her a huge smile. Esmeraldas face remaind straight and emotionless, "No", she grabbed a tomato from a nearby basket and bit into it, never looking away from Spain. Antonio also grabbed a tomato and examined it. "Oh! I just remembered something! I asked you a question a very long time ago and I think you can answer me now", Esmeralda stared at him bored, "What was the question?". Spain smirked, "Will you ever love me as much as you love tomatoes?". New Spain remembered the question. "The answer back then was no. Five years later, the answer is still no. And five years from now, the answer will still be no!", Spain just laughed. "Having no for your answer to everything wont get you anywhere princesa", he lightly tapped her nose before getting up. He was about to walk out when Esmeralda suddenly spoke up. "Spain...wh-what happened to my mom?", she knew the answer. It haunted her in her sleep, but she wanted to see if he would confess to her. The air in the room suddenly got very uneasy. Spain thought over it for a minute, trying to remember the excuse his bosses were telling everyone. He turned around and looked at her with a sad smile. "Oh...Aztec. Well, she got too sick and died before I could do anything about it", lies. Esmeralda knew he was lying through his teeth and it hurt her. "I'm sorry princesa. I truly am", he kissed the top of her head and exited the room quietly. Once he was out, Esmeralda picked up a chair and threw it against the chalkboard causing it to come off the wall and crash to the ground, "You liar! I saw what you did! I fucking saw!". She had recently been able to get mad easily. She was good at keeping it in and controlling it, but when it came out, it wasn't pretty and her strength wasn't helping at all. She continued to scream and throw object across the room and tearing up paper and books. She grabbed the ginormous Spanish flag that was hanging in the room and tore it down, sudden rage overwhelming her. She marched out of the room and found herself in a dark corridor. She looked around and grabbed a glowing candle and held it close to her, finding pleasure in watching the flame dance around. A noise was heard in the end of the hall and Antonio popped out of a corner holding a stack of papers. "Oh hello Esmeralda! Is there something I can help you with?", he kindly asked her, "What are you up to?", he looked at her worriedly when he spotted his flag and the candle. Images of him and his men burning her city down poured into her mind as she stared deep into his soul. Images of her brave soldiers falling with no mercy, the Spanish flags set around marking their new territory as she was stuck witnessing from her bedroom, too ill to be allowed out. The image of a shiny ax meeting her beloved mother covering the blade in crimson blood. She could hear cries in her head that seemed too real. She held the flag up and let the tip of the candle touch the corner of the flag. She remembered her promise in burning the flag in front of his face. The instant tough of flame to fabric was enough to send that whole corner ablaze. The fire moved fast and quickly took over the bottom half. Spain immediately dropped his papers and ran to her, "Esmeralda no!". He looked down at the dissolving flag that was barely even there by now. He turned his head up to look at his colony, but she had disappeared. He turned his attention to the flag as the flame engulfed the last corner before swallowing it up and a hot tear rolled down his cheek. He ran to look for the girl. He found her in the kitchen eating as if nothing had happened. "Esmeralda. We need to talk. Now!", the young girl chewed her food slowly. "Aw whats the matter Spain? Are you crying? Need a hug?", sarcasm dripped of every word. "No. We need to discuss your behavior", he stood tall and kept his cool. "Oh really? What happened to just wanting me to be happy?", she never dropped the sarcasm. "No it's not that. You seem to get a rush out of destructive violence and it's not good", he crossed his arms and kept his face stern. "Me? Destructive violence? I'm not the one who goes out and conquers poor defensive countries almost burning them to the ground", she looked at him casually and spoke as if they were enjoying a nice walk in the park. Spain could feel his own anger rising. "Don't talk to me like that Nueva España! First of all you need to learn respect! I'm doing this because I care about you! I don't want to see you end up as some sadistic violent nation!", Esmeralda dropped the act and gave him a sickening look that would turn his insides out. "Oh boohoo, so I beat up a couple kids on the streets every now and then, I destroy a couple things when I let my anger out and I like fire. So what! That doesn't mean I'm going to be a sadistic freak whose obsessed with violence!", the two continued to argue. The other trying to be louder then the one who spoke before them. They continued to raise their voices to an extent where everyone on the estate could hear them. Antonio couldn't get anywhere near Esmeralda's loudness, but he didn't back down. "You need to gain responsibility and do something useful! Your too old to be lying around depending on others to clean up your damn mess!", his words echoed around the living room. "Oh will you just shut up! I don't even like you! I never did and never will! I don't see why you keep trying! If anyone's waisting their time, it's you!", they both had to fight back tears of frustration. "Esmeralda! Go to room this instant!", he commanded her and she started to go up the stairs, but she grabbed frames off the wall and threw them at him on her way up. "Fine! I don't want to see your stupid face anyways! I don't want to see your face, hear your voice, or anything!", she continued to throw the frames at him, never missing. "Your grounded New Spain!", he never called her that, he only called her by her human name or princess in Spanish, but he felt like he needed to so he could show strength. "Who gives a shit bastard! Oh wait! Let me put it in a way you can understand, beacause I'm pretty sure none of this is getting to you! No me importa! I don't care!", she quickly ran into her room and shut the door with a slam that shook the house. Spain sighed and threw one of the frames sending it loudly banging into the wall. He cursed out loud for a couple minutes while he threw around the paintings before going back to his room to de-stress. Esmeralda slid down her door and sat leaning against it covering her face with her hands. She let out a frustrated scream and finally removed her hands. She opened her eyes to find her self staring up at Lovino. "What the hell was that about?", he managed to ask the question calmly.