His platinum blonde hair swayed like silk in the moonlight, as he glanced up at the silver orb in the sky.
emWhere are you Lukas.../em
bPraying for the morning light/b
He sighed, dipping his head and closing his eyes, holding the metallic cross pin tightly in his hand, close to his chest. Oh, how he wished to give it to his brother. Emil remembered the way the Norwegian would use it to prop his rather long hair back.
em"It's been years, brother.../em
bShe dreams of how they used to be/b
He'd fall asleep to dreams of Lukas. But these weren't dreams, oh no. These were fake. They'd start of perfectly, just smiling and laughing and happily playing together, playing tag at the edge of the cliff, and everything was perfect. The snow drifted around them as soft as feathers, fireflies lighting up the night with a warm orange glow. A thin sheen of the white dust they were so familiar with lay across the floor like a blanket.
It was all so very beautiful.
Then Lukas would pick up Emil under the arms and spin him, before his smile fell and he bent down to eye level.
em"Emil,"/em he would whisper. em"I have to go. Odin is waiting for me, up in Valhalla. I promise that when you think the moment is right and when you have to go, I'll be waiting for you."/em
em"W-Why are you going?"/em Emil whispered back, stuttering, though it wasn't from the cold at all. It was from fear. Something no Viking child should ever feel.
And Lukas would smile. em"I love you, Emil."/em then he would fall backwards, into the depths of what lay beneath the cliff, into the crashing waves and rocks below.
Then it would be like nothing happened, Emil would bolt upright in his bed, panting, a sticky layer of sweat covering him, gasping for breath. And he would know, only then, that none of it happened.
Emil glanced up at the moon, searching the horizon for any sign of the beautiful Nordic sunrise, waiting for hues of golds and reds and yellows blending together to create the light he adored, just like his brother.
bAt dawn they will be free/b
He sighed, seeing nothing but the endless blue sky that lingered for so long.
It was sudden, almost, but he squinted his pained violet eyes to stare at the point where sea meets sky to see an array of greens and blues begin to paint the sky, staining it momentarily with turquoise and emerald and every other blend of blue and green you could imagine; and much far beyond your imagination. Emil had never seen so many colours, for he had never been outside whilst the moon was so high.
bMemories, they haunt his mind/b
The Icelander fell to his knees, gasps shaking his form. He closed his eyes tightly as the salt-water tears spilled over his eyelids, reflecting the dazzling colours from the sky. The memories were the only things he had left of Lukas, and they were more than painful. He clutched the crosspin tighter in his pale hands, his lips slightly parted as they let out choked gasps and small sobs.
This happened every single year.
On this exact day.
em"Happy Birthday, Lukas..."/em
bSave him from the endless night/b
Even though the memories hut him and broke him and were oh so painful, they were what kept him sane - they kept him alive. If he didn't have the memories, he wouldn't be the same. He brought his shaky hands away from his chest and opened his palms, tears dripping onto the metal cross beneath him.
bShe whispers warm and tenderly/b
b'Please come back to me'/b
And Emil would pray on May 17th every single year for his Norwegian older brother to return. Because he never did go to Valhalla, the Icelander could never think that negatively. Even though Lukas would be happy there (because he was a good person in life and did everything he could for people in need, especially his silver-haired younger brother), he didn't want him to have already gone. He only spent four years of his life with his brother, and then he was off to war at the young age of 14. He only went at such a young age because he looked older than he was, and he was the firstborn of the two. Emil was 13 now, so Lukas would be 23.
Emil would be off soon aswell.
But would he make a promise to return, and would Lukas recognise him?
Because he would recognice Lukas.
bAnd when the golden sun arises far across the sea/b
bThe dawn will break, as darkness fades, forever we'll be free/b
He rose his head to stare at the lights flashing above him, his hair whipping about him like velvet, the small beads at the end of his few braids whipping his cheeks.