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Sway (Dream short story #3)
He was too young. Way too young. So young. He wasn't even sixteen, how could they expect him to go along with this? Sure, the world was in turmoil from war but that wasn't a reason to set him up in a union. Especially one with just him and another. It was fine when it was the three of them. It was fine if there were other people. It was fine. But they now expected him to go through with this on his own. He was inexperienced. If only it wasn't just him I this position. If only...
"Ísland"
"Hvað?" He replied angrily, unable to contain his disgust with the way he was being treated "Hvað er það?"
"Ísland, vinsamlegast" Iceland glared angrily at the man addressing him "Fólkið hefur valið"
Iceland could barely contain his anger, he was only fifteen. How was he meant to go through wit this? Did they really expect him to laugh and say: 'Sure, boss, whatever you want'? And he'd seen what'd happened to the others when they'd been forced into unions. It always ended in bloodshed.
"Fólkið veit ekki neitt!" He yelled "nokkuð yfirleitt"
The whole room stared at him in shocked silence, mainly at his outburst. They probably weren't surprised by his words: 'The people do not know anything, anything at all'. It was something he would say. And it was true: They did not understand. They hadn't seen first-hand their normally calm guardians breaking down in tears trough the frosted glass of a castle window. They hadn't crept cold hallways in a desperate search for something familiar. They had never had to watch their whole system crumble down around them over a simple disagreement. They could never understand tat pain. Iceland turned swiftly through the door leaving his scathing words hanging in the air.
But deep down. That is all you crave.
Iceland stopped, his own mind playing with him. What had the world come to?
A little protection. Security. Familiarity.
The thoughts rang in his head, the ultimate truth; He was still a child. Iceland wasn't old enough to take on the world by himself.
Deep down, you don't mind it so much.
What was stopping him? What was stopping him from walking straight into that room and agreeing for once, proving the officials wrong. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He needn't worry. He was still a child. No one would dare lay a finger on him because they were all adults. He could do whaetever he wanted and not get hurt. He could. All that was stopping him were those memories. Those painful memories...
Nore, lying battered and broken on the ground, having lost another fight. Svi and Finn arguing with the others, Nore taking him hastily away from the conflict. Dan at war with the very people he grew up trusting. The memory of the last time that Nore had bid him goodnight. That fated day when the sunlight shone through the trees, revealing just how broken Dan really was. The anger. The pain. The Hate.
And yet, there was a reason for all of that. A legitimate thing that'd gone wrong to cause it. Something else had been there too, something unexplained...
The memory of Nore smiling at him, leading him to a new home, less dangerous than his current one. The conversations they'd had at the bonds they'd formed while forced to stay near each other. The comfort of having someone to wrap their arms around and tuck him in to sleep. Laughter and happiness. Love and compassion. Unexplained emotions that shouldn't really have been there. Because no one really hated each other in the end.
Iceland stopped in his tracks. His thoughts seemed like they'd been taken over by a romance novel. He turned around. Back down that corridor was a room full of people waiting for his agreement. Back down that corridor was his future, laid out before him; A plan of the next twenty five years. All he had to do for that security was agree. One or two words from him and it would be done. And they had promised that he wouldn't even have to leave his home. It took a while, but soon he was rushing back towards to meeting room, fists clenched and prepared to do whatever it took
"Já, ég geri ráð" He said slowly as he sat down "Bara ekki gera mér orlof"
And it was done.
...
Thanks for reading that! The translations are:
"Ísland" = "Iceland"
"Hvað?" = "What?"
"Hvað er það?" = "What is it?"
"Ísland, vinsamlegast" = "Iceland, please"
"Fólkið hefur valið" = "The people have chosen"
"Fólkið veit ekki neitt!" = "People do not know anything!"
"nokkuð yfirleitt" = "Anything at all"
"Já, ég geri ráð" = "Yes, I suppose"
"Bara ekki gera mér orlof" = "Just do not make me leave"
I wrote those parts in Icelandic because I felt that when Iceland is speaking to Icelanders he uses Icelandic. It's probably not the best idea though so I probably won't continue with writing in Icelandic unless if you want me to!