This is my first story so I hope it's okay. There will be multiple chapters and I'll try my best to post them on time! This story has no intensions of couples, so its NOT a love story. Please enjoy!
"Oww…. How much longer till King Netherlands house?" I asked.
"Stop complaining. We'll get there when we get there." Norway replied sternly. Hi, my name is Iceland, and I'm a Knight of the Nordics. Right now I'm on duty with my older brother, Norway, and we're escorting Princess Belgium back King Netherlands house, for she had been visiting ours. We had been riding our horses since dawn and as the day progressed, the sun had gotten hotter and my sheath had gotten heavier. We were walking at a steady pace, with Belgium riding between us.
"I'm aching all over." I complained. Norway muttered something under his breath.
"Well you know, I could do with a break myself. Hey look, you can see a brook through the trees! Let's stop there!" Belgium requested. I had heard that brooks like these were a traveller's best friend, and since we were still quite far from our destination, it would be a good idea to rest.
"Of course your highness." I said gladly.
When we arrived, we realised that it wasn't a brook, but a large crystal clear lake.
"Whoa!" Belgium exclaimed. It's good that she gets excitement from the simple things in life. The water was smooth as silk and sparkling with the sun's reflection. As Norway helped her down from her horse, I threw my sheath and gloves on the shady grass and collapsed down beside them. There was a nice cool breeze brushing the grass. I closed my eyes and listened to the nature around us. When I reopened them, standing right above me was Norway. And I can tell you he did not look pleased.
"You know better than to complain around royalty, It makes us seem like we can't even handle a simple horse ride. You should have never come with us. You're too weak and young to be a knight in the first place!" He scolded.
"It's not called complaining, it's called having an opinion! Besides, King Denmark said I could be a Knight, so I am!" I said smugly. I closed my eyes and smirked. He can tell me what he wants, but I'll only listen to half of it. Before I could even sigh, a long, heavy object came crashing down onto my stomach. It was Norway's sheath, with the sword still inside of it.
"OWWW! What was that for!?" I yelled as I sat up and clenched my stomach. He sat down beside me.
"If you don't want it to happen again then you'll treat me with more respect. I may be your brother but I'm also your teacher." He smirked back. It was true. He was teaching me how to be a Knight, and I guess I kinda deserved it.
"Whatever, I'm going down to the lake." I stated. I walked over to where Princess Belgium stood, who was refreshing herself with the coolness of the still water. I knelt down by the lake myself and scooped up a handful of water, tipping it into my mouth. It instantly refreshed me. Princess Belgium stood looking out over the water.
"Isn't it just amazing?" She sighed. She was mesmerised by the crystal water, but there was something else in her eyes. She looked troubled.
"Iceland, can I tell you something? I don't know why but I have the strangest feeling. It's been with me all day, and I just can't figure out what it is." She stated.
"May I suggest it's the anticipation on seeing your brother, King Netherlands?" I spoke in a formal tone. But I was surprised, for I myself had actually been feeling quite strange. Great minds think alike?
"Maybe, I just… I just don't know." She said with a worried tone.
"Your Highness, are you ready to move on?" Norway asked as he approached us. Belgium Instantly perked up.
"Yes, I just can't wait to see my big brother!" She said with excitement in her voice, hiding her worry. I sighed as the pain from riding was already killing my legs, and having to ride for however much longer was just going to make it worse. I missed the snow. We mounted the horses and took off at a steady walk, when something caught my eye. Something in the bushes. I spun around and saw nothing but the path behind us and the growth around us. I could've sworn something was there. Something dark.
"Iceland, Is something wrong?" asked Norway. He was always worried about me. He thought I was too young to be a Knight.
"I thought I saw something. It looked large..." I trailed off. Norway immediately started to look around, scouting the area with his dark blue eyes.
"Are you sure? Nothing large could be hiding with this day light. It's probably just the shadows." Norway confirmed. But I swore something was actually there. But maybe he's right. We set off for the next leg of the journey, walking at a steady pace. I decided to relax a bit and just enjoy the warmth of the day.
It was getting darker as we were approaching King Netherlands house. I hadn't seen anything else suspicious since we left the lake. As we rode along, we took the time to appreciate the end of the day with a beautiful sunset.
"Ah, what a beautiful sun set!" Princess Belgium exclaimed. It was true, the reds and the oranges mixing together, and with the golden sun just about to disappear. It was a great end to a long journey, except the fact that Norway and I would have to ride all the way back after we dropped her off. But at least we wouldn't have a princess to look after, so we would probably race each other at full speed, cutting the time to get back by more than half.
"*Yawn* Yup! It's one of the best I've seen in this kingdom." I added. Norway glared at me as if to say 'Mind your manners around royalty!' Princess Belgium could read his thoughts, even though he kept a straight face.
"Oh Norway, lighten up! It's not like I'm going to have you executed for having a nice time!" She chirped. He sighed, then looked up and gave a slight smile.
"I guess you're right." He said. Princess Belgium giggled like a little child. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the horses walking. The rhythm of their steps relaxed me and I suddenly realised how tired I actually am. As my mind was accidentally slipping into sleep I heard a shrill noise. It was coming fast. The noise of a galloping black stallion letting out a panicked whinny. It had no rider and a rope was dangling around its fast moving feet.
"Princess Belgium loo-! " I was too late. The horse had bolted into the side of Princess Belgium's horse, throwing her off, and before we could do anything to save her, she hit the ground. She yelled out in pain as she grabbed her lower leg. Norway jumped off his horse and immediately came to her aid.
"My leg! It hurts so much!" She said through her cries.
"Don't worry, we'll look after you," Norway comforted. "Ice, go after that horse!" He ordered.
"Right!" I yelled as I galloped off after the runaway horse. As I raced down the open track, a rush of adrenaline raced through my blood. The wind was blowing through my soft, white hair and my sheath lightly thumping on my back in rhythm with my horse's steps. I hadn't gone this fast in a long time, and boy did it feel good. As I slowly gained ground on the other horse, I reached my pale hand out to the loose flailing rope. As I lunged forward to grab it, the racing black stallion darted off into a thinner, overgrown forest track. I lost my balance and started to fall forward. I would have hit the ground, but my own mare had quickly changed directions and was now getting ready to further give chase. I thumped into her side, allowing me to grab the reigns and take control. We darted down the track, as fast as the growth would allow us. But things suddenly changed. Through the trees I saw the dark human-like shadow from before. I don't know what did it, but the next thing I knew was that I was being thrown from the saddle of my horse, and was hurtling towards the ground. As I met the ground, my vision struck to black.
I awoke lying on the ground, covered in dust. As I started to lift myself up, I winced in pain. It was a hard fall, but I don't think anything was broken. As I took a second to gather my strength, I noticed a dark patch on the ground. It was a decent sized pool of dark blood. I placed my hand onto my head, only to be greeted by a stinging sensation as my fingers touched my skin. I felt the blood dripping down my cheek only to fall from my jaw and joining the pool. As I got to my feet, there were silhouettes of the trees branching out onto the path. I looked up to see the night sky, with the full moon to one side. I was in shock from seeing the amount of blood I had lost. I was shaking all over and my breaths were stuttered. The runaway stallion was no were to be seen, let alone my own horse. There was only one thing I could do. I started to slowly limp my way back to where I last saw Norway and Belgium. But before I could walk very far, I heard a voice. A familiar voice. It was Norway.
"ICELAND! ARE YOU HERE? IIICE!" Norway shouted. Soon enough I could see a glow from his lantern. In his other hand the reins of two horses, which were calmly walking behind him.
"Over here!" I coughed. The dust from the track had settled in my lungs making it hard to speak.
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!" Belgium said in a concerned tone as they jogged over towards me. I was pleased to see that Belgium had recovered, but the looks on their faces scared me. It was a look of horror, like they had just seen a ghost.
"What on Earth happened?! You look like you've just been shot in the head!" Norway exclaimed as he touched my head, trying to see where the wound was based. The blood was now trailing down the side of my thin nose.
"The black figure from earlier, I saw it again. It wasn't just a shadow…." I trailed off as I was overcome by dizziness. My legs gave way as I collapsed in exhaustion. Norway was luckily there to catch me before I hit the ground. He slung my arm over his shoulder and held my side, supporting me upright.
"Let me help!" Belgium stated with concern.
"Princess, don't trouble your-,"
"He helped protect me, now I'll help protect him." Belgium announced interrupting Norway.
"Well if you really want to, you can help by taking the horses ahead and finding a place to set up a fire. We'll wait for guards to find us and they'll take it from there." Norway ordered.
"Right!" Belgium agreed. I'd never thought I'd hear the day when Norway would order higher-up's around. As Belgium scouted ahead with the horses, Norway and I started to slowly start walking. But not for long. At first my vision started getting fuzzier and the noises around me muffled. My body soon became loose as I was once more about to lose consciousness. I could hear Norway calling out my name. And out of nowhere in the distance, a large violet light shot up from the ground, with a fierce wind blowing against us. The dark figure was there again. As my own vision faded to black, a battle was about to begin.