Pre-story message
Since this takes place during the time when Vikings settled in North America, Canada will be referred to as Vinland, and will receive a different human name. Also, there will be Mama!Native America.
Now, onto the story!
Bertwald sighed as he stood outside his longhouse in the Straumfjord Camp, looking out to some nearby Berry Bushes that a few of his men had picked clean. It was a very dull day so far, but better than being attacked by the Natives of Vinland for a change. The Valley region was perfect for the berries to make wine, plus it wasn't as cold as if they went further north, where it was mostly Tundras. As Bertwald began to get lost in his thoughts about the geography of this land, his eyes caught the sight of the Berry Bushes rustling, and poking through the branches he saw a head of blonde hair, the head being too small to be that of an adult.
"No way a child got aboard one 'a our ships, so where did this one come from?" He asked himself as he cautiously approached the berry bush. As he got closer, he could hear a faint whimpering, and he saw a pair of brilliant, violet eyes staring directly at him, and Bertwald guessed the child thought he was scary, "Come here, lil' one, I won't hurt ya." He said as softly as possible, though he wouldn't blame the child for being afraid of a tall, bearded Viking.
Much to his surprise, however, the child not only seemed to listen, but actually ran up to him and hugged his leg. As Bertwald looked down at the child, he noticed he was a very skinny and frail lad dressed in wolf fur, and he seemed to have a cut on his leg, "F-father, I f-fell and hurt myself." The child said in a soft whimper, his words shocking the much older man.
"Father?" Bertwald said, his mind now racked with confusion. There was no way he'd be this child's father, "Child, I believe you have me confused with someone else." He stated, kneeling down to pry the child from his leg.
"B-but The Lady tells me that when I appeared, I got my looks from your people, and that's why I don't look like other children here." The boy said, tearing up at the prospect that the man before him wasn't his father as he thought.
"Lady...You just appeared?" That's when it hit Bertwald like a swing from Mjolnir. This child must be the personification of this patch of land. It certainly would explain why he didn't look like one of the natives, "You must be Vinland then, yes?"
In response, The Boy tilted his head as his eyes filled with confusion before he let out a sound of realization, "Ooooh, you mean my name, The Lady calls me Kanata, after that small village your people put up." He said with a smile that for some reason filled Bertwald with a small amount of joy. Who was this lady he kept mentioning though?
"This...Lady, does she have a name?" Bertwald asked as he picked up The Boy and carried him back to his longhouse, sitting on a stump outside of said building with the child.
"No, at least, she never told me it, she just said to call her mama," The Boy said, looking to the ground thoughtfully, "In fact, I don't even have a real name, Kanata is just what the locals call me because of what I am."
Bertwald listened to the child, but his thoughts when he looked at the child went to bears, more specifically about how when you find a cub, the mother is sure to be nearby. He didn't think too much about it though, focusing on naming the child, "What about Vestur?" he said with a smile, "It fits considering this land is to the West of my land."
"Ooooh, I like that name, it makes me sound like one of those big warriors, the ones that, umm, charge right into battle and take a lot of hits." Vestur began to trail off, trying to remember the name of the warriors.
"I believe you're thinking of Berserkers, young one," Bertwald said with a smile, taking a liking to Vestur's cheerful attitude to the idea of being a warrior, "Perhaps if your nation develops, you can become one as well." The Child was quickly growing on Bertwald, to a point that he didn't notice that a Native woman in a deer-hide dress had walked into his camp scowling angrily.
"Kanata, get away from that dangerous man!" The woman said, alerting the entire camp to her presence. Bertwald quickly put the child on the ground and drew an axe from his side as he turned around, and saw Vestur run towards the Woman with a bit of a terrified look on his face.
"M-Mama, he's not a bad man, he's nice, he even gave me a name!" He said frantically, hoping the woman wouldn't attack his new friend. In response, the woman quickly Pushed Vestur behind her, still scowling at the man.
"Then why is your leg cut, Kanata?" She asked, her voice a mix of motherly love and homicidal intent.
"I-I kind of tripped over a rock." Vestur said, blushing in embarrassment as he looked to the ground.
"Oh, Kanata, you need to be more careful," The Woman said in a chastising tone, losing all interest in Bertwald as she turned around to look at the wound on the child's leg.
Bertwald, seeing she wasn't a threat, called his men off and approached the mother-son pair, kneeling down beside the two, "So you're the little guy's caretaker, huh?" He asked, ruffling the child's hair as he smiled.
"For now...yes, I am." The Woman replied solemnly, before patting Vestur on the head and smiling, "Go look at the other men work, Kanata, the adults need to talk." She said softly, the boy doing as he was told and walking to watch the other Viking Men make spears.
"You...seem sad, why is that?" Bertwald asked as he stood up, looking at the woman inquisitively.
"Well, it's just I don't think he'll be like this much longer," The Woman replied, looking Bertwald with saddened eyes, "My people will relentlessly fight you until you abandon this place, and once you do, he'll fall into a deep, long sleep, like he was never there," She began to sob lightly, the thought of the little boy not being there saddening her, "He's such a sweet boy, and I know you probably want to stay with him, but we both know you can't stay."
Bertwald responded by placing an arm on the woman's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile, though he was clearly hiding his own sadness behind it, "Hey now, don't cry, I'm sure one day he'll rise again," He then looked to the ground, tears welling in his eyes, "Neither of us may be there, but he'll carry both our spirits…"
The Woman smiled softly at the Viking's words, and lifted her head as she spoke up, "Before you go, I have to ask, is Matthew how we share a common tongue?"
"No, Nations who are connected naturally understand each other, guess it's meant to make relations easier…" Bertwald replied, standing up straight as he sighed half-heartedly, "Well, I suppose me and my men shall be leaving after I say goodbye to the boy, we clearly can't stay here…"
The farewells were very difficult for Bertwald. in such a short time the child's sweet, innocent and kind personality had left an impression on him, and Bertwald nearly broke down in tears at the final words he'd heard the boy say. They were still ringing in his ears as the longboat pulled away from the shores, 'I'll never forget you.' He had said…
"No kid, I'm afraid you will…" Bertwald said softly, before turning to watch his men row, back to their homeland. As Bertwald sat down, he felt a small pain in his heart, almost as if he'd felt Vestur fade into his deep sleep, and he felt the pain The Woman had felt, losing such a sweet child because his people and her's could not coexist…
It was nearly a 500 years before he'd heard of him again, first through news that a man named "Columbus" had discovered an entire continent on the other side of the world. Next he'd heard France had declared the Northern part of that land as "New France" and had come to take in a young child with Purple Eyes and Blonde hair.
When he'd finally saw him again, the boy had changed drastically. He was now Canada, or Matthew as he prefered to be called. He was very shy and timid, Bertwald having first met him because England insisted his Colony have allies. The boy had joined Bertwald in creating a partnership later on called the Arctic Council, and regularly they'd have Group Get Togethers in one of the northern countries.
During one such event, The Arctic countries decided to go to Canada during the winter, enjoying a nice day in the snow.
Bertwald stood with a neutral expression as he played with Norway and Finland in the snow, occasionally watching as Matthew sat and watched his twin brother go Ice Fishing, and quietly sneaked away after a few moments and came back holding a Sledgehammer and a Spear.
"Matthew, what are you doing?" Alfred Asked, looking at the tools his shy twin brother had.
Matthew simply replied by putting the tools down and undressing himself until he was just in his boots and shirt, picking the tools back up as he smiled innocently, "I'm just taking things a step further." He said, before suddenly running and jumping onto the ice, breaking the surface of the lake with the hammer as he fell through.
"MATTHEW!" Alfred screamed, grabbing the attention of everyone else who began crowding around the lake. they stood there in silence for a few minutes before they saw bubbles rise to the surface, and shortly after that Matthew emerged as well, soaking wet and holding his spear that now had 5 fishes impaled on it.
"A little chilly down there!" Matthew joked, causing Bertwald to laugh loudly and cause everyone else to sigh in relief. As Matthew climbed out of the water, Alfred began berating him while the Nordics resumed what they were doing, Norway looking at Bertwald cautiously.
"Hej, why are you laughing, Bertwald?" Norway asked, genuinely curious.
Bertwald simply smiled at his Nordic Brother, sighing as he stopped himself from laughing, "Ah, it's just that after so many years, he's still got the heart of a Norseman in him." Bertwald replied, earning him an understanding nod from his brother.
"You ever going to tell him about that?" Norway asked. He knew of Canada's origins due to some archeological digs that were done in Newfoundland, but didn't tell Canada out of Respect for Bertwald.
"You can if you'd like," Bertwald replied, waving his hand dismissively, "Doesn't matter to me, because whether he realizes it or not, he's his own person, he doesn't need an old relic like me barging in on his life…"
And that's a wrap. sorry the ending was kinda cheesy, I just felt like making the ending a little sappy (hehe, puns) Anyways, I've always liked the Idea of Canada being/being the reincarnation of Vinland, plus Mama Native America is an idea I feel like should be played with more.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed, leave a review if you want, and join me next time for another FanFiction of everyone's favourite Shy nation, Canada.