The young country looked at the scenery that passed him as he rode beside the king's horse on his own. The young blond boy looked to be about nine, his hair short, slightly ruffled from the wind. Though the detached curl never blew away with the wind.
"Norge," the viking king said.
The boy looked at his king. "Yes?"
"Now you know what this is about, right?"
He nodded. "Yes, sire. I'm to meet Denmark and his king."
"You know, Norway, what this meeting is for?"
Norway looked ahead for a moment in quiet. "Isn't this supposed to be an alliance of sorts?" he asked.
"Yes," the viking king answered, "Denmark's king and I wish to form an alliance since Sweden and Finland have already started to form a bond together within Denmark's house."
"Sweden and Finland live with Denmark?" Norway asked, his question being answered with a nod.
"You of course, must address them with their human names to avoid suspicion of the villagers surrounding the home."
"Yes, sire," Norway replied.
"Sweden is Berwald. Finland is Tino. And Denmark is Mathias."
Norway nodded as they approached a village. He looked around the small houses and the villagers bustling around. They were preparing food, skinning animals, feeding livestock, sewing clothes, making weapons and armor, and building more houses for families. He looked past all that and saw the shoreline to the ocean. He smiled, enjoying the sight. Maybe he could fish during his time he was suppose to stay here.
"This way, Christian," the older man called as Norway found himself distracted from the scenery. Norway heeled the horse's sides and made him trot up to his king's horse. "Just a little climb. His home is right outside the village."
Norway looked confused. "That doesn't make sense. If the king lives right outside the village, wouldn't that make for an easy victory when another tribe attacks?"
"You'll understand when you meet Mathias."
Norway wondered what was so special about Denmark as he followed his king to the outskirts of the viking village. They rode a while then a large stone house stood in the middle of the sandy grass.
"Come on, Sve!" a laughing voice carried in the wind, "You can wield an ax better than that! I've seen you fight!"
"D'n't 'ct s' h'gh 'nd m'ghty," another voice laughed.
"Mathias!" a more adult voice called, "I can see them down the hill. Come back up. Berwald, I believe Tino is inside with the puppy he found the other day."
"Ah'll go g't h'm." the thickly accented voice answered.
"Aw come on!" the other voice whined, "I was about to defeat Sve again!"
"Denmark..."
"Yes, sire."
Norway followed his lord up to the house and that's when they saw the other viking king standing with a sandy blond boy who looked to be about twelve, maybe thirteen. The older boy looked toward the two horses and looked curious. His blond hair was wild and untamed. He didn't need the wind to help his crazy look. His bright blue eyes were so full of life and vigor. He held an ax about twice his size and that's when Norway understood what his king meant earlier.
A taller boy with pale blond hair walked out, holding the hand of a smaller boy about his age, maybe younger. The taller boy had bright blue eyes, but not as bright as the other boy's. The smaller boy had violet eyes and he looked very cheerful, holding a little white ball of fluff in his arm.
"Welcome," Denmark's king said, "And this must be Christian."
Norway hopped off his horse, catching himself with the wind before setting his feet down lightly. He looked at the three boys to see their reactions. The tallest boy seemed indifferent, the small boy looked amazed, but the boy who he assumed was Denmark, looked scared.
"Yes, this is Norway," the Norse king replied.
The Danish king smiled. "This is Berwald," he said, ruffling the tallest boy's head, "Sweden."
Sweden nodded in respect.
"This little guy is Tino or Finland."
The smaller boy blushed cutely and hid his face behind Sweden. Norway smiled, then looked at the last boy who was still wary of him.
"You must be Denmark."
Denmark nodded. "Yep." He smiled brightly and walked to him. He stabbed the handle of his ax down in the sandy dirt. "You look cute for a girl."
Norway blushed madly. He hated the fact he had to wear his royal blue tunic and little cap that went with it. It made him look more like a girl than he really was. "I'm a boy!" he defended angrily.
"Don't look like it," Denmark laughed.
Norway mumbled something in his native tongue and his hand glowed a bright green light. Denmark's eyes widened in fear and he cried out, running away from the angry Norge.
"Norway!" the Norse king cried out, chasing after the boy.
"Take it back!" Norway cried.
"Never!" Denmark laughed.
Sweden tied off the bandages around Denmark's head. "'d'ot..." he muttered.
"What?" Denmark laughed, "He shouldn't have worn a dress. Until he wears a man's clothes, Christian will always be a girl to me."
"'ts a t'n'c," Sweden argued, "T'no w'ars 'ne too."
"But when you found him, you knew he was a boy. How could I tell that Chrissy was a boy?"
Sweden rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
Denmark gave him a wild grin, showing that he was plotting something devious. "Hey, Sve, wanna go scare some cattle?"
Norway watched the little fairy that rested on his finger as he laid his cheek on his pulled up knees.
The two kings watched from a distance.
"Will he be okay?"
Norway's king nodded. "He gets like this when somebody insults him. He usually doesn't show emotion except for anger. He's not angry any more, but he needs time alone with his friends."
"Friends?"
"Yeah, Christian has trolls, gnomes, and fairies that he tends to talk to. Nobody can see them but him and some of my people."
The Danish king nodded. He looked at the Norse man. "How long do you think this will take?"
"Christian is growing faster than most children, he may be old enough in a few years."
Norway looked around the sitting room, seeing little Finland sitting in the middle of the floor, holding the little white ball of fluff in his lap and was petting it. He walked to him. "Hallo..." he said nervously.
Finland jumped, looking back. He smiled a sweet smile. "Haloo!" he giggled cheerfully, "You wanna meet Hanatamago?"
"Hanatamago?"
"My puppy," Finland said happily, "I found him all by himself by close to where Berwald lived. He said I could have him, but I think we should share him since we are getting married when I get old enough."
Norway looked at the smaller country next to him. "You seem okay with this..."
"With what?" he asked, then he answered his own question, "Oh...with the marriage." He smiled. "Berwald is a nice guy. And he likes me."
Both boys looked up when they heard the laughter of the two older boys, then the sound of an angry bull chasing.
"Mathias!" the Danish king yelled from outside, "Berwald!"
Finland sighed, going back to petting the puppy in his lap. "They will be late for dinner tonight."
After a summer of chasing Denmark and hurting him for calling him a girl, watching the two older countries get into trouble a lot for pranks, and getting to know Finland, Norway was relieved to finally leave for his home.
"Hey Norgie!" Denmark called, running up to him just before they entered the village to head back.
"Don't call me that," Norway muttered in annoyance as he looked at the Danish boy, "What do you want?"
Denmark smiled his happy grin. "I'll be coming to your place next summer. So I'll see you then."
Norway resisted the urge to groan and roll his eyes. He kept his face straight. "Have a good winter."
"You too!" Denmark laughed happily as he turned and ran back to his house.
Norway followed his king back through the village, eager to get back to his home.
A few summers, Denmark was chasing Sweden and Finland on their horses. Finland was sitting in Sweden's lap, clinging to him for dear life as Sweden brought his horse to a canter. "Sl-slow down!" Finland cried cutely.
Sweden chuckled softly and began to slow down, kissing the young teen's forehead tenderly. "B'tt'r?" When Finland nodded and let little Hanatamago pop his head out of Tino's cloak, Sweden kept their horse to a trot.
Denmark pouted when his companion slowed down for his little wife-to-be. "Sucker," he teased, trotting up next to him. Both older boys were now in their mid teens. Denmark wore his armor that he finally was allowed to wear, his chest, arms, and shins covered with the sturdy metal they were made of. He had on a belt that held the hilt to his long sword, his red pants puffed out around his thighs. His favorite weapon though, the battle ax which got bigger as he grew up, was attached to the right side of his saddle just within arms reach.
Sweden smiled at Finland sweetly, ignoring the comment. He looked over at the Danish king when he rode up. "H'w f'r 'ff 're w'?" he asked.
"We will be there soon. His house is in the mountains so it'll be a climb. The horses will be able to reach it."
"Mountains?" Finland asked worriedly, tensing up in Sweden's lap. The little country hated heights. He was pulled into a hug from Sweden and he looked up at the older teen who smiled at him calmly. "You won't let me fall, will you, Berwald?"
Sweden shook his head. "Ah'll h'ld yoo. Yoo w'n't f'll."
Finland smiled his flowery smile. "Thank you, Be!" he giggled, hugging him.
Denmark made a gagging sound. "You two are so gross."
"Don't say that, Mathias," Finland said with a pout, "You and Christian may get close."
"I doubt it," Denmark laughed, "That girl hates my guts!"
"Christian's a guy," Finland defended.
"I told Sve this before, but until Chrissy shows otherwise and doesn't wear that dress, I will always call him a girl."
The argument about Christian's gender halted when the group stopped at the bottom of the mountains. Finland looked up, whimpering at the height. Denmark laughed happily, declaring he would conquer these mountains in the name of annoying Norway. To which Denmark followed after the current Danish king up the beaten path toward the mountains. Sweden sighed, squeezing Finland's hand before he took the reins and kicked the horse's side gently, making the stallion start after the other two.
"Brother dear!" a little boy cried, running to Norway.
The young teen turned to face his little brother. He knelt by the boy, wiping tears from his face. "What's wrong, Emil?" he asked calmly, hugging his brother close.
"I fell down!" the boy wailed, lifting his dark red tunic to show the scrape on his knees.
Norway smiled softly at his brother as he lifted him into his arms easily. "You'll be okay. Let's go get that cleaned up and I'll put a bandage on it. Okay?"
The little boy, sniffled, rubbing his eyes and nodding with a cute pout. Norway kissed his brother's forehead, carrying him back to his house. He set the little country down on a stood. "I'll be back, okay?" The toddler nodded, still sniffling. Norway walked to the bag that was hanging in his room that had his bandages for whenever he would injure himself on his travels. He grabbed it and returned to find his little brother still crying on the stool with Norway's current King talking to him.
"You'll be okay, Iceland," the king said with a smile.
Iceland sniffled, nodding cutely. When he saw Norway standing behind the king, he smiled happily. "Brother dear!"
Norway smiled. "I told you I would be back." He knelt down, having a wet rag in his other hand. "This may sting a little. Do you want to hold my hand?" Iceland nodded and took his big brother's hand tightly. Norway cleaned his skinned knees, only hearing slight whimpering from Iceland. When the little boy let go of his hand, he wrapped his knees up with the bandaging and tied them off. "There! All done!" He stood up, kissing his forehead.
"Thank you, Brother dear!" Iceland cheered, hugging his brother around the waist.
He laughed lightly and picked Iceland up. "You are very much welcome. Now try to be careful when climbing or running, okay?" The little boy nodded and let Norway put him down. "Go on, I think I still have some snacks on the table for you." The toddler smiled brightly, running off to the kitchen.
"Hey Norgie!" a loud happy voice called from outside. The voice caused Norway to stiffen in the back and he quickly turn to the window that was open. He saw three horses approach, two faces he recognized as Sweden and Finland on one horse. Another horse had who Norway assumed was the current Danish king. The other face he recognized, he never wanted to see again.
"Denmark..." he groaned, "It's that time again?"
"Nooooorgiiiiie!" Denmark called louder.
Norway groaned and walked to the door, stepping outside. He saw the older country sitting on his horse in all his viking glory. He fought down a blush easily, keeping his face passive and crossed his arms. "Well well well, look what we have here, I think a village has lost their idiot."
Sweden snickered behind Denmark, which received scolding from Finland. Denmark pouted. "Now why would you treat me like such a burden?"
"Because you are a burden, Mathias," he retorted with no hesitation.
Denmark chuckled, dismounting his horse and he walked to Norway. "You look as lovely as always," he said with a charming smile, bowing politely, then took his hand and kissed it softly, "My lady..."
"Denmark!" Norway shouted, kicking him in the chest and knocking him over.
Iceland saw his big brother jump on another boy and start beating him up. He whimpered, "Br-brother?"
Norway stopped himself mid-punch and looked to see his little brother watching them. He stood up and hurried to him. "What's wrong, Emil?" he asked with a soft smile.
"Who is the boy you are hitting?" he asked with a cute curious expression.
Norway frowned. "An idiot."
"Hey!" Denmark cried, "Don't call me an idiot!"
"You are," Norway said calmly, lifting his brother into his arms.
Sweden dismounted his horse, helping little Finland down to his feet. Finland rushed over to Norway's side, cooing over the little toddler in his arms. "He's so cute! What's his name?"
"My name is Emil!" Iceland said cheerfully with a cute grin.
Norway smiled softly, ruffling his silver blond hair. "I found him a while ago. We called him Iceland because we found him surrounded by icy shores."
"He's so cute!" Finland giggled, pinching Iceland's cheek. Iceland blushed and buried his head in Norway's shoulder.
Denmark crossed his arms as Sweden walked up beside him. "He's got a little brother..."
Sweden rested an arm on Denmark's shoulder and leaned on him. "Look's th't w'y." He saw Denmark smirking devilishly. "Wh't 're yoo th'nking?"
The teen nation looked at his partner in crime. "We'll have fun this summer."
The rest of the summer was spent with Denmark running away from a very angry magical Norway attacking him for chasing little Iceland.
Inspiration from the Swan Princess's song "This is My Idea". I see this as Norway thinking this about Denmark how he doesn't want to do anything with him finding it a bad idea and Denmark is loving this idea, enjoying the time he spends with Norway.
Mathias is Denmark
Christian is Norway
Berwald is Sweden
Tino is Finland
Emil is Iceland