New story! :D ….. And it's probably not the best idea since I have so many stories that I haven't updated and I'm supposed to be studying for my upcoming exams :/ But I started this a while ago and….well, I thought it'd be a good idea to post it. Hope you like it, it's another Fem! Norway x Denmark story. I just love that couple! They are my OTP, along with GerIta, Spamano, FrUk, UsUk, PruHun and Japan and Taiwan (I don't actually know the name of their pairing xD)
AU and non-historical facts, just some background I had to make up for them. Enjoy!
"Is it the only only way?" Dagnya asked for the thousandth time. King Sjurd sighed heavily before looking down at his daughter.
"It is" he assured "Otherwise it won't be legitimate."
Dagnya nodded and peered outside the window of the carriage. The Danish landscape spreading before her.
It had been quite long since the Kingdom of Norway started war with the ancient tribes.
The ancient tribes were the roots of the actual Scandinavia. Since the establishment of monarchies, the tribes seemed to retreat north, on each country respectively. In the last years they had been thought to be extinguished, until they suddenly attacked. People thought that they intended to recover their lands and go back to the ancient times, and had united for that purpose.
And they had decided to start with Norway.
At the invasion, King Aleksander of Norway had tried to negotiate with the tribes, but had only made them angrier, which, in consequence, made war worse. After his death, his son Sjurd became king and kept the fight. Unlike his father, he didn't act hastily. He saw the battle. He analyzed the situation and thought carefully each of his movements before making them. During his reign, war had gone a bit more favorable for the Norwegian side.
But King Sjurd was no fool. He saw the strength and power of the enemy, and he knew there was no possible way they could defeat them alone. The Swedish and their colony Finland denied giving them any help, since they had their own conflicts, and Iceland, dependant of Norway, didn't really have an army, apart from the few elements they had been sending. So that only left Denmark. Problem was Norwegians wouldn't accept anything from Denmark. And another problem, Denmark wasn't going to help.
The grudge came from centuries ago. Some old fights both kingdoms had in the past that left both sides pretty upset with each other. Since then, there hadn't been much contact (not to say almost any contact) between Norway and Denmark. But now, Norway needed them.
But as much as he tried, Sjurd couldn't convince his people of forgetting their differences with the Danish just once for the sake of the country. Instead, each time he touched the subject they seemed more reticent about anything related to them.
The actual rulers of Denmark, King Gunnar and Queen Anika, were open to negotiations though, and King Sjurd and his wife had met with them in several occasions to discuss the matter. The conclusion they came up with was that, to guarantee cooperation, a legitimate union between both kingdoms was needed, and the most legitimate union was through marriage. Fortunately, the Danish king's son, prince Mathias, was almost the same age as Sjurd's own daughter, princess Dagnya. With this, both kings agreed that their heirs were to be married as soon as possible.
When Dagnya's father first told her about it she didn't know what to think. The argument her father gave her was that it was the easiest and most potentially successful solution. Sure, she understood that it was necessary to obtain the Danish help to defeat the tribes and that it was her responsibility to watch over her people, but that didn't mean she liked the idea.
She was a free spirit, as free as a princess could be. Yes maybe she was trapped in her palace and had to take a lot of lessons (which she didn't complain about though, she knew it was something she had to do) and she was forced to be quiet and calmed, but she enjoyed being it. She enjoyed the time she spent at her room, reading or playing her flute or just sitting on her terrace or in the garden, watching the sunset.
And she liked being alone, most of all. She liked the silence surrounding her when she was alone, only with the sounds of nature, and maybe of her rather twisted flute songs, but it was something she did, not some intruder. She did have friends though, and she often could manage to get out of the palace to walk around Oslo's streets. Also she liked to travel with her parents around the country, and recently she'd even been allowed to do her own sea expedition around Scandinavia. She was happy with her life. She didn't want to be married.
But there she was, on her way to Copenhaguen to meet her future husband.
She wasn't as resigned. She always kept some hope that a miracle occurred and the war was won by their kingdom, or maybe that the Danish and Norwegians would forget their differences and fight alongside (which required a big miracle), or maybe, just maybe, that the tribes decided to stop their attack and leave them alone for the next few centuries (okay, that needed a huge miracle, and was rather silly).
Even now she wasn't resigned. She still hoped something happened that could avoid her marriage. But the moment the carriage went through the palace's gates she knew that maybe that would be impossible.
"We're here" her father announced. Her mother fixed her crown and her hair and demanded Dagnya did the same. She sighed, straightening the skirt of her long purple dress and putting on her small hat-like crown, with a short veil hanging behind, along with her cross pin. She looked at her mother, who leaned forward to comb her daughter's waist-length blond hair with her fingers.
"You must look good for the prince" she told her. Dagnya nodded and leaned back on her seat.
After some seconds the carriage stopped completely and the door was opened by a guard. Dagnya's father stepped down first, followed closely by her mother and then by herself. Several guards and servants were gathered at the front of the palace, most probably waiting for them, and they all bowed down.
Her father spoke to some of them and then they were led inside the palace and up to a nice room, where they were told to wait. Dagnya sat on a chair next to the window and admired the Danish countryside in the sunset.
Mathias paced back and forth across the room. His mother just looked at him, maybe ready to throw a chair on his way at anytime, while his father was busy with his servants fixing the straps of his cape.
"Mathias!" Queen Anika snapped "Could you please stop walking around? You're making me dizzy" she said, rubbing her forehead.
"Leave him dear" King Gunnar said "He must be nervous. Meeting his future bride it's no slight thing."
Mathias looked at his father and nodded, before starting to pace again. His future bride, who would've thought? Yesterday at this time he was planning his escapade with Elisabet and now he was waiting for his bride-to-be.
Just why did he have to born a prince? Sure, having servants and power and all that cool stuff was…cool. But he couldn't do anything of what he wanted. Play with other kids, his highness has to attend music lessons. Going to walk around town, his highness can't miss his manners lessons. Hanging out with his friends, his highness it's too busy with tea. Having fun at the annual festival of Copenhaguen, his highness has to watch from the honor balcony. Hell, just walk around the garden, his highness has to meet the ambassador of some weird country to discuss politics.
And now, being with the girl he loves, his highness has to marry a girl he doesn't love.
"Elisabet" he thought. It had all seemed so rushed since he'd met her. Just one afternoon he'd sneaked out of the palace for a walk and ran into a nice girl at the market. Literally, ran into her, since he made her fall and drop her basket. When he helped her pick up her things they both looked into each other's eyes and….yeah, pretty much what people called 'love at first sight'.
They'd been meeting in secret for almost a year, confessed their love to each other, been together many times and finally decided to escape together. Mathias had begged her a lot, since she didn't want to leave her family, but she ended up agreeing and they accorded to meet at the outskirts of Copenhaguen at midnight. But the day of his great adventure, the first day that would actually feel like living, Mathias woke to the notice that, exactly that day he'd meet his future wife.
At first all he could do was stare at his father, while he explained that he'd come to an agreement with the king of Norway for Mathias to marry his daughter, princess Dagnya. He said that it was for the sake of both countries, since the ancient tribes had decided to attack after many years of hiding and Norway and Denmark would have to fight together against them. And the only way to get such cooperation from both countries was through marriage.
According to his father, the Norwegians were very fond of their princess, and Mathias was rather popular with his people as well. If it seemed that the two of them were in love, maybe Danish and Norwegians would be less reticent to work together and would easier accept the alliance.
Of course, Mathias had been furious the rest of the day. He didn't even know exactly what he was feeling. He was furious, frustrated, sad…and he couldn't stop thinking of Elisabet. He couldn't go to see her, since his father kept him busy the whole time making him try different outfits and rehearsing his lines for the Norwegian royals, but he found some time to write her a letter, explaining everything, and immediately had his friend and messenger Peter deliver it.
And now he was just standing there, in the middle of the room, walking from side to side and silently cursing his father for not telling him sooner. But the apparition of a page interrupted his mental rambling.
"Milord" he said, addressing King Gunnar "King Sjurd and his family are here."
"Excellent!" he exclaimed, dismissing his servants "Send them in, the sooner the better!" The page bowed and exited the room. Queen Anika stood from her chair and grabbed Mathias by the shoulders.
"Just, behave honey, please" she whispered to him. He sighed heavily and nodded, shaking his mother's hand.
There were footsteps resounding from the other side of the door and then suddenly stopped. Mathias and his mother stood right behind his father. The knob turned and Mathias felt his stomach churning. He ran a hand through his hair and braced himself for whatever that came from behind that door.
Review~ your opinion is important to me. And constructive criticism please ;)
Just so you know, Dagnya is another name I came up with for Fem! Norway :P