Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't uploaded a new chapter of 'An All American Family' yet. I was listening to the song 'Fairytale' by Alexander Rybak when all of a sudden a plot came out of nowhere and attacked me. And this story is the result. It's told from Norway's POV but in third person. That said, I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Axis Powers Hetalia it belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya neither do I own the song 'Fairytale' it belongs to Alexander Rybak.
Fairytale
2009
Norway was sitting in his bedroom, on the bed, watching as Alexander Rybak gave an encore performance of his song 'Fairytale'. Listening to the song, Norway's mind was taken back in time to his own fairytale.
Circa 1000 A.D.
Norway stepped out of the newly constructed house into the early evening air. He and his people had settled in this new land, which they had decided to call Vinland. They had seen a few of the native peoples but they weren't far enough inland to actually meet any of the natives.
Norway had decided that he would leave and explore the area around the new settlement to see if he could meet the natives or at least the personification of this land. He started walking off towards the forest to begin his exploration.
He wandered around for a bit before he stumbled upon a creature he had never seen before (but one he would later come to recognize as a caribou) grazing in a clearing. He watched the animal for a bit. When all of a sudden an arrow flew out of the forest and struck the animal killing it instantly.
Norway held his breath and watched as a beautiful red-skinned woman, with long flowing black hair tied back into a ponytail and wearing what looked like some kind of animal skin, stepped out of the forest and made her way over to the animal without a sound. She mumbled something that looked like a prayer and took out a knife that was strapped to her shoe, and began to skin and gut the animal.
Norway admired how smoothly and efficiently she went about it. Shortly after she was finished two young women stepped out of the forest to help the first woman pack the meat and fold the skin up. They both looked no older than 14 and had the same red skin as the first woman. The first woman said something to the young women and both of them began to fill their packs with meat and the smaller woman draped the animal skin across her shoulders. Then both of the young women took off, presumably to take the kill back to their village, leaving the first woman there in the clearing.
The woman suddenly said something, but Norway couldn't understand her, so he stayed where he was. He heard the woman sigh tiredly.
"I know you are there pale face. And I will ask again, who are you?" The woman said.
Norway wondered why he could suddenly understand her. Then he realized she was speaking the common language all nations were born knowing, so that they could understand each other without having to learn each other's language.
'That means she must be the personification of this land.' Norway thought.
"I'm sorry for intruding." He said as he stepped from his hiding place.
Suddenly he found himself on staring at an arrow notched and ready to fly. He held his hands up as a sign of surrender.
"Why are you here?" the woman demanded.
"My people and I mean you and yours no harm. We are simply looking to start a settlement here in this land." Norway said calmly in the dead pan voice he was known to speak in.
"And what of your spirits?" she asked still aiming the bow and arrow at him.
"My spirits?" he asked confused
The woman gestured to the ground beside him as well as the air next to his head. He turned to see some fairies floating beside him and looked down to see his trolls beside him, who were looking at the woman curiously.
"Oh, them!" he exclaimed "No, they mean you and your people no harm either. Well, unless you try to harm them first." He continued with a small chuckle. Then he covered his mouth after it escaped.
'I never chuckle. Why did I do that?' he wondered.
"I see." The woman said warily, lowering her bow and arrow slightly.
"What's your name?" Norway asked.
"I am called many things pale face." She answered. "Gaho, Hehewuti, but you may call me Luyu." (1)
Norway studied her for a moment, and then said:
"That's not your true name."
"You are very smart pale face. I do not give my true name out just anyone, because names have power. As I'm sure you know." She said to him with a knowing look.
Norway nodded. Names indeed had power and giving someone your true name gave that person complete control over you.
"I do know." He replied. "Very well, then you can call me Norway."
"It is nice to meet you Norway. I must return to the village now." She said as she turned to leave.
"Wait!" Norway yelled a little desperately. 'What is with me today?'
Luyu turned her head to look back at him. "Yes?" she asked.
"W-will I see you again?" Norway stuttered and a small blush bloomed across his nose and cheeks. 'Since when do I show this much emotion?'
"We will see pale face." She answered with a cryptic smile on her face.
Then she turned around and seemed to melt into the trees as if she was a nymph from one of the old fairytales.
They did indeed meet again. Though during the day they had to pretend to be strangers and they fought verbally every time they saw each other when her people and his met. They did this because both of their peoples were wary of each other.
However, they spent many nights together learning more about each other, and what things were like in their respective worlds. He told her of the other nations on his side of the world and she in turn told him about her daughter, who was the mother of many of the tribes in Luyu's southern most lands.(2)
Naturally they began to develop feelings for each other. It was gradual and happened every night they spent together. Neither party admitted it until one night when they were lying in 'their' clearing (the one where they first met) side by side star-gazing.
Norway turned his head to look at Luyu and admired how much more beautiful and ethereal the moonlight made her look. His normally blank eyes were full of many emotions, the chief emotion being love.
"I love you." He said suddenly and then blushed when he realized what he had said.
Luyu turned to him with a smile on her face and the same emotions in her eyes as the ones in Norway's.
"I feel the same way." She replied.
Norway propped himself on his elbow, then leaned over and kissed Luyu sweetly. He pulled back and stared lovingly at her. She stared back just as awe-struck.
Norway leaned over her and kissed her again, but this time the kiss deepened to a more passionate slow kiss. Once the kiss was broken for air, he stared down into her eyes and asked,
"May I make love you, elskling (3)?"
"I would like that very much, niinimoshenh (4)." Luyu replied as she pulled him down for another soul-shattering kiss.
Their nights consisted of the same routine. They would talk, begin kissing and then make love. Some nights they simply lay together and cuddled without saying a word. Until one day when Norway had to return to his country because his fellow Nordic brothers were wondering what happened to him.
"Luyu." He said sadly. "I must return to my country because the other nations close to me want to see me. Normally I would just ignore them, but my little brother, Iceland, wrote to me asking me to come see him and I can't refuse him."
"I understand." Luyu said her dark eyes downcast.
Norway put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up so that she was face to face with him.
"I'll try to come back as soon as I can." He said. Then he leaned in and gave her a kiss.
"I know you will." Luyu replied after they broke the kiss.
Norway gave her one final kiss before he turned to go back to the small settlement his people had made and to the ship that would take him back to his country and away from his fairytale.
It was four years before Norway could get away from Denmark and his constant whines of "Norge I missed you!" or "Why were you gone for so long?" He never told any of his Nordic brothers about Luyu. Call him selfish, but he wanted to keep her to himself.
Once he arrived in Luyu's land, he dropped his stuff off in his house in the settlement and headed off to his and Luyu's clearing.
When he finally reached the clearing, Norway was shocked at what he saw.
There in the clearing leaning against one of the trees was his beautiful Luyu, but what shocked him was the two red skinned, dark haired children asleep on her lap.
Luyu looked up from the children to Norway and smiled at him sweetly.
Norway tried to smile back, but felt as though his heart was breaking.
"Are they yours?" he asked quietly with his head bowed. He didn't think he had ever felt this down in his life.
"Yes they are." She replied. "They are yours as well."
Hearing that, Norway's head snapped up to stare into Luyu's amused face. His mouth dropped open and all he could do was stare from Luyu to the children (his children! He felt as if he was on cloud nine!) and back again.
"You are going to catch flies if you leave your mouth open like that." Luyu replied with a small giggle.
Norway closed his mouth instantly and blushed.
"Come over here and meet your sons, niinimoshenh." Luyu said.
Norway walked over and sat down in front of her. Luyu gently shook the twins.
"Wake up little ones." She crooned gently. "Wake up and meet your father."
The twins sat up and rubbed at their eyes sleepily when they finally opened their eyes, Norway had another shock. He had expected their eyes to be dark like their mother's but one child's eyes were the same color blue of his eyes, and the other one's eyes were violet and reminded him of his little brother Iceland.
"This one is called Hakan." Luyu said pointing to the twin with blue eyes. "It means 'fire' in my language."
"And this one," she said pointing to the twin with violet eyes "is called Yas. It means 'snow' in my language."
"Those aren't their true names." Norway said with a smile, as he reached out his arms to the twins.
"No they aren't." Luyu said laughing. "Only they will be able to tell us what their true names are. That is, if they ever choose to tell us."
"Good point." Norway replied laughing as Hakan and Yas crawled over to him.
The boys studied him for a bit then looked at their mother who nodded at them. Suddenly Norway felt himself falling backwards as his children (that felt good to say) tackle-hugged him.
"Daddy!" they both yelled in unison.
Norway sat back up and hugged the twins tight. His eyes had filled up with tears when his boys called him 'daddy'. He looked to Luyu who was smiling tenderly at him.
And so, Norway spent all his time with Luyu and his sons. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but Luyu assured him he was a wonderful father. He learned a lot about his sons during this time.
He learned that Hakan had an adventurous spirit. Norway also noticed that Hakan had a fascination with watching the birds fly through the air. Hakan seemed particularly fond of watching Eagles. This prompted Norway to give Hakan a name from his own language. He gave Hakan the name of Arve (AHR vah) which means 'great eagle'.
Likewise, he learned that Yas was shier than his brother. Yas tended to stay close to either Norway or Luyu, but he seemed to have a strong sense of curiosity which is what kept him joining his brother on Arve's 'adventures'. Yas had also shown an interest in animals, but whereas his brother looked to the sky, Yas looked to the earth. He seemed most fond of bears. And thus Norway gave Yas the name Bjorn (byorn), which means 'bear', in Norwegian.
Sadly, these slow, care-free days came to a sudden end. His people couldn't settle the land because the climate was too different from their own. And also because, despite Luyu's protests, her people had begun to attack his in order to drive them away.
"I'm sorry, Norway." Luyu said the day he boarded the ship that would take him and his people back to his country and away from her and his sons for a long, long time.
"It's not your fault." Norway said smiling sadly
"Daddy," Arve said. "Do you really hafta go away?"
"Yea." Bjorn agreed. "Why can't you stay with us, daddy?"
Norway knelt down so that he was eye-level with the twins.
"I must go with my people." Norway said. "They need me."
"But we need you too!" the twins exclaimed as their eyes filled up with tears.
"Boys." Luyu said in a stern voice. "Your father represents his people, just as I represent the people of my land."
"But." They tried to protest
"Your mother is right." Norway told them. "You will both understand one day."
Arve and Bjorn's tears fell as they threw themselves into Norway's arms. Norway hugged them back just as fiercely.
"We're gonna miss you daddy." Bjorn said with a small sob.
"You're gonna come back, right daddy?" Arve asked him sniffling.
"I'll miss you guys too. And yes. I will come back one day." Norway said with determination.
He let go of the boys, stood back up and faced Luyu. Tears were falling freely down her cheeks. Norway stepped close to her, lifted his hand and wiped them away. He then pulled her into a tight embrace.
Norway pulled back and kissed her lips gently. They broke the kiss and stared into each other's eyes. There was no need for words. Both knew what the other was thinking. Both of them were crying silently.
Norway leaned in again and gave her one last kiss before he turned away and boarded the ship. One on the ship he turned to Arve and Bjorn standing on either side of Luyu holding her hands and waving at him. He lifted his arm and waved back until they faded from his sight.
October 9, 1825(5). It had been over 8 centuries since Norway had set foot in this land. He looked up to the Statue of Liberty in New Harbor and wondered where Luyu and his sons were.
Once he stepped off the boat, he hitchhiked his way back to the place where everything started. He wanted to find his fairytale, so that he and Luyu could start a new and so that he could make it up to his sons for missing out on most of their lives.
Once he reached the clearing, he didn't see Luyu nor did he see his sons. Instead, he saw two tall blonde haired men one with blue eyes and tanned skin and the other with violet eyes, and pale skin. Standing next to the men were two women that he did recognize.
Both women were short, though the one next to the man with violet eyes was a few inches taller, both had different shades of brown hair and brown eyes. He looked at them and they looked back.
"Hey there!" the blond with blue eyes suddenly yelled. "Welcome to North America! My name's Alfred F. Jones, resident hero extraordinaire. I'm the representative of the United States of America!"
"And my name is Matthew Williams." The other blond said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I represent Canada."
"Wait. You two are the representatives?" Norway asked confused. "Where is Luyu? She's the representative of these lands and the lands further south!"
"Dunno what you're talkin' 'bout dude." Alfred said. "My brother and I are the only representatives of North America, aside from the Latin American countries to the south."
"Alfred, Matthew, would you be dears and go find Vermont and Quebec?" the woman next to Alfred asked.
"Yes, there's no telling what kind of trouble they're getting into." The woman next to Matthew agreed.
"Don't worry about this guy. We'll explain things to him." The smaller brunette said.
"Alright. Amelia/Madeline." The twins said as the both went off in search of Quebec and Vermont.
"I suppose you are looking for Gaho." the woman he now knew as Amelia stated.
"You knew her as Luyu." Madeline explained when she saw Norway's confused look.
"Yes, that's right." Norway said. "I'm looking for Luyu as well as my sons. Can you tell me where they are?"
He felt his heart jump into his throat and began to hope that he might find his family sooner than he thought.
"I'm afraid we can't tell you where Gaho is." Madeline said apologetically.
"As for your sons, it should be pretty obvious where they are." Amelia said with a pointed stare at Norway.
"What do you mean you can't tell me where Luyu is?" Norway yelled, finally losing his calm demeanor. 'How dare they try to keep me away from Luyu?' Norway thought angrily.
"That's because we don't know where she is." Madeline said calmly.
"How can you not know where she is? You two were the closest to her!" Norway exclaimed.
"Because she disappeared shortly after the Europeans started settling here, without telling us a thing about where she was going." Amelia explained.
"We haven't seen, nor heard from her in over 3 centuries. So you see, even if we wanted to help you, we couldn't." Madeline finished.
"Then what about my sons? What did you mean 'It should be obvious where they are'?" Norway asked angrily. He still felt a spark of hope; surely if he found his sons he could find Luyu.
"If you can't recognize your sons when you see them, I don't see any reason to tell you." Amelia said with a snarky smile.
"Amelia, don't be like." Madeline chastised her.
"What? If the guy isn't smart enough to figure it out then he should be left alone to figure it out himself." Amelia said crossing her arms.
"I'm sorry Mr. Norway." Madeline said. "But she does have a point. If you want, you can search through all of Canada and America for Gaho if you want. Maybe you can succeed where we failed."(6)
He left the clearing angrily after that.
'I'll show them." He thought. "I'll find my family by myself."
And search he did. He searched and searched and searched. But no matter where he went or where he looked, there was no sign of Luyu or his sons. With each failed location he felt his heart breaking more and more. He stayed in North America as long as he could. But eventually he had to return to his country once again without any answers to his questions, and without his family.
Norway came back to the present, just as Alexander hit the final chorus of the song.
Meeting Luyu did certainly seem like a fairytale. And not being with her, not knowing what had happened to her after he left, hurt more than anything he had ever experienced. And that pain doubled when he thought of where his sons were and what they were doing.
After Norway returned from North America that 3rd time he could only think of his lost family. He would stare off into the distance and sigh dreamily every now and then. That's probably why Iceland thought Norway had lost his mind.
Norway didn't care though. He'd rather his mind be trapped in the past with his memories of her and his sons, than be without those memories. And that's the curse he was left with. He was cursed to forever remember Luyu and his sons, even if he never found them.
Norway chuckled at the idea of that. 'I will find them again. One way or another, I'll find them.' He thought with a smile.
"Hey Norge!" Denmark's loud, obnoxious voice made Norway's happy mood evaporate quickly. His smile disappeared and was replaced with his normal look of indifference.
"I just wanted to say congrats on winning Eurovision this year!" Denmark said with a huge grin.
Norway got up from his seat on the bed, walked over to the door Denmark was currently blocking, and punched the Dane in solar plexus. Norway continued on his way ignoring Denmark, who had fallen to his knees in pain.
"What was that for Norge?" Denmark gasped out still trying to get his breath back.
Norway paused at the stairs to turn and look back at Denmark.
"For being a joy killer." Norway said in his normal dead pan voice.
The he continued down the stairs, whistling the tune of fairytale, leaving a confused and gasping Denmark behind.
A/N: (1) Gaho and Hehewuti mean mother, and Luyu means Wild Dove.
2. In my mind, Luyu had a daughter who became the representative of Latin America, and that this daughter gave birth to personifications of the biggest tribes in Latin America and from those representatives comes countries like Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, etc. To explain how she had a kid without a man, I think female nations can get pregnant without a male nation if a land needs a personification, which in turn means that the personification would be female, because she wouldn't have male DNA. I heard this theory of a women getting pregnant without a man on 'House' I thought it was very interesting and decided to use it.
3. Elsking means darling in Norwegian
4. Niinimoshenh means Sweetheart in Chippewa
5. This marks the day of the first Norwegians migrating to America, according to Wiki any way. And it is also the day chosen for Leif Erickson day because of that.
6. Keep in mind, it has been 800 years since Norway last saw the boys, and what he remembers is two red-skinned dark haired boys. He didn't think that they would change appearance. And they don't remember him because after he left they spent more time with their mother, Amelia, and Madeline. And children's memories fade pretty quickly if they haven't seen someone in a while, especially if the children are very young. As for the change in appearance, it is actually possible for someone with dark hair to become blonde as they grow older, their body stops producing melanin which is what makes hair dark or light, same thing with skin color.
A/N 2: So what did you guys think? I'll have the next chapter of 'An All American Family' as soon as my friend, (whom I will call MJ from now on), decide which of our ideas we want to use. Hope you guys enjoyed my idea of how America and Canada came to be.
I might do a continuation in which the boys find out about Norway being their father, and a reunion between them, if I get the inspiration for it that is. So I'll see you guys when I get the next chapter of 'An All American Family' done.