Early October 1814

The resounding roar of hoofs against cobblestone was the only thing Iceland could hear, it muted the soft rain outside and made so much noise it managed to kill the suffocating silence in the carriage. Iceland was more than grateful for that because the intensity in Denmark's silence made him uneasy and resulted in him pressing his back nervously against the satin seat. They had been on the road for about a month now and in the carriage riding in front of their own sat the Danish king Frederik IV and the foreign minister Count Niels Rosenkrantz. There was another two men in the king's carriage, but Iceland didn't really pay any attention when they were introduced, his thoughts had been elsewhere.

They were heading for Vienna where the Austrian emperor would receive them and be their host. Originally the Danish King had not been invited for the great congress, but he found it necessary to go since the Swedish crown prince Karl Johan back in 1812 proposed that Sweden and England should divide and share Denmark upon victory. And right now the Swedish crown prince was speaking loudly at the congress in order for that to happen; he was seeing his chance to finally deal the final blow on Denmark. Iceland swallowed thickly and looked up from his lap to eye Denmark, this was the reason why he was coming along- if Denmark would be divided and shared between Sweden and England then he would surely be returning home with Sweden and his brother, and Denmark would…

He bit his lip as he felt his chest constrict painfully, he didn't want that to happen. In more than four hundred years he had spent every day with this nation; Denmark had been the one to pull him from Norway's dull Latin lessons and played with him in the colorful castle gardens, taught him peasant dances behind Norway's back, and read him sagas when he felt ill. Norway and Denmark had worked like a family unit when it came to raising him, and now Sweden was killing Iceland's childhood utopia, snapping the teen into the cold and unforgiving reality that not only was his 'family' broken and his home in a sorry state; he might even lose a loved one.

The worry was hinted in the small frown Denmark was making as he looked out of the window. Dark rings were looming under his eyes and his face was awfully pale and Iceland noted how the man leaned back in his seat to breathe properly. His chest was rising heavily as if he had a hard time to breathe. It was painful to watch and Denmark must've noticed he was staring because the older nation turned his head to face him resulting in an embarrassed Iceland whipping his eyes and attention elsewhere, to Denmark's cane.

The cane was pretty, the ivory handle continued in swirls down the dark wood. And the thing was decorated with pretty little figures of dragons among other things. But even though it was pretty and richly decorated Iceland silently loathed it. Denmark followed Iceland's gaze to his cane, and with a worn smile he cleared his throat before gently muttering, "I won't need it for long, Iceland."

The sound of Denmark's rasped voice kicked Iceland from his dark thoughts and he looked to his owner with a gruff expression, "I know, but I don't like it when you use it." he confessed, the man had been left with a limp from the wars and burnings, and this cane had been made to obscure it during his stay in Vienna. It was painfully obvious though, because Denmark looked ill and leaned on it too much.

Denmark let out a short chuckle, "What am I supposed to do then? Do you want me to jump on one foot into the congress room? That could be amusing, or I could just continue to use you as my cane, hm?" he mused teasingly as he leaned over to poke the teen on his cheek.

Iceland felt heat flush to his face from embarrassment; he realized he was getting jealous on a damn stick, well… In his defense it was a pretty stick.

He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted. "Iceland, you have to keep in mind I can't embarrass my king in front of the other leaders and nations, we're coming without an invitation after all. Besides, I look powerful with it don't ya' think?"

Denmark was trying to turn the conversation in a less serious direction. But the colony knew better. Denmark was too proud to show up with a limp. And to walk with support from a colony didn't look good; especially not when you just lost a war and your life was on the line. The last thing the older nation wanted was for others to pity him. So Iceland nodded. Who knew how much time Denmark had left? It could be a week or a month from now. "Yes… you look… very powerful."

Denmark, content with the answer leaned back in his seat with a small chuckle. It was all between the lines; they both knew Denmark looked awful and they both knew what could happen. But neither of them said anything. Iceland couldn't word his awkward feelings and Denmark was too proud to mouth his fears. So their gazes returned to the window and they resumed watching the rain fall as the carriage went further into Austria.

When the carriage came to a stop the rain was long behind them. The creaking of the wheels and the sound of the horses made a loud noise when the abrupt motion whipped Iceland out of his drowsiness. When it dawned on him the carriage stopped he looked up to Denmark for answers, but instead noticed the man tense in his seat in front of him. For a while they exchanged worried glances before Denmark finally decided to push the glass window aside and stick his head out. Iceland tried to get up and have a look but Denmark's shoulders obscured the view. "Who is it? Are we there?" he asked, his words coming out a bit too shaky for his own liking.

Denmark closed the window and grabbed his cane before muttering, "We're close to the city gate. But the Emperor and Austria is here to receive us." With a shaky hand the bigger nation tried to adjust his collar and Iceland rose up to help him look more presentable. It barely helped, but he couldn't keep himself from it. Denmark was a mess and the closer to Vienna they got the closer they came to Denmark's fate. Knowing this he felt his hands getting sweaty and his fingers clumsily fumbling the fabric. Once they finished adjusting his cuffs and collar Denmark whispered a rough, "I'll be right back," as he got out of the carriage. Leaving Iceland to sit and watch nervously after him from the small window.

Denmark got out on the road, leaning heavily on his cane. And Iceland watched intensely as his owner clumsily walked up to a man in elaborate clothing. He guessed that must've been Austria, for he recognized the Emperor who was chatting with Frederik from the portraits he'd been shown at home. But not the other man Denmark was talking to.

It took less than five minutes before the emperor and the Danish king went into the King's carriage, and Iceland hurried back to his seat when he noticed Denmark and Austria was making their way to the carriage. The colony sat up straight and fiddled with his cuffs, watching the door intensely as it opened and Austria appeared.

At first the man raised his eyebrows in confusion, but he moved over to sit in front of Denmark when Denmark got in and settled himself beside Iceland. "Who is this?" asked Austria in German. Iceland had to adjust his ears to another language than Danish. Luckily for him the court had been speaking German for a few hundred years until some years ago, if not he wouldn't have understood a word.

Denmark knocked on the roof twice before placing the cane in between his legs, leaning on it with his arms as he kept the Austrian's gaze locked. "This is Iceland, one of my colonies." he stated firmly in fluent German. The man had probably not expected Denmark to bring a teen along for the congress. And for a second Iceland felt fear well up in him. What if he wasn't wanted there? What if he couldn't get a room near Denmark? What if they had no room for him at all? Would they just send him back to Denmark?

His fears were shut down when the Austrian cut the silence. He looked thoughtful for a minute before he calmly let out a short, "Very well then." It was here the carriage bumped into motion and Iceland looked up to Denmark with an uncertain look- it felt strange when he looked at Denmark. The man was sitting straight and was suddenly looking everything but broken. It was a display of dominance to keep his dignity intact, but the rings under his eyes and his pale complexion was making it too obvious. He looked ill and unwell. And Iceland felt incredibly feeble from looking at him. He had been there the entire time and watched Denmark climb to be an enormous kingdom only to be peeled down like this. It was scary something like that could happen in so fast.

"We're heading to Hofburg castle. I believe you and your king have been informed on the congress so far?" Austria muttered in a snobbish tone, eyeing them with no interest whatsoever. Denmark just nodded in reply and as they continued talking Iceland grew more and more bored. Austria was informing them on how they were expected to behave, where they were allowed to go and be during the congress. It was nothing but a pile of formalities and the colony was starting to get the impression that this Austria person was incredibly dull and way too formal for his own good. He even caught himself staring at the man's mole more than listening to what he was saying. If Norway was here he would've probably strictly told him to stop staring and pay attention.

But he wasn't here. Instead his brother was somewhere in this city with Sweden. Watching while Sweden and his... their crown prince plotted the end of Denmark. It sent chills down his spine and he found himself clutching his shirt as he looked out of the window. He was half expecting to see his brother and Sweden at any moment as the carriage rolled down the old streets of Vienna. It was not supposed to be like this. He wanted to be home in Copenhagen and walk down the king's garden and kick the last autumn leafs away, all while Denmark chattered away on stories and tales, and to be interrupted by a sharp remark from his brother from time to time. Not in this carriage, not in this city. Iceland couldn't return to that same pleasant home anymore. Most of Copenhagen was burnt out rubble and poverty was everywhere. His brother wouldn't be there either. The last time Iceland saw him was ten months ago when Denmark and Norway left him at home before heading off to Kiel.

Iceland sometimes wondered on how it must be to be forced into a union with your long time arch enemy. He never asked Denmark about Norway and Sweden's union. The man looked bad enough already. But he kept an eager ear in court and read the papers whenever there was news of his brother. Denmark and his king had been busy after the treaty of Kiel in January until his prince Christian Frederik, the Danish King's successor, returned from Norway late this summer. Their attempt on granting Norway independence had failed, but at least he made sure that Norway instead of being treated as a Swedish conquest would rather be an equal party in a union of two independent states. Denmark could now rest knowing he did his all and that Norway would have a say and equality in his union with Sweden. But Iceland knew despite this Denmark was struck by great grief. When his king was forced to sign Norway off Denmark lost 85% of his territory on the European mainland along with 36% of his population. Norway had been a part of him for more than four hundred years.

And now Iceland was left behind to pick up the pieces. Denmark and Norway had been forced into a war they didn't want to be in in the first place, and had now suffered the greatest loss. It was all so unfair.

"Iceland, wake up will ya? We're here." Denmark's soft tone stirred Iceland awake. But he didn't want to wake. He felt warm and content in his little bubble. There was a bittersweet and familiar scent. So like a spoiled child refusing to wake up Iceland buried his nose into the warm and soft fabric to inhale the scent of home. He was silently hoping Denmark would just leave him to sleep and carry him like he used to- that is, until the bubble burst and the sleepy colony realized Denmark couldn't carry him in his current condition.

Opening his eyes Iceland was met with a disapproved look from Austria outside the opened door of the carriage. The humid late autumn air chilled his skin and the sunlight felt blinding, making him squint and lazily rub his eyes. He stayed like this for a bit until he felt Denmark chuckle, and that's when Iceland realized he'd been snuggling up to Denmark in his sleep. Embarrassed by his behavior in front of their host, Iceland flew up and clumsily burst out of the carriage, startling the already offended Austria and the servants whom were busy unloading their things from the roof of their carriage. From his surprise and shock Austria yelped up in angry German with an accent so thick Iceland could barely make a word out of it. Iceland panicked and whipped around, desperate to apologize. But before he even opened his mouth, he heard Denmark burst into the loudest laughter from the carriage he'd ever heard from the beaten nation in several months. With a strong grip on the handle of his cane Denmark descended from the carriage laughing, his smile so contagious Iceland couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"Denmark, I highly recommend you to keep your colony in control! This lack of discipline will not be tolerated!" Austria roared from frustration, his face flushing a bright red. Suddenly Iceland didn't feel so proud anymore. "Calm down Austria. We've come a long way and the boy is tired. Your mole probably scared him." The laughing Denmark joked as he struggled to prevent his cane from getting stuck in the cobblestone.

Austria sent Denmark a glare that sent shivers down Iceland's spine, but Denmark only smiled in return. This seemed to only anger the Austrian further. In an angry motion Austria turned to watch the Danish King, his foreign minister, and the Emperor walk chattering through the castle doors before his gaze turned back to the smiling blonde in black. "A nation in a condition such as yours should know their place." Austria sneered as he elegantly turned around, motioning them to follow to the entrance. He kept a pace that Denmark with his cane couldn't quite keep up with. It was in that moment Iceland decided he didn't like this Austria.

Hello folks!

This story will be a historical AU where we follow Denmark and Iceland through the aftermath of the toughest years in Danish history! Right now Denmark and Iceland are in Vienna to attend to the Congress of Vienna, if you don't know what this is there will be a little info on this below, if you're curious feel free to ask google, because google is your friend.

The pairings of this will be DenNor with some DenIce, I will do my best to be as historically correct as possible, but if you see flaws please don't be afraid to PM me and I will look into it!

The congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states from September 1814 to June 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.