Thank you everybody!
Gracias, I don't really speak Spanish (I only understand a bit because I have like fifty Spaniards / Catalonians on my facebook and they post lot of stuff) but I take this as a positive review. At least I didn't spot any curses :D
In case you have any detailed questions, it's better to ask them in English, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or Estonian so I might give a correct answer. German and Dutch works sometime too, though it had been so, so long time ago when I used those languages last time.
I was so sure I'll not finish this for today but I pushed a bit and managed. Yay!
Third chapter: Higher responsibility
Three months later Iceland found himself sitting in his small room and banging his head against the table. The girls upstairs were having a party and apparently most of people had joined in which meant there was no way the Icelander could sleep. So he stayed up and cursed his poor luck.
"I hate this", he mumbled, "and I hate exams and group works." The most feared time of student's life was coming soon, the exam week. Iceland had always thought that would be easy thing for him but still he found himself tired and desperate. Lately he had also been given some nation related work and he didn't have much free time. His mornings were spent in the classes, afternoons were for reading, evenings for work and, if he was lucky, he had some time to sleep at nights. He had never believed he could be this exhausted but his mind and body were reaching their limits now and he wasn't sure how long he could keep going like that.
Iceland sighed and stared at the wall. Most of the time he was in Denmark, but every third week he travelled to his own land to attend in the meetings. Those visits were very quick and he barely had any time to stop at his own home. Usually he had to stay in the hotel over the night, which annoyed him a lot. At least all the international meetings had been taken off from his timetable so he didn't need to travel around the world. Most of the nations didn't even notice the lack of his attendance and the World Meetings were held only once every few years so it was easy to skip that. Basically the only people getting worried about him were his family. They were clearly confused about Iceland's new habits and almost daily he got calls and messages from them. They didn't ask it directly but Iceland could hear the hided questions and concern. He hadn't met any of them since he started the studies and, though he had count on the fact that he normally preferred to be alone and they knew it, his family was getting worried.
Iceland sighed again and decided to lie down. Maybe he could sleep a bit and everything would be a little clearer at morning. With all the thoughts going around his head he snuggled under the blanket and fell asleep after few long minutes. He was too tired to even care about the music and laugh blasting from another room.
Next morning he waked up for his phone. Groaning he reached for the device that was ringing on the table. The tune died off just when he got the phone in his hands and he rubbed his eyes to see a bit better who had tried to call him. He was surprised that it hadn't been only one call. He phone informed him about three unanswered calls and four messages.
"Oh shit", he said after seeing that Norway had tried to call him twice and Denmark once and. Also, everybody in his family had sent him a message. He tapped them open and felt the panic.
Hey, Icey! When your flight is landing?
Island, which time will you arrive to Copenhagen?
Is, should we pick you up from the airport?
Island, be nice and answer for the calls. Norge is getting mad and worried. We are afraid he might tear the house down and Dan doesn't have money to fix it. Finland is trying to keep the peace. Call us back soon, please.
"Shit, shit, shit", Iceland yelled when he realized that he was going to miss the only meeting he would have to attend no matter what. It was the most important for them and that's why they held it at least three times per year. It was their family meeting, that usually lasted at least one week or sometimes even longer if they "forgot" to go back home. Actually they usually did "forget", which was the reason why they all had big enough houses for the whole family though they lived alone most of the time. This time it was Denmark's turn to host that family meeting.
Iceland jumped from the bed and started to run around. He tried to dress up and pack his bag at the same time while coming up with a good reason and excuse for his mistake. He had to find something to blame so they wouldn't figure out what he was actually doing. When he was struggling with his shirt, he heard his phone ringing once again.
"Hey", he said after picking it up.
"Finally", a familiar and slightly distressed voice said in Norwegian, "where are you?"
"Just coming", Iceland said and ended up with the most obvious excuse, "sorry, I had a big project going on. I forgot to tell you about my flight."
"That's okay", Norway replied, thought Iceland could still hear worry in his voice, "when will you land?"
"Um, I'm just going in", he said and glanced at the clock, "so, around 12:35."
"Good", Norway said, "everybody else has arrived already so we will all come to pick you up."
"Okay", Iceland mumbled and tried to tie his shoes with only one hand. It wasn't very easy task to do.
"I'm looking forward to see you again, little brother", the Norwegian said with a warmer tone and Iceland felt bad for being forced to lie to him. He had to swallow before he could answer.
"Same", he mumbled and hoped the man couldn't hear the guilt in his voice, "okay, I have to go. See you soon."
"Have a safe flight", Norway wished and closed the phone. Iceland mumbled curses in half voice and hurried with the packing. Of course there were no flights for him because he was already in Denmark's land. He only needed to sneak into the airport, stay away from others until his "flight" was supposed to land and then pretend that he had been simply so stressed and busy with his work that he hadn't had time to keep in contact. At least that part would be easy. He was busy and stressed so no need for acting.
The Icelander took a quick glance at the mirror and decided that he looked good enough to go out. His hair was mess and he had packed his suitcase so fast that he wasn't even sure what there was inside, but he trusted that it was okay. He could always blame the work. Actually it was a fantastic idea to blame the work so much than possible. Norway hadn't abandoned his habit to be over-protective over the Icelander so if he hinted a bit that there was too much work for him, the Norwegian would for sure to go harass his bosses. They deserved that.
Iceland hurried down to the train station and hoped that his family was in Denmark's home and not somewhere in the city. He hadn't got any updates from the secret service for a while, the last one stating that the Danish nation was spending most of his days at his office and it was safe for Icelander to be out, but he should still be careful. Luckily he managed to make his way to Kastrup without meeting anybody else than lot of humans going to work or wherever they needed to be. When he arrived to the airport, he made sure to stay on side and act like he was a normal person just hanging out at airport. A glance at the clock told him that he still had one hour before his "flight" was supposed to land so he went to a coffee shop to get a drink and settled down to wait behind the corner. It took ten minutes for him to realize a fatal fail in his plan.
There were no flights from Iceland at the time he had told the Norwegian and not even any arriving around noon so he couldn't say that he just misread the flight information. Nobody misread it so badly that they got the arriving time few hours off. He bit his lip and quickly picked the number he had been used for seeing a lot lately.
"Íslenska leyniþjónustan", the professional sounding person picked up the call, "how can I assist you today?"
"Hey, it's me", Iceland said and trusted that they had his number saved now, "is it possible for you to add a flight on the info-board? Just the information of arriving flight from Iceland would be enough. You don't need to really bring a plane over here."
"Of course", the human replied and Iceland heard him typing, "I guess you mean the airport at Copenhagen? Which time the flight should land and do you have any special requests?"
"At 12:35", Iceland replied, "and no, I can handle everything else. I just need it to look like there is a flight landing at that time."
"Sure", human said, "it's done now. Anything else I can help with?"
"No, that was all", Iceland mumbled, "thanks."
"I'm happy to help", the voice replied and Iceland quickly said goodbye before closing the phone. It took only five minutes for a mysterious flight from Iceland appearing on the list of arriving flights, and Iceland was impressed. His secret service was surprising good so why nobody had told him about it earlier?
He didn't have time to wonder about that for long because it was time to act. He kept looking over the crowd and trying to spot his family before they saw him. He got the warning message from the secret service only few minutes before he saw the Dane stepping into the terminal. Denmark was laughing and he looked relaxed and happy as he walked in. Other Nordics followed right behind him and Iceland could see Finland babbling about something, Sweden being his serious self and Norway observing the people around the terminal but not really paying much attention for any of them. They were all dressed up with their leisure time clothes and they looked just like anybody else, a group of young men waiting for somebody. Nobody would have guessed that they were all centuries old and knew more secrets than anybody else there.
Iceland waited in his hiding place and carefully kept his family on eye. He saw Norway stopping to check the information of arriving flights and then pointing something to the Dane before heading to the same coffee shop where Iceland had got his morning caffeine just about an hour earlier. For a moment he thought that the Norwegian would ask the staff if they had seen any Icelanders around. After all, with Iceland's look it was very easy to remember him and also difficult to mix him up with anybody else. But Iceland quickly reminded himself that Norway had no reason to doubt him and ask if anybody had seen him before he was supposed to arrive. Still he found himself feeling relieved when he saw the Norwegian returning with five cups of coffee and no signs about finding out of the Icelander's secret.
It took another twenty minutes before the fake flight on the board change the status from landing to bags ready to collect. Iceland counted in his mind how long it would take to get out of the plane and when the estimated time had passed, he prepared to make his great entrance. He saw Denmark and Norway both being slightly nervous and glancing at the door where arrived passengers were supposed to come out. Sweden and Finland seemed to take everything a bit calmer because they were standing on side and the Finn was talking while holding the flag Denmark had given for him. They all had a small flag with them, except the Dane who had two. It was just something Denmark liked to do and he wasn't only Dane there with flags ready to cheer for arriving friends or relatives.
Iceland waited for a larger group to come out and when he saw a suitable one, a group of Asian tourist with amazingly large suitcases, he slipped behind them and tried to look like he had come out from the door. It took only five minutes before he was spotted.
"Island!" Denmark yelled and jumped up and down while waving his flag in case it was still possible to miss him otherwise, "Island!" Iceland sighed slightly. Denmark never remembered, or cared about, the rule of not using the nation names in public. Luckily usually nobody cared about how some random people were called or they assumed it was just a nickname.
"Brother", Norway said warmly and with much calmer voice, when Iceland reached them, "good to see you again."
"Yeah, same. I… ugh…" the Dane snatched him in tight hug and for a moment Iceland was sure he had broken at least two ribs.
"I have missed you so much!" Denmark declared and pressed his face on the Icelander's hair, "it feels like you are always so far away." Oh, you have no idea how far away I have been, Iceland though and let the Dane hug him few seconds. If they let Denmark to decide, he would hug them forever. That was why they had limitations for him, but this time Iceland felt like closeness was okay so he didn't really hurry to get away.
"Dan, I believe it's my turn to make him feel awkward", Norway noted and the Dane let the Icelander go with a grin.
"Sure, elskede", he said and pushed the Icelander gently to the Norway's direction. Iceland had barely time to turn when Norway already closed him in his arms.
"How you have been?" the Norwegian asked and just hold him, "have you been eating enough? Should I remind your boss about the work limits?" He sounded worried but there was also a trace of humour in his voice so the Icelander knew that his brother was at least half joking.
"I'm okay, Nore", Iceland murmured, "and don't do that. You scare them."
"I only do my job", the Norwegian claimed, "we don't have own association for nations to protect our rights to I have to do that."
"Yeah, sure", Iceland muttered. Finland and Sweden had sneaked closer and were patiently waiting for their turn to greet their Icelandic family member. Sweden had a coffee cup in his hand and he pushed it to Iceland right when Norway let the nation go.
"Islanti", Finland said happily and hugged him too, though the Finn's hug was clearly shorter and less clinging that the two previous nations', "so great to see you again." Denmark wasn't the only nation in their group who tended to forget the name rule. Finland did that too, but luckily he wasn't yelling this time.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too", Iceland replied and tried to safe his coffee from being dropped on the floor. Finland smiled and stepped on side to let the Swede have his moment with Iceland. The Icelandic nation actually liked Sweden a lot, especially because the Swedish nation wasn't a hugging type. He simply placed his hand on the Icelander's shoulder and nodded. It was his way to show attraction, though Finland claimed he could be finely more intimate if he only wanted to.
"Hej", he said.
"Hi", Iceland replied.
"I can carry your bag", the Swede told him and Iceland nodded. He let the man pick up the bag and followed them out. Denmark was playing with car keys and happily explaining about things he had planned for the week. It seemed like he had been doing that already before Iceland arrived and was simply continuing because he started with Wednesday's plan instead of Monday's like normal people would do.
"I didn't know you have a car now", Iceland said and Denmark grinned. It was common for him to not have a car as he preferred to bike or use the public transportation. He was also quite famous of borrowing car from Sweden or Norway and returning it after a month just before he would be forced to pay the registration tax from it.
"I don't have one", the Dane replied, "it's Nor's. I was only driving because he was too nervous and mad about you missing our calls that we were afraid he will crash the car. None of us fancy about being in hospital so I snatched the keys."
"What?"
"Danmark", Norway said and ignored the Icelander's surprised look, "I recall about our agreeing that we will not mention that."
"Yeah, I know", the Dane replied, "but he will guess it when he see the mess in the house."
"There is no mess in the house", Norway claimed, "I only dropped one coffee cup by accident."
"Whatever. It's a mess", the Dane said and laughed, "so great to have you all here again. You can't believe how much fun I have planned."
"Actually we can", Finland noted, "you just explained it all." They arrived to the car and Iceland made his way on the back seat. His brother quickly followed him and Finland decided to have a place on another side which meant that the front seat was left for Sweden. Denmark pushed the key in the slot and looked slightly confused when he realized their seating arrangement.
"Hey, why I have to sit next to Swede?" he asked.
"I'm wondering exactly same", Sweden replied calmly and stared at Denmark.
"Your lands are right next to each other so shut up and drive", Finland said with a bit too sweet voice, "I'm getting hungry."
"Yes, sir", the Dane replied. It wasn't too long drive from the airport to Dane's home, but they had to take a route through the city and there was lot of road work going on so Denmark couldn't drive as fast as usually. The normal about one hour travel took more like one hour and forty minutes but they were still in good mood. Denmark was singing with radio and Norway talked with Finland in low voice while Iceland just relaxed and thought about how much he had missed this. For three months he had been keeping himself hided and pretended to be human. It was surprising hard thing to do and there had been few close calls when he almost talked about something that had happened too long time ago or started to act like a nation. He had to keep himself in check all the time.
But here, with his family, he didn't need to care about accidentally mentioning something he had done in year 1528 or remind himself to not speak about his national economy like it was his own personal business. With them he was free to be what he truly was. Except now he had a secret.
Norway apparently noticed the change in his mood because he stopped talking in mid-sentence and glanced at the Icelander. Finland fell silent too and looked slightly worried.
"Are you okay, Is?" Norway asked softly. Iceland was seated between the two nations and because also the Dane and Swede on front seat were giving him attention, Sweden was even turned around and Denmark kept glancing at him through the mirror, Iceland felt slightly embarrassed and awkward though he also had a warm feeling inside of him. This was his family. They cared about him.
"You look exhausted", Finland commented, "maybe we should change the plans a bit and let you rest."
"I'm fine", Iceland murmured, "it has just been a quite busy time lately."
"Yeah, but better to not over-drive yourself", Denmark noted and gave him a smile, "you know, we can do the stuff another time. Let's just have a movie night today or something. I even have snacks and candies at home."
"I hope it's not those Nørregade candies", Norway said and smirked, "they always make you cry."
"It's called nostalgia, Nor!"
"Not when you choke on them", Sweden muttered.
"That's it, Sve!" Denmark yelled and sounded a bit too happy and excited, "when we get home I'll show you some nostalgia. Gonna beat you up so much you'll feel exactly like few hundred years ago."
"Bring it on, Dane."
"Remember the rules, boys", Finland said with a smile, "too much fighting and I kick you both into Baltic Sea." Norway snickered and even the tired Icelander felt a smile coming up on his lips. He was tired and car drives always made him fell asleep so it wasn't a surprise he didn't manage to stay awake this time either. Between Finland and Norway he felt safe and it was okay to close eyes for a moment.
When he woke up, he wasn't in the car anymore. Somehow he had ended up on the couch in the spacious room the Dane currently used as his living room. Denmark's house was big and old so it had more than enough rooms for all of them. He even had a small salon fit for dancing and enough bedrooms to have a small village living in there. Others often questioned why he wanted still to live in that old house, especially now that he lived alone and he didn't have housekeepers, but he simply said that the place held so much memories. Also, he had closed off most of the space so it wasn't too hard to keep up the few rooms he actually used daily. Also, it helped that he was always full of energy so cleaning up the almost endless hallways wasn't problem for him.
The Dane's living room was like a perfect pic of himself. It had soft armchairs, big couch and all the nice colours that still blended well with white walls and the light coming from windows. He had photos on the wall and tables, mostly of his family but also few nice landscape pics and city views, and everything smelled like sunlight, happiness and a hint of sea salt. If Iceland had to pick up one word to descript the living room, or the whole house, he would have to use Danish and said that it was simply hygge.
He felt slightly confused to wake up there and not in his own room in the Dane's house or in that dim, small room he have been living in for few past months. In fact he did have his own room in Denmark's house, just like he had one in Norway's too. It has been his already few centuries and Denmark let him to do whatever he wanted to do with it so it was quite comfy and homely place for the Icelander.
"Hej Is", a cheerful voice said, "Island has awaken!"
"You don't need to yell that when we are standing right behind you", Norway commented and Iceland pushed himself up to see that his whole family was in fact standing at the door.
"Hei", he said, "how long I slept?" It looked like it was still light outside so he guessed that it couldn't be too long.
"Only few hours", Finland replied, "you looked like you really need a nap so we decided not to wake you up for the lunch."
"We still left you some", Denmark declared, "because you also look like you need food."
"Sorry about making you sleep on the couch", Norway added, "it was easier to carry you here than to upstairs."
"That's okay", Iceland muttered and felt the hungriness now that food had been mentioned, "so, who did that lunch?" They all could cook fine but there were some things to take a count. If it was Finland who made the food, there were always some risks about getting something what he called "experimental". Norway again preferred to make only simply dishes because he claimed to be too busy for anything else so half of the time he would offer porridge. Denmark was okay and did nice meals but he was way much better with baking so Sweden was actually the best choice out of them to prepare food.
"Me", Sweden said and raised his hand.
"Ah, okay", Iceland muttered, "then I think I'll have some." Sweden simply nodded and wandered to the kitchen to re-heat some lunch for the Icelander.
"Isn't it funny that he always asks first who did the food before agreeing on eating it?" Denmark said and grinned at the Icelander. Finland just shrugged and decided to follow the Swede while Norway walked to Iceland and sat down on the couch next to him. Denmark came closer too, but he only simply leaned against the backrest.
"Would you like to tell me more about the work that has been draining you this much?" the Norwegian asked and, though Iceland wasn't surprised about him being interested about it, it was a bit uncommon for him to go straight on the topic. Usually he liked to sneak around the corners and do all kind of weird tricks to get the information he wanted.
"It's nothing important", Iceland mumbled.
"Island", Norway said and stared at him.
"Really, Nore", the younger nation replied, "it's just the work. Everything is fine."
"Yeah, Nor", Denmark said and managed to surprise them both. Iceland couldn't remember any time when Denmark had taken anybody else's than Norway's side. Norway gave the man a quick questioning look, but nodded after a while.
"Well, you are an adult and capable nation", he noted, "but remember that you can always ask us if you need help." Iceland felt a sting of guilt and sadness, but he couldn't tell them what he was actually doing. It was way too embarrassing to be the only nation sent to University.
"But anyway", Denmark said and gave them a smile, "while you slept, we decide to cancel all the plans and just be all hygge and let you rest."
"You cancelled even that Legoland trip you spoke about?" Iceland asked. There had been other plans too but that was actually only one his sleepy mind could remember. The Dane had been more than excited about it.
"Yeah", he said and shrugged, "it is a place with lot of plastic blocks. It can wait."
"Also, we have seen it already million times", Norway added, "but you are the only Icelander we have so better to take care of you." Iceland looked away and felt his cheeks warm up because of his brother's too embarrassing words. Still, he nodded.
"Okay", he mumbled, "I think some rest would be good."
"Islanti?" Finland asked from the door just at that moment and managed to save the situation turning even more awkward, "food is ready. Do you want to eat here or in the kitchen?"
"Kitchen", Iceland replied and proceeded to make his way to there. All other nations followed him and casually spent time in the kitchen while the Icelander ate. It was just a bit annoying when they clearly kept him on eye but somehow it also felt good. It was just so nice to know that somebody cared about him so much.
They spent rest of the day just hanging out in the living room and playing some games. Finland and Sweden had both had some international meetings during the past week so they happily told about what they had heard from other nations. Or it was more like the Finn gossiped everything and Sweden either nodded or shook his head after questions. Iceland sat between his brother and Denmark and just forgot all about his duties. Sweden had made him hot chocolate and he swore it was the best one in the world. The room was filled up with noise and laugh of people who knew and loved him, and it was just perfect.
Next morning found Iceland from his own room in Denmark's house, between soft blankets and arms hugging the pillow. It was still early, even Denmark was still sleeping in the room he shared with Norway. Norway actually did have his own room in the house, just like Finland also had thought he probably didn't even remember which one was his, but he claimed that his room was too dim and he didn't like it. Apparently it was the only reason why he slept in the Dane's room but for some unknown reason he never clarified why he just didn't pick up another one of the numerous rooms if the only problem was simply that he disliked his original room.
Iceland heard his phone going off but he just wanted to ignore it. The bed was so soft and he loved this room so much more than one he lived in the student housing. But the phone was demanding his attention and finally the Icelander groaned and picked it up.
Tomas: Which time we gonna meet up today?
Julia: Is 8:00 okay? I prefer to be ready as soon as possible.
Tomas: Same. Have to read for exams.
Claus: I might be a bit late but showing up anyway.
Tomas: Anybody seen Erik?
Julia: Not since last class.
Claus: Same.
Tomas: ERIK!
Julia: Maybe he is just sleeping.
Tomas: Yeah, my bad. I should have asked about this yesterday.
Iceland froze when he saw the messages. Last evening had been relaxing but he had managed the "forget everything" –part too well and the study meeting scheduled for this morning had slipped out of his mind. He cursed under his breath and quickly typed a reply.
Eiríkur: I'm sorry. I had a late evening and I over-slept. I'm on way now.
Iceland jumped out of the bed and quickly put some clothes on, not really caring if they were fitting colours or something. This was the last meeting they would have before they had to hand in their group work and, though Iceland didn't care about the grades too much, he didn't want to be the one bringing his group down. Those guys actually had dreams and hopes about good results and it wasn't fair for them if just one nation without passion for studying failed them. When Iceland stepped out of room, he felt his phone vibrating.
Tomas: It's okay! Claus is gonna be late too anyway.
Julia: I can get us some coffee.
Iceland sent them a like to show that he saw the message. Then he tip topped to the downstairs and listened carefully, but couldn't hear any signs of life. So far that he knew, all other Nordics were still sleeping and they were all known for enjoying their free mornings with long sleeps so Iceland didn't expect them to be up. He was wrong.
"Are you going out?" Denmark asked and jumped in front of Iceland from behind the corner. Iceland was so surprised that he almost dropped his back.
"Yeah", he replied, "what you are doing here?"
"I live here", the Dane replied and grinned. He was wearing his pyjama and looked like he was going to go back to the bed soon.
"I got that part", Iceland mumbled, "I mean, should you be in the bed? I bet Nore is there."
"Yeah, I'm going back there", the Dane replied, "just needed to check something. Where you are going?" Iceland didn't reply right away because he hadn't come up with any good excuses so he had to think up one now.
"Just", he said and tried to sound not too unsure, "to my embassy. I got some urgent things to deliver to them."
"Right now?" Denmark said and frowned, "they should know to not bother you during our family meeting."
"It's just so urgent", Iceland said with a shrug, "it will only take like couple of hours anyway." Denmark looked suspicious but he still nodded and accepted the Icelander's excuse. The young Nordic nation thanked his luck that it wasn't Norway who had surprised him while he tried to sneak out. The Norwegian nation would never believe such hasty excuses and would see behind the lies right away. That was why Iceland had to be careful around the Norwegian if he wanted to keep his secrets.
"Okay", Denmark said, "do you want to take the car? Nor will not mind." Iceland hesitated but nodded then. It wasn't too hard to get to the city with the public transportation but taking a car would safe some time.
"Yeah", Iceland replied.
"The keys are in my jacket's pocket", the Dane said and smiled at him, "don't work too much, Is. I'll prepare us a brunch later so remember to come back for that."
"Sure. Thanks", Iceland said. Denmark nodded and yawned when he walked back to upstairs. Iceland would have loved to go back to bed too, but he had responsibilities elsewhere. He sighed sadly and step out to the slightly cold morning air. Before driving off, he made only one call more.
"Íslenska leyniþjónustan. How can I assist you?"
"Morning", Iceland said with a neutral and serious tone, "could you make sure that if anybody calls my embassy in Denmark any time during next three hours and ask about me, they will say that I'm there but having a meeting with ambassador and can't answer for the call no matter what?"
"Sure. Would you like to us inform you if somebody do call and ask about you?"
"That would be nice. Thanks", Iceland said and closed the phone after the voice wished him a nice day. He was very good with hiding his feelings behind the neutral look on his face, but he still couldn't stop himself feeling awful. He felt so bad about this and he didn't want to lie to his family, but it was too late to turn back.
My stories rarely goes like I first planned and this is very good example about that. First: Icelandic secret service was supposed to be only some small thing mentioned only few times but suddenly it's popping up all the time. Secondly: Finland and Sweden were not supposed to show up at all. Thirdly: this chapter wasn't supposed to happen at all. Oh well.
Next chapter might be more about Iceland's studies again. Or not. I'm not sure because I haven't started to write it yet.