Thank you all!
Here we are with the second last chapter :)
Chapter seven: How to survive the care of Scandinavians
"What exactly you mean?" Norway asked with an impatient voice, "tell me at once or I'll cut you open." Denmark didn't seem to be surprised about the Norwegian threating people with murder but Iceland flinched and was happy that his brother had accepted him and was now focused on taking care of the Icelander. The human being threated was scared for sure but it seemed to be the fame of the Norwegian that made him almost piss his pants, not only the direct threat.
"I mean we had a Finn here", the man mumbled and kept glancing around to find a way to get out of the situation. He was clearly not a warrior and didn't look like he could stand against of Norway who sat on the horse and pointed him with a sword.
"And now you don't?"
"Yeah", the man muttered nervously.
"What happened to him?" Norway asked. There were other people too but they smartly stayed away. Even the warriors preferred not to step forward to face the Norwegian who was getting more and more pissed off after every passing second.
"The Swede came and took him away!" the man almost yelled, "we didn't know you are interested on the Finn-witch, we would have kept him here if we knew and…"
"Be quiet", Norway ordered sharply, "you mean the Swede who sails with me?"
"Yes!" Norway nodded and lowered his sword, though he didn't put it away.
"Can't we just kill everybody and go on?" Denmark asked with a bored voice. Norway seemed to think about it while the people were scared and Iceland disgusted. He was still seated on the horse, front of Norway and he tugged his brother's shirt.
"Noregur", he said, "I don't think that helps." Norway glanced at him and then nodded just a bit and finally sheathed his sword.
"Let them be, Danmarkar", he said and few humans let a relieved sigh, "I see blood on the ground so I guess Svearike already took care of any mistakes done here." Denmark nodded and turned his horse to follow the Norwegian's. It took a while before anybody spoke again simply because Norway and Denmark didn't have anything to say and Iceland was troubled from what he had seen and how easily his brother threated others with death. It was for sure so different world where his family had been living before finding him.
"Noregur?" he finally spoke up and ended the comfortable silence filled only with the noises of the forest and horse hooves stamping the ground.
"What?"
"Is Finland okay?" the Icelander asked, "Sví… Svearike will not hurt him?" The Norwegian tugged the reins gently to lead the horse around of some stones on the path.
"Svearike is softer than us two", Denmark joined in with a smile, "your friend is in good hands!"
"That's true", Norway agreed, "Svearike doesn't hurt Finns or anybody that doesn't try to hurt him first. He is a harsh man but he doesn't enjoy hurting others" Iceland nodded and felt much better now that he knew Finland wasn't in danger.
"That's good", he said, "I'm not sure if Fin had any limitations on hurting Swedes, though."
"He has to be a great warrior to be able to hurt Svearike!" Denmar yelled and laughed. He clearly found the idea more than hilarious but Iceland only shrugged. The Finn was crazy enough to try anything. The horses kept their peaceful pace and Norway was leading his steed with a one hand, another staying on the Icelander's waist to balance him.
"Speaking of the warriors", Norway said with a thoughtful voice, "how many you have in your land, brother of mine?"
"I think about 5000", Iceland said and hesitated a bit because he actually didn't have any. Those were the ones who had decided to have the military education with Norway's people, but they were Icelanders so Iceland guessed they counted as his warriors.
"5000 warriors", Norway repeated and sounded suspiciously satisfied, "and they are all experienced? You have been successful with your raids?"
"I think so. They get their trainings from you", Iceland admitted and Norway nodded after hearing that, "and I don't really do raids."
"Not at all? Not even a small fighting?" Denmark had apparently found the topic interesting because he moved closer again and joined in.
"No", Iceland said, "well, there were the Cod Wars but it wasn't very big thing. Just me against England."
"England!" both Vikings yelled and Norway continued, "is that brat still around?"
"Yeah", Iceland replied and Norway and Denmark glanced at each other.
"Next time we should handle him a bit harder", the Dane said, "right, Norðrvegr?"
"Yes", the Norwegian replied with a nod, "did you win, Island?"
"Yeah", the Icelander said and couldn't stop feeling just a bit proud, "all three of those. I even had less power than he had." Norway held him tighter for a moment, like hugging him a bit awkwardly with one arm.
"Of course my brother will beat up that brat easily", the Norwegian said and Iceland felt the comfortable warmth inside. Just like he had felt when those things happened first time and Norway and Denmark took him out to drink to celebrate his victory. They had been far too excited about the thing that was only called a war because political military conflict was too long thing to yell in meetings.
"We are proud of you", Denmark added with a happy grin, "a real Viking you are."
"Thanks", Iceland mumbled and felt a slight blush on his cheeks, "it's not so much really."
"It's good to be proud sometime", Norway noted. The horses walked forward and after while Denmark, who had once again took a place on front and was good ten meters away from them, stopped and raise his hand to sign that he had seen something interesting.
"I think I found a good place", he yelled.
"You sure it's not a waterfall again?" Norway yelled back and his horse took few trot steps to reach the Dane.
"Yeah", the man replied, "looks okay. Can you check there are no any bad creatures hanging out here?" The Vikings seemed to know what they were doing, but Iceland was confused. They were supposed to go to meet up with Finland and Sweden. Why that had anything to do with a "good place"?
"What is going on?" he asked when Norway leaded the horse down a hill and toward to a small pool that had formed next to a river. Norway had just a moment ago gave him some hard, dry bread to eat so the Icelander did his best to enjoy it without breaking his teeth.
"It's Saturday, brother of mine", the Viking man replied, "don't tell me we have abandon our old ways and good habits?"
"We bathe every week", Denmark noted and jumped down from his horse when they reached the pool, "like all the civilized people."
"Ah, okay", Iceland muttered, "in future we take a shower almost every day."
"What's shower?" Denmark asked and gave him a curious look while grapping the reins of Norway's horse. The Norwegian himself was currently standing near the pool and apparently having a talk with something because he looked focused and his lips were moving.
"It's like a small room where you can stand under the water that comes in from pipes and…" Iceland glanced at the Dane who looked like he didn't understand anything and wasn't really interested about understanding, "…it's not so important."
"Okay", Denmark said happily and started to search something from the bags after he had tied up the horses on the tree nearby.
"This place is okay", Norway said, "water feels warm and is deep enough to swim in."
"Perfect!" Denmark said and started to take his clothes off. He was clearly excited about the bath but Iceland wasn't sure if he shared the opinion. It had been a long time ago when he last time bathed outside and even longer when there was somebody else bathing with him at the same time. The Vikings seemed to have no problem with that at all.
"Come, Island", Norway said after noticing that the younger nation wasn't taking his clothes off like they had done, "I'm sorry to say this, but you stink." Iceland was aware about that. After all he had spent days hiking through the forest and, if they didn't count the times he had washed his hair and face with the water from the river, he hadn't really taken care of his personal hygiene. Even the Norsemen smelled better than him.
"Yeah, sure", he mumbled and started to undress. Norway and Denmark were both already in the pool when he got ready, and the Norwegian gave him a piece of soap. It didn't smell strong but Iceland was glad to have something that could clean him a bit better than mere water. The water in the pool felt chilly first but quickly his body got used to it and he was even enjoying the bath. He managed to forget that the men were there too, because they were both quiet and focusing on bathing. So when Norway touched his shoulder, he startled and almost dropped the soap.
"Let me brush your hair", the Norwegian said and held up a comb made out of bone. Iceland nodded and turned so the man could work on his hair. Norway grooming him had been quite normal thing before, when Iceland was much younger, so soon the nation found himself relaxing and just enjoying the feeling. Norway was humming some song that sounded slightly familiar and, when he put the comb away and started to twist the Icelander' hair between his fingers, Iceland frowned and glanced at him.
"What you are doing?" he asked.
"Braiding", Norway simply replied and continued doing it, "I like your hair colour. It's like a pure silver and healthy looking, though also a bit strange. I bet we will have, or we had, some problems with hiding it." Iceland nodded slightly. His hair had been gaining unwanted attention few times and there had been time that he had almost constantly wore a hood over his head to keep his silverly hair hided. He had been relieved when dyeing became a fashion and nobody noticed his hair anymore.
"It has been a problem sometime", he admitted and frowned then, "wait, why you are braiding my hair?"
"Because it's rather handy thing to do", Norway replied calmly and tied the finished braid with a yarn, "long hair might be dangerous during the battle so it's better to braid it. It also keeps it cleaner."
"But aren't braids for girls?" Iceland asked.
"I braided Danmarkar's hair too and he is not a girl", Norway replied and nodded toward the man who had finished the bathing and was now just floating on the water and apparently doing absolutely nothing. He did have new on his hair braids.
"Okay", Iceland murmured just as Norway finished the second braid that kept the hair from falling over the Icelander's face.
"You can braid mine", he said and gave the Icelander two pieces of yarn. Iceland had no idea what to do with them.
"Noregur, I have never…"
"Danmarkar, come here and show Island how to braid hair", Norway ordered sharply and the Dane obeyed.
"So braiding, huh?" he said and swam closer, "I thought I would start with teaching you how to fight but this works too, I guess."
"You have already taught me to fight", Iceland muttered and made the Dane grin happily.
"That's good to hear!" he claimed and grabbed the Norwegian's hair, "so, you see, you just take a part and divine it to three smaller parts. This crosses here and then this over here and once again. Norðrvegr likes to have his hair staying out from the face and braided like this." Iceland watched how the Dane worked with the hair. The man's fingers were quick and he had clearly been braiding Norway's hair many times before because it took him only few seconds to finish. Iceland felt a bit weird when he saw Denmark stroking the Norwegian's hair and standing so close to him without any the signs of deeper attraction the Icelander had got used to see. He glanced at the Norwegian who gave him a quick, knowing smirk.
"Island can do another side", he said without mentioning anything about his future love life. Iceland was starting to feel like he had made a horrible mistake with letting the Norwegian know about the future, and he felt slightly sorry for the Dane who still had no clue.
"Okay", he agreed and started to braid, or at least trying to do that. Denmark was helping him but still it took him twenty minutes to get at least something done. Norway touched the finished braid and nodded for acceptance, though Iceland admitted that his braid was poor when compared to the tight and sleek one the Dane had done.
"What is it?" Norway suddenly asked, but he was looking at another direction and slightly up so other two understood quickly that he wasn't speaking with them, "really? How interesting."
"What happened?" Denmark asked but the Norwegian wasn't ready yet.
"Yes, I understand", he said to the invisible creature, "let him know that everything is fine and I'm bringing our little brother back to him." He raised his hand for a small wave and lowered his gaze again.
"Was it Nore… I mean, older you?" Iceland asked. He didn't know anybody else that would have been referring to him as a brother.
"Yes, it was me", Norway replied, "they arrived yesterday and are on way to here. I think it's the best that we meet up with Svearike and see that Finland is with him." He started to swim back to the shore but the Dane didn't follow right away.
"You said they", he noted, "so older me is also here, right?"
"So I understood", Norway replied and the Dane grinned. Iceland got a bad feeling from that grin.
"I can't wait for to meet myself", Denmark said happily, "I'm sure I'll be the strongest also in the future. Hey, Island, aren't I the king of the North?" Iceland paused and glanced at him. This Denmark was smiling. This Denmark hadn't yet became the ruler over them all and then lost everything. This Denmark hadn't been cast down and left alone for so long that even a slight thought about being forced to live without his family made him cry. This Denmark hadn't yet lived that all and he didn't knew how horrible it would be the king and how much he would hate it.
Norway probably saw something on Iceland's face but he decided he didn't want to know all about the future. Instead of asking, he threw the Dane's shirt at him.
"You can't win even me", he said sharply, "come on, now. We have to go."
"Okay, okay", the Dane mumbled and started to quickly dress up in fear the Norwegian would leave him behind if he was too slow.
Sweden was worried and that made him pace around the room. He had tried every single treatment he knew but still the Finn under his care was having a high fewer and the cut on man's arm hadn't healed. All the other wounds had been long gone and fixed but the Finn's body hadn't won the inflammation yet. To make it even force, Finland was still babbling about weird things and Sweden was very concerned about his mental health. He found the man a cute and sweet creature so he hoped from all his heart that the sickness wouldn't take him away before the Swede had a chance to get to know him better. Eternity with the Finn sounded like a good deal and Sweden found himself being a very satisfied about that idea.
"I told you, we got married in the future", the Finn said and his voice shivered a bit because of the fewer, "but then you had to give me away… I missed you a lot, you know." Sweden nodded and patted his forehead with a wet cloth. Finland was trying to look at him, but he couldn't really focus.
"Sounds good", Sweden mumbled. He meant the marrying part because he wasn't ready to let anybody to take the Finn away. He had just met him a day ago.
"You know what else sounds good?" the Finn asked but Sweden never heard the answer because the sleep took over the sick man. Sweden sighed but hoped hard. He had seen this man fighting, he had been there in the village earlier but stepped in only when he noticed that the fight wasn't a fair, and he knew there was a fire inside of the man's body. He hoped that fire would burn hot enough to drive the sickness out.
He didn't know what to do and he was starting to feel more and more desperate as the fewer kept its hold on the Finn. That was why Sweden had never been happier than when he heard the Norwegian yelling his name.
"Svearike!" Norway yelled and halted his horse next to house, "are you here?"
"Norðrvegr!" Sweden shouted as he stepped out and grabbed the man's arm. The Norwegian hadn't expected that because usually the Swede kept his distance and acted calmly, so he almost fell off the horse. Sweden didn't seem to care because he only kept dragging the man inside.
"Svearike, I do not appreciate this handling", the Norwegian said angrily and wrenched his arm free, "explain yourself!"
"He needs you", Sweden grunted and grabbed the man's arm again. He didn't care if the Norwegian got angry and lashed out at him. He needed to help the sick Finn.
"Is something wrong with Fin?" Iceland asked and Norway glanced at him before letting the Swede push him inside to the small house. It didn't took him long to notice the smell of sickness in the air and he frowned.
"What is this, Svearike?" he asked as the man took him to see the Finn who was lying on the bed and shivering from the fewer. His skin was unhealthy pale and he was sweating.
"Finland!" Iceland yelled and ran to the man, "what happened to him?" Iceland had never seen Finland in so bad condition and he was scared. His voice stirred the man up and for a moment the dark blue eyes met his.
"Is", the Finn mumbled and tried to reach the younger nation but his arm was too weak and soon dropped back on the bed, "you okay?"
"Am I okay?" Iceland almost yelled, "what is wrong with you?"
"Dunno. Little animals", the Finn said and glanced at the Swede who was hovering over him and clearly unsure about what to do, "that man… He looks like my älskling. Oh Is, you have braids. How cute. I want to have that too."
"He got a nasty cut on his arm", Sweden explained and pointed at the wound that was now dripping yellowish mix of blood and pus, "it is not healing. He also hit his head and thinks he is from future and that we… hm."
"We are from future", Iceland said and Sweden nodded slowly after giving him an intensive look.
"I don't know who you are" he said, "but I hope you will get over the hit too."
"I'm so sure you are my älskling", Finland mumbled while staring at the Swede who had no idea how to react to this. It was probably good that Norway was taking the reins.
"Svearike, I need hot water", he commanded and carefully checked the wound, "ask Danmarkar to help you. I also need some herbs." Sweden nodded quickly and almost crashed on the Dane that had quietly followed others inside.
"Can you help him?" Iceland asked and Norway nodded shortly.
"Of course", he said, "this cut is actually healing. I'll just do few spells that will speed it up a little and your friend will be up and going soon enough."
"Good", Iceland mumbled. Finland was now staring at the Norwegian and looked slightly puzzled.
"I know you", he finally said while Norway was moving his arm on better position, "but you are… different. Your hair is prettier when it's long like that."
"Thank you", Norway replied.
"Do you know that I'll love that man in future?" Finland asked, "he doesn't believe me."
"I heard about that and I'm sure he will believe you later", Norway said.
"He thinks I hit my head", Finland mumbled and flinched a bit when Norway's fingers touched the wound, "I didn't. Heh he."
"Is he normally like this?" Norway asked from the Icelander who shrugged.
"Sometime, yeah."
"I think I can taste the colours", Finland claimed, "and it taste bad."
"I'll spell him in to sleep", Norway said, "this babbling is irritating me."
"Feel free", Iceland mumbled and watched how the Norwegian draw a simply rune over the Finn who fell asleep right away. It was actually much easier to work when the patient wasn't moving and talking nonsense, Norway thought and glanced at the other Vikings who were carrying a pot of boiled water and dried herbs to him. Denmark was mostly curious about the Finn, just like he was curious about the Icelander now that he didn't feel the need to kick him anymore, but Sweden was pacing around and didn't settle down until Norway threated to spell him in to sleep too. Iceland was just simply following what his brother was doing. Because the nations could heal fast naturally, there was rarely a need for the healing magic. The Norwegian had still mastered it and with a skill he drew the sickness out of the Finn's exhausted body. When he finished, the man was still in sleep but his skin was looking healthier, the cut wasn't bleeding anymore and his breathing had slowed down as the fewer didn't bother his dreams anymore.
"When he wakes up, he will be tired but healthy again", Norway said and yawned. Using magic had made him tired and happily he settled down on the floor to have a nap. Denmark decided to sleep a bit too and Iceland just sat in the corner but Sweden moved closer the Finn and watched over the sleeping man until he would wake up.
"Hey, Norðrvegr", Denmark whispered just before the man managed to fell asleep.
"Hm?"
"Do you think that Finn-witch had put a spell on Svearike?" Norway opened his eyes to give the Dane a long look.
"Why you think so?" he asked.
"He looks like he is spellbound", the Dane replied, "he is Svearike! One of the strongest and cruellest warriors and here he is fussing over one sick man like some mother. I have never seen him doing that." Norway glanced quickly at the Swede who didn't seem even to care about other nations in the house.
"I'm the only one here making spells", he finally replied and closed his eyes again.
"But what is wrong with him?"
"Nothing."
Notes:
Iceland doesn't really have a military but they do have a coast guard (I think it's called that). Also I think I read from somewhere that Norway had a agreement with Iceland that they will educate any Icelander who wishes to join the military and estimately 5000 Icelanders have a military background. However, I couldn't find a source for that and so it's unsure information.
The Cod Wars were three conflicts between Iceland and Great Britain. It wasn't really war and only one person died but somehow Iceland managed to win against of the Royal Navy. I think they even captured some English ships.
Vikings were really serious about bathing and cleaning (when comparing to the rest of Europe during that time) and traditionally Saturday is the bathing day and even the scandinavian name for it (lördag, lørdag) meant originally a bath day. Finnish name, lauantai, is also from the same word (Finnish weekdays comes from Sweden, except wednesday = keskiviikko). Even nowadays Saturday is the kids' bathing day in many Finnish households and traditionally the day when we go to sauna.
Vikings also braid their hair and because I really like men with braids, I used this as an excuse. Heh.
Next chapter is the last one so we gonna have a very confusing moment with double Denmarks, Norways and Swedens
