A/N: Here we go again! It's time for the Great Northern War, something I've been looking forward to ever since I started writing this fic. That also means it gets two chapters all for itself (or three depending how you count it). I hope you'll enjoy it! ^^

Like I've said before, I'm trying really hard to get ABYS finished by Christmas and at this speed it looks like the epilogue will be posted on...Christmas Day. Oops. I guess I just have to write faster then XD (But I'm getting awful headaches due to spending so much time on the computer already! *sob* It ain't easy being a writer...)

Anyway, on with the show! As always, all comments will be highly appreciated.

Always By Your Side

Chapter 9: 1709

So, where were we? Ah, yes...The height of your power... You had built a glorious empire, but at the expense of gaining many enemies...Not everyone was pleased with your success, on the contrary. They still held grudges against you...

Remember you shocked you were when you first heard Denmark, Poland, and Russia had formed an alliance? It hadn't been completely unexpected, but even so the situation had taken a turn to the worse.

Of course, you or your superior weren't willing to just take it. You managed to stop Denmark and strike a weakening blow on Russia. It could have ended then, but...You lost time defeating Poland, and Russia managed to regain his strength and more, as well as take Estonia and Latvia to his house... Your superior decided to attack Russia again, and you, out of options had no choice but to follow him...

"Su-san! Look! More smoke!" Finland jumped off his horse's back and dashed forward, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the destruction. Sweden slowly got off his own horse and walked to him. The small village had been burned down only recently; some of the ruins were still smoking, even if the freezing cold north wind had already put the fires off. There wasn't a person in sight.

Again...They were already running low on supplies, and this only made it harder to continue. Sweden sighed.

"Sc'rched e'rth..." He mumbled. Russia sure knew what he was doing. He couldn't shake the feeling they were being led into a trap. Yes, a trap...and they had already walked into it. The net was getting tighter too; they couldn't turn back without taking a huge risk, and they most certainly couldn't stay long here in this abandoned land. If only he had attacked when they had a chance...but no, his superior insisted on taking Poland and Lithuania down first. While that had worked out just fine, he now had to face Russia again, more powerful and dangerous than ever...But all wasn't lost: if they kept pushing forward, they just might be able to cut the ropes and free themselves from the net...

Finland had been examining the ruins closer and now walked back to him. "It's no use, everything's burned down." He said sighing and coughed.

"Y'kay?" Sweden asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Finland replied and smiled faintly. "It's just a little cold." He looked into the distance.

We're resting here tonight?" He asked his eyes fixed on the depressing view.

Sweden nodded. The air was indeed chilly, and as the evening grew darker the temperature dropped. There was no point to proceed today, no matter how unwelcoming this place was. The soldiers for the most were already setting up tents and trying to build fires with the little wood they had left at this point, but the cold breeze made the task exceptionally arduous.

Sweden turned away and rubbed his forehead, hoping it would soothe his increasingly bad headache. It didn't work. Oh well, he had felt worse.

"Su-san!!"

Sweden quickly turned around to face Finland; he had sounded frightened for some reason.

"Something...forceful... Can you feel it?" Finland asked, looking both alert and fearful.

Sweden closed his eyes and focused. At first he felt nothing out of ordinary, but after a brief moment of silent concentration he felt a chilling sensation starting from his feet, giving him goosebumbs as it spread into his body. He opened his eyes as it reached his head, but the sensation didn't leave. Even the air felt heavier. Sweden tensed; there was definitely something out of ordinary going on.

"Y'know wh't 't 's?" He asked.

Finland shook his head. He too closed his eyes, only to re-open them a moment later and frown.

"I'm not sure, but..." he said hesitantly "It feels...familiar, somehow." He shook his head, "No, it can't be." he finally said, but despite that still looked unsure.

Sweden pondered his words. It was possible that Russia and his army had stopped fleeing and were planning a surprise attack, but still, it was highly unlikely. Even so, who else could it be in this cold and now desolated place? Except that...the strange presence had felt familiar to him too...

His thoughts were interrupted by Finland gasping and taking a step backwards, pointing at something far away. "Look!" He yelped.

Sweden turned and stared into the distance, hoping to see what Finland was so alarmed of. He couldn't see anything remarkable at the direction Finland was pointing at; in fact, the only thing he could see at all was snow softly falling. He squinted his eyes. Still, nothing. Sweden frowned. What was going on?

A sudden gust of wind cold as ice blew past them, making Sweden shiver and his mantle flutter. He looked at the direction where it had come from and his eyes widened in surprise: there was a tiny area not too far away where the snow was falling all but softly... In fact, as he looked at the spot it quickly turned into a miniature blizzard, the air thick with heavy snow. Sweden couldn't believe his eyes. Still, the snowy tornado was clearly there, and it was growing, too. And...It almost looked like there was a person standing in the center of the snowstorm. The blizzard grew larger and larger, Sweden became sure of it; there really was a dark figure approaching them inside it. As it got closer and the sound of howling wind became almost unbearable Sweden started seeing the figure in more detail; tattered, battle-worn clothes fluttering around in the wind, rusty armor and a heavy helmet covered in snow, and black eyes as piercing as icicles and colder than death itself...

"G-General Winter?" Finland winced, his eyes wide open "But...But...I thought..." He staggered, clearly at a loss of words. "I thought... he was on our side too..."

Sweden merely stared. He was shocked; he had known General Winter protected Russia, but even then, he hadn't been expecting him to attack them. What to do? They were helpless in this barren area and extremely vulnerable to all attacks. Even if they had been better prepared for combat, General Winter couldn't be fought with swords and spears...

He looked at his side and saw how stricken Finland was; his mouth was still hanging open and he was quivering. Sweden couldn't tell whether it was out of cold or fear, or both. He set him hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him one way or another.

"W' c'n't run a'ay." He said matter-of-factly.

"No, we can't." Finland took a deep breath. He then looked up, his eyes brimming was resolution.

"Since we can't run or fight him, the only thing we can do is to stay right here and stand our ground." he said.

Sweden didn't reply, only slightly surprised by his comrade's determination. He knew he was right; cowering in fear or hopelessly attempting to flee wasn't an option; the best thing they could do was to keep their head held high and take everything General Winter would dish at them. He turned to his troops. Many of the men looked alarmed, but none of them had panicked at the sight of the impending attack. He nodded.

"We'll jest hafta w'it." He said. The blizzard was still growing stronger and whatever Finland's response was, it was muffled by the howling of the wind.

Sweden braced himself. No matter what, the attack would be absolute torment. Still, there was no reason to not face it head held high and proud. He looked at Finland; his hair and light blue mantle fluttered in the wind, and while there was fear in his eyes, they were burning with the same determination he felt in his chest.

Sweden tightened his grab and pulled Finland closer to himself. He could feel the Finn's heartbeat even through their clothes and bodies; it was slow and calm. It was the last thing he remembered feeling before the snowstorm hit them full on, obscuring Sweden's vision and filling his ears with the sound of gusting wind.

A/N: Seriously, Poland (avec Lithuania), Russia, and Denmark (avec Norway) all ganging up against Sweden & co.? That sounds kinda...unfair. (Oh, and Prussia and other smaller German countries joined the fray towards the end. Basically, half the Europe was against Sweden. Aww =(...)

Anyway, the Great Northern War is made of awesome (as far as wars go at least). I'm not sure how well I'm able to describe it in this fic especially since I'm only writing a few selected scenes (seriously, it deserves at least one fic all to itself (I won't be writing it though, at least not in quite a while)), but I hope I did okay.

On aside note, I really hope Charles XII was mad. It would explain so much _...But more of that later. Thanks for reading and see you! ^^