"C'mon Lukas. You need to eat...And I wanna see those pearly whites you brag about," said Mathias, trying to coax Lukas into opening his door. Lukas cracked the door open, flashing his teeth in a snarl. "There. You saw them. Go away. Why don't you go build one of those castle things and make a mess in the kitchen," said Lukas. Mathias looked away. He didn't have his building partner anymore. "They're covered in flies...Tino was right when he warned me against using honey," he said.
Lukas rolled his eyes. "Great job. Take them outside at the very least then. No need to keep the flies in the house too," he said. "I already did. Don't worry! I took care of everything! You almost finished with the boat?" he asked, saying the last part in a gentler tone. Lukas sighed and noded. "I put the last details on it last night...I hope she likes it...Mathias...It's all my fault. I was so upset and obsessed with the prophecy that I didn't even bother spending her last moments with her…" he muttered.
"You didn't know it was her last moments. Lukas, we felt the same way when Mom died. I don't know if you remember that...but we'll be fine. We always are. Dagny wouldn't hold it against you. She even said it wasn't your fault as her last words. Do you really want to let those last words go in vain? And besides, this only gives you more reason to go back and be with Emil. I'm sure that will cheer you up," said Mathias gently, trying to guilt him into forgiving himself since nothing else had worked.
Lukas sighed. "I suppose you're right. Whatever. I already had something to eat so you can stop knocking on my door. I'm going to try to get some sleep before the funeral tomorrow. And no, before you ask, I don't want any dessert. You already made me eat way too many of those pastries you forced me to bake with you," he said. Mathias grinned. "I know you liked them. I only had to convince you to eat the first two. The other seven were your own doing. I know they're one of your favorites," he said.
Lukas promptly shot the door. Mathais grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said when he heard Berwald and Tino come in. He rushed over. "So what did you find out? She preggers? Are we going to have to help Lukas smuggle a baby overseas? If so, can we name him after me? Since I'll be doing the smuggling?" said Mathias. "No baby. No smuggling," said Berwald, giving him a stern look. Mathias huffed and sat down.
"So what did you find out?" he asked. "She still feels guilting about what happened. Wanted to apollogize to Lukas again, let him know she was sorry. I think she's genuine. The runes don't seem to be having any effect on her," said Tino, sitting down as well. He kicked off his boots tiredly. Berwald stood across from them. "She got mad we asked if she was pregnant," said Berwald plainly. Mathias looked at the two of them and laughed. "Wait? You actually asked her? You didn't just like snoop to avoid getting speared? That must have been terrifying," he said.
"She was understanding. Even gave me a recipe for really good hot chocolate. How was Lukas?" asked Tino. Mathias shrugged. "Still a bit mopey but I think baking helped cheer him up a bit. I reminded him that Emil is going to need him and that he needs to keep going for him. It seemed to get him out of his funk a little bit. He ate like seven of my pastries today so I got him to eat on top of all of that," said Mathias excitedly.
Tino smiled. "That's great. I was starting to get worried about him. I guess this funeral is a good thing. It's putting her to rest and putting him at ease," he said. Berwald nodded. "Ship done?" he asked. Mathias nodded. "And I carved some special blocks to put in the ship with her," he said. "I was hoping to find her some flowers but it's starting to get a bit hopeless in that regard. I'm going to figure something else out though," promised Tino. Both men turned to Berwald, looking curious.
Berwald shrugged. "I have some jewlery I remember I promised to her once she got older. I also have a book that I wrote for her somewhere as well," he said. "I already cleared the spot in the field," said Lukas, walking into the room. Mathias smiled, ignoring the gloom that the Norweigen had brought in with him. "You didn't need any help? Any of us would have been happy to help you with that. Did you already move the stones into place?" he asked.
Lukas shook his head. "I will wait until the ceremony tomorrow. I just focused on digging the hole today," he said. Mathias whistled. "That's a lot of work. You should have asked for help. Did you have time to find some sort of gift to give her? You and I can help each other come up with an idea if you like," said Tino. "I have my gift figured out. Don't worry about it. And I'm sure you'll have no problem thinking of something to give her. I'm just worried about that snake of a woman showing up and ruining the funeral," said Lukas.
"She won't come. She doesn't want to make us upset, or more so than we already are," said Berwald. Tino nodded. "I think she knows that if she showed up it's likely to start a war. I don't think she is too fond of that idea anymore after what happened," he said. Lukas nodded, finding that a satisfactory idea. "Just as long as she doesn't ruin the funeral, I'll be fine. The whole town is going to be there. I'm heading for bed. Don't wake me unless Mathias sets starts the house on fire again," said Lukas. "I apologized for that!" huffed Mathias.
"You think he's going to be okay?" asked Mathias once Lukas was out of hearing range. "He'll be fine. It changed him but he'll be fine," said Berwald, getting up to leave for his own cabin. Tino nodded. "It was a hard blow for him. It'll take some time. Just try not to wile him the wrong way okay? I don't want him to give you a tell again," said Tino. "It's not my fault that the guy can't get a joke. Besides, I pulled that tail and the ears off awesomely," grinned the Dane.
Dagny was surprised to find that she was able to walk onto her settlement the next morning, leaving the spot she died on to cross the boarder to test it. "Don't worry. I'm sure the funeral will be fine. I might not be able to go with you but I will send my eyes with you," said Aiyanna. Dagny frowned. What the heck did that mean? Aiyanna mumbled a spell and caused her translusent spirt bird to reappear on her shoulder.
Dagny blinked. "That's so cool...I wish I could do that," she said. Aiyanna frowned. "Do you no longer have your magic?" she asked. Dagny shrugged. "I haven't tried it but something tells me that if I did, it'd take a lot more effort and energy to do anything. Right now I'm having problems not walking through things and picking solid objects up," she said. Aiyanna nodded. "You should get going. You don't wan to be late for your own funeral," she muttered. Dagny grinned. "Alright, I'm going," she said, disappearing. Aiyanna blinked. "Teleportation," she muttered.
Dagny blinked when she reappeared in a field. "Whoa...The whole town is here…" she muttered, spotting everyone standing around. She felt her face fall when she spotted her family. Lukas's face was expressionless, Mathias looked haunted, Berwald looked devastated in his own way, and Tino was fighting tears. Dagny found herself being pulled to the center of the strange ring of rocks, by the hole someone had decided to dig.
"We will now bring in the ship," said Leif, the town chief. Her brothers nodded and walked over to the edge of the ring, picking up a beautiful boat that she hadn't noticed at first. They placed the boat by the hole, passing through her. She noticed Lukas shudder. "And now the gifts," said Leif, helping the men keep the boat standing upright. Mathias went first, carefully arranging a group of blocked with pictures carved into them into a house after putting them in the boat.
"I'm sorry Dagny. I promise I'll keep an eye on Lukas. I'll keep him from being stupid and disappoint him by being the stupid one," he said, smirking a little. Dagny smiled. Berwald gently placed a book in the boat along with a pretty bracelet he had made for Dagny out of pearls. "Don't worry," he muttered before standing up, chin wobbling a little. Dagny felt her own lip start to wobble.
Tino came next. "I-I couldn't find any real flowers...but I think you would like these ones instead. At least these ones won't wilt," he said with a shakey smile. She teared up at the beautifully carved irises he placed next to the bracelet Berwald had made for her. It must have taken him all night to make them, especially since he decided to carve her a bouquet's worth instead of just a single bud. Tino moved aside so Lukas could come through.
"I'm sorry I failed you Dagny...I was a horrible big brother. I was always gone, working, or too cranky to want to do anything with you. I-It's too late for me to do anything for you besides make sure you go in peace...and take in those children if your spell worked. B-But I know I can still make myself a better big brother for Lukas. D-Denmark already claimed dibs on Greenland...but I can still watch Iceland. I promise...I-I'll be a better big brother. For you," he said, choking on his words.
Dagny felt tears go down her face and she found herself taking a step towards her big brother without thinking. "I know this is a bit late...I was waiting until your birthday but...Here. I-I thought you may have outgrown it but you're still my lillesøster. I hope you like it. D-Don't tell the others but I've been sewing it for the past few months when I had the time. I love you," he said, gently placing a cloth doll inside of the boat.
"The town will now present any gifts," announced Leif as the Nordics stepped back. Groups of villagers came up to the boat and either muttered their condonlences or placed little gifts in it such as wooden toys, scraps of fabric, or copper coins. One of the boys she used to play with placed shiny rocks in the boat. Dagny smiled despite herself. It was worth it all if she was able to be a part of so many of their lives.
Once everyone had placed their gifts in the boat, the Nordics picked it up and placed it in the hole before burying it. Once the grave was covered, they moved a rock onto the place where the hole once was. "I thought you said they burned the boat," croaked Aiyanna's bird. "I was only joking. That's something we just tell people to see if they will take it seriously," muttered Dagny, watching the procession slowly drift away from the gravesight.
Dagny swallowed. "...T-They'll get through this right? Nations are used to death. That's what Tino told me a long time ago," she said. The bird on her shoulder simply nudged her, cawwing before disappearing. Dagny sighed and walked over to the stone in the middle and sat down. What was going to happen to her? She was here for her kids...but...what the heck was she doing either way?
Even if she had lived, she'd been old enough to be a mother for about two minutes. If her spell hadn't worked, she could have gotten her kids killed along with herself. And she knew that she wasn't going to be any help to Aiyanna. Native America already had tons of children by the sound of it. All Dagny would be is a bystander. There was no guarentee that the babies would even see her much less recognize her or want her around, especially since no one else could see or touch her.
She made her brothers suffer unnecessarily. She should have told them that she was pregnant. They may have been clueless...b-but maybe one of the villagers could have been recruited to help her. Even if Lukas would have found a way to kill her or whoever's influence got her pregnant in the first place. That was the most ridiculous part about all of this. Dagny had no idea who the babies' father was. She blinked when the stone underneath her started glowing pink.
Dagny blinked and jumped up as a strange bird suddenly formed within the glow. "...A spirit…" she muttered, having seen Aiyanna summon enough of them to recognize what she was looking at. Was this safe? Or is this spirit here to come take her away to finally meet her mother? "Don't worry dear. I'm here to answer your questions. It has been decided that because this was not meant to be your fate, you should still have the opportunity to know your children," said the spirit kindly.
"Y-You're letting me stay?" asked Dagny, afraid to get her hopes up. "I am not letting you stay. But someone else has decided it. We spirits have no say in these matters. That and you won't be able to stay forever. Once the babies are born, you will have to go. But do not let that dishearten you. Often times past nations such as yourself are allowed trips back in order to visit their decendents. Well, except for that one that keeps sneaking out but we found someone to keep an eye on him," said the spirit.
"That's good. That's all I wanted. I just want to see that they were okay after all of this. I-I promise I won't even interfere that much. I just want to keep them safe," said Dagny, wringing her hands nervously. "That's perfectly fine Vinland. And in addition to that, we will tell you who the father is. In fact, we will tell you everything that you would have seen and known if you had lived. It will be as if you had met them yourselves," said the spirit, gushing a little.
Dagny hesitated, looking for the bird in hopes that Aiyanna could somehow give her advice. When that failed, she glanced at the ground. "Grandmother, what do you think?" she asked. "Do it…" whispered the wind suddenly. Dagny smiled. "If you say so. You don't need to tell me twice," she said to the grass before looking at the spirit. "I-I accept your offer and thank you so much for your generosity. Tell me...What is the father like? How did we meet?" she asked. The spirit smiled. "Step into the light dear. I'll tell you everything," she said.
Aiyanna grumpily poked at her growing belly. "Of course it had to be twins. No sense in making this dignified. Why not just make me look bigger faster? Twice the babies twice the nausea," she muttered, her hair now pulled into a ponytail because she had just gotten sick. Her people had accepted the news of the pregnancy happily but there were still a handful of them that looked at her stomach suspiciously despite it only being the second month if she were human. The only person she truly trusted was the Shaman.
Dagny suddenly appeared next to her, making her jump a little. "They'll grow on you, I'm sure Aiyanna. And besides, I have great news!" she said. "They're growing in me is what the problem is. What's the great news? Please tell me it's that you discovered a spell to get them out of me before I get any bigger. I'm already having trouble fitting into my normal clothes and it's only the second month," she huffed.
"In a way I'm glad it's you and not me. If I did try to hide the pregnancy from the boys, I would have ran out of clothes that fit by now. That and the constant puking would have given it away. Lukas notices more than he lets on and I know Tino would have started mother henning me within the first week. And when he freaked out upon finding out, Berwald would have found out. Maybe Lukas too. Depends if Berald decides to help me keep Tino from letting on too much," she said.
Aiyanna sighed. "That's all very entertaining and all that but what's the good news. I haven't seen you in a month. I assumed that the funeral had taken you to whatever comes next. What took you so long to come back and what is your news?" she asked. "A few months? You haven't seen me for a few months? I've only been gone for a few days…" said Dagny, frowning slightly at the news. Aiyanna shook her head. "I assume time passes differently to you now. It's been a few months. That's why I'm fat," she said.
Dagny chuckled. "I found out who the father is. A man who represents a country named France and a man who represents a country called England. He's wonderful and sucha nice man. England is also really nice but he's handsome and a strong country but Arthur, that's England's name, he has magic too! And he feels alone because his brothers leave him alone a lot but he has magic and is like me!" she said, rambling at a speed where Aiyanna was just barely following.
"Wait...You met the country that sired the child? But..Is he dead like yourself? How is that possible?" asked Aiyanna, frowning in confusion. Dagny shook her head, looking excited. "I spoke to the Spirits Aiyanna! They said I can stay until the babies are born! And, because they say this wasn't my original fate and it was changed unfairly to me, they let me go and see what would have happened if I really had gotten to meet them. It's been wonderful! I really wish that I can meet them in person. But if I can't I want the babies to," she gushed.
Aiyanna raised her eyebrow. She had remembered being that age, gushing over any man she saw. Great. Now nausea and a twenty-something to worry about. "Is that so? So do they know that they have children? Do they already have children with other nations?" she asked Dagny. Vinland shook her head. "I don't know if they have other children but I know they don't know about these ones. But they will know once they see them! I know it!" she said enthusiastically.
"What about the children? Do you really think they would want to be with a father they didn't know growing up? What about your brothers as well? You don't want the children to go with them because you know they will take the kids with them, but what proof do you have that the father would not do the same? And you said my way of repaying you was to bear the children, not raise them. I already have plenty of my own children to watch over," muttered Aiyanna.
Dagny's face fell. "You...You won't be looking after them? The Spirits won't let me stay afte they're born. Aiyanna, I can't go peacefully if I don't know that someone's going to look after them. Please, you got to promise," she said. Aiyanna scowled. "You do realize that I can't even eat half the foods I like anymore because I throw up every time I try, right? You're already asking a lot," muttered Aiyanna as she ate crackers, about the only thing she could eat without vomiting.
"Aiyanna, would you leave your children on their own to just wander around? You'd be the only nation that they'd know until their father come and that won't be for a while. Please Aiyanna. You got to look after them. At least make sure they don't starve or get sick until their father come, okay?" begged Dagny. Aiyanna huffed, crossing her arms. "I'll think about it. I don't make any promises. We'll see how happy I'm about all of this when I'm really fat and they're kicking the crap out of my insides," she grumbled.
Dagny cheered, literally glowing at the news that she'll at least contemplate the idea. "Thank you! That is enough for now. And their father runs great vast empires. I know that he'll take care of the babies when they come. I'm sure they won't have to wait long before he comes," said Dagny. "Hmm. You have any idea of the gender of the things growing inside of me are?" asked Aiyanna, poking her belly slightly. Dagny shook her head. "I wanted it to be a suprise," she said. Aiyanna rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
"What are your brothers going to do? I haven't seen them the entire time you've been gone. I would have assumed that they would have started making plans to leave since they haven't tried attacking me yet. Do you have any insight on that?" she asked. Dagny shook her head. "I don't know. Like I said, I haven't been in contact with anyone aside from the Spirits during the time I've been gone. I've been mostly spying on their father during this time," she said honestly.
"Well...Do you know if you can go onto the settlement now that the funeral has been done? Or can you visit your grave while they're there? Maybe they've been telling your marker what their plans are. I just need to know if I'm going to have to worry about them on top of this pregnancy thing," said Aiyanna. "I don't know...They have spoken to me. Lukas keeps going back and forth on going home. He says he needs and wants to return to Emil but he feels that by doing that he's just kinda abandoning me in a weird way," said Dagny.
"Dagny, you need to find out so I can see how much of a defense I need to prepare. Are you sure you don't want your brothers knowing about all of this?" asked Aiyanna. Dagny wrinkled her nose. "They always treated me like a little girl, even when I had my growth spurts. I know they won't listen to me on this and proceed any way they want to because they think it's what's 'best'," she protested. "Probably because you are a child mentally despite your appearance. You grew up before you could process what was really going on," thought Aiyanna.
Dagny sighed. "I'll go check in on the boys but I'm sure they won't try anything…" she muttered before disappearing. Aiyanna leaned back and poked the small baby bump. "You two better not be the death of me. I'm pretty sure my kids would chew you up and spit you out if you are," she grumbled. As if the babies were listening, she suddenly felt sick and had to jump up and rush to a pot.
Reviews, feedback, ideas for historical events to incorporate appreciated. I'm about two or three chapters into the sequel and I'm hoping you guys enjoy it!