A/N: Just to clear things up, in this chapter Greenland visits the Nordics. She is a girl, and this is the time there was a high suicide rate in this country.

I dag...

Both of them tired of Denmark's rule? He could understand that, but why did the truth have to be so blunt and bitter? It didn't even make for a good bedtime story unless it was nightmares he wished for. Norway couldn't even reach the top drawer of his dresser without the tall Swede or Finland's shoulders. The house surely seemed empty without his brothers around.

He had to look for one at first, but eventually he found a stool he could drag over. His first thought was that the dresser looked old, as if the drawer would splinter any minute. Peering over the top of the wood was harder than he thought it would be, even with the stool. The young nation considered passing the night in his own clothes; what if he changed and left his own clothes in this unfamiliar time and never got them back? Clothes were lots of trouble to make, so every thread counted.

New words were swimming around in his head, and the light bulbs gave him a headache. Six was a reasonable bedtime, wasn't it? Norway thought it was a bit early, but he fell asleep against his will before dinner was even ready.

As far as he knew, trolls were the strongest creatures alive that were of the earthly realm. Nothing was more ferocious than an angry troll swinging its bat at an enemy. Thankfully said trolls were on his side. Norway had talked to one once when he had worked up the courage.

Apparently this courage wasn't really his tonight. The trolls fled in terror before the rock monster, and he was alone. The ancient rock turned to steel when it glinted in the sun, and unimaginable weapons and points were aimed at his hometown and the country he represented. Norway was very fond of his country, even at his young age.

He was the only human for miles. A small human boy.

Gradually he woke up and took comfort in the fact that I was only a dream. He was safe in his—this sturdy bed. Looking over his shoulder to check for any menacing machines, the Norwegian saw only the headboard and the words søde drømme neatly carved into the rich wood in an arch.

He was glad of his ragged breathing for it quelled his first urge to yell for his brothers. Finland was good at putting him back to sleep, with the tunes of foreign lullabies, but the others would get mad, he was sure.

What he preferred to do was slowly unwrap himself from the tangled covers, assure himself it was all a dream, and calmly fall back asleep, when the shadows didn't loom overhead and look alive.

Norway's first task wasn't going so well though; he couldn't find the top end of the sheet, and the middle was twisted like a rope. It felt like he was in a sac, and it was hard to scoot over a few feet to give him more room to unwrap it.

The bed was bigger than the young country realized, and after taking advantage of his new freedom, he thudded on the floor. There was no rug to cushion his fall either, and he was afraid the sound carried downstairs. Norway squirmed from the lefse of blankets and straightened his wrinkled sleep clothes. Before settling back into his bed, he pulled his sleeves down to keep himself warm and pulled the sheets taut.

When his breathing slowed, Norway thought he had been quiet enough.

"I've noticed you visit more often now that you don't have to," Iceland reflected.

"Oh, I'm not planning on staying long. I was cold," the girl reasoned. To make her tale more believable she pulled her red coat tighter around her and shivered with the aid of all the coffee in her system.

Greenland refused to put her coat up and instead kept it buttoned up even in the warm light of the dining room. There was just an issue with something that was actually hers being so close to that of his.

Dark curls swayed behind her as she got up to fetch a cup from the glass cupboard; Iceland remained at the table. It was confusing to him why she didn't fill it immediately. The light-haired nation was positive Greenland knew where all of their drinks were, after living with them for so many years. But the female did noting but spin the mug by the handle, letting it clatter on the hard counter.

And picking it up again. Clatter.

"Are you alo-"

"Do you need some fresh air? Your nervous energy is suffocating Mr. Puffin. Gotta keep the birds happy."

Greenland already had a sad look prepared, but she turned it into a blank stare just for Iceland.

"Look at me. Do I look happy? Or is the depression evident in my eyes? They're supposed to be blue. So tell me why everyone in my nation is killing themselves!"

Problems. This world is overridden with problems.

"Can't most people survive jumping off of fjords?"

Mr. Puffin hopped up on the table and strutted around like he owned it. Iceland wasn't going to stop him, but he crossed his arms and leaned on the table.

Greenland wasn't usually this negative, unless she was complaining about his negativity.

The western island placed the still empty cup in the sink and rinsed it out. She considered leaving, but then figured Iceland was the best person to go to for help. It would just take a while to break down his walls.

"No, humans are not that tough. Especially if they've been ruled for years and can't make their own decisions and have to constantly be a part of another-"

A squawk from the bird on the table cut her off and she bit her lip.

Denmark needs to quit being so loud, Greenland thought. A loud thump from the room above her had interrupted her concentration, or what little she had.

"I'm not suicidal, so I really have no idea what the people in your nation are thinking. If I were, I'd be pretty hard pressed to kill the entire nation of Iceland. I know some people care about Iceland; a few visit in the summer."

Iceland kicked out a chair for the other nation to sit in, if she wanted. The female nation didn't take the hint, but instead leaned on the back of the chair at the head of the table. Being as old as it was, the supports wobbled and creaked like a rusty door.

"Danemark's out grocery shopping. We're missing a lot of stuff, and our food's usually bland. Want some*?"

Striding back into the kitchen Denmark's former territory slipped a bag of coffee beans into her pocket. If the kitchen didn't smell like coffee before she came, it always did after she left.

Seeing as she didn't usually like Denmark's food, she insightfully excused herself to go use the bathroom. All that coffee really was catching up to her, and she could feel it sloshing in her belly like the rising ocean as she climbed the stairs.

Her footsteps paused outside a door. Greenland heard some soft cries coming from the other room, and it didn't sound like anyone she knew. She knocked a few times and entered without giving the person on the other side any chance to tell him to stay out.

She would have found her way to this room eventually because every time she came over, she usually ended up spending the night. Denmark could be on the border of clingy and controlling sometimes. That, and she was curious about how the Nordics had been managing without her. Did they expand any more? She thought it quite possible that the child in front of her could be a new colony, but Greenland was sure the brothers had stopped conquering new lands ages ago.

Another coast under his control. What of Norway these days? Should she convince the young nation to run away while she could?

Composure was something Norway built up as he got older; at a young age he was easily frightened, although he would never admit it. It was for this reason that he couldn't get to sleep, and woke up almost as soon as he started drifting off.

"Mom?" Was his first thought at seeing he figure leaning over him. He pushed the covers off him because the room seemed too warm. The young boy wondered if there had been a fire nearby. Where he came from, the inside of the house was often drafty and the walls had corners that needed to be chinked.

"Sådan en sød pige."

Norway sat up fully, still mildly annoyed that his pajamas didn't fit him right.

The blue hem of his top came down to his knees. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he asked, "Hvem er du?"

Well, it didn't look like the girl had any wounds of any sort. But bruises could be hidden under her gown. Her hair was short, like a warrior's or a man's, but the cut fit her well. The pin in her hair was crooked; it looked like one Greenland had thought of getting at one point.

I guess I'll get up now; this sleep isn't really helping me. These scratchy blankets don't compare to the fur we used to have, thought the young Norway.

"I, well, I, am free, no matter what Danemark tells you. Fri! Oh, man, I should go talk with Iceland before I have the urge to throw myself out the window again."

A few chilly wisps entered the room, but the rest of the harsh wind was booted out when the door shut again. It couldn't get under the door, either, thanks to the rubber doorstop clinging to the doorframe.

Someone came in empty-handed.

"So on my way to the store, I was wondering exactly how much we actually needed to eat. We are nations, after all. We could save the food for our people."

Iceland sighed.

"Why don't we all just eat rocks?" Iceland muttered.

Denmark's colony ducked down under the table, then decided it would be easier to hide upstairs. She had only had a few minutes with him before she heard the door open.

The walls provided a substantial amount of cover, but other than that Canada's neighbor had to rely on her own speed to get to the stairs and up them before Denmark spotted her. The gap between the dining room and the stairs seemed bigger when she had to traverse it within a couple seconds, and she didn't appreciate having to jump over a chair. Her hand caught her as she swung around the banister and hid her body behind it as best she could, poking her head out.

With her mouth she conveyed to Iceland how much she didn't want Denmark to see her, and it eventually morphed into a rant. She was tempted to whisper her words across the space instead of just mouthing them, because the white-haired nation didn't seem to get the gist. His face stayed completely neutral. She would have thought he was ignoring her when he got up and walked off, if not for the stern warning she saw him give to his puffin, finger-wagging and all. The bird bit Iceland's finger, and he offered it a thin cracker to stay quiet.

Translations:

I dag (Norwegian): In the present

Lefse: a Norwegian "tortilla" with butter and sugar

Sådan en sød pige: Such a cute girl (Danish)

Hvem er du: Who are you? (Danish)

Fri: free (Danish)

søde drømme: Sweet dreams (Danish)