AN;;

The next chapter, finally!

Hope you enjoy~

His hands were blistered, but it had been worth it. Audun was now safely on the other side, staring the castle right in the face.

It was a grand place – its doors were many times his size. Briefly, he wondered how someone would actually get in, but he figured that it wasn't his problem. He'd never go in (or have the desire to, in any case).

The brother looked to the right of the door and rediscovered the single sprig of Lily of the Valley, begging to be plucked and carried off to Tino. Audun carefully plucked it off and was about to turn to go home.

But then he found himself with an axe by his neck. Oh, joy.

"What're you doin' here, punk?" A voice from behind him snapped. It was low, gruff and grated against his eardrums terribly. Audun fidgeted, but was stopped when the axe was pressed closer to his neck. It was suddenly very difficult to breathe.

It was best to remain stoic in these situations. Though he was reasonably frightened, Audun kept his voice level. "Getting a present. Would you be so kind as to take that away from my neck?"

Slowly, the weapon was withdrawn. When Audun attempted to turn around, the voice snapped at him. "Don't look at me, swine!"

Audun took a deep breath, but complied with the person's whims. Being decapitated wasn't a state he particularly fancied.

The voice spoke again. "Why did you think you could take something from the king's castle? Are you above us or something?"

A scoff.

This guy was taking it all too personally.

"No, I just needed one of these - for my brother, you see. No one else was growing it," Audun adjusted his hat casually, as if he were discussing the weather. He appeared calm, but his eyes were raised up in suspicion, his body tense. A madman with an axe shouldn't be messed with.

"Your… brother?"

In a moment, Audun was whirled around, now facing his attacker. He wasn't ugly or gruff looking like he had expected, just a little rugged. A hat was somehow balanced on top of his wild hair, but other than that, he seemed pretty ordinary.

The attacker narrowed his eyes and seemed to be studying Audun, muttering something over and over again. Just when Audun was starting to get uncomfortable, a metaphorical light bulb (or candle) seemed to pop above his head.

"Okay then, kid. I'ma let 'cha take that flower."

"Really now," Audun played with the bit of stray hair that always seemed to be popping out of his sailor hat.

"Yeah, I'll even let you live!"

"That's certainly a plus."

The man looked stumped for a moment, but then shook his head vigorously. "Yeah, yeah it is. But I have some conditions for youse to follow."

Audun raised an eyebrow delicately. "Oh?"

The man gave an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah! Youse gonna tell your brother to get his patootie over here. He'll be staying here for… oh, I dunno, the rest of his life. If you don't, I'ma kill you right here, right now."

For a moment, Audun didn't comprehend what he had said. He opened his mouth several times and closed it, like a beached fish. Eventually, he was able to get out something that sounded almost, but not quite like, "You… what now?"

"Yeah, and if you lie and say you'll do it but 'cha don't, I'ma kill both of 'chu. Got that?" The man stroked the blade of his axe tenderly, as if caressing a lover. It was certainly the most lethal weapon that Audun had ever seen, even moreso than his own sword. He began to reach for it, but this man was deceivingly sharp. With a savage grin, he pointed the axe at Audun's neck again. "What do you say, tough guy?"

Audun gulped, but really knew he didn't have much of a choice. Either he died, they both died, or Tino went on some sort of vacation here for all eternity or whatever. He needed one thing verified before he could really make his decision with a clear conscience. "Well, will he come to any harm? I don't want to tell my brother to come walking to his death, thank you."

"Wot wot?" The man had gotten distracted with the light reflecting off of his axe. He looked slightly dazed, smiled, and then continued, "Oh, yeah, m'sure 'e'll be fine. I certainly won't touch 'em, nup-nup." He gave a shrug. "So youse gonna get 'im here or what?"

With a slow nod, Audun sealed Tino's fate. "Yes, I will. I don't know when he'll actually be here, though. We live pretty far away."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Oi, I can gets youse there. We's got some like faster means of transportation. Come on out here, kid." The axe wielder pulled on Audun's arm, unlocked and opened the large gate, then stepped out. He made his way over to one of the little houses. Pink flowers were stuck on the walls and ivy climbed up it. It was a really pretty house, truly, but not one that Audun would expect this guy to have.

"Is this your house?" He said, sounding unimpressed.

"Wot?" The man looked stumped. "Naw, 'course not. Come on now, we's goin' in."

The two walked inside to see a blond person, staring out the window thoughtfully. Audun's escort seemed to know something that Audun didn't. "'Ey man! Wass wrong?"

The house's owner looked up, his jade eyes shimmering. "I ate a flower…." He mumbled, and it took a moment for Audun to comprehend it (he had an odd accented twang).

Audun's eye twitched. Who the hell went around eating flowers anyway? He was about to voice this, but the man with the axe broke down into insane laughter. "Again, man? Jeez!" He was clutching his sides dramatically, obviously doing it to make the green-eyed man upset.

"Hey, it's totally unfunny! Don't you laugh like that, ya' big jerk!" The owner replied. Now that his voice had grown louder, his accent was more prominent. It sounded more like a teen girl's voice than a 'man's' voice (Audun only assumed that this guy was male because the axe wielder insisted on calling him so), but Audun wasn't about to start pointing that out.

The axeman wiped away a few stray tears, then got a business-like look on his face. "Yeah yeah, Feliks. Anyway, I need your wagon and some of your horses. You good with that?" He asked, his casual speaking pattern abandoned for the time being.

The man called Feliks puffed out his cheeks. Something seemed to be bugging him, but he wasn't making it clear as to what it was. "Ugh, fine. Just don't hurt my ponies, okay?" He blew a stray hair out of his face. "Anyway, what do you, like, need them for? It's totes not cool to just go and take them without telling me why, you know?"

With a nonchalant shrug, axeman motioned towards Audun. "I need to get this kid back to town and make a switcheroo. He stole one of the king's flowers, ya' know."

Feliks' mouth dropped. "He did what? What a total dumbass!" The man began to laugh shrilly.

Axeman wasn't laughing with him.

"You're one to talk, dumbass." He smirked as Feliks' laughter was cut off. "Anyway, we'll be going now. Have fun with flower-eating." A wave, and then he dragged Audun out of the house, making his way around back. Axeman nonchanlantly hitched up the little wagon that Feliks owned, coaxing two brown ponies to the axle. He then threw some hay in the cart, reined the ponies, and jumped on himself. "Go on, get movin'!" He shouted at the 'steeds', which reluctantly began to trot forward.

They eventually made their way back into the marketplace section of the town. As he wasn't in a rush, Audun was able to look at things pass by. There was a man wearing a weird hat (almost like a towel) apparently selling "things."

"Things! Get your… things…!" He called out uncertainly to the people meandering through the marketplace. Audun would have disregarded him, but he caught Eirik by him, chatting as if they were good friends. Oh, that was peachy, wasn't it?

He looked to his left and saw the clothing store. The seller from before was pawing through his wears, but looked up when the wagon passed by. "Matthias! What's happenin', bro?" He called obnoxiously, waving his oversized sleeve in the process.

"Nothin' much, man! Just gonna take a sidetrip to the village, that's all," Axeman replied energetically. Audun blinked – he wasn't 'Axeman,' he was 'Matthias' - but didn't offer any other sign of emotion.

The clothing seller raised an eyebrow, but waved him on. "'K! Be back before nighttime!"

Audun allowed himself to ponder. Every person in the area seemed to be simply obsessed with being inside by night. It didn't make sense for the marketplace people to be so paranoid about it though – their town looked fine. No walls surrounded it either, so it wasn't like they had protection.

Bored, Audun looked to the right and saw the wolves in the pens. Perhaps these wolves weren't the things terrorizing the village. Perhaps they were helping the marketplace by scaring off the wild animals.

He cradled his chin in his hand. Then how come the village didn't use wolves? Surely someone could afford them – they had built that enormous wall, in any case.

The logic of everyone here seemed to be messed up. Figuring that he'd get a headache if he tried to sympathize with them any longer, Audun curled up on the hay and fell asleep.

"Hey kid, wake up… wake up!"

Audun whimpered, but opened an eye.

Oh look, crazy Axeman. Just who he wanted to see at... whatever time of day this was. He groaned and turned around, sitting up slowly.

"Yeah yeah, kid. Just get up, will 'ya?"

Audun aimed a glare at Matthias who, amazingly, shrunk back a little bit. "I'm up. Happy yet?" Audun snapped, pushing himself off the cart as he did so. "I suppose you want me to get my brother?"

"Yeah, unless you want an axe through your neck."

Audun hmph'ed and went up to the gate, forgetting how difficult it was to be heard. He felt around his person and found that he'd kept the lily of the valley on his person, so he took it out. Clearing his throat, he turned his head up to the sky. "Hellooooo. It's Audunnnn," he called in a long, not so loud, and emotionless voice.

Matthias shuddered. Scary.

Amazingly, someone heard him. The gate was opened slowly as it always was, and Audun walked straight on through. He saw that Toris was the one on duty for the moment. "Hello. Can you keep the door open? Tino's going to leave soon."

Confusion flickered across Toris' face, but he didn't question him. "All right then."

Audun walked into Cousin Roderich's house, noting that Tino was standing up, casually eating... something. He glanced up at the sound of the door, and practically lit up when he saw Audun.

"Oh Audun! How was shopping?" Tino stood up. "Erm, where are the clothes?"

Audun blinked. Crap. Where were the clothes? He'd most certainly bought them, but he couldn't find them anywhere…. Maybe they were in the cart…? No, he hadn't remembered putting them there.

Now that he thought of it, he realized that he'd probably put them down to jump the fence. That was just perfect. "Er, I lost them, but I got you this!" Audun stammered uncharacteristically, holding out the flower as he did so.

Any disappointment about clothing was forgotten. "Oh boy! Thanks so much Audun!" Tino held it to his chest. "These are the prettiest flowers that I've ever seen! How much were they? Couldn't have been cheap…."

Audun felt a pang in his stomach. He couldn't just say 'your eternal soul,' could he? Gently, he took Tino's hand and led him outside. If he just explained it to him rationally, maybe he'd take it well. With a shaky sigh, Audun faced Tino. A look of confusion was plastered across the younger brother's face, but he still appeared generally overjoyed about the entire getting his flower business.

Shuddering, Audun broke it to Tino. "Look, you'll have to go to the marketplace on your own. Forever. For as long as they tell you to."

A blink. "Um, why? What happened, Audun?" Tino bit his nail and gave his brother a concerned look. Such was Tino's personality – if he were cut open and bleeding on the floor, he'd jump up and freak out if someone else so much as stubbed their toe.

"Well, I went into the flower stall, but I couldn't find your flower. When I complained to the shop keeper – the guy you met, of course - he told me to check out the king's garden. I hopped his fence—"

"You trespassed?"

Audun sighed. "Yes, yes I did. Anyway, I went into his garden—"

"Trespassed…."

"Yes, and I took your lily of the valley right there—"

"You mean you stole it."

Audun pinched his nose. "Look, let me finish, okay? So I borrowed the flower without asking and then I had an axe up to my neck. Some guy harassed me until he said I could keep the flower and go without punishment, but he'd have to have you in return."

Tino made a face. "Why me, though? It's kinda creepy, if you think about it. Isn't it?" Though he was clearly unnerved by the situation at hand, it seemed like Tino was remarking on a battle that he'd only heard about. He seemed so detached from that entire 'oh some guy is basically kidnapping you and we might not see each other again' thing.

Audun's eyes softened. "He promised that you'd be safe. I don't know why he wants you, but I promise to visit you as often as I'm ab—."

"Hey! Who said I was going?" Tino huffed, his hands on his hips (like a girl). He almost looked menacing.

Almost.

"W-well…." Audun stammered. He hadn't counted on Tino declining. Maybe his brother had become slightly more selfish over the years? At a loss for words, Audun bowed his head.

He raised it again when he heard Tino laughing.

"I'm just kidding, jeez! If you were to die getting something for me, I don't know what I'd do!" Tino clutched the flower, looking his brother straight in the eye. "It can't be that bad, either. If I'm not gonna get hurt there, then I don't see any real disadvantages. Any way you slice it, me being in that marketplace for who-knows-how-long is better than you being killed." Tino gave his brother a good-natured smile and a big hug.

Audun was at a loss for words again. This kid had to be some sort of kindred spirit or something – no other person that he'd ever met was so selfless and kind. Trying not to cry (how unseemly!), Audun wrapped his arms around his brother. "Don't hurt yourself, okay? Be careful and don't get into any trouble." He squeezed him tightly, then let go. "There's a cart with Axeman outside the village gate. Go with him, he shouldn't hurt you."

Tino nodded. "Okay then, I'll see you soon!" He tossed a wave over his shoulder and walked out the still-open front gate, smiling at Axeman when he saw him.

"You that kid's brother?" Axeman drawled, patting a place on the cart where Tino could sit down. The younger brother hoisted himself up and planted himself on a bale of hay.

"Uh-huh! I'm Tino. I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other now?" Tino reclined, bracing himself against the bitter wind. "Nice animals, by the way. Cute," he motioned towards the ponies.

"Actually, I don't think we'll be together a lot. You'll be living in a castle, see? By rule, I don't go in there too much. Too stuffy," Axeman snorted. "Anyways, I'm Matthias. You're much nicer than your brother, you know."

Tino picked at the hay and looked at the road ahead of him, still clutching his lily of the valley. He stared off into space, happy that he didn't have to walk to the marketplace. He sure wished that he had a cart – going to their village would have been much easier.

The wind ruffled his hair and tugged at his hat. Tino gripped it with his free hand and smiled at Matthias. "Really, now? I think I'll be out often, though. I don't really like staying indoors all day," he rocked back and forth slightly. "And if you say so, but I think that Audun's nicer than me on occasion."

Another scoff from Matthias. "Whatever, kid," he said gruffly, his eyes narrowing. Tino was about to question, but decided to bite his tongue on this one. Maybe Audun had been rude to him. Maybe certain people just rubbed Matthias the wrong way.

He tried to change the topic. "What's it like in the marketplace, anyway? I don't know if you've been told, but me and my brother are really new to the area. I've certainly never been there," he said idly, for the sake of having conversation.

Matthias huffed. Idle conversation was boring. "It's bustling, loud, and obnoxious. Hope you like it," he said, intending to carry on the rest of the trip in silence.

"Really? Sounds like fun!" Tino grinned. "I'm sure I'll be fine there, as long as I can see Audun every so often," he continued talking, ruthlessly shattering Matthias' desires for a silent trip. "Anyway, you know the attacks on our village? Do you guys get them too? They seem to be really bad, I mean I've never seen one happen, but still…" he trailed off a little bit, trying to think of more things to say. "Well, I guess I have, actually. Me and Audun were almost attacked when we were walking here," he babbled, knowing that this was a potentially good topic.

Matthias had taken up ignoring him. Maybe adopting the king's speaking habits would make this kid shut up. "Is that so?" Matthias asked, bored.

"Yup! We were fine though – Audun had a sword! And I kinda had a stick which couldn't do much, but I bet I scared a wolf off like that. They don't know how harmless sticks are, right?" Tino began to laugh.

Ugh. If anything it egged this kid on. Matthias was beginning to get very annoyed.

"Yup," he said shortly, trying to get across that he wasn't going to talk much.

Tino was oblivious to the hint that Matthias kept trying to give him. "We got away without getting hurt at all! I swear, mankind can do anything that we put our mind to!"

Matthias tried to get the horses (ponies) to go a bit faster. Yes… they were almost there. Just a few more minutes of this torture…!

He blocked out most of Tino's voice, but a few phrases would occasionally jump out.

"So this one time, me and my doggie Hana Tamago were rolling down our hill…."

"And then Eirik just ran away from us! I swear, sometimes Audun's just so…."

"…makes such good food! I wonder why she doesn't cook more…."

"This is my favourite flower, you know!..."

"Some crazy guy chased us out of his private garden! How funny is that?..."

"I hope trolls don't live in these forests. Maybe it's not just wild animals…."

"Hey! Is that the market?"

Matthias was jolted out of his partially dead state. Oh thank the gods. He urged the ponies onward and made it inside the market. He took him to the back of it and parked the cart by the gate.

For once, Tino felt a sharp twang of fear. Something didn't feel right about the castle – it was too big looking… too…

…he couldn't place his finger on it. Something was terribly off about it, but he couldn't decide what….

With anticipation, the young brother huddled in the cart and pulled his flower close to his chest, his new home looming over him.

AN:/

I need to stop prolonging these chapters. I'm sorry. Dx

Anyway, I think this is the very last somewhat exposition chapter, but I hope you liked it anyway. Not many Viking references were in this one, which made me really sad.

Thank you all for your kind reviews, and please point out mistakes/suggestions/whatever as you see fit.

Thank you so much for reading!

-Sweet