Canada held tightly onto the sides of the tray he was bringing to Norway. He wasn't intending to stay long; Norway seemed to have gone off the deep end and it was kind of frightening. A lot frightening, actually.

He unlocked the door and stepped in.

What he saw really worried him: Norway, sitting on the ground, looking at the ring of blood that surrounded him as if he had no idea where it had come from. There were streaks of blood on the wall, but they had been there for some time.

Norway looked up, blinking at the sudden light. He looked haggard; there were dark circles under his eyes and his cheek bones stuck out too far. (Canada did bring food several times a day, but sometimes Norway, in in his state, went days without eating.) The way he sat made it look like he had an extra shadow.

Canada set the tray down and turned around.

"Vinland! Stay!"

Without thinking, Canada turned back around. That had been the voice of command, and it was not to be reckoned with.

He climbed down the stairs and sat on a nearby box.

"Ah. Vinland, you've grown up." He studied Canada.

Canada watched Norway. There seemed to be something wrong with his eyes; they weren't the same color: no longer blue, but red. It was really creepy. "I'm going to go now…" He stood.

Norway grabbed his wrist. Goodness, but he was strong. "You will not." Cold fingers pushed Canada's sleeve up. "Yes, I thought you had tried it, too."

Canada wrenched his wrist away, tugging on his sleeve.

"There's no need to be ashamed. We've all tried it." Norway tugged his own sleeve up. Three parallel scars ran across his wrist. "Rather, Lukas tired it that way. But it didn't work."

"What are you talking about?"

"We've all tried to get away from this world. It is the nature of immortal things, is it not? But it doesn't work, not for us." Norway pointed to a very faint scar across his throat. "I tried it too. Even this did not work. I knew it wouldn't, but I had to try, didn't I?"

"Wh-who are you? This is not how Norway acts!"

"I believe you mean, 'This is not how Lukas acts.' I am Sigmund."

"I don't underst-"

"What is there to understand? I am merely Norway's better half, more experienced in the types of magic Lukas will not use, braver, stronger, better."

"But-"

"You disappoint me, Vinland. Still, it is not your fault. If I had been allowed to raise you…well, you would be a much different person."

"Who is this 'Vinland'?"

"Silly boy. Doesn't know his own name." Norway (Sigmund?) shook his head. "Still, you were quite young when we found you, perhaps too young for you to remember. It's a shame we had to leave. Lukas thought it a good idea- and this was probably his only good idea, mind you -to protect you. And that's why-"

"Nobody noticed me!" Holy maple syrup!

A change seemed to come over Norway. His eyes changed color, going from red to green (an even greener green than England's eyes), and his facial expression went from haughty to playfully flirty.

"Ignore him. He's crazy."

Canada wasn't sure what to say. He was pretty sure that having three personalities was crazy, though. "Who are you?"

"Erik." He winked. Shocking!

"What are you?"

"I am the third side of Norway's currently fractured personality. You might say that I'm the fun one." Another wink.

"But how-?"

"Sigmund was created long ago, when Lukas stopped using blood magic. I am a more recent addition to the voices in Norway's head. Anyway, Lukas locked Sigmund away using this device." An image of a cross pin floated above Norway's hand. "When it was lost, Sigmund was able to take over."

"I-I really need to talk to Lukas."

"I'm afraid his not here right now. But I wouldn't mind talking to you." Another wink.

"Wh- when will he be…back?"

Norway shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. Perhaps next time you come here. Of course, I'm sure I could keep you entertained until he does return…"

"Um…no, I really need to go…I hope you enjoy the food…" He practically ran up the stairs.

"If you stayed, that's not all I would enjoy."

Canada locked the basement door behind him.

A/N: If you wanted to know, Sigmund is loosely based off my boyfriend's personality. Thankfully, my boyfriend doesn't use blood magic (at least, I don't think he does). Erik could also be called Flirty!Norway. I think I'll have to write some less serious stories involving those two.

And yes, Erik is totally hitting on Canada.