Ferðin út ljósin (Journey beyond the lights)

Chapter 9

  Emil sighed to himself, knowing why he was thinking of that time eleven years ago. Once again the Northern Lights were no where to be seen. They hadn't been in the sky for at least a week now. By this time, throughout the eleven years Emil had grown used to them disappearing. The only time they seemed to be in the sky was when he was really happy about something, but with all the anxiety that clouded his mind it seemed a rare occasion nowadays.

  He remembered how happy he had been the day the other Nordics had saved him. Not only did he get to go back home but they had agreed to let Emil keep Mr Puffin. Emil didn't know if any fight had gone on between his family and Arthur's crew, and it hadn't mattered to him. His brothers were okay and they were going home.

  The Aurora Borealis had been out that night. Emil remembered how proud he felt thinking he had found it. But thinking back on it, he couldn't believe he had thought the natural phenomenon had gotten lost. It seemed so stupid to him now.

  "Emil?" Lukas asked, peaking his head into his little brothers room. Emil was sitting by the window, staring up at the sky. The stars were out but no dancing lights. But Lukas didn't notice any of that, he only looked at his younger brother who seemed to be pretty bummed out about something.

  Emil turned away from the window, looking over to his brother. He hummed a bit in question, wordlessly asking what his brother had come here for. Not that he minded his brothers presence, it's just that he never did anything without a purpose.

  "Are you alright?" Lukas couldn't help but ask. He had noticed Emil had been in a sort of mood recently, Emil knew Lukas had picked up on it. It didn't matter how much he tried to hide stuff from Lukas, it never worked.

  "I'm fine." Emil told him, not wanting his older brother to worry. Plus Emil was fine, or at least that is what he kept telling himself. Worrying about every thing he did or was about to do did not make him fine. Neither did the emptiness inside make him okay.

  "Do I need to eat your sadness?" Matthias asked as he pushed past Lukas. The Dane ran into the room and Emil couldn't help but crack a smile. Every time Matthias offered to eat his sadness Emil couldn't help it as a small smile made its way to his face. Matthias had said he had magic, but it was eating sadness. He would pretend to eat all the sadness in the room until Emil finally broke out in fits of laughter because of how stupid the Dane looked.

  "No, it's fine." Emil said shifting in his chair to look at the two properly. As he did so, Matthias came towards him, a giant grin plastered across his face. As soon as Emil saw the grin, he knew that nothing good could come from it.

  "Hunger!" Matthias declared, his arms in the air as if he was about to smash something like the Hulk. But instead he picked Emil up and threw him into the bed. Emil couldn't help but let out a small squeak.

  He didn't have much time before Matthias started to advance. He tried to get away, but all attempts were useless. Before Emil knew it, Matthias' hand were on his sides tickling him. Emil couldn't help it as his laughter escaped. He was as ticklish as a child.

  Matthias continued to tickle the Icelander. Emil was laughing, trying to push Matthias away. But Matthias was stronger than him. There was no hope.

  "Dane, stop." Emil pleaded. Tears were in his eyes from how hard he was laughing. Matthias didn't stop there though. He lifted Emil's shirt, put his mouth on the others soft skin and blew, letting fake fart noises fill the air and mix with Emil's laughter. "Ew no. That's gross." Emil said still trying to push the Dane away.

  "Dane stop." Lukas said. His words fell on deaf ears. Matthias was too distracted to hear Lukas. Lukas raised his voice before repeating himself. But there was still no sign as to the fact that Matthias was listening.

  Sighing slightly, Lukas walked over to the two. He grabbed hold of Matthias' tie, pulling him away from his younger brother. Emil caught his breath once free, while Matthias struggled to pull in air. But it wasn't for long, Lukas knew how long Matthias could hold his breath without passing out.

  "Look." Lukas told the two, pointing to the window. Neither of them had noticed it, but the Northern Lights had finally come out to play. Emil couldn't help but stare.

  "Oh let's go!" Matthias said getting up and lifting Emil up over his shoulder. He left the room and ran down the stairs, heading for the door. He made sure to be more careful than he usually was, not wanting to hurt Emil.

  "Where are you going?" Tino asked peaking into the entryway. He had heard Matthias' footsteps coming down the stairs, a bit heavier than usual, along with Emil's protests. Emil didn't mind the idea of going outside, it was more of him wanting to be put down.

  "Outside. The lights are out." Matthias said not bothering to put on his shoes. It was June, so the weather was nice and warm. It hadn't rained in the past few days so Matthias knew the ground would be dry.

  As soon as he was outside and in the middle of the yard, he finally put the Icelander down. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice the smile that was on Emil's face as he looked up at the sky. The teen looked happy, truly happy. Matthias was overjoyed to see the smile on Emil's face. He hadn't seen it in a while.

  Lukas couldn't help it as the smallest bit of a smile made its way to his face. He silently watched his brother, glad to see him this way. But as he looked at Emil, and they way he looked at the lights he couldn't help but have a creeping suspicion. One that he was determined to prove.