A Waltz in the Dark (Norway + OC Hetalia fanfiction)

Chapter 10

    Norway sat on his bed in his pajamas, which consisted of sweatpants and a white tank top. He sighed, staring at the leather-bond book in front of him which looked eerie in the yellow light of his lone lamp.
    “A-am I this desperate?” he whispered, scratching his ear. His gaze was locked on the book and he couldn’t pull away. He hadn’t seen it in decades.
    “Nei, I can’t do this,” he mumbled, shaking his head. He shut his eyes for a brief second.
    “For Valhalla!” he roared, swinging his sword down.
    Norway inhaled quickly     and opened his eyes, his muscles going taunt. He grabbed the book and opened it.
    Just the feeling of the old book in his hands relaxed him. He opened it and looked through the Old Norse runes which he could still read fluently. He turned the page and sparks momentarily flashed above the pages. Norway’s fingers shook from the thrill and he found himself smiling.
    After all this time, he still craved magic.
    His smile fell and he lowered the book.
    “I yust need a spell to get rid of nightmares,” he whispered, closing his eyes. He lifted his arm, took a deep breath, and swung his hand above the book. He looked, and the magic book had opened to one of the last pages. He read the instructions the pages contained and then nodded. Picking up the book, he closed his eyes, and then spoke the spell. He could feel the magic in the air vibrating as he spoke, and he relished the feeling of power it gave him.
    Few knew that magic existed. It was in the air, just like oxygen. Even fewer could see it. It was an invisible force, a spiritual force, if you will. And even fewer could control it.
    Norway was the strongest of the gifted. He always had been.
    He opened his eyes and slammed the book shut, quickly standing and putting it back on the bottom shelf of his bookshelf.
    “Time for bed,” he mumbled, shutting off the lamp and scrambling under the sheets, closing his eyes tightly.
    It didn’t take long for him to drift off.



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    Norway’s ship was the fastest in all of Europe. The wooden vessel they chased didn’t stand a chance.
    His frown only deepened as he turned the helm, causing his boat to slam into the side of the other. The wood of both ships groaned and the cold, sea water sprayed across the deck.
    “Shall ve seize their ship, Jarl Lukas?” one of his men cried. Norway looked across his viking crew, all of them brandishing weapons and staring at the helpless ship lustfully.
    “Let them destroy her. And then she and all of Scandinavia will know not to cross you.”
    “Nei,” Norway said, both to his spirit and his crew. “I vill board. You vill stay here and keep our ships aligned until I give further orders.”
    Norway walked up to the main mast and scaled it easily. When he reached the top, he balanced on the wooden beam and drew his sword, severing one of the ropes from the mast and yanking it to make sure it was secure. And then he leapt from the beam, falling for a moment before yanking forward. He released the rope and soared through the air, landing gracefully on both feet in the middle of the other ships deck.
    He stood up straight and looked around. The deck of the ship was empty, all the inhabitants obviously taking cover below. But he heard the creak of the helm and turned to look.
    And there she was, both hands on the wheel, staring out into the distance.
    Norway glared at her as he walked up the stairs of the poop deck, but she didn’t look at him until he stood beside her.
    Her piercing, dark blue eyes seemed to look straight into the depths of his soul. Her waist length graying-blond hair whipped around her shoulders wildly. The chilling north wind seemed stronger now, cutting through the thickness of his clothes and chilling his bones. His limbs shook, but not from the cold. Her stance was firm and defiant. She wasn’t scared of him.
    She had never been scared of him.
    “I don’t understand, Aud,” he said. “But perhaps you can explain it to me. You are Aud the Deepminded, are you not?”
    She didn’t reply.
    “I know that you are headed West,” he pointed his sword at her neck, “to the islands ve have both heard so much about. But you aren’t going to conquer or plunder.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re going to settle! To convert!”
    “Ja,” she replied, quietly.
    “You vanted to get there first,” he growled, “before me.”
    “Ja, I did,” she said, staring at him fiercely. Norway’s anger abated when she looked back out onto the distance silently.
    Confusion took it’s place.
    He slowly lowered his sword.
    “Vhy?” he asked. This was Aud— Aud the Deepminded. Aud, the most powerful woman of the century. Aud, his most loyal confidant.
    “I don’t understand, Aud,” he said, a little bit more hesitantly. “I thought… I thought ve vere friends. Vhy are you doing this? Don’t you remember that it vas I who raised you to this position of power? And this is vhat I get in return?” his anger returned in a rush of adrenaline. “Betrayal?”
    Aud sighed and shut her eyes for a brief moment.
    “Lukas…” She shook her head and smiled slightly, “Lukas the Unsmiling… Norway,” she turned away from the helm to face him head on. “I can’t allow your territory to grow. That’s why I had to go West first. Call it betrayal if you like, but I couldn’t let you go and spread your madness to this new land, too.”
    “Madness? Madness?” he repeated, his scowl deepening. “All of the madness is vith you, Aud, not me.”
    “Nei,” she said, firmly but calmly, “You are persecuting those who believe in truth. That is madness, Norway.”
    “You mean the Truth you have found in the God of the White Cross?” Norway said, gripping his sword tightly.
    “Ja,” she replied quietly.
    “What she believes isn’t truth!” his ghost exclaimed. “Their god is weak! They’re trying to destroy your kingdom with their peace-preaching!”
    “Your god is veak,” he snapped, pointing his sword at her. “And your god is dead! Don’t deny it, I’ve heard enough about your religion to know that you believe your god died by crucifixion!”
    “I don’t deny it, Norway, because He did die.”
    “Vhat god allows himself to die?”
    “A God that loved the world so much, he gave His One and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not die, but have eternal life,” she quoted softly. “And He didn’t stay dead, Norway. He defeated death. He is alive!”
    Norway hesitated. Aud stared into his eyes and he stared back.
    “Don’t listen to her! She’s trying to convert you to her religion, trying to turn you away from your goal. If you stop her here, you will have the largest kingdom in the world!”
    Norway shook his head and his gaze hardened.
    “No, there is no vay back from death,” he said. “Your religion is fraud.”
    Her eyes narrowed.
    “Did your spirit tell you that?” she said, coldly. Norway was taken aback momentarily.
    “You can’t continue to listen to him, Norway,” she went on. “And you can’t continue to use magic. It is blackening your soul, leading you down a dark road from which soon there will be no return. Come back to the light while you still can! It wasn’t too late for me, and it’s not too late for you, either. Just renounce your magic and ways of darkness. Repent!”
    Norway glared at her.
    “My spirit has taught me much and magic has helped me become the most powerful land in the known vorld,” he growled. “If you think I vill give that up because you fear for my soul, you’re veaker than I thought.”
    “But don’t you see? It has turned you into a power-hungry fiend!” she cried, her hands clenching into fists. “Your magic is treacherous! Your spirit is evil!”
    “Nei, it’s not! Vhat do you know about it, anyvay?” Norway exclaimed.
    “I know what my God has said in His Word! In the first book written by the apostle John,” she said, her voice raising, “it says, ‘Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is even now already in the world.’”
    “Lies! Lies! The God of the White Cross doesn’t exist! She is trying to persuade you to join her! She’s trying to make you weak! Jesus was a man and was killed like any other man! And she deserves the same fate! Kill her! Kill her now! Kill her!!”
    The spirit was screaming so loudly in his head that Norway couldn’t focus on anything else. He dropped his sword and grabbed his head.
    “Silence! Silence!” he screeched, but the spirit kept shouting for him to pick up his sword and kill her.
    “What my Lord God has said is true!” Aud exclaimed, “May this forever onward, however long your kingdom lasts, be proof that in you is the spirit of the antichrist! And now, begone, sorcerer, demon, whatever you are! Get off of my ship and may I never see you again!” Norway managed to look at Aud, but her gaze was hard.
    “Aud?” he whispered, the weight of her words sinking in.
    “Strike her down! Kill her now!”
    He began to tremble.
    “Aud, vait, I— I’m not—“
    “Go! Yust go!” she said, turning back toward the wheel. “I don’t want to have anything to do with magic, evil spirits, or you! Now get off my ship!”
    Norway grabbed his sword and then ran, summoning the magic in the air as he leapt from the side of her boat. The magic whirled beneath him, carrying him safely back to his ship. He landed and collapsed to his knees, wincing. The spirit still screamed in his mind. He looked at his hands. And magic was just too easy to control.
    “Jarl? Jarl Lukas?” his crew swarmed around him, helping him to his feet. He looked back at the ship behind him. Aud still stood at the wheel, her back facing him.
    “Raise the sails,” he gasped, trying to keep himself together, “Turn the ship around. We’re… we’re going home.”



   
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    Norway opened his eyes as the dream ended and tears rolled down the sides of his face. He sat up and wiped the wetness from his eyes, pulling his legs up to his chest.
    “You never let me explain, Aud,” he whispered, shutting his eyes and placing his forehead on his knees, “I’m not a sorcerer. I’m not a demon. I yust… control… magic. Am I evil because of that? Am I unforgivable? Am I?”
    Even after centuries of being a Christian nation, he still didn’t know the answer. And it haunted him.
    He took a deep, quaking breath and let it out slowly.
    “The spell didn’t vork,” he realized, sighing frustratedly.
    “Of course it didn’t.” Shivers flowed down Norway’s back. “I haven’t waited all these centuries just to be defeated by a simple spell.”
    “Leave me, spirit!” Norway cried out, putting his arms over his head.
    The ghost just laughed and appeared before his eyes, standing in front of the mirror and smiling sadistically.
    “And it’s funny, you know— you did accept the God of the White Cross and even gave up your magic for a time. But yet, here you are, still sitting in the darkness with me…”
    “I said leave me!” Norway said again, his voice cracking. He opened his eyes, and the ghost and his voice was gone.