Grumbling like a common – if rouge – man king Berwald certainly was hard to understand. He had not actually said he wanted to marry Tino, had he? Curiosity took a better hold of him and forced Tino to look up despite his fear, only to be greeted by the same stern face and deadly glare with no humor in his eyes. Luckily though, Berwald was now looking at the Finnish king instead.

Raimo appeared just as baffled as the Swedish soldiers behind him; clearly this had not been the proposed plan. Trying to keep calm Raimo bit his tongue until he felt his rage cool off, and in his turn the queen spoke.

"You use the word son, King Berwald, so you must be aware that my son Prince Tino is male", she said wisely. "You cannot expect to marry him." Berwald's face remained unchanged, but when he looked on Tino again the poor prince had to look away – fearing he would further embarrass the Finnish monarchy with another scream of horror if he did otherwise.

That he wouldn't be allowed to marry a prince seemed like a non issue for the Swedish king. "I can", he grunted. "N' I will. If ya want yer people t'live." Tino blinked; so all it took for him to save his kinship was to marry the frightening king? But no, he knew it was an impossibility. Even though he wanted to he wouldn't be able to marry a man he couldn't look upon without freezing in fear, and something told him being alone with Berwald would not make things easier for him.

He wanted to say "I refuse", proudly as a prince, but his father beat him to it.

"Absolutely not!" he said. "I will not let my son commit such a sin – such an abomination – with a worshipper of Satan!" Those were harsh words spoken, words that silenced the whole room until the sound of Berwald's heavy steps started echoing instead as he advanced towards the throne. The closer he got, the further down Raimo sunk in his throne, until he realized it would look ridiculous if he slid down further and remained still. Tino was watching the scene by peaking up, with his face paled almost as much as his cold sweating father.

"I am not as young as my son", the queen spoke suddenly. "And I am no virgin. But marry me instead; I can satisfy a man and I will do anything for my wedded husband. I can be a fair queen of the Swedish people." Tino was well aware of his mother's beauty – her fair blonde hair and violet-blue eyes were envied by many, coupled with her fair skin and proud stature. Never before had Tino felt such pride over his mother as when she stood up for her husband and all of Finland's people with a selfless sacrifice.

Tino had inherited his looks after his mother – the skin, the hair and the eyes all rivaled her beauty – but Berwald was a man so he must prefer a woman over him still. It was probably terribly selfish of Tino to wish for his mother to marry Berwald, but he couldn't help thinking it was the best solution. He did not wish to go to hell by being forced into marriage with the devil worshipping king.

It almost seemed like Berwald was contemplating the offer of the Finnish queen, but he suddenly drew his sword instead and pointed it directly under Raimo's chin, poking his neck cruelly. "I want yer son", he said. "N' no one else."

As soon as his sword was drawn the Finnish guards leapt towards him in an attack, but even though they outnumbered the Swedish troop with six people they were brutally defeated. Tino's eyes couldn't help but fix themselves in fear towards the sword pointed towards his father's neck, but he heard war cries and the clash of swords behind him well enough to realize that his guards were no more. In the chaos, no one had noticed the queen slipping away from her throne.

Upon the defeat of his guards Raimo seemed to understand that all hope was lost. He would die – that was what he thought. But he would not die by selling his son like a whore to the perverted king of a godless nation, so defiantly he glared at Berwald. "You will not have my son", he spoke and awaited a thrust of the sword through his neck – adding another soul to Berwald's conscience – but the thrust never came. Instead he heard his son yelp again, and both kings turned to see Tino taken hostage by the Finnish queen with a sword to her neck.

"If you kill my husband then I will kill my son", she shouted to Berwald, who for once seemed a bit lost. His eyes were still frightful, but he was not frowning anymore. "He will be dead before sinning against God."

Mother, don't, Tino wanted to say. He did not wish to die, even if the other alternative was living with king Berwald. Around them lay the corpses of Finnish soldiers, and he could only think of how little he wished to be one of them, even if it meant sinning. As far as he could see, there was only one option, so he reached out his hand and grabbed his mother's wrist.

"If you kill me you will be sent to hell", he told his mother, who looked down on him with puzzled eyes. "Let me hold my own life ransom instead." She would argue, but this was no time, so she let him take sword instead. Berwald's eyes still stared at him, but seemed even more concerned now as Tino had held the sword under his chin.

"K-king Berwald", he spoke, trying to sound as strong as his parents but failing. He did not have the conviction they did, and he valued his life more than his kingdom – what a child he was. "Don't kill my father." Here it was, he thought and dropped the sword hesitantly, raising his hands but not his head. "I will give myself to you." He hated uttering those words, but it was the only chance to keep himself alive – at least that was how he saw it. It was also enough to make Berwald sheath his sword, as both of the Finnish monarchs stared at their son with wide eyes, believing their hearing deceived them.

With his sword sheathed Berwald walked down the dais towards Tino, whom he reached before the queen could. "Capture 'em", he ordered his troops who quickly advanced and seized the last King and Queen of Finland. "Ya'll live", he said. "N' serve in a lord's castle. Finland is now Swedish territory." Tino gulped when a large hand was placed on his shoulder, no doubt belonging to the king he still did not look up at.

"Cap'n Wikström."

"Yes, my king?" one of the soldiers – the captain of them – spoke and stepped out of the line.

"'Tis now yer principality", Berwald decided. "I'll arrange the documents."

"T-thank you my king! Long live King Berwald the Great!" The former Finnish queen's "tsk" was well heard, and caused her and her husband to be gagged before they were forced outside, to their new lives presumably.

For whatever reason, Berwald gave Tino's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "I'll speak to th'people", he said. "Ya'll go to yer room and pack what ya want to bring to Drottningholm." Tino was well aware that Drottningholm was the Swedish palace, and certainly, his new home.

Before he was given a chance to reply, or react to the fact that the king had spoken to him, Berwald left his side and two Swedish soldiers surrounded him and forced him to pack his most precious belongings in his room. He asked for privacy and was told he had five minutes. He used those minutes well, by crying onto his bed for the last time he would ever sleep on it. He prayed to God disaster would meet with Berwald before the wedding; he would rather be a slave than his wedded partner. It felt hopeless though, and he regretted his action of selfishly selling his parents out. Had he waited, perhaps Berwald wouldn't have killed his father at all, and they would have reached a compromise. But no, he had offered himself like a common slut.

His cries were disturbed when the soldiers entered and told him that time was up, so he was forced to pack his items. A cross passed down from his grandmother, a dagger from his mother's time as a noble and a teddy from his time as a child in the palace; those were the items he treasured the most. The teddy was added very discreetly as he felt embarrassed by it, and heard the guards snicker when he placed it in the bag which they picked up and carried after he had packed his clothes as well.

Surely the guards weren't allowed to kill him, Tino guessed, so as the three walked he took a chance with a question. "I'm sorry, but you cannot honestly approve of a marriage between two men", he said out loud. "It's against God." The soldier before him chuckled, but it was the one who walked behind him who replied.

"If our king cared about God then we wouldn't just as puny as Finland", he said. "Our king is more powerful than a God. Haven't ya heard? The first thing our king did was burn ten churches, and we've never lost a war."

More powerful than God, Tino thought, scared more than ever of his soon-to-be husband. Was that even possible? But after having looked into the man's eyes he was sure, more so than ever, that if God feared any man it was king Berwald.