Crimson Clover

Chapter 1

He had to get away from here.

There was no choice, really. He couldn't go back now, not after telling off the man who thought of himself as the king of everyone he knew. It was foolish of him to call the man names and threaten to kill the men that lived under his rule as people with much greater opportunities in life than those who lived under different rules and having to suffer, wondering if they could survive the day every morning they wake up.

But that wasn't what pushed the limits of the male nation who now slumped down on the ground as soon as he saw a cave and pushing himself in. He shivered slightly at the cold, his eyes wide with terror at what he had just seen what seemed like only moments ago as he put down the bundle he was carrying the whole way. He looked out the cave with his blue irises, noticing the crimson trail he left behind him, and bit his lips, hoping the snow would be generous enough to cover up his tracks.

"Is he going to find us…?" The sudden voice caused the panting nation to turn his attention away from the trail. With a gentle, fake smile, he shook his head, attempting to look as if he was certain of his answer. The owner of the voice didn't seem convinced, and the man frowned at that, pulling over the fallen part of the cloth over the bundle's head.

"Does it still hurt?" The man asked instead, attempting to change the topic, to ease the bundle's fear as much as possible. He scanned over the little one, his eyes catching the blood that seeped through the rags, and after the small bundle shook his head in response strongly, nodded back. "You're doing well, Ice."

Iceland nodded hesitantly, biting back the pain on the left side of his lower waist. The older nation knew the answer he received was a flat out lie, but decided to let it go. Iceland knew when he really needed to tell he was in pain; he was quite mature for his age. No. The older nation shook his head. That was not it. He knew the younger boy was only masking his innocence, acting calm and mature to protect himself.

"Nor-nii…" The small bundle spoke again, and the man only responded with a glance to the small one. "What was that…? What happened…?"

Norway closed his eyes and sighed, trying to gather his own thoughts on the event. His hands were shaking as he placed his face in the palms, his knees pulling close to his chest. The younger country watched in worry as Norway curled up into a shaking ball.

"…Nor-nii…?" No response. "Nor-nii, it's okay." The small boy whimpered as he wiggled out of the rags that kept him warm and hugged the older nation tightly, the best he could with his short arms, resulting in clinging to Norway's leg instead. "It's not your fault. It's meanie Den-nii's fault."

"…" Norway peeked out to the child for a moment before closing his eyes again and sighing once more, deeper this time. For a while the two stayed like that, until Norway felt the grip on his pants loosen slightly. He glanced to the boy slowly, finding him already asleep. With a scowl, Norway reached over and grabbed the rags once more, wrapping the sleeping boy with them securely before stretching his own legs and picking him up, cradling him close, in hopes to keep him warm. When the smaller boy curled up instinctively to keep his own body heat, Norway pulled his own legs close once more, trapping the younger one in warmth, and fell deep into thought once again.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Denmark asked the taller man, who glared down to the 'king', his eyes cold. The Danish already landed several hits on the taller nation, mostly on the face, so the Swedish's face was covered in bruises and cuts. Beside the two, Finland desperately grasped at Denmark's body, trying to uselessly pull him away from the fight. Norway could only stare at the fight as it went on, Iceland right behind him, holding onto Norway's right leg and poking his out from the side.

"Independence." That was the only word that passed between Sweden's lips. Finland gasped as Denmark's teeth gritted in anger and clung on tighter, only to be pushed away roughly. The Finnish yelped and fell over, landing hard on the floor and causing Sweden's eyes to narrow dangerously. The two tallest countries in the room gave death glares to one another before one decided that enough was enough and hit the other once more. Sweden took the hit and growled low, grabbing Denmark's hand that held onto his shirt and pushing him away rather easily, making sure to hold back his own power to keep Denmark from falling over.

"Why are they fighting?" A small whimper was heard in the room and was mostly ignored. Norway glanced down to the small boy that clung to him and simply lowered his hand, pushing the child's face against his own leg in hopes to cover his vision from the fight. Iceland didn't fight back. He pressed his face against his brother's leg, closing his eyes tightly and shaking in fear.

"Independence?" Denmark growled after he managed to regain his balance. "I won't allow it."

"We weren't asking for your permission." Sweden said calmly, bending down and helping Finland back to his feet. Finland took the offer and stood up with help, frowning when Denmark's face twisted dangerously.

"We?"

"Finland and I." Sweden blinked, staring into Denmark's angered irises. "You expected us to stay after you killed my people?"

Norway swallowed hard and pulled his little brother closer to himself at the mention of the bloody festival, as Denmark called it. Finland winced when Sweden's hand held his tighter, thinking his fingers would break for a moment, as Denmark growled and grabbed Sweden's shirt. Sweden growled back, but didn't do much to fight back. He let go of Finland's hand and was dragged out the room, stumbling slightly as Denmark forced his upper body low as he walked out, rage clear on his face. The door slammed shut behind them as Norway and Finland stared at it, shaking, unable to rush to the Swedish's aid.

xxx

"…Sweden…?" Finland asked after hours from the scene. The taller man was battered up, cut in several places and bruises all over his body, but he glanced up to the shorter nation and smiled. Finland frowned.

"Ready?" He asked, pushing himself back onto his feet. Finland nodded in response, ready to catch the man from falling anytime. "Good. Let's get going."

The two nations walked out the door, just in time for Norway to spot them after putting the youngest to sleep. He rushed after them, grabbing Finland's shirt and frowning. Sweden and Finland both stopped and glanced to the worried one, who couldn't come up with anything to say.

"We'll come back for you." Finland smiled, hoping to get the Norwegian's frown to go away. "But we can't stand another day here."

"You're not coming with us?" Sweden asked, as if he asked several times before. Norway hesitated and untwined his fingers from Finland's blue attire, shaking his head slowly. Sweden's eyes narrowed at that, but he nodded back, and began to walk away again. Finland blinked and gave Norway a small smile before he too followed after the man, leaving Norway deep in thoughts. He then sighed and turned back to the house.

xxx

"Answer me! Where are they?" The first voice he heard after coming through the door. Norway blinked at the voice and stood there in shock at first, but quickly gathered himself back together when he heard a cry. His eyes widened and he quickly rushed to the back, pushing open the ajar door he was certain he closed when he left.

"What are you doing, Denmark…?" Norway asked, stuck at the entrance to the tiny room. He saw the taller man, eyes narrowed dangerously, with an ax within his reach, with the small child wailing, held up by the man by his sleeping attire.

Denmark blinked when he heard the voice from the entrance and turned to Norway, who felt frozen in place, and the furious look in his eyes faded off slightly. The taller nation let out a shaky breath and lowered the crying boy back onto his bed, stumbling over to Norway. Norway couldn't help but to see the broken 'king' shaking, a smile of relief coming back to his features. It only brought a chill down his spine.

"You're back…" The king said, relief in his voice. He fell against the frightened man, who stood deadly still, afraid to even move away from the embrace. "Sweden and Finland… They're coming back too… Right?"

"…" Norway frowned and thought for an answer. He managed to peek to the boy on the bed, who was still shaking and crying, though not as hard as before. Closing his eyes, Norway whispered a small, "Yes." He couldn't have Denmark have another outburst in front of the kid. "Yes, they'll be back… Not now, but quite soon."

"Good… Good…" Denmark whispered back, his body relaxing from the tense. Norway felt the man get heavier as he did so, and frowned.

"What were you doing?"

"I came out my room… And decided to check on all of you… And you were all not in the house." Denmark explained, his voice shaking again. "Sweden, Finland, and you… The only one in the house was Iceland, so I asked him, but he kept saying he didn't know. I thought he knew something."

"…" Norway glanced to the boy again, who was watching the two, curled up in a little ball. After Denmark let go of him, Norway nodded, showing he understood. "I'm sorry. I just wanted some fresh air."

Denmark said nothing back and just walked back deeper into the room, grabbing the ax and hanging it over his shoulder. Iceland flinched and gave out a frightened squeak as he did so, pushing his face into his knees and starting to shake again, but Denmark paid no mind. He strolled out the room, the ax bobbing slightly in a warning manner, as Norway moved out the way from the door to allow the king out. Once the Danish was out of sight, he turned back to the shaking boy on the bed and slowly walked over to him.

He placed a hand on the boy's head and earned a frightened yelp and a tightening ball. Norway frowned slightly but kept gently stroking his brother's head, watching the shaking calm slowly but surely. The small boy's body relaxed after a while, and Norway managed to make him lay down after uncurling his body.

"Go back to sleep," He said, stroking his brother's hair still as the smaller country stared up to him with his purple frightened eyes, "I'll be here."

"…Where'd Su-nii and Fin-nii go…?" Iceland whimpered. Norway thought for an answer appropriate for the child as fast as he could.

"They went on a long walk." He said, smiling down to the boy gently. Iceland frowned. "They'll be back."

"I don't want to sleep…" The small boy's voice shook again. "The monster will come back."

"Monster?" Norway blinked.

"The monster that's controlling Den-nii." Iceland explained, closing his eyes sleepily. "He makes Den-nii act mean."

"…Well… I won't let him come back to you." Norway leaned over and gave a small kiss on the little boy's cheek. "I said I'll be here, right?"

"Mhm…" Iceland whispered. He then fell silent, and after a few moments Norway could hear the small breaths that calmly came from the boy, indicating he fell asleep. He brought the covers over the boy and tucked him in before leaning his back against the wall, trying to get some rest for himself as well.

xxx

"They aren't back yet." Denmark growled. It had been 4 months, and the impatient king was getting angry. Norway was cleaning the dishes when he heard Denmark say that, making him frown slightly.

"They'll be back soon." Norway said, putting the plate down and getting another, running it through the water. He watched as the Danish closed his eyes, sighing heavily in anger. "I'm sure they're heading back as we speak."

"You've been saying that every time for several months." Denmark growled once more. Norway blinked and narrowed his eyes, putting the last plate down after drying it.

"So impatient…" Norway grumbled. "Even Iceland is more patient than you."

The comment was a mistake, and Norway knew it before he even said it but couldn't help himself from saying it, so when Denmark stood up and stormed his way over, Norway didn't even flinch. He took the hit to his face and winced slightly, reaching his hand up slightly to his cheek and rubbing the new bruise, his tongue rolling over his teeth making sure they were all still in place.

"Bring them back."

"I don't know where they are." Norway replied, sighing, ignoring the pain in his jaw line as he said so. When Denmark's fists tightened, the smaller country added, "Neither does Iceland. We both know nothing as to where Sweden and Finland left to. All I know is that they're coming back soon."

"You can prove this?" The taller nation asked, reaching to Norway and grabbing him by his shirt, pulling him up to his face. Norway blinked, his eyes blank of emotion, and simply leaned in, kissing the older nation on the lips. He reached his hand up to gently cup Denmark's cheek as he did so, and Denmark's tensed muscles relaxed.

"No." Norway said after he pulled away. "But I know they can't just leave a king like you." He wouldn't allow it. Finland and Sweden were not dumb. They knew they couldn't run forever. For the moment Norway was able to hold the Danish back from going out looking for them, but it wasn't going to last much longer.

"…" Denmark frowned down to Norway's bruised face, and when the Norwegian smiled up to him, he looked away, unable to look straight at the smaller nation's emotionless eyes.

To make sure the two nations he had left won't run away like Finland and Sweden did, he had forced Norway into submission. It was hard, but Denmark managed to do so with enough hits and amount of time chaining him to his bed, in which Denmark would only allow Norway out of his bed at times for food and using the restroom. Soon enough, he seemed to have successfully broken Norway into a submissive doll, doing only what Denmark wanted him to.

Iceland on the other hand was harder to put under his complete control, in a sense that Denmark couldn't really physically harm him. Denmark knew very well that the moment a bruise got on the kid as a result of him hitting, Norway would break out of his control and possibly fight back to him. So instead, he had to lock Iceland in his room permanently, allowing only himself and Norway to walk in and out the room when needed. To ensure Iceland won't jump out the window or run out the door when he had the chance, Denmark chained the child to the bed post by his ankle, allowing only enough length of chain to let the boy walk around his own small room and use the restroom. Nothing that hurt him physically, right? Yes. But it certainly would show the brat who had control of his life: The man that held the keys to the chain.

"Norway…" Denmark whispered, managing to look back to the smaller country as soon as he looked away, doing all he can to avoid the emotionless eyes. "…I…"

The Danish stopped when he heard crying in the house, making him twitch in anger. He growled and turned to the door that contained the child, causing Norway to quickly grab the taller nation's hand. As the angered tyrant turned to glare down to the smaller nation, Norway frowned up to him.

"I'll take care of it." He said, "He's just a kid."

"It's every single damned night!"

"And you think you can stop it?" Norway scowled. Denmark growled back and gripped Norway's hand back, throwing him forward towards the child's room's door.

"Make it stop. Permanently. Or I will force it."

"…Force will not stop him from crying, it'll only make it worse." Norway mumbled his side of the argument before sighing when Denmark growled again, warning. "…I'll be right back."

Norway made his way to Iceland's room and opened the door, finding his brother curled up on his bed again, crying. He closed the door behind him and walked to the bed, sitting on it beside his wailing brother and lifting him up in his arms. "Ice, this can't keep going on."

"Nor-nii…" Iceland whined and clung to his brother, shaking. It was as if he didn't even hear his brother's complaint, as he continued to cry, soaking his brother's shirt with tears. When Iceland just started doing this as a nightly routine, Norway was confused and didn't know what to do. Thinking back to that, Norway sighed, calming his own mind before patting his brother's back, just letting him cry. He learned not to try and stop him, seeing it always just made it worse, so it was easier to just let the boy cry himself to sleep. And Norway knew all too well that Denmark would not have such patience for that.

Norway glanced to the clock when his brother's cries faded off, and instead soft breaths came from him, a whimper mixed in every now and then. The older brother sat in silence for a bit, his eyes gazing on the chain on his brother in thought, before sighing and carefully laying the little one back into bed. He pulled the covers over him and turned off the light, closing the door behind him when he exited the room, greeted by Denmark.

"A whole hour?" He asked, annoyed.

"Sorry, it took a little longer than usual." Norway sighed, ensuring he locked the door before walking to his own room. The Danish grabbed him by his arm however, and dragged him to another direction. Immediately Norway broke into trembling. Denmark noticed it and simply gave a dark smirk, pulling Norway into his own room and throwing him onto the large bed. Norway yelped and looked up to the taller male in horror.

"You know the routine." Denmark commented, sitting on the edge of the bed. Norway trembled and moved himself closer to the Danish, kissing him deeply and reaching down to unzip the taller nation's pants, just wanting to get it over with.

xxx

"You've gotten better…" Denmark commented as he put his shirt on, glancing behind himself to his bed, where Norway curled up in the covers, shaking, his clothes on the floor beside the bed. "The first few times you couldn't do anything; it's nice to know that you won't leave my side now."

"…" Norway blinked at the comment and gritted his teeth in anger, unable to say anything back, knowing fully that if he dared, he was going to risk his brother getting hurt. The pain in his ass lingered, slowly getting more and more aching, tormenting the nation about what he just allowed Denmark to do to him. Norway closed his eyes tightly and ignored as Denmark chuckled at the trembling nation.

"You can have the bed for the night." The Danish man commented, walking out his room as he did so. "I'm sure it's much more comfortable than your bed. Sleep well, Norge."

"…" Norway gave no response but just spat the taste out his mouth continuously, his fingers weakly grasping at the sheets underneath him. He heard the door close and lock from the outside, and frowned, not being able to do anything other than to go to sleep.

xxx

"Nor-nii… Is that a new bruise…?"

Norway jumped at the voice, being pulled out of his thoughts from the night before, remembering he was in his brother's room, keeping him company. Norway winced as the child reached up with his tiny hand and tried to rub the bruise, as if that was going to ease the pain, and turned his face away. "It is…" Iceland whimpered. "…Did the monster control Den-nii again?"

Covering the bruise Iceland was referring to by covering his arm with his hand, Norway mumbled, "No, I was just stupid."

"…Nor-nii's not stupid." Iceland's cheeks puffed out almost instantly at the comment. "And… Den-nii won't hurt you unless the monster's there."

"….I suppose." Norway sighed, closing his eyes. Honestly, he had no patience to deal with his brother's idiotic thought of a monster controlling that damned Danish anymore. He was so tempted to just flat out tell Iceland that the power had gotten to the dumb nation and he was simply using it to lock him and his brother away for his own entertainment.

Of course, he managed to hold back from doing so.

"The monster likes to be mean." Iceland commented, hugging his brother's leg. "So it's not Nor-nii's fault if the monster decides to control Den-nii."

"Then I should watch out for the monster when he comes out, shouldn't I?" Norway chuckled.

"If you see the monster, I will come and help you!" Iceland smiled up to his brother, letting go of the embrace and tapping his own chest. "Iceland's strong, you know?"

"I know." Norway smiled slightly, exhausted. He ruffled the boy's hair and sighed, flinching when he heard the front door open. Ugh, and here he thought he actually was enjoying the day… He had to come back so damned early…

"Ah, Den-nii." Iceland smiled. "He's back!"

"…Mhm." Norway nodded, faking a small smile to his brother's excited one, before getting up and walking out the door, locking his brother inside just as Denmark always told him to do. When he saw the tall nation he frowned immediately, walking past him in silence and into his own room, closing the door behind and falling onto his bed with a sigh.

Author's Note: This was originally going to be a one-chapter fanfic, but the plot dragged me in too much that I must stop once here and upload another chapter when I get the time. XD R&R please!