Chapter Text
Over the next few weeks, Lukas and Mathias remained in their respective countries and independently went about their daily lives. While Lukas appreciated the peace and quiet, it was almost too calm without the crazy Dane around. It was as if Lukas was living his life on autopilot- every day he'd wake up, attend royal lessons, and do whatever was requested of him. His main duty as the king's son was to be seen but not heard, which made him feel quite lonely at times. He looked forward to the days Mathias would come over, but it was usually only for official business between him and his father. He'd have to leave as soon as he came.
Despite Lukas never having said a word to him, Mathias could sense that something was wrong. His friend seemed more glum than ever. He wished he could spend more time with Lukas instead of going straight home whenever he was in Norway, but he was constantly under the watchful eye of his advisors and the rest of the royal court. There was always some meeting he had to attend to, some ceremony he had to make an appearance in, some dispute he had to settle among his kingdom. Having lots of free time was not an option when you're king. But Mathias was determined to cheer up his friend.
One day, after one of their meetings, Lukas was ready to wish the young king a safe journey back home. He held out his hand, expecting a handshake, but instead, he felt himself getting dragged to the kitchen. Mathias shoved a parcel into his hands. It was a servant's uniform.
"Mathias, are you crazy? We'll never get away with this." Lukas whined after listening to his little plan. Even if they could sneak out of the palace unnoticed, someone would eventually realize that they were missing.
"They can't catch us if they don't recognize us." he explained as he messed his hair up and discarded his own clothes for the uniform. With his over-sized tunic and scruffy hair, Mathias almost looked like a different person out of his royal robes. In the end, he got his way.
Thus, the two boys sneaked off and blended in with the rest of the kitchen staff, making sure to hide their faces when they walked out of the palace to "get supplies" from the adjoining village. When they were absolutely sure they weren't being followed, they broke off from the rest of the servants. Lukas realized this was the first time he was truely alone- no servants, no royal court, no one watching over him. It just just him and Mathias, alone. He knew he'd probably get in trouble later, but for some reason, this felt... exhilerating. His heart felt like it could leap out of his chest at any moment, but he had full faith in his friend and continued to follow him wherever he went.
They walked through the market place, where some vendor tried to sell them something at every turn they made. At first, Lukas kept jumping because he thought someone recognized them. But it was always just another vendor. He began to relax after a while. But just for comfort, he held on to Mathias as they wandered the village.
They eventually did end up buying something at the market because both of them were getting hungry. They settled down near the village center, where an elderly woman was telling the tales of the Viking days to a group of children.
"They should definetly teach us more about Vikings. That always fascinated me." Mathias commented.
As they were about to leave, a crowd started forming in front of them, and music filled the air. Cheers erupted from the crowd and everyone started breaking off in pairs to dance. Today was some type of village holiday, so the pair decided to stick around for a bit. What a great day to go out to the village, Lukas thought to himself. He hadn't expected to have this much fun.
His thoughts were suddenly cut off when he felt Mathias tugging him into the center of the crowd, where a bunch of couples were dancing to the sound of lively music.
"We're trying to blend in, not stick out." Lukas insisted, his face turning beet-red. After all, it was unusual to see two guys dancing together. But Mathias got his way, and Lukas soon found himself with his arms wrapped around the other's neck. He felt his face burn, afraid that someone would call them out on it. But at the same time he never felt more alive. He wished the song would never end.
The music eventually ended, and the music changed to a slower tempo. They had one more dance before Lukas reminded Mathias that they should go back before anyone noticed they were gone. They made their way back to the palace in silence, until Mathias spoke.
"Thanks for coming out with me today. I just really wanted some alone time with you, away from everybody. Away from my responsibilities."
"No problem, today was fun. Maybe we can do it again sometime soon?" Lukas hoped.
Mathias stopped in his tracks and looked down. He nervously began wringing his tunic.
"...To be honest, this might be the last time I see you for a while. It might be a couple months, it might be a couple years. I don't know yet. That's why I wanted today to be special."
Lukas blinked. "Wait. You're kidding... right?" He was in disbelief. He couldn't just abandon him like that.
"I can't tell you much, but remember how my father spent his whole life trying to regain Sweden back into the Kalmar Union? I want to fulfill his legacy."
Something in him snapped. He stood up straight and proud, and started striding back to the palace. "Just you wait, Lukas. Things are going to change around here."
Several weeks later, Lukas discovered that Denmark declared war on Sweden.