Chapter Text
His eyes flew open. Panting heavily, Finn sat up in his bed.
“What is this supposed to mean? What do you want?”, he growled to himself.
Lately, Finn oldest Prince of Westgaard had been haunted by the very same dream over and over again. A dream that appeared to have deeper meaning he could not wrap his head around. It would always start with the image of the palace gardens in summer, when he was still a child. A beautiful place Finn loved to play hide an seek with his younger brother Haakon and his best friend Svenja. Playing exactly this game, was how his dream always began.
Finn closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to calm his mind.
Come on now. What else can you remember?
He let his mind replay his memories of the dream. They would play in the gardens and it was his turn to seek them. He could hear Haakon giggle as he tried to hide behind some bushes. Svenja would find a spot somewhere high in the treetops. And then he would hear another giggle. Maybe it was from one of the servant’s kids. Back then, Finn remembered, there were no boundaries of rank among the young folks at the palace.
“No… it’s not one of the servants.”, he mumbled to himself.
Furrowing his dark brows in concentration, Finn pushed deeper into it. Again, he recalled the foreign giggle and followed it. But there was more yet just barely noticeable. Some kind of whispering?
He would turn around a corner. There. A glimpse of a blue dress that would disappear behind a hedge row and a surprised giggle. He would follow, one corner, two corners and then he could see the girl running from him. Her bright blond hair fell in a lose braid over her back. She would turn her head to look back at him over her shoulder. These deep blue eyes where like sparkling sapphires and her pale skin… If Finn did not know better, this girl could have been a fairy. As he would try to follow, the giggle and whispering would grow louder but he could not understand what it was saying. The faster he would run, the faster the distance between him and the girl would grow until she would disappear in a bright flash of light. “Come!”
When Finn opened his eyes again, he was looking straight into questioning green eyes just a few inches away from him.
“God damn, Svenja! Why’d you scare me like that?”
“No need to yell like a girl. I was just checking whether you had a stroke.”, Svenja answered nonchalantly.
“Oh, yeah. Right. And I thought you were trying to kiss me.”
“Please.”, Svenja said sarcastically as she got up from bed and gave Finn a punch to his shoulder. “Now you’re insulting me.”
“But you must admit that I do am an eye catcher for women.”, Finn teased her.
“Yeah. For other women.”, she grinned back.
They have been friends for so long, this banter was their way of checking up on each other. Svenja strolled to the window and leaned against its sill, crossing her hands behind her head. She was about the same height as Finn, which was rather tall for a woman, and more on the skinny side than particularly athletic. As long as he could remember, she had been a literal tomboy and a partner in crime. People would call them Snowhite and Rose Red when they were once again on the run after a prank gone wrong or else. This was due to Finn’s copper skin, which stood in contrast to Svenja’s lighter skin tone. Yet they both sported black hair, which in terms of Svenja was usually an unruly and wavy mane, while Finn had his thick curly hair tamed with a crop.
“So. Was it that dream again?”, Svenja asked.
“Yeah.”, he sighed.
Finn reached to his bed stand and pulled out a small notebook. Since he could not get a clue out of it, he made it a habit of scribbling things down. But for now, he was just adding some detail to a sketch of a girl.
“Say, do you remember a girl back when we were young, that played with us in the gardens?”
Svenja raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Uhm, well there were a lot of other kids. Don’t know. Was she cute?”
“Really, Svenja.”
Finn rolled his eyes and handed her his drawing.
“I mean her. Can you remember her?”
She took her time scanning the drawing thoroughly. Here and there her eyes would flatten nearly into slits. Not quite sure about her friend, she mustered him above the book’s edge.
“Well, maybe she is the daughter of a royal ambassador or another guest we had here. I mean, we were kids, what are you asking for? She is the girl from your dream?”
Finn nodded.
“Listen.”, Svenja started, “I know you think this could have a deeper meaning, but… What if you’re just missing the good old times? Yes, it could mean more, eventually. But let’s not forget, things had changed since your mother’s death. And…”
She fell silent as her friend’s amber eyes warningly glared at her.
“I know. But this call…”
He got up and put the book back into his bed stand. Svenja watched him with slight concern. Usually, Finn would have never cared about such a thing, but she could understand him. Although being best friends for life, there were things she kept to herself. One of them was the same faint calling she heard herself lately.
“Anyway.”, Finn’s voice brought her back to the present. “Where does the king send us to next?”
His composure had changed. The sorrow seemed to be gone, at least hid behind an upright and stern mask. The posture of a soldier ready for battle.
Svenja straightened herself to match him.
“Our king let’s us set sails for Arendelle. Better to say the northern regions of Arendelle.”
“Why north and not directly?”
“It seems, the king is maybe thinking about diplomatic matters for once. I don’t know yet.”
A soft huff escaped Finn.
“Funny he didn’t send Haakon instead then. Very well. Off to Arendelle.”
And so, Finn of Westgaard set sail for Arendelle. If he did not know better, the faint call in the back of his head was supporting his decision.