He was a demon, a monster, a creature cast out of hell by the devil himself; that was how people described the king of Sweden, Berwald Oxenstierna. To his people he was Berwald the Great, but by his enemies he was Berwald the Savage, Berwald the Cruel or Berwald the Frightening. He was a warlord, expanding his kingdom like no ruler before him with his tactical superiority and ruthless training of his soldiers. The Swedish army was feared and just as barbaric as their predecessors the savage Vikings; with king Berwald in the lead Sweden was nothing short of a super-power and one of the world's greatest nations. This was common knowledge to all; something Swedish children were taught by their patriotic parents, and something non-Swedish parents told their children to scare them.

The non-Swedish Tino Väinämöinen he had only learnt of Berwald the Cruel, and thus feared the man with his life. He was the crown prince of Finland, a poor neighboring country to the great Swedish kingdom. Berwald's armies had warred and won against them many times, always claiming more Finnish land to itself, to the point that Finland was one of the smallest nations in the world. They would easily be consumed and overtaken by the Swedes with one more strike against the capital; home of prince Tino.

When a messenger came to his father in the throne room Tino expected to hear news of the Swedish army advancing towards them, and was thus shocked when the messenger read the letter sent by king Berwald himself out loud.

"King Berwald the first Oxenstierna will pay a visit to the Finnish royal family the 5th of July. The King wishes to discuss Finland's current state, and propose a peaceful solution to the conflict as he wishes not to spill more blood upon your land."

The letter was mysterious indeed, and baffled both Tino and his two parents to no end. They knew that it wasn't just rumors that spoke of Sweden's brutality; they had witnessed in fear their people being slaughtered like livestock first hand. So why did the king now wish for a peaceful solution?

It was an insult, Raimo, the king of Finland and Tino's father, thought angrily. Berwald knew they wouldn't be able to oppose another attack, so he rubbed it in by saying that he would come in peace.

"But my love", his wife the queen of Finland said. "Insult or not, if we can reach a peaceful solution and rescue even one of Finland's children should this not be something worth considering?"

"Not to mention", Tino spoke, even though he knew it was out of turn. "He said he will come here – he was not asking for permission. If we launch an attack-"

"I know, I know", king Raimo said. "We will have to negotiate with him… I am sad to say I fear you will ever be called the King of Finland though, my son." He really looked compassionate when he looked into his son's eyes.

"I never really wanted to rule anyway", Tino smiled, and then realized he had again spoke wrong. It was a bad habit of his; he never found the right words it seemed. Thus he had mostly been educated to shut up unless his speech was necessary, but needless to say, that education had not gone over well enough.

Hearing his son the prince speak so negatively about ruling made Raimo angered, but his wife assured him that Tino was just fearful of the Swedish king. He would arrive in only four days, after all, and they would meet face to face with the devil.

xXx

When it was the 5th of July the Finnish capital was surrounded with all of their remaining soldiers who guarded the civilians – their family members still alive – with their lives on stake. Every Finnish man, woman and child were aware of the fact that king Berwald would arrive, but no one dared brining rotten fruit or cabbage to throw at him in disgust. They valued their lives still, and wished for an as peaceful solution as possible.

In the castle Tino was fidgeting in his throne to the right of his father's, nervous like never before. He had many mental images of how king Berwald looked, and none was positive. He was tall and had a crazed glare – those were his known traits, and Tino's mind played around with those concepts eagerly, coupled with illustrations of trolls he had seen growing up.

Somehow though, he was still excited upon meeting the infamous man. The rational part of his mind said that the rumors must be exaggerated – though the Swedish army was brutal the king himself must be refined. He had been raised like a prince just like Tino, had he not? But no matter how much he tried to calm himself, he saw his father's face pale when a servant reported that that a Swedish troop had entered the capital, with the king riding in the front.

He must really think nothing of us, Tino couldn't help but think bitterly, if he rides in front of his troops unprotected. For a change, his mother seemed to be just as aggravated by this realization as he and his father.

All too soon the trumpets were heard and the port to the throne room was opened as the Swedish party entered, king Berwald in the front. He was clad in the Swedish colors blue and gold as expected, with a long rich blue coat and a golden crown on top of his head. As the rumors told he was tall, taller than any man Tino had met, and even though he wore glasses like a professor the sword in his hilt marked him as a warrior. His most striking quality was neither the crown, the height nor the sword though, but his cold stare. His sea-blue eyes told the world that he had never heard of the word compromise, and they seemed to glare down on everyone in the room. Even though Tino and his family's thrones were on a dais which made them taller than him, Berwald still seemed to look down on them as if though they were dwarves.

Almost immediately upon entering the room with fourteen armed soldiers behind him the king's eyes were transfixed on Tino for whatever reason, making the prince yelp in fear. The yelp echoed in the hall, causing not only Berwald but also the Finnish king and queen look at him in surprise. With absolute terror Tino forced himself to look down on his lap. He never wanted to look into the Swedish king's eyes ever again, even if it meant dying. Still he felt Berwald's glare, even when his father spoke.

"Welcome to Helsinki", Raimo said. "How nice of you to pay us a visit, King Berwald." He did not coat his bitterness, or disgust, even one bit.

"Mm, a pleasure", Berwald mumbled in a very non-king like fashion, eyes still focused on the poor and cowering crown prince. "I've a suggestion", he said before anyone else could speak. He remained silent after that.

"… then let's hear it", Raimo almost spat, masking his fear with hatred excellently.

"I w'nt yer son", Berwald said. "T'marry."