Locked, Laughed and Liberated: Varga and Einarr's Epic Escape

Oh fuck.

Einarr let out a sharp cry of surprise as he lost his footing, and fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He let out a groan and pushed himself up off of the floor.

“You okay?” I asked with a nervous giggle.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied with a sigh. “What were you laughing at?”

I swallowed hard. “Nothing…it was just funny.”

He shook his head lightly. “We are in quite a bit of trouble, Varga. This is not the time for laughter.”

I nodded and took in a deep breath. “I know, I know…you have been trying to keep me from laughing for the past hour or so. You have had no luck though, have you? I saw you smile when our heads bumped together earlier!” I laughed again and hiccupped loudly.

He sighed again, this time more heavily than before. “Varga…you need to be quiet now! The guards will hear us! They might even kill us!” He stepped back towards the door and pressed his ear against it again, listening intently for any sounds on the other side of it.

I stared at him in disbelief for several moments before speaking again. “They won’t kill us! We are both princes of Scandinavia…we are important nobility here! They can’t just kill us like that!” I started to laugh again and clamped my hand over my mouth desperately trying to muffle the sound which only made me laugh harder still. Einarr whipped around and raised his hand as if to strike me but then thought better of it and lowered his arm slowly back down to his side. I could see him trying to control himself as well, but it was just too much for him now, and soon he started laughing along with me loudly until we were both gasping for air between fits of giggles and snorts of laughter. We eventually settled down after another few minutes but neither of us moved from our positions next to each other on the floor of my closet where we had been shoved by my egotistical brother Astrid who wanted everyone to think he was so very strong and powerful by locking us up here like some sort of animals ready for slaughter…or a feast for the crows! We were all sickened by this treatment and most people in Scandinavia knew that my brothers true nature was that of a spoiled child who always got what he wanted without ever having to work for it…at least that is what my father told me once when I asked him why Astrid was so mean to me all the time. He said that Astrid was jealous because he knew that no matter how hard he tried…he would never be able to match up to my beauty or charm or intelligence or kindness or anything really…and that is why he seemed so angry all the time! It made sense now looking back at all those times when Astrid would push me into mud puddles or knock over my favorite doll right after getting it cleaned up by the maids or tear up all of our family photo albums because he didn't like how much attention everyone gave me because I was born first! So here we have been trapped together in this closet for hours now with Einarr trying desperately not to laugh along with me because he is worried about being heard by guards who would probably try to kill him too if they knew he was locked in here with me! But it's funny all the same because we have never talked before outside of greeting each other politely at social gatherings where everyone else seemed so very boring and stuffy compared to us two mischievous little wild freckled children who were always looking for something interesting to do instead of sitting quietly while everyone else talked politics or trade agreements or whatever else grown ups talk about when they think nobody is listening! Well, now here we sit on the floor together bound by circumstance rather than bloodline alone, each one waiting patiently for someone else to show up and rescue them from their current situation without knowing exactly what that situation is because there are no windows in this tiny room where we are currently hiding out…but soon enough someone will come knocking on this door wanting us both while none of them seem to be aware that we were ever here at all! Einarr turned towards me suddenly and looked me straight in the eyes; his gaze intense yet soft at the same time in a way that made my heart flutter slightly within my chest as he spoke softly; “Do you think anyone will find us? Do you think anyone knows where we are? Do you think they will try to save us?” He started asking questions rapidly without waiting for answers between each one until finally I cut him off mid-sentence and answered simply; “Oh yes Einarr…someone will find us!"