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Chapter Text

It was too dark to see in front of her. Feeling the familiar dirt path beneath her bare hands she reaches out and moves forward. A loose braid dangled around the left side of her neck, tips sweeping along the ground as she dragged herself forward. Laufey took as few breaths as possible, every exhale causing the walls around her to press tightly against her body. Highlighting the confines of the small dark tunnel.

As long as she didn’t exit into the palace, she would be safe. This may be her last journey here she realizes. Almost there, no time to think of anything except getting to these humans.
A dim light began to sting her eyes as she quickened her hands. Pulling herself closer and closer out of the cramped passageway. At last, she felt the cold air touch the back of her sweat-drenched neck.

She stood up, body aching as it remembers how to walk on two legs again. Immediately she approaches a large wooden door slightly ajar. She reaches for her hood and slips it over the back of her head, covering everything except for a long thick oak colored braid. She squeezes herself through the door, careful not to open it any further. Her feet make small splashing sounds on the urine soaked stone floors. As she walks past several unlit touches the smell of dead bodies, feces, and blood filled her nose. The raw stone walls mixed with exposed iron bars was all she could make out. She reaches out to feel the etched writing on some of the stone. This pattern, she knew exactly where she was now.

She walks up to the first cell, looking for any signs of life. A still body lay on the floor, the smell of blood and vomit along with it. No sound of breathing, dead next cell. A woman sleeping. Laufey reaches her bare hand out to the metal bar on the cell wall. A flat silver ring makes a twang against the bar. It startles the woman awake. She gasps and moves closer to her. “You’re here.” She said in a dry cracked voice. She’s probably gone days without water. She taps her ring onto the bar again, then two quick taps, finally a pause. “I don’t remember the orders, Once for food and water, twice for freedom, three for mercy?” Her ring taps the bars three times as she nods her head. “Food please, I’m so hungry. They will kill my little brother if I escape.”
Her hands leave the bars and move to her sack. Inside she pulls out a pouch of water and two small loaves of bread. She leaves both by the edge of the cell. No sooner the woman rushes to grab the food. Laufey moved onto the next cell. A man standing close to the bars, waiting for her. She taps once, he shakes his head, she taps twice, nothing. He looks at her, waiting for her next offer. Three taps onto the bar, he nods. She reaches for a small knife. He presses his face to the bars, exposing his neck. “Thank you.” He says in a shaky voice. She shoves the knife into him quickly. He doesn’t make a sound, only sinking to the floor slowly as he bleeds out. Laufey wipes the knife off and moves to the next cell. Food, food, death, freedom, ‘finally’ she thinks. She unlocks the cell and moves quickly down the row. Death, death, water only, freedom, food and water, death once more. She reached the final cell and sees a child in the corner. His eyes follow her closely. She approaches the cell and taps her ring once, twice, three times. No response. She reached for water and places it by his cell. “My legs are broken, can you toss it to me?” Laufey pauses, the way he spoke so clearly. She didn’t remember seeing this in her future vision? It's a trap. Shit. She runs quickly towards the tunnel a terrifying laugh came from the boy. A flash of light blinds her, she covered her eyes. When she opened them she was suddenly in a large hallway.

Red and gold blur into her still waking vision. Her breathing quickens, she is inside the main hall, why didn't she bring the Bifrost? She is trapped, how did she not foresee this? Panic overcoming her. No, calm down assess the situation. Marble floors, gold flakes in the shape of vines, torches with a blue flame, the ceiling too tall to recognize the etched writings carved. She is by Odin’s sleeping chambers. ‘Run.’ She tells herself and does just that. She follows the hall down to the end with two massive golden doors. She hears arguing. A booming male voice and a woman crying. Odin and his wife. She hears a slap and glass breaking, followed by a, moan? She runs in the opposite direction, success a window at last. Laufey leaps onto the frame and shatters the glass with a bunched fist. She leaps outside not caring where she falls. Whatever fate awaits her below is better than down the hall.

A body breaks her fall. Skinny and frail with a silk dress. Laufey's knees hit the grass first, taking most of the impact of the stranger. Her right knee made a cracking sound on impact. She holds in her need to scream out in pain. With both hands, she pops the knee back into the socket. Shaking the large chunks of glass from the hand that busted the window.
Quickly she jumps to her feet and looks around. A makeshift garden, purple flowers, and orange trees. A fountain with three statues spitting water. No birds, but she hears bugs. She is still inside a fortress, not out of danger yet.
“What, happened?” The woman groaned as she sat up. Long blond hair in disarray as she reaches for her face. She is young with purple eyes and pink lips. ‘Purple, there is so much purple. But, it shouldn’t be here?’ She thinks to herself. “Who’s there?” Laufey stands up and faces her. ‘Damn it, damn it! How could I have gotten this so wrong?’ “Who are you? Speak before I call for my sisters!”
She remains silent, a hand reaches for her dagger. It has been used too much already today she regrets.
“Wait, you’re her. The one they’re looking for! Laufey the brave!”
“J-” she quickly stops herself from speaking more. Odin will hear her immediately, bringing her death sooner.
“You are her!”
Laufey feels her heart race, her hands shake. She has never been this upset with herself. Everything in her vision was wrong.
“I hear so many songs about you. The mortals idolize you. I feel truly star struck. I’m really standing in front of the real deal!”

Laufey's eyes widened as air blows out her nose. She nodded her head slowly.
The woman walks over to her and places her hands together in awe. “It’s all so romantic. Risking your life for those criminals. Causing so much annoyance to your foe. That’s how you do it! Not with more bloodshed! Little agitating games back and forth! You’ve angered Odin more than any Giant!” She giggled, showing her juvenile side.
Laufey played along with a coy smile. She didn’t waste the opportunity, looking around for an exit.
The girl gathers her hair together, paying attention to Laufey's actions. “Thor doesn’t want me or my sisters leaving so he took away our doors. There used to be one behind there,” she pointed towards the fountain, “but now it’s just a mirror.”
Laufey ran towards where she was pointing. She examined the fountain and saw the Vanir spell it cast onto the mirror. She took out her dagger and drove it blade first into the water. The spell broke and the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces. The woman gasped as she shielded her face from the flying glass. Laufey didn’t hesitate, she flung the door open and ran outside. The real outside. The harsh cold air stinging her face, a feeling she was all too happy expecting. She looks up and saw where the sun was overhead. It’s evening. She ran in the opposite direction the sun was setting, as fast as her legs could run.

Chapter Text

The smooth stone below her feet shifted with each step. She held onto one of the chains serving as a handrail to the stone bridge. The rust leaving a gritty residue on her hands. Laufey stalled and took a deep breath of thin mountain air. It had always been easier to breathe up here. As her eyes shut she feels the afternoon sun suddenly disappear from her face. A loud boom erupted underneath her, and the bridge violently shifts back and forth. “You here to punish me?” She asked with a grin.
A pair of massive hands extend out to the base of the bridge steadying it. A giant finger extends out and points to her.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about sister.” A voice thundered down at her. She approached the finger and ran her hand across it. Large fingerprints stacked one on top of the other. It was so familiar, like dragging her hands along the staircase banister up to her room. She climbs the finger and quickly sat down, dangling her legs below. The finger lifts up into the air and brings her to the face of the giant. A gaunt middle-aged man with a buzzed head, a slight mohawk of short brick red hair down the middle of his head. His blue eyes are the size of an ox, they gleam kindly at her. His beard, curly and short, scatters down his neck.

As he brings her up close to his face she lets go of her grip and extends a hand to the bridge of his nose. Her face leans against it and she rubs her forehead against his skin several times. The weight of what almost happened at Odin’s palace still weighing her down.
“What's wrong Pine Needle?” He said.
She smiles head-butting his nose gently. Not to harm, but to signify he was right to worry.
“I’m not as fast when I run nowadays. We’re not that old yet, are we?” She said.
His other fingers flattened out, forcing her to slide into the center palm of his hand. She fell back and landed on her butt. “As long as you outlive me I’ll be fine little Needle.”
“That’s not an answer to my question.”
“Where were you?” He pressed.
“Don’t tell them. I was fine,” she hesitates, “for a while, then I wasn’t, but it all worked out. The visions, sometimes they don’t always tell the whole story.”
“That is not an answer to my question.” He imitates her.
“You were tasked to bring me to them I assume? Good my knee hurts try not to skip as you take me.” Laufey crossed her arms, lying down on her back, flat against his rough calloused palm.
“The giantess, ‘assumes’...” She hears her brother say with a chuckle.
The two of them approached a mountaintop in the shape of fingertips. Several massive giants awaiting them standing in a circle. The elders.
As they approach the elders hushed a previous conversation, some of them smiled warmly to the two siblings. The oldest man didn’t. He spoke first.

“We were expecting you.”
Laufey snorted a laugh out her closed lips, air and spit flying from her mouth. She felt her brother’s hand trembling as he fought back his own laugh.
“That’s enough” a woman’s voice boomed. She was the same age as her brother, long black hair down to her lower back. Her brother straightened his back and she felt his hand lift slightly higher from it. The old man continued, “Laufey, your actions have been noticed. Are you sure your vision hasn’t changed?”
Laufey swallows dryly. “No sir, it all remains. Later this year I will find his father, a troll, as I journey to paint Loki’s path. I still see an axe, but I don’t see hands grasping it. It’s trapped in ice.” She brings her hand to cup her own chin, “The axe, it brings so much pain and chaos. Sometimes animals try to take it. It frightens me. I can’t see who wields it and who brings the destruction, but it is always there, in every vision.”

The black haired woman looks at the elder and nods slightly as she speaks. “This axe, it may bring about our doom. Why should we seek it out? With such a terrifying fate why risk forging it off assumptions alone? It may destroy everything we’ve worked for?”
The elder man interjects, “Not necessarily, I predict Laufey gives it to the boy. The pain it brings will be from his hands towards the gods.” He says looking down at Laufey.
The giant woman sneers slightly as she leans against the mountain. “Or the chaos it brings could be from her and not the child. She isn’t the only one with future sight. We could be in the path of this weapon’s destruction, her path of destruction. She could be leaving out details.”
Laufey storms forward onto her brother’s hands, stepping over onto the tip of his middle finger. “How could you even think that!? After everything...-“ Her brother's hand pulled back as she moved forward, lessening her threatening approach.
“Silence both of you!” The elder spoke. Laufey quickly gathered herself and brought her arms to her sides, unclenching her fists. “Forgive me.” She says quietly.
The giant woman stood still, keeping her eyes on her. The elder giant continued.

“This axe is not Mjolnir. It will not be used to kill giants.” His eyes piercing Laufey, as if giving an order. “She will seek out the dwarfs and continue its construction, then she will immediately bring it back here for us to watch over it. After the child is born, he will be gifted the weapon. He will grow to know the weapon as an extension of his own hands. The chaos he and the axe brings will be painful but only to the gods. Not us.”
The elder bends down to meet her eye to eye. He smiled at her. “You are the mother of our savior. Remember that girl.” His voice suddenly transformed into a threatening tone. “If you ever jeopardize yourself, for the sake of your own personal enjoyment, before your purpose is fulfilled... I will chain you to my necklace until that child of yours is born.”
“That certainly would make his conception more interesting.” Laufey jabbed, the elder motioned with his hands and turned away. “Go, find dwarfs and ready yourself.” The woman finished his sentence. “Soon your journey will begin and there will be little time for rest. That is all for now.”
She felt a gust of wind as her brother’s hand begin moving away from them. The giants fading into the sky and mountains as she was carried away.

Laufey jumped from his hand onto the ground. She felt the earth rumble as he sat down next to her. “Your wife still hates me.” Dragging her foot along the ground, happy to feel the dirt below her again. “She doesn’t hate you, you are her family.” Her brother said. “Sorry, it’s not been easy on her ever since the boys...” Laufey placed a hand onto the skin of his ankle. She gripped it as tightly as her hands would allow her. “I didn’t mean to bring Helblindi and Byleistr up again.”
“I know, we struggle to focus on the bigger picture with them always on our minds.” Silence overcoming them. After a moment, Laufey decided to finally press the issue. Her grip onto his ankle begins tightening again.
“Don’t you wish you could avenge them yourself? You are so strong, you could crush Modi in a heartbeat.” A large hand came over her and separated her from his ankle. “We must focus on the prophecy.” He said with closed eyes. “I have my role to play and so do you. You must never forget that Pine Needle.” Laufey runs around to face him, “But what if the vision isn't right? What if instead, we chose our own destiny-...” He interrupts her. “No, the prophecy comes first, we must stay the course. My hands may not kill the man who killed my sons but at least my blood will.” He pointed a finger at her flat belly. “Don’t you see? That little guy has to be born in order for all this to happen. For not only our future but also my own revenge.”
Laufey looked away in disgust, she rubbed the top of his fingernail with her hand. “Who are you even pointing to right now?” She gathered herself, remembering the prophecy, the big picture.
She turns back to him wearing a fresh smile. “There isn’t a baby in here yet.”

Chapter Text

“It’s ready!”
“It’s not ready yet!”
The two brothers glared at one another.
“It’s fine the way it is, it’ll kill a god, shatter any weapon that goes up against it. Fuck the magic crap, this isn’t a staff. It’s an axe!”
“Would you, for once in your miserable little life, just evolve? The magic will enhance it, giving her an edge over enemies!”
“A crutch more like. This is a weapon, you use it as a weapon. Once you mix spells 'n shit in it you risk the possibility of leaning on magic too much during a fight and not use the damn thing for its intended purpose!”
“You are being ridiculous. Having a better arsenal doesn’t make you a worse fighter.”
“I never said it does, but you need to keep weapons on one side and magic-“
Laufey clears her throat.
Sindri looked up, Brok remained glaring at his brother. The heat from their forged was so intense it blurs her vision of the two men. The smell of rusty ash and molten slab stinging her nose. Laufey sighed, already exhausted from the trip here. The heat always made her more irritable.

She needed to change the subject for them or they’d never move on. “Brok, you ever finish that teleportation pathway? I know if anyone can do it it’s you.” Brok finally looked at her with a sarcastic grin. “Not yet kiddo, and it’s all for the best. Once we get you teleporting everywhere instead of walking you’ll get all fat and I won’t be able to admire your hips swaying back and forth as they walk in and outta my shop.” Laufey rolls her eyes to the top of her head, they roll quickly back to Sindri who gives her an apologetic look.
“Is there anything I can do to help forge the weapon?” She said.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, you can!” Sindri said.
“Oh for fucks sake.” Brok mumbled as he turned around and walked back to his anvil.
“Faye, come look, I have an idea on how to enhance the axe. Make it stronger than Mjolnir.” Her eyebrows lift as she leans closer to Sindri. “The axe alone can counter any known spell of the gods. But if we infused it with the souls of magical beings it will cause the weapon to come to life, giving it its own element. More importantly, the magic we infuse within the weapon can be upgraded! The weapon will continue to grow more and more powerful!”
Laufey leans against the table with his blueprints sprawled out, a stack of old moldy books next to it. “I saw this!” She said pointing at his prototype rendering of the axe, surrounding with an aura. “It’s ice, isn’t it? Whenever I saw the axe in my dreams it was enclosed in ice. I had no clue what to make of it, it was driving me crazy!” She turned to Sindri extending both her hands out to him, desperate to know if her vision was correct. He winks slyly at her and nods his head up and down. A mix of joy and relief overcame her, with this he filled a massive empty puzzle piece in for her. It wasn’t an early Fimbulwinter, it won't doom the giants, all don't tremble around it out of fear. The axe was simply made out of frost, it was cold. “You really think you can do it?” Sindri reaches for the fingertip of his gloves and effortlessly slips them off. With a gentle speed, he reaches out and enclosed Laufey's bare hands with his own. Laufey beams down at him, still excited, the elders won't have to worry anymore. She opens her fingers inside his hands, weaving both their digits together tightly. The dwarf looks up at her with a serious expression in his eyes. “For you Faye, we’ll do it.”

“...'We’ll?'” A voice grumbles in the background. Laufey looks over to Brok, then back to Sindri, still intensely staring into her eyes. She winks as he looks down at their hands. She let’s go and walks over to Brok. Swaying her hips forcefully. She leans forward, resting her elbows on his anvil, pressing her breast together with her arms. “Pleeeeease?” She pouts. “That sweet shit don’t work on me kid. You look like-....” He glances at his brother behind her. She couldn’t see Sindri's face. But Brok did. Brock’s shoulders slouched and a defeated frown appears on his face. “Oh alright...if it’ll make you happy.”
Laufey turns back around to Sindri and hugs him. “Thank you both!” Sindri talks into her chest, his voice muffled by his impending suffocation. “We’ll need you to travel to Niflheim. There are large frost trolls who roam the area by the base of the mountains. If you bring me 30 of their souls I’ll be able to enchant the axe.” Laufey lets go of him. “30? That’s a lot.”
“Only need 20 or so,” Brok said approaching them. “But we’ll probably waste half of 'em till we get the hang of where the girl wants's us to stick it in her.”
Sindri moves back to pick up his gloves, slipping them back on. “I assure you it is more intricate than that. But it’s true it may take us several attempts until we get the hang of it. So the more you gather the better.”

Laufey looks at the axe on the table. The axe. She traces the smooth blank head of the blade. This weapon haunts her dreams. So often the dreams are crystal clear and play out exactly as they come to her. But whenever this axe appears so does a thick fog of uncertainty. She’s happy she finally figured out the reasoning behind the ice. But there were still so many unanswered questions surrounding the weapon. Like the bear who holds it up in sad jaws. She’s sure she’ll figure it out. As for now, trolls.
Wait, trolls.
Her face contorts into worry. Her lips pull into her mouth as her teeth press down onto them.
“Faye, are you okay?” Sindri asks.
“Yes, I just. The prophecy has me meeting a troll one day. It’s sort of important.” Sindri looks away, hiding his expression as he gathers up his blueprints. Brok looks at his brother and then takes over. “Well say hi to the bastard for me while you slaughter 30 of his friends.” She smiles at him. “Will do, I’ll be back soon. Don’t work too hard!”

Chapter Text

Niflheim was unusually warm today. The layer of snow on the ground hadn’t been this thin since she was a little girl. Pretty soon it would all be gone. Laufey pulled down her hood and adjusted her braid. She regrets overdressing in thick fox furs now.
She sat down on a flat boulder and opens her map. The Bifrost crystal reflecting the sun into her eyes for a moment until she adjusted it on her belt. She was traveling nonstop for almost a week. She could smell the foul odor her body gave off. ‘Time to meet my husband’ she thinks sarcastically to herself as she folded up the map once again. Standing up and continuing east up into the mountain.

She sees footprints in the snow ahead of her. The first sign of life she’s seen in a couple of hours now. Laufey pauses and follows them with her eyes. They lead west. The opposite direction of where she’s heading. She contemplates for a moment. Then decided to take the detour, following the footprints.
She catches up to the prints and sees a woman up ahead. Blond hair pouring down her back. Remarkably well kept for as remote an area they were both in. Suddenly the ground cracks below her and a massive blue hand grip Laufey's entire left leg. The woman turns around to look at the commotion.
A large troll surfaces from under the ground. Its hands still gripping Laufey. As he stands up straight he drags her dangling body upside down. Shaking her violently. She reaches for her dagger but fumbles with it. The troll slams her body against the floor before she can act. The dormant snow from the ground erupts into a flurry as her face cracks into the ground. Laufey screams out in shock and pain, muffled by the cold hard ground in front of her face. She doesn’t linger long on the feeling, properly gripping the knife and stabbing it in between the trolls middle and index fingers. He releases her and pulls his hand away quickly, along with the knife still in it. ‘Shit.’ She thinks to herself. Looking around she finds a large bolder buried halfway into the snow. She runs over and picks it up with strain, chucking it at the beast. He turns to let his right side take the blow. As he does she runs over and jumps for her knife. She's not fast enough, he smacks her away with the back of his hand. She flies back into the side of the mountain, sliding down onto her butt, physically depleted. “Well, let’s hope he wasn’t the one.” She said through a puffy and bloody lip.

“Falki lio!” She screams, holding both hands out to the troll. A storm of wooden falcons pours from her hands. Vines and moss trail them in their flight. They simultaneously all scream out in a deafening screech. The troll bats them away as they fly overhead. They dive at him in onslaught one after the other. Each one of them coming out the opposite side they entered. Chunks of his flesh and organs fly from his body as the wooden birds fly back up and dive into him once again. The troll screams out in agony until suddenly, he doesn't. The birds make one more round, creating new holes in his limp body before they suddenly disperse into pine needles, dirt, and leaves. The troll falls to the ground face first, dead.
Laufey watches all of this still sitting down by the stone wall the troll smacked her into. She sighs and leans her head back onto the cold stone. “Please don’t let that ruin everything...”

“Well you certainly ruined his day.” A familiar woman’s voice said. Laufey quickly looks down. A young blond woman with purple eyes and pink lips. “It’s you again.” She said, wiping her bloody lip off onto her hand.
“Laufey the Brave!?” The woman gasped. “I didn’t recognize you. You look terrible!” She ran over to her, before the woman touched her Laufey jumps up and moves away from her grasp.
“I don’t think so.” Laufey warned.
“Oh, my apologies. How clumsy to forget. Heh, WAR and all.” She brushes off some snow that collected around the base of her dress. “I’m Narfi, I remember you from Odin’s...”
“You’re a god” Laufey snapped back at her, ready to attack.
“Well, only one-seventh god, my father’s mother’s father’s father...”
“What are you doing here?” Laufey interrupted again.
“Oh, I am tasked with, 'strengthening my combat abilities.' My father orders it.” She reaches for her bow and extends it toward Laufey. “He wants me and my sisters to join the ranks of the Valkyries' soldiers.” The bow slips out of her hands, falling into the snow, disappearing underneath the layer of white.
“You, a Valkyrie?” Laufey smirks.
“Oh, Freya forbid, absolutely not. Only a soldier to be used as an extension of their will. Thor has instructed his stepmother to deliver him an army of trained female warriors. While he and his forces search for the last remaining...” She stopped. Possibly remembering who she was talking to.
“That’s, not right?” Laufey said with confusion written on her face.

Laufey's lip was still bleeding. Some drops of blood dripped down her face and onto the snow. She quickly put a hand over her mouth to try and stop the bleeding. “I can help with that if you’d like.” Narfi said. “I’ll be fine.” Laufey said. "I thought you only played tricks on the gods by freeing their slaves and criminals, what brings you out here killing trolls?”
“It is a personal matter. I’m sorry I cannot tell you. Were you hunting them as well for your training?” Laufey said.
“No, father told me to come out here and practice hitting goats with my bow. He said there were so many out here I’d have no shortage of targets.”
Laufey's eyes softened, pity replaced caution. Now it all started to make sense. There were no goats in this part of Niflheim. This place is full of wolves, trolls, and draugrs. She looked down to the snow-covered bow in her hands. It wasn’t strung properly, the wood was dry and cracked. The moment she nocks an arrow the whole thing would snap. Her father sent her out here to die. Everything was a lie. The Valkyrie, the army. She sighed. The god's cruelty never ceases to amaze her. She walked over to the dead troll and pulled her knife out of a large blue hand.
“I am having trouble finding these goats. I wonder if the trolls have frightened them away?” She questions. “I tried asking one but he ran away.”
Wait you were able to talk to one of them?” Laufey asked.
“Yes, he was sitting at the base of the mountain next to the river. I think he was fishing. I must have started him, he looked at me and..-” Laufey ignored her tangent, she instead searched the woman up and down. Where did she fit into all this? Her purple eyes rarely met with her own as she spoke. They always danced off in the background. They were so, beautiful. Iridescent somehow. Like the scales of a snake.

"Narfi, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but my lip won’t stop bleeding.” Laufey lied. “Maybe I will take you up on your offer to help. You use Aesir magic to heal, don’t you?”
“Yes! That’s right! I can’t mend flesh as well as my sisters, but for something as small as that.” She pointed to Laufey's lip. “I’m sure I can try.”
Laufey smiled kindly to her as she walked closer to the young woman. Purple eyes, a snake. She thinks back to the times she dreamt of purple. She sits down while Narfi held out her soft uncalloused hands and a purple aura began glowing from them. Her “healing” spell hurt so badly Laufey's entire body trembled in pain. She was doing everything wrong. She clenches her hands into a fist as the feeling of venom from a snake washes over the entity on her body. Laufey realized she wasn't trying to kill her, she just didn't understand how to properly cast the spell. Through it all, she forces a smile as she let the woman finish.

Chapter Text

Narfi was slowing her down. She had only killed 3 more trolls after the two met 4 days ago. One wasn’t as feral as the others. But when the bubbly woman started a conversation with exasperated hand gestures he immediately attacked her. Thankfully Laufey pulled her away.
The sun was setting. The cold finally began settling in the last two nights. She was happy she overdressed. Narfi had sorely underdressed and Laufey found herself giving up several layers each night to the frail young woman while they took turns sleeping.

The two women sat next to a dim campfire. Narfi pokes the fire with a long stick. “You should leave it alone, if you agitate it too much none of the-” before she finished Narfi accidentally poked the bottom log out from underneath the rest. The log had only begun to produce embers. The entire campfire collapsed and went out.
Laufey blew air out her nose. The woman panicked, trying to pick up one of the rolling logs and yelping as her hand touched the hot wood.
“So, a soldier if Freya’s army? Does it excite you?” Laufey asked, kicking one of the logs back over to the pit. She picked up a still smoking log and chucked it onto the others.
“Well, sure! I mean I’ve always wanted to be a part of something bigger. I don’t enjoy killing, but I’m happy to help my family.” Narfi brought her knees up under her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I guess, I just figured I’d have a little more to say about my own future.”

Laufey looked up from the fire at her. She let her continue. “It’s foolish, but I rejected my father’s wishes to train with a bow and magic when I was a little girl. All my sisters are strong warriors, it came to them so naturally. I didn’t want to fight. All I wanted was..." A pause. "Well, I suppose it never really matters what we want...” The fire was catching onto the logs more and more. Smoke blew into her face, then the first pop of wood sounded from the fire as it began to truly catch on. “Sorry, I’m rambling. I have lived a spoiled, fulfilling life. We’re at war we all have to learn how to fight to protect ourselves anyways.”
“Don’t,” Laufey says. “Finish what you started.”
Narfi looked up at the stars. “I don’t want to fight, I don’t want anything to do with the gods or giants. None of that. I only wanted to be a mother.”
Laufey smiled, almost expecting the response. More puzzle pieces, though she wasn't expecting these for a while, a long while. But now that they were in her lap she may as well enjoy her time with them.
“Come," Laufey says. "Let’s lay out our bedrolls and get ready to sleep. I’ll set up a barrier around us but it’ll have to be small. Sleep next to me tonight, we’ll keep warmer that way.”

The troll fell to his knees. His eyes rolling to the back of his head as he slammed his face into the ground. Dead, 29 she counts. Laufey walks over to him and examined the body. Narfi rips an arrow out from its back, placing it back into her quiver. Her freshly carved bow was starting to show wear from its use over the past 2 months.

“Was that the last one?” Narfi asked. Laufey shook her head. “No one more I think. You did great that time I almost got bored running out of things to do!” Narfi put another arrow back into her quiver. “I wish he would have listened to us first before he started attacking. He looked like the friendly troll I told you about a while ago.”
Laufey stretched her arms up around her head. Her hair was clean, freshly braided in a much more intricate fashion. The top of her head began three massive braids and they cascaded down to all meet as one below her ear. Small purple gems dangled off the tip of a silver band holding it all together.
“I’m sure that’s more than enough for the dwarfs to finish your axe.” Narfi said pulling the last of her arrows out the flesh of the dead troll. “You’d think so, but these guys are a whole different breed,” Laufey said. “One specifically...” Narfi winked playfully. Laufey rolled her eyes. “It’s not like-“
“Who’s there?” A voice called out to them.
Narfi nocked her bow and Laufey stepped out in front of her, shielding her from the direction of the voice.
“We don’t want to fight you. Only talk.” Narfi called out.
“You’re actions don’t match your words.” The voice says. “Show yourself, we will not attack you. I give you my word.” Laufey yells.
A dark blue troll emerges from the cave. His white hair twisted back into a bun. Massive tusks drag along the snow as he walks forward. He has a large scar along his right eye, keeping it permanently shut.
“Why do the giants and the gods attack my people? Most of us have gone feral as of lately, but I don’t think a small tribe of trolls would unite the warring factions to help us.” The troll spoke so clearly, even though his large tusks.
“I’m sorry but it’s a personal matter that brings us out here,” Narfi says, quickly looking to Laufey as if for reassurance. Laufey nods to Narfi and continues. “We attempted to communicate with the previous trolls, but they all attacked us upon first sight. We don’t want to fight you. I need to speak with you.” Laufey extends out her hands, they tremble slightly. She has finally met the father of her son.
The troll motions for the two women to come closer. “Come inside, we’ll talk on my terms.” He turned away from them and disappeared into the cave. Laufey brings her hands back to her side. An elbow digs into her side. She looks over at her friend, eyebrows lift up and down over her purple eyes.

After what felt like a 2-day long meal filled with awkward small talk. Laufey found herself sitting outside the cave. Narfi was better at this than she was. She kept the conversation going all through the night until the troll passed out, belly full of mead. Laufey leaned back and started up at the moon. Just sitting there in her thoughts. Two hands gently touch her shoulders. They slide down her chest and meet at her belly. Narfi leans against her back, hugging her from behind. “Thanks.” Laufey said under her breath. She leans into her arms of her friend. “That man in there. He is the one from my visions. I guess I'm going to be a mother soon.” She twists her face into a series of pain, disgust, regret, and worry. "My story is almost over, soon the 'savior' will be crawling out of my legs and put everything into place."
Narfi lets go and sits in front of her. “Tell me my future.” She asks softly, changing the subject like she always did when Laufey got upset like this.
“I cannot do that," Laufey says. "I haven’t seen it.”
“You’re lying to me, again.”
“Stop, please, I know what you're doing and. Not right now.”
“Laufey.”
Laufey looks over to her, then to the cave.
“He’s asleep," Narfi says. "It’s just us. Tell me.”

Laufey drags her finger along the snow. It zigzags back and forth, like a snake. She keeps quiet.
“Fine." Narfi pouts, moving to sit next to her. "Don’t tell me my future. But tell me if I have a child, tell me my child’s future.”
Laufey smiles painfully. “It’s not any better.” She says in a cracked voice.
“Is the name I already have picked out in my head the one I’ll use? Will she look like me? Will she be happy? Will I have done a good job being her mother?”
Laufey stops her, placing a hand onto her arm. The beautiful woman in a purple dress, a snake with painful venom.
“She will face every cruel obstacle set out in front of her. And she will retain nothing but kindness and forgiveness." Laufey whispers.
“So she’ll be a good mother?” Narfi says with hope in her eyes.
“She’ll have learned from the best,” Laufey says.
“Sigyn, that was my mother’s name. She died while giving birth to me. I always wanted to meet her. I suppose one day I will.” She puts a hand over her belly.
Laufey looks up to her friend. The purple woman from her dreams. Or rather, the mother of the purple woman. Images flashback into her memory. The beautiful wife, mother. She is holding a bowl of venom, endless tears streaming down her face. Fog enclosing her as she is shielding a man, a wicked man. Loki, he is undeserving of her. Suddenly the axe appears behind her, it slices through Narfi's daughter and everything disappears into frost.

“I need to get back to Brok and Sindri.” Laufey says.
“But, the father. Don't you have to...”
“Fuck this prophecy!”
She closes her eyes. “I’m sick of this!” Laufey yells suddenly. Narfi looks taken back by her outburst. “I’m sick of this, this thing! I don't want to 'only' be a mother!” She said grabbing at her stomach. Narfi looks back to the cave, they hear rustling inside it.
“Fuck the prophecy. Go, finish the axe, then bring it back here.” Narfi says with a grin. “I’ll stay here and keep him occupied until you return.
“I can’t just leave you here with him?” Laufey interjected. “He’s-“
Narfi smiles and doesn’t let her finish. “A great conversationalist, handsome in a certain light? You’re probably right I may take him away from you if you’re gone too long. So hurry back.”
Laufey stands up and pats herself down, she has the souls, her knife, and the Bifrost. That's all she needs. “As soon as that axe is made I promise you I’ll run back here as fast as possible. I won’t stop for anything.”

Chapter Text

She hears them talking behind closed doors. They had been working on the axe all day. She closes her eyes and concentrates on their voices. She hears Brok’s voice. “Perhaps the great serpent of Midgard methinks...” she cannot make out the rest of his sentence. She hears Sindri speak, his words are muffled but she can hear a stanza. A ritual, they are naming the weapon. It truly is finished. “Rise now.” Sindri says, “Leviathan.”

The brothers both hold the frost axe out to her. She picks it up. It’s not as heavy as she imagined. It wobbles in her hands as she gets used to the weight and balance. “It’s gonna take a while before you’re good at killing with it. An axe is a difficult and frankly, horrible weapon to master. The girls so top heavy, simply leveraging her will wear you down right 'n good.” His eyes drift down to her breast. “Though I’m sure you already know how to deal with that. Should of dreamt up a pike, now that’s a weapon. But no, everyone thinks it ain’t flashy enough...” Brok begins mumbling incoherently before his brother steps in.
“I’m confident you’ll come to master the weapon in due time. We made the head as thin as possible, it is a strange balance to get used to. If you hold it closer to the top of you will have better control over it, but doing so sacrifices much of the impact force. So try and hold it down here.” Sindri says pointing to the bottom on the pommel.
Laufey wobbles her arm, still getting the feeling of holding such a top-heavy weapon. “The prophecy and visions aren't always word for word, but there’s no mistaking it. This axe is definitely a part of the downfall of Odin and Thor.”
Brok grins at his brother. “Good, hope it’ll knock that bastard Thor onto his fat ass. When it happens make sure to bring us back his hammer. I’m gonna reforge the damn thing into a chamber pot.

“It has a neat little trick.” Sindri says. “Ehhh- call it a trademark!” Brok adds as he walks over. He takes the axe from her and walks across the room with it. “Now, go stand over there.” He said. Laufey does what he asks, standing far away from the axe. “Now.” Sindri starts. “Hold out your hand like this.” He holds one hand out, as if to catch something.
“Two hands! What sort of barbaric moron uses an executioner axe with one hand?!” Brok yells in the background. Sindri sighs and Laufey extends both hands past her shoulders. “Using your mind, call the weapon back.”
Laufey closes her eyes and calls to the weapon. In an instant, her arms jerked back as the weapon rushes into her hands. “Neat! But, how does it know to only come to me and not just anyone who calls it?”
“Get the fuck outta here if you think we’re just going to just lay out all our secrets! Try not to have too much fun with it kiddo, you might strain your wrist.” Brok says. She looks at the pommel. Their brand is still warm on it. She smiles as she drags her thumb over it. “Stop that.” Brok says. Laufey sets the axe down and hugs the blue dwarf. He hugs her back, giving her upper back a few hard slaps, making sure there wasn't any air left in her when he was through. “We just wanted to right a whole buncha wrong we might’ve contributed in all this. I’m counting on you kid to help us undo this mess.” He says. She lets go of him and stands up. “We will fix this mess together.” She says confidently.

“I’m going right back to work thinking up ideas on how to improve the axe. I want to expand the number of abilities it can hold.” Sindri says picking up some books. Brok looks at him, then to Laufey. He winks and walks away. “I gotta shit, be back in a minute, or an hour.” She rolls her eyes, then turns to the other dwarf. He shoves several more books into his bottomless bag.
Laufey walked over to him, he closed his bag and faced her. She leans down and hugs him as well. She stays like that for a while until finally she feels his hands slide up her back and hug her back. “What happened out there Faye? Is everything alright?” He said turning up to look at her. She keeps her face buried in his shoulder, not wanting to answer. “You never told me why Brok isn’t dead like he was in my visions.” She says hoping to change the subject. Sindri slides his glove off and places a hand onto her cheek, pulling her away in order to look at her. “When faced with the inevitability of a fate you despise, who wouldn’t do everything in their power to change it?”
“Maourinn sem gengur eigin vegum hans gengur einn.” Laufey whispers as she leans her forehead against his for a moment. Then stands up and backs away from him. He slips his glove back on. “You're never alone.” He says. “Let me know if there is anything we can do to help you.”
Laufey held both arms out and watched as the axe flew into her hands. She runs her fingers along the carved runes along the head of the axe. It felt much colder than before.
Brok made a grumbling sound as he waddled back into the room. “What the Hel you still doing here in my shop? This is a place of business get the fuck outta here!” She grins and quickly walks out of the shop, waving one last time to the brothers.

In her rowboat she holds out the Bifrost crystal. Niflheim, or Jotunheim?

Chapter Text

Tyr’s temple was in her view. She dragged the rowboat up onto the beach. Walking the rest of the way. She held the axe in her right hand, walking along the sand. Excited to show Narfi the weapon. She decided to try the spell inside it. She swirled the axe around her body with both hands and a flurry of ice flew out the bottom of the ground. She was impressed.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled as the world serpent lifted its massive body from the lake. Her little boat pulled back into the water, capsized, and sunk to the bottom of the water.
She sighed annoyingly but immediately forgave him. Love can do that. The serpent arched his head over to her and leaned in. As water from his skin began to splash down onto her face she felt the hot breath coming from his nose. She reached out her hand, feeling along his scales as he snarled contently. “You're not supposed to be awake young man. I must be really messing everything up.” She said giving him a kiss. He spoke to her slowly in his language. Her chest rumbling from the deep sounds snarling from his massive mouth.

“They are bleeding Bestemor. I want to bite him but I can not. Let me bite him for you.”

She pulled her hand away. “What?!” Her heartbeat begins to thunder in her chest. “I have to reach the top of the mountain NOW! Go. Take me!”
He looks up at the sky.

“The door is open. Odin comes.”

She climbs on top of him and starts running, almost slipping on his still wet skin. She runs across the serpent‘s back as fast she can. The snake moves along with her, up towards the peaks, doing most of the traveling for her. She sees the mountain and the ancient tree. The portal, it’s already activated, anyone can travel into Jotenhime. With both hands holding onto her axe she runs in, not looking back to the serpent.

Her homeland was covered in dark black clouds, The sun struggled to shine through the lightning and thunder cracking violently in the sky.
No, no, this can not be happening.
Laufey runs across the stone bridge, a bolt of lightning strikes again. She shields her face with the axe and is sent backward, flying almost off the bridge before she drops the axe and holds on. She climbs back up and runs into the cavernous tunnel. Running quickly out onto the other side. She is stopped by another bolt of lightning and then something blocks the sunlight. Her sister in law. She is swinging at a man flying around her, Thor. He effortlessly doges her hands and flies behind her. With a loud bang, he smashed his hammer into the back of her head. She screams out in pain, the giant woman's voice shaking her to the core. She stumbles into a smaller mountain as she falls onto the ground. Thor continues his attack, lightning cracking as he brings down his hammer against the back of her head once again. It fractures her skull open. Her beautiful black hair tumbles off in chunks attached to her scalp. Laufey shields her eyes in horror as blood begins to rain down from the sky. Thor leaves her massive body falling as he flies back into the sky. He dashed over top her, high in the air, and hurled into another giant. Laufey looks over to her sister, fear, rage, horror, it all twists inside her. Two more giants fall to their death. The impact of their bodies hitting the ground causes her to lose her balance. Thor continues his slaughter on the last of her people. Men and women whom she believed to be the strongest warriors in the world. They may as well be sheep to him. Tears fill her eyes and she reaches out for her axe. It jolts to her. She rushes forward towards the edge of the mountain. “HEY!” She screams. As the body of the last giant falls on top of the mountain he dashes toward her. She readies the axe, stilling it in front of her.
He hovers over the top of her. His hammer sparking, cape flapping in the wind. She cannot see his face underneath his hood. She lets several tears stream down her in order to clear her vision before she rushes to attack him. He dodges her first swing. She was holding the axe the wrong way she realized. Adjusting her grip she swings again. He puts little effort into eluding the next several swings. She is getting the hang of it now. She slams the axe into the ground and summons ice onto it. A pillar of ice grows from below her feet, she jumps on top of it and gets a better swing at him. It gets closer to landing, but he is still too fast. It was close enough for him to finally start attacking back. A bolt of lightning strikes her. It paralyzes her in place. Electricity stings through every bone in her body as it surges through her skin. She screams and holds a hand out, "Falki loi!" The wooden birds fly at him. His lightning strikes most of them down but one managed to dive at his face, knocking his hood down and slicing the top of his ear.
Angered, he rushes forward and raises his hammer to her. She brings her axe low to the ground and swings up, the two weapons meet in outburst in front of their face.
Frost and lightning spark into an explosion, sending both of them back. Thor flying into the side of the mountain. Laufey flew off the edge and plummeted to the ground. Her axe still in her hands. Her body exhausted. She landed onto something softer than the ground. Hands, These hands. Her brother’s hands. He didn’t even check to see if she was okay, he quickly started running towards the open portal. She wobbled back and forth violently as he ran, struggling to hold on. The terrifying sound of thunder reverberated around them. She looked back and saw Thor approaching them from behind. “Go!” She screamed at her brother as he ran closer to the open portal. Almost there. Her brother looked down at her for a moment. She absorbed everything about his face. His blue eyes, his brick red hair. Her protector and best friend. A memory, sleeping in the cleft of his ear, his songs about the forest. The way he called her Pine Needle when she was doing something she shouldn’t be. Memories instead of visions, they were so precious and so rare in her mind.

It all happened within seconds.

From his right eye, Thor flew out, sending blood and bone raining down violently on her. Her brother roared in pain. “NO!” She screamed. He begins stumbling to the ground. Thor raises his hammer and slams it down on top of her brother’s head, shattering his skull, he came down with the blow, hovering close to her. She calls her axe to her hand and rushes at the god. A suicidal reckless attack. She couldn’t even see through her tears. As Thor flew towards her, her brother’s other hand grabbed a hold of him. With his last breath, he shoved his hand, and Thor into the portal. With a violent crack of lightning, his hand separated from his arm. No sooner than Thor and the now dismembered hand vanish into the portal's light her brother’s limp body fell over top of the archway. Crushing the gateway to Jotunheim.
Laufey stood there in shock, her brother’s blood dripping down her face, it mixed on her face with her tears. She looked down at his massive still body. His hand landed on top of a smaller mountain palm facing up, holding onto her closely. As if protecting her. The limp hand started sliding down the mountaintop. She moved with it, climbing to his fingers.

Thor was gone. She looked around, the giants, her family, were all dead. The portal into the other realms, gone. She was trapped in Jotunheim. She let the axe fall out of her hands and fell to her knees. She screamed.

Chapter Text

The last arrow was finally finished. She examined it and quickly placed it into the quiver. 'Narfi, I'm so sorry.' She thinks to herself. She picked up her axe and walked over to the edge of the forest. Her bow slipping off her shoulders before she caught it to readjust. She looks around the quiet woods, the signs of life were dwindling. She took a deep breath in and listened with her soul. Something called out but it was so far away. Hunger drove her away from her grief. She pushed her legs in front of her and headed towards the animal.

Laufey moved the chisel into her right hand, shaking her left violently. It had started to go numb on her again. She sighed and looked up at the stone face stared lifelessly back to her.
She climbed down the statue and began working on the details around the neck. She coughed inside the cave, dust from the stone tickling her throat. Trying to remember where the Elder's beard fell to on his neck.

A flash of ice erupts from the ground, she measures the size. It is much larger than the last time she thinks. She is getting better at this. She applauds herself within her mind. She runs her fingers across the runes of the axe before swinging it into the air to cast again. If she didn't continue her mind would wander to those she has failed.

The spell didn't work, she threw her hands against the rocks at the top of the mountain. The wind blew from the blue sky above her, blowing the scent of burnt flesh into her nose. Purple flowers leaned inward gently brushing against her arm. She held out her arm, dripping with blood. The spell required a sacrifice, Farbauti's ashes. Laufey felt a sickening string of guilt and disappointment wash over her. In the vision, the parent of Loki would burn hot with fever, then die. Their ashes would bring back her dead people slain by the gods. Her body covered in scabs and scars from where she sliced her skin off to burn, but every offer of flesh she put forth didn't work. She was the parent of no one. Laufey looks past the mountain's edge. The stillness of everything as the massive bodies still scatters the world below. She smooths her shoulder-length hair away from her face as the wind tussles it back and forth, grabbing for hair no longer there. That's right, she thinks, no more braid. She offered that too. She ignores the blood from her hands as it drips onto her face.

She swings the axe violently, her muscles ache but she lunges forward. Her invisible foe still fighting back. Laufey swings the axe around her back and twirls her body against it as she brings it back in front of her with a vicious swing. After she was finished she set the axe down and went back to her push-ups. She hated this part, her arms shook but she didn't stop until she finished her routine. Saying the numbers in her head kept her mind busy.

Laufey wobbled back and forth while riding on the back of the creature moving forwards. A massive vicious bear. Her hands combed through his thick fur, stroking him gently as she hummed a sweet song to the beast. The Leviathan resting in his sad jaws. He made no pause to his movement, except when a Red Wolf lingered too far behind.

She turned around to look at the small pup. He kept his head low to the ground, along with his tail. Every couple of moments the Wolf would look up at the Bear as if reassuring he was safe to be close to it. A strange, powerful emotion bubbled up inside Laufey causing her to shift all of her attention on the wellbeing of the animal walking beside her and her Bear. A sharp pain erupted inside her body when she saw how distressed the Wolf was. Unable to pinpoint where the pain inside her body was coming from, she folded her arms around her core to sedate the pain. This creature's sadness was the cause, she had to comfort it somehow. She swung her legs to one side of the bear's back and motioned to slide off the massive beast. The Bear quickly protested, a low snarl rumbling in his throat. He didn't want her to leave him, this caused her to smile lovingly down at the Bear. Slowly she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss onto the back of his neck.

Laufey awoke as the first bit of sunlight danced onto her face. She reached out to grasp something that wasn't there.

Her chain mail tunic was getting in the way, she was outgrowing it. She removed it to examine, may as well take everything off. As she stood over it nakedly she measured her body. She had already made herself two tunics from leather and furs. But with each passing month, she quickly outgrew them. Her breast, her biceps, mostly her hips. She figured she was over and done with all of this. She was the same age her mother must have been when she gave birth to her. Not that she ever met her. She could no longer incorporate the chain mail properly in her new armor. She ponders if she should line the front of her chest with it, or the back...

She curls against his earlobe. His once soft flesh as hard as stone. She wipes several tears away from her face and stutters her next breath in through her nose. She places kisses on the ground, the fleshy walls around her, back to the ground again. All around her as she rolls around frantically. She pushes herself onto her knees and holds her face into her hands. She surrenders to her emotions and lets out an agonizing scream.

She awoke from her dream inside the cavern. The stone statues of her long-dead family watched over her. The dream was still fresh in her mind, she walked over to where she left off last night. She etched the boy's face into the walls, holding her bow, aiming it at the man. She carved out the words Loki above him. She scrapped her hands across the smooth face of the boy. The smell of paint and freshly exposed stone filled the air. This part was finished. Laufey looks at the boy she would have called son, savior... if only she hadn't been so reckless. She looked around at the other walls she had painted of his story. He was the only one in them. He met the world serpent, fought the gods, all on his own. She looked up to a massive blank wall and closed her eyes. Ready to start a new inscription. There was still much to etch out.

Five years cycle past in Jotunheim.

Chapter Text

It was a sound Laufey never thought she would hear again. She hunched over a rock looking for the source. The Leviathan held behind her back. Through the tall red trees of the rocky forest a muffled cry echoes. A baby, no, older she thinks. A child? Perhaps somewhere in the middle?

She crawls forward to the sound. It had to be a trap from the cruel gods. A test? She had already attempted to wake herself up to see if it was a dream, a new vision. She didn't trust it. Still, it had been years since she had met anything aside from the creatures in the forest. Curiosity mixed with desperation drove her forward.

Hidden behind a large tree was a small toddler, crying into the exposed tree roots. The sobbing was weakened by exhaustion. She wondered how long the child had been crying? Laufey emerged from the shadows. Her feet crunching against the leaves caused a small face to turn around and look at her.

It was a little girl.

The girl stood up and lunged towards Laufey. She ran with her arms open, wrapping them around Laufey's legs as soon as she got close. Laufey hadn't experienced human contact in years, gasping, she shoved the child away.

The little girl yelped as she fell backward onto her bottom. Her hair flared in front of her face. The color of strawberries. She had an allure about her. Something inside Laufey wanted to immediately scoop the child up and nurture her. Take her home, feed her. She was so pure and perfect, almost, too perfect. She shook the wave of temptation away from her mind, remaining suspicious of the god's trickery. Laufey lifted her axe up and started looking around as the little girl sat on the ground sobbing quietly now. Her dirty hands rubbing tears away.

There truly is no one else around here Laufey realized. She sets her axe down and extends out her arms to the girl as an apology. The little girl immediately runs over to her, her wet face seeping through her clothing. Amazed by the undeserving trust in her, she must be so desperate.
Laufey opens her mouth to speak, but it had been so long. How does she make the sound again? The vibrations come out all wrong at first. She almost bit her tongue.
She tries again.
"What is your name?"
The little girl looked up at her.
"Ελένη"

Gibberish. Of course, she was too young to talk yet.

Laufey hugs her and wipes a tear from her face. She examines her features.
A birthmark in between her blue eyes. Her facial structure seemed, different. She was a humanoid, but, she didn't look like any of the other humans she's ever met. She was wearing a sky blue dress out of a strange thin fabric. What an odd way to drape a dress, so much fabric, yet it still left so much exposed. She wasn't that familiar with how parents dress growing children, maybe it would be easier for her to grow into it? She must have been cold, no cloth covered her arms and her shoes seem to only protect the bottom of her feet, leaving the top open to the elements. Laufey wraps her cloak around her. She looks down at her neck, a necklace. What is this? Strange shapes carved into it. Σπάρτη It couldn't be a language, she had known all of them.
The girl reaches up and tries to poke Laufey eyes. She quickly moves her head back from the hands. "No." She says sternly. The little girl reaches for her own eyes and points to them. She wanted her to look at her eyes?
"Eyes," Laufey says slowly. She blinks a few times. Laufey spent the rest of the day searching for any signs of her parents or a portal she came through.
Her back was starting to hurt, the little girl insisted she carries her the entire trip up the mountain home. Laufey finally set her down inside her cave. all the statues and paintings entranced the little girl. She ran away from her to look at them. She ran to and pointed at Loki. Laufey walks over with a small smile. "That's my baby." She says trying to seem friendly. "He, passed away, unfortunately." She stutters. "πεθερός" the little girl says. Laufey leans down but before she can put a hand onto her shoulder she runs off to another painting. It is his fight with Frigg's son. His arrow ready to fire, all alone he would kill the mighty god.
"This was, um, his brave fight with one of the gods. He slays the...-" The girl hits the wall angry. "Πού είναι το άλλο;" She mumbles.

Laufey stills as her eyes grow wide That's not a child's babbling, that's a different language. She points to Loki's picture. "You?" She points to the little girl. Perhaps she is like the world serpent. "Hel?" She questions. The little girl shakes her head.
She pointed to a crumbling wall that Laufey hadn't finished yet. Loki with the snake venom. She hadn't started carving Narfi's daughter yet.
"I'm sorry but I cannot finish the rest." She says. "My baby isn't alive... anymore." She adds in lying.
The little girl reaches out towards the runes spelling out Loki.

"Death cannot hold those with purpose." A voice echoed.

Laufey turns around. A woman. No, it is transparent, a ghost? A spirit from Hel she thinks. The body glows in the dim cave. A dress, similar in style to the one on the child, sprawling down her slender body, a breast spilling out one side. A snake-like ingot wraps around parts of her exposed arm. Jewelry? Her hair is pulled back from her face. In place of eyes, she has glowing light shining brightly. Laufey shoves the little girl behind her and summons the axe to her hands. "What illusion is this?!" She yells out to the woman.

"I was curious of the extent of your abilities. So it would seem you have your limits for how far you can see into what has not yet occurred. Or perhaps you are simply confined to this world alone?" The woman says walking forward. "You have spent so much of your life expecting everything before it even happens. How strange must it feel for you to be truly in the dark as the rest of us."
"Answer me Hel spawn! What magic is this? What is going on?" Laufey brings her axe in front of the woman's face, inches away from her body.
The ghost walks through the axe, unharmed. She bends down and looks to the little girl smiling.
"I've been looking everywhere for you. Your betrothed's family must truly indeed be worried."
"Betrothed?" Laufey said disgustingly, looking back to the small child.
"Yes, the man she is promised to is the second son of a great and powerful king. Much effort has been put into place to protect her. She is to be hidden away until finally, she is old enough to be married." The woman continues. "Tell me, was she with anyone when you found her?" Laufey lowered her weapon.
"No, she was left all alone in the forest. I searched, but I didn't find anybody else."
The ghostly woman reached out to the little girl. She clutched tightly to Laufey leg, trembling. The woman lowered her hands and stood up straight away. "I can not thank you enough, finding her for me as you did."
Laufey looks down to the little girl. "Why is she so special?"
The woman stares blankly at her. She is unable to read her facial expression with no eyes staring back at her. Laufey sets the axe down and picks the little girl up. She hides her face in her breasts. Her fingers grip her arms so tightly it begins to hurt. She readjusts her onto her hip.
"Her beauty has cursed her. Men from different lands fight wars for her." Another smile crept onto her face, the smiles were chilling. "This isn't the first time someone has attempted to take her away. Not long ago A greedy king with a powerful army stole her for himself. The girl's brothers are from a land known for creating some of the most feared and powerful warriors this world has ever known. They fought and rescued her from the captors."
The woman turned her head to look around the cave, she didn't spend much time looking at each of the etchings on the walls. "You have my eternal gratitude for delivering this child to me."

Laufey lifted an eyebrow suspiciously. "I still don't understand where you fit into this?"
Once again, the woman was impossible to read. "I seek only to return her to her land. She is far from her home."
"Where is her home? Niflheim? Midgard?" She smoothly comes to her fingers through the strawberry hair of the little girl.
"No child. While your world is indeed vast with many realms, we come from even further away."
"Like the ones Tyr traveled to?" Laufey asked.
"Hmmm, yes you would know about his travels, wouldn't you? But as for an answer to your question, yes. We come from a far away world, unlike any realm you have ever journeyed to."
Laufey noticed she was still not answering her question. "Is she from the same land as you?"
A silence, several seconds longer from what felt natural. "No, and yes."

Laufey tightens her hold onto the girl.
The woman continued. "The girl in your hands, she is the daughter of a man very close to me."
Laufey started to suspect the woman, the way she spoke, the things she said, the things she didn't.
"You see, that girl is a goddess from my land."

Laufey froze.

A smile reappeared on the woman's face as Laufey bent down to promptly set the girl onto the ground.
"Once again, I thank you for finding her. I only wish I could reward you for keeping her safe."
Laufey walked back over to her axe and picked it up bitterly. "You have what you want. Leave my home."

The woman walks over to the small girl. Tears bubbling up in her small eyes before she lets out a whimper the woman places a hand onto the top of her head. The child vanishes. The woman turns to face Laufey with a smile.
"You have proved a reliable ally. I offer my assistance to you."
"Leave my home," Laufey says coldly.
The woman ignored her. "I worried you may have grown attached to her and struggle to release her."
Laufey set the axe over her right shoulder. "I was with her only a day."

Another unusually long pause came before she responded. "You must forgive me, a mother's love can attach itself to not simply her child."
"I am not a mother." Laufey quipped. "You have everything you need. Please leave."
"I can save you from your solitude." The woman says. Laufey moves her axe back in front of her.
"You have proven a woman with whom I can keep my possessions safe with. If you wish, follow and continue to aid me. I will reward you with all the power and glory deserving of you."

"Get. Out." Laufey snaps coldly.

The woman begins floating in the air. "As you wish. This will call upon me should you ever change your mind. No matter what I am indebted to you for this gift you have given me." A small golden object falls onto the ground.
She begins to disappear. "May our paths cross again soon, αδερφή."
Laufey walks over to the object she left. Then realizes she never asked the woman for her name.
She picks up the ring and examined it. An ear cuff. It had strange symbols. Αθήνα. She could feel no signs of magical energy coming from it.

Chapter Text

She stood on the edge of her brother's fingertips. Looking out to her dead people scattered along the mountains below. Her feet inch closer to the cliff, the Leviathan in her right hand. How many times in the past 5 years had she done this? Gotten this close? She wondered if this would even kill her? She paused for a moment, looking down at her fate. It all began to swirl in her mind. Her failures, her losses, she thinks of the men and women she loved. These feelings normally brought her back to reality. They saved her. But today she had felt no emotions. There was an emptiness inside her heart, she wanted to find something, anything. But it was all lost in an endless maze, or gone forever. If she was stronger she would set off in search of these precious feelings... but she was tired. 'This was fine' she thought, 'I'll be with them.' She bends down to feel her brother's fingers with her own hands. The fingerprints were worn away from time and friction. Without seconds guessing herself, she plummeted off the edge of his hands. The wind felt so lovely against her face as she fell. It was as if it blew away a layer of dead skin clinging to her body. A layer that weighed her down too much. She only felt these lovely feelings for moments, before approaching the earth below came closer and closer. "Free me." She says before the ground consumes her.

She's, not dead? No, she must be, though this doesn't look like Hel. Strange white stone pillars surrounded her. The wind blew her hair in front of her face, lose strands slapping her cheeks along with harsh droplets of water. The scene was almost apocalyptic, screams of agony echoed in the background as tornadoes whirled overhead. The rains flooded the land, waves of water surged onto the banks of the small hill she stood on, threatening to wash her away. As long as there wasn't any lightning she wouldn't be scared. The glowing woman stood in front of her, eyes shining brightly on her emotionless transparent face.

"Serve me and I will free you. It is not too late!"
Laufey calls for her axe, it doesn't come to her.
"I know you want a second chance. I have that power. I can send you back, you can fix everything. Prevent that future before it even happens.
She reaches for her dagger. "Enough! Leave me be!"
The woman lifts her hand, the ear cuff she destroyed after their last meeting, floats out of the pouch in several pieces. It glows the same blue aura as the woman now. It reconstructs itself back together.
"I am entrusting you with something special to me. Once I am finished, simply return it and I will help you save your people." The cuff floats in front of her face. Laufey reaches out to grab it and throws it onto the ground stepping on it. The thin metal cracking beneath her boot.
"No matter what you offer, I am not helping you or any god! Go ahead, send me anything precious of yours, I will destroy it!"
A smile creeps onto the woman's face.
"You have already assisted the gods in a monumental way. For that, we can never ignore the debt owed to you. Until that day comes. You and I are bound." The ear cuff vibrates beneath her boot.
Laufey glares at the woman as she vanishes. The rain began to stop. Only the sound of wind can be heard.

Something crashes down over top of her. She slams into the ground on impact, almost every rib feels broken.
Whatever landed on her was breathing raggedly.
Her vision fades momentarily.

A large hand slides underneath her shirt. It moves up underneath the base of her right breast but before it touches the fleshy mound it slides down to her hips and grips it tightly. She feels her hip bone fracture. Burning fingertips caress against the cold skin underneath her clothing. Slowly they trace painfully across her abdomen, she is being burnt alive. The weight of a body pushes down on top of her. As she motions to scream out in pain a mouth pushes against her own. It rips her lips open as it enters violently. Stealing the last remits of air from her lungs. She cannot breathe. Everything hurts. She reaches out in desperation and grabs hold of the thing over top her, she had to rip it off her. It was killing her. Where she expected to feel the skin of a human, there were only chains. Her vision shifts into focus, there wasn't a person over top of her at all. Just a pile of chains? The ends coiled around her body. The top wrapped around her neck loosely. It slithered down her shirt and around her breast. The other end had slipped down the waistband of her trousers and coiled around her upper thigh. She reaches underneath her clothing and pulls the hot chain off her body, it makes a jingling sound as it fell next to her.
Laufey sat up, bringing a hand to her mouth. The taste of rust leaves an odd lingering aftertaste in her mouth. It was, sweet? Similar to alcohol made from fruit. She looks around for the chains but they were nowhere to be found. A vision? A dream? Where is she? "I've been here." She thinks.

The world is overcast in a dark blue aura. She cannot see in front of her more than a few feet. Reaching for her axe next to her she tries to stand up but the gravity is too heavy. She falls back onto her hands and knees. Fatigue overtakes her.
"Kid?" A voice says. This voice, she knows it. "Holy shit, Kid!" She felt small hands grip her arms.
"Brok?" She weakly whispers. Then, sleep overtook her.

-- 

She woke to the sound of a leather tent flapping above her head. A hammer on steel can be heard, it ticks repeatedly over and over, it sings to her heart. A sound from her past she all but forgot. As she moves her arms out the sound stops. "Hey, you up?" The dwarf walks quickly over to her. He helps her sit up, everything hurts. In a rush of memories and emotions, her arms tremble as they reach out to Brok. She throws them around him and hyperventilates, then throws up. Her body not fully caught up with her mind.

"Woah Woah, hey look it's alright let it all out. Calms down." He says holding her hair back. "The Hel is going on?"
Laufey focuses on her breathing. She counts each one slowly until her heart was no longer pounding in her chest. She doesn't let go of Brok but loses her grip. He rubs his hand gently up and down her back. "We all thought you were dead." Laufey sits back and looks at him, he seemed, different? Hair was missing from the top of his head, thick lines had been drawn all over his cracked skin as if he was an old man. "What happened?" Was all Laufey could muster out.
The dwarf shakes his head. "That's what I want you to answer!" He stands up and faces her. "Thor attacked the giants some 50 years ago. We all assumed you got caught up in the middle of it."

Laufey leaned forwards onto her hands. 50 years. She remembered the way time fluctuations differently through all the realms. "They are all dead. I was the only one left in Jotunheim, he killed all of us and the portal was destroyed. I couldn't get out." She whispers with exhaustion in her voice.
"Shit..." He says. "The portal on top of the mountain was destroyed when Thor brought a massive hand through it. Odin was furious with his little brat after that. Enslaved 100 mortals to rebuild it. Killed every single one when it didn't end up working."

Laufey remembered everything clearly. She looks around his small camp like shop, her axe was leaning next to the forge. She smooths her hair back behind her ear. "I'm was fixing her up while you were sleeping. I figured you'd do much more damage to her than you did. Woah, what is that?" He points to her ear. She reaches out and touches metal on her ear. The cuff of the woman, she feels the etching on it. "No!" She screams as she tries to take it off. It won't budge. She pulls as hard as she can, her skin blistering from the pressure. Feeling a drop of blood as she continues clawing at her ear to rip it off her skin.

"Hey, wait stop don't do that!" Brok pulls her hands away from her ears. "That thing hurting you?" He asks.
"No, maybe, I..." She was confused. Everything crashing over top her. This didn't feel like Hel. Brok was truly here in front of her. The woman, she, put this cuff on her? But when? How?
"Shit Kid, what happened to you?" He asked looking at her with caution. She walked over to the axe and picked it up. Stumbling over her feet until she remembered how to walk. "I have to go Brok. Tell Sindri, wait, where is your brother?"
Brok folds his arms to his chest. "Lot's happened since you've been gone, princess. World don't just wait patiently for you to comes back to it." He walked away from her. "I got sick of him..." Laufey interrupted. "You split up again?"
"Look, sweetheart, I knows you wanted us to live happily ever after. Making your people forks and knives because there won't be a need for weapons 'n fighting no more. But the worlds a coldhearted son of a bitch and it decided we needs to keep killing each other." He walks over to his hammer an picks it up.

"You said Odin was mad at Thor?" Laufey changed the subject.
"Odin is mad at everyone. His wife up 'n left him right as he dove off the deep end. Stapled his goat counselor to a tree, locked himself underground, and kills anyone who looks at him the wrong way. He stole Freya's brother away from that godforsaken war the skinny fuckers keep fighting. Don't even try to go to Alfheim right now. It's a disaster."
Laufey was starting to cool down, she smiles playfully. She missed his voice, his crudeness, her friend. He spoke to her as if they spoke last week and the week before that. "When is that place not a shit hole?"

Brok cracks a laugh. "She's finally waking up! Good, for a second I thought you were one of them reanimated corpses waddling around. You smell like one no offense."
"I thought the same thing myself. The last thing I remember was dying in Jotunheim. Then I wake up in the world between realms. I don't know how this is possible, I'm so lost."
"Good! You've been so chock full of yourself yer whole life thanks to your people's future mumbo jumbo, it's good to walk around on the dirt like everyone else. Don't waste it."
She starts walking out from underneath the tent. "Wait a moment!" He yells. "You don't need to be rushing out to meet your death this late in the evening. Plus I managed to convince some poor SOB to trade some good mead for a shitty helmet that didn't even fit 'em. I'm about to cook up something to eat. You should at least. Fill your gullet and take a proper shit before you head out." Laufey smiles so widely tears threatening to spill out. "You're right, maybe have something to drink too."

"I didn't offer you that." He quipped.

--

The food was as horrible as she remembered. Rotten uncured meat cooked over a bubbling forge smelling like molten metals. She picked her teeth with the bones. Before she drank down her second cup of mead. She hadn't drunk alcohol in 5 years. She told herself as soon as she started to feel dizzy she'd stop. "So what are you gonna do now?" Brok says with a mouthful, 4 cups ahead of her and topping her own cup off. "You still gotta paint that shit all over the world?" Laufey brought the bone back to her mouth. Her journey. What the elders had prepared her for long before their death. "No, I don't see the point anymore." Laufey finally says. "No one will use it."

"Hah, seems like all the more reason to do it to me. Now you won't be worried about someone finding yer fuck ups along the way."

Laufey smiles sarcastically. "But why should I still waste my time doing it?" She looks over to him, he sat in front of several swords and shields, masterfully crafted. A huge poleaxe was on the back table. Tools for carving molten steel lay all over the table. He had started a beautiful pattern etching the top of the poleaxe, it seems like he stopped suddenly midway down the staff. He was in such a remote area it seemed, who was he making these for? He had so many unsold weapons to begin with, yet he kept making more.
"Because it's yer job isn't it? Never took you for a slacker. I always liked that about you." He drank the last bit of ale from his cup loudly. "My brother on the other hand. What a piece of shit. First sign of change or an obstacle, he quits everything and starts a new job. Worthless." He leans over and holds a finger to his nose and blows a hard rock of snot out the other nostril onto the ground.

"I see why you kept rejecting that sorry sod."

Laufey smiles down at her own cup of ale. Her reflection hardly recognizable in the brown liquid. Once she drank the reflection of herself the room had begun to spin. "All these years and you've not once asked what happened between the two of us?" She says.
"'Nones of my business, so no." He snaps.
How long had it been since she was doing this? Simply this. Talking with not only another human, but a friend. Her cheeks were flushed with ale, a smile crept up onto her face, it was either that or tears, the alcohol made it confusing.
"Brok, I cannot express how happy I am to be here with you and your shitty shop right now." She jabs.
"Oh shitty is it? Well, go fuck yourself, princess. I upgraded your axe, made it extra shitty." He said offering more drink but she placed a hand over top her cup, gesturing she'd had enough.
"Mind if I sleep here tonight? Tomorrow I'm going to head out. Hopefully, I'll never see your stupid face again." She winks.
"Yer always welcomed here kiddo." He said standing up and taking her empty plate and cup from her.

That night she lay awake under the tent. A loud snoring several feet away from her. She wondered how a monster hadn't heard an easy snack calling it in the middle of the night. She leans against her arm and fell asleep while smiling, the room still spinning.

--

"Take it and shut up." He told her, handing her a pile of red fabric adorned with golden plate. "You made me a dress?" Laufey snickers. "Yeah! And I got yer measurements by groping yah in yer sleep last night. So no need to be bashful putting it on in front of me!" He says angrily, tossing the garb at her feet.

She smiles and begins removing her boots and tunic. He mumbles underneath his breath while he turns and walks away towards his anvil, fiddling with something off the shelf.

She looks at the dress, it came in three major parts. First she slips a copper red chainmail and fox fur long sleeved tunic over top her head. The cold mail felt heavy, hot, and then cold, it had been a while since she'd worn metal. The next part was the actual dress. It was a bright golden color and reached down to her ankles. She stepped into it and pulled it up, tucking her fox fur into it. It came up right over her breast. An inscription was written in the top hemline. "ᚠᚨᛚᛚᛖᚷᛏ ᚠᛖᚱðᚨᛚᚨᚷ" she felt the fabric. It shimmered oddly, sometimes light reflected off it, like a mirror. The last part was a pair of tall black boots. They smelled, odd. She laced them up and turned to face him.

"This feels more like a wedding dress rather than something to hike across the world in."

He grunted. "That's what I said."

She twisted her hips around, the dress spinning side to side. "It's so light though."

"The red undershirt part was the last thing Sindri and I worked together on before I told him to fuck off. When you showed us on the map where you had to go for all this shit we noticed a detour in Hel AND Muspelheim. That shirt should protect you from the fires as well as the bone-crushing cold. Plus it'll protect you from any idiot thinking he can make quick work of yah up close. The dress, ehhh that's all Sindri He enchanted it with some fairy shit. It'll take a hit as if you were in plate armor, but it won't weigh you down like wearing a full set of the shit. Don't ask me about the design I think you look ridiculous. He called it "The travelers dress." The boots were my project, it's sort of an experiment so if it kills you don't bitch at me."

She lifts her dress up and looks at the somewhat boring and generic looking boots. "They're made with several thousand tadpoles." He says.

She looks up to him questionably. "Baby frogs?"

"Yeah I waited out overnight and when their mamma was off, probably cheating on dear old dad, I stole the whole lump of em. Killed them in the fires of my forge. When their crying souls started weeping with the realization they ain't ever gonna live to hop in the sunlight, I bottles the smokey souls up!"

"Brok that's horrible!" She says dropping her dress over the boots. Her hands placed firmly onto her hips.

"You say that now, just wait. Come here, away from underneath the tent."

She walked out from underneath the canopy.

"Jump." He said grinning.

She rolled her eyes and jumped. The ground suddenly left her. Her skin and hair pulled back violently as she shoots into the sky. She reached her final altitude. Possibly 20 feet into the air. She screamed as she fell. No way of knowing how she should break her fall. She pushes her hands out in front of her and violently falls onto the ground in a loud and painful thud.

"Shit, I forgot to tell you about that," Brok said quickly waddling over to her.

"Yeah, I didn't exactly think it through the whole way. I was able to capture their desires of one day jumping high into the air... but I suppose none of 'em wouldn't exactly know how to land properly yet. Anyways moral of the story is. If yer gonna dream of something, think it through all the way before someone kills yah and shoves your soul into armor."

All Laufey could do was laugh as her legs wobbled in pain when she stood up. "You're the most talented idiot I've ever met."

"Holy Shit was that a hint of gratitude?" He barked at her. "I can't make you fly like that thunder cock, but if you needed to paint something high in the air and couldn't get to it, well, then these may help. So, now that you have everything, I'm about to start packing up and getting the fuck outta here. Oh shit, I forgot one more thing. I never did get those portals up and running. Ran into a problem." He said. "They kept all leading to some godforsaken spot out in the middle of nowhere out in a forest of Midgard. Here you can try it out if you ever run into one of the dozen anchors I built. Sorry, it ain't gonna be much help on your travels."

Laufey walks over to her old clothing and takes all the necessities. Her knife, the Bifröst, and her pouch of herbs and water. Everything else was left back in Jotunheim.

"I'll never know why you continue to spoil me Brok. I will find a way to repay you one day, I promise."

He started packing things into boxes. "You already have kiddo. In more ways then you know." He groans as he picks up His anvil, Laufey rushes over to help give him a hand moving it. "For a while, I don't remember a time when my brother ever cracked a smile onto his ugly face. Then one day some teenager with big tits and googly eyes starts orbiting around him talking about magic and destiny. When we broke things off you convinced us to try and make up. Sucks that it never worked out but I can't say I didn't hate every minute of it." After the anvil was in the wagon he started packing smaller items into his bag, hammers, wet stones, and other tools. "Guess I always thought of you as a sister, some days I figured it might be official." He says with a wink. "But I think you made the right decision. Trust me if you ever see him again you'd be happy you ran. He's flown off the deep end, and I'm not just saying that. He's lost his...-"

"You can handle the rest. I'm heading out." She walked away, almost a skip in her step. The maze was over, she found herself again. "Oh, and it was your brother who shot me down, so next time you see him, tell him I said 'fuck off, his brother has more talent!' "

As Laufey walks away with her axe resting on her shoulders she could hear him roaring in laughter.

Finally, she was ready to start her journey.

Chapter Text

Alfheim was proving to be the worst realm so far. She had been traveling for several months already with no major bumps in the road. Occasionally she found herself sidetracked by people in need of assistance. A dragon hidden inside a cave set her back a week thanks to her fear of lightning. But all in all, she was pleasantly surprised by the ease and comfort she found in traveling. Niflheim had been her first destination, hoping to run into any info on the whereabouts of Narfi. Sadly she found no sign of them.

She memorized the trip a lifetime ago. She walked it countless times in her dreams. Laufey dangled from her legs inside a cave within the ring temple, the fabric from her skirt tucked in between her knees, some of it threatened to brush by the wet paint of the finished runes.

Trying to keep as quiet as possible as she concentrated her spell within her right hand. Her legs and upper body fought with itself back and forth on how to keep balanced. Golden lines form the shape of runes. They promote the reader to climb up and to the right. She arches her body up and grips a hold of a crack in the wall. When she found there weren't any more places to grip she reached for her axe off her back and slammed it into the stone. Making a new notch to grab onto. She groaned as she reaches her arm to her back to sheath the weapon all while still holding onto the wall. She looks up and sees she is almost at the top. Campusing herself for a moment she swings her feet onto the wall and jumps up to the top. Easily making the long jump up thanks to Brock's boots. With her arms starting to grow tired, she decided she would finish the painting from up here.

It was quiet and peaceful work. She rarely found herself thinking of the fact no one may ever use this. She was grateful for her physical training all those past 5 years built up her upper body strength. As for her skills with the axe, she found herself using it often and suddenly without warning. Brok was right, the world seemed to grow even more violent. The enemies were not as easy as her imagined ones in her routines, but she got better with each one.

Alfheim was in a permanent war between the dark and light elves. At the moment the light elves held control over the light. She knew better than to get in the middle of it. Hopefully, all the fighting will distract them from seeing her work.

She leaned back in her little rowboat. Her arms hurt from climbing, swinging, and now rowing all day. It was so beautiful here. She let the boat wake in the river as she laid down her head on the seat and propped her feet up, dangling over the edge of the boat. It was hot outside, at least hot for her. She pulls her dress over her knees and airs out her inner thighs. The light of Alfheim was shining brightly. What a waste she thought. They overuse it too much, getting drunk off its effects. She herself feels the high from the outpour of light. It felt entrancing as if she was floating. It plays tricks with her emotions sometimes. Some days it made her body suddenly ache for a lover. But most of the time it simply caused every muscle in her body to relax until she grew lazy off the feeling. She rolled her eyes at the way it affected her, reaching up to grasp the edge of the boat lifting her back to her seat. She would never involve herself in the war by choosing to fight for one side. But she knew the dark elves were correct in their goal. This is too much. This power, It is a drug and the light elves are addicted to it and risk overdosing all the inhabitants of Alfheim whenever they were in power over it.

She still has several more spots to paint inside the ring temple. But she needed to take a moment to gather her thoughts. Working so close to the light she feared she'd lose herself to it and its effects. Overhead a dark elf zooms by her. She ducks suddenly, rocking the boat back and forth violently, almost capsizing. She probably wouldn't have been noticed if she simply sat still. But he saw her and approached.

"ᛈᚢᚱᛈᛟᛋᛖ?!" It screams in its language. 'Shit.' She thinks to herself. She was always a little rusty speaking their language.

"No foe, only traveler." She manages to spit out.

"ᛃᛟᚢ ᚠᛁᚷᚺᛏ ᚠᛟᚱ ᛚᛁᚷᚺᛏ! ᛁ ᚾᛟᛏ ᚠᛟᛟᛚ, ᛞᛁᛖ!" It screams, diving at her with his pike.

She sighs and jumps high off the boat, leaving her axe behind as she lands nearby in a bush on land. He follows her, weapon in hand. She runs towards the light of the ring temple far away. He is right behind her. She gauges where he is in lieu of her hands. Then, summons the axe. It flies directly into him as it rushes to meet her hands. She dodges the dead limp body as it flings past her. The leviathan quickly jets back around into her hands, covered in slimy blood. She guesses she's walking the rest of the way back.

As the last guard drifted out of sight she moved into the center room holding the light. It was blinding, she held a hand up to shield her eyes. She ignores the temptation to dive into it and makes quick work of the last few spots to paint within the temple. Once finished she rolls her shoulders in satisfaction, each rotation making popping sounds. She looks around and sees the pillar of light. It certainly is beautiful. She approaches it slowly. Pausing to try and listen for the voices it offers in temptation. She is surprised she didn't hear her brother's voice in it. That would probably be the best way to tempt her into doing something foolish. Honestly, it was almost too quiet in her opinion. She got closer to the light, hovering her hand out over the beam. Suddenly her ear began to sting. The cuff, it was burning her ear. She grasped for it but tripped forwards a few steps in pain. She accidentally falls into the light. She felt the sting of electricity and fire overtake her body. A bright white engulfed her vision, then, darkness.

"With you, I remember..." A voice says. A man's voice. It was deep and reverberating, like a bear. She turns to try and find the source, but she was all alone in the darkness. She walks forward in a direction she isn't sure of.

"Momma Wait! Let me do it all by myself this time!" A boys voice asks her. It wasn't Loki's though. She'd recognize the prophesied boy's voice anywhere.

"So do I give you my life to keep." Two voices say simultaneously. One was hers, the other the man's from before. She felt something brushing up against her hand, a ribbon. When she felt for it nothing was there.

She suddenly finds herself inside a house, everything gave off a distorted glaze. She looked around, shelves filled with books and bottles filled the walls. Two beds out in front of her. She was standing next to one of the beds. A boy, barely a child sat huddled over some books and loose paper.

"Momma?"

Suddenly the glaze faded. She was there, physically. She felt the warm air of the fire pit mixing with the coldness that seeped in from outside. She could smell smoked meat drying above the beams on the ceiling and the fresh moss stuffed inside the pillows on the bed. The small child sat before her. She thought she was looking into a reflection of herself from long ago. Blue eyes shining brightly like a whisper of happy memories from her past. His head was round like a duck egg. Scrapes of brick red hair peeking out from his scalp, like a man's faces in the evening when he shaved early that day. When he breathed in his nostrils flared unevenly, the right first and then the left. His eyebrows scrunched up in contemplation as he held a quill in his hand. He pressed his teeth down on top of his withdrawn in lips, just as she did when she was thinking. Only his lips were uneven thanks to several teeth missing in his mouth.

Loki?

But he looked so different this time, nevertheless, he was there, in front of her. She felt it, this was her son. She reached out trembling hands, they pulled back before they reached his face. He looked up from his work and smiled. Leaning casually into her touch with the side of his head. The bristly soft hair caressing her hands. Something drove her body forward. She lunges and embraces him, engulfing the small child. She wanted every part of her to shield and touch, protect and embrace him. Love? No, it would be too frivolous to call this feeling love. She wanted to inject herself in his world any way she could find, even if she had no right to. What a strange and foolhardy way to feel she laughs. Every weight she's ever felt lifted from her, yet a strange new one took its place. One she doesn't mind, it makes every part of her delighted.

"Momma?" The boy says in her arms. "Are you sad?" He looks up at her, worries in his blue eyes. "Be happy mamma!" He said with a stern look, wiggling his arms free from her grasp. His dirty hands press harshly onto her cheeks and pull them up to her ears. Spreading her lips into a smile, he didn't put any effort into being gentle. She followed his demands and smiled through her now cracked lips from the stretching. She brought his forehead close to kiss. But before her lips meet his skin Loki vanishes. "No!" She yells out. Her arms waving around desperately trying to find him again.

From below the wooden floor of the house, a chain wraps around her neck and yanks her backward. It burns her skin as it had previously. A hand shoved into her hair and pulls her scalp away from her skull. Something begins breathing in her ear. An animal? The chains jingles as she is pulled closer to the beast behind her. She turns to look at her capture but Loki reappears in front of her. Crying. He is watching her get subdued. "No! Stop it!" the child yells. He starts convincing, finally, he screams out a painful roar. The chains leave Laufey's neck almost instantly. They fly towards him, their new victim. Wrapping around his arms, legs, and neck. They glow with a dim red flame as they loop around his skin several times. He continues to scream, bringing his hands up to his face before they are torn away by the chains. The blue from his eyes fading.

Her baby. Hysteria overtakes her.

She lunges forward to rescue him but runs into a man. A man painted white and red. He grips her arm, preventing her from reaching the boy. "I have to help him!" She pleads, not even looking at his face. "Please, he needs me!" He shoves her back onto the floor. The white and red man turns to face the screaming child and walks towards him, alone, without her. "Wait!" She calls out on hands and knees. Then everything disappears.

The light, that's right she is in the pillar of light right now. She closes her eyes in the light and searches for a dimming sensation on her face. She feels her eyes relax in one direction and walks towards it. Her foot slips and she falls down into a bottomless pit. She spits out of the pillar into the center of the ring temple. Drenched with sweat. She catches her breath and calms down. Emotions still threatening to overtake her. Focus. 'It is simply a trick of the light,' She tells herself but this one was done well. It had been a while since a vision has disturbed her this much. She's had them all her life. But to make the idea of motherhood palatable? This was a first, along with the two men she saw.

Chapter Text

She wanted to save Hel for last. All that leaves her with was the Sanctuary Grove and the Witch's Cave in Midgard. Both held the threatening possibility of undoing all her work.
She saw little of the witch in her visions. Just a kindly old woman who would give Loki his mistletoe arrows as well as a place to rest on his travels. Part of her wanted to meet her, and thank her for looking after her would be son. But she knew she couldn’t make mention of anything, lest she destroys all she has worked for up till now.
The forest was beautiful. ‘I could live in these woods’ she said to herself. The white oaks trees brimming with copper leaves. The mixture of blue flowers and green grass swaying calmly. Yellow sprites dance along the wind, occasionally stopping to examine her before going on their way.
Laufey decided to selfishly halt her journey forward to indulge herself.
To her surprise, Laufey discovered a fairy ring of mushrooms several strides ahead of her. The fallen red leaves almost appeared to have created a pathway leading up to the jagged circle of fungus. Leaning her axe against a wet rock by the stream Laufey sat down on the leaves, bringing her knees up to her chest and unlacing her boots. She slips them off and slowly dipped her toes into the moist earth below. Wiggling them slightly so that they disappear into the soil.
With the rope that she usually attaches the Leviathan to she laces up the skirt of her dress around her thighs. Transformation it into puffy trousers.
She walks forwards onto the path of red leaves. The sound of them crunching below her feet only adding to the mystical sounds the grove emitted. She occasionally balanced on the balls of her feet. She counted how many steps she could take like this before her upper body began to wobble. She finally approached the circle of mushrooms and entered. Spun around a few times before her eyes shut. His voice appears in her head.

“What are you up to Pine Needle?” Her brother says. She was busy spinning around a circle of rocks she had set up herself. “I’m summoning a fairy!” A toothless little girl with skinned knees says. The massive giant was laying on his belly in front of her. His right hand pressed against his puffy red beard. “And what do you plan on doing with such a creature once you’ve captured it?” The little girl stop spinning and thinks. “I don’t know?”
“They are very beautiful yah know. Sometimes they will grant you a wish, anything your heart desires. Most of the time they’re about as mischievous as you. They never stay in once place for too long, they spread their wings and fly far away whenever someone get too close.”
“Then I will pluck her wings off her that way she will stay and be my friend!” The tiny girl says while she continues her twirling. “You shouldn’t think like that Needle.” He says as his voice fades away.
Laufey stops spinning, she wasn’t able to summon any magical creatures, she only managed to make herself dizzy. She wobbled over back to her boots and slips them on. She looks around for the rock she needed to paint. She knew she would have to find the witch's house first, but she was having trouble locating it.

They were almost too beautiful to kill. But her stomach disagreed with the notion. She regretted not bringing a bow and quiver along with her. This was almost always unpleasant and inappropriate.
The stag was drinking from a stream. She crouched down and held the axe above her head, eyes focusing on the animal itself and not the bloody mess she was about to make. “I’m so sorry.” She whispers. She threw it with all her might, it landed in the animal's neck and sliced it almost all the way off. Its heavy head dangled limply on one side by the hide and matted fur, blood spilling out everywhere before it collapsed. She pressed her teeth together and pulled her lips into a grimace. She ran over immediately and placed a hand on the beast. Thankfully it died instantly, but she still wishes it was done in a more respectful manner.
Pulling out her knife she began the long task of deconstructing the animal for dinner and supplies. She pulled the Leviathan out of the body. When she picked the spinal cord away from the axe it splattered blood along her face.
“Barbaric.” A voice said. Laufey left her knife inside the stag and gripped the axe with her bloody hands. “Who’s there?!” She shouts.
A woman sits in the branches of a tree. Brown hair cascading down her face and body, feathers and trinkets scattered throughout. She wore no shoes but the rest of her was dressed elaborately. Beige pants with a ruby studded belt. She wore only the armor of a Valkyrie for a shirt. Large iron breast cups along with a plated corset that ended above her midriff. Her shoulders were exposed to the elements but a dirty white fur-lined cloak covered most of her arms. The shimmer of silver tattoos on her arms reflected underneath the cloak.
She had a sword on her back Laufey noticed, but she didn’t have it drawn. The woman didn’t say anything as she dropped to the ground and approached her.
“I always knew your people were savages, it made it hard for some to pity you. Easier for other thinking you bumbling buffoons.”
That sword, she knows it.
“Freya,” Laufey says quietly. She doesn’t hesitate or leave an opportunity for the goddess queen. With the Leviathan in her hands, she runs forward and swings at her. The goddess jumped into the air and transformed into a hawk. Laufey wouldn’t let her escape back to Odin and foil everything. “Falki lio!” She screams. The wooden falcons chase after the queen. Laufey plucks the dagger out of the stag and darts after the chase happening in the sky. The wooden birds swarming the goddess, ripping feathers off her with their talons. Freya drives higher into the air as the spell wears off, moss and pine needles falling from the sky. Laufey feels them falling into her face but keeps pursuing the bird. Suddenly she is tackled from the side by a creature. Tusks digging into her flesh. A boar. Her student Hildisvíni she realizes. Shit, how close by are the rest of her family? Her son, her husband?
Her stepson?
She stabs the boar with her dagger in its back leg. “No!” Freya screams from the air. Hildisvíni squeals out in pain. Freya falls from the sky and lands on her hands and knees. She crawls frantically towards the pig. She casts a spell from her hands and closes the wound from her dagger. Fear in her eyes.
“No please don’t die, please I’m sorry I... Why would you try to save me after what I said to you this morning?!” She says through tears. Hugging the still boar.

“I... I didn’t mean to-” Laufey says hesitantly at the sight of such hysteria she caused her.
Freya looks up angrily at her. “Leave my forest you rock eating savage!”
“Your forest?” Laufey returned her attitude.
“Yes my forest, go back to your own realm and hammer on some rocks or whatever you jotunns do to pass time. Leave me to my solitude.”
The last part of the word, 'solitude' echoed. Her wound from Hildisvíni, it was suddenly freezing, the cold began spreading throughout her entire body. His tusks were poisoned. “S-olitude?” Was the last thing she remembered saying before her face hit the floor. She wasn’t passed out, but she couldn’t move a single bone in her body. Her body is rolled over onto her back. Freya stands over her with her foot on her chest. “Hope whatever kills you uses more respect then you did to the deer.” She looks down disgustingly. “Or maybe my husband’s good for nothing son will find you and...” She stops before she finishes the sentence.
Laufey couldn’t move, she tried flailing her arms and legs but it only made all her other senses weaker. She wanted to scream but she couldn’t. She was about to die she realized. Thor, did she just say Thor was on his way? He would strike her with his lightning hammer like he did her family. She was terrified, she didn’t feel if her body was trembling but she was in her mind. Freya’s expression changes suddenly as she looked down at her. She spoke something to Hildisvíni and then scooped Laufey up into her arms.
She must be taking her to Odin. She wasn’t able to finish her journey. She failed once again. It was all her fault, she shouldn’t have wasted her time in the mushroom ring. Once again she let her own personal pleasures interfere and ruin everything.
The elder should have kept her chained to his necklace. She would happily sacrifice her freedom in order to avoid where the Valkyrie queen was taking her.
Thor’s hammer, the sound it made when it shattered through his skull.
She realized she was crying, she couldn’t see clearly. Her eyes were playing tricks on her, she thought she saw a giant turtle above her.

It wasn’t fair she dreams, for the giant's only enemies to be the gods themselves. She was hovering in a ball inside her mind. Face in her knees. Why would her people make foes with the most powerful beings in existence? Why did the gods even attack them in the first place thousands of years ago? She knew the stories from long ago but she pushed the knowledge away from her mind and gripped tight onto only her emotions. They grew bored of eternal existence and squished those below them for fun.
She hated the gods, all gods. She hated how no matter how hard she fought them, they would always win. The fight would never be fair. She could train every day for the rest of her life and never be able to subdue a single one.
She thought she could finally feel something, the cuff on her ear tingled.
She wanted to kill a god, any god she realizes not just watch her son do it.
She wanted Loki to kill Baldur and watch as Ragnarok sundered their perfect state of existence just like they did to her. To avenge her nephews Modi killed, to kill him with her own hands, not send Loki to do it for her. She hated them, all of them.
Narfi appears in front of her. Laufey’s heart collapses in her chest. What a cruel game her mind was playing on her. A wave of disappointment washes over her. Her long lost friend fades away.

“You are easily distracted.” A woman’s voice calls out. It wasn’t Freya. Smoke poured out from her ear cuff. The transparent woman took shape within the cloud. She wasn’t as transparent as before. She almost looked like she was made from stone. Her eyes were still the same. “I offer my assistance to you once again. Allow me to assist with your desires. I will help you kill a god.” Laufey didn’t respond to her. She closed her eyes in disgust at herself after being so openly told her deplorable desires.
“Would you help me kill Odin?” She says bitterly, sinking to a new low by even encouraging the conversation further.
“No child. I myself will choose the god you kill.” The woman says with an expressionless face.
“Then there is no point, a god is about to kill me at this very moment. What is the point of this offer if I die?” Laufey says.
The woman lifts her hand into the sky. A portal opens and a window to the same apocalyptic world she had visited before appears. “Through this window is the god I need-”
She stops abruptly, then continues.
“I will allow you to kill the god through this portal. His death will save countless lives in my world. He is a savage monster. Every life he has touched has been cursed. He is responsible for the deaths of his wife and child, his father and grandfather. My family was snuffed out by this man.”
“Why give such a man to me? It sounds like you should be the one to end him and put an end to the suffering.” Laufey asks. The woman lowers her hands, the portal drifts close to her, almost as if she was about to push it into her.
“He is lost in a sea of regret and rage. I am unable to approach him, but if you.” A smile appears on her face. "Distract him, it would set in motion the ability to kill him once and for all."
Laufey uncurled herself from her knees and looked at the portal, but does not enter. She lifts her fingers up to the ear cuff and rubs it. “If I do this for you, would our bond be broken?”
“I will remove the cuff from your ear if you do this.”
“Is time traveling back to my past and preventing all of this from happening off the table?”
The woman doesn’t speak for several moments. Her eyes flicker several times. “No, I can still offer you that as well. I was able to see your desires to kill a god and simply offered you my help.”
Laufey's ear was starting to burn. The woman walked quickly to her. “You must make your decision now Faye.” ‘Faye?’ Why would she call me that? She wonders. She backs away from the woman suspiciously. The woman sashes an arm through the portal, it disappears.
“Disappointing.” She says while fading away.

Freya shifts into her vision as she wakes up. She is looking at the ear cuff, her fingers are brushing against the runes inscribed on it.

Chapter Text

One of two things were happening. Either the house was alive and moving, or she was still feeling the effects of the tusks. Laufey could hear the rattling of plates and cups as the house moved. The sun suddenly set from the cracks and windows and a blackness darker than night appeared outside. The movement stopped and she started to sit up. She feels a thorny prick from her ear cuff. Reaching for it her hand touches small tendrils of vines wrapping around her ear.
“Don’t touch your ear until I finish with this.” She hears Freya say across the room.
Freya.
She summons the Leviathan, not knowing where it even was. It is in front of the goddess on a table, her glowing hands hovering over it. “Wait, I’m not finished! Ugh-” Freya shouts as the weapon disappears off the table, the force knocked several glass bottles and wooden bowls off onto the ground. Laufey grips the weapon tightly and stands up. She realizes she is as naked as the day she was born. She ignores the matter and holds her axe out toward the goddess. “Where am I? Why haven’t you killed me yet? What were you doing with my ear? Where are my clothes?!” She yells.
Freya was busy picking up the bottles that fell onto the floor. She wiped an iridescent liquid up with her hands. Or at least it looked like liquid. She gathered it up in her hands with no trouble at all and simply dumped it back into the bowl. Once she was done cleaning she stood up with a groan.
“Okay, ‘beautiful traveler,’ let’s get one thing straight. You wondered into my woods with a set of custom-made enchanted clothing the likes I’ve never seen. A dagger made of metals from Jotunheim, a realm none have been able to get to in decades. a weapon identical in strength to Mjolnir, forged by the disgusting Hulder brothers themselves. And an earring seething with the power of a god from an entirely different world. You can just stand there naked for a moment while I try and make sense of the everything.”
Laufey readies her weapon, her knees bent ready to attack her. “Oh and also, you’re a giant who were all assumed dead.”

“You’ll pay for what you’ve done to us!” Laufey barks at her.
“What I’ve done? Sweet girl, I don’t even know your name. For all I know you are just a runaway jotunn who pillaged every valuable item off the bodies of your dead...-“
“Silence!” Laufey shouts. Freya looks at her for a while. Her eyes occasionally drift downward.
“I’m sorry, that was not worthy of me.” She says looking away. “You’re clothing is by the window over there. Go put it back on, I was simply examining it, interesting shoes.”
Laufey slowly walked towards the window with her axe still facing the Valkyrie queen. She sets it down for a moment while she throws her tunic and dress on. She walks over to her boots but not before picking up her axe with one hand.
“I am not going to hurt you child,” Freya says.
“Do not call me child wench,” Laufey says. She had both boots on but couldn’t lace them up while holding the axe, she leaves them as they are.
“What should I call you? Your dress says ‘beautiful’ but I don’t know if I agree with that.” Freya smirks.
“That it none of your business. What have you done with my ear?”

“Ah yes, probably the most interesting thing about you. I assumed it was an artifact from Tyr himself. He was always vacationing in other worlds. How my former husband let the giants keep such a foreign and powerful item for themselves is impressive.” Freya said looking at the vine wrapping around her ear. “At first I thought it was controlling you. That you were some puppet from another world. But I was wrong, it’s merely a tracking device. They are quite common to be honest. I myself have put several similar devices on mortals over the years. It’s so strange how the magic works within it. I can not understand the language. But I know what spell it is trying to cast, I would like to study it more if you will allow...-”
“Is there any way you can remove it?” Laufey asks her. Freya’s eyebrows lift in curiosity. “No, only you have that power. It as a type of contract with a human who is owed or owes something. At least that's what mine were. Admittedly I used it a few times simply to spy on a mortal living an interesting life.”
“We’re all playthings to you aren’t we?”
“Not very interesting ones.” The queen counters. “Were you not told how to break the connection with the god who put that on you?”
“No, a woman working for a god put this on me.”
Freya looks upon her with a hint of pity, like a parent information a child of something obvious. “She wasn’t working for a god, she was a god.”
Laufey shuts her eyes as she inhaled bitterly. “Of course she was.” She said with an exhale. Everything falling into place in her mind. “She wanted to repay me for helping her even though I didn’t.”
“Well, you must have been a tremendous help with something. She only wants to repay you for assisting her. Simply ask for a magical sword or have her bless you with eternal beauty and be done with it if you want the cuff to disappear. Though I can’t make any promises she will leave you alone, I still kept an eye on my mortals from time to time. Making sure they were not wasting my gifts.”
“The gods have given me enough, I don’t want any more ‘gifts’ bestowed upon me,” Laufey says. “Mmm yes, thank you for reminding me of your heritage at every opportunity. Tell me of the axe, it is very impressive. The dwarven brothers made it I see.”
“It was constituted to counter and kill your son.” Laufey spat out angrily.
Freya narrows her eyes, a vine appears from the ground and snatches the weapon from Laufey's hands. It doesn’t try and attack her, it simply brings the axe quickly over to Freya. The goddess scans over the weapon with quick eyes as she holds out a glowing hand and touches every part. As if searching for something on or in it. Her expression is an intense focus, mixed with fear.
Laufey summons the weapon, it cuts away from the vines and snaps into her hands. “Thor will pay for what he’s done to my family.” A sudden realization appears to have washed over the goddess, her eyes softened slightly.
“I’m sorry for whatever my family has done to you,” Freya says with honesty in her eyes. Laufey shifts the axe down slightly.
“What my husband’s son did to your home. It’s unforgivable. Please, tell me your name?”

Laufey bends down and sets her axe onto the floor. She begins lacing her boots up, contemplating what she should and shouldn’t tell the goddess. “My name is Faye.” She finally says.
“Faye,” Freya says. “It is a pleasure.”
“Why are you not at Vanaheim? Or with your family” Laufey asks.
“I am afraid I no longer have a family Faye.” She says leaning against a wall, she pulls the large puffy fur cloak around her tightly. “My marriage with Odin is finally over.”
Laufey remembers Brok mentioning this, then adds. “That’s right, and now he has locked himself away in his castle in madness.”
“That’s an exaggeration, he pays daily visits to his former "Pucky" advisor trapped to a tree, watching over the last portal to Jotenhime.” Laufey remained quiet as she continues. “I thought I had seen the full extent of his brutality. Years went by and I started to grow numb to it all. Then he did something that opened my eyes to how blind I’ve become. He made sure I was punished accordingly for actions.”
Freya walked closer to Laufey and removed her dirty while cloak. Where Laufey expected to find her wings hidden behind. Only, there was nothing there. How did not notice until now?
“Your wings...” Laufey says. “He ripped your wings off.”
“I wish that was the only thing he did to me. But yes, he severed my warrior spirit. I am a Valkyrie no longer.”
Shocked, Laufey walked over to the table and sat down. She looked around the house. It seemed so familiar. She saw a stave in the middle of the room, the fireplace, the way it sparkled with colors outside of orange and red. The potent smell of herbs mixed with the sting of urine and raw clay. Even this table. She brings her finger along the ripples in the wood. 'I've been here before.' She thinks.

“It’s good to see you are finally making yourself at home in my house.” Freya says standing above her. The closest she’s allowed her to be so far.
“Forgive me, I will leave now,” Laufey says as she begins pushing her palms onto the table to stand.
“Wait, I didn’t mean it like that,” Freya says. “That stag you slaughtered, I retrieved its body and had begun smoking the meat last night. It should be dry now, you are welcomed to it. It was your kill after all. I will make some tea in the meantime.”
It was a kind offer the older woman made- Oh... Laufey pulled her lips into her mouth and pressed down slightly with her teeth as she kept silent in thought. How much of the prophecy has she messed up? Or was this always the case? The witch was never a witch, she was a goddess.

“Yes, I’d like that.” Laufey said.
Freya exited the door and quickly shut it behind her. In the brief moment she saw, it was pitch black outside, almost like the moon and stars decided to not show themselves tonight. She walked around the house, it was cozy she thought. She walked over to the fireplace with a cauldron over top of it. She brings her hands to drag along the ridged exposed stone that acted as its mantle. Dust dragging along her fingers until it became too high to reach. Four small marks left a shadow onto the floor. Like a piece of furniture that had been left in the same pot for years. She looked back to the bed, there was only one pillow. Back at the table she had sat at she noticed there was only one chair truly made for it. She walked over to the bench Freya had been sitting on. She lifted it onto two of its four legs. Noticing the bottoms had the identical shape as the marking next to the fireplace. She was truly all alone here. Setting the bench down she embraced her hands around her waist, remembering her maddening solitude. She wondered how long Freya's had been? What she would have given for something like this to have interrupted her life in Jotenhime. The door swings open and immediately shuts, Freya held a plate filled with slabs of meat and plants. "If you'd give me a few more moments it's almost ready."
Laufey removes her hands from herself and smiles. "Take all the time you need."

-

“What did you do to it? Is this the magic of the Vanir?” Laufey asks astonishingly. Her mouth still full of food.
Freya chuckles. “No it’s an herb called rosemary. Tyr brought the plants over from his travels. It blooms a purple flower at its peak. Odin gave me the flowers thinking them a simple plant he had stolen from Tyr. I became infatuated with the smell for a while and decided to experiment with it. It tastes better on poultry if I’m being honest.”
Laufey smiles. “I didn’t realize you could change the taste of meat this way.” Freya poured her another cup of tea in a wooden cup. “Remind me to show you the sugarcane growing outside.”
Laufey picked the cup up with both hands. She had put some in the tea as well she noticed. It smells so lovely. "I can see why you’d become obsessed with it.”
“You are more than welcomed to fill your pockets with it when you leave. If not properly watched over, the plant can grow into quite a pest.”
“Thank you for the food,” Laufey said respectfully. Wondering when she should take her to leave.
“You never told me what you were doing out here? A giant this far from Jotunheim at a time like this?”

She seemed trustworthy, but so many obstacles were presenting themselves. What should she say? Not say?”
“I’m painting a path for my son.” Laufey finally admitted. Freya slides back down into a chair across from her.
“When I die, I wanted him to take my ashes to the highest peak in the realm and spread them off of it. I was making a path for him to take.”
“This forest seems a bit out of the way...” Freya says through her cup.
“I-I’ve been adding several detours hoping to make his journey more exciting and memorable.” Laufey quick adds. Freya smiles down at the cup now on the table.
“What a good mother, I’m sure I had all that energy and spunk on making activities for my son when he was still in my belly.” Freya reaches for a necklace around her neck. Laufey couldn’t read the runes on it because of how small they were written.
“Did you just recently discover you are with child? You don’t look pregnant at all. I remember my pregnancy all too well. You don’t glow trust me, it is just sweat, a lot of sweat.” She says smiling.
“I’m not pregnant, the baby. Died.”
The smile disappears from Freya. She looks at Laufey. “I- I’m so sorry. Please, it wasn’t something we-?”
“No, no I never got to meet him,” Laufey says unable to look at her. She was hurting from two things, her immediate lie told to a woman offering her kindness, and the fact that her lie had some truth behind it.
“I understand.” Was all Freya offered. “If there is anything I can do to assist you, let me know.” Laufey reached up and touched her ear, one of the thorns pricked her finger. She felt a drop of blood pressure up onto the surface.
“Sorry I didn’t mean that way. Why... why don’t you stay the night? It’s the least I can do for what...” She pauses. “For the things that have suddenly transpired.”
Laufey smiles truly now. The visions were correct, she was indeed kind. “Okay, but, it’s been night for so long.” She says looking out a window of nothing but blackness. “Surely the sun must be rising soon?” Freya stands up and turns her back towards her. She lifted her hand into the air. “Heimili!“ The house began to shake. Laufey reached for her axe and picked it up. Aiming it at the goddess. What a sneaky wench she thought, she was caught completely off guard. Was she trying to collapse the house on top of her? Freya didn’t turn around to see her about to swing at her. The house suddenly stopped moving and the evening light was peering into the window. It gave off a beautiful golden purple glow. A beam reflected off her axe and hit her face, blinding her for a moment as she looked at the goddess. She lowers the weapon’s head to the floor to cast the light away. Freya turned around to her with a smile, then confusion at the sight of the axe. “Sorry, I should have probably explained where exactly you are right now.”

Chapter Text

Baldur. He stood in front of her. Tattoos glowing blue and his eyes wide and terrifying. "I found you." He said through decaying teeth.

The sound of wooden plates being stacked on top of each other was what woke her up that morning. Laufey rubbed the sleep her eyes as she awoke in the warm, yet empty bed. "Good morning," Freya said. Her calm soothing voice greeting her first thing in the morning had become familiar by now. "Were we going to finish up in Fafnir's storage room today?" Freya asks handing her a cup of hot tea. The smell of mint and honey soothing the haunting vision of Baldur out of her mind as Laufey held the cup close to her face. "Only if you promise to stop looking through all the chests in there. I try to make sure and leave things that will help him along the way." Freya rolls her eyes and sits down next to her. "You're such a better mother than I am."

"So, That it? You're finished with all of Midgard?"

"I wanted to take a detour in Hel. Just In case." Laufey said half truthfully.

Freya narrows her eyes disapprovingly as she rolls her shoulder. She had offered to hold the bag carrying their supplies while they finished up painting the last few remaining spots in the cave below her house. "You should take the day off, we have been painting for what? 6 weeks? And you said it would have taken your son a single day to complete this journey?" Freya says.

Laufey laughs, "I suppose when you put it that way it does sound a bit extreme. You don't want to know how long it's taken me so far before I met you. Maybe I will take a day off before I return. I just wish there was something I could do to repay you for your hospitality."

"There is," Freya says quickly. She was fiddling with some beads wrapped around her bracelet. "May I please borrow something of yours?" She said looking up.

"Of course," Laufey said standing up.

"Your Bifrost crystal. I noticed you had one still in tack. May I see it for a second?" Laufey walks over to her bag on the table and takes it out. It glows blue in her hands. She hands it to Freya without a second thought. "Thank you." The goddess says. "Aren't you going to ask what I'll do with it?" She adds.

"I trust you," Laufey says, it causes Freya to smile. In the month or so of their friendship, she had given no cause for Laufey to distrust her. Freya was warm, kind, loving. She was always so patient with Laufey, allowing her to take her time in everything she did. Laufey couldn't remember ever having a friend who cared for her as much as Freya did. No, she took that thought back, there was another woman who cared deeply for her. "Come to the window. Let me show you something." Freya said.

Laufey walks up the few steps towards the window of her home. "Heimili!" Freya yells. Laufey steadying herself as Chaurli lays down. "Odin took mine, though it's not like I could even use it for its intended purpose." Laufey looked at Freya questionably.

"There is much magic within these crystals. Yes, they can be used to travel to different realms, but they can also be used as a window to see into them as well." Freya takes the crystal and traces around her window. Small yellow cracks begin to form along the outside. Then the entire window shatters. It started Laufey but not Freya. She pointed the crystal into the center of the window and held it there. "Show me." She whispers. Suddenly, from the window, a vision of a strange forest is shown.

"Is that your home?" Laufey asks walking up to the window and the woman. Freya nods her head silently. "Yes." She hands the crystal back to Laufey, she hid her face away from her. "You can try it. Recall a place or person in your memory. Then hold the crystal up towards the window."

Narfi she thinks. She wanted to find her, she was a god so she had to still be alive. Her daughter would be the one to save her son from death after all. But where would she be? The cave? She had already checked but she wanted to make sure. "Show me." She says pointing the crystal into the center of the window. The window shows the inside of an empty cave. There were no signs that anything had been there in years. Odin's palace? She remembered the gardens and the fountain where they first met. "Show me." She says again.

"You're looking for someone?" Freya says behind her. She folds her arms as she examined the different places she summoned.

"She's my friend, or, was. I met her long ago before Thor attacked and destroyed the portal."

"Does she have a name?" Freya asks.

She wondered if she should even tell her all this. She was after all a goddess just like her. But if there was even a slight chance Freya could assist her in finding Narfi she would happily take it.

"Narfi, I think she was a goddess, or, one-seventh goddess?"

Freya unfolds her arms. She walks over to Laufey and places a hand onto her back. "Let's give the crystal a moment to relax. If we overuse it, it'll shatter." Laufey turns to face her. "Do you know her?" She asks. "Please, please tell me where she is and what's become of her? Is her daughter with her?"

"Daughter?" Freya says. "Faye, maybe we should."

"Please, Freya! Please tell me what you know!" Freya sighs and takes the crystal gently from her hand. She holds it up to the window. "Show me." She whispers sadly.

Laufey's heart sank to her feet, her chin tightened and she shakes her head.

There, in a cell, two skeletons sit, one of a troll, the other a human. A bowl sat beside in the human's hands. Something oily and thick dripped down onto the bones. It falls into the bowl, overflowing and adding to the river of liquid draining into a grate next to the bones.

Freya holds the crystal up to change the window.

"No, not yet," Laufey says. "I'm not done looking."

Silently, Freya walks away from Laufey and leans against her table as Laufey continues to look upon the fate of her friend. She will look upon what she herself has brought about. She replays every wrong thing she could have done to have caused this. It had to be her fault. It was always her fault. That was the curse of her gift. To know how good it could have been and accidentally destroy it. She wouldn't ever have her baby, just like Narfi. Loki and Sigyn will never exist because of her. She slips up and gives voice to her emotions. "I've failed every, single, one of them."

Freya remains quiet all while leaning against the table. It isn't until Laufey sinks down onto her knees and screams that she walks over and puts her arms around her shoulders.

"How? How did it come to this?" Laufey talks to the floor. "I've failed them all." Freya sits in front of her, she holds Laufey's shoulders up and looks into her eyes.

"I was supposed to have all the answers. Be a fountain of knowledge they could pull from! To deliver us from our suffering and usher in our future. Instead, I am a failure. I don't know anything! And what little I am shown I ruin!" She sniffs in and continues. "They all expected so much from me."

"My friends, my brother, all the giants. They're all dead, all because of me."

Freya shakes her. "Faye, stop. What are you talking about?"

"My son." She continued hysterically. "I valued my life more than his. My happiness had more value than his very existence. And now I got my wish, I'll never hold him in my arms. See his smile or hear his voice."

Freya gasps softly as something cracked in her typically mature nature. Suddenly the goddess pulled her close and held her in trembling hands. Laufey continued to sob into her arms as Freya squeezes her tightly. She waves a hand towards the window and the Bifrost spell vanishes. The goddess lifts her up and brings her to the bed and crawls in with her. Laufey's screams muffled into her chest.

----------

"Just wait there," Freya says. Laufey's eyes were long dry but still puffy hours later. Embarrassment still creeping into her for her previous outburst. The goddess Freya. She let the queen of the Valkyrie see her in such a manner. Some mighty jotunn she was. A shining example of her wise and prideful race.

"I won't be long. I'll need to gather several ingredients for the spell to work. Next time I see those dwarfs remind me to kill them. You won't last an hour in Hel as a mortal with only that armor. Only a god can survive that journey."

Freya exits the back door to the dark cave outside.

Laufey sits down by the fireplace. She watches the flames burn for several moments. She plays with the cuff on her ear. The vines finally taken away by the goddess upon her request. "The boy has been cursed." A man says. Laufey whips her head around to look, nobody was there. She knew that voice. "I understand, if I see any more I'll destroy them."

"Loki?" She calls out, hearing his voice. She scrambled to her feet and looked around. "Loki where are you?!" She sees no one. "BALDUR!" Loki yells. "No, listen to me!" The man yells.

A vision, but she was awake. Baldur and Loki were fighting? She listens for more voices. None come. Her visions usually appeared in dreams, not so openly like this.

Freya walks into the house, a basket of supplies held up with both hands. "Is everything alright?" Laufey looks back to the fireplace. "Yes. Everything is fine. I want to get to Hel quickly and be finished with this once and for all." Freya begins preparing something over her cauldron.

Freya wipes the wet cloth down her naked back. The oil is cold and leaves a trail of goosebumps as it drags down her spine. She dips it back into the bowl and wipes again, this time onto her shoulders. She gathers Laufey's hair up with one hand and moves it to the other side, continuing the 'bath.' "It will last until you enter Hel, but once you do the souls will begin decimating the barrier. Once it's gone it's gone. I can't promise you more than an hour. You'll have to hurry before they see you and attack." She dumps the rest of the oil onto her hair and begins brushing it with her fingers. She pulls several strands away from her face and braids them at the back of her head. She ties the two braids together with a sprig of Rosemary.

Laufey sands up. Her whole body glistening in the oil. She walks towards her tunic and slips it on.

"You, you sure you have to do this?" Freya struggles. "I know you want to finish regardless of his death. But." Laufey bends down to her boots. "But you are not a god, you can't just walk into Hel and expect to leave. Promise me you won't cross the bridge." Laufey looks up at her, then back down to her boots. "I promise." She lies. She still didn't have a plan for how to get back. But she would make sure the path was clear for Loki. Wherever he was. Or whenever he would appear.

"You said my axe won't work while I'm down there?" She changes the subject. "No, nor will your spells. Only the gods have the ability to summon spells in that realm, and even we are unable to light a fire in that place."

Laufey was still determined to finish. She would at least accomplish this last act no matter the sacrifice.

She held up her dress before she put it on. "Is it okay if I come with you to the temple?" Freya asks weakly. Laufey turned to her and nodded her head. "Will you wait for me at the door and scold me if I'm late?" Laufey smiles.

Freya pushes herself up off the ground and runs over to her. She grabs both of her hands with her own. It knocks the dress onto the floor. She was shaking. Her eyes were wide and cycling through several emotions, all at once.

"I'm so sorry for everything my kind has done to you. I'm sorry we are all so selfish. You made me realize that you know? I always thought I was above the others. They were the bad ones Who intruded in the lives of others for their own selfish desires." Freya let's go of her hands. She drags her fingertip up Laufey's arm. They glide quickly thanks to the oil. "I'm just as selfish and cruel as they are." She says pulling away from her to look into her eyes. The goddess bends over and dips her head into Laufey's right shoulder. She leans against her with almost all her weight.

"What?" Laufey asks, terribly confused with the sudden outburst.

"Could you even love a god with everything we've ever done to you?" Freya whispers towards the floor. "Could you love me?"

Laufey freezes.

"Would I just be another god making you suffer if I confessed to you?"

"Freya..." Laufey managed to say. She didn't know what else to say. It was all happening too fast and it wasn't something she ever expected.

"I thought about it just now while gathering the supplies. It must have happened on that first day. When I saw you twirling around in a ring of mushrooms. If I was younger it may have taken me longer to understand I think. I've fallen in love with you."

Freya lifts her head from her shoulder and kisses her. Laufey slowly lifts her arms from her sides but drops them back down. She doesn't know what to do. She's never kissed someone before. She shuts her eyes. Freya pulls away and looks at her. Laufey still keeping her eyes closed.

"That was your first kiss wasn't it?" The goddess smiled. Laufey couldn't muster up the courage to open her eyes. She was at an absolute loss. She didn't return her feelings, did she? No, she enjoys Freya, but, she didn't think of her as a lover. Right? Laufey finally opens her eyes and looks at her. She was beautiful, but isn't she supposed to be? What should she do?

"Yes." She finally responds. "I've never done that before."

Freya cups her cheek with her hands. "Don't dwell on it too much, here comes your second." She pushes her mouth against hers. This time she opens Laufey's lips apart and drags her tongue through her mouth until she found Laufey's own tongue. She felt her hands slide down to her chest and began pushing her towards something.

Chapter Text

The bed bumps against the back of Laufey's knees. Freya pulls away from her mouth and kisses her neck, her hand begins cupping her breast. The other hand drifts along the bottom hem of her tunic, around her bare thighs.

"Stop." Laufey finally says. Freya stopped everything, looking up at her. It was difficult to read her face.

"Freya I'm sorry, but I can't..." Realization cascades down the goddess's face. She breathes in through her nose. "I, apologize."

The sound of a dragon erupts above them. Freya's eyes widened as she looks up. "What was that?" Laufey asks. Running over to slip on her dress.

"Come here quickly," Freya calls to her, she grabs a bowl from the shelf and dips her fingers into it. She rubs the yellow glowing mixture over Laufey's neck. "Leyna" She whispers.

"Leave, now. Go, take your things."

"Mother!" A man shouts. "I'm home!"

That was Baldur's voice.

"Please tell me what's going on?" Laufey runs over to gather the rest of her things. She walks quickly to the back door where Freya has violently opened it and runs back to the table. "You're not coming with me?" Laufey asks.

"Go now, he'll take you to Thor and Odin. Use this, it will keep you hidden in this realm." She pours the yellow liquid into a bottle and throws it at her.

"Pops tells me you have a gift for me in there!" The man shouts above the house and turtle.

"GO!" Freya yells pushing her out and slamming the door. As Laufey enters the cave she watches the house lift upwards as the turtle stands up.

Balder started shouting at his mother. She could only hear muffled voices but both were yelling. She didn't want to risk anything, she ran down the bridge as fast as she could. "You had no right witch!" She faintly hears the man yelling in the distance. As she jumps into a boat and rows towards the temple the voices fully disappear.

The doorway to Hel stood in front of Laufey. She shivered as the freezing air seeped in between the cracks and hit her body. She opens the door and walks inside. This was it, this was the final part.

In her visions, she would only walk this path after she had died. She had to die for Loki to survive here. While she was dead she would paint the pathway out of Hel. If she succeeded, Loki would make his way out and finish bringing about the death of the gods, he would spread the ashes of Farbauti and revive her along with the other jotunn.

But everything was so different now.

She looked around the cold pit trembling. Her breath fogging in front of her face. Several demons sat in front of her, they didn't look at her. She moved forward quickly, almost through them. She only had an hour and she had to make haste.

The first part was finished, now for the last and final painting. She walked up to the bridge. The keeper stood still as stone. He almost looked peaceful, she was happy she didn't have to fight or disturb him from his duty. He couldn't see her.

Hraesvelg sat perched far away, looking down at her. The massive bird said nothing, but she thinks it can see her. She looks up to him. A giant like her people. She nods her head to the bird and suddenly it spreads its wings. Laufey expected he incoming wind to blow her away from the bridge. Was he pushing her away from crossing the bridge? The wind grips her and pulls her towards him. She stumbled forward and took several steps onto the bridge. She steadied herself once the wind stops blowing and looks up to the bird. Sitting as still as stone watching her. "Thanks." She says under her breath. There's truly no going back now.

She walks closer to the wooden ship. She bends down and places a hand upon the ancient frozen wood. She is finished. The path has been painted for her son. She walks down into the cabin inside the deck of the ship. She lowers her head through the archway and finds a seat in the middle of the room. She runs her fingers along her skin, the oil was almost all gone. She sits back and sighs. She'll stay here until the end she thinks. She sets the axe in her lap and closes her eyes. She heard the sound of snarling outside. Here they come. She rubs her hands along the pommel of her weapon. She imagined what her son would look like swinging it around. Not the boy from the prophecy, the one she met in the cabin. His face reappears in her mind. "Please come back." She hears. "I know you're out there." It fades in and out of her ears. She wanted to listen to him. To do as he commands her to do. Something inside her wanted to give him everything he ever wanted. If only she could.

"I want to live." She says out loud softly. "I'm not ready to die yet."

The boat shifts as monsters board it. They bang against the door, ripping it off the hinges. She grips her axe tightly.

"I don't want to die here." She says out loud. "Please, don't let me die here."

Her ear cuff explodes. She reaches over to her ear painfully, but there is no blood. The world disappears and she begins falling helplessly. The transparent woman stands above her as she falls, smiling down at her. "Thank you for reconsidering my offer. I am sending you someplace temporarily. Until it becomes safe once again for you to return home. I ask that you return what is mine as soon as you have what you need." She disappears into the distance as Laufey continues to fall. The axe leaves her hands. She tries reaching for it but it flies further away. She summons it but it doesn't come to her. It disappears into the darkness overcoming her surroundings. Suddenly a world takes shape around her. Black clouds dump endless rain, tornadoes and whirlpools surge above and below the water. Laufey found herself plummeting into a raging sea. She hits the water and began sinking. She couldn't breathe, Her lungs filled with the poison salted water.

No. I didn't come this far to fail. She thinks as she closes her eyes to hide from the painful water.

She opens them back up and kicks her legs, swimming towards anything that resembled land.

She washes ashore onto a tall mountaintop now acting as a small island thanks to the flooding. She crawls onto the stone shoreline and rolls onto her back. Her body aches. She is safe, for now.

She watches as the logs begin to smoke. As soon as an ember is seen the rain and wind snuff it out. She picks up the hot logs and continues looking for a better shelter away from the elements. Her magic doesn't work here she's found. She has no axe to chop down one of the few dead trees the small island even offered. And she had little luck catching fish in the raging waters. She couldn't stay here. She'd have to find a new land.

The next two islands were worse from the original. No vegetation, sharper rocks, and closer to an endlessly swirling tornado. In each island she searched for her axe, calling it back. But she was unable to locate it. She prepared herself to dive back into the water. Her body was in pain but she had to find shelter and food or she'll never be able to survive.

The forth island was a success. A massive mountainous region flooded with water. Trees and other native plant were growing. She found a small hallow opening inside the side of the mountain, not big enough to be considered a cave but she made due. She was able to keep a fire burning underneath it. Small yellow and green round shaped fruits were growing from vines all around the island. She picked several hand fulls and brought them back to her campsite. She was nervous about eating them, unable to tell if they were poisonous or not. The rainwater had filled several bowls she fashioned out of leaves. She quenched her thirst each time they fill up. Hopefully sating off her hunger a bit longer until she could find something instead of the small fruits.

She was finally able to sleep in what felt like the night. The sun was always hidden behind clouds which made it hard to tell time. She didn't dream. No one called out to her or showed her where to go. She woke when she heard lightning off in the distance. She gasped as it struck a little closer. But the thunder still indicated how far away it still was.

She held the knife up in her hands. The white birds never landed, but they flew low enough for her to throw the dagger at one every four passes she counted. They were unlike the gulls that flew by the water in her world. She looked down at her dagger. If she misses she may lose her last weapon into the endless night. It didn't feel like two days, but her body slept for a long period twice since she arrived on the island. She was starving. She made up her mind the fruits had to be poisonous. This was the only option for food.

The white birds begin descending in altitude. She throws the knife with all her remaining strength. It hits! She bunches up her fist in silent satisfaction and pulls air through her teeth happily. Then immediately runs over to the bird and retreated it along with the knife. Back at her camp, she started preparing the meat for the fire.

As she sat over the bird's carcass carving it, she felt something. Her axe. It was close by. She held her bloody hands out and tried summoning it. Nothing comes. She bends down and grabs a skewer and shoves several chunks of meat onto it. She feels it again. She looks at the meat, hungry but stands up and walks away from the food and her dagger. The hair tie holding back her hair snaps and falls down. Her hair begins flapping in the wind. There's no time to fix it. She lifts the bird's body up and sticks the broken hairband underneath it. She wanted to eat but she couldn't let this pass by her. The axe was out here, she knew it. She walked along the edge of the water, searching. Finally, she found it crashing into the rocks of the shoreline. It was in the hands of a corpse. A man with red blood staining his entire body, even up to his head. She reaches out and summons the axe, at last, it came to her. Struggling, as if it's magic was grappling on how to flow properly here. As it flew out of the limp hands of the dead man into her own it flipped the body over onto its back. Showing her what killed him. He had suffered a massive wound in his gut, it left a hole through his entire body. She wondered how long he had been dead? It must have been a while.

His skin was white like ashes.

Chapter Text

Laufey could tell how massive the man was, even without him standing up. Finally, she had her axe back, everything she needed to truly survive in this strange new land. With her lifeline back in her hands, Laufey began walking always from the dead man. Though she didn't get far without turning back around after a thought bubbled up in her mind.

She should at least search him over for supplies.

The way he was dressed made her feel sorry for him. Whoever killed him must have taken his clothing. All that was left on him was a mini skirt of what looks like loose belts tied together by a thick red cloth. They were all different lengths, the ones in the back seemed much longer. She hesitates while lifting them up looking for pouches he may have held his herbs or bottles. Once she saw he had wrapped his genitals in bandages she felt a little more comfortable manhandling the corpse.

She saw his shoes, they reminded her of the same style the little girl wore from long ago. They were more modest and only left his toes exposed to the air. They were made from thick leather that came up below his knees. Oh, string! She slips them off his feet and cut the leather laces from them with her axe. She ties the string up and shoves it into her pockets. Thinking about all the things she could do with the string she decides to cut off several of the longer belt straps that made up his strange little kilt. She could probably find a use for them as well. When she began pulling the leather straps off she tugged onto his red waistband a bit and saw that it wasn’t a waistband at all. It was a loincloth that got tangled in his actual belt. She could use the cloth too. She reaches her hands to his hips, his wound looked different from this angle. Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her she thinks. His wound wasn’t all the way through the body like she originally thought she saw. It stopped at his spinal cord. Though that didn’t make it look any worse. It was massive and festering and still oozing blood when she put the slightest amount of pressure around the area. She made sure not to touch it. With her finger below his abdomen, she pulls the red cloth out slowly from behind the leather belt untangling it several times. She noticed the leather belt he wore, the design was beautiful and masterfully crafted. She was shocked whoever stole the rest of his clothing didn’t take this as well. She stretched down then loincloth to its full length. It had beautiful golden detailing on it. The colors, the dyes, the angles of the pattern. She looked down to her own outfit. They were the exact same colors.

She stopped manhandling the body and stood up. A wave of guilt over how she was disrespecting this corpse washed over her. She would burn him back at her camp and send whoever he was off properly. With both arms wrapping under his armpits she begins dragging the massive man back to her campfire.

Once she got him close enough to the fire she sat him down and summoned her axe. Sure enough, it came to her this time, still not as fast as it usually does. She started making quick work of the corpse. She would use his red and gold cloth to hold his ashes. She should probably remove the bandage he had wrapped all around him first. They would work well as tinder for the fire. She stood over him and looked down upon the large ghostly looking man. He had a bizarre patch of facial hair only on his chin, a line connected it from below his lower lip. It looked rather ridiculous she thought, smiling weakly. Perhaps that was all his body would allow him to grow? She realizes some of the red on his face wasn’t blood from the wound, it was a tattoo. She stepped to his left side to get a better look at the tattoo. She couldn’t see properly with all the mud and blood all over him. She takes the bottom of her wet skirt in her hands and drags it along his tattoo. Down his face and body until she got to the wound. His wound wasn't as big she realized. Though this is the first time she really looked at it up close with the fire illuminating next to them. She continues cleaning off the dry mud and blood along the markings around his arm. She was confused, there wasn’t anything written on the tattoo, no runes, no pictures, no indication of a name or religion. It was simply a red line he had drawn down his body with red ink.
She wipes the rest of his face with the skirt of her dress. That was enough she thought to herself. The blood had finally stopped flowing out from his wound. She shifted next to him and lifted his arms to begin unwrapped the bandage. After several layers, she noticed he was still bleeding there. At last, she finally started to see his skin. He had scars along his arm. They were fresh burns. She held his arm out in both her hands and examined the blisters. His skin was hot. With one hand holding his bare arm she dragged her fingers lightly down the hot festering skin all the way to his wrists.

The hand opens and grabs her neck. Squeezing tightly. She gasps pulling at it, trying to breathe. The man opens dull yellow eyes and looks up at her. His face pulls back in a snarl. She struggles on her knees as consciousness slowly fails her. She lets go of his arm and summons her axe. It flies over to her but the man quickly intercepts it with his other hand while he sits up. His grip on her loosens as he brings both of them to their feet. She is able to sneak in a small breath while he drags her up violently with him. He is examining the Leviathan intensely. She uses the opportunity and lifts her leg up and, with all her strength, kicks him in his wounded gut.

He released her and stutters back, hunched over slightly. Laufey recalls the axe again and it slips out of his distracted hands. As soon as she grips it she charges at him and swings. She is inches away from landing a hit but he jolts his upper body back away from the blade. With a bunched up fist, he swings and hits her in the left cheek. The pain was transformative, she had never been hit this hard in her life. The entire left side of her face loses all function, sight, sound. All left and was replaced with only agony. The blow pushed her back and onto the hard ground. She felt a bicuspid detach from her jaw and struggle to remain in her mouth. She looked up from her hands and knees to quickly counter but he was already over top of her. He picked her up by her hair with his right hand and wrapped his left around her throat once again. He let go of her hair and left her hanging by her neck. He violently reached for her axe but she swung it and nicked his shoulder as it wobbled between their combating balance. He blew air out his nose and dropped the axe and punched her once again on the left side of her face. She lost feeling in her tongue and grunted out a howl of pain. Her jaw lets go of the tooth once and for all. She spat the tooth and blood at him as she attempted the same maneuver trying to kick him in his gut. He grabbed her leg and let go of her throat. She fell and hit the floor for an instant before he swung her by the leg over into a rock. He walked over to the axe and picked it back up.

Laufey's body was screaming, then finally her mouth joined it. She stood up, summoning the Leviathan from his hands into her own and charged at him. She swings and slices his face. It landed, his cheekbone seeping out exposed as the oozing flesh fell from his face. Yellow eyes widened and he yanked the axe from her hands. She wouldn’t let go of it. Looking up at him growling through her bloody swollen mouth. She roars as she lunges in to headbutt him. He prevents her blown with the palm of his hand and grabbed her face. Squeezing so hard. His little finger pressing into her temple. She screamed and dropped the axe, but not before biting down as hard as she could into his hand. He pushes her down onto the ground and mounts her, using all his weight to keep her below him. The blood from his wound dripping down onto her. She pushes against his chest with her hands preventing him from crushing her ribs. She slides her hands down and grasps at his open wound, trying to rip his flesh away from his muscles. He yells furiously and with his elbow, pushes against her throat.
She can’t move.
She can’t breathe.
He is too strong.
She lifts her legs to kick but he easily holds them in place with the balls of his feet.
She hears his breathing, it isn’t even staggered, she’s not even close to wearing him down. She is almost dead and he isn't even phased.
She opens her hand inside his chest cavity and closes her eyes. The Leviathan roared towards them.
His yellow eyes roll up to the top of his head and he collapsed on top of her.
She could feel the sharp edge of the axe grazing against her skin from his open wound as it pierced completely through his back while returning to her.

She lay there for a moment, exhausted before rolling him off and sitting up. Adrenalin leaves her and pain takes the place of it. She cups the left side of her face and groans. She looks back at the man on his belly. He was so much stronger than anything she’d encountered on her journey. He was also the first sign of life she had met here. Were all of the inhabitants of this land this strong? She was breathing too fast she realizes. She needed to calm down. But the creeping thought that the goddess had tricked her and sent her to her death kept dancing in her mind.

She walked over to the dead man and pulled the Leviathan out from his back. She leans over and spits up a clot of blood forming around the empty tooth socket. She regrets doing so, now the blood flowing from the extraction site is mixing with her saliva, filling her mouth with thick strings of red spit. A hand grips her ankle and rips her down onto the ground. She gasps as she falls onto her side. She brings the axe down onto his arm. It misses and he reaches his foot up and kicks her in the chest as he stands up. She looks up at him and reaches for her axe. He snatches it away from her and looks at the runes on the blade closely. She smirks wickedly and bends her pointer finger, the axe wobbled in his hand and nicked his forehead with the blade. He pulls air through his teeth and holds it tightly with both hands. She stands up and charges at him. She hears him rumbling in irritation. He drops the axe and swings a fist at her. She doges below it and counters with a wadded up fist that plunged into his chest.

She was the one who screamed out in pain. It was as if she punched an anvil. It felt like she had shattered every bone in her hand. She didn’t scream for long before he punches her in the gut and took his elbow and hit her in the back of her head as she leaned forward. She slumped down onto the ground. She rolled onto her back and with both feet together, brought her knees to her chest then kicked him in his groin as hard as she could.
He roared out in pain and hunched over. He swiped at her while bending over her but she slid away and summoned her axe while standing up. As it flew, in a swift flow of motions, she swings it high in the air and down at his exposed neck. Brok called this an executioner’s axe, let’s use it like one.
As she brings it down she screams out as loud as she can. It smacks against the ground and cracks a crater into the stone. But there was no head that rolled away. He had backed away and stood to face her. She looked up glaring at him through ragged breaths, both hands gripping the pommel of the leviathan and blood dripping down both corners of her mouth. She looked at him with fury and rage in her swollen eyes, she could feel the mud mixing with her sweat dripping down her face. They both remained there for a moment that felt longer than it was. Instead of breathing through his nose he let one breath in through his mouth while glaring at her with evil yellow eyes. He scrunched his nose and approached her slowly. She stands straight up quickly. They look at each other for a moment longer before he throws the first punch. She swings the Leviathan to meet his hands. He opened his fist and grabbed the blade of the axe. It sliced through his palm, coming out the other side. He keeps looking at her, then with his vertically severed open hand, grabs the blade with bloody flopping fingers, taking control of the head of the axe. She gasps slightly in disgust. What is he? He brings the axe up to look at it. She summons it down to her, trying to slice his cheekbones once again. He knew it was coming and, with the pommel of the axe, bring it up and cracks it against her chin. She screams and kicks him in the groin again, she only nicked him with her toe. He snarls and stands up, reaching down for her neck, Laufey rolled away to her feet and starts running.
As fast as her legs could take her.

Chapter Text

For once in her life Laufey was thankful for lightning. It illuminates her path in the shallow wooded area. She could feel dead vines and tree branches brushing up against her, she ran through a swarm of bugs and gasped as they clung to her face and hair. She wishes her magic would return. Brok was right, she had relied on it too much. She holds out her hands and shouted “Falki lio!” Still, nothing. She jumps, the boots didn’t work. All magic, except for the Leviathan, was severed from her in this land.

She didn’t have time to dwell on it. She had to keep running. She could hear the sound of something following her. The footsteps were slow, but they terrified her none the less. What was he? He didn't look like anyone from her visions. He wasn't a god, she knew all of their faces, even the dead ones. He was tall like a troll or even one of her own people when their parents sire a child with a mortal. She reached for her dagger but realized she had left it at the camp with her food. She had no weapon, no magic, and he was closing in on her. She had to summon the axe, but feared it would lead him to her. She recalled it, but it didn't come to her. 'No' she thought, 'it was coming to her.' He was holding it, and now he followed where it led him. To her. She ran towards the edge of a cliff looking over the roaring waters below. She wasn't afraid of diving in and facing them instead of the man again. But had to get the axe back first.

Slowly he approached her with the Leviathan in his hand. She lifts her head high in the air and straightened her back. Ready for another fight. He looked down at the axe and then threw it off the cliff. It sailed far away. He didn’t take his eyes off her. She held her arms up and recalled the weapon. It circled back around her and landed in her hands. His face didn’t show any expression, and his stance wasn't a defensive one. An opening, she charges at him. Swinging the axe down onto him. He grabs the weapon right above her hands and pulls it. She doesn’t let go. He grabs a hand full of her hair. She maneuvers the axe to her possession and slams the blade into his left abdomen. He doesn’t make a sound, but his hand tightens around her hair. She looks at him with a scowl and pushes it in deeper. He yanks her head down and towers over her, peering down at her as his face drifts closer to her. Was he mocking her? She spits in his face. He blew air out of his nose in what almost seemed like amusement. He pushes her back and takes both hands and pulls the axe out of his chest. He closes his eyes and relaxes his shoulders. The wound begins closing up. She looks down, the hole in his abdomen is almost closed too. It now only appeared to be a large open stab wound.

He flips the axe’s angle in his hand. Looking at her. She bends forwards, resting her hands on her knees. Catching her breath. Then stands back up. She summons the axe but he doesn’t let go of it. It shakes violently in his hands. He steadies it and swings it at her. She ducks and rolls out of the way. He swings again. She keeps trying to recall the weapon every time he swings. It throws his aim and balance off and gives her an opportunity to parry. Finally, he throws the weapon at her and she catches it, caught slightly off guard. As she catches it he punches her in the chest and sweeps his foot behind her legs causing her to fall violently onto her back. He snatched the axe from her hands and steps one foot onto her chest. Pressing down hard. He won.

She looked up to him. The man who will kill her. And didn’t cry, didn’t tremble. She didn’t fear death. He didn’t realize he was about to kill a woman ready to die. She smiled bitterly.
“To die fully in the dark like everyone else. Not knowing anything. Thank you. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
The man’s foot lifted slightly. Confusion appears onto his face.
“Τι είναι αυτό?”
She couldn’t understand him. He lifted his foot away and looked down to her for a moment. Then, he simply walked away. She lay there for several moments hearing his footsteps begin to fade away. Her breathing staggered. It was over.

Suddenly, the storm clouds disappeared. Tornadoes vanished, and the sun begins shining down onto her. She squints her eyes from the light and his footsteps stop. She leans herself into her elbows to look around. The man storms back over to her.
He yells something in his language while pointing to the sky. She doesn’t understand him.
“What?” She says. Scrambling to her feet.
He pointed her and began yelling again. She couldn’t understand any of his words.

She pointed to the sky and tilted her head. With what felt like broken fingers, she flicked them back and forth while holding her hand up high. Trying to imitate rain.
He nodded his head slowly and did the same gesture, he then suddenly stopped the “rain” and pointed at her. Was he asking if she stopped the rain?

She pointed to herself and shook her head no. She did the same thing and pointed to him. He did not respond, only returning his gaze at the sky.
She walked over to a rock and sat down, leaning her axe against it. He was looking in her direction again. But not at her, at her axe.

She hesitates, she didn’t trust him. Then again, he could have killed her just now but he didn’t. She pointed to her axe with one hand, then with her other, she pointed to her eye. “Look?” She says slowly. Then pointed at him. She hopes she won't regret this.

He looked away from the weapon and back to her. She accidentally dribbled out a mouthful of blood when she spoke to him. She mimics the gesture again. Pointed to him, then the axe, then her eyes. He nodded once and approached her. He snatches the weapon from the rock she was sitting on. She did her best to not show her inching fear.

His face finally softened from its what felt like a permanent snarl. He touched the runes on the head of the Leviathan. His calloused fingers make a grating noise as they pass over the lines. He moved the weapon side to side feelings its balance, he swapped it from his left to right hand, then swings it at the air. Laufey audibly gasps when he strikes, not ready for it.
He lowers the weapon after her gasp and leans the pommel against his elbow and bends his arm to his chest, offering the weapon back to her on his elbow. She takes it with both hands. He exhales and looks down to his bare feet. She smirks while blowing air out her nose. "Sorry."

He looks up at her. She forgot he can’t understand her. She stands up and takes some string from her pouch and offers it to him. He looks at it with no expression and doesn’t take it. She looks at the wounds on his arms, she pointed at the one she took the bandages off. It got a reaction out of him. He glared at her angrily. She held her hands up in apology, not meaning to pry. He yells something at her sharply. He made no hand gestures, she couldn’t understand any of it. She tilted her head. He grumbles. She pointed to his other wrist with bandages on it. “I saved it if that’s what you’re looking for?” She said. She made a gesture to follow her. She walks back towards her little camp. The sunlight made it much easier to tell where she was going.

-

Back at the camp she looks through the pile of supplies she gathered and pulls out the bloody bandages she’d removed from his arms. He storms over to her and rips them from her hands, as well as his shoes sitting next to them. She holds her hands up in surrender and lets him at it. She tosses the leather string at him. She remembers her food, she runs over to it and finds her dagger. She picked the carcass up and looks it over. It was surprisingly still halfway decent looking. She peeled her hairband off of it and returned to skewering chunks of meat and finally resting them against the fire. He finishes putting his shoes on and laces them up loosely with his arms both fully bound up. Walking over to her with a vile look on his face at what she was doing. He begins to tell her something, but it sounded like he didn’t finish his sentence. He sat down by the fire and looked at it. They sat there for several minutes in complete silence. Until the smell of her food finally started awakening her senses.
"Oh!" She says. "You may know."

She stands up and runs to gather the round green fruits from her bag. They were still attached to some of the vegetation that they grew on. She pointed at the man to get his attention. Then she showed him the fruits and opened her mouth to point at it. Hopefully trying to come across as asking if she can eat them.
He lifted his right eyebrow up as she held the vine of fruits out to him with her mouth open wide and pointing at it. He looked down to his lap, then off to the distance and after a few moments, nodded his head slowly while slightly leaning back.
She could eat them! She crams one into her mouth and almost melted when she began to chew. Ignoring the pain from her left side. It wasn’t at all what she expected. It was sweet and sour and juicy all at the same time. Her voice mulled slightly at the sheer fact she was finally eating something.
She was too busy with her joy to see his bewildered expression.

Chapter Text

Laufey chewed slowly as her eyes casually fixated on the wound in his gut. Would it be foolish or insensitive of her to offer him anything to eat? Would he even be able to digest anything when his intestines were missing hardly an hour ago? While on her knees she leaned over and plucked a skewer of meat away from the fire and hands it to him. The man doesn't reach for it, nor does he make any eye contact with her to acknowledge her offer. A rejected sigh escapes her as she brings the juicy meat to her mouth and begins eating it. The taste was incredible. It was instinctively sharp and hinted of pine and roots. The taste was so familiar to her but, she couldn't put her finger on it. Partly due to how hungry and tired she had become all thanks to her struggle for survival in this strange land as well as her 'encounter' with this silent and strange man. While she wasn't paying attention, the white and red painted man stood up and walked over to the fire. With his eyes cautiously watching her chewing and swallowing the meat, he bends down and snatches one of the skewers up and begins eating it even before sitting down. He doesn't give any indication of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the meal. Laufey swore she saw him stop his chewing for only a moment to run his tongue along the inners of his mouth as if to taste something.

Once he finished, he leaned forward and reached for her axe from the ground. Laufey didn't flinch as much this time. He pointed to her and then the axe in his hand. Silently, he set it down and held his hand out to it as if he was trying to recall it himself. After a moment he pointed at her as if to order her to do something. She pondered what he could be trying to ask of her as she holds her hands out and it flew to her. He grunts something in his language and nods his head.

He wanted to know how the axe worked? How in the world would she describe magic to him?

Laufey sets the Leviathan back down and takes a deep breath through her nose. Reaching out her hands she sprinkles her fingers over the air quickly. No, that won't do, he may think she is talking about the rain again. She stops all hand movements suddenly and thinks. While contemplating the man quickly storms over to her and forcefully grabs her left arm. He rips the sleeve off her tunic. Reflexively, she snatched her arm away and smacks him in his face with it. He doesn't flinch but lowers his head in what could almost be understood as an apology. She held her body away from him, what was he trying to do now? Did he want to see her arms? Why? She rolls up the sleeve of her other arm. Cautiously, she held both exposed wrists out for him to view. Not as harshly this time, he snatched them in his dry cracked hands and looked them over top and bottom. He drags his fingers from her wrist to right below her elbow. His fingers were warm and sharp, but the way he traced his tips along her forearms left goosebumps. He wasn't finished after he let both arms go, with one hand he twisted her right arm over and with his other hand, rubbed his palm down the hairs of her arm as if trying to feel for something on her skin. What was he looking for? She got the impression he must not have found whatever it was. Quickly the man's face turned from curiosity back to aggravation. Finally, he let go and looked away. With her mind at a complete lost at what this sudden outburst was all about, Laufey rolled down her only sleeve and picked the axe back up. The white and red painted man turned away viciously from her and appeared to adjust the wrappings on his own arms.

As the sun shines down onto her skin Laufey began to realize just how overdressed she is for the environment. It was hot, a strange hot that she hasn't felt before. Her skin felt like it was soaking in a bath even though she wasn't in any water. Her dress stuck to her body clinging to her back damply. Maybe this strange man had the right idea of wearing as little clothing as possible? She should nonetheless take advantage of the weather and start venturing out in search of more adequate living conditions. She braided her hair quickly and stood up. "I'm leaving now. Thank you for... not killing me." Laufey said slowly. He didn't bother to even look at her. She rolled her eyes and gathered up her things. If everything went well she wouldn't be coming back here. She picked up her axe and turned to him and bowed her head slightly, again, no response. She walked away towards the area she hadn't explored yet.

After several minutes, she heard him walking behind her.

The two of them came across the ruins of an old city next to the sea. The man suddenly picked up his pace and began to walk in front of her. Laufey struggled to keep up, wanting to take in the beautiful, eerie scene. It appeared most of the village had been below the water and they were only walking on the uppermost level of an entire city. The parts left made the village appear small but she had no clue how severe the flooding had been and what could be below the waters. The architecture was unlike anything she had ever seen. White pillars held up massive slabs of marble stone. There was a colossal temple erected at the very top of the road. Most of it was sinking into the sea. But there was a smaller open alcove next to it that looked safe to enter. It had no walls, just multiple pillars holding up the roof. Scattered along the floor were the bones of dozens of humans. Overturned carts filled with rotting food, and endless bushels of grain and spices. He slowed his pace and finally, they walked side by side for a moment. She gazed up at him but his expression was the same. Then she saw a table full of beautiful painted pottery and clothing.

She ran out ahead of the man and started examining everything. Painted jars filled with foul-smelling liquid and pickled vegetables. She opened every one of them. Silk fabrics dyed the colors of the rainbow. She wanted to take everything with her but as she started to fill her pockets she felt his gaze upon her. He spoke something at her. It was a question she thought.

She finds a sprig of rosemary. She picks it up and inhales the aroma. Freya, she thinks. She never really had time to think about what happened a few days ago. With her heart rate increasing, Laufey holds her fingertips up to her mouth and remembers the kiss. She dreamed of her first kiss since she was a little girl. Imagining it time and time again - sometimes with a courteous and intelligent blacksmith who had stolen her heart many years ago. But never like this. What brought about her sudden confession and advances? She knew she was lonely but wasn't her comradely enough? Had Laufey truly been so blind to what her friend was really thinking about their relationship? Freya had been married to a man for hundreds of years, it never even crossed her mind. Hindsight suddenly crashed into reality as she recalled everything. The way they would sleep together in her little bed, sometimes waking up tangled in each other's arms for warmth when the fire went out. Laufey began to regret not asking her more questions about Freya's personal life. She knew it had ended poorly but, was she ever happy? Was she a bad friend to her? Was she even a friend in the first place? She breathes in the rosemary again. Laufey misses her she realized. She was so beautiful, yet, a part of her felt so sad, so...

A dark thought entered her mind. Her son was Baldur, the man Loki was destined to kill. She wouldn't have been able to know this, would she? There's no way Freya was trying to distract her before her son came by and killed her? She scrunches her chin in sadness. No, that would be tragic, spiteful, and depressing. Freya would never do that to her. But then again, thanks to her jaded experience these past few years, that made it the most likely possibility. She remembered how much she hated the gods. They were wicked, all of them. As sorrow engulfed her heart as she attempted to harden her heart, Laufey sneaks one more sniff of the pale green herbs before shoving them into her bag.

She picked up a dress made of red linen to distract her thoughts. it was thin and beautiful, it had the same golden square patterns as his kilt she noticed. She turned to face him. He walked away from her silently, uninterested in what she was doing. She didn't follow him, instead, examining at all the jewelry piled high on the table. She noticed some of it had the same markings of the ear cuff she once wore. She picked a golden hair clip up and replaced her old rosemary hair tie with it.

Once she was finished exploring she walked away towards where the man was last seen. She couldn't hear his footsteps anymore.

He was gone. She walked the stone floors hearing only her footsteps. She searched behind turned over carts and behind each pillar.

"Hello?" Laufey calls, only a faint echo answers her. She gave up looking after what felt like an hour. What a strange and terrifying man, she thinks. It's probably better she remains alone. She had no idea when the transparent goddess would be back for her.

As she walked out of the corridors she followed a stony pathway up a hill. More white pillar houses could be seen. She didn't enter them, continuing forward up the pathway. Statues of people she doesn't recognize tower above her.

Then, one statue sticks out to her. She walks over to look at it closely. It was him, it was of the white and red man. It was broken and cracked in several spots but there was no mistaking it. It was him. Was he a king? Or the son of a king?

She reaches out and touches the statue.

"It is almost time for you to return home." A woman's voice says. It was the goddess.

"Where am I right now?" Laufey asks her.

"You stand in the ruins of a land once called Sparta." She says. "Home to fiercely strong warriors."

"I noticed that," Laufey says looking away. "Where will you take me once it is time to return?"

"Back to the cave where we first encountered one another."

Laufey presses her lips together. She knew there would be a catch. She would return to her isolation in Jotunheim.

"Tell me, have you obtained what you need from this land yet?" She asks her with a smile.

Laufey looks back to the woman questionably. "What?"

"I see. Well Please continue your efforts. Just remember. You will return what belongs to me when you are finished this time."

"This time?" Laufey says.

The goddess drops her smile. "Here, these are for you."

"I don't want whatever you are about to give me," Laufey says closing her hands around her ears.

The goddess grins again. "I am no longer interested in branding anything on you. While you travel in this land these will provide you with protection. Once you are finished in this world, I will want them back."

The goddess disappears, left on the statue were two blades attached to chains.

Chapter Text

Laufey set the axe down onto the statue and slowly picked up the two blades. Both identical in shape and form, a leather-bound handle enclosed around a short pommel. A massive hilt in the shape of a deformed creature with its mouth opened held the blade of the weapon. The blade itself was curved with jagged edges and a deep silver color. She brushed her fingers along the side of the blade, the metal felt cold in her hands. When she picked them up long chains fell from the stone statue onto the ground. The jingling sound they make collapsing on top of each other into a circle triggers a memory of hers. These were the same chains from her dreams. She extends the weapon above her head and examined the chains. They weren't hot like she remembered. Like the blades, they were unusually cold.

She had no room in her hands to hold both the Leviathan and the blades. So she bent down and began emptying out her bag she had just filled in the temple. A jar of sweet smelling oil, a golden necklace with a green stone attached to it, and several bushels of herbs and preserved food items. The red dress with square detailing at the very bottom fell over top of everything. It was a long sheet of red linen cloth sewn together with gold thread. She looked around to make sure no one was nearby. Then she started undressing from her thick golden dress and red mail tunic. She held the red linen sheet of fabric over her naked body. It was unnervingly thin, but she felt the immediate relief of no longer wearing wool, leather, and chain mail.

She had absolutely no idea how to wear the dress. Upon further examination, she wonders if this was even a dress to begin with? The tube of thin red linen attached with golden thread, one side seemed to have been torn away slightly. She saw a continuous line of golden squares detailing one side. She decided that would be the bottom of it. She stepped into the dress, quickly noticing it had no way of staying up. She realized there were no holes for her arms to go through. She groaned in agitation, mouthing several profanities in her people's native language all while trying to figure out how the garment even worked. She reaches down and picks up the golden necklace from her pile. She unfastens it and wraps it above her breast, holding the cloth up. It didn't stay up very well but it would do the trick for now. She may look ridiculous but at least she was finally comfortable in the moist heat of this land. She kneels down and set the two blades onto her mail tunic and began to wrap them up tightly. The mail would prevent the blades from tearing the bag while she travels. Then she folded the tunic and blades up inside her large, still damp from sweat, golden dress. She placed everything in her bag. Along with the essentials from her own world, she didn't have much room left for any of her newly found treasures. She shoved the bushel of rosemary on the top of the clothing and closed her bag up. She stood and picked the leviathan back up. She continued on, exploring the village alone.

She heard the sound of glass breaking in the distance. She runs over to try and find the source, constantly readjusting her new flimsy, 'dress.' A large fire-ravished house with actual walls between four pillars. The front door was large and made of wood. Time and what appeared to be a house fire worn much of it away but she saw small designs etched into it. The metal handle had rusted over and hung loosely out of the back of the door. She pushes it open and stepped inside the dark ashy house. It was as if no one had been inside for decades. To her left was a counter with cracked pottery scattered throughout, adorned with spider webs. She walked past it and found a table with three chairs. She dragged her fingers across one of the chairs still intact, feeling the splintered antique wood. She looked around the home, it was decorated with burnt cloth tapestries and paintings throughout.

While looking around she stepped onto some broken glass from a mirror. She looks down and sees a round mirror knocked over, shattered on a small table. She reaches out to touch the outer frame in order to set it back up but hears rustling inside the house. She quickly stands up and grips her axe tightly. There were only two other rooms inside the home. She enters a room with the remains of a small bed made from velvet and wood, a child's bed. A tiny nightstand sat beside it. The window was open and the remits of a sheer curtain drift in the breeze.

She exits the room and looks inside the other. It was much larger than the last. The window was closed unlike the last one and thick curtains were still intact. Keeping the room much darker than the others. She entered it to try and look around. She sets her axe down and extends her arms out to make sure she didn't bump into anything. She feels a bed in front of her, as she reaches out to feel it her hand bumps into a leg. She gasps and the leg moves away quickly.

It was the man, sleeping on the bed, or was sleeping. While backing away from the bed the chains in her bag jingled. It was dark but she saw his massive outline sit up from the bed and face her. His breathing was staggered, his chest heaved up and down as if he saw a ghost. "Λυσάνδρα?" He says almost fearfully. Still, Laufey can't understand him. The man lunges up off the bed and walked over to her with panic in his glowing yellow eyes. In the dark he grips her with both hands and leans his face close to her, pushing her backward until they finally step into a pillar of light shining in from the ancient cracked walls. His eyes focused and he realizes who she is. He lets go of her and backs away. Disgust washes over his face as he says something softly under his breath. "I didn't mean to startle you," Laufey says while readjusting her dress from the scuffle.

The man avoids her as he walked past her into the main living area. She turned around to follow him before stopping to glances back into the room with the small bed. Maybe this was the house he grew up in? Could this room have been his long ago? She smiles quickly at the thought of this massive angry man as a little boy sleeping in a tiny bed.

She sweeps the broken glass away with her feet, so as not to step on it again. The sound makes him look back at her. "Is everything okay?" She says. This time, he actually responded to her softly, even though she couldn't understand any of it. His raspy voice, while still intimidating, cracked slightly as sorrow seeped through.

He shuffled over to her and grasps a handful of her loose dress as if to take his mind off something. He said something under his breath and let go of the fabric. Then he strolls back into the large room and opens a small dusty stone box on top of a dresser. He reached in a pulls out two golden pins with a small seashell adorning the top of each one. He then opens the bottom dresser door and takes out a golden rope with tassels at each end. The man walks back over to Laufey without making eye contact and rips the golden chain necklace off her. It snaps and plunges to the ground, along with the dress. Laufey gasps as her breasts spill out but quickly catches the dress and cover them back up. The man didn't even seem phased by her exposed skin. He rudely moved her arms out of the way while holding onto the top of the dress. Forcefully he directs her to hold her arms straight out to her side. Ignoring her nakedness as he held the top of the dress up around her armpits. Then he gathers up the ends of the fabric on the left side and quickly measures the length of his arm with it. He fastens one of the pins into the fabric and gestures to bring her arm into the new opening. He moves his hands to the right side with the torn seam, and simply pins both ends onto her shoulder with the other seashell broach. Finally, he picked the rope up and reaches both his arms around her body and places it along her upper back. He brings two ends together and ties them together at her chest. He casually lifts her breast up with his knuckles while doing so. Laufey shuts her eyes in a mixture of agitation and embarrassment. He gathers the rest of the rope and circles her body again with it. This time it falls right above her midriff. He backs away from her once he is finished. Sure enough, the dress wasn't going anywhere now. He says something to her. She didn't hear as much irritability in his voice. She reaches down and picks up her axe. "Thank you." She says with a flushed face. He didn't make any notion of responding to her. She bends down and puts her bag around her. She sways back and forth slightly two times to feel the flow of the thin fabric on her legs.

As she sways the chains jingle in her bag. He looks back towards her and grasps her right arm painfully. He forces his hand into her bag and tried to grab at the wrapped up clothing and blades. She held still while he removed it. With her clothing in his hands, he released her and she shuffles backward. His breathing quickened as he unfolded the dress and tunic and saw what was inside. He whispers something.

Laufey kept silent as she watches him remove one blade from the pile of clothing. He throws it onto the ground and violently seizes her arms again. His yellow eyes were furious. He started yelling at her, as he did his hands became strangely hot. Then suddenly the chains surge from the ground and lurch at the man. She shoves him out of the way and instead, they besieged her. Wrapping around her throat she opened her mouth to scream. They charred her skin on impact. While in pain she summoned her axe but the chains squeezed tightly and caused her to stutter and lose her balance, she didn't catch the leviathan flying at her. It flew past her and crashed into the counter holding the jars of pottery. The man rushes to her and tries to pull the chains off her neck. They continued searing her skin as they squeezed. She screamed in pain, panic flooded her vision as the man was trying to pull them off her. She saw a similar panic in the man's eyes looking back at her. He managed to find the end of one of the chains and pulled it free from her. Then the chain lunged at him and he stumbled back avoiding it. "Help me!" She weakly pleas as she sunk onto her knees. The loose chain dangled freely by her arms. He backed away from her hesitantly. He almost looked afraid. Then, after a second, he knelt down next to her and grasped the chains in both hands. He began slowly unwrapping them from her neck. Once they were all off they fell lifeless onto the ground. He kept still next to her, breathing almost as heavily as she was. The asphyxiation caused tears to stream down her face, her neck was on fire. She looked up to him, wobbly, he steadied her with both his hands. He saved her she thought. Her eyes wide with gratitude and fear.

Then, she realized, he was looking at her with the exact same expression.

He stood up and helped her to her feet. Not letting go of her. They held onto each other for a moment longer, still catching their breath. She looked back down at the blades and let go of him first. She went to bend down and pick one up but he stopped her, pulling her back to him. Saying something softly to her. She places a hand onto his and nodded encouragingly. He lets go and she picks one of the blades up. She looks it over.

"ο δικός μου" He says with a grizzled voice.

She quickly looked back at him.

"What?" She says

He points to the blades, then to his chest.

"They belong to you?" She asks pointing at the one on the ground. He doesn't respond. She picked it up and holds them both in her hands. They were cold again. Then she looks at his arms. The chains. It was starting to make sense now. These were the reason for the burns on his arms. She held the blades in her hands and pointed to the axe. "Take." She says. He walks over and picked up the leviathan. She walked out of the house holding his blades in each hand, chains dragging loosely on the ground behind her. He followed slowly behind her holding her axe.

"It is time." A voice calls out. And suddenly the world around her begins to vanish. The man rushes towards her yelling something. She reaches out for him but everything dissolves. She trips over something and suddenly she feels a piercing cold penetrate her entire body. She looks around and sees stone statues of her dead family all around her. She was still holding his two blades in her hands.

She is back in Jotunheim.

Chapter Text

It was all the same, except for a thick layer of dust over the unfinished paintings. Laufey set the two blades onto the cold, familiar ground and felt her body beginning to shiver. Jotenhime's mountainous cold weather penetrating her exposed skin through the foreign dress.

She held her hands out and summoned her wooden falcons. They screamed out in a flurry and flew around the cave several times before disintegrating into moss and pine needles. There was some comfort her runic magic had returned, but an unusual emptiness had suddenly opened up in her thoughts. Quickly, Laufey gathered the remains of her falcons along with some sticks and prepared a fire pit to help shake off this bitter cold seeping into her heart.

The jingling sound of the blades being picked up by someone disturbed her. Laufey spun around suddenly only to see the goddess, looking more stone than transparent from her usual appearance. Irritated, Laufey twisted her head back to the fire coldly.

"Our contract is over. Why are you still here?"

"Did you take what you needed in my lands?" The goddess says.

"Yeah, thanks for the dress. It'll serve me well in my solitude. Keep me nice and warm at night." Laufey says bitterly.

"Are you pregnant?"

Laufey turns to face her. "Excuse me?"

"The god you gave your axe too in exchange for the blades, the father of your people's chosen one. You didn't make a child with him. Why?" The goddess questioned.

Laufey stood up, "what god? Those blades attacked me!" She said pointing to them.

The goddess smiles while holding the blades by their chains.

"Curious, your son will never be born. I suppose that would make many things easier in some aspects." Her glowing eyes flicker several times. "Sadly, it is too big of an alteration and would cause too heavy a disruption in my plans. No, I'm afraid he must exist."

Laufey storms over to her. "What plans? What are you talking about? Who are you talking about? Stop involving me in whatever it is you're doing! Just leave me alone! Please!" She shouts, waving her arms furiously.

"He touched you yet here you stand, he didn't kill you. Truly you must have felt a connection with him? Or did feel it first?" The goddess chuckled astonishingly, almost as if she was talking to herself. "That man who dressed you like that, who gave you those wounds still healing on your skin. He is, and he has always has been the father of your destined son."

Laufey suddenly dropped her arms to her side.

"You were right, you do struggle with comprehending everything presented to you. But it isn't too late, time flows differently between these worlds. I wonder how long he has been traveling? That demigod will be excommunicated for his atrocities in that land. Rage will drive him insane in his isolation. It won't be long until he arrives here, longing for the space between your legs to soothe him."

"Demigod?" Laufey says quietly. "He was the god you wanted me to kill? The one who killed his own family?"

The goddess nods her head. "You saw that land in chaos. I'm afraid that was his own doing. He has wrought death and destruction to everything he touches. I had hoped you could destroy him before he spread such chaos to other lands."

"I couldn't possibly kill him, even if I wanted to, he is too strong," Laufey says.

"He shows no mercy when he fights, I'm sure if, given the opportunity, he would kill you like the monster he truly is."

Laufey kept quiet. The goddess was wrong, he had the opportunity to let her die multiple times, but he didn't. Was this an error in the goddess' judgment, or was something bigger at hand here?

"But," the goddess says. "If you include him in your prophecy, we could make him the sacrifice to revive your people. The sisters of fate in my world have been destroyed by his own hands. But perhaps this realm is under a different jurisdiction? If he became intertwined in your prophecies, he would be powerless to prevent the inevitable sickness that befalls the parent of your son."

Laufey walked over to the goddess. She took one of the blades from her. "Even though he is a god, the burning fever will overcome him and his ashes would still bring my family back?" She questions, looking at the blades. "The parent of Loki." Laufey recites the prophecy as she looks at her reflection in the steel.

The goddess smiles as she hands her the second blade. She lifts her hands and a green glow emitted from them. All the murals of Loki traveling disappears off the walls.

"It would seem our contract isn't over yet?"

Laufey takes the other blade in her hand. "How will he find me? This world is cut off from the others. I'm trapped here."

"Never underestimate him. I learned this the hard way."

Her eyes flicker several times. "If you'll excuse me. I must tend to... Matters, in my own time."

"Wait what do I do?" Laufey shouts, but suddenly the goddess was gone.

Laufey walks over to the now empty walls. She bends down and picks one of the dusty chisel tips up. She begins chiseling something into them.

That night she struggled to get to sleep. The cold had proved too intense and she didn't have the proper attire to battle the chill. When she did manage to doze off she dreamed of the man. A god who killed his own family, he stood over bodies of people drenched in blood. His face looked the same as it did when he fought her. The white and red god grabbed her arm violently as he did with all the others he had just slaughtered, but instead of killing her like the other he gently readjusted one of the seashell pins that had come lose on her dress.

The next morning she went back to the wall and began to carve out the image of the white and red man, and their son.

Loki was holding his dead body while the essence of him flying into the sky to rebirth the giants. Next, she began to paint her son traveling along with Fenrir and his pack to kill Odin.

"I'm not sure that dress is very appropriate for this climate." A man says.

She drops the chisel and turns around. An old man with a tall hat and long curled beard. His face was jolly and plump with rosy cheeks. "Though I suppose you were just there not too long ago. 'When in Rome' I guess! Wait- that's right, you'll have to excuse me I get those two mixed up all the time."

She rubs her eyes. It couldn't be him. He was dead.

"Tyr?"

He lifts his tall hat and bows extravagantly.

"The beautiful Laufey. My lady, it's a pleasure. Truly. You have no clue how happy I am that the time has come for our paths to at last cross." He puts his hat back on and strokes his beard. "The mother of Ragnarok itself. That must have been quite a hard title to walk around with your entire life." He grins while looking her up and down.

"Though like many things, I'm sure you wear it beautifully."

"This isn't possible, you're dead." She says.

"I am? Ah, the magic of temporal magic. I don't recommend you start playing with it. It'll cause all sorts of disarray, just look at old Njord!" Laufey balls up her fist. "You've been around, this entire time... and you never appeared to us? Not once?!" Her fists begin to shake. "Even in our darkest hour. You didn't even attempt to help us?"

The ornate man stands before her silently.

"You were the reason behind all our suffering. You were the one who convinced us Mjolnir would be fine in his hands. You stood by while he slaughtered us. You...-"

He places a hand onto her head. "Child, we all make mistakes. Some of us hold more horrendous ones it's true. Every child has a hero whose deeds define them as monsters." He starts to move his hands over the top of her head. As if to pet her. "True heroes choose to spend their remaining time rectifying those mistakes." He moves his hand down to cup her cheek. "And the truly amazing among us help them through their retribution."

She looks up to the man. "I don't understand."

He moves his hands from her cheek to lift her chin upwards and winks. "Isn't it exciting?"

"I see you've started without me. Wait, this part isn't right." He removes his hand and points to her etching. "Here, let me help you." He lifts both arms and snaps his fingers. The entire cavern begins to tremble. Her newly painted scene cracks and chunks chip away as the cave shook. A yellow spark cascades throughout the walls. He begins to write the story of her son.

The real story.

Laufey sees the white and red man fighting alongside him. Their encounter with Freya, their meeting with the world serpent. She lifts her eyes to the top to watch them sail in the skies of Hel. Then she sees herself, standing with the elders in her golden dress. Holding the Leviathan. She smiles. "You got the dress right. Will I truly see them again?"

He moved closer to her and places a hand on her back firmly. Then he guided her to another wall. "I must apologize for the lapse in the timeline. The way you look in your dress while holding that axe, it was just too beautiful to leave out."

She sees a pile of logs with a golden body laying on top of it. It was her, at that moment Laufey saw her fate. She wraps her arms around herself. Then brings her hands to cover her mouth silently. Tyr leans into her ear and smiles brightly at her while pointing to her dead self.

"My sweet girl. Don't you see? You are the key to their salvation. Every aspect of your existence is my retribution to the giants. Not just what you leave behind for the next generation. That's why I made you."

She looks back up to the golden body over the logs trembling. "Made me? Am I a god?" Tyr chuckles. "No child, that you are not. You are and always will be a jotunn. A special one at that. Just as your ancestors were created from Ymir's pit, I studied this technique and plucked you from my own. You are not my child, but you are still my creation."

"Did my brother know? Was he even truly my brother?" She placed a hand on her heart. "He was indeed your brother, made the same as you, to act as your protector in my absence."

Laufey clenched handfuls of her dress in her hands. "Was the goddess in on all this?"

He scrunches his eyebrows. "Goddess?"

"The woman who brought me to a different realm. Who gave me those blades. Who told me to kill the white and red man."

"Athena..." he hums under his breath. "Athena?" She asks.

"She is testing my patience once again. She has a habit of meddling in the affairs of your in-laws and their descendants. You didn't give her sweet Helen of Troy, did you?" He says with a questionable face. "What? A child appeared and she told me she would return her to her home."

Tyr sighs as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I suppose you may have inherited the way you treat the spouses of your grandchildren from me. Well, I guess I have to make another pit stop." He lowers his hand and winks. "Maybe I'll pay the old man a visit? I can't wait to see how cheerful he is as an old grey man. Even at his decrepit age, I bet he is giving your sister in law a run for her money."

Laufey looks away. She wasn't truly paying attention to him. Her fate still sinking into her mind. A wave of disparity, fear, and hope clash within her mind.

"Seeing as I am now double booked. I'm afraid I must expedite our appointment. I had planned on having you paint a few more things in my temple... but I suppose I will have to do that myself. I forgot. Where is the realm tower around here?"

Laufey looks at him questionably. "You destroyed it?"

"Oh, that's right! That old illusion is still up and running? Well shit, that worked a lot longer than I figured it would. Then again Odin always was an idiot. Come!"

He extends his hand. "Gather your things and follow me. Let's go out the back door. Mimir is probably sleeping right now. If not we can always say hello and simply chop his head off." He laughs.

They exit the back of the cave and walk up the mountain. Laufey stands in front of a small cliff she had to climb. "You forgot a spot on your journey." He says pointing to the small edge. His hand glows yellow and he presses it into her palms. Drenching her hand in golden paint. "Your boy will have had traveled for quite a while before he gets up here. He will have much he wished he could have told you at this point." Laufey closes her eyes and pictures the young boy from the cabin. His blue eyes and round head. A smile creeps onto her face when she remembered how he demanded she smiles for him. "You should leave him one final message Laufey."

She gently presses her hand into the wall. "You can finish this." She whispers.

"Now then. Don't squander any of that paint on your hands! Off we go!" He scooped her up and flies over top the cave, across the stone bridge, and down to the broken portal her brother had destroyed.

Sure enough, the adviser was sleeping when they came through. "Hah! Robin Goodfellow down for his afternoon nap!" Tyr shouts. Then quickly covered his mouth and begins whispering. "Told ya. Now, Let's get you someplace safe. Think of a place that makes you happy."

He snaps his fingers and they appear in a forest. Freya's forest. "Ah, a bit reckless. But it makes sense I suppose." Laufey shuffled around still trying to catch up. Her bag and the two blades appear at her feet. "Now, Let's get that barrier up and going. Then I must take my leave. You'll take over from here?"

After placing her handprint onto the final tree she looks over to Tyr. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver trinket. It was a miniature world serpent. "I'm about to go talk to the little guy. I'll tell him granny says hello."

"What is that?" Laufey asks.

"Oh, this! It'll clip onto your back and hold your axe. Freeing up your hands for more important things." He says with a smile. "I left the Leviathan in a different world," Laufey says.

Tyr chuckles through his thick beard. "It'll always return to you if you recall it."

He leans down and hands her the silver ring, then kisses her forehead. He disappears. She is left all alone in the forest.

Laufey reaches her hands out and attempts to recall the Leviathan.

Chapter Text

The final hem of her poncho was ready. Delighted with herself, Laufey felt the immediate warmth the patchwork fur and hide gave off as she slipped it over her head. She leaned over into her makeshift tent made from vines and leaves stretched over cold wet branches and picked up a small wild radish from her pile to eat as she celebrated her accomplishment in her mind. Though her pile of wild growing root vegetables was growing smaller and smaller by the day, she decided she would worry about replenishing her food supply tomorrow. The next thing on her agenda today was another tree, she picked up her knife and set off after it.

On her way to the clearing of trees, she avoided stepping onto a pile of overturned dirt.

Laufey approached a large aspen and placed a hand onto it while looking up. Slowly she backed away from it while keeping her hand out. "Falki lio" The birds shot from her hands and circled the tree, cutting it slightly with every attack. They weren't very efficient at it, the left a tiny jagged indentation into the wood. She caught her breath, and summoned them again, and again. After the fourth time Laufey shook her hands out, her magic dwindling. She'd have to wait a while before she could cast another spell.

Hours later, the aspen came crashing down in the evening glow. Exhausted, she would wait until tomorrow to begin the task of dragging it back to the others. Back at her camp, she took inventory of her tree trunks. Five, she'd need a lot more before she could start constructing a house. What she would do for the Leviathan to come back to her, she thought.

And then, it did.

She almost didn't catch it as it flew quickly towards her. The handle was warm as if someone had been holding it recently. Suddenly, it trembled in her hands, as if being magically summoned towards something. Though she was strong, even she had trouble stabilizing her grip on the vibrating axe, but Laufey refused to let go. She does, however, walk in the direction the axe was pulling from. Once she reached the handprint markers of her and Tyr's barrier, she paused, daring to not go any further as he instructed. The axe finally rips from her hands and flies out of her vision. She summoned it again and watched as it flew back, only to reverse course again, back past the barrier.

Nervously, she began to walk out past the marked trees. Halting as soon as she heard the sound of fighting. A draugr skitters up ahead running after something, or was it away from something? Then she sees him. The white and red man. With the Leviathan, chasing the creature down. He tackles it and begins ripping off limbs, chunks of flesh, and finally its head. The creature was beaten, but it didn't stop the man's assault on it. He kept attacking it, looking like an animal, fiercely devouring a kill after a drought of starvation. It was terrifying in a way, but mostly uncomfortable to watch him ravish the beast.

She summoned her axe and it flew from his hand towards her. As he peered up from his victim she realizes his eyes and flesh were lit with a dull flame. He quickly stood up and lunged at her ferally. She gasped, she wrongfully assumed their squabbling days were over. Laufey kept her eyes on him as she slowly backpedaled away, then found an opportunity and turned around to flee. She doesn't get far before he suddenly appeared in front of her. Laufey was frightened, he didn't look at all like she remembered. His face was thick with an uneven beard, his clothing made up 4 different animals, all of them still covered in dry blood. If it wasn't for his ashy white skin and red tattoo marking, she wouldn't have known it was him. What was this flame around his body, she wondered? Was it hurting him? Did he need help?

As she contemplated how she could aid him, he threw a vicious punch at her. Though he was stronger than her, her reflexes and flexibility far surpassed him. She evades it but upon stumbled backward, she felt the shock wave his attack produced. She wouldn't have survived that blow if it had landed.

"Stop!" She shouts as she rolls out of the way of another one of his swings. His skin was still ablaze with a red flame. She watched him convulsing in anger and rage. Breathing like a monster, no, he is a monster.

She wrinkled her chin in disgust as she recalled the prophecy shed abandon long ago.

Here he was, the husband of her dreams, her people honestly expected her to court this?

Laufey threw her axe down in disgust and lunged at him. One fist balled up tightly, the other held out a flat palm. "Falki lio!" The birds swarmed him and pecked at his flesh. It only infuriated him more but distracting him long enough.

As soon as they disintegrate she threw herself at him and pummeled him in the face. Once again, she felt as if she was attacking a block of steel. He doesn't flinch, but more importantly, he doesn't retaliate.

With her hand still touching his face, the flames began to disperse from his skin. He looks at her with wide eyes coming down from his rage, the joints in his hands soften and he gently grips her shoulders. He touches up and down her arms as if reassuring himself she was real. Laufey sighs as she allows him to keep reaffirming she is truly here, giving her pounding heart and adrenalin to climb down from her throat.

"Hi." She awkwardly manages to spit out.

He lifted her poncho up and looked at her dress beneath it, then backs away from her once he seemed to fully regain himself and the flame adorning his skin completely diminished.

Laufey sighed exhaustingly and summons her axe. As it got closer it boomeranged away from her and landed in his hand. She snapped around with her mouth ajar and looked at him. "But, how did you...?"

He lifted one side of his mouth in a slight smirk as he tossed her back the Leviathan.

Once the two of them got to the campsite she leaned the axe against her collected tree trunks. He looked around silently, walking away from her to explore her setup. "I have some food in the tent over there if you're hungry." She said, not realizing he had already begun to help himself. He said something in his language. "How did you get here?" She asks him, even though he probably couldn't understand her. He looked over to the axe and pointed at it. Did he just understand her, or was he asking if he could use the axe again? He lifted up one of the tree trunks casually. Laufey gasped at the sight of how easy it was for him, it was as if he was peeking under a sheet of paper.

"I'm going to build myself a house with those. Please don't break any of them!" He turned to look at her, then set the log down and walked away. He summoned the leviathan and ventured into the forest without her.

"Wait where are you going?" She called out chasing after him. He roamed the woods until he found a river. He followed it upstream before he decided to venture away from it and walk up a small hill. Laufey followed him silently. He took the axe in both hands and began chopping down a tree, 4 good swings were all he needed before it toppled over.

The house was almost finished. It still needed a roof and some form of insulation. She held a flat wooden branch with a pile of mud and clay from the river. Carefully she walked it uphill to the sound of wood being chopped. The man grunted every other strike. He was sitting atop the final layer aligning the logs evenly. Occasionally he would grumble something in his language but he was never talking to her, rather the house itself.

She started filling the cracks with mud. She kept quiet while working. Listening to the sounds of the forest behind the chopping sounds. Once the chopping concluded she looked up and watched as the man jumped down. He was drenched in sweat. Laufey smiles and nodded her head in appreciation. He returned her nod but without a smile. He ventured out onto the woods and disappeared.

It had been almost a week since he appeared in the woods. And every day after he was done working on the house he would venture out into the forest beyond her barrier. Returning with supplies they were unable to make themselves. He would return every evening with several new scars and a fierce appetite. Laufey finished up with the mud and walked back down to the river, where she lifted up a small trap cage from the water. Multiple crabs stuck their claws out attempting to escape, she avoided their pincers and brought the wooden box back to the cabin. There she started a fire and readies a metal pot he had brought back after a journey. With the pot in hand, she walked back to the stream and filled it to the brim. She placed the pot over the fire and waited for the water to boil, sprinkling in a touch of salt, another thing he brought back. After she placed the crabs into the water she gathered up several onions, turnips, a whole bulb of garlic and tossed them in as well. She sat back and watched the food simmer. She had enjoyed their comfortable little routine. She poked the fire with a small stick. Thinking of all the other people she befriended in her life. Brok, Sindri, Narfi, Freya. Laufey brought her knees to her chest and smiled sadly thinking of how she ended up forcefully abandoning every one of them because of her cruel fate.

'Don't get too close to him.' She thought. 'The same thing was going to happen again, wasn't it?'

He had approached her while she was thinking. He sat down with a bloody bag of metal flatware and two dented silver dishes. She looks up to him. "Thank you. Dinner is almost ready."

He sits down without responding to her. She prepares the boiled crab and vegetables onto a plate and hands it to him. He silently begins eating without waiting for her. She quickly makes her own plate and moved to sit down a little closer to him then she usually does. He didn't seem to notice or care. They ate their food in silence until the sun finally retired for the day. He stood up and walked over to the side of the cabin and leaned against it. The same spot he slept at the previous few nights. She picked up the two plates filled with shells and scraped them into a small hole in the ground. Then stacked them on top of each other along with the forks.

Laufey wondered over to him to lie down onto the ground several feet across from him. She used the loose fabric from her dress as a barrier between her face and the cold dirt and hunched her legs together to stay covered fully by her poncho. She did her best to hold her chattering teeth together until sleep finally overtook her.

The next morning when she woke up he was nowhere to be found. She was used to the sound of chopping wood first thing in the morning. Laufey decided to start working on the roof without him. They had already prepared the beams. All that was left was to attach them and fill in the spaces with leaves and mud. She got to work.

Once the sun hit the middle of the sky she leaned back from the top of the roof and wiped the sweat from her brow. The man re-emerged from the forest, silently carrying a large stack of various blankets and quilts.

Chapter Text

"F-esh" He spits out.

"Close. Fish 'ish'" Laufey says. She was pointing to a small picture of a fish she drew in the dirt.

She pointed to the boar.

"Roar." He says.

She couldn’t help but snicker softly at the absurd and monotone way he said the word. He grumbles annoyingly in response standing up to walk away. Laufey, regretting her actions, snatched his hand. "I'm sorry, please don't go." She says looking at the back of his head.

He grumbles again and sits back down, but didn't let go of her hand. With his other, he pointed to her. "What?" He questions, looking at her.

She smiles, they had the better part of a month behind them since they finished the house and this was the first time he ever asked for her name. She pointed at him. "What's your name?" He titled his head slightly, something he did when he was trying to figure out the language.

She lifted the hand he was still holding and brought it to her chest. "Faye." The man stilled, allowing her full control of his arm.

Laufey brought their hands to his chest and allowed him a moment to say his own name, but he didn't respond. She tried it again. Bringing the two hands to her chest. "Faye." Then back to his. He still didn't answer her. Her smile fell weakly as she placed her free hand over the top of their joined hands. "We'll try it again tomorrow." Silently, the man released her hand as he stood up. He turned away from her and walked out the front door, not returning home till much later than he normally does.

That night after dinner when she took his plate from him she pointed at herself. "Do you remember?" She asked him.

"Φως." He says quietly.

It was a strange emotion that washed over her when he was around. She assumed he enjoyed her company, but never took it any further than she assumed a man would. Laufey knew what love felt like, she had felt it as a young girl. This wasn't that, maybe not yet at least. A heaviness hung over the entirety of it. He was to be the father of Loki. Was he that and nothing more? No need to bring love into this right? It would be the easiest thing to do, and probably the most kind-hearted in her mind. She wouldn't ever truly love him anyways. He was simply a means to an end. Should she start trying to seduce him and try to restore the prophecy she had so carelessly ruined? He appeared much older than her, he probably has more 'experienced' than her in this matter. No wait, she knew he was more experienced. He had a family after all according to that woman.

Then her mind wonders from seducing him to his supposed past crimes according to Athena. She didn't trust the goddess, then again, what if she was right? What if he did kill his wife? What if he truly did murder his own child? Maybe she should stick with keeping her distance from him and expedite the conception of Loki, and nothing more.

He left early that morning, as usual not saying goodbye or even acknowledging her. She gathered up Her bedroll and put it onto a shelf he had made them a couple of days ago.

She walked outside and into her newly started garden. She picked up a hoe and started harvesting the potatoes and onions. She would need to replant several things, still figuring out the best way to arrange everything properly. The rutabagas and turnips didn't make it.

She realized something as the spring air blew against her sweat drenched forehead. She can't remember the last time she dreamed since he arrived. How could she had not noticed this until now? Her entire life had been visions and prophecy screaming loudly into her head. But around him, everything was, quite.

He arrived back earlier than normal that day. He was bleeding, she dropped a basket of potatoes and rushed over to him. He held out a hand to establish he was alright. "What happened? Come inside. Take your boots off they are covered in blood."

She holds onto him and leads him inside.

He was hot. Strangely hot, was there a fire close by?

Once inside she pulls a newly crafted chair up to the fire and motions for him to sit down. She unlaced his boots and removed them, placing them over to the door. Then while standing behind him she removed his harness. He was bleeding from multiple spots but the worst was a bite wound on his shoulder. A bear? She drops a cloth in a bucket of water next to the fire pit and places it on his shoulder. He doesn't move as she wipes the blood from the wound. After cleaning it up she brushes her fingers along the open wound, she feels two teeth broken off inside his flesh. "Hold still." She plucks both out and tosses them into the fire. He transitions from breathing in through his mouth to breathing in through his nose. As he does the wound begins to slowly close up. She pulls her hand back and gasps at the sight of his flesh mending itself.

She walked around to his side next to the front door her hands still covered in his blood. "Guess you didn't really need me to do any of that." He rose from the chair slowly and turned to face her. His expression was stern and direct. He walked up to her and stood unnervingly close, towering over her. She felt her heart rate increase. He leaned down slightly.

"No." He crudely says. He picked up his boots from the floor next to her.

He walked out of the house and back into the woods. He left the front door open. Bitterly, she slammed it. Then, awkwardly reopened it to bring the bucket of bloody water to discard into the forest.

She went back to her garden and resumed her work.

"Tell me your name." She said looking at him across the fire pit. He said nothing, continuing to eat his dinner. "Please tell me, your name." He set his plate down and picked up a cup of water to drink. As he went to pick back up his plate she stormed over to him and snatched the plate from his hands. It got his attention, he grows at her annoyingly.

"No name. No food." He finishes drinking the rest of his water and stands up and heads to his bedroll, closing his eyes. She threw the rest of the food into the fire, then stormed out of the cabin in the dark. Summoning her axe at the doorway. She walks off into the night to gather her self.

She sat high atop a birch tree, dangling one of her legs off the branch while leaning against the trunk.

She was a fool for not hitting it off with the frost troll.

This was impossible, why did he infuriate her so much? She looked up to the sky hoping to find tranquility in the stars. But there weren't any in the sky tonight. A darkness slowly lumbered, engulfing the moonlight and she struggled to see in front of her for a moment. Then she hears it.

Thunder.

She feels the panic beginning to surge in her stomach. Lightning flashes in the distance. She gasps and quickly climbed down from the tree. She tripped on her last decent and fell onto her back. The lightning strikes again. It was getting closer.

She ran back towards the cabin as the rain began pouring down in sheets.

It strikes again. So close she feels her heart rumble in her lungs.

She flings the door open and the man shots up from his slumber. Panic washes over his face as he looks at her. She wasn't sure what she looked like herself. Then it strikes again.

She hears them, her family.

She hears the shrill screams suddenly silenced by the horrifying sound of his hammer crushing through their bones.

The sound her sister in law's body made when it crashed down onto the earth.

The feeling of her blood raining down onto her face.

"Faye?"

She feels water on her face even now, dripping off down onto her hands.

A warmth suddenly enclosed her, she struggled to breathe for a moment.

Then another crash of lightning pulls her back into her nightmare. "Please, make it stop." She spoke out loud to herself. Then after a lightning bolt strikes yards away she sees him.

"Faye!"

Her brother, she sees the god storming out through his eye. His screams, she screams along with him and tries moving her hands to claw at her face in horror. Something was preventing her arms from moving. She struggled to free them, screaming as the sound of his body fell. She felt sick, then, she felt darkness.

She awoke with her neck aching as if she had slept on it the wrong way. Then she looked down and saw she was sleeping against the man's chest. He was leaning against the wall and had locked her face down onto himself. It wasn't comfortable, he was restraining her arms behind her back with his hands. Her legs were locked underneath his own. She tried to free herself but felt him reflexively squeeze back. Tightening his grip.

"What's going on? Stop, let go!" She shouts.

He awakens suddenly and lets her go. They both rise up from the floor. He doesn't remove his eyes from her as he speaks. "Kratos." He says slowly. She was still waking up and didn't understand.

The skies continued to dump endless rain down the next several days. Laufey worried about her garden outside becoming flooded. The man, Kratos, didn't leave to go on any outings while it was raining. They sit across from one another, the sound of water dripping down into pots from several leaks in the roof.

"What from?" Kratos asks from across the room looking at her. She looks up, this was the first time he has ever been the one to start off a conversation. She hesitated, what does she tell him?

"From, up?" He said pointing to the ceiling.

She looked up to the ceiling then smiled. "Do you mean the mountains?"

He raises his finger higher above his head. "No, up." He brought his hand down. "You are a god?"

Her smile disappeared, and she sat upright. "No." She spits bitterly.

That seemed to amuse him.

"You?" She asks.

"No, only you."

"That's not fair."

"Where is family?"

"Dead." She says

"How?"

"Stop, it's your turn, where are you from?" She interjects.

"What killed Faye's family?"

She sucked air through her nose. "War."

He paused for a moment, then continued. "How you were in my land?"

"You mean 'how were you in my land?' A woman, she claimed to be a goddess. She tricked me into helping her and owed me a favor. She sent me there before something killed me. Then she sent me back"

Why was she lying to him? Was she lying? No, but she was being dishonest. He didn't give her time to think more about it.

"Where are the blades?" He asks coldly

"Underneath the ground."

He crossed his arms and continued on.

"How old are you?"

"Old." She says

"Lies."

"Excuse me?"

He sat back as if he were a tactician that just finished solving a puzzle.

"You are a child, caught up in events beyond your understanding."

She stood up and leaned forward, ignoring his sudden extensive vocabulary. "Child?"

"Enough, I am done. Stay quiet until morning."

She balled up her fist. "I know a little about you. You're a god."

"Do not speak anymore." He rumbles.

"Is that how it is? I'm just a simple mortal, made to follow your kind's commands?"

"Silence woman."

"Or what, you'll kill me?"

In a sudden fit of anger, he stormed over and cornered her against a wall. His face was sullen and firm as his body let off a slight heat. "You know nothing of me."

"What gave you that scar on your stomach?" She says with her back pressing against the wooden wall.

He lifted his right hand and placed it onto the wall behind her. She continues talking, ignoring his intimidation tactics. "Where is your family?"

He lowers his eyebrows.

"Why won't your arms stop bleeding?"

His dull yellow eyes were furious, he picks his left hand up and reaches for her, but then puts it against the wall above her head, now blocking her from escaping. She quickly looks away from him to see where the Leviathan was. He follows her eyes, then brings his mouth up in disgust as he looks back to her. His eye color was changing from yellow to orange she noticed.

"Go on, woman. You will need...-"

Laufey softly places her hand on his cheek interrupting him. She rubs her thumb against his face tenderly.

"I just want to know more about you."

She had never seen the man caught so off guard.

While hesitating, he removes both hands from the wall and slowly lowers them to his side. His orange eyes close and he leaned his face into the embrace of her hand for a split second while exhaling. Before she could do anything else he backs away and walks out the front door. She stood against the wall for a couple of moments, her heart was pounding in her chest.

--

It was raining again the next day. The thunder was soft and far away. Kratos didn't leave to go hunting. Instead, he stayed inside with her all day. She was patching a hole in his shoe. She threw away the old ropes he tied them with and took out the new leather ones she prepared earlier that week. He slipped them on and nodded with a grunt in satisfaction. After a moment, he focused his attention on her dress. It had several rips in the fabric, the patchwork kept coming undone. She looked at her almost year old deteriorating foreign dress, "yeah, it's about time I let go and move on." Exhaling through his nose, Kratos started cracking his knuckles one by one with his fingers while looking away from her.

"If you run by some wool or even a sheep, I would really appreciate it. I can use it to make myself something new." Laufey says.

"Why do you insist on such feeble attire? You are a warrior in an unforgiving world. The clothing you don is inappropriate for such a life."

Laufey froze, a smiled pulling her lips from ear to ear as she stared at Kratos.

"Why do you look at me like that?" He snaps

"Your vocabulary is improving so much. I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard you speak."

"What is a 'sentience?'" He asks.

Laufey chuckled, that may be a little too advanced for the foreign god. "You are talking a lot more. It makes me happy, that's all."

A raspy hum escaped his throat.

Later in the evening, once the rain finally stopped, they opened the windows to air out the stuffy cabin. Nervously, Laufey stood next to the massive man and turned to glance at his hand. Impulsively, she leaned into his white arm while reaching for his massive hand.

Violently, he pulled away from her. "What are you doing?!"

She gasped, what was she doing? "I...- I just thought."

"I am leaving." He says coldly, then he walked quickly into the forest.

He didn't return that night or the night after that.

Chapter Text

Her garden kept her busy. The better she got at keeping the plants alive, the more it brought about a rodent problem. In the mornings she would hear critters munching on her cabbages. She'd run outside with the Leviathan in hand and chases them off, but the damage they left would usually set her back most of the day.

She stood outside barefoot in the dirt. Her hair bedridden and sleep still in her eyes. Her dress was hardly a dress anymore. Just a patchwork of red cloth slumping over her shoulders. Only a small part was still completely intact. The golden square pattern that draped down her back. She imagined how ridiculous she must look right now, this axe was forged to bring down Mjolnir yet here she was using it to chase off rabbits eating her food.

Thankfully she didn't have to worry about anybody noticing her. Kratos never returned after he left a week ago.

She walked back inside and put her axe down, gathering up some rosemary and a bucket. She would wash up today in the river.

Once she dropped her entire body into the river she leaned back and sighed. She wanted to relax longer but wasn't able to. She had to get back to her garden before the sun got too high in the sky. She let her hair down and dunked her head under the water. Once everything was wet she reached over for the long rosemary sprigs and tucked eight or so into her hair. She gathered the mound of wet hair to her side and braided it loosely, the sprigs sticking out every which way. She took her dress from the shore and scrubbed it gently. Not wanting to damage any of her shoddy patchwork jobs.

She jumped out of the water and walked nakedly back to the house, her wet dress over her arms.

Once she got to the cabin she hung the dress over a branch to let it air dry. She walked around the cabin, finally sitting down on a wooden bench by the fire pit. Letting the heat from the fire help finish drying her skin off while she unravels her hair, the smoke helping it dry quicker too. She took out the rosemary sprigs and set them onto her lap one by one. She decided to leave her hair down for the rest of the day. Except for one small braid on her left side. She included a sprig of rosemary in the small braid.

That night she sat naked in front of the open cabin door while she ate her dinner. Her dress would be dry by the next morning.

She woke up started by the sound of something she didn't recognize. Laufey walked outside and looked, a sheep was helping itself to her garden. Frantically she shooed it away and quickly grabbed her poncho and threw it over top herself. "Kratos?" She called out, but he wasn't there. Nor were there signs he was there recently. The sheep bleated at her and started wandering off back to her garden. She chased after it, tripping slightly while it avoided her first grasp.

The tall fence she started constructing the day of the sheep's arrival was finally finished. It would keep the sheep and hopefully other critters out of her garden. The sheared sheep bleated at her before wondering off. She didn't follow it, trusting it wouldn't stray too far away. She got to work on the wool it gave her, spending the next several days preparing it and then constructing a dress from it. She soaked some of it in a bucket with beetroots dying it a bloody magenta, leaving the rest the same dusty white the sheep was, or, used to be.

She made a traditional modest apron dress. The underdress was a natural sheep wool color, loosely fitted, long-sleeved dress that came down to her ankles. The apron was a separate part made from the dyed red wool. It was a sleeveless dress without the sides sewn together. It slipped over her head and draped down right below her knees. She used a rope as a belt to tie around her waist.

She had finished her chores early that day. There was still a few more hours left of sunlight before the day was through.

----

Laufey decided to walk around the barrier and look for the foreign god herself.

She returned to the original campsite she first settled in when she arrived here. Most of it had been ravaged by the weather and time. She walked up to the spot she buried the two blades attached to chains. She bends down and put her hand over the ground. They were still there she thought, but she wanted to make sure, so she began digging them out.

As she carefully pulled them out of the ground, she felt his presence behind her. Gasping, Laufey turned around to face Kratos, looking nothing like he did the day he left. A dim flame engulfing his skin, his eyes orange and terrifying. She started backing away from him, dropping the blades onto the ground.

Then in the distance, an ogre charges at them. Kratos pushes her out of the way and takes the blow head on. They began savagely fighting one another, Kratos was slow she noised as if he had been battling all day. The ogre landed a devastating blow on him and sent him flying towards Laufey.

He landed next to her on his back. Recklessly, Laufey charged out of the barrier and towards the ogre while summoning her axe. She swings the Leviathan and summons her falcons simultaneously. They swarmed the beast and it stumbled backward as she follows through with a swing.

Then the skies above turned red as if warning the gods of something. Dozens of transparent green birds begin circling around, high in the sky. From all around armored vikens appeared and looked at her. Some even pointing, Laufey knew right then she needed to get back into the barrier.

She started running as fast as she could back to the marked trees but a traveler snatched her leg and pulled her away. She swung her axe and severed the hand holding her and ran again, his armor would make it too hard to fight against. Nightmares suddenly appeared and surrounded her. Then she hears it, thunder.

She makes a run for it again, as she does Kratos rushes past her.

Two flaming blades in his hands.

Attached to bloody arms.

She makes it past the markings on the trees safely but turned to see him fighting. It was horrifying. He didn't just kill them, he slaughtered them. The blades flung around viciously, screams echoed throughout the forest as he cut through everything. All those attempting to flee weren't spared from his wrath. He lifted both blades into the air by the chains and slammed them down onto the ground in a violent explosion. A fire ignited and began swallowing up the battle before her, all she could hear was his screams of battle. Laufey couldn't watch anymore.

Athena was right, he was a monster. She ran away.

She got to the river and stopped to catch her breath, smelling blood and fire close by. Then, Laufey heard him approaching. Both blades in his hands, the chains coiled around his arms. She stutters as she sucks a breath of air in and squeezed the Leviathan as she turned to face him.

"Kratos" was all she could manage to say to him. His body was on fire, his eyes now more red than orange. He was drenched in blood, but none of it his own. His appearance broke her heart.

The foreign god didn't speak, only looking on her with cruel gruesome eyes. As he moved closer to her, Laufey found herself backing away from him.

She was afraid of him.

"NO!" He suddenly screamed and then seized both her shoulders while still holding the blades.

"Stop!" He roared, shaking her violently.

"What do you want?" Laufey said as his hands bruise her shoulders, she stumbled back towards a tree and he slammed her into it. The blades were so close to her face.

"No more, stop!" He screams, pulling her away from the tree and slamming her back into it, the back of her head hits first. She closes her eyes in fear, he was about to kill her she thought.

"Do not look at me this way! I will not have it!" The blades shift in his hand as he loosened his grip on them, it sliced off the braid in her hair as it moved.

All she could hear was his breathing, ragged and heavy.

"Not you... not you." He finally says while loosening his grip on her.

She opens her eyes and sees a sea of grief swirling in his enraged eyes. She had to reach out to him somehow, pull him out from this. Not knowing how to do so, Laufey threw her arms around his neck and embraced him.

Silently, Kratos exhaled and leaned his fierce body into her. He doesn't hug her back but he nestles his face into her hair and breaths slowly. His skin started to cool down she could tell. Then with his full weight leaning against her, he kneels down, bringing her with him onto their knees. Laufey kept her arms around him and rests his head on her breast, nuzzling her cheek across the top of his head as she found her voice again, "I'm here, calm down."

Feeling him nod one into her chest, she heard Kratos releasing the blades from his hands, the chains still attached to his arms. She let's go of him and pushes him away gently, reaching out to touche the chains. Were these the cause of all of this? She had to get them away from him. As her skin made contact with the metal, they painfully burn her hands.

"No." He started to say but it was too late, the flesh on her hand was charred and smoking.

Laufey didn't cry out in pain as she touched them again, trying to find the end underneath his elbow. Giving up, she moved to the opposite end and picked up the blade itself. Pulling with all her might she started unraveling the chains from his arms. Kratos shut his eyes in pain as she lifted chunks of his flesh off as the metal peeled away from his sizzling skin. She let go of it for a moment and finally moaned out in pain from the burns this was leaving on her hands. She had managed to remove one row of them, but the layers beneath burned even hotter, she wouldn't be able to remove those herself.

She left the chain still attached and moved to the other arm. She did the same thing. The hot chains seared her hands as she tore away the first layer.

"I can only get it started, you'll have to take the rest off yourself," Laufey tells him.

She met his eyes and he nodded once.

Slowly she rises to her feet and walks behind him. Lovingly, she curves her arms underneath his armpits and places her hands onto his chest, leaning into his back with her face. All she could do was listen to his groans of agony rumbling from his back as he removes the chains himself.

Once she heard the final link fall onto the ground she squeezes him slightly. His arms were a mess of blood, puss, and blisters.

"People look upon me with only fear in their eyes. But you, the way you look at me. I...-" He doesn't finish.

Laufey stands up and reaches her hand out to him. "Come, Let's go home."

Once inside the house, Laufey walked over to her old red dress with golden symbols on it. She ripped a long sheet of fabric from it and set it down onto the floor. Kratos stood behind her and watched as she wrapped up the blades inside the red and gold fabric and opens one of the floorboards. She shoved it inside and replace the board immediately after. They stood at opposite sides of the room for a moment. His wounds were already almost healed, except for his arms. Her hands still had a ways to go. He removes something from his pouch and begins wrapping his arms tightly with bandages. She moves to help him but he turns to reject her offer. She nods and leaves him alone, preparing something for the two of them to eat. As if they had gone back to their usual routine.

After they finished eating she stands up and reaches to take his empty bowl. She recoils in pain slightly, her hands still hurting. He looked up at her and opened his mouth to say something to her, but nothing came out. He was struggling with something. But then again, so was she. Everything was suddenly so heavy.

"I'm sorry." She says.

"For?"

"I, I just don't know anything about you, what I should ask you about, what I shouldn't. You always disappear into the woods, is it something I'm doing? I want to know more about you because I care about you."

He stands up off the floor and crosses his arms. "What we have now, this is enough...-"

Laufey interrupters him.

"I want us to become closer, but I don't want to hurt you."

She thinks of the prophecy. Of Loki.

The guilt was suffocating her. This future she felt forced to have with him. She didn't want to use him anymore, she didn't want to hurt him, and she would.

His past, her future.

She knew nothing about the man he was, nor did he know anything of the self-sacrifice awaiting her. All she knew was the man in front on her right now, a man she has fallen in love with.

"You are not hurting me." He says, interrupting her thoughts. "It is the opposite." He looks up. "When I am with you I remember something precious, something I thought lost in darkness long ago." He stares at her with intensity and focus. "For that, I am grateful."

She felt tears gathering in her eyes. She began to feel several spill as her lips pulled into a smile, but he closed the gap between them before she could feel the wetness on her cheek. His cruel lips pressed down onto her own.

At that moment, she dragged her wounded, trembling hands up his back and opened her mouth for him to enter.

He did.

Chapter Text

She woke up in the crook of his arm. He was playing with the loose strands of her hair. Combing his cracked fingers through the ends. She could feel him unintentionally pull a few strands out as they get caught on his hangnails. He took a handful of split ends and brought them to his face and inhaled deeply. He was smelling her she thinks.
She sits up and looks down at him. He rises up with her and lets go of her hair. Then, with one hand, pushes her back down onto the ground below him.

—

They stood in front of the sheep. Kratos kept his arms folded on his chest.

"It is an animal."
"I'm not ready to get rid of it yet."
"It is annoying and upsets you often."
"I know I just, we’ll keep it around a little longer. The wool is helpful."
"Then let us eat it. I will bring you wool if that is what you desire."
"You really want to eat this thing, don’t you? I’ve never tasted lamb meat before, it can’t be that good, can it?"

His lack of response intrigued her, maybe it would be delicious?
"I’ll kill it later this week. I’m not sure how to prepare it."
He grunts in response.

—-

She sat on top of him, he dragged his hands up and down her hips amusingly as she spoke to him. “You’re really not going to tell me how old you are?” She said.
“We agreed to leave the past behind.” He said moving his hands up her back and slowly reaching around toward her breast.
She snatches both his hands before they grab them.
“Telling me how old you are isn’t me prying into you ‘mysterious’ past." She lifts her hands up and wiggled her fingers as she said mysteriously. He took the opportunity and completed the intended detestation his hands were traveling to.
“Next fall will be my thirty-first. It’s hard to believe I’ll...-”
He let’s go of her and grumbles. He drops his hands to the bed as if she said something that disturbed him. Was she truly that much younger than him? It didn't look it from his face.
“Fine, I’ll drop it. But you’re definitely too old for this.” She says playing with his meticulously groomed goatee. She grins wickedly down at him. He doesn’t respond back to her antics, keeping a more serious face. He’s a god so he is immortal. But what defines immortality? Can he never die no matter what? Or... “will you never die from old age?” She let’s slip out of her mouth.
This affected him. He rose up and with both hands, held her face tightly while he kissed her. Like she was going to blow away if he let go of her. He pushes her down onto the floor and climbs over top her. He tried to be delicate, but something was obviously distracting him.

--

She woke up in their combined mess of blankets on the hard wooden floor and reached out for him. He wasn’t there. She could hear him chopping wood outside. He grunted with every chop like he was in pain. She didn’t bother dressing. She rushed outside to see if everything was okay.
He was standing over several medium-sized tree trunks, trying to cut evenly down the middle of each one. He looked up at her and lifted an eyebrow, slightly pleased at her current lack of attire.
“What are you doing?” She asked him, leaning against the door frame.
“Go back inside woman.” He says as he starts swinging the axe again. She folded her arms, always a tad annoyed when he called her that. “Okay, god.” She could see him shift in aggravation at her retaliation. Then she turned around and went back inside. He went back to chopping. Occasionally throughout the day, she would hear him threatening the wood in his native language.

He was finished later that evening. He brought it inside and placed it next to the fire. She couldn’t stop grinning. He had made them a bed. She walked over and sat down onto it. Seductively she lifts her eyebrows at him. Trying to suggest that they should test it out. He crawled on top of it and fell asleep until dinner was ready.

—

“Who was your family preserving you for?” Kratos asked with a mouthful of lamb.
Even after all this time, it was still rare for him to engage first in conversation. The lamb must really be putting him in a good mood.
“Preserving me for?” She questions over the noticeably distinctive tasting meat. “You are at your child-rearing years.” He takes another bite and finishes the question with his mouth full. “You are educated, disciplined well in combat, your face is pleasing to look at, and your body is adequately curved for taking care of children. Yet on our first night, you told me of your inexperience with a man.”
She pushes the plate away from her. He insisted on roasting the lamb with garlic, but the flavor of the meat was simply not a pleasant taste to her.
He slid the plate over to himself and took the remaining meat off it.
“I thought we weren’t going to pry into each other's pasts?” She says as she picks up a wooden cup of water.
“I would like to know if I am in possession of a runaway woman betrothed to an emperor or king with a powerful army? If they are still scouting the land searching for you? Who or what I will have to fight when they find you?”
She laughs. “No, I’m afraid I’m not that important...” She pauses.
She could tell him everything right now. This was the perfect opportunity.
“My family... they were, very big into prophecies. And, I didn’t want to disappoint them.”
“Prophecies are for tricking foolish men into submission. Inform them nothing is written that cannot be unwritten.” He says pulling the last bits of meat off the bone with his teeth.
“I wish I could.” She said smiling weakly.
Kratos hmms softly, she knew by now this was his way of apologizing.

“You seem quite confident with the act.” She attempted to lighten the mood. “I guess gods get around a lot?”
Silently he picked up his wooden cup and hid his face from her as he drank the entire thing down.
She let the opportunity to tell him to slip away again. She felt like a coward.
When he set the cup down she noticed he seemed to be struggling with something as well.

“Tomorrow you’re leaving again?” She says to change the topic again.
“Mmm, Yes.”
“How long will you be gone for this time?”
“I do not know.”
“I’ll miss you.” She says reaching a hand out over the table he had made them. He took her hand into his, he places a kiss onto the back of it.
“You’re never alone, remember that when you’re out there doing, whatever it is you’re doing.” She weaves her fingers with his own.
“Once I return I promise, I will not leave you again.” He begins struggling to find the next thing to say.
Laufey pulled their joined hands over to her lips and kissed the back of his hand. “When you come home, I’ll be here.”
He let go of her hand. “I know.” He pushes the table out of his way, the legs screech against the wooden floors, the plates rattle on top of it. With the same hand, he pulled her chair over to him.

—

A full month without him passed by. She kept her spirits up every day, knowing he would return to her. She wanted to know what he was doing all alone? What personal journey required such solitude? But every time she thought it appropriate to dig into his past she found herself feeling guilty about never mentioning the future Tyr told her.
He said anything written could be unwritten. She thought back to the paintings, her golden body atop a pile of logs, to become the ashes that would bring her people back.
A mixture of pride and fear start to bubble up. She would save her people, but, she would have to...
She sat beside their bed on the floor. Leaning against the side he normally slept on with her knees to her chest.
She was going to die.
She had known she would die while on her journey. She had prepared for the trip into Hel to be her last before Loki brought her people back in a glistening triumph. A magnificent sacrifice for her people, she was the mother of Loki, of Ragnarok in itself the elders whispered in her ears.
But now something was pulling her away from everything. She wouldn't return from death anymore.
She wanted to live on, with this man. She wanted to grow old with him and watch their children grow old as well.
She sat up straight. Kratos was right, it wasn’t as final as foretold.
She would find a way to change her fate.

Chapter Text

“Lo there do I see my mother. Lo there do I see my father...”
She was dreaming. She forgot the last time the voices called to her.
She didn’t recognize this one.
“You have to come back.”
“Hello?” She calls out. But the voice continues, as if it couldn’t hear her.
“You left me alone, alone with him.
"He always leaves, he’s never here. He doesn’t want me and he never will.”
It was Loki. Loki was talking to her she realizes.
“Loki? Loki I’m here. Where are you?” She calls out tenderly.
“I don’t know him and he doesn’t know me. Doesn’t seem to want to.”
The voice continues without her.
“I’m strong. I’m smart. I’m not what he thinks I am. I know better.”
With a sudden sadness, she understands what is going on.
“He doesn’t talk to me. Doesn’t teach me.” His voice grew angry. “It should have been him. Do you hear me? Him... not you.”
She reaches out her arms into the darkness. She stands there for a moment in silence before she feels a gust of air blow against her. And then a young man was in-between her arms. His head bowed low and tears drying on his cheek.
“Except.” He said into her chest.
“I don’t mean that. You know I love him. I just wish he was better. I know he can be.”
She attempts to wrap her arms around him, but found he was an illusion.
“So if he tries, I’ll try. But if he doesn’t, please come back.”
She backs away from the illusion.
“I know you’re out there somewhere.”

She gasps awake. She was physically upset. Another painful vision of the future. A wash of determination poured over her.
She managed to unintentionally sabotage the other prophecies. This time she would intentionally do everything in her power to ensure this one never happens.

Kratos arrived back when the leaves began shifting from green to yellow. She ran out the front door and saw him walking up the hill. He looked, different, his face filled in with a short thick beard. His red and gold kilt was starting to break down as badly as her old dress had. It draped over a pair of grey woolen pants tucked into his tall, open-toed, shoes from his land. He wore a harness across his chest. Over his back was a bag wider than two of him put side by side.

She runs downhill and embraces him. He gently drops the massive bag onto the ground and picks her up and holds her for a moment. Then, he slings her over his shoulder with one hand and picks up the bag with the other. He strolls back to the house with her slumped over him. “What are you doing?” She laughs dangling over him.
He walks through the door and drops her onto the bed. He reaches into the bag and pulls out an apple. For a moment he hesitated, then holds it out to her.
“Thank you?” She smiles, a little confused at the gesture, especially coming from him.
“I thought to include softer traditions. I know you are not from my lands. Will you eat it with me?” He asks.
She leans in playfully and takes a bite while it was still in his hands.
He exhales through his mouth, then took a bite right next to the one she took.
“What’s all this about?” She said before taking another bite. He pulls out a knife and pointed it to her. She started getting a little concerned.
“For your hair.” He said, extending it over to her. He mumbled apprehensively as he quickly realizes how he was holding out the knife. He spun it around and held the blade in his hand and presented the handle to her instead.

He was nervous.

“Kratos, talk to me.” Laufey reaches past his arm extending out, offering her the blade, and cups his face. She plays with his new bushy beard.
“You do not have to cut all of it off if you so desire.” She leans into him and kisses his lips to interrupt him. “Is this supposed to be some strange ritual gods do when someone returns home?”
That snaps him out of it. “No, this is me taking you as my wife.”
That snaps her out of it. “What?”
“I am used to a feminine body, so it is not necessary to dress as a man tonight.”
“You want to marry me?” She says delightfully, not fully paying attention to the last thing he said. Her smile was so wide it cracked her lips.
“The ceremony is almost complete.” He says with a rasp. “Come, outside, fight me. Do not hold back, I will not if I hit you.”
Laufey loses herself in joyous laughter for a while. Kratos didn’t seem very amused. “I will. Marry you I mean, but, let’s maybe skip the fighting? Instead, we can include some of my rituals. If that's okay?”
He relaxes his shoulders and hums, acknowledging her.

She finishes the string. It was a thick blue woolen strand braided in between two red leather ropes. She only had one seashell left from the pins in her old dress. She attached it to the bottom of the string.
She wore her old white long-sleeved underdress without the apron over top of it. She had weaved a crown of pine needles, purple flowers, and rosemary sprigs. She held it in her hands sadly for a moment, wishing all of them could be here to see this. He approached her from behind holding a knife.
“Here?” He questions, touching where her neck meets her shoulders. She nodded once and stood completely still, a touch nervous. But proud to take part in something from his culture. He picked up her long thick braid and gently cut it off from the spot he pointed at. She immediately felt a weight lift from her head as he dropped the mass of hair onto the ground. She didn’t linger over it for long, quickly placing the crown on top of her head.

They stood by a white tree with her golden handprint on it.

She held out her left arm to him. She had rolled up the sleeve on her dress, exposing her bare skin.
He started to lift his left arm up but hesitated as he looked at the bandages wrapping his scars.
Laufey quickly acted as if she made a mistake. Rolling her sleeve back down and placed her covered arm out to him.
He extended his hand out like she instructed him to.
Gently, she placed her palm onto his hand and held still as she started fasting their two hands together with the string. One of them was trembling, she assumed it was herself, it made the whole process a little bit more difficult. Finally, she was finished. Their hands were bound together in the string. “Do you remember what to say?” She looks up to him. He didn’t respond, he was looking at her with repose in his eyes.
“Do you need me to say it again?” She adds. He snaps out of it and grunts. “I know what to say.”
They stood in front of the white tree and gazed into each other’s eyes.
“As I have given you my hand to hold.”
They both start saying together.
“So do I give you my life to keep.”
He bends down and kisses her tenderly. She lifted her hand to touch his cheek but remembered it was tied to his.
They both smiled softly at the realization.

That night they had decided to bathe in a calm rocky pond that branched off from the river. He sat in the water leaning against the side of a large flat rock. She sat nakedly on top of the rock with her legs draping over his shoulders. The crown of flowers still on her head. She reached around and scrubbed his chest with a cloth drenched in sweet smelling oil. Tracing his red tattoo down until it disappeared into the water. Then she began gently washing the white skin on his neck and shoulders.
She paused in shock for a moment.
As she glided the cloth along his white skin a bit of dark pink began to show through. She feared she had wiped too hard and irritated his skin.
He sat calmly in the water, drinking a strange smelling liquid from a glass bottle he had brought back from his trip.
She continued washing his back, more and more color started peeking through.
He let out a sound of satisfaction after his last gulp and reached behind him to snatched her towards him. His breath smelling of alcohol and an oddly familiar smelling fruit as he kissed her hungry.

She hung the shield onto the wall, adjusting it so it wasn’t crooked. She hummed softly while working. It was a habit she found herself doing while they worked together on projects around the home. She walked back to the massive bag he brought home a few weeks ago. It was bottomless she thought. Could he have stolen this from Sindri?
She picked up a heavy chunk of metal. It was a different color from any of the raw metals saw the brothers work on.
“Here, give me that,” Kratos says taking the heavy chunk from her. He tucks it into his new pouch she had made him, along with his new pants and an actual shirt.
“Are you going to work on the dock again today?” She questions. He grunts a soft response as he slips on his closed toe boots.
“I’ll have dinner ready for you when you back.” She sits up and kisses him, he kisses her back before he heads out the front door.

She rows the boat up to the old dock. It was still holding up well two years later. She climbed out of the little boat with a basket of wildflowers, shrimp, acorns and quail eggs. She walked slowly up to the cozy complete home they build together over the years. Kratos was hunched over carving out a hollow tree trunk. As soon as he saw her he dropped his tools and rushes over to take the basket from her hands. It gave Laufey time to gently touch her swollen belly.

Chapter Text

Laufey stood over the basket while rubbing her belly, viciously eating raw shrimp one by one. She had stopped peeling them several handfuls ago, opting to eat the crustation shell and all. Kratos remained silent as he stood over the lamb she requested, roasting over the fire pit. Ever since the day they realized she was with child he changed. Never leaving her side, but, growing more and more distant in his mind. Laufey understood his reasonings and respectfully gave her husband room to sort the situation out. But Loki was causing havoc on her body, often time rendering her bedridden for weeks at a time. Causing Laufey to be completely dependent on Kratos for her every need. When the fatigue of pregnancy wore off she awoke with a ferocious appetite Her cravings varied from week to week, often mirroring the diet of a random wild animal. Today, however, she found herself craving a mixture of everything the world had to offer.

"Is it almost ready?" Laufey asks picking up a raw egg and cracking it over several of the flower's bulbs. Once the yolk covered the inside of the flowers she ate the entire thing. Chewing several times before swallowing. When she looked up she saw her husband blankly staring at her.

"Well? Is it almost ready?" She questions.

"Yes, it is ready." He grumbled, turning to pick up the whole skewered lamb off the fire and bringing it to the table. Laufey moved her swollen legs as fast as she could and begins to rips into the meat, shoving chunks of the garlicky lamb into her mouth.

Kratos stood silently with his arms folded across his chest as she devoured most of the animal. She thought she heard a prideful hum out of him but was too hungry to truly notice anything but the meat in front of her.

That night Laufey stood in front of their bed as Kratos sat in front of her, rubbing his hands across her exposed belly. Loki kicks her insides several times upon feeling his father's touch. She felt the immediate need to urinate as it kicks her bladder but didn't want to interrupt this tender moment between her husband and son. Kratos smirks at feeling the movement inside her belly. "Are you certain it is a boy?" He says softly, the smile struggling to remain on his face.

"We won't know for certain until it comes out. But I think it's a boy. Why, did you want a little girl?" She says looking down at him.

Kratos places a kiss on her belly then stands up slowly and kisses her. He doesn't answer her, instead, he loses himself in her mouth.

She pulls away from him and gasps. Water had begun spilling out from in between her legs. Kratos ran to gather some blankets, a basin of water and opened the door to let in the cool spring air.

"Kratos I just pissed myself, I don't need...-" She feels a sting of pain in her groin. As if something was cutting her open from the inside. She screamed out in pain. He was calm and focused. Like he knew exactly what he was doing. Before she could contemplate that further she felt another sting of pain and screamed out.

"Walk if you can." He told her holding out his arm for her to lean on. She walked with him outside, occasionally bending over and belting out in pain. He kept holding onto her as they walked laps around the house until sunrise.

The pain was overwhelming. Laufey couldn't recall a moment in her life where her body ached more than it was at this very moment.

"Do not hold your breath," Kratos commands. She swallowed the urge to lift one of her feet off from his shoulders and break his nose. But he was right, she was feeling lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. He kept his focus, not on her, but the source of pain emerging from her body. His calm hands steeping gently across the opening in between her legs. Laufey sucked in a shivering breath and exhaled with a whimper. She brought her attention to the ceiling of their little cabin. Trying to focus on the herbs and flowers hanging on the beams above her. Tears were beginning to blind her vision. She could feel Kratos readjust her legs around his hips and lean forwards towards her. With a delicate touch, he glides the knuckle of his index finger underneath the eye unable to hold back her emotions. As he pulls his soaking wet finger away from her cheek he shifts quickly to the other watery eye with his pinky. Catching them before they even fell on her face.

She could see his face again after he wiped the tears away. He nodded once to her before shifting back onto his knees, replacing the heels of her feet onto his shoulders. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, exhaled, then inhaled once again. As she released the air from her lungs she pushed with all her strength. When her lungs were almost empty she screamed the rest of the air out. Kratos rumbles a sound of approval. She inhales again, pushing even harder now. The hot stinging pain of her body being torn open from the inside was replaced with a bone-crushing pressure in between her pelvis. She had to keep pushing, it was the only way to end this. She screamed out in agony as the final contraction flattened her spine. Panic overtaking her determination.

"Again!" Her husband says as he shifted to cradle something with his hands.

She needed a drink of water. She needed a break. Emotions were beginning to possess her exhausted mind.

Selfish emotions.

She wasn't ready for this. To be a mother. To end her adventures and carefree days in Midgard. To be the only one in her husband's life, to spoil him and be spoiled in return.

Loki.

This child will kill her.

The Giant's prophecy.

Once Loki was born, Tyr would flip her hourglass over. Her life would no longer be her own, instead, she would be a servant to this demigod. To groom and prepare him for his destiny, a destiny beginning with her own death.

What did they call her? 'The mother of Ragnarok?'

Her 'greatest' accomplishment, the thing falling out of her legs right now.

"Faye push." She hears her husband rasp.

Kratos.

She would have to leave him all alone.

Her bear.

Once again he would lose the only thing tying him to this life. Once again he would have to face his permanent existence all alone. After everything that had happened in his life, he opened himself up to her. He placed his raw crippled heart in her hands, allowing himself to become vulnerable once again. Soon, she would place her dead ashes in his hands. To journey on a path she painted years ago.

Ashes.

She recoils, shedding tears of sadness for her husband's cruel fate, they swirl together with her own pain induced ones as they fall from her eyes.

No.

No, she isn't ready.

She doesn't want this anymore.

She won't leave him, she won't let him be alone again.

Fuck the prophecy. She chooses him instead.

Tyr could rot.

She was nothing but a key to him. A way to redeem himself for his own mistakes. Her sacrifice would, 'bring the giants back' he assured her. If so then why... WHY did he give her free will? Why allow her the ability to love someone as much as she does now? If all she was constructed for was simply to die, why give her a mind at all?

"Kratos. I can't." She says.

He leans into her right leg and presses his lips onto her inner thigh lovingly. Only to return his focus to the bloody mess in front of him. Draping a soft blanket between his hands.

She loves him so much. Her heart aching at his tragic fate. She wanted to shield him forever. To hold him every night during his violent nightmares. To adventure with him across Midgard. To show him the beauty of the world. To allow him to lose himself inside her embrace every night. To grow old and grey with him. Laufey screams.

She felt her body reflexively push. She had no choice but to allow it to happen. Kratos quickly catches something in his arms. All the pain and pressure from before suddenly vanished from her body. A feeling of immense relief floods her senses as she collapses down onto the ground and exhaled.

"A... son." Kratos says astonishingly.

She lifted her head from the blankets on the floor and looks at Kratos.

A mixture of panic and anxiety was washing over his face as he held the boy. Then something fractured in his eyes and suddenly he was smiling. A true joyous smile. It was gone no sooner than it appeared, but she witnessed it nonetheless.

She smiles weakly at the sight, only to pull her lips inside her mouth as he brings the infant over to her. She wanted to reject his offer to hold the small cooing bundle in his arms. But she had no choice, he places her son in her arms.

His eyes were still closed. Small frail limbs were stretching and kicking as the boy felt the cool touch of the world upon his skin for the first time. She instinctively cradled his round head securely as she allowed the tiny body to fall snugly into her crossed arms. She placed his ear against her heart, his fidgeting stopped almost immediately.

Slowly his eyes struggled openly to look upon her.

At that moment, Laufey felt her entire life change.

The sea itself came crashing out from his sapphire eyes. It filled the room of their house with crystal clear water. Everything that wasn't nailed down was suddenly floating underneath the surface. The table beside them, the jars on the shelves, the small cradle Kratos had made weeks ago. All drifting candidly above and around her. The weight of the world was no longer a cause for concern or something she could even attempt to control. The only thing that still remained centered on the ground was Laufey and her son.

What is this feeling? Love? No, it can't possibly be something as simple as that? There had to be another word to describe her affection for this child in her arms.

She leaned into his tiny wrinkled forehead and touches it with the tip of her nose. Inhaling his scent. Her heart swells as she memorizes each and every one of his little features. She drags her nose upwards and places a kiss onto his forehead. Loki blinks several times while his lungs filled with air. He fussed for a moment until she shushed him with her soft exhausted voice. She loves him. She will always love-...

Kratos approached the two of them.

A knife held in his hands.

She didn't recognize this blade. It looked freshly forged. The metal was unlike any blade she had ever seen, even from her time spent with the dwarfs. Silently Kratos aims the sharp blade at her son. She freezes, her heart rate rushing too fast for her mind to keep up. Loki must have noticed this. He begins to cry in her arms.

"Wait...!" She calls out but it was too late. Kratos slices away a small cord connecting her to the newborn. Did he just hurt him? No, of course not. But all of this was so new to her. She reminded herself how experienced he was with this. Quickly she looked back down to Loki to banish the tragedy that factor carried within it. He wipes the blade on his trousers and tucks it away in his belt. She panicked as Loki continued crying weakly. Kratos snatches the newborn from her arms and stands up with him. He cradled the boy in his massive arm while holding out a finger in front of the baby. Loki calmed down and extended two tiny hands out to grasp his father's finger. Kratos speaks his unfamiliar foreign language to the boy.

"Ο γιος μου, η μητέρα σου εργάστηκε σκληρά για να σε φέρει σε αυτόν τον κόσμο.

Τώρα πρέπει να δουλέψω σκληρά για σένα. υπόσχομαι."

She gathered her strength and sits up to look at the two of them in this tender scene. Kratos readjusted the infant to lay flat between his bloody bandaged arms, his massive hands cupping the small head. He didn't smile again, but his face was soft and serene. Resolve washes over her in that very moment. She was wrong... that wasn't her son.

It was their son.

Where she once wavered in darkness, fear, and uncertainty, she saw clarity as she gazed upon the two gods before her. Together.

"Loki." She says softly. "What do you think little one? You see your father?"

Kratos turns away from her. Looking down at their son in his arms. She sees his head dip down and hears the faintest whisper of a kiss.

"His name is Atreus."

Of course, she thought. This was a different boy, with a different future.

Kratos slowly hands Atreus back to her arms and helps the boy latch onto her leaking breast. She nursed him until he fell asleep. Kratos walked over to the chunk of metal he brought back a few years ago and took it outside to do something with it. She stayed inside and held Atreus tenderly in her arms. Occasionally a wave of emotions washed over her, causing more and more tears to flow. But there was only happiness in her heart.

That night the three of them slept in the bed together. Atreus in between his mother and father.

Kratos was propped onto his side, staring down as she spooned their baby. She loved the way he smelled, she kept kissing his cheeks and playing with the few wisps of red hair he had.

"He is a god." Kratos rasps with worry in his voice.

"I know," Laufey says as she pokes each one of his tiny toes. "I wonder what kind of god he will grow up to be?"

"It would be better if he was only a mortal." He says.

She sits up and leans over their son to kiss her husband. "Let him choose what he wants to be. Whatever he decides, I'll always support him."

"You do not understand, his life, there will be-"

Atreus stirs at the sound of his father's loud voice. It silences Kratos, soon after the newborn falls back asleep.

"You will be his example of what a god should be," Laufey says kissing him again. Kratos didn't return her kiss but she was too exhausted to question why as she cured herself back around the small baby and fell asleep along with him.

Atreus was never full. He wanted to nurse every hour. Even throughout the night.

Kratos had made their son a small cradle to sleep in but they found it easier to let the baby sleep in the bed next to Laufey at night. Kratos happily slept on the floor below them. Sometimes Atreus would cry and cry, for no reason whatsoever. Laufey would often find herself crying along with him. Kratos would hear the two of them and come into the house. He set a blanket onto the bed and took Atreus from her arms and swaddled him up tightly into the blanket. When he was done the baby looked like a small cocoon. This stopped his crying almost immediately. Kratos held the swaddled baby in one arm. "Eat outside tonight. Calm yourself."

She nodded, a wash of guilt and responsibility threatened to drown her on nights like this. But he told her it was normal and all of this would eventually get better. He was so much better than her at this. Then the guilt started rising again when she thought about how and why he was so experienced. She headed outside and ate almost everything he had prepared. She found herself eating more now than when she was pregnant.

Kratos came outside with the crying baby in his arms. "He is hungry again." He rumbles.

Atreus was still sleeping. She was worried. He had never slept this long before, her breast were the proof of this fact. They were painfully hard and swollen with milk. She's never gone this long without feeding him. She stands over his little cradle and watches him. Kratos opens the door slightly and motioned for her to come outside. She hesitated but walked away from the sleeping baby.

"You complain about a lack of sleep. Yet when our son gives you the opportunity to rest you spend your time watching him." Kratos says as they walk over to the garden. She couldn't say anything back to him. He was right, but even as tired as she was, she loved watching Atreus sleep.

"Are you, well, yet?" He quickly added. She puffed air out her nose. That's why he wanted her to come outside.

"Maybe..." She smiled, she knew it had been well over a month for the two of them.

Once they finally began to find a rhythm that was comfortable for her, they heard Atreus crying from inside the house. She rushes into the house, not looking back to her husband she abandoned.

"He is too young Kratos." Laufey protests, hanging a dozen or so cloth diapers on a line to dry.

"He is ready." Kratos rasps, looking down at the naked baby playing in the mud. He occasionally stood up and walked a few steps before falling back onto his hands and knees, splashing mud all over him happily.

Kratos bends down to Atreus level and holds his hands out. "Like I showed you before boy."

Atreus smiles widely upon seeing his father. He blows raspberries with his lips together and claps his hands as he toddles over to him. The baby touches his father's hand with his two tiny muddy hands. "Good, now the other." Atreus waddles over to his other hand and pushes on it slightly before he pressed his lips on his palm and blew happy squealing sounds.

Laufey watches happily as her husband and son play together.

Her life was full. She had succeeded in avoiding that future. She remembered something Narfi told her long ago. She quietly mouthed it to herself as she hung another diaper to dry. "Fuck prophecy."

She wanted to continue watching them but felt a wave of exhaustion overtake her. She leaned against the tree the drying line was attached to, but kept smiling.

Chapter Text

Atreus sat wiggling in the chair as Laufey placed a steaming apple in front of him. Honey was overflowing from the top where she had hallowed out the core and stuffed it with hazelnuts and cinnamon sticks. Kratos playfully reached his hand out and plucked up a sticky honey soaked hazelnut and popped it into his mouth.

"That's for the birthday boy." Laufey smiles as she kissed Atreus head. "How old are you today?" She asks the boy.

Distracted by the feast before him, Atreus held up two fingers before devouring the baked apple in front of him.

With a slight giggle, Laufey walks over to her husband and leans onto his back and puts her hands over his shoulders. Ignoring the absolute mess their son was making. "I can't believe he's two, it's all going by so fast."

With his arms folded against his chest, Kratos silently watches the boy from across the table.

"Boy, when you are finished we will work outside once more." The toddler looked up from his sticky treat. The joy on his sticky - honey drenched face suddenly disappeared and as a sotic firmness shined through. Atreus nodded once at his father.

"You should give him a break today my love. Let him enjoy himself." Laufey whispers into her husband's ear before sneaking a kiss into his neck while the apple held their son's attention.

"Hurry boy or I will start without you," Kratos says to his son, ignoring his wife. Atreus turned what should have been four bites into two inhales before hopping out of his chair.

Later, as Laufey was cleaning up the mess her son left behind she hears shouting outside. She pokes her head out the front door to watch her two boys. Kratos, down on his knees holding a long wooden stick out in his two massive hands. Atreus had both of his small, soft hands on the stick between his father's and pushed against it, digging his feet into the dirt below. "Try harder." Kratos sternly says. Atreus pushes with all his might, but couldn't budge his father's balance on the stick.

"Focus!" Kratos says loudly.

Laufey went back inside the house to prepare their beds for the night. What they were doing was nothing new to her, she needed to get the fire pit started before the chill set in anyways. For as long as Atreus could confidently walk Kratos had begun small training exercises with him. She hated it at first but soon came to realized how happy it made their son. Atreus loved spending time with his father, no matter what they were doing.

Suddenly, she hears something unfamiliar. Kratos shouting happily. "Good, again!" Atreus must have budged the stick held in his demi-god father's hands.

Atreus was finally asleep in his own bed. Laufey covered his shoulders with a blanket and sneaked outside the house to sit with her husband by the garden. Kratos was staring at his bandaged arms until he realizes she was there.

"He's asleep finally." She says, her voice cracked from singing so many lullabies.

"Has he ever hurt you?" Kratos asks abruptly.

"Our son? Of course not, well there was the time when I was still nursing him and he was teething."

"I mean it Faye. Has he ever lashed out in a fit of rage and attacked you?"

She didn't want to answer. She loved Atreus too much to tell him the truth, and she loved Kratos too much to lie to him.

Sometimes, when the toddler didn't get what he wanted, he would lash out and hit her. These were no simple temper tantrums. She would walk away with bruises and locks of hair missing. Or worse, Atreus would injure himself until she gave in to his demands.

She started rubbing her hand along her husband's upper leg seductively. Kratos knew better, grabbing her hand and holding it hostage.

"In a fit of rage, our son... he could..." He squeezes her hand tightly, his words lagging behind his thoughts.

"In a fit of rage, he could turn into a mushroom or make our house disappear. Maybe he will sprout a tail and feathers?" With her other hand, she moves his thick-bearded face to look at her. "We still don't know anything about his powers. We only know how much he loves us, and how much we love him." She pushed her fingernails through the hairs on his face and gently scratched the skin hidden beneath. Something she knew always relaxed him. It worked, she felt him loosen the grip on her hand.

"I killed my mother," Kratos says looking into her eyes. Her hand pulled away from his face. She didn't blink, or breath as he kept talking.

"I held her in my arms as she died, her life stolen away by my own hands." His eyes didn't move away from her. His gaze was intense and heavy. It had been years since he spoke of his past. She had to say something, but what?

She leaned into him and hid her face in the crook of his neck. "I... Kratos, I don't think Atreus would ever-"

"Will I kill him one day?" He interrupted her. "Is this my curse? For everything, I have done? To watch all that I love, die in my hands?" His voice shook. Rage, regret, and sadness fought together in his eyes.

"My love, Atreus is a sweet boy. He may be a god but he is more than that. You see, I mean, what I'm trying to say is... He's a, Well, I'm a-"

"What would you know of this path?!" He snaps at her.

She backs away from him.

He closes his eyes in immediate regret. "Faye, that was unworthy." He says touching his bandages and then his forehead with his fingers. He was lost in his thoughts, and she didn't know how to reach him. If she even should? He was hurting and she wanted to help him. She thought back to the dream of Atreus angry at his father, she had to prevent that. She had to be the bridge between them, she had to dedicate herself to keeping both of them happy.

"The cycle of this cursed life. The boy may one day take my life if anger overcomes...-"

Laufey rushes onto his lap and kisses him before he could finish his terrible thought. She forced his mouth open with her tongue until he moves his own into her mouth. She pulls away and moves downwards, kissing his neck and then his chest. She gets to his hips and bends down onto her knees in front of him.

Kratos breathed once through his mouth as she worked her way through his trousers to him. Brushing his hands on the top of her head when she took all of him into her mouth. "Faye..." he whispers before losing himself in a sea of restrained moans. Laufey exhaled when she found the opportunity, she had succeeded.

She tried to consecrate on only pleasing him, but the thought of the two of them fighting to the death kept creeping into her mind.

She would save them both from that fate.

Atreus played outside as usual while she started her chores for the day. He was stalking a rabbit on his hands and knees like a feral cat. Slowly creeping up onto it, until finally, the toddler pounced on it. It slips out of his grasp and hops away, he chases after it.

Laufey stood in front of the basket of wet clothes she was hanging up to dry on the line. Atreus and the rabbit ran past her and knocked the basket of washed clothes into the mud. He bumped into a low hanging blanket on the line and snapped the entire cloths line down onto the ground.

He keeps chasing the rabbit into the house, knocking over cups and jars onto the ground. Breaking several as they fall. He ran under the table and overturned it as he stood up.

The rabbit leaped out of the window and Atreus followed, as he climbed up onto the window seal he knocked a yellow shield off the wall and onto the ground. He landed in Laufey's garden, trampling several cabbages as he runs after the creature. Finally, he ran into Kratos carrying a large stack of firewood. He slams into his father and causes him to spill the wood out of his hands. As the wood landed it crushed most of the vegetables in her garden. Kratos managed to snatch the boy away from any of the falling wooden logs.

Laufey ran over to them. Atreus looks up to his father holding him. Kratos was furious. He held him up by one arm and shouted at him while shaking him furiously.

"Boy! Look around at what you have done!?"

Kratos stopped suddenly. His face shifting from anger to something similar to shock and panic. Atreus had started crying at this point. Kratos let go of his hand and the toddler dropped down into the wet dirt. He brought his muddy hands to his face and cried harder. Kratos stormed silently past the boy and Laufey into the woods.

He did not return that night.

Laufey worked in her garden, still cleaning up from the incident a day later. Atreus helps by holding the basket she dropped pea pods in. Kratos walked past them, dressed and geared as if he would not be returning that night. Atreus dropped the basket off and ran over to his father blissfully. He picked up the long stick and held it out to Kratos.

Her husband ignored the boy's offer to play and kept walking past him. He disappears into the woods saying nothing.

The toddler stood with the stick still extending out in his hands, watching the spot his father disappeared to in the forest.

Laufey walked up behind the boy, noticing the tears falling from his blue eyes.

She picks her son up and hugs him tenderly. He weeps into her shoulder as he drops the stick onto the ground.

He stammers his crying as several coughs escape his mouth.

She hums a song in his ear as she brings him back inside the house.

Chapter Text

Atreus crosses his arms and glares angrily at Laufey. She doesn't give his sour attitude any attention. He wanted to play in the river but she couldn't take him. Kratos had been gone all day yesterday and left early this morning, informing her he wouldn't return until lunch the next day. She had to chop firewood, think about what to hunt for dinner, hang laundry, and start turning her berries into preserves if they wanted to eat something sweet this winter. Plus, she had to clean up the disaster of keeping Atreus out of a diaper, training him to relieve himself outside instead.

The two and a half year old stomped his feet and yelled loudly to get her attention. "Swim!" He shouts over and over while she cleaned. And then, suddenly, he was silent.

A salmon flopped helplessly on the wooden floor. It flipped into the air and landed close to the fire pit. She looked around, where was Atreus? How did he manage to sneak a live fish into the house without her realizing till now? She looks around for the boy, then, the horrifying realization set in.

Atreus turned into a salmon.

She screams. Trying to pick the flopping fish up in her hands but it slips away several times, falling a great distance onto the floor. She screamed again as she realizes she is dropping her baby onto the floor. She finally got a hold of it and held the slimy fish in her hands. Its gills flair out, suffocating out of the water. Panic was washing over her, what does she do? Quickly she runs out the door and dashes downhill in the direction of the river. The fish wiggles furiously in her hands, she almost drops Atreus again but reaches the water just in time to drop him in. She is relieved as the fish started swimming away, then realizes...

...She just watched her 2-year-old swim away into the river.

She screams again and dives into the water, she can't find him. She shouts his name above and below the water. At this point, she was crying. She couldn't stay still and search as the river's current kept pulled her forward from where she was looking. She crawls out of the water and into the boat and starts paddling, not getting very far thanks to her trembling hands. Tears were blinding her vision, he is gone. Her son was gone forever. She loses herself in an ugly sounding cry and it causes her to drop the oar into the water.

She watches it float to the side of the river, then hits the toddler, bobbing face first by a bush next to the shoreline. She stands up quickly, shifting the boat too violently, it capsizes and she spills into the water. She immediately swims over to her son and picks him up out of the water. His eyes shut and face losing color. She sets him onto her lap face down and slaps his back several hard times. Then she picks him up by the legs and holds him upside down, shaking him a few times.

He spits out the water from his lungs and gasps in a breath of air. His eyes look around, examining where they were. Laufey hugs the boy and begins sobbing again as she smothered the child into her chest.

"Swim?" The boy asks, pointing to the river happily.

Laufey held the book still as he concentrated on the runes. She pointed to each one and he sounded the words out slowly. The child got all but one right. She smiled happily and hugged him. He beamed proudly and shifted back and forth quickly in his seat.

"Do you want to try it again?" She asked.

"Yes!" He says.

"If you get all these right we'll go gather some apples after. Maybe this time you can be the one who climbs the tree and hands them to me?"

"Really?!" Atreus says with wonder in his eyes.

She nodded at the four-year-old. He quickly got through the rest of his reading lessons.

"Mamma, why are the gods so mean?" Atreus asked over the book.

"Well, that's a good question. Sometimes when people become very scared of something, instead of showing fear, they lash out in anger at whatever scares them. The gods may be strong, but they are afraid of things just like you and I are."

"Why don't they just try talking to whoever scares them?" He says.

Laufey closes the book and brushes her hands along his cheek. "Is that what you would do to someone who scares you?" She asked. The boy nodded his head.

"I like that idea. But sometimes, things, not people scare them. And it can be hard to try and understand something when you can't talk to it. Until gods grow good, we must protect ourselves around them. They can hurt you Atreus. You must never let your guard down, especially around the Aesir. In the meantime, focus on helping those that they hurt. Not everyone is as strong and smart as you." She says ruffling his hair. "You should always try to help out those in need."

Atreus smiles happily, listening to his mother's lesson.

Kratos walks through the front door. He drops a bag off at the entrance and kicks his shoes off. Laufey quickly cleared the rest of their lesson material off the table and hands Atreus three wooden bowls to set. Kratos sat down at the head of the table and grumbled slightly as Atreus hesitates and placed the bowl in front of him.

"Father," Laufey asked cheerfully. "What did you do today?"

Kratos shifts his eyes from the nervous boy to his wife. "Training." He rasps.

Laufey ladles a large helping of stew into the bowl in front of Kratos "Atreus, would you like to train like fathe..-"

"That is not necessary." Kratos snaps.

Laufey looks at her husband. She wanted to smack him with the wet wooden spoon but refused to cause a scene around their son. She had to find a way to bridge the two of them back together. So while swallowing her pride she tried mending the conversation.

"That's true, perhaps you should practice with me before you are ready to train with someone as strong as father?" She smiles as she poured a spoonful of stew into the boy's bowl. "Would you like to come hunting with me tomorrow?" Atreus didn't look up from the table but nodded his head once.

Once she finally sat down to join them, they were already finished eating.

Her bow hung over her shoulder, she decided to leave the axe at home for this. Atreus held her quiver of arrows in both hands as he slogged behind her slowly. He stumbled over every uneven surface and tripped over an exposed tree root, almost spilling the arrows out of the quiver. She slowed down and waited until he caught up. Trying to not make it seem like she was watching him struggle. Hoping it would help his pride. The child was wheezing through his mouth and covered in sweat when he caught up to her. She held a finger to her mouth and pointed to a deer far out ahead of them. Atreus looks up to the creature and nodded once. Reaching for an arrow to hand to his mother. He fumbles loudly and accidentally picked up two instead of one. He dropped the extra arrow and gasped backward as it fell, avoiding the sharp arrowhead as it plunged first to the ground. By the time he handed the arrow to Laufey the deer was gone.

"Thank you, sweetheart." She says nocking the arrow into the bow and aimed it at nothing. She loosed the arrow before he could notice the animal was gone. Dramatically, she pulled air through her teeth and snapped her fingers. "Oh man! I missed it!" She says. Then she looked back to her son and smiles softly. "Will you help mamma try again?"

Atreus finally smiles and nodded his head happily.

Atreus was sleeping in the bed next to his mother and fathers. Laufey went to lay down too, exhausted from a long day. Kratos wasn't home yet, she wanted to wait up for him but couldn't fight off a random fit of exhaustion that overtook her. She knew to leave her husband enough room to climb in while in the dark.

As sleep finally started to take hold of her she hears something rustling outside. Then she hears Kratos groan silently. Laufey rushes quietly outside and sees her husband, covered in blood and gashes at the entrance of their front yard. She runs over and holds onto him as he leans into her. His skin was hot, almost too hot to touch.

"Give me a moment, I am fine." He struggles.

"You don't look fine." She says smoothing her hand up his chest, avoiding the gashes and exposed muscles protruding out of his flesh.

Kratos leans his sweaty forehead onto her own and calms his breathing. His flesh begins mending itself. Once he is completely healed she hugs him, she could feel his heart still racing. He pats the top of her head.

"Kratos I wish I knew what is going on? You've been acting so distant. From me, from our son. I want to help you, let me help you please." Kratos places both his hands onto her cheeks and pulls her away to look into her eyes. He was still calming himself down she noticed. He finally exhaled one more time from his mouth before breathing through his nose normally.

"Faye, if you will allow, let me lean on you a while longer. I will get better, for you and for him. I promise."

He drags his hands to her shoulders and pulls on the fabric of her dress. Pulling it away slightly, exposing her skin. "I can not do this without you." He says while bending down to kiss her. Kratos inhales her breath as if he was struggling to breathe and needed the air from her lungs to stay alive.

She returns his kiss. Then she sets her exhaustion aside and helps him remove her clothing.

Atreus sat over the book, a quill in his hand fidgeted back and forth.

"Here let me help you with this one," Laufey said with extreme fatigue in her voice.

"Momma wait! Let me do it all by myself this time!" Atreus says. She sits back and folded her arms together. Sleep threatening to overcome her at this very moment. She bobbed her head as her eyes flutter to stay open.

"Mamma?" Her son says.

"Are you sad?" He had moved away from the book and was right in front of her face.

"What baby?" She questions, the quick snap of sleep leaving her discombobulated.

"Be happy mamma!" He said pulling her lips into a smile.

She saw tears in his eyes.

"Please, be happy." He said letting one fall from his eyes.

She remembered this. But, it was wrong.

She threw her arms around the 5-year-old boy and held him close. "Oh baby, you make your mamma so happy! I'm sorry mamma is just a little tired today. I had trouble sleeping last night. Father was snoring again!" She lied.

"When you don't smile ..." he sniffed. "Then nobody in the whole world is smiling."

The depressing realization of his words hit her hard. Her poor lonely son, she was failing him, just as she felt she failing her ever distant husband. She bit the insides of her cheeks to concentrate, shoving her own feelings out of the way. Then, once she was ready, pulled Atreus away from her chest and smiled colorfully at him.

The boy begins coughing violently. She sees blood on her shirt from it. She presses the back of her hand onto his forehead. He was burning up. It was no ordinary fever. His skin felt like his fathers once did.

"Kratos!" She screams.

Chapter Text

Laufey sat next to the bed while Atreus slept. He had been bedridden for several days now, the mysterious illness had stolen every ounce of energy from her son. The boy didn't even have the energy or dexterity to lift a spoon and feed himself. Laufey set the spoon back onto the table to grab a napkin and wipe the corners of his mouth where the soup spilled from. Feeding him was difficult, on a good day she could only manage five or so spoonfuls of broth down before he started choking on it. She always took her time when feeding him. How could her child begin to fight off whatever this was on an empty stomach? She recalls the rest of her list of things still left to attend to. She needed to wash the clothing Atreus soiled himself in this morning and give him a sponge bath for the night. She had decided to simply shave his beautiful brick red hair off, a gift he inherited from his uncle. Laufey's beloved brother. She had to do it, it was already difficult enough to tend to his hygiene as he remained bedridden. It always gave her more time to tend to his wounds. Laufey was already exhausted, but she couldn't let it overcome her. Right now, she sat next to her son and sang lovingly in his ear.

This was the fourth time the sickness engulfed the 7-year-old boy. The last time it lasted almost a month.

Kratos walked into the house and set a bag down next to the door. He carried himself differently once the sickness began to engulf their lives. A heaviness that even he himself couldn't lift threatening to overcome him. Laufey didn't look up from her needlework to acknowledge her husband. She had her Kratos' old red and gold kilt in her hands, sewing the holes in the now ancient garment.

"What are you doing?" Kratos asks approaching her and the sleeping boy.

"I had hoped if he wears this, perhaps he will find some of his father's strength," Laufey says in a cracked weak voice.

She hadn't taken much care of herself the past 3 weeks while tending to Atreus. The skin underneath her eyes felt heavy from a lack of sleep. Her lips were thin and dry from her inconsistent eating habits, and her once firm muscular body saged helplessly as it struggled to fit inside her dress with each passing month.

Atreus arched his back violently upwards into the air and unleashes a ghastly scream. His eyes kept painfully shut as his skin began to transform from pink to white, the veins underneath his skin were protruding outwards as if they were trying to escape his flesh. Laufey and Kratos lunged towards the boy but they were too late. Atreus brought his hand to his face and began to claw at his left cheek. He stripes a long line of flesh away from his face. Laufey tried tearing his hand away but his other swiped at her ferociously. It knocked her back and she tripped onto the floor. Kratos quickly overpowers the child and restrains him from his own rage. Atreus kept his eyes closed the entire time but his mouth was open wide and spitting rabidly as he screamed. His body contorting furiously from his father's restraint. Laufey stood back up and walked over to them, it was painful to watch, no matter how common this very thing had become. Kratos kept a calm grip on the boy but his eyes were a window into his unspoken anxiety and terror. In different circumstances, Laufey would try and comfort her husband, show him love and support to help soothe his mind. But there was no time for such things anymore.

After several more outburst, Atreus stills and returns back to sleeping peacefully. Kratos didn't let go of his son, his massive powerful hands trembling like a terrified child as he gripped onto Atreus. It wasn't until Laufey placed her hands overtop his knuckles did the demigod released his grasp onto their child. They don't look at each other, only their son. Laufey begins tending to the oozing wound the boy inflicted onto his lower left cheek.

"Faye..." Kratos says, but doesn't continue.

"You told me your daughter was borne with a sickness, are you certain this is different from that?" Laufey says while wiping the blood from Atreus' neck and ears. She knew how much Kratos hated discussing this topic but she was so desperate for answers.

Years ago when Atreus first became sick, Kratos left to search the lands for a special fruit thinking it would cure the boy. He was gone for months, but before left he told Laufey about his daughter. A small, frail, sweet mortal infant who became cursed with a skin disease by an ancient god from another world. He was able to save her life with something called ambrosia.

He returned empty-handed. But miraculously, just as Kratos returned, Atreus slipped out of his sickness and back to his normal self.

Laufey tried convincing herself this same disease was what had befallen their boy years ago.

Or at least She hoped it was the disease.

"If you desire, I will set off again and search for the fruit," Kratos says turning to his wife. "But you first need to gather yourself Faye. Go outside in the fresh air. I will sit with the boy." He says looking at their son.

Laufey didn't move, she knew she was letting herself deteriorate almost as badly as Atreus was.

"How can you help our son if you yourself are ill?!" He snaps.

Laufey was angry but not at Kratos, at herself. She threw the bloody cloth back into the bucket of water. Then she quickly stormed out the door without saying a word. Too consumed in her thoughts to care what message it sent to her husband. The weight of taking care of their sick son often threatened to sink their relationship. They always worked through it, but there was no time to think about that right now. All that matters was keeping their son alive through this. They can work on rekindling their passion once he is healthy. Passion had to be set aside while they deal with this. As for right now, Laufey had to gather herself...

She knew he wouldn't follow her, so she went to the boulder.

She left her paints next to the old stone canvas. She had started painting the scenes she remembered Tyr showing her in Jotunheim.

Kratos was there, fighting Baldur with the stonemason. But she couldn't remember if Loki had been prophesied in this part, or who was animating the stone mason? Loki had to have been, but, why was she drawing a blank in her mind? Why can't she remember? The visions had long left her, but now it felt like the memories of them was slowly being plucked from her head one by one. As if something or someone was absorbing her visions, inheriting her power.

She cursed herself for not paying enough attention to Tyr in the cave. She was instead too concerned at the realization of her own death and sacrifice.

"Selfish." She said out loud bitterly to herself. Cursing her past self for not caring as much for her son as she does now.

Her life was nothing when weighed next to the boy sleeping in that bed.

She pressed her back against a tree trunk and slid down slowly. A dark thought crept into her mind.

The same one that always did when Atreus got sick.

Sick with burning skin, a burning fever.

She had changed fate, and now Atreus was to be the sacrifice needed to bring the jotunns back.

She frantically grips her face and slides her fingers into her hair and pulls at the roots.

It was her fault, her own stupid selfish fault.

She pulled at her hair, she could hear her heartbeat in her own ears.

Laufey sat there hating herself. She did this to her own son. She was a coward and now he would die in her place.

'The parent of Loki would come down with a burning sickness and die. Then, their scattered ashes would bring back the giants.'

Kratos and Laufey were not the parents of Loki.

The burning fever that befell Atreus, what else could it be?

He was to take his mother's place.

Laufey curls into a ball and weeps.

When she walked back to the cabin Kratos stood at the front door. She was upset, he should be close to the boy just In case he had another fit. She rushes up the hill but then sees Atreus standing behind his father. He was holding a cloth up to his bleeding cheek and had his father's kilt wrapped around his waist.

She runs over and hugs her boy.

Over the next few years, when the boy wasn't sick, Laufey dedicated her life to giving Atreus a full and joyful childhood. She sometimes didn't know which one was more physically exhausting, caring for the sick child or keeping up with a wild young boy? She would take him hunting, carved him toys to play with, spend hours preparing him delicious meals to eat every day, never knowing when it would be his last one. More importantly, she taught him everything she knew about the world.

The boy's attitude greatly improved. He transformed from a shy timid child into a cheerful and playful young boy. He was so smart she realized. He would pick up on everything she taught him. His speed for catching onto new languages was astounding. But more importantly, throughout it all, he remained kindhearted and pure.

Her husband had been another story.

Kratos grew distant from the boy year by year. Perhaps blaming himself just as much for his sickness as she did to herself? But instead of giving him the best life possible while time still remains, he kept his distance and didn't get too attached to the boy. Snapping at him occasionally whenever he came home from his hunts.

At least, that's what she assumed.

Whenever she would try and bring it up to Kratos he would quickly deflect the conversation, or worse, disappear for a few days.

She still loved her husband and knew he loved her too. But he always stalled whenever it came to vocalizing his emotions. He worked hard to provide for them but procrastinated taking responsibility for his actions or feelings.

She would continue to be patient towards the man she loved, even when it conflated with the life she wanted to give her dying son.

Keeping both men inside her heart made her feel so full. Even during the darkness of days, love and joy surrounded her whenever Kratos was around. Though he hardly ever came out of his shell to show her affection when their son was around. Only when they were alone in the woods underneath the stars, or naked in each other's arms did his rough outer layer begin to peel away. Revealing the man she fell in love with all those years ago in this very cabin.

She couldn't get too mad at him for this. She spent so much energy tending to Atreus she sometimes forgot to acknowledge Kratos throughout the day. Nevertheless, she knew they both cherished each other and that, deep down, Kratos loved Atreus.

It was a funny thing to wish for, but she wished he loved him as much, if not more than he loved her.

"Jormungandr?" Atreus says.
"Yes, he may sound scary. But he is actually a sweet and amicable soul." She says.
"Is he really that big? Crazy! Thor kills him?"
"Yes, but dies from the poison the serpent inflicted on him," Laufey says.
"So the serpent sacrifices himself in a way? To bring down Thor once and for all?"
"That's right. Thor killed all the giants of Midgard, and in the end, a giant kills him." She says with a hint of sass.
"You don't like Thor very much, do you?"
Laufey didn't respond to the boy. Figuring the silence would answer his question.
"It's why you hate whenever there's lightning during a rainstorm." He says.
He was so clever to pick up on her fears she thought. She assumed she did an outstanding job acting calm during a violent thunderstorm.
"Are you afraid of the lightning as well?" She asks.
"No, not really. Just because someone else uses it improperly, doesn't mean it can't ever be used for good."
Laufey's heart swells with pride. She touches his arm but before she could say anything he hops up and runs towards the door.
"You said we could go hunting today after we finished. Were we all finished? Let's go!"
He was right, she did indeed promise him this.
She went to stand up quickly, but then everything went black.
When she awoke, Kratos was there sitting in the bed next to her. Atreus stood a small distance away. Something had terrified the boy.
"Faye." She hears her husband rasp.
Slowly he came into full focus. She opened her mouth to talk but couldn't find the strength to combine the sounds.
"Boy, get her something to drink. NOW!" Kratos screams at their son.
Atreus takes a bucket into his hands and runs out the door, tripping on his way out.
She closed her eyes weakly. She didn't enjoy seeing him yelling at Atreus.
Kratos smooths a hand into her hair and down her cheek. "Stay shining my light." He whispers to her.
Atreus rushes back inside and hands Kratos the water. He lets her drink small sips until she lifts her hand in protest.
"Thank you." She whispers.
"What happened," Kratos says, quickly giving Atreus an angry glare as if he had asked him the same thing and didn't believe the boy.
"I don't know," Laufey whispers. "Everything was fine, I just." She reaches her hand to feel her forehead.
She felt hot.
Could this be? Her eyes widened.
"Help me stand up. Please." She tried pushing herself up but instead fell back down.
"Mother!" Atreus yells as she fell back down.
"You are not leaving this bed," Kratos demands.
"Atreus, I'm sorry we couldn't go hunting my son."
"Mother I don't care about that right now. What's wrong?"
She knew or hoped she knew. But the weakness was slowly fading away.
She looked at the two men in her life. Her face softened. 'Please, let this be it.' Laufey says to herself. 'Me, not them.'
Resolve washed over her, as she saw the two of them standing so close together. Their arms were touching, how long had it been since she saw Kratos hug their son? She was happy to see the two of them standing so close together.

Atreus was outside the door playing with his toys while Laufey sat in bed carving a branch with her knife. Occasionally she would look up at Atreus before returning back to her work. She held the wooden bow out towards the boy's body far ahead of her. Measuring it in her mind.
She smiled once she was finished and rises weakly out of bed. Steadying herself against anything she could. Being bedridden for so many days made standing up a challenge, but once she was up she would be fine to move around.
"Atreus, come here sweetheart." She calls.
The nine-year-old hops up and runs over to her.
"I have a birthday gift for you." She says with a smile.
His eyes widened. "But, it's not for a couple of weeks."
"Maybe, on your actual birthday." She holds out his bow. "You can hunt us something to eat all by yourself."
Atreus gasps as he took the bow from her hands.
"Wow, really?!" He holds it up and pulls the string back. "It's so much bigger from the one you use."
Laufey lifts herself away from leaning on the chair and smiles. Her chin wrinkled slightly as she hid her emotions from him.

"I know, but you will grow into it."

Chapter Text

"If you need a break let me know," Laufey spoke tenderly to Atreus.
"I'm fine, just, just keep going," Atreus said with a red face and watery eyes.

Laufey dipped the needle into the black ink and continued with the tattoo on his neck. "ᛚᛟᚷᚾ ᚺᚢᚷᚱ" The sounds vibrate off her tongue with each line. Hoping the words will remain with him throughout what he will soon endue. That throughout everything he will learn about himself and his future, he will keep a steady mind.

She mapped out his entire journey years ago, never knowing if he would one day follow her markings. She had to prepare for the road to come, she had to make the most out of what little time remained. But acknowledging his safety from inheriting her burden caused a calming acceptance of what was yet to come.
Laufey finally finished and set the tools down and reached out to his hand and removed the black bloody cloth she wrapped around his right arm. She had inscribed several runes onto the boy's main arm.
She leans down and placed a kiss onto the runes tattooed twice around his arm "ᚺᚨᛈᛈᛊᚲᛖᛃᛏᚱ." She hopes the kiss would provide even more luck.

"Mom..." The boy blurted out, somewhat embarrassed, somewhat in pain. "Once you're ready, we'll go hunting together," Laufey said slowly standing up. It had been a while since her fever returned, she had to use her time wisely before she became bedridden again.

Atreus brought the arrow back slightly. "This bow is different from the other. You have to pull it back more." Laufey says. Atreus listens to her and reaches his arm back more, it made his aim uneven and shaky. He aimed it at the boar, then loosed the arrow. He hit it. The arrow sunk into the front leg of the animal as it attempted to run, falling flat onto itself.

Laufey put both her hands onto his shoulders and squeezed proudly. "You'll be feeding your pack in no time." She said placing a kiss on his cheek and ruffling the fur on his newly crafted wolf pelt vest. He laughs through his nose and shrugs her off slightly. "Mom..." He smiles.

She rushes out and with her knife, kills the struggling animal. Not looking to see if Atreus was watching. "Help me bring home so we can get it cleaned up."

Atreus readjusted the vest, nods and rushes forward to help carry the animal home.

She kept inside while it was raining that day. A dull yellow cloth drapes over her lap she had been sewing all day. It was almost finished, still, a little more work to do.

Her eyesight starts to blur slightly. She begins to feel the room spinning, then she dropped the scarf and needle. But she caught herself before she fell. She had to keep going a little while longer. Once she was finally finished she folded up the yellow scarf up tightly and placed it on Atreus' bed. She begins working on a new project. A small bag with golden detailing. It took her almost a month to complete it.

Atreus sat twiddling a spoon in his hands while chewing with his mouth open. After he swallows he begins playing with the stew chunks in his bowl. Kratos grumbles disapprovingly as he watches the boy. Laufey was already finished eating, she sat back and looks at the two of them.

They don't look alike from most angles. But sometimes in a certain light, she could see Kratos in the boy's face. She knew they both loved each other. But they had a long way to go. She remembers the way Kratos and Atreus would play in the front yard. How happy they both made each other long ago. She says a giants prayer in her heart that they may find their way back to that.

"Atreus." Laufey started.
"This evening, your father and I will be gone for a little while. We won't be back until late in the night or possibly tomorrow morning."
Kratos looks up from his food, this was the first he heard about this as well.
"I'm leaving you with a big responsibility young man. You must watch over the house while we are away and have breakfast ready in the morning."
Atreus's eyes glisten with pride. "I won't let anything happen while I'm gone!"
Laufey smiles slyly. "Come again?"
Atreus panics. "I mean, I won't let anything happen while you are gone!"
Another grumble erupts out of Kratos, but she simply smiled at him as he blushed.

As the two of them got farther and farther away from the house Kratos walked closer and closer beside her. She giggles softly, not looking up to what she assumed were all too familiar hungry eyes looking down at her. He brushed his hand along her side and down to her swaying hips. She playfully sways them productively as she walks. Then her 40 plus-year-old hip bone lets out a loud pop as her body candidly reminds her just how old she has become. "Oof." She quietly says but the sound of her husband chuckling drowns it out.

She kept walking through the dark woods, both hands gripping tightly onto the Leviathan. She forgot how heavy it felt, how many years has it been since she has swung it? They approached the boat and both got in. She paddled them close to the tree she had wanted to see one last time.
After getting out of the boat and walking a short distance, they approached a tree with her yellow glowing handprint on it.
"I see you are feeling romantic tonight," Kratos says walking up to the tree. He places his left hand onto the white trunk.
"I'm surprised you remembered it, how many years ago did we swear ourselves to one another here?" Laufey asks placing her own left hand next to his own.
"Speak, what is on your mind?" He says dragging his hand across the wood and over to her own. It was at this very spot over a decade ago their hands were tied together, reciting their vows to each other.
With his hand over top her own, She pushes against the tree.
"My time in this world is coming to a...-"
Kratos pulls her hand away from the tree and crushes her entire body into his chest before she could finish. In the rush, she droped the axe onto the ground.

"Enough." Was all he said.
She places her hands onto his lower back, slowly she drags her palms up to his shoulders. "Kratos..."
"Faye enough, I will fix this. Whatever has befallen you I will cure." He loosened his hold on her, then tighten it once again.
"This is not something you can prevent my love." She says, rubbing her face into his chest.
He pulls away and lets go of her. "Let me try."
She picks her axe back up. "Follow me." She says walking past the marked tree, past the barrier. Kratos grabs her hand before she took another step. "You are not well enough to travel this far out. What if something attacked you?"
She pulls her hand away from his and tosses him the leviathan.

"I'll be fine." She winks, walking behind him and attaching something onto his harness.
Kratos looked at the axe in his hand and back to her. She attaches the world serpent ring Tyr gave her onto his back. "This will keep your hands free."
With both her hands guiding his own, she shows him how to place the axe into the ring, then motions for him to hold her hand. She leads them out of the barrier and outside the forest.
Once they reached a clearing she could start to feel her sickness begin to overcome her. She wobbled slightly in her next step but they are suddenly besieged by a draugr. Kratos swings the axe down before the creature could hurt her. Another crawls out of a nearby bush and pointed to her as if alarming others nearby. Kratos makes quick work of them, slashing one's chest open and decapitating the others. As he got farther away from her to fight them off one snuck up behind her and attacked. He threw the leviathan at the monster and sent it flying backward into a nearby rock. He kept fighting with his fists until they were all dead.

Laufey did not fight back. But once Kratos was finished she felt a swell of achievement. She hadn't seen her husband fight in years. This showed her he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Atreus would be safe while traveling with Kratos.

She tried recalling the axe from the draugr impaled onto the rock. It didn't respond to her. She understands why, it really was close. The weapon had already realized. It flew past her and into her husband's hands. He hooks it onto his back and brings his hands down her body. Checking to see if she was injured anywhere.

"I'm fine my love." She smiles, then she takes his hand and pulls him farther away from the trees, hoping to get a better look at the sky and soundings.

The further they leave the forest the foggier the air became. She sniffed once and coughed, he looked to her worryingly. But this cough wasn't from her sickness. She recognizes this smell. She looked around for where the brazier could be. Finally, she looks up and sees it. A scorn pole. It was spewing a thick green poison fog out from it.

"What is that?" Kratos asks following her eyes to look at it. "I saw them many times during my travels. I called them scorn poles. That green fog is poison, don't ever directly breathe it in." She touches the leviathan. "Throw the axe into the flame." He looks at her for a moment, then he picks the axe up out of the ring and hurls it onto the flame. The axe extinguishes the poison fog and replaces it with a cool frost.

Once the smog disappears from the air the night sky comes into view. The full moon and stars shine brightly down below them.
Right below the moon, she could see the outline of a mountain top. On the peak, they would find the portal to Jotunheim. Again, he followed her eyes.

"Before I die." She starts.
"Faye I said enough." He turns to look at her.
"Listen to me." She continues.
"Before I die, I need you to promise me something."
"You will not die!" He grips his hand underneath her chin and brings her face upwards to look at him. "You are the light that pulled me from the darkness. I will not see that light extinguished."
Quickly he brings the hand gently to her cheek to cup it lovingly. "You saved me Faye, you take care of me, of our son. Let me take care of you." He says.
"I'm going to be alright Kratos. It's time for me to go home." She looks into his eyes weakly, she could feel the world begin to spin slightly but had to keep going.
"Your home is with me." He rasps.
"Kratos please listen to me, I need...-"
She loses her balance and stumbles backward onto the ground. Kratos catches her before she falls. A scalding heat forms in her throat. Her forehead felt as if she were on fire. She swallows and pushes through the pain.
"When I die, I want you and Atreus to scatter my ashes from the highest peak in all the realms."
"Faye the boy still needs you as much as I do."
"Please Kratos, do this for me!"
He pulls her closer and cradles her head in his arms.

"You're right. My home is right here" She places her hand onto his heart. "With you and Atreus."
She moves her face up to kiss him softly, only to pull away slightly from him and whisper into his lips. She kept her hand presses down over top his heart.
"You must keep me home, keep me right here, always and forever. Then I will become as immortal as you. Remember my light."
He silently presses his forehead against hers and motions his face down to touch her cheek with his own.
For a moment she feels the wetness of blood from his previous fight absorb into her skin. Then she remembered, draugrs didn't bleed.
He scoops her up in his arms and holds her in both arms as he walks back into the woods. Once he passes the scorn pole he summons the leviathan back and repositioned her into one arm as he catches the weapon. Hanging it onto the ring on his back. He moves back to cradling her once again, walking home silently.

The next day Atreus sat with tears streaming down his face as she told him of her last request. His father stood in the doorway behind him. A yellow bag with golden stitching in his hands.

"You will travel with him to the highest peak in all the realms. The road will be dangerous my love. You must listen to your father." Atreus sniffled frantically, Laufey pauses to give him a moment to catch his breath. "He will protect you, and you will protect him." She reaches out her hand and smooths the back of her fingers down his cheek. He rushes into his mother's arms and cries. Kratos walks silently outside.

While the boys ate dinner she stayed in bed. Writing in a freshly bound journal she had made. Her golden handprint on the cover of it. She wrote Atreus instructions on how her body was to be prepared. Along with her favorite flowers and herbs, she requested mistletoe be scattered along her body before they burn her. Introducing the boy to the plant that would soon come to shape his destiny. Her own way of trying to steer the prophecy back on track. She had marked the trees she wanted to be used for her pyre. The final tree being the one she was married at, a tree keeping the barrier up between her family and the outside world. It would expose Atreus to the cruel gods, but he was ready. And even if he wasn't, his father would be there to protect him.

That night she tucked Atreus into bed. She leans into his forehead and placed a kiss onto his skin. He wraps his arms around her neck and kisses her cheek. Something he had stopped doing the older he got. She keeps still as he forcefully hugs her neck. Allowing him to be the one who let go first.

She brushes her fingers through his hair. Years ago she started cutting it this way. A whisper of a happy memory, her brother, always smiling at her with bright blue eyes. She wonders if Atreus would get to meet him one day? He looked so much like him.
He was missing the beard though she thought. She wondered what Atreus would look like with a beard? Would he grow it long and wild? Or maybe trimmed and braided? Or would he take after his father's old style and cut most of it off except for a little patch on his chin? Laufey smiled, thinking of how silly Atreus would look donning his father's old fashion sense. Tears quickly bubble up in her eyelids as a cruel realization hits her.
She will never see Atreus grow up.
See how tall he gets, hear his deep mature voice, watch him fall in love with a person or passion, be there to comfort him during his moments of triumph or failure.
What will he dreams and goals be What will he struggle to do on his own?
At that moment her resolve was floundered. Immediately, she embraces her son, refusing to let go.
She can't.
He will be lonely without her.
And.
She isn't done being his mother yet.
How could she be?
She still has more to teach him, doesn't she?
Surely there must be more to teach and show him?
In a painful attempt to hide her bubbling fear, Laufey inhaled her emotions along with her tears, leaning in to kiss his forehead again.
"I love you, mom." She hears Atreus say.
Atreus, her little boy. She feathers her hands along his back.
He isn't so little anymore. He's grown so much from that first night she held him in her arms.
And he will keep growing.
The tears disappeared inside her as a comforting warmth found it's way back into her heart. The boy leaned his face up and kissed her cheek.
Laufey kisses Atreus one last time, then let go of her son.
She lay next to Kratos. Tucked into the crook of his arms. Safe and warm. She could feel his hands bringing the tips of her hair to his face and inhaling her scent. She remembers this exact moment years ago. Her, safe in her husband's arms. She pushes her way up to her Kratos' face and kisses him softly on the lips. Sleep was almost upon him, he lightly returned her kiss. Laufey wiggled her way safely back into her husband's loving embrace.
Her husband holding her, her son sleeping peacefully next to them.
She was so happy.

Laufey closes her eyes.