Valkyrie of Desire

47. Free Flowing

There is a troll under this bridge.

My mind wanders.

There is drool dripping from my chin.

My eyes ponder.

Is all my youth drifting away?

Can you catch it?

Reach deep into my reflection.

Return my wits.

I'll take a turn in the water.

—Seeke Reset of Truth

Outside, instead of inside. Different tunic, a guard's instead of a prisoner's. Finger throbbing with teeth marks that broke skin. Hildr turns and presses her back against the wooden wall of an unfamiliar building. She has lost time—her memory more lacking than after a possession. When, where, how did this happen? Is her baby—

Heart thumping, she presses her palm against her belly. Flat and hard, but there is a throb of life that tickles her spirit like sunshine breaking through a cloudy day. Never a baby bump or the rabbit pulse of a fetus, she has relied on faith over objectivity throughout her pregnancy. Her boy does exist, and he must still be okay.

Sporadic pole lanterns resist the dark and misty night. Perhaps not much time has passed. The cobblestone street is empty in both directions, with the aviary tower rising above everything else. She sighs. And, at least this is still Eeffae City.

Stepping away from the building, she kicks a scroll, sending it rolling into a pot hole. She frowns and crouches. In the dim light of the street lanterns, her scarred chin and long hair decorates the curve of paper. Just another wanted poster, reminding her she has lost much more than her hair.

Hildr stands and walks toward the aviary tower until the city's layout becomes familiar. She licks her dry lips and her stomach growls. Thirsty and hungry, but about the same as she was in the prison. Maybe only minutes of time missing. She pats her city guard tunic. Nothing in the pockets. Her enhancement gem is gone.

She steps in a puddle, spillage from a pipe coming out of a shop. Water splashes, tickling her vulva. Slipping her hand under her clothes, she confirms, still only an underwear top and no bottom.

What of Hell and Pit has happened? She holds her hand under a light. No blood, other than her scabbing finger. No miscarriage, other than her sanity. Did she fix Jax? Her former lover was still chained when she grabbed his groin, and she had meant to summon divine power for his rebirth. Did she free him?

Hildr jogs down an alley, checking over her shoulder. Clotheslines crisscross above. She slows and grabs onto the brick and wood of a wall. With a soft snarl, she climbs. Snatching some cotton bottoms hanging in the breeze, she drops back down and slips them on. Damp and made for a bigger woman, they offer some comfort as a buffer to the tunic's rough wool.

A baby wails. A clear sound that echoes.

Where to go? Hildr tugs her ear. Meepsin may be waiting for her at Baelu's home, and Apple will check in there when he returns, but the city guards arrested her on that street. Too obvious. If not the guards, Pale soldiers will be watching.

Hildr makes a fist. However she got out of prison, she must presume she got noticed. Bad men will go again to harass Baelu's family. She must confirm they are safe without bringing danger and reconnect with her servants in another place.

Allies? The library would have made sense if she escaped the first day, not the third. Too much time has passed. No way have so many orcs gone unnoticed. Better to go to the Scarlet Temple, except that her deals with its master may have already unraveled.