Loki's Daughter

Public School?

It'd been a few days after Loki had left and Hela was finding it hard to sleep. Every time she'd doze off, she'd have the oddest of dreams about a young woman holding a baby and running. It was frightening, simply because of the air about the dream. The woman and the baby were both in grave danger, Hela just didn't know why.

She was sitting in her room with one of the old books her uncle had brought her. There was a story about in it about the goddess Freya being so disgusted about a man she was asked to marry that the vein in her neck swelled up so much and her favorite necklace broke. The story made her giggle.

Hela was far too into the many strange tales when the super soldier walked into her room. She glanced up briefly before turning back to her book.

"Hi, Steve." Steve walked over and plopped down on her bed. She marked her place and shut the book quickly. "What's up?"

The soldier seemed a bit awkward in her small bedroom. He looked like he was trying to think his words over carefully. "Well," he started, "Hela, ever thought of meeting kids your age?" Hela frowned. She'd never really thought about it. She'd always been home schooled, so she never had really met other children. She wasn't sure if she wanted to.

"I don't know, not really," she confessed, leaning against the soft pillows. Steve nodded and rubbed the back of his neck.

"See, thing is," he started, "We've all decided that it'd be best if you start going to a real school. Meet kids and stuff. So, tomorrow you'll be starting second grade."

Hela felt her jaw drop and her eyes bulge slightly. Where did that even come from?

"Huh?" she murmured. She wasn't necessarily upset. Just surprised that she was even allowed to go. She had been told she couldn't because of her magic, so why the sudden change?

"Yep. Everyone thought it would be best if you start public school. You can control your magic fairly well now, and you need to see a little of the world. So you start tomorrow!"

Hela was silent for a moment before she nodded her head once. Steve seemed a bit relieved, as if he was expecting her to blow up on him, and then stood. "Great, then you'll be up by 6 o'clock tomorrow, goodnight, Hel."

She cringed at the thought of waking up so early. Hela was a lot of things, but a morning person was definitely not one of them. She sighed and set the book on her bedside table as Steve walked out and shut the door quietly behind him. Tomorrow would be a long day for her, and she wasn't sure if she would like it or not. Slowly, she slid under the blankets, reached over and set her alarm, and flicked the lamp off.

"Shh," a woman soothed, stroking an infant's raven black hair. She held the child close and stared at the entrance of the room. The door was shut and seemed locked, but the woman still seemed to be waiting for someone to break the door open.

She was alone in the room, the only other person being the baby in her arms. The woman looked calm and collected, though the air about the room seemed panicked and eerie.

"Nothing will harm you," she whispered, "I'll never let anything harm you." The baby squirmed some in the woman's grasp but soon settled again. It seemed to be hours of waiting in the room that only held a bed, a small cradle, and a few boxes on the sides of the room. The boxes seemed to contain food and water.

There was a loud banging going on above them. It sounded like a war was going on, the walls shook and there was the faint clash of weapons. They were under attack. The woman began to sing softly to her daughter, still clutching the baby tightly to her chest. She looked around the room and took in a deep breath, not a hint of fear in her eyes.