Loki's Daughter

Odin's Key

Hela looked at the two keys in her hands. They both gave off a shiny glow and they both sparkled in the soft light of her room. Fenrir sat on her lap and stared just as intently at the keys. The little fur ball tilted his head to the side. He let out a soft whine.

"Just one more, buddy," Hela whispered softly, "Just one more key."

A crease formed at her brow. There had been no more words from the mysterious voice that Hela had heard earlier in the day. She still didn't know who it was. Her first guess was that it was her father, but she knew that couldn't be true. It was not her father's voice she had heard. It was unfamiliar.

Yet she knew she had heard it somewhere. She wasn't sure where, but she had. If she could only put her finger on where.

Suddenly, the door to her room burst open and a twin set of white-blonde haired heads ran inside. Nari and Vali raced to her bed. Their eyes were gleaming with excitement. "Hela! Fenrir!" Nari ran ahead, his eyes lighting up with surprise as he saw the two keys. "You found the second key!"

Hela grinned and stood as Vali shut the door behind them. "Only one more to go now. How are you two on finding that door?"

Vali and Nari looked at one another and grinned. "We found it. It's down in a secret hall that we'd never noticed before." Hela's eyes widened at the news. A smile broke out on her face and she found herself laughing. She would be seeing her father soon.

"Great! Now, all I have to do is get the key from Grandfather and then we can find Dad. No problem at all."

The twins nodded in agreement and laughed. "Let's go tell Sleipnir. He should know, too." Hela nodded and hid the keys back under her dress before running out with her brothers.

The trip to the stables wasn't particularly long, but a cheerful one for the siblings. They had to keep in mind that they couldn't talk about their plan much on the outside, or someone might overhear them. That wouldn't be a world of good for any of them.

They ran down the path and entered the large stables, skipping and laughing through the stalls as they neared their brother's. His was a rather large stall, but of course, he was a prince. Horse or not.

Hela was the first to run into the stall, nearly spooking her older brother. But Sleipnir only let out a soft neigh and stomped at the floor as they came in, and tilted his head as the twins and Fenrir stumbled in after her.

Vali quickly shut the door behind them and sighed. Hela stopped too, and listened. When she was positive no one was in earshot, she pulled out the two keys.

"Just one more, Sleipnir! We've found the door, we know where he is! We just have to get the one last key from Grandfather!" The eight-legged horse let out another neigh and it seemed like his eyes gleamed with joy. Nari and Vali ran behind her and through their arms around her, and Fenrir ran to her feet.

Hela sat down in the hay and then leaned back. She closed her eyes with a smile.

Won't be long now, Daddy. We're going to find you.

The rest of the night was full of plans and laughter. Everyone was in good spirits now. Hela never once thought about the strange voice in her head that told her where to find her grandmother's key. She never once thought about her odd dreams, either. All she thought about was her father's face, and what he would say when they rescued him.

Hela fell asleep that night with Fenrir snuggled into her side. She had no troubles falling asleep. And that night, she had strange dreams of a man with silver eyes who seemed to be looking for something . He held a dagger in his hand, but something was missing from it. Something engraved.