Safe House

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The safe house was basically a massive log cabin with a stable for the horses on one side and a parking garage on the other. When we arrived at the top of the long winding path several people came out of the cabin, more tall, blonde rebels. It was strange seeing them in jeans and winter jackets, instead of leather and chainmail.

                I turned so Loki could hear me, “Do you guys wear normal clothes in Muspellhiem?”

Loki chuckled, “Normal clothes? What you humans wear isn’t normal. We only wear it when we have to blend in.”

                “Oh,” I hadn’t been expecting that answer, “And do you ride horses there as well?”

                “Of course,” Loki said proudly, “we don’t want your exhaust fumes poisoning the air of Niflheim. We only drive cars when we absolutely have to. Jotun are a proud people…”


                “You mean you’re stubborn.” I interjected.

                Loki made a protesting noise and urged the horse to go faster, jostling me in the saddle. One of the human-dressed jotun - a tall, thin woman - grabbed the reigns for us, allowing us to dismount.

                “I’ll take him for you, go on in,” she said.

                Loki dismounted first, offering me a helping hand. I took it gratefully, since every part of my body seemed to have turned completely stiff. We followed the crowd of rebels into the log cabin, pushing through the skinny doorway, eager to sit down by a warm fire and rest. I couldn’t wait to get onto a proper bed, whatever that would look like in here.

                The inside of the cabin was even larger than I’d thought. There was a main room, a living room when you walked in. A roaring fire in one corner, over which a silver haired woman was stirring what looked like a cauldron of soup.  There was a hallway off the living room, which divided into two sections, and a loft just above us. Secretly I hoped they would put me in the loft to sleep. Ever since I was a kid I’d wished for a house with a loft.

                The furniture was basic, a little bit ratty, but the couches were soft, and that’s all that mattered. The rebels all expressed groans and sighs of relief. The ones that had come in with us flopped down and kicked off snow covered boots and shoes. The woman at the fire scolding us good naturedly that we were dirtying her floor. Still more rebels came trooping in, boots thundering on the hardwood.

                The girls, Loki and I had found a long green and blue couch in the corner, and had laid claim to it. I tilted my head back, resting it on the squishy couch cushions, sighing with relief. Loki’s hand grazed my knee, and I looked sideways at him.

                “It’s a relief to be somewhere safe, huh?”

                I nodded. My body felt like jello. Now that I was safe I just wanted to sleep. We had escaped the palace and avoided being stabbed, the Queen hadn’t killed me in the woods, I hadn’t been eaten by a rabid wolf, and now I’d just like to get some sleep.

                Before that was going to happen though, my stomach was insisting that it was time to be fed. We had skipped breakfast before leaving camp, and I’m sure it was well passed lunch.

                The silver haired woman was beckoning people forward, handing out bowls of thick broth. It smelled like chicken noodle. The jotun tramping in the door went immediately to her, jumping into line. The last one to join was Erik. My stomach was rumbling violently by that time, so I went and stood in line behind him. Loki joined too, followed by the girls. As we got closer to the woman serving the soup I noticed that her face was more deeply lined than any jotun I’d seen previously. She didn’t look old exactly, maybe middle aged. There were laugh lines around her eyes, and her eyes themselves were a brilliant blue that seemed to pierce everyone they landed on.

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