An Icy Iron (Editing Underway)

An Icy Iron

      I stared up at the cloud filled sky. It's dark grey color suggested heavy rain. But a familiar face broke my seemingly lifeless gaze.

     I groaned, trying to move. Everything hurt like hell. For once the air burned in my lungs and the heat from the burning assphalt felt nice as all body heat had left me. I tried to focus. Another face appeared; unfamiliar to me. Then the world began to move, becoming foggy and blurry. I grabbed a handful of rubble, hearing sirens approach. All I could see now, was fading light; darkness. Was this the end? Was I entering a world of no return?

***

     "Daddy, do you have to go? Really?" I grabbed his shirt, begging him not to go. This place in which he was going was dangerous, especially for our kind. "Daddy please don't go!" He looked straight at me and into my emerald eyes. A grin grew across his face and he knelt down. "I'm sorry," he paused, "but I have to do this. I have to go." He frowned as tears welled up in my eyes. I could feel my lips quivering, resisting a frown and desparately holding back sobs. "It's okay hun," he pulled me into a gentle hug, his shaven face scratching my cheek. Father was a strong, yet gentle man. He wasn't afraid of others, though they threatened what was left of our family. And he certainly was not afraid to comfort me, and treat me to kindness and love.

     "Promise you'll be a good girl while I'm gone?" He wiped the tears from my face and I nodded. He smiled and kissed my forehead. "Goodbye my little frost angel," he whispered and the warmth of his hug was gone. I forced a smile as he stepped out into the snow. I waved goodbye to him as another man opened up a door to another universe. My mouth gaped open and I stared in awe at the sight before me. Just on the other side of the door was a golden city.

    I wished the hug lasted longer than it did. It was the last time I'd get to be held by him. The one last hug in which was icy cold. Maybe it would be the last bit of love I ever felt? "Daddy, no!" I reached out for him, but a burst of flames surrounded him and took him away. All that was left was a pile of ashes, and a sorry man who supposedly called himself a portal master.

     Tears rolled down my face and silent cries escaped my mouth. How could God allow something like this to happen to me? Mama died when I was two years, and I really didn't know much of her. Still, it hurt inside to not know what or who it was that I had come from. Then my older brother was taken away from us just last year, and then this?! Life was truly horrible and only darkness seemed to hug me like a blanket. A tight, suffocating... blanket.

***

     I tossed the covers off and sat up. "The darkness!" I squeeked. I'd rather have died than to be sucked into it any furthur. "Good morning Emi." I jumped at the sound of that voice, and pinned myself against the wall. The man seemed familiar. "A mortal," I whispered, examining him from head to toe, "One that looks like my father..." I scrunched my eyebrows together, wondering if this had been some sort of trick. My father, when he was alive, masked his true appearance to look like such a "man". And, even though this man resembled him, I could trust no mere mortal to my knowledge. Then again, he seemed to know my name. Was it possible, that after all these years, he could be my father? "Sorry, kid. I didn't mean to startle you so badly." His voice was different, so it must not have been him. "You'll be safe here," he leaned against the wall and sipped his coffee, "and you can stay as long as you want."

     Such a strange man, I thought. "H-How do you know my name?" He shrugged and put his cup down on a shelf. "You kept mumbling in your sleep," when the man spoke, I noticed his hand gestures, as if he were painting an image in the air for me to understand what he was saying. "Names like Emi, and Dad repeated themselves. I just figured..." I shrugged. It was strange, but truthful. I did have a horrible habit of speaking during my sleep. I must have been mumbling again. "Name's Tony Stark." He smiled slightly and put a hand out, as if to shake mine. But he moved too fast, and I crawled up on top of the headboard and latched onto the wall behind me. "Alright then," he sighed and acted as if I just blew him off. And yes, I did, but not to be rude. How could I trust him? One, I just met him, and two, for Odin's sake he was a mortal!

     "Oh,"  he shoved his hands in his pockets and stood straight up, "Also, you're the daughter of Laufey, is that right? That frost giant or whatever you want to call him?" He smirked, "If I were you I would try and keep that to myself, kid." I felt my knees shaking and took a step back down onto the bed. "And before you ask," he took a step forward, "You might have mentioned that a few billion times also."

       I jumped at the thought of that. What other secrets might I have divulged in my unconscious state?  "Come down here and I'll be sure to explain everything." For a moment, I tried staring at his face. My stares would make people uncomfortable and force the truth to the surface. But instead, I found myself gazing upon his brown eyes in wonder. They were beautiful to me, and reminded me of my father's. Strange man, indeed.

        I didn't move and he frowned a bit. When I realized that he was frowning, I decided to lighten up. This mortal was confusing, but he didn't seem too bad.  Slowly, I made my way down. The carpeted floor felt nice beneath my bare feet.  "For starters, though, you might want to keep the whole Laufey thing to yourself, trust me. Your brother didn't give us a very good first impressoin" He walked into another room. I hesitated a moment before following; listening to everything he had to say. "Y-you knew my brother?" I asked, excited to hear about him. I hadn't seen him since I'd landed myself somewhere in this putrid planet of Midgard.

     "Loki?" He looked over his shoulder at me, "Oh yes, we all knew him. I also distinctly remember when we let the Hulk loose on him." He chuckled a bit, and I looked at him with confusion. "The Hulk? Sounds like a terrifying creature. Was it anything like a draugr?" I watched him curiously as he chuckled again, "I  have no idea what that is, but I'm pretty sure he's not one of those. And if you're really interested, I'll tell you everything you want to know."