No Hero: Lost Among the Flame

Hodnes is that you?

Lexa

"I had not thought about it" I answered looking past her. It made sense that in the flame she could appear in her own body. My eyes scanned the room in search of Freya. There was no hint of her ever being in this room.

Bekka waited a minute before telling me, "She isn't in this room." Then she turned to glance around the room. "Freya has not seen my lab outside of the city of light" she said.

A quiet sigh escaped my lips. If she's not here with Bekka then where is she? Aside from her location there was another thought that crossed my mind. "Why are you trying to help her?" I asked. If she's in control now what happens when Freya is well enough to take over?

She formed her lips into a thin line and released a deep breath through her nose. It caused her shoulders to relax slightly. "I was working in the city of light for decades because I thought I still had work to do. It was my technology that destroyed the modern world and I thought maybe if I could do something to fix it it would make up for that destruction" she started to explain. Her sentence trailed off as she stared off to the other side of the room. She showed more emotion here in her own body. "Now I see my time has passed. These years I've spent with Freya I have grown to admire her. I brought you here to help her. Once she is well enough to take over I will step away" she finished.

I was stunned. I hardly knew anything about Bekka pramheda as a person but a part of her seemed to be sincere. The weight returned to my shoulders over the thought of what state Freya was in. "Where is she?" I asked.

"I'll take you there" she nodded. The white light only lasted for a second this time. Instantly I recognized the hall outside of my old room in the tower. Bekka grabbed my arm as I reached for the door handle. I'm tired of waiting, if my hodnes is on the other side of this door I have to go in. My glare was harsh. "I should caution you not to overwhelm her" is all Bekka offered for an explanation.

"I understand" I told her. Until I see her I won't know how I can help her. More than anything I just wanted to hold her in my arms again. After eight long years I was practically itching to be near the real her.

Bekka took a step back and nodded towards the door, "Go see her."

Before I was delayed anymore I reached for the door handle. I hadn't seen the room that held many good memories in so long. As I stepped over the threshold I was met with a room that was exactly as I left it. The door closed behind me with a soft thud.

"Lexa? You're early" the voice made my entire body freeze.

My eyes snapped to the left side of the room. "Freya" I choked out. Crashing into her I wrapped my arms around her tighter than I've ever hugged anyone. Instantly she accepted my embrace and hugged me back. I buried the sob that rushed through me in her neck. "It is really you, finally" I cried. I felt one of her hands stroke my hair comfortingly.

"Of course it is but you're early. Why are you early?" her tone was a mix of emotion.

I pulled away from her neck to look into her beautiful eyes. She made no move to break apart from the hug I still have her in. And I wasn't ready to let her go just yet. "What do you mean, Hodnes?" I asked.

The longer I stared into her eyes the more I noticed. Dark circles surrounded her eyes making her appear exhausted. Her hair was messed up. When her eyes weren't focused on me they were bouncing around the room panicked. She was waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly Freya grabbed my hand and dragged me across the room. "You have to hide" she said dropping to her knees at the side of the bed. Not a moment passed before she yanked me down. "Stay low" she mumbled peering over the bed to look frantically around the room.