Timeless

◈ 3 ◈

A soft knocking at my door accompanied by the tentative whisper of my name pulled me out of my thoughts. I tried to brush off the conversation that I'd just had with Thor, figuring that communication between the living and dead was frowned upon on Valhalla.

I unlocked my door and let Mother in. She made herself comfortable on the edge of my bed and motioned for me to sit down next to her. I dismissed her offer with a wave of my hand, not wanting to sit down at the moment. She hid her disappointment well.

"Loki, we need to talk."

I certainly got a kick out of that.

"Oh, do we? I wasn't under the impression that you wanted to talk to me when you knocked on my door. You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Mother?"

Something darkened in her eyes, and she was up in an instant.

Before I could understand what was happening, she slapped me in the face.

There was no hiding my shock that she would do such a thing. I didn't think her capable of it.

"Don't you dare use that tone with me again. I came down here to talk some sense into you, boy. You cannot just waltz into Valhalla and start tearing people apart the moment you see them. Your father-"

"He's not my-" I stopped myself mid-sentence.

Odinson. The memory flashed through my brain and burned a hole through my skull, begging to be accepted as reality. I couldn't deny it any longer.

Odin has raised me. It didn't matter that the way he raised me might not have been right. He still cared for me and treated me like one of his own, up until I discovered my true parentage. He gave me a home and a family that loved me.

I had to give him some credit for that.

"I...I'm sorry," I whispered, unable to meet her gaze.

She lifted my head up gently, and I didn't miss the flicker of hope in her eyes.

"Am I not your Mother?"

I gave her a small smile, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.

"You will always be my mother."

✧✦✧

I was sitting on the windowsill in my chambers when I got my second visitor. Mother and I had spent some time catching up and working through a few rough patches in our otherwise impeccable relationship, and we parted ways for the night on a good note.

Of course, Odin had to knock on my door and ruin it all.

"Come in," I called, rather unhappily, already knowing who it was.

He stepped into my chambers cautiously, stepping over a few books that lay spines up on the floor. I tried reading a bit after Mother left since I quickly realized that life in Valhalla was incredibly boring, but there were no good books that I hadn't already read lining the small bookshelf. I had tossed them aside carelessly after weeding through the selection.

Odin finished making his way through the mess and sat down across from me on the windowsill.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall.

"I know why you're here. Don't expect an apology." I grumbled.

He shook his head and sighed.

"I'm the one who should apologize to you."

I opened one eye and gazed at him suspiciously. I must've looked ridiculous sitting there, with one knee pulled up to my chest and my other leg stretched out on the sill.

When he took too long to respond, I closed my eye again and waited for him to speak.

"What I did to you and what I said to you at your trial was wrong, and-"

"It wasn't a trial. I didn't even get a word in edgewise." I cut him off in a low growl.

"Yes, and that was wrong as well. I have so much I want to apologize for. I've hurt you so much over the years, and I deeply regret it."

By now, both of my eyes were open and I was no longer resting my head back. He had my undivided attention, loath as I was to admit it.

"You lied to me more times than I can count, and in hindsight, I'm starting to realize how big of a hypocrite you were."

Odin's gaze dropped to the floor. I ignored his crestfallen expression and continued on.

"How could you possibly have the audacity to call me a murderer when you drowned entire civilizations in blood with that psychotic daughter of yours. It makes me sick to think of how clueless I was. Tell me, Odin, how Mother could have allowed Hela to grow into such a monstrosity."

"Hela was not a child of Frigga."

I stopped short of making another comment. That certainly wasn't the response I was expecting.

"What?" I whispered, barely able to breathe as I took this in.

"I had a wife before Frigga when I was very young. A few centuries old, perhaps. She was not Asgardian." He paused to take a breath, unsure of how to continue. "It was before the Dark Elves were eradicated."

I shook my head slowly, unable to bear the truth.

"Her name was Nibashe Vankosdottir. She was a widow looking for love, and I was young and stupid. We had a child, but I lost her mother. Nibashe's last words were the breath of a name. Hela. I was heartbroken, so I raised the child as an Asgardian. She believed that her mother was part of the Valkyrior and that she had died in battle. She always had an unfailing resentment for the warriors. Perhaps that was why so many fell to her unbridled rage when I sent them to keep her from leaving Niflheim."

The mention of the word 'Valkyrior' made my breath catch in my throat.

I had no idea where Brunnhilde was, or if she was even alive for that matter.

Odin noticed my disturbed expression and gave me a small, sad smile.

"Ah, you miss your lover. Brunnhilde, is it?"

I nodded numbly.

"She is still alive and well. I can feel it. Can you?"

Surprising myself, I nodded again. That buzzing in my veins, the adrenaline-like sensation at the mention of her name, it all gave me some strange underlying hope that she was going to be okay.

But I needed to get back to her.

"Has anyone ever escaped Valhalla?" I asked quietly.

Odin raised an eyebrow.

"Very few, and with great consequences. It is highly frowned upon and is a risk that most would never take. We are supposed to find peace here with our loved ones and friends that died glorious deaths both at our sides and centuries ago."

I stretched and stood up, climbing off of the windowsill with little to no difficulty and showing Odin to the door.

"Fascinating. Perhaps we can discuss more of this some other time. Unfortunately, I'm quite tired and I think that rest would be the best thing for me at the moment. Goodnight."

Odin opened his mouth as if to speak, but thought better of it and left my chambers without a word.

When he was gone, I shut my door and locked it behind me.

If I was going to get back to my brother and Brunnhilde, then I couldn't waste any time.

I was going to escape Valhalla.