Proposition

The Letter

The sky over the village was dark and grey, nothing unusual for us to see, it seemed as if that sky was always grey and threatening to storm.

With it being winter, the dark clouds mixed with the gradual fading of light and made everything more ominous, perhaps that should have been a sign of things to come.

But I had been oblivious, I was in my element that day when I headed home, a bag full of goods resting heavily against my back from that week's collection of jobs.

I'd finished them surprisingly early, I hadn't planned on being home before at least twelve days and had warned my housemate and best friend of such, she'd be surprised when I stroll through the door earlier and heavier than intended.

Working odd jobs for money was our only income, some weeks we were plentiful but more often than not we were stuck scraping by the skin of our teeth, especially at this time of year when the days were short and jobs were next to none.

Living on the outskirts of Asgard was difficult for many of us, our village consisted of mostly run-down huts that needed some serious doing up, especially the thatch work roofs that were meant to protect us from the weather.

Rain finally started to pour like the clouds had been threatening just as I approached my own home, the cold drops instantly causing me to shiver as the ice-cold water seeped into my clothes.

Hastily forcing the door open, noting once again how we should get a proper lock and not rely on the tight wedging of our door being classed as protection, I stepped inside the front door which instantly opened into our dining area and finally dropped the now damp bag onto the floor with a heavy thud.

"I return bearing gifts!" I called out, grinning despite my shivering state.

A flickering of candlelight moved down the hall just to my right and soon Ezabella stepped into view, her eyes tired but evidently happy that I was home.

Her green-grey eyes glanced at the bag resting against my leg and they widened ever so slightly.

"Wow, that's an impressive stash."

"Right? This'll keep us going for at least two weeks."

"Good, we don't exactly have an influx of job invitations coming in."

"Not at all?" I frowned, peeling off my wet outer robe.

"No," she sighed, "but I did get one that'll take me away for two weeks."

"I see, is that soon?"

"Within the next month, I had to confirm that I was willing to do it before they'd send me a date."

I eyed her suspiciously as I threw my cloak onto a hook to allow it to dry out.

"That sounds ominous."

"And it could be," she smiled, "but we can deal with ominous, remember the spirit hunts we had to do?"

"How can I forget?"

I laughed and shook my head at the memory, a small village had caught us just as we were about to leave for another job and claimed to be fearful of the spirits that lived in the woods.

We'd set about investigating, only for it to be a lost family who had taken refuge in a cave hidden amongst the trees.

"If it's another spirit hunt, count me in," I grinned, "I love that horror stuff."

"I know, but unfortunately for you it isn't, luckily for you it seems that you may have your own job to keep you busy."

Ezabella picked up a letter from atop out small dining table and held it out to me, her face calm and not giving away the fact if she had opened it or not.

It wasn't unusual for us to open letters, scrolls or packages that were addressed to the other.

Taking the letter from her, I hastily turned it over and searched for any indication of where it had come from, but there was nothing but my name on the front in blocky writing and a green wax seal on the back.

Glancing at Ezabella, I shrugged before peeling the wax away on one side and unfolding the letter, she moved closer wordlessly so that the candlelight illuminated the paper and made it easier to read.

One day we'd be able to live somewhere with electrical lighting, it was strange to think there were still places near somewhere as advanced as Asgard that didn't have the advantages that they had.

"So what does it say?" She asked, peering over my shoulder.

"It's a meet-up date."

"Meet-up? With who?"

"I don't know," I shook my head with a frown.

"That's just creepy, are you going to go?"

I shrugged a little, looking at her, "I guess, I mean a job is a job right? And it's in a public place."

"I'm not sure you should."

Her worried look made me smile and I placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"It'll be fine, a job is a job and if I don't like what they're proposing I'll say no, but I'll think about it first."

I let go of her shoulder and folded the letter back up to tuck it into my belt, choosing to focus on unpacking my goods and sharing them with Ezabella.

Hoisting the bag off the floor and throwing it over my shoulder, I headed into the kitchen with Ezabella following behind me, both of us in silence as I thought over what I should do.

(This was originally a one-shot in my Loki series (A Proposition) that I completely forgot about, that is until I was searching through them earlier to see which ones I need to make sequels to and I figured; "You know what? Stuff it, I may as well make this a longer series to itself."
I hope you enjoy another bit of brainmush from Hell.)