FREYJA
Eira, Loki, Arvid and I walked in silence through the stone corridors of The Mountain Hold. Everyone was horribly tense.
"How did you ever get her in a dress?" Eira asked Loki and Arvid in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"I honestly have no idea." Arvid answered. He stifled a yawn, massaging his eyes. The excitement of the evening made me forget just how late it was.
She sighed. "You're tired, Arvid. You've been gone for a while. You should rest."
"I'm alright," he assured. "I'm not..."
"That's an order, soldier."
Arvid looked like he wanted to argue, but at the end of the day, regardless of how much he accompanied me and the other council members, he was still just like any other revolutionary in this mountain. He had to obey orders.
"Good night then." He gave me a smile then disappeared down the winding tunnels. Eira then turned to Loki and raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"What?" He asked.
"Loki," Eira was ever patient, even when dealing with the prince. "Go to bed."
"You're not in charge of me," He shot back. "You can't make me do anything."
"But I can." I crossed my arms over my chest, very much wanting to get out of the dress. "Go to bed or I make you do Calder's conditioning class tomorrow."
"Are you not worried about me running rampant in your beloved mountain?" He challenged.
I tilted my head. "I haven't decided yet. Should I be?"
He smiled, and his expression said it all. We had passed that by now. I rolled my eyes. "Go."
"Has he been giving you any trouble?" Eira asked as he turned and retreated down the hallway.
Let me see, I thought. He invaded my mind and saw my memories, he has a habit of making snide remarks and he at some point in time planned to betray the revolution. "Nothing major."
"That's good." She nodded. "I assume he has been of some use?"
"Absolutely," I answered. "The mortals were all over him, and his magical abilities were useful in obtaining the iridium." I smirked. "Speaking of magic, I daresay you have a lot of explaining to do."
She seemed to age before my eyes. She slumped slightly and her eyes, though empty, looked tired. She sighed. "That I do. Walk with me."
Curiosity won, and I followed her. We seemed to have no particular destination, but she didn't seem to mind. Every now and then she would reach to the side and touch the wall, using it as a guide to replace her lost sight.
I was never one for emotion, but betrayal burned in the depths of my soul. The same feeling when I had looked into Loki's mind on the rooftop to take the tesseract. When I had seen his plan to betray me and the revolution.
I can't go back now, I'll just end up back in my cage. It was a memory of a thought, when I had taken him to the entrance of The Mountain Hold to see if he would run back to the palace or cooperate. I need to bide my time. I'll wait until the ones in power are weak, and then I will make the revolution into my own private army.
I shuddered. The reminder that he was that willing to turn on me shook me to my core. What would stop him from going through with it? He assured me that he had abandoned the idea, but how could I believe that? What had changed?
"Freyja, are you well?" Eira's voice brought me back to reality.
I shoved the thought away. "I'm alright."
She didn't push the matter and instead ducked down a side tunnel. I followed.
We continued in silence for a few minutes, and I was just starting to believe that her plan was to bore me to death when she sighed and started talking.
"Freyja, have you ever met Odin?"
"Once or twice," I answered vaguely. "Why do you ask?"
She chuckled bitterly. "I used to work for him."
I clung dearly to her every word. She was the closest thing I had to a mother, but I knew dreadfully little about her life before the revolution.
"I was no mere servant either." She continued. "I was of crucial importance to his rule. That was a long time ago."
"What does this have to do with magic?"
"Patience, I'm getting there." She sounded a bit irritated. "My position at Odin's side was dependent upon my magic." She stopped in her tracks. "Early on in Odin's rule, before Heimdall was born, I guarded the bifrost."
My brain died for a few seconds and it took me longer than it should have to process her words. However, once her meaning sunk in, I immediately wanted to scream, just so I could get the utter shock out of my system.
But I didn't. Instead I took a shaky breath and looked at the woman I thought I knew so well. "You're a seer."
"I am," Eira smiled warmly. "Or rather, I was." She continued walking, and I had to jog to catch up. "I can still do magic, though I'm nowhere near as powerful as Loki or yourself. Learning to shape shift that quickly was no small feat, Freyja."
"Eira," My confusion battled my wariness. "I never told you about that."
"You didn't need to." She winked at me. "You see, as I started getting older, I eventually lost my vision." She gestured at her white eyes. "But I didn't lose my Allsight. I can still use magic, to some degree. I healed Arvid's leg not too long ago after somebody's unplanned excursion to the palace." She gave me a pointed glare. "And I pulled the tesseract free from that machine without needing special equipment. My greatest strength, however, is the fact that I still possess the Allsight."
I tried to wrap my mind around what she was saying. "You... you can still see?"
"Not in the typical sense, but yes."
It took all my self control not to yell something to the likes of 'I knew it!' "So you've been watching the little Midgard expedition this entire time?"
"I wouldn't say the entire time." She inclined her head in my direction. "I can only do it for short periods of time. Most of my power... never mind."
"What?" I pressed, a bit peeved that she stopped so suddenly. "Explain. I'm all ears."
"You don't need to know."
"But I want to know."
She sighed. "You're too stubborn for your own good."
"Why, thank you."
"Honestly," She continued, "It's probably what makes you so useful in the revolution."
I could tell where she was going with this. "You flatter me, but you can't get out of this one. What are you using your magic for?"
She pressed her lips into a thin line, which for her was the equivalent of stitching her mouth shut.
Come on, think! I thought, trying to think of what could possibly be taking up that much power. She's a seer. Seers are very powerful sorcerers and sorceresses. Whatever she is doing would have to take a constant flow of energy. It would have to happen all the time, and likely can't be stopped. It would have to be such a large spell to take all her attention! Maybe something as large as the Mountain Hold itself...
"Stars above." I breathed as the pieces of the puzzle began to click together. "You're shielding us from Heimdall."
"How did you figure that out?" Eira snapped, immediately defensive. "Did you read my mind?"
I couldn't help but be a little bit insulted that of all things, mind reading was her first assumption. "No, of course not. I respect you too much. Is it so hard to believe that I have a working brain?"
"I don't know. With some of the stunts you pull..."
"I broke one person out of Odin's dungeon!" I protested. "Just one!"
"You broke the highest priority prisoner out of the kings own palace and stole one of his most valued treasures to top it off."
I rolled my eyes. "Technicalities."
"Whatever the case," She continued. "You're correct. I shield the Mountain Hold and all its inhabitants from Heimdall. At least you finally know the truth about me."
"Why are you telling me this, anyways?" I gave her a sidelong glance. "Why now?"
She sighed as we emerged out of a side door and into the night air. A crisp breeze was rolling off the mountains, carrying a distinct chill with it. The moonlight poured unobstructed from the sky, painting the rocky cliffs and deep chasms a brilliant silver. It was only now that I was back that I was reminded of how miserable Midgard was in comparison to Asgard's splendors.
"Freyja, have a seat." She told me in a serious tone, attempting to lower herself onto a rock. She began to teeter about half way down and I grabbed her arm to steady her. "Thank you."
"Of course," My brow furrowed in concern as I sat down by her feet. I wasn't sure where this was going, but I didn't think I'd like it. "What's going on, Eira?"
"I'm getting old, Freyja." She said solemnly. "Asgardians live for a long time, but we all die eventually." No, I definitely didn't like where this was going. "The spell shielding the revolution from Heimdall is sapping my power more and more by the day. Some day, it will use up the last of my strength and then I will be gone. When the day finally comes, we need to be ready to kill Odin, because the instant I'm dead, everyone is exposed."
I tried to let that sink in. Not only was Eira slowly giving her life to protect the revolution, but she was talking about it so freely. "Eira, I'm so..."
"Freyja Njorddottir," Eira said forcefully, exerting the power of my first and last name. "Don't say you're sorry. It isn't your fault. This choice is my own. I chose to be here, to fight Odin, so I will pay the price."
"Why?"
"Because I'd rather give my life to see the people of Asgard free from tyranny than spend the rest of my days under his oppression."
I hung my head, my eyes picking out every blade of grass on the ground, even in the dark. Eira was dying, and now our entire operation was under a time crunch. "Does anyone else know?"
"What about?" She implored. "The fact that I can do magic or the fact that it's slowly killing me?"
"Can I choose both?"
She shrugged. "I don't see why not. After my little performance today, Arvid, Jari, Sigurd, Loki and yourself know that I can do magic. Jari and you are the only ones that know the penalty shielding The Mountain Hold from has taken."
"Just one moment," I held a finger in the air to silence her, even though she likely couldn't see it. "Sigurd wasn't in the room tonight. You told Sigurd about your magic before me?"
"Sigurd is... a special case." She said slowly. "But that is not my story to tell."
Even though Sigurd was a child, I considered him one of my friends. I brought him to The Mountain Hold and took him under my wing. It was disturbing to think that there is something that makes him a 'special case' that he hasn't told me. "Does everybody in the mountain have a deep, dark secret I don't know about?"
"Well if I told you that, it would spoil the fun." Eira winked at me. It was like being winked at by the moon. "It is late. You should rest. You won't have long before you and Loki go to Jotenheim."
"When are we leaving?" The thought of going to the home of the giants immediately sent a shot of adrenaline through my blood. From what I'd heard, northern Jotenheim was where the Frost Giants lived, and it was desolate, bare and horribly frigid up there.
Eira said "That depends on how the council meeting tomorrow goes. There we will decide what happens next."
I nodded and stood. I brushed my dress off and strode to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Good night, Eira."
I didn't wait for her to say good night back. I rushed into the comforting, torch lit darkness of The Mountain Hold and wandered, trying to process the conversation I just had.
Eira was dying. Eira was dying and she was the one keeping the revolution hidden. If she ran out of strength, the entire operation would be exposed and Odin's army of Einherjar would be on us in an hour at most.
But that wasn't the most concerning part. What unnerved me the most was the fact that she seemed so... at peace. I almost would've preferred it if she ran rampant shouting threats at people and decapitating practice dummies in the training room. It was almost as if death didn't disturb her.
"FREYJA!" A voice shouted from down the hallway I was in. Before I could even turn toward the source of the noise, something about the size of a child barreled into me hard enough to knock both of us to the floor.
The rocky ground knocked the wind from my lungs, but I was laughing nonetheless. "Hello, Sigurd." I chuckled as he wrapped his tiny arms around me in a tight embrace.
"YOU'RE BACK!"
"Yes, it would seem so." I only hesitated a moment before hugging him back. "Now lower your voice. At this volume, you may alert Odin to our location."
"Sorry," He dropped his voice quieter. "How was Midgard?"
I rolled my eyes in an exaggerated manner. The boy giggled with delight. "Oh, where to even start..."
"That bad?" He pulled out of the hug and sat cross legged in front of me.
I nodded solemnly. "I got attacked during breakfast, almost got shot in the face and was expected to go to a party."
"No!" He exclaimed with wide eyes. "As bad as Odin's stuffy, formal parties in the ballroom?"
"I can't say anything about royal parties," I replied. "But this one was pretty bad. I almost had to socialize. And I had to dance with Loki."
"A dance?" Sigurd raised an eyebrow. I wasn't sure why I was sharing such things with a child, but with Arvid enamored with me, I didn't have many other options. "A dance with Loki? I didn't even know you could dance."
"Oh please, I'm not a complete disgrace." I stood up and attempted to straighten my wrinkled, bloodstained dress. The green of the fabric and the red of Thor's blood contrasted nicely. "Wait, shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Why? It isn't that late." He argued.
"Last I checked it was one in the morning."
"See? So not that late."
I massaged the bridge of my nose. "What am I going to do with you?"
He smiled sweetly. "Maybe take your favorite recruit on a tour of Midgard?"
"In your dreams." I said playfully. Then I remembered something. "But I did bring you something."
Now, at this point I really must explain myself. At the hotel, after I told Arvid to go to the portal to load in the rest of the food, I may or may not have swung by my room and gotten my belongings. What could I say? My boots were in there, and I had some perfectly good throwing knives that simply couldn't fall into the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The bag I "borrowed" from the room next to mine was still slung over my shoulder. I dropped it on the ground and knelt behind it, pawing through the contents. I had stuffed in my jacket and clothes, my books and a surprise for Sigurd.
"Sigurd," I took the tubs of cotton candy out of my bag and dumped them at his feet. "Prepare to have your life changed."
He blinked a few times. He glanced up at me then back down at the colorful, sweet substance. "What does it do?"
"You eat it." I opened one of them then pinched a wisp off of the bigger clump. I gestured for him to do the same. He warily took some and put it in his mouth. His eyes popped wide open. I smirked and ate my tuft of cotton candy, letting the sweetness dissolve on my tongue and fill my mouth with its flavor. "Has your life changed yet?"
"Yes." He went in for another bite. Even though it was late and Sigurd needed to go to sleep and I was beginning to feel my eyelids get heavy, we sat there and devoured every container of cotton candy. Every last shred of it disappeared into our mouths like oxygen into the vacuum of space.
After we were done, Sigurd sprawled out on the floor and giggled. "We need to figure out how to get more of this stuff."
Whatever exhaustion I felt was pushed aside when the sugar hit my system. I picked up the container, trying to ignore the buzzing in my skull and began reading the label. Fifty grams of sugar. Between the two of us, Sigurd and I just ate three full containers of cotton candy with fifty eight grams of sugar in each.
"What have I done?" I mumbled.
Sigurd sprang to his feet. "We should go train!" He grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"
I sighed, immediately regretting giving him so much sugar. "Sigurd, it's the middle of the night and I'm wearing a dress."
"Awwwww." He let out an exaggerated whine, grabbed my hand and attempted to make me go through sheer force. He didn't exactly have much. "Come on, please?"
"No," I scooped my bag off the floor, stood up again then picked Sigurd up under my arm. He squirmed for maybe five seconds before realizing he wasn't going anywhere. "Consider this a kidnapping. You're going to bed."
"Why? I'm not tired!"
"I know!" I reached over and patted the top of his head. "That's the problem. I don't feel like putting up with you while you're on a sugar rush."
He grumbled a bit and started wiggling around again as we approached his bedroom. I unceremoniously kicked open the door, threw Sigurd on his cot and marched back out again. "Good night Sigurd."
"Good night, boring." He shouted back as I closed the door behind me.
I leaned against the door and blew a strand of hair out of my face. I missed having my hair in a braid. At waist length, it was too long to be left to its own devices. I tucked it behind my ear and picked up the skirt of my dress. As I stomped down the hallway, I couldn't help but feel a spark of pride at my attire. Leather boots and a dress. Genesis would be mortified.
By the time I returned to my room, I was beginning to feel the jitters from all the sugar. My hands were shaking ever so slightly and I felt as if I were stuck in fight or flight. I hastily kicked off my shoes, peeled off my dress and scrambled into my regular clothes. I hate skirts.
I collapsed on my bed. My mind was tired but my body had too much energy for me to sleep. So I laid there, my eyes tracing the grooves of the rock above my head, the shadows cast by the torches on my walls doing an ever changing dance of stretching and shrinking.
The hours ticked by and still no sleep came to me. I wouldn't be surprised if forcing myself to stay awake so often permanently damaged my sleep cycle. I sat up and sighed. Why did I want to sleep anyways? I was well overdue for some combat training.
I threw on my jacket, grabbed my sword and marched out the door, intent on reaching the training room and destroying some training dummies. I was pretty sure there would be no sleeping tonight.
HELA
"There you are." I murmured to myself. With my eyes closed and seated on a throne of bones, if I focused enough magic I could see the pieces at play in Asgard. I couldn't see her surroundings, but Freyja had returned to the revolution. She was lying on her back staring blankly at the ceiling. Quite the warriors return. "Welcome back."
I shifted my gaze. I could smell the death in that mountain. It seeped into the rock and stained everything around it. And it was all coming from one person.
"Oh, Eira." I chuckled as I found the old woman, sagging against her desk. "You don't have much longer, do you?" Soon, her strength would fail and her soul would be mine.
But she couldn't die yet. The old hag still had a role to play.
Soon, the revolution would kill Odin. And with him gone... Well, who would there be to stop me from taking the throne?