"Princess! What a pleasant surprise. I will announce your arrival..." Heimdall starts, but Skyler holds her hand up, gesturing for him to stop. She shakes her head.
"There's no time, my friend. In fact, there's only little time. I need some answers from my grandfather and I'll get them." She says, her voice still not steady, but now, because she's actually scared of what's coming. Heimdall nods and bids Skyler goodbye.
Skyler teleports to the doors of the Throne Room, and without knocking, she opens them.
"Alright, what the hell has been going on here? Why am I send on a suicide-mission and more important, who send me on it?!" She thunders, not caring who else is in the room. Looking around, she sees exactly the persons she's looking for. Odin, Thor, Loki and Frigga, and another young lady, but Skyler doesn't really care who that is.
"Skyler! What a surprise." Thor cheers, approaching his daughter for a big hug.
"Dad, don't. I'm only here for an answer to one simple question: who the hell wants me dead?!" With those last words, Odin stands up and walks to Skyler.
"Einar Urikson. He escaped his prison when your cousin opened a portal to visit us..." Odin gestures to the young lady who's approaching with Loki. Skyler blinks a few times.
"You-you're Hel?" Skyler asks in disbelief. The girl looks like nineteen, twenty, has beautiful dark brown hair and the same emerald green eyes as Loki. Her skin isn't even pale, like Skyler always imagined, it's a little tanned even.
"Yes, I'm Hel, pleasure to meet you." Skyler offers her a hand to shake, but Hel only looks puzzled to it.
"You're supposed to shake it. And, your mother must truly have been a beauty, because I can't imagine that Loki had the genes to create something as beautiful as you." Skyler jokes, smirking at her uncle. Thor bursts out laughing and even Hel chuckles.
"You're spending too much time with your father, Sky." Loki says dryly.
"No, I'm spending too much time with Tony Stark." Skyler smirks.
After shaking hands with Hel, Skyler's face turns serious again.
"Alright, back to Urikson. Who is he and why does he want me dead?" She asks.
"He's a Vanir. After the war that killed my son Balder and my grandson Forseti, Nanna, Balder's wife, stayed on Vanaheim, to help the reconstruction of the realm. But Urikson thought Balder was the murder of his family, who died in the war. He wanted to take vengeance on Nanna. One night, Nanna died in a fire that killed 64 other people. Urikson, proud that he did it, was arrested and brought here under my judge. I sentenced him for life. Before he was taken away, he vowed to me that he'd wipe out the entire line of Odin... which means..." Odin trails off.
"That he starts with the easiest kill. Me." Skyler scoffs. "Oh, he'll grieve that decision. I'm definitely not easy to kill." Thor smirks and pats Skyler "lightly" on the back.
"Could you please explain to us, how he wants you to be killed?" Loki asks her curiously.
"Well, uncle, ever heard of the Triwizard Tournament?" She answers dryly. Loki lets out a small gasp before nodding.
"You're going to need extra spell books." Loki mutters, and Skyler smirks.
"That's where I came for. I need to have some more advanced spells if I want to win this. And believe me, I am going to win this Tournament."
"Alright dear, walk with me, Loki and Hel. Maybe you and your cousin can get to know each other a little. She's only staying for a few days, so you probably won't see her again until the next century." Frigga says, already walking out of the Throne Room, Loki on her heels. Skyler looks at Thor.
"I'll be back in half an hour, so then, I'm going with you to see mom, okay?" She asks with a smile, kissing him on the cheek.
∞∞∞
"So, you're in fact not dead?" Skyler asks confused. Hel nods, grinning wickedly at Skyler's difficulty to understand.
"Nope, I'm not dead. I'm undead. Which means that I'm practically dead, but still alive. You could say I'm some kind of vampire who doesn't drink blood and can walk in the sunlight." Hel explains, rather simply.
"I see. And you have kind of your own realm?" Skyler asks eagerly.
"Well, I live indeed in Valhalla as the queen, but I rule alongside the Valkyries, who are... well... don't tell my father, but I've met someone among the Valkyries." Hel whispers.
"But I thought that Valkyries... Oh, I get it. Is she nice? Do I get to meet her once?"
"She's amazing. And, only if you die. Not that dead is something boring or bad, you get to see such beautiful things in Valhalla or Heaven, wherever you desire to go." Hel explains. Skyler shrugs.
"Neh, I think I'm going to stick around in the world of the living, for a while. I have these friends that will probably die without me. They're called The Avengers and I saved the asses of two of them, three times already." Skyler laughs and so does Hel.
"I see you two get along." Loki murmurs, "Anyway, we're at the library, so take whatever you need, but take heed, if you hurt one of these books, I swear to Odin, I- "
"Loki, dear, don't threaten Skyler and Hel, I know they both respect books, so nothing will happen to them." Frigga jokes, as she hands Skyler a book with more difficult spells.
"Thank you, grandmother – and Loki, I may appreciate books even more than you, so don't worry. I've to go see mom and Tobi now, so, I'll see you with... uh – I'll come look for you later." Skyler says, leaving the library, off to find Thor.
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Alright, I truly hope you liked it. There won't be an update tomorrow, for I'm a day out with my family. - lots of love...