ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO MARVEL INC. AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES.
New chapter!!!
“Can I ask you something?” I asked Balder, after we had walked for a few minutes.
“Aye?”
“What should I say to Thor?”
He paused, unsure of what I meant. “Forgive me?”
“What should I say? I mean, about the whole, Mjolnir thing? Should I pretend it didn't happen? Should I tell him I won't touch it? Should I. . . what?”
Balder sighed. “A difficult question. I. . . I cannot say. I do not have the answer to that. But, I do know this; my brother loves you as if you were his own blood. Truly, you would have to do something evil to change that. Being worthy of Mjolnir? You are not the first to be so in Thor's life.”
I nodded slowly. “But things are different with Mjolnir now . . .”
“Perhaps, yes. But, as far as I know, his anger has less to do with you and more to do with himself."
I nodded. "Thank you."
“For?”
“For. . Y'know, helping.”
He nodded. “It is an honor to be of assistance to you.”
Again, with the blushing!
“Pray, milady, if I may, I have a question for you.”
“Oh, well, ask away.”
“If you can fly, why did you follow on foot?”
My face fell, I sighed. “I'm not used to being able to fly. So I guess. . . I guess it just never occurred to me. Two weeks ago, I was completely normal, aside from the weird dreams and the graceful and the fact that one of my best friends was an Avenger. But, I mean, I am still normal,” I said, touching the ring on my right middle finger. “I go to school and I'm awkward and I. . . I still have crushes. I mean. . . why should I change when any minute. . .”
“What? When any minute what?” he pressed, when I didn't finish the thought.
“It could all disappear. I'll wake up, and it was a dream.”
We stopped walking as we heard a low rumbling. Right by my foot, a pebble tapped the ground repeatedly, and I looked at Balder.
“An earthquake?” I asked, struggling to keep my balance, so I hopped up and hovered.
“Nay,” he responded, his eyes wide. “An army. Can you lift me to see it?”
“I've never tried to lift anyone before!” I shouted, as the rumbling got louder. “I can barely get myself in the air!”
“Then we must hurry!” he called, before running towards the sound.
“This is what I bring to Asgard, in exchange for allowed entrance back to your city!” shouted Karnilla as the population of Asgard seethed, staring at the small army that Karnilla had brought. As King, Balder watched with a calm anger in his eyes, but a stoic face. I stood back, with Kelda, as the scene played out.
“You bring an army, Karnilla! Do you intend to invade?” he called as Karnilla stepped closer and closer to him. My heart pounded fearfully, thup-thup, thup-thup, thup-thup.
“Nay, my king, my lord Balder. I merely wish to return to the place of my birth. I wish to come home. I wish to stand at the side of the true king of Asgard,” she said, reaching for his face, but Thor came forward and slapped her hand away. “Tread lightly, witch, for you have once attacked a friend of the king and of Thor, and it bears reminding that you have before acted against Asgard.”
“But it can also be said that I have protected it! My previous acts, they were blind acts! Acts of passion and jealousy! I. . . I was not myself.”
Yes she was.
“But I have since changed, my king, and I ask nothing but a home, when I have wandered so these weeks, with little to call my own.”
Kelda scoffed. “She should not be welcomed here. Why has lord Balder not had her banished yet?”
Because she was a good actress.
I knew what would happen to me if she was allowed into the city, if she was allowed to be a citizen once again. She'd snatch up Balder, whisper words of poison into his ear, turn all of Asgard against me. I had my supporters, those that looked to me now for a reaction, those that had welcomed me with open arms and invited me to their homes. Their sons had glanced at me as I passed in the streets, their daughters had waved to me and offered ideas to get rid of my freckles.
Freckles weren't hot in Asgard.
But with her gift of a thousand trained men, she offered more protection to a weakened Asgard than a 17 year old girl who had no training and had never even seen battle. The choice was clear. And Balder had no choice but to step to the side and allow her to walk past him and into the city.
She stroked the side of his face lovingly, and I gritted my teeth as something ugly reared up inside me, something that made me want to throw her to the ground and scratch her eyes out, made me wish I could pick up Mjolnir just so that I could blast that sexy little grin off her face.
This rage wasn't going away. It stayed settled in my heart, but even though it was anger, it was changing. It became an ache that set off my tear ducts, and I could hardly breathe.
In the battle for Balder's heart, I was the loser. In fact, there wasn't even a battle—there was her, and there was me. I wasn't even competition.
“Come away from this place,” said Kelda, putting her arms around my shoulders and turning me, walking me through the wall of people. I could just feel Karnilla grinning at my back.
“The king, he's just. . . Anthy. . . I wish this did not happen,” whispered Kelda. “For your pain is my own.”
“Let's just get outta here.”
“I'm doing what the people want, Thor. You have to understand that,” I heard. I leaned against the wall just beside the door to the throne room, listening silently as the two brothers sat side-by-side on the steps to the throne.
“I do. But I also understand that Karnilla's motives are not pure. Tread lightly, brother, in this and other things.”
Balder was quiet for a long time, and then he sighed. “What of Anthy?” he asked. “She cannot think highly of me for this.”
“You worry about what Anthy thinks of you?”
“Nothing is—brother, you grin whenever I mention the girl. If not on your face then in your eyes. You do know that she is not. . . that she could not. . . I am not for her.”
I'd almost heard enough.
“Nothing is certain any longer, not for Asgard,” Balder continued. “Should she decide that she does not wish to stay and protect our people as the Norns say she will, then we must rely on other forms of protection.”
“You believe that she can protect Asgard?” asked Thor.
“Believe? Brother, I knew from the moment I met her. She may not be as powerful as you, nor as cunning as Loki was, but she is great in her heart. Even for someone of her age.”
At least he didn't say child. Somehow, hearing what he really thought of me in terms of the Norns prediction didn't make me feel any better. I'd known, always, that he could never, ever, in a million years, want me. It didn't make it any easier.
“Balder, I have known you all your life. You are my brother, in blood and bond, forged with sword and shield. But I have learned that, at times, you are as airy as the light you shine in battle,” said Thor.
“And what do you mean by that?”
I heard chuckles and one brother pushed another, and the conversation would have been forgotten, if Balder hadn't pursued. “Thor, what do you mean? Have you seen something that I haven't? Noticed something?”
“If you do not see it, then it does not matter,” teased Thor.
I jumped as my cellphone went off, and facepalmed myself, sighing. “Hello?” I said.
“Hey, it's Mom,” she said, her voice tired. I hadn't seen her in a week and a half, but it seemed so sudden that what bothered me more than anything, more than Karnilla or Balder, was that I missed my mom. She hadn't come home last week, so what she said next didn't shock as much as it burned.
“Hey mom,” I said, feeling a little better.
“I just wanted to let you know, I don't think I'm gonna come home this week. But you have to meet with Hilda's lawyer tomorrow at nine. Don't forget.”
“What do you mean, not gonna come home?” I whispered, standing up and passing Heimdall as I walked away from the door, totally shocked and embarrassed.
If you're trying to eavesdrop, turn your phone off. You never know.
“Mom, I want to see you.”
“Come on, Amber, you're seventeen. You don't need me around all the time.”
Her voice was so icy cold and almost whiny, her words tore at me like a chainsaw. I couldn't breathe. “Yeah. No, I. . . I get that,” I said, equally as stone-cold. “Bye.”
I closed the phone and shoved it into my pocket, then turned to look at Heimdall. He'd followed me, his steps as silent as the wind. Something I wouldn't have expected from someone as massive as him. “Don't tell Thor,” I breathed.
“Nay. It is not my place to do so. Come with me.”
Alright, so, now we know Karnilla's evil plan. . . or do we? Hah, only I know! But man, don't you just wanna cut her? And what about Anthy, and this unusual new feeling of extreme loathing? What happens next for our forlorn young friend?
I've finally decided to say, nertz to continuity! Mostly because I want to pretend that Fraction's current run didn't happen (regarding the death of a certain someone). However, I'd really like to bring in Kid Loki, since he's generally pretty freakin' cute and would really like to involve his character.
And by the way, for those who are interested, I'm getting started on the RPGing forum!!! Woo!!!
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