"She's breathtaking," Roman whispered.
"Which one of them?" Seth whispered.
"Hel," Roman whispered.
Both men stood up clapping along with every other person in the theatre as the actors stood and bowed on stage. When Roman heard a carnival troupe from Scandinavia was coming by to perform a show about the Norse gods, he had convinced Seth to come along. Not that Seth had much interest in it though. He just went along for Roman's sake.
"I gotta hand it to you, Roman. It was actually a good show," Seth said.
They were moving out into the foyer to go back home. Suddenly a man approached and stopped them.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. Aren't you Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins?" He asked.
"That we are," Roman answered.
"If you like to, you have been invited backstage," the man continued.
Roman looked at Seth with sparkles in his eyes. A rare chance to meet the beautiful woman who he had just spent two hours adoring on stage.
"Go ahead, big man. I'm gonna go home," Seth said.
"You sure?" Roman asked.
"Yes," Seth chuckled a little. "Go. Bring her to her knees with your charm."
Roman was escorted backstage and the second his eyes landed on the black haired beauty in the long black dress, he felt his breath being taken away once again. She was the only one standing and waiting for him so it wasn't hard to figure out that she had asked for him personally. Well, both he and Seth, but she was the one.
"Wow," he blushed slightly. "You're even more beautiful up close."
"Starting right away with the flirting," she said.
"Sorry, there's just something captivating about you and since I probably won't get to spend too much time with you, I might as well lay all the cards on the table," he said.
"An honest man," she smiled. "Come, walk with me."
She started walking down a hallway in the half deserted theatre and he quickly found himself by her side.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"Hel," she answered.
"Come on, your real name," he chuckled.
"I assure you it's my real name," she said.
"Shouldn't it be Hela then?" He asked.
"Ah, just because you Americans chose to change some of our names in the translation doesn't mean they're the right ones. My true name is Hel," she answered.
"Sorry," he said lowly.
"What are you sorry for? You're not the one who changed them," she said.
He couldn't help but smile at her words. She was right. He was not to blame for anything that had happened many years before he was even born. They continued the walk when a woman with golden hair and a green dress came walking towards them. He recognized her immetiately as Idun and his eyes fell on the basket of apples she was carrying. She stopped in front of them and Hel picked up an apple and looked at Roman.
"Apple?" She asked.
"No thanks, I'm not hungry," he smiled. "But thank you for the kind offer."
She just smiled and put the apple back down and Idun continued walking without ever saying a word. Hel started walking again and he quickly followed her, not wanting his time with her to end already.
"So, Roman, do you believe in us?" She asked.
"I believe in god," he answered.
"We're all gods and goddesses here," she said and turned the corner. "Yet you choose to believe in one you can't see."
He found that they were in a dark passage and everything suddenly seemed so quiet. While they had been walking, at least he could hear people from her troupe somewhere around. Suddenly he couldn't hear anything.
"Hel?" He felt nervous without knowing why.
"You people sicken me," her eyes seemed to turn darker. "We were here long before any of those fake deities you choose to worship. We were here listening, watching, handing out punishments and boons. Yet you still choose your fake gods over us."
Instinctly he knew he had to get away but his body refused to move. He tried but something kept him rooted to the spot and pure fear flushed through his entire body. She moved to stand right in front of him, one of her hands reaching up to grab his throat.
"You forced us to take drastic measures. You forced us to come to earth to make you feel our wrath," she said.
"He... Hel..." He stuttered.
"I need souls, Roman. I need your soul," she squeezed his throat a little. "And I'm taking you with me to Helheim."
"You can't do that. I'm not dead," he tried.
"I am the goddess of death. I can do whatever I want," she said. "You only got yourself to blame for this. You people should never have stopped believing in us."
"Please," he begged.
"Poor Roman," she taunted. "You should have taken the apple. It was your way out to get a long life."
He felt his airways being cut off as she started squeezing tight. She moved up, coming up in front of his face. He wasn't sure if she was growing or flying. All he could see was her now black eyes and feel the fear going through him and the incredible amount of strength she seemed to possess as she pulled his soul out of him.
