The Regret
Chapter I
Transferred
Lenneth followed Lucian as they continued deeper into the forest. The path got smaller and the trees and bushes thickened as they got further away from Coriander. She trailed a few feet behind him, the nostalgic feeling growing as he listened to his explanation of when he'd run away with Platina.
"We ran until our lungs were about to burst…" He continued, stopping momentarily.
Lenneth slowed and was about to ask if something was wrong as he glanced back at her briefly before grabbing her hand. She hadn't expected the movement or his gentle grip.
"Like this!"
Lenneth blinked in surprise as he began to run, pulling her along with him. She didn't have any trouble keeping up with him, but the familiarity of the situation was nearly haunting. That morning when she arrived at the town she and her einherjar had been staying Lucian had been missing.
She was short-tempered from Freya's rant when she'd gone to look for him, as her progress report had been anything but good. When she found him on a cliff looking down at the city below, he hadn't acknowledged her presence. Though she had the suspicion Mystina and Jelanda had followed her, his silence had bothered her.
When she was ready to leave he'd asked if they could go to Coriander. She'd agreed without hesitation but instructed her other einherjar not to follow nonetheless. She found the time spent alone with him was better than she expected, even though they didn't talk about much more than memories.
Well, Lucian had also joked about when Badrach had gotten drunk the night before and started flirting with all the female einherjar, even Lorenta, but that was on their way to the village and it hardly counted…
The ground started sloping upward and trees thinned slightly before they slowed and reached the top of the hill. A large valley stretched before them, flowers in bloom covering the ground. The twilight sun was sinking behind the trees in the distance, the orange sky accenting the flowers below. Wind was blowing the petals in all directions, the occasional gust creating a spiral in midair.
"And then we stumbled upon this place." Lucian said remorsefully, releasing her hand.
They walked down the hill slowly, the wind blowing the small petals of the Weeping Lilies.
"This is…" Lenneth paused, remembering the grave she'd found in the valley shortly after her mission started, "Weeping Lily Meadow?"
"Yes." Lucian replied as the continued downward.
They stopped when reached a flat area in the flowers, Lenneth's gaze surveying the horizon for a moment. The sun was gently dipping below the distant mountains. Lucian turned to face her and their eyes met once more.
"May I ask a favor? Would you take off your helmet?"
Lenneth reached up and removed her helmet wordlessly, flipping her hair backward as she did to clear any helmet head she'd attained.
Lucian's eyes widened at the resemblance. The only thing that didn't fit was her stoic expression. Even though she never seemed to show much emotion, he could picture her smiling much easier.
He stepped forward saying, "I knew it! You look just like her…"
"That girl…" Lenneth trailed off.
"Yes, that girl, Platina." Lucian said, his expression darkening and his gaze falling to the ground. "She inhaled the Weeping Lily pollen. It was my fault…that she died. If I hadn't convinced her to run away with me, she'd still be alive."
"And you think that I look like this girl?" Lenneth asked simply.
"I know!" He said abruptly, his head snapping upward as his eyes met hers. His tone softened slightly as he continued, "I know it's wrong to feel this way about a stranger just because she looks like someone else. But it doesn't change the fact that I love her."
Though her expression never wavered, he didn't want to meet her gaze. Without giving much thought to the movement, Lenneth stepped forward to cover the distance between them. She placed her hand on his shoulder to draw his attention and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his briefly. She stepped back wordlessly, his eyes sad though he smiled slightly.
"It's kind of strange to be asking this all of a sudden, but do you have an actual name?" She looked at him questioningly as he added, "Well, you just let everybody call you Valkyrie. But that's only your title, right? Don't you have an actual name?"
"You're fading." Lenneth answered calmly.
"What?" He asked sharply, glancing down at himself to see that he was actually becoming transparent.
"You're being transferred to Asgard. You've overcome your earthly binds by accepting your death. You can now advance to Asgard to aid in the fight against the Vanir."
"Will I ever return to Midgard?"
"After the war, if you wish, you could be released. You'd be able to move about in Midgard freely then."
He held out her hand and laced her fingers between his as she felt the warmth and solidity of his hand disappear.
"I suppose I should have paid more attention when you explained what the Vanir were, eh?" He asked jokingly.
The ghost of a smile passed across her face as she said, "Don't worry. You'll know all you need to before you're deployed into battle."
He smiled broadly at her as his vision started blurring. He was losing focus on the valley and the line dividing the sky and land was nearly gone.
"Lenneth." She said suddenly. He looked at her questioningly a moment before she added, "My real name…is Lenneth."
He smiled at her one last time before disappearing completely. Lenneth lowered her hand to her side and she closed her eyes, the unfitting feeling of remorse filling her. She shook her head slightly, hoping to clear the unbecoming human emotion but it remained hanging over her.
She opened her eyes and looked up to the sky, watching it darken for a long moment. The opposite horizon was changing from orange to blue than purple as the day ended and the night began. She felt strangely alone, though it was one of the few times she wasn't being followed by a fair sum of einherjar. She remembered her last visit to the valley a few months prior and started walking in the direction where the grave undead had been gathering.
I wonder…I wonder if that was Platina's grave…
The sky had gone completely dark when she descended the hill and the large stone came into view. She knelt down in front of the stone, placing her helmet down beside it. She'd never noticed it before, but she was more comfortable without it.
She brushed the flower petals from the stone and tried to read what was left of the messy inscription. It looked as though it had been carved in with a knife, and she hadn't bothered to try reading it before. She traced the letters with her fingers, the name on the stone suddenly becoming clear to her.
Platina
She stood and pulled her helmet back into place, silently deciding not to take common Midgard methods to return to Villnore. Walking the distance with Lucian had been nice but she had no reason to walk this time.
She stopped and her gaze fell to the gravestone once more. She'd been unnerved the first time she'd visited Weeping Lily Meadow but didn't know why. She felt as though she was closer to knowing why, but even further from her duties to Odin.
She let the white valkyrie wings appear around her and gently began to ascend into the air. Once she was a fair distance above even the highest mountain's peak, she could see the moon rising above the horizon. It was nearly full.
Lucian… She thought sadly, I hope to see you again soon…I wonder if you'll remember my name.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Hikari here! I decided to write this one shot after watching the original scene. I took the ending into my own hands quite a bit, but decided it'd be fitting to include the bit with Lucian asking what Lenneth's true name was. It bothered me from the moment I started playing VP1 it was always "Valkyrie." XD But I slowly noticed only other Aesir called her Lenneth.
Plus, having a character wonder if another character will 'remember their name' is a very sad concept, when you think of it. In a real life situation one could be wondering it they meant enough to another person for them to care enough to 'remember their name.' Whereas in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth it'd be an interesting and believable addition.
For Valkyrie Profile I thought emphasizing on Lenneth experiencing but not accepting human emotions and thoughts. I kinda got the idea during the scene 'Homunculus.' Anyway, I'll end it here! Also note I didn't intend to replace Lenneth hovering above Weeping Lily Meadow watching the moon rise with the scene in which she says the gap between gods and humans cannot be traversed. Thanks for reading and please review!
