Divine Strength

by January Lily

Astrid is the last of her kind. Orphaned and then collected by Thanos who trained her to be lethal and loyal to him. Despite this, she has a natural knack for healing, much like the people she came from. Deep down she knows she can never be loyal to Thanos. Astrid is simply biding her time until one day Loki appears in the Sanctuary and she is asked to work her magic on him.

1. Prologue

Prologue

Darkness. It seemed that they were surrounded by nothing but darkness. A stark contrast to the world from her dreams. Dreams of her childhood home. Those dreams were her only recollections of her former home. A home that no longer existed and had been scattered into an oblivion of darkness. Where Astrid went, darkness seemed to follow.

There was no light in Astrid's world. Only a pinprick of hope existed that she might one day escape this hell-hole, but its light waned with every passing day. It has been years since she had come to live with Thanos, who had destroyed her people, her home, her very reason for living. For reasons beyond her understanding, he looked with mercy upon her and spared her from the culling. From that day on, she had lived only at his mercy...and he made sure that she knew it.

The only way Astrid's people could live on was through her. If she died, her people would cease to exist. It was an immense burden for one person, knowing this. Her burden was the root cause of many of her life choices. For years now, she had caved to follow Thanos' will to ensure her protection. It certainly wasn't easy and she often despised the acts he asked her to carry out, but it was necessary for her survival.

Thanos trained her to be a killer...an assassin. Her people had been healers, a gift she also inherited. Thankfully, she had also been able to prove her worth as a skilled healer. Her tasks became more healing-centric, but that often kept her holed-away in this place referred to as The Sanctuary with no chance of escape. There seemed to be no winning.

Once Thanos had believed her will to be broken and aligned with his, life became much better for her. She lived in comfort, in a place designed to suit her needs and keep her safe. Safe from both the outside world and escaping to the outside world. But it wasn't the life she wanted. Astrid prayed that one day a savior might come to her rescue, but with each passing day that seemed less likely and she would probably be bound to serve Thanos the rest of her days.

But a still, small voice spoke otherwise.

Wait.

Just wait.

So, Astrid waited.

Author's note: So, I normally don't post things so short but I had a few people ask for me to put this here. So, here it is! :) Hope you enjoyed it! :)