It had been weeks since the last battle and still the Asgardians were coming and going from Aela's village. Her mother kept her shut in their house, in fact, most of the other mothers kept their girls locked away from the stares of the strange soldiers constantly stalking their streets. She hadn't seen her father in months, since the beginning of the war with the village across the lake. Aela supposed it was because he was the general of their village's army but it still made no sense as to that the gods would want with him. The nights seemed longer, the air thick with stress; it almost seemed everyone was in a better mood before the Gods had shown up—before the war ended.

But somehow Aela had fallen asleep…

"Aela, wake up." Her mother's voice brought her back from the edge of deep sleep.

"What?" She asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes—the sun wasn't up yet, and the only light in her room was the candle her mother had brought in with her.

"Your father needs you to go to the long house." Her mother's voice was strangled with worry although she tried to keep her face neutral.

"Me?"

"Yes!" She started to pull Aela up from her bed by her arm.

"Well, I have to get dressed first." Aela made for her wardrobe but her mother pulled her away.

"No time!" The candle was almost extinguished by how fast her mother whirled her down the stairs and out the door, pausing only to pull the wild ropes of braided blond hair away from her face.

There was no light in the other homes, just the torches on either side of the doors of the long house at the end of the road. The cool night air chilled her skin and the crunching of gravel echoed in her ears, Aela was starting to feel nauseous as they drew closer to where her father was waiting. Before they could push the door open two Asgardians burst from the entry way. They were even taller than the soldiers she had seen and looked far more important. The blonde haired one looked down at her and scoffed disgustedly—his blacked haired companion looked at her with pity.

"What took you two so long?" Her father appeared behind the Asgardians, she had never seen her father nervous before and it made her feel terrified. He grabbed both of them painfully by the arm and dragged them to where the Village leader sat on his throne.

Another man stood next to him, large and unmovinag, again clearly Asgardian. His golden eye patch glinted from the torches lining the wall, his other eye never blinked as she and her mother approached and knelt into a curtsy.

"Bjorn, I am glad to see you weren't exaggerating like the others." The man with the eye patch spoke with a booming voice.

"No, my lord." Her father hung his head. It was all Aela could do to keep her mouth from hanging open—she had never seen her father act like that before.

"She looks strong." The Asgardian circled her, his eye burning intently down at her.

"Yes, my lord." Her father replied, eyes firmly on fixed on the floor.

"She will do."

"Do what?" Aela and her mother asked in unison. Her father and the village leader shifted uncomfortably.

"To be a wife for my son and the next All Mother for Asgard."

"All Mother?!" Everything in her head started to click. This must be Odin, King of Asgard, and the pair she saw leaving the long house were his sons. But how could she be All-Mother?

"But I can't—" She started but Odin grabbed her upper arm painfully and started pulled her toward the door, ignoring her mother's cries and protests.

"Wait!" She heard her father yell, "I thought we would have more time!"

"Where are we going?"Aela asked stupidly has Odin dragged her to the outskirts of the village, stopping in the middle of a wheat field.

He didn't answer, only looked up to the now brightening sky and bellowed, "Heimdal, take us home!"

Her mind was reeling as a rainbow light enveloped them, and she knew exactly where she was headed.