Today is the day.
The day of my final assessment. As I stand in the Arena, stands filled with people waiting to be entertained I ponder about my last few years and coming ones.
Today marks the end of my training as a member of the Valkyrior of Asgard. Usually passing this last test would mean that I can call myself sword sister of the valkyries. Not for me though. No Hela Odinsdottir cannot be bound into an oath of servitude. As crown princess of Asgard, I would rule over them one day instead. Not that this fact made these 100 years of training any easier.
Yep, you heard that right, Hela Odinsdottir, friggin goddess of death, villainess extraordinaire, firstborn to Odin Borson and Frigga Freyrdottir. For how this came to be? Honestly, no idea. I will not deny that I freaked out the first couple of years, more like the opening 100. But comparing 30 somethings years on earth versus 100 years on Asgard sets a lot of things into perspective. I figured this is some kind of afterlife, how I died, no idea, and if I ever have the opportunity to meet the one above all you can be sure that I have a couple of questions. But that's for the future. Asgardians have a life span around 5000 years and a daughter of Odin and goddess of death I figure I might get some years extra. If I remember correctly I am supposed to be quasi-immortal as long Asgard stands. So there will be plenty of time to seek answers.
No, my immediate concern was surviving long enough to get there. If this was, in fact, the MCU, I am fated to die in some fiery blaze with Ragnarok going on. Even after the new 287 years, that's not a comforting thought. Thankfully I can use my foreknowledge to prevent that from happening. How you might ask?
First, get as strong as the original.
Secondly, don't fall from grace and get banished.
Thirdly, secure continued survival.
And only then get answers.
Easy actually.
I figured if I joined the Valkyrior, then it's highly unlikely I slaughter all of them and get banished in response and get the best training Asgard has to offer at the same time. Two birds meet one stone. I wish I could tell you now how successful that plan was, but even after 100 years of training with them, separated from my parents, the palace and all Luxus, I have not made a single friend among the sisterhood. Lots of training partners sure but none of the sisterly bond I see between the others. At least I learned how they fight and strategise. Worst comes to pass I will have an easier time fighting them. After all "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." Not that I plan to let it come to that, but contingencies are going to keep me alive.
I am still hopeful that in time I will be accepted as honorary sword sister. It cannot be easy to see the crown princess as your equal. Add to that that even after a quarter of a century I look like a little 10-year-old girl and half my face looks like its a rotting corpse. Let's just say I stick out and not in a positive way. At least I don't smell rotten. Call me a glass is half full kind of girl. Like I said living past 100 years puts things into perspective. Sadly I cannot tell you if this means I am not in the MCU or if the original Hela just covered her face in an illusion like Loki did. I might need to do the same if only to keep my allies comfortable. Sadly I hadn't had the opportunity to learn much magic yet, but you can be sure it's on top of my to-do list.
Back to my test. Simple really, I just have to fight a veteran valkyrie and proof that I have the skills and tenacity needed for the job. Ordinary recruits fight for about 20 minutes before the veteran get serious and bashes them in a matter of second. But like I said I am Hela, which means I am stronger, faster and more durable than your average Asgardian. So even in the body of a child, I have the advantage in these areas. The only thing I lose out on is the experience. Which means I am still very likely to lose.
The Valkyrior, however, are the Asgardian elite warriors. Cream of the crop so to speak. They have been in dozens of life and death battles, and every close call sharpened their edges a little bit more. And since Odin is not the peace-loving king he was pictured as in the movies I can assure you they are the real deal. They just came back from a successful campaign against Muspelheim home of my future killer Surtur. Odin and his forces successfully acquired the eternal flame and weakened Surtur to a point where he is no longer a threat to Asgard. I heard there has been a massive fest in the palace a few weeks back, not that I took part since again I am still learning to become a valkyrie.
No, I was preparing for this day. In front of me stands Skeggjöld, master of the war axe, in her battle armour polished to full glory. A fierce and tough warrior who has been a valkyrie longer than I have been alive. She was a bit too bloodthirsty for my taste since she prefered brutal onslaught where she uses superior strength to overpower her opponents. What she lacked in finesse she made up in ruthlessness. Her mighty axe will give her slashes enough power to overcome even me and her bulky figure gave her superior reach. She had enough muscles to earn the nickname musclehead among the sisters, worst of all she seemed to take it as an endearment. I would call her a brute if I weren't above such petty things.
"Does the little princess want to fight?" she mocked me, "Do you really think you are ever going to be worthy of being one of us?"
I sigh and rolled my eyes. Getting your enemies angry enough to make mistakes, common tactic. I sighed again and responded calmly "Can we start? I like to get this over as soon as possible."
Receiving my blaise response, she started bowling with laughter, "Oh little princess, I thought you would have learnt by now, you have no say here. So sit on your little butt and wait until the adults tell you what to do." her voice getting annoyingly high as though she was speaking to a baby.
I didn't even deem that a reaction. Keeping my face blank and my stare flat, trying to fluster her that way. Not that it worked as she just kept her posture relaxed and a confident smile on her face. Since I don't want to fall for her mind games, I concentrated on breathing instead. Since becoming Hela, I gained the fantastic ability to sense life around me when focusing. I often took comfort in the warm life signs of the Asgardians around me. Reminding me that I was never alone no matter how harsh the training was. So even while having no friends per se, I noticed this way there was no real scorn directed my way.
As I take in the auras of the spectators in the gallery, I let my sense wander to the royal lounge, and as expected I feel my 'new' parents. Odin calm and cold, a calculating king, and Frigga full of worry for her little girl. To be honest, during my years in the palace, I barely talked to Odin at all, he was always busy planning and fighting for the good of Asgard. Rushing from one war to another. Not that I minded since he seemed aloof even in the movies. And that was after his change to a warmer personality. No, I was Friggas girl through and through. She doted on me with no end, and even with the mind of an adult, she won me over in a heartbeat. Not that I made it hard to be doted on, I was an angel compared to other babies. Never fussing much, eating all my vegetables, no temper tantrums. They had no idea how lucky they had it with me. The only thing we ever fought about was my entry into the Valkyrior training program. She argued it was too soon and I was too young. She would have been probably right if I hadn't been extra mature from birth. Surprisingly it was Odin that allowed my entrance in the end, after a spectacular fight around the family dinner he spoke in my favour. Giving me permission while keeping his gaze calculating. Integrating me in his future plans no doubt. It unnerved me to no end at the time, but since it aligned with my own designs, I jumped on the opportunity. Asgard was after all a race of warriors and my survival hinged upon being among the best of them. Still, it broke my heart to feel the deep seeded worry inside my mother right now. I wanted nothing more as to run to her, hug her and tell her there is no need. That I am now strong enough to handle whatever life throws at me.
No, I could not do that. Not before finishing my fight. Renewing my resolve to win and proving my strength, I refocused my concentration on my opponent. Skeggjöld would likely jump me as soon as the match starts and try putting me on the defensive. Her fighting style is mainly offensive in the end. I will have to dodge until she gives me an opening and strike without mercy. Hesitation will lose you the fight against fighters that know what they are doing. The only worry I had was falling for a fake opening. That is where the difference in experience comes to play.
Not willing to lose the fight before it starts I banish the worries from my head. Finally, Valtrauta, leader of the Valkyrior, walks towards us to start the examination. I quite like Valtrauta, she has a level head, allows no dissent among her ranks and judges reasonably if arguments arise. Furthermore, I learned quite a bit of swordplay from her. Both of us prefer to change fighting styles according to opponents and adjusting to situations and using every resource available. Which meant preparing information before the fights happen. Her favourite teaching was "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win" and it showed in her serving record. She was highly decorated and widely celebrated as one of Asgards heroes. And if we were indeed in the MCU, she should be the future lover of Brunnhilde.
I tried quite hard to befriend her but so does half Asgard. Anyway, I was always hard working and kind to my fellow recruits. So I should have left a positive image at the very least.
As she arrived before Skeggjöld and me, she took a moment to gaze upon us. Probably to check if both of us are not a victim of some kind of malicious scheme. I assume she judged us battle-ready as she began to speak.
"Skeggjöld. Hela. I expect a clean fight without any accidents. You are here to let Hela be judged if she has learnt enough to be called valkyrie. That means I expect that while both of you to fight with full strength, there will be no killing blow."
"No worries Valtrauta, I'll show the little princess how a real valkyrie fights." countered my opponent with a laugh. "This will be over soon, and we can get some ale to celebrate my victory."
Instead of answering, I lowered my stance to increase my mobility and lucky that I did. Since the next words out of Valtrauta were "You may start." and as if it was a starting shot Skeggjöld launched with a mighty leap in my direction and fiercely chomped at me with her axe. Dodging the swing with a small jump to the right was the right decision as she shattered the ground where I stood just a few moments earlier. The crowd seemed to love that the action finally begun as the cheering started loudly. Not wanting to give up her momentum, Skeggjöld jumped into my direction and this time launched a horizontal slash to hit me even mid-dodge. Seeing the move coming I bend backwards and dodge underneath her weapon hoping to catch her by surprise. I underestimated her momentum however as she didn't stop her dash instead decided to kick me with her knee. I barely was able to guard my chest before I was hit. Not fighting against the force of the hit I started flying back a couple of meters to gain some distance before landing safely on my feet. Not wanting to let me breathe Skeggjöld begun her next dash towards me. Hoping to surprise her I grab a throwing knife I hid on my backside of belt and throw it towards her.
The widening of her eyes betrayed her, but she was still fast enough to use her weapon to neutralise the trap. This is, however, the opportunity I was waiting for as I follow my knife towards her. Since she was full swing, I use this opening to stab into her left shoulder and see my blade coming out of her back. Not wasting a second I instantly leave my blade and pull out to put some distance between us. I hear the crowd letting out a massive gasp before continuing their cheers. Skeggjöld herself just let out a grunt eying her wound and quickly removes the blade to regain some mobility. She knows that she won't be able to put the same force into her attacks as before losing a crucial advantage. So instead of continuing her onslaught, she kept waiting for my next move. She knew that having no weapon was not disadvantageous in this situation.
So we stood just a couple of meters from another staring. Neither really out of breath because the fight hadn't been long enough. I knew the wound was deep enough so that even Asgardian accelerated healing wouldn't close it anytime soon. As it were, I was in no rush to attack. I knew she was ready and also hoping I would get close to her. No, I would keep my distance for the moment. Instead, I began moving in half circle to get the sun behind me. Content to give me this advantage Skeggjöld just turned on the spot no doubt hoping this would finally give me a reason to attack. Instead, I prepared my next surprise. I undid my belt which was, in reality, a whip with an iron spike at the end. I had hidden the whip itself under my shirt. It was the first time I used such a tactic, so I was certain Skeggjöld hadn't expected a thing. Like every valkyrie we both were proficient with a dozen different weapons and ambidextrous. The only difference between each sword sister was the level of proficiency depending on their individual fighting style. I usually prefer a broadsword since it allowed me a couple of fighting styles for close combat, throwing knives for midrange and energy weapons for long range combat. In the future, I will concentrate on adding magic for versatility to my arsenal. This whip was special though, it had a specially made hook. It was made out of dwarven forged steel which had cost me a fortune. But being princess had its own perks. Since I no longer needed to get close to attack, I whipped at my foe. Skeggjöld simply used her axe as a shield, but she underestimated my weapon. Dwarven steel is costly for a reason. The axe she used shattered under the might of my pinpoint attack as she was not quick enough to pull back. I instantly launched another attack.
Having no other choice, she jumped backwards. Since I had the initiative now, I tried to stay in range for additional attacks. Skeggjöld experience was showing again though. After my first surprise, she masterfully dodged every coming attack and skillfully kept her distance. I could see her appraising her options. She was in a dire situation but hadn't yet lost hope. I needed to end this quickly but how. Then the result of my next swing caught me by surprise. Skeggjöld decided to grab my whip with her right hand injuring it in the process. Seeing a new opportunity, I simply let go and jumped towards my previously discarded sword and picked it up with roll. Skeggjöld clearly didn't expect my continued switching of tactics as she was again caught unaware and started to frown. With an injured left shoulder and the right hand, she could barely hold a weapon. She was not proficient enough in the use of the whip to content against my swordplay. I could see her anger rising as she knew she would be bested. Clearly, Valtrauta made the same call as she jumped in between us and quickly declared: "The victor is Hela Odinsdottir." before Skeggjöld would do something she regretted.
And if I had thought the crowd was loud before the next wave of applause brought the noise on a whole new level. Other sword sisters were rushing towards Skeggjöld to bring her medical attention. I noticed that none gratulated me, but I didn't care for the moment. I had done it, I bested a valkyrie. Proud of myself I let a rare smile appear on my face