My Valhalla.
Chapter 1 - Asgard
As the bright morning sun beat down through the huge windows of the palace in the clouds a girl stirred in her bed trying to cling onto her dreams.
The yellow sun slid across the white wooden furniture making the room come alive. All of the room was a brilliant white not a speck of dust or dirt, the carpet was not worn or black but a soft dazzling white. Resting comfortably on the fluffy cloud like carpet was a large canopy bed with white net curtains enclosing the sleeping place of the beautiful girl. Her chocolate brown hair created a background for her angelic face free from blemishes and imperfections. She looked almost dead in her sleeping her arms lay perfectly still above the blanket which did not have a single wrinkle. Her pink cheeks and the rising and falling of her chest were the only signs of life. Suddenly and with out warning she grabbed the pillow that was under her head and turned it at an angle spinning on to her side she clung to the pillow, her head still resting on it. She tried to burry her face into the pillow to catch onto the last remnants of her wonderful dreams.
With inhuman grace one of the white doors was silently opened and a beautiful woman drifted into the room. She had the most grace ever seen and she seemed to make no noise as she moved across the room. Blond hair flowed freely down her back only pulled out of her face by the perfect plats that wound the front pieces back. She lithely pulled back one part of the curtains and bent over the sleeping girl. Her soft gray eyes scanned the girls face lovingly as a mother would do her child.
"Isabella, It is time to rise," The woman's voice was that of an angels fluid and perfect, soft and gentle.
"Please mother, Just a little longer," The young woman pleaded softly not opening her eyes but squeezing them tighter shut.
A smile grazed the woman's lips and a chuckle escape them.
"You dreamt of him again?" She asked, though not needing an answer.
Isabella's face flushed a magnificent pink and she sat up slowly, reaching for her bed side table. Pulling open the drawer she revealed a messy space stuffed full of pencils, pens and other very artistic material. Under it all she pulled out a book. It was made of a black material but bore a strange crest in the middle that had been set into the material and was made of sliver.
"What is this child?" She asked her fingers ghosting over the image.
Isabella ducked her head and a darker pink tainted her cheeks.
"It is his families crest," She admitted "I had Brookr & Eitri make it for me as a favour."
"May I?" Her mother asked politely. Isabella nodded and the woman gently flipped open the book.
It was filled with page after page of detailed and exquisite drawings. Their were a few of her family but mostly they were a man sometimes others are with him, sometimes he is alone.
The last image however was not a face nor a family but a scene. A meadow, beautifully simple but yet still perfect, each leaf was drawn with perfection, Pride shone from the mothers face as she took in all the little details, the barest hint of a small trickling river, a small fawn grazing in the trees, she had drawn it in such a way that you could see the light as it split through the trees.
"You have been drinking from the Spring of Urd." The mother said in a lightly scolding tone. "Nothing is set in stone, Remember that my dear" she said softly, the sad look that now donned her face was unnatural.
"I can not help but be hopeful" Isabella sighed taking the book from her mothers hands and closing it gently placing it back in its home in the security of the drawer.
"I shall send in Rana to help you prepare" her mother said bowing her head slightly to the girl and exiting the room in the same manner she had entered it. Isabella sighed and pushed the covers back. She was wearing a white silk night gown with a simple blue design around the hem.
On the front wall leading out of the room was the white double doors her mother had just exited through. On the right side their was two more sets of double doors. Gingerly a head appeared around the first door.
"Miss your bath has been drawn" A voice said strongly and a woman with back length brown hair appeared her hair was expertly into two perfect plats at either side of her head, she walked out the door way and opened the next set of pure white doors revealing a wardrobe.
"Thank you Rana" Isabella said soft padding her way across the room. When Isabella was first brought to Asgard and she met Rana she had hoped they could be friends but Rana was shy and did not think Isabella's father, would approve.
The bath was huge in fact it was more like a small swimming pool and Isabella loved it greatly. Rana had poured in the strawberry body wash and the whole room smelled strongly of them. It also helped that someone had put a small plate of chopped strawberries beside the edge of the small swimming pool. She lounged in the water until there was a knock at the door signalling she must get dressed.
A pail blue gown was left over her bed , it was simple and elegant, Ranna had left a little pair of blue shoes on the ground.
Once she was dressed and had dismissed Ranna she left the room through the magnificent double doors and began her journey down the long winding corridors.
The walls were cover in pictures of her family. She ghosted her fingers along them all until she came to the picture of her brother Balder and his wife Nanna holding a very small Foreti. She reached up on her tip toes and kissed Balder and Nanna on the cheek, As she has done since the day he died and every day she gives him a cheeky smile just like the one he gave her the morning he died.
*Flashback*
Isabella had just risen for the day, she was walking down the stairs towards the breakfast room. Balder was already sitting at the table shovelling food into his mouth.
"The way you eat, you'd think Nanna doesn't feed you at home" She laughed plonking her self down in her seat facing him.
"I'm going fighting today" He said as a way of explanation. A frown appeared on Isabella's face. She did not like the idea of him fighting.
He looked up catching her glare.
"Pretty faces like yours should not frown" He sighed.
"Important men with families that need them should not fight carelessly," She said stubbornly.
Balder grabbed something from around his neck and pulled it off.
He grasped her hand and pressed something into it, Closing her fist around it he stood and kissed her forehead.
"You should not worry so much" He laughed giving her a small cheeky grin and strode from the room.
Isabella could not help but worry, recently he had been having dreams of his death. In order to prevent this their mother Frigg had catalogued everything that could possibly harm him. She had went out and got assurances from the nine worlds that nothing would harm Balder. This was not hard to do because Balder was one of the most love gods.
Tonight there was to be a gathering to celebrate it.
When he had left the room she opened her hand. Resting in her hand was a delicate silver chain and nestled into her palm was a vial with a clear liquid swimming in it. Isabella put the chain around her neck and clasped it tightly.
Everyone was drinking and toasting to Balder's success. Someone flicked a small stone at him but it bounced off. Everyone decided to test his invulnerability bigger weapons were used even Thor's mighty hammer but all refused to hurt him. Isabella smiled and laughed at the very idea that anything could hurt him. Until she saw the red hair of Loki the trickster whispering in the ear of her other brother Hod who was blind. She watched him press something into Hod's hand and held it up to help him aim. Time seemed to stop and everything seemed to go in slow motion. A branch of mistletoe left Hod's hands and flew straight at Balder. She screamed because her mother revealed to her that there was one thing she hadn't asked because she thought it too small and inconsequential. That one thing was mistletoe. Everyone was silent as the branch caught in Balder's chest and he fell to the ground.
Their mother and Nanna fell to the ground at his side and wept. Her father turned to Hod and Isabella's tear stained face followed their gaze looking for Loki but he was gone. Isabella wept and reached for the necklace Balder had given her just this morning at breakfast.
The celebration turned to lamentation. A funeral pyre was made and everyone placed their most valuable worldly possessions as gifts upon the pyre. Nanna knelt down beside the pyre and wept. Suddenly she stopped and was still. She had died with her beloved husband. Her body was placed beside Balder's and the pyre was lit. As she watched the flames lick further up the pyre towards her brother and his wife the vial in her hand began to grow warm and glow lightly.
She glanced down and in her hands the vial was glowing a pure white light. Suddenly there was a voice in front of her. There in front of her was her brother. He was glowing slightly and she could see through him.
"I have given you a most precious gift." He said but his voice was nothing more than a ghostly whisper. "It is my light" Isabella sobbed harder and clutched at the necklace. Balder began to fade away and she called to him desperately to come back.
"May it be a light for you in dark places when all other lights go out." His voice now was nothing more than a whisper in the wind.
*Flashback ends*
She smiled at the memory and continued on the journey down the hall.
She kissed her Mother on the cheek as she made her way around the table. Food was already laid out. Her father strode into the room taking his seat at the head of the table.
"Good morning Father" Isabella smiled and stood to give him a kiss on the cheek and a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist because that's all she could reach and buried her face in his chest.
As he hugged his daughter a frown set on his face, he was going to miss her.
"Is there anything you require Odin?" One of the servants asked him as she sat down at his place but he merely shook his head dismissing them.
The table was quiet as they all ate in science.
"Isabella?" He father said clearing his throat.
She looked up from her plate.
"Your mother and I had a talk this morning and she mentioned your drawings" He said somewhat uncomfortably.
Isabella turned a bright red and darted a sad look of disappointment at her mother.
"We think its time you found your husband" He said uncertainly. A smile grazed her lips.
"We know you have followed his family from it began" He said slightly scolding, he did not believe that they should mess with the lives of the humans. She turned bright red at the though of being caught.
"We think it would be good for you to maybe spend some time down in Midgard with them" He said.
"Really!" She gasped. He nodded and she threw back her chair and ran towards him. She hugged him quickly before hugging her mother.
"Thank You" She gushed. "This means so much to me,"
"Have a seat, there are some rules" Odin said in a serious tone. She obeyed immediately.
"I will be arranging for you to stay with someone and I will send a visitor to watch over you" He said seriously. "You must remember even if the humans do not know it you are representing our race when you are there and I expect you to behave like it."
Isabella nodded vigorously "Of course" she replied immediately.
"You leave sometime tomorrow so I suggest you go and retrieve the things you do not wish to part with," Her mother said softly.
"There are no words to describe how much joy you have brought me" She said and joyously skipped to her room. Pausing to curtsey at everyone that waked past her who were all laughing at her antics.
She bounced into her room only to stop abruptly at the sight of a small bundle of brown fur huddled in her blankets.
She walked over to it slowly, It was a small kitten sleeping curled in a ball. She put her weight on the bed and it woke. It had the strangest coloured fur it was rusty brown and he had emerald green eyes.
"Hello there" she giggled laying down beside him. He meowed lightly and crawled on top of her stomach making her laugh even more.
"What are you doing here" She asked the kitten as if it would answer her.
There was a knock at the door. A tall woman walked trough the door and laughed at the sight of Isabella and the small cat on the bed.
"Do you like him?" She asked. She was beautiful and perfect in everyway. Her red hair seemed to shine and her smile could make you dizzy.
"He's yours?" Isabella asked sitting up but keeping the kitten on her lap and stroking him.
"No" The woman said coming to sit beside her. "He's yours" She giggled as he nudged his wet nose into the palm of her hand.
"Freya! Really?" She asked and the red haired, hazel eyed woman nodded.
"What shall I name him?" She wondered thoughtfully.
Freya smiled at the girl, what Isabella didn't know is that the kitten was her way of keeping an eye on her when she was on Midgard.
"I think Mani fits" She mused.
"Mani is good" Freya smiled "He is my gift to you for your travels" Her face became saddened.
"I will miss you dearly" Isabella sighed and reached over to hug her best friend. Freya was the one of the people Isabella was closest to apart from her parents.
"I think there are a few more people who wish to see you" Freya said releasing her friend. "I will watch Mani"
Isabella thanked her for her gracious gift as she floated down the corridors towards the outdoors.
The sun was now high in the sky and flowers in full bloom. She sees a figure coming out of the trees, they had long blond hair tied back in a pony tail and a muscular build. It is Freyr she decides as they get closer to each to each other.
"What were you doing?" She asked. Squinting up at him.
"Ensuring your protection with the elves" He said. "When you move in the forest they will know and then so will I" He glanced back to the forest once more and nodded.
They walked at a small stream and sat down at the waters edge.
"I'm going to miss you" She said sadly reaching over and hugging him.
"And I you" He sighed. Looking at the water, the bright sun was glinting of its surface making everything near it glow. The water was clear as the sky and clean as newly polished marble.
"You should not leave" He said suddenly, Isabella shocked by his revelation could not form words, Did he not want her to be happy?
"I will miss our time together" He said as way of explanation. Isabella nodded in agreement. Freyr was her protector, the one person she called to in times of need. For Freyr was her finder. He saved her from something she did not know to fear and shielded her from enemies she did understand and he hoped she never would.
He reached up to untie his hair allowing it to flow around his face. Leaning down he captured her hand. Lifting it towards him. He kept her wrist hidden from her as best he could until the band was securely tied around it.
He dropped her hand and looked out across the water once more.
She lifted her wrist and tied carefully around it was a woven leather band with the letter F in twisted metal secured in the middle.
"Thank you" She sniffed standing up and placing a quick kiss on the top of his head.
Isabella saddened by Freyr's feelings toward her leaving made her way towards
The spring of Urd to pay a last visit to the three sisters she had come to love so dearly.
Urdur looked the youngest, she was the size of a child not even ten years old with wild bushy brown hair that was very curly and had sharp blue eyes. She was the Norn of the past, she has seen everything that had come to pass and the choices people have made in the past. Although she looks like a child she has the wisdom of someone much older.
Then there was her older sister Verdandi she has the features of someone aged twenty two or so. She was like her sister in that she has blue eyes and brown hair, but unlike her sister her hair was mostly straight with a few curls. Verdandi was the Norn of the Present she saw things as they happened and could on some occasions read the thoughts of the people on Midgard but only what they were thinking in that moment.
The eldest Norn sister was Skuld who although the same age as her sisters looked like a much older woman, her face wrinkled and her movements slow, she looked to be aged seventy maybe even older. She had the same blue eyes her sisters possessed but Isabella did not know what her hair was shaped like as the elderly woman always kept her hood up concealing her head. Skuld was the Norn of the future she saw what has yet to come to pass, she rarely revealed what she has seen but when she does she is never wrong or at least Isabella hoped she was not.
As she walked along the side of the river leading to the spring Isabella pulled of her shoes and carried them by their straps, stopping occasionally to dip her foot daintily into the cold clear water. She couldn't help but wonder what life on Midgard was going to be like. She knew about all the modern things mortals have come up with in the past but they were never allowed in Asgard. By the time she got to the spring she was almost frantic with worry. What if he though she was stupid for not understanding? What if she did not fit in? What if no one liked her?
Verdandi saw her worried expression and pulled her into a comforting embrace.
"What am I going to do?" She whispered into Verdandi's shoulder.
"You need to trust," She responded cryptically.
"Trust in what?" Isabella sniffed.
"Yourself" Skuld croaked. Isabella looked to the woman curiously. Skuld was gazing into the deep waters of the spring with a peaceful expression. She could since that Isabella had many questions but not the boldness to ask them.
"You will be denied for 7 days" The elderly woman whispered never braking her gaze from the rushing water. Isabella's throat seemed to tightened and more tears leaked from her eyes, He did not in fact want her back.
"We know of the grave secret you dare not tell anyone else" Skuld's voice had changed it was darker and seemed more sinister. "He will try to fight it for you and will nearly fail many times." Isabella nodded weakly never speaking back.
"He will try to run, to spare your life but after 7 days he will return" Skuld's voice returned to normal and she coughed once as if her throat was merely hoarse.
"You will be okay" Little Urdur said hugging Isabella's waist as she could reach no higher.
"He will see how wonderful you are," The small girl spoke with such conviction that it brought more tears to Isabella's eyes. Verdandi gently reached down and whispered into Urdur's ear. What ever she said made the child scurry to their house beside the water. Verdandi handed Isabella a tissue to dry her eyes. There was a loud bang startling them all and Urdur came running back outside with something clenched in her hands. She handed what ever it was to Verdandi and whispered back in her ear.
In Verdandi's hand was a small crystal bottle with a smoky silver liquid inside.
"It is the small fairy girls memories, When you took them upon yourself I was forced to duplicate them, She will want to know" Urdur stated simply as her older sister handed Isabella the bottle.
She gave each of the sisters a final hug and allowed herself another few tears before turning to leave.
"Your decisions are made and your path set," Skuld said into the wind. "You are always looking ahead towards your destination but do not forget your starting place."
There was a boom of thunder and black clouds over head that Isabella had not noticed before began to pelt rain down upon them.
"Oh… and …never lock your window always leave it open" The three women giggled before retreating back into the warmth of their home.