The next morning, Virdi awoke from her fitful sleep and readied herself to bid her companions farewell. Birz and Isaac and Erdif would be riding home today with one less rider. The cold flagstones shocked her feet as she rolled out of the bed. They were so unlike the dirt floors usually warmed by the fires in her tribe's tents.
"You had best adapt to it, cold stones are the least of your worries," she thought. Shedding her sleep tunic, Virdi donned her leathers and pulled on her dusty boots. Clasping her grey hooded cloak once more, she tugged at the large door to her guest chambers and it creaked open.
Virdi found her way through the palace without much aid. Many of the palace residents had not awoken yet. She met the three in one of the lesser halls. Both the Allfather and his queen were absent. Actually, the entire hall was empty, save the four riders. Not even a servant scuttled between the sloping columns.
"They thought it would be better to allow us privacy. They thought we might…become emotional at our parting," spoke Erdif. He wore a simple gold chain around his long neck. Virdi thought it looked out of place partially hidden under his worn cloak. Perhaps he had liked the finery of the palace after all. Birz stood next to him, looking mournful.
"I told them it wasn't necessary, that you were prepared. I suppose they thought it prudent, still." Isaac's voice wavered. He looked older, with his shoulders stooped, as though the past night had lasted an age. Virdi nodded stiffly. "That said, your presence will be missed." He offered her a bony hand and she took it firmly. After, he turned and walked out of the hall swiftly without looking back. The child's heart stung slightly, but she did not expect more of her teacher. Erdif nodded his head at her slightly and followed. He was the least likely candidate to let things weigh on his conscience.
Birz approached and hesitantly placed his heavy hand on her shoulder one last time. He always did wear his heart on his sleeve. Virdi found that she might miss his honest and good-natured smiles. His deep voice was the quietest she had ever heard it as he spoke. "We will hear great tales of you, Virdi. Perhaps one day, you will be the one that tells them to us."
Virdi quavered at the thought of seeing them, or anyone, again. What would they think of her? What would they think of what she had become? What would Migr think? "It is unlikely I will return. My duty is here, and here I shall remain." She repeated the words told to her since birth like they were a prayer. The vast man nodded and clapped her back before taking several heavy steps out of the hall. She thought she saw a tear in his eye, but dismissed it.
And so Virdi Sokndottir stood alone in one of the palace halls of Asgard as her last links to her home vanished. To her, it seemed that loneliness itself had personified into a beast of great proportions and settled itself onto her chest. She felt that the demon of change had finally come to collect her very soul. But, had someone peeked into the chamber, they would see only a little girl in a cloak standing alone in the center of the room.
Virdi had been invited into a different area of the palace and given a new room. This one was even larger than the last. The roaring fireplace was always lit and lush carpets warmed the stone floor. Her first weeks there, Virdi didn't know what to do with the things in the room. Her confusion seemed greater in the cavern that was to be her quarters. The first thing she had done was place all pillows on the overstuffed couch in front of the fire, followed quickly by the feather-stuffed comforter. Virdi did not sleep on that bed that night, or the next.
During the first five nights of her stay, Virdi had actually stood outside the prince's doors each night, all night and grown so tired that she would fall asleep during her training the next day. It wasn't until Queen Frigga had exited Thor's room very late one night did she notice the slumped figure of the young girl leaned against the wall between her sons' rooms. She had gone to comfort Thor from his nightmare and missed the little girl slowly sliding to the floor in her sleep. Her heart both broke a bit and swelled as she saw her dedication.
Frigga had had her doubts that a little girl would do well for her sons but in that moment, she realized that the three would undoubtedly grow to become inseparable. The Allmother had knelt down to the child's huddled form and placed a gentle hand on her back. She shook Virdi awake. The girl stirred, then shot upright and started to apologize quickly. The Queen put a finger to her lips and placed the smaller hand in the crook of her arm. She led the half-asleep girl down the short hall to her new rooms, which were already close to the princes'.
"Virdi, there is no need for you to stand watch outside my sons' rooms during the night. We do have other guards." Frigga gently opened her door and eyed the pillows and comforter on the couch.
"But-" began Virdi, but the elder woman interrupted.
"No buts, dear. You need your rest and rest you shall receive, tonight and all other nights. Do you take my meaning?" asked the queen. Virdi nodded, hiding a yawn. Frigga smiled and helped her into bed. She noticed the girl unconsciously cringe at the silken sheets, but soft snores filled her ears soon after.
Virdi did not repeat her nightly vigil at the prince's doors again. The boys never knew.
The morning after her visit from Queen Frigga, plain, simply-woven linen sheets were placed on her bed.
"Why do you not join us, Virdi?" asked Thor for what seemed like the hundredth time. Virdi was standing away from the long table where the two young boys sat eating their evening meal. As was usual, the larger prince was spilling drink everywhere and had his plate piled high with food. His utensils seemed useless as they glittered next to his plate. In contrast, his younger brother daintily raised his fork to his lips as he read an old tome. His clothes were immaculate. "Do you not eat?" Thor asked again.
Virdi did not falter in her stance, but her hands tightened behind her back. For three weeks he had asked her to join them and she had stood resolute. It was almost enough to irritate her. The servants had asked her only once.
"It is not my duty to join you in your meals, my Prince."
"But surely you were not forbidden from it, Virdi! Come, sit!" Thor's persistence was wearing upon her and Virdi opened her mouth, ready to make a short statement that she did not do things unspecified by her duty, when the doors to the dining chamber opened. Queen Frigga floated in with her dress gently trailing behind her and a glittering smile on her lips. Virdi quickly bowed from her waist and remained that way as the Allmother greeted her sons.
"Thor, you surely know better than to ignore your manners? Are you a wild beast?" She picked up the discarded napkin next to him and wiped his face. Virdi almost smiled at the floor in her bow. "And Loki! What have I said about reading at the table? You will damage the books!" The pale prince muttered and put down the book after carefully marking his place. The queen turned and her smile faltered.
"Virdi, what ever are you doing?" Concern filled her voice and Virdi nearly frowned. What was wrong?
"I am bowing, your majesty, as one does when in your presence." Her tone was neutral, if a bit questioning. "Do you wish me to bend my knee-?"
"No, Virdi, rise," She said sharply. "You needn't bow to me during supper."
The young girl did as she was told and felt confused. She had done fitting to her station and the Queen was upset. "I have displeased you." Both boys looked to their mother and saw that she forced a smile. They, too, were bewildered. Like her, they had wondered why their female companion bowed every time she saw a member of their family and waited for their say to stand again.
"No, young one, you have not displeased me. It is quite…honorable that you have such a strong sense of propriety." Virdi puffed up at the Queen's praise. "But, it is unnecessary that you bow to me or to my sons every time you see them."
"Is it your wish?" asked Virdi. The Queen smiled again and nodded slightly. "Then it shall be done, Your Highness."
The Queen nodded and smiled pleasantly. She gracefully motioned her hand to the table where her sons sat. Loki quickly stood and circled the table, grasping the chair before his mother and pulling it out for her. She placed a hand on his shoulder and thanked him quietly. The dark haired prince resumed his seat and once again picked up his utensils.
"Virdi, surly you will join us while Mother is here?" asked Thor slyly, his eyes shifting passed his heaped plate to the Queen. Virdi tensed again and her eyes flicked to Thor's in a glare that rivaled that of a raging bildgesnipe. She opened her mouth, ready to snap at the elder prince.
"Yes, dear! Come, join us! I am eager to hear of your first weeks here!" The Queen daintily raised her hand to an empty seat next to Thor and across from another empty chair. Both boys sat next to their mother. Virdi hesitated and stared at the seat stupidly.
Never had any of her tutors thought to inform her of what should be done if she was invited to dine with the royal family. Thor had been right when he said her duties stated she couldn't feast with them, but no one had said she could.
The Allmother saw the confusion in the young girl's eyes and felt guilt. In the past few weeks, she had not had time to look in upon her son's guardian. Her resolve, however, to push the three together had not wavered. "Virdi, it is quite right of you to join us for meals. You are to be with all of us for a long while; to be a companion to my sons for eons. Come, sit, and tell me of your day."
Virdi did not know what to think of her words. They confused her, but she stiffly walked to the chair. Thor jolted up and clumsily pulled her chair out for her with a large, good-natured grin on his round face. Frigga's smile widened and she picked up her fork once more.
"Today, Your Highness, I awoke at dawn and went to my morning training." Virdi said quietly. She hesitantly reached for several fruits and a small portion of bread, bypassing the large array of meats and cheeses. This did not go unnoticed by the observant Queen of the Nine Realms.
"And what did Hugo instruct you in this morn?"
"How to distinguish and attack the weak parts of an enemies skull," said Virdi bluntly as she lifted her cup to her lips. Thor started laughing into his food and Loki's lips quirked. Queen Frigga's smile shrunk. Virdi rethought her words.
"My apologies, Your Highnesses, that is not something discussed over a meal."
Thor's laugh grew. Virdi felt her shame and embarrassment rise, but refused to let red stain her cheeks in a blush.
"Hush, Thor." Scolded the queen. She turned toward the black-haired girl. "Virdi, you answered my question honestly. There is no need to be ashamed. The weak parts of the skull can be used in healing as well, I am no stranger to it."
Virdi nodded and returned her gaze to her plate. Frigga's words instantly flushed the feelings of embarrassment from her veins and Virdi wondered at the feeling. She enjoyed the presence of the Allmother and sought to speak further.
"I am…not blessed… with words. Where I come from, it is common for us to weigh them carefully, then not to choose one."
Frigga nodded thoughtfully as she sipped her wine. Thor, next to her, nodded at Loki. "Fear not, fair Virdi, for my brother is most gifted in the ways of speech. He is quite able-minded." Loki's pale cheeks colored slightly, but he smirked at Thor.
Virdi nodded slightly, tore a piece of her bread, and silently put it in her mouth. The Queen could tell that that was all the younger Aesir would expose this night.
"You say this only because you think it will save you next time you get yourself into trouble!" Loki declared ruefully. Thor's laugh rang out again, followed by Frigga's dainty laugh.
"It is you who manages to get into trouble in the first place!" cries Thor. He turned to Virdi, who was quietly chewing a grape. "You mustn't trust a word he says, the Trickster! Once, he slipped a snake across a maid's foot and caused her to drop the washings for the whole family!"
Loki smiled sheepishly as her looked at his frowning mother. "She was quite safe, Mother. No real harm was done."
That night, Virdi swiftly shut her chamber door after the two boys bid her a goodnight.
"What I don't understand, brother," Thor had said as they all had reached their allotted doors, "is why you said the maid was safe! The snake was quite poisonous and almost bit her!"
Loki had turned from his door and smirked wolfishly back at Virdi and Thor. "I never said the maid was alright. The snake, however, was never in any real danger."
Back in her room, Virdi allowed herself to snort quietly at the two prince's antics.
So, here is Chapter 2! Do you like? Dislike? Is anyone reading? Please follow, favorite, or leave a review!
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