AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up but I'm in China right now and I will be until the end of July. I spend most of my day surrounded by six to nine year olds who don't speak much English, which is utterly exhausting, and my only internet access it through a shared computer at he school where I work.

On the plus side I did bring my own computer with me, it just doesn't have Internet access, so I have been working on my stories. As evidenced here. Chapters 1 to 3 have been edited (mostly fixing minor mistakes, no need to reread), chapters 4 & 5 have been completed and edited (5 will be up next week), and chapter 6 is almost done (and will hopefully be up in two weeks time).

I hope you enjoy,

Star.

PS: Feel free to point out any mistakes. I'll fix them when I post the next chapter.

Chapter 4

Urd blinked, the light dazzling her after the absolute darkness of the portal. When her vision cleared she realised that she was in a large bare room, lit by torches on the wall, the only item aside from that being a tapestry on the far wall – the six pointed star that was the Seal of Nifelheim. The room was vaguely familiar, something from her long forgotten infancy.

Beneath the tapestry the Daimakaicho stood in all her glory. Her power, here in her own territory, was enough to make Urd shiver in fear…and awe.

"Welcome home, Urd-chan."

"Hild-sama," she replied, being sure to keep her voice respectful. As a goddess she had had some leeway. As a demon she could not afford to anger the woman who had absolute control over her future.

"This way." Hild swept out of the room, obviously expecting her to follow.

As they walked through halls lit only by glowing crystals Urd began to remember this place. This was Hild's private retreat, a fortress that only a handful knew about and even fewer had access to. The room they had arrived in was the Reception Hall, the only way in (although there were several escape points).

They stopped in front of an elaborately carved wooden door, which Hild opened with a wave of her hand, obviously not in the mood to limit her casual displays of power.

Urd gasped. It was actually a lot less elaborate than many places she had stayed in, hardly indicative of her mothers rank, but it was hauntingly familiar.

FLASHBACK

A five year old Urd sat on the couch, a large book on her lap. Hild sat beside her, one arm around her shoulder while her other hand pointed out a word on the page, explaining what it meant.

They looked happy, Urd looking up and grinning at her mother while Hild smiled down at her fondly.

END FLASHBACK

She had spent most of her early childhood in these rooms, before she was left in Asgard, the only other residents her mother and a handful of servants. She had rarely seen anyone else, Hild being extremely paranoid about her welfare. It had been a rather lonely existence but she had been happy here, she hadn't needed anyone else. Hild had been mother, teacher and playmate in one.

She had done her best to forget later, when her mother had suddenly abandoned her in a world that was completely unfamiliar. But the memories had never truly been gone, only buried, and being here again was bringing them back to light.

"Do you remember this place, Urd-chan?"

"H…hai."

Hild smiled then, one of her rare true smiles that Urd remembered from childhood, a smile that held no devious undertones, just approval. "Good. Your room is the same one as before. Feel free to change it as you like, as you will be staying here for some time. I have some work to do finalising your new status."

Urd nodded in acknowledgement.

Her room was actually pretty neat. A bookcase to one side held a collection of demonic spellbooks and textbooks and a few things scattered around seemed to be remnants from her childhood but other than that it was almost identical to her room back at the Temple. Even the bookcase had plenty of room left for her own collection. Obviously Hild had been snooping.

She smiled slightly and set about putting her belongings in their proper places. Then she began to brew a new potion, needing to unwind after recent events. She'd had this idea for customising a lust potion so that the consumer fell for a person of the brewer's choice…

Hild smirked as she peered into Urd's room just in time to see a potion blow up in her face. Urd-chan obviously hadn't lost her fascination with potions. Good. A potions maker of her daughter's calibre could be extremely useful – once the girl reworked all those 'true love' clauses that the Asgard Council insisted upon. And as a mother it was nice to know her daughter's hobbies.

She left as silently as she had entered. There would be plenty of time to introduce Urd to her new training in the morning. It wasn't as if she could start tonight anyway.

'Wake up, Urd-chan!'

Urd groaned at the sound of her mother's voice echoing in her head, the mental shout waking her far more effectively than a vocal one would have.

'I expect you in the main room in ten minutes.'

Just great. She hated mornings and it was barely…she glanced at her (rarely used) alarm clock…six o'clock?! Kami-sama, Hild was as bad as Belldandy.

She tumbled out of bed, a quick spell fixing her hair, while another conjured a fresh outfit, a v-necked top and a pair of tight but comfortable trousers. She had a feeling that she might want to go for 'comfortable' rather than 'sexy'. She had no idea what Hild would have her do and besides, she could always change later.

"Eat," Hild ordered her as she entered the main room, gesturing towards the second place at the table. "Keiko made it specially."

Urd blinked, trying to recall the name, then smiled as she managed to place it. Keiko was the head servant and cook at the Fortress.

She smiled, welcoming the sight of porridge as well as toast, eggs and bacon. Japanese cooking was nice, but she had missed European food. Yes, strictly speaking she didn't have to eat, deriving all her energy from Yggdrasil (Nidhegg now), with only sake giving her any actual benefit, but everyone welcomed a meal once in a while.

Besides, Keiko was almost as good a cook as Belldandy.

"I've placed you in the system as a demon second class, trainee," Hild informed her once they finished eating. "You'll remain at that status until I'm satisfied that you've learnt what you need to."

Urd nodded, not protesting the demotion. While she had the power and control necessary for a full licence she was well aware that there was a great deal of difference between the duties of a goddess and a demon.

Hild indicated a terminal that had been set up by the window.

"The programme running there is a training simulation for the use of Nidhegg, given to all trainee demons. When you complete one scenario another is randomly generated. You need to complete ten in a row without a single mistake in order to pass."

Urd looked at her in shock. "But…" Trainee was one thing, but she had been Yggdrasil System Administrator, for Kami's sake! Despite Skuld's opinion of her she had better computer skills than 99.9 of the divine population. What was the point in that sort of baby exercise?

"Do it," Hild ordered, eyes narrowing.

Urd gulped, recognising the danger signs. "Hai," she agreed hastily.

Hld smiled. "Well, get to it then."

Urd cursed as for the third time in less than two hours the simulation rebooted back to the start. She could get to a certain point and no further, despite the fact that she was doing something she had done a million times before.

She paused then, remembering an old conversation with Mara, back when they were both still in training. Something about…different protocols…

A slow grin spread across her face. This wasn't about lack of faith in her abilities, or even about annoying her, it was about differences in programming between the two systems! She hopped down to the floor, heading for her room. She had seen a programming book amongst the others left for her.

Hild had left for Nidhegg control shortly after Urd began her task but she had been watching her progress on an extra screen. She smiled as she saw her daughter retrieve the book she had left for this very purpose and begin to read. She had begun to wonder how long it would take Urd-chan to realise the true point of this exercise. It was no true loss if she hadn't – she would have told her at the end of the day – but that she had was a good sign.

Urd had a bad habit of not thinking things through and acting on instinct. It was a trait that was acceptable in a lower level demon, or goddess, but one which would stop her from ever reaching First Class status. As a result it needed to be trained out of her. Her reactions now gave Hild hope that it wouldn't be as hard as she first thought.

It took her five days to read through that book and be sure that she'd understood it properly, completing the first scenario as she did so. Five extremely boring days – no one had ever come up with a way to make a programming textbook interesting, even if the activity itself could be fascinating.

She'd never admit to anyone that she had actually liked her job. Skuld would never let her hear the end of it

It took her one more day to complete the next two scenarios, making minor mistakes on the way. Frustratingly one of these mistakes was made just before she would have completed it.

The next ten scenarios she completed in two and a half days, her speed increasing each time until the last scenario was finished almost as quickly as she could have done on Yggdrasil.

The moment she completed the last scenario a timer appeared on the screen, along with a message from Hild.

Congratulations, Urd-chan. The real test starts now.

She swore as a standard screen appeared in front of her, flashing warning messages, and her fingers began flying over the keyboard as she tried to work out exactly what was wrong.

"I hate you," she informed Hild when her mother returned home. "A systems crash? That was just cruel."

Hild smirked, glad to see that Urd was being a less formal with her, and threw a folder over to her. "You start tomorrow."

Urd opened it, reading the front sheet before looking up at her mother in surprise. "Systems Operator, really?"

"This doesn't let you off the hook. You still have a lot to learn, in relation to both magic and politics. I suggest that you get an early night, and be prepared to work hard tomorrow."

"So you're the new trainee," the on duty System Administrator said, eyeing Urd carefully. She was a tall woman, with jet-black hair, dark skin and the red eyes that were so common amongst demons, her expression a habitual frown. "I've been told about your circumstances."

Red eyes flashed slightly. "Don't think that your heritage will protect you. I expect you to work as hard, if not harder, as the rest of my subordinates."

Urd nodded, automatically suppressing the urge to blast the arrogant bitch. She'd dealt with people who had problems with her parentage before, on both sides. Between Goddesses looking down on her for being half demon and those few demons who knew of her mixed heritage considering her a traitor for choosing to become a Goddess, she'd encountered just about every kind of prejudice out there. Attacking them never did any good and in this case could do a great deal of harm. "Understood…ma'am."

Kayla glanced over to where the new operator was working. White hair obscured most of her face while bronze fingers flew over her console with an ease that belied her trainee status.

Then again, that wasn't the only thing that was odd about her new co-worker. She was extremely old for a trainee and although it was possible that she had been reduced in rank for some screw up something that major would have been major news. But Kayla had heard nothing.

In fact, she knew nothing at all about her. Even most of her record was classified well above her level to read. All she could find out was what had been said when she was introduced – that she was a Demon Second Class (trainee) who specialised in system administration (as evidenced by her impressive test scores). Nothing about previous assignments, or even age and parents. It was downright strange.

As was the supervisor's reaction. Reyna was a bitch – no doubt about it – but her reaction to the newbie was over the top. She acted like she was a danger to her position, and there was a fair amount of raw hatred in her attitude mixed with…fear?

No there was definitely more to her than met the eye.

Urd sighed and stretched. After four hours of this her fingers and back were beginning to get a little sore.

Mostly the work had been easy. She could practically do the routine balancing of forces and updating of files and software to improve efficiency in her sleep. In fact the hardest part was remembering that she didn't have the clearance that she was used to and needed to have the supervisor approve more major changes.

It wasn't identical to Yggdrasil Control, even taking into account the difference in rank. Some of the procedures were different, some of the programming commands. One or two duties that she wasn't used to. Nidhegg's administrative staff was smaller (well, except for the contract division) and things weren't quite so specialised.

It wasn't quite enough to relieve the tedium of such routine tasks. Her fingers itched as she thought of hacking into the surveillance and looking in on her sisters but she wasn't foolish enough to try it. The consequences for doing so had been made quite clear – and Mother was a lot scarier than Father.

Kayla's expression hardened as she moved to catch the newcomer before she could leave. She was going to find out more about her, whatever it took.

"I'm Kayla. Demoness Second Class Unlimited. You're Urd, right?"

Piercing violet eyes met her own and Kayla suppressed a shudder at the sheer power she felt in that gaze. She'd met First Class Unlimiteds with less strength.

Urd nodded, wondering what the unexpectedly cheerful demon wanted.

"Do you want to come for a drink?"

"No thank you."

"I could make it an order. I outrank you."

Urd grinned at that. "But you don't outrank the person I've been ordered to meet."

"Who's that?"

"It's not really your concern." Urd had absolutely no intention of explaining why she had personal lessons with the Daimakaicho. It would bring up all sorts of questions that she didn't want to answer.

"Perhaps another time?" she suggested. "I've got a lot of lessons to catch up on, but I should be able to find some free time."

After all if she was going to be dragged into demonic politics (and it was inevitable given her parentage) she may as well work on her own power base. And Kayla was as good a place as any to start.

Kayla nodded. "Another time then."

"Today we will be reviewing contracts," Hild told her. With a wave of her hand a pile of paper nearly six inches thick appeared in mid-air, landing on the table with a loud thump.

Urd looked at the pile in disbelief. She was expected to go through all that?

"You'll also be practicing speed-reading," her mother added. "Now, you should have learnt the basics in Asgard but demonic contracts are a little different…

Urd's head was spinning. It was simple in theory. Unlike divine contracts, which tended to fulfil the spirit of the deal, demonic contracts focused on following the letter, usually twisting the wish/contract into something completely different in the process.

In practice it meant that you had to have a thorough knowledge of how to twist the contract wording to your advantage – and usually a fair amount of imagination in order to get the worst possible outcome for the client.

It went against every moral that she had ever been taught. Sure, she was known for breaking the rules. There was a reason she had never made it past Goddess Second Class, and contrary to Skuld's belief it had nothing to do with her ability to control her powers.

However when she broke the rules it was usually to help someone, most often one of her sisters. Now she was expected to keep the letter of the rules, break the spirit and deliberately hurt someone in doing so.

It didn't sit well with her.

She had gotten into trouble for something similar when she was younger though, she remembered. It had been only a few months after her arrival in Asgard.

FLASHBACK

"Urd, can you tell me why we never make promises lightly?

The teacher obviously expected her not to know the answer. Just like so many times in the last months when she had called upon her, far more often than any of the others. And then they laughed at her, and called her stupid when she couldn't work the simplest spell. It wasn't her fault that she had been taught differently.

Well this time they wouldn't laugh, because she knew the answer.

"A promise is a contract. And we always keep contracts."

Moth… Hild had said that once. What else had she said?

"Despite what people think demons never break a contract. We bend the spirit until it breaks and extract more from the client than we give but we always fulfil what they ask for. So if you have to make a promise be very careful with how you word it, so that you have a way out if necessary."

She didn't realise that she had spoken aloud until she realised that the entire class, including the teacher, were staring at her in horror. Eventually the teacher had recovered enough to send her to the principal's office, where she had been given several weeks of detention, the first of many.

END FLASHBACK

The rumours had spread quickly after that incident, Urd remembered. Until then her origins had been kept secret from all but a very few. People knew that she was His daughter, but her mother was never mentioned. After that it was common knowledge that her mother was a demon, although the fact that Hild was that mother had never slipped out until much later, and even then was merely a rumour, and not one that was often believed. After all, why would the Daimakaicho's daughter be working as a Second Class Goddess?

Back then the idea of using contracts against the mortal who signed had been taken for granted, she realised. Was that where her inability to care for those outside her family and close friends as a goddess should came from?

"So you finally decided too join us," Kayla commented as Urd entered the bar one night a week later. ' The Demon's Pleasure' was the favourite watering hole for most off the administrative staff at Nidhegg.

Urd grinned as she looked around. Although she was no strange to Nifelheim's bars she and Mara tended to meet nearer the crossover point between Nifelheim and Asgard, limiting the chances of unfortunate encounters. "I have the night off from lessons," she replied. "My teacher is busy elsewhere."

"So just who is your teacher?" Kayla asked, trying to sound casual. "And just what are you learning?"

Urd shrugged. "Control mostly," she admitted. "Some of the more subtle points of law. That sort of thing."

"Control?" Kayla asked in surprise.

"According to my teacher I waste a lot of power just because my control isn't good enough to deal with it efficiently. She refuses to even consider allowing me to gain my full licence until I meet her standards."

"So that's why you 're still a trainee," Kayla realised, inwardly thankful she didn't have Urd's mentor. Even after only a week she had realised that the white haired demoness had better control than she did. "And you still won't tell me who your teacher is?"

Urd grinned. "No, but if you guess right I might tell you."

Kayla immediately began reeling off names while Urd sat back and sipped her sake. She had needed this, a complete break from the endless lessons. And the only thing better than a night out drinking was a night with her sisters; something she wasn't likely to get before her training was complete; and that could take years, or even decades.

AN2: It seemed rather strange to me that Urd remembered nothing of her early childhood when she looked to be around six years old when Hild left her in Asgard. So this is my attempt at an explanation.

I imagine that there are a lot of demons who would seek to gain an advantage over Hild, which would make her young daughter an obvious target. So Hild would probably have been very protective, to the point that she may very well have been the only real companion young Urd had.

Then one day she takes her daughter away from everything she has known and leaves her with strangers. Urd is old enough by then to realise that she is being abandoned, but not old enough to understand why, so she does her best to forget. If her mother doesn't want her, she doesn't want her mother. As a result her conscious memories of her past are suppressed but subconsciously she still resents Hild's actions, thus her antagonistic attitude when they meet again.

Faced with the surroundings that were such an integral part of her early life she can no longer deny that part of her childhood, and thus begins to remember.