Chapter Four: Hello My Name Is Hillevi & I Am Burdened With Grim Knowledge
Asgard looked the same and yet different for the goddess of death.
Then again, she wasn't outright slaughtering millions and burning the place to the ground so of course, it would look entirely different to her. She looked different as well.
Her black hair was blonde like her mother's and she wore a soft green dress instead of a black outfit. Frigga made sure her sword was transformed into a simple necklace to carry around but Hela felt weird. She had always looked gloomy, as if ready to fight never in these clothes that she remembered her mother wearing. Now she was, walking arm in arm with the Queen of Asgard up to the hall where Frigga would introduce Hela as a new handmaiden for the Queen.
Hela's grip tightened once they were in the Throne room and Odin, Loki, and Thor were gathered around looking directly at them. At that moment she wanted to vault towards her father and slit his throat. Instead, she held tightly to Frigga's arm no doubt leaving nail marks on her skin.
They both bowed to Odin.
"Frigga, who might this be?" Odin asked directly. His eye looked at Hela and she hoped her mother's intricate enchantments fooled them. "My name is Hillevi Eirason."
"She is my new handmaiden and new student." That caught both Loki and Thor's attention. To their knowledge only Loki was Frigga's student at magic, how can this handmaiden get that same treatment? Odin, on the other hand, seemed to preoccupy to care, no doubt he was already plotting to send Thor down to Midgard, Hela thought.
He dismissed them all, Hela and Frigga bowed. Thor and Loki followed them wanting to get to know more about this new person.
"Mother," Loki's smooth voice stopped them. Hela turned to get a better look at both her younger brothers. They looked very young, no lines across their face and Thor still had both his eyes intact. As if they haven't turned on each other, faked deaths or tried to kill her. "I guess you've managed to replace me as a student then?"
Hela could hear a trace of bitterness in her brother's tone and that Hela tensed at it. She will have to navigate this carefully. "I have not come to take you to place young prince," She said. "I've come to help your mother and learn at her hand at magic."
They nodded, Thor, smiling at her. "Well, we welcome you Hillevi! For a moment mother, I thought you brought a distant relative to Asgard." He laughed and Hela let out an awkward laugh, her nerves slowly loosening as she still held a death grip on Frigga's arm. Her mother patted her hand as if to say release little wolf.
She did but not entirely. At least she wasn't puncturing her mother's arm with her nails.
Hela gave them a bow and walked away from her brothers to her room. She needed a drink.
For the next few days, it was trying to act normal as a simple handmaid under the Queen, not draw suspicion from her father and brothers.
Thor seemed to take a liking to Hela much to her bewilderment. Maybe it was because of the fact that she hadn't murdered him yet or hasn't taken his eye out. She was just Hillevi, a handmaiden for the Queen of Asgard. He chatted with her sometimes, kindly yet arrogant. Earth did wonders on him, Hela thought.
She needed to act quickly, didn't help that Loki was getting suspicious about her before Thor left.
He would ask her different questions trying to get more backstory about "Hillevi" much to her chagrin. She played it off very well until she stumbled on Lady Sif's question on her family.
"My whole family died years ago. My parents and... my younger brothers." They said their apologies and to Hela, it did feel like they were dead, she barely knew her brothers to begin with. Knowing this part of their lives because the Norns liked to fuck with her and gave her this information for the sake of the universe.
Both
Loki later caught her as she was going to her chambers.
"Are you a spy?" He asked her point blank. Hela raised her eyebrows at him before giving him a smirk. "If I was, you'd be dead."
She didn't shake him off her scent the next day, only when Frigga kindly told Loki to leave during the private lessons that they had. Hela told her mother her concerns but all Frigga said was, "in due time little wolf. Your brother doesn't know he's Laufey's son and it crushed Loki the first time, I do not want it to happen again... all of this will leave him wrecked along with Thor."
"What will mother?" His voice made both Hela and Frigga jump. Loki and Lady Sif stood behind them, weapons pointed at Hela. Frigga put her arm between Hela and Loki. "Loki, no!" She yelled at her son.
"Who is she? She is not some handmaiden!" Loki said, his eyes narrowing as if debating whether to throw is daggers at Hela. Sif stood with her sword pointed at her, ready to charge and attack Hela as if she was going to hurt them. In another life, she would have but now... not so much.
"You are-" Frigga began before she stopped. Her lips trembled and Hela gently touched her mother's arm that was protecting her, grasping her hand tightly. Loki's eyes softened at his mother's expression as did Sif. "Loki... Your father made me swear never to utter this secret and I should have. I should have told you and Thor everything from the beginning to spear you this heartache."
"You are adopted, Loki. A child of Laufey, you were taken after Odin and Laufey entered a peace treaty after the war, Odin came across you. Loki you were left to die but Odin got you away before that could happen. I should have told you sooner Loki, I'm sorry." Hela held her mother's arm while Frigga grasped Loki's limp hand that held one of his daggers. Loki's eyes searched for trickery or lies but she held the truth in them and Loki's hand trembled. Sif stood quiet for so long that Hela forgot that she was there.
"But why does she know all of this?" She said jutting her chin at Hela's direction. Hela looked at her mother before looking at Sif and Loki. "I know this because I am Frigga's first born, I am Hela The Goddess of Death."
Saying her title out loud in Asgard felt thrilling yet vulnerable, the pit of her stomach tightening as if Odin could overhear saying it out loud and drag her back to Niflheimr. That did not happen much to her melodramatic mind taking over for a minute. Sif and Loki both looked like they couldn't take any more surprises, especially Loki whose entire world had been shattered. Frigga grabbed her youngest son's shoulders and pulled him into a hug. He stood there before clinging to Frigga like a lifeline.
"But Odin's first born is Thor?" Sif said, looking in the direction of Frigga who was still holding onto a clinging Loki. "No, Lady Sif. Hela is my first born before Thor, Odin... he imprisoned Hela a long time ago."
"Why?" The goddess whispered. Hela balled up her fists as memories of war and bloodshed rushed into her mind, seared there forever. "Because I was too powerful for Odin to control anymore."
"Too reckless, dangerous... a monster." Hela spat. "That's what Father called me as if he wasn't worse. Hiding behind his mask, a conqueror with blood on his hands. So he imprisoned me on Niflheimr. Never to see my family... I did not even know I had siblings. Mother, she released me and is helping me."
"Helping you with what?" Loki asked. His eyes were a bit puffy but he still had an air of dramatic-ness around him. "My plan to save the Universe."
"What do you mean to save the universe?" Sif asked.
Hela hesitated. She needed more allies besides her mother but telling Sif and Loki about this could either damage the plans later on or save it. She would have to take a risk, either way, she got this far with Loki not going on a murder spree against Thor, a victory in her mind. She just wouldn't tell them the truth.
"I've had dreams of Asgard in flames and the universe torn apart by a Titan." Her voice felt old, older than she actually felt. She had the attention of her audience when she told them of this being of a Titan called Thanos who got a hold of the Infinity Stones and tore the universe apart just for balance.
"And you want us to help?" Sif said, her back straight as if Hela had just told her she was going to war at this moment. "I am, I need your help."
She made them swear not to tell anyone, especially Thor. They would, as they walked out of Frigga's chambers some of the guards were running past them. Frigga stopped one, asking him what the commotion was going on about. "Lady Frigga, your son and his warrior friends have attacked the Frost Giants. He might have dragged us all into was again with Jotunhiem."
Well... shit, Hela thought. If they stopped Thanos from rising, Hela would be the one to murder Thor.
Loki, Sif, and Hela watched with wide eyes at Odin banishing Thor to Midgard. Hela had to hold Sif back as she lunged forward and Loki stood there looking at the spot where Thor was with wide eyes. Frigga had tears in her eyes and Hela realized that she must be reliving her banishment all over again.
Once again, Hela hated her father.
Hela knew she couldn't stay on Asgard for so long. She needed to meet with those Midgardians and see how their progress was doing, Hela did promise to contact them once she escaped. That was more than a week ago, maybe more? She didn't really know how much time could pass on Earth.
Sif and Loki were adamant to accompany her which surprised Hela. When she asked them that, their response was "We cannot help you by being here on Asgard." She wasn't in a chipper mood to fight them, so allowed them to come not knowing how this would change the timeline. But if Thor could defeat her and Thanos, then he could defeat whatever was rampaging on Earth that year.
"Good luck little wolf," Frigga said, kissing Hela's cheek. She told Heal that her glamour would still be up, to protect her from Odin's watchful eye, even as he slumbered in Odinsleep at this moment making Frigga acting 'King' of Asgard. She hugged Loki and Sif before they went through the Bifrost down to the location of those Midgard heroes called the Avengers that her little brother was so fond of.
They blasted through what appeared to be a dark and old compound of sorts underneath the Earth.
"What the fuck was that?" Came a woman's voice followed by, "Hey it's that rainbow bridge Thor uses," A man's voice said out loud.
The two Midgardians came up from behind wearing a suit of armor that covers his body from head to toe and the woman wore a tight-fitting black suit holding two guns. She lowered them just as Sif was about to pull out her sword to defend them. Hela shook her head at the warrior signaling, No.
"You changed you're outfit Hot Topic," Tony Stark said. Natasha still looked at her before looking at both Sif and Loki, the latter regarding him with wariness. "I'm guessing they are to help?"
"They are. What are you doing? Is this where you both lived?" Hela asked looking unimpressed with the mortals living situation. Tony snorted. "No, it is where an old ally of ours lived in, been captive here for decades and we're just about to bust him out."
"What are we waiting for?" Sif said. Hela rolled her eyes, she was just as noble as Thor and those other companions of theirs. "If it is a rescue mission we are after, then we must save this person!"
NOTES: I finished it and on my birthday no less? Wow, Happy 20th Birthday to me! Anyway, enjoy this latest installment of this story!
Fun fact: Hillevi in Nordic means 'safe in battle" and Eirason specifically the name Eira means 'merciful'
Songs that inspired and helped me:
-Long Live by Taylor Swift
-Burnin' Up by The Jonas Brothers
-Have It All by Jason Mraz