Chapter 10: The Difference Between Freya and Odin
Bo, Kenzi and Alex all positioned themselves comfortably so that they could face Tamsin. The Valkyrie took a deep breath and glanced over to the fire. The light from the flames illuminated her face as her gorgeous pale cheeks, voluptuous lips and blue eyes shined brightly in the night sky.
Tamsin began her story of the leaders of Valhalla:
There are two rulers of the Valhalla afterlife. The first is a woman I hold dear to my heart. She is the woman who always made me feel apart of her family. All Valkyrie's are considered her daughters, but Freya always made me feel like something more. She always saw something in me that was good and true.. Something pure. She is everything you would think a goddess would be.
Freya is the goddess that many associate with love, sexuality, beauty, fertility, war and death. She wears a necklace at all times, it's called the Brisingamen. She has two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi as well as her brother Freyr. Freya's daughters are great warriors that are known for their skills on the battlefield but also for their kind hearts and beauty. Freyr is known as the god of prosperity and is said to give peace and pleasure to mortals.
Freya rules over the heavenly afterlife in Valhalla and the fields of Folkvangr, also known as "The Fields of Warriors" where the souls of the warriors who died in battle for just and pure reasons. Freya accepts only the purest souls and warriors that die for rightful causes. She is a gorgeous, forgiving, and virtuous goddess who's kind heart is admired by many. She is the mother of all Valkyrie's and treats us all with unconditional love and affection. She's as close to a saint if any, in my opinion.
Freya is the only Valkyrie that is a true goddess, the rest of us are viewed as Demi-Gods. Freya is the one who teaches us love, compassion, and emotions. She's the reason that we feel. She is the one who accepts the human portion of us that has ties to others. The Valkyrie's who work for Freya are considered "the saps" or "weaker ones" by Odin.
Where Freya rules over the fields in Valhalla and the "paradise afterlife" Odin reigns over the sacred halls of my world. He is the ruler of Asgard. Like Freya, Odin is associated with war, battle, victory and death… But he is also known for his wisdom, magic and prophecy. Odin loves the hunt, he thrives off the intensity of the chase. When Valkyrie's work for him, he doesn't classify them as "official Valkyrie's" aka he won't graduate a Valkyrie and give them their wings until he deems them worthy but to do that he would often throw Valkyrie's in the woods, make them find a sword and then hunt one another.. A fight to the death. It's brutal.. But for Odin, to be a Harbinger of Death means to be stronger, faster, smarter and more ruthless than anyone else.
Odin has many sons.. The man gets around, but I guess when you're a powerful god it isn't that hard. You guys know one of his sons.. The thunder god, otherwise known as Thor. I know.. Pause for the freak out..
Tamsin stopped and smirked as she saw Bo and Kenzi's jaws dropped and eyes wide.
"Thor?!" Bo said in disbelief.
"HOLD UP! That dude is real?! Like the movies with the sexy actor and all that shit is for reals?!" Kenzi said as she drunkenly slapped her hands to her cheeks.
"The movie sexy man doesn't do the real Thor justice.. Right Tams?" Alex said with a wink.
"Not at all.. Mmm.." Tamsin said as she grinned and shook her head.
"I take it you both were friendly with the thunder god?" Bo asked as she raised an eyebrow. Kenzi's expression matched Bo's curious face.
"You could say that.." Alex said as she laughed.
"I went through a 'bad girl' phase or two.. Don't judge, carrying the souls of fallen warriors causes a girl a bit of stress so I needed a quick fix!" Tamsin said as she shrugged.
"TAMMERS!" Kenzi yelled as she smacked the Valkyrie's arm, "You slept with Odin's son?! THOR?! Like the hammer god of thunder sexy man?! Like the dude with the big ass hammer THOR?!"
"Ohhh his hammer is definitely worth all the hype" Alex said with a wink as she and Tamsin started to laugh.
"You slept with him too?!" Bo said as she started to laugh.
"I mean obviously I didn't know that I was getting T's leftovers at the time but yeah girl, I totally got to make some thunder in the sheets" Alex said with a wink.
"And YOU missy.. You didn't tell me about that little hook up before we got married" Bo said as she playfully glared at her Valkyrie.
"It was millenniums ago! Plus if we were going to go through all of our previous one night stands I figured you wouldn't remember half of yours" Tamsin said with a nose scrunch causing Bo to laugh and smack the blonde.
"So you both hooked up with Odin's son and you wonder why he's all pissy now?" Kenzi said as she laughed.
"Oh please, Odin doesn't know about Thor, he's just naturally pissy all the time" Tamsin said as she rolled her eyes.
"So back to your story.. Freya and Odin both rule over Valhalla.. Just different parts of it? And Freya is like the hero and Odin is like the villain or something?" Bo asked as she leaned back in her chair and sipped her liquor.
"It's not like that per say.. When you're there it isn't like a battle of good versus evil in Valhalla. Odin may be a douche bag sometimes but he is powerful and follows the ancient Valkyrie laws. He takes care of his own. He's smart and knows to win wars you need powerful people on your side and he knows ya gotta keep your army happy so he's pretty laid back when it comes to enjoying paradise" Alex said as she glanced over to Tamsin who nodded in agreement.
"So it's more like having two coaches.. Freya's the more caring one and Odin believes in tough love?" Bo asked as she glanced to Tamsin.
"Exactly babe.. It's like getting good cop, bad cop. Odin's hard on his Valkyrie's but when it comes to souls of the dead, both warrior and Valkyrie, he abides by the ancient laws of letting them enjoy their afterlife in sheer bliss so it's not all bad. Unless you work for him. While you work for him he's kinda an ass.. Valkyrie's in Valhalla who died after their last life and are resting in paradise, like Acacia, say that Odin's a dick while you're working for him but once you're dead DEAD you never see him. You see Freya and it's actually nice. Think of it as Odin is in charge of bossing the Valkyrie's around and making them his bitch and Freya gets to chill with dead people and make them happy kinda deal in Valhalla. If you work for Freya you pretty much get to be all lovey dovey and happy but you don't get many assignments or big cases. Work for Odin and you get badass jobs and a ton of action but you're also put through hell. All the great Valkyrie's in history were Odin's.. He gets his shit done just not in the nicest way" Tamsin said as she gave a weak smile.
"So wait.. Who do you work for?" Kenzi asked as she raised an eyebrow, "And how is it decided WHO you end up working for? And do you only train with Freya or Odin? OR do you get to train with both? Ahhhh so many questions!"
"Woahhhh there Kenz" Bo said with a chuckle.
"She'll get to that baby fae, she's going slow so you two can keep up" Alex said with a laugh.
"Exactly.." Tamsin said with a smirk. "But I work for Odin.."
Bo and Kenzi's laughing and happy faces changed to concern.
"But Freya showed up.. Y-You work for Odin?" Bo asked as she gave confused look.
"Alright kiddos, ready for part two of your Valkyrie-Valhalla 101 lesson?" Tamsin said with a grin as both Bo and Kenzi nodded
Tamsin took another deep breath and continued her story:
When Valkyrie's are born both Odin and Freya inspect them and go in to a kind of bidding war over them.. IF the baby shows promise. If it's just an ordinary Valkyrie then they get blood drawn and their blood decides on who they should serve. Most go to Odin but don't make it far.. Like I said in Odin's world of training it's kill or be killed.
You serve and are trained only by the god or goddess you serve. No if's and's or but's. If you work for Odin you may see Freya and she'll nod and smile. If you work for Freya and you see Odin you bow but generally he waves his hand and keeps going.
The only time a Valkyrie has been trained by both was with me. From what Acacia told me when I came to Valhalla I was already older so I didn't get to go through the choice from birth. I remember walking in to this massive room that was white with gold statues all around and a chandler hanging from the ceiling. I was young and was holding a crying Alex in my arms as Freya and Odin fought over who I should serve. They argued back and forth forever. Acacia stood beside me with her hand on my shoulder, she claimed Alex and I both as soon as we entered the gates so she was our handler or mentor, if you will.
I remember overhearing them talking about sending Alex away and I finally screamed at the top of my lungs that if Alex wasn't allowed here I was leaving and there wasn't a damn thing either of them could do about it. I think I made them both about piss their pants in amusement. They stood there in silence for a minute as if they were reading each other's thoughts.. After what seemed like forever they both nodded and turned to me and said that Alex could stay if I took responsibility for her. Naturally I rolled my eyes and said duh. Then they said that I would split my training with them but I would work for Odin in the long run. I don't know why they decided to let both of them train me.. But it made for a damn exhausting life. I was constantly running from my lessons with Odin to Freya's fields. I would be sword fighting in Odin's hall with older Valkyrie's then when the clocked chimed signaling dinner and all the other's would leave, I would sprint to the fields and see Freya waiting there and we would do things like meditation, flying, hand to hand combat.. Stuff like that. It was exhausting but I learned a shit ton.
All the other Valkyrie's, minus a few, were kinda assholes. They called me the golden child, spoiled brat, sacred bitch.. But the ones I was close to knew how exhausting it was for me and helped me. I never cried, complained or argued. I just did what I was told to do. The ones who were assholes to me about being the golden child never said anything to my face though, they'd talk behind my back and would complain. No one dared to cross me though. training with both Odin and Freya gave me the best of both worlds.
Freya was caring and kind. She would always ask if I was okay, if Odin was treating me properly, if Alex was doing well and always offered her help. My answer was always the same 'I'm doing great my goddess, my queen..' Odin threatened to have Alex killed, banish me, beat me.. anything he could think of if I opened my mouth to her about the training he and I would do.
Odin was harsh, irrational, pushed me far beyond my physical and emotional limits. I despised him.. Yet everything he made me do I would grin, think of something smart assay to say and roll my eyes and do what he said. He would get so pissed at me. Half of our training I would succeed and be flawless but it was never good enough for him.
There was this one session we had where he threw me in a dungeon with what he originally said were 8 under-fae and told me to kill them before they killed me. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow and told him he was a prick and this was pointless but I hopped in to the room, he smiled, nodded and then 15 monsters appeared in grey fog. All different types of fae, some poisioness, some just ugly as hell and morbidly obese. I charged and fought but as soon as I killed one, two more appeared. I screamed at him and told him this was fucked up and that he was an ass and I would kill him when I got out of there, but he just laughed.. After what seemed like hours of fighting I couldn't even hold my sword up. I was bleeding all over, bruised, and drained. I fell to my knees defeated. The monsters charged me all at once and I accepted that I would die that day but as they got to their final steps they all disappeared. I fell over to the floor in pain and Odin walked over to me and knelt down beside me and said 'even you can't win every battle.. You're arrogant and overly confident. You can't always be victorious Tamsin. You will lose in life. But what defines you is if you possess the strength to arise from defeat..' It was the first time that egotistical jack ass ever said anything that meant something. I stood up slowly and faced him. He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder and healed all my wounds.
After that he took me to dinner and we actually talked. It was the first time he ever treated me like I was a living breathing thing. He told me about his life, his victories, his loss.. He was actually kind and caring. He told me that I was destined for greatness and he would be honored to lead me towards my fate. He said that I wasn't like the other Valkyrie's and that Alex and I both meant something to him and he would be proud of me one day if I did as commanded.
After that I slowed down on the bitch mode and started to open myself up to learning from him. He put me through hell but each and every time he would smile and tell me how great I was and that I would be the most powerful Valkyrie in our race's history and that he saw more in me than anyone else. He was hard on me but he always seemed to make up for it by being a father figure or whatever. He even met with Alex and allowed her to join in some of my training.
For centuries I followed his every command. He convinced me to stop training with Freya so much and I stupidly agreed. It wasn't until he sent me to the battlefields of the Blood King War that I realized just how much he was using my strength. He didn't care about my feelings or that I cared for people. He wanted me to kill a dozen innocent children and bring their souls to him so he could create a 'youthful army of greatness' which would piss Freya off beyond belief so he ordered me to keep it private. I showed up and saw the kids and I couldn't do it so I summoned Freya.. I told her everything, what Odin was planning, all the training he had me doing.. She was outraged. We left the children alive and went back to Valhalla. She stormed in to Odin's hall and went off on him. I stood there watching them yell and scream. Freya said that he was corrupting me and that yes I was meant for greatness but not deemed a murderer and slave. She said I was strong, fast and smart and that I was meant for something big and they both knew what that was but she wouldn't allow him to do this to me. They never told me what the hell I am apparently or was apparently destined for.. They just went off. Odin said I was his to train as he saw fit and yadda yadda. Shit went on forever and then Freya stormed out and demanded they go back to splitting my training which Odin reluctantly agreed to. When she left shit hit the fan with Odin and I. He said that I betrayed him and he punished me as he saw fit.
Needless to say he wasn't much of the 'father figure' I adored so much after that. I don't wanna go into detail about what he did to 'teach me a lesson'.. I'll just say I didn't imagine torture like that could exist in anyone's greatest nightmares. I wished for days he would just kill me and end it, but he never did. The only time he let me out was to go to my sessions with Freya.. She knew something was wrong but I refused to tell her anything. After what happened last time I said anything to her about what Odin and I were doing I sure as hell wasn't going to tell her a damn thing. I just smiled and pretended things were okay.
After Odin thought he had done enough he released me to go back to being a bounty hunter where he arranged for the Wanderer and I to meet.. The rest is history…
Tamsin finished her story and looked up to Bo, Kenzi and Alex.
"Was this when you told me you were going on assignment in France?" Alex asked as she looked at her sister.
"Yup.." Tamsin said as she nodded.
"I guess it makes sense now.." Alex said as she gave a sad look.
"Odin sounds like a real dick.. I'm sorry Tam Tam.." Kenzi said as she frowned.
"Don't be. It was a long ass time ago. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?" Tamsin said with a grin.
"Babe.. You're stronger than anyone I've ever met" Bo said as she leaned down and pulled Tamsin in to a tight embrace.
"I have you to thank for that Succu-babe" Tamsin said with a smirk.
"You were strong before you met me" Bo said as she kissed Tamsin's forehead and the Valkyrie scrunched her nose.
"What does he want with your baby?" Alex asked as she crossed her arms and sat back.
"I don't know.. but with Odin there is always a fake pretty picture attached.. Behind that it's a damn nightmare so nothing good I can assume" Tamsin said as she frowned.
"Well it won't matter because we're going to stop him before he can lay a finger on our baby" Bo said with a smile.
"Damn straight Bo Bo!" Kenzi said as she raised her glass in the air.
"I'll drink to that" Alex said with a smile.
"Why don't you and I head inside there hot pants" Tamsin said with a smile.
"I think I could use some one on one time with my wife" Bo said as she grinned and flashed her eyes blue.
"Andddd on that note I think you two should take your preggers cravings inside to your bedroom, where you lock the damn door and Alex and I pray that a house with walls will muffle your succu-sex enough where we can sleep" Kenzi said as she laughed.
Tamsin stood up and held her hand out for Bo to grab. The two stood up and smiled at one another before saying goodnight to Kenzi and Alex and heading inside hand in hand. As soon as they shut the door and were inside their lips met in a heated and passionate kiss.
"Is my girl hungry?" Tamsin said in a low seductive voice as she grinned.
"Mmm maybe.. Up for breaking in our new house lover?" Bo asked as she trailed soft kisses down Tamsin's neck causing the Valkyrie to moan.
"God you have no idea.." Tamsin said as she smiled, reached down and picked Bo up in the air, allowing the brunette to wrap her legs around Tamsin's waist and carried her towards the stairs up to their bedroom.
Back outside Alex and Kenzi were sitting next to each other drunkenly by the fire.
"So now that you're back in your old body there hot stuff what do you remember?" Kenzi asked as she felt her heart starting to race.
"Not really anything. I remember why I died and how.. I remember breaking out of Lauren's prison.. Finding Tamsin and meeting you and Bo but the rest is a blur.." Alex said as she looked over to Kenzi.
"Oh, well that's good I guess.. I mean it's all starting to come back to you.." Kenzi said as she frowned and kept her eyes on the fire.
"Is there something I should remember?" Alex asked as she saw the distress forming on Kenzi's face.
"You'll remember what you are meant to remember in time I guess.." Kenzi said as she sipped her alcohol.
"Yeah.. I guess.. But there is something I remember.." Alex said as she looked to Kenzi.
"And what's that?" Kenzi asked as she looked to Alex.
Alex didn't say anything, she just stood up and grabbed Kenzi's hands and lifted the Russian up so that they were standing in front of each other.
"Alex.. What are you doing?" Kenzi asked as she tried to steady her breathing.
Alex grabbed both of Kenzi's hands and lifted them into the air so that their palms were placed firmly against one another. Alex started heating up her hands as Kenzi's body reacted and started heating up as well.
"I remember willing you my powers.. I may not remember the specifics of who exactly you were to me Kenzi but I remember feeling something for you that I've never felt with anyone else in my life.." Alex said softly as she smiled.
Kenzi couldn't help but grin. All the anger and hostility she had felt for Alex for dying and always vanishing when she started to feel herself giving her heart away seemed to leave her. All she could do was look at the beautiful blonde standing in front of her. Kenzi laced their fingers together and allowed red flames to cover her hands. Alex smiled back and blue flames erupted from her hand. Like in the Wanderer's frozen Tundra, their blue and red flames swirled together with a great amount of power.
Alex leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Kenzi's as their fire traveled from their palms throughout their body. Kenzi now stood there, her body in red flames and Alex's body covered from head to toe in blue flames.
"I'm sorry that I don't remember what we were in my last life.. But I promise if you give me time.. I WILL remember.. Whatever we were, whatever I'm feeling, it's something I've never felt before Kenzi.." Alex whispered with her forehead still leaning against Kenzi's.
"Take all the time you need Alex.. Just promise you won't run from me again.. I can't bear the idea of losing you again.." Kenzi said back as she smiled.
"Deal sparky.. Deal.." Alex said with a grin.