Chapter Twenty Nine: Chapter Twenty Nine
(Author's Note) Hi all. So, I know it seems like this story has died, but as you can see it hasn't. Life has just been a bit…overwhelming lately is all. I've finished college, so for some of you that have been following this since the beginning I can proudly say I have my degree. But this last year has shown me and put me through a lot. I've removed a lot of toxic people from my life, moved away from the college town I lived in and have made much better friends. I'm in a much better place now and I'll be working a bit harder toward updating this fic. Thank you all so much for reading. I hope life gets better for all of you too.
-DoG
TLDR; this fic isn't dead, count on more updates soon.
"You look uncomfortable." I glanced to the side to see that Jaco had brought his horse alongside mine.
"Do I?" I asked trying to keep my unease to a minimum while he was scrutinizing me. He watched me for a moment and I spurred my horse a bit faster. He easily rode beside me making it look effortless.
"Utterly," he smirked eyes glancing to my hands that were white knuckled on the reins.
"I've never ridden a horse before." I admitted attempting to relax my hands. They ached with the release but it wasn't long before I was gripping the reins tight once more. "And I don't know where we're going." I added watching Sif riding up ahead. "Not to mention everything that has happened."
There was a small chuckle. "Your studies on Midgard did not include riding?"
"No. Driving cars yes, but not horses. You know, this kind of hurts." My legs had slowly begun to ache from the strange rocking and jolting motion of the horse.
"Worry not," he said glancing ahead, "we should reach our destination soon."
"How do you know where we're going?"
"This is my home, I should hope I would know the way to the market."
Sif had, in fact, been guiding us ever closer to the market that lay underneath the looming castle. I realized that the market was quite loud as the sound of conversation and shouted wares washed over us. We hadn't even reached the edge of the market and yet the sound of overlapping voices resembled rushing water more than actual conversation.
Sif had stopped her horse alongside a long bar where she dismounted was now tying the reins in a quick manner. I coaxed my own horse to stop as the others began to dismount, but the market itself caught my attention. Stalls lined the walkways overflowing with various wares. Sweet and savory scents intermingled in the air, being moved and wafted by the sheer amount of Asgardians that walked through the market. The volume of people astounded me.
"My Lady," Fandral smiled up at me holding out a hand, "we thought it would be good for you to see the market." I reached out and took his hand following suit and dismounting. Fandral's arms suddenly wrapped around me as my legs decided to tell me they didn't appreciate the ride by refusing to work.
"Attempting to woo our Lillith?" Sif asked with a pointed look at the way I was being cradled in Fandral's arms. The teasing look in her eyes caused Fandral's hands to clench slightly.
"I was merely helping the lady." Fandral said setting me back on my feet. "Though she seems to be swooning in my presence." I scoffed at his comment and lightly smacked his chest with the back of my hand in response.
"You wish, Romeo."
"Romeo?" Fandral asked.
"A Midgardian character usually associated with romance, though the story he comes from is anything but." Jaco answered for me.
"How is it that you know of this?" Sif curiously took a step toward Jaco.
He simply smiled the warmth not touching his eyes. "You pick things up when protecting a Midgardian."
"She is Asgardian as well," Sif instantly chided, "do not forget that."
He turned to me in a half -bow a smirk flashing across his expression before he straightened. "Of course, apologies if I offended."
"None was taken."
I watched as Sif, seemingly satisfied with the exchange began gathering the group making sure that I was shielded in their midst. We set off with Sif in the lead followed closely by Fandral and Volstagg with Jaco behind me.
The market was something spectacular. Something you'd see in a movie. Asgardians of all statuses moved to and from the stalls locked in some sort of perpetual dance. We entered the stream of criss-crossing people with ease, and Sif had us stop at the first stall we came across.
Candles of all shapes and colors dotted the stall's surface. A few had deep gouges in the sides that when examined looked more like runes carved into them. I reached out and touched a blue candle and instantly felt a slight cooling sensation coarse through my fingers. I instantly sat the candle down and tried to shake away the tingle of magic.
"That one promotes calm when you burn it." Jaco sounded uninterested.
"Good to burn at night." Volstagg clapped his large hand onto my shoulder grinning. "Or after battles."
"I prefer these myself," Fandral said handing me a red one. As soon as the wax hit my fingertips I became suddenly aware of how close Loki had placed himself. Basically brushing against my back. Cinnamon laced the air and spread across my tongue. Volstagg grabbed the candle from me and glared at Fandral.
"It smells amazing," I commented raising my eyebrow at Volstagg.
"This one is for passion." Volstagg explained setting it back down with others like it.
"Sif what's your favorite?" I asked with a smile. She smiled back and handed me a yellow one. It felt warm and left a sweet taste on my tongue. The longer I held it the more it brought out that sense of gentle warmth.
"Happiness." She said with a fitting smile.
"Is everything on Asgard magic?" I asked putting down the yellow one to pick up the blue one again. The cool feeling crawled back up my fingers and I felt the pressure of the crowd dissipate somewhat.
"Most things." Fandral said. Sif had begun to peel away from the booth so I put the candle down and followed her back into the crowd. Volstagg and Fandral seemed to move away from the group going to do who knows what. Sif headed to a weapons stall that gleamed in the light. I stood next to her as she looked at each of the handcrafted blades.
My eyes wandered going over leather sellers and bakers alike. Further down there was a familiar gleam. I took a step toward it but felt Sif grab my arm and spin me around.
"What?" I asked confused.
"I said, what do you think of this blade?" She said holding out a shimmering shortsword. It was decently long, just like the kind that I had used to fight Malekith. The same one that Frigga had given her. There was a faint pain in her chest as the world seemed to lose touch. It was like she had bad cell reception, the sounds were muffled and static-filled. She could see Frigga's eyes, filled with determination and steel. The air became thin and I tried to drag in deeper breaths.
The hilt hit my hand.
His blows were too powerful, almost numbing my hands as he struck.
I couldn't save her.
"Lillith!" Sif was staring at me, as was Jaco. His eyes were violently green. I hoped that Sif didn't notice.
"I'm sorry." I said realizing that I had somehow broken out in a cold sweat. I tried to shake away the jitters. "I think it's beautiful." Sif looked at me dubiously. "What are the runes etched on the side?"
"They're for protection." She said still watching me like a hawk. "Are you okay?"
I smiled shaking away the horrible images, like my nightmares come into the real-world. "Yeah, just a little overwhelmed. There's so much here."
"It is a big market," Sif said. I got the feeling that she didn't believe me at all. "Would you like to test it's weight and balance?"
I grit my teeth while nodding.
The hilt was wrapped in leather that was both soft and sturdy at the same time. The weight felt different than the sword that Frigga had given me, it was lighter. My hand didn't tremble as I held it. It was much lighter than the training swords I had worked with. It was almost too easy to hold.
"It's so light." Even my tone felt lighter. It wasn't like that sword at all.
"Your weapons must have been weighted." I nodded at her statement. At least I thought so.
"Mind if I cut in?" Volstagg was suddenly beside me taking my free hand. Sif rolled her eyes but took the sword from me before I was whisked toward the shining booth I had spotted before.
"Recognize it?" I found myself beginning to smile. It was the one I noticed from the balcony. I turned slightly back to look toward the palace, and realized it was a mistake. I had expected to pick out the balcony, instead all I could do was stare at the blackened scars that now ripped the front of the palace open.
"Don't fret." His voice was soft and drew my gaze back to the sparkling stall. It was covered in flowing and shimmering fabric. Necklaces were strung from the top shifting in the breeze casting tiny rainbows across the ground. More jewelry was set out each piece catching the light in spectacular displays that danced across passerby. As I watched the display my mind wandered back to the necklace that Frigga had given to me before the battle. The strange way it had wiped the exhaustion from her muscles. She wondered where it was now.
"Listen lass," Volstagg said holding up a clear glass-beaded bracelet, "you need to take your mind off of it for now." He jiggled the glass and I watched in surprise as colors flickered inside it's depths. "This is a pretty trinket." He said holding it out to me.
I suppressed a sigh and took the bracelet looking it over. The beads were perfectly clear, with silver threading them together into an intricate spiral that reminded me strangely of DNA. She shook them and watched the colors spark within the centers of the beads before falling back clear.
"It's beautiful." I said smiling slightly.
Volstagg nodded lightly touching the bottom of one of the hanging necklaces. "My little one swindled one out of me the first time we came here." He chuckled warmly. I placed it back on the table, and it swirled blue before settling.
"I don't have any money sadly." I said with a small laugh. "It's been a year of me being in Asgard and I don't even know your monetary system." For some reason I found this fact quite hilarious. "You know, that's the weird thing about being here." I said taking a step away from the stand.
"What is?" Volstagg asked the question but I could feel Jaco's eyes on me somehow.
"Everything that was normal to me just sorta faded away. Money, rent, school, all of it had melted away the second my father died. Since then I haven't really had to worry about…what I normally did. Everything's just become so surreal." I said chuckling.
Jaco took my elbow causing me to glance to his strange and forgettable face. "If you don't mind," he said that part to Volstagg with a polite smile, "I wanted to show the lady my favorite part of the market."
"Of course not," Volstagg said waving us off. "We'll meet back up near the food stalls, yeah?"
"We shall," he said before gently guiding me away from the booth of shining jewelry.
