Chapter 20: We'll Resist 'Til We Reach the Dawn
Gamora had always said that she worked Skadi until she couldn't feel her body; Skadi had always believed the green assassin, always collapsing onto her bed afterwards in a heap of groans and kinks that had to be stretched out. She'd always complain to Peter as he would massage out her sore muscles about how Gamora had gone too hard on her again, and she didn't understand why she was the only one who had to go through these training sessions. Did you see her doing this to Rocket? Or Groot? Or dare she even say Mantis? No, Skadi would say. Sure Rocket had his weapons and Groot was barely allowed on missions. And Mantis had her powers but so did Skadi.
But it was only now would Skadi wish to be back there on her bed, not only to be there with Peter but to be trained by Gamora. She missed their training sessions. She missed feeling that bond they had created. Instead she now walked next to her sister towards the entrance of the palace after spending another day being beaten down. Her body hurt more than ever after days of training with Hela. She got no rest afterwards, Hela putting her straight to work afterwards with reading about battle strategies and more intense magical spells.
Skadi didn't have time to complain even if she dared to out loud. She was learning much and quickly too. She didn't think being nearly beaten to death everyday would be as affective until a couple of training sessions ago when she managed to knock Hela down. She hadn't realized it, only focusing on learning how to use as much power from her gauntlets as she could, but Hela did in fact have a weakness. She'd never defend herself when fighting, she was too confident in herself and assumed too much about her opponent, always leaving herself a blind spot somewhere, and the trick was just finding it.
Skadi had been once again knocked down onto her back to avoid being pierced by another one of Hela's blades. Skadi could feel her anger rising, furious that the gauntlets weren't doing what she thought they would. Weren't they supposed to be able to wipe out entire battle fields? Make a snow storm as cold and deadly as she wanted? What Skadi hadn't realized was that she was thinking too much into it. She wasn't listening to her instincts, instead trying to force things that clearly couldn't happen in a blink of an eye.
It was when Skadi's head hit the ground harshly that it clicked or more so something snapped within her. She could feel the anger freezing over inside of her, like a ravaging beast. She felt as if her blood freezing over and for once she actually felt frigid. She listened as she could hear winds blowing in her mind as she felt her body rise up from the ground. She hovered over the ground, throwing off Hela as a tornado of cold wind and thick snow swirled around her, protecting her from the swords and daggers Hela now through her way.
Skadi was almost in a trance as the Ancient Winters took control of her. She barely realized but at the same time felt herself forming the snow churning around her form into sharp shards of ice, harsher and smaller than she'd ever made before. With a simple flick of her wrist, as her arms were outreached to either side of her, the shards rained down towards her sister. Hela would've smirked, if only she had the time too, having to jump out of the way in an instant as she felt slashes forming on various parts of her body. She shot up her own hail of daggers, knowing that Skadi was finally getting the hang of her powers thanks to her training.
The daggers the dark haired woman aimed up at her were swiftly and forcefully swiped away; Skadi feeling instincts she never had before swarm her senses. The daggers jetted off to the side by a thick wave of snow, finding themselves imbedded into a couple of unlucky skeleton soldiers. This was Skadi's chance, she was on a roll; she could see through her glazed over white eyes Hela start to panic as ice slowly crept her way, entrapping her feet. This was for her people, this was for her brothers, and this was for her.
Hela grunted, smashing the ice at her feet with an axe she formed, only to for it to reform thicker. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to call for her soldiers to take aim. She didn't want to show weakness, she was just off put by the sudden change in odds. She had a mission and she couldn't quite finish it if she was a block of ice, now could she? Just as her guards readied to join the fight Hela felt a slight change in the air, waving her company off to hold for a minute.
Skadi faintly faltered, her body descending lower towards the ground slowly. She could feel a soft voice almost calling to her, telling her to stop. The voice sounded familiar but in her deep trance she couldn't make it out. What she could make out was her concentration breaking as the ground became closer and the air not as cold. She held her breath as she felt her feet touch the ground. What the hell happened? She totally had it, she cursed to herself now realizing she was in a ton of shit. Hela knew that Skadi was trying to kill her now, there was no going back. That wasn't simple training that was a full blown murder attempt. She was done for.
The guards raced to secure Skadi, tightly grabbing at her arms and shoulders, keeping her in place even as she tried to jerk away, cold snaps retracted out and in from her palms, but no stronger power left her; the gauntlets completely draining her from energy. She watched as Hela was now free, rubbing her cheek with the back of her hand, wiping the blood away that leaked from one of the gashes Skadi gave her. At first, the look she gave Skadi made her quake in her boots. Hela's dark eyes spoke for themselves, Skadi was going to die. But something shifted, just as quickly as Skadi had seconds ago. Hela now spread her arms out, laughing, her open arms almost looking like she was inviting Skadi for a hug.
The guards holding her let her go at Hela's sudden movement, as if she mentally told them what to do. One pushed Skadi towards their Queen, edging her to move to her. Wordlessly, and still confused and freaked out by what had just happened, Skadi once again just went along with it, stuttering out how she was sorry. She mine as well try and act like it was a mistake, it would do her no good now acting otherwise.
"Sssh," Hela eased once her sister reached her, placing her arms around her back and pulling her to a hug. "Don't be sorry; be proud. You just showed why our father named you as the goddess he did, you also showed me that together we will be more powerful, more unstoppable than father and I had ever been. Together we will fulfill our destinies."
Hela let her go, taking a step back and looking around them, seeing that the sun was starting to set. With a deep breath, inhaling more of Asgard, she turned to one of the handmaidens she had stationed near the training field awaiting orders. Calling her forward, she turned back to her sister, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.
"Rest up, I think it's time we begin." Hela informed her, turning to face her soldiers, "Tomorrow we set off to begin our conquest!" she shouted for the whole yard to here and be met with the sound of her soldier's clanging the bottoms of their spears to the ground in response.
She barked at the frightened handmaiden to have her and the others prepare her sister a hot bath and meal, so she'd be properly taken care of before tomorrow. She turned to Skadi now, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze of happiness before letting go. "I have to attend to a matter, I'll call for you in the morning sister, rest well for tomorrow starts a new era for us all."
Skadi watched as her sister moved away from her, feeling the nerves start to set in even more so. She felt herself biting her fingernails as the handmaidens rushed over and ushered her away and into the palace. She had no time left, Hela was going to be unleashed upon the galaxy in less than a day. She had to think quickly, she had to come up with some sort of plan to stop her. The blonde tried to think of what Gamora would do, and figured she'd already tried that. Gamora would've fought her and she would've died trying; Skadi was too scared to do that.
She didn't even protest as the handmaidens stripped her of her armor and then clothes when usually she'd already be shooing them away insisting once the armor was undone she could handle the rest. She didn't stop them when she was stripped naked and led to the now awaiting bath of steaming off water; even as a young girl she'd assert she knew how to bath herself. But no, this time she let them brush through her wet hair with soaps, and scrub away at her back and arms, like a princess should. She was too lost in thought and the pit in her stomach that had been feeling more squeezer than usual was returning.
In a flash, it seemed like she was already out of the tub and dressed in some of the finest silk robes and hair braided to dry. Her handmaidens excused themselves after cleaning up, themselves planning on now trying to escape now knowing Hela's plans. There were rumors of citizens finding a safe place to hide from her in Asgard.
Skadi sat on her bed as they left her alone, her only focusing on the sharp headache in her right temple. Her head was spinning as she kept scrapping plan from plan, all garbage. She wasn't good at this stuff; she was good at following orders not giving them, she needed Peter and Gamora here, telling her what to do. Soon enough was enough and she felt all her worries moving up from her stomach and up her throat. Snapping out of it, she realized what was happening and raced towards her bathroom. Asgard didn't have the type of toilets she was used to but she reached her chamber pot, releasing the contents of her stomach into it.
Pushing her hair back out of her face, she felt tears running down her cheeks as she heaved again and again, until there was nothing left but a sick feeling. Sitting back, and letting out a deep breath, Skadi stared into the darkness off the room. Only a small light was shown from the only candle left lit but she didn't complain, the darkness, along with her now relieved stomach made her headache start to fade into a lull.
She didn't know how long set sat on the cold tile floor but all she could think about was how she just wanted to go back home. Her real home, back with her real family. She wanted Peter, and the others not only to help her out of this but just for them themselves; she missed her family. She wanted no more than to go to the Bifrost and-
"Oh my god," she gasped, an idea clicking in her head, causing her to jolt up from the floor. "I'm such an idiot."
She rushed into her room, quickly throwing off her night clothes and throwing her armor back on. Quickly putting on her armbands, she prayed to whoever would listen to let her keep control over them. After fully dressing and re-braiding her messed up hair, she found her bag she came with and packed it back up. She frowned, thinking back to the Zune, cursing herself about it again. But her frown changed to a smile as she picked up the wreath Groot had made her. Don't worry I'm coming home guys, she thought to herself, tucking it back into her bag carefully before swinging it over her shoulders. Lastly she threw on her cloak, sinking her cheek into the fur for comfort and then turned to her window.
Going back to her days as a ravager she made sure to stealthily fly out of her window, avoiding detection from the guards below. She snuck through the palace grounds, hiding behind pillars and crouching until she found herself at the rocks below the entrance of the city facing the Bifrost. Hela's guards would be up there so she was careful as she took a deep breath, exhaling and breathing in one more time. Outreaching her left hand she let a soft breeze stretch out in front of her. The water before her began to freeze, creating a pathway underneath the bridge. Looking above her to check to see if she had been noticed, she smirked in victory when she saw that she hadn't been.
Skadi knew better than to rush, wanting to avoid detection as much as possible, so she took her time creating the pathway to walk across the water inch by inch. It had taken a long time but she found herself standing below the entrance to the Bifrost soon. There were only two guards at the large doorway, and it was too far to be seen from the other end of the bridge but Skadi didn't want to take her chances fighting them so instead she simply froze them where they stood. They didn't have a chance to flinch as the Ancient Winters made her ice work quicker.
She hopped up onto the bridge cautiously, tapping on the ice like it was glass. Confirming that they were indeed frozen solid, Skadi outreached her hands towards the pair of them, clenching her fist and causing them to shatter into pieces. To avoid leaving a trail, she swatted the ice away, letting the pieces fall to the waters below. Once she was sure again that no one saw her, she entered the Bifrost.
"Okay, Skadi you got this, you just gotta take the sword and hide it-," Skadi said, creeping in, the moonlight being her only light. She stopped mid-sentence though as she realized the sword wasn't where it was supposed to be. She cried out, "Where's the sword?"
"With me," A deep voice suddenly appeared.
"Shit!" Skadi jumped, turning around and racing her hands, letting an aura of white emit from them. She retracted when she realized who it was stepping out from the shadows of the room. Removing their hood, Heimdall revealed himself to her. She hesitated before completely letting down her guard.
"I've been waiting for you." He spoke, stepping more into the light.
"Where have you been? I could've used your help! They said you were banished!" Skadi nearly shouted, having so many questions race out of her. She paused, looking at the sword, and then to him. "Why haven't you gotten help?"
Heimdall chuckled at the girl, who was still as demanding and full of question like she was as a child. Sheathing his sword, having been using it to lean his weight on, he spoke, "It wasn't the right time. You know I see more than you do, we must wait until your brother's return. Only together do you have a chance of defeating Hela."
"Hela killed my brothers." Skadi shook her head, at him, frowning.
"Thor and Loki still live; Hela only sent them far away." He informed her, ushering her to stand away from sight of the entrance, just to be safe. "I've spoken to Thor, he is finding a way to get back here as we speak."
"They're alive?" Skadi near whispered, in shock and relief. Her eyes darted around, feeling hopeful that she could now stand a chance against Hela. Her paranoid mind still got the better of her at the end of it, "Well, unless they can get here by morning, there's no point. Hela's going to continue her conquest" Skadi frowned eyeing Heimdall as he raised an eyebrow at her. She was at first confused but then it hit her, "But, you have the sword! So Hela can't leave!"
"Yes, but I can only hold her off for so long. She will find me soon." Heimdall nodded, "You must go back, keep up your ruse a little longer and wait until they arrive," Heimdall fully made his way up to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. The gatekeeper's bright yellow eyes tore into her and he spoke, "Hela mustn't suspect anything."
"Yeah, okay- I-I c-can do that." Skadi shook her head trying to fight against her stammer. She let her hands fall to her sides, gripping onto her cloak for reassurance. "I should head back then, get some rest so she's not suspicious."
Skadi moved to leave, but Heimdall halted her, outreaching his arm to stop her from leaving. She walked into it and looked up at him questionably. He let his arm fall as he opened his mouth to speak again, "You're friends are safe. Their mission took a little longer than expected, they have not reached Xandar or Lady Sif yet."
Skadi laughed sheepishly, as Heimdall looked as if he was outing a child for pulling a fast one over him. She rubbed her arm as she looked at him. She was going to respond, explain herself for sending Sif away but Heimdall cut her off, "You did the right thing, Lady Sif would've been slaughtered amongst all the other warriors; you'll need as many of them as you can get for the coming battles. Loki had many tricks up his sleeves during your absence but he is learning from his past discretions."
"Battles?" Skadi thought, as she stared at the gatekeeper questionably. "I thought you said once Thor-,"
"Yes, defeating Hela you will do, but at a cost. As I've said, I see m-."
"Yeah, yea, I know," Skadi cut him off this time, waving her hand with a roll of her eye, impatiently, pushing past him. "You see more than I do, I get it."
"You'll know when it's time," Heimdall chuckled as he watched the young princess go, readying himself to leave as well. He had so little time to prepare and there were a few more Asgardians he needed to get to safety; he was running out of time.