Chapter 1

Freiya woke up to the feeling of the lips of her love kissing along her shoulder to rouse her. She smiled sleepily and stretched beneath the furs of their shared tent, momentarily forgetting the fact that they were camped in a war camp, just waiting for the signal to attack.

"I wish we could always have this" her love murmured in a rueful tone, lips tracing further along her exposed shoulder and to her neck, as her long light brunette mane was being brushed to the side delicately.

Freiya sighed as the sinful lips stopped their administration and she turned under the furs, capturing said lips in a passionate kiss instead. Neither of them knew just how long they would have together, being limited by so many things.

Her arms tightened slightly around the lean and muscular body hovering above her, as her fingers traced over the bandage wound around her love's midriff. She was reminded again of the frail mortality of her love and Freiya knew all too well that this would end in heartbreak for her. Her love would die, while she lived on. It had happened before many times, but it seemed she never learned from her own mistakes.

The thought of continuing her life after the death of yet another love soured her mood.

She had been stupid. She had lingered too long in this reality. A reality in which magic had very little power and thus, her own had dwindled down. She had not been able to protect the infinity stone which had brought her to this reality in the first place. She had no clue where it had been taken. But its loss had left her stranded in this reality.

"What weighs on your mind so heavily?" her love had stopped hovering above her and instead now laid down beside her in the bed.

Freiya shook her head slightly in the negative, indicating her wish not to talk about it. There was little sense in discussing it anyway. Her love did not understand that Freiya would undoubtedly survive this war and whatever came after. She had lost the ability to prove her possession of magic as they had met several weeks after Freiya's initial arrival in this reality.

There had been hints that another infinity stone had been hidden in this reality and Freiya had followed them. She had severely overestimated how long her powers would remain within reach and after the loss of the stone which could bring her back and meeting her love, she cared little about getting back anyway. She had never explained anything about her origin to her love and thankfully, she was never asked either. She had been accepted in the ranks of the army with barely any questions asked and those which had been asked, had been at a time where she still was able to plant little suggestions in thoughts of others which stemmed any doubt about her.

"I do not like seeing you like this…" her love's words carried an open bitterness in them and Freiya felt her stomach churn as guilt settled within her veins almost like physical pain.

She placed one hand softly on the muscular abdomen in front of her "Worry not, my love" she assured with a slightly forced smile. Her next words were never spoken though as suddenly horns resonated around their little tent, indicating that another attack was about to happen.

Her love quickly had sprung up from the bed, gathering discarded pieces of clothing and armour in quick movements around the tent. Freiya followed in silence only the blink of an eye later.

"We shall continue this at a later point" the words carried a teasing note now and Freiya was shaken by the easy confidence in her love's brown eyes. She nodded, smile still strained as she fastened her own armour.

But the "later point" never came. She had long since assumed that her existence was cursed by a bad fate and it had become true once again.

They had fought back-to-back with each other, keeping clear some protective space around the leader of their army, but it was clear quickly that their numbers would not be enough to win this fight.

"Why are they so small?" she had husked at her love in honest confusion. They had killed an almost endless number of enemies already, but their physical size screamed that something was wrong.

The realisation that they had been fighting and killing nothing but mere children had been a hard one for Freiya especially. She had bent down and pulled a helmet from one of the enemies they had just killed and the helmet fell from her fingers with a startled gasp. The features which looked up to her were so young, the child could not have been older than ten. The clear blue eyes were wide with horror and pain as death had taken the child.

Her love had turned over to her, checking that she was alright at her loud sound of distress. The single moment of distraction had been enough though.

Freiya's mouth opened in a silent scream and her features distorted with horror at the gleaming blade protruding from her love's abdomen suddenly. Her love's features switched from worried to horrified as well in the flash of a second.

"No, no, no" had left her mouth in sobs as she all but crawled over to her love who had just fallen down as the blade was ripped out again. Her arms wound around her love's body protectively, unmindful of the fighting continuing around them. She watched helplessly how the life vanished from those beloved brown eyes.

When Freiya screamed out loud, filled to the brim with the pain of her loss, it was as if a ripple went around her suddenly, blasting a power wave and emitting bright light.

The last thing she saw clearly was the killer of her love falling down as well, being swept from his feet by the unleashed pure power and the world went black around her.

When Freiya came to again, it took her all but a few seconds to realise that whatever had happened, had transported her out of the reality in which she had lived for the last five years. Her breathing was still elated and her whole being was filled with grief so deeply that she felt as being torn apart.

The very air smelled different around her now. When she blinked her eyes open her against the tears burning in them, Freiya found herself in a dark alleyway, surrounded by large houses. She had indeed returned to the reality she had grown up to then.

She got to her feet quickly, not sure if she already might have gathered unwanted attention. She knew that she needed to hide quickly. Her magic it seemed had come back already, as the numerous voices in her head of everyone around her assaulted her mercilessly. She gasped against the sudden assault and tried to dull her mind, instead focusing on the grief coursing hotly through her very veins. Five years of having been alone in her head had felt like heaven in comparison now.

Freiya looked down at herself. She was still dressed in the battle armour, the blood of her lost love clung damply to her fingers. A simple flick of her hands had the armour changed into nondescript dark clothes instead. She was rather sure that she had been brought back to the reality from where she had started her last quest.

If that was indeed the case, she would need to return to "her" apartment. She doubted that the one who had given her the infinity stone to use and hunt for others would be pleased to learn that she had lost it and returned empty-handed instead of bringing another one. But they had agreed for her apartment to remain untouched for however long she would leave. For a second Freiya considered if someone might already be waiting for her there, but somehow, she doubted it.

Her fingers started to shake strongly when she looked closer at the drying blood on them. Freiya was not sure if it had only been her love's or from one of their enemies as well, but it mattered no longer now. This reality was lost to her forever, she knew that.

She was powerless to stop the tears running down her cheeks as her mind stayed focused on her love dying in front of her, just out of her reach. She chided herself as a fool in her mind. She had lived along with mortals long enough to know well that getting too close to them never ended well for her. But it helped little to ease her raw grief.

Freiya was thankful to recognize quickly that she was just a mere block away from her apartment and as it seemed, she still had some kind of luck on her side as no one had watched her appearance out of nowhere in the dark alleyway. She focused on the voices in her head for a moment to make sure, but no one was paying her any mind at all. She trudged on along the pavement, mindful not to bump into anyone still walking around as well.

Freiya was almost thankful for the grief clouding her mind and dulling the voices around her beyond recognition.

She would need to have words with the one who had given her the infinity stone that she required a remoter location for her apartment. She knew being surrounded by so many people would drive her back to insanity quickly otherwise. Maybe she could suggest a reality without magic altogether.