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WARNING: this chapter contains violence

Chapter 32

Thor cautiously gathered his things. As quiet as possible he opened the door of the bedroom and made his way towards the front door. Slowly he reached for the handle, turned it and opened the door.

"Be careful…" a silent voice sounded behind him. The God of Thunder almost tripped. He turned around and faced a tired looking Jane. She was standing in the open bedroom doorway, a soft blanket rapped around her shoulders. She smiled, but couldn't hide the worry beneath it.

Last night, Thor had informed her that he, the Warriors Three, Lady Sif and Arya were about to go on a quest to Vanaheim. Of course she hadn't been too keen about it, but she understood that action was more than necessary right now. So she didn't argue…

Thor smiled back. "Always…" he whispered back. For a second he thought about walking over to Jane. Just to give her a hug, a kiss maybe… to say goodbye, but he couldn't. It was as if by doing that, he would allow himself not to come back. Now he simply had to!

The God of Thunder turned his back to his wife and closed the door behind him. Jane gulped. She already missed him…

-xxx-

Thor marched outside the palace towards Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. They were standing next to the stables, talking in excitement. Finally some action! Only Sif kept on glaring over at someone standing a little bit further. Thor looked and saw Arya, waiting nervously next to her horse. Loki was talking to her. When the young king spotted his brother he immediately made his way towards him.

"Finally!" Loki said. "About time! I thought you weren't going to show up!"

Thor didn't answer. He still wasn't very happy about Loki's decision. If this went south, Asgard would not only loose it's crown prince/Captain, but also its best warriors. Loki sighed.

"Look, just do me a favour and make sure Arya gets settled in. She's one bundle of nerves and Sif doesn't look like she going to make it any easier for her…"

Thor looked past his brother at Arya. She was obviously trying to decide whether to join the others or not. The God of Thunder nodded.

"All right… but you promise me this, Loki. You take care of Jane and Frigga while I'm gone! And in case anything would happen…"

Loki grinned. "Oh please! Thor! Since when did you become so melodramatic!"

Thor didn't laugh, but just walked past his brother and joined his friends while gesturing to Arya that she had to join too. The young Captain hesitatingly obeyed.

-xxx-

About ten minutes later, Thor rode down the rainbow bridge with Sif and Arya in his wake. Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun followed. When they reached the Bifröst, everyone dismounted their horse and followed their prince inside. Heimdall, standing on his normal spot, bowed his head.

"Good morning, my prince, my ladies, my lords…" he said. Thor tried to smile. Even though he wanted nothing more than to get some action, he had a really bad feeling about this mission.

"How's the weather on Vanaheim?" Fandral asked with a smile, ignoring Sif's rolling eyes.

"Dreadful, my Lord!" Heimdall answered dryly.

"Oh dear…" Fandral continued. "And Sif just had her hair done…"

Lady Sif playfully pushed Fandral aside and walked to the front of the Bifröst.

"We'll see who will be the first to complain about 'bad hair'…" she answered.

"Please send us to Vanaheim, Heimdall…" Thor said while taking his place in front of the Bifröst. As usual he was first, followed by Sif and Arya. The Warriors Three were last.

The Guardian nodded and let his sword sink inside the whole in the middle of the room. The walls of the Bifröst started turning.

"I will send you to the very edge of Vanaheim, to the border between the land and the wilderness where I suspect you will find the bandits. But be warned. For some reason my vision is blurred around those parts. I cannot foresee what dangers are awaiting you!"

Fandral took his place too and rubbed his hands together. "Sounds brilliant!" he shouted in excitement. The warrior was standing right behind the nervous Arya.

"My Lady! First field trip? My hand is free to hold…" he said with grin. Fandral didn't mean to sound rude. The playful sparkle in his eyes only made that more clear.

Arya looked over her shoulder her and smiled uneasily. She didn't really know what to answer. Fandral was a Lord, one of The Warriors Three!

Volstagg, who was standing next to Fandral, span his axe around in his hand and rolled his eyes.

"Don't pay attention to him, Arya. He's a first class idiot!"

"A first class, probably the most handsome, talented and charming idiot!" Fandral added with a grin.

Volstagg sighed. "He lacks attention as much as manners! Just ignore him…"

Fandral smiled. "You can look away, but you can never ignore me…" he said sarcastically while winking towards the already blushing new recruit of the team.

"Shut up, Fandral..." Thor said with a sigh, just before the rainbow grabbed them all and sucked them away from Asgard. Nobody noticed Heimdall's golden eyes, suspiciously scanning the room.

-xxx-

Thor had never thought he could miss travelling with the Bifröst this much, but he almost felt sad when his feet touched the ground again. One by one his friends followed. Heimdall hadn't been lying: the weather was indeed horrible. It was raining cats and dogs and everyone was soaking wet within seconds. If only Loki were here now. The God of Mischief could have created a shield which would not only stop the rain, but would also help a great deal with the mission.

"All right! What's the plan?" Sif asked while stepping next to Thor.

"Loki wanted us to find out where and who they are in the first place. We'll try to make a headcount and we'll see if we can stop them… Loki also suspected that the missing warriors are still here. We have to be careful, though. There's always a chance we're dealing with a sorcerer. That might explain why Heimdall can't see them…"

Sif nodded. "Sounds reasonable…"

"So what do we do then?" Volstagg joined in.

"I say we start searching for them…" Sif answered. Thor nodded and started walking. The others followed.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but wouldn't it be better if we split up?" a voice suddenly sounded behind them.

Everybody turned and watched Arya still standing on the spot where the Bifröst had dropped her. Sif squeezed her eyes in anger. Was this rookie doubting her?

Arya nervously shifted her weight and cleared her throat now that all attention was fixed on her.

"I just thought that maybe we could use the rain to our advantage. If we split up, we can cover more ground and one person is harder to spot than a group. Especially in this weather."

Everyone turned silent and watched Thor, waiting for his opinion. Slowly a big smile appeared on his handsome face.

"Indeed.." he said, sounding extremely proud. Arya smiled. For a second there, she had been sure she'd messed up again, but now all she could do was beam with proud. Thor nodded and smiled.

"You heard your Captain!" he said. "Split up! Back here within five hours! And if you find something, you mark it and make sure you'll find your way back when it stops raining!"

Even before Thor was done, Sif had already turned around and stamped off. Volstagg smiled to Frigga and also disappeared. Fandral on the other hand watched Sif's silhouette until she was nothing more then a dark spot moving through the curtain of rain. He turned to Arya grinned, raised his eyebrows in an admiring way and winked before turning around too.

Arya didn't know if she had to smile or not. She liked the new attention she got from the warriors, she almost felt accepted, but she'd also pissed of Lady Sif…

After Hogun had disappeared too, Thor walked over to the hesitating woman and petted her shoulder. Arya's knees almost cracked under the sudden weight.

"Good job, Captain…" he said before leaving Arya on her own too.

Arya decided to smile. Maybe this whole trip wouldn't turn out to be that bad after all.

-xxx-

Arya cautiously made her way through the deserted land. She'd never been to this part of Vanaheim. She did remember visiting the towns of Vanaheim with her farther, but that was a long time ago.

With every step she took Arya expected someone to jump at her from behind, so she held her hands on her trusty bow at all times. Maybe she was just paranoid, but she had the feeling she was being followed. Yet, every time she turned around, there was no one there.

It had been three hours already and she'd seen nothing. And with nothing, she actually meant absolutely nothing. The rainfall had increased over the last hour and Arya couldn't see one metre ahead. She frequently bumped into rocks, boulders and trees. Besides that, she was soaked to the bone and she felt as if she was changing into an icicle.

Think of something funny… Arya thought while trying to keep her teeth from chattering. For some reason, she had to think of Asgard and of Loki, now sitting in his throne, in a warm, cosy room. Of course he had to listen to the boring talks of the royal advisers, but right now Arya would gladly switch places. A slight smile appeared on Arya's wet face. She didn't know why, but thinking of her king, made her smile. Weird she thought while only just managing not to trip over a sudden rock. She'd always looked upon Loki with a bit of fear. Everyone knew what he could do… Especially when you failed him… But now Arya also … just … thought of him.

Arya's thoughts were rudely disturbed when a sudden high-pitched noise cut through the air. It almost sounded like a horn… Thought the rain, she couldn't really make up where it came from, but she didn't have to look far.

Everywhere she looked Arya could see dark hooded figures appear through the wall of rain. There were still far from her, and probably couldn't spot her, but Arya didn't see an escape. She was trapped!

Arya's heart started working extra hours. What was she supposed to do now! Cautiously she reached for the quiver on her back, and put an arrow on her bow. She was ready to defend herself! Oh, who was she kidding! There were just too many!

It was only a matter of second now…. Arya could hear the… whatever they were, getting near. How long did she have left? What would they do to her? Was this really it? Was she really going to fail after all!

Suddenly an arm rapped around Arya's neck and pulled her down. The female warrior started fighting, but the arm was simply too strong. Before she knew it, Arya was being dragged behind a bush behind which seemed to be a – hopefully – empty cave. Her assailant pushed her hard against the ground. Arya tried to scream but a slim hand prevented any sound from leaving her lips.

"Lay still!" a familiar voice ordered her in a whisper. Arya let her eyes adjust to the little light in the cave. The person she saw, was the last one she'd expected. Lady Sif was sitting on top of her, covering her mouth with one finger, gesturing that she had to be quiet. Outside the troops passed by. Only when the sound of the heavy footsteps had disappeared in the rain for at least ten seconds; Lady Sif let go. Cautiously Arya rolled on her side and sat up on her knees.

"Thank… thank you… my lady" she stuttered. Sif didn't answer, but took a quick look outside the cave to make sure everyone was gone.

"You have to stay focused!" Sif said harshly while returning inside the cave. "What were you thinking! I saw them coming ages ago!"

Arya carefully got to her feet. The cave seemed to be high enough to stand in, although she wasn't sure Thor would be able to stand up too.

A slight blush coloured Arya's cheeks. She hoped that the cave was dark enough not to show.

Sif walked further into the cave. In the back she kneeled down and grabbed her shield and sword she'd left there.

"On my search I suddenly found a river…" she continued. Arya followed her every move and watched the female warrior with a questioning look in her eyes as if saying: "So… rivers happen to flow on certain parts of the land…"

Before Arya could readjust her expression Sif carried on. "Which would have been normal!" she said harshly, making Arya take a step back. "If not for the fact that it was way bigger than it's supposed to be. I have never been in this part of Vanaheim, but I have seen that river from afar and right now it has burst it's banks!"

Arya nodded. "So what do you think it's causing it?" she asked, slightly afraid of appearing as a total idiot… which she did, judging by Sif's expression of disbelief.

"What do you think!" Sif shouted. "What makes a river flood!"

Arya felt the blood rushing through her cheeks. She was sure she knew the answer, but right now her head was one big chaos.

"The rain…" she silently answered.

Sif sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, eventually! I'm talking about dams!"

Arya quickly nodded, her mouth hanging open in a silent "Oh…"

And then it finally struck her! The pieced started to find their place again and Arya could think straight.

"You… you think the bandits build dams!" she shouted a little too excited. "That means they must have a camp nearby… probably a really big camp if they're in need of such a water reserve…"

Sif smiled, but the irony almost melted of her face. "Wow! You're a genius!" she said after which her smile immediately disappeared.

"Did you find something?" Arya asked after a couple of silent seconds.

"I would have… if not for that impossible rain!"

Arya didn't really know what to say anymore, so she just stood there, looking awkward.

"I followed the river…." Sif eventually continued. All I found was an enormous hole. It seemed empty, but now I'm starting to suspect that it might be some kind of entrance…"

Arya frowned. "You mean their living underground?"

"It appears so…" Sif answered. Both women went silent and Arya had the feeling she had to say something… Something like: "Hey! I know we kind of got off on a bad start… Maybe we could start over!", but that sounded so incredibly cheesy that Arya was certain Sif would run out the cave.

"I think it's time we go back! "Sif suddenly said. "I'll tell them about the cave and then we can set up camp here…"

Without further notice, she turned around and wanted to leave the cave. Arya followed, but was immediately pushed back by Sif. Arya was so surprised she almost tripped, but Sif held her up with one arm while gesturing with the other that she had to be quiet.

Arya was just about to mouth "What's going on?" When her eye suddenly fell on a lonely form in the rain. It was nothing more than a silhouette, but it was obviously one of the hooded figures from before, probably someone who had fallen behind. When he'd past the entrance of the cave, Sif and Arya cautiously stuck out there heads, trying to see where the hooded figure was going. A sudden idea sprang to Arya's mind and it was downright crazy, but worth trying….

"Why not follow him?" she whispered behind Sif. The female warrior turned in surprise. She almost forgot to be disgusted of Arya…

"Are you crazy!" she started, but Arya was quick to interrupt. A new kind of curiosity and courage had found a place inside her heart, along with the excited sparkle in her eyes.

"Why not?" she asked. "He's completely alone! He probably won't spot us! If we follow him, we can see if your suggestions where right! That way we won't walk into a trap tomorrow!"

Sif raised her eyebrows in a way she normally only did towards her friends. "You doubt my suggestions?" she asked.

Arya's cheeks turned red once more. "N… No… of course not, my lady, I was just… eer…"

Lady Sif sighed. She recognised the excitement in Arya's eyes. After all, they must have been somewhere around the same age…

Honestly… Sif thought while watching the silhouette disappear in the rain I really want to do something rash too!

Sif bid her lip, but she knew she'd already made up her mind. A mysterious smile formed on her lips.

"Well then… what are we waiting for!" she exclaimed just before pulling herself out of the cave into the gushing rain. Arya followed. Together, they ran after the now almost invisible black spot in the distance.

Arya noticed Sif had been right. To her left she saw an enormous river flowing through the landscape. The closer they got, the slower they ran until they were walking pretty close behind the stranger. If it hadn't been for the rain, they would have been spotted in no time!

The bandit was wearing a light brown cloak with the hood pulled over his head. The fabric reached just above his feet, and stroke the grass while he was walking fast along the river, not aware of his pursuers. Arya and Sif walked for another ten minutes before the cloaked figure turned left, towards the river. When they got closer, Arya could see the hole Sif had been talking about, curled up in a bend of the river.

Suddenly Lady Sif pulled Arya behind a boulder next to the hole. The both watched how the bandit grabbed a rope which was had been hidden behind some bushes at the edge, and slowly descended on the steep wall of the pit.

Sif looked at Arya with her eyebrows high. "Suggestions approved?" she asked with a smile.

Arya nodded. "Of course, my Lady! I never doubted you…"

Sif smiled and turned her attention back on the pit before her. She knew they were both think the same senseless thing.

After a couple of seconds Sif and Arya looked at each other.

"You're officially nuts!" Sif declared.

"So it seems…" Arya answered with a huge smile. She could feel the excitement in her stomach.

Sif sighed but smiled. Oh, how much she'd missed this!

"All right, but we must be quick! We have to get back in time!"

"I think we still got an hour left…" Arya immediately answered.

Sif nodded. "This is the plan! No arguing!"

Arya eagerly nodded.

"I go down, have a quick look around while you stand watch!

Arya clearly wanted to go down herself, but she wisely didn't argue.

"Understood, my lady!" she said just before getting on her feet and following Sif towards the pit.

"If you see any trouble, you shoot an arrow down the hole! All you have to do is make sure nobody cuts my rope while I'm still down there!"

Arya nodded and prepared her bow while Sif grabbed the rope. Now that they were closer, they could see numerous ropes being hidden under the bushes. Carefully Sif put her feet on the sloppy wall and started descending too while Arya kept a close eye on their surroundings.

"Don't lose focus this time!" Sif called just before disappearing from view. The seconds went by. One by one… Time seemed to have slowed down. And with every second Arya grew more and more uncertain of this crazy idea. Would she hear someone coming in this rain? Would somebody come anyway? Maybe it would have been a better idea to send Thor down, since he could just fly up again if any trouble occurred. Arya felt her hand trembling on her bow and it wasn't just because she was frozen.

Don't lose it now… she said to herself. Stay calm! Stay focused!

Seconds turned into minutes. Had Sif already reached the bottom? Was she alright? Was this pit so deep that – if there was something wrong – Arya would be able to hear it?

A sudden, familiar sound made Arya jump a foot in the air. She looked and completely froze. In horror she watched as a hooded bandit pointed in her direction, holding the horn he'd just blown, shouting something at the rest of his party. About six others joined in. Somewhere in the pit the same horn was blown, but Arya didn't wait for that. As in a trance she shot an arrow into the pit. The black shadow disappeared in the deep darkness. Arya positioned herself over the Sif's rope and readied her bow again while hiding as much as possible behind the bushes. He black Captain's armour should make her hard to spot. The rope tightened. Sif had started her clime upwards. Everywhere around her Arya saw bandits appear. She assumed this wasn't the only hole.

That gave Arya a new idea. She pulled the knife which was hidden inside her boot, meant only for emergencies. Something like… well… right now! As fast as possible she crawled around the pit, cutting every rope, but Sif's. Now this pit was safe! Arya decided to keep the last rope and tie it to her strongest and fastest arrow. If she was forced to fall back and jump in the pit she could use it as a grappling hook.

The bandits were closing in on her and Sif still wasn't visible! Arya could feel her heart beat in her throat, but instead of being scared, as she suspected, she only felt strong. Stronger and faster than ever!

Arya readied her bow once more and put the knife back in her boot. When the first set of cloaked bandits arrived, Arya jumped up from her hiding place and shot three arrows right after each other, not one missing its target. The bandits, taken by surprise, immediately fell to the ground.

"What?" Arya shouted, feeling better than ever. "Never seen a bow before?"

Unfortunately, they had, because the next thing Arya knew was a dozen of sharp arrows flying narrowly around her head. Arya ducked, turned and shot a few arrows of her own at random, hoping she would at least hit some of the - not as good as her – archers. A couple of blood curdling cries gave her the answer. Now at least twenty bandits stormed towards her. Swords, spears, axes, braches, torched held up high! Arya shot, ducked and shot again, but only managed to take five down.

With on arrow in each hand, she waited for the rest. The first one brought down his sword, missed and felt the painful stench of an arrow, stabbed in his knee. The bandit tripped and fell, head down, into the pit. The second and third, both with a spear attacked from both sides. Arya used the point of her arrow to cut though the weak flesh of the firsts unprotected upper arm and pushed him back. The second, attacked, but tripped over Arya's back after she'd ducked down just in time. She grabbed the spear and defeated both bandits. The rest followed and Arya started to run out of arrows. So she took out her blade. With swift, almost elegant steps she moved through the bandits, cutting and stabbing when possible. Finally, Sif came into view. She had a deep cut on her arm, probably from an arrow shot from the bottom, but she kept on climbing.

Arya had the feeling that with every bandit she took down, two took his place and she was getting tired. After one well-placed kick, a screaming bandit fell down the pit as well. Arya turned and stood eye to eye with the biggest guy she'd ever seen. She raised her hand, but knew she would never be in time to block his attack. Arya closed her eyes waiting for the fatal blow. At least she would have died with honour! But that never came... Arya opened her eyes and watched a grinning Sif, pulling her sword out of the giants back.

"Having fun without me? That's not very nice!" she said before turning too and fighting off the other bandits.

Arya sighed in relief. Suddenly her eye fell on a dwarf coming closer. He was so small that the grass, bushes and rain almost covered him completely. As if things couldn't get any weirder, the dwarf was carrying a huge blade, raised up high, ready to cut Sif into the pieces. Arya jumped in between Sif and the dwarf, blocking his - unbelievably strong – attack. She was thrown back towards the pit. Because of the rain, the edges were getting all muddy and unstable. Arya tried to keep her balance, which seemed to work at first, until the ground beneath her feet suddenly cracked and disappeared. Arya slipped and fell with a horrifying scream which muted Sif's shouts.

Arya didn't waist her time and pulled out the strong and fast arrow with the rope she'd kept. With one lucky move she shot it towards the edge, knowing that she could touch the ground any second.

The arrow hit the wall and buried itself deep in the earth. The rope tightened and swung Arya towards the wall. Her feet touched first. Arya burned her hands, slipping down the rope, but her fingers, used to the cutting cord of a bow, found grip. With her heart beating in her throat and her hands burning, Arya held on tight for a couple of seconds, not able to move.

After what seemed like ages, she slowly looked down. The ground was only a few meters away from her. Luckily, the archers had disappeared, probably to fight the battle elsewhere.

Arya swallowed and tried to keep her body from shaking. She had to climb! Fast! And so she did.

After years and years of climbing over the walls of the palace to get into the armoury, she was quit a climber, even in slightly traumatised state.

The rain started falling on her face again. She was almost there! The shouts and screams became more clear. And then… Arya's heart stopped beating. Her arrow had hit the wall, but not high enough! She had to climb at least two meters without rope! Above her head, Arya could spot Sif's shining armour and dark hair. Bandits were dropping like flies. A horn sounded over the plain. The bandits were retreating! They were probably losing to many men on Sif.

"My Lady!" Arya called out desperately, shaking all over her body.

Sif looked down the pit. She was bleeding from a an ugly looking head wound, but when she saw Arya alive and well - sort off – she almost fell in herself.

"I can't get any further!" Arya shouted. Sif looked at the arrow.

"Hold on!" she shouted back.

Easy for you to say! Arya thought while looking at her arrow which was had started bending under her weight.

"Hurry!" she called. Sif appeared back above her.

"I can't tie the ropes to anything!" she shouted. And I can't hold you either! I'll slip! The ground is too muddy!"

Arya felt the tears of pure fright fight their way through her eyes.

Sif was starting to panic too and the arrow wasn't going to hold for very much longer.

"You have a knife?" Sif suddenly asked. Arya nodded.

"Use it to cut holes in the ground to climb! The earth might still be hard enough!"

Arya swallowed and reached down her boot. The arrow cracked, but didn't break yet. Shaking and shivering, Arya managed to get her hand on the knife. She put the blade between her teeth, changed hands and took the knife again. As fast as possible she started cutting a tiny hole in the wall. The earth was incredibly firm. The Arrow cracked again and Arya fell down a couple of inches. With her heart beating in her throat she kept cutting. The tears in her eyes made it almost impossible to see. One cut finished!

Crack! The arrow broke further. Arya fell down a little bit. She wanted to scream, but she was simply too terrified! While shivering unstoppably she started cutting a next hole, underneath the first. Somewhere above her she could hear Sif's voice, but the words were nothing more than some meaningless muttering. She was probably encouraging her… Or maybe she was already giving up on her….

The rope started to untie itself around the arrow. At least the pressure on the arrow decreased too that way… Not that it would keep her alive any longer!

Finally, the second cut was finished! Arya put her right foot in the hole. Just in time! The arrow cracked one last time and without further notice, half the arrow and the rope fell down in the depths of the pit. Arya grabbed the first hole with her right hand and forced herself not to look down. Trembling with fear she took the knife in her left hand and started craving the next hole. Slowly she started climbing up the wall. Step by step. Hole by hole. It seemed to take ages, but with every inch she got closer to the surface, the earth became looser.

Sif lay down and stretched out her arm, trying to reach Arya, knowing that the bandits could return any moment with reinforcements. Arya did the same. Their fingertips touched!

Come on!" Sif shouted. "Just a little further!" Arya stood on the tips of her toes and reached again.

Just a little bit! And then… Sif's strong hand closed around Arya's wrist. She pulled as hard as she could. Arya stretched out her second arm. Sif grabbed it and pulled again, while Arya tried to push herself up the wall with her feet. Slowly, but steadily, Arya came over the edge. Head first, shoulders, waist, legs…

Finally Arya fell down in the muddy ground. Shivering and trembling with pure fear, all over her body! She was exhausted, frozen, burned, cut, bruised and wet! Sif help the crying warrior on her feet and dragged her away from the pit, away from the river. After a couple of minutes, Arya seemed to find the strength in her legs again. Both women started running for their lives.

They were incredibly late!

There you go! I hope you liked it!

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