Laufey chewed slowly as her eyes casually fixated on the wound in his gut. Would it be foolish or insensitive of her to offer him anything to eat? Would he even be able to digest anything when his intestines were missing hardly an hour ago? While on her knees she leaned over and plucked a skewer of meat away from the fire and hands it to him. The man doesn't reach for it, nor does he make any eye contact with her to acknowledge her offer. A rejected sigh escapes her as she brings the juicy meat to her mouth and begins eating it. The taste was incredible. It was instinctively sharp and hinted of pine and roots. The taste was so familiar to her but, she couldn't put her finger on it. Partly due to how hungry and tired she had become all thanks to her struggle for survival in this strange land as well as her 'encounter' with this silent and strange man. While she wasn't paying attention, the white and red painted man stood up and walked over to the fire. With his eyes cautiously watching her chewing and swallowing the meat, he bends down and snatches one of the skewers up and begins eating it even before sitting down. He doesn't give any indication of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the meal. Laufey swore she saw him stop his chewing for only a moment to run his tongue along the inners of his mouth as if to taste something.
Once he finished, he leaned forward and reached for her axe from the ground. Laufey didn't flinch as much this time. He pointed to her and then the axe in his hand. Silently, he set it down and held his hand out to it as if he was trying to recall it himself. After a moment he pointed at her as if to order her to do something. She pondered what he could be trying to ask of her as she holds her hands out and it flew to her. He grunts something in his language and nods his head.
He wanted to know how the axe worked? How in the world would she describe magic to him?
Laufey sets the Leviathan back down and takes a deep breath through her nose. Reaching out her hands she sprinkles her fingers over the air quickly. No, that won't do, he may think she is talking about the rain again. She stops all hand movements suddenly and thinks. While contemplating the man quickly storms over to her and forcefully grabs her left arm. He rips the sleeve off her tunic. Reflexively, she snatched her arm away and smacks him in his face with it. He doesn't flinch but lowers his head in what could almost be understood as an apology. She held her body away from him, what was he trying to do now? Did he want to see her arms? Why? She rolls up the sleeve of her other arm. Cautiously, she held both exposed wrists out for him to view. Not as harshly this time, he snatched them in his dry cracked hands and looked them over top and bottom. He drags his fingers from her wrist to right below her elbow. His fingers were warm and sharp, but the way he traced his tips along her forearms left goosebumps. He wasn't finished after he let both arms go, with one hand he twisted her right arm over and with his other hand, rubbed his palm down the hairs of her arm as if trying to feel for something on her skin. What was he looking for? She got the impression he must not have found whatever it was. Quickly the man's face turned from curiosity back to aggravation. Finally, he let go and looked away. With her mind at a complete lost at what this sudden outburst was all about, Laufey rolled down her only sleeve and picked the axe back up. The white and red painted man turned away viciously from her and appeared to adjust the wrappings on his own arms.
As the sun shines down onto her skin Laufey began to realize just how overdressed she is for the environment. It was hot, a strange hot that she hasn't felt before. Her skin felt like it was soaking in a bath even though she wasn't in any water. Her dress stuck to her body clinging to her back damply. Maybe this strange man had the right idea of wearing as little clothing as possible? She should nonetheless take advantage of the weather and start venturing out in search of more adequate living conditions. She braided her hair quickly and stood up. "I'm leaving now. Thank you for... not killing me." Laufey said slowly. He didn't bother to even look at her. She rolled her eyes and gathered up her things. If everything went well she wouldn't be coming back here. She picked up her axe and turned to him and bowed her head slightly, again, no response. She walked away towards the area she hadn't explored yet.
After several minutes, she heard him walking behind her.
The two of them came across the ruins of an old city next to the sea. The man suddenly picked up his pace and began to walk in front of her. Laufey struggled to keep up, wanting to take in the beautiful, eerie scene. It appeared most of the village had been below the water and they were only walking on the uppermost level of an entire city. The parts left made the village appear small but she had no clue how severe the flooding had been and what could be below the waters. The architecture was unlike anything she had ever seen. White pillars held up massive slabs of marble stone. There was a colossal temple erected at the very top of the road. Most of it was sinking into the sea. But there was a smaller open alcove next to it that looked safe to enter. It had no walls, just multiple pillars holding up the roof. Scattered along the floor were the bones of dozens of humans. Overturned carts filled with rotting food, and endless bushels of grain and spices. He slowed his pace and finally, they walked side by side for a moment. She gazed up at him but his expression was the same. Then she saw a table full of beautiful painted pottery and clothing.
She ran out ahead of the man and started examining everything. Painted jars filled with foul-smelling liquid and pickled vegetables. She opened every one of them. Silk fabrics dyed the colors of the rainbow. She wanted to take everything with her but as she started to fill her pockets she felt his gaze upon her. He spoke something at her. It was a question she thought.
She finds a sprig of rosemary. She picks it up and inhales the aroma. Freya, she thinks. She never really had time to think about what happened a few days ago. With her heart rate increasing, Laufey holds her fingertips up to her mouth and remembers the kiss. She dreamed of her first kiss since she was a little girl. Imagining it time and time again - sometimes with a courteous and intelligent blacksmith who had stolen her heart many years ago. But never like this. What brought about her sudden confession and advances? She knew she was lonely but wasn't her comradely enough? Had Laufey truly been so blind to what her friend was really thinking about their relationship? Freya had been married to a man for hundreds of years, it never even crossed her mind. Hindsight suddenly crashed into reality as she recalled everything. The way they would sleep together in her little bed, sometimes waking up tangled in each other's arms for warmth when the fire went out. Laufey began to regret not asking her more questions about Freya's personal life. She knew it had ended poorly but, was she ever happy? Was she a bad friend to her? Was she even a friend in the first place? She breathes in the rosemary again. Laufey misses her she realized. She was so beautiful, yet, a part of her felt so sad, so...
A dark thought entered her mind. Her son was Baldur, the man Loki was destined to kill. She wouldn't have been able to know this, would she? There's no way Freya was trying to distract her before her son came by and killed her? She scrunches her chin in sadness. No, that would be tragic, spiteful, and depressing. Freya would never do that to her. But then again, thanks to her jaded experience these past few years, that made it the most likely possibility. She remembered how much she hated the gods. They were wicked, all of them. As sorrow engulfed her heart as she attempted to harden her heart, Laufey sneaks one more sniff of the pale green herbs before shoving them into her bag.
She picked up a dress made of red linen to distract her thoughts. it was thin and beautiful, it had the same golden square patterns as his kilt she noticed. She turned to face him. He walked away from her silently, uninterested in what she was doing. She didn't follow him, instead, examining at all the jewelry piled high on the table. She noticed some of it had the same markings of the ear cuff she once wore. She picked a golden hair clip up and replaced her old rosemary hair tie with it.
Once she was finished exploring she walked away towards where the man was last seen. She couldn't hear his footsteps anymore.
He was gone. She walked the stone floors hearing only her footsteps. She searched behind turned over carts and behind each pillar.
"Hello?" Laufey calls, only a faint echo answers her. She gave up looking after what felt like an hour. What a strange and terrifying man, she thinks. It's probably better she remains alone. She had no idea when the transparent goddess would be back for her.
As she walked out of the corridors she followed a stony pathway up a hill. More white pillar houses could be seen. She didn't enter them, continuing forward up the pathway. Statues of people she doesn't recognize tower above her.
Then, one statue sticks out to her. She walks over to look at it closely. It was him, it was of the white and red man. It was broken and cracked in several spots but there was no mistaking it. It was him. Was he a king? Or the son of a king?
She reaches out and touches the statue.
"It is almost time for you to return home." A woman's voice says. It was the goddess.
"Where am I right now?" Laufey asks her.
"You stand in the ruins of a land once called Sparta." She says. "Home to fiercely strong warriors."
"I noticed that," Laufey says looking away. "Where will you take me once it is time to return?"
"Back to the cave where we first encountered one another."
Laufey presses her lips together. She knew there would be a catch. She would return to her isolation in Jotunheim.
"Tell me, have you obtained what you need from this land yet?" She asks her with a smile.
Laufey looks back to the woman questionably. "What?"
"I see. Well Please continue your efforts. Just remember. You will return what belongs to me when you are finished this time."
"This time?" Laufey says.
The goddess drops her smile. "Here, these are for you."
"I don't want whatever you are about to give me," Laufey says closing her hands around her ears.
The goddess grins again. "I am no longer interested in branding anything on you. While you travel in this land these will provide you with protection. Once you are finished in this world, I will want them back."
The goddess disappears, left on the statue were two blades attached to chains.
Laufey set the axe down onto the statue and slowly picked up the two blades. Both identical in shape and form, a leather-bound handle enclosed around a short pommel. A massive hilt in the shape of a deformed creature with its mouth opened held the blade of the weapon. The blade itself was curved with jagged edges and a deep silver color. She brushed her fingers along the side of the blade, the metal felt cold in her hands. When she picked them up long chains fell from the stone statue onto the ground. The jingling sound they make collapsing on top of each other into a circle triggers a memory of hers. These were the same chains from her dreams. She extends the weapon above her head and examined the chains. They weren't hot like she remembered. Like the blades, they were unusually cold.
She had no room in her hands to hold both the Leviathan and the blades. So she bent down and began emptying out her bag she had just filled in the temple. A jar of sweet smelling oil, a golden necklace with a green stone attached to it, and several bushels of herbs and preserved food items. The red dress with square detailing at the very bottom fell over top of everything. It was a long sheet of red linen cloth sewn together with gold thread. She looked around to make sure no one was nearby. Then she started undressing from her thick golden dress and red mail tunic. She held the red linen sheet of fabric over her naked body. It was unnervingly thin, but she felt the immediate relief of no longer wearing wool, leather, and chain mail.
She had absolutely no idea how to wear the dress. Upon further examination, she wonders if this was even a dress to begin with? The tube of thin red linen attached with golden thread, one side seemed to have been torn away slightly. She saw a continuous line of golden squares detailing one side. She decided that would be the bottom of it. She stepped into the dress, quickly noticing it had no way of staying up. She realized there were no holes for her arms to go through. She groaned in agitation, mouthing several profanities in her people's native language all while trying to figure out how the garment even worked. She reaches down and picks up the golden necklace from her pile. She unfastens it and wraps it above her breast, holding the cloth up. It didn't stay up very well but it would do the trick for now. She may look ridiculous but at least she was finally comfortable in the moist heat of this land. She kneels down and set the two blades onto her mail tunic and began to wrap them up tightly. The mail would prevent the blades from tearing the bag while she travels. Then she folded the tunic and blades up inside her large, still damp from sweat, golden dress. She placed everything in her bag. Along with the essentials from her own world, she didn't have much room left for any of her newly found treasures. She shoved the bushel of rosemary on the top of the clothing and closed her bag up. She stood and picked the leviathan back up. She continued on, exploring the village alone.
She heard the sound of glass breaking in the distance. She runs over to try and find the source, constantly readjusting her new flimsy, 'dress.' A large fire-ravished house with actual walls between four pillars. The front door was large and made of wood. Time and what appeared to be a house fire worn much of it away but she saw small designs etched into it. The metal handle had rusted over and hung loosely out of the back of the door. She pushes it open and stepped inside the dark ashy house. It was as if no one had been inside for decades. To her left was a counter with cracked pottery scattered throughout, adorned with spider webs. She walked past it and found a table with three chairs. She dragged her fingers across one of the chairs still intact, feeling the splintered antique wood. She looked around the home, it was decorated with burnt cloth tapestries and paintings throughout.
While looking around she stepped onto some broken glass from a mirror. She looks down and sees a round mirror knocked over, shattered on a small table. She reaches out to touch the outer frame in order to set it back up but hears rustling inside the house. She quickly stands up and grips her axe tightly. There were only two other rooms inside the home. She enters a room with the remains of a small bed made from velvet and wood, a child's bed. A tiny nightstand sat beside it. The window was open and the remits of a sheer curtain drift in the breeze.
She exits the room and looks inside the other. It was much larger than the last. The window was closed unlike the last one and thick curtains were still intact. Keeping the room much darker than the others. She entered it to try and look around. She sets her axe down and extends her arms out to make sure she didn't bump into anything. She feels a bed in front of her, as she reaches out to feel it her hand bumps into a leg. She gasps and the leg moves away quickly.
It was the man, sleeping on the bed, or was sleeping. While backing away from the bed the chains in her bag jingled. It was dark but she saw his massive outline sit up from the bed and face her. His breathing was staggered, his chest heaved up and down as if he saw a ghost. "Λυσάνδρα?" He says almost fearfully. Still, Laufey can't understand him. The man lunges up off the bed and walked over to her with panic in his glowing yellow eyes. In the dark he grips her with both hands and leans his face close to her, pushing her backward until they finally step into a pillar of light shining in from the ancient cracked walls. His eyes focused and he realizes who she is. He lets go of her and backs away. Disgust washes over his face as he says something softly under his breath. "I didn't mean to startle you," Laufey says while readjusting her dress from the scuffle.
The man avoids her as he walked past her into the main living area. She turned around to follow him before stopping to glances back into the room with the small bed. Maybe this was the house he grew up in? Could this room have been his long ago? She smiles quickly at the thought of this massive angry man as a little boy sleeping in a tiny bed.
She sweeps the broken glass away with her feet, so as not to step on it again. The sound makes him look back at her. "Is everything okay?" She says. This time, he actually responded to her softly, even though she couldn't understand any of it. His raspy voice, while still intimidating, cracked slightly as sorrow seeped through.
He shuffled over to her and grasps a handful of her loose dress as if to take his mind off something. He said something under his breath and let go of the fabric. Then he strolls back into the large room and opens a small dusty stone box on top of a dresser. He reached in a pulls out two golden pins with a small seashell adorning the top of each one. He then opens the bottom dresser door and takes out a golden rope with tassels at each end. The man walks back over to Laufey without making eye contact and rips the golden chain necklace off her. It snaps and plunges to the ground, along with the dress. Laufey gasps as her breasts spill out but quickly catches the dress and cover them back up. The man didn't even seem phased by her exposed skin. He rudely moved her arms out of the way while holding onto the top of the dress. Forcefully he directs her to hold her arms straight out to her side. Ignoring her nakedness as he held the top of the dress up around her armpits. Then he gathers up the ends of the fabric on the left side and quickly measures the length of his arm with it. He fastens one of the pins into the fabric and gestures to bring her arm into the new opening. He moves his hands to the right side with the torn seam, and simply pins both ends onto her shoulder with the other seashell broach. Finally, he picked the rope up and reaches both his arms around her body and places it along her upper back. He brings two ends together and ties them together at her chest. He casually lifts her breast up with his knuckles while doing so. Laufey shuts her eyes in a mixture of agitation and embarrassment. He gathers the rest of the rope and circles her body again with it. This time it falls right above her midriff. He backs away from her once he is finished. Sure enough, the dress wasn't going anywhere now. He says something to her. She didn't hear as much irritability in his voice. She reaches down and picks up her axe. "Thank you." She says with a flushed face. He didn't make any notion of responding to her. She bends down and puts her bag around her. She sways back and forth slightly two times to feel the flow of the thin fabric on her legs.
As she sways the chains jingle in her bag. He looks back towards her and grasps her right arm painfully. He forces his hand into her bag and tried to grab at the wrapped up clothing and blades. She held still while he removed it. With her clothing in his hands, he released her and she shuffles backward. His breathing quickened as he unfolded the dress and tunic and saw what was inside. He whispers something.
Laufey kept silent as she watches him remove one blade from the pile of clothing. He throws it onto the ground and violently seizes her arms again. His yellow eyes were furious. He started yelling at her, as he did his hands became strangely hot. Then suddenly the chains surge from the ground and lurch at the man. She shoves him out of the way and instead, they besieged her. Wrapping around her throat she opened her mouth to scream. They charred her skin on impact. While in pain she summoned her axe but the chains squeezed tightly and caused her to stutter and lose her balance, she didn't catch the leviathan flying at her. It flew past her and crashed into the counter holding the jars of pottery. The man rushes to her and tries to pull the chains off her neck. They continued searing her skin as they squeezed. She screamed in pain, panic flooded her vision as the man was trying to pull them off her. She saw a similar panic in the man's eyes looking back at her. He managed to find the end of one of the chains and pulled it free from her. Then the chain lunged at him and he stumbled back avoiding it. "Help me!" She weakly pleas as she sunk onto her knees. The loose chain dangled freely by her arms. He backed away from her hesitantly. He almost looked afraid. Then, after a second, he knelt down next to her and grasped the chains in both hands. He began slowly unwrapping them from her neck. Once they were all off they fell lifeless onto the ground. He kept still next to her, breathing almost as heavily as she was. The asphyxiation caused tears to stream down her face, her neck was on fire. She looked up to him, wobbly, he steadied her with both his hands. He saved her she thought. Her eyes wide with gratitude and fear.
Then, she realized, he was looking at her with the exact same expression.
He stood up and helped her to her feet. Not letting go of her. They held onto each other for a moment longer, still catching their breath. She looked back down at the blades and let go of him first. She went to bend down and pick one up but he stopped her, pulling her back to him. Saying something softly to her. She places a hand onto his and nodded encouragingly. He lets go and she picks one of the blades up. She looks it over.
"ο δικός μου" He says with a grizzled voice.
She quickly looked back at him.
"What?" She says
He points to the blades, then to his chest.
"They belong to you?" She asks pointing at the one on the ground. He doesn't respond. She picked it up and holds them both in her hands. They were cold again. Then she looks at his arms. The chains. It was starting to make sense now. These were the reason for the burns on his arms. She held the blades in her hands and pointed to the axe. "Take." She says. He walks over and picked up the leviathan. She walked out of the house holding his blades in each hand, chains dragging loosely on the ground behind her. He followed slowly behind her holding her axe.
"It is time." A voice calls out. And suddenly the world around her begins to vanish. The man rushes towards her yelling something. She reaches out for him but everything dissolves. She trips over something and suddenly she feels a piercing cold penetrate her entire body. She looks around and sees stone statues of her dead family all around her. She was still holding his two blades in her hands.
She is back in Jotunheim.