Hi guys, I realise it's been such a long time but that's why I have left you with a slightly longer chapter than usual. Hope you all don't hate me too much. Oh and let me know if you enjoy it. The notifications I've been getting are the only things that are reminding me I have to write lately.
Just as Bo climbed onto Tamsin's lithe form, alarm bells began ringing in both of their heads. The once silent minds corrupted by panic and feelings of confusion. Tamsin attempted to contact one of the higher ranked valkyries to see what was going on, but was greeted with equal confusion on her part.
"Come on Bo. Work starts now."
"But-"
"No buts, we'll pick this up later. Get dressed." Tamsin was already in her jeans when she flung the succubus' previously discarded clothes towards the bed. The brunette looked at her in shock before finally relenting and getting dressed.
This better be fucking good. Not only was Tamsin worried, she was now extremely sexually frustrated. That combination in a valkyrie can be extremely dangerous.
When the pair reached the commotion, what they found was two valkyries arguing loudly.
"What is going on?" Tamsin immediately took charge of the situation. The valkyrie's immediately stilled, a silence enveloped the room as they turned to stare at the blonde and brunette. "What is going on?" Bo echoed.
"My Goddess, we meant no harm. Things are not as smooth as they once were, patience among us wears thin. We have been caged for almost a week and there are soles to be attended to."
Tamsin?
Yes?
I have no idea what to do. Help me.
"Halt your bickering. Ysabeau need take leave to begin processing these thoughts. You shall hear from us within the hour."
Bo left the large hall with Tamsin moments later, allowing the older woman to guide her back to her room. The worry was evident on Bo's face when she reached her own quarters again.
"What am I going to do Tamsin? I didn't want this.. I don't want this. I can't make decisions for valkyries or run valhalla."
"Bo. Calm down. There is a way." The succubus' head rose to look on in anticipation. "Relinquish the title to a worthy valkyrie."
"Can I do that? I mean how would I chose?"
"You don't. There is legend of a battle to become the ruler of valhalla, before Odin's time. The winner, was Freyja."
"Amulet Freyja?"
"You got it succubus."
"Okay well how do I do it? Is there a special ritual?"
"When is there not a special ritual? Jeez your baby fae is showing again."
"I thought love was meant to make you softer, jeez Tam Tam."
"I don't do soft."
"Oh alright. I bet you won't be able to say that a year from now."
"It's a bet. Now come on, we've got work to do."
Bo and Tamsin were standing atop the pedestal of the throne her father had once rested upon. The pair did so with intent of addressing as many of the valkyries as possible. The telepathic link serving as only an annoyance on Bo's part. With the bond now in place, however, she will never be without the annoyance of the link. The giant marble hall filled with whispers, each valkyrie having a different theory of the announcement they had all been called to hear.
"Silence." Bo's voice echoed around the hall immediately silencing the sea of blonde that stood before her.
"I am Ysabeau. Current ruler of Valhalla. A title that doesn't suit me. I wish to bestow it on another more worthy than I." At that moment Bo was thankful for the link she shared with Tamsin. She would have been clueless if not for the lines the valkyrie was feeding her. The hall remained silent, but the link was buzzing. The brunette could feel it in the back of her mind, causing her agitation to rise.
"In attempt to fins a worthy valkyrie, a tournament will be held. Tamsin will proceed to explain." With a small nod and a comforting brush on Bo's arm Tamsin stepped forward and began to speak.
"Upon sundown of the third day from now, one valkyrie from each order shall be selected, by yourselves. When selection is complete the tournament shall begin. Over 5 days each valkyrie will be subjected to multiple tests of the mind, body and soul. Only one will be held victorious, and as such become the ruler of valhalla. May the gods bless you all. You are dismissed."
The crowd broke out in talk immediately. Each conspiring as to who would be put forward from each of the 20 orders. There were many fierce valkyries among the crowd. Most with glorious achievements to boast of, others only few.
"This is going to be interesting." Tamsin mused as she made her way back to Bo and their shared quarters. "Now that has been dealt with." Tamsin paused to wrap her arms around Bo's waist, lean her head down and slowly place kisses on her jawline. "What are we going to do for the next three days." Feigning ignorance, Bo plastered a confused look on her face. "Well, I think I better get some laundry done, and oh god i've been meaning to ask one of the valkyries to teach me all of the salutes and proper pleasantries before wednesday..."
Tamsin knew when Bo was lying. She could sense it in the succubus' aura. "Are you absolutely sure of that?" Tamsin breathed into the brunette's ear before proceeding to gently nibble at her lobe. The action sent a shiver down Bo's spine. "Well I did have something I needed to finish off." "And what would that be succubus?" When the blonde had reached Bo's pulse point, her hands snaked further down Bo's body to gently squeeze her arse, knowing Bo loved it. The succubus' breath hitched; she was done playing games.
"Oh fuck it." Bo threw Tamsin on the bed and began her assault on the valkyrie, with the need to repay the older woman for their earlier activities.
3 days later
As much as Bo protested, Tamsin had finally managed to get her out of bed and ready. They had used the three days for pleasure and it was now time to get back to business. The time was by no means wasted, but Tamsin still felt like she had to do something except sate the succubus' every growing hunger. Eventually the valkyrie decided to send a message to the happy sunshine gang who were sure to be worried by now. The blonde had sent the message on the second day of her hibernation period with Bo and was still waiting for a reply from the succubus' friends. Her friends.
"So all I have to do is repeat your words again."
"That's all. Don't worry you'll do great. Shakespeare was a pal of mind, he taught me some stuff." With a wink the valkyrie turned towards the podium where they had stood 3 days ago. Each Order of valkyries had chosen their best warrior to put forward and all they had to do now was conclude the tournament.
After a brief speech, guided expertly by Tamsin, the 14 valkyries had been announced. The large hall was buzzing with excitement at the chance of a tournament. It was such a rare thing for valkyries to show anything other than cold indifference, so their behaviour was certainly a shock for Bo and even more so, Tamsin. Taking a step closer to Bo, who turned around to meet the valkyries gaze, Tamsin began to talk about the procedure.
"Okay so there's this room where we, well you, can monitor everything. The tournament lasts until there's only one valkyrie left or until everyone comes to an agreement about who should win." Bo's head was nodding but she was somewhere else, the valkyrie could tell.
"Are you even listening to me?" The taller woman raised her hand in front of the succubus' face and began to click.
"I'm listening Tamsin. All of the valkyries die till there's one left." That's what she's upset about.
"Look Bo," Tamsin brought her hands up to the brunettes face and forced her to look directly at her "There's no other way." Bo broke away from Tamsin, clearly distressed at the situation.
"I'm basically killing 13 valkyries Tamsin! All because I can't live up to my father.." Bo trailed off, retreating to the confines of her own mind.
"Bo. Listen to me. You have way surpassed your father. What is it that Kenzi said? About the staff of righteousness. She could have handled it but she knew the job wasn't for her so she declined it. I'm sure there was a movie reference in their somewhere. Oh wait 'with great power comes great responsibility and the Kenz has enough on her plate right now'."
Stifling a laugh, Bo finally looked up. "How do you always know what to say?" "Just a gift I guess. Come on, you need to rest. The tournament starts tomorrow and we can't have you being all irritable tomorrow. That's my job."
It was the day of the tournament and Tamsin was practicaly brimming with excitement, it was in her nature. Bo however was decidedly more solemn about the whole thing but knew it was necessary. The rest of the valkyries seemed extremely eager to have such an oportunity god knows why Bo thought to herself. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of thinking to herself lately and the blonde to her right had picked up what she had thought. "Bo, this is necessary. Okay? I mean look at them all. They are excited. All of them. This is an event Bo, not an execution. It's not your culture and I get that, but this." Tamsin stared at the crown of valkyries before them. "This is what we do. This is what we love. Stop worrying." Slowly Tamsin turned to face the brunette and brought her head doen to place a chaste, comforting kiss on the shorter woman's lips. Wherever that sppech came from, Bo was okay with it. She could tell the older fae was letting her walls down for her and the thought warmed her heart. Tamsin, now fully comfortable with the fact Bo had finally relaxed, began walking forward towards the group of Elder valkyries who would be adjudicating the tournament. She indicated for Bo to follow her by gently tugging on the succubus' hand.
SIDE NOTE: I want to finish this story quickly so i'm not going to go through the whole of the tournament but I will outline it quickly. If you guys really want a full length description i'll post one.
Over the three days the fourteen valkyries had competed in seven tasks. Each systematically knocking out another opponent by defeating or killing them. They were down to the final three competitors. Aria, Raven and Sarah. So far Sarah, of the 3rd division, was the favourite to win. Raven was classed as a viscious opponent and Aria. Aria wasn't expected to make it out of the first round alive. She was from the 14th division. Valkyries worthy of the title in that division were practically non-existant. As such no one wanted the embarrassment of ptting forward a nomination, which left someone to volunteer.
Aria was not a fighter. At all. She was known for her kindness and charitibal nature. Her puppy dog eyes were however renouned and she seemed to have a way at getting what she wanted. Since she was very young Aria had been a skilled manipulator and now in her 3rd life she was harnessing the skill to her full ability.
"I like Aria." Bo leaned in and whispered into Tamsin's ear. "Aria? Seriously?" Tamsin scoffed. She asumed that the leader of the valkyries had to be fierce and strong. To her they needed to emit authority and presence, Aria did neither. "Look Bo I know you think you know a lot but trust me. This girl won't win." Tamsin words fumbled around the brunettes mind for a second before she replied. "Wanna bet?" The blonde's eyes widened a little at the question. She had never been one to refuse a challenge and she certainely wasn't going to start now. "Okay succubus, what are we playing for?" "First tell me who you think will win."
"Easy. Sarah, hands down."
"Okay, Sarah it is. I choose Aria." Tamsin scoffed again.
"Fine, that just makes things a lot easier for me. Now... What's the winner going to get?"
"Well I was thinking.." Bo paused to raise herself closer towards Tamsin's face and whisper in her ear. "I know you've always wanted to... roleplay." The valkyrie's jaw dropped and her eyes glazed over at the thought of it. She gulped and nodded, willing the succubus to continue.
"Here's the deal. You win, you get to choose what we do. And you get to be on top. I win and I get to be on top. Still want to take the bet?" Bo paused after every sentence prolonging the blonde's fantasies. Tamsin's heart was racing and her breathing had become shallow, which didn't go unnoticed by the succubus. Unable to form words Tamsin simply nodded rather than try to hough some form of communications out of her completely dry mouth. _
It was time for the last trial. Raven had been knocked out in the semi-final. She lost to Sarah. Aria was already safe as she had gotten her immunity by completing the hidden challenge in that round. She had to identify over 150 different roots and berries, which was no small feet considering it involved a mix of both human and Fae.
A voice boomed around the trial area. It startled Bo at first as she almost didn't realise it was hers. "You have made it to the final round, please proceed to the arena for the final challenge." Both girls immediately made their way to the arena, Sarah walking with a cocky swagger, one hundred percent sure the title was hers. As proven throughout history, however, one can be too sure of themselves. Sometimes to their own detriment. The tall blonde, clad in tight blak trousers and a less than skimpy sports bra, was striding proudly towards the arena. Sweat glistened on her forehead and her unusually defined abs creating a slight sheen to her seemingly blemish free skin.
Coming from the opposite direction was a much smaller blonde. At about 5'10" she was considerably shorter than the other valkyrie but in any other circumstances quite tall. Aria was much less sweaty than her opponent, having exerted herself as little as possible in the previous rounds, which was quite a brilliant tactic considering the challenge she was about to face. Aria was dressed in tight black trousers and a much less revealing light blue vest top. Her long hair was tied into a tight ponytail. Just like Tamsin does hers Bo thought. There was something about the girl Bo liked. She couldn't put her finger on it, it was instinct. It was like she knew that this young valkyrie was going to do great things. What those great things were she had no idea. Secretly the brunette had also been observing Sarah. She noticed that the bulkier blonde was a lot meaner than her opponent. She was viscious and ruthless. Qualotoes not to be messed with and definitely to sometimes be reveired. However, she lacked compassion. Bo could tell from the way she acted, the headstrong blonde was arrogant, unfriendly, unnaproachable.. The list goes on. She isn't what a leader should be.
The last trial was nearing. Each opponent preparing on opposite sides of the arena. Sarah was extremely certain she'd be able to cope with whatever came her way. Although she was hoping for a bit of physicality, she really did enjoy a good fight. As such, her warm up consisted of sparing with her trainer and fellow valkyrie Symoné. Symoné was a quiet woman by nature. Silent but extremely deadly. She had fought and won many battles in the past, somehow managing to acquire a soft spot for the hot headed valkyrie she was currently training. The pair were going over surveil techniques while Raven was building up a sweat and warming up her muscles, not that she needed to. Her last challenge had barely ben over an hour. The tournament was designed that way. It was designed to break people. The order of events just happened to speed that up by causing the valkyries to become fatigued.
Aria was on the other side of the arena also preparing. She was a loner. Very independent. With her own order being so small she had gotten used to it that way. She was the youngest valkyrie so had no friends. Well no valkyries had friends, but she didn't have any sparring partners so to speak. Her own mother had died when she was a little over 100 leaving her to get on with her life. Valkyries, although extremely stoic and independent, tend to have strong connections with their mothers. This is sometimes the only emotional connection they ever get, which is why it is treasured. Although she was robbed of this special bond, Aria was not bitter. She understood that sometimes life got in the way and you just have to get along with things bette life leaves you behind. The young valkyrie had mastered this talent. She held no grudges, which for a valkyrie was extremely unusual. She tended not to cause or be involved in conflicts. The slender blonde woman was a contradiction of all the usual conformities average valkyries shared. She was different. Very different. But sometimes being different in a world full of people trying to blend is better. don't you think?
Naturally, Aria's warm up was unconventional. She was currently sitting on the floor cross-legged waiting for someone to initiate the final challenge. It was something she did often. Not for any particular reason, she wasn't meditating or anything. It just soothed her. The silence allowed her a serenity that living with hundreds of other valkyries prevented reaching more often than not. She also felt like she could sense her mother somehow when she did it. The feeling was completely indescribably.
Both valkyries halted when the signal came. A small hologram appeared before each of them signalling that when the doors open the challenge would begin. Both stood and walked over to the doors. Rachel bouncing between her feet, whilst Aria opted for a more still stance.
"3, 2, 1. Begin."
The black doors slid open revealing an extremely high wall of green. The bushes were lined with ivy and seemingly beautiful flowers, those of which Aria knew to be extremely deadly and avoided at all costs.
Bo took a deep breath. She and Tamsin were situated above the arena on a huge ledge looking down at the ensuing challenge. Every other valkyrie was watching the events of the day on a projection in the large hall, no doubt buzzing with excitement and placing bets.
"What are those racks for?" Bo leaned closer into Tamsin. With the space to themselves she had been able to perch on a sofa left in the room with them almost unimaginably close to her valkyrie. Tamsin's arm was draped around the brunette holding her close.
"They are full of weapons and supplies. You can take as many supplies as you can carry, but you are only allowed two weapons."
"That's it?" Tamsin let out a noise from her throat signalling that she was in agreement with Bo's apprehension.
The blonde could easily cope with two weapons but she understood that the succubus relied a lot on her many, many daggers.
"Here we go. Sit back and enjoy."
At first Bo was extremely hesitant. The thought that two valkyries hunting each other was considered entertainment in Asgard made her feel sick. That was until she realised that this was the way they lived and she had no right to judge them.
They valkyries were now 10 hours into the challenge and Bo had drifted off at around the 6th or 7th hour, happily snuggled into her valkyrie's shoulder. A knock on the door roused her a little bit. Tamsin off handedly signalled for the person behind the door to enter. It seemed as though she was almost expecting it. "Your order." An extremely quiet voice said as the young valkyrie wheeled over the cart full of food towards the couple. "Just there's fine, thank you." And with that the young girl was gone. Disappearing almost as fast as she appeared. Meanwhile Tamsin was still unaware of Bo's conscious state and was trying to wiggle towards the cart for food. Despite her slender, toned frame, the woman could really put it away. The sleepy brunette slipped her hand, that was currently resting on Tamsin's stomach, under the blonde's shirt causing her breath to hitch. The valkyries head immediately spun around and she greeted the wide awake woman with a smile which was returned tenfold. "Good morning babe." Babe? Did she just call me babe? Awww Tamsin! Bo blushed and put her head down. Almost immediately the valkyrie tensed, assuming she had said something wrong. Sensing the action, Bo looked up again and kissed the taller woman on her lips, it was chaste and quick, before looking into her eyes and whispering "I like it." She leaned in and kissed her once more for good measure before eyeing up the food and asking what had been ordered. Tamsin's eyes lit up as she began to reel off everything on the cart. Judging by the array of pastries and chocolate, the blonde had a little bit more than a sweet tooth. That was when Bo noticed the 3 bottles of vodka perched on the lower shelf of the cart. Upon seeing them, the succubus couldn't stifle a laugh, which led to a strange look from the blonde. Bo simply said "Vodka" in explanation. "Oh shut up succubus.I can't enjoy a good tournament without a bit of something something. Now if you'll excuse me, I think something is going on with my girl."
"Hey, I thought I was your girl!" Bo swatted Tamsin, faux hurt plastered across her face. "You're my.. You're my everything Bo, not just my girl. Now let me get back to this. I have a bet to win!" The succubus was completely silent. Where did that come from? She absolutely loved it, but it was unusual. The brunette could sense Tamsin's awkwardness and decided to put her out of her misery. "Who are you and what have you done with Tamsin? My Tamsin knows she has no chance of winning." "Okay that's it."
The blonde pushed Bo off of her and pinned her to the couch fully intending to silence her in a completely different way, until she noticed her hands were rested perfectly on Bo's thighs. The most ticklish place on the younger woman's body. With that realisation Tamisn began torturing the succubus until she couldn't breathe from the sheer laughter coming from her throat. "TAMSIN.. I can't.. I can't brEATHE." "Are you going to be quiet from now on?" "Yes! I promise" "Okay." Bo released an extremely long sigh at the sensation of actually being able to breathe again. "I'm gonna get you for that later." Tamsin glared at her. "Shutting up now." Bo mimed a little zip being closed over her mouth and throwing away a key to back up her point.
Hey guys thanks for reading. :) I've already started writing the next part so it should be up quicker than this one was. I also have an idea for another fic that hasn't been done yet. Well not that i'm aware of any way. Happy reading and just a quick update this fic will probably be concluded in the next few chapters or so.
-K