The Market
After stuffing myself with Asgardian food, Thor escorted me down into the streets of Asgard. Unfortunately, Odin sent three guards to accompany us during our day at The Market. I really do not comprehend as to why we need them. Thor took on the Destroyer quite well, and I'm sure he could handle anything that would erupt in a simple market.
Mildly annoyed, I asked the guards their names before we reached the entrance to The Market. All of them but one peered at me with sheer agitation, and the other gently smiled and said, "Urd." This man was tall, but not as tall as Thor. He was quite built, but not to the point of where he would look strange. He had hazel eyes that replicated the pondwater of Asgard. If Urd was human, most people would have assumed he was a blend of mostly caucasian, but with a skin tone that might suggest he was of some asian descent. Everyone here is Aesir, though. I'm the only human that has been to Asgard in a long time, if ever.
Thor paused at the entrance to The Market, turned to me, and asked, "So Lady Jane, what would you like to see first? The weapons, food, fashion, agriculture..?" I spent a moment pondering, and then decided that I would go in that order. Agricultural stuff was my favorite out of the choices, but since Thor seemed rather interested in the first two, I figured I'd do that first.
We made our way down the stone street while busy people hurried about from all directions. Everyone made way for the five of us, their eyes making their way from me, to Thor, not even noticing the guards.
The first stall we went to was owned by man with incredibly pale, silver eyes. Thor strode up to him and grasped the man in a big hug, and they laughed whole heartedly. Thor saw the mild curiosity in my eyes and answered my unspoken question. "Lady Jane, I am pleased to introduce you to Amund, the most feared weapon smith throughout the 9 realms. Before his days as a market smith, we fought alongside each other when skirmishes broke out between Jotunheim and Asgard. Not the most recent time, of course. In Midgardian years, he was twenty-two."
My eyes dimmed a little, and I quickly once overed Amund while he was showing Thor a new sword he had crafted but not even a few hours ago. Amund was short, unlike the rest of the Aesir. He wasn't exactly built, but he certainly was not scrawny. He looked like he could fight, but I assumed it was his brain that was his weapon. Amund's eyes were his most dominant feature, but he had nice, black eyebrows that framed them with an angled arch. His hair was a black color, but not as deep as I've ever seen before. Amund had slightly tanned, olive skin.
After listening to them chatter for a few moments, Thor had said, "Amund, Lady Jane is in need of a disguisable form of protection, incase I am not able to come to her rescue." Anger swelled up inside me for a moment, but then I realized that I am vulnerable. 'He didn't mean it in a rude way' , I thought to myself. It was true, I am mortal and much less capable of handling myself against anyone who would wish to hurt me, or worse.
The weapon smith glanced me over and said, "Disguisable, yes. She is of a small stature, so it won't be a sword. Um, your guards must stay here for a moment." I quickly glanced over to Urd, and we held eye-contact for a moment. He gently nodded, and made the other two wait patiently before the stall with him. Quickly, Amund ran down the steps that were hidden by his stall and motioned for us to follow. We walked down the dusty steps into what seemed to be an old cellar. In the cellar were old, dusty bookshelves, and fine weaponry that hung from the spaces in between them. The floor was of an old marble, that glisten slightly, even when covered in dirt. Amund stood before a statue of Odin, and Thor chuckled silently, receiving a jokingly dirty look from his old friend. Amund spoke silently, mumbling a few words, and then pushing on Odin's eyepatch.
Suddenly, a passageway revealed itself before us, the unfamiliar treo we were. I quickly paced myself behind my new acquaintance into a dark room, lit by a few tiny orbs in the corners. My mind was spinning with questions, but I dared not to ask. People don't often like questions, and they make them uncomfortable.
Amund stopped and stood in front of a wall of bows, and then one that sat on a pedestal all by its lonesome. He gently lifted the bow off of it's stand, and looked at me with a rather serious countenance. I slowly lifted my arms up and out, and he set the bow upon them. The bow was made of a deep, dark wood. On the bow's edges were silver caps, each bearing a silver stone.
After he placed in into my arms, he met my gaze. "Lady Jane, what you have in your grasp right now is the most powerful weapon I have ever seen in my life, other than Mjolnir. The wood is made from a tree that only grows in Jotunheim once every 10 thousand years. The tree survives for 1 day, and then withers into nothing. I waited for 300 years to harvest it's wood. The caps, are made from Jotun steel, the strongest in the 9 realms. Approximately twenty times stronger than Midgardian Titanium, it is. The stones, are what makes the bow come to life, literally. The bow is essentially living, and will form a bond with it's owner. Right now, the bow is dormant, but only because I will it to be. It also changes according to it's owner, by the color of the stones."
Amund gently grasped the bow, asking permission to see it again. I quickly nodded, and handed it back over. Then, he did something that blew my mind out of this lifetime. He touched the stone and spoke the word "Sammen". The bow awoke, and a burst of energy exploded in the air. Amund then said "Dagger", and the bow shrunk and transformed into a dagger tiny enough to fit into a small boot. Thor watched me as I looked into the bow, and was mentally sucked into the item. "Sammen, it is time for me to relinquish you, and give you to another. This is Lady Jane Foster, the most well known Midgardian in Asgard. She will be yours to protect from now on." Sammen, the bow, began to hum, speaking only to Amund. Then, all fell quiet. Amund hander Sammen, the temporary dagger, to Jane. He then warned, "Whenever you need Sammen to change, simply speak the word. He only can change into a dagger or bow. If you manage to bond deep enough with him, you won't need to speak. Slip him into your shoe after I give you his sheathe."
Thor spoke, finally. "Thank you so much, dear friend. I owe you much. Take this gold, although I'm sure not enough gold in the world could pay for such a mighty weapon." He plopped a bag of gold onto the nearest workbench, and began to motion towards the steps. "Lady Jane, the guards are probably worried, shall we go?" I nodded, but before leaving I gave a hug to my new friend and whispered a long thank you into his ear. He simply told me, "Bond with the bow, and it'll love you forever."
We walked up the old steps, and immediately met the gazes of all the guards. Urd welcomed me back with a chipper smile and warm eyes. I slightly blushed, not expecting that much friendliness from someone I met not even a few hours ago. Thor wrapped his arm around mine, looked into my eyes, and said, "Where to now, my love?" I replied, "Let's go see this strange food you have here." He laughed, Urd joining in from behind, and he escorted me to the food section.
3 p.m, later that day…
Today was fun. We watched people cook with strange fruits. Some were covered in ice, and others glowed and gave off scents never even smelled before by a human. I really loved the agricultural things, though. There were strange plants, but not nearly like the ones I saw in that peculiar man's garden. Throughout the whole day, I kept thinking about him and Sammen. Sammen was dormant the whole time, but even so, he gave off a small feeling of magic.
By the time Thor escorted me to my room, Azalea was waiting there for me. As I walked in, she greeted me with a hug, and asked how my day was. Not wanting to get too detailed about everything, I told her the basics. I didn't think I was supposed to tell her about Sammen, or at least...not yet. I like her, but I was told to not trust anyone immediately. Thor said that, and he was right. That could be reckless, even though I wanted to tell Azalea very badly.
After asking of my day, she jumped and said, "OH! I am to be getting you ready! Your feast is tonight, remember?" I struggled for a moment, but then it hit me like a meteor into a planet. "Oh, yes! When does it start?" She hurriedly replied "Five, we've only got two hours to get you bathed and ready! Let us rush, Lady Jane." I said,"Just Jane, please" and smiled kindly.
Hey guys, it's Cierra. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I have had school and a lack of a computer. I hope you like the new chapter. Next one is the grand feast! Get excited :)