Eternal
Nora awoke just after dawn, sunrays streaming through the gaps in the blinds to light the room. Beside her Ren slept as he always did. He could have been mistaken for a corpse, flat on his back with his arms straight against his sides, his face expressionless, his body nearly motionless. The only indication that he still lived was the subtle rise and fall of his chest. Nora reached over and shook Ren awake. "Ren...I had the dream again." Nora whined.
"Was it frightening?" Ren asked, his eyes still closed.
"No, but this time Freyja told me to leave you." Nora replied. "The shiny lady, not our daughter."
"Strange." Ren observed.
"She said you were evil." Nora continued. "But I know you're not evil. They've told me weird stuff I didn't understand before, but they never said I should leave you. I just want it to stop."
"If I knew more about what the dreams were, I might be able to help with that." Ren noted.
"So, how can we do that?" Nora asked.
"If I linked our souls, like I did for Ruby and Pyrrha, I might share your dreams." Ren replied.
"Wait...you mean you could have linked our souls this whole time and you didn't say anything?!" Nora gasped.
"So you want to do it?" Ren asked.
"It's a total win-win!" Nora cheered. "Of course I want to do it!"
"Very well." Ren smiled. He opened his eyes and sat up. "After we finish our official duties for the day, I'll perform the ritual."
"But I wanna' do it now…" Nora complained.
"We can't afford to neglect our duties." Ren advised. "We must earn the people's trust."
"We've been ruling Nikopolis for years." Nora noted. "They should trust us by now."
"But they don't." Ren sighed. "We are still Plegians after all."
When the Exalt - Qrow - had announced Ren and Nora were taking over as Count and Countess of Nikopolis, there had been a near revolt. The war with Plegia was fresh in the populace's mind, and the fact that Ren was a dark mage only made matters worse. It had taken a personal visit from Pyrrha to defuse the situation, but all her efforts to convince the people that Ren and Nora were not like other Plegians had failed. Their every move was still carefully watched for any indication of their surely nefarious nature, and the many still fled from their presence.
When they were promoted to Duke and Duchess by Qrow, the situation did not improve. They gained no new land, but now sat on the Noble Council. Their fellow nobles, including those they had fought with against Plegia, looked at them with mistrust. They did much to try to win popularity. Nora's idea for a giant water slide turned into a park for the public's amusement. They hired many local orphans and maimed soldiers to work in the palace, paying them handsomely. They attended to matters of law and justice with a focus and care that few rulers could match. Still the whispers and suspicious glances persisted. Even their three young children - Chrys, Freyja and Baldr - were looked upon with a mix of fear and loathing.
The Ducal family certainly had their allies. Those that worked closely with them quickly found them to be kind and loving. At the top, Qrow continued to show his unwavering support. The situation showed signs of improving, with their popularity slowly on the rise, and despite the general public's resentment, they lived a happy and peaceful life. Annual trips to Valm let them see their friends, and their friends visited as often as circumstances allowed.
The only major complication was Nora's dreams. She had been having them for as long as she could remember, and had been telling Ren about them for just as long. Almost nightly, she would find herself in a room with an otherworldly glow. A group of "shiny people" with funny names would appear before and talk to her. Nora could not make sense of most of what they told her, but occasionally they would offer advice she could understand. During the Great War they had warned that Cinder aimed to destroy the world, even before that fact became apparent. Now they were telling Nora to leave Ren, that he was evil. It was shocking and painful. They had never been wrong before, but there was no way Ren could be evil...right?
"Baldr and Freyja are asleep, and May is watching Chrys." Nora informed Ren.
"Very good." Ren nodded, not looking up from his tome. "I am ready. Are you?"
"Yep, let's do it!" Nora cheered. "What do I do?"
"Just lay down in bed." Ren replied. Nora rushed over to the lead and leapt into it, landing flat on her back. Ren slowly approached and joined her. He grabbed Nora's hand, wrapping his arm around hers, and intertwined their fingers. "Do not let go."
"I'll never let go." Nora promised, smiling at him.
Ren smiled back, then took up the tome with his free hand. He spoke the spell, looking into Nora's eyes as he did. Nora's pupils fully dilated, and he could tell his own did as well. Then, suddenly their worlds went black.
Hours later Ren and Nora opened their eyes at the same moment. They found themselves surrounded by concerned servants and the court clerics. "Oh thank the gods!" May exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
May was one of the maimed soldiers they had brought on, and now she was their most trusted servant. May had been an archer but had lost an eye in the sneak attack on Nikopolis. No longer fit for service and with no other means of making money, she had been forced into prostitution to survive. Nora had initially hired May to fulfill Ren's sexual desires while she was too pregnant for sex. Ren had refused, desiring only Nora, and May had become much more than a concubine. She became a bodyguard, nanny to the children, and a trusted confidant.
"We're fine." Ren and Nora said in unison. "Weird."
"Uh...this is strange." May observed.
"I simply linked our souls." Ren explained. "Sorry we worried you, but Nora was supposed to tell you in advance."
"She just told me you were going to do some magic stuff." May noted. "I thought it might have gone wrong."
"No, it seems to have gone quite right." Ren assured her. He looked around at the servants that milled about. "You may all return to your duties, or rest if you have none."
Most servants departed, but May remained behind. "Are you sure you're alright." May asked.
"We're better than alright!" Nora cheered. "Our two souls are one big soul now! Now we'll be together forever and ever and ever!"
"We were going to be together forever anyway." Ren smiled. Nora giggled and embraced him. "May, how are the children?"
"All sleeping." May replied. "It's quite late. You missed dinner. Lady Nora never misses dinner, it's why we were so worried."
"Really?" Ren asked. "We must have been unconscious for longer than I anticipated."
"I missed dinner!" Nora gasped. "Noooo!"
"Don't worry, we set aside food for both of you." May said. "I'll have it brought up."
"That would be lovely." Ren nodded. "Thank you for your help."
"Yeah, thanks May!" Nora cheered, leaping out of bed to embrace her. "You're the best!"
After dinner, Nora and Ren made love. The linking of their souls created a feedback loop, each able to feel the other's pleasure, that made it even more euphoric than usual. "What do ya' think Ren, number four?" Nora cheered.
"That would be wonderful." Ren smiled.
"So, wanna' go another round?" Nora smirked. "Make sure it takes?"
"I want to, but I think it's time for bed." Ren replied. "It's been a big day, and I'm rather tired."
"What if I have the dream tonight?" Nora asked.
"Hopefully I'll be there too." Ren answered. "Then maybe we can get to the bottom of this."
"Right now there's something else I'd like you to get to the bottom of…" Nora grinned.
"Tomorrow, I promise." Ren declared. "All day, just the two of us, doing whatever you want."
"How could I refuse an offer like that?" Nora laughed. "Deal."
As she usually did, Nora fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Ren found it easier to sleep than usual, suspecting his connection to Nora was giving him a taste of the ease with which she fell asleep. Ren hoped his plan would work. Ruby and Pyrrha spoke of shared dreams, but it was a sporadic thing, not a guarantee. Nora's dreams were clearly weighing on her, and Ren was desperate to find out what was happening. He did not have long to wait.
Ren drifted to sleep, and almost instantly found himself surrounded by light. He looked around and realized he was in a room he had never seen before. It was somewhat like a temple, but by far the largest he had ever seen. Furthermore, the light that bathed him came from no source in particular, but from all around. He looked up, but could see no ceiling, just more light. It was just as Nora had described, but so far no "shiny" people had yet appeared. He got a definite sense that his soul was in a real place, but no place in the mortal realm.
"Ren!" Nora called. Ren looked toward the source of the sound. He spotted a vague humanoid outline. The light behind it was blinding, but he approached. "Ren!" The figure began to resolve. It was Nora, but it was not. "Ren?"
"Nora...is that you?" Ren asked.
"Of course it's me." Nora replied. "Uh...why are you naked?"
"Why do you have wings?" Ren countered.
"I have wha…" Nora gasped. She tried to look behind her, but could not turn her head far enough. She reached back and grabbed the feathery wings. "Oh gods! I have wings! This is so cool!"
"Where did you get that armor?" Ren asked. Nora was clad in ornate golden plate armor. Instead of a helmet she wore something resembling a crown of pure light.
Nora looked down at her attire. "No clue." She shrugged. "I always have it when I'm here."
"I wish I had something to wear." Ren noted.
"I don't." Nora smirked.
"How about chains?" A female voice boomed.
"Freyja?" Nora asked. Chains of light rose up from the floor and engulfed Ren, pinning his arms to his sides and tying his legs together. "What's going on?!"
"Back away Nora." Freyja warned. A glowing figure descended from above, landing between Ren and Nora. She too was winged, and was similarly attired to Nora. Her face was pale white and free of wrinkles or blemishes, her eyes a piercing red, her hair seemingly made of light. "How have you come to this place evildoer?"
"Nora and I have linked our souls." Ren replied. "We are one. Surely you can sense it."
"I...I can." Freyja gasped. "No…"
"Yes." Ren said. "And your chains cannot hold me." He spoke a spell and was surrounded by a blackness so dark it seemed to absorb the room's gleaming light. When it disappeared the chains went with it. "Who are you?"
"How dare you use such vile magic in this sacred place!" A male voice demanded.
"Begone defiler!" Another male voice joined in.
A pair of glowing figures similar to Freyja, but male, appeared to encircle Ren. "Thor...Baldr…" Nora gasped.
"Nora, we warned you about this monster." Thor growled. "Why did you not leave him as we instructed?"
"I love Ren!" Nora declared. "I would never leave him!"
"Who are you?" Ren repeated his question. He began speaking a spell and balls of darkness formed in his hands. "Or do you wish for me to further defile this place."
"Your magic is unnatural!" Baldr shouted.
"So answer me, or I'll use it." Ren warned.
"Very well." Freyja grumbled. "We are the Aesir and Vanir. The Diar."
"And what do you want with Nora?" Ren pressed.
"She is one of us." Baldr declared. "She was meant to save the mortal realm from Salem."
"And she did." Ren noted.
"No, she did not, because of you!" Thor shouted. "She was meant to kill Cinder and sever the connection between Salem and the mortal realm, but you prevented her from carrying out her holy task. The world was nearly destroyed because of you!"
"How is that?" Ren asked.
"The day you first encountered Cinder, Nora was meant to kill her." Baldr explained. "She was to enter Cinder's cell in the dark of night and smite her, but you…"
"Oh...we were banging." Nora remembered.
"Yes...you were...joined…" Freyja sighed. "And your connection to the mortal realm prevented your empowerment."
"Empowerment...you were going to take control of her." Ren accused.
"We were going to do what had to be done." Baldr protested.
"It worked out in the end though." Nora said. "Cinder's dead, the world's safe, we should all be happy, right?"
"No." Freyja hissed. "For you remain with this...this...demon!"
"Ren's not a demon!" Nora screamed. "He loves me and I love him, and now our souls are linked and we'll be together forever!"
"Forever indeed." Baldr groaned.
"Huh?" Nora asked.
"I understand." Ren declared. "You're all immortals. Nora is an immortal. Since our souls are linked, that makes me immortal too. And I suspect you can't do anything about it without harming Nora, something you're unwilling or unable to do. That must make you quite angry." Freyja, Thor and Baldr merely stared at Ren, but their silence was confirmation enough. "So why have you been calling Nora to this place?"
"We call her here to give instruction." Freyja replied. "Unfortunately she rarely understands. Perhaps her human mind is unable to fully comprehend us."
"Or she doesn't like what you're telling her to do." Ren suggested.
"Freyja, we must do something." Baldr declared. "We cannot allow this abomination to have eternal life, not without some punishment."
"I have something in mind." Freyja grinned. "We curse you to inhabit the mortal realm forever."
"That doesn't sound so bad." Nora shrugged.
"Nora, just wait." Ren sighed.
"We curse you to outlive your friends, your family, your children and their children and all your descendents." Freyja continued. "You will watch all you love crumble and die, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"Perhaps...perhaps that's too cruel." Thor advised.
"No, it's exactly what the situation calls for." Freyja declared. "Baldr, do you disagree?"
"No." Baldr answered.
"I must protest." Thor persisted.
"Denied." Freyja waved him off.
"Thanks for the support Thor!" Nora exclaimed. "I'm totally naming a kid after you!"
"It's a shame we can't change the names of our other children." Ren grumbled. "These fools do not deserve the honor, even if they are your family. I wonder what Naga thinks of you…"
"Enough!" Freyja screamed. "Leave and never return!"
Ren and Nora snapped awake at the same time. Both suffered debilitating headaches that kept them immobile for several minutes. When the pain finally faded sufficiently, Ren sat up and held his head in his hands. "That could have gone better." He sighed.
"What do you mean?" Nora asked.
"Perhaps in confronting them as I did...I cost our children their blessing." Ren replied. "Now they will grow old and die, all while we remain the same. Eternity...eternity will surely be lonely."
"I don't care if it's just you and me, with no one else left in the world." Nora declared. "As long as I have you I'll never be lonely. And sure, there'll be sad times, but think of all the happy times we could have! We always worried about not having the time. Now we have the time to do everything."
"Hmm...perhaps you're right." Ren nodded. "An eternity with you will surely be a good time."
"Yeah, just think of all the sex!" Nora cheered.
Ren managed a smile. "When you put it that way…"