AN: So, I recognize that this chapter is very short and I explain why after the chapter. Thank you all who've continued to stick with me and this story.

Chapter 14: Hidden Forces

It wasn't the thundering sound of bark hitting bark or the echoes of the ground shaking that snapped Elysia back to the moment. No, what brought her back was something far worse. A whimper, a small and strangled whimper.

Her eyes popped open and narrowed in the direction of the keening sound. She rushed towards it, fearing the worst, completely unaware that her mother did the same. All Elysia could think about was that she had somehow injured one of her people, the thought of it incited panic in her chest.

She hadn't meant to lose control, but she had prepared for it by isolating herself, that's why she chose the forest in the first place. But even she had no idea the damage she was capable of causing. She deftly made her way through the twisted mess she had made of the forest, ducking under debris and leaping over large upturned roots.

Elysia halted in her tracks when she came across the source of the mewling.

A foal.

A young horse, who couldn't be more than a few months old, lay impaled by a branch from one of the trees she'd sent flying.

This time the resounding whimper was ripped from her lips instead of the foal's. Elysia's knees gave out when the repercussions of what she had done stared her in the face. Her hands shook as she reached out to lay a hand on its head, her heart breaking further when it let out a louder cry at the sight of her.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry little one," Elysia's voice came out raspy as she let her tears fall down her cheeks. She had done this, lost control and hurt something precious. The foal's eyes were wide with pain and its breathing labored as apologies continued to pour out from her horrified lips.

Frigga was silent as she observed her grieving daughter. Her heart wept for her child as she watched her lean forward to place the foal's head in her lap with quivering fingers. She longed to reach out but feared she had already caused too much damage in the past day. Her daughter made it clear that she was displeased, and now was no time to provoke or startle her.

Elysia, on the other hand, continued to take no note of her mother. She stroked the foal's head in an effort to calm it, though it seemed to have little effect. Feeling helpless, Elysia did the only thing she could think of, "Lo, there do I see my father."

The animal began to quiet as her soft voice rung out and a bittersweet surge of hope rushed through her when she realized the hymn was working. "Lo, there do I see my mother, and my brothers and my sisters."

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this foal would soon bleed out. As much as she may have wanted to deny it, the harsh truth would not be ignored. So there were only two things Elysia could do. She could continue doing all she could to soothe the young one to ensure its last moments weren't full of fear and suffering, or she could let horror and self-hatred win over and stop the steady stream of words flowing from her.

But for her, there was really only one choice she could make.

"Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning. Lo, they do call me."

It was a prayer for the dead, typically meant as a warrior's send-off, but this animal had suffered by her hand and she would deliver it into the arms of the Valkryie with the highest of regards. It was the very least she could do. "They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla where thine enemies have been vanquished," Elysia's voice cracked as she continued the fight seemed to drain from the foal's eyes.

"Where the brave shall live forever," tears steadily poured down her cheeks and she choked back a vicious sob as the foal's eyelids slowly slid closed and its body stilled with its last breath. Feeling as though someone was crushing her heart in their bare hands, Elysia leaned down until her forehead nudged against that of the foal's and the last of the prayer tumbled forth in a broken whisper.

"Nor shall we mourn but rejoice for those that have died the glorious death."

Guilt ate at her, rose up in order to consume every crevice within her. How many innocents would have to suffer over her lack of control?

How many lives would these hands of hers take?

First, the young healer whose soul she had stolen and now this baby foal who never stood a chance against her blind ire.

She pressed closer to the animal's body and longed to return to the days of her own youth. The days where her biggest concern had been about what kind of Princess she'd turn out to be. If only her people could see her now; this unholy mess.

Out of the corner of her eye the bracelet that branded her wrist caught her attention. Unadulterated fury warmed her blood as she imagined tearing the accessory from her skin. She knew very well that all she was would be torn apart without the interference the bracelet provided. But in this moment that was all she wanted; to simply not exist anymore.

The power she could feel constantly buzzing just underneath her fingertips was never supposed to exist.

As if the atmosphere around her could sense the rise in emotions, the air shifted, which simultaneously acted as a warning. The hands Elysia was glaring at fiercely began softly glowing once more. Panic overtook rage in an instant and she nearly screamed as a familiar feeling washed over her.

"No! No, please."

Elysia wasn't accustomed to pleading, although recently she'd felt as though she'd gotten pretty good at it. She found the warm heat unpleasant against her skin, fully knowing what it was capable of.

"Please take this from me, I don't want it anymore."

She prayed someone was listening, prayed those cursed stones could hear her plea. Whatever they thought her capable of, they were wrong. She wasn't anything special, she wasn't strong or brave.

She was simply tired and in pain.

To her utter horror and confusion, the glow in her palms began to spread along the foal's still body. Usually there was a tugging on her part, the feeling of her pulling energy towards her, but this was different.

Elysia remembered gripping that Frost Giant's face between her fingers; seeing the energy of his soul and bringing it to her own body. But somehow this was almost like the complete opposite. It was as if she was pouring light into the foal. Before she could continue to try and figure out what was happening, her hands grew brighter and brighter until she had no choice but to turn her face away lest the light blind her.

When the brightness faded and her hands no longer felt like they contained the sun, Elysia cautiously opened her eyes only to find soft brown irises peering back at her.

Elysia went stiff as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her. All she could do was stare as the foal gently nudged its wet nose along her cheek before slowly rising to its feet. The foal stood on shaky legs, seemingly pausing to gaze back in order to bow its head towards her, before it scampered deeper into the forest.

There wasn't much that could render Elysia silent, but this moment was one of them. For the first time in her life, Elysia didn't have an idea about what to do. The foal had died, of that she was sure. She had felt the beat of its heart cease beneath her fingers, that wasn't something she had imagined. Her head spun as she was left kneeling in the dirt.

Resurrection wasn't real.

Magic was an age-old argument raging throughout the universe that was mainly dependent upon faith or belief. Those who didn't believe called Frigga a witch, but her people believed in their Queen and magic was readily accepted in their realm. However, it was known throughout every realm and even time itself that bringing true life back to the dead was impossible.

Not even Odin himself could restore what death decided to claim.

Similarly, Frigga herself was having a hard time believing what she had just seen. There was no doubt in her mind that what had happened did not adhere to the laws of nature. A large part of her had been frightened of her child in that moment, frightened of what the stone had turned her daughter into.

Energy manipulation was one thing, but to be able to change the course of destiny was something else.

But as swiftly as the fear crept upon her, she shoved it away. Frigga had no right to fear her daughter for something she had no control over, which was evident by the way Elysia was still rendered immobile. But the question remained; could their people also look past this new development? For Elysia's own safety the majority of Asgard was still unaware of her abilities, the rate at which word spread amongst the realms was unsettling to say the least.

She hated the idea of having to tell her daughter that she would once again have to hide a piece of her away, but sacrifice was a price of life. And the ramifications of this coming to light were far too great. Especially if the man who sat upon the throne were to ever discover it.

He can never know.

Chills ran up her spine at the mere thought of it. Odin could never find out what their daughter was becoming capable of. The things he would force her to do, the wars he could wage if he became unburdened by his own mortality. Endless possibilities unraveled in Frigga's mind, much to her horror.

She loved her husband, but she feared him as well.

Often her soulmate could be blinded by power, she had seen a time when he would have done anything for it, a time when he had done horrible things for it.

Frigga would not lose another daughter to Odin's greed.

The Queen summoned every ounce of confidence she held and approached Elysia, purposefully making her footfalls heavier so as not to startle her further. Although it was for naught because as soon as she moved Elysia was aware of her presence.

She was no longer surprised by her mother's sudden appearance. She should have expected this even, after all her mother wasn't the type to let her children walk around with a weight on their shoulders. But that didn't stop her from quickly hiding her hands between the shifts in her clothing, hoping that her mother hadn't seen what had just happened.

But of course, her luck didn't run that deep.

"Elysia..."

Without turning in Frigga's direction, Elysia addressed her mother, "How strange it is that one decision made as a mere child could be so damaging." She rose from her perch on the ground, brushing the dirt off her knees as she went. "If I could go back and change it all, I think this world would be better for it."

The defeat in her tone was jarring. Elysia was the peacemaker, the bright sun that shined upon Asgard no matter what odds were stacked against them. But she was tired, tired of always having to play that particular role. For once she'd like to just live in the pain, make a home of it till it was all she knew.

But who would carry the weight if she bowed out?

She'd never let her brothers take on the responsibility of having to lift everyone up, they shouldn't have to. And how could she forget her soulmate who would eventually need her one day? Her parents weren't even a considerable option; Frigga had her hands busy with Odin who didn't know the first thing about keeping the peace.

No, she was the only one.

So it was time to suck it up and get on with things.

Finally turning to face her mother, she ignored the look of concern aimed in her direction. Resolve blazed within her as she stared Frigga down, "What am I?"

Although Frigga wanted nothing more than to get a grasp on what Elysia was feeling, she knew better than to push the matter. Deciding that today was a day for complete honesty, all she could do was admit the truth.

"I don't know but it's something new."

After realizing that her mother knew absolutely nothing about what was happening to her, Elysia quickly changed the subject. "We must prepare the people for war. Laufey will hold nothing back, they need to be aware of the dangers."

After what happened on Jotunheim Elysia was positive that Laufey would use every tool at his disposal against her. After all she had committed what was considered a cardinal sin to most. Although she hadn't killed his Queen it was clear Laufey didn't care for politics.

She would do it again though, there was nothing she'd change about that day. She avenged her Papa and protected Loki all in one fell swoop.

"Your father had mentioned that Laufey spoke of actions taken by both you and Thor. We know all too well about your brother's impulsiveness but we were surprised by your role in all this." Elysia tried to ignore Frigga's ignorant insult to her brother. Thor was impulsive, but it was a fact that didn't need to be stated every other second. "What did you do to gain Laufey's ire?"

Elysia had nothing to hide, the deed had already been done. "I killed his soulmate."

There was a bolt of silence that struck Frigga where she honestly thought she must have misheard her daughter. However the look on her face spoke volumes. Aghast, Frigga opened her mouth only to instantly close it when she remembered the stormy look that took up residence in Elysia's eyes when she showed her Gunnar's death all those years ago.

Suddenly the notion that Elysia killed Laufey's soulmate wasn't so shocking.

But knowing it was justified didn't exactly soothe Frigga's nerves, it just made the whole thing all the more real. Part of her hoped that she'd be able to talk Loki out of his plans for war, simply because the last one cost them so much. But if what Elysia said was true then Laufey's arrival in Asgard was inevitable.

Feeling much older than she was, Frigga sighed heavily as the severity of the situation finally hit her. "We must pray to the Allfathers that we all survive this."

"We're far past the point of prayers now mother. Besides, I don't think I need them anymore." Elysia turned and left her mother amidst the wreckage she had made of the forest. She walked with determination; purpose laced within every step she took.

In any case, she had to help Loki go win a war so they could bring Thor home.

AN: I wrote this little chapter for my dog Kodiak, who unfortunately had to be put down due to a sudden illness. He was my therapy dog and was helping me with my insomnia and PTSD. Every part of me wished I could bring him back, but unfortunately that's not how life works. So instead I wrote about a scenario, a world in which such things were possible, if only to help ease the pain in my heart just a little.

He was far too young to leave this world and although his time was short, the impact he had on my life is the exact opposite. I'll never forget my baby boy who was only capable of extreme love and unyielding loyalty.

So this is dedicated to Kodiak (February 23, 2016 - June 20, 2019); the sweetest boy and the best companion I could have ever asked for.

May you rest easy my little prince.