Chapter 1 – National Gallery

Emma's POV

Working in a museum had always been Emma's dream. When she graduate from Ottawa University with top honors, she had finally earned her Art History PHD after 5 years. And now she had her dream job, sorta. She works at The National Gallery of Canada, in Ottawa, Ontario. Canada's capital city. She is an assistant to the director of historical research for the Gallery. Not exactly her dream job but one step closer to it. Her boss, Mr. Beauchamp, was ok, he was French and was a bit old school. But she had learned tons from him. That morning she was told to meet him in his office as soon as she walked in the door. She walks into her small office in the basement to drop off her things and quickly heads back up to main floor to meet her boss. She opens the door the waiting room and is greeted by Mr. Beauchamp secretary, Janet.

"Good Morning Ms. Osborne."

"Good Morning Janet. Is he in? I was told to come see him right away."

"He is and he is waiting."

"Am I in trouble?"

"I don't think so. All I know is there was an important call this morning and then he asked to see you."

"Oh ok"

"You can go in."

"Thanks."

I knock on the door and hear my boss's voice from inside.

"Please come in" he says with his thick French accent. I open the door to a very darkly decorated office with a big Executive style desk, walls lined with bookshelves and 2 ugly green chair for guests. Mr. Beauchamp is sitting behind his desk, he is a tall man in his fifties, kinda handsome with salt and pepper hair and always sharply dressed.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Osborne, please have a seat" she sits on one of the ugly green chairs.

"Good morning Monsieur. You wanted to see me?"

"Oui, I received a call this morning from the British Museum. They have a special request and I am hoping for your help."

"Oh ok. For sure what can I do?"

"Well, you did you thesis on Viking and Norse art in Canada did you not?"

"I did."

"Well the director of the British museum is sending a guest to view that part of our collection. Apparently we have a piece in the collection that they wish do to research on. Isn't that exciting?"

"It sure is! Do we know who is coming to see the collection?"

"No, but you will be able to take care of them, show them around? Non? I hope to make a good impression on whoever they send, it is after all the British museum."

"I understand Monsieur, I will make sure not to disappoint you."

"Merci. Now they should be here by 10am. So please make sure you will be available by then."

"I will. Thank you for the opportunity."

"Bon! Now, go get ready for our guest.

"OK have a good day Monsieur." She gets up and heads out of his office. Once she closes the door, she start to do a little dance.

"Yes!" she says out loud. Janet looks up from her desk and smiles.

"I guess it was good news?"

"Yes it was." She says and giggles.

"See you later Janet" She heads out back to her dungeon office to wait for her guest to arrive.

About an hour later, she gets up from her and she takes a quick trip to the washroom to make sure she look presentable for special guest. She normally wears a power suit to work so she always looks professional. Today was no exception, she was very happy she had decided to wear a skirt with her suit today. She looks in the mirror and fixes a few stray hairs from her forehead. Her bright red hair was tide back into a bun. She wore minimal makeup and only a pearl necklace and earrings as jewelry. She has one last look and heads to the front lobby of the gallery. She loves the architecture of this place. The Gallery was entirely made of Glass. It allowed for the perfect amount of light to come in and illuminate the grand hallway. She dreamed of one day getting married in this place after seeing a ceremony during her first week here. She walks up to the reception desk and nods to Ester.

"Morning Ester"

"Good Morning Miss Osborne. What can I do for you today?"

"I'm just waiting on a special guest. Mr. Beauchamp said he would be arriving around 10am."

"Ok. I can call you when they get here."

"No that's ok. I want to be here when they arrive. You know make a good impression. Can I wait behind the desk?"

"Of course! Make yourself at home." Emma walks around the reception desk and take a seat on one of the office chairs. She figured she would be walking for a bit so decided to rest her feet before the tour started. She not sure why she is so nervous. She has given many tours to special guests. Her expertise in her field was unique. Not many people like to study Viking and Norse art in Canada. Since many still believed they never set foot here. But after the discovery in 1961 in L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, it was proven without a doubt that they were here. Emma's passion on the subject came from her Dad, he father was an amateur archeologist. They had gone to explore the many encampments that were known to be Viking in Canada and even a few in Norway. Her father loved history, especially Viking history since our descendants were apparently from Norway, but he also cared so much for his family that is why he was never able to pursue his dream of becoming an archeologist. He instead worked in construction, so he could support his family. Her parent had her and her brother at a very young age. It was hard on them but they were excellent parents. And then 2 years ago, her parents and brother had died in a car accident. A drunk driver hit and killed them. She had been devastated. She was in her 3rd year of university and almost quit but then thought how her dad would be disappointed and manage to finish the last 2 years. She was still thinking of her family when a figure approached the reception desk. She didn't really notices, she was daydreaming when Ester turns to her.

"Miss Osborne?"

"Yes. Sorry Ester"

"Um, your guest is here." Emma looks up to see a tall man standing in front of them. She is shock. He is extremely handsome. Short dark hair perfectly coiffed, a bit pale but his strong jaw line and high cheek bones made up for it. He is wearing a long black coat with a black suit and tie underneath. Emma notices that his is holding a cane and it looks to be made out of gold. Fancy she thinks to herself.

"Miss Osborne, I presume?" He says to her with a British accent and gives her a dashing smile. She noticed his gorgeous dimples and goes to gets up from the chair when her knees almost give out.

"Opps, Yes sorry I'm Miss Osborne." She walks around the desk and holds out her hand.

"Welcome to the National Gallery of Canada, Mister?"

"Mr. Laufeyson."

"Welcome Mr. Laufeyson." She looks at his eyes to see how beautifully green and intense they are.

"Laufeyson, that's a Norse name is it not?"

"Very astute Miss Osborne. It is Norse. My ancestors originally came from Norway. I was told you where a bit of an expert on the subject."

"Well just a bit. My thesis was on Viking and Norse art in Canada and this Gallery as the biggest collection of it in Canada. So I guess you can say I'm in the right line of work." She giggles

"Yes, I know that is why I'm here actually. Your Gallery seems to have acquired a piece that I am very interested in studying. The artifacts that were brought from a location in Newfoundland, I believe."

"Of course, we actually still have them in the study room, they are not quite ready to be exhibited yet. If you like to follow me I will bring you there first."

"Yes please" he replies. She leads them down the grand hallway to the study rooms at the back of the Gallery. They walk in to main study room and Emma turns the lights on. The tables in the room are full of artifacts from a recent dig in Newfoundland. Emma and the other assistant John were currently working on prepping them to be placed in the gallery's Historical Canadian Art section. She walks to each table and turns on the exam lights on each. Mr. Laufeyson follows her from table to table while his intense eyes exam each piece.

"What exactly are you looking for Mr. Laufeyson?" he looks up to her and notices her questioning gaze.

"A stone piece with writing on it."

"Really? I haven't seen anything like that." She replies, while he keeps going from table to table.

"You might not have seen the writing. Only a few would." She looks at him confused. What does he mean by that she thinks?

"What I mean to say is that it might not be recognized has writing." He says like he heard what she was thinking. He finally stops at a table in the back of the room. He picks up a stone tablet that was labelled has incomplete. It looked like it was just a corner piece of a bigger carving. She can hears him mumbling to himself but can't make out what he his saying.

"Is that it?" his head snaps up like he was surprised to hear her voice. He turns to look at her and she is all of a sudden scared. The look in his eyes had changed from friendly to sour in seconds.

"You have no idea what you have here." He says to her with a low growl in his voice.

"You mortals. So clueless." His sour scowl turns into a malicious smile and it scares her even more. The stone tablet in his hand disappears had he walks, no stalks towards her. When he finally reaches her she is frozen in place. What is happening to me? She wants to scream.

"I have place a spell on you, that is what is going on. I will fade away eventually but not before I escape with what belongs to me." He is reading her mind. He places his finger on her chin and lightly lift it up so she can look right in his eyes.

"Now you will be a good girl and do has I say. You will not remember this. You did not see me pick up that tablet. It was never in your collection. Is that clear?" She can't help but nod her head.

"Oh no, little one, I requires a verbal confirmation."

"It is clear" she says barely able to talk.

"Perfect. I was nice to meet you Miss Osborne." He says and walks away and leave her alone in the study room. About an hour later Emma finds herself in her office but can't remember how she got there.