These Things We've Gained: Eternal Love, Building Hope, Just Honesty

by Tales of Suspense

In the aftermath of "These Things We've Lost" people strugggle to create a new normal. (Slice of Life)

21. Chapter 21

- Chapter 21 -

23May2023 – Night

Aboard The Skithblathnir Above Midgard

What of the hunt for the coalesced machine solution? Was any more of it found on Midgard? Frey flared his seidr out to his acting styraesmandr. They were traveling along on the travelator from the King's docking bay to his private quarters. The short blonde woman beside him stood with her hands clasped in front of her, at an easy stance. He towered over her.

There were deposits in a large lake near the lands Lady Frigga had listed as Wakanda, sir. Acting Styraesmandr Varangr flared her seidr to her Lord to fill him in on what was found. There was also some in the ocean off the shore of the lands of Wakanda, but the Sa Ljodraen Berserkr handled the destruction of that. It looks like the asset took the waterways to get into those bodies of water, then pooled there. It responded to us when it was found. It relayed that it was in 'hibernation mode'. We destroyed all that we could find, sir. How Thanos' military asset got to Midgard was a mystery that she hoped her Lord had an answer to.

It was all destroyed then? Excellently done, Styraesmandr Varangr. Frey was going to have to check with Odin about it, but he expected that the Sa Ljodraen Berserkr and her crew could handle the problem.

Thank you, m'Lord. We weren't able to find any more, even with the new electronic warfare suite. The new suite was one of the things that the acting styraesmandr was most concerned about. The ship that she was in command of had been changed without her permission or foreknowledge. After the boy's display in the King's docking bay she was almost certain that it was the boy who'd done it. The ship had burst into silver flames that burned no one. Instead of burning them alive several of the bridge crew commented on how much better they felt after the fire dissipated. That was when they noticed the new 'aroma therapy system' registering on the control console. Styraesmandr Varangr had to admit to herself that the ship did smell better now than it had before. The smell of the ship was a small matter when compared to the power pouring out of the gleipnir. It was stable though, even when their monitors on the converters were telling her that the gleipnir was so overpowered that it was poised to explode. She knew it was stable since she'd examined the gleipnir herself. The old one and its inviolability was gone. In its place was a magical marvel that was a wonder for her to behold. The complexity of the new gleipnir made her think that no child could have created it, but she wasn't sure now. She was still trying hard to convince herself that she hadn't seen a legend come to life. Styraesmandr Varangr had always prided herself on not being prone to flights of fancy. The boy chatting quietly with his grandfather behind her was pushing her view of reality in uncomfortable ways. They were ways that she hoped her Lord could clear up.

Tell me, what of the Skithblathnir? Frey could see Styraesmandr Varangr's gaze darting back towards Jay every now and again. Jay had laid his head down on Odin's shoulder and they were chatting about a Midgardian folk tale that Jay enjoyed. It was something about a wicked kingdom that lay to the east of the sun and to the west of the moon. The boy looked tired as he told Odin about it.

There were several things changed, my Lord. The computer systems were cleared of old information and upgraded. The electronic warfare suite was upgraded. There were several new components which were placed in the ship's electrical systems. Acting Styraesmandr Varangr's blonde seidr soothed back to her core then flared again to continue answering her Lord. There's a new 'aroma therapy system' in place in the ship now, it's functioning, I assume as intended. What concerns me most is the ship's gleipnir. The old one is gone entirely, sir. The new one is… it's a jewel of magical engineering.

'A jewel of magical engineering'. Frey liked that phrase to describe what Anthony designed and Jay put into place in his ship. It brought a smile to his face. As he flared his seidr back to his acting styraesmandr. I'll let my grandson know that you appreciate his work, and I'll let his father know that you appreciate his design.

Your grandson was the one responsible for making the upgrades to the Skithblathnir, sir? The boy behind us, my Lord? Styraesmandr Varangr wondered if she had been right and decided to ask her Lord about it. Perhaps I've misunderstood what I've seen, but the boy looks very much like a firehawk to me, sir.

Looking down at his senior-most officer he smiled and flared his seidr. That's because he is one. My grandson is very special.

Acting Styraesmandr Varangr's eyes widened as she looked up at him, then looked down at the floor. Very special indeed. Taking a deep breath helped to reign in the unease flitting through her mind. There was one detail that she focused on instead of whether the boy was a legend brought to life or not. It was soothing when compared to what she'd just learned. She looked back up to her Lord and flared her seidr again, Is the Skithblathnir keeping these improvements from a firehawk, my Lord?

Do you believe the Skithblathnir needs them? Frey didn't mind hearing her opinion on the matter.

Yes, sir! The gleipnir alone is worth keeping over the lifetime of the ship. Adding in the new parts of the electrical systems and the upgraded electronic warfare suite gives the Skithblathnir an edge in combat that others in the Elder Realms don't have, not to mention the raiders and pirates in the void. Acting Styraesmandr Varangr's seidr soothed back then she flared it again to finish out her thoughts. These are tremendous gifts, my Lord. Even the aroma therapy system is beneficial. The section heads reported on the changes made to their sections. They all remarked on the pleasant smell and how morale was improved. The Skithblathnir needs these things. She let her blonde seidr soothe back into her core with the understanding that her Lord had already made up his mind on the matter. She appreciated that he wanted to hear her opinion on it.

His acting styraesmandr's assessment of the changes pleased Frey. I agree, Styraesmandr Varangr. I watched the changes as they were put in place and was impressed with my grandson's work. He's quite talented. He and his uncle have made it possible for the whole of the fleets of Vanaheim to be so upgraded. Frey nodded a little to himself, thinking, It is a tremendous gift freely given.

Looking quickly to Lord Frey, acting Styraesmandr Varangr took a moment to regain her bearing before flaring her seidr again. All of the fleets of Vanaheim, m'Lord?! Her gaze strayed back to the boy for a moment then back to her Lord. The possibility of making the free peoples of Vanaheim that much safer was a tantalizing one. It was something that she had wanted as every fleet officer wanted it. How to accomplish it was always the problem though. It was a problem that she thought would only be overcome with diligence and effort. Never had she thought that they would be gifted with that safety, and certainly not by a little boy. Even if his father and uncle were involved, it was still the boy who accomplished this task, she thought to herself. So she flared her seidr back to her Lord, This is a mighty gift, Lord Frey.

Yes, my grandson is, a warm smile accompanied Frey responding to his acting styraesmandr. Acting Styraesmandr Varangr understood what they had been gifted with, which brought an idea to mind for him. They were almost to his quarters, but he still thought that he had time. The song marble that Jay had created for him was summoned from his interdimensional pocket. Its beautiful song played for him again as he held it up for her to see. Flaring his seidr, he asked, What do you hear when you listen to this, Styraesmandr Varangr?

She wanted to answer that it was a riotous din but thought better of it. This was clearly a test, one she didn't want to fail, so she listened to the discordant clatter. At first she heard nothing but the noise. Slowly she began to separate out the noises she was listening to. Acting Styraesmandr Varangr was shocked when she realized that she could hear the march of footsteps through hallways and rooms. It was such a base part of the noise, but it grounded her for the rest of what she was hearing. After that she was certain that she was hearing the smooth slide of the small Karl class fighter ships as they landed after a patrol and others were sent out on patrol. The whooshing that she heard next had to come from the atmosphere recycling system. A whispering that came after the whooshing was identified as the voices of the crew of the Skithblathnir. Her eyes widened as she found more and more noises that belonged on, "The Skithblathnir." Her voice was the barest of whispers as she put together the noises. Piece by piece acting Styraesmandr Varangr put together the sounds until the discordant din came together in her mind to create something that she wasn't expecting. Looking to Lord Frey she flared her seidr again, It's a song, my Lord. The ship is singing. The Skithblathnir sings!

Returning her flare, Frey smiled wider, Yes, she does. It's a song of life and movement. We all move together to create this song. The pride that he had in acting Styraesmandr Varangr grew brighter as she was able to hear the song in the noise that it began as. Dismissing the marble back to his interdimensional pocket, Frey looked up and saw the entrance to his quarters coming up quickly. Remember the song, Styraesmandr Varangr. It should never become discordant.

Yes, m'Lord. I will remember it. The acting styraesmandr glanced back to the boy one last time. She could see him laying against the Lord of Asgard's shoulder. His eyes were starting to droop low as she flared her seidr again. My Lord, your grandson deserves my thanks and the thanks of the Skithblathnir. If I may be so bold, he doesn't appear able to comfortably accept them at this moment. How would you like this handled, m'Lord?

Glancing over to his grandson, Frey had to agree with his acting styraesmandr's assessment. Jay looked more like a tired little boy than the amazing firehawk that he was. Turning his attention back to acting Styraesmandr Varangr, he flared his seidr again, I thank you for your attention to my grandson's wellbeing. I will convey yours and the Skithblathnir's thanks to him at a more appropriate moment.

Stopping the travelator outside of the door to his quarters, Frey bowed lightly to her. "Thank you for your report, Styraesmandr Varangr. It was just what I wanted to hear, and so you are dismissed back to your duties on the bridge. See us safely back to Vanaheim, to the Dolph Skyport over Vindrvelsignet."

"Yes, my Lord!" Styraesmandr Varangr came to the position of attention then bowed deeply to her Lord. She turned and began making her way back to the bridge from there.

The next thing that Frey had to handle presented itself. "Formadr Frigga, I give you my personal assurance that my quarters are perfectly secure. It would be quite acceptable to have the drengr posted outside of the door to my chambers." Frey thoroughly didn't want the guardsmen in his private quarters but wasn't going to say 'no' if she decided that she needed to search the place first. This place isn't for them, please don't bring them in.

Her brother didn't want the guardsmen entering one of his personal sanctums. It was clear in the set of his face. Since she knew that his personal quarters were always safe she didn't want to push the matter. There was no point in distressing him over this. "Your assurance is more than enough, Lord Frey." Looking back to the rest of the drengr, she issued her orders. "Drengr. Five of you will be posted on one side of the door, while the rest will be posted on the other side of the door. No one enters unless Lord Frey has been contacted first. Go now." The men of the drengr moved silently into place, so she turned back to the door itself. Frey was already placing his mark on the door to unlock it. "I'm ready to escort Lord Odin." At her brother's motioning her in, she entered the room before Odin did.

Being inside one of his few private areas drew a sigh of relief from Frey. The front room was spacious with a well-appointed sitting area. The lush carpet beneath their boots dampened the noise they made. Two plush settees with pillows and an upholstered chair all sat around a small indoors silver firepit with an already lit flame burning in bright blue. The walls and ceiling were both an immaculate white with silver at the joints. Just being there made Frey want to take his boots off and sit in front of the fire with an ale or twelve. No more ale for me, just as the thought was growing depressed Sean's invisible hands stroked over his shoulder blades down his back and gripped tightly at his hips. He could feel the intent in those hands to remind him that he wasn't alone. It was a reminder that he needed.

It wasn't exactly decent for him to be grabbing at his lover's hips in public with his misty sarammr, but Sean could see Frey's forming distress. He felt that there was a need to remind Frey of his presence. This was a long day for him, and he was less emotionally invested than his lover was. In his opinion, this had to be a very long day for all of the monarchs in the room. A slight sparkle ignited in Frigga's belly as he looked over the three monarchs. He focused on it quickly to see what the problem was. Relief touched his thoughts as he found no problem. Instead, he could see the baby within her as it began producing its own white seidr. Its life was progressing, and so withdrew his focus. Looking over Frigga, Sean realized that she hadn't eaten that day, or had anything to drink. That's not healthy for a baby. "It's been a long day. Why don't we get something to eat? A light meal sounds nice."

"That does sound nice. I can have something sent from the dining hall. What would you like? Brother? Sister? Are either of you hungry?" Frey looked between Odin and Frigga. Both looked in need of something to eat. "Jay, are you hungry?"

The digital boy was slumped over against his grandfather when he heard his other grandfather speak. Before Jay could ask for some water before bed an intense flash of fuchsia sjel-seidr sparkled in the bright white room. Out of that fuchsia sjel-seidr came four chairs, a table with a large paper flower, and a wooden bucket with a glass lid. The seal on the top of the flower was very noticeable to him. "Oh! Uncle Rhodey sent something for us."

"James? How do you know that James sent this?" Odin preferred the thought that James might have somehow sent them something than Lady Audhumbla having sent them something. He hadn't had enough time to fulfil any of her decrees yet. He expected her to still be quite cross with him.

"Set me down, I'll show you." Jay didn't want to be set down. He wanted to go to sleep and had been comfortable where he was. A question was asked of him though, so he needed to answer. Taking his grandfather's hand in his he led Odin over to the large origami flower on the table. Touching the seal at the top, the flower 'blossomed' with the paper raising up then peeling back to the sides. When it was done Jay used his seidr to cut off a small corner of the topmost piece of paper. Turning, he presented the corner to his grandfather. On it was a raised crimson wax seal with a starburst done in gold leaf. The image on the seal had a circular border with a sun symbol stretching out to touch the border with its nine sharpened points. The center of this sun was open and surrounded by nine petal like openings in the base of each spike. Each spike had a tiny word inscribed on it. At the bottom of the border were the words, "Illuminatio, cum honore, sapientia et misericordia." He showed the seal to his grandfathers. "It's the Rhodes' family seal. It means 'For enlightenment, with honor, wisdom, and compassion'."

"The All-Speak doesn't translate these tiny words. Do you know what they say?" Odin was interested in any information he could get about James or Stark. Each interested him.

"Those are the nine guiding principles. Honor, justice, integrity. Wisdom, intelligence, honesty. Compassion," Jay yawned deeply, "mercy, and charity. All together they lead to enlightenment. That's what Uncle Rhodey says. It's what he tries to live up to every day, even though he's the last Rhodes left." As Jay rubbed at one of his eyes he continued speaking without thinking. "Dad says that we have to live up to that standard too."

There was a chance for more information, so Frey took it swiftly. "Why would you have to live up to the Rhodes' family standards." That's a good standard to have. James truly was raised well. He is good for my grandchildren.

"Dad says we have to, because Uncle Rhodey's family is better than the Starks." His little eyes kept slipping shut.

"Anthony views James as family, his brother." That much was already obvious to Frey.

Jay started rubbing at both of his eyes then. "Yes, his older brother, but there's more to it than that." A yawn was barely covered over.

"What more is there?" Odin was as curious as Frey was, curious enough to ask.

"Uncle Rhodey has the law on his side. Dad doesn't, so he has to do what Uncle Rhodey says. We do too." Opening his eyes enough to aim himself, Jay pivoted fully towards Odin and slumped against the elder King. "I'm tired, Afi Odin." From his interdimensional pocket Jay summoned DUM-E's song marble. The Blue Öyster Cult's music played softly in the sitting area.

The seal went into his vest pocket quickly. "Then lets lay you down," Odin said as he scooped up his grandson, "I think over here will do." He carried his sleepy grandson over to the nearest settee and sat the boy on it. Kneeling down in front of Jay, he took the boy's boots off again, setting them on the floor in front of the settee. Unwinding his seidr, Odin arrayed a small Conjuration Spell. It released in between his hands to conjure a small, soft blanket. He didn't have to persuade Jay to lay down, moving the soft pillow from the side of the settee was enough for the boy to slump over onto it, his eyes closing quickly as his breathing evening out. The small blanket covered the boy easily so that he curled up under it. With his grandson tucked in and sleeping he bent over and gave the boy a kiss on the forehead and whispered softly. "May your dreams be pleasant ones."

A wide smile spread across Frigga's face as she watched her husband with their grandson. It was such a sweet sight to her that she drank in as much as she could.

Frey smiled over to see how Odin was tucking Jay in to sleep before he approached the small table with the food on it. It looked like it was sent by a Norn, but Jay knew better. He was glad to know the standard under which his grandchildren were being raised. It was a high standard to his mind if James was any indicator of it. "Do you mind if I see the seal?" He quietly asked his brother as Odin made his way over to the table with Frigga.

"It's simple but effective." Odin handed over the wax seal on the paper scrap. He looked over the platter and thought that it all smelled wonderful, especially the rounded-rectangular crackers. They put him in a mood that he was rarely in. Today was still a different day though, and he wanted to indulge himself and his wife and brother. As he approached the platter, Frigga began fretting next to him. He could see her worry over the food that they were offered. "Come now, minn elska. Let's try something new."

"I don't know if this is a wise idea, beloved." Frigga was well and good with having something to eat and drink. It was a long day without any sustenance. A small meal sounded nice to her. It should be a proper meal in her opinion, one approved of by the Culinary College. "We aren't immune to corruption as a firehawk is."

"A cracker isn't going to be what ends any of our lives. Don't worry so much, sweetling." Frey looked over the pointed and pretty seal one last time before he handed it back to Odin. He agreed with his brother that the seal was simple but effective. It carried a gravitas in its simplicity that he could appreciate. He also agreed with Odin that the platter of food wasn't going to do any harm to them.

"This looks like a very healthy platter. It has a good blend of the food categories." The more Sean looked over the platter the more he thought that it looked like one of those plates on the posters that doctors pointed to when they wanted to explain healthy portions. "That's actually very healthy," his voice dropped to a mutter as he continued to look over it, Eidesh would approve of that.

Frigga was still going to object, so Frey moved to quash that. "This is an excellent opportunity to see what fare our grandchildren have."

A brief unamused look crossed Frigga's face and her eyebrow arched delicately as she looked over at her brother, "That was manipulative."

A broad grin touched Frey's face as it seldom did, and he smiled genuinely at his beloved sister. "Ah, but where was the lie, sister?"

His smile was infectious to Frigga, so she let a little smile touch her lips as well. When she looked back she was surprised to find that Odin had already gotten a plate for her and was holding it out. There was a twinkle in his eyes that she hadn't seen in quite a while. It drew her in and made her think that maybe, just this once, they could have something that the Culinary College hadn't approved of. "Perhaps it won't do any harm." She took a step closer to the delicious smelling food. "We're all healthy, perhaps it won't be so bad." She looked over to Sean. "This is how Midgardians eat?"

"Yes. We eat the meat and cheese on the crackers, or the cheese with the fruit and the vegetables with the dip or sauce. You can even put the sauce on the meat and the crackers then eat it that way. With this variety you could come up with several different combinations to eat." Sean smiled calmly at the nervous Queen.

Frey stepped over quickly and picked up a small cracker that looked like it was woven of small strands, then a thin piece of what he thought was a white cheese with holes in it and combined the two of them with a thinly sliced piece of brown and slightly red meat. He popped the cracker-cheese-meat combo into his mouth and chewed. An explosion of flavors that he hadn't had before filled his mouth wonderfully. His eyes widened in surprise while he continued to chew. The cracker was rustic and crunchy, the cheese was firm and creamy, and the meat was flavorful without being overbearing. It all paired together to create something he had never experienced before. There was flavor in the combination that Frey loved in an instant. It even warmed the center of his chest; it was so good. Turning quickly to Sean he asked the only thing on his mind in that moment. "This combination is how Midgardians eat?"

"Yes. We create dishes like buildings, adding in one layer after another until we have something worth eating." Sean hoped that they might try, and like, the Midgardian food. The ladies of his clan made exquisite food. Eating with the clan was something that he hoped to be able to share with them sooner rather than later. A grimace almost found its way across his face. Only one of the deshar, the clan elders, could allow that to happen. Until a deshar approved of it, they would never know of his clan from him. I'm sorry, Frey.

Turing to Frigga and holding up a hand to silence her protests, Frey spoke. "Eat these things together. It is worth disobeying college teachings for something this fine."

Stepping over to him, Frigga unraveled her seidr and spun it into a Healing Spell. She touched her brother's chest to cover him with the spell. Caution was in all of her thoughts as she looked through the spell to see if the food was harming him. Corruption is said to happen quickly. But there is no corruption in him. For a moment she thought something might have been wrong when his seidr core's surface rippled slightly before reducing the food to white seidr and drawing the food seidr up into the core. Looking over his core showed her that it had a healthier shine over where it absorbed the food seidr. This isn't harming him. His core wants it. She withdrew her Healing Spell then, broke it down into seidr and raveled it back into her core. Frigga looked up into Frey's eyes and smiled. "I think I will try something."

When Frigga took her plate and started looking over things on the platter, Odin smiled widely. The food was doing no harm to Frey, he knew. She wouldn't be trying it herself if it had harmed Frey. That meant that he was safe to try what he wanted without her fretting over it. He started with several of the rounded-rectangular crackers, a selection of meats and cheeses and some of the 'dip' and a sauce or two. The dip looked like the sauces to him, just set in little bowls off to the side of the platter. Some of each one made its way onto his plate along with some of the vegetables and fruits. Before he sat down he set his plate on the table and pulled out a chair for his wife. Her plate was surprisingly full with little dollops of dip and sauces of to the side of her meats and cheeses.

Sean set his plate down on the table next to where Frey was making to sit down. The young seidmadr opened the cold wooden bucket and saw that the bottles of tea were labeled with their contents. There were two bottles of each type sitting in ice. "Does anyone want something to drink?"

"What drinks are there?" Frigga had taken a small bite of one of the grapes. Each grape was twice as large as what she was accustomed to, and without seeds also. It was wonderfully sweet after a day of having nothing.

"There's peach tea, raspberry tea, spice tea, and sweet tea." Sean motioned to the bottles as he spoke.

"I think I'd like to try the peach tea." Frigga took the bottle from Sean as he handed it to her. The All-Speak translated 'peach' as a type of fruit. Fruit tea sounded appealing to her.

"Raspberry tea sounds interesting. I'd like that." Frey took his bottle from Sean. He was both glad and disappointed that the drink was without alcohol. To distract himself from that consideration he pulled Sean's plate over by him so that he could imbue Sean's food with his seidr. His seidmadr couldn't eat without that and he wasn't going to let Sean go hungry.

"I'll try the spice tea." Odin took the bottle with a smile and a nod. He hoped that the tea would be drinkable and not some weird mix of meadow trimmings.

"I'll take the sweet tea then." This had worked out well for Sean since he didn't care for fruit teas. He sat after his companions were seated, pleased to see that Frey had imbued his food. Frey's seidr made his meal smell even better than before. Several minutes of eating passed with the young man naming things here and there. "That's Havarti, that's Swiss, and that's Cheddar. The Swiss is good with the roast beef," or, "That's blue cheese dip, and that one is called ranch. The yellow-brown one is a stone ground mustard of some kind." With a little taste of the third dip he declared, "That's a sweet cream dip. It's for the fruit. The other two are for the vegetables." When Odin asked him he answered, "That's a butter cracker, the other one is a wheat cracker. Oh that? That's peppered turkey, and that's the roast beef." Sean kept his surprise in when he saw the little beef snacking sausages on the platter. They were one of the products that his clan's businesses produced. It brought a smile to his face that Odin was enjoying them with the mustard and butter crackers.

It didn't take much thought at all for Odin to decide to ask James about having more of the butter crackers, little sausages, and mustard. He knew that he could have this snack every day and not complain. The mustard was causing a warmth in his chest that was leaving him feeling better overall. Having never had it before, Odin didn't know if it was supposed to do that. The butter crackers were both crisp and moist at the same time. He didn't know what butter was but knew that he wanted more of it. They both paired marvelously with the little sausages. Odin almost stopped for a moment when he thought about trying to get a constant supply of this type of food. He suspected that James wouldn't have a problem assisting him to get that supply. It was the Culinary College that was going to be the problem. He had a treaty with them that that he couldn't go against. That thought did stop him. Can I go against them? They have no army. That's two treaties broken though. And Frigga would be after me for it. How could I get around them? It surprised Odin that he was already thinking about how to get around the Culinary College with just a small sample of Midgardian food. Another bite of a little sausage, with more of the mustard, convinced him that he was going to find a way to have this food in Asgard. Odin looked over to Frigga. He was pleased to see that she'd eaten most of the food on her plate and downed a whole bottle of the tea. It prompted him to try some of the tea. A quick sip raised his eyebrows and brought another pleased smile to his face. The undertones of tea were clearly able to be tasted. It was the sweet and spicy overtones that made the beverage something unique. It went marvelously with what he was eating so he took another swig. If this is how Midgardians snack, then what do they have for meals?

Frigga wondered how the Midgardians made their cheese so soft yet firm. The Dadyr cheese of the Elder Realms turned out hard and brittle, it crumbled easily. It was so unlike what she was eating. There was even cheese on the platter that was filled with herbs and able to be spread across the little wheat crackers. It melted in her mouth. There was a pungent herb that Sean informed her was called 'garlic' that she was swiftly coming to love. It and the soft cheese were so good together. There was a warmth spreading through her chest and down to her belly that she expected from having seen it in Frey. Curiosity tinged vaguely through her thoughts when the warmth continued to spread through her belly. Just as Frigga was going to use a Healing Spell on herself she remembered that she had things she wanted to ask the young man with them. "Sean, I was hoping to be able to ask a few things of you."

Putting his bottle of tea down, the young seidmadr looked up from his plate to the inquisitive Queen. "Certainly. What did you need?"

"When you looked at me yesterday, did you see my see my grandparents? I don't know who they are. I'm so curious." There were probably more important things to ask, but Frigga really was very curious now about who her own grandparents were. Now that she was a grandmother she was even more curious.

Discomfort blew Sean's eyes wide. A small, awkward, half-smile stuck on his face. Getting right into it. Sounds great! He knew what he was about to get into but couldn't see a way out of it. There was no good way to tell her what her ancestors and recent relatives had done. He was tactful, but he didn't know if anyone was tactful enough to explain to a Queen that she was descended from horny lunatics. I don't even have time to prepare them. He flared his seidr almost instinctively to Frey, I'm sorry about this.

A quiet sigh gusted out of Frey. He didn't want an apology when it came to his grandparents, and certainly not from Sean. All he could do was find out what caused the apology.

Frigga didn't think that she had asked anything extraordinary, but Sean looked so upset already, awkward and hesitant.

Swallowing thickly, Sean asked the first thing he needed to know. "Is here an acceptable place to receive awkward information, or is there somewhere else that would be better for you? I can make anywhere private. That isn't a concern. Where would you like to discuss things?"

"Here is fine. What have you found?" Frigga wondered what embarrassing scandal Sean had found. She hoped that neither of her grandparents had an affair.

Angling out his seidr, Sean touched at the pearl of sjel-seidr in his seidr core. The pearl frothed and foamed throughout his seidr, turning all of his deep violet seidr into dusky rose sjel-seidr. Next he angled out his seidr and bent a large Learning Spell, it was enough to work through several scenes. After that he commanded the sjel-seidr to move the three of them into an offset moment in time. Placing a reassuring smile on his face, he looked to the monarchical siblings. "There are several things you should know about your family. These are things that your parents would have informed you of, as their parents informed them. Since they can't, it falls to me to make you aware of how the last three generations of the Vanaheimr Royal Line have shaped your lives." He walked over to stand behind them, directing their attentions forward. "Please understand that everything I'm going to tell you is the unembellished truth that's waiting in your white seidr." Sean directed the sjel-seidr to use the Learning Spells to display the white seidr memories that he found when he viewed Frigga the day before. "This is only part of the life of Lord Avhimmelen, your great grandfather. There were many events that shaped his life, but this event helped to shape your lives." He began to play the white seidr memories of a man bound by his position.

Thousands Of Years Ago - Evening

The Office Of Lord Avhimmelen In Vindrvelsignet On Vanaheim

A very tall man sat at the large imposing wooden desk in the far end of the long rectangular room. The top half of his long warm blonde hair was plated back into a ponytail. The bottom half hung loose down his back with occasional braids and pretty little bobbles here and there in it. His fair skin was pallid in the light. Irritation kept trying to play in his sea green eyes since it didn't show on his handsome features. The King of Vanaheim was disciplined enough to keep such emotions off of his face, even when they were overwhelming him.

The bitter sigh gusting out of Lord Avhimmelen's mouth was the only sign of the miserable boredom rampaging through his thoughts. The boredom was so strong that he was having a hard time concentrating on the paperwork in front of him. It was important, at least he thought it probably was. He realized that he didn't know what the paperwork was or why it was in front of him. He couldn't even recall having written on it, though his handwriting was clearly there on the upper half of the page. What am I doing? Lord Avhimmelen just couldn't call it to mind. The boredom was too powerful in his thoughts for him to know what he was doing. When he looked around his office he realized that everything looked dull to him again. Things had lost their luster. His shoulders drooped. Ever so slowly he closed his eyes, centered his mind, and focused on driving back the thick blanket of boredom covering his thoughts. The sudden and sharp sound of the door to the office opening irritated him to no end. That irritation flared into outright anger for a few seconds before he opened his eyes to see his wife, the Lady Aslaug, closing the door to his office. His Queen was coming towards him with a tart look on her face. It was a crushing look to him. Another argument… Guilt replaced the anger and boredom. Profound distress and anxiety threaded through his mind. He didn't want yet another argument with his wife.

The look of distress and indistinct guilt that crossed her husband's face hardened Lady Aslaug's resolve to repair the problems that had driven her and Lord Avhimmelen apart. As she approached his desk she veered off to the sitting area to the side of it while pointing to her husband and motioning for him to come over. "Come and sit. I am not going to stand before you like some wayward noble."

Her back was turned, so he wrestled a pleasant look onto his face; forced a soothing tone into his voice. Then he went to her. "Of course not, darling. I would never ask you to. What brings you to me now?" Lord Avhimmelen waited politely for Lady Aslaug to seat herself so that he could sit as well. Her every move was both compact and elegant to him. It was an elegance that encompassed her entire being. From her sculpted features to her perfectly coifed strawberry blonde hair to her expertly fitted dress that was the height of style, it was all elegant to him. Her violet eyes were especially elegant. The fact that his wife was so much shorter than him just made her that much more elegant in his eyes, like a perfect little figurine. He loved all of it and had since he was a child. Unfortunately, he didn't love her like she deserved to be loved, and nothing in the Nine Realms could make him. She just wasn't who he could love like that. It was who he was that stood inexorably in his way.

Lady Aslaug sat calmly in front of her husband and took a deep breath before she started. Her thoughts on their marriage had been running towards an inevitable conclusion for several months. It was time to act on them. She only hoped that she could reach her husband. There was no guarantee of being able to persuade him to her way of thinking, not with how stubborn he was. He'd been stubborn all of his life. It was one of the stranger things that attracted her to him when they were children. She loved him, all of him, enough to try to reach through that stubbornness though. "We cannot continue on as we have been."

More guilt poured through Lord Avhimmelen's thoughts. Pain followed on its heels. She's as bored of me as I am. "Things haven't been very well of late, I know. I've been so busy with the duties of Lordship," he motioned towards his desk where he'd left his terminal, "just let me schedule a few days away and we'll go out to the cabin at Lake Lanyr." She looked even unhappier now, so he stood quickly. "We can …send Noatun to stay on Svartalfheim when we go."

"Sit." The sharp crack that was Lady Aslaug's voice whipped between them. From out of her pocket she pulled the small elixir bottle that she'd recovered from where her husband tried to dispose of it. There was the remains of a Vergjarn's Lustful Embrace in it. She found it after the last time they were intimate, in a pitch black room, for only a few minutes. He was careless to dispose of it in their quarters, which was worrying to her. It spoke to his frame of mind. This mild-mannered façade trying clumsily to cover this mindset agitated her. Her husband was a strong and confident man, he was no timid coward. He was a warrior, so she tossed him the bottle. "You didn't think to tell me that you were having problems."

A grimace crossed Lord Avhimmelen's face when he caught what his wife tossed to him and saw his own small elixir bottle. He knew he was careless in how he'd disposed of several of the bottles. He even thought at the time that his carelessness was going to get him caught. At the time a part of him wanted to be caught, to just put an end to the sham of his marriage. Now that he'd been caught he didn't want to end his marriage. He couldn't let go of his wife; he loved her too much. "I didn't want to bother you." It was not a convincing statement.

"I think you've lied to me enough." A hard look crossed Lady Aslaug's face at her husband trying to maintain this damaging façade. Before he could throw out any more lies to try to distract her she struck at the heart of their problems. It was a heart that hurt her to know existed. You did this to yourself for me, you fool. "You prefer men."

Shock, worry, fear, and heartache spread so quickly across Lord Avhimmelen's face that his eyes couldn't blow wide fast enough. Was I so careless? "I don't… You are my love, Aslaug. You always have been. That will never change."

An accepting sigh passed her lips. "I know you love me, but it's not the kind of love that draws your admiring gaze, that excites, that tantalizes, that makes your heart hammer in your chest and adds color to life!" She quickly stood, went to him, and knelt before the man who was more than her husband. Lady Aslaug took his hand in hers. "You love me as you've always loved me, but you lie to me now and say that's it's more. You pretend to live a happy life to cover over your misery." There was a conflict at the very center of this charade that her solution to these problems revolved around. "Was the Royal Line's demand for an heir so overbearing that you couldn't come to me for aid? Did the fear of having to provide that heir to the Royal Line assist you to forget that I love you as well? I have always been, will always be your dearest friend. That will never change! If you had come to me we could have done this so that the King would have his heir and his happiness."

Another bitter sigh gusted out of his mouth. Lord Avhimmelen looked down to the small hands holding his left hand. They were so delicate and perfect, not what drew his admiring gaze. "What would you have had me say? Should I have come to use to ask to use you to obtain an heir? How could I do that to you? If I was to ask for something so precious from you then I had to provide something of equal value. It's only right."

"It's only right to make yourself miserable by denying yourself? That's foolish and you're no fool." A little sigh passed her lips again. "How many things I have done for you because you needed aid? How many times have I done for you without asking for anything in return? This was so different?"

"How could I ask to take your body from you, to take a child and give nothing in return?" When Lord Avhimmelen looked up he found such love in his wife's eyes that it warmed him to his soul.

"Do you value our son so little?" The confusion on his face brought a small smile to hers. He loved their son as much as he loved her, and she knew it. "Having Noatun in my life is so overwhelmingly splendid that the trouble I had carrying him, and the difficulty of his birth don't ever weigh on my mind. Noatun is the gift you gave to me. I'm so grateful for him. He makes me so happy. It's a happiness untainted by judgment or debt."

Lord Avhimmelen stood and walked a few feet away from his wife before he turned to her. "How can I be happy? I'm one of 'the talls'. 'The talls' of my bloodline are never happy! I don't have an old family solution!"

Standing, she fired back. "Being one of 'the talls' dictates what you are, a tall man with a preference for men. It doesn't dictate who you are, a charming and happy man."

Tears washed over Lord Avhimmelen's eyes. This was all so useless. Another useless argument. "Aslaug, there's no way I can honorably be happy. I cannot betray you."

Drawing herself up to her full height, Lady Aslaug went slowly to her husband. She placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down so that his forehead was resting against hers. He placed his hands over hers to hold on to her. His tears dripped down onto her cheeks leaving cold tracks as they trickled down. There was so much pain in them that it hurt her to see. "It's not a betrayal if you have my permission."

"As ..laug?" He hadn't heard her correctly, he couldn't have.

"Oh dear heart, I'm going to put a guise a on you. Then you're going to go out into the city and you're going to find a man to be with, many men even. You're going to take as many hours, and as many days, as you need to lighten your mood. When you come back you're going to bring with you the happy man that I married. Bring my dearest friend back to me." Hope transformed her features to show the depth of her love for him.

Lord Avhimmelen wanted to protest, to say that him holding a man instead of his wife would indeed be a betrayal. There was such hope on his wife's face, such a longing for him to be happy in her seidr whispers that he finally noticed. She was serious, so serious that his objections melted away before her seriousness. He recognized this for what it was, a lifeline in the ocean of misery he was adrift in. This was his hope. Taking his hands away from her face he bent down a little more to wrap his arms around her in a tight hug, then stood up to pull her with him. In that moment he remembered why she was the dearest friend he'd ever had. She loved him even when he was stubborn and foolish. He loved her even more for it. "Thank you. I love you so much!"

"As I love you." Without hesitation, Lady Aslaug gave her seidr out of her core then gifted it into a Bregthaski's Guise Weave. The weave released to cover Lord Avhimmelen in the guise of a shorter, brown haired, brown eyed, tanned man who still retained his rugged attractiveness. She thought it looked good on him. "There we are. Only a fool would spurn your advances now. You're ready to go." Lady Aslaug stepped back from him when he set her down. There was an expression of life on his face that she hadn't seen in a long time. It brought a happy look to her.

Stepping back, he nodded at her. "I will be back, Aslaug. I promise you that I will. Wait for me?"

"I'll always wait for you. Now go with my blessing and before anyone sees you." Lady Aslaug's smile widened as teleportation fire flared up around her husband taking him away to some other place, to some other person. "Come back to me happy, dear heart." Her attention was drawn to the door of the office opening slowly. Her son peeked his head in to see who was in the room. She motioned him forward.

"Mother, where's father? I can't find him." Prince Noatun was a little disappointed to not find his father there either.

"He's not here now. He's gone out. What did you need him for?" She moved over to her son with an attentive look on her face.

"I wanted to show him a new repost that I learned. Master-At-Arms Pihl said I did very well." There was a vibration of excitement that went through the boy's frame.

"You can show me instead, since your father has gone out. I would love to see it."

"When will father return?"

Her happy smile turned into a knowing and hopeful little grin. "Your father will return when he's ready."

23May2023 – Night

Aboard The Skithblathnir In Flight To Vanaheim

Did Frey come into his own in the dark? Was it because of father's and mother's deaths, or because he couldn't rely on me. How miserable has he been? How could I not see this?! There wasn't anything Frigga could do about the past. That was still bothering her, so she resolved again to make the future better and more honest. In that honesty she was glad that Frey had an heir in Edward. Loki gave Frey the freedom to be himself that Lady Aslaug gave it to Lord Avhimmelen.

One of 'the talls'. Always miserable. Is that what I am? I must be. Frey wasn't tempted to ask why his parents never told him. He knew why. His great grandfather's misery was something he personally understood. To be King is to be part of the line of Kings, to owe the line that next link in the unbroken chain. The pressure to create and name an heir was crushing, he knew it personally. Despite there being alleged methods to allow someone who shouldn't have been able to carry a babe, none of them worked safely or regularly. As much power as any King held he still couldn't create life with another man. Though he knew it should have been shocking and scandalous, what his great grandmother did, he was just glad that his great grandfather had some relief. It was a relief that he himself had thanks to Loki and Edward. Edward would be his heir which would let him marry Sean honorably.

"These next scenes are from Lord Avhimmelen's son, Prince Noatun, and are about the how the choices that he made have shaped your lives. Please understand that I'm only showing these Svartalfr without their hëlja because they chose to remove them." Sean was glad to see the scene outside of the white seidr of Frigga. It reinforced for him that Lady Aslaug loved her husband enough to give him freedom. It was a rare gift that the old Lord of Vanaheim needed badly. Moving on to the next thing they needed to see, he commanded the sjel-seidr to bring up and play the next scenes. "This scene is of Prince Noatun and the result of his travels through Svartalfheim." He met a special Svartalfr woman there, and even convinced her to take off her hëlja and reveal the pale beauty of her face. She was an unusual woman though. Her face seemed to change subtly as her mood changed, and change it did. From timid and caring to domineering and sharp, her mood reflected what he needed in the moment. A shadow to his flame, a flame to his shadow. Whatever Prince Noatun needed she provided at a moment's notice, stepping in and out of the shadows for a few seconds to change her mood. "It assists me to clear my mind," she would say as she stepped away from him into those shadows. She danced about him giving and taking until he could no longer live without her. She'd driven his passions to the point where he had one only choice left.

Thousands Of Years Ago - Afternoon

A Sitting Room In The Estate Of The Svartsteinn Clan In The Cave City Of Sithrbjarg On Svartalfheim

The perpetual chill of the carved stone room didn't bother the man standing in it. He didn't even notice it. His sea green eyes darted here and there. He was unable to keep his gaze on any one thing, not even what was in his hands. There was only one person who could hold his attention, the one he was waiting for. The tall, tanned, blonde man had other things to worry over besides his inability to focus on the things around him. Prince Noatun continued to pace worriedly back and forth across the sitting room. Nervousness oozed through his thoughts. He'd gone to battle against pirates from the void with less nervousness than he felt right then. Every other step saw him practicing some section of the speech he had in mind. It was a speech that he'd written with the aid of his former tutor. It was artful, eloquent, and most importantly it was compelling. He hoped it was compelling enough because he had no more time to waste. It was time for him to come back home with a bride or not come back to Svartalfheim again.

The courtship has taken too long? Some things are worth waiting for. You know that, father. Your 'friends' were worth waiting for. Prince Noatun turned sharply on his heel to continue pacing as he tried to focus on his speech. His gaze drifted down to the small, engraved box in his hands, opening it carefully to check on the skyldär bracelet again. His father suggested a lovely bobble for Prince Noatun to propose with, but he declined. He wanted to do this properly, which meant gifting his bride-to-be with a skyldär bracelet when he asked for her hand in marriage. It cost him a small fortune to acquire this one since it was made by the master jewel smith of the Svartsteinn Clan. He had to convince his beloved's brother, who was Master of the Svartsteinn Clan, to allow him to have it made in secret. The Master of the Svartsteinn Clan's comments on it were blunt. "I'm not the one to tell her 'no'. You may ask for her hand, but the answer is hers alone." It was as close to permission to ask as he was going to get. He appreciated having it, knowing that he wasn't going to be gutted for trying to ask for her hand in marriage. Dark elves were a little peculiar in his opinion.

Closing the box again, Prince Noatun went back to pacing and trying to focus on his speech. He stopped, took a deep breath, and counseled himself, You need to calm down. Carrying on in this manner won't assist you. The Prince turned sharply again when he heard the sound of the door opening. His beloved came gracefully through the stone door. The mere sight of her was a soothing balm to his tattered nerves. He breathed out deeply, sighing her name, "Lady Sceadu." His gaze stayed glued to her as she approached him, making sure that the stone door was closed first. "Take off your hëlja, beloved. Please? Let me look on you."

There was something different about her beloved this day. There was an urgency driving him that Lady Sceadu noticed immediately. He was nervous but not anguished. Is today the day, she wondered as she had wondered every time he'd come to visit her for the past half-century. Her hëlja mask unfastened from the ribbons that kept it in place covering her face. She placed it on the small table near the bookshelves. With her face uncovered, she turned to him with a loving smile that was just for him. "Ath heilsa, my beloved. What troubles you?"

The sight of her mesmerizing features surrounded by lengthy pale blonde hair done in long curls slowed Prince Noatun down. Her light sky blue eyes lit up in a way that only he had ever seen. That the look was for him still amazed him. Her smokey voice filled the space between them. He could tell that she was in a good mood. That was what he needed. Excitement exploded through his thoughts. It's time. It's time! "I have something for you." Holding up the box, he opened it to display what he brought for her. As she came over he could tell the exact moment that she understood what he had. The shine in her eyes knocked all thought from his mind. She appreciated what he had, and he could plainly see it. "Lady Sceadu of the Svartsteinn Clan, may I have your hand in marriage?" The speech, you idiot!

The sudden desire to snatch the skyldär from the box pushed at Lady Sceadu's thoughts. It wasn't time yet since he hadn't accepted their proposal. That had to be handled first. She stepped closer and gently closed the box, pushing his hand away so she could step closer. "That's beautiful. Before I answer you, I need you to answer me. There's something I need from you first."

"Anything! Tell me what you want, anything that you need, I'll get it for you. I don't care what it is. So long as I can have you as my own, I'll get it." He rushed to assure her that he could and would provide anything she needed or wanted.

She pushed him back towards the settee and down onto the plush cushions on the stone frame. Bending over, she placed a kiss on his lips. "My beloved," she kissed him again, "I have something so wonderful for you. I know you'll be so happy."

The husky tone in her voice was tempting Prince Noatun towards things he couldn't have yet. It fueled his steamier dreams. His heart sped up until he was panting in his seat, staring into her eyes.

Kissing him one last time, Lady Sceadu pulled a short distance back, looking him directly in the eyes. "We just need you to accept our proposal, so that we can accept yours." She turned suddenly and walked back over to the table where her hëlja sat, swaying her hips invitingly. It covered over her face in just a moment. "Wait here, my beloved. I'll be right back." With an unseen little grin she stepped into the shadows, disappearing from view.

It was a few swift heartbeats before Prince Noatun realized what the good Lady he'd come for said to him. "We?" At that second his beloved stepped back out of the shadows, but she wasn't alone. A woman so identical in dress and hair had stepped out with her that he thought it might have been an illusion. Then he noticed that the illusion had a seidr core and was a real woman. He still couldn't see either of their faces, as they both wore hëlja masks. "Come, my beloved," they spoke together in one tone, "tell me which one is the real me?"

A frown pursed Prince Noatun's lips. "This is a serious matter. I have come to ask for your hand in marriage, not play games."

Again, they spoke as one, "You've been playing the game this entire time. You'll win it too if you can answer me. Tell me, my beloved, which one is the real me?"

Why are the Svartalfr so strange? Flaring his seidr out to feel at the seidr core of the woman on the left he found the tart seidr that had challenged him so often. He had traveled with this woman, debated with her, and even sparred with her. Neither minded being thrown to the dirt so long as it was the other who was helping them up again. "You are on the left, Lady Sceadu. Can we stop this game now? Won't you answer me?"

"Are you so certain of your answer? Look again, my beloved. See the truth and answer us." Their voices were so close to one another that it tickled Prince Noatun's mind. There was something peculiar happening. I'm being tested. I must pay better attention. In hopes that this was the final test he flared his seidr again, this time to the woman on the right. He was shocked to find the seidr of the woman on the right was seidr that he knew equally well to the woman on the left. He had also traveled with this woman, she had comforted him, and discussed their dreams while looking at the stars, had meals with her in the garden while discussing politics and poetry. He knew this woman as well. That was when the tickling in his mind burst into realization. The woman on the left had the voice of the woman who had challenged him frequently. The woman on the right had the voice that had consoled him so often. "It cannot be." This had to be a trick, but the more he looked at the women the less he could tell them apart.

The woman on the left removed her hëlja and looked Prince Noatun in the eyes. "I am Lady Sceadu."

Prince Noatun breathed a sigh of relief. "There is my beloved."

The woman on the right removed her hëlja and looked at the suddenly bewildered Prince. "I am Lady Skadi."

"We are reflected siblings, and we both wish to have you as our own," they moved in synchronicity to sit next to him on the settee, "We must know, will you have both of us, since we are both the real woman you love."

There were subtle difference in their faces as there were only subtle difference in their seidr. Prince Noatun looked between them one to the other several times. He had been tricked thoroughly but couldn't hear any ill intent in their seidr whispers. They didn't do this to hurt him, he could feel it. With their seidrs finally close enough for him to feel both he could feel the love for him in both of their seidr whispers. No, this wasn't done to hurt him. This was done to share him between the two of them. Neither of them will let me go. Each had a hand on his arm. He was literally and figuratively trapped between them. They are the perfect woman together. Must I choose between them? How could I let go of either of them? Looking back and forth one more time, his gaze sank to his hand, with the single. I can't. I'm well and truly trapped now. A smile spread across his face and a little laugh tumbled out of his mouth. "And there's no place I'd rather be." He smiled lovingly at his future wives.

Taking the skyldär bracelet from the box he used his seidr to carefully cut the bracelet in half lengthwise. He split his seidr from his core, sectioned it out into two Conjuration Spells and then released it to coat each half of the bracelet. The two halves weren't rejoined, but instead a new half was grown from the original half. When the two bracelets were done he sectioned out two more small Conjuration Spells. The spells released to place a small light blue gem in the half that he conjured. They would each know what half he had made properly and what half he made himself out of love for them. Oh so carefully, Prince Noatun placed a skyldär on Lady Sceadu's wrist and then one on Lady Skadi's wrist. "Father always did say that it was better to love more than less. I can't wait to introduce both of you to him and mother." Both lunged in for a hug without trying to take him away from the other.

23May2023 – Night

Aboard The Skithblathnir In Flight To Vanaheim

They lived their lives in secret, but it was all done for a love they couldn't let go of. Frey pondered on that for a moment then wondered what else they might have been driven to do because of that love. Though he had already seen the lengths to which love could drive a person, through what Loki and Odin had done, he still thought it strange that his grandparents would go so far. It did explain why there were no portraits in the Royal Palace of Vanaheim of just Lord Noatun and Lady Sceadu. The second woman in the paintings he'd grown up wondering about was Lady Skadi. Now he wondered which of them was Lady Sceadu and which was Lady Skadi. All the portraits were done with the women dressed properly in their hëlja.

The bracelets! Lady Sceadu had the left gem; Lady Skadi had the right! Frigga was going to go through each of the portraits of Lord Noatun and Lady Sceadu that had the extra woman in them. She didn't think there was one without her in it. She was going to look at the jewelry the women were wearing and use the placement of the gemstone from Lord Noatun to determine who was who. Then she was going to see about labeling those paintings properly. To her way of thinking they deserved to be remembered as they were.

Something odd was going on. It was a tickle in the back of Odin's mind. For Lord Avhimmelen to have had multiple affairs, all sanctioned by his wife, was enough to raise eyebrows across the Noble Houses, yet they did it anyway. It seemed like an extension of Lord Avhimmelen's behavior for Lord Noatun to have two wives. It was also enough to raise eyebrows though. Odin took hold of his wife's hand and smiled when she looked over to him. There is something odd afoot here, but how does it involve her parents? Does it involve Lord Njord and Lady Nerthus, or does it skip over them?

Commanding the sjel-seidr to bring up the next scene, Sean hoped that this would go over without then being violently angry at him. It wasn't his fault what their parents chose to do, but he was the one displaying it. Very quickly, he viewed each of their white seidr again to come to the conclusion that they probably wouldn't be angry with him. This is still going to go over as well as a brick smashed into someone's head would. Sean extended his sarammr then discreetly angled out his seidr just enough so that he could bend it into a powerful Calm Heart Spell. He infused his sarammr with the spell then touched each of the monarchs with it. The Calm Heart Spell began working in their white seidr instantly. "This next scene is one of the most consequential to your own lives. Again I'm only displaying these Svartalfr without their hëlja because they chose to remove them."

It was a very positive, if odd, feature to Sean that he was choosing to only show the Svartalfr without their hëlja if they'd chosen to remove them. Frey wished that his cousin, Agmundr, had received the same respect from Skuld. He wondered then how Sean even knew what a hëlja was, as it seemed like something that Lady Audhumbla wouldn't be concerned with. Then again, he does occasionally speak in Dark Elvish. Yesterday he used their proverbs as if he knew how to and was comfortable doing so. It was another reminder to Frey that he still didn't know everything about Sean.

Thousands Of Years Ago – Early Morning

The Healing Rooms In The Royal Palace Of Vindrvelsignet On Vanaheim

Lady Skadi laid back against the thick pillows in her private room in the healing rooms. Nausea roiled her gut. Her dear sister, Lady Sceadu, sat next to her, so she leaned over against her and closed her eyes. She was so tired.

Lady Sceadu gave her sister a kiss on the head. "You did very well. I'm proud of you." She looked down at the newborn half-elven babe in her arms. The little girl was her sister's babe, but her sister didn't have the strength to hold her daughter then. Her own very young half-elven son, Prince Njord, sat quietly on the bed. He was drawing pictures of all of them together. He was so excited to meet his half-sister that he was almost bouncing on the bed when they first came in. Lady Sceadu had to remind him that 'Mama Skadi' still needed rest, not bouncing. From the moment that the boy met his half-sister he hadn't strayed far from her. A loving smile touched her lips that her son already wanted to be 'the best brother ever'. The unnamed little girl in her arms moved, coo'd and settled back into the swaddling clothes.

The door to the room opened silently and Lord Noatun slipped in with an elixir bottle and little measuring cup. "Here we are, my beloved. This should help with the nausea." He poured out a little of the sparkling green liquid into the measuring cup and handed it to his second wife. He took it back once she'd downed the elixir then set them off to the side on the room's counter next to a sink. As he was going to take his babe from his first wife he stopped when his son slid off the bed and ran around to his side to show him what he'd been working on.

"Look, papa. It's my sister. She's the most beautiful sister ever!" Little Prince Njord handed over his drawing for his father to inspect.

It was a child's drawing, but still quite good. Lord Noatun decided to put it up in his office along with the other things his son made him. "I love it," he booped his son on the nose, "because you're right. She is the most beautiful sister for you." He gripped the picture with his seidr and dismissed it to his interdimensional pocket. He moved around to the other side of the bed, next to Lady Sceadu and held out his arms to hold is new daughter. A proud smile spread across his lips as he sat down on the bed. The girl had her mother's light blond hair and sparkling blue eyes while having more tan from his skin tone than pale from hers. His baby girl's eyes were already beginning to focus on him, and she reached up with her tiny hand to touch at his face. It was early for a babe to do that intentionally. His daughter was exquisite. "What am I going to name you?"

"I know, papa!" Prince Njord ran around the bed to gently climb up, smiling at 'Mama Skadi' before going over to whisper in his father's ear. He pulled back and grinned widely. "It's the most beautiful name for the most beautiful sister. Can that be her name, papa?! Can it?!"

"That's an old name. Where did you hear that, my son?" Lord Noatun was intrigued by the name. It was a good name but not one he would have expected as a suggestion from one so young.

"I saw it in the library, mama read me a story with it. It's so pretty." The excitement was making a resurgence. It was hard not to bounce on the bed with that excitement. His little heart was fluttering so fast. "Pleeeease! Can that be her name?"

The name symbolized peace and prosperity. It was a very good name in his mind, since his wife had introduced their son to it. He took a breath and tried the name out in his mind a few times, liking it more every time. Letting his daughter take hold of one of his fingers Lord Noatun's smile widened until it was shining with pride and love. "Yes, I think I will."

"What will our daughter's name be?" Lady Skadi was very curious over what name the boy might have chosen. It was curiosity without worry since her husband approved of the name.

"I will name you," he kissed his daughter on the forehead and then looked her in the eyes, "Nerthus."

23May2023 – Night

Aboard The Skithblathnir In Flight To Vanaheim

Frigga was clutching Odin's hand and had her other hand over her eyes. Her brother Frey had his hand over his mouth and was looking down. Sean knew that he was right. This was going over as well as a brick smashed into someone's head would, but he couldn't stop there. Another equally unpalatable scene needed to be shown. They weren't yelling at him, or calling him a liar, so he carried on. "This next scene is the last thing that needs to be shown from the Vanaheimr Royal Line. I am sorry about this and the distress it's going to cause. I'll answer any questions you have after you've seen it." He commanded the sjel-seidr to use the last of the Learning Spell to play the next scene.

Thousands Of Years Ago - Evening

The Healing Rooms In The Royal Palace Of Vindrvelsignet On Vanaheim

Lady Nerthus sat on the comfortable bed in the healing room she herself was born in. She was covered in a warm blanket and propped up by thick pillows. Her long light blond hair, tucked behind her pointed ears, was still a little disheveled from the birthing. It happened so fast after all. Instead of joy, grief twisted her features. Pain ached in her body and her heart. Heavy tears welled up in her pale sky blue eyes to rain down on the swaddling clothes of the babe in her arms. He was too big for a newborn babe. She knew that this was the only outcome for her son when her husband found out how fast he was growing, but she still held out hope that it wouldn't be so, that he might not be one of them. "Too big. Too big," she whispered to her son as she held him close, "You are too big." Feeling his size as she birthed him and seeing it with her own eyes crushed her miniscule hope that he wouldn't be one of 'the talls'. There was no hope for that anymore.

Lord Njord opened the door to the room swiftly and entered silently. A small single-use pain relieving type of elixir was in his hand. He didn't want to upset his wife with unnecessary noise. She was upset enough, so upset that he hadn't been able to get her to speak with him on her distress. It wasn't as if he didn't understand. Another one of 'the talls' had been born, and it fell to them to handle the situation. He wasn't as distressed as his wife though because he was very glad to have his son. Moving around to the side of the bed, he sat next to her to offer her what he brought. "Here, minn musa. I brought it for you. Why don't you take it now? There's no reason for you to still be in pain."

Sniffling a little, Lady Nerthus looked up, set her baby down, took the slippery blue potion, uncorked the bottle, and drank it all down. She handed it back to him then. "He is too big," she said quietly, so as to not disturb her son, "Frey is one of 'the talls'." A small sob twisted her features, and she picked up her son again to hold him close. "Once he comes into his own he will be miserable, just like Afi Avhimmelen was!" Another sob wrenched out of her. "I don't want our baby to be miserable!"

"Afi Avhimmelen wasn't that miserable. He found a valuable solution in Amma Aslaug. We'll find a solution for Frey too." Hope tightly threaded through Lord Njord's voice, along with determination.

"How? We would have to find the right person, train them and hope that they turned out as we need them to, else we'd have to start again. Amma Aslaug was a rarity and Afi Avhimmelen was lucky to have what little peace that he did." Lady Nerthus wiped at the tears in her eyes. It helped her to clearly see how big her son was again. More tears welled up.

Gently taking their son from Lady Nerthus, Lord Njord held the boy and rocked him as he fussed at having been moved. "We have a solution to this problem; the old family solution." Reaching out to cup the side of his wife's face he smiled. "The old family solution will work as it's always worked. We just have to follow it."

"Another of 'the talls' shouldn't have been born for a few more generations." She grumbled knowing what her husband was going to say since he'd said it several times before. That didn't stop her complaining about it. She only wanted to be with her husband, she never wanted the price of that to be her children's happiness.

"We condensed the bloodline, minn musa." Sighing, he lowered his hand and looked at his son again. "Find? No, that isn't how the solution works. We must make a woman for you who will be everything that you need," he promised his son, "She will give you the freedom you can't have on your own, the freedom to be yourself. Your freedom will take the shape of the heir that she will give you and the understanding that she will have for you." Lord Njord even knew what this woman's name would be. "She will be perfect, the most perfect wife for you. We will name her, Frigga."

Wiping at more of her tears, Lady Nerthus asked, "Do you truly think it will solve the problem?"

"The old family solution always solves the problem when used. I see no reason why it won't this time." Lord Njord bent over and gave his son a kiss on the forehead. His voice hardened as he thought over what he owed to his son. "There is nothing to disrupt our plans for Frey and Frigga."

23May2023 – Night

Aboard The Skithblathnir In Flight To Vanaheim

Disgust washed through Frey in violent tidal waves which caused him to recoil physically from what he was seeing. He stood suddenly and went to the window in his quarters. Putting his right hand alongside the window he leaned against the wall. Looking out into the void to see Midgard didn't assist him to feel better. He wasn't sure what would, if anything. When the disgust bouncing around in him reached his stomach, tightening it violently, he unfurled his seidr. He formed it into a Regenerative Weave which he released from his left hand placed over his stomach into his midsection. It marginally assisted him to feel better. It wasn't enough though.

Swiftly Sean came up beside Frey, placing a hand on his lover's shoulder and flaring his seidr to run it gently over Frey's scarred skin. I'm here for you, his seidr whispered to the younger King. He wasn't surprised when Frey turned and pulled him into a tight hug. This secret was too dark to let it pass without a hug or two.

Deep relief filtered into Frey's thoughts as Sean's seidr traveled over his skin and his young lover's arms went around him. He didn't want to believe that his parents made his beloved sister for… for his use. While it had always been true that she was beloved to him, it had never been with that kind of love. He would walk through the fires of war for her, devastate realms if need be, but he would never take her to his bed. It never even occurred to him to do something like that. Father planned for me, for us …to, he couldn't even finish the thought. It was too repulsive to him. He remembered the moment the day before when he was thinking about how he would obtain an heir. He remembered thinking about how he would never create a life solely for his use. Yet father created Frigga for me to use. How could he…, again, he couldn't finish the thought. A sudden and powerful gratitude filled his thoughts, blowing his eyes wide. Lady Audhumbla decreed that Loki was to provide him with an heir from herself. Loki schemed, against him no less, to accomplish this decree. Each of them had to have known of the problem he was having in finding a person to marry honorably. It wasn't a coincidence that they acted as they did, it couldn't be. They knew, they saved us from this wretched solution. His gaze fell to Sean. The young man in his arms was both beautiful in face and form, as well as compassionate and honorable. It was Sean who was perfection to him.

The thought going through Frey's head could be heard clearly in his seidr whispers. How could he?! Sean could tell by the tone of the whispers that the younger King was thinking about what his father tried to do to him and his sister. "They did it because they loved you; because they wanted you to be happy; because being born as one of 'the talls' can be so crushing that it can lead to the man wasting away and dying. It's happened several times before. They didn't want that for you, so they crafted someone who was, before anything else, a dear friend. A woman who could give to you the heir you needed to be free of that crushing obligation. Frigga was your parents' attempt to ensure that you would live."

"It didn't work." Frigga spoke quietly while looking down at the floor. "I couldn't carry a child until last night. It didn't work." Awkward fires burned up her cheeks leaving them vividly red. Never once had she looked at her brother with an admiring gaze. He was beloved to her, but not her beloved. That was Odin. She couldn't even imagine being married to someone other than Odin and didn't want to. He might have died without me? She thought back to the many terrible things she found yesterday about her brother's bloody exploits under the guise of Brotna Brandr. As she thought over those things she realized that he'd already begun wasting away, he was just doing it violently. It was her child, Loki, not her, who ended up giving Frey an heir. It was another debt of gratitude that she owed to Loki, for Frey's life.

"It would have though. I'm going to show you how." Sean stepped back from Frey and put another reassuring smile on his face. "Lady Audhumbla sent me to bring illumination to the Elder Realms." Faster than could be detected he grasped the commanded the still foaming sjel-seidr to move him and Odin outside the bounds of time in another offset moment. Frey, Frigga, and Jay slowed into statues. "Which is why I would like your permission to show Frigga and Frey what happened after their parents died. They need to know what was done. They should know why they were spared."

Odin looked quietly at Sean for several anxiety filled moments before looking down at his left hand. The old scar running from in between his ring and middle fingers almost down to his wrist was quiet and still for the moment. He'd been cut there so many times that no normal healing could permanently relieve the pain that occasionally flared up in the wound. While he suspected that Frey could handle it now, he also wasn't comfortable in asking. Frey might ask where he got the scar and then he would either have to lie to Frey or brush off his concern; neither of which he wanted to do. "Illumination." He sighed quietly, accepting both his own anxiety and probable inability to stop this from happening. "I cannot tell her that. I'm not going to compare what happened to them to my own experiences." His voice was quiet as he looked down at the scar. It wasn't even difficult for him to stop himself from thinking about how he received the scar and why. He'd had so much practice in stopping those thoughts.

"You're not comparing, and you won't have to. I can be the one to do it for you." When the older man's attention snapped to him he viewed Odin's white seidr in an instant and understood what the problem was. Before the elder King could speak he said, "No, you aren't a coward," he motioned to Odin, "What you are is the victim of numerous crimes. It is immoral to reveal the crimes committed against a person without their consent or outside of a legal proceeding. It is often impractical to expect a victim of crimes to relive what happened to them only to relay it to others. The victim of any crime needs compassion and practicality, which is why I'm offering to be the one to bring illumination to this sensitive issue."

Looking back down at his hand, his voice dropped to a near whisper. "Does Lady Audhumbla want this of me?" More anxiety surged up through him.

"All I can only speak to my Lady's intentions by saying that my Lady wants there to be fewer lies. I think it would be easier to speak to Frigga's desires. She's wanted to know what happened to you ever since she figured out that something happened. She has no idea of the extent of what was done, or why, and she won't believe that you're trying to compare the two experiences." Sean kept his reassuring smile in place as he discreetly angled out his seidr then bent it into a Calm Heart Spell. At the same time he extended his sarammr, then infused it with the spell. He extended his sarammr further to touch Odin's arm with it. The Calm Heart Spell infused Odin's white seidr to relieve any worry the elder monarch might have.

The first response Odin had was to bunker down and re-hide everything, then steer anyone away from it again. I can't do that. Lady Audhumbla won't let me. A cold calm began to spread through his thoughts that he felt was his own acceptance. He was being given an opportunity to steer how this happened, but what he wanted most looked cowardly to his eyes. Like looking away from a dagger imbedded in his chest as it was pulled out, he didn't think he should look away, even if it was distressing. Guilt bloomed in that distress. Odin knew that he shouldn't have lied to his wife for so long; knew that he shouldn't have taken away her choice to find out; knew he shouldn't be balking at telling his wife what was done and why. A very real and still very raw part of himself didn't want to revisit the past. He had moved on with his life and didn't want to let Lord Borr and his skewers back in.

Again, Sean focused on Odin's white seidr to see where the hold-up was. It was a perfectly natural hesitation and distress that he was having, but Sean could only see one way around it. It wasn't something he was spectacularly talented in, though he was proficient enough to be allowed to use the iödod technique. I'm not dad, or Aiden, or Matt, but I can still help. I think this would qualify as an emergency medical use. He cleared his mind and centered himself. Further extending out his misty sarammr, Sean shaped it into a set of long thin rods with triangular spikes at the end. He extended his sarammr out to Odin, placing the spikes where he'd been taught. Four spikes at the cardinal points of the head, one on the back of the neck, one over the heart, one just below that, two on the lower back and one on the left thigh topside close to the hips. The spikes touched Odin's white seidr and felt around at the points until they slid into the white seidr like keys into locks. Sean could feel Odin's emotions and body as if they were his own. He could feel the deep anxiety and hesitation to deal with what they were discussing. There was distress and guilt packed in thickly with it. Negative self-image came with those next. All of those reinforced the anxiety that the elder King felt. It was all very natural, but not helpful. In order to help Odin feel better about sharing what was done to him, Sean clamped down carefully on the anxiety by releasing small amounts of reward hormones and restricting production of the stress hormones. It prevented the anxiety's spread which dampened the distress, guilt, and negative self-image. Instead of releasing the anxiety, since it was dampened, he planted a small seed of truth in Odin's white seidr. You are not a coward. What was done to you was unjust. You are supported. It was Sean's truth that he was sharing with the distressed monarch. With the seed planted and taking root, Sean withdrew the iödod spikes from Odin.

A wave of calm spread slowly through Odin. The anxiety died down the longer he thought about letting his wife know. He still wasn't sure how he was going to tell her though. The distress in his mind was dying down to reasonable levels as well, the guilt too. He felt better overall, and it was enough that he noticed it. There was a clarity in his mind that felt like he'd taken a Calming Elixir. Acceptance feels better than trying to hide things. Perhaps this could work. I still don't know if I can tell her though. I don't think I can look her in the eyes and tell her what happened. His mind immediately supplied a solution for him. ..I'm offering to be the one to bring illumination to this sensitive issue. Sean's offer seemed like such an easy solution that he wasn't sure why he hesitated on it. He still didn't know if he could be there when she found out. He didn't want to look her in the eyes when she found out. He assured himself that after she knew he could look her in the eyes. How am I to do this, even with Sean's aid?

Viewing Odin's white seidr one more time, Sean made another offer. "I can take them outside of time again, while leaving you in it, and explain things to them there. Do I have your permission to do that? Is there some other way that you want this done?"

"No, that sounds fine." It didn't sound fine to him, just workable. He wanted to say that no one finding this out ever would have been the best, but then he remembered that he promised Frey that he would try to heal. He also wanted to say that it was humiliating to need assistance to tell his wife anything, but the rational part of his mind agreed with what the victims of a crime needed. It was difficult for him to view himself in that light though, as the victim of a crime. Under Asgardian law, he wasn't even sure that Lord Borr had committed a crime. It was a series of violent acts however, that he acknowledged that he needed to heal from. Oddly it was his promise to Frey to heal, instead of his wife, that he used to help himself feel better. Nodding and taking a deep breath to steady himself, Odin looked at the scar again and then back up to Sean. "Best to get it done now," before I decide to hide everything again.

A soft, understanding smile touched Sean's lips. "You're doing the right thing." Commanding the sjel-seidr to take them back into time, Sean then commanded it to take him, Frey, and Frigga outside the bounds of time. Neither looked very happy yet. They were about to look a lot worse in Sean's opinion. He extended his sarammr again and formed it into the spikes of the iödod technique. Without the time to prepare them this was the best he could offer. This too could probably be excused as an emergency medical use. At least he hoped Eidesh would see it that way. He was going to plant seeds of truth in each of them then Frigga rose and went to Frey.