Meeting Heimdall and what’s in store for your stay at Asgard.
You yelled towards the ceiling, hoping for some answer. The smoke that slithered around the hut entering your lungs. You felt like you were suffocating. The fire snaked its way through the cracks of the wooden door and the smoke engulfed the air. It felt as if the fire was in your lungs. Burning you inside and out.
You looked around in panic, trying to find a way out, anything to help you stay alive. Your eyes were set on the circular window above the door. Getting on your hands and knees you search for any object you could find. A rock, Weapon, Pan, anything.
Feeling the cool object beneath your hand, you grabbed it up. Feeling how heavy it was. It was the pestle from the table. The mortar was now knocked on its side and sat on the very edge of the table. Just on the brink of falling onto your head.
Gripping the pestle tightly, you stood up while covering your nose and mouth with your free hand. Looking at the light from the small window, you aimed and threw the grinding club with the rest of your strength. With success, The pestle crashed through the glass. The smoke using the freed window to escape.
Being able to breathe a bit easier, you leaned against the table. Holding up your weight and letting your head hang. The smoke in your lungs creating a barrier to your brain. You saw black dots interrupting your vision.
Or so you thought. Looking up, you saw wings surrounding you. The call of a raven now reaching your ears. The birds wrapped around you until all you saw was black.
The birds soon disappeared, leaving you in front of a rock wall. Hearing the sound of comotion behind you, You turned to see a small village. Wagons riding down a manmade trail, people walking down the trail with buckets weighing them down. Behind the village laid a vast field of meadows. Some people were using a plow in the midst of it. The sun glistened behind the wide mountain range just enough for you to see everything. The sun creating a golden effect on the village.
Looking down at your hands in disbelief, The ashes covering your hands, The blisters that covered your arms. This was a different situation in the matter of seconds. The cool air slicing at your wounds.
A young boy interrupted your train of thoughts. Waving his hand in front of your face, Sharing a concerned expression for you. In his other hand he held a mug full of water, holding it out to you once he got your attention.
The boy handed you the mug, awaiting your response.
He seemed to be in his late teens. Blonde, shaggy hair touched the nape of his neck. His brown eyes filled with worry.
"_____" You said. The scratch in your throat causing your voice to break. Which only seemed to worry the boy more.
He nodded and carefully took the mug from you, turning his head to look at the passersby, he waved one of them down to fetch water and a rag.
"Alright well let's make sure you are okay. Sit down, alright?"
His voice wavered, talking with such panic filling his voice. He grabbed your hands gently and helped you sit down on the side of the road. Making sure you drank all the water from the mug. He smiled at you and asked, "How did you get here?"
"Odin told me to call for him." That was all you could manage to get out. Your voice weak from the smoke. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't a Mortal." You thought.
The Blonde headed boy looked at you with wide eyes, His mouth going agape. "The Odin?" His tone turning serious and low. Looking around to make sure no one heard.
Your brows furrowed, Looking over at him you slowly nodded.
"Then you have to get up there! He must be waiting." He let out a small laugh, Waving his hand to the wall.
"How?" You questioned him, tilting your head slightly to the side.
He quickly grabbed the bucket and rag from the stranger, replying with a quick 'Thank you'. Turning his head back towards you, dipping the rag into the water and handing it to you.
You took the rag from him, cleaning your arms and face, Thinking through what he said. "That doesn't make sense. I will die before I get up there." You said in a monotone voice. The cool water on your arms creating goosebumps. The blisters a little less painful than they were before. Cleaning off your face was far from easy without a reflection of some kind.
"There are different points on the wall that have been dug out. You should be able to take breaks when you need to." He said cheerfully. Once you were done cleaning the ash off your skin he took the rag from you. Submerging the rag into the water and ringing it out once again.
You nodded and started to stand up. You looked around with a confused look. With that the boy laughed and stood up as well. He waved his hand for you to follow him and you complied.
On the way, he made small talk with you. Asking you why you were in Asgard, What you did in Midgard, etcetera. Then for a moment you both enjoyed the view on the bridge. Watching the sun creep behind the mountain range. The golden light illuminating the mountains. With the sun setting, you both decided to hurry to the wall.
"Just be careful! A fall from there would-"
"Yeah yeah I know!" You cut him off with a huff.
You heard a stifled laugh from below. You could feel his eyes on you as you struggled to climb the wall.
After climbing halfway, Skjoldr had left to go back home. The sun had already set. The only light that you had left was the light behind the wall. It only illuminated the top of the wall. You struggled finding the next socket to set your hands and feet. The next ledge was only a few feet above you. You just had to make it there.
Grunting, You pulled yourself up using your upper body strength. Trying to place your foot onto a ledge to lift yourself up more. You are only an arms length away from the ledge.
You muttered to yourself. Finally finding a place to put your foot, You lifted yourself up more and grabbed onto the ledge. Using the rest of your strength you pulled yourself up onto the ledge.
Once you finally got onto the ledge you sighed and laid on your back. Taking deep breaths in and out, you stared at the sky. The stars seemed brighter here than they are in Midgard. The stars clustered together, creating a blank space in between them. The multicolored stars mixed together, creating unknown beauty.
The sight itself made you exhausted, after everything that's happened today. You definitely deserved a good amount of sleep. Your body and mind buzzed from exhaustion. As soon as it started to settle in, you gave in and let your mind rest.
As soon as you woke up in the morning, you started your climb again. Being so close to the top of the wall made you determined to finish. Even though your arms were scattered in blisters and scrapes from the events yesterday. You didn't let a little blood stop you from getting into Asgard. Okay, maybe more than just a little. The near death experience you had when you started climbing again left you more banged up than you would like to admit. Being still groggy from sleep you had to jump to get to the next ledge. The wall peering over where you were. You knew you could make it, the amount of times you climbed trees and walls hunting in midgard? This was a piece of cake. Taking deep breaths, You pull yourself back a bit to get leverage. Doing so you lost your footing. Fortunately, you grabbed onto the outward ledge and wrapped your legs around what you could. Doing so though, Your footing made you hit the edge of a sharp rock. Right on your cheek, causing a deep slash to form and blood to trickle.
The blood continued to trickle down your cheek. Leaving you to wipe it off on your hand multiple times on your journey. Your hand now covered in dried blood. You weren't far from the top of the wall now. Just one more jump up and you would have made it.
Before you knew it, you lost your footing halfway, you made it halfway into your jump before you started grabbing for anything to hold you.
A hand gripped onto your forearm, the armor that coated the stranger's forearm rubbing against the wounds on your arm. You hissed in pain and looked down, the fall would absolutely kill you. Better to be hurt than dead. You looked up at the stranger.
Immediately you were met with bright, violet eyes. Staring straight through you. His expression changed and he sighed, an apple in his free hand. He gave you huff and a masked smile.
"What part of the enormous wall made you think, "Oh, visitors must be welcome,"?' ' He questioned you with an annoyed tone.
In response you said nothing. Your voice had caught in your throat. The pain was now hitting you like a ton of bricks.
"Nothing? Really? Maybe I should just drop you."
You shook your head vigorously, grabbing onto his arm with your other hand. You stuttered out "Odin... sent for me"
He looked at you questionably and let out a "hah!"
"Now what would he want with you?"
"I am Freya's Apprentice." You said quickly, making sure not to show emotion. You didn't want him to know how deathly afraid you were of this situation. He could drop you at any second.
You knew who he was now. Heimdall. The Aesir God of Foresight. Who knows what people are thinking. And most important, Odin's Lap dog. Freya told you stories of how much she hated him. How he would constantly antagonize her. She explained how his eyes were the only thing that made him stand out among everyone.
"So this is the asshole himself. Nice" You thought. Knowing he would react in some way.
His brows furrowed and he reluctantly pulled you up. He said nothing after the fact, just gestured you to follow him down the lift and walked you through Asgard. Weird. You expected him to be an asshole to you. As you walked you looked around the village. It wasn't what you expected it to be. There wasn't much gold. The palace in your head didn't include logs and a village.
"Yes, well your tiny little brain couldn't understand it even if you wanted to." He chuckled at his own remark.
If he wasn’t Odin’s favorite, you would have smacked him.
You two walked towards a Big Lodge. The large logs are what caught your attention. The size of this compared to everything else told you it held significance. Must have been a tree from a different realm.
He opened the door and led you through the many hallways until he came up to double doors that towered over the both of you. He knocked until you heard a muffled "Come in!"
Opening the door he walked down the steps. Odin stood hunched over one of his tables, flipping through a book and skimming over the small printed words.
"Ah! I see you finally listened to me about not dropping people off the wall!" His voice was cheerful but you could tell that was a stab to his bifrost-eyed son. He turned around to look at the both of you. In the corner of your eyes you could see Heimdall straighten his posture. Making sure the All-father did not see his nervousness. Why was he so tense? Did he have a stick in his ass?
"I'm glad you accepted my call. And I told you I was right, didn't I?" He tapped his temple and gave you a light smile. Walking closer to you, he grabbed your shoulders and examined your arms.
"My, My... Son, Go get Sif and tell her to bring bandages and stuff for burns. And hurry! We do not need our guest of Honor to be sick!" He waved off Heimdall and he immediately nodded and left the room in a hurry. Odin hummed and inspected your wounds closer. He then glanced up and saw the one on your cheek and grimaced.
"Had quite the time, I see. Don't worry, Sif will be here to help you get cleaned up soon.”
While Odin comforted you and your wounds, Heimdall was battling several thoughts in his head.
Why does the All-Father want them? He knows they will just betray him. Why did he keep them alive? What is their significance to him? They’re Useless!
His head hurt from all the questions. His father told him he would expect a visitor soon but not someone as frail and untrustworthy as them. When he searched through their mind all he could find was things that led to more questions? Who were they really? Did they know he could read minds? That he was the God of Foresight? Is that why he couldn't see any evil intent towards the All-father?
His head swarmed with thoughts as he reached Sif’s Door. He knocked and heard the loud and unstable footsteps of his brother getting closer to the door. Thor cracked the door just to peek his head out the door, Looking down he saw his younger brother and snarled his lip. Just as he was about to slam the door, Heimdall spoke:
“Uh-uh! The All-Father requires Sif now. It's not like I would come here willingly, brother. You think I want to see your miserable state?” He bit back at his brother's harsh actions. He held an unwavering grin on his face as Thor called for his wife. And with that, He turned and went back to where the All-Father was talking to his Visitor. Hearing him laugh and talk with the outsider pissed him off. His grin was wiped off his face as he knocked and entered the door after being granted access.
He bowed his head in acknowledgement to the All-Father and stood to the side as he continued to talk to the Outsider. He listened in on what they began saying about themself.
“I tried to help but she left me and as soon as she did the Hut was on fire. I-” They sighed and looked down at their heads resting in their lap “I didn't know who else to call. I don't know what you would like for me to do here but-”
“They are staying here?” Heimdall raised his voice a little too loudly. Earning a glare from the All-Father that made him shut his mouth.
“Yes. They will be a great help, considering they learned all their tricks from Frigg.” His voice was monotone as he spoke. He stared at Heimdall which Heimdall could barely meet his one-eyed gaze. Soon he turned his head and gave a light smile as Sif walked into the room.
“You can help in many ways. Might also have to teach that one some manners.” He leaned his hands on the table in front of him and tilted his head in the direction of Heimdall.
Soon enough he let Sif take over and clean your wounds. Making sure the bandages were not too tight. She made small talk with them and asked Odin politely why he let a mortal in Asgard. He replied with the same thing he told his son. She nodded her head and continued the small talk. She gave a light smile here and there which made them feel welcomed. Except for the glare she was getting from the man that leaned against the pillar. His purple eyes piercing through them made them shift uncomfortably.
