Remembrance
I honestly don't think Thor knew what to think about me. I mean, I didn't know what to expect when I met him either. This must be strange for him, too. Regardless, Thor stared back at me with a blank look on his face.
"I'm sorry but I can't quite get my head round that you are Volstagg's daughter. Let alone Layla's" Thor pinched the top of his nose. His muscles are bigger than his head. No wonder Mother called him a jock.
"But I am though" I argued, "She told me all kinds of stories about you"
"I was told Layla died in the fire" he growled, "I saw the grave"
"Mother died 6 full moons ago. We were in a village north of Jotunheim. She ended up being attacked in a different raid. She took out as many as she could, but the elder ended up finding her. After that, we moved to a village called Kirkjufell" Thor was still sceptical of my lineage. I flagged down the bartender and ordered another drink for both me and Thor "Mother got told by many elders not to have me. They claimed I was her demon spawn. I was unholy because I was born out of wedlock. My eternal soul would forever be damned. How I survived after the blows she took to her stomach while she was pregnant will forever baffle me. Maybe it was the other side that saved me."
"So if you are Layla's daughter, that would mean you're half Frost Giant" he took my face in his hands, looking into my eyes "And your eyes are not red nor is your skin blue"
"How can I prove it" I sighed, pushing Thor away "If I show you something, you have to promise me that you won't try to kill me." Thor backed off, gripping his axe.
"What are you going to show me?"
"I need you to slap me" I ordered.
"What?" he wondered, more lost than ever, "I'm not hitting a little girl," Thor shot me down. At least I know he has a moral code.
"I'm not a little girl," I assured, "I'm twenty-one years old and I've seen some shit that no one should ever have to go through. Now, will you just fucking hit me so I can show you? And I can't be expecting..."
SLAP!
"OW!" I could feel my eyes burning. I'm not sure which part of it hurt worse; the slap itself or my Frost Giant half coming out. To no surprise, Thor held his axe by his head.
"You're a..." I stopped him. I wouldn't be shocked if he was about to call me a halfling. There were few words in the English language I hated more than that one. Before the bartender could complain, I dragged him to a secluded corner of the pub.
"I am..." I nodded "I know what this looks like and believe me, I wish this were not the case"
"What does it look like?" he got defensive, "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're a fucking Frost Gaint."
"Why are you surprised?! I told you who I was! God, you are so thick! I'm Layla's daughter! You knew what she was and you were still friends!"
"I didn't want to believe it!" Thor gripped his axe tighter.
"You're such an idiot!" I pinched my nose. My eyes felt a little better as I got used to being a Frost Giant "Why my mother said you would help me is beyond me!"
"Do you know the story behind Layla and Volstagg?"
"After my mother ended up in Sandgil, that village she lived in was visited by Volstagg. Nine months later, I came along. The bastard Hybrid. Some of the last words she ever said to me were that she never wanted this life for me. She never wanted me to have this curse I have. I can't change the circumstances of my birth" Thor placed his axe on the bar "She told me all about you, though," I remembered, "My favourite story was when you two would ride the screaming goats crossing the Bifrost"
"I'm sure she did" And he is back to being a dick again.
"She told me about the day that Loki stabbed you after turning into a snake," I thought back to all my old bedtime stories, "She used to laugh that the Midgardians named a day on the week after you"
"This is all common knowledge," Thor brushed me off, going back to his tankard of ale.
"She told me how annoyed you would get when she would call you Sparklez when you were little"
"And I fucking hated that nickname..." Thor froze as it dawned on him "What did you just say?"
"She called you Sparklez. Because you once set fire to your hair when playing with your lightening power"
"That's not something everyone knows" Thor gasped, "How do you...?"
"You still don't think I am telling the truth?" I grumbled, choking tears back in my throat, "I already told you. My name is Aurora Layladottir. My mother's name was Layla, your sister, whether you choose to believe it or not." Thor put his hand on my cheek.
"You have Volstagg's eyes and hair but the rest is your mother" I smiled a little "And both of their stubbornness"
"Oh, Thor. you have no idea"
The two of us sat in silence, clutching our ale, processing the things that have come to light in the last twenty minutes. Thor finally opened his mouth and raised his tankard.
"Hopefully, wherever Layla is, she is kicking ass and annoying our friends and family"
"I'll drink to that," I agreed, "Why do you think the Elders claimed that Volstagg raped my mother?"
"I have several reasons. But the main one I can think of is because Volstagg was Asgardian and as we both know, Frost Giants and Asgardians do not get along. Your mother and my brother were exceptions"
"She didn't deserve what happened to her, but she never blamed me for it. Out of the whole miserable experience, she told me that I was entirely worth it. No matter how much she suffered. No matter who said what about her. She did kick a few asses when they slagged me off" I let out a heavy-hearted sigh.
"That sounds like Layla," Thor smiled a bit, sipping his ale "She might have been a pain in the ass when we were younger, but it would've been nice to see her again."
"I miss my mother. Not a day goes by where I don't think about her" My thoughts also turn to Hela. She seems to be acting like a mother to me lately.
"So Rory, Where are you staying these days then?" Thor wondered. Of course, he would give me a nickname.
"I was drifting for a while but a month or so ago, I had someone take me in. Your sister as it just so happens"
"Hela?" Thor figured. Thor took a deep breath.
"I did say that I spoke to your brother. Where do you think I have been staying" I crossed my arms. Thor mumbled that he should have realised that I was at the palace.
"Is Loki... safe?" He finally whispers.
"More or less. Hela treats him like shit and so do the others in the palace"
"He helped Hela overthrow our father 10 years ago but he... helped me escape" he got us another round "You remind me of someone I know,"
"Is he a Hybrid, too?" I asked. I prayed that I was not the only one of my kind.
"Nope. Pure Asgardian" Thor shook his head. I had got my hopes up then "Fandral is... Well... you can work that one out for yourself if you ever meet him"
"Just so you know, I don't want to be fully turned, Thor. I hope you know that. The thought of becoming an Asgardian is tantalizing. I do not wish to eat the rank fruit of Idunn but I don't want to see everyone I love die. It's bad enough I've already done that. I don't need it to be a never-ending cycle."
"I couldn't think of a worse hell than immortality," Thor admitted, "And you probably have seen everyone you love die already."
"I didn't have friends growing up. I never got a chance to go to school" I nodded, "I had my mother, though. And for a brief time, I had someone else. A few brief interactions with a few people here and there and now Hela. I will be forever grateful that took me in. Actually, she's been the closest thing I've had to a family since I lost my mother"
"Perhaps I could be your family?" Thor smiled "Volstagg was like my brother. We fought together many times. If he is your father then perhaps I could call you niece?"
"Maybe after a few more drinks" I smiled. Thor nodded "So, do you have a family of your own?" I wondered,
"Sort of," Thor shrugged, "My partner and Fandral. I guess you could call us a family in a way." Thor sighed "Might be able to add you to that list"
"We'll see about that." I smiled. Soon a woman came in, looking like she just run a mile.
"Thor, We have to go. There is trouble on the horizon. I can hear them coming." Thor got up from our table, grabbing his axe.
"Booskans?" Thor asked. The woman nodded. What are those walking furballs doing here? "Can you fight?" he asked the woman. His eyes were soft as he looked at the woman. She rolled her eyes as she nodded "What about you?" he looked over toward me.
"Of course" I got up with him.
"What's your strong suit?" Thor asked. I took the dagger from my ankle and spun it in my hand.
"They won't know I'm close until they are dead," I smirked a bit. Finally, someone who lets me fight, "I'm fast on my feet. Even faster with my knife."
"Good" he approved.
"Hold on, Thor." the woman glanced me over, "Who is this... This?"
"This is Aurora," Thor introduced me, "The daughter of an old friend of mine. You don't need to worry about her. She is on our side. At least I think so."
"You think?" The woman frowned as she looked at me. Why does everyone doubt my loyalty?
"I am on your side" I promised, shooting the same accusatory looks at her, "But since you want to cast judgy looks, Who the fuck are you?"
"Aurora, This is Sif" Thor told me, smiling softly at Sif "She's a hell of a fighter, too. And she is on our side too"
"You don't need to big me up. I am fairly certain that this one will either see it in action or taste my blade" Sif warned, levelling her blade at me.
"Sif, easy. Save it for the Booskans" Thor begged, lowering her hands, "And unless you want to see something you don't want to, I wouldn't get on her bad side."
"Why?" she wondered.
"I'm a Hybrid" No sense in hiding it. She would find out eventually. Especially if I find myself sticking around with Thor a little more, "My other side only comes out when I feel pain or when I am being legit threatened. Call it a defence mechanism"
"She's a Hybrid?" Sif gasped "Not many like you around"
"Indeed" Thor nodded "She is Volstagg's daughter. Only she can hold her liquor better."
"I can hold my booze? I'm sure that was a compliment you just gave me" I took my well-deserved bow.
"She's Volstagg's? He had another brat? Wasn't the 8 sons and 4 daughters enough?" Sif scoffed. She then looked me up and down. I have siblings? I wonder if they still live or if they died in the battle of Asgard "Still, can't deny that you look like him"
"Insult me one more time and you will taste my blade" I spun the blade in my hand. I found it insulting that I looked like Volstagg. He might be my father but he is still the same scumbag that left me and mother to rot in the wastelands of Jotunheim.
"Enough, you two. I do not have the brain cells to deal with you two. Booskans are on their way" Thor stood between us both "Now, Are we all well-acquainted now? Good. Let's go fight some monsters."