Chapter 2
Memories of war, death, and destruction flood Loki's mind, each battle being more bloody and ending quicker than the last. Centuries of brutality passed by in the blink of an eye until time began to slow, revealing a cold and barren landscape littered with hundreds of giant blue corpses whose blood stained the white ground crimson, and amid the slaughter were two figures.
"Well, I think that just about covers it. There's not a single warrior left on the battlefield." Hela reported coming to a stop behind her father, lazily swinging Mjolnir by its leather strap before sending it flying.
"I feel as if I could weep." The king sighed as his somber gaze raked across the icy battleground from his kneeling position.
"I know. Our army truly outdid themselves this battle." The princess declared proudly, pulling her dark hair back out of her face from where the harsh winds had blown it askew. "Oh, remind me to buy a drink for that scrawny young man who ran the Jotun commander through with our flag when we get back to Asgard."
Odin turned to his daughter in disgust. "How can you be so callous?"
"Oh, don't cry for the weak, or you'll be sobbing all day." Hela scoffed, raising her hand to catch Mjolnir from the opposite direction she'd thrown the hammer.
"I shouldn't be surprised; it is your nature, after all."
"Yes, you really shouldn't. You did teach me to wield a sword before I could read."
"That doesn't make it right for you to speak of them as if they are no better than a beast. Your mother would be ashamed to hear you speak in such a manner."
"And what about you, father?" The goddess of Death asked, sending her hammer across the Jotunheim skyline once again. "I would think that you would be proud of your little monster. Don't forget; you made me your executioner. You raised me to be the perfect weapon in your conquest to rule the realms."
"Enough," Odin snapped, launching to his feet and facing Hela. "You will do well to remember that you are speaking to your king! Now come along. We must reach the Temple."
There was a tense moment of silence between the pair before Hela stepped past her father catching Mjolnir by the handle mere feet from the All-Father's face as she replied with a bitter and mocking:
"Of Course, your grace."
Time began to speed forward as the scene shifted once more. This time the two figures, the Male now missing an eye, made their way towards what seemed to be an altar of some sort at the center of the temple's sanctuary. Only once the pair reached the altar did they notice the form of a squirming newborn.
"Oh, Ancestors."
"Well, would you look at that? It seems we missed one."
Odin shot out his hand to catch Hela's wrist in a harsh grasp before she could bring Mjolnir down upon the infant. "What do you think you are doing!?"
"You brought me here to deal with the Frost Giants, and that is one of them, no matter how small and weak it appears to be." Hela sneered, jerking her wrist out of his grip, gesturing to the blue child with her hammer.
"It is but a child!"
"A child that will grow to despise us and everything we stand for!"
"Not if it understands who we are and why we do the things we do."
The Princess rolled her eyes. "Yes, that sounds all well and good, but may I remind you that it will never know our ways because it will either die or be raised here on this frozen wasteland where they tell stories of the savage Asgardians."
"No, he won't. I will take him back to Asgard and raise him as my own."
"And I'm sure the people who just love the idea of their King raising a frost giant as he would an heir." She scoffed.
"They will never know his nature."
"Really? I'm pretty sure that they'll notice the enormous blue creature towering over everyone."
The pair's attention was drawn to the altar as the child suddenly began to squirm and grumble as his skin paled, hair darkened, and his eyes shifted from their original crimson red to green. Once the change was complete, the infant turned its attention to the princess and grinned.
"Impressive, snowflake. But flattery will get you nowhere, and that also doesn't deal with the problem of him being twice the size of an Asgardian."
"He will likely never be the size of a true Frost Giant judging by his size now."
"You really want this, don't you? Fine, how about this then? Once we return home, you can raise your little foundling alongside the child currently inhabiting my mother while I take my rightful place as heir to the throne and continue our glorious conquest."
Odin turned from the child to face his daughter before informing her in a whisper. "You may claim your birthright, but the conquest is over."
"What?"
"I have decided to end the quest of Asgardian dominance. All of this death and destruction, and for what?"
"For our Glory." She snapped. "You were the one who told Asgard that conquering the other Realms was necessary for peace, and now you want to stop because it's hurting your delicate sensibilities?"
"Hela,"
"No, I won't have it!" She said, shaking her head in denial, marching to the exit. "You can stay on Asgard for the rest of your miserable old life, but I will not stop until the nine Realms have either submitted or been crushed under Asgard's bootheel."
The metallic echo of Odin striking Gungnir against the ground stopped Hela and brought her attention back to the All-Father. "You will do as your king commands-"
"And what of the people? There has been an entire generation born and died knowing only war and death, and you would expect them to let it go just because you commanded it? No, they still hunger for it, they believe in the cause you presented to them, they will fight till there is no one left in Asgard, and if you are too weak to lead them, they will find someone else."
"Who, you?"
"It is what I was born for; it is my Birthright."
"Your birthright was nothing more than death and destruction!" Odin roared. "I command your birthright; it is what I deem it to be! You are nothing but what I give you leave to be! I made you; I gave you your position. You are nothing without me!"
"Then why do you deny me what you created me for? You would rip everything I have ever known away from me?"
"You twist my words-"
"I demand answers!"
"You would dare make demands of your king!?
"I make demands of my father! I care nothing about the order of the crown; I care for the teachings of my father." Her voice cracked, and the harsh air of calm shed surrounded herself in, fading in an instant to give way to the frightened, hurt child underneath. "I did not follow the king of Asgard onto countless battlefields; I followed my father. Every life I've taken was for my father, to keep him and his goals safe. I did everything my father asked of me because you have always had a reason, and now I am no longer being guided by my father but commanded by the king. I cannot understand what is happening because you won't explain anything!"
"You forget yourself, girl."
Hela choked back a sob. "No, you forget! You have forgotten that I am not just a tool to be used. I am your child, your heir, but you see me as nothing more than your weapon in this endless war you have waged. But that was fine because at least I was deemed useful, and now you want to take the only identity I have ever known away from me, and you won't even give me a reason other than shallow excuses!"
There was a frozen moment where the only sound was Hela's rapid, shallow breathing. "You are right, Hela. I have forgotten that you, above all else, are just a child. A child that is not yet ready for the responsibility I have placed on you. You are not ready to rule Asgard, and more so, I fear that you are not worthy."
"What?"
"When we return to Asgard, I will name Thor my heir."
"You would name your unborn child the heir?"
"Just for the time being, until I can be sure that you will be a competent ruler."
"How dare you!"
"You are as a result of this stripped of your titles and the power they provide."
"No," Hela pleaded, shaking her head in stunned denial at what her father was saying.
"You will step down from your position as executioner."
"Father-"
"And you shall hand over Mjolnir."
"You would take not only my identity but my security and defense as well?"
Odin hesitated and frowned sadly at his daughter. "Is that what you think? That your titles dictate your identity? No, my child, they never defined who you were. They were never the maker of who you are."
Hela stood in frozen disbelief as she was forced to come to terms with The All-Father's decree. Her panicked eyes shot around the room as if she couldn't process what was happening until she caught the reflection of her eyes in Mjolnir. "You're right. You're absolutely right. I can't believe that I didn't see it before." Suddenly the panic in her eyes shifted to realization before settling into manic determination.
“Hela-”
“You were right, father. I have forgotten myself. Executioner, Princess, heir, child- I was never any of those things. I’m The goddess of Death. And it seems I have been rather remiss in my duties.”
Odin barely had a moment to jerk his body out of Mjolnir's path as it was sent hurling at his head only to end up buried deep into the frozen wall of the temple. "You dare attack your king?!" Shouted in an attempt to regain control but the crack in his voice undercut him.
"I am merely doing what I was born to do." Her helmet formed around her head and face as Hela speared her fingers through her hair.
Odin shook his head pleadingly. "Do not do this,"
"You’ve left me with no other choice."
Hela called Mjolnir back as she charged the All-Father with deadly force. Each blow of the hammer sent shock waves through the temple as Gungnir intercepted it. Odin stood defending each attack as it came, refusing to give his daughter an inch of ground. Eventually, Hela’s frustration made her careless allowing the All-Father to gain the upper hand. Odin struck out with gungnir breaking through Hela’s defenses and managing to disarm the Goddess.
Hela jerked as her skull cracked harshly against the icy floor of the temple when Odin used gungnir to sweep her feet out from under her before he pressed the head of the spear into her throat as his seiðr wound around her limbs pinning her into place. “Cannot stop me. Asgard will be mine!”
“I'm sorry, my daughter. I put too much on you too soon, and now I fear that it's too late for me to correct my mistakes.”
“So what now?” she snarled, thrashing in a futile attempt to break free. “Will you kill me? Will you kill your firstborn child and general!? Your people and your armies will turn against you.”
“You're right. Even if I wanted to I couldn't kill you.”
“Because of what people would think.”
“Because I am not strong enough.”
“You’re right. You’re not.”
“I Odin All-Father hereby banish you Hela goddess of death to the World of Eternal Imprisonment. There will be no Escape, and you will stay there until the end of your days.” Odin proclaimed. As the king struck the frozen ground, a thin golden line circled the trapped woman connecting to her magical restraints as it passed. Once the ends of the circle joined the floor inside the ring began to fall away leaving Hela hanging only by Odin’s seiðr over the swirling dark void that threatened to swallow anything in its vicinity.
“I'll find a way I'll escape, and when I do I will be coming for you, and I will reclaim my throne, do you hear me, old man!?”
“Goodbye, daughter.”
The All-Father waved his hand, releasing the bonds and allowing Hela to fall into the abyss. She screamed and cursed Odin and all of Asgard while watching his firstborn drift farther and farther away as the portal began to close. Once the ground reformed Odin claimed Mjolnir and the infant and strode to the entrance of the temple.
Time shot forward once more as the scene shifted yet again, now the entry of the Bifrost.
“Your Majesty.” Heimdal greeted as the Bifrost whirled to a close behind the All-Father.
“Gatekeeper.”
“The Queen sleeps now though it will not be long before she wakes, I suspect. The prince is rather restless when he is starting to get hungry.”
“I missed his birth?”
Heimdal nodded, coming down from the diasis to stand in front of the king before a string in a much lower tone. “Yes, your grace. Prince Thor was born a mere two hours before the Princess's banishment.”
“You saw?”
“Of course.”
Odin gazed, somberly, at the sleeping child nestled against his chest. “Then you know that you must never speak of what happened on Jotunheim to anyone.”
“As you command, your Majesty.”
“I shall use Gungnir and all will forget Hela's existence except for you and I.”
“Me, your grace?”
“Yes, Heimdal I fear that Hela will not go quietly and I will need your sight, my friend.” Odin confided, marching to Himinbjorg's entrance.
“As you command my king, but if I may, what about the queen?”
“Figga shall also forget. I will do it now before I return to the palace. I know that I won't be able to look into her eyes as I do so. Will you hold the child?”
The Gatekeeper nodded, taking the child from his king as Odin drove Gungnir into the glass-like ground of the Bifrost. A golden haze began to radiate out from the staff and swept into the mind of every Asgardian citizen. Once the spell was complete Odin silently reclaimed the child from Heimdal before heading to the palace praying with every step he took that he had done the right thing and that Frigga would never find out.