Vídbláin
Chapter 25: Vídbláin
You were surprised you were actually missing the saddle pain as you rode with the queen and the lady Fulla in the royal carriage. The head of the healers at Andlang had declared you unfit to ride a horse for the time being and so Léttfeti had been tied to the back of the carriage to walk without its rider. Sometimes you could hear him neigh angrily as if he was upset for being forced to strode along the party without you with him. You sighed and turned another page of one of the books lord Vulmon, the archivist of Andlang, had given to you. It was a collection of records on the growth of the Dökkar Varnir through time. It was dry material, but surely there had to be something to explain why the Silverwood was dying? But after hours of reading, the mystery of the dying forest was still just that, a mystery. You sighed once more and closed the book. Perhaps lord Blekk would know what to look for between the written words and if not, you were sure he would be glad with this new addition to the Asgardian collection.
“What troubles you so, my dear?” The queen asked and you turned your head towards her with a confused expression. She gave you a warm smile and then gestured towards the book that you were clutching in your hands.
“Oh. I wish to understand why the Silverwood is transforming into the Dökkar Varnir, but so far I have been unsuccessful.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Svinnr. The decay of the Silverwood had been a mystery long before I was born.” You nodded and placed the book back into your travelling bag. “How is your foot?” You looked down to gaze at the reddened limb. What started out as a gruesome wound with bitemarks around your ankle, turned into an infected, swollen monstrosity. It hurt to put pressure on it and so you were not allowed to ride nor allowed to walk without someone’s help or without crutches.
“I think it’s getting better.” You told the queen, not really sure why you said that. Perhaps you did so, because you truly hoped that it was healing and that you would soon be able to walk again.
“Well, just to be sure, you should apply some of that ointment they gave you.” Once again you nodded your head and then grabbed your travel bag to find the jar of hundaæði. It was a thick, greyish salve that smelled strongly of garlic and glove, but despite the horrid smell, it did wonders to relief your foot of any pain.
“Do you think I will be able to dance at Ostara, my queen?” You asked a bit nervously. You weren’t sure whether you wanted to hear the answer or not. The queen gave you a sympathetic look as she pushed a few strands of hair out of your face.
“I think it to be wise not to overexert yourself, my dear. But with enough rest and enough sense of responsibility, a dance or two shouldn’t do any harm.” You gave the queen a bright smile at hearing her words. It was only a day’s ride from Andlang to Vidbláin and the following night the Ostara feast would be held. It was such little time for your foot to heal and so you were afraid you wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy the feast nor your birthday. You shook your head. Perhaps the queen was right and you should rest to let your foot heal to the best of its abilities. You could even try to use some seidr to heal it once you were safely tucked away in your rooms at prince Frey’s estate. You had some experience with healing seidr, but you had never tried to heal an infected foot before, so perhaps it was better to not meddle with it for you might worsen it all the same.
Afterall, prince Loki had insisted you come to him if the pain was getting too much or if the swelling got worse. You fought the blush that was threatening to tint your cheeks at the thought of Prince Loki all but carrying into the healing wing. You had told him you could walk even though that would have been a lie, but he refused to listen and hauled you into his arms all the same. You had quickly gathered an audience of servants, noble lords and ladies who all watched the both of you in wonder. You didn’t know what to think of their attention, but you were quickly getting frustrated with embarrassment. Luckily the staring had stopped once prince Loki had dropped you down on one of the beds and had pulled the curtains around it close for privacy.
He had stayed with you all throughout the examination of the healers and even long after they had finished. He never mentioned how you had disrespected him two days prior, but you also knew he hadn’t forgotten about it. He was still angry, you could tell by his stiff posture, the way his jaw was set and his often curt replies. And yet for some reason he remained by your side and made sure you had everything you needed and were well taken care of. Prince Frey, prince Thor, the lady Sif and the warriors three, had all visited as well. That’s how you found out the hunt had been successful even though they had captured the boar rather than killed it for the feast. Prince Frey was of the opinion that such a magnificent beast deserved better than to be served at a banquet. Instead he wishes to train the boar himself and had already given it the name Gullinborsti. The others were a bit sceptical, after all, how does one train a wild boar? Especially a boar that was the size of a horse. You had seen how they had led the beast into a cage that was built onto a large carriage. You suspected that the cage had been built to transport prisoners from one place to another. The boar had a coat of golden hair that reflected the sunlight and big ivory tusks of the fairest shade of white you had ever seen. It truly was a sight to behold and even though seeing him trapped inside a cage and not running around freely, made your heart ache, you were also relieved that such a marvelous creature hadn’t been killed for sport.
“Did you hear what I said?” Fulla’s voice suddenly brought you back from your daydreaming. You looked at her apologetically while she rolled her eyes playfully. “We are entering the golden gates of Vidbláin, so you better get ready to get out of this boiling vessel.” She said and then started waving her delicate wooden hand fan to cool herself down. She was right, this carriage felt more like a cauldron on fire and the queen, lady Fulla and you were the ingredients to a slow cooking stew. You quickly rewrapped your foot and grabbed your crutches to keep them close by. Soon enough the carriage came to a halt and the door was opened by a servant. Fulla helped you to get out of it, before she gave the queen her hand to help her down. Your eyes widened at the sight of prince Frey’s estate. Everything was covered in gold, similar to the palace of Asgard, yet Vidbláin looked more subtle. While the palace of Asgard could be seen from miles away as it reached high towards the sky, Vidbláin was stretched over the land as if there was no end to the structure. Everywhere you looked you could see golden columns, large green hedges and carefully inlayed mosaics.
“Gorgeous isn’t it?” You were startled by the sudden voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. Prince Frey was standing next to you and he was giving you an adoring look. “Does it remind you of Vanaheim?” You returned your gaze back to the majestic structure. It really did remind you of Vanaheim. The Norns know the Vanir never shy away from showing off their wealth and so the royal palace was build out of gold and even had a ballroom made out of diamonds or so it was said. The delicate mosaics you could see reminded you of the markets at the capital. There were a lot of merchants that sold smaller versions of it next to stalls of paintings, pearls and saffron. It was clear that prince Frey was Vanir through and through and for some reason it made you smile brightly.
“Would it be rude of me to inquire whether you have a maze?” You asked rather shyly. A maze was an important symbol on Vanaheim and so most of the nobles had one build at their estates. The royal palace even had five of them. It was a symbol of wisdom, courage and determination. Prince Frey smiled down at you and supported you while you tried to walk.
“I am happy you ask me that, my dear, for Vidbláin has seven of them.” Seven? That was even more than the royal palace had! “I loved them when I was a boy and now that I am a man grown, I can still be seen wandering through them. I even cast some spells on them so that the routes always change.”
“That’s amazing.” You breathed out before you even realised you had said anything. Prince Frey gave you such a sweet look before opening his mouth to say something, but then he was interrupted by a cold, loud voice calling prince Frey’s name. Prince Loki walked over to you with large steps before glaring at prince Frey angrily.
“I’ll see to the lady.” He said and before either you or prince Frey could come up with something to say, he had grabbed you by the waist and an icy feeling had enveloped you. In a blink of an eye the sight of the estate was replaced by that of cool, white marble as you now found yourself at a different location.
“What in all of Yggdrasil just happened?” You demanded a bit panicked. Prince Loki however seemed to be unaffected as he smirked and steadied you on your feet.
“I teleported us of course.” He said it as if it was the easiest and most obvious thing in the world.
“Why?”
“Because I no longer wish that idiot to come near you.” He stated with an icy voice that made a shiver run down your spine.
“He’s my friend.” You tried to defend him, but your voice was so quiet and frail that you weren’t sure whether you had said anything at all. By the look of prince Loki, however, you figured he had heard you loud and clearly. His nostrils flared and you could feel his hands trembling with anger.
“I am your friend.” He all but hissed at you. “Frey is no better than Fandral or Thor. They only care about themselves. If you truly believe them to care for you then why don’t you tell them about your little secret? Afterall friends are all about trust and if you cannot tell each other how you are feeling or what you’re going through then the friendship is doomed to fail, is it not?” You felt the first tears roll down your cheeks long before you even realised that you were crying. How dare he rub your secret into your face? As if you didn’t know there would always be a rift between the people you wished to call friends. It was too much of a risk to tell anyone about it, not only for yourself but them as well. If they knew and your secret came to light, they might be held accountable as well. You couldn’t tell another soul, you just couldn’t. Prince Loki wasn’t done however. “Stop your sniveling, girl. The sooner you learn that you’re better off on your own, the better.”
“Is that what you believe?” You asked him with a trembling voice that was thick with emotion. This must have been the first time that you truly saw a part of the prince that was otherwise covered by a mask. He looked stricken as if he hadn’t planned on opening up like this. “Loki.” You called his name quietly and it had the desired effect as his eyes immediately found yours. “You’re not alone.” He inhaled sharply and then took a step closer, ready to embrace you, yet waiting to see if you would let him.
“Neither are you.” He whispered after a long moment of silence. You realised that day that what you had suspected was true, prince Loki was indeed lonely and perhaps, so were you. Could you really call Egil, Djúpvitr, Fulla, Sif and Frey friends when they hardly knew you? Even though you had your doubts about him, prince Loki was the only one who did know the real you. It hadn’t been out of free will, but he had kept your secret without asking anything in return. Perhaps it wasn’t proper, but the truth remained all the same. Out of all the people in Yggdrasil you managed to befriend the dark prince and even though that might have scared you and perhaps even revolted you a time ago, now it filled your heart with warmth and happiness to have found someone so magnificent to think you to be worthy of their time and friendship. And in turn you were more than happy to show him you cared for him, because if you were honest with yourself, you didn’t think many people made him feel safe, loved or accepted and if you could show each other that you could find all of those things in one another then the opinions of others would turn to dust and all of Yggdrasil could crumble down in front of you without you caring one bit.
In the end it all came down to this simple truth: whatever cruelties life could throw at you, all you need is someone to share it with. And to you that someone happened to be the mad son of Odin.