Refuge

The ship was immense. Still, she’d found a corner to curl up in.

The only family she’d had was her brother and her uncle. Her brother, Kari, had been an Einherjar warrior on the front lines to stop Hela. He had not survived.

Her uncle, Heimdall, was the sole reason she was still alive. She had been helping him evacuate the citizens of instead of fighting Odin’s firstborn. Had Heimdall not grabbed her, she would have been right alongside Kari and died just the same, an Einherjar’s noble death defending their home. But Heimdall was not with her now. He was with the new king, Thor, and that horrible, traitorous brother of his, Loki.

Idunn was alone.

Anyone else she’d known had fallen with Asgard when Surtur had buried his sword in her home.

The pain of it tore through her heart. Curling into a ball, tears streamed down the dark skin of her face. No one was coming to check on her, the handful of remaining Asgardians too lost in their own grief.

That was fine.  Idunn felt as though if she opened her mouth, the screaming and the horrors would never stop.

Instead, she pulled the folds of her cape closer for some semblance of warmth, her sword digging into her side, and cried herself into a state of exhausted unconsciousness.

She had no idea how long she’d been asleep when she woke to the ship shaking beneath her, screams filling the air, and jumped to her feet, hand on the hilt of the sword strapped to her waist. “What’s going on?” She demanded, grabbing a man near her.

“I don’t know,” The man told her, shaking. He looked to be a civilian, no armor or weapons. Idunn pushed her way through the crowd until she reached the throne. It was empty, and her uncle stood beside it.

“Heimdall?” Her voice shook as she addressed him.

He stared out the immense window before them, no expression in his unfathomable golden eyes. “This ship just appeared and our king… King Thor has left us to deal with it.”

She looked at the spot he did and gasped at the enormous ship in front of the one they stood on, rumored to have been stolen from the Grandmaster on Sakaar.

“Are we under attack?” Her hand tightened on your sword, felling him thrum beneath your hand in response.

“Not yet.” Heimdall replied gravely, turning away. The ship jolted under your feet and you saw the distance between the two ships widen.

“What are we doing?” You exclaimed, turning back to him. “The King is still out there!”

“And before he left, he gave express orders to the captain to take his people to safety without him.” Heimdall huffed, clearly in disagreement with the sentiment.

As the pair watched, lightning filled the darkness of space, and Idunn flinched back from the sudden brightness, squinting her eyes shut. When she opened them again, the other ship was nothing but a speck in the distance.

“So where are we going? And who is leading us if our King is lost in space?” She demanded, trembling.

Heimdall sighed the sigh of someone burdened yet again with the responsibility of leadership. “I am.” He cut his golden eyes to her, taking in the tear tracks still on the dark skin of her face, her mussed, dreadlocked hair, the bloodshot puffiness of her eyes, a gold much more muted than his own, and his harsh expression softened. “How are you doing?”

The tone of his voice, concerned and warm, made tears spring back to her eyes, and Idunn looked up at the ceiling quickly, blinking them away and swallowing the thick lump in her throat. “Don’t worry about me.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Idunn, you’re family. Of course I’m worried about you.”

“I miss him.” She admitted quietly. “Kari, Vali, Gyda, Astrid… they’re all gone. My brother, my friends…” she trailed off, eyes on an asteroid belt outside the window as they zoomed by.

“I know.” Heimdall admitted. “The pain of losing your mother has never completely vanished from my heart. I don’t think it ever will. She was my big sister. But it does get easier with time.”

She looked up at him and was surprised to see tears rolling down his normally stoic face. She wrapped her arms around him and the pair of them allowed themselves just a moment to grieve for family, for friends, for home.

♤♤♤

Her uncle helped her find a small, quiet room where she wouldn’t be disturbed (“I don’t need you sleeping on the floor again.”) and Idunn settled in, passing the time unnecessarily sharpening her sword. As an Einherjar, she had made weapons, and her own short sword was her finest piece of work. Nearly two feet long, it was dual edged and razor sharp, the grip wrapped in red strips of leather and intricate knot designs etched into the guard and working their way up the fuller. The tip could cut through steel like it was butter, the pommel was shaped like an arrowhead and just as sharp, allowing Idunn to use the butt of her sword just as well in a fight. It fit in the leather holster strapped to her leg like a glove. She'd named him Halvor: defender. Her bow and quiver of arrows had been left and destroyed on Asgard.

She slept little, and when fitful slumber did find her, she was plagued with nightmares of Kari falling at Hela’s blade.

Her barracks (and really, that’s all they could be called) had no windows, so Idunn felt, rather than saw, the landing. The entire ship shuddered and hissed around her, and she stopped twirling Halvor in the air, imagining burying the sword in that evil hag’s gut.

“Idunn.” A voice from behind startled her, and she spun, Halvor pointed outward.

Heimdall had appeared in her open doorway, and just behind him, at his shoulder, stood the Valkyrie woman, the one who had helped save what was left of Asgard’s people. On her right, a Midgardian stood, the only one on the ship; a man small in stature… for the moment. She’d been warned not to make him angry. “We’ve arrived on Earth.” Heimdall announced, pushing the blade down carefully.

“Sorry.” She muttered, embarrassed, and sheathed her blade. “Where on Earth?” She asked, glancing at Valkyrie curiously.

“We are just outside a small country called Wakanda. Come with me, we need to speak to their leaders.” He replied, beckoning Idunn out and walking down the hall. She quickly fell into step with him and Valkyrie walked silently on her other side.

“Why me?” She questioned, intrigued. She had an idea, but the little bit of pride that lived on in her heart wanted to hear it.

“You’re a highly intelligent, diplomatic Einherjar warrior. From what I know of Wakanda, they’ll respect that about you. You know a fair amount of Midgardian culture. And I know you.” Heimdall answered.

“Why did we come here?” She was nearly breathless trying to keep up with her uncle, and it suddenly dawned upon Idunn that she had no idea how much time had passed since she had last eaten or done anything, really, besides grieve and try to sleep.

“I’ve been wondering the same thing, but I’ve been too afraid to ask…” the Midgardian man piped up from where he’d fallen a few steps behind them. Idunn wracked her brain for his name. Barry? Barney? Brunner? Valkyrie seemed to think rather highly of him, so she didn’t worry too much about him. Idunn focused more on the beautiful Dragonfang strapped to her hip.

“Out of every place on Earth I saw, it looked the most like home. And some of King Thor’s friends are currently residing here.” He said, slowing his pace when he noticed her struggling.

“Why would Thor’s friends… why would the Avengers be in Wakanda?” The man asked, and Idunn remembered his name; Banner. Bruce Banner.

“I have no idea, why do you ask?” Heimdall said.

“Wakanda is a tiny, third world nation. It’s small, poor, and has very few resources, besides a bit of vibranium that was stolen— well, it’s a long story…” He trailed off, looking between the incredulous stares of the Asgardians around him.

“I assure you, this is where we’re meant to be.” Heimdall gestured to the woman beside him, realizing he had not yet introduced her. “Idunn, this is Valkyrie.”

She nodded shortly to Idunn. “Captain,” then took a swig from a large flask she seemed to produce out of thin air. She offered it to Idunn, who eagerly took a gulp. It was strong liquor, at least five thousand years old, and she could feel the potency of it course through her veins like fire.

“Thanks,” she muttered, coughing, taking another swig and passing it back to her. She clapped Idunn on the back, who could already feel the spirits muddling her thoughts. “What is that?”

“Medicine for the soul.” Valkyrie drained the rest of the flask and tossed it over her shoulder while Idunn stared at her with wide eyes. She could tell Valkyrie was a few centuries older than she was, but that stuff was potent. How much did she drink?

As if she could read thoughts, she gave a side eyed glance and said, “We all grieve in our own ways.”

Idunn held up her hands. “I’m not judging.” She replied honestly. She was in no position to.

They finally reached the door. With a hiss, it dropped open slowly, the hatch dropping to the ground with a soft thud. Heimdall stepped forward, his hand on her back guiding Idunn forward into the bright light.

Once she blinked and her vision adjusted to the blinding sunlight, she could see a huge, grassy green field, rolling for what looked like miles, a lush forest stretching from the left corner of her eye. But more importantly, right in front of Idunn was a huge creature, grey and horned and enormous. She yelped in surprise and would have jumped back, had her uncle not still had a firm grip on her shoulder. With even more of a start, she realized there were more creatures, on the left and right, and men, Midgardians, standing with them.

The nearest one, a tall man draped in blue blankets, spoke in a Midgardian language. “Who are you and what is your business here?”

Heimdall stepped closer and they began to speak in low voices that Idunn could have easily listened in on, but instead, she turned your focus to the beautiful mountains she could see in the distance. They reached high into the sky, capped with bluish white snow and soft puffs of clouds.

A lump rose in her throat. From here, she could almost mistake it for her home near the base of the mountains of Asgard. Growing up, she’d run through them with Kari and Astrid, her best friend, racing and training and laughing all the way to the peaks. It had been centuries ago and she remembered it like it was yesterday.

Valkyrie tapping her shoulder snapped her out of those thoughts. “Come on.” Valkyrie gestured to Heimdall, who was walking forward with the Midgardian. She hurried to keep up, glancing backwards. “Where is Loki?” Idunn asked, half curious, half relieved that snake wasn’t coming with them.

“Staying on the ship with the rest of Asgard.” Valkyrie replied, rolling her eyes. She still wore the white and gold armor of the Valkyries, the armor she’d admired her whole life but never could quite replicate. “They figured he wouldn’t exactly be welcomed back with open arms.”

“He’s a right little twit, so I’m glad.” She added, and Idunn smiled a bit for the first time in what felt like a long time. “I guess we're the diplomats of Asgard now, eh?”

“I guess so.” She replied, eyes roaming the terrain again. The ground here almost seemed to bounce under their feet, the soil was so springy. “This planet is strange.”

“You’re telling me.” She scoffed. She turned to the nearest of the Midgardian men and called to him. “Hey! What’s going on?”

The man narrowed his eyes, then looked away and kept marching forward.

She turned back to Idunn. “See?” Valkyrie produced another flask from what seemed like nowhere and passed it over.

Idunn drank, and they passed it back and forth on the walk over, so that by the time they reached the border, she was pleasantly warm all over.

So, passing through the border was that much more startling, as it shimmered around them and a golden city suddenly sprang up before their eyes.

“What the fuck?” Valkyrie muttered. Idunn’s eyes widened as she looked around, taking in the enormous building they were being lead to. It seemed to shine gold, and the reminder of home again pulled at her heartstrings. The large panther statue overlooking it all almost seemed to hum with unfamiliar energy.

She was a bit intimidated, to say the least, but to stay diplomatic, she resisted the urge to rest her hand on Halvor’s hilt, instead lacing her fingers together behind her back. Her red cape fluttered in the warm breeze behind them, and she tried to relax. This wasn’t the worst place in the universe, after all.

Now Idunn saw what looked like a battalion of female warriors, all dressed in red and gold, marching to meet them before the palace. A man dressed in all black seemed to lead them, and a nervous looking man, paler than the rest, and blond, walked a bit apart from him, though he kept glancing over at him.

“Steve?” The Midgardian man pressed through from where he’d been walking behind the rest. Idunn startled; she’d forgotten he was there, and the possibility of recognition that came with it. For such a large population, Midgardians seemed to know an awful lot of each other. “Is that you?” Bruce stopped a few yards short of him, scanning him up and down, disbelieving and twitchy.

“Banner?” The man called Steve blinked, squinted through the light, and his face was momentarily troubled with a rush of emotions passing over it very quickly: surprise, confusion, joy. “Where the hell have you been?” He reached for Bruce, pulling him into a tight, short embrace.

“That’s… quite a long story, Captain.” Bruce said, trying and failing to sound upbeat.

“And who are all these people with you…?” Steve stepped back, scanning bright blue eyes over the small group of assembled strangers.

Heimdall stepped forward. “King T’Challa. Captain Rogers.” He greeted both with a nod and grim smile.

“And, who, may I ask, are you?” The one he had addressed as King T’Challa asked, eyes narrowed.

Before he could answer, the Steve Captain Rogers man spoke for him. “You’re Heimdall, aren’t you?”

“My king must have told you about me.” Heimdall said, his golden eyes squinting in the sunlight.

“Your king? You mean Thor? Is Odin…?” Captain Rogers trailed off, and Heimdall nodded gravely. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“That’s not all we lost.” Heimdall said in a low voice.

 “It sounds as though this would be better discussed inside.” King T’Challa interjected. His warm, dark brown eyes swept over Idunn and Valkyrie. “Let me welcome you to Wakanda. Please, follow me.”

♤♤♤

They took the small band of Asgardians inside the palace, the interior of which was just as beautifully extravagant as the outside. There wasn’t much time to admire it; before she knew it, Idunn sat in a room filled with the leaders of the Wakandan tribes, the King, his younger sister and head of technology, his General, Captain Rogers, Captain Rogers’ tired looking, metal armed friend, who was a Sargent of some kind, Bruce Banner, Heimdall, and Valkyrie. Heimdall was recounting the fall of Asgard to the rest of them after Bruce had explained as much as he could about where he had been and what had happened over the past few years (apparently he’d left Midgard after a large battle and ended up on Sakaar), but Idunn let her mind wander rather than listen to the details of the destruction of her homeland. She stared off into space, and it was only when Valkyrie nudged her that she noticed she had been staring at one of the tribe leaders, a rather large man who’d introduced himself as Lord M’Baku.

And he was staring back at her.

She immediately looked down at your lap, bashful. His deep brown eyes were intense, scrutinizing her features in a deep, probing manner that made her feel like she was on display. Idunn looked back a few seconds later and he was still staring. This time, she held his gaze steadily until he looked off to the right, a small smile touching his lips. He was draped in fur, wood, and leather, tough and soft all at once.

Valkyrie nudged her again silently as Heimdall spoke softly about Ragnarok, and raised her eyebrows. “Who is that?” She mouthed, and Idunn shrugged.

Their king spoke, startling Idunn out of her thoughts about the Midgardian. “I am very sorry for your loss. It must be devastating to lose your home and begin again, especially for a people so long lived and traditional. We here in Wakanda are a people of tradition as well. We typically close our borders to all outsiders. But you can see how this may be different case. How many Asgardians are left?”

“I don’t have an exact number, but no more than one or two hundred, at this point, including us three and the king.” Heimdall said quietly. Idunn let out a quiet sigh and felt the gaze of the tribe leader from across the room fall on her once more.

“Does anyone in this room have any objection to the Asgardians staying with us, at least temporarily?” King T’Challa asked.

His younger sister, the girl called Shuri, leaned forward in her seat, her eyes lighting up. “From the second-hand accounts I have heard, Asgard has technology just as advanced, and perhaps even more so, than our own in Wakanda. If you stay, would you be willing to share it with us?” She spoke to the room at large, but her eyes focused on Idunn.

She cleared her throat nervously. “I cannot speak for everyone on the ship, but back on Asgard, I was a Captain in the Royal Guard, and I made weapons. I would be happy to show you what I know. I do not know what other talents lie in our remaining people. But much of our technology is paired with magic. Correct me if I am wrong, but I didn’t believe Midgardians were magic users.”

“Midgardians?” One of the tribe leaders, a man dressed in green with a plate in his lip spoke.

“That’s what they call this realm. Midgard.” M’Baku spoke. His voice was deep and powerful, and she tilted her head at him, a small smile on her lips. He turned back to look at her. “Do you use magic?”

“I’m not the most proficient.” She admitted, twisting her fingers together. “Most of what I can do is specifically for smith work. But I am willing to share what I can do.” She tapped the hilt of Halvor twice and he responded to her touch, pulsing with bright red energy. Idunn heard Shuri let out a small gasp of excitement.

M’Baku nodded, one corner of his mouth quirking up into a crooked half smile. Something, unnamable in the moment, fluttered in your chest, and she quickly turned her attention back to the king, who spoke again. “That sounds wonderful. After you get some rest, you and anyone else who is willing can meet with Shuri and begin that discussion. However, I am not sure where to house all your refugees. Wakanda is many things, but large is not one of them. We only have space available in the palace for perhaps one hundred of your people.”

“The Jabari tribe can shelter the rest.” M’Baku spoke again in his booming voice. “We have plenty of space in the mountains.”

The mountains… Idunn knew, in that moment, she wanted to go with this man. Even if she tried to convince herself it was the pull of the mountains that drew her to his spirit, there was something else about him that intrigued the back of her mind. Whatever it was, she couldn’t put a finger on it.

The king continued to give instructions to Heimdall for bringing the rest of the Asgardians into Golden City and what to tell them, and abruptly, the meeting was over. Idunn rose shakily from her chair, took a step forward, stumbled, and nearly fell. In an instant, the man, M’Baku, was at her side, helping to right her to her feet.

“Are you alright?” He asked, and she nodded.

“I’m... I’m fine. Thank you.” She murmured, looking up at him. “I just… can’t remember the last time I ate. Or slept. Or… anything, really.” She bit her tongue when she realized what she was doing, looking down. “That’s probably why I’m oversharing right now. I apologize.”

“I cannot imagine what you must be going through.” He remarked. “But I can listen, if you would like to get something to eat? Would you like to share a meal with me and my people?”

“Hey!” The pair of them looked over to see the scientist, the Princess, Shuri, walking over with the ferocity of her gaze directed at Idunn. “I was just about to ask her that.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, Your Highness.” Idunn said, startled.

She glared at M’Baku, hands on her little hips. “You can’t steal her away. She made that! I want to talk to her.” Shuri added, pointing at Halvor strapped to her hip.

“Alright, Princess,” He said it more like a teasing nickname than a title of royalty. “You’ll have much time to speak with her.”

“Of course I will, she’s staying in the palace. But that’s not the point.” Shuri replied, narrowing her eyes.

“Uh, actually…” Idunn interjected, looking between the two. “I was wondering if I could maybe stay in the mountains with the Jabari?”

Shuri looked devastated. M’Baku looked a little smug. “But… your sword! I need to know what kind of metal you used, what kind of nanotechnology makes it respond to you like that!” Shuri pleaded, and Idunn felt a rush of affection for this girl, young even by Midgardian standards, so enamored with learning the secrets that science and the universe held. She reminded Idunn of herself a few dozen centuries ago.

“I said I would share with you, and I meant it.” Idunn promised her. “I am looking forward to it. But…”

“But not right now, Princess. Let her rest.” M’Baku declared. “I promise I will bring her back.”

♤♤♤

To her surprise, M’Baku did not pawn Idunn off on one of his guards or subjects, instead sending instructions to his own council on how to prepare for their guests, and then leading her on a walk to his home. He started to call for transportation before she stopped him, letting him know that she would love to walk through the mountains and see more of them.

“It’s quite cold.” He warned her. “And a long way to the top. We may be walking for a while.”

“Good.” She replied, relishing in the shock on his face. “I need to stretch my legs.”

“You’d better not pass out on me. I’m not in the mood to carry you up a mountain.” He said, a note of teasing in his grave voice.

“Asgardians are tougher than you think.” Idunn smirked, but her eyes were wistful. “And it reminds me of home.”

After that, he couldn’t argue. He led her on paths through the mountains, her leather and metal plated armor keeping her quite warm despite the snowy chill to the air. He pointed out strange and beautiful plant life and animals, specific not only to Midgard, but their small country of Wakanda itself. Idunn drank it all in with wide eyes, breathing the cool mountain air deep.

He told her stories of Wakanda, his tribe, the sacred wood of his people and how they worshipped the Ape God, Hanuman. He told her about his vegetarianism, compassion for the life of his planet coloring every word. He spoke of conflicts, new and old, near and far, in his realm.

In return, she shared her own stories. She told him of Asgard, the mountains so similar to the ones here, the breathtaking view of the immense city from the tops. She told him of battles fought and won as an Einherjar warrior, the weapons she made, the realms she traveled to. With a bit of gentle prodding, she told him about her brother, her friends, and what she had lost.

Two hours later, they reached his home near the peaks.

By then, Idunn had already fallen in love.