Chapter 2
Chapter 2
"But I swear-...", Valkyrie holds both of her hands in the air. "This time I honestly believed it was apple juice!"
Thor glares at her. Sometimes Valkyrie thinks that he is taking his job as the king too far. After all, she isn't nuts. Right?
"We barely have water.", Thor says and narrows his eyes. "Why would we have apple juice?"
Valkyrie glares back at him, and she knows that her gaze is way more intimidating than his. "Ask the varelse that sold it to me! Mean little thing!"
"It was a kid, Val! Kids aren't evil!", Thor protests.
She snorts. "Then what did you call your brother back then, huh?"
For a moment, Thor looks angry, his huge broad frame towering above her way smaller one, which is kinda scary for Val. But she would never admit that. Then, a shadow crosses the gods face. He sighs and steps away from her.
"Loki wasn't always so... Loki. In our childhood, we were the best friends Asgard had ever seen. But he started to live in my shadow and that did bad things to his soul."
"Oh. I just-... Oh. I just thought that it would be in the family, Hela being his sister and all. And the two even look alike." Valkyrie shudders.
Thor snorts like he knows some joke she doesn't, but says nothing more. He puts a blanket over her body and steps towards the door, like he always does. At some crazy point, Valkyrie guesses that he had become some sort of friend or brother to her.
"Sleep well.", he says.
She grins. "Vekling."
Hela's spear cuts through Ozella's armour and body like it's made of butter.
"Brunhilde!", Ozella whispers weakly, her wide blue eyes sad and full of betrayal. "Why didn't you save me?"
Valkyrie wakes up with a gasp and notices that tears are streaming down her face. It is always the same dream, again and again and again. She and her fellow valkyries are fighting against the goddess of death, Valkyrie falls, is disoriented for a heartbeat and then Hela is already throwing her weapon at her.
And every night Ozella, Valkyrie's friend and lover, tough and lovely and wonderful Ozella, jumps infront of the spear and dies because of Valkyrie. She doesn't witness her death, in her dreams Ozella just asks her why she had to die, but Valkyrie knows how it ends anyway.
And it hurts.
Valkyrie sniffs, wipes the saliva and tears from her face and stands up. She needs some whiskey or beer or in the best case mead to get through this night.
She opens her door and steps out if her room. The hallways are cold and empty, because there isn't any heater or radiator on board of this damned ship.
Thor is right, they barely have any water or tea and Valkyrie feels bad for requesting alcohol, but she can't help it.
She probably won't find anything this night, but at least searching for it keeps her awake and away from her nightmares.
Surprisingly, a bottle rolls onto the floor.
Valkyrie blinks, eyes it suspiciously and then grabs it . But as soon as she wants to open it, it vanishes into thin air. She growls angrily, hoping to see a sliver of green and black, because she has the need to kick something. But unfortunately, her target seems to be hiding, so she kicks the wall instead, howling loudly, when her foot twists.
A woman with brown locks and a plain dress rounds the corner and stares at her openmouthed.
Valkyrie smiles and waves her hand. The woman quickly turns on her heel and goes back to where she came from. Poor thing.
"Tssk, tssk, tssk.", a familiar and hated voice suddenly says. Valkyrie spins around and pins the surprised Loki to the wall. He smirks, then another one taps her shoulder.
"You are so infuriating!", she hisses. Now she can't decide which one of the two she should kill. Maybe both.
"I know.", say both Looks in unison. "And you are desperate."
"Shut it, cow-helmet!"
"Desperate, desperate, Valkyrie is desperate!", the Loki on the left sing-songs. "Desperate, desperate, desperate!" He pauses, rummages in the pockets of his robes for something and pulls out a flask of mead. "And all she has to do is ask."
"It's fake anyway!", Valkyrie answers calmly.
"Is it?", Loki asks and then the idiot opens the bottle and begins to pour it's contents onto the floor.
"Hey!", Valkyrie shouts. "Stop it!"
Well, maybe she is a little desperate.
"Ask nicely.", Loki says and smiles.
Valkyrie hesitates, considers to just knock him out and steal the bottle, but then she puts on her best fake puppy dog eyes and says: "Please, please, dear Loki, my friend, could you hand me the flask?"
Loki grins even wider, then slowly extends the bottle in her direction. She grabs it am drowns the sweet liquid in her mouth.
"Nightmares?", Loki wants to know and leans against the wall next to her.
She just nods. "Why do you care? Do you gods have them too?"
"I guess so.", Loki murmurs. "But you'll have to ask Thor to be sure."
"What?", Valkyrie asks and then it dawns on her. "You... you aren't a god, aren't you?"
Loki laughs silently, then locks his light eyes with hers and shakes his head. "No darling."
"Wh-What are you?", Valkyrie asks, stepping away from him. She suddenly feels very uncomfortable and unsafe. Maybe this was all a big mistake.
"I won't tell you.", he answers immediately. "I don't like you." He groans as he stretches his back and walks closer to her, until she can feel his breath on her skin. "You'll have to live with the fear that there is a monster on board of this ship." A shiver runs down her spine.
And then the bastard just steps away from her and leaves her completely flabbergasted.
I don't like you.
Valkyrie closes her eyes, breathes in and out, and a plan begins to form in her head. A bad, very bad plan.