“I-I was wondering if you can spare a piece.” I drop to my knees in desperation and bow my head.

  “Strange elf, mama,” one of the younglings points to my ears.

  “You are not from here. Where are you from, human?” The mother asks.

  I raise my eyes to meet the elf’s curious ones. The little younglings sniff the air, squinting their faces in disgust. No doubt I smell worse than all the dumpsters of this entire village combined.

  “I am from Midgard. A mage threw me here and I don’t know how to get back home.” My cracked and bruised lips hurt.

  One of the younglings approaches me with a strange food. Looks like uncooked meat. Swallowing air into my empty stomach, I have no choice. I join my hands and receive the gift with both hands, biting into it carefully to taste first. It doesn’t taste bad, but like goose that’s not cooked all the way. I ravage through the rest of the piece of meat, yet still struggle through it.

  “Have a drink, human.” The elf brings me a small container of water, and I gobble it up.

  “Thank you. I will never forget your kindness.” I bow my head once more, the little feeling like plenty to my empty stomach. I still need more water, though I will not ask.

  “Just… be careful out here. The fae are wary of outsiders. You know how we are treated in the other realms.”

  I nod. “What are your names?”

  “I am Fatana and these are my sons, Jerh and Serh.”

  “I am Thalia.”

  Rising from my knees, I ask her about the creature and animal I met. She alludes to a house over the mountain. To a fae mistress who is a fairy of the mountain.

  With another container of water, they send me off and my exhausted feet carry me over the mountain. It is night when I get to the house.

  I stand outside the small gate gathering my courage.

  The gate opens on its own and I walk in. The door opens before I knock, and before I even walk in, I am greeted by the voice, “You are late!”

  Gary slithers to the door, and I have never been as glad to see such an ugly creature.

  Nothing Will Stop Me

  Vidar

  Four Years Later

  “Your majesty, lord Vidar has arrived.” My father’s announcer, Jowel bellows as I approach.

  The guards outside the throne room cross their spears to prohibit me from entering without being allowed, and I smirk.

  Blood.

  I draw my dagger, but my father calls me in, and they lower their weapons and open the door before I reach it, faces frightened.

  Killjoy.

  I would have preferred to walk over their blood and mess father’s plush carpet. He loves that darn carpet more than his own subjects. Kill a hundred men, but don’t dirty his carpet. The great Odin.

  I bow when I stand before him, awaiting his reasons for summoning me away from a battle in the realm of the wolves. I was happily knee-deep in wolf scum when the royal messenger arrived.

  “Will I have a kingdom when you finish mourning this maiden, son?”

  Gritting my teeth, I clench my fists. If he wasn’t the All-Father, I would have charged at him and ripped his throat from him. It was a mistake I failed to calculate. My men are loyal to me, but are ultimately my father’s subjects. So when he asked about the rumors of me laying waste to a village in Midgard without cause, they told him I had found my future queen. And how she ran from me with the help of a mage.

  A mage I shouldn’t have killed immediately. She would have given up where she sent her. The trees in the clearing were common in most of the realms. There was no way to point to where it was.

  She would be by my side today.

  But I vowed to find her, to bring her home.

  She will belong to me.

  “Answer me, boy.” Father’s enraged voice fills the throne room.

  “I was taking care of those pesky wolves you complained about in the meeting, Father.” My tone is neutral.

  He narrows his eyes at me, trying to invade my mind, but I block him. He will not pry my mind. A few minutes pass by, and he retreats.

  “Your brutality has worsened since that girl slipped from your fingers.” He sighs. “I worry about my child.”

  I hold back the scoff that almost escapes my mouth. Worried about me? He is more worried about his image than me.

  “You should forget about this maiden, son. There are thousands of young virgin maidens you could take as yours.”

  “She has been chosen.”

  He should know this. And just because it was easy for him when he found his queen, doesn’t mean I should give up because mine is challenging.

  I will have that maiden. Thalia.

  My queen.

  “It is a fool’s errand, Vidar. Your responsibilities to the Empire come first.”

  I don’t respond; he knows my answer.

  “Fine,” he says after minutes of a stare down he doesn’t win.

  “I think I need to take you off your duties as my enforcer,”

  I growl in response, showing my displeasure.

  He is benching me?

  Who will perform my duties if I step off? And what will I do? I will go mad if I go back to my castle without her.

  I tried after I returned from Midgard four years ago, but I couldn’t get any sleep. There’s no rest there. Her song haunts the walls of my castle.

  Haunts me.

  The Old Gods want to drive me to insanity. Why else would they give me a reminder of her whenever I close my eyes? I used to sense where she was, but the cloaking spell that mage put on her is powerful. I haven’t sensed her since.

  At first, I thought the realm she was in was too far from me, but I have traveled all the realms and can’t feel her anywhere.

  So I am driven mad day and night, awake and asleep.

  One book tells of an older god who was rejected by his queen and driven so mad by her song that he killed her. He reasoned if she didn’t live, he would have rest.

  My heart twists in my chest when I consider the dangerous possibilities that could befall her thanks to her human weaknesses. The Old Gods must really despise me, giving me the lowliest of all creatures for a queen. Humans can’t do magic, unless they have a fae descendant, and they are physically weak. When I find her, I will have to lock her up in the castle where she will be safe and away from all that could cause her harm.

  “It’s not permanent, son. I am giving you an opportunity.”

  I stay silent, so he continues.

  “I am giving you three years. Three years to find her.”

  Hope blossoms in my belly. If my duty isn’t in the way, I can double my efforts and search every inch of the realms.

  “But if you do not find her in three years, you come back. I will ask your aunt to server your connection to her so you aren’t driven mad by her song.”

  The part of my soul that calls to her shrinks in pain at the possibility of severing the connection. If that would happen, I would lose a big part of my soul. But to maintain my sanity, I would have to be turned into a soulless monster so I can live.

  “Who will be in my place?”

  “I figured your trusted right hand, Sigurd.”

  A good choice.

  I would have thought he would place one of my many half-siblings who have been gunning for my position for millennia.

  “Why not any of your half-siblings?” He reads the question in my face and I nod.

  “I don’t need a blood bath when you murder them because they won’t vacate your post. I don’t need war in my home.”

  He’s not wrong.

  Unlike Thor, the next in line for the throne - only because he is the eldest - I earned my place as general and enforcer for father’s Empire. I was born to a lowly nymph concubine, supposed to be one of the weak demigods - like our other siblings who reside in the other realms. But I fought for my place. For my name. I rose ranks on merit alone, and when father could no longer deny my strength on the battlefield, he crowned me the General.

  Granted, I came in carrying the head of the previous General, giving the Court and father not much choice. Father and the Royal Court had refused my promotion when the old General was alive, on account of politics and bureaucracy. And I was done waiting around. I had been a shoe shiner for the old General for a few hundred years, it was my time. I was seven hundred eighty-nine, the youngest General to ever command the armies of the Asgardian Empire.

  I nod, in agreement to his concessions.

  “I need your word, Vidar. Three years.”

  “Three years to find her. If I don’t, I will allow the severing of the connection.” I give him my word.

  “That is all I ask. My blessing is with you. May the Old Gods shine their light and wisdom on you, my son.”

  “All-Father!” I bow my head, accepting the blessing, and leave.

  Little bird, I hope you know I am coming for you.

  My mind goes back to the last time I saw her. I still remember how her scent touched every place in her small village. She smelled of a mixture of lilies, dahlias, and sweet strawberries. The best scent I have ever inhaled.

  After I drove my sword through all those who didn’t run for the mountains, I sent all my men away and I basked in her scent. That alone almost undid me.

  But without the connection, the scent left me once I stepped out of the village. I made a stop in a few cities in Midgard looking for her and taking care of Empire business. By the time I left the realm, I had laid waste to two more villages and burned a town.

  My men followed me through all the realms. Not one dared to ask me anything, but they knew.

  “Brother!” The boisterous voice of the future Ruler fills the vast hall outside the throne room. I turn to him, acknowledging his presence.

  “I heard of all the fun you’ve been having in the realms. And I must say, I am sad you haven’t invited me for some fun too. I thought we were kin.”

  “There weren’t any maidens that needed saving, brother. I didn’t think you’d have much fun.”

  “You’re right, who wants to be knee-deep in the blood of grouts when I could be hand deep in skirts of zealous maidens.” He wiggles his eyebrows and I shake my head. Thor may be tiresome, but he is hard to hate. He will be a people’s god when it is his time on the throne.

  “Come, there is a feast in my wing. I heard about your adventure.”

  I furrow my eyebrows. How does he know what me and father just discussed?

  “I gave father the suggestion to give you time before you destroy all the realms searching for that maiden. Now, will you come with me so you can hear the rest of my plan on how we will find your queen?”

  “We?”

  “Yes, me, you, and the siblings.”

  “No.” I make my body rigid. I am not taking my siblings on such an important mission. Besides, they would just scare her. We can’t go anywhere without any of us getting attention. A few of us would be a disaster.

  Thor sees my resistance and pulls me with great force to a nearby chamber.

  “I knew you’d react that way, but hear me out.”

  I listen even though I don’t like where this is going.

  When he is finished telling me the plan, I could admit it was a great plan. Searching every inch of the realms would take me more than three years. I am looking for a needle in a haystack, but bringing a magnet may speed things up.

  Over the next few weeks, we plan and plot our trips.

  Whether she likes it or not, she will be found.

  Hope renewed, my three brothers, sister, and I head out on our tour of the realms. Starting with the land of the giants.

  The Danger Zone

  Thalia

  Two Years Later

  I stare down at the town that has given me shelter the past six years. I celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday yesterday with the slithering dog and the fairies of the nearby river. They made me a water crown that only lasted about five minutes before it soaked me from hair to feet. They all laughed and dived into the river when I tried to chase them.

  And although my stay with the mistress has been challenging most days, I am grateful. I am still alive and have shelter and food every day. I even have a few animal friends and time to paint three times a week.

  There is a cave near the top of this mountain and I go there whenever I can. I sleep there sometimes when the mistress is gone for the day, only going back to the compound to check on the animals.

  The black raven, I named Flip, flies to me. It’s one of the mistress’s friendly pets. He flaps his wings frantically and I get up, dashing down the mountain. The mistress is on her way back.

  She went to get some manure from the garden nymphs for the garden and animals, and I must be there to take care of everything. I get there just as her wagon stops at the gate. Taking a cloth, I wipe the sweat off my face before I rush out to meet her with a glass of water.

  “Mistress.” I bow my head.

  “Thalia. I am famished. Is food ready?” She takes the glass of water and throws her head back as her throat bops continuously.

  “Yes. I will prepare it for you now.”

  She hands me the glass and walks to the house while I brush the donkey, Samson.

  “Thalia, today!” She calls over her shoulder, making me jump and kiss Samson before I follow. Gary glides behind me in the grass.

  I prepare the table, placing the dishes for her.

  She sighs and I hurry to warm some water for her feet. I know she’ll want a rub after the food.

  “The market was abuzz today,” she tells me.

  “Why?” I ask when she doesn’t volunteer more.

  “It seems after Vidar’s rampage through the realms, the Empire has decided to host a tour to assure us all they are still gods worthy of our praise. Apparently, it’s a tour to celebrate the All-Father’s prosperous rule over the realms, and a few gods will be in attendance, including Thor.”

  The porcelain in my hands slips and falls. I jump when I hear the shatter and in doing so step on a piece, cutting myself. I cry out from the pain.

  “What’s wrong?” Mistress comes near to assess the damage.

  “My expensive porcelain. You silly girl. Why are you always so jumpy when I mention the gods?”

  “No-nothing, mistress. It was a mistake. I am sorry.” I bow my head so she doesn’t strike me like last time.

  “Clean this up and then massage my feet.” She waves her hand, closing my small cut when Gary won’t stop sniffing. He loves human blood and if he had teeth, I’m sure he would bite me.

  “Gary, come.” She snaps her fingers, and he follows.

  I make haste clearing the mess and wipe my blood, before her water.

  Breathing deeply, I try to get my heart rate beating evenly. Curse all the other creatures for having better hearing than humans. Lying to them is harder, one must learn to hide their internal and external tells.

  But I almost can’t help myself when his name is mentioned. It doesn't help that I have to constantly punch down the part of my soul crying out for him. I bury it deep. Allowing that part to grow will be the ultimate betrayal to my love, my family. My village.

  I hurry and bring the mistress her foot bath, soaked with a relaxing potion she showed me to make from the flowers found in the garden.

  “They will be here in three days and you should make something to wear,” she says in passing.

  I halt my movement, hands slightly trembling, before I force myself to move on.

  “Are you taking me with?” I ask, tone coming out strong and I am glad.

  “Everyone must be present. They want to give all the creatures the blessing from the All-Father. It is compulsory. There is a register to be marked.”

  I widen my eyes and wipe my nose trying to hide my worsening tremble.

  “Thalia, tell me your secret,” she says suddenly.

  Frowning, I snap my head up to her. “I have no secret, mistress.”

  “I have lived with you for six years, girl. Do not lie to me. Why do you always look like you have seen a ghost when I mention the gods. Or more specifically the god Vidar?”

  I shake my head as a tear escapes my eyes, blinking the rest back, wiping the fallen quickly with my wet hand.

  Great. Now she sees the mess I am. How can I hide from her now? But mistress is a fairy, maybe she can cloak me again if I tell her.

  Or maybe she will give you to the gods.

  Either way, there’s no way to escape it. “Vidar massacred my entire village. I was helped out the realm by a mage who was killed trying to escape with me. He killed everyone, including my family.” I shake with years of unshed tears, balancing my body with my hands, I let them fall.

  Gary snakes one of my hands with his tail trying to comfort me, licking my arm, soothing me.

  “That is horrible. But we have to go. I will get in trouble if I don’t bring you. The cloak on your original scent is still active. If you hide in the crowd, he won’t spot you.” She says like I haven’t just told her my whole family is dead and the god responsible is coming to town demanding all our presence

  I make my way to my small back room. It may not be much, but it accommodates the bed she gave to me when she had a new one built. There’s a corner for my clothes and other necessities, and an easel, chair, and tiny desk that houses my paint supplies. Everything I need, more than I could ask for.

  My latest painting is of an aggressive darkness reaching out to the girl in a white ripped dress. A frail thing whose body is battered from the running. The darkness almost has her in its clutches. A depressing picture drawn from the same bothersome dream I’ve had for the past six years. He calls for me in my dreams. I never answer or look back.

  I shed my work tunic and wipe my body with a damp cloth before I wear the dress I made for today. Though I’m still not the best seamstress, at least the clothes are wearable now.

  I had to learn fast, mistress doesn’t buy me any new clothes, she just gives me her old ones. They are far too big for me and I have to tailor them for my body. Often, I will get a dress and enough material left for a skirt.