Bride 06

To walk between realms was always a jarring experience, the world blurring into nothing more than undefinable shapes. Light began to seep away from them, the space they occupied turning darker by the minute. A chill wind blew, rustling their clothing, and blowing out Lenneth’s hair and Lezard’s cape. She was grateful that her divinity protected her from much of the cold, Lenneth not wanting to press against Lezard, the only source of warmth that remained.

Then, just as suddenly as they had started, the teleport was finished, the nothingness pealing back. It was almost like turning the page of a picture book, a new scene appearing before them. Lenneth could grudgingly admit the land he had brought her to was beautiful, the Goddess pausing to just take in everything about the world.

They were standing on a high point of land, as though Lezard had purposefully chosen this exact spot to better show off his world. It offered a breath taking view,
Lenneth looking down at the islands of land, each one differing in size. They were separated by a sea of clouds, the islands floating much like the land masses of Asgard. But while Asgard’s sky was blue and scattered with white clouds, these were colored in reds, gold’s, and oranges.

They were dark red on top, almost black, with red and orange for the sides, and gold evening out between clouds. The grouping of clouds was continuous, not a break in them, obscuring whatever was below them. It looked very much like molten lava, and she wondered what it would feel like to touch these particular clouds. Would they be hot to the touch, or would a cool mist surround her skin? The idle curiosity didn’t move her enough to experiment, Lenneth pulling out of Lezard’s arms to walk the island they were on.

It was one of the larger land masses that she could see, mountains jutting out, and forming caverns of space between them. The rocky land of the mountainscape was colored in soft shades of purple and pink, the light of the setting sun turning the stone from it’s usual boring hues of gray. Green moss grew about the rock, long strips of it, sometimes forming a border around the stone edges.

She walked to one of the edges now, nearly gasping in delight as she peered down into one of the caverns. There was a lake down below her, a round pool of white and gray water, that flowed outwards into a stream that extended the length of the cavern, until the water poured down into the clouds, making a vaporous mist appear at that end.

The water seemed to originated from a large hole carved into one of the mountain’s sides, a pure white waterfall flowing down into the lake. Around the water, was a field of grass, it’s green and gold hues differing greatly from the shades that colored the mountain’s moss. Further out from the lake, the grass gave way to lavender and pink, some sort of wild flowers that were trying to overtake the land with their growth.

Almost without thinking, she began to navigate down the mountain’s path, the way zig zagging as though carved into the stone at the last minute. Footsteps behind her let her know Lezard was following, but Lenneth didn’t pause, picking her way carefully downwards. The soft satin slippers she wore were impractical for this kind of terrain, Lenneth moving to kick off her shoes, leaving them to lay where they had fallen.

She soon reached the bottom of the cavern, Lenneth stepping into the field of flowers. The grass and dirt felt good beneath her bare feet, cool and damp from the spray of the waterfall. She could smell the breezy, lake side scents, the water fresh and pure, the flowers fragrant.

Drawing closer to the lake, Lenneth peered into it’s depths, but it was cloudy, the white looking like snow amidst gray fog. Whatever might live in the pool was hidden from her eyes, the surface rippling continuously from the splash of new water entering the lake.

“It’s beautiful.” She finally said, when Lezard drew up besides her. She was gazing up at the waterfall, looking at it’s point of origin, and how the water had smoothed out the sides of it’s mountain’s hole. One would never know that just days ago this waterfall, this island, had not existed, the land looking like untouched beauty that had been around for centuries.

“Thank you.” Lezard answered, his voice sounding pleased. “I labored on this world for days.” There was no hesitation to what he was saying, Lenneth curious glance turning to surprise at his next words. “I wanted this world to be special. To be perfect for you.”

“For me?” He nodded then, and she frowned. “Why would you bother?”

“I think the question you should ask is why would I not go to such lengths to impress upon you the depths of my love and devotion.” Countered Lezard. “Lenneth, I would do almost anything to prove myself to you, to prove myself worthy and deserving of your time and consideration, of your love.”

“I have no love to give.” Lenneth answered, turning her back to him. “Not to you, not to anyone.”

“You’re wrong!” Passionate denial was in his voice, so much that it surprised Lenneth, though she didn’t bother to look at him again. “Lenneth you…”

“I am, as you said, a Death Goddess.” She reminded him then. “Love and the passions it arouses are not something I am familiar with, nor do I desire them. You couldn’t have made a greater mistake in choosing me for your bride.” It was perhaps dangerous to make him aware of the disappointments she offered him in that regard, but Lenneth wanted it all laid out on the line. Lezard had to know that no matter how grand a gesture, how thoughtful and kind he pretended to be, it would not move a heart that was dead to love.

“No.” A quiet utterance, but one that did not lack the power of conviction. “You can, you’re so much more than just a Death Goddess! Lenneth, I know you are capable of great things.”

“Oh?” She turned then, an eyebrow arched at him. “Where does that knowledge come from?” He had no answer for her then, falling silent. “I know nothing but devotion to my duty as Valkyrie, and the loyalty to my creator, Odin. There is no room for anything else.”

“You love your sisters.” Came his reply, stopping her in her tracks when she tried to walk away from him. “And you care for the Aesir, for else you wouldn’t have agreed to this union between us.”

“And look where that concern has gotten me!” Lenneth exclaimed, her anger riled up. “Married to Odin’s slayer, torn from the only world I have ever known, forced to make nice with a murderer. If this is what feelings lead to, then I want no part of them!”

“I understand this isn’t the best of situations…” Lezard told her, calm where she was angry. “But Lenneth, in time you will see…”

“See what?!” She demanded with an angry snort.

“You’ll see how beneficial this marriage between us is.” Lezard finished up with a sigh. She fixed him with a skeptical look, clearly not believing his words. “Don’t you see Lenneth? You’re already feeling things, things you have not felt in forever, maybe not ever.”

She had to bite her lip to keep from snarling out that the only things she felt was hatred and disgust, but the new God seemed to sense where her thoughts laid. “Yes, you are angry.” He acknowledged. “Yes, you hate me now. But it won’t always be that way…”

“How can you say that?” Lenneth demanded. “Where does this confidence come from? Even if we do spend eternity together, where does the notion that I will come to ever feel something more for you come from?!”

“Hope springs eternal.” She made a scoffing sound then, practically sneering at his idea of hope. “And Lenneth, I can be a very patient man. And the fact of the matter is that already the seeds are planted in you, emotions and feelings blossoming in you. Yes, you only feel negative emotions right now, but I am sure that in time, the positive will start to flourish within you.”

“And you are what? Prepared to wait for that eventuality?” Lenneth demanded snidely, hardly pleased when he nodded. “You won’t.” She scoffed, and turned from him. “You’ll tire eventually, and take what you want from me. And then…” She wouldn’t allow her shoulders to sag, wouldn’t allow despair to fill her at the words that followed. “You will discard me. Use me like you did Odin and my sister.”

She was already moving away, following the outgoing stream of the lake. Lezard was left behind her, the man sputtering in reply. Her words had seemed to shock him, leaving Lezard unable to form a coherent retort. To Lenneth that was just proof that she was correct about Lezard’s true intentions towards hers. But that assumption didn’t make her happy, Lenneth allowing a bitter look on her face as she walked.

After a moment, Lezard’s footsteps joined hers, the man hurrying after her. Her back stiffened at his approach, Lenneth wondering what his next move would be, if he would strike her down then and there in retaliation for the words she had said. Words she felt were nothing but the truth, ugly though they may be.

“Lenneth…” His hand touched her arm, but didn’t close around it for she was already jerking away from him. She saw the upset in his eyes, Lezard not trying to mask his expression as he confronted her. “Is that what you think?! Is that what you’ve been torturing yourself with this entire time?!”

“I am accepting of my duty.” That wasn’t entirely true, Lenneth knowing she had been railing against the fate she had been thrust into the moment Freya had told her she was to be married. “If through my sacrifice, I can ensure the continued well being of the Aesir, then I will die gladly.”

“You’re not going to die!” Lezard snapped at her, voice angry. He immediately softened his expression and tone, his irritation seeming to fade away. “Certainly not by my hand. And if anyone else tries anything, it will be they who suffer and not you.”

“I am well capable of defending myself.” Lenneth pointed out to him. “I neither want nor need your protection.”

“You have it nonetheless.” Lezard answered. “Lenneth, put these foolish thoughts out of mind. I did not bring you here with the intent of one day killing you. You…you above all others, are safe. You are the one being I would never purposefully try to harm.”

“Why?” Lenneth asked. “Because you love me?”

“Yes.” A simple answer, but no less heartfelt, stopping the snort she had intended to make. Silence followed his answer, Lenneth staring searchingly into his eyes. She could see herself reflected in them, her lips in perpetual frown, Lenneth always on edge when dealing with this God. She felt disturbed by how certain he was of this love he claimed to feel for her, and her earlier fears still remained. One day Lezard would grow tired of the chase, and heaven help her then!

“You consign us both to an eternity of misery.” She at last answered, and was then moving. Lezard quickly followed, making a curious sound behind her. “I may not have much to do with love, but in the course of my duty as Valkyrie, I have had experiences with the mortals.”

“Oh?”

“I do not know how much you are aware of my powers…” continued Lenneth, following the path of the stream. It was curving round the side of one of the mountains that bordered this cavern, and in the distance she could see where it trailed off to the ends of the island. “As Chooser of the slain, I decide among the warriors who die in battle, just who is worthy to fight for Asgard.”

“Everyone knows this much.” Lezard said, and she nodded.

“What is not common knowledge among the mortals is, I use my powers to see into the past of a soul. I see the events leading up to the soul’s death, and very rarely is it pretty.” She spoke without inflection to her voice, Lenneth matter of fact about this aspect of a human’s soul. “In the course of my tenure as Valkyrie, I’ve seen the many ways emotion plays into the deaths of humans. Greed, hatred, even desire.”

A glance over her shoulder showed Lezard was listening intently to her. “Sometimes I think the emotion known as love, the desire for it, leads to the ugliest of deaths. There have been men, and even a few women, who desired love so strongly, they were willing to kill for it. Once there was even a great war fought for the love of one woman, a war that lasted for several years. Many died for a king’s lust for a woman that did not want him, and in the end, though he stood victorious over his enemies, the woman had killed herself to avoid falling into his hands. I often wondered what the point of that war had been, especially since no one got what they wanted in the end.”

Lenneth sighed then, trying to shake the memories from her. She had felt the anguish of the souls involved in that particular war, and not just from it’s leaders, but the soldiers who fought for them. Many of the men and women who died had been confused about what they had wasted their lives for, thinking the war meaningless. They could have understood protecting their land from invaders, but could not condone a war fought simply based on lust.

“I’ve seen the humans at their worse for love, poisoning each other with their hate, suffocating and smothering others with their lust. Assassins hired, poisons brewed, people dying. Sometimes the person killed was the one who did not return the other’s love. Other times, they merely had the misfortune of loving the person who was desired so strongly. Even on occasion, was I called down to judge the one who had instigated a battle over love. I did not look favorably on those fools.”

“It’s not foolish to love.” Argued Lezard. She shrugged then, not surprised he would think that. “Some would say love is the greatest motivator of them all, the one thing worth living for.”

“And do you think that?” Lenneth asked, nearly to the end of the island.

“I didn’t use to.” Lezard admitted with a rueful sounding chuckle. “I was once a lot like you, thinking it foolish and not worth my time. I can admit to being amused by those who strove for it, the antics of theirs as they pursued an uninterested lover. But, and I suspect this is true for all men and women. Love changes us, and though it makes us fools, we are better for it. I know I’m better for having fallen in love with you.”

“Better…” She echoed, staring down at the water flowing into the clouds. Here the water was so dark a gray it was almost black, flowing down into the cloud bank, which caused it to steam. Orange gold light rose up from where the water touched the clouds, making a thick, red mist that obscured the island across from this one. But she knew it was out there for she had seen it when she stood at the top of one of the cavern’s mountains.

“Yes, better.” Lezard insisted, and she nearly laughed then, an angry bitter sound. It surprised him, she could tell, Lenneth turning to look at him with her eyes narrowed.

“And what crimes have you committed in order to capture this love of yours?!” She demanded.

“I’ve…” He sighed out an admittance, but did not look regretful or ashamed of his actions. “I’ve killed. I’ve back stabbed and betrayed allies, willfully done these things all in order to get close to you. And I would do them again, gladly for the chance to see a smile on your face, to hear your voice, or to feel the touch of your hair.”

“Then you’ve damned yourself all for nothing.” Lenneth retorted coldly. “Even if I was capable of love, how could I ever come to feel for a murderer? Especially one whose killed my King, my creator.”

“Love is different between Gods and mortals.” He seemed to have an answer for everything. “There are stories, countless in number, of the trades and arrangements, the forced marriages between Aesir and Vanir. In some cases love bloomed, even for a short time. Did not Freya come to love Odin, even though she was his prisoner?”

That question of his made her angry, Lenneth remembering how she had asked Freya something similar just before the ceremony. Freya’s answer hadn’t made Lenneth feel at ease, the Goddess determined not to fall to a snake’s charms and good looks. Nor did Lenneth see the point in making the best of a bad situation, the Goddess sure that for all Lezard’s claims, he would dispose of her once he tired of her.

“What is that land like across this mist?” Lenneth asked, trying to steer the conversation towards new ground. She didn’t miss the smirk that crossed Lezard’s lips, or the gentle chide he voiced.

“Trying to ignore these questions and my love for you, will not make it go away, Lenneth. At best you can only put it aside for a while, before it comes back stronger than ever.”

“I see no point in continuing such a displeasing conversation.” Lenneth retorted, and his smirk deepened.

“It’s displeasing because there’s a ring of truth to what I say.” He was all bold in his confidence, a knowing look in his eyes. “Freya loved Odin, enough to become his right hand. Such was her love she would have died defending him if she could have.”

“And now she suffers for it.” Lenneth pointed out. “You’ve cast her in misery by killing her love!” She saw Lezard had no answer for that, blinking owlishly behind his glasses. “What kind of person would I be to profit from her broken heart?”

“It was not you who killed Odin…” Lezard managed a feeble protest.

“But it was for me that you did these things. You admitted as much!” Lenneth exclaimed. “Don’t you see Lezard, for every person you killed, for every betrayal you performed, those sins are on me as much as they are on you!”

“N…no…”

“Your love is tainted!” Lenneth finished with a glare. “It’ll poison everything you touch, even me!” A jagged arc of lighting appeared in the sky, the sun having dimmed. A storm was coming, sudden and violent, thunder rumbling. Lenneth wondered if it had anything to do with this world’s creator, the mood he was experiencing being reflected on this world.

“I…I didn’t…I don’t…” Lezard stammered, so uncertain and upset in the moment. “It’s not like that!” He suddenly bellowed, his voice very much like the thunder that boomed in response. “My love is pure! It’s the only good thing in my life, YOU are the only good thing in my life. I will not destroy that, no matter how tainted you think my feelings are, how evil you find my intentions!”

Lenneth said nothing, just gave him a disbelieving look. It only served to agitate him further, Lezard running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t how it was supposed to be…” He mumbled under his breath.

“Oh? What did you expect then?!” Lenneth demanded, but he seemed not to hear her. He actually paced away from her, continuing to mutter, and it was Lenneth who followed him, trying to hear over the constant sound of thunder.

“This was supposed to be my second chance.” Lezard whispered hoarsely. “To try with a Lenneth who didn’t know me….a Lenneth who had little reason to hate me. Some things were unavoidable, Odin’s death was unavoidable, but I didn’t expect her to hold such a grudge…”

She could barely hear him, and what she made out was confusing. Just what did Lezard mean by a Lenneth who did not know him? She didn’t know, Lenneth frowning, and trying to get his attention.

“Lezard…” The sky opened up, rain begginning to pelt down on them. Her white dress quickly soaked through, clinging to her skin. Lezard suffered a similar fate, cape wet and dragging behind him. The water, freezing as it was, seemed to be what calmed him down, Lezard ceasing his pacing. He paused to push up his glasses, the panes wet and fogging up.

“We shouldn’t stay here any longer.” Lezard said, and held out his hand to her.

Lenneth reached to take it, but offered a suggestion of her own. “Show me the rest of your world.” It was her way of delaying return back to their living quarters, Lenneth not wanting to be locked into so close a space with Lezard for an extended period of time.

He didn’t answer her, not with words, Lezard pulling Lenneth against him. She could feel the ether he cast settling around them, the sparkles warm where the rain was cold. The lake’s stream and the red mist blurred, the pair disappearing from the island.