The Fallen Valkyrie

Midgard.

Gorm had sent other guards to send word to bring the knights of Asgard down here. And they might be on their way.

The Valkyrie, she vanished in the whirlpool of black flakes and fled. She couldn’t escape the realm. The only way to go out is from Bifrost. It was almost impossible to access as it was guarded by the great lord Heimdall. The marching army of knights shuddered on the roofs of the dungeons and the neighing of the Pegasus announced the arrival of the Valkyries.

It angered the fugitive who had just escaped the eternal damnation, to see her sister fighting for the unjust of their king, Odin.

She just wanted a placed amongst them. That’s what she always wanted. To be with her parents. Odin trapped her and Loki tricked her into a cage of eternal damnation. Her own father.

She had just two options to flee into the realm of Hel, her sister. Or in the realm of mortals, the Midgard.

Where shall I head?

"Where do you think you are going?" A voice from the skies stopped her.

"Alkeara?" She wondered.

"Stop Amaela...," the voice warned, "... don't do this. Ask for pardon, for the Alfather is merciful and will bless you, sister."

"I need to go and prove my innocence...," Amaela insisted, "... we are not sisters. I am a sin. I don't belong with the Valkyries. You never accepted me."

"Oh, the brightest child of our mother Freyja - "

" - do not speak of her name." Amaela wailed in agony.

The impact of her voice sent a brief tremble into the air. A winged horse appeared behind the veil of the skies, revealing the queen Valkyrie, Amaela's sister Alkeara. She flew down and violently landed above the dungeon. The blue energy emitted from the touch down decloaked Amaela and threw her down from the wind.

Amaela popped her wings out and furled them around her, spinning in the air she lighted on her feet, swiftly.

"You want a fight, sister, is that what you want?" Amaela snarled.

"Don't make me do this, please." Alkeara drew her sword from her scabbard.

Amaela flailed her wings when Alkeara charged at her. The air from Amaela's wings blew Alkeara off. Amaela muttered a spell and pushed a green wall from the air at Alkeara. The wall was thin and transparent, but Alkeara couldn't escape it. Amaela trapped her in and strode towards her.

"I always thought you would stand by me, sister." Remorse spilled out from Amaela's eyes.

"I still am...," Alkeara spoke, "... I am still protecting you, dear one. Please don't leave. Go back to the palace and ask for forgiveness. Don't do this again. It never ends well, you know that."

"I am not going to rot in the dungeons paying for someone else's mistake." Amaela turned away from her sister and began to walk away.

"You can't stand against a god. You know that." Amaela heard her sister calling her from behind.

"Only a god can." Amaela smirked as she disappeared from Alkeara's sight.

Alkeara shot her sword at the wall that Amaela created. The sword turned into ashes and sprayed on the floor.

Alkeara screamed in exasperation, her voice channeling her anger at her sister and resonating through the walls.

Amaela appeared on the Bifrost, ready to leave. She had to stop and take a hard look at the palace of Asgard, where once she was happy with her mother and her sisters. There were mysteries and secrets, betrayals and manipulations she had seen in this realm. Amaela somehow believed, even if she went into her sister’s domain, they would still bother her, look for her and throw her back into the darkness.

Amaela had decided to go to the Midgard where no one would come looking for her and, even if they did, they wouldn't find her.

She cast a sleep spell on the keeper of the Bifrost and swooped in. As she went to retrieve the sword to activate the Bifrost, a big ball of fire hit her and sent her tumbling back on her feet.

“Sister, you can’t go without a proper farewell.” Alkeara jumped down from her pegasus and pounced at Amaela, taking the sword from another Valkyrie, aiming it towards Amaela.

“You wouldn’t leave me alone, you never did.” Amaela groaned as she got back on her feet and dodged Alkeara’s blow.

“What did you do to Lord Heimdall?” Alkeara growled.

Amaela smirked and replied, “… poor soul needed sleep from all the guarding.”

Alkeara shot a blow with her sword towards Amaela. Amaela swathed her wings around her and saved herself from the cut, and tossed away Alkeara as she opened her wings back.

Alkeara gasped at the sight: the Blade of Valkyries had never ever come back without leaving a scar, it even cut through the flesh of gods and souls of mortals. Amaela’s unscathed wings stunned Alkeara. She had realised Amaela had evolved herself, spending half of eternity in the darkness. Even the sword of the righteous couldn’t cut through her.

How is it possible? Alkeara wondered in her flummoxed mind.

“Why do you even try, sister?” Amaela said as she grabbed Alkeara and kicked her away into the far corner of the packed Bifrost.

The big lamp which holds the seven burning fires in the Bifrost furiously raged beneath them, as they indulged in a savage battle. The rest of the Valkyrie force had reached the scene and, the thick tolls of bells submerged all around them in the air.

“You can’t escape, Amaela…,” Alkeara said, standing up holding her side of the stomach and grunting in pain. “… they know you are escaping.”

“I don’t want to fight you, please let me go.” Amaela pleaded.

“I can’t…,” Alkeara picked up her sword, “… you have to go through me sister. Kill me like you killed your sisters, drunk with ambitions, and temptations in your eyes. You let the desires overpower you like a mere mortal.”

Alkeara’s words broke Amaela’s heart all over again. She had been called murderer, traitor and all the disgraceful names anyone could possibly have, but coming from her sister had hurt her more than they ever had coming from someone else.

“That was all I needed to hear from you, sister.” Amaela said, forcing the tear back into her eyes, “… now at least I won’t feel bad about killing you.”

“Did you ever even for a moment hesitate before drawing a sword through your sisters, Amaela?” Alkeara cried.

“This time I won’t need a sword.” Amaela drew energy from the Bifrost into herself and lit up in the colours of a rainbow. Her silver hair stripped with the seven bands and the brilliant radiance of crystal reflecting the light emanating from Amaela. A whirlwind lifted her up, making her levitate above Alkeara. The Bifrost swayed around Amaela in the structure of uncountable strings.

“What did you do, Amaela?” Alkeara whispered, scared, not because her sister could kill her. But she is summoning the force of Freyja.

“The thing I should’ve done a long time ago.” Amaela wailed, “… why sister? Why didn’t you stop them from killing him?”

“We are spirits. We can’t have a body; you have to remember that.”

“But I loved him.”

“It was not love.”

“It wasn’t a sin either.” Amaela silenced Alkeara.

“Go ahead, be done with it…,” Alkeara kneeled before Amaela.

Amaela briefly glanced at the Pegasus’ hovering in the sky and the Valkyries shouting out war cries.

Tears streamed out of Amaela’s eyes, relentlessly. She laboured with all her power to stop them, but they defied her might.

“Did the tears drip when you were slaughtering our sister? Or am I your favourite one?” Alkeara asked coldly.

Amaela sobbed, “… I did what I had to do. And I’ll do everything I have to do right now.” She clenched her fists.

“Do it quick, you won’t be able to hold the Bifrost inside you for that long.” Alkeara prompted.

“Arghh!!!” With a piercing cry Amaela gathered all of her energy and shot it at Alkeara.

Something tore through the roof and defended Alkeara. A golden light, so bright that it even dominated the seven rainbow colours of the Bifrost. The energy that Amaela shot at Alkeara dissolved in the brilliant light shielding Alkeara.

As the impact faded and the light became dim, a silhouette appeared between the two sisters. A silhouette in golden armour with a crown atop. A spear in one hand and a shield in the other, the mother of all the mortals and immortals as well.

“Mother?” Alkeara and Amaela uttered in unison.

Amaela gasped and shuddered. In the presence of the Goddess Freyja, all the Valkyries climbed down from their Pegasus and bowed to their Queen.

Freyja stared at Amaela. There was no anger in her eyes, nor sympathy or hatred. They were just cold eyes, hollow and nothingness in them.

“You make me feel disgraced. You are the reason why I blame myself from the beginning of the time.” Freyja said blankly.

She grabbed Alkeara and helped her back to her feet. “Are you hurt my child?” She asked Alkeara.

Alkeara nodded. “I am fine mother.”

“Good…,” Freyja smiled at Alkeara and turned to Amaela, “… and you?” Freyja raised her spear and swung it at Amaela suddenly.

“No, mother wait…,” Alkeara jumped between her mother and sister trying to stop the havoc, but she was thrown away by the impact of her mother’s spear clanging against Amaela.

In one instance, Amaela was gone. Where she stood was nothing but tiny fragments of glittering lights. The Bifrost cooled down and ceased rumbling. One feather from Amaela’s wings floated in the wind.

Freyja gasped deep breaths, trying to fathom what she had done? Her lips trembled, the golden spear fell from her hands and clanked against the floor.

“My child?” Freyja stared at Alkeara with sorrow in her eyes.

“What did you do, mother?” Alkeara whispered, “… Father will know.”

Freyja nodded dispiritedly, “whatever I had to do to save my child.” She picked the crimson feather from Amaela’s wings and kissed it.