Saving My Triplet Alphas

Eight

Frankie:

The kingdom of gold turned to a bloody battlefield the deeper into the wood we crept.

"What is your name?" I asked the woman who still held my hand firmly as she led me through bloodshed and death, leaving us both untouched.

"Hildr," she answered dryly but with a kind smile.

"Where are we going, Hildr?" I asked, as my curiosities got the better of me.

"You may be a fallen being, but you are also a Valkyrie. You must train." A bed of fog sat at the base of a cliff. We stood there, overlooking the vastness of whatever lay there.

"I don't understand," I murmured as rocks escaped the cliff edge and fell into an eternity I couldn't see.

"You will soon." she nodded, wrapping her arms around my waist before dragging me over.

With a shrill scream, I clung to the woman draped in a cloak of feathers. My wings unfurled as we passed the fog. When the veil that covered what lay beneath it was lifted, and the wind took hold of my wings, I willed my body to do the work, but they flapped and fluttered like useless newborn birds.

"Hildr!" I screamed as the being of bloodshed and mercy began to laugh at me.

"Just breathe. Your emotions control them. Let them control you. Give them their own action apart from your feelings." She yelled through the howling winds. But I couldn't breathe. The wind was too much, and I couldn't get control of the all-consuming fear that had such a hold on me.

"We're going to die! I can't do it!" I yelled out, feeling my body go limp with fear while gripping the Valkyrie in my arms.

"You're already dead," Hildr said so calmly. "So am I." She added before her own wings unfolded, lifting us to the sky.

When she sat me on the cliff, it felt like my lungs could pull air in again.

"You are already dead, Frankie. The fear of dying is inconsequential." I shivered when she pulled a black blade from her side. Swiftly, she cut me, and I found after being in the Pinnala dungeon, after the razor whip, the mice, that blade barely felt like a scratch.

"You cut me!" I growled, angry that after all of what I had endured, she thought she could put her hands on me.

"Did I?" She looked at the place her blade had sliced, making my eyes travel to where my hands covered the wound; beneath my hand was barely a knick.

"I don't understand," I admitted.

I couldn't help but feel frustrated. Nothing made sense, and no one, not Rowan, Odin, or Hildr, was making it easier. I felt angry that all of them were speaking in riddles at this point.

"Your mother was a fallen angel, Frankie. We don't know precisely what that means, but we know you have the abilities of a holy walker on top of already being dead. Your heart may beat, but not because you live and breathe like the beings below. It beats because of your purpose, because of your destiny. It is my job to rid you of the fear of dying, the fear that is keeping you grounded." She looked at me softly; she could see my frustrations bubbling over despite how hard I tried to hide them.

I looked into the eyes of a woman who spent her time plucking worthy warriors from the battlefield, a woman who spent her time preparing those same warriors for Ragnorak with a heart of mercy and strength. I thought of myself and how angry and fearful I was, and suddenly, I craved her strength and fearlessness. I looked over the cliff's edge again, looking into the unknown with reluctance.

Then, I jumped.

The moment the wind rushed down my throat, stealing my breath, I was consumed in fear again.

My wings released, instantly flopping about like before.

"NO!" I screamed into the vastness, trying to swallow me whole. I was tired of being a victim to my fear, a victim to everyone and everything. I wanted to be strong and courageous!

I imagined the wings at my back opening up and cupping the wind, burning my skin. I imagined them acting as strong as I wanted them to be. Just as the ground came into view, filling me with a certainty that screamed, "This is the end," I remembered Hildr's words.

"You are already dead,"

I cannot die because I do not live.

That thought was the missing link. That knowledge gave me strength.

My wings picked me up just in time for my fingers to drag across the tall grass. I flew over blue waters of crystal and peace with a burst of laughter I didn't even try to hide.

I flew about the sky in search of the fog, the kingdom of gold, and the cliff I had nose-dived off without thinking.

When I landed, I found Hildr with the biggest smile.

"Good job," she said, walking down the cliff, stopping short just in time to turn and ask me why I wasn't following behind her.

Quickly, I caught up with the woman who, in spite of her rage and strength, oozed grace and care.

"Next, you learn to fight." I couldn't help but become overly excited at her words. I loved training with Tyner. I had grown to crave the fight, the sweat, the way my skin burned with each hit I failed to block, with each hit I landed on him making my knuckles ache with relief.

I followed Hildr, trying to hide the excitement of fighting.

At the side of the cliff sat a path, a winding road carved from feet, walking it constantly over time.

"What is down here?" I asked as my excitement threatened to raise the pitch in my voice.

"Down here is where the Valkyrie train the mean for Ragnorak. By day, we fight; by night, we feast and drink joyfully." I could see my excitement mirrored on Hildr's face. She looked forward to the fight as any good Valkyrie would.

"Will I fight them or Valkyrie?" I asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

"You will be trained as the men are. You will also become fluent in weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, and mental strength. There is no room for fear in a fight, Frankie, and you have no reason to be fearful. I want that fear extinguished, tucked so deeply away that it will never threaten to make you second guess yourself again." I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief at her words.

No matter what this journey held for me, I knew I would never let another man like Tyner or anyone like him put their hands on me again. I was ready to kill, ready to release this rage that was gnawing at my already sore muscles. I was tired of playing victim, and from here on out, I wanted to be the warrior.

"Keep that mindset. It will serve you well." I stopped, staring at Hildr, trying to remember if I had spoken those words out loud for her to hear when they were meant to be kept for just myself.

"Don't worry. I can only access your thoughts when you allow it. I will show you how to turn that off when the time comes to teach you to control your magic. There is a caster on the grounds that will be beneficial in helping you learn your magic, but first, we fight." She smiled and pulled a thick limb back that revealed a field full of men and Valkyrie in battle, sparring with weapons, sparring by hand. An excitement flooded me, and I just wanted to jump in the middle of it all and start swinging like I was in a mosh pit.

"In time, sister. In time. First, you must meet the two people who will become your best friends and most significant assets in your learning while in Valhalla." Hildr smiled, taking me by the arm like a giddy teen as she dragged me through the sweat and roughage.

Again, excitement flooded me, even as she dragged me in the direction of a man and woman who both looked like they could snap me like a twig.

Whatever happens to me next, I will never be a victim again, and knowing that lifted some weight from my soul, made me lighter and brighter, and brought me so much peace.