Alright, I don't normally write for AMG, but this was
something I thought of a few days ago.
Disclaimer: I do not own the AMG characters, and the Elder
Eddas belong to Snorri Sturlison, may he rest in peace. Ek
vitki rist runaar.
Halls of Glory
"Does he know?"
Belldandy stopped her knitting, and sighed. "No, he
doesn't."
Urd lowered herself to the chair next to her with more
propriety than she normally would. "Bel-chan, he has a
right to know."
Setting down the needles, the goddess looked at her
older sister. "I know, Oneesan. But Father told me not to
tell anyone. That sort of thing was not meant for a mortal
to know."
"Dammit, Bel, if he knew, maybe he could avoid it!"
Urd's hand slammed down on the table, causing the needles,
and a small cup of tea, to jump.
Two calm eyes gazed at Urd, calming her down quickly.
"That's exactly why I can't tell him," she whispered, her
voice filled with infinite sadness, and a hint of something
that her older sister couldn't identify.
"I don't understand. You love him, right? Why don't
you want to spend as much time with him as possible?" The
confusion, and concern, shone on Urd's face like a beacon.
Belldandy picked up her knitting, and began to once
more lose herself in the simple rhythm of the needles
clicking together. "Because," she insisted. "Kami-sama told
me not to."
***********************************************
Mornings at the Morisato shrine were usually quiet
affairs. Keiichi was in class, Skuld was closeted away in
her lab, and Urd was usually quite hung over. It was at
this time, one day, that Belldandy decided to do something
she had been denying herself for far too long. Strapping on
her apron like a valkyrie girded for battle, she set about
making a very small batch of the richest, most sinfully
chocolate brownies she could.
The first bite was ecstasy, as the cocoa exploded on
her taste buds. She smiled a self-indulgent smile, and
secretly wished she could do this more often. The reason
she didn't just seemed so far away, with the brownies so
near.
>CRASH!<
"Urd, watch where you're going! You just made me drop
my latest invention!"
"Unhh, shaddap, squirt. Gotta headache."
"You'll have an even bigger headache when I'm
through!"
The Goddess of the Present glanced down. Two brownies
left. Sighing, she took the plate out into the hall. As
expected, her two sisters were currently engaged in the
day's first brawl, and it wasn't a pretty sight. "Ahem."
The quarreling goddesses froze, and glanced at their
sister. Then the tantalizing aroma of her best brownies
reached them, and they both started drooling. "Uh," said
Urd, "sorry, Imoutochan."
Skuld reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "Um,
yeah, sorry, Oneesan."
Belldandy just smiled broadly, and held the plate out
ever so slightly. Taking their cue, the other two reached
out and claimed a brownie. Taking a bite each, their eyes
rolled to the back of their heads, and they slowly slumped
to the ground, leaning against each other, broad smiles on
their faces.
A few minutes later, after Urd and Skuld had returned
from chocolate heaven, they sat around the low table in the
den. "So," began Urd, "what's taking so long between you
and Keiichi? You two haven't even set a date, yet!"
"So what," Skuld piped up. "S'not like they're
_really_ gonna get married, they're just boyfriend and
girlfriend - right, Oneesan?"
Belldandy just smiled.
"Tadaimas!" came the call from the front. They glanced
up, and saw Keiichi coming in the door. "The professor in
my last class didn't show up, so the class got cancelled."
Urd quickly wiped the crumbs from the corner of her
mouth, and looked at him. One eyebrow twitched, briefly, but she got
control of herself. "Which class was it?' she asked with exaggerated
nonchalance.
"Um, Trig," he answered.
"Oh, um, okay. Well, used a lot of energy this morning, gotta go
recharge, ta-ta." She spun, and sauntered to her room, and slammed the
door behind her.
"What was that about, Bel-chan?" asked Keiichi.
"I don't know," piped in Skuld, "but she hasn't used any energy
this morning. Why does she need to recharge?"
Belldandy tried to frown, but wasn't very successful. She reached
behind her back, and cheated a little bit, using a tiny bit of her
magic to pull out a plate of brownies identical to the ones she and her
sisters had eaten earlier. She felt a little guilty about doing that,
but needed the diversion. "Here, I had another plate ready. You two
start in on these, and I'll check up on Urd."
Skuld glanced up for a second at the surge of magic, but greedily
dove into the pile of brownies. Keiichi never noticed, just smiled at
Belldandy, saying, "Thank you. I hope she's okay."
"I'll be right back," she answered. She set the plate down, and
walked back to her older sister's room. She gently knocked, and waited.
"Come in," muttered Urd. Belldandy opened the door, and saw that
her sister had already polished off half a bottle of sake. She was
swigging directly from the bottle, and didn't look very happy.
"Oneesan? What's wrong?" asked the younger goddess.
Urd looked up at her incredulously. "Whash wrong? You know damn
good an' well whash wrong! Itsh tonight!" she growled, then took
another swig of sake.
"Yes, it is," replied Belldandy, trying hard not to let any
sadness show on her face, and failing miserably.
"Then what're you gonna do about it?"
"I can do nothing. It is Kami-sama's will."
Urd slammed down the bottle of sake. "Dammit, Bel-chan, how can
you just sit there an' not try to do anything about it?"
"Because no matter what I would try to do, something else would
happen. Besides, Keiichi and I are going out to dinner tonight," said
her sister.
"No, don't! That's probably when it's gonna happen! Stay here!"
Belldandy sighed "Urd, you cut the thread yourself, before I ever
met him. You, of all people, know what is cut cannot be respun."
"But... but... Imoutochan, I'm sorry. But I am gonna sit here for
the rest of the day, and get gloriously, incredibly drunk."
The younger goddess stepped closer, and enfolded her older sister
in a surprisingly fierce hug. "I'm scared, too, Oneesan, but I have to
be strong. I have to believe that Father has a reason." She sniffed
back tears, and the sisters clung to each other for several more
minutes. They finally released each other, and Belldandy stepped back.
"I'd better go back out there. Skuld and Keiichi are probably wondering
what happened to me."
Urd nodded. "But, hey, you've been crying, and you probably...
wait, how come you don't look like you're crying?"
Belldandy just smiled a half-smile. "I don't know. I just do.
Please, trust in Father, Oneechan." She turned, and left the room.
Hefting the sake, Urd muttered, "I guess I do. But I also trust
the alcohol. In vino veritas." With that she upended the bottle.
***********************************************
Keiichi and Belldandy walked home from the movie laughing, and
holding each other close. "That was a wonderful movie, Keiichi. Thank
you."
"Um, hehe, you're welcome, Bel-chan. I, uh..."
Keiichi then felt something poke in his back. "Don't move, shrimp,
or I'll carve your spine out," came a gruff voice. He froze, and
glanced at Belldandy. "Good," said the voice, "now gimme everything
you got!"
Belldandy watched, unable to do anything by Kami-sama's will, as
Keiichi gave the mugger all of his money. She then recoiled, as the man
with the knife turned his leering gaze on her. "Hey, kid," said the
thug, "you ain't given me everything, yet! This bitch is real pretty!"
Keiichi spun, and faced the man. He quailed for half a second when
he saw how large the man was, but his love for the goddess steeled his
heart. "Don't touch her!" he yelled.
The mugger backhanded him, sending the college student skidding
across the sidewalk. "Shaddup, punk. I'm gonna get me some, right here
and now!" He reached for Belldandy, and roughly wrenched at her
clothes.
Belldandy wanted to do something, call on any of her powers, but
found she could not. For some reason, Kami-sama was suppressing her
powers. She watched in horror as the thug's knife traced a line between
her breasts, then deftly sliced the straps of her bra. "N-no!" she
stammered out.
"BASTARD!" shouted Keiichi, as he charged the mugger. He was met
with the mugger's other's hand - the one that held the knife. A flash
of cold agony was swiftly replaced by a suffusing warmth, and
everything began to grow gray. With the last of his strength, he
struggled at the thug, swinging ineffectually at his foe. "B-bel...
dan..dy..." he gasped, then slid backwards, off the knife.
In a heartbeat, all of the goddess's powers returned. A flash of
her facial tattoos, and she was in her heavenly garb. The look of wrath
on her divine face terrified the mugger, who promptly fainted. She then
gently gathered her love in her arms, and looked into his eyes. It was
too late, nothing she could do would save him in time. Three tears
fell, hitting his face, and she gently closed his eyes.
A hand on her shoulder caused her to turn. "It's okay, sister. We
are here." Behind her, a tall, Nordic woman in armor stood, with eight
others behind her. All rode winged horses save the leader, who had
dismounted.
"You mean...?" she began.
"He died in battle defending that which he held dear, and his last
word was to call out to one of the Norse Goddesses. We, the Valkyries,
have come for him," was her answer.
Belldandy held Keiichi's body tight, and released him. She smiled,
because, at last, she understood what Kami-sama had intended.
***********************************************
Keiichi blinked, and opened his eyes. He was in an immense hall,
with at least five hundred doors, and thousands upon thousands of Norse
Warriors. he stood at the entranceway, next to a tall, old man, with
one eye, and a thick gray beard. "Well, boy, hail and well met," said
the old man, with a twinkle in his remaining eye.
"W-where am I?" he asked.
"Why, boy, you are in Valhalla, the Hall of heroes! Here, all
those dedicated to the Norse Gods who die in battle are brought, to
eventually fight in the great battle of Ragnarok." The old man leaned
over to him. "But, you are not here to fight," he added.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
The old man led him in to the hall, and over to another doorway.
"You were brought here for another reason. It lies through there."
Keiichi looked up at the old man, and thought he recognized him
for half a second. Then, taking a deep breath, he stepped through the
doorway.
He found himself on a green field, on top of a small hillock. He
looked behind him, and saw only a crude stone arch, and more grassland.
He then looked ahead, and saw his own shrine, on top of a gentle hill.
Confused, he walked up to the shrine, and entered the front door.
"Oh, Keiichi, welcome home," said Skuld, who sat there at what
looked like an archaic spinning wheel, idly spinning out dozens, if not
hundreds of threads.
Belldandy looked up, and set down the threads she measured, and
enfolded him in a warm hug. "Welcome, Keiichi-chan. We've been waiting
for you."
The snip of scissors stopped briefly, and Urd looked up. "Yeah,
Keiichi-kun, welcome home!" She then went back to cutting the threads,
but would occasionally tie two together.
Keiichi could only look at his Belldandy, and smile. He didn't
quite understand everything, but he knew that he could now spend the
rest of eternity with his true love.
=====
- Valandar the Red of the Empty Tankard
Captain of the Guard of the Barony of the Far Woods
Empire of the Iron Mountains
and Ruler of the Spammish Main
http://members.tripod.com/~Valandar/fanfic.html
http://members.tripod.com/~Valandar/ran40k.html
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