Hela-Loki's Daughter

Chapter Eighteen

HELA'S POINT OF VIEW
As soon as I had passed out, I was immediately tormented. Being in a new place meant new souls who sought to talk to me, being granted passage to Valhalla or Hel. Even in my sleep, souls were able to harass me, each one moaning and groaning about the lives they had left. Unlike on earth, all the souls that I saw now were distinctly Asgardian. Despite their pallor due to them being well, dead, the ghosts were glittering and wore traditional Asgardian dress. Some of the ones who haunted me in my sleep were even guards who had lost their lives defending the palace.

I was completely frozen in my dreams, unable to talk or even move. Despite this, souls continued to crowd me, begging desperately for my help. I felt like I was drowning, I felt terrified. So desperately I wanted to just wake up and escape them all. Anything was better than drowning in a sea of souls.

Hela, a voice called out to me from amongst the crowd, It's alright, don't be afraid.

Unable to move, I couldn't reply, much less see the ghost who called me. Rarely did a ghost call me by my name, especially if it were one I hadn't met before.

Hela, my love, the unfamiliar voice called out yet again.

I was certain I had never heard this voice before. It was obviously a woman, one who somehow knew me. I didn't know any more than that yet somehow the voice seemed oddly familiar. Perhaps I did know this ghost if only I could just see her, see her face, maybe I could recognize her...

I strained to lift my head above the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of the soul who continued to call out, Hela, don't be scared, my love, it's alright.  My heart yearned to see the owner of the voice, my own soul felt pulled to see her. I for some reason felt as though I needed to see her.

For a brief moment, the crowd seemed to dissipate and I could finally see her. To my disappointment, I couldn't recognize her. Despite her still looking so familiar to me, I couldn't place my finger on who she was.

She was a short woman, wearing a white nightdress that was drenched in blood from the waist down. Her hair flowed down her back in long golden tendrils and her dark brown eyes looked so incredibly tired. She was very pretty despite all the blood on her and the fact that she looked too thin to survive. As I studied her, the crowd of souls once more began to tug at me, pulls my arms and hair to try and get my attention. She slowly turned away as this occurred and in her profile, I saw a deflated baby bump as if she had just given birth. 

Before I could even attempt to piece this all together, the souls that haunted my dreams feverishly pulled at me from all angles. I couldn't scream or even try to escape their grip. And despite it all being a dream, I felt immense pain as they pulled at my hair, my legs, and my hands. I just wanted to cry out, HELP, but my mouth couldn't even open. Being pulled from all directions, I was truly being tortured in my sleep. 

Help, I thought as tears began to stream down my face, Please please help me.

LOKI'S POINT OF VIEW
As I inspected Hela's room, quietly pacing around, Hela began to weep within her sleep.

Quickly, I came to her side, wiping her tears away as I held her hand.

"Hela," I said softly, "Wake up, sweetheart, it's alright. I'm here, it's alright."

Gently I tried to wake her, rubbing her tiny hand with my thumb and kissing her forehead. As I did so, she only cried harder, choking on air as she slept.

"Hela," I said more firmly, sitting her up as I held her in my arms, "Wake up."

With a jolt, her eyes fluttered open through her tears and her breathing began to calm down. 

"It was just a dream," I assured her, brushing her hair out of her face, "Just a dream, you're alright now."

She shooked her head, continuing to cry as she pressed her face into my chest.

"It was real," she choked out, "I felt it, they-they pulled me and there was this woman and-and"

It happened again,  I thought to myself as I rubbed her back in an attempt to console her, She was being haunted by the souls of the dead. 

"I won't let them hurt you," I assured her, turning her head to look at me, "Tell me what happened, darling, perhaps I could help."

She sniffled, trying to regain composure as tears stained her ivory skin.

"I couldn't move, or even talk, I couldn't do anything," she explained, stammering on each word, "There were more than I had ever seen and they pulled at me, they pulled my hair and-and there was this woman who kept saying my name, over and over and over."

"She knew you?" I questioned softly. As the God of mischief, I did not know much about Valhalla or Hel or even spirits for that matter. But I knew that of the millions that died daily, it was a wonder that Hela had come across a soul that knew her. This undoubtedly alarmed me as it may have been an evil trick or someone trying to hurt her in some way.

"She did, I know she did," she said, "She was Asgardian, I could tell. She was short, had brown eyes, and-and really really long blonde hair..."

She paused, shaking at the thought of this spirit before she continued, "She was so skinny, her face looked so sunken in and she was so pale...she um wore a white nightgown but it was s-soaked in blood, her hands too were um bloody. And she seemed...pregnant."

A cold shiver shot through my spine, causing me to only hold Hela closer. 

Sigyn was haunting our daughter.