Storm of Death

Chapter 17

The days went on with sadness. It became a habit of hers to look out of a window when she gets the chance. She would stare into nowhere for a long time, letting the time pass, drowning herself.

She refused to return to Asgard no matter how hard the queen and her sons begged her to go, said it was better for her to be with them than be alone in her empty kingdom. That resulted into days where the queen or her sons would visit her regularly, keeping her company, bringing her food that she refused to eat, then leaving before dusk.

It went into a cycle.

After seeing the queen's memories of her mother, Aeria couldn't decide whether it filled a hole in her heart or made it ache more. Her mother knew her fate, she knew something was going to happen to her so she made the queen of Asgard promise her.

She couldn't believe it. Her mother had a gut feeling about her daughter falling in love with the princess of Asgard. She supposed her gut feeling always being right came from her mother.

Some nights, Loki would visit her and she would refuse to talk to him. Sometimes, they all come to visit her, the three of them and it just irritates her.

"I want Hela." she said once to Frigga when she forcefully entered the witch's old quarters despite her sons' attempt to stop her. She had come to scold Aeria but the brunette beat her to it by saying she wanted Hela and not anyone else.

It was clear that the only person she was going to talk to was Hela. She didn't want anyone else.

After that day, they stopped visiting her.

She didn't know whether to be glad or sad.

Hell, she didn't know how to feel.

Just like any other day, Aeria stared outside her window, into the empty and quiet kingdom. She hated the quiet. She would hear the wind howl sometimes but after that just comes the silence.

She felt numb. Her hair was a mess, tangled maybe. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was pale, also thinner. Her dark eyes darted on the emerald around her finger.

She screwed her eyes shut. She wished Hela was there, hugging her, whispering sweet things only they know into her ear, kissing her shoulders.

She could only wish.

The next dawn arrived, Aeria found herself sitting on the floor, her head against the wall with eyes screwed shut. She heard the old, wooden door creak open and she could only release a sigh.

"When will you stop?" she said, clealy tired of all the pestering Thor and Loki and their mother has been doing. She's grown tired of them and she was so close into throwing them out the window.

But unlike any other days, this time, no one answered her almost immediately. There was a crash of metal and that made her snap her eyes open. She pulled herself up immediately, flexing her fingers as she stared at the intruder.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the guest.

The guest that was tall and slender, with long black hair and emerald eyes, her skin pale. The intruder was none other than the Goddess of Death with blood that painted her pale skin. Her sword on the dusty floor covered with blood.

"Hela." Aeria gasped, running towards the goddess, launching herself to her with a cry escaping her mouth. Hela caught her, wrapping her strong arms around her with no intention of letting go.

"Oh, how I've missed you, darling." Hela buried her nose into Aeria's messy hair, pressing a kiss on her head. She pulled away briefly, putting her hand on Aeria's chin, pulling her face close just right for their lips to brush against each other.