Goddess of Light

Chapter 66 ~ Hel on Earth

"Look at this place. It's beautiful." Our father murmured as he looked out over the vast ocean mysteriously.

He was dressed just as a regular person on Earth would. He had traded his golden eyepatch for a small patch of leather held on his face by string. He had completely lost all sense of his old regal self. If I had seen him dressed a king, I may not have noticed how frail and old he looked, but now he was reduced to a fraction of the man he appeared to be.

"Father, it's us." I informed him calmly to try and grasp his attention as he continued to have a detachment from the scene.

Loki then appeared by my side; his guilt extraordinarily obvious. He was definitely expecting to be punished for his actions. To be honest, so was I. This was probably the only instance when I would enjoy watching Loki receive a severe slap on the wrist.

As soon as our father saw Loki creep into his eye-line, he finally addressed us. "My children. I've been waiting for you. Theia, it has taken you quite some time to find me." He muttered as he acknowledged us.

I chuckled a little at his remark. I still couldn't believe that he was right in front of me this whole time and I simply had no clue. "You have been here this entire time." I say with a smile.

"My grandchildren are delightful. You have done a fine job with them. Better than me." He chuckled lightly as he fondly remembered his time with Aurora and James. They had no idea how close they actually were to him.

I truly hoped that Loki and Thor would be able to convince our father to return to Asgard with them and I would simply walk home to the people I love most in the universe. But had a bad feeling that that wasn't going to be the case. I started to become pained with emotion as I remembered the fact that I had just left my children to pursue this ambiguous mission. I just wanted to see their precious faces again.

My eyes glistened with tears as I smiled through my pain. "I can't believe how you were right under my nose, and I had no idea!" I tried to laugh while a tear rolled down my cheek.

"Well, your brother's magic prevented you from recognising me, so I used it to my advantage." He explained with a soft and relaxed expression.

Thor and Loki both seemed rather jealous that Father had spent time with their nephews and they had never even met them. They would soon though, I'm sure.

"We've come to take you home." Thor explained to Odin who had returned to his absent expression and gazing at the cliff edge.

"Home, yes. Your mother, she calls me. Do you hear it?" He stated wistfully causing Thor to doubt the release of Loki's magic; sure that our father wasn't all there.

"Loki, lift your magic." He directed Loki with a warning expression, but Loki shook his head, claiming he had little to do with our father's current state.

"Took me quite a while to break free from your spell. Frigga would have been proud." He chuckled with a hint of pride of his own as he glanced to his son, who was already baffled by the lack of shouting and yelling. "Come and sit with me. I don't have much time." He urged as he directed us towards a small boulder behind us.

I looked to Loki as we approached the rock and he looked completely blindsided by the pride in his father's voice. I gave him an encouraging smile as the three children of Odin sat down, either side of him with Thor helping lower his frail frame down.

"I know that we failed you. But we can make this right." Thor encouraged as Father sighed and shifted on the rock.

"I failed you." He muttered sadly.

"Don't say that, Father. You have done no such thing." I tried to reassure him as he batted my attempts down with his hand.

"It is upon us. Ragnarok." He explained and Loki shifted beside me, seeming worried. I had a sense that whatever this 'Ragnarok' was it was probably something to do with what Sinikka and Heimdall were preparing for.