Hidden World

Chapter XXV - Death's Cold Embrace

The river is a part of nature. It carries with it the flow of time and in different cultures has different meanings. One in some can symbolize fertility, life, a rite of passage and spirituality, in some can mean freedom. Its cold and sweet water emerges from the earth and loses itself either into a bigger mass of water. Is a border between worlds, a beginning, and an end. A power of nature that when calm, can bring prosperity to dry lands like the Nile in Egypt, or it can bring destruction when they overfill and bring floods destroying everything in its way.

Rose was sitting on a small wood dock, her legs dangling over the edge over the flowing water. It was quiet around, only the sound of the water accompanying her thoughts. She could remember it all. Every second of pain, the dagger piercing her heart and Mal's saddened eyes right before her world turned into darkness. She did not know what happened after but she woke up in a lavender field that seemed endless.

She followed the only sound she could hear and that was how she ended up in this place. On the other side of here there was a thick forest covered in mist, but she did not know were she was.

As time passed, she realized that the sun never seemed to rise or set, the light being the same. Maybe she was there for a few minute, or hours, she could not tell.

She was no longer in pain, and she was not scared. She felt safe, free, she dared to think that she was happy but that was not the truth. She was at peace, but she wanted to trade that. She wanted to go back but she did not know how.

She got up and walked back towards the field, leaving the river behind her. She smiled when the scent of lavender filled her lungs but her smile soon failed as she ended up looking at the flowy water.

She tried to walk away one more time but the same outcome. She was walking in circles but that made her only realize that she was not on Earth. She was somewhere else, where magic played tricks on one's mind.

She turned and tried to leave once more, this time running, but the outcome was the same. She kept on running and each time her hope faded more and more.

After countless attempts she was feeling tired, out of breath and gave up trying. She decided to rest back at her spot but this time something was different. She was no longer alone.

A tall woman with long blonde hair was standing on the dock, looking at her. Rose stopped and stared at her. The woman's hair had two strands of hair braided, starting at her forehead and uniting at the back of her head like a crown. She was wearing a long black dress with no sleeves and on her shoulders draped was a thick piece of gray fur, held together in front with a golden chain.

"Took you long." The woman said and gestured Rose to come closer, and the latter could not help but listen.

Rose took a deep breath and with cautious steps approached the woman, being amazed by how tall the other was.

"Watching you run around like crazy made me only think that you will end up in Niflheim instead of where you are supposed to." She said and shook her head before sitting on the edge of the dock, waiting for Rose to follow.

Rose sat down next to her and looked at the water but time to time peeked at the woman. "Who are you?"

The woman let down a laugh that gave Rose chills, but she did not let anything betray that. "Hel..." the woman said and looked at Rose. "... I am Fenrir's sister." She added as she looked back at the water. "I did not want to come here but I pulled the shorter stick back in Oether."

"Sounds like you are enjoying this more than I do."

"Not at all. The urge to push you in this river and let you be lost forever in this world is growing with every second."