A Better World (Record of Ragnarok x Reader)

Chapter 7 - To create, not destroy

"I just recalled, [Name], we do not know much about you other than your name, that is."

Raiden had been the one to voice that question. She did like the man, but not as of the moment. Years of training as an assassin made the queen not tense when all eyes turned to look at her, studying her.

She gave them an easy smile. "To be fair, I don't know much about you either, other than your names, that is." Jack returned her smile, his eyes conveying a flicker of. She kept secrets from them. He could see it in her colours.

"I see, my fair lady. Does that mean you'll share your story if we share ours?"

He was observing her very carefully now. Her body was relaxed and her smile faint, but nonetheless bright. It did not reflect the emotions inside her, as if she had trained her mind and body to be two separate entities. [Name] saw the way he eyed her up and down, unbelieving of her words. He was not convinced. A skilled eye, huh? Perfect, for a killer. She knew exactly what to do.

"I don't mind sharing mine, but it might be boring. You see, I lived quite an ordinary life for someone from my time. My name has no importance in the world because of that. I would say that the only remarkable thing about me is my interest in music, the piano being my favourite."

The best lies are hidden in plain truth. Indeed, her name did not bear any importance in this world, after all, she wasn't from it. And she used to play the piano - oh, she'd loved to play, loved music, the way music could break and heal and make everything seem possible and heroic. The suspicion in his eyes faded slightly, but there was still some lingering.

"Why would Lady Brunhilde ask you to participate in Ragnarok with your lack of experience as a fighter? That is, despite being King Solomon's descendant." Jack asked.

The others, now seeming to realize the same thing, watched her with wary. The cheerful din that had previously draped the dining room disappeared with the sound of cutlery no longer scraping against plates, and glasses remaining untouched on the table, rendering the fighters in complete silence as they awaited her answer. But the seasoned assassin in her didn't allow her smile to falter under all the pressure. There was no place for mistakes. Not a single one.

Those cost you your life.

"Why would she ask a scientist and an astronomer to fight? Why would she ask the first human to ever walk the earth to participate in the Ragnarok? I'll tell you why. Because we're more than our stories let on. The valkyrie had decided me to be a good enough opponent against a god. And even to this day I cannot tell you exactly what she sees in me, but with humanity on the line I am sure that she has considered her options thoroughly."

Her brows furrowed as she snorted. "And what is this talk about me not being a skilled fighter? For your information I..." [Name] let the words expertly trail off, pretending to contemplate whether or not she should share this part of her life with them.

Taking a deep breath, she counted to three. A faint, vacant smile broadened on her face with each second. "My father...he taught me how to fight. How to protect myself. How to protect others."

She had not told a single lie. Vivid memories of a different time played in her head. Halcyon days in which she was simply a princess playing in the gardens, and sometimes trained under her father when he was not preoccupied with his duties as the king's nephew and the next ruler in line to the throne. However, to claim that her father was the reason behind her current skills and not Arobynn Hamel simply be an overt lie.

"He was a great and honest man," she went on, her voice carrying the slightest of quivers. And there it was. A different type of quiet - the mournful one. Nothing brought as much silence as mentioning the dead.