Tyr x Reader

Twenty-Four

Your hands trembled as you finally managed to push a broken bone into the keyhole of the lock that kept your cage closed.

Even though the Allfather was known for his cutely he was also wise enough to keep you alive until he had want he wanted. That included meals and water.

He wasn't foolish enough to provide a knife or something similar but the meat had bones in it.

You had only little experience with such things as a prison break but desperate times called for desperate measures. So you had used a small stone to shake the bone until it was pointy and now tried to pick the lock with it.

It was but childish hope that this simple idea would work.

With bated breath you let the bone wiggle inside the lock for a moment before it caught onto something that felt like resistance. You pushed, perhaps a little too harsh.

The sound of the bone cracking send a wave of goosebumps over your body. If it would break entirely you would be stuck with no hope at all.

Sure, the bone was a slim chance. But at least it was one.

More care was needed. Your life depended on it. Quite literally.

Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath to gather your thoughts. It wasn't the time to be mindless nor to act irrational. You needed a steady mind.

And an even steadier hand.

"Calm yourself.", you whispered to yourself as you opened your eyes again. "Tyr taught you how to. Breath in. Breathe out."

Your gaze wandered upwards to the ceiling of the cave. A raven sat high up, hidden in a small dent. It seemed to not be a normal bird but rather one that had lost its mind to the Allfather.

The eyes were milky and gave off the impression that it was blind. A slight green shimmer surrounded it. However, despite the clear signs there seemed to be a hint of the birds brain left.

Whenever something caught the dim candlelight and formed reflections the raven would react to the shimmer and be distracted for a moment.

It wasn't long, merely a few seconds. But if you could make it out of the cage it would be enough time to make it somewhere that far away from the ravens gaze.

"Perhaps not as flawless as you want it to be...", you mumbled with a sarcastic smile on your face and dared to move the bone inside the lock once more.

Even though this was the first time you were in the Allfathers direct presence it was as clear as dawn that he held himself in a certain way.

He was very confident, probably even a little too much. It was his greatest ability yet a flaw. Every single one of his plans was good, great even. He had managed to trick you into believing him with a simple lie.

But once one of his plans failed everything came crumbling down and he would fall into madness.

Violence, that was what you feared about him. After all, he had torn your skin to shreds only to reveal the true form that you simply could have told him about.

Sweat started to shimmer on your forehead. Fear crawled up your throat as the bone cracked inside the lock once more.

With a silent curse on your lips you squeezed your eyes shut and tried to feel for the resistance that needed to be broken.

As you twisted and turned the splintering tool, it locked into something.

A shiver of excitement chased through your body. The beating of your heart pressed against your bones. It felt like it was about to burst through your rib cage.

With the utmost care, you dared to put more pressure on the spot. Something clicked. The first resistance broke.

The splintered tip of the bone slipped deeper into the lock. It wasn't much anymore. All that was needed was a bit of force.

And even more luck.

Impatience made your fingers tremble.

So you did what your irritated mind deemed appropriate. With all the force you managed to gather you put pressure into the palm of your hand and pushed.

And in that very moment all of your prayers were heard.

Not a single crack appeared inside the bone. Instead, it pushed through everything. With a clicking sound, the lock popped open.

Exhausted by the stress and pain that still raged inside your body, you failed to move away quickly enough as the cage door swung open slowly.

Like a sack of wet sand, you sunk to the ground. Dust and small stones got stuck to your sweaty skin. A shaky breath of exhaustion escaped your cracked lips.

Perhaps it was just the constant state of suffering you were in but in that moment your mind failed to soothe in the feeling of sweet, sweet relief. No light feeling inside your chest. No newly found fire that got you back to your feet.

The suffering just continued.

Maybe the Allfather had not joked when he had said that he put a curse on you. At first it seemed that his sheer presence was equal to one. But the way you felt truly made you consider the possibility.

"Since when..?", you asked yourself as you reached out for a larger stone to pull yourself up. "Odin... does not curse... I always thought only Freya knows how to..."

As soon as the palm of your hand touched the rough surface of the rock you could feel the last bit of strength fade from your limbs.

Your mind suddenly went blank and for a brief second it felt like your eyes were about to pop out of your skull.

You barely managed to keep down the strange taste of acid that was about to fill your mouth. It tickled on your tongue, but more like a threat.

With parted lips you gasped for air. Everything was so exhausting.

What kind of curse was able to suck the will to live from one's existence?

However, despite all that, you wished to go on. You needed to go on.

"Tyr...", you whispered. "Wait for me... Just a little longer..."

Above your head the raven flew by.