Ragnarok Unwound: The Awakening

Chapter 20

Val glanced over at Ne-Ne with quiet curiousity. She was dressed in the Egyptian style ready for war. She wore a colorful leather breast plate with Isis' knot on the front. As well as a golden collar necklace with the same symbol on a the blue stone at the center. She was armed with a Khopesh.

"I thought you were a magician." Val stated, Ne-Ne smiled and pulled the wand that was attached to her side.

"Mo- err... Isis, needed some one proficient." Ne-Ne caught herself.

"She needed the perfect game piece?" Val taunted, knowing very well that the girl had been made to be a weapon. Ne-Ne was obviously confused by the statement.

"Don't be offended, my father loved me and still raised me as a weapon. Though I imagine Isis did not love you in the same way, seeing as were nothing more than some mortal orphan." Val smirked at the statement. Children born of or raised by Gods and goddesses seemed to always make the mistake of getting attached. None of them saw that they could be greater than or equal to their parents. They could become a Hercules.

"Yeah just keep telling yourself that, daddy issues." Ne-Ne muttered.

Val stiffened at that and held back the urge to spear the girl's horse. She almost felt sorry that they were so oblivious to the great Fate that awaited them. At the same time she felt no shame or guilt in seeking out what she, by blood, deserved. Her eyes locked on the trail ahead of them. It was by strange Fate that the Well's location was near the ambush area.

Val remembered seeing the head of Mímír. It was once when she was very young. His raspy whisper still rang in her ears. She remembered his glassy, dead eyes roll to her direction as his dry lips whispered into her father's ear.

It was Fate that she would find that paper of the Well. The dream that followed it seemed almost prophetic in nature.

She walked amongst bodies she did not recognize, all lying dead at her feet. About two hundred yards from her was the Well. Val remembered walking forward towards the Well, her body oddly numb and heavy. As she walked towards it, she saw the Tributes frozen like statues, terror on their faces. Val finally made it to the Well, tired for some odd reason, and her vision was as if she was looking through a tube with a sheer veil on the end. Her breath was labored and her body ached with dull pain. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was off balanced. She grabbed the stone wall and peered down into the waters. As she did so she saw a haunting figure deep below the surface. Val felt a haunting chill up her spine as she reached out. She wasn't sure if she was reaching for the water or the person. But she could feel her heart beating hard in her chest. The wind blew crimson dots in her direction though she wasn't sure from where. On it came a familiar dry rasp of a whisper.

"Wisdom has its price...."

Val sat up in her saddle and scowled. Hadn't she payed the price already? She had given her life to her father, doing every dirty and pathetic deed he ever asked. She slew great beasts and dedicated every part of herself to receiving her birthright. She found her gaze slowly slipping over to Stephan. He wouldn't even look at her. She felt an odd amount of guilt take her over. It was obvious by the location of the papers that she was supposed to choose. She knew that if things had continued from last night she would have given up her quest to protect him. For a moment she panicked believing the gods had punished him for her actions. For a moment she believed she was wrong. For a moment she wanted nothing more than for him to be safe and for them to be together. For a moment she allowed herself to be indulged in idiotic weakness. She found herself wondering why something like this could hurt so much. She shook her head, ridding herself of the thoughts. She couldn't risk second guessing, not when she was so close.