Ragnarök

1 | The Monarch

"We must not make a scarecrow of the law, setting it up to fear the birds of prey, and let it keep one shape till custom make it their perch and not their terror."

Angelo in Measure for Measure (Act II, Scene I)

❆

It is so weird how both Valhalla and Fólkvangr are just a few feet apart, and yet they look like two completely different worlds.

Princess Snow King finds it surreal as she takes her first steps out of the old rock elevator and into the Underground. For one thing, all she has seen in her entire life has been radiated by the Sun and has smelled fresh of dew and snow. But the underground smells pungent, confined and the ambiance makes clear that the Sun has never blessed even a spot of this place. And she knows for a fact that it's true. It was a part of her Grade 1 Social Studies.

By her side stands her sister, the Queen Makayla King: tall at 5'8'' even without the simple two-inch crystal heeled shoes she's wearing. And by the pose in which she stands; with her spine erect and chin up, she carries her attitude higher than her height.

Snow glances at her sister's pose from the peripheral of her eyes and straightens her own spine a bit, getting frigid and overcompensating for her 5'5''. Makayla silently elbows the little brat without anyone noticing it, causing Snow to giggle softly.

The sisters are waiting for all paths to be cleared. It is to be a quick visit and an undisturbed one at that. The Princess has come of age and she's come to find her suitor. The whole of underground has been buzzing all day. Snow has been too, almost her entire life. But not just for finding a suitor.

Snow has been waiting all her life to meet a man. She has seen the male species in pictures, in dummies they use in schools and she has heard her friends talk about them. But this is the first time in twenty-one years that she's going to see said being. The proverb 'curiosity killed the cat' has nothing on the Princess now.

She often finds herself wondering why it has to be this way, though. Yes, she has heard legends about men being absolutely cruel and disastrous when the world was created. But how can she believe anything without enough proof? Snow has always been skeptical about history. Science is more firm, more believable.

But she knows better than to voice that out, especially to the Queen. She has always told Snow - both, before and after she was crowned - that the present is always based on the past and the past is recorded for a reason. The women of Valhalla must always under all circumstances absolutely believe in their First All-Mother who made it possible for the women to lead this peaceful life.

The First All-Mother who also made the rules to dump an entire gender in an underground hellhole with no chance to redeem themselves, Snow thinks.

But then, she corrects her thoughts. If not redeem, they at least get a shot at trying to make another life. And she is a key out of many for that. The one she picks as a suitor can get a shot at a better life.

Snow is pulled out of her thoughts by the soft purring of the white and black big-cat at the end of the silver leash in her sister's extended arm. Laufey, the snow leopard her sister's late lover gifted her with after a year long expedition in the cold outdoors. Snow reaches down and pets the cat, almost compensating for her own nervousness by trying to make the already at ease feline more at ease. Snow looks up at the Queen, guilt stirring in her gut as she swallows her thoughts down.

"Listen, the Valkyries will take us past the barricades in a few minutes. There will be a sea of men on the other side trying to get your attention. You are not to fall for any of their stupid actions. We're just going past them for a minute. The real selection will happen when we get to the other side and go to the Record Room to look for their records. I know it's your first time Underground and it will be a little overwhelming to see so many Vikes at once. But I'm here by your side, you'll be safe. We'll pick a good suitor for you to have Snow, Jr. with, alright?"