Ragnarök

2 | Reminisce

"A good heart, Kate, is the sun and the moon- or rather the sun and not the moon, for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly. If thou would have such a one, take me: and take me, take a soldier: take a soldier, take a king."

King Henry in Henry V (Act V, Scene II)

❆

"What's happening? Why are they all so excited?" Freddie asks, rubbing his grimy hands on his pants and scratching his neat beard, sitting down on the floor next to his younger friends.

Davis O'Conner, as he is known to the world, is just a couple inches shorter than Freddie's 6'2 but his bulk makes up for the lost inches. His dirty blond, short hair is a stark contrast to Freddie's slightly longer, curly crop of red hair. And then there's fourteen year old Jed. Jed's much younger than his age, small and petite. He's blond too and takes a lot after Freddie.

The difference makes clear that they aren't, in any way, related. That and the fact that their lineage, shown so well in their speech, is quite different. Davis comes from the white Americans, from the land that Valhalla was originally a part of - Chicago, as they called it - before it all got buried under ice and snow. Freddie, on the other hand, is of British ancestry and his family were originally refugees to Valhalla when the great ice age struck. Jed doesn't know of his heritage but has simply picked up on Freddie's accent over time.

Freddie looks up again and in front of him, towards the gates of their level, is a huge crowd of Vikes of all ages, shapes and sizes. The usually grey setting is now a little brighter and the air is a little lighter, laughter and excitement - both exotic to the underground - filling it. This usually only happens during mating season and although Freddie's dates may be a little off, he knows for sure that it'll take at least over a year for the season to roll about. Only the royals breed outside of the mating season.

"It's the royals." Dave confirms his suspicions, briefly glancing at Freddie before turning back to the blade sharpener. His knives have become blunt and he's had to trade in 7 points to rent the sharpener.

"The royals?!" Freddie asks, eyes going wide as he stands up, trying to look ahead of the crowd behind the barricades. "The last time they came down here was 5 years ago, Dave."

"Yes, I remember." Dave drones disinterestedly.

"Why are they here?" Freddie asks, mind made up to try and get ahead of the crowd, if only to catch a glimpse.

"Apparently Princess Snow is of age now." Jed pitches in, pushing his blond curls out of his eyes.

"Oh my God, Dave!" Freddie exclaims, grabbing hold of Dave's hand and pulling him up.

"What? Don't tell me you want to be a part of this gross matriarchy too."

"What? No! Of course not! That's precisely my point! If the Princess likes you, you can get out of here!" Freddie says, a slight desperation in his voice.

"And then what? What happens after I get shifted to one level up?"

"You get a better life there, Davis!" Freddie exclaims, taking him by the shoulders. "Don't you see? You can't be stuck here forever! And if the Princess likes you, maybe she'll even negotiate her way to get you the best of the best living quarters!"

"Fred-" But before Dave can protest, he's already being pulled through the crowd by the redhead until they finally, somehow, reach the front where the Valkyries are holding all the Vikes behind the barricades.

"The All-mother, Queen Makayla, and her sister, Princess Snow!" The announcer is heard through the numerous speakers.

"The Queen?!" Freddie breathes in surprise as the gates open and all heads turn to train on the women that walk in, causing an immediate shift in aura.