Daughter of Lies - The Asgardian Avenger

Twenty One

Kathryn's POV

I'm almost out of breath when I see it. My mother's sword with the blade stuck halfway into the ground, a few necklaces hanging from the top. Her crown sits at the bottom of the softly glowing blade, most likely placed there by Frigga. The memorial stands in front of a large painting of my mother; not a solemn, expressionless one, but one with her head tilted back in laughter. She looks like me in every way, except her bright blue eyes. In the portrait my mother is wearing what must have been a beautiful shining blue gown, with a sapphire and silver tiara in her cascading golden hair.

I always loved the painting as a girl because it didn't show my mother in a depressing light but in a beautiful glow that allowed me to almost hear her light laughter just like my father painted in my mind as a child. I start to get lost in the amazing painting and my tears when Sebastian touches my shoulder.

"Is that her?" he asks quietly, unsure of my emotions.

I wipe a tear away from my eye. "Katie Laufeyson in all her shining glory."

"You look just like her," he whispers to me, rubbing my back with one hand.

"Thanks," I reply. It was always the highest compliment to me to hear that my looks even resembled hers slightly; my mother was a goddess, both facially and physically.

I drop to one knee in traditional fashion, smiling to myself as Sebastian copies me awkwardly. How can everything he does be so adorable yet sexy?

"Hello, Mother," I whisper to the painting. Somehow I can feel Heimdall's confirmation that she hears me in my head. "I've got news. I found Father. He was on earth, back in the claws of the Tesseract. Luckily on earth, there was a man. A strong man with a face like a masculine angel's."

I can hear Sebastian snort at my comparison.

"He's also got a sense of humor, obviously. His name is Sebastian, and he saved Father. Mother, while I was on earth, I fell in love. Not like normal people; who fall in love with one person. I fell in love with two. Just like you did, I guess."

Little blue lights flicker around the shrine, letting me know that Heimdall is relaying the message to my mother in Valhalla.

"Quickly I found that I didn't really like the first guy." I cringe at the Midgardian term but continue. My mother was from Midgard. "Luckily he was perfect for Janey. I found that there was something more special for me with Sebastian, and he saw the same in me. Somehow, we ended up back here as Allmother and Allfather. Of course, we couldn't exactly do that without being properly tied together."

I can almost feel Sebastian's attempts at keeping in his laughter at my phrasing shake the ground.

"I'm engaged, Mom. We wanted you to be the first to know," I finally state. The lights begin to stir quickly.

"That makes me the second then," my father's silky voice chimes in. Sebastian and I both flip around to see him behind us. He runs his hand through his short black hair. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," I reply, jumping up to embrace him. He kisses my cheek.

Sebastian clears his throat. "Hate to be a killjoy, but these little lights are doing some weird stuff..."

Sure enough, the orbs are swirling tumultuously. My father gapes at the sight, and I swear I can see tears in his eyes.

"What in the Nine Realms..." I mutter in complete and utter shock amd confusion. The lights begin to solidify into a human shape.

"In all my days I'd never thought I'd see this," Sebastian exclaims.

I can see tears streaming down my father's face now as he takes slow, disbelieving steps toward the glowing human figure. The light begins to dim, revealing a beautiful face that I thought I'd only see in pictures.