Prophecy of the Woods

The End

The life I had come to have after the final battle was....serene. Something out of a novel, if that was the best way to put it. The darkness had came, I had expended every last ounce of the legendary power bestowed upon me and I was left...totally human. The marks that had covered my wrists had faded into nothing, the icy tendrils that held my heart dissipated, and the flares of strength evaporated when I made the final move to seal away the dark forces that would've torn apart our galaxy. I suppose it was satisfying. But when it was said and done, I blacked out and woke up still 8 months pregnant. But I was alone, and I wasn't in New York City. I was in a tiny town somewhere in Scotland. Obviously no one knew where I had come from, but I managed to get my affairs in order. I still had my past life from New York. Bank accounts, social security...In the end though, I decided to change my name. Surname of Woods felt wrong. I so selected Astrid Bell. Simple. No meaning behind it whatsoever.

And before I knew it, I hit the nine month mark. I had a home birth and all went well. It all seemed quite mundane considering my past, but it also happened to be the most thrilling day. Almost out of irony and a dash of cynicism, I named the babe Percy. A strong healthy boy who, by a whole other level of mythological standards, would kill his grandfather. Which would happen to be Odin - of another myth set.

I didn't feel alone over all though. Part of me wanted to find Loki, and another part of me didn't. In the end he had said I needed to end the life of the child because I couldn't fight fully while pregnant. It made me weak and undeserving. A small double cross, a small argument, and a small near death experience. I wondered who was looking after me up there, making sure he didn't find me? Heimdall, I guessed. In my time here in this Scottish island, Thor had been the only one I contacted. He told me of Loki's mad search over the galaxy for me but I was under Asgardian witness protection until I was ready. Would I ever be, was the million dollar question.

Thor loved playing with Percy. He found the irony of his namesake extremely amusing and often commented Loki wouldn't have approved of a Greek name. To which I replied with, "I should've named him Zeus."

Thor laughed so hard I think he pissed himself.

The question of preparedness persisted for two whole years. Percy was turning out to be very intelligent, an excellent swimmer, and understood somehow that Thor was not his father. He seemed well aware Thor was is uncle.  Incredible really.

But one night, it really struck me that, I knew what I had to do. It was time to see my husband again.

So when Thor showed up to go fishing with Percy, I told him my plan. He reluctantly agreed, but promised to protect me or Percy if something went haywire. A week or so passed, and then the day came. The day to face Loki, Norse God of Mischief, Husband of, well, me.

Dressing myself in jeans and a blouse, I put Percy in little black coveralls and a striped shirt. Nothing extravagant. This wasn't some happy reunion after World War 2. In all truthfulness, I hadn't a single clue how this would pan out. I had matured and I knew I would not scream at him. I would not berate him for the heartbreak he had caused me in his mission to injure Odin as much as possible. That had involved selling out Odin, and, without realizing it, me too. I had been with Odin by chance when the end of the battle began, not with Loki where I suppose he though I'd be. But that's the thing about planning, the more you squeeze, the more things fall out of place. Anyway, that had been the double cross before he told me I should've aborted the child before I had to put up the big fight. And the only reason I had been with Odin was because he suddenly saw the benefit of such a strong babe. I still didn't like the man, and it still would've almost been funny if Percy had tried to kill him, but I did respect how he changed his mind. And then the fighting broke out and Loki showed up and yelled at me that I would've seen it coming if I wasn't pregnant, and then the plan unraveled from there. Long ago, I guessed his true intentions were to get Odin totally out of way so we can handle everything ourselves or something. It was complicated and messy and made me eternally grateful the family I did have left were NOTHING like those Asgardians.