Little One

Chapter 21

Hel was... well, much like you'd expect. Dead.

She guided me through the entrance.

"It's creepy here," I whispered.

"I know. It'll get better near the throne room. The dead don't like coming to my area." She said, patting my shoulder.

I nodded.

She stepped me up onto a raft before stepping on herself. It was quiet until something grabbed my ankle; at this point, I screamed like a little girl and fell back.

Aunt Hela conjured a sword and slashed a bony hand.

"Do not touch my niece again, Alte, and I will make sure you suffer. Just stay in your river." She held down a hand and pulled me up once I grabbed it.

"That was just Alte. He's always been trouble."

I nodded slowly. "He's dead. That was a dead person."

She nodded. "That's what you have down here."

My eyes widened.

When we got to the other side of the river, she stepped off and pulled me off.

"We're almost there. Let's go, little one." I nodded.

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and guided me into some kind of mist.

"It's just the barrier to my part of the realm." I nodded.

The whole joint was creepy and I wanted to go home already.

Maybe Thanos wouldn't be so bad to deal with. Maybe time passes differently here and they alrea...

"You think loudly, my niece. I assure you, time passes just the same here as in your realm. It simply feels longer. Nothing more. You can silence your worries, I'll allow no harm to come to you. You're far too valuable and since my other sibling seems incapable of staying in a relationship long enough to reproduce, I need to keep you around."

I looked up at her.

"Valuable?" I asked.

"Yes, your father's marriage to your mother would secure the lineage to the Asgardian throne. This, of course, was despite your father's heritage. It didn't matter to Father anymore. He was getting old, and his golden boy had been acting out. The marriage was never spoken of. But in the event, something happened to Odin, and Thor produced no heir. You would have the throne of Asgard. That's why he wanted you safe. When your mother was killed, he wanted your father to have as little influence as possible."

I was silent as it sunk in. "So, he wanted to create the perfect little granddaughter?"

She nodded.

"I don't like him."

"To know him is to hate him." She agreed.

I looked around as we came upon a throne.

"Welcome to my area of Hel. There are all the necessities of living, so don't worry." I nodded.

She sat me up on her throne. "Now they'll recognise you as an authority. No one will touch you for fear of... I'd say death but look where they are." She had morgue humour — I liked it.

I smiled and nodded. "What do you do down here?" I asked.

"Eat, sleep, make sure no one is escaping. Especially Olaf. He's the self-proclaimed king of the draugrs and likes trying to escape."

"What's a draugr?" I asked.

"Viking zombies with brains. Very dull." She said, waving her hand.

"So you got some Resident Evil junk going on up in here?" She raised an eyebrow.