Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

Blitzen's Mother Loves Cats and Necklaces

September 24

     I called Blitzen early Saturday to ask if he wanted to go clothes shopping. "I'd have to ask my mother," he said. "The divorce stipulates that I have visitations with her two weekends out of the month."

     "Okay," I said. "Fingers crossed for you, man."

      Blitzen hung up and I got ready for the day. I ate some cereal with milk, brushed my teeth, and changed into some grey jeans and a grey sweater. I then started doing homework. I was in the middle of my last math problem when my phone rang.

    I picked it up. "Who should I thank for saving me from the grips of math?"

    There was silence and then, "It's Blitzen. I hope you're not being serious."

    "Course not," I said. "Well, what did your mother say?"

    "She invited you over today," Blitzen said.

      "And shopping?" I asked.

      "We'll figure that out later," Blitzen told me.

****

    Thirty-three minutes later, my mother was pulling her car up to a huge mansion. The lawns were well-manicured and gardens filled with flowers of every kind, beautiful trees, and lots of feline-shaped shrubbery. The house itself was shaped like a massive upside-down boat.

"What a house," my mother said as she stopped the car.

I did little more then blink as I stepped out of the car. Our uncle lived in the huge family mansion, but it was as dank and oppressive as this place was light and airy. Right before I could knock on the door, a man opened it up. "Are you Magnus Chase?" he asked. "Son of Natalie?"

"Uhh, that's me," I said.

"Welcome to Folkvangr," he said.

The man gave me a slight bow and let me in. He was wearing a full suit and I felt very shabby in my jeans. "You can take off your shoes and put them here," he said, indicating to a shoe rack that appeared to be made of pure gold.

The whole place smelled amazing. There were candles burning in every room and they filled the air with their sweet scents. As I followed the guy around, I saw cats dart around the rooms. One, a fluffy grey tom, rubbed his head against my legs and purred. I bent down to stroke it. "Magnus!"

At the sound of Blitzen's voice, I straightened up. "This place is. . ."

"It's sure something," Blitzen finished for me. "Erik, you can leave."

Erik bowed and quickly left. Blitzen looked sheepishly at me. "My mother wants to meet you."

"Alright," I said. "Is she going to take us shopping?"

Blitzen led me up a flight of stairs. "I'm not sure. My mother is . . . You'll see."

He turned to the left and opened a door. I followed him in. Blitzen's mother sat on a plush armchair, her lap covered by an enormous Himalayan cat. It purred under her touch and blinked lazily at us.

Blitzen's mother had thick blonde hair that fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were a soft grayish blue that I had seen only in pictures of my father. Her face was lovely and I couldn't help feeling embarrassed that I thought Blitzen's mom was quite pretty. "Magnus," she said, her voice singsong. "Nephew!"

I blinked and looked at Blitzen. "Nephew?" I asked.

Blitzen shrugged and shuffled his feet. "Your father is my mother's brother."

I blinked. "Really?" I asked.

Freya laughed. "I know. Your father and I pursued different careers. He became a businessman and I got into modeling and fashion, but we really are close. It's great to meet you, Magnus."

     "Uhh, cool," I said. "That's a nice left eyebrow — I mean, Blitzen and I were wondering—"

   Blitzen looked at me and shook his head. "I mean, I was wondering," I said, "if you could take us shopping for the Homecoming dance next week."

    Freya shook her head. "No! Do you know what happens when I go out shopping?"

     She didn't wait for me to give an answer. "I'm plagued by the paparazzi and not to mention stalkers. I cannot go out without getting at least three marriage proposals in half an hour!"

    That sounded utterly ridiculous, but Blitzen gave me a look like: don't argue with her. "However," Freya said. "It just so happens that you two could go."

    She handed Blitzen a card. "I've loaded it with $20,000. That should be enough to get you both new outfits and a pair of earrings for me."

    She blinked and managed a smile. "Ummm, thanks," I said. "Have fun catting — I mean petting your cat."

  I was only too glad to leave.

***

     When we got to the mall, I asked Blitzen if his mother was usually like that. "Yeah," He said. "You know how he met my dad? She was shopping for earrings."

    "Huh," I said. "You're a celebrity child."

      Blitzen sighed. "You say that, but I know better. When my father saw how much Freya wanted the earrings, he proposed that she marry him for a day."

     "A day?" I asked.

      Blitzen nodded. "I'm not the only child who really is a receipt."

    I gave him a hug. "You're more than a receipt Blitzen, you're—"

     "An up and coming fashion designer?" He said hopefully.

   I patted him on the shoulder. "Sure. So why don't you help me truly embody the swagness of my name?"

***

    We went to about two dozen stores. Blitzen was very critical of the fashions. He kept steering me away from all black attire and everything he suggested, just wasn't my style. Eventually, we ended up in some local boutique. It was small, dark, and crammed full of clothes.

   Blitzen looked at it like an artist looks at a beautiful sunset. He soon filled a basket with things for us to try on. Some of them didn't fit well and others were uncomfortable, but we both found suits and dress pants that worked. Then, we got some dress shoes at another store and finally found some cat-shaped earrings at the jewelry store. We still had money left (duh, I don't know who gives their kid $20,000 to spend in one mall trip), so we bought some soft pretzels and ate them in the food court. "I wish Hearthstone was with us," Blitzen sighed.

     "Why don't we invite him?" I asked. "It's only 2:35. With the money your mother has, we could buy him an outfit."

     Blitzen shook his head and sighed. "Hearthstone's father is horrid. He blames him for his younger brother's death. He'll be lucky enough if he can go to Homecoming with us."

    "Wow, he sounds like the father of the year," I said.

   Blitzen managed a weak laugh. "He's a very controlling father. Helicopter parent doesn't quite describe him — he's more like a NSA parent."

    We both finished our pretzels in silence, wishing Hearthstone could be here with us.