The Jotun's Daughter

Chapter 11

Asgard was beautiful, but I wasn't looking at the buildings. Thor led me through a store to a back room, and then a tunnel that led deep underground. Despite my usual ability to not get lost, I knew that I couldn't retrace these steps if I tried. So I followed, silent and ready for what was ahead. There was no way of knowing that he was leading me to the prison cells underneath the castle.

        To be fair, they were the nicest prison cells I had ever seen; probably the strongest, too. A few rough-looking creatures were inside several of them, paired together like rats in cages. I stared at the leader. He glowered right back, until I allowed half of my Jotun form to show through my face. It seems this forsaken turn of events will benefit me in at least one area. He looked away uncomfortably, and the other monsters in the cages stirred.

        "Don't." Thor's voice echoed slightly. I looked up at him.

        "You are not their leader."

        I ducked my head. He obviously had never been an orphan, or had to fight for himself. I sighed as we continued through the hall.  At the end of the prison hall, two flights of stairs led upward around a pillar that ran through the center of the hall, marking the end of the trail. But, once again, I wasn't looking at the stairs; I was looking at the cage at the very end on the wall, nestled in the corner. Inside was a mess: the bed was overturned, the furniture flung about, and it looked like a tornado had hit it. An icy sensation spread up my back as I realized that whoever had occupied the cell was long gone. Thor caught me looking, and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. 

        "You are not him," Was all he said, then headed up the stairs to the right. The words clicked in my head, and I stepped away from the cell, following him up the stairs. I need air. We exited the top of the stairs to a large corridor, where a woman was waiting for us.

        "Jane, this is Kayla." Jane was a petite woman, and looked to be in her forties. She had a kind face, however, and wore a silk dress that swept easily around her ankles. 

        "Hello, Kayla. It's nice to meet you." She spoke with the same assuredness that Thor did. I was sure that it was supposed to be comforting, but nothing about this situation settled me. 

        "I received the files that Coulson sent me about you." The way her eyes glinted, I knew that she couldn't care less about what the files said, and for that, I was grateful. As if to confirm my suspicion, she continued, "I haven't read them. I won't until you want me to. But for now-" She motioned to my jeans and shirt, "-You are taking a bath and putting on some new clothes." I started to say something and she just shook her head.

        "No arguing. You need a bath. Here, follow me." I supposed that she was right. She led me through the ornate halls, and as I followed her, she talked.

"We have three children, two sons and a daughter. My oldest son, Asher, isn't here, neither will he be. He's studying at Yale." She was obviously proud.

        "Wait, your son could live here and he chose to study at a college on earth?" I tried to twist this reasoning in my mind.

        "He knows how unadvanced we are. He's hoping to further Earth's future." She turned and led me up more stairs.

        "My second son is still here, and he plans to stay and learn to be a guardian. He's actually your age, I believe. His name is Jase. He unintentionally took on his fathers looks-you'll recognize him right away." She pushed open a door, and inside I saw a bedroom, large and inviting.

        "Mom! She's here! Oh my gosh why didn't you tell me?!" All I saw was a flash of purple as the little girl hit the bed, bouncing up and down in excitement.