𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 || 𝘈 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥

THERE WAS A CERTAIN STILLNESS IN THE AIR. The eyes of the oblivious little girl continued to take in the spiralling gold and bronze tones of the bedroom. A candle burning idly on a table with a relaxing scent pillaring off the flame.

No matter how many days or months she sat in this room waiting for her, something about it provided comfort to her. Like she was inside every little thing in the room. Proving the promise she'd made.

"I thought your father told you it was time for bed, dear?"

Leila's eyes flickered to the dark-haired woman who stood at the door. She stood leant against the frame. Her arms crossed loosely over her chest with a certain casualness about her return being so sudden. Her warm green eyes glimmered with a certain delight that the little girl hoped was because of her.

And that had been enough for Leila.

"Momma!"

"DOES MY REQUEST TROUBLE YOU?"

Azrael had to swallow the lump in his throat, clenching his jaw as he continued to gently glide his knife across the wood. Unable to meet his Mother's gaze. It had slowly started to become more demanding and disciplinary than anything else. Yet, surprisingly, that was the least important thing on his mind.

His Mother's eyes burned through him like a funeral pyre to a corpse. The unyielding nature of it wasn't anything fresh to the boy, but it still had that provoking feeling to it. It was unrelenting. It would continue to burn through him until he gave up his stubborn fight and faced it. So, he did.

Looking up at the woman, he clenched his jaw. "I wish to understand why you are preparing for something so far in the future," he stated. "There is still so much time."

Leila held a stoic expression, dropping to a knee beside the boy. Allowing her eyes to hold his for a few moments as he held the bag of powder they had been imprinting on trees all morning. And she could see the tremble in his digits, faintly tensing around the cushioned substance.

"Us mortals plan for these types of things, Az." Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder she said, "I tell you all this because I rely on you for when that day comes to be by your sister's side through it all. No matter how you two feel, I demand you be there for her. This isn't a request, but an obligation."

It all still was too much for Azreal to wrap his head around. The preparations, the responsibilities, the dread. It weighed down on him like a cinder block tied to his ankles pulling him into the depths of the ocean. He didn't want it but no matter how much he fought against it, that cinder block would continue to pull him down with no compromise.

Almost like she had heard the distant conversation, Faye came bounding through the underbrush with Skoll and Hati hot on her heels. A giant deer hoisted around her shoulders with her knife still embedded in the animal's side. Blood splashed across arms from the extensive hunt that had taken up hours away from the girl. And it wouldn't be too early to assume that she was aggravated by the job.

Dropping the carcass a few feet from her mother, Faye groaned, rolling her shoulders back. "Are we done here? My shoulders are killing me."

"Not until you deal with that." Leila pointed at the animal with her knife. "You have to learn to survive on your own if the time comes."

Faye grunted in response. "Az, a hand?"

The boy looked at his mother, showing their prior conversation wasn't close to being over. But Leila simply hummed with a nod to her daughter, and he listened. Leila took that as an opening to step away, kneeling in the dirt and scratching away the surface–grabbing the tiny pouch on her belt and covering it in rocks. She clenched her jaw, hand shakily resting over the barely noticeable mound and sighed.

"Momma, can we go now?"

Leila swallowed the lump in her throat and exhaled slowly. Her eyes flickered shut as she stood to her feet. "The day is far from over. We still must secure the perimeters." She turned to the pair. "Once that is done, we will go home-"

An orange flickering could be seen behind the two teenagers. It formed a circle, rotating continuously with no means to stop. It took her a moment for her to pull the children behind her, but she manifested her spear, gripping it in a vice. Azreal and Faye stared at the weapon in shock, too perplexed by the orange flickering circle and weapon to voice questions. And Skol and Hati began to growl at the spiralling circle.

But when the portal opened, a man in a blue garment stepped out, his red cape billowing behind him like a wind gently blew against him. His eyes carefully fixated on Leila before flickering between the two children, almost astonished by the sight of them.

"So, they are real."

Twisting her stance, Leila scowled at the man. "Who are you?"

"Leila Emigold, I presume? I'm Doctor Steven Strange. I've been looking everywhere for you. But it seems your magick is something I underestimated for the Goddess of War." He smiled. "I come here only to take you to Odin. He'd been exiled and both Thor and Loki are in search of him."

Faye, gripping her knife tightly, glanced between her mother and the man. "Momma, what is he talking about?"

The man looked at the girl before snapping his gaze to Leila, frowning. "They don't know, do they?"

"Enough!" Leila gripped her spear tighter. "Tell me the truth as to why you are here or I will spread your remains across all the Nine Realms where no one will be able to find you."

The threat shook both children. Unable to dismiss the fear that coasted through their heart at the dangerous look in their mother's eyes. Or the way her words dripped with a certain grimness that left their bodies shivering in fear. Something made them both recognize that although the threat seemed out of this world, it held a truth that neither of them could even begin to understand.

"But I am."

Strange shifted from his position to reveal the entrance to the portal and Thor stood on the other side. His gaze was wavering between Leila and the two children on either side of her. Shock and confusion riddled his features, and Leila couldn't stop her guard from faltering at the sight of the man.

He looked worn down. His eyes didn't glimmer with that same level of jovialness as she once remembered. Like the light had been ripped away from them. His body seemed stronger, entirely based on the casual attire he wore that struggled against his figure.

Yet, none of it took away that glimmering blue of his eyes. That fierce, electric look had taken days of sleep from her. And she would love to believe that Thor was nothing more than a forgetful piece of her past. Really. But she had been seeing his eyes more in her dreams. A certain shade of blue reminded her of those beautiful orbs.

So much had changed. So many years of her separating that past life from the current one had been lived. She couldn't have escaped it. She should've known better than to believe in such a fruitless dream. But all she wanted was a little more time. It felt far too soon for him to be here and see their children.

Lowering her spear, it evaporated with her hand extending behind her, easing the growls belonging to the two wolves standing guard on either side of the children. "Mom, is that Thor? Like, from the Avengers?" Faye whispered a sharp hiss, her composure shaking from her usual nonchalant facade.

Clenching her jaw, Leila clenched her fist. "My business is no longer with Asgard. I do not correlate with Odin anymore," she stated resolutely. "I am a mother with no desire to rekindle past mistakes."

Strange let out a soft chuckle. "Funny of you to think that it's your decision." With a flick of his wrist, a portal appeared behind them and swallowed them. Forcing their bodies to be teleported to wherever Thor had been standing. The only difference now, the space between herself and the God was lessened. "Much like Loki, I like to monitor those foreign to Earth. And truthfully, I want your business dealt with before I can relax."

Leila grits her teeth, glaring at the sorcerer. She was vulnerable. Far more than she was comfortable with. Time for acceptance and reconciliation ripped away from her with Thor's problems now becoming her own. And in some way, Leila knew she shouldn't have been surprised by it.

Not only did it feel natural, but it also was in character to Thor. First, it'd been his banishment to Midgard, then it had been his father's past affecting Jane's future, which in return affected Leila's. So, at some point, she knew that she along with Azreal and Faye, eventually they would be pulled into a conflict they weren't inclined to be a part of.

Twisting her gaze toward the blonde man standing opposite to her, she pursed her lips. It almost was endearing to see the clueless and hopeful look in his eyes as he glanced between the two kids. "Azreal, Faye, meet your father. Thor Odinsson."

The introduction made the two kids stare up at the man in shock. And Thor stared back at them like they were the most intriguing things he'd ever laid his eyes on. And much to the characteristics of Thor, he let out a loud yell before embracing the pair. "Thank the Norns! I'd felt something amiss since London!"

Although his ecstatic energy was fresh for the pair, they still couldn't help the urge to gently pry themselves from the man's grasp. Happy but knowledgeable enough to see something compelled their mother to have kept them away for so long.

Still, Thor wore a smile. "There is so much I want to know about you two. But for right now, I suspect we must introduce you to your Uncle." Turning his attention to Strange, he motioned with a hand, saying, "Magician! Bring Loki back."

"Oh, yeah. Right." With a wave of his hand, a portal above appeared with a distant yell becoming heard before Loki came falling through, landing face first into the floor.

Maybe if it'd been four years ago or more, Leila would've at least smiled, at least. But the longer she was left in the unnerving presence of both men, the faster she realized how badly she'd wanted to renounce any of her powers or connections with the past.

Exhaling sharply, Loki seethed. "I have been falling for 30 minutes!"

"Is it bad that I was expecting someone, I don't know, cooler or didn't try to genocide the human race?" Faye muttered, glancing at Azreal who seemed uninterested in the entire interaction.

"You can handle him from here," Strange stated, looking between Leila and Thor.

"Yes. Of course." Thor held his hand out to the sorcerer. "Thank you very much for your help."

"Good luck-"

"Handle me? Who are you?" Loki pulled out his twin daggers, making Leila sigh in exasperation, eyebrow twitching.

"Loki-"

"You think you're some kind of sorcerer?" Loki questioned, beginning to step toward the man. "Don't think for one minute, you second-rate-"

As the God of Micheif was closing the space, Strange formed another portal behind the pair and forced them through it. "Alright, bye-bye." Coincidentally, it'd been perfect timing for Loki to lung and meet open air, hitting the ground once more.

They now stood in what seemed to be Norway at first glance. The open green field and ocean face greeted all of them blissfully. A comforting aura in replacement of the chaotic reunion forced upon Leila.

Leila's spear disappeared with her hands instinctually grasping her kid's hands. She could sense their uneasiness about it all. Along with the scent of a wilting power fading rapidly every second.

Turning her gaze, she found the old man. The source of all her problems in this whole fiasco. He no longer dawned on his traditional armour of royalty and power. This man's image had been old glimmering gold. Yet now, he wore the clothes of a drunk in their casual stupor.

Time away from everything and everyone Leila expected to notice things had changed. But this felt like far more than she would feel comfortable with. But with Odin's power withering, perhaps death made him realize the pointlessness of armour that couldn't even protect his wife. Or Mimir.

Thor pushed from the group and moved toward his father. "Mama, who is that?" Faye whispered.

Leila pursed her lips. "That's your Grandpa. Odin."

Even as Loki began to move toward the pair, Leila made no move to follow with Azreal and Faye in tow. As much as this may have been her problem, she felt the moment belonged more to the brothers than herself or her kids. And truthfully, as twisted as it may be...

She wanted Thor to suffer.

"Leila and my Grandchildren."

The old man's voice made Leila's eyes slightly widen as she stared at Odin. His warm welcoming smile was able to cast the cold from Hel and replace it with something new and beautiful.

Much like how she remembers it being when they first met...

Azreal and Faye looked up at their mother, seeking her guidance in the situation. And the drastic difference in their grip on her hands told two complete emotions. Azrael's vice grip could very well break Leila's hand in a few years. There was a certain tenseness in his fingers that stayed curled around her loose grip. Faye's fingers twitched, emotions seemingly all over the place despite her hesitance.

"Come sit with me. I don't have much time," he urged softly, waving the three over.

With a deep sigh, Leila gently pulled the kids along until they were close enough to see the old man up close. Have some traditional and uplifting memory of the man before he was gone.

"I know that we failed you. But we can make this right," Thor stated, looking between his brother and Leila.

Odin shook his head with a quiet grunt. "I failed you," he said. "It is upon us. Ragnarok."

"No, I've stopped Ragnarok. I've put an end to Surtur."

"All-Father, Fimbulwinter hasn't even settled in. We wait 3 cold winters before Ragnarok is finally here," Leila stated, her voice a ting of confusion. For being the second smartest man alive, she couldn't understand how he'd forget some key details.

"Yes, but no. It's already begun. She's coming." He shifted uneasily. "My life was all that held her back. But my time has come. I cannot keep her away any longer."

The man's deluded aloud thoughts made the three adults look at one another in confusion. In the prophecy of Ragnarok, 3 long years of cold and unforgiving winters take place. But once those 3 years are over, a culmination of those years of waiting would implode into a battle with Ragnarok's destruction. Many would be killed and much would be lost. This was known knowledge amongst some of the oldest or curious. So, was there a consequence left unwritten in the text?

Thor frowned. "Father, who are you talking about?"

"Goddess of Death. Hela. My firstborn. Your sister."

That made Thor breathe uneasily. "Your what?"

"Her violent and greedy appetites grew beyond my control," Odin explained. "I couldn't stop her, so I imprisoned her. Locked her away. But she put up quite a fight for you, Leila." The woman's eyes widened, eyebrow twitching as the man continued. "I tried to save you from her all those years ago–purging your memories of her. But perhaps stepping between a mother and her child is a dangerous challenge."

Leila's chest tightened, eyes clamping shut with a shake of her head. This all was too much. It hadn't been an hour, and she was becoming overwhelmed. Many emotions flared in opposing corners of her mind and heart, muddying the coherency of her thoughts.

"She draws her strength from Asgard and once she gets there, her powers will be limitless.

"Whatever she is we can stop her together. We can face her together-!"

"No, we won't." Odin shook his head, silencing his eldest. "I'm on a different path now. This must you face alone."

As a steady silence fell over them, Odin sighed. "I love you, my sons. And my grandkids, I wish I could be here and watch you grow."

Pointing outwards, the man smiled. "Look at that. Remember this place," he told them. "Home."

They watch solemnly as the man is reduced to golden dust. Swept away with the wind, left to glide upon the open ocean air beyond the precipice of the cliff.

But as the moment carried on, emotions running amiss, irrationality came into the fray. In the form of thunder and grey clouds forming above. A heavy gust of wind had both Azreal and Faye gripping their mother's hand tightly.

And the electricity dancing in Thor's open palm hadn't only been noticed by Leila who watched blankly as Loki turned. "Brother."

In rapid and furious breaths, Thor turned to his brother, glaring. "This was your doing-"

"Enough!" Leila's erupting voice silences the blonde. She stared into open space, lip twitching with a growl. "Don't cast stones at your brother for something out of his control. Time takes us all away. Odin spent his."

Her response was cold, blunt, and far more reasonable than most would be willing to accept.

A green portal appeared, slowly ripping open space with a figure able to be seen. But who emerged was a woman with tattered clothes. Her piercing emerald eyes became muffled by the strands of raven-black hair in their way. And when the portal shut, the wind knocked her hair up, revealing those eyes in their entirety.

"I will find you, Lei!"

Leila growled, pulling Faye and Azreal behind her as she snapped her fingers, the axes appearing in either hand. The scalding heat of chains enveloping her arms burnt her skin to a melting point. But she only continued to stare at the woman. Hela.

So, she was her mother? Did she even remember her name? Does she know she's still alive?

There were so many questions and needed explanations for everything so Leila could understand the faintest bit. Funny. Now thinking about it, was this the exact reason why Talon kept the identity of her parents such a secret?

"So he's gone," Hela huffed. "That's a shame. I would've liked to see that."

"You must be Hela," Thor stated. "I'm Thor, son of Odin."

"Really? You don't look like him," she quipped mockingly.

"Perhaps we can come to an arrangement," Loki reasoned.

She chuckled, waving a finger toward the man. "You sound like him."

Then her gaze shifted to Leila and the children tucked behind. A deep hum bubbled at the bottom of her throat, brows knitting together. "Kneel."

"Beg your pardon?" Loki raised a brow.

Extending arm out manifested a blade into her grasp, gaze flickering back to the group. "Kneel," she repeated, smiling. "Before your Queen."

"I don't think so." Thor stepped forward and tossed Mjolnir.

But with very little warning, Hela caught it with only a faint buckle of her arm noting the strength of the weapon. And even when Thor's hand extended out, wishing to retrieve the weapon, Hela's grip kept it in place.

He winced. "It's not possible."

Hela smirked. "Darling, you have no idea what's possible."

The vibrations from Mjolnir grew violent as she squeezed the weapon until it exploded. It caused Leila to stab her axes into the ground and grab Azreal and Faye, hearing them yell out in fear.

The shockwave had been momentary, but Leila still held onto the pair tightly. Eyes wide and hands trembling as Hela ran her hand through her hair, causing a crown of spikes to appear with blades forming in her grasp. Her steps were slow and intimidating.

"Bring us back!" Loki yelled to the sky, causing both Thor and Leila to look at him in shock.

"No!" Before Thor could jump out of the Bifrost's beam and hold Hela off, it caught them all and shot them up.

As the bright colours of the rainbow bridge flashed across her eyes, Leila could hear the cries of her kids. "Mom!" Azreal cried out.

"Hold onto me!" She ordered hoisting the pair onto her back.

Over the howling winds, she could hear yells below. Catching Loki be punched out of the Bifrost beam for a second before Hela began fighting with Thor. Her jaw clenched, tossing one of her axes at the woman.

And maybe some part of her didn't want to hurt the woman. Maybe she was selfish to be happy seeing Hela catch the axe and look up at her. It did not matter to her as long as she got the answers she needed.

Had she become greedy herself?

Without warning, Hela kicked Thor out of the Bifrost before grabbing Leila's ankle. The woman grunted, attempting to hit the hand away. But was swiftly restained with Hela now flying opposite her, a softening look in her eyes.

"I finally found you, Lei."

In that instant of a moment. In that single phrase, Leila felt her heart clench. A warmth radiated from behind her eyes as she bitterly bit down on her bottom lip. The feigning of desire finally pushed her.

"I don't know you."

Leila didn't stay long enough to see the response to her statement as she quickly kicked herself off of Hela and out of the beam. Left to glide through the void of space and realms. The quelling warmth of tears finally subsides to its purity. She didn't make a sound, she didn't move.

She simply allowed and hoped that this pain might be swept away.