The Valkyrie Queen Pt. 01

"-ignorant, filthy cur!" Those footsteps grew close, at the top of the stairs now. But that voice was familiar and Kára's heart skipped a beat and when it began to beat again, it beat furiously and pumped rage through her body.

Kára was one of many Valkyrie. She had served Odin with honor for many, many years. She had once been close with two others in particular, unique among the Valkyrie. Odin had raised one of the Ljósálfar, the Light Elves, and one of the Dökkálfar, the Dark Elves, to positions as Valkyrie. Ragnheidr was the Light Elf, immortal and beautiful and one of Kára's closest friends. Liv was the Dark Elf, fierce and protective and abrasive. For some hundreds of years they had ridden battlefields and collected the slain for Odin. Odin had become furious with both the Light Elves and the Dark Elves and he had cast them out, banishing both Liv and Ragnheidr from his service.

Kára had only just discovered she had been lied to. She had only just discovered that Odin had not cast out or banished anyone, he had imprisoned them out of a vengeful spite. Now Odin was again furious, Thor split the skies of Midgard while others searched the other eight realms for Kára and what she had stolen. She tightened her grip around the spear shaft and tried to still her thundering heart. She only had two thoughts now.

Fuck Odin and fuck Thor.

Thor had two sons. Módi and Magni. Kára had seen them before and she knew that it was Magni before her.

Like his father, he was a large man. Módi and Magni were twins but easily discernable by their vastly different hair color. Módi was more like his father, a fiery red headed man with thick arms and a growing gut. Magni's hair was jet black. Magni wore his armor and that concerned Kára. Both of Thor's sons wore matching armor, thick steel plate that covered nearly every inch of their bodies. That black hair poked out from under Magni's heavy helmet, the rings of that conical helmet with the protruding horns and faceguard that covered his eyes and nose. His beard hung below that, golden rings binding his thick black hair into heavy braids. Thick arms strained against the heavy mail, a small round shield adorned his shoulder and from that hung leather straps with iron rings at the end of it. He carried an enormous axe in one hand and dragged a familiar figure by the hair with the other.

Ragnheidr, with a growing bruise on her pale face, thrashed as she was dragged. She was thinner than Kára remembered, dressed in a long green tunic, laced at the front and cinched with a simple leather belt at her waist. When Magni released her hair it fell in a mess about her head, shoulders, some down to her lower back. Underneath that long tunic she wore plain black trousers. The clothing of a prisoner, but a prisoner under Heimdall's care.

Magni dragged Ragnheidr to a black iron collar near one wall of the room, chains hanging from the collar and dangling to heavy rings set into the wall. There were wrist chains too and once they were clapped on, Ragnheidr was helpless. Kára gripped the spear so tightly she could nearly feel the skin around her knuckles splitting, desperate to intervene but Magni was a formidable warrior and nigh unkillable in his armor.

"How did you convince Heimdall to leave you in charge." Ragnheidr spat as the collar was placed around her neck. She lashed out with a kick and it bounced off the steel plate around Magni's midsection. He backhanded her again, drawing blood. Then Magni took her chin between his fingers, violently jerking her up to look into his eyes. Then he kissed her, smashing his lips against hers. She spat and cursed when he pulled away, laughing and touching his fingers to his own lips and finding fresh blood from where she bit him. Kára barely restrained herself from throwing herself on Magni's back.

The big, brutal man jerked a knife from a scabbard and Ragnheidr's eyes blazed with defiance. He took her neck in a meaty hand and slipped the blade under the lacings of her tunic. He pulled the knife through them and the lacings parted under the sharp blade. Magni tore the shoulders down on the tunic, revealing Ragnheidr's chest. He cupped one in his hand and bent his head, tongue flicking out on her nipple. She tried to pull away but to no avail.

"Gods, I've wanted to do that for years." Magni growled. "Fucking beautiful tits, you light elf whore."

"Limp dick prick." Ragnheidr spat back. "Can't convince a woman to fuck you? With all that sweet talk, I'm shocked you'd find it hard."

"Big mouth." Magni grunted, lifting his helmet from his head and setting it aside. Then he reached down to dig in his pants, fishing out his penis and flopping it out. Ragnheidr snarled, snapping her teeth at Magni. He laughed, stroking himself while he groped her breast, a dirty thumb and forefinger playing with Ragnheidr's nipple.

"Open wide." He said, beginning to force her to her knees.

"You first." Kára said, startling Magni. He turned, mouth open in surprise and Kára thrust the spear up and between his teeth. Magni's eyes widened, the spear point driven out the back of his head, one hand wrapped around his cock and the other holding the shaft of the spear that had killed him. He gurgled, blinked, then collapsed to his knees and died.

Kára pulled the spear free and kicked Magni's body backward, where it crashed on the stone floor with a heavy thud. Kára stood there over the body of a god, heart thumping, while she slowly came to terms with what she had just done and the consequences that it would bring.

"Kára?" Ragnheidr said, tears filling her eyes as she stared at her long-lost friend. "Is that really you? Have you really come for me?"

"As soon as I knew." Kára said, fishing the key for the collar and wrist chains from Magni's pocket and releasing her friend. Ragnheidr fell into Kára's arms, sobbing and holding her as tightly as she could. They stayed like that for a long time, in each other's arms. Then Ragnheidr stood and heaved a kick at Magni's corpse, before straightening herself and running her hands through her hair and drawing her blonde hair back. She took a deep breath and then stopped. She stared at the spear in Kára's hands.

"Kára." She said. "Is that what I think it is"

"Yes." Kára said.

"You didn't." Ragnheidr said, covering her mouth. Kára saw her old friend in that familiar gesture and it brought her happiness she had thought lost.

"I absolutely did." Kára said, tightening her grip on the spear. "And I would do it again.

Then Muninn cawed from Kára's shoulder, drawing Ragnheidr's attention.

"Oh, gods, Kára. Is that what I think it is?" Muninn preened, then leaped to Ragnheidr's shoulder and looked at her with beady eyes, then rubbed his head against her cheek in way of an apology. For everything.

"We're not doing that again." Kára said, shaking her head. "Where is Liv? Is she here?"

"Kára, you would not believe who's here." Ragnheidr said, a slow smile spreading across her face.

Kára and Ragnheidr moved together through the prison, finding dozens more stairwells that led down to dark cells. Here is where Odin kept his many enemies, former friends or allies, anyone he was angry with at any particular moment. Kára knew there were some who deserved to be here but there were many that did not. They were unfortunate victims of Odin's shifting moods and sudden rages.

There were markings at the entry to the stairwells that indicate the prisoner, by a title and not by a name. Kára read them as they passed by. Spawn of Fenrir. A Traitor in Gold. The Runesmith. The Cheat. The Soulless. On the markings went.

"Here." Ragnheidr said, after reading yet another engraving. Kára brushed her hand over the words Dökkálfar. Together they descended the stairs, step by step until they reached the bottom. There was a heavy iron door with a thick lock on it. Kára slipped the key in and worked the lock until it opened with a loud click that echoed up the stairwell and through the prison. She heaved the door open on squealing hinges, revealing a simple room that didn't fit the look of the prison. It was simple and plain. There was a light and it revealed the figure laying on the bed, feet crossed at her ankles, staring up at the stone ceiling.

"What did I do to earn a visit?" She said, tapping her feet. Ragnheidr moved before Kára, throwing herself across the room and onto the bed. She crashed onto the dark elf and Liv blew out all her air with a grunt, startled by the attack. She sat up and realized who it was, the rage draining from her angular face as she looked from Ragnheidr to Kára.

"The fuck?" She said, scooping Ragnheidr up in her arms and leaping off the bed, twirling around with the screeching light elf. Liv was slightly taller than Ragnheidr but not by much. She was stronger though, always had been. Liv's skin was a deep purple, like all Dökkálfar and her hair was a grayish sort of black. Pointed ears stuck out from her head, pierced by gold rings along the edge. She wore a similar laced tunic and plain trousers, but she hadn't bothered with the laces and her tunic hung much more loosely on her frame. She was on Kára next, picking her up and spinning her around too, then planting a kiss right on Kára's lips.

"You came!" Liv said, gleeful. "Fucking finally, what took so long?!"

Ragnheidr punched Liv in the shoulder, but Liv just glared with those purple eyes. Kára felt a pang of guilt.

"I didn't know." She said. "I came as soon as Muninn told me what had really been done."

Liv eyed the raven on Kára's shoulder warily.

"Odin's pet?" She said. Muninn cawed loudly, angry. Liv held up her hands, palms out. "Alright. No need to use that sort of language, Muninn."

The raven preened under a wing, shaking his head and cawing again, this time it was softer.

Liv grinned from ear to ear, embracing both Ragnheidr and Kára again.

"Gods, it's good to see both of you. Now, what's the plan? How do we get out of here?" Liv asked, clapping her hands together. "And where's Heimdall?"

Kára and Ragnheidr looked at each other.

"What?" Asked Liv. "What?!"

They stood over Magni's body and Liv's eyes were wide. She began to laugh and it built to hysteria, until she was bent over and wiping at the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

"Fuck me Kára, when you pull a job you go all in!" She said, when she could finally breathe. Ragnheidr giggled, pressing her hands to her mouth. Kára looked at her and Ragnheidr looked apologetic for a brief moment. Then she started laughing. Kára snorted and soon the three of them were laughing around the dead corpse of Magni, Thor's very own son.

It was the ridiculousness of it all. Kára had gone against Odin, the entire pantheon, a whole world of gods. She had broken into a prison of Odin's most hated enemies. She had stolen his spear, one of his ravens, and now she had killed one of his beloved grandsons.

"So what now?" Liv asked. "Should we just skip a few steps and put ourselves back into the cells? Or maybe just cut our own heads off, save Thor the trouble of caving them in. Gods, this is amazing, Kára. When you do something, you really do, don't you?"

"My plan didn't involve this." Kára said, motioning at Magni's body. "So, we are in uncharted territory now."

"How did you get here?" Ragnheidr asked. "You couldn't possibly use the Bifröst."

"It was buried under the Valkyrie fortress on Midgard." Kára said. "Muninn helped the rest of the way."

"What about one of the other Nine Realms?" Ragnheidr said.

"They won't help, they didn't help us before." Liv scoffed. "We can't run, we can't hide. We'd need an army to fight..."

She drifted off. Everyone looked at each other, then at the nearest staircase.

"A carefully chosen army." Kára cautioned. "We can't go to war with Odin."

"No." Ragnheidr agreed, rubbing her palm over the marking. "But we can force him into a truce."

"Thor would never agree to it." Liv said, kicking Magni's body. "Not after that."

"He won't need to. Come, let's find a few souls that aren't afraid to stand up to Odin."

"Or too dumb to know better." Liv grumbled, then threw up her hands again. "Fine, fine. Let's go find our army of fools."

"Where do we start?" Ragnheidr asked. Kára thought about the signs she had seen and her mind landed on three. Three that would not threaten Odin individually, but together, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

Kára was surprised how much she enjoyed the thought of Odin's fury when she raised an army. An army for a fallen Queen to stand against a god.

Chapter Two: Angry Gods

Odin stood on his balcony, hands gripping the railing and squeezing the gold streaked white marble. He looked out over Asgard, a world at his command searching for the traitor Valkyrie and that filthy crow. Betrayed by those he trusted most, Odin fumed about the loss of Gugnir and Muninn. Thor searched Midgard now, while Heimdall scanned the Nine Realms from his mountain home.

"Nothing yet?" Frigga asked, resting her hand on her husbands shoulder. He shook his head and she clicked her tongue. "That little bitch."

"Indeed." Odin growled. He harbored a growing hatred for Kára, who had once been one his favorite of the Valkyrie. His door opened and the two gods turned as Heimdall entered.

"They are on Midgard." Heimdall said quietly, bowing his head. "Under the Valkyrie fortress."

"Muninn." Odin clenched his teeth. "He led her there. Come. Gather my guard and Thor. We will dig them out of that pit and then I will do what I should have done from the beginning."

"Good." Frigga said. "I will get our armor."

Thor gripped Mjölnir and stalked in front of the Valkyrie fortress gates. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed in the sky around, while the waves slammed against the island's rocky and sheer cliffs. Beside him stood Aegir and Módi. Aegir was indifferent to the sheets of rain that battered him, soaking into his enormous beard that dangled down to his knees. The old god with his white hair was growing barnacles on his armor plates and his hair was tied with seaweed. Thor thought that Aegir had lost his mind centuries ago.

Módi was the other figure. A young man with many of Thor's features and bright red hair plastered against his scalp and face. They carried their weapons and they waited for Odin and the others to arrive. While they waited, they all stared at the fortress.

"Runes." Aegir mused. "Lots of them. More than there used to be."

Thor held back from hitting the old man with his hammer. The blazing runes were impossible to miss and they burned furiously in the darkness of the storm. Water steamed and hisses when it landed on them and Thor knew that infernal Dwarf was loose, powering the runes. He turned and roared at the walls, lightning coursing through the sky as he did. Aegir raised an eyebrow and Módi just stood there, impassive. Aegir was not fooled, Módi was the most emotional god that the elder god had ever met. He was like the sea, calm until he was not, then he destroyed everything he touched.

Odin stepped from the rain, appearing in a heavy black cloak just as others strode from nothingness alongside him. An honor guard in golden armor marched in perfect formation, two score of the mightiest warriors, flanked by a half dozen Valkyries in their own armor. Gods strode out too, the Bifröst opened by Heimdall to allow the procession into Midgard. Heimdall followed, looking as sullen as Aegir felt. Aegir did not think that this would go well.

Odin was missing his spear, curiously enough. And only a single raven perched on his broad shoulder. Odin strode toward the wall as his guard splayed out into a formation facing it, along with a score of gods. A formidable display of power that would have had mortals cowering and begging for mercy, praying and offering every sacrifice they could find. Odin held up a hand toward Thor and the sky began to calm, the thunder ceasing and the crack of lightning fading away. Aegir himself calmed the seas until the waves were less violent and the rocky plateau was quieted.

"Traitor!" Odin roared.

The group waited a moment, until a head appeared on the wall above them. A woman with ice blue eyes, blonde hair, a wolf fur across her shoulders, and a black band of war paint across her eyes. A Valkyrie. Aegir recognized her as Kára, and the remainder of the Valkyrie with Odin seemed to furiously watch the proceedings. She stood on the ramparts with a long spear in hand and a raven soared to alight on her shoulder.

Thor ground his teeth. Heimdall stood impassively. Aegir watched the proceedings with great interest.

"Yes, dear bastard of a father?" The Valkyrie called out as a reply. Odin bristled.

"Return what is mine and I shall make your death quick." He shouted.

"You negotiate terribly." Kára said, resting the spear over her shoulder. "What a group you've brought with. Valkyrie, did you know that our dear Allfather lied? He did not banish our sisters to their homes in a petulant rage, he imprisoned them under Heimdall's charge! Did you know? Because you shame yourselves if you did."

Heimdall shifted now, that impassive nature breaking for a moment. Aegir watched the Valkyrie but they did not seem to care about their former Queen's words. Even as two more women stood on the wall beside her, a Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar no less. The Valkyrie with Odin did not care about this, that was clear. They were loyal and the words of their comrade made no difference. Aegir was not alone in wondering if that was why so few Valkyrie had come.

"You are a disgrace." Odin spat. "I will tear these walls down around you, then I will flay you each alive, before scattering the pieces of your bodies to the farthest edges of the Nine Realms!"

"I'd like to see you try!" A thickly accented voice called out from the wall. Kára looked down and grinned, then looked out and realized that whoever was shouting was not visible from below.

"Brokkr says hi." She said in way of explanation. The Runesmith himself, Brokkr. Long ago disappeared after a wager with Loki, the famous smith was known for his formidable creations. If his runes blazed on these walls then even the gods would not tear them down. Odin's jaw worked furiously. Aegir admired it, to a point. Odin was known for throwing those who slighted him into prison. He was petty and Aegir knew it. All the gods knew it. They just ignored it. What Odin had done was create a vast supply of bitter demigods, gods, and others who wanted nothing more than to spit in his eye. Which was happening now.

"And I think you remember Geir? Ylva?" Odin blew air through his nostrils in a barely contained fury. Aegir remembered Geir for him. She was a daughter of Jörmungandr, the world serpent and one of the jötnar. Geir shared the serpentine features of her world serpent father and the human features of her mother. She was lithe and covered in green and blue scales, as a snake might be, but walked upright on two legs and was a formidable warrior as Aegir understood it. She had infuriated Odin by existing, the spawn of his sworn enemy. She had disappeared but now she stood on the wall beside the Valkyries, and the Dwarf. The hilt of a longsword was visible over her shoulder and armor plate was buckled in place. When she smiled she showed great, vicious rows of teeth.

Ylva was a tall, brown-furred wolf that shared similarities with Geir. A daughter to Fenrir, she had been imprisoned for a similar reason to Geir. Ylva was tall, with a pair of pointed ears set behind small horns. No one knew her full parentage but there were many guesses. A thick, furred tail swished out from her pants and she held a longbow in hands that were more human than wolfen. Red eyes watched from under a mess of brown hair that topped the short covering of fur over her face. She bared her teeth in a vicious smile.