Scene: She Awakens.
I am lying on a grassy meadow. She is floating above me. Mia. She is smiling as she reaches out for me and stroke my cheek. Tears of happiness.
I open my eyes. I can feel the soft itching grass on my naked back. It is still dark, but a lighter nuance is lurking at the horizon. Two voices are talking close-by.
"Little girl with a scorched past. She smells like Thrud, but why is she here?" a squawky voice starts. Thrud - Did it just mention our Dís?
"Maybe she is meant to be here," a soft male voice counters.
"But is it Fate or is it Destiny?" the first voice asks.
"Only time will tell," the man states softly.
At this point I'm clear enough in my head to lift myself up from the ground. The hag still lies next to me - her face still caved in from my repeated attacks, and I have to steady myself not to vomit. My eyes float towards the light source. A small campfire just my the lakeside, where a man sits, facing towards me. He's dressed like a hiker, but he's wearing some kind of old timey looking poncho. And I'm - oh shit. I'm only in my panties. It's okay. It's cool. Act like nothing. Not awkward at all.
"Who are you?" I demand to know.
"A friend of your headmaster - your dís," he states calmly, keeping eye contact to his credit. Not a real answer though.
"And who where you talking to?" I ask, not skipping a beat. I can't show weakness. Not out here. Even if my shoulder is in intense pain.
"My ...friend," the rugged man answers, turning his head to a stone where a large crow, no - a raven, is standing. Great. Some forest weirdo.
"Where are the others?" I ask, as I turn and realize this place is very different from the forest lake I just came from. "Where... am I?"
"She sees her home for the first time," the squawky voice speaks again, but as I quickly turn there is still no second person present.
"This is Otherworld, child. The land of alfs and fey. Jotunn and vettir. And all things magical," the man says, gesturing with his arms.
Can it really be? This is Otherworld? How? This is the world next to our own. The world where all of us non-humans come from. I want to know more, but for how long was I out? I have to get back to the others. I have to make sure, they are safe.
"H-how do I return to my world?" I ask, taking another look around. Savoring everything. The vastness of this place.
"The girl has forgotten her roots!" "Shh-!" I turn to the man again. This time he shushed over the other voice, so I know it's not him speaking for two. I eye the raven again. Could it be-
"The same way you came," the man explains. "Then we will keep an eye on it, so no threat comes through again."
"Thanks... I guess. It would mean more if I knew who made such promises."
"You will," the man smirks. "Next time. I believe your companions are awaiting your return." Smug prick.
I turn to the lake - considerably smaller in Otherworld. I take a last look at my handywork and hope to any god willing to listen that that was the only one of them. At last I give a last glance at the wanderer and his pet raven. "Next time then," I state and take a deep breath. I've got this. It better fucking work. I dive into the lake and swim deep. Please work. Please fucking work.
I reach the bottom as I feel a shift passing my entire body like a shiver. Something is wrong - I have to get back up. I turn and swim towards the surface as I notice the change of the light. It is no longer warm and flickering. No, it's cold and sharp, dancing around. Flashlights? I hit the surface and am instantly met by a blinding light.
"Ow, stop that!" I yell out, trying to swim towards the source.
"Oh my god - Alea!" Zeldine shouts. "You're safe!" I can hear the others around her as well.
"Fuck, maybe. I'm here and that's what matters," I say as I walk out of the water. My entire body aching more than I realized.
"Shit, you're hurt!" "She bit you good!" Kass and Brynja calls out.
"Yeah, I guess she did," I respond tiredly. "But I bit her right fucking back!" What is this feeling? Pride? "I am happy that you are all safe, but can we please sleep now?"
"No fucking way," Kass answers. "I'm never going to a lake again."
"Also, Zel managed to call Thrud. Somebody's coming to pick us up," Brynja states. She looks strong and focused despite the fight we just had with the lake hag, but she has a grave look as she continues: "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should have fucking been there." Her left forearm is wrapped in a bloody t-shirt, but her pride seems like the more serious wound.
"You did good, Brynja. I think you saved my life back in the woods. And how could we have prepared for that fucking thing anyway?"
When we return to the camp, we get dressed and just sit for a while staring at the reignited campfire. Each of us deep in thoughts. Too shocked to be tired. This time I'm the one to break the silence:
"I can't believe what just happened..." I put a hand to my shoulder where the creature bit me.
"What even did just happen?" Brynja asks. Zeldine rests her shaking hand on my arm, as to make sure that I'm really here.
"I don't really know," I start. My eyes fixed on the flames. "She pulled me under and before I know it, I'm bashing her head in lakeside someplace else. I had to return to the fucking water to get back." I lift my eyes to all of them staring intensely at me.
"You went to fucking Otherworld?" Brynja asks incredulously.
"That is... the wildest shit!" Zeldine responds. Gone is the concern, her eyes are now filled with childlike wonder. "Oh my fucking God, you found an unmarked confluence. How was it? How did it feel? What was it like there?"
"Relax, Zel. God! I don't know. I was only haft awake when I got there. After the... what I had to do... I just noticed that the nature was ...different. But still like our nature, I guess. Just... bigger, I guess. A vast plain and forests and mountains on the horizon. But I had to get back to you. And there was this man with a raven, I think. He said he knew Thrud..."
"Our Thrud? Dís of Evergreen, "daughter of Thor the thunder god" Thrud?"
"How many 'Thrud's do you know?" I snap back, but Zeldine ignores my tone.
"Oh my God, do you think it's family? Like, that he's one of the legends? Wait. Stop. Wait, did you legit show up infront of a real life aesir like some naked monster slayer amazon? Holy fuck, you are so badass!"
"No, stop it, Zel," I giggle nervously. "I flailing just to stay alive. I had no fucking idea what I was doing."
"It still sounds fucking badass!" Brynja chimes in. "Fuck, I should have been there for that..."
"How are you guys holding up? Kass?" I have had enough focus right now, and Kass has been very quiet since we got back.
"I don't know..." she mutters catatonically, before trying to act casual about it all. "I guess, I'm fine. It - she - didn't hurt me or anything..."
"Dude, you are not fine!" Brynja cuts in. "You're still rattled. What did she whisper to you anyway?"
"I- I just... I don't wanna talk about it."
Kass returns her gaze to the fire, and we don't push her any further. We pack our stuff in the car, and I don't know whether to be thankful or not that the fey woman knew how to open the tent instead of slashing it - It still reeks of her, and we have to pack Kassandra's bag, as she is not comfortable getting anywhere near the smell or the memory. When Evergreen's minibus shows up we're ready to leave all of this behind us. Thrud herself alongside another dís, Hilda, embrace us as they arrive, and I am again reminded of how close we probably came to being killed out here. I let Hilda drive my car back to the grove, while I rest my head on the backseat window, falling asleep to Zeldine's exaggerated recounting of the night's events. The last thing I see before the dreams take me, is a raven soaring along side the car before veering of, and I'm reminded that I made it.
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