Chapter 2

You opened your eyes and saw a clear blue sky. You sat up, disoriented and you had no idea what you were doing. 'Didn't I just die?' you thought. 'Maybe it was a dream,'

You looked at your surroundings and saw a tall, grey, and white mansion. It had a large double door that looked like it was made from wood. It had a life-sized wolf knocker that would've scared the hell out of most people, including you. You stood up with a shout, getting the attention of a warty-faced man that was standing near the door.

"Ah, a new recruit," he said, a bit of disdain in his voice. You frowned and backed away; you were getting creeped out by the murderous glint in his eyes. "Sorry," you said, once you finally got your voice to work. "I must be in the wrong place,"

"Wrong place?" asked the man again, chuckling as if it was the most incredulous thing he heard. "Of course you aren't, your dead, so come follow me and I'll get you registered,"

"Dead?" You asked him, but he just walked away. You took the chance to run away, hoping to get out. You were sure it was just a practical joke and the sooner you got out of here, the better. That was until you saw the 15-foot wall that blocked you.

There was no door and no point of exit or entrance. It was simply a big wall. "Heads up!" a voice said behind you. You turned just in time to see an axe hurtling towards you. You ducked with scream, the blade only making a small cut on you ear. The axe fell to the ground once it hit the wall and you faced the thrower in rage.

"What the hell?!" You shouted, "That could've killed me!"

You came face to face with a boy that had a wild beard and equally wild hair. "So?" he said, shrugging. "You'll be fine by dinner,"

"You idiot," said a red-haired girl that was next to him. "She's a newbie,"

A look of realization passed through his face while you remained confused. "Ah, well, sorry, my friend," he apologized. The redhead muttered 'idiot' under her breath again. "Okay, can you tell me how to get out?" you said, thoroughly weirded out.

The redhead scoffed as the boy laughed. "I would tell you," he said, "but you haven't checked in yet, by the looks of it,"

"Why in the name of Jesus Christ do I need to check in?" You asked, now thoroughly irritated and you might have added a few profanities to your sentence. The boy frowned, but before he could talk, another boy came running your way. This one was wearing a blue jacket that had brass button and chevrons. You had seen one of these in a surplus shop.

"Is she a new recruit?" he asked, an overly-cheerful smile on his face.

"No/Yes" You and the wild-bearded boy said at the same time. The jacket-boy frowned in confusion and turned to the redhead. She sighed and muttered something under her breath. "She hasn't been informed yet," she said, glaring at you. You glared right back and, surprisingly, she just glared harder. (People told you that you had quite a scary glare)

Then you heard yet another voice, but this one was familiar since you just heard it a few minutes ago. "Why do you have to make my job so difficult?" asked the doorman, glaring at you. You noticed that another man was with him that had a large beard and a buzzcut. He was also glaring at you.

"Look," you said, crossing your arms. "I know this is some kind of joke, so cut. It. Out,"

"This is no joke, Y/N L/N," said buzzcut guy, making you narrow your eyes at him. "You are dead,"

You scoffed and looked around. "Alright, Sherman! I've had enough!" You shouted, but a part of you was starting to doubt. You remembered all of those stories your father had told you; about you being the daughter of a Norse god. For years you believed it, but, as everyone does, you grew up and just stopped believing. Now... you weren't so sure. You remembered the dream. Was it a dream? It felt so real... what if it was real?

"Ah, she finally realizes," muttered the doorman. "Now, come with me,"

"Am I- am I in Folksvanger?" You asked, remembering what your father had told you all those years ago:

'When you die, you go to Folksvanger. There, you will be safe,'

You were surprised to hear the buzzcut guy laugh. "No, no," he said, still chuckling. "You are in Valhalla,"

o0o

You were surprised when your room because it was... well, your room.

There was a canopy bed lined with blue sheets, a large wardrobe stood on the far side of the room. But instead of a plain ceiling, like your real room, constellations were illustrated with real jewels that made them twinkle. Pictures were framed around the room, but what caught your attention was the one on the fireplace. It was a picture of you and your dad when you were still a young kid.

Tears started to form in your eyes but you quickly blinked them away, remembering that the doorman, who's name you learned was Hunding, was still behind you. But that didn't stop your memories from resurfacing. When you turned back to him, he was holding his hand out expectantly. It took you a moment to realize he was asking for a tip.

"Oh," you said, patting your pockets for anything you might be able to give. You felt an odd shape and drew out a gun from your jacket pocket. "Uh, sorry. It's all I have,"

However, Hunding just smiled. "I'll take it," he said, grabbing the gun and putting it in his belt, along with his ax. He walked out of the room, leaving you alone. You noticed the sliding doors that had shade drawn over it. You walked towards it and drew up the shade, gasping in shock at what you saw.

You hurriedly opened the door, wanting to make sure it wasn't a hallucination. You almost cried in relief for a wide stretch of blue and yellow could be seen. The beach. And not just any beach, it was your family beach. (Yes, your family owned a beach, not an island). "Oh my god," you whispered, hands clasped over your mouth.

You then noticed a wooden crate on the table, on top was an envelope. The words were written elegantly and cleanly. You picked it up and read the back:

To: Y/N L/N

From: Your mother

You nearly dropped it in shock. This letter was from your mother; your real mother. You gingerly opened the envelope and took out the letter:

Dear Y/N,

I am sorry for not being able to talk to you directly. Ruling a realm is not something to joke about. Anyway, I know your father hasn't told you about me, but you will learn about me at dinner. Oh, I do wish you were in Folksvanger. It would be much easier to talk to you then, but that pesky Valkyrie used the 'I came first' excuse on me and my father sided with her. It's not that I don't respect Valkyries, it's just that they can be a bit annoying at times.

Back to business. I have left you two gifts; one is inside this letter and I hope you will wear it. The other is in the crate. Remember that I love you, dearest. You are my only daughter in this century.

You couldn't help but be a bit frustrated at the letter. You had more questions than answers. Nevertheless, you put down the letter and checked the envelope again. You were shocked to see a beautiful necklace. You knew exactly what it was. It was Brisingamen, at least, a choker version of it. It wasn't flashy, but it wasn't subtle either, but that was exactly your style. You liked things that people would notice if they spent time with you, but would completely miss if they just passed by.

You put on the choker and looked at the crate. You weren't sure what it was, but a rune was emblazoned on the cover. It looked like an "F", but the two lines were pointed upwards.

You've never seen it before but decided to look into later, choosing to open the crate first. What you saw inside made your annoyance disappear completely. It was bow carved with intricate designs, most being falcons. Lying beside it was a quiver full of arrows that were tipped with bone steel. Something your father had only given you once. Then there were two modern weapons. Two identical handguns with their holsters filled with strange-looking bullets that you assumed to also be bone steel.

You tried the bow first, shooting it at the poster on your door. It hit the middle, making you smirk. You shot your gun next, pointing it at the spot above the arrow. However, as you shot the gun, the door opened and the bullet embedded itself in the chest of the bearded man that had almost hit you with an ax earlier.

Your eyes widened in shock, but the man just winced in pain and arched an eyebrow at you. "I suppose this makes us even," he said. You were at why he was still alive, but you managed to compose yourself and you forced a small smirk. "Yup," you said, putting the weapons back in the crate.

"Why are you here, anyway?" you asked him and looked at his companions, the redhead and the boy wearing a military uniform. "I assume you're my hallmates?"

"I'm Halfborn Gunderson, this is Mallory Keen," the redhead gave you the stink eye, "and this is Thomas Jefferson Jr. or T.J.," the boy smiled and gave you a wave. You waved back with an awkward smile.

"That doesn't explain what you're doing in my room," you said, crossing your arms. They had already entered your room since Mallory was getting grumpy about staying outside. "It's dinner time," T.J. answered, smiling cheerfully. "Gunilla couldn't be bothered to come and fetch you herself,"

"Gorilla?" you stifled a laugh. Your hallmates led you to the dining hall which they called "The Feast Hall of the Slain,"

o0o

You sat at a table at the front; obviously the head table. Sitting with you were six other people. Three of them looked like Valkyries, judging from the fact that they were all looking around alertly as if a weapon could come flying directly at them. All of the einherjar that surrounded you didn't seem to care if a fork impaled them.

There was another table longer than all the others. Sat around it was a group of people ranging from teenagers to old people. You recognized the manager, Helgi, and you recognized Davy Crockett from a history book you read.

Valkyries were also swooping around, serving einherjar. You looked at the food placed in front of you smelled great, like a mixture of all the things you liked. On the side were potatoes drizzled in gravy and thick slices of white bread. You suddenly missed Emma's cooking and it hit you that you would never see them again. A single tear streamed down your cheek and you wiped it off, sniffling.

You didn't feel hungry anymore.

"Warriors!" Helgi boomed, catching the attention of everyone in the hall, which you found rather impressive since it was one large hall. "Four new-fallen have joined us today!" he continued, eliciting cheers from people and grumbles from others. "As usual, we will hear about their brave feats!"

More cheering and less grumbling. You assumed the grumbling was from people who just wanted to eat. You caught sight of your hallmates sitting close to your table. T.J. waved and gave you two thumbs up, while Mallory gave you one... ah, middle finger.

"Y/N L/N!" Helgi suddenly called. You turned to look at him and he gestured for you to stand up. The teenager at the head table also stood up, smirking in triumph; you assumed she was Gunilla, the Valkyrie who brought you here. "Gunilla, Captain of the Valkyries," Helgi announced. "Tell us Y/N's story!"

She cleared her throat and looked at the audience. "Y/N L/N was on her family yacht, heading towards their private beach," a couple of whispers came around at the mention of "private beach", "Aboard the yacht were eight other people, three of who I assumed to be her family,"

You almost interrupted, wanting to correct her about the fact that Sherman wasn't really family, but was met by a glare from the girl. You decided it would be better to shut up. "That was when a Kraken rose from the depths and attacked them," she continued, as gasps went around. You winced at the memory but forced yourself to stay strong. "Her family was ushered belowdecks, but a few minutes later, she returns wielding a bow and arrow and two guns," appreciative nods went around, "she fought bravely, tricking the Kraken into capturing her, allowing her to shoot its mouth, killing it. She fell to the water, already dead from the poison in her veins. I deemed her worthy of Valhalla for she sacrificed herself for her family and died with a weapon in her hand,"

The einherjar cheered for you but all you wanted was to sit down. Your knees felt weak as you remembered what had happened. It felt as if the poison was still in your veins, weakening you. "Y/N L/N, do you know your parentage?" Helgi asked. You just managed a weak shake of the head. Then, a lady in a green hooded robe came forward. She approached you and you felt chills run down your spine.

She pulled out a pouch and drew out a handful of stones (runes), muttered something into them, and cast them on the ground, some landing facedown and some faceup. One rune was projected to everyone through the holographic screens around the room. It was the same rune on the crate.

Whispers went around and your hallmates looked at you in shock. "Y/N L/N, d-daughter of Freya," Helgi announced, stammering a bit. It was at that moment that everything went crashing down on you. You could never meet your family again, your parentage had just been confirmed, and everything in your life (death?) was changed.

You promptly collapsed.