Loki's Daughter

Learning The Truth

The first thing Hela noticed the next morning was how dry her eyes felt. The second was the sunlight hitting her face and shining through her eyelids, making her squint to keep the light out. The third was the object that she had wrapped around her hands.

Hela cracked her eyes opened and rubbed her tired eyes. Everything about last night was hazy and she couldn't remember much. She'd been having a nightmare and someone caught her while she was running through the halls. They brought her back.

Slowly, she sat up and looked at what was in her arms. It was a book on norse mythology gods. Hela ran her hands over the book gently and blinked multiple times. Had the person left this here for her?

Hearing footsteps, Hela quickly hid the book and looked up just as Sif opened the door and smiled. She was wearing her regular armor again, her hair up in a tight braid. "Thor told me you would just wear your Midgardian attire home, but I thought you might want something different."

She held up a dress colored in dark green with black laces. Hela grinned and threw the blankets off of her body. She jumped up and ran over to the dress. It looked made of silk and lace.

The dress fit her perfectly. It fell just below her ankles and almost hit the floor. "It's wonderful, thank you," she whispered. Sif grinned and turned before walking out.

Hela sighed and made her way over to the balcony. In all honesty, she wasn't ready to leave. She'd have given almost anything to live here. She still didn't understand why she was living on Midgard to begin with. Of course, Hela loved her family at S.H.I.E.L.D. and she'd grown very fond of her friends at school. But that didn't mean that she didn't love it here.

The sun was still rising and over the city. It bathed the entire place in a golden light. The light suited Asgard.

Hela's eyes wandered over to the book and she walked over to pick it up. The book looked old with a brown leather covering and golden letters on the front. The pages were turning yellow with age and it held a musky smell to it.

Hela was just about to open it when there was a knock at the door. She shoved the book under the blankets and looked up just as Thor walked inside. He smiled at her, which she returned. Thor seemed to sense her dread and chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll bring you back."

"You'd better."

Thor grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Well, you'd better be finishing things up in here. Meet me at the entrance in a few minutes." With that, he turned and walked out of the room.

Hela sighed and pulled the book back out of her blankets. She wanted to open it now, but she knew she didn't have time. So, with another exasperated sigh, she grabbed a bag and stuffed the clothes she came in into it. Then she quickly shoved the old book in and hurried to the door. With a last glance around the room, she walked out.

Thor was waiting outside with Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun. The four were talking amongst themselves quietly. Hela wasn't sure what they were talking about.

Volstagg was the first to notice Hela coming, and quickly spoke up. "Ah, there you are," he stated, quite loudly, and everyone turned to her.

Thor looked up and smiled warmly at her. "Are you ready?" he asked. Hela walked the rest of the way to them and looked up at all of them, feeling tiny among them all.

"As I'll ever be."

Fandral laughed and ruffled her hair. Hela didn't know whether to smile or scowl and fix her hair. Finally, she decided a small smile and then smoothed her hair as best she could. He chuckled. "Don't look so upset, you'll be back soon enough."

Hela's smiled widened to a full one and she nodded. After a series of goodbyes and come back soon, Thor mounted a horse and held his hand out to her. She quickly grabbed it and climbed up as well. With one last glance at her new friends, they were soon crossing the bridge.

Hela couldn't help but look down and watch the colors swirl underneath them. She smiled at the clinking sound that happened every time the horse took another step. The colors made her dizzy, but she grinned anyway. She'd miss it.

The two rode up to Heimdall. He was standing there, as always, watching them. Hela found the man unnerving. He was so tall, so big. His voice was so deep. His eyes were so strange. She found him intimidating, though he didn't seem to mean harm.

"Back to Midgard?" Heimdall asked, though his tone indicated he already knew. Thor nodded and climbed off the horse, then helped Hela off.

Hela walked ahead inside and waited for the other two. Thor walked in and stood beside her, grabbing her arm. She briefly wondered if going back would be anything like coming. She didn't have time to ask though, Heimdall spoke briefly about something to do with the safety of Asgard, and then there was a blinding light.

Hela clung tightly to her uncle as she felt the ground leave her feet. It was the same feeling of falling to certain death that overcame her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't scream. She couldn't move. All she could do was hold on tightly and pray it'd be over soon.

The feeling of falling came to an abrupt halt and her feet hit the ground. Hela opened her eyes slowly nd was greeted with the familiar scenery of S.H.I.E.L.D. She looked up at her uncle and then back around the area. It was all here, just as she'd left it.

"Have a good time?" asked a familiar voice. Hela looked up to see Steve walking up to her. He was in full Captain America uniform right now, with dust and a few tears in his outfit. He smiled.

"Yes, it was amazing!" she said, grinning. Her grin faded some and she looked him up and down. "Steve, why are you in uniform, did something happen?"

Steve laughed, though it sounded nervous. "Nothing major, just Avenger business. You go on back to your room, I need to talk to your uncle."

Hela frowned, but nodded and began to walk. She looked over her shoulder once to see Steve talking hurriedly and a stressed look on her uncle's face.

Her room was just as she'd left it too. Completely covered in pictures and paintings. Hela quickly shut her door and ran over to her bed. She crawled up on top of it and pulled out her book.

She ran her hand over the old leather carefully. Something made her pause before slowly opening the book. When she did, she couldn't help but smile.

The first picture was of Odin. It held a small description of who he was and what he did. On the next page was Frigga. It had a description along with who she was as well.

Hela flipped through the pages, smiling as she saw familiar faces and names. Sif, Goddess of War. Heimdall, The Gatekeeper. The BiFrost. Hela laughed when she found the cartoon picture of her uncle, holding onto his hammer. Thor, God of Thunder.

Hela paused before flipping the page. She wasn't sure why, she just did. Maybe it was because it looked like the next page had been marked. The page had a small fold in it to make it easier to find. After a short pause, she flipped the page and gasped.

It was a picture of Loki.

She stared at the picture for a moment before beginning to read. Loki, God of Mischief, Lies, and Chaos. Adoptive brother of Thor, God of Thunder, husband to Sigyn, Goddess of Fidelity, and father of Hela-

Hela froze as she reread the page a few times. "Oh my gosh," she whispered. "Loki is-"

"Your father," finished a cool voice. She slowly pried her eyes up to see Loki standing at the foot of her bed. Her mouth popped open and she sucked in a breath, intending to scream. Loki must have guessed it, because before she could make a sound he lunged at her and covered her mouth.

That was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out.