Divided Chapter 35

Eris hadn't dared allow herself to return until she was a good distance away from the longhouses. Twice she'd almost twisted her ankle. She took her high heels off, tossing them into her backpack then had hidden in the trees far from the rutted road she'd been walking on, changing into the hated dress she'd been given before they left New York. When she looked down at herself, she laughed out loud.
“I look like a fucking extra in Les Miserable.”
She couldn't believe her idea had worked. She was sure that with all their high tech gadgets, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered what she'd done. However, she'd strolled out of the place nice and neat while they were still in a panic. Buzzy had looked devastated but he'd get over it.
As she neared the road again, her excitement started to abate, giving over to confusion, then to anxiety. She'd pulled it off, now what? Where to go? Hell she didn't even know where anything was. Colin hadn't exactly hand out maps with a “YOU ARE HERE” star on it when they arrived at Stark tower.
First things first, she had to find shelter, preferably a comfortable bed with a solid roof over her head and something to eat before the day was out. Then she had to figure out what to do next. There was the big question. She looked down at the portal marker strapped to her wrist. She could activate one of the portals and travel to a different realm. They couldn't stop what they couldn't see, after all.
Then she thought of the man she'd seen in the longhouse, the one they'd called Loki. She was determined to cross paths again and this time he would be able to see her. There wasn't a man she'd set her sights on yet that she hadn't managed to seduce.
The sound of horses hooves approaching in front of her made her stomach do a flip flop but she never faltered. Pulling her hair back from her face, she moved to the grassy side of the road. As the horse neared, she chanced a glance up at the rider,  a well dressed young man with a velvet green cloak slung over his shoulder. As he made even with her, he brought his horse up short, bowed to her and suddenly he was speaking to her. She couldn't understand one word, Shit. Might as well go for broke.
“Excuse me?”
“Ah, no excuse me. I thought you might have hailed from Alfheim. Most of the  beautiful maids I have had the pleasure of meeting have been inevitably Alfari, therefore I endeavored to speak to you in Alfari. Forgive me.”
Eris smiled, hoping she could play the part she was going to take on, “I....hail from, um. Asgard in fact.”
“And where, might I inquire, are you headed this lovely day?”
For real? Well, first things first, “I am seeking shelter for the evening.”
The young man's smile widened as he shifted in the saddle, “You are on a journey then?”
Journey. Shelter first, food second. But food and shelter were going to cost money just like anywhere else. All she had to do was sound intelligent. Alex would never have been able to pull this off.
“I must find employment for I am alone here.”
The young man jumped down from his horse, “I find that hard to believe. One so beautiful as you, traveling alone? Tell me, what skills have you to offer?”
Eris averted her eyes, smiled coyly at him, “I have many talents.”
Oh yes, this was going to be easy.





Assignment: 64379-01
Location: Asgard



Agent: Colin M. Denehy
Date: 9/9/29


If anything could go wrong today, it did. After the fiasco at the longhouse the portals were taken offline pending a complete battery of diagnostic testing but first they were opened on each realm to see if Ms. Carter had been set down in the wrong spot. Loki said if she managed to get lost on Jotunheim, she'd be as good as dead in minutes, especially the way she was dressed. When we failed to locate her, Loki suggested we meet privately with Thor before simply sending out search parties into each realm as some of them are extremely hostile to outsiders. Simon admitted it was a distinct possibility that she'd simply vanished, lost in between realms, what with the unpredictable nature of the portals themselves. Stark just stood there looking up at the portal, back to the computers, muttering to himself , saying “you wanted chaos, you got it,” and wishing Ms. Potts were there. We left him to work on the portals as Loki was eager to deliver the remaining members of the group to the King.
Then of course the problem with Chase which, btw, was also Stark's fault though I didn't know it until long after we'd arrived at the palace and had a chance to speak to him alone. On the way there, however, I received an earful from Loki. He was about as mad as I'd ever seen him, yelling at me for bringing the Wells boy here to Asgard until he realized I'd not a clue about the history between Brenna and Chase. I explained to Loki that just because I was an agent didn't mean I was privy to every reported incident. Before this assignment, in fact, I had been classified level six which meant that I was lucky to read about the odd happening in the fucking daily papers. When he questioned me as to how I'd then garnered a ticket to Asgard, I'd allowed my name was likely drawn out of a hat. After a tick or two, he stood down, going so far as to apologize for his outburst. I told him it was no trouble, if I had a lovely daughter, I'd be locking her up in a tower myself. Strike two for my loose gob. Still and all he didn't bar me from his house, he even smiled at my compliment.
King Thor was even more surprised to see Chase back in Asgard as it were, asking him how he'd come to return to this realm. Right about then, Loki chose to tell me Chase was a graduate of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It was a knee jerk reaction, my gripping Loki's arm. If I hadn't, I'd have been passed out on the floor. In one fell swoop, Stark had bypassed the biggest rule in the book; no mutants allowed in the program. At least not from Midgard. I could see I was going to be having a long sit down with Stark later on.
When the members of the group had received their assignments, met their prospective host families, I saw my chance and seized it, dragging Chase away to hear his side of the story, and what a story it was. By the end of the feast, my head like to have popped off but in the very least I had a better understanding of what Loki was so angry about. Couldn't say as I blamed him but Chase claimed he was out to mend the rift between Brenna and himself. All at once I felt insanely jealous of him, not that it mattered now seeing as Brenna and I were practically related if the records were to be believed. Still and all I secretly hoped he would fall flat on his face. As luck would have it, I'll be seeing a bit more of him than I'd like to. His assignment is the encampment at the longhouses. Mister Mindel has been assigned to the palace where he will be given quarters to stay in. He will spend his time on Asgard with its most noted scholars roaming the stacks of the royal library, learning to read Asgardian. “Like my yeshiva days,” he mused, a smile lighting up his lined face.
Garth the Sullen was also given a place in the palace, in the stables to be precise. It was the first time I saw him smile. Turns out he used to help at a racetrack summers in Upstate New York and loved it. Score one for proper placement. The rest of the group went to farmers, artisans, the young couple, Mister and Misses Underwood were given to a middle-aged potterer and her husband. They seemed quite eager for their tenure to begin. Mister Underwood, it became known, was himself a sculptor. Some research had obviously been done to pair this group with acceptable host families. Makes my job a bit easier.
Now as I lay here in bed finishing my report, I have time to think of Eris, sadly enough. I can't but wonder what must have been going through her mind as she stepped out of existence. Looking back on it, I must have been bonkers to walk through right behind her. I could have well suffered the same fate as Loki was fond to point out at least a dozen times after. I suppose it says something for Asgard and my adopted family that I was willing to risk scrambling my molecules to the nine realms for a return ticket back. Right now the only way to travel between realms is the Bifrost or the Uruz.
I hear heavy steps outside my door. Loki is heading back downstairs to the sitting room. With Eidra away at Sally's, he has trouble sleeping. She should return tomorrow I hope. When we arrived home this evening, Ingrid was having all she could do to settle the children. Astrid wanted Papa to sit with her but Cait wouldn't be consoled, she wanted Mama as did Brynn. A mother is the center of the family no matter where one goes, even to another dimension, Eidra is no exception.
Tomorrow it's back to the longhouses. Hopefully Stark will have some answers, any answers as to what the hell happened to Eris, and precisely what the fuck he was thinking with Chase.



Brenna heard the soft rap on her bedroom door and quickly closed the small wooden box in her lap.
“Bren, are you still awake?”
“Yes,” she sighed, “What do you want?”
“I want to talk to you,” Fen opened the door a crack, “Might I come in?”
Brenna shoved the box beneath the covers beside her, “I do not know why I should let you but if I do not, you will likely whine until I do.”
Fen trotted over to her bed and sat down at the end, tucking his feet under his night shift, “Are you still angry with me for letting Chase take my horse?”
“Yes,” she fluffed the covers over her legs, crossed her arms, “I did not wish to speak with him.”
“But you did.”
Brenna refrained from tossing her pillow at Fen, “Because it would have been rude to ignore him.”
Fen saw the folded piece of paper peeking out from the coverlet at her stomach, “You are re-reading the letters he sent you when you were still in school on Midgard.”
“What I am reading is none of your affair,” she tucked the letter further beneath the blanket.
Fen rested his chin on his knees, “When you broke off your engagement with Chase, you cried for a fortnight and more. Each evening I would hear you on the other side of the wall and I would become so enraged I would dream of flogging Chase with Papa's riding crop, sending him to Jotunheim to freeze.”
“You little worm!” Brenna scolded though she reached for his neck, pulling him down on the bed beside her, “Trying to protect me, and you still a boy.”
“I will be a man by the next moon,” Fen put his hands behind his head, “Then I will be able to defend your honor properly.”
Brenna reached over, poking him in the side, “My honor does not need defending...” she slid the letter out from under the blanket, “Truth be told, it is my heart that is defenseless.”
Fen sat up, “Then it is settled. You will not talk to him again.”
“You sound like Papa! I cannot simply ignore Chase now that he is here in Asgard.”
“Why?”
“Go to bed,” Brenna pushed at him, “You ask too many questions.”
Fen jumped to the floor, “I will never ken girls. They say one thing yet do another.”
Brenna sat forward, “You will ken when you are older, now go before I call Papa.”
Fen shrugged, headed for the door.
“Fen?”
He paused, looked over his shoulder.
“Thank you.”
He turned around, “For what?”
“For wanting to defend me. For giving Chase your horse.”
Fen gave her a crooked smile and shook his head as he crept into the hall, closing the door behind him. Brenna took the wooden box from beneath the coverlet and brought it to her wardrobe, setting it at the bottom. She returned then to her bed , sitting there upon the mattress staring at the flame of the lantern for a long time, her thoughts miles distant and years past.



“Do not think on it so much,” Gretten smiled at her, “If you must, you can return over the Bifrost.”
Beth yanked her hands back across the table, “I've told you how upset I get when I think about leaving.”
Gretten reached over the table to reclaim them, “And we have discussed this as well. If need be, I will give up my position and follow you.”
“God in heaven, don't lets get into that again,” Beth groaned though she kept her hands locked into his, “I seriously doubt they'll go for it.”
“You yourself said there are plans for Asgardians to travel to Midgard. I will simply volunteer. You cannot expect me to stay here especially not...,” he leaned to one side to peer through  the dining room into the sitting room. Loki had finally retired to bed. Still he lowered his voice to a whisper, “Especially not with out little secret.”
Beth put her head down on her arms. She'd already had visions of herself waddling across the platform at St. Rose to receive her degree in the spring.
“I can't handle this. I just can't. I swear I only came here to write my final paper. I didn't come here to find...,” she paused, added softly, “You...”
He let go of her hands, “Are you sorry then?”
She slid around the table to sit beside him, locking her arm into his, “I am most certainly not sorry. I found a man who loves food...loves cooking...,” she put her head on his shoulder, “loves me...we just have to find a way to make this work and we've got three months in which to do it. That girl getting zapped into oblivion just set me off is all.”
“Rest assured I will do everything in my power...” Gretten began but Beth sat up.
“What power? Let's be honest with each other. You're a cook, I'm a college student. You know what that adds up to? Zilch, zero. I go to the Mighty Thor and say, “Hey, Gretten and I, we got a thing going. We're gonna have a baby so is it okay if I bunk up with him? Hang around Asgard for a bit longer?” He's going to laugh in my face, or worse.”
Gretten put a finger to his lips, “Do not get in such a lather. The last thing we want is for Lord Loki to hear us.”
Beth stared at the ceiling, “Maybe he's the one we should talk to in the first place.”
Gretten slapped a hand to his bald head, “And you think the King would take us to task...Lord Loki has a quicker temper.”
Beth rose from the table. Her head was starting to ache, she was feeling churlish, “Why? Hell he's got five kids, you'd think he would understand human nature. Sometimes things don't always go as planned.”
Gretten stood before her, taking her face in his hands, “Will you trust me to find a solution to this dilemma?”
Suddenly everything felt surreal, her final thesis sitting on the table open on the tablet, Earth, graduation day in New York. It was as if they were slowly fading into the background, becoming part of a past she was rapidly forgetting.
“Gretten, I'll do whatever you tell me to do. If it keeps me here or brings you there, I'm all for it.”
Gretten gave her that serious smile; it always made her heart pound, “That is what I want to hear, my little sweet roll.”
Beth patted his hands, wishing she felt as confident as he looked.


“Sylvan, Moran, be sure to tie that headboard down tight now.” Sally called up to the two men standing in the bed of the wagon, covering her mouth with her shawl again as she gazed about the dooryard.
Helgi put her arm about Sally's shoulders, “You must not fret so.”
“It is in her nature,” Ren chuckled, tugging on Sally's shawl, “She worried her last wrap so, I had to knit her another.”
Sally swatted at Ren with tears in her eyes, “Go on, woman, ye've put up with me worrying for nearly four seasons now. I would think ye'd be used to it.” They put their heads together, laughing.
“Ren are you certain I cannot convince you to come along as well. We've a large manor now with plenty of room.” Eidra took Ren's hand.
“I am, that. I was born in Rialo. I have lived here all my life and 'tis here I will remain until I shut my eyes for the last time,” Ren kissed Eidra's palm, “I am strong. I have many years left in me yet.”
“And ye would spend them alone?” Sally surveyed the old cottage, “I like not the thought of that.”
Ren waved at Sally, “I will visit come Jul if it suits you. Then you might see how well I have fared.”
“If ye do not, I shall fetch ye meself,” Sally gathered Ren into a tight embrace, “Ye've kept me sanity all these seasons without Christopher.”
“Your bed is tied down, Mistress Sally,” Sylvan called to her as he and Moran leaped to the ground.
Eidra turned to Sally, “Well that is it, I suppose. Let us be off. I miss the children terribly.”
Helgi pulled herself up into the front seat of the wagon, Sally struggled to climb up next until Moran scaled the steps, took her arm and hauled her up.
Eidra sat down beside Sally and took up the reins.
“Are ye sure of this, Eidra?” She murmured as the wagon lurched forward.
“It is too late to change your mind Sally,” Helgi nudged her, “now hush and enjoy the ride.”
Sally settled into the seat, “I miss Chris.”
“As do we all,” Eidra conceded, “as do we all.”


“Mama is coming!” Astrid cried as she hopped up and down at the window beside the front door. She watched Ingrid sign to Edie as Edie started to clap wildly along with Cait. Brynn was already stretching to reach the handle of the door.
Ingrid put a finger to her lips, “Now you must let her inside the house before you overtake her.”
Brenna came trotting down the stairs, “I heard the wagon. Cait run and fetch Eldred to help unload Sally's things.”
“I do not want to,” Cait whined but Brenna guided her to the door.
“You expect Mama and Sally to do all the hard work? Fen is off with Papa, Colin is at the longhouses so we are short hands, now go.”
Cait stuck out her tongue as she opened the door, slamming it shut behind her.
“Impudent little troll!” Brenna called after her, caught Ingrid's grin, “What.”
“Nothing,” Ingrid laughed, “Save the fact that you were more of a handful than Cait.”
Brenna grabbed her wrap from the pegs by the door, “I was no such thing! I was a babe in arms compared to her.”
Ingrid chuckled to herself as they headed outside to meet the wagon.


Eidra hugged Brenna, “Oh, I missed you so.”
“Mama, you have been gone but a day and some,” Brenna giggled as Astrid and Brynn clamored at Eidra's legs.
“And does that mean you have not missed me in kind?” Eidra knelt down to gather the twins to her.
“Of course not. I have much to tell you..,”
The front door opened again as Hal, Gretten and Beth stepped out of the manor.
“Milady, 'tis good to see you home,” Gretten bowed, “I have planned a grand meal for this evening to welcome our guest.” He nodded to Sally who had let herself down from the wagon and now stood beside Helgi wringing her hands together.
Hal had already moved to the wagon, starting to undo the ropes which held Sally's possessions in place.
Eldred the stable hand raced into the dooryard followed by Cait who rushed to Eidra, “Mama! I am so happy you are back!”
Eidra smiled at Brenna, kissing the top of Cait's head, “At least my brave girl seems to have pined for me.”
As Hal and Eldred started to unload the wagon, Brenna pulled Eidra aside, no small task as the children kept running up to her, vying for her attention.
“Mama, you will not believe what has happened. Yesterday at the longhouses, the portal...,” Brenna paused, searching for the word Tony had used, “Malfunctioned....most of the new people from Midgard had arrived save one woman. When she was prompted to pass through the portal, she vanished!”
“Vanished?” Eidra lifted Astrid to her hip, “How?”
Brenna shrugged, “They were frantic. They do not yet know what became of her. Whether she disappeared into another realm or was destroyed entirely, they cannot say. Tony said if she was yet alive, she would have known just to press her marker and come back to the longhouse portal. Colin allowed as she was not as......quick... as the others, therefore she might not know how to return.”
Eidra put a hand to her mouth, “The poor woman!”
“They have shut the portals off so they might find what is wrong with them but you have not heard the rest. I was there with Papa and Fen watching the Midgardians arrive and who should step out of the portal but Chase!”
“What?!” Edira cried, “Your Chase?”
“Mama! He is not my Chase any longer,” she bristled at the little flush of color that rushed to her cheeks, “he claims he was chosen by Tony to come here. He is an employee of Stark Industries now.”
“He came here to see you again, the upstart,” Eidra smoothed Brenna's hair.
Brenna was struck at how accurately her mother had called Chase's motives. She was also flattered that he'd done just what Eidra said yet it left her more confused than she'd ever been in her life.



Eidra felt the mattress sink beside her and she forced her eyes open to see Loki sitting there silhouetted in the light from the lantern on the nightstand, working his boots off. She reached up her hand, rubbing his back.
“Did I wake you?”
“It matters not whether you did,” she whispered, “I tried to stay awake.”
Loki drew off his tunic, tossing it onto the dressing table chair, “I trust you settled Sally in with no trouble?”
Eidra turned over onto her back, “She was terribly homesick though she was delighted to see the children. Loki, she could barely climb into the wagon this morn. I implored her to consider a walking stick but she is quite stubborn. By the time everyone retired for the evening, she was so sore she could hardly walk up the stairs, perhaps we should consider adding a room for her on the first floor.”
“As you wish,” Loki extinguished the lantern and slid beneath the covers, drawing her close to him.
“Brenna told me of the tragedy at the longhouse when I arrived home today.”
She heard Loki grunt, “Indeed.”
“Is this what kept you so long away this eve?”
Loki brought his hand to her face, caressing the features he knew better than his own, her petite nose, gracefully arched eyebrows, tiny shell of an ear, the laugh lines at her eyes, “Among other incidents, yes. I was pressed to explain to Thor what had happened at the longhouse. I also made a tribute to the gods in honor of Fen's upcoming rite of passage and visited with Mother. She begged us to come en masse to see her. She wishes to see the children. She has been quite lonely since Odin's passing. Thor is taken up with his duties as King. Jane affords her some comfort but....”
“But,” Eidra finished, putting her hand to his chest, “she pines for her favorite son.”
“Bah,” Loki muttered softly, “She pines for the little ones. Is it not every mother's hope for her children to bear her grandchildren?”
Eidra bit her lip. The statement had brought to mind yet again what Brenna had told her, “So Chase has returned to Asgard?”
Loki stiffened, “He has.”
“To work under Stark? Did you not say no....mutants..would be accepted into the exchange program?”
She waited as he weighed his words.
“It would seem Chase is a special case.”
“Brenna spoke of him a goodly part of the day. I predict we shall have no end of trouble with the two of them,” she whispered, worried that Brenna would somehow hear her, “She is old enough now to make her own decisions. What can we do?”
“Keep her busy? Let her visit Sophie on Midgard? Send her to the university as she wishes? Whatever it takes to keep her from straying off the path,” Loki nestled himself beneath her chin.
“She is your daughter, mind you,” Eidra sighed, stroking the hair at his temple, “And look to what lengths you went for me.”
“Hush,” he murmured, “The circumstances were entirely different..”
Though the outcome may be quite the same, she thought to herself as she settled against him, bidding sleep to take her.