Loki's Daughter, Mortem and Mischief

Chapter Eighteen

"And what about me? Who am I?" I asked cautiously. I was afraid to hear his answer. The things I had held so dear had divulged to chaos. Who's to say my sense of identity didn't disappear too? I didn't know who I was or what part I played in this new timeline.

"It depends who you ask," Grimnir said with a shrug, "Some may say you're terrifying, others might say you're beautiful, or that you're noble. Or maybe that you're tall."

"That's not really helping," I sighed, "I'm tall no matter what timeline I'm in, I'm half Jotun. And nobility comes with being a noble. And I'm the Goddess of Death, Grimnir. Terrifying comes with the title."

He put his hands up in defense, "Okay yes, but truly, you're a mystery to most. I am quite fortunate to have gotten to know you."

"You are?" I asked, raising a brow.

"You're quite stand-offish, a bit aloof even, it's kind of mysterious," he explained, "Always have that scary looking expression on your face."

I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head as I crossed my arms.

"That's the one!" Grimnir exclaimed, "It's quite terrifying. And then you'll open your mouth and the smartest things will come out, you often use words I don't even know. It's intimidating but truly, it's very hot."

Grimnir was being quite unhelpful. I was gaining no new information here other than the fact that this boy was head over heals for me. It was a fact that I certainly was delighted over but it was not the information I was after. I needed to know what this timeline's Hela was like. What made me different here than home.

By his side eyes glances and shaking leg, I could tell that he was shielding bits of truth from me. Grimnir didn't want to tell me the whole story, he seemed afraid to. It was much more his speed to shower me with compliments than truly be helpful.

"You're being unamiacable," I said as I rubbed my face, "I appreciate the flattery, truly I do. But I can tell you're holding out on me, Grimnir."

"Dammit," he sighed, "Alright, well...darling, might I preface that despite all of what I am about to say I still think you are wicked cool."

"Alright, yes, thank you," I said, "Now get on with it?"

"You're kind of a war criminal," he blurted out, clapping his hands and pursing his lips.

I stopped for a moment. Kind of a war criminal. What an interesting choice of words and I was just about certain that the story behind it was gruesome.

"I'm going to need more context than that," I said slowly, sitting down as I braced myself for the explanation.

Taking a deep breath, Grimnir began to explain, "Three years ago, your father made a deal with Thanos, right? That's the reason Asgard was spared in the snap. Now....I lied to you earlier. I told you no one really knew what the deal your father made was. But...word gets around fast here in Asgard, and all it took was one gossiping maid to let the story leak. You see it all started with your nightmares."

"My nightmares?" I echoed, "What does that have to do with Thanos?"

"A child's nightmares can reveal a lot, especially yours," he said, "The maid told nearly everyone in town about how the princess began to have night terrors concerning ghosts. Then, one thing lead to another, and it was confirmed by that same maid that Asgard's dear princess wasn't having simple nightmares but was in fact haunted by the dead. Soon it was confirmed that you were the deity of death."

"That tracks," I said with a nod, "I was about six when I began to communicate with the dead, that's how we figured it out in my timeline as well."