Sister of Gods (A Thor fanfiction)

Chapter Six: Secrets

"I love you, Astrid Odindottir." I looked up to see Thor looming over me, my head on his lap as he gently stroked my hair with his fingers. "Never forget that."

"Thor?" I sat up, nearly clocking his nose with my skull. Tears streamed from my eyes before I knew it. "Brother, is it really you?"

"I miss you too, Ass-trid." Thor grinned at the nickname and I swatted at him with a laugh, even though it was choked by tears.

"Still as charming as ever in a dream." My breath caught when I reminded myself that this was only a dream. I wiped at the tears that stained my face. "I miss you so damn much, Thor. I wish that this was real."

"Listen, little sister." Thor took my hands in his and smiled, "I may not physically be with you, but I am going to be in your mind. I am here, even if you can't see me."

"Since when were you one for philosophies like this?" I asked, wiping at my eyes with a chuckle.

"They're true." Thor smiled. "And you do realize that I'm not dead, right?"

"Exiled... basically means dead." I felt a sting bite my heart. "You can't come back. Heimdall and Father won't allow you to come back, no matter how hard I ask."

Thor was silent for a moment, and then he put his hands gently on the sides of my face and pressed my forehead to his. "I need to go, but I love you, Astrid. And tell Loki that I love him, too. Tell Mother and Father that despite what happened... I still love them."

And then he was gone.

-:-:-:-:-

I woke up. For real this time.

Letting out a soft groan, I pressed back a pounding headache forming at my temples and opened my eyes, trying my best not to stumble as I got off the bed.

Ebbe knocked on the door and I called to her, "You're welcome to enter."

"Hello, Princess." Ebbe walked into my room and then smiled at me as she bowed. "Are you prepared to get ready for the day?"

I nodded and gently took the brush from Ebbe, carefully untangling my long strands of hair and letting it fall down the small of my back. Then, Ebbe carefully pinned my hair back while I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and selected a dress.

"Ebbe." I said while Ebbe was helping me slide the long sleeves over my arms, "Can I ask you a question? It may come off a bit weird at first."

"Of course you can, your highness." Ebbe nodded from behind me, "I'll just try my best to answer it."

"Do you... do you believe that people who are banished are alive? And they can... somehow talk to you?" I asked, and Ebbe's hands stilled as they tied the ribbons at my back.

I winced. Hopefully, I hadn't startled Ebbe too badly.

"I understand it's an odd question." I acknowledged, "But do you think so, Ebbe? Because I'm not sure if the dream I just had was just my hallucination... or if it was something more."

"Well," Ebbe walked so she stood in front of me, "could you please tell me a bit more about this dream?"

"In the dream, Thor appeared to me. He told me that he wasn't dead, and that I should tell Mother and Father that despite it all, he still loves them." My hands trembled, and I clenched them to still them. "I... I hope that was real, and I wasn't hallucinating. I don't want my brother to be dead. I don't want my brother to... to be lost forever."

Ebbe came up to me and she put her hand on my shoulder. "Princess, I..."

"I know. I've gone mad." I pressed a hand to my forehead, "I truly have gone mad. Wishing that Thor was alive, making up dreams in my head... I've lost it." Tears slid down my face as I sank down to the floor. "It's been two days. Two days since I've lost my brother. And no one is acting like he's gone, except Loki, me, and you. It disturbs me and it hurts me. So many people just forgot about my brother, with a snap of a finger." My voice broke.