Queen of Asgard (NaNoWriMo2018, Completed!)

9: Asgard

"How are we supposed to get to Asgard?"

"The Bifrost," she said promptly, in the same casual tone one might say "bus" or "train".

"The what?"

"Bifrost," Sif repeated. "Think of it like a bridge that connects Asgard and Midgard, but it's made of rainbows."

A bridge made out of rainbows? That was certainly a building material I would have never thought to use. Part of me wondered how that was even possible even how a rainbow was just light reflecting through water, but I swallowed my question. What our transportation was made of was not important if it could just get us there safely.

"How do we get to it?"

Sif held out her hand to me. "We can't get to it here, we need to go somewhere remote but I'm just going to teleport us there. Much faster than those automobiles you drive."

I stared at her. "To bring someone along with you?"

"Yes," Sif gave me a confused look. "How else are we supposed to transport wounded during battle?"

Battle? Did her kind fight among themselves in a civil war? Or were there other worlds out there, worlds with people just as powerful as Sif and her own people? I didn't know, but I intended to find out at the soonest opportunity.

However, I didn't ask that question-because I had a more important one on my mind. "Is it safe for me to travel like that?" I didn't know anything about teleporting, but I knew it wasn't something I had ever used and I wanted to know the risks that came with it.

Sif nodded. "Yes, all the other contestants out of their homes this way as well. They were fine."

"How many are there?" I asked, still wary of this new mode of transportation even with her assurances. "How many others are in these trials?"

"Counting you? Eight."

So I had to beat seven other people to become like Sif and find the Jotun. I'd had worse odds. I took a deep breath and grabbed Sif's hand, as ready as I would ever be to take the plunge. "Let's go."

Sif grinned and there was a loud cracking sound in my ears and suddenly I was weightless. That sensation of floating lasted only a moment and then changed, flipping so that I felt like I was being shoved into a trash compactor. My bones popped and bright white lights jumped around my vision and then it was over.

Head spinning, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground, shutting my eyes tightly as I tried to keep the cottage cheese I'd eaten earlier from coming back up. "Ugh," I groaned. "How do you do that all the time? That's awful!"

"Perhaps you just need to get used to it?" Sif offered and I heard a lilt to her voice that only suggested barely held back laughter. I opened one eye and sure enough, she was shaking with silent giggle.

"Something funny?" I asked dryly daring to open my mouth now that some of the nausea was fading.

"You're face looks green," she said, still laughing. "It looks funny. If you could see it, you'd be laughing too."

I rolled my eyes and stood shakily to my feet. "Will I have to do that on your world? On Asgard?"

"In the event of an emergency, yes you will, but outside of that no. Not unless you ask someone to take you."

"Great," I muttered. I was certain that I would not ask to go anywhere via teleporting. "So where are we?" I looked around us for the first time now that my head wasn't so dizzy. We were in an empty lot, surrounded by thick, tall trees and a partial frame a house was not far away. Someone was building a home here.