The light was blinding.

It was a complex array of vibrant gold, pearls and wisps of blue. Her body was spinning violently, being tossed around like a rag doll in a hurricane. And all the while it felt like her chest was being crushed by the painful chill; as if the air was being pulled from her lungs.

The pain began to worsen as all of the lights illuminated to such brightness she was forced to close her eyes before she went blind. In a flash her body floated downwards before crashing, her back colliding with solid ground. An agonized cry slipped passed her cracked lips. She laid there panting, struggling to keep her breath. She opened her eyes but the only thing she saw were blurs of glittering, shining objects far off in the distance. She heard things though. Voices yelling and growing louder indicating someone was getting close to her. She could even feel their bounding feet that shook the ground she laid on.

“What has happened,” a heavy voice roared, obviously a man’s. Her heart pounded in her throat as she licked her lips; the taste of copper was bitter on her tongue.

“Please,” she tried but her voice was weak, barely a whisper breezing out. With little strengthen she lifted her right arm up towards the blur of a figure.

“Help me,” tears rolled down her cheeks as she fell limp on the ground.

The two warriors stood in awe; never before had a mortal entered their domain, and in such a way no less. She was not summoned by the Bifrost, which worried the two. Obviously some sort of foul play had befallen this woman. Slowly Balder knelt down and gathered the limp woman in his arms and hurried to the main hall with the other man trailing quickly behind.

“At least she is easy on the eyes,” the handsome warrior joked. Balder rolled his eyes and huffed.

“Shut up Fandral.”

The two left unaware they were under the watchful eye of a mischievous god.

Her eyes opened with the light of the sun. She immediately shot up in an unfamiliar bed, her sight had returned to her. The room she was in was frightfully beautiful, but not the place she once was. In silence she thought hard about what had happened, but the memory was so hard to focus on; like it had taken place years ago. She remembered being outside of her house after hearing a person crying out for help. Finding no one she turned to go back inside and call the police but a dark mist swarmed her. Everything after that point was a haze of a dream.

Unaware of her where she was she lifted the soft covers from her body and left the bed, but with her first step she swayed. She felt a spell of nausea take over. The bottoms of her feet were sensitive on the cold tile and ached with each step she took. She walked over to the thick iron door and pressed herself against in listened quietly for any noise on the other side. The silence was the only answer she needed before she pushed against it with force. It opened easily revealing a mass hall that lead down to what seemed like a never ending maze. Ignoring her mind’s warning and body’s aches she wobbled down the hall not really sure on what she would find; hopefully someone who could explain what had happened to her.

It was unreal; her ventures had led her to an opening that looked out towards a vast city. The buildings and architecture was marvelous, she had never seen anything so well made. Most of the buildings lined up and almost sat on each other. They were perched on hills, flourishing with tall trees, exotic flowers and brush. But something else caught her eye and it unraveled her. The sky. She backed away from the balcony in horror. The sky stretched out towards the darkness of space. A planet stood far out past the stars floating like a blue marble in ink. The thought finally hit her; she wasn’t home. Quickly she ran down the hall not caring if she was seen or not. A staircase appeared around a corners and she raced down the steps almost tripping. They led to a main hall littered in gold tapestries and pillars; a few people were walking but stopped to look at her, most gawked in shock.

“Who is she,” someone asked but no one could answer. Finally she reached a massive golden door that would be suitable for giants. She groaned as she pressed against them but they would not budge. Tears ran down her face as she screamed in frustration.

 “You should not be out of bed,” a voice spoke up behind her. Jumping where she stood she looked over her shoulder to see a man dressed in a green garb with gold armor. His black hair was pulled off his face and tucked in his horned helmet. He smiled at her warmly. Though he seemed kind enough, her mind was ringing every alarm. A glove-clad hand reached out to her, welcoming her to take it but she backed away. Glancing off to the side she noticed a corridor leading down more stairs.

“Come now, I mean you no harm,” the man seemed to catch on to her idea and moved closer. The uneasiness showed on her face and her body language showed her desperation to get away. Right as he was about to grab her arm she took off. She could hear people yelling and the man’s voice telling them to back down. The stairs spiraled down for a long time till she reached a dark chamber lit only by torches. She followed the hall quickly till she stumbled upon an open door. Walking inside there was a white pool in the center. The room was illuminated by the sun that came through the open windows.

“Where am I,” she cried out to no one.

“In the hall of the Odin,” a familiar voice chimed out. Turning her head she saw the man from the great hall. He was grinning and was leaned up comfortably against the door frame.

“I am Loki,” he bowed.

“Ava King,” she barley whispered out. The man called Loki nodded his head and lifted his arms high above him.

“Ava King I welcome you to Asgard.”

“What is Asgard,” she whined and took a step away from him. He looked almost confused at her question but recovered with another smile.

“I forget you mortals have no knowledge of this place,” he said rather insultingly. “It is the home of the Gods, ruled over by Odin the All-father.

“How is that possible?” she moved closer in wonder. Loki’s grin deepened as he quietly murmured a spell. The sphere instantly froze into black ice and fell into his hand. He offered it up to her. Her dark fingers touched it gently as if it would break. Slowly he placed it into her hands and watched her study it.

“As a god nothing is too great,” Loki watched her move the sphere in her hands and bring it close to her face to look inside. “And with magic anything can be done… or undone.”

The sphere grew colder in her hands and began to crack. It broke into water and a small bird emerged out shaking its wings. Ava smiled at the bird’s beauty; its feathers were black with a green hue and its eyes were gold. It lifted and flew out of her hand and out the window with a sweet song.

“Why am I here?” Her face went solemn as she looked out to where the bird flew. She looked to Loki for an answer. He frowned and turned his gaze back at the pool.

“Some questions cannot be answered so easily,” his voice grew darker as he turned away from her. “You are still hurt, come with me.”

Loki returned her to the chamber she was resting in before. His instructions were clear. Do not leave the room till he came for her, and stay quiet. She still was not feeling well and now her head was throbbing in pain so she willingly complied.

This was too much for her.