Falling For The Gods

The Garden

Brandt - 

I woke up with my arms still gripping Isla. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about the night before. I began to tremble when I thought about that final push into her and the feeling of pure bliss when I was finally able to c*m for the first time. I stared at my beautiful wife for a couple more seconds before I decided to get up and start my day. I slid my arm out from under Isla and tip-toed away into my room. I quickly threw some clothes on and headed out the door to meet Asmund for our morning ride.

-

Once out of the village I finally told Asmund about the night before.

“So I finally let myself finish, in bed, you know” I said.

“Uh yeah, I do. I really don’t need details” he replied.

I chuckled and said “I’m not giving you details, I just thought I’d tell my friend.” He sped his horse up so he could ride next to me and looked at me with a smile on his face. 

“I’m happy for you, Brandt. It’s about time you found someone to soften you up.” He quickly reached out a fist and punched me in the shoulder.

“While we are talking about women, is there any girl in particular that has caught your interest?” I asked as I raised my eyebrow. Asmund has been single his whole life, never letting himself divulge into the passion of s****l relationships. I often worried about him being alone forever, but the blush in his cheeks is leading me to believe there was a woman out there.

“I have been seeing somebody, yes. BUT I don’t want to give out her information” he replied stocily. I let a huge grin grow across my face.

“What! What is she like? Is she pretty? Is she a warrior? How’d you meet?” I bounced my questions at him.

“One thing at a time!” he said with slight annoyance in his tone.

“Okay, okay. Let's start with how you met her.”

“Well I’ve known her for quite some time. We kind of grew up together. I never really thought about her until recently though, I recently saw her in another light” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“So, why all the secrecy? It's not like you to keep something like this from me.” I countered.

“It’s just complicated. I don’t think we can be together in the long run and I don't want to fall for someone I can never have” he said with a voice filled with sadness. I only nodded. I didn’t want to push this any farther. Asmund was a strong guy but he was also very sensitive. When we were young he fell in love with a young girl too quickly. They were a storybook romance and the day she fell ill he broke. After her passing I was responsible for picking up all the pieces of him. I struggled with watching my battle buddy go through the worst pain of his entire life. I was scared he was getting himself into something he would never recover from. If she was willing to keep her relationship with such a prized suitor a secret, she must have had a dirty secret  of her own.

We decided to turn the horses around and headed back to the palace.

“Oh before I forget, Seer Malik has sent you a message” Asmund said, eyes looking everywhere but at me.

“What did it say?” I asked. He sighed before responding.

“He said your and Isla’s thread was completely intertwined. You would now be about to feel her emotions slightly and track her easily. This means your bond can not be broken now.” he said looking me straight in the eyes. I nodded in understandance. I worried that she would never accept me, but with the strength of the threads binding us I knew I no longer had to worry. She loved me, or was starting to anyway. 

Isla - 

I walked to the kitchen still sore from the night before. When I walked in I could smell the sweet scent of breakfast pastries filling the air. It reminded me of waking up on the weekend back home, my mom would always start our Sundays off with fresh cinnamon rolls. Just as I was looking around for a pastry to steal a familiar shape caught my eye.

“Ah if it isn't the Goddess of War” Ivar said louder than necessary. I turned to him.

“Isla, just call me Isla. What brings you to the kitchen so early?” I asked, trying to maintain my composure. Something about Ivar made my skin crawl.

“I heard this is where you come every morning, I was hoping to run into you.” I only nodded to him.

“I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. It was not my place to tell you the kind of man your husband is” he said with a smirk. He knew exactly what he was saying.

“It’s okay. After we went home our bond became stronger so you did nothing but bring a husband and wife closer together” I reluctantly said with a smile on my face. I could see the flames erupt behind his eyes, not understanding why his plan didn’t work. 

“I see, well I’m glad I could be of service to you” he finally said in a flat tone. I could only stare at him as if we were fighting with our eyes. 

“Isla!” I could hear Astrid shout from the hallway. I turned my attention back to Ivar.

“I apologize, but I must be going” I said to him. He gave me a small bow as I turned to walk away. I forced myself to keep my composure and keep my pace slow. I could feel him bore holes into the back of my head with his eyes.

Finally out of his sight I let out a sharp sigh. I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath. I quickly spotted Astrid and ran over to her.

“What’s wrong Isla?” she said, peering around my shoulder to see what had startled me.

“I just ran into Ivar in the kitchen” I said. I softly grabbed her arm and started us walking away from the kitchen down the corridor towards the garden. 

“What did he want from you?” she whispered. I shrugged my shoulders. I couldn’t read his motives, all I knew of him was he was a God who ran his own territory.

“I’ll send some of my Ladies to keep him company and see what he divulges” she said. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and I pieced together what ‘keep him company’ meant. Astrids giggle broke my thoughts.

“Don’t tell me your embarrassed, especially after I heard you knocked all the photos off the walls from your wing of the palace” she said with her eyebrows raised. Not only were my cheeks red, but I could feel my whole body catch on fire with the realization that people could hear us last night.

We finally approached the doors that lead to the garden, I swung open the large door and was greeted with a horrendous sight. 

“The garden!” I cried out. I ran over to it. All the plants were wilted, some of them burned. The earth was scorched and salted. I collapsed to my knees and began running my fingers through the ashes that were once a part of the garden that made me feel so at home. I let tears roll down my face as I listened, numbed to the chaos around me. I tried to wipe my tears, but I only smudged soot around my face. My heart was broken. The garden was the first place I could call home in this strange world.

I soon felt strong arms wrap around me and scoop me up. Brandt was holding me, burying my face into his chest so I didn’t have to see the remnants around me. I let out a sob as he carried me to a bench and took a seat. I uncovered my face and looked up at him, my eyes stinging from the tears and the soot I rubbed in them.

“Shhh baby, I’ll figure this all out” he whispered to me wiping my face and brushing my hair out.

“My garden” I said in between sobs and once again buried my face in his chest. I could feel him stroking the back of my head, trying to comfort me. 

“Find them now!” I heard him bark at someone. The sheer power behind his voice was enough to make me jump. Soon after my startle he started combing my hair again.

“Shh baby, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.” He planted a warm kiss on the top of my head. He was keeping his composure towards me soft, but I could feel him tremble with rage. 

“Baby, do you have any idea who did this?” he asked me, cupping my chin in his large hand and raising my head. I caught his eyes and could see the sorrow built in them, I had almost forgotten that this garden was his mothers treasure. 

“I-I” I said trying to get out his name through my sobs.

“I-Ivar, he k-knows, I loved-” I couldn’t stop crying over the loss of such a sacred place.

Brandt stood, steady on his feet with me still wrapped in his chest.

“Send Ivar to the office. Now!” he ordered someone.

“Come baby, let's get you home” he whispered in my ear. 

Ivar carried me all the way back to our wing. He gently placed me on the bed once again, wiping the tears from my eyes. He stood and made his way to the bathroom. Soon after I heard the water being drawn for a bath. He appeared out of the bathroom again.

“Would you like help getting in?” I nodded. He came over and began gingerly untying the back of my dress. A small smile slipped onto my lips as I thought about the God of War being so gentle with his fragile wife. Once undressed he scooped me up and placed me in the tub. I let my eyes close as he washed my back with a soft sponge.