The Valkyrie

 

     She didn't want to have him killed. When he came to see her, she knew that it would end in sorrow. He was kind and handsome and her heart ached as she stared at the red tapestry depicting the soldiers fighting a battle. He would have his wish, he would no longer be fighting a fruitless battle.

     She had first met him several years ago when they were both even younger than they had been this time. They were at a ball and he stared at her from across the room. He had gray eyes that looked like an oncoming storm. When he touched her she lost herself in that storm. She was a Valkyrie and she had a job to do, but every moment she met him her resolve faded. She had many lovers over the centuries, but she did not have love. This time it was different. Her thoughts were haunted by his image. She imagined a future with him. She even imagined having children with him, though she knew that would be impossible. She had somehow found love, though she was a monster.

     Odin was clear about what she needed to do. She waited as long as she could, but the pressure was too great and she could not battle Odin. She offered so many soldiers to Odin, but he insisted on her knight. Eventually, she had to stop meeting him. It was too painful and she was too attached. He understood that she could not see him, although he did not know the true reason why. He vowed to fight gallantly for her in order to win back his spot by her side. 

     She had seen the battles take their toll on him. The more blood that he shed, the darker his eyes appeared to her. Lines appeared on his face from the stress of being a soldier and the time that he spent outdoors. His once pure heart had turned jaded and suspicious. She had destroyed so much that she had once loved about him.

     The day came when she knew that he would be coming to see her. When she saw him, she had to look away in order to conceal her feelings for him. He told her that the battles must stop and he implied that she was not making wise decisions. She listened and her heart felt as if it were in a vice. When she left the room, she made the order. He would be in Valhalla that day. 

     Once he was gone, and the soldiers had taken his body away, she wept. Her tears turned to stones in the same color as his eyes. She knew that she would never love again. She gathered the stones and kept them with her for the rest of her life to remind her of the tragedy of love.