Tired of climbing stairs, Hermes sighed and snapped his fingers once more, this time both he and Hela were in a different place. They were at the top of the valley.
He stretched in a long way and played. "This trip was longer than I imagined, it seems that we arrived..."
Hela could only stare into the huge void and watched Hermes grinning a few steps away from her, he felt proud and relatively funny.
"I don't care about your mockery..."
Hermes kept smiling, but tired of walking he sat up in the air and kept his winged sandals taking care of the rest for him. "You know Hela, I feel curious about you."
"Ask."
Hela accompanied Hermes as he floated around, but it seemed really impossible not to stop a few moments after hearing the doubt he had about her. "Why did you decide to revolt against Odin?"
She simply sighed and kept walking.
That question was obvious and the answer so simple as to be ridiculous, but that was the truth of it.
"Odin's method of putting his ideas into practice strikes me as old-fashioned... We no longer live in savage times... Life and death are no longer taken seriously with fairness and naturalness... There is no honor in dying amidst the cowardice of the gods."
Hermes listened to that attentively and could only feel intrigued, after all, the more people who died without honor, the more people she would have under her power, so why did she look so unhappy ?!
Anyway, it wasn't his problem.
A few minutes passed and the two walked through the immensity dyed in black until a soft voice resounded. "Hermes?"
Hermes replied full of good humor, there was Ina. "It is me. Good morning Ina, how are we?"
Ina didn't have eyesight, but her hearing was very good.
She could hear a person's footsteps and the flapping of wings that very much resembled Hermes.
Ina couldn't even imagine that she was about to get married or that she was standing in front of her bride, but there was some kind of curiosity in her heart to know who would be willing to visit her.
No one but Hermes ever showed up to see her.
Ina was limited in her movements, the chains on her wrists and legs were heavy and she was weak, kept seated at all times and just moved her neck with ease.
She turned towards the voice so familiar to her and smiled beautifully. "Well. Days pass slowly around here."
Hermes finally got back on his feet and sat down on a rock next to Ina. "You are very thin, have you been eating?"
He gently observed the woman's features, she was smiling and beautiful, but there was an intrinsic feeling of unease, she looked so thin and weak... She looked very pitiful.
Ina who didn't really mind eating, she kept quiet and carried out her punishment dutifully.
Mainly because she felt wronged.
The operation of those punishments was very simple and whoever was finally caught by the distorted justice of the gods would simply be carried and buried by all that, without any kind of reluctance or effort.
Ina didn't intend to rebel, she didn't even have the strength to, who was she but a servant of nature?!
She had never held a gun and didn't even intend to.
"No. I have been fasting for half a century."
Hermes smiled in surprise, eternity was really ephemeral for the gods, he wasn't even aware that it had been there like that for so long. "Is it all over now?"
Hela watched the smiling, docile woman across from her.
Ina was really beautiful, but her weakened appearance never ceased to bother her.
She felt irritated, it didn't seem like she was really a threat to anyone, so why the hell was she stuck there like that?
Ina who couldn't see the confused expressions around her remained focused on their casual conversation. "My only entertainment is keeping myself entertained with the constant ticking of the seconds."
Hermes nodded and then remembered that she wouldn't see.
He got up quickly and stopped beside Hela. "Well, now you'll have company... Your bride has just arrived."
Ina following Hermes' voice kept her head in the direction where his voice was coming from which gave the brief impression that she was staring directly at Hela.
Hela could see Ina's gray eyes for the first time, her gaze was steady and intense, anyone who watched her immersed in their own ignorance could never know that she couldn't see.
She looked away even though she knew she couldn't be seen, but for some reason she felt nervous.
Ina, who remained silent for a few seconds, showed no emotions, no disappointment or happiness... Maybe she just felt intrigued.
She laced her fingers together and looked really curious about this situation.
A marriage as a punishment was unusual to say the least, but it seemed obvious that this was the work of Zeus. "Bride?"
Hermes who could sense the strange atmosphere smiled awkwardly and just pretended to be natural. "Hela. Goddess of Death and Helheim is among us."
Ina who obviously knew who Hela was, didn't hide her surprised expression, she knew the myths surrounding the goddess of those who died in dishonour.
Hela was a woman who became the goddess of the dead at Odin's sheer whim, she was known among the gods and many viewed her with eyes filled with pity or scorn.
A poor thing.
Which did not match reality, mainly because Hela was actually a very powerful woman and who recognized her importance in the Kingdom of the Dead.
In the end, everything there was hers and hers alone.
Ina smiled, her once serious gaze gradually softening which made Hela feel more at ease. "It's a pleasure... I'm Ina, holder of the secret of eternal life and I hold the key to paradise... Or at least that's what I once was."
Hela nodded and walked over to Ina, knelt before her and touched the chains that bound the woman to the ground.
She touched the cold metal and could see some cracks in the floor, if Ina wasn't so weak she would probably be able to break them at some point or another.
"Let's loose your chains..."
Ina who could keep up with Hela's footsteps wasn't taken aback by how close the voice was to her ears, but it was actually surprising to feel the scent so close to her and even a distinct warmth.
By not using sight, all of her other senses were extremely heightened, but it was really new after so long for someone to approach her in such a natural and intimate way.
"What?"
Her heart fluttered, especially when she heard the sound of chains breaking.
Hela tried to focus solely on the currents, but Ina made her feel uncomfortable...her face was so hot and her mind was anxious.
[Crack][Crack]
Without any kind of effort she broke the chains and Ina automatically touched her wrists that were now free... The feeling of being able to move her arms and legs freely was something she hadn't felt for so long.
"There, I broke your chains, do you think you can get up?"
Hela stared at the blood red marks on Ina's pale skin and felt irritated, her thin, sensitive skin should have gotten used to the chains, but she could only briefly imagine how much she had to suffer to live with that trapping her around. time.
Ina heard the questioning and in an uncoordinated way she tried to get up from the position she was in, but in vain, not only did she not have the strength but her whole body was sore for so long in the same position.
A little embarrassed she assumed her situation. "No. I don't have the strength in my legs... Sorry."
Hela sighed and calmly placed one of her hands around Ina's waist.
She was afraid of not having her touch accepted, but soon felt relieved to see her respond with a beautiful smile. "It's not a problem, hold on to my neck... Hermes, you already know what you must do."
Ina immediately after putting her arms around Hela's neck felt the smooth movement of being lifted.
Hela picked her up so naturally, it seemed she couldn't even feel that there was something heavy in her arms.
Hermes, who felt really intrigued by all that, had in her heart the brief feeling that there was something left between the two of them... Well, they really did look like a young couple.
Filled with good humor, he agreed to playfully. "Yes ma'am."
It wasn't something prearranged, but he could easily understand that Hela was referring to a house... After all, Ina didn't live anywhere, she was simply stuck on a rock in the middle of complete emptiness.
Hela would never allow that situation to continue and despite having limited powers, she wanted to live as best she could in that place.
Since they would accept their fate, at least the minimum of comfort should exist.
Ina who didn't know what they were talking about, softly questioned what they were saying. "May I know what it is?"
Hela nodded and said softly. "I asked for a house for the two of us… Since we're going to be sharing our sorrows from now on, then we'll have a place to call home."
Ina was silent but softly nodded in agreement and laid her face against Hela's chest.
Ina could smell the faint woody scent, like a sweet perfume that exhaled.
She could feel comfortable and safe, Hela seemed like a good person despite the rumours.
Hermes who just pretended not to see that strange interaction in a snap of his fingers made a beautiful house appear, nothing would be missing and they could live comfortably for 1000 years.
It really didn't seem like a bad deal.