Soon Valkyrie found her hand creeping out to touch then
to boldly hold that of Thors'. They spent a moment gazing into each
others eyes. At last it was Thor who broke the spell by saying
" The sun will be setting in about 2 hours let's have that broth and I'll get you home"
Valkyrie replied with a start " Oh do let's"
They headed off together along the passage and sitting on the edge of
the bed drank steaming cups of delicious rabbit broth. Valkyrie brought
out her wheat cakes and they were soon both dunking them happily. The
broth was finished far too quickly and Thor gathered up the cups and
put them in the sink.
" Let's get you home lass"
Valkyrie shouldered her pack and Thor restocked his quiver and strapped
on his weapons. Valkyrie led the way out the door and Thor locked it
behind them. The walk back was largely uneventful apart from a large
morepork menacing them until Thor drew his sword and it flew away to
look for easier game. The stars were out when they reached the edge of
the bush and Thor insisted on seeing her to the door. Her parents were
waiting of course and a little anxious, however when they saw who she
was with,
her mother said
" oh hello Thor I see you've been looking after our little kitten "
" Oh mother " said Valkyrie blushing furiously.
" Won't you come in and have supper "said Odin
" No thankyou sir, I better get home I have an early start in the morning Simba and I are going on a hunting trip. "
With a wave he turned and ampled off into the bush. Valkyrie gazed
wistfully after him then went reluctantly inside. She was surprised to
see the amused looks on her parents faces.
" Did you have a nice time dear " her mother said amiably.
" He's a good lad that " said her father " How did you meet him. "
Valkyrie was soon telling them of her rescue from the ferret with suitable embellishments of course.
" I'm so glad he was there to help " Odin said " we might never have
got the gold for the crowns otherwise " he added with a laugh.
Valkyrie was quite surprised of how her parents regarded Thor and said so.
" You seem to have made a bit of a conquest there " said her mum " he usually keeps pretty much to himself "
" Oh Mother ! " blushed Valkyrie again.
" Off to bed girl " Odin said " It's way past your bedtime"
" Oh dad I am TWO years old you know ".
She went off to bed happily though, because she was rather tired from
her days adventures. The next day Valkyrie rose rather early, happy to
be alive. She tried to think up several excuses to visit the quarry
again. She was soon helping her mother with breakfast and it was ready
on the table when her father came out of the workshop carrying two
superbly crafted bowie knives, one longer than the other.
Handing them to his wife he said
" can you make a couple of sheaths for these dear ", " then Valkyrie
can have one and take the other to Thor, that way she won't need to
make up excuses to go there " he added with a smile.
Valkyrie became very eager and bolted down her breakfast and started
clearing the table before her parents were even halfway through their
meal.
" Don't rush dear, it'll take a day or two to make the sheaths you know"
" I'll help you mother " she exclaimed eagerly
" You can help me make the metal tips for them " Odin said
" When can we start "
" Soon dear, I need to find the right metal, soft so it won't blunt the
tip but strong so it will hold and protect it. ", " I'm thinking of
bronze or brass" he added.
" Which is quicker" was the inevitable reply.
" We'll go with brass I think, I have a good sized ingot already. "
They were soon in the workshop and Odin put the brass into the crucible
and put it on the forge. He and Valkyrie took turns on the bellows and
the fire was soon very hot. Valkyrie to singe her whiskers when she got
too close to the fire but generally the work went well and they had a
lot of fun together, both seeming to sense that they may not be doing
this sort of thing for much longer. Next Odin took out two blank knives
thicker than the two new ones and then poured the brass into the mould
and stood the blanks in the molten metal and clamped them in place with
a clothes line type arrangement.
" Now we wait " he said " go and see if you can help your mother "
Valkyrie set out to find her mother, she was in the sewing room having just finished cutting out the sheaths.
" They're deerskin from that poor stag that fell over the cliff and
broke its neck last year"," We now have to wait for the metal tips"
" Can't we start the stitching"
" No we need your father to rivet the sheath to the metal tip."
" Then let's make some rabbit pie "
" Yes " said her mother " we'll use some of that fresh flour the King gave us yesterday "
Valkyrie told her mother she'd gather the eggs and set off for the weka
colony taking a bag of wheat to feed them with. The wekas seemed to
know which eggs were infertile and were happy for the family to use
these. Valkyrie fed the wekas and then went to the fern bower where
they left had left eggs for the families use. She put the half dozen
that were there into the now empty bag. She stopped to watch the chicks
playing for a while and then headed back to the house. It's funny she
though to herself I'm already calling it a house rather than home as
I've always done. She got back to her parents home at about midday ,
her mum greeted her at the door and took the eggs from her.
" You have a visitor in the sun-room " she said with a twinkle in her eye.
Valkyrie guessing who it was, tried to look demure but could not keep
the eagerness form her step. Thor was looking out the window towards
the hills when she came in.
" Look Lass " he said as she stood beside him " You can see Valhalla ,
there just above that big rimu, see the sparkle, I left a shiny piece
of metal nailed to the door. "
He showed Valkyrie the paper he was holding, on it was a plan drawing
"It's a signalling lamp " he said " It uses the sunlight during the day and a lamp at night. "
At the back was a large mirror built to tip on the vertical and also to
swivel on the horizontal, underneath was a lamp and small mirror
pointed towards a large tube. On the front of the tube was a set of
blinds that could be opened and closed with a lever mounted on the side.
" It's brilliant Thor , we'll be able to keep in touch with mum and dad",
then realising what she had said blushed furiously.
"Ai lass, I've known we were meant for each other from the first time we spoke "
" Me too" she sighed gazing up at him.
" This needs talking about girl, let's drop the plans to your father and go for a walk "
They walked off to the workshop and Valkyrie went to see her mother, not sure what to say she she stood gazing into space.
" You'll be leaving us then dear " her mother said.
" Oh mum how did you know " Valkyrie gasped.
" I saw it in your eyes when Thor was leaving last night, he's a lovely boy Valkyrie "
" Hardly a boy mum he's three and a half you know"
" Far too old for you then " her mother grinned.
" Oh I don't think so mum, he's just so mature "
" I couldn't be happier for you, really I couldn't "
" I'd better find Thor we are going for a walk "
" OK dear I'll finish the scabbards and you can bake that pie when you get back"
Valkyrie wandered off to find Thor. She spotted him coming from her
fathers workshop.
He reached for her and they left the house hand in hand. Thor led them
west , they soon came to the bottom of a sheer cliff with no way to the
top. Thor went to some bushes and pulled them aside there was a metal
door in the cliff-face. He opened it revealing a tunnel made of the
same metal and leading under the cliff.
" Come with Me" he said and led the way into the tunnel after first propping back the door with a stick.
Once inside he opened a cupboard in the wall , there were lamps and oil
neatly laid out on the shelves. He lit one of the lamps and then
removed the prop and locked the door from the inside with a well-oiled
bolt.
" Stops anyone coming in behind us " he said.
He gave Valkyrie the lit lamp and got another for himself, then
shutting the cupboard he led the way down the tunnel. The tunnel got
bigger as they climbed and before long they could see daylight in the
distance.
They soon came to a large opening and out into what at first glance
seemed like a quarry, then on further examination seemed to be a dry
pond.
" The water used to come in over there " said Thor pointing to a stream mouth
" but the sides have collapsed further back and now it flows to the valley above your place".
They walked across the bottom and then climbed up a well beaten path to
the rim. The view was breath-taking, to the west was the sea across
some rocks that looked like stacks a flat wheat cakes, to the east they
looked down into valley where Valkyrie's home was. Away to the
north-east was The Mill that was the King and Queen's home. Looking out
to sea Valkyrie and Thor saw a huge jet of water leap into the air,
realising this was from the famous blow-holes didn't lessen the awesome
sight.
" Sometimes fish get sucked up in those and you can gather them from the rocks" Thor said
" Oh can we go and have a look " Valkyrie exclaimed
" Not today we better get you home or your parents will begin to worry."
It was then that Valkyrie realised that they had been away for hours
and noted that the time just seemed to flywhen she was with Thor.
Leading the way around the rim Thor took them to the creek bed, they
climbed down and followed it for a while soon coming to the collapsed
wall. There was a path down beside the stream and they turned down it.
It soon became dark as the trees hid the sun but enough light filtered
through for them to see where they were going. They were rounding a
large boulder when a huge ferret lept from the the boulder and landed
on Thor flattening him to his back and ending up sitting on his chest
with it's teeth bared at his throat.
" You killed my brother , now you will feed both our families " it hissed.
Ignoring Valkyrie it prepared to tear out Thor's throat, however
Valkyrie was no longer the sheltered girl that she was just two days
ago, quick as a flash she drew Thor's sword and plunged it through the
ferrets side with such force that it was knocked from Thor's chest and
pinned to the ground as the sword emerged from its other side. The
ferret died instantly the sword having split its heart.
" Oh Thor " she cried helping him to his feet and hugging him tightly.
" I'll never think of you as part of the weaker sex again " Laughed
Thor looking at his sword buried to the hilt in ferret. He reached to
pull it out but Valkyrie stopped him, Saying
" Take me away from here "
" I guess we're even now lass "
" Oh Thor, I don't know what I would have done without you "
They walked along the leafy path their arms around each others waists.
They came to a small deep pool of crystal clear water and Valkyrie said
" Let's wash this blood and dirt off "
Ever the practical, Thor drew his knife and plunged it into the ground
then loaded his crossbow and place it on the ground beside the knife
before removing his belt and quiver. By the time he had done all this
Valkyrie was already in the water and she playfully splashed him as he
entered. Soon they were taking handfuls of sand and scrubbing the mess
from each other, when at last they were clean they retreated to the
bank to lie in the sun and dry off. Thor propped himself up on one
elbow and gazed into Valkyrie's deep pink eyes. They both recognised
the moment and stood together, Thor led the way to a bower in the trees
and there on the leafy ground they made love. When the explosion came
they were indeed one with the earth and with each other. They lay down
for a while just enjoying the nearness of the other and then with the
sun fast setting , they put on their belts and Thor unloaded his bow,
resheathed his knife and with his empty scabbard bumping at his side
they set off for home. They weren't far away and were soon strolling
down the path to her parents house. When they got there they found both
Odin and Starfire in the yard outside the workshop. Odin had completed
the signalling devices , Thor soon recognised that he had improved on
the original design: They were now mounted on runners rather than
wheels and by the ingenious use of lockable hinges the whole thing
folded down giving a flat surface on which packs and other gear could
be carried.
" It's superb sir " Thor said.
It was then that Odin noticed the missing sword and asked what had happened to it.
Thor said " Valkyrie left it sticking in a ferret "
and then went on to tell of their little adventure adding
" You have a hell of a daughter here " and causing Valkyrie to blush profusely again.
" Let's all get inside " Starfire said, "I've supper ready "
They trooped into the dining room and were soon sitting down to a
delicious meal of meatloaf (rabbit), yams and a salad topped with
goats' milk cottage cheese. Over the meal they all caught up with most
of the days happenings.
Then Starfire said " You can help Thor take the heliograph up to Valhalla after the ceremony"
" Ceremony mother" Valkyrie enquired.
" Why your wedding dear, the King and the queen are coming down to get their crowns and to give you Thor."
Valkyrie had been to her three older sister's weddings and knew what
this meant. After dinner Thor and Valkyrie did the dishes with much
hilarity while Odin and Starfire retired to the lounge and had a couple
of whiskeys. Odin distilled this spirit from the barley they grew. When
they had finally finished they went in to join the older folks and Odin
offered them both a drink to celebrate. When they had sipped their
drinks for a while Odin said
" I have something for you " and he went to the sideboard and took down
an ornate case, carrying it to the table. He opened it revealing two
magnificent swords and the two knives that Odin had made earlier.
" They're samurai swords, I found a detailed book on how to make them
in a cave near the quarry along with a few ingots of the steel needed."
said Odin
Thor took the longest one from the case and withdrew it from the wooden
scabbard. The blade was almost blue and when he made a few passes it
felt like and extension of his arm rather than just a chunk of metal
like his other one had been. The sound it made through the air was like
nothing he had ever heard before, a swish that was almost a song, the
song of the samurai.
" Here see if you can cut this lad " said Odin taking an apple from the basket on the sideboard.
" I'll toss it in the air"
When Odin tossed the apple, Thor made two cuts at it one vertical, one horizontal, the apple hardly deviated.
" Oh you missed Thor " cried Valkyrie.
However when it hit the ground it fell into four pieces. Odin looked on
with satisfaction and Starfire and Valkyrie gasped in awe. Wiping the
blade with the cloth from the case Thor returned the sword to it's
scabbard.
" It's what I've always thought a sword should be sir, thankyou so much "
" You're welcome lad, I'm glad you like it. , you'd better stay the
night, I'm sure Valkyrie can find somewhere for you to sleep " he added,
Causing Valkyrie to blush yet again.
They all retired to their respective rooms anticipating a changing of all their lives the next day.