( Sorry for the delayed updates. I've been swamped with assignments and finals are coming up. )
The silence that had descended in Frigga's quarters was not an awkward one but more of a patient, expectant stillness.
A moment suspended in time, so to speak. The scent of Asgardian herbs mingled with the stream rising from the tea and that aroma swarmed the trio's noses, all the while Maxim leaned back in his chair, his fingers idly tracing the rim of his cup as he considered Frigga's question.
What do you seek?
It was a deceptively simple question.
However, it led him to sink into thought. When he first came to this Marvel Universe, all he initially sought was to adapt to this life, his new conditions and to escape Hydra's influence while growing more powerful.
But now, he had accomplished all of that. He had fully adapted to this new life, made amazing friends he could even call family, and Hydra were completely annihilated.
He had accomplished his original goal, so now what? What is it that he now sought in life?
He exhaled slowly, eyes flickering to Hela. She was silent, watching him with that unreadable expression she so often wore, whilst her mother Frigga simply waited with an composed expression on her face.
Finally, after thinking for a while, Maxim spoke.
"I...I just want to enjoy my life, to be powerful enough to achieve true freedom and do whatever I want."
It was a simple sentence, but it definitely carried the weight of every battle he had fought, ever moment of pain he had experienced since coming to this world.
Frigga's eyes gleamed with something akin to understanding. "A noble pursuit, though not one easily attained."
Hela scoffed lightly, crossing her arms, "He's done a better job of it than most."
Maxim smirked slightly at that but didn't argue.
Frigga studied him for a moment longer, then took a slow sip of her tea before speaking again, "And what will you do once you have this freedom?"
Maxim came to a halt and thought again. It was only a matter of time, his templates were becoming stronger and stronger, his abilities were growing rapidly.
It won't be long in the wider scheme of things before no-one in Marvel could threaten him. So what lay at the end of the road he had set for himself now? Once he became powerful enough to control his freedom, what would he do?
He thought of Katerina. His sister, still out there, trying to live a normal life despite the world's dangers. He thought of Wanda and Pietro, the Black Widows and his other allies.
A slow exhale left his lips. "I don't know yet," he admitted, "But I'm going to make sure that whatever happens next… it'll be on my terms."
Frigga nodded, as if she had expected that answer. "Then I hope, for your sake, that you never lose sight of what truly matters."
There was something in her voice—something deeper, a wisdom that went beyond mere words.
Maxim met her gaze. "And what do you think truly matters?"
Frigga smiled softly, "That, my dear, is for you to discover."
The conversation lulled into a brief silence, the weight of it settling between them.
Then, Hela, who had remained quiet for longer than usual, finally spoke.
"You knew I would return," she said, her voice quieter than before. Not an accusation, but a statement.
Frigga turned her attention fully to her daughter, her expression gentle. "I have waited for this moment for a very long time."
Hela's jaw tightened. "And yet you never came for me."
There it was. The raw, unspoken wound that had festered for millennia.
Frigga didn't flinch. "No, I did not."
Maxim remained still, sensing that this was something that needed to be said between them.
Hela's emerald eyes darkened. "Why?"
Frigga's fingers tightened slightly around her tea cup. "Because I could not save you, my child. Not from Odin… and not from yourself."
Hela's lips parted slightly, her expression flickering with something fragile before it hardened once more. "You could have tried."
Frigga sighed, setting her cup down with deliberate care, "Do you truly believe Odin would have listened to me? That he would have let me get in the way of his true plans?"
Hela clenched her fists, but she did not deny it.
Frigga's gaze softened. "You were his sword, Hela. And when a sword no longer obeys its wielder, what does one do?"
Silence!
Then, very quietly, Hela said, "They cast it away."
A sorrowful nod from Frigga, "Yes."
For the first time since stepping foot on Asgard, Hela looked… uncertain. Not angry, not prideful, not the goddess of death, but simply a daughter who had been abandoned.
"And what does a mother do," Frigga continued, "when she cannot stop what is to come?"
Hela's voice was barely a whisper. "She mourns."
Frigga exhaled. "Yes, my child. She mourns."
The tension in the room shifted, and Frigga stood up. As she stood, the entire fabric of the room began to shift rapidly. The walls turned to an open space, the roof revealed a vast sky twinkling with magnificent stars.
Grassy fields as far as the eye could see, fields that were filled with beautiful flowers and plants, it was like a beautiful garden.
At the center of that garden was another version of Frigga, standing to what Maxim could only describe as a younger version of Hela. The duo sat in the garden peacefully, with that version of Frigga seeming to patiently teach Hela some of her magic.
"Sometimes I revisit my memories, I think to myself how elusive the powers of Fate & Destiny can be sometimes my daughter. Even with these eyes of mine, I could never understand them. All I could do was accept it." Frigga said, turning to Hela whose gaze flickered downward.
Frigga reached out again, this time placing her hand atop Hela's.
"All I knew during these times was that I have always loved you," she said simply and Hela took a sharp inhale, but did not pull away.
Frigga reached out her other hand to Maxim, who after a moment of hesitation, decided to accept it, standing on the opposite side of Hela.
"Fate & Destiny, these concepts, so elusive and mysterious. I had long since accepted that I could do nothing but live in the present, for my fate was already woven. However, you arrived." Frigga said, turning to Maxim.
"So fascinating you are, someone who no-one could predict. Novikov is it? Thank you for allowing me to see my daughter again." Frigga said.
Maxim didn't exactly know what to say, and so he just kept quiet, watching forward as these versions of Hela and Frigga in the latter's memories continued to interact.
And so this trio peacefully spent there time.
***
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of Asgard.
"She does not belong her in Asgard anymore than a goat belongs at a banquet table." Odin said as he walked around the medical bay, watching Jane Foster intently with his one eye.
"Did he just....Who do you think you are?" Jane said, her shock at what the man had said evident in her tone of voice.
"I am Odin, King of Asgard, Protector of the Nine Realms." He said.
"Oh, well I'm.." Jane tried to say, before being cut off by Odin.
"I know very well who you are. Jane Foster." Odin said.
"You told your dad about me?" Jane asked Thor a bit shocked, but Thor jumped to speak to his father.
"Something is within her father, something I've never seen before." Thor said anxiously.
"Her world has its healers they call doctors, let them deal with it. Guards, take her back to Midgard." Odin said, and a swarm of guards flooded forward, trying to take Jane away before being sent flying by the Aether.
Odin, shocked, moved towards Jane, inspecting her before he tells Thor, "Come with me."