Peorth Lind's doing it again. For the past week she's gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to access the goddess system through a computer Skuld connected up in the living room. She quietly sneaks out and always closes the door behind her quietly but I know she's gone. I haven't asked her about what happened the other day and frankly I have a feeling she doesn't want me to ask her. She seems so stoic lately, more so than usual. Lind's adopted a don't ask don't tell persona and it worries me. But then that's how she's always been, I think I'm just noticing it more and being paranoid. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. Otherwise she would tell me...I hope. Lind I can't stand it anymore. The distinct ringing in my ears that signals the storm. The familiar shrill helpless cries yelling spasmodically in my head. It wont stop! I find myself so frustrated and infuriated, consumed by anger that I can only find piece at night when I consume myself with my work. By that I mean I feign my usual calm self during the day in front of everyone and contain my madness, then I creep away during the night to try and find peace, some sort of answers. I never find the answers though. Even the infinite knowledge that is the goddess archives and yggdrasil system know nothing. It seems finding this demon or a cure is becoming impossible. Perhaps my efforts are in vain? On the other hand, perhaps its kami's will that I don't find him. Perhaps its better this way. A familiar distinct pain flowed through my head and a memory with it "Lind. Go now!" "But Papa-" "Listen to me and go!" "I can fight!" "Fight and you will die. I will search for your mother and give you enough time to flee. You must leave now and wait for the reinforcements to arrive." "What about you? What will hap-?" "Go!" I shook my head and tried to think of other things. What was wrong with me? I can't let this to keep on happening. Even if I don't find that demon I have to rid myself of these thoughts otherwise I'll never think coherently again. I logged off the goddess system and made my way back to our room. Peorth was fast asleep; it was the middle of the night after all. I stood at the foot of our bed and watched beheld the beauty before me. Peorth lay on her stomach and the covers were draped over her lower body leaving her back exposed. She was muttering something about roses and grinning in her sleep as she usually did. Then I realised, this woman loves me. How long she has loved me I don't know, but somewhere along the way of our friendship I fell in love with her too. If it weren't for her so many things wouldn't have happened to me. I wouldn't have experienced the simple joys of living and simply being with people you care about. If not for my love for her I would have left long ago in pursuit of the demon to exact my revenge and correct things. Oddly though, when I look at Peorth my heart is at peace and no memories come to mind. I quietly crept back into bed and pulled the covers over us. Her mother is right. If I pursue this revenge I'll be playing right into the Daimakaicho's hands, and would confronting the demon even calm me? I'm not even sure. Perhaps it would enrage me even more and lead me onto an unstoppable path of destruction and hate. I can't risk it. I don't care what happens to me, but this woman lying beside me does. I don't know why she cares so much for me, or why she even fell in love with me in the first place, but I'm so grateful she did. Therefore, I can't risk doing anything that would sadden her. She worries even when I have the slightest bruise or cut, so if I do anything dangerous it would be the death of her. I made a promise to her that we would live the semblance of a normal life as much as possible and I intend to keep it. That promise is a bigger priority to me then seeking revenge and it always will be. I simply have to find another way to rid myself of these nightmares and haunting memories, but I have the perfect solution. For her I will put everything else aside. Peorth I watched as Lind anxiously tapped her foot as my parents glared at her. My father looked serious as ever and my mother just smiled. I sighed. Why were we here again? Oh that's right Lind wanted to visit them. Yes you heard me, Lind wanted to visit my parents.........my thoughts exactly. That morning I felt the bed dip on my side and a hand rest beside my waist. I opened my eyes to see Lind leaning over me with a light smile; it's been a while since I've seen her smile. "Morning." "Good morning" I yawned and stretched my arms. "I've had an idea" she exclaimed as she leant down to kiss me lightly. "What's that?" "How about we go to heaven to visit your parents?" It took me a few seconds to digest the words then I immediately shot up in bed "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT??!!!" "Should we not?" With my mouth gaping open I turned to her and pinched her cheek then she slapped my hand away. "You're real" "Of course I am. Well? How about it then." "Sure, sure. Why though?" "Don't you want me to take further interest in your family?" "Well you haven't exactly had a good track record with my family." I sighed "If your lucky my delightfully annoying siblings won't be there." We had no such luck. The moment we arrived at my parent's house my mother immediately phoned the rest of the family. My brother and older sister stopped whatever they were doing and were on their way here as we speak. My brother-in-law had a saner mind than his wife and said he would come by after work. Oh god...the whole circus is arriving. We all sat in the main living room that had several leather sofas that surrounded a long glass table. Lind and I on one sofa and my parents on the other sofa opposite. "Please help yourself" my mother exclaimed pointing at the many plates of delights on the table in front of us. As par my usual role I poured tea for everyone. "Thank you very much Sera-sama" Lind said. "Please there's no need for Sama. Just plain old Sera will do. I'm not that old to earn a sama after my name." "Yeah right" I muttered. "What was that?" Damn my mother had good hearing. "Nothing. Here's your tea" I quickly passed it to her. "So" my father interrupted "What brings you two here?" "I wish to find some things out using yours and your wife's vast knowledge," Lind said. I shot her a look; just what is she up too? "Speak. What do you want to know?" "Wait a moment dear." My mother stood up "I think Peorth and I should leave you two to talk." "Hey what's going-" "Come on Peorth, let's go to the garden" she butted in. I glanced back at Lind but she nodded for me to go so I followed my mother out the room and closed the door behind us. I quickly hurried to catch up with her as she walked away. "Mother what's going on?" "I believe Lind wants to clarify some things with your father first." She paused "Has she not told you what's going on?" Well this is Lind, not exactly the easiest person to extract information from. "I daren't ask her." "Well I wouldn't worry about it. Your father keeps things from me too, but he tells me in due time. They're very alike you know." "You think so?" "Yes but I suppose Lind is more reserved." She placed her arm around my shoulder and we headed for the garden. "Come now child you have to tell me all your secrets!" "What secrets?!!! I have no secrets," I said rather nervously. What does she know? I'm innocent! "Oh please every woman has secrets! Now you must tell me does Lind like lingerie? I wouldn't want the present I got for you to go to waste!" "MOTHER!!!!" "Is Lind into kinky things?" Someone just kill me now. Lind I was nervous to say the least. Here I was in this lavish house or more like mansion with a Seraph in front of me. The moment I walked into the house I couldn't help but marvel at the architecture and the art that adorned its walls. I did well by any standards but this home dwarfed anything I had ever lived in before. Even this very room I was sitting in was probably worth more than my own home. Knowing that this is the place that Peorth grew up in it makes me understand her more. Ciel sat with his legs crossed on the sofa and had the stature and presence of a king. I gulped nervously but I was here for a reason and if anyone could help surely it would be he. "So what do you want to know?" he asked scratching his beard lightly. "I trust you know the Daimakaicho paid me a visit the other day." "I know of it." "I'm sorry." "For what?" "For not living up to your expectations or standard as a Valkyrie" I bowed my head quickly. "It's true I expected you to pass all your trials, then again you were faced against Daimakaicho Hild" he strummed his fingers rhythmically against the armrest. "Anyone would lose against her." "You see the main purpose of coming to visit you today was unfortunately not for family bonding." "I gathered as much from how you weren't trembling in my presence." I smiled lightly at him; at least he doesn't want to throw me into a wall now. I cleared my throat "Ever since the Daimakaicho's visit, memories, visions, images of the past real or not, keeps haunting me and poisons my mind. And if not for your daughter I would have marched into Nifelheim, not fearing death even, so long as I could have my revenge. But taking a thought from your wife I want nothing to do with harbouring hate or revenge, I just want our life to go back to normal, I want to return to normal." "What will you have me do then?" "I'm not sure. All I know is that Daimakaicho... she may have placed a spell on me, what's more I cannot trace nor find its origins." "Then what makes you say it is a spell? Could your own mind not be failing?" "These flashbacks I have are spasmodic in frequency and are not triggered by anything I do or see. In addition, I am not one to dwindle on the past. I prefer to think ahead to what can be done about things." "As Valkyrie's we are calm and level headed about everything, it's our nature, though the odd few who aren't like that do appear every so often, the Valkyrie Mist for example. However, what are common throughout all Valkyrie's is our stubborn unbreakable pride and our strong independence. So why then are you telling me this and not my daughter?" He smiled at me and continued to drum his fingers, patiently waiting for my answer. Why haven't I told Peorth yet? I want to protect her, simple as that, need that be explained? Does the very basis of love need to be explained, surely he already knows I can't answer this question. He stood up and walked towards me before I could speak. "Clear your mind and think of nothing. I will see what I can do to help you." He swept his cape aside and outstretched his hand towards me. I apprehensively retreated but soon closed my eyes. The palm of his hand was pressed against my forehead and I felt the icy magic flow through my mind. It was as if shackled in my mind were being broken and doors were being unlocked to new possibilities. My head felt light, weak even. "This shall give you the answers you seek" he spoke. Peorth Honestly now what have I gotten myself into. I watched as my mother made herself comfy on the branch we were sitting on...we were hiding in a tree. What she meant by "we're going to the garden" was really "we're going to spy on Lind and father from a tree" "Mother why are in a tree? I mean we could just sit somewhere else and perform a viewing spell" She passed me her binoculars and looked at me with a grin "It's more fun this way. Come on relax Peorth. Have a go." I reluctantly looked through the binoculars and I was able to see perfectly into the living room throw the large windows. "Clear your mind" the binoculars spoke; it was my father's voice no doubt about that. "You enchanted these?" I asked. "Not me, your great grandmother! These have been passed down from generation to generation to hone our fine craft of-" "Spying?" I interrupted "No intelligence gathering. Now hush up and watch." Lind I felt the coldness of my head disappear and I opened my eyes, I felt the same but lighter, free. He removed his hand and sat back down stroking his beard as if he was thinking. "Seraph-Sama?" I asked apprehensively. "There is a powerful memory spell on your mind but you see I already knew that." "What do you mean?" "You are a child of the demon-god war a millennia ago. A seraph took pity on the children that suffered most and placed a memory spell on their minds to forget what had happened. Their feelings of sadness and hate would linger within them but at least they wouldn't be able to remember the specifics that occurred or how their pain was harboured. The spell should technically still be in effect but because of the numerous fights and visits from the Daimakaicho the spell has weaken and so the base program is no longer working properly causing a reversed effect on your mind. It resurfaces memories instead of suppressing them." "Did she do this intentionally?" I asked. I understand that she's Urd's mother but to purposely cause me so much trouble is too much. If I have too I'll make sure she learns not to come near me again. "Who knows? This is the Daimakaicho Hild-sama. You see, the sheer aura she emits exceeds the power of the Seraph that put the spell on you, which is why it reversed itself. In essence, every time you are in her presence the spell's positive intentions are reversed bit by bit. Even with all her limiters and in her subdued form she's still a dangerous force to deal with. Perhaps she knew, after all her timing was too perfect, with you being a candidate for the trial." "Can I get rid of the memory spell?" "Be specific." He exclaimed authoritatively. "Do you want to be rid of the reverse effect and go back to remembering nothing? Or do you want to be rid of the memory spell and remember everything?" Why can't things like this ever be simple? Why was there always pros and cons to situations? Surely no matter what I choose there'll be a consequence. "You needn't think of the answer now. After all any first class goddess can remove either the spell or the reverse effect." "Any first class goddess?" Was he hinting me towards something? "I guarantee any." A silence filled the room and only the ticking from the grand clock and embers crackling could be heard, then Ciel started up his rhythmic drumming again. A loud clear doorbell rang through the house and echoed into every room. Peorth's siblings have arrived...I suppose it's time to meet the rest of the Peorth clan. This should be amusing. We both stood up and immediately that distinct familiar pain came to me. No! Not now! "Come on Lind try again. Pick up your axe and assume the attack stance." "But I don't want to attack you" "I know you don't but we're training. You need to practice for the future." "For the future?" "Yes you need to practice for when you become a Valkyrie just like your mother and I." I gripped my head in pain as I prayed for the images to go away, to finally leave me alone. It was too much to bare. "Lind" Ciel exclaimed calmly. I looked towards him, trying to seem as normal as possible. "I understand you cannot decide an answer now, but I give you temporary relief for the rest of the day." He raised his hand and placed it on my head. A flash of light filled the room and as quickly as it had come, the images of my past had gone. I feel...free. By the time I looked up he had already left the living room. What a wise god. I certainly didn't want to have another 'attack' whilst meeting Peorth's sister and brother for the first time. Finally I can relax and spend time with Peorth and her family properly, no trials, no powers just quality time. Regaining my composure, I straightened up my uniform and headed out the door. Peorth Curses we were just getting to the good part as well, but my stupid sister had to arrive at the exact moment their conversation got interesting. Oh well, I haven't seen her in a while. Our maid had already shown the guests into the drawing room so mother and I quickly made our way there, trying to remove any traces of the tree from our clothes. I mentally sighed, usual mother's and daughters baked together or learnt spells together. Us? We spy on our other halves together. It seems to be a tradition in our family. We entered the lavishly decorated drawing room that had paintings of famous members of our family on the walls and long draping red curtains made of the finest materials; all my mother's choice of course. Standing in the middle of the room was my sister. The moment I entered the room she yelled "PEORTH!!" and practically leaped towards me in a hug. She was dressed in her admin uniform and her long brown hair draped down over her left shoulder. It was unusual to see her looking so serious. "Oh my look you've aged! Look at those wrinkles" Oh yes...it's definitely her. "Melia" I looked at her sternly "It's about five thousand years too early for me to get wrinkles. You're going to get them first." She laughed me off and shook her head as if it wouldn't happen. We all sat down on the long sofas that faced the fireplace. "Whatever I'm not here to debate with you. I'm here to meet your new beau." Hmm how should I phrase the fact that Lind's not exactly a beau exactly? "Peorth's beau has a larger bust size than you Melia" my mother said matter-of-factly. Well that's one way to put it. I watched Melia intently as she processed what mother said. First, her mouth dropped open in shock then she turned to me slowly and blinked twice in succession "YOU'RE DATING A HE-SHE?!!!!!!!" Oh my Kami she's dense. "No you fool, I'm dating a woman." There I said it. That was my big moment. I could literally see the cogs turning in her head. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Why didn't you just say so? Phew you had me scared there. Honestly I know you're kinky, which is why I thought it might be possible that you're dating a HE-SHE-" "WHY DOES EVERYONE IN THIS FAMILY THINK I'M KINKY?!!! IT'S LIND!!!!" I yelled frustrated. Lind I walked behind Ciel and his son, Luso, who we collected from the door. Apparently, Peorth's sister was already here...joy. Luso didn't dare look at me when I greeted him. Like any moody teenager, he just nodded and ignored me. I wasn't affected by his moody greeting though as this isn't the first time I've met him. He's in fact a student of mine, a very delinquent student who thinks that he's smarter then his teacher, me. Consequently, I always make him polish the entire room worth of trainees' weaponry whenever he gets too mouthy. We're not exactly on good terms. I swear he just likes to cause me trouble in particular. He's always on his best behaviour when he's in Mist's lessons. Odd child. Does he have a sister complex? We headed to the drawing room and could hear the loud excited chatting from the outside. "No you fool, I'm dating a woman." That must have been Peorth. Ciel pushed the door open and we walked in to hear the most embarrassing sentence "WHY DOES EVERYONE IN THIS FAMILY THINK I'M KINKY?!!! IT'S LIND!!!!" I blushed as Ciel and Luso just stared at me with their mouths open. "Oh Peorth" I muttered with my head down. The women in the room heard me and turned to us. Peorth was just as red as I was and her mother and sister just cackled. "Luso and I will...be elsewhere" Ciel exclaimed blushing slightly himself. He nudged his son who was partially frozen and they quickly left the room. I closed the door and slowly sat down next to Peorth. Of all the things, she has to say. Why that sentence? In addition, why in front of my future boss/family? Kami must detest me. I gulped and looked up to Peorth's sister. I know that Peorth's sister is older than Peorth but it's amazing, they look extremely similar apart from their hair and eyes, Peorth's eyes seem warmer somehow. "Hello Meila-San. I'm Lind," I said bowing politely. "Lind the kinky Valkyrie eh?" She said and winked at me. Their mother just burst out laughing again. I coughed and looked to Peorth who muttered sorry to me. "Ok I believe we should stop now before Lind turns into a tomato," Sera said smiling lightly at me. Translation-I'll be forever be known as the kinky Valkyrie, but we'll stop for now. Sera moved so she sat next to Meila opposite Peorth and I. Peorth quickly took my hand and she seemed nervous. "Get ready," she whispered to me. "For what?" Sera snapped her fingers and a scoreboard appeared floating beside. "Right now that my partner in crime is here" Sera pointed to Melia who posed elegantly "We can begin! Lind we're going to ask you a series of questions to determine if you're good enough for our Peorth. If you answer correctly or if what you're saying is true, the board will flash true. If you answer wrongly or lie the board will flash false which is a big no no if you want to impress us. ARE YOU READY?" I gripped Peorth's hand tightly "Yes" I said. The board made a horrible buzzing noise and flashed false. "You can't count that one!" Peorth quickly added. Her sister raised her eyebrow at me and she whispered to her mother. "Fine then we won't count that, But we're starting now regardless if you're ready or not" Melia said. She summoned forth a clipboard and started jotting things down. Is this an interview? Peorth Whenever someone in our family brings their respective lover back home they get interrogated like this. Another fun family tradition of ours. Well I suppose my sister is just getting revenge on me for when I did this to her when she brought back her boyfriend now husband. Melia loves this; I can tell by the way she's taking this so seriously, she never takes anything seriously. My mother just stood by. Mothers never do the questioning. The only thing a mother can do is decide the punishment if the lover doesn't prove themselves worthy. Apparently, my grandmother forced father to spend an entire month with the word failure tattooed onto his forehead in big red letters since he got over half his questions wrong. No one took him seriously until he became the High Seraph which was many, many years later. "Come on Lind you can do this" I said encouragingly. She still looked dumbfounded about what was going on, poor thing. I'm surprised that Lind accepts my family's craziness...then again we do live with Urd and Skuld. "First question. How long have you known Peorth and how long have you been dating?" "I've known Peorth since we were both Trainee goddesses. We've been dating approximately five months now," Lind answered confidently. The board pinged and flashed true. "Well done my ice slushie" I exclaimed with glee and kissed Lind on the cheek. "Well there goes one of my questions about pet names. Next question tell me about your academic achievements." Does Melia think this is an interview for a job or something? "I was promoted from trainee goddess to second then first class within my first semester. I am one of out five Valkyrie leaders that are in charge of the Valkyrie sector. I am also one of the personal Valkyrie's of Kami-sama. Also as you already know I am a candidate for the High Seraph of the Valkyries position." Lind said authoritatively; I can tell she's proud of what she's achieved in life. The board flashed true. "Interesting, very interesting. That's a very impressive resume." "Thank y-" "HOWEVER!" Melia shouted causing me to jump slightly. She pointed her pen at Lind and waved it in front of her, taunting her. "You have been suspended from work twice already and have had numerous magic bans and restrictions placed on you! C'est mauvais! Explain or forever have a black mark in our books!." Oh crap, I was hoping she wouldn't mention those little 'tarnishes' in Lind's resume...Actually now that I think about it, Lind only started having suspensions and magic bans since we started dating...Am I a bad influence? Nah! "The cause of the bans is my own carelessness during missions. It is my philosophy that as long as the mission is completed, the consequences do not matter." "So you recklessly do things?" "Hey don't twist her words" I spoke "Lind is completely selfless during her missions. She doesn't care what happens to herself as long as others are alright." My sister tucked her hair behind her ear and smirked at me as the board flashed true. "Remember Peorth I'm asking Lind the questions so no help from you." I stuck my tongue out at her and my mother motioned for me to be quiet; it feels like I'm a child all over again. "Lind have you or will you ever cheat on my sister?" "Never." The board flashed true, damn right! "Do you love Peorth with all your being?" "Yes" It flashed true again. "Do you tell her everything? "No" Lind paused "But that is soon to change." The board flashed true. I was confused but Lind looked at me somehow telling her to trust her and I did. I saw as Melia quickly scribbled more of her notes down. "Now Lind here comes the lightning round!" She shouted randomly "I'll say phrases or things and you choose which you prefer, just say which one pops into your mind first." What's this? A lightning round? We've never done anything of the sort before. Curses Melia must have been planning her revenge for years, after all when I questioned her husband I tricked him into turning himself into a tree for a day, he's a lovely man, just not that bright. "Begin at any time" Lind said confidently. She leaned forward and stared at Melia who stared back just as fiercely, are they trying to psyche each other out? It's doesn't look like it, Lind just looks the same as usual and Melia looks like she has something in her eye with the way her eyes are scrunched like that. "Red or Blue?" "Red." "Swimsuits or skimpy bikinis?" "Swimsuits" "Chocolate or strawberry?" "Strawberry." "Ramen or cake?" "Ramen!" "Peorth in a red skimpy bikini or ramen?" "Peorth in a red skimpy bikini." "Dogs or cats." "Dogs." "Apples or pears?" "App..." she paused and looked at me slowly. Whoa whoa whoa!!!!! I turned to Lind and it seemed that what she said dawned on us at exactly the same time. Our mouths dropped and Lind looked like she was going to pass out as a giant blush covered her face. Meanwhile my sister and mother were laughing hysterically and were practically on the floor gasping with laughter. "Apples..." Lind said gulping once more. I leant my head on her shoulder to try and hide my embarrassment. Oh, I knew no good would come from this visit. "Alright, alright I've heard enough" My mother exclaimed wiping a tear from her eye. She reached out her hand to Lind and they shook hands laughing all the while "Welcome to the family." As my mother and sister chatted amongst themselves for a while I leant dangerously near to Lind's ear and whispered in my most seductive voice "I'll you pick out a bikini for me, so we can...put it to good use." She cleared her throat and moved away then smiled at me warmly; Kami I live for those smiles that are meant just for me. "As much as I appreciated your offer," She said holding my hands down to prevent them from distracting her "I'm afraid I need you to do something else for me tonight." I raised an eyebrow at her "If it's even possible, I'll be sharing more of myself with you." For once she made me blush, not an easy task I tell you. The way she said it so honestly and sincerely just makes my heart want to jump out of my chest. Perhaps this day isn't as bad as I thought it would be. "It's possible" I replied. Lind I would suppose that with that handshake with Peorth's mother, its official that they approve of me. I'm part of the family. For the majority of my life I have always been adverse to change; change was bad in my eyes unless it was in my academic life. It's not necessarily that I've afraid of it, more the case of I'm cautious. Of course I would be like that though since a young age, too young, I've had to rely upon myself and myself only. After all I only had myself to care about. I still had friends but I never fully understood the real concept of loving someone. I understand what it means now to love someone completely and fully. It's blasphemous I know, but I would gladly shout out that I love Peorth to Kami even. That's why I want it to be her that will unlock my memories with me. She's shown me her home, her family, her world so I want to show her my world too. Some parts of my memories will be tearful, painful even, I don't even know what happened really, I just feel a great amount of suffering. However, I'm not afraid to know now, because she is my future.
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