62 The Real Talk

'I know there are questions we have for each other that we rather not ask in front of the young. We can discuss those now,' Odin said, paving a way into the conversation.

'If we – if we do allow Nevaeh to join this week,' Ariel began, 'you said it would take at least 6 months to teach her your basics. That means, it would take a lot of time, but when would we see her again? I mean do you – do you have holidays? On Earth, the schools are closed on Sundays –'Ariel was saying when Odin raised a gentle arm to stop her.

'On Asgard, when one is to learn the ways of ancient sorcery, one needs to clear their mind of all the previous bindings during the training, to accomplish peace, which is not possible if one keeps meeting their loved ones. You will see her, when she truly feels like it, or when she catches a break. The children who join the temple despite having a family, solely for learning, detach themselves from their families over a couple of years,' Odin said.

'We cannot do that. We cannot live without seeing our daughter for years. Not even one,' Samuel said in a what-are-you-even-talking-about tone of voice.

'I never said you have to. I merely told you the way children usually receive their education,' Odin said.

'Well, Nev is not a child. She is a smart, grown-up girl,' said Ariel.

'And much more than that, I presume. Earth is not known for having many sorcerers,' Odin repeated. He looked at her parents and waited for a response but they merely shrugged in silence, making him a tad annoyed. 'Asgard accepts people from all over the nine realms if they bring peace with them. You come from Midgard, which is Earth.'

'With peace,' Samuel nodded.

'And since when are you living on Earth?' Odin asked.

'Since we were born,' Samuel said curtly.

'And when was that? When were you born?' asked Odin.

'I don't see how that concerns Nevaeh's coming here,' Samuel said. He felt his wife's hand gently hold his on the chair. Odin nodded in the slightest and got up from his chair to stroll around the fireplace, making her parents to glance nervously behind their backs and shift in their seats to watch him.

'When I sensed your daughter's aura, I was amazed at the power that surges within her veins and at the utter lack of her knowledge regarding the same. She –'Odin paused to laugh a little and turn around to stare amusedly at her parents who were looking extremely alert. 'She thinks she is a human,' he said in a hearty chuckle.

Samuel stood up from his chair along with his wife. 'Look, I don't know what you are implying here, but I am an orphan; I knew nothing about my parentage, ancestors or long lost family. I had no clue why I was this way and I gave up on answers as soon as I met my wife. I have a family of three; we live on Earth, we are different, we deal with it and it's a peaceful life. We do good deeds for humanity and have taught our daughter to do the same. As far as anyone is concerned, she is just a gifted human,' finished Samuel.

Lodin had a thin smile on his face as he watched her father desperately try and convince him to drop the topic then and there in a very firm manner.

'Who are you lying to, Mister Queen? Me or yourself?' Odin asked with an unblinking stare. Her parents knew instantly that he was not buying any of their stories. 'I am sure you have been through a lot, and have recounted these stories to your offspring. But you know more now, since decades I daresay, and haven't mentioned any of that to her; where do you come from, who are you, who were your ancestors, why does that power flow through you and for what purpose? You know all of that, don't you?' he asked without blinking once and staring at them through wide eyes.

'Irrelevant. I am sticking to what I said and if that is going to be a concern then I don't think this is the right place for our daughter's extended education,' Samuel said conclusively.

Loki's heart skipped a beat as he heard the assertiveness in her father's voice. He did not want to jeopardize their plan. His need for answers diminished the instant those words came out of his mouth and he figured he would look for them himself after all. Loki wanted to drop the topic, but the boy inside of him whose father had hid facts about his life from him for over centuries wanted to scream at her parents.

'And what happens when she realises that she has stopped ageing? When her friends grow older and she somehow refuses to look even a day older than she is today? How would you explain it then? Would you still stick to your word? Or would you claim it to be yet another unknown, unnamed gift bestowed upon your family as though you were the only lucky people on the entire Earth worthy enough to be blessed by such immortality?' hissed Odin. Her parents speechlessly stared at him.

He instantly chuckled. 'I know how it feels like, to try and protect your child from the miseries that lie in the truth. But, trust me you are not doing a favour to anybody while doing that. Eventually, when they do find out, they will grow up resenting you, just like mine did,' Odin said, his fists clenching in the slightest.

'What happened?' hushed Ariel. Loki sharply looked at her wondering whether to answer that question or not.

'I lied to him about his true parentage in order to protect him from the truth. I lied thinking that I will never let the truth come out of the shadows, but it always has a way to show up, majorly when you least expect it. How can one rebel against the forces of such nature? The longer one suppresses the truth, the more devastating the impact of that revelation. But one thing I know from experience is that parents' hide the truth only when they are afraid of something. What are you afraid of? Are your people a species of Giants or—'Odin was asking when Samuel suddenly spoke, making him pause in mid-sentence.

'Her. We are afraid of and for her,' Samuel said in a grave voice. Loki pouted and looked at her parents. Ariel closed her eyes for a moment.

'I don't understand,' said Odin.

'You don't need to,' Samuel said firmly, 'there are complications that you cannot possibly understand, and even if you would, we cannot share them with you. Like I said if lack of knowledge regarding her ancestors would pose any problem then she shouldn't be here.'

'I do not wish to know anything you do not wish to reveal,' Odin said politely.

'But I do want to suggest a few things,' Ariel said. 'We are only discussing this with you because she wants to be here for further studies and she will be your concern too while she is here. We focus majorly on defensive spells, healing, protective chants and spells. She has more than enough knowledge in mystical arts of offense and we would appreciate it if you focus solely on defence and healing,' finished Ariel in a business like voice.

'No daggers or other weapons either. We have taught her Karate,' Samuel added. Loki wanted to tell them that life is not worth living without daggers, but he kept those words inside his mouth. He couldn't believe that they wanted her to learn even more tedious, defensive magic.

'So, no offensive magic?' Odin asked.

'None whatsoever,' Ariel said.

'You want to partially educate your daughter because you are afraid of her?' Odin chuckled, 'she is like a harmless, little rabbit!'

'Harmless? She is like a rabid rabbit! When she was fifteen—'Samuel was saying.

'Castiel! No!' Ariel whispered urgently while clutching his arm.

'Castiel?' Odin raised his eyebrows.

'It's a – a nickname,' Samuel said calmly. 'The point is that it took us a lot of time and work to keep her the way she is now! She looks harmless, but wait till you tell her that you can't dangle people upside down from towers just because they hurt your friend!' Samuel hissed. Ariel faintly sat down on her chair.

Loki was fascinated by these newfound revelations about his beloved but he wondered why Nevaeh didn't mention any of this to him herself.

'It's settled, then. No offensive magic for Nevaeh, nothing but profound defence and healing arts. If she enquires as to why I am doing so, I would tell her I have foreseen her becoming an extensive healer,' Odin declared.

Samuel breathed a huge breath of relief as if he had just closed a business deal and he too sank down in his chair.

'We appreciate it. Truly,' Ariel said.

'A word of advice; consider revealing whatever secrets you have kept from your daughter. It isn't too late. Yet. You have managed to keep secrets for so long, but she is grown up now. Her brain is extraordinary. Asgardians think of the future as uncertain, and water like. One wave will ripple the entire surface. I suggest this due to a painstaking experience of myself. The choice after all is yours,' Odin said in a whisper.

Her parents were looking pale again. They muttered something to each other while nodding in agreement. Odin cleared his throat loudly.

'Sorry. You were quite intimidating right now,' Ariel hushed.

'I didn't mean to—'Odin was saying.

'No, no. We love it! Can you do that with Nevaeh? Keep her scared,' Samuel said.

'What? Why?'

'She hasn't been afraid of us since she was thirteen! It would be great if she had someone to fear in this world, or any world. She was never scared of her Master on Earth, not even as a kid,' Ariel said.

'So you want me to scare her?' Odin asked, raising an eyebrow which clearly implied bad parenting.

'No, not scare! Just intimidate her,' Samuel shrugged casually.

'And those horns on the guards' helmets? Yeah, she can get scared of those. If she misbehaves, just take one of the helmets and extend the horns to make them huge and pointy. That will do the trick,' Ariel said as though telling him a secret tip. Her eyes showed a tad concern for Odin as though he had no idea what he was signing up for and he shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat.

'I don't think that will be necessary,' Odin said, clicking his tongue in disapproval. He flicked a finger to open the chamber door. Her parents took that as a cue to leave, wondering if they'd touched a nerve somewhere...