The Goddess Of Death

Vor, goddess of wisdom and knowledge, mentor to Odin in his youth, and guardian of every hall of knowledge within the Nine Realms, was getting too old for this.

She watched as her young student, Princess Hela of Asgard, swayed dangerously in her seat, her green eyes wide with shock and disbelief. It seemed she did not truly know her own parents' identities, or even the kingdom she's expected to rule one day, though it seems she knows of them, or she would not react so violently. Did no one truly inform her of these things?

Vor made a mental note to have a word with Odin. That man's not yet old enough to avoid a scolding from his own mentor.

And they had been making such quick progress in her lessons too. In what should have taken a normal Aesir child centuries to learn, the princess only mastered in just a few years.

Vor had been surprised at first by the King and Queen's order for her to teach the princess at such a young age – barely five years old! – but ultimately agreed. She found herself growing curious as to what kind of person her former student's daughter would be. And suffice to say, she was not disappointed.

The child was brilliant and very eager to learn, which were qualities Vor values and expects all her students to possess. However, the princess was still understandably ignorant in some things. Though at her pace and with the attitude she has towards her lessons… if she didn't know any better, it's as if the princess was learning how to do things she already knew . And that information both surprised and confused her.

For instance, she already knew how to speak , but the words she uses were, frankly, not appropriate for her position. The only thing left to do was teach her how to speak formally . The same with her mannerisms. Not to mention the fact that she somehow has a mouth worse than a barbarian. (Vor made a mental note to mention this to Odin also. It would not do to have the princess of Asgard speak like a common ruffian.)

Hela confuses her, but she has never met a more dedicated and curious child. And despite knowing better, Vor found herself growing fond of the girl.

Though at the moment, the girl is trying her patience.

"Ask, child. It is tiring to see you so quiet when we both know you are almost bursting with curiosity." She gestured almost lazily for her to speak. "Besides, I told you not to hold back."

However, whatever Vor expected she would ask, this was not it.

"Are we at war with Jotunheim?" The princess abruptly blurted out.

Vor stared. "We are not."

Hela almost deflated in her relief, and Vor found herself at a loss, and she absolutely hated not knowing things. "Why do you think we should be at war with Jotunheim?"

She instantly stiffened, "Nothing! It is silly of me, forget I asked."

Vor gazed at her unimpressed. "You are a terrible liar, child."

The Princess only shook her head frantically, eyes pleading with her to drop the subject. It's against her very nature, but Vor agreed to stop her pursuit of knowledge. Though she would come back to it at a later time, mark her words.

She waited patiently for Hela to gather her thoughts; the young princess looking, for the lack of a better word, stressed out of her mind, which was a bit of an overreaction, in Vor's opinion. Knowing the Allfather was your father was not that shocking.

Her next question caught her off guard yet again, "I do not have siblings, do I?"

"Not that I know of." Now it looks like Hela did not know whether to look relieved or alarmed. Vor still cannot figure out what was the matter.

"S-So… my father is really Odin, the warrior who conquered the Nine Realms, the King of Asgard, the creator of Yggdrasil, the Allfather ?"

"Yes, although he did not create Yggdrasil – but that is a lesson for another day – and he has not conquered any realms yet, though I do suspect he plans to do so soon. That man has always been too ambitious for his own good." That last part she muttered under her breath.

"So…" Hela continued hesitantly, Vor patiently waiting for her to gather her thoughts. "So is Hela Odinsdotter 1 my full name then?" 

"It is pronounced Odinsdottir 1 ."  Vor corrected automatically, "And yes, it is."

To her surprise, the princess promptly swore and slumped fully in her seat, determinedly ignoring Vor's harsh glare, her wide eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. "May I be excused?"

Vor took pity on her. "Our lesson is adjourned. Rest, Princess."

Hela needed no further prompting and fled, leaving Vor to nurse a headache the likes of which she hasn't felt since Odin's youth.

…

This was the first time she didn't heed Vor's advice, and she felt nervous. Knowing Vor, she'd just know . But she needed answers, and asking Vor any further will cause her to become suspicious. And if she was right about this, she needed to be absolutely careful not to say the wrong thing.

She knew she still appears shaken and scared out of her mind, judging by the worried looks the servants and attendants shot her in the halls, but she couldn't pay them any attention even if she wanted to.

And so, with only sheer strength of will and determination guiding her footsteps, she headed straight to the library after her postponed lessons and pulled the nearest book and began.

The longer she read, the more she felt like a complete naïve idiot. She had not bothered visiting the library ever since that day; the mountains of books Vor is making her read for their lessons occupying too much of her time already. However, with her new ability to read runes, she can finally see that most of these books spoke of a realm called Asgard, which is a part of the Nine Realms that comprises the World Tree Yggdrasil. It details the land, its people, and its culture and history. A detail that had apparently been staring her in the face for years now.

Come to think of it, she doesn't even know her exact age in Asgardian terms yet. It's not like she's keeping track of it.

Oh god, isn't it mentioned that Asgardian lifespans lasts as long as five thousand years?!

Could she live for five thousand years without going – hopefully not – insane ?

Absorbing it all, she numbly brought it down before pulling another book off the shelf. This one details one of the Nine Realms, a world called Muspelheim, which is composed mainly of fire and heat. Their residents are called the Fire Giants.

The book trembled in her grip when she put it down, and she pulled more books and skimmed through them. One book spoke of Vanaheim, one of Midgard – she felt a flash of homesickness – one of Jotunheim – she felt a spark of dread – and more until she has completely emptied the shelf. She felt anxious, but quickly shook it off. More… she has to find out more !

Walking towards a shelf several feet away from the last, she began pulling out a book again and skimming it. This time, the tomes in this bookshelf detailed things like war, death, and skirmishes in Asgard throughout the years.

She made a mental note to come back to that later, before heading to the librarian and asking for a book about the history of Asgard, as she should have done in the first place. After a "Yes, Your Grace," the librarian immediately handed her a thick tome.

Thanking her, she hurriedly went to a table and began reading through it.

…

This must be a joke.

She reread the passage and laughed at the absurdity of it. This cannot be real. Vor must be lying. Or the librarian must have given her the wrong book. After all, why would a realm called Asgard, which is just a place from Norse mythology, be included in the history of the world?

She asked for history and facts, not stories about Norse mythology.

And yet, Vor had no reason to lie. Second, the book even plainly says 'History of the Nine Realms: Asgard'. Third, Vor had no reason to lie. And lastly, Vor – trustworthy, honest, and wise Vor – had no reason to lie.

That was when all the pieces began to click in a frightening way.

All this time… she had just assumed that all those remarks and passing comments about Norse mythology by Vor and her parents were just that, remarks. When she encountered it in books, she thought it was just a part of her reading lessons, or she was either in a kingdom in Scandinavia where Norse mythology originated, and never took those remarks seriously.

How could she even reincarnate as a goddess in the first place? Wasn't that usually the other way around? Myths she read always had some form of otherworldly being or a god falling to the Earth and learning to mingle with mortals. There was not a single story of a mortal becoming a god .

Oh god, what if Hela was somehow her past life and her previous life was actually her future ?!

She didn't notice that she was beginning to hyperventilate before she heard someone trying to talk to her and calling for help. Hela stared as the librarian knelt beside her worriedly, "–lease Princess, are you all right? Do you need me to call the healers?"

She tried to calm her breathing, knowing that she was probably overreacting but still too stunned to care. It's not every day a person found out they were easily one of the evilest and most powerful beings to live in the history of ever. "I-I am fine, do not worry. This will pass."

The librarian still looked hesitant. "Are you certain? Perhaps we should wait for the healers' assessment–"

"No! I am truly well. Call off the healers." She said, the commanding tone sounding odd coming from her childlike voice. "Thank you for your concern, though."

And with that, she turned away from the concerned librarian, fled the library, and headed straight for her rooms.

…

Hela Odinsdottir.

' Hela Odinsdottir', Vor said her name was.

She felt incredibly embarrassed and dumb for just realizing what really happened after who knows how many years of living in this place.

In some sick twist of fate, or most probably as a source of cruel entertainment for the Norns, she had been reincarnated as Hela Odinsdottir, who's ironically, the Goddess of Death .

Hela, who was also known in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a powerful evil being who conquered Asgard and the other Realms. A powerful evil being who had been banished from Asgard for being too unstable and bloodthirsty by her own father, which led her to rule the Realm of the Dead, where the despicable and dishonorable people go when they die. Lastly, and probably the most important fact of all, she was Thor and Loki's older sister .

She had hoped that perhaps Vor had just misspoken, or she had gone temporarily deaf. It was the first time she heard the name 'Hela' and found herself completely frightened of it.

Finally reaching her own rooms, she closed the door firmly before letting the dam loose. She laughed and laughed and laughed until tears came unbidden in her eyes and her lungs started protesting from the lack of air. She collapsed on her knees in front of her large mirror, and sat in front of it with her knees tucked up against her c.h.e.s.t, her eyes wide as it all finally came crashing down.

This was real. This was her life now, and her name was now Hela.

She took a deep breath, and hugged herself tightly.

Hela Odinsdottir was not her original name, nor was it her first choice if she was truly reborn into the world of Marvel. She could have dealt with being Shuri, Scarlet Witch, or even Darcy Lewis. All of those characters are female and have the least terrible pasts of all. She would have been satisfied with that. But knowing that she was reborn as a character destined to be evil and surrounded by death? How could anyone not lose their minds?

Why did this happen? How did this happen? What could she have possibly done to deserve this? She had believed in the Catholic faith in her previous life, and then she suddenly wakes up and finds herself as the Norse goddess of death? This was nothing but a cruel joke. Just because she died while watching a Marvel movie doesn't automatically mean she becomes a character in said movie! If so, everyone would be killing themselves just to get the chance. And she refuses to think she was special enough to garner the right attention from the right people.

But even so, the Norns have to be responsible. She could think of no other gods who has the ability to do what happened to her. Odin probably could, but she cannot imagine he'll do that to his only daughter (she desperately tried not to think about Thor's banishment, Loki being abandoned, adopted, his identity kept secret from him, and his consequent treachery and malevolence, all of which happened because of Odin's neglect.) and Frigga would be on his case if he was the culprit. That was, assuming she knows.

However, she cannot think of a way to contact the Norns. What would she even say if she managed to contact them? Return her to her original body? Her body was probably dead at this point. Even she knew that. So really, the logical side of her knows that the best way to do this was to continue living on. And that meant trying to accept this change.

'Hela' slowly brought a trembling hand to her –  brown, it should be brown! – jet-black hair; touching the short but silky strands before moving on to her – fair !– pale face, her complexion so light it resembled marble. She had the form of a child, barely six or seven years old by Earth's standards, but her body was not the chubby thing most children possess. Instead, she was small and skinny. Everything about her appearance screamed wrong ! and she couldn't help but feel disturbed wearing someone else's skin.

Years of looking into the mirror, and it was only now she realized that she does look like a younger version of Hela in the movies. And thinking back, does Odin and Frigga not look like their own respective actors as well?

It really seemed like her stupidity knows no bounds if she missed something as obvious as that.

As a last resort, her trembling fingers slowly made their way into her eyes, parting her eyelids to reveal the colors of her irises.

Green.

She immediately felt her eyes water and obscure her vision, but it mattered not. What matters is that there is still a part of her real self that stayed . She didn't know if this was the real Hela's eye color, but what does it even matter if she's now Hela herself?

She knows she said Hela was an interesting villain. But nothing could change the fact that Hela was evil. A monster in the loosest sense of the word. Hela massacred almost all the Asgardians… an entire race! Worst of all, Hela doomed them all and began the series of events that eventually led the remaining Asgardians to Thanos himself.

Was she also expected to do all those things?

No, she's her own person, there's no evil Hela lurking within the depths of her mind that could control her thoughts and actions.

Her mind's her own. Hers .

She almost laughed aloud, too relieved and shaken beyond words. She tried desperately not to think about the fact that she might be wrong, and the real Hela's within her, just biding her time to strike.

But even if she was, she won't give her that chance. Just because she was named Hela doesn't mean she should be Hela. There was no reason for her to act like an evil and bloodthirsty goddess of death. She could just be her normal, ordinary self. No one was asking her to be Hela, and if things go her way, no one would even know that there used to be an evil Hela.

Her mind's her own. And she's free .

The laughter that sounded after that was too hysterical to be mistaken for anything else.

…

After that realization, she waited a few more moments to calm herself and remove any traces of tears in her face, before she finally decided to leave her rooms.

Night had already fallen, but she didn't care. She needed to see for herself.

Wandering the palace, she marveled at the structure that she had previously taken for granted. The whole place was vaguely similar to the Asgard in the movies, but what they had failed to truly capture was the fact that it was enormous and incredibly luxurious. It was frankly too good to be true, and she half expected herself to wake from this horribly realistic dream, but it never happened. She's really here in Asgard, her new parents were really Odin and Frigga, and her name was really Hela Odinsdottir.

However, accepting her identity had just been the first step; learning to live with it was another. The name 'Hela' was mainly associated with bad things. Especially with her role as a villain in the MCU. She's determined not to become a monster and murderer like the real Hela had been. But the realization was still hard.

Perhaps the only good thing about this was that being Hela means growing up alongside her future siblings and protecting them from their fates. If she could just do that, then she will gladly continue this farce for as long as she could.

She always had a soft spot for Thor and Loki ever since she first watched the Thor movies. Out of all the Avengers, Thor fascinates her the most. However, out of all the villains and every single character in the MCU, Loki will always be her favorite. Some might even say she had a crush on him and his real life actor, but now she felt a bit horrified at the idea. If she's Hela now, then Loki will be her younger brother . Never mind if he's adopted, that's just wrong !

She forced herself to get rid of that thought. She's going to be their elder sister. Any sign of infatuations has got to go!

Shaking her head, she released a breath and shoved that thought where the sun doesn't shine. Alright, first order of business, forget that whole crush thing! She doesn't need that complication in her life.

Second, further learn and master how to read and write. She could already understand everything well enough and could write the language through years of constant practice with the help of Vor, but she needs to perfect that skill. Knowing how to read and write impeccably will be an advantage if she were to start navigating this world.

Though that does lead her to question just how she can speak their language fluently but she cannot read them. Was it perhaps the result of the Allspeak? She should probably look into that further.

Third was to ask her parents to teach her how to fight. It's a fundamental part of this world and one she was confident her parents would not reject. After all, the future Queen of Asgard should know how to defend herself.

She stiffened. Wait .

Oh my god, she's to become the future queen ?

They don't even need an evil Hela, make her the queen and Asgard is doomed .

She snorted at the mental image, the brief moment of humor helping her mind calm. All right, worry about that later. For now, it's important to know how to defend herself. She wasn't blind to the plights of royalty. Assassination attempts were a given, because some people always want royals dead no matter how good or respectable they were. Self-defense was a necessity, but if she went further and became a warrior , well, who can stop her?

Besides, she knows women in medieval times were often regarded as housewives and, in the simplest of terms, only there to bear child, but she will never allow herself to be treated as such. She will learn how to fight and defend herself, not to become a trophy to be paraded around. Besides, the real Hela knew how to fight, and was even stronger than both Thor and Loki combined. That alone lets her know she ought to learn how to do it too.

She suddenly perked up, eyes widening when she realized another obvious detail she missed.

She's still a child, she hadn't turned evil or imprisoned yet, so that meant... the Valkyries were still alive!

She visibly vibrated with excitement. Meeting Brunnhilde would be so awesome! She seems to be a great person to hang out with. And since they were alive, then perhaps women were not treated as badly like in Sif's time in Asgard.

Speaking of which, when she finally meets Loki, Thor, Heimdall, and the Avengers (not necessarily in that order), she could definitely die happy (and hopefully not get reincarnated again. Once is enough.)

All right, getting off-track here. Now, the fourth thing to do will be to start learning magic or seidr. She must have it, since the real Hela can conjure weapons out of thin air. Besides, it's wiser to start broadening her horizons and gathering knowledge now instead of waiting for nothing. According to what she knows about Asgard and Loki's history, women are more accepted to learn magic than men. This will not raise any questions. Besides, what kind of sane person doesn't want to learn  magic ?

Mind made up, she decided to start asking for magic lessons from her parents as soon as they agreed to the first two.

Fifth, she'll begin learning how to navigate court and political life. Being the first daughter and princess means she will undoubtedly have some responsibilities. If the previously oaf-like and stubborn Thor before his banishment can do it, then so can she.

She doubts she would ever be as clever as Loki, but she refuses to lose to Thor in terms of intelligence. Sorry future brother.

And sixth… she promises to do her absolute best into guiding her future siblings away from the horrible fate that awaits them. She will be the best sister she could be. She will never let either feel neglected, especially since she knows neglect is the root cause of all the problems in their family.

They haven't even been born yet but she already loves them like her own brothers. The idea was strange but very welcome.

She exhaled.

She's now Hela Odinsdottir, firstborn child of Odin Allfather and Frigga Allmother, and the true heir to the throne of Asgard. And if fate persists, she will also be known as the Goddess of Death, Asgard's Executioner, and Thor and Loki's elder sister and self-appointed protector.

And she fully accepts this role.

Your move, Norns.

… (Pronounced: daughter) (Pronounced: dott – ir)