Waking to what could only be a dream, Jennifer found herself standing out upon a glittering snow-covered plain. Moonlight danced playfully across the icy crystals in the snow and a strong wind blew various patterns across the horizon, hypnotizing her under its strange spell. For several moments, she stared and soaked in the beauty of her surroundings, until it suddenly donned on her that she was naked and alone in the vast frozen ice lands of some mystical other plane of existence.

“Hel.. Hello…” Hesitant, she stuttered lowly, not certain if she should call out or not. Who knows what dangers were lurking all around, just waiting to devour her – or worse! Wrapping her arms around her bare, exposed breasts, Jennifer trembled sharply, and not from the cold. For whatever reason, even though she was naked and her hair was still damp from her long soak in the pool, the chill of the great frozen landscape didn’t seem to touch her.

“So you know who I am already?” A soft, gentle feminine voice seemed to whisper from all around, causing Jennifer to tremble even harder. Embarrassed and frightened, she sunk down to her knees to conceal herself as much as possible amongst the thick blanket of snow.

A woman’s laughter gently echoed all around, seeming amused by her actions. “You can not hide from me, child. In this place, I see more of you than you can even see of yourself.”

“Who… Who are you?” Jennifer whispered back, eyes wide in fright. The voice made it sound as if it could be coming from anywhere; it echoed gently from all around, and yet didn’t seem to originate from anywhere. “Where? Where are you?”

“I am here,” the voice chuckled lightly. “The question is, where are you?”

“Where am I?” Jennifer asked, frightened almost to the point of passing out.

“You are here,” the voice answered casually, “and you are there.” A sudden gust of wind blew, churning snow into a spiraling whirlpool, and at the center of the maelstrom, Jennifer saw an image of herself writhing and arching shamelessly atop a pure crystal altar.

A shocked look of bewilderment twisted across Jennifer’s face, as she couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening any longer. How could she be in two places at the same time?

“That’s simply your mortal flesh,” the voice answered, seeming to read her thoughts. “Your spirit is here with me, for now, and perhaps for all eternity if I wish it.”

“Who… Who are you?” Jennifer stammered. “What are you?”

“Oh child!” The voice laughed, seemingly amused at something, and a great and powerful wind thundered across the landscape, pushing a mountain of snow and ice before it, before suddenly stopping a dozen paces in front of her. From out of the midst of the raging snow stepped a beautiful woman, seemingly made of pure crystalline ice. Snow and frost trailed behind her perfect naked form, much as the train on a wedding dress follows behind a bride.

“Is this form suitable for you to comprehend me? I fear your mortal mind couldn’t accept the truth and would crack before my full presence,” the icewoman told her gently.

“I… I see you. I understand you,” Jennifer confirmed, shaking uncontrollably. A strong force was bearing down all around her, as if the gravity had increased a hundred fold once the woman had appeared. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t lift her head and stare directly at the figure before her.

“Now, tell me, child,” the woman commanded, “Why do you greet me by my name, and then ask who I am? What game are you playing at?”

“I… I don’t know who you are!” Gasping for breath under the unbearable pressure, Jennifer sank to her knees and half screamed her answer.

“Did you not greet me with a ‘Hel, hello’ earlier?” Rather than sounding angry, the icy woman sounded almost as if she was finding the whole situation rather amusing.

“I… Only… Stuttered…” Jennifer gasped for breath between each word, as the unseen force increased steadily around her. After another moment, she suddenly found herself crushed down to her knees, and then forced over, face crushed down flat against the cold snowy ground.

“It seems you are learning your place, mortal,” the woman told her emotionlessly as she casually walked over and then sat down across Jennifer’s back, using her prostate form for a chair. “I am Hel, and this is just the simplest part of my domain.”

Jennifer’s mind reeled. Hel was supposedly one of the most powerful goddesses from Norse mythology, which Matthew claimed to serve. There wasn’t any way she could argue with the figure sitting casually atop her, but her mind buckled as it wrestled with the concept of a Norse goddess using her as a chair.

“Believe me, or not, it doesn’t matter,” Hel reassured her, once more seeming to read her thoughts. “All you need to believe at this moment is that you are a mote of dust, normally beneath my notice, and I could erase you from all existence with a single wave of my hand.”

Trembling, Jennifer believed her utterly. If this woman wanted her destroyed, then no one and nothing could save her!

“Good,” Hel chuckled lightly again, as she slowly rubbed the side of her foot against Jennifer’s face. “I see you understand. Now, tell my why my chosen has brought you here. Why has he accepted you, when you bear such animosity towards him in your heart?”

Overwhelmed beyond her mortal limits, Jennifer couldn’t speak. She couldn’t even whimper. Just taking a breath itself was almost more than she could accomplish, but Hel didn’t seem to notice. With a playful stroke of a hand across her hair, Jennifer felt her mind being ripped open as the goddess explored every corner of her mind. No secret, no fear, no memory was sacred or off limits. In moments, Jennifer’s mind was ripped completely open and utterly violated.

As Hel slowly moved her hand away, she laughed merrily to herself at what she saw. “How foolish! You blame my chosen for defiling you, and yet you were the one to agree to such a thing! Anger festers in you, for my chosen, when it is your own weakness which you should be disgusted by and not him!”

“I do not know why my champion would want one such as you,” Hel muttered softly to herself, “but he has brought you here and presented you before me. I have no reason, nor any desire, to refuse my child’s request.”

“But you…” Hel paused for a moment and gently stroked the side of Jennifer’s face again. “You are not worthy to stand beside my child and call yourself his companion. You do not harbor a desire for companionship with him in your heart. The stench of betrayal permeates your very soul.”

“So instead,” Hel chuckled lightly, “I shall train you. My child wants you. He has served me well. You shall be my present to him. Just as soon as I’ve trained you properly, that is.”

A cold laughter echoed across the frozen plain, and Jennifer’s soul screamed out in utter despair as several raging blizzards began to swirl and form frozen shackles of pure ice, and snaked across the landscape to wrap themselves around her trembling form. As the first shackle latched itself around her neck, a cold, frozen chill wrapped itself around her heart and pain filled her essence.

Jennifer’s training had begun!