―the sword of light

I am flesh and I am bone,

rise up like glitter & gold

the truth about who she was. It was still quite unbelievable to the Stark girl―a goddess, that's what she was. Or a demigoddess for that matter. She knew she didn't belong entirely to Earth, but she still felt too human for Asgard. Too human to be training amongst gods and divine warriors. The sword of light didn't feel like her own just yet, and the armor she now donned felt too heavy on her shoulders.

Thor had left a day after the whole revealing, claiming he had to find out about the Infinity Stones and the creature who was willing to collect them all. Before leaving, he bid his new niece farewell and wished her luck in her training.

Heimdall took it upon himself to train the young goddess to master her newfound gifts. All the years watching her fight restlessly from afar, and now here she was, fighting again―like she always was. He was a little bit surprised to see how good she could handle herself during the first hand-to-hand combat. At first, Heimdall had gone easy on the girl, but he stopped pulling his punches following the first training fight.

Arabella was currently held in a deadlock by Heimdall. Her breath hitched due to the pressure being applied to her throat. She could hear the heavy breaths leaving Heimdall's nose and feel his chest slowly rising and falling. The adrenaline was rushing through her bloodstream as she stomped on Heimdall's foot and hit him with the back of her head as he bent down from the pain. Slim fingers grasped his muscular arms and ripped them off her neck in a swift motion. She turned around and before he could throw a jab at her face, she ducked and grabbed his fist to move it aside. She then kneed him on the guts and threw a punch on his throat, leaving the man momentarily gasping for air.

Blood trickled from her nose down to her lips from the previous fight. The familiar metallic taste slipped through her parted lips and landed on her tongue as she took a sharp breath. A grimace of disgust took over her features as she wiped the blood with the back of her hand.

Heimdall was up in a matter of seconds, sword in hand and eyes set on her. He swung the sharp weapon toward the girl, aiming for her abdomen. She dropped to her knees and slid past his legs with her hand outstretched to call for her mother's sword. The sword came flying from the stone table where it laid and found a place within the girl's hand. A rush of energy flowed through her body, igniting her veins a bright gold as she stood up and flung her sword to shield her face. Both weapons, her and Heimdall's, collided against one another creating a loud crash sound. With gritted teeth, she swung the sword to the left, dragging the other sword along and kicking Heimdall on his thigh to make him lose balance. When he was slightly bent down, she tried to take the sword out of his hand but before she got to do so, he overpowered her and pinned her to the ground.

Once again, the swords clashed with each other―this time inches away from Bella's face. Grunts escaped past her dry mouth as her arm muscles flexed and tried to keep Heimdall's sword from reaching her face. Heavy breaths escaped her bloodstained lips, and her legs strained underneath Heimdall's body weight. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead from all the effort she was making.

Amid the adrenaline rush, she wrapped both legs around his torso and flipped them over, nearly missing a cut on her cheek. The positions switched and she had the upper hand. A small smirk formed on her lips as she pushed the sword further with her newfound strength until the point where Heimdall surrendered. Heavy breaths left her lungs as she dropped the sword to the floor. The energy provided by the Sword of Light left her body and Arabella swore it felt like withdrawal, even though she'd never tried any drugs. She was not used to wielding such a powerful weapon. It felt like she could do anything when she held the sword within her hands, but when she let the sword down, it was a different story. She felt weak and shaky for the first few seconds, and her body sweated cold.

She hated that feeling. Weakness. Sickness, even. So, she tried her best to numb it and hide it.

Arabella stood from the ground and held a trembling hand out to help Heimdall. "Nice fight." She grinned, trying to hide any evidence of weakness, though her body gave it away anyway. Heimdall noticed the state she was in but decided not to comment. Instead, he scoffed playfully in response. "What? You're not turning into a sore loser, are you?"

"No, it was a fair fight, Ara."

The girl nodded and gave him a thumbs up. "Say, Heimdall," She breathed out, clutching her side as she leaned on a pillar. "If I hide in like the deepest corner on Earth, would you be able to see me?"

"Yes."

"You see it all, right?" She asked while she placed the sword back on the table. "Did you―did you see me being brought to the Red Room and stuff?"

"I did," Heimdall admitted, already knowing where the conversation leading to. "Odin forbade to act and interfere with your life. I was ordered to keep an eye on you, nothing more. We couldn't stand in the way of your future, all of it had to happen the way it did to forge you into who you are now."

Arabella nodded once more, completely understanding why things had to be that way. Yet she still felt slightly angry, hurt even, that when she was going through tough times, they just sat and watched.

"What if I bury myself under the ground? Would you still be able to see me?" The question was her attempt to lighten things up.

Heimdall let out a low chuckle, "We'll have to try that some time."

She smirked in response as her clammy hands tightened the braided ponytail. She cleared her throat and said, "How 'bout another round?"

The Sword of Light rested within Odin's wrinkled hands. It glistened when the sun reflected on it, making it appear more golden than it was. "It serves as a great advantage during a battle, if used properly, of course. You have yet to build the strength to wield the sword and not let the power consume you. But with time, you will."

Odin stepped in the middle of the training grounds and gestured for her to come forward. "The sword takes the energy from its surroundings and releases it whenever the wielder deems so. You have to learn how to control the sword and not let it control you." Odin stretched his arms for the girl to reach the sword. "Now take it, and master it."

After saying that, he walked away and left the young girl in the middle of the training ground with Asgardian warriors surrounding her.

That was the first try she had at mastering the power of the sword. It's safe to say that she completely failed. While she did win the fight against the warriors, she did not once use the sword. After a few moments into the fight, the power was consuming her and the burning in her veins was too much to handle, so the best option was to drop the sword and take down the soldiers with her hands only.

Odin didn't reproach her much to her surprise. She was so used to the Madame's punishments after a failed task that Odin's somewhat understanding words caught her off guard.

Fast forward to a week and a half after those events, where Bella was surrounded by six Asgardian warriors, all armed and all vigorously trained. The girl spun around to take a look at the six warriors. They were all taller, even the two female warriors, and they looked rather intimidating than the ones she worked with yesterday. But she didn't mind, she was used to being in disadvantage after restlessly fighting them for the past week and a half.

"Wednesday, play some music."

In cue, AC/DC's Are You Ready started blasting through the watch Tony gave her the day before she left Earth. Her boot-clad feet tapped the floor to the rhythm of the song. The Asgardian warriors seemed confused at the unfamiliar music and the girl who was enjoying it.

"It's AC/DC. Ever heard of it?" She asked even though she knew the answer was a no. "No? Jeez, you're missing out." Her small hand gripped the sword as tight as she possibly could when the riff came to a stop. Brian Johnson's raspy voice sang the opening lyrics just as Arabella lip synced them. "Are you ready?"

Bella was the first one to strike, swinging her sword toward the warrior on her right. And so the fighting began, metal clashing against metal and grunts lingering heavily on the air. The burning feeling began to ignite her veins the longer she held the Sword of Light but she couldn't drop it, she had to prove herself worthy of her mother's weapon. She could take control of it. She had to.

Six against one―the odds of winning weren't tilting on her side, but then again, when ever were they?

By the middle of the song, Bella had managed to kick three warriors to the ground without any major injuries and without using the complete capabilities of the sword, which made her frustrated. But when the remaining three began to blast her with some kind of magical weapon, one that none of the other warriors had used, she glided the sword in front of her, hoping it might shield her from the attack.

As the half-human girl clutched the sword, a golden energy shield formed before her. Her eyes widened as she witnessed the sword absorbing the energy of whatever living thing surrounded her. The blasts fired by the warriors ahead of her seemed to blend with the golden hue, making it brighter with every blast they shot. Her whole body begged her to drop the sword, aching from the feeling of overpower. But she didn't listen. She could take it. Her mother would've wanted her to wield the sword, she couldn't let her down, nor could she let down Odin ince again. So, she embraced the feeling of the all-consuming power the sword radiated.

I can take it.

Her mind commanded her hands to stop shaking and her heart to beat steadily.

I can take it.

She tried to put out the fire the sword had set ablaze on her veins and numb the feeling.

I can take it.

Taking a deep breath and letting out a low grunt, Bella pushed the sword forward, ignoring all kinds of pain and releasing all the energy the sword had consumed, blasting it to the warriors. A bright, golden blast of energy made them drop to the ground with a loud thud. As the bodies laid unconscious, Bella lowered the weapon shakingly. The burning was not there anymore yet her veins were still glowing. The six bodies surrounded her just like they had minutes before the fight, the difference was that this time they were not moving at all.

The AC/DC song came to an end, right after the fight was done. "Talk about perfect timing." Bella mused.

"Shall I play another one, Miss?" Wednesday asked.

"Nah, we're done for today. Thanks, Addams."

The doors of the training grounds opened to reveal Odin. The All Father had a proud smile on his face as he walked towards the girl, avoiding the bodies on the ground.

"Did I do it?"

"You did, Ara. Exactly like your mother would have done it." She sighed in relief, that was all she wanted to hear. "Now, come along. I have something I'll like to show you."

As followed Odin across the training grounds with her weapon in hand, an unfamiliar voice echoed through the room.

"Well done, Starchild."

But when she glanced around, she saw no one there.

hi :) as you might have noticed by my lack of updating, i'm having a hard time writing her stay in asgard. but i'm almost finished with this book and i've already started book 2! also, i need a new cover for this book and book 2, so if you know of anyone who does graphics please let me know!

here's a future quote from book 2 :)

―Arabella Stark to Harry Osborn, Burning Bridges.

as always, thanks for waiting and i hope you stick around!

—love, L