Wings of the Valkyrie

by Charley Case

  “I would go with this one,” the older Valkyrie whispered, pointing to the white suit and winking. She adjusted hers for a better fit and turned to check herself out in the full-length mirror on the wall, turned more to view her profile, then pivoted further and looked over her shoulder at her back. “Wow, this really does look like dried sex appeal. God, I’ve had this body for over a hundred years and I still forget how hot it is. I lucked out this time around.” She gave her ass a light smack, not wanting to wake Penny.

  “How do you do that?” Mila looked at her two choices.

  “Do what?” Victoria turned and rested her ass on the built-in vanity between the two closets and crossed her arms.

  Mila looked between the conservative orange one-piece suit and the white monokini of a more conservative design than Victoria’s but still far sexier than Mila would have picked out. She picked up the white one and held it in front of herself. She liked the cut and knew she could rock it if she wore it. A regular old bikini was about the raciest she had ever gone, and that was only with close friends.

  “I love this suit and I want to wear it, but there’s something that won’t let me. I get a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I can’t explain it.”

  Victoria pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes while looking Mila up and down. The stare went on for a while, each passing second making Mila a little more uncomfortable than the last. Eventually, the look made Mila bring her arms in and use the swimsuit as a kind of shield as she turned ever so slightly away from Victoria’s intense stare. Finally, it was too much for Mila to take.

  “What are you looking at?” she hissed angrily.

  Victoria smiled. “Why did that make you uncomfortable?”

  “Because you were looking at me weird.”

  “No.” The ordinarily serious woman crossed her eyes and put on a stupid face. “This is looking at you weird.”

  Mila snorted a laugh and quickly covered her mouth, checking to be sure she hadn’t disturbed Penny. “What the hell?”

  “You weren’t uncomfortable because I was looking at you. You were uncomfortable because of what you thought I was doing.”

  “And what did I think you were doing?”

  “Objectifying you. You probably didn’t consciously realize that was what made you uncomfortable, but you were reacting to being thought of as an object, not a person. Do you care if Finn stares at you?”

  Finn watched Mila all the time, usually with a half-smile of contentment on his face. It didn’t matter if she was loading the dishwasher, doing yoga, or taking a shower—he always wore the same blissful look. It wasn’t like he was creeping on her, but she would catch him staring now and then. At first, it was a little weird, but after a while she enjoyed it. He loved her and couldn’t help staring at her. She did the same thing to him, although she was a little slyer about it.

  Mila smiled, recalling fond memories. “I like it when he watches me. It makes me feel special, I guess.”

  “What’s the difference between him and a stranger staring at you?” Victoria pushed off the vanity and took the white bathing suit from Mila, then held it up to her body to see what it would look like on her.

  “I suppose the difference is that he knows me.”

  Victoria rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s obvious. But why does it matter?” She laid the suit on the bed and scooped up the orange one-piece, then tossed it into the shoulder bag.

  “Because he knows there’s more to me than my looks. I’m a Doctor of Anthropology, for crying out loud. I worked hard for that shit, and I don’t want people to judge me only on the way I look.” Mila’s brows rose as she said it, and realized it was true.

  Victoria smiled and gently rubbed the tops of Mila’s arms in a motherly fashion. “There it is. It’s an admirable thing to want people to judge others for who they are and not how they look. But here’s the problem…it’s never going to happen. Not with the way the world works now, anyway. But there is some good news.” She smiled. “It doesn’t matter what others think.”

  “I mean, it matters a little,” Mila argued quietly.

  “No, it doesn’t. Not even a little bit.” She sighed and crossed her arms again. “This is something you’ll learn with time, and trust me, it’s a hard lesson to understand fully, but you will. It might take you twenty years, or you could be a little more hard-headed like me and waste a couple of thousand years figuring it out. But in the end, you’ll realize it doesn’t matter one tiny little lick what other people think of you. You work to be the best possible person you can, and the rest will figure itself out. Trust me. It always works itself out.”

  “You can take that a little too far, though,” Mila wasn’t quite willing to write off everyone’s opinions yet. “If you’re an asshole and don’t care about others, you’re not going to have a good time.”

  Victoria laughed softly. “You’re right on that one. I did say that you need to work to be the person you can be. If an asshole is the pinnacle of your evolution, then you won’t make it very far. But, I don’t think you’re an asshole. Plus, we have a little advantage in that we never die. That’s why I can say with absolute certainty that others’ opinions of you don’t matter.” She pointed at the strappy white monokini. “Do you want to wear that?”

  Mila laughed into her hand and sniffed, wiping at a little wetness at the corner of her eye, then nodded. “Yeah, I do. It’s cute.”

  “It’s not cute, dum-dum. It’s sexy as fuck. But here’s the real question. Let’s see if you learned anything from the ancient knowledge I laid on you.” She took Mila by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Why do you want to wear it?”

  Mila bit her lip before answering. “Because I’ll look cute, and Finn will love it.”

  “Sexy, not cute. And Finn would love it if you wore a used garbage bag. That guy is beyond in love with you. Why do you want to wear it?”

  Mila frowned, thinking about all the reasons she would give herself not to wear the suit, and in the end, they all boiled down to what others would think of her. It made her a little sick to her stomach.

  She looked up at her elder sister, a new determination burning in her eyes. There was a wash of freedom that spread through her as she began to drop all the baggage she hadn’t known she was holding onto. She suddenly felt a hundred pounds lighter. It reminded her of the day she had cemented her conviction and finally released her magic’s full potential.

  “I want to wear it because I want to feel sexy. Because I’m not doing anyone harm by wearing it. Because what I wear doesn’t define me. But most of all, because I want to. It doesn’t matter what others think of me. I know who I am, and that’s enough.”

  Victoria smiled and pulled her in for a hug. “I would have accepted ‘because I want to,’ but you said it better.” She pulled back and held Mila at arms’ length while she smiled down at her. “There’s something about you that I can’t explain.” She shook her head and shrugged. “Get dressed. We have a pool to drink beside.”

  Victoria turned and headed for the door.

  “Uh, Victoria?”

  She turned with her hand on the doorknob. “What?”

  Mila bit her cheek. “Can you show me how to put this thing on?”

  Victoria chuckled and nodded.

  Chapter Five

  Mila felt a thrill at the look Finn gave her when she stepped out onto the deck and struck a pose. His dropped jaw and goofy smile stayed plastered on his face as pool water dripped from his beard. She heard a snort of laughter from Victoria standing behind her.

  “You two are ridiculous,” she said quietly to Mila’s back.

  “Yup. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Finn was sitting on the edge of the pool next to Danica with Grimm sitting between them, their feet in the water. Grimm was inspecting his and Danica’s prosthetic arms. The little boy would stick his entire arm through the open weave of the dark yellow diamond material and tell Finn to move his fingers, then squeal with gl
ee when Finn’s fingers wiggled. Grimm would then turn to Danica and do the same thing with her forearm.

  Danica looked up and smiled when she saw which suit Mila had chosen. She stuck her finger and thumb in her mouth and blew out a loud catcalling whistle along with a thumbs-up. Mila gave her a discreet middle finger and headed over to a row of lounge chairs right up against the edge of the far side of the pool where Rebecca and Lance were reclining, watching their son playing with Finn and Danica.

  Mila was very aware of Finn watching her every step, the goofy smile still on his face. She took the recliner beside Rebecca, and Victoria took the one on the other side of Lance.

  Rebecca was looking at her with a critical eye behind a pair of large black sunglasses. She was wearing a simple white bikini, somehow making it look more elegant than sexy.

  “What?” Mila asked.

  “You have to be the most beautiful dwarf in the universe. Finn’s a lucky man.”

  Mila laughed. “I’m not a dwarf.”

  The witch gave her a knowing smile and laid back on the recliner. “You’re mostly right, I suppose.” She lifted her copper mug to her lips and finished off the drink. “Can you hand me the pitcher?” She pointed past Mila to a small fridge that hadn’t been there when Mila sat.

  “Where the hell did that come from?”

  “We told you the house changes as needed.” She reached down to the deck and rubbed one of the boards. “Who’s a good boy? You are! Yes, you are.”

  Mila laughed and sat up, turning her back to Rebecca to reach the fridge, and grabbed a second copper mug from the little freezer for herself. She turned back to get Rebecca’s mug and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found the woman leaning across her lounge chair, her face only inches from Mila’s lower back. Rebecca looked up and met her gaze.

  “You fucking liar. You said you weren’t a dwarf.” She smiled and pointed at Mila’s Shield Maiden tattoo. “What’s this, then?”

  Mila took Rebecca’s empty mug while laughing at her expression, and turned away to pour the drinks. “Finn gave it to me. Just because I have a dwarven tattoo doesn’t make me a dwarf. It means…”

  “Oh, I’m well aware of what it means. Are you aware that you’re the only person in the universe who’s not a dwarf and has that tattoo?” She took the filled mug from Mila and sat back in her recliner.

  “It’s only a tattoo.”

  “No, it’s not.” Victoria chimed in from where she laid back in her chair, her eyes closed and soaking up the sun.

  Mila rolled her eyes. “Okay, I get it. It’s a little odd,” she looked across the pool at Finn as he jumped to his feet and in a flash, picked Grimm up and tossed him into the water as the little boy screamed in delight, “but it’s only special because he gave it to me. It’s not me. It’s him.” She smiled, then laughed when Finn didn’t stop with Grimm. In a flash, he picked up a squealing Danica and tossed her in before jumping in himself.

  “I thought dwarves didn’t like water.” Lance laughed along with the antics.

  “He’s fine with a pool since he can jump out if he needs to. It’s the deep open waters he doesn’t like. They keep him too far from his source of magic. That, and he doesn’t float.”

  Finn shot out of the water, coming up under Grimm and grabbing the boy as he passed, and tossing the little kid ten feet into the air. The two of them shouted with glee before splashing down, at the same time splashing water in Danica’s face.

  They watched the dwarf king play with the little witch boy and the stunning elf woman for half an hour before Finn peeled away, leaving Grimm with Danica. She held him in her arms and danced around in circles, sending splashing waves out with each revolution, both of them giggling loudly.

  Mila watched Finn’s dark shape skimming across the bottom of the pool and heading right for her lounge chair. She spun around onto her stomach so her face was right at the edge where he surfaced. She smiled at him as he wiped the water from his eyes with one hand.

  “Hi,” she said in a chipper voice.

  He chuckled. “Hi.”

  “Are you having fun?”

  “I am. It’s nice not to be out hunting for treasure.”

  “I thought you liked hunting for buried pirate booty,” she said through a wide smile.

  “Oh, this is a setup for me to talk about your butt, isn’t it?”

  She laughed. “Maybe.”

  “Well, you do have a cute booty. Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now?”

  “Oh, my God. Get a room, you two. There are children present,” Danica called from the other side of the pool.

  “Just because you have super elf hearing doesn’t mean that everyone can hear us, you know,” Mila called across the water.

  “Yes, we can,” Victoria corrected, still reclined on her chair with her eyes closed.

  Rebecca and Lance both nodded. “It’s super gross,” Lance added.

  Mila and Finn started laughing. “Okay, we’ll stop.” Mila turned back to Finn. “Your booty is super cute in your little trunks.”

  “Oh, come on!” Danica shouted.

  Mila looked over her shoulder and saw that Lance and Victoria were laughing, but she caught Rebecca staring at the tattoo on her back. They locked gazes, and Rebecca gave her another knowing smile.

  “You guys ready to start grilling?” Finn asked.

  Lance jumped up. “Hell, yeah. Let’s do it. I’m starving.”

  “Luckily, Finn brought a whole cow’s worth of filets.” Victoria chuckled.

  “Brought the good stuff, huh? I’m willing to forgive all the mushy talk for a good filet.” Lance jogged over to a large outdoor kitchen setup with a built-in grill that could hold an entire cow and started lighting it.

  “That wasn’t there a minute ago, right?” Finn’s brow furrowed.

  “Good boy.” Mila patted the concrete edge of the pool. She laughed at the concerned look Finn gave her and leaned in to kiss him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rebecca looking at her tattoo with an amused smile on her face.

  They cooked up a feast and drank more delicious mixed drinks. As soon as the smells of cooking meat filled the house, Penny sauntered out and joined them for dinner. Mila’s concern for her friend faded as Penny slowly woke up and joined in with her usual banter and impressive appetite. By the time they said their goodbyes, the sun was low on the horizon and Grimm was asleep on the couch, tuckered out from the long day of fun.

  They all traded hugs and laughs while making plans to come back at the end of the week before Danica had to return to her regular work schedule.

  They gathered in tight, and Danica formed a large bubble around them. Mila and Rebecca locked gazes. The witch smiled while looking from Mila up at Finn, who’d wrapped his arms around Mila and pulled her close to his abdomen, then back down at her.

  Mila cocked her head and started to say something when the bubble popped and they were standing in the condo’s dojo.

  “Hey, boss.”

  They all turned to find Remmy standing on the couch, her feet and legs bare and obviously scrubbed clean. Her light green skin almost shined in the late evening sun that filtered in through the windows. On top, she only wore one of Finn’s black t-shirts that hung down her tiny frame to her knees like a dress and showed off a fair amount of cleavage from the plunging V-neck. Behind her, the TV was on but muted and looked like it was showing one of the twenty-four-hour news channels. Mila couldn’t figure out if the goblin was watching the news on mute, or if she had been surfing channels and happened to stop there. She still couldn’t figure out why it was already on mute.

  Victoria smiled and headed for the living room. “Hello, Remmy. You look rather clean tonight. Something special planned?” She came around the large L-shaped couch and plopped down next to the grinning goblin.

  “Maybe later, but mostly because the boss told me to keep the furniture clean.”

  Finn sighed. “I meant that if you were dirty from hunting or whatever,
then take a shower before you roll around on the couch. I didn’t mean you had to shower every time you came over.”

  Remmy laughed. “I know that, boss man. I just came back from my shift at Christine’s. I was all sweaty, and my leathers needed cleaning anyway, so I used the shower up here. The one in our condo is always packed, even after you installed the communal bath. Thanks for that, by the way.”

  “Oh, well in that case, thank you for remembering. And quit calling me boss man. You stopped calling Mila boss lady, why can’t you do the same with me?”

  The little goblin smiled mischievously. “Because Mila is my friend. You’re my protector, and I’m your protector. Sorry, boss man. That’s the way it works.”

  Mila had to lock her jaw so she didn’t start laughing.

  “But we’re friends.” Finn’s brow furrowed with frustration.

  Remmy shrugged. “Sorry, boss man. I don’t make the rules.”

  Finn growled at the ceiling. “You made that rule up! No one else in your tribe calls me boss man but you.”

  “Not to your face. You told them not to so they stopped until you’re not around, then it’s boss man this, and boss man that. It’s like a mantra or something.”

  Now Mila was struggling to keep quiet. She felt her face turning red, but she didn’t want to make it worse for Finn.

  “If they don’t call me boss man to my face, then why do you keep doing it?”

  “Because I’m braver than them. I can face down your wrath, unlike those pansies.”

  The corner of Finn’s eye twitched, and his cheek muscles flexed as he clenched his jaw. “I’m going to shower. Glad you could stop by, Remmy.” He turned and marched into his and Mila’s room.