Gentle Heart

He betrayed her. All this time she has been pining after him, admiring him from afar for his grace and loyalty only to remember what he really did. Rage filled her when she cursed herself for forgetting that significant place of memory that Thor had done. It wouldn’t surprise her if All Father and Thor were behind from faded memory.

Her heart burned with fury as she slashed at Thor for him to dodge the attack, the boomerang collided with the ground demolishing the ground beneath them several feet. A small crater is formed placing distance between the two.

“Talen, you must remember me. I did not kill your brother.” Thor wiped the blood streaking down the corner of his lips from the punch she delivered not too long ago. He watched as her eyes grew darker at his denial, her lips twisted into a scowl and half her body covered in black lines.

“Lies! Don’t fucking lie to me! I know what you did and for you to think I would not remember—you are sadly mistaken. I will tear you limb from limb until I am satisfied for the destruction you have caused me!” She roared.

She didn’t look like herself, sound like herself. Thor didn’t recognize the goddess in front of him; one that is full of hate and despise for him, for everything around her. Talen was the purest form of an Asgardian and because of that, she was picked on relentlessly. No one acknowledged it, her mother was furious to see that her daughter chosen to be the future healer of Asgard.

The pink haired goddess is sweet, gentle, everything he admired about her and remembering how she was only made his heart grow soft. Thor’s heart has started to care more about Talen every day since he has reunited with her and with determination he wanted her back.

“It wasn’t me. I would never hurt you, in all of my days I have sworn to myself to protect you and I have failed you. I never thought you would leave Asgard—for you to possibly think you are unworthy,” Talen looked away trying to place another wall between them. “You are more than worthy and you need to fight this. I know you are in there—somewhere. Rise above this, Talen and fight!”

Deep blue eyes reached out to her in desperation as his hands gripped her arms when he felt the silver blade of her boomerang inching towards his face. He glanced at the weapon and looked at his dear beloved friend, “Talen.” He softly said with such tenderness it made her anger deplete for a moment.

He had hope as he watched the real Talen appear before being drowned into the darkness once more. Their moment is erased when shouts were heard; Talen kicked Thor away from her propelling back. He fell to the ground as he saw his friends rushing towards him. Fandral halted his steps as he turned towards Talen that rush of relief was gone when he saw the pendant has done to her.

“What has Loki done to you?”

Talen’s eyes steely gaze hardened, “He opened my eyes to the truth. The truth of all of you. How you all betrayed me.” Fandral took a step forward to engage in battle with his enemy, he can tell that she is no longer there and will have to defeat her.

“Step back, Fandral.” Thor stood up, flexing his back to relief the tension his body took when she kicked him. “This is my fight.” He flanked towards the front of his companions as he stood with focus and determination; there is no magic that he knew of that would release Talen from the grips of Loki or the pendant. The only one to release her was in Asgard and even then there is doubt if Freyja can heal her.

Thor furrowed his brows as soft mumbles passed through her pink lips, almost in a chant. He didn’t know what to expect until she looked right into his eyes. Those eyes he could never forget. The eyes of hatred, malice and everything evil.

The stormy grey eyes that gave him comfort were replaced with crimson eyes, the side of her cheeks and throat swirled with black veins. Talen hissed; fangs protruded from her mouth. Her transformation completely changed her; he didn’t recognize the goddess before him. This is not his Talen. Gripping his hammer he had to give himself hope that she will return.

A gust of wind surprised him as he saw a fade of crimson and shouts being heard from behind him. Thor staggered back, pressing a hand against his chest. He glanced down to see blood dripping from his hand, when he looked up he saw the look of satisfaction grace her features.

She smirked before a small growl left her lips, she lunged again without remorse. Thor tried to fight her off; he didn’t want to hurt her. Swinging his hammer wildly, he missed because of the agility she naturally had. He felt like he is in a losing battle and when her claws sunk into his skin once more, he kneeled, sweat dripping down his face. Saying her name softly, he hoped that she will come to her senses.

The hint of sadness and hopefulness lingering in his voice. Nothing seem to work as he heard footsteps charging at him. Suddenly, an angry screech came from Talen leaving Thor speechless as he looked up to see red, white, and blue.

Steve stepped towards Thor asking if he is alright, his cobalt eyes still on Talen. “What’s wrong with her?”

Thor winced, standing up on his two feet. “Loki.” He growled. Talen peered up towards the sky as if she has heard something. She quickly took off towards the cliff making her escape with flawless effort. Thor panted heavily as he leaned to his side; Whisper aided him which he is grateful for.

Placing a hand on the concerned four legged beast, he gazed off to where Talen ran. “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” Steve questioned.

“I’ll explain later, but as for right now” Thor gazed at the lingering Zarroc, “We have business to take care of.”

_ _ _

Talen sat nonchalantly in the middle of the hall, intense eyes staring back at brown ones that looked at her in awe. Jane didn’t know what to think as she looked at a completely different person than what she has met, when she saw Talen walking down the hall, relief hit her. Honestly, her anticipation for her to set her free is beyond expected. It was dashed when she truly saw her.

Talen didn’t say much, only sat down across from her bored out of her mind.

“What did they do to you?”

The pink haired goddess rolled her eyes, licking her tongue in annoyance, “Why is everyone asking that question today? They did nothing.” She narrowed her eyes at the human.

Jane didn’t believe it, how could she? Parts of her pale skin is covered in black lines and her eyes were a bloody red that creep the hell out of her. When Talen yawned, Jane leaned back questioning her sanity if she saw fangs hanging from Talen’s mouth.

The human didn’t think much as she inquired about Thor; one of her main priorities is making sure that he is alright despite her predicament. “Thor is dead—he will be anyways.” Talen finished when she saw the devastated look upon Jane’s face. “Of course, you’ll have to die first before we do anything to Thor.”

“Why? Why are you doing this?” Jane asked in disbelief.

There is not one second that she really believed this is Talen; the sweet, shy quiet goddess that healed her broken ankle when they first met. But there isn’t any of that gentleness within her, Talen gripped the bars on her cell as she hissed, “I want him to feel the same loss that I felt before I rip his own life away from him. That’s what I want.”

It still didn’t make sense to Jane; personally she didn’t know Talen as much as the other gods or possibly S.H.I.E.L.D. she wouldn’t be surprised if they knew her backstory. A growl emitted from Talen’s throat when Jane probed why she needed revenge. In a matter of seconds, Talen’s state of mind changed. She grew more animalistic and her eyes wired, Jane screamed when Talen’s claws reached out to rip her flesh.

“Now, now Talen. You need to be polite to our guest.” Loki rested his hand over her chest; a small glow repressed her instincts as her sanity regains itself. Jane’s mind clicked as she saw the demonstration, it isn’t shocking to see Loki has been the one that has changed her, but she still wondered if Thor is alright.

_ _ _

Thor panted heavily, blood trickling down the side of his temple as his blue eyes roamed the bodies of the Zarroc lying beneath him. It took some time to defeat them all even with the help of his comrades. Steve still held the curious look of what has transpired with Talen and he developed a rush of feelings that he remembered when he saw Talen’s grief.

Her gentle heart could not bear the sight of her brother completely mangled and defeated by the enemy. Talen hid her face well as she stood with the rest of her family by the river alongside the rest of the Asgardians to commence the fallen soldiers.

He remembered her wearing her healer’s robe without the consent of her mother; he could see the rage in her eyes when she spotted her daughter wearing it. Talen stolen by grief didn’t see the glares her mother was giving her as she focused on the body of water in front of her.

One by one, the soldiers were placed in individual boats and set off into the ocean. Vermundr’s body was one of the very last ones, Talen tried to keep herself composed when she saw the pale cold lifeless body of her brother. It soon hit her that she will never see her brother again, could never seek comfort from him or protection.

Thor saw the pain within her face contrary to her family whose expressions remained stoic. Aeron, her father placed a calm and reassuring hand upon his daughter’s shoulder as one of his younger sons stepped forward to push the boat down the river, Talen rushed forward receiving small gasps from the audience around them. Thor observed as she placed her small fragile hands on his chest before grasping his hands and folding something between them.

Taking a few steps back to rejoin her family, Aeron gave his daughter a small squeeze as more tears rolled down her face. She was completely heartbroken watching her brother fade with the other soldiers that lost their lives. He could see she was not only grieving for her brother, but for the rest of their fallen comrades.

Each boat was set on fire, having a large body of flames engulf part of the water. Small balls of light emitted from each hand as they slowly ascended into the skies. Thor looked up into the sky to see each spirit float into the heavens where they were released. A flash of light blurred his vision before he looked to see Talen standing with her own light surrounding her hands.

Tears leaking down her cheeks like endless rivers, the light evolved into a darker blue with sparkles of gold inside of them. There is no doubt that everyone was looking at her in amazement. He saw her mumble a few things towards the ball of light before she lifted her hands to release it.

Thor had a feeling it was her dear brother and seeing the fury behind her mother’s eyes confirmed it. Vermundr soul reached out to Talen and not their mother which infuriated her beyond belief. It is usually the mother that releases the souls into the heavens while the rest of the family gave a part of their energy to lift them into the sky.

That shiny ball of light flickered with gold shined brightly as it alleviated towards the sky in the most beautiful way. The skies shined as it transformed from dark clouds into small rays of sunshine beaming through.

“Never underestimate the youngest offspring.” Loki muttered under his breath in awe.

Thor could only nod as the clouds concealed the last soul. When he looked down he saw that Talen had disappeared. He grew worried for a moment before dozens of Asgardian woman feigned their broken hearts to him; feeding him the words that only he can console them.

For the first time, he pushed them away as he searched for Talen. Vermundr was a close friend of his, he considered him like a brother and to lose him in the most unpredictable way struck him with grief. He can only imagine what his family left especially Talen. It wasn’t long ago it has only been a century since Talen has been named the goddess of healing and horses.

The All father gave her the title that suited her and stood proudly as he told her that her heart has always remained gentle, something that is rare when it came to Asgardians. Thor always thought having a gentle heart will never keep her alive, but seeing her out in that battle field watching her brother die…

Something struck a nerve and unleashed some beast that slaughtered half of their enemies. She was a savage and he guessed Vermundr soul wanted to comfort her in her time of need before he parted from them.

Talen is never a hard goddess to find; she is always in the stables and seeing the white robe he stepped into the stables where horses circled around her. He easily passed through the horses to see Whisper sitting next to Talen giving her the comfort she needed from her family. Hugging the beast tightly, she nestled her face into his neck as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“Talen.”

His voice boomed unintentionally leaving her breathless. Detaching her face from Whisper’s neck, her eyes widened when she realized who stood before her. “P-prince Thor.” She scrambled to her feet, wiping her blotchy red eyes away from the tears taking a small shaky bow. “What may I be a service to you?”

Thor stood there in silence and seeing her in this state he solemnly swore to himself that he will replace her brother and protect her as much as he could. The large god took several steps forward and embraced her lightly; he didn’t want to crush her small fragile form. He buried his face into her pink locks, “I’m truly sorry.”

Talen unshed tears poured down her cheeks as she buried her face into his neck bringing her closer. It was the first and only time Thor consoled her. He didn’t handle tears well, but with sorrow emitting from his heart he held more compassion than he usually did and shed a few tears himself.

Thor swore to protect her and he broke his promise. She fled to Midgard almost a decade after and happily lived here for half a century. He despised breaking promises and that oath he took upon himself is the first one he broke that left him guilty.

He will bring Talen back and rescue Jane. Two of the most important women in his life, but when his mind wandered to the old memories he had with Talen something unexpected surfaced. Something that concerned him greatly and as he tried to push it down, those emotions bubbled up to the surface. Those feelings overpowered the ones for Jane for a spilt second and the only reason he could think of is that Talen is in greater danger.