Gentle Heart

“I don’t think it’s wise to do so, my prince.” Talen advised softly. Concern was etched on her face as her palms started to become sweaty with anxiousness. It has only been a few days since her capture and Thor has given her bits and pieces of good advice, most she disagrees with.

Fury still had a hold on her weapon and as heart retching as it was, she stayed put. From the words of Thor, they were good people and disturbing their peace by cause a scene just to get her weapon back wasn’t her style. Talen wanted to gain their trust as much as possible by quietly sitting in the cell. Usually she passes the time by meditating or reaching out towards Anvindr to know the location of her weapon of choice.

Then when she wasn’t meditating, Thor graced his presence just like right now and challenges her to a duel. It was odd that he would want to spar with someone like her despite her being Asgardian. Not once have they ever battled against one another, there wasn’t even a time where they fought alongside one another. Talen would be fighting along her family when needed, but mostly was taking care of the wounded soldiers.

“Do not be so cautious, Talen. Everything you have been taught is in your very being, you were born to fight. I have seen you in battle before; show me what you are made of.” A smile danced along his lips as the devious glint in his eyes made her quite uneasy.

The pink haired goddess wearingly stepped back as her grey eyes showed intimidation. She couldn’t lie to the prince; every excuse that flew into her mind was useless, Talen was well fit to spar and seeing that she couldn’t leave without any alarms going off, she was stuck here.

Much to her dismay, Thor had witnessed many spars between herself and her mother, those were the only accounts that she can recollect of him knowing what she was truly capable of. Not once has she seen him observe her on the battlefield, it was quite flattering in the least that he was actually watching her when she thought she was invisible after only snippets of her catching a glimpse of the golden prince.

Talen never wanted to be a warrior and watching Thor lift his hammer up made her tense. Shaking her head, she refused to fight him, “I rather not fight you, Prince Thor. I cannot make myself face you in battle.”

“Very well then. Why don’t you call on Anvindr to make things interesting?” He compromised. Thor wasn’t stupid, just like his weapon; Talen can summon her weapon whenever she pleased. Unlike him though, she didn’t want to cause any trouble and he left countless items destroyed in the process. He wanted to get to know Talen for a better purpose of seeing how she would fight against him than with him.

He has sparred with his companions millions of times including Sif, but never Talen. She was always on her own, hidden in the stables or with her mother. Thor never gave her a second glance until one day in battle, her anguish was released, and she was a merciless monster and killed every enemy on sight. Later on, he learned that her older brother died at the hands of one of the enemies and that was what awakened the blood thirsty monster inside of her.

Beckoning her to spar with him was more of a challenge, Talen wanted to be respectful to Thor and the ones around them, but seeing that the prince was relentless as always, she sighed. Lifting her hands up towards her face, she muttered, “I can fight without Anvindr.”

She can see the displeasure written across Thor’s face. Talen didn’t want to unleash Anvindr any time of the day, he was only unleashed when it was necessary and this wasn’t one of those times. Watching Mjolnir carefully, Thor mused, “Alright then. Shall we begin?” Talen nodded as she parted her legs to give her leverage to dodge any attacks that were sent her way, she would rely on her agility for a battle like this.

Thor depended on his sheer force of strength, she knew that much and there will probably be destruction that will be created during this match. Inhaling deeply, her body reacted in perfect timing when Thor lunged towards her, leaping into the air, she twisted her body and landed on her feet behind him, getting back into the same position.

The prince easily became frustrated when she naturally dodged his attacks, he chuckled, “Come on! Fight me!” Talen landed on his shoulders as her hands firmly clasped around his face ready to twist his head as a knock out move. Talen smiled at the quick defeat of the prince as she apologized. Thor chuckled, “Nonsense! I misjudged your agility. I forgot your sense of speed and grace.”

“Yes, well, I rather use nondestructive tactics and use Anvindr when it deems necessary. I rather use him as it is.” Talen spoke in utter truth. Anvindr withheld great strength and held most of her courage on the battlefield; she didn’t want to injure the prince in any way, so she spared him. It’s not like she is stronger than he is, clearly he is, but she uses other ways to bring her to an advantage.

“Again.” Thor commanded as he was in his fighting stance.

Talen quickly went into her own natural stance as they commenced their sparring for most of the day. There were times when Thor had her and the other way around, truly it was something the pink haired goddess would cherish close to her heart. She never thought she would be able to be praised by the prince for her abilities. As big as his ego was, he was more fascinated by her than him losing. Once he got the hang of Talen’s moves, he quickly defeated her once more.

Lying on the ground with Mjolnir on her chest, she panted heavily as the weight was lifted, her lungs were free to inhale and exhale as deeply as she wanted. “You are a natural, my prince.” Talen complimented.

Thor offered her a hand up and she quickly grabbed it, she still was surprised how easily he lifted her up with any strain expressed on his face. The goofy smile curved on his lips, “So are you.” Talen’s heart skipped a beat as she stared into his deep blue eyes that she effortlessly gets lost in. There were times that she had to remind herself that there cannot be anything between them, she had too much respect for Jane to betray anyone.

Clearing her throat, she avoided her gaze as she clasped her hands behind her, she changed the subject before he obliviously asks why her face was heating up, “When do you think I will be set free?”

“I do not know, but I can see that they still do not trust you.” His eyes focused on the few agents that followed Talen everywhere she went with Thor. Even though Thor was a part of the Avengers, Fury took precaution to have at least a handful of agents on guard at all times and usually take shifts. It saddened Talen that she has to be watched at all times, but she understood all the same.

“Don’t worry my prince. Everything will be sorted out in time.” Talen smiled softly.

Thor shook his head, “I still do not know how you can be so patient and understanding under these circumstances. You truly are amazing.”

Talen could feel a soft pink tint her cheeks before she said, “I think it’s about time you go to Jane. She must be worried about you.” A twinge of guilt ran through her, she has been occupying her time with the prince of Asgard while Jane was sitting at home wondering where her boyfriend has been. She would be thinking the same thing even if she knew where he was.

Thor placed a hand on her shoulder as he confidently expressed, “I will get you out of here one way or another. I swear.”

The pink haired goddess nodded, “There is no rush to do so. Just worry about your time with Jane for the time being.” Thor didn’t look pleased. He didn’t want Talen to put her wellbeing behind others, now that he was learning more about her, he can plainly see why her mother wasn’t so fond of her own daughter. Talen naturally was not a violent person; she was the sweetest and compassionate woman he has ever met.

“You are too kind, Lady Talen. Until we meet again.”

“See you later.” She muttered as she was engulfed in Thor’s infamous bone crushing hugs, Talen could never get use to the pure strength that was behind his embrace. He was the definition of not knowing one’s own strength and his bulging biceps seem to agree.

Once she was released and able to regain the air that she lost, she smiled once more as she waved at the prince before looking around the area they sparred in. The floor was completely smashed in; whatever that was around the room was completely obliterated. If she wasn’t part of the reason the place was destroyed she would have guessed that an earthquake ran through here.

“Miss Calloway, if you please?” One of the agents ushered her out of the room before the rest fell into place surrounding her like she was some animal. All of the agents were facing forward, but every single one of them had their eye on her except for the one behind her that naturally had to stare at the back of her head. Talen still felt intimidated by the humans as she halted, waiting patiently for the agent to unlock her cell.

When the glass door slid open, she stepped in before it closed behind her. Licking her lips she sighed as she laid on the floor for a few minutes with her eyes closed relishing in the quietness that she had for herself. It was times like this where she imagined that she was riding bare back on her horse back in Asgard. Whisper, that was his name. All-Father does she miss him dearly, it was one of those things that she regretted not bringing with her, but she knew that a horse like Whisper would bring unneeded attention to her.

When she was set free, the first thing she will do was summon her beloved old friend to Midgard to show him what her new life was like. There wasn’t a day that went by that she doesn’t miss him. She can picture the grey colored horse with a black snout and white spots decorated from the hip to his rear, jet black covering from his gaskin to his pastern while his midnight black mane flowed in the wind along with those beautiful pair of silver colored wings. A light smile was placed on her lips picturing her dear old friend.

There was a loud knock on the glass; she picked her head up to see a familiar agent standing there with a stoic expression on his face. Once the glass door was open, he stepped right in before it closed right behind him, his dark eyes glanced over her figure as he said, “I don’t see what is so special about you. There is nothing threatening about a woman.”

Talen blinked as she answered, “There is no reason to underestimate a woman. You should know by now with the ones that work alongside you.”

He scoffed at her statement, “Women are never really worthy of becoming an agent; they are too soft, gentle, and nurturing. Like you.” He said in disgust. Then it dawned on her that he was one of the agents that rounded her up at her ranch not too long ago. Talen just shrugged at his ignorance, clearly he either dismissive of what women have done to gain the respect to be who they are today or he hasn’t been around them long enough.

“I’m sorry that you are so blinded by your masculinity that you cannot see the true strength and wisdom of a woman.” Talen said coolly.

It seem like no matter what she said, the man just rolled his eyes at her statements. Cracking his knuckles, he snickered, “I doubt you will be able to handle me little girl.” Talen sat still as her legs were curled up towards her chin, the man got irritated that he wasn’t taking him seriously, “You are going to regret not preparing yourself for the beating of your life.”

“I highly doubt that.”

Within seconds, the man was facing towards the ceiling in utter confusion. “What the…” Talen lifted herself from her position with a disappointed look on her face, shaking her head at his ignorance once again. He didn’t even realize that once he lunged at her, her legs instantly grabbed hold of his body and threw him across the cell.

Peering down at him, Talen said, “As much as I don’t boast about my background, never underestimate a goddess, agent.” Placing her hands on her hips, she heard him lowly growl as he swiped his hand around her ankle making him smirk at the surprise attack. Talen wasn’t fazed as she lifted her foot and added pressure across his throat, “I don’t want to hurt you, agent. Will you stop now?”

The beet red agent grabbed her other leg trying to move it, but failed. The strength of a man was no match for one of a goddess, it disappointed Talen that he didn’t give her any respect. She was never the one to start a fight, but if one challenged her, she had no choice, but to defend herself.

There was a sudden click as she felt pressure at the back of her head, “Let go of Agent Johnson, right now.” the man seethed from behind her. Talen pursed her lips as she released Agent Johnson with no hesitance, stepping away from him with her hands up in the air. “If you move, I swear I will shoot your head off.” Talen watched the agent from behind her slowly circle around her as he went to aid his partner.

“He’s fine. He will have a sore throat for a few days.” Talen comforted the agent.

“Shut up!” She can tell this agent was younger than the one lying on the ground; his baby face was red from anger as his gun was shaking from the grip he had on it. Quietly, she observed the younger agent tend to the wounded one, she assumed they were friends or related in some way.

Now she felt horrible about what she did and right when she was about to apologize, Fury stepped in. “What is the meaning of this? Agent Swanson?”

Agent Swanson replied, “I found the prisoner attacking Agent Johnson, Director.”

Fury glanced at the goddess who looked a bit agitated from lack of information, he only saw one side of the story and making her seem like she was a killer was something she wasn’t fond of. “Is that true, Miss Calloway?”

“I was protecting myself, Director.” Talen stiffly responded; there was silence urging her to continue, “Agent Johnson was mocking the strength of a woman and decided to attack me to put me in my place. I was merely teaching him a lesson, but my apologies for taking it too far.”

The Director didn’t look too pleased as he demanded Agent Swanson to take Agent Johnson to the infirmary to get checked out while he handled their prisoner. Watching them leave, Talen was now face to face with Fury as he pursed his lips, “That was quite impressive what you did today.” Talen furrowed her brows at the statement, she didn’t know if she should take that as a compliment or an insult.

“About what?”

“I hope you know I have taken extra precaution with you, agents aren’t the only thing we have to keep tabs on you.” Fury’s eye flickered over to the camera, “I saw you spar with Thor earlier today and I must say that I have never seen agility like that before. It makes me wonder why you haven’t tried to escape yet; you can easily do it if you wanted to.”

“I don’t want to cause any trouble, Director.”

Director nodded, “Well then, there is only one way for you to prove yourself worthy of trust.”

“What is that?” Talen had an unsettling feeling in her stomach as she stared at the Director’s face as he expressed that he might have her jumping through hoops before she was released. Then again, she doubted she was going to be released any time soon.