Macha's Journey

Macha dropped the clothes in the sink and turned on the shower. She went under the hot water in an attempt to relax. Macha saw that the water was stained red as the blood rinsed down the drain. This sight caused her chest to become tight, and she cried. Macha crouched down on the shower floor and furiously scrubbed the blood off of her skin. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see blood anymore.

Tyr ordered the food and came back to the room. He heard Macha begin the shower, so he sat down to continue his book. Suddenly the sound of sobs coming from the bathroom penetrated the silence in the room. Tyr rushed over to the door and put his hand on the handle. He thought about what he would do if he opened the door. Tyr was at a loss for words. He leaned his back against the door and closed his eyes.

"Macha, the food is on its way. Hurry up." Tyr called. He decided the best thing he could do was pretend he did not overhear her crying and hurry her up. He felt she shouldn"t be alone.

Tyr"s clear voice sounded through the bathroom door and Macha tried to stifle her sobs. It did not sound like he realized she was crying and she wanted to keep it that way. She pushed Skadi"s dying face out of her mind, but a new problem entered in its place. Macha realized that the closer she was to finishing her shower, the more anxiety she had about opening the bathroom door.

The conversation about what she did frightened her. She thought of Tyr and Luna as her best friends, so she did not want to lose their friendship. Macha replayed the moment she found them kneeling on the floor over in her mind. She would make the same decision of killing Skadi to protect her friends over again if she had to.

When the water in the shower ran clear Macha relaxed a bit. She tried to focus on the smell of the minty soap and think of happy thoughts. She remembered the first time she caught a wave while surfing. Macha had enjoyed feeling the salty air blow gently across her face. She remembered looking at the seash.o.r.e and watching people play on the sand. The day had been overcast and the water was cold.

The memory helped to calm Macha and she finished her shower. She stepped out of the shower and went back to washing the blood out her clothes. She felt better now and could handle the pink water that drained down the sink. Macha"s thoughts crept back to her upcoming conversation with Tyr, but she pushed the thought out of her mind for the second time. Macha decided it would be what it would be. She did not regret her reaction and if she had to do it all over again she would.

Macha opened the door slowly. She peeked out and saw Tyr laying on his bed. He read a book and the fire gave off a warm light that danced around the room. Tyr had given her his black robe to wear. The robe was large on her and she had to constantly use her hand to keep it closed. The silk wanted to slide off her skin, which annoyed her. Macha moved to the fireplace and laid her clothes out to dry. Every once and a while she would look over to Tyr.

Tyr heard the bathroom door open. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Macha peek her head out and look at him. She seemed better after the shower. Tyr watched her lay her clothes out to dry. He noticed his robe was too large for her.

Macha decided she should get the conversation about killing his sister over with. The anxiety was building up again. She made her way to Tyr. "Tyr, I wanted to..." she began, but a knock on the door interrupted her.

Tyr looked at the door and got up out of bed. "One moment. That should be the food." Tyr opened the door and a servant placed the food on a table and left.

"What were you saying?" Tyr asked after the door closed. He sat down at the small table where the servant had placed the food. He wanted Macha to feel free to talk about whatever bothered her. After he killed the young troll, he wished he had someone to talk to.

Macha sat down at the table. She picked up her fork and rolled a pea around on her plate. Her mouth felt dry, so she took a gulp of wine. "Are you mad at me?" she blurted out.

Tyr blinked his eyes, confused. He tried to follow her logic. Macha came in and discovered his family about to be killed and she helped them. He did not understand why he should be mad. He then wondered if he should be mad for another reason.

Macha looked at Tyr, but he said nothing. His silence made her heart race. "Skadi was your sister. I... I understand if you"re mad. I"m sorry. I..."

Tyr realized that she worried about killing one of his family members. He stood up and drew her into his embrace. In as tender a voice as he could muster, he rea.s.sured her, "No. It"s fine. Skadi was my older sister, but she was trying to overthrow Freyr. She wanted to kill us and take the throne."

He soothed her back and squeezed her tightly. Skadi"s betrayal erased any feelings of love he had for his eldest sibling. He could not believe that Macha even fretted about him being resentful of her. He would have died if it had not been for her a.s.sistance.

The tension in Macha"s body disappear. Tyr was not mad at her. She sighed with relief and sunk into his embrace.

He noticed her body relax, and he looked down. Her beautiful brown eyes peeked up at him. The robe had opened from him rubbing her back and now hung loosely around her shoulders. His heart raced and he let go of her as if she caught on fire. Tyr wanted to put some distance between them so, he went to sit down.

Seeing Macha like that struck him with a wave of pa.s.sion. He was upset at his body for reacting to her with so much force. He stared at her as she sipped her wine and fantasized about how her lips would taste.

Tyr tried his best to calm his breathing. It was difficult because the small things like her sleeve gliding across her skin, her lips on the fork, or her hand touching her collarbone made him yearn to be at her side again. He did not understand why this evening was different from the other nights they ate together. For some reason, Macha looked especially vulnerable and beautiful tonight.

Macha felt relieved that Tyr was not mad, but he did not talk much. Their meal continued in awkward silence. Tyr continued to stare at her but never uttered a word. Macha tried to start a conversation. "So..." she looked around for something to talk about, "Why is the apartment in Ma.r.s.eille black, but the room here blue and brown?" After she asked the question, she realized it was lackl.u.s.ter and wished that she had remained silent.

Tyr did not hear what Macha had asked because he stared at her drying clothes by the fireplace. He noticed her lingerie peeked out slightly from beneath her top. His head whipped to her in his robe and he realized that she was naked beneath the thin silk fabric. Tyr swallowed the rest of his wine because his throat went dry.

Macha waited for an answer, but Tyr said nothing. All he did was drink more wine. She pulled on her earlobe and sighed. She took a few of Tyr"s peas from his plate and gave him her brussels sprouts. She was aware that he liked brussels sprouts and she hated them, so he usually ate her share. "Tyr, what did you want to do about tonight?" Macha wondered if they would train or not.

Tyr raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Tonight? Uh..." he did not follow the conversation. "What about tonight?" He picked up one of the brussels sprouts she had given him and ate it.

Macha tilted her head. She realized she did not ask her question clearly. "Are we going to train tonight?" She knew the night was young, so if they wanted to do some training they could. Macha was unsure how tired Tyr would be or if he even wanted to train.

Macha"s question about training reminded him that he wanted to make sure she would be all right after killing Skadi. He slapped his hand on the table. He couldn"t believe he forgot his purpose of wanting to be around Macha tonight. "Yeah. Why don"t we train all night to make up for the days we missed? We both were able to get plenty of rest, so it shouldn"t be a problem." Macha gave him the easiest solution to stop her from being alone tonight.

Macha thought Tyr seemed over-enthusiastic about training, but she would not turn down this opportunity. "If you feel up to it, I"m game." Tyr"s reaction, while over-enthusiastic, ended the awkward silence.

****

Tyr and Macha walked side by side towards the lake. The fireflies flew about in the night. Tyr realized he drank more wine than he should have. Tyr snuck a peek at Macha. He decided she looked much better walking around outside. Tyr was glad he did not need to comfort her and decided bringing her out of the house was a good idea.

Macha had a lot on her mind. When they left Tyr"s room she witnessed the aftermath of the attacks. The hallway had been ruined and the walls and windows had many holes in them from the fighting. She noticed that someone removed the carpets that lay on the floor, Macha a.s.sumed it was because of the bloodstains.

When they walked through the house, she remembered Skadi. That memory filled her with anxiety, but with Tyr walking beside her, she felt comforted. Seeing him healthy and full of life gave her a mix of emotions. She saved a life but also took away a life.

When Macha saw the lake, the anxiety that hara.s.sed her in the house disappeared. The crisp air and beauty of the fireflies relaxed her. She was glad that Tyr wanted to train tonight. Macha turned her face up to look at Tyr. He was staring at her with a soft expression on his face. "Thank you. I think I needed this," she confessed.