Chương 100: Chapter 97 – Chelsea’s Steed

Today marked a large milestone in Chelsea's life in the new world. She'd officially been with the Valkyr one day longer than she'd been with the Wixx. It shouldn't have mattered as much as it did. It was only one day. In the grand shape of a life, one day was nothing. Chelsea knew that, but the thought stayed with her through morning formation, through breakfast, and through the first quiet part of the day when she sat at the desk in her room with a stack of paper in front of her. Every day, she missed them more.

She wrote letters daily. Everyone received their own, even if she had to be careful with the words. Adriane was the only one in the house who could read or write, and her reading wasn't much better than when she left. Chelsea kept the sentences plain and the words simple enough that her mother could work through them without having to ask for help from the new guild reader every few lines. She wrote to Adriane first, because well… mom. Then she wrote to Bea, Dewey, Fiona, Edgar, and Ivy.

Ivy's letter took the longest. Chelsea found herself rereading every sentence before moving to the next one, trimming large words and trying not to sound as lonely as she felt. She hoped Ivy was progressing in her studies. She hoped Ivy was eating properly. She hoped Ivy missed her too, but not so much that it hurt. Chelsea finished the last letter, folded it carefully, and set it with the others. After that, she sat for another moment with her fingers resting on the stack.

She'd already received her newest care package from home the day before. It sat neatly unpacked across the room. Five new dresses from Maggie hung where Chelsea could admire them. A fresh bag of human organs had been placed safely in her pouch. There was a new stuffed animal on her bed, a pile of unwashed dirty Ivy clothes tucked away for private comfort, a card from the bank listing the Wixx family's current financial affairs, and a stack of paperwork from the merchant's guild.

The numbers on the card had surprised her. The card she'd received two weeks earlier had included one of these balance records too, and the increase since then was much larger than expected. Adriane's two S-rank jobs hadn't even been counted yet. Chelsea had done the math twice, then a third time, because the result seemed too good to be true. The investments appeared to be making them about eleven hundred gold per hour. When Chelsea had left, the number had been closer to seven hundred.

She stared at the card for a while before putting it away. Money had stopped feeling real at some point. It still mattered, but the amounts were getting too large to truly be able to fathom.. That was a problem for later Chelsea. Today, she decided she was going to explore the city. She hadn't set aside much time for fun since arriving in Valhalla.

If this was going to be the day that officially tipped the balance between her time with the Wixx and her time with the Valkyr, then she wanted at least part of it to be hers. Chelsea tucked the letters away, checked that her pouch was secure, and headed for the door. As she stepped into the hallway, the door at the end of the hall swung open. Chelsea stopped. By now, she was used to Freya's antics. She glanced both ways, saw no one close enough to stop her, and quickly walked down the hall.

The moment she slipped through the doorway, the door slammed behind her.

"Who are you to enter Freya's domain!?" The voice boomed from every side of the room. Chelsea looked up. The giant sky face stared down at her from above, its glowing eyes far too pleased with itself. Chelsea dropped dramatically to her knees and clasped her hands together.

"Please forgive my insolence, almighty Freya." A pillar of light formed beside her, and Freya stepped out of it laughing.

"That one was almost believable," the goddess mused. Chelsea stood and gave her a hug before stepping back.

"Lying is unbecoming of a young goddess such as yourself." Freya laughed again, and Chelsea finally looked around the room. It had changed again. Every time Chelsea entered, something was different. This version looked closer to Chelsea's own room, though the colors were green and white instead of pink and white. The bed was in a different place, the pillow mountain had been rearranged, and sunlight poured through an actual window. That was new. Usually the windows were decorative and dark.

It made the room feel less hidden. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Hey, so what's up? You never open your door for me randomly at like 900 in the morning."

"I got you something," she said with a smirk. Chelsea sighed in exasperation.

"No, don't do the gift thing. There's no way I can keep up with you."

"Oh shut up and listen. I'm sorry it's late. I was hoping to have it finished before your… well… today… but it's something I'd already promised you." Chelsea paused. She folded her arms and tried to think.. Nothing immediately came to mind. Freya didn't give her long to figure it out. She reached down beside the desk and lifted a small glass aquarium into view. Chelsea's thoughts stopped. Inside the aquarium stood a tiny tortoise on a patch of sand. It was no larger than something Chelsea could hold in one hand.

Its shell was rounded and textured, and from the center of its back grew a tiny tree with a narrow trunk, delicate branches, and a crown of green leaves. Under the tree was a field of tiny green grass with tiny colorful wildflowers. Chelsea stepped closer without realizing it. The tortoise blinked slowly. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods!" Freya held the aquarium out with both hands, looking far too pleased with herself.

"So he's basically just like the servicer golems. You don't need to feed him or anything. The tank is just for show. If you put him on the ground he'll grow to his real size in a few seconds. He'll take up a full space in your pouch so be ready for that. When you want him to shrink down just touch him with the palm of your hand and say the words 'in the pouch you go.' And that's it. He's all yours." Chelsea took the aquarium carefully, holding it as though any sudden movement might offend the tiny creature inside.

The tortoise shifted one slow foot across the sand. The little tree on its back swayed slightly. Chelsea stared at it, completely enchanted. She had imagined the shade tree from home and the wildflowers behind the manor. Freya had remembered. Not only remembered, but made it real enough that Chelsea could hold it in her hands. The homesickness hit her at the same time as the joy. She smiled anyway. The tortoise looked up at her.

Chelsea pressed the aquarium gently against her chest and decided that today had become much better than she'd expected. Chelsea stared at it for another moment, then placed the aquarium on the floor. The emotion came too quickly for her to make it graceful. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the goddess's neck. Freya laughed in surprise and bent down enough to return the hug without forcing Chelsea onto her toes.

"I was having a rough morning. Thanks for making it better. And thanks for making this whole Valkyr thing not suck." Chelsea pressed a quick kiss to Freya's temple.

"Seriously." She kissed Freya's temple again, then released her and stepped back. Freya was blushing.

"Why do you do that?"

"Hm? Do what?" Chelsea asked. Freya let out a groan of frustration and rolled her head back.

"Chels, you're like this perfect little creature that I want to lock away in this room to protect you and keep you safe from the cruel world." Chelsea opened her mouth to protest, but Freya lifted a hand and kept going before she could.

"Obviously, I'm not going to do that but I made you an arts and crafts project." She gestured toward the aquarium.

"And you make me feel like I solved world hunger. How!? Or a better question is why? It's just a stupid turtle." Chelsea's smile turned adoring despite herself.

"Tortoise."

"I made it, so it's a turtle." Freya grumped. Chelsea crouched beside the aquarium and looked through the glass at the tiny creature. It shifted one foot again, slow and unconcerned with the playful argument.

"This stupid turtle as you call him, Bradford, if we're keeping track of names, means you've been thinking about him for a while." Chelsea opened the top of the aquarium and carefully lifted Bradford from the sand. He was lighter than she expected. The little tree on his back trembled with the movement, but nothing broke or bent. The leaves were tiny and perfect. She held him in one palm and pointed with the other hand.

"Look there," she said pointing at the tree on his back.

"That's my favorite spot to sit back home and you nailed every single little detail. How long would it take you to make a turtle like this if it were any old tree?" Freya glanced away.

"I don't know. An hour?"

"Exactly!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"We talked about Bradford weeks ago. Which means you put thought into him. You wanted to make him just right and you did. Not noticing the amount of work that went into him would be…" Chelsea stopped, her eyes widening as though the very idea offended her.

"I couldn't imagine being that cruel." She lowered Bradford back into the aquarium with the same care she'd used to lift him. He settled onto the moss and resumed standing there with quiet dignity. Freya watched her for a moment, the blush still faint across her cheeks.

"I understand now why Adriane Wixx adopted you."

"Oh hush," Chelsea replied. She straightened, then paused as a thought hit her. Her hand went to her pouch.

"Sorry, like I said. I can't compete with him as far as..." Chelsea stopped digging and pulled out the newest stuffed animal Adriane had sent in the care package. It was ugly in the specific way Wixx stuffed animals always were, which somehow made it better. The seams were a little uneven, the face was strange, and one side looked slightly more squished than the other. Chelsea's throat tightened the moment she saw it.

"So, I didn't make it myself. It's not quite a literal world tortoise. But the history behind these little guys, it's... it's heavy. I want you to have one." Freya's expression changed immediately.

"Chels, I didn't give him to you to get someth..."

"No. No I know," Chelsea interrupted, shaking her head.

"But I want you to have one. They hold a hell of a lot of meaning in the Wixx family and here." She held it out to Freya. The goddess didn't take it right away. Her gaze lingered on the little toy, then on Chelsea's face.

"Chelsea, I don't want to take something that holds that much meaning to you."

"You misunderstand." Chelsea brought the stuffed animal closer for a moment and inspected it again, wiping at one eye with the side of her hand before holding it out again.

"They aren't rare or one of a kind or anything." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. Then held it back out to her.

"We give one to every newborn baby in Junstruce. But giving it to you just feels right. So please take it." Freya accepted the toy gingerly, holding it in both hands as though it might fall apart if she gripped too hard. The sight made Chelsea's chest hurt in a good way. Freya, ancient goddess of Valhalla, stood in her green-and-white room holding one of the ugly little Wixx stuffed animals with careful reverence.

"What's the story behind it?" Chelsea shook her head quickly.

"Nope! Not telling that story right now. I don't want to cry in front of Bradford." Freya looked down at the tortoise, then back to Chelsea, and decided not to push.