“Urp- I don’t feel good.” Maya knitted her brows and rubbed her bloated stomach, churning from all the snacks she devoured.

But now, it was also fighting to digest a bunch of sandwiches Val made as an apology and took Maya on an evening stroll as they ate them.

“I shouldn’t have eaten them all, but I couldn’t say no to her… or to the sandwiches.”

Maya regretted eating so much like she always did, but this time it was worse. She desperately wanted to appear attractive towards her and not look like a pig with a bloated stomach. Maya's impulse control was already broken when she was stressed, but now it seemed Val’s mere presence only amplified it.

“At least my clothes can hide it,” Maya hoped. She tentatively put her hand under her shirt to rub her stomach, straining against the fabric of her pants. It hurt. “I’ll walk this off and go on a diet later. I just hope I don’t burn out before the end of the project.”

Maya grimaced at the prospect. A burnout would only make things worse.

“Maya. Maya.” Val nudged Maya’s shoulder, pulling her attention to the Valkyrie. “Are you. Alright?”

Maya groggily shook her head. “Sorry, did you say something?”

Val stopped Maya by grabbing her by the shoulder. “You almost. Walked into. A tree.”

“What?” Maya turned and touched the tree almost with her nose. “OH! Since when is that thing here!?”

“Maya.” Val cupped Maya’s hand and kissed it. “You. Alright? Talk. To. Me. Please.”

“Ah, there it is again,” thought Maya, noticing Val’s speech impeding again. “It’s nothing. I just feel a bit… sick.”

“Sick?” Val squeezed Maya’s hand lightly. “Food. Mine. Bad?”

“Huh?”

“Was. It. Terrible? You. Not. Like. It?”

“What? No, no, no.” Maya frantically waved her hands before them. “It was amazing! Your cooking is literally out of earth. Better than anything I could ever do. It’s just… I have had this problem since my childhood. It’s embarrassing.”

“I want to. Understand,” said Val, rubbing Maya’s hand with her thumb. A gentle kind of touch Maya never thought she would ever receive. It was so small, yet strangely meant so much to her. “Tell me. Only if you. Want.”

Maya furrowed her brown further. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach—this time it was not the food.

“How many people do you know that eat a lot of food? Like, A LOT?” Maya asked. Her fists clenched and unclenched. “To the point, they feel like throwing up from fullness and shame,” Maya mumbled the last part.

“A lot,” Val replied matter-of-factly, confusing Maya with the statement. “Einherjar are loud. Rowdy and eat. Too much food.” Val’s face contorted to utter exhaustion and agitation. “Serving them is. Exhausting.”

Maya didn’t expect this kind of answer. It was a new site to hear Val complain. “Do you have female Einherjar, too?”

Val cocked her head in thought. “Yes… no? Not sure. Probably… Why?”

“I… well, grrr…” Maya’s words were stuck in her brain and came out as a tangled mess. “How am I supposed to address this subject? Telling her I have a problem with food? She wouldn’t understand. She’ll feel hurt and think I don’t like her food.”

Maya let out a tired sigh. “Never mind that. I think I am just worried about you. Did you find any new clues about your missing gear?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The change of subject disgruntled Val and how Maya pulled away her hand, hiding it underneath her sleeve. She sickly rubbed her stomach and took deep breaths to calm herself.

The Valkyrie didn’t know what was going on, but she knew she couldn’t force it out of Maya—no matter how much she wished to so she could help her.

“Maybe.” Val pointed down the street and tugged on one of her braids as she looked down. “Not. Far. Strange. Energy.”

“Good.” Maya nodded and led the way. “I could use a walk, anyway. Shall we?”

“:.. Yeah…”

—☽—

Maya walked ahead of Val and took more than once the wrong turn because of her inattention. The topic just didn’t want to leave Maya’s mind. She wanted to share with Val what was bothering her, but she couldn’t share this secret with just anyone.

Austin knew because he caught her by accident at her study session in her first year of university. It was so common to gain weight in America’s Colleges during the first year that they coined it The Freshman Fifteen.

Maya almost doubled the amount because she had a hard time coping with the stress, her exams, and her diet. She also almost fainted during one exam.

Regardless, it was a dreadful moment to be caught in. She was happy Austin was there to reassure her and listen to her.

She also managed to talk about this with her pen pal, Fey, who suffered from a disability that restricted her movement, but it didn’t let her stop her from what she was doing. Reading that made Maya feel slightly happy that someone listened.

“Yet why can’t I tell her?” grumbled Maya, almost walking into a streetlamp if Val didn’t pull her back and into her arms.

“Careful, Maya,” warned Val and quickly let her go. Somehow, Maya felt even more frustrated by how quickly it ended. “You’re distracted. A lot. What’s. Wrong?”

“Nothing, really,” laughed Maya painfully. “I guess I need my glasses.”

Val perked up on that. Her lip quivered up. “You have glasses? I didn’t notice.”

“No? I don’t?” Maya snorted, suppressing a pained laugh. “Imagine. I’m unattractive and chubby. Don’t need glasses too to make me look dorky. I have a pair, but I try not to wear them when I can.”

“I don’t. Understand,” confessed Val. “You’re not-”

“Nevermind that. Let’s focus on you first, ok?” Maya turned around, frantically trying to divert the topic to something else. “So, where do your Valkyrie senses point us at? Lemme bet, somewhere enchanting and dangerous, no?”

Val let out a frustrated and sad sigh, pointing to their right. “There. Presence. Strong. Past. Week. Or. So.”

“Great! So we go to the– YOU KIDDING ME, RIGHT!?”

Flashbacks invaded Maya’s mind. She had hoped the latest encounter would have been the last. Her stomach churned harder; she was feeling sick. “Why in Hel’s name does it have to be the local cemetery!?”

Maya had nothing against the resting place for the dead. In fact, it was a nice place to walk around with all the trimmed plants and trees, and peace and quiet.

Her parents, however, disliked it when Maya went there for casual walks—something she only understood after her encounters with the Draugr.

Maya felt her skin crawl. “Please tell me that whatever you’re sensing is outside this creepy place?”

Val shook her head and pointed further in to their right. “Beyond the gate. Strange magic. Familiar.”

“GREAT!” Maya drew a cross before her and sent a prayer into the sky alongside a kiss. She was not religious, but she wasn’t taking any chances. “After you, my Valkyrie.”

Maya grinned blithely. She bowed and gestured with her hands for Val to go first. Val played along, straightened the muscles on her back, and gave Maya a proud but playful grin‌.

Though when she approached the metal gate, Val flinched back and put up her hands in a startled motion.

“Really?” Maya laughed. “Afraid of a little spider?”

Brushing away the spider from the round horseshoe symbol of the gate, Maya opened the gate with a rusty pull and clanging from the hinges.

“Haha, I’m glad to know that you have a cute side like that on you,” Maya laughed again and went through the gate. A tingle crackled in the air and dissipated quickly. “Afraid of spiders. How adorable, haha.”

Val’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. She frantically looked between Maya and the gate.

Val was not afraid of spiders, she was fearful of the magic that surrounded the gate. It emanated a strange green energy that dissolved when Maya put her hand on the iron handle.

The enchantment disappeared. Val felt the magic trying to ward her away, but now the strange energy was gone and shunning them.

Still, Val sheepishly approached the gate. Her hands were on her chest as she tried to avoid touching the metal or the horseshoe symbol. It was a warding symbol, that much information Val could recall. She was afraid of it.

Maya didn’t notice anything wrong. She chuckled at Val’s fearful display as Maya kept the gate open for her—unaware of the meaning the gate held. This trip was about to become more adventurous than the last—and many times more dangerous.