Katrina:

The dark forest spoke to me as I wandered around the cold remains. 

I want to be alone, for once in my life, I did not hate the silence looming around me.

 I don't want to speak to anyone, I can't.

"You need to go back," the person I was trying to avoid tells me. 

I shake my head over and over again, all I want is the silence. 

I carry on walking and try to block her out the best I could, she shouldn't be here. 

"Katrina, are you listening to me?" she asks me sternly. 

I have nothing to say to her. She couldn't begin the feel the pain I feel at the moment. She couldn't feel the numbness surrounding my body like a blanket.

My locks bounce off of my shoulders as I pace through the trees.

"Katrina-" I cut her off with my hand raised in the air. 

I turn and look at her, my eyes glaring at her form as I stop walking. 

Shaking my head at her, I uncurl one of my pale fingers and raise it to point at her.

"No, you do not get to say anything," I tell her warningly.

She studies my features and a shock of expression crosses her face. She walks forward and shakes her head, her short, golden blonde hair shimmers in the light.

"Don't you disobey me, young lady, I am your moth-" she begins to scold me as I scoff. 

I scowl at the woman shaking my head, anger being my main target.  

"YOU WERE!..." I shout in frustration as her eyes widen at my sudden outburst.

Well, what did she expect? Did she want me to listen to her as though nothing had just happened between us?

"However, as time keeps reminding me, you're not my mother anymore," I say calmly, my heart cracking at the words which fly out of my mouth. 

I ignored her and turn my back to face her, it was easier to try and admire my surroundings.  

The yellow daffodils shone in the distance and the multi-coloured tulips, roses and lilies made the air smell sweet. 

Everything seemed tranquil, full of life, something I was not. 

I tread carefully, not to step on the wildlife here, respecting its beauty.

"Katrina please..." my mother begs me. 

I desperately want to turn around and face her. I want to be able to turn around and run into her arms, I want her to hold me and never let me go. I want to be able to feel the warmth of her skin and feel her hands comb through my hair like they used to. But what I want cannot ever happen again, I will never again feel a mother's comfort... at least not hers.  

I kneel down and place my hands on the ground, my leather trousers sinking into the dirt. My palms graze across the ground collect the earth beneath my fingertips, I feel the soil crumble between my fingers, I enjoy the cool feeling of it escaping back to the ground. 

I lift the soil to my nose and sniff it, internally remembering the smell. 

Someone had been here. 

A strong scent lifted through my nostrils and imprinted itself into my head.

It smelt of dog.

Of a hound.

Even though I was in no immediate threat, I now knew that there were wild dogs in Asgard, the kind that I didn't want to mess with. 

It's true, cats and dogs don't usually get along and they can get very territorial around their land. It's what makes them the perfect protectors... the perfect guards... 

If they find a trespasser like me on their land, the will kill me. 

They will eat me alive... Literally.

"You feel threatened?" my mother says as I turn my head around and look at her. 

"You don't know what I feel," I state harshly as she sighs shaking her head gently.

"You're my daughter, I've always known what you feel," she replies back as she takes a step forward and kneels beside me picking up some dirt in her hands. 

"I know you feel threatened by the potential of there being people who could hurt you. I know you don't want to get close to these people just in case they harm you in any way," she explains as the dirt rolls between her fingers.    

"You are dead..." I state as a matter of fact before standing back on my feet and continue to sniff the air.

I close my eyes and breathe in the air, I am safe. 

"Honey... That does not mean that I am not here." she tries to reassure me standing to her feet. 

I shake my head and continue to walk further into the woods, It was of no use.

"You are dead... And you're not coming back," my voice becoming stronger in tone. She sighs heavily and from this, I knew she wouldn't want to argue with me.

She wanted me to accept her death. 

But what my mother did not realise was that I could not get over something that was so overwhelming, how could she not understand that when she died a piece of me died too?

"I know sweetheart, don't you think that I know that?" she questions me again. 

This strikes a nerve. 

I instantly stop and turn to face her once more. 

I was getting angry. 

My eyes start to turn light green, and then my anger is released. 

"NO, YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT! FOR A YEAR YOU SAID NOTHING ABOUT YOUR DEATH! A YEAR... AND NOW LOOK WHERE IT HAS GOTTEN YOU!" I roar and swipe my hand across a tree bark and five claw marks engrave into the tree.

"YOU MADE BELIEVE FOR A YEAR YOU WERE ALIVE! ALL THIS TIME I THOUGHT YOU WERE CONTACTING ME USING YOUR MAGIC!" I continue to shout as my breathing becomes heavy.

"All this time you made believe there was hope. Hope that you were alive... but this is all in my head, you died mother, I was there... I held you until you took your last breath," I whisper in exhaustion from my small outburst, tears beginning to collect in my eyes.

"In that year I was imprisoned by Laufey, my mind had actually allowed to me believe that you were still searching for me..." I say, my voice full of sorrow.   

"I didn't want to worry you..." my mother tells me quietly as I prowl around the trees.

"Worry me?... Oh no no no mother dearest. You have not worried me... You have just simply... made me upset!" I shout the last part as I go and hit another tree. 

My breathing had gotten heavier once more. 

I punch the tree bark in front of me, growling, leaving a dent in the wood. 

"Katrina control the animal within you," my mother warns. 

I freeze again in my spot as I turn around and face her, bearing my teeth, hissing at her. 

"Control it?... Control it? You don't even see it as part of me oh no... I am an animal!" I complain dragging my nails down the tree, the chippings of wood falling beneath my fingers.

"I am none other than a beast, a creature that can only be controlled by magic," I state and begin to climb up the tree.

I stood at the top of it on a brach and look down at my mother. 

She watches as I balance perfectly between jumping through the branches, trying to distract my mind. 

"Honey, come down." my mother asks me as I shake my head and murmur.

"I am a wild animal, I can't be controlled, and my magic does me no good," I tell her and leap into to the next tree swinging onto the next branch before landing on my feet. 

"I have perfect form, I have skills. I have inhuman abilities and yet, I am not a person," I ramble on. 

I was not pitying myself, I couldn't do that. 

I was simply proving a point to my mother.  

"You are a person Katrina, a very good one. Please, sweetheart just stop for a moment and think about what you are doing," she asks me gently as I try my best to ignore her words.    

I look around and sniff the air. 

I close my eyes and twirl on my heel, sensing a direction.

"This way!" I pointed directly towards the cave that stood in front of me.

I smile to myself and then walk into it.

My mother was not far behind me. She was not floating like you expect ghosts to she just walked at the same pace as I did.

"Why are we in a cave?" She questions me. 

I shake my head, wanting to ignore her, she was something from my past I wanted to so desperately to forget.

"No, I am in a cave you are dead. Your living presence is nowhere to be seen," I state bitterly and sit down on a rock.

I was never going to be free of this curse.

"I am a pain to the Royal Family and I am no help to anyone else. Some pack is out to kill me, or at least they will kill me if they find out what I am. And my own parents are dead and now I've only just realised that I am truly alone," I sigh complaining to myself before burying my head in my knees.

"You are not alone, Sweetheart, you have me.." She reassures sweetly.

"What good are you if you are dead?" I ask, well it was a kind of deadpanned question. 

My mother raises her eyebrow and sat beside me. Her black dress smothered across the rock she sat upon.

"I am of use, that's why I am here. You're venting your anger to me and I'm listening to you," she explains nudging me playfully. 

"You're just a figment of my imagination, nothing more than a ghost haunting me," I say sadly as a tear rolls down my face. 

"No, I am your mother and you are my daughter. I love Katrina, I always have and always will," she replies back moving my chin to face her with her hand. 

I imagine the feeling of the warmth on my skin as she wipes away my tears and gently places a small kiss on my forehead. Even though I knew it was supposed to be of comfort to me, I couldn't feel anything, her words were just words and her actions were just cold. 

"Now why do you think there is a pack after you?" she questions me worried. 

"Simple, I heard so in the palace. The only friend that I have really made has turned out to be a guy who wants to kill me." I state trying to offer my mother a sad smile.

I had come to the conclusion earlier, that Will and whoever this Killian character was were my real threat, especially after Killian had told Will to keep an eye on me. I healed faster than I should have in the infirmary, Will's eyes lightened just like mine and whenever I was around him, I smelt this smell which seemed familiar to me, something that frightened me.

Oh and the fact, my inner beast wanted to rip him to shreds earlier.   

My mother then places her hand on my cheek.

"Do you not think that if they wanted you dead, you would be dead? They wouldn't have saved you before if they didn't want you alive," she instructs, her words wise.

"How can I trust them knowing what they are? They know what I am, or at least I think they do," I explain as she smiles sadly at me.

"Well, maybe try asking them when you see them next," she suggests as I gently nod my head letting out a small yawn.     

"You need your rest, we will talk more about this in the morning. Now sleep my child," my mother commands.

I nod my head and close my eyes, resting my head on her lap trying to feel some comfort. 

"Sing to me," I ask her softly.

My mother smiles and strokes my hair.

"Dream whenever, love forever, be together. Sleep my little flower, and I'll be gone in the hour when morning comes. I'll stay with you and be here. Just sleep. Sleep my little flower. Sleep..."  my mother sings the same lullaby she would when I was a child.

I let the words soothe me to the darkness that waited for me patiently.

Tomorrow, I needed to go back and find the answers I sought. I need to know whether I can trust Will and this Killian. I need to know whether they are a threat to me, I know we are supposed to be enemies but did I really want that?