“There are great places to ride here. There is a lot of pasture and some streams and a pond. Not the one down in the valley and not nearly as large by any means, but it is a pretty place.” Randolf chimed in. Everyone looked at Randolf who appeared to have a smile on his face. “Well Randolf I can’t believe you spoke. Perhaps Rissy should kiss your cheek more.” Svelta laughed. Randolf turned to her. “I remember when we use to walk through the pasture and had picnics by the stream. I’ve missed that. I guess we’ve grown too old for that nonsense.” Charlotte looked at the gazes between her parents. “Oh my god! Tell me that’s not where I was conceived.” Svelta smiled. “Possibly.” Randolf sat there in a daze still thinking of those trips and then mumbled something about needing to go there again. “Svelta smiled at him. “Maybe we should.” “Gross!” Charlotte exclaimed and ran out of the room. Everyone laughed.
The Beginning of Life
After breakfast Johann and Rissy went out into the garden. They walked to a little secluded corner that led to some steps that led down into a lower part of the garden. There were ferns and small trees and it looked like a clearing in a forest with a carpet of soft moss. Johann told Rissy to take off her shoes before getting off the steps. He had already taken his off. The moss felt so gentle. There were a few wildflowers around and wooden furniture in a small area where the whole garden could be seen. On the table were several bottles of wine and a basket of bread and cheese. “Johann, why have I never found this spot before?” “You were not ready to see this before now.” “Well it’s simply beautiful.” Johann smiled as one of the butterflies flew close to him and the around Rissy. She had never heard a butterfly make a singing type noise before. It flew back to Johann and he said “It’s alright. She belongs here.” “Why are you talking to a butterfly?” “Just and old habit for a lonely man I guess.” He replied. “I think now is the time to begin telling you about some of the things that you have been experiencing.” Rissy had been waiting for this moment and was happy that Johann was keeping his promise. “I am going to start from the beginning. It is important that you listen and listen carefully. Close your eyes to begin with.” She closed her eyes as he requested and was waiting for more. “I’m ready.” “Like I said please listen. This is the very beginning of all. Remember this is to assist you in preparing for our life together from now until eternity. As you remember things and see that things are real, you will see that we were meant to be together for eternity and if you decide, we can be together that long. We will merge in a sense if you desire.” He made sure he was ready for this. “What if she thinks this is a joke?” he thought. He composed his himself and began the tale.
“I was born to Freya before man began and roamed the earth which at that time was such a beautiful garden unlike now. You must understand that when I say born that I am not speaking of the way humans are born. The correct term may be created. There was no such thing as time. It’s a difficult concept for mortals or those who have been mortals to understand. The change from day to night, the seasons, and the like are a continuum; it sort of like a day that does not end. That’s the best I can explain such. There were great beasts that roamed the planet. I think this was a little game among the gods, because every so often new creatures would appear and some of the others died off. Some favorites were made smaller like the lizards you seen even now. There were other changes made to several of these because the gods did not wish for their new creations to be harmed, well you know there were some tricks and I think Loki had his hands in that mess. The poisonous snakes and lizards, and different bugs, but I ramble from my story.”
Rissy was listening but did open her eyes and began looking intently at Johann. “You’re right the concept of a continuum is very difficult to understand. We age and change yet you have always been just like you are?”
“No not really dear, we learn as time goes on or we hope that we do. I’ve been a little slow in my learning in affairs of the heart and understanding what humans consider normal, though at one point I was actually a human and did grow and know of days and years. I guess that is why I can relate a little though I may see centuries are weeks.” They both had to laugh at that.
“Johann, why were you once human? That seems very odd to me.”
“It happened like this Rissy. I fell in love with a woman who was under a waterfall. She loved me as well and we were constant companions. Other angels including my so called brothers were angry that I would spend time with a mortal. You can see how much like us in appearance you are, and more attention was being paid to your kind than mine. To add insult to injury for many was to have to help manipulate your kind. There was a rebellion in the heavens and it was bloody.”
Rissy nodded. “So how did you become human?”
“I’m getting to that, so please be patient with me. My lover and I were taken when mother was busy. I was chained with angelic gold. The only beings that could break free of these bonds were the gods. They beat me mercilessly with chains made of the same metal and then my brothers tortured my love in front of me and kept raping her. She screamed for me and I was helpless to save her. She fought hard and then they said that they were going to kill her but her suffer slowly. I fought harder and harder to break free and then somehow I broke the chains that were unbreakable. I grabbed my Asgard sword that they had left close by, and sliced through them killing them. However I was too late to save her. She died in my arms at the moment Freya arrived. She imposed a blessing upon her so that she would come back to me time after time. This did happen until we grew apart and you even knew her and were friends at one time.”
He stood up and turned his back to Rissy and wept. Rissy was a little jealous, but also knew that somewhere along the way that he had chosen her above the other. She waited patiently for him to continue as she sipped the wine and nibbled on the cheese and crackers. She worried that this was causing him too much distress. “We can wait until later for you to finish.”
“No, I want to at least finish my becoming human before we end for the day.” He turned around facing Rissy and smiled at her. He ate a piece of cheese and washed it down with some wine, then kissed his lovely witch. “I love you dearly Rissy and I will get to our story in time. I need to give you my background so that hopefully you will understand me more clearly.”
“It is helping Johann. So far I find it intriguing. I was a little worried that you were going to bore a girl to death.” She giggled. Johann stared sternly at her enough that she lowered her eyes and then chuckled. “Glad I haven’t accomplished that feat yet.” “Sire this girl does not think that one such as you could ever do that. A girl has always loved your stories.” There it was again. Rissy wondered why she continued to speak of herself as “girl” but had a feeling that sooner or later she would discover its origin.
Johann resumed his tale. “There was a great outcry for my death since I had killed, so to keep me safe Freya decided that it would be best to hide me away until things calmed down and to show that I had been punished by making me human. She performed a ritual that took me into a deep sleep, and made me a human and placed me in a woman’s womb. When I was born, I had no knowledge of my previous life. Humans had decided that there were some greater than others and were establishing kingdoms. These were not the kingdoms with castles as those you see now, but were either made of tents or thatched huts. There was no grandeur and rituals for being made a king were just beginning. My parents’ land was wanted by a neighboring tribe and there was a war, so my mother wrapped me in cloths and hid me in the woods until the warring tribe had passed through. There was only one problem; my family was annihilated. A sorceress name Sera happened to come upon me as she was gathering herbs for her potions. She was of a tribe of humans with extraordinary powers and there is a rumor that there had been some intervention by the gods due to this tribe’s loyalty. Sera raised me and taught me the ways of her people. I learned potions and still can make a few, but not nearly as well as you or other members of your family. They were called “showers” because they were always showered good to those who came to them and people were
