PROLOGUE

[what lies ahead]

"There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

- C. S. Lewis

German Countryside, January 1937

It was an uncharacteristically mild January day when Abraham Erskine discovered a young blonde girl laying in a field not far from his safe house. Dr. Erskine had moved his family to the countryside to avoid the rising Nazi populations in Augsburg. The SS had already approached him, trying to recruit the esteemed scientist to help them in their own nefarious endeavors, but the German scientist wanted no part in the Nazis' plans. The move to the country was just temporary; an effort made to protect his family until they could safely make it to Switzerland.

Abraham had been up late the night before, going over the formula for what would eventually be the world's only super-soldier serum. Due to his late-night work, he woke much later in the morning than usual only to discover that a winter storm had covered the ground outside in several inches of snow. Despite the inclement weather the night before, the sunlight reflected off the snow offering a simple sort of beauty, one only found in nature. Dawning his heavy coat and boots, he ventured out of the warm house where his family remained, huddled around the radio.

Wandering away from the cottage and lost in his own thoughts, he almost missed the ethereal girl sprawled out on the ground. However, as Dr. Erskine shuffled closer, his attention was brought to the large imprint on the ground where all the snow had melted. The imprint was made up of symbols, like a language the doctor could not understand. In the center of the circular imprint, laid the ethereal beauty. Immediately seeing the unconscious girl on the ground, Erskine ran to her side and knelt beside her limp body.

Checking for a pulse, the German scientist was relieved to feel the thump of her heartbeat. He checked her over, looking for any visible signs of injury before moving her. As he looked her over, the doctor realized that she was only wearing a long, lightweight, silvery-blue gown with golden accents. With no visible injuries, Abraham knew he had to get the girl inside quickly. Although the temperatures were rather mild, it was still winter and she was not dressed appropriately for the weather. He attempted to gather the blonde in his arms and bring her to the warmth of the cottage, however, the scientist was unable to lift her weight.

Erskine was aware he was not exceptionally tall nor strong, but the young blonde in front of him, though she was rather tall, was still slight in size. He did not quite understand why he had so much difficulty in lifting her. After another attempt to move her, he realized he could not do it himself. Hurrying back to the cottage, careful not to waste any time, Abraham recruited his adult son, Elias, and together they were able to bring the blond back to the cottage. Abraham's wife Gisele and their daughter Sabine had cleared the small couch and prepared it for the unconscious girl, covering her with blankets to try to warm her.

Now that he was not as worried about her possibly freezing to death, Erskine was able to inspect the girl more closely. Upon this inspection, he realized she was not really a girl at all but a young woman, possibly early to mid-twenties, only a couple years younger than his daughter. Her height was also much more apparent on the small couch. He knew she was tall when he and Elias were carrying her in but now she appeared to be around six feet tall. Possibly, one of the tallest women he had ever seen.

"Where did she come from, papa?" Sabine asked clearly in German.

Erskine thought back to the odd circular imprint on the ground. "I cannot say. But, she could not have come from far. That dress offers very little warmth; she wouldn't have made it far just wearing that."

Elias chimed in next, "Do you think it may be hypothermia?" Abraham shook his head. Despite her unconscious state, she showed no other signs of the illness.

"I suppose we'll have to wait until she wakes up to get our answers." Gisele stood and walked to the kitchen to prepare lunch. "Come now. Leave her to rest." The Erskine family followed the matriarch out of the room, leaving the mysterious blonde to continue gathering her strength.

Everyone was sitting at the small dining table, eating lunch, and chatting when the ethereal blonde woke up. Slowly, her eyes opened to reveal beautiful icy blue irises. She inhaled deeply and began checking out her surroundings, looking for any dangers. Sitting up on the couch, she took in the wooden cottage walls, the glowing hearth, and the multiple, colorful blankets that had dropped from her chest and were now draped across her lap. Hearing the chatter in the other room, she stood to try to leave the small home. Unfortunately, her balance had not quite returned after her fall through the makeshift-Bifrost.

The blonde stumbled, catching herself against the wall and causing a thump to sound through the house. She clutched her head, her vision spinning. Not realizing that someone else rushed into the room until a hand rested on her shoulder, she lashed out involuntarily.

Luckily, the man she swung at caught on and dodged her swing. She was glad she did not hit him. He was merely mortal and her Asgardian strength would surely injure him more than if she were human. "It's alright. You're safe here," the young man said. Not saying anything in return, she nodded.

The older woman stepped forward then, "If you're hungry, there's still some lunch I prepared. Maybe then you can tell us a little bit about yourself and why you were out in the cold." The blonde nodded again while the older woman led her to the dining table they had been sitting at earlier. The family sat in the remaining chairs aside from the younger man who stood off to the side.

The mystery woman scarfed down her food, barely taking a breath in between bites. Apparently, travel via dark magic took a lot out of someone. Finally, taking a sip of water and sitting back in her chair she met the eyes of the older man in the room. "I am Dr. Abraham Erskine and this is my wife, Gisele," the older gentleman gestured to the older woman in the room, before he gestured to the younger two, "And these are my children, Sabine and Elias."

The blonde beauty offered a smile in return. "My husband found you laying in the snow. He was afraid you would catch your death if you stayed outside, so Elias helped him bring you inside. How did you end up out here alone?" Gisele asked the woman, genuinely concerned.

The blonde knew that the humans would not understand her world and its workings so easily, so she lied, finally finding her voice. "I-I, I'm not sure. I can't remember," she told them in perfect German. The answer did not seem to quench the family's curiosity, but they were happy to get a verbal answer.

"Well, can you at least tell us your name?" Dr. Erskine asked.

The blonde sat up straighter, her long hair spilling down her back in waves. "Kelda. My name is Kelda."

So, I wanted to start publishing this story as I wrap up the Iron Man 2 part of Prodigy. After this story catches up with the Avengers I will publish the Avengers book. As I stated in the book description, reading Prodigy is not required for this story, but when the Avenger book is published I recommend having it read.

I'm trying to publish everything before the Avengers as quickly as possible so this really starts to pick up. I just started my summer job which is really taxing and I work 12 hr days, so pray for me, send me good vibes whatever so I survive haha.

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