Dreyrugr Fjǫðr

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 1

Rayna woke to a blinding pain in her back, and she arched off her stomach, eyes suddenly wide as she gasped, feeling something pushing at her back, as if trying to push out. Black spots began to appear in her vision as the pain worsened and she kept gasping, trying to call out, but she couldn't. Ardwyad did not seem so limited however. He let out a bark that echoed round the room before he ran for her bedroom door and body slammed into it. The crash as it was brought down was even louder than his bark, and was soon followed by the second one as he burst out of her chambers all together and began howling. It felt as if something was moving, shifting, on her back, and it was tearing at muscle and pulling at it at the same time along with breaking and pulling bones. She could not think past what was happening to her back, and she did not understand what was going on- she just wanted the pain to stop.

Someone was there then, and pushing her down, so she was flat on her stomach again. The movement of her top, up her back barely touched her skin, but it was enough- the scream ripped out of her throat as the pain unbelievably spiked. Her top was left at her shoulders, and nothing touched her back again, so she did not know her father was assessing her back, and worrying over what he was seeing.

It had been a week since they had returned from Midgard, and Rayna had seemed fine in the whole time. What was this, and why was it happening? Her whole back was flaming red, and there were two thick mounds, running either side of her spine, through its whole length. Holding his hand out over her back, he could feel the heat radiating off it, but placing his hand on her forehead told Loki she did not have a fever anywhere else. What was happening to her back? As he watched, the mounds seemed to shift, causing a ripple like effect on the skin that was rather disturbing.

"What's happening?" Ingrid asked as she ran in, belting the night robe she had obviously hastily pulled on over her night dress.

"I am afraid I do not know. We should call Eir, Rayna is in no state to be moved, her back is causing her too much pain for that to happen. Eir will have to come here."

Ingrid ran a hand through Rayna's hair and nodded. Loki left the room and told a guard to fetch Eir, and he saw Thor heading towards Rayna's room, Mjolnir in hand, ready for battle. "This is no threat you can address by hitting it, brother," Loki said, his tone grave. "Rayna is ill."

"How so?" Thor asked, frowning.

"See for yourself," Loki replied, leading the way back to her bedroom. She was whimpering now, trying not to scream again.

"Norns," Thor breathed. Then his face darkened. "Has Amora done something we were unaware of? There was a period when Rayna was unconscious. She could have placed some sort of curse on her."

"Maybe, but I am unsure. I have seen no spell that causes these effects before," Loki responded.

"There has to be something we can do!" Ingrid snapped. She was ready to tear apart whoever was behind this.

"There is."

They looked round to see Odin had arrived, Frigga just behind him. "I have seen this a few times before. With the Valkyries. This is not some curse or poison, or any other form of attack. Rayna is growing wings. However, I do not believe she will be a Valkyrie."

"Why not? What else would be behind it?"

"If she were, Brynhildr would have known she was coming into her powers, that a new Valkyrie would have been joining her ranks. This is different. Yes, Rayna's powers are settling, but not as a Valkyrie. They are late settling, but we all know the reason for that- but her powers are coming to a head. This is her full inheritance."

"Wings," Ingrid breathed. Half of her was relieved- this was normal. She had woken up one day to find a tree had grown in her room over night when she had been ten. Apparently, Thor had been soaking wet for three days, from the constant storm he'd had around him and wherever Loki had gone, things had always become utter chaos around him as his magic decided to play pranks- without his consent, though he had apparently enjoyed it. The other half of her remained terrified for her daughter. She had never known an inheritance could be painful.

Ardwyad whined and licked Rayna's hand, hoping for a positive response from his mistress. He failed to get one and began shifting uneasily, looking at them to help Rayna. Ingrid reached out and petted his head. "What else will come with her wings?" Ingrid asked her father. Brynhildr, being the leader of the Valkyries, was able to sense when another came into their powers, allowing her to reach them and guide them through the change from early on. Similarly, as the King of the Gods, Odin sensed whenever one of his people came into their true powers, and knew what those powers were.

"Any creature with wings, be they magical or mundane, will answer to her. When she learns how to use it, she will be able to talk with any of those animals, and they will do as she asks of them."

"Then she is powerful," Thor noted.

"Was there any doubt that she would be?" Frigga asked. "Are there any here in our family that are not?" She was right of course. While all of the Æsir far surpassed the vast majority of mortals when it concerned strength and power (with a few exceptions) the royal family were all noted for being exceptionally powerful. For Rayna to be anything other than that, even with her birth father being mortal, would have been odd.

"Though she is not a Valkyrie, it would be wise to call on Brynhildr. She has the most experience with these things," Odin said, just as Eir rushed into the room. She took one look at Rayna and the first thing she did was produce a pain relief potion.

She completely ignored the others in the room as she crouched down beside Rayna and coaxed her to drink it, using magic to ensure not a drop was spilt. She had obviously done this before. "I would have appreciated a warning," she said.

"I sensed Rayna's powers settling, but was unaware they would come with wings," Odin responded.

"You mean she is not a Valkyrie?"

"She is not."

"Then Brynhildr does not know? She is not coming?"

"No. We were about to send for her."

"I will have someone fetch her," Frigga said, before leaving the room.

"What can Brynhildr do for her?" Ingrid asked.

"She can coax the wings out quickly- she has instinctual magic for it. Without her powers, this process could go on for days," Eir informed her.

"Days?" Loki asked. The potion had obviously given Rayna the ability to relax- she was half asleep on the bed right now, but it wouldn't last forever. And he did not want to see her in pain any longer.

"It took Brynhildr's wings two weeks to grow- and that was only because her own magic hastened it along," Odin said. "It was rather discouraging to see."

"Mum?" her voice was weak, and full of sleep. Ingrid crouched down beside Rayna, taking her hand.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"What's wrong with me?"

She had obviously missed the whole conversation. Ingrid smiled softly at her. "Nothing's wrong, Rayna. It's alright- your powers are manifesting- one result of which is that you are growing wings. Don't worry; Brynhildr is coming to help speed things along. And Eir is here to help ease the pain if it gets too much again."

Sleepily, Rayna smiled. "'S good to know this isn't a problem." Her eyes, which had been only half open to start with during their brief conversation, closed and her breathing began to deepen out. She was asleep again. Ingrid remained where she was, keeping hold of her daughter's hand. She looked so young in that moment that Ingrid could have believed she was still a child- but she knew she wasn't. Rayna's childhood had been snatched from her long ago. Ingrid would see those responsible pay for that.

Brynhildr entered the room ten minutes later, and surprise registered on her stern features. Her chestnut brown hair was streaked with grey and her wings were grey with white speckles which reached the floor and arched over her head. She was quickly apprised of the situation and she approached the bed, and the sleeping princess, her magic already gathering in her hands. She had urged out the wings from many of her fellow shield maidens before- this would be no different. Blue light danced between her fingers as she ran them over Rayna's bare back, and the thick protrusions, coaxing the growth that magic had already spread up to happen at a quicker rate again. She urged the new bones to grow and strengthen and the new muscle and skin to form to support the structure that she was slowly urging out of the fifteen year olds back as she ran her hands down her back and pulled out, each time moving further from her back, as the two new limbs began to grow out. It took five whole hours and another dose of the pain relief potion before she was done. The wings were huge, a good fifteen foot span and were covered in blood from being drawn out of her body. A quick spell cleaned them up, revealing feathers that were a dark brown on the top for the most part, with lighter feathers underneath them, and then on the underside of her wings there were white feathers, with brown lines running through, like a hawks or a falcons wings.

"She should sleep for another day. Let her rest, and then be sure to have an extra-large breakfast prepared for her- she will be hungry, of that there is no doubt," Brynhildr said.

"Thank you, Brynhildr," Ingrid said.

"It would be an honour to teach her how to fly," the Valkyrie said. "While I have no doubt she will learn quickly enough, the process may be quicker if she has a teacher."

"That would be much appreciated," Loki nodded. "When she wakes, we will tell her your offer."

Brynhildr nodded, bowed to them again and then left the room- there were those who needed to be guided to Valhalla. Ingrid reached out and ran her hand over her daughter's feathers, the softness of which took her by surprise, even if she knew how soft a bird's feathers could be from her time around owls and her father's ravens.

"She keeps surprising me," she said.

"Perhaps her powers should have settled on controlling probability," Frigga sighed. "She defies it all the time." Only Rayna could end up growing wings as part of her powers, and not be a Valkyrie. "You should get back to bed. It is still late."

Ingrid shook her head. "I am awake now; I am going to stay with her for a while."

Frigga nodded, understanding. Whenever her children had been ill or injured, she had always tried to be with them as long as she could. She herself wanted to stay with Rayna, but Ingrid felt she had a lot of lost time to make up for- through no fault of her own- and as Rayna's mother, she would stay with her. Looking to her son, Frigga could see that Loki's decision was the same as Ingrid's. "Then we will leave you be. She will not wake for a while, remember. Do not worry about getting some sleep- she needs you well more than she needs you exhausted."

They left the two with their daughter, Thor clapping Loki on the shoulder in a parting, supportive, gesture and followed his parents out. Ingrid sat on the edge of Rayna's bed and Loki grabbed the chair from her desk and sat down at it by the bedside. Ardwyad took his accustomed position on the end of Rayna's bed.

"Thank you for staying, you didn't have to," Ingrid said, stroking Rayna's hair.

"Yes I did. I may have adopted her, but that does not change that I am her father now. It is my job to be here for her, especially when she is going through things like this."

Ingrid looked up and smiled at him. "Still, thank you. I am very glad you adopted her, you know."

It was his turn to smile. "So am I. I know she looked at me as family anyway, but I wanted her to be sure there would always be someone there for her. I was more than happy to adopt her Ingrid- had I had the chance I would have raised her myself."

"I guess that was my fault for placing the spell to hide her."

"If that is the case, then even more blame lies with us for driving you away and forcing you to use that spell for fear of being smothered. We cannot change the past now, but we can make up for it."

"What if it's too late? She was worried this was a problem. What if they did too much damage?"

Loki leant forward and took Ingrid's hand. "It is not too late," he said firmly. "Rayna is very strong. She may not realise it but she is. She just needs people to help her realise it. That is one of the things we are here for."

"When did you get so wise?"

He looked affronted. "I have always been wise."

"Oh really? How would you explain that tryst of yours with Amora?"

"I was barely fifty at the time, and I was drunk- it was one night!" He growled.

"And more than I needed to see," Ingrid replied. "But it proves you have made some questionable decisions."

"Yes, well, I try not to where Rayna's concerned."

"You did let her get drunk," Ingrid teased.

"We took an opportunity. Plus I thought she might have slightly better tolerance. It seems she had yours."

Ingrid pulled her hand free and lightly hit his arm. "Watch it you." He just laughed quietly.

Rayna woke slowly, feeling something strange on her back. She began opening her eyes and realised she was not alone. Looking round, she saw her mum, dozing next to her on the bed. She pushed herself up and looked over her shoulder suddenly and then, at the sight she saw, remembered the night before.

"You're awake."

Ingrid had woken up and realised that so had Rayna.

"This is surreal," Rayna said, examining one of her wings, which she had managed to extend down, around her as she pushed herself up to rest on her knees.

Ingrid smiled and pushed herself up and smiled at Rayna. "You will get used to them. They should have appeared a few years ago."

"That would have freaked me out even more. I'm used to weirdness now."

"It is not weird. Your powers are a natural part of you. Wings are simply another part of them."

Rayna looked round to see her father enter the room and she shrugged. "I guess."

He sighed and shook his head. "I have ordered breakfast brought up. You have missed a whole day, but that was to be expected according to Brynhildr- who has also offered to teach you to fly. There are plenty of others who have learnt from her too, so you will be in good hands there. How are you feeling?"

"Strange. I'm going to have to readjust to the new weight distribution," she replied- and was soon proved right. Rayna found it hard to walk in a straight line without being dragged aside by her wings, or even backwards- and she was rather glad that they were not in the middle of any sort of high winds- she'd have been forced to learn to fly when she was blown away otherwise. As it was, the slightest breeze could push her back a step if it caught her wings if they were outstretched. Unfortunately for Rayna, she had not yet gained full control over them, meaning they could open up without her intending for them to open up.

Cedric thought her new wings were awesome. "Think how much better flying will be with them though, instead of relying on a broom! And plus, there are spells that prevent brooms flying through ward boundaries- but not birds. You'll be able to surprise attack quite a few Death Eaters," he told her- after he had stopped stroking them with reverence in his eyes and an awed expression on his face. It was all she needed to be able to tell that Cedric would kill for a pair of wings himself. She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of him experimenting with magic to grow his own, and resolved to make sure he didn't go that far.

The biggest surprise, however, was Hedwig. She had come in from hunting, perched on Rayna's shoulder, affectionately nipped Rayna's ear and spoke.

'I am glad to see you awake again, Mistress.'

Rayna's jaw dropped and it was Cedric's turn to laugh. "What is it?"

"She just spoke to me. Didn't you hear her?"

"That'll be one of the other aspects of your powers then," Cedric responded, making her blush as she remembered her parents filling her in on what her powers, according to her grandfather, would entail.

"Good morning Hedwig," Rayna said, before absently giving the snowy owl a treat.

"It's a bit strange though, that your animagus form is feline, when your powers are based with winged creatures," Cedric said.

"Æsir are not as limited in forms as mortal magic practitioners, apparently. My lynx form is just one of several I will be able to one day access. Dad can turn into several animals, though he's not demonstrated them yet."

"Well, that will be fun- if we end up going back to Midgard publicly, you could register one form with the Ministry, and keep the other's secret- and no one would suspect any other animal of being you."

"That's not a bad idea," Rayna nodded, handing Hedwig another treat.

'Is there anything you need me to do, Mistress?' Hedwig asked her.

"No thank you Hedwig."

'Very well, I will sleep now then. But, can I come with you when you go flying?'

"Of course you can," Rayna smiled. Hedwig nipped her ear again, and flew off to her perch.

"What was that about?" Cedric asked. "I just heard her hooting."

"She wanted to come flying with me when I went. I promised her she could."

He smiled. "That was nice of you."

"Hedwig was my first friend."

Peter was terrified. He was in complete and utter darkness, so he could see nothing, and there was something about where he was, wherever it was, that stopped him from feeling, hearing or even smelling anything either. At first, the lack of sensation had been what had terrified him most. Now however, it was the fact that he had nothing but his thoughts left to him- thoughts that were getting more and more elaborate as time went on, imagining worse and worse fates of what was going to happen to him. Unfortunately for Peter, his imagination was limited, and he could only think of tortures his master had used on others, and what the Death Eaters had done- and he was a prisoner of a pantheon of deities that were thousands of years old- cruel and unusual punishments had been honed to a fine skill, long before the mortals of the medieval period had begun dreaming up their own ideas for punishments. The isolation was only the way of really unnerving him before his trial.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the new instalment. What do you think so far?