Alexander's eyes traced Aria's lines the way an architect would trace the lines of a building. The bags beneath her eyes spoke haunted volumes. The crossed arms, a plaintive wish for safety. But from what?<br/><br/><i>Reality,</i>he realized, riding a note of sad irony.<i>This is a girl under siege from within. <br/>
</i><br/>He kept looking. Her green eyes were bright and clear, brimming with suspicion. Above them, a slightly furrowed brow. Alec repressed a smile. He fancied that if he listened hard enough that, beneath the burbling notes of the pool, he could hear her mental abacus clicking away. The stubborn set of her jaw...the squaring of the shoulders...<br/><br/>"If you aren't here to answer<i>my </i>questions, then why<i>are you </i>here?"<br/><br/><i>This girl isn't in need of rescue, </i>he realized.<i>Only redirection. A purpose. Her desolation is winning the battle...but she's still fighting. <br/>
</i><br/>Alexander felt his hands clench just slightly before him, and found himself battling an unexpected lump in his throat. Years of training kept the tranquil mask in place. He hoped.<br/><br/><i>She's still fighting, </i>a quiet voice in the back of his mind whispered,<i>...and now she's stuck with you. Just like the last one.<br/>
</i><br/>By force of will, Alec banished the dark cloud that threatened to envelop him, and sent it rolling back to the darkest annals of his thoughts. He focused: the bubbling water, the smell of chlorine and other sanitizing chemicals in the air, the faintest ripples as the water accommodated Aria's naked form. He focused, and was himself again.<br/><br/>"I'm here for you, Aria." He paused a moment, eyes flicking away in thought. He could almost hear Oliver's voice over his shoulder; his Teacher's words still so clear after all these years: "<i>From the very first moment, an Aesir must establish the mantle of authority. It is beneficial for you, and your Tjänarinna. It is the framework upon which both of you are supported. With it, adversity that would destroy your relationship will merely temper it; make it stronger. That is why we undertake these dramatic introductions. The sooner her mind accepts what you are, the sooner she accepts what she is to become."<br/>
</i><br/>Alec turned back to meet Aria's gaze. He didn't know if he was fit enough to guide her. Not after...not after. But he owed it to her to make the offer. The courage and pain required for her to brave this situation and put her life in his hands. One did not repay courage with cowardice.<br/><br/><i>But I will do it my way, this time.<br/>
</i><br/>Alec lowered himself out of the squat, and into a sitting position. Wordlessly, he pulled off his oxfords, his socks, and rolled up the pant sleeves. Slipping his legs into the pool, the Aesir sat contentedly, regarding his companion. "We've watched you for some time now. Ever since<i>you </i>came looking for<i>us</i>. We've watched you move from place to place. Watched you cajole and weedle your way from one roof to another, only to move on, unable to find anchor. We've watched you try and drink away your pain with cheap vodka, beer in bulk, and the occasional bottle of Tennessee Honey. It didn't work. So you turned to other methods. Other people." He reached out, slowly, and pointed at the red blemishes on her throat. Not quite bruising.<br/><br/>"They put their hands around your neck, and fucked you as hard they could. Even with that, and the bruises on your bottom...no peace. No relief. Not for long, anyway. What were you hoping for, Aria, when they came inside you? That when you succumbed to sleep that night, the nightmares wouldn't come? The night sweats and the panic attacks wouldn't reach you?"<br/><br/>He paused to let his words sink in. No judgment shadowed his eyes. No disdain or disgust curled his lip. Alexander sat forward slightly, keeping his focus entirely on Aria; letting her see the acceptance in his eyes. "Amazing, the kinds of things we get up to, in order to find solace from our loss, eh?" Alec's voice retained its soft, gentle cadence. Heavy with understanding.<br/><br/>"I work for the Valhalla Corporation. Together with brave and brilliant men and women the world over, I work to maintain balance in the world. To prevent the coming of a Third World War. We manipulate events in service of this ideal. We even kill for it. Your parents were not casualties in our conflict, though. Their lives were claimed as collateral damage, by the petty bureaucrats who enacted that conflict. For profit, personal gain, and dogmatic ideology. You are their victim, as much as your parents are. They destroyed your life. I'm offering you the opportunity build another. To become a woman who can keep other children from the suffering you endure. To take life in the<i>service of life</i>."<br/><br/>Sitting back a little, Alexander broke eye contact, and gave her a moment to digest. "You've heard tales of Valkyries: women of such terrifying skill and majesty that no conventional truth in the world can hold them. Pain, grief, fear, hate, greed...the Valkyries accept these truths...and then fly above them. I am here, because Valhalla believes you have it in you to become a Valkyrie. To set yourself free from the chains this cruel world would otherwise encumber you with. To give your suffering a purpose."<br/><br/>He smiled, and it was a fragile thing. The smile of a man who did not often do so, and had few reasons to start. Compassionate, intimate, sad, and hopeful, also. "Which is a very poetic and dramatic way to make this offer, isn't it? You have...greatness in you, Aria. Potential! Something that would have shattered someone twice your age, has merely beaten you down. Make it mean something."<br/><br/>Alexander's face hardened again, eyes cooling to an implacable wall. "Make no mistake, though. This path is not easy. You will suffer. Pain and pleasure will be redefined. Valhalla will take you, mind and body, and teach you to make yourself better. A person even you can't conceive of yet. Agree, and for the duration of your training, you forfeit all right to yourself. You will be pushed to your limits. Bloodied...beaten...all your bad habits unmade. It will be messy. It will be hard..."<br/><br/>He extended his hands, parallel to the water, palms up.  They were large, roughened and callused; the hands of a man who set himself to hard work. Thin scars, whitened with age, criss-crossed his wrists and forearms. By contrast, his fingers were long and delicate. "If you walk this path, know that I will hurt you with these hands. I will show you many different shades of pain. Some you will hate. Some you will love. When I am done with you, pain will no longer be your master. You will drink from it, and find yourself sustained."<br/><br/>Again, that quiet smile returned. "But it won't just be pain, Aria. You'll find pleasure, too. Build a new home for yourself, among others just like you. And I will be there every step of the way. I will hold you when it hurts too much, and pick you up when you fall. I will listen to the harshest truths you have the courage to speak aloud, and I will not recoil. I will see your darkest sides...your darkest needs...and I will love you for them. You will learn to fight, in more ways than one. There will be no challenge you cannot meet. You will save lives, Aria...and you will save yourself. And through it all, I will be there. Standing at your side, until your end, or mine. Your champion, your confessor, your teacher, and your sanctuary."<br/><br/>One final pause. One more trembling worm of fear and doubt wriggling in his gut. One more time his demons whispered calamity in his mind.<br/><br/>"My name is Aexander Penderghast. I am an Aesir of Valhalla. If you have the courage to cast away your life, your entitlement, and everything you find familiar...I will bring you to Valhalla. You will be a Valkyrie. And with your help, in the future, some other innocent one need not live through the hell you have lived through. But only if you have the resolve to surrender everything you are. Otherwise, you can go back to your life, and we will never meet again."<br/><i><br/>
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