Chapter 24: Interlude 3 – Oath of the Valkyrie

Ophelia spent some time getting her thoughts in order before she took her valkyrie’s oath. It was hard for Ophelia to imagine that it had only been a few weeks since she arrived in Jake’s refuge. The turbulent emotions that happened that day are not something she would ever forget. Just why didn’t her father pay to have her resurrected? She knew that he was overcome with grief from the loss of her mother, but she was not yet lost, even though her body remained in that cave.

Her first thought was that it was simply too soon for him to have saved up enough [Credits], but she checked her menu that first evening and found that over one hundred years had passed since her spirit entered the void that was the framework. Just what had happened? Ophelia was afraid to learn the answer, the truth. Either her failure had driven him to death from grief, or something bad had happened to the town he lived in before he could save up enough funds to resurrect her. Either way, she was not there when her father needed her. She was pursuing her dream of becoming a warrior like her mother, and she had failed, just like her, only worse: in a cave due to foolishness, instead of on the fields of battle, protecting everyone.

She moved her thoughts to Jake himself. He sent reassurance to her over their bond, along with patience. She had just been broadcasting her feelings of regret, when this should be a happy moment. Jake was humble, supportive, hard-working, handsome, and even strong; for a human, anyway. In many ways, he was not very different from her own father. Her father supported her mother in all that she did, producing weapons and armor for her and her squad mates, taking care of young Ophelia when she was out, and even preparing meals a majority of the time. When she died, it was like there was nothing left; he had given her everything, and her death took it all away. Of course, that was not true as her daughter was still there, but he was never able to rise above his grief to see it.

Still, she knew that Jake would help her achieve her dream of being a respected warrior like her mother. In many ways, he already has. It won’t be very long until she surpasses her mother’s strength, both from the help of the framework and from Jake, and presumably the goddess she was about to take an oath to. On top of that, she had found her chosen, the silly fool having no idea why she felt the way that she did.

Jake probably thought she was in awe of his martial prowess, which for the amount of time he’d been training and fighting, she was, but the truth was that she was in awe of his fear. She saw the looks in his eyes as he slashed the throat of a gnoll that had moved to flank her. Perhaps, he had felt the wounds of combat previously, and was subconsciously averse to melee combat as a result. It was definitely that he was afraid something would happen to him or her, most likely experiencing the pain of combat previously, but he had forced himself to move. How can one have bravery and courage without fear? Valkyries had no fear of battle, she found she was much more afraid of social interactions.

She knew that Jake would continue to fight even when he was afraid, when the going got tough; just like the heroes she read about. She still remembered some of the [Alliance] people she met on her old world, after she was initiated. They had shown up and led an offensive to reclaim areas, but many of them held no fear or conviction: they would just revive if they failed anyway, flee the world if it was lost anyway. Their skills were not much to write home about, either. Jake had already proven to her that he brought both talent and effort, a drive to be great. To give the outsiders nothing, and for his only sacrifices to be in the training room.

On top of that, she could feel the care and affection for her sometimes over the [Summoner’s Bond] ever since the beginning. It settled over her like a warm blanket, as they spent nearly every waking moment together: training, eating, fighting, and even having fun. She could feel how much he cared for her and wanted to see her success, and just how far he would go to make it so.

She could tell Jake disliked melee combat, but he would charge in to keep the enemies from flanking her, when she knew he would much rather stay back and cast spells for support. If it were up to him, he would never enter melee combat, and yet for his allies he would step in and take the necessary risks. Jake was forging himself into a warrior, not because he wanted to, but because he needed to. Given enough time, he would forge himself into a hero, and she would be there to protect him, every step of the way.    

Ophelia moved her thoughts to the demoness. She really had a hard time understanding that girl. With all the teasing that she did, and the fact that she had slept with her chosen, she should really hate her, but she found that she didn’t. Her teasing rarely aimed to hurt, only embarrass, or to otherwise get a reaction out of them for her to enjoy.

Fhesiah also sensed the limit, or a line that she shouldn’t cross; perhaps the day of ridiculous military acting was her finding it. She found that she too liked watching Jake’s reactions to Fhesiah’s teasing, so it’s only fair that Jake and Fhesiah enjoy her being teased. Ophelia vowed to tease the demoness in return if there was ever a chance, but how can you embarrass someone with no shame?

Still, the demoness is in fact very supportive of her. In regards to picking Hestia, nobody did as much research on the matter as her, wanting to get an accurate picture of the situation involving them. On top of that, she really approached with the idea that they would be sisters, and so far, she had shown that she cared for and desired Ophelia’s success as well. She had purchased that skill book that would help both of them, [Winged Combat], but she knew that it was her desire to spend more time with her that led her to choosing it.

Ophelia was a little bit worried about Fhesiah’s pride, though. As a cultivator, she felt like she was above everything, and that [The Framework] was flawed. That Qi and the Dao were the only truths worth pursuing, and everything else was just noise. And yet, Jake and Ophelia were stuck pursuing the noise, so what does that say about them? If she was going to truly see them as equals, she would have to embrace [The Framework] fully. That is not to say that she should give up being a cultivator, but that she should use it to her advantage, to take its power where it is given, and to use it to help Jake and the rest of the party.

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She hoped that Jake would be able to reign in her pride, as this line of thinking was only going to get them hurt. Only a fool would not wear armor when their only other option was using a limited resource for protection. She was hamstringing herself, making her weaker because of her pride. A weakness the outsiders will be more than happy to exploit.

In regards to the relationship with Jake, her timing of arrival just couldn’t be much worse. If she wanted Jake to herself, she’d have had to have arrived before the demoness: an impossibility. If the demoness hadn’t been willing to share, she’d have been doomed to be the third wheel until Jake relieved her from her service, or, she’d never have showed up and a Centaur Paladin would be in her place, apparently. Because there’s just no way Jake would dump the demoness; their bond as familiar and summoner being too close, short of her committing a crime most unacceptable.

Since she was stuck with the demoness, she’d just have to look on the bright side. If the demoness was telling the truth, something special would happen as a result of Jake being a summoner whose bonds were full of love. That they would be stronger and happier together, rather than alone. That even if they wouldn’t all be her children, there’d be many little Jakes running around later, something that she herself could never give him.

The truth is, valkyries would often end up sharing their men, as they could never birth a son. Right or wrong, warriors were a type of people that desired strong sons the most: something that a valkyrie can’t even give them, and yet warriors were who valkyries were attracted to the most. That didn’t mean that they all accepted it, or that it wasn’t hard for them, though. She had heard that selecting their chosen would help with this, but she didn’t know for sure.

Ever since that first kiss with Jake and her bond improving the other day during their celebration, she could feel his lust and other emotions pouring over the bond just after Jake and Fhesiah entered their room for the night. Those feelings also wake her up in the morning, just how lustful is that girl? On some level, she was jealous that it wasn’t her in there with Jake, but on another, she knew that she was not yet ready for that. She had barely ever thought of herself loving a man romantically, and she desired romance before taking that step, just like in the stories she’d read growing up. She was ecstatic when Jake declared that he would make her happy: that he was going to pursue her in earnest, as weird as the whole situation felt.       

It all comes down to her desire for family. Her family was ruined, destroyed by otherworldly creatures, creatures that she was fighting just earlier today. Together with Jake and the demoness she would make a new one, one that would weather the storm of the outsiders, and to avenge and protect those that have suffered at their hands. Jake was resolved to fight on the battlefield and stop them, to prevent more broken homes if he can, while forming and supporting a family of his own. She desired to follow her chosen into battle and obtain glory, and to protect a family of her own. The demoness was part of that family, and as long as Fhesiah continued showing that she earnestly desired her to be with them, Ophelia felt like she could fight her own jealousy. She would do her best to try to believe that Fhesiah was her sister, and that she cared for her in her own way.

With that thought, she prayed. She vowed that she would wield her blade in the name of her goddess, Hestia. She would fight against the outsiders to protect her home, and the homes of others. She would give herself to the flames, to protect her family and those that could not protect themselves. And when the battle was won, she would help rebuild, in any way that she could. She would cherish her family and others. That she would risk her life to protect Jake’s, her family.

Ophelia felt a burning, but not painful, sensation in her chest; a fire ignited. Her spinning core ignited like a star, and she could feel the love and warmth within it. A hearth of her own, that would never be extinguished, powered by the love, affection, and desire to protect her family, and to wield her blade against those that would tear down her homes and others. She basked in the feeling of her core, her own hearth, until she heard a voice.

“My, how rare to receive an oath from the fringe, and such an earnest one. It was nice of you to invite me to your [Refuge], and with such a rare invite it would be just too rude of me not to accept.”

Ophelia looked up from where she was knelt in front of the altar, and saw a beautiful woman with flaming red hair. Hestia took the place of her statue; she was here, in the flesh.

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