The Throne I Left

Johan opened his eyes to the sun blinding a hole in his vision. He threw an arm over his face with a groan and rolled over in the bed.

Wait. In the bed?

He sat up with a frown and looked around only to meet his own eyes in the very randomly placed mirror hanging on the wall by the door. For a long moment he groggily stared at himself.

Oh, he looked so bad. Ugh.

His light brown, curly hair was messed up from sleeping and stuck out everywhere leaving his red eyes unhidden to show off the huge dark circles under them.

He licked his lips and tasted salt as he ran a hand down his disgustingly sweaty face and tried to wipe some sleep out of his eyes.

The memories of last night came back to him as he sat there. He groaned and let his head fall into his hands. What a mess he had gotten himself into.

For a long moment he just sat there. Then slowly he started to brush through his hair with his hands. He yawned and looked around to see the aftermath of last night.

Luckily he didn’t have that many things so it didn’t look too bad. His cloak was laying in a heap by the bed and his backpack was on its front spilling all his stuff out across the floor. Yet his shoes were neatly put away by the door.

Somehow he had managed to get to the inn, though he couldn’t remember doing it. A flash of blooming flowers flashed across his mind, petals raining around him as the earth shook.

“The last day of winter.” His voice was raspy from sleep and he cleared his throat.

The start of Spring. Tomorrow. Damn it. What was he going to do about that? How was he even going to get into Heaven? How was he going to get them out?

For a second he entertained the idea of leaving them, letting himself stay in his safe little bubble where all he had to do was go on adventures and enjoy the world. But he quickly threw it away.

He sighed deeply. The panic from yesterday had settled down somewhat overnight, however now it was coming back at full speed.

He swallowed, a stray breath coming out as a wheeze. He looked at his reflection in the mirror.

“Ok.” He decided. “First things first. Breakfast.”

No good ideas were ever made on an empty stomach.

It didn’t take long to find the food stalls, nor did it take long for him to find something he wanted to eat. He had taken a moment to wash his face before leaving, but soon he was sitting on some stairs, eating as he watched the street ahead. Somehow it was even busier than yesterday, people in costume were hurrying around and children were running around with their faces painted.

He took a bite of his sandwich.

The first course of action would be to get into Heaven. But how was he supposed to do that?

The entrances he knew about were guaranteed to have changed in four years. There was only one entrance that stayed permanently, and that one was heavily guarded, only deities and merchants with the right permit were allowed in. There was no way Johan would be able to get in without help, though he didn't exactly have people breaking down his door to help him either, really the opposite was more true.

Too bad he wouldn’t find any merchant with permits here. He doubted any of the sellers in Solstad needed any extra change. He eyed the wealthy family passing by. There was no lack of those in the city.

Wait. Wealthy?

A thought struck him. Erika had been selling here for decades, but it only just became lucrative. Maybe she knew someone from the years before?

He quickly left for her booth.

Johan paused for a second when he saw her. He would have to be subtle about this. She was just finishing with a customer when he approached.

“Hey, Erika!” He called over the crowd, waving at her.

“Young man!” Erika smiled brightly when she saw him and leaned away from the big bowl she was stirring in. “Already back for more?”

“Yes” He grinned and pulled out a couple coins from his pocket. “Can I get two svele?”

“Coming right up!” She turned back to the bowl and Johan saw the thin, gold chain hanging around her neck and disappeared down the dress. Good idea, if the fairies couldn’t see it they wouldn’t be tempted to steal it.

“You’ve been selling here for a long time right?” Johan started. “How was it here before then?”

“Oh, the markets have always been here.” Erika said as she worked. “The docks too, but less people. And I did make a profit, young man, otherwise I would have had to do something else. I did pretty well back then too! Still, some earned more than me of course.”

“Oh, really? Who was that?” Johan quickly asked.

“Well, some would travel. Bringing big carts of food and wares and anything that sold, far, far away. Those usually earned the most, but inside the city, those that sold fish were the wealthiest. Still are.”

Far, far away, huh. It seemed like she knew something. She continued before he could ask anything else though.

“Are you thinking about giving up adventuring?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. “I do know there are some booths available by the docks now, if you want to pick up a trade.”

The cogs in his brain stopped turning for a second. “...no. I’m just curious.”

Erika gave him a knowing smile.

“Just let me know.”

Johan was not going to become a fisher. “Who were the travelers, do they still sell there?”

“No, they were much older than me.” Erika laughed.

“Oh.” Johan faltered. Well, they were dead. Shit, what was he going to do then?

“Are you ready for the festival?”

“What?” Johan broke out of his thoughts.

“It’ll be starting soon.” Erika continued and flipped the last of the svele.

“Is it really such a big deal?” Johan asked as he saw the merchants around them starting to pack up.

“Of course! You never see this many people here outside of it! People from far and near come here to celebrate the end of winter and gain the favor of the Jotun!”

“It's religious?” Johan asked curiously, he had never heard of it before. Erika leaned closer.

“It’s more like an excuse.” She made a show of hiding her mouth behind her hand and winked at him as she drew back. “Quite a few believe the Jotun of Life will bless their fields and harvests. Most religious people celebrate from their own villages however, so taking the trip here is all for the experience. And it’s no secret that the Jotun are already gone and have been for years! Though most refuse to believe it. Some come to pray for their future children, no living children have been born for four years yet they still hope they will be the exception.” She handed him a package folded in brown paper, hot in his hand.

“A reasonable hope.” Johan says.

“A futile hope.” Erika shot back. “No babies are born and no old people die. That won’t be fixed overnight.”

“When you have nothing else to lose and all that.” Johan said, waving a hand dismissively and putting a piece of svele in his mouth.

Erika snorted and continued working. “They are stupid, I would think.”

“Could be.” Johan mused and looked around them. People dressed up in bright and formal clothing, their faces covered in face paint and masks, were starting to fill into the street. “You don’t seem concerned.”

“I am an old lady, I have seen a lot of this world. Nothing surprises me anymore. Now go, the festival will be starting soon.” Erika said and shooed him away.

Already? Johan looked up into the sky. Well actually, the sun was starting to go down, maybe it wasn’t that early.

He opened his mouth but before he could say anything Erika slapped a lid on one of the buckets of batter and continued speaking. “There will be large wagons and carts with performances and live music starting as soon as the sun goes down.”

“Oh, so that's why there was someone playing fele in the street yesterday.” Johan said absentmindedly. He needed to find a different way to get into Heaven, he didn’t have time to be at a stupid festival. Maybe he could sneak in past the…

“Yes, Frey always gathers a crowd when he plays.”

Johan froze.

“Frey?!” Johan asks, his head snapped back to Erika, his eyes wide. It couldn’t be that Frey, could it? Was he here? Did Erika know him? Was this a trick?!

"Yes,” Erika looked at him in surprise from where she was packing up. “Have you heard of him?”

Johan frowned and looked away, trying to appear nonchalant as he felt himself tense up, eyes flickering over the crowd as if the blonde would suddenly appear from it. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, feeling the ribbons snake down his forearms. “I’ve heard the name before.”

“What a sweet boy.” Erika said. “He's always here for the festivals, you know. He really is an artist! He always comes a few days before any event, lighting up the market with beautiful music all the way until it starts. If there's a party you can bet he'll be there!"

Erika laughed, a deep bellowing sound that at any other point would have made Johan join her, now though, he just felt sick.

Seems Frey had made a reputation for himself amongst the mortals.

"Oh.” Johan said bitterly. He hadn’t found a merchant, but it seemed like he had stumbled upon someone even better. It seemed he had found his way into heaven.

This could either go really bad or really well.

“I should get going,” Johan said, a fake smile plastered on his face. “Get ready for tonight and all that.”

“Enjoy your night!” Erika yelled after him as he left through the crowd.

He scanned the crowd as he walked, his eyes catching on every short blonde he passed. Frey was in the city, but where?

He had walked halfway to the docks by the time he realized running through the city trying to find one specific person was stupid. His head snapped up in frustration. There was still some time left before the sun would go down, but the chance of finding Frey before that was small. Especially if he was inside any of the buildings and not in the streets.

He stopped and listened, but couldn’t hear the fele. Really, the only thing he could hear was the crowd. It was filled to the point where it became hard to even walk in a straight line.

“Where would Frey be?” He muttered to himself as he continued walking down the street. He hit his head lightly with one hand. “Think, Johan!”

Frey had always liked being the center of attention. Now, in a huge city like this, where would that be?

Oh. Then realization hit him.

Erika said there would be huge, rolling wagons and carriages through the city. That was it! Johan would bet anything on Frey being right on top of one.

Johan looked around. That meant he wouldn’t be able to find Frey before dark, but if Johan remembered him correctly, Frey would not be hard to spot once it all started. And if Johan could make Frey recognize him, it would be very easy to get him alone. Even if there was someone else with him, that idiot would be very easy to lead away.

Well, all he could do now was to wait.

Johan started his walk down the streets again, this time much more relaxed now that he had a plan.

He didn’t get to walk far though. Within a couple steps he caught his eye on something, and with a quick gasp, he leaped into the alley.

Back flat against the wall, he snuck a look around the corner, ignoring the looks of people that walked by. On the other side of the street, right in front of a seemingly annoyed seller, stood the giant from yesterday. Johan really didn’t want to get pulled into another aggressive request for help.

For a second he was about to leave through the alley into the next street, but for some reason he stayed, watching the interaction. Johan saw the giant’s tense back and the disheartened sigh as he turned around, taking a couple steps back as another customer came forth. He shook his head lightly, staring down at something. Johan stretched his neck and a gap in the crowd let him see the giant’s hand, something gold glinting from it.

A strange feeling grew in his chest as the giant slowly turned and walked away towards the docks, head hanging.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was by the booth. Johan frowned as he saw what they sold. Flour.

For a second Johan stood there, glaring down at the table. He shook his head with a deep sigh. The giant’s village was none of his concern.

That strange feeling grew larger though, spreading through his chest, and Johan clenched his hands. He remembered after he first left Heaven, no money and no experience working. He wandered and did odd jobs for months before he started adventuring. Food had been sparse at that time. He had even taken to eating bark to fill his stomach in the times where the money wasn’t enough. And the thing about bark was that it was filling, but in the end it was about the same as drinking water.

He closed his eyes and bit his lip in annoyance. Finally he gave a deep sight and glared at the seller.

“How much for everything?” Johan asked. The seller frowned at him for a long second, distracted from his other customer, and Johan cleared his throat in annoyance. “I said. How much for everything?”

“I have about 50 kg left-” The seller started, confused.

“Money,” Johan said. “How much money for it all?”

When the seller scrambled for an answer Johan dug in his backpack until he found one of the money bags. He threw it on the table. “I'll take it all.”

The seller stared in shock as the bag spilled out gold coins. Shaky hands grabbed the bag, clearly in shock, before a smile spread on his lips. “Thank-”

“For the giant.” Johan interrupted and watched as the man faltered slightly, glancing in the direction of the docks. “Yep, that giant. Go on after him. I’ll know if you don’t.”

Johan flashed his eyes at the man.

The merchant flinched back and quickly nodded. Hands still holding the bag of money, he turned and ran after the big man.

Johan huffed.

He knew nothing about how much flour cost, but money wasn’t something he lacked. After nearly four years of working and earning from quests and hunts and only spending on necessities, he had more money in his backpack than he knew to use.

Johan left in the other direction.

The sun was quickly going down now but it was still setting when guards suddenly flooded into the street and started clearing people away from the middle.

Johan startled when loud horns started blaring, quickly followed by cheering from everyone around him. In the distance he could see bright colors appearing as the sun disappeared over the mountain and the first wagon came in sight.

His jaw dropped.

It was beautiful. A big, gold throne stood on a raised platform in the middle, towering over the dancers moving around it. Flowers in all shades of purple covered the floor they stood on and the dancers threw out pedals as they danced, dressed in sheer, black fabrics that floated in the air with their movements.

Johan raised his eyebrows at the sight. Then pinched his lips together and looked away as that bitter feeling came back.

He didn’t pay much attention to the other wagons as they passed by. They all played loud music, each more colorful and beautiful than the last, and each depicting a different deity, but Johan didn’t care for any of them.

Then, about halfway through the show, Johan saw him. Instead of mules, like the rest of the carts were pulled by, this wagon one was pulled by oxes, their horns threatening to stab whoever came too close as they stomped through the streets. Beautiful women in long dresses were dancing but Johan only had eyes on the fele player.

Despite his disguise, Johan instantly knew it was him. His blonde hair was hidden under a black hood with long bunny ears hanging from it. A black mask depicting a large grin covered his lower face and it was all so, so familiar, but the most recognizable thing about him though, was his personality.

Frey was playing with his whole body, jumping around on the platform and raising the mood with his everlasting energy. As the girls danced, he brought everyone’s attention to himself. People cheered as he played each note perfectly, putting his all into his performance.

And then it stopped.

Red eyes met blue and Frey flinched back, his fele making a horrible screeching noise as he startled back, his voice cut off mid-cheer. For a long moment he stood frozen, wide eyes only focused on Johan.

The blonde took a step forward- then seemed to realize where he was. Within a second the fele was back at his chin and he started playing again. But even as the parade moved down the street, Johan could feel the eyes on him, all the way until the wagon disappeared out of sight and the next tok its place.

It didn’t last long, but it was enough. Frey had seen him.

Johan turned around and left. He wouldn’t be alone for long.