Hel felt a tug, something deep within her. It was a kind of tug she had never felt before. It was a tug that felt like a child’s hand in her own, leading her someplace to show her something. Hel paused, mid sentence, tilting her head to one side, feeling that tug and wondering.
Once, a long time ago, her mother and father had warned her that she might be summoned. Or perhaps her mother had said that her presence would be requested. But she had been a young and carefree child then and had hardly listened with any degree of seriousness. It had seemed a silly and impossible notion then. And yet, here she was, something tugging at her, asking her to come along for a visit.
Hel looked at her subjects, moving to stand. “Forgive me,” she told their upturned faces. “I must leave you, but we shall return to this subject when I return.” She nodded and without a word more, she let the tug guide her through time and space, following roads she could not pass under normal circumstances.
She could feel herself start to materialize. It was a bit of a tingling feeling in her toes that started up her legs, through her torso into her arms and then her neck and head. In one blink she was standing in an unfamiliar room. She looked around her, taking as much of it in as she could. Her eyes swept across the boy who was not really a boy. Her eyes swept over the room and to the offering that was left. Tea was always a gift Hel was happy to receive.
“You know me well,” she commented lightly, moving toward the offering to see if the kettle was warm. There were two cups. “Shall I make you a cup?” she asked, turning to look at the being. They were not a boy, that much was clearly written on their soul. But perhaps one was easier than three.
“Tell me, are you called by one name, or by three?” she asked, making the tea into two cups without waiting for an answer to her previous question. She would certainly drink both if the other was not wanted. “I should not wish to be impolite as you have left a kind offering.” She did not get offerings as much as she had once. It was certainly appreciated.