An aging overweight man who plays too much online gaming receives a gift from Freya, the
goddess of love, lust, beauty, sorcery, fertility, gold, war and death.

Freya's Gift

Chapter 7: Putting the Pieces Together

Tuesday:

I woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated. The sun is just peaking over the trees on the far side of the lake casting long shadows into the bedroom. I look at Katie and get the sense of some difference, but can't place it. I pass it off as a trick of the sunlight striking her face, looking like an angel.

She stirs slightly and stretches her arms and asks "What time is it?" Still with her eyes closed.

"It's still early 'Baby Bear', go back to sleep, I'm going for a run."

She sighs contentedly and drowsely mumbles, "ok 'Momma Bear'." With that she is back asleep. Katie has always been a night owl and hates rising early.

Grabbing up a sports bra, yoga pants and socks and shoes, I head to the bathroom to change. Leaving the dirty clothes in the laundry hamper in the closet with the extra towels next to the shower. I head for the kitchen and put on a pot for tea, I've always used a Mr Coffee for my tea brewing, it's so much easier that way. I know a lot of people love coffee, but not me. While I do love the smell of fresh brewed coffee, the taste is just plain vile. You can't add enough sweetener or creamer to make it palatable. With that covered I head outside to the warming rays of sunshine. I figured I would still do 3 laps around the lake, not rush myself and just enjoy it, taking in the grandeur of the Willamette valley.

As I run, I can feel the way my body moves now. How my breasts bounce to my step, and how my butt jiggles and sways. While it's odd for being so new, they are in their own way pleasant and comforting. As a man, I had always marveled at the female form, women, all women, were beautiful. Each in their own way of course. Some women had physical beauty, some had beautiful minds. Some had personallities to lighten your soul. But they were all beautiful.

On my second lap, at the point farthest away from the cabin, I noticed noises coming from a small glen where the water exited gently from the lake. My ears were very good at picking up small sounds that would normally go unnoticed. Zeroing in on the noises, I look down into the glen and notice a hunter stalking an elk. This is nothing unusual, except it wasn't elk season, and elk numbers are so small in this part of the state that they are protected.

So this must be a poacher. Now poaching wild game is always bad in general, it is certifiably heinous on a protected species trying to recover from the verge of being wiped out as a local sub-species. I could see as he sneaking closer to that magnificent creature with large antlers that he was carrying a rifle equipped with a military grade silencer. It would make less noise than bb gun would make from 100yds.

Without thinking I yelled out at him "Stop where you are and put the gun down, I'm a park ranger and you're hunting a protected animal." My voice carried to him clearly, nearly a 150yds away. The elk instantly jumped up from drinking at the creeks side and dashed away, leaving a very angry poacher turning to look in my direction. It took him a while to spot me as I made my my towards him into the glen.

As I neared him he sneared at me and said, "Now why would I put my gun down, you're all alone here and unarmed. Why, I could shoot you now and no one would ever know. And IF they ever found your body, I will have been long gone, leaving no trace."

I smiled sweetly back at him as I got even closer, "And what makes you think you could get away with what you just said."

He sneers again "Well, in the last five years I've poached in this park no one who caught me has lived to tell the tale."

I gave him my best suger grin and said "Yet!"

"You're awfully brave for an unarmed and out of uniform ranger."

"And WHO said I was unarmed?" With that I concentrated on the move from the game causing to draw and reload, kind of like Chuck Conners in the old western show 'The Rifleman'. As I do this my clothes change to become my armor from the game too, and I say "Say hello to my little friend," in my best Scarface impression.

Dropping his gun so fast, he falls back trying to put distance between us. "Who... what the hell are you? Where did that canon come from?"

"What, this little thing, I had it in my back pocket."

"You didn't have any pockets, you were wearing yoga pants I saw them, they were bright green and and you had on a white tank top over a green sports bra." He turned to run and I told him to stop or I'd shoot. He didn't listen, so, I fired a single manna missle, causing a small concussion to go off knocking him to the ground dazed. As I walk over to his unconscious body. The missle leaving no signs of having been fired, no scorched dirt or casing. I wonder at that, I notice my lack of thought has caused the weapon to vanish and my clothes to return to normal.

I dragged his lousy ass back to the cabin, where still stunned, I hand-cuffed him to deck railing after getting some from my work Ranger vehicle. Then I radioed the park headquarters for someone to come get this guy. Thirty minutes later and a car shows up with lights flashing and siren blaring, Katie comes out to the deck with a robe over her nightie barefoot.

Taking it all in "What happened aunt Freya? Who is this guy?"

"He's a poacher I caught on the other side of the lake trying to shoot an elk with this snipper rifle". With that the car pulls to a stop beside me and two rangers in crisp uniforms step out.

The driver's uniform shows he's a captain and the name pin below his badge says Parker. He introduces himself "I'm Capt. Parker, and you must be my new Ranger, Freya Lawrence," he said that as if there was no question involved.

"That's correct, and you're my new boss. This one up on the deck is my niece Katie McClintock. Well chief, I didn't think I would meet you untill friday."

"Well it seems our friend here has changed all that, we have been after this guy for some time now. He has poached on our park for five years, and two of our fellow Rangers have gone missing. We never even knew what he looked like till now. Good work Freya."

After I recounted what happened on my run, I told him the poacher had admitted to me that he was responsible for the deaths of the missing Rangers. About then the guy fully comes to his senses and starts telling the Captain how I had shot him with some huge canon like weapon wearing armor. Cap looks at me and says "What's he blathering on about?"

I smiled innocently, "I don't know Cap, he must of hit his head when I tripped him trying to get away."

Then Cap said, "Your report can wait till friday when we have our meeting as a matter of formality. Saunders, put the man in the car and lets get back to HQ to book him."

"Sure Cap." Katie and I waved as the Captain and Saunders drove away.

As they crossed the little bridge on to the road, Katie says, "Wow, you've had an eventfull morning so far. Catching a bad guy and meeting your boss earlier than expected." Walking inside and heading for the pot of tea, I pour a big mug for each of us adding sugar free vanilla creamer, we like it the same way, although she prefers coffee.

She sits at the breakfast counter as I prepare breakfast bowls for us, sausage, little pototo cubes and scrambled eggs with bacon bits. As I'm cooking I tell her about my encounter in the woods. She marveled to the news that my weapon and armor appeared as I needed to arrest the poacher. "FREYA did say I would be able to call upon my in game abilities when needed. I already know that I can run extremely fast and I'm much stronger than I would appear, by normal standards." Katie looks at me thoughtfully, then I said, "It must be because I have the genetic traits of the elves of fairytales."

All she could say was, "Amazing."

Then looking at her closely, "Speaking of amazing Katie, you look fantastic, something has changed."

She says, "What's changed? I feel the same as always. Just less tired, like I got a better night of sleep snuggled up next to you." Looking hard at her, somehow I feel like my sight shifts, and it dawns on me. She's glowing, a very soft radiance. Normal eyesight doesn't show it, but my elf senses do.

Then I notice with my human sight that her skin has become more flawless, and her hair a little brighter blonde shade with a hint of ginger. Not quite strawberry blonde but almost. "Katie, your skin and hair are different, and while you can't see it with human eyes, you have a slight glow, what would be called the kiss of fairie."

She rushes to the master bathroom to look in the mirror and gasps, "OMG, aunt Freya you're right, I can see the difference now. But wait, I think I can see the glow you were talking about, just barely, but you too. You shine so brite. What does this mean?"

I wasn't sure, and I never have lied to her, "I have no idea, but I think the goddess also has plans for you!"

With that we both silently whisper 'Praise to FREYA'.

Alone in her palace:

FREYA smiles to herself, "Soon my little one, soon you will know what plans I have for you, for you and your aunt will become the first of a new Valkyries, able to do more than merely chose those who shall die in battle and conduct them to Valhalla. Your roles will be far more significant than as an simple sword maiden. Mark my words!"

End of Chapter 7