Chapter 37 - Jackson

After Jackson had told Clarissa everything, she didn’t know what to call him. “Just call me Jackson,” he said. “That’s who I am now.”

For three days, Jackson had been sharing a bed with only Clarissa. Alyssa was away at camp, and Marissa had been spending the nights at Helga’s apartment while her wife, Gertrude, was away on a business trip. Things weren’t so bad, Clarissa brought Jackson everywhere she went. They went shopping, to restaurants, and even saw a couple of theater plays. Jackson didn’t have to pay for anything since the Valkyries saw him as their new king. But he did want to repay them somehow. So, with Sigrun’s permission, Jackson changed the landscape of the Valkyrie realm. The islands no longer floated among a sea of clouds. Now, the islands were actuall islands on a sea of water. Which meant, Clarissa needed a bathing suit.

At a store that sold bathing suits, which was packed, Jackson was with Clarissa as she tried on every bathing suit she could grab. She wanted him to pick between the two she had settled on, which were a two piece white bikini, and a very complicated looking black one piece. She ultimately decided to get both.

While Clarissa was getting dressed, Jackson took the bathing suits to the front to have them scanned and taken off the store’s inventory list. As the teenage girl behind the register, janice, handed him the bag, Jackson spotted Marissa and Helga shopping for bathing suits. Marissa was laughing and talking, and not the quiet person he thought she was. Jackson managed to get Clarissa out of the store before she could see Marissa.

After a day at the beach, Jackson and Clarissa had a night out with Sigrun. They had a nice dinner, at a classy restaurant, and then went home. Before bed, Jackson checked on Clarissa, and found her in bed asleep next to Helga. But something didn’t feel right. Jackson checked on Gertrude, and found her quietly tiptoeing her way to the bedroom. In a rush, Jackson teleported into Helga’s bedroom, grabbed Marissa, and teleported back to Clarissa’s room. Needless to say, Clarissa wasn’t happy that Jackson saved her. “You should have left her there!” She yelled at him before storming out of the house.

Later that night Jackson found out that it wasn’t Clarissa’s room they had been sleeping in, it belonged to all three of them. They apparently shared everything. Which even included, cloths, and baths. Alyssa and Marissa took a bath together, and came back wrapped in towels. Marissa got dress and jumped in bed next to Jackson, but not before Jackson told her the same story he told Clarissa. She kissed him softly on the cheek and fell right to sleep. Before Clarissa went to sleep, she asked him something that must’ve been weighing on her ever since he told her his story. “How do you love someone that can be so unfaithful? Helga cheated on Rissa any chance she got. With our friends, her instructors, it was like it didn’t mean anything to her. You don’t know how many times I found Rissa hiding in here, crying, because she had just walked in on Helga with another woman, again! How can you love someone like that? Even after all they did to you, It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“It does to me,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Then, will you please explain it to me.”

“It’s because sex isn’t better than love.”

Jackson told Clarissa how happy Marissa looked when she was with Helga. “You should have seen her,” he said with a small smile as he pulled the comforter up over Marissa.

“You still love her, don’t you? Even now, after knowing full well that she’s been sleeping with your bestfriend for years.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Jackson spent the next few days trying to coax Marissa out of bed. When she refused, or didn’t say anything, he picked her up, carried her outside, and threw her in pool. That day, Jackson, and the girls, went to visit the next graduating class at the academy. He sparred with a couple of them, and promised that if there was a battle, they would be the first he called upon.

When they arrived at the house, a set of bags were in the girl’s room that weren’t there when they left. Clarissa got excited and ran outside. Marissa, grabbed her spear, and followed her. “You do know It’s Alyssa, right?”

“Yeah,” she said with a saddening look.

“What’s with the spear then?”

“I know my sister.”

Out in the backyard, Alyssa and Clarissa were hugging over what Jackson assumed was the pool, but it was covered, and gym mats were placed over it. When they reached the gym mat covered pool, Marissa kicked off her sandals and stepped onto it. She went to the far side of the mat, opposite of Alyssa, and started to stretch.

As Jackson stepped closer to Alyssa, he could see that she was different. She was covered in black armor, but wore nothing on her arms. Her hair was cut to a practical length, and she had a tattoo of a skull and shield on her right arm.

When Jackson was next to them, Alyssa stopped hugging Clarissa and greeted him. “Jackson,” she said with a smile.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Do what?” Clarissa asked. When she seen Marissa at the other end of the mat, she stormed off and yelled, “If she breaks your leg again, don’t come to me for help!”

Alyssa stood on one side of the mat, clad in thick, yet mobile, armor, and Marissa stood at the the other, wearing a knee length sundress with a spear in her hand. “Don’t you wanna go and put your armor on?” Alyssa asked.

“No, but let me take my dress off first,” Marissa responded. “Clary, just bought it for me, and she’ll be mad if get blood on it.”

Marissa took of her sundress, folded it neatly, and placed it at her feet. Now all she wore was a sports bra and a pair of spandex shorts. “Don’t be stupid! How is this supposed to be a fair fight if don’t have any protection?”

“Your first mistake was thinking this was ever going to be a fair fight.”

Alyssa folded her hands behind her back in confidence. Jackson realized that this was first time he would see any of the girls fight. Marissa suddenly took off into a run, and with a slight leap, threw her spear at Alyssa. In that moment, as Marissa’s spear hurtled through the air, Jackson realized that fight was over before it started. Alyssa, feeling some need to prove how much better she was, caught spear mid flight. “Second mistake!” Marissa growled as she closed the distance between them, and gave Alyssa a huge uppercut to the left armpit.

Alyssa dropped the spear, but not because she suddenly had to defend against an onslaught of punches from Marissa, but because her arm had fallen limply to her side. Alyssa was fast, even with the use of only her right arm, but not as fast Marissa. Marissa gave Alyssa another earth shattering uppercut, and stumbled backwards. Then, in one fluid motion, Marissa kicked Alyssa in the back of her right knee, and as she went down, Marissa caught her in a headlock. “Your second mistake was thinking, that because I’m not wearing any armor, you had some sort of advantage over me.” Marissa tightened her grip around Alyssa’s throat. “Your third mistake was actually catching the spear. Never take your eyes off your opponent, no matter what they throw at you.”

When Alyssa started turning blue, Marissa let her go. She doubled over and started to cough. When she caught her breath, she started to cry. Marissa sat down next to her and patted her on the back. Marissa started to smile when she said, “You know, back when we were in the academy, I had classes in the mornings, and training all afternoon with aunt Gunnr and Hildr. I had almost no time to myself, and even less for Helga. I didn’t particularly care about becoming a warrior. All I wanted to do was paint, and have sex with Helga any chance I got. But, I could see how happy mom was that I was doing so good, and Clary treated me like her own personal hero. You treated me like some obstacle, and challenged me to some kind of contest every time I had a second to myself. There was a point where I hadn’t saw Helga in over a month, and that was when she started seeing other people. Apparently she thought I was avoiding her. Our relationship was very rocky, and it didn’t help Clary told mom. When she wasn’t allowed over anymore, she broke up with me. But more importantly, the other day, when I went to see her, she told me that if I had asked to come with us when we left, she would have yes in a heartbeat. But, now It’s too late, because she’s married to a woman she loves, and has their first child on the way.”

Marissa’s eyes reddened, and filled with tears, but she didn’t cry. “All I’ll have is those few days with her. And they were the best days of my life. But you can still get better and achieve your goals. During our fight your final mistake was thinking that because your not an alpha I’m instantly better than you. At the academy they trained you to fight like a warrior. Aunt Gunnr and Hildr trained me to fight like a queen.”

Marissa got up, picked up her spear, then her dress and sandals, and went inside the house. “That’s the most I’ve ever heard her say,” Alyssa said.

Jackson gave her a hand up and said, “Come on, let’s go home.”