5 The Golden Apples

I THINK BRAGI LIKES YOU,” FREYA announced to Idun as they and Skade headed for vine swings too.

“You d-do?” Idun sputtered. She felt a flush spread over her cheeks.

“What?” said Skade, sounding surprised. She cocked her head at Idun, studying her speculatively. “So Bragi’s crushing on you?”

“No way! I barely even know him,” Idun protested, even though she’d been wondering the very same thing. Although she and Bragi hadn’t spoken to each other much before today, it did seem like they were starting to be friends. But more than just friends? No, she decided firmly. That was a silly idea.

Just then Sif came along, carrying her library books. “So? How was the flight?”

“Fantastic!” said Freya.

“Yeah! Wait till you hear,” said Skade. “Loki and Bragi were super impressed. Tell her, Freya.”

Deciding this was a good time to make a getaway, Idun snapped her fingers as if a thought had just come to her. “Hey! Just remembered I’m late for picking my apples to take to the V kitchen. See you all later back at Vingolf!” she called to her friends. Then she scurried over to a nearby branch ladder. Normally, she picked her apples in the early mornings so they’d be fresh and available for meals all day. So what she’d said was true. But she also wanted to avoid further questions about crushes!

With a farewell wave to Sif and the others, Idun climbed down the branch ladder. Once she reached the bottom, she disappeared into a familiar vine tunnel. One that led to the small grove of golden apples that were hers alone to tend.

There was a total of nine trees in the pretty grove, same as the number of worlds protected beneath Yggdrasil’s branches. She walked among the trees, relaxed by the whispering sound their leaves made in greeting. She lifted her fingers to brush against those leaves, her way of greeting them back.

Every day, each of these trees produced nine perfect, magical golden apples. Eighty-one apples in all. Plucking them from the trees was a task that only she could do. Because if anyone else—even Odin himself—were to so much as just touch one of the apples while it still clung to a tree, the apple would shrivel and disappear in a puff of smoke. Poof! However, when Idun picked an apple, it would remain firm and juicy and sweet for days or even years—until it was eaten.

Stopping to stand at the center of her apple grove, Idun pulled a tiny wooden box called an eski from the pocket of her hangerock. When she gave her eski a shake and set it on the ground, it quickly expanded from the size of a single ice cube into a box large enough to hold today’s crop of apples. This magical wooden box made of ash wood went with her everywhere. Though it was now as tall as her knees and wide enough that she could’ve sat inside it, it could be folded to pocket-size again (much like the ship Skidbladnir) when not in use.

“Okay, time to get to work,” Idun murmured to her trees. She reached up for an apple, gave it a twist, and pulled at an angle. This was the proper way to pluck an apple. Snap! It broke free of the tree. She set the apple gently into her eski. Some of the apples grew so high that they were out of reach. No problem. As she approached each tree, its branches gracefully bent lower to allow her to pick its apples without need of a ladder.

Tug, twist, toss. Tug, twist, toss. In no time the eski was full. As always, Idun thanked her trees for their apples and uttered a chant that would keep the trees healthy, strong, and productive even during the long Nordic winters.

“Despite cold and snow,

May you prosper and grow.

Despite ice and sleet,

May your apples be sweet.”

Ready to leave now, she gave her apple-heavy eski a tap. Instantly sled runners dropped from the bottom of it so it could easily glide over snow and ice. When she bent to push the eski from behind, the trees sighed and swayed, waving goodbye. Idun waved back. Then she was off to deliver the apples to the V kitchen staff.

She was halfway to the Valhallateria when her apples gave her an idea. An idea for a good deed she and Loki could do together. If she could get him to agree, he would be helping others. And, fingers crossed, his helpful act would improve his reputation and also make him feel good!

Excited about her idea, Idun pushed her eski faster and faster over the snowy ground. She couldn’t wait to suggest it to Loki. But then she remembered that he had gone hiking with Bragi and Honir. Drat. All fired up about her good deed idea, she wished she could share it with Loki right now. But it would keep.

When she came upon a downward sloping hill, she stepped to stand on the back end of the eski ’s runners. The cold air made her gasp as the eski whipped down the slope, with her perched behind it. Wondering how the boys’ mountain trek was going, she zoomed toward the V with her apples. Whee!