Chapter 2 – A Pair of Godly Grudges -

"Loki!"

"I said stay out of this, Thor! This is between Death and me!" The god of cunning and mischief sneered and blocked Death who left his brother's side, Dream, also known as Sandy who changed his swirly golden sand shape into a small friendly and approachable form of a deity of dreams.

"I just wanted to have a closer look at the Frost prince…isn't that distressed you, Lord of Mischief?" Death's sullen dark eyes shifted from the Norns. Standing next to the Norns, daughters of Chronos, Freyja ignored Loki frowning angrily at her. "A bargain is a bargain. The Lady's word is honored amongst the Fates."

"Honored?!"Loki snapped, then he approached her.

"Never seen you cared so much!" The golden haired goddess of love and beauty eyed at Loki. "What would I say Loki, we are now even!"

"Even?! You want to play eternal nasty games with me, you Vanir witch!"

"You started it! And I swear I will finished it!" Freyja did not moved away, stepped closer to Loki for her to whisper near his ear. "You gave me an ugly scar that turned into a gaping endless hole, and it needs to be fed forever, and it's what you called pain." She paused. "Why?! Do you think because I am Love, I am weak and I will never fight back?!"

"You once bit like a tempting snake of pleasures and desires! So it is fitting I have to strike you back all over again and again?!"Loki's eyes slightly blinked as if recalling something between them and shoving it away. "Still holding grudges between us in all eternity?!"

"Between us?! You lying cheating bastard, are you joking?! You sly fox of lies and chaos, who already involved my Snaer descendants with the mayhem and havoc you brewed in Niflheim! Because of your unquenchable jealousy, you deliberately made that Trolden Mirror, and placed a curse upon my descendants who are suffering and are being killed because of the prophecy about one of them who will end the coldness!" Then, she spoke of words of an unseen future. "How I wish I could see the day when a green hulking giant will smash that smug off your face."

"Is that a threat?! Mere words from a scorned woman! But this, I have to say - the Fates never lie! Your monstrous descendant will destroy them." Loki retorted at Freyja who slapped her hand at Loki's face in an unexpected anger, making one of her blue eyes turned green. The surprised god of cunning and mischief stepped back with his widened eyes while his hand touched his cheek where she had slapped him hard.

"You are forgetting, the Norns, are under me. Fates only occur to those living - mortal and immortal! I am Love, Source of Life! I am the giver, and the taker of life. And I will have dominion over death! And I will prove it when she comes! Oh, she will come! And this undying pain you once gave me will be felt by your best prodigy who will never be your heir!"

After spatting out such emotional words, Frejya looked down and stared at the little Winter Prince beside Loki and Thor with her green eye glowing menacingly.

Her last words addressed to the white haired and blue eyed immortal boy. "You remember her, of course, you do. Loki tried to erase the memory of her from you. But he can't. No power would ever do so. For you will always remember and dream of her every time in all eternity - the one you most truly and only love but you will never have her and her love."

Upon hearing her most cruel words as if she had pierced him in the heart again, Loki angrily materialized his ice powers and shot it at Frejya who was protected quickly by the Norns showing their true allegiance to the lady of love and beauty. They produced a powerful shield that returned Loki's ice blasts. Thor's lightning immediately and protectively destroyed the blasts before it would hit him and the immortal boy.

"Freyja, revoke your curse!"Thor shouted in a demanding way, finding it so cruel to bear even by an immortal.

Freyja did not answer remained her eyes at the shocked white haired boy who looked confused and perplexed before her, who is Love.

"I said revoke it!"

"What I give is received….for I am one of the Vanir gods whose words made true."

"Please, Freyja, whatever happened between you and my brother, Loki, it is not just to get the boy involved!" Thor tried to appease the other immortal.

"How many times, do I have to say this, there is nothing between me and that quim!" Loki pointed at Freyja but ceased when Death gave an amused growl of laughter.

"Yeah, before you wedded your wives and mistresses, and surrounded yourself with several lovers…"Death scoffed, crossed his skinny boned arms being covered by his long flowing tattered robes while his six skeletal wings remained folded behind his back.

Loki narrowed his eyes at Death who spoke further ignoring Loki's threatening look since he was used to Loki, proving he was once a close acquaintance.

"I was there!" Death spoke honestly. "Well, of course, before I was Death. I was one of your companions along with my brother, Dream! We escorted you to Vanaheim, the realm of the Vanir immortals, after that tragic consequences regarding the mistrust and the killing of one of our offered hostages to the Vanir side. You were sent by All-Father Odin to settle everything peacefully, but what can I say, you were a troublemaking god who fell in love with the beautiful daughter of the Lord of the Vanir gods, Freyja. You were literally blown off out of your mind when you first saw her and started desiring her who seemed never hesitant in letting you in her room and bed, every day and night! You only returned in your senses when my brother, Dream, sent a message that Thor will be coming since there was no word from you for months! He was ready to wage war with the Vanir to have you back in Asgard. Afterwards, everything begin to settle down with you mediating the two sides, making the three Vanir gods join the Asgardian gods. And all was history."

"You think he was afraid that Thor will wage war with us again and make things worse?!" Freyja guffawed. "He settled things quickly so that Thor will not come there and have me! He's an overbearing, possessive and envious son of a bitch! He was always complaining that Thor always had the best!"

"Oh please! Your vanity never really ceased to amaze me!" Loki sneered at Freyja. "But what could I say, nearly every first age god here had a piece of you, even the dwarves who gave you that precious golden necklace you wore, you cunt!" Loki ceased when Sandy mutedly gestured at them at something. "W-What?!" he controlled his anger, recalling Dream rarely speaks. "Sometimes, I really want to hear your voice but I need to be asleep to do so!" He halted when seeing Death was behind the boy and was whispering at his heir, making Loki alarmed.

Overhearing Death whispering a clue to the little Winter Prince how to get around dark curses made by first age immortals, the lord of mischief shoved him away from the boy.

"Go away you putrid stench!" Loki hissed at Death who just smiled. His smile hidden among the shadows of his hood. "What did you say to him?!"

"I told him to join our side, the side opposing the side where your brother and your ex-flaming desire championed."

Loki doubtful, lowered himself and eyed directly at Jack. "Did he asked you?"

Jack nodded silently as his mind remained always thinking about the girl who he saw in the mirror.

"Is that all?" Loki asked firmly, then suddenly he grabbed his shoulders and shook the boy. "Don't you lie to me now! Remember the time you lied to me and disobeyed me! I told you not to look and draw near the Trolden Mirror when the Vanir temptress placed a counter curse on the heirloom. But you did not listened to me, you impertinent fool, you were making pranks at the time wielding Pooka and stole his egg shaped time powered jewel…"

"And saw and loved her…" The golden goddess of love intruded with a wicked smile while Loki stopped shaking the boy. "You are losing him, Loki…he had fallen in love the moment he saw her, the one who was prophesied that could thaw the coldest ice." Freyja narrowed her eyes at Jack. "Fitting, isn't it?! Your most prided prodigy whom you claimed to be the coldest ice amongst them. The one who will someday rule Niflheim as its most Legendary Winter King." She turned and almost walked away with the Norns.