Chapter 1


Asgard came upon them with its usual brightness, sucking a trio wreathed in sadness from the rubble of New York and into the city. The Tesseract brought them in, its power hungry and intense.

Ava did not remember much about arriving back. She knew she was still injured, she knew Loki was taken away in chains and that she was put under guard as healers tended to her wounds. Thor had vanished and once again she had been alone. It had felt different that time though; it had not been so lonely.

Her parents had come quickly, her father's voice booming in its low tones as he questioned her, as he asked what she had been thinking. Her mother just stood there; she was unable to do anything, unable to wade into the sea to save her child, unable to comprehend her anymore.

Ava had stayed silent. The healers had lulled her into a deep sleep and removed a few pieces of armour fragment that remained embedded in her side. They sewed her shut and left her with a small, neat little scar. It was the only token she had of New York; of Loki's fall, of his betrayal. He had betrayed her, left her alone in the dark and the cold; in a place where she remained with naught but the brief glimmers of light she had seen in him.

The blonde was given a week to recover and then she was taken before Odin with a cohort of guards. They did not believe her story about how she got to Midgard. Dark Elves had not been seen on Asgard for some time. But of two things Ava was certain: She owed a Dark Elf a favour, and perhaps she had not thought on his origins as her heart had blindly led her after more pain.

Odin put it down to mind control. He put it on Loki. Another burden for the God of Mischief to carry. Ava had opened her mouth to argue but was stopped by a hand on her arm. By Frigga's touch. The woman's gaze was kind, and in it was something familiar. There was another woman who believed in Loki's light, who had hope. Maybe she was not so alone after all.

But Ava had still broken the laws of Asgard in running off to Earth, in riding the dark magic that had sent Thor off, in defying the All Father. The woma stood before Odin with this knowledge and waited.

The columns of the room seemed like giants with eyes, the throne its own force that wheeled around the one who sat on it. Armour gleamed as the guards stood tall, and the eyes of Thor were silent. He did not defend her, just as she did not defend herself. Ava stood in silence and let it grow around her. She stood and waited and ground her teeth on themselves.

"I believe Loki is to blame for your misdeeds." Odin spoke in his strong tones, his voice rolling through the expanse of the room with a familiar ease. "But I also believe you knew, at least partially, what you were doing. I cannot excuse such a matter. You are denied visitation rights to the dungeon where your lover is kept, you may not see him ever again, and you are to be put under constant surveillance. Frigga has offered to supervise you; you are to remain in her care and to pray her heart can soften yours once more. You shall, until I deem otherwise, go only from your home into my wife's care and back again. You are to do nothing without her consent. You are to see no one without her knowledge. and you are to consider yourself lucky that I do not throw you in the dungeon too, but I have a feeling you would not mind it so much. Your father is my friend and you have disappointed him and your realm. Your days will be spent bettering yourself. You will become what you were."

The All Father eyed the woman before him, her gaze grey and cool like the sea breeze before a storm. She simply nodded, dropped into a respectful curtsey, and turned her attention to Frigga.

Ava had changed, that much was evident. But into what…no one was sure. She had so many questions buzzing through her head, so many shards of glass piecing into her heart. She was in that darkness, in the inky black, but she was not lost nor blind anymore.

The blonde's expression softened a little at the sight of her father, the slight red rim around her eyes making itself apparent as she left the throne room.

"Am I to have no peace?" Her voice was soft and low, the tones as gentle as a summer's day. "Am I to find no rest?"

"That was lenient." Her mother mentioned dryly. "The All Father has been kind."

"No, The All Father has been a King. He has not been kind. That is the difference between kings and men."

"And what is the difference between men who would be king and the king himself?"

Ava turned her gaze to the woman who had born her, who had saved her. She let her hand fit against the fingers of her mother's "Ambition is not an abomination, mother."

The blonde had become harder, she had become detached. Loki was in prison and she not allowed to see him; not even for closure, not to talk, not to say all the unsaid things that lingered between them. Her thumb ran over the underside of the black ring she wore, its lightness a reminder of why she had given the stone to him and its colour an ironic foreshadowing. It felt like it had been so long ago, like an eternity had passed between them with her clinging to him and he waiting for her to find him.

She felt that he must have been so lonely in that darkness. So cold. So raw. And now…he remained there but at least he was home. Ava glanced up at some girls as they wandered through the hallways of Asgard's palace, their eyes purposefully staying from her and their whispers evident. Ava had become isolated, a traitor. They saw her as dark when she had only ever been light. Maybe that was what it was like to be Loki.

Frigga stepped in the way of Ava's gaze, breaking it with her easy smile. "I hope you are not upset. I tried to get you the best outcome."

The blonde blinked and looked to the queen of Asgard. "You did well. I thank you greatly. But I still hold to my word – a dark elf sent me, not Loki. Going to Midgard was my doing and he should not be punished for it."

"The dark elves have been gone for hundreds of years, Ava." Frigga mentioned softly.

"Maybe not all of them. If one can get into Asgard and trick me, then surely it is being done elsewhere. There is always darkness stirring. Always. There are always things we don't see."

Frigga's expression softened and she took Ava's hand between her own. "Come. I have things to show you. Things to teach you."

By no means did the girl think the Queen her captor, or her jailer. Not in the least. Ava thought of her as a mother figure, as someone she could trust, and as someone who also believed in Loki. That belief kept her hope alive, and it kept her heart troubled. She had been broken for that man, broken physically and emotionally and now politically too. There was no resolution, no way to find peace. She missed him, the man she had known, and in her heart that love was still there. But love…as true as it is, cannot conquer all. There has been more, and it has to be mutual, and that story has to have no end; not a happy one, not a sad one, but an infinity of continuation, a circle that never broke.

Ava followed Frigga quietly, her own parents watching her figure vanish. She was still fine, svelte, fair. Her hair still light, her eyes soft, her heart gentle. But there was something else. Something there. There was more and less all at once and only time could tell what that would mean.


And now our scene is set. Please dont hesitate to let me know whether or not you enjoyed this chapter and what you would like to see in coming posts.
All constructive criticism is appreciated. :)

Blessings,
P.