A/N: Hello… it's been a while. I have nothing to say. No excuses, no nothing. I don't even have a reason for continuing this story. I just saw Thor: Ragnarok for the first time, will hopefully be seeing Infinity War this week, and… the Loki obsession came back! Three years later. I know. Uh, nothing much has really changed, though. Just quick warning note: Ula is now called Vatngard. That's all. Sorry if that's annoying or confusing, but I decided I can't just ignore the theme of the Realm names. Right? Right. So… here we go. Hopefully I can get somewhere with Loki and Genevieve before I lose all my motivation and disappear for 3-5 years again, depending on how you look at it. And if you're new here… by the Nine, I am so sorry. Enjoy~
xxx
Genevieve tore away from the balcony's edge, where she had leaned over and peered upwards to try to get a glimpse of the topmost tower of the palace. She had wanted to see who had sounded the alarm, since the last time it had been heard ringing throughout Vatngard was before the youngest princess was even born. Unable to see far enough, she decided to act rather than attempting to evaluate the situation any further. No one would have rung the bell or lit the beacon if a severe threat had not been imminent. So she began taking pieces of her armor from the racks that they had hung dormant on for so long. Loki's projection watched her, worriedly, as she situated her chest plate and grabbed her silver vambraces. Each of hers and her sisters' were made unique, specifically for them. Genevieve's held engravings of the marine creatures of Vatngard, and varying patterns of fish scales, to symbolize her Aesir gift. When she had fixed them into place, she turned to Loki. "I'm sure it's nothing," she lied.
As soon as the words had finished leaving her lips, Genevieve began to hear the shouts from below. She peered over the balcony once more, in full armor now. There were guards, arming themselves against some imminent threat. There were villagers, scrambling for shelter as the harrowing echoes of the alarm bell still rang out to the people of Vatngard. Rose had never witnessed such chaos among her people. Her entire life, she had only known peace, and though she had trained for as long as she had been physically able, she feared she may not be prepared for a true battle. For this reason, Genevieve prayed to Valhalla and her ancestors that this was just a false alarm.
Loki's figure joined her on the balcony, just in time for Nahlia to soar by. Genevieve could not recall the last time she had laid eyes on her sister's mighty wings. They gleamed a magnificent white silver in the sunlight, as did her armor and sword which she wielded with great confidence. Nahlia turned to Genevieve, momentarily confused to see Loki, but had no choice but to ignore his presence. "Genevieve," she called to her. "Frost Giants along the bridge! Laufey has broken the treaty of peace!"
Before Genevieve could even respond, she was forced to watch Nahlia fly on toward the Bifrost. She knew Aedre and Vivien would be making their way as well, and turned to Loki as she brought forth her chosen weapon.
The daughters of Vatngard had all received great powers over a designated element. Vivien was fire, and was therefore connected to the volcano Hitiheimr, land of flame, which had remained dormant on an island across from the mainland for many years. Nahlia wielded air, which gave her the power of wind and flight, and the blessing of her majestic wings which made her an angel of Vatngard. She drew her blessings from Skyfold, the term used to describe the clouds and winds of Vatngard, for they seemed to have lives of their own, and were most unpredictable to all who were not connected to their power. Aedre, the healer, was gifted from the earth on Vatngard. She claimed the biological life of Vatngard spoke to her, whispers of their gifts whenever she needed guidance. Lundbjod was Vatngard's mighty forest, to which Aedre was bound by her power. Its nature gave her strength, and control over all who dwelled within it, for the defense of her home, and their own. Finally, Genevieve had been given the gift of water, and ice, which were both at the very heart of Vatngard. The name of the realm itself was based on the Eternal Sea. The waters of Vatngard gave Genevieve the ability to manipulate them to her benefit. She could change the tides, flood the shores, communicate with and control the creatures of the deep, freeze the Sea, and form weapons of her choosing out of the Eternal Sea's impenetrable ice. Each part of Vatngard's holistic being wielded itself to Coventina and her daughters, so long as they swore to protect the realm, and Midgard, and all those who dwell within them.
Genevieve opened her palm, and froze the Eternal Sea's remnants into a large staff, before the curved blade of a scythe made its way along the top in a formidable curve. The weapon was rarely chosen, and provided Genevieve with a challenge when she first began attempting to sculpt it, and train with it. Now, it seemed like an extension of herself, one which she had not yet had to wield outside of the training grounds.
"I don't understand why this is happening," Genevieve spoke, mentally preparing herself for a fight. "What have the Frost Giants begun to set into motion? How long have they been planning this?" Loki appeared as though he had intended to respond, before something drew his attention to his right. She knew that he was distracted by something, or someone, back on Asgard, and saw the confliction in him when he glanced back in her direction. "Go with Thor. Warn Odin," Genevieve interrupted before he could speak. "He and my mother will put an end to this before it even starts."
"I will find you," Loki finally said. He seemed pleading, the worry gleaming in his eyes. He knew he should have been there by her side. He was trying to convince the both of them that he really would be. "I will."
His figure disappeared among the green glow of his magic, and Genevieve took her leave. She could not worry for him now, and he could not for her. This was the brink of war, and their realms were threatened. Both Loki and Genevieve knew the consequences of their roles as royal children. They were charged with defending their kingdoms, and could not afford to feel afraid, or concerned too much for the other until the end of it, when they were either dead or alive. Genevieve leapt over the side of her balcony, bracing herself for the impact of the stone-paved gardens below. She sprinted through them and down toward the beach, where the Rivers flowed and met the Sea. She breathed in the salty air, feeling Vatngard's power course through her veins. If it was a fight the Frost Giants wanted, it was a fight they would get.
With a brush of her hand, Genevieve guided the Sea to her, and the waves scooped her up from the shore on which she stood and carried her forward, and up to the glorious height of the bridge. Genevieve could hear the creatures below, distressed at such a great disturbance in their surroundings. She released the water as soon as she reached the surface of the bridge, and it splashed and flooded the area where she stood, before pouring back into the Sea below. The calls of the deep faded, and Genevieve readied her stance, welcoming the challenge of the battle.
The incoming horde of Frost Giants was no army, but there were enough of them to keep the princesses on their guard. There were perhaps a dozen or so for each of them to face, awaiting the assistance of Vatngard's soldiers, who had responded to the alarm but were still making their way toward the bridge. The princesses had the advantage of speed, preventing the Jotuns from reaching the mainland.
She wondered if these Giants were perhaps rogue, as the first one who noticed her appearance charged toward her. Genevieve swept down her scythe, and it sliced across the Frost Giant and gutted him. His torso was ripped open, and he succumbed to death as he was nearly torn in two, navy blue blood gushing from the lethal wound. Another tried to take advantage of Genevieve's distraction from her quick victory and brought a sword of icy rock down over her. She turned and clashed the blade with the staff of her scythe, fighting the Frost Giant's strength as he tried to force her down. More made their way toward them, and Genevieve shoved the Jotun back and felt the scrape of their weapons clashing deep within her senses. It made her teeth ache, it was such a sharp sound. She faced her contenders, sure to keep an eye on her sisters throughout the fight.
"You are foolish to violate the treaty your king established with Vatngard and Asgard!" Genevieve shouted in the midst of it all.
The closest Giant gave her a knowing look, a smirk that told her he thought otherwise. "My king has grown tired of your oppression and thievery. You will perish by his hand."
"I think not," Genevieve retorted, and she swiftly decapitated the Frost Giant, watching his corpse drop and the head roll to the edge of the bridge and fall over it into the Sea. Thievery? She questioned in her mind. She could see how Laufey felt the treaties were unfair to his realm, but she didn't understand what the Aesir could have stolen from them. She was forced to put the thought to the back of her mind as she rounded on another Frost Giant.
She was not quick enough, however, and the Giant aimed a punch that hit her against the side of her left eye with a surprising amount of force. Genevieve doubled over to the side and dropped her scythe, having to brace her fall to the ground. The Frost Giant yanked her by her shoulder as she was trying to straighten out her vision, and flipped her over onto the bridge. He punched her again, across the jaw so that blood and saliva spewed from her lips. When she looked back again, her eyes widened to see a dagger forming in the Giant's hand. He was readying a final strike. Genevieve struggled to bring her mind back into focus, searching for her scythe on the ground. She could see it out of the corner of her eye, but her hand just couldn't seem to find it. The Giant's blade was about to come down. Her heartbeat quickened. An image of Loki flashed across her mind, dressed regally and frowning at her, his eyes full of worry, and then of loss. She screamed, unable to hide her fear of death, of never seeing him again.
But the blow never came. Genevieve felt no pain and kept breathing, for Nahlia had swooped down over the Frost Giant and struck him back. She must have heard her sister scream. Genevieve sighed in relief as the Giant was forced from her, and finally was able to search for her scythe. She took it, and charged toward where the two of them fought. This Giant was skilled. Even when Nahlia attacked him from the air, he was able to block or dodge her. When Genevieve entered the fray, he kept her at a distance, weary of the scythe's blade but seemingly unafraid of it. This one was on a mission, but the princess did not know for what, until Nahlia was sliced by his dagger.
A weak point in her armor was torn open by the ice-stone blade, and a great wound opened in her torso that made Nahlia cringe in midair, giving the Frost Giant access to her wings. He sliced at them before Genevieve could stop him, and Nahlia cried out in agony as her left wing was cut a third of the way to the end. Brilliant white feathers were ripped from their places, and blood splattered from the wound. With the damage, Nahlia could no longer support the weight of her body and armor, and began to fall from the height of the Bifrost, toward the Eternal Sea.
Genevieve nearly threw herself over the edge to dive for her sister, but instead quickly thought better of it. She instead willed the currents to move toward the shore. A platform of sea foam rose from the surface to catch Nahlia, and brought her down gently against the waves that would escort her to shore. It was the best Genevieve could do before she was snatched by the Frost Giant. His hand wrapped easily around her throat, and he held her suspended in his grasp. He was choking her, but not enough to really strangle her to death. He didn't need to go through that much trouble; he had a blade at his command. Genevieve felt his grip slack whenever she seemed to be struggling too hard to breathe. Why? Why was he not killing her? He was only attempting to make her lose consciousness. Genevieve fought against it, attempting to freeze his arm so she could shatter it and break free. But she couldn't focus. She couldn't think without the ability to breathe, and all she could muster from the air was some bits of frost that formed along the Giant's forearm.
What would he do with her when she was subdued? Genevieve shuddered at the thought. She tried to call for her sisters, for their aid. But the bits of black were sneaking into the corners of her eyes, and she could hardly hear herself speak. She couldn't breathe, couldn't shake it away. Her grip on the Giant's forearm slacked, and her arms fell. With a last look at the mainland of Vatngard, Genevieve succumbed to the lack of air, and fell limp in the Frost Giant's grasp, unconscious.
xxx
She awoke to an unfamiliar vision. It was the wind that had roused her. It was bitterly cold and unyielding. When her vision focused, she found herself to be laying on the ground, seemingly placed there by someone. The ground was dark, cold stone that was covered in frost, as were the rest of her surroundings. The entire area for miles was nothing more than a frozen wasteland. Genevieve hardly had to guess where she had been taken. So this is why the Frost Giant had not killed her. He had been instructed with a different task: to bring her back to Jotunheim, alive. But why?
"Princess Genevieva of Vatngard," rumbled a deep voice from behind her, uttering her full name and title in a way that mocked her royal status.
"Laufey," Genevieve returned, with the same fierce loathing in her low voice. He didn't deserve to be referred to as a king. "What am I doing here?'
"Becoming my prisoner," he replied. Genevieve waited for an explanation, but he gave her none. Instead, he watched for her reaction. However, with a lack of a motive, the princess found herself confused.
"Our realms have been nothing but peaceful since you delivered my father's head on a spike."
"I intend to do the same with you soon enough."
Genevieve swallowed hard. What gall would Laufey possess to do such a thing? If he harmed her, he would bring chaos to his own realm. Vatngard and Asgard would destroy them if Genevieve was killed. Why did he seem so unbothered? "What are you hiding?" she asked. "Your realm would be obliterated by Coventina if I was harmed."
"Only so easily because our power was taken and used against us. Once I have regained the Casket, you and your realm will be destroyed."
She was confused, but attempted not to let it show. She had only heard of the Casket of Ancient Winters mentioned in hers and her sisters' lessons a few times when learning of The Battle with Jotunheim. It was locked away in Asgard's vault full of conquered treasures. What made Laufey so sure he would all of a sudden have the Casket in his possession once more?
"You're a greedy fool," Genevieve spat, shaking her head. "You'll be dead before you even get to touch your precious Ca-"
She was cut off by her own screams, as Laufey had reached, in his anger, for her arm. The vambrace and fabric covering it both melted away before Laufey's frostbite burned at Genevieve's flesh. Smoke and blood billowed from the wound as she fell to her knees. Laufey only released her when he became distracted by the sign of a bright light in the distance.
Genevieve gasped in cold breaths, her chest heaving as she tried to withstand the pain. She too noticed the light of the Bifrost in the distance, and felt her heart skip a beat in her chest at the sign of her saviors.
"I told you," Genevieve smirked, ignoring the seething of the fresh Jotun wound. "You have made a grave mistake, Laufey."
The king of the Frost Giants, rather than responding to her, cast his frozen grip onto Genevieve's throat. He quickly cut off her breath as chains of ice and rock began to materialize around her wrists and ankles, and attach to his throne. "Speak, and you will die," he growled into her ear before releasing her and going to investigate who he assumed had appeared on the realm. Genevieve began to cough, and struggled as the chains weighed her to the ground. She was now wounded, weakened, and hidden from plain sight behind the surroundings of Laufey's throne. There, she rested on her knees, attempting to silently search for a way to free herself. She heard the Frost Giant king suddenly address others that she could not see, yet her heart leapt with hope when he did. "You've come a long way to die, Asgardians."
So Thor had succeeded in making it to Jotunheim to seek his revenge for intruding on his coronation day. Though Genevieve was weighed down behind pillars of ice and stone and had no way to see if Loki was with him. He said he would be, but he also said they were never going to make it to Jotunheim. If that was the case, how much longer would they be here? Would Loki have tried to instead make it to Vatngard to try to find Genevieve, only to realize she was instead taken and trapped by the Frost Giants? And by then it would be too late to find her or warn Thor. Even if the Allfather found out she was here, would it be too late for them to rescue her? Would Laufey hide her and use her for ransom, or just kill her for revenge?
She listened intently, trying to hear what was being said, yet as Thor spoke to Laufey, Genevieve grew increasingly worried about the fact that he never mentioned her. Had her mother and sisters not called upon the Asgardians yet for help? If not, what kept them? The royal council, perhaps? They loathed conflict with other realms for almost any reason. They would have delayed any operation, attempting to form a plan to negotiate for Genevieve's safe return. The princess could practically hear her mother and sisters screaming in protest. Or was it perhaps Nahlia's wounds? Had they proven too great to stray from her side? Genevieve would rather they tend to her, if that was the case. She still had hope, wondering if maybe Loki had accompanied his older brother after all. As quickly and quietly as possible, she fought the weight of the chains and crept toward the edge of a barrier that stood between Laufey's audience and herself, making sure to not be seen by any of the soldiers who had gathered forward. The frostbitten wound on her arm throbbed with pain and slowly oozed blood from the shredded layers of skin, but she ignored it.
As soon as she made it to a corner, those near her suddenly stood their guard and charged as the scene before Laufey's throne erupted into chaos. Or at least, as far as she could tell, it had. For when Genevieve was just about close enough to be seen, the chains had reached their maximum length, and rattled as they snapped tightly, preventing her from moving any further out into the open. Having not enough energy to melt the chains herself, Genevieve desperately pulled at them, hoping to use the rest of her strength to break them, but they didn't even crack. All she could hope for was that Laufey was distracted enough that he would not keep her from calling for help. "Thor!" Though she knew he was fighting, perhaps he would still hear her. Genevieve also remembered Loki's words, and assumed he couldn't possibly be alone. "Loki! Please! Help me!" she cried as loudly as she could to get his attention.
Out of nowhere, there came a silhouette from behind the barrier, but Genevieve feared it was too large for friend. Sure enough, one of Laufey's guards came around the corner and charged at her, ice dagger ready in hand and aimed for her throat. Throwing herself backward, Genevieve dodged the first swing, but this resulted in her stumbling over her confinements and falling onto her back. Rolling onto her side and standing up as quickly as possible, she could only keep trying to dodge the Giant's attacks and call for aid. One slip up, however, caused her to end up right in the weapon's pathway. She had misinterpreted the Frost Giant's intended direction and had practically dived straight into the blunt side of the giant's ice-formed weapon. It and the creature's fist made contact with her eye, and Genevieve cried out as her neck was whipped backward from being struck, dragging her entire body along with it. She staggered back as blood began to spill from above her eye, and into it. Instinctively, she went to cover the wound with her hands and fell to her knees, stifling a sob from the initial pain that followed the fresh wound's heat and the irony scent of her own blood. The Frost Giant, now confident in having the upper hand, slowly approached her, raising the dagger high above Genevieve, ready to plunge it into the back of her skull.
But, again, the final blow never came. Instead, Genevieve looked up, through the crimson liquid flooding her eye, in time to see her now wide-eyed opponent collapse backward, a dagger sticking out of his neck as his blood began to pool on the ground. When she turned to face her savior, her heart skipped a beat as she saw Loki standing tall and triumphant, albeit a bit disheveled and breathless. His hair, which was previously perfectly sleek, had come loose and hung freely in all directions, some of it in his eyes. She also noticed that a whole part of his armor had disintegrated on his left arm.
In one fluid movement, he was kneeling down next to her. "I feared they would have taken you prisoner," he said solemnly. Loki began to snap each of the chains clamped to Genevieve as though they were bits of bread.
"A dagger, please," she requested of him before saying anything else. When Loki handed her one, handle outward, she took it and sliced open her sleeve, from her shoulder to the beginning of her vambrace, before tearing it away from her arm. Pressing the fabric against the bloody flesh on her face, she finally gazed up at Loki and handed him back the dagger. "I knew you would answer if I called for you."
Loki gave a hint of a smile at her words and examined the wound on her face before peering at the black and blue shredded bits that were left of the flesh on her arm. "Can you stand?" he asked. "Can you run? At least enough to get back to the Bifrost?"
Determined, she nodded. "Yes."
Together, they stood, and immediately began to sprint away from Laufey's throne and toward the open lands of Jotunheim. Genevieve held onto the hand of Loki's that was bare as he continued to throw daggers at Giants that pursued them. Along with him and his brother, Genevieve saw, had come Lady Sif, Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral. Again, she was surprised to have not seen her sisters, but pushed the thought to the back of her mind as they ran. Blood still poured down her face, but she was forced to ignore it as they began to run from a Frost Beast that Laufey had summoned from the ice and stone. The creature was so large that it could crush the five of them by merely stepping on them. It shook the ground as it pounced after the Asgardian intruders, and Genevieve struggled to keep her footing as her remaining energy was quickly depleting. Soon, the ground behind them began to fall away, no doubt caused by Thor's overindulgent use of Mjolnir on the surrounding environment in order to gain a competitive advantage. For as they ran, he had remained behind to foolishly play the hero, or that was how Genevieve saw it. Though the Frost Beast, luckily, fell, and all they had to do was beat the continuously crumbling rock beneath their feet. Mere moments before they reached the edge of the cliff where the Asgardians had first arrived, Genevieve had begun to drag behind Loki to the point where he was pulling her along. When they all finally stopped, she slammed into his chest. He was prepared, though. His stance hardly wavered, and he wrapped a protective arm around her to steady them both. He held her so close and so tightly that her chest pressed against his each time she drew in a heavy breath, panting after the sprint to the Bifrost site.
"Heimdall! Open the bridge!" Volstagg shouted into the abyss of the night above them all, and Genevieve peered back over Loki's shoulder to see if Thor had caught up with them yet. However, nothing happened. There was no response from Asgard's gatekeeper, and Genevieve felt fear creeping into her senses. She hissed in pain as she pressed the piece of fabric she held against her face once more, only to draw it away and see that the blood was still flowing. She had felt it begin to drip down her neck and chest, and wondered how she appeared with it probably smeared upon her face.
All of sudden, Loki yanked her backward with him, and Genevieve would have been confused had it not been for the giant claws that were making their way up the cliff side, followed by the rest of the Frost Beast that had indeed not perished from its fall. Loki held Genevieve to him and moved to cover her as the creature prepared to charge. She clung tightly to him, drawing her eyes shut in fear of the amount of pain that was to follow.
But the two brothers both had the most incredulous timing. For it was at that most final possible moment that Thor came to their rescue, soaring with Mjolnir straight through the Beast's mouth and out the back of its stone head. Genevieve watched as it cascaded backward over the edge of the cliff, this time sure not to return.
She would have been relieved if Loki had loosened his grip, but instead sensed more oncoming danger as he still held her close. Opening her eyes, she saw that hundreds of Frost Giants, led by Laufey, had gathered in front of them. No matter Thor's strength and confidence, they were no match for so many. Genevieve saw Laufey's eyes on her, and a gasp escaped her throat as he ran forward and prepared to attack Loki to get to her. The surrounding Frost Giants followed, and she feared the worst before an enormous burst of light caused all of the Asgardians, and especially the Jotuns, to shield their eyes.
Within the marvelous beam of the Bifrost, Genevieve witnessed Odin Allfather in all his glory, atop an eight-legged raven horse with golden armor. The creature reared up on its hind legs as a warning for the Frost Giants to back away. A few of them obliged.
"Father! We'll finish them together!" roared Thor. Genevieve peered up at Loki, whose expression she could not read. He seemed angry, but did not look surprised that Odin had finally appeared out of the Bifrost.
"Silence!" hissed the Allfather. The piercing sound of it made Genevieve shudder. Loki pressed his hand against her waist tighter. Her heart rate was still racing.
Laufey rose on a path of ice he drove out of the ground to meet Odin's gaze, and as they spoke, Genevieve began to understand that the Asgardians had not known that she had been taken. She now assumed that was why her family had not been a part of the rescue mission. Had the Vatngardians gone to Asgard for help at all?
"Leave the girl," Laufey commanded suddenly. "And I may disregard the actions of your halfwit boy."
Time suddenly seemed to stop as the attention was shifted to Genevieve. Odin stared down at her, and she felt similar to a mouse being loomed over by a feline about to feast upon it. He was actually considering leaving her here, to face whatever torture or punishment the Frost Giants wanted to give her after trying to escape. Genevieve was not the only one who thought this, it seemed, as Loki gently pushed her behind him and stood facing his father with a dark glare. He would not leave her behind.
"You wish to make a war conditional upon the possession of one girl?" the Allfather asked rhetorically. "You have an agreement of peace with Asgard and Vatngard, Laufey, do not bring about this destruction from greed."
Laufey hardly seemed to consider the Allfather's warning. "It was your heir that brought war upon us once again, Allfather." Laufey's voice was deep, and penetrating. Genevieve felt it in her heart, booming and cold, and reminiscent of the feeling of being too close to a firework, or jumping from a glorious height into frozen waters below. "He'll get what he came for. War. And death."
Odin visibly hesitated. Genevieve's breath shook as she understood that this was going to be the beginning of the undoing of something both Vatngard and Asgard had worked so hard to achieve. She tried to listen to Loki's breaths, which were still quiet and steady. How was he so calm?
"So be it," the Allfather declared. Then, with a powerful spell, Odin sent an attack that threw Laufey back onto the ground, far enough to allow him time to bring the rest of the Asgardians and Genevieve back into the Bifrost and to the realm eternal that was their home.
The speed and blinding light of it sent Genevieve's head spinning, and she tried to cling even tighter to Loki as they soared through the worlds and stars around them. Though by the time they reached the end of it, she could feel her consciousness fading. Darkness began to appear in the corners of her eyes as she heard several voices around her. One of them was Odin, shouting orders. Another sounded, to Genevieve's surprise, like Aedre, warning others to be careful of her youngest sister's wounds. She could see Loki through the blur in her vision and tried to hold onto him, but she was being dragged away by someone else. When Genevieve tried to object, she was ignored, and lifted from the ground and carried away toward the healing chambers of Asgard. She didn't feel the bloody piece of fabric she had been clenching drop from her hand and land on the rainbow bridge as she finally fell victim to her painful wounds.