The Healer's Ward was mostly empty, and Loki and Sigyn sat on an empty bunk. Fey and the other healers had listened intently while Loki had explained to Sigyn the news about the Jötnar, but with his tale finished they now returned to work.
"Today's the end of Thursday, so there's only three days until they come," Sigyn said thoughtfully and looked at her hands in her lap. "That's not very long."
"No it's not," Loki agreed. "I guess father must be eager to get this over with. I can't say I blame him since it's the Frost Giants."
Sigyn didn't answer, and Loki hopped off the bunk. Loki had informed Sigyn of what was going on as he had promised, and he had a few things he wanted to do before the Jötnar arrived. For one thing, he needed to practice with his blades. Sif – a weak maiden of the court who had never handled a sword before – had sliced his shoulder open. The Jötnar were a far greater threat then Sif, and Loki didn't want to be carried into the Healer's ward again.
"Are you going to practice before the Jötnar come?" Sigyn guessed.
Loki gave a slightly baffled look and said tensely, "yes."
He didn't like the fact that Sigyn was able to read him so well. Sigyn smiled at Loki.
"What?" Loki asked her with a snap to his voice.
"You're quite a warrior," Sigyn assured him. "Although you don't fight with a sword and armor like everyone expects you to, you're still amazing. Most Æsir your age wouldn't be training so hard."
"I'm usually training with my magic." Loki muttered and looked away. "Training with my blades is secondary."
Sigyn realized that Loki seemed to be embarrassed, and she started to get embarrassed. She hadn't meant to put him at unease.
"Will you be alright?" Sigyn asked Loki worriedly. "While the Jötnar are here, the Barriers will actively suppress their ice magic so they aren't a threat. You were born with elemental ice magic, so it may affect you as well."
"I'm not Jötunn," Loki reminded Sigyn, "but I suppose my magic and theirs are both ice elemental. I'll have to wait and see."
He waved bye, and Sigyn said as much. Then he left and waltzed along the hallways, turning Sigyn's words over in his mind. She might have a point about the Barriers, and that intrigued him. When the Barriers were active his ice magic could be suppressed like the Jötnar. If it was subdued then it wouldn't be so powerful. Loki might be able to safely experiment with it without causing an ice age, and figure out the proper technique to use to control it even once it was back to full power.
A Star Guard entered from the courtyard, opening the doors as he entered and closing them behind him. There was a frigid breeze that whipped a flurry of snowflakes inside, and the chill made Loki shiver pathetically. He was forced to tug his jacket closer and quicken his pace. Normally he wouldn't even need a jacket in such mild temperatures.
As far as Loki was now concerned, the Jötnar couldn't arrive soon enough.
Freyja was sitting in front of the oval shaped mirror in her vanity, quietly focusing with her eyes closed and her cloak of falcon feathers draped over the back of the chair she sat on. The surface of her mirror was fogged over as if there was a cloud trapped behind the glass, but it cleared after a few seconds. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw someone looking back at her. It was a Vanir with very similar features to Freyja, and it looked as if he were sitting across a table from her instead of speaking through a scrying mirror from another realm.
"Hello sister," he greeted Freyja with a smile.
"Freyr," Freyja returned his greeting with a small smile of her own. "You said you wished to speak to me?"
"Ah, yes," Freyr nodded, sitting in front of his own desk by his own mirror. "I have heard a very interesting story."
"Oh?" Freyja asked in amusement. "Whatever could that be?"
"Something about Jötnar coming to Asgard," Freyr said nonchalantly.
Freyja gave her twin brother an exasperated look. "Truly? How did you already hear about that? I only found out an hour ago myself. You're on Vanaheim, a different realm then me!"
"The wonders of the grapevine," Freyr shrugged and gave his sister one of his bright smiles.
Freyja gave him a cross look, and then relaxed it. "Yes, there are Jötnar coming here. Five, an ambassador and four guard."
"Not two guards?" Freyr said in surprise and leaned back. "Isn't that the usual for brief diplomatic visits? Don't tell me they're staying longer than a few hours."
Freyja sighed deeply, accepting the sheer level of power the grapevine possessed and moving on. "I have no idea. Four guards is for overnight visits, so I guess they are staying for some time. Are you worried about Hogun?"
"He is a member of Vanaheim's royal family," Freyr reminded his sister, "and our nephew. Right now, you and him are on Asgard, which might suddenly not be so safe."
"I'm not worried about a mere five Jötnar," Freyja dismissed. "They have no mages to counter my magic, so they're a nuisance at best. I'm sure they're aware of how badly they're outnumbered so I doubt they'll be out to cause trouble."
"Fair enough," Freyr mused, "although for once I wish that I was on Asgard."
"What?" Freyja mused tartly. "You regret your visit back to Vanaheim?"
"An hour after I left to return home, Nira steals the Tesseract and Prince Loki regains control of it." Freyr pointed out. "It's been one thing after the next there. That's where all the fun is."
Freyja scowled at her brother at his whiney tone at missing out on "all the fun." Freyr shrugged innocently.
"What happened to Nira?" He asked softly after a few seconds.
"She was caught in a collapsing portal," Freyja murmured. "I've tried to speak to Hogun but he doesn't wish to talk about what his sister did. He's always been quiet, but now it's hard to coax even a sentence from him."
"Nira was family," Freyr leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, looking up at the ceiling as he spoke. "Of all her siblings, Nira was always fondest of Hogun. Now she's killed their mother, older sister, and tried to kill him and the youngest sister. I suppose it is lucky that Hogun and Vör managed to survive her wrath."
Freyja didn't say anything, regretting that she hadn't been able to stop her niece from her slaughter. She and Freyr were the children of Njörd and Nerthus, the past rulers of Vanaheim. Their older sister Kyi had become queen after Nerthus had retired, and she had had four children, three girls and one boy. Nira was the second oldest daughter, and wanted the throne, so she had killed her mother and older sister.
Despite her attempts otherwise, Hogun, the only son, and Vör, the youngest daughter, had managed to survive. Because inheritance was passed along the maternal line, Vör, as Kyi's only surviving daughter, was queen. Kyi's wife was serving as Vör's regent until she was old enough to rule, but she was currently less than three centuries old.
Hogun remained on Asgard so the two remaining heirs of Vanaheim were not together, but he had not been thrilled about remaining until Nira was brought to justice. Perhaps with Nira's death, he could return home. Freyja hoped so, for that might be the only way to coax him out of his silence. When Nira had snapped, Vör and Hogun had been smuggled to Asgard with them was Brísingamen to keep all three out of Nira's reach. The necklace with jewels like embers was Vanaheim's equivalent of Gungnir, and worn only by the ruling queen. Nira had wanted it, but with her gone, Hogun could now return it to Vör when he went home.
"If you're scared of being bored why don't you come back to Asgard?" Freyja asked her brother and rested her head in one hand.
"That sounds very tempting," Freyr sat straight and waved a finger at her. "I might take you up on that offer."
Freyja was glad that the subject had been moved away from their traitorous niece, and she smiled. "How are Hnoss and Gersemi?"
"Your daughters are fine," Freyr told her. "Hnoss was feeling well enough to sit outside today and Gersemi was pestering me again about Caliburn. I think you should let her see if it bonds to her as its guardian. She is becoming a stronger mage and I have seen her practice with a polearm. A spear suits her far better than a sword or a dagger."
Caliburn was the sister spear to Gungnir, and after the end of the Æsir/Vanir war that Vanaheim had lost, it had been given to Vanaheim in exchange for Freyja and Freyr to live on Asgard. Since the twins were the siblings of Queen Kyi they had become hostages meant to keep Vanaheim from causing trouble again. Freyja's husband Odr and her two infant daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi, had been left behind on Vanaheim and Freyja had not seen them since.
Oh, she had seen her daughters through a scrying mirror, and Freyr would tell her about them whenever he got back from a visit to Vanaheim, but she had yet to see her daughters in person since she had left them three centuries ago. Freyr was allowed to return home because he was a simple warrior, nothing like Freyja, the strongest mage currently alive within the nine realms.
"Gersemi is young," Freyja said cautiously, "but I don't know the extent of her skill. Caliburn's power can only be unlocked by a mage, so if you think she is strong enough you could let her see if it accepts her."
"She will be ecstatic about that," Freyr assured Freyja.
Would she? Freyja didn't know if she would. Freyr should know what he was talking about hopefully. Her brother knew her daughters better than she did, and that troubled Freyja. Perhaps with Nira gone she could also return home and finally see her daughters. Hnoss was too weak to handle interrealm travel and Gersemi would never leave her behind, so Freyja had no choice but to go to her daughters.
The question was if Asgard would be sympathetic enough to let her. Freyja honestly wasn't sure if Odin would approve a visit as he had allowed for Freyr. She was Asgard's prize for defeating Vanaheim, not her brother.
"Vör had a vision an hour ago," Freyr added.
"Really?" Freyr breathed in excitement. "Vör is a Seer? She really had a glimpse of the future?"
"It made her pass out and she hasn't woken up yet," Freyr smiled. "I suppose it's the shock of the first vision. We'll find out what she saw when she awakens."
Vanir were known for their prophetic ability, and those with this ability were called Seers. Their visions came and went as they pleased, and they, so to speak, warned the Seer of some of the "bad surprises" heading their way. No one was sure how Seers got their visions. Was it a quirk of Seer magic that let them randomly see glimpses of the future in the time stream? Were they sent by an Elder God to guide the mortals, by the three Norns that dwelled within the Well of Urd, or by Yggdrasil itself to protect those it sheltered within its branches? No one, not even the Seers, knew.
"That gift will suit Vör well when she becomes queen," Freyja agreed.
"You should have seen Gná when Vör collapsed," Freyr chuckled. "She was the one who caught her. Gersemi couldn't stop staring. I think they both thought Vör was dying or something."
Freyja couldn't help but laugh lightly as Freyr broke out into louder laughter. "So Gersemi and Gná are still getting along. Good."
"Gná is a good person," Freyr assured Freyja, aware that she had never met Gná before. "She is a skilled equestrian as well, a field Gersemi lacks in."
"Gersemi will learn," Freyja nodded. "From what you've told me she's a quick learner."
"She is," Freyr nodded.
Freyja felt a pain in her heart at the conversation. Her sister and one of her nieces were dead, Nira was rogue hunting to kill her remaining family, Freyr was friendly although he seemed to be somewhat distant towards Freyja and she didn't understand why, Freyja had never been allowed to spend time with her daughters whom were growing up quickly, Hogun was stranded here on Asgard with Freyja, and Brísingamen was in Freyja's custody instead of with Vör as it should be. Vanaheim's royal family could not be any more fractured, and now the Jötnar were coming to Asgard. This situation was not what Freyja would call optimum.
Two different viewpoints from two different people. Considering the situation, Freyja's caution is probably better warranted. In my story universe Asgard is not the only realm and the Asgard's royal family and Thor's friends are not the beings. The other eight realms do play roles, and right now, it's Vanaheim and Jotunnhiem.
Jotunnheim is more important to the story then Vanaheim right now, but you should remember that Nira is not dead as everyone presumes. Vanaheim will become a battlefield before long.
