Disclaimer: I haven't done one of these in a while so might as well. I don't own anything related to the marvelverse. Because if I did then I would be writing canon not fanfic.

Chapter Seven

The Aaby's had been kind enough to give Ward and I some reading material to better explain what they were and what their mission on Earth was. While I was grateful to learn what I could it wasn't what I wanted or needed to know. They had been around the time of Arthur which meant they knew of the Knights of the Round Table. That also meant they knew of the Ebony Blade and Sir Percy, the first Black Knight. Yet, every question I threw at them was in vain.

If it wasn't the old couple arguing about sordid affairs then they were reminiscing about other sordid affairs. At one point I found myself wondering if Fandral was actually an amores. The way they spoke about love was poetic but their actions of affairs spoke louder than their words. Any other time I would have enjoyed listening to Mrs. Aaby talk about the time she and Queen Mab had spoken about the consequences of the birth of Mordred (the illegitimate son and end to Arthur). But, that was not the information I cared for at the moment. I needed to know about the blade and the knight which they seemed to know little about. When I asked about Merlin all I got in return was Mrs. Aaby's ramblings and Mr. Aaby repeatedly calling him a no-good cuck.

So, I sat in my room that night with the doors locked, ignoring the constant vibration of my phone from texts sent by Ward. Most of them consisted of asking why I wasn't replying and if I took too long-meaning longer than five minutes-he would bust through the door with his gun aimed high sighing dramatically when he realized that I wasn't in any danger. Eventually I lied that I was tired and was going to retire for bed. Ward didn't take the hint and continued to text since I forced him to return to his own bedroom asking if I need anything. Anything at all.

After my shower and the constant barging down of the door from Ward I finally was able to snuggle under the blankets and read. It wasn't any of the books Ward and I had collected from the burnt down bookstore or any of the ones that the Aaby's offered to give us. It was instead one of the books I brought with me from home given to me as a gift from Thor.

During his first visit to Earth since I left Asgard he came bearing gifts with no news of Loki. His second and third, even fourth visit had been no different. Thor came with more gifts and the vague replies in regard to Loki became common. I had confronted him eventually and all I had received in return was this untitled book full of mythology that for the most part I already knew.

I lifted it to my nose, inhaling deeply. The scent of decaying pages filled my sense. A smile crept onto my lips. There was nothing that smelled better than the fragrance of a loved book. If the scuffed leather-bound cover and worn-out pages weren't indication enough that the book had been through a lot then I knew the hundreds of post-it-notes that poked between the pages was proof enough. I couldn't bare to write inside so I decided to use sticky notes instead of highlighting favorite passages.

My fingers lifted the heavy cover and spread across the yellow pages, smoothing out the wrinkles. It was written in Nordic German, most of the ink faded away with time. When I wasn't busy with S.H.I.E.L.D. duties I spent a lot of what little free time I had trying to fill in the spots that had been lost to history. No one had asked me to do it, and I knew Thor didn't expect me to but I couldn't help it. I hated leaving a book unfinished, even if it was missing segments to begin with.

The section I had been stumped on for the past few weeks was called, Twilight of the Gods. From what I had gathered so far it was known in mythology as Ragnarök. It was one of the few things from the book I had previously heard nothing about. I knew that the word ragna meant "conjure" but that rök had several different meanings. From the context I was able to figure out that in the case of the myth it meant "fate" or was loosely relative to the word.

There was a suggestion within the readable text that Ragnarök was ultimately a renewal of the divine powers. A lot of familiar names repeated themselves as well: Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, and Loki. I, however, had yet to figure out what it all meant even though I repeatedly reminded myself not to get involved with anything where Loki was concerned.

Absently I tugged at the wolf's tooth that hung at my throat. It sat in my palm, poking at the tender flesh as a bitter reminder of the pain that lingered in my chest. He promised me that if I ever needed him to call on him. Where was he all these months when I felt lost and had no one to turn to? If it wasn't for the mission S.H.I.E.L.D. put me on then I probably would still be crying on the sofa holding the stupid necklace while I stuffed my face with an ungodly amount of carbs. Once I ate a piece of garlic bread straight out of the freezer. It wasn't pretty and I never said I handled the grief well.

I let the necklace drop against the bone of my chest. Numerous times I had ripped the twine off of my neck and tossed the confounded thing across the room. It went missing for two days once and I frantically searched the house finding it behind the sofa even though I checked the couch twice. Since then I stopped taking my anger out on the meaningless piece of jewelry. Though, I had couldn't figure out why I couldn't part with it.

A knock disrupted me from my thoughts. Groaning, I closed the book shut and slid off the bed. Tousling my hair so it looked as though I had just woken up I opened the door expecting to see Ward staring at me with his brown puppy dog eyes when it was Mr. Aaby instead. Blinking in surprise I opened the door extending an invite inside.

He shook his head, holding up his frail hands to give me a small, purple vial. I took the bottle from his shaking fingers, twisting it so that the glass caught in the light. Inside a thin liquid sloshed against the container leaving streaks of glitter on the sides.

"What is this?" I asked nervous that it might be another love spell.

"I haven't got much time," whispered Mr. Aaby glancing down the hallway. "If Marina were to find out she would have my head but I think you ought to know what you can about this Black Knight fellow. If he's as bad as you say he is then I wish to help as I can."

"So, what does this do?"

A door creaked open in the distance. "Hurry and drink it my dear," was all he told me as he quickly waddled off.

Closing the door with my back pressed again the wood I stared at the purple vial in my hand. The last time I had drank something without knowing what it was my body was under the control of Karnilla. I was utterly useless as she had me steal a magical stone then tossed my body out a window. While I didn't think an amores would be so sinister I couldn't exactly have faith that drinking the vial would result in a good thing.

Instead, I set the potion inside my suitcase snuggled between rolled up socks for cushioning. I returned to bed, turning off the bedside lamp so that the room was engulfed in complete darkness. My mind drifted to Loki as it usually did before I shut my eyes, thinking about what a wonderful time he must have been having in Asgard.

Astrid sat perfectly still with the phone pressed against her ear. She patiently waited, tapping her fingers along with the teeth-gritting music that played over the speaker. Really, though. Who owned a prestigious company and had a male voice wail over the speakers about hailing to the king? Stark certainly was a presumptuous prat.

After several minutes of bickering Loki was able to convince Astrid to contact Tony Stark. He knew he couldn't talk to the egotistical moron himself. The second Stark knew that Loki was on Midgard he would fly to Norway on some private jet or even in his suit of iron just to capture the notorious war criminal that destroyed part of Manhattan. Tony Stark would expect a parade of admirers in his honor for his grand heroics as if the Midgardian sheep didn't praise the fool enough.

No, if Loki was to help Hayden then he had to keep his appearance as hidden as possible. The less people who knew about him being on Midgard the better. If and when Thor found out that Loki was no longer on Asgard then he would be dragged back against his will. He wasn't going back until the Dark Knighthood was destroyed.

The music abruptly stopped. A woman's nasally voice crackled over the speaker. "Mr. Stark is out of the office for a business trip. I can take a message and he will get back to you when he can. What was this in regards to?"

Astrid blinked as she turned her face to Loki. Realizing that he had not come up with a definitive plan on what to have Astrid say to get Stark on the phone, he frowned. Humans craved rules. It was clear the one on the phone was no exception. Loki couldn't just have Astrid blatantly demand to speak to Stark. The woman on the phone would only hang up on them. Loki would be damned if he had to be placed on hold for twenty minutes again. That was what was wrong with Midgardian society, he decided.

"I am calling on half of the Black Knight," Astrid suddenly said. Loki crinkled his brows as he stared at her, dumbfounded. There was a small choking sound on the other end of the line as Astrid continued, "every hour that I do not speak to Stark another city will be disintegrated." Even though Astrid could not see-which Loki was partially grateful for at the moment-he let an amused smile curl onto his lips.

"I'm connecting you to him now," the woman quickly replied followed by three sharp rings then an irritated, "I don't care to be threatened by-"

"Mr. Stark," Astrid interrupted, "I am a seer from Norway. I am calling-"

"With all due respect sister of the fates I'm sure you can see that I'm a little tied up at the moment then," he grunted. The sound of something sharp scrapping against metal spilled through the phone. "Make it quick."

Just as they had planned Astrid told Tony everything, omitting little details such as anything that involved Loki. She explained what Loki had told her about the Dark Knighthood and Hayden's impending association with them including the death of her mother and search for her father.

After she finished Stark was uncharacteristically quiet. "Mr. Stark?" hesitated Astrid twisting the cord of the phone around her skinny fingers, "are you-"

BOOM!

Astrid tore the phone away from her ear, cringing as a dial tone pierced the air. A robotic voice spoke, "I'm sorry but the phone number you dialed has been disconnected. Goodbye."

"What was that?" asked Astrid, her gaze fixated on the phone in her hands.

Loki found himself more curious as to whether or not Astrid had a vague idea of what the things around her looked like despite being unable to actually see them rather than concern himself with what happened to Stark. It was apparent that calling him had been a complete waste of time. Loki would just have to take matters into his own hands then as he should have done to begin with. It was stupid of him to think that he would need a mortal's help in the first place. Besides, if Stark had perished in the sudden explosion then there was one less thing for him to worry about. Really, things did seem to be looking up.

Rubbing his hands together Loki could feel the cuts and scrapes on his knuckles. His healing seemed to be completely gone. As was everything else. Loki's fingers began to twist at the ring that Frigga had given him, the stone still black in need of rest. He might as well have been mortal himself at this point.

Loki began to think about what he really knew about the Dark Knighthood. They were dangerous, that much was obvious. Humans who knew too much tended to be the ones that created mass chaos. Usually Loki enjoyed when the Dark Knighthood was involved only for the sheer amusement of watching them desperately try to save humanity when all they did was wreck it more. But, with Hayden involved it changed everything.

The Dark Knighthood did not give up on its mission. Whatever they were searching for that involved Hayden's father was going to fall to her. Even if she knew nothing they would torture Hayden until she was of no use to them. Once they discovered that she had been to Asgard then Hayden would be of use to them for a while.

Hayden was a lot of things. Besides the obvious irritating, know-it-all, insufferable pipsqueak she tended to portray she was also very resilent and surprising to Loki, rather brave in her own way. Though even Hayden's newfound bravery would be crushed to dust if the Dark Knighthood was to get their armored claws on her.

And, Loki would know all about that. After all, he sort of was responsible for their coming about. Not that he intended it but accidents happen, one thing lead to another and the mortals may or may not have discovered the truth about the existence of gods and other worlds. While the rest of Midgard was still under the belief that elaborate terrorist attacks were responsible for the world's string of strange attacks the Dark Knighthood had known for centuries the truth of it all. They kept the secrets hidden well enough but worked to destroy them as they were not secret keepers but knights of dark secrets meant to be squandered.

It had been years since they last showed their faces. Some gods of other realms believed that the Dark Knighthood had faded out of existence. It had been almost thirty years, which in Midgard was a long time pass. A lot could and did happen with three decades on the fast-changing world. But, the Dark Knighthood had risen again hellbent on ending the reign of the gods. With Black Knight tearing through Europe it was obvious they were gearing up for something big.

But, what?

A knock sounded at the door. Loki looked up, distracted from his thoughts. He felt himself go still. Astrid gently placed her hand on his leg that wasn't broken. She smiled at him reassuringly as a tall, blond man built like a wall entered through the small front door. He took almost the entire living area as he strode inside knocking mud off of his thick, leather boots onto the wooden floor.

"My sister," he greeted with a wide smile in broken English, "I see our guest of honor has woken up."

"This is my twin brother, Didrick," introduced Astrid waving her hand in the general direction of where he stood.

Loki glanced between the two of them. Siblings he could see. But twins? They were about as similar as he and Thor were. While both Astrid and Didrick had toothachingly sweet smiles, fair blond hair and blue eyes that was about it.

Didrick was tall for a mortal man in the way that Loki was small for a giant of the ice. His pale cream tunic stretched across his broad chest threatening to rip at the buttons and Loki could see the muscles even through the jacket he wore. If Loki did not know better he would have thought Didrick was of Asgardian blood.

Astrid, on the other hand, was petite in every sense of the word. She was small and thin as a board not to mention short. She would barely reach to Loki's chest if he were to stand. Even her lips and nose were tiny compared to Didrick, though it was her wide eyes that resembled her brother's the most. Was he seer as well?

"He carried you here to keep you safe while you recover," Astrid continued, blinking at Loki when all he did was stare at the man before him.

He considered thanking him. It was obvious from the expectant look scrawled across Astrid's face that she wanted him too. But, he was Loki the would-be-king of Asgard. In reality, it was their duty to serve him. Especially if Astrid had foreseen his arrival.

Loki almost laughed to himself. It was so obvious he didn't know why he hadn't seen it before. Astrid and Didrick were there to assist him. They were servants to his task. He didn't need the help of any mortal but it was apparent that he was given the siblings in an act of destiny. Who was he to tempt fate?

"I suddenly have a brilliant thought," Loki deviously smiled as he flicked his gaze to and from the twins. "Astrid, how do your visions work exactly? Can you perhaps meditate like the seers in Ancient Greece used to do?"

"I've never tried," admitted Astrid, tugging at the bottom of her lip with crooked teeth, "but it couldn't hurt to try."

Well it could, Loki thought to himself. With Hayden on the line he had to do whatever he could to keep her safe. Everything else was just a liability bound to happen.

"We need to see if we can find out where the Dark Knighthood is," he told her, "and I think we have a perfect candidate to join their cause once we discover their location," he continued widening his grin at the dumbfounded Didrick.

Skye sat cross-legged in a plush leather recliner that Coulson had installed into the private jet a little over a month before which had quickly became her favorite seat. With her laptop firmly on her lap Skye rapidly tapped at the keyboard, flexing her fingers every so often to circulate the lack of blood flow. For the past few hours she had been digging up what dirt she could find on both Nathan Garrett and Freya Pederson. While she was used to staring at a computer screen for prolong hours her eyes were growing heavy and started to sting every time that she blinked.

Suppressing a yawn, Skye placed the back of her hand against her mouth. It had been a long day. After Hayden and Ward had left to Tonsberger. Tonsberry? Tong...whatever, Agent May, Agent Coulson and herself had continued their search for the ebony blade. It seemed they scoured all over England to no avail. Skye's feet were eternally grateful for Hayden's request to dig up dirt.

Digging up dirt on people rather than ancient ruins in the cold, dreary England weather was much more her thing. Skye wasn't just good, she was really good at hacking and finding out secrets she wasn't supposed to know. It was why S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Rising Tide wanted her. In the end she chose S.H.I.E.L.D.

She joined the Rising Tide years ago in hopes of discovering the truth about her parents disappearance while at the time truly believing that the people of the world deserved to know what was happening with the superheroes and alien attacks. It was their mission to leak what they could to the public domain though information was scarce and most of it was hearsay until Skye started to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers, which was how they found Skye living in her van at the time. Hacking and spreading free information over the internet didn't exactly pay well. Or, at all. The Rising Tide had intentions that meant well but after discovering the things she had learned as a consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D Skye realized that some secrets were better left secret.

Stretching her fingers Skye set her laptop down and decided to make a drink. Her mind was in a buzz from everything she had found out and told Hayden about. She was excited to hear what Coulson and May had to say after bringing Nathan Garrett to custody for interrogation. But, she was also in a state of dismay after not finding anything other than general information on Freya Pederson that anyone else could find doing a simple search on Google.

Skye had even hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D's database for the fifth time-as if it was hard-only to discover that everything about this Agent Bailey had been wiped clean, as though she never existed to them. It didn't settle with Skye. And, she knew it would only make Hayden even more uneasy about the strange woman. At least she had Ward to protect her. The man was more robot than human most of the time but he knew his way with a gun and that was somewhat reassuring.

Skye began to mix several ingredients into a blender at the bar when a sudden inspiration struck. S.H.I.E.L.D might have wiped Freya Pederson's files away but it didn't mean they were gone. Nothing was every completely destroyed. During Skye's time as a member of the Rising Tide she had hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D's database twice before they caught her. Perhaps they still had those old files she saved to their server from when she was working with them.

Skye sighed. Though that meant having to turn to the Rising Tide for help. And, after the way she left to aid S.H.I.E.L.D instead she wasn't certain they would just welcome her with open arms. Although, she could avoid the unpleasantries all together and just do what it was that she did best: hack into their computer system.

Smiling at herself, she poured the blended drink into a glass. Picking it up off the counter she brought the rim to her lips, inhaling a frothy fruity smell when the door busted open. Nearly dropping the drink Skye set the glass down letting it slip out of her grasp and onto the floor at the sight of a young woman covered in blood.

Coulson was carrying her with Agent May rushing behind him as Simmons and Fritz entered from the opposite end of the room. They all met in the middle as Simmons began to take vitals from the girls limp arm. Coulson continued to walk forward taking the girl to the infirmary with Simmons and Fritz clambering to keep up.

Agent May heavily sighed as she reached for an empty glass. Completely collected despite having brought in a dying girl onto the private jet instead of a hospital she filled the glass to the brim. Without a word, May chugged the entire fruity concoction hissing at the faint alcohol kick that Skye had added from Coulson's so-called secret stash.

Wide-eyed, Skye finally asked, "what the hell happened?"

"We were on our way to meet up with Garrett at his home when we heard a scream. The girl and her boyfriend were attacked and she claims it was Black Knight that did it," explained May in a somber tone. "It was all we were able to get out of her before she went unconscious."

"Did you find the blade?" asked Skye desperate to hear good news. May shook her head no. "Were you guys able to find Nathan Garrett at least?" Again, she show her head. "Where is the girl's boyfriend?" May didn't answer. Skye nodded, turning to find a rag to distract herself with by cleaning up the mess.

May watched Skye soak up the pink beverage that spilled onto the floor, filling the drink to the top once more. Skye stood up, tossing the stained towel into the sink. She dried her hands onto the thighs of her jeans feeling the familiar ache in her fingers from too much typing. It didn't matter though, she would have to get back to typing soon. Perhaps the Rising Tide had something on Black Knight as well.

"Have you heard the name Freya Pederson before?" Just as she expected May shook her head not before cocking her head ever so slightly to the left. Hmm, Skye thought, it looks like I have more digging to do then I expected.

"May," sounded Coulson's voice over the intercom, "we need you in here."

Taking one last swig of her drink, May set the glass down. "It could be a little stronger," she pointed out. "Coulson keeps his really good stuff hidden behind a fake back to the cupboard where he already hides his secret stash."

Skye waited for May to leave before she knelt down and opened the cupboard underneath the bar. Sliding the shelf full of empty glasses aside she revealed several bottles of expensive wines and bourbons. Smiling to herself, Skye removed the back to the cupboard to see that May was right. Grabbing the first bottle that she could reach Skye opened it and chugged straight from the container.

The liquid was smooth and warm as it rushed down her throat heating up the inside of her stomach. Smacking her lips in approval she poured herself a glass replacing the hidden back and shelves. Taking the drink with her to where her computer was Skye set to begin doing what she should have done in the first place.

Hitting a few keys on the keyboard a file pulled up that she began to scan. Halfway through her findings a screen popped in front of it with a glitchy familiar smile.

"Hello Skye," he said in a sickeningly amused voice, "I knew we would be hearing from you soon enough."

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, PM's and favorite/follow. Sorry the updates aren't as frequent but please stop worrying that I've dropped the story. I would let you know. I've received an influx of messages with this concern and while I am flattered that you guys do not want the story to stop I have repeatedly explained in my author notes that during November I was busy with Nanowrimo and that with holidays coming up I am busy with work and family. I work in retail so I don't have the luxury to just write as much as I would like right now. Not to mention that I did update twice during November even when I said I wasn't so that should be some reassurance that I'm not just going to leave this story dry. That said I know you guys want Hayden and Loki to meet up soon but I'm writing a story to tell a story, not catering to a fanservice. Loki and Hayden will be reunited guys, I promise but for now they have their agendas which will lead up to better, surprising, emotionally traumatic, and heart bursting scenes to come.

Reviews:

bushesobrandy: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed CtS and I hope you enjoy the sequel just as much (: if you haven't yet I recommend you check out Fire & Rain (and its sequel) by vicvic221. Amazing Story! I also have a Fandral spin-off I'm writing called When They Fall if you're interested. Good luck finding other stories to enjoy. I know what a task that can be.

Lina Marie: (:

NightRaver: All good things happen in time (:

queenofclover: thank you, happy holidays to you as well. I don't know, I felt like a lot went on. Hayden discovered the truth about the Aaby's and learned that they were around the time of Arthurian legends which is where the Black Knight originated from. The reader learns that the letter came from Astrid, the seer. Loki learns that the knight is headed for Hayden's mother and Loki realizes he needs help (which is a big step for him, even though he had yet to admit it) and decided to call for Tony. Maybe it felt like a filler because of the wackiness that ensued throughout? I just wanted to add some humor before it starts to get bad. Which, things go bad very soon.

SnapeFanatic1: He's definitely making his play in the game now so we'll be seeing more of him now.

BeyondBirthday1: thank you so much, I'm glad you've been enjoying it. I love your username too!

Ellize Avalon: I know, I know it's hard not to just write their reunion but it's just not the time right now. I even have to pace myself haha but I don't want to rush it. That leads to bad storytelling and plot holes which I try to avoid. (:

6teenana1: they really do. I don't know why I can't just let the poor girl be happy. But, after all she's been through (and more than likely will keep going through) she'll definitely get an ending she deserves (:

SweetAssassin: it was definitely fun to write (: