Anja looked up as the sound of boots clicking along down the hallway met her ears. She had been curled up on the bed again, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to locate any memory of the child that was playing with a doll on the floor in the center of the room.
"Anja."
That was the warrior's voice- the one that had called her sister when she had awoken the first time. Biting her lower lip, Anja sat up. She stared at Fandral blankly, blinking once, twice.
The warrior was out of breath, and his gaze fell upon her as she sat up, trying in vain to smooth her shift.
She furrowed her brow as he produced a set of armor from behind his back. Brown leather and a silver breast plate were what greeted her, and she could not help but compare it to the armor she had seen the Warrior Woman that had rendered her unconscious wearing.
Biting her lower lip, she looked to Fandral as Leena rushed to hug his legs. "What is that for?" she said quietly. "Where are you taking me?"
He gave Anja a soft smile, walking forwards as Leena released her grasp on him. "We… the prince has devised a plan that you are part of," Fandral explained calmly. Turning to the little girl, he offered her his hand as he left the armor and boots on the couch by the fire pit. "You are to put these on while I take your daughter to a safe house. I'll be back in a matter of minutes."
Anja's eyes went wide as she looked back to the little girl. "My… daughter…" she said softly, still confused.
Fandral's lips pressed into a grim line this time, and he nodded quietly as he began to usher Leena out of the room. It was a moment more before Leena paused, turning on her heel and slipping from Fandral's grasp to make her way back to Anja. Reaching up, small hands unclasped the necklace that Leena was wearing. "Here," she whispered, pressing the metal into Anja's palm. "It's supposed to keep you safe," she whispered quietly. She gave Anja a small smile before turning to go back to Fandral.
Fandral gave Anja a slight nod before turning to walk out of the room with Leena.
*o*O*o*
"I want to see her."
Thor's hand was like a vice around Loki's throat as he spoke to the thunder god. The two were hidden in shadow as a guard passed, and if Loki truly wanted to, he could out his brother's frivolous plan right there.
At Loki's demand, Thor merely shook his head. "In due time," he said quietly. "Now, do you think you can remain silent until we are aboard the vessel? Better yet, silent the remainder of the mission? We do not need any more of your tricks."
Thor, of course, was referring to the rather impressive shape shifting that Loki had just performed. Taking the form of Steve Rogers, however, had been the last straw. It was too loud, too obvious…
"You could at least give me a weapon of sorts… my dagger? Something." The smile on his lips was still sardonic, obviously that of the Loki that he had been showing everyone lately. "If you aren't going to let me see my wife first, of course."
"Lady Anja is still not well. She does not need you messing with her mind-"
"You think I would-" Loki's voice was hushed once more as a handmaiden walked by. Watching the woman go, Loki met Thor's gaze. "I would do no more harm to her than you surely already have done. Now, about my weapon."
Thor gave Loki a small smile at that, the sharp words of the silvertongue washing like a wave over him.
But the metallic sound of his blade being produced did not meet Loki's ears. No. Instead it was the binding of the magical handcuffs that prevented him from using his magic. The very same ones he had been brought to Asgard in…
Giving Thor a disbelieving look, bile rose in his throat to see the god of thunder giving him a smile, knowing he had outsmarted him. "What, I thought you liked surprises," Thor said with a smile.
Turning to the hall, what Thor had been waiting for finally appeared. Sif with Jane…
"Alright. Behave," Thor said, taking Loki by the scruff of the collar and sending him forward.
Loki wrinkled his nose at that. "I hardly ever behave, brother dear."
*o*O*o*
Anja took in a deep breath, following Fandral down the hallway. He had kept his word, coming back for her when he had said he would. She was fully clothed in the brown leather of her armor, a dark brown cloak wrapped around her tall frame and secured. It billowed out behind her as she walked, the thick wool obviously of fine quality.
Keeping the hood over her head, she looked to Fandral's own hooded form.
"Where… where are you taking me?" she whispered as they made it through the palace. Slipping through the last of the abandoned guard's post, Fandral merely shook his head, placing a finger to his lips to signal for her to remain quiet.
She let out a little huff, rolling her eyes as he still refused to answer her question. Settling for following him, she was very surprised to say the least when they came upon the outskirts of the palace walls. There was a gate there though, one that led to the water…
Surely he wasn't planning on drowning her?!
Stopping in her tracks, she crossed her arms. "I demand to know where you are taking me or I will not take another step," she said, keeping a quiet tone but making the statement firm this time.
Fandral stopped when he realized that she was resolute in her comment. Turning to her, he let out a little sigh. "I am taking you to the docks. From there, we will meet with Prince Thor to take you to the Dark World," he said quietly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and walking forward forcefully to keep her moving.
The Dark World… where… Malekith was…
"I don't want to go back to him," she whispered, fear gripping her tight and causing a knot to form in her stomach.
Fandral furrowed his brow, looking down at Anja. Somehow he knew she was not speaking of the Crowned Prince.
It was a matter of who she was speaking of, that left him slightly dumbfounded.
*o*O*o*
Anja had never felt more exhilarated in her entire life- or at least that of which she could remember…
As the boat that Fandral had secured to the dock of the royal palace pulled out of port, she took in a small breath. Freedom raced through her veins, the knowledge that she was finally out of that makeshift prison settling in on her. Standing in front of Fandral's form, she latched onto the center stand of the craft… but what happened next had her rather nervous to say the least.
Letting a small breath pass, she latched on even tighter as the speeding boat lifted from the water. She should not have been surprised- what else should she had expected, after all? But it was a bit of a startle as her heart fell to her stomach and it took off at a pace that she was not expecting at all.
She swallowed hard, blinking and trying to see as her long dark locks flew in front of her face with the speed of the wind. Leena's necklace sat on her collarbone, moving back and forth as the wind chilled the metal against her flesh.
"Where, by all the norns, are you taking me?!" she yelled over the wind as she looked back at Fandral.
A smile was on Fandral's lips, and he raised his brows as he looked down at her. "Well, we're meeting up with…" he trailed off, waiting for a moment as his blue eyes scanned the horizon. Then, as if he were expecting it, he nodded towards the colossal beast of a ship that the dark elves had used to infiltrate the palace.
Anja focused in on the vehicle, pursing her lips as she glanced back at Fandral, still thoroughly confused. He simply gave her a shrug and a reassuring smile before picking up in speed with the boat. She bit her lower lip, eyes widening as she realized what he was doing… he was keeping pace with the elven ship.
As Fandral made it to just below the ship, Anja let out a little squeak as an air current sent her staggering forward as the ship bounced up and down with it. Regaining her footing further out towards the center of the boat, Anja barely heard Fandral's word of warning before a large figure collided with her form, falling from nowhere out of the sky. She let out a cry, landing on her stomach as a weight that had been far too familiar to her at one point settled on her form.
Of course, she did not remember that now, as she turned over beneath the dark-haired figure's own form struggling to right itself… and silver met emerald for the first time in years.
