Author's Notes: So many wonderful reviews, thank you thank you thank you! First posted 19 November 2012.
Music: "Fire and Whispers" by IAMX, "Fall from the Stars" by God is an Astronaut and "Pause" by Nils Frahm.
Chapter 8: A Shift
Better this present than a past like that;
Back therefore to my darkening path again!
No sound, no sight as far as eye could strain.
Will the night send a howlet or a bat?
I asked: when something on the dismal flat
Came to arrest my thoughts and change their train.
"Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came", Robert Browning
Standing left behind in the wake of the explosion on the other side of the decaying portal, the three men from Åsgard looked at each other uncertainly for a moment before Thor started after Jane.
Loki grabbed his arm and shook his head.
"Someone needs to go after her, she should not be alone!" Thor said urgently, but he stopped when he saw the look on Loki's face.
There was something in his estranged adoptive brother's eyes that silenced him. He saw a vulnerability and certainty there that he couldn't remember having ever seen in those eyes.
Somehow, though maybe not as surprisingly after his own ordeal, Loki had found a deep understanding for and recognition of Jane's plight.
"Let her go." Loki said softer than he had intended. "There is nothing you can do right now. She ran away for a reason."
Loki wasn't sure what surprised him the most; his sudden feeling of kinship with the mortal woman or the way he spoke to the person he blamed the most for the past years' turmoil, without snarling at him or irony dripping from his voice. Thor just nodded, but cast a worried and longing glance after where Jane had disappeared.
"I believe …Prince Loki is right." Heimdall said. There was a small pause before the word "prince" and it didn't go unnoticed by either of them. Loki was surprised, but hid it well. He had certainly never been a favourite of Heimdall's, and technically he was no prince of Åsgard. The annotation of respect was appreciated, however, though he would never show it. His face was a mask of neutrality, as it always was when confronted with emotions he did not want to admit to others.
"No harm will befall her in being alone with her grief for a while, although eventually one of you should find her." Heimdall continued, letting his golden eyes linger for a moment longer at Loki than Thor. Loki furrowed his brow suspiciously.
"Why would I go after her? She is not my…guest." He replied. His snappy comment didn't quite have the usual poisonous edge to it.
Thor looked at them both.
"Jane is a guest of Åsgard. But she is my responsibility more than anyone else's. I will find her and talk to her. I do not think it is wise for her to be alone for long." Thor decided.
Heimdall did not look entirely convinced, but let it go. "We should go to the All-Father." He told them both, giving Loki another knowing look.
Loki nodded. Even without his magic, he could be of help. And if he was lucky, Odin might even give him a longer leash to be able to help them further with the broken Bifrost.
"Very well. Then let us go, I should find Jane soon." Thor said, and they swiftly proceeded to find Odin and some answers to what had happened.
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When they found Odin in his Room of Spells, the atmosphere was tense. Heimdall and Loki kept in the back. Thor had not seen his father so angry since he had been banished.
"Father? What happened?" he asked carefully.
"Something I did not anticipate." Odin growled.
Loki looked over to the orb in the middle of the room. The colour had changed; it was now a dark grey with a tint of red in it. It looked wrong, it smelled wrong, and it felt wrong. And yet vaguely familiar, though he could not put his finger on what.
"What do you mean? Erik Selvig is badly injured, perhaps dead and Jane did not have the chance to go through before…whatever happened, happened." Thor said with urgency in his voice. He was confused, upset on Jane's behalf and trying to keep calm. But Odin's anger was unsettling.
"Someone meddled, did they not?" Loki said cautiously, knowing he was right before the reply came.
"Yes." Odin sighed, some of the anger replaced with worry.
"What?! What is going on?" Thor bellowed, worry and anger getting a stronger hold in him. Loki let Odin reply and walked slowly around the orb.
"The dark magic in the orb spoke louder than I had thought." Odin said. "Once opened properly again, with the help of Jane's friend on Midgard, someone – and I cannot be sure of whom – intercepted it and disturbed the balance." He continued.
"How is that possible?" Thor chocked out. He was worried for more than Erik and Jane now.
"They did it on purpose." Loki shot in, still looking at the orb as he was listening to them. "Anyone skilled in magic can detect others' use of magic, and if skilled enough, can trace it and even steal it. Someone has been watching Åsgard, perhaps for a long time – waiting for the right moment." He straightened up and looked at Odin.
"Now they might have found a way in."
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Jane ran. Nothing else mattered but running fast through the ever-darkening night. She ran away from the three men on the broken bridge, through the streets and towards the palace . She passed people; they stopped and watched the mortal run in wild panic without noticing them. She ran like she had the hounds of hell nipping at her heels.
All her thoughts and emotions of pain, grief, guilt and confusion and fear had to give way to the overwhelming urge to get away, filling her body with strength in spite of the fact that she had not eaten since breakfast. That was long-forgotten. It was almost blissful to give in to instinct; Jane was gone and replaced by a being of adrenaline and will-power.
Her subconscious led her in a specific direction; towards the gate and the maze she had so recently hidden away in. But as she approached the area where the entrance to the maze had been, she longed for even more isolation – she didn't want to be found by anyone. Jane couldn't think of anywhere else to go though. She needed to get away; now. Suddenly she saw a different gate, if it could be called that. Next to the black gate was an opening between some trees. She could not remember it from earlier that day - the hedge had looked solid then. It looked narrow and dark, and she only hesitated for a split second. She half-jumped, half-pressed herself inside the opening of trees and bushes.
Jane almost stopped when she came through on the other side, but there was no stopping now – even if she did notice that this was nothing like the maze, but a wild-looking and dark forest, growing thicker and more imposing for every step. More magic, a small voice told her as her heart pounded and her legs finally began to grow tired. Trees and bushes hit her face and she flailed her arms around in front of her to avoid having to slow down too much.
Finally, she tripped and her feet could no longer keep up the speed. She fell to the ground, but it was covered in moss and she did not hurt herself. Instantly she got to her hands and knees, and just gasped for air. The adrenaline rush was slowly retreating and her body was aching from the exhortation. She bent her head into the moss, holding her hands over her head and screamed loudly once until her voice cracked.
She couldn't move; the reality of what had happened hit her like a wall of water, flushing over her and nailing her to the mossy ground. She stayed in that foetal position as the sobs pressed up through her throat and into the quiet night.
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Odin had told them to meet in his council chamber; none of them could stand to be in the presence of the sickening glow of the orb any longer. They needed to discuss what was happening without any distractions. Loki had followed to no protests, although no one spoke to him directly either. That suited him just fine, as it gave him more time to think. Thor was becoming hot-headed, but not quite as he had before his banishment. It was just his worry for Åsgard shining through – in time he would learn the stoic calm which seemed to possess Odin. Loki knew better than to be fooled however; he knew very well – as did the rest of the men in the room – that Odin was very upset indeed. Not for the first time in his long life, Loki was relieved to know the anger was not directed at him.
"We have to do something! Who can be behind this?!" Thor repeated.
"Right now, we do not know, Thor." Odin answered yet again. "I have to replenish before I search again, but I will send out Hugin and Munin while I do. Mayhap they will pick up something."
"Heimdall? Is there nothing you can tell us?" Thor asked, looking at the quiet man.
"I have tried, Prince Thor. My sight is not as good without the connection of the Bifrost. Also, there is something...peculiar with my sight. I cannot see Jane's friend on Earth, I know nothing about his fate. It is like...someone is blocking me." Heimdall said, with a hint of frustration and worry in his deep voice.
"Loki?" Thor turned towards him, his voice almost pleading.
Loki looked at them all in turn, a little defiant – more out of habit than anything else.
"I could do more if I had access to my magic." He stated, looking at Odin.
"Loki, you know very well why I cannot change that now. However, I will consider it. Please tell us what you know." Odin replied, not budging.
"I told you some already. The only explanation I can think of is that someone has been keeping an eye on your use of magic. The orb has been...infested, in a way. It is not safe to use until we know more. This fact weakens us, should this – or these – someone choose to attack. As long as we do not know who or what they are, we cannot prepare fully." He paused.
"As for the connection to the portal to Midgard, I have no explanation of that. Could be that Selvig was under the influence of someone, or that they just took advantage of the situation."
Odin looked tired.
"Who could it be, Loki?" The tone of the question made Loki realize that Odin believed that Loki was part of this somehow, though not by choice.
"I was told...I have many enemies, Father. They could have followed my movements from Midgard to here." Loki said, not even noticing the word he used.
"The Jotne are not advanced enough in magic, unless they had help. They most likely have a price on my head for what I did to Laufey. As for the worst case scenario-" Loki shuddered involuntarily-"Thanos is trying to find me. He did promise..." He drifted off in thought and memories of the unpleasant conversations he had had with The Other.
The room went silent. Except for Loki, the rest of them had barely even heard about Thanos before, but what they had heard was a cause for worry indeed.
"Jane. I need to find Jane. We will not solve anything tonight." Thor finally said, and stood up. Waiting briefly for Odin to nod his approval, he was out of the door in an instant.
"Loki. Whatever comes, we will protect you here." Odin told him. "In the meantime, I would appreciate it greatly if you could come with me to the orb. May be that it holds some answers for us." The All-Father stood up, and waited for Loki to join him to the Room of Spells.
Some time later, after studying the orb and not quite finding anything of use – though there was something there, Loki just couldn't put his finger on it – Thor returned. Without Jane.
While he was gone, Frigg had joined Odin and Loki. She did not have magic as such, but they hoped her visions could tell them something. But Frigg's visions came when they chose to, and could not be forced. They were none the wiser.
"What happened, son?" Odin asked Thor.
Thor looked miserable. "I cannot find her. I searched the gardens. She must be there somewhere, but it is like she doesn't want to be found."
"That is grave news, my dear. But do not fear: I am sure she is fine. If she does not want to be found, it can wait until the morrow." Frigg said.
"How can I leave her out there like that?" Thor asked. "This is my fault!"
"No dearest. It is not your fault. The gardens protect those who seek their solitude – you know that. You should go to your friends. They must know what has transpired. We might need their skills soon enough." She told him, touching his cheek reassuringly.
Thor hung his head in defeat, and left unwillingly.
Frigg turned to Loki once Thor had left. "Kjæraste son min, I wonder if you could do something for me?" She asked him.
Loki looked at her, puzzled. "Of course, if I can help." He answered, wondering what she needed of him.
"I would like you to take this – "she handed him a carefully wrapped bundle –"to the forests."
"To the...To the mortal?" he asked, not able to hide his surprise.
"Her name is Jane, Loki." Frigg scolded him lightly. "And yes, I want you to take this to her – If you can find her." She continued.
"What in the Nine Realms makes you think I will find her when Thor did not?" he asked her, bewildered.
"You know the forests and gardens much better than Thor does. Maybe they will guide you. You never know, my son. I would like you to try, for Jane's sake. She must be hungry." She said quietly, ignoring the look Odin gave her from the side.
"Very well. I suppose I can take a look." Loki said, entirely convinced that it would be a waste of time. Except he could do with some fresh air – the orb was making him feel nauseous.
He left, and Odin kept staring at Frigg until she had to laugh.
"Do not give me that look, kjærasten min!" she told him.
"I am simply curious to what you are up to." He told her, his face showing surprise and suspicion.
Frigg gave him yet another secretive smile, and Odin sighed tiredly. He could never keep up with the schemes of that woman.
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Thor walked into the room where his friends usually dwelled in the evenings. It was late and he had not expected them to still be awake, but apparently they had been waiting for him. Siv rushed over to him as soon as she saw him, worry apparent on her face.
"Thor! Is everything well?" She asked him.
The Warriors Three stood up and looked at him. Even now, Thor pondered, late at night and without knowing what lay ahead, they looked ready to follow him with a single word from his lips. He was so grateful for his friends; and ashamed for the times he had not told them so when he should have.
"Oh Siv…" he said, and dumped into one of the soft chairs.
She kneeled beside his chair and grabbed his hand. He looked at her with worried eyes and a heavy heart. Then he looked at Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun; and began recounting the evenings' events to them.
They had their different reactions. Hogun's face was a mask of stone, Fandral looked horrified but determined, Volstagg began fussing about with the food on the nearby table, and Siv…she might be the bravest one of them, Thor thought with admiration and a pang of fear.
She returned his worried look with confidence. She didn't know the full scope of it yet, none of them did, but she had already made up her mind that they would emerge victorious – no matter the challenge. Her faith in him, in them and in herself was that great. And Thor had faith in her – he always had. But ever since that day on Midgard, when the Destroyer had been close to defeating them and Siv had offered to sacrifice herself to buy them time, Thor had feared for her.
That was the day he had realized he could not imagine his life without her by his side. She was, for all intents and purposes, his best friend. At least after Loki had turned on him and disappeared out of his life for a time. He doubted he could ever regain that kind of friendship with Loki, but he knew Siv would never leave his side. She was a constant in his life. He could not lose her.
"Thor," she said quietly, "you should get some rest. The Queen is right; if Jane does not wish to be found, there is nothing to be done now."
"I cannot help but worry for her, Siv." He replied. "She is so fragile compared to us; I feel I have to protect her."
Siv smiled. "From what I know of Jane Foster, she is not as fragile as she seems. You mannfolk are always so quick to dismiss us for the weaker sex. But you always were one to protect damsels in distress. No wait! That is Fandral!" she turned around as she teased the blond charmer.
Thor and Volstagg began laughing as Fandral huffed indignantly. Even Hogun smirked.
"It is hardly my fault that they call out for me, Siv!" he said, raising his chin up.
The sinister atmosphere eased up a little. It felt good to laugh after hours of worrying, Thor decided. He brushed away his gloomy mood.
"But Thor, if you want us to help you look for her now, we will – you know that." Siv continued, more serious again.
Thor thought about it.
"If she is not back on the morrow, we will find her together. You are right; Jane can take care of herself. I just wished she would share her pain instead of seeking solitude." He said.
"She will share, when she's ready. That I am sure of." Siv told him, and squeezed his arm reassuringly.
"Who wants supper?" Volstagg interrupted them.
Siv rolled her eyes. "It's only like the third supper he has had since we have been waiting for you," she whispered to Thor.
Thor threw his head back and laughed. He could be merry and enjoy his friends' company – but his mind would continue to drift to Jane for the remainder of the night.
AN: I hope you enjoy (and review)!
