Thor and Fandral contemplated what they should do to get Loki back. They had come up with many things they could do, but they couldn't agree on any one idea. Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun had joined their little plotting party and had suggested some pretty interesting things. It was Fandral's idea that they finally all agreed on. "I have another idea! This one will be spectacular!" Fandral said with a growing smirk.

"Swing." Sif said.

"Loki was never been good at physical activities. I say we invite him to a little game that he can't possibly win."

"What would that game be?" Thor asked.

"I don't know yet…" Fandral said.

"That would be more of a get-even sort of thing and not really a prank, but if I still get the chance to beat him, I'm in!" Sif said enthusiastically. "We'll have to watch out for Terezah though…" She added.

Thor and Fandral smiled. "She's the one who told us to do it." Thor said.

Sif grinned. "I guess we're all getting sick of him. What shall these games be?" Sif asked Fandral.

"I was thinking about that… maybe something like… a game?" Fandral said uncertainly.

"I like it!" Thor beamed. "We shall play these games in the woods. That would be most interesting."

"Yes… how about we all hunt Loki down! Of course he'll have to agree or else he'll send Terezah after us. We could give him at least a few minutes and then we hunt him. And Terezah isn't allowed to help him!" Fandral said. At this point, all five friends agreed and started to grow excited.

"We must organize these games though. It can't just be random hunting of Loki, can it?" Volstagg asked.

"That is a good point my friend…" Fandral said. "Perhaps there will be different settings for each part of the games. First it will start in Muspelheim. Only two of us will go after him then. The second place will be in Vanaheim. Another two of us will play the games there. And the last place will be…"

"How about Niflheim?" Sif asked.

They nodded in agreement. Then Hogun the Grim finally spoke up. "What about the last tournament. There would be only one person to play these games with Loki."

Everyone was slightly shocked that Hogun had actually spoken up. "Maybe we could convince Terezah to be on our team." Volstagg said.

"That wouldn't be fair to any of us. She could take us all down." Sif said.

"She is talented… but we are warriors! She would be on our team anyways. Perhaps we could set a limit for her to use her abilities." Fandral suggested.

"I have an even better idea to these games. How about, instead of night-games it is an actual surviving game that lasts about a week. We will be placed in teams of two each. To make it a little more fair for Loki, we should put someone on his team. Terezah could be the game manager, because she is pretty much a level ahead of us and if she were put on a team, that team would be sure to win…." Sif said.

"We shall all start in the same place. First Vanaheim, then Muspelheim, and finally the snow covered regions of Niflheim. When we get to a certain point on each realm, Heimdall will send us to the next realm. We see who will survive the longest. Terezah will make sure nobody cheats... and of course, Heimdall will bring us back if we are in absolute danger… hopefully…" Fandral said.

"I like this idea!" Thor said.

"So, do we all agree?" Sif asked.

"Aye!" All five said.

"Let us begin preparing for these games!" Thor said.

"We will have to ask Terezah if she approves, or if she'll even participate." Volstagg said.

"Leave that to me." Sif said as she left Thor's room.


It had been a few days since Loki's mysterious illness. Terezah had looked into anyone who might have done it. Any guards he had ever pranked, any people of the court he had ever fooled, she had even gone to Thor to see if that was his prank. He had informed her that they hadn't pranked Loki yet and that he would never do something to hurt his brother like that. She had searched everywhere for traces of Vasa Lirva but found absolutely nothing. It was a dead end.

Thor had come up with a new game where he would throw a small piece of meat at her and she would slice it in midair with one of her daggers, sending it flying back at his plate, cut into two pieces. He seemed to enjoy anything that had to do with weapons. She just laughed at this. It was a chance to show off and impress another member of the royal family. Thor did end up with a lot more meat on his plate than he needed. She loved Asgard. She had friends here. She had family.

"Terezah!" Terezah heard Sif knock on the door to her room. She had been sitting on her bed, polishing her dagger collection. She slid the daggers off her lap, and onto the bed, and went to her door and opened it.

"Can I come in?" Sif asked.

"Sure." Terezah said opening the door wider. Sif came into her room and Terezah shut the door behind her and went back to her bed to start polishing her daggers again.

"What do you need?" Terezah asked as she picked up the dagger she had been working on.

"Thor, the Warriors Three, and I have come up with a way to get even with Loki." Sif informed her.

"What do you have planned?" Terezah said while studying the blade of the dagger.

"We have come up with a survival game. It will start in Vanaheim, then it will go to Muspelheim, and finally it will end in Niflheim. We will be divided into teams of two and we will start in the same place at the same time. When we reach a certain point, we will be transported by Heimdall to the next realm. The first team to complete their course on Niflheim wins." Sif said.

Terezah looked at her wide eyed. "You are doing all this because Loki dyed Thor's cape half green?!" Asgardians were sort of cruel.

"Not just because of that. He has done many other things before you got here. Once he cut my hair off when I was asleep…" Sif trailed off.

"What do I get to do?" Terezah asked, now completely focused on this plan they had come up with.

"You get to make sure nobody cheats." Sif said.

"How do I do that?"

"You make sure that Loki doesn't use his magic, Thor doesn't use his hammer, and none of us have packed away anything that would help us more than the others. Basically, follow all of us."

"If you're all competing, how does this affect Loki?" Terezah asked slightly confused at the point of this game.

"Loki doesn't do this sort of stuff. He isn't very good at physical activities, so he will probably lose." Sif said with a small smile playing on her lips. "So, are you in?" Sif asked.

"This sounds like way too much fun to say no. I'm in on one condition…" Terezah said. She didn't want to just be the person who keeps track of everyone. "I want to be able to set up surprise traps and obstacles along the way." She had a couple of ideas on what to do.

"Sure! We're starting in about a tomorrow morning. I'll let you pack what you want in your own bag, but here is a bag for Loki. We all have to pack the same things so here's a list of stuff. Make sure he doesn't pack anything extra." Sif instructed, and then left the room.

Terezah looked over the list. It read: Maximum of two weapons, one coil of rope, matches, medical kit, pocket knife, and a coat. Wow… that is really going to help them survive a forest world, a lava world, and a blizzard world. She looked in the bag Sif had given her to give to Loki. It had three rolled up maps inside, with the course plotted out on it. She looked it over. It would take at least two weeks to complete.

She went to Loki's room to drop the bag off and tell him what was going on.

"Do I have to go?" Loki asked, putting down the book he was reading.

"Yes. No exceptions." She said and threw the bag at him. He caught the bag and opened it.

"Have fun packing. We're leaving tomorrow. I think Sif will come and get us." Loki sighed, irritated.

"Fine."

She went back to her own room. Sif had said she could pack her own bag. She took out the bag she had packed when coming here. She didn't have winter stuff because she had left it all back in Svartalfheim. She would have to make a trip to the market for what she needed. Loki had given her a day off. He was going to be in his room reading all day, and had agreed to let two palace guards remain with him while she was away.

She took her empty bag and slung it over her shoulder. She had stolen a sack of money from Loki… not that he would miss it. And she could trade weapons she conjured. She went to the stables and waited for the stable boy to get her a horse. As she saw the stable boy, she was reminded of her illusions spell she would need to wear in the market. She quickly muttered the spell and watched as her arm shimmered from ash grey to a warm tan color.

The stable boy came back with her horse. He handed her the reins and hurried away. She mounted the horse and started riding towards the market she and Loki had gone to a few months ago. About an hour long ride later she dismounted and paid the same stable people to take care of her horse. She weaved through the crowds of villagers scurrying about, getting stuff they needed. When she and Loki had been here months ago, they had passed many shops. One sold weaponry and battle armor, and had the stuff she would need. She passed a few streets and finally found the shop she was looking for.

She entered the shop and looked around. It was a rather large shop that had barrels containing weapons placed here and there. Various pieces of armor hung on the walls. She went over to a rack that had cloaks. She started looking through them and finally found a thick white one. It would go perfect of Niflheim. She found a normal brown one that would help her on Vanaheim. She could use one of her own black cloaks on Muspelheim. She bought the cloaks and headed towards a rope shop and bought three coils of rope. She moved on past many different stores and bought whatever she thought she would need. She did not intend to make this easy for them. She bought a fire starter, some exploding gas pockets (when a person steps on them they release a sleeping gas), a small hand shovel, a pair of eyeglasses that would enlarge her vision when she looked through them, an animal whistle (when blown, it attracts any animals in the area), a miniature crossbow that shot tiny arrows, and finally a ball of thick twine. She put these things in her bag, which would shrink them to fit more stuff. She went to the food market. She bought some nuts, dried meat, dried fruits, dried fish meat, and a canteen. She could purify water with her magic.

She put all these things in her bag that still had some space in it. She past a potions dealer and decided to see if there was anything that could help her. She found a medium sized bottle of sleeping potion and tucked it into her bag. Since that was all her bag could hold, she headed towards the stables. When she got there, a large man was arguing with the owner of the stables. "I am a royal guard! I will be treated with respect! I demand my horse be taken care of for free!" He shouted at the lady who ran the stables.

"Even Prince Loki pays for his horse when he comes here. You will pay the fee or get out!" She yelled at the man.

"I don't care what that skinny prince does! My horse will be taken into your stall for free!" The guard said. The lady still refused. He unsheathed his sword with rage. The lady stumbled back, frightened. "It's time to learn a lesson old lady!" The guard yelled, and swung the sword towards her.

Terezah remembered her step-father, looming over her with a knife in hand. She remembered as he brought his sword down on her, cutting her shoulder open. The second time, her mother had died. Rage boiled through her and time seemed to slow down. The scene was too similar to that of her mother's death. She rushed in front of the lady and pulled out a dagger from a sheath on her arm, catching the surprised guard's blade mid-air. She twisted the sword out of the guards hand and swung her leg under his legs, and he fell to the ground.

"Respect your elders." Terezah said, glaring down at the guard. He scrambled to his feet.

"And who do you think you are to assault a royal guard?!" He asked furiously.

She dropped the illusion spell, revealing her ash grey skin and silver hair. The guard's eyes widened. "I am Terezah, Dark Elf of Asgard. You have no right to assault this woman." Terezah said, starting to notice a crowd gather around the skirmish.

"You are a Dark Elf!" The guard said and picked up his sword, pointing it at her. "Dark Elves aren't allowed in Asgard!" He yelled.

"They are when they are in service to the House of Odin." She snapped. The guard charged her and she quickly dodged the blade and kicked it out of his hand. "I don't like bullies." She said in a deathly tone.

"You either pay the woman or you leave!" She yelled.

"I'm reporting you!" He yelled as he mounted his horse and bolted off towards the palace. She sighed and realized what she had just done. She looked around at the astonished crowd around her. They started to whisper. She looked back at the old lady. Terezah walked over to her and held out her hand to the old lady. She expected the lady to be afraid of her, to push her hand away and call her a rat like Freya would have done. Instead, the old lady accepted her hand and Terezah pulled her up to her feet.

"Thank you! That guard and his men come to this market and terrorize us, demanding things for free like you just saw." The old lady smiled warmly. Terezah looked around at the crowd and they started to applaud.

"But I am a Dark Elf… do you not hate me?" Terezah asked, puzzled.

"You just saved us! We would be fools to hold the fact that you are a dark elf against you!"

Terezah had never felt like this before. She had always done her works in secret, never receiving any praise. She looked around at the happy, smiling faces of the Asgardians surrounding her. She didn't see fear in their eyes, she saw gratitude and awe. "I have come to get my horse." Terezah said. She didn't find a need to cast the illusion spell on herself as she had now blown her cover.

"Of course!" The old lady said and went back into the stable. The crowd started to dissipate as the old lady brought her horse back out. "As thanks, I will no longer charge you for bringing your horse here. You may leave your horse here for free any time!" The lady said, face aglow.

"That isn't necessary…" Terezah said.

"I know! But I'll have no way of ever repaying you, so this is at least something I can do." The old lady smiled and handed her the reins to her horse.

"Thank you." Terezah said as she took the reins from the old lady.

"No… thank you!" The lady said with a kind smile.

Terezah mounted her horse and started riding back to the palace. She knew she would not get out of this easily. She had saved an innocent civilian, but she had also assaulted a royal guard. She would probably be sent to court. She felt her heart sink as she realized this. The ride back to the palace was a long one. When she started to near the palace gates, she cast her illusion spell. The guards to the gates recognized her and let her in. She left her horse in the stables and hurried to her room. She bumped into Sif on the way there.

"I heard about a dark elf assaulting a royal guard, that wasn't you, was it?" Sif asked looking her straight in the eyes.

"Yes." Terezah sighed.

"What happened?! You know this isn't going to end well!" Sif said frantically.

"The guard attacked an old lady because she refused to take his horse for free into her stables! I had to do something!" Terezah shouted.

"I don't believe a royal guard would do that, especially one of Odin's body guards." Sif said.

Terezah felt the sinking feeling in her stomach grow. "He attacked an old lady! He pulled out his sword and was about to hurt her! I couldn't stand there and watch him do it!" Terezah defended.

"I hope all works out. We will have to postpone our competition if this doesn't go right. I have to go. Good luck." Sif said and kept walking down the hall. Terezah hurried to her room and shut her door. She put her bag onto her bed and sat down.

"I heard what happened." She heard a voice say and she jumped, looking to where the voice had come from. A figure stepped out of the shadows from the corner of her room. Loki frowned at her. "I'm disappointed. Did you really attack a royal guard?" Loki asked angrily. "I was starting to think you weren't here to cause trouble."

"I'm not. The guard pulled a sword out on an old lady and was about to hurt her!"

"I doubt my father will see it that way." Loki said. "Tell me exactly what happened!" He said with more force.

"I was going back to the stables at the market to get my horse, when I saw the stable owner and a guard arguing. The guard wanted her to house his horse for free, but she refused saying that even the princes pay. He pulled out his sword and said she needed to learn a lesson. I interfered. I knocked the sword out of his hand and tripped him. I did nothing more. Maybe I knocked the sword out of his hand again when he charged at me, but that was all!" Terezah said defensively. She was standing now.

"You could be sent back to Svartalfheim for this! Why couldn't you have just let what happened, happen?!" Loki asked, voice getting louder.

"Because… I couldn't!" She said, her voice breaking.

"Because why?!" Loki yelled.

"Because it reminded me too much of my mother's death!" Terezah screamed at him. Loki's expression turned from angry to worry.

"The woman was helpless, just like I was. The man pulled out his sword because he didn't get what he wanted, just like my step-father. I did what my mother would have done. I saved her. Except I didn't die!" Her voice broke and angry tears streamed down her face.

"Is that what happened?" Loki asked. "When your mother died? You never told me the story."

"Do I have to?! It's my life! Don't interfere more than you already have!" She couldn't stop the words from coming out. Loki looked a little shocked, then angry.

"Fine! I won't intrude anymore!" Loki hissed and went for the door. Terezah started to panic. She didn't want to lose the only real friend she had. She had no one else. She had no family. She had no other friends.

"Wait!" She said desperately. Loki slowly stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm sorry… I… I just…." She couldn't get the words out, but she couldn't lose him either. "I didn't mean that…" She finished. "I can't help the way I am… nobody has ever cared what my life has been like. I don't know how to talk about it." She stuttered. She sat down on her bed. Loki walked over and sat down next to her.

"You did what was right. I can't blame you for that." Loki said. "I'll talk to my father before a court session is held." Loki muttered.

"Thank you." Terezah whispered.

"Lokitty!" They heard Freya's voice call from outside the door. They both heard a knock on the door. "Loki?! Are you in there with that rat?!" Terezah looked over at Loki who nodded his head towards the door. Terezah stood up and went to the door. She looked back to where Loki had been, but he wasn't there anymore. She opened the door.

"Where's Loki?!" Freya asked angrily.

"Not here. Today's my day off. I don't even want to see him today." Terezah said stiffly.

Freya looked over her shoulder. Terezah opened the door all the wall so that she could see the entire room. "Not here. Now go away." Terezah said and slammed the door in Freya's face. Terezah couldn't help but laugh. She looked over at her bed and Loki reappeared.

"That wasn't very nice." Loki said with a grin.

"You apparently find it amusing." Terezah said with her own grin.

"I should probably go. Freya will be searching everywhere for me and I have to talk to my Father." Loki said and walked towards her and the door.

"How did you disappear?" She asked him curiously.

"Invisibility spell. I found it a couple months ago." He said and opened her door, peeking out to make sure Freya was gone. "Please stay out of trouble." Loki said as he left her room. Terezah shut the door after he left and went to sit on her bed. This was going to get interesting.


Thank you to the 4 people out of over 100 reading this story who have actually commented! I hope all of you reading this like my story, and I apologize if my plot is a little empty but I promise it will get better. Have fun! :P