Frigga casts an invisibility spell on herself and disappears as warriors loyal to General Gundirth descend upon her husband. Odin may be sick but he's not dead yet. With several well placed blasts from his mighty staff seven of the guards disintegrate before the Allfather. Noblemen and gentry loyal to the Allfather grab steak knives and break glass to use as weapons. None of them have their swords, but they will still fight for their King however they can. Pandemonium breaks out in the feasting hall. Frigga is quickly forgotten as is Lord Behur who now lies on the ground with his throat slit, done so by an unseen assailant. Thor and Loki's bodies lie on the ground forgotten.
Odin fights hard but the large mass of bodies in the confined space all writhing and swinging about makes movement difficult. He feels the heaviness in his chest spread to his arms. His breath quickens and the room begins to spin. Darkness descends over the vision in his one good eye and then he is gone. He is taken into death, not by the point of the sword, but by time. This is not the Odinsleep. Odin's staff clatters to the ground and the echo of the sound stills all fighting in the room as the people turn to look upon their old King. The House of Odin has fallen.
General Gundirth enters the hall and the crowd parts for him. He comes and stands over the Allfather; looking down at the man he swore loyalty to all those years ago. He bends down and takes up the staff into his hand. The people mutter amongst themselves. They know what this is.
"I am your King now! Kneel!" He yells. The people do so for they know the battle is lost. General Gundirth has the loyalty of the army and with Odin and Thor both dead there are none to step forward to challenge his claim. Even those men who would see justice done for Gundirth's betrayal will follow him simply because they have no one else to lead them. If only Thor were still alive. He looks out on the masses and smiles at his handiwork, and then he remembers someone.
"Where is the Allmother? Find her! Search everywhere!" He cries. Gundirth's men disperse to search the palace for the former queen. It will not be so simple a task as searching for the seamstress. Frigga is a witch and will use it to conceal herself. "Collect the bodies and stick them in the healing hall for now. We will burn them in the morning." General Gundirth orders.
At the Bifrost site Heimdall is fighting valiantly to let as many slaves pass by as possible. Gundirth's men have come to stop the exodus of the slaves. The Bifrost is currently open to Vanaheim and everyone there, regardless of where they are actually from are running into the light praying they touch down in Vanaheim before the light closes up. Heimdall and a handful of Frost Giant slaves are keeping the soldiers at bay but the large number of soldiers is overwhelming them. One of the Frost Giants calls upon his ice magic to build a thick ice wall and seals the gatehouse closed, trapping Heimdall and the remaining slaves inside. Heimdall lets the slaves flee and then removes his sword from the post, closing the Bifrost to Vanaheim. Gundirth's men slowly chip away the ice wall and break through to the gatekeeper.
They surround Heimdall and keep him prisoner under the General arrives. When the man finally arrives to survey the scene he asks Heimdall for his allegiance.
"The House of Odin has fallen. I am King now. You will swear your loyalty to me." He demands.
"I swore an oath to the House of Odin and it is they which I still serve." Heimdall says.
"Don't be a fool gatekeeper! I see you let the slaves get away. It is no matter. I will replace them in time. The only one left is the Allmother and we will find her and slay her. Swear allegiance to me or I will slay you here and now!" He says.
There is a tense moment of silence before Heimdall says in a defeated tone, "I swear."
"Good, glad you finally came to your senses. Until further notice the Bifrost is closed. No one may come or go from Asgard until everything is sorted out, and to ensure your compliance, some of my men will remain here with you until morning." He says. A compliment of six men stays behind to watch Heimdall as the others take their leave.
XxXxXxXxXx
Frigga looks down on her son's blue frozen face. All the light, warmth, and life have gone out of him, or so it would seem. Loki looks just as dead but Frigga knows better. She moves to look down on him and whispers, "I am not fooled Loki Laufeyson. I know you live. I taught you this trick. I would know if you spared my son or no. I pray that you have. I pray…." Frigga says as invisible tears fall from her eyes. She's still hiding. She did not flee as the General expected but stayed close by, to the bodies of her dead family. If she is right in hoping that Loki and Thor are still alive she cannot let the bodies burn. She prays it is all just an enchantment. If it is the enchantment she suspects it to be, they will awaken in about 2 hours. Until then she is on her own. She needs help. Frigga knows her options are limited. Those still loyal to Thor, even in death, are either fighting, dying, or being tossed into prison. She knows that Thor's edict to free the slaves made Thor many enemies within the army. The common soldiers are afraid of losing their jobs and status, but there are many that are still honorable. They just lack someone else to lead them. If Thor does rise again those loyal to him would rally and be forced to fight their fellow soldiers. It would be chaos. It would be civil war. Her little family needs help, and Asgard has only made enemies of the other realms. They will not render aid.
Except perhaps one. "Midgard." Frigga mutters.