Returning to the main halls of the palace, Sam was taken by surprise when a guard came running up, asking for her to follow him. His urgent tone and fast pace made Sam begin to worry. What in the world is going on? She thought as she was ushered into a small room. The room she was ushered into was sparsely decorated with cabinets and work stations lining the walls. Off to the side of the room held a platform. Noticing Thor, who looked at her with a faint smile he returned his attention to the platform. Just as she was about to question the Thunder God, an unexpected voice shocked Sam into approaching.
"What's that?" Jane asked as a woman began fiddling with a few hologram dials.
"Be still." The woman chastised Jane, ignoring her enquiry.
"This is not of Earth. What is it?" Thor shuffled, nervous of the answer.
"We do not know. But she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her." The now deduced healer replied, Sam could only watch, completely gob-smacked at what Jane got herself into.
"That's a quantum field generator, isn't it?" Sam wanted to crack a smile. Jane never was one for staying still or being quiet when thinks piqued her interest.
"It's a soul forge." Sam tried to remember the name of the Norse healer, she had taken a course in Norse mythology as a freshman but didn't pay attention when less thrilling gods and goddesses were mentioned.
"Does a Soul Forge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?" Jane had now transfixed herself at making sense of the holograms floating above her, pulsing in exact rhythm of her heart.
Taken back by the apt description of the Soul Forge, the healer affirmed Jane that it was exactly that. Finally looking at Thor and Sam with excitement and surprise, Jane restated Earth's equivalent just as Odin burst in with guards on either side.
After a little debate on keeping Jane here and one very shocked guard, Odin ushered the three of them into the palace library. As they delve deeper into the room, Odin begins to shed light on what might be happening with Jane.
"There are relics that pre-date the universe itself. What lies within her appears to be one of them. The Nine Realms are not eternal. They had a dawn, as they will have a dusk. But before that dawn the dark forces, the Dark Elves, reigned absolute and unchallenged." Stopping at a shelf, Odin draws a book. Neither Sam nor Jane could make out any of the writings. With a nod from Odin, Thor focused on the book and began to read aloud.
"'Before the eternal night, the Dark Elves come to steal away your light.' These were the stories mother told to us as children." Thor looked up at Odin, slightly confused. To him, he never thought the stories held any dangerous weight but the by how serious his father was taking everything, Thor waited for an explanation.
"Their leader, Malekith, made a weapon out of that darkness, it was called the Aether. While the other relics often appear as stones, the Aether is fluid, and ever changing. It changes matter into dark matter, and seeks out host bodies, drawing strength from their life force. Malekith sought to use the Aether's power to return the universe to one of darkness. But, after eternities of bloodshed, my father Bor finally triumphed; ushering in a peace that lasted thousands of years." Not only did Sam have to worry over Loki's well-being now but she had to worry for the life of Jane. This Malekith person just did not sit right with Sam and she was pretty sure Jane and Thor were none too pleased either with this information.
When asked if the book told Odin how to remove the Aether and found if did not, it seemed to put Sam more on edge. But just looking at Jane, Sam knew that her cousin would do whatever it took to not only save herself but everyone around her even if it meant giving up her life and that was a thought Sam hoped never came true.
Biting on her lip, Sam couldn't help the crease in her brow grow in intensity. This was not the life she had imagined for herself or Jane. To Sam, this was situation was something that was either going to break her or make her strong and coming out unscathed was a probability that kept climbing higher and higher and not knowing what will tip the scale is what was currently keeping Sam from screaming in frustration and anxiety.
Sam was barely able to force a smile at Jane as they exited the library. Without making even a peep Jane wrapped her arm around Sam, trying to comfort her as best she could. Sam couldn't help but feel her heart sink at the thought of never feeling Jane's embrace or smelling the hint of sage she seemed to radiate. Purifying and calming any who had the privilege of knowing her.
On her way to her chambers, Sam almost had a heart attack seeing the Queen quietly waiting at a table looking directly at Sam.
"Come join me for some tea?" And with just a wave of her hand, a tray of steaming tea appeared, waiting to be drunk.
Sitting down, the air seemed heavy and that did little to calm Sam's mind even with tea at her disposal.
"It has come to my attention, as well as Odin's, that you visited Loki in the dungeons." Sam could feel her cheeks reddening as her eyes widened in fear. "Oh child, I'm not here to reprimand you. Quite the opposite. My son may not be the most open to people but it seems that he's opened, albeit minutely, to you. A mortal he had every intention of ruling. That doesn't strike you as odd?"
"With all due respect your Majesty, I don't believe that for one second. If anything we openly ignore each other most days. If he's 'opened' to me it's because I not only validated his feelings but I also told him that the reasons for his anger does not give him the excuse to destroy not only himself but innocent people. Now I don't mean to insult the Asgardian culture or your parenting, but maybe letting him grow up thinking violence and destruction is okay as an emotional outlet is the exact reason he is sitting in a cell. Men are just as emotional beings as women are but your culture tells them that it makes them weak where it's the entire opposite. Emotions are the strongest power. They drive us to do things good and bad but it's knowing how to handle both that makes a person strong. And the fact that you not once shed positive light on Jotuns or correct society's prejudice is very apparent in his self loathing. Thor got himself exiled because his anger wasn't properly expressed and being prepared for battle his entire life gave him that only option: destroy the guilty at all costs. And yet now he's changed because someone believed that he could be a good person and do good things even to his enemies. Where Loki had his entire life crumble at his feet and being influenced by society, his bottled emotions exploded and he attempted the same thing Thor did except it was towards his own adoptive father." Sam could feel her passion and anger grow in ferocity as each word spilled from her lips as the Queen sat there, soaking up every word.
"You are a very smart woman, Miss Daniels. And I will agree that Asgardian culture is very outdated compared to Midgardian culture. You shed light on perspectives I have overlooked or haven't even considered. Thank you. I think it's about time I talk to my husband. Have a good night. You have given me much to think about." Sam walked Frigga out her chamber doors and internally groaned at the thought of having Odin cast her out for questioning their culture.
Changing into a simple nightgown, Sam slipped into the bed quickly drifting off.
Sam woke up the next morning to a quick rapping at her door. Wrapping a robe around her body, Sam trudged herself to the door, opening it a crack before completely opening it.
"Oh, hello Thor. What's up?" Sam waved him inside as they sat down at the same table she shared tea with Frigga at.
"I have come personally to request an audience with you. I thought that you would like to join Jane and I on an outing into the city?" Thor asked, plucking a fruit from a bowl that sat in the centre of the table. Going into the city might do me some good... get me out of my head... yeah, that should be good...
"That sounds lovely. Give me an hour and I'll be ready." Happy at her answer, Thor got a little ahead of himself standing up and accidentally hitting the table with his legs. Laughing, Sam waved him out the door while he promised to get her later.
Dressing in a peach halter style dress, Sam replicated the same hairstyle from yesterday, glad that her hair was cooperating with her. Getting up from the vanity, Sam re-entered to see a tray of food set out for herself. Looking around, Sam discovered a door otherwise hidden by drapes that must have lead into a web of halls leading to different rooms all over the palace. Returning to the table, Sam ate quietly while looking at Asgard's horizon. The sun was already high in the sky but that didn't prevent from moons and other planets from fading.
Arriving in the courtyard in front of the palace entrance, Sam spotted Thor and Jane talking to themselves as they waited. Jane wore a similar style dress save that it was brown and had one shoulder strap. Thor noticed Sam walking up and waved her over, when they exchanged pleasantries they ventured off into the bustling city of Asgard. Sam couldn't help but feel as though she was thrown backwards in time to the middle ages, the time right before the renaissance. After about an hour or Thor giving them the grand tour and introducing them to almost every person who was a master at their craft, they settled along a pathway that overlooked a large lake that seemed to almost shimmer in the daylight.
"When you came for me, you knew I was in trouble." Stopping, we shuffled out of the way and rested near the railings that sparsely lined the walkway.
"When Heimdall lost sight of you, you were no longer on Earth." Standing near Jane, Sam and Thor created a circle of sorts to create some semblance of privacy as other citizens continued with their day.
"Well how is that possible?" Jane argued as it also left Sam in for a bit of a shock; Heimdall was supposed to see everything, nothing escaped his sight unless you were the God of Mischief. This must have been some really powerful magic to elude him.
"I believe you were and you weren't. The Nine Realms travel within Yggdrasil, orbiting Midgard in much the way your planets orbits the sun. Every five thousand years the worlds align perfectly, and we call this the Convergence. During this time the borders between worlds become blurred. It's possible you found one of these points. We are lucky that it remained open. Once the worlds pass out of alignment, the connection is lost." Thor demonstrated by using his and Jane's hands to show how exactly the convergence worked as he explained. Sam could feel that there might have been a double meaning to what he was saying but she wasn't about to bring it up as the two shared a chaste kiss.
"I like the way you explain things." Sam rolled her eyes, even when somebody does something romantic, Jane still compliments the least romantic thing. "What will happen to me?" Yes, that was the answer Sam herself desperately wanted to know. If this dark energy protected itself, what would it do to Jane if it no longer wanted her body? Would Jane live with remnants of the Aether for the rest of her life? Would it slowly kill her? Those were just a few of the questions she wanted to ask but knew that Thor didn't have the answers.
"I will find a way to save you, Jane." The fierceness that Sam saw in Thor's eyes, she was almost comforted at the promise.
"Your father said there wa-"
"My father doesn't know everything." Thor interrupted Jane's cynicism.
"Don't let him hear you say that." Sam turned to see Frigga walking down the steps towards the trio, smiling. When Sam and Frigga made eye contact, it took everything Sam had not to shrink back, instead she gave a sincere smile and a nod of her head. Jane on the other hand was gobsmacked at the woman who was walking towards them.
"Jane Foster, please meet Frigga, Queen of Asgard. My mother." At the last part Sam noticed Jane almost rip her hands out of Thor's grasp, this caused Sam to giggle which in turn got her a glare from Jane.
"Hi." Jane gives a nod of her head, clearly too embarrassed to do anything else.
"Hello Frigga." Sam greeted her. Jane looked shock and the casual greeting her cousin just gave to the Queen, someone who looked like she commanded all the respect in the world.
"Y-you know the Queen?" At this point, Jane's eyes were wide as saucers.
"Sam and I have spent some time together." Frigga answered, amused at his son's beloved. On the inside, Sam was trying to contain her laughter as several emotions passed through Jane's eyes before probably coming to the realization that must have been because of the Dark Prince. "Speaking of some time together, Sam could I speak with you for a moment?" Frigga pulled Sam to an alcove out of earshot of the young couple. From the corner of Sam's eye she could see Thor lightly laughing and Jane smacking his arm.
"Yes?"
"I've spoken to Odin and we've come to an agreement that your involvement in Loki's life is crucial to his mental and emotional healing. Odin has decided that visiting him every day will be sufficient enough." Sam was guessing a handful more times but every day? Surely she would run out of topics to talk about but the more she didn't have him around to silently judge her, she began to almost miss his company albeit it was a nuisance sometimes. Giving the Queen a nod, they re-joined Jane and Thor and together we continued our extensive tour of the city.
A/N: 2600 words later and we have a complete chapter! We're getting more into the movie so as you guys can guess, it'll start picking up very soon. So I was listening to some of my mom's music and I came across a song that just SCREAMS Loki. And after downloading it, I've been using it as constant inspiration to write. You guys should check it out and let me know if you guys think the same thing! "Frozen" by Madonna. I could even go as far as to say this could be the kinda sorta thematic song for this fic.