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Chapter 12

"Darcy!" Sif ran after her, tugging at her shoulder. "Darcy, I don't think this is wise-"

Darcy ignored her and stood still outside the golden doors of what she presumed was the throne room, where Odin would be. She looked up in trepidation at the huge archway, towering above her. She swallowed down the anxious feeling and eyed up the guards beside the door.

"This is the one, right?"

Darcy didn't wait for an answer, and, with a nod to the two guards stood at either side of the archway, the doors swung open, a grand arc of gold against harsh stone.

"It's the mortal, Darcy Lewis, my King." A guard announced her presence as she stormed in, Sif hot at her heels. She had ignored Sif's constant warnings, and demanded a presence with the King. She tried to stop the snort escaping from her at the mention of 'mortal Darcy Lewis'. She knew damn well what she was, and it definitely wasn't mortal. Not after this mess of a place, anyway. She cringed at her childish curiosity of this place in the past, wishing that she had just stayed home, safe. But the spontaneous, brash Darcy had butted in and put her in the troubling place she was now.

"Who?"

"Queen Jane's acquaintance."

"Sorry, your Grace, she insisted upon-" Sif tried to apologise, but Darcy cut her off. Sif frowned her way before backing off with a defeated scowl. Sif, for the first time in her life, was troubled by her allegiance to the throne. She knew that siding with Darcy Lewis was foolish, but let her push past her. Let her speak, and face the consequences, she thought resignedly.

"Um. Jane's friend, actually. Acquaintance is a little… I don't know… Just I thought living and working with someone for more than two years was a, you know, friendship." Darcy trailed off, her confidence wavering when she realised she was waffling. She shook her head slightly, walking up to the King's throne with her chin forced up and her back straight. She curtseyed at the end, and looked into the King's bored stare. He fidgeted in his seat, and she saw the grip on his golden sceptre tighten.

"I thought Frigga was dealing with this." His gravelly voice didn't address her, but another guard stood beside him.

"King Odin." She cut in rudely, and met Sif's stare briefly. She looked furious and embarrassed, and so Darcy got down on one knee to appear more subservient, earning her a roll of the eyes from Sif. Jane should've been here, she thought happily, watching her manners and tact.

Darcy cleared her throat, hating the way her accent twanged in comparison to the elegant and eloquent Asgardian dialect. She attempted to be as un-Darcy as possible.

"I've found my poisoner. It's not Loki- it's For-"

"I know." Odin sighed. "Heimdallr reported his presence long ago."

Darcy's pretence dropped and she stood up, glaring furiously at the King.

"You knew all along?" Darcy's jaw dropped open. "And you still punished your son for what he hadn't done?!" She shouted, and felt Sif's hand on her arm.

"There are more pressing matters." He stated dully.

"Like what?" She sneered. "Like sitting here and acting like a King? Doing nothing?!"

At this, Odin stood up briskly. His face was bright red, and for a second, Darcy couldn't meet his eyes, feeling wary under his angry stare. She went to back away, but stood her ground defiantly.

"You think one individual is important when we have other realms demanding war?!" He growled.

"I didn't-"

"No, you didn't know. You're too smitten with that… boy to even notice what is transpiring around us! You are but a guest of Asgard as of now and know nothing! If it were my decision I would deny you all access to this realm in the future." His look answered all of Darcy's questions about his knowledge of her immortality. She looked, panicked, behind her at Sif before realising that her secret wasn't out, and that she'd taken his words differently. She let her anger drop briefly, a flash of hurt colouring her features.

Odin calmed. "However… My wife seems to like you. But her loving nature is what shielded her son from reality."

"So you're going to let Loki take the fall for this? Are you going to even try to stop him?"

"You should show some respect, Darcy Lewis. What is discussed in this room will stay here, and if you dare speak a word against me, it will be classed as treason. Do you understand?" His last words were a roar, and Darcy did all she could to not cower backwards.

Instead, she was about to use some choice language when she felt her arms gripped by two guards.

"You should earn respect." She muttered as the guards dragged her away. One of them tore the necklace from her neck and together, they escorted her through the maze of corridors and threw her back into her former room. Loki's room. She heard the lock of the door and the shuffle of guards outside, and sat down on the bed with a sigh.

"Fuck." She swore, knowing that insulting the King was the last thing she intended. But as everything went in Darcy's life, she expected no less.


Jane visited later, and instead of looking concerned, she looked tired and angry. It reminded Darcy of the time she'd messed up some important results and Jane had to redo them. Since then, all of Darcy's results had been perfect. She never wanted to mess with Jane's science, or incur her wrath. The only difference was that this time, she looked even more disappointed.

"Sif told me what happened." Jane said shortly, folding her arms. "With Loki. With Odin."

"Did Sif also tell you how much of an ass Thor's dad is?" Darcy countered.

"No. Because people around here have respect for the King, Darce. This guy has ruled Asgard for like, forever, and you had the nerve to undermine him, of all things."

"Would you say we were acquaintances?" Darcy asked, off topic.

Jane blinked. "I don't think that's-"

"No but really, acquaintances?"

Jane shook her head. "A bit… business-like. I'd say friends."

Darcy jumped up. "Knew it!"

"What? Wait. Doesn't matter." She knew not to question Darcy's eccentricity. "What am I even supposed to do with you?"

"Nothing. It's my problem."

"No." Jane looked at her with exasperation. "You're my guest. The same guest that's been mouthing off to the ruler of Asgard."

"Tick that off my bucket list." Darcy said smugly, fighting a smile.

"It's not funny, Darce! I thought you were going to behave."

"I know it's not! And I have, until now!" Darcy got up off the bed and started pacing the room. "There's something dodgy going on around here. That Heim-dude knew about Loki not poisoning me…" She thought for a second. "Odin's grandkid? Forseti? He blatantly poisoned me, and they're doing shit-all to even bother finding him. Probably because he's you know, family. Can't have two kids messing up, can you?" She flung up her hands and rolled her eyes at Jane. "You know how close I've been to death since I got here? I stabbed someone! I haven't done that since I 'accidentally' scalpel-ed some guy in lab class for groping me!"

"Wait." Jane frowned. "You said Odin's grandkid?"

"Yeah! He called Loki 'Uncle' and everything."

"You told Odin it was his grandson?"

"No!" She sighed furiously. "He didn't let me get that far. I… lost my temper. He knew though. Heim-dude told him and I think they're just letting him off the hook because he's family. And Loki isn't technically- you know, the whole adopted thing- so no one gives a shit about-"

Jane bit her lip and stopped Darcy from pacing.

"Why didn't you just tell me, and we could've gone together?"

"Sif was with me. Well…" Darcy shrugged. "Following. I didn't want to drag you into this shit."

Darcy took a seat and put her head in her hands. "Damn it, Jane. How are you gonna live here for the rest of your life? How could you put up with that?"

Jane looked at Darcy, hard.

"You think I've given anything up to be with Thor, here because I feel like it? Because I like it here?" Darcy opened her mouth to retort but Jane stopped her. "I… I will outlive my parents, Darcy, and all the people I care about. And my career- all gone. It took a lot of thinking about."

"Then why would you throw it all away like that?!" Darcy shouted at her, and stood up. She flinched at Jane's words, and subconsciously catalogued them under 'Immortal-problems-I-won't-deal-with-right-now'. She wanted to scream at Jane, to tell her that they were both in the same boat, but couldn't quite bring herself to say it. It wasn't the right time.

"You know why, Darce." Jane was calm. "I love him."

"You could love someone else." Darcy suggested half-heartedly.

"Love isn't something you can turn on and off, like a tap." Jane rested her hand upon Darcy's shaking ones. "Besides. You should be thankful you're okay. I hear you really got into a scrap with Loki."

"We did not scrap. We talked. Heatedly. And physically, yeah, I'm super, Jane." Darcy sighed. "But I'm not fine. I miss my TV, the internet. I miss going to the store to buy groceries. I even miss the Jehovah's witnesses knocking on the door every two seconds. And now, I just want to go home…"

"I can go to Odin." Jane reasoned calmly. "Talk some sense into him."

"Good luck with that." Darcy rolled her eyes. "If he doesn't get it when I shout at him, he's not going to get it when you ask him nicely. No wonder Loki hates him so much."

"Are you trying to say that you see Loki's point?" Jane scoffed. "That's pretty rich, considering he's a murderer."

Darcy sighed. "It's not that. It's… It's like I've seen first-hand what he's like, and he's bitter as fuck. And torture? That's some weird-medieval shit there. Nobody deserves that. I wouldn't even wish it on my poisoner."

"Darce. Stop defending him. We'll just go round in circles, like we always do when we argue."

"Meaning I always win?"

"No, you don't!"

"Do so."

Jane took a calming breath. "How about I get Heimdallr to transport you back to New Mexico soon?"

"Fine." Darcy pouted like a small child, but inside she wanted to shout. Maybe have another argument with Odin to make her feel better. But the promise of an escape of this madness got her thinking about home. It was tempting. "But I'm not leaving until Loki is out of his cell and acquitted."

Jane sat down with a barely concealed look of exasperation. "Darce…"

"No, Jane. He didn't do anything. Not this time, anyway."

"Then why did he confess?!"

"He's just playing a role, saying that he poisoned me. I swear. It doesn't make sense. He's an idiot who thinks everyone is against him."

"Because it's true."

"They… they must have some dirt on him or something." Darcy sighed heavily. "Just… please."

Jane blinked at Darcy's sincerity, and got up off of the bed. She was over by the door when she turned to speak to her. "I'll try. Get some sleep."

She shut the door behind her with a bang, and Darcy flopped down on the bed, feeling tears sting her eyes. She blinked them away, rolling herself into a duvet burrito.

"Hey. Heimdude. I know you can hear me. I'm pissed at you."

She sighed heavily, knowing that Heimdallr wouldn't necessarily be watching her right now – how did he do it? She tried to rid the background noise in her head, the constant buzzing that annoyed her beyond belief.

So what if Loki confessed and was now in a cell? It wasn't her problem. But it felt like it. And Odin, letting Forseti off the hook? Politics here were as bad as the ones at home. And she thought that maybe Asgard would have a better system here. Obviously not. No police, no government. Everybody under the crown's protection. Darcy knew from her history books why that wasn't a great idea- one supreme ruler? Didn't work on Midgard, didn't work here, either.

It was medieval.


"You think one individual is important when we have other realms demanding war?!"

She blinked, sitting up from her half-slumber. "Shit. He's going to start a war."

She remembered back to Forseti's threat. "Do I have to plant you in the middle of Jotunheim for my army of Frost Giants to tear you apart?"

She leapt up and hammered on the door with urgency. It didn't open, so she made do with shouting to the guard at the other side.

"I need to speak with someone. Anyone! Please?" She hammered again, and heard no response. "I have information. I swear!"

The door opened inwardly, knocking her over. The guards looked down at her in annoyance.

"Finally!" She huffed. She went to prop herself up, but found no strength in her arms to do so. The next few seconds were a blur, as her body became limp and her eyesight failed. She tried to reach out, but felt paralysed, only partly conscious she was rolling around on the floor muttering gibberish.

"What are you…?" She managed to mutter.

"It's about time you returned home, Midgardian."