Both armies marched towards each other. A drum roll was heard on the side of Asgård. Odin rode in front of the left flank of the cavalry. The center flank was lead by Thor and the right flank was directed by Balder. The army was moving slowly but steady towards the enemy about three kilometers ahead.
The asgardian army had an advantage over the chitauri-army. The enemy side only consisted of infantry and weapons for man-to-man battles while the asgardians sported a highly trained artillery, infantry and cavalry.
Both armies formed on both sides of a lake. The asgardian artillery were ready to open fire. The infantry of both sides moved towards each others. The chitauri-army moved in a huge square formation while the asgardians choose to form small groups of six warriors each in straight lines. With only 100 meters apart, Odin called; "Fire!". The chitauris faced burning bullets as the asgardians opened fire. The first row of warriors shoot on their knees, the second row bended down slightly while shooting and the third row was standing up straight while firring. A triple amount of bullets hit the enemies. The chitauri formation turned more and more sparse.
"My warriors, we will conquer our enemy today!" Odin boomed across the battlefield. He turned towards the broken square formation. "Attack!" He rode off with the rest of the cavalry following. The infantry attacked and both armies blended into each other. Balder jumped off his horse and offered it to a young, nervous warrior. He took his weapons and stalked down the rows to find the fallen prince that was burdened in chains.
Thor swung his hammer and brought down three in a blow. The real battle was on and Asgård faced victory.
Loki, who was in the row in the far back, noticed the victory when his chains fell off. Freedom never tasted so sweet. He massaged his swollen wrists with a snicker. He had survived the war.
…
Hunger.
Thirst.
Hunger.
Hunger.
Hunger.
Thirst.
Oh, and she had to pee! That was, however, easily taken care of. Gwen sighed. She resided in a cell, starving and slowly dehydrating in the smell of her own urine. What a lovely way to die! Eventually hunger gave up and thirst raced before. Her tongue swelled in her mouth. Fire rose in her throat.
Thirst.
Thirst..
THIRST!
She could seriously kill for a drop of water. The pain in her shoulder from the shot was nothing compared to her thirst. The wound had been clumsily taken care of. Gwen had somewhere in her conscious part of her brain starting to worry about the wound. It was not bleeding much anymore but it had started to smell strange. Probably an infection of some sort.
The door to the cell was opened for the first time in days. Well, she actually didn't know how much time had passed. It could be a day, it could be half a week. Her empty stomach growled.
A tall man revealed himself in the doorway. His form was illuminated by the light from the corridor outside. He was incredibly familiar. Gwen groaned when she realized who he was.
"You crossed a treaty." Loki had his arms behind his back. He leaned back and retrieved a torch from a holder outside the door.
Gwen was blinded by the soft light from his torch. "I know," she moaned.
"You do?" He sounded surprised.
"Please let me be!" Gwen hid her eyes behind her hands and curled up. She was actually ready to curl up in a hole to simply vanish.
"I am afraid that you are officially a war criminal now. You opposed a royal. For this you have been sentenced."
"I know," she confirmed in her dizzy state. Wait, when was the trial held?
Loki sat down beside her on the small bench. He pulled her up in a sitting position. Gwen stared with unseeingly eyes around in the dark cell only illuminated by a single torch. How many days had she sufficed without food or water? Her head fell onto his shoulder. Her energy had drained. She was currently a wreck. Loki draped his arm around her shoulders and found the wound. His arm reverted back and he furrowed his brows.
Perhaps it was the thirst, hunger and pain that made her accept her fate so easily. Perhaps it was the prospect of being left alone in a cell so appealing after the last days. For a split second, she almost longed for it."Can you tell them to go nice on me? No torture please."
"I will." His voice was filled with chuckles.
"And my life on Midgård? My mother is already dead and I rarely speak to my father... but I know he would get upset if he never learned where I spent my last days. He always tried to make me fit in, no matter what. What if he found out that I became imprisoned in a different realm? Talk about irony." she said with a weak voice. "But maybe it's for the better if I just allow the organization to declare me dead. He would not have to worry about his daughter in another realm." Tears rolled down her cheek when she thought of her father. He was the hero in her family since he had gone against the norms and now suffered the consequences. She should have payed a visit once in a while before this mission. To simply tell him that she loved him and was alright.
"I don't think you will have to worry." Loki played halfheartedly with her red, dirty locks. His nose wrinkled in disgust from her smell. "We both know that the end is-" He started over when he realized how depressing that sounded. "Can't you, as a last goodbye, tell me the answer to my question?"
"What question?" Her brain wasn't functioning correctly.
"What are you?" Loki grew impatient when she didn't answer immediately. He had so many more questions. Whether there were more of her sort and how easy/hard it would be to turn them on his side.
"I come from Midgård."
He rolled his eyes. "That's the official version."
"I am midg-"
"Black knaves turning red, birds coming from thin air and fire without a trace," he reminded her.
"You were fooled! Merely mind tricks!"
Loki snorted. "What are you?"
She changed subject. "Am I to die here?" What an unpleasant end. Her voice was weak from the dehydration.
"I think so. The Asgardians view time differently than you Midgardians do. A sentence to a hundred years is not unusual, and so is a sentence to one thousand years." Perhaps if he scared her first and then offered her freedom, she would tell him the precious information.
"A hundred years? I will be dead before then... or 126 years old, (Correction;171 years old) which doesn't sound appealing at all," she pondered, "I guess they will put me out before that, since no one is feeding me, have they already forgotten about me? Am I left here to starve to death?"
"They shall give you food when you've told me what you are."
"I want that in print." Her voice regained some strength.
He sighed. She was apparently a bit more tough than he had expected.
"Why was I sentenced if you want information about me? I want to negotiate!"
"Because Odin thinks that he can do whatever he wants." Loki's voice oozed of hate for the king.
"Bring me to Odin!"
"You can barely stand up," he told her and shook his head. How come his plans regarding her always backfired? He continued to underestimate her in every situation.
Gwen groaned. Loki was right on that point, she was dizzy from even sitting up. "Why don't they give me food if they want information? I can't speak when I'm dead."
"True. We wouldn't want to have you killed from starvation," he agreed.
"Why am I left here completely forgotten?"
Loki chuckled. This play was over. Time to tell her that he had been toying with her. Her reaction was going to be priceless. "No they haven't forgotten about you, they simply don't know that you are here. They are searching everywhere else. The disappearance of the mortal and two guards came as a chock. Good shot by the way... well it would have been a good shot if you haven't missed and shot the innocent instead."
It sunk in. The realization came slower than usual because of her lack of energy, but when it came, it hit her with force. How the hell did he know that in such detail? The fact that there was an innocent guard and another that wasn't, was strange and not a coincidence. "This is your trick?" She mustered power in her tired body. "You did this to fool me?"
Loki nodded, apparently very smug about himself. His eyes glowed in the dark. "The guard that put you here was put under a spell by me."
She pulled back and hammered his chest with her fists. "How dare you?! You made me think I was about to die! You put me in this degrading situation." One of her clenched fists clumsily connected with his nose. Her body protested. His hands flew up to his face to protect it from her punches. Cold sweat dripped down her back and stars danced around her head.
Loki hissed, probably not from the non-existent pain, rather the surprise. He growled and locked her arms behind her back. "Do you prefer staying in this cell? I can assure you that no one would be looking for you here."
Gwen struggled to keep her eyes open.
…
"Loki, my brother!"
Loki hissed from the sound of the familiar voice. It was Thor. He turned around, with a bit more struggle than usual since Gwen leaned heavily on his arm. "What?"
"You found her?" Thor arched an eyebrow.
"Yes, I did," Loki answered with a too stressed tone in his voice. He kicked himself mentally for not hiding behind the cool mask as professionally as before.
Thor beamed but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "So, you just happened to stumble across her in the dungeons, when half of the palace is looking for a guard and a missing midgardian. You must be lucky."
"I guess so."
"Or just informed about her whereabouts, Loki." It was clear that Thor didn't buy the fairy tale of the two lovers anymore.
"I can sense that you are questioning us, my-, our intentions."
"Frigga returned with the information that your midgardian hadn't reached the mountain, instead had she vanished along with two guards. We sent out specialized searchers and they came back with the horses and the corpse of one guard. The searchers informed us that the traces of the remaining guard and Gwen disappeared in the deepest forest, a long way from their route."
"So?"
"You didn't even flinch! Your reaction consisted only of just standing there with a cold facade. I told myself; This is not right."
Loki threw his head back for a laugh. "What do you know of my feelings, you oaf! Go and smash something with your precious hammer instead of bothering me with your unintelligent words."
He had hit a soft spot. While Thor was mightiest in battle, Loki was the cunning of the two. Thor clenched his fists, as the older brother he couldn't tolerate to be called an idiot the way Loki did now. "My words still remain. You deceived both me, and probably that girl as well. You are playing with her feelings!"
Loki shook his head and gritted his teeth. Game over. There was no reason to not keep on lying. "I would not engage interest in a simple midgardian to that extent!" he spat.
"Yet, you returned to free her from the cell you put her in." Another voice interrupted their conversation. "You just confessed, my son." Odin walked out from the shadows. "Your pride was once again in your way, Loki."
Loki kept his poker face. He was boiling with emotions underneath. Shame, worry, frustration and the paralyzing feeling of being perplexed. "What are you going to do with me, father?"
"First, I will release the midgardian from your hands." Odin stepped closer. "She's not a puppet you can control and throw away when you feel like it!" He turned to Thor. "Take care of the girl. Take her to the maids and tell them to clean the poor thing up and give her food."
Loki's grip around the semi-unconscious Gwen remained. She mumbled something under her breath. He hesitated, clearly calculating the scenario, before he pushed her towards Thor. Both Odin and Loki stared after Thor as he dragged her up the stairs. Odin wore a face that slightly showed tenderness beneath his surface, Loki's face only showed how uninterested he was. The mask disappeared as two guards materialized on both his sides, he found himself in chains once again.
Odin spoke up in the awkward silence. "My son."
"Will you return me to the cage? Even though I'm practically a war hero?" Loki's voice had the unmistakably tone of someone who just suffered ridicule on the town's square. "I helped Asgård to victory even though I fought in chains!"
"My son, it stings my heart to-"
"Drivel! You mean nothing of what you just said!"
Odin sighed. "It is my duty to guide you into the right path. I hope it's not too late."
…
Most of the returned asgardians were invited into the throne room this day. Gwen was one of the people invited. She had been cleaned up, fed and now almost felt like normal again. Except for the guilt she constantly pushed away. She hid in the anonymous crowd alongside the dashing god Balder, who had in a friendly manner tried to console her. She wouldn't admit it to the world, but she was affected by the affable god with the luscious smile. Gwen wondered if he had the same impact on the rest of the gods of Asgård, or if she was more affected since she was from Midgard.
Odin hadn't assembled his people to this extent since Thor's elaborate ceremony where he was formally recognized as the crown prince. Last time had the palace been intruded, so the atmosphere was tense, almost as if they were expecting another enemy to break in. Today was not a ceremony, it was a proclamation from the king. The ones who had in different ways worked against Odin and Asgård in the war were being noticed of their punishment.
One of the last to meet his destiny was the gatekeeper of Asgård, who had let the enemy inside. He had the heaviest punishment to face. The audience buzzed. People didn't really want to buy the fact that he was guilty. There was something missing to the story. Heimdall kept his head low to refrain from the eyes of the audience in the throne room. He faced his punishment. He had refused his own right to plea. Heimdall only concluded himself to be guilty and a traitor.
Odin rose from his throne and stepped closer the fallen gate keeper. "You have not only disobeyed my order as the all father's orders. You have allowed the enemies entrance to Asgård."
Even though he had denied himself the option to explain himself earlier, he spoke up; "My king, Thanos knows his ways-" he immediately stopped, as if his tongue was burned. Heimdall turned his gaze towards the floor again.
Odin stared at Heimdall with surprise in his eyes. "Speak up now or forever keep silent. Even though I shouldn't, I allow you to tell your story now for us all to hear."
Heimdall shook his head. So strange. People started to whisper with each other. Rumors and theories spread fast.
"If you wish so. I hope you understand what this means." Odin interrupted the audience. "You did not allow us to hear your perspective when you had the chance. You can not return here in a year, claiming that you will speak up. Remain consistent." His aura of authority sparkled. Heimdall's posture shrunk again. Odin turned to the audience of Asgardians." Everything depends on the weakest link. How can we keep our realm safe when our gatekeeper grant the evil entrance?"
The elderly in the room nodded encouragingly. The rest of the audience kept a low profile. No one wanted to stand out and say their opinion. For, why would the opinion of a middle class Asgardian matter when the king already had presented his perspective?
"As we sin, so do we suffer. A king can be a tyrant, but he can also be merciful. Your punishment is bonding for one thousand years and consists of working in the deepest coal mine known to Asgård."
The audience buzzed again. Whispers went from lips to lips in a furious pace. Looks of disapproval where presented towards the all father by the few who dared to do so. People still trusted Heimdall, his reputation was spotless in their eyes. Worry rose in the audience. If someone as usually trusted as Heimdall was punished so hard... what would happen to rest? Had the all father started to go mad? Who would take over after Heimdall?
Heimdall turned his golden eyes towards the king. He accepted his fate without a word.
Gwen, who had watched the strange play in front of her, leaned towards Balder. "Who is Heimdall protecting?" This looked like some sort of dream. Heimdall shouldn't deny himself to tell his version of the story. It also wasn't realistic that Odin would punish Heimdall to that extreme extent.
Balder turned surprised towards her. "What do you know about that matter?"
"Nothing," she admitted. "But you have to agree with me that this is weird. Why the hell would he accept that kind of punishment without trying to express his version?"
"Do you think he's innocent?"
"Probably. His body language for instance; he never acts so submissive as he is now. He avoids looking Odin in the eyes. His posture is usually high held, now he appears to have shrunken into himself."
"He's supposed to avoid Odin's eyes, since he's not a royal."
"Oh, alright. I give him that, but the fact that he's refusing his own right to plea! It sounds strange to me, doesn't that ring badly in your eyes as well?"
Balder nodded. "If you know that he's an innocent man you should speak up!" he urged.
"I can't, I have no proof! What can I offer, my word? I am a visitor in this realm. My word is light as air."
He nodded again. "The word of the all father is heavy as lead compared to yours," Balder confirmed with bitterness laced with sadness in his voice. The bitterness didn't quite match him. Gwen had a strange urge to hug Balder and comfort him. She pushed it back. He sure had a strange influence on her. His beautiful eyes expressed genuine sorrow. Gwen briefly wondered if it was his eyes that were the source to his charm.
Heimdall was being escorted out of the throne room. His usual proud body posture had vanished, instead he hunched. Gwen watched him leave with four guards and she had a lump in her throat. Should she speak up and perhaps offer the gatekeeper some more hours in freedom? But what would she say? That he's acting weird, and that is coming from a midgardian who only have met him for the past months. What was that compared to the citizens of Asgård that had met him ever day for the last thousand years? She closed her eyes as Heimdall disappeared from the throne room.
"This is madness! Your highness, you can't be serious." The warriors three pushed through the crowd. "Free Heimdall!" Fandral shouted. They arrived before the king and knelt.
"Heimdall is our most trusted warrior," Hogun said.
Odin held out his hands to express peace. He looked like he was about to embrace everyone. "I wish I wouldn't have to be so harsh."
Volstagg lost his patience. "I know that I can trust my life on this man!"
Odin nodded. "I want to be merciful... but he gives me no other choice."
Gwen eyes Odin's behavior with interest. He knew exactly how to act to fool his people into thinking that his terrible orders were justified. A great rhetoric. She supposed Loki had learnt a thing or two from the king. Speaking of Loki...
The next to be prisoner entered the throne room. This one didn't act submissive and he was planning on using his plea. Loki held his head high. He sent a nasty glare towards Heimdall as they passed each other. Even though he was in chains once again, he had an aura of royalty. He was the fallen prince, but a prince nevertheless. He was dressed in rags once again and his black hair hung lifelessly on his shoulders. Gwen squinted; Was his eyes rimmed with redness? Perhaps to convince Odin and the audience that he was nothing but an innocent boy who pulled tricks now and then. Loki stared coldly to the audience and caught Gwen's eyes. He smiled shortly before the guards pushed him to his knees.
Odin's voice was tired. "Loki, my son."
The audience fell silent with full-blown anticipation.
Loki rocked softly back and fourth on his knees. He let out a stressed laugh that probably was meant to be supercilious. "I don't see what the fuss is about." He kept his arrogant attitude perfectly.
"You are a spoiled boy who thinks of himself to highly." Odin started. "And I know I am to be hold responsible for spoiling you since you are my son."
"You are not my father and I am not your son!"
"Loki."
"I have no family, you have already proved that to me!" The tone in Loki's voice had changed, it was now laced with humbleness. He gazed up through his eyelashes. Some people in the audience melted at the sight. Gwen sensed the changed attitude towards Loki. They were sorry for him, the son who had been abandoned by his father. Her heart speed up from anger when she noted how the idiotic people were falling for his tricks. "You claimed that you loved me and that I was born to be a king... Yet, I always had the feeling that I was in second place, after Thor. My suspicion turned out to be true when I found out that I did not belong in the house of Odin by blood!"
People gasped.
"I have no roots, I have no family... but I'm still fighting for Asgård, as I did in the war. I have made a few mistakes in the past and I'm striving to reach a state of... redemption," the lie fit his lips excellent. Loki continued but left out the frost giant part of the story. "You had lied to me my whole life and I found out in the worst possible way. My world cracked." He finished off perfectly with a small whimper in his voice.
It worked. Some people cried openly in the audience. The asgardian woman next to Gwen laid her head on Gwen's shoulder to silently cry.
Odin reacted with force. The spell broke. "Do not try these tricks! You know well that both me and Frigga took good care of you. I could give my right hand for you. Is this how you repay me? You are driven by your desires, a simple being who doesn't understand when you've crossed the boundaries." His face softened. "I am sorry if these words sound harsh on you."
"Your words have no impact on me," Loki said stubbornly.
"Always so marked by tenaciousness. You need to learn how to be humble, Loki. I've realized that you will not change from being imprisoned. You fooled both your brother and me into believing that you had changed. I regret saying this out loud; first you earned the trust of someone to later simply misuse that trust greatly. You took advantage of someone less powerful than you."
Gwen's face grew red, although she was thankful for the fact that Odin didn't mention her name. His speech made her appear like an enamored woman with no brain. Loki raised a brow and searched in the crowd for her with his gaze. "Trust?" he questioned out loud for everyone to hear. A whisper crossed his lips; "Knaves turning color and fire without trace does not sound less powerful to me."
Gwen hunched down with embarrassment. Now everyone knew that she had been fooled by the dark haired prince.
"You lured one of my guards into death and put a charm on the other. You show not the slightest remorse. Insolence is imprinted in you."
Loki snorted. Gwen wondered if he was going to tell the whole audience that it was she who had released that damned arrow. He didn't. She wondered why he didn't take the chance.
"I want to teach you, Loki, how to survive the world without tricks. For the next year, you will live a spartan life. Your magic will be ripped from you so you can't rely on that to sustain you, instead you are going to learn to appreciate the people around you."
Loki's head snapped back towards the king. "No!" He struggled but the guards kept him in place.
Odin stepped closer to Loki. He extended his hand and lifted Loki's chin. "Your fair features will not be in your favor for the next year. Your appearance will be transformed. My son, do you accept your fate?"
Loki hesitated for a moment before a grin appeared on his face. "All father, what exactly do I have to do to get executed?" He tilted his head and raised a perfect brow. It was a daring move, he knew it.
One of the guards couldn't hold his poker face and gasped slightly. The audience reacted from his bold statement. People were impressed, even if they rather would have chopped off their right hand than admitting it. Some laughed, some hid their faces in their hands trying not to see what could happen next. Chanting was heard in the background; "Kill him!", "Save him!", "Release him!"
Odin held up his hand for immediate silence. "Take him away! He shall start his punishment today."
…
Peace and victory can only be celebrated in one way.
One thing the asgardians certainly knew to, Gwen noted with big eyes, was to party. Their banquet was long and elegant. Although it was the party after that was the interesting part. Gwen couldn't do anything else than to stare with round eyes at the decadence around her. Odin and Frigga had retreated to their chambers hours after midnight, but the party was still on. People danced slowly everywhere to music that apparently only existed in their own heads. Mead was consumed in an alarming speed. The food supply never decreased. Everyone partied like the tomorrow didn't existed. Gwen saw women and men eating and drinking and then throwing up, only to eat and drink more. The dancers were everywhere, in the corridors, the throne room and out in the warm night. It was hypnotizing to see them move around each other.
Her daze was broken by a hand on her shoulder. It was time for her to leave. The night had started to turn into morning. The world woke up again. Well, everything except for the people at the party who had started to fall asleep in strange places all over the palace.
The rainbow bridge was as beautiful as usual. Gwen O'Hara walked down the bridge for the last time in her life. The golden realm was going to only exist in her memory in the future. She was mesmerized by the energy that seemed to pulse through the bridge. "What is the rainbow bridge made off?" she asked Balder and Thor. "Crystal? Glass? Diamond?"
Balder smiled. "I don't know. The bridge is ancient and has been here long before me and will probably outlive me as well. Only the gatekeeper know all the secrets."
Speaking of gatekeeper. Heimdall was replaced and now in a mine, serving his punishment. Gwen's chest suddenly stung of guilt when she thought about the brave man who took a long punishment for another person, at least she thought he did. No evidence proved his innocence.
"Will you look after Heimdall?" She hesitated. "I know it's weird of me to ask you this."
"It only proves a big heart." Balder bowed.
Gwen squirmed uncomfortably from his comment. Thor grinned. "I hope you have some good memories from my realm."
She nodded. "The beauty of the palace will always be in my heart."
"Miss Gwen, I suppose this is goodbye," Balder said.
"Yes."
He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I bid my farewell."
"Yeah, goodbye to you too." Her own words didn't sound as solemn as his, they were out of place in a moment that demanded something more grand. "I, err, mean it. I'm going to miss both of you. I appreciate that you took your time to wave me off."
"It's not every day we are visited by someone from a different realm."
Gwen chuckled.
"I have a feeling that our paths will cross again." Thor's eyes sparkled.
End of act one.
To Be Continued.
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