Chapter Fourteen/Kapittel Fjorten:

"Has there been any news?" Loud footsteps which could belong to none other than Prince Thor of Ásgard stormed the ice castle, making a beeline to the throne room before he let out his words, laced with desperation.

All heads turned to him but none answered; they simply sat there with baited breath, desperately hoping that someone said something. In the end it was the King who replied.

"Nay, there has been no word..." Laufey solemnly replied, Thor observing that the king looked tired and strained.

Thor was also feeling the stress. Loki had been missing for almost three days now. Everyone around the Ásgard heir was practically pulling their hair out in panic and anxiety. Thor had been out in the snow every day until his body could take no more. His worry lined his face and he had already lost hope that they would find Loki out there alive. All hope, except for that desperate glimmer that would forever continue to hold on like a drop of water hopelessly clinging to a faucet until they did find his little brother.

Out of the crowded midst of the Jötnar, Thor noticed the approach of queen Hlín. As she came closer, the prince noticed the dying streaks of tears that lined her face like two straight roads that led to nowhere. She made no movement to brush them away but instead, gripped Thor's arm and led him away from the crowded but silent room.

The Queen took him down a hallway and then led him through an impressive door. Thor was shocked but unsurprised to find himself amongst hundreds of shelves lined with hundreds of thousands of books. For a moment his breath hitched in his throat as a wave of nostalgia and guilt barraged him like a ship crashing into a rocky shore. He needed to get out of here. He couldn't stop the guilt from lashing at him like a whip to a prisoner. The guilt in knowing that it was over… He hadn't saved his brother.

Loki was DEAD! And it was all his fault, damn it!

"Odinson."

Thor's welling tears froze at the sound of his name spoken in a short, crisp manner. He turned to find Queen Hlín still facing the library door which she had closed. She spoke softly, but within her tone he could hear the unsounded wailing of a grieving mother.

"Odinson," she repeated again, still refusing to face him. "I…"

She sucked in a breath of air through her teeth and then, turning to look him directly in the eye she simply let go.

"I have to thank you."

Thor had not been expecting such kind words. He almost would have preferred it if she had yelled at him, swore, told him that this was his fault. After all, Thor couldn't rid himself of the knowledge that if he hadn't shown up here, Loki never would have taken off.

"You… have done everything within your power for him. For my son." She nodded at him and her eyelashes flickered before she cast her gaze to the floor and fixed it there.

"Please," Thor choked out, anguished and trying his hardest not to break down like a child in front of this woman. "Do not thank me. I have done nothing! I… I could do nothing to stop this… I always thought that I had so much power, yet… I could not even save my little brother!"

Hlín nodded and the room fell into quiet like an empty forest drowning in its own silence.

"Then…" Hlín looked up at the Æsir prince. "Then I shall not thank you for coming, but I shall thank you because I know Loki was loved. If not by your father… if not even by your mother… then at least – I know for certain – by you."

Thor looked straight at her and then after a few moments he gave her a curt nod.

"My mother and I shall return to Ásgard on the morrow morn and we shall give your family time alone."

"Yes," Hlín agreed, preparing to open the door again. "We shall let your family – Loki's true family – grieve for him in peace."

Thor was astounded by her words, but they seemed to make sense to the queen who was already lost in her abyss of sorrow. She had lost her son twice now, once as a babe and now again as a man. She had lost him to a thief who called himself a king and she had lost him to the fates and although their time had been short together, Thor could see that she so clearly cherished her youngest child.

"Ah, my lovely."

The rough voice echoed around the room disquietingly as the eyes peered into a silver bowl which watched the conversation between the Prince of Ásgard and the Queen Jötunheimr.

"What a stir that poor Loki-child has made between your two houses. Ah, but if only you knew where he really was… I'm sure you'd like to know, hm?"

The creature waved its arm over the bowl of magic water and the image of Thor and Hlín disappeared without a sound.

"Hmm, but to get you back my beloved, some trickery must be done and unfortunately, you will be the one who has to pay…" the voice muttered to itself as it bustled around the room.

"After all, you thought you and your husband thought you could trick me with that useless disguise and that fake name. Do your own children know of your astounding beauty or have you worn that seiðr guise so long that you have ended up like your Loki-child – unable and unwilling to change back to your original form. For even now as I speak your Loki-child wears his Æsir disguise and he doesn't even know it!"

The disgusting creature rifled through a drawer and began pulling things out as it looked for something old and particular. An object that would help with its quest.

"Oh but yes, I will have to be quick won't I? Or else the heir of your enemy will return home before I do and that just would not do. But do not fret my beloved Fárbauti, you will see your true face again and you will hear my voice echo your true name… soon enough."

Hello, another little snippet for you... but who is this mysterious being that has suddenly been introduced? Only time will tell! :) Hope to see you all again next chapter :)

Much Love,
Soulhearts