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Chapter 14

Red Sky in the Morning

Gemma

Pain. Pain so intense that all memories of happier times were washed from existence. Then fear. Something was wrong.

Help. Help! HELP!

Loki

Back inside the palace of the Realm Internal, Loki; Thor and Gemma landed with a crash inside Prince Thor's private chambers. For a moment, Loki lay stunned, staring at the ceiling. He felt a trickle of blood run down his temple, but he did not wipe it away.

"Loki? Gem?" that was Thor, who was struggling to get to his feet. "How doth thee fair?"

Loki felt Gemma stirring by his side and he immediately sat up to better help her.

Thor rushed to her other side and lifted her into sitting position, where she leaned against Loki.

"We need medics! She's lost a great deal of blood. Gem? Can you hear me?" Thor sounded panicky, but Loki didn't blame him. He could see clearly that Gemma was hurt badly. She did not respond to any of their pleas.

Loki and Thor had not planned this far ahead. They had assumed that Gemma would be okay and they could return her to SHEILD and safety before Odin ever knew of what they had done. But now, it was obvious that they could not send her back to Midgard, not like this, or she would doubtlessly die. What Gemma needed was the best healers of all of the nine realms, and fast.

"Loki! Run and get help. Make haste!" Thor was barking out orders with a mask of stone; he was acting the king.

Loki nodded curtly, though he did not wish to leave Gemma's side. He got to his feet and rushed out of the room. The marble floors slapped against his feet as he ran, traveling the path he'd once known so well. In minutes, he stood before Frigga's chamber door. It was very late; Loki doubted she would be awake. All the same, he needed her help.

He drew in a deep breath through his nose and then knocked twice, wincing when the bruised and broken bones of his hand tapped the golden door.

Silence.

Loki rapped again, louder this time. Now he could hear movement on the other side of the door. After a moment, a groggy eyed Frigga stood before him, looking like she was about to chew out whoever dared disrupt her beauty sleep. However, the moment she saw that it was Loki, her expression softened into one of confusion.

"Loki? What is i-" Loki grabbed her hand, cutting her off. Then he was pulling her, as fast as the two of them could go with Frigga tripping on her gown as she made feeble attempts at protests.

Loki shoved open the door to Thor's chambers and pulled his mother inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Oh my!" Frigga gasped.

She'd seen Gemma, slumped against a wall with Thor kneeling before her, in a pool of blood as he tried to tip a glass of water down the frail girl's throat.

For the first time, Loki got a good look at Gemma. Her usually silky brown hair was matted with blood and knotted into a mess around her head. Nearly every inch of exposed skin was covered in bruises and cuts. Her face was ashen and stark white, her cheeks were sunken and her eyes were closed. For a moment, Loki feared she was dead. Then her chest heaved as she drew in a rattling breath that made him cringe. In fact, the entire scene upset his stomach greatly, and he could feel his head spinning.

Water dribbled down her chin as Thor tried in vain to feed her. The golden-headed prince looked up when he heard Frigga's gasp.

"Mother!" he cried, getting to his feet. "We must send for help! This young mortal… She is dying!"

Frigga's hands fluttered near her heart like two birds.

"Who… What is going on? Boys, what…?" she stuttered, staring at Gemma's battered form.

"Mother, waste no time! Send for the best healers! We shall explain everything to you when that has been done. And don't wake father!" Thor ordered. He drew his mother into a quick hug and then sent her out the door.

"You brought Frigga?" Thor said, looking at Loki once Frigga had left.

Slowly, the younger prince nodded. Thor observed him for a moment, looking at him closely.

"Why?" Thor asked.

Loki shrugged. He'd been wondering the same thing. Why had he rushed to the queen's bedroom at the first sign of trouble, like a little boy running to his mother after a bad dream?

Thor looked over his shoulder back at Gemma, who was still leaning lifelessly against the wall. Loki followed his gaze and saw the MFB cuff lying on a bed stand. The metal collar was stained with her own blood. Thor noticed Loki staring and said with a smile, "I used the Gauntlet to remove it."

The Gauntlet itself sat on the other side of Gemma, discarded the moment it was no longer needed.

"She's going to make it, brother. Fear not for the girl, she is strong willed," Thor assured, patting Loki's shoulder.

Loki brushed Thor off and moved to Gemma's side. He kneeled down when he reached her and slid his arm under her shoulders, supporting her weight. Her neck lolled limply to the side and her head came to a rest on his chest. Gingerly, Loki ran his fingers through her hair, working through the knots.

Thor looked at his feet, feeling as though he was witnessing something entirely too intimate for his eyes to behold. After a moment, he cleared his throat. Loki glared accusatively up at him; obviously upset Thor had interrupted his reunion with the mortal.

"Thanos is dead. The Tesseract is destroyed," Thor said, still looking at his feet.

He glanced up and met Loki's puzzled expression.

"Thanos destroyed his own planet, and everything on it. He was beyond reasoning. I presume something cracked inside him. It was only a matter of time before he did something, anyways. I just got the three of us out of there in the nick of time… It was too late for the Tess."

Loki nodded silently and then went back to taking care of Gemma. He rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

"I'll leave you alone then, brother?" Thor said, sounding uncertain with a hint of embarrassment.

Loki didn't reply so Thor picked up the Infinity Gauntlet and silently stole out of the room. The last thing he noticed were Loki's fingers rubbing circles in Gemma's spine. Thor had never seen his brother act so… Human. Not in a very, very long time.

Thor

"My Lord," a voice startled Thor the moment he closed the door behind him.

He spun round on his heel to see Heimdall standing before him, dressed in his formal gear. Seeing the Gatekeeper in the palace was such an unexpected twist that for a moment, Thor was at a loss for words.

"Heimdall?" he said, once he'd recovered. "What are you doing here? I thought you've been overseeing the restoration of the Bifrost!"

"Yes, my lord. And I still am," replied the Gatekeeper. "I just came to warn thee: it's not over yet."

Thor stared at Heimdall blankly for a moment before answering.

"How? Thanos is dead! The Tesseract has been destroyed!" Thor voice had taken a frantic edge and his eyes were wide.

"That is true, my lord, but be weary of the Lady," with those words Heimdall turned and began walking briskly down the corridor.

Thor watched him go, feeling stunned before jogging to catch back up.

"What? What Lady? And what does any of this half to do with Gem?" Thor asked.

"I am sorry, my lord, but I must return to my duties," Heimdall said curtly, exiting the palace.

Thor stood on the threshold, pondering Heimdall's cryptic words like a fester wound.

I think the mortals have a phrase for this: shit just hit the fan.

Thor had just determined to follow Heimdall until he got a clear answer, when the doors banged right back open and the prince was nearly bowled over by a group of six or so men and women, all dressed in the attire of royal healers.

"Oh my!" a young lady said, steadying herself seconds before she crashed into Thor.

The others behind her dropped into low bows, muttering their apologies for rampaging through the palace like a herd of fools.

Thor smiled kindly in response and ordered them back to their feet.

"The good queen must have sent for you," he said. "The girl is in my chambers, down this hall and take the first left, go up the stair case and take the second right. My brother will let you in when you knock. I thank you kindly," Thor said.

"Thank you, my lord. We hope we will be of assistance," one of the healers said. Thor noticed the man's face had paled considerably though, at the mention of Loki.

The troupe of healers had just turned around the corner when the door burst open again, this time clipping Thor in the shoulder. He cursed and jumped back, rubbing the spot where the door hit him.

A slender man wearing the torn robes of a peasant with a red beard stood in the doorway.

"Where's the girl?" the intruder demanded.

As he spoke, Thor noticed two woman standing just outside, peering through the doorway into the palace anxiously. Thor felt his face redden and he had to remind himself to be of hospitable mind.

"State your name and intention, good sir," Thor said.

"Lermes of Vanaheim, sir. And these here," Lermes pulled the woman into the palace. "These is my wife," he pushed the older of the two forward. "And me daughter," he nodded at a slim blonde girl who looked shyly up at Thor from under long eyelashes. "We is here because had a dream, sir! For I is a great Seerer, I is," Lermes puffed out his chest proudly. "And I knew there is a mortal girl here needin' some assistance! Not that it's any business of yers!"

This time the young woman spoke up.

"Pa!" she scolded, looking scandalized. "That is Prince Thor, that is!" she said in a hushed voice that she thought Thor wouldn't be able to hear.

Lermes' face paled and his wife whimpered and hid her face in her hands.

Thor looked on, puzzled and bewildered.

"I am sorry, My Lord," the young woman said, dropping into a curtsy. "My name is Wildr. My mother and I have come to offer our assistance in healing the girl from Midgard. " she explained. "Please do not punish us for my father's ignorance. He did not know you were the prince!"

Thor nodded slightly and said, "You're healers then?"

"Yes, My Lord," Wildr confirmed. "Very good ones too! We helped your brother, the Prince Loki only a few days ago. He would have died if we hadn't patched him up, My Lord!"

"In that case, it appears I owe you the greatest thanks!" Thor said, smiling. "Please, come in." he ushered the family onto the threshold and closed the door behind them.

The three peasants stood inside the palace with wide eyes, taking in everything: the gold and the marble and the velvets, it was all more riches then any of them had ever seen.

"My Lord," said Lermes' wife, dropping low to the ground. "My name is Astair, your humble servant. Please, allow us to assist the girl in any way we can!" she pleaded.

Thor scratched his chin absently, deep in thought.

"Moment before your arrival, six of the finest healers in the realms reached the palace. It seems as though we shall not be needing your assistance. But please, join us for a meal, our family is forever in your debt for saving the life of my broth-"

Lermes held up his hands and waved them wildly.

"Now, now! Look here, Prince Thor!" he began, getting very red in the face.

"Pa!" chided Wildr, reaching out for her father's hand.

"Quiet, child!" he snapped, shaking her off. "We is certainly very pleased by yer honorable hospitality, I can assure ye! And I mean no disrespect, me Lord, but look here! I received a vision and in that vision me wife an' me daughter tended to the girl! Now, I am not about to forsake my Sight! What has been foretold must come to pass! Please, me Lord, let us see the girl."

Thor sighed. He had half a mind to throw the ruffians out the door but Heimdall's warning still sat upon his chest like a weight.

"Right this way, then, my friends."