More excitement! I hope everyone has been enjoying the story so far! Anyway, more Coriolanus references as well as "Only Hope" by: Mandy Moore! Enjoy and review!

Chapter 25

"Shakespeare Galore"

Loki sat upon his steed as he looked towards the city of fire demons. When his gaze traveled up the palace towers, he caught sight of Midgardian sky blue and his heart seemed to leap out of his chest because the only person who would wear that color in a fire demon realm would be his Elsa.

"No doubt Surtur and his men saw our entrance, sir." Tony stated as he hovered next to the prince on his left side, "What will you have the men do?"

Slightly taken aback by the fact that the Tony Stark called him 'sir', the dark prince weighed his options. March onto the palace where the demons would, most assuredly, have the advantage or wait for Surtur's army to come to them where they would have the upper hand? Tony and him exchanged glances and an idea popped into the prince's head, "Tony; you, Thor, and Hulk go into the city for a first attack. Hawkeye; you, Natasha, and the archers stay back here to provide long range support. Captain America, myself, and the rest of the army will deal with whatever or whomever dares approach." He ordered and within seconds, Banner had gone Hulk and was running towards the city with Iron Man and Thor in the air above him.

The ground troop moved ahead when an equal sized army of demons was dispatched from the palace. Loki and a handful of soldiers; including the captain, advanced into a charge and met the demons head on. Mere minutes later, demons and Asgardians lay dead at Steve and Loki's feet. Both men were covered in blood and only at this time did the prince see the rest of the foot soldiers cowering near the archers. Anger pooled from his pores as he approached them like a predator.

"'All the contagion of the gods light on you, you shames of Asgard! You herd of – boils and plagues plaster you o'er, that you may be abhorred farther than seen, and one infect another against the wind a mile! You souls of geese that bear the shapes of men, how have you run from slaves that mortals would beat!' (Act 1 Scene 4) You cowards that call yourselves Odin's soldiers… All I see before me now are frightened children! You came here to save our most beloved princess who lies trapped there," Loki points to the tower where he had seen Elsa previously, "for she needs your help now more than ever! Now, take up your swords and fight with me! For she that is most precious…! For Princess Elsa!"

"For Princess Elsa!" the army shouted and quickly maneuvered into marching positions to venture on.

Elsa changed into her wedding dress and awaited her husband. Thought, she knew, if she had her powers the demons would no separate her from the man she loved. But, upon her arrival to Muspelheim, Surtur revealed that her spring abilities would not work due to the intense heat of the realm. She ventured a peek outside and saw blurs of red, orange, and black mingle with the gold of Odin's soldiers.

"There's a song that's inside of my soul,
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again,
I'm awake in the infinite cold,
But you sing to me over and over and over again,
So I lay my head back down,
And I lift my hands and pray,
To be only yours,
I pray, to be only yours,
I know now…
You're my only hope…"she goes to the desk where she had been keeping a diary of her days spent in the room and glares at it. For it was filled with dark things that she did not want to revisit.

"Sing to me the song of the stars,
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again,
When it feels like my dreams are so far,
Sing to me all the plans that you have for me over again,
So I lay my head back down," Elsa knelt in the center of the room with her hands folded in prayer, "And I lift my hands and pray,
To be only yours,
I pray to be only yours,
I know now, you're my only hope…" she stood and goes to the window overlooking the city square and she catches glimpses of her husband and friends fighting valiantly.

"I give you my destiny,
I'm giving you all of me,
I want your symphony,
Singing in all that I am,
At the top of our lungs,
I'm giving it back,
So I lay my head back down,
And I lift my hands and pray,
To be only yours,
I pray to be only yours,
To be only yours,
I know now…
You're my only hope…" she sang to lift her spirits at the sight of death below.

Loki was battling a demon in the palace as he, not only searched for Elsa, but for Surtur as well so he could rip his skull apart. Iron Man was covering him as he sprinted through the halls.

"Any sign of her yet?!" Loki asked loudly for he knew Tony had JARVIS running a trace on her. The Man of Iron did not answer which only worried the god more; fueling his legs as he continued.

"Great prince…!" a timid voice called making Loki and Tony stop in their tracks and turn towards a man of, maybe, twenty years with hazel hair and matching eyes, "I am Nesbit… Servant of her ladyship, Princess Elsa…"

"Where is my wife?" the mischief god asked urgently.

"She is locked away in her room, my lord. King Surtur demanded it. I will take you to her… For she is a dear friend." Nesbit answered and moved to a side staircase pausing only for a moment to assure the men who were hesitant, "I promise you… No betrayal… Come."

Elsa was at her wit's end! Her people were dying and she could not pinpoint any of her loved ones except for Thor, who didn't hide the lightening, and Hulk, who's kind of hard to miss. She ran her hands through her untied hair and twisted her hands in anxiousness. Then, a knock came to the door and the sound of a key in the lock made the most joyous noise the elemental woman had ever heard. Ever slowly, the door opened but instead of a boot, a hoof stepped forward. Elsa's face fell into horror at the sight of the towering behemoth and a scream tore through the air as blood puddle at their feet.