The light of the portal quickly faded, and a sight of destruction welcomed Sigyn. The portal had brought them to the outskirts of the city. Smoke rose from all around, and sounds of a continued battle reached her ears. The Light Elves were apparently holding out against Thanos's forces better than Sigyn would have thought they would, which she found to be a comforting sign.
"What's the plan?" Steve asked Sigyn.
Sigyn looked at the group and tried not to laugh. Their outfits all seemed strange to her, except for Thor's. Sigyn and Loki were the only ones not dressed for battle, so their Midgardian clothes seemed more out of place than she would have liked.
"I need to find Sylvath to ensure he is safe, but first I will lead the rest of you to Freyr's palace. There is a strong possibility that the Infinity Gem is hidden there."
Captain America nodded in acknowledgement of the plan and Sigyn took off towards the center of the city. Tony, aka Iron Man, would fly ahead at times on Sigyn's command to take out invading Titian soldiers. Those Light Elves involved in the battle gave Sigyn and her entourage strange looks, but would refrain from attacking them once they recognized Sigyn. As Sigyn and the others rounded a corner the familiar form of a female Dark Elf caught Sigyn's attention. Unfortunately, the woman caught Thor's attention too.
"Sigyn watch out!" He commanded as he went in for the kill.
"Thor no!" She cried out, but it was too late. Thor was already in the middle of his attack.
"Manavana look out!" Sigyn warned her friend just in time.
Manavana was able to roll out of the way of Thor's attack, while Sigyn ran to grab Thor's arm.
"What is a Dark Elf doing here!?" Thor demanded of Manavana.
"She is my wife." Celleth's calm voice replied.
Thor relaxed slightly at the appearance of another Light Elf. "Your wife?" He asked in confusion.
"Yes, my wife." Celleth confirmed, while giving Manavana a hand up.
As much as Sigyn would have loved to stay and chat with her two friends, this was neither the time nor the place.
"Where is Sylvath?" She quickly asked.
"At home with Armallia. He refused to take shelter with the women and children in case you should return, and Armallia refused to leave him by himself." Celleth promptly reported.
It took only a moment for Sigyn to formulate a course of action. "Celleth. Manavana. I need you two to take my companions to Freyr's palace so that I may go to Sylvath. I know our home is protected by magic, but I fear that it will not keep them safe for much longer."
"Of course Sigyn, but it will be quite a fight to get to the palace." Celleth warned.
At that moment Hawkeye shot an arrow right past Celleth's head and into an oncoming Titian warrior.
"No offence sir, but I think we'll be just fine." Barton assured.
Celleth smiled, and Sigyn got the feeling that he and Manavana might be enjoying this a bit too much.
"Very well, follow me." Celleth urged.
Before Sigyn could take off towards her home, Thor stopped her.
"Loki is going with you." He ordered.
Sigyn wished to protest, but the look in Thor's eyes and his tone of voice told her not to bother.
"Stay off of the main streets. Stealth will be your greatest ally if you wish to get through this skirmish and to Sylvath quickly." Thor advised before taking off with the other Avengers.
Loki and Sigyn glanced at each other before heading down an alleyway. Sigyn had cloaked them in invisibility, but there was less of a chance of accidentaly bumping into anyone in the ally. The pair got fairly far before they were forced back onto the main road by a dead end. They dodged the fighters as deftly as possible, but a sudden explosion on the road sent them both flying into a wall. Sigyn had collided into Loki so while she took most of the force of the explosion he took the brunt of the impact. It took a second for either of them to find their feet, and once they were both somewhat steady they began to run towards Sigyn's home once again. Sigyn could feel the bruises beginning to form, and she could feel blood trickling down her cheek from a newly opened cut. As they continued their trek the fighting increased so Sigyn used her magic to form a few throwing daggers, and tossed a couple over to Loki.
Loki deftly caught the daggers that Sigyn threw over to him, and immediately launched one into the brain of a Titan warrior. Occasionally Sigyn would do the same, but never once did she glance his way. Loki found it shocking that not only had Sigyn handed him a weapon, but that she trusted him enough not to turn it on her.
Trust.
When was the last time someone had trusted him? Thor hadn't when he had asked for Loki's help against the Dark Elves. The Avengers certainly didn't trust him, though Loki could hardly blame them. Loki threw another dagger then returned to his thoughts. Sigyn was difficult for him to understand. One second she was threatening to kill him, and the next she was handing him his weapon of choice. Before Loki could ponder this conundrum any further however, Sigyn began to slow down and head into a garden with Loki following close behind. They then turned into a building that Loki assumed was Sigyn's home on Alfheim. Neither Loki nor Thor had been allowed to set foot on Alfheim before so Loki had no idea what to expect of Sigyn's other home. It was undoubtedly smaller than the palace, but the small size seemed reasonable since only three people lived there.
It didn't take long to reach a door that Loki assumed led into Sylvath's chambers. Sigyn quickly opened the door, but before she could step into the room a tall middle-aged woman tried to break a vase over Sigyn's head. Loki was able to catch the woman's arm before any damage could be done, and the Light Elf opened her eyes. The sudden realization of who had walked in the door struck the woman, whom Loki assumed was the maid Armallia, and she began to laugh and cry at the same time while embracing Sigyn.
"You came! You actually came!" She greeted happily. "I was worried that Sylvath had been unable to reach out to you."
Both women looked over to the bed where Sylvath lay.
"How is he faring?" Sigyn asked in a whisper.
Armallia bit her lip nervously. "Not well My Lady. I am not sure how much longer he will last."
Loki had only ever seen Sylvath a couple of times throughout the centuries, but even he could tell that the aging Light Elf was in exceedingly poor health. He was a little surprised that Sigyn hadn't mentioned the fact that Sylvath was dying beforehand.
"It seems the magic protecting the house has stayed in tact." Sigyn observed.
"It has. A few of the Titans tried to breach it earlier, but they were unsuccessful. I assume more will come later if the fighting doesn't die down soon."
Sigyn voiced her agreement before walking softly over to Sylvath's bedside. Loki and Armallia continued standing to the side, but neither dared leave the room for fear of being spotted in the open air corridor.
"Father." She beckoned in a gentle tone.
Sylvath slowly opened his eyes, and it seemed to take some time for them to adjust to the light.
"Ástin mín." He replied warmly.
Sigyn smiled and placed her hand on his.
"I am sorry it took me so long to come to you father. I should have seen Thanos's plan from the beginning. I fear I have failed you, and all of Alfheim."
"Do not be so harsh on yourself Sigyn, no one can expect you to see through all of Thanos's plans immediately. You are here now, and that is what matters."
"I have brought help from Midgard to fend off Thanos's army, and to help me search for the Infinity Gem that I know Odin must have hid here."
"Yes, I can see that." Sylvath replied while throwing a glance in Loki's direction.
Loki kept calm under Sylvath's scrutiny, and was surprised to see that the ancient Light Elf's eyes held no condemnation. Sylvath returned his gaze to Sigyn, and they began to reminisce. Loki detected a sniffle and glanced at the maid standing beside him.
"I was afraid she wouldn't make it in time to say goodbye." Armallia whispered to Loki when she felt his gaze on her. "She has already been forced to miss too many goodbyes."
"Yes, with the death of Frigga." Loki noted.
"And you." The maid added.
"Me?" Loki replied almost inaudibly.
"When news of your death reached Alfheim Sigyn was devastated. She mourned your loss for six months. Even after she knew you were alive she still mourned you."
Loki couldn't help but be taken aback by Armallia's news. Thor and his adoptive parents had mourned him because they believed him to be dead, Asgard mourned him because they knew not what he had done, but Sigyn mourned him knowing the whole truth. She hadn't grieved because she thought Loki had died, she had grieved because she believed him lost to her. Lost and dead: two very different reasons for sorrow. One you could come back from the other was permanent.
