Packing did not take as long as Brynja anticipated it would. She mixed her belongings with Loki's, not caring if she had to sort them back out again later. She tried not to hope too strongly that he was alive somewhere. Even if Freyja had somehow snatched him from under the axe, there was a distinct possibility she had done so too late and he had arrived in her Witching room dead or dying, his head at least partially severed from his body. She called for the guards who had been sent to assist her and began directing them on how to pack the cart. They followed orders silently. The final trunk to go on the cart was the one that only contained Loki's armor. She had not wanted to pack it, to admit that he was gone, or to remove that reminder of who he was from her sight. If she had no body to bury, she would consider the trunk of armor his coffin. She bundled up the children and put on her own winter cloak, looking around the room one more time before picking up her walking staff and following the guards to the cart.

It was the same cart she had arrived on, carefully stored all these years. The horses, too, were the same long-lived Asgardian horses that had brought her to Jotunheim. She sat up in the driver's seat with one child on either side of her and set out into the cold. The girls huddled close.

When she was a safe distance from the temple, she looked to the sky and called out for Heimdall, "Heimdall, bring us home."

Within moments, she felt the blast of the Bifrost, felt it carry her skyward, and was soon driving the horses along the bridge, watching Asgard grow closer and closer.

Sunny asked her once more, "You were more than just fond of Loki, weren't you?"

Brynja did not take her eyes off the path ahead, or the shining city growing larger as they approached, "Yes, child. I was. I still am. He holds a very sacred place in my heart."

Katja, her arms hugged around her knees, leaned on her mother, "I hope he's not dead."

Brynja sighed, "So do I, darling, but I'm choosing not to think he could be alive... Even if Freyja did make him vanish, and even if he is in her Witching rooms, there is a great likelihood that she got to him too late. Witching is an imprecise skill at such a great distance. And I am still bound to your father."

Both children were silent as Asgard grew closer.

They were met at the gates by Heimdall and Frigga, "Brynja, girls, oh how you've grown in only a short time- too long, though, to stay away for a grandmother," Frigga said as Heimdall helped them down.

He offered his hand to Brynja, who gratefully accepted it, "Lady Brynja. You dress in mourning. I have seen why." Brynja bowed her head and nodded.

Frigga addressed her daughter and slipped a piece of paper in her hands, "Please, move quickly. I will have this delivered to a room large enough for the three of you. The girls and I have much catching up to do."

Brynja read the note- it was directions to a secluded hallway in the palace. She took every shortcut through the walls that she knew. The handwriting was one she knew from years ago: Freyja.

When she arrived at the intersection before the indicated hallway, she met two of Freyja's guards. The women stopped her briefly, then let her pass, blocking the hallway once she was by. There were other guards along the hall creating barriers should anyone get past the first few. Brynja wondered what was going on.

Freyja called to her from somewhere down the hallway, "Keep walking this direction, my dear. You'll find out why you're here soon enough."

Her heart jumped to her throat, "My god, is he alive?" She walked faster past the guards, trying to hold back from running.

As she got closer, the guards thinned and she saw Freyja talking to someone, her body mostly blocking Brynja's view. She caught a brief glimpse of a sage tunic and ran.

Freyja turned and smiled as she saw Brynja break into a run. She stepped out of her way and watched Loki's face light up as he went to meet Brynja. She threw herself into his arms and clung to him.

"Freyja, thank you, thank you, thank you," Brynja said as she ran her hands up Loki's back, "Oh god, you're all here, every inch."

He laughed and reached around to take her hands, "Yes, my Little Witch, every inch." She noticed a bandage along the back of his neck and tried to reach up to it, but he kept her hands in his, "It's only a scratch. Freyja got to me just in time. I'm alive and well. I didn't even bleed on the shirt."

Brynja tugged her hands from his, reached up to cup his face in her hands, and kissed him.

Freyja grinned and bit her lip to keep from saying anything.

When their lips parted, Loki's smile was sad, "I'd say the words, Bryn, but you are married and I have to stand in front of your father to beg for my life. I cannot..."

His voice trailed off as he heard the sound of an approaching garrison. Freyja called to her guards to stand down and they stepped aside, glaring, as Odin's guards marched past them. Brynja was roughly pulled away from Loki and shoved towards Freyja, who caught her.

Freyja grabbed Brynja's chin and forced her to pay attention to only her, "Run to your mother's chamber, seek an audience with Odin. Take every shortcut you know. There is still time, and we will follow him."

Brynja's eyes darted to Loki as the guards shoved him to his knees and manacled his hands behind his back. His eyes met hers and he nodded. She turned and ran, disappearing into the walls faster than Odin's guards could tell where she'd gone.

She tore through the passages in the walls and the hallways between faster than she had ever before. She burst into her mother's chambers, breathless.

"I need a dress. I seek an urgent audience with Father. I will explain later."

Frigga gestured to her gowns and Brynja dashed toward them, casting off her shawls as she went. She knew exactly the dress she needed. It was white, sweeping, and trimmed in gold. She undressed quickly, leaving her mourning dress in a heap on the floor. She tugged the other gown on and arranged it as quickly as she could, gathered up her hair, and pinned it at the back with a fine comb. She then went to her mother's jewellery and found the tiara she wanted. She ran out of the room and disappeared into a passageway directly from her mother's chamber.

A few minutes later, she slowed her walk and stepped out in front of the giant doors to the throne room. With a deep breath, she entered, Loki already in front of her father, guards on either side, his chains tight.

Odin called to her as she walked forward, her head bowed, "Brynja, this is not the time."

She raised her head, "Respectfully, Father, this may be the only time." She stepped around the guards and knelt between Odin on his throne and Loki standing in front of it.

"What are you doing, child?" Odin asked.

"That depends on what you are, Father," she replied.

He sighed, "We have been discussing Loki's future, or lack thereof. He broke the bargain, his execution was the outcome we agreed on."

Brynja, her voice calm and firm, not betraying how her heart was sinking, answered, "Then I offer my life along with his, as I failed to stop him from accepting the throne of Jotunheim and could not come up with a way to leave when we were both threatened should he refuse."

Loki whispered, begging, "Don't make this worse, Bryn. Please..."

Odin rose from his throne, "Don't be ridiculous, girl. That was not part of the agreement."

Brynja did not waver, "Loki did not take the throne, that was our bargain. He made no aggressions against Halifrey to seize power, it was handed to him. He never kept it secret from me that there was a plot to unseat Halifrey and he would be handed the crown whether he wanted it or not. Saying no to Othik was not only suicide, but would have resulted in my torture and death as well. Loki made no aggressions toward Asgard during his reign. From what I know of the politics of Jotunheim, he likely averted it. And when I was with him in Jotunheim, I did nothing to convince him to flee Othik or that he should deny his birthright as a son of Laufey."

Odin's anger rose, "His birthright was stripped of him when he was left to die."

Brynja did not change her tone, "And yet it was not restored when you rescued him? When you allowed him to return to Jotunheim? When it was openly offered to him by those who brought Halifrey to his knees and stripped him of his crown? His brother was removed from the throne. He took that brother's place. Is that not how our own succession functions? Were Thor to fall, would not the crown be offered to the next son, and in lieu of that, to the Princess of Asgard?"

Odin did not speak for a moment, then responded, "Were one of you to behead Thor, I would think the situation parallel to what happened in Jotunheim and would hope that Asgard would not allow you to take the throne."

Brynja again responded, "That is the way of things here. In Jotunheim, the way of kings is that the king is defeated and beheaded by his successor. Loki followed the custom of his parents, nothing more, nothing less. Is he to be at fault for behaving in the manner customary to Jotunheim? We expect guests in our own land to respect and uphold our customs, both sane and irrational, do we not?"

Odin pounded his staff on the dias, "Enough! What would you propose I do, let him free?"

Brynja shook her head sadly, "While I would love to hear you say those words, I do not hold out hope that I will ever see my dear friend outside of a cell or draped in chains. I only wish that you would take more time, make this decision without haste. Consult Heimdall and ask him what he saw of Loki's reign. Ask Freyja why she brought him here, rather than letting him die at the stroke of Bel's axe. Ask me what part I have played in all this, for I assure you this was not an insurrection led by Loki, nor did he believe he broke our agreement. And ask King Bel himself what he thought of Loki's time in Jotunheim and what he saw of his reign. He escorted us there, he witnessed Loki's ascension to the throne, took the throne back from Loki, and he allowed me to leave in peace. I have held Loki's life in my hands more than once and have always seen something in it worth saving. I hope you see it, too."

Odin nodded curtly, "Very well. I will consider what you have said. You are dismissed."

She turned to Loki and touched his cheek, "I've done what I can; I will not lose you again."

Loki whispered, "I would accept life in a cell if I were allowed visits from you."

Odin watched the interaction, "Brynja, might I remind you of your wedding vows?"

Brynja turned from Loki and replied to her father sharply, "And might I remind you, Father, that those vows were not made by my own choosing? That I did not wish to be married, but was following through on a bargain that was my friend's only chance for redemption?" She turned and walked out of the throne room, her dress sweeping behind her, her head high.

Loki waited until he heard the door close behind Brynja before he spoke to Odin, "I ask you only one thing- if you are going to execute me, do it quickly, for her sake. If you decide against it, please do not have me tortured. I would rather fall to the axe than endure that again- I ask this not only for myself, but for your daughter- she who cares far more deeply for me than I deserve, and she who will know if I am tortured and will be broken by it. You know as well as I do that she will not rest until she sees me safe in a cell or sees me dead by your hand. For her sake, I beg you, end this quickly."

Odin studied Loki's face, looking for any of the confidence and grace that would have accompanied such a statement in years past, his self-assured speech an indication that he knew his request would be granted, even if he had to manipulate a few others to make it happen. All of this was absent. Loki was quiet, his shoulders bent, his voice shaking as he spoke.

Odin nodded, "I will consider both what she has said and your request. Do not expect mercy, though, Loki. You knew when you entered this agreement with me that there was no leniency in my heart for you. It was your last chance."

Loki's heart sank even further, "Yes, sir." Odin called for the guards and Loki braced himself for the worst.