"Brunnhilde, wait!" said Loki. He started after her but a large hand clamped down on his arm and wrenched him back around.

"We weren't finished!" Thor shouted.

"Weren't we?" said Loki, who had nearly forgotten Thor was there. He tried to jerk his arm free. Thor held fast, his lip curling. The threatening gleam in his eyes and the pressure of his grip told Loki that his brother knew full well that he would like very much to cloak and leave a projection behind right now. "It's simple! Hela and Father defeated Thanos before. Therefore, our chances would be better if we had her on our side."

"All they did was kick him out of Yggdrasil when only two of the Stones were at stake. I'm the one who put an axe through his neck after he collected all six, and I'll do it again if that's what it takes. We don't need Hela. That axe would probably work just as well on her."

"Oh?" said Loki. "Have you shared this idea with Father? You've seen it in his face too, haven't you? How much he misses her?"

"Are you making the argument for sentiment, Brother?" said Thor.

"What if I am?" Loki shot back. The word must carry some significance for Thor from his misadventures in the original timeline, but that only annoyed Loki more. "Consider this: whether we need Hela's help to defeat Thanos or not, having him as an enemy again might be the perfect motivation for her to consider a better perspective!"

Thor made a noise of disgust. Loki narrowed his eyes, his tone growing lower and more venomous. "How much of this anger is your unwillingness to accept that perhaps you were never Father's favorite after all?"

Thor shoved him away, thunder crashing so loudly it seemed almost on top of them. "This isn't about favorites. I wish the Ancient One hadn't severed my connection to the Time Stone. It'd almost be worth throwing away my entire second attempt just to prove to you what a terrible plan this is."

"Weren't you lamenting just yesterday the injustice of no one but you getting a second try to do things right?"

"You know full well I was thinking of Brunnhilde and others who actually deserve one!" said Thor, throwing a hand in the direction she had gone. "You might try it. Or maybe you'd like to make a similar offer to Malekith after you've visited Niflheim. And what if Thanos himself could see the error of his ways? Hela slashed my eye out as a punchline. She won't change!"

"She's our sister, Thor! Your only living sibling by blood, at that."

Thor stared at him, stricken. "You still think that matters to me?" He reached out again. Unfortunately for him, the conciliatory gesture met nothing but the illusory flesh of a projection, which held up its hands in a shrug and vanished while Thor roared in outrage.

"Sorry, Brother," muttered the real Loki beneath his cloak two corridors away.

X

Kjellfrid was in the middle of another boisterous evening of keeping her patrons well supplied with food and drink while they clapped and stomped in time to Oskar's ballads. He was no Bragi, but he had studied under him and was quite in demand for a bard who performed alone.

Kjellfrid's main objective for the night was to see her newest serving maid successfully perform the spell to clear up shards of crockery from the floor. There wasn't much to it; it was a fairly basic housekeeping spell, but the girl had never needed to do it on the scale of a large mead hall before and she kept only getting a fraction of the shattered tankards.

Thunder rattled the windows again. The conversation at more than one table had changed to speculation over what had gotten the crown prince so cross. They hadn't had such a storm in a while.

The door burst open and in came Brunnhilde. The other patrons edged aside to make way for her. She already had a reputation for being standoffish or worse, but tonight was the first time Kjellfrid didn't think it was a front she was putting up. She was drenched from the rain and her whole body looked tense as a bowstring.

"Voda," she grunted, slamming her sword down on the bar.

Kjellfrid poured the drink, but kept her hand on it when she slid it over so that Brunnhilde couldn't take it. "Are you alright, dear?"

Brunnhilde met her gaze for a moment. The pain in those pretty dark eyes could break the matron's heart. "You've been much kinder to me than I deserve, but please don't press."

Kjellfrid pursed her lips. "As you like," she said. She let go of the tankard and Brunnhilde pounded back the voda in one.

"Can I ask a favor?"

"Of course."

X

"I'm sorry, your highness, but I can't let you in." Thor's storm was still raging hard enough to send rain pouring throughout the city, and Loki was standing in the middle of it, soaking wet and glowering at the short, plump, obstinate matron of The King's Spear.

"I am your prince, woman," he snarled. "I can come in if I like."

She crossed her arms and didn't move an inch. "Not tonight, you can't."

Loki's scowl became a sneer. "Oh and I suppose if I come back another night, I'll find a sign posted saying 'Aesir patrons only.'"

She gave him a look like he was a misbehaving child. "I will be posting no such sign, as you ought to know. The King's Spear welcomes any patron who likes the food and drink and isn't looking for trouble, no matter his station or what realm he was born on. Now I don't know what you've done to upset her so, but she don't want to see you, and that's the end of it."

"But I need to explain—"

"Not tonight," she repeated firmly. Loki could count on one hand the number of times in over a thousand years he had been interrupted by a commoner speaking Asgardian. "There's no point looking at me that way; I'll take a prince's displeasure now over the Allfather's in the morning if I let you in and she ran you through with that Dragonfang of hers. I'll send a raven to the palace if she changes her mind, but don't you try sneaking in by shapeshifting or going invisible or anything else clever. You wait until she's good and ready to speak with you."

Loki looked past her at the closed door. Brunnhilde was somewhere on the other side of it. His anger and frustration deflated somewhat. Ought he to have considered whether there was something to her and Thor's idea to enlist the help of the mortal wizards to work on Hela's prison first? No, the truth of it was that it still felt like the lesser course. Thor's big plan was to collect allies for the war against Thanos, and there was simply nobody more worth attempting to add to that collection than one who had already helped deliver him his greatest defeat—even if Thor had given him a more definitive one in a future that no longer existed.

Loki knew he had hurt Brunnhilde badly and he hated that he had, but how could he make it right when he still fully believed this was the best option? And even if he didn't, it was effectively in Odin's hands now, so what could be done? The helplessness must've shown on his face, because when the matron spoke again, it was in a much gentler tone. "I'll take care of her as best I can, your highness."

"Can I at least send a friend to her, if not myself?" Loki asked, grasping wildly for anything at all that could move the situation in a better direction.

She hesitated, casting a glance over her shoulder. "If they'd come as her friend, not your messenger..." She nodded. "I think it might do her some good."

"Thank you."

X

Thor didn't return to the princes' hall. His friends knew of his anger well enough from the storm; they didn't need more of it from his presence. He went to his chambers and stood at the balcony. The wind whipped his hair and the rain pelted his face. He looked out over everything that had been in ruins when the Revengers arrived at Asgard. Everything they had been forced to destroy to save what remained of the people. And Loki wanted to give Hela another chance to achieve her bloodthirsty ambitions.

He hoped they really were days away from being able to locate Malekith's ship. He wanted to kill something, and the Dark Elves would do nicely.

"I take it Odin told you Loki's clever idea."

Thor turned to see his mother entering the room. He stepped back inside so she wouldn't have to join him in the rain. She waved a hand and the water evaporated off him in a flash of seidr.

"You didn't see what she does to Asgard," said Thor gruffly.

"Are you quite certain of that?" Thor stared at her. She walked slowly towards him, her face serene. "The first time I saw the Crown Princess of Asgard, she was leading a charge against my people on Vanaheim. The last time I saw her, she was leaping at me with one of those black blades of hers after using them to slaughter all the staff and guards in the palace. That was when Odin managed to open the gate to Niflheim."

"Then you can't want this either."

"I don't," she said. "It was bad enough to learn that she still lives when I've slept soundly on the belief that she and her supporters could never be a threat to you or your brother again."

"Help me persuade Father against it."

She reached up to touch his cheek. "Oh, Thor. That's what I spent the afternoon failing to do."

X

Sif, the Warriors Three, and the mortals were all right where Loki had left them, only much less comfortable. Volstagg broke off abruptly in the middle of what seemed to be a somewhat forced attempt to raise everyone's spirits again with an amusing tale of valor from his youth.

"Where are Thor and Brunnhilde?" said Sif, frowning.

"Is everything alright?" said Fandral.

"The storm has yet to abate," Hogun observed.

"Please, enjoy the food and drink," said Loki. "I doubt Thor will be rejoining you, and I've only returned to request Sif's help on Brunnhilde's behalf."

Sif shot to her feet at once and followed him out into the corridor. "Where is she?"

"Not in Gladsheim," said Loki, and Sif stopped looking around for a sign of her. He winced. "How much do you know of Hela?"

"The queen explained that it was she, not the Jotnar, who massacred the Valkyrior," said Sif, both confused and apprehensive.

"Then you will understand why Brunnhilde did not take it well to learn that I have suggested that Father alter her punishment from endless imprisonment to probation."

Sif's eyes flared with indignation and she opened her mouth to unleash a terrible diatribe. Loki quickly forestalled her. "Yes yes, I know, it was terribly insensitive of me and I don't deserve any of the affection she inexplicably has for me." Or had, at any rate, a detestable little voice added in his head.

"If you expect me to help your apology go over better like when you convinced her to spar with me—"

"No, Sif. I already tried to apologize but she's employed the matron of The King's Spear to bar my entrance."

"Oh."

"Would you go to her? On her account, not mine. Please?"

Sif's anger faded a little. "You really do care for her."

Loki didn't have the energy to take offense at the hint of surprise in her tone.

She sighed. "The King's Spear?"

He nodded.

"I'll go."

X

Brunnhilde was on her fourth bottle of voda when Sif joined her at the bar. "If you're here for another bout, it's not a good time," she said. The words barely came out slurred. She gestured for another round. She still remembered why she was so miserable and angry, and she was aiming to change that. Kjellfrid didn't look too happy about it but she brought out another bottle anyway. It gave Brunnhilde a twinge of guilt, which she ignored. No matter how kind and motherly the woman was, it wouldn't stop Brunnhilde finding another mead hall when Kjellfrid cut her off.

Sif said nothing, she just looked stiff and awkward. Brunnhilde rolled her eyes. "Get her the same," she said, jerking a thumb at Sif. She shot her a baleful look. "If you're going to stay here, you're going to drink."

"Very well," said Sif, sitting down and accepting the tankard.

X

Loki could just see The King's Spear from his perch on the balcony. Sif would probably be there by now. He wished his stomach would stop churning. The storm had largely quieted, with the rain down to a drizzle and the lightning only flashing above the clouds occasionally. Perhaps Thor would come around...or perhaps he was just asleep.

"I gather today hasn't been pleasant for you."

He acknowledged his mother with a look that didn't quite meet her eyes. He didn't think he could take arguments like Thor's delivered in her disappointed voice. Why were three of the people he cared for most also among those who had suffered more than anyone else at Hela's hands? "I gather you don't think Hela deserves a second chance."

Frigga laughed, but there wasn't an ounce of humor in it. "I gave that child a thousand chances and she slapped them all away. I endeavored to see her as you do: as Odin's beloved daughter who had helped save Yggdrasil from the Mad Titan, not just the commander of armies that had killed so many Vanir. I tried so hard to understand her. Her mother had died in battle before she was grown, and I thought she might warm to the idea of another filling that role."

"Did she?" said Loki. He couldn't imagine anyone not wanting Frigga for a mother. She had certainly proven with him that she was capable of opening her heart to a child not of her blood.

Frigga smiled thinly, taking a seat beside him. "She was still fighting the Aesir-Vanir war in her heart, and all she ever saw in me was Vanaheim's victory over Asgard. She was convinced that I had cast some spell over Odin so that he'd marry me and end the war. She thought I was looking for a chance to get rid of her next so that my children could rule the empire she helped build. She and Odin had endless shouting matches about it."

Loki felt a terrible sinking in his chest. He reached for her hands where they were smoothing her skirts. "I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't consider the other angles. I shouldn't have suggested—"

She cut him off with a surprisingly gentle look and a squeeze of his fingers. "Hela is your father's greatest regret. His hope for her died along with Baldur, but I could see a glimmer of it restored to him today. I cannot share that hope, and I cannot allow this plan to go forward without precautions, but...I won't stand in the way of it."

X

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to let him draw me in like that," said Brunnhilde. "Obviously he was going to choose family over someone he met last week, even if she's only his half-sister by adoption who he's never met and is literally the worst person in Yggdrasil. It's just that...he's so pretty."

"Don't say that." Sif put a comforting hand on Brunnhilde's arm. She nearly missed. "You're not stupid. Princes are stupid." She wasn't normally one to get this drunk. Voda was strong stuff. She felt simultaneously very cross and on the verge of wild laughter.

"They think they know everything," Brunnhilde concurred. "Thor's not too bad though."

Sif snorted. "Thor's the worst one!"

"That's only because you're in love with him."

Sif slumped over the bar, running her finger around the top of her tankard. "Have you seen the way his eyes crinkle up when he smiles?"

"Norns," said Brunnhilde.

"No, really! They do!" Sif insisted. "And when he smiles at you it's like you drank a bottle of sunlight." She tipped her tankard toward her. Most of the remaining contents reached her mouth.

"If getting drunk makes you come over all soppy and poetic, I'll have Kjellfrid cut you off right now."

"Good," said Kjellfrid with a stern look at the pair of them. "I was about to cut both of you off in any case."

Sif pouted.

"That's alright," said Brunnhilde. She climbed unsteadily off her stool. "There's somewhere I want to go. Come on, Sif."

"You'd better not be going to another mead hall," said Kjellfrid.

"I wanted to before, but I've had a better idea," said Brunnhilde.

Sif climbed down and followed her on wobbly legs. They ended up half-supporting each other to stay upright, which set off Sif's giggles. Brunnhilde scoffed but it wasn't long before she was giggling too. They must look like a pair of pathetic loons.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"It's a surprise," said Brunnhilde. "You'll like it."

They somehow reached the stables around the back of The King's Spear without falling over once. "Are you sure we shouldn't take a skiff?"

"There weren't horses on Sakaar. I miss them."

"Alright, but you won't stay on."

"Pfft, these ones don't even fly."

Miraculously, they did manage to keep their seats on the two horses they borrowed. Mead hall horses were especially good at managing unsteady riders. What sweet souls they were.

Sif didn't have the slightest clue where they were headed until Brunnhilde guided her horse a little ahead and turned onto the Rainbow Bridge. "Are we leaving Asgard?"

"Yep."

"Are you sure you want me along with you? You barely even like me."

"Don't be silly. I like you just fine when we're both drunk."

At the pace the horses were going, it took several minutes to reach the Observatory. Brunnhilde hopped down and barely avoided falling on her face. Sif wasn't as successful, but Brunnhilde helped her up.

"Commander Brunnhilde. Lady Sif," said Heimdall. Sif couldn't tell if he was amused by or disapproving of the state they'd got themselves in. Maybe both. "What can I do for you?"

"We're going to Vanaheim," said Brunnhilde.

"Vanaheim?" said Sif.

Heimdall smiled. "Very good." He twisted Hofund in the console, and the gears around them ground to life. "I hope you will convey my affection to the Matriarchs when you arrive."

I realized last chapter that Thor kind of faded into the background of the big argument once Brunnhilde showed up. Since this is his and Loki's worst fight in this whole fic, I couldn't have that. I love the idea that Loki makes a habit of vanishing in the middle of arguments using illusions and cloaking spells. He pushed the right buttons to get Thor to let go of him so he could pull that off.

I was happy to incorporate the drying spell from the new bits we've had of Loki footage into this. Frigga does it for Thor onscreen, but you can assume Loki also does it on himself once he's out of the rain. I can't believe we're less than a month out from the Loki show. I'm excited but I'm also bracing myself for many of my headcanons to get exploded.

A note on Allspeak and class. Can't remember if I've talked about this before, but Allspeak is a lot like the Queen's English, where Asgardian is like regional English accents. Which tend to be viewed as lesser, even though they sound really cool. So Kjellfrid's Asgardian sass is slightly maddening to Loki (who sees Allspeak as a mark of his education and rank) but really comforting to Brunnhilde (who sees Allspeak as a neutral tool while Asgardian sounds like home).

The idea of Sif being the awkward tag-along on Brunnhilde's angry bender was deeply amusing to me, and now Sif gets to see the Matriarchs again for the first time since she was little. Will it go better this time or will she only become even more of a spaz?