I know what you're all thinking. FINALLY. An update! I feel like the wait for this chapter was a bit too long so you have my sincerest apologies on that. I hope you can all forgive me!

I have some pretty cool news to share at the end of this chapter!


Hydrangeas Say Our Family Will Flourish

Chapter Forty-Eight: A Covert Operation

Loki squinted through the raging blizzard, trying to force his eyes to see through the blanket of white. Jotunheim was just as depressingly icy and drab as he recalled from the last time he had been here; it felt like a lifetime ago now, when he had first come face to face with his biological father, Laufey. The day he had realised he was something other than what he'd been raised to believe he was.

Thor's teeth rattled so hard that Loki could hear it from several feet away, he glanced over at his brother to see him holding his furry cloak tightly around his body in an effort to hold some heat in. They needed to start moving soon or Thor would freeze solid.

Loki himself remained unaffected by the frosty air around them, but if he stayed in the same place too long, his body would probably start acclimating and change to its Jotun form.

"Utgard is this way," Loki motioned ahead, "I recall from the last time."

The two had travelled via the Bifrost to land a few miles outside of Utgard with the intention of dropping in unseen and using the surprise to their advantage. If they'd touched down in the centre of Utgard, it would've created some problems while Amelia and the kids were still in the possession of the enemies.

They needed to perform a sneak attack if they wanted to gain the upper hand. Or, better yet, they needed to find and retake Amelia and the kids, and then launch their attack. The safety of his family was Loki's number one priority.

"Y-yes. We should g-go then… I need t-to warm u-up," Thor stammered.

Loki began trudging forward through the heavy snow, keeping his eyes and ears alert for any signs of life, and as he continued to pick up on the sound of Thor's clicking teeth, he wondered briefly what it must have been like to be bothered by the cold temperatures. It didn't sound pleasant.

He cleared his mind, pulling his focus towards their approaching destination. He needed to figure something out before they arrived, but he needed to think it through carefully. One wrong step spelt danger.

Ugh. He hated this realm.


Amelia clamped her lips together, trying to avoid whimpering or crying at the pain of Helblindi's hand tight around her arm. Any agonised sound from her was sure to be all the more distressing for the children, but if she kept her face neutral and refused to broadcast her pain, the kids would not be so affected and make any impulsive moves.

She could tell from the look in Kari's eyes that he was considering using magic; the boy kept peering between his mother and the Jotun King with a questioning gaze. Using magic was the last thing Amelia wanted him to do, because she knew the boy wouldn't be strong enough to take on three fully grown Jotuns, and it could only result in tragedy or chaos.

She shook her head subtly at Kari, trying to communicate that she wanted him to calm down and think more rationally.

Amelia hated to admit it, but it seemed that the best choice that could be made in that moment was for Aster and Kari to go to Hefring peacefully like Helblindi wanted them to; she knew the simple choice to comply was only a way for them to stall. Loki would come. She didn't know how long it would take, but she knew he would come to save them - he always did. They just needed to survive long enough for the rescue party to arrive.

Helblindi squeezed suddenly, forcing Amelia to wince, and Kari reacted immediately, clenching his fists around the edge of the pen.

"Leave mama alone!" He screamed, and all objects in the vicinity lurched abruptly away from Kari, revealing a taste at what he was magically capable of. Amelia deflated, fearing that this show would have repercussions.

"Oh, ho ho," Helblindi chuckled, "What's this? You have natural talents for magic? Impressive. Good. Very good. Looks like we'll be able to train up those abilities and turn you into a weapon."

Over my dead body, Amelia wanted to hiss, but she refrained as she wasn't entirely convinced Helblindi wouldn't grant her that declaration then and there.

Kari was only made more angry by Helblindi's taunting words. Magical energy emanated from him in waves, causing Amelia's cloak to flap from the force of it; Amelia had to do something before this escalated.

"It's okay," Amelia whispered, shaking her head, "Calm down, Kari. It's okay. Do as he says, go to Hefring. It's going to be okay."

Kari and Aster's eyes widened and the force of Kari's magical energy subsided, anger replaced with surprise. It was heartbreaking to see them look so lost as their own mother told them to go with the Jotun woman who was supposedly going to be their 'new' mother. They didn't understand that Amelia was just trying to choose the best course of action in order to stall for time.

She nodded her head, repeating herself, "It's going to be okay." She hoped they would understand her reasoning for doing this.

Helblindi chuckled darkly again, causing Amelia to get a horribly tight feeling in her chest, and he murmured in amusement, "Looks like your human mother has a brain. Are you going to do as she says, or are you going to disobey her? What will it be?" He tilted his head in Hefring's direction and the Jotun woman stepped up to the child pen, holding out her hands for them to approach her.

Aster was the first to move. She stood slowly from where she had been crouched in fear from the distressing situation unfolding, and walked slowly across the pen to Hefring's awaiting arms. The girl hugged herself tightly and moved rigidly, revealing how little she wanted to step closer to the first giant, but she pushed against her fear and chose the option that would save her mother from harm.

Hefring's eyes lit up as Aster reached her, and she scooped the girl up and held her close to her chest, reacting as though it was a heartwarming scene when it was clearly anything but that; the Jotun woman trailed her large fingers through Aster's hair, attempting to comfort her in the way a mother would, but Aster was heavily agitated by the gesture, inching away from Hefring as much as the firm grasp would allow her.

Kari looked tearfully at his sister, his mouth pulled into a deep frown, and as he looked between Aster and his mother, Amelia felt the rolling waves of Kari's magical energy dissipate, replaced with resignation. Kari followed his sister, though the disquieted expression did not drop from his face, and he too was swept up into Hefring's hold.

Amelia expelled a breath as Helblindi's grasp on her arm loosened till she could slip away from him, and she quickly backed up a few steps, cradling her bruised arm against herself.

"I'm glad we're finally understanding each other," Helblindi stated condescendingly, challenging the glares he was receiving from both children with one of his own. The Jotun king lifted his head, looking over his shoulder at his half-brother, "We should begin to prepare for Loki's arrival. Have Dumbr escort my wife, the children and this human to the throne hall."

The kids' heads zipped towards Helblindi at the mention of their father's name, their eyes shining with hopefulness, and they looked to Amelia questioningly. Amelia held their gazes, willing them to understand they would not have to force themselves to act like Hefring was their mother for much longer.

Helblindi exited; Byleistr called out for the bigger Jotun and then ushered Hefring and Amelia out into the hallway, and he too disappeared like the king, leaving Amelia sandwiched between two scary Jotuns, her kids trapped in the grip of one of them.

Instead of questioning why she was being allowed to go with them rather than being thrown back into her cell, Amelia kept her mouth shut tight and pondered the possibility of speaking to the female Jotun. Amelia hoped she was reading the frost giant correctly in her assumption that Hefring just wanted to be a mother, and she didn't have any underlying intentions that could bring Aster and Kari to harm.

The kids were looking back at her over the Jotun's shoulder, their faces full of pure discomfort, and Amelia gave them a look that she hoped inspired courage within them.

Perhaps she could attempt to be friendly to the female Jotun. If she could get Hefring talking, perhaps she could learn more helpful information about Helblindi and Byleistr. But what to say to her?

"How… how long have you wanted to be a mother?" Amelia cursed the anxious wobbling of her voice, hoping she didn't come across as the meek little thing these Jotuns presumed her to be.

For a moment, it seemed that Hefring didn't intend to respond, but after a couple of seconds, she slowly turned her head and side-eyed Amelia with a snobbish look. It was agitating to see that expression directed at her, to say the least.

"Certainly for longer than you've been alive, human."

Amelia gritted her teeth at the rude response, peering briefly over her shoulder at the large Jotun, Dumbr, who was following closely behind her to check and see if he was going to react, but he just stared ahead as if there was hardly a thought behind his eyes.

"Do you know how to look after children?" Amelia asked monotonously, fully intending to challenge the Jotun's ability to actually be a mother.

Hefring huffed in annoyance, "It's not difficult."

Amelia's eyes widened, "Clearly you've never met my kids." She gave Aster and Kari a wink to let them know she was only joking, hoping it would alleviate their fears a bit, but from their pinched expressions, it was clear they weren't going to be soothed in that way. They needed real comfort.

Just a little bit longer, Amelia wanted to tell them. It wouldn't be long until Loki arrived, Amelia was sure of it, and then these Jotuns would be sorry they ever messed with her and the kids.

Amelia followed Hefring up several flights of stairs till she was huffing and puffing - each step was a lot bigger than typical stairwells on Earth - and finally, they reached a pair of double doors that seemed to be a grand entrance for something. The Jotun guards on either side pulled open the doors for them, and on the other side there was extreme brightness for a few moments before Amelia's eyes adjusted.

The extreme brightness was the outside light, mixed with the flurry of snowfall, that was filtering into the large hall between huge pillars across one side of the room. It was grand and massive and there were a bunch of Jotuns present; funnily enough, a lot of them just looked… normal. As in, they weren't big and scary and intimidating, but rather they were just there, eating at the banquet tables, some were even dancing around. They were acting in a way that was reminiscent of humans attending a party of sorts. There were even a few standing off to one side playing a series of wind instruments and drums.

Jotunheim had musical bands?

"Uh… where are we?" Amelia asked hesitantly, not even sure if her question would be answered. She was ushered further into the room by an insistent shove from Dumbr that almost caused her to lose her footing, and swiftly sent him a glare over her shoulder, but he remained entirely blank-faced with precisely zero emotion showing.

"The Grand Hall of Utgard, home to the King," Hefring explained, and by king Amelia assumed she was talking about Helblindi, "this city is carved into a mountain, and we are quite elevated above the rest of the land, as the royals should be." She paused in step and looked down at the silent children in her arms, switching to an almost sickly sweet tone of voice, "I hope you're listening. As the new heirs of Jotunheim, you should know as much as possible about our realm and the history of our people."

She sat in the slightly smaller of two throne chairs on an elevated platform at the end of the room, sitting Aster and Kari down in her lap on either of her thighs, peering over at Amelia as an afterthought, "I bet your husband has told you all about the Jotnar, hmm? Called us witless brutes with no compassion?"

Amelia watched Hefring closely, "He may have mentioned something to the tune of that," she responded coolly.

"Predictable," Hefring rolled her eyes, "such a shame he knows nothing of the truth about his own race and heritage, but he's likely a lost cause now. These children, however, are very young and there's still time to educate them and show them the truth about the Jotnar." She smiled down at them, shifting Kari closer so that she could nuzzle her cheek against his scalp in a way that might have been sweet if it was her own child she was doing it to.

"So far, from my point of view, everything he's ever told me about frost giants seems to hold up," Amelia spoke tightly, clenching her fists at her sides. Kari wriggled and squirmed in Hefring's lap, leaning away from the unwanted contact.

Hefring sneered at Amelia, "Because you're ignorant and unwilling to look past your own prejudices."

Amelia's eyebrows rose, "You've literally stolen my children, excuse me if I'm feeling a little bit hostile towards you and your people."

Hefring's eyes narrowed, "Look at them, human. Do they look like your children?" She stroked her fingers over Aster's head, and the child curled in on herself, trying to edge closer to her brother for comfort. "They are frost giants. This is where they belong. Accept it."

Amelia's mouth curled into a snarl, "They are half human and half frost giant, and I love them more than anything in all the realms, and they belong with me and my husband. They will never be your children, no matter what you do or say. Accept it." She wanted desperately to snatch her kids back and run away as fast as she could, it felt suffocating knowing that she had to stay stuck to the spot for the time being.

Hefring looked mad, to say the least. Her red eyes held nothing but contempt for Amelia, and the frost giant subtly tightened her grip on the kids.

"You're not my mama," Kari stated, glaring at Hefring, and the female frost giant bared her teeth at Amelia, looking about ready to shout back a scathing response. Any words set to escape her mouth were cut off when Helblindi entered the room through the same doors they'd been led through earlier.

He turned briefly to address the crowded room of Jotuns, "Drink and indulge, my subjects. Today is a day worth celebrating now that Jotunheim has its heirs!" The crowd responded with raucous cheering and applause, and the noise had Aster pressing her palms tightly over her ears. The poor girl.

Helblindi approached his throne, Byleistr trailing over behind his half-brother, and smirked at the kids, "Now, my children, you two must be hungry, yes?" He barked an order at a nearby servant to bring the kids some food and then took his spot in the chair beside his wife.

Byleistr entered Amelia's peripheral vision and held out his arm, motioning Amelia to move along to the base of the steps to the left of the thrones where there was a small human-sized cage and a lonely little stool within it. She gave the Jotun an imploring look, silently begging him not to force her into her mini prison cell, but Byleistr pointedly ignored her gaze, and she gruffly and reluctantly moved into the cage at his insistent motioning.

Amelia realised in the back of her mind that the big Jotun, Dumbr, had disappeared at some point, but she thought nothing of it and didn't miss the big brute at all. She placed her hands in her lap, staring up at her children, who looked despondently back at her, and then lifted one hand to subtly form 'I love you' in American sign language. Their pouting faces looked back at her, marred with fear but ingrained with hope that their father would soon be there to save them.


Lifting his gaze, Loki spotted the vague shape of Utgard's surrounding stone walls through the white fog of snow flurry, along with the naturally formed pathway that led up the mountain.

"We're almost there, Thor," he told his brother, who grunted behind him. Thor was still struggling with the low temperatures, but was coping a little better now that they had been moving for some time and had warmed considerably since their arrival. "We should stick to cover and get as close as possible to the mountaintop while we think of a plan of attack."

"Mm. I'd really hoped you'd have had a plan by now, Loki."

Loki exhaled out of his nose, "Neither of us have been here in a very long time. We don't know who's ruling over Jotunheim or what their motives are, I can't form a plan until I have an idea of what we're working with. Trust me, I know the urge to rush in and stab every Jotun in sight is very appealing… but for the safety of Amelia and the kids, we'll have to hold off on that."

"I know," Thor replied gravely, and then added a little quieter, "we'll get them back."

"I know we will."

The two brothers proceeded determinedly through the blizzard toward the city of Utgard, climbing the incline that paved the way. As they moved, the white fog began to lessen, clearing as the snowstorm began to slowly subside; it was both a blessing and a curse in that the dreaded cold was not quite as piercing for Thor, but it meant that their primary form of cover had been taken from them.

Without the misty blanket in the air, their forms were much clearer in front of the stark whiteness of freshly fallen snow and ice.

They crouched behind an outcropping of rock when signs of civilization started to become apparent. They appeared to have reached the surrounding residential territory that encircled the capitol if the large hut-like homes were anything to go by, but after several minutes of observation, it seemed that there weren't any Jotuns about.

"Where is everyone?" Thor murmured curiously.

Loki shook his head and motioned for them to keep walking. As they perused the seemingly empty area, peering over the homes and stalls that looked similar to New Asgard's marketplace shops, Thor had a bit of a lightbulb moment as he spotted a long strand of rope.

"Hey, Loki, assuming that the frost giants are gathered higher up the mountain, you should turn blue and pretend you're one of them, then I can pretend to be your prisoner. Tie me up with some rope. We could get right under their noses without being attacked and then take them by surprise." Thor lifted the ring of rope, waiting for his brother's approval of the plan, but deflated at the blank look Loki was giving him.

"Yeah? You don't think they'll notice I'm a lot shorter than all of them?" Loki grumbled in frustration, "Come on. Let's keep moving, perhaps you'll have a thought that isn't entirely moronic by the time we reach the peak." The God of Mischief ignored the insult Thor flung back at him under his breath and turned his sights towards the steep incline.

A huge, ugly frost giant stared back at him.

"Ah, shit," Loki hissed, flexing his fingers to call forth his daggers for the imminent battle. A woosh sounded past his left ear as Thor called Stormbreaker to his hand; the frost giant snarled as it widened its stance and lowered its upper body, as if preparing to pounce.

"So I take it you're our welcoming committee?" Loki jested dryly.

The giant didn't seem to think it was very funny, as it promptly launched itself into a charge towards them, roaring loud enough to seemingly make the air vibrate. Their comparative small sizes made Loki and Thor much faster than their opponent, and they expertly dodged round either side of the Jotun as it barrelled into one of the huts, causing a fair chunk of property damage in the process.

"Hey, perhaps you can help us out," Thor called as the giant extracted itself from the mess of broken wooden planks, "we're looking for two small children about this height," he lifted his hand for a visual, "if you have any information on them, now is the time to share." His words were almost mocking in nature, with a thinly disguised threat hanging off the end.

The frost giant gave another unsavoury shriek and rushed them again. This time, Loki dashed forward and dove between the giant's legs to dodge, and then nimbly climbed up its back before the giant knew what was going on. Loki brought one of his daggers down hard in its upper back, prompting it to scream in pain.

With surprisingly quickness, it reached back and grabbed him by the leg, pulling Loki from its back and holding him upside down, intent to strike his body with its other fist, but Thor got there first, launching Stormbreaker through the air; it embedded itself in the giant's side and the large Jotun released Loki, crumpling to the ground.

Loki managed to land on his feet without much effort, and wasted no time in swiping up the dagger he had dropped a moment prior; he bolted forward and stabbed the giant through one of its eyes, and Loki knew the battle had come to a swift close when the Jotun's cries came to an abrupt end.

Loki made a noise of disgust, wiping his blood-spattered hand on the material of his trousers, and glared at the now fresh corpse of the Jotun as it thudded against the icy ground. Below the specks of blood on his hand, Loki could see that his fingers were beginning to turn blue despite his best efforts, and he expelled a sigh.

"Wasn't much of a talker, was he?" Thor remarked as he approached and withdrew his axe from the Jotun's body.

"No, it wasn't," Loki affirmed, "as is the case with most of the Jotnar, they attack first and- well, I would say 'ask questions later', but I doubt they even have the decency to do that."

"I hope nobody heard our skirmish. We could still do with the advantage of a sneak attack," said Thor.

Loki eyed the giant's corpse for a moment longer, and then peered up at his brother, "Go grab that rope. I've got an idea."


In the back of her head, Amelia found herself relieved that the Jotuns hadn't decided to kill her just yet, but at the same time, she wasn't sure why they had decided to keep her alive and, more importantly, placed her just off to one side to witness the boundless celebrations of the frost giants and their version of partying.

The more she watched all the other Jotuns at the long tables, the weirder everything felt, because they were just people, it seemed, who were having a good time. All except Helblindi and Hefring - Amelia had a personal vendetta against those two specifically, but all the others seemed to just want to have fun. They were dancing about, having drinking games, egging each other on with enthusiastic chanting.

To Amelia's surprise, she even spotted a few that looked to be children, dancing around in groups at the side of the room closest to the mountain. They looked just like her own kids in their Jotun form, but proportionally larger.

Aster and Kari weren't having fun, of course, and they still looked like they wanted to be anywhere but on Hefring's lap. They must've been so hungry, but they turned their noses up at any of the food that was offered to them - mainly because it looked like nothing they were used to eating, and they didn't trust the hand that was feeding it to them.

Helblindi was growing visibly frustrated at the fact the kids were refusing to eat, and almost lost his temper again on multiple counts. Hefring had no clue what to do to get the kids to eat, and she kept sending glares towards Amelia in her little cage to show her displeasure.

Amelia tried several times to get Byleistr's attention, but the giant disregarded her attempts, standing several steps away from the cage, looking anywhere but directly at her. It was starting to get on her damn nerves, because from her perspective, Byleistr seemed to be the least untrustworthy individual there, and she desperately wanted to know what was going to happen to her when the giants eventually decided she was no longer needed.

She reckoned she already knew the answer, but tried to keep her thoughts away from that possibility.

She had to keep her faith in Loki. He would arrive soon. It had been - Amelia wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since she woke up in that icy cold cell, but if she had to make a guess, she would say it had been at least seven or eight hours. Loki had to know where she and the kids were, but if he did then why hadn't he and Thor zipped down in the Bifrost yet and put a stop to this so-called party?

"Oi. OI! Human," Helblindi's voice cut through her thoughts when he incessantly snapped her fingers to draw her attention, and she pinned him with a defiant glare, "Tell your offspring to eat the food they are being offered."

Amelia glanced to Aster and Kari, who were both leaning comically far away from a strip of something that was supposedly edible, and was brownish-red in colour. It didn't look appetizing, nor did it look like something they would willingly put in their mouths; Amelia gave the Jotun king a dubious look.

"What the hell is that?" She asked.

"It's auroch jerky!" The angry king snapped, as if it should've been so goddamn obvious.

What the hell is an auroch? Amelia wanted to ask, but kept her irascible temperament to herself, instead opting to try and compromise for the sake of her kids.

"It's not the right texture for them. They won't want to eat something like that, do you have anything sweet? Fruit, maybe?"

Her words were met with sarcastic laughter that made her blood boil. Fine, so they didn't have fruit. Amelia looked to the long tables piled with food through the metal bars of her cage and pointed towards them, "What about bread? That is bread, right?" She wasn't entirely sure if it was, but the basket of round light-brown loaves certainly looked like bread.

Helblindi raised an eyebrow, "Bread? That's commoner's food. This is a rarity and they should be honoured to eat it!" He again tried to shove the jerky into their faces and growled low in his throat when the kids protested yet again.

Amelia rolled her eyes, "It's food, isn't it? They'll eat bread because they're familiar with it, and they need to eat something."

Helblindi scoffed, "Fine. Byleistr, retrieve some bread from the commoner's table."

Byleistr hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward and doing what was asked of him, and Amelia raised an eyebrow at the way the King barked the order as his brother - wasn't Byleistr supposed to be the prince of Jotunheim? Why was Helblindi treating him like a servant?

"Oi, oi, human," Helblindi snapped again. Amelia was beginning to despise the way the Jotun referred to her. "Why does the girl not speak?" the Jotun king pointed a large finger right at Aster, who slunk back when the attention was put on her.

"She doesn't want to speak to you. You're rude and horrible," Amelia said flatly, and a ripple of dread ran through her the moment the words left her mouth; she felt like she was playing with fire and was only one wrong move away from being torn apart by these Jotuns. It wouldn't be difficult for them to tear her limbs from her body, they were very large and the human body could only take so much.

Helblindi sneered, "You're far too bold, human. I suggest you show some respect, or I'll gift you to a few of my subjects so they can play with you."

Amelia's face drained of all colour. She didn't have a smart comeback for that.

The looming threat dissipated in the air when two Jotun guards, who were wielding some sort of golden spears, marched up through the hall and approached the base steps of the throne; a hush fell across the room as the celebrations ceased and all eyes turned to the newcomers out of pure interest.

"My lord, Dumbr has returned and he has bested the King of Asgard in battle!" One of the guards proclaimed, and as he spoke, the aforementioned Jotun entered into the room, his huge stature putting him above all others present. He moved slowly, his footsteps reverberating throughout the hall as he walked the length of the room, and as he came to a stop near the base of the throne, he dropped what he had been carrying like a sack over his shoulder, revealing a bruised and bloodied Thor bound with rope.

Amelia lifted her hand to her mouth, her mind filled with incredulity and dread. There was no way - no way this Jotun had beat Thor to a pulp. Thor was so strong, not even a big brutish Jotun like Dumbr could possibly take him out, and yet here the King of Asgard lay, curled in on himself like he had experienced the beating of a lifetime. Amelia wasn't even sure if he was conscious, he wasn't moving.

Helblindi stood slowly. Even he looked surprised at what he was seeing as he descended the steps to peer over Thor's unconscious body with an evaluating gaze.

Amelia's heart thumped in her chest. She heard a whimper, and looked to her left to see Aster was crying, understandably horrified at the sight of her uncle in such a bad way, and then before anyone could react, she quickly slipped from Hefring's lap, evading when the female frost giant tried to swipe her back up, and rushed forward down the steps towards Thor.

"Aster, no!" Amelia shouted, standing suddenly and grabbing the metal bars of her cage in terror, but then Byleistr swooped in and grabbed Aster before she could reach the base of the steps, and returned to stand by Amelia's cage, firmly holding onto the girl as she tried to bite and scratch him, crying all the while.

Amelia reached through the bars, grabbing the girl's arm to soothe her, "It's okay, baby, it's okay," she spoke softly, just wanting her daughter to calm down. She was rightfully upset, but Amelia needed her children to stay somewhere safe for the time being, and rushing head first into a dangerous situation like the one that was unfolding before them was far from safe.

"Mama, they hurt him," Aster wept, speaking for the first time in the presence of the frost giants, and Amelia had to bite her tongue to avoid bursting into tears.

"Uncle Thor will be okay, sweetheart," Amelia whispered, "I promise."

Aster wiped her red eyes, struggling to take uneven breaths as she sobbed, "I wanna go h-home."

"Shhh," Amelia continued, rubbing Aster's arm. She peered up at Byleistr and found that he was staring at Dumbr with an inscrutable look; Amelia followed that steady gaze to find that Dumbr was staring back at Aster with knitted eyebrows.

Helblindi was blind to the exchange, repeatedly nudging Thor's body with his foot, and then he idly thought aloud, "So you managed to subdue this one, miraculously… but what about Loki? You didn't let him get away, did you?"

Dumbr remained ever silent, and then slowly lowered his hard gaze towards the Jotun king, who was several feet shorter than him, and locked him with a stare that was oddly intense; Amelia found it to be intriguing given all she had seen from the tall, mute giant thus far.

Byleistr moved suddenly, drawing Amelia's attention back to him; he climbed the steps swiftly and plucked up Kari before Hefring could stop him, and he returned just as swiftly to Amelia's cage while ignoring the way Hefring snapped in protest behind him. With a wave of his hand, Amelia's cage unlocked, and he shoved Aster and Kari into the small cell, into Amelia's open arms.

Amelia didn't know what had changed for Byleistr to suddenly hand her children back over, but she did not question it, wrapping her arms around her son and daughter tightly, relief emanating from her very being at being able to hold them again for the first time since being taken.

"Thank you, thank you," she whispered to Byleistr, who wordlessly locked the cage once again, and then turned his sights back to his half-brother.

"Idiot. I told you to take out Loki. If you let him escape, then who knows where he could be!" Helblindi cast a cursory glance around the hall, scanning the crowd, "He could be right under our noses!"

Dumbr seemed to scoff, and Helblindi finally looked up at the giant, arching an eyebrow with genuine disbelief on his face.

"Or, you could be right under his nose," Dumbr responded in a very articulate and comprehensible fashion. That's when it clicked for Amelia. That wasn't Dumbr.

At that moment, a flash of green encompassed both Thor and 'Dumbr', revealing what was hidden below the illusion; Thor was distinctly uninjured and Dumbr was Loki, suddenly standing a lot shorter than Helblindi. The Jotun king was caught off guard, and in the split second he had to react to what he was seeing, Thor swooped his leg hard against Helblindi's ankles, throwing the frost giant off balance.

There was a bright flash of light, a loud noise of cracking stone, followed by screams and shouts from the large crowd of Jotuns in the room.

Then, nothing but chaos.


I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Who's ready for an awesome fight sequence in the next chapter? ;)

As for my cool news... I'M GONNA MEET TOM HIDDLESTON GUYS!

I already had tickets for London Comic con purchased for the end of October and then on Saturday he was announced as a guest and tickets for photo/autograph ops went on sale yesterday and of course I HAD to buy them because it's freaking Tom Hiddleston. This is the first chance I've ever gotten to meet him and I'll be damned if I pass it up. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to hug him thanks to Covid, but getting my picture taken with him and getting to speak to him face to face will be something I can treasure.

Wish me luck guys because it's gonna take a lot of courage for me to not freeze up in his presence. I'm notoriously bad at speaking when it comes to meeting celebrities whom I love xD