AN this chapter is a bit different than I usually do, as it's showing stuff going on in Alfheim, but it does go with the plot, so hopefully, it's good, and enjoy. Next chapter should be back to Loki and Saphira.
Chapter 41: Attack on Alfheim
Hakon sat on the floor of the palace of Alfheim; he had just gotten knocked down after losing a fight; he raised his hand to his mouth and wiped the blood off the corner of it, then glared up at the thing that had knocked him down, it called himself Corvus Glaive. He now stood over the fallen prince with his double-sided polearm pointed down at him, warning him not to move; if the thing hadn't caught Hakon off guard or if he hadn't already been in a bad mood from once again arguing with his mother, he was sure he could have fought the nasty looking thing and won.
"Stay where you are, child; you can not best me, a child of Thanos," Glaive said; the shouts and cries that were echoing across the room faded as the Ljofsalfar in this room lost this fight, but if Hakon listened good enough, he could hear the sounds of battle still coming in from outside. The whole realm was under attack.
"I just turned a century old." Hakon snapped, "I am not a child anymore." Glavis just grinned like he was amused. For someone claiming not to be a child, he sure was sounding and acting like a spoiled one now.
"Please, " His mother's voice came from his right. "My son, like you said, is just a child; please don't hurt him further." Glaive's only response was to laugh a little, making Hakon's face turn red in embarrassment.
"Hush, women, you are doing nothing but embarrassing yourself," His father snapped at her; he at least tried to fight off the invaders, along with Hakon, they did a good job too, but unfortunately, he and his father got outnumbered, and both now on the floor beaten each with someone standing over them with a weapon pointed at them, with his father it was some women called Proxima Midnight.
Hakon scowled; his mother was always embarrassing him, never leaving him alone, always telling him what to do, and trying to stop him from doing things with his father, like go hunting and fighting, always saying he was too young; thankfully, his father never listened and took Hakon anyway. Like he told Corvus Glaive, he just turned one hundred years old for a Midgardain that would be old; for him, that's just like being a teenager, maybe the same as a twenty-year-old Midgardain; as a child, they age about the same as a Midgardain, but once they reached a certain age, they start aging slower, their body's barely showed age at all until they got up into the thousands and near-immortal.
Hakon Bardson was born just under a year after his parents got banished from Asgard; his father's name was Bard, he was Asgardain, and Hakon took his looks from him, long white-blonde hair he kept tied back, muscular build, board shoulders, and tall, his mother, Astra, was from Alfheim. Hakon didn't look a thing like her, except for his violet color eyes, the only thing of hers he had inherited.
Hakon heard so many different tales and stories of what happened for his parents to be banished; the only one he believed was the story his father told him, his mother would never talk about it, only what she remembered as the good parts, mostly talked about her two daughters, which Hakon didn't care to hear. His mother was still hurting over being separated from them; he didn't understand why they even mattered; if they wanted to see them, they would have come to Alfheim instead of choosing to stay on Midgard.
"You have nothing to fear, as long as you cooperate." Ebony Maw was saying as he walked around the room. "For the great Thanos has chosen your planet, your home to balance, it's a time to rejoice."
Hakon watched as Enboy Maw stopped next to his grandmother, Queen Vera; she sat a few feet away from him, crying next to the body of his Uncle Onyx, her eldest child, her head was down, her long golden-brown hair mainly had fallen from its braid, and hide her angelic face, and her shoulders shook as she cried. Ebony Maw put a long bony finger under Vera's chin and made her look up at him.
"Not a time for tears," Ebony told her, "You should feel honored; your son was chosen, his sacrifice will allow your planet to flourish." He let go of her and kept walking. "Every sacrifice today is for the greater good; overpopulation is killing the universe, what we are doing, what Thanos is doing, may seem cruel, but is necessary, or else we all might end."
Vera let out a whimper; Hakon hadn't cared much for his Uncle Onyx; he had been too strict, everything was by the book for him, as he was supposed to take the throne one day, Hakon felt a little bad Onyx was now dead, his wife and two children were now without a husband and father, but he mostly felt terrible for his grandmother, she had always been a kind and understanding lady, Hakon didn't think she deserved pain like this.
"What the hell are you even talking about?" Bard demanded, "What are you..." He stopped talking as the sound of gunfire came echoing through the palace from outside, along with screams and cries. It sounded worse than the battle before; this sounded like slaughter. Astra and Vera both looked towards the entrance with worry because Hakon's two uncles, Viktor and Asra, and their two wives and children, plus his grandfather Alistair, were all out there somewhere.
"You son of a bitch." Alaric called out again; he had put up such a fight that Ebony Maw had to tie him down with strips of silver he somehow magically stripped from the walls; Alaric could no longer move. "You're killing all of our people!"
"Only half," Ebony answered, and with a wave of his hand, a metal piece covered Alaric's mouth. "And as long as you who are left alive in here stay put, you do not have to fear; half of this room has already been taking care of, and as soon as he's taken care of out there, Thanos will be in here shortly to discuss a matter of great importance."
Hakon looked around the room and noticed Ebony was correct; there was the same amount of dead lying around as they were ones alive, well, that is if you count Alaric's lover, Eva, who laid unmoving a few feet from Alaric; Hakon was pretty sure she was alive and doing a damn good job pretending to be dead; then again when she got hurt Alaric had gone to her side, Hakon wouldn't be surprised if he healed her then put her in a magical sleep to look dead, to protect her.
Hakon looked back at his uncle; he was one of his mother's brothers he liked; gifted in both magic and battle abilities, tale, slender, had his mother's golden brown hair and father's violet eyes; Alaric never married, wasn't the type; Alaric changed lovers as much as someone changed clothes; was a nice guy though and had a good sense of humor, joked around a lot.
Hakon turned from his uncle and looked back at his mother; she was looking down, not saying a word, hasn't since his father snapped at her; she usually yelled back when his father did that, his parents were still married but lived separately from one another, Astra had a wing of the palace to herself, and Bard lived in a large house on palace grounds; Hakon's whole life his parents never lived together, never acted like an actual married couple, his mother never touched his father, hardly talked to him unless it was arguing with him, and barely even looked at her husband. Astra's love for him had turned into dislike and anger.
Hakon's father had explained it was because she blamed him for being exiled here and separated from Enid and Saphira; his mother spoke fondly of both sisters, pointed out what was good, and constantly told the same tales over and over, his father favored Enid, talked of her with great pride and affection, Saphira on the other hand, any mention of her brought disgust to his father's face and hatred to his voice, not that Hakon could blame him, nasty wench falling for a Jotuun she should have been hung, hell Hakon thought they both sounded pathetic, he was glad he didn't have to grow up around those trollops.
Pathetic was a great way to describe the elves in this room at the moment; everyone was sitting, not saying anything, not fighting, not doing anything to defend themselves or the ones in this realm; Astra still had her head down, not saying anything, Vera still sat crying next to Onyx, his wife Ruby still sat next to her weeping, and Alaric was still tied up, Bard sat glaring out at everyone, he was bloody and bruised, same as Hakon, he had no idea why everyone stopped fighting back, these were supposed to be warriors here, and must have elven magic, he didn't understand why they suddenly turned into wimps, everyone was sitting here doing nothing but crying and glaring like little children.
And speaking of help, Hakon wondered where was the great Heimdail now? Was he not watching everything? Did he not alert Odin, the so-called protector of the nine realms that one needed protecting? Did he not care how many other realms may have fallen, and Odin just turned a blind eye to the chaos. His father was right; Odin needed to go, and Hakon couldn't wait until his father killed him and destroyed Asgard. He wished he could help with that, but his father had been training him and having him trained to extinguish that jotuun filth Odin calls his son. They had a plan; his father had been going over it with him since Hakon was a small child, a good one too. However, it would take time to complete; in the end, they'll win, and Asgard will be no more, and Odin and Loki will be dead, along with Asgard.
Vera suddenly let out a cry, bringing Hakon out of his thoughts as he looked up to see who could only be Thanos; entering the room, but even though he was extremely tall and scary looking; he was not what his grandmother screamed about, no, it was the dead body Thanos came dragging into the room with him; his grandfather Alister, he pulled him to the center of the room and dropped him like it was a rag doll.
"Father!" Astra cried out, rushing over to him, and looked him over; once she realized he was dead, she broke down in tears. Alister was who Astra had gotten her looks from, the curly red hair, the violet eyes, the small nose, high cheekbones, jawline; there wasn't much in Astra's looks that had come from her mother, which made her look a lot like the portrait of her grandmother hanging on the wall behind the thrones. However, her looks differed slightly, and her hair was a different shade of red, not like the copper color curls Aurelia had in her portrait.
"He fought bravely, child," Thanos told her; he reached down and patted her on the head as if she was a dog. "Unfortunately, in the end, it wasn't enough." Astra jerked away from Thanos and glared up at him. "You'll thank me one day."
"I doubt that," Astra replied, tears streaming down her face. Thanos turned and headed towards Vera, who jumped to her feet once she realized he was coming her way. Hakon had to give it to her; she was able to turn from a grieving mother and willow into a Queen in a matter of seconds as she stood proud and fearless, staring down Thanos as if he wasn't at least five feet taller than she was.
"The light elves have always shown bravery beyond any other race and have always had the talent to back it up, something I have always admired and respected about your people," Thanos said; he came to a stop right in front of her, making Alaric start struggling to get free again. "Am I right in assuming you are now the one in charge?"
"I am," Vera answered, standing up a little taller; her teal color dress studded in diamonds was ripped and tore at the bottom, and at one sleeve, she wore no shoes, her hair was a mess, her crown was missing, and she had a gash going across her cheek, but that didn't stop her from looking like the warrior Queen she was.
"Good, then once you give me the information I seek, my children and I will be going I'm done with my task here," Thanos said, and as Hakon listened, the sounds of battle outside were gone, along with the screams; a little fighting can still be heard, along with crying and shouts of anger and threats, but nothing else.
"I do not know what information you think I might have, but I know nothing of anything you seek to know," Vera told him.
Thanos put his hand on her shoulder, making Alaric struggle more and try to yell something, and Astra jumped to her feet, grabbed a sword from a fallen guard, and tried to go after Thanos, only to be thrown back by Ebony Maw, the sword fell from her hand as her back slammed hard into the floor.
"Astra!" Bard cried out; he jumped up and ran at Thanos, only to be caught around the throat and lifted into the air; he kicked his feet back and forth.
"Father!" Hakon cried out; he too ran at Thanos, and now both were being lifted in the air by their necks.
"STOP!" Vera yelled, "Have you not done enough? You just killed half my people. My husband and son, what more do you want?"
"Sire." Ebony Maw said, pointing at the portrait of Aurelia; Thanos looked, then dropped both Bard and Hakon; the latter of which looked towards Astra as he rubbed his neck; she was sitting up a bit dazed from hitting her head but still looked back at her son with worry.
"Who is that?" Thanos demanded. Vera narrowed her light grey eyes but then gave in and answered, if she gave him the information he wanted, maybe he would leave.
"Queen Aurelia." Vera answered, "My husband's mother, but she would be no use to you, she dead long time again when Alistair was just...just a boy."
"I see." Thanos replied, "Tell me your Majesty has any word of what happened on Xander reached your ears?"
"It has," Vera answered. "But I have no idea what it has to do with us or your heartless slaughter of my people."
"Ronan, the Kree who attacked Xander once worked for me," Thanos said; he turned from the portrait and walked back towards her. "But you can't always count on those you employ as I recently found out; I sent Ronan to retrieve an object for me stole my property and tried to destroy Xander with it, he failed, and in doing so, lost my object, was murdered in the most gruesome way and my property fell into the hands of the last two people I want to have it."
"Why are you telling us stories?" Hakon suddenly demanded. "My grandmother said she doesn't know anything about any of that, so go. Leave us alone already."
Thanos looked towards Hakon, then turned back to Vera. "The ones who stole from me are a married couple, the wife; I have been told claimed to be a Princess of Alfheim and looks a lot like the lady in a portrait hanging on your wall."
"I have no idea who you speak of." Vera said, "I know no women who look like Aurelia."
"Really?" Thanos asked. He turned from Vera and looked over to Astra. Hakon suddenly felt fear for his mother as Thanos walked towards her; Vera tried to stop him, but one of Thanos' henchmen held her back, and Alaric struggled against his binds again.
"Astra favors her a bit, but she's not left Alfheim in over a hundred years, I swear," Vera yelled; for the first time since Thanos walked into the room, Hakon could hear the fear in his grandmother's voice.
Thanos ignored the queen and instead looked down at Astra and began to speak to her.
"This couple I speak of once worked for me, on my say they attacked Earth, invaded it with my army, caused a lot of death and destruction. I made a deal with the husband; I told him he could rule Earth if he got me something I needed from there, but unfortunately, they failed, and the wife was locked up in prison on Earth; the husband was taken back to Asgard by his brother to face punishment; both escaped their prisons and are now traveling the Galaxy, causing more trouble."
"Asgard?" Bard demanded. "Did you say taken back to Asgard, as he was from Asgard?"
"Oh, Loki is more than from Asgard; he is the son of Odin himself," Thanos replied.
"Loki?" Astra asked; Thanos turned back to her, and Hakon realized something; he was saying these things to toy with them. He most likely knew the information he was seeking.
"Yes, Loki of Asgard, once employed by me, now he and his wife have become a thorn in my side hiding from my raft for their failures, no doubt," Thanos replied. "You see, not only did they steal from me, but they have something I've been searching for, goes with my object they stole, it's a set, works better when together. I'll find them at some point. Unfortunately, it will cost one of them their life."
"Then go kill them then." Hakon cries out, "Leave us alone."
"Hakon." Astra snapped, "Hush."
"I have no idea whom you speak of, I swear it," Vera cried out as Thanos turned to Hakon, "I know who Loki is, yes, but we haven't been in contact with Asgard in over a century, I have no idea whom he's married to, nor do I care."
"I see; perhaps I should mention the name of Loki's wife; maybe that'll jar your memory?" Thanos suggested. "She calls herself Saphira, Princess of Alfheim."
"Saphira." Astra gasped out.
Hakon looked away in disgust, the slut his mother wanted him to call his sister married that nasty beast; that meant she willingly lays with him at night; Hakon felt as if he was going to vomit; he looked towards his father and saw a look of disgust mixed with anger on his face. And when his icy blue eyes meant Hakon's, it sent a shiver done the younger man's back; if he had cared anything about Saphira, he would be fearful for his older sister's life at that moment.
Thanos walked back over to Astra, stood in front of her, and stared down at her a moment.
"Yes, Saphira, or at least that's what she told the people of Xander her name was." Thanos said, "Right before killing Ronan by causing his skin to peel right off his bones and stealing what is rightfully mine."
"Saphira did what?" Astra demanded a look of total shock on her face.
"She's your daughter, isn't she? You look a lot like her, but she favors her more, " He nodded towards Auerila, "In fact, she looks so much like her that might as well be a portrait of her on the wall."
Thanos turned and walked back towards Vera; he stopped next to Bard and Hakon. Then suddenly grabbed Hakon by the head and knocked him over, then put his foot on the side of his head, all three Vera, Bard and Astra cried out, Astra rushed to his side, she reached out as if going to try and get Thanos off her son, but decided not to risk it in fear he might break Hakon's neck, Alaric started struggling again, and Hakon whimpered in pain and fear, wrong move and his neck will snap.
"Please." Astra cried, "Let my son go, please."
"I will; all you have to do is tell me where I can find your daughter and son-in-law," Thanos said.
"I don't know!" Astra shouted. "I haven't seen her in a century; I thought she was on Midgard, and I didn't even know she was married...I don't know anything. I didn't think she made it back to Asgard or back with Loki, I swear on my life."
"I wish I could believe you, but..." Thanos started, but Bard cut across him.
"My wife speaks the truth," Bard told him. "We know nothing. I disowned that bitch a long time ago, even before we left Asgard." Astra glared at Bard but said nothing.
"We aren't so different, you and I." Thanos laughed, he removed his foot from Hakon's head, and Astra immediately pulled him towards her in an attempt to protect him. Though Thanos now ignored them both and he walked to Bard. "I, too, know how it feels to be disappointed with a daughter." He looked Bard in the eyes for a long moment, then grinned.
"Guess they speak the truth, Sire." Ebony Maw answered.
"It would seem so." Thanos replied, "Guess we will go to Earth; I didn't want to so early, but I believe Saphira's sister still lives on the planet. I'll question her."
"No!" Astra and Bard both yelled. Thanos glanced at Astra, then turned to Bard.
"I believe there is a lot you don't know about, what your daughter has been up to in the last few years," Thanos said. "You don't care about that, do you? No, but you have the air of a man who wants revenge."
"I want only to watch Asgard burn to ash while I laugh at their pathetic screams," Bard replied; Astra looked sickened by her husband's words.
Thanos walked past Bard, then turned around and looked at Cull Obsidian. "Bring him; Bard of Asgard, and I need to have a bit of a chat."
"No...wait." Astra cried, but Cull grabbed Bard anyway and dragged him towards Thanos, who surprisingly didn't even fight but went willingly.
"Father." Hakon cried, running towards them, trying to fight his way to his father. He made it almost to Thanos before being stopped by one of Thanos's henchmen.
"Hakon!" Astra cried. "Please, he's just a boy."
"Mother, shut up; I'm not a child anymore!" Hakon snapped.
"You have a fighting spirit, child." Thanos said, "That can be useful." He looked to Bard questioningly.
"He is well trained, even in magic. I made sure of it." Bard replied. Astra gave him a look of betrayal.
"Tell me, do you have a plan to take out Asgard?" Thanos demanded.
"Yes, but it will take time." Bard answered, "Once I start the plan, it'll take a while to weaken the realm to attack."
"I am a patient man; I can wait." Thanos replied, "If I help you with this plan to rage war against Asgard, will you retrieve something there I need."
"Yes," Bard replied, "But, I will need my son to start it, as no one on Asgard knows of him or what he looks like." Thanos looked at Hakon again then back to Bard.
"Bring him; I will talk with you both." Thanos turned and headed outside.
"No!" Astra cried as Bard took Hakon and followed Thanos; not surprisingly, Hakon went with him. Astra tried to run after him, but her mother rushed forward and held her back, knowing it would do no good and might even get her daughter killed. Instead, she yelled for the guards that were left to go after them.
Alaric was finally free from his binds; he jumped up and went running out of the palace, but by the time he made it outside, Bard and Hakon were already on Thanos' spaceship as it took to the air then flew out of sight. Alaric looked around, and all he saw was death and destruction; Alfheim had never been attacked like this before. He turned and went back to relay the news to his mother and sister.
"Al?" Astra demanded the moment he walked back into the room.
"They're gone, Astra, already in flight by the time I got out there," Alaric said; Astra fell to her knees with a cry. "I'm sorry, sister; I wish I could have made it out there sooner."
"It's not your fault, son," Vera told him as she tried to comfort Astra. The latter kept saying she hated Bard over and over, as she cried, for everything that just happened, the attack on her home, the murder of many of her people, the death of her father and eldest brother, and once again, Astra had lost a child due to her husband, her dislike of him now turned to hate as not for the first time in a hundred years she regretted ever marrying that man.
AN to refresh any memories that I may have forgotten, I mentioned at the beginning of my story that Astra was the youngest and fifth child of the King and Queen of Alfheim, so she has four older brothers.
After being banished to Alfheim, Astra got angry at Bard and wouldn't have anything to do with him, so he ended up living on the palace grounds instead of in the palace. A month later, she found out she was pregnant; they raised Hakon in like shared custody like a deal, Astra mostly having him when he was younger, when he got old enough to teach fighting to he stayed with Bard more. I wrote the chapter in his pov in that way, trying to show how brainwashed Bard has his son. And Bard had told Hakon about where Odin found him, so that's how he knows about him being Jotuun.
Saphira and Enid do not know of Hakon yet, so, hey, we know something they don't lol, Hope I didn't make it too confusing with the again thing, them aging normal as a child until they get a certain age, then start aging slowly, not only because of Hakon but because of Loki and Saphira's son too.