"So, Jen - where do you suggest we go first?" Delilah asked the only other person that was ready for this mission as she shoved her shoes on in a hurry.
"Well, we should ask Heimdall if he's seen her anywhere first…you know, he has 'The Eye' and everything. If he hasn't, we'll just have to take the quiet passages around Asgard until we find her. I know not when she left but surely she can't have gotten far," Jennie instructed, quickly tying up her long wavy brown locks into a simple bun so that it was out of her face. Renesme bit back her complaints as she quickly did up her own boots, desperate not to get shouted at again.
"Very well, Heimdall it is - we must be extra vigilant. I can only imagine what's happening out of these walls," Delilah reminded them under her breath. "Do…do any of you happen to have any specific...abilities?"
A tense silence coated the room.
"I...I was bestowed with the ability to see what others are doing to an extent…for example, I can sense whether or not they're in danger - hence the dream I had regarding Annerledes," Jennie admitted in with a mutter, scratching her head a little bashfully.
"You can? Since when? Aren't you Midgardian?" Delilah spluttered, her deep ocean blue eyes going wide in surprise.
"Well...since I arrived here. But I have absolutely no time to explain that story, I'll have to fill you in a little later. Anyone else?" Jennie hurried them.
"I've been trained extensively in the healing room," Renesme shrugged slightly.
"What, by the Top Healers?" Delilah blinked over at her in surprise as well. Renesme nodded. "What?! You never said!"
"To be fair, you've never cared to ask," Renesme responded through gritted teeth. "And I also know Asgard like the back of my hand, just in case that makes a difference to anyone."
"And I'm best at weaponry, Frigga just coronated me the female head in the recent ceremony. I was meant to crossover next week - now I doubt that'll happen," Delilah finished off with an irritable sigh. "Nevertheless, with all of our talents, we should be fine. We also don't know how long we'll be away for…so we should bring some supplies." Jennie immediately ran into the kitchen area and shoved a few slabs of cheese and meats in a small cloth parcel with a drawstring attached. She wrapped them up and slung it over her shoulder within no time at all.
"Right ladies, let's go. And may the gods be with us," she ordered swiftly, ushering the girls towards the exit. The three of them slipped through the open crack of the basement door and into the chilly palace corridors instead. Renesme did her cloak up a little tighter and waited for Jennie and Delilah to make their way out. The corridor they were standing in was long, cold, dark and barren.
Everything was unnerving.
"Well, Ren, where are we going? Despite the darkness, it's your time to be a bit more useful - the 'back of your hand' you said," Delilah hissed quickly. Renesme furrowed her dark red eyebrows and stepped forward before taking a deep breath in and shutting her eyes. She had been in this exact area before, there was a situation many years ago where she learnt exactly how to get out of the palace in a rush. What was the situation exactly? Well, she didn't remember, she had blocked the trauma out - but she did remember the way out.
"We need to go forward a few paces," she muttered to them confidently, already beginning to walk ahead. Delilah and Jennie scurried up to her, but ended up crashing directly into her as she had suddenly skidded to a halt.
"Ren, please," Jennie grunted out, rubbing her elbow irritably. "Can you not just stop-"
"Wait, now we have to go round this corner," Renesme muttered, taking a sharp right. A few minutes later, they had made it out of the palace just as Christie had. Renesme was incredibly proud of herself but the other two girls had barely even acknowledged what she had done. Not like she particularly cared - she was rather used to it at this point. "So you're telling me that not one of you are at least a little scared?" Renemse mumbled as they all approached the Bifrost.
"Ohhhh just a little," Delilah admitted ashamedly, as they all linked hands so that they could steadily walk up the glassy rainbow bridge. Jennie had to practically pull Renesme across as she slowly shuffled her feet along, petrified of falling.
"Come on, Ren, we're nearly there," she whispered comfortingly. Renesme pulled herself together and walked a little faster until eventually, they made it to the gatekeeper.
"Renesme, Delilah, Jennie - what are you ladies doing out?" Heimdall frowned disapprovingly. "Aren't you meant to be on lockdown with the rest of Asgard?"
"Please, Heimdall, we're just looking for Annerledes," Jennie told him truthfully, clasping her hands together. "We're…we're rather worried about her and have good reason to believe that she is in grave danger."
"She's in Jotunheim," Heimdall informed them gravely, seeing truth in her words. "But she's with the Allfather, the princes, Sif and the Warriors Three. So she will be safe with them…no doubt."
"I'm sorry - she went WHERE?!" Renesme gasped in disbelief. "Oh no, absolutely not! PLEASE Heimdall, let us pass."
"Certainly not, it's far too dangerous. I shan't put your lives at risk!" Heimdall boomed, shaking his head stubbornly.
"And why in the gods' names not?" Delilah demanded to know, stomping a frustrated foot. "She's our friend!"
"As previously stated, she will be fine."
"Hang on, you just said she'll be fine but that it's too dangerous for us to go…we're all serving girls here, Annerledes included, so can YOU how little sense that makes?" Renesme scoffed, crossing her arms defensively. "Because I certainly cannot."
"The answer remains no," Heimdall insisted firmly, not budging at all this time.
…
Meanwhile in Jotenheim, Christie was petrified. These Frost Giants were more unnerving than anything she had ever seen in her life. She was still with Odin, mounted on his grand stallion, arms wrapped tightly around his body and her eyes squeezed shut. Once she cracked them open and saw her surroundings, she flat out wished she had listened to Odin and never came. They were stood bang in the middle of a heaving crowd of Frost Giants surrounding Thor, Loki and the others. It literally appeared as if Odin had arrived just in the knick of time.
Loki immediately noticed that Christie was also on the horse and dropped his gaze not a second later - but she couldn't figure out why.
Was it shame? Embarrassment? Something certainly wasn't right.
"FATHER! WE WILL FINISH THEM TOGETHER!" Thor was bellowing over to him in what sounded like victory.
"Silence," Odin hissed. Christie couldn't see his face, because she was focussing all her attention on Loki, trying to read the look on his face. Suddenly, a particularly freaky looking Frost Giant practically slid up to where he and Christie had landed. Loki's breath hitched in his throat and his jaw began to clench - this wasn't apart of the plan.
She wasn't meant to be there and now her presence was, in a way, ruining everything.
"Allfather? You look weary," the giant sneered, not tearing his eyes from Odin for a second. Christie frowned at his words and darted her eyes back to Loki again. Was Odin sick? Why didn't Loki mention anything to her? What the hell was the point of living in this godforsaken palace if she genuinely didn't know what was going on there? Regardless, she faded back to the conversation taking place next to her, which had appeared to escalate rather quickly.
"…very well," Odin was muttering gravely. All of a sudden, he took his staff and knocked the Frost Giant out of the way with incredible blow, before suddenly sucking every Asgardian there back into the portal again without any warning. It was the worst feeling ever - similar to the drop of an extremely high rollercoaster.
They landed back in Asgard half a second later, back with Heimdall in his circular golden gatekeeping area. Christie dismounted Odin's horse once they were on stable ground again, trying to catch her breath and steady herself. Her legs felt extremely jelly-like, she had never felt so weak in her life. Odin and Thor were already shouting to each other about something or another, not like she was paying attention to the contents - every noise surrounding her sounded like she was drowning under water.
"Sif, take the serving girls back home!" Odin suddenly barked. Only then did Christie attempt to snap herself out of the daze she was in. Serving girls? As in more than one? Her vision began to focus properly and she her heart plummeted as her eyes fell on Jennie, Renesme and Delilah, all huddled together towards the entrance of the Bifrost gate, looks of worry all over each one of their faces.
"Yes sir," Sif nodded, immediately taking Christie by her shoulders and bustling her towards the awaiting girls so that they could leave. "You are a fool for trying to find him, Annerledes," she hissed into her ear as they walked. As Christie opened her mouth to tell her where to go, she happened to glance behind her and involuntarily catch Loki's eye. He was trying his hardest not to look at her but she still caught it regardless. What concerned her the most wasn't the way he was narrowly avoiding her eye contact - but the fact that there was an odd blue shimmer across his iris. Like a blue layer of thin plastic film had been planted on his pupils - it was both bizarre and unnerving.
The girls breathed out in relief once Sif handed Christie over to them.
"Annerledes, don't you ever do that again," Delilah hissed at her, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her roughly. But Christie just didn't have it in her to reply, she was still confused over what she just saw and now she definitely couldn't ignore the alarm bells going off.
"Jen," Christie muttered, nudging her friends shoulder as they got marched out of the gatekeeper's area by a fuming Sif.
"Yeah?" Jennie whispered back.
"Turn around and look at Loki for a sec. Something seems off, doesn't it?" Jennie took a deep breath and took her chances, glancing back before they were too far away to see anything. And true as heck, there it was.
Loki looked…odd.
"You're right," she mumbled in confirmation, snapping her head back around and walking on.