Striding through the throne room toward the chamber where Odin met with his council and generals, Maryn ignored the guards calling for her to stop.

As soon as she had awoken, she had dressed and came to see Odin and Thor to tell them about her dream. Fenrir seemed just as anxious as his mistress to reveal where Loki was and hadn't left her side.

Pushing past the soldier who guarded the war room, Maryn pushed the doors open and marched inside. Odin stood with Thor at his side and the other men around a map of the universe, the golden names and symbols of each world floating above the map so that each could be seen clearly.

"Maryn," Thor stepped forward and went to usher her back outside, "You should not be here."

Pushing his hand away, Maryn looked at Odin, "I know where Loki is, or rather where he will be very soon."

The Allfather became grim-faced, "Leave us," he ordered his council. Once they had all filed out and left the three royals and Fenrir alone, Odin turned to Maryn, "We know Loki is going to Midgard."

"How?"

Odin and Thor shared a look before the God of Thunder answered her, "Heimdall has been watching for any sign of him ever since we received word that he may not be dead."

Shocked that they had heard such a thing and decided not to tell her, Maryn narrowed her eyes but kept her face blank, "And when exactly were you going to tell me my husband may still live?"

"We were never going to reveal it." Odin said plainly. "Thor will be going to earth to bring Loki back and when they return he will be tried for his crimes."

His words were like a blow and Maryn felt suddenly weak and breathless. Reaching out she twisted her fingers into Fenrir's fur. "His crimes? You would treat your own son as a criminal?" she was shocked that Odin had chosen to see Loki as such when she had thought he loved him like his own flesh and blood.

Odin's blue eye turned hard and cold, his chin lifting and his arms folded across his chest, "You are blinded by your love for Loki, but he chose to try and take my throne, he banished his brother, and he allowed Frost Giants into the palace."

"And you are blinded by his parentage!" Maryn snapped, "Would you treat Thor the same way if he had been the one to do such things?"

Odin took a step toward her, "My son would never do such a thing. Jotunheim blood poisons all," he growled.

Never had Maryn wanted to hit anyone as much as she wanted to slap Odin for his remarks, and the glow of her magic at her fingertips revealed that. The air around her began to shimmer with it and a shiver of a breeze twirled through the chamber, wrapping around her body and making the loose material of her plain, dark-blue dress tremble.

Thor, seeing how angry both Maryn and his father were, stepped forward and put a hand to his good-sister's shoulder, "Maryn, you are blinded by your love for my brother."

Shrugging off his hand and forcing back her magic as it bubbled to the surface and begged to be let loose, Maryn shook her head, "You mistake hate with love, brother." At Odin's mirthless laugh, Maryn continued, "I hate Loki for leaving me and having me think he was dead. I hate him for refusing to come back to me, and I hate him for doing nothing to save our child even though he had the power to do so. Do not think that I will try to help him escape this. But his betrayal of Asgard had its origin in your actions and the actions of others here, Allfather. Loki would never have tried to take the throne if he had been fairly treated."

Odin glared down at her, tightening his hand around Gungnir, "Loki chose his path-."

Maryn interrupted him. "If our child had lived would you have seen her as being tainted by Jotunheim?"

There was a heavy silence after her question and Odin sagged, dropping to sit in a golden chair nearby, his hand rising to cover his face as he leaned back, "The babe was a girl?"

Maryn closed her eyes, the sadness in Odin's voice making guilt twist her stomach. "Yes," She looked up to see Thor blink back tears. Biting her bottom lip, she stepped away from Fenrir and Thor and knelt at the Allfather's side. "Please, father, let me help bring Loki home," she murmured, laying her hand over Odin's forearm.

Lifting his head, Odin looked at her; the tears in his eye and sadness etched into his face making him look older than his years. "I won't pardon him. The people know what he did and will want him punished."

Shaking her head Maryn looked down, unable to keep her eyes on the Allfather's any longer, as her own tears welled up and slid down her face. "It doesn't matter, he needs to be home."
"What have you seen?" Thor asked his own grief written clearly on his face.

Maryn looked up at him, "Wherever he is he is hurt. I-I do not think his mind is whole."

Odin covered her hand with his, drawing her gaze but speaking to Thor, "It is too dangerous. If Loki is amassing an army as we have been told, then he is truly lost and will fight to stay on Midgard and rule it. He wants a throne. You must go alone and bring him back using the Tesseract's energy."

The mention of the ancient artefact Maryn had only ever read about raised warning bells in her mind. Pushing to her feet she looked between the two Aesir males, "That is why you are going to find Loki, he has the Tesseract and you want it. This has nothing to do with having him return, or even punishing him for his transgressions. Hel-teeth, all you want is to regain the unlimited power the Tesseract can give you."

"The Tesseract has power, yes, but it is dangerous if it gets into Loki's hands," Odin spoke gruffly. "You should remember to whom you speak, girl. This is no trivial matter. If Loki does in fact have the Tesseract and an army, he may be unstoppable."

Thor spoke up trying to ease the tension between Maryn and Odin, "I am going to Earth to bring Loki home, but the threat of the Tesseract is too great to ignore, Maryn. You must believe that if nothing else."

With a disbelieving scoff, Maryn shook her head but dropped the matter, "I will be ready to leave in an hour. I will meet you on the Rainbow Bridge." With that said she turned on her heel and left the war room, her magic still beating wildly at her skin to be let free.

Transporting herself to her rooms, Maryn found Tora and Frigga speaking quietly, Kersin and Gaia sitting together a little way away from them with embroidery in their hands.

"My Lady," Tora caught sight of her first and curtsied, her words causing the other two maids to follow suit.

"I am going on a trip with Prince Thor," Maryn spoke as she crossed the room toward her bedchamber and dressing room.

Frigga and Tora followed her at her words.

"Where are you and Thor going?" Frigga asked softly.

Maryn stilled in the middle of her bedchamber and waved a hand, her clothes changing as she explained what had happened. Once her magic dissipated she was dressed in a one-shouldered gown of gold lace overlaid with deep plum coloured chiffon and belted at the waist by thin, criss-crossing, deep-purple velvet ribbon. Her matching slippers would do little but protect her feet from dirt. Over the gown, she clasped her cream coloured cloak with its white fur trim. Her hair was no longer in a loose plait; instead, it was twisted into a braided bun at the nape of her neck, strands framing her face. Her eyes were outlined in kohl, a line of gold under each eye echoing the makeup she had worn when she was still grieving her mother. Around her upper arm, palm and right hand fingers, jewellery in the shape of gold snakes entwined and her gold earrings were fashioned in the shape of a snake wrapped around a pearl. Although her ensemble was more for dramatic effect rather than practicality, she knew she needed all the help she could get to face Loki.

"You should not go," Tora spoke suddenly. "If he does live his magic is still tied to yours and he could wound you through the link that was forged."

"It is a risk I am willing to take," Maryn told her, pulling up the hood on her cloak and moving past her maid. Frigga's hand on her arm stopped her and she looked up at the Allmother.

"Will you save him?" Frigga asked softly, the sadness in her eyes making Maryn's heart ache.

Frigga's magic swirled around them both as she spoke, the spell of protection, which Maryn identified easily, burning when it touched her skin, but she would never tell the older woman that her safeguard wounded more than helped. "I will try, mother. I swear it." Maryn told her quietly.

Her face crumpling as her tears took over, Frigga pulled her good-daughter into a tight hug.

Leaning into the embrace, Maryn closed her eyes and let herself relax for a moment before pulling away, "I love you, mother."

"And I love you, daughter," Frigga nodded solemnly before letting her go.

Leaving the chambers, Maryn heard Tora speaking softly to Frigga about stopping her but knew the Allmother wouldn't interfere if it meant her youngest son returned to Asgard.

Transporting herself and Fenrir to the Rainbow Bridge, Maryn crossed the small distance to where Thor, Odin and Heimdall stood, the Warriors Three and Sif a few feet away talking gravely in hushed voices. She kept her hood up and stood quietly at Thor's side.

"You will need much dark magic to send both Thor and Princess Maryn to Midgard," Heimdall counselled Odin. "It is no short distance and will use a lot of your strength as well."

"It doesn't matter." Odin spoke, his arms folded over his wide chest and Gungnir strangely absent from his hand. "If what you say about Loki is correct, Thor is the only one who will be able to stop him."

"If Loki has the Tesseract, he will not allow anyone to stop him from taking his kingdom," Maryn spoke up. "And Fenrir will be coming with us."

Fandral grinned, stepping forward and throwing his arm around Maryn's shoulders, "You're taking your beast with you, princess? Isn't he a little large to be traveling to Midgard. They will think he is a demon creature."

"Fenrir is coming and you don't need dark magic to get us there," Maryn told those around her. At their confused looks she elaborated, "I have magic enough to reach Midgard."

Thor put his hand to her shoulder, "It is too much. It will overly drain you."

Stepping to the edge of the bridge closest to where the Bifrost had been, Maryn looked back over her shoulder at the others, "Then wait for the Allfather to send you. I am leaving now."

With a frustrated huff at how difficult she was being, Thor clasped forearms with his father and nodded to the others gathered to see them off, and then stepped to Maryn's side, his hammer gripped tightly in his hand and Fenrir at Maryn's other side.

A thrill went through Maryn at the prospect of finally letting her magic loose and she lifted her hands out to touch Fenrir's shoulder, her other taking Thor's much larger hand. "Take a breath," she warned before unleashing her power with a wide grin. As the bluish-grey light surrounded them, she saw a flash of eyes across her vision and faltered for a moment before the pull of her magic became too strong and she gave into it and allowed the rush of power to take her.