Age 15

Outskirts, Alfheim

I know this area. It's the village with the temple, the people who thought I was a sun. Unlike the last time I was here, I keep my eyes to the ground. Every step hurts, the ache in my chest deepening the longer I spend awake. Blistering and raw skin chafes against the manacles at my wrists, and more unhealed burns snake up my arms and across my face and body. Whatever healing abilities I have are focused solely on keeping me alive, while a panicking Eternal Flame leeches my energy to keep itself from going out.

Mina walks beside me, she's got into Mistress's good graces enough to be the one to take care of me. Weeks ago, we had a plan, risky but possible. We'd made it in whispers, it was the last real conversation I'd had. But I don't speak to her anymore, I barely speak even when commanded. It's not worth the pain.

We've left a trail of destruction all over Alfheim, four villages in all. Two since I've spoken barely a word. But Eldmara isn't satisfied, she always wants more. More destruction from the Flame, more subservience from me.

"It's her!" I hear, and if I could weep, I would. "The chosen one returns!"

No, I want to tell them. I'm not what you think, and I never was.

Eldmara smiles coyly, even as the excited recognitions turn quickly to accusations.

"Release her," they demand. "Who are you to hurt one who brought peace?"

"I am the High Priestess of Hagalaz," Eldmara announces, once we've reached the pavilion. There's already screams in the distance as her minions cut off all escape routes. I stare hard at the stone, enraged.

Not once have I been able to stop her. Not once have I controlled the Flame from lashing out. And now these people that I helped, that I fought for, will burn.

I can't stop it. But there's the slightest of chances I can prevent it.

I look up, searching for Mina, and barely manage to catch her gaze. I nod, but she shakes her head. We don't have a whole plan, and we weren't prepared. But I don't care. We do this now, or I'm not sure I'll ever have the strength again. I glare at her and nod again. After a moment, she nods back.

I gather my strength as I'm led to the center of the pavilion; I take deep breaths as Eldmara's goons soak the ground and buildings with something foul and flammable. Because unleashing a bomb isn't enough.

"Take honor in your deaths," Eldmara says, beginning her loathsome speech. Each village we burn becomes more of a spectacle. "Destruction is the way of life, and always will be. It's the only way you can be born anew. Your deaths will bring love and beauty."

More psychopathic rhetoric. I don't have to wonder how twisted Eldmara is inside to see the world this way. I know she's insane. "This is my right as High Priestess. My duty. The time has come to free my love."

Eldmara turns to me as she finishes, and I can still hear the crowd arguing, protesting. They have faith in me. They don't know what she knows, that she can make me do whatever she wants.

Which makes the next part incredibly difficult.

The second before Eldmara's tentacles of ice reach for me, I ignite. I don't explode, I know better than to do that to myself. It still hurts, I can feel the incredible heat as the Eternal Flame rips through me, finding its way out.

But I direct just enough fire to catch the accelerant, which snakes across the ground faster than anyone can react. It plunges everything into chaos, even Eldmara, and for a few moments, I can see her fear.

I fire an extra blast at her while her guard is down and then bolt, following one of the lines of fire and dodging the goon that tries to grab me. Mina and I have a short window to put in the last part of our plan. The last part that we thought through anyway.

She's dropping all the magical shielding that's been hiding us from Heimdall and anyone else that's watching. I'm getting as far away from Eldmara as I can. As I reach the furthest building on fire, I turn back to it and plunge my still manacled hands into the flames. It's been months since I've put a fire out, and it resists my every push. The accelerant makes it difficult, though extinguishing the whole village is already a large task. But I'm fueled by the screams of the villagers, who trusted in me.

I shove against the fire with my mind, forcing it to bend to my will. It takes everything I have, but it works. The fire dies, even the flames on my body and I just about pass out. I'm too weak for this, beyond dehydrated.

But if I stay here, it will all be for nothing. I can't let myself get caught.

I keep running, suppressing a cough as my lungs struggle to keep up. I make it into the forest, and I'm grateful that it's daylight. If it were night, I'd literally be a glowing target.

Each footstep shoots pain up my body. Whatever adrenaline has been sustaining me, it is gone now. I trip, hitting the ground and continuing to slide down a slope I hadn't noticed. Fallen branches and rock assault me as I tumble through them. I come to a stop only after something smashes against my skull, hard enough to bust the skin open.

It throbs, accompanied with the only coherent thought I have. I cannot let Eldmara find me. I suppress a cough that could give me away. I crawl, trembling with every effort, into a hollow log. I cannot let Eldmara find me.

I cannot let Eldmara find me.

I can't see out of the log, so I strain to hear any sign of a search. Birds chirp, and the wind rustles the golden leaves in uneven waves. A stick cracks, and I stop breathing. It takes minutes of silence later for me to recover enough to take a breath. I cannot let Eldmara find me. The cycle repeats, birds, wind, sticks, wind, birds.

Finally something more, a voice. Deep, familiar, malignant. One of Eldmara's. I freeze, if I hold still, I can cease to exist, he'll never find me, Eldmara will never find me.

Loki watches as the minion moves the log, he feels Ally's terror immobilizing her through the empathy link he forged. Quick as lightning, he whips a dagger toward Eldmara's man, catching him in the neck. He falls, dragging Ally to the ground with him.

"Ally!" Her eyes struggle to focus as he approaches, and he scoops her up, carrying her away as the man chokes on his own blood. Loki sets her down a short distance away.

"I'm sorry," He tells Ally, as he picks the lock on her cuffs. "I was looking, I promise. We didn't know Eldmara had another way off planet." There's a dangerous glint in his eye, a desire for vengeance.

He's expecting a quip, something fiery that he absolutely deserves. But Ally just stares at him, barely focused and pleading. She slumps, breaths shallow, skin pale. Dark red burns trace her arms and chest like her arteries themselves erupted with fire. Dehydrated, but more than that. Weaker than he's ever seen her, and scareder too.

"What's wrong?" he asks. Still, silence. "Ally, you're safe. Eldmara will never touch you again. Thor is taking care of it."

Her eyes widen, and her light flickers in what Loki recognizes as panic, though it's darker and more red than normal. Something is wrong, and feeling at her wrist, he can tell her heart is pounding.

"Talk to me," Loki begs. "Where does it hurt? What did she do to you?" His rage is back, and barely contained. But faster than he thought possible, Ally's hand is over his mouth, the other hand gripping the back of his head so he can't pull away.

"SHHHHHH" It's barely audible, but it's clear Ally is frightened by his voice, or maybe by sound in general. He nods, and gently works her hands off his face. He's confused, but mostly angry. At Eldmara, at himself.

He pulls her closer, so he doesn't have to make as much noise "Eldmara isn't here," he whispers. "Ally, you're…" Loki's eyes are drawn to movement behind Ally, and he watches as more of Eldmara's men walk through the trees. "Safe."

In less than a second, he put an illusion up, masking their presence. They'll see a boulder, nothing more.

"Don't move," he breathes into Ally's ear, even quieter than before. She's already still, too still, but it's the only warning he can give. The soldiers, mercenaries, mar the forest with their bright red robes, presumably the same color Ally's dress used to be. Now the tattered thing is covered in filth and ash. And blood, in places.

They comb the trees, examining the log where Ally was hiding and their dead comrade beside it. They're mere feet from the edge of the illusion. Ally's chest barely breathes as she moves, she's so weak. Maybe too weak to make it back to Asgard. Loki's arms tighten around her, rather than reaching for weapons.

The soldiers complete their search, and regroup in front of Loki, too close for comfort.

"She can't be far," he hears one say, "she's weak. You have your orders."

"The prince is with her," another points out. He's holding Loki's throwing knife, red with blood.

"Our orders still stand. Kill the prince, retrieve the Flame. Spread out, leave nothing unsearched." Loki has to stifle a smirk, they're no match for him. Even with Ally not ready for combat.

The men spread out from their section of the forest, moving away, but it does not make them safe. They were surrounded. And Ally doesn't have enough time to wait them out and sneak away.

Before the men are out of earshot, Ally spasms in his arms, and he fights to cover her mouth as a string of coughs wrack her body. The fit leaves her slumped against him, limp.

The sound alerts one of the mercenaries, and he doubles back to their position. He doesn't come very close, but they will still have to wait for him to leave before they can move. Loki watches in frustration until he moves out of sight.

"We're clear," Loki whispers. "Thor is here somewhere, he took care of Eldmara. We just have to find him." Still, Ally is silent, and it hurts like a knife to the gut.

Loki carefully stands and tries to set her on her feet, but as he suspects, they buckle even without much weight. He catches her before she falls too far, and her arms dangle limply at her sides. He sits her down, propping her up against a tree.

"I know it hurts, but you have to stay with me. Okay?" He's desperate for some response, some indication that Ally is not lost. Because if she is, that's on him. Her eyes make contact with his, but quickly become dazed, unfocused. He's losing her.

He lifts her up, placing her hands in her lap and her head against his shoulder so they don't bounce as they move. Without a med team, he'll have to do his best to rehydrate her, until they can find a path out.

Loki moves cautiously through the underbrush. Speed is essential, but more so is not getting caught. Finally, he finds a stream with clean water. He sets Ally beside it. Her eyes are still open, her chest still rising and falling, but she looks dead.

"You need to hydrate," he pleads quietly. Loki cups his hands and fills them full of water, pouring it into Ally's mouth. Most of it goes in, but it takes a long moment for her to swallow, and halfway through she coughs. Water sprays back at him.

He repeats the process until Ally stops coughing, is able to get water down. Some coherence returns to her eyes, and color to her cheeks. Still, she doesn't speak, and Loki still worries she's not strong enough to make it out. She needs a healer.

"Ally," he pleads, quiet so she won't panic. "Please talk to me. You're safe, she can't hear you." She locks eyes with him, trembling. He can feel her fear, through the link in the promise stone.

"Hurts," she mumbles, and Loki sighs with relief. It's not much, but it's something. "Cold."

"I know," he whispers back. "I know."

Loki wants to stay and prod more out of her, but he knows they need to move. He pulls her up, and she stands, though she grips his hand like she's clinging to life. He leads Ally in the direction of the village, where the army should've secured Eldmara by now.

Ally stops so quickly that she almost falls over, and tries to pull away when Loki drags her along. He stops too, unwilling to force her.

"What's wrong?"

She watches him with wide eyes, and her mouth moves with hesitation before she actually speaks. "Cold."

They aren't far, he can still see the plume of smoke. But Ally's right, despite the two suns overhead and the Alf summer, the air is colder than before. And getting colder. Loki doesn't argue with Ally, just cuts diagonally through the forest. Still toward the village, but away from whatever is coming.

They aren't fast enough. The temperature continues to drop, and what little color Ally's face had regained drains just as quickly. And Loki knows they really are in trouble when ice creeps over the trees and boulders, and he pushes to quicken their pace.

"Did you think you could escape me?" An icy voice comes from the trees, and Ally trips. Loki keeps her upright, pushes her forward. He can't carry her, he needs his hands to defend them…

"Go," Loki urges. "I'll hold her off."

"No!" Ally's answer comes without hesitation or struggle, but it's immediately followed by panic and rounded shoulders.

"I can handle her, Ally," Loki insists. "Follow the smoke, find Thor." He gives her a push, it's not nice, but she can't stay here.

"Did you think the princes could rescue you again?" Ally moves away, shuddering with every step as Eldmara's mocking follows her. "After all I did to get you back? They won't want you anymore anyway."

"Don't speak for me," Loki shouts back. "Ally is more welcome in Asgard than you will ever be, you old hag." He finally spots the woman, her normally immaculate outfit covered in ash. Her hair has lost its curl, and an ugly, fresh burn curves around her chin and down her neck.

"The little prince," she retorts. "Playing the white knight once again, so you can pretend you're important." Eldmara's voice is unnaturally loud, and it's no doubt part of the reason Ally was so terrified of speaking. Loki's anger seeps into his voice.

"Says the priestess who hasn't been relevant for over a thousand years." Loki approaches her, slipping a dagger into his palm. "And then proceeded to throw a tantrum that laid waste to a province's worth of innocent villages."

Eldmara screeches, throwing blades of ice across the forest. It pierces the illusion that Eldmara can see, and she whips around to find where Loki is really standing.

"I won't let you take her again," Loki promises. "It's over, Eldmara."

"It's barely begun!" Eldmara expels shards of ice again, this time in every direction. A second illusion dissolves, but her strike still hits its mark. Loki goes to a knee, hand to his side where the ice just barely sliced his armor. Other shards fall to the ground, stopped by the shield he'd conjured.

But it's Eldmara who screams, with a voice that shakes the forest. There's a dagger in her shoulder, thrown with precision from Loki's hiding place.

"Sometimes it doesn't take a scheme," Loki says, "just a sacrifice."

"I'll heal," Eldmara debates, "you won't. That ice will spread, I've been experimenting." She twisted her fingers, and Loki can feel the cold spread deeper. A hot, twisting pain, not unlike being stabbed.

"You'll heal in prison," Loki spits. "And you'll rot there, powerless, until you wither away like the relic you are."

"And who's going to put me there?"

Loki grimaces, then grins. "The consequences of your own actions most likely."

His last illusion drops, he can't sustain it. It's not of himself, just a minor manipulation of the forest around them. But Ally is close enough, having snuck back around. She swings a large tree branch with all her remaining strength, clobbering Eldmara in the back of the head.

It knocks Eldmara to the ground, and Loki can't tell if she's unconscious. But she's powerless now, the Crest far out of reach. Ally nearly trips over it on her way to Loki, but she doesn't seem to notice.

"I told you to go find Thor," Loki scolds. He doesn't mean for it to come out so sharp, but the ice is still spreading internally. "I had it figured out."

Ally gives him a withering, pointed look. No words necessary for expressing how thin his lie was. He was lucky Ally had come, and she was lucky he'd spotted her in time to cloak her. But they weren't out of danger yet.

Loki can feel his organs freezing, the skin where the ice had scraped him hard as rock. Once it reaches his lungs, his heart, he'll be dead. Curiously, it's spreading slower, but that will only make it a more painful death.

"Ally, I need you to send a flare." It's the only hope for both of them now. Ally lifts a hand to the sky, shooting a weak bolt of fire into the sky. It barely makes it past the trees, and only lingers for a moment above them. Loki hopes it's enough.

Ally sinks to the ground next to him, weak and scared and barely conscious. Knocking out Eldmara took all she had. Or so he thinks. She doesn't stop to rest, but examines his wound. He can't feel her probe at it, but he can see when she flinches, withdrawing her hand. It's too cold for her.

"Don't… don't worry about it." He doesn't want her to hurt herself fussing over him. Ally's already hurt enough, and that's his fault too.

Ally ignores him. She glances nervously at Eldmara every couple of seconds, but the hag stays down. Ally observes for a moment, then covers Loki's whole scrape with her hand. She flinches again, but concentrates, and Loki feels heat on the parts of his skin not yet frozen.

"Stop, stop!" It burns, and Loki tries to push Ally's hand away, but that just hurts his hands. Ally doesn't stop. Not even when he screams. Not until after he blacks out.

I sit back, inspecting the wound in Loki's side. My head is pounding, but I've done what I can. The ice is gone, and while it's probably still cold, I don't think it will spread any more. Either way, it's all I can do.

I break into another coughing fit, falling back onto a moss covered log. I make myself sit back up, because Eldmara is still there, and she won't stay knocked out forever. I make it to the Crest, the source of her power.

I hate it.

But magical objects are hard to destroy, and between my pounding head, rolling stomach, and various other pains, I can't do it. I fling it into the forest as far as I can, and sink back down to the ground there, in between Eldmara and Loki.

I'm in more than enough pain to pass out, but the Flame prevents that. It rages inside me, pressing me to keep going. It does that after I use it too much. Relentless. It doesn't know boundaries.

Eldmara stirs and I panic. Even without her powers, she'll yell, she'll attack, she'll get to Loki…

She sits up, dazed, and I watch her carefully. It's so strange to see her without any anger for once. It returns quickly as she catches sight of me, and I shrink in instinct.

The ground shakes, and I look up, terrified. But it's only Thor. He must have seen my flare.

"I should kill you where you stand!" He roars at Eldmara. I shrink further, it's so loud, everything hurts.

"But you won't," Eldmara cackles. "I'm protected by Asgardian law." Lightning sparks from Mjolnir, and thunder booms in the sky.

"An old law. One we'll be dismantling. And no one has to know you were alive when I found you." Thor steps toward her, picking her up by the throat. There's electricity all over him, shocking Eldmara.

"Thor!" I can hear Sif's voice over the pain, the fear of what's happening. "They're wounded. We need to get out of here."

It's a long tense moment before Thor drops Eldmara on the ground. More soldiers, Asgardian soldiers, enter the forest. The medics tend to me and to Loki, though there's not much they can do without Asgard's healers.

As we're loaded onto stretchers, Loki wakes. He looks around, frantic, but he calms when he sees me.

Neither of us say anything, but when he reaches his hand out for mine, I take it. It hurts the burns on my hand, but it helps the other pain knowing he's there.