And there you go! ENJOY!

Chapter 44

In the weeks that followed Loki and Thor perfected the art of avoiding each other as much as possible. Not that Loki really had to try. Thor just disappeared at the first side of the young king. The God of Thunder didn't show up at any important meetings, he didn't practise along with his friends and the other Asgardian warriors, he didn't show up at any meal as long as Loki was in the room…

Jane sighed while walking through the golden hallways of the palace. It had been one month already and although she could understand why, Thor's behaviour was starting to annoy her. For the – how many? – time she was making her way towards the throne room where she knew a meeting could start any second. Since Thor childishly refused to be around his brother, Jane had decided to attend the meetings herself, just to be able to inform Thor on the how, the what, the why and the when of Asgard and the other realms. Even though Thor wasn't the Captain any longer, he still had an important role to fulfil as the prince of Asgard. Not that there was anything of interest happening. The news on what had happened on Vanaheim had spread across the realms like a fire on a haystack. Since this was just extra proof of Asgard's strength, all possible threats kept quiet. Steadily, Loki was being promoted from imprisoned, second son and traitor to one of the most respected kings Asgard had ever known. Nevertheless, the young king didn't let it go to his head, for he knew darker times were ahead. Once Odin would be back, things would be very different. He doubted the Asgardians would still think about him in the same way…

Lost in thought, Jane entered the throne room. Unlike other times, when she was greeted by every person present with overdramatic bowing, my ladies and fake smiles, the room was now filled with nervous commotion. Jane frowned and made her way to the head of the table where she found Loki surrounded by his four advisers. A concerned expression covered his face while Lord Steldor seemed to be explaining whatever was bothering him. The young king nodded from time to time and followed his adviser's pointing finger over the map of Vanaheim.

Jane was surprised to spot Lady Sif and The Warriors Three at the other end of the table. Since Loki's revelation about The Allfather's condition and whereabouts, Thor hadn't been the only one to avoid the young king at any cost. Lady Sif and Hogun, who were currently talking to Lord Atlas, hadn't shown up for weeks. Only Volstagg and Fandral had found the will to drag themselves towards the throne room where Loki only enjoyed their growing disgust.

To be honest, Jane had been surprised about Fandral's participation. He'd always seemed like someone you better kept as a friend, because when you pissed him of, he could hold a grudge for quite some time. And although Jane was certain Fandral was furious with Loki, he didn't seem to let it interfere with his duties.

Jane took a deep breath and put on her most stern and superior expression before joining at the table. Over time she'd learned that the people of Asgard saw her as their Queen and especially after her two days of reign, she'd mastered a fitting expression. Immediately all humming stopped. Everyone looked up for a second and bowed their head respectfully before continuing their discussions. Jane turned to Loki and smiled shortly.

"What is going on?" she asked. Loki looked up.

"It's Vanaheim again…" he answered. Jane nodded. She immediately understood that there was something big at stake, because Loki wasn't looking at her with that annoying smirk he carried around during the last weeks. For the first time in a month, he finally seemed like the king he had been before.

Loki nodded at Lord Steldor to explain the situation.

The royal adviser nodded back before turning to Jane.

"Just as we suspected, there are still bandits hiding in Vanaheim. Heimdall saw them scatter. Most of them fled into the Dark Mountains. Their numbers were small and it was useless to waist Asgardian forces on them. Besides, one knows better than to hide, let alone search in the Dark Mountains. The grounds are shifting, the hills are treacherous. We assumed the bandits sealed their own fates. However, Heimdall informed us this very morning that a group of at least seventy rascals has crossed the border of Vanaheim once more. They survived in the mountains and have regrouped. Heimdall suspects they must have had a base there as well. A secret emergency hide out."

Jane nodded while her eyes fixed on the map in front of her. It was enchanted and showed a moving projection of Vanaheim. Over time, the tiny red dots, flags and stripes had got meaning. Jane let her eye fall on a group of over fifty red dots slowly moving towards a big green triangle, which she knew stood for agricultural village. A bit more to the right a thick black, dashed line marked the border between Vanaheim and the Wilderness with its Dark Mountains. Just underneath, a little to the left of the moving group of red dots, another green triangle was shown. The only difference was the red dot pulsing in the middle of the triangle.

Jane frowned. Steldor followed her stare.

"They came fast…" he explained sounding sad. "They already pillaged the first village, Hella it was called…"

Jane looked up, her eyes coloured with confusion and pity.

"Was?" she asked in a broken voice. Steldor shared a look with his king. Loki's face didn't show any emotion. The adviser turned back to Jane.

"Indeed… Nothing's left… they took everything, burned everything… only a few people remain…"

Jane looked up and found Hogun, the only Vanaheimer she knew, standing a little bit further at the table.. His eyes were dark with hatred, his whole body tensed, ready for battle. The young mother could only feel bad for him.

Jane swallowed. Her eyes followed the group of dots once more. A uncontrollable anger took grip on her heart. Why would anyone cause that much destruction? Why did they rip these people's lives apart?

"They're moving fast…" she noticed after a short silence.

Steldor nodded. "Heimdall has seen they are in the possession of horses… where they got those, we do not know, but I suppose they stole them from the first village."

"But why didn't Heimdall warn us sooner?" Jane continued.

"Heimdall wasn't watching Vanaheim…" Steldor admitted. "The king had order him to keep a watchful eye on the realms beyond Yggdrasil."

Jane glared over at the young king. For a second she swore she could see a flash of fear in Loki's light grey eyes. She knew Loki was still scared Thanos would turn up after the death of The Other, but it seemed the purple headed ruler had no interest in the death of his most loyal servant.

"Vanaheim had been secure for weeks, my lady…" Steldor continued. "We didn't think this possible. There is still Dark Elf Magic in those mountains. That makes it harder for Heimdall to see properly."

Jane nodded. "So what do we do?"

"We stop them…" Loki answered before his adviser got the chance. Lord Steldor frowned. He obviously hadn't finished his briefing earlier.

"My king, there is much to be discussed…"

But Loki interrupted.

"My lord Steldor… there are people dying right now! We must act now! This is a group of fifty… sixty at most… I've fought bigger on my own!"

Lord Steldor bowed his head and Loki nodded. The young king looked up and let his eyes wander over the table. One by one the nervous voices turned quiet.

"I will personally lead a fighting squat to Vanaheim!" Loki announced. "We will leave this instant! The Vanaheimers need our help now! This is only one simple group of idiotic bandits, trying to impress us. They have failed!"

Loki turned silent, his eyes scanning the table.

"Lady Sif, Lord Fandral, Lord Volstagg and Lord Hogun! Report at the stables in fifteen minutes!"

The four warriors scowled. The last thing they wanted was Loki to come along, but they bowed their heads and silently made their way out of the throne room. Loki turned his attention back on the room and continued.

"Captain, you'll stay here, we will discuss a strategy before our departure!"

Arya bowed her head as well. She looked up and quickly shared a worried look with Jane.

"The rest of you, please proceed with your duties. Lord Steldor, you and Lord Atlas will remain here. Keep an eye on the situation from here and inform us immediately if there is any change we are not aware of."

"Can I request to be extremely cautious, my king?" Lord Atlas asked. Loki looked his way and nodded shortly.

"Noted…" he responded sharply.

As one, the other Asgardians present bowed for their king and started leaving. Loki turned to Jane.

"And get your useless husband to the stables as well!" he snapped. Jane scowled, but decided to ignore Loki.

"You're making a mistake!" she said instead. Loki ignored her, but Jane wasn't going to give up that fast.

"You're going into battle without anyone you can trust right now! Why not take some other warriors? You're just asking for trouble!"

Loki snapped his head in her direction.

"Other warriors are to slow and I know this group will clear the job in no time!"

Jane sighed. Loki threw her an annoyed glare.

"Didn't I ask you to get Thor!" he barked before turning his back to the worried mother and walk over to Arya who was still waiting at the other side of the table.

Jane took a deep breath and stamped out the throne room.

The moment Loki had turned his attention on Arya, his scowl faded and made place for an almost kind smile.

"Arya…" he said calmly. The young Captain didn't really know how to respond. Only seconds ago he'd been shouting at Jane, and besides that she also didn't exactly know what to think of her king after the events in the common room. Nevertheless, her king's brilliant smile and kind light grey eyes managed to mess up her mind and cleared it of every form of doubt.

She smiled back, knowing she probably looked like a complete idiot.

Loki stopped in front of her and seemed to be waiting for an answer.

Wait…Arya thought. Did he ask me a question?

The young king raised his eyebrows. "Well?" he asked. "Any ideas of a strategy? Or do we follow Thor's lead and simply burst in like a bunch of lunatics?"

Oh… right… the quest… Arya thought. She smiled once more, trying to hide her confusion.

"Eer… I suppose all we can do is follow their trail and stop them before they pillage another village…"

Loki thought about that and nodded. "I suppose you're right…" he answered with a smile.

Arya frowned. This whole conversation had been completely useless… Why did Loki even ask her in the first place?

The young king smiled and walked past the confused Captain.

"Off we go!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

-xxx-

Half an hour later the fellowship of seven reached the Bifröst. Since the bandits seemed to have horses, they decided to take their own horses with them.

Loki positioned himself in front and turned around to face his friends. Absolutely no one, except Arya seemed to have any excitement about the mission. Grim and dark expressions covered their faces.

Loki sighed.

"I realise this field trip doesn't fit in your busy schedules, yet I ask you to follow me until we've destroyed this threat as well. You are the most trained and skilled warriors of Asgard. It is useless to spend an army of fifty if it can be done by us. I don't suppose this will take longer than a few hours… after that you can spend the rest of your day hating me!"

No one answered and the young king turned his back to them.

"Heimdall…" he asked. "Is there any change?"

The Guardian turned to his king and frowned. "I'm afraid there is, my king…" he answered darkly. "These bandits are moving fast and then I don't mean by the means of horses. It's the plundering that bothers me… They've already pillaged the next village. Their next stop will probably be Storborg, the first big city of Vanaheim."

Loki nodded. "Then send us as close to Storborg as possible!"

Heimdall nodded and placed his sword in the middle of the Bifröst.

"Please, proceed with caution, my lords and ladies…" he said before pushing the weapon further down.

The rainbow grabbed them and send them towards Vanaheim. Just before they landed, Loki could feel a soft twist as if an invisible power tried to pull them out of the rainbow beam of the Bifröst, but it happened so quickly, the young hardly had the time to worry about it.

One by one the hooves of their horses touched the sandy ground. Loki looked around. The weather was obviously better than the last time they'd visited. The sun was low in the sky, ready to begin its clime to midday. In the far distance Loki spotted a big city. Storborg, he knew, the beating heart of this part of Vanaheim. All trading happened here. Loki had often visited the city in the past with his friends, with his brother or just with his mother. He'd even met his first teenage crush in these cosy, brimming streets, not that anyone knew about that of course.

Loki frowned. Heimdall could have dropped them a lot closer. In between them and Storborg, another small settlement arose. The second village…

The young king didn't understand. Why did Heimdall drop them this far?

The bright blue sky darkened when thick clouds of dark smoke covered the morning sun.

"We must act, Loki!" Fandral shouted when his eye fell on the burning remains of the village in front of them. Loki nodded and spurred on his horse and led the way. Five minutes later, they reached the village, screams of terror filling the air. Loki dismounted his horse. The others followed his lead. For a moment no one said a word, shocked by the tragedy in front of them. The stench of burning wood and flesh swirled through the air. Everywhere people were trying to extinguish the flames. Everywhere families were morning over dead bodies. The closest fields and stables surrounding the village where ablaze.

"Help where you can.." Loki ordered in a painful whisper. His friends didn't even wait for the command. Immediately Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif spread through the village. Arya followed their lead, but turned to her king first. Loki's face was pale, his light grey eyes filled with sorrow and hate. Arya swallowed and speeded towards a young girl who was clinging to the burned, bloody body of what Arya presumed had been her mother or sister.

Thor stared at Loki's back, expecting the young king to turn around, but Loki kept his eyes on the village, so Thor stepped forward.

"Since when do you put the suffering of other's in front of a mission?" he asked rather harshly. Loki had always been the one to make the hard decisions no one dared to think about. At a time like this he should have ignored the village to chase after the bandits in the knowledge that more casualties would fall in Storborg.

"Something is not right… " Loki responded without taking his eyes of the destruction in front of him. Thor noticed how Loki ignored his harsh tone. His younger brother was deadly serious. Although the blond prince felt more hatred towards his brother than ever before, he understood that this was no time for old arguments.

"Look at the flames…" Loki continued after noticing Thor's change in attitude. The young king pointed towards a group of distressed Vanaheimers who were feverishly trying to put out the flames on a small house.

Thor followed his pointing finger. For a second he observed the sight, knowing he really had to see what Loki was referring to. Otherwise, the young king would start sneering again. And then he saw it.

"The water has no effect…" the God of Thunder noticed. Loki nodded. His older brother looked down on him.

"Is it magic?" he asked after a short silence. Loki smiled shortly.

"I believe so…" he answered, but Thor could sense that there was more going on. He inspected his brother carefully and noticed a slightly terrified, yet equally hungry expression in his brother's light grey eyes.

"Loki!" he warned. The young king snapped from his trance and looked up. A new serious frown appeared on his face.

"Heimdall didn't spot any sorcerer..." Loki noted.

"Perhaps he managed to hide from his view… it wouldn't be the first time!" Thor answered, fully aware that he'd let his hatred slip through for a second. Loki scowled, but decided to ignore it.

"They…" he responded. "Not 'he'…"

Thor frowned, but Loki continued.

"This a group of remarkably strong sorcerers… dark sorcerers…"

Thor's jaw tightened as he watched that hungry expression return to Loki's face.

"The question that remains…" the young king said. "is where they went?"

Loki scanned his surroundings, knowing what to look for. Even if they were invisible, their spell should have left a trace, but the young king was thorn from his thoughts by a terrified, high pitched scream coming from inside the burning house.

Thor and Loki shared a look before rushing to the Vanaheimer's aid.

"There're still people inside?" Thor asked an old, strangely familiar, man. The man looked up. The moment he recognised the prince of Asgard, he dropped his water filled bucket and bowed, but Thor drew him back on his feet and repeated his question, a little more demanding this time.

"Yes, my lord! My grandchildren and my daughter! They were still sleeping! Oh, please, my lord, help them!"

Thor dropped the frightened man and shared a look with Loki. Under normal circumstances Thor would just make it rain and everything would be under control. But now, water didn't seem to help in the slightest.

Loki nodded and turned towards the burning house. This was Dark Energy… Although the young king knew how to control the Dark magic of the Valkyrja stone, preforming Dark magic on his own was something entirely different. It would have to be done with Light magic, like Queen Frigga had taught him.

Loki raised his arms and pointed his palm at the house in front of him. The heat was almost unbearable, but the young king refused to move. A faint green glow formed around the house, making it look like a fata morgana in a scorching desert. The green bubble intensified until it glowed in the morning son. The dark flames eagerly licked the sides of their prison. Loki could feel the darkness suck at his own magic. Everywhere the flames touched the bubble, dark spots would appear, only to be fade away after another boost of Light magic from Loki.

Sweat formed on the young king's forehead, while the green bubble slowly shrunk, the flames violently attacking the curved walls. Loki blinked away the drops of sweat falling into his eyes. The dark flames turned the bubble, spot by spot, darker and darker.

"Come on…" the young king hissed while he felt the dark magic infiltrate his own magic and his body. His hands turned icy cold.

The bubble almost collided with the roof of the house. The last flames failed their last attempt to break through the magic barrier Loki had created. When the last flame had died, all Dark magic instantly vanished. Loki breathed out and lowered his hands. Two men ran in the remains of the house while the old man remained outside.

It took a while before Loki recognised Hogun to be one of the two men currently running inside the house.

The first man came out. In his arms he held a small unconscious child, a girl, burned in several places. He handed it over to Lady Sif, who had appeared on the scene. The man rushed back inside the house. This time he it took a bit longer before he ran out again, holding a severely bleeding teenage boy in his arms. The old man cried out in agony and took his grandson from the man. The man ran back to the house. A second later he walked out once more, this time with Hogun at his side. Together they supported a dark haired, stumbling woman. Loki could see that one side of her face was badly burned.

The young king swallowed while an sickening feeling took hold of him. The way Hogun cared for this family. He didn't like it… Thor seemed to be thinking the same.

Loki walked closer to the terrified family. Hogun and the other man carefully lowered the woman to the ground. She instantly fell and Hogun only just managed to catch her. Tears had formed in his otherwise emotionless eyes.

"Mother…" he whispered in a broken voice. The woman in his lap smiled painfully.

Loki closed his eyes for a second.

Of all people… he thought. Thor shared a look with him. Both brothers were struck by an incredible sadness when they were reminded of their mother's loss.

The old man raced toward his daughter and kneeled next to Hogun.

"Nanna… my beautiful Nanna…" the old man cried while he tried to touch his daughter's scarred face. Nanna smiled.

"Father…" she whispered breathlessly. "I am sorry…"

The old man fell in silence. Hogun took hold of his mother.

"No!" he cried out. "Mother… you cannot … you cannot!"

Nanna smiled and fixed her one seeing eye on her eldest son.

"Hogun, my son… my brave warrior…"

Whatever she wanted to say next drowned in a painful cry. Hogun cried bitter tears while he buried his fingers in his mother's soft dress. The man standing next to him kneeled down and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Brother…" he spoke in a broken whisper. "Say your goodbyes… Let mother die in peace… there is no need for her to suffer…"

Hogun turned to his brother, wanting to say something in return.

"Who will take care of little Idun and her brother?" he croaked.

Hogun's brother swallowed. "Idun and Frey will be fine in the care of grandfather… And I will take care of them as well…"

Hogun cried in silence while fixing his attention back on his dying mother. The woman smiled to her two eldest sons. Her voice nothing more than a painful whisper.

"Hogun, my son… you have made your mother and your family proud… your father would tell you the same if he were still with us…" she said while reaching for Hogun's cheek.

Afterwards she focused on her second son.

"Bran, my son… you believe I never though you as great a your brother, but strength does not only lie in fighting skills. Your heart will guide you in this journey called life. Take care of your little brother and sister. They will need you…"

Bran burst out in tears. He and his brother bowed over the body of their mother while she drew her last shaky breaths.

"My sons, my dear father, I will always watch over you, and I will always love you…" she said before closing her eyes.

Loki couldn't watch any longer and kneeled next to the two brothers. He spread his hand over the dying women and closed his eyes. Hogun immediately pushed him away.

"Don't you dare using your wicked tricks on my mother!" he yelled.

Loki 's jaw tightened, but he didn't shout back.

"Do you want to make her passing easier?" he asked shortly. Hogun frowned and shared a look with his brother, but it was the father who answered.

"Please, my king…" he simply asked, his voice filled with pure sorrow.

Loki nodded and stretched out once more. He closed his eyes for a second, blocking out the screams around them, the stench, the sorrow… A soft green glimmer covered the trembling body of Nanna.

The bleeding wounds on her arms and legs closed and the burns on her faces whitened until only her fair skin remained. The agonized mother let out one last shaky breath of relief when the scorching pain disappeared. She opened her eyes and found Loki's light grey ones.

"Thank you.." she whispered before he watery eyes fixed on the blue sky, forever staring into the universe.

Hogun and his brother broke down in heart breaking screams of sorrow, while their grandfather silently wept over the body of his daughter.

Loki slowly arose. Around them, Lady Sif, Arya, Volstagg and Fandral had gathered. Respectfully they bowed their heads.

The young king shared a look with his brother. Thor nodded and lifted Mjölnir. With a deafening thunder the sky above the village ripped open and it started bucketing down, killing the remaining flames spread everywhere in the town. The place they were standing remained dry and light.

Loki ripped his eyes of the mourning family and left the circle of light to put out the magic flames which were immune to the rain. Within seconds he was soaked to the bone, his clothes dripping, his shoes immediately changing into his personal foot-baths. Yet the dark expression on his face didn't fade while the young king made his way to the flickering flames in front of him. He stretched his arms and focused. With new anger roaring through his veins, the flames died within seconds. Loki moved to the next building. He stretched his arms and focused once more.

"My king?" a sudden voice sounded through the rain. Loki didn't turn, but kept his attention fixed on the green bubble which was steadily consuming the flames on a what looked like a café.

Silent, splashing footsteps came closer. A dark silhouette flashed in the corner of Loki's eye.

Arya carefully looked at her king.

"This is not your fault…" she said after a short silence.

Loki didn't answer right away. He lowered his arms and stared at the burned down remains of the building in front of him.

"Hogun just lost his mother…" the young king finally answered. "If we'd been quicker… If I hadn't waisted so much time on Asgard… I could have saved her, Arya…"

The young Captain looked down. "You did what you could, my lord…" she answered. Her king turned to her and fixed his eyes on his Captain.

Arya was stunned to find a new kind of expression in Loki's light grey orbs. One of pure sadness and loss. She swallowed.

"Saving one mother will not bring back another…" she said after a short pained silence. Loki's eyes turned dark for a second and he snapped his head away from Arya's worried gaze.

Without saying another word, the young king turned his back to the young Captain and strode over to the next building.

Arya bit her lip. Maybe that had been a stupid thing to say. She turned around and wanted to make her way back to the others when a shocking sight drew her attention.

Beyond the curtain of rain, an enormous dust cloud appeared in the sky, covering the shining city underneath. Arya froze. The bandits had reached Storborg.

"We must leave…" a voice sounded right next to her ear. Arya jumped in surprise, only to find her king, soaked and dripping, standing next to her.

Loki locked his light grey eyes on Arya, who instantly felt as if her whole body had turned upside down. Only her fast beating heart gave her any notion of her whereabouts.

And just like that, Loki was gone, making his way back to his the others. The rest of the villagers had gathered in the circle of light, crying around bodies or helping the wounded. Lady Sif, Volstagg and Fandral were helping wherever they could while Thor was trying to calm Hogun's family down. Hogun himself was watching the events from a distant, the same old emotionless expression covering his face, although his eyes were still red and swollen after the tears he cried for his mother. The moment Loki entered the circle again, his friends looked up. The young king nodded at his brother. Thor looked up and just like that the pouring rain stopped, leaving the village drenched and soaked.

The commotion slowly died while Loki stepped forward. He took a deep breath, trying to put aside the aching feeling in his muscles after using too much magic.

"We need to leave…" he started. "These bandits have reached Storborg, we need to stop them now!"

Loki locked his eyes with his friends for a second. One by one they nodded and started to make their way back to their horses.

"Hogun!" Loki shouted, making the Vanaheimer stop in his tracks and turn around to face his king.

"Stay here…" Loki continued a lot calmer. "Stay with your family and your village. Take your wounded and your dead and bring them to Asgard. They shall have a heroes funeral. Asgard shall do everything in its power to rebuild your village and give back all that you've lost. Until then Asgard is your home."

Loki waited until the excited shouts of gratitude had faded before continuing.

"South West from here, there is another village, Hella. It has been pillaged as well. Go there and help where you can."

Hogun stared at Loki until an almost invisible smile formed on his lips. He bowed his head in respect.

"My apologies, but I would prefer to fight at your side until every single one of these bandits has been eliminated!" he said darkly. The Vanaheimer looked up. "My king…" he finished.

Loki smiled shortly. "So be it…" he answered. Bran, Hogun's younger brother stepped forward.

"Then I shall fulfil Hogun's task, my lord!" he declared with a small nod of his head. Hogun put one hand on his brother's shoulder before pulling him close for a brotherly hug.

"Loki…" Thor suddenly said while gesturing towards Storborg. Loki nodded. Waterlogged, he mounted his horse. The old man, Hogun's grandfather carefully approached.

Loki looked down on him and managed a friendly smile.

"Thank you, my king…" the old man said with tears glittering in his eyes. "But, I beg you… those bandits were dealing with dark forces, my lord. Invisible they were! And Dark, I tell you…"

With that said the man walked back, almost as if he was scared to say more.

Loki threw the old man one more look before turning his horse and setting of in a swift gallop. The others followed, dark expressions of anger and determination colouring their eyes as they sprinted towards the already burning skyline of Storborg.

So, I hope I didn't ruin your beautiful day... And if I did... Eat some chocolate and you'll be fine ;)

Please let me know what you think!

Rumple x