Hi everyone! It's been a while... I'm currently enjoying my first extra post-university holiday and I am exceptionally lazy... ;)

ENJOY nonetheless!

Chapter 52

"Do you want to go to the gardens?"

Frigga shook her head. Her two friends, Bjorn and Brenna exchanged a look.

"The practise ground, maybe?" Bjorn tried again after a short silence, but his princess shook her head once more and kept her eyes fixed on the door. Prince the wolf set by her side.

Brenna walked over to the silent form of the little princess.

"I'm sure they'll come back, Frigga."

Frigga looked up. She was tired and scared. It was already midday and still she hadn't seen her parents. Had something happened on Jotunheim? Were they all right? Had Loki succeeded?

The worst was that Frigga couldn't tell her friends about why her parents had really left. No one was allowed to know of what had happened on Jotunheim that night.

"Yeah… sure…" she answered silently before turning to the door again.

Suddenly the front door opened. Prince looked up and barked a few times. Frigga jumped on her feet and rushed forward, but only met the kind face of Eira, Bjorn and Brenna's mother. She worked as a healer in the infirmary.

"Have you seen my parents!" Frigga immediately asked. "Or Loki? Have you seen Loki? And Arya?"

Eira looked at the girl in surprise, but quickly smiled. "No, Frigga… I haven't but…"

"If something happened… if they are in the infirmary… I demand to know!" Frigga shouted angrily. Eira blinked confusedly. Frigga had always been such a kind and sweet girl. This kind of rudeness was new… Yet, then again, she understood her fear of course. And she was the princess…

"My lady," Eira said. "I swear they are not in the infirmary… "

Frigga seemed to calm down for a second until she understood that this could mean that no one had returned to Asgard yet.

"But… but… do you know whether they are back?" she asked while the tears stared to form in her bright blue eyes.

Eira kneeled down and put a comforting hand on the little girl's shoulder.

"Frigga, I am certain your parents are alright… it was only a short visit to Midgard after all. They will return soon enough…"

Just when Frigga wanted to shout something in return, a loud knock sounded through the room. Prince barked again and jumped up against the door. Frigga went silent and Eira turned back to the door. She smiled and dried Frigga's tears.

"Maybe that's them already!"

Frigga nodded and watched Eira open the door while her wolf curled himself around her leg, looking up with his big blue eyes as if he expected a treat.

"Hi Eira, I'm sorry it took so long. Thank you for loo…"

"Mummy!" Frigga cried while she threw her arms around Jane's legs.

Jane smiled softly and took her daughter in her arms while Prince barked excitedly. Frigga had never felt more relieved.

Eira smiled. "Frigga was a little worried about your wellbeing, my lady…" she explained.

Jane laughed and tried to make eye contact with her daughter, but Frigga had buried her face in her mother's shoulder and didn't look up. "Why Frigga…" Jane said with a fake smile. "You shouldn't have!"

Eira frowned when she took a better look at Jane's face.

"My lady!" she exclaimed. "You look rather cold. I'll fetch you a warm cup of milk…"

"No, no, not necessary!" Jane quickly said, making the worried healer stop in her tracks. "Thank you Eira, but that won't be necessary…" she added.

The healer nodded and smiled. "All right, my lady…" She turned towards her twins and gestured to Jane and Frigga.

"Well then, where're your manners? Say goodbye to princess Frigga!"

The two seemed to snap out of a trance and quickly made their way towards Jane and Frigga. Jane tried to get her daughter's attention.

Brenna licked her lips. "Bye bye, Frigga… it was fun playing with you!" she said awkwardly.

Bjorn fiercely nodded. "Yeah!" he added.

Jane smiled to the twins and turned to her daughter who was still refusing to look up.

"Frigga! Don't you have something to say as well?"

Eira smiled and shook her head. "That's not necessary, my lady!"

"No, no! It is necessary!" Jane said sternly. "Even a princess has manners! Frigga!"

The little girl finally looked up. Her mother threw her a meaningful look and lowered her daughter to the ground. Frigga turned around, slightly embarrassed. "Bye, guys… I had a lot of fun…"

The three kids stared at each other for a second. Without warning Frigga suddenly rushed forward and threw her arms around her friends' necks. The twins froze.

"Thank you for playing with me!" Frigga said with smile. Bjorn looked at his sister. They grinned widely and both closed an arm around Frigga as well.

The two mother's watched the tiny group hug for a couple of seconds.

Frigga softy let go and smiled. Her friends smiled back. Prince jumped up against the twins' legs and licked their hands.

"Goodbye to you too, Prince!" Bjorn said while scratching the wolf behind his ear.

"Frigga, it's time to go now!" Jane announced. The little princess nodded and took her mother's hand.

"Bye bye Brenna, bye bye Bjorn… thank you for letting me stay, miss!" she said before leaving the room. Prince barked one more time before Jane closed the door behind them.

Frigga had never felt better. She was practically jumping up and down next to her mother while Prince ran around them.

"Mummy! Did you find my grandpa?"

Jane swallowed. "Frigga, sweetheart, there is something you need to know first…" she said in a broken voice. Frigga immediately stopped smiling. Something was wrong, very wrong…

Jane didn't say another word until they reached their chambers. She opened the door and let Frigga and Prince enter first before closing the door again. Prince immediately ran to Frigga's bedroom where he curled himself up under her blanket.

Frigga watched her mother walk over to the couch. Apart from them, there was no one in the room. Jane sank down on the couch and sighed. She hadn't slept all night and craved to go to sleep, but she knew she had to tell Frigga the news first. She would find out sooner or later…

"Mummy?" Frigga carefully asked. "What's wrong…"

Just at that moment the front door swung open and Thor came marching in. With a mighty swing, he closed the door and dropped Mjölnir next to it.

"He won't listen! Not to me! Not to anyone! This is madness!" he roared furiously. Jane looked up.

"Thor!" she shouted while gesturing to Frigga who watched both of her parents with a weird kind of fear in her bright blue eyes.

The God of Thunder seemed to calm down a bit. He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. "Oh no…" he whispered. Frigga swallowed. And looked at her mother for some explanation.

"Did you already tell her?" Thor asked. Jane shook her head.

"I was just about to…" she answered silently.

Thor sighed once more.

"Wha… what? Tell me what?" she asked, not able to hide the fear in her voice.

Thor walked over to the couch and gestured to Frigga to sit down.

"Look, sweetheart…" he started in a broken voice, "this will be hard to understand, but…"

Frigga's eyes grew big while a million catastrophic scenarios raced through her head.

Jane saw the danger and immediately interrupted. "No one got hurt, sweetie… well…"

Thor and Jane shared a look. "Let's say no one got… killed…." Jane corrected herself.

Frigga relaxed a little bit, but her hands were still clenched around the cushions of the couch.

Thor cleared his throat. "We brought… found Odin back…" he started. "But my father wasn't pleased with certain… aspects…"

Jane sighed and took over. "As we told you, Loki isn't the real king of Asgard. He needed to be crowned by Odin. The Allfather wasn't happy when he heard what Loki had done…"

"But.. but…" Frigga stuttered. He face had turned pale as ice. "Loki is a good king! Grandpa can't have any problems with that, right?"

"Err… Well… It's not that simple, Frigga…" Thor answered. "Loki has done some bad things in the past for which he was punished, but he escaped from his punishment."

"But he is a good king!" Frigga repeated, more angrily now.

"Yes, yes, of course he is… but…" Thor tried, but his voice got stuck in his throat.

Jane took a deep breath. "Odin banished Loki to Jotunheim, Frigga…" she said a lot stronger than she felt. "That means that… that…"

Thor watched his daughter turn even paler. Jane's voice died.

"That means…" Thor took over, "that you won't see Loki again…"

A deep and dark silence fell over the room. Frigga stared at her parents in horror. Slowly she started to shake her head.

"N… n… no…" she whispered in a hoarse voice. "No…"

Thor and Jane shared a look of pure sadness.

"Frigga…" Thor tried. "You have to understand that my father is blinded by grieve and hatred…"

But Frigga wasn't listening. She shook her head harder and harder.

"Frigga..." Jane tried softly.

"NO!" Frigga shouted furiously, making her parents both jump a foot in the air. Without warning Frigga jumped of the couch and ran for the door while her tears started flowing. From her room sounded a loud bark when Prince ran for his mistress.

Frigga opened the door and raced in the hallway with Prince in her wake.

"FRIGGA!" Jane called out, but it was in vain. Her daughter was gone. Thor cursed under his breath and started the pursuit.

"FRIGGA!" he roared to the sprinting silhouette at the end of the hall, but the little princess didn't look back.

Frigga had never run faster. The last time she'd felt this strong was when she'd escaped from that bus in New York. Her legs were moving faster and faster and Prince was sprinting next to her without any problem to keep up.

Behind her, she could hear her father getting closer. She knew he would catch up with her.

Oh Prince… she thought in despair. Please help me!

To her surprise, the silver wolf barked and turned around. All Thor saw was a white shadow coming his way before he painfully hit the ground.

"FRIGGA!" he shouted again while trying to get on his feet again, but the little girl had already disappeared around the corner.

Frigga kept running, while Prince appeared at her side again. There was only one place she wanted to go now.

-xxx-

Loki groaned while trying to move his limbs. It was cold, very cold… Everywhere. Every now and then, a crackling sound of breaking stones and ice would cut through the silence. The young king opened his eyes, but saw nothing but a pitch black darkness. Again he tried to move. His arm came loose, but his other seemed stuck. Loki pulled as hard as he could, ignoring the painful stabs everywhere in his body. Finally his other arm came lose. A loud crunching sound echoed through the valley when the rocks started moving again. Loki covered his head with his arms, fearful for the falling rocks. When it finally stopped, Loki carefully opened his eyes.

Light… he could see light! Soft, dim and cold, but it was light. The young king sighed in relief. He tried to moved again, but his mortal body was weak and frozen.

"Damn it!" Loki hissed out of breath while his teeth chattered uncontrollably. He took a look around. The young king was surrounded by broken rock and ice, but high above him a small gap showed him the dark starry night. Loki took a deep shaky breath. He needed to think!

Calm down! he ordered his fast beating heart. Slowly the sickening clasp of fear died.

All right… Loki thought. I'm on Jotunheim… no need to panic… I'm banished…. No need to panic! I'm mortal… No need to panic…

Loki breathed in and breathed out in the cold night air. No need to panic… he kept telling himself. Let us focus on the good things…

The young king sniggered. "Well…" he said to himself. "At least I'm alive…"

For a couple of minutes he stared up at the tiny gap towards the stars.

"Let's first get out of here…" Loki whispered. Carefully, he tried to move again. His legs were stuck in between the rocks. The young king looked around. One stone wrongly moved could result in a most uncomfortable of deaths. He was already lucky to not be crushed. If only he'd had his magic… then he would be out of here in no time. Loki swallowed. No magic…

No! he thought while shaking his head. I won't let that imbecile have the privilege of watching me die!

Carefully, Loki tried to move a couple of icy rocks that were covering his legs. Every time his eyes crossed his blue skin, a cold shiver ran down his spine. For at least five minutes everything went well. His right leg finally came loose, but when he tried to turn and get a better grip on the rocks, Loki lost his balance and moved a couple of stones behind him.

"Damn…" he said, just before the whole mass started to slide down. The young king covered his face and fell back. A painful stab cut through his left leg, but Loki didn't have time to pay too much attention to it. The light disappeared and deep darkness surrounded the young king while he tossed and turned and got dragged down by the falling rocks. When it finally stopped and silence fell over the young king, Loki carefully opened his eyes again. He tried to move. Right arm, left arm… everything seemed to work. Right leg, left leg…. A soft, yet painful stab shot through Loki's body. He groaned. The young king blinked a few times to make his eyes adjust to the darkness. Carefully he tried to get to his knees. It seemed as if most of the rocks around him had disappeared. Loki looked up, but saw noting. Suddenly he felt a small rock fall on his face. It fell to the ground and the sound echoed through the dark.

Echo… Loki thought while a spark of hope filled his being. That means there's a space around me…

Cautiously Loki tried to move thought the darkness. He managed to crawl for about two meters before he met an icy wall.

I must be in an underground cave… Loki thought. Perhaps it opened up when the crack had cut through the cliff. Loki groaned. Whatever entrance had seen the light, it had surely been closed off again by the rocks.

Loki looked up again. Cautiously he reached up, but his hand almost immediately touched the ceiling. Loki cursed under his breath. His situation would be a lot better if it hadn't been so cold. His whole body was frozen to the bone. Loki rubbed his hands together and blew in his palms. With his fingers he searched the ground for small rocks, which luckily wasn't that hard. When he had a handful he turned his back to the wall and threw one of the pebble stones through the darkness. First he heard nothing, until the stone finally hit the ground.

Loki smiled. This cave had to be a lot longer than he'd initially thought. Perhaps, he could find another way out of here. Slowly he started crawling in the same direction as the stone. Every now and then he would throw a new rock to check the path ahead.

After what seemed like hours Loki finally saw something at the end of the dark cave. Light… a soft light, but it was light! He started crawling a bit faster now that he could see where he was going. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he looked up and saw the source of the light. High above him, about five meters he saw a hole in what he presumed was the ground of Jotunheim.

Loki groaned. He would have to climb, but he wasn't certain that his frozen fingers would work at his , at least he could stand up now…

Loki stretched his legs and inspected his ankle which had been hurting ever since his journey down. It didn't seem so bad. He'd sprained it at most, but it could be a problem for the climb. Loki looked up once more, while he blew warm breath into the palms of his frozen hands. The walls were pretty close together. He would probably be able to use both to get up there.

And so, after he'd defrosted his fingers, Loki started to climb. The first three meters were relatively easy, but after that the wall became to smooth. Loki looked at his belt. All he had were his daggers, but that was quite enough. With all his might, Loki thrusted a dagger deep inside the wall. Carefully he tried to make his way up, but since he barely had any place to rest his one working foot, that was quite a challenge.

Finally Loki reached the edge. Trembling of both fear and cold he drew himself onto the icy ground. With his feet still dangling down the hole he fell down on his back and breathed out.

He. Was. So. Cold! The young king looked up. The sky was starting to turn light blue. Dawn was coming.

Slowly and with a lot of effort, Loki pushed himself on his feet. He took a good look around. He was standing on an icy plain. For miles he couldn't see any cliff or mountain. The only thing that cut through the perfect horizon was a weird two pinned building. Loki groaned. It was Laufey's palace, or at least what was left of it. He was way too close to the Frost Giant stronghold! And the Jotuns had a beautiful price on his head for killing their king. Loki stumbled back. He needed to find shelter from the cold wind, otherwise he wouldn't last long. So the young king turned his back to the palace and the Jotun city and made his way over the plain as fast as his painful ankle and his frozen limbs allowed it.

After hours of walking Loki saw something in the distance, but his exhausted mind had trouble identifying it. Loki stumbled a bit forward and let his eyes focus.

Laufey's palace… Loki sighed in despair. He was walking in circles! This white endless plain was driving him mad and the constant freezing breeze covered his tracks.

Loki sank down. He was so tired! The young king looked up, knowing that Heimdall could see him.

Loki smiled softly. "Heimdall…" he started in a hoarse voice. "Would you be so kind to open the Bifröst?" he asked sarcastically. Of course nothing happened.

Loki sighed. The wind around him started to increase in strength. More snow was blown into the young king's already frozen face.

Loki looked up. In the distance he could see a blizzard coming closer.

"Oh, that's just evil…" Loki groaned just before the storm took hit. The young king was blasted on his back by the sudden impact of one of Jotenheim's infamous blizzards. Loki closed his eyes, to keep the cutting snowflakes from hurting his eyeballs.

This is hopeless! Loki thought in despair. There was no way he would get out of this storm alive.

So that's it than… Loki thought while the snow started covering his legs. This is how it ends. I freeze to death…

-xxx-

Frigga ran an ran and ran… faster than she'd ever run before while Prince loyally galloped at her side. Without hesitation, Frigga sprinted inside the throne room. Before anyone got the chance to stop her, say something or even wonder what she was doing, the little girl came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs leading to the throne where Odin set, talking to his advisors. It was the first time, Frigga ever laid eyes on her real grandfather, but she couldn't care less. All she felt was an incredible anger towards the old man. How could he take Loki away from her like that!

"You bring Loki back!" she yelled with all her might. "Now!"

Odin looked up from his conversation and frowned in confusion. Under normal circumstances, Frigga's rude behaviour would have been her immediate ticket to jail, but The Allfather was taken by surprise.

"Excuse me, child!" he said sternly. "But who do you think you are?"

Frigga felt her magic rage through and around her body. She looked up. Her bright blue eyes locked on the Allfather's. She straightened her back and clenched her fists. Prince softly howled, but quickly shut up and set down at his mistresses feet. The Energy around Frigga's body started swirling, creating a soft breeze which played with Frigga's golden locks, while a soft silver glow surrounded the young princess's body.

Odin's eyes narrowed. The Allfather grabbed his sceptre and laboriously got to his feet.

"I am Frigga! Princess of Asgard!" Frigga answered angrily while the silver glow intensified. "And I demand you bring Loki back!"

The Allfather's mouth dropped. For a second he stared at the child in front of him, now realising he was speaking to his grandchild. Silence filled the room and Frigga slowly calmed down. The light dimmed again and the breeze dropped.

Frigga started to feel nervous. Suddenly her angry and dramatic entry didn't seem as such a good idea any more. The Allfather looked down on her with a weird kind of look in his eyes. Was he angry? Was he surprised? Frigga couldn't tell…

After what seemed ages, Odin finally opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted. Thor and Jane came rushing in the throne room.

"Frigga!" Jane shouted angrily while taken her daughter's shoulder. "What were you thinking!"

Thor looked up at his father. "Father, please, she didn't mean to be impolite."

But Odin didn't seem too upset about the matter. He slowly descended the stairs. Frigga took a few steps back until she found her mother's legs. Jane protectively put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, while Prince decided to jump in between Frigga and the Allfather.

When he'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Odin's eyes slowly fixed on his son.

"I take this is your beautiful daughter you told me about, my son…" he said softly, without emotion. Thor nodded almost invisibly.

"She didn't mean to…" but Odin silence the God of Thunder with a simple gesture of his hand. His eyes fixed on the little girl and scanned her from top to bottom. Frigga swallowed. Prince growled, but Odin ignored him.

"I am certain your father taught you that courtesy and respect are very important in these halls of Asgard, child," he said in a low voice. Frigga didn't fully understand what Odin was saying – why did Asgardians use so many difficult words? - but she got the picture.

"I am the princess!" Frigga answered a lot more confident than she felt.

"Yes, and I am the king!" Odin responded calmly.

Frigga scowled. "Loki is the king!" she shouted angrily. Prince barked in agreement. Odin's eyes turned dark and for a second it seemed as if the Allfather had lost his patience with his grandchild. Yet, just like that, his emotionless and calm expression returned.

"The one you speak off has no place in this realm, in these halls and especially not on the throne! He was never a king! Not by birth right, nor by choice. He has deceived us all and will endure his punishment!"

"But you can't banish Loki!" Frigga called out in frustration. "He… he's my uncle… He's like a big brother to me!"

Odin smirked slightly. "He was not connected by blood or marriage! The prince of Jotunheim was not your family, child!"

Frigga's eyes locked on the floor. Big tears started to blur her view. Why was Odin so cruel? Her father had always spoken of him as a great man! Right now, Frigga absolutely agreed with Loki's description. Frigga smirked when a sudden wave of pure confidence, combined with a good portion of stupid bravery filled her heart. She looked up and dried her eyes.

"When I first met Loki, he was disguised as you! To not be a part of your family, he had an incredibly good idea of how to pretend to be you!"

"Frigga!" Thor shouted angrily, but his daughter didn't stop. Instead she ripped herself from her mother's grip and took a few steps forward until she stood right in front of The Allfather.

"He couldn't remember my name, just like you! But at least he was friendly and kind and funny! Loki could do amazing things! He was nice to me, even though he didn't have to! He saved my sandcastle! And he saved me too! You're nothing like him! You're mean! Loki is a far better king than you!"

Odin's expression didn't change. He looked down on the little girl who was staring up at him with a familiar kind of confidence and supremacy.

"This traitor – because that is what he was – has only deceived you! He played you like so many others! Do not believe that you are the first to be misled. He has hurt me in the past, scarred me there where it burned most. You better accept this as true, child…"

Frigga's eyes flashed dark for a second.

"My name is Frigga!" she shouted while a new wave of magic warmed her body. "And you are wrong! I want Loki back! NOW!"

With her last word, Frigga clenched her fists, allowing a thin silver shockwave to form around her body. The magic was far from strong enough to actually do any harm, but Odin, Thor and Jane all stumbled backwards on impact.

Thor immediately rushed forward and only just avoided his father from falling backwards on the stairs.

Jane quickly grabbed her daughter's shoulder and pulled her back while ignoring the strong energetic aura around her.

"That's enough, Frigga!" she shouted, not able to hide the fear in her voice.

Odin had finally lost his patience. With the help of his son, he got to his feet and planted his sceptre hard on the ground. The metal sound echoed through the golden throne room.

"Father…" Thor tried, but Odin wasn't prepared to listen. For a second, The Allfather locked his cold eye on Frigga who immediately understood that she had gone too far. The Allfather scanned the room, before walking back up the stairs, hitting the steps with his sceptre.

When he reached his throne, he turned around again to face the room.

"Let this be clear!" he roared. "From now on, the traitor's name shall not be mentioned in these halls! He committed crimes for which he is punished! Anyone who ignores my command shall suffer the same consequences!"

The whole room turned silent. Frigga stared up in disbelief at the man she was ashamed of calling her grandfather. Without saying another word, the little girl turned around and ran out the room with Prince following in her wake.

I hope you liked it! Furthermore I would like to thank everyone who reviewed! I got so many different point of views on the current state of my story, especially on Odin! It's amazing! This is exactly what I was hoping for! You guys rock! So thank you!

Secondly, I wanted to let you know that university will start soon. This is something entirely new to me and I'll have to get used to a different and new way of studying. I don't know how this will effect my fanfiction, but I certainly won't forget you guys!

Rumple x