Hello!

It's been a while, but exams, papers, school is finally over! So I got a new chapter for you!

ENJOY!

Chapter 69

"Sire, we must speak with you immediately!" Heimdall said in a loud voice when he marched in the throne room. Odin looked up from the map of Alfheim he and the four Lords were standing around.

Heimdall walked closer with Arya in his wake. The two of them shortly bowed their heads.

"Speak, my lord Heimdall!" Odin answered. His voice was scarred with a touch of fear.

"The Frost Giants are too great in in number! The Cave Elves don't dare to attack!"

"All our troops are down there, lord Heimdall! Surely they can take them?" Lord Argus asked.

Heimdall turned towards the lord. "The battle would be tough, but there is no certainty the Frost Giants will even leave the caves. Loki believed they have knowledge on the portals between the realms, hidden within the caves. It would explain why I didn't see them coming."

Odin softly nodded his head. Somewhere a sneaky voice in his mind immediately blamed Loki, but the Allfather knew his stepson had been watched day and night. For him to sneak onto Jötenheim unseen, without Heimdall smelling the danger, was as good as impossible. Besides, Loki was smart enough to stay away from the Frost Giants right now.

"But why?" he asked. "What business have the Jotuns on Alfheim?"

"Loki, my king…," Arya answered softly, trying very hard to hide the terror in her voice. With every second that passed Loki could die, but she understood that this had to be handled carefully. Odin looked at his young Captain.

"Than that means there must be a traitor on Asgard…," he mumbled. "Where is Loki now?"

"He remains on Alfheim, my king. I was too busy sending in the troops to get him out in time. He ran into the forest, and afterwards he and the Captain lured the Frost Giants into the caves to protect the Elven cities."

Odin waited a few seconds while the news slowly found its way through. "Then why isn't he with you now, Captain?"

Arya quickly explained how Loki had tricked her into going through the portal alone. "I belief he didn't have a choice, my Lord," she concluded. "The Frost Giants could have followed through the portal as well."

Odin nodded. An old sense of fear settled itself into his stomach.

"Loki managed to escape for now, sire!" Heimdall quickly added. "But he is terrible danger! If the Frost Giants don't catch up with him, the Cave Elves will!"

"Aren't there any troops nearby?" Lord Atlas asked. Heimdall shook his head. "Loki is deep within the caves, they'd never reach him in time. He…"

Heimdall went silent, his golden eyes fixed on the map in front of him, his gaze far, far away.

"Nymphs…," he whispered softly. Another few seconds passed before Heimdall looked back up. "He's trapped, my lord."

Odin and the four Lords went silent. But Arya couldn't wait any longer.

"Sire, my Lords, there's only one way for Loki to escape this alive!"

Lord Argus immediately shook his head. "No! It's too soon, Loki hasn't proven anything yet!"

"I agree," his brother Atlas added. "Only recently Loki proved he cannot be fully trusted when he broke the agreement."

"Hatred still runs through his veins!" Atlas continued. "Giving Loki his power back could result in a disaster!"

Arya had to try very hard not to hit the two brothers. "The only reason Alfheim hadn't been burned to the ground yet and the Elves haven't been defeated is because Loki was brave enough to lure them into the caves himself. He saved my life, and is now fighting to save his own! He's a citizen of Asgard and you will just let him die!"

"The need of the many outweighs the few, Lady Arya. A Captain should understand that!"

Lord Gunnar nodded softly. "Although it pains me to say this Arya, it would be safer to sacrifice Loki. We can't know what he will do once he regains his power…"

"You're wrong!" Arya shouted back. "I know he'd never use them for the same purposes as before! Loki is a good man! He's proven it many times!"

"If we give Loki his power back we might not be prepared for what follows, lady Arya," Argus answered. "Loki might be a threat to our realm. And perhaps it is better to allow to Frost Giants to punish him. He is a criminal, they have that right! Perhaps they will fall back once Loki has been taken care off, none of our warrior nor the Elves will have to die!"

"You cannot be certain of that!" Arya through back.

"Yes and I cannot be certain that Loki has good intentions!" Argus immediately answered. It was clear he was losing his temper.

"With all due respect, Lord Argus," Lord Steldor suddenly interrupted. "If we don't do anything, Loki will die, that is a certainty. I find it rather cruel, pathetic and cowardly to weigh that up against a possibility."

"Farbauti is present as well…," Heimdall's voice suddenly interrupted. A glassy-eyed gaze rested upon his face. A short silence followed.

"I say we grant Loki his power back!" Lord Steldor said resolutely. Lord Atlas and Lord Argus shared a short glance before turning to their colleague. "We're sorry, my friend," Lord Atlas said. "But we cannot agree with you, it is simply too dangerous."

The three of them turned to Lord Gunnar. A couple of seconds passed. "I do not trust Loki," Lord Gunnar slowly said, carefully choosing his words. "Yet, then again, I never fully have… It is too soon , I'm sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I agree with Lord Steldor. Loki deserves a chance!"

The four Lords nodded before turning to their king in unison. Arya didn't really have a say in this matter since this was about the agreement between Loki and the court. Odin would have the decisive vote.

"My Lord, Queen Farbauti, just froze the lake. Loki is drowning. We must act now or never…," Heimdall said in a low sad voice. Arya swallowed and turned to the king. Odin let his eyes float over the people in the room. He was scared, very scared, and honestly… he didn't know what to do.

-xxx-

Loki slowly sank to the bottom of the lake. He knew he was wrong, but he somewhat felt he'd never been colder before. The icy cold infiltrated his skin and sucked out the few remaining bits of warmth. The biggest problem with drowning was that it took some time before your body officially admitted it was out of air. The struggle to get there was one of pure agony, burning lungs and terror. Strangely enough, it made Loki's mind wonder off. He craved to know who had betrayed him! Perhaps this was just the irony of life. How useless it all had been…

Deeper and deeper…

Colder and colder…

Darker and darker…

I love you Arya… Loki heard a voice whispering in his mind. It could have been his own, but is seemed harder and harder to think. And Frigga… sweet, little, brave Frigga… she'd be okay…

Loki found it strange to think of tears falling down his face under water, but he was certainly crying. Frigga… Frigga! At least he'd see his mother again!

Loki smiled softly while everything turned pitch black. Perhaps his mother's memory was responsible for that last spark of heat that lit up his frozen heart.

Or perhaps it wasn't…

An enormous blast of hot water suddenly burst into Loki's limp body, twirled around him and banished every last bit of bitter cold. But the wonderful sensation was soon interrupted by a burning pain. Loki opened his eyes, he wanted to scream, but his lack of air made that impossible. With a lot of effort Loki screwed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. The water around him moved faster and faster, pushing and pulling at his body. From one moment to the next, Loki felt a burst of energy running through his veins. He opened his eyes when he finally understood. The water around him shone bright with Energy, his Energy, his magic! The light slowly got absorbed into his body, flowing through the fabric of his clothes, burning in his pores. Although Loki felt his skin was about to fall off, but he couldn't care less. Flashing bolts of lightning seemed to be bouncing back and forth inside his body sending sparks of electricity crackling over his skin.

But fact remained that he was running out of air. The light slowly died away, while Loki fought hard to stay awake. After all this time he'd almost forgotten what his power felt like. Now that the warmth dissolved, his body soon started freezing again in the cold water, so Loki quickly swam back towards the surface. The ice still grew thicker every second. While Loki swam back into the broken watery light, Loki could see Farbauti's cruel features starring down on him, obviously craving to witness her son's last moments, but when she spotted Loki swimming back up, a look of utter surprise and hatred filled her red, ruby eyes. Loki smirked when he reached the ice. His eyes flashed green when he placed his hands, one still holding onto Arya's dagger, on the cold surface. The next moment, Loki felt the old familiar feeling of Energy rushing through his body before being unleashed onto the ice. A blinding flash of light green light filled the cave. With a loud crackling noise the ice broke in all directions. The Frost Giants who had come down to join their queen, never knew what hit them when the ground disappeared underneath their feet. Farbauti screamed and cursed when she too soon found herself surrounded by water. With a bit of help of his new immortal body, Loki quickly found his way to the shore.

Loud roars of anger rang through the cave, accompanied by the desperate swimming attempts of the Frost Giants, turning the lake into a white foaming madness. Although Frost Giants felt at ease surrounded by ice, taking a dive wasn't their forte. Loki watched as the Nymphs overcame their first fear and dived back into the water, closing in on their helpless prey. His eyes locked on the calm form of his mother, Queen Farbauti. She didn't say a word, almost as if her drowning subjects' screams said all that was needed. Her ruby eyes shone with hatred. The screams filled with despair, anger and fear slowly died while the lake's surface calmed down, hiding the horrific deaths the Frost Giants were suffering through. Somewhere Loki pitied them, this was no way to go. Yet, Farbauti somehow remained afloat, her piercing eyes never leaving the quiet form of her son. A million words could have been spoken in those few hateful stares that cut their way through the air like daggers towards Loki. The water around the queen was coloured with the blood of her fallen subjects and barely revealed the fast moving silhouettes of the Nymphs, eagerly circling their last prey. Loki softly lowered his head, his eyes never losing the eye contact. He raised his fist towards his chest as a final salute to the Queen of Jötenheim. He had to give it to her: this woman had style. Without the slightest sign of fear in her ruby eyes, Farbauti finally disappeared under water, the white foaming, swirling water being the only trace of his mother's last stand.

Loki didn't wait for the Nymphs to finish, for he would be their next meal if he didn't disappear into the darkness of the caves once more, right now. With a slightly unstable ball of green energy lighting his way, Loki sprinted through the hallways. He was quite certain that apart from the furious Cave Elves, the halls were swarming with some other Frost Giants, fanatically searching for a sign of their target. Once word reached them that Loki had now also managed to put an end to their Queen's life, he'd never get out alive. Yet then again, besides the Nymphs, no one had been there to witness what had happened. Of course the Frost Giants would suspect him nonetheless… The more Loki thought about it, the more he started to question several of his life choices. But much time to worry he didn't have. The Cave Elves were getting more aggressive with every step he took, which gave Loki the idea that he was only running deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of the caves. Next to that, he also had quite some trouble controlling his magic. More than once he accidentally zapped himself in an attempt to keep the Cave Elves at bay. The light orb next to him did shine a lot brighter than it should though, so at least the Cave Elves were less keen to attack.

"Which way, which way?" Loki muttered to himself while racing through the caves taking random turns where ever he could. After running for at least twenty minutes, Loki came to a halt. He had no idea where he was, but his burning lungs were killing him and his legs were shaking. The hissing sounds of Cave elves filled the air. They were closing in, so Loki fired a few random light orbs into the deep darkness. A sudden tingling sensation filled his being, almost as if there was electricity in the air. Loki turned on his heels and carefully followed his senses towards the source of the feeling. He quickly found himself in front of a narrow opening in the cave wall, but something told him he had to investigate further. So with a bit of effort he managed to push himself through the hole into a small cave. He was only just capable to stand up straight, but Loki immediately made his way to the back of the cave. The air was radiating with energy and Loki smiled while he let his hand hover over the wall in front of him.

"A portal…," he whispered to himself. The only problem was of course that Loki hadn't the slightest idea where it led to, let alone if it even worked. Loki thought over his chances. Taking the portal was beyond risky, but trying to find his way out by blindly running through the caves wasn't exactly very tempting as well, especially not since most of the other living beings currently present preferred him dead.

Loki stretched his neck, swallowed and took a deep breath. "All right…," he muttered to himself. "Here goes nothing…"

Loki closed his eyes and ran forward. The ground disappeared underneath his feet while a strong force tugged at his body, dragging him through space. A heartbeat later Loki felt fresh air surrounding him. He opened his eyes, only to witness a five foot drop into a pile of… something. He didn't even get the time to scream, for his body quickly touched down. With a lot of effort Loki managed to somewhat clumsily dig his way up.

"Ugh… what a smell…," Loki said to himself, before realising the obvious. With a loud sigh he rolled himself off the pile, onto the ground. His whole body was aching when he slowly got to his feet. Loki sniffed and brushed of his clothes.

"Of course I need to land in the only dunghill for miles!" he muttered to himself. Loki scanned his surroundings. Vanaheim… he had to be somewhere in the outskirts. He looked up at where he assumed the portal was. Loki stretched out his hand, his fingers reaching for the sky. With a soft crackling noise the portal appeared in thin green lines against red afternoon skies. Loki sighed, he hated to destroy these miracles of nature, but Vanaheim was in danger as long as the portal stayed open. His still unstable magic might even be an asset in breaking the connection. Loki brought his hands together to form a bright, crackling ball of green energy between his palms. Just when he started feeling he wouldn't be able to control it for much longer, he catapulted it towards the portal. The next moment Loki was thrown backwards by an enormous blast of wind and energy. With a loud explosion the portal dissolved into the air. Loki blinked confusedly. He was lying flat on his back, covered in dust, mud and dung.

"That could have had a bit more elegance to it…," he said to himself. Only now Loki noticed just how worn out he was. His hand closed around Arya's dagger, giving him the comfort he needed.

With a sigh, Loki closed his eyes. "Heimdall…," he said. "I'd like to go home now…"

A heartbeat later the thunderous sound of the Bifröst crushed around him, taking him back to Asgard at last.

-xxx-

Loki!

A voice sounded far away, like an echo in the distance, but somehow the voice sounded familiar. Loki wanted to groan. He had a headache and his entire body felt as if it was on fire. Slowly he became aware of his surroundings. Underneath him the golden floor of the Bifröst felt cold through the fabric of his clothes. The zooming sound of the bridge closing after its final delivery cut deep in his ears. Although Loki had the hardest time figuring out were exactly he could find his respective body parts, he could focus on the soft sensation of a hand gently caressing his cheek, his forehead and back towards his cheek. A wave of a fresh delicious smell washed over him while strands of hair, soft as velvet, softly brushed over his face.

"Loki!" the voice sounded again, slightly desperate, heavy with hidden tears.

Arya… Loki thought in delight, feeling his joy being translated into a flow of warm energy raging through his body.

Arya stared down on the man she loved. He was covered in dust and dirt. His dirty raven hair, still wet, stuck to his pale cheeks.

Suddenly, Arya pulled her hand back when a shiver of energy crackled over Loki's skin, sending slightly painful sparks through her fingertips.

"Move aside, Captain!" a low voice sounded. Loki wanted to groan when he felt Arya leaving his side, only to allow Odin's shadow to cast over him. With a lot of effort he forced himself to open his heavy eyes. Odin stared down on him, a deep frown cutting through his forehead. His right hand nervously rested upon his golden sceptre, ready to use the weapon in case Loki would get any ideas.

"Take him to the hospital wing!" The Allfather suddenly said. "And keep an eye on him! He shouldn't have been so far away from me when I restored his magic…"

Loki wasn't sure, but he thought he'd heard a pinch of worry in Odin's voice. Two guards stepped closer and helped Loki get on his feet. Slowly they guided him to the Asgardian vessel waiting outside the Bifröst. Loki blinked furiously and fought back the groans of agony. Why was his body reacting like this? It wasn't as if magic was new to him. Perhaps Loki had underestimated the effect large amounts of magic could have on a mortal body, especially when they had to be send from halfway across the universe. Hopefully a good night sleep would do the job. Just before the vessel took off, someone quickly jumped aboard. Loki frowned and forced his eyes to focus. He was welcomed by a beautiful warm smile and a soft hand gently stroking his hair.

"How nice of you to join me Captain…," Loki said in a hoarse voice.

Arya laughed and smirked. "I just came to get my dagger back…"

-xxx-

Loki frowned… when had he fallen asleep? Slightly confused Loki opened his eyes. Slowly his blurry surroundings came into focus. The hospital wing… With a moan, Loki tried to push himself to an upright position. His whole body was aching, but at least the fire that had tortured his being form the moment his magic had returned to him, had faded to an uncomfortable stabbing under his skin. Loki looked around. It was dark, probably midnight, but in the flickering of the soft candle light, Loki recognized the peacefully sleeping form of Arya. The young Captain set next to his bed. Her hand was resting on Loki's, her fingers softly digging in the spaces between his. Her head lay on the bed, her raven locks spread all across the mattress like a dark halo. Loki smiled. Only now he realised how close he'd been to never seeing her again. He carefully wiped a lonely strand of hair from her face. Arya moaned in her sleep and gently tightened her grip on Loki's hand, but she didn't wake up. Carefully, Loki lowered himself back to the mattress, his eyes never leaving Arya's quiet form. His thoughts trotted off to the chaos at hand. What in Bor's name had happened on Alfheim? How did the Frost Giants know about the portals? Who told them? Loki frowned while carefully moving his fingers of his free hand through the air. Dim sparks of Energy danced over his bed. At least Odin hadn't taken away what he'd just restored. But Loki still feared tomorrow. All eyes would be focused on him… he was the only one with knowledge on portals, at least, as far as everyone knew. Besides that, his magic had been restored before the end of the deal and most importantly, he'd managed to get Farbauti killed.

But since he hadn't told the Frost Giants about the portals… who was the traitor? Loki pondered over that thought for a few minutes, but the sleep quickly overtook him and dragged him down in another deep and somewhat restless darkness.

-xxx-

"He seems to be stabilising, my lord!" a voice sounded. Loki frowned while slowly opening his eyes. Above him the golden projection of his own body hovered as the healers inspected him through the Soul Forge. A dim green light, hardly noticeable underneath the grainy golden projection of his skin softly flowed through his body.

Loki's eyes trotted to the side where he was greeted by a warm big smile.

"How are you feeling?" Arya asked while tucking a lost strand of raven hair behind her ear. Loki smiled softly while his eyes focused back on the projections above him.

"Slightly exposed, to be fair…," he said in a hoarse voice, knowing he'd get a brilliant chuckle in return from the girl standing next to him.

"You should rest," another heavy voice sounded to his other side. Loki slowly locked his eyes on the Allfather. Odin didn't look at him, but kept his eyes fixed in the golden silhouette above the table. "When you are ready, come to see me!" With that said, Odin wanted to leave.

"Wait!" Loki suddenly shouted. "This means I'm free to go?"

Odin turned to him. "Yes…," he answered without much emotion, before continuing his way towards the doors. Loki waited till the Allfather was out of sight before turning back to Arya.

"I somewhat expected another visit to the dungeons," he joked. Arya laughed, she seemed tired, but her eyes shone with relief.

But Loki's smile faded. His thoughts locked on another problem at hand: who was the traitor. Arya seemed to understand the frown above his eyes. She bid her lip and shook her head.

"I don't know…," she admitted. "I know there's a traitor among us, but I can't think of anyone. Odin knows it's not you. I think he'll ask your expertise on the matter."

Loki slowly nodded. In fact getting knowledge on the portals wasn't that hard. It just took a lot of studying. The Asgardian library was enormous. Many books hadn't been touched for years, or even centuries. Apart from that Asgard obviously had a restricted section as well, but as a prince of Asgard Loki never had much trouble getting in there. For anyone else however… Yet, it had taken Loki years and years to study the portals between the worlds, even he realised he'd only touched the tip of an enormous iceberg if it came to his research on portals.

Suddenly Loki realised something. There was one place where knowledge in the portals was easily accessible.

Loki quickly set up straight. Arya took a step back in surprise.

"I need to check something!" he said without emotion before turning towards Arya. "Do you happen to know where they took my stuff after the guards cleared my chambers?"

Here you go! I hope you like it, I'll start writing on the next chapter as soon as I can, hopefully I'll be able to upload before I leave for the holidays.

This story is slowly coming to an end, although I can't really say how many chapters I still have to go.

A big thank you to all of you! Let me know what you think!

Rumple x