Chapter two

Skeleton

"Ho, there! Where do you think you are going Loki? We aren't even done!" Thor protested as he watched his younger brother stride away.

"I am done! You always bully me about in these stupid things!" Loki called back, pale face flushed from exertion, eyes holding back tears of frustration. Before Thor could respond there was the sound of footsteps in a fast cadence. Running into their sight was a small girl, tall for her age but scrawny as well. Her white-gold hair was braided to keep it at bay, though a few small pieces escaped. She dragged with her all the things necessary to train.

Her bright eyes surveyed the scene before her, her heart sinking visibly as she saw they were through. "You're already done…?" Her voice was high and she moved one hand to push back some of her bangs which had fallen, though it was a cover to wipe her eyes which had tears of disappointment spring forth.

"We can start again, can't we brother?" Thor suggested, seeing the grief on the young girl's freckled face.

"Of course, he-"

"No." She shook her head, lifting it to retain her dignity. It was such a regal gesture from one so young that it both amused and awed the brothers. "I'll have to work by myself. You both have already spent your energy so it would be no fun to triumph over you."

Loki's lips began to turn into a smile as he affectionately patted her shoulder, "there now, Freya, surely you'll arrive in time to help me beat Thor."

"Ha! As if any girl could do that, especially a sister of mine!"

"Sif and I both beat you in a race, brother." Freya pointed out, smirking. "You came in dead last."

Thor stammered, trying to find a way to cover himself. Finally when he found none he laughed, moving to join his younger siblings. "Already so-"

"Children." A new deeper voice joined the three, causing each child to straighten their backs and stand a little taller. Pairs of blue and green eyes watched as Odin, All father, strode in, his one eye drifting to assess his sons and daughter.

"Hail, Father, what brings you so?" Thor questioned, the first to speak.

"Come with me." With these words Odin turned, leaving his brood to follow him. Instantly the two boys fell into a race, while Freya had to lift her skirts so she could run to her father. Odin saw and paused, picking up his beloved girl and carried her as he had his boys on either side.

"Once, mankind accepted a simple truth: that they were not alone in this universe." Odin began as he led his children. " Some worlds man believed home to their Gods. Others they knew to fear. From around the cold and darkness came the Frost Giants, threatening to plunge the mortal world into a new ice age. But humanity would not face this threat alone. Our armies drove the Frost Giants back into the heart of their own world. The cost was great. In the end, their king fell, and the source of their power was taken from them. With the last great war ended, we withdrew from the other worlds and returned home at the Realm Eternal, Asgard. And here we remain as the beacon of hope, shining out across the stars. And though we have fallen into man's myths and legends, it was Asgard and its warriors that brought peace to the universe."

Loki this time was the first to speak, "Do the Frost Giants still live?"

"When I am king, I'll hunt down all the monsters and slay them all! Just as you did, Father." Thor looked up at Odin with his fierce boyish glee.

"A wise king never seeks out war, but he is always ready for it."

"And a wise queen, Father?" Freya prompted, looking in his face. Her young, trusting eyes met his and melted the old man's heart as he smiled. "A wise queen-"

"Must always play first council to her King." The newest addition to the group was none other than the wife of Odin and mother to the children, Frigga. She smiled as she approached her family. "She must also be able to rule, should her husband be gone on duty. She must always be firm but fair with a loving, accepting heart." She smiled as she met her husband.

"I couldn't have done it any more justice." Odin chuckled, setting down his little princess and kissing his wife's cheek.

"Well, when I am queen," Freya started.

"Ugh!" Thor rolled his eyes in jest. "Save us your theatrics, my dear sister!"

"Thor!" Freya whined, lunging for him, "that's not fair! You're supposed to listen!"

"I'm listening, Freya." Loki told her, catching her wrist. With a final glare cast at her eldest brother, Freya turned to Loki, smiling.

"Thank you, Loki." She began to tell him of her plans, not noticing how after a few minutes her parents slipped away to attend to business and how Thor left to go practice more. When she finished she looked around, seeing how all but Loki had left. Immediately she downcast her eyes, feeling hurt. "Was I that boring, brother?"

"Not at all, they were just busy." Loki took her hands. "I like your ideas very much."

"Truly, brother?"

"Truly." Loki smiled, "now, surely I'm your favorite brother." He jested.

"Loki," Freya began, "as future queen I can have no favorites…" she dropped her voice, "but if I did, you'd be my favorite."

You'd be my favorite.

Those words sounded like venom filled lies to Loki now. He closed his eyes, kneeling down before his brother and Odin as his powers were stripped. Through gritted teeth, Loki hissed, the pain coursing through him almost unbearable. And yet… as he thought about it, he knew worse pain.

The more he began to focus on that, the less he noticed his physical agony. His eyes began to water with fresh tears as he thought of the sweetest face he knew. Thor said she wanted to see him… He had /found/ her. The thought that she had just left made the very thing everyone thought he lacked- his heart- to twist painfully.

You'd be my favorite.

You abandoned me.

"Oh, I don't know, sweetheart," Felicia listened with a mild migraine as the woman who came to speak with her droned on, "sounds like to me like you have a bad case of the lovesick blues."

"I can assure you," Felicia told her, her voice calm but hinting at her annoyance, "if I was this 'lovesick' you speak of then, *I* would surely know it. What has this to do with my meal, anyways?"

"Nothing, but I can-Oo, would you take a look at that hunk out there!" She pointed out the window to a tall well built man with shoulder length blond hair… As he gazed up at where the two women sat there was a moment of recognition between the two. Felicia's eyes widened and she suddenly bolted from her seat, heading up the staircase. "Hey! You forgot your food!"

Kicking off her stilettos, Felicia ran to the top of the building, eager to get away before the man could find her. She wasn't ready…. As she burst out of the stairwell to the top of the building she found him staring at her. With wide eyes she turned to run back down-

"Halt, Freya!" Knowing she was beat, Freya let her head hang, standing still, and her back to him. She listened as his footsteps drew closer.

"Hello…Thor." Freya sighed, her migraine already worsening. She turned to meet her older brother's gaze, smiling faintly. "It's been a long time…"

"You were here, all this time? Why did you leave, we needed you on Asgard! Mother and Father were worried to the point of illness!" Thor said, taking her slender wrists into his hands, shaking them as he spoke. "Have you no idea what happened after you left!?"

"No," Freya's voice was calm as she spoke, "I don't. Why don't you enlighten me as always, big brother?" She was angry and he could tell.

"Father grew weaker, Mother didn't smile as much! The very kingdom mourned for you! I searched for you! It was after you left Loki fell into madness-"

"What?" Freya's eyes snapped up at the mentioning of Loki. "What do you mean madness?" It was her turn to take his wrists, gripping them with surprising strength. "What happened?!"

"He grew distant, cold. On my coronation day he had arranged for Frost Giants to steal the casket of Winters from the vault," he started. He told her of how he took the throne, how he destroyed New York, everything. "Now he is locked up in Asgard." He looked her in the eyes. "If you could just visit him-"

"You think I can just walk back into Asgard and act like I was never gone?!" Freya shouted angrily. "You honestly think I can walk in, change everyone and everything would be back to the way it was before I left?! How dull you are, Thor!"

"At least I wasn't the one who abandoned my family and caused them this grief!" Thor shouted, lightning ripping across the sky and thunder tearing through the air, signifying his anger. As he calmed he could see the wounded expression on his little sister's face. "Freya… I didn't mean to…"

"If All Father sees fit, Loki can come visit me himself." Freya said softly without any emotion. "I doubt that I can redeem myself in my family's eyes-"

"Freya, please," Thor begged.

"-but perhaps I can help my brother." With that she released Thor. "Name your place and I will meet the two of you there."

Thor sighed, unused to seeing his joyous sister like this. Finally after great deliberation he spoke, "Stark Tower in New York. We will stay there for awhile, amongst my friends here."

"When shall you have me arrive?" Freya asked, straightening her blue shirt. She wore bronze jewelry and her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She looked older and colder now than when he last saw her. Almost as if she were trying to hide how fragile she was…

"I'll let you know. Look out for Father's ravens."

"I will… Farewell, brother…"

Thor led Loki into the building after contacting his friends. Now as everyone had either weapons trained on him or were in a fighting stance, Thor began to wonder if Freya would really show.

"Hey, uh, Thunderhead, exactly why did you bring back your brother? I mean, not that I have a problem with it, but he did wreck New York and more importantly my living room last time he was here." The voice came from a man with dark hair and eyes, who clutched in his hand a drink of some alcoholic variety.

"Man of Metal," Thor began, "Loki is here with me so that he may redeem himself. He can no longer use his voice to deceive and no longer has his powers. Other than his strength he is the same as those gathered here."

"He thinks he can just walk in here and redeem himself?" This time a woman with red hair spoke, her eyes narrowed. "How does he plan on doing that?"

"Well," Loki began, startling everyone. He paused, lifting an eyebrow.

"I thought you said he couldn't talk," this time the gentleman who spoke was blond and muscled but a bit awkward. Despite all this he was rather polite in his actions.

"Ah, but Mr. Rodgers, my brother didn't clarify. He said I couldn't use my voice for deception. What he means is I can no longer tell a lie." Loki said matter of factly, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. "I can still very much speak but whatever I say is truth." At this everyone gave him a begrudging silence so he could continue where he left off. "As Thor," Loki noticed the frown on Thor's face as he used 'Thor' rather than 'my brother', "told me, I was too meet someone here."

"And who would that be?" Steve asked.

"Me." The voice startled those gathered so that they were divided between targeting Loki and the newcomer. As she stepped out of the shadows Thor began to smile a little. Upon his request, Freya had agreed to wear her Asgardian clothing. It was a beautiful blue dress, floor length similar to that of the one his mother favored. It was accented with bronze. Her hair was fixed into a loose arrangement of her locks, pulled away from her face but allowed to cascade down her back. She wore no make-up though she didn't need to anyways.

"Ah, Freya, you came!" Thor beamed happily, much to everyone else's confusion. Loki stared in awe as she came forward, his eyes running over her rapidly. He felt weak in his knees with relief… She was alright.

"Uh…who's the new chick?" Tony asked.

"Friends, this is Freya, Goddess of Love-"

"And Lust," she reminded.

"And our little sister."

After the initial shock and Steve's grumbling about there being "only one God" there fell an uneasy silence. Freya continued walking forward, her white-gold hair catching the sunlight. It was if she had a halo… At least to Loki it was. She came to a stop before the two, her eyes running over the fallen God.

"Say what you must," Freya murmured, looking in his eyes with her beautiful blue ones.

"You left me." Loki hissed out. He watched her expression flicker and felt his heart twist once more. This wasn't how he wanted to speak to her after all these years.

"I had to." Freya whispered.

"No, all you had to do was be loved for the rest of eternity by a realm of wonderful people. Instead you abandoned us. I'm not the traitor here, you are." Loki snarled, his anger coming out at a blinding speed. He wanted wail as he saw the sadness in her eyes as she spoke.

"I love you too, Brother."