"Just tell me… what am I really to you?.. Just another tool you can use until you've become ruler of Asgard?" Rienne had come to visit Loki in person this time. Frigga had told the guards she could visit for an hour only, without notifying Odin of course.

"Rienne I don't have time to discuss such trivial things. You know I care for you." Loki was annoyed. He felt as if Rai was a whining child looking for attention.

"You've been so cold towards me lately… It is making me reconsider my… alliance." She glared at him. Why was he being such a jerk lately?...

"Is that so?..." Loki seethed.

"I feel…. As if you don't truly love me… the way you have been treating me makes me feel used… and soon… you will throw me away…" She cast her gaze down. "Just… please tell me the truth… it's all I ask… I've promised to be forever loyal to you and I have not faltered… so please… all I ask is for your honesty…"

Loki sighed heavily. "Rienne… you know I love you… must I tell you so every minute of every day?"

"No, of course not... I just… never mind, look Loki I… I'm not a princess or of noble background… I won't be able to give you what a princess could… I just… I don't know… I'm not …worthy of you…" She still didn't look at him but rested the back of her head against the glass prison while slowly sliding down it to sit on the floor.

"You speak nonsense. It doesn't matter if you come from a noble or wealthy background. Once I take over Asgard and become king, you shall be my queen. No one will question it, and if they do, they shall die by my hand." He had inched closer to her without her noticing. Rienne continued to have her head against the glass and only sighed in frustration.

"How exactly will you escape this prison?"

Loki chuckled. "I am still unsure… if any of my children were free, they could easily release me… I am unable to use my magicks at the moment and since Odin has forbidden everyone from visiting me… I'm afraid even my silver tongue falls silent."

"I think I can free you and the kids…"

"Oh?... How?" Loki raised a curious brow. Rienne brought her knees up to her chest.

"Yggdrasil… I… went to see him yesterday, I needed to think… I needed some help…"

"…. What brought this on?..." Loki's voice held a tinge of worry. He knew the great tree of life was neither evil nor good however… anything you ask of the tree always came at a steep price… If Rai had asked anything from the tree, even advice…. She had to give something up… but what?... Why didn't she just go talk to one of her friends regarding this matter?... Oh right… because once everyone found out of him trying to marry her… they instantly hated her… or at least were very wary of her now… no one trusted her at all… she was too close to Loki… She was his actual friend… his lover… and that was too much for anyone to bear…

Her silence was annoying him. "I grow weary of this Rai. Speak now or remain silenced forever."

She stood up and turned to him. Glaring with annoyance to his answer, she replied, "To know whether I should stay with you or not."

Loki gave a dry laugh. "You needed a divine being to tell you something like that?" She said nothing, only glared some more.

"If you are not happy with me, then leave. I do not hold you to me with chains or spells. You are free to do as you wish." In all honesty he didn't want her to go… but if she truly was unhappy with him then why keep her?... He would be damned if he was the cause of her discontent…

"He showed me of things past… he said you are selfish and think only of yourself… perhaps you have placed a spell on me… for as much as I wish I could leave you I can't."

"Tch." Loki said nothing more. She truly wanted to leave him… for good it seemed.

"Relax. You've angered me to the point of having fantasies of me pummeling you to the ground… and yet… I love you more and more…" She gave him a sly smile but he looked away feigning anger. "I gave Yggdrasil ten years of my life for something I suppose I knew all along…"

"What?!" Loki sharply turned back around.

"He sounded as if he knew I would go back to him… He knows I will go to him seeking power… power to help you and the kids escape this… hell…" Her eyes seemed to glaze over, as if in a trance.

"… What exactly are you planning Rienne?..." Loki narrowed his eyes at the girl.

"I will return to Yggdrasil… I will ask him for the power to help you realize your dream Loki… I will give you what you want, I promise." Her smile was so innocent… she truly believed she was doing the right thing…

"Enough! I will not let you throw your life away for me!... Rienne… you've been protecting me ever since you became a guard…. No… even before that… always silencing Sif and The Warriors Three when they taunted me… always by my side no matter what mischief I created…" he let out a soft laugh. "You've even taken a flogging for Fenrir… Rienne… is there no end to your fidelity?..." She shook her head no… still smiling… "It is I who does not deserve you… You are too kind for me… too sweet… too innocent… I feel as if I have corrupted you… I've tainted your soul with malice… and you've tainted mine with love…" Loki solemnly smiled at the warm feeling in his heart as he said those last words.

"You know there is nothing you can say that will stop me from helping you… from loving you…" The girl placed a delicate hand on the wretched glass separating them.

"I know…"

"You will make a wonderful king Loki… you just need to be given the chance… I believe in you… and so I will be the one to free you of this prison… no matter what the cost…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"You knew I would return to you…" Silence. The vast, grassy field was eerily quiet. Not even a breeze was present. A few minutes later the great god of life spoke.

~I shall give you the power you seek… at a cost of course…~

"Anything." Her resolve was strong. Perhaps she had come to accept that this power could take her whole life as payment this time…

~You know of Ragnarok, yes?~ Rienne slowly nodded. ~Legend says when Fenrir breaks his bonds, that will signal the beginning of Ragnarok… all shall perish… all shall die… no one in the nine realms will be safe… Ragnarok's destruction shall attract Black Surt…. And he will burn all the nine realms to the ground…~ Rienne felt chills down her spine. She was beginning to become enveloped in a brilliant golden, almost holy, light… ~You shall become that destruction… you shall become Ragnarok!~ Rai's eyes went wide in shock. What did he mean she would become Ragnarok?!... Before she could protest or question the great tree, the beautiful light became a dark and blood red color… she could feel hate be wrapped around her. It felt thick and heavy like molasses. The hate was so strong she could almost taste it. Her body felt as if it were burning. She screamed in agony before she finally blacked out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rienne slowly opened her eyes only to be greeted by the Thunderer's beaming smile. Groaning, she tried to sit up but immediately fell back down onto the bed she was laying on. She was so dizzy… she shut her eyes to try and come back to her senses. Rai felt a strong hand be placed on her shoulder.

"Rienne, please, you must remain in bed. You have been asleep for days… our wedding is only 3 days away..." Thor didn't seem too happy about this particular subject.

"What?! What happened to me?!..."

Thor shrugged. "A guard patrolling the outer wall of the palace found you unconscious. No one knows what happened to you…" She groaned again but said nothing. "Rienne… about the wedding…" She blushed a bit. She loved Thor dearly but as a brother. This subject however, made her uncomfortable as well. "You needn't worry about it any longer." She furrowed her brows in confusion. "I have brought Jane with me from Midgard! Once Father sees how happy and in love I am with her, surely he will call our wedding off."

*Idiot… Odin would never allow you to marry a Midgardian mortal you fool…* Rai feigned a warm smile. "I see…"

"Thor?... Ah! Thor there you are!" A brunet peeked her head around the corner and Rai gave her a death glare. Thor walked over to her and gave her a very passionate kiss.

"Rienne this is Lady Jane, Jane this is Lady Rienne." She didn't understand why she felt such hatred and jealousy bubble up within her but she immediately hated this girl. Bubbly personality and clinging to Thor like a harlot, made her rage inside.

"… So this is the girl that has stolen your affection…" Rai simply replied with a solemn face. She didn't understand why such hatred seethed from her. She'd never met the girl, so why all the anger?... She wanted to rip her face clean off…. *Control yourself Rai…* she repeated that over and over to herself. She needed to maintain control… perhaps this was a result of Ragnarok?... all that hate she felt when Yggdrasil transformed her… perhaps this was it?... It felt as if pure malice was leaking out from her very soul… She wanted to lop off this girl's head and have Thor by her side… not with love… but only because she could…