Chapter 10:

Sora shot upright in her bed, a loud scream ripping from her throat as she desperately kicked off the sheets that had become tangled around her in the night. Realizing she was now awake, she tried to catch her breath and calm herself. The terrifying images of her most recent nightmare began to roll off of her as reality eased its way back into the foreground of her mind. Gazing into the darkness of the bedroom, her grey eyes fixed on the wall in front of her. Every evening since she arrived at the cabin, she dreamed about Loki. However, they weren't simple dreams she endured, they were night terrors, and she knew that they were not going to go away anytime soon.

In her dreams, Loki would always find her. Sometimes would torture her for her traitorous acts against him; his green eyes vicious and his grin twisting into one of manic pleasure at her pain. Other times she would see her friends and every Asgardian being made a slave as Loki fell further into madness. But every time, without fail, consumed with rage fueled by her betrayal of their love, Loki would kill her. He would tear her apart, stab her, bleed her out, choke her, break her neck… after he was finished he would stare at her corpse in relief, as if he had just exercised a demon rooted deep within him.

This last nightmare, Loki had pushed a dagger through her throat and watched in triumph as her eyes went dark. Most times Sora wished the Loki she knew from her past was there beside her, to hold her close to his chest and reassure her that what she saw in her dreams was not true. But this was a foolish desire and she knew it.

Throwing the rest of the heavy covers off of her, Sora made her way into the kitchen and picked up the bow and quiver of arrows she had found in the back of a wardrobe on her second day. They were her grandfather's- an old weapon and handmade, but true. The dark wood bow was embellished with intricate carvings of Swedish dragons from Earth and ancient Asgardian runes that swirled across the wood like vines.

She had begun practicing with it by the chopping block at the back of the cottage, deciding that she should learn how to use it in order to protect herself. She did not want to imagine a situation where she would have to take someone's life but she had to accept the very real possibility that one day soon she might have to. Sora was by no means weak-hearted, if it would protect the ones she loved, the ones she saw tortured so frequently in her nightmares, then she would kill when the time came. She was no longer just a politician anymore.

At first, she was terrible at shooting. If she began her training back at the palace, she would have been laughed out of the archery range. But with daily practice, she was greatly improving. Even though her arm muscles were always tired and sore, each training session she was able to stretch the bow a bit tighter and handle it with greater ease. The stately trees at the edges of the clearing were her targets, and she could now, after three days time, finally hit one and make the arrow stick soundly in the wood. It was at close range, but a rather large improvement nevertheless.

Threading an arrow, Sora drew back the bowstring and aimed it at an X she had carved into a tree nearby. The sore muscles in her hands and forearms started to quiver and she waited calmly, willing herself to still her movements. Finding her window of opportunity, she seized it and let loose her arrow. The tip sunk into the trunk of the tree at the top right corner of her intended mark.

She couldn't hold back the smug, prideful grin that spread across her face. There was no one around to see it anyway she figured as she all but sauntered over to the tree she had just struck to retrieve her arrow. She remembered well what it was like sending off her loved ones into battle. She now wondered if she was going to be the one to ride off instead.

It had not been known until the meeting of Odin and Laufey, but the idea of a peace treaty had divided the people of Jotunhiem and the ice planet was on the brink of a civil war. Laufey would later side with his people in order to stave the rage that was building in his kingdom and political relations between the two worlds would remain as they always have always been.

When the issue of civil unrest in Jotunhiem had been made known to Odin and the council, it was too late. The ambassadors of Jotunhiem had waited too long to make their domestic troubles known. The conflict had already escalated to untamable levels and a drastic decision had to be made by Laufey. The king of the Frost Giants decided to abandon the treaty and go back home to reclaim order. No one could blame him, but the loss was a heavy blow to Sora and her party.

Many in Asgard were not sad to see the treaty unsigned as well as to see Laufey leave. However there were many others who saw it as a crippling loss for both realms. Sadly those people had no significant political positions in the government nor were they well represented in the overly conservative council.

After the wars of old, the people of Asgard desired some measure of peace to avoid anything like them again. Even though Asgard won the battles, the price of victory was far too high for many families. Many sons and daughters never returned home in the last battle and they wished never to face that same fear again.

It seemed that all Sora's and the council's work was for nothing and all hopes for unity was lost. Yet Sora was not ready to let the treaty die. She would consult Oden, demanding that he let her make one last stitch effort and embark on a diplomatic mission to Jotenhiem to try and convince Laufey to return to Asgard and reconsider signing the treaty.

When she informed the council of her plans to go to Jotenhiem, the entire meeting hall was in an uproar. This request of hers was highly unprecedented and was not going to be taken lightly by anyone.

Odin immediately called the room to silence and all of the members obeyed the command of their king, even his mal-mannered son, Thor. Standing up from his throne, Odin looked down at Sora who was standing alone on the dais below him where she had just proposed her plan of action. She felt completely isolated standing there, but she was determined.

"Consul Sora, are you telling me you wish to enter the realm of the Frost Giants, alone and unarmed to try and re-propose the treaty of peace?" Asked Odin; his full voice booming across the hall.

"I am," she confirmed as she looked up at her king. She was unfaltering in her reply.

Loki, who sat to the left of his father, felt his chest grow cold at Sora's words. "Father, this is madness," he protested, switching his gaze between Odin and Sora. Whether or not Sora understood how dangerous this mission was, Loki absolutely did not want her going.

"I am determined to do this," Sora said, fixing the panel of consuls before her with a steady gaze- however, the fire burning beneath her bright eyes was clear. She had made up her mind on this the day Laufey and his consuls left Asgard and she could not be dissuaded, even by Loki Odinson. "It is for the good of Asgard," she said, her voice growing a bit softer as she regarded the dark prince with a meaningful look. His concern meant a lot to her, but surely he knew this had to be done.

"You have great heart Consul Sora, and I will let you go to Jotenhiem on one condition: that you take one of our warriors with you."

Sora nodded in agreement, apparently she had won.

"However, since this mission of yours does not constitute as a part of the Asgardian warrior's oath, you must recruit a willing volunteer."

Sora's heart dropped then as she turned to look at the wall of people behind her. The room had grown completely silent, as she searched the crowed for any volunteer. Not one man or woman stepped forward to stand with her. It seemed that Odin did not need to refuse her request after all.

Then she heard a voice call out from behind her, "I will go."

Sora's entire body froze then at the sound of the familiar voice. Slowly turning around, she saw Loki Odinson standing in front of his chair, looking directly down at her. His brother and father stared at him in some shock. Suddenly, the entire hall broke out into loud, rapid whispers. It seemed that she had gotten her volunteer.

The sun began to set over Asgard, the golden city becoming veiled in darkness as Mara and Loki quietly readied their horses to ride out to the Bifrost. Odin had accepted Loki's pledge and announced to the Council that they would leave for Jotenhiem the next evening. This gave Sora plenty of time to dwell on the prince's decision to go with her. She had not expected Odin to make her endanger someone else's life by taking someone to protect her- especially someone she had begun to consider her friend. It was too dangerous a mission. She did not mind undertaking it herself however she did not want to be responsible for putting another in harm's way.

She spied a glance at Loki who stood in front of the weapons rack, deciding on what he should take with him. He seemed calm, his green gaze stoic as he picked up a silver dagger from one of the hooks. Perhaps undertaking this task was not frightening to him, after all he was a warrior and a son of Odin. But still, she could not help the anxiety she felt building in her gut at the thought of him having to risk his life to protect her. Surely it would have been nothing for Odin to let her bear the burden of this mission alone. It would not matter so much if something were to happen to her, but she could not have the death of a prince of Asgard on her head.

"Why did you volunteer?" Sora asked, unable to stay silent about it any longer.

"You're upset that I had," Loki observed evenly, looking over at her as he began to hide several gold throwing knives about his person. His expression was unreadable.

"No, I am very grateful for the gesture, but you are a prince of Asgard, why should you be the one sent to protect me? Your life is far more important than that of a consul's." She said, regarding him with a look of great concern. Sora was trying to be as diplomatic as she could but was unable to hide her feelings on the matter. "I had expected that I'd be able to go into Jotenhiem alone, not to have to endanger the life of someone else. This is unfair to you. Loki… your father should not have allowed you to go."

Despite being pleased to hear that she cared for his well-being, Loki couldn't help but smirk wryly at her last statement about his father. The last thing Odin would do was deprive one of his sons from seeking glory in battle; in fact he was practically overjoyed to hear that Loki wished to volunteer for this dangerous mission.

"Actually I think he is quite pleased that I'm going," he answered, rubbing his hands together in a strange manner. A slight bitterness filled him then as he thought on the matter of his father's ridiculous expectations of him. He was not Thor, and it clearly showed in the ways that his father often treated him.

Sora pulled her silver and fur trimmed riding boots on over her black leather leggings. Her attire was quite different today than what the elegant politician normally wore. It looked as if today, she was riding into battle… which in this case she probably was. Loki thought it suited her very well, but he kept that opinion to himself.

"Is that why you volunteered, to make your father happy?" She asked, a bit quieter as she folded her fur-lined cloak over her arm. If his answer was yes, she was going to beg him to reconsider going. There was no reason why he should risk his life so needlessly.

"No," he replied simply. "But I have my reasons." A smile spread across his handsome face then- one that clearly meant he knew something that she did not.

Regardless of what that look meant, the seriousness of his manner told Sora that he was resolved to go with her. She could not dissuade him even if she wished. Perhaps he felt just as strongly as she did about the mission, or maybe in his mind, he regarded his own reasons as being just as important as hers.

"Are you ready?" he asked, approaching her.

Sora nodded, holding fast to her courage as she mounted her horse. Loki mounted his as well and then took the lead as he showed her the way to the Bifrost. Sora followed alongside him as they rode down the rainbow bridge at a fast pace, the pounding of their horses feet on the glass sounded like war drums calling out to Jotenhiem. She only hoped Laufey would listen to reason, that Loki and her would be able to protect their realm.

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