When they finally reached the heart of the Joten city, Loki made sure to keep Sora close to his side. He could feel the Frost Giants all around them; watching them from within the ruins of their decrepit homes. It felt like the entire city was alive. Both of them could hear the faint crunching of ice under footfalls and the rubbing of dry hands on frozen stone.
"They're here," whispered Sora.
Loki nodded, "And no doubt they us have surrounded."
Entering what appeared to be the front of the Joten palace, Sora and Loki approached the tall throne which Laufey was sitting on. The king turned his gaze towards them.
"You've escaped being killed by a Joten once, Consul," he growled. His dark tone clearly indicating that they were unwelcome. His red eyes narrowed on Sora as he continued to speak, "Why tempt fate?"
"Your highness," Sora said, bowing respectfully to him before she continued. Loki followed suit, only his bow was far shallower than hers. "I swear to you, we have come here with only the best intentions."
"We shall see about that," he informed her gruffly, his eyes seeming to glow like red embers against his dark blue skin. "Why have you come here?"
Loki watched the Joten king in distrust, feeling that whatever Sora was about to say would do nothing to sway the Frost Giant's position. Laufey seemed in no mood to negotiate, and if this wasn't clear to Sora then it was certainly clear to Loki.
"I ask you to consider reopening negotiations with Asgard," said Sora, stepping closer to the throne. Laufey stood up from his seat and glared down at her then. The threatening look in his eyes immediately put Loki on guard.
"Your peace is a lost cause. After the war, Asgard had brought us to the brink of destruction. When I returned home from your realm, I was wisely reminded of that," he informed her.
Suddenly, the Frost Giants they had sensed before began to appear then. They stepped out from behind the ruins and dark shadows they were hiding in, their hostile gazes firmly fixed on Sora and Loki.
Sora stepped closer to her companion then, her heart pounding fearfully in her chest. Loki looked around him, counting the number of Frost Giants that had appeared- already knowing that there were too many for him to take alone.
Swallowing her fear, Sora calmly spoke to Laufey once again. "Your highness, not but few days ago you advocated peace between our two realms. I know that Asgard punished your kingdom unfairly in the past but there are people on the Council who understand. Please believe that we can help… do not be deceived by false friends."
"You dare to speak of false friends to me?" the king snarled dangerously, gritting his sharp teeth. Sora instantly realized she had made a mistake in her wording then. "The only false friends I know of here are you and that spare son of Odin's you brought with you." He then advanced towards the edge of his throne, his red eyes staring down at them in severe loathing. "Jotenhiem stands alone, pathetic woman, it always has."
Loki opened his mouth then, about to make an attempt to defuse the satiation but just as he did, there was a large crack beneath the two Asgardian's feet. The sound was immediately followed by a sudden shift in the earth, sending them off balance. It was like the breaking of melting ice. Loki quickly steadied himself and grabbed a throwing knife from beneath his cloak, readying himself for whatever would follow.
Suddenly two massive, white canine-like beasts emerged from under the ice at the foot of Laufey's throne. Their clawed paws gripped onto the ground as they pulled themselves up out of the dense, frozen earth. The giant creatures were covered in long white fur, their eyes red and narrowed in rage-filled just like the Frost Giants currently surrounding them.
As the beasts spotted their prey, they bared their long viscous teeth at the two Asgardians as they slowly advanced on them, their thick muscles clearly defined beneath their fur. Loki took hold of Mara's shoulders and cautiously backed them away from the two terrifying creatures.
"I believe negotiations are over," he mumbled in her ear as he pulled her back towards the entrance of the palace.
"Clearly," she replied, short of breath. "What's your plan to get us out of this?"
Loki's brow rose then, "Who says that I have one… although, running maybe a good start."
"Right," Sora nodded, immediately grabbing his hand tightly in hers and bolting in the direction of a nearby alcove.
At that moment, the two beasts took off after them and were soon hot on their heels. Loki, who was being dragged by Sora, used his magic to energize the blade he currently was holding and sent it flying at the nearest beast. The creature howled and tripped over itself when the dagger pierced its flesh, exploding on impact. The trickster smirked at his work for a moment until he looked over his shoulder again and saw that the beast had gotten right back up and began to pursue them once more.
When they reach the alcove, Loki pushed them up against a wall of ice for cover. Dislodging his hand from Sora's determined death grip, Loki threw two more daggers at the beasts. One lodged itself in one of the creature's eyes, temporarily immobilizing it.
At the end of the alcove was a set of stairs leading higher into the palace. Loki could hear the creatures clawing at the walls behind them, too large to be able to go directly after them.
The injured one stayed behind, however the other was dogged in its determination to get to them. As Sora and Loki quickly ascended, they heard a scratching on the outside of the walls to the decrepit stairwell- like the sound stone masonry being torn apart. Before either of them could identify what it was, they passed a crumbled wall and the beast lunged through the gaping hole at them, swiping its giant paw.
Relying on his quick reflexes, Loki pushed Sora forwards and out of the way of the blow as he hit the floor, the creature barely missing him as it's claws tore at the opposite wall. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed Sora up by the shoulders and urged them forwards up the stairs. Coming to a door, the two pushed through it only to find themselves in what was now only half a room- the structure crumbling from centuries of neglect, torn open to weather the elements.
"It's a dead end! What are we going to do?" Sora breathed in fear, the wind from the open side of the ruin pulling at her hair. She locked gazes with Loki as he quickly made his way over to her. Once he was only a foot away, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her protectively againt him.
"Hold onto me Sora and don't let go," he told her, his ragged breaths heating the side of her face as he gripped onto her even tighter.
Sora's heart quickened as she wrapped her arms around him like he told her to. She then heard him rapidly murmuring some ancient language under his breath, repeating the incantation over and over again. The strong icy wind pulled at their clothes and bit their skin as Loki slowly walked them closer and closer to the crumbling edge of the room.
Then the beast blasted through the open doorway, rubble and snow scattering in its wake. It violently shook the ice from its fur as it roared loudly at the two of them- furious for having to chase them so far. Sora's eyes desperately searched out another way to run, but found that their only escape was now blocked by the beast.
"Don't be afraid." He whispered to her. His heels were now right at the edge of the precipice, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He had never done what he was about to do, but if he wanted to get both of them out alive it was the only option they had left.
Sora looked over the side of the ruin and then up into his deep, focused eyes, knowing he was about to jump. "Loki-" she blurted out, now petrified, her voice cracking in fear.
"Just don't let go of me, Sora," he told her, gripping onto her tightly, almost forcefully, as he leaned backwards and let his weight carry them over the edge of the ruin.
Sora's stomach leapt in her throat, the sickening sensation catching hold of her as they freefell through the sharp icy air. Suddenly they were wrapped in a dark haze and stars shot past them as they gained more and speed. Instead of falling from an icy turret, it felt like they were now being thrown through space.
They suddenly crashed onto solid ground, the world around them becoming bright and golden as the black haze immediately dispersed. Their bodies rolled across the hard golden floor beneath them from the force of the fall. When they came to a stop, Loki slowly cracked open his eyes and looked around. They were safely back in Asgard; on the balcony of the dining hall. His spell had worked. Remembering that he was still holding Sora, Loki looked down at her to find her wide-eyed and softly panting against his chest in fear.
"Are you alright?" He asked, gently pulling himself away from her and scanning her body for injuries.
"Yes," Sora breathed, still in shock. She was trembling from her previous adrenaline rush as she met his concerned gaze. Realizing that they were both still alive, she began to laugh in sheer relief.
"Well I'm glad you're feeling good, I think I may have broken my spine when we landed," he said, rubbing what was soon going to be a large bruise on his lower back. He had taken the brunt of the impact.
Sora felt a pang of sympathy for him as she sat up and brushed her rumpled hair and clothes down. She could only guess that he had protected her from the worst of the fall. As she looked over at him, she saw he had a small but deep cut on his forehead above his right eyebrow. She did not know where he received that particular injury, but she knew that it took quite a lot to injure a god. Even though he did not seem to notice the gash, Sora still felt guilty about it. She had led them into that danger and Loki willingly risked his life going with her- she did not know how she'd ever repay his kindness.
A small trickle of blood ran down his forehead and into his eyebrow. Once seeing it, Sora to edged over to him.
"Hold still," Sora said, reaching out and gently wiping away the thick drop of blood that was threatening to drip into his eye. Their gazes met and as he thanked her. Feeling her face begin to flush, Sora turned her face from his in embarrassment. She then began to nervously rub the red substance between her fingers. It was just then that she saw the cuts and bruises on her hands. Jotenhiem was clearly not a kind environment for Asgardians.
"What happened to us… how did you do that?" She asked quietly, catching his green gaze once more as she wiped another spot of blood from his temple.
Loki paused before answering, concentrating on the feel of her gentle touch on his face. "I used a transportation spell I've been working on. If I'm being honest, I wasn't sure it was going to work."
"Well, I'm very glad you tried it," she said with a sincere grin as she withdrew her hand from his face.
Loki let out a small laugh, slightly embarrassed by her praise of him. Frankly he had been caught off guard because it was so unexpected. There were none in Asgard that valued magic. To some, Loki's skills were just 'cheap tricks' as his brother called them and to others they were the work of the wicked. No one trusted a man who used magic.
"Perhaps we should finish this conversation in the healing room," he suggested, pushing himself up off the floor and then helping her up as well.
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