Revelation

"Whichever way you put it, Father is not going to like this idea," Loki tensely glanced at his brother as they walked the halls of the Palace to meet up with Elsred and see if she'd found Sif.

Loki had retreated into the library after Sif kissed his cheek, convincing himself that it hadn't meant anything much to either of them.

Being the not-so-closet magic nerd he was, Loki would much rather focus his energy on learning more, than conjecturing about the motives of the mental girl who side-kicked his brother - he deemed her in this fashion not because she was always on Thor's side, but because she would actually kick him on his side while practicing combat techniques.

"Nonsense, brother. He might object to it, if he knew what we were doing, but he won't until after everything is done. Just think how proud he'll be of us. There hasn't been a battle this important in Alfheim in centuries and we'd be in it!" said Thor excitedly.

"Roughly three millenia, actually. The Battle of Armunddagr," corrected Loki.

"Right," Thor downcast his eyes, apparently finding the tile pattern beneath his feet very intriguing.

"Some of us were paying attention to old Arngrimr's lectures on Glorious Asgardian History," Loki smirked and Thor rolled his eyes.

"I did pay attention! Details just don't seem to stick with me," Thor begrudgingly admitted.

"Sure," Loki teased.

Just then they spotted the girls down the hall. They were talking so intensely they didn't even notice the brotherly duo until they were all but up in their faces.

"Yes, I'd quite love that!" Sif was saying, grinning widely. Loki noticed how her eyes gleamed and how joyful her expression was, fighting back the urge to smile at the sight.

"Love what?" Thor asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Red was asking me if I'd like to visit her in Alfheim, when all the madness is over," Sif clarified.

"Red?" Loki raised an eyebrow and Elsred blushed. Sif gave him a pointed look, at which he smirked.

"It's what my closest friends call me back in Alfheim," added Elsred.

"That's ironic though, seeing as you don't have red hair," he pointed out.

Elsred laughed. "Yes, I suppose it is. But it's a legitimate nickname! My name is Elsred, what else would you call me for short? Elsie is just... no. My parents used to call me that, though, when I was little. My dad still does," she rolled her eyes, but smiled, which showed it didn't really upset her.

While all this was unfolding, Thor found himself with a heavy sinking feeling in his stomach. It was so intense he hadn't been able to speak for a few seconds.

"You're leaving?" he asked. His tone was so uncharacteristically low of him that everyone turned their heads to stare at him.

"When the battle is over. If it's safe. My mother told me so in the letter she sent earlier," Elsred searched his eyes, but he directed his gaze elsewhere.

"Oh," was all he managed.

"It doesn't mean we'll stop being friends. You know that, don't you?" Elsred's voice broke a little, the glee now completely gone.

"Of course!" Thor faked a smile. His guts were still gnawing at him. "Let's go then."

He started walking at a startling quick pace and Elsred practically had to run to keep up with him.

Sif and Loki lingered on the spot for a couple of seconds and exchanged a look. For once, it wasn't the promise of future bickering, but rather their mutual concern for Thor that shined through.

"I think he likes her. As inmore than friends," Loki slided closer to her and whispered conspiratorily.

"You think?" Sif bit back, giving him an incredulous look.

"We need to do something about it," his gaze was determinate and serious.

"Well, that's a first," Sif snorted.

"What is?" Loki asked, only half-heartedly paying her mind, as the gears in his head were already turning.

"You said we need to do something about it, but we never do anything productive together," she huffed. He was silent for a couple of minutes. Sif was starting to wonder if he was ignoring her or simply hadn't heard her, when he finally spoke.

"Perhaps it's time we start to," Loki shifted his eyes from his brother and Elsred to stare directly at her.

His eyes were so intense, so green and beautiful that Sif found herself unable to look away. They kept walking while maintaing eye contact.

Which, obviously, isn't the smartest of ideas.

Sif ended up toppling over a misplaced piece of furniture and falling right on her face, which resulted in Loki laughing so much he nearly rolled on the floor.

"You're an idiot," hissed Sif, dismissing his helping hand and standing up by herself.

"Shut up, woman. I'm thinking," he said, becoming all business again. "We've got scheming to do," Loki smiled deviously, ideas obviouly flowing through his mind already.

"You know, that glint in your eye absolutely terrifies me," Sif said, as she rubbed her sore elbow and glanced at him sideways.

"Elsred and Thor are going to be scared a lot worse, trust me," his smile grew.

Sif cursed herself internally for letting herself being pulled into his game, but couldn't really deny there was a giddy feeling of excitement at the pit of her stomach.

Meanwhile, Elsred was trying to get Thor to talk about his feelings and failing miserably.

"You're not fine!" she insisted for what felt like the hundreth time.

"I am," he answered coldly.

"Just stop!" she said angrily. Thor thought briefly he had never seen her as distressed as she was in that moment, with her palms flat against his chest. Elsred had effectively stopped him mid-stride.

"What?!" he yelled, feeling just as upset.

"Why are you being like this?" she asked, her voice a lot quieter than a moment before.

"Like what?" he refused to acknowledge her, looking into the distance.

"Like that! Cold. Not even meeting my eye. What is wrong?" Elsred had a little pleading in her voice.

"Nothing, I've said I'm fine!" he side-stepped her and started walking away.

"Thor! Where are you going? We were supposed to do something to celebrate Alfheim getting asgardian help!" Elsred called after him.

"Well, there's always the Summer Solstice Feast tonight, so I believe celebration to be solved. Farewell, Elsred," as Thor walked away, not even once turning to face her or faltering in his steady steps, she felt tears prickling her eyes.

Elsred watched him until he faded into the distance and then she ran. She ran to the only place where she felt closer to who she was, closer to her home and her parents: Frigga's garden. She wasn't quite sure why, but Thor turning his back on her had hurt more than if he'd yelled at her or slapped her.

It had felt like suddenly she wasn't even worthy of speaking to anymore. She sat beneath the enchanted magnolia tree where they'd once shared chocolate cakes and cried.

A/N: So... The Battle of Armunddagr. I made it up. It doesn't exist in mythology or anything. I literally sat in front of my keyboard and thought "what would sound like a good norse battle name?" and boom: Armunddagr popped into my head. Just like that, no kidding.

I ran a google search and it turned up empty. However, if any of you enlightened souls know anything about a battle named Armunddagr somewhere, I assure you I didn't draw inspiration from it. Also, sorry about the general suckiness of this chapter and the fact that I didn't really edit it. I'm not very happy with this over all, but oh well. I just couldn't seem to work this into fitting what I wanted.

Hopefully the next one will turn out better. That said, I shall thank the amazing people who've been supporting me and this story! :)

A shout-out to Argetaie, Alliprince, Jigokushoujosrevenge, GuessWho, PokeLocked13 and anyone who has favorited or followed Cakes, you are awesome!

And don't forget: reviews make the plot bunny world go 'round!