A/N: Hi again, let's get on with chapter four in our tale. There are still many questions to be resolved, not least those of Fara's story. And for the first time we get a glimpse at what the Dark Elves plan.

Thanks to the reviews, favourites and new followers. Hope you like this one and please write a review, otherwise I really don't know if what I do here is utter crap or not.

XX

Fara's eyes were stuck to the endless layers of blue and purple that hung over the Bifrost and the Asgardian coast – the edge of the world. Beyond the falling waters the universe opened up to her hungry sight. Stars and planets were illuminating the furthest corners of the sky in shades of purple and burgundy before it turned into a bright baby blue above land. She hadn't been able to fall asleep all night, spending the darkest hours discussing with Sigyn what would possibly await them in the Realm Eternal. In all their time under Freyja's service neither had ever been invited to accompany her to any of the other worlds, but this time was different. They were both ready, had perfected their skills and were finally worthy to meet the Allfather.

Fara had been a young girl when she and her older sister had been sent to Sessrumnir in the heart of Vanaheim. It was considered an honour for girls and women to live at the goddess' court and learn from her. Especially for those who came from more modest backgrounds.

Fara and Sigyn's parents had been farmers. Their father had fought in the war against the Aesir, but that was a long time ago and since then he had lived a quiet life with his family on the realm's periphery, in close proximity to the ocean, were its dark waters fell over the edge into nothingness.

What did you see? Sigyn's wide eyes were filled with the eagerness and curiosity of a child, something that hadn't changed under the hundreds of years as Freya's guided healer. The countless wounds had never taken that innocence from her, and Fara was thankful that there hadn't been a war for a very long time. Wounds inflicted by accident were not the same as those caused through weapons on a battlefield.

Fara opened her eyes to return the older girl's look. Not much. With a shrug of her shoulders she sat more upright. Parts of the city and the palace. Have patience, we are almost there. Her gaze meanwhile flew over the cloudless sky and the rainbow bridge beneath them which glittered in the light like a carpet made of diamonds. She had only caught glimpses of Odin's great hall, but nothing concrete. She had neither seen the face of the Allfather nor of Queen Frigga. However two eyes had followed her in her sleep for the last couple of weeks – two brilliantly jade green eyes. No face, no voice or name to explain who this person was.

She could not know to whom these eyes belonged or what they had to do with her, but she felt drawn by them. In their depths she could see a sadness that had left her without words. A grief that spoke of great loss, of having lost everything.

And then there was a darkness – all-consuming and sent out to destroy. It stared back at Fara, woke her up from her sleep in the middle of the night and followed her during the day. This unsettling bitterness, this malevolent look that streamed out ice and fire, so intense that the maiden doubted it could actually belong to someone alive. Whoever could bear to witness so grave things that would conjure such emotion in the person's eyes? How could somebody survive such turmoil in their own body?

She hadn't told anybody of this vision. Those eyes called to her, spoke to her and she felt them threatening and comforting at the same time.

Oh look, sister! Sigyn grabbed her arm as she stared out of the window, where the city came closer and closer to view. And as Fara followed her action she couldn't contain a small gasp. Her visions hadn't prepared her for that. The city gleamed in all shades from white bronze. The streets were filled with people of all ages – men cheering, women clapping and children running along the traveller's carriages, laughing excitedly. Colourful drapes were hanging from houses along their way and the air was filled with the aromas of freshly baked bread and roasted meat.

Yet it all was nothing compared to the palace. Tall and golden it towered over the city in all its magnificence, a beacon of power and excellence and Fara understood why Asgard was called the Realm Eternal after all – who could doubt such beauty to be eternal?

They passed the palace gates and their carriages finally came to a halt. Their door was opened by a young handsome guard clad in golden armour and one by one the women were helped outside. A line of guardsmen, all in golden attire, bid them welcome and bowed to Freyja, who already stood in the middle of the yard. Her blond hair fell in soft waves down her back and her beautiful figure was wrapped in a light blue gown, with flower motives in silver stitched onto the sleeves. She turned to her maidens and gave them a wink before turning around and walking up the stairs leading into Odin's hall. The two followed her, their eyes meeting in a meaningful look.

This is incredible.

Agreed. Fara smiled at her beaming sister. Their hands met and they gave each other encouraging squeezes.

Following the guards the company was lead through long hallways with high ceilings to the throne room. The doors were flung open and Sigyn and Fara bowed their heads in excitement. Never had they seen such a large room, not even at Freya's hall. The path leading to the throne was flanked by men and women clothed in finest fabrics, the men also parading their armour with pride. The women's hair was gracefully styled and their gowns embraced their curves. These, Fara instantly knew, were the gods and goddesses of Asgard and she swallowed down the lump that was threatening to form inside her throat. Her gaze rose to the opposite end of the hall, where steps lead up to a giant golden throne.

There they stood, awaiting the guests – Odin and Frigga, flanked by their two sons. As they stepped closer one of the guards announced Freya and her retinue and the beautiful goddess bowed to them with a brilliant smile. "Your majesties."

"It has been far too long, dear friend." Odin spoke, his voice heavy but cordial. "We are happy to have you here Freyja...and your two companions." He added with a short glance at the sisters.

"Allow me to introduce to you Sigyn and Fara, my most trusted students. I thought Asgard would give them the opportunity to exercise their talents in a new environment." The two maidens bowed deeply, their eyes trained to the floor for fear of giving away their nervousness.

"And pray, what are their talents?"

"Magic, Odin." Freyja laughed in her bell clear voice. "Sigyn here is one of Vanaheim's best healers and her younger sister Fara sees the future."

The room instantly fell silent. Magic was not a craft commonly practiced among Asgardians and some of the men and women among the present looked at each other with wide eyes.

"The future, so, so?" Odin's gaze fell upon the young girl in question wrapped in a white gown. Her face, albeit pretty, lacked her sister's sophisticated and refined features. "It is not a talent that one encounters very often. Some would call it a rare gift."

Allfather spoke to her directly that time and Fara met his gaze. "Indeed, your majesty, it is."

"She's the youngest of only three in all the Nine Realms capable of it." Freya added in a honey-sweet tone.

"Mhh, very well. I present to you Queen Frigga" The tall woman sent the girls a warm smile, but didn't move from her place beside her husband. "My son, the Crown Prince Thor." A tall, strongly build man walked down the few steps down to them and with a wide grin bowed. He reminded Fara of the bears she had seen in her childhood at her family's home in Vanaheim and fought against a laugh. He had his mother's kind eyes and his father's stature.

"My Ladies." He said in a deep voice.

"And my second son, Loki."

Until that point Fara had almost forgotten about the fourth figure standing on the platform before them. Her eyes turned and she saw a tall man with raven hair that was neatly brushed back. Unlike his brother he was not a giant package of muscles, but appeared lean, more like a wild cat...or a snake. Black leather and emerald cloth enwrapped his body, accentuating his graceful figure and pale skin tone.

He stood slightly apart from his family and had not moved at all, but at the mention of his name his eyes looked up and immediately met Fara's for an instant, before moving on to Sigyn and then Freyja.

Odin spoke again and teared Fara's attention off the younger prince. "You are welcome here in Asgard. We hope your stay will be enjoyable and we will have much of your company. My men will show you to your rooms. Tonight we shall have a feast to celebrate your arrival."

"Thank you Odin, your majesties." Freya bowed once more and Sigyn and Fara followed the motion, before being led away by the guards. All the way to the door the young Vanir could feel something warm stroking the edges of her mind and she looked at her sister, unsure if she wanted to tell her something through their bond. But Sigyn was busy looking at the tall wooden doors and did not seem to notice her sisters questioning look. Then suddenly the feeling was gone, like a veil lifted from her sight and she did not think any more about it. She was probably just a little bit tired.

She could feel the blood rush inside her ears, her breath coming trembling. It was truly him; it was Loki standing in front of her, just a few feet away.

Instinctively she wanted to flee, to turn away and get the next plane to Russia. She shouldn't be here and in fact neither should he. This was wrong.

She had seen him condemned, had witnessed his trial as if she'd been there in person. She had held her head in agony as countless cried for his death, yet now he stood before her. A shadow, but still alive, his voice taken from him with magic too mighty for her to comprehend. She knew Thor must have been responsible for this or neither of them would be standing there so seemingly nonchalant. The question was why he would help him escape. Nothing she had seen had showed her this latest turn of events.

His hair was longer now, clean but unkempt, covering his temples and reaching well past over his shoulders. Every soft line she could remember in his features was now completely gone, replaced by sharp edges and deep shadows.

He looked terribly sick.

Her eyes lingered for a moment on his lips, set into a grim line, the skin surrounding them tense. Then they were captured once again by his unreadable eyes. Cold and merciless, like a snake he was pining her down to her spot, waiting for a reaction, a movement - anything.

"She's Asgardian?" Natasha's voice was the first to penetrate Fara's thoughts.

It took all her willpower to look back at the others. "Nat, I-"

"It's okay, but I think we all need an explanation. How come you know Thor so well? Isn't he your crown prince or something?"

"Yeah and why didn't you know she had been on Earth for years?" Tony directed at Thor.

Thor frowned. "We haven't seen each other since she departed from Asgard. I believed she had gone back to her home in Vanaheim. No one knew for sure." He threw a side-glance to the woman beside him. How had she landed here of all places.

"What's Vanaheim?" Clint asked.

"Fara." Nat walked up to the young woman and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Please tell us. And then you, Thor, can explain to me why Loki is standing in Stark's living room instead of being chained inside some prison cell on Asgard."

The Vanir's flinch at Black Widow's words went unnoticed by almost everyone.

Only Loki had seen it.

Silently he watched the group gathering around the newcomer, some sitting down on the two long sofas so they could follow her story, even the Iron Man's lover joining in. They didn't pay attention to him slowly distancing himself further and further away, soft steps carrying him towards the glass wall. His eyes burned and he tried to fix his concentration on a point beyond the window's chilly surface.

Loki forced himself to take a deep breath. His leg was still hurting from the fall and his mind lay in turmoil.

What was she doing here?

Why was she here and not with her mistress on some other realm? Why Earth? Why here?

He felt as if his bones would crack any minute and burst into a million tiny pieces as a faint laugh echoed in his head. A deep voice roared at him, mocked his reaction to a face once known.

Three years, three agonizing years...

His hands and skull tingled in recognition of magic – her magic that seemed to reach out to his withered state across the room. A golden haze laid itself over his consciousness like a veil as the laughter in his skull subsided and he could feel the pain in his leg diminish. It was only natural – magic always seeked its equal.

He held his hands tightly clasped in front of him, nails digging into rough white flesh to keep them from trembling.

Had he known she had been on Midgard all this time he would have...what? What would he have done, had he known? The times where he had wasted time and energy on anyone where finished. She had betrayed him as much as Thor or Odin.

Her magic was reacting to him without her even noticing. He needed to get out of the room in that instant, but his body was nailed onto the spot by the invisible power that streamed from her to him and back. It took his breath away, wrapping around his ribcage like tight ropes.

Loki felt blazing rage boiling inside his veins. Damn her, by Valhalla! Damn this pathetic reaction to her presence!

He barely registered the voices coming from the other side of the room.

"I grew up in Vanaheim and I and my sister Sigyn were sent to live at Lady Freyja's court as children. We were trained well in magic and when we became skilled enough our mistress told us we were finally worthy of meeting the Allfather. We had never been to Asgard before."

"Wait, so you know how to use magic? Like Loki?" Steve eyed the woman sitting across from him suspiciously.

"Yes and no." Fara smiled faintly, her hands clasped together in her lap. "Some Vanir are born with magic." She montioned to her golden eyes. "This is why I share the colouring of my irises with others of my race destined to use it. We all have our speciality and over our long life span we strife to achieve perfection in those fields. But our possibilities are limited. Not all of us can use spells that differ from the person's natural abilities, even with years of training. My sister found her talent in healing and I can glimpse into the future through visions."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Pepper stared wide-eyed at the younger girl. "You mean you can see anything in the future? Even from across worlds?" A nod answered both questions.

"Does that mean you saw New York before it actually happened?" Tony said. "I think certain things might have turned out differently had we been warned beforehand. Natasha, where did you hide her all this time?" His gaze wandered to the glass wall.

"Why are you even here?" Clint asked. He noticed her tensing slightly up. "I mean, not to be offensive, but as far as I know it's not really common for you guys to travel to Earth often. So how come your here and for so long?"

"I-I" she hesitated. "Was sent here by my mistress." Her gaze could not hold Barton's frown long. Then she noticed a faint movement from the corner of her eyes and knew Loki had placed himself in front of the huge window. His back was facing them and she couldn't see his face. Only then did she notice something was not right. Loki was one of the most powerful sorcerers in the nine realms, yet she could not feel his magic inside the room. Where there should have been waves of energy was simply nothing. Just a dying glimmer instead of the wildfire she had expected. It seemed impossible to her.

A shiver crept down her spine, slowed down her words, but she refused to let the others see the chaos raging inside her mind.

"Hey, maybe she can tell us what those Elf-things wanted in Europe?" Stark felt it click inside his head, like it usually did when a good idea took shape inside his brain. "We could know what they're planning."

"You know it was the Dark Elves?" The sorceress stared at him. "How?"

Tony tilted his head to the god in silver armour. "Thunder Guy told us. That's why he and Loki are here."

Six pairs of eyes turned simultaneously to the raven-haired man. Fara could not bring herself to follow, gaze fixed onto a spot on the dark red carpet, but still knew instinctively that he had turned around. Loki's soft chuckle, more cough than anything else, echoed though the room.

He felt satisfaction flow through his veins as he carefully followed the soldier's report. The Aesir and that lousy Jotunn were both in Midgard and without any spells for protection.

For a moment he considered following them, but then a new idea came to him. He would leave them for the time being and make them see instead. They would be witnesses of his people's might. He would make them watch and rejoice at the God of Thunder's cries, just like the boy's grandfather had over his race's fate.

Algrim stood beside him, head bowed. "They have encountered a future-teller of Vanir origin, my liege. A woman."

"Perfect." He said. "She will keep them on Midgard. The seeress will be the easiest to control."

"How shall we proceed?" His servant's eyes ever trained on his leader.

He turned. "Now we shall make the Aesir watch as his world vanishes in flames."

The prince was far away, too far to react on time, and the king lay asleep, unable to lift a finger. Their time was approaching, their decline inevitable. Midgard was far away, small and so fragile. Pathetic!

Too easy, he thought to himself, a scarred smile gracing his features. This is too easy.