A/N: Welcome to chapter 18. I hope all of you have a great summer, wherever you are in the world. Now, things are moving on and our characters are in for some action. Hopefully all of you enjoy this update. Thank you very much for the sweet reviews and of course welcome to Libras' newest readers!

The sound of screams was the first thing that made Fara freeze. Loud and full of terror they drilled into her ears. Slowly she then registered the other noises - stone crashing down, metal clashing. She was alone in the pathway, no other soul there to tell her what was happening.

No, she thought to herself. It could not be Malekith. Not now, not so soon.

Her blood froze inside her veins when she suddenly felt a strong pull on her arm and another body dragging her along.

"What is happening?" She asked the tall figure, Loki, quickly regaining power over her brain. Colours, sounds – all flew past her in a maze. It was his hand that was slung tight over her upper arm, his stern form next to her carrying them forth with long strides. Where had he come from all of a sudden?

Then she noticed him being alone. His guards were nowhere in sight.

They're fighting. The palace is under attack. He answered her dryly, then with a raised brow. Not the best of times to stand in an abandoned hallway.

"Where are you taking me?"

To Frigga and the mortal. There's no need for you getting in the way of people. He almost added that it would be safe there, but bit down on his tongue instead.

"Then let go of me. I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own." That only earned a low snicker from him. He did let go however after she rolled her eyes in obvious annoyance. Her arm ached where his fingers had held their firm grip, almost dugging into her flesh. His jaw was set tightly and she felt surprise at seeing him so tense.

They passed a corner and Fara's breath caught in her throat. There were men and elves clad in black armour fighting everywhere. Her legs stopped responding and for a moment all she could see was the shattered stone and dead bodies on the floor. Einherjar were sucked in by the enemy's guns as if they had never existed.

Beside her Loki felt annoyance pick at the back of his neck. Come now. He signalled her to get moving again.

"Watch out!"

Her wide eyes watched as he turned around and sent a spell toward an elf that had approached with gun raised.

Again he grabbed her arm and that time she did not protest. Together they ran through the maze of broken pillars and burst walls.

It seemed the fighting was faster than they for everywhere they passed she heard the cries of battle. The smell of burning flesh entered her nose and she tasted bile rising into her mouth.

It took ages until they reached the queen's chambers. She heard Loki hiss. Two elves cut their way and Fara let out a scream when suddenly the air seemed to rupture and the ground was ripped away underneath her. A hole had opened that was pulling all matter into its hungry centre, including her. Her body was floating, her arms reached for something to hold on to, but nothing came into her grasp. Her voice stuck inside her throat, she could not blink as two invisible hands held her by her waist, pulling her in.

Something hard collided with her side and knocked out all oxygen from her lungs. Then she realised that the pulling had stopped. Loki had pushed her to the side and had saved her from being sucked into nothingness. They lay on the floor, his heavy body protecting her from getting hit by falling debris when the hole finally closed itself. Her eyes refused to blink and only the dark curtain of the sorcerer's hair protected them from the dust.

Then with one swift motion Loki rose to his feet, at the same time taking out his twin blades and slitting the two stunned elves' throats before they had the chance to react.

He turned then again to her and pulled her to her feet, his grip as always tight on her hands.

"Thank you." She heard herself say, her voice rough and shaky. He simply nodded once and asked her if she could walk.

"I'm fine." Again the sound of metal colliding caused the hairs on her arms to rise, this time coming from Frigga's rooms. They could hear voices arguing as they hurried to reach them.

The door gave way on the pressure of two pairs of hands and the sight that greeted them froze the blood in Fara's veins.

Malekith turned around, two strangely silver eyes setting upon Loki. Frigga meanwhile cringed and pushed against the hands that held her up. Her stare too was on her son.

"Loki."

Then the queen fell to the ground and Fara watched in horror a pool of dark red form on the stone beneath her. The Kursed stood above the dying woman, the sword in its hand dripping with the same ruby liquid.

The man beside her was gone before she could hold him back. Loki sent spell after spell towards the elven leader and one after the other they bounced off his person. Next it was Malekith's turn to cast off a curse and this time magic hit its target, sending Loki flying across the room and slam into a wall.

She had no clue what to do, but watching the Kursed then walk with slow steps towards the bruised form of Loki made something click inside of her. Magic prickled inside her palms. Her eyes searched the ground for anything to throw and fell upon a large piece of what she guessed had belonged to a pillar once. Golden lightning shot through her hands and enveloped the stone, catapulting it then straight over to the horned creature. The Kursed fell with irritation marring its horrid face.

"Witch." Malekith spoke in what sounded like a mixture of amazement and disdain. Loki found his balance again, and his eyes met hers, bearing undoubtedly the order to get the Hel out of there. Only then did she realise the weapon in Malekith's grip. She had not thought about how close she was to him when her attention had been on Loki and the Kursed, but she yelped when the elven leader's free hand got hold of her neck.

A dagger cut the air, meeting its ducking target and drifting deeply into Malekith's shoulder. Not enough to bring him down. Still, it succeeded in distracting Malekith for the briefest of moments.

Again the sound of crashing stone. This time it was Mjollnir flying through the air and hitting Malekith, sending Fara and the elf with force to the ground. The hand around her throat disappeared and the Vanir, still on her knees, hurried away when she felt the buzz of magic in the air. Thor stood now not far from her, hammer back in grasp.

To her surprise neither Malekith nor his creature attempted to fight him. Instead they both turned and made for the balcony.

Thor let out a roar, sending Mjollnir out again to stop them, but it was too late. Loki was much closer. He took hold of Malekith and clung onto the elf as they jumped off the edge one after the other.

And they were gone.

"Loki!"She barely recognised her own voice.

Thor ignored her as he rushed over to his mother's side. Behind her she could hear people approaching, Odin, Jane, some guards. They were too late.

A cry of anguish pierced the air. Odin ran faster that she had ever thought him capable of to his wife. For seconds all she could see were the Allfather's tears sliding down his face and onto Frigga's white forehead as he cradled her still form in his arms.

"Fara." Jane crouched down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm-I'm-" The Vanir's head was spinning. She felt the astrophysicist help her stand up and guiding her out of the room. One soothing hand stroked her back while they made their way through the debris and growing crowd.

Frigga was dead. Asgard's queen was dead.

And Loki...

She looked up and saw the guilt that swam in the mortal's eyes, the pain she carried silently. Jane was giving herself the blame for all that. Of course it was not her fault, Fara wanted to tell her, but her tongue and lips felt numb.

Thor came outside as well, full of cuts and darkening bruises. His hair was dishevelled and his shoulders slumped. He looked deflated, tired, old. His eyes searched for Jane's and she immediately went to him, their arms capturing each other in a tight embrace. It looked as if she posed the only anchor that still held him up. The prince buried his face in her hair and Fara felt unable to look at them any longer. She too felt exhaustion taking over the energy rush that adrenaline had caused her to feel.

She could not feel her feet or hands. All she sensed was coldness where her limbs should be, strange weighs pulling her down. Somehow her feet managed somehow to carry her against the stream of people. Men and women coming to see for themselves if the rumours were true, if their most beloved queen was dead.

She could not think of Loki, could not allow herself to think of him, could not let her mind picture him. He had saved her life twice back there, one malevolent voice whispered into her ear, forcing her to follow the thought. He had saved her when there had been no reason for it, seeing that she was dispensable in his eyes.

He had saved her twice, but failed to save his mother, the only person she knew deep within still had a place in his hardened heart. Had he allowed that hole to suck her in he would have made it in time.

A voice tucked at her conscience. Someone calling out her name.

"Fara!"

Fandral was drenched in sweat, blood and dust. It was impossible to tell whether the blood was his or others', but she was not given the opportunity to ask.

"Fara, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She noted with some satisfaction that her speaking abilities were recovering. "Where are Sif and the others?"

"Volstagg and Hogun are helping carry some of the injured to the healers and Sif following in a second. Is the queen..."

A shake of her head was all the answer she could muster for that question. She felt the lump in her throat getting bigger by the second.

"Oh no." Was his weak response. His jaw tightened and he had to blink his irritation away. "And Thor I presume is there?"

"Yes, he's with Jane and the Allfather."

"Sure you're alright? You seem pretty shaken to me."

Only then did she catch a look of herself, her gaze lowering to her arms and the torn seam of her attire. Her skin was sprinkled with cuts. Her head, left leg and ribs were all aching and her throat was painfully sore. Even though she doubted there was enough energy left within her she still managed to heal herself almost entirely, leaving behind only a dull throbbing inside her skull.

"How could that happen? How could they enter the palace?" She heard herself ask.

The blond warrior's voice hardened again. "Someone damaged the shield. We could not activate it. By the way, do you happen to know where Loki might be?"

"He took hold of Malekith and fell with them off the balcony in the queen's chambers. Do you think he was the one who disabled the field?"

"Who else? Everything speaks against him. Probably had it planned with the Dark Elves and took the nice way out when the time came, the sneaky little bastard."

What could she say? Formulating words, let alone whole sentences, seemed to drain all of her strength. She saw the logic behind Fandral's reasoning. Loki was a traitor. None of them had trusted him or showed sympathy for him after Thor had released him from his confinement. Now he had simply confirmed their anxieties.

The last thing she remembered with excruciating clarity was his face, contorted into a hideous mask of raw pain when his eyes met Frigga's lifeless form. The expression of boundless frenzy in his blazing eyes as he sent spell after spell towards Malekith. The red spark that shone from them, the blue shade that crept up his hands and neck.

"Come." Fandral put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I think you need some rest now."

Asgard mourned that night and the city was illuminated by the torches that paved the alleys and palace grounds. Their golden shine was the only source of warmth for the thousands of lost hearts that came together to guide their queen and the countless brave men and women who had perished in defence of their home to eternal rest.

Only occasionally could a tear be seen rolling down a cheek. Most of the eyes watching had none left to shed anymore. Their eyes had dried out hours ago for their grief ran deeper than tears could show. The sea of faces that now watched the quiet procedure were blank with sorrow, bereft of all comfort.

They were like children in the dark for the realm had lost its mother.

Many an eye would however turn to the son of her womb, the Prince who now stood beside his father and intended, and not few were the silent prayers for this son. He was her legacy in flesh and blood. He would be her avenger.

Frigga's body had been laid into a small boat. Her hair was open and her figure clad into a gown of the finest silk. Flowers and bead created a crescent that enveloped her head into a soft embrace. No sign of pain was etched onto her calm features. She could almost have been asleep were it not for the lifeless tint of her skin.

Fara watched as Odin stepped forward to kiss his beloved wife one last time. The Allfather was never one to betray his emotions openly and so his mouth was still kept in its usual stern line. Only his eyes spoke of a different tale and their reddened corners reminded Fara of when he had first seen his wife dead on the cold marble floor.

The king bent down to his queen's form and then rejoined his son and heir on the balcony that was reserved for the Royal Family and Jane. Thor's eyes never left his mother's face as his hand held unto Jane's.

Fara stood with the Warriors Three and Sif, all dressed in simple finery. The heaviness of her heart was something she could see reflected in her friends' eyes.

"It is time." She heard Sif whisper. The clouds above them parted and the sky cleared to reveal its coat of stars.

The queen's barge was lightened then and in a blaze of fire it was released into the dark waters. The vessel with its precious cargo was carried by the silken waves to the edge of the sea, where the water of Argard fell into the endless space beyond.

There the fire vanished and transformed into millions of crystal drops, carried by an imaginary breeze up into the sky. Everybody knew that it was their queen's soul finding its place among the stars.

Fara's throat tightened as every onlooker slowly released a small ball of light from their hands and let it fly up into the diamond sea above their heads. More barges followed, bearing the bodies of the heroes that had died that day. Soon the air was illuminated by the light balls that carried with them the prayers of the mourners to guide the dead into Valhalla.

Again her eyes found Thor. The Thunderer's gaze was fixed upon the one point where his mother's spirit had disappeared forever into the stellar labyrinth. She felt a pang at her heart at the sight and the memory of her own parents' death added to her pain. She knew how he felt. But just as she had had Sigyn at her side to share in her grief, he had them and Jane to share in his. He was not alone. None of them were alone and the thought gave her slight comfort.

She felt Volstagg's hand on her shoulder and turned her neck to meet his warm eyes. She was not alone in the world. She still had a family, even if Sigyn did not want to be associated with her any longer.

It was only later when she lay between her bed sheets that she could finally allow herself to correct herself. Sleep just refused to come and lay its soothing embrace over her tired muscles. For hours she turned from one side to the other.

Someone was alone after all.

No one could know for sure what motivated Loki to turn his back on them again, but if there was one thing she could swear upon it was that he would never have brought Frigga's death about willingly.

The queen had been the one person that still held some power over him, some significance for his cruel heart. And while he had not exactly shown much affection for her since their return Fara knew what emotions had lingered behind his hardened stare every time it had met the woman he had once called mother.

Her common sense was still dulled by the events of that day and so it was her heart that spoke to her in the darkness of the night. He would not have wanted Frigga dead.

And so, despite her better judgment, she mourned for him as well. She did not know where he was now, if he was even alive. She just prayed for him to understand the sacrifice in Frigga's actions, whether in life or beyond.

"Fool."

The next day she was roused by the bright morning sun, her eyes puffy and encrusted with the salt of tears she had not even noticed shedding.