Chapter 4: Sweet Memories and Dark Nightmares

The skies of Asgard were dark. The people were quiet. It seemed as if the whole realm was mourning the loss of Thor. Nobody, not even the powerful All-Father himself could tell when he would return. He sat on his throne, his face a mask to the sadness he felt inside. The Queen kept to herself, as if denying the fact her son was gone. The warriors, even in their sadness, prepared for war with Jotunheim. And Celestrial felt empty.

She stood in front of her mirror with tears in her eyes. Looking at herself, she wondered how everything could have gone wrong in such a short amount of time. Feeling the soft cotton of her wedding dress against her skin. It was a soft white, with jewels sewn all over the breast piece. It matched with her mothers' necklace almost perfectly. The sleves were rather short, but her train was long with amazing swirl patterns woven into the fabric. This was truly a dress for a princess. She looked away, and slowly slid out of the wedding gown, and changed into a simple blue dress. Sif would help her feel better, but the maiden was training with the other warriors and was not to be bothered. So, she decided to wander around the palace. Passing through the tall golden structure, she noticed very few people walk by her. Not letting it bother her, she found herself in the gardens. Feeling the cool stone against her bare feet helped her feel better as she sat down on the small bench. This was the very same bench were she first met Thor, and where he proposed to her. She held back her tears, and chose to be brave instead of being a wimp.

"You know, it's not proper for a lady to walk without shoes," came a smooth voice she knew all too well. Not even looking up she simply stated, "Just leave." Disregarding her, Loki sat on the bench beside her. There was an uncomfotable silence as he looked up, and saw tears in her eyes. "My lady," he softly said, "do you know where we are?" Without moving she replied, "In the garden. This is where I first met Thor. He proposed to me on this very bench." "Yes, I know of that. What else?" An aggravted look spread across her features. "What else is there to remember," she bitterly asked. "Well," said the prince, "This is where we first met as well. Do you not remember?"

It was a peaceful night. A young girl is calmly walking around Asgard with her father following closely. The two looked just alike with pale skin, light blonde hair, and round faces. The little girl however, her hair had a red tint to it, also called strawberry blonde. Her green eyes were lighter and more vibrant than her fathers', of which showed his age and wisdom. "Can you smell that Cel?" he asked his daughter, "It's honeysuckle." Her eyes widened as she knew what this meant. They hurried over to the gardens, where they found a large bush covered with honeysuckle blooms. He carefully plucked one, pulled on the bottom of the delicate flower, and held the stem over Cel's open mouth. The single, sweet drop of nectar dropped on her tongue. "Mmmm. Thanks daddy! Your turn." She followed her fathers' actions, but struggled to get the stem to his mouth. So he bent down and leaned forward. "Mmm. Thank you. It's almost as sweet as you are."

As they sat down on a small marble bench, the both of them heard a small chuckle from behind them. They turned around to see a young boy who looked somewhat like them. The only differences were that he was thin, and his dark hair was slicked back in a dignified way. He bowed slightly, "Good evening. Enjoying the honeysuckle Jacob?" "Yes sir. Thank you. It is a good evening isn't it?" The younger boy smiled, and looked at the little girl. He stepped forward and took her hand into his own. "Good evening my lady. I, am Prince Loki-Odinson," he said as he kissed the back of her hand. His lips were cool against her warm skin. "Hello Prince Loki," she curtsied, "I am Celestrial. Daughter of Jacob and Anja."

"I remember. I also remember you stealing my necklace and running all over Asgard with it." "Sorry about that," he said with a small laugh. "Cellie, I want to apologize. For everything. But please know that I love you, maybe even more than Thor. One day soon, I take ov..." She started to cut him off when he mentioned his brothers' name. "Loki, please. I need time. I just lost the man I love..." She slowly stood, and started to walk towards the palace. He quickly rose to stand in front of her, "My lady, please..please forgive me for what I have done. It's just..whenever I'm around you, I cannot help myself. I love you, Celestrial. I want to be with you, to take away this sadness that my brother has given you. Tell me, have you been able to talk to anybody about how you feel since he left?" He watched her, waiting for a response. Silence. Then, she pushed by him to continue towards the palace. Loki again stepped in front of her. "Cellie, please tell me how y..." She raised her hand to stop him. With hatred in her voice, "I told you, only Thor is allowed to call me Cellie. Since he is gone, I am to never hear that again." She continued walking, and he watched as she disappeared into the palace.

A couple of weeks had passed, and Asgard was starting to return to its normal high energy self. Although, one person in particular appeared to be growing weaker by the day. One bright afternoon, this certain man sat on his golden throne, deep in thought. He looked up as quiet footsteps neared him. "My lady, what brings you into my hall? Is something troubling you my child?" "All-Father, something IS troubling me. But, I fear it is a subject that may not be talked about in such open areas.." "Very well. Follow me." He painfully rose from his throne, and motioned for Celestrial and the Queen to follow him into his bedchambers. All private conversations were held here. He sat himself in the chair at his study. The queen stepped behind him and placed a loving hand on his shoulder. Looking up, Cellie could see the worry in his eyes. "My king, this is a personal matter." He nodded, suggesting she continue. "I'm worried about your health. I have some experience in the medicinal area, and I can tell something is wrong. Just, please put my mind to rest and tell me what is going on."

There was a banquet that night to celebrate the birthday of a kings' advisor. It was small, and not a lot of people showed up, but it made the advisor happy. She excused herself early, and made her way towards the stairs to her bedchambers. Slipping into a thin nightgown, she opened her curtains to reveal the starry night. She stepped out and breathed in the sweet smell of lavender. As the cool night breeze danced across her pale, round features, she couldn't help but focus on what her king had said earlier, "I am just worried about my son. Nothing to worry about my child. Go on about your day and put this behind you. I am just an old man with many things to do." She knew something else was going on, but it was unwise to question the king. Suddenly, she could hear footsteps on the balcony above her. This was new for her, since this person never came onto their balcony, at least what she could hear. Since she hadn't been at the palace too long, she did not know who's room that was. Craning her neck up and to the side, she tried to see who was up there. Being unsuccessful, she sighed, and lazily walked back into her room. Her bed looked very comfortable tonight, so she lifted the sheets, removed her robe, and climbed in. She closed her eyes and saw Thors' face. His sweet, smiling face. Then, darkness creeped up behind him, and she reached out for him. "Thor! Look out!" He turned around in time to see a large metal looking hand hit him in the face and chest. As he fell to the ground, she saw darkness take over his eyes. Blood on his face, arms, and chest, she realized he was dying.

"Celestrial! Wake up!" Her eyes snapped open and frantically looked around the room. She saw Loki holding her. "My lady, are you alright? What has hurt you?" "Hmm, what," she asked with major confusion. "Cel, you were screaming. Did someone try to attack you?" He was wrapping her barely covered body in his long cloak. "Thor! Something is wrong with Thor." "My lady," he said rather worried, "you are in the hall, barely clothed. Are you sure nobody was attacking you?" "Yes..I guess I was having a nightmare.." "Then lets get you back to bed. If it will make you feel better, I will seek out Heimdall and check on Thor." Feeling sorry, she quietly replied, "Yes. Thank you." He helped her back to her room. "Let me know if you need anything Celestrial. Good night, and try to have more pleasant dreams." "Good night my prince, and again, thank you." She closed her door and tried to figure out what just happened. Was it just a nightmare, or is something really happening to Thor?

The next morning, she set out to find Loki. She was vague on her memories of the previous night, and wanted to clear things up. As she neared the throne room, she heard several guards rushing towards the downward staircase, the one that leads to the relics vault. After a few minutes, she saw several guards carrying someone, and trying to block the person from view. Not too far behind them, paced a worried Loki. "Loki," she cried, "What is going on?" He looked up at her with something in his eyes. It wasn't worry, or fear, but something she just couldn't place. "My..my father. Odin..I think he has fallen into the Odinsleep.." He turned his face towards Odins' bedchamber. There, the guards were carefully placing him onto his bed, with a shocked Frigga stading there, mouth slightly hanging open. She looked to Celestrial, "My lady, if you would please excuse us. I need to talk to my son." Cellie left and watched as Loki closed the doors with a slight grin on his face. Or, was that a smirk? She brushed it off and left for the gardens. At least here, she could think clearly, and reminisce of her time with Thor. But everytime she thought of Thor, the only thing she could see was Loki's grinning face.