She wakes to the sound of Frigga singing softly. Opening her eyes, she sees her sitting by Heimdal's bedside, holding his hand. She looks to her right and sees Thor looking at her, relief in his eyes.
"My lady, you had me worried. Are you alright?" he asks before leaning down to kiss her.
She returns his kiss, then shifts to sit up to talk to him.
"I am fine, my love. How fares Heimdal?"
Concern returns to Thor's face. "Not well, my lady. The Master Healer said you'd regained consciousness some days ago, though you slept, but Heimdal has not."
She squeezes Thor's hand in comfort and says, "How long has it been since we started our quest?"
"Two weeks." Thor says.
"Hmmm." she says, as she throws back the sheets and swings her feet around to get out of bed. Thor puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"You haven't eaten in two weeks. Be cautious." he says gently.
She nods and sits a second before standing. The room spins, and she puts a hand on Thor's arm to steady herself. Digging deep into her reserves, she walks the few short steps to Heimdal's bedside. Frigga stands and bids Anara to sit. Nodding to the Queen gratefully, Anara sits and puts her hand on Heimdal's forehead. Closing her eyes, she reaches out to touch his mind. She finds his consciousness buried deep, only the fact that they are still linked allows her to find him. She shudders inwardly, knowing that if Heimdal hadn't taken the brunt of Loki's attack, she likely would have been lost in the empty blackness of unconsciousness forever.
Calling out to Heimdal, she starts to slowly rebuild the walls of his mind, removing the rubble and allowing his consciousness to rise. Hours pass before she's able to sit back, knowing she's done all she can.
She opens her eyes to find Frigga and Thor looking at her expectantly.
"He is sleeping now and will wake in a day or two, I would guess," Anara says, suddenly feeling faint. She sits back in the chair and closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again, Frigga is holding a bowl of steaming broth out to her.
"Here, drink this. It will help restore your strength." she says kindly.
Anara takes the bowl gratefully and sips from it slowly, knowing that drinking it quickly will only make her sick.
She looks to Thor in-between sips and says, "I must speak with your father and the Companions as soon as everyone can be gathered. I would prefer to have Heimdal awake, but I fear what I have to say cannot wait."
She hears shuffling from Heimdal's bed, and they all look over to see him pushing himself up to sit.
"I am awake now, my lady, thanks to you. Are you well?"
She smiles. 'Yes, with no small thanks to you, my friend."
Thor claps Heimdal on the back and says, "You too must eat, my friend, and regain your strength. Only then will I gather everyone."
Heimdal nods, and Frigga has a second bowl of broth brought in for him.
Sipping slowly as Anara has done, Heimdal takes a moment to address her.
"My lady, what do you remember from our journey?"
"Everything and more." she replies. In answer to his quizzical look, she says, "I was paid a visit by a former master of mine who brought me grave news. I will reveal all when everyone is gathered."
Thor gives her a look that says she should tell him now, but she shakes her head no. Thor says aloud, "Well at least tell me if you found Loki."
"Aye, we did my friend," Heimdal answers. "But if you will be patient, I believe both Anara and I would like to tell this tale only once."
Anara nods, agreeing with Heimdal.
Suddenly realizing that she's no longer wearing her Jedi robes and is only wearing a simple shift, she addresses Frigga, "My lady, would you be so kind as to contact Gabrielle and have her bring me a proper change of clothes?"
"Already done, my dear," she says, walking to a nearby wardrobe and pulling out a neatly folded pile of clothes. Anara's lightsaber rests on top.
"Come, there is a more private room just here where you can change," she says, nodding her head to a door on the far side of the room.
Smiling, Anara joins her, leaving the men to talk quietly in their absence.
Fully clothed and feeling more herself, Anara rejoins Thor and Heimdal, Frigga having taken her leave to tell Odin that both she and Heimdal are awake.
Thor stands and meets her half way, enveloping her in a hug and whispering into her hair, "I wish by all that is sacred that you would stop making me sit watch at your bedside, wondering if you will wake!"
Anara pushes back from him to look him in the eye, "Then I suggest you tell your brother to quit trying to kill me," she replies quietly.
To take the sting from her words, she touches his cheek and says, "I too tire of spending my days floating in unconsciousness, but it heartens me to find you waiting at my bedside when I wake." Lost in each other's eyes, they are brought back to the present by Heimdal clearing his throat.
"Thor, my lady, we should go. Odin is waiting for us," he says.
They meet Odin and the other Companions in the royal dining hall, the only place large enough and private enough for them all to gather. Filling goblets of watered mead themselves, they sit around one large table, Odin at the head with Frigga at his side. Odin wastes no time and gets directly to the point.
"Frigga says you found Loki. Where is he, and what does he plan?"
Anara lets Heimdal take the lead, knowing she will be speaking enough later.
"My king, we found Loki on a world outside of the Nine Realms. It is a place unknown to us until now, being on the other side of a secret Jotun portal. He appears to rule over a sparse populace, and though we could not see much, it is not likely that he has any means to wage war for the time being.
Odin steeples his fingers beneath his chin. "This secret portal concerns me, and I would not be so sure about Loki's lack of means. He can conceal much," he says. He thinks for a moment more before asking Heimdal, "Now that you know of this portal, can you keep watch on Loki through it?"
"I will try, my lord," Heimdal replies.
Thor, impatient to know the cause of their prolonged unconsciousness, asks, "Anara, you said Loki tried to kill you. What happened? How could he have done such a thing when your bodies were safe here in Asgard?"
Anara takes a deep breath before asking a question of her own.
"How much did you know of Loki's feelings for me?"
He looks at her quizzically for a moment. "I knew he cared for you, and I suspected that he might have plans to court you, but when he did nothing to pursue you, I thought I had been mistaken. That was why I waited so long before pursuing you myself."
Anara nods as Fandral asks, "What does this have to do with calling a war council?"
Anara smiles ruefully at him. "Everything," she says, and begins her tale.
"Loki left Asgard because of his feelings for me, which were stronger than any of us realized. When he came to me on Midgard, it was to say goodbye, forever. From his reaction when we found him, it was clear he never intended to be found. I believe it is his intent to strike out on his own, to rule obviously, but not to wage war against Asgard or any in the Nine Realms. He wants to be his own person and create his own kingdom far from the shadows of his past," she says as she looks pointedly at Thor, pausing for a moment to let them absorb her words.
Continuing, she says, "Unfortunately for us, we found him, and in his rage and desire to stay hidden, he lashed out with all of his power. If Heimdal hadn't shielded me, it is likely Loki's attack would have killed me."
Frigga puts her hand to her mouth and shakes her head, her eyes betraying her shock and sadness.
"There is more," Anara says, while getting up from the table and beginning to pace the room, unable to stay still. Everyone looks at her expectantly but says nothing.
"After Loki's attack, I was visited by an old master of mine." She can sense Thor's confusion but continues without pause. "She told me that my sister is searching for me and will eventually find me, here in this galaxy."
Sif looks at her and says, "But that is good news, is it not? Why do you look as if an army of dark elves is on our doorstep?"
Anara sits back down and rests her head in her hands for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Looking up and pleading with her eyes for Thor to understand, she says, "There is something I have kept secret from all but Odin. Please understand. I felt it was my burden to bear and not something I thought would ever affect any of you. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. You see, I have a twin sister. Her given name is Zaina, but when she turned to the Dark Side, when she turned to evil, she was given the name Darth Daeva. Before I came here, we were in the midst of a war against the Sith Empire. My sister was their leader, Empress of the Sith, and more evil and heartless than even Emperor Palpatine in my ancestor's time."
She pauses to take a drink and gauge the company's thoughts. Sensing that curiosity is the overwhelming feeling, she continues.
"A little over a year ago, I defeated my sister in battle and imprisoned her in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Jedi home world. Until shortly before I came here, I spent most of my time working to bring her back from the Dark Side. I was making progress -"
Volstagg interrupts her. "What's this dark side you keep talking about?"
She smiles apologetically. "Forgive me, I forget at times that you do not know of the Force here."
"For Jedi, the Force has two sides: the light side, what you would call good, and the dark side, which most consider evil. The Jedi, to their detriment for generations, worked only with the light side, while the Sith and Dark Jedi studied the dark side. With varying success, my family has been able to better balance the two sides, being able to use many of the powers granted by the dark side without being consumed by it."
Seeing that everyone seems to be following her, she continues.
"Unfortunately, there are times when a Jedi loses control and is consumed wholly by the dark side. Usually a Sith Lord, a master of the dark side, is there, pushing, influencing that Jedi and finally turning him. It happened to the patriarch of my line, Anakin Skywalker, as well as others in my family and to me and my sister."
She looks around the table before continuing. "Forgive me, for I fear my tale may be a long one before I can tell you why this is important."
Odin waves her on and she continues.
"My sister and I were kidnapped as teenagers, barely apprentices, by a Sith Lord, Darth Demonus. We were tortured and forced to do horrible things to each other until we turned. My sister succumbed first. So broken was she by what she'd been forced to do to me that her hair turned white."
She hears a sharp intake of breath from Frigga. "Your scars, they're not from battle but from what happened to you then?" she asks.
Anara nods. "Yes, my lady. Most of them are from that time, and the majority were given to me by my own sister. That is what broke her, and her breaking is what turned me," she says sadly.
Thor reaches across the table to take Anara's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as a way to tell her to continue.
"To shorten the story, I will say only this. Somehow we managed to hang on to something of what we were before and devised a means to escape. When we returned to the Jedi Temple, we spent years in rehabilitation, fighting to find balance and return to the light. We both succeeded, for a time. But our abduction had started another war, and we were soon embroiled in it. The stress eventually got to Zaina, and she turned again. She killed her Master and returned to the side of Darth Demonus. Within a few years, she managed to kill him and became the Empire's new leader."
"So does she bring an army with her then?" Heimdal asks.
"No, she comes alone. But she still poses a very great danger to this realm," Anara replies.
Looking at Volstagg, she continues, "As I was saying before, we had been making progress, and she was regaining her sanity before I left on a diplomatic mission. When I was caught in the wormhole that brought me here, the link we shared as twins was severed and the pain from it knocked her unconscious, like it did me. "
Not willing to reveal their vulnerability as twins more than she has, she does not go into detail but continues her story.
"According to Mistress Dina, Zaina too spent much time unconscious after my disappearance. When she finally did wake, the physical pain of our separation had driven her mad again. In her madness, she killed her guards and escaped. She has been searching for me ever since."
She pauses to take a drink, the others around the table waiting patiently for her to continue.
"Before she left me, my Mistress told me she had been unable to divine the future once Daeva finds her way here. The dark side obscures too much. She charged me with the task of cutting through the veil to see for myself what the future holds."
Thor looks at her worriedly and says, "And? What have you seen, my lady?"
Anara sighs, knowing what she has to stay next may be hard to explain to all but Odin and maybe Heimdal.
"The future is fractured into two main paths, one of war and destruction and one of relative peace. Both hinge on Loki's actions."
She senses surprise from almost all around the table, though Odin's mind remains closed to her.
"How does Loki play a part in this if he is so far away?" Sif asks.
Because she will find me through him," Anara says. "My master, Dina, came to me while my consciousness was in that other realm, a place much closer to my own home than Asgard. My sister can trace me through our twin link, much as I was able to trace Loki through the link we forged while I was unconscious after the crash. From what I was able to see, she will find him first because he is closer. Once she finds him, it is only a matter of time before she finds me."
Thor stands and says, "Then it is plain we must warn Loki and convince him to bid for peace."
Anara shakes her head. "It is not that simple, Thor. Though there are two main themes to the paths the future may take, none end well if we attempt to influence Loki in any way."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Odin asks, breaking his silence.
"Prepare, my lord. For war, at worst and a prison capable of holding the most powerful Sith Lord ever to rule my galaxy, at best," she says with resignation. "For even if Loki doesn't succumb to her lust for power, I must start my work to bring her back from insanity all over again, and for that, she cannot remain free."
Anara sits back in her chair, defeated by the enormity of the situation.
"How long do we have?" Fandral asks.
"A month or less before she finds a portal between my home galaxy and the realm Loki now inhabits. After that, it all hinges on Loki, and the path he chooses. If he joins her in attempting to rule this galaxy, it will take them time to rally forces to their cause, and we will have fair warning. If he does not, he will either bring her here, and I will be forced to try to subdue her again, or she will go off on her own, and there are too many possibilities down that line for me to have any idea how that would turn out," she says.
"Can't you cut the link between you? Would that prevent her from coming here and finding you?" Thor asks.
She looks at him, smiling sadly. "Our link is already severed. She seeks me now to reestablish it, and rid herself of the pain of its loss. It is via Loki and my link with him that she will locate me. But it is too late now to cut my link to him. Once Daeva crosses into Loki's dimension, we will be close enough for the link to reform. At that point, I could cut the link again, but to do so would likely kill us both."
She looks to Odin. "I will do so, should you wish it. My life and the life of my sister are not worth the possible tragedies our reunion could bring upon these realms."
Thor slams his fists on the table, standing abruptly and looking to his father.
"NO! Father, you cannot ask her to do this. She has said herself there are many outcomes. There has to be a way to keep this from ending in war."
Odin leans forward in his chair and motions for Thor to take his.
"Calm yourself, my son. I will not ask Anara to take her own life, not while the future is so uncertain. Though there may be a time when the safety of the Nine Realms and those we protect will demand such a steep sacrifice, that time is not now."
Anara nods, accepting his judgment. Thor, still standing, finally sits when Frigga puts a hand on his arm.
"Forgive me for asking, but how do you know that severing your link would be deadly if it was not this time?" Frigga asks Anara.
"Because to sever the link again, without sending one of us through a portal to yet another far-off realm, means one of us must die. And if one dies, so does the other," she says with finality. Sensing their confusion, she elaborates.
"Darth Daeva tried to kill me once by attempting to rip out my heart with her bare hand."
Several at the table gasp at the thought.
"The pain and shock of the attempt physically threw us apart. We both realized then that we could not kill each other, and that the death of one, would likely cause the death of the other. Honestly, knowing that, I am surprised either of us survived my coming here," she says.
Silence engulfs the room as everyone considers her words. Odin stands, and everyone in the room rises with him. He looks at Anara.
"You have given us much to consider, Anara. The hour grows late. Go to your beds and meet here again tomorrow at the hour before noon."
Holding his hand out to Frigga, the two leave the room, hushed conversation following in their wake. The Companions discuss possible options for a while longer, Anara negating every one because of the outcomes she's seen.
Finally tiring of the discussion, she says, "My friends, every scenario you come up with, I too have looked at, and none end well where we interfere. I know it pains you all to wait on the whims of Loki, but unless Odin can foresee something I have not, that is our only choice."
Standing, she bids them good night. "I go to seek my bed, as Odin has bidden. Good night, my friends. I will see you on the morrow."
She turns to the leave the room and hears Thor stand and bid everyone good night as well. He catches up to her quickly in the hall.
"My lady, would you leave without kissing me goodnight?" he asks, stopping her with a hand on her arm.
She turns to him and says, "I had hopes that we would do more than kiss, my dear Thor, but felt it uncouth to suggest it after such a somber discussion."
Thor pulls her to him and kisses her fiercely. Picking her up in one quick motion, he carries her to his rooms, her arms locked around his neck.
They make love fiercely, long into the night, as only two people who might lose each other can. Though spent, neither of them sleeps, preferring to spend the rest of the night awake in each other's arms, talking of mundane things, not willing to let this moment together pass in the darkness of sleep.
Sunrise finds them walking hand in hand through Frigga's prized gardens. Reaching the central fountain, they sit and watch the sun rise over Asgard, its golden rays striking the towers of the palace, creating a shattered kaleidoscope of rainbows over everything.
Thor gets down on one knee before Anara and takes her hand in his.
"My lady, though we have known each other for but a short while, I feel as if our souls have known each other forever. With the uncertainty of the future looming before us, I would do this now and not wait. Anara, daughter of Mara, would you do me the honor of becoming my betrothed for a year and a day, after which, should we both live and agree, we would be wed?"
Anara is taken aback by Thor's sudden proposal. She looks deep into his eyes and sees nothing but love and earnest devotion. She reaches out for the Force's council and senses only acceptance.
Leaning forward and kissing him, she pulls back only long enough to whisper, "Yes."
Thor picks her up in a giant bear hug, spinning around with happiness. Putting her down, he keeps her hand in his. "Then we shall make it official two days hence."
She looks at him quizzically. "Why in two days?"
"Because in two days, it will be Friday. It is a tradition for all such things to be formalized on Fridays."
Anara sees a thought cross Thor's mind and he sobers, looking at her intently.
"Unless of course you wish to seal our betrothal as the Jedi do?" he says, worried that he may have offended her with his assumption of an Asgardian betrothal.
She smiles at him, and replies. "Jedi do not typically marry so there are no ceremonies specific to the Order. For those rare few that do, they usually follow the traditions of their home cultures."
"As for traditions on my home planet, an engagement on Alderan usually consists of the exchanging of rings to show the couple's commitment to each other prior to a formal wedding ceremony."
Thor nods, considering. "We do not exchange rings until the actual wedding, however, if you wish, we can break tradition."
Anara shakes her head negatively. "No, my love. Asgard is my home now, and I will keep its traditions. Do tell me though; what does a formal betrothal entail here?"
Thor takes her hand and they begin walking again, heading back towards the palace.
"There is not much to it really. The couple signs a contract detailing the bride price, dowry, and other mundane matters." He looks down at her. "Since you are so far from home however, I think we can dispense with that and simply agree that if we live and wish to do so, we will marry a year and a day hence."
She nods her agreement, glad to avoid a complex marriage contract as she has nothing to offer Thor but herself.