Melting His Icy Heart
Chapter 8
Thor led her into the back room of a small tavern and told her to wait for him there. When he came back he had Heimdall, two of the warriors three, and Lady Sif with him. Andrea arched a brow at him and he gave a slightly sheepish shrug.
"I have a plan Lady Andrea."
"I hope it's a better plan than you father came up with."
The warriors all stared at her in shock, though the blonde one laughed lightly.
"Oh I like this one, she had a fiery spirit. Would you care to have a tour of my chambers little mortal Lady?"
Thor gave him a sharp look.
"Fandral…"
Thor's warning tone was ignored when Andrea spoke over him.
"No thank you…Fandral was it? You're not my type. I prefer my men to be a bit darker…more magical."
Thor gave a soft laugh of mirth as she sat, elegant and regal as any queen. His admiration of the woman who saw his brother's true heart only grew.
"My friends. What I am about to ask of you is treason of the highest order. Success will bring us exile and failure shall mean out death."
That didn't sound horrible at all…Andrea's sarcastic tongue was just begging to be let loose but she bit her lip to keep quiet and let Thor have his talk.
"Malekith knew the Aether was here. He can sense its power. If we do nothing he will come for it again, but this time lay waste to all of Asgard. We must move Jane off-world."
"The Bifrost has been shut down and the Tesseract locked away in the vault."
"There are other paths off Asgard. Ways known only to a few."
Lady Sif's words were a bit of a downer to be honest, but Heimdall gave her hope that there may yet be a solution to things. When Thor spoke she knew immediately who he was referring to and she felt a bubble of emotion swell within her as a smile threatened to break out over her twitching lips.
"One, actually."
"No."
The rounded warrior spoke softly but the reactions of the whole group made Andrea grit her teeth in irritation.
"What is your problem with Loki? Why do you all hate him so much?"
"He is a liar, a trickster."
"So what? People in my world pull pranks on each other all the time, and yes sometimes people get hurt from them. We get over it. We forgive and we move on…or we prank them back. Have none of you ever stopped to think that your actions and words towards him are a large part of why he became so vicious?"
Thor gave her a look of approval, as did Heimdall which nearly made her glow with pride, until Lady Sif spoke up yet again.
"Please tell me you didn't fall for him? For his lies? He will only hurt you in the end foolish mortal."
Andrea's low growl had Thor moving away from her cautiously, Heimdall watching on in amusement as the small female's anger caused fire to dance across her skin. Fandral's eyes nearly bugged out of his head in amazement.
"I didn't know Mortals could use magic…"
"Most can't…only a rare few of us are gifted…or cursed…with special abilities. Mine is heavily tied to my emotions. When I get angry I 'flame-up' as my brother calls it. Both Thor and Loki have told me numerous stories from when they were growing up, and Loki even allowed me to view some of his memories which I'm positive he's never done with anyone else. In his memories you all insulted him, and belittled him for using magic instead of a sword. The man he saw as his father did the same thing…and yet everyone wonders why he became so bitter and his words became vicious barbs."
Thor huffed a soft laugh as Andrea sat primly once more and let Thor resume going over his plan. Though Fandral spoke first. The more everyone talked the more upset Andrea seemed to get, though Heimdall kept a hand on her shoulder which kept her calm because she had no wish to hurt him.
"He will betray you."
"He will try."
"Well, what then? Your lovely mortal is being guarded by a legion of Einherjar who will see you coming from miles away."
"I won't be the one who comes for her."
Thor looks over at Sif who looks decidedly unhappy with her role in this plot.
"And what of the Allfather?"
"It is my sworn duty to notify him of all crimes against the throne…even my own."
Andrea gave him a look of both surprise and admiration. He was willing to risk so much to help them because it was what he believed was best for the universe he watched over. That had to be a heavy burden to bear.
Assuming you can get Loki's help, and you can free this mortal, what good would it do? We'd all be dead the minute we step one foot outside the palace."
That, my friend, is why we won't be leaving by foot."
Thor told Andrea to remain out of sight until he motioned for her as he walked up to the barrier in front of Loki's cell. Andrea could hear the pain in Loki's voice, no matter how he tried to hide it with his sharp hateful words.
"Thor. After all this time and now you come to visit me. Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?"
"Loki, enough. No more illusions."
She watched with a stricken look as his perfect illusion faded away to show a cell of destroyed furniture. She nearly ran to the cell, despite Thor's words, when she saw that Loki's foot was bleeding. She knew he probably kicked the wall or something in his raging, she'd done it enough times herself that Tony had padded the walls of her bedroom.
"Now you see me, brother. Did she suffer?"
"I did not come here to share our grief. Instead I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament."
Andrea felt like hitting Thor for not telling Loki what he needed to hear, but Loki's interest seemed to be piqued and his tone slightly amused her.
"Go on."
"I know you seek vengeance as much as I do. You help me escape Asgard and I will grant it to you. Vengeance and afterward this cell."
Andrea really wanted to smack Thor for that last bit, and there was no way she'd be letting anyone put Loki back in this god-awful place again.
"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?"
"I don't. Mother did. But you should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me and I will kill you."
Andrea was silently fuming at Thor. She had thought he was on her side where Loki was concerned, but now she wasn't so sure. Loki, on the other hand, seemed willing enough to agree.
"Hmm. When do we start?"
Thor made a hand motion towards the shadows and Loki frowned at him in confusion, until Andrea stepped into the light next to Thor and Loki's face melted into a look of pure joy at seeing her.
"What are you doing here little one?"
"I came to try and reason with Odin…that was a fruitless waste of breath."
Loki laughed softly and, as Thor lowered the barrier, pulled her into his arms. She felt his strong heartbeat under her fingers and buried her face against his throat.
"I'm surprised he didn't send you home as soon as you got here."
"He tried…your mother…she wouldn't let him. She…was the most…amazing woman…"
She was crying again and Loki hushed her softly, crooning to her as he wiped her tears away. It touched him to see how much she had come to care for his mother in such a short time. Thor smiled softly at how tender Loki was with her, and it made that hope he had thought was gone for good come back.
"Look at me little one. You have such a tender heart, it goes well with your fiery spirit. Now, shall we start this little adventure?"
Andrea laughed softly and hooked an arm into Loki's as Thor led them through the halls of the palace. Loki was, as usual, being as obnoxious as possible but she found it to be quite amusing watching him tease Thor.
"This is so unlike you, brother. So clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?"
"If you keep speaking, I just might."
Andrea knew it was an empty threat since he needed Loki's help…that and he was afraid of her fire which was amusing on its own.
"Fine. As you wish. I'm not even here."
Loki shifted to look like one of the guards and Andrea had to blink a few times to adjust to the sudden change.
"Is this better?"
"It's better company at least."
"Still, we could be less conspicuous."
This time Loki returned to normal and made Thor look like Lady Sif. Andrea couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her and earned a grin from Loki. His next words only made it worse and she could barely keep walking while trying to restrain her laughter, Loki's arm was about the only thing that kept her upright.
"Mmm, brother, you look ravishing."
"It will hurt no less when I kill you in this form."
"Very well. Perhaps you'd prefer one of your new companions, given that you seem to like them so much."
When Loki shifted into Captain America she lost it completely, hanging onto his arm and gasping for breath as her body shook with laughter.
"Oh, this is much better. Ooh. The costume is a bit much. So tight. But the confidence…I can feel the righteousness surging. Hey, do you want to have a rousing discussion about truth? Honor? Patriotism? God bless Amer…"
Thor cut him off by shoving him into a column with a hand over his mouth, dispelling the illusion and making Andrea fall immediately silent in worry. Loki moved his head and Thor pulled his hand away.
"What?"
A pair of guards walking past answered Loki's question for him. Not that he was done in the least.
"You could at least furnish me with a weapon. My dagger, something."
When Thor moved and the sound of clanking metal was heard Loki looked pleased.
"At last. A little common sense."
His pleased look faded into one of unamused surprise as he lifted his now cuffed hands.
"And I thought you liked tricks."
Thor was amused, but Andrea just shook her head at both of them.
"We do not have time for this Thor. We need to move…Now."
They meet up with Sif and Jane, who looks shocked to see Loki.
"You're…"
"I'm Loki, you may have heard of me."
Jane slapped Loki and Thor seemed to take an instinctive step back, making Andrea snort since her friend had already slapped him twice.
"That was for New York."
"I like her."
Andrea gave him an unamused little glare for that comment and Loki put his cuffed arms over her head and around her back so he could pull her close to him.
"Hush now my little one. I like her bravery. It is nowhere even close to what I feel towards you my little flame."
Andrea leaned into him for a moment, ignoring the shocked look on Sif's face entirely. The sound of boots and voices met their ears as armed guards were nearing the room they were in.
"I'll hold them off. Take her."
"Thank you."
Andrea gained a small amount of respect for Sif, but she still wasn't overly fond of the woman. The woman placed her sword at Loki's neck, but her words remained soft despite their threat.
"Betray him, and I'll kill you. You do seem to care for the mortal woman…I do hope you don't plan to betray her trust and faith in you…it would likely crush her spirit entirely and that would be a waste of such fire."
"It's good to see you, too, Sif. Worry not…I would never harm her, not allow anyone else to do so."
They moved into the throne room and found Volstagg standing in front of the massive Dark Elf ship.
"I will give you as much time as I can."
"Thank you my friend."
Thor and Jane walked past Volstagg, Jane nodding at him with a grateful smile. Andrea and Loki went to do the same only to be stopped by Volstagg's hand on Loki's chest.
"If you even think about betraying him…"
You'll kill me?" Evidently there will be a line."
Andrea snorted softly and gave Volstagg and little wave of her fingers, teasing him a bit before Loki led her onto the massive ship. The inside unnerved her with how dark and sinister it looked.
"This is…pleasant."
Her tone implied the opposite and Loki let her lean against him, both of them seeking support and comfort from the other. Thor started tapping random buttons that seemed to do nothing and Loki couldn't resist teasing him, which dissolved into a back and forth mini-argument over the controls of the ship. Andrea and Jane watched from the sidelines in exasperated amusement.
"I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing."
"I said, 'How hard could it be?'"
"Well, whatever you're doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster."
"Shut up, Loki."
"You must have missed something."
"No, I didn't. I'm pressing every button on this thing."
"No, don't hit it. Just press it gently."
"I am pressing it gently, it's not working!"
He was doing the exact opposite of 'pressing gently' but neither female felt the need to get involved just yet. When Thor hit the console the things started up and Andrea sighed softly at Jane's little giggle.
"He's like a little kid sometimes isn't he?"
"Sometimes, but he's really gentle and sweet too."
"Well at least he got it working."
They watched as Thor tried to get the thing moving and turned it in a full circle, taking out nearly every column in the throne room while he was at it. Loki was quick to mention this as well.
"I think you missed a column."
"Shut up!"
"Look, Why don't you let me take over? I'm clearly the better pilot."
"Is that right? Well, out of the two of us, which one can actually fly?"
Jane passed out and Andrea barely caught her head in time to keep it from hitting the floor.
"Jane?!"
"Oh dear. Is she dead?"
Andrea gave Loki a withering look that had him holding his hands up in a surrender formation.
"Sorry…that was rude of me."
"Jane?"
Thor saying her name was enough to get her to lift a hand and tell him she was ok, not that it stopped Andrea from worrying about her. Thor took out the top of a building and gave Loki a warning look.
"Not a word."
A group of Asgardian flying ships started flying behind them and for some reason Loki decided they needed a running commentary on what was happening.
"Now they're following us."
The ships started shooting at them and Andrea took a deep breath to calm the sudden spike of fear that raced through her.
"Now they're firing at us."
"Yes. Thank you for the commentary, Loki, it's not at all distracting."
They flew into a passageway and clipped the head off of a large stature in the process.
"Well done. You just decapitated your grandfather."
Andrea let a small laugh burst out of her at that one, easing her nerves only slightly.
"You know, this is wonderful. This is a tremendous idea. Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that."
Andrea knew the full plan and was about to tell Loki to relax but he kept going.
"Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us. It's brilliant, Thor! It's truly brilliant!"
Thor shoved Loki out of the open door and Andrea laughed at the scream he gave as he fell. She looked up at Thor as he came over to her and Jane and lifted Jane into his arms.
"Let's go Lady Andrea. Fandral will catch you."
"He damn well better or he'll be missing his favorite body part next time I see him."
Thor laughed lightly as Andrea did a pretty little dive out of the ship, and jumped swiftly after her. Loki was lying in a small heap on the smaller ship Fandral had piloted below them, and Andrea was smacking Fandral's arm to get him to put her down since he was holding her bridal style after catching her.
"I see your time in the dungeons has made you no less graceful, Loki."
"Fandral…if you do not put me down on my feet this instant I will remove your most precious body part. Understand me?"
His eyes widened and he quickly set her down and backed away from her. Thor laid Jane down on a bench at the back of the small ship as Loki spoke to him.
"You lied to me. I'm impressed."
"I'm glad you're pleased. Now, do as you promised, and take us to your secret pathway."
Loki got a look of excitement on his face as he took the control lever of the ship into his hands. Andrea knew that look and it meant nothing but trouble in her mind. It was the same look Tony got when he was about to test some dangerous new toy of his creation. Then they were being fired at again, and only Loki's skillful maneuvering kept them from being blasted to pieces.
"Fandral."
"Right."
Fandral grabbed a rope on the side of their little ship and stood up.
"For Asgard."
With that said he jumped off the little ship and used the rope to swing up and land on the one behind them. Andrea had to say it was an impressive move…but he still reminded her too much of her brother. As they approached a tiny looking cave Andrea's eyes widened as she looked at Loki, though Thor's tone of voice matched her feeling precisely.
"Loki?"
"If it were easy, everyone would do it."
"Are you mad?"
"Possibly."
Loki gave Andrea a look and nodded towards his own feet. She took the hint and moved to sit at his feet, not caring how it might look so long as it kept her safe. He bent over slightly, enough to shield her from any debris they might hit while going through the cave and Thor used his own body to shield Jane as well. The sides of the ship scraped against the walls of the cave and showered sparks over the passengers, but the Asgardian's more resilient bodies protected the more fragile human women from harm and they emerged on the Dark World unharmed.
"Ta-da!"
Andrea gave Loki an unamused look as she tried to get her heart rate back to normal and cool the flames flickering across her skin. His cool hands against the back of her neck mad her relaxing swiftly as the ship bumped against the ground for a moment before Loki took control yet again. He set the thing on what she figured was auto-pilot and let it take a straight path to who-knew-where. Thor covered Jane with a blanket to keep her warm while Andrea curled herself against Loki in order to keep her flames cooled and calm.
"What I could do with the power that flows through those veins."
"It would consume you."
"She's holding up alright...for now"
"That isn't funny Loki…"
He gave Andrea an apologetic look, sensing her distress and concern for her friend, but certain things had to be said for all their sakes.
"She is strong in ways you could never even know."
"Say goodbye."
"Not this day."
"This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing. It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready."
"Neither will you, brother."
"The only woman whose love you prized will be snatched from you."
"And will that satisfy you?"
"Satisfaction is not in my nature."
"Surrender is not in mine."
"The son of Odin…"
"No. Not just of Odin. You think you alone were loved of mother? You had her tricks but I had her trust."
"Trust? Was that her last expression? Trust? When you let her die?"
Andrea cried out softly at Loki's words, still believing in her heart that Frigga's death was on her hands because she could do nothing to save her.
"He wasn't there when she was killed Loki…"
"What help were you in your cell?"
"Who put me there? Who put me there?!"
Andrea's words were heard but dismissed and Thor shoved Loki against the side of the little ship.
"You know damn well. You know Damn well who!"
Thor backed off, breathing heavily.
"She wouldn't want us to fight."
"Well she wouldn't exactly be shocked."
The two chuckled softly and Andrea breathed out softly.
"I wish I could trust you."
The look on Loki's face at his next statement made Andrea shiver slightly, and not from the temperature of the dismal planet they were on either.
"Trust my rage."
"Loki…Thor wasn't there when your mother was killed…I was."
Her voice was soft and pained as Loki turned to look at her in confusion.
"What do you mean little flame?"
"I was with her when that dark elf…Malekith came in. She had created an illusion of Jane being with us. When he touched it and it vanished he got angry and dragged me over to her while demanding to know where his damned Aether was. Your mother…she refused to tell him so this big…thing that was with him…he ran her through with his sword. I tried to stop the bleeding…I did…but there was too much…I tried…so hard…"
Loki gave Thor a pleading look and Thor took the cuffs on so Loki could pull her into his chest, holding her close to him as she cried and kept asking him to forgive her for letting his mom die. Loki felt something tighten in his chest and he tilted her head up to look at him, seeing the tears flowing down her cheeks made something inside him ache.
"No my little flame. You are not to blame for her death, and neither is Thor. I spoke in anger and hurt little one. The only one to blame is Malekith…and he will pay dearly for it. Do you understand little one? It was not your fault."
Andrea nodded and then melted into him as he kissed her. It was a soft, gentle kiss, meant to soothe her and show her how much he cared for her. Thor smiled softly at the scene, feeling happy for both his friend and his brother, and hoping that they would be able to find happiness after this was all over.