A/N: I'll just leave this here and go hide in a corner for busy *cough* lazy *cough* writers...

Summary: It's field-trip time in Asgard. Not so much deep-profound-discussion time. Perhaps not even napping time. But most definitely not deep-profound-discussion time.

Chapter XI–Queen's Legacy

Seer (noun): A Person of supposed supernatural insight who sees visions of the future.

Hlin tucked one of the strands that had escaped her braid behind her ear. Concentration cut deep lines into her sun-kissed forehead as she submerged her right arm deeper into the water, anticipating.

Nothing.

Her hand had grown numb. She waited another moment before she pulled it out, shook the water off, and started rubbing life back into it. Munin was perched on the edge of the fountain next to her—on the edge of Frigga's fountain, which was, perhaps more than anything with the exception of her two boys, the Queen's legacy. She hadn't had time to say anything before she'd died, or perhaps she had chosen not to speak—that Hlin could only guess. Neither did she know whether Frigga had had a premonition concerning her own death. Considering her Seeress abilities, she might have been well aware of all the details of her death. It was more likely she had only glimpsed a moment of that tragedy. If that had been the case, had Frigga tried to avoid her own death, or had her death been the consequence of trying to alter the future circumstances?

The glimpses of the future Frigga used to have were practically unavoidable; there had been perhaps two or three times since the beginning of time that the events hadn't come to pass. But there was something else Hlin had learnt from the Queen: jumping to conclusions about the context or the circumstances of these visions was foolish. The obvious explanation was not always the right one. The future was not truly set in stone.

Hlin sighed. If only Frigga had been allowed to speak of her visions, mayn things might have gone differently. She had been permitted to take unexplained action, but she'd only been one person, and even with Hlin, Gna, and Fulla—her friends and attendants who'd learnt to recognise vision-based behaviour—to help her, she could only do so much.

Perhaps the Queen's death had already been altered. Perhaps there had been no premonition. Norns knew Hlin had spent too many hours wondering. If Frigga had known she was going to die, she could have left a message, perhaps instructions of a kind, or simply her goodbyes. Or… she might have chosen to leave a message through the absence of a message. After all, the utter lack of words about the past, of apologies long overdue, of old stories, could only mean Frigga hadn't wanted anyone to focus on the past. The only thing left to focus on was the future.

Then again, Hlin could be looking for symbolism where there was none. Perhaps it did not matter. The Queen had always been taking care of the future, and her wishes concerning the days to come had always been known.

Protecting her family and her world.

Maintaining peace.

Offering love and forgiveness.

And Hlin—Hlin had been a protector for a long, long time, first of the people Frigga had held dear, then of the entire realm, and now—of the future. Separate from the Council, from Odin's golden chambers, were those who moved behind the scenes but ultimately addressed the people in ways that mattered—from their hearts—and would do what needed to be done.

Frigga had understood that and had been smart enough to ensure her ways would endure. Her legacy lived on, and she hadn't needed to breathe a single word when the light was fleeing her eyes.

"Can we do anything?" Fulla asked from the stairs that led to the balcony.

Hlin wiped her hand into her skirts. Gna said down next to Fulla.

"Prince Loki has a plan," she said. She'd returned from the Council meeting moments ago. It had made matters easier when the Allfather had allowed her to take Frigga's place there; she'd been the Queen's ambassador before.

"What kind of plan?" Fulla asked.

Gna shrugged, picking at the sleeves of her dress. "He didn't say, but he was adamant that people should stay out of his way. He doesn't seem to care for support. Whatever he's planning, he must be able to succeed on his own."

No, Hlin though, but her vocal chords refused to form the sounds. A picture was etched into her mind, one of Loki bleeding blue light that had the power to level the Nine Realms and would do so if left uncontrolled.

~oO*o*Oo*~

"That was crazy in there. I've seen politicians fight, trust me, but the amount of noise you guys can produce…"

"We've less than a day to finish the preparations," Loki said, dragging his feet. He'd been looking like death warmed over (possibly in a toaster) before; now it was even worse. Tony just wanted to get him away from all the arguing and shouting. He'd offer to help the god walk if he wasn't sure Loki would refuse.

"Yeah… Like I said—crazy. But you were awesome."

No response.

"Listen, though. What made you decide for war? You weren't sure before, and now you're standing right in the middle of it. Why?"

They came around the last corner and Loki pressed his palm to the door to his rooms.

"I am perfectly capable of fighting."

"Of course you are. Nobody said anything else."

It was his fault, wasn't it? Why else would Loki not tell him? He'd come to some reckless, foolish conclusion while they weren't talking, and now he was going to risk his life because of it.

Crap.

Loki pressed his lips together, and yeah, Tony was so right. "You don't have to prove that to anyone. Seriously. And you don't have to go to war to prove to yourself you don't need me—"

"Tony." Loki pushed open the door to his bedroom. "Not now," he murmured. "I can't. I can't anymore."

"Okay." He did look terrible, after all, and Tony was pretty sure he was right. So he wrapped his arm around Loki, and together they sat down onto the bed, and collapsed onto their backs, and lay in silence for a while.

Tony broke the silence. "What did you do to that Elf?"

Loki pressed his lips together and took a breath. "I made him live through my memories."

His—oh.

"You… can do that?"

"Apparently."

He didn't push any further, and they fell back into silence. Tony's gaze began following the curving lines of the reliefs on the ceiling, turning up and down and into themselves, until he realised he was observing a tree that almost seemed to be swaying in the wind…

He opened his mouth to ask if he was looking at Yggdrasil when Loki sat up with a sharp inhale.

"The apples."

"Sorry, what?"

"Idun's apples. If I can get her to give you her apples, than you need not die so soon. You could stay with me."

Tony arched his eyebrows. That was sudden.

"They would make me immortal?"

"No. Merely lengthen your lifespan."

He sighed. "You do know what you're asking me, right?"

Propped on one hand, Loki turned his body towards him. "Spend your life with me."

"Yes… But you're also asking me to leave everything else behind."

Loki's face closed off. "You don't want to."

"Of course I want to stay with you, but the price would be high. My friends, my home… Hell, even my world, or do you think we could peacefully stay there for the next few thousand years?"

"So you don't want to."

"Hey, hold your horses. I never said that. It's not something to decide in a moment. The other way for you not to live way longer than me would be to make you mortal, and you wouldn't agree to that just like that if I brought it up, right?"

Loki averted his gaze. "My magic…"

"I know. I'm not asking you to give it up." He couldn't demand something so horrible of Loki. "I'm just telling you I would need time to decide, and I would need to be sure you're asking for the right reasons. If I were to stay with you… I would need to know you don't want me to stay merely because you think you can't live without me, you understand? If I ate the apple… The only way this were a good idea would be if we both knew we could live without each other just as well, and even then…" He shook his head. "I would need time."

Loki looked back at him. His eyes ware piercing, boring deep into Tony's very core, and the inventor felt so very naked under that gaze…

"Forget I asked," the god deadpanned.

"Snowflake…"

"No," he said, then with a bit more softness, "enough about this now." With that, he lay back down, turned away from Tony, and remained still.

This wasn't going well at all.

He didn't know if Loki had fallen asleep, but when he leaned over him, the god's eyes were closed. A soft sigh escaped Tony's lips.

"I love you, you fool," he murmured. But could he leave everything behind for Loki? What would they even do? Stay on Earth where at least Tony would have to fake his own death and then keep moving around? Not that he was too big on friends, but always leaving everyone and moving on? Of course he couldn't tell anyone... Unless realm-to-realm communication advanced exponentially and people would know about the whole Asgard business. Even then, it would still be different. Accepting there were beings, practically gods, who lived for millennia was one thing. Seeing a human join them? That would not only cause many to throw hissy fits, it would also make it clear that there truly was something that could grant virtual immortality, and Tony could see no way this would end well. Could one simple decision of a single human (though, admittedly, an important human) alter the whole course of the future?

He rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers.

What if he and Loki didn't stay on Earth? But where would they go? To Asgard where Loki was hated and Tony would likely become, too? Or some other realm Tony didn't even know?

No. He didn't want that. No matter how much humanity sometimes sucked, Earth was his home, the familiar territory. Not that he wouldn't enjoy seeing other worlds, but there was a big difference between endlessly travelling and having a home to come back to.

Shit.

He needed answers from Loki, needed explanations and support and the knowledge of what Loki would be willing to sacrifice. Instead, he had an exhausted god who was fraying at the edges and took Tony's lack of enthusiasm as a personal rejection. Not to mention there was a battle coming in less than twelve hours, Loki definitely wasn't supposed to be sleeping, and Tony still had no idea what he should do in the fight.

He was aware his body should be getting hungry about now, but the coldness in the pit of his stomach made it hard to think about food. He was having a bit of a problem thinking about anything that wasn't related to longevity, really. The fact the coming battle was just one more chance for him to die didn't make things any better. These could be the last minutes of privacy he'd ever had with Loki.

His throat closed up.

"Loki?"

No reply.

"Are you awake? Because if you are, I really need to talk to you."

Still nothing. Loki was probably fast asleep, and Tony wasn't sure he had the heart to wake him after all this day had forced the god through. On the other hand, he wanted Loki to know some things.

He settled for kissing Loki's cheek. "I love you," he murmured again, somehow hoping Loki could still hear him on some deep level of his subconscious mind. "Not that I'm so easy to kill, but if I bite the dust this time... I don't know if there's anything waiting for me after death, but if there is, maybe you'll find me there. You'll find me, won't you?"

He swallowed.

"Or maybe I'll manage to come back to you. I don't want to leave you, Lo."

Perhaps he would have said more had the soft knock on the door not broken the silence. Frowning at the door, he swiped at his eyes. How could somebody knock on the bedroom door if the front door to Loki's rooms (more like a presidential suite) was locked?

The mattress bounced back into its original shape without a sound when Tony's weight left it. Trying to walk just as soundlessly, he crossed the space to the door and opened it.

Nothing.

Nobody was there. What the hell? Was he imagining things now?

A second later, the knocking was back, and maybe this was some magic trick, carrying the sound from somewhere else. The front door, perhaps?

He ran a hand though his hair and tried that door, too, only to find Hlin standing outside. Her hair was pulled away from her face and the robes she'd worn last time had been ditched in favour of an armour made of silver metal and dark leather.

"You need to come with me."

"Yeah? Why?"

"Please. There is someone you need to meet."

He crossed his arms, unconvinced. "I think where I need to be is right here, so that I can help Loki fight Odin's war."

Hlin hesitated for a moment. "Do you know what Loki is planning?" she said at last. "What everyone else is planning?"

"I'll find out eventually." He pouted. It stung a little, being reminded of his ignorance. He wasn't all that important in Asgard.

"And if it's too late then?"

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, too late?"

She shook her head, and why the hell wouldn't she answer? As if he would listen to somebody who was doing nothing but spewing cryptic hints.

"Trust me. "

"Right. Of course." She'd been nice before, but there was a battle coming, and he needed to stand at Loki's side. He wouldn't risk losing him again.

"Idun," Hlin said. "That's where I'll take you."

"Why?"

"Do you believe in faith, Tony Stark?"

"No. I heard even the Norns said the future wasn't set in stone."

"Some things are."

"But not all."

"No. Not all."

"Great. Awesome. I'm really glad we agree on that, but why is it important again?"

"Because we're going to prove it."

"And we're going to see Idun because…?"

Hlin pressed her lips together. "Listen to me. I asked you nicely, but I can drag you with me screaming and kicking, too, and I will do it if that's what it takes to get my job done."

Right. Protecting people. Was she trying to lead him away to keep him safe? But why wouldn't she say so? Also, he wasn't a helpless child; he could fight. Did she think he couldn't? Or did she know something he couldn't understand yet? What had all that destiny crap been about?

"And Loki? Will you protect him, too?"

She nodded. Tony wanted to ask how, since she wouldn't be there, but maybe they would return soon enough. Or maybe he just wanted to believe her.

"Okay, fine. I'm coming with you. Let me get my suit."

~oO*o*Oo*~

Ten minutes later, they were striding down one of the numerous corridors. Nobles, servants, and peasants alike hurried back and forth. Tony hadn't seen so many people in the palace before, especially not children.

"Battle preparations?"

Hlin hummed in affirmation.

Tony noticed a familiar face in the crowd at about the same time as he was noticed, too.

"Stark!" Jane waved over a few heads, said something to the Aesir woman next to her, and hurried over to them. "Please tell me you weren't told to 'go to safety'?" She drew quotation marks in the air.

"No. We're going on a field trip."

"Great. I'm coming with you."

Tony opened his mouth to protest—but he could find no reason to. He sure as hell wasn't telling Jane to sit this one out. Perhaps he would have if this was Earth, but it was Asgard, and the Aesir already thought humans weak. Anything they could do to prove them wrong was okay with him. So he turned to Hlin, and she nodded, and a devilish smile spread over Jane's face.

~*oO*o*Oo*~

Loki awoke to an empty room and a note beside his head.

Out with Hlin. Don't worry, I'll be fine.

He sighed. If Tony didn't want to be around him, Hlin was not the worst company to be in, and Loki had other matters to focus on. So many other matters. Most definitely.

He washed quickly and dressed into black pants and a soft tunic that would go under his armour. He was just closing the buckles on a sturdier leather tunic that went over the first when magic transmitted a hasty knock to him. Pausing only for a second, he allowed whoever was out there entrance; it had to be either Tony or somebody bearing news about the battle.

He got up to meet the guest in the parlour; seeing Fandrall walk in proved his theory.

"Yes?"

"The Allfather said you were planning to use the Tesseract. It's madness, but you can count on my help."

Loki's eyebrows arched. "I neither need nor desire your help." Why should Fandrall wish to offer assistance in the first place?

"Perhaps not, but as I understand it, the Allfather is relying heavily on your success. Somebody should make sure you really do succeed. That and..." He paused and smoothed out a non-exist t wrinkle on what little fabric could be seen through his armor. "You might... What you said may be true. To some degree, of course."

"Mostly, you're just convinced I have the best chances of winning this, and you're choosing to be on the winning side."

Fandrall glanced down, then looked back at Loki. "No offense, but I would prefer to see us win. If you're the one who can do it, then I had better make sure nothing happens to you. Gna is helping as well, and perhaps one or two other soldiers I trust."

As if that should mean something. Loki didn't trust anyone on this realm to truly have his back. He could do this alone. Unfortunately, controlling the Tesseract would require a lot of concentration. It would be easier to have someone guard his back.

Then there was Gna. First Hlin had gone somewhere with Tony (when were they returning? Why didn't Tony say when they were returning?), and now Gna was going around gathering a team? Were Frigga's friends planning something? They had always known too much...

"Fine," he ground out. "But you and whoever else you bring listen directly to me. If anyone endangers the mission, they will be removed. Understood?"

"Yes, my prince."

Loki couldn't help thinking Tony would tell Fandrall to shove 'his prince' where the sun don't shine.

~*oO*o*Oo*~

It was already dark when Jane pulled her cloak tighter around herself and sat down in the back of the sky glider. She had accepted the name Hlin had used, as opposed to Stark, who continued to blabber about floating boats.

Tuning him out, Jane turned her gaze towards the deep purple hues in the sky, so dark they were almost black, and the splatters of golden light amid them. The difference to Earth's atmosphere was striking. If only somebody could explain it in Earth's scientific language instead of going on about magic. As interesting as that was, it didn't enable her to either confirm or discard her theories.

"You know Thor will probably be looking for you," Stark said, and Jane tore her gaze from the sky to focus on him.

"As Loki will for you."

"I left him a note. You came on an impulse without even knowing we're going to Idun."

He sat down left from Jane. His armour was resting at his feet in the suitcase form; Hlin must have reassured him he wouldn't need it so soon. Jane wasn't sure if that made her feel safer or less protected. She didn't like the idea of Stark's needing the suit sometime later, either.

"Why are we going to visit her again?"

Tony had told her what the end station of the trip was (presumably; Jane wasn't completely sure even Tony knew whether visiting Idun was truly the one and only purpose Hlin had in mind), but he'd given no reason for the journey or why they were going now. True, Thor wanted Jane safe, having sent her (after she'd refused to return home via bifrost like a one-night-stand he could ditch) to the deeper palace circles where children, the elderly, and some women—others would be out there, making a stand—were supposed to gather. Perhaps Stark would have been suggested to join them, too. He certainly wouldn't listen. Either way, none of them might survive in the end. Perhaps they would be safer with Idun, wherever that was. If so, was it only safer there if nobody else joined them?

She understood they had a special standard, firstly because they were the princes' lovers, and secondly because they were mortal, considered frail(er) and not burdened with the Aesir honour code. Nevertheless, she wished all the other people in Asgard could be safe, too.

"Excellent question." Stark turned to Hlin, who was silently steering the sky glider away from the palace and the city. "Why are we going to Idun?"

Hlin glanced at him, her lips pressed in a serious line. She took a breath and opened her mouth.