CHAPTER 6

Thor showed Jane to her old chamber and they went in so that they could talk. The room was exactly as she remembered it to be. Gold and purple the predominate colors in the room. Jane turned to her betrothed and asked him to have a seat. Being so good natured, he sat and waited for her to speak, curious to know what she had to tell him since she seemed also sad about something.

"Thor, I know we have been apart for some time and I am not sure if it's been the same length of time for you as it has been for me, but there is something very important I have to tell you."

"Jane, whatever it is it's going to be alright," he told her, confident that what she had to tell him wasn't as bad as she thought it was.

"No, it's not, Thor….this is something very serious…. Do you remember the way I fought you when you wanted me to leave?"

He thought back to the moment he had forced her to leave.

Flashback

"Thor, please, don't make me leave, I beg of you," her voice pleading, as he all but pulled her towards the Bifrost Dome.

"Jarissa, I need to make sure that you are safe, you must go," he told her for what seemed the millionth time.

She kept pleading until they reached the Dome and was met by her father, her sister (who by the way looked pissed) and his brother (who looked just as mad as her sister). "Father, please I can't leave...I just can't," the last part said in just above a whisper.

"I'm sorry, my daughter, but it's the only way to keep you and your sister safe," her father said sorrowfully.

He nodded and she continued, "I didn't want to leave because well….Thor, I should have told you then and maybe we wouldn't have been parted….but I can't take it back now even though I wish I could, I really do…..The reason I fought so hard to stay here was because I was pregnant at the time," she noticed that he looked confused and she continued, "When Darissa and I were sent to Earth …..we went by way of the Bifrost…..well unbeknownst to us at the time it wasn't a good idea and Darissa and I we both lost the child we were both carrying at the time. I woke up in a hospital with no memory of my former life with a doctor telling me I had just lost my baby and I had no idea I was even pregnant or if I was married or anything. There was nothing there, no memories at all and I felt so lost and alone. If it hadn't been for Darcy I think I might have lost it. She was in the same boat as me. She, too, had just miscarried and was just as lost as I was. We formed a friendship right there in the hospital and it continued on after we were released. I didn't know at the time that she and I were related or that she was my twin sister," she paused for a moment and then continued before she lost her nerve.

"I became obsessed with teleportation science and started researching what is known in the mortal world as an Einstein-Rosen Bridge; it's basically the same concept as the Bifrost …. Well S.H.I.E.L.D. found out about my research somehow. They offered to fund my research if I came and worked for them; so they recruited me and I in turn pulled Darcy with me. I wasn't about to leave my best friend and assistant behind and so we were moved to New York City and set up in our own apartments only blocks from S.H.I.E.L.D.S headquarters."

"A month ago I found an old Norse scroll mixed in with some paperwork Agent Coulson had left on Darcy's desk and it intrigued me. I never thought anything of it, as old Norse came easily to both Darcy and I. So, I thought nothing of it being in a different language when I was trying to decipher it. Decipher it, Darcy and I did and I felt that the scroll was talking about me somehow and it didn't help that I kept seeing you in my nightly dreams. Then Darcy remembered everything and told me that I was not only her twin sister but that I was engaged to you and that I had lost my baby before I awoke in the hospital with no memory of anything prior to waking up. It wasn't until that evening that I remembered everything myself. I wanted nothing more right in that moment than to finish up the machine that Darcy and I had been working on….and we finally did it this morning and we made it back here to you, to our father, we made it home!" she finished.

Thor had been silent the entire time listening while she told him of her life on Midgard. He was upset that he had caused her to lose their child and for making her leave when it had been unnecessary in the first place. He wanted nothing more than to keep her in his arms for the rest of his hopefully long life, but he knew that she had changed so much from the woman that he had known. She had grown and changed and she was not as docile as she used to be. No, this Jarissa was independent and intelligent but he had not expected anything less of her in that regard seeing as she was the goddess of intellect and all. He just wasn't sure how to handle an independent woman. He knew that he was going to have to court her all over again her as well as relearn everything there was to know about the woman sitting beside him.

"Thor? Are you okay?" Jane asked quietly

"Yes, Jane, I am fine. It is just a lot to take in right now and I blame myself for your misfortune…if I had not made you leave, you would never have lost our child." He found that his voice broke at the end and he tried not to break down in front of her. He was determined to stay strong for her.

"My Love," Jane said, using her old pet name for him, "It wasn't your fault, but mine. I was the one that didn't tell you that I was with child and neither of us knew that it was unsafe for a woman with child to travel through the Bifrost. We could not have known that this was going to happen," she said trying to console the love of her life.

"But, I should have known." Then as an afterthought said, "We must inform the court of this Jane. We cannot allow any woman who is with child to travel by way of the Bifrost anymore."

She simply nodded in agreement. And waited to see if he would tell her what he had been doing while she had been on Midgard.

Thor studied Jane for a moment, knowing that she was waiting for him to tell her what he had been doing while she had been on Midgard. Taking a deep breath and trying very hard to figure out how he was going to explain what he had been up to in the last millennium.

"Jane, I am not sure how to explain what I have been up to the past millennium. I have betrayed you and I don't deserve your forgiveness."

Jane wondered what he had done though she could easily guess. She knew that before they had become betrothed he had a roving eye but when they had become betrothed he had been the most loyal man she could have ever asked for. So it didn't surprise her to hear that he had reverted back after losing his memory.

"Thor, I understand. Really I do. You were a bit of a ladies' man before I met you and I didn't expect you to stay true like I am sure Loki did. I don't blame you in the least," Jane said compassionately.

He wanted to be mad at her for comparing him to his brother even if it was completely true.

"Alright, Jane, but please, I ask that you do not interrupt me while I tell you alright?"

She nodded and he continued. "A few weeks after I sent you away, I lost my memory of you. I know now that it was your father that removed the memories and I want you to know if they had not been removed then I would never have betrayed you Jarissa….Jane," he amended her name then continued, "I know you said I don't need to ask for your forgiveness but I would like it all the same."

She nodded letting him know that she forgave him and then he began again. "A few weeks later the war ended in a truce with no damage done to Asgard at all. We should have brought you and your sister back then but my father said it wasn't time and the strange thing was mother agreed with him, which she rarely does."

"Father named me his heir and I was so headstrong and battle hungry that I gloried in the announcement, not realizing that I was not ready for the position as king. Months went by and yes, women threw themselves at me thinking that you had broken our betrothal and I not remembering you let them."

"It wasn't until the day that my father was going to announce me King that I learned that I wasn't worthy of the throne then and I really don't think I am worthy of it now. But that day Loki had let three Frost Giants into Asgard and into the armory so that they could steal the Ice Casket. Though it was a ploy to ruin my big day and no real harm was done; I didn't' see it that way and insisted that we march on Jotunheim and destroy the monsters once and for all. Father said I was foolish and I should have listened to him. Anyway Sif and the Warriors Three, Loki and I went to Jotunheim to confront the Giants and we were leaving when one Giant made a derogatory remark to me…..and you know me, I flew off the handle and started a fight I really had no chance of winning."

"Well, to make a long story short, Father showed up and when we returned to Asgard, I was banished to Midgard until I could be found worthy of my power."

"I was devastated to be sent away and by my father no less. I found myself suddenly in a world that wasn't like any I had ever seen. It was then that I met Natasha Romanoff. She helped me see that I needed to grow up and take responsibly not only for myself but also to my kingdom. She told me that it wasn't enough simply care for my people but to serve them as well. I might one day be their ruler but I was also their servant as well and it would do me good to learn to serve others instead of just myself. I took her words but I really didn't know what she meant by then until Loki sent the Destroyer to Midgard to kill me. It was then I realized just how jealous my brother was of me. I also came to realize that it wasn't just Natasha who had helped me see that I wasn't worthy of my crown but Loki too. If he had never sent the Destroyer to kill me I would still be my selfish self. Natasha's words were there but I paid them no mind until the moment I was almost at deaths door. It was then, that I knew what it was she meant by her words and Sacrifice was the better part of valor, as she put it."

"Needless to say I destroyed the destroyer and returned to Asgard only to destroy the Bifrost to keep Loki from annihilating an entire Realm; even if they were the monster's I had always known them to be. They didn't deserve my brother's wrath."

"We fought on the Bridge and Loki fell into the abyss. I was devastated to have lost my brother. We may have had our differences but I still loved him. About a year later, though we still mourned his loss, we found out that he was alive and Father managed to find a way to send me back to Midgard to bring Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard."

"I joined up with the other Avenger's Team and we managed to defeat Loki and he and I returned to Asgard. Loki was sentenced to 1000 years in prison for his crimes not only to Midgard but to Asgard and Jotunheim as well. He was just released recently and I have found that he has been reformed."

"During Loki's punishment, I told father that I didn't want to be King. That I wouldn't be any good at it. That it was my duty to protect the Realms and I couldn't do that sitting on a throne and that Loki was more suited to the Throne than I. Father disagreed but I told him that I would not take the throne until I was wed first. He agreed and so he has been hunting for a good queen for me but I think he already knew who it was he was going to have me wed and now I know too." He finished the last with a tight smile.

"Since then I have helped when needed on Midgard and have helped rebuild the Bifrost since it was I that destroyed it. I have learned to be a servant to my people and I find that I enjoy it."

Jane smiled. She knew that if she ever saw Natasha again she was going to give the woman a big hug in thanks.

"Thor, do you still have my betrothal ring you gave me?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.

He was taken aback for a moment by her question, then remembered that before she had stepped into the Bifrost she had given him his ring back. She had told him to keep it safe and he had unknowingly done just that. He had put it in a velvet pouch and kept it with him at all times, though he couldn't remember why he had carried it around with him before now. He nodded and reached into his tunic and brought out the small velvet pouch and handed it to her. She opened it and removed the ring that was in it. The ring was golden in color and held four small red gems that sparkled around the band. Holding the ring out to him she said, "When the time is right I want you to ask me again, but until then I ask that you hold onto this and keep it close to your heart as a constant reminder of who it is that holds your heart."

"I love you, Thor, but since I am different from the woman that I used to be, I need you to get to know the new me and forget the old me. I know I am asking a lot but we need this. Time to get to know each other again. I would like to continue where we left off but we were both so different back then and we have changed. I think that I would like you to court me again, but only if you want to. Otherwise I release you from our prior betrothal."

Thor couldn't believe his ears. She would release him form their betrothal if he asked but he wasn't going to allow her to do that. He loved her too much and he knew that despite what she had just said she loved him too. He would court her again and get to know the woman that she had become in the past ten Midgardians years.