Author's Note: Hello again! Here's the second in my series of one-shots about Loki and Rika. This one takes place about fifty years BEFORE the events of the first chapter; that's pretty much how this is going to go - these won't be in chronological order, as I'll just be writing them as the ideas come to me. Hope that's not confusing! This chapter expands on Loki admitting his feelings to Thor, which was very briefly mentioned in chapter one. I had hoped to get this up sooner, but it kind of got away from me and ended up being way longer than I anticipated. So anyway, just a couple more things before we get on with it: first, I imagine Rika's fighting style to be very similar to that of the dual-wielding rouge in Dragon Age 2, so if anyone wants a better idea of what that looks like you can look it up :) And second, I'd like to thank everyone who put this story on their favourites and alerts; and a big huge special thank you to my reviewers AncientAssassin, The Pearl Maiden, and bsblover17. You guys are awesome! Hope everyone likes this chapter!
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Marvel. The only thing I can lay claim to is Rika.
I hurry out of my quarters in the palace of Asgard, strapping my two long daggers to my back as I go. As soon as I have them secured I break into a full-out run out the front doors and through the streets towards the Bifröst; the others are not going to be happy with me if I show up late, which is looking pretty likely at the moment. I silently thank the gods that I have always been quick, and a few minutes later the beautiful rainbow bridge of the Bifröst comes into view. I can just make out the shapes of several figures standing before it: they would be Thor, Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three, and I imagine all six of them are growing impatient as they wait for their often late companion.
I put on an extra burst of speed on the final straight stretch, skidding to a halt seconds later in front of the others. Or at least, I try to skid to a halt. Evidently I was moving a little faster than I thought and didn't leave myself enough room to slow sufficiently, so I end up slamming into Loki, who was unfortunate enough to be in my path. I feel him try to catch me, his strong, lean arms wrapping around my waist; but my momentum proves too much and we both tumble to the ground in an undignified heap.
As I struggle to disentangle myself from Loki I feel my cheeks blazing with embarrassment, and I still my movements for a moment and meet the eyes of the prince I am currently crushing.
"Sorry Loki," I groan, biting my bottom lip.
His green eyes are dancing with amusement as I roll off of him. He sits up and grins lopsidedly at me. "No harm done, Rika. Though for someone who can move so very quickly, you certainly manage to be late a lot," he says, making the rest of our companions chuckle.
I put a hand to my forehead and sigh loudly. Beside me Loki gets to his feet and offers his hand to help me up; I grasp it and he pulls me to my feet, still grinning at me. I find myself smiling back despite my embarrassment; Loki tends to have that effect on me. The man can make me smile in just about any situation. It's one of the things I love about him.
Thor steps up beside the pair of us and clasps a hand on each of our shoulders. "Well, shall we get going then?"
Loki and I both nod and the seven of us begin walking briskly down the Bifröst bridge toward the dome at the end where Heimdall stands at his post.
"Greetings, Gatekeeper," Thor calls in a booming voice when we draw close. "I trust my father told you we were coming?"
Heimdall nods. "Yes, the All-Father told me what is to be done today." He pauses and looks seriously at each of us in turn. As Heimdall's gold eyes pass over me I feel, as I always do, as though he can see right through me to the depths of my soul. His gaze returns to Thor's and he speaks again. "You are all aware of the risk inherent in your mission?"
We all nod and mutter words of agreement, but Heimdall presses on anyway. "Once I have sent you to Alfheim I will be able to see you as you travel there; but due to the magic of the Elves once you have entered their forest dwelling I will not be able to bring you back. You must leave the forests before you can return here."
Once again, we all nod. We have all travelled to the realm of the Light Elves before, though I suppose those were all during times of peace. Tensions between Asgard and Alfheim have been mounting for some time now, and the two realms are on the brink of war. Now we go there to mount a rescue attempt; one of Asgard's diplomatic envoys and his entourage were taken prisoner, and we have been tasked with infiltrating Alfheim and bringing them back.
I hadn't really thought much about what the restrictions on the Bifröst could really mean for us, but Heimdall's words were certainly making me think about it now. I glance at my companions and I can tell their thoughts are running similar to mine. We all shake it off quickly, however, and follow Heimdall into the Bifröst chamber.
The Gatekeeper looks around at us all one more time. "I wish you all luck and a speedy return," he says. A second later he raises his huge sword and plunges it straight down into the mound at the centre of the chamber. There is a moment's pause, then everything around me becomes swirling colour as the Bifröst speeds us away from Asgard.
...
My six companions and I land in a wide open field amid a swirling cloud of dust. As the dust settles I sweep the landscape and locate the great forest of Alfheim about half a mile away from our landing site. I look to my left; Rika is brushing the dust off her light leather armour and shaking out her long red hair. She is so beautiful, I think to myself.
She turns her head to look at me and grins. "Ready for another grand adventure, my friend?" she says brightly, slinging an arm casually around my waist. My stomach jumps at her touch, but I show no sign of it and place my own arm around her slender shoulders.
"Always," I reply with a grin of my own. With a glance at the others, Rika and I begin to lead the way across the field to the forest.
Crossing the field doesn't take long, and soon the seven of us are standing beneath a loose canopy of leaves on the edge of the woods. An uneasy silence settles over us.
"It feels different walking into this forest this time, doesn't it?" Rika says quietly, voicing my own thoughts.
"Indeed," Fandral agrees.
"We need to be on guard," I say. "The Elves may be expecting us to show up to rescue the diplomatic party."
Thor nods. "I agree. Everyone stay sharp."
"And quiet," I add. "I shall do what I can to cloak us from their sight." I concentrate for a moment, using my magic to pull the shadows of the forest around the group. "That should keep them from spotting us from a distance. They will still be able to hear us, however, and see us if they get close enough."
"Excellent work, brother," Thor says, clasping my shoulder briefly before he turns away and leads us all into the forest as quietly as possible. Rika falls into step beside me at the back of the group and smiles up at me.
"You never cease to amaze me, Loki," she whispers. "Your magic is so impressive."
I arch one eyebrow at her. "You are a skilled magic-wielder yourself, Rika."
She smiles and shakes her head. "Not like you. I can do a bit of conjuring, sure, but you possess so much power."
I can't keep the smile off my face at her compliments. Most of my other companions show disrespect and mockery for the way that I generally stay on the edge of battle, wielding spells instead of swords, attacking without getting close enough to be attacked. But my heart swells at the knowledge that Rika respects, even understands it.
The pair of us lapse into silence then, nothing else needing to be said on the subject; I know that my smile conveyed to her all that her praise means to me. Rika has always understood me better than the others, better even than Thor. I think the only person who knows me more completely is my mother.
Our group treads carefully through the woods for hours, moving much slower than we normally would as we try to make as little noise as possible. A nagging thought lingers at the back of my mind; I cannot stop remembering Heimdall's warning before he opened the Bifröst for us, and it is giving me a terrible feeling about this mission. I of course do not show my worry or voice my thoughts to the others, knowing that they would take my concern as cowardice.
Except Rika, I think, looking down at her fondly. She would take me seriously and probably even agree with me. She must feel my eyes on her, for after a moment she tilts her face up to meet my gaze; and though she smiles at me I see apprehension swirling in her expressive eyes. I notice that she looks as tense as I feel, so I reach over and put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her to my side and giving her a gentle squeeze. I feel her relax slightly against me.
Lowering my head I whisper to her so that the others will not hear. "You are remembering Heimdall's words as well?"
Rika nods. "I cannot shake the feeling that we are walking into something awful," she murmurs back.
Silence descends upon us once more, though I don't remove my arm from around her. I love having her this close to me.
...
Not long after Loki and I had our whispered conversation Thor and the others come to a halt ahead of us. We stop as well, Loki removing his arm from around my shoulders, and I miss having it there the moment it is gone. I shake off the feeling and focus on what Thor is saying.
"The Great City of the Elves lies just over this rise," he says, and it strikes me how odd it is to hear him speak in a low whisper rather than his usual booming tones. "I think we should stick to the cover of the trees and skirt around the city until we come to the palace, which is surely where the prisoners are being kept."
The rest of us nod in agreement and once again Thor begins to lead us slowly and quietly through the trees. I am beginning to feel restless and edgy, my nerves over Heimdall's warning and the long, slow, silent trek through the forest combining to make me very tense. I only become aware that I have been clenching and unclenching my hands into fists at my sides when Loki places his hand over mine. I still my hands and look up at him. His eyebrows are raised.
"Are you alright?" he says quietly.
I nod, making an effort to relax. "I am just on edge, waiting for something to happen."
Loki nods and releases my hand; I wish he hadn't. His touch serves to calm me, even as it causes my heart to flutter in my chest.
Moments later the group stops again and we all crouch close to the ground and peer through the trees. I can see the front of the vast palace, which I have entered peacefully many times before. Now we are going to have to find an alternate way inside.
Thor looks at Loki. "Brother, is there anything you can do to cloak us further while we sneak inside?"
"I cannot conceal seven of us at once to the degree that will be necessary for infiltration," he replies.
"How many of us can you cloak at once?" I ask, the beginning of an idea forming in my mind.
Loki turns to face me. "What are you thinking?"
I clear my throat awkwardly now that I suddenly have everyone's attention. "Well, there's that lattice on the side wall there," I say, pointing. The others all swivel their eyes in the direction I indicate. On the wall nearest the forest there is a vine-covered metal lattice scaling the wall; it runs all the way up the wall, and there is a third floor window about two feet to the left of it. Loki's eyes light up with a spark of understanding and he nods at me to continue.
Feeling a little more confident I keep talking. "Some of us can hide here in the cover of the trees, while the rest of us climb the lattice and into that window there hidden by Loki's magic. Then whoever stayed behind can go up."
Loki considers for a moment. "I will need to be at close range for the spell to be effective," he says thoughtfully. "So I will have to go up separately with each group."
"How many of us can you take at once?" I ask.
"I can completely conceal myself and three others, I think."
"It sounds like a decent plan," Sif interjects. "But it raises the problem of what those of us in the palace are going to do while we wait for the others."
Loki and I look at each other thoughtfully. Then he breaks eye contact and speaks up.
"Once I get inside with the first group I will keep them magically concealed while we find a suitable place for them to hide and wait for everyone else."
"That still sounds dangerous," Fandral says.
"It is, however, the best plan we have," Thor replies. "Of course, the real risk lies with whomever is left waiting inside the palace."
"I will go with the first group," I volunteer. "It was my idea, after all, it is only fair for me to take the chance."
After some arguing, during which the rest of us have to convince Thor that if the first group does end up caught it would be best for that group to not include one of Asgard's princes, it is decided that I will be accompanied by Hogun and Fandral. The three of us then move close to Loki and he cloaks us. I can tell it has worked by the looks on the faces of our other companions; they stare at the place we disappeared with shocked expressions.
"Stay close and quiet," Loki tells us. We all nod and he leads us out of the forest towards the palace wall. Within a couple short minutes the four of us are standing clustered at the bottom of the lattice; at Loki's direction Hogun and Fandral take the lead, slowly climbing side by side. As soon as they are up high enough for us to have enough space to follow Loki and I begin to climb up right behind them. The climb takes much longer than it would have if we didn't have to make sure we stayed so close together, and nearly five minutes pass before we enter the window one by one.
We find ourselves in what looks to be a study; there is a desk by the window, the walls are lined with bookshelves, and in one corner there is a fireplace flanked by two comfortable-looking armchairs. I frown. It doesn't look like there is anywhere to hide in here.
Loki, however, is one step ahead of me as usual. He gestures at us to follow him across the room, and he leads us to a small door between two bookshelves which I had not noticed. He carefully eases the door open a crack and peeks through it for a moment before he pulls the door open all the way, revealing a small closet. Hogun, Fandral and I crowd into the closet. Suddenly I am very glad that neither Thor nor Volstagg had accompanied us; as it is the three of us can barely fit in here, and none of us are nearly as bulky as Volstagg and Thor.
Loki places a hand on the door. "I will return as quickly as possible," he says, and though he is speaking to all of us his eyes don't leave mine. I nod at Loki and after a second's hesitation he closes the door, plunging us into complete darkness.
I consider for a moment, listening intently for any indication that anyone is nearby, and when I don't hear anything I wriggle my right hand out from between myself and Fandral and hold it out in front of us. A second later a tiny ball of flame appears hovering just above my palm. It gives off just enough light to illuminate our faces, and I notice that both Hogun and Fandral look as tense as I feel. I hope the others get up here soon.
"What are we going to do when everyone else gets here?" Fandral whispers. At his words I realize that we had been so absorbed in planning how to get into the palace that we had completely neglected to figure out what exactly we were going to do once we got here.
"Damn," I mutter. "Have we ever been told where the dungeons are?"
My two companions shake their heads.
"Damn," I hiss again.
"Perhaps Thor and Loki know?" Fandral murmurs. "They have been here more times than we have."
"Would the Elves show foreigners where they keep prisoners?" Hogun asks.
Fandral and I both shrug, shouldering each other awkwardly in the cramped space. My stomach is in knots. I cannot imagine how we will progress without knowing where the prisoners are being held.
We lapse into silence, waiting nervously for the others to show up. I lose track of how much time has passed since Loki left us here, and horrible thoughts keep crossing my mind unbidden. I wonder what it would be like if the Elves find us here, huddled in this closet; I imagine the others getting caught outside; I think of them trying to fight their way out, without us there to help them. In my mind I see them surrounded by Elven warriors as my friends fall one by one. I try my best to banish such thoughts, but it doesn't work. My throat feels tight.
Suddenly I hear muffled sounds coming from outside the closet; my heart pounds and I immediately extinguish the flame in my palm. I can feel Hogun and Fandral tense up beside me, and moments later the closet door is flung open. I sigh with relief at the sight of Loki. He stands back and Fandral, Hogun and I nearly trip over each other as we squeeze out of the closet.
We glance at each other and then at the new arrivals. Fandral speaks for us.
"While we were waiting for you we realized that the plan ended at getting us all inside. Any idea what we're going to do now?"
Thor, Sif and Volstagg all have the same expression of displeased realization on their faces as we had in the closet, but I can tell from the look on Loki's face that not only had he realized this already, he had also thought ahead of the rest of us. I smile softly; that is just like him.
"Before I left to bring the second group up here I did a little scouting," Loki says. "We are currently just down the hall from the servants' quarters. I think we can take some clothes to disguise ourselves from there, and then if we are careful and don't draw attention to ourselves we should be able to get to the dungeons undetected."
Carefully the seven of us creep down the empty hallway and into the deserted servants' quarters, where we hurriedly throw on some clothes over our armour. Loki casts a quick illusion spell to make us appear Elven to anyone we might come across and we leave the servants' rooms. Following behind Thor and Loki it occurs to me that Loki has been using magic consistently all day. I begin to wonder how much longer he can keep this up before he gets too drained; using magic takes a lot out of a person. I decide to keep an eye on him, as none of the others really understand how tiring magic can be, and I know Loki would never admit it to the group if he was getting worn out.
...
I concentrate hard on keeping my illusion in place over all of us as we head towards the dungeons. All the magic I have used today is taking a toll on me, and I can feel myself weakening. We thankfully make it to the dungeon entrance without passing more than a couple Elves who pay us no notice.
Thor eases open the heavy dungeon door and he and I lead the way down the stairs; about halfway down my fatigue gets the better of me and I stumble. For a second I think I am going to tumble right down the steep staircase but then a hand firmly grasps my upper arm and yanks me back upright. I turn my head to meet Rika's worried eyes as I right myself. The others gaze curiously at us for a moment, and I wave them past without breaking eye contact with Rika. She and I fall back a little, walking a few steps behind everyone else. She doesn't release her hold on my arm, though she does loosen it a bit.
"Loki, are you alright?" she murmurs almost inaudibly; I appreciate that she is keeping her voice down so the others won't hear. I do not like appearing weak to Rika, but I would like it even less if the rest of my companions were to see it.
"Yes, I am fine," I lie.
Rika doesn't buy it. She arches one dark red eyebrow and shakes her head. "No, you're not. You have been using magic all day long, and it has drained you. No one can keep casting spells indefinitely. You need to give it a rest."
I open my mouth to retort, but the words disappear as Rika narrows her eyes menacingly. I snap my mouth shut. I know that she is right. "Fine," I say, sounding far sulkier than I intended.
Rika's expression softens. "I am just concerned for you, my friend. Please, do it for me?"
She has no idea that those simple words are my undoing. For her, I would do anything. I nod and offer her a small smile, allowing the illusion shrouding us to drop. Rika's face brightens with a smile and she squeezes my arm affectionately before letting go.
Moments later we come to a halt at the bottom of the staircase with the others. I make up an excuse for why the illusion making us look Elven is no longer in place, and Rika and Hogun offer to scout ahead as they are both skilled in stealth. I stand next to my brother and watch the pair of them slip silently away into the shadows; I normally would use magic to wrap the shadows around myself and become virtually undetectable, but there is little chance that I could work it successfully at the moment, so I leave it to Rika and Hogun.
The pair of them return a few long minutes later and signal the all-clear. The rest of us follow them around the corner and down a narrow hallway, around another corner and then we emerge into a circular stone room ringed with prison cells. Only one is occupied. Four figures sit leaning against the wall in the far cell.
We are almost to the cell when I sense something is terribly wrong; Hogun stoops to quickly pick the lock on the cell door. He swings it open and steps inside, kneeling next to the prisoners. He reaches out to the nearest one, touching the man's shoulder; the figure slumps over at his touch.
"Dead," he says shortly, standing up. "All of them."
I gaze at the faces of the dead prisoners; I recognize each one of them. This is our diplomatic party.
...
A feeling of dread creeps over me, leaving me cold. Our whole diplomatic party, dead. Killed, and posed in a cell. They knew we would come.
"We need to get out of here," I say tensely, breaking the terrible silence that had befallen us. "Now."
The seven of us whirl around and hurry back the way we came, making little effort to be quiet; there is hardly any need for it now. This was clearly a trap, and I would bet anything that the Elves had set a watch on the dungeon entrance and will surely be preparing to ambush us at this very moment. Our best hope is to get out quickly before they have time to mass a large force, but I doubt we even have much of a chance of that. They were ready for us.
Thor wrenches open the door at the top of the staircase and stops dead, raising Mjolnir. Oh, how I wish I had been wrong. Waiting for us are at least thirty heavily armed Light Elves, all of whom look mightily pissed off. For a few seconds there is a standoff as my friends and I spill out the door to face the Elven warriors; then, as one, we draw our weapons and take up a defensive position, standing in a circle with our backs to each other.
"You risk much by coming here, warriors of Asgard," says a booming voice from the back of the crowd of Elves. Those gathered part to let the speaker through, and I turn my head to look at King Freyr, ruler of Alfheim. My feeling of dread deepens. If Freyr himself decides to join the coming battle our small group has little chance of returning home alive; it is well known that King Freyr possesses a sword which, at his command, will unsheathe itself and fight on its own, efficiently cutting down Freyr's foes and leaving death and bloody carnage in its wake. I hope fervently that the King of the Elves is not angry enough to fight us himself. If he leaves it to his warriors we might just make it out of here alive.
There is a pause during which I am sure my companions are thinking the same as I am, and weighing our chances. Then Thor speaks up from behind me.
"The first act of aggression was not ours, King Freyr," Thor says with a confidence I wish I felt right now.
"Odin sends his firstborn to invade my realm?" Freyr responds, sounding almost surprised. "How very bold."
I feel movement behind me and then Loki's voice rings out. "My brother speaks true, King Freyr. Our actions here today are in response to the capture of our diplomatic envoy, whom we have found murdered in your dungeons."
"Both of Odin's sons have entered my realm this day," Freyr says, and now I am certain I hear surprise in his voice. I hope this works to our advantage; he may think twice about capturing or killing the princes of Asgard and bringing the full wrath of Odin down upon himself.
Loki chooses not to address this comment and raises one simple question. "Are we killing prisoners now, Freyr?"
The king has the grace to look slightly abashed. "Perhaps you are right, Loki Odinsson, and we brought your actions on ourselves. I cannot, however, simply let you leave."
I feel Thor tense next to me and I silently will him to keep his mouth shut and leave this to Loki, who has always been more tactful and skilled with words than his older brother. I send up a prayer of thanks when Loki is the next person to speak.
"We would not expect you to let us walk out the front doors without some resistance," he says smoothly. "But you may want to consider what killing the sons of Odin will mean for you."
There is a very tense pause while Freyr ponders Loki's words. Finally he nods once and turns to leave the way he came, but not before giving an order to his soldiers in their native tongue, which I do not understand. I get the gist of it, however, when the Elven warriors raise their weapons.
I barely have time to feel relieved that Freyr will not be joining the fight before a pair of Elves attack me. Not for the first time, I am immensely glad that I chose to train in dual weapons; I raise my twin blades and block my attackers' swords easily. For several minutes all I can hear is the clashing of blades and the rushing of various spells as we battle the Elves. I fell my initial attackers, but a second later I find myself facing a behemoth of an Elf; he towers above me and I estimate him to be at least eight feet tall. He holds a mighty sword in one hand, but that is not what worries me. The Elf raises his other hand which is swirling with frost; I barely have time to think before he hurls a barrage of sharp ice shards at me.
I react on instinct. Throwing my hands up in front of me I create a magic barrier upon which the ice shards shatter harmlessly. Then, before the Elven warrior in front of me has time to react, I use my great speed to slip behind him and sink my blades into his back.
As he falls I have a moment to survey the battle; my companions are solidly holding out against our enemies, many of whom now lie dead or wounded. I hear a great clattering from down a nearby hallway, however, and realize that reinforcements are on their way. I whip my head around and find Volstagg, who is closest to me; he chops off the head of an Elf with his huge battle axe and I dart up to him, touching him lightly on the arm.
"We need to go," I say urgently, gesturing towards the hallway where the clanking is growing louder. He listens for a moment, then nods.
"Let's hurry and get the others," Volstagg says. He runs over to Thor while I rush to Loki's side, both of us hurriedly incapacitating foes we pass on the way. I quickly explain the situation to Loki as he and I hurl spells to keep our attackers at bay. Moments later we are rushing out the nearest door with the others, but I know the Elves are pursuing us.
My companions and I pound across the grass towards the forest, but some of the Elves are gaining on us and we are forced to stop and fight. I conjure a ball of fire and hurl it at the Elf nearest to me, who drops to the ground in pain as one of his companions stops to magically put out the flames. A moment too late, I hear another warrior sneak up behind me; I whirl to face my attacker, but she manages to slice her blade through my light armour and I cry out as the steel cuts into my flesh. The Elf smirks in triumph, but her smile disappears a second later when I lunge at her. She is unable to block both my daggers and I sink one deep into her upper thigh. I yank my blade out and turn away as she drops to her knees.
My left side is burning with pain where she cut me, but though blood is seeping through my leather armour it doesn't seem too deep. I look around the battlefield; we are close to being overwhelmed. Fandral and Sif are both bleeding as well, and I can tell Loki is exhausted. I sheathe my long twin daggers and grab a couple of small throwing knives from my belt; I fling one to my right and it embeds itself in the neck of an Elf. I toss a second one at another warrior as I dart across the field, trying to ignore the pain in my side.
I grab Hogun along the way and throw a magical shield around us both. "We must get to the forest and try to lose them!" I shout to him over the noise of battle. "We cannot hope to win this!"
My stoic friend nods once and we run over to Sif, who is nearest. I drop the barrier just long enough to pull her to us, then put it back up around the three of us. Now that she is right next to me I see that Sif is bleeding profusely from a huge gash in her arm, and she looks pale; as we hurry across the field I rummage in a pouch on my belt and pull out a healing stone, tossing it to her. She catches it and looks gratefully at me.
"Thank you, my friend," she says, crushing the stone over the wound on her arm, which heals instantly.
We collect Fandral and Volstagg under the shield, and we are running to Thor and Loki when Thor suddenly gets stabbed through the back and falls to his knees. The world seems to slow for a second. My friends cry out around me and we run faster. Loki is standing over his brother, fiercely fending off any Elves who come close. I drop the barrier as we draw near and the rest of us add our blades to the defense of Thor's prone form. As soon as we have cleared out enough space I put up the shield around all seven of us, even though I can feel it sapping my energy. Volstagg and Hogun haul Thor to his feet between them and we all run for the forest.
I am forced to abandon the barrier as we enter the forest, not able to work it around the trees. I pause and look back. There are still about two dozen Elven warriors chasing us. I do the only thing I can think of to hold them off; summoning every bit of energy I can I blast a huge wall of fire towards them and race after the others into the woods.
...
I hear a great roaring noise and glance behind me as we rush into the forest; Rika has managed to conjure an enormous wall of flame between us and the pursuing Elves. I wish I could do something to assist her, but I am utterly drained. It is all I can do to just keep running.
We all hurry through the woods until the sounds of our pursuers fade away; Hogun and Volstagg stop and lower Thor to the ground. I rush to his side and kneel over him. It shocks me to see my older brother's face pale and sweaty, twisted in pain. The front of his armour is soaked with blood; he has been completely run through.
Suddenly Rika is kneeling beside me. "Help me get his armour off," she says quietly but firmly. My hands shake as I do what she asks, and soon we have removed Thor's chest plate and under-padding, leaving his chest bare. Rika gently moves me out of the way and crumbles a healing stone over Thor's gaping chest wound, which begins to knit the flesh back together immediately. She sits back and we watch as Thor heals before our eyes.
Thor opens his eyes and, breathing heavily, sits up. "Thank you," he says shakily.
"No problem," Rika replies, just as shakily. She raises a trembling hand to her forehead and I notice that the side of her armour is shining with blood.
"Rika, you're injured," I say, making no effort to mask the concern in my voice.
She looks down at her side. "Oh, right," she mutters, sounding slightly surprised. "I forgot in all the confusion."
"You forgot you were injured?" Fandral says as he sinks down on her other side. "How? I couldn't forget I was injured if I tried." I glance at him. There is a bunch of drying blood on his face and neck, and his blond hair is matted with it. I can see dust from a healing stone glinting on his head.
My concern for Rika is momentarily forgotten as I look at the state Fandral is in. "What happened to you?" I ask incredulously. "Did someone try to slice your head open?"
"Actually, yes," Fandral shrugs, seeming to be in surprisingly good spirits for the situation. "And he almost succeeded, too. Don't worry, I killed him for it."
Rika laughs at his casual tone, then winces and grabs her side. "Ouch, don't make me laugh," she says.
I take her hand and and gently remove it from her wound. "Have you checked it out?"
"Not without my armour on, but it doesn't seem very deep," Rika replies. Seeing the look on my face she begins to unbuckle her armour. "Don't get all riled up, I'll make sure."
"Not that I don't care if you're all alright," Volstagg pipes up, "but you may want to make this quick. We really should keep moving."
Rika nods. "This won't take long." She drops her chest piece and shoulder pads to the ground and I feel a surge of anger at the one who hurt her as I see her linen undershirt stained with blood. Rika lifts the hem of her shirt to uncover the wound and though it is still bleeding somewhat I see that she was correct; the cut is not very deep.
"There, see?" she says, flashing me a grin. "It's just a flesh wound. I've had worse."
I roll my eyes at her but can't keep a small smile from my lips. "Still, perhaps you should use a stone and heal it up."
"I don't think we have any more." I look up at Sif as she speaks. I raise an eyebrow and she shrugs. "We only brought a couple. This was supposed to be a simple mission, remember? We weren't supposed to be seen, never mind caught in a huge battle."
"She's right," Rika says. "We didn't prepare for this. But it's alright, I'll just bandage it up and I'll be fine."
Rika pulls a length of linen bandage out of a pouch on her belt and wraps it several times around her waist, securing it snugly. She then proceeds to refasten her armour on and stand up. Satisfied that this is the best that can be done, I stand up as well and help my brother get to his feet. Thor is a little unsteady for a moment, having lost a lot of blood, but soon he seems to right himself and we all begin to walk quickly through the forest.
...
Several hours later we are still walking; night has fallen and it is difficult to know if we are heading in the right direction. Thankfully the Elves have either not caught up with us or, more likely, have given up the chase. By this point I estimate we have been away from Asgard for about twenty hours, and everyone is tired, but we keep going because we all just wish to be out of this damn forest.
I am feeling extremely weak and slightly sick; my side still hurts as well. I place my hand on my waist and am shocked to feel fresh blood there, soaked through the bandage and seeping through the hole in my armour. That wound should have closed hours ago. The continued blood loss explains why I feel so weak, but why hasn't the wound healed yet?
Then it dawns on me. The blade that cut me must have been poisoned. The poison is keeping the wound open and making me feel sick, and worse still, there is nothing to be done until we make it back home. We have no healing stones, no salves, no potions. And I'm not sure how much worse this will get without the attention of a healer.
I consider telling the others, but decide against it; they would want to make me stop and rest, and stopping is not in my best interest. I need to get out of this forest and back to Asgard as soon as possible, so I stay silent and keep following my friends.
A little while later we stop by a stream for a drink and a quick rest. Under the pretense of cleaning the blood off of myself I round a bend in the stream and keep a little away from the others. Once I am out of their sight I sink to the ground with my back against a tree and close my eyes, fighting off a wave of nausea. A few minutes later I almost jump out of my skin when someone kneels beside me and places their hand on my arm.
My eyes fly open to see Sif kneeling beside me, concern written on her face. Her frown deepens as she takes in my appearance. "Rika, are you alright?"
I think about lying to her, but I can't keep it to myself anymore and I shake my head.
"You look terrible, all pale and sweaty. Are you ill?" Before I can answer Sif's gaze falls on my blood soaked side and her eyes widen in surprise. "You still have not healed?"
I shake my head again. "No. I think I was cut with a poisoned blade. It is keeping the wound open."
Sif's eyes flash with anger. "Those bastards," she curses. "Do you need to rest for a while longer? I can tell the others what has happened."
My eyes widen. "No! Don't tell anyone, Sif, please. There is nothing we can do for me here. I need to get back home and get to a healer. As soon as possible," I say, stressing the last few words.
Sif hesitates for a moment, looking conflicted. "Alright," she finally agrees. "But I'm going to keep an eye on you, my friend. Loki will surely kill me if anything happens to you. He's always so protective of you."
I can't find it in me to argue with her, and I let Sif pull me to my feet. We make our way back to the others and Sif stays beside me as we fall in at the back of the group and begin to trudge through the forest once more.
...
It has been hours since we escaped from the Elves in the forest, and I have no idea if we are even going the right way anymore. Until the sun rises there is really no way of knowing for sure. Thankfully, dawn should be upon us soon and then we can get our bearings and find our way out of here.
We come to a small clearing and stop to rest again for a moment. I gaze across the clearing at Rika, who is leaning against a tree conversing in low voices with Sif. As I watch Sif says something and Rika shakes her head fervently, but I cannot quite make out their expressions in the dark. A short while later we move on.
Only a few minutes have passed when a commotion breaks out behind me. Initially I think that the Elves have caught up to us after all and I whirl around, reaching for my stave; then my heart leaps into my throat as I see Rika on her hands and knees on the forest floor.
I rush to her side, roughly pushing past Fandral, and drop to my knees beside her. "Rika! What's wrong?" I say, and I can hear the panic in my own voice.
Rika looks up at me, panting, her normally bright green eyes dull and glazed over, her face ashen and shining with sweat. "Loki," she breathes. "I..." Her voice trails off and she slumps over, unconscious. I manage to catch her and keep her from falling face-first onto the ground; as my arms wrap around her I feel a warm wetness on her side and look down to see it shining with blood. I cradle her against my chest and look up at the others, rage and fear coursing through me. Everyone looks as shocked as I feel, except for one person. My eyes lock with Sif's.
"What happened?" I growl through gritted teeth.
Sif looks close to tears, something very rare for her. "Rika's wound never closed up, she thought the Elf who cut her must have had a poisoned blade."
"Why didn't you tell me!" I shout, glaring at the shield-maiden in front of me.
"She made me promise not to tell any of you," Sif says, her eyes now shining with unshed tears. "She said you would only make her stop and rest, and that all she wanted was to keep going and get home to a healer. I tried to get her to tell you, but she refused."
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying desperately to banish the tears threatening to form. Opening my eyes I pick Rika up and get to my feet, turning away. Thor steps in front of me, concern in his blue eyes.
"Get out of my way," I say in a deadly whisper. He stands aside and I begin to march briskly thought the woods, not caring if the others are following.
Soon the sky begins to lighten and I alter my course so that I am going the right way to get out of the woods. Unfortunately, all through the night we have been walking mostly aimlessly, and I have no idea how far we are from the edge of the forest. I hope with all my being that we are close.
Looking down at Rika's face nestled against my chest, I feel my throat tighten painfully; her skin is so very pale, in the dim light it almost looks translucent. She has not stirred since she fell unconscious into my arms. I can still feel her heart beating faintly, but I fear she is slipping away from me. I force my tired legs to move faster.
I can hear the others moving along behind me, but no one says a word to me. Shortly after I began carrying Rika through the woods Thor attempted to speak to me but I had snapped viciously at him and he fell silent, hanging back to walk with the others. I am glad for this; I can barely keep my composure right now, and I do not want to face my companions in my current state.
I lower my head closer to Rika's and whisper quietly in her ear. "Hang on, Rika, please. I cannot lose you, my love." She remains still and silent, and I have to choke back tears.
At last, finally, I see the edge of the trees and the field beyond. I break into a run. Bursting out into the early morning sunlight I look up at the sky and scream for Heimdall to bring us home.
Moments later I appear in the Bifröst chamber, still clutching Rika to my chest. I realize the others have not appeared with me. I glance at Heimdall.
"They are still in the forest. I will bring them back momentarily," he says in answer to my unasked question. He nods toward the door. "Go."
I do not need to be told twice. Holding Rika firmly I bolt for the door and run out onto the rainbow bridge beyond. As I rush along the bridge I see several figures on horseback hurrying along it toward me; Heimdall must have alerted someone to our situation, and I feel a rush of gratitude.
Within moments the group reaches me. Two palace guards have led my own horse along with them; I hurriedly mount and they help me get Rika into the saddle in front of me. I keep her securely in place with my arms around her and kick my horse into a gallop towards the palace.
It seems to take forever to reach the palace and get to the healer's chambers, but I finally get there and place Rika on a bed, releasing her for the first time in hours. I step back to let the healer work, giving her what little information I have on Rika's condition.
Suddenly I feel weak and I collapse into a nearby chair, letting out a shaky breath. The healer turns to look at me with concern written on her face, but I wave her off and order her to attend to Rika. My eyelids are heavy and my body needs rest, but I will be unable to sleep until I know Rika will be alright. So I sit and wait, my head in my hands.
I am not sure how much time has passed when the healer gently touches my shoulder. My head snaps up to meet her eyes.
"She has lost a lot of blood, and she was indeed poisoned. I have given her an antidote and closed her wound, but it is going to take some time for the poison to leave her system. She will remain unconscious for a while, but she will make a full recovery, your highness."
"Thank you," I choke out. The healer curtseys and leaves the room. I scoot my chair closer to Rika's bedside and grasp her hand. Her face still looks paler than usual, but she is no longer sweating and doesn't look like she is in pain anymore. As I gaze at her I feel my composure finally crack, and a single tear slides down my cheek. I reach up to brush it away as I hear footsteps behind me.
"How is she, brother?"
Thor's voice is quiet, hesitant. I realize that he is expecting me to yell at him again and I feel a wave of guilt wash over me.
I clear my throat before responding. "She will be fine." I turn my head to look at Thor, who is gazing at Rika with a look of relief on his face. He comes to stand beside me and places a hand on my shoulder.
"I am very glad," he says quietly.
I raise my free hand to cover his where it rests on my shoulder. "I owe you an apology, brother." Thor raises his eyebrows and opens his mouth to speak, but I shake my head to stop him. "It was unfair of me to yell at you the way I did in the forest. I am sorry."
Thor squeezes my shoulder before removing his hand from it and sitting down beside me. "It is alright, Loki. I think I understand."
"Understand what?"
Thor glances at Rika, then looks me straight in the eyes. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"
His words knock the breath out of me. I consider lying to him, telling him she is nothing more than a friend to me, but for some unknown reason I cannot. I nod. "Yes," I say softly. "I...love her."
Thor smiles. "You should tell her when she wakes. I think you would be good together."
"I will consider it, brother," I reply, though I have no intention of telling her anything of the sort when she wakes up. Thor, however, appears satisfied. He gets to his feet and, with one last glance at myself and Rika, leaves the healer's chambers.
Without letting go of Rika's hand I settle myself more comfortably in the chair and at long last, I close my eyes.
...
Muffled sounds surround me. Voices? I cannot tell. My head feels fuzzy and my eyes are unwilling to open just yet, so I do not force them to. I merely wait for my body to return fully to consciousness, which it seems content to do very gradually. Slowly I become aware that I am lying down on something soft and comfortable, which doesn't fit with the last memory I have of falling to my knees in the forest. The sounds around me become clearer; someone - or rather, several someones - are conversing in whispers, but I am unable to recognize the voices or hear their words. A bird chirps somewhere nearby. That at least is consistent with what I can remember. My head is feeling a little clearer now and I open my eyes, only to immediately clamp them shut again against the bright light blazing above me.
Very slowly now, I crack my eyes open a tiny bit, allowing them to adjust to the light. After a few moments I open them a little more and squint at my surroundings. I realize that I am lying in the healer's chambers at the palace in Asgard; somehow the others got me home. At the far end of the room I can see the healer standing with King Odin and Queen Frigga; they are whispering to each other and have not yet noticed I am awake.
I suddenly become aware of a warm weight on my right hand. Glancing over I see Loki slumped over in a chair next to me, fast asleep, his hand covering mine and his head resting right beside our hands. I smile fondly as I gaze at his sleeping face; I wonder how long he's been here.
I raise my left hand and gently brush a stray lock of dark hair from Loki's face. Though I barely touched him it seems to have been enough to wake him; his beautiful green eyes flutter open and meet mine.
Loki raises his head and smiles. "I'm glad you're finally awake," he says quietly, squeezing my hand.
"How long has it been?" I ask.
"You've been here for about six hours," he replies. A shadow flickers in his eyes. "Before that you were unconscious in the woods for approximately three." He pauses, lowering his eyes. "I thought I'd lost you," he says in a choked whisper.
Before I can respond the others notice I am awake and the healer rushes over to my bedside, followed by the king and queen. I barely even bother to wonder why they are both here; my gaze is still fixed on Loki, even though he now won't look at me.
The healer asks me a few questions about how I feel and I answer, tearing my eyes away from Loki, who is staring fixedly at the blanket on my bed. After a few minutes the healer takes her leave, curtseying to the royals and telling me she will be back to check on me again soon.
As soon as she is gone, Frigga steps up to my side and places her hand on my head, stroking my hair like my own mother used to. She leans down and kisses my forehead gently. "I am happy to see you feeling better, dear."
"Thank you, my queen," I reply, smiling slightly up at her. A small answering smile appears on her beautiful face. She glances quickly at Loki, then back at me, then at Odin, who nods once.
"Now that we know you are alright, we should let you rest," the king says. "I hope to see you up and about again soon."
"Yes, your majesty. Thank you."
Odin and Frigga turn to leave; as she passes her son, Frigga leans down and whispers something in his ear before following her husband out of the room.
There is a long moment of silence during which Loki continues to stare down at the bed sheet, and I stare at him. I cannot see his face.
"Loki, please," I murmur, "look at me."
He finally raises his head and I am surprised to see his eyes shining with tears. I cup his cheek in my hand and he closes his eyes, leaning into my touch.
"Rika," he breathes. "I really thought I was going to lose you."
I feel tears prick at my own eyes and I stroke his cheek with my thumb, causing him to open his eyes. "That's never going to happen. I promise."
"Good," he says, placing his hand over mine. "I'll hold you to that."
"Alright. Now I want you to do something for me."
"Anything."
"Go get some real sleep, in a real bed. You look exhausted, and sleeping hunched over in that chair looks terribly uncomfortable. I promise I'll still be here when you wake up," I add when he opens his mouth to argue.
We both smile then, feeling ourselves falling back into our old rhythm. Loki nods and gets to his feet. "I'll hold you to that, too," he says, bending down to place a quick kiss on the top of my head. "See you soon." He begins walking to the door.
I smile widely. "Not too soon. Get a good sleep. I mean it."
Loki stops halfway across the room and turns, mischief in his eyes. He bows exaggeratedly. "Yes, your highness," he says with a sarcastic wink.
I burst out laughing as he turns back around with a grin and continues out the door and out of sight.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! If anyone has any requests for things you'd like to see in future chapters let me know :)