AN: Thank you so much guys! The reviews honestly bring tears to my eyes sometimes! Thank you so much for your reviews/favs/story alerts-you guys rock! As promised, here is a quick update. The next may take a little ( As I have 4 chapters of Ochem to do ) but they will keep coming, no worries!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Again-read, enjoy, and review! :)
Chapter 8: Precious
Eir sat at her vanity, taking off the excessive jewelry she had worn for the party. Looking down on the wooden tabletop, she could see the eerie green glow of the stone Odin had bestowed upon her. Taking a breath, she could feel a hunger from the stone—just as Odin had warned. It was a dangerous feeling, and she was scared that she would not be able to be the harness Odin said she would be.
Looking around her room, she could hear Frigga's words echoing through her mind. She, and the rest of them, were expected to find their various ways off Asgard tonight—traveling lightly, only taking what was most important. But as she looked around the small room, absent of any spectacular items, she was at a loss. What she could see were dozen of medicines, herbal remedies and tools—but certainly nothing precious.
In fact, looking back at everything, she knew she had nothing precious left. Everyone that had ever meant something to her was gone—consumed by death or something worse. Opening her jewelry box she saw a number of lavish pieces, given to her over time from the queen, but one piece struck her interest—and her heart stopped. Closing her eyes in thought, she placed the small golden necklace in her pouch, along with a number of useful medical tools.
Picking up the green gem and placing it in the bag as well, she gave her room one final look, knowing very it may be the last.
She was ready.
Dark eyes made their way to the sparkling floor of the palace, as loud clicking of boots followed fast. Their owner, Sif, had a jacket on and a small pouch on the side of her armor—nestled close to her sword. Sif moved quickly down the hall, prepared to meet her comrades to journey off of Asgard. Though a fierce warrior, she could feel her heart trying to claw its way out of her chest as she thought about it.
Even in her youth, she had not journeyed far from Asgard. She could recall the glorious tales Thor and the Warrior's Three would tell her of their travels to other worlds—how they were hailed as Gods—but she never wanted any part of it. Being a female warrior on Asgard gained her more attention than she needed, or ever craved. Still, the idea of leaving the place she had grown up, the place she had loved ones, unsettled her.
As she continued down the hall, she could hear voices that were all too familiar. Slowing her pace and quieting her step, she looked over the balcony to see Thor and Jane. Feeling a new pain in her chest, she watched as Thor gave a longing hug to his mother. Even from above, she could see the pain in Frigga's eyes as she said good-bye to her son—the only one she had left.
Looking on, she could feel her eyes burning as she watched Thor pull Jane closer, fixing the hood on her cloak. The way he protected her, the way he held her close to his body made her want to scream. Looking down towards her sword and her most important items, she could feel her bottom lip quiver as she tried to hold back tears.
What was most precious to her was already lost.
Heimdall's golden eyes cast themselves over the broken, but beautiful Bifrost. The glitter of the iridescent crystals of the bridge glowed spectacularly against the dark Asgardian night. Taking in a deep breath, he could feel his heart ache as he looked over the sparkle of the lights from the city and palace. He could see realms most Asgardian's could only dream of, he had seen planets and cities in the hundreds, but they all paled in comparison to Asgard.
Looking down at the purple gem in his hand, he wondered where the little stone would take him. While he was certain that it would take him on grand adventures, it was Asgard that would always own his heart. Even now, as he waited for Eir to leave with him, he could feel a tightening in his chest as he thought about the prospect of leaving it.
Smiling a sad smile to himself, he tried to relish this moment on Asgard. Wherever the stone may take him, whatever sights he may see, he would always keep the beauty and glory of Asgard with him. Taking a deep breath of the crisp air, he was grateful that while he may have to abandon his home—all to protect a little ball of light—these memories would remain.
He was happy his packing was light.
Eir wrapped her cloak around her tighter as the crisp Asgardian air nipped at her skin. Walking through the royal gardens, her eyes set their sights on Heimdall's watch tower—for he was her ticket off of Asgard. Quickening her pace, she tried to ignore the beauty of the flowers around her and the glitter of the lightening bugs as they danced across the dew. Though Asgard had dealt her a hard life, she could remember painfully wonderful memories that the place had delivered—ones that remained a dangerous weight on her chest.
Memories had interesting properties, after all—they had both the ability to lift spirits and bog them down. Unfortunately for her, the greatest memories Asgard had to offer her only tore at her, destroying whatever was left of the woman she once knew. The little green gem in her satchel, therefore, was a gift of immeasurable importance—for it finally gave her an escape.
Interrupting her thoughts, however, she could hear a curious sound behind her. Stopping on the stone path, she steadied her breathing as she tried to identify her intruder. Feeling the chill of the air once again, her breath caught as a voice called out.
"Are you not forgetting something, Eir?"
Turning around, golden eyes were met with a woman she knew well. Taking a sigh of relief, she gave a small but forced smile towards the dark haired woman whose grey eyes forced themselves upon her face painfully. Walking towards the fellow handmaiden, Eir met her intense gaze with her own.
"I know not what you speak of, Var." Eir explained almost sarcastically, "I would be delighted if you enlightened me."
"You know what I speak of, Eir." Var said warningly, "Promises between men and woman are amongst the most important. I like not when they are so knowingly broken."
Eir closed her eyes in anger as her fellow handmaiden spoke. She knew well enough to try not to lie to Var—for she knew the goddess was well aware of the events that transpired around her. Taking a frustrated sigh, she met her eyes once again with Var's judging gray.
"It matters not, I think, if I break my promises." Eir laughed, "For vows made towards me were so rudely broken. To whom do I owe anything? I am free from such shackles."
Eir watched as Var sent her an amused look before turning back towards the palace. Golden eyes squinted as they watched the other goddess walk away, dress flowing in the slight night breeze. Turning around, Eir fixed her cloak again and walked quicker towards Heimdall's observatory until she was stopped one more time, this time a pain in her chest creeping back.
"I think not such promises broken." Var stated, "It will be best if you don't break yours."
Loki rubbed his forehead as he tried, rather unsuccessfully to rid himself of another vicious headache brought upon by another bought of sleepless nights. Looking towards the other end of his cell, he could see the noticeable silhouette of a bucket—one he knew to be filled with dirty, albeit soothing water. Crawling over the cobbled cell floor, he hissed as his lacerated hands met with the water stinging his wounds.
Taking in a sharp breath, he cupped his hands in the filthy liquid and splashed it against his sore face. He allowed a small smile to form across his chapped lips as the water flowed down his face, soothing the throbbing pain that had occupied it. Resting his head against the stone wall, he cast his eyes across the cell towards a small window, which was his only link to the outside world.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a second to enjoy the chilled breeze that made its way through his stuffy abode, reminding him in the most painful of ways that there was a world beyond the bars he grew to know. Loki closed his eyes tighter as he thought of how his only company now was the four walls that surrounded him, and the bars that separated him from his home.
Laughing to himself, he realized how silly that sentiment was. Asgard was not his home in any sense of the word. He supposed it was fitting, then, that he be secluded in a world apart from the others. He supposed it was fitting that he be shackled like the monster all of Asgard saw him as…and how he would die as one, too. Perhaps in death he would finally find a place of belonging. Perhaps, with his death, Thanos would grant him that which he craved so desperately.
Before he could drift off to the musical chirping of the night bugs, however, his serenity was interrupted by the assaulting screech of the door. Opening his green eyes, he put a bloodied hand over his eyes as light assaulted his dark cell. Cursing under his breath, he rubbed his head once again as the light and a loud clicking noise stabbed at his headache. As he opened his mouth to protest, however, he heard the unmistakable sound of a lock unlocking as a shadowy figure came into view.
"Hurry, Loki."
Green eyes widened as he studied the woman in front of him. Visibly out of breath, Eir looked as if she had grown pale with desperation. In her shaking hand, he could see a bloodied key—one which he knew only the guards outside possessed—and he could hear her heart racing. He could feel his breathing quicken as she came into his cell and grabbed his cold hands, her delicate ones shaking as they unlocked the shackles around his broken ones.
Rubbing his torn wrists, he stood up as he watched her move about his cell hastily, obviously nervous. Finally, he watched as she stopped and looked at him once again, her eyes filled with an unspoken fear.
"Please, Loki, I fear others will come."
As she turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist and jerked her back.
"I don't seek your pity, you insufferable wench." He growled as he grabbed onto her wrists tighter, relishing in the feeling of her pulse quicken under his grip, "I need not your help to escape."
His eyes watched with interest as she squirmed under his grip, trying unsuccessfully to rip her hands away from his. A small smile founds its way to his face as her golden eyes locked onto his, showing a defiance that amused him so. Finally, he noticed that she stopped her struggle, studying his dirtied face.
"I pity you not, Loki." She whispered quickly, "I am only heading your warning. There is no one who knows the paths off Asgard as you do."
Loosening his grip on her, he watched as she rubbed her own wrists—now sore from his force. Studying her again, he realized that she was dressed for a trip with a small satchel at her side, probably one containing medicine, and a cloak wrapped firmly around her small frame. Looking away from her, he considered his options…
Escape with a pathetic creature such as Eir?
Or die here, accused of attempted escape?
"Loki the guards will be here any moment, pl—"
"I would rather die here, than take any help from you." He interrupted angrily, "Why should I help you with my magic? You best suffer the same fate as I."
Loki watched as Eir's eyes widened, silver tears forming against the delicate gold. He watched amused as her bottom lip started to quiver, only to have her bite it holding back a scream. He jumped slightly as she punched the cage, whipping the key at him in rage. Eyes widening, he marveled at how such a delicate creature could transform into something so viscous in a matter of moments.
"I hope you die a painful death! No amount of pride can save you from it!"
With that, he watched as she stormed off—leaving the light from the hallway biting at his senses. Rubbing his head again, he looked down at the bloodied key that was thrown to him. Freedom finally rested in his hand, and his heart started to race as he tried to figure out which path to take.
Both led off of Asgard.
But only one ended with him alive.
Eir could feel her chest tighten as she quickly tried to prepare a horse for riding. She could feel her heart beat faster as she thought of how angry Loki looked, how he would have rather died than take her help. She could feel her hands shaking as she tried to strap the saddle on tighter, remembering how tight his hands felt against her wrists...
Putting her bag on the horse, she could feel her knees go weak as she thought of her incompetence, and her broken promises. She wanted to cry as she thought of how stupid he was, and how she failed at saving him. There was nothing but hated in her heart for the prince, and yet knowing that she condemned him to death made her want to scream. For being the best doctor in the nine realms, she wondered how she could be such a failure?
Wiping away the tears from her glossy eyes, she put her foot in the stirrup and attempted to hoist herself atop the large horse. As she went to grab the reign, however, she could feel her shaking hands betray her, and gravity take over—casting her towards the ground again. Closing her tired eyes in preparation for the impact, her heart skipped as the fall was never realized.
Opening her eyes once she was firmly planted on the ground, she was shocked to see a pair of green ones looking down at her from the horse. She watched as they rolled around in their owner's head annoyed, before a wounded hand came down to offer itself to her.
"Get on with it," Loki growled, "Before I change my mind."
Giving him a questioning look, she cautiously took his hand and got on the horse. Before she could protest, he had them riding off towards the more forested area of Asgard, on the outskirts of the city. Closing her eyes against the cold breeze, the last thing she could remember was the feeling of her hair whipping against her face and chanting in a language too old for her to understand.
And then Asgard was gone.
Thanks for reading! Please review! :D
Next chapter: Loki rethinks his choice, Thor visits Midgardian allies, and Asgard gets a visitor.
