AN: Sorry for the delay! As you can guess, Organic Chemistry struck again. It really is as terrible as you've probably heard! That, and I guess I had a small Naruto relapse. Oops. I don't think I should push my luck with another Naruto fanfiction, though. I really am happy with the success Ai wa Moumoku...I don't think I could duplicate that.
Anyway! Thank you all for adding this story to your alerts and for the reviews! I love you guys so much! You guys keep me sane between the horrible O-Chem.
So read, review, and enjoy!
"Get up!" an angry voice called out, "I'll leave you here."
Golden eyes clenched tightly as their owner became acutely aware of the pain emanating through her body. Placing two hands in front of her, Eir could feel the chill of the ground as she tried to lift herself off of the unfamiliar land. She could hear her bones cracking, as if she had been there for quite some time, apparently stunned from the fall. Blinking a few times, her eyes widened as they were met with burgundy colored snow.
Whipping her head around, she was met with two angry green eyes—whose prince they belonged to appeared unscathed. Placing a hesitant hand on her face, she realized that the blood was her own, a consequence of a bad fall from…well, whatever Loki had done. Grabbing a small cloth from her satchel, she punched her nose tightly, finally standing up to meet his intense gaze.
"Took you long enough." He huffed, "For a second, I thought luck had finally shined its light upon me and you had perished. I should have known; I am never so fortunate."
Eir squinted her eyes at him, holding more pressure on her nose. Already, she could feel her fingers going numb in the cold, and the biting sting of it nipping at her face. Looking around, she noticed that this place certainly didn't look like Jotunheim, though she couldn't be sure. They were surrounded by a number of trees, which she was certain she must have hit on her way down. Next to them, she could see a number of frantic horse tracks—left from their not so loyal animal companion. Sighing heavily, she looked back at Loki who was walking ahead of her.
"Where did you bring us?" she asked in a stuffed, nasally voice, "Is this Niffleheim? "
Eir watched as Loki only continued to walk, his steps leaving angry footprints in the snow.
"I know not." He finally admitted, sensing that she was catching up, "I didn't want my mind to betray me. Thanos can play with minds. If he knew where I was going, he would follow."
Loki turned back to the woman behind him and let out an audible sigh. She was becoming a burden already—lagging behind him and getting injured. He could tell that she was having a difficult time traveling in the thick snow, and he wondered if it would be kinder to kill her himself? After all, it would save her from the unknown horrors of this world. It would save her from himself.
Looking her over again, he couldn't help but think she looked miserable; her face was caked with frozen blood, and her cheeks were already red from the cold. His heart quickened a little as he imagined how his hands would feel around her small neck, and how pretty her golden eyes would look as he watched the life escape them. It would be too easy, her death. Keeping her alive would be the hard part.
Closing his eyes in anger, he cursed to himself as he fought with his own conflicting notions. As much as he wanted to kill her, part of him was grateful for her help. She could have let him burn with the rest of Asgard, but she saved him. As for why, he still wasn't certain- but he supposed it would only be common courtesy to extend the same to her.
"Clean yourself up, Eir." he sighed in frustration, "You look pathetic."
Frigga wrapped her robe around her tighter in the chill of the Asgardian morning. Out on her balcony, she watched as the sun burst over the horizon glittering Asgard with its light. Not willing them, she could feel her eyes become wet as she realized how few of these moments she had left. Her heart ached knowing that her home was in danger, and that there was nothing that she, nor Odin, could do to stop it.
Closing her eyes, she wondered if Thor was watching the sunrise wherever he was? With Lady Jane at his side, she figured that her son must have returned to Misgard to live his life with her there. Thinking of the life Thor would live beyond Asgard was a painful thought; and her heart was heavy as she thought of all the moments she would never be able to share with him. It was painful to think that he would never be able to become the great king she knew he would be. It was painful to think that she would never live to see him become the great man, or the great father, she knew he would be.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she pulled her robe even closer as she walked back into the room she shared with Odin. Her husband was long since awake, already tending to his duties as king, and leaving her to haunting thoughts. Closing her eyes again, she figured that she should join him—and try to be the strong queen by his side.
Before she could summon her handmaidens, however, a brutal knock came at her doors…followed by two men in elegant armor.
"I am so sorry, your Highness." One of them said with a bow, "There has been a situation."
Giving them a questioning glance from her blue eyes, they continued.
"Milady," the other breathed airily, "Loki is gone."
Green eyes examined their surroundings curiously; the environment was similar to that of Niffleheim, though part of him had a feeling they were not in the land of darkness and death. No, this land was much too bright, and lacked the obvious deadly streams and shores of death. Laughing to himself, he had to admit it would have been a fitting place for them to end up in such a place—for his actions more than granted him a spot on the desolate land. Still, he wondered what world hosted them?
Looking next to him, he noticed that his companion had managed to keep his pace. The blood was finally shed from her face, leaving only the bruises of a broken nose and a busted lip. Musing to himself, he wondered how torturous it must be for her? He knew from experience that she could cure all but her own maladies. It would be a cruel existence to succumb to pathology when given such a power to cure others.
Continuing his walk, he could hear a small squeak of pain from the woman next to him. Looking back at her, he noticed that she instantly tried to hide the twist of pain from her face. Her eyes widened as his locked with hers, irritation permeating their green irises. He watched as she bit her already swollen lip, and looked down towards the ground.
"It's just really cold." She whispered, her eyes fixed on her soaked shoes, "I don't know how you're not."
Eir could feel her breath catch in her throat as she saw Loki's eyes widen in anger.
"I…I'm sorry, I forgot!" she apologized quickly, "I didn't mean to…"
"But you did." Loki growled, grabbing her wrist again.
A small feeling of satisfaction filled him as he felt her heartbeat quicken under his grip. He watched as she blinked a few times and avoided his gaze, the pain of the cold still evident on her face. Letting her go, he continued walking. As much as he didn't want to stop, he knew his companion would sustain cold injuries with more travel. An injured burden would be even more trouble for him. He suddenly wished he had killed her.
"I pray you can find shelter in those mountains." He growled, pointing in the distance, "I will accompany you in due time. Until then, make yourself useful and tend to a fire."
Looking at the rocks in the distance, Eir let out a sigh of relief as she thought of the promise of warmth they offered. Looking back towards Loki, her eyes widened as she noticed that he was nowhere to be seen—no trail of snowy footprints as a guide. Suddenly acutely aware of the quiet stillness of this frozen world, she wished she had gone with Heimdall and broken her foolish promise.
Heimdall would have never put her through this torture.
"Erik, I think I see them!" Darcy smiled, pushing the accelerator, "Just like your calculations said!"
Erik Selvig rolled his eyes as he listened to Darcy go on about how excited she was to see Thor again, what she would do to him if Jane ever got tired of him, and how she wondered if Thor had any Asgardian guy friends she could hook up with. In the distance, he could see the familiar dusty fog of the New Mexico desert. On the ground, he could see the characteristic ringing that such travel left on the Earth. His calculations had indeed been correct.
Around one hour ago, their lab had recorded the high energy typical of such interspace travel. Though not as powerful as the Bifrost, the energy read-out had confirmed that there was entrance by other beings in the desert.
Smiling, he watched as Darcy stuck a hand out of the window and started waving furiously at the two figures in the distance, one of which looked a little unsteady on their feet. Opening his door, he joined the energetic brunette in welcoming back their friends. As he walked closer, though, he could see that Thor's face was etched with worry. Next to him, Jane looked like she was going to be sick.
"Are you ok?" Darcy asked worriedly, patting Jane on the back, "Oh god, what are you wearing!"
Erik ignored Darcy as she tried to comfort an, admittedly, ill dressed Jane. Looking at Thor, he could see that the Avenger's eyes were filled with a fear he could not ignore. Planting a hand on his shoulder, he gave Thor a sympathetic look.
"What's wrong?" he asked, "Why are you back from Asgard so soon?"
Thor closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He didn't want any of these mortals to get involved with the trials of Asgard, especially Jane. Now, he was stuck on Midgard with a power he couldn't hope to understand and a task that broke his heart. How was he supposed to live out his life here knowing that his home was in ruins? He couldn't.
"Asgard is in peril, Selvig." Thor admitted quietly, "I wanted Jane safe."
Thor cast his blue eyes over towards the woman who was sitting down by the truck, trying hard not to be sick. Next to her, Darcy gave him a wink before patting Jane on her back again and offering her water. Sighing, he took out the small red stone that his father had given to him and examined it for the first time since he received it. With it, he could feel an unbelievable power flowing through his body, and it scared him to think of the being that would seek out such a stone.
"My father wanted this protected." Thor explained, showing Erik, "He wanted it off Asgard."
Erik's eyes widened as he looked at the stone. It was an interesting piece, a deep red almost like a ruby. From it, emanated a faint glow that told him it was anything but normal…and that it was anything but harmless. Even now, standing away from it, he could feel the strange sensation it gave off.
"SHIELD can analyze it." He explained, "We still have the analytical equipment from the tesseract."
Thor put the stone back in his pocket and considered Erik's offer. It was a curious stone, but SHIELD was known for being less than trustworthy. Though he knew in his heart that they fought for good, he knew that they kept secrets. He knew they played both sides of the field sometimes. For Midgard's sake, he didn't want such power in the hands of an organization like that.
"I think I have a better person in mind, Erik."
Loki closed his eyes for a moment as he enjoyed the quiet heat of the fire hitting his face. Looking over towards the other side of the cave, he watched as Eir rubbed her small hands over the fire, her wet shoes drying next to her. Traveling down to his own hands, he closed his eyes in thought as he remembered how they turned blue on Jotunheim. He cringed as he remembered his true reflection. He cringed as he remembered the monster that he really was.
"I can heal you."
Blinking, he looked back at the woman next to the fire. She was looking at him with a medical eye, looking over all of the injuries he had sustained on Asgard and decidedly ignored here. They were superficial injuries, nothing serious by any means, but he decided to indulge her. Perhaps her magic trick would keep her quiet, at least.
He watched with interest as she placed a hand on his wrist, blinking as she seemingly wiped the rings around them away. Broken fingernails repaired themselves, and he could feel the magic course through other parts of him—feeling a new tooth grow and his headache subsiding. Looking back at her, he noticed the dark bruising under her eyes and was reminded again of how terrible her power was.
"It's a cruel gift." He admitted, "To have this power, and not being able to wield it on yourself?"
He watched as her eyes cast themselves to the floor, avoiding his eyes.
"You know how I feel about that, Loki."
"I'm sorry I brought it up."
"But you did."
Growling, he ignored her once again. Running his hands along his now heal wrists, he was now slightly grateful he had kept her alive. Her gifts were useful, and in the unknown worlds such as these, would undoubtedly be of some use. As long as he kept her in fear, he knew she would obey him…as an obedient tool.
"Why did you decide to leave?"
Eir looked at him and wondered if she should show him the curious green stone that his father had tasked her with. Even now, she could feel its curious power permeating through her satchel, a strange sentience competing with her own. Eyes traveling to her bag for a moment, she decided against it: for it would only tempt Loki to dispose of her sooner. Hoping that she could fool the God of Lies, she smiled.
"Asgard has given me a hard life, Loki." She explained, "For it to burn without me upon it would be no loss."
Loki could see the small corner of her mouth twitch slightly in her smile.
She was lying.
"Why did you spare me, then?" he questioned further, "My life, especially, is not worth saving."
This time, he noticed that she gave him another small smile. This time, her lips remained calm, her whole face serene in the warmth of the fire.
"I made a promise."
Frigga's blue eyes looked down at the lifeless bodies of the guards that once stood outside her son's cell. The door was still open, evidence that her son had indeed escaped his fate. In the cell, she could see the faint glitter of a key—left haphazardly on the stone floor.
"Did Loki do this?" another guard asked, "I can't believe he got out!"
Examining the guards again, she noticed that they had precise wounds at the center of their collarbones, an effective wound meant to kill. The guards would have had their hearts punctured, and died quickly. Such wounds were hard to execute, and known to those only proficient in anatomy.
Her own words of wisdom from the night before echoed through her mind. A sickening feeling crawled through her body, sending a chill down her now paled face…
Eir took her advice.
Red eyes looked hungrily down at the broken Bifrost where his armored feet now lay. The glitter of the Bifrost was curiously unguarded, lacking a gatekeeper to protect it against the horrors of the universe. Looking towards the gilded city, his purple lips curled into a smile.
"Attack."
Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please review and follow! :D
Next chapter: Thor decides to pay a visit to a friend to have his stone analyzed, Thanos causes havoc, and Loki and Eir find out where they are.
