This is set before the first Thor movie.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All Characters go to their respective owners, the chapter and fic title to Nightwish.

Story Title: From Astral Romance - Nightwish

Chapter Title: From Swanheart - Nightwish

Chapter Five: If only I could make them fall

Heimdall saw everything, Heimdall heard everything. That much was known to everyone in the Nine Realms, and of course to everyone in Asgard. The dark man that guarded the bridge was not one who talked much, but he had proved his worth in many fights for Odin.

What he did not like though was lies, mischief and slyness. It was in his opinion not worthy of a God to do anything but fight wars openly. Iron sharpened iron, Heimdall thought. Although he was not one to ever provoke a fight, he would always fight back. Never evade. And the fact that Loki saw things entirely different always caused Heimdall to doubt the Trickster's motives.

But the first time after his return from Iceland, when late at night Loki had come to ask him if he saw Brynhild, Heimdall had come to know another side of the God of Mischief. For hours Loki would stand there and just look into the general direction Heimdall looked when Loki asked what he could see. Heimdall had no idea if Loki even saw anything, but it seemed to make him happy to know somewhere out there was the woman he loved. Heimdall, generally not a man for conversation, was so intrigued by this that he even tried to talk to Loki. But Loki never answered. He went about his life in Asgard like he had done before, but Heimdall saw the difference.

Heimdall had also heard the brothers trying to talk to the Allfather. Thor had asked him to break the curse. Loki had practically begged Odin on his knees to let him marry Brynhild if she chose him without having to beat her. But Odin could not be softened. Heimdall understood that. If the Allfather gave in to demands, it would have to be for a good reason. And Brynhild who had so openly defied Odin… he could not let that slip. But the fact that Heimdall had understood that did not mean he did not feel for Loki. Especially when he saw how devastated Loki was after Odin had just left him there on his knees, roaring that the conversation was over. But Heimdall had never said anything to Loki.

One night, Loki came to him, "I have an ill-divining feeling. What can you see, Heimdall?"

Heimdall looked outside, "I cannot see what causes you to feel like this, Loki. Everything is as always. She sits under the ice-tree and watches the waves."

Loki froze, "The sea is calm at night. Heimdall, do you see a ship?"

Heimdall nodded after an instant, "Yes. With five men on it… One of them is the Dragonslayer."

"Sigurd?" Of all the people Loki did not want to travel the seven seas of Midgard, Sigurd was the first on his list "Who is with him?"

"I do not know these men, Loki. One of them looks like a king. The other one is a tall man, dark… one eyed. He must be Hogni, servant of King Gunnar." Heimdall could not hide his smile. "You could be friends. As I have heard, he is just as much of a liesmith as you, Loki."

That did not make Loki feel better. He had heard of all three of them. Gunnar, the King of Burgundy. Hogni of Tronje, his fiercest warrior, known for his fighting skills as well as for his intelligence and way with words. And although Loki had no idea how it had come to this, those two noblemen were on their way to Iceland, accompanied by Sigurd the Dragonslayer.

There was no question what they wanted on Iceland.

Brynhild.

"I need to go to Iceland, Heimdall." Loki said.

Heimdall shook his head, "Loki, she waited for Sigurd since he woke her up from her sleep. Spare yourself the pain of going there and seeing that she chooses the Dragonslayer over the Trickster."

The insult was more than obvious, and Loki knew he should not feel bad about it. He did, however. It was true. He had nothing on Sigurd.

But that was not the main cause for his wish to go to Iceland.

Hogni was the reason. From what he had heard about the man, he was cunning as Loki was. And if Sigurd was now visiting Iceland to ask Brynhild's hand in marriage, with Hogni by his side, it meant no good. Sigurd was in the possession of Andvari's Tarnhelm, and that alone set Loki on edge, for he knew the power of the Tarnhelm. Loki remembered only too vividly how news of Andvari being robbed of the Tarnhelm and having his gold stolen from him by Sigurd had set all the Gods in Asgard on edge and the Giants. And now Sigurd had the Tarnhelm, and sure as hell had it on him. What did he want? Why take Hogni with him?

Then it hit Loki. It was not Sigurd who wanted to claim Brynhild. It was Gunnar. That explained why Hogni was there. And Sigurd was there to help as well. At first sight, this was not an entirely bad thing, for Gunnar was a small and tender man, no match for the Valkyrie. But Hogni's intellect and Sigurd's strength supporting the frail king… No, they had planned something. The God of Mischief was not fooled, not by mortals and not even by the Dragonslayer.

"I need to go to Iceland. Open the bridge." He repeated.

"Loki, this is high treason. The Allfather has told you he will not spare the Valkyrie from her fate. If you go there and interfere when a man asks her in marriage, you are openly defying your father's orders." Heimdall tried to reason with Loki.

"I am well aware Heimdall." Loki said. He hated this. He was not one to defy orders. Twist it around until he could have his way, yes. But not defy them. But for once, he did not care. He knew that he had Thor at his side, and Odin would not cast Loki out if Thor stood behind him. "I will go to Iceland. With or without your help."

"Then you must do it without my help." Heimdall said.

Loki nodded, "Very well. So be it."

Loki did not need Heimdall. When the others had feasted after battles, Loki had often strolled through Asgard, more often than not transformed into a bird or a fly. Even in his mare shape while he had carried Sleipnir, he had roamed through Asgard. He knew ways out of Asgard to all of the Nine Realms, and Midgard was no exception. Not even a challenge.

He felt himself shrinking, his skin breaking open to make way for beautiful feathers. Soon, he was in his eagle shape. He preferred the falcon, but he could not go and borrow the falcon skin from Freya. As an eagle, he was still fast, maybe even faster, but every transformation was exhausting, even for someone who was well versed in the skill.

Soon he spread out his wings and started to fly. Midgard was far, but his wings were so large that he was faster than the wind. Soon he found himself close to Iceland. His eagle eyes however spotted the ship, and he decided to follow it.

Hogni saw him, "An eagle."

Sigurd looked up, "Yes. I thought it was too cold for birds to live here…" before he went back to cleaning his sword.

But Gunnar understood the implications. "You are remembering Gudrun's dream."

Hogni nodded, "Yes. An eagle ripping the falcon she raised. Your mother told her it meant that the man she loves will be slayed. The falcon is her husband, the eagle the murderer." He turned to his servant, one of the men Loki did not know. "Take your bow and arrow and shoot the eagle."

The man followed and aimed at Loki. But the wind carried the arrow away before it came even close. The man aimed again but Hogni shook his head, "No. It is what I wanted to know. I will not be the one to stop the murderer."

Loki had seen enough. He took off and made his way to the castle.

Brynhild was sitting on the roof when Loki landed next to her. She took a look at him and reached out her hand, "Be welcome, beautiful creature. It is rare that I see eagles around here." Loki hopped on her hand. "Is it Sigurd who sends you? I saw him. With Gunnar, the King of Burgundy." She raised her free hand to touch Loki's feathers. "Hallbera read the runes. They say that it is Gunnar who comes for me. Not Sigurd. I am glad. I cannot beat Sigurd, but Gunnar I can and will." She smiled, "Your feathers are beautiful. They remind me of Loki's dark hair… Can you fly to Asgard? If so, tell him I miss him." She raised her hand, and Loki took off again.

He did not know why he had not shown himself to her. But if he showed himself, word would go to Sigurd and Gunnar, and it seemed wiser that they did not know that the God of Mischief was amongst them. He landed on Laufey's tree and waited.

At night, he landed on the window of Gunnar's room. It had been just like Hallbera had said; Gunnar had asked Brynhild's hand in marriage. Sigurd did not even seem to recognize her properly, and Loki could not deny that was most perfect. However, it seemed wrong. Loki knew he was not a fighter, that he could not match Brynhild in strength. Gunnar was smaller and more fragile than Loki, yet he believed he could beat her? He sat down on the windowsill.

Gunnar, Hogni and Sigurd were sitting on the bed. Loki spotted the Tarnhelm lying next to Sigurd.

Hogni seemed wary, "Are you sure she will not notice?"

Sigurd nodded, "I am. She does not know of the existence of the Tarnhelm. She was asleep when I got it."

"But she knows of the ring, so she knows you robbed Andvari."

"I stole the ring from Fafnir, not Andvari. Loki took the ring from the dwarf." Sigurd answered. "Do not worry, Hogni. I will wear the Tarnhelm, and to her it will look like Gunnar will throw the spear and the boulder. Tomorrow evening, Gunnar, the Valkyrie is yours, and I will marry Gudrun."

Hogni's lips twitched, and Loki knew why. The falcon. If Gudrun's mother was right, if the dreams of a young girl were anything to go by, Sigurd, the falcon, would die. Was Brynhild then the eagle who would slay him?

He flew back to Brynhild's bedroom. She was naked, changing into her gown for the night. Loki watched her in awe. This beautiful woman. She was just as beautiful as she was strong, and Loki, for one second, was not sure he deserved such perfection. Then he turned his head away from the sight. It was not respectful to watch her when she did not know he was watching.

When she was dressed, she sat down on the bed. Loki landed on the ground inside her room. She looked up, "Do you bring message from Loki?" He screeched before he started transforming again. She looked at him with eyes wide open until he was back to being himself, cowering on the floor. "Loki…" she whispered, apparently not trusting her eyes.

He got into a standing position, "My queen… I apologize for this rather unusual way of visiting you. But I saw Sigurd was approaching, and…"

She smiled, "And you were worried."

He looked down, "Yes. They say he is strong."

"He is." She agreed. "And I appreciate your worry, although I would have wished you had visited me earlier with no pressing danger."

He sighed, "I am well aware I am late, my Queen and again, I apologize."

"I am glad you are here." She whispered. "But it is not Sigurd who wishes to marry me; it is Gunnar."

"But it is Sigurd who will compete." Loki said, and told her what he had heard.

She was silent for a while before she murmured, "There must be something we can do…"

"You do not have to fight him. Since you know that he will betray you." Loki said. "I am convinced Odin would not accept this."

She shook her head, "It still does not matter. If I am beaten tomorrow, he will marry me, and even if I expose them, it will be Sigurd then who fights me. And if he beats me, he can do with me as he wishes. Give me to Gunnar. I am convinced Odin could not care less."

Loki had to admit she had a point, "What can be done?" Although he knew the answer. Nothing could be done. The only thing that would help was to ensure Brynhild would win. "I could ask Thor for help. With the help of my magic, I could transform him so he looks like you. He can surely beat the Dragonslayer."

She doubted, "He will look like me and still be strong like himself?" But Loki sensed something in her voice. Hope.

"I would think so. If I transform myself, I still know it is me. We will find it out." He walked to the window and looked into the skies, "Brother Thor, we need you." Thor always came when he was needed. And of course, for Thor, Heimdall would open the bloody bridge. Because Heimdall did everything for Thor.

"Are you sure he will…" Brynhild started asking, just before the sky changed from night blue to grey only to be lit up by a lightning bolt seconds later.

Loki rolled his eyes, "First lightning bolts, then Thunder, then Thor. The next time I will mention he should just sneak in."

Thor landed close to the castle and used Mjölnir to fly into the bedroom. After greeting the Valkyrie like an old friend, he let Loki tell him what he had heard.

Thor roared, "I will kill them."

Loki shook his head, "No. You would kill them with no prove. And nobody knows if the Dragonslayer can be killed, and he is our main opponent." He told Thor about his plan. "It will only be a short transformation. You can beat Sigurd. Would you do it?"

"Of course, my brother."

Brynhild still doubted, "How are we going to find out if he will keep his strength even when he is me?"

Loki waved a hand, "That will be easy to find out." Before their eyes, Thor shrunk. His hair grew longer, his features softened, until he was a perfect copy of the Valkyrie.

Thor looked down at himself, "Brother, I hope this is reversible."

"Why would you hope that when you look so much fairer now?" Loki scoffed. "Now, pick up Mjölnir, please."

Thor reached for the hammer and pulled.

It didn't move.

All hopes Loki had harboured were destroyed, "It does not work." Again he waved his hand. Thor pulled again, but still the hammer remained on the floor. "Damn."

Brynhild looked at Thor, still in awe at the magic Loki had just produced. "So, if he cannot pick up Mjölnir…"

"It means his strength did not transport…" Loki finished and clicked his fingers, watching as Thor transformed back. Thor immediately picked Mjölnir up. "Thank you, brother."

"You are welcome, brother…" Thor was just as down as Loki, if for different reasons. The Thunderer and the Dragonslayer, it would have been a battle the skalds would never stop making stories about. "I could still just kill them."

But now Brynhild shook her head, "No. There will be no bloodshed in this castle. I will fight this battle, and will do as Odin wished… Maybe he will have mercy on me and give me the strength to beat Sigurd." She didn't believe it though. "Thank you, friend Thor."

Thor bowed to her before leaving again, leaving Loki and Brynhild alone.

Loki did not dare to look at Brynhild. He was way more advanced than the rest of Asgard, but he still felt it was his duty to protect her. Of course, she did not need protection, but that did not change a thing for Loki. And the fact that he could not do a single thing to prevent this from happening made him realize all too well that every single man on Asgard, probably even the blind Hod, was a more suitable husband for the Valkyrie.

He only raised his head again when she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Do not grieve, Loki. Who can know what the Norns have planned for us. One slip of Sigurd and I win."

"I could still steal the Tarnhelm." Loki offered in a last desperate attempt.

"No. Either Sigurd would wake and slay you, or he would accuse me and my guards of stealing and still have his fight." She walked before him and kissed his lips, "Let it happen, Son of Odin. If we are meant to be, we will be."

He returned the kiss, placing his hands on her upper arms and caressing them, "We will. Please win, my queen."

She smiled at him, "I will, Loki."

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