A/N: Sorry it's been so long you guys! I had some writer's block but it's mostly cleared up now so hopefully I'll be updating more frequently now, but no promises. This chapter is kind of weird... I don't even know where the troll came from. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! :) Don't forget to favorite/follow/review!
Susan was alone in her cell, but right next to her new living quarters there was a rather large looking creature that she had deemed a troll. The girl was a little bit on edge, a little bit grumpy, a little bit freaked out, and a lot home sick. When she had been picked up by that guard and thrown down into the dungeon she had too much going on to think about home and why she had run out on Frigga in the first place. Now that she had some time to think she felt an ache in her heart for the life she'd left on Earth. Everything was happening too quickly. She just found out about her father, then she was thrown into craziness with superheroes and aliens, then she's sent off to another planet! It was too much for her and all she could do to cope with it was curl up in a ball on the cot in her cell and let the tears fall.
Susan didn't make a noise as she wept, she was afraid someone would come along and try to manipulate her. The teenager's heart had been battered, controlled, and broken over the last few days and she didn't know if she could stand it if someone else tried to ply her heart for their own purposes. It was bad enough that her own father did it, but if others came along and tried as well she knew that she would crumble. So, she kept quiet and let the warm tears puddle on her cheeks.
"You bad?" The troll creature asked from the neighboring cell.
Susan sniffled a little. "I am doing pretty badly, yes."
The troll was silent for a moment and then shuffled closer to her cell. He put a long claw on the shimmering wall. "Who you?"
"Um, Susan." She grumbled, rolling over so she wasn't facing her fellow prisoner any more.
"Maalik." He grunted back.
Susan really didn't feel like having a conversation with the big hairy thing so she didn't answer. Why would a criminal troll want to talk with her anyway? Did he want money too? Would the chicken pox trick work on such a creature? He couldn't get through the cell wall so she probably wouldn't have to find out. She hoped anyway.
"Why you here?" Maalik the troll asked
"Dunno."
"I ate Allfather's pony."
Susan rolled over and propped herself up on her elbow. She looked in his eye (for he only had one). "You ate a pony?"
"I hungry! Pony sit there, I eat." Maalik protested.
"You don't just go around eating people's pets!" Susan scolded, thinking that was probably one of the strangest phrases she'd ever said.
"Allfather kill anyway."
"He was gonna kill the pony for no reason?"
"Pony sick."
"Oh, then I guess it wasn't so bad, but still, Maalik, you shouldn't eat other people's stuff."
"I bad."
"Well you are in prison, so I don't know what I expected." Susan sat up and leaned against the wall behind her.
"You good?"
"Well, I shouldn't be here if that's what you mean, but I'm not necessarily 'good'," Susan sighed, "After all, nobody's perfect."
"You good." Maalik affirmed.
"Thanks." Susan smiled a little. Maybe prison wouldn't be so awful after all.
Right as she was thinking that things weren't too terrible, things became quite grim. Eilif appeared in front of Susan's cell with a broad grin on his face. The girl immediately frowned. The only nice thing that had come from this guy was that he took those irritating handcuffs off of her wrists. Besides that he had done nothing good.
"Getting all comfy-cozy, Lokidaughter?" The guard captain asked, hands clasped together. He rocked on the heels of his boots and smirked up at her.
"Go away, stupid-head." She spat.
"You've got quite the fowl mouth don't you?" He teased, "But I haven't come to exchange insults with you, I came to have a little chat."
"I don't feel much like talking."
"That's fine, all you need to do is listen," Eilif opened the cell and stepped inside, sitting in a chair across from her, "I suppose you think I must be very evil for keeping you here, however you have no idea what true evil even looks like. A young, naive girl such as yourself couldn't possibly hope to understand the darkness in our universe…"
"I don't think you're evil, and I already know what darkness looks like," Susan answered, "Loki murdered my step-father three feet in front of me, he tried to take over my home planet, and he took me away from my mother."
Eilif gave her a curious look. "You despise your father, don't you?"
"For the most part."
"Then it may be hard for you to understand things from my perspective - for I loved my father. You see, when I was at the tender age of five hundred Odin commissioned one of the greatest magicians in Asgard, my father, to create a barrier spell in case the palace was ever attacked. My father created the spell and it worked wonderfully, but Odin was not pleased with it. He thought that the spell needed to be stronger and ordered my father to go and find a dangerous type of magic to incorporate into the barrier. My father obtained this magic, but while he was infusing it with the rest of the shield there was a burst of flame from the magic and it consumed my father. Odin didn't even care about what had happened, he simply hired a new magician. My mother, siblings, and I didn't even find out that Father had died until a week later when a baker found out about it and told us. Mother had no money and begged Odin for some sort of payment for the work my father had done, but the only payment we got was that my brothers and I were drafted into the military."
Susan listened, and found herself pitying the man. "So why are you telling me this? It's not like I could do anything to change the past."
"Odin's family has been sitting on the throne of Asgard for far too long. He has made poor choices and Prince Thor will no doubt make even worse ones with his obsession with Midgard. What Asgard needs is someone who will understand the needs of the people."
"And what? You're going to take over to get revenge?"
"Not immediately, but perhaps someday. Right now I just need influence and you, my dear, are going to give it to me."
Susan gave him a wary look. "What do you mean?"
"Not only will I be getting a handsome sum of money for your safe return, I will be getting a puppet with political leverage. When you do leave the dungeon you will do my bidding in Odin's court and drop a few ideas - my ideas."
"I'm not going to do that for you!" Susan snorted.
Eilif grinned. "But you'll have to. I was planning on punishing your father if you stepped out of line, but now that I know how you feel about him I think I'll turn my attention to someone else. I have an associate on Midgard who would be more than happy to find your mother."
"Leave my mother out of this!"
"I'll leave her out if you do exactly as I say. Promise me that you will and no harm shall come to her. Deal?"
Susan wrung her hands and nodded. "Okay, just don't hurt her."
"Just don't step out of line, dear."`
Loki had conjured a toy ball into his hand and was impatiently bouncing it against the cell wall. How could he have let this happen? Who was Eilif? Was Sigrid in good care? Why hadn't he tried harder to get Thor's attention?
With each thought he threw the ball harder and harder. Finally it built up so much force that he couldn't even catch it without hurting his hand. He dropped the ball and simply let out his frustration with a scream. The other prison-dwellers gave him fearful looks, but when he glared at them they turned away hastily.
"Temper, temper." A voice snickered from outside of the cell. Eilif.
"Why don't you come in here and let me show just how powerful my temper can be?" Loki sneered back.
"I don't wish to fight you, Laufeyson, we have a common goal."
"And what is that?"
"To remove Odin from the throne." Eilif whispered merrily. Loki gave him a skeptical look and crossed his arms.
"My goal is to put myself on the throne, I would not share it with you."
"Nor I with you," Eilif agreed, "But out of the two of us I am the one outside the prison cell and I am the one who is controlling your daughter."
Loki took a menacing step closer to the cell wall and ground his teeth angrily. How dare this peasant threaten Sigrid? How dare he strut in here as if he could do as he pleased?
"Watch yourself," Loki warned, "Someday our positions will be reversed and you'll find that I'm not so pleasant when I'm on the other side of the bars."
Eilif only smiled. "I'm positively quaking in my boots." With that the infuriating guard sashayed away as if he didn't have a care in the world. Loki screamed again.
Thor had searched all of the palace and turned up no traces of Sigrid. Not knowing what else to do, the thunderer approached Heimdall to ask of the girl's location. The Gatekeeper nodded at the prince.
"You seek your niece, my prince?"
"Where is she?"
Heimdall paused for a moment and then frowned. "Someone has hidden her from my vision, but the last time I saw her she was in the dungeon near the fallen prince."
"Hidden from your vision? How?!" Thor exclaimed.
"Some magicians are talented enough…" Heimdall explained.
"Loki?"
"I know not."
Without stopping for further discussion the prince flew back to the dungeons and stormed through the many cells. The captain of the guard jumped to attention, saluted, and then ran off with a somewhat guilty expression on his face. Thor cared little. He found his way to his brother's cell and banged on the wall.
Loki was angrily clutching a book in his hands, but it didn't seem as if he was focusing on it very well. The dark brother looked up and glared, then he noticed Thor and dropped his book.
"Thor! You must listen to me, Sigrid is in the dungeons! I'm not sure which cell, but she is down here somewhere! Believe me, in all my life I have never been more truthful."
Thor only glared in response.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Loki noted.
"What cause have I to believe anything you say?" Thor bellowed, "Heimdall has told me that a magician has hidden Sigrid from even his gaze. I may not have your sharp wit, Loki, but I can put two and two together. Who else would have motive to hide the girl?"
Loki scowled. "And what, pray tell, is my motive? Where would I even hide her? If you haven't noticed I am locked in prison."
"Stop denying it and just tell me where she is."
"I only know that she is in the dungeon."
"Are you resentful that she is to be raised by Father? Is that why you have hidden her from us?" Thor asked, "Are you simply doing this because of what happened on Midgard? Is this some sort of petty revenge?"
"No Thor, it is not I who has clouded Heimdall's vision. The guard, Eilif, plans to use her to gain wealth. Search the prison, he has locked her in some dark corner."
"I wish I could believe you. I wish it wasn't obvious that you did this, brother. At least tell me why!" Thor requested.
"She is my daughter Thor! I want her found as much as you do. Stop being an oaf and go find her!"
"That would be much easier if you would tell me where she is!"
"I don't know!"
"Milord!" Eilif called, entering the room
"What?!" Both brothers snapped.
"I have uncovered the girl's hiding place. It would seem that she was glamoured and then locked in a cell. Only a powerful magician could have managed this," The guard informed them, stepping aside to reveal Sigrid, "Here she is."
The girl darted a quick look at the guard who had found her and then rushed to Thor, embracing him. The prince froze in surprise and then hugged her back. He glared at Loki, but decided this argument could wait for another day. The queen was distressed at the loss of her granddaughter and the king was annoyed at the loss of his ward.
Loki looked expectantly at his offspring and Thor assumed he was waiting for Sigrid to reveal where she had been and who had put her there. When the girl stopped hugging her uncle she gave Eilif a wary look. The guard nodded and Sigrid turned back to Thor.
"I'm sorry I wandered off…" She started, "But it felt like something was pulling me down here and once I was down here Loki cast an illusion on me and a guard thought I was a criminal and locked me up. Then this kind guard found me and realized I wasn't where I was supposed to be."
Loki gave her a wide eyed stare as if he couldn't believe the words she was saying. Thor growled at his brother and put a protective arm around the girl.
"Well, now we have a witness. I'm sure Father will want to punish you for this, Loki, but right now I must return Sigrid to the place where she belongs."
"Sigrid, why are you lying so?" Loki asked in shock. The girl didn't even look at him.
"Guard Eilif, you will be rewarded greatly and you may have the rest of the evening off. Thank you."
Thor steered the girl away from the dreary dungeon and up a set of stairs. Before they left Sigrid darted one quick look at her father and Thor could have sworn there was a glint of guilt in her eyes - but perhaps it was just a trick of the light.