I own Vielae. Everything else belongs to it's respective owners.
The storm had completely calmed by the time Vielae and Loki were dressed.
"What do we do now?" Vielae asked as she finished trying on her gauntlets.
"We return to Asgard," Loki responded, pulling his jacket on.
"Asgard? Odin will have us both killed," she said. Loki gave her a grim smile, and Vielae grew frightened. "You're not suggesting..."
"Vielae, it is the only way to keep us both safe," he insisted.
"Or we could go somewhere else," Vielae replied. "We could go to Vanaheim. It's safe there for anyone. I'd even be fine with Alfheim. My cousins would welcome us, despite my appearance."
"And do what? Hide for the rest of our lives? No, I will not accept that," Loki said, shaking his head. "What kind of life would that be for us?"
"A peaceful one," Vielae said. "We could raise a family, live our lives away from all of the madness."
"The madness will find us," Loki replied, his tone serious. "There is something coming, and the safest place for both of us would be Asgard." Vielae looked at him, confused and worried.
"What is coming?" she asked. When he didn't answer, Vielae grasped his arm. "Loki?" Loki opened his mouth to begin explaining, then they heard a familiar sound. Peeking out of the building, they saw two Asgardian soldiers looking around from where they had just appeared. Loki only paused for a moment before he pulled Vielae in to the building, out of sight.
"Wait here," he said, and ran out. Vielae watched as Loki tricked the guards with an illusion, and killed them both, swiftly and silently. Despite having seen so much death in her life, she still flinched. Her father would have called her weak. She didn't care. She wasn't a born killer, or a soldier. She was Vielae, a calm Dark Elf who was in love with an Asgardian. Well, a Jotun, she reminded herself. He motioned for her to come out.
"Loki, I still feel that this is unwise," Vielae said. Loki placed a hand on hers, in an attempt to reassure her. "What about your brother?"
"My brother will not notice anything," he replied.
"He saw through your magic in the prison," she reminded him.
"Because I allowed him to," he insisted. "Thor wouldn't notice my magic if it was staring him in the face." Vielae was still unsure.
"You're asking me to lie." Loki winced slightly.
"Vielae, I know that you hate lying to anyone," he began, but Vielae wrenched her hand away from him.
"Do not make me do this, Loki," she said, her voice low. "Do not force me to lie to someone who has been nothing but kind to me."
"Vielae, it's the only way," he insisted, reaching for her arm.
"No…it's not!" she shouted, grabbing his arm and flinging him to the ground. "My whole life was a lie, Loki. Do not be like him. DO NOT BE MY FATHER!" She was crying. A look of fear crossed Loki's face. They both knew that she could kill him with her bare hands. The fear caught her off guard. She froze, just staring at the fear on his face through her tears. Looking at herself, she realized that she was kneeling on his chest. She was clenching the collar of his jacket in her left hand and her right fist was raised, ready to strike. Shaking, she fell off him and leaned against a nearby rock, staring at her raised fist. Her breath was shallow, eyes wide with shock. It became too much, and she wept openly, wrapping her arms around herself and hanging her head. Loki slowly got up, watching her. Her fist fell and she openly wept. He crawled over to her, hesitating as he moved. In her state, he fully expected her to lash out at any sudden movement, like an agitated animal. When he got close enough, he reached out and gingerly put his hand on her right arm. She flinched and looked up. When she didn't make a move against him, he slowly pulled her close to him. Vielae allowed him to embrace her, feeling the warmth of his body against hers. The sensation calmed her down.
"I don't want to do this to you, Vielae," Loki said softly. "I don't want to force you to live a lie. But Asgard is where we will be safest. To keep ourselves safe, we must lie, at least for a while." He rocked her slightly as her sobs subsided.
"Promise me that we will tell him the truth," Vielae said.
"Eventually we will," Loki said.
"A year," she replied, sitting up and looking at him. "We have a year to make sure that we're safe. Then, we tell him the truth." Her gaze was bright, but hard. Loki could hear the veiled threat in her voice. She was not leaving this up for debate. If he didn't say anything, she would.
"A year," he agreed. He started forming plans in his head almost immediately.
Loki found the shackles in the skiff and placed them on Vielae's wrists. He shapeshifted into the form of one of the guards he had just killed, and they returned to Asgard. As he walked through the palace, there were shouts and boos at Vielae from survivors and other soldiers and passers by. She held her head high and focused on where she was walking. They entered the throne room, and approached Odin, who was staring at his broken throne.
"Forgive me, my liege," Loki said. "I have news from the Dark World." Odin turned his head, looking over his shoulder at the soldier.
"Thor?" he asked.
"There was no sign of Thor, or the weapon. But…" Loki began.
"What?" Odin asked, turning around to face him.
"We found a body, and the elf who escaped," Loki said, shoving Vielae forward. Odin looked at her with contept, and then back at the soldier.
"Loki," he said softly. Vielae turned and looked at the soldier, who was now grinning. The magic dissolved and he attacked Odin.
"Run!" he shouted at Vielae. Vielae broke the loosely-attached shackles around her wrists and broke into a sprint, following directions through the palace just as Loki had told her
Head for the lower levels. There is a secret passage to another realm in a specific room that I marked with a rune. You will know it when you see it. When you find it, just jump. The passage will take you to Jotunheim. Wait for me there. I will come for you when the time is right.
She occasionally ran into a guard, but knocked him unconscious easily. When she reached the basement, she searched for a specific room. Once she found it, she shoved the door open and jumped headfirst inside. Energy rippled around her as she fell. Suddenly, her body crashed into a frozen ground. A blizzard raged around her. Vielae rose and looked around. It was dark, and snow was everywhere.
"Jotunheim," she said to herself. Gathering herself, she jogged toward a large palace, which she assumed was Laufey's. The guards at the entrance were no match for her, and she disarmed and dispatched them quickly. As soon as the last guard fell, the doors to the palace creaked open slowly. Vielae, wary of this even, grabbed a frost giant's sword and slowly walked in.
Guards lined the walls of the room as she walked forward. At the very back of the room, towering above all, was a massive man. Ruby red eyes glared at her as she walked forward.
"Vielae, daughter of Malekith," a rough deep voice boomed. "Come here, child." He beckoned to her with a huge blue hand. Vielae tightened the grip on her sword and continued to approach.
"How do you know me?" she asked.
"Your father is a legend among the realms," Laufey replied. Vielae could barely make out a smile in the darkness. "Everyone thought he was dead, and yet, he attacks Asgard and succeeds in slaying the Queen."
"For which he will pay," Vielae spat, still remembering the look on Loki's face when he heard the news. "Thor is confronting him now. You realize that if Thor loses, Malekith will destroy your realm as well?"
"Thor has already defeated Malekith, and the Aether is contained," Laufey said. Vielae stopped.
"He won? My father is dead?" she said softly.
"My sincerest condolences, Lady Vielae," Laufey said, though his tone was mocking. He inclined his head slightly. Vielae ignored this, still trying to wrap her head around what was happening. "They were here for a moment. One of my soldiers was taken to Midgard through a portal caused by the Convergence. He did not return." Laufey studied the Dark Elf, gauging her reaction. "But that is of no concern to me. What I want to know is why are you here?" Vielae snapped back to reality, and met the ruby eyes of the Jotun king.
"I was sent here to wait…" she began.
"Wait? For what?"
"Your son." Laufey frowned slightly.
"Loki?" he asked. When Vielae nodded, Laufey began to laugh. "My bastard? The one Odin thought he could use?" Vielae's eyes widened with shock. Odin wanted to use Loki the same way that Bor used her? "Odin thought that he could force me off the throne and put Loki in my place, someone that he could control and bring about peace? He should have killed the brat when he had the chance…it's what I would have done." Vielae stared at the Jotun King. Bastard or not, Loki was his son…and he didn't care. The sword in her hand began to shake. "And now you bear his child?" The breath caught in Vielae's chest, and her free hand flew to her abdomen. She looked down in shock. How could he have known that? "You poor thing. You bear the bastard of a bastard. It would be a mercy to end it." Vielae looked back up at Laufey, who was smiling.
Her vision turned red.
A feral scream tore from her throat as her feet left the ground.
She vaguely registered the feel of the sword slicing through flesh.
Pain shot through her arm as a frost giant's sword sliced in to her.
Laufey was laughing even more, calling her feeble, and a child.
Strong arms held her down.
A frost giant stood over her, sword poised for the kill.
Loki…her last conscious thought.