"We should probably head up to Jotunnhold today," Loki said as he buttoned up his shirt. I was fighting a losing battle with my sweater, one of the sleeves had turned inside out but I had stubbornly tried to stick my arm in it anyway and now my arm was stuck in it.
"Oh, will you just come here!" Loki said irritably as he pulled the sleeve out so I could get my arm through. "How did you ever manage your life without me?"
"Not very well, it took a lot longer to get dressed," I grinned, not bothering to mention that the reason my sleeve was inside out was that he had pulled my sweater off me twice before.
Instead, I pulled his head down and kissed him. Loki's hands slowly slid underneath my sweater and started pulling it back up again.
"Oh no, you don't," I grinned and danced out of his reach. "We'll never leave this room if you keep undressing me!"
"I can live with that," Loki grinned back.
It was the second day after our wedding and neither of us had been able to get enough of each other.
Now that the dark shadow that had seemingly loomed over our lives had been lifted, we were happier and more in love than ever before.
"But you wanted to visit Jotunnhold today.
You said we really should be there to supervise the Templars ourselves before they ransack the place."
"Did I say that? That seems far too sensible for me. You must have misheard." Loki's eyes twinkled mischievously as he caught me around my waist and pulled me close.
"Loki," I giggled. He was truly incorrigible!
Just as he was about to kiss me again he grimaced and smiled wryly.
"But I was right," he admitted grudgingly.
"It is one of my worst qualities really, being right all the time.
You have no idea what a burden that truly is.
We should probably go and supervise the Templars, shouldn't we?"
I bit back a laugh. "Yes, my dear humble husband, we should."

I was about to put on the Jotunn necklace, but Loki held out his hand.
"May I? I haven't had a chance to take a good look at it, my mind having been occupied otherwise and all that," he smiled and winked roguishly.
I handed him the necklace. As he turned it around and read the inscription his smile changed from roguish to melancholic.
"Ah…of course," he said softly.
"What does it say?" I asked.
"It roughly translates as 'To my darling wife Laufey on the day of our son's birth'.
It seems to have been a gift my father planned to give my mother once I was born.
He never got to gift it to her," Loki said sadly.
"I'm so sorry," I hugged him tightly. "Do you want to bring it to your mother? It might give her spirit some solace?"
"No, you keep it," Loki smiled at me after a moment of hesitation. "She won't have any use for it anymore, and I'm certain they would have wanted you to have it. See it as a wedding gift."
"Why does it turn the wearer into a Frost Giant?" I asked curiously. "Your mother was already Jotunn, so why would it do that?"
"I could give you the long answer but your eyes would just glaze over and you'd start fantasizing about me wearing tweed in front of whiteboards again," Loki teased.
"The short answer is that Jotunn magic is adaptive and thus magic items adapt to the user. It's why my armour and the circlet fit me in both forms, they change depending on my need.
The necklace does the same, it shrunk to fit the user, the user initially being Anna.
But the necklace is more than just jewellery, when activated it is an amplifier for innate Jotunn magic.
Since you have no innate Jotunn magic the necklace adapts you instead.
It's probably an unintended side effect, mortals were never meant to wear a necklace made for a Goddess Queen.
But since you are both, I can't see anyone objecting to you wearing it."
"That's why the staff shrunk as well!" I realised.
"It is indeed," Loki agreed.
I picked up the staff.
"So what does it do, besides poison people it doesn't like?" I asked.
"I'm not certain, to be honest. I just know it is powerful and feared even by Odin himself.
I'll have a look at it later, with the queen's permission of course. I wouldn't want to get poisoned," he winked. "For now, let us make our way to the Hold and see what awaits us there!"

The big floodlights were still standing outside Jotunnhold, but instead of armed Templars, there was now a basecamp with multiple expedition tents.
A group of civilians was milling around, trying to keep warm as they waited for us to arrive.
An older man, in his late sixties, was my guess, came over the moment he saw us.
"You must be mister Laufeyson," he greeted Loki.
"If by that you mean 'His Royal Highness Prince Loki of Jotunnheim, Consort to the Queen of Jotunnheim and General of her Armies, son of Laufey, god of Mischief' then the answer is yes.
And this is my wife, Her Royal Majesty Sorcha, Goddes Queen of Jotunnheim…"
"Loki and Sorcha Laufeyson will do just fine," I interrupted Loki. "No one has time to go through all those titles every time they want to talk to us, they are quite the mouthful."
Loki rolled his eyes but I pretended not to see it.
I wasn't planning on going through life with people bowing and scraping before me all the time.
"My name is Doctor August Lee, and I am one of Oxford Occult University's leading professors in archaeology. It's both a pleasure and an honour to meet you both," Doctor Lee introduced himself.
"I wish I could say 'likewise', but my recent experience with Midgard's academics has left me hesitant," Loki replied dryly.
Doctor Lee nodded. "I have been informed of the unfortunate incident with Doctor Borgstrom. On behalf of the academic society here on Midgard, I apologise sincerely for her unprofessional behaviour.
I can assure you, my team consists of trustworthy individuals who will behave with nothing but the utmost professionalism."
Loki eyed him sceptically.
"First of all, I like to assure you my team is in no way affiliated with the Templars. While Oxford Occult University operates within the Secret World, we are an independent organisation.
We were brought in by The Council of Venice who did not believe the archaeological find of the century should be claimed by just one faction.
And while I will eventually report my findings to the Council, I feel my first and foremost responsibility is to you, as head of the native government." Doctor Lee nodded at me.
"I have worked in countries all over the world, and I firmly believe that the days of Western countries plundering other cultures' rich history for their own gain are in the past.
In other words, I am here to serve your people."
Loki raised an eyebrow.
"Unexpected, but not unwelcome. It sounds like we'll be getting along just fine, Doctor Lee.
And please, call me Loki. Despite best efforts on my behalf, it's what everyone else does." Loki held out his hand with a lopsided smile.
"And you can call me Doc Lee, it's what everyone else does despite my own vehement protestations," Lee smiled back as he shook Loki's hand.
I sighed in relief, at least we weren't dealing with a second Anna.
"Have you been inside yet?" Loki asked as he started walking to the entrance.
"I've had a quick look inside, mainly to get an idea of what the makeup of my team should consist of.
Rest assured, what lies inside remains untouched, I'm a professional."
Doc Lee waved at a few of his team members to follow him and introduced them to Loki.

I was trailing behind a bit, feeling about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
"Hey, here you are!" Thor greeted me cheerfully. "I thought you guys would be here.
Finally decided to explore life outside of the bedroom?" he grinned.
I grinned back. "Loki thought we'd better make sure the Templars hadn't carried half of Jotunnhold back to London by now."
"Sounds boring," Thor admitted. "Hopefully we'll trigger a few more golems, at least there be something to fight!"
"Yes, about that," Loki said dryly, "I should probably deactivate the security systems for now."
He shifted into his Frost Giant shape and walked into the control room.
"That is… impressive," Doctor Lee said.
"Eh, creepy if you ask me," Thor grinned.
"I'm Loki's brother, Thor Odinson, god of Thunder." Thor introduced himself.
Doc Lee shook his hand without batting an eyelid.
"Cool as a cucumber, huh? I like you!" Thor patted the doctor on his back so hard that he almost sent him flying.
"And who are you?" Thor asked one of the younger members of Lee's team, who was gaping at the blond giant.
The boy, because he didn't seem to be much older than twenty, pushed glasses held together with sticky tape up his freckled nose.
"Anthony Ryan," he stuttered after a third try, "Sir, god, sir!"
"Just Thor will do, " Thor laughed. "And what sort of nerdy thing do you do?"
"Anthony is a polyglot," Doctor Lee explained.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Thor said sympathetically. "Do you take medication for it?"
"It means he speaks multiple languages, you dumb oaf," Loki walked back into the hallway.
"How many languages do you speak?" he asked Anthony curiously.
"I am fluent in twelve, but I'm familiar with more than thirty languages both currently spoken and dead, sir." Anthony stuttered.
" How adorable," Loki murmured.
"Can you read this?" he held up a large tablet engraved with the circles, squares, dots and lines that made up Jotunn runes.
"I am afraid not," Anthony admitted.
"Wonderful. Your parents must be so proud," Loki said sarcastically.
"Are the other members of your team this useful?" He asked Doc Lee.

"Did you know that?" Thor whispered to me.
"I did, but only because it is a feat you can pick in Dungeons and Dragons," I grinned.

"Most of the chambers I looked at are empty, with the exception of the control room, the armoury that lies beyond it, and the room with the Jotunn remains.
Unfortunately, there seemed to have been a cave-in further down the hallway, and I have a team of experts arriving soon to safely excavate it."
Loki nodded, "I'd like us to take a look at the room with the remains first since I haven't actually seen it with my own eyes yet."
We walked back into the room with the large stone rectangular boxes.
"My first guess would be a burial chamber?" the doctor suggested.
"I don't think so," Loki shook his head. "These were warriors, they would have been interred in ice and while wearing their armour. Even if the ice had melted, their armour and weapons are stored downstairs."
"Perhaps sleeping berths?"
"It's possible, but if that was the case, why did they all die in their beds? It is hard to believe they were all killed simultaneously in their sleep without a single one of them putting up a fight.
An illness perhaps?" Loki sounded doubtful.
"My team will start in this room by clearing the grime and dust of the caskets and the floors, perhaps we'll learn more then," Doctor Lee suggested.
Thor had picked up the skull of one of the Jotunn and tossed it up and down in his hands.
"They sure had big heads, it is easy to see where Loki got his from!" He grinned.
"Thor! Put that down now!" Loki and I shouted at the same time.
"Are you bereft of your senses! That could be my father or my uncle that you are playing with there!" Loki was fuming.
"You have an uncle?" Thor asked.
"Who knows? I might have had!"
Thor put the skull down and gave it a gentle pat. "Sorry, Loki's uncle," he apologised.
"OUT!" Loki barked at him, pointing at the door. "GET OUT!"
Thor glared at him and stomped out of the room.
I watched Thor go.
Thor could be a bit of a fool, but this was a bit much even for him.
I wasn't much use here, Loki seemed to have it all under control. I decided to follow Thor instead.

Thor was sitting in front of the hold with his shoulders drooped and his head hung low.
"What was that?" I asked him.
"Did your majesty come to berate me?" Thor grumbled.
"Don't call me that, I didn't ask to be queen," I said.
"I didn't ask to be king either," Thor replied.
"Want to start a support group? We can meet on Tuesday nights, I'll bring doughnuts." I grinned.
Thor grinned back despite himself.
After a moment, he frowned again.
"Loki seems to have it all together. Just look at him, he has it all. And here I am, still living in your guest room," Thor looked sad.
"It can't have been easy to get so close to going home only for it to fall through at the last moment," I empathised.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we were mistaken about Loki.
But I miss my home. I miss my father. I miss my friends. I miss sleeping in my own bed.
Not that the bed in your guestroom isn't comfortable," he added hastily.
"I know," I patted his arm.
"And I still don't know where Sif is. No one I've talked to has seen or heard about her."
"Is that why you spend so many nights at the Horned God? In the hope to find someone who knows where Sif is?"
"It's part of it. That, and I am not under your feet all the time. I know I'm a bit of a third wheel, I don't want to outstay my welcome."
"You aren't a third wheel, just like Jessie isn't. You are our family and we love having you for as long as you want to stay with us." I said warmly.
"Seeing you and Loki together… I miss my wife."
I hugged Thor's arm.
"Tell me about her. You rarely talk about her and neither does Loki. What is she like?"
"Sif kicks ass." A little smile broke through as Thor said it.
"Sif is the most ass-kicking person I've ever met.
Even when we were kids, Sif kicked ass.
We grew up together, Sif, Loki, Fandral and I.
Volstagg is a bit older, he didn't join our merry band until later, and Hogun was raised on Vanaheim.
Growing up, it was easy to forget Sif was a girl. She could run as fast as Loki, hunt and fight as well as Fandral.
No matter what trouble we got into she was there for it, whether it was stealing apples from the orchard or sneaking into the kitchen to eat as many mince pies as we could before we got caught.
I always just saw her as one of us in those days.
I knew my parents considered her a suitable match, but that was never where our minds were at. We were the best of friends."
Thor looked into the distance, his mind in the past.
"As we grew up it became more noticeable she was a girl course.
But I still didn't see her that way.
Slowly we drifted apart.
The three of us, we'd go out, get drunk and try to tumble a comely lass, or lad in Loki and Fandral's case, they both could go either way.
But Sif, she spent most of her time in the practice yard. Fighting always came easy for me, but she had to work at it. And work at it she did."
Thor smiled proudly.
"Did you know she was the youngest to ever join the Valkyrie?"
"Sif is a Valkyrie?" I asked in surprise. Neither Loki nor Thor had mentioned that before.
"Oh, yes, she's their leader now. As I said, my Lady kicks ass, she's the most awesome woman I've ever met!"
I smiled at Thor.
"Which makes it stranger all the more Father sent her here, she had her own responsibilities and abandoned them overnight. Brunnhilde leads them now, but she isn't Sif."
"Your father must have had a reason," I said softly.
"How did you end up marrying her in the end?"
"She was there for me after my mother died.
She had lost people she loved due to Loki's schemes too. We reconnected and bonded over that.
And I began to see what I fool I had been, always looking for the next lass when I had Sif right in front of me all along.
It took me a while to persuade her I was serious, that it was more than an infatuation.
We married less than a century ago and have been inseparable since.
But now, I have no idea where she is."
"We'll find her," I promised Thor, "she has to be somewhere.