Chapter 19: Eli

I felt my heart pound rapidly in my chest as I looked at the elder god standing before me, his one eye looking from me to Loki in a look of bewilderment. He didn't seem to be angry, just... perplexed, and maybe a little annoyed at the fact that I wasn't supposed to be there. But then, the memories of my dream came flooding back to me. All the angry rants and sleepless nights I saw Loki endure because of this man, and rather than feeling pissed like I thought I would at actually being able to see him, I felt my spine tremble at the reality of my current situation.

All Odin had to do is say the word, and I'd be whisked away back home, never to see Loki again.

The four of us stood there in silence for some time, taking in our current predicament. I think Loki was more afraid than I was, clutching me tightly as he stared Odin down with wide, teary eyes. Thor stood between us, looking more like a kid who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar than a god willing to protect us. And the Allfather just stared, mouth agape as he looked past Thor's shoulder to fix his stare on me.

Thor was the first to break the silence, "Father, I can explain..."

Odin, lifted his hand, silencing him as I felt Loki flinch beside me. I swallowed hard. I was almost positive that he didn't want to hear it from either of them. The first move was on me.

I gently pried myself loose from Loki's grip and moved to stand beside Thor. I could feel my hands shaking at this point as I tried to string together a coherent thought. What was I supposed to say to a freaking God?! It was different with Loki and Thor, having pretty much known Loki for a year in my dream, and Thor was just... well, Thor. Here I was facing the king of Asgard, and who had to be the most powerful being in the universe. How the fuck was I supposed to handle that?!

... A polite introduction seemed like a good place to start.

"Allfather," I did my best to keep my voice as steady as I could as I took a low bow, "It's an honor to meet you."

If I was being honest with myself, I had no idea what I was doing. I could have been offending all of the Asgardian's ancestors for all I know.

Some of the tension eased out of me when Odin responded with a dip of his head.

"If you'd please come with me..." he spoke gently.

I stiffened. This was it. This was the part where I was booted back to Earth, wasn't it? The part where I was taken away, ever to see Loki or anyone from Asgard again.

Reluctantly, I moved forward, stopping one last time to glance back at the trembling God of Mischief for what could be the last time. He looked terrified and desperate to reach me, but probably knew that it wouldn't help either of our cases, and that the guards would be be on top of him if he tried.

Odin glanced back and locked eyes with him.

"I bring him back," he said, "I promise."

His words caused a little bit more of the tension to ease out of me, and I gave a reassuring smile back to Loki, "I'll be all right."

He didn't looked all that convinced, but tried to put up a brave front as I followed Odin out of the dungeon, our eyes never leaving each other until we vanished from each other's sight.

I follow closely behind Odin as we walk briskly down a series of spacious choridors, flanked by guards on all sides. Everything around me seems to glow as the evening sun bounces off all the gold and marble surrounding me, but every now and again, I see a crumbled pillar, or a wall that's been blasted to smitherines. I even spot an aircraft of some sort that stands out in stark contrast to the gleaming architecture of Asgard; dark with sharp angles, and I get a very strong feeling that it's not supposed to be there.

"Dark elves invaded Asgard..."

I could hear Thor's words ring in the back of my head, making my heart pound. Dark elves. Svartalfheim. Even my limited German tongue could comprehend that, and that air craft looked just like something I'd expect a dark elf to get around in.

Every now and again, I catch people staring at me as they whisper back and forth to one another. I'm not exactly surprised, since my fluffy black coat and I stick out like a sore thumb against the flowing gowns and shining suits of armor. If I listen hard enough, I can hear fragments of the whispers around me.

"Is that another Midgardian?"

"I think so! Look at the way he's dressed!"

"Loki's lover?"

"Doesn't seem like his type..."

"How did he even get here?"

The more I listen, the more visible I feel, like a spotlight has been placed on me that's only getting brighter with each passing second, leaving me at the mercy of the judgement of the Aesir. Some gawk like I'm some kind of unicorn, others glare and sneer as if I was some sort of urchin that just crawled out of a bog. A trio of what I can only guess are warriors pass by us and almost instantly trip over each other as they wheel around trying to get a good look at me.

As my anxiety grows with the number of eyes that are on me, one of the guards rests his hand on my back. Not in an agressive, keep-it-movin' sort of way, but in a way that seemed to be him trying to reassure me that I was safe. That no harm would come to me. I try to relax. If I really was a guest in the palace at the moment, then I had to trust that Odin wouldn't let any harm come to me.

Eventually, we arrive at a set of enormous gilded doors that open up into an incredibly spacious room. At the far side of it is a throne, which Odin slowly lowers himself into as I'm led in front of it. The guards back off, and as I take one last look around, the eyes that were following me vanish.

The two of us stare at each other, not knowing what to say and likely filled to the brim with questions. I wasn't sure if Odin was expecting me to speak first to try to explain myself, or if I was supposed to wait for him to speak first to start an inquiry, but the silence quickly becomes more anxiety-inducing than all the questionable looks I was getting earlier.

I swallow and straighten my posture as much as possible, but my hands can't resist wringing each other nervously for all they're worth.

"I understand that I'm not exactly supposed to be here," I start, my voice soft and timid like it used to get whenever I got in trouble as a kid, "I wasn't exactly expecting Thor to show up at my work looking for me specifically, but when I heard about Loki, I... I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry if I caused your people any trouble."

I hear a chuckle escape Odin, and it bounces off the walls surrounding us, "Only a minor headache..."

More of the tension eases out of me, and I find it a bit easier to stand up straight.

"I know perfectly well who you are, Elijah Ray," Odin continues, "And I know why and how you've come to find yourself on Asgard. What I'm curious to know is how you've come to know and care so deeply for Loki, especially seeing how it is you two have never even met."

The words sting, like a knife is being jabbed and twisted into my chest. He had a point. In our waking lives, Loki and I didn't know each other. By all accounts, I should have treated it like any other dream, and just forgotten about it. But then again, that was just the point. It hadn't been like any other dream. That year I experienced felt like an actual year. The events that happened felt like I had actually experienced them. Everything about that dream had felt completely real, but the reality was that it wasn't. It'd all been a dream that happened over the course of twelve short hours.

But, it'd also been a dream Loki had, as well. We experienced it together. And we both remembered everything.

"That's a good question," I responded, "I don't really know, but if Loki remembers, then something about that dream must have been real, right?"

"But, in dreams, human's can't see the face of someone they've never seen before. Which means you must have seen Loki at some point during your waking life."

I thought about it for a moment, that old superstition, before it dawned on me, "Yeah... in Germany..."

Odin looked down at me, leaning forward as he listened intently, "Go on..."

"I was on vacation with my family. We were visiting family and touring around the county. We had stopped in Stuttgart for the night, and I stepped outside to have a quick smoke before bed," details start becoming clearer as I recount the memory, "And then I hear this commotion coming from just around the corner from the pension we were staying at; lots of shouting and screaming, and I saw people running like they were being chased or something. I was curious, so I went over to see what the fuss was about. That was the first time I saw him."

The memory was clear as day now; the people running, multiple Lokis boxing them in like a school of sardines, and Loki's voice echoing through the crowd as he ordered them to kneel before him. I had followed the crowd, dropping to one knee in response as I hid behind the corner of the pension. A flash of green, and I came face to face with one of Loki's clones. At the time I wasn't really sure what I was actually seeing, but he'd turned to look at me, and we made eye contact. I remember feeling both afraid and intrigued at the time, thinking I was witnessing the rise of another Hitler. I was kind of relieved when Captian America arrived on the scene, taking the opportunity to dive back inside and hide with my parents.

How I forgot all about that, I'll never know.

"What was your first impression of Loki?" Odin asked.

I shrugged, "In Stuttgart, probably the next Hitler. In my dream, a hopelessly lost, cosplaying weirdo."

"Did he ever try to harm you, in your dream, at least?"

I wasn't quite sure how to answer. Yeah, Loki came close to killing me in my sleep once, but he was stopped. By my cell phone, no less. He could have carried out the deed if he really wanted to.

"He was mostly bark with little to no bite," I said, "He did go on about him not being safe for me to be around for a minute. I think the guilt of what he did in New York really got to him then, but I managed to talk him down. We became friends, and the rest is--"

I had to cut myself off from saying "history". It wasn't history, because it never actually happened.

I cleared my throat and sighed, "The rest is just a dream..."

Odin nodded. He didn't seem angry or amused, just sad... if not a little disappointed that it didn't really happen that way.

"Can I ask you something?" I piped up, "Because maybe you'll know more about this than I do. How was it possible for Loki and I to have and experience the exact same dream together at the exact same time?"

"It likely has something to do with the Convergence," he explained, "During the Convergence, all of the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil are perfectly aligned, which causes the boundaries between each realm to become thin. I think that's the only possible explanation I can come up with for the strange dream you two shared."

"And... Loki's imprisonment... Is it perminent?"

"I'm afraid so. The severity of his crimes is too great to risk dealing him a lighter punishment."

My heart sunk. Being sentenced to life in prision might as well be as bad as Loki being put to death, and when I thought about just how long his actual lifespan was... Loki was about to spend a very, very, very long time inside of that prison cell.

"That's why I told him I'd bring you back," Odin continued, drawing my gaze up from the floor. The elder god stood and decended down from his throne towards me, "You probably realize by now that Loki doesn't just love anyone. Then again, he doesn't always make the best first impressions, either, but you are the first to win his affections in the way that you have. You know about what became of his mother, Frigga, correct?"

I nodded, "I do, and I'm also very sorry for your loss."

"Frigga was one of the only people he was truly close to, and Thor had stopped visiting all together. He's bound to be lonely, and so I will give the two of you three days together here on Asgard. Neither one of you can leave the palace. Apart from that, spend your time however you wish. In three days, Loki will return to his cell, and you will return home."

A multitude of emotions hit me in that moment. It wasn't a lot of time, but it was time, and we weren't going to be forced to spend it in that utterly destroyed prison cell. I'd likely be missed both at work and at home, but none of that mattered to me right now. All that mattered is that I have time; time to spend with Loki, and time to properly say goodbye when the time came.

"I'll take it," I said, "Thank you."

Odin nodded once more, "I'll have the servants draw you a bath and fetch you some proper clothes. You look as though you could use it."

Most. Awkward. Bath. Ever!

Three sets of delicate hands worked to scrub the sweat and grime off of me from work, and let's just say that the moment I undressed, not one of them was prepared to be faced with the female anatomy. A tsunami of questions insued. You're actually a woman?! Is Elijah a common name for women amongst Midgardians?Why has your hair been cut so short? Have you perhaps been inspired by the story of Thorberg?

I answered their questions as they came. The concept of being transgender seemed to be quite lost on them, but they were pretty polite and accepting of it. As quickly as one of the servants came in with makeup, jewelry, and a dress, they vanished and returned with leather, armor, and gauntlets. The daunting questions about my gender quickly evolved into conversation about my "striking" blond hair, muscle tone, and the tattoos that sat on my shoulders.

Let's just say that by the time I was out of the bath, I was no less a god in the eyes of the servants than Thor or Loki were.

Getting dressed wasn't any less awkward than the bath, though. Underpants, socks, boots, pants, and tunic? Easy peasy. The rest, though... holy crap! It took six servants to put everything together, and they'd done it so fast that I couldn't follow which clasps went where, and which staps of leather buckled into what. And the outfit itself was tight. Like, really tight. It was slimming, shrinking my waist at least five inches, giving the appearance of a flat stomach, but at the cost of being barely able to breathe. The look was completed with a royal blue cape that billowed behind me when I walked.

"Fandral was kind enough to lend some of his clothing to you," one of the servants stated, "He hopes they're to your liking."

I observed myself in the mirror, "I like it... It's just a really snug fit."

"Yes, well. Volstagg was also willing to lend some of his things... but he's quite a bit larger than you, which, with how loose-fitting armour can rub, can be quite painful. Trust me, snug is what you want."

After running a comb through my hair, which honestly didn't take much, I was sent on my way. I wasn't sure if people were expecting me to remember my way back to the dungeons by myself, or if the servants had finished their work so quickly that nobody was ready to escort me, but I found myself back in those massive hallways alone. The few guards I did see stayed rooted to their posts, and didn't give me a second glance as I passed by.

On the bright side, the eyes that had been on me before were now gone as I blended in with the rest of the palace. The down side was that I had a terrible sense of direction in new and unfamiliar places, and after taking a few turns that I thought would lead me back to Odin's throne room, I found myself hopelessly lost.