ONE.

Gaïa was quite a perceptive girl, quiet but intelligent. She looked up to both of her big brothers, Thor for his undeniable strength, and Loki for his cunning and his silver tongue. They each had admirable traits, and their flaws, but Gaïa loved them all the same.

She had been a relatively quiet as a child, adored by the Asgardians for her beautiful smile. Her mother, Frigga, transformed her into the elegant woman that she was, taught her the basics of magic and sent her off with Sif to learn how to fight. Gaïa always felt as if she was never quite enough for Odin, her father; she could never be quite as mighty as Thor, which constantly left a bitter taste in her mouth. Yet, on several occasions, Odin would praise her about her quick wit and courage, usually leaving the girl confused as to where she stood with her father.

Those were the instances where she was glad to lean on Loki, as he constantly lived in Thor's shadow, and in some cases, they could relate. It was not until Thor's coronation did Gaïa realize how big of a shadow both Odin and Thor could make (and why she believed her mother to be perfect, as she had trained Loki in magic and made him able to make light for himself).

Gaïa stuck by Loki's side after Thor's banishment, and when their father fell into Odinsleep, even when Loki had discovered his true parentage. Loki ascended to the throne, since Odin was in no place to handle it and Thor was gone. Gaïa knew she was not ready for such a thing, the weight would surely break her will.

As Gaïa was the Goddess of Light, she made a single visit to her brother on Midgard, not traveling physically as one would with the Bifrost, but by ways of magic and of the light. Her form seemed physically to be on Midgard, but it was just a manifestation people could see.

She found her brother in a woman's home, where he was happily eating breakfast. She watched on curiously, momentarily believing that this was suiting to Thor, he was learning, just as Father had intended.

"Sister!" Thor boomed, standing from his seat and walking towards her. As he went to embrace her, his hands passed through her form, making him frown.

"A pleasure to see you well, Brother," she said, her voice light and airy, beautiful like a bell.

The three other figures at the table turned to look at her, staring in bewilderment.

"How did you get in here?" shouted one.

"Going to a Renaissance Faire?" inquired another.

"By God," whispered the last.

Thor turned to them, "Friends, this is my sister Gaïa, Goddess of Light and Fertility." Thor was beaming. "Sister, these are my newfound friends, Jane, Darcy and Erik."

Gaïa nodded in welcoming, "I thank you for taking in my brother,"

"Tell me, have you come with news? Has Father—"

The young girl shook her head, "No news comes from Asgard, I simply wished to see how you were doing."

"A Goddess in my home?" Jane whispered, voice barely audible, eyebrows furrowed.

Gaïa's blue eyes, similar to Thor's, flickered over to Jane. And she smiled. Gaïa had never spoken to any Midgardian, and only made this mind trip to Midgard once before, when her mother had first trained her in the art of it. She was still fascinated with humans, her head turning slightly to the side as she studied the three Midgardians.

She could feel her head beginning to spin, as it did the first time (her mother told her to practice, but it seemed she did not). She took a long breath through her nose, "I must go, Thor, I shall visit again."

"Bring me back with you," Thor almost pleaded.

Gaïa frowned at her big brother, wishing that she could, but knowing this had all been for a reason. "Apologies that I cannot." She sighed, looking up at Thor. "May we meet again, Brother,"

Thor nodded, and went to hug her but stopped himself. Gaïa smiled sadly as she faded out of the room, much like a mirage, and awoke from a meditative state back in her room. She felt bad for defying Loki, as he had made it clear that no one could go and visit Thor, but technically she had not, not physically anyways.

There was a commotion outside, forcing Gaïa to go and check to see what the fuss was about. One lady screamed and she was out of her room and running down the hall. Coming upon the room of the All-Father, she saw what had caused the scream.

A Frost Giant, a Jötunn, sat guarding the door, while Gaïa assumed more were inside to assassinate her father, and evidently her mother.

Gaïa put out her right arm as a ball of light formed in her hand and blasted it at the Jotun. He collapsed onto the ground, before coming to his senses and going to stand again. She sent another blast towards his head before reaching into her tiny thigh scabbard that held a dagger. With a surge of her power through her hand, the dagger extended into a magnificent sword, glowing with light.

She started towards the intruder just as Loki rounded the corner, Gungnir in hand. He looked particularly calm, but he killed the Jotun before Gaïa could and then entered the room to kill the others before they could kill Odin and Frigga.

All the events seemed to spiral quickly after that — the Warriors Three betraying Loki and going to get Thor, Thor returning with Mjölnir, and discovering Loki wanted to destroy Jotunheim.

In the end, he was unable to destroy the Jotuns, as Thor broke the rainbow bridge of the Bifröst. Now, no one was able to travel using the Bifröst. But Loki had fallen, letting go and allowing himself to die in the voids below the bridge. Gaïa had run across the bridge to help her father in retrieving her brothers, but she was too late. Loki was gone and the ache started to build in her chest.

The time she spent grieving Loki almost stole all the light from her eyes. Ingrid, Gaïa's handmaiden, had to leave her meals outside her bedroom since she never left her chamber. She spent time sulking, wishing to wake from her nightmare where her brother was dead, hoping to find him alive causing mischief. Frigga eventually was able to get the girl back to her senses, after a long talk well into the night.

It was not long after when Gaïa and Thor discovered Loki was alive, plotting to become King on Midgard. Odin was only able to conjure up enough dark magic to send Thor to retrieve him, but Gaïa sent her best wishes and disappeared off into her room.

Gaïa sat in the middle of her bed, and let herself focus on moving her astral form to Midgard. She might not have been able to fight, or be in her physical form to help Thor, but she needed to see Loki. She found it hard to believe he was alive after the long fall.

She followed along with Thor's essence, finding him in an aircraft hovering in the sky. Although a breathtaking vehicle, it did not quite compare to that of Asgard's technology. She quietly passed through corridors, in search of Loki, hoping to steer clear of anyone who would sound the alarm at her arrival.

"—let me know if real power needs a magazine or something."

Gaïa hid in the corner until the man left the room, her crystal blue eyes flickering across the room to find Loki standing alone in the middle of a circle of glass, and she guess that was where he was being imprisoned. He looked almost smug, but Gaïa ventured out of the dark and into the light so he could see her.

Loki grinned at his sister.

"I thought you dead," she whispered, stepping closer to him.

Loki did not have to guess if she mourned for him, he knew, he knew that she and Frigga loved him more than Thor and Odin ever could. "Ah, yes, and I have seen things you cannot imagine."

Her eyebrows furrowed, stopping so she was just in front of the glass. She noticed, his once very green eyes almost seemed cold, and they had grown into a blue. She stared at him, bewilderment on her face — was this truly her brother? Or had the pain of the abyss changed him?

"Loki," she breathed.

"Don't, Gaïa. You cannot stop me."

"Who has done this to you?" she ventured, her eyes pained. "This isn't you."

"How would you know?" he snarled lowly, his nose crinkling.

She frowned sadly, then she sighed. "Brother, please,"

"Have you forgotten?" His air of smugness returned. "I am no son of Odin, and therefore not your brother."

It almost hurt to hear him say it, "Blood matters not to me, Loki. You are my brother, and my friend. Have you forgotten all of our time together? Us growing up side-by-side?"

Loki scoffed, "Please, Gaïa, have some maturity. You need to grow up. The world does not cater to you—"

"I never said it did!—"

"It is not all sunshine and rainbows — there is unimaginable cruelty," Loki almost faltered, remembering his time with Thanos, but he shoved it away, "and most times, there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"Loki, please,"

On the upper deck, where Thor was discussing matters with the others, Bruce drew the attention away from Thor and pointed towards the cameras.

"Who the hell is that?"

"How did she get in there?"

"That is my sister,"

"Is she on his side?"

Thor shook his head, starting towards where Loki was being kept, "No, she's not even here."

All of the Avengers, and agents, stared in the direction he had gone in confusion. She was not even here? How was that possible? Everyone could clearly see her on the monitor.

Hearing Thor approach, Gaïa turned to him sadly. Her words had done nothing in bringing Loki back to his senses, now she was only left with the ideas Thor would have in bringing him back to Asgard.

"Please bring him home safely."

With the news of Loki's return to Asgard, with aid from the Tesseract, Gaïa discovered that a battle had broken out between Loki, his army and the Avengers. She knew what her father must've been thinking, to execute him for his crimes and although she did not recognize Loki through all his pain, she knew this was not the answer.

"Father," she began, approaching his throne, eyes pleading. "Please spare Loki."

The All-Father rose an eyebrow at the girl, "Loki has created far too much destruction, far more than he's worth to spare."

Gaïa had never outwardly defied her father before, never really imagined she would have to. But in that moment, she could not bare the thought of Loki being executed. "This is how you raised him, in the shadow of Thor. How can you do this to your son? You only banished Thor, and although their actions do not quite equate, you have always favored Thor. Do something for your other son, for once."

Odin's eye grew hard, his eyebrows furrowing. "You. Are. Dismissed."

Gaïa wanted to scream, but obeyed her father none-the-less. She stormed out of the throne room, her anger hot, her temper rising. Her mother started passed her, into the throne room, sparing Gaïa only a hopeful smile.

In the end, Frigga was able to spare her son's life, leaving him to be locked away until the end of his days in solitude. Frigga visited him as often as she could through ways of magic, and Gaïa did so in secret while she was alone in her room.

The cell had many more things than any other, books, a bed, a table, a chair. Loki was laying down in his bed, a book in hand. He looked over curiously at her astral form.

"Tell me why you did it." was the first thing she said to him.

Loki sat up, glancing over at his sister before placing the book down on the table. He stood, their eyes almost equal, but she was just a few inches shorter than her brother. "Survival is a funny thing."

Gaïa's eyebrows furrowed. "Survival? Tell me how you're alive. Did the fall not kill you?"

Loki, although agitated at his predicament, decided to level with the girl. She was decently naïve and he figured a few answers would suit her plenty.

"I fell into worlds you've never known about, at the far reaches of the cosmos. A Mad Titan sits, searching for his treasures, sending those out who are on his strings to do his dirty work. You either retrieve it or die."

"Tesseract," she whispered, eyes lighting up in revelation. "How has he gotten you to do these things?"

Loki looked pained for a moment, and Gaïa realized it was a topic best left unsaid.

"Brother,"

Loki rolled his eyes at the sentiment.

Gaïa's features grew fierce, her lips forming a hard line. "I loved you, Loki. Have you forgotten all of our hardships on Asgard? How we stuck together, as brother and sister, as friends who could always turn to each other, even as children? Have you forgotten all of that?"

He paused, looking at his feet before meeting her eyes again. His little sister. "I think it best for you to leave."

Gaïa made no argument, hoping to come back within the next few days. She faded out and awoke back in her room, staring at her wall. She noticed Ignrid was tidying up her clothes in the corner, leaving Gaïa in peace.

"May I inquire for some advice?" Gaïa asked, filling the almost silent room with her melodic voice.

Ingrid jumped, slightly startled, turning to face the Princess. She pushed the brown hair from her face, "Of course, Gaïa." Ingrid knew Gaïa hated to only be referred to as Princess, especially while they were only alone.

"Loki has done some terrible things, for that I cannot refute, however how would one go about cheering him up?"

Ingrid pursed her lips. "I suppose the best thing would to get him a small gift, or a letter. That is, if you can get it to him." Yet, the handmaiden knew Gaïa would be able to, if she desired.

Gaïa smiled, an idea popping into her head. A small gift. Books, Loki loved books and surely, this could make the time in his cell feel a little less lonely. So the Goddess set out to retrieve some books, finding a few very interesting ones in town.

Once all were asleep, Gaïa set out on her mission. One upside of being the Goddess over Light was the fact that she could manipulate it in such a way that it cloaked her in invisibility. She used the power primarily in childhood, but never had much of a reason to use it presently.

The books in her hands, book marked with a single note (reading: You will always be my brother, Loki. I will always love you.) also cloaked under her power, she was able to sneak passed the guards and to Loki's cell.

Sliding the books into the food chute beside his cell, she watched as the noise of the books enter the chute caused Loki to stir. Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, he looked to see the books waiting for him. She knew all the other books had come from their mother, but she was glad to help. Loki simply smiled, glancing out of his cell to see no one there, but he knew who it had been.

The attack of the Dark Elves had taken most of the Asgardians off guard. Jane, Thor's first real love, had been invaded by the Aether, the Infinity Stone of reality. It was slowly killing her, much like a parasite would its host.

Frigga was killed defending Jane from Malekith, and unfortunately the young girl witnessed the murder of her mother. Thor yelled out in anguish, while Gaïa collapsed to her knees. Gaïa had nothing against Jane, not even after the death of her beloved mother, but now it was even more personal for her to seek revenge.

A fire was starting under the Goddess's skin, the light in her core building and growing, growing into a mass of power. Her mother had taught her that anger should never be the root of power, as sometimes you cannot get angry fast enough to defend yourself. But the young girl could barely even hear the advice — all she could see was her mother's lifeless body. She could have saved Frigga, if only she was faster, stronger; if only she had been a better daughter.

Later that day, Thor went to Loki for help, while Gaïa was locked away in her room. The brothers used Loki's secret passage way between realms to stop Malekith, and the fight eventually led to Midgard.

News came back that Loki had been killed, and Gaïa's world fell out from under her. After being told the news from her brother and father, she screamed so loud both men winced. As she fell to her knees, before Thor could catch her, a surge of light burst from her, knocking both king and prince back, and sending all the chairs and tables back several feet.

It took hours to console her.

Thor returned to Midgard to help his friends, and it was then Gaïa began to return to her normal self. She still had this unshakable sadness within her bones, but she was able to live day-by-day. It was in these days she began to get flashes in her dreams of devastation and destruction, that left her breathless by the time she woke up.

The flashes grew longer, fading into her days. These events eventually came to pass, and Gaïa had no idea who to turn to. Her brother was gone on other planets, and her father was typically busy.

And then she remembered the witch in the woods.