Loki wakes slowly. He is first aware of the feel of something soft and warm wrapped around his body. Then he finally registers the soft, heady scent of... something spicy and strange evading his nostrils. It isn't a bad smell, though. Quite the opposite. It makes him feel.. safe and in a weird way, warm. Warm as he had not felt since... since Asgard, with it's roaring fires and burning mead. He hadn't like the mead, but the fires had always been his favorite part of the feasts that always accompanied a battle. He could stare for ages at the brightness of the flames, dancing like glittering snakes in a thousand colours, blue, orange, hints of green...

"Loki?" A soft voice murmurs, washing over him like a fresh, cold breeze. He blinks his eyes open and immediately shut them again, the light piercing his eyes. She doesn't speak again, however, just took something cool and wet (a cloth, most probably) and gently wipes his forehead and eyes.

It isn't long before Loki finally manages to open his eyes and look around. He is in some sort of cave, he knows that, but this one wasn't like the one he had been imprisoned in. This one has a small fire in the middle, keeping it dry and sending light flickering over the cave walls. It is quite pretty, really, he mused, as he slowly sat up. He remembers all too well the injury that had temporarily incapacitated him. Yet he is pleasantly surprised when he moves his shoulder slightly and finds no pain. There were bandages around the wound, wrapped securely but not too tightly, put on by an expert hand.

He moves his head gingerly and finally glances upon her, sitting in a corner where she had retreated when he had begun to open his eyes. By the flickering light of the fire, he can see her much better. He notices how much her features looked like his, which he had missed in the dark of the prison he had been in. Who was she? How could she look so much like him? She could be related... but to a Frost Giant? She didn't look as if she had any Frost Giant blood in her. It must be some sort of coincidence, he decides. How else could he look so much like her? By Helheim, his life just seemed to be getting more complicated by the second! And now he has a headache. He retreats back into the covers and watches her almost absentmindedly.

She must have felt his gaze, as she turns her head to look at him and he meets her eyes. They were slightly bluer then his, but not quite like Thor's sky blue orbs. Still, Loki doubted anybody could have eyes as blue as Thor. It seemed a trait that to only Thor had been bestowed. Even Mother- Frigga hadn't had eyes quite as blue as Thor's.

"Good evening, Loki. How are you feeling?" She asks him, startling him out of his revelry. He looks at her; she had come slightly closer, but seemed to be hesitating; as if to ask permission. He inclines his head slightly, she sees it, perceptive as she seemed to be, and settles down next to him.

"Oh, Great. Absolutely wonderful. I've been kidnapped from my original kidnappers, by a stranger who apparently lives in a cave. What could possibly be better?" Loki spits out, trying not to let his fear show, a sudden fear, blooming in his chest, not just because, as he'd so eloquently put it, he'd been kidnapped by a stranger who lived in a cave, but for so many reasons; he can barely count them all.

On seconds thoughts, it probably wouldn't be wise to irritate the woman, after he had seen the way she had thrown that dagger at the monster in the cave, he isn't quite sure she was entirely benevolent. And she knows magic... oh, by Ygdrassil... he's dead. He is going to die.

Loki contemplates death. It doesn't sound like an appealing option; he is pretty sure that after that trick he had played on Hela the one time he'd ever been to Helheim (And hopefully the last), she wouldn't exactly take kindly to him coming back for another thousand years... or ever. Still, how could he resist the temptation of that one trick... perfect... and the look on Hela's face when she sat down on her throne only to get stuck to it... he wondered how long it took to get rid of the black treacle from the throne.

He had, of course, only pranked her after Thor had procured the thing they had come for. Thor had thought it a trinket, a bracelet of some kind, but Loki could feel the potential power running through it. He knew immediately what it was;a magi-beholderen,an object that could contain enormous amounts of magic. They were used by people who had originally no magic of their own. These people would harvest the magic of others and use that for their own purposes, often nefarious; after all, how could anybody good take the magic of another person, tearing away their life force, their connection to Ygdrassil?

Only somebody with no conscience. Or somebody desperate.

Loki feels suddenly tired, his head swimming with thoughts; sparks of magic still run through his veins, healing him and sapping his energy. He lies his head down against soft fur and wishes he could turn thoughts off. But that seems to be a talent that even he has not gained. Especially him.

"Loki." It's not a question, this time, it's a command, and he sits up to look at her and immediately feels dizzy. He closes his eyes a brief second before staring defiantly at her, trying not to let any weakness show. It seems to amuse her; the corners of her mouth curl up in a smile and she reaches for a wooden goblet filled with water. He gulps it down, he has not had a drink in a while and the cool, clean water refreshes and revitalizes him, his headache disappearing.

"Since we are to be stuck with each other for quite some time, maybe it may be a good idea to get to know each other? After all, surely it would be a better idea not to remain strangers, after all I believe you rather loath the idea of staying with a stranger who apparently lives in a cave." She tell him, a small, kind smile on her lips. Nothing like his own, and yet familiar.

"Well, since you appear to already know my name, perhaps you'd better start?" Loki replies evenly. So she doesn't appear to be annoyed by his words earlier... good.

She laughs softly, like Frigga did when he says something funny, and taking the cup from him, refills it and hands it back to him.

"My name is Astrid and I... I am a friend of Frigga. A relative, one might say, but distantly related." Loki's brow furrows; that would explain why she wanted to save him from Thiessi. But the information still gives him many more questions. If she is a friend of Frigga, a relative, why has he never heard of her before? He, as a prince of Asgard, was entrusted with the duty of learning the names of every lord and lady of various realms; this is important for diplomacy. It should have been Thor's job, but Thor had never time for such 'boring' ventures, as he put it, and Loki did not argue, knowing it's pointlessness. Thor was always a pig headed fool.

"And you are of Vanaheim?" Granted a nod, he continues. "If you are related to Frigga, then you must be of royal blood. How is it a lady travels across vast distances, all alone? Even if you were in a disguise of sorts so you may travel relatively freely, surely you would have another person to keep you safe and give you company? Only the most reckless travel alone in places such as these, unless they have no other option..."

She's staring at him, sadness and a hint of... something wistful, pools in her eyes; and Loki finally sees it.

"You don't have any other option, do you?"

She shakes her head slowly and smiles, a soft, pained smile. It takes her a few more moments to speak.

"Once... long ago, when I was a girl, only a few years older than you, I made a terrible mistake in the eyes of my parents, in the lord and ladies of Vanaheim and Asgard... and in the eyes of the royals of Vanaheim. I was sentenced to death for my crimes; but the Queen of Asgard... Frigga... begged for my life. She is a powerful and influential force and she had support from the more even headed of the ladies and lords. And so I was given this supposed lesser sentence... to be banished, to wonder alone through the wilderness of the realms, not allowed to have help from anybody: the punishment for that is to be banished alongside me. Nobody is prepared to give up everything for a stranger, albeit a pitiable one. And my family... they disowned me. I am now nothing more than a stranger, a criminal, to them."

Loki's eyes widen in shock as he hears this. She was a powerful sorceress; he knows that from the display of magic in the cave; not to mention skilled with blade. But he has not expected her to be... a criminal. Once sentenced to death. There are only a few crimes that can be given the death sentence,murder... or treason.

"What... what did you do?" Loki voices, hardly the most eloquent response. But at the moment he has far too much to think about to form a more... tactful sentence.

She smiles again, that soft sad smile that seems to appear often on her.

"I fell in love with the wrong person. With the enemy."

Mysteriously cryptic, yet an answer, in some strange way. Of course that would make sense; not a criminal after all, just a person who let her feelings fall to the wrong person and was punished dearly and unfairly for it.

"An unfair punishment, for a crime so small." She laughs at that; her face lighting up. She is beautiful, not in the way Sif is, with her dark, lovely hair and ivory eyes: no, Astrid has a beauty that is refined features and kindness. Like Frigga, like Jord, though she is many years younger than them. The face of one who has been through much and yet has come out the other side stronger. And Loki can understand that; one of the very few people who can.

"Now, I see it was not, but then, I was shamed by what I had done. And in my shame, I did something I regretted for so many long years. I gave up the one thing I loved, more than jewels, more than my magic, my most precious possession. I only hope... I only hope that someday I maybe forgiven for that." She smiles warmly at him and he smiles back, strangely.

Loki has only known Astrid a few days at most, of which most of was spent unconscious, but with her, he finally feels something he has not felt in a very long time.

Acceptance.

When Thor finally gets to the old woman's cottage, he could weep in happiness. It has been a long journey, throughout many days. But that is not the problem; he cannot get the picture of all those dead villagers out of his head; and everywhere he goes, he feels a creeping sensation of being watched. He is very keen to leave here and not return for a good long while.

But if the cottage did not mean escape, Thor knows he would hate it even more than the rest of the journey. It smells of must and manure, with a faint metallic undertone; a smell that sends shivers up his spine, for no apparent reason. Loki used to smell a little like metal, mixed in with other things, like ice (Thor had always wondered how ice could have a smell, but apparently Loki managed it), but a good, wholesome metal, like the smell of a freshly made blade... a slight smell, but one Thor is familiar with. This place stinks; the metallic smell has been twisted into something dark and disgusting. Thor can barely stand to stay here, but he must go in. He must find his brother.

He knocks on the door, the other stand back slightly, scared (though they will not admit it) of what is inside.

The door opens.

A tiny, old woman stands at the door, small enough to be a dwarf woman but not nearly hairy enough. She is filthy; covered in black streaks all over her face and her clothes are patched so much Thor doesn't think there is anything left of the original material. She grins up at him in a toothless smile.

"I know why you're here. Come, come in, I have just what you need. I'm sorry about the mess, a little bit of an experiment gone wrong, you see." She chatters on in a croaky squeak of a voice, grinding on Thor's ears. He doesn't know why, but he feels immediate dislike for this women.

"Thank you." It is Sif that replies and as Thor shoots her a glance, she shrugs.

"Oh, a polite young lady, aren't you? And so pretty... in my day, I was every bit as lovely as you... but that's all gone now. I've tried magic after magic to regain some of that youthfulness, well, anything legal, of course, my lieges, but nothing seems to work very well.." Thor zones out, simply following her as she guides them through a maze of potions on shelves, bent, arthritic knees cracking at every step. He looked at the dozens of potions lining the walls... he was willing to bet there were quite a few in here that were not entirely legal... and some nobody else knew existed, by the extensive look of it all.

"And here we are!" Thor jerked his head up and stares at the thing she is pointing to. It doesn't seem like much, several small, pale stones. Thor immediately feels disappointment... the woman must be mad, how can a stone help a person travel from realm to realm? It seems an unlikely prospect.

"My magic beans! Jack and Jill went up the hill, no, that's wrong... no, Jack and Jill went up the beanstalk? No, that was just Jack. But anyway, here they are, the thing that will take you to the place you wish to go, my lieges!" Thor raises his eyebrows in confusion and opens his mouth to question, but she sticks one dirty, crooked finger to her lips and mouths 'patience' at him. Normally, Thor would not stand to be treated so disrespectfully by a peasant, but he needs her and she knows it. So he says nothing.

"These are...as I told you, but you didn't listen, naughty children... magic beans. All you need to do is take a single bean and throw it into a body of water, calling out the name of the place you wish to go, and these will open a portal and take you there." Thor suddenly understands; feeling foolish, he reaches out his hands for the beans, delving into his bag for the the money, but the woman slaps his hand away.

"Oh no, these beans are much more than just money. If you wish for one, you need to do something for me. When you are in Jotenheim, I need you to get me a special kind of flower, a large golden flower that only grows in the harshest wildernesses. Get me one of those and come back here; then you will be able t pay me. I will give you the bean t get to Jotenheim, but if you do not give me what I seek, then you will never succeed in your quest, I promise you that. Your precious Loki will be lost to you forever!" She giggles wildly and Thor clenches his fists in anger. How dare she say such things about Loki, that witch!

Sif grabs his shoulder and shakes her head quietly; now is not the time to pick a fight. Thor deflates, he knows that he must tolerate this woman in order to find Loki.

She shows her hand into the pot of beans ans delicately picks out one, holding it out for him to take. He gingerly pulls the bean from the clutching hands and holds it tight in his own; it is cool and hard against his skin.

"Also, I can smell money on you. Give it." Bewildered, Thor does as he's told and the woman, finally satisfied, leads them back out the shop and to the front door, out of which they are quickly dispatched, without another word.

It doesn't take them long to find a body of water; a long, thin lake, blue as it reflects the cloudless sky. Thor has held the bean in his hand the whole time; it is too precious to lose. Loosening his grip n it, he pulls back his arms and throws it into the lake. Nothing happens for a second and Thor wonders if they'd just been cheated out of all their money.. then bubbles begin to rise to the surface.

With second the lake is a thrashing, bubbling thing and as they watch, a large hole, a whirlpool appears. They watch it grimly, and then exchanging glances with each other, they reach a silent agreement. Three, two, one.. Thor counts down... and they jump into the water.

Thor can't breath and the rushing in his ears are deafening and as he spins around and around, he wonders whether anybody will ever find his body, until he is to dizzy to think anymore, and just spins and spins and spins, for an endless time...

And then it stops and he hits the hard, frozen ground.

He is up in a matter a seconds and his friends, once they have all gotten up, exchange wary glances which each other. But Thor only sees the gigantic icicles, the huge frozen rocks... it's completely silent and utterly unnerving. And incredibly cold.

They are finally in Jotenheim.

The plot thickens like porridge left on a table too long! Thor and co are finally in Jotenheim... will they survive their own pride, or the cold? What secrets is Astrid hiding? Find out in the next, very very long awaited chapter!

Sorry for leaving this so long, but I got you a longer chapter to make up for that. I would love to hear your suggestions on everything... Astrid, the old woman, the dead villagers... and I apologize if Loki isn't bad-ass or snarky enough in this chapter. He will be... I promise.

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