AN: So college started back up and I got a job so I've literally only recently had time to work on this and I'm so very sorry about that. Thank you for the kind comments regarding my dog; time has helped heal that wound. I just want to say that I'm definitely still working on this and have no plans to abandon it even though life is a bit hectic at the moment.

Chapter 15: Worlds Away

Elysia had made it back to the throne room just in time to see the Warriors Three approaching the throne her brother sat upon with Sif by his side as the two conversed. She was still holding a grudge against Hogun for his misplaced accusations against Loki. However after what had just happened in the forest, Elysia refused to let herself become angered. Never again did she want to lose control the way she had; she was ashamed that she had allowed her emotions to get the best of her like that.

She watched on as the young men kept their heads down as they addressed who they thought was Odin, "Allfather, we must speak with you urgently." Part of her found humor in the situation, the fact that they were about to receive the shock of their lives, and the other part had an inkling as to what they were hoping to speak to her father about.

She'd already made her warning clear about what would happen if their thoughts about Loki were to continue, and if the words made their way out into the open she really would cut Hogun's tongue out. Her brother need not know about their baseless accusations; it would only cause him further hurt.

Loki and Sif both glanced up upon their entrance, taking note of Elysia hanging back in the shadows, and watched as three pairs of hands slowly dropped in utter confusion. And although he wanted to inquire why his sister was holding herself back, Loki also knew Elysia wasn't one to do things for no reason. If she wanted them to know of her presence she would have spoken by now.

With a perfectly open disposition Loki addressed his brother's group of friends, "My friends..." It was the only greeting he could think of that wouldn't publicly snub them. However before he could continue and ask what they needed his father for, Fandral decided it took too much effort to contain his questioning.

"Where's Odin?"

There was a way to phrase certain questions, especially ones of a sensitive nature, and this was not one of them. His tone was certainly not one others would have taken when speaking to their Prince.

And although Loki could have bristled at the impudence; something that was never shown to his brother, he pushed away the frustration. "Father has fallen into the Odinsleep," Loki locked eyes with them to show he wasn't amused by their brashness, "mother fears he may never awaken again."

And although very few realized it, such a fate would have been a blessing upon Asgard.

But instead of finding understanding in his words, the three men exchanged pensive looks before Hogun once again opened his mouth and let stupidity run its course, "We would speak with her."

The demanding nature of his question had Elysia's brows furrowing. Did he not understand what it meant for Loki to be sitting upon the throne at the moment? These boys had no right to command anything of Loki, not even when he had been just a Prince. But now Frigga herself had handed her son the throne, had given him her approval on a silver platter.

Whatever concerns the three of them had would be easily dismissed by Frigga.

"She has decided not to leave my father's bedside."

In all honesty Elysia was surprised Loki had given them an explanation at all, especially when he was under no such obligation. It was a kindness on his part that the three warriors didn't seem to comprehend.

Loki on the other hand had come to expect this reaction. Thor's friends had never taken him or Elysia seriously before, believing their stance with Thor elevated them beyond a station of respect. They took certain liberties, subtle ones that Thor should have corrected in their youth, but thought nothing of. The result stood in front of him now; a sense of misplaced entitlement.

However, Loki knew it wasn't entirely their fault. This had been an abrupt change for everyone, so surely he could overlook their behavior on this occasion. "You can bring your urgent matter to me," Loki did his best to appear open, genuinely wanting to know what they needed.

Their timing was a bit atrocious; he had been in the middle of discussing how to prepare for Laufey's arrival with Sif. He decided to give the young woman the task of leading the planning. Loki knew it meant a great deal to Sif to be included; it showed she was thought of as the warrior she'd worked so hard to become.

Although that didn't mean he'd let her go into the fight alone. Sif was Thor's soulmate, a future sister should his brother ever pull his head from his ass and realize that he was indeed in love with her. While Elysia and him would never allow any harm to befall Sif they also knew they couldn't ask her to stay behind with their mother where it would be safe. Such a request would imply they didn't believe in her skills, and nothing could be further from the truth.

So instead the two siblings would need to ensure they never left her side.

Volstagg was the first among them to realize Loki was indeed their acting King, and hesitantly kneeled before the younger man while the other two slowly followed suit. It was a strange sensation for Loki to see them perched on their knees before him. If he were being honest, it made him a bit uncomfortable. How glad he would be when Thor came back and took the throne.

"My King, we would ask that you end Thor's banishment," Volstagg asked while warily meeting Loki's eyes.

The request took the siblings aback and even Sif stared at the Warriors Three in bewilderment. Why would they come to inquire about Thor? Sure, he was their friend and all, but he wasn't their family. Did they really for one second believe that Elysia and Loki had forgotten about their older brother?

Shaking off the confusion, Elysia could notice her brother's struggles. They knew what they had to do but not once did they think they'd have to explain it to others. It was simply none of their concern and the more she thought about it, the angrier she grew. Had she not already provided them with a sufficient answer?

"Perhaps you three have forgotten our earlier conversation."

The Warriors Three jumped at the sound of her voice and turned just in time to see her step out from the shadows behind them. It was easy to see that this conversation was unsettling them and not going the way they thought it would, but she really couldn't care less. They knew nothing about how banishment worked and yet they wanted to throw their opinion out there for all to hear.

Odin would have laughed at their ignorance.

"Father stripped him of his powers, that's not something we can undo, not while Odin still lives." If they noticed the use of his first name instead of father, they didn't comment on it. "War is coming and you suggest we bring our defenseless brother right into the middle of it? Thor is far safer in Midgard until this battle is over." Her countenance hardened at the idea that they'd allow anything to happen to their brother, "We will only bring him back once we are sure it is completely safe for him. Whether that be after Laufey is no longer a threat or when Odin passes and Thor's powers can be restored. Trust us; we have already considered every option. It is not easy nor natural for us to have him so far away, we would never do anything to lengthen his time away from us were it not necessary."

Sif understood their concern, she'd carried that same weight until Loki explained it to her. Sif had known that the siblings wouldn't forget about her soulmate, but she'd had no idea the amount of thought and planning that they had gone through until the younger Prince had reassured her. It helped to ease her mind that Thor's safety was the main concern.

The Warriors Three were thrown for a loop by the neutral expressions on Loki and Sif's faces during Elysia's speech. They'd thought out of everyone that Sif would be up in arms with them over Thor's return. Fandral opened his mouth, feeling the urge to question her strange reaction, but the sharp glint in the goddess' eyes told him to leave it well enough alone.

Hogun was still wary about Loki, his belief that the Jotuns needed someone with strong magic to enter Asgard. And who better than the God of Mischief, the sibling they knew the least about? However, Hogun had no desire to test Elysia, not after her threat and especially not after seeing what she could do on Jotunheim.

Not to mention Elysia barely tolerated them as it was, there was no scenario where she would stand to be questioned about something she believed they had no concern over. "In the meantime, I suggest you prepare yourselves for Laufey's arrival. We cannot afford what happened on Jotunheim to happen again. We must be ready this time."

Although the thought of another war with the Frost Giants made her anxious, she would not force her brother's hand. If this would bring him peace then she'd stand by his side. And if she were being honest this war was mostly her fault anyway. So she'd fight on the front lines and tear apart any Jotun who dared step foot in her home.

She'd finally let her people see what the royal family had hid for so long.

It was time to stop being a child, she had to become the Princess her people needed.

Sif nodded at her three male companions, a subtle display to indicate they'd been excused. There were already too many things to worry about without throwing another argument into the mix. The Warriors Three aggravated both siblings, so it would not be wise for the three men to linger in the throne room.

Tails somewhat tucked between their legs, more in confusion over how the conversation had deviated so drastically from the way they'd planned it, the Warriors Three turned and started to make their way to the door when they were stopped by Elysia's hand reaching out to grasp Hogun's arm.

Leaning in slightly, Elysia lowered her voice to deliver one final message, "Thor has been our brother long before he was your friend and he will be our brother long after you are gone. It has never been, nor will it ever be, your place to watch over him."

Elysia had not parted from Thor since the day of her birth and Loki from the day Odin brought him to Asgard. The three of them watched over each other and that would always be enough.

Removing her hand from Hogun's arm, Elysia leaned back and let them pass without further ado. Once she was sure the three had left the room, she made her way up to where her brother and Sif had already gone back to their planning. Seeing their focus and determination only cemented Elysia's desire to keep what happened in the forest a secret from them. There was simply no time to worry about her when war was on the horizon.

So she'd wait to tell them. Elysia would wait until Jotunheim had been defeated and Thor was back where he belonged. She'd address the issue when her world felt like it had some semblance of peace back in it.

Slipping her arm around Loki's waist, Elysia leaned against him and closed her eyes. She let his warmth and the soothing tones of his and Sif's voices calm her. For the moment all she could do was hope Thor was faring better than they thought and could hold on just a bit longer until they could come for him.

These Midgardians were strange.

After he'd awoken the two women and man helped him clean up, they'd showed him what was called a shower and provided him with adequate clothing. It wasn't an ideal situation by any means, but even Thor understood that things could have been worse.

The ones called Jane and Erik were persistent with their questions, like their issues were somehow more pressing than his. Could they not see he had bigger concerns than their storm? Although the one called Darcy was a bit of a mystery to him. The second he'd laid eyes on that one he had felt a faint bond; almost similar to the one he had with Elysia, though not nearly as strong.

Which was strange considering he'd never once seen this woman in his life. But his concern was on getting home, everything else would have to wait.

Although their incessant questioning was grating on his nerves, they had taken him to food for which he was grateful. But then this Jane had gotten upset after he'd thrown the cup to the floor and despite his efforts to calm her only his word that it wouldn't happen again finally made her let it go.

Midgardians and their strange customs.

Darcy on the other hand was fully invested in tall and blond who was shoveling pancakes into his mouth like he'd never eat again. However he was way too adorable to keep to herself, "Oh my god, this is going on Facebook." She held her camera up and hoped it would work, "Smile!"

Feeling some odd need to please the little Midgardian in front of him, Thor put the fork down and gave his best closed mouth smile seeing as there was still food in his mouth. The look of delight on her face pleased him. Had Thor not already met his soulmate he might have confused the feeling. But the bond he shared with Sif was so different that there was no mistaking something else for it. This was familial to the core and Thor had no clue why it had latched onto Darcy.

It was a feeling that increased tenfold right before the bell attached to the door behind him went off. Sighing because he really didn't want whatever this feeling was to increase, Thor warily turned to see what else this realm was going to throw at him.

Standing in the doorway was a bundled-up man; his hat covered up most of his face but couldn't contain the long strands of chocolate brown hair beneath.

Winter didn't know why he did it, didn't know what possessed him to walk into the fucking diner in the first place. He was supposed to be doing recon, simply keeping an eye on the man, but the words on his wrist demanded contact. And even though it went against all his training, Winter found himself shoving on a pair of gloves before opening the door to the small diner.

His plan was to subtly enter and sit down in the corner, that way he could see every movement from the seven people inside. A plan that was quickly thwarted when he looked up to see the blond already watching him.

Well shit, there went stealth. So much for being a goddamn ghost.

Winter quickly looked away, reaching a gloved hand up to tuck his cap down tighter in an effort to draw attention away from the way his eyes darted around the room in surveillance. A quick glance was all he needed to determine none would pose any significant threat.

The two drunks on the barstool would need no more than a well-placed kick to the sternum to neutralize them.

The three females' necks would easily snap under the weight of his left arm, though his soul words sent a sharp jolt across his skin when his eyes ran over the small brunette whose wide fascinated eyes hid behind a pair of black rimmed glasses. For whatever reason his mark didn't like the idea of him harming that woman in particular, a similar burn had occurred when he'd first entertained the idea of killing them all. So he acquiesced and instead decided to simply choke her out should she become a problem. The lack of reaction from the words along his wrist cemented his resolve.

The older man in the group seemed weary and Winter didn't think he looked like much of a threat to anything. But either way, the knife in his boot would slide through the skin of his throat easily and with minimal effort should the need arise.

The blond was the only one whose physical stature could prove to be a challenge, but Winter had no intention of harming him. He felt protective over the man, which was the sole reason he was even in this diner, stupidly putting his cover at risk.

He'd really prefer not to kill anyone but if they got in his way, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them. He hadn't been trained to leave witnesses; witnesses meant evidence, and that was unacceptable. A lesson they'd burned into him years ago.

Making sure to keep his head angled towards the floor, Winter calmly made his way over to the corner booth, allowing him to keep eyes on the entire establishment. He was quickly beginning to wish he'd just stuck to the roof across the street rather than pretend he couldn't feel the blond's eyes trained on him. Winter tensed when the older woman, with a name tag bearing the name Izzy, came wandering over in his direction.

Her smile was sweet and her tone was warm and Winter almost regretted the way he'd planned her death out no longer than a minute ago. "Can I get ya anything sugar? Maybe a cup of coffee to start?"

Wanting to avoid all avenues of being identified here, Winter chose to nod instead of speak. He didn't really know what coffee was supposed to be, but if it meant she walked away he'd agree to let her bring whatever. With another wide smile Izzy turned and made her way back to the counter to pour the drink. Meanwhile Winter refused to settle until she came back to place a steaming cup in front of him, the smell of it actually more pleasant than he previously thought. The plates in his arm creaked subtly as he minutely relaxed once Izzy walked away with a request that he let her know if he wanted anything else.

The cup almost felt like a taunt. He wouldn't drink it; that wasn't something allowed. Hydra had a habit of forgetting to feed him and had simply decided to use an IV to pump nutrients into his veins instead since it was easier for them. He doubted his body would respond well to whatever this drink was.

The sharp squeal of a chair sliding back against the floor rung out and Winter's eyes flew from the cup to the blond who was suddenly coming his way. For a brief moment something akin to panic flooded his body; what the fuck was he supposed to do? He hadn't planned on approaching the man anytime soon, this was not supposed to happen.

Unable to look away, Winter watched speechlessly as the tall blond slowly came to a stop right beside him, his large stature giving him the ability to loom over Winter. The words on his right wrist buzzed with energy the closer the man had got, as though they wanted to leap off him and clash into the blond.

Winter couldn't help but sit up straighter when the man opened his mouth, anticipation filling his bones as he prepared himself for the oncoming words that could change his whole life. He'd waited decades, spent every moment aching for what could come, and now that it had the potential of finally being here, he felt woefully unprepared.

"Greetings Midgardian."

Oh.

Instantly Winter lowered his eyes in blatant disappointment, the sharp sting of defeat entering his bones. How stupid of him to believe finding his mate would be so easy. He clenched his jaw in an effort to keep whatever the burning sensation in his eyes was from continuing.

Turning to look up at the man who was decidedly not his soulmate, Winter was faced with the most hopeful look he'd ever seen. The feeling of protection had not faded in the slightest since the revelation and Winter found that he couldn't dismiss the man even if he wanted to.

"Midgardian?" His voice was slightly cracked from underuse but the words were still clear. Mentally berating himself through ever word, Winter wondered how the fuck he got himself into this situation where he was actively conversing with anyone outside of his handler and contact.

Stunned, Winter watched as the man slid into the seat across from him with no hesitation, "Oh, my apologies. Is that an offensive term? Would you prefer human? I am unfamiliar with your people's current customs."

None of it made any fucking sense to Winter, but then again not much did so for all knew this man could be making perfectly logical sense. "Um, Midgardian seems fine," Winter hoped he said the right thing and by the answering smile he received in return he supposed he did.

"What is your name young one?"

Before he could even question what the hell this man meant by young when he didn't look much older himself, that piercing voice came back with a vengeance and rattled loudly in his brain.

James.

Winter had to take a second to squeeze his eyes shut as pain flared across his temple. That voice always brought pain. It always came without warning and left him a wreck, and more often than not if he ever repeated what that voice said, he'd end up back in that chair with that mouthguard the only thing keeping his teeth from gnashing and breaking while lightning lit up his world.

Our name is James.

It felt like taking a sledgehammer to the head; multiple times. "James." In an effort to shut that fucking voice up the name slipped from his lips, "My name is James."

There was finally silence. Winter basked in the reprieve, not paying the name any attention. He didn't know who the hell James was or why his broken piece of shit head was so adamant about using it, but even he had to admit it was better than Winter. Winter wasn't a name; it was a title. It was the only thing he knew himself as, but that wasn't something he could explain to the man in front of him.

The Winter Soldier.

The Asset.

The Weapon.

That's who he was, he did not have a name beyond that. But perhaps in this diner, sitting with this man, he could be James for a little while.

Unaware of his internal plight the man smiled and tapped his chest, "I am Thor, son of Odin." He used the same hand to then brush a strand of hair away from his eyes, the words lining his right wrist entering Winter's eyesight. The familiar markings stealing his sole attention.

Heill minn buðlungr.

In an instant Winter's world narrowed down to those three words; words in a language he'd been chasing after every time he came out of cryofreeze. Suddenly this Thor had become his sole clue. Maybe this had been why he'd felt so strongly after seeing him the first time. Maybe life was finally giving him an inch here.

Mission: Follow and identify this 'son of Odin'.

This Thor was an answer and Winter wasn't about to give it up; not for anything. For the first time that he could remember his mate seemed reachable. It was like he could almost feel her in his grasp and he would be damned if he let this chance slip away.

She was his and he was hers; whatever he had to do to find her, however much blood he needed to soak his hands in, none of it mattered. All he cared about was finding her.

Mission: Complete.

A flood of determination struck Winter and he looked up to lock eyes with Thor, who was none the wiser to his revelation. Suddenly, coming to New Mexico was the best damn thing he'd ever done and he wouldn't rest until he had information about this language and where it came from. Those words would lead him to his soulmate; of that he was sure.

Trying to imitate the man's smile, Winter gently nodded his head, "Nice to meet you Thor."

Mission: Follow Thor and find mate.

AN: So the translation of Thor's words are "Hello my Prince," which I thought would be appropriate since they met when they were younger and Sif would have been trained to address the siblings respectfully and with their titles before they realized she was his soulmate. In later chapters you'll get to see what Sif's words are as well as Loki's.

Athena05: The reason Elysia won't bring back Laufey's soulmate is because it would defeat the purpose of taking him away in the first place. Elysia killed him because she needed to take the attention off of Loki and because that creature killed her father and inadvertently her mother as well. It may be selfish of her, but she won't give anything to the man who caused her parents' pain and took them from her. Also, Loki's going to go to war regardless of what Elysia does, after what Odin said he truly thinks it's the only way he'll find peace. Plus Elysia, Loki, Sif, and Frigga are pretty badass and confident about their chances.