Chapter One

"You're getting better at this, Ella." my brother Loki said as he expertly wielded his sword in my direction, and I easily fought him off.

"Either that, or you're just getting worse." I joked and tried to tap his side with my own sword. He gracefully moved away from the reach of the weapon and smiled at my joke.

Our father was firmly against me learning to fight in any way possible, but the threat of war being always around the corner, my brother thought it best to teach me ways to defend myself. He would never let me ride into battle with him, as my other brother Thor's friend, the Lady Sif, does. I was to be a good little lady and sit in my bedroom during war, only able to fight if entirely necessary.

I jabbed him on the leg, and the Loki in front of me disappeared in a mist. "The Lord of Mischief runs away?" I said only half joking, glancing around for his presence.

"Only to keep myself safe from the dangerous fighting abilities that, you, my dear sister, possess." he said as he walked up from behind me.

"Do I frighten you?" I asked as I turned around to face him. He looked thoroughly amused at my sly smile and absurd question.

"Very much so." he whispered and I couldn't help but to laugh. The sword in my hand disappeared with a wave of his fingers. He looked up at the clear blue sky. "We must go if we are not to be late for our brother's coronation." He put his arm out for me to take, which I did and he led me into the castle.

"I wish to be late." I said wistfully as we passed guard after guard.

"Why do you wish to be late?" he looked down at me thoughtfully.

"It's going to be loud, and there will be far too many people there all fawning over our brother. He will eat it up. I'm not prepared for such a night, I wish I could be anywhere else than in that hall." We continued walking down the hall, and then up a staircase.

"He is our brother, Ella, and soon to be our King. We must support him, no matter what. I will be there, if that is any consolation for you to come." He looked at me once more and then squeezed my hand that belonged to the arm wrapped through his.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Our father would be furious." I said in a hushed tone, aware that the Allfather had spies everyone inside the castle and out.

Loki, aware of that fact as well, looked around again until he was satisfied that no one untrustworthy had heard us. We reached the door to my room and he kissed my forehead.

"I will see you at the ceremony." he smiled, and I waved at him while he walked off to his own room.

When I entered my maids where all there fretting over my tardiness.

"Ma'am." Ava, my favorite maid, swept towards me and gathered my hands in her own. "We must do this quickly for you must not be late for the ceremony"

"I am sorry, Ava." I apologized because I saw how worried she was. "Loki and I were downstairs."

"How did I know that it was your brother, that distracted you from your duty to Thor, and to the Allfather?" She made a tsk sound and took my training dress off of me, and very quickly put on the light pink gown I was to wear to the coronation.

Silence filled the room as she pinned my long, curly blonde hair half up, and put the necklace my mother had given to me when I turned eighteen on my neck. "Beautiful," Ava said quickly and took my hand to rush me to the door. "You will have to walk quickly, but you will make it." I stood in front of her and she rolled her eyes. "Go, child, before you are late." She pushed me lightly and I smiled as I walked through the door, and with the company of a guard, walked to the hall my brother's coronation was to be held.

The room was decorated lavishly, and I was the last family member to arrive in my place at the foot of the throne my father was sitting on. He didn't look angry, only weary. He was far past due for an Odin's sleep, that would refresh him, but he seemed to want to get Thor's coronation done quickly so he would not have to worry about the Realm in his sleep.

I stood next to Loki who smiled affectionately as he looked down at me. "Beautiful," he whispered and then looked up to our mother who had a strange smile on her face. It must be the stress of watching her son take the thrown.

The Realm had known that it would be Thor who would take the thrown for a long time. Loki could have, if our father had allowed it, but Thor was chosen. Frankly, it was an odd choice in my eyes. Thor could be rash, and had temper that could switch from calm to irate in a flash. He was selfish, and quick to declare battle. Loki was of a cooler temperament. He was gentle, and poised, the opposite of our brother.

I heard grand music and saw my brother appear at the end of the hall holding up his hammer and yelling as the crowd lost their minds with cheers. I stood silently smiling at him while he walked up the aisle looking triumphant. Loki rolled his eyes as a jest and smiled at his brother.

Thor knelt at the base of the thrown and removed his helmet, setting it on the floor. My father recited the oath that Thor would take and asked if Thor agreed. Every time Thor would agree he would get louder and more enthusiastic; yelling to the point where it hurt my ears.

"I now declare you..." my father stopped and looked distantly away. "Frost Giant," he whispered, squinting his eyes.

"What?" I said aloud and Loki swung around to look at me. Thor looked angry, as did Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, Thor's friends.

I heard my father's staff hit the ground and after a few seconds the floor seemed to shake twice.

"Thor, Loki," my father said quickly as he descended off of his thrown and walked down the aisle Thor had just walked up. Thor followed quickly but Loki looked at me once more and cupped my cheek with his hand.

"Stay here and look after mother." He started to follow the men but I held firm his hand.

"Loki, stay with me." I begged. This was as close to a war that I had ever been, and I was frightened.

He turned around and took the side of my face in his hand once more. "Do not be afraid, dear sister. The only ones who should be frightened are the Frost Giants." He kissed my forehead and broke away from my grasp, and then ran off quickly to catch up with Thor and our father.

My mother came behind me and hugged me quickly and tightly.

"Please, Your majesties, come with us," a guard said breaking our bond. They swept us to our rooms to wait to hear about the fate of our family.

What seemed like an eternity later, I saw Ava come into my room, looking as if she had something to tell me.

"Ava," I said quickly as my maid came to my side, and then bowed deeply as she did every time she saw me. I took her shoulders and brought her up.

"There is no time for that," I hissed, knowing that it sounded harsh, and I had never been harsh with her. "What do you know?" I asked her.

"Ava, I heard that you're father has gone to the gate of the Bifrost." she whispered. The Bifrost is the bridge that allows one to travel to other realms.

"Why to the gate, Ava? Have my brothers gone to Jotunheim? Are they in danger?" I pleaded for answers while wringing my hands in nervousness.

"I do not know, my Lady." she said hesitantly, shifting her eyes away from mine.

"I find, dear Ava, that the servants know everything that's going on." I stared at her, silently pleading for her to tell me the truth.

She paused and looked at the door to my room that, on the other side, was the station of my father's guard, sent to protect me by my mother. If he heard something like this, he would be bound to report it to my father.

I sighed and cast a shielding spell over the room, carefully replicating everything my brother Loki had taught me; as we were blessed with the same gifts. "No one can hear us now. Tell me."

"A guard told someone, who then told someone, who then told me that, yes, they went to Jotunheim, and yes, they are in grave danger. You're father went to save them." her words came out forced, but the second she said them I knew them to be truth.

I instantly put on my white cloak, and shielded myself from sight from anyone besides Ava. "Listen carefully, you are to open the door, tell the guard I have gone to sleep, and under no circumstances is he to disturb me. Do you understand?"

She nodded and grabbed a hold of the door handle. I heard her speak to the guard, but I didn't wait around. I simply tore down the hall to the entrance, and then down to the stable. There was a horse waiting for its rider, and I used my royal liberty and took her down the Rainbow Bridge as fast as I could force her to go.

As I arrived, I saw a bright light and a loud sound telling me that the bridge was being opened. I then heard the loud voice of my father, and it frightened me more than anything I've ever heard. I waited outside the door until he burst out and stopped when he saw the horse I had been riding.

"Daughter, why are you here?" he asked quietly but harshly.

"I am here to see the fate of my family." I stated taking his hand in mine.

"Your brother ordered you to stay at the castle. I heard him. How do you disobey him, and in effect me?" He demanded.

"He will understand that I could not stay up in my tower without knowing how he, our brother, and our father fared at battle," I said a little more forcibly than I meant it. He looked down at me with his one eye and smiled.

"Your brother will decide your fate, as he is the one you disobeyed. I know that he will be lenient on you." He smiled a bit at me, then turned away quickly, mounted his horse and rode towards the castle.

I turned around after watching him leave and set my gaze at a slightly wounded Loki standing in front of the gate.

"Sister," he whispered and I advanced quickly on him and hugged him tightly, which he reciprocated.

"Are you hurt?" I asked him when I saw the arm of his armor was damaged. I ran my hand on his arm and felt how cold it was. "You are freezing." I stated with horror, having heard stories of solders dying of cold at Jotunheim.

"I am not hurt, dear sister. Please, let us go to the castle." He took my hand and we started walking hand in hand up the rainbow bridge.

"Wait, where is Thor?" I asked him after I looked behind me and saw no sign of my other brother walking behind me.

"Sister..." he started and he looked down at my feet. I instantly started breathing harder and my heart raced.

"Loki, where is he?" I demanded of my brother. I turned around to go back towards the gate, but Loki, still holding my hand pulled me back to him.

"He is gone. Father has banished him for his decision to go to Jotunheim. He was stubborn and insolent, and father only did what he thought he must." he said.

Hot, wet tears appeared in my eyes and I started crying. Loki, who had always been unable to tolerate me feeling any pain, pulled me to him quickly. I cried into his armor for awhile before I felt him loosening his grip on me. He was tired, too tired to stay here. He needed some sort of medical attention, and some sleep.

"One day, I will bring him back Ella." Loki said into my hair, before he let me go.

"We will bring him back brother." I said. I watched him mount the horse that I had ridden to see them. He helped me up behind him before he steered the horse up the bridge towards the castle.