I walk with my group of close friends from the halls, brothers and sister I would gladly die for if I had to.

Since my legs are significantly shorter than everyone else's, I must almost skip to keep up. I run up to join Thor's side in the front. "Just promise me you won't start a war," I tell him.

"If one is started it won't be by my hand," he replies with his strong walk.

"I don't believe that is what I meant."

He almost chuckles. Our group is now in front of us and he stops for a second to just take my hand and lay a kiss on my knuckles. "I promise," he says smugly.

Immediately the blood rushes to my cheeks and I roll my eyes. "Stop that," I laugh and pull my hand away.

"Why?" he asks with a frown but still amused.

"We all know that your father and mother wish to wed us."

"What?" he seems shocked but not necessarily in the bad way.

"You two love birds coming?" Fandral asks when he turns around to walk backwards for a moment.

I shoot him a glare before he just chuckles and continues. I pull Thor along to walk again. "Honestly, Thor, how could you be so oblivious?" I say with slight laughter in my voice as we follow our company. "You've seen the way your mother convinces your father to make us a match.

"I've seen no such thing," he says in a way that sounds offended.

I just giggle. "And you think Fandral's teasing is by chance? Others join him in that jest all the time."

"And no one has told me?"

"Why are you playing stupid?"

"I'm not playing anything," he says humorously that matches my tone.

"Oh so you really are just stupid?" I say before I start to laugh.

He copies my action as we walk.

.

LADY SIF:

.

Hearing the laughter behind me makes me roll my eyes.

Volstagg leans in to me as we walk beside each other to whisper, "They're at it again."

I lift a brow. "I guess finding a queen is necessary after taking the throne."

"I just wish they would go ahead and wed already," Fandral sighs but looks amused.

I look at him. "You think it would stop then?"

He and Volstagg exchange a look.

I just hold back a little laughter but end up just smirking. I look over to my left to see someone's eyes still on them, Loki's. But when my gaze catches his he looks ahead of him.

.

GEM:

.

We arrive outside of the palace and stop to think this through.

"First we must find a way to get past Heimdall," Thor says. Heimdall is Asgard's gatekeeper and guardian of the Bifrost; the way into any realm... well almost any.

"Get past him? Impossible. Even if we were invisible," I remark.

"I agree. It's no easy task," Volstagg says. "It's said the gatekeeper can see a single drop of due fall from a blade of grass a thousand worlds away!" he exaggerates while the rest of us chuckle a little to ourselves.

"Yes and he can hear a cricket passing gas in Nifflheim," Fandral says humorously to mock his friend.

This makes me giggle a bit more than anyone else. Loki's chuckle half comes from my reaction. My laughter has always been contagious. He glances at me when I cover my mouth, his piercing eyes locked with mine and his cute smile holding his face. I stand beside him at the end of the line we form. He shakes his head but is amused with me.

"Jest not," Volstagg says. "He heareth all."

"Please," Fandral laughs, putting a hand on his shoulder and making his way to the forward towards the stables. "Getting past him should be simple enough now, since he seems to be letting Frost Giants slip under his nose." He chuckles again as the others follow.

"Oh forgive him, he meaneth no offense," Volstagg says to the sky as if he is speaking with the All Maker himself.

Sif rolls her eyes and follows him.

I glance at Loki who just smiles sweetly and raises his brows. "Ladies first."

I give him a funny look. He isn't usually so courteous but I just giggle and start walking after the others.

But as I walk I don't hear footsteps behind me. I usually don't hear them though. His step is so light he could always sneak up on me... He must be following, right? I bite my lip in a strange way from the way he just looked at me. That was nothing. He's just in a good mood. But why would he be in a good mood? Why now? Maybe I'm just imagining things.

Iglance over my shoulder when I think I feel eyes on me but there is no one withthis gaze. 

Instead I see Loki finishing a quiet sentence with one of the guards that line the doorway of the palace before he just starts walking this way. He looks happy when his eyes catch mine but I just frown before turning away and walking again.

We head to the horses once they are saddled and brought. Mine is my own, Liletha, a beautiful stallion that matches my hair color; snow white.

https://youtu.be/tW2qLBU5cAM

I smile at her before I take the reins and attempt to leap onto the horse's back. But I fail due to my height and how large my stallion is. I huff.

A horse parks in front of me and I look up at the smirk of Loki. "Need help?" he asks in mockery with a brow raised.

I just stick my tongue out at him.

He shows humorous teeth grin at me in return.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and look over at Fandral who smiles at me kindly.

I return the look but bashfully as he grips my waist and lifts me to the saddle. "Thank you," I mutter.

He just grins and climbs on his own beast. I walk my animal to Loki's side who still looks amused and I glare at him. "Let's just see who's the faster rider, shall we?" I say to him with attitude.

Hefrowns for a moment but I don't stick around to see what he says. I just clickmy tongue and lunge my horse forward, the others charging after me soon enough. 

I race down the rainbow bridge with lightning speed, the transparent crystal the bridge beneath me glistening in hundreds of different colors as the sunlight shines beams through the wind. My curly locks tug at my head behind me as I fly forward, gripping the reins of the horse I ride, and staying ahead of all the rest. I catch myself smiling. I haven't ridden in too long. And I miss it truly.

I glance over my shoulder at the companions who catch up to me, surprised by my spirit.

We continue until we reach the observatory, an enormous structure shaped like a sphere, where the gatekeeper waits for us, standing guard in his armor of glistening gold, tall and broad shouldered like a statue, skin of a dark umber color, but eyes of a bright amber that almost seem to glow if the light is proper. His helmet sits mighty on his head and his staff in hand before him.

We dismount and begin walking to where he stands, my eyes avoiding his from intimidation. I approach alongside Thor and stick close to him. Somehow being close to Thor makes me feel safe; protected. As a child, when Sif was away, I would seek his company if I felt lonely or wished to play. He is my best friend. Besides Loki and Sif, Fandral would be next. He was always making jests of things. And I loved that. He was always the one to tell me I was adorable. He and Sif would always tease each other, almost as much as Sif would tease Thor.

These people are my family. And no matter what happens, we always fight together. I count myself lucky to have each and every one of them as a companion.

Sif and I are the closest, practically sisters. When I was born, my mother died from labor. My father raised me until I was fifteen (equivalent to age three if a human saw me and guessed my age). He died in a great war and left me alone. Sif's father and mother took me as their own. Raised me with her. She is slightly older than I, but we were best friends. And still are. They, too, died when Sif and I were not even teens. But we were trained as warriors, she a bit more than I. She had passion when the death of her parents shocked her into new light. She began to grow strong and to fight in order to make them proud, taking their place in battles of our universe. I will never be as strong as Sif. But Thor has told me that we all have strength in us, "even a little thing like you," he would tease.

Perhaps I will find that strength someday.

Loki's voice cuts me from my thoughts as we near Heimdall. "You let me handle this," he says quietly to his brother then takes the lead. We stop before the gatekeeper and he straightens up to speak to him, "Good Heimdall—"

"You're not dressed warmly enough," he interrupts with a calm, but chillingly deep voice, not moving an inch, not even his eyes as he speaks.

"I'm sorry?" Loki asks with confusion. But it's too late. I knew this wouldn't work. He knows exactly what we are doing.

"You think you can deceive me?"

"I told you," I say to Thor under my breath.

Loki chuckles a bit, "You must be mistaken, we—"

"Enough of this," Thor says and approaches the tall man. "Heimdall, may we pass?" he asks with king-like authority.

"Never—"

"Oh well. We tried—" I turn abruptly and attempt walking away before Sif catches my arm easily to stop me. I turn around and cross my arms in a pout. I know Thor means well but this is still a bad idea.

"Never has an enemy slipped my watch until this day," Heimdall continues his sentence. "I wish to know how that happened."

"Then tell no one where we have gone until we've returned. Understand?" Thor says sternly before walking past him and entering the observatory.

"Well that's one way of getting what you want," I mutter to Loki beside me but he doesn't reply. He just looks a bit agitated by being put in his place by his brother again.

The others follow Thor, walking past us.

As Volstagg walks he says to Loki with a smirk, "What happened? Silver tongue turn to lead?" He and Fandral chuckle as they walk on.

Loki glances at them once, his eyes not wanting to show anger. Teasing has never been something that he has taken lightly. As children, when someone would tease him he would always be hurt by it. Then when he got a bit older and someone did the same, he would return with perhaps a little illusion of a snake in their bread or their water turning to worms in their goblet. Revenge was something he got used to, something that he thought would make him feel better. But it never did. Everything changed when he and I got into a fight when we were sixty (about twelve to human understanding). I called him a name, he retaliated angrily by making me have a scarring nightmare and when I woke up screaming, I didn't wake my sister. Instead I ran from my room in the palace and down to his own, making him jump when I entered but I just climbed into bed with him and cried. I didn't know he caused that dream until he told me some years later that it was him, and the only thing that kept me from punching him in the face when he did, was because he said that after that happened, he never regretted anything as much as that in his life. He said that as soon as I threw my arms around him that night and wept, he would never do anything like that again. Not to anyone. That was a rare moment when I saw the real Loki, while most people only see the mischievous and cunningly sharp tongued younger brother of the mighty Thor. I began to see him, like I did with the rest of my friends. There has always been something about me that makes it easy for people to open up to. Which is why I know each of these people better than they know each other. Even brothers Thor and Loki. They may have grown since Loki's birth, but knowing someone takes more than just being around them for a long time.

Loki taught me everything I know about combat. I tried to train with Thor but he didn't prove to be the best teacher, a bit hotheaded, impatient, and a show off. Loki was a better match, mostly because of the fighting style I chose. Since I'm smaller, it seemed the better way to go, knives, archery, throwing stars, and above all magic. Magic is something that most people cannot master. It's rare indeed. But Loki's mother, Queen Frigga, taught him since he was born the magic she knew. Since his father was too busy doting over his warrior hearted son, Thor, his mother gave Loki most of her attention, which is why their bond is stronger than any other. Loki never wanted to share his magic tricks with anyone. It was sacred to him... until he decided to share them with me. His mother loved me as well, which is probably why she wishes to marry me with Thor.

Loki showed me so much, talked with me for hours about books, other worlds, and new magic spells. He was brilliant. Still is to this day. I learned things from others, my big sister Sif teaching me history of the realms and some fighting techniques, my father teaching Fandral and I about the way things work, politics, and other things, and Loki teaching me to dream of something bigger and better than this, than most things. He taught me to imagine, question, and discover. Thor taught me things like love and faith in both family, and in a divine One who rules all of the Nine Realms and beyond.

The people around me changed as time went on and as we grew, but we all stayed a team. And I may not have influenced any of them greatly, but Thor pointed out to me one day that his brother has been affected by me more than he thought possible. I asked him what he meant and he just said that he feels Loki would by now be a completely different person if it wasn't for me. Those words still make me think today about their meaning. But I suppose it's a good thing, because he was smiling when he told me.

Loki hesitates, looking down for a moment before I say, "He was just making a jest, Loki," I reassure him.

"I know," he replies with a little faked smile.

I see past it and raise a brow. "You can't think that the talking pig can really hurt your feelings right?" I joke.

He chuckles then, a real smile. So that's good and I've done my job.

https://youtu.be/_HeQGfUagsI

I giggle and we walk to where the others stand, under the dome above us that shines with golden light, the metal structure encasing us in the sphere as we enter. In the center of the room is where Heimdall's sword would be placed, hilt up, the key to the Bifrost.

The huge man follows after us as we stand on the opposite side of the dome from the doorway in which we entered. The way before us is out into space, and thousands of galaxies far beyond us. My eyes gaze on the stars as I stand there, my imagination distracting me again.

But I haven't been through the Bifrost in so long. It's very rare when I would use it period. And I have a bad habit of taking someone's hand for it, though it's not necessary.

"Take a deep breath. You'll be fine," Sif teases me before standing by Thor.

I feel myself become embarrassed and I choose not to reply.

Heimdall places his sword where it stands and when he does, electricity zaps around it, lighting striking the walls of the observatory and awakening the Bifrost. Around us the walls begin to spin, the shell of the sphere turning faster and the spike that normally stands atop the structure lowers to before us, the portal making way for transport.

That's when the Bifrost opens, firing out a beam of white light down to where Jotunheim is, worlds away from us but with the help of this marvelous bridge, it takes but seconds to transport us.

"Be warned," Heimdall says to us, "I will honor my sworn oath to protect this realm as its gatekeeper. If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, the Bifrost will remain closed to you and you'll be left to die in the cold waste of Jotunheim."

"Couldn't you just leave the bridge open for us?" Volstagg asks him.

"To leave the bridge open would unleash the full power of the Bifrost and destroy Jotunheim with you upon it," Heimdall says.

"I have no plans to die today," Thor says with confidence.

Only a few of us hear Heimdall when he replies with, "...None do," quietly.

He places the sword further into its stand and we are about to depart when I grab the hand closest to me which just happens to be Loki's. He only has a second to give me a look of surprise, his eyes wide, before we are pulled into the tunnel of the Bifrost, the light making me shut my eyes as my feet leave the ground and already we are shooting through space with so much speed I hardly notice. I cling to Loki like a child, my eyes closed tightly and my arms wrapped around his as hard as possible.

We land down upon the frozen realm of Jotunheim abruptly, our feet planted on the ground without us having to land and break our legs on impact. I don't notice it right away so I am still wrapped around Loki's arm like a frightened little girl, now the chill of this wasteland shooting shivers through me.

There is a moment of silence before he finally says something. "It's over," he whispers to me in a mocking way, the smug look on him that I can just imagine.

I open my eyes and let go of him before looking at his amused expression and saying, "I know," in a defensive way but stuttering.

He just shrugs a little and looks ahead.

The frozen realm of Jotunheim is one that looks completely deserted. After we tool the power from them long ago, their lands became desolate, more so than they were. The area around us is all stone, a dark color like the depths of the sea, ice glazing everything, the bone chilling air making me wish I had worn wool or something even heavier. I breathe out white mist from my lips and look to Loki beside me who seems immune to it. Most of them seem to be that way. Maybe I'm just a weakling.

I glance at Thor whose nose and cheeks are starting to turn pink unlike his brother as he looks around him.

We stand at almost the edge of a cliff, the height making my stomach churn. Before us are the structures of spiked stones and rock formations, remains of great pillars made by Frost Giants of a palace it once was.

Sleet rains down lightly on our heads and gathers more frost on the ground. The sky above us is blackened, thick clouds hiding any stars or moons that might be visible.

It is eerie and still.

"We shouldn't be here," Hogun says, breaking the creepy silence.

There is silence for a moment.

But Thor walks forward. "Let's move," he commands.

Hesitantly, we all follow him, Loki and I bringing up the rear.

As we walk I begin to breathe more heavily, stepping on the icy stones beneath me that turn my feet cold at the touch. My whole body feels bare despite the three layers I have. I can't seem to contain any warmth and my fingers start to shake, letting my arms fold together to desperately try to hold heat inside. Everyone else seems completely indifferent.

"You okay?" a concerned voice asks beside me.

I don't want to seem petty so I answer with, "Yes of course. Of course." I put my arms down and pretend to be fine.

"You cannot lie to me you know," Loki replies.

I huff with the little breath that's left in my lungs. "Very well I'm freezing. Happy?"

He chuckles.

"Here, take this," Fandral says to me and unclips his fur capelet, putting it on my shoulders with a smile before I can protest.

Immediately I feel much better and I grasp it gratefully. "Thank you," I mutter.

He just removes his hands from my shoulders and grins, his cheeks and nose cutely pink and mine are probably the same.

https://youtu.be/RY2_O4Pzfuk

We continue walking through the baron world of ice, not really knowing where exactly we are headed because we haven't been here too often. I have never journeyed here but Thor has I believe. A couple times.

It's eerie and quiet, the sounds of crumbling stones in the distance from the movement of frost fall echoing in the air. We walk through towering structures of stone, formed by nature of thousands of years... until we come upon massive pillars of the once standing castle...

But the place looks abandoned. Everything looks abandoned...

"Where are they?" Sif finally asks.

"Hiding," Thor answers," as cowards always do."

We venture further into the structure, none of it hiding us from the little light that escapes the clouds.

I slip a little when I step on an icy stone the wrong way and quickly Fandral catches my arm before I fall into a wide crevice. An expression of worry is on my face. I can tell. But I just look at him and then step over to walk beside him. "Do you think it wise for us to be here so outnumbered? If Odin doesn't know we left, then we are surely to die if a fight breaks out..." I whisper to him.

"I have faith in Thor. We've been through a lot together. I think that he has strength to work things out like a king..."

"But he's also a hothead," I say quieter to make sure Thor cannot hear.

He doesn't reply but just looks at me for a moment.

We continue through and past more structures... pillars and rubble from what was once... walls... a room?

I look down at the remains of what was... sensing the life that was here long ago. "There was a palace here," I mutter... "Generations of rulers..."

Thor looks over his shoulder at me when we stop.

Some looks are exchanged as we scan the area around us...

"If this was a castle... then..." I start, looking over at Sif beside me who gives me the same expression.

Just then we hear someone's presence. All of us look up at the throne of ice that still stands in the ruins of the palace. Upon it sits Laufey himself, king of the Frost Giants. His darkened navy skin is laced with scars and his bright red eyes shine like fire in the night. He wears nothing but fur around his bottom half and tribal adornments.

"You've come a long way to die, Asgardians," he says with a deep, powerful voice that echoes through the frozen wasteland thickly. He speaks at a normal volume, but being so large we can hear him perfectly from all the way down here.

Thor looks up at him with anger in his eyes. "I am Thor Odinson," he says loudly and strongly.

"We know who you are," Laufey replies darkly.

"How did your people get into Asgard?" Thor demands with rage.

He breathes and looks down on us with a sinister eye. "The House of Odin is full of traitors."

I start to notice some more Frost Giants making an appearance around us, either watching, or standing guard... It makes me uneasy and Thor's rage doesn't help.

"Do not dishonor my father's name with your lies!" he retaliates with fury, gripping his hammer. I know this is going nowhere. He's not leaving without a fight. This is Thor and when he is angry there is no minimal safe distance from it.

Laufey stands, making us realize just how large he is, perhaps twelve feet. "Your father is a murderer and a thief!" he spats. "And why have you come here? To make peace? You long for battle. You crave it. You're nothing but a boy trying to prove himself a man."

When a subtle sound can be heard around us I notice a Frost Giants has formed a frozen blade over his hand. I see another do the same, primitive rage in their glowing maroon eyes.

They huff and gather around, more of them by the second, slowly surrounding us.

I gulp and look back at Laufey.

Thor's furious expression doesn't change, with his hammer at his side, he breathes heavily. I can tell he wants to smite the king dead right now... and that's not good. "Well, this 'boy' has grown tired of your mockery."

Loki approaches his brother's side and speaks quietly to him, "Thor, stop and think. Look around you. We're outnumbered—"

"Know your place, brother," he snaps, his anger taking control of his tongue to say things he does not mean. He tends to do that a lot but Loki always takes it to heart. I know better...

But I am tired of this. I'm not going to let Thor get us killed and start a war with Jotunheim over one incident.

I unclip the fur on my shoulders and hand it back to Fandral before I step forward with strength and determination. I stand in front of Thor and Loki and before the King of Jotunheim. "My lord," I say as strongly as Thor's voice before, which surprised both he and Loki behind me, "I speak on behalf of my king Odin of Asgard. We don't wish to start a war with your race. The act of your people into our vaults has been settled. Your men paid with their lives. But there are still unanswered questions. How they got there we don't know. But we know of your truce with our king. And if you don't wish to start a war with Asgard and put both my people and yours in danger again, letting Odin take all of your men's lives, then I suggest you don't let it happen again. We have come not as revenge seekers, but as protectors of our people as well as the lives of yours. We will forget about your treachery. But if we see your people within our borders again, you will have broken your truce with my king and declared war with my people and we won't hesitate to retaliate against Jotunheim. If you understand this, we will leave and no longer bother your realm. Do you agree to our terms?"

He doesn't respond but I can sense the others behind me exchanging looks.

It's quiet for a long moment, Laufey's face revealing a mischievous smirk before he steps down and falls to the ground where we stand, his feet hitting the ice and almost cracking it with a loud thud that shakes the very stone beneath us.

I flinch just a tad and watch him as he approaches us. "And who is this to say such things to me?" he says with an amused expression as some of the others walk up a bit closer to where I stand. "Who are you, to speak for Odin and for Asgard?" he looks down upon me, a tiny fragile thing that could be killed with one flick of his wrist.

My hands almost tremble but I don't let him know I am afraid. I must tell him I am someone of importance. If not, since I am on his land, he can kill me without penalty. "You look down upon the princess of Asgard, King Laufey. And future queen of my people."

Loki lifts a brow because of the lie I told that I am Thor's wife.

"If you harm us, it will be a declaration of war," I say, some of my fear accidentally showing when I say so.

He makes a snide smile and takes another step to me, his towering figure and icy breath making me want to gulp. "So, Odin sends a little girl to do his bidding on a foreign realm? Has he lost all dignity to show himself to me? Or is he just a coward?"

"My king sends representatives and his most powerful warriors to negotiate. But he stands ready to back us if a fight should break out. And you would do well to know that before you do something you would regret."

He breathes, almost a chuckle as he looks down at me, not intimidated by a long shot. But that wasn't necessarily my intention. "I find your confidence quite cute, princess," he mocks me. "But you forget you're on my land."

"Gem," I hear Loki mutter behind me in warning but I am frozen.

Laufey grabs me suddenly by the throat, letting me cry out in pain from the touch of his flesh so cold that burns my skin, holding my feet off the ground so that I cannot breathe. "How would you call your precious Allfather if you are dead?!" he growls.

Just then a battle cry escapes a warrior behind me and I am dropped back to the ground, falling on my knees and attempting to breathe again, my flesh stinging around my neck. Luckily my armor covered most of my skin so the wound shouldn't last long.

https://youtu.be/9974PHElCxA

But it still hurts. More than I would expect it to. I cough and choke for a moment as someone kneels beside me I look to see Loki there in an instant, a look of worry on his face as the others begin fighting off Frost Giants. Fandral tried to get to me but he was swept by an enemy. Loki was the closest anyway.

I look at him with puppy-dog eyes as Thor recovers from slamming his hammer at King Laufey with a raging fury, saving my life.

I look at the Frost Giants that should be attacking Loki and me, but they are confused and begin fighting each other. One of his tricks I see.

His hand is around my upper arm and the other is gently on my back. He smirks after he knows I'm alright. "When were you planning on telling me you were such a politician?"

I chuckle. "I just found out myself."

He smiles and helps me to my feet as I prepare myself beside him, pulling out my knives and looking around me as Loki uses a tiny blade plunged into just the right spot in the first giant's neck to kill him. I look to my left when I see one about to throw his icy blade horizontally to slice me right in half and widen my eyes. Quickly I duck down, doing a combat roll on the frozen stone and leaping back up to slice off his hand, letting him cry out in a roar before I shove my other blade through his neck and end his life. I don't like killing people. But I don't kill them because I want to kill them. I kill them to protect those I love that stand behind me. And that makes me ruthless.

I twirl my blades around me to face another just as Loki has thrown black mist on his face to veil him completely. I dodge his blind blow and slice open his chest, the dark blood staining my blades and slinging on the ground. I turn as he falls dead, another dying before he can charge at us because of Loki's throwing star.

There are elements of magic that can be used but it's the rarest form there is. Loki can use ice and sometimes wind. But just barely. He has tried teaching it to me but I could never grasp it.

He suddenly plants both hands on the ground, freezing the giants' feet to the stone, the group of them that were about to end us, letting Thor's hammer fly through the bodies of them all, shattering them to pieces like stone and letting his weapon come back to his hand.

One that runs to us, just as Loki stands back up I charge, locking arms with him and letting him fling me up higher, my knife slicing the thing's head right off and letting me land back on the ground.

We hear a cry out from Volstagg as he stumbles a little a burn on his arm that looks pretty bad. "Don't let them touch you!" he warns.

I note his warning and turn around forming my blades in an "x" to block and overhead blow but it's a strong one so I fall to the ground. Instead of letting him end me there I decide to tumble between his legs and pop up behind him, using my spell of force to knock him over, Sif slicing off its head with one twirl of her do double sided sword. I stand up and watch Thor as he easily smashes Frost Giants left and right with mighty Mjolnir, killing each warrior instantly.

Laufey is not dead but he retreats back to his throne to watch the fight from there.

"At least make it a challenge for me!" Thor boasts when he finishes another two at the same time.

Just then larger ones leap from ledges close by and pound on the courtyard we fight in, a shockwave rippling in a straight line and shooting a formation of rock in the air that smites Hogun to the ground.

These enormous things now walk towards us.

"You had to say that..." Loki says.