~Months Later~

"Every day, more wicked! Every day, the terror grows. All of Asgard is ever on alert. That's the way with wicked. Spreading fear where e'er she goes. Seeking out new victims she can hurt!" The citizens of Asgard were rallying. Months had gone by since Olivia's escapade and terror had gripped the land.

"Like some terrible cold blizzard, throughout the land she flies!" One woman cried.

"Defaming our poor Allfather with her calumnies and lies! She lies! Save us from the wicked. Shield us so we won't be hexed. Give us warning; Where will she strike next? Where will she strike next? Where will she strike next?"

At the daias, Amora, now a respected public figure, stood in front of a voice projector alongside Karnilla and Loki, who all faced a large crowd of terrified and angry people in the Imperial City.

"Fellow Ozians, as terrifying as terror is, let us put aside our panic for this one day, and celebrate!" Amora proclaimed. The people seemed to immediately switch moods to one of joy. Loki, on the other hand, seemed a bit confused. "Oh, what a celebration we'll have today!"

"Thank Goodness!" The people cried in relief.

"Let's have a celebration the Amora way!"

"Thank Goodness!"

"Finally a day that's totally Wicked-Witch free!" Karnilla added.

"We couldn't be happier. Thank goodness!"

"And thank goodness for you, Amora, and for your handsome swain, Your new Captain of the Guard!" Karnilla continued, gesturing to Loki in his new unform. "You've been at the forefront of the hunt for the Wicked Witch, haven't you?"

"Well, I don't think of her as a wicked wi-" Loki started.

"So, Captain, how does it feel?"

"Frustrating. But I became captain of the guard to find her and-"

"No, being engaged!"

"Congratulations!" The people cheered. Loki was beyond confused as Amora squealed with a wide smile.

"This is an engagement party?" He asked her.

"Surprised?" Amora asked excitedly.

"Yes."

"Good! We'd hoped you'd be! Yes, we couldn't be happier. Right, dear? Couldn't be happier right here. Look what we've got, a fairy-tale plot. Our very own happy ending. Where we couldn't be happier. True, dear?Couldn't be happier, and we're happy to share our ending vicariously with all of you! He couldn't look handsomer, I couldn't feel humbler, we couldn't be happier! Because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true!"

"And Amora dear, we're happy for you!" Karnilla broke in. "As Press Secretary, I have striven to ensure that all of Asgard knows the story of your braverism. How vividly I remember. The day you were first summoned to an audience with Odin, and although he would not tell you why initially, when you bowed before his throne, he decreed you'd hence be known as Amora the Good, officially!"

"That's not how you described it to me." Loki whispered to Amora through a false grin.

"Well, not exactly, but we'll talk about it later." Amora said.

"Then with a jealous squeal, the Wicked Witch burst from concealment, where she had been lurking, surrpetitially!" Karnilla continued to the frightened gasps of the people.

"I hear she has an extra eye that always remains awake!" One woman said.

"I hear that she can shed her skin as easily as a snake!" Another added.

"I hear some rebel animals are giving her food and shelter!" Yet another woman put in.

"I hear her soul is so unclean, pure water can melt her!" One man spoke up.

"What??" Loki protested.

"Melt her? Please, somebody go and melt her!" The people pleaded.

"Do you hear that??" Loki scoffed as he stalked off the daias to a more secluded area. "Water will melt her? People are so empty-headed, they'll believe anything."

"Excuse us just a moment." Amora said before following him.

"I can't just stand here, grinning, pretending to go along with all this!" Loki said.

"Loki, do you think I like hearing them say those awful things about her? I hate it." Amora argued.

"Well, then what are we doing here? Let's go, let's get out of here!"

"I can't leave now when people are looking to me to raise their spirits."

"You can't leave because you can't resist this. That's the truth."

"Well, maybe I can't. Is that so wrong, who could?"

"You know who could, and who has!"

"Loki, I miss her, too. But we can't just stop living. No one has searched harder for her than you. But don't you see? She doesn't want to be found. You've got to face it." Amora stated. Loki sighed and faced her again.

"You're right." He said, embracing her tightly. "And, look, if it will make you happy, of course I'll marry you."

"But it will make you happy too, right?"

"Well, you know me! I'm always happy!" Loki stalked off to leave Amora behind.

"Loki!" She called after him. He was already gone and people were starting to watch her. "Oh yes, thanks plenty, dearest! He's gone to fetch me a refreshment. He's so thoughtful that way... That's why I couldn't be happier. No, I couldn't be happier. Though it is, I admit, the tiniest bit unlike I anticipated. But I couldn't be happier. Simply couldn't be happier... Well, not "simply..." 'Cause getting your dreams, it's strange, but it seems a little, well, complicated. There's a kind of a sort of, cost There's a couple of things get, lost. There are bridges you cross you didn't know you crossed until you've crossed. And if that joy, that thrill doesn't thrill like you think it will... Still... With this perfect finale, the cheers and ballyhoo, who wouldn't be happier? So I couldn't be happier because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true... Well, isn't it? Happy is what happens when your dreams come true!"

"We love you, Amora if we may be so frank." The people called to her.

"Thank Goodness!"

"For all this joy, we know who we've got to thank. Thank Goodness! That means the Allfather, Amora-"

"And fiance!"

"They couldn't be goodlier. She couldn't be lovelier. We couldn't be luckier!"

"I couldn't be happier today!"

"Thank Goodness for today!"

***

~The Village of Castamere~

Inside of the Governor's palace, Valkyrie sat in a more ornate wheelchair in her private study. Carol was by her side holding a tea tray.

"Will that be all, Madame Governor?" Carol asked flatly.

"I've asked you to call me Valkyrie, Carol." Val said softly.

"Yes, Madame Governor." Carol said, whisking the tray away to leave Val alone in the room. Or, so she thought.

"Well, it seems the beautiful only get more beautiful... While the cold just get colder." A familiar voice said. From inside Val's wardrobe, Olivia appeared, now donning armor and a dark cloak. Val shrieked once she noticed. Olivia climbed out hastily. "I'm sorry, did I scare you? I seem to have that affect on people... It's good to see you."

"What are you doing here?" Valkyrie asked her wayward sister.

"Well, there's no place like home. I'd never thought I'd hear myself say this, but... I need Father's help. I need him to stand with me."

"That's not possible."

"No, it isn't. Not for you. Ask him, he'll do it for you, Val, you know he will-"

"Father's dead." Val replied bluntly, sending Olivia back in shock.

"What?" She asked in disbelief.

"He's dead. I'm the governor now." Valkyrie replied. Olivia stood up and paced around in shock. "Well, what did you expect? After he learned what you did, how you disgraced us, he died of shame! Embarrassed to death."

"Good. I'm glad. It's better-"

"That's a wicked thing to say!"

"No, it's not, it's just true. Because now it's just us. You can help me, and together-"

"Olivia, shut up!" Val snapped. "First of all, I can't harbor a fugitive. I'm an unelected official. And why should I help you? You who flies around Asgard saving animals you've never even met and not once did you ever think to use your powers to rescue me! All of my life I've depended on you. How do you think that feels? All of my life I've depended on you and this hideous chair with wheels. Scrounging for scraps of pity to pick up and longing to kick up my heels..."

"Val, there isn't a spell for everything, the power is mysterious. It's not like coddling a pair of-" Olivia cut herself off as she noticed the jewled shoes her father had gifted Val when they first started at Shiz. It gave Olivia an idea. She pulled out the Prose Edda and started chanting.

"What does that mean? What are you-? My shoes! It feels like they're on fire! What did you to to my shoes??" Val shrieked as her legs started suddenly jerking forward. She sat up out of her chair and took a few shaky steps before collapsing onto the ground. Olivia ran to help her sister up, but Val stopped her. "No! Don't help me!"

Pushing herself off of the ground, Valkyrie finally stood on her own for the first time.

"Oh, Val! At last I've done what long ago I should. And finally from these powers something good! Something good..."

"Carol! Come quickly!" Val called, rushing over to sit back in her chair.

"Carol? What? No, Val, no one can no I'm here-" Olivia protested, looking for a place to hide. It was too late, though.

"Yes, Madame- You!" Carol said, holding up a table knife once she noticed Olivia.

"Carol, Carol, it's just me! I'm not going to hurt you!" Olivia said urgently.

"You're lying! That's all you ever do! You and your sister, she's as wicked as you are!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about my life. The little that's left of it, anyways. None of us are free here in Castamere, not since she took power! She's been stripping the people of their rights, and we didn't have that many to begin with."

"To keep you here with me!" Val piped up. "But none of that matters now. Look!"

She pushed herself out of her wheelchair to Carol's utter shock.

"You did this for her?" Carol asked Olivia.

"For both of us!" Val said.

"Val, this changes everything!" Carol said enthusiastically.

"I know!"

"And Val?"

"Yes?"

"Val, surely now I'll matter less to you, and you won't mind my leaving here tonight."

"Leaving?" Val's heart dropped.

"Yes! That ball that's being staged announcing Amora is engaged to Loki!"

"Amora?"

"Yes, Val, that's right. So I must go appear to her, express the way I feel to her. Val, I lost my heart to Amora the moment I set eyes upon her."

"Lost your heart?" Val snarled. "Well, we'll see about that!"

"Val..." Olivia warned, holding her sister back.

"Did you think I'd let you leave me here for that? You're going to lose your heart to me, I tell you, even if I have to... I have to... Magic spell you!"

Val ripped Olivia's spellbook out of her hands and opened to a random page and started trying to read the text.

"No, Val, stop, that's dangerous!" Olivia protested.

"I'm warning you!" Carol said defensively.

"You're pronouncing the words all wrong!"

Carol suddenly shrieked in agony as she clutched her chest.

"Carol? What is it?" Val asked urgently.

"My heart! It feels like it's shrinking!" Carol collapsed onto Val's wheelchair in a slump.

"Olivia, do something!" Val said.

"I can't."

"What?"

"You can't reverse a spell once it's been cast."

"Well, what can we do? Th-this is all your fault! If you hadn't shown me that horrible book-!"

"Hush, will you?" Olivia snapped. "I've got to find another spell, it's the only way I can save her."

She pushed the wheelchair holding the limp Carol behind the closet and started flipping through the spellbook, chanting all the while.

"Save her, please, just save her, my poor Carol, my sweet, my braven. Don't leave me here until my sorry life has ceased. Alone and loveless here, with just the girl in the mirror, just her and me! The Wicked Witch of the East! We deserve each other..." Val pleaded as Olivia re-emerged.

"She's asleep." She said.

"What about her heart?"

"It's okay. She won't need one now." Olivia shoved the Prose Edda into her satchel hastily. "I've got to go back to the Imperial City. What happened to those monkeys is my fault, I have got to set them free."

"You're not going there to free some monkeys, you're going to find Loki!" Val argued. Olivia stopped in her tracks. "But it's too late. Olivia, please, don't leave me!"

"Val! I have done everything I could for you! And it hasn't been enough!" Olivia burst out. "And nothing ever will be."

She stormed out of the house as Val called after her desperately.

"Where am I? What happened?" Carol's fatigued voice asked.

"Nothing. You just... Fell asleep." Val said, before she was taken aback by a horrid metalic groaning noise. She turned around to see Carol, now completely made of metal. Both women shrieked.

"What happened??"

"It wasn't me, it was her!" Val called as Carol ran out as well. "It was Olivia, Carol! It was Olivia!!"

It was too late, though. Carol was already gone.

***

~Imperial Palace of Asgard~

There seemed to be some sort of ball going on in the main ballroom, so Olivia had to be careful so as to not be spotted. She crept around guards and snuck down hallways until she found herself in the otherwise empty throne room. The statue of Odin seemed to be imposing and staring down at her. She gently set her scepter down and started looking around for some sort of mechanism to release the monkeys.

"I knew you'd be back." Olivia jumped as she turned to face Odin. She rushed for him as he grabbed her scepter to keep her back. "Just hear me out, I don't want to harm you."

"Well, you have. You have harmed me!" Olivia snapped.

"I realize that and I regret it. Olivia-"

"Stay where you are! I'm going to set those monkeys free and if you try to interfere or call your guards-"

"I'm not calling anyone. Truth is, I'm glad to see you. It gets pretty lonely for me here. I know you must get lonely, too."

"You don't know the first thing about me."

"Oh, but I do. I know the real reason why you came back. It's why everyone comes back to see me, so I'll grant their heart's desires."

"I don't want anything from you."

"Sure you do. You want to stop fighting, stop running. Olivia, you have been so strong throughout all of this. Aren't you tired of being the strong one? Wouldn't you like someone to take care of you? Please... Can't we start again?" Odin held out the scepter to Olivia, who took it back harshly.

"Don't you think I wish I could? I would give anything to turn back the clocks. To go back to that time when I actually believed that you were wonderful. The great and powerful Allfather of Asgard, ha. Nobody believed in you more than I did."

"Olivia, try to understand. I never had a family of my own. So I guess I just wanted to give the people of Asgard everything..."

"So you lied to them?"

"Only verbally. But think about it. If you're me, it's hard to not get hooked on the praise and worship from the people. With my help, you can be the same."

"No, but it's all just smoke and mirrors. And that's the truth." Olivia argued.

"The truth? The truth is not a thing of fact or reason. The truth is what everyone generally agrees upon. We believe all sorts of things that aren't true, we call it history. A great pioneer in history could be a ruthless invader in actuality. It's all in which label is able to persist. Olivia, the most celebrated people are the rehabilitated people. We can wipe the slate clean and start again. A celebration throughout the land that's all to do with you. You could be wonderful."

"It does sound wonderful." Olivia admitted.

"Trust me, it's wonderful."

"I could be wonderful! Wait!" Olivia paused. "I accept your proposition... On one condition. You set those monkeys free."

Odin looked like he was in thought for a minute before walking over to a specific lever. "Done." He agreed, pulling it.

The roof seemed to open as dozens of flying monkeys started to fly away from captivity, much to Olivia's enjoyment.

"Yes! Fly monkeys! Fly! Oh, Chistery, you're free! Fly!" She called. She suddenly noticed a lump under a previously unnoticed sheet. "You, under the blanket, go!"

"Wait, no!" Odin protested, but Olivia had already revealed who was under it. Dr. Dillamond.

"No, it can't be. Dr. Dillamond?" Olivia asked. She knelt down next to him, only for her former professor to shy away. "No, it's okay. It's just me, Olivia. Dr. Dillamond, don't you remember me?"

All she got in response was a pathetic bleat.

"Can't you speak?"

Another bleat.

"Olivia, we couldn't have him continuing to speak out..." Odin said. But Olivia had already seen enough.

"You want to know my heart's desire? It's to fight you until the day I die!" She roared, brandishing her scepter as Odin slunk away.

"Guards! Guards!" He called. Not a moment later, two guards appeared, one unfamiliar and...

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" Loki asked.

"Loki." Olivia said, sighing in relief.

"I don't believe it."

"Loki, thank the gods-"

"Silence, witch!"

"There's a goat on the lambs, sir." The other guard said.

"Nevermind all that, just fetch me some water." Loki ordered.

"Water?"

"You heard me, as much as you can carry."

"Yes, sir." The guards obliged, marching out. Olivia and Loki faced off against each other, pointing their weapons at each other's chests.

"Loki... Not you, too." Olivia said, visibly distressed. Of all the people she had left, she had assumed Loki would at least be amenable.

"I said silence." Loki said, before going behind the statue and pulling Odin out. "Don't make a sound, Your Highness, unless you want all of Asgard to know the truth about their great and powerful Allfather. Olivia, I'll find Dillamond later, now get out of here."

"Loki, you frightened me. I thought you'd changed." Olivia said. Loki looked at her, lowering his weapon away from Odin with a soft expression.

"I have changed." He said.

"What's going on?" Another familiar voice asked. It was Amora. As soon as she saw Olivia, she ran to embrace her. "Oh, Livvy, thank the gods you're alive. But you shouldn't have come. If anyone discovers you-"

"Amora, you'd better go." Loki told her.

"Loki, what are you doing?"

"Please, just go back to the party."

"Your Highness, he means no disrespect." Amora addressed Odin as Loki rushed over to Olivia. "Please understand, we all went to school together."

"Olivia."

"Loki, have you misplaced your mind? What are you doing?"

"I'm going with her." Loki said, shocking both women.

"What?" Amora asked, almost heartbroken.

"What?" Olivia asked, confused.

"What are you saying? That this whole time, the two of you... Behind my back?"

"No, Amora, it wasn't like that."

"Well, it was." Loki admitted. "But it wasn't. Let's go."

Loki pulled Olivia out of the throne room and out of the palace to leave Amora alone with Odin.

"Go! You deserve each other!" She called after them. Odin pulled out a small blue vial and offered it to her.

"Here, it dulls the pain."

"No, thank you." Amora said, holding back choked sobs, not even realizing that the bottle would look familiar in any way.

"Is it true? Your betrothed has brought her into custody?" Karnilla asked, rushing in.

"I'm afraid our new Captain of the guard had other plans." Odin replied.

"What? She's not been captured?"

"Quite the opposite. And considering how well she eluded us last time-"

"Well, we must smoke her out."

"But how?"

"Her sister." Amora piped up.

"What?"

"Use her sister. Spread a rumor that her sister is in danger. She'll fly to her side and you'll have her."

"Ooh, now that's good." Odin said.

"Now, if Your Highness will excuse me, I have a slight headache. I think I'll lie down." Amora said, sullenly pacing away.

"A rumor won't do it. Olivia's too smart." Karnilla said.

"Far too smart." Odin agreed. Then, Karnilla got an idea.

"Perhaps... Some help from another realm?" Karnilla said, gesturing to the Bifrost bridge outside.

Pacing the halls back to the ballroom, Amora was in absolute distress.

"Don't wish, don't start. Wishing only wounds the heart. There's a girl I know... He loves her so. I'm not that girl..."

***

~Forest~

The thick mist seemed to cover the ground and bottoms of the trees in a thick white blanket. It was almost impossible to see six feet ahead, but with the light of the moon overhead and the lantern Loki held in front of him and Olivia, they managed. Once they found themselves in a little clearing that was teeming with life, they took a pause from the running. Loki set his lantern down as they knelt together on the ground. Unable to hold back, he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her cold lips. Olivia smiled into the kiss as she pulled Loki closer by the back of his neck.

"Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight. I need help believing you're with me tonight.
My wildest dreamings could not foresee lying beside you with you wanting me." Olivia whispered as she pulled back for air. "And just for this moment, as long as you're mine, I've lost all resistance and crossed some border line. And if it turns out, it's over too fast, I'll make every last moment last. As long as you're mine." She kissed him again with a more intense passion, curling up to Loki closer before he broke the kiss this time.

"Maybe I'm brainless. Maybe I'm wise, but you've got me seeing through different eyes.
Somehow I've fallen under your spell. And somehow I'm feeling, it's up that I fell." He admitted to her.

"Every moment as long as you're mine, I'll wake up my body and make up for lost time."

"Say there's no future for us as a pair..." Loki pulled Olivia even closer, kissing her temple.

"And though I may know, I don't care. Just for this moment as long as you're mine. Come be how you want to and see how bright we shine. Borrow the moonlight until it is through. And know I'll be here holding you as long as you're mine." Olivia leaned in to kiss Loki again, only to jerk back at the last second, holding her face in almost disbelief.

"What is it?" Loki asked her.

"It's just... For the first time I feel..." She turned back around to face him and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. "Wicked!"

Olivia smashed her lips against Loki's, startling him at the firey contact. They melted into each other's embrace on the forest floor once they separated again.

"I just wish..." Olivia started.

"What?" Loki asked.

"I wish I could be beautiful for you."

"Olivia..."

"Don't tell me that I am. You don't have to lie to me, I look like a freak of nature."

"It's not lying. It's looking at things another way." Loki smiled as he cupped Olivia's face in his hand tenderly. "You and Amora will make up and someday-"

Olivia suddenly pulled back, concern on her features.

"Listen. Do you hear that?" She asked. "It sounds like somebody in pain."

"It's just the wind." Loki said, looking around.

"No, no my sister is in danger." Olivia said, taking short, panicky breaths.

"What? How do you know?"

"I don't know, I just do. Oh!" Olivia stood up and pointed to the sky, Loki standing up with her.

"Olivia, what is it?"

"There, don't you see it?"

"No, what do you see?"

"It doesn't make any sense. It's the Bifrost... Carrying a house? I-I have to go to Valkyrie."

"I'll come with you."

"No, you musn't, it's too dangerous."

"Olivia, listen to me. My family has a castle in Fjellrygg. No one is ever there except for the sentries who watch over it. We've never lived in it."

"Well then where do you live?"

"The other castle."

"Oh, of course."

"It's the perfect hideout. Tunnels, secret passages, you'll be safe there." Loki wrapped an arm around Olivia's waist as he pulled her close again.

"We'll see each other again, won't we?" She asked.

"Olivia, my dove, we're going to be together always. You can see houses flying through the sky, can't you see that?" Loki asked. Olivia smiled as they shared one more soft kiss. She peeled away from him and took flight in the night sky. That left Loki alone to traverse the forest and find his way back with just his lantern and the moon light.

***

~The Village of Castamere~

"That's right! Just take tha one road the whole time!" Amora called after the young Midgardian girl (Her name was Maya, Amora remembered) who had crashed in via the Bifrost. How, she didn't know, but she had to get to the Allfather in order to send her home. "I hope she doesn't get lost, I am so bad at giving directions."

The concern for the girl turned back into sudden grief. Amora sighed sadly as she stared at Val's broken wheelchair, all that was left of her friend. She went over to one of the flower bushes and plucked a bouquet of them. Amora sniffled a fair bit as she rested the flowers down at Val's untimely grave.

"Oh Val..." She cried.

"What a touching display of grief." Olivia's voice hissed from around the bend. Amora looked up, but didn't meet her eyes.

"I don't think we have anything more to say to each other." She said.

"I wanted something to remember her by. All I had left of her were those shoes, and now that wretched little mortal girl has walked off with them." Olivia pointed in the direction of where Maya had walked off to. "So I would appreciate some time alone to say goodbye to my sister."

Amora didn't say anything as Olivia walked over to the flowers next to the broken wheelchair.

"Oh, Val, forgive me!" She cried, falling to her knees in sorrow.

"Oh, Livvy, you musn't blame yourself. Yes, it is terrible to have a house fall on you. But accidents will happen." Amora tried to comfort her friend. Olivia looked up at her angrily.

"You think this was an accident?"

"Yes... Well, maybe not an accident-"

"Oh, then what would you call it?"

"A regime change caused by a bizzare and unexpected twist of fate."

"So you think that houses appear via Bifrost just... Out of the blue?" Olivia asked, forcing Amora back.

"I don't know, I never... I never really-" She tried.

"No, no of course you 'never.' You're too busy telling everyone how wonderful everything is!"

"Well, I'm a public figure now. People expect me to-"

"Lie!"

"Be encouraging!" Amora snapped, slamming her staff-like wand to the ground to punctuate her point. Olivia scoffed. "What exactly have you been doing besides riding around on that old thing?"

Amora, of course, meant the magical scepter Olivia used to get from place to place.

"Oh, well, we can't all come and go by bubble!" Olivia scoffed, referring to Amora's prefered mode of transport by giant magical bubble. "Who's idea was that, anyways? The Allfather's? Well, even if it wasn't, I'm sure he'd still take credit for it."

"Yes, well, a lot of us are taking things that don't belong to us, aren't we?" Amora hissed. Olivia stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Amora.

"Now wait just a second..." She said, realizing what she meant. "I know, it's difficult for that blissful, blonde brain of yours to comprehend that someone like him could actually choose someone like me."

Olivia stepped closer to Amora slowly until she was barely two inches away from her face.

"Well, it's happened." She continued. "And you can wave that ridiculous wand all you want and you can't change that. He doesn't love you and he never did. He loves me!"

Olivia was cut off by a sharp slap to the face from Amora. Her head jerked to the side as Olivia suddenly broke into a sadistic laughter, holding her cheek as she did so. She took a breath and turned to face Amora again.

"Feel better?" She asked bluntly.

"Yes, I do." Amora replied.

"Ha. Good." Olivia slapped Amora in the face in response. The two women started circling each other, brandishing their weapons to each other. Amora started twirling her wand rapidly in a defensive movement before yelling and slamming it down, Olivia doing the same. Screw weapons, this was for fists. They tustled with each other for a minute before Amora grabbed Olivia's horned headpiece and shoved her back into the guards who had just arrived. One guard picked Amora up screaming and separated the women.

"Let me go! I almost had her!" She protested.

"I can't believe you would sink this low. To use my sister's death as a trap to capture me!" Olivia snarled.

"No! No I only-" Amora started to protest as suddenly Loki swung in and pointed his weapon at the guards.

"Let the blue girl go!" He ordered.

"Loki, what in Asgard-" Olivia protested.

"Loki!" Amora started.

"Let her go, or explain to all of Asgard how the Royal guards watched..." Loki turned his weapon on Amora. "While Amora the Good was slain."

"Loki-"

"I said let her go!" Loki pressed. After a tense second of silence, the guards let Olivia go. He passed Olivia her scepter in a haste. "Olivia, go, now!"

"No, not without you!" Olivia protested.

"Loki-" Amora again protested.

"Hush!" Loki told her before turning back to Olivia. "Now go!"

"Do it!" Amora sighed, tossing Olivia back her headpiece. Olivia looked at Amora one more time before running off. That just left Loki, Amora... And a bunch of guards. Loki sighed and raised his arms in surrender.

"Seize him!" A guard ordered, the others forcing Loki to his knees.

"No! No, what are you doing? Stop! In the name of goodness, stop!" Amora shrieked. The guards listened to her and watched as she knelt down in front of Loki. "Don't you see? He was never going to harm me. He just... He loves her."

"Amora, I'm so sorry." Loki sighed.

"Take him out to that field!" The guard ordered as Loki's arms were wrapped around a spear.

"No! Don't hurt him! Noooo!" Amora shrieked as a guard held her back. "Lokiiiiiii!!!"

***

~The Castle~

"Lokiiiii!" Olivia cried out, feeling his pain over hundreds of miles. She frantically flipped through her spellbook for something, anything that might help. In her haste, she accidentally dropped her blue vial onto the page she found, spilling a few drops of the liquid inside onto it. It didn't matter now. Olivia didn't have much time, so she could only hope that whatever liquid was in the vial would help.

"Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen. Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen." She started chanting, frantically looking at the old pages. "Let his flesh not be torn. Let his blood leave no stain. Though they beat him, let him feel no pain. Let his bones never break and however they try to destroy him, let him never die. Let him never die."

A few green sparks emitted from her hands, but otherwise nothing happened. Olivia concentrated harder on the funny words.

"Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen. Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka, eleka..." She groaned in frustration. "What good is this chanting? I don't even know what I'm reading. I don't even know which trick I ought to try. Loki, where are you? Already dead, or bleeding? One more disaster I can add to my generous supply?"

Olivia violently slammed the book shut and suppressed the tears in her eyes.

"No good deed goes unpunished. No act of charity goes unresented. No good deed goes unpunished. That's my new creed. My road of good intentions led where such roads always lead. No good deed goes unpunished."

Her mind filled with the images of the people she cared most about. All of them having left her in one way or another.

"Val... Doctor Dillamond... Loki... Loki! One question haunts and hurts. Too much, too much to mention. Was I really seeking good or just seeking attention? Is that all good deeds are when looked at with an ice-cold eye? If that's all good deeds are, maybe that's the reason why no good deed goes unpunished. All helpful urges should be circumvented. No good deed goes unpunished. Sure, I meant well, well, look at what well-meant did."

Olivia finally threw her arms up and went to the window of her study.

"All right, enough, so be it! So be it, then... Let all Asgard be agreed. I'm wicked through and through since I can not succeed, Loki, saving you, I promise no good deed will I attempt to do again. Ever again! No good deed will I do again!"

Olivia slumped over the edge of the window and started sobbing, letting every pent up emotion pour out. She had nothing left to lose at this point.

***

~Imperial City~

The people had gathered in the middle of the city late at night with weapons in their hands and bloodlust in their veins. Amora and Karnilla watched on from the balcony of the palace.

"Go and hunt her and find her and kill her!" The people rioted brandishing torches, swords, and other weapons.

"Good fortune, Witch Hunters!" One woman called.

"Go and hunt her and find her and kill her!"

"Kill the Witch!" One man cried.

"Wickedness must be punished. Evil effectively eliminated. Wickedness must be punished! Kill the Witch!"

On the podium, a tin Carol faced the crowd with murder in her eyes.

"And this is more than just a service to the Allfather! I have a personal score to settle with Ol- With the Witch! It's due to her I'm made of tin. Her spell made this occur. So for once I'm glad I'm heartless. I'll be heartless killing her!"

The people cheered at this. They would have their justice.

"And I'm not the only one!" Carol said, before reaching behind the curtain and attempting to pull... Something from behind it. Carol groaned and kept pulling. "Why don't you tell them? Tell them what she did to you in class that day? You were just a pup! And she pup-napped you!"

Whatever it was, Carol wasn't gonna be able to pull it out.

"You see, the Wolf also has a grievance to repay. If she'd let him fight his own battles when he was young, he wouldn't be a coward, today!"

On the balcony, Amora watched on, absolutely horrified.

"No, that's not how it happened! Madame, we've got to stop this, it's gone too far!" She protested.

"Oh, I think Olivia can handle herself." Karnilla scoffed.

"But Madame, something has been bothering me about Valkyrie."

"Yes, I suppose it was just... Her time."

"But was it? Or did you-?"

Karnilla snatched Amora's wrist with a firm hand and a harsh expression.

"Now, you listen to me, missy. The rest of Asgard may have fallen for that 'Aren't I good?' routine, but I know better. You wanted this from the beginning, and now you're getting it. So just smile and wave and shut up!" Karnilla hissed. Amora jerked her hand away and sped out of the palace. "Good fortune! Good fortune witch hunters!"

"Wickedness must be punished! Brave Witch-Hunters, I would join you if I could, because Wickedness must be punished... Punished... Punished for good!"

***

~The Castle~

The little girl's sobs echoed throughout Olivia's study and absolutely driving her up the walls. The girl, Maya, had not stopped crying since she had arrived and Olivia was sick of it.

"Oh, for the love of Frigga, stop!" She groaned. "I can't take this any more!"

Olivia went over to the trapdoor that led to where Maya was being held and opened it. The girl was still curled up inside, sobbing her eyes out.

"Here, look at me. You want to see your parents and your boyfriend Peter what's-his-name? Then get those shoes off your feet!" Olivia hissed as she slammed the door shut again. "What kind of person steals a dead woman's shoes? Must have been raised in a barn!"

Chistery climbed down one of the pillars to meet Olivia at the bottom.

"Chistery, there you are. Where are the others?" She asked, asking about his monkey friends. All she got was a few monkey screeches. "No, no, Chistery, if you'd at least try to keep speaking-"

She noticed a figure at the top of the stairs and immediately turned away.

"Go away." She snapped at Amora.

"They're coming for you!" Amora protested.

"Go away!"

"Let the little girl go and that poor little dog, Dodo! Livvy, I know you don't want to hear this, but somebody has to say it: You are out of control. I mean, come on, they're just shoes. Let it go. Please, Livvy, you can't go on like this-"

"I can do whatever I want. I'm the Wicked Witch of Asgard, ha." Olivia laughed as Chistery flew down with a piece of paper in his hands. "What took you so long? What is this? Why are you bothering me with-"

Once Olivia opened the folded paper, she stopped dead in her tracks. She read it over carefully, attempting to hide her expression.

"What?" Amora asked. "It's Loki, isn't it?"

Olivia sighed and rolled up the paper.

"We've seen his face for the last time." She said grimly. Amora suddenly let out a choked sob as Olivia strolled over to her table. "You're right. It's time I surrendered."

"Livvy... Livvy, what is it?" Amora asked upon seeing Olivia's alarmed expression.

"You... You can't be seen here, you must go!" Olivia said.

"No I-"

"You must, please!"

"No! I'll tell them! I'll tell everyone the truth!"

"No, they'll just turn on you, too!"

"I don't care-"

"But I do!" Olivia cut Amora off. "Promise me you won't try to clear my name."

"No, Livvy-"

"Promise me."

"... I promise. But I don't understand." Amora seemed to ask. Olivia sighed.

"I'm limited. Just look at me. I'm limited. And just look at you, you can do all I couldn't do, Amora." Olivia started, before handing her the Prose Edda. "Go ahead, take it."

"Livvy, you know I can't read that." Amora protested.

"Well, you'll have to learn because now it's up to you for both of us. Now it's up to you." Amora took the book with tears pouring down her face. "You're the only friend I've ever had."

"And I've had so many friends!" Amora sobbed. Olivia rolled her eyes with a smile before Amora turned to her again. "But you're the only one that mattered. I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason... Bringing something we must learn and we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them... And we help them in return. Well, I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you. Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun. Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood... Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you... I have been changed for good."

"It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime. So, let me say before we part, so much of me is made of what I learned from you. You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend. Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea. Like a seed dropped by a sky bird in a distant wood... Who can say if I've been changed for the better... But because I knew you..."

"Because I knew you..."

"I have been changed for good."

"And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for the things I've done, you blame me for." Olivia said, smiling.

"But then, I guess, we know there's blame to share..." Amora added.

"And none of it seems to matter anymore!"

"Like a comet pulled from orbit..."

"Like a ship blown from its mooring..."

"As it passes the sun..."

"By a wind off the sea..."

"Like a stream that meets a boulder..."

"Like a seed dropped by a bird..."

"Halfway through the wood..."

"In the wood..."

"Who can say if I've been changed for the better? I do believe I have been changed for the better." The two girls shared this last moment, tears in their eyes.

"And because I knew you." Amora said.

"Because I knew you." Olivia repeated.

"Because I knew you, I have been changed... For good."

The two women shared a tearful embrace, the last one they surely would ever share.

They could hear crashing noises heading right for the study. There wasn't much time left.

"Hurry, no one can know you are here." Olivia said, ushering Amora away to a dark area. Olivia looked at her friend one last time before pulling a curtain closed to conceal what would happen next. Amora didn't need to see it.

"And goodness knows, the wicked's lives are lonely. Goodness knows the wicked die alone..."

Amora couldn't see what was happening, but she could hear it. She heard shouts, cries, her friend fighting for her life. Then, she heard the sound of water being splashed and Olivia's horrified shriek of pain that got quieter and quieter... Until there was nothing left.

Eons seemed to pass as the silence penetrated everything.

"Livvy?" Amora called weakly. The curtain was pulled back and all Amora could see was Olivia's circlet and her little blue bottle. Amora grabbed the headpiece and started sobbing, clutching it to her chest.

Chistery grabbed the little blue vial and held it out to Amora.

"M-m-miss- Miss Amora?" He asked. Shocked that the monkey was still able to speak, she took it. She examined it closely and suddenly remembered something.

Summoning her bubble, she traveled right to the Imperial Palace. She walked through the doors to see Karnilla and Odin having a conversation.

"I don't know why you're so despondent. I thought it went quite well. They seemed thrilled to shreds with their brains and their hearts and everything." Karnilla said to Odin. "Amora, I thought you'd be out celebrating?"

"This was Olivia's." Amora said, holding out the bottle.

"What?"

"It was a keepsake. It was her mother's. She told me so herself. I've only ever seen a little blue bottle like this one other time, and it was right here in this room. You offered me a drink from it."

Odin took the bottle, recognizing it.

"This belonged... To her mother?" He asked, taking out his bottle exactly like the other one.

Something went through his mind, a vague memory of... Dancing with a woman. He had her drink from that bottle as part of a sort of... Study he had been doing. What are the effects of Frost Giant's blood on an Asgardian child? That woman got pregnant and had a child... A daughter.

"I am a sentimental man... Who always longed to be... A father." He whispered.

"That's it. That's why she had such power. She was a child of your studies. It had to have been the Giant's blood. It has magical healing and strengthening properties." Karnilla connected.

"I want you to leave Asgard." Amora said. "I'll make the pronouncement myself. The strains of Allfather-ship have been too much for you and you're taking an extended leave of absence. Did you hear me?"

"Yes, Your Goodness." Odin said, getting out of his seat.

"You'd better get the Bifrost ready. Guards!" Amora called out once Odin had left.

"Now, Amora, dear, I know we've had our disagreements in the past..." Karnilla said nervously as two guards appeared behind her.

"Madame, have you ever considered how you'd fare in captivity?

"What?"

"Captivity? Prison? Personally, I can't imagine you'd hold up very well. You see, it is in my personal opinion that you do not have what it takes. I hope you prove me wrong, I doubt you will." Amora said, mocking her former Headmistress' snark at her abilities at Shiz so long ago. "Take her away!"

Karnilla was dragged out of the room as Amora re-entered her bubble to go sullenly watch over the festivities. She had no one left in the world now.

***

~The Castle~

"It worked!" Loki said, opening the trapdoor. Olivia, very much alive and well, poked her head out in relief.

"Loki! I thought you'd never come." She said, before pausing. It was still Loki, but he looked... Different. Then, she remembered. The spell she had cast, the blue liquid that had fallen on the page was Frost Giant's blood. That's why Loki...

"Go ahead, touch, I don't mind." He said, extending a blue arm out towards her. He looked like half a Frost Giant, like her. "You did the best you could, you saved my life!"

"You're still beautiful." Olivia said, smiling.

"You don't have to lie to me." Loki said, sharing the smile and repeating her earlier sentiment.

"It's not lying. It's looking at things another way." She said.

***

"No one mourns the wicked. Now at last she's dead and gone. Now at last there's joy throughout the land..."

"Fellow Asgardians... Friends..." Amora started, clutching the Prose Edda. "We've been through a frightening time. And there will be other times and other things that frighten us. But if you'll let me, I'd like to try to help. I'd like to try to be... Amora the Good."

"Good news! Good news..."

"It's time to go." Loki said, extending his arm to Olivia.

"We can never come back to Asgard, can we?" She asked.

"No."

"I just wish... That Amora could know. That we're alive."

"She can't know. Not if we want to be safe, no one can ever know." Loki said. Olivia nodded, knowing he was right. He pulled out a Bifrost shard, it could open a portal to any realm from anywhere. Loki opened one of these portals and extended a hand to Olivia. "Come."

Though, Olivia hung back, just for a moment

"Who can say if I have been changed for the better?" Amora asked. "But..."

"Because I knew you." Olivia said.

"No one mourns the wicked..."

"Because I knew you..."

"I have been changed..."

"No one mourns the wicked!"

Olivia took Loki's hand and rested her head on his shoulder with a bittersweet smile. They could start a whole new life together, wherever they wanted.

"Wicked!"

With his own smile, Loki pulled Olivia's horned circlet Amora had left behind and slipped it onto her head. Olivia gave a small laugh at the gesture. Now she was ready.

Together, Olivia and Loki stepped through the portal.

"Wicked!"