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❛ ᴇᴛᴏɪʟᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʀᴀᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪɴɪsʜ ꒱


❝ SIGNING YOUR LIFE
AWAY IS A FATE WORSE
THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE ❞

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A S G A R D

Loki usually viewed sleeping as a waste of time and strove to do it as little as possible, only giving in when his needs demanded it. There was so much to learn that he hardly thought five thousand years was enough to do it in, and an extra eight hours a night was essential in the additional amount of time that he needed. But, as he'd told Eleanora, she was likely to convince him to do things that would normally be against his nature— sleeping being one of them, and keeping promises being another.

There were very few people that he kept his word for. Actually, just one person thus far: his mother. Now, that total was up to two, and he wasn't planning on adding any more people to that list. After all, he had a reputation to maintain. And, as Captain Shakespeare had said, they took years to build and seconds to destroy. But this was definitely one promise he wouldn't be breaking: he would ensure Eleanora's freedom even if it meant giving up his own. It wasn't even that much of a sacrifice; there was a certain sense of pride in the knowledge that she would be his forever, a prize stolen from his father. (Of course, he didn't see her as a prize, but the fact still remained.)

In order to guarantee the success of his plan— which was already filled with contingencies— he needed to take stock of where their potential enemies were (the witch that had tried to kill Eleanora) and any other opponents that they might face in the short distance to the palace (namely Thor and his friends.) Plus, there was a small amount of time to do reconnaissance and see if anything about the Vanir princess had popped up without his knowledge. He'd never had the need to keep track of her before, so maybe there was someone who knew something that he hadn't looked into.

He woke early the next morning with these things in mind. Eleanora was still asleep, curled up next to him. It was terribly tempting to stay in bed and wake her slowly with a trail of kisses down her neck to her bare shoulder, taking the morning soft and slow, but leaving now without her knowledge would ensure that they'd get many more mornings like that. So, with great reluctance and discipline, Loki rose without waking her, gathered his clothes and dressed.

Stepping quietly out of the room, he made his way down to the main foyer of the inn. An employee was drowsing in a chair at the desk with his hat over his eyes. His arms were crossed and his chin was angled sharply towards his chest. He was even snoring. The god scoffed at the lack of service, used to much more attentive staff. Mercilessly, he allowed a faint zip of magic to shock the man awake.

He startled, letting out an embarrassing high-pitched yelp as he was jerked from sleep. But, instead of resuming his duties, he merely shot the prince a glare. "What?"

If he hadn't been wearing his illusion disguise, the man would certainly not be so pompous as to address his prince that way. As it was, since no one would know it was him, Loki abandoned the pretense of manners and said tersely, "for you to do your job, for one thing. For another, a piece of paper and a pen."

"Ask me again at a more reasonable hour," came the blasé reply as the employee seemingly settled back into his nap.

"No, I can't. I have to go. Look, if my. . ." Here, Loki paused as he wasn't sure what to call Eleanora exactly. It would be an insult to label her a friend as they were certainly more than that, but was lover too bold? Settling on what felt like the best option, he continued: ". . .partner wakes up before I get back give her a message."

The man grunted. "Go on."

✧ ✧ ✧

When Eleanora woke a few hours later, she expected to feel Loki's warmth pressing against her back. She was sorely disappointed to reach over and feel only a cold bed next to her instead. Looking around the room, she frowned as she didn't see the god. "Loki?"

There was no response, of course, so she dressed to go downstairs. Glimpsing herself in the mirror, she saw that the silvery light around her head was still shining. I better hide that, she thought with a wince. She struggled to get her emotions under control— something that she had never been good at. She just felt so happy at this point of her life that it was hard to hide her joy. Think of Odin, Eleanora tried. You have to meet him today. That won't be good.

Still, her starshine refused to fade as thoughts of a certain mischievous prince crept into them. Loki had offered to marry her to keep Odin from taking over her life! When the light around her head shone brighter, she sighed and gave up. Downstairs, there was a grumpy man working the check-in desk, his eyes heavy with sleep. Seeing as he was the only option, she went over to him and greeted him with a bright smile.

"Have you seen my. . ." Here, she was stuck in the same quandary that Loki had been in not long before, uncertain as to what to call him. "Um, my companion?"

The man pinned her with a baleful look. "He left absurdly early."

"He left?" she echoed with concern. "Why?"

"I wasn't privy to that information, now was I?" he grumbled. "But he did leave you a message. He said something about. . . he's sorry, but he'll come back with his father to make sure you don't get away again. Winning is more important than being by your side."

Eleanora stared at him, stunned. ". . .What? Are you sure?"

There was no hesitation in the innkeeper's voice as he answered, "I'm positive."

I shouldn't have trusted him, the blonde thought as the light vanished around her head. I knew who I was dealing with, yet I allowed him to have power over me. None of it was real. That last notion hurt the most, and it felt like a pit had opened in her stomach, sucking all the joy and happiness from the last few days into it.

If I'm going to be meeting Odin anyway, I'll be the one in control. I'm not about to let anyone else bring me to him. I'll go and turn myself in. At least a life of captivity would be preferable to the misery of a broken heart.

With her decision made, Eleanora left the innkeeper behind without another word. She walked into the crowded Asgardian streets, oblivious to her surroundings as sadness crashed over her like a tidal wave. So much for her glorious purpose. She was probably the first Star in history to fail.

She certainly didn't hear a pretty, dark-haired woman, restrained by an enchanted chain of her own, calling after her in a panicked voice: "hey! Hey, wait! Wait!"

✧ ✧ ✧

The brunette had been the witch Sal's servant for a long time— longer than she cared to remember. It was a meager existence, serving a cruel and careless woman. There was not much excitement in her day-to-day life, century after century. She would have gone mad if not for her innate talent: she had a penchant for identifying the kinds of relationships people were in, even without knowing anything about them. Furthermore, she could— with fairly decent accuracy— foresee the course of the relationship, whether they were meant for each other or not.

That was why she had taken an interest in the Star all those years ago— not because of what she was, but who she was. Eleanora (as she had eventually learned the girl's name) had one of the most. . . interesting relationships she'd ever encountered, and she was curious to see how it would play out. When she came across the girl again, this time she was older and had met the man she was fated to be with. Unlike Sal, who could neither see, hear nor touch the Star, the brunette had been privy to the girl's entire conversation with the Loki-mouse. She had sensed the man's feelings in return and knew that the coming centuries would be the high point of their relationship before the eventual fall.

Seeing Eleanora leaving the inn so distraught the next day prompted her into action. Sal was still sleeping, so she locked the witch inside of her own wagon, cursing the chain that tied her to it. If only she could run after the girl properly. But, it was no use wishing for things that weren't so, and she pushed the thought out of her mind as she snapped the reins over the horse's back. It whinnied in response and took off, charging as best it could after the blonde through the busy streets.

✧ ✧ ✧

Eleanora was almost at the palace gates. In any other scenario, she would have been awed at the golden spires that rose up into the brilliant blue sky. The grandeur and wealth of the palace would have impressed her. She would have felt like she was living a grand fairytale that was coming to a close.

Now, though, as her heart ached in her chest— Loki, oh, Loki— she only saw the individual columns of gold as jail bars, confining her to a life of torment. The Einherjar guarding the gates stared at her impassively as she approached them.

Not quite knowing how to proceed, Eleanora decided that the straightforward truth was the best. "I would like to have a meeting with Odin."

While the guards were too disciplined to outrightly laugh in her face, she could see their smirks behind their helmets. "Miss, you can't just schedule a meeting with the Allfather. Are you a lady of court? Or perhaps a royal ambassador?"

She could hear the snicker in his tone, the hidden amusement reminding her of the god who'd abandoned her. The thought made her stomach twist. Before she could say anything else, the Einherjar straightened to attention, suddenly looking much more formidable. Glancing over her shoulder (and half-expecting it to be Loki), she was surprised to see a very familiar yellow wagon barreling towards them.

"Wait!" the brunette called as she neared the gates. Recognition struck Eleanora and her eyes widened as she recalled the woman who had sold her the glass flower all those years ago.

Once she was near enough, the woman halted the caravan and jumped off the driver's seat. She grabbed Eleanora's arm urgently to keep her from walking forward— not that the guards would let her. "Think before you go through with this," she pleaded. "Signing your life away is a worse fate than you could imagine— trust me, please. I know. As bad as you think things are right now, nothing is worse than a life of servitude, especially when there is a possibility that everything can be different."

As the blonde listened to her words, another cart trundled towards them. It was led by two goats— one reddish-brown and one white— with an old woman at the reigns. Her blue eyes were fixed greedily on the Star in the brunette's grasp. The witch in the yellow wagon— who was incensed by her serving girl's rough wake-up call— flung the locked doors open with a burst of magic as she snarled, "wretched slattern! Where have you taken me?"

They ignored her as Herja pulled her goats to a halt, calling out: "planning to turn yourself in, were you? If death is what you wish, my dear, I'll be more than happy to assist you."

"Are you talking to me?" Sal demanded, her curse causing her to not see Eleanora at all.

The other witch sneered at her. "You. Small world. Anyhow, no, I wasn't. I was talking to the Star."

Sal looked around cluelessly. "What Star? My slave girl's no Star. Any fool can see that. If she was, I'd have had the heart out of her chest a long time ago, trust me."

"Trust you? Not a mistake I'd be likely to make again. What's it to be, Ditchwater Sal? Heads or tails?" Herja asked, reminding the woman of their first meeting. She shot a blast of green magic towards the witch, who countered it with a smokey blue shield of her own.

The brunette wrapped a protective arm around Eleanora, who was taking in the scene with fearful eyes. Glancing over at the Einherjar, she pleaded, "aren't you going to do something?"

The soldier tipped his head in denial, perfectly calm despite the chaos unfolding in front of him. "No, miss. Our job is only to keep discord outside the palace. We do not interfere with what happens in the city without direct orders from the king."

Eleanora stared in horror as Herja's spell bested Sal's. The green magic swallowed the witch, disintegrating her from the head down. Herja laughed manically as the headless body slammed into the palace wall next to them, causing the blonde to shriek in fright. It hit the ground with a dull thump before it burned away completely.

The brunette glanced down at her ankle as Sal's body disappeared. The chain holding her captive vanished as her mistress did, freeing her at long last. Unaware of this, Herja turned back to the goat-pulled cart, looking even older than she had ever been. "Okay, time to go."

The other woman— Freyja, as she could now be herself again— glared at the witch. "She's not going anywhere."

Herja barely paid her any mind, waving her finger through the air to conjure another unbreakable chain, this time locking their wrists together. Freyja sighed. So much for freedom. "I think you'll find she is. It's all right. You can come, too. You can ride in the carriage or be dragged behind it. Your choice."

✧ ✧ ✧

Loki rushed back to the inn as fast as he could after discovering news that Volstagg and Hogun had returned to Asgard, the former with a snake around his neck and a frog in his pocket. They surely knew that he had the Star by now and were in pursuit of him. The innkeeper was still at his desk, just as negligent of his job as ever. The god ignored him in favor of taking the steps two at a time to make it back to the room he'd rented with Eleanora. It only took him a few seconds of searching to realize, with a sinking heart, that she wasn't there. He pounded down the stairs again to demand answers from the desk manager.

"Where is she?" he burst out even when he was still halfway across the room.

The employee heaved a great sigh, as if Loki's question was terribly taxing for him. "Where is who?"

The prince grit his teeth at the man's impertinence. "The blonde woman. She probably asked you for my message earlier today."

"Oh, her," he said with a shrug. "Yeah, no idea."

"She's gone," Loki hissed furiously. "Did she say why she was leaving?"

"Nope," the innkeeper answered casually. "No one tells me nothin'. Not that I care, anyway. Can I go back to sleep now?"

He turned his back on the man and focused on Eleanora's source of power— bright, white and pure, so very different from the cool green source that resided within him. He could tell that she was moving fast, but he could track her best from the place she had lingered last. Right outside of Asgard's palace. What had she been doing there?

Never mind that now; he teleported himself directly in front of the gates, seeing as how he didn't have to worry about a passenger. Shedding the illusion of the blond-haired commoner, Loki approached one of the guards. "You! Have you seen a woman wearing a blue dress, with blonde hair? She might have had a silvery light around her."

The Einherjar stood at attention at the sight of his prince. "Yes, your highness. She asked to see the Allfather, which I told her was preposterous."

Loki kept his expression of disinterest in place, but he felt dread pool within him. "That foolish girl. What was she thinking?" he muttered to himself before he addressed the soldier once more. "What happened after that?"

"Two crazy old women were after her. They fought right there." He pointed in front of him. "The crazier one won and took both girls with her."

"Both?" The urgency to find Eleanora only became more potent at the news of the old women; one of them had to be the witch who'd tried to kill her days ago.

He nodded. "A brunette, also in a blue dress. You're not looking for her too, are you?"

"Not to my knowledge." This was taking too much time. He was about to track the blonde to the witch's house— which was surely where she was— when the sight of a very familiar man made him groan inwardly.

"Brother!" Thor boomed happily as he strode through the palace gates. The Einherjar straightened even more, if that were possible. Loki rolled his eyes. "Are you returning from a failed quest?"

Despite the topic of the question, there was no mocking in his brother's voice, merely curiosity. Still, the dark-haired prince scoffed. "Hardly. I'm in active pursuit of the Star as we speak."

The blond's eyes lit up. "Excellent! We can chase after it together and have a race to the finish."

A part of him wanted to rebel. The thought of Thor bringing Eleanora to their father made his stomach tie in knots— an unpleasant sensation that he wasn't familiar with. That would ruin their plans completely and force the woman he. . . cared a great deal about into a life that she didn't want. On the other hand, he could use his brother's aid to battle the witches. His seiðr would be unavailable in their home due to their protective runes, but Thor's lightning was a different power altogether, not bound by the rules of magic. If worse came to worse, he could just transform his brother into another reptile— it wouldn't be the first time he'd done so.

"Very well," Loki agreed, albeit reluctantly, his desire to protect Eleanora winning over sibling rivalry. He gave Thor the directions to the witch's house. "But mind you don't slow me down."

Thor grinned at him as he began to swing Mjolnir. "I should be saying that to you, brother."

✧ ✧ ✧

The dark, gothic house that loomed before them was exactly the sort of home that Eleanora had pictured Herja living in. Her heart stuttered in her chest as the witch all but dragged her and the brunette towards the doors via the magical chain. She opened them with a wave of her hand, only for a more terrifying sight to greet them on the other side: there were two more witches.

They were just as old and decrepit as their sister, with dozens of wrinkles lining their faces and watery, weak eyes. Their gray hair lay in straggly curls down their backs with bald patches scattered across their scalps. They smiled widely as their sister lead her captives inside, making Eleanora shudder in fear. The hunger in their eyes when they stared at her was unmistakable.

"The Star!" the shorter one— Heidi— cheered, looking happier than she had in her entire life.

"And who else?" Helena asked, eying the brunette with interest.

"A servant for us. It will be nice to have someone to help mop up when we've finished with our little guest."

Heidi leaned in close to Herja. "And just in time, I see! You look awful!"

The trio cackled madly, drunk on their success. Eleanora desperately wished that Loki was there; he would have a plan— he always had a plan. But he was gone, and all that she had was the unknown brunette. The stranger had been kind so far, so it was better than having no one, but she didn't seem to know how to escape their situation either. Soon her only comfort was gone as the two sisters pulled the other woman away from her.

She shot a panicked look at the brunette, but there was nothing that they could do. Helena guarded the other woman to keep her from interfering while Herja and Heidi led Eleanora up the curved steps to the balcony. Their hands were like claws on her arms, vice-like in their grip. There was no way she could flee even if she'd had a plan.

They forced her onto the stone table that sat at the head of the balcony and strapped her in with strong leather bindings. Her breath came shallowly as her mind clouded with terror, unable to think about anything besides her impending death. As much as she had been willing to give herself over to Odin, she didn't want to die.