𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐍 || 𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯

"WE ARE STILL UNABLE TO RESTORE THE PALACE SHIELDS," Fandral stated. "Our artillery can't detect them. Even Heimdall can't see them. My King, we are all but defenceless."

Since Leila's slumber had been savagely stolen from her by Odin, she'd heard nothing but problems. And with Odin having requested her to be by his side, she speculated what importance she might hold to the man's plans. What could she do that might be beneficial to the All-Father?

"She's your prisoner now?" Thor's voice alerted the group, and they turned to find the man holding an annoyed expression that was solely directed at his father. "Leave us."

With the hologram of the map disappearing, Odin turned his attention to his son. "I do not wish to fight with you."

"Nor I with you. But I intend to pursue Malekith," Thor announced.

"We possess the Aether. Malekith will come to us," Odin countered.

"Yes, and he will destroy us," Thor pointed out, following closely behind his father.

"You overestimate the power of these creatures." He motioned a hand toward Leila who stood to the side, thumb hooked in her belt looks. "Leila, tell him what happened to the Alexion race."

"The Aether and Dark Elves wiped my people off the map. With the use of the Aether, they could do it to all the Nine Realms with they obtain it," Leila explained. "We can't just jump headlong into battle. We have to think of some sort of strategy here."

"Another reason why we must go to the Dark World. I will take Jane to the Dark World, and draw the enemy away from Asgard." Leila felt her nose twitch with her eyebrows pinching together. "When Malekith pulls the Aether from Jane, it will be exposed and vulnerable. And I will destroy it and him."

"Are you even sure extracting the Aether will not kill her?" Leila barked, walking around the man with her gaze calculating every faint movement. "You speak as if you know the outcome, but I don't think you do, Thor. None of us do! The man who did is dead! Gone like Malekith who you couldn't apprehend when you had the chance!"

The silence that befell the hall left a soft thinness within. A faint shift of a boot, the roll of a rock, the shake of a sheath, anything could cut through the air and fill in the void. But it was deadly silent. Leila found it amusing. For the first time in a while, she got what she wanted.

It just came too late.

And Leila didn't bother to hide the disdain she held for the man. Scoffing under her breath and turning her gaze to Odin. "If you need my help with anything, I'll be there," she announced. "Until then, I wish to spend my time with Jane."

She could feel the frustration seep from Thor's entire being. But she paid no mind to him. Ascending the steps to soon be met by a plethora of guards standing outside of Odin's quarters. Upon the sight of the woman, they swung the doors open.

Jane sat up anxiously but felt her body relax at the sight of Leila. She watched as Leila relinquished her cloak onto the ground. She dropped her spear with it and dropped to her knees. Safe to say, Jane's frown was enough to make the other chuckle in amusement. Crawling toward the mortal until she sat between Jane's legs, back turned to her.

No word had to be spoken to know what the occasion called upon. Jane smiled softly. "What brought this on?"

Leila sighed, head falling to rest on the soft cushioning–closing her eyes as she said, "I just wanted to be alone with you right now."

She chuckled. "Well, I appreciate knowing I can be the one to relax you." Jane took some of Leila's hair and began to braid. "So, what's the plan?"

What was the plan? Even Leila knew, in this current predicament, Asgard was at the mercy of the Dark Elves. There was the obvious plan; fight the Dark Elves and likely die. Or hand Jane over. But all Leila could scrounge up was keeping Jane safe at all costs. No matter what she had to do, she would keep her safe. If she had to kill the entire army of Asgard and Odin himself, Leila would do it.

Not much was keeping her here. Not even Thor. That relationship hung in the balance and at the mercy of what the God of Thunder decided to do next.

And what scared Leila was that if she was forced to choose who to protect; Thor or Jane. She would choose Jane every single time. Did that mean she didn't love the man? Was her mind just obscured by everything she felt that night with him? No. She wouldn't believe that until she was forced to search for the answer.

"A war is on the brink, and truthfully? I don't believe Odin can win," She confessed. "As long as you are here or anywhere for that matter, Malekith will do anything to get the Aether. Then they will lay waste to everything in their path."

"What about the other realms?" Jane asked. "Wouldn't they be willing to help?"

"Thor destroyed whatever relationship we might've had with them. His actions against the Frost Giants had destroyed my life's work," She seethed. "Everything Mimir and I built for Odin and Asgard, the prodigy son came and destroyed it." Sighing, Leila pursed her lips. "We are all alone for this battle."

A lot had been riding on those relationships. An alliance of sorts. It might've turned the tide of this battle if things hadn't become so complicated and abrupt.

She couldn't help but ponder what if the Aether had never been created? Would she have grown on Alexion? An outcast amongst outcasts? Would she have ever even met Jane? The thought was almost too much to bear. There was still so much they had yet to do together and Leila could see it flash behind her eyes. A family, two kids, living out in the woods or in London, growing old together–everything she wanted to experience flashed and it drove her mind mad.

"The Aether. It was used to kill my people." Jane froze for a few moments before she continued to braid Leila's hair. Intently watching the woman clench her fists repeatedly. "I'm guessing my father got me here before going back in hopes that his contribution might make a difference."

"He was brave."

"No, he was stupid." Leila deadpanned. "If that was what he did, he is stupid to think his entire presence could shape the battlefield. Talon's sentencing to the Edith Ring was enough to demoralize the troops," She said. "They were doomed before the Dark Elves even appeared."

And Jane paused, nibbling on her bottom lip, whispering, "Why have you never told me about him?"

'Cause I thought Odin and Frigga saved me,' was what appeared in Leila's mind. But they had just followed Erik's wishes. A desperate soldier who didn't understand the true gravity of the situation that loomed over him. And even now, Leila doesn't think Odin did it out of the kindness of his heart. If anything, she became a burden that he had to tolerate until he figured out a way to get rid of her.

He was successful, but only for a little while.

And for all she knew, Odin could've done something to her father. She simply was jumping to the conclusion that Erik ran back to Alexion to fight.

But could he have stayed with her? What had become of her mother? Did she die during birth?

Leila brought her knees to a bend, arms resting on them. Her eyes were half-lidded as she toyed with her fingernails. "Because I never knew he existed or how I got to Asgard in the first place. I don't know my mother and I don't know my father. All I know are these palace walls and the pieces of history Mimir told me." Biting on her bottom lip, Leila scoffed. "And now, I don't know if they were lies or half-truths."

"I'm sorry about what happened to him. I'm sorry what's happened since I came here. I feel like I am in some form, the one to blame-"

"No!" Leila's abrupt protest made Jane flinch. Spinning around and taking the woman's hands and squeezing firmly. "Don't you ever dare think that, ok? This was something none of us could've expected. So, please, don't think this is your fault."

Still, Jane pursed her lips and felt guilty tears cloud her vision. "But maybe if I didn't go looking, none of this would be happening. You should hate me.-"

"Jane, there was no way you could've known." Leila bowed her head, resting on Jane's arms. Exhaling unevenly–grasping for some sort of grounding factor. But she managed another breath, grasping Jane's hand tighter. "Every time I look at you, I see a glimmer of hope–something we could have together. And I hold my breath because your beauty makes my heart stop for moments longer than normal."

Leila looked up at Jane and smiled endearingly, unable to shake the broken smile on her face. "I love the way your mind works, Jane. I love the way you see the world. I love the way you think–your instincts. I could never find a single drop of resentment toward you because you are all I adore," She stressed. "I would destroy the World Tree if it meant protecting you. Nothing you could do would anger me or make me hate you.

Cupping the woman's face, she asked, "Do you understand?"

Jane nodded, letting out a soft cry as she wrapped her arms around Leila's shoulder. Absorbing her warmth and content with staying where they were for a while. They were aligned. The realms did not dictate their minds and bodies being interlocked as they were. Tangled, forever intertwined like branches growing over one another.

If it were like this for the rest of their lives, Leila would die with a smile on her lips. Home resting within her grasp. The other half of her heart pressed to her chest.

The moment was cut short by the sound of a knock echoing off the door before a guard entered. Making the pair separate briefly with the man bowing courteously to her. "Lady Emigold, your presence is needed-"

Before he could finish, Sif appeared and hit the man in the back of the head, knocking him out. "Great. The two of you are here. Let's go."

"Sif, what are you talking about-"

"I have no time to explain this, Leila. We must leave, now." And the warrior walked away without any further explanation. Leila inhaled and exhaled deeply as she swept up her cloak and spear before taking Jane's hand. The guards outside the quarters were all knocked out of laying on the brink of unconsciousness–groaning in pain.

Catching up to Sif, the pair followed closely behind the woman. Both cautious, yet, curious as to what would've moved her to act in such ways. She was a suck-up to the All-Father. Leila knew this from the early stages of her childhood. Sif always strove to win Odin's favour and Thor's heart. Here she was, breaking the man's rules for whatever reason that possessed her to do so.

Yet, that answer lay just down the hall from Leila, spotting Thor and Loki. Someone that Leila felt indifferent about. "You're..." Jane breathed, speeding her steps toward the God of Mischief.

"I'm Loki, you may have heard of me-"

The sharp and painful slap Jane landed made Leila let out a snicker, slipping an arm around the woman's waist. "That was for New York and stabbing Leila."

Loki smiled at Thor. "I like her."

"Thor, I swear on Mimir's name, if you are planning on going to the Dark World, I may gut you," Leila threatened, glaring at the man.

"I am not risking Jane's and all of our people's-"

"No!" She hissed. "No, these are your people. Not mine! You are playing with Jane's life like she is some sort of fish bait for you to use to enact your revenge."

"Would you prefer she be taken and killed?" Thor questioned.

"You say that as if I couldn't kill Malekith." Leila sized herself with Thor, gritting her teeth. "If you want to test it out, I will be more than glad to knock you down a peg. I am sure Loki would enjoy the show."

"I would actually." Loki smiled in amusement.

"Stop!"Jane looked between the two of them. "The both of you are acting like children. Leila, if this is a risk we need to take, I'm going to do it."

"Jane-"

"No. I need you with me. I need you to trust me," Jane stated. "Can you do that?"

Leila pursed her lips, looking up at Thor with a glare. How did everything go wrong between them in the span of a day? Well, Leila knew the answer. It wasn't difficult to say what made Leila feel repulsed by him. But could she even trust him with this? She guessed it likely didn't matter if she did or didn't. They had the game goal; kill Malekith and save Jane.

Pulling her spear from her back, she stared at Thor with a growing irritation. She could feel it. It slipped into her bloodstream and bones–constantly trembling as she refrained herself from acting rash. And her thoughts? She was combing over the ways of torture he should suffer through until she felt he had paid his dues. But she highly doubted that her wounds would ever heal. His pain would only numb them and in due time, she would feel them. She would remember.

She blamed him for all of it.

"Perhaps, for the moment..." She exhaled heavily, twisting the spear in her grasp. "You're of more use to me..." She bit back the tears, lifting her chin and placing the hilt of the spear into the ground. Her nose twitched as her eyes were dangerously wide. Lips parting as she whispered, "Alive."