A/N. So I had planned one more chapter between the previous one and the Epilogue but my muse just disappeared so I scrapped that chapter and jumped straight here and end the story. Sorry…
Anyway, a quick thanks to everyone who read, favourite, followed and reviewed this story.
Also, if anyone is interested, I was listening to the song 'Standing at the Edge of the Earth' by Blessid Union of Souls on repeat when I was writing this chapter. It is really appropriate for this conclusion, and I highly recommend listening to it while reading.
And now…
Note: flashbacks
60 years later
Asgard
Thor
I made my daily, or rather nightly walk down to the Bifrost to the large domed structure, the only place where I could indulge in any thoughts about her.
"Heimdall." I nodded to the gatekeeper. "How is she?" I asked, not needing elaborate about whom I was talking about.
"She is fading, my King. Her life is coming to an end." Heimdall replied, his golden, unfocused eyes directed to the vast expanse of stars and planets spread out before us. I nodded as I bowed my head and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to bottle up my emotions. Emily had lived a full human life, a life that I could have been a part of but had that opportunity ripped away from me…
I sped past the rows of building, straight to the large tower that proudly beheld the word 'STARK' on it. I managed to reach there in a matter of seconds and land on one of the wide balconies. But when I turned to look into the massive glass window, the scene I was greeted with made my blood run cold.
"Loki!" I yelled as I crashed through the window, ignoring the glass that bit into my skin as the window shattered. "What have you done?" I asked as I looked upon the collapsed form of Emily, her usually tan skin now as pale as death itself. "What have you done to her?" I hysterically asked as I grabbed a laughing Loki by his shoulders.
"Nothing to serious." He replies, still laughing manically. "She should wake up soon. Oh, don't give me that look. I didn't kill her; you know how well that approach worked last time. I simply altered her." I looked down at Emily's delicate, shivering form…
"How long does she have left?" I asked forcing myself out of thought.
"Not long my King. She is quite old for a human." Heimdall replied. "You should go down to her." He suggested.
"I… I shouldn't." I stammered. "She doesn't know who I. My appearance would simply cause her more distress." I added trying to mask my own selfish reasons of wanting to save myself from pain. I couldn't look at her. Not when my heart would only break again.
"What do you mean 'changed'" I forced my eyes away from Emily. She looked too much like death for me to be remotely comfortable.
"Why spoil the surprise?" Loki replied still laughing
"Tell me!" I violently shook Loki as I felt myself cross the barrier between sanity and hysteria. But I received no reply, simply a malicious chuckle. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Loki produced a knife and jammed it into my lower abdomen, forcing me to release my grip on him. He seemingly took that opportunity to escape and jumped out of the window I had shattered and onto a Chitauri vehicle. I knew that I should go after him but first I had to make sure Emily was okay. I want back to her side and gently shook her shoulder, hoping to rouse her. "Emily?" I gently said but received no response. I wanted to stay by her side but there was a war raging outside and I knew that I had to help. So instead I shifted Emily to one of the large plush sofas, hoping none of the Chitauri would think of attacking the tower. I noticed she still had her knives so I knew that if she woke she would be able to protect herself well enough. Taking one last long look at her I jumped out of the window and joined the battle.
"Is anyone with her?" I blinked back tears that were close to toppling out of my eyes. I had left her alone once and I was doing it all over again.
"The man called Steve Rogers is by her side." Heimdall told me after a moment and I nodded knowing that after I left Steve and Emily had become good friends. I stepped across the floor and stood next to Heimdall. I looked out longingly at the sea of stars wishing, not for the first time, that I had Heimdalls gift of sight.
The whole battle was a blur. The only thing on my mind was getting back to Emily. Yes, I was concentrating on the invasion and protecting Midgard. But I knew I had to protect her as well. Then there was an explosion and all the Chitauri collapsed as their power source was destroyed.
Before long I was tearing through the streets and back to the tower. Back to her side.
"Is she awake?" I demanded as I flew into the room and saw Stark kneeling next to Emily, completely ignoring Loki, who seemed to be smashed into the floor. He could wait, and was obviously going nowhere.
"Yeah. She is. But she is a bit disoriented, so be careful. Don't, you know, break her or anything." I nodded at Stark, ignoring his remark. As if I would even think of hurting Emily. I waked to her side and lowered myself to a kneeling position. "Emily?" I whispered and cupped her face. Slowly her eyes flickered open, revealing her magnificent but slightly unfocused green irises. "Are you okay?" I asked but received the most unexpected response. Emily at first blinked a few times and then suddenly her eyes hardened and she jumped off the couch, pushing me down in the process.
"Stark. Who the hell is he?" She asked, looking at me with not even a shred of recognition.
"My King." Heimdalls words snapped me back to the present. "I am sorry…" he trailed off, not even need in to say more. I knew. I knew this day, this moment was coming. But this knowledge didn't lessen the blow. And that was when the tears came as I slowly sunk to my knees. I let myself indulge in my sorrow before forcing myself to stand.
"I… I should go to father. He would want me to finalise my engagement to Sif. I suppose I no longer have any excuse to delay it." I told the gatekeeper for no apparent reason. He replied with only a simple nod. I turned and forced my legs to move and even though each step didn't lessen the pain in my heart I knew that while Emily was no longer part of the mortal world she would always be alive in my mind.
A/N Whoa. I can't actually believe I managed to finish this. It's a bit surreal to be honest. As you can probably see, I am not one for a happily ever after ending so I hope this was okay...
Again, a HUGE thanks to every single one of you who read 'The New Agent'. You guys are amazing.