Un-Beta'd.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Darcy and the man shared a stare that seemed to last for hours that, in reality, had lasted a split second. Instinct kicked in and Darcy's hand was up to her throat in a flash, and when she grabbed the knife out of his hand she simultaneously armed herself and disarmed him. She rolled away from him and was on her feet before she even realized what was happening, but the man was fast- he was upon her in moments, and it was only because he was so much taller than her was she able to slip underneath one of his arms and get out of the bedroom. He quickly reached around the door in a last desperate attempt to grab her but only caught a few strands of her hair.

Darcy ran across the common room screaming for her friends at the top of her lungs. Her toe caught the root of a tree sticking up from the floor and she fell forward, hitting the hard-packed earth with her left arm outstretched and she heard it give a sickening crack. Her other hand hit the ground as well and her knife flew from it, clattering against the dirt wall a few feet away. Blinding pain shot up through her shoulder and her vision varied between blackness and stars for a long moment. She immediately rolled over and sat up, attempting to ignore the protest from her left arm while her right hand reached for the knife. That all happened in a matter of seconds.

The man had emerged from the room and was striding towards her with seething fury etched into his face. She got a good look at him in the light and committed his visage to memory – bald, mustachioed, huge – the guy could give Thor a run for his money in the Gigantic and Muscly department. Suddenly her hand wrapped around the hilt of the knife and she lifted it to defend herself as he approached, but she did not need to. Hogun emerged from his room wearing nothing but pajama pants and an I-Mean-Business look on his face, and in his hand he wielded his trusty sword which was outstretched toward the intruder as though it were a comfortable extension of his own arm.

Hogun stepped over Darcy and (thankfully) missed her left arm entirely, swinging his sword at the intruder. Darcy got to her feet behind him and never once dropped her knife, getting herself into a ready stance as best she could with her broken arm. Thor, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Faolan emerged from their own rooms moments later, and, upon seeing that he was clearly outnumbered, the stranger disappeared in a literal puff of smoke. The Asgardians looked around at one another, confused, before looking at Darcy who had dropped the knife and began cradling her broken arm.

"What happened, Darcy? Are you all right? Who was that?" asked Thor.

"I have no idea!" said Darcy, "He was being a creeper in my bedroom and had a knife to my throat and I have never ever seen him. He didn't, you know, do anything, but I broke my arm," she said, nodding toward the arm she was cradling.

"How did you break your arm?" asked Sif.

"I totally did a flying ninja punch at him and damned if it didn't hit him wrong," said Darcy, and Sif put her hands on her hips. Darcy sighed. "Okay, I tripped. But I did disarm him and get away," she added with a cheery grin. Thor and Sif both grinned as well, but it was short-lived.

"Whoever it was, they know we are close," said Volstagg, "I would not put it past The Enchantress to have eyes and ears all over the land surrounding her home."

Fandral and Hogun nodded. Aisling came into the room with some bandages and ointment having heard that Darcy had broken her arm. She led Darcy to lay on one of the many couches in the room and began to rub the cooling ointment all over her already-swelling arm.

"I don't know much about human anatomy, my dear, but you will need to have a healer look at that when your journey is done. You will have to take it easy for the remainder of your travels," Aisling told her. Thor opened his mouth to say something but Darcy cut him off before he could even start.
"Don't even say it, Thor. I am not staying here while you guys go get Loki. I am not going to be left behind when we're so close. I am still coming with you whether I have a broken arm or not."
Sif and the Warriors-three all hid their own smiles while they glanced back-and-forth between Thor and Darcy. Thor looked like he was going to say something for only a second and Darcy shot him a don't-you-even look that stopped his words and his throat. He held up his hands and looked down at her sternly.
"As long as you know the risk to yourself," Thor said. "But I must say I admire your bravery. You did well, Darcy."
"Yes, she did. But we must be vigilant from here on out," Sif said. "They know we are here so we have lost the element of surprise."

The room was silent as all of the occupants let Sif's words sink in.

"We should not give them any more time to prepare for your arrival," said Faolan, "And it is nearly sunrise anyway. I shall prepare a quick breakfast for you before you head out. Please make use of our showers and," he said, turning to Darcy, "be sure to take some of the clothing from that bedroom you are in, something more than just the indoor clothes we've given you. My daughter is about your size and her clothes should fit you well; pick out some good winter clothing before you go."
"Thank you so much," Darcy said.

"Your hospitality has been more than we deserve," Thor told Faolan and Aisling, "Asgard is in your debt. Should you require us you need only call."

Faolan and Aisling nodded. Faolan left for the kitchen and Aisling continued tending to Darcy's arm, rubbing some more deliciously cool ointment on it before bandaging it up and making her a makeshift sling. When she was done Darcy thanked her profusely and went about preparing for the last Loki-less day of their journey. Excitement bubbled up within her at the thought of being reunited with Loki and even despite her broken arm she was able to get dressed and ready relatively quickly.

When she was done she met everyone out in the common room for breakfast. By that time the entire family had awoken and the house was a noisy, chaotic, perfect symphony of laughter and talk. All of the little children wanted to sit next to Thor and Hogun, laughing while they compared their height to Thor's and their bright white hair to Hogun's raven-black hair. Darcy looked around the room, a hot mug of a rose-colored liquid in her good hand and her other in a sling. She took in the wonderful noise of the big family while at the same time she longed for the quiet peace of solitude.

The Asgardians and Darcy ate their meals quickly, conversing quickly with Faolan, Aisling, and their older children. Soon they were ready to go and the family was sad to see them leave, but bid them good luck in their travels.
Thor had gotten good directions from Faolan and they made their way through the woods, toward the rising sun. After only ten minutes Darcy's muscles were already aching from the walking she had done the day before but she did not let it slow her at all; she focused on walking without moving her broken arm too much.
"Darcy, you must slow down," Sif called ahead at her. For the first time on their journey Darcy was ahead of everyone and leading the group.
"The faster we get there the faster we can get this over with," Darcy called back to her.
"We must conserve our energy. We don't truly know what awaits us there, Lady Darcy," Thor said, and Darcy immediately slowed, allowing her friends to catch up to her.

"You got me there," she said.

"It warms my heart to see you see you so eager to see my brother once more," said Thor.

"Yeah, I've kinda of got a thing for him. I was thinking I would just hold onto him for a while," Darcy winked. She fiddled with the fingers on her good hand but kept moving forward, placing one foot in front of the other in silence.

x

X

x

"My lady, I have failed you," said Skurge as he hung his head, "I was not able to extract the mortal."

Amora crossed her arms and looked up at him, ugly disgust etched into her normally elegant features. "And you dare come back to me empty-handed?" she asked rhetorically, but Skurge's face brightened in realization.

"Not empty-handed-"

"Silence!" she shouted. She liked to hear her own rage echo off of the stone walls. Skurge closed his mouth and she eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "What do you mean 'not empty-handed'?"

Skurge held up his hand and Amora had to squint to see what he was trying to show her. There, dangling between the webbing in his fingers, were three strands of long dark hair.

Realization dawned on the Enchantress. "Tell me-"

"That these are hairs from Loki's mortal? They are. I was able to obtain them when she ran from me."

Amora gingerly pulled the strands from his hands and attempted to cover up her internal giddiness. "Well, it's not the same as the mortal herself, but they will do. Skurge," she said, and his eyes snapped up to hers with rapt attention, "You will assist me. I shall use the mortal's hair in a spell and you shall take on her likeness. You will then pretend to be Loki's lady love, do you understand?"

"My love, what if I-"

"Screw it up? You won't. You won't be able to speak. All I need for you is to sit there and play the part. You will go get the prisoner ready. Give him the dwarven shackles, that ought to keep him from attempting to escape with his powers intact." she added and turned from the room. She headed down to the cold depths of her mountain dwelling with the air, slamming the door behind her with a chilling finality.

Loki heard Amora's manservant lumbering up the stairs and did not move or even look up when the oaf came up through the door in the floor.

"It is time, Odinson. These," Skurge said, holding up heavy clanking iron shackles, "will keep you from using your powers outside of your cell. Amora added a little something- extra- to them. If you attempt to escape from them in any way you will regret it for the remainder of your short days."

Loki said nothing and Skurge came into his cell, his head brushing the ceiling while he fastened the heavy iron shackles around Loki's wrists in front of him. A thick chain connected his wrists to a shackle around his neck and still another chain led to the shackles that clicked around his feet. Once all of the iron was fastened correctly Skurge closed the door to the cell and left once more.

Loki lay down sideways on his bed, allowing the mattress to hold the weight of his new accessories. His thoughts wandered, as they always did, to Darcy.

He hoped that she would not come for him too soon.

Within an hour Amora arrived at his cell. She took the spell book that she kept in Loki's tower and tucked it under her arm, then she opened the door of his cell. Both said nothing as he exited his tiny glass cage with the sound of clinking metal the only noise that permeated the room.

Amora led Loki by the chain around his neck down the narrow, winding stairways and into the heart of the mountain itself in silence. Amora had truly made the place her home- she had used her considerable powers to brighten up the dreary peak with furs, gilded pieces of art and ornate oddments from her travels. But beyond the shiny gilt and glamor it was naught but the hollow inside of a frozen, harsh mountain.

They reached the bottom of the final set of stairs that Loki could see and stood in a foyer with high ceilings. A chain much like Loki's was fastened to a metal link that was bolted to the floor and the chain itself led off into the shadows. Loki could not see what it held.

"One last thing," Amora said softly and with a wave of her hand the chain on the floor unfastened from the metal link in the floor. The chain lifted itself into Amora's hand and she jerked it toward herself.

Darcy came stumbling from the shadows and fell to the ground, smacking her chin on the hard stone floor. Her hands, feet, and neck were bound just as Loki's were and she had a harsh gag wrapped tightly around her mouth. She struggled to get to her feet and blood poured down the fresh wound from her jaw that had struck the floor.

Loki's nostrils flared. He suspected that this was some sort of trick but could not take the chance with Darcy's life.

"I knew that there was no way you were truly going to help me willingly, Loki. And now I have leverage," Amora said.

Loki took a hard look at Amora's face. "Let's get on with it."

As the trio walked in silence through the camouflaged door of the mountain into the bitter cold outside, Loki watched Darcy. She did not look at him. She would normally look at him. She would normally try to comfort him. She would normally not be so quiet.

Loki realized immediately that Skurge was nowhere to be seen and Amora's flimsy parlor trick came apart immediately. All the while he said nothing.

Unless-

Unless Darcy had been drugged. Or hit over the head a little too hard. Or... countless many other things could have happened to make Darcy act oddly. And Amora had the power to bend people or her will, with or without the aid of a potion.

The seed of doubt nestled itself within the folds of Loki's mind.

It could be her.

It can't be her.

But it could be.

A slow, crooked nausea settled in the pit of his stomach and he continued to glance at Darcy-who-was-not-Darcy-but-might-be-Darcy. She was walking jerkily over the ice and snow, following the heavy chain around her neck as though her legs were new to her.

Loki followed his own chain held by Amora to where the three frozen rivers met. He thought quickly. Amora would have to remove his chains to ensure that he could assist her in opening the rift and keep it open. It was then that he had to strike, but he could not take the chance that Darcy could be harmed. And he could not allow Amora to hold that kind of power. The two conflicting ideas rattled around in his head and made each step that he took heavy with burden.

As they approached the small lake where the three rivers met Loki made out a large, lumbering figure in the snow. Skurge sat atop a small rock with a good vantage point so that he could watch the show. Loki glanced quickly from the giant of a man back to Darcy and made up his mind. He would attempt to take control of the rift from Amora while simultaneously protecting Darcy.

Amora smiled slyly to herself with her head turned away from Loki. He had not seen her wave her hand to create the illusion of Skurge sitting on the rock to fool him. Good.

Amora came to a stop with her back to the frozen river while she faced her mountainous home. She glanced at Loki and the faux Darcy once before snapping her fingers. The chains fell off of Loki but tightened around the fake Darcy, causing her to scream against her bindings.

Amora did not mind what she was doing to the real Skurge. He deserved it for failing her.

"Fail me, trick me, or otherwise mess this up and she will die immediately, Odinson," Amora warned. Loki nodded and massaged his wrists, but he did not attempt to do anything. Satisfied, Amora opened her tome and read the words aloud. She had practiced them many times and now, today, they were finally able to realize their true potential.

She paused and nodded once at Loki, who held out his hands toward the empty space between himself and the mountain and concentrated on that area alone. He did not know precisely what would happen, but when the faintest burst of energy presented itself he would be there to catch it.

Amora let the foreign words roll off of her tongue quickly, so eager was she to open the rift. Within minutes she had said the entire summoning spell and the ground began to shake lightly beneath them.

When suddenly appeared before them a sliver in the very fabric of reality itself, a thin vertical slice in space and time.

Amora and Loki concentrated on the rift together and it was becoming more and more difficult to control. Loki kept his eyes on Amora and she was only keeping her eyes on the rift. The ground continued to tremble, increasing in the power of its tremors. Some of the small boulders from the mountain began to tumble down, all of them missing the quartet, when the rift opened wide.

The ground gave a loud rumble and lurched beneath their feet. Loki heard a loud scraping sound but ignored it. Instead Loki turned his hands toward Amora who was caught entirely off-guard and could not raise her own hands from concentrating on the rift to shield herself in time – she took the full force of his blast of energy.

She fell to the ground and Loki looked back to see what the scraping sound had been. As Amora fell her illusion of Skurge sitting near them vanished, but Loki was too distracted by the noise he had heard – he turned around just in time to see a huge boulder that had dislodged itself from the mountain tumble to the ground and strike Darcy.

Time halted for Loki.

Loki rushed to Darcy's side and watched as she took shallow, bloody, shuddering breaths. He untied the gag around her mouth and she tried to speak, but instead she coughed up blood.

He did not have the power to heal such a fatal wound, but it did not mean that he would not try. He laid his hands on her abdomen and between her breasts on her chest, but his spells and words did nothing.

Loki looked to the sky and an animalistic scream erupted from his lungs.

x

X

x

It was not long until a single mountain came into view and the friends walked along one great, frozen river to get to it. No light could be seen anywhere on the peak and by all accounts it seemed to be nothing but an ordinary mountain- aside from the fact that it was exactly what Loki had drawn for her in her dream.

The friends pressed onward.

"With that vantage point she is sure to know that we are coming," said Sif.

"Aye, it is likely," agreed Thor.

They were all silent for a moment, when suddenly Darcy spoke up.

"So what happened between you and this Amora lady?" she asked Thor.

He was quiet for a long moment and Darcy noticed that Sif and the warriors-three looked up, down, away, anywhere but her Thor and her.

"Nothing happened between us, actually, "said Thor, "It was her sister Lorelei."

Darcy remained quiet to allow him time to gather his thoughts and words before he continued.

"Lorelei and Amora were very close- they only had one another I think, and if they had parents no one knew them or had ever seen them. Lorelei was a bit older than her sister. Amora was the human equivalent of about 14 years old and Lorelei was my age, about 19 years old at the time. And, just as she had done when they were children, Amora wanted to be included in everything Lorelei did. They adored one another. But Lorelei had become a full-grown woman and was starting to spend more time amongst some of the young men in the kingdom-"

"One young man in particular," interrupted Fandral.

"Yes, well, I went through women quickly when I was young; You must understand that I was a different person back then, Darcy," Thor said.

"We all had our wild days, big guy. Keep going," she urged him.

"I never thought my wild days would cause any lasting damage, but they did. Amora grew intensely jealous of Lorelei and me. She was jealous that I was taking away her sister and she was jealous that Lorelei was with me. Apparently Amora had a bit of a crush on me at the time-"

"A bit of a crush!" Sif laughed, "She was head-over-heels for you, Thor. The whole damn kingdom knew it."

The warriors-three nodded in agreement.

"And I saw her as Lorelei's annoying little sister," said Thor, "So as Lorelei spent more time with me, of course she spent less time with Amora, which caused Amora to grow even more jealous. One day she challenged her sister to a duel over it."

"A duel?" asked Darcy, "Are you fucking kidding me? Two sisters got into a fight over you? Don't get me wrong, Thor, you're a nice looking dude and all, but if they were as close as you say they were there must have been something else going on beneath the surface."
"And we suspect that there was as well," said Thor, "But it is all speculation. Amora was always wild, always explosive, and always wanted to be the center of attention. And Lorelei was, in a way, the opposite. She was calm and centered, and was Amora's rock; she was the only one Amora would ever really listen to. They were close, they didn't seem to have any parents, and they were both naturally skilled in magic which made them competitive with one another but also deepened their bond, their closeness. We think. They weren't very open about how they grew up but when they were together they were best friends. I think that her sister's growing up was the last straw for Amora."

"So she challenged her one and only sister to a duel over a fling," said Darcy.

"I tried to make sense of it too, Darcy. But yes, that's what started it," answered Sif.

"Amora insisted on having the duel in a very public place. She wanted everyone to see it when she finally won. At the time I thought the whole situation was hilarious," said Thor, his lips forming a grim line, "Two pretty sisters fighting over me? And while one was too young for me at the time, she was still beautiful, and it was yet another thing for the mighty Thor to add to his list of things to brag about," he said, clearly disgusted with his younger self.

Thor continued. "So they decided to meet at the Rainbow Bridge. Little did Amora know that Lorelei was setting her up; Lorelei told me in secret that she agreed to the duel and then would leave Amora waiting on the Rainbow Bridge to embarrass her. All of us went; Loki, Sif, the warriors-three. And of course I went to the Rainbow Bridge to watch the fight between these two sisters over me, knowing that one of them wasn't going to show up, just to see the look on Amora's annoying face. And while we were all waiting, crowded around the the area where the rainbow bridge meets Asgard, someone pointed out a lone figure in the sky over the lake by the castle and all of us noticed it, too, when... it... started to scream and fall out of the sky. We all tried to get to her, but we couldn't in time. Lorelei had concocted a potion that allowed her temporary flight. She wanted to get a good view of Amora's humiliation, but she had made the potion wrong. It stopped working mid-flight, and she did not survive the fall."

Thor let out a shuddering breath.

"Amora... she was never the same," Thor said after a long pause, "She became obsessed with her studies of the magical arts. And when she wasn't throwing herself into practicing and working on her craft she was out causing trouble with the men in town for as long as they held her interest. Amora blamed herself for her sister's death and she surrounded herself with as much distraction as she could. She has had to live with Lorelei's death since then- they had been so close, and when Lorelei died they had been in a rare, petty fight over a man that neither of them really even knew. So one night, years later, after Amora had grown into a woman and the sting of the loss of Lorelei had passed, Amora had started to..."

"... throw herself at you?" Sif offered.

"...stalk you?" said Hogun.

"...practically attempt to force you to court her?" Fandral asked.

"All of the above, if I recall," said Volstagg.

"It was all of the above, but after Lorelei died, every time I saw Amora all I could see was Lorelei's sweet face in hers. And I told her as much, as gently as I could, but she was difficult to shake. She began to show up at palace functions, and I even begged Loki to try to win her away, but he wouldn't even entertain the idea. He said that even he 'wouldn't touch crazy like that,'" said Thor, and Sif and Fandral both sniggered.

"I know she kidnapped my future husband and all, but this is like the saddest thing I've ever heard, you guys. I don't see how you can think this is even a little funny," said Darcy without a hint of a smile.

"I agree," said Thor, shooting a stern look at Sif and Fandral. "She had a way about her that just rubbed you the wrong way after a while. She was beautiful and she knew it, and she was confident and angry and just... off. I can't even put my finger on quite what was so different about her, but it wasn't a good different-"
"It was more like a 'she'll probably knife you in your sleep without warning one day' kind of different," said Fandral.

Thor thought on those words for a moment and frowned, nodding. "Sort of, yes. Anyway, Amora's hanging around to try to run into me or popping up out of nowhere began to get pretty embarrassing. She was still Lorelei's little sister to me; she knew it, and it enraged her. On the first night of the Festival of Idora of her twentieth year, Loki caught her trying to slip something into my drink, and after that Mother and Father sent her away to apprentice under Karnilla."

"Oh wow," Darcy breathed, focusing on not losing her footing over a patch of particularly slippery frozen snow, "Great. Loki's being held by a date rapist."

"Loki is a better sorcerer than Amora, thankfully," said Thor, "I have no doubt that he can hold his own."

"Damn straight," said Darcy. "Okay, so what's our plan from here?"

"We must find the entrance to the mountain, first. I have no doubt that she has made her home in such a conspicuous place which is why Loki drew it for you," said Thor.

As they got closer to the mountain, they all picked up their pace, and when they were close enough to start seeing the detail of the mountain and the area where the three rivers met, Darcy noticed three figures in front of the small lake that connected the rivers.

"What the hell?" asked Darcy, but the Asgardians had already seen it as well.

They were too far away to make out in detail, but they friends could tell that one person was slim and blonde, one was tall with black hair, and there was a short brunette with them as well. All of them had their backs turned toward the friends and then suddenly something appeared in front of the three figures – a slice in the very fabric of reality about the height of one man standing atop another's shoulders. It produced an odd mix of colors that Darcy had only seen one other time, in the fire-and-ice lake when she and the Asgardians had been traveling to Nornheim toward the beginning of their journey.

"What was that you said about that pretty lake we saw, Thor? That it was rumored to be the place where Ragnarok begins and ends," Darcy asked; her voice sounded far away and disbelieving even to her own ears.

"Yes," said Thor, and the tone of his voice revealed that he caught what she was getting at while he tried to reconcile what he was seeing with what he believed to be actually possible.

Suddenly she ground began to shake. The friends stopped walking forward to try to keep their balance but Darcy's eyes were kept firmly on the dark figure in the middle. The knot in her stomach told her it was probably Loki, but she did not want to hope in case it was wrong. The dark figure and the shorter blonde one next to him had their hands out toward the large rift, clearly concentrating, when heavy boulders from the mountain began to tumble downward toward the trio.

Darcy gasped, watching it happen while being much too far away to do anything to help the figures. One of the largest boulders dislodged from the side of the mountain and two things happened simultaneously: the black-haired figure in the middle turned his hands toward the blonde and the blonde was clearly surprised, and the boulder rolled down toward the trio fast, so fast, and struck the brown-haired figure on the right. The blonde crumpled to the ground and the black-haired figure realized what had happened while its back was turned and it rushed to the brunette, kneeling down over its crushed body. Darcy watched as the black-haired figure turned its pale face to the sky and heard a small sound come from the figure; from the long distance it was a indiscernible scream. The figure then turned back to the opened rift and held his hands up to it again, and Darcy watched as the rift closed, and as it closed the shaking of the ground quieted and finally stopped.

Darcy and the Asgardians began to run toward the figure, and as they hurried as quickly as they could with Darcy's broken arm slowing them down they watched as the black-haired figure collapsed to its knees next to the brunette figure. Its back was still turned to the friends as they got closer.

Soon it was clear that the black-haired figure was indeed Loki, even paler than Darcy had remembered thanks to spending over a month locked in a cell without sunlight. His body was shaking with sobs and they did not slow as he heard the party approach behind him.

"You are too late," Loki said without turning around, and he clutched the brunette figure to him. "There is no bringing her back from this."

"Why, did I miss the party?" Darcy asked.

Loki froze and looked down at the figure in his arms, and the imposter Darcy heaved a last, bloody, shuddering breath. As the life drained from him, Skurge returned to his natural form once more and Loki tossed Skurge's body off of himself, standing up and whirling around.

Loki caught sight of her.

They both froze.

No one was sure who moved first, but they were soon in one another's arms, simply embracing, trying to meld into one being.

x

X

x

Loki mended Darcy's broken arm and the Asgardians discussed what should be done with Amora, who had begun to stir. Loki gave her another blow with a wave of his hand and she was out again, much to the chagrin of all who saw it happen- Loki's face held nothing but the deepest contempt for his former captor. Sif fastened the enchanted iron chains around Amora's wrists, feet, and ankles, and they headed toward the entrance to Falcor Peak.

Thor, Sif, the warriors-three, Darcy, and their prisoner waited in the foyer while Loki raced through the cavernous home, filching supplies, his daggers, and magical oddments. Loki had the ability and knowledge to identify magical traps that may be set around the treacherous mountain and did not want to risk anyone coming upon some stupid trap just as they were about to leave this wretched place. He came upon the small vial of poison that Amora had taken from him so many weeks ago and slipped it back into a pocket on the inside of his duster- who knows? He might need it later. Loki made several trips from the foyer to the corners of the home, making sure that they were well-stocked with necessities for their return trip.

They spent the night in the foyer, taking turns watching over Amora and ensuring that she stayed unconscious. Loki and Darcy took their shift together and spent their time talking quietly, mostly about Darcy's journey to save him.

"I could kill Thor for allowing you come," said Loki, "but I am glad that you are here with me."

"Like I would miss out on this. Mortal or not, I wasn't about to sit around twiddling my thumbs while god knows what was happening to you," said Darcy. She entwined her fingers with his and trace circles with her thumb. "Anyway they needed me. They didn't know exactly where you were and I was having those dreams."

Loki nodded once, slowly. "Either way, I will be much relieved when you finally have an apple," said Loki.

"Mmm," she replied.

She drifted off to sleep in his arms and he did not wake her. Instead, he sat with his back against the cold wall of carved mountain, re-cast the warming spell he had placed on the room, and listened to her slow, steady breaths in the darkness.

x

X

x

The first thing Loki did the next morning was take down the magical shield that Amora had placed on her home. Instantly Heimdall was able to see them, as Loki knew he would, and they began their journey back to Asgard while Heimdall informed Odin and Frigga of the success of Thor's rescue mission.

Loki definitely made the journey back easier for all of them- with his powers back to full strength he was able to fashion a sort of grotesque snowmobile-like device out of nearby trees and even large pieces of crystalline ice. It was able to carry all of them, including the bound, unconscious Amora, through the tumbling snow drifts and back to the clan who welcomed them warmly. The children rushed out to see the party as they arrived, and one small child had a white cloth bandage in her hand as she approached Loki. Loki looked down at her curiously while he was waiting for his other party members to depart from the makeshift snowmobile when suddenly the child slapped the white bandage on top of his unhurt hand. "There," she said, "Now you're all better." Loki looked down at the bandage with a mixture of confusion and amusement while the child giggled and ran back to the tree trunk that was the entrance to her home. Darcy had seen it all and grinned at him, waiting for his reaction. He kept the unneeded bandage on his hand and commenced with helping Darcy into the tree trunk of the clan's home entrance.

Faolan and Aisling allowed them all to stay the night again and celebrated the success of the mission with a large, warm meal prepared by the heads of the household. Faolan poured drinks for everyone and set to work on a quick first course while Aisling was busy finishing the trimming on the roast of a huge beast that Darcy could not identify. They chatted merrily with the Asgardians and the older children in the household while Darcy and Loki sat on the couch, surrounded by the tiny children.

"Were you hurt?" one asked.

"Of course he was hurt, look at his bandage! Geez, Faola," another replied.

"It's a good thing Darcy was there to getcha. You woulda froze ta death!" said an even smaller one still.

"Indeed I would have," Loki said with a smile and his gaze steered toward Darcy. He was proud of her. He had been scared for her the entire time he had been held captive, but he knew (had he known all along?) deep down that she would make it. She was too full of hellfire and spirit to let something like a rescue mission lead her to her end. Darcy gave him a sleepy smile and leaned her head against his shoulder while he fiddled absentmindedly with the ring on her left hand. The children lost interest and left Darcy and Loki alone, two souls resting in front of the fireplace, and all the world could disintegrate around them for all they knew. They did not care. Together they felt at home.

x

X

x

The journey back to Asgard went by in a blur for Darcy. With the exception of Loki keeping a mother hen-ish eye out for Darcy's mortal safety, the journey was pleasant, and even at some points it was downright jovial. All were in a good mood and without the myriad stops that were needed along the way they were able to get back to Asgard in half the time. Plus Loki knew a way back to the realm of Asgard from the shores of Niflheim that did not require them to take another creepy journey with the ferryman, much to everyone's relief.

The only thorn in their side was, naturally, Amora, who had to be hauled and poked and prodded to get her to cooperate. She silently mourned the loss of her makeshift home and all of the relics and treasures she had collected over the years. She did not mourn for Skurge; rather, she missed the convenience of having him at her beck and call. Everyone kept a close eye on her throughout the journey and the lack of privacy was beginning to grate on her; she, who was a very private person to begin with.

On the last morning of their journey, Darcy awoke early, eager to get her day started. She and Sif were keeping up on her fighting practice and Darcy was getting better each and every day. Sif told her as much, and Sif was not one to lie about such an important subject. Defending oneself was a treacherous business indeed, and one had to keep up with their practice to avoid being caught unawares. Darcy had not realized that Loki had been keeping a careful eye on her for the last half hour of this morning's practice. She and Sif called it a day, and when she turned to put her weapons away he was there.

"You're doing quite well for yourself, Miss Lewis," Loki said, and his deep purring voice sent a thrill through her. It had been a long time indeed and they hadn't had a moment alone together in well over two months, save for the Asamtdraumr they shared occasionally. But that was not enough.

"Well, O Prince of Mischief, a girl has to keep up on her sparring practice for the next time she has to go rescue your silly ass," she replied. She slipped passed his towering form stealthily, the fruit of her daily practice showing in the flow of her movement, and Loki stayed still to allow her to pass him.

"Darcy," he started, and closed his mouth again. She could hear from the hitch in his voice that he wanted to say something but wasn't exactly sure of how to come out with it. She placed her sword with her other belongings and began working to get the ties off of her armor.

"Yes?"

He turned around to face her, looking down at her with his hands clasped behind his back.

"I've lost you twice now, depending on how you look at it. Well, it seemed like twice to me," Loki said, almost to himself. He let that sink in for a moment, but for the benefit of himself or Darcy he did not know, before continuing. "I can't go through that again."
"And you won't have to. We're getting married-"

"Today."

Darcy stopped fiddling with her armor bindings and looked up at him.

"One more time?" she asked. Loki's eyes were serious, very serious, and he knelt down to eye level with her.

"Let us marry today. When we return to the castle," Loki urged.

"Babe," she started slowly, blinking for a moment to gather her thoughts, "No."

"And why not?"

"Because we still have a lot to talk about. Don't get me wrong, I want to marry you, I do. It's just... where are we going to live? Do you want kids? What are your goals in life? What are mine? There are some really huge things we need to talk about and we haven't. At all," Darcy said, and Loki sat down beside her.

"I am going to say this only once, and I mean every last word: I do not care. We can live wherever you wish – we can go back to Midgard or we can stay in Asgard or we can take up residence in Vanaheim for all I care. We can have one-hundred children or we can have none. And as far as our goals... we can plan them carefully or deal with things as they come. No matter, I know I want you by my side. Darcy Lewis, marry me today. Partake in an apple so I can rest easy at night, because the only thing that will ever separate us is death. And I cannot make it so easy for death to claim either one of us so easily."

Darcy sat in silence for a long moment and thought.

"One condition," she said finally.

"Name it."

"No fucking way are we having a hundred kids."

Loki stared at her for a brief moment and began to laugh, a deep, rich laughter that set her soul at ease.

"Done."

Darcy set back to removing her armor, her hair sticky from the sweat that was drying on her scalp. "I'm glad you mentioned that you're up for going back to Earth, because I've been meaning to talk to you about that," she breathed, untying the final pieces of armor and setting them on the shiny silver pile she had made with the rest of it, "Asgard is nice and everything. But for all my bitching and complaining about my family and my boring job there, I've missed it. More than I though I would, actually. I would like to go back home when we're married and yes, we can get married today if you guys are able to swing it."

"I have no doubt that Heimdall is informing the guards now, who will inform my mother. There will be a wedding this afternoon whether they're prepared or not," Loki said, and with that he set about to gathering Darcy's belongings and packing them onto her horse. Loki even made breakfast for everyone who had not yet awakened, including Thor, who took his plate of hot food from his brother with a sleepy, puzzled smile and ate it without question.

When Darcy told Thor and the others of the wedding that was to take place that very afternoon it got everyone going in a hurry. And while Darcy doubted that the wedding would actually happen today- they still had several hours to ride, she needed to take a long, long bath when she got back to castle, not to mention the fact that they had been gone for two months- she allowed their renewed energy to push down her road weariness and she kept pace with them with no trouble at all.

When the castle came into sight several hours later Thor and the warriors-three cheered in unison. A thrill of excitement and relief went through both Darcy and Loki. They all rode on toward the castle until the sun had passed its highest peak in the sky and Darcy's back, shoulders, and legs were screaming from yet another day of riding. One hour after that and they were much closer to the castle, and the party began to hear cheers from the Asgardian residents who saw them as they passed on their horses. The residents saw Amora as well, bound and riding on her own steed; she looked down at them all with contempt and the residents looked back at her with a look of sheer pity.

Pity was worse than hatred.

For the most part all eyes were on Thor and Loki as they rode through the town surrounding the base of the castle. Fair where his brother was dark, Thor sat atop his horse proudly, smiling and waving at the small children. He kept a vigilant eye on the castle entrance and soon he was rewarded – there, at the top of the shining golden stairs, Jane stood with Odin, Frigga, the Avengers, and a few members of SHIELD. His heart leapt at the sight of Jane.

"Oh wow, is that Odin?" Darcy asked in a hushed whisper. Somehow she thought he might be able to hear her even from that distance.

"It is," Sif answered, "Who is that tall blonde man?"

Darcy squinted and realized that Sif must be talking about Steve Rogers, who, along with the rest of the Avengers, Phil Coulson, and Nick Fury, stood behind Odin, Frigga, and Jane. "That's Steve," Darcy answered and cast a sly sideways glance at Sif who was clearly interested to know more about this Steve man.

And for the first time in his life, Loki received just as much attention as Thor. He could feel Odin and Frigga's eyes on him alone as he rode up to the steps of the castle and finally dismounted, assisting Darcy off of her own steed as well, although she didn't need the help. He regally climbed the stairs holding Darcy's hand and reached the people who had raised him, hugging his mother and giving a nod to his father who returned it in kind.

"Odin Allfather, I introduce to you my fiancee, Darcy Lewis of Midgard," Loki said.

"I have heard great things about you, Darcy Lewis of Midgard," said Odin, and he grasped her hands gently, "Frigga is quite fond of you. I have found through my many years that my wife is seldom wrong."

"Thank you," said Darcy, unsure if it was a compliment or not. She decided it was.

"Mother-" Loki started, but he was interrupted by Thor rushing past him to embrace Jane, who had been very impatiently waiting next to Frigga. The pair kissed and whispered sweet nothings to one another while Loki turned back to Frigga, but she interrupted him.

"Everything is prepared. Let us get you both ready and we will have a wedding today," Frigga smiled. Loki and Darcy grinned at one another like two idiots in love will and, hand-in-hand, they made their way into the castle.

x

X

x

"You guys certainly know how to throw a quick party," Darcy said as Inga ran her fingers through Darcy's freshly washed hair.

"Aye, we can. We Asgardians live a long time and this is the first royal wedding we've had in several millenia. The lady queen was planning it the entire time you were gone," Inga replied. She looked at Darcy in the mirror of the gilded vanity and smiled. "You are different, my lady."
"I am?"

"You are. You have the look, my dear. When we send our boys out to their first real fight, they come back with that look. You have experience now; you are no longer a girl in woman's clothing, but a woman. You will make a fine leader," she said kindly, and Darcy smiled.

"Thanks, Inga."
"Are you ready?"

"You know what Inga? I think I am."

"Well let's get you looking like a princess, then."
Inga was done with Darcy's hair and almost done with her makeup when Jane and Frigga came into Darcy's quarters. Jane let out a gasp and Frigga smiled when they saw Darcy- her hair was long and flowing with her natural curls, and nestled within the dark tresses was a shining silver tiara. The tiara's ends dove into Darcy's hair at the top and came out on either side of her face, curling around her ears in the ram's horns that matched her armor.

"Wait 'til you see me with clothes on, it's gonna be awesome," Darcy joked and glanced down at the towel that still clung to her now-dry body. "How long have you guys been here?" she asked Jane.

"About an Asgardian month at this point. It was quite a bit longer back on Earth," Jane said, and she fiddled with a ribbon on her sky blue dress that cinched at the waist with long swaths of fabric that stretched all the way to the floor.

"I can't wait to hear all about it," Darcy said. Inga finished with Darcy's minor amount of makeup and helped Darcy up, leading her into the dressing room where the wedding dress that Darcy had not seen yet was awaiting her. Jane and Frigga listened in silence at the little noises that came from the dressing room. They heard a couple of "Hold still"s followed by a sharp intake of breath that Jane knew instantly as the sound of Darcy's bodice being laced up. A couple of minutes and some clicking from Inga later and Darcy was ready. She stepped out of the dressing room with a grin. She knew she looked good.

For a second time Jane and Frigga gasped and smiled, respectively, at the sight of Darcy. Her wedding dress was befitting of a princess in general and of Darcy specifically. Pastel purple clung to her curves and glimpses of silver could be seen entwined intricately in the bodice. Her shoulders were bare and the bodice showed off enough to be alluring but not distasteful, and the sleeves stopped at the elbow where long swaths of the sheer pastel purple fabric reached the ground.

"You look beautiful, Lady Darcy," Frigga said, and took Darcy's hands in her own. Darcy smiled back at her, her eyes glittering with happy tears. "You will make a fine daughter."

"Thank you, Queen Frigga," Darcy said, and they embraced. Darcy then hugged Jane and then Inga, who with a sturdy, experienced hand wiped a tear from her own eye.

"Shall we?" Darcy asked Jane regally, who linked her hand in Darcy's. Frigga handed her a small bouquet of clustered flowers and as one unit they all made their way to the Hall of Ceremonies as the base of the castle.

Darcy drew in a breath as she heard the low rumble of thousands of hushed voices gathered in the hall. The people of Asgard were all dressed in their finest clothing for the royal wedding and they had gotten ready quickly- the sun was only just now beginning to set, turning the sky into a swear of bright reds and oranges. Golden sunlight filtered in the windows and lay softly on stone floors and-

-there.

Darcy's breath caught in her throat.

Loki.

Darcy caught a glimpse of Loki and Thor, standing at the front of the long aisle lined with Asgard's citizens. Loki was in his full regalia, his golden horns and armor shining brightly in the sunlight. Next to him Thor was also in his winged helmet and ceremonial armor, grinning at Loki. The Avengers, Phil Coulson, Nick Fury, Sif, and the warriors-three all lines either side of the steps next to Loki and Thor. Odin was standing a few feet away from his sons next to a tall dark woman who could have been Heimdall's fraternal twin- her long black hair reached her waist and hear dress seemed to have been dipped in pure, shining gold. In her hands she held a golden box. Darcy tried to gaze upon the box longer, but suddenly music began to play throughout the whole of the castle that seemed to originate from the walls of the Hall of Ceremonies itself. Thor moved to stand with his comrades in arms and they all awaited the bridal procession to begin.

Butterflies hit Darcy for the first time. Butterflies not for her marriage to Loki – she knew that they were bonded forever, marriage or not – but for her impending transformation into immortality. She had known that it was coming, but it had come so soon.

"Chin up, smile, you look beautiful," Frigga said. Jane and Darcy both did so, and on an unknown cue Jane stepped out onto the long aisle, walking the long path to the end where her own Asgardian awaited her. Frigga then grasped Darcy's elbow lightly, and soon they too stepped onto the aisle, and all of Asgard arose from their seats to catch a glimpse of the new princess.

The look on Loki's face when he first saw Darcy walking toward him down the aisle was almost overwhelming to her. She knew he loved her, of course, but he was usually so private unless he was alone with her. But to see the look of joy on his face in front of all of his friends and family held fathomless meaning for Darcy. She would never forget that look as long as they lived.

Darcy reached her fiance (almost husband, she thought to herself) and took his hand. Together they took the final steps toward Odin, who would conduct the ceremony for the most part. The golden woman stood motionless behind Odin.

Darcy's eyes over Sif and the warriors-three briefly, and they all gave her heartwarming smiles. She glanced briefly at Thor who did the same, and finally she turned her attention to her soon-to-be father-in-law.

"This day shines upon all of Asgard with favor," Odin began, "As we welcome our son home safely. A merging of two worlds sees its completion this day as we all bear witness to the joining of Loki Odinson of Asgard and Darcy Lewis of Midgard..."

Odin's words passed over Darcy for the most part unheard – all she focused on was Loki's hand in her own. They occasionally squeezed one another's fingers softly for reassurance, and before she knew it Frigga soon took Odin's place, officiating the latter half of the ceremony.

"I said these words once to Lady Darcy and I will repeat them again to you both this day: You must take your love one day at a time. You have your day-to-day lives. Your duties to your kingdom, your duties to one another, you will have your duties to your children and your duties to yourselves. You must both be strong but not forceful, clever but not petty, and sympathetic but not irresolute. Go to bed angry and you will find that your disputes shall have resolved themselves by the morning. But above all things you must never lose sight of why you chose one another, for it shall be the light that guides you in your darkest hour," said Frigga, and she turned to Darcy. "Darcy Lewis of Midgard, do you swear to love Loki Odinson of Asgard through the rain and shine, through fair weather as well as foul, in sickness and in health?"

"I swear," said Darcy.

"And Loki Odinson of Asgard, do you swear to love Darcy Lewis of Midgard through fire and ice, through tribulations and celebrations alike, in sickness and in health?"

"I swear," said Loki.

"Idun, if you deem these two worthy of one another, please bestow your blessing. The apple please," said Frigga. The golden woman stepped forward and held the open box containing the golden apple toward Darcy, who took it and held it up between herself and Loki.

"And now the couple shall take a bite from the apple, sealing their bond to one another," Frigga announced.

Loki and Darcy locked eyes over the golden apple and, without looking down at the enchanted fruit, the couple took their bites from either side of the apple at the same time, sealing their marriage. The hall erupted in deafening cheers.

Darcy mentally braced for the onset of immortality but it did not come immediately. When she was done chewing and swallowing, she was filled with a golden warmth that shot through her pleasantly in a span of mere seconds. Loki watched her carefully to make sure Darcy felt well and when he was finally certain that she would be fine, Loki and Darcy and kissed. The cheering crowd erupted again. The couple turned to the crowd and, hand-in-hand, took their first steps as husband and wife back down the aisle.

The noise of the crowd faded as Loki guided Darcy out of the Hall of Ceremonies and out onto a balcony that overlooked Asgard's gardens. The precious moments of solitude were short-lived but relished by both, and they held hands, pressing their foreheads together, feeling the cool of the evening setting in.

"My wife," said Loki, and when Darcy looked up at him his face looked young, so young. She smiled.

"My husband," she replied, and they held one another. "I am so tired I could drop right now."

"Not yet, love," Loki said, "I know it has been a long day- a long journey, for you, really- but we have a feast to attend, and then dancing, and then I whisk you away to our marital bed."

"Well, I suppose I can stay awake for all that," Darcy said, and they kissed one another deeply.

That night neither of them slept at all despite their exhaustion, and neither of them cared.

Asgard had never seen a happier time. A new princess, the wayward prince returned home, Odin and Frigga, alive and in love as ever, ruling with wisdom and peace, the golden prince reunited with his lady love, an alliance had been negotiated with SHIELD and moreover Midgard itself, and the villainous Enchantress was locked away in a cell deep within Asgard's prison.

A scant couple of days after Loki and Darcy's wedding, the royal family, the Avengers, the SHIELD employees, Sif, and the warriors-three all traveled to Alfheim together so that Odin, Frigga, and Loki could assist the elves in repairing the root system of the North Palace. They all made it just in time to save it from the first frost of Alfheim's winter, and with the unexpected aid of Odin they were able to repair the root system in a matter of days.

When Thor and Loki approached their parents hand-in-hand with their respective significant others, Odin and Frigga were not surprised at all when the princes revealed that they would like to go to Midgard to take up residency for the time-being. While all of Asgard was sad to see its princes go, the Midgardians were happy to be heading home and Thor and Loki were happy to go where Jane and Darcy went.

The Avengers, Jane, Phil Coulson, Nick Fury, Loki, and Darcy headed to Heimdall's post together. One by one they stepped through the portal back to Midgard.

When they were the last two left on the Rainbow Bridge with Heimdall, Loki and Darcy clasped hands and walked side-by-side through the Bifrost that they had helped to build, and without a glance back, stepped through together.

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Thank you all so much for reading. I know the updates have been few and far between, but I so enjoy every time I see that a new person has put their faith in me and 'favorited' or followed'.

I am working on original fiction now, and I've had to put my fanfiction on the back burner. My love of Darcy, Loki, and the Asgardians is still going strong, though. If you are so inclined, please follow me on Tumblr, where I'm much more active. My username is JessiokaFroka.