*Prologue*
The air was damp, and the sky gloomy in this particular area of Midgard.
Granted, it wasn't as cold as the Icelands to the North, but compared to the stifling heat, and blue skies of the last place she'd searched, this tiny island in Europe, seemed inexplicably chilly and dull.
Having been searching for several days now, she'd almost given up hope of finding sly Loki.
And in all honesty, she hadn't exactly been none too thrilled about being assigned the mission to search for him in the first place.
Since his disappearance, six months earlier, there had been no sightings of him whatsoever. The ever stealthy one, had been elusive, and his absence had caused a great restlessness amongst the Aesir.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, one day Heimdall detected him, in the Icelands of Midgard; Rather fitting surroundings, Sif had thought, for the son of a frost giant!
Thor had wanted to go thundering off down to the earth, and apprehend his estranged brother personally, but the Allfather in his infinite wisdom, had other ideas.
"Lady Sif, must be the one to bring him back."
He had declared ominously, much to her surprise.
And, despite Thor's protests, Sif had obediently been dispatched via the bifrost, to Midgard.
However, so far the journey proved fruitless, as the sly one promptly, and conveniently disappeared, seemingly into thin air.
Her own transportation to earth, soon drew the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D, who proceeded to trace her to the island named 'Iceland', where they had then offered assistance in tracking Loki.
Somewhat skeptical, being as they hadn't detected his presence on earth themselves, no sooner had she agreed to join forces with the agents, when conveniently, their satellites managed to locate him, brazenly and nonchalantly parading around the streets of New Mexico; of all places...
He'd chosen to flee to the area in which he'd once sent the destroyer to annihilate Thor and the others, Herself included!
They set off for New Mexico, but whilst en route, before reaching their destination, he vanished once more, causing Sif great irritation and frustration.
Typical Loki. What game could he possibly be playing now?
It was almost as if he somehow knew they were on his trail, and was manipulating the situation.
She could just picture his sickeningly self satisfied smirk, and the thought of him laughing at her having fallen for his trickery, made her blood boil.
It was at that point she decided to engage in some trickery of her own.
Feigning hopelessness, she requested to be taken back to the bifrost site in southern Iceland, in order to return to Asgard.
Agent Coulson was clearly surprised by this, and tried to convince her not to give up.
She could sense his suspicion, as such actions were clearly out of character; Sif was renown for being relentless, and as he so aptly put it, had never been a "quitter"
Still she persisted, and fortunately she succeeded in managing to convince him to do her bidding.
They returned her to the desolate area of multicoloured rhyolite mountains, and expansive lava fields, then proceeded to speed off without waiting to watch her leave.
As by a stroke of luck, yet too much of a coincidence for Sif's liking, they'd detected Loki once more......this time in Stuttgart, Germany.
As soon as they disappeared from sight, she had lifted her eyes to the dark sky, and called out to Heimdall, to open the bifrost.....and transport her to London, England.
Deeply confused, and skeptical, the gatekeeper begrudgingly complied, and after hurtling through the colourful portal, she found herself on a rambling, hilly, grassy heath, surrounded by woodland.
Having surveyed the area, she made her way to the highest point, a hill which sat astride a sandy ridge.
Darkness was falling, and the view from the summit was spectacular.
The city, looking rather like a giant jewellery box, with its million twinkling yellow streetlights, lay sprawled across the landscape.
That was where she had to get to.
She wasn't disheartened by the sheer vastness of the city.
If she was going to search him out, then it would undoubtedly be like searching for a needle in a haystack
But all she really had to do was find her way into central London, and if the mischievous one was here, then he would find her.
She had little doubt of that.
It would be that simple. She hoped.
And unbeknownst to her though, even now as she obliviously stood contemplating her next move.....his cunning eyes were already on her.....