Frank Gets a Tan
“Loki, I think we’re lost.”
“We are not lost, Darcy. I know exactly where we are.”
Darcy glanced around at the endless rocky surroundings, cupping her cheeks to keep them warm. “Are you sure? Because I think we’ve been here before. Look, there are our footprints in the snow.”
Loki sighed, glancing down at the map. “Yes, but we are searching for a gap in the mountain terrain. According to our studies, that should be about here!”
Darcy sat down on a rock, watching as Fenrir and Jörmungandr chased each other around the mountainside. “I know. But, it’s not. Maybe we need to be up higher. Do you think it has anything to do with the time of year?”
Loki shook his head, pacing in a circle.
They had been trekking for almost an hour now with little success. It had taken them a while to get up the hill and even longer to start searching for a portal. Loki had been almost sure that the juncture of the two closest mountains in Asgard would have enough of a forceful imbalance that a passage was bound to exist.
The two mountains that towered on either side of them blocked what little sun remained of the evening and chilled the two young adventurers. Darcy shivered, “Loki, we should…I…think….”
He kneaded his brow. “I know, Darcy. It should be here.”
She shook her head, teeth beginning to chatter. “N-no. I m-mean th-that it’s t-too c-cold.”
Loki snapped his fingers. “Darcy, you are a genius! Of course! It is too cold!”
“G-great! W-wait, shouldn’t we g-get up h-higher? B-because g-gravity?”
Jörmungandr snaked up his arm and coiled on his shoulder, scales pleasantly cool against his skin. “Yes. You’re right. We need to get higher. There should be some kind of entrance. Perhaps another cave? Now how to get up there…”
He studied the near smooth slopes of their gorge.
Darcy stood closer to him, looking up, “I-I th-think w-we n-need m-magic.”
“Yes, I…Darcy, you’re freezing!” Loki said, fishing his mind from the pool of questions ahead of him.
“Y-yeah.” She agreed, small body overcome by shivers.
Quickly he cast a warming spell over her, rubbing her shoulders. She relaxed. “Better?”
“Yeah. Thanks. Aren’t you cold too?”
Loki allowed his anxiety to lessen now that Darcy’s shoulders no longer shook from the chill. “No. I do not get cold. And before you say that everybody gets cold, please keep in mind that I am not everybody.”
Darcy smirked, putting her hands on her hips in defiance. “Whatever. I bet you’d get cold if we were on Jotunheim.”
He shrugged, “Perhaps. I may also sweat if I were on Muspelheim. We will never know unless we locate a portal.”
Darcy tapped the cliff with her index finger. “It should be warmer inside the mountain, right?”
Loki rubbed his face, smoothing back his hair while he thought. “Yes…I suppose. I suspect that there will be some kind of entrance near the top. It will be warmer in there and the force of gravity should weaken that high in the Asgardian atmosphere.”
“Awesome!” Darcy cheered, bending down to pet Fenrir’s head. “So…how are we gonna get up there? We could climb. I saw a movie once where this guy, he ran at a wall and then jumped on it and climbed up it! I don’t think it’s possible though. We have a rope but…”
She trailed off as Loki turned to smirk at her. “What?”
“Darcy, have you forgotten who you’re standing with?”
She crossed her arms, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just do the magic thing and get us up there.”
With an innocent grin, Loki took her hand and teleported them to the top of the left mountain, inside a cave.
He was barely light headed by the time they reached the top.
Darcy brushed off her knees, looking about them in excitement, leaning precariously out the mouth of the cave at the ground. Fenrir whined at her feet, tugging at her pant legs.
Loki’s heart fluttered as he pulled Darcy away from the steep ledge. “Don’t do that.”
Darcy giggled. “You’re such a worry wart, Loki. You’re like my mom.”
“I dare say I am far more attentive than your mother. I am with you more often.” Loki reminded her in a whisper, flicking his gaze around the cave.
“Ha ha ha. I guess that’s true.” Darcy chastised, strutting forwards into the dark.
Loki quickly reached out and grasped her hand. “Shh, Darcy. We don’t know what’s in here.”
From the dim light at the entrance, he could see her smirk. “I’m guessing there’s a portal in here somewhere. Come on!”
He gripped her hand tighter, pulling her back to his side. “Darcy! We don’t know that for sure. Caves like this don’t just exist at the top of mountain peaks. Something had to make it. And…” he trailed off as he began to feel his surroundings. “Do you feel that?”
Darcy squirmed, looking about her. “Feel what?”
“It’s warm in here.” Loki breathed, heart hammering in his chest as he felt a rumble in the mountain.
Darcy must have felt it as well, for not a second later she was clutching Fenrir and Jörmungandr close to her chest, backing up to the ledge, Loki still clutching her hand.
Loki drew his dagger, holding it out defensively at the potential threat.
The cave was far too large for a bird of any sort. And griffins preferred vegetation to stone. He could not think of a bird that made its nest so high. Was this the home of another creature, perhaps…
From the depths of the cave came another low sound, a grumble, as the beast within stirred in the inky darkness. He raised his dagger higher, prepared for battle. No creature would harm his friends. Nothing would take Darcy away from him. Not asthma. Not—
“They’re so fluffy!” Darcy squealed, running around her prince friend to the small family of mountain goats before them.
Loki sighed in relief as the mother bleated again, the echoes sounding like roars against the cave walls. Breathing heavily, he knelt to the ground, a hand over his heart. Their chances of escape had been so few…
Darcy giggled, walking to Loki and offering him her hand. “You should have seen your face! I guess I’m glad there aren’t any deadly animals. Do you think there’s still a portal in here?”
Accepting her hand, Loki stood, brushing off his knees. “Definitely. The conditions are right and I don’t think this cavern is deep.”
“Awesome. Where do you think it goes? That’s one thing we didn’t look up is where things go. The portal to Midgard is over there, so do you think that this portal maybe goes somewhere to the left of Midgard? Or maybe above it? Or—“
“Do you feel that?” Loki interrupted, gripping Darcy’s hand tighter as they reached the end of their short tunnel.
She froze, her rambling ceased. “…I think so…it’s like…electricity…energy…?”
“Current.” Loki corrected in a whisper, bringing them closer to the wall. It was practically humming. “This is a powerful connection. It will take us a great deal farther than Midgard. If you can feel it then it must be more powerful…”
Darcy let go of his hand. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Loki snapped out of his trance-like state. “Pardon?”
His friends pouty lips turned down in hurt curiosity. “You said that it’s a powerful portal because I could feel it. Which means that you’re saying I can’t feel less powerful portals.”
Loki could feel panic rising in his chest. Now did not seem like a good time to tell Darcy she was mortal. Of course she must already know, but did she not know the drawbacks? “It was not meant as an offense, Darcy. It has nothing to do with your intelligence. It’s simply that…”
“What?” she questioned further, her inquisitiveness ruling out her distress. “Come on, I want to know why I can’t feel the smaller ones.”
He swallowed. “Because you are a Midgardian.”
She gave him an odd expression. “Is that all? I mean, you can do magic and stuff so I guess that makes sense. Hey, are you alright?”
Loki nodded, running a hand through his hair. Did she not realize the truth of this? Did she not know that he was to outlive her by thousands of years? Would she simply accept that he was more powerful that she could ever be? “I’m fine, Darcy. Perhaps we should test the portal.”
“Yeah! Do you think it will take us to Helheim? Or Jotunhiem? Or Alfheim? Or…” she trailed off as Loki ran his deft fingers along the stone. “Loki?”
He held out his hand to her and she took it without question. “Ready?”
“Do I look ready?” she sassed.
Loki smirked and allowed a quick flash of his magic to open the portal. In a flash of rainbow light, the two children were whisked away along with their pets that had begun playing with a baby mountain goat.
***
Heimdall frowned as Loki and Darcy were transported to the far end of Yggdrasil.
He called forth a guard. “I require an audience with Queen Frigga. She needs to be here.”
The guard gave a slight bow before dutifully riding away on his horse. In almost no time at all, The Queen of Asgard was riding up on her white mare, lines of worry etched into her face. “Heimdall.”
“My Queen, you have asked me to keep a watchful eye on Loki and his friend?”
She nodded once, looking over Yggdrasil’s starry majesty. “Yes. What troubles them?”
Heimdall gripped his sword tighter as he watched the children. “They have found a passage to another realm. They’ve been researching it for some time now. They’ve managed to find one and it does not look especially safe.”
Frigga clasped her hands together, brow puckered. “Where have they gone, Heimdall?”
He turned his golden gaze to the queen, his sparkling irises full of concern. “Muspelheim.”
***
“Holy FIRE BALLS!” Darcy shouted, pulling herself out of the black dirt they had landed on.
Well, Loki had landed in the dirt, and then Darcy, Fenrir and Jörmungandr had landed on him. It didn’t hurt, per se, but it didn’t feel very good either. He groaned as Darcy stared admiringly at the hazy fire-filled sky. “We’re on Muspelheim!”
Loki got to his feet, magicking the dirt from his body. “It seems we are! I have never been! Father says that Asgardians do not travel to Muspelheim unless for a necessary political conference.”
Darcy was walking in circles, eyes wide as she stared at the fiery atmosphere. “Why?”
He shrugged, joining his friend in a mindless gawk. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold. Though, he was in some mild discomfort. The air was too hot and the air seemed to burn his airways. “The King of Muspelheim is Surtur. Mother says he does not appreciate unwanted guests. The eldjötnar are said to be quite reclusive.”
“Fire Giants.” Darcy translated, turning about. He noticed her breathing was even and that they did not seem to be having the same effects to the climate. “Do you think they’ll mind if we just look around? I wonder what makes the sky look like that. It’s like someone set the air on fire.”
Loki nodded, “I don’t know how it works. But it’s a known fact that unless you are on the bifrost, it is impossible to penetrate the atmosphere unless you are eldjötnar. It’s made of flames.”
“Wow… That’s amazing. How are we breathing? We need oxygen! Well, that chemistry book said we needed oxygen to make fire too. But…can you explain it to me again?” Darcy asked, walking forwards.
Jörmungandr rolled uneasily in the hot dirt as Fenrir panted excitedly. The two made like bananas and split, running off into the expanse of black before them. The sky was an almost blood red whereas the ground looked burnt and charred. In the distance there seemed to be a hazy city of sorts. Surrounding their landscape now was a field of estranged craters and rocks.
Loki pushed back his hair to try and alleviate some of the heat. Even on Asgard he had never felt anything quite so intense. He was not sweating, but he was hot. Hotter than he’d ever been in his life.
He struggled to explain it to Darcy, “Combustion happens…basically it’s an effect of…hydrogen bonding…” he followed Darcy, rubbing his temple. “…fire is made by combustion…usually involves…a hydrocarbon, on Muspelheim it’s probably a gas in the atmosphere, and oxygen. They leave…water and a carbon….the reaction is…”
Darcy turned in time to catch her stumbling friend. “Loki?”
“Heat.” He finished his explanation, gripping onto her shoulder. He took shallow breaths, desperately wishing to cool his insides. He felt like he was boiling alive. “Darcy, would you be too disappointed if we returned to Asgard?”
She shook her head, placing a hand on his cheek. “Loki, you’re burning up!”
“The portal…” he choked, making an attempt to pull her back to where they came from.
Darcy ran to the place they had landed and felt around. “Loki, it’s not here!”
He relieved himself of her shoulder, falling helplessly on his hands and knees to the sand before them, attempting to sense the energy that would take them back to Asgard. But as Darcy had said, it wasn’t there. He looked up, “Darcy, we fell from the sky.”
She looked up from her contemplative stare at the dirt. “What?”
Loki shifted to look up at the ever-moving fiery sky. “The atmosphere is different here. The laws of physics are different. If the portal was in the sky…”
Darcy gaped at him, completely bewildered. “No…but…we didn’t study Muspelheimian physics! Do they even have books on that!? Loki, are you alright? Can you cast a spell?”
With weary eyes, Loki gazed at the miles of desolate land before them as the heat in his body grew worse and worse. “I’m fine for now, Darcy.” He raised a shaky hand to cast a very weak cooling spell over himself. With it, he was able to stand. “It will not last long. My magic is limited when my physical state is weak.” He sighed as Darcy wrapped an arm around his middle, allowing her to support some of his weight. “What do we do, Darcy?”
Darcy pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, her sharp blue eyes piercing the horizon. In all of Loki’s time with her, he had never seen such defined determination on her face. With the scorching heat of Muspelheim flushing her cheeks and the light of the sky lighting her hair, Darcy Lewis was a goddess.
“We’re going to find another portal, Loki. I’m going to get us out of here.”
***
Heimdall gripped the hilt of his long sword in grim anticipation.
“What is it, Heimdall? What has happened?” questioned the Queen in earnest.
“My Queen…Loki, well, he suffers. The heat affects him, most likely because of, well…” he trailed off knowingly and Frigga placed a hand over her heart, tears welling in her eyes.
“Are they on their way back?” when Heimdall didn’t answer she spoke more firmly. “What are they doing? What has happened?”
The Guardian focused his attention on the children as they tumbled forwards. “The portal has disappeared from its place in the sky. They have set off to find a new one.”
Frigga glared at him with the scrutiny only a mother could give. “What more?”
“They are nearing a crater inhabited by eldjötnar…”
“Which eldjötnar?”
“Surtur is among them.” Heimdall answered before the Queen could finish her interruption.
She stared at him then spoke quietly, but plainly. “Open the bifrost.”
The Gatekeeper poised his sword, but hesitated. “My Queen, I must warn you, opening the bifrost now would near guarantee a war with Muspelheim. Surtur would not allow it to pass.”
Frigga made a near crazed gesture towards the peaceful looking view of Yggdrasil. “Heimdall, Loki is dying! He was not made to survive Muspelheim; it will kill him given another hour!”
“I am aware my Queen. But Asgard is not suited for war. There is turmoil on Nornheim and Vanaheim due to the rock troll uprising. And their alliance with Nidavellir would mean a bloody war. The dwarves to not always fight fair.”
Frigga was torn. She had a duty to the Nine Realms as Queen. Yet, she must uphold her duty as a mother to Loki. “How close are they to the nearest portal?”
Heimdall shook his head. “I cannot locate portals. I cannot see them and I do not know how.”
The Queen, frantic on the edge of the bifrost smoothed her dress with anxious hands. “What do we do?”
The Guardian kept his intense gaze on the fiery planet of Muspelheim. “Without starting a war, Loki’s best chance is to trust in Darcy Lewis. Though, she is mortal.”
“No.” Frigga corrected, standing up a little straighter. “She is his friend.”
***
Darcy hugged Loki’s middle, trying her best to help him through the endless waves of black sand. Everything seemed heavier on Muspelheim. It almost hurt to walk alone, but walking with Loki was like lugging around dead weights.
But she tried her best.
“The gravitational force…it’s greater here.” He panted as they approached a crater. It was dark and so deep and dim that it seemed to be only a large circular pit from where they stood.
Darcy nodded in agreement, taking another heavy step. “Maybe if we could just…”
She trailed off in terror as a large hand struck the ground before them; skin the color of molten rock, underlying veins pulsing with blood like magma. Connected to the hand was an arm which pulled from the depths of that dark hole the towering body of a full grown Fire Giant.
Loki nearly fainted from the heat it radiated.
The giant looked down at them in searing fury, speaking in the language of the fire born. “Who dares enter upon the land of the eldjötnar?”
Loki froze. This wasn’t good. Lying would most likely earn him a far worse punishment. One whiff of him and they would be able to tell he was Asgardian. Darcy’s mortality was apparent nearly upon sight. “I am Loki of Asgard and this is my traveling companion, Darcy Lewis. We came here by mistake…”
A rumbling laugh that could be confused with an earthquake rose from the giant as more hot hands clawed their way from the pit. “By mistake?! How could Asgardians visit here by mistake! What treason is this?! Odin and our King Surtur had an agreement! What do you do to disrespect it, Princeling!?”
Loki thought his words through carefully. He would not make an error in disrespecting a Fire Giant on his own realm. He must play his cards wisely if he was to win the prize: his and Darcy’s lives.
“Forgive me, we did not come from the bifrost. We found our way here by our own means.” He continued.
Darcy’s gaze flicked to him nervously. She understood the language, but her rambling mouth had stopped speaking. The giant looked skeptically at them, “Tell us then, Loki, Son of Odin, why would two Asgardian younglings want on our realm?”
Another Giant spoke up. “He is Asgardian. She is not. She is mortal.”
“A mortal!” Growled the first. “Impossible! Kill her now and spare her the pain of such a life!”
Darcy found her voice and Loki wanted to close a hand over her mouth. “Wait! Don’t kill me! Loki’s right! We came here to study Muspelheim! We were just interested in how physics and science worked on different realms!”
The eldjötnar gasped, hot air pooling about them as they chattered. “A mortal speaks our language?”
Loki stepped forth. “She is no ordinary mortal. She is my companion and is blessed with the Allspeak. She also tells the truth. We were only interested in the study of your realm.”
Another from the crowd growled. “He is the Prince of Lies! We cannot trust him! No matter how honeyed his words!”
Loki cursed his title. “My reputation precedes me. If you do not believe me, ask my friend. We wish only to return to Asgard and leave you to your peace.”
“Our peace! What would you know of peace, Asgardian! No doubt you are a spy! Sent here by the Allfather himself!” A woman shouted from the growing hoard and the Giants thumped their smooth stone shields and obsidian spears.
The heat was overwhelming and Loki felt his spell become overpowered. He clung to Darcy, hoping to maintain balance without toppling them both. “Darcy…we cannot…” the heat grew more intense, burning his belly. His eyes pricked, like tears should be sprouting there, but no moisture came.
The Giants’ protests ceased and the first spoke in his gravelly tone. “We shall take them as prisoners! See what the Allfather makes of that!”
Loki fought for the words to say, but he was utterly lifeless in Darcy’s tired arms. She spoke to them. “Wait! You’re right! This is a spy mission!”
“Darcy, what are you doing!” Loki coughed, heart hammering in his chest. Did she want them to die quicker?
“But not…” she started again as the Fire Giants began to growl in outrage. “Not of Asgard. I am a spy from Midgard. I’m part of the CIA and I’m here to figure out what kind of stuff you’re keeping in your basements!”
The fury that shook the ground was enough to make Loki pull both his friend and himself to their knees before the giants. Oh she was clever. Very clever. She was outsmarting the giants. With this encouragement, he spoke as well. “Darcy, hush! If you tell them this, than they will send a hot summer onto you in Midgard!”
Darcy fought a giggle. “Oh no! Anything but a hot summer! I like my summers cold!”
The first Giant looked like he was about to speak when an extremely large hand found its way from the pit, heaving out a eldjötnar who was as vast as the crater he climbed from.
“King Surtur.” Loki murmured to Darcy, his head resting in the dewy crook of her neck. “Ruler of Muspelheim.”
“Who dares interrupt this most sacred of meetings!?” He bellowed, his voice shifting the sand at their feet.
“A Midgardian spy and a Prince of Asgard.” Answered the first Giant cruelly, “Come to disrupt our meetings and defile our basements!”
Darcy whispered in Loki’s ear. “Do they have basements on Muspelheim?”
“I don’t think so. He probably thinks you mean their treasure vaults or something.” He breathed onto her shoulder.
With a hearty laugh, the King raised a large stone club. “Imprison them! Show them what we have lurking in our basements if they are so keen to know!”
“Wait!” Darcy shouted holding up her hands, consequently dropping Loki. “Don’t you have courts or something? Like trials! Law? Anything!? We don’t want any trouble with wars and stuff!”
King Surtur looked down at the Midgardian girl thoughtfully. “Where is your fear, little one? You are but a mortal speaking to a thousand year King! What chance would you have in a trail?”
Darcy crossed her arms defiantly. “I have a lot of chances in a trial! I’m great at talking! And you may have lived a really long time, but you know what that means?”
The King looked down at her, like this tiny girl humored him. “What?”
“It means your old!” Darcy told him, throwing out the fact like an insult.
King Surtur looked down at her in shock which slowly morphed his glowing face into rage. “If this idiotic girl wishes to participate in our trials, then let her! Midgard will suffer the loss of their spy! When she fails in combat, she will die and Midgard will suffer a hot summer! Asgard will face the threat of a war with us!”
The eldjötnar cheered and Darcy gawked. “Combat? What combat? I didn’t say anything about combat.”
Loki groaned into the black sand that cushioned his face. “The eldjötnar trials are combat based. It’s decided by who wins. Make your bargain.”
She shook her head frantically. “Loki! What are you talking about! I can’t win! There’s no way! I can’t even play soccer without almost dying!”
“And what shall the Mortal have if she wins?” Challenged the King.
Darcy shuffled her feet for a moment. “If I win, you’ll not start a war with Asgard and you’ll let us go free. And you won’t hold a grudge.”
The was a wave of disapproval from the crowd but Surtur raised a stony hand to silence them. “Is this your bargain…?”
“Darcy Lewis.”
“Is this your bargain, Darcy Lewis of Midgard?” He inquired haughtily.
She nodded once, paling at the thought of his thick club smacking against her body.
“It shall be done! Take them to our special cell! And if they survive that, then Darcy Lewis of Midgard shall have her trial!”
***
“Heimdall, we must bring them back now! Loki has forty-five minutes left! I will not see him die on Muspelheim! And what of Darcy! She cannot win against a Fire Giant!”
The Guardian shook his head. “My Queen, I still must insist against it. I am bound by oath to obey you, for you are my Queen. However, I beg of you to give them more time. The cell they are off to may hold something that may help them as well as destroy them. I did not know…”
Frigga watched as Heimdall’s curious gaze swept over Muspelheim. “Did not know what?”
His brow furrowed. “I did not know such creatures still existed. The eldjötnar have been keeping them secret in a place I would not think to look.”
“Heimdall, stop it with these games. Yggdrasil is at risk.” She said, running a hand through her messed golden locks.
“It’s a dragon.”
***
Darcy had never been in jail before.
Though, she expected jails to be more like cages rather than holes in the ground, deep enough so a Fire Giant could not climb out. They had been lowered down on a platform of sorts onto the smooth warm stone that floored their cylindrical prison.
“Well, it could be worse.” Darcy said, squinting to see in the pitch black.
Loki stirred, propping himself up against the wall. “No…No I don’t think it could be.”
She knelt at his side, feeling his face. “What’s wrong, Loki? What’s happening to you? How am I supposed to beat a Fire Giant?”
He licked his lips with a dry tongue. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Darcy. I’ve never…heard of this before. Ah…” he let a whisper of agony seep through his teeth. Darcy took his hand.
“We’re going to get out of this. I don’t know how, but in stories, all the good guys usually win. And we’re good guys, right?”
He chuckled sorely. “Well, I’m a Prince of Mischief, Lies, and Chaos. And you’re you. I’m not so sure about ‘good’.”
Darcy laughed, forgetting about their situation and nudging her friend on the shoulder. “You know wha—“
She stopped talking as a warm breath of air skirted over her leather-clad shoulder. She jumped, backing into Loki. He gasped, not from the pain of Darcy landing in his lap or the heat that consumed him, rather it was the animal that paced before them.
“So that’s what they keep in their basements.” He whispered, staring at the creature inquisitively.
Darcy’s eyes stayed as wide as serving platters, gaze fixated on the winged, scaly creature before them. It was black and covered in shiny scales the color of onyx. Its snout was short and its wings were long and very delicate looking. The whole creature was as long as Darcy’s bed and about as wide. “A dragon.”
“A Galaxy Dragon. I didn’t think they were real.” Loki whispered to her, staying dreadfully still.
Darcy mirrored him, attempting to calm her heartbeat at the dragon approached them, its long nose sniffling its way up Loki’s leg and into his hair. It licked his head in contentment.
Darcy couldn’t suppress a giggle. “It likes you!”
Loki could not believe his senses. Galaxy Dragons were stories that parents told their children before bed. They told of dragons that could grow to the size of realms and change colors to match the skies of Yggdrasil. Stories told that their camouflage added to the galaxy so that not even Heimdall could see them.
It nudged at his hands, licking them in earnest. “I don’t have food.”
Darcy bent down and offered her hand to the dragon. It sniffed it and allowed Darcy to pet its scales, but it did not fawn over her hands and face like it did for Loki.
“I don’t think she wants food.” Darcy said, marveling at the dragons newly sprouted spikes.
“She?”
“She feels like a girl.” Darcy hummed, scratching the shoulder of their cellmate, receiving a deep throated purr.
Loki let his hands rest on either side of the dragon’s head, doing his best to ignore the searing pain inside him in order to study the magnificent creature before him. “You’re right. What does she want, if not food?”
Darcy tapped her chin, pacing a circle around their cylindrical cell. He could hear her humming in thought, but being unable to meet eyes with his friend, he mustered his strength to call forth an orb of light to illuminate the room.
A few things followed this.
First, the dragon attacked the light to the best of her ability. She jumped at it, playfully trying to catch it between her teeth or capturing it in her developing claws.
Second, Darcy stumbled over a cracked bit of eggshell that came up to her shoulder.
Something clicked in Darcy’s mind and she spoke quickly. “The dragon wants magic! It wants energy! That’s why she’s not licking me! I don’t have any magic! She must be a baby too….wow.”
Loki clutched his chest as an especially painful wave of heat rolled through him.
“Yes…but why do the Fire Giants have a Galaxy Dragon?” he looked to the fresh cracked egg. “…a newly hatched Galaxy Dragon?”
Darcy licked her lips, pacing around their cell. “Well, what do Galaxy Dragons do in your stories?”
“They fly around Yggdrasil and swallow stars. They were nothing but stories, Darcy. I doubt anyone...would know very much about them.” He groaned, reaching into his coat and removing his dagger. “Here. Take this.”
Hesitantly, Darcy knelt next to him, fingers skirting over the snakehead pummel. “Loki…”
He put it in her hands. “I wish I carried a sword. It would be of far more use to you when you fight them. Darcy, do not let yourself die. Forfeit if you must, the Fire Giants are not much for slaughtering children. If you give in, they will accept it.”
Darcy set the dagger down next to her. “Loki, if I give up, will there still be a war?”
He looked up at her with shining green eyes. “Yes. I am almost sure of it.”
“Man, that’s the pits.” Darcy sighed, picking up the weapon. “I’ve never fought before.”
Loki smiled weakly, adjusting her hold on the blade. “The first rule of fighting with a dagger is to never strike offensively. Not unless their back is turned.”
Her fingers brushed the back of his hand. “Loki, how will you get out if I lose? What’s wrong with you?”
He shook his head, “I’ll be fine. You will win Darcy. Or, at least, you won’t die. I’ll find a way out. I am pretty clever you know.”
She smirked giving him a light punch on the shoulder.
“Midgardian! It is time for your precious trial!” shouted a voice from above.
“Go Darcy. I promise, I shall be fine.” Loki assured as his friend’s blue eyes searched him with open fear.
Quickly, she wrapped her arms around him, giving a light squeeze. “I love you Loki. You’re my best friend.”
Loki used what little strength he had to hug her back. “I love you too Darcy. You’re my best friend as well. And we will still be best friends when this is over.”
She drew back, dagger held loosely in one hand, her other clenched in a tight little fist. “I’m ready.”
The platform used to drop them off was lowered again into their pit and Darcy stood on it, her eyes on Loki as she went up, purpose on her pouty lips.
***
“Thirty minutes Heimdal. That’s all we have. You have not spoken. What is happening?”
Heimdall shook his head. “It is impossible. Their bargain is fair, but the mortal girl has no hope of defeating a Fire Giant.”
“I am aware.” Muttered Frigga, fuming from head to toe. “This is absurd. Open the bifrost Heimdall. We shall resolve the war!”
Heimdall adjusted his sword, “My Queen, it would not be wise. I will do it, as it is your will. However, as Guardian, it is my duty to warn you that taking them now would mean war. And I have just learned that the eldjötnar have Galaxy Dragons.”
Frigga gripped the hilt of her sword. “A Galaxy Dragon?”
“No, Allmother, Dragons.” Heimdall corrected morbidly.
With an unsteady breath, Frigga relented. “Ten more minutes. If they are not safe by then, we will send for the Allfather. And he will not be pleased.”
***
Darcy followed the eldjötnar before her around a series of black craters, all seemingly bottomless and dark. He spoke to her in a menacing tone. “We are surprised the dragon did not eat you. It has just been hatched.”
As scared as she was, Darcy’s curiosity got the best of her. “Do you raise them?”
“No, of course not. Dragons are the pride of Muspelheim! They used to flourish here in the heat, but their population has moved on from Yggdrasil. We found their wounded mother while she was nesting and bid her to put her eggs in the earth of Muspelheim.” He praised, opening his arms up wide to the hundred or so craters around them. “Still, she died after the last of her eggs had been laid.”
“Wait, so, she had that many babies?” she asked, speeding up to walk in step with the eldjötnar.
He laughed again, this time without cruelty. It was almost a paternal sound and oddly comforting. “No youngling. Only three have survived their hatching. Without the heat of a Mother’s breath, they die. Muspelheim is a sore replacement for the attention of their parent”
“That’s horrible.” Darcy said, looking down at her dagger.
“Indeed.”
They walked in silence for a while, the craters disappearing and a large open field coming into view. In the center stood the first Fire Giant she’d seen, surrounding the clearing were seemingly hundreds of towering eldjötnar. The tallest was Surtur, standing proudly in his place, a crown of flames adorning his head.
Darcy made it to the clearing, trying to hide her horror. She would forfeit.
But if she did that they would start a war.
Or she could fight. Then she would die and then they would start a war.
Or, on the off chance that she won, everything would be fine.
Once in the center of the field of black sand, she stared up at her opponent. It was a male with a smooth black shield and sword. His threatening snarl made Darcy squirm.
Surtur raised a hand, calling for silence. Immediately, the eldjötnar hushed. “This is the trial of Darcy Lewis of Midgard and Prince Loki of Asgard. They are charged with being political spies for Midgard and Asgard. Darcy Lewis will participate in trial by combat against Orif. If he wins, the eldjötnar will take their claim and there will be a glorious war!” he stopped so everyone could cheer and shout words of praise at their King.
Darcy swallowed dryly.
“You may use anything at your disposal to win. The only rule remains that after your opponent is dead upon the sand, leave their shield at rest so their family may look upon the place their warrior has died. Begin!”
“Oh shoot.” Darcy sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose and holding out her dagger defensively at the roaring Fire Giant before her.
***
“Agh!”
Loki grabbed at his armor, attempting to relieve some of the burning pressure in his body. The heat was getting worse. The air hurt to breathe, and his limbs hurt to move. Still, he persevered. He had gotten them into Muspelheim, so he would get them out.
Somehow.
He had long since dispelled the magical light and The Galaxy Dragon was not pleased, going back to licking Loki’s body. It was fascinating how attracted she was to magic. Loki’s every little move made her excited, like she could sense the magic inside him stirring.
Suddenly, Loki had an idea.
He gathered up a little of his strength and cast another light in the cell.
The hatchling bounded over to it, her paws attempting to grab at it and her tongue tasting the outside.
Experimentally, he lifted the light higher and the dragon stood on her hind legs to reach it.
Higher yet, and she extended her wings to flap and retrieve the light.
Feebly manipulating the ball of energy, Loki circled it around the room and she followed, making small grunts of approval when she caught it. Finally, his tiredness won out and the light disappeared. His new friend returned to his side, nudging his hand affectionately.
He scratched at her scales earning a rumble of contentedness. “You should have a name, don’t you think? Reyna? No…no…not you. How about, Meg? No, I agree, far too Midgardian.”
He smiled as the dragon made her way around him, stretching her wings and beginning to flap around the cell. She halted in her cheerful flight for a moment to sneeze a short puff of smoke through her nostrils. That’s when Loki knew her name. “Astrid. What do you think?”
Astrid flew to Loki, gliding down to grant him a long lick, from collar to hairline. He chuckled, bracing himself on the wall to stand up. Ever so carefully, he brought himself closer to Astrid’s back. “Alright Astrid. We need to save Darcy and I can’t use magic. Oh, and we need to find Fenrir and Jörmungandr. I hope they have not wandered too far.”
***
Darcy tried to defend herself. Really she did. But then Orif growled at her and she nearly fainted on the spot.
Her opponent bashed his sword against his shield bellowing words at her that she did not hear. Instead she just held her dagger like Loki had shown her. Raised in defense.
The eldjötnar chortled merrily as Orif’s blade crashed against her own, melting it in hand. She had no option but to release it, a scalding burn spreading across her palm. “Ow! That stings! I’m going to need aloe vera!”
She looked down at the bright red splotch on her hand. “I’m going to need a crap ton of aloe vera.”
Cackling at her weakness, Orif brought his sword down again, but this time Darcy ducked beneath it, thinking fast. She wasn’t Loki. Not by a long shot. But if she could maybe just get him to not kill her right away, her forfeit wouldn’t seem so lame. Quickly, Darcy unstrapped her backpack, pulling things out of it to throw at the raging Fire Giant.
It worked as a distraction. Her crayons melted against his chest and arms, the pencils charred in his toasty glare, and her inhaler exploded on his foot. She hastily stole a sip from her water bottle and considered throwing the snack bars. But she was hungry and it seemed wasteful to throw her snack at angry Fire Giants.
Dodging another strike from Orif, Darcy opened her snack bar and took a bite. She didn’t eat dinner and it was hard to fight eldjötnar when she didn’t have any calories to burn.
Orif came at her again and Darcy went to move, but this time, the Giant had enough. He grasped her around her middle with one hand, raising her frail body to shoulder level and positioning his sword within slicing distance of her throat.
“Die little Mortal and we shall have our war!” he drew his sword back and Darcy opened her mouth to demand a forfeit just as something smooth and sleek slid up her leg and over her knee to inspect the remaining snack bar in her hand.
A telltale woof echoed from below them.
Darcy smiled broadly as the sword came down at her and she forgot her words entirely. Frank slithered his way around her neck, opening his mouth to accept the blade. Orif looked down at them in shock as his sword arm was half devoured by the snake around his Midgardian captive’s shoulders.
“What is the meaning of this!?” he yelled over the gasps of the eldjötnar.
Darcy watched in a mix of relief and terror as Jörmungandr swallowed Orif’s shoulder. The more the Giant resisted, the more Jörmungandr consumed. His hold on her relinquished and she fell to the ground, keeping her eyes trained on Frank’s flat belly as he devoured her opponent till all that was left was his shield.
As horrified as Darcy was by the time Fenrir and Jörmungandr returned to her side, she still looked to King Surtur, struck silly with success. “I win. That means no war and Loki and I get to go home.”
The King stared at Jörmungandr in sheer amazement, gaze occasionally flicking to Fenrir as if he was hiding something in his fur. Suddenly, the King burst into laughter. “You are a silly girl! I have bargained for forgiveness and the avoidance of a war! You have won this, Youngling, yet we do not have a way to get you off Muspelheim!”
Darcy’s heart fell in her chest as a rather terrifying looking female with a red jeweled headdress took her by the arms and began tugging her back to the field of holes in the ground.
“Wait! That’s not fair!” Darcy protested.
“Life isn’t fair, youngling!” Surtur chortled after her.
Seething bitter rage, Darcy shouted back. “You sound like my mom!”
Fenrir licked her hand nervously while Jörmungandr flicked his tongue contentedly. Darcy shook her head at him, “Frank, where do you put it all?”
He slithered around her shoulders, positioning his mouth near the hand of the Fire Giant that held her. Darcy scolded him in a whisper. “Frank! You can’t just eat all your problems! If you eat her then Surtur will kill us! We have to find some other way out…”
“Stop that conspiring with your animals, girl! Or I will have your pretty head!”
Darcy lifted her chin to argue when she saw something just over her captor’s shoulder, soaring high above the crowd of Fire Giants.
“Loki! “ she called out in glee, tearing her arm from the grasp of her keeper.
It was a magnificent sight.
The dragon from their hole in the ground was speeding after a weak ball of light, her black wings spread wide against the blazing sky, illuminating the webby veins in them. On her back, managing to look regal in his weakened condition, was Loki. He held one hand aloft to guide the ball of light and the other held onto the dragon’s neck. His face was firm but small splotches of red were making an appearance on his face and neck. It looked like he was burning from the inside.
“No!” shouted King Surtur, rising to his full height as the dragon dove down out of the sky.
Jörmungandr wrapped his tail around Fenrir and the rest of his body around Darcy’s arm, tongue lolling as the Dragon and Loki swooped past, the Prince capturing his three friends under his arm and grunting as he lifted them onto the quickly elevating dragon.
“Loki! You made it! Are you alright?” Darcy exclaimed, situated herself on the dragon’s back positioning Fenrir and Jörmungandr in front of Loki.
He coughed in response, the magic light in front of their winged friend disappearing.
King Surtur growled from the ground. “No! You cannot take the dragon! She is too young and is the pride of Muspelheim!”
Darcy turned, yelling back. “I’m sorry! We’ll bring her back! I just need to get home! You won’t start a war will you?!”
Something that sounded like an earthquake erupted from the Fire Giant King. “No war will start, Midgardian, but you have my word there will be….”
They were so high in the hot sky by now that Darcy did not hear the rest of his vow. She looked ahead of them and she was suddenly aware of a few things. The first being that Loki was no longer conscious. His body was limp and it was only with the help of Jörmungandr and Fenrir that he had not fallen off.
Next, they were flying straight at the atmosphere of fire. And it was hot. It was really really hot.
Fenrir whined and Darcy clenched her legs onto the dragon’s back, bracing herself for the inferno that awaited them.
But it never came.
Instead, she began to feel…cool.
Testily, she cracked open her eyes gasping in shock at the starry Asgardian sky before them. “Loki, she must be able to sense portals too! Look at, she found the one back to Asgard!” she laughed, throwing her hands in the air. “We’re alive!” she cheered, wrapping her arms around Loki’s middle. He didn’t react, his lifeless form slumping against her.
“We’re alive, right?” she asked, her voice cracking. “Loki?”
The dragon grumbled anxiously, cocking her head to the side. “Can you land?”
Darcy didn’t know if she understood, or if her wings were just too tired from carrying such a load. But the dragon glided down into a small swampy clearing, laden thick with moss and dewy leaves that showered them when they met the damp earth. By the ground was a wide pool of water that stretched peacefully to where the trees began again.
Darcy slid from the dragon’s back, pulling Loki with her. She knelt next to the water, with nothing but the moon to light her friend’s burnt face. “Loki? Loki, come on! Wake up!” she shook his chest, tears threatening her eyes. Fenrir licked Loki’s cheek, as if trying to coax him back to life. Jörmungandr flicked his tongue on Loki’s nose like he had when he was smaller.
He still didn’t move.
“Please…” she begged quietly, hugging his chest. The moisture in her eyes spilled over in one heartbreaking sob, a single tear falling to the undisturbed water before them.
Ripples fanned out across the expanse of the pond, the small swells morphing into waves that splashed the earth, making mud of the shoreline. Darcy stared curiously at the water for a moment, watching the water still through overflowing eyes.
Hesitantly, she placed in the pool her hand that had been burned by Loki’s melting dagger.
Instantly, the burn cooled and steam rose from the water as her flesh was mended by the pond. She gasped, pulling her hand from the healing pond and checked her palm. It was smooth, pink, and unblemished by the scar that would have been sure to show.
Darcy looked to the Galaxy Dragon in distress. She was nudging Loki’s hair with her nose. She blinked at Darcy expectantly, her eyes wide and midnight blue.
“You knew this was here?” Darcy asked, taking Loki’s hand. The Dragon’s eyes flicked from Loki too Darcy again. Darcy shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking, but what if it doesn’t work? What if—“
Her words were cut off by a loud splash as her new friend pushed the scorched prince into the pond. Darcy gasped, hurrying to the edge of the pool where Loki’s body had sunk beneath the dark surface. Staring down, all she could see was her reflection.
Fenrir peered down into the water, ears perking up as he pounced into the small body of water as well, followed closely by Jörmungandr. Darcy glanced frantically to the dragon that seemed to smile widely, bending over the water to drink deeply.
Darcy had been scared on Muspelheim. Terrified even. But now…she was mortified. What if they had all died? What if Loki was dead and his body was lost? What if Fenrir and Jörmungandr never surfaced?
With another panicked look in the dragon’s direction, Darcy eased her feet into the water and splashed into the pond, surprised at how deep it was. Gauging herself, Darcy took a deep breath, prepared to dive down when something grabbed hold of her foot.
The air she had been preparing to hold rushed out of her lungs, daring to be filled with water if the same hand that grabbed her foot hadn’t moved under her arms to hold her up.
“One would not say it is wise to jump into a lake when you cannot swim.” Breathed a voice from behind her.
Darcy jumped so high she nearly flew from the pond. “Loki!” she turned to give him a tackling bear hug which didn’t work out too well because they were in water and the second she latched onto him, they began to sink.
Before they could descend entirely, the dragon took hold of Loki’s collar and pulled them onto land. Fenrir and Jörmungandr paddled around the water happily, as if nothing had happened on Muspelheim at all.
“Thank you Astrid.” Loki said, rubbing the muzzle of their faithful friend.
Darcy pet her as well, relief flooding her features. “Astrid? Is that what you named her?”
Loki smiled, turning to his short Midgardian companion, “No. It was her name long before I gave it to her.”
They stared at each other for a moment, a sense of reprieve flowing through both of them. Loki grinned wider, planning to say something when Darcy drew back her fist and clocked him right on his pretty cheekbone.
Loki stared at her blankly as Darcy’s face turned red from hairline to neck. “What were you thinking!? Didn’t you know that you were allergic to fire!? Loki you were dead! And you left me and I hate you!” she shoved him in the chest once more before locking her arms around him in a tight embrace. “Don’t do it again.”
Still caught in shock, Loki rubbed his face where she had hit him before returning her hug. “I’m sorry, Darcy. In my defense, I did not know that I was, how did you put it, allergic to fire? And I wasn’t dead.”
“Yes you were.” Darcy argued into his wet shoulder.
“No.” Loki shook his head, “I was only mostly dead.”
Despite herself, Darcy giggled, not letting go of him. “I still hate you.”
“Yes. I can tell by the affection you are showing me.” He agreed, resting his cheek on her hair as Astrid dove into the pool with Fenrir and Jörmungandr.
Darcy sighed. “Promise me you won’t die again.”
“No one can promise that…”
“Promise me, Loki!” she insisted backing away to look him in the eye. He melted, in the best of ways, under her blue stare.
He placed a hand over his heart, “I, Loki Odinson, swear by the Nine Realms and my life that I will not die again while Darcy Lewis lives….”
“Or, at least, like, tell me first.”
“….lest I tell her first.”
She held out her smallest finger and they linked pinkies.
Satisfied, Darcy let go of him, her hands on her hips. “Awesome! Well, I’m sorry about your dagger, it got melted when I fought. But then Frank ate Orif.”
“He does that.” Loki smiled sitting down on the mossy earth, feeling his magic return. Though it seemed to be back in full force, he felt utterly exhausted. So much that he barely felt the impact of the legendary healing waters his and Darcy’s pets were playing in. “Do you know what this is?” he gestured to the pond.
“No.” Darcy shook her head, “What is it?”
“In Asgardian legends, it is the called the Waters of Resurrection. It’s supposed to cure any malady and heal any injury. They are supposed to be mythical.” He explained, running a hand through his wet hair.
“Mythical? You mean like Galaxy Dragons?” Darcy teased, elbowing him.
He elbowed her back. “Yes.”
“Maybe it healed my asthma. Because my inhaler got melted by a Fire Giant.” She joked as Astrid pulled herself from the water, droplets clinging to her shiny scales.
In the Asgardian night, with the stars of Yggdrasil glowing bright in the sky, Darcy could see why Astrid was called a Galaxy Dragon. Her scales shone like each was an individual star. When she spread her wings and flew off into the sky, Darcy almost lost sight of Astrid amongst the lights.
“Wait!” she called after her friend. “Where is she going? Isn’t she going to stay with us?”
Loki stood next to her, eyes trained on the flickering stars above. “No. She is a dragon. She cannot live simply on one realm. She would not be happy.”
Darcy watched in mystification. “Do you think she’ll visit?”
“I’m sure of it.”
They were silent for a few seconds. Then Darcy spoke again, voice thick. “I didn’t even get to thank her properly. She saved us.”
Loki felt a rush of gratitude towards Astrid, melancholy emotion running through his bones. “Yes. I owe her my life.”
Darcy sighed, crossing her arms and clicking her tongue at a soaked Fenrir who was now rolling in the mud with Jörmungandr. They both seemed far too pleased with themselves. “So, where did you want to go next?”
“Jotunheim.” Loki said, and they looked at each other seriously for a moment before breaking down into the greatest fit of unrestrained laughter there ever was.
***
Frigga relaxed, her shoulders at last as Heimdall smiled . “How did you know where to get their dragon to land?”
She offered him a sly grin, once again at peace. “A Queen does not reveal all her secrets, Heimdall.”
“A Queen has secrets?” he asked innocently.
She laughed lightly, “I suppose not…a mother then.”
Heimdall nodded knowingly, shifting his gaze back to Yggdrasil and chuckled.
“What are they doing now?” Frigga asked curiously.
The Guardian shook his head. “They are discussing the location of their next portal.”
“Oh Gods, not again…”