Frank Gets a Job Offer
Frigga stared contemplatively at her scrying pool, skirting her finger over the surface and causing tiny waves to ripple over the blurry image that floated there.
It was not uncommon for the future to be unclear as it was today, especially when that which she wished to predict was influenced so heavily by her own decisions.
And Queen Frigga was quite indecisive that day.
She knew the first day after Loki had been to Midgard that Darcy Lewis was going to be a part of his life. Yet, the Allmother had not dreamed of the influence the young Midgardian would have.
Darcy Lewis had already proved she was clever. She had proved that within the first week of meeting Loki. She showed that she was a quick learner and an easy liar. She managed her strength wisely and fought with as much bravery as any Aesir. Perhaps even more.
Then there was her charm.
Not only was she social, but she had become the highlight of great feasts with her frequent smiles and sharp tongue. Whether at supper or a council meeting she and Loki could charm the wits out of any who sat still long enough.
Darcy was unquestionably devoted to Loki and had gained his loyalty to her in kind. Frigga rubbed her brow, unable to hold back the small smile that pushed at her lips. Their relationship was so touching at times. It never bothered Darcy that she was a mortal. She had only ever questioned herself once and after Loki had settled her insecurities, she never once believed that she did not have the power to protect him.
The Allmother stirred the water with her fingertips.
Darcy Lewis’ accomplishments were already forming a nice list in the Queen’s mind.
She had settled a dispute with King Surtur of Muspelheim, allowing Asgard to gain an impossible ally and also coming across a species long-thought to be extinct in the process. During her time on Nornheim, Darcy outsmarted Lord Bjarte; therefore she gained power over Nornheim’s most influential figure. She had assisted Loki through council meetings, taming the blind members of the court’s lust for war.
Not to mention, her pets were two of the strangest, most magical animals in Yggdrasil.
Whether the animals knew that or had any care was entirely unknown however.
Still, Queen Frigga had not completely considered the Midgardian for this position until now.
There was something she needed to know that Darcy possessed before allowing her further into Asgardian Politics.
That something was a trait that Odin refused to acknowledge ever existed. It was a necessity that he beat out of his sons as soon as they were big enough to handle daggers. It was something that even Loki was proving unable to show.
It was compassion for the enemy. It was mercy. It was knowing when it is better to let your enemy live and when to let them die.
The instant that Frigga made up her mind on what to do about Darcy Lewis, the frothy musk shadowing her pool dissipated and she was left with the future image of Darcy and Loki standing in Asgard’s treasure room before the Casket of Ancient Winters.
She pursed her lips disapprovingly at the reflection. She was going to need a nice glass of wine before those two returned to Asgard.
***
Darcy figured the Heart of Jotunheim would be a bit more colorful.
She thought that maybe the Jotunns would get bored of the plain old blue-gray-darkness color scheme and go for something a bit more lively.
She was wrong.
Really, the Heart of Jotunheim was a smooth icy spot in the ground with nothing inside it but magical residue.
Odin’s tunnel had diverged into two paths and Loki quickly decided the one to their left was the way to the Heart. They walked downhill for a ways, magically broke through a wall of ice and arrived promptly inside the disappointment that was the Heart of Jotunheim.
Well, Darcy couldn’t say ‘disappointment’. The magical deposit in the room was shockingly strong. It prickled at her skin and made her frozen arm-hairs stand on end.
She watched Loki carefully as he paced the room, feeling along the walls.
“What are you getting?” she asked quietly, gently touching the wall beside her.
Loki’s brow was furrowed as he stepped to the center of the room and smiled. “Something was here.” He grinned a little wider. “This is it! Darcy it was here!”
“The Tesseract?!” she exclaimed, bouncing to his side and looking to the ceiling. “How do you know?!”
He took her hands in his, gazing upward at the high ceiling. “Darcy, our coordinates! We are some thousand feet below where the Casket of Ancient Winters would have sat on Jotunheim. Remember the journal of High Lord Tyr?”
“’…and I watched, disarmed and bleeding from my battle with Laufey, his icy dagger in body, a towering pillar above his palace. An icy torch, lit by the monsters themselves…” Darcy quoted sullenly. “And our coordinates are the same?”
Loki’s fingers tingled a bit in Darcy’s hands. “Yes. I believe we are.”
Darcy’s mind raced. If the Tesseract had been here…
“…it would have acted as a power source. It could have used the spatial difference and combating magical tension to increase the power of the Casket.” Darcy thought aloud, releasing one of her hands from Loki’s grasp to tap her chin. “Laufey must have known that.”
Loki’s fingers tingled again, though the feeling was sharper this time as he subconsciously let his magic flow. “I can feel it Darcy…an artifact more powerful than any I’ve ever come across used to sit right under where we stand now. I have no doubts that Laufey would have been aware of that. I would hesitate to believe he would have taken the Tesseract away from Jotunheim.”
Darcy examined the empty frozen chamber. “Loki, if the Tesseract was here, and Odin broke in—“
“That would explain why Odin had to tunnel his way into Laufey’s palace,” Loki muttered, his eyes widening at the realization. “It took years to drive the Jotunns back into their own land and still it is said the battles on Jotunheim were the bloodiest there ever were. Odin wouldn’t have been able to get close enough to the Casket of Ancient Winters without taking the Tesseract first.”
Darcy squeezed Loki’s hand. “Yes, but Loki this doesn’t make any sense.”
His green eyes turned to her in shock. “It makes perfect sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she sassed, her pouty lips twisting into a smirk. “If Odin came here to get the Tesseract, wouldn’t he have taken it back to Asgard along with the Casket?”
Loki blinked a couple times, dumbfounded. “Yes. Who is to say that the Tesseract is not on Asgard?”
“Loki, we’ve checked Asgard! The map—“
“Darcy, all of the facts are pointing towards Asgard! Where else would Odin put it?” Loki argued hotly.
Darcy crossed her arms. “I think Odin would be smarter than to put it on Asgard, especially after he just won a war. He would have hidden it somewhere.”
“Yes! Somewhere on Asgard!” Loki insisted, “I do not think that the Allfather would have enough faith in any other realm to hold it for him. What race would be simple enough to hide a power source and not use it?”
“I don’t know, Loki,” she grumbled, “Maybe he didn’t tell them about it.”
“They would have been able to feel it.”
“Not if they were mortal.”
Loki was silenced for a moment and Darcy cocked her brow at him triumphantly. “You have to admit, Lokes, it’s a possibility.”
“Darcy…” he stared down at her, unsure, “I do not think Odin would trust Midgardians enough to leave it with them.”
Darcy beamed, her smile getting wider. “No, Loki, you were right! It does make sense!” she exclaimed, pacing the room as he had before. “Look, Odin figures out that somehow the Jotunns got the Tesseract and he can’t get close enough to the palace full on. So, he digs a channel that will simultaneously get him the Tesseract and a way into Laufey’s palace. He weakens the enemy’s defense, fights his way to Laufey, disarms him and takes the Casket!” Darcy worked out, Frank and Fenrir following her around in tight, dizzying circles.
“He stole the Casket and the Tesseract from Jotunheim. That’s pretty dangerous to steal two of your enemy’s most valuable things from them in one day. No doubt Laufey would try to get them back eventually. It would be super dangerous to have both the Tesseract and the Cask of Ancient Winters stored on Asgard. So what does Odin do?” Darcy prompts a now smirking Loki.
He relented, crossing his arms. “He waits until it is once again safe to travel down to Midgard, former land of the simplest peoples in the Nine Realms, and hides it there until needed.”
Darcy snapped her fingers. “Bingo! Now all we need is proof from our friend, The Map!”
She pulled the paper from her pocket and began opening it up when they heard a rumbling from somewhere outside the chamber. Darcy gasped, shoving the map back into her pocket. Her gaze flicked to the hole in the wall where they emerged from. It would be difficult to climb back out of and teleporting back into the tunnel was risky to say the least. “Loki?”
He pressed a finger to his lips, using his other arm to pull her close. Over his shoulder, Darcy saw the passage into Odin’s chamber freeze over, the gaping hole becoming part of the wall once more. “I think there is a portal in here, Darcy. I do not know if it connects to Asgard, but it is far safer than our alternative routes.”
Outside, the noises got louder and the gravelly tones of the Jotunar sounded through the ice. Darcy gripped onto his armor, holding herself against his chest. The sooner they got out, the better. She didn’t want Loki to kill anyone else that day. “Frank! Fen!”
The animals hurried forwards, reaching their masters’ sides just in time for the four of them to disappear in a shimmer of rainbow light.
***
Darcy relaxed once she felt the air around them heat and the rapid thrumming of Loki’s heart reduced to its normal, steady pace. His arms were still wrapped tightly around her shoulders and Darcy was perfectly happy to wait right there until he gave her the ‘OK’.
“Darcy? Are you alright?” Loki asked, his cheek pressed against the side of her head and his chilly fingers stroking her hair.
“Yeah,” Darcy sighed, pulling back a little to make sure all of him was there, “Where are we?”
Loki glanced around the room and let out a short chuckle. “We are in the Palace’s Treasure Room.”
“Really?” Darcy asked excitedly, poking her head out from Loki’s embrace to see the foretold room of treasures. Entry was permitted only to members of the royal family by the two guards always present outside the door.
In other words, Darcy had never gotten to see it.
The room itself was much like any other room on Asgard. It was gold, pillared and elegant. On different pedestals around the room, divided into separate alcoves, were the precious artifacts of Asgard. Darcy could not say what all of them were or what they meant, but she could tell that there was a reason they were locked up.
Where some might see the Treasure Room as a glorified trophy cupboard, Darcy saw the truth.
It was a cell for all of Asgard’s precious loot.
And like all great cells, it had a guard.
Darcy turned to face the end of the room where, as expected, the Casket of Ancient Winters sat. Behind it was a sort of stone grate that radiated magical power. The entire room made Darcy’s skin prickle. “The Destroyer.”
Loki moved to stand beside his friend and Darcy absentmindedly reached out to take his hand while he explained. “It is a strange bit of magic. Baldur and Odin forged it together. It abides by Gungnir and acts as a conduit for whoever holds the power to control it.”
Darcy hummed in response. She had read all about The Destroyer. There was a small bit of controversy about it when Odin first introduced the idea of a magical weapon taking charge of such a large responsibility. Though, as usual, it was just an argument from the Norns that was pushed aside with the Allfather’s word.
Darcy checked around the room, stifling her urge to inspect each of the different artifacts in favor of directing her focus onto the Casket of Ancient Winters.
It was beautiful, in a way. Powerful. Cold. Mysterious. But it was also very simple. It was the symbol of a race and the pride of their culture. It was what kept the Jotunns secure.
And now, the Frost Giants sit in the decaying cities of Jotunheim while their tool to rebuild rests unused in an Asgardian chamber, collecting dust.
It made Darcy sad to think of the frozen Heart of Jotunheim compared to Asgard’s Treasure Room. One, barren and empty, a mere shadow of the potential it once held, all of its glory stolen by another realm, never to be returned.
Sadly she leaned against Loki while Frank experimentally poked the tip of his tail through the grates of the Destroyer’s section.
“Jörmungandr, stop that,” Loki scolded, “You will lose your tail and I will not grow it back for you.”
Frank instantly recoiled from the grate, sheepishly slithering behind Fenrir.
Darcy bumped Loki’s arm with her shoulder. “Don’t be mean about it. He was just playing.”
“He was going to get hurt, Darcy. If I am too nice, he will only go back and do it again,” Loki persisted, letting go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders.
Darcy clicked her tongue, leaning against his side, “Okay, fine.”
They shared another moment, staring at the Casket, watching the blue light send patterns across the ground. She looked up at Loki and knew that he was thinking of its mechanics and magical components. “Let’s study the map tonight. I bet we can find out where the Tesseract is on Midgard and maybe even where it was before the Jotunns got it.”
Loki ran a hand through his hair. “I do not think we will be able to find the Tesseract on the map if it is on Midgard.”
“Why not?” Darcy queried, reaching into her pocket once more to look at them map.
Loki scrutinized the Midgardian section, pointing to the miniscule letters and words that jumbled together into nonsense. “Darcy, we went over this before. Too many early languages were reminiscent of Allspeak. It is an all encompassing language and every Midgardian dialect has some inflection of it. We would have a better chance of finding it on Midgard if we knew exactly when Odin brought it down. Midgardians changed their languages frequently as time progressed. The time period that it was placed would give us a greater indication as to where it was.”
Darcy shook her head, “But, Loki, we can’t figure that out. The only person who would know if Odin put it there is Odin. Or your mother…”
“And neither of them are likely to help in our endeavors,” Loki sighed, watching the Casket pulse with energy once more. “My mother has already helped us far too much and we are working with a hypothesis, Darcy, a hunch that Odin brought it to Midgard. We have no verifiable proof.”
“So what do you suggest we do?” Darcy asked sarcastically, tilting her chin to stare up into Loki’s pretty green eyes.
He looked down at her dignified face and dared a small smirk. “I suggest we do the best we can.”
They glared affectionately at one another until a clear, casual voice spoke from the chamber doors. “Odin, and both his father and grandfather before him, proclaimed that this room was restricted to any citizen of Asgard who was not in the royal family.”
Loki and Darcy whipped around to see none other than Frigga Allmother, standing casually on the stairs, her hands folded elegantly in front of her.
Darcy had the strong urge to tell the Queen that she was not, in fact, a citizen of Asgard. But she was still uncertain as to if the Queen knew of her Midgardian origins or not.
“Mother,” Loki addressed her more formally than usual, “Forgive me. It was my doing to bring Lady Darcy into the Treasure Room; may any punishment that should befit this crime fall upon me instead.”
Darcy gave him a withering look, prepared to smack some sense into that pretty head of his when she caught Queen Frigga giving him the tiniest of eye rolls. “That will not be necessary. I am neither Odin nor his father nor his grandfather. Therefore, I will not enforce their rules.”
Loki looked up, unsurprised, but immensely appreciative. “Thank you, Mother. We shall take our leave.”
Frigga smiled delicately, secrets churning in her eyes. “Yes. Loki, the Allfather has called a small meeting that you must attend. He has forbidden anyone outside the court from attending.”
Darcy’s heart sunk at her words. Every so often, Odin Allfather would declare a meeting that she was not permitted to be a part of. It was very disappointing and since Darcy was not even an Asgardian, there was no way for her to become part of the council unless she did some noble deed and got dubbed worthy by the Allfather.
And that would never happen.
Loki frowned, giving Darcy’s hand a light squeeze. “I shall be off then.”
Frigga seemed to sense both Darcy and Loki’s discontent and she slowly walked down the stairs to where they stood, placing a hand on Loki’s shoulder to halt his departure. “Loki, Darling?”
“Yes Mother?” he returned a hint of confusion in his tone. Darcy thought it was funny when Loki got confused. He got so frustrated with himself for not understanding what was going on and it caused his forehead to dimple in the cutest way.
“Have you considered asking the Lady Darcy to be a part of the council?” Frigga asked him politely, though Darcy saw something else stirring.
Loki’s brow furrowed. “I cannot grant her that. Only the Allfather—“
“No, not a member of the council. I did not suggest you make her Lord of this city or that, bearer of what land and so forth. I asked if you had made her a part of the council in the only way you can as of now.” Frigga tried again, waiting for Loki to catch on.
It didn’t take long, and Loki shook his head. “I believed that I was too young to install such a position into my services.”
Loki might have understood, but Darcy sure didn’t. She found that a bit embarrassing. She knew a great deal about Asgardian politics. What was this position they were talking about?
Frigga shook her head. “No. Not at all. It is uncommon because most your age do not take on the responsibilities you have; but by all means, you are entitled.”
Darcy held up her hands. “Excuse me, Your Highness, but what position are you guys talking about?”
The Queen raised an elegant brow before turning a look to her son. “Loki?”
He spoke offhandedly, making it apparent that his mind was already scoping out the possibilities. “You would be to me what Queen Frigga is to the Allfather.”
Darcy’s eyes widened and she stared blankly at the two royals. “Uh, Loki? I don’t think Sigyn would be very happy if we got married. And, you know, she’s my friend and I wouldn’t want to—“
Loki shook his head, his face bright red while Frigga looked to be stifling laughter. “Darcy! That was not a marriage proposal! My Mother holds the position of Advisor to King Odin.”
“Oh.” That cleared a great deal up for Darcy. Though, she still did not know what an advisor entailed completely.
As far as she knew, an advisor acted as a less powerful extension of the royal individual they served. Their word was accepted in other realms as the word of the royal for whom they worked.
Many members of the royal family chose not to have advisors. Having one demanded that you communicate with them almost constantly. They must always know the royal member’s opinion and must be able to convey it through their own actions. From journals she read of the few advisors that existed, the job requires a lot of trust and even greater dedication.
Darcy wondered why Frigga would be advisor to Odin when she was already Queen. She had her own duties, did she not? Darcy pressed her lips together in thought. Now that she considered it, she didn’t really know what Frigga did. As Queen, she was not required to attend any meeting she did not want to partake in and many of her other responsibilities consisted of communicating with the public and interaction at social affairs.
Darcy looked to Asgard’s Queen and came to the revelation that she did not actually know what Frigga did most of the time.
Loki noticed Darcy’s hesitancy and explained as best he could. “It is not a very popular position. It is taxing. The description is actually quite vague except that it is very involved work.”
Frigga’s expression had grown serious as she watched Loki’s brain sort through the potential of Darcy as his advisor. “My son, I am afraid you will be late for your meeting at this point. Go on. I will talk with Lady Darcy, yes?”
“Of course, Mother,” he said shortly, looking to Darcy like he wanted to say something, but changing his mind due to the presence of his mother.
Frigga waited until he was gone before gesturing up the stairs to Darcy. “Shall we?”
The Midgardian gave a curt nod, holding the pummels of her swords as she walked up the stairs. Frigga started talking once they were on ground level which was only about thirty staircases later. Darcy thought that with such advanced technology, Asgardians could have at least installed an elevator. But, nope. Darcy Lewis, mortal, had to walk up five hundred thousand stairs in her heavy leather armor, trying not to breathe too heavily because that would be embarrassing.
Frank and Fenrir did not have any trouble with the stairs and Darcy figured they had followed her in favor of sitting through any boring meetings with Loki. They preferred more vigorous activities.
Once they had reached a floor that wasn’t servants chambers or washrooms, Frigga began to speak. “You are clever, Lady Darcy. Very much so. But you are also impulsive. I understand that you are young and in youth, we tend not to think before we act.”
She opened her mouth to protest that she was not impulsive when Frigga kept talking.
“For example, if I were of a weaker race and I had no magic nor strength to combat my enemy, I would use my wit to escape their grasp rather than my spit,” the Queen said breezily and Darcy’s face reddened. Frigga knew she was a Midgardian then. She also knew that she had been on Jotunheim.
Darcy bowed her head. “My apologies, Your Highness.”
Frigga shook her head. “You have already apologized to Loki and he is the one who needed it. Even so, this is not a matter that needs to be apologized for. It need only be a lesson to learn from.”
Darcy nodded in agreement, falling in step beside the Queen of Asgard. She was a tall woman. Imposing, but beautiful, strong, but kind. Her words were soft and carried meaning. Darcy, in some ways, was scared of Frigga. Yet, at the same time, she wished to throw her arms around the Queen and have a cuddle. She seemed like the cuddling type.
They continued walking the length of the corridor and Darcy realized she had no idea where they were going. She knew most of the palace, but she still hadn’t had the time to explore it properly.
“Your Highness?” Darcy asked as they walked.
“Yes, Lady Darcy?”
Darcy hesitated, “What does an advisor do exactly? I mean, I want to help Loki out as much as I can and stuff, but what if I can’t? We already talk a lot and if anyone was going to be Loki’s advisor, I think I could do a really great job. But I also don’t agree with Loki on some stuff and I don’t want to go promoting all those things I don’t believe around Yggdrasil, you know? And—“
Frigga held up a hand to silence the young girl’s rambling, a humored little smirk on her face. “Darcy, there is more to being an advisor than that.”
They were now stopped in front of a door. Though unlike most ornate gold entrances, this one was simpler and carved from wood. It looked old and full of secrets. Frigga’s fingertips glowed with magic as she pushed down on the handle to let them into the chamber.
Darcy entered slowly, gasping at what she saw.
It was a beautiful room. The ceiling was high and vaulted with warm colored tapestries draped around the pillars. The walls were decorated with tapestries so intricate that Darcy could have spent years staring at them and still not see all that had been woven. The far wall of the room, across from where Darcy stood in the entryway, was a window revealing the Capital city of Asgard. Plush seating framed the view and worked as the sill.
Though, the most captivating feature of the room was a heavy stone basin, centered in the middle of the room. It was wide and there were small pillows and cushions around it so that one might sit beside the water. Waterfalls fell from the ceiling into the ornate pool, rippling the clear water.
Darcy dared a glance at the Queen. “And what more is there to being an advisor than simply advising?”
Frigga smiled kindly, offering Darcy her hand and leading them around the pool where the water was so clear that Darcy could see her reflection, to the window where they sat. “Tea?” she asked, holding up a teapot that Darcy was sure had not been there before.
“Please,” she replied, taking the steaming cup without milk or sugar. Loki, given the option, usually preferred hot chocolate to tea. He did not like the idea of using caffeine to stay up later. He would sooner stay up without the caffeine.
While Frigga poured her own tea, she began to speak light-heartedly, as though she were remembering a rather fond memory. “Odin and I met on the day I began my adolescence. I was neither a noblewoman’s daughter, nor anyone really. I was the daughter of an Asgardian handmaiden, brought up by Vanir nobles. An odd situation, but there you have it. They knew my mother and found that they liked me well enough not to let an orphaned child make it on their own.”
She took a sip of her tea, smiling over the rim while Darcy listened. “I was…a bit wild. Vanaheim is not quite so strict on the higher class as Asgard. Children spend most of their days playing in the woods and tempting the will of the beasts that live there. I was among them of course. Yet, I was a bit different from the Vanir children. You see, the Vanir are not all proficient at magic. They do not fear it, like the Norns, but it is an uncommon occurrence. Pastry?”
Darcy accepted one of the rose pastries, thanking the queen and waiting eagerly for her to continue.
“I had a great affinity for magic. I could use it, bend it, mold it. I lacked the theory that they used in Asgard. Here, they teach it with words and spells and structure. But I learned by feeling it. It was dangerous to do so, but I learned my limits. When my Vanir family visited the Asgardian capital, I turned to my adolescence and I met Odin.
“He was so short!” Frigga giggled and Darcy could not help but snicker into her tea. “He was this boy with brown hair and more muscle than I’d ever seen on anyone. But, oh, he was at least a head shorter than I! I was still wild then, though I kept most of the playing for my tongue. He would come to speak with me and no sooner would he begin conversation, then I would end it with a witty remark of some sort. Needless to say, I liked him very much.”
Darcy didn’t bother to hide the face she made. Because…gross…Odin.
The Queen smiled at Darcy and continued her story. “I thought he was cute. He went through such lengths to court me and woo me and, I will admit, some of the attempts were quite awful. But, eventually, I accepted his offer for courtship.”
She sipped her tea, her blue eyes flashing in happy memory. “If you think Thor is neglectful of his duties, you should have seen Odin. He was a mess! He skipped all of his meetings at least twice a week to sneak me out into a long ship and fly us all over Asgard. It is how I got to know him so well. A few years after we became adults, Odin proposed and I accepted.”
“When did you become his advisor?” Darcy asked, holding out her tea cup for Frigga to refill.
“I am almost there, Darcy, one moment,” the Allmother chided, also refreshing her own cup. “Now, it was the day of our wedding and I was dressed to be the bride of Prince Odin. That very morning, Bor died.
“Unlike most kings, Bor never ate an apple. He chose to live and die in roughly five thousand years in order to feel some ‘sense of fulfillment’ I believe is what he said. Well, he did not fulfill the task of marrying Odin and I and on that morning; Odin and I were married, rather hastily, then coronated King and Queen of Asgard.
“I knew when I accepted Odin’s proposal that I would be Queen one day and I educated myself, no end. If I was going to rule a realm, I wanted to do it right. I spent all of my adolescence learning about the court and the people. I did everything in my power to learn the inner functions of the Asgardian world, much like yourself.”
Frigga set down her tea, replacing it with a bit of bread which she held warmly in her hands. “But Odin had never been one for politics. I could see it on that day that he became King that he was completely unprepared for the responsibilities. So, I told him that I would be his advisor.
“You see Darcy, the position of Queen offers free reign over what to do and what not to do. More or less, I am a glorified seat warmer who can idly stroll in and out meetings about this or that. So, the first thing I did was give up my throne. I have one. It is somewhere, just not beside Odin. The day I became Queen, I decided to openly reject the kind of publicity and pointless work a Queen was once known to do.
“Now, Bor did have an advisor, though he was an idiot. He had less brains than a bluebird. Nevertheless, he introduced me to what an advisor did, which consisted of dedicating your life to the King and learning his every opinion and habits so that you could preach truth to the public.”
Darcy frowned. “But Odin didn’t know anything.”
Frigga swallowed her bite of bread, picking up her tea once more. “Precisely. Odin knew nothing. I had to teach him which made me more of an educator than an advisor. However, through this process, I learned a great deal about more shady political works.
“Not a few years after Bor’s death, there was an assassination attempt on Odin at the Harvest Festival in Ringsfjord. Obviously the assassin failed as they were shot down by several archers. But you must have understood my shock. My new husband’s life was almost taken and would have left me the iconic throne and rule over Asgard. I could have done it, but I did not wish to at the time.”
Frigga stared out the window for a moment, then let her gaze drift back to Darcy. Her eyes seemed to analyze everything about her before she continued. “That day, I vowed to always have the upper hand. I would figure out a way in which to ensure the safety of the Nine Realms so that my occasionally simple minded husband would not suffer too greatly in ruling his realm. Though turning this dream into a reality was quite difficult, you see. A Queen could not do very much to help her kingdom in such a way that would not draw unwanted attention from the public. Hence, I sought to reevaluate my position as advisor.”
Darcy’s lips were pursed and her hands twitched in front of her, almost begging to take notes. “You changed your job description?”
Frigga nodded, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. “Yes. It was difficult. I was alone in my perusal. Bor’s advisor had moved on and was busy fulfilling his duties as some lord or another in Skornheim. I had nothing but servants, my own wits, and, of course, all the power anyone could ever want. I had the right to hold secrets, which is a luxury not all possess.
“I used my potential, I suppose. I trained with swords and knives until I could defeat my trainer. I spent countless hours in the libraries, researching political history and past feuds until I found something peculiar.”
Darcy leaned forwards as Frigga’s tale intensified.
“Now, keep in mind, tensions were starting to build between Asgard and Jotunheim and they were only heightened by the change in leaders. Thrymr was cast out for being too careless a king. It was true, and the Asgardian council was in an uproar over their new ruler, King Laufey. He was known to be cunning and dangerous and even magical at times. Though, Jotunn magic is quite different from that on Asgard. It develops differently…” Frigga trailed off knowingly, smirking a bit.
“Ah, well, that is beside the point. Jotunheim and Asgard were disputing and I was thinking back to a good friend of mine named Idun. Sweet girl, Idun is. She used to employ people to help her harvest apples, though she let go of most of them after incidents with overripe or underripe consumption of fruit. I never met any of her workers, though I knew of them. They worked for her long before Asgard and Jotunheim had any troubles whatsoever.
“This peculiar thing I found was in the Asgardian census. One of Idun’s staff had left prematurely to the rest of her workers. Her leave from Asgard was not marked anywhere in any books I could find. One year, she worked for Idun and the next, she was no longer an inhabitant on Asgard.”
Darcy stroked Fenrir’s back, feeding him a bit of pastry. “Wait, the Asgardian census only takes count every ten years, not every year. How did you know she left?”
Frigga poured another cup of tea for Frank. “Idun is allowed to produce apples and sell them for whatever price she deems fit. The Crown has permitted her secrecy for thousands of years because it consents the capital power to maintain some control over who gets an apple. Conditions to Idun’s self-exile would be to document the details of her residence: How many apples she produced, any employment she offered, things of that nature.”
“So, this person who left...?” Darcy asked, her arms wrapped around Fenrir and her cheek resting on his head.
“She was never heard of again on Asgard. Though, in the next two years or so, there came word of a most strange occurrence on Jotunheim.” Frigga said as Frank made himself comfortable in her lap. “The newborn, Thrymr, who was destined one day to be King had grown immensely over night. His entire being had become huge, even as a babe. It was proclaimed that he would be the largest Frost Giant there ever was with the exception of Ymir.”
Darcy blinked in awe for a moment and then looked down at her own animals. Loki had said something about them coming across some kind of magic and that the effects on them was similar to that of an apple. But he said they were fine and Darcy trusted him. She turned her attention to Frigga once more. “So Thrymr was so big because someone gave him an apple?”
Frigga quirked a crooked grin, one of her shoulders coming up in a shrug. “I suspected such. It was so long before my time and I was only glad that Asgard documents nearly everything. The important part of this tale is to remember how I came across this secret. I looked into it. I delved deeper. I found slight mishaps and odd ends in history and used them to find how it affects today.
“I expanded my services, Darcy. I discerned from my studies that I had the ability to further protect the crown and help the realm in ways that did not involve lifting a sword to the throat of mine enemy. Biding my time, I began to find people. Lost people, clever people, lonely people, who could help me. I would do enough research, but I had no direct proof of anything. I did not know for sure, I could only guess. Even so, some information could not even be ascertained through Asgard’s archives. I needed people to go find things out for me.
“I am a Queen. I cannot leave the realm whenever I please to go chase my superstitions and conspiracies. So the people I found would go and do it for me under my instruction. We would contact frequently, or sometimes more infrequently, by magic or by scrying pool.” She indicated to the ornate basin in the center of the room.
Darcy’s eyebrows shot up. “So…they’re like your spies? You run a super secret spy agency or something for Asgard? That’s what advisors do?”
Frigga smiled, “More or less. Though, the spying is not always for politics. Occasionally it is. I might send someone to Muspelheim to oversee the hatching of their dragons or to Svartalfheim to search for the ruins of a missing ship from the Dark Elf fleets that fell so many years ago.”
Darcy’s mind raced as she caught on to Frigga’s intentions. “You gave Loki and me that book, the one of the map. What about that? What did you want us to do with that?” she asked, her words tripping over each other as she rushed to get out her questions.
The Allmother stared at Darcy gravely. “I gave it to you because you asked to study interactions between Midgard and Asgard. Do not think I did not know what you meant. It was a tool. I suppose it was part of a test to see how well you could logic out something so simple but so very complex.”
Darcy’s brow knit together, “Loki and I got it though, didn’t we?”
The Queen’s lips pulled into a coy little smile. “Perhaps. Perhaps you are almost there. I cannot say.”
Darcy wanted to leave it at that, but she just couldn’t. Frigga knew everything! Why couldn’t just tell her where everything was? “Why can’t you say? I mean, you know that we’re looking for this stuff, right? So, why not just say where it is?”
The Queen looked mildly humored, sipping her tea. “Believe it or not, Darcy, I do not know where the objects are that you seek. I very truly cannot say where they are. Though, it does seem to me like you have made good progress.”
The mortal gaped at the Allmother in disbelief. “You don’t know where they are?”
“Not at all.”
Darcy struggled to get out her words. “Then why are we looking for them?!”
Frigga made a face as she reached the dregs of her drink. “I do not know. It is your wish to find them, so I encourage you to do so safely. Needless to say, the infinity stones need to be located.”
“So this is why you want me to be an advisor?” Darcy asked simply, “To find the infinity stones? To be one of your spies?”
Frigga shook her head, “No, no. Of course not. I want you to be an advisor because I think that you would be damn good at it, Darling. And I would not have you be a spy. That work is testy and you are a child. Besides, you are also interested in politics and you cannot be involved in those if you are off on another realm, counting turnip baskets from the Vanaheim harvest. As for finding infinity stones, you and Loki are doing fine by yourselves.”
Darcy considered this, running her fingers through Fenrir’s gray fur while he snoozed on her legs. “What would you want me to do? As Loki’s advisor?”
Frigga pursed her lips at Darcy’s consideration. “Well, firstly, you must hold up the pretense as to what an advisor does as seen by the public. Of course, it is not idle work. Loki did not lie when he told you it meant dedication. You will have separate meetings that you attend with both the General of the Einherjar, Asgard’s treasurer and distributer of goods. You must work with the marketers. Advisors, unlike royalty, do more work to stabilize economy. Loki will of course work with you and you will do as you both see fit for it as you are representing him. In these meetings, Darcy, you will have equal power with those you work with, sometimes even more.
“As for the rest, I would have you train with me on occasion. You would not be a spy, for I think your mind is a bit more tuned for what I do which is finding details. I will teach you to be a proper advisor. To know when someone is lying, to read a text and know by its inflections what era it was written in. Most importantly, you will learn attention to detail and how to see it without searching. It could be valuable, that is,”-she paused to stroke a sleeping Frank’s scaly back-“if you chose to accept the position.”
Darcy was, quite honestly, overwhelmed. The idea of finally having individual say in Asgard’s political dealings was an incredible prospect. And training with Frigga sounded like the coolest thing to ever happen to her. But there was one part that was keeping her from saying yes right away. She cleared her throat, shifting a bit in her seat. “How much dedication would it require?” Darcy fought with her words, needing to rephrase. “How much time would I need to spend on Asgard to do these things?”
Frigga smiled kindly, taking Darcy’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze and Darcy noticed that the Queen’s touch was very much like Loki’s, firm, strong, but also very gentle and caring. “It would be ideal for you to live in the capital. Coming into any position granted by that of a royal member implies that you drop your past titles. You would be Lady Darcy, Advisor to Loki. Or Advisor Darcy as you would be called in more casual settings.”
Her heart picked up tempo as Darcy thought about the potential of living on Asgard. She knew that if she was absolutely determined to leave, she could. She could leave home and her parents and her friends. They wouldn't even have to know where she had gone. But the thought of leaving them made her incredibly sad. It was hard to live with them at times when so much of her life involved a world they had no knowledge of, but it did not make her love them any less.
Even so, there was more to it than just her family.
It was true, living on Asgard would make Loki happy and it would be considerably more convenient. But aside from all the niceties, the prospect of living on Asgard would make her…Asgardian.
She wasn’t Asgardian at all. She was a mortal. A Midgardian. There was a time when she would have said yes. But that time wasn’t now. She had the goals of a Midgardian. She wanted to be educated in Midgardian politics. She wanted to change her own realm for the better.
Darcy had realized, one day after getting frustrated with all of her school things, that she had potential. Yes she was more help on Asgard as of now, but Midgard needed more help than Asgard. Midgard was behind the rest of the realms in almost every possible way. It was horrifying. Darcy wanted to change that and she feared that if she became too Asgardian, if she dropped all of her ties to her mortality, she would be unable help her race.
“Your Majesty…” Darcy said, her chest tightening, “I don’t think I can do it.”
Frigga moved a little closer, cupping Darcy’s cheek in her tender palm. “Darling child, I did not say you must live in the capital. I said it would be ideal. Both Loki and I will understand if you do not wish to live in the palace. However, it will mean a lot of traveling.”
Darcy nodded, running through the possibilities in her head. “But what about…” she pointed hesitantly to herself, “you know…does it matter that I’m…well…not—“
Frigga silenced her with an oblivious stare. “What? That you are a person entirely capable of the job I have just offered you? Believe me Lady Darcy, if you had been anything less than that, you would not be here now.”
The girl blushed and her insides began to churn with excitement. “Okay, cool. So, if I agree to this, how much do I tell Loki?”
“As much as you see fit.”
“Will I ever do any actual advising? Because usually Loki knows what he’s doing…” Darcy thought back to Jotunheim. “Okay, sometimes he doesn’t. But, you know what I mean, right?”
Frigga patted the back of her hand. “Yes, I know what you mean. Advise Loki where he needs advice, but that is something you already do. I see no reason to alter your methods.”
Fenrir began kicking in his sleep which effectively woke him up. And whenever Fenrir woke up, Frank woke up as well.
“So, Lady Darcy, do you accept the position?” Queen Frigga asked, sitting up a little taller.
Darcy did so as well, trying to suppress the awesome smile that was threatening to overtake her face. “I accept.”
“Good,” Frigga confirmed, standing up, “We shall begin immediately.”
Darcy’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. “What?”
“Your first task,” Frigga continued, walking over to her basin and speaking as though Darcy had not spoken. “Is to find your way back to the Ladies’ Chambers, change into lighter attire for the evening meal and then find Loki. You two have much to discuss.”
The young mortal stood, her animals bounding to her sides as she bowed. “Thank you, Allmother.”
The Queen gave her a humored expression. “Oh, off with you now.”
Smiling, Darcy turned on her heel, prepared to leave when she was called to once more. “And Lady Darcy?”
“Yes?”
Frigga smirked, looking down at Frank and Fenrir, “Keep these two out of the kitchens. A couple weeks ago they nearly ate an entire raw bilgesnipe and half a griffin.”
Darcy scowled down at her troublesome friends who stared happily back at her with wide, innocent eyes. “Sorry, Allmother, they won’t do it again.”
“Don’t make promises that won’t be kept.” Frigga chided as her final dismissal to Lady Darcy, Advisor to Prince Loki.
***
Later that evening, Odin stood in his quarters, leering down at his smug wife.
Oh, she was a tricky one. Why, by the gods, did he have to love a tricky one?
Her smile deepened and Odin knew why. It was because she was brilliant and a damn good woman. And he loved her, even if, at the moment, he was considering taking Gungnir and blasting that crooked grin from her face.
“Who is she? You told me before that you had it under control and now Loki has taken her as his advisor!” he demanded and Frigga lifted her palms helplessly.
“She is Lady Darcy, Advisor to Prince Loki,” she answered him smartly.
A vein on Odin’s forehead pulsed almost painfully. “Frigga, I do not know what you are playing at—“
“I am playing at nothing, you old fool,” she interrupted, crossing her ankles and giving her husband a stern look. “She has been a part of nearly every important council meeting as of late. She pays attention and she cares about Asgard. I made the suggestion to Loki and he readily propositioned Lady Darcy to be his advisor. After the position was explained to her, she agreed.”
Odin wanted to argue. He was not an idiot. He knew that Frigga always did more than she let on. As she was his advisor, he had some insight to the prospect that there was more to her work than she would ever tell him. This was of some concern when his blasted Queen and son insisted on bringing tiny little girls with no titles in from gods know where to be Loki’s advisor.
It would be easier to dispute Frigga’s cause if Lady Darcy had not been so well liked. Even Odin had to admit that she was charming and had quite a sharp tongue. Even so, he did not trust her. She was too close to Loki and her origins were still unknown.
Where on Asgard was she from?
“Let it go, Odin. As I said before, I shall sort it accordingly.”
The Allfather nearly snapped, “Sort it accordingly? Perhaps you should sort it the same way you sorted their trip to Jotunheim!”
Her eyebrows shot up in a way that meant Odin would soon eat his words. “Oh? Did Thor tell you?”
“Yes. I threatened to have his mouth sewn shut,” he grumbled. “He has said that girl and Loki and himself went gallivanting around on Jotunheim in search of a fight. He said they were looking for practice.”
Frigga’s eyes flashed and Odin wasn’t quite sure what that meant. “Well, you are a grown man, Allfather. I expect you to be perfectly willing to accept the consequences of your actions.”
“’The consequences of my actions’?” Odin scoffed, “My love, they could have started a war!”
“Yes, that they could have,” Frigga agreed. “But, then again, what have you taught them? ‘Glory goes to bringers of death to these foul beasts.’” she quoted. “As I recall, that was your speech to your forces when the fight was brought to Nidavellir. Since then, I have only heard variations of the same thing.”
“You are saying,” Odin growled, “that their actions are faults of mine?”
Frigga was no longer grinning and her glare was poisonous. “Exactly. Now you are catching on. I do wish this had happened sooner.”
“Frigga, this is no time to jest! If they are ever to become great kings—“
“I jest not, Odin, about the safety of the Nine Realms or more importantly, our sons,” she snapped, getting to her feet. “But you are the current King of Asgard. You are setting an example for how they should rule should either of them lead a realm. It is not my place to teach them how to be kings. I would rather they be good men than great kings,” she told him, shoulders squared. “If you do not wish them to go and attack their enemies, try then, to teach them a little compassion. And if you cannot do that, I suppose they will just have to find it in short little ladies whom they make their advisors.”
“Frigga—“ Odin tried again, this time with a softness that had not been there before.
“No more of your excuses, Odin,” she said, taking his hand. “Your time for educating them has run short.”
He nodded, considering Thor’s explanation of their adventure. “Frigga?”
“Yes?”
“Is it true that Thor and Loki felled a Frost Giant?” he inquired hesitantly.
Her lips tightened and Odin knew he was stepping on thin ice. “Perhaps. Why?”
He cleared his throat, “It is no small feat to take down a Frost Giant.”
The Allmother glared at him with such disapproval that Odin considered hiding behind Gungnir. “Yes. At the very least, your lessons on how to kill a Frost Giant have gotten through.”
Her bitterness froze the King’s tongue so he was not quite sure what to say at all. Thankfully, she spoke before he could manage any justification for his admiration.
“Take to bed, Odin. Think on what I have told you. Really, I think we could have waited at least another thousand years before having children,” Frigga sighed thoughtfully.
Odin cleared his throat. “We had one child.”
“No,” Frigga corrected, “I birthed one child. We have two. And they are hardly children anymore. Soon they will be men,” she finished with finality, glaring at Odin, daring him to tell her otherwise.
“You challenge me, wife? Even here in my own bed chamber?” The Allfather grumbled, relenting and sauntering off in the direction of his bed.
“Where else would I insinuate a challenge?” Frigga smirked, waving a hand to dim the lights. “Sleep well, old man. I have business to attend to this evening concerning a certain pile of stones on a distant realm which is also of consequence to you.”
And with that, she left, leaving The Allfather more confused than ever he was.