Chapter 13
Thor waits anxiously as Hela slips into the giant compound that's been built up around Mjolnir, and she comes back about five minutes later with a furious expression on her face. "He put a spell on it! Or, at least, as close to a spell as he can damn well manage!" At Thor's confused look, she asks "Why do you think all of Asgard derides magic despite Frigga being queen, Thor? Odin has no natural talent for it himself, and uses what's now known as the Odinforce - no, I'm not joking here, he never told me what else it might've been called - to cover that up. And, to make sure nobody would be able to get stronger than him, he made magic a borderline forbidden practice via ostracizing it. Of course, there's nobody else alive today that can remember that besides myself, Frigga, and Odin."
Thor looks down at the ground in shame, he just went along with that mentality despite his mother and his brother being so talented with magic. And his brother's best friend, to boot - the only person in all of Asgard who always stood up for him. Thor defended his brother, he knows he did…but, right now, the instances seem few and far between compared to how often he mocked his brother's magical abilities or urged him to join him in sparring.
And then Hela's hand rests on his shoulder, gives it a squeeze so tight it makes something creak, and says "Don't blame yourself completely, Thor. Odin has this way of making those he professes to love want to live up to his expectations if they don't have anyone else. I should know." That's how and why she went off so badly on Vanaheim, why she was so broken when Banished. She did it all for him, and he just discarded her like she was worthless.
After a moment, Thor asks "What was the spell? What did he do to Mjolnir?" He's not even going to ask why the power they share is named the Odinforce - there's only two conclusions he can come up with for that one, either Odin was named after it or he named it after himself.
Hela scowls, and says "Far as I can tell, it's a Judgement Enchantment. Once it deems you worthy - probably Odin's definition of worthy, no less - you'll get your powers back. That's his plan, anyway."
Thor scowls as well, saying "You mean, once I'm back to following his every whim?"
Hela nods, saying "Pretty much. Perhaps Amora, Loki, or Frigga could break it, but…lets just say now's not a good time to ask."
Thor perks up at once, asking "You've heard from them? How are they? Is Asgard alright, have the Frost Giants invaded?"
Hela snickers, saying "Oh, I've heard from them alright. Amora and Loki have been running around like mad trying to put the fires out of this mess, and Odin took one look at Frigga's expression when she learned of your banishment and fell backwards into his precious Odinsleep." Amora called up to give her an update, and Hades fell on his ass laughing hysterically, choking out between giggles that he took the coward's way out.
Thor sighs, bites back several comments running through his head about the easy way being the coward's way as Odin himself taught him, runs a hand through his hair, and Jane asks "Well…what now?"
Hela frowns, glancing at Jane, and says "Don't try to understand this, Jane Foster. Most mortals don't grasp the idea of magic very well. Hell, most Asgardians, despite knowing it's very real, don't tolerate it worth a damn."
Jane says "Magic's just science we don't understand yet. If I can't understand it on my own, then help me understand."
Hela grins, and says "Feisty. Not here, though. Is there anywhere you have where we can be alone? Oh, I snagged this, by the way." She tosses Jane her book full of research notes.
Jane takes the two Asgardians up to her trailer, and ends up sitting on lawn chairs with Thor as he explains the Nine Realms to her, Yggdrasil, and the Bifrost.
Amora Apparates back into the Weapons Vault, having just gotten back from giving the Casket to Laufey - with Loki and Frigga's express permission, no less! - and having him sign the Unbreakable Peace Treaty that dictates neither Asgard nor Jotunheim shall attempt to invade or attack the other ever again, but will come to aid if necessary - which Loki signed as 'King of Asgard' so it'll bind all the kings of Asgard, including Odin, and there's not a damn thing he can do about it since they worked the magic of an Unbreakable Vow into the treaty - and starts walking back towards Loki, when suddenly there's a sharp sting in her side. When she looks down, she sees a small dart of some kind sticking out of her side. Amora quickly pulls it out, but curses when the room starts spinning - poison? A foul-smelling rag gets pressed to her face, and Amora feels her limbs start to lose their strength before she blows her attacker into a wall - it's too late, though, this Asgardian Chloroform is already in her system.
And then a familiar pair of boots comes into view as Amora's trying to focus enough to Apparate, and something gets closed around one wrist that cuts off her magic at once. And then Sif kneels down, a malicious smirk on her face as she says "Not only a coward but a traitor as well. I wonder just what Odin will say when he hears how I found you coming from the Weapons Vault, covered in ice and snow."
Loki freezes mid-sentence when his sense of Amora's magic just suddenly cuts off - that's never happened since the day she arrived on Asgard, it's been weaker when she's Realms away from him but always there in the back of his mind. A warm, comforting presence that's always been a promise that she's one moment away if he needs her.
Until now, when it suddenly just disappeared altogether.
One of the advisors slowly asks "Your Highness? Is something-"
Loki turns to the guards and says "Something's happened to Amora, find her!" The guards scurry out at once, that's the tone of voice their captain uses when he's pissed off and about to take it out on all of them via a day of hellish drills.
Another of the advisors, a pompous old man that's had a beard as long as his torso for as long as Loki can remember, sniffs disdainfully and says "I'm sure she can handle it, Sire." And then he finds himself pinned under a furious icy green gaze - if looks alone could kill, he'd be dead on the floor right now.
Loki slowly rises, placing both palms on the table just so he doesn't Apparate over there and snap the man's neck, and bites out "Excuse me? Are you defying a command from your king?" Green and gold starts arcing off Loki, the entire table starts rattling ominously, and everyone can suddenly feel the weight of Loki's magic pressing down on them as the man seems to tower over them. This…is not a side of the usually-mild Royal they've ever seen before, Loki's usually Thor's quiet shadow. Preferring a book and spells to drawing attention to himself in any way, shape, or form. Not...pressing the full weight of his magic onto them, heavier and heavier with each passing moment in his fury. Not on the cusp of forgoing any and all notions of control over his magic right then and there.
One of the other advisors swallows, and hastily says "Apologies, Your Highness. I'm sure he didn't mean to imply such a thing. S-Surely a woman of Lady Amora's most…unique capabilities, though, is more than capable of dealing with whatever trouble she may find herself in?"
Loki gives the entire group of advisors - Odin's advisors, who all spout the same nonsense he does, he's found out - the same ice-cold look, privately wondering just where that particular term of respect for his Soulmate has been for the past few centuries even when nobody outside his family knows she's his other half, and frostily says "The next person that attempts to argue with me about finding Amora Sigyn is going to find themselves thrown into the most crowded cell in the dungeons until I can arrange a trial for attempted treason, am I clear?"
Every single advisor's gone about the color of snow, and there's a series of nods and subdued, terrified confirmations before they all run straight out the room to start searching the entire palace from top to bottom once Loki Apparates away.
When Thor, Jane, and Hela get back to Erik and Darcy, they find two strangers sitting there with steaming mugs of tea in front of them. Hela raises an eyebrow, and asks "Luna Lovegood? What are you doing here? And is this that Rolf person Amora wanted to meet and subtly threaten into treating you like a goddess?"
Luna gives them a smile, and says "Hello, Lady Death. Lovely to meet you in person, instead of just over the phone." She turns to Thor, and he sees she's got the oddest eyes he's ever even heard of before - they look almost clouded, yet he swears they can see right through him straight down to his very soul. "And you must be Thunder, Loki thinks about you a lot."
Now Thor's completely lost. After a moment, he asks "You know my brother?"
Luna nods her head, and says "I do. Amora, as well - we were schoolmates back before she died and freed Hela, you see."
Now everyone bar Hela and Rolf is looking at her in complete and utter shock, and Jane swallows and asks "There's a…dead woman walking around somewhere?"
Hela waves her hand, saying "The Hallows brought her back to life, courtesy of my own magic as the Goddess of Death. So, yes and no - she's not a walking corpse, her heart beats and her stomach digests food, but she did die via magic."
Luna hums, and says "She's much happier as Amora Sigyn rather than Hari Potter, you know. I was only a year below her, so I saw firsthand how the entire school turned on her time and again. She didn't smile or laugh nearly as much as she does now."
Thor feels a headache coming on, he really can. Amora Sigyn, the most feared woman in the Nine Realms, the deadliest magic-user he knows of…he can't quite reconcile it with someone who gets betrayed like this Luna is describing. Who is this woman again?!
After a moment, the dark-haired man with her squeezes her hand gently and says "Tell them why we're here, my Moon."
Luna nods, and gets a serious expression on her face…and Hela leans forward, equally serious. "What's going on?"
Luna says "The Nargles told me the Statute of Secrecy will die today, electrocuted to be precise. Today, the world at large learns magic is real."
And then, as if to prove her right, there's a banging on the glass door, and Thor sees Sif and the Warriors Three standing there.