You Never Really Die

If she doesn’t touch it, she would be in the clear. Crys currently stood in front of the infamous Casket of Ancient Winters, unmoving as if she were frozen in place. If she didn’t end up fighting anyone in the vault, she would be in the clear. Her fingers impatiently twitched with the urge to feel the true extent of the relic’s power within her veins. She was only able to stop herself a mere few inches away. Crys has only ever been in the Allfather’s weapons vault twice before now, both times not ending too well for her. She’s learnt from those encounters, from those close calls with the destroyer, which makes her extra careful this time round.

Frost Giants were on their way, she reminded herself as her hands fell onto the pedestal on which the casket was kept on display. She found out just a week ago that the giants had plans to break in here during the coronation, all by just overhearing them on one of her inter-realm walks. From floors above her, Crys could hear the faint sound of people cheering and ceremonial music being played. 

Disturbing her train of thought, the clanging of metal armor and footsteps echoed just right outside the vault door. The Einherji are here. With no hesitation, Crys rushed over to the spot behind one of the pillars then spread out her wings. These wings were the unconventional type as they were mostly just layers of sparkles and shimmering dust, not appearing to be that useful. Yet if she ever drapes it over herself, it can render her invisible, so that she did. 

The double doors slam open, two guards letting themselves in. Crys listened as she heard them pace about the room, though they never got close to where she was hiding. Then out of nowhere, a sudden and freezing breeze sweeps through the room. She could already feel the ice slowly creep up the wall that she stood in front of. The newfound chilly temperature gave her some comfort, though she didn’t know exactly where it had come from.

Crys quietly inches closer to see what was going on, just in time to catch a glimpse of the guards being flung down to the floor effortlessly by the newly arrived frost giants. Looking at the floor more carefully, she notices that ice was strewn all over. She turns her attention back to the giants right as they run over to the casket and take hold of it. The ice fairy notes that there were only three of them, they should be quite easy to take care of. Just as she readied herself to jump them, the intricately designed wall behind the casket seemed to retract onto itself like a door. The Destroyer stomps out from behind it, tossing aside all of the hopes she had of being able to nab the casket once and for all.

Unlike the times that she was there, the destroyer was thankfully not targeting her this time. A little perk of having invisibility. Instead, it faced the more violent intruders in front of it. The pitiful frost giants made an attempt to run for it but it was too late. Their screams reverberated through her ears as they got blasted to disintegration. Crys winces from where she stood, finally knowing what happens if you don’t dodge a destroyer blast. It’s a wonder she’s still alive and still in one piece then. 

Not knowing what she should do, Crys just stayed there in silence. She examines the damages from where she stood, not moving a single step. Soon enough, the doors slammed open once more. This time, three men in ceremonial armor marched right in the weapon’s vault. Crys had no shadow of a doubt that they were the royal family. The king and his two princes.

The Allfather stopped right in front of the casket, his sons on either side of him. “The Jotuns must pay for what they have done.” The older one, Thor, growled out and he definitely was not happy that his big day got ruined from the sound of it. Crys could barely see all three of them, her position only permitted her to have a good view of the younger prince, Loki, without feeling like she was risking her presence getting revealed.

“They have paid.” The Allfather, Odin, answered his son steadily. “...With their lives.” This resulted in a grunt that sounded like it came from the crowned prince. “The Destroyer did its work, and the casket is safe. All is well.”

“‘All is well’?” The older brother repeated, astonished as his voice oozed with frustration directed at his father. “They broke into the weapons vault.” He reminded, emphasizing this point to the king. “If the frost giants had stolen even one of these relics…” 

“But, they didn’t.” His father interrupted.

“Well, I want to know why!” The prince was starting to raise his voice now.

“I have a truce with Laufey, King of the Jotuns.” 

“He just broke your truce!” Thor shouted. “They know you are vulnerable!”

“What action would you take?” The Allfather asked, imposing a challenge for his son. At this point, Crys realized that the conversation was only being carried between two of the three people that came in the vault. The younger of the two princes was yet to speak up on anything. She wonders why the guy has been keeping silent throughout this. 

“March into Jotunheim as you once did.” Thor began, answering his father’s question without any hesitation. “Teach them a lesson. Break their spirits so they’ll never dare try to cross our borders again.” He added, his way of speaking now somewhat calmer but still slightly laced with tension. 

“You’re thinking only as a warrior.” Odin idly said, sounding like a statement he had already repeated to his son again and again. 

“This was an act of war!” 

“It was an act of but a few, doomed to fail.” The Allfather said as he smoothly countered Thor’s brashness.

“Look how far they got!” The prince said, once again yelling out of irritation. 

“We will find the breach in our defense and it will be sealed.” Odin said, his tone starting to grow tense. 

“As king of Asgard…” 

“But, you’re not king!” The Allfather snapped, loud enough to almost cause even Crys to flinch. “Not yet…” At this, Odin must have decided that enough was enough and strode out of the vault, leaving his two children behind.

Once their father had officially left the room, the younger son finally spoke up. “Thor…” He said, his voice just slightly above a whisper, his tone shaking slightly. “Thor… you’ve got to calm down.” He told him, tersely. “Keep a level head, my brother.”

“Not now, Loki.” Thor gritted out through his teeth, storming out the room in a melodramatic huff. Heaving a sigh, his brother followed behind him right after. Finally leaving Crys alone in the icy solitude that was the weapons vault. Something that she didn’t at all mind. After all, she would be able to examine the room more closely now that she was all alone. 

As the slamming of the door sounded throughout Odin’s vault, Crys at last moved from her position and properly took in her surroundings. She stretched her arms up in the air and let out a yawn, realizing she shouldn’t have stood so still that long. Some things were necessary, she figured. The first thing that the fairy wants to figure out is where the sudden blast of cold came from, which should somehow tie into the way that frost giants entered without detection. 

Looking around, she found it difficult to find a spot on the floor that was completely untouched by ice or that didn’t have icy spikes protruding out of it. She had spotted a hand somewhere, half of it submerged in the ice. It was too sickening to see that Crys averted her gaze so fast that she wasn’t able to check if it was Jotun or Asgardian. Switching her focus to something different, she decided to look at the walls more closely. Her fingers absentmindedly traced the intricate lines of the frost as she stared at the damage, it was significantly less compared to the state of the floor but it was still something. Still, she had no answer to her where the giants or the sudden change in the temperature came from. She still felt like the cold was trying to drag her in from somewhere. Scanning the room even more, something more subtle and hidden caught her eye. 

A portal to Jotunheim. Which explains exactly how the Frost Giants had direct access to the weapons vault without immediate detection from the crowd upstairs. Which now begs a new question, who told them about this portal and about the timing? There’s a big chance that they had a source who is someone trusted within the palace. Whoever this person may be, they might possibly be a person of interest to one of Crys’ plans sometime in the future. Feeling a tad curious and adventurous, she went and stepped through the portal.

The frigid air blows through her hair and skin as she breathes out a sigh of somewhat relief. Crys had always preferred the blizzards of Jotunheim compared to the glaring sun of Asgard. Looking around a bit, she realizes that she must be at the mountains that’s not too far from the royal sector of the realm. Spreading out her wings, she took flight down the mountains to go find it. She can probably find where to go from there. She needs to find her usual portal to get back to Asgard. 

The further she flew, the taller and sharper the icy rocks became, until she found an area that looks to be forming a wall to ward off people who didn’t belong there. The thing that really piqued her interest though was the evident sounds of battle coming from within, meaning that the princes most likely took action more quickly than she would have thought. Wanting to take a closer look at what;s going on, she landed on the ground in order to not draw any attention to herself. Pulling up a hood over her hair, she walked around the rocks.

She catches a glimpse of the two brothers fighting frost giants alongside their warrior friends as they were severely outnumbered. Crys wasn’t usually in the business of saving Asgard royalty but she figured she could use the stretching. Conjuring up two longswords made out of ice to dual-wield, she waltzed into the battlefield. She went up to the first giant that she came across and used one of the hilts to jab him in the side then stabbed him in his thighs, using her lack of height to her advantage. Pushing him down by his chest, she moved on to the next.

One after another, she finds herself lost in the cycle of battle. A grin spread on her face after a while of not being able to enjoy the thrill of a fight. Throwing daggers, stealing weapons and just using plain old magic to trick her opponents. It had reached the point that she had almost forgotten who she was practically fighting alongside, until she was quickly reminded of this fact when she heard one of the warriors cry out from afar, “Don’t let them touch you!” The poor guy most likely had been burned by one of the giants, causing Crys to feel grateful that she never had to worry about dealing with those as she would at times even deliver the burns herself.

After tossing another frost giant out of the way, Crys had realized too late that she was side-by-side with one of the princes. The younger one, more specifically. Loki, who had just defeated another giant himself, began eyeing him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. “Who the hell are you?” He asked, quickly noting that Crys didn’t look to be a part of either group involved in the conflict. Without answering, She swung a sword at him. “You’re definitely not part of my dear brother’s merry band.” He observed, blocking her sword with two of his knives. She tries to take a swing at him again. “You don’t look like a frost giant, either.” He added, completely dodging her new attack.

This man was definitely starting to irk Crys. “You just never shut up, do you?” She retorted, wanting to return to the time where he would barely talk. She raised her head to look up at him, glaring straight at his face. This was the first time that he got a good look at what she looked like as she made sure that he only saw the hood that covered most of her face.

“Ah, she speaks.” Loki said, a wide smirk plastered onto his expression. “Now answer my question, Who are you?” He asks once again. He definitely was quite different from how his brother seems to speak and act. He spoke with a way more sinister and velvety edge embedded into his tone. He also moved more gracefully and more calculatedly.

“I’m nobody.” Crys responded flatly. At this point, she sees that her trusty swords weren’t gonna help her in this battle so she dropped and immediately punched him in the face. Something that he didn’t seem to expect as he seemed to knock back quite a bit. “Nobody that you need to concern yourself with.”

“You obviously have no idea who I am, then.” He says to her with a small amused chuckle. She punches again, this time the god of mischief managed to catch a hold onto her wrist.  “I shall decide for myself on who concerns me or not.”

Not bothering to talk any longer, Crys grabs his wrist with her free hand and watches as he winces slightly when she tightens her grip. She applies more pressure in order to attempt to burn him like how one of his companions was. Instead of the expected result, however, the ice just shedded away onto the ground as his skin began to gradually turn cerulean blue. “What the fuck?” She breathes out.

“What did you do!?” He asked Crys as he instinctively shoved her away from him, all the while staring at his blue skin that is now beginning to fade back. “What the hell did you do?!” He demanded once again, now glaring daggers at her.

Honestly, even Crys herself didn’t know exactly what she did. Rather than telling him that, she just quickly backs away and flies back towards the direction that she had come from. She has an idea of what could’ve happened but she can’t exactly be sure, the only way to know for sure is to return to the weapons vault. She hoped that the prince was smart enough to have realized the same when his fight was over. This situation has really caught her interest, perhaps curiosity will kill this cat.