You bow to no one?
The walk from the garden to the gathering hall is much farther on the arm of a Loki you do not know. Hand resting on the top of his forearm while your feet fall into rhythm with his step brings a familiar comfort to this stranger's gesture. Though, a part of you thinks this offer was simply to keep track of you on the journey. The silence is only broken when your own mouth moves without prior contemplation.
"I'm sorry." The apology is for Loki, though it's directed straight ahead of you as you don't turn to him.
You assume the quiet admission has gone unnoticed until you see Loki shake his head slightly from the corner of your eye, "I'm unsure why you're apologizing."
"I didn't intend on causing disruption, and I'm not very sure how I can soothe it." You take a breath, "So, I sincerely apologize."
Loki blinks and nods, offering no comment as he guides you through the rest of three turns and two ceiling-high doorways. Loki offers his own apology before following his brother and company into the sitting room of Odin, "I must apologize, as well, it seems."
You break your line of sight from the room ahead of you to turn to Loki, confusion on your brow. As you part your lips to question him, he continues.
"I should have offered solace in the garden. You were clearly recognizing my brother and I; you were talking to friends.” His eyes search yours for an answer to a question he doesn’t ask, “However, I did not offer any understanding in a miscommunication that I may be at fault for."
"At fault for." You repeat his calculation, "You think you don't remember me? That neither of you do?"
Loki purses his lips slightly and tilts his chin down in a short motion, "I believe it is a possibility. I've never encountered someone so," He hesitates, searching for a word with his tongue on the back of his teeth, "someone so confident in their understanding of another person. I fear we may be at fault."
You smile in slight amusement, "Loki, I appreciate that but believe this confidence: you're not at fault." You squeeze his arm softly with a nod in the direction of the court's room, "Will Frigga be there?"
The query in Loki's eyes flashes for one second before masking itself once more, "I believe so. Odin rarely enters here without her as of late. It would also be improper to greet a guest alone." Loki takes a step into the doorway as he speaks, your feet follow as you chuckle to yourself.
"I don't think Thor would have me announced as a guest." You bite your cheek to keep from laughing at the memory of his frozen face. "I am an intruder who has gotten past your gatekeeper and all magic, I am an enemy."
Loki side-eyes you as you exit the arched door, fifty paces from where Odin sits in a golden throne with Frigga to his right and Thor standing to his left. "You admit you are a threat?"
"Mmm," you contemplate, "I believe I said enemy."
"Is an enemy not a threat?" Loki speaks under his breath the closer your feet bring you to Odin.
You look to Loki, ignoring the stare of the Allfather as you close in on his seat, "An enemy is a familiar thing, you know their capabilities. A threat is a world of unknown." You nod a small bow to Loki as you release his arm, separating from the god.
You watch Loki as he walks to the right of Odin, below Frigga, leaving you to the center of the path facing Odin alone. Your eyes scan to the right where Thor stands on guard at the foot of his father, a solid stance in frame with the position he fills in this room.
You find Odin, sitting in his white and tan robes with a golden circlet sitting on his head, knees apart as he sits in a throne far too large for him. In his left hand is Gungir, the spear of heaven, and in his right hand lies Frigga's as he watches you. The Allfather waits no longer in silence, "Well, child. Explain your presence."
A smirk pulls at the side of your lips, you test your boundaries, "Ask what you wish to know, old man."
You see Thor's chest puff into an inhale, and Loki's shoulders tense. Frigga lightly squeezes Odin's hand before his response, "Yes, it seems I am an old man. However, I am much more than that, I am-"
"King of Asgard and protector of the Nine Realms." You cut him off, "Odin Borson, the father to all and the seer of many. The god who slayed the ice giants and once led a conquest with only his mind. God of the sky and king of the pantheon, the Allfather is a force to behold." Your smile reaches your eyes in mischief. "I'm very familiar with the titles."
"Titles are one thing, the man another." Odin sneers.
You nod in agreement, "Oh, yes. I know the man as well. Do you?" With no response from the king, you offer the question to Thor with a glance.
Thor begins an inhaled response but is cut off by his mother. "I know the man."
Your eyes meet hers, mischief turning to genuine in your smile. "We can compare notes later."
Frigga nods in a soft smile, "Who are you, my dear?"
You contemplate your response. You can tell them all, drop the truth and exit to your room and take the memories with you as you leave. Or you can choose a Seer now, the one person who doesn't need an explanation because they're capable of understanding everything.
One touch to their skin, a permission to witness your memories, and they're able to see your reality. They would bear witness to the creation and traveling of universes, the interactions with their own faces hundreds of times in hundreds of different ways, the fated paths that are followed regardless of the origin, the dynamic in which you fall into each world you enter. They would see their fate, as well.
Frigga could be this person, she could be the one you don't have to explain things to. That means, however, you would be bound to this place even if you leave forever. A Seer cannot unsee, cannot be erased. Frigga would know their truth forever, your truth. Her sons' and husband's truth, her truth. She would see all of the possibilities of every universe and never remove them from herself.
Yet, it feels as if she knows all of these things already, all of these irreversible consequences, when she asks again, "Can you tell us how you got here?"
You hold your hand out to her and she releases Odin's as she descends the steps. Thor tries to bolster an argument but is met with a shushing hand from his mother as she passes him. She reaches your hand and watches you, sees the hesitation in your eyes. "Show me, dear."
With one last step, Frigga takes your hand and the images engulf her as they flow freely from you. She sees the universes you created to be with her family, be with her people. She sees you in worlds she has never seen with people she has never met, never will. Frigga watches as timelines surround her while she holds your hand, watching as each version of her adopted son falls in line with yours. She sees the universe in which they're all humans; the one where they all die at a young age; a universe where she has daughters instead of sons; another where Loki is allowed to remain his true self; a world where Odin accepts Loki and rejects Thor; she sees the universe in which they're all fiction characters; Frigga sees each and every universe where you choose to love her son.
You watch as Frigga explores these memories, these stories of yours, in the space between your connection as you hear the commotion around you. Thor has run to his mother's side, fearful of the trance-like state she is in as she views the mental images of your life. He yells for her, asks if she's okay, and she shushes him.
Thor steps back, still within arms reach, and Frigga finds you in your memories in the palace garden. You sit in the memory with Frigga, looking over the same wall you found yourself drawn to in this world.
"You love him in each place you find him." She says.
You nod in response, watching the cottage on the right in the field below. "In each and every place."
"And you love him now?"
You take a breath, breaking from the visual memory to look at this new Loki standing behind his mother, paces away in case he is needed. You respond to Frigga's memory place, though it is heard as you also say it aloud, "I do not know him."
"You will love him here?” Frigga explains, “He is yours in all other places."
You shake your head, "He is not mine." You've returned to the memory in vision, though respond aloud once more, "He chooses."
Frigga nods, standing and squeezing your shoulders as you stand in the garden. With a final smile, Frigga leaves your mind as she releases your hands. Thor comes to his mother's side, offering his arm. She takes it and walks back to her husband, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Loki," she looks to her son, "Please escort our guest to her chambers."
Thor protests, "Mother, we cannot simply allow her access to the palace. We know nothing of her! Father, you must protest this."
Odin nods, "You, my son, know nothing of her." The king looks at Loki and nods.
Loki steps towards you, once again offering you his arm. Before taking it, you nod a goodnight to Frigga and turn to leave as Thor scoffs.
"You bow to no one?"
You look Thor up and down, taking in his anger, "You are no god to me."
Your exit is followed by Thor, joined once again by his company. The crowd remains paces behind the steps you take with Loki. A full hall length away, you feel something moving towards you. As you turn, Mjolnir is speeding towards your head.
Loki moves to pull you out of the way only to be met with your feet freezing, the hammer stopping a fraction from your face in mid air. Thor freezes behind the hammer, this time it's voluntary fear.
As you hold Mjolnir by the handle, moving it from your face you question Thor, "You believe me to be a witch, yes? A sorcerer of a magic you've not encountered yet."
Thor swallows hard, his crowd’s only movement the flickering of eyes between the two of you.
"If only it were that easy," you sigh. "Sadly, I am not yet tempted to explain my magic tricks to you." With your hand still rested in Loki's arm, you balance Mjolnir on one finger and smile softly to yourself. "Eitri has always been so very talented. I'm disappointed to see such a piece wasted." With final comment, Mojlnir is sent back to Thor, landing in his chest, sending him to the back of the hall.
You turn with Loki in tow, headed towards the west wing in the direction of your chambers.