Emptiness

" Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul.

I find myself searching the crowds for your face-

I know it's an impossibility, but I cannot help myself."

- NICHOLAS SPARKS

Message in a Bottle

Sif's POV

Something was not right, she felt it in her bones and it made her restless. Sif and Warriors Three were told by Lady Eir to sit by Heimdall's side until his condition improved, so they impatiently waited for an update. They were supposed to be with Thor, their beloved friend was back and they could not wait to embrace him. It was best to ignore that explosion, it probably meant nothing. The very moment Eir dismissed them, they exited the healing room as silently as they could. Thor needed them, they needed Thor. 

The corridors were eerily empty, didn't the guard just inform them that All-Father was out of the Odinsleep?  They should celebrate the return of the King and the crown prince but it felt completely opposite. Sif was trying not to panic but when Volstagg and Hogun came running towards them, the look on their face churned her stomach. Sif marched angrily towards Loki's room. If he had done something to Thor... if he had hurt her friend she would forget that Loki was Thor's little brother and her Prince. She would KILL him. The day had been exhausting and Loki was not making it easier for them.

'The king and the queen have retired quite early today, so we thought Thor has too but Prince Thor is not in his chambers.'

'Prince Thor is not in his chambers.'

'Prince Thor is NOT in his chambers.'

The echo of Volstagg's voice in her head suddenly halted as Sif looked around her, she realized that she rarely visited this part of the palace, Prince Loki's wing. The hallway was cold as if no one lived there but that was not true, as Loki practically spent his entire day and night here ever since he was out of the nursery. He had always preferred privacy except when he's in mood to cause trouble. There were floating lights above them which suggested that this wing was not abandoned. 

They could not enter his room, it was warded but what surprised Sif was the lack of guards at the door. Loki did not care but Queen Frigga would not like it, she could never accept any compromise with her sons' safety.

"Loki must be in his library, Thor says it's his favourite place." Fandral suggested, pulling Sif out of her thoughts.

"Hold on a moment, I do not understand one thing, why are we acting as if today is any regular day and we are just looking for Thor and Loki is going to tell us where he is? Loki almost killed Thor and Heimdall, I am not even sure if Thor is okay. Forgive me friends but I cannot do this." he added and Sif found Volstagg and Hogun agreeing with him. 

She did too but something told her to keep looking, she wanted to be on her bed and sleep for at least a week but she could not rest if she did not ensure Thor's wellbeing..... and Loki's. Contrary to the popular belief, Sif did not exactly hate Loki. She used to babysit him back in the days and he was the sweetest child despite his mischievous nature, she could not quite get that perfect image of a child out of her head even after Loki was all grown up. It always stooped her from hitting him too hard or seriously hurting him. Even after he had cut her hair and She kicked him in the balls.  Blame Thor for her softness.

"Let us go to the library then and see what wonders lie there. shall we?" Sif walked away from the trio, not waiting for their response. She had known the princes before any of them, she had been there before Loki, when she was Thor's only companion. Thor was hers for some years and then queen's pregnancy was announced. Thor was very excited about it, all he talked about was the baby in his mother's womb and how he already loved his sibling. Their talks of games and adventures as Valkyrie were left behind. The baby was gradually taking Thor away from her and she did not like it. She was there when the war erupted, her father was away the whole time. She remembered missing him. Thor and the queen were protected inside the palace, she did not see her blue eyed friend for months. Then the new baby was born, A Prince, the very day Asgard won the war against Jotunheim as they said. It took her some months or even years to finally accept that she was no longer Thor's first priority and Loki had audacity to accuse her. "I see you my lady, I see your futile attempts to steal my brother from me. Consider this warning as my generosity and cease this nonsense or I will be bound to take severe steps. Then, you will be in no position to put the blame on me."  She had told Thor about it and they had laughed together as no child spoke quite like Loki and he did look adorable while making that threat.

Sif knew why none of Thor's relationship lasted more than a week but Thor did not. She wondered how Loki had taken the news of Thor's attachment to the mortal, was that the reason he decided to hit Thor, that ended up with Thor being almost dead? it was not important now, so she dismissed the thought.

Her Thor had a big heart and his baby brother occupied most of it. She had cried many nights praying to the norns to take Loki away, so Thor could be hers, again. She was a foolish child back then and now the very thought made her nauseous. Thor would never be hers and if norns took Loki away, Thor would be lost too. There had been many incidents in the past where Loki was sick and how Thor would make himself sick with worry. Those were common ailments and she did not want to know how things would be if (norns forbid) something serious happened to Loki.

But the good side was that she was still Thor's first friend, she knew Thor better than the warriors three and beyond her duty to the crown, she cared deeply about her friend and the people who mattered to him. 

There were footsteps behind her, the warriors had not left. They might not care about prince Loki personally but Thor was their dearest friend too.

"If Heimdall was alright, then Thor's whereabouts would not have felt like some great mystery." Volstagg murmured as all four of them stood before the library's grand doors. They slowly entered the library, they had not been inside before, the wall were illuminated, the books were glowing, the air felt heavy with magic and the shelfs parted to make a way for them. It was endless, this place felt alien and dangerous.... The little group of warriors walked for what seemed like hours. They knew they had to be careful, it belonged to Loki after all. Even if they did not find the prince here, it was a fact that they had a little to no knowledge about it, so the mere thought of being infected by magic was scary.

When they were about to surrender to their exhaustion, Sif's eyes caught a figure in one of the farthest corners. Oh finally a prince! Just not the one they were expecting. At least not here. The figure showed no moment, it almost appeared as a life-like statue.

"THOR!" Sif screamed.

Her voice pierced through the lingering magic but was unheard by the only person it was addressed to.

Thor remained motionless and for the first time in her life Sif was scared to approach Thor.

An awful feeling settled in her stomach. Nothing was right.

tbc