The Last Song

The Last Song

(Alternative Universe to Nightingale)

By: Lalaith Quetzalli

Sometimes things are lost, others they are gained… lives, they aren't so easily traded. When Loki lost his Lady Nightingale, he believed no one could ever understand him, accept him, care for him, like she did. And then he met a traveling half-blood who made him understand that some melodies do go on beyond death.

It was a goodbye… it was a hello… it was everything.

xXx Loki's POV xXx

Asgard was the kind of place that hardly ever changed, there was a reason it was called the Realm Eternal. And with all its inhabitants living lives measured in the millennia, it was probably to be expected. And it wasn't just that things hardly ever changed in Asgard but when they actually did, the Aesir had trouble accepting those changes. It's why I loved Midgard so much, time seemed to move almost faster in the realm of mortals… or perhaps it was just the fact that it mattered more. The constant changes, the chaos, it all held great appeal to me. Though, much as it might cost me to admit it, I hadn't set foot in any corner of that world for nearly five years, not since the loss of her… Her, my dearest friend, my only friend, my beloved Lady Nightingale… there had been a time (a short time, painfully so) when I believed there could have been more between us, so much more… but that moment never did come. She was lost to the world, and to me, much too soon.

"If you listen to the wind you can hear me again

Even when I'm gone you can still hear the song

High up in the trees as it moves through the leaves

Listen to the wind, there's no end to my..."

I would never be able to forget the last words to come from her lips, her very last song. I was there with her, at the end. After fighting against the fates and her sickness as hard and as long as I possibly could. I even tried creating something new, objects that had never before existed… and they still didn't. For I failed in that, like in so many other things. I failed and I lost her. All I could do in the end was use my magic to draw as much of the pain from her as I could, to make her passing easier. She laid in my arms, whispering the words to an unfinished song, just before she ceased breathing, and then her heart stopped beating, and just like that, she was gone.

I exhaled once, only to myself, as a completely unrelated line of thought had somehow driven me down the exact same path, again. It seemed to be the only thing I really thought of anymore, had been for the past five years… no matter what topic might get into my head, it somehow twisted into her. Which was how I ended thinking about her when I had been thinking about Asgard, the way it never seemed to change and, most importantly, how that was probably why her arrival caused such absolute mayhem.

Her name was Nauru Eryniel, or so she claimed. She was of average height when compared with Midgardians, though short for either Aesir, Vanir or Ljósálfar (not to mention the dwarves, or the giants, both of ice and fire, and whose respective heights were radically different). Her figure was athletic, and while not burly in any way, she had somewhat wide-shoulders and a strong form. Her skin was lightly tanned and without blemish, eyes dark brown (seemingly in permanent shadow), dark brown hair that didn't quite reach her shoulders and looked always in disarray (also, like the person who'd cut it hadn't been too careful, as it wasn't completely straight).

Nauru arrived three days before what was supposed to be my brother's coronation. A coronation I never intended to allow to take place. Thor wasn't ready to be King, I could see that, even if no one else could, and I'd make sure Asgard did not suffer for my oaf of a brother's immaturity, blatant recklessness and at times stupidity. I had had my doubts, of course I had. The things I was planning… I knew that, were they to ever be traced back to me, it would be my doom. Nothing of what I planned could be passed as a mere trick or prank; at best it would be seen as malicious and I would be distrusted (even more than I already was) possibly even considered as less (not that I saw how that could possibly be, I might have been a prince in name but hardly anyone ever treated me with the proper respect such a position deserved); at worst I'd be seen as traitor to the King and the Realm Eternal as a whole, which might even end up with my death. It was a risk I was willing to take. The possibility of my death wasn't what made my courage falter, it was the possibility of failure; of me doing all that, of paying the ultimate price for it, and Thor still ascending to the throne and bringing ruin and death upon the land, upon Asgard, upon Mother… Mother, she was all I had left, with Nightingale gone, the only one that truly cared about me anymore, and the mere thought that Thor's foolish actions might end up with her death, I could not stand it. I wouldn't.

Then Nauru Eryniel arrived, and it changed everything. She was wearing a green-brown riding dress with leggings underneath, in a style that might not have been out of place in some of the forest-settlements in Alfheim, though made of stern clothing that could only be expected to be found being used in the caves of Nidavellir; her boots too were clearly of dwarven make (even if bigger than any boots a dwarf would need). The biggest surprise though, were perhaps the weapons on her: a bow and a quiver of arrows, as well as several knives strapped to her body; none of which were either of elven or aesir make (though, surprisingly enough, the bow looked like it could have been dwarven made, if dwarves made such weapons), in fact, I was quite sure most were human-made. She looked to be in her early twenties, if that, except for the shadows in her eyes that should have only been possible in someone much, much older.

According to Heimdall, she had appeared out of thin-air, in the middle of his Observatory, down on one knee and body curled up, an old, somewhat frayed elven cloak, hood pulled up. Heimdall was so startled by the suddenness of her arrival, the fact that he never saw her coming, that he pulled up his sword and was pointing it at her before even he knew what was going on. She did not even flinch at that, instead just asked to be taken to the Prince, claiming she bore a message upon which the fate of all realms depended.

I have no idea what exactly she did or said that convinced Heimdall to take her not just to the palace but to the throne room. Father, Mother, the Council, Thor, his friends and at least a dozen Einherjer were already there when I arrived, Mother having sent her new head-handmaiden: Sigyn (who was also one of my few friends left) to get me. The moment I stepped in through one of the servant's entrances I knew no one had noticed me, they weren't expecting me, as the message did not seem to concern me at all.

"Who are you young one and what has brought you to the Realm Eternal?" Odin demanded.

The girl cocked her head to a side, hood up.

"Are you Odin Allfather, current King of Asgard?" She asked, to everyone's surprise.

"I am Odin Allfather, King of Asgard." Father stated stoically.

"How can you not know who you speak to girl?" The head of the Council of Elders demanded.

"Before this day I had never laid eyes on him, or really, on anyone that stands today in this room, except perhaps on a couple of old pictures." She admitted with a shrug, before pushing back her hood, letting her cloak drop open just enough to allow her clothes to be seen and straightening up: "My name is Nauru Eryniel, I come from Midgard, though I am not human. I am a half-blood and a refugee. I am also from a different time. A time where this Realm no longer exists, where all that remains of Asgard is a memory, preserved by this world's last ruler: Queen Svanhvit."

I could only blink, a Queen… Thor's daughter? Granddaughter? I had no idea. Though the statement certainly brought around the expected reaction. Absolute pandemonium. Never before had I seen the Council lose their composure like that. It was quite entertaining for me, especially as, standing in the shadows of a curtain, I didn't actually have to pretend to remain completely serious, like my family did… or well, everyone except Thor. The oaf didn't even try to hide his shock and absolute disbelief.

"That's impossible!" He snapped.

"Nothing is impossible when you have the will, and the power… or in my case I suppose, the connections." Nauru shrugged dismissively at the idea. "You are Prince Thor, are you not, the future King of Asgard?"

"I am indeed." Thor looked incredibly proud as he said that.

I gritted my teeth. Of course, the message was intended for him, which meant why I wasn't sent for (other than by Mother) and why no one seemed to mind my apparent absence.

"While I do bring a message that concerns you, and everyone else in the room, and beyond it." She went on. "I also bring one that is just for you."

"What is the message?" Thor asked eagerly, probably thinking it concerned some great future deed of his.

"The best Warrior isn't the one who fights for his own sake, but that of others; the best King isn't the one who rules for himself, but for others. You knew that once, and I hope you will again, I'll be waiting for you. In this life, and every other the Stars may grant us." Nauru recited in a soft but strong voice.

"Who… who sent that message?" Thor asked, clearly shocked by the words.

"Your consort, Queen Svanhvit."

That statement brought about a whole new disaster, though for entirely different reasons. Because apparently the 'Last Queen' of Asgard wasn't some distant descendant of Thor's, but his own wife, which meant… well it meant that Nauru did not hail from as far into the future as some might have expected, and Ragnarok was probably a lot closer than any of us would wish.

"Who sent you back?" General Tyr asked what he probably thought was the most important question, such a fool.

"The Sorcerer Supreme." Nauru answered promptly. "He… he said we were connected, in ways he could not explain. That one he loved more than life itself had asked him to find me, that I was the only one who could do this, who could come back, deliver the message, and make sure all wrongs would be made right."

"Why you?" Queen Frigg inquired, curious.

"I don't know." Nauru admitted with a sigh. "I'm no one important. Just a half-blood refugee, fighting to survive when so much has already been lost. I never knew my father, he died before I was ever born, according to Nana, he sacrificed his life so the two of us, and what other few survivors remained, might make it out of Nidavellir. Queen Svanhvit took us in, she was in charge of the refugees, and was our contact with the Midgardian heroes fighting off those who wished to destroy the mortal realm like they already had so many others."

"Mortal warriors?" The disbelief was plain to hear in everyone's voices.

"They were valiant warriors!" Nauru clearly did not like anyone so much as implying the opposite. "They gave their lives so others would live! As did the Queen!"

"Is that why you were sent back?" Thor asked, more kindly than I would have ever thought him capable of being.

"Strange… he said it was our last chance, that I was our last chance." Nauru admitted, so very quietly. "There were so few left… we wouldn't survive another battle…"

She turned her head to a side, and I couldn't help but imagine what must be going through her mind in that moment, the understanding that another battle would happen at any moment, probably already had. That the world she'd left behind likely didn't exist anymore. But then again, wasn't that the purpose of her trip exactly? She'd be changing things so the world she knew would never come into being. And chances were, she wouldn't either. She was a half-blood after all, and if the only reason she'd ever been born, if her parents had only ever met because of the need for some races to find refuge in other realms… then it was unlikely she'd ever exist, were they to change things enough to prevent such destruction, such a war from ever taking place. It seemed ludicrous, that she might know all that, might know the price she would be paying for her actions, for her own heroism, and still be doing it; and yet… and yet something told me she knew, she knew and was doing it anyway.

"What was the message?" I stepped forth, the question falling from my lips before I was even fully aware I'd left the shadows.

All eyes turned to me instantly. I wondered if really, none of them had noticed I was present (idiots! What if it had been an assassin or something?); and more so, had they really all forgotten the purpose of that very meeting. It wasn't about how the lady was there at all, but the message she carried for us. The message that was supposed to allow us to prevent Ragnarok.

"I don't know how it all began, I'm not sure if anyone does, or ever did." Nauru answered, eyes straight on me. "But I was told there was a series of events that marked everything. Things that went wrong and from which we never recovered. At least, that's how the last Seer explained it to Strange, and how he, in turn, explained it to me. Her exact words as I memorized them were: 'A rainbow breaks, the prince falls. The skies open, the titan comes.'."

"The Titan?!" I was in absolute shock.

It couldn't be true, could it? The Titan was said to be dead!

"Thanos, the Mad Titan, He-Who-Courts-Death…" Nauru enlisted, her voice taking the edge of a certain cadence, it sounded familiar, though I couldn't put my finger on it. "The Infinity Gems he wants, and he will do anything to get them. Even if it means destroying half the universe in the process, even if it means destroying all Nine Realms…"

"How many did he have when you were sent back?" I pressed on.

Clearly there were those who still did not believe, who refused to believe. The idea that a being as powerful and terrible as Thanos might be real, might still live, and not only that but be coming our way… they'd rather call our young traveler a liar than believe it to be true. Pretty much the same thing applied to the Gems.

"All but one." She said in return.

I could hear what wasn't being said, just as clearly: all but the one that had sent her back, which would be lost as well soon, if it wasn't already. Which meant Nauru Eryniel was, truly, our first, last and only chance of making things right!

Thor's coronation was canceled until further notice. No one wanted him to be in charge when something so huge was coming our way; he clearly didn't like it, but I knew that a part of him did not want that kind of responsibility either. Especially because he couldn't follow his usual MO and go and 'kill' whatever was giving him trouble. That much Mother had eventually managed to get through his thick skull, Thanos was not the kind of enemy Thor, or any one man (or even an army) could take down, just like that.

Things became infinitely more complicated when the Allfather fell into the Odinsleep two days after Nauru's sudden appearance, and with Mother worrying by his bedside half the time, most things fell upon Thor and I. It wasn't easy, especially because of how so few people trusted me. Heimdall and Thor's friends certainly didn't. The Jotun attack did not help matters any.

I thought I had taken care of that, I really did. With Thor not becoming King I did not need there to be a 'convenient interruption' or anything else that might show Father how much Thor wasn't ready for the throne. Of course, I should have realized that some Jotun might not be willing to just stand down. I did my best to block the exit to the Hidden Roads I knew connected Jotunheim to Asgard. I certainly did not expect for them to pretty much 'make' a new way out. They came out of the Roads just beneath the Observatory on the Bifrost.

Heimdall was immediately alerted, which was a good thing. He also managed to get an alert out, which had Thor and his friends right there and ready to find in a very short time. Of course, things got messy when the Jotun began freezing everything and then I got involved, using my magic against them to ensure they'd never reached Asgard itself. All was going well enough, until one of them shot his ice straight at me, so fast there was no way I could have dodged in time. The ice enveloped me and for a moment I was sure I was going to become ice myself, die right then and there. Except a moment later I was screaming and the ice was breaking and I was alive, just fine… if one did not count the part where my skin was blue… as blue as the ice, or the skin of the frost giant right then staring at me in absolute shock.

Somehow I managed to force myself to keep moving, I conjured a metal dagger and used it to kill my enemy before teleporting straight onto the Bifrost (I'd been fighting on the frozen surface of the sea).

That was when I got the second surprise of the day, as I found an arrow being pointed straight at my face, by none other than Nauru Eryniel, who was standing at the very end of the Bifrost (or the beginning, depending how one saw things). There were at least two Jotun dead, one by the side of the bridge, and the other pretty much at her feet. It was quite evident that she had made herself into the last line of protection, to ensure that whoever managed to get past my oaf of a brother (or not brother? My skin was blue! Like the Jotun! How the hell was I supposed to react to that revelation?!) and his friends wouldn't reach Asgard itself.

"My lady..." I quipped, with all the levity I was capable of.

She nodded at me, with all the solemnity of a seasoned warrior. A second later I was off to keep fighting. It was until I was back in the middle of things that it occurred to me to wonder what she might have seen exactly. Had my skin still been blue when I landed on the Bifrost? She had been clearly surprised enough by my arrival that she notched an arrow, even if she never saw me as enough of an enemy to decide to fire it… which probably meant she hadn't seen anything. If she had known, or even suspected, me to be a Frost Giant she would have certainly fired.

Then, as if I hadn't had enough surprises for one battle (one day… one lifetime!), I rushed to Heimdall as the battle ended to find out what had happened; none of us could have missed the Bifrost activating. I did not like the answer I got:

"You mean to tell me that when the enemies became too much for you, instead of holding on, you chose to send our own enemies to another realm?!" I couldn't help the fury. "You chose to make them someone else's problem?!"

"Which realm?" I hadn't even noticed when Nauru joined me, but right then she was standing right beside me, the hand still holding his bow so tight her knuckles were going white.

"Midgard."

"Midgard?!" She practically shrieked. "You sent our enemies to a world of mortals? Of innocents who cannot protect themselves?!"

"Were you not talking about Midgardian Warriors just two days ago?" Sif scoffed, her usual disregard to anyone not Aesir grated on me, and clearly on Nauru as well.

"That's years from now!" Nauru snapped at her, voice full of vehemence. "Aren't you supposed to be sworn to protect the Nine Realms?! Then why in the abyss are you now setting one of them up for the slaughter?! Simply because you were too much of a coward to actually put your life on the line to keep fighting!"

"What do you know about putting your life on the line…?" Fandral hissed, defensively.

"What do I know…?" She stared at him with such force that, had she had any magic Fandral would have probably fallen by her will alone right then and there. "I know! I'm a warrior, in case that fact hadn't gotten through your thick skull yet! I've been in war, I've been fighting a freaking war for my whole life. A war that began before I was ever born. That might as well have been lost before I was even born! But that never kept me from fighting it. I kept trying, day after day, battle after battle. It's why I'm even here. Because this was our last hope! I was thrown back through time and space in a last ditch attempt to give the Universe a chance! What do I know of putting your life on the line? Nothing at all, except that just by doing this, by making this journey to give you all a chance, I've pretty much killed myself!"

That, took us all by surprise. Even if for different reasons. For everyone else, they clearly were so stupid it had never occurred to them the possible repercussions Nauru's little trip into the past could have for her. For me…. I had known, I just hadn't expected her to. Or at least not to know and accept things to the degree she clearly did.

"I am a half-blood, I am a refugee." She enlisted slowly, carefully. "I've said those words, but most of you clearly do not understand what it means. I was born after Asgard, Alfheim, and Nidavellir had fallen; and so little was left of Vanaheim and Jotunheim that no one remained there anymore either. The only reason I exist, that my parents ever met at all, was because the Mad Titan's attack forced so many to abandon their homes and seek shelter in other Realms. Until eventually all who survived ended in Midgard. If I'm successful on my mission, if we manage to stop the war from ever getting to that point, the Realms from falling… there will never be a reason for my parents to meet, or for me to ever be born. So tell me again how I know nothing about putting my life on the line. I gave my own up so you might all have a chance!"

"Can you not… well, just stay here?" Thor asked, head cocked to a side.

I exhaled in exasperation, as usual the oaf understood nothing at all.

"The only reason I'm still here is because things haven't really changed, not enough to truly change your future, my past, just yet." Nauru explained. "But they will. I will make sure of that. And when we succeed, when the changes pile up enough that your future is no longer my past, I will cease to exist. It's as simple as that."

No one had any words with which to reply to that.

xXx

I was quite surprised when Thor managed to convince Mother to allow him to go to Midgard after the Jotun that had been sent there. He left with the Warriors Three, while Sif and I were tasked with finding out how exactly the Jotun had gotten into Asgard unnoticed in the first place, and making sure it wouldn't happen again. Which wasn't exactly easy considering that I knew the answer to the former; yet I couldn't admit to it, as no one would believe that I hadn't been involved. Also, I did want to know how the Jotun had been able to find the Roads when I had never actually revealed that information (I was going to tell them on the very day I wanted them there, and since I called off my plans, I never really did), and especially how they'd managed to forcefully create another exit when I sealed the original one. Such things weren't easy and they shouldn't have been capable of it.

Nauru gravitated towards us for reasons I couldn't really comprehend. Sif didn't seem to mind, except for the part where she was clearly uncomfortable with the younger woman for some reason; I wasn't sure if it was her status as half-blood (and that we still didn't know, for sure, what races she was hybrid of, except that one was probably a dwarf, since her mother had been living in Nidavellir until shortly before her birth; then again, both her parents could have been refugees there), her speech about what was going to happen to her if she succeeded with her mission, or something else entirely.

The other thing that complicated matters was the fact that I was, very studiously, trying not to think about my skin going blue. I really did not have time to focus on that. Not really, not with everything else going on. And yet somehow I still found myself pacing in mother's private sitting room late in the evening, three days after the battle on the Bifrost.

The talk with mother was incredibly enlightening, yet at the same time extremely frustrating. She did not so much as flinch back from me when my fluctuating emotions made my skin go blue in her presence, though she did make sure not to get to close and not to touch my bare skin at all. The story she told me about Father finding me, rescuing me… it wasn't so much that I doubted it, but I just couldn't fully understand what had made him decide to do such a thing in the tail-end of the worst-war in all the Realms. What made me so special that the Allfather chose to take me in rather than slay me where I lay? It certainly explained why Heimdall never seemed to trust me, it was obvious he knew the truth and my race was enough for him to consider me less than his rightful prince.

Mother wanted me to believe that the revelation changed nothing but how could it not? I wasn't her son, not really, and while she may choose to claim me still, how could I know the others would do the same? That Thor would do the same? He did once vow to 'hunt the monsters down and slay them all'; and I was one of those monsters…

"Everything alright, my prince?"

I blinked. After leaving mother's rooms I sought to clear my mind, not quite realizing when I made it all the way to the inner gardens. One of mother's favorites in particular. And it wasn't as empty as I would have expected at such an hour (it was late evening and I expected most would have retired to their quarters already); she was there though: Nauru Eryniel.

"My lady…" I bowed my head respectfully at her.

"Are you alright, my prince?" She questioned, tilting her head to a side. "You seem… unsettled."

"You need not be bothered by my state, my lady." I assured her.

"Just Nauru would be alright, my prince." She assured me.

"Then I insist you call me Loki." I told her in return.

There was something about her calling me prince… it did not feel right, though I wasn't sure if it was due to my own doubting if I should be considered a prince at all, after the revelation of my parentage (or at the very least, learning Odin was not my father), or if it might be something else entirely (though what, I couldn't begin to fathom).

"What brings you here at such an hour?" I couldn't help but ask her.

"I missed the stars." She admitted with a shrug, turning her eyes towards the sky. "And I cannot watch them so well from my window. Also, I wasn't sleepy at all and decided a walk might help clear my head. Her Majesty showed me this garden the day of my arrival and I found it to be so very peaceful, so I came here. I hope I'm not a bother."

"Not at all." I reassured her.

Surprisingly enough, it was the truth. Had it been Thor or any of his simpleton friends I wouldn't have been able to stand their presence. Either I would have left right away, or forced them to leave, whichever I felt more inclined to at the time. But she was different, I didn't mind her being there. Mostly because she did not have the tendency to annoy me the way Thor and his friends did. It was as if she just knew I wasn't up for talking and accepted that without question.

We said nothing else and it was easy enough for me to take to walking the path around the garden. There was a certain peace to be found in taking a stroll in one of the gardens; surrounded by nature, with the stones beneath my feat and the stars above my head. I just let go for a little while, loosing myself to my thoughts.

What pulled me back to reality was an unexpected change around me, a noise, a melody… There were no words, but there seemed to be no need for them either, not yet. I followed the melody straight back to Nauru, who was still sitting on the edge of the stone fountain in the middle of the garden, face turned towards the sky, the light of the moon giving an odd glow to her skin; her eyes were closed, opening in the exact moment I left the stone-path to get closer to her, and as the starlight hit her, and them, I was almost sure they were green (which wasn't possible, as I was quite sure her eyes were, in fact, brown).

"Were you singing?" The questioned slipped out of me before I was fully aware of it.

"No, I was humming." She corrected. "I do not sing."

That confused me, because it wasn't the denial of someone embarrassed to have been heard, nor the sheepish admittance of a person who believed their voice to be not-good for singing. Instead there was something in her words that made it sound like she didn't do it because she shouldn't, like it was an unwritten rule of some kind.

"Nana told me a long time ago that singing could be dangerous and I wasn't to do it if I could help it." She eventually explained.

That only confused me further, for her words made no sense. She made it sound as if singing could be a weapon, which ought to be absolutely ridiculous except… except a part of me told me it wasn't ridiculous at all, and that I knew that somehow even if I could not for the life of me remember what made me so certain. I did know that in Alfheim singing was very important, that they believed songs could reveal the soul of a person, it was why it was part of their courting rituals and at least some of their festivals. And as I thought that I could almost feel something, some kind of epiphany, skirting the edges of my conscience… I failed to grasp it and a moment later it was gone.

xXx

Things went completely to the abyss in the middle of the following week (So maybe I still kept count of time as the humans did, even if no one else in Asgard did). It had been ten days since Nauru's arrival, seven since the Allfather had fallen into the Odinsleep and the Jotun attack had happened, and six since Thor and the Warriors Three had left for Midgard to deal with the Jotun that had been sent that way.

I did not actually notice when exactly Sif went missing, focused as I was on my own things (mainly the matter of my true origins and what that might mean for my future… and how that explained so much of my past…). Heimdall had already called me once to the Observatory to question me regarding my possible involvement with the Jotun attack, apparently one of them had said something about a traitor in the House of Odin… I wanted to be offended that he was so willing to believe an enemy, and automatically assumed me to be that traitor… except for how I almost was. Keyword being 'almost' I had no idea how the Jotun had managed to invade without my intervention, I didn't like it. I really wanted to go myself and find out but with Thor gone on that 'mission' and the Allfather still in the Odinsleep, Mother needed me to help her lead Asgard (not that people seemed too interested in having me lead, but regardless of how others might treat me, I would never forsake Mother).

In any case, that was probably the reason why I didn't think anything of Heimdall calling me once again that particular day. I had been with Nauru, this time in one of the outer-gardens, trying to learn more about her and the time she came from, the war… in case we failed at foiling the prophecy she'd pronounced on the day of her arrival. I discovered that the war had started years before she'd even been born. That what she could remember was living as a refugee, at first in a small apartment, part of a bigger complex where they were all refugees; with teams of Midgardian Warriors (the Avengers, the Sentinels, the X-Men, the Justice League, among many others) coming and going as they could; mostly seeking to help, to learn more from their visitors, and even inviting some of them to join their teams.

Queen Svanhvit had not lived with them, she'd lived in the city, in some tower, from where she did her best to help. She'd died there, fighting to protect the civilians taking refuge in the tower during the worst battle, the one where Midgardians officially lost the war. That did not mean they ever really stopped fighting, to the day when Nauru was sent back, but the loses that day were such that there was no real hope for victory left after that day.

Nauru's own mother had apparently been lost when their apartments were attacked, along with so many others. Nauru surviving being almost entirely accidental, as she had been outside, in the middle of the night, taking a stroll through the grounds, when the place was destroyed. She was quite sure that if the Sorcerers hadn't found her shortly afterwards she wouldn't have made it till the morning. It was them who trained her, truly, as a warrior, with the weapons she'd salvaged from the remains of her apartment, a weapon that had belonged to her father, and some that had been later created just for her.

When the servant informed me that Heimdall wished to see me (yes, informed me, rather than request, as if I were a commoner he could order about… then again, it had already been established that Heimdall had never seen me as a Prince of Asgard and I finally knew why), Nauru looked at him, cocking her head in silent contemplation. She said not a word, but I could not help but wonder what might be running through her mind in that moment. Did she realize how disrespectful the servant and Heimdall were being? Did she suspect (or what was worse, did she know?!) the reason why that was so? It had been made clear to me that as much as she might not know some things about her own past, and that of everyone else; there were things she did know and refused to share, like Queen Svanhvit's first name and her origins (I had a feeling it wasn't Sif, probably not even Aesir, not with that kind of personal message; no Aesir would have ever dared to say such a thing to their crown prince, much less their King), like the names of her own parents, and why exactly the so-called Sorcerer Supreme thought she could make a difference (why hadn't he traveled back himself if he had the power to do so?). In the end I chose not to ask, just apologized for my abrupt departure and walked away.

If I had known what awaited me at the end of the Bifrost I probably would have thought twice about going…

I don't know what it was I was expecting to find in the Observatory exactly, probably Heimdall, staring at me with those empty eyes, accusing me of crimes I hadn't actually committed. Perhaps Sif would be there as well, Heimdall had pretty much taken her in as family after her birth one disavowed her upon her defeating Thor in that open tournament all those years ago and insisting on being trained as a Warrior, even if she was not a Valkyrie. It was ironic, we were so alike (each of us an Aesir trying to find their place in an area usually reserved for the opposite gender), and yet she did not seem to realize it, looking at me with the same disregard and contempt everyone else did; the same way most Aesir looked at her!

What I certainly wasn't expecting was for Thor and his friends to be there, and for him to be the one flinging accusations at me.

"Did you kill Father?!" Thor demanded.

"What?!" I really couldn't even begin to fathom where the question was even coming from.

"Father!" Thor roared at me, waving Mjolnir threateningly and way too close to me.

"Why would I kill him?" I asked in return, still not understanding. "Why would I even want to?! Thor… Where in the abyss are you getting all this?! Father is just fine, still asleep."

"Liar!" Sif snarled at me. "The servants say…"

"Yes, because a bunch of servants gossiping are so trustworthy… especially considering that none of them is allowed into the King's Chambers, Mother hasn't allowed anyone into their private rooms, not even Sigyn, since Thor left." I reminded her abruptly.

"Not even you." Fandral hissed. "That's probably telling."

I blinked trying, and failing, to understand what was going on.

"Now, is one of you going to tell me what is going on exactly?" I pressed. "A servant informed me Heimdall requested my presence here, and if all you wanted was to fling completely ludicrous accusations my way…"

"Ah… but are they? Ludicrous I mean." Sif pressed. "Everyone knows you've always wanted the throne, you would do anything for it, even kill your own father and brother."

I refused to even dignify such a stupid statement with an answer. Instead I focused on Thor, refusing to acknowledge anything and anyone but him.

"Laufey told us you were the one to let them into Asgard, that it was your idea." Thor clarified.

"And you believe him?" I spat. "I mean, your stupid friends believing an enemy of Asgard over me surprises me not at all, they have always believed you can do no wrong while I am nothing more than the coward trickster they have to endure the presence of in order to be seen as the golden prince's friends… but you are supposed to be my brother! And you would take the word of Laufey above mine?!"

"That's why I'm asking…" Thor began.

"You're not asking!" I was so furious my magic had begun to crackle around me, my seals no longer able to fully keep it contained. "You're accusing me! Of treason! Of patricide! With no proof at all but the word of a bastard who would see us all dead! Myself included!"

It was as if Thor really hadn't realized what he was saying until that very moment, but by then it was too late. Things were already so far out of control…

I did not see the attack coming. The moment I finished speaking I turned my full attention to reigning my magic back in, not wanting to hurt someone by accident (ha!). Fandral was upon me so fast… I didn't realize it until I felt the bite of his steel on my flesh, and then my magic reacted automatically in my defense.

An explosion would have probably been less destructive. My magic lashed out against one and all. It wouldn't be until much, much later that I would learn what happened exactly. In that moment all I knew was that I was loosing control and by the time I managed to push my power down again, the very ground beneath my feet, the rainbow bridge I was standing on, was shattering into a thousand pieces…

xXx 3rd Person POV xXx

Gossip is bad, always; believing it, that's even worse. Believing in gossip without foundation, without any proof at all can cause the worst of things. It can hurt a person's feelings, it can damage relationships, reputations, and so much more. It can turn friend against friend… and even brother against brother.

From the moment the servant went looking for Loki, Nauru knew there was something very wrong. She didn't need anyone to tell her, she just knew, it was a gift, something she inherited from her mother, her empathy. It was frustrating sometimes, to know only half of what made her who she was; but the one time she had consciously asked Nana about her father she'd been hit by such a deep, terrible grief, a pain so soul-wrenching she couldn't understand how her mama could still breathe while feeling it. She never asked again.

Her bow and the quiver where she carried her arrows, they had belonged to her father, she knew that much, they had been blessed in some way, which was probably how they endured through all the destruction, the very same that killed her mother eventually. Nana had been a pacifist, Nauru knew that well, and while she tried it at first, after the loss of her she just couldn't anymore. The young half-blood couldn't help but feel that if she had just tried harder, tried at all, she might have been able to save her mother, somehow. It was ludicrous, warriors far older, stronger and more powerful than her had tried and failed to defeat Thanos and his army, there was no way she could have done any better than them, but still. The fact that she hadn't even tried, not until her mother was gone already, it weighed heavily on her mind, her conscience.

It was why, when Strange proposed that insane, last ditch attempt at saving the world, she said yes right away. She knew the dangers, and more than that, she knew the price to pay if she were to succeed. It was a price she was willing to pay, not just for her parents, but for Queen Svanhvit, and the Avengers, the Midgardians… and all those in all the Realms Thanos and his army had razed to the ground.

Nauru spent all of five minutes sitting on the stone-bench where Loki had left her, when suddenly she felt something… she couldn't quite describe. It was as if someone, some invisible hand were applying a huge amount of pressure to her chest, pushing the breath out of her lungs, and at the same time keeping her from being able to draw in any more. Her hand slipped inside a secret pocket in the lining of her riding dress, pulling out an oddly-shaped ring… a sling ring. Strange had given it to her before sending her back:

"You're not a sorceress, and you're not even compatible with the kind of magic I do." He explained as he placed the ring on the palm of her hand. "But this isn't about that. I've placed enough power on this ring for a single trip, to be used only in the most dire emergency." He exhaled, closing his eyes briefly before staring straight at her. "I know I'm asking you a lot, sending you back on this insane mission with nothing more than your own wit and a few words of a prophecy long-since fulfilled..."

"Not just a prophecy." She admitted, very quietly.

"What…?" He clearly wasn't expecting that.

"The Queen came to see me, before the Fall of the Tower. She gave me a message for her King. Just in case, she said."

Strange snorted, it didn't surprise him that she of all people had been able to guess his plan. She probably would have been a better option too, better able to express herself, to make others see things from her point of view. But the girl before him… she was the only one who could make things right for Him…

"Here, take this." It was completely unexpected, when Strange pulled a thin, delicate looking golden chain from beneath his sleeve and offered it to Nauru.

She was so shocked she didn't even think about stopping him as he wound the chain around Nauru's right wrist; it went three times around her slender wrist and stayed there as if magnetized (or magicked) when Strange let go of it.

"Doctor Strange, this…" Nauru had no words.

"It belonged to my light, my beloved Elaine." He nodded solemnly at her. "I want you to have it, consider it a good luck charm, and a last resource, were you to ever need it."

"I… thank you." She had no idea what else she could have possibly said.

"I know I'm not giving you much to go on, but I don't want you to be biased." Strange told her, grieved at the fact that he was placing such a burden on her shoulders, yet knowing it was the right thing to do… the only thing. "We were all so terribly biased the first time around, so sure of ourselves, our judgment… and it only made things worse." He shook his head. "What you need to understand Nauru, is that in the end, I'm not sending you because of your skill as a Warrior, or any messages you might bear… I'm sending you because from the few people who could make this trip, you're the only one who can make things right not just for us, but for Him."

"The Fallen Prince…" She repeated, paraphrasing from the prophecy.

Strange said not a word, he didn't even nod, there was no need.

Nauru took a deep breath and slipped the sling-ring that had been previously offered it into a secret pocket of her dress, she briefly caressed the links of the bracelet on her wrist, then stood up straight and nodded.

"I'm ready." She announced.

Strange nodded back at her and then, with some hand-sings and a wave, the Eye hanging from his neck activated, a portal opened, and Nauru fell right through it.

Nauru took a deep breath, slipped the ring on, and waved her hand in a circle, the portal forming just before her. She had no weapons on her, not her bow, her knives, nothing at all. General Tyr had insisted, claiming that no one but the royal family were allowed to carry weapons inside the palace. She wasn't sure how it was she knew it, but she instinctively knew there was no time to go to her room and get them, so instead she willed the portal to take her to where she was needed, to the prince…

One step, that was all it took. Nauru stepped out of the garden, and straight onto the Bifrost… or what remained of it. It took her less than three seconds to take it all in: Fandral and Hogun were on the water, by the side of the bridge, Volstagg too was on the water but on the opposite side, Sif and Heimdall were pulling Thor up, from the edge of the broken bridge… the broken rainbow. And Loki…

Nauru barely got sight of the pale, bloodied fingers right as they slipped off the edge of the broken bridge. All it took was a thought, the golden bracelet around her right wrist slipped off and onto her hand, one edge fitting between two of her fingers right on time for her to flick her wrist just so… the chain flew out like a whip, or a lasso, growing as it went, until the other end wound itself around Loki's arm.

Nauru hit the bridge faster and harder than she was expecting and it took her several attempts to stop herself from sliding further, pulled by Loki's weight; so much that she ended up on the very edge of the broken bridge, her own hand bleeding as pieces of multi-colored glass-like material burrowed into her it. She ignored them all, focusing on holding on.

"Hold on!" She cried out.

"You have to let go!" Loki screamed in return. "Let go Nauru! If you don't all you'll manage is to fall into the abyss with me!"

"I'm not letting you fall!" Nauru screamed, despair coloring her voice. "You won't become the Fallen Prince! I won't allow it!"

Loki stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. Nauru ignored his shock, instead turning to where Sif, Heimdall and Thor were standing, staring at her, just as flabbergasted.

"Well?!" She snapped. "Will you help me, or will you just stand there like a bunch of idiots?!"

That certainly pushed them into motion, or at least Thor. He knelt beside her, pulling on the chain when she refused to simply let it go, pulling his brother up.

No one said a word until they were all either kneeling or standing on the broken edge of the Bifrost, the first part of the prophecy that they had been unable to change. And the second…

"I am the Fallen Prince…?" Loki asked, voice full of so many feelings it would have been impossible for anyone to pinpoint any one of them, even for Nauru with her empathy.

"You are." She said for all answer. "You always were."

"But… but we thought it was Thor!" Sif snapped from behind her. "Why not tell us the truth?"

"You made up your own mind." Nauru pointed out, not really turning to her, instead focusing on the brothers. "I said 'prince', and all your minds immediately went to Thor Odinson, as if he were the only prince. That was your foolishness, not mine."

Sif was all for replying to that, probably with some scathing word or hurtful comment, Thor shut her down before she could.

"She's right." The blonde said with an exhale. "My Queen warned me. Told me I should fight for others, rule for others. She gave me her advice on how to be better and I ignored it, believing I knew better, not understanding that if she knew me in the future, if she was my Queen, and able to send such a candid message to me that meant she knew me well, quite possibly even better than I know myself now… The Lady Nauru is right, I was a fool, we all were. I will endeavor to do better my lady, may we still prevent the worst of your own past."

The rainbow was broken, but the prince hadn't fallen yet; it was impossible to know what measures would be necessary to keep the skies from opening, and unlikely that they could stop Thanos from coming their way… that was a path he'd set on long before either of them knew anything about him. But at least one part of the prophecy seemed to have been averted for the time being, and that gave them hope.

xXx Loki's POV xXx

I was quite out of it as we left the broken Bifrost. Mother was waiting for us on the other end of the bridge, a team of healers with her, Lady Eir included. Thor and his friends had some minor scratches, as did I, Nauru on the other hand… her left hand and part of her arm had so many slashes, blood was dripping down, leaving a trail, and yet she appeared not to really notice; her other hand was badly bruised right down the middle of it, where she'd wound the chain to keep it from slipping through her fingers.

"Nauru!" The Queen cried out in horror when seeing. "Child, you're bleeding! Eir!"

The Goddess of Healing went straight to her. She was clearly horrified when her very first spell revealed Nauru was practically a giant bruise; her only open wounds were on her hands and arms though, and only the biggest cut on her left palm was bad enough it couldn't be fully healed with simple magic. That might have been because a piece of the Bifrost had been lodged into her flesh at some point, and even when Eir took it out, it would take some time for her body to expel all the magic and allow the cut to close. In the meantime Lady Eir applied a mix to help promote healing and bandaged it carefully.

Something I couldn't help but notice was the way Nauru never voiced a complaint, never so much as flinched in pain. Fandral had spent the whole two minutes one of the healers spent treating the magic burn on his arm (caused when I briefly lost control of my magic) moaning and whining about the pain, and the possible scar and how terrible it all was. Even Thor flinched a couple of times when Mother saw to his own cuts. But not Nauru.

Together all of us we made our way to the palace, where Lady Eir and her healers made their way for the healing wing, the Eihenjer and Valkyries to their own quarters, while the rest of us followed Mother to the Royal Wing, where we found the Allfather standing just outside Mother's favorite sitting room.

"Father!" Thor cried out in delight.

"Your Majesty!" His friends were clearly shocked by his presence.

I wondered if they were beginning to see how idiotic they had been, accusing me of killing my own father… even if he was not so by birth, I would continue seeing him as such until he told me otherwise. In any case, it's not like I was expecting any of them to apologize.

No one except I seemed to notice when Nauru stayed back, not following the rest of us into the room. I couldn't help but turn back to her, arching a brow in silent question:

"I have a feeling this is a family matter…" She said for all explanation. "I'll wait out here until I'm needed or anything."

"If this were a family matter they wouldn't be here." Loki scoffed. "But if you wish to stay out I will not insist."

I waved my hand, a simple but comfortable winged armchair appearing just across the hall from the sitting room.

"Thank you." She bowed her head respectfully.

"No, the gratitude is all mine, my lady…" I whispered back with a deep bow of my own. "I owe you my life."

"You owe me nothing." She shook her head slowly, then added. "But if you insist on paying me back… then live your life. Live, and fight, and hopefully one day you'll be able to achieve what I never will…"

I blinked, not able to fully understand what she was saying; and there was no time. Mother was calling for me and all I could do was bow my head once more at Nauru and join the others inside the sitting room before the doors closed behind me.

What followed was the most convoluted, ridiculous 'conversation' I had ever been part of. Because apparently Thor's friends were really that idiotic. Apparently one of the newer maids had heard Mother handmaidens comment on how Mother hardly ever left Father, how worried she was about him, about when he might wake up… somehow that had twisted into her being afraid that he might not wake up, that he might be close to death, perhaps even dead already. Really, beyond idiotic in any possible way, they all should have known better than to trust gossip, especially from young, stupid servants. Then again, they were the same people who believed that I wanted the throne and was willing to kill my own family to get it!

"I never wanted the throne!" I practically roared into Thor's face at one point. "All I ever wanted was to be your equal!"

That certainly caused an impression, and the shocked silence gave me the much needed time to calm down, take a few breaths.

"But that was never going to happen, was it?" I asked, voice dripping sarcasm. "Most people in Asgard will never see me as anything more than the second prince, the spare..." I spat the word, which I'd actually first heard in Midgard of all places, centuries prior. "Of course, that's to those who at least consider me a prince, rather than a royal hostage, an unwanted guest..."

"Loki!" Mother was clearly horrified by the mere idea.

I directed an apologetic look at her, of course I knew she didn't see me like that; she loved me, I did not doubt that in the slightest. Father… I could not be completely sure, but I had hope still; Thor, and especially his stupid friends, and Heimdall, they were another matter entirely.

"It took me a while to figure it out." I said, turning until I was facing Heimdall. "But you've always known, haven't you? You've always known who I am, what I am, that's why you've never trusted me."

Heimdall said nothing, but he didn't need to, the look in his eyes was enough of an answer.

"Tell me something Heimdall, how is that in any way fair?" I pressed. "How when until less than a fortnight ago I had no idea of the blood that ran in my veins? When my whole life I've never been anything other than loyal to Asgard, to the crown, to the family that chose me, that chose to take me in when I had no one, when those that brought me into existence abandoned me, left me to die. What could I have possibly done to make you believe I would ever betray the only family I've ever known?!"

Again no answer, not like I was expecting one in any case.

"What is he talking about?" Thor asked, confused.

"Oh… don't you know, brother dear…" I called, turning to him, voice dripping sarcasm. "Well, I suppose that's incorrect since we're not brothers at all!"

"Loki…" Odin began.

Mother let out a half-sob and I cringed, but refused to let it go. It was time some truths were spoken for a change.

"No, he needs to know." I insisted. "After all, he's the one who vowed, all those years ago, that one day he'd hunt the monsters down and kill them all! And here you have one monster!"

It wasn't the first time I had done it, and with each time that it had happened it kept becoming easier. Right then it was almost too easy. I could feel as the temperature inside my body went down, alabaster changing to blue, and my green eyes bleeding into black and red.

Several voices gasped around me but I ignored them all, my whole attention on Thor.

"Brother…" He breathed out, looking me up and down time and again, as if trying to see through one of my illusions.

"This is not a trick Thor, this is who I am." I stated evenly. "This is my skin, the skin of a monster. One of the monsters you swore to kill…"

"Brother…" Was all he kept saying.

"I'm not your brother!" I couldn't stand the tension anymore, I needed a response, a decision, and I needed it now!

"But you are my brother!" Thor retorted, jumping to his feet. "You've always been my brother and you always will be my brother! And you're not a monster!"

The fool then went to hug me! My magic reacted instinctively as I 'jumped' a few feet back.

"Thor don't be an idiot!" I snarled at him, not even thinking about it. "If you touch me you're going to get burnt. I'm a Jotun!"

"Then you better go back to Aesir." Was all he said, before pressing on.

For perhaps the first time in my life I was completely shocked. Really, I knew Thor could be stubborn, and he certainly was foolish often enough, but that was ridiculous! I barely managed to force myself to change back before the oaf was embracing me so tight I could feel my ribs protesting the treatment.

"Let me go!" I snarled at him after several seconds passed and he still wouldn't let go. "Thor don't be stupid let me go!"

"Say you're my brother!" He demanded, still not letting go.

"What…?" I blinked, not quite understanding.

"You're my brother, say it."

"Thor this is ridiculous!"

"Say it!"

"Fine, you are my brother!"

Fool that he was, my answer just seemed to make him hug me all the tighter. I allowed it though, because in that moment, held in his arms, it was the closest I had felt to him in longer than I could properly remember.

It took a while, but eventually Thor did let me go. Mother and Father took over the little meeting there as they explained a bit of how I'd come to be part of the family (in more detail than Mother had during our first conversation). I greatly enjoyed when Thor's friends were seriously chastised for following on rumors rather than investigating things, and for their lack of respect towards me. Even Heimdall got his own (mainly from mother, who did not like hearing that he'd been so predisposed against me simply because I wasn't born Aesir).

I spent most of the meeting sitting beside Thor, who refused to let me get more than a few inches away from him, as if he feared I'd vanish if I did. As Hogun took his turn reporting what had happened in Midgard (which was apparently more than any of us could have ever expected), I couldn't help but think back to what had happened on the Bifrost. How close I'd gotten to falling from the bridge, until Nauru appeared, out of nowhere, and caught me. Caught me with a golden chain I knew I'd seen before but couldn't quite remember.

Almost without noticing it I began tracing my left forearm, the same the chain had wound around to keep me up. With the shock of Nauru's serious injuries, and everything else, no one had noticed the bruise on my arm (and it wasn't that bad, it didn't really bother me for the most part); but as I turned my attention onto it I began noticing a bit of a pattern… and then I knew where I'd seen that chain, on Hel's, my daughter's own wrist!

I did not even think about it, paid no attention as voices called me back, instead I rushed towards the doors, opening them wide, hard enough for them to bang against the nearest walls… it was too late already.

My eyes went straight to the wing-backed armchair… but it was empty. Empty but for the stained bandage laying as if abandoned right there.

"Brother!" Thor cried, rushing to me. "What's happening…?"

"She's gone…" I whispered quietly. "Nauru's gone."

She was gone, vanished without a trace… as if she'd never been there, as if… as if she'd never existed at all. Because things had been changed, and now she never would…

"I don't understand…" Thor admitted.

"It's the prophecy." I explained to him. "The rainbow broke, but no prince fell. Not sure how we could possibly keep the skies from opening, and the only way to keep Thanos from coming would be to send him elsewhere…"

"That wouldn't be right." Thor shook his head. "It would be like what we did the Jotun the other day, when we sent them to Midgard."

I was pleasingly surprised by his understanding.

"But we changed one." Sif stated, joining us. "Or well, she did. She kept you from falling. Will that be enough?"

"It already was." I shrugged.

It was, she was gone after all. Which meant that we had our chance, she had given us our chance. The rest was up to us.

xXx

A great many things changed, after that day, after the fight and the breaking of the Bifrost. First, Thor insisted on going back to Midgard, claiming that, while the matter with the Jotun had been settled, Heimdall's call had made him leave much too soon, and he'd left some things unfinished. Particularly regarding the midgardian authorities that had arrived to find out what was going on, and which he'd left behind without explanation when becoming too worried about his own family. It was clear Father had a hard time agreeing, he still did not believe the Midgardians should have any sort of 'power' or authority, not even to demand explanations about problems we ourselves had started. But Thor stood by his decision and eventually managed to convince him.

That was just the first of many visits that took place in the following years. At first it was hard, as he needed to traverse the Hidden Roads (since the Bifrost was broken and all that). And then one day Thor shocked everyone when, upon returning from his latest trip, he wasn't alone. With him was a human woman: Dr. Jane Foster. She was an astrophysicist, one who in a very short time had managed to understand the Bifrost better than most Aesir scholars.

Together, she and I, with some assistance from Mother and a number of other spellweavers we eventually managed to rebuild the Bifrost, as perfect as it had been before. Doing so awarded Jane a boon, which was cashed in shortly afterwards when Thor expressed his intent to formally court and eventually make her his wife… his Queen. The very woman who'd one day become Queen Svanhvit…

In the end, the sky did open, it happened in Midgard, shortly after we managed to get the Bifrost up and running again. At least the latter meant that we could go to Midgard's aid when it was necessary. The battle was intense, insane, but we won. Thanos hadn't been present for it, not directly, but still, Aesir and Midgardians together we managed to kill enough of his army he'd probably think it twice before attacking again (not that I thought he wouldn't attack, eventually, but the longer it took, the more time we'd have to be ready, for more warriors to be ready).

Another big change was that I just couldn't bring myself to stay in Asgard. Even though we'd had that very serious talk where truths were revealed and most things settled… I just couldn't keep ignoring the fact that so many people would never see me as a worthy prince of Asgard; and most didn't even have the excuse of knowing I hadn't been born as one. It was Thor's idea to have me act as an ambassador for Asgard with other realms, especially as we prepared for the eventual final confrontation with Thanos (which we knew would take more than even Midgard and us working together).

I never did go to Midgard. With Thor and Jane and their future marriage that Realm was well in-hand, or that's what I said; truth was I didn't feel up to spending much time there, not since the loss of my friend. I only truly visited once a year, in the anniversary of her passing.

Still, there were other Realms: Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Alfheim, even Jotunheim warranted a visit once we confirmed that Laufey was definitely dead and that his only remaining son, Helblindi had no intention of continuing hostilities against us, or any other Realm.

Nidavellir… that one I wasn't expecting, or at least not the way it ended happening. Thor was back in Asgard for a visit (since his betrothal he spent most of his time in Midgard, splitting his time between his Lady Jane and the fledgling hero-team: the Avengers) and convinced me to go with him and his friends to the pub (they would never be my friends, but at least they hadn't done anything particularly stupid against me since that day). Of course, before saying that I should have remembered how badly they were at holding their drink, and how much more foolish they all were when they had one too many drinks in them…

We had some visitors that day. Blacksmith Bane and his team had been doing some business, their specialty lay in the making of weapons. They were talking about it, about how much they'd made in the selling of a sword. Of course when Fandral heard he just had to meddle, because the man had no concept of privacy, or of things simply not being his freaking business! And of course, the other three just had to follow.

"Don't." I stopped Thor before he could go after them.

"Brother…" Thankfully, he had learned to listen to me, so he did stop to listen.

"That is Master Blacksmith Bane, the rest must be his team." I explained quietly. "They are the very best in Nidavellir… in the Nine Realms, period. Master Bane's ancestor was the one who created your hammer Thor! We're very lucky they're willing to make business with anyone here in Asgard. In ancient times dwarves used to believe that their best works were meant to be theirs and no one else's. If that were still the case today you wouldn't have Mjolnir, Father wouldn't have Gungnir, Ylva wouldn't have her knives, I wouldn't have my favorite dagger, need I go on?" I showed him the dagger for extra emphasis, it was probably the only weapon I always carried on me. "Father will have all our heads if your friends' stupidity cause Master Bane to decide never to bring his business to Asgard again."

"I know." Thor nodded grimly. "I'll get Fandral, can you diffuse things with Master Bane and his people? Offer them apologies from me, free drinks, whatever is needed."

I nodded, really, it wasn't like I had any better ideas.

Things actually worked better than I could have expected. Master Bane was willing enough to take the apologies (and the free round of drinks). What surprised me most though, were his words at the end of our impromptu meeting:

"It's good that you're once more taking such an active part in the things that happen in your Realm, Prince Loki." Bane actually bowed to me! "Know that our King and ourselves would be very willing to do business with you in the future."

I bowed my head in acknowledgment and, to a lesser degree, acquiescence. Truth was I just wouldn't have known what to say. Dwarves were so insular… we were lucky that the few of them that did were willing to travel to make business with us. And to be pretty much invited to their own Realm for official business! I did not think Thor, or even our parents had ever received such an invitation!

Which was how I ended traveling to Nidavellir for the first time the following month.

Until then my trips had been few and only to Vanaheim, and once to Jotunheim; it had always been easy enough to get a group of Einherjer to escort me. I didn't like it, but it made Mother and Father feel more at ease. Nidavellir was a whole other matter entirely.

"Why not assign a couple of permanent guards to him?" Thor proposed. "People Loki knows he can trust. I mean, he's a good warrior, so it's not like he needs too many with him, and two is a small enough number that the dwarves shouldn't find it insulting."

"But who?" Mother inquired. "Who would you trust to have your back?"

She, just like Thor, knew I didn't trust that many people.

"Aside from Thor?" And obviously I couldn't choose him, we both knew that. "Ylva, I can think of no one else I trust who's a warrior."

It was a sad business, but no less true.

"Then I'll assign her." Father nodded immediately. "And we'll see about finding you someone else to join you."

"There is… there's someone but…" It was absolutely insane, and I had no idea how to even explain it to them.

"Just say it brother." Thor said in a reassuring tone. "If you thought it there must be a reason."

"Fenrir." I finally said out-loud. "I would trust Fenrir to have my back."

I knew they didn't trust Fenrir. No one in Asgard except Ylva and myself did. They all saw him as little more than a beast, a monster. But for us… for me Fenrir was as good as a son (as much as Hel was my daughter… even if I had never been the best father, to either of them); and to Ylva, he was her match, even if no one except me knew that.

Father said nothing, just nodded in contemplation.

I didn't expect much. Fenrir was imprisoned in the deepest, darkest corner of the Asgardian Forest and had been for centuries, ever since his attempt at courting Lady Idunn had gone so horribly wrong. But while Fenrir could be a man, he was also a wolf and his instincts were those of one, Idunn hadn't been able to understand his attentions, instead seeing them as an attack. I could barely keep Fenrir from being outright executed. Which was a good thing, not just for how much I cared for him myself; but if he hadn't lived, he and his actual match, the Lady Ylva, would have never met.

In the end Father agreed. I never did know how that happened, but Fenrir was released, with the warning that he was my responsibility… at least until Ylva stepped forward and announced he was her match and consort. The shock was such I couldn't help but cackle like crazy, even Thor laughed at the flabbergasted expression of some of those present at the time.

We left for Nidavellir soon enough. And that was the true start for my work as ambassador. In Nidavellir I met King Filip and his Queen, though I worked most closely with his brother: Prince Caél. The young dwarf reminded me so much of myself, trying so hard to fit and yet not fully managing it; and not because there was anything wrong with him (or with me), not because he was in any way less… but because he was more, he wanted more. We became good friends.

Of course, it couldn't end with Nidavellir, and I wasn't sure what treatment Fenrir might get in Vanaheim (they were too much like Asgard). So we went to Jotunheim, to Helheim, and then we went to Alfheim.

I actually wasn't too sure at first. It was ironic, because I knew I loved Alfheim, it was a very beautiful place, and the only realm where they truly respected me for my talent as a spellweaver (where they respected my strength as such, and that it made me a warrior in its own right, even if I had known nothing of weapons). It was in Alfheim that I met Tawariell.

She was the youngest princess in the Sisterhood, and the one most willing to treat with us. I had honestly no idea why so many of the older Ljósálfar seemed so against treating with us. They never said it, of course not, they were all much too polite for that, but I could see it in the way they would avert their eyes, turn away from me, never try for any conversations. The only exception, aside from Princess Tawariell, was Lady Thenidiel, the best spellweaver (and Seer) in the Realm, and where she went her own match: High Lord Protector Erynion, followed.

"It's nothing against you, personally." She did her best to reassure me when I finally dared ask the question. "You just… you remind them, remind us all, very powerfully of someone."

She never did clarify who exactly, and I dare not ask, not with the way a shadow seemed to fall over her star-bright eyes as she said those words. A part of me understood though, the young princess herself reminded me of someone, even if I couldn't lay my finger on who, exactly…

Somehow, it still took until the last day of that first visit to Alfheim for me to realize who exactly Princess Tawariell reminded me of. And once it hit me it just seemed so obvious, really, it had been right there all along, I'd just been too blind to notice. They were daughters of the forest, after all: Tawariell… and Eryniel…

"Tell me my lady, have you ever been to Nidavellir?" I asked her before I quite knew what I was doing, though the moment the question crossed my lips I knew it was right.

Even if Nauru had known the consequences of her actions, had known the price to pay for going through with her mission… that did not mean I couldn't try to make things right. And if her parents were a match, then I wouldn't even need to do that much…

I was right. Apparently Princess Tawariell was a bit of a rebel, my words were enough to push her into deciding she wanted to try her hand at being an ambassador herself, and her very first trip was to Nidavellir. I never knew how she convinced her Sisters or the Queen, the next thing I knew was when a few months later a messenger traveled to Asgard to personally deliver my invitation to their wedding in the Fall…

"Brother, why are you so happy?" He asked me, noticing my expression the moment I finished reading the invitation.

I just shrugged. I had no idea how to even begin to explain things to him, or to anyone. It's not like they had forgotten Nauru, of course they hadn't, and they probably never would; but she wasn't in their mind as much as she was in mine. The idea that she might get a chance, that she might exist after all, it made me happier than I could express.

xXx

Years passed, and many things happened. Some good, some bad. Thanos came, like we always knew he would. An alliance formed between all the different hero teams from Midgard, as well as some of the very best warriors from Asgard, Alfheim, Nidavellir, Vanaheim and even Jotunheim, defeated the Mad Titan and his armies in an epic battle that would probably be remembered across the Nine Realms to the end of time.

The Titan wasn't actually dead, he couldn't be killed. According to the best precogs across the realms, there was only one way to definitely kill him, only a particular group of people working together could do it, and we were incomplete (We, because apparently that team-up included me, though I knew not who else). So the best we could do was put him under stasis, in a capsule sealed in every mechanical, technological and magical way we could think of, and then he was buried, deep, as far from civilization as we could do it, in a way that could only be accessed by specific people working together.

It was absolutely insane, but still the only plan we could come up with, adding as many contingencies as we could to make sure that if someone were to ever try to get him back it would be as hard as we could possibly make it. I also hoped that if that day ever came the right people would be in place to truly take him down, once and for all.

When I heard of the Supreme Sorcerer I dropped by unannounced. I was curious, having heard about him from Nauru, and with the implications the fact that he'd given that chain to Nauru, that that chain had been his to give to her… I knew I had to meet him. He turned out to be a perfectly unremarkable man, a sorcerer of some talent, nothing more… except when one considered that he had more power than his predecessor (who, herself, had been the most powerful magic user in Midgard for fifteen hundred years), and he hadn't had his powers for even a year yet! Also, looking into his eyes, he reminded me so much of Hel…

The next time I was in Helheim I made sure to mention him, mention my visit. Say just enough things to make her curious, I knew the rest would take care of itself. The next time I dropped by New York, they were together.

Thor married his lady, and on the day of their wedding and coronation, Jane was blessed by the Higher Powers, the symbol of her blessing a platinum round shield as wide as her arm was long, and in the middle of it the engraving of a regal swan and a single word that read: Svanhvit…

Fenrir and Ylva were already married, but him being free, and ever so slowly gaining if not the trust, at least the reluctant acceptance and respect of those around us, allowed Ylva to take a chance and seek to have a child… they had three. Triplets, two boys and one girl: Conan, Faolan, and little Rowan.

Many years passed, and I continued with my job as Ambassador, it was something I liked. Though after the first decade or so I did not travel quite as often anymore, and it wasn't just because I did not want to keep my bodyguards from their home and children. When finally being crowned King, Thor had announced me as his Chief Adviser, the 'Crown Whisperer' as some tended to call the position. Which meant I was needed in Asgard more often than not. I was still the one to do business with other Realms, especially Nidavellir and Jotunheim.

Even then, it took me quite by surprise when that particular invitation came. An invitation from Alfheim, for their Midsummer Festival…

"It was my belief that this particular celebration was… private." I told the messenger as I held the invitation, not quite knowing what else to say.

"It used to be." The messenger nodded. "But ever since Princess Tawariell wed Prince Caél… things have changed. Some believe that if their matches may be found among the peoples of other realms, it would be detrimental to limit ourselves to our own. A match is a gift from the stars, and we'd be remiss in our duties to the Mother if we did not do everything in our power to find and accept those blessings when we can."

"Of course." I nodded, still pondering the implications of it all. "Tell Her Majesty and Their Highnesses that I will be delighted to attend."

In the end I decided it wouldn't hurt anybody. It's not like I was looking for anyone myself. I knew it worried my brother, and Fenrir and Ylva as well, to see me go through life, spending my years standing alone, when they were so happy with their families, but I just couldn't picture myself with anyone. The closest I'd ever come to imagining such a thing had been with my dear Nightingale, decades prior, and even then she'd been much too young at the time of her death for either of us to truly contemplate it.

Of course, I should have known that in the end Fate will do what it will…

Due to an unplanned council meeting I ended using the Shadow Paths to get to Alfheim, instead of the Hidden Roads or the Bifrost. Even then I was a tad late, the festival had already begun by the time I arrived. There were a number of couples standing very close in the shadows of a few trees, talking in quiet tones, while others awaited their turn. In the middle of the glade, on what looked like a naturally formed dais, stood a figure. A female elf, and she was the one currently singing:

"Time is a river that flows endlessly

And a life is a whisper, a kiss in a dream"

"Shadows dance behind the firelight

And all the spirits of the night remind us:

We are not alone"

"Tomorrow: a sun soon rising

And yesterday is there beside us

And it's never far away"

I didn't recognize her at first. Her hair was shiny, in luscious dark brown curls that fell over her shoulders and cascaded down her back. Her sun-kissed skin shone under the midsummer sun, and made the snow-white sleeveless dress she was wearing look almost like someone had spun a cloud around her. Also, for the first time I could see what I hadn't realized was missing all along, until I met the woman that would become her mother: the light of the stars in her eyes. Her beautiful, mesmerizing hazel eyes (no longer shadowed by endless death, and grief and pain).

"If you listen to the wind you can hear me again

Even when I'm gone you can still hear the song

High up in the trees as it moves through the leaves

Listen to the wind, there's no end to my..."

"Love is forever a circle unbroken

The seasons keep changing; it always remains"

It took me but seconds, just a verse or two, to realize the song she was singing was the one she (or another version of her) used to hum, back when she said she couldn't sing, that it was too dangerous. It had seemed so… ludicrous back then. But hearing her in that moment, there was power in her voice, and anyone could know that just hearing her sing one line.

Two verses later I realized something else, that wasn't just the song I'd just heard Nauru hum, it was also the song that Nightingale (my Nightingale!) had sang to me on her death-bed… the melody so long left unfinished. Somehow the young princess standing right there, on that glade, knew it, and not just that, she also knew what came next. I had no words, could do nothing but stand there, in the shadows of a huge ash-tree, and listen, listen like my life depended on it.

"Spring will melt the snows of winter

And the summer gives us days of light

So long till autumn makes them fade"

"Remember the sound of laughter

We ran together through the meadows

Still we thought our hearts could break"

It never even crossed my mind that there might be something sinister behind that song, behind her knowing. Such a thing… it was simply unthinkable. There was just so much beauty in the melody, in the words. And even though there must have been hundreds of us standing there, listening to it, I couldn't help but believe that she was singing those words for me and me alone.

"If you listen to the wind, you can hear me again

Even when I'm gone you can still hear the song

High up in the trees as it moves through the leaves

Listen to the wind and I'll send you my love"

I wasn't aware when the first tear fell down my cheek, saw no point in brushing it away either. Because there it was, what I'd been waiting for all along, even if I hadn't really known it until that very moment. The unvoiced (until then) promise that kept me going when it should have been beyond impossible. The promise that it was not the end, it hadn't been, not yet, not ever…

"Listen to the wind where the sky meets the land

I'm not really gone I've been here all along

High up in the trees in the sound of the leaves

Listen to the wind there's no end to my..."

"Time is a river that flows to the sea

And a life is a whisper, a kiss in a dream."

I didn't even think about stopping when my feet began moving almost of their own accord, as I ended standing before the dais, right as the song finally came to an end. An end that came with her eyes fixed straight on mine, every word caressing me in a way that seemed almost impossible to explain except I was quite sure that I wasn't the only one to have felt it. It was the magic in elven singing, it was why the Midsummer Festival was so important, the chance for each person to find their match.

She was smiling at me, a smile that somehow was enough to heal a deep wound in my heart, one that had been there for so long I couldn't quite remember a time when it hadn't been. At some point I'd come to believe that it might be caused by my blood-family's rejection, or the fact that I'd felt unwanted by my adopted family for so long… I wasn't so sure anymore. It couldn't be just that, not if a girl's smile was enough to heal it over just like that. And when she offered me her hand… it was somehow more than I could have ever dreamed of.

"Elen sîla lúmmen' omentielvo (A star shines in the hour of our meeting)…" I recited formally, taking the offered hand in both of mine and bowing over it.

"Saesa omentien lle (A pleasure meeting you)…" She replied in a melodic, perfect tone.

Her voice sounded exactly like the Nauru I remembered, and nothing like her at the same time. The essence was the same, of course, but there was a melodiousness to it that hadn't been there when I knew her other self. Like that part of her, along with her songs, had been hidden away for a long time, never allowed to flourish properly… just like the light of the stars in her eyes.

"You've kept me waiting for a long while, my prince." She told me in a half-chastising, half-sassy tone, smiling at me through it all.

"Have I?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. "What makes you believe that, my lady?"

"Nauru." She corrected me kindly. "Nauru Lómelindë, daughter of Caél and Tawariell, princess of Nidavellir and Alfheim."

"It's an honor, my lady." I bowed again, this time kissing the back of her hand. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

"Only my whole life." She snorted, lowly, in a very unladylike manner. "But I know why it had to be that way."

She stepped forth then, and I assisted her in stepping off the dais, lead her to the shadow of a nearby grove. Soon enough there was another elf standing on the dais, singing, but I paid them no mind, all my attention focused completely on the beautiful young she-elf standing with me.

"So you know who I am." I guessed. "You… you remember?"

"I… suppose." She actually hesitated at that point. "I've had… dreams my whole life. Dreams of a life that was… so very different from the one I've lead, and yet, it didn't feel any less real. I think it made me appreciate things more. Things like Nidavellir, Alfheim, my father… At first I only saw them as dreams and then… and then I saw the trip back, I remembered you, and everyone in Asgard, the prophecy and… and when I woke up I had this…"

She offered her hand to me again, but this time her palm was up and I could see it, it was almost invisible unless under direct light, I still saw it though: the thin line, a shade or two lighter than the skin around it: a scar… of an injury Eir had bandaged, the very bandage that was all that was left behind when she (or her other self) vanished from that armchair…

"How is this possible?" I asked, breathless at the possibility.

"I… I don't know." She shrugged, just a bit. "Strange… before he sent me back he wished me the best of luck, said he believed in me, that I could earn us all a second chance. I thought… I was sure he was just saying it, because I was so sure of the price I'd have to pay. It never occurred to me that I would be getting a second chance as well."

I took both of her hands in mine, pulling her close to me, as close as we could be. The mere thought of her not being there, of things not having gone right… I couldn't even think about it. When I'd first set out to do things, 'pushed' Tawariell and Caél into meeting each other, I hadn't done it for any other reason than it felt right. In that moment, realizing who it was that stood before me, that the chance we had gotten was about more than just peace, so much more… I couldn't imagine her not being right there, didn't want to.

"You gave us a second chance, gave me a chance…" I reminded her with an intensity I could not fully hold back. "You deserved nothing less."

"And will you give me what I deserve?" She inquired, half-mischievous, half-serious.

"I will give you anything that is in power to give." I answered, wholeheartedly, not quite daring to hope that she might wish for the same thing I did.

"How about we start with a kiss, and go from there?" And that just proved how much of a lucky man I truly was.

She need not say any more. I would never know if I bent down first, or if she started it by standing on her toes, but a moment later we were kissing. It was a simple, chaste kiss, barely more than a press of lips… it didn't stay that way very long though.

We stayed in that grove, kissing and holding each other for a very long time. In the morning we'd have to face reality. Which meant meeting her parents, and doing my best to make sure that they wouldn't think bad of me for being interested in their only child, a child that was barely off-age, and who was so, so much younger than me. It also would mean taking her to Asgard to meet my brother and wedded-sister, my parents. To try and convince them that Nauru was my match and had always been, even if all those years ago I was drowning in so much grief I was blind to it (or, who knows? Perhaps it just hadn't been the time yet).

But that would wait till morning, once the Midsummer Festival was over and we had to deal with things… we still had the rest of the day to stand by each other, getting to know each other. Even if Nauru had a lifetime of memories, she'd only known me for a little over a week back then, same as me. And we were nothing like the people we'd been then, not anymore. The things we had been through (and the ones we, especially she, hadn't, too) had changed us. And that was just fine. Regardless of how much each of us might change, we would never stop being perfect for each other; we would forever be a match.