Sacrifice

They had continued on to the great hall in silence and upon entering, the low hum of voices within the room ceased. Felicia avoided the prying eyes that sought her own, judging her as she passed by. Her gaze remained solely on Thor's broad back as she followed his lead to the front of the hall.

The whispers were something her sensitized hearing couldn't ignore, though she wished to block them out. The Asgardian's spoken thoughts became the background noise.

"-insanity."

"-deranged I tell you, she must be if she's willing to give her life for him."

"It's unfortunate, she is a beautiful creature."

"-tainted."

Felicia squeezed her eyes tight shut. She drummed out the voices and focused on the insignificant details; the thud of Thor's boots on the floor, an impatient sigh from a member of crowd, the gentle rustle of her gown as the movement of her hips caused the material to sway.

Thor came to an abrupt halt, and Felicia stepped from his shadow to take her place beside him. Before them sat Odin and she didn't break eye contact as his cool gaze bore down upon her. Though his appearance was that of an old man, he had an air of great power, and the respect of every immortal being in the room. Felicia didn't doubt Odin's ability to rule, regardless of Loki's tricks. Nor did she doubt his ability to carry out tough decisions, even if others would consider him heartless at times. He had after all, banished his favourite son until a lesson had been learnt. For these reasons, Felicia suspected that the All-Father would easily send her to her demise with little trouble to himself.

To Odin's right sat Frigga, and her smile was the only warmth in the entire room that was directed towards Felicia. Thor's face now held a stone expression. The broad man stood on Odin's left side was unknown to her, but based on his armored appearance and indifferent expression she correctly guessed that this was Heimdall.

"So this is Felicia Hardy," Odin addressed her, the boom of his voice carried out over the great hall. "The one who is are considered a traitor among her people, but wishes to atone for her actions." His voice lowered, "Do you understand the consequences of what you are about to do?"

"Death isn't a consequence, it's the end of the road," Felicia replied bluntly. There was a gasp among the Asgardians, common midgardians did not address the All-father in such a way. A simple nod on her part would have sufficed as an answer. Felicia knew a good move would be to correct herself, claim she meant no disrespect, but her stubborn side made a brief comeback and she said nothing. What was the point in apologies at a time like this?

For whatever reason, perhaps because a scolding of words seemed pointless at this time, Odin didn't address the matter.

"Then it is time," he said.

The shadow of doubt and fear passed over her. Felicia's time of reckoning had come and the most she could hope for now was a swift finale. Heimdall would be the only one to accompany her to the meeting place where she would be handed over to a henchman of Thanos.

Two beautiful, yet savage Valkyrie stepped forward. Their untamed blonde hair adorned with wild flowers for the occasion. Both carried sacrificial beads carrying the token of Yggdrasil, the tree of the nine realms. At Frigga's insistence, it had been decided that Felicia would wear them at the end.

The first of the Valkyrie reached out to place the beads around Felicia's neck, only to cry out in pain as their skin touched. A sharp spark of electric current seared the Valkyrie's hands and the beads clattered to the floor. The strange incident was overshadowed by a commotion from outside the hall and all turned to see two panic stricken guards searching for Odin.

"My lord-"

Odin rose in anger over the interruption. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Loki has escaped."

A gasp went up around the room and almost instinctively the company searched the hall for any sign of their escaped prisoner. It was Thor who was the first to see him, fore he had guessed where his estranged brother would appear - only a few feet away, beside Felicia.

Loki looked out over the room, a wicked grin on his lips. "It's wonderful to see you all again, but I'm afraid we can't stay."

"No!" Thor roared, not wholly in anger, but despair at knowing Loki was about to ruin his final chance of proving himself. He thundered through the building smoke screen towards Loki, coming out the other side without an encounter. And his fears were confirmed when the smoke cleared to reveal that both Loki and Felicia were gone.