To Roam Into the Unknown

Aurora sat on the back of Bijou, stroking her mane as she trotted towards the edge of the woods. She smiled when Loki and her father emerged, though they were so engrossed in their conversation that it took them a moment to notice her. Her father then looked her way and said something, but his words were lost on the sudden gust of wind that picked up.

Feeling the familiar sting of tears in her eyes. "I miss you..." She said, knowing by his look that he hadn't heard her. Loki looked up at her and smiled.

Then with a tug at her stomach, the scene around her changed and she found herself in the floor of her living room in Seattle. Loki hovered above, staring down at her. And then she shuddered as he slowly entered her, wrapping his arms around her. She closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling. But when she opened them, she was standing in the hallway of her father's home, clutching the ultrasound in her hand as she stared at Loki, thrusting into Helen- 'No. He said her name was Amora...' she thought bitterly.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" He turned around, eyes wide with guilt.

Aurora flew at him, slapping, scratching, and punching any part of him she could reach. "I TRUSTED YOU! I LOVED YOU! I GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU, LOKI!" Loki stood there, unable to meet her heartbroken gaze, taking each hit as it came.

She turned and lunged at Amora, but passed right through her. She now stood in her nightgown in the yard, watching as Loki and Max fought. She saw the tears in Loki's eyes as he tried in desperation to plead with Max. Then she was thrown back as if in slow motion, and Loki towered over her, donning golden-horned helmet and black and green clothing. It was something straight out of her nightmares. Gone was the man she loved, before her stood the man responsible for the death of hundreds, her mother included. His eyes blazed with fury and he looked down at her.

"I would never harm you..." He replied, his eyes softening a bit. He knelt next to her and she turned her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

"You've lied to me from the beginning....you killed all of those people...my own mother!" She stole a glance when he said nothing. He stared down at her, his hand inches from her face. Tears fell from his eyes and he shook his head slowly.

"I did not know! I was not in control..." He cried.

Her heart physically ached for him, and she grew angry with herself as she realized then that no matter what he'd done, she would always love him. Her heart waged war with her brain. 'He killed your mother!'

'He is the father of your unborn child.'

'He was fucking Amora behind your back!'

'Despite all of this, he waged war on your torturers and rescued you."

She covered her ears with her hands and screamed. She screamed until her throat was raw. When she opened her eyes, she was in a dark room lit only by candles. It reminded her of an old renaissance movie she'd seen once before.

"How does she fare, Æsa?" She perked up at Loki's voice, walking further into the room. Loki's back was to her, and a young woman in a gray gown with a white bonnet stood before him, next to a bed.

The woman looked down and figeted with the occupant of the bed. "She was in quite an unfortunate state when she was brought to us."

"And?" Came Loki's icy response.

The woman looked up at him in fear. "There are rumors, my Lord-"

"What kind of rumors?!" He snapped. Aurora inched closer, trying to see what was going on.

The woman looked away, mumbling something unintelligible.

"Out with it!" Loki snarled, causing the girl to scream.

"She's dying my Lord!"

Aurora saw Loki give a start, and then he lunged for the girl. "What did you say?!"

"She is dying!" She cried.

Loki had the girl cornered, but Aurora lost all focus as her gaze turned on the body lying in the bed. She was staring down at herself. A very pale, fragile-looking shell of herself with dark circles under her eyes and sunken in cheeks. There was a loud drumming noise in her head and she suddenly felt as if she were going to throw up. The fearful cries of the girl snapped her out of her daze.

The girl fell to the floor, shielding her face with her arms. "It is not in our nature!"

Aurora threw herself at Loki, meaning to stop him from harming the girl, but with a gasp she glided right through him. She turned in time to see Thor wrap his arms around Loki's. His lips attempting to speak calming words. The drumming noise in her head grew louder and soon that was all she could hear. Even as Loki desperately fought to release himself from Thor, screaming at him, she couldn't hear it. Then he unexpectedly went limp and sank to the floor, his shoulders shaking with sobs.

Aurora couldn't stand seeing him in such a state. The drumming noise grew louder still until she looked up, past Loki and Thor. An older woman had entered the room, but Aurora was more interested in the figure in the doorway.

The woman's blue eyes seemed to be starting right at her and she gave a slight nod before turning to walk away. Without thinking better of it, Aurora began to follow her down the enormous halls. She followed her up several flights of stairs and finally through two large oak doors, which she pushed through with ease. An older man with white hair stood with his back to her, staring out from the balcony.

"Did he awaken?" He asked.

The woman stood a few feet behind him, her arms wrapped in a soft blue and gold shaw. "He did." She sighed. "Of course, you would know this if you had seen fit to visit him yourself."

The man turned, tucking his hands behind his back. Aurora was surprised to see he only had one eye. The other was covered with a golden patch. "I fear I would have done more harm than good."

"I very much doubt it. But perhaps we'll never know." The woman said quietly.

The man inched closer. "Frigga-"

"He is still your son." She snapped.

He reached out and stroked her cheek lovingly. "I am the last person in all the realms that he wants to see."

Aurora, certain they couldn't see her, moved to the balcony where the sun's light flooded in, choosing to stand behind the golden drapes that hung from the ceiling.

"You don't believe that to be true." Frigga said. When the man turned his face to avoid her gaze, she placed a hand on either side of his face. "Odin. You are the one person he needs to see. Use this as a chance to heal the wounds that divide you. Loki needs his father more so now than ever before."

"What news of his mortal?" Odin asked.

Aurora perked up at the mention of herself, but didn't like the look on Frigga's face.

"Not well, I'm afraid." She replied.

Odin let out a disapproving grunt, looking down.

"This is why he needs his father. He is going through a punishment much worse than anything we could have imagined." Frigga said.

"Very well." He said quietly.

She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and quietly exited the grand room.

"You can come out now, my dear." He called over his shoulder

Aurora gripped the curtains tightly, peering from behind them. "You can see me?"

"Well, not when you're hiding behind the drapes. Now, if you please. I would like to look upon the woman who has claimed my son's heart." He replied.

Aurora cautiously stepped out from behind them. "What is happening to me?"

"To that question, I have no answer. Though I would suspect it had something to do with whatever trauma your body was subjected to. And I've no understanding as to why I can see you."

"You're Loki's father?" She asked, changing the subject.

He gave her a slight nod. "I am Odin and to answer your question, yes. You are his Aurora?"

She bit her bottom lip. "I...umm...it's complicated."

A smile played at the corners of his mouth. "Yes well, Loki is a very complicated young man."

"Tell me about it." She said wryly. "And an idiot."

"Do you love him?"

Aurora felt suddenly very sad. "I do...but he completely betrayed my trust."

"Unfortunately, you would not be the only one whose trust he has betrayed. And for that, I feel I must take the blame." He approached the balcony, easing himself down onto the stairs. "You see, it is I who betrayed his trust first."

"I don't understand."

Odin motioned for her to sit next to him, and she did, albeit reluctantly. "Please forgive me if this seems too much to take in, but if you are too be a part of his life, then you must know of his past..." and he began to inform her of the conflict surrounding Loki from his birth to his exile.

After quite some time had passed, Aurora sat starting down at her hands. "I know that I should probably be freaking out right now...and maybe it's just a delayed reaction."

"It's is quite a lot to take in, but it is all true."

She began to laugh, taking Odin by surprise. "I'm sorry...but...when I first met him, after his accident, he kept going on about Asgard and Heimdall...and being immortal..." a sob escaped her lips as her laughter turned into tears. She covered her face with her hands. "I thought he was delusional...that-that maybe he'd had some brain damage from the wreck...He was telling me the truth the whole time and I thought he was crazy."

Odin patted her hand, but his own went right through. "My dear, you mustn't dwell on such trivial things. The fact that you are here shows how much he cares for you, and complicated or not, how much you care for him. There are nights that the palace halls were full of his screams. Screaming for you. We all have our demons, and Loki is not without fault. But he is not the monster that everyone believes him to be."

She looked over at Odin, large tears falling from her eyes. "I do love him."

He leaned close towards her. "Then you must fight for him. I know your body is weak, but your mind is strong, else we would not be here having this conversation."

"I'm afraid..."

Odin smiled. "Fear not."

Without warning, the drumming noise returned and she felt her entire body tingling. In an instant, she was pulled away, flying against her will down the halls of the palace and towards the room she had been placed in. Loki's face was the last thing she saw as the darkness crept in.

OoOoOo

Thor watched in silence as visible energy emanated from Loki's surprisingly steady hands, and surrounded Aurora's frail body. Her brows furrowed as if in pain, but her eyes remained closed.

"Loki-"

"Thor, I must concentrate." Loki said, his gaze never moving from her body.

"Is it possible that you may be hurting her?" Thor asked.

Loki's head snapped to the side, looking at Thor. "What? No!"

"I only ask because every now and again she looks as though she is in pain." Thor took a step closer to her.

Loki kept his hands steady. "I'm nearly finished. But this shouldn't be causing any pain. I am simply placing her body in a frozen state." He glanced up to see Thor looking at him. "I'm not actually freezing her, Thor. This enchantment will buy us the time we need to find Iðunn." There was a whoosh of air and Loki lowered his hands.

"And how much time is that?" Thor asked.

Loki ran a hand through his black hair and then down his chin, stroking the neatly trimmed goatee. "As long as it takes. As long as the spell holds, she will be ok."

"And what of the child?"

"Theoretically it should be kept in the same state." Loki said.

Thor arched a brow. "Theoretically?"

Loki looked down at Aurora as a visible pale aura encapsulated her. "This is magic I've only ever read about. I've never actually performed it."

It was Thor's turn to rub his face. "Loki-"

"It's the only option I had, Thor. I hadn't the time to consider consequences or its effectiveness." He went to brush her hand and was met with a burning pain in his fingers, as though he had touched a flame. He shook his hand and cursed under his breath.

"At least she will be safe from harm." Thor replied. "Come brother. If we do not know how much time we have, then we should act as if it is limited."

Loki said nothing. He simply stared down at her body, arms crossed, tracing his bottom lip with his thumb. He wished he had kissed her once more before he'd placed the shield.

"Loki, we are doing her no good standing around." He stood aside as Loki reluctantly exited the room.

Upon seeing two einherjar patrolling the halls, Loki spoke up. "You there!"

The two soldiers stopped. "The two of you are to guard this room at all costs."

"Under whose orders?" One of them asked. Loki felt his anger flare, but Thor stepped out of the room, shutting the door.

"Under the command of the princes of Asgard." Thor bellowed, glaring at them.

The two men straightened up and without another word, took their posts at either side of Aurora's door.

Thor clapped a hand down on Loki's shoulder. "Come brother. There is much for us to do."

"No one is to enter this room. Your lives depend on it." Loki hissed before turning on his heel to follow Thor.