I'm Listening

Chapter 17 - Back on Asgard

Author's Note: This is the last chapter which is written in this fic, and unfortunately, I don't know when I'll continue. But I will finish this fic at some point. Promise! :)

~ Amina Gila

Frigga waits only until the door is closed and she is certain Thor is far enough away so as not to overhear the private conversation. "It is a risk," she admits, looking at Odin, "But I feel it is worth it. Thanos is... he is dangerous, ruthless. He is mad, husband. He will not stop until he's dead, and he has grown strong, arrogant to think that harming a prince of Asgard could go without retribution."

Despite her words, Odin's impassive expression doesn't change, but Frigga has been with him for centuries. She knows how to read him better than anyone else, and she can see the anxiety pulsing beneath the surface of his façade. He is afraid, she thinks, to deal with this shadow from their past. Thanos is... he could unravel and destroy everything they have sought to build; he nearly did before. He would have destroyed him, no doubt, if not for Hela. Frigga feels a sharp pang of sorrow, of longing in her heart as she thinks of her eldest daughter. Because she might not have birthed Hela – just as she did not give birth to Loki – but that doesn't make the former Princess any less her daughter. She is not called the All-Mother for nothing.

"He has been waiting and planning," Odin grudgingly admits, "But we have dealt with him before. We can do so again. The Infinity Stones are hidden. It is unlikely that Thanos will actually be able to locate them."

"That is arrogance talking," Frigga returns sharply, stepping all the way to where her husband is sitting. "We both know that Asgard only survived because of Hela. She saved us time and again."

"And then she turned on us!" Odin retorts. "Wife, I know you still love you, but she is dangerous, uncontrollable. Even if I go to ask her assistance, there is no guarantee that she would even help us. There is no guarantee that she would not turn on us the first chance she gets. We cannot afford to risk the Nine Realms in such a manner."

"If we lose, then the universe is doomed anyways," Frigga reminds him. "The Aether has been hidden away, but it can still be found, and no one knows where the Soul and Power Stones are. The Time Stone is concealed on Midgard. It is not a coincidence that Thanos sought to invade that realm. If he knows about it –" She strongly suspects that he does; why else would he attack a place which was guaranteed to get Asgard involved? "– Then he nearly got three of the six."

Something like resignation flickers across Odin's face, but Frigga knows that it's not because he's giving in. No, he'll fight her on this until he doesn't have any arguments left. "You have always cared about her too much," he murmurs.

Frigga presses her lips together, not denying it. Even when Hela had been brought back to Asgard, even when the Princess told them – voice dull, empty, distant – what had happened, what she had done, Frigga hadn't wanted to believe it. But there was no denying the missing Valkyrie. She couldn't feign ignorance when the absence of Brunnhilde, in particular, was so glaringly obvious. And she could reply to Odin with words that sting, but she won't, because it won't help. This isn't about Hela. This is about the universe.

There is no reason for them to get into old arguments, to rehash the long-worn debate about whether or not Hela was really responsible for what happened, if she truly let her bloodlust overcome common sense as she drained the life of all living things covering nearly half the planet. It is all circumstantial evidence. There is no proof either way. All they knew – and know, even now – is that Hela was alive while the Valkyrie and half of Titan was not. Maybe it is foolish, but Frigga refuses to accept that her daughter could have fallen so low. She refuses to accept that Hela would really take life so senselessly and for no reason.