Saudade

Ch.11-Dreams and Nightmares-

*Author's Note*-It's been a while since the last update but I'm back and hopefully my TikTok account will be more active now too. I'm hoping that none of you saw this bit coming and you'll know what I'm talking about in a moment. Please enjoy this chapter:)<3RJ

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-Sigrun-

A dark laugh wakes me, a laugh of malice and hate. There are broken and rusted structures all around me and the sky is painted an unnatural red. I stand up and make my way, climbing one of the skeletons of what once had been a spaceship of some kind. Then the laugh comes again, but this time followed by a groan of pain. I scramble to the top of the ship and quietly peek over.

I feel my heart physically lurch in my chest at the sight in front of me. There, not 200 feet from me stands Thanos, the gauntlet in hand. And a few feet from him, kneeling on the ground is Loki. My Loki. He's been stripped of his tunic and his arms are bound by magic, spread wide a bit above his head so he seems to hang from it as he hunches over in pain, his head hanging low. Loki's raven hair obscures his face from my view but I can see his labored breathing and the multiple cuts on his chest and arms, some already healing due to his parentage.

"Where is it?" Thanos asks in a dangerously low tone. Loki manages to tilt his head up a bit to meet Thanos' gaze and I note the dark bags under his eyes, the bruises, and the multiple little cuts, one upon his lip.

"I already told you," Loki spits out the words with a practiced venom, "It's on Niflheim."

Thanos backhands Loki across the face and his head swings to the side. I gasp and run to Thanos, ready to attack. Except when I go to land the blow I go right through him. I stumble but catch myself and turn to face Thanos again. He looks past me as if I'm not even there and I wave my hands in front of his face. Behind me, Loki spits blood out onto the ground. I turn back to him and kneel beside him.

"Loki..." I whisper in horror.

"Hello my love," He whispers too quiet for anyone but myself to hear and I startle. He's not looking at me, just hanging his head and looking at the ground while Thanos paces, staring him down. "This is real but...you're not actually here."

"What?" I ask. I want to reach out and touch him but I know I can't.

"You're dreaming Darling, the pendant works to project your mind to me while you are dreaming, if I will it," he explains.

"Loki, Loki, where are you? Please tell me, we're coming for you."

"I-I don't know. But we're far. It took days to get here. Just follow the pull and you will find me," he answers. Slowly the world around me starts to blur and he becomes distant.
"Loki! Loki no! Please don't leave!" I scream into the blurry world around me.

"We will be together again my love. I love you my Valkyrie," Loki bids me sadly as the abyss swallows me up.

"I lov-" I start but he's gone.

And I'm back in my bed again, staring at the ceiling as I try to even out my breathing again. A single silent tear slides down my face and I check the time, wiping it away with the sleeve of my shirt. 4:37 am.

I spend the next hour or so packing a bag for our mission and sharpening my weapons.

By the time it's 5:30 I've run out of things to do and instead go to the kitchen and start to prepare breakfast for everyone. I chop the vegetables quickly, keeping my hands as busy as possible in an attempt to settle my mind. I whisk together dozens of eggs and pour them into 4 pans, frying them with the veggies. The sizzling of the eggs cooking fills the room and I start to make pancakes, pouring even circles onto the pancake griddle and flipping them in between stirring the eggs. I pop many trays of bacon into the large oven and set the timer. I start three pots of coffee and bring out some orange and apple juice, setting cups on the counter. I place three bottles of syrup on the table along with some plates, then proceed to cut up strawberries, watermelon, mango, and add raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries to the two large bowls.