Chosen // loki laufeyson

Chapter Forty Nine

THANK YOU FOR 101K!!! (9-5-15)
Chapter Forty Nine

Lienna

The sun hadn't even begun to rise when I joined Odin and Heimdall in the BiFrost.

The two men were having a hushed conversation when I strode into the big room, trying to come across as strong and confident. I had donned an all black tunic and pants, and pulled my short hair back out of my face. When I tried to look intimidating, I really wore it well.

Heimdall noticed me first and greeted me respectfully. I returned the favor, then asked, "Any sign of him?"

"Sadly, not yet, Princess," Heimdall informed me, his deep voice soothing. "But we did manage to find traces of dark magic."

"Which, with an almost perfect record, can be traced back to Loki," Odin continued.

I almost smiled, but the intensity of the conversation forced me not to. Of course Loki is the source of dark magic.

"Where were the traces located?" I asked, feeling my heart lift at the clues to his location.

Odin and Heimdall looked at each other for a solid few minutes, leaving me feeling stupid and unnecessary. Finally the two acknowledged my question in the form of Heimdall's slow, wise words.

"Midgard," he said. "I found the traces of dark magic on Midgard."

I felt as though the air had been knocked out of me and then forced back into my lungs. Midgard. The realm he once terrorized.

"Has- has Thor said anything?" I asked slowly, trying to process every theory of why Loki might be on Midgard and trying to keep myself under control. I felt as though I was going to be sick, and that was never pleasant.

Odin shook his head. "That is why we are concerned. Because Thor has made no effort to contact us, I worry that sending one of us to Midgard to see what the matter was would be far too dangerous. I do not believe I could risk any of the lives I have now."

As if you had any hesitation to do that before, I remarked bitterly in my head. I couldn't bring myself to make a snide comment like that one, however, because the BiFrost seemed to be spinning far too fast to be normal. Heimdall and Odin didn't seem to be phased, strangely.

"But if we do not send someone down there," I swallowed, thinking of what Loki was capable of, "we could be risking far more than one willing Asgardian life."

"Yes, I realize that, Lienna," Odin replied. "However, we are severely uninformed of the situation, and it is currently too much of a risk. Once Heimdall is able to see more of what is happening, then maybe we can consider sending a well trained warrior to observe what is happening."

"Why not send me?" I asked, a bit too boldly for what I was feeling inside. "I am married to the man, for Asgard's sake, he wouldn't dare lay a finger on me, let alone go against my wish-"

Suddenly the ground caught up to my face with a painful crack. The BiFrost seemed to whirl around even faster and I prayed I wouldn't be sick all over myself as I lay in pain on the ground. My vision darkened, yet I could still hear Odin remark, "She suggests herself but cannot keep her own balance." Then my mind turned off.

××××××

I woke up in the infirmary, a place I was bitterly familiar with. Odin sat at the foot of my bed, seemingly asleep. As I sat up, Odin snapped into consciousness, watching me with tired eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Odin questioned politely.

I nearly responded with a genuine answer of 'fine,' but then I remembered Odin's remark about me and clamped my mouth shut.

He seemed to notice my slightly arrogant move and brushed it aside, continuing about his own business. "Heimdall searched Midgard while you were unconscious. He is certain the magic is Loki's doing, and warriors are being trained as we, or rather, I speak. I thought you would be pleased to know that we were going to search Midgard."

I bit my lip, slightly upset that Odin had decided on using a warrior to search for my husband.

"Tomorrow is the decided date to send whomever I choose to Midgard. They will report often with their findings, so I assure you, you will know of every step of the process."

I nodded. "How long was I unconcious?" Avoiding the topic was a necessity at this point.

"Only a few hours," Odin informed me. "It was just an imbalance of emotion and information, nothing to be ashamed of."

Yet you shamed me for it, I retorted mentally. Odin excused himself to observe the warriors who wanted to be the one to search Midgard and I went up to my room, wishing that I was stronger than I was. The only area I was strong in was my incredibly negative attitude; not something I could use in defense of myself. I knew the basics of magic, and had mediocre blade skills. Hand to hand combat was definitely not my thing. I simply couldn't do anything, even if Asgardians had a genetic advantage. The only real advantage I would have was if the biggest antagonist of the situation was an upset Loki.

All the evidence suggests all that it is is merely Loki on Midgard... Maybe I would be the best for this.

I bit my lip, thinking this over. Activate the BiFrost, arrive at Midgard, find Thor or even Loki, and call upon Heimdall to bring us back.

This would all have to be done relatively quickly; Odin planned to send the warrior tomorrow of all times. I would also have to avoid Heimdall, certainly he wouldn't allow me to just send myself to Midgard without any training or knowledge.

The best time to execute this seemed to be nighttime; everyone would be sleeping except for a few guards, and Heimdall wouldn't be guarding the BiFrost.

Night, it is.Valhalla help me, I prayed mentally. Please do not let this be a mistake, please.

××××××

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Thank you all so much for 101,000 reads! That's absolutely unreal. In a year and a month, we managed to get 101,000 reads, over 5,000 votes, and over 900 comments. I couldn't have done this without every single one of you, and I appreciate all that you have done to help this story reach where it is. Chosen was just something I made for fun, I didn't think it would get popular, but here it is, reaching amazing levels.

You guys are so incredible.

lots of love and gratitude,
katiethenovelist