The Lost Princess of Asgard

Part II : Chapter XXXVI

Part Two: Chapter Thirty-Six.

 Going Home.

     The sky is dark and eerie, illuminated by many stars far away. The atmosphere is unwelcoming and cold. Ragged rocky structures float in the endless space, looking out of place. The Other steps forward towards his master who was seated on a rocky throne.

    "Humans," He spoke, his voice raspy. "They are not the cowering wretches we were promised. They stand. They are unruly, and therefore cannot be ruled."

    Thanos, the Other's master, rose to his feet. Instantly, the Other bowed down out of respect and loyalty. Slowly, he rose his head to speak to Thanos. "To challenge them is to court death."

      Thanos didn't speak or say anything in reply. Instead, he stared straight ahead at the numerous stars. A mischievous, menacing grin formed onto his face, lighting up his bright blue eyes. He gripped the tesseract powered jewel in his hand tightly.

     "They are not the problem." Thanos stated. He turned around to face the Other. "Astryd is."

**

       "So you're leaving, huh?" Steve quietly asked, a small frown on his face.

     "Yeah," I sighed, watching as Thor took Loki by the shoulders and ushered him forward. The others all followed, circling around them. Erik stepped forward, holding out a cylinder shaped case that he had made. It's able to withold the tesseract inside, so that others may use it without facing the consequence of exorting themselves. He'd worked on it while I was in a short coma and finished it just hours ago.

        Steve and Erik were the only ones that I haven't said goodbye to yet.I took a deep breath, sneaking a glance at Loki. He quickly averted his gaze, embarrassed by being caught. 

       "Take care." Steve said, pulling me into a hug that I instantly returned. I took a deep breath, not wanting to let go. Leaving to Asgard was not on my agenda and it has thrown me off. I wanted to do so many things. I wanted to for once enjoy life. I wanted to show Steve around the modern world, but that'll have to wait, I guess. When we pulled away, we both smiled at each other. "I mean it."

        "Okay, okay. I will." I replied. "You know, I still haven't forgotten about that date you promised me. I am coming back, you know." 

           "We'll take a rain check, then."

          I nodded, pleased with the idea. My heart began to hammer against my chest. I was going to leave and if I didn't say what I wanted to say, I'd have to deal with the regret later.

          Come on, Astryd. If you can go out and risk your life to help save the world, then you can do this. My attempts at encouraging myself failed. Growing up, I was so overwhelmed by who and what I was that I never gave anything else another look. Even if I did, I wouldn't know much about it. I was raised by Erik, who is a loving man, but he is also practical and man of science. There was Jane and Darcy, but I never bothered with asking them for advice. I didn't think I'd ever need it...

         "Steve, this may be bad timing, but I don't want to leave with regret. So here it goes," I began. Breathe in.

           Steve's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you alright?"

        "I like you." I blurted out, the weight lifting off of my shoulders. Breathe out. I did it. I've finally said it.

          "You do?" He breathed wide eyed and in disbelief. I didn't know whether to take that as a good thing or bad. Instead, I continued.

           "I like you a lot, actually. You've been so kind, sweet, understanding, and I-"

      Steve interrupted me from going any further, crashing his lips to mine. For a moment, I froze in surprise, but when his hand came up to caress my cheek, I melted at his touch and did the same. It was magic, the way his lips connected with mine. It was right, and somehow, among all of the dizziness, something inside me changed. A new kind of feeling -one I could get used to- built up, bringing butterflies to my stomach. He pulled away breathless and smiling, making it clear to me that he felt the same.

       "I like you, too." He then tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Don't forget about me, okay?"

      "Never." I replied with a smile. I could feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes. Steve noticed and pulled me into another hug. This time, I dug my head into his chest. "I'm going to miss you...a lot."

        "I will, too." 

      Pulling away, I glanced around to see the others watching us. I laughed as I felt the blood rise to my cheeks and turned back to Steve. This is the part where I say goodbye, but this wasn't exactly a goodbye...

     "See you soon." I told him, playfully saluting him, fighting off the tears that wanted to come.

    "I'll be waiting." Steve grinned, his blue eyes staring straight into mine as he chuckled and returned the salute. With one last smile, I turned around and walked towards my brothers and Erik.

    Thor grinned at me and I could tell that he wanted to say something, but Erik stopped him. As for Loki, he didn't even bother to acknowledge me. A single tear rolled down my cheek and I could feel more on their way as Erik came to stand right in front me. We both stared at each other. "I love you, father."

    "I love you, too." Erik said, his voice shaking. I pulled him into a tight hug and he immediately responded. "You will always be my daughter. Don't ever forget that, please. I'll always be here for you."

       "You're the only father I've ever known. Of course I won't forget." I said, reassuring him.

       Erik chuckled, wiping away at my tears. "I want you to take care and keep yourself out of harm's way. Don't do anything you'll regret and come back to us soon."

        "I will." I nodded, letting him go. "I promise."

     He nodded and held out the cylinder case. With a flick of my wrist, the tesseract appeared in both of my hands. I carefully placed it into the case. Once it was secure, I handed it to Thor and came to stand between both Loki and him. Loki took the other end of the case, eyeing both Thor and I. His eyes finally willed themselves to meet with mine. They were mournful, full of loss and regret. All I wanted to do at the moment was to remove the muzzle on his face and hug him but I didn't.

    I glanced at the others before I continued. They stood straight, keeping their distance. I couldn't help but think of how much this sucked. They all worked so hard to save the world, and now what? Their only reward is more work, and as much as I know they all love to help others, I do believe that they deserve a small break.

      I averted my gaze to Thor and he nodded. With a sigh, I placed a hand onto the tesseract's case. "Take us to Asgard." I commanded in a whisper, igniting the tesseract. In a matter of seconds, blue fames formed, trailing up our arms and making their way around our bodies, engulfing us.

        "Take us home." 

A/N: So this may not be the best ending and that's mainly because I left it really open-ended. There was a part three to this, but due to writer's block, I decided to unpublish it and leave this as the ending. Like I said, the ending is pretty much open just in case I decide to come back to this. I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless!