The Brightest Star

Chapter 41 - Surprise

(Kára's POV):
"I heard that you had gotten home, but could not find you anywhere," I heard the voice of Aasveig behind me as she came to sit next to me. "I was wondering where you could have disappeared to when I suddenly remembered your spot. Do you wish to tell me what happened?"

"I-it was nothing, after Frigga was killed, Odin decided that it was time for me to go home. He has never really liked me, probably due to my relationship with Loki combined with the fact that I am just a commoner. I am just heartbroken that I had to leave, especially so soon after Frigga's death. He told me that I had until the end of the day today to leave directly after the funeral while I was still mourning."

"There is more, isn't there? Kára, we were extremely close growing up, I can tell when you are hiding something. What else happened?"

I sighed, "I am not entirely sure I am supposed to be telling an outsider at this time, but Loki and Thor teamed up today to defeat the dark elves, who were the group who invaded Asgard yesterday and I just got word before leaving that Loki did not make it. And I just found out today that I am carrying his child."

"What? You are pregnant?" She asked, her eyes widening in shock. I nodded, tears filling my eyes once again. "Oh Kára, I am so sorry about all of this, I mean, it is wonderful that you are going to have a child, but obviously it is terrible that Loki will never meet them."

I tried to give her a small smile as I nervously played with my fingers, "it was just so unexpected and I could not even enjoy it because I was too busy worrying about Loki and then found out that he was gone."

She wrapped her arms around me, rubbing my back to comfort me, "you do not deserve any of this, Kára, but I know that you will get through this. And besides, we will always be here for you. I do not think I told you the other day, but I have been getting courted by a man who possesses quite a bit of wealth, so I may be able to help support the family so you can focus on caring for your child."

"But I do not want to do that to you, Aasveig, I was supposed to support the family, not you."

"You have, Kára, and that burden should not have befallen you. Let us take care of you for a change," she smiled, squeezing my hand.

"Thank you, Aasveig, part of me is actually quite happy that Odin forced me to leave because now at least I can be around my family again."

"Are you ready to return to the house? Saga has almost finished dinner."

"Yes, I suppose I cannot stay out here forever," I sighed, knowing that I would have to face my family eventually.

"I will take your bag back with me, we should not be having a pregnant woman do any laborious work," Aasveig teased as she picked up my bag.

I laughed, "you should not start that, Aasveig, I will soon learn to relish in the fact that you will do anything I request of you."

"Are you not already used to it having lived at the palace for so long?"

"Unfortunately my chambermaid got taken away once my position was removed, I have had to actually dress myself these past couple of days. I honestly do not know how I survived," I smiled, finally getting up from my spot and smoothing out my dress. "You can go ahead, Aasveig, I shall be along in a moment."

She nodded, disappearing from view as I took one final glance around at the woods. I was so thankful to have my family to turn to, but it still did not erase the pain in my heart. However, I would learn to move on, I had to for my child's sake. I turned to head back to my house when someone placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me to spin around, grabbing their hand and twisting it behind their back.

"Ow, darling, please let go, it is just me," a voice that I had grown so used to hearing spoke, my entire body turning cold.

"L-Loki?" I gasped, my grip loosening as my body went limp in shock. He took this opportunity to pull his arm from my grasp and turn to face me. "Y-you are supposed to be dead."

"Don't look so disappointed, darling," he teased, his dazzling smile reaching his eyes.

"I am not disappointed, I am simply stunned. Loki, they told me you had died, how is this possible?"

"Darling, I apologize for making you believe that I was dead, but I can assure you that it was for my safety as well as yours. The titan I told you about, Thanos, he was after my head and I could not risk putting you in danger. I needed the universe to believe that I was dead and the perfect opportunity arose while I was on Svartalfheim with Thor. But now we can be together without Odin tearing us apart and without the constant threat of Thanos."

My hand made contact with the side of his face as anger rushed through me, "how could you do this to me?! Do you have any idea how heartbroken I was?! You are the most insensitive, infuriating person I have ever met!"

"You know, you are the second woman who has slapped me today," he spoke with a hint of a smile playing on his lips as he pressed his hand against the stinging skin. "I am truly sorry that you had to find out about my death, I was hoping to get to you before anyone else told you I was dead. However, when I got to your room you had already cleared out. I was about to give up hope when I could not find you at your house, but I decided to check the perimeters and finally found you and your sister, I presume?"

"Yes, that was Aasveig," I informed him. "I cannot believe that you are here. You're not dead. You are actually here, alive."

"I think that you have covered almost every way to say that I am alive," he smiled, wrapping his arms around me. "I have been wanting to physically touch you for days now, this is like a dream come true. I love you, Kára, I love you more than I can ever truly express."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his, passion overwhelming me at the small distance between our bodies. Focused solely on the kiss, I did not realize that I was crying until Loki broke away and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"Please, Kára, do not cry. I am here, I will always be here for you," he assured me, cupping my cheek and running his thumb along it.

"I-I am sorry, I-I just cannot believe that you are actually alive, I am just so overwhelmed," I apologized, trying desperately to regain a hold over my emotions. "So where do we go from here? Odin believes that you are dead, it will not take him long to realize that that is not the case."

"Not if we run away," he proposed, causing me to furrow my brows in confusion.

"What do you mean, run away? Where would we go?"

"Somewhere that where I can hide us from Heimdall without raising any suspicions. I was thinking that, if you are willing, we could move to Midgard."

"Midgard?!" I repeated in disbelief. "I-I do not know Loki, that if very far away. I still have a family, I cannot simply leave them."

He hung his head, "I am sorry, Kára, I should have realized that. Having an entire family disappear from the universe will be too suspicious, so I am afraid that we cannot take everyone. If you would prefer to stay here, I would completely understand. Perhaps we could arrange visits to see each other."

"Please, just let me think about it, this is too big of a decision for me to make in such a haste. I shall go eat with my family and tell you my decision after dinner, is that acceptable."

"Of course, take your time, darling," he replied with a forced smile before giving me a peck on the cheek.

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(A/N): What do you think Kára will ultimately decide?