The Lady of Darkness (Loki x OC)

Chapter 17

The day Thor came back with Loki, I remembered how my heart constricted so tightly in my chest when I saw him in chains and a muzzle over his lips. The battle wounds that were on his forehead, the bridge of his nose, and under his eye made my heart ache more and more. Even when I realized he only kept his eyes on me the whole time, I couldn't stop feeling pain. My legs buckled at the very presence of him.

Even when Thor told me about what happened during the battle—all the lives that were lost because of Loki— I still believed Loki's mind was corrupted by the scepter. I didn't understand why I continued to hold onto the hope that there was still good in Loki, but I just couldn't accept that he was bad. Though his actions cost lives and his words stung more than a lashing, I couldn't accept he was too far from reach.

As for the Tesseract, Heimdall was able to use its power to restore the Bifrost. The Tesseract was immediately locked away in Odin's vault. As soon as the Bifrost was restored, I wanted to talk to Thor about what I heard when he spoke to Loki on the mountain, but I couldn't. Immediately after the Bifrost was fixed, we were immediately sent out to bring peace to the Nine Realms.

The recent battle that we had just returned to was in Nidavellir. Troll Lords had been having a feud with the dwarves that lived on Nidavellir for a long time. They found it convenient to attack the dwarves since we were confined in Asgard. Now, that the Bifrost was working once again, we needed to restore peace to Nidavellir. They were the best forgers in all the Nine Realms and strong allies to our people. The king of the dwarves, Eitri, was grateful for our help and promised a forever alliance with Asgard.

Before we left, Eitri stopped Thor and me. "I have been holding these since your coronation ceremony," he informed Thor. "An Einherjar was supposed to pick it up before your wedding day, but with your banishment and the Bifrost's destruction, I can guess why there was a delay."

Eitri handed Thor a small box. Thor opened it and showed it to me to reveal three gold rings. The first ring was a gold band with a Norse etching and the Asgardian symbol at the center of the band. The second ring was also gold. The ring was the Asgardian symbol that surrounded the center diamond that matched the shape of the inner symbol. Small diamonds were placed around the Asgardian symbol as if to outline its shape. On the band were diamonds on both sides of the band but stopped midway. The third band was slimmer and had similar etchings on it, like Thors, except there wasn't an Asgardian symbol on it, and also had small diamonds that ran halfway through the band.

Thor and I remained speechless at the sight of the rings. I wasn't sure if it was because we were awestruck at the sight of the rings or if it was because of our confused hearts—the hearts that are claimed by another. I smiled at Eitri, "Your work is beyond belief, Eitri. We are thankful that you honored us with such rings."

"Yes, Eitri, we can't thank you enough."

"For what you have done for my people is more than enough," Eitri smiled. "Will you try them on so I know they fit you?"

Hesitantly, I looked up at Thor while he looked down at me. I smiled weakly as I grabbed Thor's ring and slipped it on his left ring finger. Thor also grabbed my rings and slipped them on my finger. Though the ring was beautiful, it felt heavy upon my hand. It felt like the weight of all my conflicts with Thor, Asgard, Loki, and my family's expectations were resting upon this very ring. I wondered if Thor felt the same way.

While Thor put his back, I went to remove both of mine too. Eitri stopped me though. "The other is meant to be your engagement ring to Thor. You are allowed to wear that one, just not the band."

I nodded my head and lowered my hand. "Thank you again, Eitri. We truly appreciate you for this."

Once we bid Eitri farewell, we had Heimdall open the Bifrost. The tension in the air felt thick as Thor and I walked to our private chamber. The moment the door closed, I turned around to see him sitting down on the bench. I moved to the balcony, rubbing my face. I stopped when I felt the ring on my finger. I watched it glisten in the light, admiring the beautiful facets of the center diamond. Even the smaller diamonds looked just as beautiful.