Perhaps [thor/loki]

Chapter 18

Ulfar sat at his kitchen table with his hands wrapped around a mug in front of him. His fingers clasped and released the mug as the heat bore too hot for his fingers. Thor sat across from him, telling of what had happened to Gyda and Nora. Ulfar tuned out his voice as his eyes took focus on the knicks and grooves of the table. They reflected the years that this table had served him and his two daughters.

"We're doing everything we can to find out what happened," Thor said, "And to bring them home."

Ulfar held a hand up to Thor, he had heard enough. His house had been quiet for longer than a day, and he knew something must've happened to his girls. He was disappointed that he was not told sooner, as he did not wish to make a fuss by inquiring at the castle. But when the barmaids told him that Gyda had not shown for her shift, he knew something must've happened.

"We have a rescue party in pursuit," Thor said after a moment.

"And you're here," Ulfar said. There was no emotion to it. He wasn't disappointed by Thor's presence, as he knew that the circumstances were beyond him. Ulfar tapped his hands on the table, "You say they fell through the pond up the way?"

"Yes," Thor said. "We believe that their mother..."

"Yes," Ulfar confirmed for him. He nodded, "It was her pond."

"You knew?" Thor asked.

Ulfar sighed, "I know Nora was taken with it. I didn't want to say anything, I was afraid she might try to open it. Their mother used to use it to travel out of Asgard as she pleased. She would retrieve herbs for the girls when they were sick, see her sisters, and whatever else she found. I... didn't think Nora could open it."

Thor nodded as he listened. Ulfar looked up at him, "When we spoke the other day, you asked me if I thought Nora was mine."

Thor had asked Ulfar as such, about Nora's mother and Frigga's suspicions of her lineage. Ulfar refused to speak of it then because Nora had always been as much his as Gyda was.

"To be truthful, I knew there was a chance she was not," Ulfar said. "Their mother confessed an affair to me before she was born. But I loved her just as she was my own."

"You never told her?" Thor asked.

"I've never told anyone," Ulfar said, "Not even Gyda, but sometimes I wonder if that girl figured it out. After their mother died... I decided I would take it to the grave. But, here we are."

"You admit this now? Why?" Thor asked.

"I'm not sure what it was," Ulfar said, "But the thing that killed their mother came from the other side of that pond. I fear the worst if both of my daughters are trapped on the other side."

"As do I," Thor said.

"And you said your brother was able to cross through?" Ulfar asked.

"Yes," Thor nodded. "To where? We are still not sure. I keep hoping that Nora will send a sign somehow."

"I'm sure she's doing her best to keep herself and Gyda safe," Ulfar said, placing his hand on Thor's shoulder. "They'll come home as soon as they can."

Nora woke from a peaceful slumber to the sight of Gyda pacing back and forth across the room. Gyda was rummaging through every drawer and cabinet in the room as Nora sat up to look at her, "What are you doing?"

Gyda paused and spun around, "Trying to find something to figure out where we are, who these people are."

Nora sat up fully and spun her feet off the bed, "Gyda, we're not in danger here."