A few days had passed since Malekith's defeat, and Zima and Thor had returned to Asgard. Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg were glad to see that the two were okay, but there was still the matter of how much trouble they would be in for Thor's whole plan. When they were summoned to talk with Odin, they made their way to the throne room, kneeling at the base of the steps.
"You once said there would never be a wiser king than me." Odin addresses them, mostly Thor. "You were wrong. The Alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you both offer your lives to save them. What can Asgard offer its new king and brave warrior in return?"
"My life." Thor responds, standing. "Father, I cannot be king of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice... it changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great king."
"Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves?" Odin asks.
"When you speak, do I never hear Mother's voice?" Thor asks in response, "This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now, forbid me to see her, or say she can rule at my side. It changes nothing."
"And what about you?" Odin asks Zima, "Is there anything you have to say?"
"No, sir." Zima responds, now also standing, "The things I want most are what I can't have. For now, I just wish to understand myself and what I can do moving forward."
Odin nods before looking back at Thor.
"One son who wanted the throne too much, and another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?"
"Loki died with honor." Thor states, "Zima and I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough?" He then offers Mjolnir up.
"It belongs to you. If you are worthy of it." Odin responds.
"I shall try to be." Thor says.
"I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune."
"I know."
"If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that, I could not say. It would speak only from my heart. Go, my son. And Zima, don't cast any doubt on yourself. You are far stronger than you may think."
"Thank you, Father." Thor says, before turning to leave.
"Yes, thank you." Zima adds before she follows him out.
When the two had left, a green shimmer forms, revealing Loki, still alive, in Odin's place.
"No." He says quietly, "Thank you."
After leaving, Zima returned to her room, once again locking herself inside. This had become more outline for her than it was before, and almost more intense. For hours on end, she just sat in her room, doing absolutely nothing. She stopped practicing her magic, and she couldn't bring herself to do any art, either. She even stopped going to train with Sif and the Warriors Three, only leaving when she absolutely had to. She just felt... nothing. She wanted to do nothing.
Soon, the hours became days, then weeks, then months. Her friends were concerned for her, but every time they tried to check in on her, she just turned them away. She didn't want to see them, afraid that doing so would mean confronting what had happened during their encounters with the Dark Elves, and she didn't want that. She didn't want to face reality and be reminded of it.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Zima? Are you in there?" It was her father. "I'm coming in."
YOU ARE READING
Dark Reality (MCU Book 2)
FanficA year has passed, and Zima has learned that Loki has been hiding out on Earth. She immediately goes to look for him, but what she finds is far from what she expected. Not only that, but the ancient Aether has found its way to Asgard through Jane Fo...
