Burnt;The story of the Frost Giant and the Dragon

Chapter 23

"Ms. Stark, it is time to wake up. Master Stark has requested your presence in the kitchen." Jarvis called.
Skullora groaned. A sudden, sharp pain seemed to stab her brain and the echoing of the a robotic British accent didn't seem to help. "Sssson of a bitch..." She hissed softly, "What the ffffff-"
"There is no need for that type of language Ms. Stark, I believe you are hungover. It is something I have seen master Stark suffer may times; if I may, I suggest coffee."
Skullora slowly raised up, but quickly laid back down again because the newly found migraine would not allow it.
"W-wh.....W-what....?"
"If you will go down stairs, as master Stark has requested, I believe you will find the answer to all of your concerns."
"Sssstairs?" She hissed.
"Yes, stairs. Quite many of them."
Suddenly the blinds opened, letting in the light of the day. Hissing violently from the sudden exposure, she tumbled out of bed and in a tangle of silk sheets.
"I told you to wake up!" Tony laughed followed by a sharp clicking noise. "Black mail for later!"
Skullora growled as deeply as she could in her disoriented state. "I-I....could  k-kill you!"
"But you won't!" He snickered.
Tony knelt down on the floor and tried to help his sister untangle herself.
"Where...am I?" Skullora asked as he helped her to her feet.
Tony smiled softly and warped one arm around her. "Home....You're home."

************************************
People pushed their way to the front of the crowds to see the opposed couple of "villains" as they were escorted to their trial.
All of the murmuring, pointing, and staring made Skullora feel panicky. It was obvious from the look on her face she was about to have another attack.
Loki was the first to notice. Unfortunately, with all of the chains they were both in, it was impossible to reach her.
Someone from the crowd yelled out, "If that maiden is with Loki, she must be a whore for sure! What's your price quim?" The sad thing is, it was one of the mildest comments thrown Skullora's way.
Loki would have tried to shield her from it all, but they were separated by a group of guards that were there to keep them apart.
It was a long, humiliating walk to the main halls of Asgard. But when they arrived, things only got worse.
On his golden thrown sat Odin, the All-Father. He had a look of extreme disappointment on his worn face, one that was almost a reflex when it came to seeing Loki.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Odin bellowed, his voice echoing across the vast hall.
Loki swallowed hard and hung his head low. "I...I-I only wanted to have your approval." He muttered low enough not to be heard. Skullora heard him though, and it ignited a sudden burst of anger.
"What was that boy?" Odin roared. "Why couldn't you have turned out like your brother, a hero. But look at you, you're no better than the scum I saved you from!"
That made Skullora snap....
"Maybe if you didn't have you head so far up Thor's ass, you would see that he was only doing this to get your attention!"
Odin stood up quickly, almost as if he was trying to seem intimidating. "Hold thine tongue!" He shouted. "I did not ask for your input."
"Oh yeah?" She growled. "Last I remember, I didn't ask for your's either! If I wanted to hear from an ass, I would have farted."
The whole hall went silent, the only thing that could be heard was Tony snickering.
It was clear that Odin was furious, but Skullora could honestly care less.
"And this one..." Odin began, standing up from his throne. "Thor tells me you care deeply for...her is it? What ever this is...."
Loki didn't even budge. His emerald green gaze was glued to the floor.
"Excuse me?" Skullora snarled, stepping out of her chains (after working on them compulsively for half an hour) as if they were just baggy clothing. "What ever I am is twice the person you are!"
"Easy love," Loki whispered, but she was too pissed to notice.
"Do you know who you speak with child." Odin roared.
Skullora flared her wings, preparing for a fight if this escalated too far. She secretly wanted a t-shirt with "I kicked the All-Father's ass" written clearly in big bright letters. "I sure as hell do, your the biggest-"
"Enough!" Loki said with a signature cold growl that sent chills down the spine of anyone listening. "This is not your punishment to face, Skullora. I am sorry for dragging you into this...."
"Loki I can't-"
"No, I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. Leave, let me reap what I have sown; it is high time that I took responsibility for my actions." He sighed deeply, finally raising his head up to watch his own final downfall.
Skullora slid past the guards surrounding Loki, and strangely, they let it happen. "But we could still get out of this! I could easily-"
"NO, SKULLORA! I told you...this is it!" Loki snapped without looking at her. "You need to move on....There is better for you...."
Tears of defeat arose in her eyes, was this really what she thought it was?
"If you let them take you..." She tried to think of the best way to describe the situation without sending herself into an emotional breakdown, but the effort was worthless. "Dammit Loki, they will execute you! I can't take losing someone else...."
Loki knew that she was too stubborn to leave him, but to make things right, he knew that he must do what ever it took. For once in his life, someone had truly made him happy, now he had to keep her safe no matter the cost.
"You truly are a fool! I honestly didn't believe that someone with your level of common sense could fall for this."
Her face suddenly lost all of its color. "E-excuse me?"
Unable to pull it off, Loki quickly covered himself in an illusion, giving him a hard, cold expression. "You heard me, quim. I only used you to survive, but now you are no longer needed. Leave, I care not what becomes of you."
Unable to hold them in, tears began to fall, but Skullora was still in denial. "I'm not leaving you....Whatever this is, we can work it out!"
Loki's chains clanked angrily as he threw out his hands as far as the restraints would allow. "Am I not speaking plain English? I have no feelings for you what-so-ever, can you not get it through your thick skull?!" He snapped, turning to face Skullora with a growl.
For a moment, her heart stopped. A single tear slid down Skullora's pale cheek when the truth hit her. Instead of being heart broken, surpassingly, she felt numb.
"Fuck you!" She hissed sharply before turning around swiftly and strutting off, adding more swing to her hips with each step.
Loki smirked, "Oh, but you almost did sweet heart....twice."
Skullora responded with an amused laugh. "Yeah...but now that I think about it, Thor's hammer would be much more pleasing than your skinny staff." Then to add emphasis, on the way by she slapped Thor hard on the ass. Thor did not know how to react, he only blushed deeply.
"I'm done here." She announced. With both middle fingers raised high in the air, she made her dramatic exit.
"I-I'll  go after her." Tony said in between snickers.
Loki watched them both leave.
It was a wonder that he held the illusion as long as he did, because as soon as they were out of sight, he broke down completely. This wasn't the first time his heart had been broken, but this time felt different. No, his heart was not broken, it was set ablaze by dragon fire.
****
Skullora sat on the edge of the Bifrost, dangling her legs over the dazzling abyss.
"Carful m'lady," Heimdall said with a weak smile. "Enough drama has already taken place today, no need to cause anymore." 
"Eh," she sighed, "It wouldn't matter. I'd be doing the universe a favor, you know what I'm talking about too. And there is something I would love to ask you."
"I would be happy to shine a light on it, m'lady."
Skullora stretched and laid back, now gazing dreamily into the star soaked sky. "What's it like...seeing everything and everyone? You witness so much beauty in the worlds, but so much hate as well. Does it ever bother you? I mean, do you ever get bored with it?"
For a moment, Heimdall broke his gaze. "Well, m'lady, your questions are not so easily answered. Yes, sometimes I do see lots of hatred...but the beauty makes up for it in the end. And as for boredom, I have you to look after, do I not?"
Skullora nodded, this answer satisfied her for now. "Eh, fair enough. What I wouldn't give to take your place though."
Heimdall laughed heartily. "No m'lady, you would quickly become unamused. You see, you are an adventurer, not a watchman. In a way, it would be like holding a toy in front of a child, but asking it only to look instead of enjoy. Besides, with all due respect, you would not be able to stay still long enough."
"Good point...."
Skullora then sat back up and held her hand in front of her face, examining the ring Loki had given her. With one swift movement, it was off her finger and plummeting into the nothingness that surrounded the Bifrost.
Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around her midsection, softly pulling her backwards. "Take it easy Smaug, I just found you, I don't want to lose you again!"
She sighed in relief. "Life lesson number one: never sneak up behind a sleeping dragon! Consider yourself lucky, normally I would have clawed your face off."
Tony sat down beside her and wrapped a firm arm around her shoulder. "I will remember that....Putting that aside....I am so proud of you, that was the Starkiest exit I have ever seen!"
Smiling modestly, Skullora rolled her eyes. "Oh, that was nothing, I've had worse....a lot worse....Do you know Thranduil?"
Tony nodded as he tried to recall the name."Elven King of Mirkwood....huge ass hat/douche canoe....that Thranduil?"
"Yup....You should have seen what I did after he banished me from Mirkwood because he found out I had been sleeping with his son-"
"Wait a second....you banged Legolas?!"
Skullora sighed. "Multiple times, but I dumped him because he became way too clingy. Then I dated a dwarf for a while....don't let their size fool you. Then again, there wasn't that much of a highly difference."
Tony laughed. "Again...I'm so proud."

***********************************
"So that's what happened?" Skullora groaned as she massaged her temples.
"Well....there was a huge after party, and you got hammered. Damn you can hold alcohol!" Tony laughed as he handed her a cup of fresh coffee.
"So....I'm here now...."
"Yeah, and Fox, plus your overgrown lizard and Fox's derp hound. I have a feeling that I'll regret it soon....but hey, they're your responsibility, not mine."
Skullora took a sip of coffee and walked to the huge wall of glass overlooking the city. "New York....It's a lot more crowded than I thought it would be."

Thanks for reading!!! And don't forget to keep an eye out for the sequel, only if you are interested!
Also, I couldn't have done this without all of your loving support.