Uniting Asgard [Book Two]

Chapter Three

"I know what you have done." Loki stated.

"Good to know you are still able to contact me after all these years." Thanos chuckled.

"I have come here only to hear you confess." Loki spoke.

"I have nothing to confess." Thanos replied.

"There is no other explanation. You put the curse on her." Loki told him.

"I do not care for riddles, Loki. If you have a point, get to it." Thanos sighed.

"You have poisoned Alice!" Loki exclaimed.

"I did not poison her." Thanos stated.

"So you know who did then?" Loki inquired.

"I'm surprised it took you this fast to start putting the pieces together." Thanos chuckled.

"What did you do to her?" Loki questioned him.

"You will find out...in time." Thanos replied.

"I have time now." Loki spoke.

"I have still kept my eyes on you two, watching your family grow. Erica is just about the same age I adopted my daughter." Thanos told him.

"You leave my children out of this!" Loki shouted, advancing towards Thanos.

Thanos raised his left hand into the air and clenched his fist, conjuring the power stone. Loki then felt an excruciating pain in his head and fell to his knees, crying out in pain.

"Such a shame, too. Having to leave behind such young children," Thanos told Loki. "You may have the time now but Alice has very little time left in your company. She will be mine and I will complete my quest."

And just as the pain ended, Loki opened his eyes to find himself looking up at the tree. He made his way back to his chambers and quickly checked on all the children, finding them sleeping soundly in their beds. Loki then laid back down next to Alice and wrapped his arms around her. The following morning, Loki went to his duties and during each break, he kept searching through his books for answers. After some time he feared that the answer may have been in one of the books destroyed during Ragnarok. However, with the knowledge that Thanos was still after Alice, Loki knew it was imperative that he find an answer quickly.

Alice spent the day with her children as Erica went off to take her classes. She held Skye in her arms as she decided to take them on a walk through the courtyard. Mánadis, Haldane, and Arlan walked ahead of her. As she held Skye in her arms, her arms began to grow weak and her breaths became labored. She set Skye down on her feet and the small girl put her arms up in the air.

"Up, mama, up!" Skye exclaimed.

"In a moment, sweetie." Alice replied.

"Up, up!" Skye jumped.

"Like I said. Mother needs a rest." Alice told her.

Skye then looked over at her siblings and followed after them as Alice watched. She had never gotten so physically tired before during her pregnancies. Nonetheless, she brushed it off and followed after the children. Seeing them get a bit farther away from her, she used her magic to teleport. Alice had mastered most of her skills, especially with her magic thanks to Loki. Once she teleported, she felt completely out of breath. She furrowed her brow and put her hand to her chest taking a few deep breaths as she kept walking forward. In the distance, she saw Brunhilde walking towards her and smiled brightly, hoping to focus on something else.

"What brings you here?" Alice asked.

"I haven't seen you in some time on the training grounds. Getting a bit bored of just seeing men everywhere." Brunhilde replied.