For we once so loved the world by HowlingDarkness95

Chapter 51

Odin opened his single eye, greeted with the sight of a desolate hallway, the walls of his throne room shining golden. Gungnir remained in his right hand, the spear thrumming with power. The king suppressed the urge to sigh, his features looking aged and haggard. Footsteps echoed in the emptiness, and Odin lifted his sight, meeting the cold, stormy ones of his wife and queen. Frigga came to a stop at the foot of his throne, lifting her head proudly. Her face was drawn with lines, making her look centuries older.

"Are you ready to stop hiding?" she asked, her voice clipped.

Odin did sigh then, "Frigga, you know as well as I do that I am not hiding –"

"Are you not?" she questioned, voice thrumming with an undercurrent of anger.

Odin narrowed his eyes, but his queen continued, "You have stayed in here even before the threat became prominent. You hide behind the disguise of protecting this realm when your own son is out there, risking his life fighting for his people!"

"I am protecting this realm!" Odin bellowed, standing up, "My magic has kept this realm secure, has kept Thanos at bay –"

"That has not worked since Thanos managed to break your spell!" Frigga fired back at him, "Your magic has been rendered useless, and I have taken over the protection of this realm ever since you exhausted your reserve trying to keep Thanos out!"

She breathed heavily, glaring icily at him, "Your son and his friends, your people, even the Midgardians are out there, fighting against the chitauri, and all you can do is sit here, cowering away, pretending that the threat does not exist."

"I do not –" He protested, but Frigga slashed a hand through the air, cutting him off, "You sit here, hiding, while your warriors are out there, fighting for this realm, fighting for you." She eyed Odin, stirring unpleasant emotions in his belly. "I am going out there." She declared simply, daring him to challenge her words, "I will not sit by and watch my people and my son get slaughtered. If I am to die, I will do so defending my home, not hiding in the shadows like a coward." With that, she spun on her heels and marched out, her armor clinking with every step she took.

The smell of roasted flesh assaulted her senses the moment she stepped out of the pristine halls of the palace. Shouts and screeches burned her ears as the chitauri soared overhead, their high-pitched chittering grating on her nerves. The queen of Asgard took one look at the battlefield and dove headfirst, her sword slicing through several aliens. She was gone before their heads even landed on the ground. Her left hand held a dagger, similar to the ones that Loki carried, and she wielded her two weapons with ease, combining them occasionally with her third and most powerful weapon – her seidr. Sparks of electricity danced on her blade, stunning her opponents long enough for her to decapitate them. She found herself the subject of many shocked glances from her warriors, returning each of those with a narrowed stare that sent them averting their eyes shamefully. Frigga knew that as the queen of Asgard, her presence on the battlefield was hardly expected, what with her being royalty and a woman to boot. But this was no ordinary battle. Her homeworld was at stake here, and Norns forbid that she run away while her people sacrificed their lives for her. A silver trident sliced through the air, impaling a chitauri in the throat behind her. She swiped her sword across its neck, cleaving its head off before it dropped to the ground. She took a step back from the black liquid that spilled out, hurling her dagger with deadly accuracy at another alien creeping up behind her ally. She fluidly whirled around, another dagger dropping into her hand from her interdimensional pocket, slashing the belly of a chitauri wide open – al in the span of a single heartbeat.

"Remind me never to piss you off your majesty."

The side of her lips quirked upwards, and Frigga turned to face Percy, the boy who had saved her life and almost lost his own in the process. A ghost of a smile flickered on his face, before settling back into a stoic mask. The two of them fought back to back for a while, Percy with his trident, and occasionally his sword, and Frigga with her sword and dagger. The Asgardian warriors around them were yelling in joy as they pushed the chitauri back inch by inch, seemingly gaining ground. Percy on the other hand, felt apprehension settling in his gut. He had seen- and helped take down – some of the motherships, and he knew how large an army the Mad Titan had at his disposal. Mere seconds later, a low humming sound reverberated across the land, causing the queen and her companion to look up in alarm. Percy swallowed, a bead of sweat tracing the contours of his face. "Thanos." He whispered, his grip tightening on instinct. Frigga gave him a concerned glance, but refrained from saying anything. She held her head high and waded through the throng of bodies to where she knew had the best view of where Thanos' ship will land. She heard Percy following her, internally commending his bravery at facing his own tormentor despite his obvious terror. The queen of Asgard stepped out into a clearing, void of any chitauri as the aliens seem to retreat to allow for the arrival of their master. The whine of an engine sounded overhead, and Frigga cast a glance upwards, her sword and dagger held ready, before she relaxed minutely, the red and gold gleam of Ironman's suit catching her eye before he landed on the ground on one knee, a hand extended to brace himself. Percy nodded to him before the three of them turned back to the monstrous ship that was slowly but surely making its way towards them.