Back in the kingdom, Thor was panicking, trying to decide what to do. His brother had secret ice powers, and the kingdom was now without a king. On top of that, it was beginning to snow and the fjord was frozen, meaning that no one could get in or out of Asgard. The people were starting to become unsettled, and Thor had no idea what to do. Luckily Jane was there, an experienced princess, and she directed everyone into the castle, ordering the maids to get blankets for everyone. The maids looked confused as to whether or not to take orders from her, but Thor assured them that it was fine.
"I need to go after him," Thor told Jane, "will you look after the kingdom until I get back?" Jane nodded.
"Of course. Please be safe. I don't want him hurting you."
"He's my brother. He would never hurt me." Jane smiled as Thor mounted his horse, announcing to the kingdom, "I leave princess Jane in charge!" before riding off out of the gates to find his brother. He rode through the deep snow of the forest on the other side of the fjord, calling for his brother.
"Loki! Loki! Please come home! I'm sorry!" he shivered, pulling his cloak farther around him. "Snow," he muttered to himself, "Why did it have to be snow magic? It could've been summer magic, with cool water, sandy beaches and warm-" he cut off as he saw a smoke plume in the distance, his eyes lighting up. "Fire!" he led his horse towards it before it stopped abruptly, tossing Thor over its head and down a snowy slope into an icy river. He resurfaced, coughing water and shivering. "Damn you horse..." he muttered as he climbed out, teeth chattering, and found himself in front of a small cabin. There was a sign out front that read Oaken's wandering trading post and sauna. Thor shrugged, entering the little shop. It was warm inside, much to his delight.
"Hello! Welcome to the trading post," he heard a voice say. Thor turned to see a big man sitting behind the counter, a warm smile on his face. "All summer is 50% off today!"
"Uh... do you have any winter clothes? And boots?" Thor asked.
"That would be in our winter department!" the man said cheerily, pointing to a corner of the room with two snowshoes, a pickaxe and rope, and one pair of clothes plus boots. Thor sighed, going over to look at them. He suddenly heard the door slam open, feeling a cold wind as the snow came inside. He turned to see a figure dressed in very warm clothing, covered in snow.
"Hello! Welcome to the trading post," the man greeted the stranger, "All summer is-"
"Yeah, yeah. I just need climbing supplies," the figure interrupted, voice muffled through the cloth over its mouth. The man smiled and pointed to where Thor was standing, who quickly moved aside, heading to the counter to buy the clothes he had picked out.
"Big storm we got!" the man said, trying to start a conversation, "I wonder where it's coming from?"
"The north mountain," the figure responded, tossing the pickaxe and rope onto the counter and standing in front of Thor, who backed up as far as he could.
"Uh..."
"Carrots," it said, which made Thor cock his head. "Behind you." Thor looked behind his legs, and handed the figure the carrots, who tossed them on the counter along with the other stuff.
"That'll be forty," the man said cheerily, and the figure gave him a few coins, taking the stuff and starting to leave.
"Wait!" Thor said, grabbing their arm, making the figure turn to him. "You said you know where this storm is coming from?"
"Yes," they responded bluntly.
"Please take me with you. My brother is up there." the figure pulled its mask down, revealing a beautiful woman with dark blue eyes and tan skin.
