Guardian

Chapter 48

(Liv's POV):
"You didn't tell him about the Aether," Thor noted was we walked by a gorgeous lake. It reminded me of Naboo with its crystal waters.

I continued staring out at the waters as I replied, "I saw no reason to do so, there is no need causing him worry. It will be easier for him to think that I am just ignoring him rather than to know that I died."

"You are not going to die, Liv. I will not allow that to happen."

"Odin does not seem to share your optimism. He said there was-"

Thor interrupted me, "my father doesn't know everything."

"Don't let him hear you say that," a female voice spoke, causing me to glance behind me to see a beautiful woman with blonde hair dressed in a armored blue dress coming towards us, beaming at us.

"Liv, this is Frigga, Queen of Asgard, my mother," Thor introduced and I couldn't stop the smile from reaching my lips.

"Your Majesty, it is honor to meet you. I have heard so many wonderful things." I gave her a curtsy, figuring such a formal gesture would be common in this world.

"I do hope my son has only told you wonderful things," she spoke warmly, a stark contrast to her husband. No wonder Loki liked her so much.

"Of course, I do not think Thor would ever say anything bad-"

"I wasn't speaking of Thor, but I am sure you already knew that. I am truly thankful for all you have done for Loki. He tries to hide it, but he came back from Midgard a changed man and I do believe we have you to thank for that. Have you gone to see him yet?"

I hesitated, unsure if it was something I was supposed to be advertising, but in the end I nodded, "I have to admit that it felt good to reprimand him for turning himself in."

"I was rather surprised when Thor showed up with him upon his return, I had thought he was happy with you."

"I thought so, too," I muttered, suddenly finding the stone walkway incredibly interesting. "But, he seemed to think it would be safer for me if he were to be back on Asgard."

Frigga began to walk down the path and Thor and I followed her. She turned to me, "I am sorry for all that you have gone through, Liv. You should have been able to grow up here and carry on the legacy of the Valkyrie. Perhaps then women warriors would not have become so few and far between."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I was almost afraid to come here once Loki told me what I was, but most of the people I have met have been very kind."

"Please call me Frigga, dear. You have certainly earned that privilege."

Frigga and I continued to converse for a while longer, Thor mostly excluded from the conversation. However, the commotion of soldiers running to arm themselves pulled us out of our own world. Frigga was the first to realize where they were headed and nervously glanced over at Thor, announcing that something was happening in the prisons.

"Loki," I muttered, hoping that he was neither trying to escape his cell nor caught up in this commotion in anyway.

"I have to go," Thor announced and I quickly grabbed his arm.

"I'm a fighter, Thor, I can help."

But Frigga shook her head, "this is not your battle, Liv. Thor will make sure Loki is ok and you can stay with me."

"But-" One look at Frigga cut me off and I knew disobeying her request was not an option. So I let go of Thor's arm and watched as he used Mjolnir to fly to the prisons.

Frigga ushered me back towards the palace, no doubt making sure that we would be in a safe place if the prison revolt was successful. There were legions of armed guards making their way through the halls and I grew more nervous about Loki's safety. If he was indeed involved with whatever was going on down there, I feared he would not be able to overpower all of soldiers sent to detain him - or worse, kill him.

"Odin," Frigga called out, bringing me out of my thoughts. I quickly caught up with her in front of the Allfather, who in turn ignored me.

Instead he assured his wife, "it's a skirmish, nothing to fear."

I could hear the lie in his voice as Frigga did as well. She smiled at him, "you've never been a very good liar."

"Take her to your chambers," he instructed, glancing at me. "I'll come for you when it's safe."

"Allfather, I mean no disrespect, but I can fight with your men. I have fought in many wars, I know how to wield a blade."

"I am sure that you do, but this is not a time to prove it."

"I will protect her," Frigga promised her husband. "But you must take care of yourself as well."

"Despite all I have survived, my Queen still worries over me." Odin caressed her cheek as he spoke, shocking me with his tenderness when all I had ever seen of him was a stone exterior.

"It's only because I worry over you that you have survived," Frigga shot back as he turned away, not waiting to hear his response as she began to lead me to her chambers.

As we made our way through the battalions, she turned to me with a hushed voice, "listen to me now. I need you to do everything I ask, no questions."

My heart jumped at these words, wondering if she was going to smuggle me into the fight. If it meant that I could protect Loki, I would gladly rush in with my sword drawn and wings out.

We were still in the hallways when the guns began firing, prompting me to run to the nearest window to see what was going on. Surely this was more than a little skirmish if the palace's defense systems were firing. And it was more. Heading towards the palace were gigantic black ships, unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Frigga quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me away, "we haven't much time, we must hurry."

"Who do those ships belong to?" I inquired, my mind already thinking the worst. What if it was Thanos, coming to collect the tesseract and kill Loki? But if he was gathering the stones then that would mean he would be after me as well.

"The dark elves," Frigga responded to my question, providing me with relief for half a second before continuing. "They must realize that you have the Aether."

So they still were after me. Fun.

"Is that why you didn't want me to help out in the dungeons?"

She nodded, "it would have been like handing over the prize that they desire. But have no fear, Liv, I shall not let them get you."

-

(A/N): And we're into the Dark Elves attack! Fun fact, we actually don't have much left of this book which sort of just hit me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and some Frigga content because she is the only real parent Loki ever had I will fight you on this