A Magic Happenstance

Chapter 5

Loki's fortress rose from out of the craggy side of his mountain with an unmissable glimmer and a baffling height. Despite the snowy surroundings, he had chosen a blinding gold to make up his outside walls so that the structure flashed in the available light and stood out from the bleak skies.

It was all a bit ostentatious for Natasha. It begged to be noticed and carried the arrogance to believe no one could break through its walls. But no fortress was impenetrable; not from her at least.

She and Clint climbed up the cold terrain outfitted in their thick white and gray cloaks and were armed with only magicless items. Kind could sense kind, afterall, and there was no sense in risking a potion or two when Loki might be near enough to feel even the barest tingles of it. Especially not with the kingdom in so precarious a position and with Loki moving progressively closer to the boundaries of their land.

Fury had told them that, at least. Natasha still wasn't happy that he'd kept that the soon-to-be king and his top knight had been cursed out of their world.

"I think I'm half frozen," Clint complained for at least the third time as they neared the foundation of the fortress. Natasha tossed a droll look over her shoulder and continued on.

"We at least know your mouth isn't part of the frozen half."

"Are we close yet?"

Natasha didn't bother responding. Instead she held up a fist as she ducked down and stopped moving. Ahead, a patrol of Frost Giants marched by outside the front gates. They were tall, as their name suggested, and blue-skinned with red eyes. The cold didn't touch them; it was well known that they carried ice magic under their skin. Even a glance of skin contact could have you losing fingers or limbs. Natasha had seen it happen in the past.

She watched them with sharp eyes until they disappeared from sight, then switched her gaze over towards the fortress once more. Turning back to Clint, she gestured with her hands, utilizing a silent language they'd both learned that was handy for stealth.

"There's guards on rotation and activity inside. We'll have to swing around to a side entrance."

"Servants quarters or kitchen," Clint suggested. "Those are always open."

"Let's go then."

They had to move slowly and be especially quiet now with being so close. It was tedious travel. Clint made sure to step in the same tracks that Natasha left to cut down on the noise. By the time they reached around to the side, the cold was beginning to nip at even her. But, as always, she pushed down the discomfort to do the job at hand.

A polished wooden door with gold inlay that set in the wall they were creeping along opened and closed. A servant bundled in a thick coat and carting a bucket of slop shuffled out into the snow in order to toss out the garbage down the hill. Natasha waved her hand and they both darted for the door, slipping through and closing it again without making a sound.

The hall was dim, with a cobblestone floor and vaulted ceilings to accommodate the height of the occupants. The scent of baked goods and spices were thick in the air. They moved more quickly. If they were caught out in the open it'd be a mess trying to leave alive, and Natasha would rather avoid any confrontations if she could.

They breathed briefly into their cupped hands as they adjusted to the reprieve from the cold and moved further towards the heart of the structure.

"Alright," Clint whispered. "Where would you keep an all-powerful cube if you had one?"

Natasha grinned.

[]

Sutton sat in her apartment staring at the wall blankly. It was quiet, save for Sprinkles' anxious pacing back and forth across the room. She held out a hand, hovering in the air, to catch along the top of Sprinkles' head every time she passed in a lazy attempt at petting. Sprinkles stopped pacing, stuck her nose in Sutton's face, and whined loudly.