Flustered 

Bri looked down at her lap to hide her smile, and she felt her blush. Instead of worrying about Loki’s father’s intentions, a different thought came across her mind. “Well, I’m glad that you did beat him to it,” she said, biting her lip as her face flushed red hot. She gripped Loki’s hand in hers, stroking the back of it with her thumb. Her eyes drifted back up to his, and she smiled. “My prince charming. Knight in shining armor. Right?” She giggled, mentally cursing herself for being so flustered. “We might have never met.” She squeezed his hand again. 

“Am I—” she began, looking down at her dress. “Is this… not a night gown? It’s so comfortable.” She laughed as her fingers touched the beaded embroidery on the gown. It was made of golden silk, so it was comfortable enough, but maybe it really was too fansy to wear to bed. “You and your weird Asgardian clothes. I guess I could ch—” She was cut off by his kiss. It made her feel so warm that she almost felt as if she was melting. She smiled against his lips and sighed contently, placing both hands on his chest.

He pulled away again and her heart fluttered. She watched his face without really even looking at him. There was nothing more calming to her than being with Loki. She really couldn’t help but smile like a complete idiot. She barely even caught what he was saying. A long pause followed after he finished speaking as she tried to process what was a simple sentence. “Anything?” she asked quietly, her hands gripping his shirt tight in her hands. “Well… d-do you have to go?” She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against the crook of his neck. “And… I want to give my mother a funeral.” Her voice started to break, so she said nothing more about it. A moment later, she sniffled and shook her head, laughing nervously. “N-not right now, but… I just wanna go home…” She sighed heavily, wanting so badly to kiss him again so that empty feeling in her chest would go away again, but all she could do was hug him. “Okay, not it’s your turn to ask me anything. You’ve got me under your own silly spell, prince charming.”

Comfort 

Bri leaned against Loki for every step they took to her chambers. She squeezed his hand before she even dared take a step away from him. For some reason, it was hard to leave him even for a few moments to change into an outfit for bed. She picked the prettiest dress that she could find, out of the many dresses that she knew Frigga had brought in— and possibly newly made —for her. In the wardrobe sat her neatly folded earth clothes, now clean of the blood and dirt that had been on them. She almost wanted to take them and throw them off of the balcony. There were just too many bad memories associated with the outfit, with anything from home. She still wondered what happened to her mother’s body. Was she still laying there in their destroyed home? No— no, she couldn’t think about that. She was already of the verge of breaking. She couldn’t bear those thoughts. She rubbed her eyes and moved to the mirror so she could pin her hair up before she moved back to the door to let him in.

She gave him a weak smile but said nothing, simply going to sit on her bed. She didn’t really feel like talking, but she would rather do that than be left alone. She took his hand in hers and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m sure,” she sighed. If she hadn’t already believed it herself, the look in Odin’s eyes earlier would have told her that it had really happened. “I remember that day so clearly now… and it all makes sense. Why the frost giants wanted me, that weird power itself… I’m so sure that it really did happen. Maybe… maybe this is why your father doesn’t want me here…” Her voice started to break. “I’m s-so dangerous. That day, he said he was going to protect me… I don’t know what changed…” She wiped at her eyes. “But hey… at least your mother and Thor and Sigyn seem okay with everything, right?”

—

“You are to be thanked as well, my lady,” Thor said. “Your incredible skills kept my father alive. Long enough for the miracle of Bri’s new powers.” Thor’s hand gripped Sigyn’s a bit tighter as he gazed out over the gardens.

“It was nothing, my lord. It is merely what I have been training for, for my whole life. I am glad that I could help my king.”

Thor chuckled. “We owe you more than you think you deserve, Sigyn. My father. Myself. Loki. And Bri. You have truly saved us all.” Sigyn blushed.

“It… it is nothing. I swear to you, my l-lord… my prince…” Sigyn tucked her hair behind her ear, but it fell back into her face again. Thor reached up to brush her hair behind her ear for her, smiling as he noticed her blushing even more.

“You are a wonderful lady,” Thor said, stepping back to bow to her. “Thank you again.” He took her hand again and leaned down to kiss her cheek before he turned on his heel and left her alone on the balcony. Sigyn placed her fingertips on the place where Thor had kissed her, watching the doorway long after he had already gone.

Thank Yous 

“Don’t mention it,” Bri murmured into his chest as he held her tightly against him. “You know I had to…” She gripped the back of his shirt tight in her hands, nearly forgetting that anyone else was even in the room at all until he suddenly pulled away again and left. Her eyes followed him until the doors shut behind him. Her eyes lingered on the door and she sighed a few times, only barely listening to Frigga and Odin talking in hushed tones behind her.

A soft hand on her upper arm finally made her come back to reality. After a few seconds, she heard Frigga repeating her name softly. Still not entirely paying attention, Bri turned her head to see the queen smiling at her. Frigga took Bri’s face in both her hands, leaning to kiss her forehead before she pulled her into a hug. “My dear… our darling Bri… thank you.” Frigga’s voice was trembling. Without even looking, Bri knew that she was about to cry. “I owe you everything.”

“It’s okay,” Bri whispered, watching Odin rising from the bed, past Frigga’s shoulder. “It’s nothing. Just… glad to be able to save someone… for once.” Now Bri was about to cry. All this talk of saving lives, and she was unable to save the only one that had really mattered.

Frigga tsked, pulling away from Bri again. Her hands went back to Bri’s face. “I promise you that it is not nothing, dear. All of Asgard owes you a debt.”

“It is true, Brianna.” Odin groaned as he made his way from his bed. Frigga scoffed and squeaked in protest, but he held his hand up to silence her. “That was an interesting little trick.”

“You would know,” Bri said back, snapping at him somewhat.

Odin chuckled. “Yes… I would.”

Bri stared at Odin, giving him the dirtiest look that she could. Why? she thought. Why didn’t you tell me? Why are you such a liar to everyone?

Odin tilted his head at Bri, his eyes warning her to stop where she was. She felt her chest tense up and her gaze dropped to the floor. She chewed the inside of her lip before she felt Frigga embrace her again. “Dear, you look so tired,” the queen said. “You’ve done enough for the day. Shall I have one of my handmaidens return you to your chambers?”

“N-no, I…” Bri stammered, trying to shake off the threat that still lingered in Odin’s gaze. “I think I can remember how to get there myself. Thank you, though.”

“No, darling. Thank you. Again. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.” Bri could see tears in Frigga’s eyes as she spoke. Her words even seemed to soften Odin’s expression. Frigga placed another gentle kiss on Bri’s forehead. “Please sleep well. May the gods send you sweet dreams tonight.”

Bri simply nodded, bowing in respect to both the king and queen before she moved to the door, stepping out into the hall. She completely ignored the fact that Thor and Loki were in the middle of a conversation. She just sighed and made her way over to Loki, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder. Even the fact that she had just saved the life of Asgard’s king could not quell the sadness in her heart at her own mother’s death. She didn’t want to ever be without Loki. The more time that went by, the more she realized that they were all that each other had left.

Help 

Bri giggled as she was pulled down along with Loki, wrapping her arms around him to hold him tight as they fell into the pillows. Her hands trembled as she reached up to touch his face and she nuzzled her face into his neck. “Was it really that bad…? I… I’m sorry…” she whispered as she pulled her face away again.

Then Loki was so… worried. He told her what had happened to his father and she felt her heart sink. Why hadn’t anyone told her what had happened? No wonder all of the guards and servants had looked so sad… their king was dying and no one knew what to do. And then Bri thought back on the memory that she had just experienced. Odin had saved her life when she was a little girl… and he had really protected her ever since then, even if he had tried to keep her and Loki apart for the entire time that they had been together.

The way Loki begged her for her help reminded her of a small, upset child. She saw no other option but to say yes. “Loki, of course. If I can help him with this… weird… power… then I’ll do it.”

The pair of them stood up and Bri took Loki’s hand tightly in hers as he led her through the hallways of the palace. On the way, Bri told Loki everything that had just come to her mind when she had remembered on the day that she had absorbed the Jotun’s power. Loki seemed most shocked when she told him of how Odin had saved her from being killed that day, and how he had treated her with such kindness.

Soon, they had reached the doors to Odin’s chambers, outside of which there were at least a dozen guards. They all looked at Bri with slight disgust, as if she was to blame for what was happening with their king. She and Loki entered the room and found Odin laying on his bed, flanked on either side by Frigga and Thor. Sigyn was in the corner, pouring over books of potions and spells, trying to find anything that could help. They all looked up when Bri and Loki entered the room.

Thor rose from where he was sitting on his father’s bed, approaching Bri and Loki. “Brother, did you—?” Thor began, but Bri cut him off.

“I’m here to try and help…” Bri said, letting go of Loki’s hand. She moved and sat on the edge of the bed. Frigga looked at her with great confusion, and her face turned to slight horror when she saw that Bri had closed her eyes and her chest was suddenly radiating a strange, blue light. Even Sigyn had noticed, and had come over to see what was going on.

Bri had to pause for a moment. How was she to try and heal him? There was no wound, as there had been when she had helped Loki. Then she remembered what Odin had done in her memory, and she slowly reached her hand up to rest on his forehead, the powerful electricity buzzing against her fingertips and palm. Bri closed her eyes and focused all of her energy on fixing the Allfather.

Odin’s eye shot open suddenly, and Bri nearly fell off the bed in surprise.

Training 

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Good Dreams 

Sigyn’s tonic had made Bri dream of only happy things. She had relived her happiest memories throughout the night. All of the good times with her mother and her friends and with Loki. She dreamed a lot about her mother, but this time the memories didn’t make her sad. She and her mother sat, smiling and laughing, as they always used to before everything bad had happened, coffee in one hand and cupcakes in the other. The air felt like springtime, and everything seemed brighter and happier than she had remembered. Bri also dreamed of Loki, of him hugging her and never letting her go. She dreamed of his smile and how happy he made her feel.

Her dreams made her feel safe and secure, and when she woke up to the sound of light knocking at her door, she felt tears come to her eyes because her happy moment had ended. She knew that she would have to ask Sigyn to make that tonic every night for her, so she could find some peace and happiness in sleep.

Bri sat up in her bed as the door opened, and she smiled when she saw that it was Loki who had come to see her. Her smile faded when he brought up last night’s events. Of course Sigyn had told him about what had happened. Bri played with the soft fur blankets on her bed, settling her two little seals on her lap as she tried to avoid speaking of her nightmare.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she whispered, giving her seal’s nose a tiny squeeze. “It was nothing to worry about. No big deal. Really. I don’t even remember what that nightmare was about anyway.” She pressed her eyebrows together before she stood up from her bed and walked over to the open doors that led out onto her balcony. She leaned against the door frame, taking in the fresh morning air before she looked over her shoulder at Loki. “So today’s day one of my training, huh?” She smiled at him. “Can we get breakfast first? I… I think I need to leave this room… I haven’t since…” Her voice broke and she turned away again, rubbing her arms. “I’m just hungry.”