Among the Asgardians: The Goddess of Love

The Oath

Kathryn's POV

End Flashback.

When the flashback ended, I found myself lying awake again. Loki was sound asleep, however. I lay there for hours, and then I heard the lightning. The helicarrier must have been flying through a horrible thunderstorm because I could feel every crack of it in my very bones. Sigh. I was never going to fall asleep like this.

Getting up, I walked out the door in my nightclothes and went up to the room of glass where I had talked to Thor before the trip to Germany. And, he didn't disappoint. He was standing in the window, his back to me, staring at the beautiful lightning display. Bolts of blue lightening were crackling and popping outside the window, shooting off showers of sparks and towers of light. Apparently I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

"Why are you making it storm?" I asked.

Thor jumped but didn't turn around. "So you couldn't sleep either," he whispered. A huge bolt of lightning, louder than the rest, cracked outside the window, making the glass shake.

I decided to avoid the question. "Why do you always come to this room when you feel upset?" I asked.

"A man who was very close to me died in this room," Thor revealed. He pointed to a plaque on the wall that I hadn't noticed before, probably because it was made of the same black marble as the floor and back wall. As I moved closer, the flashes of lightning illuminated the words: "In loving memory of Agent Phil Coulson."

This wasn't making sense. I watched Phil die in Loki's memories the day I met him in Stark Tower. This room looked nothing like the one from the memories.

"It was remade after he died," Thor said, walking up behind me. "It was to his honor. I always come here because I am the only living person other than Loki that watched him die. It's sort of my way of comforting myself. I come up here and remember Phil, and remember all the selfish acts and stupid choices that enabled me to drive Loki to his rebellion. If I had been a better brother and a better leader, this would never have happened. So it's my fault Coulson is dead. He was a dear friend of mine. I come here to reflect on that, and that is how I find peace."

My father died in this room. Phil. My father. Tears began to gather in the corners of my eyes. "It isn't your fault, Thor," I whispered. "It was no one's. If anything, it's the fault of Loki's master for making him this way. I don't blame you."

"Then why do I blame myself?" he asked.

"Because you're too noble to do anything for your own good," I replied. Thor let out a deep, throaty chuckle. "What?" I asked.

"You have a way of bringing out the best in people," he rumbled. "You never let them wallow in their misery for long."

"That's the idea," I smiled. Another huge bolt of lightning cracked outside. "By the way, that lightning is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen."

"You like it?" Thor asked. "It reminds me of myself, you know. Insane and destructive at first, but incredibly vital."

"You're more than vital, Thor. Without you, SHEILD would be nothing. I would still be a confused girl who knows nothing about her past. Or dead."

Thor smiled. "I am so glad you've come to love my brother again. It was horrible not knowing if he would ever be changed back. Now, thanks to you, the curse is worn so thin it will break any day now. And I will have my brother back." He sat down, cross legged on the floor. I joined him, sitting pretzel style as well. We looked out the window, in awe at his lightning storm.

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Jacob's POV

When I lay down that night, I fell right to sleep, and I found myself on the barren asteroid planet again in dark space. "Hello," said the hooded figure. "Welcome back."

I nodded curtly. "What can I do for you, master?"

"Tonight, we begin your training in magic, my apprentice. You will learn to do things you never thought possible, such as the ability to stop death, how to disguise your appearance, and how to make any woman fall in love with you," the Other replied, holding out his hand and producing a small, golden bird which flew away into space.

I was confused. "I am mortal, my lord. A strong one, yes, but I am mortal. How can I learn your magic?"

"On the contrary, Jacob," the Other said, his mouth pulling up into a grin, "your blood is capable of magic because you are me, and I am you. Through the Tesseract, which is our life force, we are both capable of great deeds that will change Yggdrasil forever. That too brings me to another point. While the Tesseract is our life force, it draws its power from the tree of the World, Yggdrasil. Your magic must never harm Yggdrasil. If it does, you will be cast into a dark hole of vipers which swim in magma and drink blood."

"Don't harm Yggdrasil. The Tesseract is my life force. Got it."

"Very good, Jacob. You are learning quickly. Now, I want to close your eyes. Relax. Clear your mind," the Other whispered.

I obeyed, closing my eyes. I felt a heat flare up inside me. It was deep within my chest and head. "I can feel it," I whispered. "It's hot."

"That is dark energy, the magic of the Tesseract. It flows in both of our veins. Feel it. Let it flow throughout your body, Jacob. Let it flow from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Let it have you. Consume you. With it as your ally, you can do anything you dream possible."

I obeyed, and the heat began to flow through me, moving though my veins like a pleasant bath. A light began to glow behind my closed eyes.

"Very good," the Other whispered. "Now repeat after me: jeg er bundet til min mastere."

"Jeg er bundet til min mastere," I whispered.

"Kropp og sjel," he continued.

"Kropp og sjel," I replied.

"Jeg vil gjøre sin budgivning," The Other said.

"Jeg vil gjøre sin budgivning."

"Eller Thanos slår meg død." Thanos?

"Eller Thanos slår meg død," I repeated nonetheless.

A/N: Translation of the oath is "I am bound to my masters, body and soul. I will do his bidding or Thanos strike me dead." I translated it from English into Norwegian, if anyone's wondering.

At that moment, the heat flared up. It became intense. Crippling. I fell to my knees and screamed in pain. "Good! Good," the Other crooned. He patted my back and brought me to my feet and rolled up my sleeve tracing a mark that had just appeared on my left wrist. It was a perfect rose, as black as night. However, as he touched it, it faded away.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The mark of the rose," the Other explained, "is her mark. Kathryn's. She will fall desperately in love with you now that your marks match. It is bound forever in the leaves of Yggdrasil as your destiny. This mark cannot be unmade or it will harm the tree. Such an act-"

"Warrants eternity in a pit of vipers that swim in magma and drink blood," I finished.

"Quite correct," the Other smiled. "Do not fail me, my disciple. I will make you great. The heavens will bow before us, and we will be like the gods."

"I will not fail you, my lord," I replied as I drifted back into normal sleep.