Frostbitten

The Case of the Missing Prince

"Why would you help me?" Sif asked, astounded. She knew very well that all of them hated Loki with a passion.

Volstagg smiled and put his hand on her shoulder, "Because we are your friends and even if we do not agree with your plans entirely, we will stick with you to the end."

"Thank you, Volstagg," Sif hugged her friend.

He crossed his big, fat arms, "So what is it that you plan to do?"

"Odin lied to me. He told me that Loki's body had already been retrieved and cremated, though I do not think that is true. You know how fast things spread around here, someone would've said something. Therefore, I am planning to go to Svartalfheim and get him, he might've done awful things, but he doesn't deserve to be left there," she explained.

Volstagg's eyes were wide, but he simply replied, "You really are one crazy woman." Sif's spirits fell. "But, like I said, we will stick with you."

In the stables, each of the group mounted their horses and set off towards the Bifrost. To their luck, no one seemed to pay much attention to the four warriors charging through town. Sif remembered a festival was to take place later that night, so them riding really wasn't an odd sight.

"Heimdall," Sif greeted the watchman.

Heimdall smiled down at her warmly, "Hello Lady Sif. To where is it you wish to go?"

Sif shuffled her feet, but then looked up at him with an unflinching gaze, "Svartalfheim."

Heimdall raised an eyebrow questioningly, but nodded. He grabbed his sword and ignited the Bifrost. It sprung to life as it began to spin and then, a portal opened in front of them. The four warriors walked in and were blasted to a whole new word.

All around them was nothing but a barren land of sand and rocks. "This place gives me chills just being here," Fandral muttered to himself. Sif ignored him and turned around to face the others.

"We'll circle around and meet back here in about thirty minutes, okay?" The others nodded and they went their separate ways to look for the body of Loki. Sif headed north and kept her eyes peeled, she figured finding a body in the barren wasteland that they were in couldn't be too hard. Yet, she was very wrong.

After about twenty-five minutes, Sif was about to turn back and find her companions until she spotted something shining in the sand. She walked over, cautiously, and found a small piece of golden armor, underneath it, the sand had been disturbed. Sif picked up the piece and examined it carefully, her eyes widened, it was Loki's.

Sif glanced around the perimeter and found something peculiar. A single set of footsteps led away from the disturbed sand. She began to follow them, careful not to step on a print. Sif walked on for what seemed like forever, practically forgetting about the others. Then, out of now where, the prints just stopped. Sif furrowed her brows and put one foot past the last footprint and was sent whizzing off into an unknown location.

When Sif opened her eyes, she stood in a cave that had glowing blue rocks encircling what looked to be the way out. With her sword at the ready, she followed the path and gasped, she was back in Asgard which meant one thing. Loki was alive and most likely in hiding. Maybe that's why Odin had been so harsh. Sif thought. Maybe he knew Loki had escaped, and already in shame, decided to cover up his step-son's disappearance.

Before Sif could leave the cave, she realized said cave was atop a cliff that hung over the water. She grunted and sat down at the edge, hoping a patrol would spot her soon enough. While she waited, Sif contemplated how she was going to justify herself for being where she was, so she decided to lie and say that her ship had crashed. How she was going to explain the lack of wreckage, she didn't know, so Sif just hoped they wouldn't ask.

After about a half hour or so, a patrol finally showed up and Sif was successful in getting their attention. As she predicted, they were very curious to how she got to the cave. She explained her slander and the guards merely asked how she got a ship without question from another soldier. Sif told them it was secret business for the king, in which a strange way, it was.

Once they returned to dry land, Sif first went to Heimdall and was glad to see that her companions had returned. Although, not without much worry, confusion and slight anger that Sif had disappeared without explanation. Sif shrugged it off, and left without answering their many questions.

At the castle, Sif marched into the throne room with disregard to the guards that tried to hold her back from entering. When inside, she was astonished to find it empty, not even a single guard was present either. Sif's next move was to check the king's private quarters. Hopefully, she would be successful in finding this missing royal.

On her way, the warrioress ran into none other than Thor. "Hello," she greeted her friend, hoping that there was no awkwardness between them, though she could tell Thor was still a bit uneasy. Yet, he seemed relieved that Sif wasn't angry with him.

"Hello, Sif. Where are you off to?" he asked politely.

"The king's chambers. I must talk to him about some urgent matters. You haven't seen him around have you?" Sif asked. Thor shook his head and apologized before continuing back to where he was heading originally.

Sif then kept walking to the king's room, hoping she was right about his whereabouts. While she walked, Sif went over in her head what she would say to Odin. "Hello, All Father. It had come to my attention that you have lied." Sif grit her teeth in anger. "I know about Loki." She imagined his shocked face as she dropped her bombshell.

Now at his door, Sif didn't even bother knocking. As she burst in, she gasped and let the sword hanging freely in her hand, drop to the floor with a clash. "How dare you!"