To Withstand the Force of Storms (A Loki Laufeyson Fanfic)

Chapter 3: Sunday Morning, at a Funeral

"We have all at one time been stranded on islands shouting lies across the seas of misunderstanding, hoping the fog will carry our mischief to the distant ports in people's minds." -Shannon Litdler

***

"Annaka!"

Glancing up from her book at the sound of her name, Annaka slides off her bed and opens the door, where someone is knocking rapidly. She opens it; Leyna trips inside, out of breath.

"What's wrong?"

Leyna doesn't answer, just pulls her out of her room and down the hall too hard, slightly hurting her wrist. "Just come on!"

Annaka follows her frantic figure around the castle until she realizes where she's going. "Wait! I can't go down there!"

Leyna tugs at her hand impatiently. "No, you have too, its okay."

Annaka reluctantly lets Leyna drag her down to the dungeons, not wanting to see Loki and then have to leave again. But upon arriving, Annaka sees disaster. All of the cell's glass shields are shattered; glass is spilled all over the floor, completely covering it. Every last monster is gone from their cells, including Loki.

Annaka gasps. "What happened?!"

"We don't know," Leyna answers, carefully treading through the glass to Linnet, who resides close to Loki's former cell.

"I was coming down to give Loki something, and before I got to the last stair, the glass exploded!" Linnet says.

"Where is he?" Annaka knows if he had anything to do with this, it would be the last straw.

She shrugs. "No one knows where any of them went."

Annaka carefully steps on the glass, going inside Loki's cell. All of the furniture is overturned, and the floor is ripped up in some places. "Has Odin had a look at this? Why isn't anyone doing anything?"

"We can't find Odin either," Leyna explains. "Nor Frigga, nor Sif. Everyone is gone."

"What about Heimdall?" Linnet suggests.

Leyna shook her head. "I asked him. He can't see them."

"Then they must still be on Asgard," Annaka says. "Let us look."

They trail back upstairs to search the castle.

"When did this happen?" Annaka asks.

"Literally, ten minutes ago," Linnet answers.

"Why did you come to me first?"

"Because Loki is your fiancé, and if anyone were to know where he was it would be you," Leyna responds. "Well, most likely."

The throne room was empty, along with the gardens, the bedrooms, the kitchens, and all the hallways and outside platforms.

"Upstairs is the only other place," Annaka decides, leading the twins towards the staircases.

Once on the next floor, Annaka immediately knows something is wrong. Everyone is gathered in one room in a circle, surrounding something. Annaka finds an opening and squeezes through, eager to see what the fuss is all about and relieved to see that no one has spontaneously disappeared. What she sees makes her heart sink.

Lying in the middle of the floor is a very bloody Frigga with her own dagger sticking out of her chest. Annaka's heart stops then, and she hears the twins gasp. Odin is kneeling beside her, head bowed. Thor stands to the right, solemnity overtaking his features, and to the left is Loki, clearly holding all his emotions inside like always.