Guardian

Chapter 46

(Liv's POV):
It was at that time that Thor opened a door for me, leading me into what I assumed was Asgard's equivalent of a hospital. The majority of the healers spread throughout the room appeared to be women dressed in identical dark blue dresses and I wondered if that was another one of the gendered stereotypes Asgard clung to. Loki had already informed me how, after the deaths of the Valkyrie, warriors were almost all men, with the exception of Lady Sif who was able to prove that women were just as capable.

Thor spoke to one of the healers, a stern looking woman whose brunette curls were pulled into an updo reminiscent to the Midgardian styles of the late 1800s. Upon hearing Thor's words she turned more serious, if such a thing was possible, and quickly ushered me into a side room with a handful of other women following us.

I began to grow a little nervous as I was instructed to lie on a metal slab in the middle of the room. Hoping to ignore how similar it was to tables upon which I had been experimented, I took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling, admiring the carved stone and arches.

The railings around me powered on and created what felt like barriers of orange magic, only making me feel more uncomfortable as the barriers reminded me of a cell. My hands clenched as I desperately tried to assure myself that I was safe while in Thor's protection, but even that I could not fully believe. Who knew what he thought of me now that he discovered I lied to him? He had been quite determined to get me to Asgard.

A magical replica of my body appeared before me in the same strands of magic as the barriers around me and the healers began their work to figure what was wrong with me. I watched them in awe, wishing that Earth had this kind of noninvasive technology. As they examined my body, one of the healers explained that the magic was called a soul forge.

"Must you always disobey everything that I say to you?" A booming voice spoke as an old man fashioned in golden armor walked calmly into the room, not needing a big entrance to give him authoritative power. I recognized him immediately from Loki's memories - Odin.

"She is ill, father," Thor explained, quick to defend his actions.

"She is mortal," his father snapped back, waving away the soul forge. "Illness is their defining characteristic. She does not belong here more than a goat belongs at a banquet table."

"God, you're exactly how I thought you'd be," I muttered, annoyed by how dismissive he was of me.

"What was that?" Odin asked sharply, his one eye flashing dangerously.

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I replied, "I was just mentioning that I am not mortal. Everyone seems to know my secret now, so you might as well know too, Allfather."

The look on Odin's face informed me that he knew I was lying and he growled, "I would suggest finding it within yourself to show some respect to the ruler of the realm you have gone to for help."

I bit my tongue, holding back the accusations that I wished to hurl at him. Accusations of what he did to his son.

Thankfully Thor stepped in before I lost my resolve, "something's within her, father, something I have not seen."

"Her world has its healers, they're called doctors. Let them deal with it. Guards, bring her back to Midgard."

"She's one of us, father, she's Asgardian," Thor burst out, seeming to get desperate. As the guards stepped forward to take me, Thor quickly turned on them as well. "No, I would not-"

He was cut off as an explosive force ripped from my body, much as it did when he had touched me back on Earth. Just as it had happened back there, my body felt drained of energy and Thor rushed to my side to make sure I was ok, careful not to hit my wings that had spread out automatically.

Much to my surprise, Odin was quickly at my other side, taking my arm and running his hand down it. I weakly turned my head down to look at what he was doing, lacking the energy to push him away from me like I so desired. My arm seem to glow red beneath his touch, illuminating something inside me.

"It's impossible," Odin muttered beneath his breath.

"The infection, it's defending her," the main healer spoke in awe, turning towards Odin.

But Thor realized what was truly happening, "no, it's defending itself."

Odin met my eyes and spoke, "come with me."

Thor helped me up from the table and I willed my wings to go away, not wanting to bring anymore attention to myself than necessary. I was already going to be walking through the palace with the Allfather and the Crown Prince dressed in Midgardian clothing. They didn't need to see my wings as well.

My strength slowly returned to me as we walked though the palace, allowing me to put more distance between Thor and myself as he had been pressed up against me, ready to catch me if I fell. Odin lead us into a gorgeous room that reminded me of the Great Hall in Harry Potter as its ceiling appeared to be enchanted to show the galaxy upon a tree. Yggdrasil, I assumed from what I knew of Norse mythology.

"There are relics that predate the universe," Odin began to explain as he led us off to a side room, plucking a text off of the shelves. "What lies within her appears to be one of them. The nine realms are not eternal; they had a dawn as they will have a dusk. But before that dawn, the dark forces - the dark elves - reigned absolute and unchallenged."

The book that he had grabbed explained this, though the words were in a language I could not read. But what fascinated me was that it, too, appeared enchanted. The pictures did not exactly move, but rather shimmered.

"Born of eternal night, the Dark Elves come to steal away the light," Thor quoted, surprising me slightly with his knowledge on the subject. I had always assumed Loki to have been the one more keen on remembering information such as that. "I know these stories, mother told them to us as children."

"Their leader Malekith made a weapon out of that darkness and it was called the Aether. While the other relics often appear as stone, the Aether is fluid and ever changing."

"The infinity stones," I murmured absentmindedly, trying to take in everything he was teaching me.

Odin glanced over me with a surprised expression, "yes."

"I, um, had a bit of a run in with your son," I explained tentatively, realizing that Odin was silently wondering how I had known that. "Loki, not Thor. We used the mind stone so that the Avengers wouldn't remember seeing my true form."

Odin frowned, not pleased that I had a connection with Loki, but did continue his story. "The Aether changes matter into dark matter. It seeks out host bodies, drawing strength from their life force. Malekith sought to use the Aether's power to return the universe to one of darkness. But, after eternities of bloodshed, my father Bor finally triumphed, ushering in a peace that lasted thousands of years."

"What happened?" I inquired, not enjoying how vague he was being.

In response, Odin turned serious and replied simply, "he killed them all."

"Are you certain?" Thor interjected, realizing that if there were some that remained, I would be their next target. Lucky me. "The Aether was said to have been destroyed with them, and yet here it is."

Tension seemed to thicken in the room at Thor's words and Odin replied with the energy of giving him an ultimatum, "the dark elves are dead."

"Does your book happen to mention how to get it out of me?" I spoke up, both hoping to cut through the tension and to rid myself of yet another abnormality that people may hunt me for.

Odin slammed the book shut as he replied, "No. It does not. And you won't last long with it inside you, even if you are a Valkyrie."

With that Odin left the room, prompting me to turn to Thor, "you know, now I really see why Loki's not a big fan of him."

-

(A/N): Most of this is adapted from the script but Odin's so rude and dismissive to Jane that I just had to keep it in. In this house, we do not stan Odin. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!