Thor slammed through the doors of the dungeon in a hurry. Freya wasted no time hunting down the prince and though he was watching Jane from the Bifrost, the news of Athelia startled him in ways he couldn't explain.
"What has happened?" He demanded, taking a spot next to his mother, who stood alone between the cells that held two of whom she cared deeply about.
Thor glanced over his shoulder for a brief moment, locking eyes with his brother who stood against the glass watching them. He couldn't help but notice the lack of his signature smirk when things got hectic, but he couldn't dwell on that now. Right now, the woman he was marrying was battling a darkness that no one could even fathom.
Athelia sat cross-legged in the middle of the cell. Her eyes closed as she hovered just above the ground, far too still for someone who had a storm raging in their body. She was gone. Far deep into the depths of the darkness, desperately fighting the demons that tempted her. Though in the eyes of those around her, she was still and as calm as ever.
"Is she okay?"
"Clearly," Loki retorted from behind them, a tone in his voice that Thor did not appreciate.
"Mother?" He pressed, ignoring his brother completely. "Is she ill?"
Frigga shook her head, her hand resting under her chin as she tried desperately to think of a way she could help. No one had anticipated that her binds would break and time was running out before she gave into darkness completely.
"Somebody tell me what is going on!"
"Something that could have been prevented." A voice echoed from the doorway and Thor spun, his hammer tight in his hand.
Thor stood ready to take down the shadow, but he was rendered still as Bronen stepped into the corridor in his true form. His long white locks fell well past his plum-colored cloak and his thick brows furrowed as Thor pulled Mjolnir, ready to strike.
"Who are you?" Thor demanded, though already knew he was of some relation to Athelia. Their striking blue eyes and their long snowy hair were nearly identical and even though he towered, he still had the same elegant stance that Athelia possessed.
"What took so long?" Frigga asked him, ignoring her son's inquisition.
Bronen pulled a small velvet bag from behind his cloak and held it gently by the strings. "Many apologies. Odin thought it best to use a peaceful approach. It seems as though he has never attempted to bargain with a dragon before."
"Dragons?" Thor snapped. "By Odin's beard, someone explain!"
Thor was growing agitated and he plucked the bag from Bronen's hand, dumping the seemingly plain metal cuffs into his hands. Frigga's eyes widened as she watched Thor's eyes dart back and forth between the trinkets and the Goddess.
He nearly dropped his hammer as the bracelets began to quake in his hand, glowing brightly as the palm of his skin began to darken. He couldn't drop them, he couldn't do much of anything as his breath caught in his throat, and watched the skin rot.
Frigga stepped forward to snatch them out of his hands, but Bronen stopped her and picked the velvet bag from the floor. He carefully folded the bag and used to pick the bracelets making sure not to touch them.
"What just happened?" Thor choked out, shaking his hand as he watched the color return to his palm. He squeezed his hand open and closed as Bronen handed Frigga the bag.
"You do not possess magic. These binds are meant to absorb magical energy and without it, it will drain your life force." Bronen snubbed his nose at the prince and stepped towards the flickering wall that kept Athelia contained for now. "These shields will not keep her when she wakes. The bracelets must be put back on before it reaches her heart."
Frigga and Thor looked at each and then back towards Athelia, sitting so peacefully. The darkness that claimed the tips of her hands had slowly started to work its way through the veins in her arm and though Thor had never really understood anything about Athelia, he had a feeling the stories about her were true.
"Is she truly the monster from the stories?"
Bronen looked back at him, but Loki's gaze caught his attention for a moment. Something in him twisted and found himself staring at the slick-haired prince who didn't take his eyes off of Athelia.
"The stories of Athelia do not compare to who she really is. She is not the goddess you thought she was. She has a darkness within her, something bestowed on her when she was merely a child." Bronen's gaze fell on Frigga, followed by Thor's and she looked away in shame.
"So she lied?"
Bronen inhaled deeply and looked back at Thor. "No. Her mind has been warped many times over. She can recall some of her doings, but the dark ones, the truly despicable things she has done were locked away along with the ability to wield the power that rages within her. These binds are forged by a very powerful and very old dragon and they are the only things capable of keeping us safe."
"You mean keeping her safe?" Loki asked, gaining no attention from any of them other than Bronen.
Bronen shook his head. "Without the binds, her power is unmatched by all but one and I fear if they are not replaced, then she will destroy us all. Starting with one that holds the aether."
"She would never hurt Freya," Frigga insisted. "She did all of this to try and save her."
"Don't be foolish." Bronen stared down at the Queen. "She is the Goddess of Darkness. The Daughter of Death. Everything she believes to be true about herself is a fiction that was placed in her mind to protect her so she could live long enough to fulfill her prophecy. She is a world killer and if she cannot fight it, we will die. Odin knew this, but he risked it all anyway."
Loki stepped back away from the glass and watched as the others took in the information. His gaze to Bronen who he had caught staring at him again and an uneasiness swept over him. Loki may not have always been the best judgment in character, but for some reason, something about Athelia's uncle pushed him off.
"Then we must replace them." Thor insisted, watching as Athelia's eyes flittered behind her lids.
"Easier said than done."
"If it was done before, it could be done again."
Bronen nodded. "Very true, but to do so she has to reject her true form. She has to be pulled back to reality. The binds will head the darkness, but they will not defeat it." He paced back and forth in front of the cell, running his fingers over the bracelets through the fabric. "I fear she can not do it on her own."
"She's strong."
"And the darkness is stronger."
"Then help her."
"I cannot," Bronen whispered. "Athelia believes me to be dead. If she sees me, she will think of it as nothing more than an illusion created by her mind."
"Then I will do it."
"And what power do you have to stop her? Your hammer?" Bronen chuckled. He had seen Athelia drop God's even more powerful than he. "She would crumble it with a mere pinch."
"That's not possible," he quickly retorted, spinning it in his hand.
"My boy, you have no idea what's possible," Bronen said to him. "You cannot combat her magic with brute strength, you combat magic with magic. At full power, one touch could destroy you."
Thor huffed in defeat and ran his fingers through his hair. They were running out of options and despite his mortal, he couldn't watch Athelia turn into the one thing she had fought to resist for this long. He didn't owe her anything, but he felt as if he was a part of this and had to do whatever it took to make sure she walked out of that cell as his future wife and not an enemy.
"Why not just kill her?" Loki questioned, causing their gazes to land on him in disgust. He tried his best to look complacent, but he was far more confused than anything. "I'm sure Odin would have no qualms in breaking an accord with a dead king."
Bronen stepped forward, his face falling flat as a burst of anger flooded through him. Loki had struck the nerve he was hoping for, but didn't quite catch the reaction he had expected. He held his tongue though. As much as he wanted to run his blade through the mad prince's neck, he knew it was not the time for it.
Instead, he turned to Frigga who remained silent, proving she and Odin had yet to reveal the truth to even their own children.
"Because despite her darkness, she is the prophetic savior of the realms." He explained, causing Loki to question his words. "After the Subjugation Of the Ni-"
"Bronen," Frigga snapped at him, cutting his words immediately.
"Something wrong Frigga?" A sly smirk spread across his face, causing an uneasy stir in Frigga's chest. "Are you that ashamed of your secrets that even your sons do not know?"
"Now is not the time for revelations Bronen."
"Right." Bronen clasped his hands together and nodded, refusing to speak further despite Thor's curiosity. "Well, you are the queen."
"I am," Frigga stood slowly as she stood her ground.
Bronen only smirked, giving the queen a knowing glance, and turned back to the cell that housed Loki. "And to answer your question, there is but one weapon that could kill Athelia and she wears it close to her at all times."
"Eiri?"
"How do you know that name?" Thor questioned his brother, his tone rising.
"Books," Loki lied. "You should try to read one someday. There is plenty of lore on your future wife, brother... I fear I may know her better than you do."
Thor questioned the tone of his voice, knowing that everything that fell from Loki's silver tongue usually held more meaning than the words themselves. Then again, he was a trickster and he was always finding a way to get a rise out of everyone around him. He wouldn't put it past him to use a situation as dire as this to fuel his chaotic desires.
"Enough," Frigga scolded and turned back to Bronen. "Is there anything any of us can do?"
"Maybe," Bronen muttered, "but neither of you will be able to do it."
They stared at him quizzically.
"There is no one else."
Bronen nodded at the last person Thor could imagine getting close to his future wife. His blood boiled as his blue eyes rested on his brother's smirking face. Hel would freeze over before he let them in the same cell together.