You laid on the bed realizing how very very stupid you were. You were a complete moron, queen of moronville, and how on Earth had you come up with this crazy idiotic plan? It really had seemed like a good plan at the time. It was actually quite a good plan. But that still didn't mean that you weren't a moron for it. There was no choice, though. It was your only chance of getting outside the shields without causing suspicion.

That did not make you any less dumb.

Or any less desperate.

You waited awhile longer, until the sun had set. Then you set your plan into motion, cursing yourself for your incredibly stupid plan. You had left a spark of your magical fire under the main stove in the kitchen when the servants weren't looking. You threw power into it now, blasting it into a full fire, including a rather nice explosion that set fire to other parts of the mansion.

You kept having to tell yourself as you grew and grew the flames that this was your fire. This was not the fire of all those years ago, this was not the fire from the night your parents died when you were 13. Just because you were in a bed with the mansion going up in flames around you did not mean this was the fire from then. You had to calm your breathing and fight back flashbacks from the other fire.

You did mention you were dumb for this plan.

Especially when it was causing a panic attack from the PTSD you had of the other fire.

You were pretending to be asleep when Balder burst into the room. He hauled you to your feet and dragged you out of the room. "Get outside. Stay with the servants," he yelled at you, giving orders he expected to be obeyed. You did as you were told, leaving the burning mansion with the servants. In the meantime, Balder ran toward the vault to save his stolen powers.

The second you were far enough away from the mansion, you felt the moment that you passed through the shields. You turned to your guards and gave them a wicked grin while you used telekinesis to rip their headphones off. "Sorry," you told them. The one word had them all passed out in the snow.

You took one moment to feel for Loki's location through the soulbond. It was too far, your range of teleporting couldn't span the whole realm, but you had to get away from the mansion before Balder found out what you had done. /Kat!/ you heard Loki's voice in your mind and grinned. He could find you now that you were outside the shields. /Are you safe? You are too far away, it will take you more than a few jumps to get to you. It will take a little while/

/I have to get away from here before Balder finds me. I'll teleport as far as you can/ you told him.

/Be safe, darling. Thor is on your side of the realm. I will give him your location once you land. We will be there to help you soon/ Loki promised.

/Tell him that I literally cannot speak/ you warned. Thor didn't have telepathy and you weren't sure after the jump you would be able to use your own. /I'll explain later/ you added before Loki could ask. You needed to get out of here before Balder came out of the mansion.

/I have marked your location. We will be able to find that place again. Get out of there, love/ Everything at the mansion was taken care of. So you teleported as far as you could in the direction of where Loki was. /Loki?/ you asked. You hadn't made it as far as you wanted, but Balder shouldn't be able to track you, or teleport after you. You also had your dagger sheath back.

Next time you escaped from a crazy man, you needed to remember to summon real clothes before you burned all your power teleporting to safety. There was a good foot of snow on the ground. You were barefoot and wearing a shift. It wasn't even a real dress. This was a bad combination. So you started walking. Anything to keep from lying down in the snow and going to sleep. You managed to summon a little flame, though the effort made you dizzy. You hoped Loki wasn't burning all of his magic teleporting across the realm. Both of you being useless wouldn't be good.

/Thor and I are coming/ you heard the strain in his mental voice, he was burning through his magic too.

You trudged through the snow, shivering when your flame went out. You couldn't summon it back. You did't know how long or how far you walked before Loki appeared in front of you. "Loki!" you exclaimed, too brain dead from the cold to even think. "Shit," you added in a mutter when he instantly collapsed. You were going to kill Balder. You ran to Loki and was grateful he was still breathing. Balder had over-exaggerated how much damage a shout could do, at least to a Asgardian. The effects would probably be worse on a human.

You didn't know what you were going to do, though. Loki was unconscious and there was nothing you could see but snow and trees. You finally spotted what looked like a cave nearby. It was a good thing that Loki had a slight build. You couldn't stay out in the snow, you'd both freeze. Loki's skin seemed to be tinging bluer and bluer by the moment, and you thought you was going crazy when it looked like lines appeared on his skin.

You had learned at some point how to do a fireman's carry. You never thought you'd actually need or use the skill. You somehow managed to do it and hoist Loki onto your shoulders. How you made it to that cave, you'd never know. You got us far enough back in the cave that you were sheltered from the wind. Out of pure desperation, you somehow managed to conjure a fire and sheer stubbornness kept it going. You couldn't let you and Loki freeze. Loki's skin and body was always so cold anyway.

It seemed like hours later when you heard a voice outside of our cave. "Loki? Kat?" It was Thor. You ran to the cave entrance, desperately. Thor was on the path you had made in the snow, mounted on his horse. At least your trail was clear to follow. You waved to him from the cave. He raised a hand in acknowledgement and rode over. He dismounted in an instant and wrapped his warm arms around me. "You're frozen," he said, pulling off his cloak and wrapping it around you. you grabbed his hand and dragged him into the cave. "Loki? What happened?"

/A curse from Balder. He's fine, just unconscious/ you told him, still holding his hand. It took barely any power to use telepathy when you were in physical contact with the person you wanted to talk to. /I tried to keep him warm.../ you added, worriedly.

Thor just laughed. "He is Jotun, little sister. He cannot freeze," Thor went to check out Loki anyway. You wrapped his cloak tighter around you. "He will be fine. Dismiss the fire. We should get out of here," you nodded and vanished the flames. "Can you ride?" you nodded. "Good, I cannot hold both of you on the horse at the same time." Even Thor's strength had limits. Somehow he mounted the horse while keeping Loki cradled in his arms. He settled Loki on the horse in front of him, then offered you a hand. You reached up and took it. He swung you up behind him. "Good thing you two are so little. Ashe here could not carry all three of us otherwise. Hold on tight, little sister. There is a village nearby we can hole up in for the night." You wrapped your arms tightly around his waist. He was so warm that you finally felt like you wouldn't freeze to death.

You rode for what felt like a long time. "Why am I in your arms like a maiden?" Loki demanded a long time later. You laughed and was grateful that didn't knock the boys out. Laughter was ok it seemed.

"You were unconscious, little brother," Thor replied jovially. "We are nearly there. Sister, are you still ok?" Thor asked. You moved your arm enough that he could see the thumb's up you gave him. You pulled it back under the cloak as quickly as you could and huddled yourself against Thor's warmth. He stopped the horse in front of an inn in the village. Loki leapt out of his grip the second it was safe to do so. He reached up to help you down from the horse, holding you in his arms. Thor dismounted and handed a coin to the hostler who came to take his horse. He led you all into the inn.

"You have found the princess!" the innkeeper announced excitedly. You flushed and hid your face against Loki's shoulder.

"Good innkeeper, do you have a room available we might have for the night?" Thor asked, assuming royal privilege would grant you a room regardless.

"Yes, yes, of course. you will also have one of the girls bring something to eat up to you." Thor and the innkeeper dealt with the details and you zoned out a little.

/Sorry/ you told Loki as he wandered closer to the fire in the inn's dining room. You felt bad for accidentally knocking him out

"It is alright, darling. Though you will have to tell me what happened," he told you, his voice was a mix of emotions: concern, relief, love.

/Later? So tired/ your telepathic voice was even mumbling and starting to slur. He kissed your forehead.

"Later," he agreed. "Let's get you warm first." As soon as the innkeeper was dealt with, you all trudged upstairs to the room you were given. Loki summoned fluffy pajamas and thick fuzzy socks for you and tucked you in under a pile of blankets in one of the two beds. "Rest, love. We will wake you when the food arrives," Loki bid you softly, gently.

/This is real?/ you asked, not quite sure you believed that you had actually escaped.

"Very real. You are safe now." He kissed your forehead and you allowed yourself to close your eyes and finally relax.