“Nothing has changed,” You say in awe as you lay your eyes on Asgard for the first time in years. Loki turns his head towards you, and smiles. You feel your cheeks flush, and he pulls you in for a kiss. You let him, and kiss him back as he holds his staff in one hand, and presses you to him with the other. When you pull away, the two of you walk down a set of golden stairs. Everything in Asgard is cast in gold. From the statues to the pillars. It is absolutely beautiful. As Loki takes your arm, he escorts you into the palace.

This is when you are met by four extraordinary people. The first one to step forward is a slender, but rough looking woman with long, dark hair that is pulled back into a ponytail. She wears armor made of silver, and pants, which is odd in Asgard. The two of you are dressed similarly, and something about her seems familiar to you, but you can't place your finger on it. Behind her are three men. One is dressed darkly, he reminds you of a Mongol from your World History class back on Earth that you took in high school. He is very silent, and watches you carefully. Next to him is a robin-hood-looking fellow dressed in green, with blond, swooping hair, and a light colored mustache to accompany that. He gives you a charismatic grin, and you give him a timid one in return. Behind the two of them is a massive man with red hair that hangs down his back, along with that he has a fiery beard that reaches his belly. His cheeks are rosy and he looks like a cheerful man, but his expression is somber.

“Aw,” Loki says, faking a smile. They bow to him, and you raise a quizzical eyebrow that he chooses to ignore. This angers you, but you turn to the people in front of you and smile as politely as you can manage. “Friends.”

“Hello, your majesty,” the woman says as she straightens up. Her eyes are dark, and she gazes at Loki accusingly. “We wanted to have a word with you about yesterday, in the throne room.”

Loki shakes his head. “I'm sorry, but that is out of the question.”

She opens her mouth to speak again, but the large bearded man jumps in. “Your majesty, if I may ask, who is the lovely maiden at your arm?”

Loki smiles, but it is a cold one. His demeanor is starting to affect you, and you almost want to shrink away from him, but you stay where you are and set your jaw, squaring your shoulders. The the others seem to mistake this as confidence. “This,” Loki says as he pulls you closer to him. You don't think he is consciously aware that he did. “Is (Y/N), daughter of Odin.”

Loki smirks triumphantly as all three of their mouths gape open simultaneously. The woman is the first to recover. “Lo-I mean, your majesty, did you really find your sister?”

Loki nods, and it suddenly hits you. Memories of these people bombard your brain in a rush. You clutch Loki's arm, and distantly you hear him saying your name, but you you can't respond. You can feel their eyes on you as your head spins and you see them all as children.

When it passes, you look at your best friend. Sif is her name. The two of you had trained together, and had basically been sisters to one another up until you left. Your heart constricts and you run to her. She looks confused, but you ignore it, and glomp her anyways. Sif stumbles back a bit, but soon she laughs in good spirits.

“I take it you've finally recognized me,” Sif chortles, and you pull away from each other. You look to the others with a broad smile. Frandal is the blond, but you remember him as a scrawny boy with golden hair, and a sense of humor that would always get on your nerves. Volstagg is the large man, he always had food in his hand, or he was training with the boys. Then there was Hogun. He never really connected with anyone on a deep level. Even now a cloud of mystery shrouds him as you compare your friends to how you knew them as children.

Loki is getting impatient. You can feel his eyes urging you to end the happy reunion. As everyone pats your back for the welcome home, Sif hurriedly tugs on your shirt so her lips are almost pressed into your ear. “I know he's your brother,” she whispers. “But you can't trust him. Whatever he's told you, there's more to it.” As you stumble back, you realize no one noticed the exchange, and you are grateful for that. But you feel a cold sheen of sweat quickly coat your skin as you slowly start to digest her words. What in the nine realms could she possibly mean? You think as Loki ushers you up a flight of stairs. You realize the two of you are not heading towards the throne room, and your stomach flip flops as dread makes itself home in your gut.

* * * *

The two of you enter your parent's chambers. This isn't a good sign, you quickly realize as you take in the golden room. Your mother, as beautiful as you remember her, sits in a chair beside the All-Father's bed. He is asleep, and you realize it's not a normal slumber either. It's the Odin's sleep. It strikes you like a blow. Your mother hasn't noticed the two of you yet.

“Loki,” you whisper his name, and he jerks his head away from the scene before the both of you so he can look at you. You frantically reach out for his hand. “When did this happen, and where's Thor?”

Loki shakes his head somberly. “That's the thing,” he says in a hushed voice. “This is why I was afraid to bring you back.” He looks empathetic, but you can see through it. You know Loki better than anybody ever could, and it hurts you to know he's hiding something deeper than this. You're frightened, you realize. Your eyes widen, and turn swiftly, striding towards your mother's exhausted figure. It's been far too long