Chapter Text
The universe was far from peaceful but for the moment, the chaos of the Nine Realms and beyond seemed to avoid Asgard. There would come a time, perhaps soon, perhaps not, that it would come to this golden city with its magnificent halls. But it hadn’t yet, and that was enough to lull Miranda into some kind of peace.
Of all the things that Miranda had seen and experienced on Asgard, the strangest, somehow, was the lack of seasonal change. The Bifrost was a stunning feat of engineering; they had flying chariots; the citadel itself towered over any man-made structure on Midgard and shone like a golden beacon into the abyss that surrounded the floating isle. The people themselves were this odd and fascinating blend of far-flung future and familiar Viking culture that kept Miranda on her toes, never quite sure what to expect. The library held more tomes than she could read in a hundred lifetimes, and the ones she did read were mindblowing. All this wonder, and it was the lack of seasons that threw her the most.
As time went on, it had gotten a bit chiller. Miranda found herself wearing a shawl through most of the day and closing the doors to the balcony at night to keep out the chill. But if she sat in the sun long enough she would start to sweat and the shawl would get unpinned and set on whatever surface was nearby.
Which is what happened already this morning. Miranda wiped her brow with the back of her hand before she set back to work waulking wool with the group of women she had become friends with in the last two months. They sang as they worked, a jaunty tune about some hero Miranda hadn’t been familiar with before they taught her the song. Their voices rose up from the table in the open courtyard to drift into the open doorways and windows of the surrounding buildings. Occasionally someone from inside could be heard as they sang along, their voices clearer as they passed through the courtyard to go somewhere else.
The sun was high and bright in the sky, though the two moons could still be seen. The thump of the wool kept time as Ása, an older woman with graying hair and silvery eyes, sang the lyrics and the rest of them joined in for the refrain. It was idyllic in a way that Miranda had never expected. In some ways it reminded her of home, which she supposed is why she had cautiously entered into this sisterhood. The simplicity of rural life seemed to transcend cultures and planets.
The only thing that ruined the peacefulness of the moment was the golden-armored guard that stood a few yards away to keep an eye on Miranda.
“Þórbjorg,” Ása said after she finished her song, “sing us that song of yours again.” The other women nodded and eagerly chattered amongst themselves.
Miranda smiled, both from the nickname and the support of her friends. They always asked her to sing it at least once when they got together no matter what they were doing. She knew other songs, they knew she knew other songs — but this was by far the favorite. With a sparkle in her eye, she sang. “Well, a Scotsman clad in kilt left a bar one evening fair; and one could tell by how he walked that he’d drunk more than his share; and when he found that he could no longer keep his feet; he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.”
They joined in for the chorus: “Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, Ring-di-diddly-eye-oh; he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.”
As the song went on, the youngest among them, Unnr, blushed but still sang. Of the seven of them, she was the only one that wasn’t wed or a mother.
Together, the group sang the last line as loud as they could before they dissolved into laughter. Miranda clutched at her side as she felt a small flurry of kicks, a sensation that was as strange now as it had been when it first happened.
“Midgardians have a very… dirty humor,” Svanhildr said. Her chin was raised high, as though she were above such things.
Miranda rolled her eyes. Svanhildr looked middle-aged but that didn’t help Miranda know how old she was (hell, Unnr looked about the same age as herself, but so did Thor and Loki). All the same, Miranda knew that look — she’d seen it on plenty of church ladies’ faces.
“Well, with such short lives we at least remember what humor is,” Miranda said.
Svanhildr glared down the table at her as the others laughed.
Miranda winked and started a new song. “Oh, what do we do with a drunken sailor, what do we do with a drunken sailor, what do we do with a drunken sailor early in the morning?”
When they finished waulking the wool, Miranda scrubbed the scent of ammonia off her skin as best she could. The others stood around the washbasin and scrubbed at their own skin, still laughing and chatting. Miranda joined them, her heart light and laugh bright. Though she kept glancing at the guard. She didn’t want to leave yet but knew it was time. Odin didn’t trust her to wander freely.
The citadel rose high above the city streets; all Miranda could see ahead of them as they travelled was its golden walls. Behind them, the city sprawled out as a patchwork of roofs and open spaces with the occasional fleck of green. Farther beyond were the mountains, the last edge before the horizon. Miranda leaned on the edge of the hover-chariot and watched the mountains shrink as they returned to the citadel.
Miranda had every intention to colister herself away in her room with the arcane books she’d taken from the library. She’d already learned a few new tricks that would come in handy someday, and from what she knew of Thanos, she knew she would need them. It was slow work to build her own spellbook. The runes were similar to what she knew but they always seemed to swim before her eyes in an attempt to become English words. Her notes, written in an old code that she and her best friend had invented back in grade school, were nearly as incomprehensible.
But the impending headache was forgotten the moment she saw Thor down the hall. She hurried over to him as fast as she could and called out to grab his attention. He turned toward the sound of his name and relaxed. The stature of the general dropped and faded the closer Miranda came.
“You’re already back from Vanaheim?” she asked. “I thought you would be gone longer.”
“As did I, but they surrendered quickly after I defeated their champion,” he said with an easy grin. “Hogun has remained to ease the transition back to peace.”
Miranda nodded. “Good to hear. Have you heard anything about… since we last spoke?”
Thor shook his head. “No. Perhaps my brother could help us learn more.”
“I’m not stopping you from speaking to him.” Miranda flexed her jaw and took a deep breath. “Though I know you want me to accompany you.” She met his eye.
“I would not ask you to do anything you do not wish to,” Thor said. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Though I must admit, he does not seem willing to speak to me on such matters.”
Miranda chewed on her tongue. “Then maybe I have to. I’ve asked the librarian for more books but…” She shook her head. “He said they were restricted tomes. If you could try to get them, I’ll go speak with him.”
Thor nodded and patted her shoulder. “Then I shall meet you tonight to share our findings.”
*****
The force field emitted a low whine that Miranda could feel more than she heard it. She took a deep breath and looked at everything but him, unsure if she could actually carry through with her mission. The last time she had spoken to him, she had slapped him and told him that it was within her power to kill him. And now she had to have a civil conversation with him.
Miranda mumbled a few words under her breath as she stared at his back. For a moment, it didn’t seem like anything had changed. Then she felt the spell take hold. As she stepped forward to stand next to the force field, Miranda swallowed around the bitter taste in her mouth — but he had charmed her first and over something far less important.
Miranda cleared her throat. Loki glanced over his shoulder, surprised to have a visitor, then turned to fully face her. Miranda passively glanced around the cell for a moment. A small stack of books sat on the table near the single chair. There was a bed. Another table with some fruit was pushed up against the wall.
“Cozy,” she said as she looked back at him. “They seem to be treating you well.”
“Captivity leaves much to be desired,” Loki said.
“Hm,” Miranda said and held back a retort. “I have some questions for you, and you’ll answer them as truthfully as you’re able. No lies, no tricks. You’ll tell me everything you know.”
Once he nodded, she began to question him. There wasn’t much he hadn’t told her already, it seemed, but the information that was new shook Miranda’s core. For one thing, there was still an Infinity Stone on Earth somewhere. Including the one on Miranda’s wrist, there were at least two on Asgard. The whereabouts of the others were only theorized but Thanos had people looking for them. One of them was his own daughter.
And Thanos already had what was perhaps the most important piece of his plan: the Infinity Gauntlet. With it, he could harness the power of the stones and alter the state of the universe on a whim.
“And where is he?” Miranda asked. “Do you know?”
Loki shook his head. “His homeworld, to my knowledge, was destroyed. He has a ship but it could be anywhere.” His shoulders rose a moment like he took too deep a breath. He grinned, slow and icy. “You little fox,” he said, “you charmed me.”
“I took a page out of your book,” Miranda replied. “We’re more alike than I think either of us would care to admit. But, since that’s worn off, I guess I’ll be going. I’d say it was nice speaking with you but that’d be a lie, so.” She shrugged and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
Miranda paused but did not turn around. The silence hung heavy between them. She shook her head. “So much for that silver tongue.”
“It has never done me much good with you. I believe Midgardians call it ‘tongue-tied.’”
“What is it you want to say?”
“I don’t want this to be the last conversation we have with each other.”
“If the only thing I can do to hurt you is stay away, then that’s what I’m going to do.” She had hardly finished when she began to walk away. She heard him call after her; she ignored him. Out of his sight, Miranda leaned heavily against the wall for a moment and rubbed her hands over her face. It was all too much, too little.
Emotions churned in her chest. White-hot anger and sparkling fear and deep, aching pity and quiet, fluttering love all turned and whirled around inside of her. Each caught her attention for a moment before the next pushed it aside only to be pushed aside in turn.
The walk back to her rooms was slow and long.
*****
Miranda leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. Thor had managed to get the books with little issue and they had spent the last several hours reading through them. It was boring, tedious, dreary work. They found little that was worth their time: all legend and speculation. Miranda hadn’t thought she would have to parse history from legend and myth on Asgard of all places, though the irony wasn’t lost on her. She was on a planet that had been left to myth even though it was very real. (Though could it really be called a planet? It was more like an island in space.)
The only thing that they had found of note was something called the “Aether;” but that was neither here nor there. It was hidden under Asgard by Thor’s grandfather and was an artifact of terrible power, that they were sure of, but it was unclear if it had any relation to the Infinity Stones.
“Loki had said there were at least two on Asgard,” Miranda said. “There’s the Tesseract and mine, so maybe the Aether is the third. I mean, it’s not like we really know what any of them do .”
“Aye. We should search for the Aether so we know where it is; then we might protect it better,” Thor said. “Though I must admit I do not know where to start.”
Miranda hummed. She stared at the ceiling for a minute. “Would Heimdal?”
“Perhaps. I shall ask him on the morrow,” Thor said as he pushed to his feet. “But for tonight, it is late. You should rest.” He patted her shoulder.
Miranda nodded and got up from her own chair. She rubbed her face as she swayed slightly on her feet. “Yeah,” she sighed, “that sounds like a good idea.”
Thor took his leave and closed the door behind him. As the thud of the door faded from her ears, Miranda wandered over to her changing screen to change into her nightgown. Barefoot, she padded around the room to snuff the various candles and lanterns. Bit by bit, the room dimmed until only the soft glow of the fire remained.
From her window, Miranda had a wide view of the stars. She wondered, not for the first time, and not for the last, if she could see her own sun from where she stood; which tiny speck was proof of… life? her existence? She wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She wasn’t sure she’d want to find it if she did.