"You're what?" Pietro shouts, and the rest of the team stare at you in shock.
"And you're leaving? Why didn't you tell us all of this sooner?" Natasha scolds and the team bombards you with questions.
"Guys, I know, I'm sorry. I should have told you, but I didn't want to leave yet. Now I've waited long enough, I have to go," you shush them, attempting to answer some of their questions.
"We're going to miss you Y/N," Steve says, patting your back.
"You were a great asset to the team indeed," Vision states, and you give him a nod of acknowledgement.
Wanda runs up to you, pulling you into a hug, the rest of the group following suit.
"I hate this," you comment as you get squeezed from all angles.
"We better get going," Thor announces to the team. You were already going with Loki, but Thor decided to tag along as well, saying he needed to visit Alfheim soon.
You get onto the quinjet with the brothers, Loki steering the way.
"Loki told me that you've both been to Alfheim before."
"Indeed, just the once though, when our father was helping Queen Aelsa rebuild after the massacre," Thor explains.
"We're almost there," Loki says to the two of you, cutting your conversation short.
"By there do you mean about to go directly into the Grand Canyon?" you ask as Loki only speeds up the jet.
"Don't worry he's done this before, right brother," Thor says, somehow completely carefree.
"Not this passage, no. But I think we're in the right place."
"You think?" you shout as the quinjet plummets straight towards the ground. You notice the small gap Loki is aiming for, you close your eyes hoping he was right. After not crashing like anticpated, you open your eyes.
"Well shit," you say under your breath as the quinjet skids on the ground, of Alfheim. You stare out the window at the meadow. It's the same one from your dream.
The three of you walk off the aircraft into the massive green field.
"Brother you've landed us in the middle of nowhere," you hear Thor and Loki bickering and continue walking ahead of them. You retrace your footsteps from the dream, making your way to the cliff edge.
You peer down at the glistening lake below, which leads into a vast forest. You read about how civilisation mainly dwell in the forests nearby a river. You're definitely in the right place.
You look back at the Thor and Loki, still arguing to no surprise.
"Guys, come on," you yell over to them, and step backwards off the edge, diving down into the water beneath you. You swim out of the way, Thor cannonballing in, and Loki teleporting down.
You and Thor are now soaked, as you trudge through the forest alongside an agitated Loki. You follow the river leading downstream from the lake, pushing bushes and brambles out of your way.
"Motherf-"
"-udger. You have to watch your language here," Thor informs you and you nod.
"Noted," you reply, staring at the city. It's a lot less like a city, and more like some sort of magical paradise. The buildings are intertwined with the trees and vines, gold peeking through the gaps of the greenery. The ginormous roots and branches of the trees act as roads, bridges and pathways between structures.
Thor and Loki now recognising the landscape, bring you to the palace which winds around the largest tree you've seen in your life, surrounded by an immense waterfall. You walk across a wide branch, leading over the large river far below.
You finally reach the palace, walking up the pristine white marble staircase.
State your name and your reasons for being here," a guard questions sternly, dressed in traditional lightweight armour.
"Loki, heir of Jotunheim."
"Thor, son of Odin and rightful king of Asgard."
The man looks at you expectantly.
"Uh, Y/N L/N. I think I'm from here, so that's why we've come," you respond, not entirely sure how to answer him.
"Follow me," he guides you into the palace, mainly marble interior, like the staircase.
You and the Odinsons stand in what appears to be the throne room, but there's no one on the throne. You hear footsteps, and glance in the direction they're coming from. A tall man with mahogany braids and intense deep brown eyes strides confidently over to you.
"Your highnesses," he says, bowing quickly, "General Axel."
"We request the presence of the Queen," Thor says assertively.
"I'm sorry, but the Queen passed almost a year ago." You take in a sharp breath, it's fine. You didn't even know her.
"Her cousin's coronation is next week, have you not heard?" he questions, Thor shaking his head.
"We're terribly sorry for your loss," Thor announces for the three of you.
"Are you alright?" Loki turns to you, you hate being pitied.
"Why wouldn't I be," you reply quickly.
"You say you believe to be a light elf, on what grounds," Axel begins walking down a hallway, and you follow him, the other two remaining behind you.
"I have lived on Earth for the past eight-hundred years, and I was told I was adopted, but it was unknown from where. I have heightened senses, quick reflexes and very strong instincts."
"Right, well it's definitely a reasonable conclusion. Anything else, more specific to Alfheim perhaps."
"Well, I have very clear, distinct dreams. One certain recurring one of getting swept away, by who we assume to have been Odin, on a battlefield. Something I definitely shouldn't be able to remember," you add.
"You make a compelling case, what about visions. Do you see fate, visions of possible futures?"
"No, which I know I should if I am of Alfheim. There's also something that doesn't quite fit. I'm kind of, indestructible. And I have no real magical abilities-"
"Sorry, go back to the 'indestructible' part," he stops in his path. That clearly means something.
"Well my skin is basically unbreakable, like a barrier. Bullets, arrows, daggers, even bombs, nothing gets through it," you explain, and he looks at you unsurely, pulling out his sword.
"May I?" he asks, and you nod. He goes to impale you, the harder he pushes, the blade not even make a dent. He meets your eyes again, a shocked and serious expression on his face.
"You're the heir," he begins walking again, hurrying down the hall.
"We had suspected that already. One of my dreams has a maid who refers to me a princess," you elaborate, catching back up with him.
"Why didn't you lead with that," Axel says to the three of you.
"If you don't mind my asking, why is the unbreakable skin the part that makes you so sure?" you question as you approach a large golden door.
"It's not indestructible, it's a protection and power-limiting spell. It's only placed on the heirs to the throne as a safety measure from themselves and others when they are children," he explains, pushing open the doors, leading you to what looks like some sort of infirmary.
"Agda," he calls a beautiful blonde woman over from some sort of potion she is brewing. She is a lot older than you, but has clearly aged well.
"Agda is our resident archmage, if you are right about this, she will be able to remove the spell," Axel introduces you to the woman. You trust both of these people, which is unusual for you. You can sense that they are good-hearted.
The sorceress leads you over to a table, gesturing for you to lie down. You do so, albeit very hesitantly.
"For this to work, I'm going to need you to relax," she urges, her voice calming. You do your best to be less tense, and you feel yourself being knocked out.
~~~~~~~
You open your eyes slowly, this isn't your bed. You jolt up, feeling very drained.
"What the hell," you mumble to yourself. You get out of the massive king bed, balancing yourself using the bedpost. Suddenly the door of the extravagant room opens.
"Your majesty, you should be resting."
"Your majesty? So I really am-"
"Yes, now sit down. Your body heavily relied on that enchantment, so you're going to feel very weak for a short while."
"I can't say I'm happy to not be indestructible anymore, it was rather handy," you support yourself, still holding onto the wooden beam.
"I believe it was, but your power limiters are gone now too. We will need to begin your training soon," Agda explains, as a young maid enters behind her with a tray of food.
"You are the rightful heir to the throne Y/N, which means you are one of the most powerful sorceresses in the galaxy."
"I certainly don't feel like it," you say truthfully.
"Also, I removed the illusionary spell Odin cast, which was rather difficult," she hands you a mirror. You look at your reflection, a small point on the tip of your ears, and your eyes now a striking shade of gold.
"Just rest up, and eat after your sleep. You'll need the energy," she walks out of the room, followed by the maid.
As if you're going to sleep for any longer. You walk unsteadily over to the table where the tray of food is, falling over about halfway through.
"Balls," you get back up, and make your way over to the chair. She was right about you feeling weak that's for sure.
You look at the plate of food, it appears to be some array of, fruit? You take a bite out of a cyan-coloured berry. It's divine, unlike anything you've eaten on Earth. And you've eaten a lot on Earth.
You look around the lavish room, it's basically a miniature apartment. You notice a large glass door, leading out onto a balcony. You stand up, your legs not falling out from underneath you this time and walk over. You push the doors open and step out.
The waterfall flows just below you, and many houses scatter the trees across the river. The city seems to all be centred around the palace, and it stretches on for miles. You admire the gorgeous view, and hear footsteps behind you.
"Of course you're awake when they told you to sleep."
"Come on, you know I don't take orders," you joke, the god walking up beside you.
"You won't have to, you'll be queen now," he says rather seriously.
"I guess I will won't I? Unless whoever this cousin is competes for the throne, I'm sure there's some stance he could take, that I'm unfit for duty," you ponder what's to come.
"Perhaps, but if I know one thing, it's that you're definitely not one to back down from a challenge," Loki assures you.
"And you would be right, when are you and Thor planning on heading back?" you ask him.
"That's the thing, General Axel requested we stay for a while. Also we haven't visited Alfheim in years, so it would probably be a good decision for Asgard that we rebuild our relationship with them. Also-"
"Is this just a long winded way of saying you and Thor wanting a vacation from the actual garbage can that New York is," you question.
"Yes," he replies, "The living quarters here are just so much better than Earth."
"I can agree with you on that," you remark, still in awe of the sheer size of your room.
"I know you would rather explore the city, but you really should get some rest. If this cousin does actually attempt to become king, you're going to want to be on top form," he advises as the two of you head back inside.
"Fine," you head back over to your bed, Loki leaving the room. The stakes are too high here, you should probably listen this time.
~~~~~~~
"So who is this cousin, and how bad would it be if he was crowned king?" you ask the handsome general as he leads you down the hall.
"His name is Erik, and he is a ferocious warrior and skilled sorcerer. He is notorious for being extremely ruthless and brutal, not the kind of man you want ruling over Alfheim," Axel says honestly.
Axel has been re-training you in close-combat for the past few days. You have to avoid things a lot more now, as you no longer have any protective spell to defend yourself. It's been a difficult adjustment to change your entire fighting style, especially when you have fought the same way for hundreds of years.
"It's imperative that you learn how to use conjure magic, you are going to have to duel him to for the throne. With the coronation called off, we do have a while to prepare," Axel opens the door, leading you out into a beautiful yard, where Agda is standing.
"We're starting today then?"
"Yes, now I have to go actually do my job," he walks back inside, leaving you with the archmage.
"Shall we begin?" she says kindly, and you make your way over to her.