Archive of Our Own

Thunder cracked above their heads, and through the window Wanda watched the lightning flash in the distance. Hopefully, the summer storm would move into a different direction, she thought. When she was a little girl, lightning hit the house next door and started a fire. Her family's house was also made entirely of wood, and it was a three-minute walk to the well. If their things burned down, they would be left with nothing.

They didn't even have that much right now. Her father was the village´s tailor, and her mother sometimes helped him. Wanda and her twin brother Pietro always dressed well, but they didn't have many customers. The village was mostly made up of simple-minded workers.

"Wanda, come!" Pietro had collected the blankets and made a small fort out of them. He lifted the blanket and Wanda hurried to crawl under it with him. He had grown a lot this summer, and although the twins were now 16 years old, Pietro still acted like a child. He had no desire to be a tailor, so he would probably soon set off to find his place in the world. Wanda dreaded this day as she and her brother had never been separated for more than a few hours since the day they were born.

What would become of Wanda? That was written in the stars for now. She would probably not be able to stay here. The villagers were afraid of her magical powers and called her a witch behind her back as if she wouldn´t notice. It would be impossible to find a good husband in these conditions.

"Are you still building blanket forts?" Wanda said as her brother lay down next to her. Another clap of thunder sounded above them, and the herbs hanging from the ceiling swayed back and forth, moved by invisible air currents.

"And you're still coming and hiding from the storm in said blanket fort," Pietro teased her. "All that's missing now are the ghost stories."
“Please don´t. I'm not nine anymore!”

Pietro just laughed. Nothing would stop him from telling his little sister (only a few minutes younger, mind you!) spooky stories. Wanda used to be so scared of them that she would hide under the covers next to him and then not sleep all night. The next day, their mother would lecture Pietro endlessly about scaring his little sister. Now Wanda would only roll her eyes at his shenanigans. Especially because Pietro always told her the same three to five stories. Today he had obviously chosen the story of the mysterious frost witcher who lived in a lonely castle in the far north of the kingdom.

“Did you know that he was condemned by Odin himself to stay in his castle forever for his unspeakably atrocious deeds?” Pietro grinned broadly as his sister rolled her eyes.

“Of course. His deeds have long been-”

“Long been forgotten,” Pietro continued. “But they must have been so terrible that the local villagers still fear his presence. He is said to have been a master of magic before he was banished there. Almost like you.”

“I'm not a master of magic,” Wanda grumbled. “I can barely do this.” She held out a hand and let a tiny flame appear in her palm. The delicate light bounced in the breeze.

Above their heads thunder rolled again, then the rain pelted down loudly on their roof. Hopefully her parents were smart enough to wait inside their shop until the storm had passed instead of trying to run home through the downpour, Wanda thought.

“No one has seen this witcher for a hundred years,” Pietro continued eagerly, completely unimpressed by his twin sister's lack of enthusiasm. “But his ominous influence hangs in the air around the castle like a veil of death, which is why the villagers avoid the area. However, some hunters have reported sightings of a mysterious black horse in the area.”

“Great, a horse,” muttered Wanda. “Who would be afraid of a horse?”

“Maybe it's a very scary horse? Or a magical horse?”

“You might be scared of a spooky horse, but I´m no-iiks!” Their hut was bathed in bright light as lightning struck just a few meters from the house. The thunder was deafening.

Wanda instinctively curled up and pressed her body against Pietro's under the blanket. Ever since they were children, Wanda had been afraid of the natural power of thunderstorms and sought shelter with her brother. He put a hand around her reassuringly and patted her back, but she could tell from the tension in his body that he was getting nervous too. The storm was directly above them and the wind was tugging at the roof. The house creaked as if it would collapse any second.

But in the end it was lightning that struck the roof, causing the wood to splinter and the beams to break. Wanda screamed. If Pietro screamed too, she didn't hear it over the flaming beams falling down on them. Rain and wind whipped through the now roofless house and the stench of burnt wood lingered in the air.

“Are you hurt?” Pietro shouted, his silver hair tousled by the storm.

But before she could answer, another beam of the roof came loose and crashed down on them, knocking her brother out. The bedstead cracked under the sudden impact and Wanda screamed again. The wind had extinguished all the candles, so it was impossible to tell what was happening. But when Wanda knelt down next to her brother and felt his motionless body, warm blood touched her fingers.

“Pietro! Pietro!” She shook his shoulder, but to no avail. Another flash of lightning bathed the gruesome scene in dazzling light for a second. Wanda took the opportunity to reposition herself in the rubble of the fallen roof; she braced herself against the beam with all her strength. Her heels dug into the ground and her muscles strained from the effort to the point where she thought they must soon be bursting. But all her efforts were in vain; the beam did not move enough for her to free her unconscious brother.

Wanda had never felt so helpless before. Two minutes earlier, she had been lying in the safety of her bed, listening to her twin tell her how absurd and childish her fear of thunderstorms was. A horrible sob rose from her throat. Was she really like a little child, helplessly exposed to her fate?

Something began to bubble deep in her chest. Like a dragon that had slept for a long, long time until no one would still consider it a danger. Now, however, the beast rose up, showed its claws and began to spit fire until the flames enveloped everything, including itself. Including Wanda.

Wanda raged, becoming one with the immense energy that was emanating from her. The beam shattered and with it the nearest wall. But it was not enough, the dragon demanded more destruction. Bricks flew through the air, what was left of the bedstead was shredded into fine splinters, pieces of furniture were torn to pieces, the objects inside were razed to the ground.

The dragon raged and roared its pain out into the world - no, not its pain, Wanda's pain. At her feet, Pietro rolled onto his side and spat out blood. His already pale skin looked even paler in the twitching light of the passing thunderstorm.

The clouds themselves seemed to give way to the dragon's roar. The rain subsided, as did the wind, until an eerie silence fell over the place where Wanda's family home had stood until a few minutes ago.

Finally, the raging of the dragon ceased. Breathless and exhausted, Wanda sank to her knees as if she had only just returned to her own body. There was a metallic taste in her throat and her ears were still ringing from the exertion.

Before she had a chance to recover, however, she was roughly grabbed by the hair and thrown face-first to the ground. An extremely inelegant screech escaped her lips, but was immediately stopped by a hard kick to the temple. Her eyes flickered as she looked around for the unexpected attacker - it was the blacksmith from her village!

Wanda could barely comprehend what was happening, but as her field of vision slowly cleared, she noticed that nearly a dozen of her neighbors were standing next to the ruins of her house. They all looked horrified, like frightened animals trapped inside a cage with a dangerous beast. “Witch,” they muttered, just loud enough for Wanda to hear. “Did she bring this misfortune upon her own brother?”

“N-no!” Wanda choked out hastily. „That wasn't me...!”

Another rude kick to her temple quickly silenced her again. While the blacksmith held her at bay, the other villagers gathered around Pietro to examine his wounds. They must have witnessed how the storm had caused the roof of the house to collapse but they must have drawn the wrong conclusions from Wanda's demonstration of her uncontrollable magic.

Wanda struggled to push herself into a sitting position. Her fingers were as pale as a corpse's. She needed to clarify this misunderstanding as quickly as possible...!

As if in a trance, she watched her parents running towards her. No, past her towards Pietro who was still lying on the ground. Her mother said something to her that Wanda didn't register in her shock. She watched silently as the other villagers grabbed her mother by the shoulder to pull her away from Wanda. Confusion appeared on her mother's face.

“Witch,” was all Wanda heard through the babble of voices. “Witch. Witch. Your daughter is a witch. A witch who has put her brother's life in danger. Banish the witch, burn the witch, the witch Wanda Maximoff!”

As the villagers lifted Pietro up, Wanda desperately stretched out her hands towards her brother. The helpers backed away from her as if she had swung a knife at them. Their gazes were fixed on the ground. No one dared to look Wanda in the eye, not even her mother.

“Pietro...” she whispered, but her brother was still too weak to respond to her voice. Perhaps Wanda didn't even want him to see her at this low point. What would she do if Pietro also thought she was a witch? If he pushed her away and recoiled from her touch like the other villagers?

Her father made his way through the crowd and knelt on the ground in front of Wanda. He did not touch her, either, and also avoided her gaze as he spoke. “It might be better if you leave now, Wanda. For your own safety.”

He didn't say where Wanda should go - after all, her only home had been destroyed and burned to the ground. But his message was clear.

Wanda stood up on wobbly knees. There was no point in looking around for anything she could have taken with her; all the things here had been destroyed by her magic. Wordlessly, she stepped out of the ruins of the house. The crowd parted in front of her like a leper passing through.

She walked quickly, as she could feel the eyes of the suspicious villagers at her back. After a few minutes, the house was no longer visible, and after a few hours the village had long since disappeared far behind her.

Wanda walked the rest of the day and then all night until her body finally failed her the next morning. Pulling her legs close to her body, she rested under a tree. The ground was still muddy and soggy from yesterday's thunderstorm. Her fingers felt icy.

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. What now? She had no money, no possessions, no career prospects and no support. She was the loneliest person in the world, Wanda thought, her eyes turned plaintively to the sky. The summer had not departed, yet, but in a few weeks it would be too cold to sleep outside at night. She had to find a place to stay by then - if she didn't starve to death before.

The sky was clear and blue, as if yesterday's thunderstorm had never happened. Only the buzzing of insects and the rustling of leaves could be heard as something tiny floated through the air and lay coolly on her forehead. Wanda wiped her forehead in surprise. A snowflake in summer?

It seemed like an ominous omen. As if caused by gruesome ice magic. But what other choice did Wanda have? She would not survive long as a lonely outcast. If she could persuade the enigmatic frost witcher from the north to free her from her magical powers, then perhaps she could return to her home village and all would be forgotten.

But the road to the north proved to be long and arduous. Wherever she went, people knew the frost witcher, but they were reluctant to show a young woman the way to his cursed palace. The long journey left Wanda with calluses on her feet and her once delicate hands became bony. Sometimes she traveled for days without food. Sometimes she didn't sleep a minute all night for fear of what might be lurking in the darkness. And not infrequently in those darkest hours, she wished that the beam had hit her instead of Pietro.

But sooner or later the sun always rose again and Wanda continued her arduous journey north. Autumn had arrived when the icy palace appeared on the horizon. A circuitous, little-used mountain road led to the gate. Compared to the wilderness, it was a welcome change.

Eventually Wanda found herself in front of the massive entrance gate. Just like the rest of the palace, it seemed to be made of a mixture of dark gray stone and bluish ice. A metallic ring the size of Wanda's head was probably used for knocking.

Wanda would have liked to turn back. The palace seemed to be completely frozen in time. There was something gloomy about this place. Even the birds seemed to avoid it. But there was no other place for her in this world. Her last hope lay behind this gate. With a heavy heart, she took the knocker and announced her arrival.

The gate opened silently, as if an invisible servant had opened it for her. Wanda straightened her shoulders and tried not to let her racing heart show as she entered the inner courtyard of the eerie walls.

In the unnatural silence of the palace, only her footsteps could be heard as she crossed the courtyard. Even the air smelled as if snow was about to fall. The entrance to the main building opened just as silently. A magnificent, albeit dusty, blue carpet led her directly into the throne room. Wanda had the impression that her own heartbeat must have echoed endlessly off the ornate walls, yet it was still incredibly silent.

On a throne that looked like it was made of glass, the frost witcher waited for her. His posture betrayed boredom, but his eyes wandered over Wanda with interest. She must have looked run-down, as she had been wearing the same clothes for weeks while she wandered through the wilderness.

Wanda didn't know how to approach respectfully since she had never been in the presence of royality before. The sorcerer was wrapped in precious furs, which were probably meant to protect him from the omnipresent cold of the palace. He made no attempt to speak, he only watched.

By now she had come close enough to make out his face. He looked younger than she had expected from a centuries-old witcher. His jet-black hair was ever so slightly curly, his ice-blue eyes seemed to pierce her. The face with its high cheekbones and noble pallor had something sly about it. A handsome man overall, she mused.

“G-Good evening,” Wanda murmured, as the man still hadn't spoken a word. Her voice trembled and sounded squeaky. She hadn't spoken to anyone for too long and didn´t even know the proper title to adress the man. “My name... is Wanda Maximoff. I... I have a request.”

“Speak up,” the witcher replied. His voice sounded more interested than malicious.

“I... wanted to ask you to take this terrible magic from me.” She briefly described to him how a fit of uncontrolled magic had destroyed her entire house. “It was as if a vicious dragon came over me and wanted to burn down the entire world. I cannot live with this power. I beg you, honored witcher, seal away my powers or do something else with them. I don't want them! I just want to be able to return to my family!”

At last, the frost witcher stirred. He sat up, his eyes still fixed intently on Wanda. “I can't do that, little witch. I can neither take nor seal away your magic.”

There was such finality in his words that Wanda felt as if he had given her a death sentence. She had already exhausted all of her strength. Emaciated by the long journey and without a home, she would probably not survive the winter.

As if he had heard her thoughts, the frost witcher spoke up again. “However, I can offer to teach you. Your magic doesn't have to control you, instead you can bend the dragon, as you called it, to your will. It will not be easy, but once you have tamed your powers, you could return to your home, if that is still your desire.”

He rose from his throne with the elegance of a cat of prey and slowly approached her. “Know, however, that I have been cursed by the All-Father and can never leave this icy palace. If you decide to become my pupil, then you too will have to spend a long time here.”

He had reached Wanda and bent down to her. He was wearing high boots, but even without them he would have towered over Wanda by at least a head. “So you wanna play with magic, litte witch?”

“Yes,” Wanda breathed, both intimidated and fascinated by this peculiar man. “Please teach me, honored witcher.”

The frost witcher smiled, his smile as frosty as the entire palace. “Call me Loki. Loki Laufeyson. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Wanda.”

Loki let her move in into one of the many empty rooms in the palace. Wanda wandered through the endless corridors and finally decided to move into the room next to Loki's bedroom; she was uneasy about being left all alone in one of the empty corridors. Loki said nothing, but simply handed her bedding and a few pillows. Heaven only knew where he had got them from.

Compared to the small house Wanda had grown up in, the room with its high ceilings and elaborate stucco decoration looked incredibly luxurious. There was a thick coat on the floor to protect her feet from the cold. The bed frame was made of metal that wound in impossible twists and turns. Wanda had never lain on such a comfortable mattress before.

And although the ice-stone walls seemed so thick, they weren't as noise-dampening as she had assumed. As she lay there on her new bed, Wanda could hear the witcher pacing back and forth in the next room.

After laboriously lighting the firewood, Wanda took a hot bath and scrubbed the dirt of the past few weeks from her skin. When she got out of the tub, there miraculously were clean clothes to be found on a stool. They fit her perfectly. What a useful way to use magic.

She ate her meal alone in her room; Loki didn't seem to care to keep her company but Wanda was so famished after her weeks of wandering that she didn't care. After the meal, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep and only woke up when the sun was already high up in the sky.

Although it had been a friendly, sunny fall so far, that warmth didn't seem to reach the witcher's icy palace. Wanda shivered as she entered a large hall that had probably been used as a ballroom a long time ago.

Loki was already waiting for her. Today he was only wearing a dark blue shirt with silver threads sewn into it and plain black trousers. Wanda got the impression that he had simply wanted to impress her yesterday. As feared as the frost witcher was in the country, he didn't often get visitors.

“Yesterday,” Loki said instead of greeting her, ”you said your magic was like a dragon trying to burn down the world. When my powers awoke, I often compared them to a dark horse. If you can't control it, it will trample you to death. But if you learn to tame it, you will have a faithful, reliable mount at your disposal.”

Wanda didn't quite know what to say to that. She still remembered the destructive energy that had taken over her body. The experience had been deeply unsettling. How would she ever be able to use such power constructively?

“Attack me,” Loki abruptly challenged her. “With all your strength. Try to crush me.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You heard me, little witch.” The mischievous grin appeared on Loki's face again. “Don't hold back. I don't think you'll be able to seriously hurt me.”

Wanda didn't even know how to activate her powers in the first place, so she just tried to deliberately cause that burning sensation in her chest – but to no avail. She could feel Loki growing impatient. Cautiously, she glanced over at him; the frost witcher looked... disappointed?

Somehow this annoyed Wanda. What had the man expected? That Wanda would learn to activate her previously unused magical powers through simple willpower in just one minute? Until yesterday, she had been careful not to show these powers at all.

“Is that all?” Loki asked after another minute of increasingly awkward futile attempts.

“Yes, that's all,” Wanda hissed, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

“Pathetic, really. And you're afraid of that little bit of power like a little kid getting spooked by her own shadow?”

“I... I just can't control it yet! My powers are much stronger when I'm scared or angry or-”

“Then get angry!” Loki demanded. “Be angry about what you've lost. Think of your village that has cast you out. Isn't there someone you hate? Someone you would destroy if you had the perfect opportunity? Someone who has wronged you?” The frost witcher shook his head disapprovingly. “I guess you really just wanted to play with your magic like a little girl. Are you really such a disappointment?”

His words hit Wanda like a well-aimed arrow. With tears in her eyes, she turned away from Loki, but the man did not let up.

“Your family may be relieved that you're gone but now it turns out that you're not as talented and dangerous as you thought? That you're like a child who asks to have her burning candle taken away because in her stupidity she thinks it's a dangerous weapon?”

“Shut up!” Wanda hissed, all awe of this powerful witcher forgotten.

“Then shut me up!” Loki replied without fear. “Crush me if you can, little witch!”

A wave of anger overcame Wanda. Normally, she was always very careful to repress it but Loki was really going for it. Like a raging, blood-red sea, her magic hit his pale green glowing magical shields. For a moment, Loki seemed to be completely swallowed up by her magic only to emerge unscathed just seconds later, a triumphant smile on his lips.

“Impressive,” he said, stepping towards her with obvious admiration. “What power you possess, little witch. I sensed your outburst from afar but when you showed up here to ask for my help, I was frankly disappointed. But it turns out you're just very careful to suppress your magic.” He had reached Wanda and was now standing directly in front of her. There seemed to be no warmth emanating from his body, only a not so unpleasant coldness. “You truly are a very special woman, Wanda. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Wanda's anger evaporated from one second to the next and gave way to surprised embarrassment instead. She had never heard such appreciative, even flattering words from a man before. And now it came from such a powerful and handsome man.

“Allow me to mold you, Wanda,” Loki said, his long, cool fingers gently brushing her cheek. He looked majestic, his blue eyes fixed intently on her face. “And I will turn you into a very powerful woman.”

The way he pronounced those words made Wanda's lower body heat up. Her mouth slightly open, she stared at him. Only with difficulty did the words pass her lips: “Please...”

Loki paused for another second like this, then withdrew his hand and nodded to himself. “That's enough for today. Get some rest. Gather your strength. We have an exciting time ahead of us.”

Loki turned out to be right. Over the next few months, the two of them established a fixed daily rhythm. In the mornings, they trained Wanda's control over her powers, then they ate lunch together. In the afternoons, Loki showed her his extensive library where they studied ancient, almost forgotten schools of magic.

Wanda soon became accustomed to the company of the eccentric frost witcher; Loki loved to have fun at the expense of others, yet behind the façade he was a curious man who never missed a chance to learn something new.

However, she knew that he harbored secrets that he had probably not confided in anyone for centuries. In the evenings, she sometimes heard strange noises coming from his room and whenever she pressed him for details about his past he brusquely rebuffed her. Nevertheless, the two of them got on well together, so Wanda didn't get too lonely during the long months in the icy palace.

Winter turned into spring, turned into summer. While Loki was of course unable to leave the palace, Wanda ventured into the nearby village to buy new shoes. When she returned to proudly present her new possessions to Loki, she found that the frost witcher had locked himself in his room and was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the evening.

Wanda shrugged her shoulders and accepted it. Sometimes Loki had these days when he withdrew and didn't want to talk to her. She would get used to it, Wanda told herself. But it was difficult because Loki was her only fixture in life.

She retired to sleep early after dinner, at least that had been her plan. But she could hear Loki raging in his room next door. Objects were thrown against the wall and onto the floor where they broke with a clatter. The frost witcher made noise as if he wanted to smash the whole palace into pieces.

It would be pointless to try to fall asleep with all this noise, so Wanda got up, put on her robe and stepped out into the corridor. Loki's bedroom door had always been locked since she had moved in, but by now she had gained much better control of her magic. All she had to do was turn the doorknob and let her magic flow into the metal. The door unlocked silently to let her in.

Loki's room didn't just feel cool like the rest of the palace, it was cold. Wanda was almost able to see her breath in here. Thick furs lay on the sprawling bed which took up most of the room, right next to the beautifully decorated bookshelf with Loki´s private collection. An antique-looking desk was squeezed into the corner, covered in scraps of paper, just like the floor around it. Various vases, pens, books and other broken pieces were scattered all over the room. The subtle smell of freshly fallen snow lingered over everything.

But Wanda only noticed all of this later. Currently, her attention was drawn to the figure leaning against the desk with his back to her. Loki's hair was unmistakable, but everything else about him had changed: he looked taller and leaner, his skin had taken on an intense icy blue hue and dark horns grew from his forehead. A superstitious person might have compared his form to that of a demon, but Wanda was wary of even thinking such a thing after everything the frost witcher had done for her.

“Loki?” The man addressed whirled around. His face was as ice blue as the rest of his skin. His normally blue eyes glowed a menacing red, yet Wanda did not back away from him. She sensed his anger, yes, but it no longer frightened the young witch.

“What are you doing in here? Didn't I forbid you to enter my private premises?” Even his voice sounded different. Once again, Wanda realized how huge Loki was in this form compared to her. If she had hugged him now, her face would be about the same height as his chest.

“It sounded like you were fighting some monster in here,” Wanda replied. She knew Levi well enough by now to know what got under his skin. Right now, though, she was toeing a fine line, always at risk of overstepping.

“It's nothing.” Loki made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “Leave now.”

Normally, Wanda did not disobey any instructions from her teacher. But this was not a teacher's instruction, this was a private matter.

“No.” Cautiously, she took a step into the room. A small shard crunched under her shoes. “What's going on here? Why do you... look like that?”

Loki looked down at himself, as if only now noticing his unusually blue figure. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “This,” he said grimly, ”is my true form. The form of a frost giant. I learned the art of shapeshifting from my adopted mother but as it turns out, one can never completely shed one´s true nature.”

True form. It took Wanda a moment to digest this news. Loki looked beastly, yes, but in a fascinating way also... more real. As if she was seeing a piece of his true nature, as he had called it, for the first time. And Wanda couldn't help but like what she saw.

“What's got you so upset?” she asked quietly.

“Don't worry about it, little witch.”

“No, I want to know.” If there was one thing Wanda was, it was persistent. Loki seemed to be very aware of this as well, because he sighed heavily again.

“Odin. I wrote to him and asked him to let me leave the palace for a change. I... wanted to accompany you when you had new shoes made.” He sounded embarrassed about admitting this.

“That's nice of you,” she replied softly. “I assume he said no?”

“You're assuming right.” Loki gestured vaguely in the direction of the scraps of paper under his desk. “At least he send me a reply this time. Usually I don't get a response to my appeals for months.”

“I'm sorry about that.” Wanda had crossed the room which was littered with broken glass and other fragments, and was now standing right in front of the frost witcher. Just as expected, she reached up to his chest. “Can I touch your horns?”

“My horns?” The request seemed to have caught Loki offguard. “Sure, why not?”

He tilted his head forward so Wanda could run her fingertips over his horns. The surface felt rough and Wanda could make out small nicks, almost like scars.

Loki shuddered under her touch. Wanda knew that after centuries of solitude, the frost witcher was no longer used to being touched so tenderly. “They're really beautiful,” she whispered, ”your horns.”

“Do you really think so, little witch?”

“Yes. They suit you. Why are you hiding them?” They were so close that Wanda only had to lean forward to nestle her body completely against his. The possibilities left her dizzy.

“Very few people react as positively as you do to my true form.” Loki's voice had turned into a whisper. His cool hand lay over Wanda's. She looked up at him, arching her back since he was so tall. He leaned in, hesitating. For a long moment, the two of them were frozen in place like that in the middle of the room, figuratively speaking. But neither of them dared to make the first move.

Wanda finally pulled her hand back and averted her eyes, her cheeks glowing red. What was she thinking? Loki was her mentor and she was putting him in such an impossible situation...!

“Sorry,” she mumbled without looking at him. “You should rest now. We'll certainly be training again tomorrow morning.”

“Of course,” Loki replied. In the blink of an eye, he had returned to his usual human form. But Wanda was confident that he had also sensed the tension between them. Perhaps tonight was not the right time. But sooner or later it would be released, one way or another.

The following months were to be the sweetest form of torment. Wanda and Loki continued to spend every day training. By now their efforts seemed to be bearing fruit, and with each passing week Wanda became more confident in the use of her magic.

But outside of training times (and sometimes during them, if Wanda was honest) there were long, covetous glances across the room. Several times a day, Wanda caught the frost witcher staring at her intently. She knew he was doing this because she was watching him too. The stolen glances never resulted in anything, though. Wanda avoided trying to push Loki into a corner. He still seemed to be struggling with himself; maybe because of his Jotun form, maybe because of something else, Wanda couldn't tell.

Thoughts about what might have happened if she had plucked up the courage to kiss him that night did not only haunt Wanda during the day, but also at night. She lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling and listening intently if Loki made even the slightest sound next door. She liked to imagine that he was doing the same on the other side of the wall.

In the icy palace, there was little to distract her from her heartache - until one day an unexpected visitor arrived. Wanda was sitting at lunch with Loki when the frost witcher suddenly looked startled. Seconds later, the sound of the heavy door knocker rang through the building. At first it confused Wanda - in all the time she had lived here, no one had ever come to visit.

Loki waved his hand and from the other side of the courtyard, Wanda could hear the heavy entrance portal open. This was exactly how she had found her way here almost a year and a half ago.

A touch of magic flashed around Loki then his expression darkened. “It's a visitor for you,” he announced coldly.

Before Wanda could ask, she heard someone in the hallway. “Wanda?”

Her heart skipped a beat. It was as if she remembered a feeling from her childhood that she had thought long forgotten. “Pietro!” She jumped up and ran towards her brother. He turned to her, spread his arms and caught her in a tight hug as she jumped into his arms. Laughing, the twins spun around, blissful in their reunion.

“What are you doing here?” Wanda blurted out. “How did you even find me?” Oh, he had grown even taller and his chin was sporting beard stubble that looked surprisingly good on him.

“I've heard stories,” he replied, his voice even deeper than Wanda remembered. “About the witch who moved into the ice palace. Then I thought to myself that it could only be you, after all the stories Mom and Dad used to tell us. Happy 18th birthday, by the way.”

Eighteenth birthday. Wanda was thunderstruck. The days here in the ice palace had merged into each other so much that she hadn't even noticed that her birthday was approaching. “Oh, don't tell me it's our birthday today?”

“It was the day before yesterday,” laughed Pietro. “Looks like we're adults now, huh?”

“Yes. It certainly looks that way.”

“You're not happy at all.” Pietro poked her in the cheek. “What's wrong, sister? Aren't you allowed to have fun here with your witch teacher?”

“Don´t be silly, of course I am allowed to have fun.” She looked around and spotted Loki standing in the front doorway like an ominous shadow. “...perhaps we should go to the village and celebrate there?” Somehow she felt uncomfortable letting Pietro and Loki meet.

“What for?” the master of the house spoke up as he approached the siblings. He extended his hand to Pietro with a sweeping gesture. Wanda watched as her brother shook it hesitantly and flinched at the cold of Loki´s skin. He tried not to let it show, but Wanda could clearly tell how uncomfortable Pietro was.

“You two are welcome to stay,” Loki said, his eyes fixed on Pietro, sizing him up. “I'll do my best to organize a cake for the festive occasion.”

“That's very kind of you, my lord, but it's not necessary,” Pietro replied stiffly. He obviously thought Loki was a high-ranking nobleman. No wonder, given the magnificent, albeit icy, palace. Loki grinned at the unusual form of address.

“We'll take a trip to the village,” Wanda decided hastily. “We'll be back for dinner. Unless you're too tired from the journey, Pietro?”

“You know me, I'm never too tired.” Pietro also seemed relieved at the prospect of leaving the ice palace again. Or not having to see Loki again, it was hard to say.

So the two siblings made their way down to the village, chatting eagerly. Wanda realized how unfamiliar it had become to talk to someone other than Loki. Her social skills must have really atrophied over the last year and a half. Pietro recounted his arduous search for her in his usual unstructured narrative style and in return Wanda explained to him why she had been living in the dreaded frost witcher's palace for so long and what she was learning from him.

“In other words, you have your powers under control now?” asked Pietro, unusually thoughtful.

“I think so.” In truth, it was hard for Wanda to comprehend the progress she had made. There was still so much about the world of magic that remained a mystery to her. But the powers she had once feared so much no longer frightened her. Rather, she had begun to see her magic as a tool, just as a lumberjack saw his axe as a tool, not a destructive weapon.

“Have you ever considered coming back home? Father is so sorry for the way he acted back then. He only intended to protect you from the village's wrath. But he thinks it's all in the past now. And Mother would of course be delighted if you returned from exile.”

Exile? Wanda frowned. Her stay with Loki didn't feel much like an exile. Perhaps it had been at first, but now the icy palace had become her home. She knew the hidden corners of the building. She was well known in the village as the strange witch. And then there was Loki in his eternal captivity... returning to her village would not only mean giving up her training under his tutelage. It would also mean leaving Loki alone again.

She thought of the night he had revealed his true form to her. For the rest of her life, she would never be able to forget the self-hatred in his eyes.

“I can't,” she whispered, sounding defeated.

“What, why not?” Pietro looked at her like a whipped dog. “You can't want to sit around in this lonely mountain castle forever! Please, Wanda. I've come all the way to take you home.”

“I'm sorry, but I can't,” Wanda repeated, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. The prospect of returning to her village and living a halfway normal life again was tantalizing. “I can't leave Loki behind.”

“Loki? You mean the frost witcher?” Pietro made a face. “Wanda, I understand that he has helped you to better control your powers, but he is an unpredictable witcher! The Allfather locked him up in this palace at the end of the world for a reason. You shouldn't have to share his fate.”

“You don't know anything about him!” Wanda hissed. “He's not what you think he is. He took care of me when no one else would! So don't talk about him like he's despicable!”

Pietro raised his hands appeasingly. The surprise at Wanda's reaction was clearly written on his face. “Alright, alright. I didn't mean to offend him or anything.”

Wanda halted, her hands clenched into fists. “I won't leave him behind, Pietro,” she repeated stubbornly. “Please leave now. It was nice of you to come here but I'm not interested in returning to a village where everyone despises me.”

“Father and mother don´t despise yo-”

“No, Pietro, you don't understand.” She shook her head vehemently, deaf to his pleading. “Maybe I'll go back someday, I can't tell you. But for now, I have to go back to my home and you to yours.”

Her brother slumped his shoulders, but had obviously realized that it was pointless to argue with her any further. “...you're always welcome, you know? No matter what's happened.”

Wanda just nodded. “Thank you, but I'm not interested.”

They hadn't even reached village at the bottom when Wanda turned around and hurried back to the palace at the top of the mountain. The path she had climbed so laboriously a year and a half ago now seemed short and easy.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she tore open the gate and fled back into the familiar halls. As if he had suspected his pupil would return so soon, Loki was waiting for her in the doorway. She didn't try to hide her tears from him but simply looked up at him with wet eyes.

“Are you going to leave?” was all he asked.

She shook her head silently. The dragon in her chest lifted its head. It had been a long time since she had had to wrestle with this beast but now her feelings threatened to overwhelm her. She had assured Pietro her magic was under better control now. Now, however, it was bubbling under the surface. Wanda flinched; she didn't want to hurt Loki.

Then the frost witcher did something unexpected: he closed the distance between them and pulled Wanda into his arms. The coolness of his skin overwhelmed her. Wanda craned her neck to look at him, first at his cool, blue eyes, then his lips, then back to his eyes. He had noticed, leaned down...

Only a centimeter separated their lips. The slightest movement from either of them and they would... they would kiss. The thought was intoxicating. As if Wanda had only experienced the last two years so that they could reach this point.

Then the magical moment was over. Loki leaned back again, released her and attempted to put distance between them again. But Wanda vehemently grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards her again. This time their lips met. Wanda thought she could hear the magic crackling around her but she was too distracted by Loki's deep kiss to check it out. It was her first kiss ever. Still, it was as if she had practiced all her life just to be able to kiss Loki.

“You're mine, little witch,” he whispered against her lips. “We are meant for each other, you and I.” Possessively, he wrapped his arms around her torso. Wanda had never felt so safe before. “Show me your magic, Wanda. I know you're scared, but there's nothing to be afraid of as long as we're together.”

Wanda swallowed hard. So Loki had realized exactly what was going on inside her. Could she really unleash the dragon's power without reducing the entire palace to rubble? The way Loki held her made Wanda think she could. She leaned her forehead against Loki's chest and closed her eyes.

Magic flowed out of her. She was the source, she was the delta. It turned into more magic than she had thought possible. Loki held her tightly in his arms the entire time. “Beautiful,” he whispered.

Only then did Wanda dare to blink again. And what a sight it was - her scarlet magic mingled with Loki's green magic. Like a shining starry sky, the power that emanated from them stretched out above them, below them, beside them. Wanda breathed in this essence and felt her own seemingly infinite power. The universe itself bent to her will, as long as Loki didn't let her go.

“You are truly the most powerful witch I have ever met, Scarlet Witch. Perhaps one day you will be the most powerful witch anyone will ever meet.”

Wanda swallowed again. Loki often praised her, but so far he had held back with such extreme statements. “I don't know if I can do it...”

“You can!” Loki hugged her tightly. “Trust me. I've been wandering this world for a long time. I know what I'm talking about.”

He kissed her again, more intimately this time. Wanda was like putty in his hands. His cool body temperature had never bothered her before and now it was a welcome contrast to her overheated skin. She burned from the outside and the inside with a passion that had been a long time coming but Wanda had never taken seriously before.

Loki released their kiss and gently held her face with one hand. “Let's go to my bedroom,” he whispered.

“Didn't you tell me not to enter your room?”

“You're right. Let's go into your bedroom instead,” Loki smirked and lifted her up unexpectedly. Wanda laughed in surprise and leaned her head against his shoulder. So he had noticed it as well, this tension between them over the last few months.

He carried her all the way to the bedroom. Wanda thought about asking him to take on his blue jotun form but by the time they had undressed, she was too distracted to ask and Loki didn't broach the subject.

Afterward, they lay arm in arm on the bed. Even Loki's body felt warmer than usual.

“We should live in a hot country one day,” Wanda murmured as she stroked his chest. “You'd do a great job of cooling me down at night.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot grant you that wish,” the frost witcher replied, bitterness in his voice. “As you know, I cannot leave this place.”

His tone startled Wanda. “I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...” She faltered, embarrassed at her faux pas.

“Forget it.” She watched as Loki stubbornly turned his gaze to the ceiling as if he was trying to hide his feelings from her. But Wanda knew him too well by now to fall for it.

“...is there no way to get around this curse?”

“None. I've spent decades trying to escape from this prison. If there was a way I would have found it by now. Only Odin himself can lift the curse. It will probably be lifted when the Allfather dies, but how would that ever happen?”

Wanda mulled over this information. She had never given much thought to the exact terms of Loki's curse before. The frost witcher said nothing more about it, and Wanda was too tired to keep worrying about it. With a comfortable sigh, she fell asleep in Loki's arms. In the strange state between sleeping and waking, before she slipped into the realm of dreams, she felt him pull the blanket over her. A small smile appeared on her lips and then she drifted off.

The months following their first kiss were the best in Wanda's life so far. Forgotten was the sad day when Pietro had returned to his home without her. She spent the days in Loki's company as usual. The only new thing was that she now also spent the night in his company. And - unbeknownst to Loki – Wanda´s free time was consumed by research for a way to free the frost witcher from his eternal prison.

She pondered over ancient books on curses, learned to read languages that no human in this world could still speak, experimented with her own curses, but nothing seemed to help. Nevertheless, Wanda remained determined. Loki would be freed by her hand. He may have given up on freedom, but she would never do so.

Today, she had once again locked herself in her room to do some magical experiments when she felt a... a shift. She couldn't immediately name what it was that she sensed, but she clearly felt that someone had entered the ice palace. Wanda straightened up. She suspected that Loki would receive the unannounced visitor personally so she hurried towards the entrance hall as well.

“Loki Laufeyson,” a deep, masculine voice boomed at her. “How have you been?”

Wanda had reached the top of the stairs and peered down into the entrance hall. The man who had appeared there looked incredibly tall, even from her elevated position. He wore a majestic beard the same white color as his hair. One of his eyes was covered by an eye patch. With the other, he looked up at Wanda out of the corner of his eye. A menacing raven sat on each of his shoulders.

“How do you think I've fared, Odin?” Loki replied coldly. “I am still locked up and my pleas to be allowed to leave this place for at least a day have not been heard. Perhaps not even reached the ears they were meant for at all.”

“You do me an injustice, frost witcher,” the Allfather replied loudly. “I have taken note of your request but I have too much respect for your powers to let you wander around outside for even a single day. The damage you could do in just a few hours is incalculable.”

Instead of waiting for Loki's answer, Odin turned to Wanda still standing at the top of the stairs. “And you must be Loki's student. I hear you show great talent for magic, Scarlet Witch.”

That nickname again. Loki had used it for Wanda because her magic manifested itself in swathes of scarlet. Apparently, however, the nickname had also reached Odin's ears. Suddenly Wanda wondered if the Allfather spied on Loki´s icy prison at all times. She felt stupid for never having considered this possibility before. As if the Allfather would simply lock a witcher who was apparently so feared away somewhere and then not keep an eye on his doings.

She wrapped her arms around her torso. Wanda felt that her privacy had been violated. Who knew how much of her (and her activities with Loki) the man at the bottom of the stairs had secretly witnessed?

“You flatter me, Allfather,” she replied and had to summon up all her courage to keep her voice from trembling. “Yet I am only at the beginning of my magical training.” Her knees felt unusually stiff as she began to descend the stairs. The presence she had sensed from afar was undoubtedly the Allfather's oppressive magic. It surrounded him like an invisible shield, without taking on a physical form. Wanda was dizzy at the thought that Loki thought she could ever attain this level of power.

“What a humble person you are.” Odin nodded in appreciation of that response. But in truth, Wanda was simply terrified of his presence. She could hardly understand how Loki could behave towards him like a petulant child. Now that she was standing directly opposite him, Odin towered over her like a mountain. Not just in physical size - he was smaller than Loki in his Jotun form - but in the sheer authority he radiated.

“You've chosen an unusual teacher, though,” Odin continued, nodding vaguely in Loki's direction without breaking eye contact with Wanda. His knowing, light blue eye seemed to stare straight into her soul. “Loki Laufeyson is considered a feared witcher, even among humans. Not without reason, I suppose, although there are more horrific witchers in this world than Loki.”

“Are these more horrific witchers also locked up forever?” Wanda heard herself say. The question had slipped out before she could stop herself, but it was too late to change course now.

The Allfather went silent for a moment then he replied: “No, they are not. Loki is not here for the magical crimes he committed either, but for a completely different reason. Has he never bothered to tell you the story?”

“There is nothing to tell!” Loki hissed but both Wanda and Odin ignored the objection.

“It's not up to me to demand he tell me his story.” Wanda's voice sounded much more confident now. The Allfather seemed to harbor good intentions regarding her, albeit in a way she could not fully understand, yet. In a way, he was probably also well-intentioned towards Loki. Though the frost witcher might interpret it differently, Odin was not here to mock the prisoner, Wanda thought.

“Under different circumstances I might praise you for your discretion, Scarlet Witch, but in this case it is not empathy, it is sheer stupidity.” Odin clasped his massive hands at his sides.

“Allfather!” Loki growled. “Keep quiet about this matter. It has nothing to do with her!”

“No, let her hear it.” Odin's eye returned to Wanda's face as if to watch her reaction as he spoke. “A long time ago, when Loki still had the opportunity to make all worlds unsafe with his mischief, we received a prophecy. Ragnarök, the eternal winter, the end of the world was predicted. It was said that Loki would break all chains and unleash terrible monsters on the world of men and the world of the gods, which would ultimately lead not only to the death of my son Thor but also to the destruction of all mankind. The gods then discussed what to do next.”

He paused briefly, as if giving Wanda time to respond, but she remained silent, so the All-Father continued: “We decided that Loki should give up all his magical powers for the safety of the world. But this can never be forced on a witcher, he must do so voluntarily. And even then, there are very few people who can take magical powers from a person entirely. However, as you can imagine, Loki refused to comply with this request. I therefore had no choice but to imprison him here because every minute he spends outside these walls increases the likelihood that he will bring about Ragnarök.”

“That's cruel!” Wanda called out. “Imprisoning someone for centuries just because of a prophecy.”

“Every prophecy of this person has come true sooner or later. We couldn't take any chances,” the Allfather replied in a tone that revealed that he had discussed this topic many times before.

Finally, Wanda's gaze wandered over to Loki. Obvious hatred was written all over the frost witcher's face. Had Odin not radiated such a threatening amount of power, Wanda had no doubt that Loki would have gone for him like a tiger for its prey. Odin seemed to have noticed the looks, for his voice became slightly more placating.

“Loki was not a blank slate when I made the decision to imprison him here for the safety of the world. Think of it as punishment for past crimes and prevention of future suffering.”

“But it wasn't punishment for past crimes, not really. Otherwise, all those other witchers you spoke of, Allfather, would be locked up too.”

“I'm willing to take the risk of imprisoning a man unjustly if it means, at best, saving the world from destruction. It seems to me that you have already spent too much time in this place.” Odin's voice grew stern again. He reminded Wanda of a father scolding his daughter. The memory of how her own father had urged her to leave the village for her own safety came back to her. She clenched her hands into fists and was on the verge of lashing out at the other man. Not that it could have done any good.

“Where are you trying to go with all this?” hissed Loki. “First you imprison me here, so I make the palace my new home, and now you invade here to mock me and put lies in my pupil's head. You'd think the Allfather would have better things to do!”

“I am not the one to spoil a young pupil with my ideas,” Odin replied harshly. ”Magic is not a toy. This young woman didn't know what she was getting into when you lured her into your arms.”

“Lured?!” rumbled Loki at the same moment that Wanda shouted, ”Loki didn't lure me into his arms!”

The expression on the Allfather's face revealed that he was not inclined to believe either of them. Loki ducked like a wild animal ready to pounce when Wanda spoke up again.

“I was the one who asked Loki for help, Allfather. The prophecy concerning him is one thing. But I came here of my own free will, became his apprentice and remained his apprentice.” She could feel Loki straighten up beside her as if he couldn't believe Wanda was defending him in this way.

“What's going on here, Loki? Have you bewitched her with your magic for so long that she has lost all reason?”

“There's nothing going on here,” Loki replied. His eyes radiated hostility but his lips curled into a triumphant smile. “Is it so hard for you to believe that someone would appreciate my company and voluntarily stay with me in this ice palace?”

“I find it hard to believe, yes.” Odin crossed his arms in front of his chest and something in his expression shifted. The change was unsettling. Loki must have sensed it too because his green magic flared up like a magical shield, separating the both of them from the Allfather.

Unsure of how to behave, Wanda also prepared herself for battle. She had never deliberately used her magic to inflict damage before but she trusted Loki's assessment of the situation. There was a tension in the air, like before a thunderstorm, when all eyes turned anxiously to the sky in anticipation of the storm that was bound to break.

“That's enough now, you two,” Odin rumbled. His presence was suffocating. He was undoubtedly trying to scare them but that also meant he didn't want to go for a direct fight, Wanda told herself. “Scarlet Witch, I command you to leave the Ice Palace immediately and never return here again. You may not be aware of the danger you have put yourself in. But I will not allow you to serve as a vessel for Loki's potentially fatal plans!”

His voice was imperious, commanding. Wanda found it difficult to resist his words.

“I will not leave Loki behind,” she replied with conviction. Her red magic had spread around her and Loki's feet like an infinitely deep magical pool. “Even if you will not release him, Allfather, at least allow me to keep him company in his captivity.”

“Denied. And hearing you talk like that makes me realize that I should never have let it come to this point in the first place.” He reached out with his huge hand to grab Wanda's forearm, and Levi's magic struck like a snake. It was a direct attack on the Allfather who flinched away from the blood spurting from his arm faster than Wanda would have thought possible for a man of his size.

The fight broke out so quickly and violently that the young witch could barely keep up. A massive surge of magic shattered Loki's magical shield within seconds, sweeping the frost witcher to the ground in an attempt to pin him there. But Wanda was immediately at his side. Uncontrollably, she surrounded herself with her magic. She didn't know how to execute a clean attack, all she knew was that she had to get the Allfather off Loki.

In the next moment, the chandelier came crashing down on Odin but the Allfather dodged the attack with a single step to the side without losing his focus on Loki who was lying on the ground. With a deafening crash, the magnificent chandelier shattered into a thousand pieces. All the splinters rose into the air like deadly projectiles, guided by Wanda's magic, and pummeled Odin incessantly. The Allfather surrounded himself with a magical barrier but Wanda had been anticipating this reaction. She charged the shards of the chandelier with her magic and concentrated fully on breaking through the barrier.

She could clearly see the surprise on the old man's face as her shards passed through the protective barrier. Some bounced ineffectually off Odin's breastplate, but most found their target and dug into the vulnerable flesh.

“I underestimated you, Scarlet Witch. No wonder Loki wanted to use you for his diabolical plans.” A wave of magic emanated from the Allfather. Wanda was horrified to realize that the reason she had been able to hurt Odin in the first place was because the Allfather had spent all his energy on Loki. Now, however, he was determined to take Wanda out of the game.

All the air was squeezed from her lungs. The dragon in her chest roared in anger and pain as her vision clouded. But she couldn't let the beast win. She had to stop her attack to concentrate fully on not being overwhelmed by her own uncontrollable magic.

Only when she threatened to faint from lack of air did the Allfather let go of her. He overpowered Loki quickly and efficiently; the two had fought each other on previous occasions, so the frost witcher was quickly taken care of. In golden bonds, Loki writhed on the ground while Odin pulled Wanda to her feet.

“I will tell you one last time, young lady: you will go home now and never come near this place again. You may feel this decision is a great injustice, but I assure you that I only have your best interests at heart. I hope that one day you will understand.” The Allfather stood up to his full height and called out to the white raven that had accompanied him here. “Munin, make sure she arrives safely at her home.”

It was not a particularly secret message: the Allfather would keep a close eye on Wanda's journey home and intervene at the slightest deviation.

Wanda didn't have the strength to keep her eyes on Loki who was writhing on the ground. He didn't speak a word, yet Wanda could almost physically feel his anger. But it was in vain; the Allfather had already made his decision and would not take it back. At this point, they had to part ways.

Wanda silently disappeared into her room to pack her things. The palace suddenly seemed terribly cold to her. She disappeared like a kicked dog through a back exit. Odin's white raven circled cawing above her head and did not leave her side for the entire journey home. Wanda avoided towns and preferred to spend the night in the wilderness.

She had no idea how to face her family again but when she arrived in her home village, her parents embraced her again without a word. It didn't feel as comforting as Wanda had hoped. Pietro, on the other hand, was overjoyed. He threw himself into Wanda's arms like an excited dog and hugged his twin sister so tightly that she groaned.

In general, little seemed to have changed here. Two of her childhood friends had gotten married in the meantime. Her parents' house had been rebuilt. Her mother now kept a few ducks in the garden to protect the lettuce from snails. And to Wanda's great horror, Pietro also seemed to be preparing to spend the rest of his life in this place.

Wanda, on the other hand, felt more alien than ever before. Over two years had passed since that fateful day, but at least the rumors seemed to have subsided. The other villagers now greeted her cautiously, but not unkindly. From time to time, Wanda was even invited to parties and events in the weeks and months following her return, but she declined every time.

As lonely and remote as her everyday life in the ice palace had been, she missed her life there very much. She felt like a repotted flower that had fresh soil and enough water, yet was still somehow dying. Loki had not written to her. Perhaps Odin had forbidden him to do so. Meanwhile, every distant caw of a raven made Wanda flinch, afraid that the All-Father might even have followed her here.

But worse than the separation from Loki was the feeling that her magic was withering away with each passing day. Without her daily training, she felt alienated from her own power. Sometimes, when she lay awake at night, she felt the dragon again, dissatisfied, searching for a way to release the pent-up magic. But of course that was far too dangerous. She had been able to train safely under Loki's supervision but out here she could accidentally bring the whole house down - again.

There was nothing Wanda could do about it, though. She didn't want to show her magical abilities openly - for fear of being rejected by her village once again - nor was she comfortable with hiding them. She complained to Pietro a few times but her twin brother, with whom she used to be able to share everything, just looked at her in confusion. He couldn't understand the feelings that were tormenting Wanda.

This afternoon, she laid alone on the dry grass just outside the village and watched the sun set far to the west. The summer heat was oppressive and the sweat on her forehead just wouldn't dry. Even more than her body, however, her soul was suffering. Wanda had rarely longed for the coolness of the ice palace as much as she did today. Loki would have held her and kept her cool while they enjoyed the sunset together. Wanda rolled onto her side with tears in her eyes. Was this really her fate? To be the loneliest person in the world, forever and ever and ever, until she found salvation in death?

If she had gone to Pietro with these problems, her twin brother would have laughed and told her not to be so uptight and to accompany him to the numerous birthday parties, celebrations, weddings and christenings to which he was constantly invited. Her mother would have begged her, with despair in her eyes, to just behave normally, then over time everyone would forget what had happened. And then maybe one day people would stop thinking of her as a witch.

“Witch,” Wanda whispered into the sultry evening air. She had climbed the hill from where she had a good view of the village in the valley. Up here, no one would disturb her or overhear her talking to herself. “Witch, witch, witch! The Scarlet Witch Wanda Maximoff!”

That didn't sound so bad after all. Loki would certainly have been pleased with her - he always seemed to wear his title of frost witcher with a certain pride.

Gloomy storm clouds had gathered over the village. The sultriness of summer was threatening to erupt in a mighty thunderstorm. Wanda stood up and patted off her skirt which was covered in grass stains. The wind was already carrying the first rain towards her but she felt no fear of the mighty force of nature out here in the open field. She was the Scarlet Witch - what storm could have harmed her?

The dragon turned - it craved destruction, wanted to stretch its wings and burn the sad life that lay before Wanda. What had Loki said about his powers on their first day of training? A wild horse that could reliably carry a rider or trample them to death. Wanda now understood what he meant.

But a dragon was not a horse. She could not keep it permanently under control by sheer force of will, nor could it be tamed like an ordinary mount. Her only option was to openly respect its wild nature and use it for her own purposes.

Full of excitement and hope, she reached out to this wild, devastating magical power within her. She had lived with the dragon for so long - it was time to stop fearing its power and accept it. Even if she was a witch, no matter how much magic there was that she didn't understand, Wanda would stand by it with courage and determination. By what she was, what she could do, what she couldn't do.

The dragon came towards her as if it had been waiting a long time for Wanda to reach out to it. Magic filled Wanda, warm and pure. In the meantime, the rain had started to fall and thunder rolled over her head. Wanda barely felt the wetness. Her soul was filled with the peace of finally being connected to her magic. It should have been like this all along.

And what a power it was! When Loki had claimed that she was an extremely powerful witch whose powers he had sensed from afar, Wanda had found it hard to believe him. Later, when they had already become a couple, she had sometimes wondered if he hadn't just said that to flatter her. Now, however, she felt that he had been telling the truth. There still resided so much untapped potential in her - no doubt it would take many years of hard training to harness these powers, but now Wanda at least knew what to expect.

Thunder cracked above her. She must have been right in the center of the storm. The ground had turned to mud. The air shimmered with tension, her eyes turned to the sky. With an ear-splitting crack, the tension was released directly above her. A bolt of lightning struck her; Wanda felt the elemental forces colliding with her protective magic. A dazzling red beam of light connected the witch to the sky. The reaction of her magic was so violent that it parted the clouds for miles around. Then the wind died down, the rain stopped. All that remained was the Scarlet Witch, completely unharmed by the impact.

Dots of light still danced before her eyes, remnants of the lightning's glare. The ground around her was steaming and as the vapor cleared, she caught sight of a huge, black horse. Despite its size, the beast had approached completely unnoticed. Wanda froze. She felt her heart beating somewhere in her throat, but not with fear. Somehow, she felt that the dark horse meant no harm - at least not to her.

The animal stood in front of her with its head held high. It was towering over Wanda's head, even if she had stood on her tiptoes. She could make out strong muscles under the deep black fur. The horse watched her with dark eyes. It was waiting.

“You will take me to Loki, won't you?” she asked, her voice firm and fearless.

She received no answer, yet Wanda sensed that there would be no turning back if she entrusted her fate to this majestic beast. This was the crossroads - she could turn away and return to her brother as Wanda Maximoff. Perhaps she would even be able to eventually shed her identity as the dreaded witch and live a peaceful, normal life.
Or she could climb onto the horse's back and let herself be carried towards her fate. Ahead of the Scarlet Witch lay an arduous, undoubtedly dangerous path into the eternally mysterious realm of magic.

How cruel that she didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to Pietro.

Barefoot and with nothing but her wet clothes and her magic, Wanda pulled herself onto the horse's back. The black animal let out a piercing neigh that echoed across the fields then charged off. It ran so fast that Wanda imagined it had eight legs.

The landscape flew past her. Tirelessly, her mysterious mount charged ahead until she could make out the icy palace on the familiar mountain in the distance. Home, she thought. She was returning home.

The dark horse finally came to a halt in front of the palace gates. An eerie silence lay over the grounds. Time itself seemed to hold its breath. Wanda slid off the horse's back and pushed open the huge gate with both hands. Magic enveloped her bare feet as she stepped into the courtyard. “Loki?” she called for her love. “I'm home!”

She knew she didn't have much time. Odin might not watch her every move anymore, but he would surely notice that she had returned to this place after he had so explicitly forbidden her to do so. Wanda glanced over her shoulder but the dark horse had disappeared. It would return to her in time, she thought as she wandered through the silent palace.

Loki was nowhere to be found, neither in the dining room, nor in the library, nor in his study. The palace had many rooms, but Wanda had lived with the frost witcher long enough to know that most of them were unused. So she hurried through the empty corridors, unable to find any sign of life from her lover. The only place she had not yet explored was the vaults downstairs.

During her time here, Wanda had never needed to go down there. The roughly hewn stone steps felt damp and slippery. On closer inspection, she discovered a fine layer of ice on them. The cold down here was not relieving, but suffocating. Wanda's breath rose to the low ceiling in fine clouds of vapor.

The underground vaults, it turned out, consisted of numerous barred cells. All of them were empty - except for the rearmost one. The sound of chains weighing tons being dragged across the floor greeted Wanda as she stepped up to the bars. There stood Loki in his human form. Chains were wrapped around his wrists and ankles, their links as thick as Wanda's forearms. Odin had obviously increased his security measures even further.

A whole range of emotions appeared on Loki's face when he spotted Wanda. Astonishment, hope, shame... he looked disheveled, yes, even his magic couldn't hide it. But to Wanda he was still shining like a star in an endlessly dark night.

“What are you doing here, little witch?” he asked, his voice heavy and tired.

“I'm going to get you out of here,” she replied resolutely and began to inspect the heavy chains. The metal looked flawless; these couldn't be ordinary chains. Well, they weren't meant to hold an ordinary man captive.

“What are you wasting your energy on?” Loki shook his head, exhausted. The weight of the chains seemed to be dragging him down, not just physically. “Odin would immediately notice that I've broken my chains and force new ones on me.”

“Then I'll not only get you out of the chains, but out of the whole palace!” Wanda gripped his shoulder so tightly that Loki finally found the strength to lift his head and look at her. "You saved my life. You were by my side when the whole world had rejected me. I love you, Loki, and I will not leave you here!"

She leaned forward and kissed his cool lips to emphasize her words. It was as if Loki had awoken from a deep slumber. He straightened up and tugged at the chains but they seemed too firmly anchored to the ground. She could feel the power pulsing through his veins. Had this power always been inside him and Wanda had simply been too inexperienced to notice it? Or had her kiss awakened a desire for freedom in him that Loki himself had long forgotten?

“Odin has kept me locked up here for so long,” he growled, his deep voice echoing endlessly off the walls of the vault. "All because of his pointless prophecy. He stole my whole life until I thought it would have been better if he had just killed me outright. I begged, flattered and fought without being able to soften his heart. But that's over now!"

His voice had become so loud that Wanda had to back away. Loki seemed to have... grown taller. His eyes turned red, his pale skin became more bluish. He no longer used his magic to disguise his appearance. Instead, he used all his frost giant powers to rid himself of the chains. His muscles tensed, his feet dug into the ground as he struggled against the chains with all his might.

“Never again will I be a prisoner!” Loki roared with the pent-up wrath of centuries. “I will be free and live my life alongside the woman I love!”

The chains gave way with a crash. The right side broke first. A chain link as thick as Wanda's wrist burst and released Loki's arm. Seconds later, the other side followed and finally the chain binding his legs. The remnants of the magic-soaked chain dangled from his wrists for a few seconds before dissolving completely in a magical shimmer.

Wanda looked up at him full of adoration. In his blue Jotun form and with the fury of centuries of injustice in his eyes, Loki looked untouchable.

“Let's go, Scarlet Witch,” he said curtly, holding his hand out to her. Now in his true form, it was even larger than usual. Wanda sensed the incredible strength behind it as she intertwined their fingers. “The Allfather will be here soon.”

And Loki was proved right. They had just crossed the courtyard and were on their way to the gate that the frost witcher had been unable to pass through for centuries when Odin announced his arrival with a huge storm cloud. The Allfather landed almost directly in front of Wanda and blocked the two lovers' path to the gate.

If the Allfather had seemed disappointed and full of paternal concern the last time they met, now all Wanda could make out on his face was anger. The look in his one remaining eye was so piercing that both Loki and Wanda stopped in their tracks as if they had run into an invisible wall.

“Wanda Maximoff!” Odin roared. The two ravens on his shoulders rose up, cawing, and settled on the wall of the palace a few meters away, their heads tilted attentively. “Didn't I give you clear instructions to stay away from that man?”

Wanda did not answer. She held Loki's cold hand tightly, but she could feel the frost witcher´s unease in the way he squeezed her hand in return.

“I will not allow your reckless behavior to endanger the fate of the world,” the Allfather continued. “Your foray into the world of magic ends here.”

Wanda sensed the massive amount of magic gathering around Odin. The Allfather wanted to destroy her, wanted to end this whole affair in one fell swoop. Better an end with horror than horror without end.

But Wanda had no intention of submitting to the Allfather's will again. She would fight for Loki's freedom and her love - or die in the process. Next to her, she could feel Loki readying as well. He wanted to fend off the attack, but Wanda's plans went even further than that. She would defeat Odin altogether.

The air crackled with magic. Wanda's knees might have been shaking earlier, her heart racing – now she was so enveloped in magic that she could have laughed with joy. The feeling was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Like she was floating, free from the confines of her past. This was pure energy, the essence of life. It could create, it could destroy, it could protect and expand what was already there.

She looked at Odin and sensed his desperate desire to stop this Jotun whom he feared as an omen of the end of the world. His magic wanted to destroy. Then she looked over at Loki who was completely focused on the impending attack. His green magic condensed; he wanted to protect the one he loved with the same desperation.

The dragon huffed. It was no longer an uncontrolled force of nature that Wanda was defenseless against. No, it was a friendly companion. And with a gentle matter-of-factness, he seemed to whisper to Wanda what to do. She could trust him. No, she had to trust him, otherwise the incredible power of Odin's magic would annihilate her.

“Loki,” she called out and the Jotun´s red eyes locked on her. Scarlet eyes, she thought with affection. "I will intercept his attack. Trust me."

She had no time to wait for his reaction. The Allfather unleashed his magic. This power would have been enough to flatten a city but the magic obeyed Wanda like a well-trained dog. She redirected it away from herself and Loki and towards the sky where Odin's barrier had rested for centuries. Loki may have tried in vain to destroy it for many years. Odin's own power, however, was enough.

A mighty beam of light shot into the sky as the barrier shattered. The spectacle was completely silent, only the dazzling light continued to burn in Wanda's eyes for a few seconds. The difference could not be seen but it could be felt. A warm wind blew across the inner courtyard of the palace. Birdsong could be heard in the distance.

Loki must have sensed the change too. With a sound of triumph, he stretched his arms towards the sky. For the first time in a very, very long time, the warmth of the setting sun reached him again.

“What have you done?” Odin shouted and took a threatening step towards Wanda. Immediately he was surrounded by her scarlet magic. Wanda watched as he tried to resist her influence. However, unlike Wanda, he was unable to deflect her magic, and after the previous powerful attack, he didn't have enough strength left to fight back with brute force.

Wanda could see his muscles strain but then the unbelievable happened: Odin, the Allfather, buckled under the force of Wanda's magic and went to his knees. The attack had left his body completely unscathed but the battle had already been decided - the little Scarlet Witch had defeated the Allfather.

Silence fell over the inner courtyard of the palace. Only Odin's heavy breathing could be heard as he tried to regain his strength. Loki stepped silently to Wanda's side and took her hand. His chest heaved with pride.

The two communicated with a look - they both just wanted to leave this place. Hand in hand, they hurried past the man kneeling on the ground. Loki pushed open the gate and breathed in the fresh air of freedom. Just one more step and he would have escaped his prison for good. Wanda couldn't put into words how happy she was for him.

“You... have no idea what you've done,” Odin groaned. It seemed to take all of his strength to even get to his feet. "If the prophecy comes true - and it always does! - then you have just doomed the world and all gods with it."

Loki silently urged her not to pay any attention to the Allfather, and instead simply to leave the ice palace with him without a word, but Wanda could not bring herself to do so. Still holding his hand, she turned around. Odin no longer seemed so threatening to her.

“I know nothing about prophecies, nor am I in a position to understand or even control the fate of the world,” she replied in a calm voice. She was speaking to someone who was her equal. She no longer needed to duck away from his power like a child. "So be it that I have doomed the world. I will not regret my decision. If it was the fate of the world to end, then you would not have the power to avert it, Allfather."

Her gaze wandered over to Loki. He seemed impatient, but when he caught Wanda's gaze, his eyes softened. Loki might hate and condemn Odin and the world but he had nothing but love and admiration for the Scarlet Witch at his side, Wanda could see that clearly. She could even believe that her actions might bring about the end of the world. Loki supported her madness in a way that could undoubtedly be destructive. But still, Wanda would never have the strength in her to let him go.

“When the world ends, we will survive,” Wanda said more to Loki than to Odin. "Our magic will protect us. Should you come after us, Allfather, we will fight you with everything we have." Loki at her side nodded affirmatively. “And since I cannot predict how this encounter will turn out, I advise you to save your strength for the day the world actually ends.”

Odin said nothing in response, not even looking at her. Loki leaned forward and kissed her forehead with cold lips. “Let's go,” he whispered.

They did not look back as they stepped through the gate hand in hand. The setting sun showed them the way. Behind them, Odin's ravens cawed like an ominous omen. The future was uncertain and probably dangerous. But Wanda was not afraid as long as she was at Loki's side. She looked ahead, not back, and somewhere in the shadows of the dying day she thought she could make out a dark horse.