Betrayed

In the far corner of a grand hall, a woman who wouldn't look out of place at one of the many Renaissance Fair's back on Earth, chuckled to herself, completely oblivious to those around her. Every now and again, she could be caught sneaking glances towards her lap, sometimes grimacing, sometimes smirking, and sometimes holding back cheers of excitement.

It was a peculiar sight indeed.

"Sif, what are you doing?" Volstagg asked loudly, drawing attention to the woman by more than half of those present.

The lady warrior scowled and threw an enraged stare at her companion, before ignoring him completely. However, now her actions were being analyzed by more than a few watchful eyes and it didn't take long until she was called out again.

"Lady Sif, what seems to be the matter?" a serving girl asked from behind upon noticing her mood turn for the worse. "Is the food not to your liking? Should I fetch you some more mead?"

That finally did it. Despite being a rather slim woman, Sif was widely known to be able to hold her own against the biggest feasters in Asgard and her not eating now, meant something was up.

Interested in what could've possibly drawn his companion's attention away from her meal, Fandral leaned over, his eyes widening at the sight of a very familiar grey block resting atop her lap.

"YOU-!" he called out in disbelief, only to have his mouth covered by a pair of callused, yet distinctly feminine hands. As his eyes met her own, the look of betrayal within them couldn't be washed away by the glare they met.

During these last few days, the most commonly brought up topic of discussion within their little group, had been the games they had been forced to leave behind. So, seeing the device that the five of them had gotten so used to using during their time on Midgard, sitting in the lap of his 'friend', Fandral felt like his heart had just been ripped from his chest.

Sif could see the devestation within those eyes, but by this point, the entire hall was looking at them. She could even feel the weighted gaze of her king on her, so all she could do was curse in her heart at being discovered.

"Ahem," Odin cleared his throat to make his presence known, obviously seeking an explanation.

"My King," she said while proceeding to stand. She obviously couldn't just ignore him after all, "While we were on Earth to help the Midgardians defend against the Chitauri, we discovered a new form of entertainment that's been sweeping through the realm."

She raised the phone into the air, eliciting shocked gasps from the other three who hadn't caught on by now.

"How could you!" Volstagg cried out, fat tears welling up at the corners of his eyes as he slammed his fists atop the table.

"Sif, I thought we were friends…" Thor murmured from his end of the table, taking a large swig of mead before turning away, unable to look her in the eyes.

Hogun just shook his head. Saying nothing, but his disappointment could be clearly seen by all.

Odin, noticing the queer reactions of his son and his friends, raised a brow before motioning to one of his guards to retrieve the device.

Sif saw this and unconsciously tightened her grip on the phone. She knew there was no way to keep it by her side, but as the tall, golden armored man approached, she couldn't fight back against the intrusive thoughts urging her to flee.

Alas, as the guard approached her with an outstretched hand, her reluctance clear to all those present, she forced herself to hand the device over, unwilling to bear the consequences of disobeying her king.

Odin, being the wisest being throughout the Nine Realms, instantly recognized the phone after holding it within his hand. He didn't however, understand what about it had enthralled his warriors so.

Unwilling to exert the effort to find out himself, he turned his attention back to the still standing Sif, who now looked just as despondent as the other four, his intentions clear.

"Um…" the woman hesitated, still shaken by the loss of most treasured possession. "Right now you're seeing a livestream of a tournament taking place in virtual reality back on Midgard. It-."

**Gasp!**

As the cries of shock rang throughout the hall, Sif wasn't able to complete her explanation and could only lower her head.

"You wench!"

"How heartless!"

"You knew we wanted to watch yet you kept it to yourself!?"

Sif gritted her teeth as her head snapped towards Volstagg, glaring at him for essentially calling her a whore, "You pig! How many phones did you go through back on Midgard?! How could I ever let you get near mine?!"

"But what about us??" Thor cried out, interrupting her tirade while looking like a kicked puppy.

Sif snorted, "Like you wouldn't tell this oaf within the day. Last time I shared a secret with you I woke up with a haircut!"

*BANG! BANG!*

"SILENCE!" Odin shouted after slamming the butt of Gungnir atop the floor. "I've heard enough of this for now."

After looking around at the five with a glare, he continued, "Now, what is this about a 'virtual reality'? Has the Midgardian's technology truly advanced so much in the ways of science?"

Sif hesitated for a moment, not really sure of the answer, until Heimdall cut in with an explanation, "My King, it's not that they themselves have created this ASTIR. From what I've discovered, it just appeared one day a few moons back and, apparently, no one knows its creator."

"Truly?" the king asked. "Was this ASTIR the reason behind your previous misinformation?"

*cough*

"Yes, my King," Heimdall replied, more than a little embarrassed. He was going to carry the shame of that incident for quite a long time.

"Interesting…" Odin mused.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see his queen smiling innocently at him, her intentions clear. With a wry smile, he handed over the phone to her before turning back to the hall.

"You may resume with the feast," he declared with a nonchalant wave of his hand as he rose from his seat. Seeing his wife attempting to slip away unnoticed, he left behind a few words before following after her, "Thor, you and your companions will come speak with me on the morrow. It seems you left out quite a bit in your last report."

Thor flinched at the reprimand before he shakily nodded and resumed his meal, not before glaring at Sif and giving her the cold shoulder however. In his mind, he couldn't help but pat himself on the back for not getting into a relationship with such a treacherous woman. Surely his Jane would've never kept such a secret from him.

As the commotion died down and the festivities resumed, unbeknownst to all, their conversation and reactions had been recorded by a certain AI. While not the way she'd hoped to reveal ASTIR to the Asgardians, it wasn't the worst possible outcome.

Now, she just needed to come up with a plan for tomorrow. Her creator would no doubt want to take advantage of such an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the kings, both current and future, of Asgard and it was her job to facilitate such.

Yes, she could work with this.