Chapter One: A Most Unusual Source For Kindling…
"...and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other's sight, as I may say, even for a moment..."
― Plato, The Symposium
The beautifully shimmering early summer sun shone in brightly through the sheer silken fabric of my bedchamber drapery, and generously lit up the confines of my quaint expanse of solitude that I had been forced to once again sit in completely alone. The strained voices of both my father and mother carried in from somewhere on the other side of our petite hillside cottage as I stared down at the unfortunately charred remains of yet another of my most treasured playthings, and the sound of my older brother moving quickly toward the only door that led out of our home, signaled to me that this was even more serious than the last time that this had happened just a few short weeks before. My father shouted loudly at my mother as she desperately attempted to explain away what I had so recklessly done yet again, and it pained my heart to hear her eventually begin to cry as she finally seemed to succumb to her most deeply hidden fear of him. Slowly, I released a deep labored breath as I drew my small legs up into my chest, and then I wrapped my arms tightly around their shaking expanse just as I broken heartedly finally closed my slightly watery emerald colored eyes. Shame consumed me completely as the voices from down the hall became even louder than they had been before, and sadness rushed through my veins immediately on impact as I finally almost unwillingly began to listen to my father's incredibly hurtful words.
"She is possessed, Astrid. She is possessed and you know it. It is not normal for a little girl to do the things that she does unless she is possessed or is a witch, and we both know that she is no witch. A witch would at least be able to control herself." My father's angry voice yelled just as I heard the clang of porcelain against our stone sink, which signaled to me that they had now made their way back into our quaint family kitchen.
"She is not possessed, Magnus, she is a good girl. Seraphina is just different, that is all. What happened today was not her fault. She did not mean to do the things that she did. It was an accident." My mother countered weakly as I could tell from the sound of the softness in her voice that she was now attempting to appeal to my father's sensitive side. Good luck, Mother.
"Just different, Astrid? Our daughter set fire to one of her favorite dolls just from the touch of one of her hands, and this isn't the first time that she has done it! How do you know that she did not mean to do what she did? How do you know that she won't do it again, but next time to something other than one of her toys if she is angry enough?" My father questioned as I heard one of his thick hands slam down against our scullery table causing me to jump slightly where I sat. My tears began to flow down my face without my permission as I truly took in his hurtful words, and then allowed them to begin to once again take complete control over my terrified young mind. It had been an accident. I swear it had been an accident.
"Husband, she is a child and she is scared. I have never even seen so much as a malicious look in that little girl's eyes in all of the six years that she has been alive. Please, just let me speak with the queen and see if she can help her. I know that if we try we can fix whatever it is that troubles our girl." My mother pleaded with tears hanging on the edges of her every word, and desperation seeping from her slightly shaky tone. I swallowed thickly from deep inside of my throat as I truly processed what my mother had just said. Wait, did she say...the queen?
"You want to take our possessed daughter to see Queen Frigga? Are you mad, woman? What happens if she believes as I do that Seraphina is possessed? She could cast her out of the kingdom! She could cast us out of the kingdom! Where will we go if we cannot live here? This is our home, Astrid. I will not leave the only home that any of us has ever known just because our daughter has been touched by the hand of evil. I will not!" My father answered loudly with a hint of ugly distain covering his almost brutish sounding reply. I swallowed thickly once again as my tears quickly turned into sobs, and my shame became almost too heavy for my young system to even attempt to bear. I was not possessed…I was certain that I was not possessed. Oh please Mighty King Odin, do not let me be possessed.
"Magnus, Queen Frigga would never cast a child out of her kingdom. I have been her attendant for many years, and I am certain that we can trust her. The queen has the gift of magic, and I know that she can help us in a way that no ordinary sorcerer or even high priest ever could. Allow me to request her company tomorrow morning just after sunrise. I am certain that she will help us, or at the very least, that she will whole heartedly try." My mother continued with a small amount of strength returning to her fragile voice as I could sense that she was now looking my father directly in the eye. There was a silence as I finally lifted my head from the boney flesh of my knees, and looked up toward my bedchamber door as if I was waiting for someone to come in, and finally tell me that everything was going to be alright. Please, father. Please, don't give up on me yet.
"I will allow it, Astrid, but please remember this. I will not leave this kingdom because of the shame that girl has brought on our house or on our family. Do not mistake my affections for weakness, for I truly do not have much of either left to give." My father answered sternly, and after those words were spoken, the silence between them became permanent for the remainder of the night. After another hour, the sun finally set over the beautiful golden City of Asgard, and I spent yet another evening locked away inside the small confines of my bedchambers…completely alone.
After a restless night of tossing and turning within the confines of my small overly covered child sized bed, I was eventually awakened early the next morning by the voice of my seemingly completely nerve wrecked mother, who had also obviously gotten absolutely no semblance of sleep the evening before. Immediately upon rising, my mother began poking and prodding at me as she attempted to turn my appearance into something suitable for that of taking audience with a queen, but even after perfecting my golden brown curls and dressing me in my wardrobe's very finest temple gown, she still didn't seem all that incredibly pleased with how I looked. Finally, after about two hours of preparation and completely unpleasant aesthetic torture, I was eventually deemed acceptable for our meeting in the king and queen's royal home. With only moments left to spare before I knew that my mother and I would need to take our leave to reach the palace on time, I finally gathered enough courage inside of me to ask my mother the question that had been plaguing my mind ever since the evening before. A question that I did not want to ask, but one that I felt that I needed to ask regardless of the pain that it's truth might inevitably cause me.
"Does father hate me?" I finally asked shakily just as the anxiety consumed woman on the other side of the room from me began searching through my small wardrobe for my nicest pair of formal shoes that I had deemed missing nearly two weeks before. My mother released a deep breath from between her lips just before she finally spoke, but she did not turn away from her task that she seemed so committed to in order to properly address me.
"Your father is a very complicated man, but no, he could never possibly hate you." She answered as she continued searching through my things, and even began tossing some items that she appeared to have no use for, out of the wardrobe onto the floor behind her. I released a small breath as I stared into the reflecting glass of my vanity that sat before me, and hesitantly caught a glimpse of my emerald green gaze that I found staring directly back at me.
"He says that my eyes are that of a demon. That they are wild and filled with fire." I whispered as I studied my reflection intently looking for any visible signs of evil, but instead only finding my round incredibly young appearing face and large slightly terrified appearing eyes. My mother sighed heavily once again, and then finally resurfaced from the confines of my wardrobe with my missing shoes now held tightly in her hands. I turned around slowly as I saw her approaching me, and then I felt slight ease wash over me as she knelt down carefully in front of where I sat.
"Your eyes are your own my sweet Seraphina, and there is no shame in the fire that you hold so deeply inside of them. Your father fears that which he does not know, and my love, there is oh so very much that man does not know." She whispered as she slowly pushed a few of my stray curls behind my ear, and then smiled warmly as she stared up into my eyes. I smiled softly as I listened to her words, and then reached out and carefully touched the side of her thin delicate hand. I immediately felt a fear even stronger than my own rush over me in a heavy almost painfully consuming sort of tide the second that I touched her, and subsequently then attack my nearly every single nerve with its intense ferocious feeling power. My mother was scared. No, my mother was terrified.
"The queen will be fearful of me, Mother. She will be fearful of me just like everyone else is." I whispered as my smile slowly faded, and tears began to once again burn painfully against my tired sleep deprived eyes. My mother slowly shook her head as she held her smile tightly in its place, and then she squeezed my hand just a little bit tighter against her fingertips. I felt my skin begin to warm on contact, and I immediately felt a very familiar sensation of fear wash over me.
"Queen Frigga is not afraid of anything or anyone, Seraphina. She will love you, just as I do. Just as we all do." She said warmly as she winked at me playfully. I smiled as I felt my pulse finally begin to slightly slow from inside of my veins, and then quickly felt my heart slightly fall inside of my chest as I saw my mother pull away from my touch just before shaking her hand out slightly beside her slender frame. It was the exact same movement that my brother had made just the day before when he had been shaping his sword over the fire just outside of our home. The exact same movement that he had made…just after he had been burned.
"Is it time for us to go now?" I asked quickly attempting to change the subject as I dropped my eyes down to the floor beneath me suddenly feeling consumed with my own shame, and secretly also just wanting to get this day over with so that I would possibly at least somewhat know what my incredibly young intended fate actually held. My mother sighed as she slowly shook her head, and then she reached behind her and appeared to carefully retrieve something from my small cherry oak finished dresser.
"Almost, but first Seraphina, I would like you to put these on." She said as she revealed a pair of pink colored gloves that she had previously held behind her back, and then handed them carefully to me. I stared at her in confusion for a moment, and then reluctantly finally took the gloves from her soft grips.
"It is summer, Mother. Why must I wear these on such a beautiful day?" I asked as I met my mother's bright blue eyes, and then narrowed my green ones in her direction. My mother released a very heavy sigh from between her thin pale colored lips, and then she swallowed thickly just before she once again began to speak.
"Your…warmth can sometimes be unpredictable child, and we want to be as careful as we can. If you wear these gloves it might be easier to control or at least somewhat conceal your...heat." She answered with a slight amount of shame flooding her voice as she quickly avoided my eyes. My heart sank into my stomach as I stared down at the rose colored leather that I now held tightly in my small hands just before I finally began to pull them on, and reluctantly accepted the fate that was being so obviously forced upon me.
"I understand." I said softly, and after that, no other words were needed to be spoken. My mother quickly gathered the rest of our necessary belongings, and then just before the next hour could be announced, we were both sitting in a royal carriage making our way toward the most beautiful Queen Frigga in the Royal House of Odin.
The Royal Palace of Asgard was the most beautiful place in all of our realm, and was far more breathtaking than I could even attempt to explain with my young incredibly inexperienced words. The palace walls were high, adorned with beautiful arches, and were constructed from the finest of gold. The grounds that surrounded the palace were lush, covered with beautiful green shrubbery, and were filled with the most alluring flowers that I had ever before in my short life seen. I was completely lost for words as my mother led me quickly through the main gates that led into the most breathtaking House of Odin, and I was also completely terrified from the very moment that we first finally arrived inside. What in the world was I going to say when I finally actually met the queen?
"Astrid Dagmarsdottir, here to see Queen Frigga." My mother announced in her most formal sounding voice as we finally reached the guards at the palace's main entrance who for some reason did not appear at all happy to see us. To be honest, they didn't appear to be happy to see anyone at that particular moment.
"Is Her Highness expecting you this morning, Astrid?" One of the guards with short golden spun hair asked as he narrowed his dark eyes at my mother in what appeared to be slight disbelief, and also in what sounded like intense sarcasm. My mother tightened her jaw, and then released a slightly shaky breath from between her thin lips. I could tell that she did not enjoy being hassled by men that she most likely attended to duties with during her usual work day, and who were also honestly not that much higher in official rank than she was.
"Yes she is, Alrik. Could you please notify her that I am here?" She asked politely even though I could tell there was absolutely nothing polite about the tense tone of her voice. The large man that she had called Alrik slowly released a breath, and then finally very slowly nodded his head.
"I will request her company if she is not otherwise occupied. Please wait in the public sitting room, and if she is available to see you, we will send for you in a few moments time." Alrik said tightly as he nodded toward the other man standing next to him who then slowly turned, and began moving further into the palace's grand entryway. My mother nodded slowly, and then finally looked down carefully toward me.
"Come now, Seraphina. Let us go wait for the queen." She said with an obviously forced smile. I nodded politely as she began leading me further behind the palace walls, all the while wondering to myself why a royal guard would be so incredibly rude to the queen's first attendant.
After a few minutes of waiting anxiously in the public sitting room that was even more lavishly decorated than that of my entire home, another male guard that I had never seen before appeared in the large golden arched doorway before us, and then nodded politely in my mother's direction. Without saying a single word my mother stood and quickly pulled me up against her side, and then began leading me out into one of the palace's main hallways just behind the tall broad shouldered man who moved swiftly just in front of us.
"She is waiting for you in her private library, Astrid. I greatly apologize for Alrik's behavior, and I hope that you know my words are of course sincere. His jealousy of your personal relationship with the crown makes him bitter. I will speak with him immediately, and ensure that it never happens again." The man said as my mother and I continued moving quickly behind him, and eventually began to catch up with his fast paced stride. I looked up at the guard who now walked directly next to us, and then released a breath as he finally smiled down toward me.
"Edgar, you are so kind. Thank you." My mother said sweetly, and then without another word my mother and I turned down another large seemingly endless palace hallway, and continued making our way quickly toward the queen.
In all of the incredibly short six years of my life, I had never been as nervous as I was when I found myself walking down the grand hallway of the Royal Palace, and toward the most glorious Queen Frigga of Asgard. My family and I were not peasants by any means, but we definitely were nowhere close to being that of royalty either. As my shiny barely worn dress shoes that my mother had miraculous found underneath the piles of books that I had hidden away in the back of my wardrobe clicked loudly against the freshly waxed palace floors beneath me, I wondered if my father had been right in his worries regarding my visit to the palace just the day before. What if the queen did believe me to be evil? What if she did decide to banish me from the kingdom? Would my mother come with me? Would my father even care that I was gone?
"Alright, Seraphina. Just remember to be polite and courteous to the queen, and do not speak unless spoken to. Be a good little girl sweetheart, and everything will be alright. I promise you." My mother said as she turned her eyes down toward me, and smiled warmly just as we finally reached a large ivory colored door that was adorned with what appeared to be hundreds of mysterious appearing golden engravings. I swallowed thickly as I slowly nodded my head in understanding, and then took in a deep breath that I decided to hold just as the door before me finally opened and my mother then carefully pulled me inside. May the Gods of Valhalla please have mercy on me.
The room before me was by far the most exquisite space that I had ever before witnessed and if I never had to leave it again, I felt that I would die happy just reveling in its exquisite beauty. The four grand walls surrounding me were covered from floor to ceiling in thousands of glorious books that I suddenly found myself already dying to read, and the polished wooden floor beneath my small feet barely even squeaked as I moved shakily across it. A large mahogany desk sat at the front of the room in a very official sort of manner, and beautifully constructed furniture lay scattered around the entirety of the rest of the room surrounding me. My mother finally stopped walking as I stood continuing to stare in absolute awe around me, and then just as I thought that I had seen it all, a tall woman in a breathtakingly beautiful blue floor length gown finally came into my view. She looked like a princess from one of my fairytales.
"My dearest, Astrid. Thank you for coming to visit me on this beautiful day." The woman said sweetly as she smiled at my mother warmly, and then reached out and lovingly grabbed her hand.
"All thanks go to you, Your Highness. Thank you for seeing us today, it means so much to our family." My mother answered as she bowed slightly toward the woman in front of me quickly signaling that this was in fact the queen, and immediately explaining exactly why this woman appeared as if she had stepped out of one of my fantasy books.
"And, who is this beautiful young woman who has come with you to my library today?" The queen asked in a kind mothering tone of voice as she knelt down slightly in front of me, and then smiled brightly in my direction. I bowed toward the queen formally mirroring what my mother had done just a few moments before, and then I carefully licked my dry lips just before I attempted to speak.
"My name is Seraphina, Your Highness. Thank you…for having us in your…home?" I said as my voice shook slightly as I attempted to formally construct my sentence, and as my last word came out as more of a question than a confident statement. I wasn't exactly quite sure what I was supposed to refer to the palace as judging by how the queen did in fact live there as well as govern from there, but I figured that home would be at least a semi-safe word to use when referring to it. Queen Frigga smiled as she nodded down toward me, and then she finally glanced up briefly toward my mother.
"So beautiful and also so polite. Astrid, your daughter is lovely. Tell me, what…" The queen started, but just before she could complete her sentence, she was quickly cut off by a soft knock at the library door. Immediately, Queen Frigga straightened herself upright swiftly, and then very intently smoothed out her long beautiful aqua colored gown.
"Yes, who is it?" She asked as she folded her hands gracefully in front of her long thin frame, and then released a breath from between her perfectly painted crimson colored lips. There was a small silence from behind the other side of the door, and then Queen Frigga seemed to smile knowingly because of it.
"May I come in, Mother?" A young boy's slightly hushed voice asked from the other side of the library door, and in turn caused the smile on Queen Frigga's face to grow even wider than it had been before.
"Of course, my son. Please come in." She said as she nodded toward my mother, who then in turn stepped slightly back toward me, and quickly grabbed a hold of my leather glove covered hand.
Just a few seconds later, the library door finally opened, and then in walked a young boy appearing to be just possibly a few years older than me with deep onyx colored hair and a small thin appearing frame. His skin was the color of freshly molded porcelain, and his lips were pale red in their color. He seemed slightly uneasy in the way he held himself in front of unfamiliar faces, but he still seemed to hold a confidence that I definitely did not share. I narrowed my eyes as I carefully studied the boy now standing just across the room from me, and then I suddenly found myself mesmerized as I finally focused in on his eyes.
"Green." I whispered to myself as I stared at the boy in front of me as if he was some sort of an alien, and poorly attempted to hide my obviously intense sudden curiosity about him. My mother tightened her grip on my small hand, and then gently cleared her throat.
"Mind your manners, Seraphina." She said under her breath as I noticed that she quickly looked down toward me, and then widened her pale eyes knowingly in my direction. I swallowed thickly, and then nodded as I quickly pulled my eyes away from the boy now standing just about fifty feet in front of me. Plenty of people have green eyes, Sera. Just no one that you have ever met before today.
"Mother, I apologize for my intrusion. I was just wondering if I could borrow the book that I began reading last night? My studies for the morning are finished, and I was looking to occupy my time." The boy said incredibly formally as I continued staring down at the freshly polished wooden floor beneath me, and reminding myself that I needed to listen to my mother or I would end up banished to Midgard before the day was over.
"Of course, My Dear, but first please come and say hello to our guests." The queen said kindly as she gently cleared her throat, and then moved slightly closer toward me just before nodding toward her son.
"Astrid, as you know this is my youngest son, Loki." The queen said as I finally lifted my head back up, and immediately noticed the young prince studying me with a slightly irritated sort of look on his face. What could I have possibly done already?
"Of course, it is so nice to see you again, Prince Loki." My mother said kindly and incredibly formally as she bowed ever so slightly in the boy's direction. I realized that it was tradition, but it always seemed so strange to me to see adults bowing to children.
"Likewise, it is always nice to see you too, Astrid. My family and I are very grateful for your service here." He said in an incredibly formal tone of voice for a boy of his young age. I swallowed thickly as I noticed silence once again move into the room around me. Please do not introduce me. I am just a child, he does not need to know me.
"And Loki, this is Astrid's daughter, the lovely Seraphina." Queen Frigga said with the sound of a smile in her voice as I slowly once again lifted my head, and then finally met the prince's intense green colored eyes. Prince Loki took a very large confident step forward as he continued to almost intrusively study me, and then he looked down immediately toward my hands. Oh no…
"Does the palace have too much of a chill for you, Seraphina?" He asked as he lifted his eyes slowly from my rose colored leather gloves, and then quickly locked in once again on my eyes. I swallowed thickly against the lump that had suddenly formed deep inside of my throat as I felt fear wash over me in a thick wave.
"I…I…" I started, but in all honestly, I had no idea what to say. Was I supposed to tell him the truth? Was I supposed to tell him that when I got angry or upset fire came from my hands and therefore I was a danger to him and his mother because I was most likely possessed by demons? Was that what I was supposed to say to a prince?
"Loki! If you cannot behave properly then you will be asked to leave. Please, apologize to Seraphina right this instant." The queen said in a slightly disappointed tone as she stared down at her son with just the hint of anger radiating from her once soft eyes. The color immediately drained from Loki's face as he lifted his eyes back up toward mine, and then released a careful breath from between his lips.
"I did not mean any harm or offense, Seraphina. I just do not see most other's wearing gloves this time of year unless they are out riding. My sincerest apologies." He said as he stared at me looking slightly ashamed of himself, and also slightly annoyed at his mother. I nodded slowly as I could hear the truth in his words, and then I smiled slightly back in his direction.
"No need to apologize, My Prince. I feel quite odd wearing them myself." I said softly as I wrung my hands together tightly in front of my small body, and desperately attempted to ignore the sheen of sweat that was suddenly covering the thin flesh of my palms. Prince Loki smiled, and then nodded just before he finally stepped back behind his mother.
After another few minutes of casual conversation, Queen Frigga finally led my mother and I over to a small loveseat just in the corner of the library and then immediately began speaking quietly with my mother. I tuned out their conversation that I was certain was obviously about me, and I instead focused my attention on the strange boy who was now sitting in the library window reading one of his mother's books, and appearing to be off in a world all of his own. The young prince seemed extremely peculiar to me as he did not appear to be nearly as arrogant as his older brother that I had heard was quiet a handful, but at the same time he also seemed as if he regarded himself as smarter than all others around him by the way that he was so incredibly bold with his words. Before I realized that I had in fact been quite obviously staring for quite some time, the prince finally turned his attention back toward me and subsequently caused me to nearly fall out of my chair. He smiled to himself as he watched me uneasily collect myself, and then as if he hadn't even seen me at all, he once again returned to his book.
"Seraphina sweetheart, would you please give me your hands?" Queen Frigga finally asked softly as she abruptly pulled me out of my dream world, and returned me to the reality that lay out all around me. I nodded slowly as I reached my hands out, and then placed them gently on top of hers.
"May I remove your gloves?" She asked as she smiled down at me warmly. I turned my head back toward my mother as my nerves began to twitch anxiously beneath my skin, but as soon as I saw her confidently nod her head, I in turn nodded mine.
"Yes, My Queen." I whispered softly. Queen Frigga nodded as she then very carefully pulled my gloves off of my fingertips, and then set them down gently just beside her. She wrapped her long thin fingers around mine, and then she gently closed her soft aquamarine colored eyes.
The minutes moved by like hours as the queen gently held my hands in hers, and seemed to attempt to see into a part of me that previously I was certain didn't even exist. She held onto me for quite a while, and then after what felt like an eternity she finally once again opened her eyes, and then gently let me go. She released a breath as she smiled down at me kindly, and then she narrowed her gentle eyes in my direction.
"Does the fire only come when you are upset, Seraphina?" The queen asked as she stared back at me in question, but with still a great amount of softness edging her pale stare. I swallowed thickly from deep inside of my throat, and then I shrugged my small shoulders just before I replied.
"I think so, My Queen. I have never done it on purpose, I swear." I whispered as felt tears beginning to burn in my eyes with thoughts of my banishment quickly invading my mind. The queen smiled as she quickly nodded her head.
"Of course you haven't, sweetheart. Is there anything else, besides the fire that you want to tell me about? Is there anything else special about you that you would like to share with me?" She asked softly. I swallowed as I stared at her for a silent moment, and in an instant I felt a wave of concern and sadness rush over me in what felt like a flood. Feelings of confusion and pity invaded my heart, and in a second, I realized that those feelings were not in fact mine.
"I did not wish to make you sad, My Queen. I am so sorry, please forgive me for all of these things that I have done." I whispered as tears finally began to drip down over the brim of my eyes, and eventually began traveling down over the roundness of my cheeks. Queen Frigga stared at me for a moment first in what appeared to be astonishment, and then in what appeared to be complete understanding.
"Seraphina, do you like flowers?" She asked suddenly changing the subject, and immediately relieving just a small amount of stress from my young mind. I thought silently to myself for a moment, and then finally allowed a large smile to break out over my lips as I quickly began nodding my head.
"Oh yes, very much so." I answered quickly. The queen smiled as she nodded her head back toward two glass paned double doors on the opposite side of her library, and then she lifted her hand up over toward them.
"Those doors lead out to my very favorite rose garden in all of Asgard. I think that you should go and find the biggest most beautiful flower that you can, and then bring it back to me so that I can show it to King Odin. Would you like to do that for me, Seraphina?" She asked with a large warm smile on her face, and a gentleness practically gushing from her tone. I nodded happily as I quickly jumped up to my feet, and suddenly forgot nearly my every single care in the world.
"Oh yes I would, thank you, Your Highness. Mother is it alright if I go?" I asked excitedly as I turned my attention back to my mother, and prayed that she would let me complete the task that the queen had just asked of me. My mother smiled as she released a very heavy breath, and then nodded her head slowly in my direction.
"Of course, My Dear. Just do not wander far." She said softly. I nodded as I quickly began to make my way closer toward the doors that the queen had pointed toward, and with such excitement surging inside of me, that I didn't even completely notice that the prince was now suddenly gone.
The gentle late morning breeze flowed sweetly through the soft curls of my golden brown hair, and ruffled the thin material of my dress as I ran through the royal rose garden like a child gone completely mad. I giggled as I touched nearly every rosebud that I encountered, but I did not pick any, intent on finding the perfect one. I danced happily through all of the tall trees that encircled the garden that I had so graciously been allowed to play in, and then I nearly choked on my own quiet laughter as I thoughtlessly ran directly into the young green eyed prince who I had not even sensed around me.
"What in all of the nine realms? I mean…Your Highness…Oh, I am so sorry." I stuttered out uneasily as I dropped my eyes down toward the ground beneath me, and then quickly began to back away from the boy barely any taller than I was who was now dressed in a dark green tunic and midnight colored slacks.
"No reason to be sorry, Seraphina. You left these inside, and I thought that I should return them to you." The Prince said as he presented my rose colored gloves out in front of me, and then tilted his head slightly in my direction. I swallowed thickly as I nodded gratefully, and then slowly reached out toward him.
"Thank you, Your Highness." I said softly, but just before my hand touched the cool leather of my gloves, the prince lifted them slightly away from my grasp and then took a small step back away from me.
"Just one question first, Seraphina. Why is it that you are wearing these winter gloves at the beginning of summer?" He asked as he raised one of his dark eyebrows in my direction, and then took another small step backward moving even further away from me. I swallowed as I matched his step, and reached for my gloves yet again.
"My hands get cold, My Prince. Now please give them back to me." I requested tightly as I began to get slightly more irritated than I had been before, and my heart began to pound roughly inside of my chest.
"There was sweat on your brow when you were standing in my mother's library. How do your hands stay cold, but the rest of you so obviously overheats?" He asked quickly beginning to incite my anger, and making me question why I had ever been curious about this boy in the first place.
"I do not have all of the answers for you, My Prince. I apologize for any upset I have caused you, but could you please just return my gloves?" I asked through tightly clenched teeth as I reached for my gloves yet again, but instead of reaching them, collided with the prince's chest instead.
"Let me feel your hands first. Then you may have them back." He said stubbornly as he stared down at me with wild serpent like eyes, and appeared to be fighting back a smile that I did not understand or at all share. I released an angry breath as I felt my fingers beginning to burn with a dangerous warmth, and then a fear move into my system that I knew very well. Not now. Please, not now.
"My Prince, I beg you." I pleaded as I prayed to the Gods of Valhalla to rescue me from this hell that I now felt as if I was living, and to also prevent the future damage that I was more than certain that I was just about to create. The prince narrowed his eyes quizzically in my direction, and then he tilted his head to the side as he studied me intently once more.
"What are you so afraid of, Sera? I only wish to touch your hands. I mean you no harm." He said beckoning to me in a very informal manner since we had only known each other for less than an hours' time. I released a breath as I attempted to keep my anger inside of me, and a calm in my heart that I knew was long past gone.
"I am not afraid of anything, My Prince. I just do not wish to be touched. Now please, give me my gloves." I said as I stomped my foot incredibly childishly down into the earth beneath my feet, and then immediately prayed that I wouldn't be reported to the king for disrespecting his youngest son. The prince stared at me with defiance radiating from his beautiful almost entrancing emerald colored stare.
"No." He said stubbornly as he straightened his stance, and appeared to attempt to assert his authority over me that we both honestly knew that he had. I ground my teeth tightly together as I felt the rage inside of me mixed with the irritation that I assumed was coming from the boy in front of me, rush almost violently through my veins, and immediately begin to quickly overflow from its prison that I had at least somewhat attempted to originally keep it encaged in.
"Give me back my gloves!" I yelled loudly as I stomped my foot once more into the earth just before I then dropped my arms down to my sides, and began to feel the fire boiling deep inside of my veins. Prince Loki remained completely still, and seemed utterly unaffected by my outburst of childish rage. I could tell that he was challenging me, and I wished that he would have known better than to be so foolish to do so.
"No Seraphina, I will not. Now let me feel your hands." He said sternly as if he was a man twice his actual age. That was the exact moment when I lost all control, and the battle of wills between the young prince and I finally came to its inevitable end.
Without the permission of my mind or even the knowledge of my subconscious, all of the rage once trapped safely inside of me boiled over in what seemed like less than a second, and subsequently began to course wildly through my every single young and fragile vein. Tears burned in my eyes as I regretted what was about to happen before it truly even did occur, and words of apology rambled from my lips as I prayed that I wouldn't accidentally severely hurt the prince just for his completely innocent childish game. Copper colored streams of fire quickly shot out from my fingertips as the anger inside of me poured through my system like water through a vase, and quickly flowed into the air around me without any semblance of control. I did not hear screams, cries or even curse words as the heat moved so wildly out of me, and so finally after a few silent moments had passed after the fire had ceased, I eventually gained the courage to open my terrified young eyes. It was then that I looked at the small space still remaining between me and the young prince, and noticed a beautifully strange display of ice hanging effortlessly in the air just a few inches from my touch.
"How did you…?" I started, but my words died quickly in my throat as I had no idea what question to even ask the boy standing before me. The prince smiled at me as he carefully moved around his suspended sculpture of ice, and then he crossed his arms carefully over his slim chest.
"I am the Prince of Asgard, Seraphina. Did you think me to be boring?" He asked as he raised his eyebrow once again, and then smirked wickedly in my direction. I smiled as I looked toward the ice before me once again, and then eventually turned my eyes back toward the now incredibly mysterious young prince.
"What are you?" I asked in a breathless voice. Prince Loki took another slow step closer toward me, and then he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
"I told you, I am the Prince of Asgard. What are you Seraphina?" He asked carefully. I swallowed thickly as I turned back toward him pulling my eyes once again away from the ice still hanging almost magically in the air, and then I released a slightly scared breath from between my lips.
"I have no idea." I whispered. The prince smiled as he bumped his shoulder softly against mine the moment that he finally neared me, and then he nodded back toward the other end of the Royal Rose Garden just behind me.
"Well, then I guess we need to find out, now don't we?" He asked playfully. I smiled excitedly as I nodded slowly.
"Yes, I guess we do." I whispered as I turned to follow in the direction that Prince Loki was walking in. I didn't know exactly what I was doing following around the very strange Prince of Asgard after he had turned my fire into a thick sheet of beautiful ice, but there was one thing in which I was absolutely certain of. For the first time in all of my six years of life, I just might have possibly found a friend.
A/N: Hi everyone! I have big ideas for this story. Does this chapter entice? I promise it will earn it's M rating, and they will become adults most likely by chapter three. This part of the story is just important...well for the story lol. Please tell me if you like this and wish me to continue. The plot line with be intense, and the smut...well it will be even more so. Thank you for reading! If you want to drop a comment or anything, it is always appreciated, but never expected. Thanks!