DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS OR LOKI! THEY OWN ME!
Chapter One: Moths to a Dark Flame
The tall golden buildings of Asgard loomed over the seven year old girl as she walked throughout the city. Her lengthy black hair loomed down to her nonexistent hips, and her violet eyes surveyed the area she walked in, wearing a long black lace dress that went down to her ankles. On top of her dress, she wore a long, black cloak tied around her pale skinned neck, with the hood down. It was well past nightfall, and if she had been any normal child, the adults would come from their homes and scold her for being out so late.
But that wasn't the case. Most of the adults feared her. They called her 'the strange child' for being who she was. She was nothing ever more than herself, but the adults still told their children to stay away from her. All because she was a bit different.
Aren't we all different? That was the thought that came across the girl's mind regularly. After all, if everyone was the same, then the world wouldn't be the way it was. If everyone was the same, there would be no wars, and no fights. There would be exact replicas of each other, all agreeing on everything. Life would be boring.
The adults always feared being different though. Whether it was themselves being different, or someone else, the situation remained the same. They would fear the different, and stay away from it at any cost. And the person who was the most different from the rest was this little girl.
Eventually, after a few minutes of walking in deep thought, the girl had reached the royal gardens. She was allowed to go anywhere she wanted at night, minus a few important and dangerous places that most people weren't allowed to go into. That was fine though, for the little girl didn't even wish to go there.
The girl had always enjoyed the royal gardens. The way that the night-blooming flowers shone in the light of the moon was absolutely astonishing. If only the adults would stay up long enough to see them. But they would never listen anyways, for they feared the different. These flowers were as equally different as the girl.
Exploring the gardens, the girl eventually found herself lost. She didn't mind being lost, for that only meant she was in a place that she'd never been before, which was rather exciting. It meant that this was a place in need of more exploring, so she could eventually find her way home before sunrise. It was an adventure, and the child was absolutely enthusiastic about adventures.
The child loved adventure books too. Whenever it was raining outside at night, the girl would curl up beside the fire and read of adventures the day people had. They were exciting and intriguing, making the reader want to continue on. Time was almost nonexistent when reading, so people could find themselves with their nose in a book for hours on end, thinking it was only a few moments in time. But the adventure would always wait for you in books. After all, time is nonexistent when reading.
After walking for many more moments, it was almost well past a half hour since she had gotten lost. She was still in an unknown area, which was fine. But she couldn't help but feel a bit of worry, since she was alone in the night. She always had been, and she usually didn't mind it. Solitude was a part of her life, but it still made her feel bad. She had no friends to worry about her, and her family wouldn't even try to search for her for they wouldn't know where she had left off to.
The girl was so deep in thought that she managed to catch her barefoot over a large rock, and tripped, her hands cushioning her fall. She groaned a bit, and then looked up at what was ahead in the flowering labyrinth. But then she saw something that caught her eye.
People always said that light cannot be dark, but what the girl was seeing now proved that statement wrong. Up ahead, behind some tall bushes, a bright yet dark light shone through the leaves. The girl gasped at the sight, and got up quickly, wishing to study this more. How could a light be dark? It made almost no sense, yet it was real.
The girl walked over to the bushes, trying to peer through the leaves. The bush was rather thick, so she couldn't see the main source, but it was still incredibly intriguing. She tried to claw her way through the bush, but it unfortunately worked at quite the slow rate. Dying to know what the source of this mysterious light was, she clawed even faster, but only sped up the process by a small amount.
Losing a bit of her patience, the girl backed away from the hedge, and held out both of her hands towards it. She concentrated deeply, trying to make the large bushes split. She saw a small rustle come from the leaves, and she closed her eyes, concentrating harder on the bushes. Only when she heard much more sounds of rustling leaves, she opened her eyes, to find a small, narrow path splitting through the hedge.
The girl smiled, and ran through the path with haste, yet caution. She tried to make sure she was as quiet as possible, so she didn't scare whatever was making the dark light. As she made her way through the bushes, she began to hear murmurs of a small voice coming from deeper in the bush, and she became fearful. If she was seen by a person, they might run off scared.
Stopping a moment, the girl grabbed unto the hood of her cloak, and pulled it up over her head. Immediately as she did so, she looked down at herself, finding that she was invisible. She smiled. This cloak had been given to her by her mother, who told her that if she ever got in trouble with adults, or didn't wish to scare anyone while roaming the streets, she should simply put up the hood of her enchanted cloak, making her seen to no one. The girl loved the cloak, and loved it's silky feel on top of her head. And with that, she continued silently down the path.
Finally at the hedge's end, she exited out of the bushes, and found something she didn't expect to find. She found herself standing at the edge of a beautiful, flowering pavilion, with a golden gazebo in its center. The source of the dark light came from the center, hovering over top a round fire pit, which was surrounded by golden benches. But amazingly, it wasn't the black light that now surprised her. It was something quite different than that.
A small boy, with pale skin and black hair slicked back to reach his shoulder, sat on one of the golden benches opposite to where the girl was standing, his eyes scurrying over the pages of a novel. He wore particularly strange clothing, with colours of mainly black, gold, and dark green. His green eyes, or at least that was the colour they looked in the dark to the girl, continued to stare upon the pages of a book that the girl had once read, which happened to be all about adventures.
The thing that mainly shocked the small girl wasn't his looks, however. It was that a child who looked to be about her age was up so late. It must be well past the child's time for bed, but yet he was here in this secluded pavilion, reading. The child smiled in a bit of glee, and wished for a closer look.
But as she walked, she did not notice a small stick on the ground, and stepped on it with her bare feet, snapping it in two. The noise wasn't necessarily loud, but it was loud enough for the boy's attention to snap away from the novel he read, stand up, put the book down on the bench, and look around him, seeking the cause of the noise.
The girl thought of herself as safe from his gaze, but she was quite wrong. Instead of his eyes passing over her with no hesitation, they stopped at her and locked onto herself.
"Who are you?" the boy said, his voice sounding slick and smooth, and he was clearly looking at the girl. The girl looked behind her, seeing if someone else was there. But, to no avail, there was not. The girl looked back at the boy, completely shocked.
"Yes, I mean you," the boy said, "Now answer my question."
The girl, who's face was overwhelmed with shock, put down the hood of her cloak, and looked at the boy. "You can see me?" she asked him, her voice filled with surprise.
The boy rolled his eyes. "Of course I can see you. Why would I not be able to?"
The girl grabbed the hem of her cloak. "This cloak makes me unseen by all who can see. So how come you can see me?"
The boy eyed at the cloak. "How is such a thing possible? To make someone unseen to all who can?"
"My mother told me it is made of enchanted night sky," the girl explained, "It was given to me so I wouldn't scare anyone."
The boy raised an eyebrow, walking over to the girl. "Why would you scare anyone in the first place?"
The girl looked at the ground, and sighed in sadness. "I'm different. People fear different."
"Everyone is different," the boy said.
"Not as different as me," the girl said, sadness dripping from her voice.
The boy took the girl's chin in his hand gently, and lifted it up to meet his eyes. He studied her face, and then shook his head, taking his hand away. "You don't rather look very different from everyone else," he said, "Why are people scared of you then?"
"I already told you," the girl said, "I'm different. That's all it needs to create fear."
The boy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "I just don't believe that. You look like any normal Asgardian to me."
The girl's face went into shock. He didn't think her... different? What? This is... amazing! Amazing, yet impossible! A smile morphed out of the girl's face of shock, and she was gladdened by the compliment.
"Thank you," the girl said, smiling as the boy smiled back. Then she acknowledged the book that was over on the bench. "I have read that book you are reading. It's quite good."
The boy looked back at the book, and smirked. "You like to read?" he asked, looking back at the girl.
The girl nodded. "Of course. I read whenever I'm not exploring the gardens. Especially novels with adventures. I can go to other worlds without having to move an inch."
The boy smiled. "That is incredibly true. Books are certainly one of the universe's greatest inventions."
"What part are you at right now?" the girl asked.
"Well, the brave soldier is now in the ruins of Vanaheim, fighting off the dark elves. He is in battle with their controller right now, and about to stab the king of the dark elves in his largest heart. But that was when you came in."
The girl's eyes widened considerably. "I'm sorry for interrupting you," the girl said apologetically, "That happens to be one of my favourite parts.
The boy chuckled. "Don't worry, it's fine. After all, books have no time."
The girl gasped. "You believe that too?"
The boy nodded. "Of course. It's true, is it not?"
The girl laughed, as did the boy.
"So, you never did tell me your name. What is it?" the boy said, after the mixed laughter had died down.
"Well, umm," the girl said hesitantly, "I'm not sure if I should tell you."
The boy thought a moment. "All right, how about this. You make a fake name, and so shall I. That way I can call you something, and you may also do the same for me."
The girl nodded, and began to think. "What about... Night. I'm nocturnal, so I believe it's fitting."
The boy smiled. "Alright Night, you may call me... Mischief."
Night smiled at the name. "I'm guessing you like to create chaos, then?"
"I wouldn't necessarily call it chaos," Mischief said with a smirk, "I'd call it something more along the lines of... entertainment."
Night giggled. "All right then, Mischief," she said, stretching the name a bit.
Mischief laughed. "Can you promise me something, Night?"
"Sure, what is it?" the girl said, smiling.
"From now on, we meet here every night, an hour past sunset," Mischief said with a smile.
Night thought a moment, and then nodded. "All right then," she said, before hearing a noise, marking dawn would be within the next hour.
"Oh no," Night exclaimed at the sound. How could it be almost dawn?
"What is it?" Mischief asked her, confused.
"I'm supposed to be home, but I don't know where to go. Or how to find my way back here!" Night said, worry filling her voice. Her parents would be quite worried if she didn't get home soon.
"Where is your home?"
"Umm, it is only a few moments walk from the eastern entrance to the gardens..."
Mischief smiled. "I come through the west entrance, but I still know how to get to the eastern from here," he said, snapping his fingers, and a gate appeared behind Night, "This gate can only be seen by you and me. When you leave, just continue to follow the path with red stones. They will lead you to and from here."
Night smiled back at him, gladdened by his kindness. "Thank you, Mischief," she said, before heading off towards the newly made gate, and waving back at him, "I have to go now. I'll see you tonight!"
Mischief grinned, waving back. "Don't you dare be late!" he cried out to her, as she left the pavilion.
Night walked down the path of red stones, a huge grin on her face. She had never smiled like this in her entire life. She had a friend. A REAL FRIEND! One that wished to see her again, and would stay up at night just to see her. It was an amazing feeling that Night had never felt before.
They may not know each other's real names, or families, but that need not matter. She had a friend. A kind friend.
And that was all that mattered to Night.
HEYA! FIRST CHAPTER OF MY SECOND AVENGERS FANFICTION!
THIS STORY IS BASED ON AN OC I MADE A FEW MONTHS AGO, AND I DECIDED THAT I NEEDED TO TELL HER BACK STORY.
I THINK WE ALL KNOW WHO MISHIEF IS, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! BUT WHO COULD NIGHT BE? HMMMMM
THIS FANFICTION IS IN SOMEWHAT RELATION TO MY OTHER ONE, BEYOND DEATH ITSELF, WHICH WILL COME TO SHOW LATER IN THIS ONE AND IN THE OTHER. I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU READ IT, BUT YOU DON'T NEED TO, SEEING AS HOW I AM ALREADY GRATEFUL YOU HAVE READ A CHAPTER OF THIS ONE.
RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE DAY: IF YOU AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE FOR A WHILE, THEY WANT YOU TO HAVE A SNICKERS. BUT IF YOU AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO GET ONE?
SO ANYWAYS, PLEASE R&R SO I KNOW WHAT YOU LIKED OR WHAT YOU DIDN'T, SO I CAN IMPROVE ON IT OR KEEP DOING IT! NO FLAMES THOUGH, FOR LOKI DOES NOT APPROVE OF THEM!
THANK YOU FOR READING :)