The market was packed. The brightly coloured street was filled with adults, kids and warriors. I sat on the rooftop and admired how the people went out of their way for the warriors. The people offered them to the head of the line or just got out of the way of where the soldiers were walking. More times than not, the soldiers turned down the head of the line, or they would smile at the people that moved. I wished I was one of them. I wasn't though. I wasn't anything like them.
My name is Nyx. I'm eight years old and look pretty much like everyone else on Asgard. On the outside. What everyone else saw was an illusion I had created. They saw a girl with dark blonde hair, wide grey eyes and lightly tanned skin. What I really looked like was very different. Grey cat eyes, dark hair and white skin covered in black markings and a pair of nearly transparent black wings. I used magic to keep my true self hidden. My thin but strong figure was the only thing I never changed. I was a shadow creature from the shadow realm. The princess of the shadow realm actually. Since I was the princess I had powers that many other shadow creatures didn't. Along with my illusions, I could see in the dark, teleport through shadows and create portals to other realms. That's how I escaped my realm. I left because I couldn't deal with being a princess there. Everything was decided for me. I never had a choice. My last straw was when I found out my parents had arranged a marriage for when I turned 18. I took off. That was half a year ago. Since then I lived on Asgard hiding. I rarely talked to anyone. I went from being a princess to an orphan living on the streets. I didn't care though. Here I could make my own choices, I could decide my life.
I found myself looking at a man on a rooftop a bit away from me. He Held a bow that was drawn back. I looked to where he was aiming. I saw a boy about nine or ten walking in the streets surrounded by guards. He had light skin, odd for an Asgardian, black hair and light blue eyes. He wore a black shirt with white sleeves and dark pants. I recognized him as the youngest son of Odin. The king of Asgard. I looked at the man with the bow and realized he was aiming at the prince. I prayed no one would see me then teleported down to the streets. I heard the arrow get released. I dove for the prince. I tackled him to the ground as the arrow impaled itself in the wall above us. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. The arrow grazed it.
"What!" the prince yelled in surprise. The guards stared at me then the arrow. I rolled off the prince and Held my shoulder. I stared at the boy. His deep blue eyes reminded me of ice stone. A rock found in the shadow realm. Ice stone was a mix of white ice and blue rock. He looked at the arrow and slowly look at my shoulder.
"My prince we must go." one of the guards said. The young prince scrambled to his feet. He reached down and pulled me up. He didn't let go of my hand as he pulled me toward the castle. The guards were on high alert now. Two were sent to find the shooter. I hesitated at the first step of the palace. I stared up at the golden temple. The boy looked at me. Everything was spotless. I looked down at my dusty clothes.
"Come on." Loki encouraged. I looked into his blue eyes. I knew I had to obey the king so I had to obey the prince. But I still hesitated. I took a breath and let Loki pull me inside. I walked timidly into the throne room. The large gold doors shut behind us. The floor was made of polished stone and the throne of gold and velvet. The castle in the shadow realm was made of dark stone and white marble. The two looked like polar opposites. On the two thrones in front of us was the king and queen. Odin and Frigga. Odin stared at me with cold eyes but Frigga smiled warmly at me. I bowed my head at them. I slowly freed my hand from Loki. I stared at the ground. My parents would get mad at my habit of staring people in the eyes. They claimed it was a way of challenging someone's authority. One of the guards went to the king, bowed and told him what happened. The prince was staring at me in confusion. He leaned closer to me and whispered, "why are you looking at the floor?"
"Because I'm supposed to, right?" I asked. He grinned at me and shook his head.
"No it's ok, you can look at them." he did his best not to laugh at my confusion. "My names Loki."
"I'm Nyx." I smiled at him.
"That's pretty," he told me. I smiled and felt my face grow warm. "It suits you."
"It means Ni…" I started to say.
"Night Goddess." Loki cut me off. "That's why it suits you."
"Doesn't Loki mean God of tricks?" I asked him. He nodded. "Should I worry."
He laughed and nodded. "Just a little."
"Child." Odin's voice boomed. I jumped and stared at him. He wore silver armour with a red cape. He had light blue eyes and blond hair. His face looked worn and wise.
"Don't scare her." Frigga scolded him. I glanced at Loki who smiled reassuringly at me.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Nyx," I said. I couldn't Help but raise my head at him. I naturally had a very proud way of walking and talking. Loki went to stand beside his mother. Frigga had long red hair and green eyes. I was left alone in the middle of the room. I licked my lips and waited.
"Tell me what happened," Odin commanded.
"Um, I was on a roof looking at the market. I love seeing it so busy. I looked over and saw a man with a bow on another roof. He was aiming at the prince. I jumped down and pushed Loki out of the way. And the arrow hit the wall." I shrugged.
"And your shoulder," Frigga said. I forgot about that. I pulled my blood covered hand away from my shoulder.
"Oh yeah," I said.
"You let yourself get hurt for me," Loki said quietly. I lowered my eyes and nodded.
"Better me than you, prince," I said simply.
"Who are your parents?" the queen asked kindly. I bit my lips and looked around the room. I glanced at Loki. Frigga saw. "Loki, go find your brother."
Loki nodded and ran off. Frigga stepped off the raised platform and knelt in front of me. My lip trembled slightly.
"Don't send me back." I pleaded softly.
"Where?" she asked.
"The shadow realm," I said. Her eyes widened.
"Nyx the missing princess?" she asked. I nodded silently. She glanced at Odin. "Why don't you want to go back."
"I can't be controlled again. I just can't." I said. Frigga glanced at Odin again.
"Do you really want to stay?" he asked. I nodded violently. They looked at each other and seemed to have a whole conversation with their eyes.
"Ok then," Frigga said. I blinked in surprise.
"Loki and Thor can show you around," Odin told me.
"You can stay here." Frigga clarified. I was stunned. I bowed my head.
"That you king Odin. Thank you, queen Frigga." I said. Loki returned with the blond-haired, blue-eyed prince. Thor looked a lot like his father. I noticed Loki didn't really look like either of his parents.
"Thor, Loki. Show her around well I set up a room for her. And Loki, Help her with her shoulder." Frigga told them. The two boys nodded and headed out. I followed them to the door and paused. I glanced at Frigga.
"Can you not tell them… please." I asked. She nodded.
"I won't. Now go on." she smiled. I turned and ran after the brothers. I caught up to them easily. Thor looked at me.
"So what's your name?" he asked.
"Nyx," I told him. He made a face.
"That's a weird name," he stated. I glanced at Loki who shook his head at me. I followed thor as he pointed out every room in the castle. We ended up near the bedrooms. Frigga was there waiting for me. My room was right beside Lokis'. Frigga opened the door and gestured for me to go in. to my left was a walk-in closet filled with different types of clothing. Beside that was a changing door. Against the far wall were two doors that lead to a balcony and huge bed with green and gold blankets on it and black pillows. To my right were a bookshelf and a desk. In the middle of the room was a green and gold carpet.
"Wow!" I gasped. Frigga nodded in satisfaction at my reaction. She left the room with Thor. I hurried to the balcony door and swung them open. I ran to the rail and looked down. I could see the bright colours of the market from here. I then ran to the bookshelf and scanned the spines of the books. Loki sat on my bed and watched.
"I'm glad you're staying in the castle," he said quietly. I looked at him and grinned.
"I'm glad you didn't die." I stood up and walked over to the bed. I fell beside him.
"I'm glad your shoulder is the only thing that got hit." Loki grinned. He held up a roll of bandages from behind his back. I raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"Other than the wall." I grinned. "I'm glad I have you as a friend."
"Same," he said. I raised my right arm. He raised his and I tapped the back of our arms together. We grinned at each other. "Let me see your shoulder."
I pulled the shoulder of my shirt down. He wrapped the white bandage around my arm and shoulder for me. Once he was done I smiled at him again.
"Better," he asked. I nodded.
"Thank you."