"Gus, don't!" she whisper-yelled.
"Oh, come on, Ror! Nothing's going to happen. Live a little," he grinned mischievously.
Gus placed his hand on the silvery surface of the object they had uncovered. They had at first thought it to be a simple mirror, but the silver sheen to it indicated something different. Gus was bolder than Ror, and naturally he had immediately reached for it. He gave a gasp of surprise as his hand sunk slightly into the surface, the silvery liquid-like substance allowing him to slide his hand through. Ror leapt forward and yanked his hand back.
"I told you not to do that!"
"Psh, I'm older, I can do what I want," he said distractedly, staring at the 'mirror'.
"I wonder what's on the other side," he muttered.
Ror could see he had gone into his land of daydreams. "No, no no no no no! Augustus Jason Carlisle, you are NOT going to the other side of that…that thing!"
"Ror, I know you're as curious as I am, you want to know what's on the other side! And I'm going to find out."
With that, Gus leapt through the liquid silver before she could protest. Immediately, she dived through, not wanting to be separated from him. The silver substance was denser than water and for a panicked moment, she thought she would be trapped in it. Then she tumbled out on the other side, rolling and coming to a stop on one knee. Ror leapt to her feet, frantically looking around, searching for Gus but he was nowhere to be found. She was surrounded by dense forest; up ahead she glimpsed flashes of brilliant colours. Looking back, she saw nothing but a moss-covered rock, which refused to yield when she pressed her hand against it.
"Gus? Gus! Gus, where are you?" she yelled as she jogged. She repeated along the same tangent, yelling herself hoarse.
"It is unwise to bellow loudly in a forest such as this, fair maiden. You could attract unwanted attention," a deep voice spoke behind her.
Ror wheeled around, drawing the daggers she kept sheathed on her belt. Two tall men stood there; one with a stockier build and blonde hair, the other thinner, wiry with black hair and a paler complexion. The man with blonde hair had in his hand what appeared to be weirdly large hammer, while the other appeared unarmed.
"I don't know who you people are, but I am here to get Gus back. If you have him, bring me to him. Or I swear, I will kill you both," she hissed.
The blonde man drew himself up to his full height and glared down at Ror. "I know not about this 'Gus' person of whom you speak of. I am Thor Odinson, Crown Prince of Asgard, owner of Mjölnir," he announced. Well, that explains the whole regal bearing thing he has going on, Ror thought.
"I am Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard," the thinner one said, nodding his head slightly. "Who might you be, fair lady?"
"I am no fair lady, that's for sure," she replied, lowering her daggers slightly. "I'm Aurora Carlisle, and I am trying to find my twin brother, Augustus Carlisle. We came through this portal – of sorts – and somehow we got separated; even though I went through only a few seconds after he did." Her sudden fury at seeing the two men had died, replaced with a lost feeling. Then she remembered what Thor and Loki had both said about their position.
"Asgard? Are – are we on Asgard?!" she exclaimed, panicked. The two princes nodded. "No no no! That is not possible. This is just a dream, I'm going to wake up and Gus will be here and we will go to the market –"
Ror was interrupted by Loki, who assured her firmly they were in Asgard. "From which realm did you travel from?" he asked.
"I come from Earth. You would refer to it as Midgard, I suppose?" Aurora had been fascinated with Norse mythology, even when she was little. Gus didn't understand her obsession, but he occasionally read the mythology because of her insistence.
Still reeling from the revelation, she didn't notice Thor stepping closer. He placed an arm lightly on hers and she must have jumped up two feet into the air. "Fair maiden, allow us to escort you back to our palace. You shall be our honoured guest, and we will help you search for your twin brother."
Ror stared at the ground, thinking, before she determinedly nodded. She shoved her knives back into their hip sheaths. Loki stepped up to her other side; between the two of them she seemed like a dwarf. They led her into the light that gleamed ahead, brilliant flashes of colour dazzling her eyes. When they emerged from the forest, she gasped.