Chapter one
The sun streamed through the window, filling the room with a golden glow. Nakita pulled the quilt up higher, covering her head. It was too early...
Too bright outside... It was...
"I'm late!" she cried, realising today was THE day. Not THE MOST important day... But it was close...
She rushed downstairs, wrapping her dressing gown around her as she went, pulling her long hair into a bun.
"I'm not late I'm just" with that she saw the culprit of why she woke up so late smirking by the table, tucking into breakfast. "YOU" she fumed, storming up to Thor. "why didn't you wake me?" he answered her with a gentle kiss. "ok fine... But I'm blaming you" nakita smiled, as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Blaming me for what?" He whispered into her ear. Nikita blushed deep red. Thor started to kiss her neck. She started to giggle slightly.
"Thor! We have to get ready!" She cried out with a bit of a giggle. "We have a rather important day today."
"Do we?" He smiled as if he knew nothing.
"Yes!" She wriggled free of his strong grasp. "Now I have to eat. Why don't you go and... and... and poke fun at your brother." Thor just rolled his eyes and left Nikita be.
"Right," she said to herself. "Let's get this business started.".
She gathered her stuff from the room, quickly got dressed then headed out to the balcony. She liked the feeling of the wind in her hair, the icy morning breeze on her snow White skin... Her glance caught two birds flying together as one... Free... Something she wasn't going to be for very long. A wave of sadness crashed upon her and she couldn't help a tear escaping down her cheek.
Come on Nikita," she told herself, wiping the tear away from her face. "You have to do this for Jotunheim. For your people." She turned and walked back into the room and was taken by surprise.
"Loki!" She cried, quickly composting herself. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"My brother wished me to make sure that you arrived in the Great Hall safely" he replied simply.
Nikita similes inwardly... Thor was such a sweetie. She looked at Thor's brother Loki. He looked nothing like Thor. Loki was slim, dark haired and mysterious looking whereas Thor was muscled, blond and always cheerful.
"We must hurry, Nikita" Loki said calmly. "We wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting now."
"il be.. Il be..." her voice trailed off.
" you'll be there now." Loki finished her sentence with a smirk on his face. This was a habit of his, always finishing her sentences. Truthfully, she found it rather annoying and terribly rude. She drew herself to full Height and sighed.
"yes. Il be there now.. Thank you" she nodded politely, however much she wanted to slap his freakishly pale face, insulting him in every single way in front of as much people as possible. He returned the polite nod and then turned swiftly on his heal, leaving the room.
'jerk' she muttered.
"I heard that" he replied not turning around to face her. She muttered something rude back at him, wishing She could hit him if she wasn't passing others in the corridors leading to the Great Hall.
She tottered down the Grande stare case, through the main entrance, making her way through the snake like corridors an Finally they entered the Great Hall.
"Nikita! There you are!" Thor burst out brightly. He ran over to her and took her hands in his. Loki, approaching Thor, took one look at this tender display of affection, wrinkled his nose in disgust and walked away from them. Nikita, personally, was glad he had left them.
"Thor" she smiled gently. She tenderly kissed his cheek, taking hold of his other hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a sulking Loki whisk away to another room. Thor glanced over his shoulder, "what's bothering you nikita?" he asked curiously.
"nothing" she told him truthfully." is your brother always so..."
"himself? Yes. Always" Thor chuckled. Nikita rolled her eyes then smiled.
"come on. Where late already. ". She smiled, then, holding Thors hand, she led him out of the great hall.
Loki paced up and down in the library, which he had recently inhabited as his domain as his father rarely came in here, the servants were forbidden and Thor... He smiled to himself secretly.
'he probably can't even spell the word library' Loki thought, his lips curled from a smile into a smirk and chuckle to himself. His long delicate fingers trailed across the ancient collection of books. He breathed in the musky smell of the old library, exhaling slowly, his pale green eyes darting around the room. He knew he was alone, shaking himself mentally. Why was he so mentally paranoid? He lit a small fire ball with his right hand, watching it dance around in the palm of his left hand. He quickly distinguished it when he heard the floor board creek outside the room. He pressed his body against the wall, his breathing shallow. He heard two voices outside the room, a small sliver of light streaked through the library.
"of course it's important this happens nikita... Don't you understand?" came a strange female voice.
"of course I understand! I haven't got a problem with it... It's... "she corrected herself " HE'S growing on me... It's just... One month That's all I have left... If this goes wrong..."
"it won't go wrong" the woman said firmly. Loki smiled in the darkness, pressing his ear quietly against the door. This would prove most useful.
"your right" nakita sighed. "come on... We shouldn't be up here..."
With that Loki seized his opportunity and opened the door, smirking as he did so.
"well then you shouldn't" Loki started then stopped. There was Nakita standing in front of him... But he was alone. Nakita looked furious.
"how Long have you been in there!" she cried.
"long enough" Loki snapped, before, confused... An unusual sensation for him... He stormed off, furiously.
"you never guess who I've just seen" Nakita fumed when she met up with Thor in the asgardian palace courthouse, an open spaced area where the wedding would take place.
" Is my brother up to his old tricks again?" He asked pulling her into an embrace. Surprisingly Nikita felt a little calmer.
"Yes" she sighed. "Eaves dropping git that he is." Thor just smiled kindly.
"He's always where you least expect" he kissed her cheek softly. "he can be rather annoying." Nikita had to agree with that. She wriggled out of Thor's grip and sat on one of the benches. Thor sat down beside her and started to play with her long raven black hair. She rested her head on his strong broad shoulders, enjoying the heat from the blazing sun on her face.
For hours Thor and Nikita sat there talking, laughing and just enjoying each other's company.
"I don't want him to find out" Nakita said finally.
" find what out?" Thor asked, confused.
" you know" she motioned with her hands but, Thors statement that his brother was always where she least expected, she refused to say it. "I'll tell you later" she said. Thor nodded then he was whisked away by a cheery woman wearing a sea blue dress. Nikita waved him goodbye and stared at her feet, wriggling her delicate bare toes.
A few minutes later, A shadow appeared in front of her, blocking the warm sunlight from her face. Her eyes trailed up the long lean body which belonged to Loki.
"what" she stated, moving her head to the side so she could catch the warm rays.
"Aren't I allowed to join my future sister-in-law in the sun?" He asked as if nothing had happened earlier.
"I suppose so" she mumbled. Loki sat down beside her quietly. He looked over at Nikita but looked away as soon as she noticed.
"Why are you staring at me?" She snapped.
"I wasn't" he replied calmly. Nikita was going to argue back but realised there was no point. She leaned back against the bench.
"Why do you bother talking to me?... No one else pays me attention... Only the odd hello... Thor is my fiancé so that's understandable but why don't you treat me like everyone else? "She suddenly blurted at Loki. Loki was surprised by this question, and sudden attention and honesty he was receiving from Nikita, and it made him uncomfortable. He looked awkward for a moment then composed himself.
"Well" he coughed. "You are going to marry my brawn of a brother." He muttered before excusing himself and left he Nikita alone.
"hey! Wait! I didn't... Ugh!" nakita cried out in frustration. She left the courtyard, furious.
Loki slid into nakitas empty room, closing the door silently. He closed his eyes, visions of the courtyard dancing around in his head. His eyes opening, the visions seeped away. He would be alone for a few minutes at least. Just enough time to look around for something... Anything...
"people just don't disappear" he muttered to himself, rummaging through the room with his icy long fingers. He knocked a photograph of nikita off her dressing table, hearing it smash on the floor. He cursed and quickly squatted down, picking it up. He smoothed the photo against his palm and, without realising it, he smiled. She was beautiful... And Thor was lucky... He always had been lucky...
Suddenly a rage built up inside Loki and he kicked his foot out in a temper. His foot knocked against something hard, something cold. He quickly put the photo back on the dresser and His eyes trailed down to a small ice crystal lying on the floor. Strange, he thought, it was summer. He closed his eyes, this time, the alarming image of nikita making her way up the stairs filled his head. He quickly made himself scarce.
As Nikita entered the room, Loki had managed to hide in a cupboard.
"What's that doing there?" He heard her say. He could see what she was doing but it sounded as if she was putting something away. Probably the photo, Loki thought. Suddenly he heard Thor's voice enter the room.
"So this I where you're hiding!" He laughed brightly. Thor is so irritating! Loki thought to himself. Always so bright and cheery. Loki tried hard to ignore him but all he could hear was giggles and giddy whispers.
"Thor!" Nikita finally cried wriggling out of his grasp. "You know you cannot do stuff like that till after we are wed!"
"Oh Nikita, why are you such a kill joy?" He smiled softly. "You're just like my brother when you do this." Nikita punch Thor in the arm.
"Was that meant to hurt?" He joked. "Because it didn't." Nikita just rolled her eyes.
"I, am going for a swim, alone!" She told Thor. "And I mean it, I prefer to swim alone." She went to the cupboard next to where Loki was hiding to find her swim wear.
"Ok my soon-to-be-princess" Thor smiled gently and left her be. As soon as she had put her swim wear on under her clothing, Nikita grabbed a towel and left the room. Slowly Loki climbed out of the cupboard. He glanced at the photo-frame, still intact, in the glass frame. But how? Hadn't he smashed it just a few minutes before?
He was starting to get more and more frustrated and confused, and there was only one place where he would find all the answers...
He checked to make sure no one was around and, making himself invisible, he darted out of the room.
Nakita felt the ice cold water pinch her skin as she tore through the water. Swimming had always been her strong point and she preferred to do it alone... Even though Much to her disgust she had the feeling she wasn't alone anymore.
She emerged her head from the water, her black hair glistening in the last of the pink rays of sun.
"thor" she said bluntly. "I meant alone" she said through gritted teeth, yet although she tried so hard to prevent it, a small smile escaped her wet lips.
She turned around to see a half naked Thor in just shorts. She was shocked to see how well built he actually was. Even though they were set to be married, they weren't permitted to "reveal themselves" until their wedding night. It seemed to knock the breath out of her.
"Sorry" he smiled. "I couldn't resist. And you look amazing." Nikita could help but smile to that compliment... Then her face tensed up. "you should not be looking... If your father found out!" she stated, pretending to be appalled by his behaviour. In fact, she relished in the compliment. His face fell and he looked away, embarrassed.
"Oh alright" she finally sighed kindly. "You can join me." Thor's face lit up and hastily dived into the cool, calm pool... Well it was calm... And She couldn't really call the plunge into the pool a dive... But it was as close as it ever was going to be.
When he resurfaced he had a massive smile wiped across his sun-kissed face.
"Come on" he laughed. "Let's see who's the better swimmer... It's me by the way" he added cockily.
Turns out it was him.
Nikita got out of the water, cold wet and miserable.
" told you so" laughed Thor. Nikita didn't fin it as half amusing as he did. In fact it wasn't funny at all. Thor saw this and quickly pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. "hermod! ( one of the asguardian gods) " he exclaimed. "your freezing" he chuckled. Nikita stiffened under his grip. " no really your like ice... Here let me..."
"ENOUGH!" she cried, pushing him away.
"nikita please... I'm sorry I... I didn't think" he exclaimed, reaching out to her.
"you never do" she muttered, leaving him alone.
Nikita sat alone in her room in front of her mirror brushing her long, black, shining hair. She was tired out and pissed off with Thor. Why did he always have to forget everything? He knew how embarrassed she got about being... Herself.
"Why does he always have to forget things which are important to me... And why is his head so full of rubbish which Is irrelevant to everyone else apart from himself?" she muttered to herself.
"Because he only thinks about himself?" Loki suggested, suddenly appeared from nowhere scaring Nikita.
"Loki! I don't have time for your stupid little games!" She cried out, Shaken by the sudden entrance of her soon to be brother in law... She shuddered at the thought. Loki pulled out a seat and sat not too far away from her, unfazed and uninterested of her actions.
"I didn't mean to scare like that" he said apologetically. " I saw you upset earlier and, well, I wanted to check if you were ok." Nikita looked at Loki properly. Surprisingly he had a caring look on his ever so mysterious face... Even if he was an obnoxious twit she had to talk to someone.
"I'm just tired, Loki," she admitted. "And annoyed. I always thought I was amazing at swimming but then Thor just..."
"He's a show off" Loki stated dryly. "Don't worry, I've had to put up with". it all my life."
"And I will for the rest of mine" Nikita sighed.
"You don't have to" he replied in a
Matter of fact way.
"I'll bare that in mind" she laughed. She got up from her dressing table and sat at the small table with Loki.
"Could you please tell your brother I'm sorry" she asked him. "Now,please."
"Of course, Nikita" Loki smiled back. With that he swiftly rose up and left Nikita to dry herself.
Nikita lay in her bed that night, making ice crystals dance around above her head. She sighed. She missed jotunheim. She missed her family. She missed... Being free.
Loki fetched a book from the library, settled in the chair and opened the dusty book to the first page.
"people just don't disappear for a reason" he muttered to himself, flicking through the book of Heka- a deity of magic. The book was a huge one, a black leather cover, the pages turning yellow and crisp. Loki smoothed the pages down as if he was reading from a sacred text. He sat up strait when something caught his eye. Maybe this was what he was looking for... This would explain it...