Loki stood on the roof of one of Asgard's buildings that overlooked Bifrost, and watched as it activated. His father had told him about the ambassadors from Alfheim, but Loki was still surprised that there were ambassadors. Relationships between Alfheim and Asgard had never been very good so for Alfheim's king, Hallien Amrasson, to have sent an ambassador surprised Loki.
No matter how surprised he was, it did not belay the fact that Hallien's ambassador, Arlen Vanderson, had arrived with his escort. Loki couldn't help but be curious about Arlen and the rest of the visitors. He had heard hundreds of stories about the Ljósálfr of Alfheim, but he had never seen one before. What stories would Arlen live up to, or disprove? Were any of the tales he heard accurate?
He remained motionless on the rooftop, standing still with tremendous effort. Autumn was on its way to approaching, but the breeze didn't chill Loki. Even if his ice magic didn't mean he was immune to the cold, he still wouldn't have noticed for he was so intent on getting his first look at a Ljósálfr.
Before too long Arlen and the other Ljósálfr with him exited Heimdall's Observatory, and stepped onto the Rainbow Bridge that connected the Observatory to Asgard's mainland and the golden palace of Gladsheimr. Instantly Loki used a charm to sharpen his vision to get a better look at Arlen and his escort.
The Ljósálfr lived up to their description of being the fairest creatures in the realms, with long golden hair, fair and unblemished skin, and exotic bird-like features. They wore little, but Loki supposed that Alfheim was a realm that had neither autumn nor winter and was in a state of eternal summer, so it made sense they wore little. It was the standard compliment of four visitors, the ambassador, an aid, and two warriors from their home.
The aid was female, and she wore a pair of capris made out of green cloth, slipper-like shoes, a pair of cloth cuffs on her wrists, and a sleeveless tunic with a high collar cut to show an inch of her midriff. That was the standard outfit for a Ljósálfr female, and males dressed the same but their vest-like tunics reached their waist.
Their guards were of two different factions, and one wore armor with a saber and wielded leaf-shaped shield. The one with him was a female and she wore a leather vest, bracers, and had a green-gray cloak. Clipped to the side of her belt was something that looked a hilt without a blade made of wood. Loki recognized that the one with armor was an Immortal Guard, the primary faction of Alfheim's military that was basically Alfheim's version of the Star Guard.
The one with the leather was a Silver Arrow, an elite group of archers and rangers who had once been the pride of Alfheim before being replaced by the Immortal Guard, and that wooden hilt clipped to his belt was his recurve bow collapsed into a smaller form for easy transportation. There were no real archers on Asgard, but Loki knew enough about archery to be surprised he had no quiver of arrows. Were the stories true that a Silver Arrow's bow could materialize their own arrows with a pull of the bowstring? Considering how commonplace magic was in the realms, Loki decided it was likely true.
Loki's emerald-black eyes widened when his gaze settled on Arlen. Unlike other Ljósálfr who had blonde or sometimes red hair, Arlen had hair as black as night. If Loki's knowledge about the Ljósálfr were correct, then black-haired elves were treated as third class citizens on Alfheim because their hair was black. It had something to do with the fact that the Dökkálfr of Svartalfheim had black hair, and that Ljósálfr took their vendetta against the Dökkálfr too serious. For a Ljósálfr to have black hair meant that they had strong Dökkálfr blood, supposedly anyway.
Why would Hallien chose a Night Hair, as they were called on Alfheim, to be his ambassador? As ever, Loki was curious. This time however, he didn't head down to Bifrost to find out. Even though Hallien had sent an ambassador things were still tense between the realms and Loki did not want to make things worse with lack of tact.
There was a feast tonight to welcome them to Asgard and Loki would be attending with Thor. He could stay quiet and listen to the conversation during that time, and perhaps the answer to his question would be mentioned. Unlike Thor, he knew how to subtle.
The younger prince of Asgard turned on his heel and vanished in a swirl of emerald-black sparkles in a teleportation spell, one of his favorite spell. His destination was the courtyard with an apple tree, a sort of training field where his brother surely was. It was where Thor always hung out with his friends.
Loki materialized in the branches of the apple tree, his appearance hidden by the tree's leaves. He wanted to tell Thor that Arlen had arrived, but he saw quickly enough that Thor was engaged in a sparring match. A charm coaxed the tree to temporarily move its branches aside so Loki could clearly see his brother. That was of no surprise to Loki, and he watched as Thor faced off against Sif. She had disarmed him and was standing between him and his training sword, and Thor was trying to retrieve it without taking a hit.
Loki rolled his eyes and sprawled out on the branch he had materialized on to watch. Telling Thor about Arlen's arrival could wait, for he knew that Thor would get upset with him if Loki interrupted their battle. Against his will, Loki felt a great temptation to ice over the grassy field and see how well Thor and Sif could do. He decided against it when he saw Thor dive past Sif, and grab his sword as he rolled and stood with his with blade in hand.
He looked around curiously, but didn't see his pet cobra sitting in the branches of the apple tree as he often did. Slítas normally stayed with Loki, but was likely out enjoying the break in the summer heat like Loki was. Loki didn't understand why the heat of Asgard's summers made him collapse since he was Asgardian, but he understood why Slítas hated it. His serpent friend was from Jötunnheim, and he had wandered onto Asgard and been adopted by Loki a century ago. Why Slítas liked being around Loki so much despite Loki being an Asgardian was yet another mystery.
"No way!" Thor shouted, and his voice made Loki look down through the leaves.
Loki had missed it, but somehow Sif had gotten past his brother's guard and now rested her wooden blade against his throat in a kill strike. She had a triumphantly smug smile. To the sidelines, Fandral watched with wide eyes at the turn the match had taken. Beside him Hogun sat silently and calmly, though he was watching as well.
"That is two points for me," Sif goaded as she lowered her blade and stepped back. "Care to surrender, my prince?"
Thor scowled in response, and the clear blue sky darkened as clouds began to move in. Loki rolled his eyes. The sudden change in weather was thanks to Thor's empathic connection to Mjölnir that had been established a century ago. Whenever Thor got upset he made it rain, and the more upset he got the more of a thunderstorm it became.
"Thor!" Fandral complained with a voice that had lost his cheerful edge. "Don't make it rain again."
Loki chuckled to himself, giving his presence away. Fandral hated getting soaked by Thor's storms. Thanks to Loki's laughter, Fandral was able to look up and see him through the leaves Loki had parted.
"Loki!" Fandral called up to the younger prince. "Can you stop your brother from making it rain?"
Loki was surprised that one of Thor's friends was addressing him, and he swung down from the branch with one hand still on the branch. "Why should I?"
Fandral was surprised by Loki's response, and Loki decided to press his taunt. It would amuse him, and distract him from his questions about Arlen.
"Autumn is approaching," Loki reminded Fandral, "and a little rain is hardly out of season."
Loki kept up his innocent look as Fandral turned back to Thor with a huff. Then he climbed back onto his perch in the branch. It would be wise to let Thor cool off a little before bringing up Arlen, or maybe he should mention Arlen now to distract his brother.
While Loki thought about it, he heard a stick snap loudly behind him. It was only when he heard a giggle that he craned his neck towards the noise. He was at an odd angle to the noise, so he couldn't get a clear look. There was someone hiding in the shadows near the courtyard underneath one of the covered walkways.
Loki couldn't get a good look, so he sat up on the branch and turned towards the noise. By the time he moved however the person who had laughed was gone. It was curious, but Loki brushed it off with a shrug. From the sound of the giggle it was a girl, and probably one of the noble court girls looking for something to gossip over. Honestly, Loki could not begin to grasp why Fandral and his brother had such interest in them.
By now, the clouds had faded from the sky since Thor had calmed and he and Fandral were sparring. Hogun was watching them with his usual stoic demeanor, and Sif sat down on the grass next to him. She looked exhausted but pleased. Since Thor had started another sparring match, Loki laid back down on the branch to watch, deciding to wait to tell him about Arlen.
Loki looked over the group, seeing Thor, Sif, and two of the self-named "Warrior's Three." There was no sign of the third member of the Warrior's Three and Loki guessed, correctly, that Volstagg was raiding Gladsheimr's kitchen for snacks as usual.
The kitchens in Asgard's palace where Volstagg was sneaking around were busy. Servants and cooks were bustling around, and tonight's feast made the chaos even worse. He and Fandral were common born, and lived outside of Gladsheimr instead of within it like Sif, Hogun, and the princes did. Thanks to his friendship with Thor Volstagg was able to attend the feast, but like all attendees he was expected not to eat anything for the entire day leading up to the feast. It wasn't fair to Volstagg, who was always hungry, to not eat all day and right now it felt like he was on the verge of starving.
The plump Godling trotted around the kitchen trying not to be seen for he knew he would get chased out with a rolling pin or frying pan if he was caught snitching treats, especially with the upcoming feast. Loki was the real expert at sneaking around unnoticed, but Volstagg was able to do a fair job in all the chaos. After a minute or so of clumsy "sneaking" and banging his head on a table once, Volstagg spotted his prey.
A maid had just set a plate of fresh, hot sweettarts on a nearby table and walked away. Volstagg licked his lips and got out from under the table, almost hitting his head again. He took a few steps and felt a warm breeze brush by him. In a kitchen with all its fires roaring it should come as no surprise, but there was a sort of substance to the breeze that made the air on his neck stand on end. While Volstagg hesitated, he saw a sweettart hover off the plate. A bite appeared in the sweettart, leaving Volstagg to stare.
"Loki?" Volstagg asked, assuming it was Loki since he was so good at invisibility.
"Huh?" he heard a voice near the hovering goodies asked.
Volstagg assumed it to be the invisible mage speaking, and he stared in horror as they accidently knocked the plate off the table. Perfectly good sweettarts fell to the ground, and Volstagg let his shoulders droop at the waste.
"Oops," the same voice apologized.
"Volstagg!" One of the cooks shouted.
He had been spotted next to the poor ruined treats.
"I didn't do it!" Volstagg shouted at the cook as he ducked under a flour covered rolling pin and hasty fled from the kitchen.
He didn't slow until he got to the courtyard where Fandral and Thor were sparring, and after taking a breath he hesitantly called out, "Loki?"
Loki was surprised that he was getting dragged into the conversation of Thor's friends again, and this time jumped down from his perch in the apple tree. His landing was silent, so Volstagg didn't know he was there until he turned his head and saw Loki an inch away from him. It surprised him badly enough that he almost jumped out of his boots with a yelp and fell down on his rear.
"Yes?" Loki asked calmly.
Because Volstagg was sitting, Loki was able to look down on someone instead of up. It pleased him, for he was usually looking up. Being short was annoying.
"How did you get here so fast?" Volstagg demanded Loki and stood up.
"Get where?" Loki asked again with a frown, wondering what Volstagg was implying.
"From the kitchens!" Volstagg insisted, but since Loki remained clueless he continued. "You knocked over a plate of sweettarts and got me chased out from the kitchen."
"Me?" Loki shook his head. "I've been here watching the sparring the whole time."
"Well who else can turn invisible?" Volstagg growled, and looked over his friends for support.
"Any other mage," Loki shrugged nonchalantly and leaned against the apple tree. "It's an advanced spell, but by no means impossible."
Loki was a little surprised that another mage was causing trouble since most of the others were well-behaved. He was the only one that couldn't help but cause trouble, and mischief was left up to him. Who was taking his place as prince of mischief?
His answer seemed to appease Volstagg. "Didn't sound like you I guess, more like a girl."
"Are you sure it wasn't Loki?" Sif challenged from where she sat.
"Do not insult my brother!" Thor warned and lowered his blade after defeating Fandral.
Sif rolled her eyes, and Thor opened his mouth to defend his brother further. He halted when he saw the mischievous glitter in Loki's eyes.
"Hey Sif," Loki started to tease.
Sif turned from where she sat defiantly, and it was luckily easy to look down on her since she was sitting. The smile Loki smiled made Sif narrow her eyes warily. There was mischief in his eyes.
"Better lock up any scissors you have," Loki warned in a quiet voice.
Fandral and Volstagg gaped, Thor grinned, and Hogan looked away. Sif went from wary to furious. She hadn't kept scissors on her nightstand since a century ago when Loki cursed her scissors to cut off her golden hair as revenge for her calling him a bastard. Her once beautiful hair had grown to its current dull brown-black color.
"Why you," Sif hissed.
She jumped to her feet, and threw a punch at Loki before Thor could stop her. Thor raised his hand, but Loki could take care of himself. Her punch threw her off balance and made when she hit Loki she was stunned that Loki dissolved into emerald swirls. She fell through the illusion of the younger boy, and since she had put too much energy in her swing she couldn't recover in time and fell flat on her stomach.
Sif could hear Loki's laughter from in the apple tree that he had climbed back up after creating his illusionary double, and Loki heard giggling again. It was the same giggle as before and this time Loki was in the perfect position to see a small, thin figure in the shadows. He condensed his magic and sent out an invisible ripple to the hidden figure. As he guessed, the girl in the shadows straightened at his magic's touch, proof she was also a mage.
There was a shimmer of fuchsia light around the figure, and she was gone as suddenly as she had appeared. An invisibility spell, Loki thought curiously. He knew that was the same giggle that he had heard earlier, and he knew the other mages on Asgard. That laugh had not come from any of them.
Was that the same girl Volstagg had mentioned had gotten him chased out of the kitchens? Loki wasn't sure, but he was curious now. More curious then he was about why a Night Hair like Arlen had been chosen as Hallien's ambassador. If she was one and the same, then who was she?
Hello readers, to the first chapter of my first story in the pre-Thor arc. Everything in this arc happens before the first Thor movie, and leads up to it.
Ljósálfr (Light Elves) are introduced in such detail because they are a reoccurring race. Since Asgard is not the only realm in the NINE REALMS, the action does not occur on solely Asgard. Thor, his friends, and their parents are also not the only people on Asgard so there will be OC's to fill in the gaps.
As you might have guessed, a lot of things happened a century ago. The four-story arc of what happened a century ago is currently being posted. The first story of that arc is called "A Different Kind of Courage."