Hannah wandered the halls of the castle, fingers trailing in the groves of the stone walls. The hallways were quiet and she was bored.
So bored.
She thought about sneaking into the main hall of the court where everyone else was but her father had forbidden her to even be within eyesight of the doors—but she would give anything to be able to see what was going on inside.
Her father was Chancellor for the King, the King's most trusted advisor, and a devout Catholic who would do anything to convert people to the "true religion"; and since most of Europe shared his feelings he had an easy job-until they had found a pocket of pagans along the coast.
Most of the village had converted easily when faced with the possibility of being burned alive, but a few opted for the latter refusing to back down. The two that were left were in audience with the King and visitors from Rome. Hannah wasn't sure why these two were important and why she wasn't allowed to see them as her father let her sit in on a few of these situations before, to "show her the might of the Church" but this time he had put his foot down.
Curiosity got the better of her and she quickly turned the corner to the Main Hall, trying to look innocent if the doors happened to open and she got a glimpse of the two prisoners—luck just happened to be on her side.
The heavy wooden doors swung open as the King's guards poured out, their footsteps barely covering the clinking of heavy chains that bound the hands of the men they lead out. The first was enormous and blonde; Hannah thought he could be royalty with how he carried himself proud with a huge grin on his face. The second was dark and just as tall but not nearly as large, but she could tell that even under the strange clothes he was wearing he would be anything but soft. His green eyes flashed in her direction, and when they locked with Hannah's a wolfish smile spread across his face.
"Hannah!" Her father waved her over to where he stood, still beside the King. She tore her eyes away from the strange man and hurried to her father's side.
"I thought I told you to stay away?" His voice was stern but she could hear the hint of worry underneath.
"I am sorry," Hannah quickly bowed in front of the King and stood by her father, who tucked her at his side protectively.
"How should we proceed?" the King asked.
"They are devils, I have heard of such things, but never thought I would see them." The Archbishop said solemnly.
"But what do we do with them?" The King pressed.
"The same as we would with any other creature from Hell, we burn them."
Hannah tossed and turned all night, she couldn't get that image of the dark haired man out of her head.
"Having trouble sleeping?" A smooth voice spoke from the foot of her bed. Hannah sat straight up and clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
"Surprise."
"Who are you?"
"Loki, God of Mischief," Loki's grin widened as he took in Hannah's reaction to his words.
"You can't be, he is a myth" She shook her head in disbelief
"How can a myth be standing in front of you,"
"There is only one God."
"You mortals change your minds all the time, it wasn't so long ago you all worshipped the sun, it seemed like yesterday your people were building temples for me and my family—and now the belief that there is one God."
"This isn't real. You are not real."
"It is and I am." Loki took a step closer, arms spread wide-Hannah's hand to her bedside table, her fingers grasped the metal cup and she threw it as hard as she could at Loki.
There was a flash of green as the cup went through him—and a crash as it hit the wall behind him. This time she couldn't keep from screaming.
"Hannah?!" Her father called from his room, but she couldn't answer him.
"You are Satan,"
Loki chuckled, "Oh little one, you have no idea."
At the same second Hannah's bedroom door slammed open, Loki disappeared in a flash of green.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hannah tried to convince herself it was all a dream. She thought about not going to the execution—that perhaps seeing that man again would do more harm than good, her father had other ideas.
"You need to see that he is just flesh and blood and can be killed just like anything else." He said over breakfast, and Hannah had to admit that it might help.
The crowd at the square was enormous but Hannah and her father were in the front line. Loki and the other man were already tied to the stakes, looking purely bored while the priests chanted their prayers and the executioners' poured oil on the wood surrounding their feet.
"Here we go," Her father said excitedly as the torches were lit.
Loki and the other man looked at each other, both smiling, before the blonde one bellowed, "Heimdal, we are ready to go home now!"
And before the rainbow light covered them, Loki caught her eye and winked, before disappearing into the sky.