"Fandral!" I shouted out of the back door into the garden. "Fandral, where are you?"
It was filthy weather outside, the rain lashed down and the trees blew hard in the wind. It was so dark out there I couldn't see a thing.
"Fandral you stupid bloody cat come here!" I shouted again, waiting a few moments more, my red plaid pyjamas getting wet, to see if he appeared. "Shit!" I kicked the side of the wall in frustration and shut the door. Damn thing must be absolutely soaked. Why wouldn't he come home? I imagined him cowering and cold hiding under a car. Surely he knew he could be sat purring happily in front of the fire with me.
I made myself a cup of tea and settled down upon the sofa, curling my legs up under me. I didn't want to be alone either on a night like this; my pampered grey tabby was my only companion now that I had returned home.
Home. I didn't even know if this little town in England was my home. I chose it because it was small and not of any consequence and I like the pretty name of Mayberry enough. The task of tracing any real relatives was near to impossible as the All- Father had predicted. Even Heimdall was unable to tell where I had come from when I was found by a young Thor whom would become a brother. They had all tried to dissuade me from leaving Asgard. I might have been mortal by birth but I was raised in an Asgardian palace, I knew nothing of either world, sheltered as I was. But as I grew older the differences between myself and the other Asgardian women I compared myself to became greater. I am small where they are statuesque. I am plain where they are beautiful. I am weak where they are strong. They are Gods. I am human.
I could not disregard the obvious differences for ever. I went to see the scholars and asked them to help me discover more about Midgard or as I learned to call it now Earth. I would spend all my time in their company discovering about the world from which I came from.
I was afraid to tell my Frigga, my mother, about what I was thinking because I loved her so much I did not want to hurt her in my desire to discover where I had come from. She had always told me no mother could have loved me anymore, it was of no matter that I had not come from her own womb. So I kept my secret. Until I heard that he was to be married to the beautiful Lady Sigyn. My heart broke and it expedited my plans.
Loki was against it most of all. He demanded I tell him why. How could I ever tell him the truth? That he was part of the reason I wished to leave. I suppose I had always been a little in love with him. As children we were very close. Whereas Thor filled the role of annoying and arrogant elder brother, who did not have much patience with a no doubt annoying mortal sister, very well indeed; Loki had much more time for me. Although he teased me often and played tricks on me, he was always my closest companion. We were always together, sometimes much to mother's frustration when he was up to mischief which often I became embroiled with.
When I was ten and Loki twelve he, pitying the fact I had no power, decided to try and impart some magic onto me. We sat crossed legged on the floor of my chamber opposite each other. Loki held onto my wrists and conjured up some enchantment intending that I might share a little of his gift. Instead his hands burnt my wrists. I screamed out so loud that Odin burst into my chamber ready to kill whatever beast was upon me! I was spent a whole week in the healing rooms and the All-Father was so furious with Loki that he was absolutely forbidden from visiting me. Loki was horrified at what he had done but I of course forgave him. As he grew older and more handsome my feelings for him started to change. They felt less sisterly. I watched him change from a boy into a man, no, into a God. Whenever we spoke I would gaze into his green eyes and get so lost in them I didn't even hear what he was saying.
I sighed and took a sip of my tea. I wondered what had happened to the Loki I knew and loved. When I left Asgard he did not come to the Bifrost to say goodbye with everyone else. Even the mighty Thor came, embraced his silly adoptive sister and bid her farewell. But Loki did not. The evening before I left we had argued. He demanded again I tell him the truth about why I wanted to go to this realm. I would not. He lost his temper and told me humans were base and wretched and he called me a fool. That was the last time we spoke.
When I saw him again he was a destroying a city, he'd unleashed an army from a world that I even I with all my knowledge of the other realms did not know of. The man I loved, a murderer.
No one had come to me in that time. I was alone and afraid and no one thought to come to me. It had hurt me but I had learned not to dwell upon it. I recognised that I had made my choice and that I couldn't expect to be whisked back to Asgard when the Earth was in danger. Even if my two brothers were the ones fighting over it.
It wasn't odd that I should be thinking about Loki now. The scars upon my wrists from where his touch burned them had felt strange recently. It had started again this morning. It begins with a tingling sensation, like tiny pin pricks and gradually gets keener and keener until it feels like they are burning again. I had experienced it once before when he was all over the news.
I heard a noise in the kitchen, I thought it might be the cat flap swinging and hoped that Fandral had saw sense and come home.
"I hope you're not leaving wet paw prints all over the kitchen floor" I called out as I padded bare foot into the kitchen.
"You named your beast Fandral?" I recognised the voice instantly and froze to the spot. My wrists burned and I held them out in front of me, examining them, I did not believe this was happening.
"Mila?" he spoke again and I looked up at him in disbelief. Loki cocked his head to the side, his expression examining, almost as if he didn't quite believe it was me either.
"No" I said simply and backed away. "No" I repeated.
He was quickly behind me before I registered he had moved. Loki caught my arm and he held it behind my back, firmly yet carefully. Thinking that I would scream he placed his hand on my mouth. "Don't struggle and I won't hurt you", Loki whispered into my ear; his breath was warm against my skin. "I'll free your mouth if you promise not to scream. Do you promise?" I didn't like the way I felt when he referred to my mouth. I nodded in agreement; I wouldn't have screamed in the first place, I didn't want anyone else to get hurt.
"Let go of my arm", I choked desperately trying not to cry.
"You wouldn't be fool enough to run now would you?" he replied, twisting it harder.
"You're hurting me. Please let go", I begged.
Loki untwisted my arm and spun me round so I was facing him but he kept hold of me at the wrists instead, they had stopped pulsating under his touch. I kept my head down, looking at his black boots. I couldn't bear to look at him. It didn't escape his notice.
"Won't you look at me Mila?" Loki's tone was low, seductive. I shook my head. "So few words for me now, we used to converse much".
"What do you want?" I croaked out. My voice was full of emotion. I was scared and shamefully thrilled that he was here.
Loki released my left wrist and with his free hand gently lifted my chin upwards so that I was now looking at his face. He had changed so much since I saw him last. His black hair was longer, more dishevelled. He was a little paler and more wearied. But his eyes were as beautiful and magnetic as ever. He regarded me loftily.
"You cut your hair", he briefly picked up a strand of my brown curls and let it drop.
"Why are you here?" I asked him.
"Escaping", he smiled, enigmatically. I hated my treacherous heart for fluttering as he did so. "You may know I am not very popular in Asgard right now".
"You're not very popular here either", I snapped.
"Ah, about that" he began.
"About that? About being a murderer, about unleashing an alien army upon earth, about the deaths and devastation you caused? What happened to you Loki?" I asked wriggling out of his grip. He didn't prevent me, nor did he stop me as I ran by him into the lounge. I knew it was pointless trying to escape him completely. I stood in the middle of the room and watched him enter.
"Do you know what I am Mila?" he asked slowly edging towards me. Instinctively I backed away. "You're right to be afraid of me. I am a monster. Do you remember the stories Thor used to frighten you with?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked impatiently.
"About the Frost Giants?" he prompted. He was so close to me now, towering over me. I nodded, I remembered them, Thor was always going on about them and how if I wasn't a good girl they'd come for me and take me to Jotunheim as their prisoner. I remember once I was so scared I wouldn't sleep alone and Frigga had to lay with me at bedtime for weeks.
He reached out and took my wrists again but this time he held them gently. His long fingers curling around my scars. I watched in terror as those hands slowly turned blue. I shut my eyes.
"Look at me Mila", he commanded quietly. I gasped when I looked at his face once more. His face was now blue and bore the strange markings of Frost Giants, which I had seen in paintings in Asgard. And his eyes, his beautiful green eyes, were red.
