Loki fanfic ch. 2

Nina went out to the schoolyard with the other kids in her class, a book tucked underneath her jacket and sweater. She wasn't supposed to bring books out into the schoolyard, or anything for that matter. But it was her recess time, and she thought that she should be able to do as she pleased during her one break of the day.

Nina found a secluded corner on the other side of the playground, where the teacher and students wouldn't find her unless they really looked for her. She wasn't really hiding, she was near enough to the other children and their teacher, but it was in a spot that no one looked at because no one played in it. She sat down on the cold ground, leaning against a tree, and smiled as she opened up her favorite book, Matilda. Her father had brought it back for her during one of his long business trips and she had loved it ever since. That had been when she was nine, but even at eleven years old Nina still frequently picked Matilda's now worn cover off the shelf.

"Whatcha doin' there Mouse?" a fellow student asked. Nina almost groaned. She had thought that the other students hadn't seen her sneak off on her own. Apparently she had been mistaken. She ignored Will, her least favorite boy in her class, and concentrated instead on the words on the page. Will was extremely unpleasant, one of the crueler boys whose stupidity alone made Nina want to throttle him. Tall and gangly, he still had enough strength and sharp words to make her miserable. Maybe he'll go away if I ignore him, she hoped.

"Still readin' your stupid books are ya'? I promise you they won't make you any less ugly." Will said, bending down to try to look her in the eyes. Nina's temper flared.

"Well, gotta keep my intelligence up, wouldn't want to end up ugly and stupid like you." Nina said giving Will a close-lipped smile. Will gave her a furious glare, then snapped her book up and out of her reach.

"Hey! Give that back!" Nina snapped, jumping to try and reach the book now in his hand high above his head. Will's height ensured that Nina would not reach it no matter how high she jumped.

"Not a chance crazylady." Will laughed, keeping the book aloft. Nina got angrier, that was her least favorite nickname out of all the ones her classmates had made for her. It wasn't even clever or creative, just mean and stupid.

"If you want a book get your own, it might help you grow a brain." Nina said. When Will still didn't drop the book Nina looked both ways, ensuring there was no one else still in their part of the schoolyard. When she saw no one was nearby she gave Will the strongest punch in the gut she could muster.

It worked; Will doubled over groaning and dropping the book. Nina quickly snatched Matilda up off the ground and tried to take off running. Will though had one more strategy up his sleeve and grabbed Nina's hair, yanking her back. Nina dropped the book again, trying to get Will's hand out of her hair. Tears filled Nina's eyes as Will pulled her hair higher and higher above her head. Nina stood on tiptoe and turned around to land hits and kicks on Will. Will only tugged her hair harder.

"You think you can do somethin' like that and get away with it? Everyone here knows you're crazy. Talkin' 'bout some prince comin' out of the sky. " Nina turned around again to look Will in the eye, her hair twisting and causing more pain.

"He was real, I saw him."

"Careful now, don't want your psychiatrist to hear ya' sayin' that do ya'?" Will sneered wagging a finger at her. Nina kicked and hit back even harder than before, but Will just gave her hair a harder yank and went one step further, punching her straight in the eye. Nina felt like a brick had hit her eye and cried out.

"What is going on here?" An angry voice asked from behind Nina. Immediately, Will let go of Nina's hair. Nina fell to the ground covering her eye with one hand and massaging her scalp with the other. Nina then turned to look at her savior.

It was him. Her prince Loki. She would have recognized him anywhere, even with his different clothes. The biggest difference was that he looked like he had stepped off the cover of a menswear magazine instead of coming from a renaissance festival. He had on a long black coat, a dark green shirt, and black slacks. He also had a black cane with a gold tip for a handle, which Nina found to be a bit odd.

Loki immediately walked up to Will, bearing down on him. Will practically crumpled under the fierceness of Loki's gaze.

"Wh-who the h-hell are you?" Will sputtered.

"I think that I will be the one asking the questions here. Now," Loki said, playing with the cane idly in his hands, "may I ask why you were antagonizing this young lady here?" Loki finished, looking to Nina. Will gulped.

"I was-Sh-she was uh…"

"Doing nothing more than quietly reading a book before your cruelty got the better of you. Is that the answer you were looking for?" Loki said, stepping closer to Will to look down at him.

"Ye-yes." Will mumbled.

"Yes sir, boy."

"Yessir."

"Good enough. Now I do believe that you owe Miss. Nina an apology."

"Don't owe her nothing..." Will mumbled again. Immediately Loki's cane was underneath Will's chin forcing Will to look Loki in the eyes.

"What was that boy?" Loki demanded. Will's stupidity or bravery got the better of him.

"I said I don't owe her nothin'. She's a freak, talkin' 'bout some prince of hers that came out of the sky…" Will trailed off. Loki gave Will a smirk before his garb changed before Nina's eyes. Loki changed into the prince that she remembered from the creek, his armor returning with the addition of a gold helmet with two antlers jutting out of it. Will looked like he was about to keel over from sheer terror, his face turning white and his eyes wide.

"I am not sure which part of you I detest more, your abominable pronunciation of the English language or your stupidity. Listen here you mewling quim, you will apologize to this young lady or you will face this prince's wrath. I speak on behalf of King Odin of Asgard, Protector of the Nine Realms. Now, make your choice quickly, as I am not a patient man." Loki said. Will had never looked so terrified. He shot a pleading look to Nina, who had stood up at this point. She stared back defiantly at Will, crossing her arms. Will took one more look at Loki, then looked at Nina, saying a quick "sorry!" before bolting out from underneath Loki's cane.

After Will had left tears filled Nina's eyes, although she was not sure why they were there. Loki's garb changed back to the long black coat, green shirt, and black slacks. He kneeled before her to look her in the eyes, with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Why do they hate me?" Nina asked rubbing her one good eye to try and stop the tears.

"They do not hate you. They simply do not understand you. They do not understand why you would prefer to find solace in the pages of a book than with other children. What people do not understand they try to change, ostracize, or antagonize. That is what you're experiencing." Loki said, using a thumb to wipe away some of her tears.

"But you understand?"

"Finding solace in books rather than people? Very much so." Loki said smiling at her. Nina gave him a weak smile back. "Do not wish to change yourself Nina, uniqueness is a gift, although it is not often seen by others as such. You will see it as a gift yourself one day.

"You promise?"

"You have my word." Loki said, making the same gesture from the creek, making his hand into a fist and crossing the same arm across his chest. Nina smiled genuinely then. "There is, however, a favor I would like to ask of you my Lady Nina. Besides the honor of talking to such a beautiful young lady." Loki said, making Nina smile and blush.

"What is it?"

"I was hoping you could tell me of the historical areas of your town."

"What sort of spots?" Nina asked, frowning.

"Anything that is particularly ancient. It may have symbols or markings on it that your people would not understand." Loki said. Then Nina knew what he was looking for. She remembered it from even before she had met Loki.

"There's a spot right near the creek where you found me the first time. There's a vault in the ground covered with a huge stone. It's covered in symbols that people like scientists and stuff don't understand. Nobody can figure out how to get it open either. They had a group of scientists go out and study it but they still don't know what it is." Nina remembered it because she had often pretended that it was where her fairy throne had been. Nina had tried to open it herself one day, there was a handle to pull it open, but it was either too heavy or needed a key to open it. Loki smiled at her information, apparently satisfied.

"As always my Lady Nina, it is a pleasure talking to you." Nina frowned.

"I told you, I'm a Fairy Queen remember?" Nina said, giving Loki a fake pout and crossing her arms again. Loki gave a small chuckle and a smirk, while standing back up.

"Of course my Queen, my most sincere apologies." Loki said smiling and dropping into a deep bow before her. Nina giggled before regaining her composure, giving him a curtsey of her own. She was glad that she had decided to wear a skirt that day; it was much easier to curtsey with a skirt. Just then, Nina heard the school bell ring. She looked back at Loki with worry in her eyes.

"Will I ever see you again?" Nina said, Loki frowned.

"I most certainly hope so my Queen. Go on, before you are late." Nina nodded and took off to go and find her teacher, but not without thanking Loki for his help.

Nina's teacher was concerned when she saw Nina's now bruised and swollen eye. Nina told him that she had tripped during recess and went to the nurse for a cool compress before heading back to class. She hoped that not telling on Will for punching her would keep him quiet about seeing Loki. She figured that Will wouldn't want to be considered crazy either so that would keep his mouth shut as well. It wasn't until she was heading back to class, cold compress on her eye, that she remembered she had left her book out in the schoolyard. She thought about running out to get it but if she couldn't get back into the building she would be in trouble, on top of having to explain why she had had a book with her during recess.

But when she got back to the classroom Matilda was sitting on top of her desk. She saw movement in the corner of her eye and saw that Loki was standing outside the classroom door. He put a finger to her lips to tell her to stay quiet. She gave him a thankful smile and waved at him before he disappeared in a golden light.

"Nina, who are you waving at?" Mr. Mills asked her. Her teacher and all the other students in the class were now looking at her. Nina quickly put down her hand.

"No one Mr. Mills." Nina said. The students in the class chuckled and twittered.

"Then please pay attention now, recess is over."

"Yessir." She replied, but she smiled as she looked down at Matilda. Nina was unique and it didn't feel like too much of a bad thing.