Loki's head jerked up, he blinked then looked around his room trying to see what had woken him. He had fallen asleep in his chair, having gotten little sleep as of late due to his nightmares. His dreams consisted of Thanos and his minions, how they had manipulated even the God of Mischief and Lies with the help of the mind stone. He shook his head as he sat up; he was only able to convince his mother he spoke the truth, which is why he was confined to his rooms with guards to watch his doors instead of a dungeon. Odin had fought her on this too arguing he was a danger to them all. He dwelled on these thoughts for a moment longer before realizing he was fully awake and continued to look for what had awoken him.
He had been reading. The book lay on the floor spine up, pages askew, where it had fallen from his outstretched hand. Still unsure if his latest dream was to blame he picked up the book and went to the open balcony doors. It was a decent evening the light breeze held a sweet scent from the recently blooming garden near his rooms. There was something else, a feeling, he could not place, but something was different.
He moved forward and leaned against the stone railing. Looking further out over the city and surrounding forests, he glimpsed a strange movement in the far distance it was a flash of white in a small clearing. Odd for anything to be on the move at this late an hour he thought absently. It was almost as if he was seeing things, but he knew he could sense something as well. It was very unlike anything he had previously come across and of course his curiosity peaked.
He moved with purpose to leave the castle. Figuring he could escape for bit into the woods, check on things, with no one the wiser; but of course as he made his way down the halls (after easily evading the guards by his door) he heard the low rumble that was unmistakably his oaf of a brother speaking in hushed tones. He waited a moment mid step. Perhaps he was going the other way. That would be just perfect of course, Loki thought sarcastically, the one time I actually try to leave. As he tried to make his getaway there was Thor, in all his glory with, unexpectedly, Jane. What is that blasted mortal doing here?! Loki thought. His eyes narrowed in disgust. Although if she was here it could have something to do with his current prospect or at the very least, give him some leverage, so he decided to play along instead of disappearing.
"Ahhhh Brother" he said with a slight hint of annoyance as he stepped out into the corridor. "I see you have been traveling to Midgard again; perhaps father should know SHE is here."
"Loki please, it is not I who has traveled this time. Jane has found a portal and I think it may be dangerous; we need to keep an eye on it. I have brought her here so she will be safe. We are going to further discuss our next action and," Thor paused admitting his reluctance to involve more people, "possibly bring it to fathers attention. It does seem a serious matter." Then as if just realizing who he was talking to added "Now hold on, how did you get past your guards?! You know father will be very displeased with you."
Loki raised an eyebrow choosing to ignore Thor's last statement, "It would be a shame if anything … dangerous got through." he said it with a knowing smirk. Thor looked at Jane who looked angry at his insinuation and a little worried too. "Perhaps I can be of assistance." Loki continued, "Then father will be none the wiser about your little…. Friend" he scoffed at her. "You just run along, and I will take care of this portal problem."
Thor eyed him suspiciously but knew he was correct, Loki knew much more about portals than anyone and he would like to keep this quiet. He decided to give him a chance; he had been behaving himself and had even been kind as of late. Even their father had taken notice and been more lenient with him allowing him free roam of the castle during the day instead of locked in his rooms. Although, Thor knew better than to think Loki actually stayed in his rooms all other times (such as now) or even the castle for that matter. Still, it may be a better option than alerting his father of Jane's arrival. Odin did not care for the girl thinking her unworthy of Thor's attentions; he was to be King someday after all.
Grimacing Thor responded hesitantly, "It's in the valley near here, a small clearing. And Loki, be careful, if anything goes awry I will know you had a hand in it and I will not hesitate to take action." He said it as a warning but Loki could hear the hint of concern in his tone. Was the buffoon actually worried about his wellbeing? Or perhaps worried about his secret getting out? Either way it was something to think about.
Loki raised both eyebrows in mock surprise. He had a suspicion that his feelings of earlier had something to do with all of this. "Of course," Loki nodded. "Let's hope nothing more will come of it." He added as he glanced over at Jane who was still scowling at him.
She clearly disliked him. His lack of punishment after New York probably didn't help but he HAD been behaving himself, keeping his pranks to a minimum and mostly staying in his rooms as the Allfather had demanded. He preferred his rooms over most others anyway and had no problem with the lack of interactions between nobles.
"This better stay quiet!" Jane hissed as she took a not so intimidating step toward him. He had to admit she tried. He snickered in response and waved a hand dismissively as he walked down the hall and out of the castle.
A/N: I'm in the process of moving so the next chapter may take another few weeks. Hope you enjoy!
