Chapter 2
Answers
After we had both eaten I set up several blankets on the floor for him to sleep on and gave him a pillow.
"Are you going to tell me you real name now?"
He seemed offended.
"I have told you my name is Loki of…."
"Asguard yes I know. I hate to tell you this but….."
I stopped when I heard a car pulling up. I looked out the window.
"Oh no." I said.
I walked outside with my bow.
"I already gave you what you asked for!" I snapped.
"You think I'm stupid don't you woman!? You think that running away and living deep in the forest will keep me away?! You didn't give me everything! You still owe me 500 pounds! Now pay up or I'll light this house up like a Christmas tree."
"I don't have any money! You took it all in the divorce!"
"And rightly so! Our boy is dead because of you!"
"It was an accident! You know that Alan!"
"An accident that could've been avoided if you weren't such a stupid bitch!"
I was close enough to where I could slap him but I should have known better. He punched me hard in the face and I fell to the ground.
Loki's POV
I heard her shouting and I heard a man shouting back. I walked to the door just to see him hit her. My eyes widened and she fell to the ground unconscious. The man looked at her and then a sick smile spread across his face. He started to fumble with his belt and I knew what he was going to do….he was going to rape her! I ran forward and kicked him hard in the stomach.
"Don't you dare touch her!" I growled.
"Fuck off! This isn't your business!"
I grabbed him and lifted him up off the ground. Being in a mortal form after falling from Asguard, I was not as strong as I once was, but I was still strong enough.
"No man has any business forcing himself upon a woman! And that woman saved my life even though she didn't have to! I will NOT allow a puny mortal man such as you do anything to harm her!"
He spit in my face and I threw him to the ground. I pulled out a small knife and shoved it into his leg. He howled in pain and I squeezed his throat.
"Silence! You are never to come here again am I clear!? If you do I will end your pathetic life."
He looked at me with fear in his eyes and nodded. I let him go and then turned and picked the woman up. I did not even know her name. I took her to her room and laid her on her bed. She was would have a good bruise on her face in the morning. There was dirt and blood on her face from falling to the ground. I got a wet cloth and cleaned her face a bit.
"I won't let him hurt you. I promise." I whispered.
I stayed at her side until she opened her eyes. It was early morning by that time. At first she looked everywhere but me, then she was only looking at me.
Aurora's POV
I looked into the green eyes of Loki.
"Where is he?" I asked.
"Gone. He will not be coming back."
"He always comes back. He'll find me no matter where I go." I said.
"Then the next time he comes here I'll kill him."
I looked at him alarmed.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"You can't just kill him! He….he was my husband."
"Was?"
I nodded.
"I guess you deserve an explanation for helping me."
He shook his head.
"There is no need. If you're not comfortable with…"
I put my hand on his arm and he fell silent.
"We were married until about 4 years ago. You asked me if a child lived here and one did once. This used to be our family vacation home. We would come here every summer. My son….he was only 6 years old." I looked down. "I should have been watching. He went chasing after a frog and he drowned. It's my fault that my son is dead."
Tears rolled down my cheeks and Loki put his hand on my shoulder.
"You cannot blame yourself for what happened. Children are curious and sometimes too curious. I realize this will not make it better, but hopefully it helps."
I was confused and surprised.
"Why did you help me?"
"You saved my life." he answered.
"Technically I only helped you."
He smirked.
"To you, but to me you saved me. I know nothing of this realm and would have surely gotten myself into trouble."
"There you go again with the realm thing. Are you one of those die hard fantasy people?"
"I don't understand."
"I'm starting to think that maybe you're telling the truth about where you come from."
He smirked and I narrowed my eyes.
"Just because I said that doesn't mean you have to be a smug bastard."
He seemed taken aback.
"People don't talk like that on Asguard?"
"Not to me they didn't. I was the son of Odin the king. Well…that's what I was told all my life."
I heard the sadness in his voice. I frowned and moved closer to him.
"So were you adopted? Well maybe they your parents didn't want you to feel alienated from them or…."
"No. Odin found me in a temple as a baby after he won a war with the Frost Giants. I was no more than another stolen relic locked up in Asguard until my 'father' might have use of me."
The pain and betrayal in his voice made my heart ache for him. I put my free hand on his shoulder.
"It sounds to me….like they wanted to protect you. That they didn't want you to feel different from everyone else. Think about it. If they had told you when you were a child you would have felt strange, knowing you weren't really one of them. I understand not feeling that you belong."
He became angry and pushed me away and stood up.
"You don't know a damn thing about me!" he snarled.
I didn't flinch and I didn't back away.
"You're right, I don't know you. But I know pain and suffering. I know betrayal and hatred. I understand those things very well. You still have a family, adopted family or not. I have no one. My parents are gone, never coming back. I'm an only child, my son is dead and my ex wants me dead. I'm alone in this world and any other. You're not."
He turned and looked at me, a different expression on his face. It was one of guilt and understanding. I stood up and put my hand over his heart.
"No matter who we are, or where we come from, we're all the same in one way. We all have a heart. Some choose not to use it, others do. And I can tell that you do. Give me your hand."
He did so slowly and I put it over my own heart.
"Do you feel it?" he nodded. "If you really do come from Asguard then you may as well be a god, and I'm a mortal. But I still have a beating heart."
"I'm not a god. I'm a frost giant's offspring who was not wanted by his own kind and cast out to die."
I rolled my eyes and let his hand go.
"You're missing the point. You're still a living, breathing person who has feelings. It wouldn't have mattered to me if you had purple skin and…yellow eyes! You're still a living person."
He was looking at me like I was crazy. I sighed and looked away.
"You can stay here as long as you need to. But I'm warning you now, I sleep with a large hunting knife. So if you try anything funny I'll cut off your manhood."
He grimaced a little and I winked and went to my room. I took a long hot bath and then dressed again. I was walking out to make some tea but I stopped dead in my tracks. Loki was shirtless and he was in very good shape. I could see the muscles of his pale back bunching and coiling as he moved. My mouth was open a bit and a low sound left my throat. I shut my mouth and hid behind the door. I decided against the tea and just went to bed.
