Chapter 2: A Troubled Past & Observations

Once Melody had satisfied her guest and comrade, she sat down near the outside of the cave, gazing up at the stars that shined overhead. When Melody was out of earshot, Loki started to inquire about her from none other than Hunter:

"So, Hunter?"

"Yes, Loki?"

"Is Melody always this motherly and…cheerful?"

"Yes. When we started travelling together, she became quite cheerful: Always helping the sick and injured, tending to the poor, and bringing comfort to the hurt, emotional or not, she would lend a hand to anyone whether they needed her or not."

Loki pondered this information carefully before he opened his mouth to speak. He tried to form a sentence, but he closed his mouth. He pondered again until he found the right words, "…I want you to tell me more about Melody."

"Why would you want to know about a complete stranger? Why the sudden interest?"

"I wish to learn more about her because something pulls me to her, but I don't know what. We may have just met, but I feel as though there's more to this girl than what she leads others to believe."

"Do you want to learn more about her so you can hurt her?"

"No, I just want to better understand her."

"I know you, Loki, and you always learn more about your enemy by becoming their friend, and then you betray them…I will not stand for betrayal towards Melody again. She knows what it's like and believe me: Her life was full of people who betrayed her!"

"What do you mean? She too knows betrayal?!"

"She tried to trust people, but when they had earned her trust, they took advantage of that and tried to hurt her. She always escaped from those people and from those days ahead, she never trusted anyone again…That is, until I came along and proved to her that some people were to be trusted."

"She is the same as me…"

"Right you are."

"Tell me about her problem with trust…I wish to use this information to better understand her and maybe, just maybe, get her to trust me."

"You seem all right…but you're no more than a curious cat. No wonder she had faith in you from the start: you two are similar in nature…You wish to know more about her," Hunter inquired as Loki nodded his head, "Very well…It's a bit of a long story."

"I'm willing to listen if you are willing to tell it."

"…Melody had what some would call a 'troubled past,' and the events of her youth led to her lack of trust towards strangers, especially men. When Melody was a little girl, her mother died during childbirth yet the father never blamed her. Then he was-he died too."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, so don't fret about it…She walked to a nearby tavern on foot in Asgard and asked for a place to stay for the night. The men inside thought she was quite beautiful, maybe not perfect or ideal like the women many men hear about or read about, but she was a looker. The men fought over who would gain her trust and when they had earned it…Oh…Oh, boy. Please don't make me say this." Hunter's face contorted into a face of fear, something that no one would expect from a man with a 'tough-guy' attitude 24/7. Loki looked at Hunter in concern as he gazed at Melody before questioning, "What? Why are you looking so miserable?...Well?!"

"…The men would gain her trust and then they would try to commit a crime against her, a crime she'd never consent to unless she deeply loved someone with all her heart…They attempted to bed her."

"What?!...No, you're lying! You must be lying! Is this a trick?!"

"Am I lying?...After all, you are the King of Lies, so you should be able to tell if what I say is true or not." Loki tried to wrap his head around this new-found information, but he found it difficult to accept this. 'It must be a lie! It must be a lie! Please be only a lie!' Loki shouted in his head as he stared at Hunter with a shocked face, warm tears trying to escape his eyes from hearing such a story, but being the God of Mischief he had to live up to his reputation: He would not cry for a girl he barely knew. When he stared at Melody, she strangely yet sincerely reminded him of his adoptive mother, Frigga, a woman who never hated nor wanted revenge against. Frigga had treated him as an equal for her love and in a strange way, Melody had done the same, even if the two had just met. Loki thought of his mother in the same position as Melody and realized he would kill any man who dared to hurt Frigga, but he tried to remain calm as he asked Hunter more information, "Did the men succeed in 'bedding' her?"

"…No. She always escaped when they did so, and from those days on, she vowed that she would never trust a man again. Every man after her father had betrayed her, and she trusted them with her future, her life, and her innocence."

"When did you find her?"

"…Oh, gosh! It must have been years ago…about six years to be precise….I remember that day like it was only yesterday: She was cold and alone, outside in a snowy alley. She kept to her vow to not trust any strange men she encountered, but at the same time, she feared that no one would ever make her feel loved, appreciated, or welcome….Tears fell from her eyes as I walked past her, and seeing a damsel in distress, I intervened. When I strode up to her, she became frightened as she gasped, 'Wh-Who are you? Tell me, who are you?!'

'I'm just a Good Samaritan,' I answered, 'I heard your cries and thought you were hurt. Are you all right?'

'I'm fine. Leave me alone.' She whispered in a sweet voice as she turned and faced the wall. I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she snapped at me, 'Leave me alone! I don't need your help!'

'I just want to make sure you're all right…Are you alone?' She took a while to answer and she stared at me for a while in disgust, but then she grabbed my hand and saw my emotions and my thoughts, even my memories before her eyes. She staggered away from me and choked out, 'You-You're alone too?'

'Indeed…Do you need a place to stay for the night?' Melody hesitated at first, because she had been betrayed for so long that almost nothing could cure her…but she remembered what she saw when she grabbed my hand, and she replied, 'Yes…I do.'

'Well, follow me and I'll get you a warm meal and a soft bed to rest upon. That would be nice, right?'

'Will our rooms be…separate?'

'Why? Do I bother you?'

'It's not you; it's me.' Melody's eyes started to well up with tears, and it was something I had never seen a girl do before in my life. I cupped her face in my hands and questioned her, 'Why are you so sad? What have I said or done to upset you so?'

'You have done nothing, good sir…It's just that-I-I-'

'It's just what?'

'…Every man that I attempted to trust…they have attempted to…they attempted to bed me for their own purposes. After the first few times I escaped alive, I vowed to never trust a man again.' Melody started to sob and I wrapped my arms around her with all my might, comforting her from anything that might hurt her as I whispered in her ear, 'No wonder you wished me to leave and to have a separate room. You thought I might hurt you…Madame, I am nothing like those foul excuses for men: I'm a noble gentleman and I wish to help you, whether you need it or not. I'm skilled with a blade, so I can protect you from anyone who wishes to do you harm.'

'Your voice is filled with kindness and sympathy…How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you are who you say you are?"

'Have hope that I am the man I claim to be…Take a leap of faith and I can prove to you that not all men, people for that matter, are evil…Come along.' Melody still hesitated until I reached my hand out to her and responded, 'Come along, maiden, or else you'll surely catch cold in this frigid air.' Melody took my hand gingerly and walked alongside me as a partner. When we had made it out of the dark alley, I asked her, 'So, you got a name, young one?'

'I'm…Melody. My name's Melody.'

'What a lovely name! How old are you?'

'I'm fifteen, sir.'

'Ah, a young lady!'

'What about yourself? Do you have a name?'

'Name's Hunter. Hunter of Asgard, at your service, milady.'

'Nice to meet you, Hunter, and thank you so much.'

'Don't fret upon on it. You needed help and I vowed to help you in any way possible.'

The two of us walked side-by-side to a tavern nearby, but when Melody saw it, she reeled back in fear as I asked, 'Melody, what's wrong?'

'That tavern is a curse to me! The men inside, all of them tried to bed me…I cannot go in there without being hurt with memories and pain.'

'All right, we don't have to go there if it causes you pain and fear…How about that inn over there? I know the inn-keeper and his family personally. They could always give us a room upstairs with separate beds.'

'That would be nice…Thank you, Hunter.'

'Don't mention it.' I led Melody to the inn where we met with the family who owned said inn. They gave us a room upstairs with separate beds, as expected, and they didn't charge much for our stay there. After all, I was a regular customer from my many travels. Melody and I stayed there for the night and then after that, Melody trusted me enough to become my travelling partner, battle comrade, and personal cook and medicine woman. Had it not been for that night, Melody would be dead from cold and you would be dead from blood loss because she wouldn't have seen you in the snow."

"So, that explains her cheerfulness and motherly mannerisms." Loki realized as he stared at Melody and nodded his head.

"What do you mean, Loki?"

"Do you not see what I see?! I see a young woman who obviously cares about the well-being of others before herself and because of you, she has become more trusting of individuals, always optimistic and seeing the silver lining in everyone…even the most evil people."

"She's always been that way…Always holding to every bit of faith she has, always believing that good things will come from hard trials, and always believing in hope. Hope is what drives her to do the things she does…"

"In my opinion, she acts more like my mother than my friend."

"You could say that again. She treats me the same way."

"But, she treats you more like her brother then her son."

"Indeed, she does…"

"Is there anything else I should know about her?"

"What?"

"Do you know something more about her….Maybe about her youth?"

"I do, but I would rather-," Hunter began to explain before Melody came back into ear shot again. Immediately, the two men stopped their conversation and stared at the cave floor as Melody replied, "Hello, you two…You two seem to be getting along just fine. What were you two talking about?"

"It was nothing, Sister. Just…manly matters."

"Indeed…It was not a fit subject to discuss around women, sorry." Loki smirked as he stared at Hunter and then back at Melody who beamed, "Well, that's quite all right. Can't jump into every conversation, now can you?"

Loki grinned before responding, "I guess not…"

Melody blinked her tired eyes prettily before she yawned and stretched like a cat, whispering, "Well, I guess it's time for me to rest…Hunter, make sure you and Loki finish that meal and add more wood to the fire if necessary."

"Yes, Sister."

"Goodnight, all."

"Goodnight." The two men responded as Melody curled up in a nearby corner of the cave and shut her eyes, her mind travelling to the first few hours of deep slumber. Loki and Hunter made sure she was fast asleep before they started to converse again, "What about her past? Am I allowed to learn of it from you or should I ask her myself?" Loki inquired. Hunter remained silent for several minutes in a very 'awkward' way until he turned towards the Asgardian prince and responded, "You will learn of her past in due time and you will learn about mine too…However, if I reveal too much, Melody will never have the chance to tell you herself. Give her some time and be patient and one day, she will surely open up to you. You will be the one who she can trust the most…in due time."

"That's reassuring. Be patient and give her time…I'll see if that is possible. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not giving up on me so easily and for protecting such an angel from harm."

"You're welcome, Loki," Hunter replied awkwardly before breaking the silence, "Well, I'll turn in for the night. You might want to consider getting some rest too. Goodnight, Loki."

"Goodnight, Hunter." Hunter curled up close to the fire but he remained as far away from Melody as possible, just as he had promised since they first met. Loki added more wood to the fire as he stared at the two people that saved him hours ago, and he remarked that he was quite grateful for their help. He then started to observe the two individually as he stared at the two in turn.

There was no doubt in his mind that Hunter was a native from Asgard, oh yes! Hunter was an Asgardian, and a noble one at that. Hunter had messy, shoulder length, blonde hair, brown eyes, and tan skin that made him truly Asgardian, but he also looked like one of those handsome Vikings without a beard that a girl MIGHT fall for. The man wore armor with dark boots, dark trousers, many leather belts with weapons, and a long-sleeved tunic with one color that he seemed to favor over any other: Red. Loki chuckled in the silence of the camp before he remarked inside his head, 'I swear, Hunter reminds me so much of Thor and Odin it makes me cringe.' Loki continued to stare at the young man, who was about the same age as him, until he turned his attention to his true savior, the young lady, Melody.

Loki had seen many women in his lifetime on Midgard and Asgard, but he had never seen anyone as innocent and as pretty, no beautiful, as Melody. Melody was a petite, young woman who was pretty to many, but others might not think so, but to Loki, she was a perfect, beautiful angel. She had fair skin like Loki, but she had different features from the God of Mischief. While Loki had black hair and emerald eyes, Melody had turquoise eyes and wavy, white-blonde hair that reached all the way to her hips. Melody wore dark leggings and boots with a hooded, long-sleeved dress in a color that Loki was very fond of; it was a color that showed off her eyes and hair quite well: Emerald Green. One thing that Loki thought was unique about Melody was that she had a brown birthmark under her chin in the shape of a heart, which seemed to symbolize Melody's kindness on the outside.

On the outside surface, Melody appeared to be an innocent, happy-go-lucky, Asgardian woman and sorceress, but to Loki, there was something about her that was not all Asgardian. From her aura, Melody seemed to be a half-breed, a creature who was rejected by more than one race of people; Loki just didn't know which races. He didn't know what she was, but he knew that sooner or later, he'd find out what made her so special and different from any others he had seen before and when he did find out that secret…he would never be the same man again. Before he could ponder more on this information, his eyes flew shut, causing him to fall under the sweet spell of deep slumber.