Hat-Trick: Tasertricks #2
Song: Rhiannon ~ Stevie Nicks
Genre: Fantasy/Romance-sort of.
Spoiler Alert: Nothing unless you haven't even seen the first movie.
Rating: T
Starless
There is but one realm that Loki found himself frightened of. It was a realm between the living and the dead, inhabited not by physical beings, but by shadows and dreams. Few knew of its existence, and even fewer knew how to get there.
Loki had first traveled there when he was but a child. He had watched his mother as she would steal away into the gardens at night, rest her back against one particular tree, and fall into a trance. For months he would follow her, hide himself in the crevasses of an old statue, and just watch. He had been so young he hadn't known what danger he was putting himself in; only that it was the one thing he and his mother had that was just them.
She had caught him one night, her trance interrupted when his foot had slipped and he had toppled from the monument. He had never seen his mother so frightened. She had flown from her perch beneath the tree and to his side. She had chastised him with tears practically falling from her eyes.
"You mustn't be here."
"Why. What is it that you do out here every night, Mother?"
"You mustn't ever be here."
"Tell me, and I shall stay away."
"Loki, my son, you are much too young to understand."
"I am just as capable as Thor, more so. Would you tell him?"
"No, this is too dangerous for him."
"For Father?"
"Very much so."
"For you?"
"Yes, even for me."
"Then why do you do it?"
"Because I must. Now promise me, you will never return here. Promise me."
"I promise."
Loki had been too headstrong to listen. He had thought himself stronger than his brother, and he thought if he could show it his father would be proud. He hadn't realized that where this was concerned he was the weakest.
He had waited a month, hoping his mother would think he had listened to her. He had stolen out of his room and hidden away in that old monument, watching as his mother once again preformed her ritual. He watched and he waited, and when she had finally pulled out from her trance and left, Loki approached the old tree.
He sat down on the patch of ground still warmed from his mother, curling his legs inward so the gangly things did not stick out in the moonlight and give him away. He pressed the back of his head against the rough trunk of the tree and closed his eyes.
The world around him went black as pitch, pinpoints of light flashing in and out every so often until a swirl of amethyst light surrounded him. For minutes or hours, he did not know, Loki was the center of the maelstrom of light. When everything calmed he found himself in a sea of vast nothingness, only himself and the most beautiful woman he had ever seen remained.
She stood much shorter than his mother, with thick locks of wood-brown hair waving down her graceful back. Her eyes, shimmering blue gems set within milk skin, gazed at him with such happiness that Loki faltered in his resolution to remain strong.
"You should have listened to your mother."
"I am strong, I fear you not!"
"You should, your mother does."
"I will show her you are not a thing to be feared."
"And how will you do this, you do not even know who I am."
"I…you…who are you then?"
"I am the ruler of this realm. I am death, and I am life. I am the shadow that lives in your dreams, and I am your dreams."
"That is unhelpfully vague."
"Such as am I. And what would you call yourself?"
"I am Loki, son of Odin and Frigga, Prince of Asgard."
"Are you though?"
"I know I am."
"You know this with everything that you are and will be, with what you could and should be?"
"I am, without a doubt."
"Then, Dear Prince, you should hold onto that and never let anyone convince you otherwise."
"Who would try to say otherwise?"
"Those that know what was, what is, what will be, and what could and will never be."
"You speak strangely."
"Or is it you, and I speak normally?"
"I…you are confusing."
"And you are not? You defied your mother and you do not even know why."
"I do too! I came to show Father that I am stronger than Thor."
"And how shall you do this? Odin does not even know your mother comes to me."
"I…I…"
"No matter what you do, Odin will never see how strong you truly are."
"Why, why won't he?"
"Because he wishes not to see what I see, because he sees what has been and is sacred to see what will be."
"You think I am strong, stronger than Thor?"
"Oh yes, you are stronger than even Odin."
"I am…you are right I am."
"I am always right, always. Now, my little prince, will you defy your mother again and come see me tomorrow?"
"If you wish it."
"Good boy."
From then on Loki would visit the strange woman, the Queen of the Starless Realm. He grew closer to her without ever knowing her name, and as he grew older his heart attached itself to her. She became his light and his dark, his shadow and his dream, and he unknowingly destroyed everything his mother worked for.
"You have grown into a handsome man. Why do you still visit me when I am sure there are thousands of Asgardian women after your heart?"
"I hold little interest in those women. They are plain and vacant compared to you. Surely you must realize this."
"Does your heart belong to me then?"
"It has since I first laid eyes on you."
"This is good."
"Does your heart belong to me?"
"Since I first laid eyes on you. You were always meant to be mine; always."
It was only months before Thor's coronation when his mother finally caught him. He had remained too long, caught up in the pleasures that his Queen freely gave. He had been forcefully pulled away, his eyes opening to the sight of his frantic mother.
"You promised me you would not return here!"
"I am strong, Mother. I'm safe, see."
"You do not know what it is you are dealing with."
"You need not worry, she would never hurt me."
"She…you have talked to her then?"
"Of course, from the first night."
"How long? Loki, how long?"
"Years. I do not understand why it is any of your business."
"She promised me she would not take you."
"You…why would you make her promise something like that?"
"Loki, she is not what you think. She wants you."
"I know, and she has me."
"No! She promised."
"I gave myself to her…freely!"
"Oh, Loki. You shouldn't have, she will destroy you."
"She would never hurt me."
"She already has."
Loki should have listened to his mother then, but he refused to be separated from his Queen. He allowed himself to listen to the whispers she breathed into his ears while in bed. Whispers of power, of how to earn his father's love. And so he visited the ice giants and he set in motion a series of events that would lead to his downfall.
It was when he found himself hurtling downward into the abyss that he recalled the image from the Destroyer. There, in the middle of the desert on Midgard, stood his Queen. She had looked up at the great metal behemoth looking all the world like a mortal. All except for the faint glow of her eyes and the devilish smile spreading across her lips.
There, amongst the swirling stars and the vast emptiness below he heard a familiar sigh.
"You were always meant to be mine. Always."
Author's Note: Um…I have no earthly clue what in the world this is. I was going to go for a magical!Darcy, but this sort of whatever happened. So there ya go.
Now, I know it has been awhile. I've been busy lately, between getting ready for school, which starts Friday, and working on developing what is turning out to be a monster of a Shieldshock, I haven't got much else done.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.