Author's Note: Hi all! Thank you for all your wonderful feedback to this point. I may not reply directly to you, but I read every comment and it makes me so freaking happy when I get your emails. I just wanted you all to know that. :) Also, as always, I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Once Niya left, Loki slumped against the banister, watching without seeing the city around him. The fire and stubbornness she displayed had been so discordant to her actions. If she had so much will, why would she allow her father to dictate her life? Perhaps she was a liar. The smallest smile crept on his lips as he slipped his slender fingers around his wrist, running his thumb across the inside. He imagined he could feel the letters of her name smoldering into his skin below the black leather sleeve.
"Already she weighs on your mind."
"No more than five years ago," he replied.
Frigga leaned on the rail beside him, close enough that their arms touched. She always had known how to soothe her child. "Give it time, my son."
"Time? Time for what?"
She looped her arm around his, hugging him to her. "She has to come to you."
He hung his head. "You speak as though you know my heart."
She laughed lightly. "When you were young, you would come to me with your little wrist exposed and ask me to tell you a story about her. You would have me imagine what she would be like, list her favorite books."
He reclaimed his arm, turning away from Frigga. "I'm not that little boy anymore."
"No," she sighed. "I wonder where he has gone."
Loki finally looked at her. Her mouth was thin, jaw set, and her eyebrows were angled. "Please don't look at me like that, Mother."
She stepped closer. "You used to tell me everything."
Anger flared in his chest. "I don't know what you expect! The entire situation is thoroughly absurd! I've met her and feel nothing! Well, not unless annoyance counts for something. And why me? Why does Thor not bear the mark?"
Frigga cupped his face in her hands. "You are not your brother."
"As I'm frequently reminded." His tone was sharp. His eyes wouldn't meet his mother's.
She forced him to look down at her before speaking again. "Why must you do this to yourself?"
He took her hands in his, holding them a little tighter than needed. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Mother."
He dropped her hands and began walking away. "Loki," Frigga called. He stopped. "It's good to have you back home." He stepped inside without a reply.
Loki watched his feet as he walked, not paying attention to the extravagant halls. He'd wandered these corridors so many times in the past that his feet could carry him anywhere while his mind wandered. But inattentiveness caught him a bit off guard when Thor intercepted him. Thor's face was red from excitement and drink. As he swayed lightly, he gripped Loki's shoulder. Loki shrugged his hand away, but Thor simply did it again, and with more strength.
"Come, Brother! You are missing out on the festivities!" Thor tried to pull him back into the great hall, but Loki managed to duck away. Thor paused, confused. "One half of the celebration is for you. Your absence has been noticed."
"Go. Celebrate without me. I'm certain you're more than capable."
Thor swayed back on his heels before catching his balance. "If you do not want my company, all you have to do is say so."
"Does it look as though I want your company?" asked Loki.
Thor backed away a step, half raising an arm in mild defense. "Apparently not. Go then. Skulk about as usual."
Loki turned and continued down the hall as he had been before Thor intercepted him Instead of heading for his bedchambers, he turned towards the library.
At this time of night, only a few candles remained lit, illuminating alternate nooks. Bookshelves towered like trees set in neat rows. The ceiling was glass domed and webbed with golden swirls. Ivy dotted with fluorescent white and blue flowers climbed the pillars.
Loki followed a path he knew by heart through the labyrinthine shelves—turning right at fairy tales, straight past the histories, left at war strategies—until he found his personal alcove. Stacks of books threatened to topple to the floor, and it looked as though some already had. A few lay beside the cushioned chair, one or two opened on their spines to a random page, one lying face down. Loki shut them gently as he scooped them up one by one and set them on top of the shortest stacks. He then chose a book from the top of another pile and sat back to read, cradling the volume in one of his hands.
His eyes travelled over the pages, but the words never registered in his mind. Frustrated, he snapped the book shut and tossed it aside. It landed with a dull thunk. Perhaps Thor would know how to distract his mind.
. . .
Niya awoke with a jolt, sending her stomach roiling. She took a moment to breathe deep and regain proper control of her senses. Another knock pounded on her door followed by sharp whispering. Then came another knock after she rolled over and burrowed deeper into the soft blankets. She threw them aside with a growl and shrugged on a robe. Thor beamed at her when she opened the door. Loki stood off to the side with his arms crossed.
"Do either of you have any idea what time it is?" Her voice sounded as though she had swallowed sand.
"Dress quickly. We're going on an adventure!"
"Oh, very good. Shout it to the palace. I'm not sure father heard you," Loki grumbled.
Thor simply continued to smile. "Go on," he urged her. "We'll wait for you."
Niya had her own arms crossed. "Do you not sleep?"
Loki gestured to her while looking at Thor. "See? She doesn't even want to go. Now can we all just go back to bed?"
Thor shot Loki a confused look. "You came to find me."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know. But most of Asgard is asleep. Obviously so was she."
"She has a name," Niya interjected.
"Sleep is overrated," said Thor. Neither of them seemed to notice she had spoken.
"Only to some," said Loki.
"Will both of you be quiet? I'm putting on some clothes." She nearly slammed the door shut.
"I told you she'd go," sounded Thor's smug voice through the door. Niya groaned.
Regardless, she was dressed and had her hair tied back only moments later. Thor grinned at her again when she opened the door.
"Be gentle. I'm not of the adventuring type," she warned.
"What a shock." Loki had been leaning against the wall. He pushed of. "Can we get this over with?"
Thor stood between them and pulled them to his sides, his arms locked around their shoulders. "What would be the fun in that?"
Niya staggered under his hefty grip, but Thor didn't seem to notice. He let them go after a few paces.
"Is there anything I should know beforehand?" Anxiety was welling up, and she did her best to hide it.
"Yes," answered Loki. "Don't trust my brother."
Once outside the palace, the three of them crept though the shadowed streets. Niya had a feeling there wasn't much need to keep quiet, doubting anyone would stop them, but she was following their lead.
As instructed, Heimdall opened the Bifrost. The sentinel didn't even spare them a questioning glance, verifying that this was a normal occurrence for them.
Thor griped her around the waist. Loki raised an eyebrow, but they had gone through before he could say anything. When they landed, Niya nearly fell over. She would have, if Thor weren't holding her. He let her go once she was steady.
They'd landed in a forested area. The air was warm and damp. Vines hung from the branches in lazy coils. Unseen birds twittered and sung shrill songs. The trees were thinned enough in spots that moonlight trickled through.
"Are we here for a moonlit walk? Or are there hostile natives waiting to attack us?"
"There are some ruins a little ways off. I thought we could explore them a bit," answered Thor.
He began walking and Niya and Loki followed. The pace was slow, and Niya stumbled over almost every root and rock.
"No wonder you haven't gone anywhere," Loki hissed in her ear.
"I prefer my books."
A look of near amusement lightened his expression.
Thor pushed through a bush, revealing a statue. It stood as tall and wide as Thor, was clad in spiked armor, and was poised to strike with a sword in hand. Most of its face had been bashed in, but enough remained to see that it was a skull. The lower jaw was missing. The remaining teeth were jagged fangs. Twisting antlers sprouted from the top, and cracks laced all over. Moss grew over it in patches. Thor paid it no attention, but Niya shrunk away from it as she passed.
The further they walked, the more of these statues they saw. And soon the stepped foot on a dilapidated road. Grasses and weeds alike towered between the stones set flush to the earth. Tree roots had dislodged a few other stones, and Niya was forced to look down in order to remain upright. Loki caught her wrist, breaking her concentration and forcing her to stop in her tracks. She'd nearly walked into Thor.
They'd arrived at the crumbling gates of a black stone castle. The forest around them was screeching in protest. Thor stepped through the gate and the forest fell immediately silent. Niya found the silence more frightening than the cacophony. Inside, moss and mold clung to the deteriorating walls. Patches of the ceiling had fallen to the floor, allowing moonlight to light their path.
Niya studied tattered tapestries that hung every so often. Most were too burnt or faded to decipher the images. She came across one, however, that had survived the years. Women sat on rocks with their fish tails curling beneath clear pond water. They appeared to be giggling and flirting with an armor-clad warrior. Their arms wrapped around his shoulders and torso like tendrils, but the warrior looked serene. The creature behind the man had her fangs bared and clawed fingers curling around his neck. The entire scene was framed by the skeletons of trees with decaying armor and bits of limbs hidden among the twisting branches.
Niya turned away from the tapestry and realized she was standing alone. The corridor split into four directions, but there were no signs to indicate which Thor and Loki had taken.
"Thor?" She paused. "Loki?"
"This way," came a muffled answer. She turned left and continued walking. This hall seemed somehow brighter, a little warmer, and less broken. More tapestries had survived and were depicting beautiful celebrations.
"Where have you gone?" she asked again, having not yet caught up to them.
"Over here." They sounded closer, though the voice was still a bit muffled. Niya hurried towards it and found herself stepping out into a courtyard. Unlike everything else she had seen so far, the garden was verdant and wild. On the center sparkled a pond. It all looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't be bothered to think how.
. . .
"We shouldn't have brought her along. I knew she couldn't handle it," Loki said sharply.
"A little adventure is good for everyone." Thor looked to his brother. "Do not worry. It's likely she took a wrong turn."
They had been searching for Niya for at least ten minutes. They'd heard her calling for them, but no matter how many corridors they turned down, she was nowhere. Already, they'd gone in a circle three times, always ending up where they last saw her.
"This is your fault," said Loki.
"I just wanted to make her feel welcome," Thor protested.
"What part of any of this could possibly make her feel welcome?"
A scream echoed from the hall to their left, and they sprinted towards it. In an instant, Loki had his dagger in his hand.
They burst out into a garden and froze, glancing around for any sign of Niya. Loki crept forward soundlessly, half crouched and ready to strike. Thor made to follow, but Loki motioned for him to stop. The closer Loki came to the murky pond in the center, the more care he had to take to not step on rusty armor and the remains of various creatures of the nine realms. Half hidden in the tall grass and overgrown bushes lay Niya, fully unconscious and with a leg draped into the pond. Loki rushed forward and watched helplessly as a tentacle wrapped around her leg and dragged her under. He ran faster and dove in without hesitating. Seaweed pushed in against him and twisted around his arms. He gripped the dagger tighter, cut himself free, and swam forward.
Something swam behind Loki, brushing against his back. He spun around and was face to face with a stunning blonde. She had large blue eyes and caressed his face with soft strokes. He couldn't break her gaze and soon forgot what he was swimming for. The girl pulled herself closer, arms wrapped around his neck, and the dagger slipped a little in his grip. Regaining focus, the glamour of the beautiful blonde slipped away. Instead he was trapped in the tentacles of a scaled and fanged beast. He jabbed the dagger into one of the tentacles and swam free. Something bobbed in the shadows to his right, so Loki swam hard in that direction. As he drew closer, he saw it was Niya bound in seaweed. He fumbled to cut her free and dropped the dagger just as the seaweed snapped. With Niya under his arm, he could only swim in jagged bursts, but they reached the surface. Thor knelt at the water's edge, and Loki pushed Niya towards his brother's outstretched arm. Thor pulled her out effortlessly.
The creature crashed through the water's surface, throwing waves to break on the shore. Loki didn't have time to scramble to his feet before a slimy tendril crushed his ankle and yanked him below the water once more. Thor left Niya's side and began attacking any part of the creature he could reach. Once Thor crushed the tentacle entrapping Loki, Loki cast tens of illusions of himself. The creature lunged for whichever was closer, but the doubles were too quick. Soon it was just flailing about, sloshing water everywhere. Thor wound Mjolnir above his head and launched it at the creature's jaw. It went stone-still before falling with a low groan against the stone shore.
"Took you long enough," panted Loki as his illusions dissolved.
"You looked as though you had it under control." Thor scooped Niya into his arms. She mumbled something and curled closer into his chest.
"It think it's been more than enough adventure for one night," said Loki as he shoved past them.
