A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't updated so long. It's all a mixture of being distracted, too busy, and wanting this chapter to be perfect. Thank Avenger for getting me back into the swing of things :) Thank you o much for all the people that have favorited, alerted and reviewed this story while it was still on hiatus! How you found it amongts all the other fic after so long is a miracle! Anyway, I'll stop babbling and let you all read what you've been waiting for :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only own Alyss

Chapter Two: A Little Flower Bud

Loki awoke the next morning with an enormous head ache. All night, his mind kept on going back to his father's announcement. Try as he might, he couldn't completely understand why Odin felt the need to take in the girl himself. The teen could already imagine how the public would take this news. They'd see Odin as the kind, charitable king who opened his home to the little orphan and Thor the caring older brother who would look after her. No one would see Loki in the background, probably stuck with all the babysitting while his parents run the world and Thor makes a fool of himself. No one would see the middle child. When Loki thought he liked not being in the spotlight, there were times he was proven wrong. Just once in a while, it would be nice if he was noticed too. The teenaged god sighed as he got out of bed and dressed for the day. No use complaining about it now.

After getting dressed and making himself look presentable for the day, Loki left his room and headed down to the dining hall for breakfast. His mother and father were already there along with the girl who was seated in between them. It seemed they were trying to get her to eat but she would only stare at her lap bored. Though the sight made him curious, Loki ignored the girl and greeted his parents before settling in a chair across from them for breakfast. The girl looked up at him but quickly lowered her strange eyes before his could meet them.

Not long after Loki began to enjoy his meal did a loud boom then a great yawn announce the arrival of his brother. Thor called loudly "Good morning!", quickly piled his plate high and preceded to stuff himself with breakfast. The elder brother seemed in a much better mood than before, probably thanks to his night out with his friends doing who knew what. Loki envied him for that since he was stuck thinking all night about their little predicament. Even seeing this girl up close, he couldn't understand why Father would decide to take her in himself? Why not simply give her to another family that might be better suited for having a strange young daughter?

Shoving the thoughts out of his mind, Loki tried to finish his meal in peace when Odin decided to make another announcement. "My sons, tonight we will have a feast to commemorate Alyss's coming here. I'll need you two to watch her while your mother and I handle the preparations,"

Thor, after attempting to speak then realized he still had a large ammount of food in his mouth, swallowed and said "Why can't a servant keep an eye on her?"

Frigga smiled sadly as if she was hurt by Thor's words but was trying not to show it, a trick Loki knew all too well. "Son, it would be the perfect chance for you to get to know each other. After all, you're siblings now,"

Thor scowled but said nothing more, already aware he wasn't going to win this arguement. It was a similar arguement that cropped up when they were much younger, Thor having to watch over his younger brother while they were still mere children. The only difference was the brothers already knew each other well enough to get along in their own way. But this new child...this was much harder to swallow.

Speaking of swallowing, Loki took a swallow of his food after noticing he'd been chewing on it for a long while as he thought over his mothers words. "You're siblings now."The thought didn't appeal to him at all but alas, he had no choice in the matter either. Like Thor, he'd just have to grin and bear it.

"Of course, Mother. We understand, right Thor?" Loki asked, discreetly nudging Thor with his elbow.

"Huh? Oh, yes, of course,"

Both parents smiled at their sons as they progressed with breakfast. Once everyone was fed, sans the girl due to lack of interest in the food, the king and queen excused themselves, leaving the little child with the boys. Both male's were staring at the tiny child, who took more interest in her lap, trying to figure out what to do with her. Neither spoke a word for a time.

"You take her," Thor blurted out, not looking away from the innocent girl.

"No. You," Loki replied simply, not looking away either.

"Can't. Training,"

"Neither can I. There are more spells I need to practice,"

"Then just take a break from spells today,"

"You first,"

"I promised the other warriors,"

"I'm sure they'll understand,"

"And I'm sure you could use a break from all you're 'work',"

"I'm quite fine thank you,"

The bicker continued until finally Thor proposed an idea. "Fine, then let's have her decide,"

Finally, Loki turned his gaze away from the apparently oblivious child to stare at his brother incredulously. "What on earth do you mean?"

Thor grinned, proud that he'd come up with this idea. "Simple. We both go to her and whom ever she runs to first has to watch her,"

The younger sibling thought about this for a moment. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Most people naturally chose Thor over him any day. This child would be no exception. He grinned and nodded to his brother's proposal. "Alright then,"

Both brothers stood and stepped around the table. The sudden movements brought the child's attention to her surroundings as her head snapped up. Her eyes, wide and curious, darted between the two boys stepping closer. They each inched closer, not wanting to scare the child but also waiting to see what the other would do. One wrong move could send the child scurrying away from either of them. Loki prayed he'd be correct, trying to keep himself from looking comforting at all.

The child seemed to grow more and more frightened as the boy's got closer but it wasn't until Thor slipped and accidentally made a lunge towards her that she squeaked and ran...straight for Loki. The girl coward behind him, gripping the fabric of his pants and peeking out from behind him. Damn! Loki growled internally. Leave to clumsy Thor to ruin things. Though, he had to admit, there was some pride in the idea that this little thing ran to him when she was scared. Then he remembered the bet and groaned.

After picking himself up, Thor grinned. "Well, guess she made her choice. Have fun, brother!" He gave a little wave and left the banquet hall. Loki glared after his brother then turned his glare to the child clinging to his side. Why in hell did this damnable child have to exist? Now his plans were ruined all because she chose to hide behind him.

Because you're less threatening. A nagging voice in his head told him. This girl is new to everything and would naturally run from Thor for he appears more frightening.

Pondering what to do, he stared down at the child who eventually turned to gaze at him a well. How in the nine realms was he supposed to care for a child he barely knew? He'd never be asked to watch anyone's children so he didn't know where to begin. He sighed to himself and looked away to the window that looked over the palace gardens. Maybe if he took her there, she'd be so preoccupied with the flowers that he could study while she played. He could used some practice with animating plants aways.

Satisfied with his idea, Loki looked back down at the child and offered his hand. She just stared at him in wonder, her eyes darting from his face to his hand. "Come on. I'm not gonna hurt you," He cooed, trying to keep his voice soothing as to not spook the child. The child stared for another minute then tentatively stepped out from behind him and took his hand. He smiled warmly at the child before begining his way to the gardens, making sure to keep in stride with the small girl.

As they walked down the halls, life in the palace seemed strangely normal. Servant flitted in and out without even a glance as the odd pair. Under normal circumstances, Loki wouldn't care or take much notice in this. Now, things were different and he felt somewhat disappointed that no one seemed at all surprised by the child clinging to his side. Part of him wished that one of the maids would ask if the child needed something, then he could convince her to take away the problem just long enough for him to actually get some work done.

Loki then snorted to himelf. Of course, knowing the All-Father, that was precisely why. Whether Thor had taken the child or not, either one of the boys would've tried to convince a servant to take her off their hands the first chance they got thus ruining the purpose of "getting to know each other". Surely then Father would've known that only one of us would've taken the child why the other ran off to their own devices...Wouldn't he? That, Loki was unsure of. What he was sure of was that he'd gotten the short end of the stick and was now paying for it.

He glanced down at the little child, who was paying more attention to her surroundings than him, and frowned. Why did you have to come here?


The plan started to seem like a success. Loki sat on a small hill with a spellbook in his lap while the child frolicked about in a nearby patch of garden. The palace held a garden nearly the size of the small village. One could get easily lost amongst all the flowers and hedges that acted like a maze. There were flowers of every shade, size and shape, from giant sunflowers to the smallest of daisies.

This myriad of colour kept the child mesmerized, though Loki would call to her to keep her from straying too far away. Everytime, she'd turn with a slight tilt to her head and stare at him for a moment before going in a direction better suited. This confused Loki to no end. He knew she could talk in some form because he could hear her giggling to the flowers at times, usually at the sight of a ladybug or a butterfly. But no once had he ever heard her speak a word. It seemed like maybe she didn't know how to, or perhaps didn't know the right words. Either way, it wasn't his problem so he would turn back to his work and ignore the little thing.

Little did he know that the child was taking more notice to him than he realized. Many times she would look back at him and watch as he just sat there with curious eyes. Of course, when a butterfly fluttered by, her attention was diverted to it and like the small child she was, she would chase after it until it went passed the boundry line that she was learning not to cross. Then she would turn her gaze to the man on the hill. What was going through her head, no one could say but it seemed like she was curious about him.

Finally, after another minute of staring, the little child started searching through the flowers. It seemed like she was trying to find the perfect one but for what, no one could be sure. Even when Loki looked up to check on her, he was confused. He watched the girl for a while beore turning back to his work, dismissing it as something childish that he needn't worry about.

For while, this continued, until the child found a small patch of white daisies. Smiling to herself, she picked one, a little bud whose petals were still curled inward. Still smiling the wide, happy smile of a child who's accomplished a great task (in their mind), she raced up to Loki and stopped right in front of him with the daisy hidden behind her back. It took only a moment for Loki to notice someone had stepped in the way of the sun and looked up to see the child standing before him. Once his eyes met her's, she gave him a little shy smile and held the flower at to him in a way that said "For you". He sat there, somehow surprised by this tiny gesture before taking the small bud. The child's smile widened and she rushed over to hug him tightly, as if ecstatic by the fact he'd accepted her gift. He froze at the hug, unsure how to repond.

The last time he'd truly been hugged by someone was by his mother, when he himself was just a child. ince then, most barely even looked at him, too enamored by Thor to see him sitting alone in the dark. But this child, this Alyss, with her little arms wrapped around his torso in the way the one embraces another in comfort and not letting go for even a second. Slowly and carefully, so as not to scare her, he wrapped his arms around her little body and squeezed, just enough to get the message across. She snuggled closer, apparently, not wanting to let go, which made him feel even happier.

Maybe she doesn't see me as less threatening, but as someone to protect her. The thought made Loki smile and gave him a little idea. He shifted and slightly picked up the little girl so she was sitting on his lap, moving aside the book and held the little daisy for her to see. She tilted her head in confuse, so he quietly told her "Watch," and her attenion went back to the flower. It shiver once and then slowly, creepily, it's petals uncurled and grew until the flower was in full bloom and lightly bigger than the normal daisy. Alyss's outh fell open into the shape of a little "o", her eyes bright with awe and excitement. Satisfied with this reaction, Loki tucked the flower behind her ear, smiling widely. Alyss looked up at him expentantly, as if she wa asking if there was more. Aiming to please, he stood, keeping a good hold of her and carrying her to farther to the hedges of flowers. The spellbook lay on the ground forgottten.

Loki started with a small patch of pansies, many who still hadn't bloomed and were much smaller. With a wave of his hand, all of them grew and bloomed in an array of colours. Alyss giggled and clapped in excitemently, obviously begging for more without saying a word. They continued this game, going from bush to bush, patch to patch, playing with the flowers. Sometimes he even made them move and sway like they were dancing, an act that seemed to excite Alyss more and more. The final flower they arrived at was a little rose buh. Most had bloomed, save for a small little bud nestled in the leaves. It was so young, you couldn't see any petals yet. Loki knelt by the bush, careful to keep a tight hold on Alyss, turned to the little girl and asked, "Do you want to pick the colour?"

She nodded and pointed to the sky. He stared upward, wonder if there was a butterfly or a bird she was seeing, until he realized she meant "blue". Having his answer, he lightly touched the bud, allowing his magic to peed up it's growth and change it from a bright red, like the others, to a deep blue. She smiled and laughed again, clapping excitedly. He just at there, drinking in the attention like a man seeing rain after years of drought.

They're little bubble of blis was interrupted when a servant called for him, aying his father was looking for them. Reluctant to leave, Loki stood, slightly squeezing Alyss tighter to him before making the trek back to the palace, leaving behind the rose bush with the lone blue rose.