Loki sits on the edge of his balcony, entranced in a book about spells. He hear's a knock on his door but he doesn't move to answer it. The door opens and someone walks in.
"Loki, I wish you wouldn't sit on the edge like that," his mother chides from behind.
He places the string across the page to mark his spot and closes the book.
"Your father told me what happened today," she continues, leaning against the rail next to him. "I wish you wouldn't use such powerful magic like that when I'm not with you to guide you."
Loki fiddles with the pages in his book. "I was only experimenting."
She sighs. "I know, but there are very different kinds of magic in the universe and you don't want to go messing around with the kinds that end up seriously hurting you or others around you."
"Mother, have you ever heard of the myth with the Predator and the Hunters?" Loki asks, finally looking at his mother.
Frigga's brow furrows. "Those myths are so ancient, almost as ancient as the myths from the Titans. Why? Has someone been teaching you these myths?"
"No," he lies, "I read it in a book somewhere. But say they were real, and they still existed. Could magic potentially bring them into Asgard, even if there wasn't a predator around?"
She takes a moment to answer. "Loki, with too much skill, magic can do anything you wish of it. If you wanted a Hunter to be brought to Asgard, then I'm sure you could make one appear."
Loki feels his stomach twist in knots as memories of the dark rider flash across his vision.
"When you brought that dark spirit into Asgard, did you think it was one of the horsemen from the tale?" She inquires, moving closer to him.
"Mother, those things aren't real," he snaps gently, before hopping off the railing onto the balcony and heading back into his room.
"Where's Lara?" he asks as he gathers his things in his room. Frigga follows.
"I'm sure she's out in the orchard, picking apples for tonights feast."
He nods. "I shall be with her if you need me."
Loki scurries out the door and into the hallway. He walks quickly, avoiding any eye contact with the people around him. He hears Thor call his name from afar but he ignores him. When he passes by the throne room, he slows to stop. There's an eerie silence that makes him nervous. He approaches the cracked doors and steps in. Several Asgardians stand before his father, speaking in hushed whispers.
Loki approaches slowly, recognizing the people as men who traveled with Lara's father.
"We don't know what it was," he hears one say.
"We got home and there was blood-" another says.
Odin sees Loki approach and the group of men hush into silence. They all turn to stare at him, shifting awkwardly in their armor.
"What is it, my son?" Odin calls out to him, his one eye focusing on Loki's face.
Loki looks from the men to Odin and then back to the men.
"What's going on here?" Loki finally asks, moving closer to see his father.
As he moves closer he sees Thor, standing behind the throne, the look in his eyes making Loki's stomach knot up again. Worry.
"Loki it would be better if we discussed the matter at different time."
"If you're going to tell me, you should tell me now. I do not wish to have secrets held from me," Loki responds cooly.
Odin hesitates as the men look nervously back and forth.
"Lara's father is dead. He was killed on Midgard a day ago," Odin finally speaks, his tone grim.
Loki feels his heart drop. "What? How?"
"We don't know. That is what we are trying to figure out."
"Well shouldn't we be down there, trying to find the killer?" Loki bursts, suddenly upset.
"And how should we find it when we don't even know what we're looking for?"
Loki grips his books tighter in his hands.
"In the meantime, no one must inform Lara on what has happened," Odin commands, his eye lingering on Loki.
"No one must tell me of what?" Lara soft voice calls from the side door, a basket of apples slung over her arm.
Everyone turns quickly except for Loki. The halls go silent. He can't look at her. She was too smart for her own good. He counted the seconds until he heard the apples and the basket fall to the floor.
"No," he hears her whisper, pain evident in her voice.
"Lara," Odin calls out to her, but she sprints away, leaving the basket of apples strewn across the floor.
Loki looks at the ground. Odin sighs.
"Do we have a body?" he asks.
"No, my king," one of the men answer. "There... wasn't much... left."
Loki can't stand it anymore. He turns sharply on his heel and walks briskly out of the hall. As soon as he's out of sight of the others, he begins to run. He sprints through the castle, trying to think of all of the places she might have gone. He searches her bedroom and then all through the orchard, but she couldn't be found. He ran through the village, asking if anyone had seen her. It wasn't till he ran across an old man who had said he saw her run by, in the direction of the Turning Tables.
He sprinted to the edge of the city, and then out into the outskirts of Asgard. The Turning Tables were so large this close up, he had never really thought they were that big. He slows to a stop, craning his neck to see them turn slowly in the air, the light bouncing off the shinning silver.
He spots Lara, crouched by the edge, her hands placed firmly over her ears. He approaches her slowly, afraid to startle her.
He kneels down behind her, very gently placing a hand on her back. For a long time, neither says a word.
"Can you bring him back?" she asks after a long time.
Loki doesn't answer. He looks down at the grass, knowing there would be nothing he could say that would make her feel better.
"I didn't even get to say goodbye," she exclaims, dropping her hands by her side.
"You can still say goodbye. They will send off a boat for him," Loki murmurs, removing his hand from her shoulder.
She sighs and shakes her head. "It's just not the same."
The villagers stand around the water's edge, holding candles that cast shadows across their solemn face. A boat with no rider is pushed off the edge and into the water. The people place their candles in the water after it, and it floats until they can see it no longer.
Loki stands next to Lara, watching her face. She did not cry. Her face was hollow, and her eyes dark with pain. She was the last one to let her candle into the water. The people look at her with pity and sorrow.
Her single candle floats slowly behind, alone and dim. The people begin to leave, walking slowly with their heads bowed.
Lara reaches over and takes Loki's hand tightly. They stay there, even when everyone has left.
Sorry it has been so long since I have updated! Chapters should be up each week! Once this story is done, then I start on story 3! Again, sorry for the wait but I hope you like this story, it will help explain things for the end :) Review!