Elizabeth spent her morning listening to Loki explain things about the use of magic. From what she could discern, using magic took ridiculous amounts of energy depending upon the difficulty of the spell, incantation, etc. She found herself trying to soak up as much information as possible, but it was difficult. There were thousands of years of text on the subject that he knew, and soon her head was swimming trying to keep up with him.
Loki noticed her trouble, and trailed off in disappointment. "It's a lot, I know, but if you want to be able to try to use it you have to be dedicated. It took me hours of training just to be able to do a few simple tricks. Of course, I had a great teacher."
"Your mother, right?" Elizabeth questioned with a smile. Queen Frigga was a kind woman, and it warmed her to know that Loki had a good relationship with someone. She saw the stares he evoked, and watched people inch away from him when he walked down a hallway. It was off-putting, especially since she saw nothing wrong with him.
"Yes." Loki nodded, sitting down across from her on one of the sofas. He put down a book he had been holding on the coffee table that separated the two couches, meeting her gaze. "She taught me the basis of what I know now."
"Did Thor ever try to learn?" She inquired, leaning forward curiously. She almost regretted the question when she saw Loki's calmness replaced by disdain.
"No." He scoffed lightly, trying to imagine his brother put down his hammer and actually think for once. "Magic never interested him, he would rather bash someone's skull in than learn an art form." He rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted to think about was his brother.
"I see." Elizabeth murmured, sitting back in her seat. "But as for your earlier warning, I'm still not sure if I should try to practice it. I'm still not even sure…" She trailed off, her face becoming hot. She didn't want to admit it, especially not to someone so advanced as Loki.
"Not sure of what?" He prompted, and when she opened her mouth to speak and closed it, his patience wore thin. "Spit it out, Elizabeth."
"I don't know how to control my power." She mumbled. "I don't even know how to use it. I've actually only seen it once, and… well, it was between you and Thor."
"What was it?" His curiosity was peaked. He knew she as the Goddess of Loyalty, but what did that exactly entail?
"Well there was this type of… rope made of light between the two of you, and it shined gold. I figured it was a bond of family. It's the only time I've ever had something like that happen before." She shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Did you feel tired after it? Like it sapped your energy?" He questioned intently, watching her even closer than he normally did. She shifted, and he frowned.
"No, but…" She frowned, looking down, trying to think exactly what did happen. Now that she thought about it, her necklace felt like it had warmed up, she was just too shocked to actually feel it. "It's nothing."
"It's probably not nothing." Loki muttered, still staring at her. "Just tell me. Maybe I can… solve your problem. With a bit of magic."
"And luck." She mumbled, but sighed. "It's going to sound so stupid, but my necklace warmed up. Like I had been holding it for a long time, but I hadn't been."
"Give it to me." Loki demanded, holding his hand out to her. Hesitantly she slipped it off and placed it in his hand reluctantly. He looked it over carefully, seeming to be studying the diamond on the end. She clasped her hands together tightly, waiting for him to say something. "I've seen this before."
"You have?" Came her startled reply, getting up and going to sit by him. He ran his finger over the diamond and nodded.
"I just can't remember from where." He frowned. "It was in a book. A very old book. How did you come by it?"
"My mother gave it to me." Elizabeth shrugged, and took the necklace back when he offered it, slipping it over her head. "She said it was from our ancestors. Will you try to find the book, Loki? Please?"
"There has to be over a thousand books here, and I've read most of them." Loki's response was indignant. At her crestfallen expression he sighed, and softened his voice. "But if I come across it again, I will tell you."
"Oh, thank you!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his waist and squeezed slightly, burying her face in his shirt. He smelled undeniably clean, like the wind blowing over an open field, with a touch of leather. She smiled slightly.
Loki sat there, trying to decide what to do. An awkward back pat? Pry her away? Actually hug her back? Luckily, his brother throwing open the doors made Elizabeth release her hold on him and lean back, her face red. Loki couldn't resist smiling.
"Loki! Hello, Elizabeth." Thor's smile was broad as he looked them over. "Mother and father want you both for lunch. They said they have an announcement for our new friend."
"An announcement?" Elizabeth squeaked, which did nothing for her blush. She tried to ignore Loki's smirk. "An announcement for what?"
"They mentioned something about you." Thor pursed his lips, before smiling again. "Come, they will not want to be kept waiting."
Elizabeth nodded and stood up, tucking the necklace under her clothing. She felt strangely relieved at confiding in someone. And, for some odd reason, she trusted Loki. He had earned his title, she was sure, but she still had conviction that Loki would keep her secrets and fears. There was a kinship that she felt with him, but it made absolutely no sense to her.
"Lead the way, then, Prince Thor." Elizabeth said politely, which caused Loki to roll his eyes, annoyed more with Thor's intrusion than her politeness. Every time he barged into his sanctuary he felt like hitting him. Thor wouldn't know what peaceful quiet meant if it slapped him in the face.
"Loki?" Elizabeth looked back at him when she noticed he wasn't following them out. He looked like he had spaced out while staring down at the floor. He blinked and looked up at her, and she offered him a smile. "Aren't you coming?"
"In a minute." He responded evenly, and turned from her to stride into the sea of books. She frowned, but turned away from him and walked by Thor's side. He smiled down at her.
"Don't mind Loki." He said in a carelessly easy tone. "His moods are always changing, but usually they aren't good. I know my brother has a good heart, you just get used to the mood swings."
"I like your brother." Elizabeth said defensively. "He's been the only one to actually seek me out here. Not even my father has done what Loki has. He's been kind to me."
"He has?" Thor's tone was undeniably surprised, and he almost stopped mid stride. Loki never warmed up to people that easily; in fact, he hadn't really warmed up to anyone at all besides their mother. "That's strange."
"How is it strange?" She frowned up at him, feeling like she was facing a giant. "I see nothing wrong with someone being nice to me."
Thor laughed; she had taken his comment the wrong way. "No, no, Elizabeth. That is not what I meant. I only said it because Loki doesn't like people, in a general sort of way. It's not you."
"Oh." She muttered, looking down, before straightening her back and squaring her shoulders. "Then I am grateful he seems to like me. He's very intelligent, you know."
The golden haired prince smiled down at her, wondering if she knew exactly what this meant. Thor wasn't sure himself, but he suspected his brother had a crush. Oh, he would enjoy teasing him about this tonight. "He is. He spends most days locked up in the library. Here we are." Thor pushed open the doors to the dining room and strolled in, Elizabeth clamping her mouth shut and filing in after him.
She noticed several things at once. One; King Odin and Queen Frigga were at their rightful places, with Loki's spot by his mother's side untaken, and the spot to his remaining side untaken as well. That was where she had sat the only other time she had been in this room. Two; the Warrior's Three and the Lady Sif had taken their seats already. Three; her father, Esa, and Disa were seated in a row near the end of the table on Thor's side. She swallowed nervously, and made her way to Frigga when she smiled easily and beckoned her over, She took her seat with a small smile at her queen, making sure to leave a seat between them for Loki.
A small gasp came from the other end of the table, and with one look she knew it was Esa. She had hand in front of her mouth as she stared back at her, before faking a petite sneeze. "Excuse me, my King and Queen. There seems to be something dirty in the air." Her eyes didn't leave Elizabeth's, but the younger girl looked away, her cheeks flushing. Agmundr frowned at his wife, but said nothing. He couldn't bring himself to look at his daughter.
Fandral caught her gaze as she looked away from them, and he shot a stunning smile at her. He is quite handsome, Elizabeth thought offhandedly as she returned it as best she could, trying to bounce back from the nasty comment Esa had undoubtedly thrown her way. She didn't want to think it was aimed at her, but the way she said it and looked straight at her made her shiver with unease. She was starting to believe Loki. Fandral had a similar thought in the same moment, she is quite pretty. But his wasn't followed with unease.
Speaking of the darker prince, he chose that moment to stride through the doors of the hall and, with his usual grace, claimed his seat to the right of Elizabeth. Frigga smiled at her son, and placed her hand on his arm. Elizabeth glanced down at the other end of the table, where her father smiled softly at her, finally bringing himself to acknowledge her. Disa had her eyes set on the man next to her, which unsettled Elizabeth. She spared a glance at the prince, and saw his attention was on his mother.
"Now that we are all here," Odin said in his aged voice, which called everyone's attention, "I would like to share that there will be a feast held the day after the next in order to celebrate the Goddess of Loyalty's homecoming."
Polite clapping came, Thor's thunderous claps become, of course, the loudest. Elizabeth flushed under the smiles and applause she was receiving. "We don't really need a celebration, my king. I-I mean, I'm already settled in, and it is not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal?" Frigga's smile was warm but obviously amused. "You've come back from the land of the dead, there's never been something more important to celebrate before." She was exaggerating, but it made Elizabeth feel more worthy of it, so she supposed there was no harm done.
The food was called out after Elizabeth gave a shy 'thank you' to everyone. The food was eaten in merriment, for the most part. Agmundr was silent as he ate, things weighing heavily on his mind. He was plagued with troubling thoughts, first and foremost what to do about his youngest daughter, Elizabeth. He grit his teeth as he thought about it.
After the lunch, Elizabeth turned to Loki to ask him a question, but her father called her attention to him with a simple smile. "May I talk with you for a moment?" She nodded hesitantly after a moment, and Loki silently slipped his hand into hers and gave it a small squeeze, no doubt warning her to not be fooled.
"I've been wanting to talk to you." Elizabeth said, silently tacking on an alone in her mind. He nodded, seeming to understand what she wanted, and led her away from his wife and daughter and out into the hallway. They walked quietly for a minute, neither seeming to know exactly what to say now that they had a chance.
"I am glad you're safe." For the most part, Agmundr murmured. "When I finally learned what happened to you and your mother, I wanted to come. But I had responsibilities here, and I couldn't abandon them and what I've started. It wouldn't be right."
"You don't look like you're glad." The words tumbled from Elizabeth's lips in a moment of disbelief and confidence. She decided to run with it when she saw the shock on his face. "If you were glad I was back, you would make more of an effort to see me. I haven't made an effort to see you, so I share the blame, but I've been working through things. You have no excuse. You could have made me more comfortable. I've seen the princes more than I've seen my own father."
He stomped out his anger at her words. "Elizabeth, I haven't seen you since you were born. Your mother took you from me without giving me a reason! Forgive me if I don't know how to interact with you. I have a new life and I don't know where you fit into it yet."
Elizabeth clenched her jaw. "Maybe I don't fit into it at all." Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned on her heel and walked down the hallway. I don't want to fit in, she thought angrily, I just want to have a dad.
Agmundr threw his hands up in frustration. Maybe his wife was right; maybe he really should let her go. She was already grown up, she didn't need three strangers in her life right now.
"What did you do?" Esa hissed as she stomped up to him from behind a column. She was furious with him for actually listening to her.
"I thought that's what you wanted?" Agmundr frowned, confused. "You told me she didn't need us. That should would only ruin us."
"I have had a new and better thought." Esa smirked to herself, thinking back to only minutes ago in the dining room. No one else had seen it, but she did. And she planned to exploit it to benefit her and her daughter.
So, um. That's not what I had planned for this chapter at all, at least not the last half. Whoops, got a little ahead of myself XD but I think I like. Let me know if you like it as well!
Thank you to my reviewers:
RosePosie15
Mrs Sorbo
