Chapter Ten

Visitors

One morning, Loki was waiting for Lilah out in their favourite meadow. It was the same meadow where she had first sang to him. The moment, he recalled, when he had started to fall in love with her. Wild flowers surrounded him, trees of all kinds in the distance, and not a cloud in the sky. Lilah had left his company to get them something to eat and drink together. Lilah had a gift with growing food, and it was the most delicious food he'd ever tasted. Loki could not keep the smile from his lips while he waited. He was certainly blessed to have fallen in love with a nature elemental. Dressed in a light tunic and pants that Lilah had made for him, Loki soaked up the sun's rays, warming his cold body.

Unbidden, the weather began to change. Dark clouds started to form in the sky, and Loki frowned in confusion. What was the sudden change in weather about? Lightning and thunder began to sound, making Loki stand from his spot on the grass.

"Oh no," Loki whispered. This weather change could only mean one thing. Nothing good ever came from such weather. His gaze shifting to the ruins, Loki hoped that Lilah stayed inside, away from the trouble that would no doubt start when his Brother arrived with his posse. Loki did not want to think of what would happen if Lilah got in the way.

Lilah was making tea by the fire for her and Loki to sip on while they lazed in their meadow, when she heard the weather take a turn for the worse. Thunder and Lightning? Lilah was confused as to where this had come from. How had the weather turned so sour in such a short time? It was unlike anything she had ever known. What had brought on this sudden change?

Realisation made the kettle drop from her hands, smashing against the floor into hundreds of pieces. Loki! Her heart stilled as she ran for the meadow. Thunder and Lightning could only mean one thing. There was no doubt that Thor had returned for Loki. It was certain that Thor would take Loki away from her. No. She would not let them take him. Picking up her dress, she ran as fast as she could, hoping that she would not be too late. She hoped that she could beg Thor to let Loki stay with her.

When Lilah did finally reach their spot, six people were now there instead of one. She recognised them from the memories she had seen in Loki's mind, their names coming to her. To her dismay, a mask was now covering Loki's mouth, his hands in cuffs. Anger filled Lilah's veins, rage bubbling through her. How dare they touch him! Summoning roots through the ground, the vines grabbed on to the people closest to Loki, Volstagg and Hogun, holding them up into the air.

Loki felt contempt towards his 'Brother' as Thor placed the muzzle upon his face, binding his powers. Thor had also handcuffed him, so that his escape would be impossible. Before they could leave, Volstagg and Hogun were thrown into the air, suspended by vines. Loki's head quickly turned to see Lilah in the distance, a furious expression upon her beautiful face.

No!

Loki wanted to tell her to run, but the muzzle prevented him from doing so. And now that his powers were bound, he couldn't use their connection to warn her. Thor, Sif and Fandral stood completely surprised, unused to fighting a foe such as Lilah. And just as surprised to find another being in this realm. They had assumed, just as Loki had when he arrived, that this realm was abandoned, and a wasteland.

"Let him go!" Lilah yelled, her hair wild and eyes black as night. Loki had never seen her like this. She'd never told him of this side of her. Was this because of the aggressive use of her powers?

"Who is she?" Sif turned to Thor, her sword ready.

"I do not know. This place was meant to be abandoned," Thor answered, readying Mjölnir. If Thor struck Lilah with Lightning, then Loki would surely go mad.

"No matter," Sif remarked, and charged at Lilah. Loki strained against Thor and Fandral holding him, wanting to protect Lilah from Sif. That woman was skilled in battle, and cocky.

Loki watched in surprise as Lilah knocked Sif aside, and advanced towards them. That would surely be a blow to Sif's ego. Volstagg and Hogun had cut themselves free of Lilah's vines and joined in the battle, weapons ready. Loki watched in amazement as Lilah held off their assault using her powers, slowly wearing them down as nature battled with steel. But Loki could see that it was taking a toll on her body. Her skin had turned a light green all over, her eyes still black. Her breathing had become laboured, sweat coating her body. Loki desperately wanted to help her. He could not bear to see her like this. And God's forbid if the warriors harmed her.

"Give it up, nymph!" Sif yelled, thrusting with her sword, Lilah dodged it only just. Lilah was quick, but her movements were becoming sluggish.

Hogun came from behind, slashing with his morning star. Lilah leant forward to get out of reach from his swing, but it cut across her back. Lilah let out a scream as fresh blood seeped from the gash.

Noooooo!

Lilah fell to her knees, exhausted and beyond her limit. If she did not stop, Lilah would surely die. But before Lilah could continue her assault, Sif hit her over the head with the blunt end of her sword, knocking Lilah out. Her eyes met Loki's as she fell, before they closed and she hit the ground with a thud.

"What shall we do with her?" Fandral asked as they gathered around Lilah's unconscious body. Loki struggled against his captors, anxious to be by Lilah's side once more. Please let her be ok.

"We should take her with us, and question her," Hogun added.

"Agreed," Thor said, "I would very much like to hear what happened here."

"She's dangerous," Sif argued, "We should leave her here." Loki wanted nothing more than to snap Sif's neck at that moment. Lilah was not dangerous. If they hadn't threatened her, this wouldn't have happened.

"We can't just leave the poor thing here, she's wounded," Fandral pointed out.

"Have you forgotten that she attacked us?" Sif debated, not at all liking the idea of taking Lilah with them.

"And I want to know why," Thor pointed out, "Fandral, carry our little fighter. We shall take her with us." Sif bristled beside Thor as Fandral picked up Lilah from the ground, careful of her wounds. Loki stiffened as Fandral touched her. He knew of Fandral's gifts with women, and did not want his hands on his woman. Though Loki could not use his powers to blast Fandral to pieces, he could only be content to glare at him.

"Heimdall!" Thor shouted, and soon the Tesseract brought them back to Asgard. Everything else happened in a blur, since Loki was too fascinated on Lilah's health. She did not wake on the trip, and was still unconscious. Loki was taken away from Lilah, no matter how much he struggled. Thrust into a prison cell, his handcuffs were taken off, but the muzzle remained. It was driving him insane to know what had happened with Lilah. For a long while he pounded on the cell glass, but to no avail. His pleas were unheard because of the muzzle, the guards not caring about his imploration. Loki tried reaching out with his mind to Lilah, but an intense pain seared his temple. Damn them! A burning rage bubbled inside him. If they hurt Lilah in any way, Loki would see them suffer.