"So this is what your room looks like." Zully prodded through his array of messy books and empty wine glasses with regal patterns .
His walls were painted black and the ceilings were so high it seemed they would never end, however they did as a regal gold chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. The trimmings on the wall mirrored the opulent gold of Loki's helm. A plethora of renaissance like paintings were hung all throughout the room. The room was a clear reflection of the god of mischief indeed.
"It looks like you haven't even been gone a day-weren't you in a prison cell for the past few months?" She asked inspecting the wine bottles at his personal bar towards the back portion of his room. She opened a bottle and quickly glanced around the room for an empty glass.
"I've had my door enchanted since I first learned magic." He stared at her pouring his wine into a goblet. He hadn't been in his room since Odin had incarcerated him, he had already come to terms with the fact that he might never see it again. "Asgardian wine is extremely potent and bitter to mortals. I wouldn't consume too much if I were you." His eyes followed her as she took the first sip.
"Bleh-you're right this taste horrible." Zully said sticking out her tongue in disgust but still gripping the goblet with intent to continue drinking. " I don't even think the beds at Stark tower are this big." She used the tips of her fingers to glide against the silky emerald green sheets. Of course they would be emerald.
His golden and grey bookshelf nearly hit the ceiling. Not a speck of dust was in sight and every book was neatly organized in a manner that was extremely aesthetically pleasing to her eyes. There was a ladder to venture to the very top shelf however she doubted he even used it.
Out of sheer curiosity she began to inspect his shelves. Most of them were in different languages but when she did a look back at them she realized she suddenly could read them.
Loki noticed her confusion, "All my books are enchanted to be transcribed and legible in every language I've ever learned." He stated in a matter of fact.
"That's impressive." She murmured to herself as she poked and prodded through the books on the higher shelves.
With a soft relaxed expression, Loki watched as Zully hurriedly looked through his books going up and down repeatedly as a new title distracted her. A part of him couldn't help but laugh as she appeared stuck on an endless loop.
"Sorry." Zully piped as she realized she was being watched. "I wish I could take them all for my research. There are so many books on lore and history. It's unreal that there is ACCESS to all this information."
"You can." Her wide doe eyes searched for any trace of sarcasm in his tone. "I mean it. We can take them all. They might be of use to us." He added the latter not wanting her to feel uncomfortable with his kindness.
Zully fumbled with her words unsure if to thank him, hug him or kick herself for assigning herself over thousands of pages to read. In the timespan of a few seconds in her mind she already dreamed of essays and articles she would publish on her research in Asgard.
Without another word Loki twitched his fingers and all the books disappeared out of the existence of his bedroom, even the one that lingered open in her palms. "I sent them to the Stark library. Can't wait to see what Tony thinks of the new wing I created." A rather smug and pleased smile gleamed in his eyes. Clearly, irritating Tony was one of the things Loki favored most when voyaging to Midgard.
"Once we get back to Earth I am are officially never sleeping again." Oddly her statement was finished with a smile that Loki found odd. He had to admit she was a peculiar person but besides his mother he had never met someone with such a passion for learning and expanding ones knowledge.
After Zully climbed down the library ladder they decided they best keep moving and once again Loki magically made them invisible to avoid being caught by the Asgardian guards who at this point where definitely looking for them.
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Once they arrived into the Dark Forest, Zully could feel chills down her spine the moment she stepped foot in. The dark grass on the ground was soft and marshy however there was no rain nor visible body of water. The forest was in a state of perpetual darkness and fog. Thankfully Loki had before hand procured a lantern to aid them through the Forest.
The forest harbored a multitude or strange vegetation. No matter how high up Zully looked she could not determine when the tree ended and where the sky began. Everything merged together in a haze. As Zully caught sight of a shorter stumpy tree with odd looking roots forming on the outside of the marsh, she stepped on a rocky area causing her to half stumble forward until Loki caught her by the waist.
"Steady yourself on my shoulder. I will not go find you if you stray off." Loki hissed in a sharp tone.
Zully simply agreed by placing her hand on his shoulder. It was firm and stiff under her touch, she was convinced he never even once slouched.
It took them just about twenty minutes to see a clear red flickering camp fire light that indicated they had reached Thor's choice of place of lodging.
"Any sight of guards?" Thor asked rising from a large log in front of the bonfire he created for warmth. A cot made out of blankets Thor hijacked from the guest bedroom was formed farther off into the distance on the tree behind him with a very pale and sleepy Jane in it.
"None. It is almost eerie Father has yet to unleash the Asgardian army in the city to search for us." Loki sighed admitting.
Zully found an empty log and decided to warm herself by the fire. Her toes practically felt numb in her shoes due to the cold.
"Indeed." Thor's voice sounded stoic. "I owe you two quite the favor as I am aware this situation is one you two would have rather not been a part of. You have my sincere gratitude and eternal thanks." Thor's voice was low but the strain of emotion still lingered in his words.
"No Thor, a part of me is feeling like it was my digging into things that got us into this mess in the first place. I should've left the stones alone the first time Jane warned me about me about them. Now only a few weeks later we are all in this shit storm."
"Huh- digging into things…" Thor mustered a soft laugh at Zully's phrase. "You and Jane have that in common."
As the conversation stilled a soft groan was heard in the distance from Jane as she chattered her teeth together due to the cold. "Thor, can you lay besides me for warmth? My body is ice cold." She mumbled and instantaneously Thor stood up and somehow maneuvered himself inside the cot besides her.
Zully grinned watching Thor cuddle up with Jane. It was sweet seeing a man who was the burning image of power and rage, hell he was the god of THUNDER, but in that moment he was a regular man worried about someone he adored. His burley arms brushed up and down against her fragile body to help warm her up faster.
As Thor whispered a few things into Jane's ear her smile gave her face the first glimmer of life in her they had seen all night.
"Do you always smile when you watch people sleep like that." Loki startled her as he sat down on the log besides her.
"You're the one that always lurks in the shadows." Zully retorted. "Seeing them together like this really makes me want to get to the bottom of this aether and-"
Loki's eyes snaked into hers as if to shush her.
"Have you told Thor?" Zully asked in a low tone looking at his absent expression.
The shadows from the flames on the fire flickered and caressed his face.
"No, and I will keep it that way until we are sure about this."
"Don't you think he could help?" Zully retorted not making sense of Loki's explanation.
"Yes I believe he could. I also believe my brother to be rash and in times of anger act out in spite without a trace of logic. I will not have him igniting a war with another realm over something we do not understand."
"I hadn't thought about it that way."
"You and me could end this you know. You have part of the aetheir and a connection to Lorelei, and I am…well I am me." The cockiness in the latter portion of his statement mimicked on his face.
"That kind of responsibility scares me." Zully admitted. "What if I fuck this up?"
"We shall continue to discuss this tomorrow. We should sleep soon to get these two back to Midgard once the sun rises."
Loki was able to form another cot for Zully with a bedsheet Thor left and his leather coat. They both knew they only had enough materials for one cot and they both needed to rest simultaneously, so even though there was no dialogue on the subject they understood they would have to share the cot.
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It was not a crow that awoke them the next morning but a strange foreign sounding animal that bellowed a hallow and deep croak similar to that of a large bird. A chill ran up Zully's spine realizing there was probably a plethora of animals she had never encountered before.
"Sun's up, how do you feel?" Zully fluttered her eyes open as she noticed daylight had encapsulated the forest. Loki was staring straight up at the sky with an arm folded behind his head and the other draped down to his side. They were both invading each other's intimate space however there was no awkwardness that lingered with waking up in such close proximity. Her brunette hair draped down against his chest as it rose with every single breath he drew
"Like I slept on a cot." He groaned clearly in discomfort. "albeit I will be able to get us back to Midgard now."
"Jane and Thor aren't up yet." Zully said as she picked up her head slightly to see past the fabric from the cot sheet, "Maybe we should let them rest more."
Loki's body shifted slightly underneath her so he could turn in their direction, he rolled his eyes and released a soft groan not even attempting to disguise his annoyance. "Fine, I'll allow them a few more minutes but Ineed to get out of this damned realm. If we are caught. Surely Thor will be forgiven but me…not so much." There was a hollowness in his voice that sounded like it used to be harbored with hurt but over the years his emotions towards the subject simply went numb.
"I wouldn't let anything happen to you." Zully stated absent mindedly. "And well I'm sure Thor wouldn't either…you saw how quick he was to defend you back there against Odin." She quickly added to mask her first statement.
"Was that a hint that you care for my well being." A smart grin crept up on his face.
Zully scoffed not able to take him seriously or look at him in the eyes. "You kind of are our way home I don't really want to get stuck here."
"Oh is that so," His tone sounded as if he was very interested but clearly it was laced in humor. "Where did all your fascination for this place suddenly go?" He asked in a mocking tone.
"Ha ha very funny." Zully added sarcastically clearly flustered. "I'm sure any other moment in time I would love to be on vacation here but now, not so much. Plus…I heard the royals here are all real pompous asshole." As soon as the playful words left Zully's mouth she could see the smile in Loki's eyes.
"Is that so?" Loki brought his fingers to his chin and formed a sarcastic quizzical expression. "I heard that the youngest prince is quite the handsome devil."
"Oh I only heard the devil part."
There was a pause as Loki silently appreciated her statement. The two stared at one another both on the verge of laughter.
A throat being cleared pulled them from their moment. Both Loki and Zully looked startled to see Thor and Jane standing near their cot ready to begin their day. Loki quickly pushed back trying to not so subtly disguise their proximity.
"Good Morning Lady Zully-Brother." Thor announced in brighter spirts than the night prior. If she looked closely, she could see a memory of a grin on his face.
"Morning you two- how'd you sleep?" Zully asked to clear the air as she stood up from the cot, and Loki quickly followed choosing to not return the greeting.
"I'm feeling much better after some normal rest." Jane answered. "Are yours veins till glowing red?" She asked half reminding Zully.
"I hope not." Zully declared. "I'm the last person who deserves whatever abilities come with that." She joked but her expression clearly looked uncomfortable with the topic as she wished the conversation would drift away from it.
"Shall we?" Loki asked motioning with his hands towards the exit from the woods.
Zully followed quickly behind him and Jane went behind her as Thor took the back end of the group to ensure nothing took them by surprise. Once they were safely out of the forest and into the boundaries where Loki could use his magic again both the brothers scanned for guards and once they found nothing Loki grabbed Jane and Zully's shoulder as Thor had his hand interlocked with Jane's and soon the ground began to swirl beneath their feet.
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Surprisingly Stark's tower looked identical to when they left it. A short man with short soft brown loose curls walked down the hallway as if expecting them. He wore a white button up shirt that was messily tucked into his dark khaki slacks and he awkwardly studied each and every one of them.
"Bruce?" Thor questioned watching the man in front of them.
"Thor, long time no see my friend." The man Thor had referred to as Bruce walked up to the Norse god and held out his hand for a handshake before Thor bellowed a laugh and brought the much smaller man into a tight embrace.
Bruce's eyes practically bulged out of his eyes and once Thor released him he struggled to regain his composure as he readjusted his glasses.
"What brings you out of isolation doctor? Last I heard you were moving to some place whose name has now escaped me."
"I called him." Loki spoke up not allowing Bruce to speak for himself.
"Brother you?" Thor held back a laugh as he realized Loki's face was serious. "Last you two spoke or well not necessarily spoke Bruce-"
"Must we go into the details?" Loki groaned. "I called him here since he is the only person qualified to study Jane's condition. I've provided him with medical texts from Asgard and in return he has consulted with the best physicians in the world." Bruce nodded as if to back up Loki's statement.
Jane's jaw dropped slightly in pure shock. Thor looked unable to process the words to thank Loki.
"While Bruce studies Jane, Zully and I will attack this academically." Loki neared Zully and immediately as he put his hand on her bicep, she knew they teleporting elsewhere.
"I am quite surprised, you did something really nice. Like really really nice." Zully began as Loki walked away towards a table with a bunch of books laying on top of it.
"It was horrible I would like to never do that again." Loki said irritated as if he were on the verge of throwing a tantrum.
Zully released a soft laugh and watched as he sat down and began rummaging through what appeared to be the texts he had materialized from Asgard.
Unfortunately I had to cut this chapter in half because the second half of it was WAYYY too long- so you should all be seeing that half of the story fairly soon once I am done tweaking it. And let me just tell you know...it's going to get HOT. This chapter was honestly a lot of fluff and didn't add much to the chapter. I would loove to read what you are all thinking about this update so please leave me a review and/or let me know what you'd love to see next! :-)