Disclaimer: I do not own any characters belonging to Thor or the Avengers.
Authors note: Wow I gotta be honest I didn't think I would have this many people like my story! It's make me very happy. Thanks for all the follows!
Agent007tomato: I'm glad you made it to chapter 13 despite your concern with the first few chapters. It wasn't meant to make Loki look like a women hating sexfiend. I hope the rest of the story will come together better. I am going somewhere with it I'm not writing blind :p. though I have to admit sometimes I lose focus. Thanks for the review.
Poodle warriors: welcome back. Glad to deliver another chapter for your enjoyment.
Chapter 14
Everything was dark. She couldn't see anything. The voices called to her gently at first until she got closer and they became echoing screams of horror. She heard her sister scream her name somewhere in the dark. And then the light came. A bird flew by singing a tune before disappearing into the nothingness that was the light.
"Do you think I'm a monster?" a faint voice said. She felt herself shiver as the light faded and she was surrounded by a river of blood. The songbird flew by again it's beak dripping in blood. And it no longer sang.
"Help me." she heard her own voice call out.
"It's better this way." King Yorin said and she saw his silhouette in the distance as he walked away from her.
Cephera woke sitting up in her bed. Her body damp with sweat and her face streaked with tears. She took a few deep breaths and let herself fall back to her pillows. It never failed. Every night she had those nightmares. Every night was a little different.
She lay silently as the sun threw a few strands of light in her window through the curtains. She turned her head to peer toward them. Another day of misery. She frowned. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled a genuine smile. She wore a smile everyday but the smile didn't wear her. She felt like she shouldn't be allowed to smile.
She didn't know why she felt that way. Every now and then she'd have feelings like that. Like she knew something deep down but didn't know how she knew.
Resigning herself to the fact she needed to get up, she flung her comforter off her and stretched out before leaving the comfort of her bed to get a bath.
As the water filled up hot and steaming she studied herself in the mirror. She smoothed her hand through her hair and turned slightly to see the wings on her back twinkle in their shade of silver on her slightly tanned skin.
She sighed and climbed into the hot water. It was uncomfortable at first but soon it was soothing. Hot baths cleared her mind. She settled back against the tub wall and closed her eyes. Unbidden came to mind her nightmare and she shivered.
Cephera curled her legs close to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. Even with a sleep aids she was tormented in her sleep. She couldn't remember a night were she had a peaceful sleep.
"Are you ok in there?" She heard his voice call. He checked on her every morning.
"Yeah. As ok as I'll ever be." She called back. She heard his footsteps leave her room. She smiled. He had welcomed her to his home with a smile. She was grateful to him. He was a true friend.
She missed her sister though. She wondered how she was doing. No one had come to see her or arrange for them to meet. "She'll come when she can." Her friends had told her.
Slowly she sunk further into the bubbles and skimmed her fingers through her hair. She unbound her braid and washed everything. She scrubbed off unseen dirt. She alway felt dirty now a days, no matter how much she washed herself clean.
She wondered what fate had in store for her. Why had her life changed so much? What had she done to deserve this?
Loki watched Seraphina punch the ships computer module in charge of navigation. "Dammit!" she said in annoyance and turned to see him smirking. "It's not funny." she insisted leaving the room. She walked awkwardly in the long gown she wore.
They had been traveling now for over a month. They couldn't use the Byfrost to reach earth, Heimdell would know. Loki stayed disguised from the ships crew. As far as King Yorin was concerned Seraphina was in good hands on her way to meet his family.
It had taken two weeks of putting up with the king. He had indeed asked Loki if he was drunk and when Loki insisted he was serious in his interest in his daughter the king shook his hand and said he should get a medal.
It wasn't until they actually set off on one of their ships that he understood why. She was nothing like Cephera. She was short tempered, violent, rude, and as unprincess like as he had ever seen. The only time she spoke in a kind tone was when they spoke of Cephera. It was clear to Loki that she cared deeply for her twin sister and that the separation has been hard on her.
It seemed once her mind cleared of her joy over searching for her sister, Seraphina had all but interrogated him to see if he truly knew her. There where no boundaries to the questions she asked. Loki had to boycott some of them that went to deep into his sexual relations with her.
"Hey, don't just stand there help me." she said to a guard nearby. She was pushing a heavy metal machine across the room. He noticed a pair of Midgardian footwear on her feet, sneakers. He almost laughed. Cephera had often went around bare foot.
Loki didn't pay anymore mind to what she was doing. The complicated system used to navigate there destination had broken and she was attempting to fix it manually after her magic failed to. It would take, roughly, a little over one more month to reach earth. He would keep his disguise in case he might catch the attention of Shield.
He thought back to his last full conversation with the boy like princess. "When we finally find her, no matter where she is, I'm her sister I get to speak with her first. I wouldn't care if you where her husband, I had her first." she had been standing at the other side of the table Loki sat at and her palms had landed down onto the table shaking it.
"I can wait." he told her. It was partially true. He wasn't sure how Cephera would receive him when she saw him again. He wanted to give her a moment to feel happy at her reunion with her sister before he revealed himself.
Seraphina sighed when everything was working again. She had the sleeves of her dress rolled up and there was magical dust debris covering her arms, face and the front of her gown. She smiled a triumphant smile and leaned aganist the navigation panel.
Almost as hard as it had been to fix her first motorcycle. She hadn't used magic for that either. Her hands were filthy. She looked over to Loki and glared. As much as she was grateful for him getting her away from her father she didn't like him much.
He was borderline arrogant and it wasn't from what he said so much of his action. The way he sometimes looked at her. Like he was better. She wondered how Cephera had managed to deal with him at all. She even thought he might be a spy for Demos.
As far as Seraphina knew Demos was still looking for Cephera. Why would her father send her away again otherwise. And Loki could easily be lying about being her friend. He was difficult to read emotionally. He smiled and spoke gently but he gave off a err of bad. She wasn't sure if it was a good bad or a bad bad.
She left the room to wash up. Once infront of a mirror she washed her face and looked into her own eyes looking back from her image. "Where are you Cephera?" she asked picturing her sisters face in her mind.
Life could have been so good for them if Demos hadn't come calling. Cephera would have had a chance to settle down and be happy. When she first got sent away they where sure she would grow old and die a human death. She should have. Seraphina said goodbye like they would never again see each again.
It had killed her to do it. And then her father arranged for her to see her twice a year in secret. The years came and went and over two decades Cephera hadn't changed. Somehow Seraphina knew it was because of their odd birth. Two centuries later and her sister was still the same tiny pipsqueak she had always been.
She missed her sister's laugh. Seraphina was never an emotional girl. She was the tomboy of the set of them. Mens trousers and shirts half tucked in was he style when they where young and still living with their mother. Cephera had been the one who enjoyed dressing up and dancing about.
They had been in a field of wildflowers once and Cephera had made her a wreath of flowers for her head. Seraphina had refused to wear it but the look Cephera had on her face made her change her mind. She had worn it in the end to simply watch her sister smile and hear her laugh.
The only time Seraphina remembered crying was the day they where separated the first time thinking her sister was going to die alone without her. Where ever her sister was now she could only hope she was in good hands.