Chapter 25: Changing

Cephera was climbed up and leaning on the fence surrounding the huge field where the horses were allowed to run free. It had been fours days since Cephera received her horse whom she called Spirit, which she seemed to have a lot of. All the palace horses were currently in the fields and some were enjoying a light trot or just basking in the grasses but as always Spirit was running wild. Neither Cephera nor Loki managed to calm her long enough to attach the saddle and so Cephera had not had the opportunity to ride her.

Loki had at one point even tried to talk Cephera into sending her back for another but Cephera just couldn't do it. She liked Spirit no matter if she was rideable or not. Today Loki had gone with Thor and so Cephera was left to her own devices. She spotted movement from the corner of her eye and turning her head she saw Shay coming her way.

"Still no luck?" She asked joining her on the fence.

"Not at all." Cephera said but she couldn't frown. If the animals wished nothing more than to run wild who was she to stop her. Cephera would hate to be removed from the things she enjoyed. Although technically if she could ride Spirit she'd have the opportunity to explore further than the fields but of course the horse didn't know the difference.

"How have things been with Loki?" Shay asked grinning.

"Great but I've learned that things between us can go sore quickly. He's finicky in his moods. More so than a woman on her menses." Cephera laughed and Shay did as well.

"He's always been a moody fellow. Although he seems to show more emotion outwardly than he used to before his fall from the Byfrost. It was once difficult for those who didn't know him well to read how he felt from his expressions. I find him a little less discreet over how he feels now and I don't know if it's because he doesn't care if people knows or he lost part of his normal calm poise." Shay looked thoughtful.

"I don't know Loki like you do but I personally think he doesn't care what others think of him. I think he's found a new part in him where only he matters but I don't think that extends to family as he clearly cares what Odin thinks or he wouldn't have shunned me for so long." Shay gave a nod.

"He went through something when he was gone but he's never told a soul what it was like after his fall and before Midgard. I never asked him when he returned. I was happy to see him alive." Shay watched the horses a moment.

"I haven't asked about his past either. I figured it wouldn't score me any points with him." Cephera commented. Spirit was once again close enough to see and in fact was circling their way. Cephera quickly pulled an apple from her skirt and held it out. Every chance she got to make contact with her horse she did.

Spirit stopped her wild run to come to a halt at Cephera's hand. Her nose taking in the scent of the large apple she was holding before she grasped it in her mouth. As she chewed Cephera took the opportunity to climb higher on the fence to lean in and smooth her hand down over her long mane and scratch her ears. The moment was short lived. Once the apple was devoured off she ran again. Cephera watched her run off, shook her head and smiled.

"So what's your plan for Spirit?" Shay asked crossing her arms on the top rail.

"For now it's just to get her used to me. I use treats to get her close and stopped while she eats. I smooth her down then. When she's locked in the stables she won't let anyone touch her. She gets irritated easily. Getting her in is a hard task for the stable servants." Cephera frowned then. She had no idea what she'd gotten herself into. She seemed to do that often.

"I'm sure Loki will help when he figures something out." Shay told her with a smile. She climbed off the fence then. "I have to get going." Shay said a wider smile spreading across her face.

"What's got you so eager to leave?" Cephera inquired.

"I am meeting an old friend of mine for dinner." She said.

"A lover?" Cephera probed.

"Not yet." Shay winked before waving and leaving Cephera to her problems with her horse.

XxX

Cephera left spirit to herself after she struggled with the stable boys to get her horse back in the stables. A bucket of apples later she was safely locked up but not happy about it. Cephera hated to see her that way but theft did happen in Asgard and having the horses loose after sundown was a no no. Cephera knew Loki would be back in an hour or so but until then she moved to their bedroom and pulled out a book. She lay on her stomach flipping the pages of the basic spell book. Loki hadn't had her perform any other spells since that first one but she was happy to just be able to freely study once more.

He spoke of showing her some potions at some point but he didn't seem impressed enough over her magic to meddle with it. She didn't mind. Any small things he was willing to show her meant spending time with him and getting to know him. Loki was still a stranger to her. She knew more about his antics in the bed than outside the room but she was slowing learning. The same went the other way around as well. He indulged her with something she would like to do each day. They usually spent a few hours together on days he went on hunts. Hunts seemed to be Loki's way to get away from the palace but he also seemed to look forward to them a little more each time they came about.

Cephera was half way through the book she was looking through when the room door opened and Loki stepped in. His clothing was all muddy and dirt was dropping to the floor. She eyed him feeling amused. "I'm going to assume you and Thor didn't have a mud fight." She said biting her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing. Even his hair was caked.

"I was thrown from my horse." He said. "A damn boar came out of nowhere and caused both our steeds to rear back. Thor got the same fate as I." Loki seemed pleased about that last part at least. Cephera got up off the bed and moved into the bathroom. Loki peeled off his sopping wet, muddy clothing, that hit the floor with a sickly slapping sound, as she filled a basin full of water.

"Stand in the center." She told him. He did so and she stood on the edge of the bath to dump the water over his head to wash off all mud and dirt before filling the bath with clean water. Loki settled down and Cephera stripped and climbed in as well. She ran her fingers through his hair applying cleaning oils as she did so. She helped scrub any dirty patches missed by the poured water. Loki's tense muscles began to loosen beneath her cleaning. His stress seeming to diminish.

"How did you spend your day " Loki inquired when he was relaxing against the side of the tub as she cleaned herself. He looked worn out today.

"I spent some of the early part of the day doing needle work with your mother." She said sighing. She hated needlework but the queen loved it so much Cephera just hadn't the heart to tell her. Cephera could not sew to save her life. The queen was always kind about the work Cephera did although she obviously never knew what Cephera had been trying to actually make. "I spent the rest of my day with Spirit." Loki had his eyes closed and his head titled back slightly.

"How did that go?" He asked his voice slightly low.

"Same as every other day though I did get to scratch her ears longer. She twitches them and leans into the touch now." Cephera told him feeling proud.

"Mmmm. Much work yet to be done." He commented his words taking a moment to come out. He was slowly falling asleep. Cephera almost laughed but contained it.

"Loki come on. Bed time." She said getting up and drying off quickly. Loki followed suit slowly. She'd never seen him so tired. The hunt must have been a hard one. She led him to their bed and helped him settled under the sheets. She sat on the edge of his side of the bed and ran her hand through his damp tresses of dark hair and lightly sang to him. It only took a few seconds before Loki was out cold. Cephera smiled and left him there to finish drying her hair before bed.

(Loki)

Loki woke sometime deep into the night and rolled to find Cephera asleep behind him her hand resting on his hip. She was wearing her nightgown, something she hadn't had a chance to put on in a long time, and it took him a moment to realize he'd fallen asleep. He barely remembered anything after the bath began. Himself and Thor had managed to chase down a fairly large boar and after a long foot chase they managed to subdue the animal. It was on their way home they had gotten tossed off their horses but at least this time they had something to show for their hard work.

Loki found hunts to be more enjoyable then he once had. When once he had been treated as a crutch Thor now treated him as an asset. Loki felt useful. When they had killed the boar Thor had grabbed Loki's hand and clapped him on the back with a roar of pride. The act made Loki feel like a brother.

He'd had such a good time he couldn't feel disappointed that he had not had a chance to enjoy his wife when he got back. Now he rolled over and watched her sleeping face. He was becoming used to her. When she had looked at him and practically begged him for that horse he couldn't say no. Even though the horse was a problem the fact she still wanted it and got enjoyment from it kept Loki from selling it.

He had enjoyed his last four days with her and could only hope it continued that way. He'd decided that he would give her the honor of being the first woman to enter his tower aside from his mother. Her magic lacked power but her eagerness to learn new things brought about his offer to show her potions. Loki was apprehensive about teaching her magic of any kind as he was a bit of a perfectionist and he would not be a kind teacher in that area. Things were going so well he felt that side of him was best left for a later time.

Loki touched her soft skin along her bare arm and knew things would only continue to change from here. Both his relationship with her and Thor was rapidly changing. He almost felt her enthusiasm for just about everything was slowly rubbing off on himself. It wasn't completely a bad thing. Deep down Loki still strived for acceptance. He was no longer the silent boy he'd once been and Thor seemed to recognize Loki for the powerful man he really was. It empowered Loki and he felt he was on his way to proving himself in his own ways.

Thor was no longer a mountain that cast Loki into the shadows and Cephera was no longer a punishment. Loki's change of outlook was refreshing that even Loki couldn't hate it. He slipped one arm under Cephera's neck near her pillow and his other arm curved around her waist before he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Phew. Had some writers block on what to write in here but I managed to get it going once I started!

Loving all reviews! Keep them coming. :D

- Nightmare of Cat: hope it wasn't too fluffy. Lol

- Novexus Prime: I'm a little sad you feel I've taken the easy way out regarding Cephera's immortality and the way it changes the outcome. As I am working with a character I have pre-establish through other fics and has for the most part always remained the same I had no intention on changing who she was in this one. I enjoy trying to see how many different ways I can bring Loki and Cephera together. I understand her not being mortal changes the effect it has on the overall outcome but this is how I knew this would go. I'm sorry that you had a different hope for the complications and outcome for this fic. That being said I did write a fic about Loki falling in love with a straight up human called 'something so wrong, yet so right'. I do hope that despite that disappointment that you do find some enjoyment throughout the rest of this story. :)

- Akera writer of the Night: thanks so much! I love hearing that! :D

- Loki's Dreamer: haha. Slowly getting there. :P

- Gfor098: happy the cheesy level was nil for you. I was going for an awwww moment.

- Benfan 1: good thing I do update everyday then or you'd have to painfully wait longer. Lol.

- Miss Padawan: hehe. Awesome! So glad I accomplished the right feels.

- Poodle Warriors: I thought so too!

- Lstrom: thanks for the review! I'm glad you are overall enjoying how I portray Loki and Thor and their interactions. I didn't want the usual jealous story or one where Shay was a bitch. I wanted her to have dimension. I'm really glad with his it's all turning out. I'm kinda winging it from here as I didn't have all this stuff planned in advance like I usually try to do. Haha

- 88 Dragon 06: regarding your pm there will be more of that later. Trying to figure out how to go about it. You will get to see Loki and Cephera doing other things together as the fic progresses.