Chapter 3: Guarding senpai
Maria followed Loki through a hallway into a room within the palace that was to be her own.
"Your room is right across from mine over there." Loki pointed out his room across the hallway."If you need anything just walk across the hall and ask me, understand?" He tidied up her room a bit. He was a bit of neat freak.
Looking to the god Maria smiled "Thank you." She had always traveled from one realm to another with her line of work it felt good to settle down for a while.
"Let me know if you need anything." Loki exited your room and entered his own.
Thor entered Loki's room a few minutes later, "Remember your promise?"
"What promise?" Thor just crossed his arms. Loki rolled his eyes and sighed, "I'll go and ride Esmeralda if you wish."
Thor smiled, "Thank you brother."
Loki leaned in the doorway of Maria's room, "My brother wishes for me to be 'out of my room'. As my guard you are obliged to accompany me."
Maria had been reading a book when Loki had walked into the room before she nodded in agreement and followed him out of the room. "You do not seem like you want to go riding even though that seems like a wonderful pleasure on such a day like today." she replied looking at Loki.
"I used to enjoy riding, it was one of my few pleasures but those days are gone now and I do not wish to bring them back. However, Thor does wish for it to be like it was, when I was cast aside, mocked, and disrespected. Thor always being the better out of the two of us regardless. It's truly no wonder he wants to return to that time." he spoke spitefully of Thor.
Looking to Loki, Maria thought for a moment. "He seems more oblivious to those facts just from observation." she shrugged a bit. "Would it help if you had another rider to talk to as you ride?" she replied walking with Loki down a corridor and following him to the stables.
"I doubt it but I'm up for anything that gets me back in my room sooner." Loki walked to the stables and took Esmeralda out of her stall. A small smile appeared on his face, "How are you old girl? I missed you terribly." Esmeralda whined and nestled into his neck as he petted her. "Do you have a horse?"
Maria nodded and walked over to a nearby stable where a black mustang neighed with joy as she approached him. "Yeah." she replied as she pet the horses nose and chuckled "You missed me huh Kuro." (pronounced coo- roe)
"Good." Loki put a the reins on Esmeralda. He noticed Maria's questioning look when he didn't put a saddle on his horse. "She doesn't like the way saddles feel so I ride bareback."
Maria chuckled a bit amused "Kuro is the same way" she replied as she placed the reins and harness onto Kuro's face before opening the gate and leading him out of the stable. "Where did you like to ride most of the time?" she said looking to Loki.
"I used to ride out in the forest and spend all day there. Odin would get mad when I arrived late for dinner smelling like a horse but the beauty of nature, it was just so fascinating. I lived one day at a time back then." Loki walked his horse out of the stable and mounted her. Personally he liked to hear the sound of his own voice and reflect on simpler times.
Mounting Kuro by taking hold of his mane and hoisting herself up, Maria sat astride as she held onto the reins and led her horse towards the forest. "Would you like to go to the forest and daydream a bit?" she asked with a chuckle
"Do not laugh at me. I am still a prince of Asgard and no, I do not want to daydream of days past." Loki gave Esmerelda the command to gallop. "Keep up if you can."
Maria grinned a bit then urged Kuro forwards "Go after her boy run her down yah" Kuro gallops catching up with Loki's horse before passing him by a long shot. "Hi" she said as she galloped passed "bye"
Loki snapped the reins and pushed Esmeralda to her limits. When he caught up to Kuro and Maria he cut them off with his horse standing in front of them. "It's come to my attention that I did not ask your name. What is it?"
Kuro came to a slow stop as he trotted and Maria smiled "Names Maria" she said as she patted Kuro's neck.
"Maria, not a bad name. Now how about a race Maria to prove which horse is faster?" Loki hoped Esmeralda was still as fast as she used to be for he would hate to lose a challenge he initiated.
Grinning Maria motioned to the waterfall within the forest as the finish point. "Race you to the waterfall Loki" Kuro shook his head in agreement as Maria looked over her shoulder. "Ready set go" Again she urged Kuro to a canter as the horse leapt off into the forest
Loki did the same but as always there was a twist. When Maria arrived at the waterfall Loki was already there and his horse didn't look a bit tired. "Took you long enough." he chuckled.
Maria sat on Kuro her hands on her hips "You teleported, no fair." she chuckled in return and she pat Kuro and let the horse drink from the pool of water at the base of the falls. "Still wonderful race Loki"
"It was your fault, you chose not to set any rules. I simply used that to my advantage." Loki jumped off of Esmeralda and sat by the water.
Grinning Maria sat down as well as Kuro knelt by the bank drinking "Indeed though it was amusing"
"Do you have any hobbies?" Loki picked up a few smooth stones and began throwing the across the water. They kept skipping halfway before sinking.
"I enjoy reading and creating weapons on my spare time" she said as she to skipped one of the rocks across the water before watching it sink.
"That was a good toss." He said referring to Maria's last and furthest toss. "Is there anything you want to know about me?" Loki wasn't keen on revealing too much about himself but he had to manufacture some trust to ensure Maria's loyalty to him.
Arching an eyebrow at Loki she replied "Why is it others fear you? you seem pretty easy going from my perspective." she skipped another stone. "Seems rather odd that people make assumptions just based on rumors and not personality."
"Anyone has the potential to project a personality. They do it mostly for protection but there are sometimes leaks in the person's facade. Those leaks occasionally result in bursts of anger or worse. That is why they fear me. For when my facade cracks, I am an extremely violent god." Loki ran a hand through his black locks.
Maria eyed the trickster God with an arched eyebrow before shrugging her shoulders. "So you have a lot of anger stored up" she chucked another rock across the pond. Unaware that her hair tie had become loosened a bit. "What else is new? That should not be a reason to avoid the person" she said as the stone she threw sank into the water. "I would think that aiding a person instead of fearing them would be wiser." Maria looked to the god sitting down before her before just laying down in the grass.
"That is not the only reason that I am feared. Are you truly unaware of the chaos I have wreaked across the nine realms?" Loki turned to Maria. No one in all the nine realms was unaware of his actions. How was it that she didn't know or didn't care?
Looking at Loki "Oh I know but why fear you?" she shrugged "seems pointless to me to focus on deeds done in the past." she says casually "Besides making mistakes is a part of life. Can't always be perfect." she says as Kuro rolls in the grass. "Unlike most in this realm and possibly every other realm. I look at a person asking them 'when have you never made a mistake in your life?' That shuts them up." she replies.
"I am a murderer. I don't know how you can possibly look past that. I can kill without remorse or even blinking an eye." Loki took out his dagger and began polishing it. "I can think of eight ways to kill you right now."
Maria chuckled a bit amused "No offense but I can think of several ways to block an attack" she said as she looked up through the canopy of trees. "You fight really well by the way. Aside from a lack in defense" she shrugged "If you upped your defense a bit you'd be able to pretty much beat everyone up to a pulp."
"Is that so?" Loki sat up a bit more. "What makes you think I need to be defensive?"
Maria shrugged "Just the small gaps. When we fought I noticed you were anticipating for an attack in order to determine what to do." she shrugged "just minor polish up stuff that would help when you fight ,really it's nothing major."
"You know, I really don't think we started this conversation on my lack of defense." Loki sheathed his polished dagger and took out his other dagger to polish. "We started talking about you. Now let this conversation remain on you. I'm done talking about myself." She had already spotted a weakness in him. What if he allowed her to spot more? Then like the others she would pounce upon them, taunt him, humiliate him. That couldn't happen, not again.
Maria created an ice crystal for fun "I don't exploit weaknesses in an ally that's just idiotic" she said as she briefly skimmed his mind of his thoughts. "Besides what good guard would I be if I did that?" she shrugged still creating a casual conversation.
Loki sighed, "Why did you enter my mind? I prefer my thoughts to be private. While we're on the subject, what else can you do? I saw you use ice magic back when we were fighting." Loki put up a mental barrier in his mind. Now there was no way she could even skim his mind without him knowing. "Perhaps we should head back to the castle."
She shrugged "One I apologize for reading your mind . For that was completely unintentional. As far as skills go let's just say i am full of surprises." She looked at the sky slowly beginning to darken. "I agree on heading back it is getting dark." standing up and dusting herself off, Maria pulled onto Kuro's reins allowing the horse to stand up.
Loki climbed onto Esmeralda and had her canter back to the stables. He placed her back in her stable. "You'll see the light of day more often, I promise." he gave Esmerelda a sugar cube. Loki walked backed to his room a little faster than usual and closed his door. He was just a bit irked that she had read his mind at all. Who was Maria? How did she learn all the things she knew?
As Maria left the stables smiling she headed back to her room to read a bit after putting Kuro back into his stall. It had been a long day full of surprises one that she thought to herself would continue to be interesting when guarding a certain trickster god.
Author note: Hi guys I hope this year has been amazing for all of you. If all of you haven't read some of my past stories read some. (They need to be updated. I humbly apologize for the delay on some of them.) In any case I honestly hope you all enjoy this story that my friend Hannah and I created. (It kinda takes up all our time actually.) Please. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review. I am not a mind reader so if there is something wrong with the story tell me so I can fix it. Enjoy Chapter 3 chapter 4 - 11 will be posted hopefully soon. (its a hell of a lot of editing 0-0) So yeah. Later Chaos friends. Loki child and author CalmChaosangel101 out. :p