Once we reach Loki's room and the door is firmly closed behind us, Loki turns to me , his eyes blazing with intensity. On the outside however, he remains calm. "Did he find anything out?" He asks.
"Not while I was awake." I reply, meeting his burning gaze. "I blocked him as best as I could as soon as I realized what was going on."
His eyes soften. "You were able to block him?"
I roll my eyes, smiling. "Aren't you the one who said I have the strongest mind you've ever seen?"
He frowns. "That's still very unusual."
"I'm sure it's fine." I say. I knock on my head with my fist. "See? No brain damage."
He smiles. "That's very true."
"So... if I may ask, why are we keeping me being your servant a secret from Odin?" I ask lightly.
He smiles. "Because I intend to keep you here as long as possible, and if Odin finds out that you're my servant, he will immediately send you home."
"Why is that?" I ask, genuinely curious.
Loki looks at me, now smirking. "Because he thinks Midgardians needn't be meddled with. They cause enough trouble in their own realm. And having you here as a servant is definitely too long of a time for you to be here, in his opinion." His voice had grown a bit more bitter at the end of that sentence.
"Well, I don't plan on causing any trouble whatsoever." I say resolutely, trying to ease his worries. "I will just be your loyal servant."
He smiles, his bitter thoughts now gone. "Very well then." He meets my gaze. "Do you feel alright? You're not dizzy or anything?"
"No." I reply. "I feel... whole."
"Good." He walks over to his closet and opens the door, shoving clothes aside.
I peek curiously over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"
He stops shoving aside clothes and presses a hidden panel in the back of the closet. Something clicks, and the back of the closet silently swishes open, revealing a dark stairwell. He steps back, gesturing with his hand towards the opening. "After you."
"Thank you, kind sir." I say politely. I step through the closet and begin going down the stone steps, my hand on the wall for balance. I can barely see in front of me.
Suddenly, I feel Loki's hand on my shoulder, stopping me. "What is it, my king?" I ask. Something clicks and the stairwell is plunged into darkness. "Oh." I whisper.
Loki squeezes my shoulder. "There's only a few more steps in front of you." He says. "Then it will open up into a large chamber. There we will stop."
"Why the dark?" I ask quietly. I'm not afraid of the dark, I'm just afraid of the things that can come with it. The what ifs swirl around in my head, threatening silently. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can do this. It's just a few more steps.
"Are you alright?" Loki asks, his breath brushing against my ear. I shiver. "Do you not like the dark?" I try to take a shaky step forward, but he holds me in place, an arm circling around my torso.
"Only the things that can come with it." I reply softly, my overactive imagination conjuring up demons and scary things with chainsaws.
"It will be alright." He says, tightening his hold on me. "There's no need to be afraid."
Suddenly, a deep growl emanates from in front of us. I step back quickly, my heart jumping in my chest wildly with fear, my thoughts jumping everywhere. I'm now pressed against Loki's chest. "What was that?" I ask, my voice, barely more than a whisper.
Loki sighs, and I feel it vibrate throughout his chest. "That, my dear, is the reason we came down here."
"Why the dark?" I ask again, afraid.
"For safety." He replies. "Not only for us, but for the one down below as well." He releases me, keeping his hand on my shoulder. "He knows we're here now, there's no going back."
"Who is it?" I ask.
Loki doesn't reply. "Five more steps."
I tense. I don't want to do this.
He squeezes my shoulder again. "Please. You'll understand once we get down there."
I close my eyes tightly, then open them again. Fine. Ignoring the hammering of my heart, I place my hand on the wall. I step down. Another growl erupts from the darkness in front of us. I push it aside and continue on. One more step. Then another. More growling. Two more steps. Done.
"Now move forward slowly." Loki says. "I promise he won't hurt you."
Swallowing my fear, I face the darkness again. The air down here is damp, smelling like dog. How could a dog be down here? Slowly, I move forward a bit. Something directly in front of me growls, and I think I see a flash of teeth. I don't dare step backwards though. Who knows what it will do. Or what it is. I take another step forward, and the growling stops. I hear some more shuffling, and then something wet and cold touches my arm. I suck in a scream. Is that a tongue? I'm literally trembling in fear.
The tongue moves away, and I hear more shuffling. I close my eyes, preparing for the thing to eat me.
Then, I hear something else, like a low rumbling. I feel Loki relax. "I know." He says. Is he.. communicating with it? I open my eyes, still seeing nothing but darkness.
Something rumbles back. Loki chuckles. "Yes, I agree." More rumbling. "You're right, I'd say she passed." Passed? What is he talking about? I look around some more, finally relaxing some now that I know nothing's going to attack me.
Then, I see a pinprick of white, directly in front of me. I squint at it, and it expands exponentially, filling my vision. I close my eyes against its brightness, and then open them again.
I'm pretty sure I passed out for a few seconds. The room is now fully lighted, with torches lining the walls. Standing in front of me is a gigantic wolf.
I take a few steps back, once again colliding with Loki's chest. The wolf blinks at me, as if my behavior is completely normal.
"Um... Loki?" I stutter. This wolf is not just huge, it is huger than huge.
"Yes?" He asks, placing his hands on my shoulders reassuringly.
"Were you just... what..." I close my eyes tightly. "What just happened exactly?"
"Perhaps it would be better if you lie down." He says. I open my eyes, curiously looking up at him, but he's not looking at me. He's looking at the wolf.
I look at the wolf, who nods and lies down. "He can understand you?" I ask, amazed.
"And he can understand you." Loki says gently. "Cameron, I'd like you to meet my son, Fenrir."
Fenrir. The wolf who was chained for eternity, because he was prophesized to one day swallow the sun and start Ragnarok. I look at the wolf again, now noticing a large chain attached to a collar on his neck.
"Fenrir." I say, meeting the wolf's gaze. "What a pleasure to meet you."
"A pleasure to meet you also, Cameron." Fenrir replies, his voice a low rumbling.
So Loki was talking with him. I take a step forward. "I'm sorry for acting so freaked out earlier." I tell Fenrir. "I'm not really sure what happened."
"You passed the test my father made." Fenrir replies. "You faced your greatest fear. Now you can come down here any time you want."
"That was.. a test?" I look at Loki.
He nods. "Many seek to find my son in order to destroy him, to try to prevent Ragnarok from happening." He looks at Fenrir. "I can't let that happen."
"Because he's your son." I conclude.
"Because I love him." Loki says, his gaze moving back to me. "I wanted you to meet each other, you are both equals, and I had hoped that you would both be good friends."
Instead of being angry about all this ending up to be a setup to make us friends, I feel happy. I turn to Fenrir. He must be lonely, not having anybody come see him often. Loki was right to do this. And even I feel I might get lonely here myself, so it's best to make friends.
I kneel down next to Fenrir, looking him in the eye. I smile. "I'm sure we'll be great friends."
"I agree." Fenrir rumbles. "However, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
I prepare to not roll my eyes. I'm pretty sure I know where this is going. "I don't mind at all." I reply.
"Are you pregnant?" He asks.
I shake my head. "I'm not." I glance back at Loki, who now has his eyes closed in frustration. I turn back to Fenrir. "Although I wish somebody would tell me why everyone keeps asking me that."
Fenrir sighs. "I'm not sure I'm the best to tell you."
"You don't have to tell me everything." I rush out, worried about what Loki's going to do. "Just give me something."
"Well..." Fenrir starts, but then a familiar blackness comes across my vision, and I black out.