Chapter nineteen

If only I could turn back time…

When Darcy opened her eyes, she was stood in a vaguely familiar room. Very neat, a four-poster (and very large) bed with green, gold and black colourings, the wall to the left was a huge panel of tall windows with a glass door leading to the balcony, and more. There was so much time to explore. The last time she was here…was many years into the future. Just how far into the past had she been taken? And what if she said something stupid and ruined everything?

She asked the Orb this.

You will not accidentally say or do anything wrong; this Orb will not let you. Do what you will.

She sighed in relief; it was very convenient, of course, but she was quite relieved about it. Darcy walked around the room, just looking around and thinking about how much it seemed to suit him, despite being the crazy mischief maker she knew he was. There was so many sides to him; a gentleman, mischief maker, vengeful…she knew he had the power to kill her with little more than a thought or with a quick squeeze of a hand, but he was gentle with her.

"Who are you?"

Darcy jumped and turned around at the familiar voice. She saw him then and while he was no different in stature, there was a certain boyish youth about him, an innocence about him that wasn't there on the Loki she knew. His hair was a little like first film Draco's, except jet black and neater. He didn't look angry, but he did look confused.

"Uhh…it's a long story, but I swear, I come in peace!" Darcy said.

Loki laughed then, warmth on his face despite not knowing who she was. There was something a little sad about that thought.

"You are human; I do not mean to be rude, but you do not look to be particularly threatening," Loki said.

Darcy stuck her tongue out at him despite everything. He gestured for her to follow him and she did. He had a nice little lounge just outside his bedroom door; she still couldn't believe how quietly he could enter a room, but then she shouldn't really be surprised, given he was a sneaky little bastard at times. She sat down on one of his lavish sofas and he sat down opposite her.

"So, do tell me your long story," he said with a small smile.

Darcy sighed as she tried to figure out what to say. "I'm from the future. Your future. I can't go into any details, there's some bad things happening and I need to…well, I've been told that I need to learn magic. From you, specifically," Darcy explained. "Okay, so it wasn't a long story, just…"

"…An unusual one. Huh," Loki said, before standing up and getting closer to her. He reached out with his hand before stopping. "May I?"

"Sure?" She said, confused.

He pushed a little of her hair back and his eyes seemed to register something. "Ah, I see," Loki said, moving away.

"Huh?" Darcy asked.

"It is not visible to the naked eye, but to mine of magic, you have my signature upon your forehead. Do not fear, Darcy Lewis, I will take care of you and teach you magic," Loki said.

"So this signature thing…does it tell you things?" Darcy asked.

"Yes, it certainly does," Loki said.

"Okay. This is weird—no offence," Darcy said.

"None taken. I think perhaps we will start lessons tomorrow; you should get comfortable for now," Loki said.

"How old are you now? What year is it?" Darcy asked.

"It is 11th March, 1015…I am fifty years old," Loki answered.

Holy mother of everything; she'd gone back in time, like, 998 years. That's a long time ago and she was intrigued as to what Earth looked like right now. History would never be able to paint a complete picture and seeing it would be a wonderful opportunity. She wasn't sure whether she would be allowed, though, considering the whole timey wimey thing.

She saw that he was watching her and she smiled sheepishly. "I guess this is strange for both of us; I mean, you don't know me, but I know you…well, future you," Darcy said.

"Is it disappointing? Are we friends in the future?" Loki asked.

"Uh, say, how does this magic work exactly? I mean…will you remember all this when I'm gone?" Darcy asked.

"No, the moment you leave I will forget," Loki said.

"That's…a little sad, and very convenient," Darcy said.

"Worry not; future me of your time will remember as soon as you have returned. I just have to take the long way," Loki said with a smile.

"Wow…sorry, you're just…different. Not in a bad way," Darcy said, adding the last part hastily.

Loki chuckled and shook his head. "It does not surprise me; now, are we friends in the future?" He asked. "I get the impression you know me in such a way."

"Yeah, we've been through a lot together, I'd call us friends. I mean, future you may feel differently…bit of a difficult person to read," Darcy said.

He smirked. "So it should be," he said. "Well, my dear, let us get you settled in; we are in for a long process."

"Just how long?" Darcy asked.

"It is hard to say, however, the spell that has been used on you will halt your ageing for the time you are here," Loki said. "Convenient, huh?"

"All of this is overly convenient…like a story, really," Darcy said.

Loki stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and he placed it in the crook of his arm as he showed her around his quarters (his word, not hers). They were large and little different from what she had briefly seen at the start of their journey. Of course, she saw more now and, she had to say, she was very impressed. Of course, she hadn't stayed in a proper home for months now.

"Hey, will I have to stay in here?" Darcy asked.

Loki took a few moments to think before he answered. "I will put a spell on you and top it up every so often; it will illusion you to appear as a Vanir, perhaps. Anyone you meet will forget until the time in which they see you again in the future anyway," Loki said. "Might as well take advantage of being in Asgard while you are here; it is quite magnificent."

"I've not seen a lot of it myself, I'd like that," Darcy said. She suddenly found herself hugging him tightly. "Sorry, I just…I…"

"You need not explain yourself, Darcy…whatever is happening in your current timeline must truly be terrible," Loki said, holding her back.

"Thank you. I appreciate you helping me…or, you know, planning to help me," Darcy said.

"It is no matter. Now, I think we should get you some food and then you should sleep," Loki said.

Darcy wasn't going to argue there.

The next day, Darcy started her magical training. Except, it wasn't exactly the fun magical training she was hoping for. It turned out she had to read a whole lot of theory first. She supposed, though, that it made sense; she had no clue how she was going to learn magic, hell, she was still not convinced she could actually perform magic, but who was she to question a skilled Sorcerer on all this?

There were a lot of diagrams in the book, ones that looked like they came out of a Fullmetal Alchemist volume. Loki had her drawing them, over and over again. Runes too, magical runes that were useful in some spells.

The days went by quite quickly and she felt like she wasn't grasping anything much, forgetting such simple things; she could draw the runes great one day but then missed one out the next day. But through it all, Loki was so godamned patient. He always seemed to know when to take her out of the room and through the palace. He had apparently explained that he had a visitor from Vanaheim apprenticing under him and yet, in the end, she wanted to avoid meeting the people she had met in the future.

The Time Spell was so convenient, but she still felt like she would be messing the future up somehow. So she just asked him to take her to nice places. His mother's garden was gorgeous, the Bifrost was stunning and the forest…oh, the forest. She loved it. Loki had to take her back after she fell asleep in there one time when she just lay down on the floor. A pity Loki would be basically an outlaw to this beautiful realm in the future; she just had to take advantage of it right now.

A month since she first started passed and she looked at Loki as she lay across his bed, a little fed up. Of course, she had her own little room below this one that he'd set up just for her, but sprawling across his bed was a common occurrence.

"Can I try to actually use magic yet?" Darcy asked with a sigh.

"Actually, I was planning to start that part today; you have progressed well," Loki said.

She shot up from where she sat with wide eyes. "Really?" Darcy asked.

He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, beckoning her to join him. "Yes," he answered.

Loki didn't need to tell her twice as she scurried over to sit right next to him, ready to be taught how to actually summon some form of magic. Make it? Form it? Whatever the terminology was.

"Hold out your hand."

Darcy did so, palm up, copying him.

"Close your eyes and focus on creating a spark," Loki said.

Darcy stared down at her hand for a few moments before she closed her eyes and focused. She stared at her hand some time before trying. After a few minutes, she sighed. Darcy knew it wasn't going to be an easy thing, but it was so difficult. Loki's fingers slid over the palm of her hand and he whispered something she couldn't understand. A green spark tickled her hand, circling it and she felt the warmth of it. Loki pulled away and smiled at her.

"Take your time, but that is how it should feel. Focus on it. Remember, it is rare for Midgardians to be born with potential to wield magic, rarer still for them to realise they have it and thus harness it. Or, at least, is the case in your timeline. It is a little more frequent right now," Loki said.

"Wait, please tell me, is Merlin real?" Darcy asked.

"The most powerful Midgardian sorcerer to date? Yes, he was real. But, as many figures of greatness must, he is lost to myth and legend, along with the dear King Arthur. I never met the man, of course; quite before my time," Loki said.

Darcy just stared at him in awe; she wasn't expecting a yes. She wondered what else was real.

"How about the Greeks?" Darcy asked.

Loki laughed. "Hardly. The Vanir can be rather mischievous when they have had a little too much to drink," he said. "Now, how about we continue? I cannot let such a rare mortal be so wasteful of her time."

"But my time has stopped!" Darcy said.

"If I did not believe you before that you have become friends with the me of the future, I certainly believe it now, you are rather cheeky," Loki said with fondness.

Darcy grinned at him and looked down at her hand again. She closed her eyes, feeling around for the power, remembering what she'd learnt so far. It seemed to just vanish from her head now that she got the chance to try and practise it. She kept going, knowing that if she stopped, she might have ruined her chance. On and on and…oh! Her hand felt warm and then she heard Loki laughing, so she opened her eyes to see a purple spark snake around her hand.

"Well done, Darcy…you have taken your first step. Now, let us try again," Loki said.

Darcy collapsed onto his bed an hour later after a lot of magical practice. It had gone so well though, even if she felt like she needed a nap. Or some red bull, but that was a long way off invention. Loki lay on his side watching her with a fond smile.

"You have done very well, we will continue tomorrow I think. We must be careful not to strain your body, for magic takes more of a toll on mortals," Loki said.

"Nothing permanent, right? I won't suddenly be sacrificing ten years of my life in learning this, will I?" Darcy asked.

It was a little late to be asking this, though she supposed given the situation, it was worth the risk.

"No, you will not lose any of your years, though if you use it too much you might die or lose your mind, as your body is finite, not able to withstand such a power for too long," Loki said.

Darcy was relieved, even if that idea wasn't exactly pleasant. She wondered how much was too much, but she at least had Loki to make sure she didn't go too far for now. She felt fingers brush her temple and she looked over at him. Gods, he was so handsome. His hair was so tame right now, despite being Mr. Mischief, but then looks really were deceiving and that was quite perfect for him, she thought. He didn't really look much different otherwise, though there was a far more innocent and carefree air about this Loki.

His eyes, though. She wasn't sure she'd seen anyone's eyes as green as his before she met Loki. She'd read about them, Harry Potter and his green eyes. Or not-so-green eyes in the film, but films were never accurate. He was smiling at her then in a way that made her realise she was staring too much and she pressed her face into the pillow.

"Perhaps you should sleep, you look rather tired," Loki said.

"That involves moving," Darcy groaned. "It's okay, give me five more minutes…"

Then she felt the covers over her and lighter clothing on. She looked around and then at Loki.

"You can rest here, if you like…of course, I will give you some space," Loki said, going to move.

"It's okay, I've slept with you before…well, shared a space, I mean," Darcy said hastily. Even though she was quite sure that he would take it as actual sleeping, it was habit. "Up to you, I don't mind."

"Close your eyes and sleep, Darcy," Loki murmured, removing her glasses for her by hand.

She closed her eyes. "I hope you didn't take a look whilst changing my clothes…" She said, playfully.

"I think you would know if I did, my lady. There would be no air left in my lungs," Loki murmured.

Darcy laughed and, without thinking, reached over and kissed his lips. She had been aiming to kiss his cheek but apparently her body had other ideas. She blinked at him after she pulled away, but he reached in for another kiss. Darcy kissed him back passionately, moving so that she was half on top of him. A minute passed before she pulled away from the kiss, eyes wide, realising what she was doing.

Was this right? It was still Loki, but this…this was a different version of him. Darcy didn't know what they really were in her actual time, mind, but even so, it was still a dilemma.

"You are quite close to me in the future, hm? Your face is quite a picture."

Darcy groaned and collapsed on him, face in chest. "We're…complicated. Not really put labels to anything, but…there's feelings. Is this…you're the same person, deep down, but yet…I don't know if it's cheating," Darcy said, feeling guilty.

"Not many can say they've had this problem. Let me take a minute to imagine. Person I love goes back in time and romances with my past self. How would I feel?" Loki said, closing his eyes.

Her heart thudded. It was one kiss, surely she could make up for that if it wasn't right. But then Loki had been through so much shit and been betrayed before. How was he going to react to this? Even if this Loki saw no harm, he had changed so much. Would that change make a difference? Darcy didn't know.

"Darcy, I will remember this one day, and I cannot see how any version of my future self would mind, I am always me," Loki said with a playful smile.

Darcy chuckled and stared at him, amazed at how one man could change so much, yet he was so old, so that was inevitable, right? "Are you just saying that to get into my pants?" She asked.

"Technically you are wearing a night dress," Loki smirked.

She groaned and thwacked him. "Loki," she said, looking at him pointedly.

"My dear Darcy, I am not foolish enough to lie to a beautiful woman who is possibly quite special to me in the future," Loki said. "I might be a little disappointed that I will have to wait so long for you, but I would hardly know the difference."

Darcy snorted. "Well, since you're not going to remember for a long time…although, won't this cause a suspicious blank in your memory? Plus others know there's an apprentice staying here…" Darcy said.

"I will remember another face, another name. This conversation will edit into something my brain will accept. The law of the hœgr spell," Loki said.

"The hœgr spell?" Darcy asked.

"The spell of convenience," Loki answered.

"That's a real thing?" Darcy asked.

Loki laughed and shook his head. "No, at least, not exactly. The spell simply walks hand in hand with time travel, to allow the parts of the future that we want to remain the same to stay that way," Loki said. "But convenience is an extremely apt description."

Darcy pushed him playfully and rolled her eyes, but she studied him quietly for a moment. He watched back, tilting his head and smiling at her increasingly cheekily at her. He had basically told her that kissing him (and more? She wasn't sure) wouldn't violate her future relationship with him, but she was still somewhat uncertain. Though the fact that he wanted to kiss her so soon after meeting her made her heart flutter.

When since had her life become so confusing?

Author's note: Hi! So now I'm uptodate with this story. Thanks guys, I know waiting is a pain. Yes, the story is getting rather wild. First off, why didn't Loki use the gauntlet to kill Thanos? That'll be explained. Why didn't he use the time gem to revive his mother? EH, to be honest I only just realised that flaw. We'll just say this is the best way he could have done it. Thankfully this is fanfiction and I am not too concerned with plot holes. I hope you're enjoying it, feel free to let me know that you are. I'm writing for free as a hobby so if you don't just click out. X]