I apologise that this chapter took a little longer, but now that it's here, I really cannot wait for your reactions in the form of reviews! Also, a little message for Wesa: thank you SO much for your reviews as you've read through the series! I've read each and every one of them and they've made me so happy! I would have messaged you back privately but as you are a guest reviewer, I am not able to do that. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you!
Hydrangeas Say Our Family Will Flourish
Chapter Forty-Six: When You Go Down to the Woods Today
Aster and Kari ran as fast as their little legs could carry them as they hopped and bolted over jagged terrain through the forest, determined to escape the great beast that was pursuing them at incredible speed; coughing out panicked puffs and gasps and fearful squeaks every time they heard the beating stride stomping at the ground some distance behind them.
It was coming for them. It was going to take them away and eat them for dinner. It was faster than them, there was no way they could outrun it when it was just so much bigger than they were.
The forest was dark and shrouded with evil, they didn't know where they were or how to get out, but the lurking presence quickly closing in gave them a shocking sense of urgency that fuelled their adrenaline and pushed them swifter and further down the trail.
When the sound of a loud snarl sounded a lot closer than before, Aster screamed and pushed Kari off of the path, directing him flimsily into the undergrowth and out of immediate sight. They waded rapidly through the shrubbery, pushing through the thick bushes and tall grass, knowing that if they lingered for even a moment, they would end up caught.
The rustling of the brush behind them made them yelp in horror and they tried to double their running efforts, desperate to find a place to hide or a way to lose the beast for good.
Their time was running out. They needed to find mama; if they found mama then they would be safe, she would protect them fiercely, not even the beast would dare come close if it knew their mother was there, so they simply had to find her.
"Go quicker! Go quicker!" Kari cried, practically pushing his sister through the narrow gap between the bushes; Aster only barely saved herself from tripping over, letting out a frightened squeal.
It was beginning to look like they'd never find their way back to safety. They couldn't remember which way was right and which way was left, and they were quickly approaching frazzled states, leaving them unable to distinguish which way was up and which way was down.
Luckily, they knew to keep running forwards.
"Mama!" Kari tried calling out, hoping to hear their mother call back, beckoning them homeward, but no such response came. They were well and truly alone in the forest.
Well, they weren't. Not with the terrifying great beast chasing them so purposefully.
They exited through some bushes and suddenly slipped down a ledge with a groan escaping them both as they landed on the not-quite-dry soil below. The fall was of an insignificant height, they were unharmed, but Kari quickly snapped back into action, getting ready to lurch back into a speedy run, or he would have if it wasn't for Aster grabbing his arm and pulling him back below the ledge that jutted out above them, leaving a small cubby for them to insert themselves into in order to hide.
Aster held tightly onto her brother, and he did the same to her. He clapped his hand over his mouth to silence his breaths, and Aster copied, both of them trying to be even more silent than a mouse.
There was a long, unnerving quietness that felt strange.
Kari swallowed, lowering his hand to let out a breath as noiselessly as he could, and then he whispered, "Do… Do you think the beast is gone?"
Aster shook her head fearfully, her grip tightening on her brother to dissuade him from stepping out of their hiding place to check.
Their hearts beat harshly in their chests when they heard stomps advancing on them, and again they made sure to silence their breathing. Suddenly, two large, booted feet slammed down in front of them, making them both flinch in place, and they watched from below their hiding place as the frightening creature took a few slow steps away.
They heard the beast sniff loudly, and then it growled and hissed as it spoke aloud, "Come, come, little brats. I just want to play." The way it spoke suggested it didn't just want to play, unless it meant in the way a cat plays with a mouse shortly before devouring it.
The beast stalked around a couple more steps before it turned directly towards them.
Their hiding place was not as subtle as they'd hoped it was.
Aster and Kari both immediately screamed, knowing they'd been discovered, and rushed to crawl out of their hiding hole, but unfortunately they weren't both quick enough to evade the beast's unrelenting grasp.
Kari was swiped up, his cries jumping an octave in distress as he squirmed and tried to wriggle free. "Run away, Aster! Run away!" He yelled, knowing neither he nor his sister were able to use magic against this creature.
Aster howled in fear, and turned to run, doing as her brother said. She feared at this point her capture would soon come. How was she going to flee from the beast now? She didn't know which way to run to find her mother, but she couldn't turn back and risk running straight into the beast's hungry jaws.
She could hear her brother screeching over her laboured breaths as she dashed, and eventually, just as she felt she had gotten away, she slipped over and fell straight into a small puddle, getting covered in mud in the process. Aster whimpered and groaned, glancing down at her dirty clothes.
Then, a shadow fell over her, blotting out the sunlight filtering through the leaves on the trees above. She was done. It was over.
"Oh dear," came the voice of the beast behind her, "looks like you got all covered in filth."
Aster turned slowly, her lips pulling down into a quivering pout.
"Sorry daddy," she whispered.
Loki looked down at his daughter, who was huffing and puffing after the rigorous chase, and smiled forgivingly. "It's okay, your mother packed spare clothes for this very reason. Plus, mama has some wet wipes to wash your face with. It's not a problem," he told her, before lifting his gaze to the sky to discern that the evening was approaching, "alright, I think that's enough playing for now. We need to head back to camp; the stew is probably about done and your mother is likely wondering where we are."
Atop Loki's shoulders, Kari whined, "Aww, but I wanted to be the scary beast hunting you, daddy."
Loki chuckled, "That'll have to wait till tomorrow, little one. Besides, I brought a book that I want to start reading to you and Aster before bed, it's one that I know you'll like," he paused and peered down at his daughter who was still just kneeling in the mud, and his nose scrunched slightly in disgust, "Aster, you have mud on the tip of your nose."
Aster's nose scrunched up in much the same way and she wiped the mud off her face using her sleeve, and then she blinked, "You have mud on you as well," she pointed at his chest and Loki raised an eyebrow, looking searchingly over his so far pristine tunic.
"No I don't."
"Yes you do!" She flung a handful of mud at her father in time with her words, landing a big splatter of sludge right in the middle of his torso; Loki let out an appalled sound and glared down at his daughter.
"Right," Loki snapped, darting out to grab his daughter, lifting her up under his arm as she giggled hysterically at her little trick, "I'm taking the both of you back to camp and serving you up with potatoes and carrots!" He couldn't stay mad at her, not when she reminded him of himself so completely.
"Nooooooo!" The kids cried, squirming as Loki carried them, trudging back the way they had come with large strides. After a few minutes, the children's desperate movements slowed to a stop as they realised they couldn't free themselves, besides, their father had already made it clear that play time was over.
When they returned to their camp only five minutes later, Amelia let out an exasperated sigh, "Oh, Aster, what happened? You've gotten all dirty already! We're only four hours into our camping trip and you're already a mess!" She stood up from where she was perched on a large fallen tree trunk, overlooking the fire that she had been occasionally stoking.
Above the fire was a contraption Loki had skillfully set up to hold the pot where all the ingredients to their rabbit stew was being cooked; while Loki had been the one to hunt and skin the rabbit - away from the childrens' eyes - Amelia had been the one to actually cook it, citing that if she allowed Loki to take on that responsibility, they would end up with something entirely inedible.
As Amelia moved for the bag where the kids' spare clothes were kept, she noticed the huge clump of mud caked on Loki's chest and her jaw dropped, "Really? You too, love?" She expected it from the kids, but not from her husband who was always so meticulously clean.
"Firstly, blame Aster. Secondly, it's fine, I brought an extra tunic. Thirdly, you can't expect to go camping and not get a little muddy," Loki explained matter-of-factly. He placed the children down by their mother, a safe distance from the fire, and moved purposefully to the tent they had crafted that afternoon, searching for the extra clothing he had packed.
He used his magic to quickly change his clothes, rectifying the mess his mischievous daughter had made, and peered into his duffel bag, spotting his copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. He was excited to finally read the book to his kids; Aster and Kari had turned five years old several months back, and Loki felt they were finally at an age where they were old enough to understand some of the bigger words, and the weight and emotions behind scenes in the Harry Potter series.
Perhaps it was silly, but he found himself wondering who their favourite character was going to be, which book they liked the most, he wondered whether they would find it to be scary at certain parts, or whether they would be mystified. Overall, he hoped they would constantly beg him to read 'just one more chapter' every single time he read to them before bed, because then he would know that they truly enjoyed the silly little Midgardian book series as much as he did.
As he exited the tent, he returned to his family; Kari was talking animatedly about how he and his sister had narrowly avoided the beast for quite a while before eventually being caught. It was rather cute how the kids thought they could actually outrun him, as if he wasn't playing along the entire time. He had slowed himself significantly to allow them to think they had a chance to escape him, and had pretended he didn't know exactly where they were when they were hiding beneath the ledge. He had never played like that with his brother when they were young - everything was competitive for the two brothers, even during playtime. He would never have allowed Thor to think he had the upper hand while playing pretend, but now with his kids, he found that there was joy to be had in their little games, even when he sometimes let Aster and Kari win.
Amelia finished wiping Aster's face free of dirt, watching with amusement as the girl scrunched her face up when her mother scrubbed her cheeks a little more firmly to get all the smudges of mud off of her.
"There we are, much better. Try not to dunk your head in the mud again tonight, I only bought a finite amount of dresses for you, Aster," Amelia chuckled, gently prodding the front of her daughter's fresh, clean dress she had changed her into.
"Okay. Is the food almost ready mama?" Aster tilted her head, peering at the pot hanging above the fire. The contents were lightly simmering and the smell emanating from it was making the kids' mouths water; really, they acted as if they hadn't eaten in hours, but in actual fact they'd both had small snacks before they'd gone to play with their father.
Loki inhaled a deep breath and sighed with a smile, "It smells ready," he declared.
Amelia laughed, "Alright, alright, you're all hungry. I get it. I'll serve it up."
The sky was darkening by the hour, and the surroundings were a dim blue; by the time the family had finished eating their dinner, it was approaching eight o'clock in the evening. It was past the childrens' normal bed time, but Amelia figured it couldn't hurt to let them stay up a little longer, at least until their eyes began to droop, because they were having a little vacation.
After dinner, Amelia showed Loki and the kids the joy of roasting marshmallows on the fire; she made sure to warn the kids to blow on their marshmallows before eating them - she didn't want to end up with a couple of crying children whose lips were sore from burning molten marshmallow fluff.
"This reminds me of my brother," Amelia reminisced aloud with a smile on her face as she stared into the fire, which was starting to weaken in intensity, "roasting marshmallows. I used to get sick because I'd eat too many, even after Aaron warned me not to."
After a few moments of silence, Kari smacked his lips, swallowing down his third marshmallow of the evening, and inquired curiously, "Mama, where is Uncle Aaron?"
Amelia froze momentarily. She'd spoken of her brother to the kids before, identified him as their uncle, they'd seen old pictures of him in the photo album she had rescued from her father's house, but the kids had never questioned further on the subject. They'd shown no indication that they ever understood they would never meet uncle Aaron, because he was dead. Amelia wasn't even sure her children understood the complexities of death; at what age did children comprehend what it means to die?
"He's- um," Amelia glanced over at Loki, noting that he was looking away into the darkening forest, purposefully not making eye contact, "he's no longer with us, Kari. He passed away a few years before you were born." She wanted to change the subject, but she didn't want to dismiss the kids' curiosity as it was necessary to teach them the facts of life and death, especially if they were the ones asking questions.
"Like Anna and Elsa's mama and daddy?" Aster quietly spoke up.
Amelia nodded tentatively, "Yes… yes, like them." She was surprised that Aster seemed to understand, but she supposed the kids had seen the movie Frozen so many times that they, at the very least, understood it on some level.
Kari's expression dropped in the quiet moments that followed, "Mama, is that going to happen to you?"
Amelia was taken off-guard by the question that for a moment her lips moved noiselessly as she tried to formulate an accurate but kind response. She would die eventually, but she didn't want to say so in a way that would upset the children and cause them to worry about a day so far off in the future, but at the same time she didn't want to lie.
"Everybody dies in due course," said Loki, speaking up matter-of-factly and turning to gaze at the children, "it is just a part of life. But it is not something you need to worry about just yet, humans usually live till around a hundred years old, but your mother is special, she will live past three-hundred years. And I, well, I'm over a thousand years old and still going strong," he smiled warmly.
Aster tilted her head, "Is that a long long time?"
"Yes, it's a long, long time." Loki reached out and lightly pinched Aster's cheek, causing the girl to scrunch her face up. Amelia was thankful for the way Loki explained the sensitive subject to them, she had not known the best way to teach the children about death, but Loki's succinct words held enough detail to answer their questions without causing anxiety.
Kari seemed allayed by his father's words and reached for another marshmallow.
"One more marshmallow each, then we think about heading to bed," Amelia instructed. By 'heading to bed', she of course meant heading into the tent where Loki could start reading Harry Potter to the kids, an idea he'd been very fond of for their camping trip.
Amelia was also looking forward to hearing Loki read the book aloud to them, she was probably going to enjoy it as much as the children did. It was always a joy to listen to Loki read storybooks to the children, though up until now it was usually always kids books that were far more simplified than a full length fantasy-adventure story.
The final marshmallows didn't last long after that. Loki held the opening to the tent open, letting Amelia and the kids enter before he cast one look around the small clearing in the middle of the forest just South of Asgard where they had decided to pitch their tent. The lunar light from above bathed the trees in a dim, blue illumination. Loki put out the fire and stepped into the tent after his family, listening to the noises of small critters scurrying through trees around them. The beat of a bird's wings, the last few notes of birdsong, the scratching noises of squirrels above - all noises that were familiar and comforting to Loki. While his childhood had certainly been iffy, the camping trips had always been fun, and these noises were soothing to his mind.
Amelia had brought a battery powered lantern so that Loki could actually read the pages of the book; they helped the kids snuggle into their sleeping bags, wrapped tight in their blankets to keep them nice and warm in the night's chill - even if the cold didn't affect them - while Amelia wore her pretty green cloak, the one that Loki had enchanted and gifted her at Yuletide, to keep herself perfectly warm, and she too lay down beneath a blanket with her head on a fluffy pillow.
"Storytime, storytime!" Amelia chanted, giving an excited little shimmy below the cover, and the kids reacted similarly, wriggling around like shaky little burritos.
Loki chuckled. Making himself comfortable; he sat cross-legged by the lantern and picked out the book, opening up the cover to the very first page. He peered at his children, allowing a brief moment for them to settle from the excitement, and then smiled and began, "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
Amelia lay silent as she listened to her husband read to their children, occasionally glancing over to see the way Aster and Kari hung onto every word that came out of their father's mouth; it warmed her heart to see the kids clearly interested in one of her all-time favourite book series.
There were giggles as Loki made an effort to put on slight accent and tonal changes with each character's voice. His impression of Hagrid was particularly funny, and as Loki continued through the rest of chapter one and chapter two, the kids decided they really did not like Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, nor did they like Harry's annoying cousin, Dudley.
"Why are they mean to him?" Aster asked quietly.
"They're not very nice," Kari remarked with a pout.
"Indeed, they are not. Harry is rather unlucky being raised by this bunch of horrid buffoons, isn't he? Maybe that will all change, though," Loki answered with a wink.
"Good!" Aster exclaimed.
Loki read on, and soon the children were enamoured when they learned of the fact that Harry used magic, just like them! He was a young wizard set to attend a school for magic by the name of Hogwarts - they giggled at the name - and both Aster and Kari looked excitedly at each other at the thought of attending a school specifically for teaching magic.
"Can we go to Hogwarts, daddy?" Kari asked innocently, not quite willing to grasp that it was a fictional school, "Because we can do magic!"
"Hmm," Loki hummed, "perhaps when you turn eleven, you'll get a letter to Hogwarts."
Although it was a lie, it was just a little white lie, and by that age the kids would understand that it was just a story and thus not be entirely disappointed when said letter didn't come flying through the window, delivered by an owl.
Loki stopped reading at the end of chapter three, feeling that they had covered enough for one night that left the kids thoroughly intrigued and excited for more. When he put the book down, he gazed at their eager faces, "Well, what do you think?"
Kari yawned but tried to hide it, "Can we read some more, daddy?"
Aster's eyes were beginning to droop, but she kept them desperately open because she wanted to hear more, she didn't want to go to sleep yet.
Loki laughed, giving their heads a light tousle, "That's enough for now. Maybe we can read more tomorrow," he was content at their keenness. "For now, the two of you sleep," he added with a whisper, leaning down to kiss their heads. "Goodnight, my darlings. Sleep tight."
"G'night daddy," they both mumbled, clearly too sleepy to protest, even they knew they couldn't stay awake long enough to absorb more of the story, and they certainly didn't want to end up missing anything.
Amelia looked fondly up at her husband. His reading voice was, as always, very soothing and wonderful to hear. The children were already hooked on the series and she believed it was partially due to the way Loki read to them - he added a heap of liveliness in the way he read aloud.
With the children lightly snoozing, Loki slipped beneath the blanket with Amelia and wrapped her up in his arms, resting his head against her own and breathing in her soothing scent.
"Listening to you read that to them was lovely," Amelia whispered, "even I'm excited for more, and I've read all the books like twenty times over," she chuckled quietly, "the kids are gonna be real happy when they hear there's another six books after this one."
"Mmm," Loki murmured in agreement and nuzzled his nose against her cheek, "are you enjoying the camping trip so far?"
"Everything except you skinning that rabbit. It was kinda gross."
"How else were we supposed to eat it?" Loki snorted.
"Well I'm glad you did it away from the kids, at least. Kari was telling me all about your little game in the forest and how they were running from you," Amelia began, "is it true that you almost lost them for a minute?"
Loki stifled some laughter, though he was very aware of the underlying nervousness in her words, "Of course not," he whispered, in case the kids were listening, "I knew exactly where they were the whole time. There's no way they could leave my sight, I always keep a close eye on them, you know that."
Amelia smiled, turning her head to kiss him lightly, "I should've known, silly me."
Loki was pulled from sleep at the sound of a stick snapping under weight, the fog of his slumber cleared quickly and he lifted his head from his pillow, straining his ears to pick up any other noises from outside the tent. He was on high alert immediately. All the many things that had happened to him and his family ever since the children had been born left him completely paranoid and cynical.
Sure, it could have just been a wild animal, but he was not going to take that chance even for a moment. The fact that everything was utterly silent after the initial snap of a stick left a bad taste in his mouth - something or somebody out there was trying purposely to remain silent. It was the conscious actions of a predatorial character.
He needed to investigate.
Loki sat up as quietly and slowly as he could, glancing down at Amelia and the kids quickly to check they were alright; all three of them were snoozing, unaware of the sound that had come from outside. Loki crept over to the opening of the tent and peeled it back, gazing out into the dark night; it had to be the very early hours of the morning as the sun had not yet begun to rise. He squinted into the black shadows of the forest before stepping out of the tent, rising to his full height.
His eyes moved searchingly in all directions, searching for the source of the noise he had heard; he hoped to see a deer or a fox, something big enough to break a stick but ultimately harmless towards his family, but he saw nothing.
An animal would have fled upon seeing him emerge and he would have heard it escaping, but there was a continuous silence and an unerring sense that he was being watched. He did not like it one bit.
Intimidation was bound to scare an individual from their hiding place, so he stood his ground and spoke, low and firm, "I know you're there. Come out now and I won't kill you slowly."
A moment passed, and then something pulled at his senses ahead of him, magic energy giving away the position of its user, and several things happened at once; Loki broadened his stance, ready for a fight, and the fleeting thought that whoever this was may very well be the person who had been trying to harm his children for years entered his mind. He didn't have time to ponder this, because then he heard the loud footsteps of somebody running, their feet hitting the ground with great volume.
It unnerved Loki, but the sound wasn't getting louder, whoever it was was running away from him. He didn't want to let them escape, not if he could capture and kill the one responsible for all his torment, so he launched after them, sprinting across the uneven ground with a mission, locking onto the magical energy he could sense and tracking it to its source.
They moved with impressive speed, but Loki was faster, and he caught up with the blurry mass swiftly; as he closed in, the mysterious magic-user flung round briefly, hurling a frosty ball of magical energy his way.
Loki evaded just in time, but as he righted himself, his rapid sprint came to a dead stop; he was finally close enough to identify the foe ahead of him, and the revelation made his blood run cold. A Jotun stood ahead of him, a large, burly thing with skin of pale blue and scarlet red eyes. Its face held a rage-inducing smirk as he looked upon him.
"Loki Laufeyson," it stated in greeting, voice deep and gravelly. Its face was scarred from battles of the past, and hearing it speak his false name ignited fury within Loki.
Loki summoned blades to his hands, but instead of doing what he wanted - which was shredding the monster's body to pieces - he remained collected and pressed it for information, "How did you cross over to this realm?" He did not bother to hide the wrathful tone in his voice.
It appeared amused. "You of all people know the Bifrost is not the only bridge between worlds."
Loki knew of what it referred to. "There are no hidden gateways between Jotunheim and Midgard, not anymore."
It grinned, bearing sharp teeth, "One yet still stands, Laufeyson."
Loki's mind told him it was a lie, because he knew for a fact that all gateways to Jotunheim had been destroyed centuries ago when he was still young, but if he chose to believe what he had known as the gospel truth, how was the creature of that frozen wasteland standing there before him now.
Thor was the only one with the ability to access the Bifrost, it was simply impossible for this Jotun to have travelled through it. The matter of there being a hidden gateway that had been missed was unfortunately more believable.
"And why, pray tell, are you here?" Loki continued to try and pry information from the hideous creature.
The creature, face painted with smugness, put a hand to its chest, "I am here to distract you."
Its response hit Loki like a tonne of bricks and a dark feeling came over him; he'd allowed himself to be led away from Amelia and the kids, foolishly.
In the same moment he threw a dagger through the air at the Jotun, he heard a familiar scream cut through the forest and propelled himself into another rapid sprint back towards the campsite, not even bothering to check if his blade had hit its target. He did not have time to deal with the magic-user.
Panicked gasps of 'no, Amelia' left him as he careened between the trees, and as the campsite came back into view, he saw several large figures - more Jotuns - and heard the frightened grunts of Amelia struggling as he came closer. But before he could do anything, there was a bright flash of light that seemed to sear into his vision, forcing him to cover his face for a moment.
When he lowered his hands and came to a stop, he was alone in the clearing. The tent before him was ripped to shreds and his wife and children were missing.
Loki's agonised, enraged scream pierced through the silence, surely echoing for miles.
I've been feeling poorly the last couple days and I've been off work so I figured while sitting at home in bed, I could make myself useful and finish off this chapter, so here you are. It's here. The day has finally come, we're about to find out what the heck has been going on throughout this entire fic.
Explanation will come in the next chapter ;)
Please be kind and review for me! I didn't get as many in the last chapter but I'm really hoping I get a few good reactions this chapter so feel free to literally just state your thoughts, feelings, and/or theories in your review 3 It really does a lot for my motivation and I read every single review!
