Chapter 10:
As Erica stepped inside the safe confinements of her bed chamber, the young woman was pleasingly astonished to see the two small trunks she had packed from home, sitting beside each other at the foot of her bed.
Thanking the high heavens for their delivery, she wasted no time discarding the outrageous set of heels by the door before she padded on over to further inspect her prized belongings.
Dropping to her knees, Erica unlatched the trunks' locks before she raised each lid up so that she could gaze inside. Almost immediately, she greeted by the sweet, earthy musk that wafted up from the trunk's contents that reminded her so much of home-a small, genuine smile graced her face as she quickly took mental notes. Her clothes...shoes...it was all here, down to the very last accessory. There were even a few odds and ends that she herself personally hadn't packed, yet they were here anyways, she discovered.
"Mother and Father must've made some additions once I had ridden off..."
Like the weighty, black velvet bag that she found buried at the very bottom of the first trunk. Lifting the sack out from inside the trunk, Erica ran her hands over the shape of its hidden contents and found herself aglow with happiness, knowing full well what it was.
Pulling the simple ribbon tie up at the top, the red head tugged the bag open and pulled out a short, neat stack of hardcover books-books of her own collection. Gathering the precious items into her arms, Erica rose off the floor and moved around the bed to take a seat upon it's feathered mattress. Then, with tender hands, she laid each one out in a perfect line-there were five books total.
The first three, bound in deep blue bindings, were some of her favorite love stories...
The rich burgundy one she place next, followed by a much longer and thicker book of tangerine colored leather however, were a bit more special than simple storybooks-though the two went hand in hand.
Her eyes swept across the title etched into the hard surface of the wine-red colored book, "The Way of the Seer." It had been a book passed down to her by her mother who had possessed the same extrasensory abilities that she now carried. And it's unnamed sister, was the sketch book that Erica used to record all perceptions that were granted to her throughout the years.
Her skills in the art were still pretty basic compared to those belonging to the great Gods and Goddesses of her people's legends. But she believed she was a quick study...and so she carried the hopes of one day being looked upon as a great Seer herself.
And no arranged marriage, even one to a Prince of Asgard would change that-though as of lately, it did sometimes felt as though everyone else was making it their utmost goal to turn her world entirely upside down...
Nevertheless, Erica was determined to prevail.
A heavy knock sounded at her chamber door, momentarily startling the red head from her thoughts. Who could that be, she wondered as she eyed the doorway for a long moment. "Please, enter."
Accepting the invitation, the handle turned and the door swung open, revealing an Asgardian Guard standing tall and proud in his uniform though in his arms he carried with him a large rectangular box. "Lady Erica..." the man spoke as he respectfully entered into the chamber, crossing the floor only to stop feet from where the young woman sat upon the bed.
"Yes?"
" I bring you something..." he informed, forcing Erica to raise a soft eyebrow up at the Guard.
"Oh?" she replied as a small, friendly smile pulled at her lips, silently encouraging the man to continue his message.
"...from the Queen, herself." he presented to Erica the box he held before he stepped forward and placed it carefully in her lap.
As she gazed down on the boxed gift that had delivered to her, her sea-colored eyes narrowed with discrete suspicion. This must be the attire Iris had mentioned about that Frigga had selected for her to wear at the evening festival tomorrow night.
Sparing a glance up at the Guard, who continued standing erect as if waiting for his next orders, Erica smiled once again and gave a nod of dismissal, "Thank you...please give the good Queen my most sincerest regards."
The heavily armored guard gave a low bow from his waist, "It will be done, my Lady." Then, without another word spoken, he turned and left the chamber as smoothly as entering.
When the door closed behind him with a distinctive click, Erica released a breathy sigh before she turned her attention back onto the mysterious box in lap. She hesitated for only a brief moment before reaching down where she proceeded to remove the lid off of the box.
As her eyes landed on what was inside, a look of pure shock, mixed heavily with awe, came across her face before she placed the lid upon the floor so that she could lift the contents out.
"In the name of Odin..." How could she be expected to wear this?!
The sun was dropping low in the sky when the God of Mischief finally made his way back to his chambers. By now, almost everyone would be heading to the great dining hall for the evening meal-well, everyone but him.
He had better things to do than sit about as just another face in the crowd. Besides, it's wasn't as though his presence would be missed anyways...
Closing his chamber door behind him, Loki casted a simple sealing charm over his room to assist in preventing further disruptions from the outside, that way, he could spend the rest of night studying in his books.
Then, as the Dark Prince unhurriedly crossed the black, polished floor of his room, he shrugged out of the blackened leather overcoat he wore over his rich green day tunic and breeches. As he proceeded to toss the garment up onto the foot of his large, four poster bed, complete with emerald satin sheets and plush feathered pillows, something caught the prince's acute attention.
Lying in the bed's center, was a intricately designed facial mask of solid gold. The Prince eyed the accessory for a long moment and spotted the small note that had been left beside it.
'For the Summer Festival.' Instantly, he recognized his mother's dainty handwriting.
The Festival of Summer's Eve...damn, he thought. He had forgotten all about that frivolous charade. It was one of the few celebrations Loki was never entitled to miss, even if he wanted to. As a member of the royal family, it was practically a duty of his to attend.
"How bothersome..." Loki lifted a hand up from his side and extended it out towards the towering bookshelf he had over by his desk.
Using just a hint of magic that flowed from the tips of his fingers, the youngest Prince summoned a book off the top shelf and obediently, it flew right into his awaiting hand. Subsequently, with a wave of his other hand, his room was instantly aglow with candlelight and the hearth near his bed was with flame.
With the book in his grasp, Loki moved a chair in front of the crackling fireplace and took a seat with a leisure sigh. Then, after taking a moment or so to get comfortably settled, the Dark Prince found the ribbon marker he had left in between the pages and opened the heavy volume to the place where he had left off reading.
Perhaps, he thought to himself, he'll create and send a clone of himself, in his stead. No one would know the difference...plus, there was nothing of great consequence that that festival could provide him, so in honest truth, he wouldn't really be missing out.
Of that much, the Dark Prince was ever so certain making the thought quick to settling-Loki would not go.
After her bath, Erica firmly refused to hold any thoughts for the upcoming festival that would be here tomorrow evening as she single-handedly finished readying herself for an early bed. Iris could fill her in on what she needed to know in the morning, but until then, she would not worry about it and all its fine details before it was actually here and not a second sooner, the young woman deduced.
As she slipped on the long, lace nightdress from her own wardrobe, the young woman moved over to quickly stoke her fireplace a final time before making her way over to the grand chaise bed. Then, she turned down the white and pink brocade covers and climbed inside the cool, silky sheets.
Once she had settled in, she turned to the small nightstand beside her, leaning over just far enough to snuff out the candle she had lit. As her chamber fell into the darkness' dim shadows, she slid further down in bed, pulling the covers up and under her chin.
"Besides..." she quietly thought to herself, "It's just a fancy party...how troublesome could it possibly be?" All she was expected to do was put on a pretty gown, shoes and partake in the people's merriment. She ought to be able to handle that-after all, it would allow her to better acquaint herself with her new Asgardian surroundings...not to mention the brother-Princes...
In that moment, Thor's handsomely bearded face flashed across her mind, and Erica was immediately reminded of the golden Prince's obvious kindliness. But when the image of his younger and darker brother's image followed but a moment later, Erica could only recall the questionable vibes he stirs in her- and from that, she found herself shuddering lightly underneath the sheets, though she was far actually from being cold.
Why did Loki have to be so...well, him.
Upon meeting the Dark Prince as children, Erica remembered him having a uniquely prominent character. But it now seemed that time had only amplified that sure fact. So much, in truth...that not even she-with all her extrasensory abilities-can grasp a steady understanding on the man's present motives for anything that he decides to do. He is after all, the God of Mischief...he relishes in the art of masterminds and illusional games.
And yet...when he had found her alone in the corridor today, practicing her walking technique...she saw something in that trademark mischievous smile of his...she heard something in his laugh...she felt something from him that she had never felt from him before-something almost genuine.
And coming from him, though Erica would never admit it out loud...the vibes she felt in that exact moment...were actually kind of nice...exciting, even if not a little precarious.
Her cheeks came alive with a sudden heat at the confession, "As if that will carry any lasting importance..." she mentally rebutted herself. With her current circumstances, she could not afford to be thinking such thoughts about him.
So with a determined huff, Erica cleared her mind of all ideas and images as she turned on her side and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she forced herself into sleep's ever inviting embrace...
Loki's emerald eyes, skimming the open page of the book he was just about finished with, averted themselves from their task as a tender ripple touched their master in the back of his mind.
At first, the Dark Prince thought he had imagined it...but then the undulation came again, and this time it was stronger. With a quick wrist movement, Loki snapped his book shut and carefully set it aside, its readings already forgotten as he slowly rose to his feet.
His hands down at his sides took turns flexing and relaxing as he sought out an explanation of what he was feeling-and there was only one answer he came up with that seemed suitable.
Someone was using their own mind to make a connection with his.
"Well, isn't this an interesting twist of things..." Loki thought to himself as a slow smile began tugging at his mouth. After all, there was only a handful of people in Asgard who possessed such abilities as the ones involving the mind-he and his mother were the best known-and for someone to actually reach out to him, of all people...well now that said something and it left his interest perked.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity that had unexpectedly been presented to him, the Dark Prince closed his eyes, and using some of his own tricks, casted an easy location spell. In return, it would reveal to him just who his 'caller' was by temporarily taking himself directly to them.
When Loki opened his eyes a minute later, he found himself standing in the deep shadows of a darkened bedchamber. The embers glowing in the hearth by the bed provided the only visible light.
Quietly stepping from thick dimness, Loki moved forward and approached the foot of the bed, sensing that the one he was looking for was lying in it.
He had guessed right-though what he found, not even he could have originally predicted.
"Well, well..." His emerald eyes gleamed with an almost wicked light as he came to a stop.
Erica lay, twisted in her sleep with the covers twining about her legs and waist. And judging by the way her long braided back hair was splayed across her pillow, Loki guessed she must've been tossing rather hard in her sleep.
Then, pulling his smiling gaze off the fiery red head that looked so innocent just now...so vulnerable before him, his eyes quickly noted the scattered array of books that were lying across the top cover-one book in particular caught his eye above the rest.
"The Way of the Seer..." he spoke inside his mind. So, Erica possessed one of the more sacred of Arts the Nine Realms had to offer.
Moving around the bed's foot, Loki neared the head, closest to the young woman.
Then with a gentility that far belied his infamous nature, the Dark Prince reached a hand out to her cheek and found it soft and warm beneath his cooler touch. "Ah little Erica..." he murmured, "...will your surprises never cease?"
As if responding, Erica lightly stirred beneath his hand-and Loki's smiled deepened. Then, he closed his eyes one again and reached out with his magic.
"Lady Erica...wake up."
Even with her eyes closed, the young woman felt herself frown at the order. Like hell she would. She was finally comfortable and warm. But more importantly, she had no desire to be awake and for Heaven's sake, she will not do another thing that she does not feel like doing, damn it.
Someone gave a deep chuckle, "Oh, you are a stubborn one, little Erica..." the chilly, velvety voice continued murmuring in her ear while his hot breath tickled against her neck.
Ready to deliver a message of her own, Erica's hands slyly slid up to take hold of the pillow that was beneath her head.
"...but it's time to awaken. I do believe we have something to discuss..."
Listening to the voice patterns, Erica felt her body instantly go rigid beneath the covers, "That voice..." She recognized it-Loki. The young woman's eyes snapped open and she sat up in complete alarm only to feel pinned by the heated emerald gaze that easily followed her movements.
Loki was on the bed beside her, clad in a loose green tunic and black leather breeches.
"Loki..." He was here...in her chambers...on her bed! It took only a moment for a switch to flip inside her head before Erica was fuming with both a justified rage and uncertain fear. "...you incorrigible bastard!" With her hands still maintaining a tight grip on the pillow, the young woman swung the stuffed feathered mass with all her might till it befell the God of Mischief's grinning face.
Using the distraction to her advantage, Erica quickly threw the tangling covers off her body and rolled away from Loki's form as he pried the pillow from around his head. Then, jumping off the bed and onto her feet, Erica made a immediate dash for her chamber's door.
Her hands had barely turned the handle though when one of Loki's powerful arms came down hard on the door from behind, keeping it shut with his own force while his other arm caught Erica by the waist, "Tisk, tisk..." he laughingly chastised, "...too slow, little Erica."
Despite how she instantly tried freeing herself from his hold, Loki hoisted the small woman up without using hardly any effort, moving them down a ways so that they weren't in arms reach of the door before he had her spun about and caged back into the wall behind her, using his own body as a prison.
"You devil!" the red head angrily spat as she fruitlessly tried shrinking away from him, "Have you no sense of decency or propriety?" she demanded, "...how did you even find my room?"
Loki just smiled.
And it was in that smile that something clicked within her mind. Erica spared a swift, analyzing glance around her room, then she looked back at the Dark Prince before her.
"A dream..." she spoke, "...this is a dream."
Her captor's smile only grew before he drew in closer, efficiently trapping Erica between him and the wall behind her. "You are perceptive, my Lady..." he murmured deeply, "...of course, I would expect anything less from a Seer."
A raging shiver slipped down the full length of Erica's spine, "How could you possibly..."
"Oh, a man can tell a lot of things by the possessions a woman keeps around in her chamber."
"Possessions?" In her chamber? The young woman took only second to mull his words over before Erica's open hand flew up from her side. But before it could hit its mark, Loki caught her wrist in mid air. "Damn you...you were in my room then!"
"Were...am...doesn't make much of a difference now, does it?" he replied with an arrogant smirk.
The red head shook her head, "You're not real...none of this is real." she pronounced firmly.
A new light came to Loki's emerald eyes, "Of course, little Erica." he assured with a curt nod, "...but while it is your dream...it is under my complete control."
"Impossible." Erica dismissed as an irritated frown appeared once more on her face, "...I am not suppose to be susceptible mind compulsions ."
A dark brow arched with amusement, "You dare doubt my power?" Loki returned with a deepening smile as he continued leaning in further-once again, she could feel his breath upon her.
And in that moment, Erica inwardly wondered why the hell she wasn't struggling or moving away, dream or not. Meeting his gaze head on, Erica shifted defensively on her feet, "I think you are giving yourself too much credit, yes."
"Foolish girl..." He chuckled, his laugh sounding as rich as chocolate- dark and forbidding. For a brief moment, the small red head became frozen on the spot when Loki allowed himself the liberty of trailing his lips across her forehead. The action brought forth another chilling shudder to which Erica gently jerked herself free from. "Well no matter, I'll make you acknowledge the truth soon enough."
Fuming softly, Erica's hands came up and pushed against the lean barrier that was Loki's chest, "I will not be bullied by the likes of you, Loki!" she declared, "...I don't care how strong you think you are...or what kinds of power you possess."
"If that is true..." the obvious amusement never left the Dark Prince's pale face as he continued speaking, "...then why are you so afraid to be alone with me?"
"I am not afraid!"
Loki's smile grew more knowingly and Erica wanted nothing more than to repeatedly slap it away. "Try as hard as you want, Erica..." the man encouraged, "...but you cannot hide what you truly feel from me." he sighed against her lips, forcing Erica's mouth to run suddenly dry. "...I know well how to spot a lie."
The young woman's cheeks burned with a rosy heat, "I do not lie...nor am I so easily read."
"Oh really?" Loki's forefinger and thumb came up under Erica's jaw to lightly pinch her chin as they forced her to stare directly up into Loki's gleaming orbs of emerald. "...then tell me, little Erica...how is it that I came to be here?"
Erica tried jerking her head away from his cooler touch but the prince only tightened his hold, "You're the Master of Magic...why don't you tell me?"
Loki pressed onward, "Were you thinking me about before you fell asleep tonight?" he offered.
Erica's rosy cheeks darkened like a cherry, "Absolutely not!"
A look of sheer satisfaction washed over Loki's handsome features, "And that right there, was a lie." Before Erica could utter another word, Loki's free hand came up and swiftly covered her mouth. "You can't deny it, Erica. I wouldn't have found you like this had you not subconsciously asked me to." Loki lowered his hand slowly.
The pure puzzlement that swam behind Erica's eyes was undeniable. So she doesn't know, Loki noted to himself. Interesting.
"What do you mean?" By now, her chest was rising and falling with heavy breaths for air. "Are you saying I summoned you into my mind?"
"Ah, sweet, little Erica..." With the seed implanted, Loki withdrew his cage-like arms and stepped away just enough so that Erica could breathe her own air, "...I see you have much still to learn."
"Learn about what?"
Loki smiled promisingly, "When you're ready...come to me and find out on your own."
Erica made a move to duck around the Dark Prince's form. "You can't just tell me now?"
All at once, Loki's hands took Erica by her shoulders and had her anchored back against the wall, as the remaining of his presence stole the breath right from her body, "Now, where would the fun be in that?" His green eyes shone bright with his amusement and the promise of a deafening challenge.
Before she could form words, Loki's lips came down once more, and Erica fearing the worst, closed her eyes tightly as she steeled herself against his advances-but like before, his mouth only lightly drifted across her brow. "See you at the festival tonight." Looks like he'll be attending after all.
And then just like that, he was gone.
When Erica opened her eyes, she found herself gasping out loud. Golden rays of sunlight were streaming in through her bedchamber's open windows while her cheeks were lightly caressed by the cool morning breeze that would drift on inside. Iris must've come in early and saw to the windows while she had been deep in sleep.
Sitting up in bed, Erica found her skin flushed and heated-her forehead even faintly tingled with an unspoken response to the night's little escapade. Reaching a hand up, Erica wonderingly touched her brow on the spot where Loki had planted his lips-twice. Then, she cursed herself for her foolishness, taking a moment to stare out of the windows before rising up from bed determinedly.
Erica wasn't sure what Loki's words meant...but one thing she did know was this-tonight, she was going to find out.