Chapter 8

After escaping the palace, Sora traveled on long into the night not stopping to rest until she entered the road that led into the mountains. She relocated herself at least fifteen feet away from the trail and lay down in the tall grass amongst the trees so that no one would happen upon her. Sleep came to her quickly but it was restless and filled with troubling dreams- most of which were a haze but one she remembered quite vividly. It was of Loki slowly driving a dagger into her chest, watching callously as her life's blood drained from her. She could not awaken to escape his cold green-eyed stare; she could only watch Loki as she sank to the ground.

The moment her body felt a hint of sunlight from the breaking dawn she woke up. Her instincts were telling her to keep running. Sora knew she would get no more sleep that morning and she didn't want to, not when Loki plagued her every dream. Hopefully a peaceful rest would come later, but for the moment she had to keep moving. Sora only hoped that there would not be a reoccurrence of these nightmares. Her body needed peace as well as her mind.

She reached the Naridian Falls by high noon. Their majesty and elegance was punctuated by the bright day. Clear blue skies reflected off the flowing water of the river below. Stray droplets from the falls splashed onto the black stones lining the river. They glinted like crystals in the sunlight before they soaked into the narrow path that Sora traveled. The white mist that hung low in the air at the base of the falls veiled Sora as she moved quietly through it, careful not to slip on the wet and mossy ground beneath her feet.

Continuing on the trail past the falls Sora found her summer home secretly nestled in a mossy grove surrounded by tall trees. Her heart swelled up when she saw it- old memories of her childhood spent there came flooding back to her. It was where she spent the last summer she had with her mother before she got sick. It was where she learned to climb trees and laid in the moss by the falls reading about the worlds beyond Asgard and hoping that she may see them one day. Also she explored the glories of nature and carefully studied creatures rarely seen by any Asgardian. This house was her escape as a child and now it was to be her refuge.

Loki could send his guards all across the kingdom, but he did not know of this place. She had kept it a secret even from him. After her mother had died, her father stopped taking her to the summer cottage anymore and the memory of its existence faded for everyone but Sora who cherished the place so much. She would secretly visit it when she felt the need or inclination and told no one where she was going for fear her father might reprimand her. But still she kept her visits a regular once a year trip during her vacations and no one asked questions. It was nice to have an escape from everything as well as have a secret when the rest of her life had to be open for the people to observe.

However her summer home was not the only secret Sora kept. Loki was the deepest secret of her heart as she was his. They told no one for fear of rejection or scorn. She was a politician and he was a prince of Asgard- the relationship would not be looked upon favorably by Odin or the people of Asgard. It would look like she was trying to influence him politically or vice versa and one could not have that. So they covered up their secret love affair from the world and created another private reality where they could be together.

Sora felt the warmth of the golden sunlight streaming down from the trees onto her face and remembered how Loki's voice and touch could be just as soothing. He had always been the one she could confide in, even from the beginning.

Ever since the night of their first meeting in the healing chambers Loki kept coming back into Sora's life. Days after the assassination attempt on her life a new debate had been brewing on whether or not the council should kill the peace treaty. Those in favor of tearing it down were winning and had strong support from the people who cared only for maintaining the Asgardian tradition of war. Loki and Sora's second meeting was in the midst of these political battles where Sora found her side failing fast with the threat of never recovering.

Sora briskly made her way down the Main Hall trying to get as far away from the council room as possible. She could not stand the frustration and anger welling up inside of her any longer and she had to escape before the other council members witnessed her boil over in a rage. Sora knew she had to find a place to be alone to let out her fury.

This last meeting had not gone in her favor and more and more members were abandoning her and her plans for peace. Nearly half of the council at this point wanted to stop the negotiations with Laufey and it didn't help that that pigheaded son of Asgard, Thor, was pushing for the treaties extinction. He knew nothing of the collective good for Asgard and Jotunhiem, nor did he care. All he wanted was his silly war so he could continue proving himself as a warrior. Defender of Asgard… he was a far cry from it. More like a reckless boy with a sword in hand.

Grabbing up her silken robes Sora carried herself faster. Turning down a darkened corridor, Sora pushed through the first door she could find. She found herself in one of the many guest rooms in the palace, this one being thankfully unoccupied at the moment. In fact the heavy layer of dust and cobwebs on the sheet covered furniture was a good indicator that it hadn't been used for some time.

"Damn it!" She hissed under her breath as she sharply slammed the door to the hall closed behind her. It hit the frame with a loud crack. "Damn it! Damn it… Damn it!"

Sora ran her fingers through her soft hair, stopping when she felt them touch the silver circlet around her head. The small band was a symbol of the council and it reminded her of her duties to the establishment she had sworn her life to. She still had anger inside of her but she needed to channel it to useful thought, not simple steam letting.

Shaking her head, Sora attempted to calm herself in order to think things through. Stepping further into the room, she came to the foot of the canopy bed. She tapped her fingers atop the carved wooden footboard and turned back towards the door she came in. Her eyes then came upon Loki's half shadowed form leaning beside the doorframe.

Her heart stopped, her hand snapping up to her chest, startled at the sight of him. Her immediate thought was, how long had he been standing there? Sora's voice caught in her throat as she fumbled for something to say and all that came out of her mouth was, "Sorry, I…"

"Didn't know anyone would be in here?" He finished for her, stepping further into the light. Loki cocked his head slightly, observing the flustered council member. She seemed almost on the verge of a shouting match with herself. She didn't say a word as she watched him, not know what she should say, if anything.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Loki asked, a weak smile gracing his lips. He felt sorry for the woman. His brother was being extremely hard on her in the council room today. However, Loki personally found her peace proposal to be an avenue worthwhile of further exploration. Asgard needed peace and she was providing a way for that to happen. She had his support in the council room yet not his brothers which made it extremely hard for her to gain more support for her side. Sora had some very interesting ideas but they were too radically different for his brother and the other council members.

"How did you know I was in here?" She asked, sounding somewhat defensive, gathering herself after the scare he gave her. Loki couldn't help but grin to himself at her insecurities.

"I didn't, I just heard the slamming door and was curious to find out what it was or rather who was making it." He told her.

Sora bit her lip in embarrassment as she drew her eyes down to the floor. She could feel that Loki was not there to embarrass her but she was still embarrassed all the same. Loki drew closer to her and she felt very aware of his presence. Her gaze came back up to meet his eyes and instead of finding ridicule in them, she found sympathy. Once again the god of mischief had surprised her. Before speaking she searched his eyes intently for any sign of disingenuousness. She found that his green hues held none.

"From what you and the council members have seen of me you know that my temper seldom rises; my passion maybe, but never my anger," She explained, straightening out the folds of her dress and stepping away from the bed. "The truth be told, when it does rise it's like an erupting volcano. I really hoped that I would be alone as to not have to show it to anyone but it would seem that you have found me out."

"Yes," Loki nodded, a small smile curling at the corner of his lips. "But it's common knowledge to me that it's always the stoic ones whose anger you must watch out for."

Sora cracked a wry grin at the sly gods words; how true they were. Luckily she had caught him standing in the corner just in time to avoid having him see the full measure of her wrath. That would have truly been embarrassing.

"Thank you for your understanding my lord; ever since the assassination attempt the council has been quite difficult to work with."

Loki nodded as he went over to one of the covered chairs and removed the sheet draped over it, letting the fabric fall to the ground beside it. "I have noticed the change in favor as of late." He commented, removing the sheet off of another chair across from it. He motioned for her to sit down then. She bowed before sitting and he politely took his seat after she did.

"There are those in Asgard who would benefit from a war." She began, hoping that maybe this son of Asgard would listen to her. "People do unspeakable things in order to gain power or to turn a profit. I am trying to prevent this from happening but no one wants to see a future beyond the warring legacy of Asgard.

"This one isolated incident with the assassin has given way to countless protests aimed at destroying this peace treaty. Some council members are arguing that it is an act of war against Asgard. It doesn't help that Thor is a supporter in this idea either. I fear that if certain council members keep appealing to people's selfish personal gains and foolish pride they will win."

"It seems that way doesn't it?" He said, slowly rubbing his palms together as he became lost in thought. He had previously seen all of this in the council room. He certainly wasn't pleased by seeing his brother siding against the peace treaty. He had warned Thor of the dangers of killing this treaty asking him to stand by it for the good of Asgard, but his brother would hear none of it. Looking at the politician across from him he understood that they could no longer hope to win off of the popularity of their status or the status of their supporters; Thor's opposition to their side destroyed all hope of that strategy. He knew that they would have to convince the council to vote their way the old fashioned way.

"Council members like Gration and Minais are very skilled at using scare tactics and cheap tricks to bring their audience over to their side but you shouldn't underestimate yourself Sora, you are quite the orator."

"Thank you," She said, "But-"

Loki shook his head, his hands raised, stopping her from going any further, "I'm not trying to compliment you, I'm being serious. If you stick firmly to your belief in this treaty and fight for it then you will win the vote. Nothing moves a crowd like passion. You just have to remind them why they need this peace agreement."

Sora nodded firmly, her eyes never leaving his as she stood from her seat. "You are right," she said, the confidence he head hear in her voice so many times before in the council room returning to her. "Asgard needs this peace treaty."

Loki stood after her, a fire lit in his green eyes, "Yes it does." He walked over to the door then and made to leave. "You have five more minutes until the meeting reconvenes- and might I suggest that you bring some of that fiery temper of yours with you?" He said with a sly grin before exiting the room.

Sora stared after him, her heart beating wildly. She knew that this was her last chance to save this peace agreement and Loki's alliance gave her a newfound strength. Not all was lost yet.

Sora made her way down the dirt path to the summer house. She went slowly, admiring the wood and the blue sky that peeked through the trees above her head. Sora had won the debate that day when Loki found her in the guest room. Although many problems would follow after she proved to be the victor of that battle. The opposition's attacks on her stance were ferocious but Sora had the heart of a lion. She could not have done it without Loki's support- she never forgot that.

Pushing open the carved front door, Sora stepped inside the dark house. Light from the open door and the cracks in the curtains spilled into the room giving her a small amount of light. She stepped across the tile floor to the windows and drew open the drapes one at a time; the dust falling from them as she did. It had been almost a full year since she visited the little summer home but it was still as she left it. This was a huge relief considering privacy was of the upmost importance. This place was home now and it would be for a while.

AN: Hey guys! I worked super hard on this chapter, sorry it's been a while but it's a lot longer than the others. Anyways hope you like it and please send me a review!