Chapter 14

Loki and Sora turned to see two guards standing in the doorway of the healing room.

The two armored men bowed before them and waited patiently for Loki to bid them to speak.

"Yes?" Loki asked, unwavering in his collected demeanor. He knew that their appearance was not a good thing.

"My Lord," one of them spoke, his arms stiff at his sides. "Heimdall has requested to see you. He says it is a matter of great urgency."

"I shall be there in a moment," Loki answered before dismissing them.

The moment the guards closed the doors upon their leaving, Sora's anxious gaze captured his. Loki still appeared calm.

"It was only a matter of time till Heimdall called," He sighed, standing up from his seat on the couch.

"Should I come with you?" She asked, hoping she might act as a buffer against the Gatekeeper's wrath.

"No," Loki replied, gently stroking her cheek. "Heimdall requested only my presence. You have not seen his uglier side while I am quite used to it. This shall be nothing for me but a stroll in the gardens."

"Are you sure?"

"Believe me, there have been far worse things Heimdall has caught me doing," he said with a wide, mischievous smile.

Mara wished she could be so lighthearted about this situation as he was, but she couldn't help but worry for him. "I wish you luck," she told him, standing up and taking his hands in hers. It was an act she could easily see herself getting used to.

"I will be fine. But perhaps I need kiss for reassurance," he said, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Sora pulled his lips down to hers in a long kiss goodbye. When she released him, she placed a gentle hand over his heart.

"Come back to me in one piece, God of Mischief," she told him before letting him leave.

As Loki headed down the hall towards the Bifrost, he couldn't help breaking into a wide grin.

Nearing the end of the Bifrost, Loki saw Heimdall step out of the gateway, his stride long and purposeful. Loki on the other hand felt rather cheery as he nodded to the Gatekeeper.

"What is it I'm being accused of now, Heimdall?" He asked, all smiles as he stopped in front of the hulking man before him. Though weary of them when he was a boy, the Gatekeeper's stern amber eyes did nothing to faze him nowadays.

"You and the consul made your way back into Asgard without the use of the Bifrost-"

"But clearly not without your knowing," Loki pointed out.

"Indeed," Heimdall replied, glaring down at the silver tongued prince. He distrusted him above all others in the kingdom. He had plenty of evidence to support his reasons for doing so.

"If I wished to do harm, I promise you would not know of it so soon," he said arrogantly.

"I had assumed that you and Sora were in peril. That the dark magic you used to get the two of you home was a last resort on your part. You wouldn't have revealed your skill unless it was absolutely necessary," he said. In fact he knew what he was describing was true. He had turned his eyes on them while they were in Jotunhiem.

Loki merely shrugged at Heimdall's observation, "You use your gifts whenever you see fit and I do the same with mine."

The Gatekeeper's eyes narrowed on him then, "As I have seen, Loki Liesmith."

"So, are we going to tell my father of this?" He asked cheekily.

"No," Heimdall breathed. It was as if the ground had shook under the utterance of that one word. "You protected consul Sora as I had instructed. I believe that merits a bit of discretion from me. However, don't think I will not be inquiring about your mysterious return at a later time."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Loki replied with a snarky look.

The Gatekeeper ignored the prince's ungratefulness and headed back inside the Bifrost. He knew, regardless of what Loki said, the prince was relieved. His secret, if found out by Odin, would not earn him any friends in the palace and Loki had enough enemies as it was.

The trickster had brought Sora back safely, though he was not obligated to do so. Heimdall was willing to believe that perhaps there might be some redeeming qualities about Loki. Either that, or he had a special fondness for the girl. The thought was somewhat troubling to him. He knew Loki was not the type of person to refuse himself his desires- especially when those desires are forbidden. He would have to keep his eye on him for a while to make sure the second son of Asgard was acting accordingly. Loki would only be given a free pass from him once.

AN: Thank you everyone for your continued support! I hope you like this chapter, it was pretty fun to write in Heimdall again :) We're switching back to present day in the next chapter and some serious stuff goes down! Very excited for all of you to read that! PLEASE REVIEW!