Author's Note: My goodness Loki was being stubborn when I wrote this! I kept wanting him to do one thing, but he kept on insisting on doing another. What a diva! Anyways, I think he is mad at me for making everyone so angry at him XD Loki is going to have a flashback this chapter, and the entire section that took place in the past is italicized for you so there is no confusion as to when the memory begins and ends. Caitreylove well all your questions regarding Loki will be answered in this chapter, though we will have to wait and see about Sigyn in the next one. Anon at Heart well my little brother is only 5 years younger and I feel the same way so the sentiment could just be an older sibling thing. The last chapter was certainly a reprieve, and I was relieved to be able to write it! I also love Frida and Sigyn's discussion about inviting Njord over to dinner. It really seems like a normal interaction that could totally happen between the sisters. Hahaha I love writing scenes with Siggy in them. She just makes me smile! Loki-always-Odinson don't feel too bad for Sigyn, things are starting to look up for her :) I wouldn't feel too bad for Njord either. I don't think he is intelligent enough to know if they were making fun of him. Reteka Hyuuga You should pinch his ear and drag him away kicking and screaming, he would have it coming. I am sure the thought has crossed Frigga's mind. I am happy you enjoyed Njord's cluelessness, Sigyn sure did.
Here was a question someone could answer for Loki. If he was such a good liar, why could he not lie to himself? His separation from Sigyn was approaching a year by this point, but he still harbored a longing for her deep in his heart. Sure he had Amora now, but that hardly meant anything to him. Their relationship was founded on nothing more than outward appearances and sex. Amora was considered one of the most beautiful women in all of Asgard. Most would say that she was lovelier than his first love being taller, fairer, and more buxom than Sigyn, but Sigyn had an enchanting glow that Amora would never have. As for the sex… Amora was good there was no questioning that, but she was demanding. It was always about her pleasure. Loki couldn't recall any time where she had sought to ensure that he was just as satisfied as she was by the time they finished. It didn't help that the excitement that had once accompanied their forbidden nights together was now gone. It was pretty much expected that they would be sleeping together once or twice a week, it was practically a routine by this point. Sometimes Loki would secretly try to pretend that it was Sigyn who was writhing so pleasurably underneath him, but he could never trick his mind into interchanging the excessive moaning and screaming of Amora for the intimate gasps and whimpers of Sigyn. Could he have chosen to bed two more opposite women? Amora was vain and selfish while Sigyn was self-assured but kind. Sigyn had been stubborn yes, but in a strangely endearing way, while Amora was just… well stubborn. As for intelligence there was no competition. Sure Loki had been able to teach Amora some simple magic, but she was a dull conversationalist who lacked Sigyn's mastery of wit. The most important difference however, was that Sigyn had loved him while Amora loved Thor…or probably more accurately, herself.
Loki knew he had lost all right to bemoan his regrettable choice in companion since he had known well enough what kind of woman Amora was when he first took her on…
"This is a faulty spell!" Amora vented as she failed yet again to successfully complete the incantation.
Loki was fairly certain they had been stuck on this particular spell for the past two lessons. He could understand her struggle if it had actually been a difficult spell, but it wasn't. He remembered that he had mastered this particular one in about an hour.
"No, the spell works well enough, you are just not reading the runes correctly." Loki explained before performing the spell to prove his point.
Amora shoved the book a little ways away from her and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Let's do a different spell, this one it too difficult." She pouted.
"Hardly, this is one of the basic spells. If you can't get this one down, you are going to be in serious trouble when we do finally move on to more difficult incantations."
Loki did however pull the book away from Amora and begin to look for something that might be a little easier. He was starting to regret allowing Sigyn to talk him into teaching Amora magic. Amora had begged him for months to take her on as a student, and he had flat-out refused. It only seemed the right thing to do. He figured Amora was less concerned about learning magic, and more worried with trying to use her connection with him to get to Thor in some way. Refusing her also protected him as well. Spending so much time alone with Amora would surely garner some unwanted attention, and would undoubtedly lead to speculation as to what else they could possibly be doing behind closed doors. Loki had assumed Sigyn would be happy with his refusal to teach Amora, but she had actually been a bit disappointed. She said that it would be a good opportunity to develop his teaching skills, and to share his passion for magic with somebody. He had retorted that he could teach her, but she had refused saying that couples needed to have certain things that they enjoyed away from their significant other. Writing was hers, and magic was his. Loki couldn't argue with that logic, so he had finally caved in to Amora's requests. Sigyn trusted him to be alone with Amora, and she was always the first person to come to his defense when anyone even thought about insinuating that he might be teaching Amora more than simply magic behind the doors of the library. Her faith in his loyalty to her was inspiring, and for the past three months of lessons Loki had been deserving of that faith. That didn't mean he never admired Amora's natural endowments while they worked, but he certainly hadn't acted upon any of the fleeting desires he may have had. Amora was a beautiful woman, and there were few men in Asgard who would be capable of spending so much time alone with her and not have some desire to see what lay beneath her clothes.
Amora scooted her chair closer to Loki's while he flipped through the pages of the tome in his hands.
"I am not very good at this am I?" She asked.
"It takes practice…" Loki replied off-handedly as he continued to search for an easier spell.
Amora grabbed his hand to stop his search.
"Still, I am not very good at this am I?"
"Right now? No, but that does not mean that you won't get better." He assured.
Amora smiled.
"I am glad that Sigyn convinced you to teach me." She stated while placing her other hand on top of his.
Loki gave an awkward half-smile before trying to pull his hand out so he could continue looking through the book. Amora kept his hand trapped underneath hers however, and Loki began to fidget.
"Aren't you glad she convinced you to teach me?"
"It is a good diversion I suppose." He replied before managing to free his hand from Amora's.
"A diversion?" Amora responded in an offended tone.
"You forget that I am only doing this because Sigyn urged me to." Loki reminded her.
Amora smiled.
"Oh come now My Prince, I don't think that is entirely accurate."
"It hardly matters what you think Amora. There is no advantage to be had in my teaching you."
"No advantage? Please My Lord; we both know that is not true. Do not think I have not seen you looking at me with less than innocent thoughts lurking behind your eyes."
Loki closed the book in his hands promptly.
"I believe we are done for the day." He stated.
"Are we though?" Amora asked while standing from her seat.
"Quite." He affirmed as he scooted his chair out from the table so he could stand as well.
Amora was hovering over him however, before he could rise.
"Something in your eyes tells me that we are not…" Amora replied.
Before he could answer, Amora was pressing her lips into his. Loki attempted to pull back, but it was impossible to do so while sitting. Amora had chosen her moment well. Heat began to envelope his body, and he recognized it as being an unnatural sort of warmth. He managed to push her back by her shoulders, but he didn't release her.
"So it would seem you have some skill with magic after all."
"It would appear so, I suppose you have simply been trying to teach me the wrong sort of spells…" Amora replied with a lusty smile.
She came in for another kiss, which Loki found himself almost unable to resist. He did manage to break away a second time, but the magical tingle that had started in his extremities was beginning to cloud his mind.
"Sigyn…" he protested in a haze.
"Never has to know." Amora murmured in his ear.
The third time their lips met it was Loki who brought about the contact. He pulled Amora onto his lap, and they began to kiss passionately. Excitement flowed through his veins at the potential disaster that could ensue should someone walk in on them, and the fact that they could at any moment be discovered did not discourage him. If anything, it only excited him more. Amora was right, Sigyn never need know of this one time rendezvous. He groaned pleasurably as Amora made quick work of undoing his trousers and began to rub herself against him…
Loki could remember that their first encounter had been a short one, and it had left him feeling dissatisfied. Looking back, that had probably been Amora's entire goal. They hadn't coupled during their next lesson or the lesson after, and Loki found himself fantasizing about taking her again. When they did sleep together once more, Amora had used another love enchantment, but a much weaker one than the enchantment she had used the first time. By their third sexual encounter she didn't have to use a spell at all, Loki had already found himself addicted to the adrenaline of this affair. It had continued on from there, culminating in Sigyn's unanticipated discovery of them a little over a year later.
Thinking back on it now, Loki knew he had made a mistake. He should have ended his lessons with Amora after he first slept with her. If he had gone to Sigyn then and told her what had happened she would have still been hurt, but she probably would have forgiven him and she certainly wouldn't have gone to Thor for comfort. Unfortunately, it was too late to change any of that now. He had lost Sigyn, and was now stuck with this unintelligent creature. Even he didn't know why he bothered to keep Amora around anymore. At first it was to incite jealousy in Sigyn, but that plan failed utterly when she withdrew entirely from court life immediately following their confrontation in the library. Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three couldn't stand Amora so perhaps that is why he stayed with her. Any chance to annoy Sif was a welcomed opportunity, and while he and Thor had made amends, watching Amora try to subtly proposition Thor and his negative reactions to those propositions gave Loki some twisted sense of pleasure. His mother detested Amora, and was rather open about it. He had never told her what had happened between he and Sigyn, but she probably knew that Amora played some part in it considering they began appearing together as a couple not long after Sigyn and he ceased being seen together at all. Odin, yet again, didn't seem to care one-way or the other. Seriously, Loki was beginning to think he could set all of Asgard on fire and his father wouldn't notice it unless Thor's hair got singed.
Loki was brought out of his musings by a kick from his bedmate. Yet another thing about Amora that annoyed Loki, she tried to take over the entire bed when she slept…
"Time to wake up." Loki stated while giving her a little kick back.
Amora rolled over on to her back and groaned.
"Why do I stay with you?" She asked in a grumpy manner after giving a yawn.
"Funny, I was just asking myself the same thing about you." He replied in all seriousness.
"Because I am the best thing that has ever happened to you." She replied with a smirk.
"Hardly," Loki retorted, "now get dressed. I have things to attend to today, and I don't have time to wait around for you to get ready at your usual leisurely pace."
"Someone's touchy this morning." Amora noted sourly while sliding out of bed.
"It is easy to be in a foul mood when your sleep mate decides she wishes to take ownership of the entire bed."
"If you were a true man you would do something about it."
"Perhaps I will next time." He threatened while also rising from the bed to get ready.
"Perhaps you will do something about it? Hmm see there is your problem. You do a lot of thinking, but not much doing. Perhaps you will do something about it, ha!"
"And therein lies your problem, you are all doing and no thinking."
"It doesn't take much thought to do someone darling." Amora retorted.
"I know, which is why you are so good at it." Loki countered.
The jab had gone over Amora's head, and she crinkled her forehead in perplexity.
"Don't stress your pretty little head over it Amora, chances are you won't be able to figure it out." Loki stated.
She shot him an unappreciative look, but continued dressing none-the-less. Oh the retorts Sigyn would have given to that statement…
"Thinking about Sigyn again are we?" Amora taunted.
"Why would I be doing that?" He answered, though his eyes warned her to stay away from the topic.
"Because you have been doing a lot of that lately. You say her name sometimes when you sleep, you know." Amora pointed out.
Loki was a bit taken back by this new revelation. He hadn't even realized that he talked in his sleep, but then again how could he.
"Yes, you act the cold uncaring heartbreaker, but deep down you are no more than a sentimental fool." She continued.
"If I am so sentimental why do I still court you even when I know it is my brother you are after?" Loki noted.
"Because you are a fool." She shot back.
He couldn't argue with her there. He was having to cope with the repercussions of his foolishness even now.
"I am a fool for having kept you around so long." Loki commented.
Amora gave him an inquiring look.
"Is that supposed to be some sort of dismissal?" She asked in an amused tone.
"Would you be upset if it were?" Loki asked, genuinely curious.
"Maybe a little, you are pretty good in bed, but it would give me a reason to run to your brother."
"And you think Thor would comfort you through your great loss?" Loki queried with a smirk.
"Why not? It worked for your previous little whore… or does it only work if I catch you sleeping with someone else?"
Loki shot an ominous look in Amora's direction.
"What did you just say?"
"I asked if getting to sleep with Thor only worked if I caught you cheating on me…"
"No, what did you say about Sigyn?"
"You really are sentimental aren't you?" She said with a smile. "I just called her your previous little whore."
"You have no right to talk of Sigyn like that." He seethed.
"Oh, I see. Well I hate to disappoint you, but those were your words darling, or don't you remember?"
Loki furrowed his brow, but he couldn't recall ever saying that before.
"You don't do you? Well you were quite angry when you said them to me. Perhaps your rage at the time clouds your memory of the event?" Amora excused. "Now I will be off so you can get about that business you so desperately needed to attend to earlier."
Amora strutted out of Loki's chamber, and he took a seat at his desk. He spent some time reading through a few official letters before heading to a meeting with Odin and his council. Loki had been stunned when Odin informed him that Thor would not be present at the meeting, and that he was not to mention it to his brother afterwards. Apparently the powers that be had some need of his talents in particular, which Loki found to be much more interesting to think on than contemplating the conversation he had just had with his soon to be former consort.
