Stupid god! I hate him and his guts and everything about him! Takumi stomped the entire way down to the chambers and just slammed the door behind her. Did he always have to be an ass about everything? Telling her that he wanted her to jump off the Rainbow Bridge to her death- not something that would be considered suitable for a Prince to say his future wife.
It was just as well, she supposed. She hated him too. She wouldn't mind to see him disappear for a while.
Her eyes slowly went to the light brown dress still lying on Loki's bed. With a frustrated sigh, she walked over and grabbed it off the bed, starting back towards the hall when she tripped on something.
She landed on the floor clumsily, knocking the breath out of her lungs. For a second, she just laid on the floor with shock, her mind reeling with confusion. Then it registered in her mind and she cursed herself for being a klutz. With a loud groan, she pushed herself over onto her back and took a deep breath.
Well, that was a bit painful.
Takumi slowly sat up and looked at her feet to see what she had fallen over. To her surprise, it was the strange golden helmet that Loki had been wearing yesterday; the one with the horns. She put down the dress and reached over to it, taking the heavy helmet in her hands and feeling the cold metal seep through her fingers.
It was really shiny- that was her first thought. As she looked at it further, she could see how detailed it really was. Takumi chuckled to herself as she looked it over; was this what Loki really wore when he rode out to battle? Had he worn this when he was in Midgard? It looked kind of ridiculous. She got to her feet and held it out so she could see it better, and she stifled a giggle. It looked like a ram's head!
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that was hung up right next to Loki's dresser and startled herself. She hadn't seen it last night; it was too dark. Takumi slowly walked over to it, the helmet still clutched tightly in her hands.
Oh, she couldn't resist.
Lifting up the golden helmet all the way up, she put it over her head. It was a little too big for her, and it sunk down past her forehead so that she couldn't see a thing. She giggled and pushed it back to where it was supposed to be; a crest right above her eyebrows. She had to hold it up to make it fit, but that was okay.
She didn't look half-bad, she had to admit. She looked rather heroic. Trying out all these different poses, she switched herself around in various ways. Takumi let out a loud laugh as she threw her fist up in the air as though she was back from some battle. She pushed out her lip and tried to look as dangerous as she could. Then she flipped the dagger out from her belt and swiped it in the air, acting like she was fighting off some invisible foe with her new helmet.
She briefly wondered if she could head-butt someone with it. With another laugh, she twirled around and swung her dagger again, hearing the shrill whistle of the blade in the air.
"Take this!" she whispered fiercely to the invisible foe, envisioning a large hulking animal creature from the Vanaheim mountains with terrifying fangs and claws that threatened to scrape her open. She concentrated as hard as she could, gathering the image in her mind. Her hands thrusted forwards, glowing with yellow magic. Before her eyes, there was a smoky vision of a snow beast, clawing at the air. It was the perfect vision for her to fake battle with her new helmet.
The beast roared, swiping at the air to get to her. Takumi grinned and took a step back, one hand holding up her helmet and the other hand holding her dagger. The fake creature leapt forwards soundlessly, it's gaping maw dripping with foam.
Just as she hoped, the environment around them changed from Loki's dark chambers to the snowy mountains of Vanaheim. It was cold- bitterly cold, and she could feel her skin prickle painfully from the icy wind. The helmet transformed to fit snugly on her head, and heavy armor laced with wool quickly covered her legs and and stomach. She caught a glimpse of herself in an ice shard hanging from a tree.
A warrior stared back at her, with blackened eyes and long black hair laced with white.
With a devilish grin, Takumi jumped forwards and slashed her dagger in the monster, watching as the gash fizzled in the smoke and then closed back up. The monster let out a painful howl as though it really was injured. It reached for her, it's massive paws dripping blood and snow. She grinned and poked at it with the dagger, listening to the shrill shriek in the air. It lurched closer to her, reaching for her small head...
"What are you doing?"
Takumi let out a scream as the voice suddenly broke her vision, making it disappear in a puff of whirling smoke and causing her lose her balance. She fell backwards onto her butt, accidently letting go of her dagger. With the magic spell gone, the helmet turned back to it's normal size. The front of the golden crest quickly fell into her line of sight, and she saw nothing but gold metal for a moment. Face burning red, she sheepishly lifted up the crest to see a stunned God of Mischief staring at her in disbelief.
Oh my gods. Takumi, good going.
Loki stared at her, his face a mix of emotions. Takumi wasn't sure what to interpret, so she reluctantly answered his question. "I.. uh.. came to get my clothes to go to the baths."
Loki simply stared at her some more, not really saying anything. He looked completely stunned.
Takumi quickly got to her feet and took off the helmet, gently putting it on the ground so that it wouldn't be damaged. She also grabbed her dagger and tucked it back into her belt. With a cool expression on her face, she looked at him and folded her new dress over her arms. "I am going to go now. Do not disturb me."
She quickly pushed past him, nearly running down the hall.
Takumi quickly opened the door that lead to the Asgardian baths, her face flaming red with humiliation and her hands shaking a bit from fear. She felt the humidity from all the baths and felt her chest constrict a little from all the thick fog. Without hesitation, she quickly slipped into one of the smaller rooms, which consisted of a small bench and a pool of bubbling, clear water. She shut the door and locked it firmly before losing control of her knees and sinking down to the floor.
She was so stupid. What in the Nine Realms persuaded her to put on Loki's Asgardian helmet?! Yeah, she looked pretty cool and everything; but it was forbidden for a woman to wear battle armor. And to make it worse, Loki had caught her in the middle of an illusion.
She knew that magic was forbidden in all the Nine Realms, especially sorcery. If she had been caught by Odin himself- what would he have done? She would most likely be punished for her misbehavings. Takumi let out a shuddering sigh and threw the dress she was clutching onto the bench beside her.
Would Loki tell his father what he had caught Takumi doing? He probably would; he hated her more than anything. It had only been a day and a half- and already he had tried to kill her. This would be the perfect opportunity to have her beaten and punished... and this time she wouldn't be allowed to fight back.
Takumi put her head in her hands and groaned aloud. She should've remembered from the first time when she got caught using her magic. Her father had never been angrier.
"I do not understand why you are so angry! There is nothing wrong with my sorcery!" she said fervently, clutching the spell-book in her tiny hands. She stuck out her lower lip, trying her hardest not to cry. She didn't understand- what had she done wrong? She thought he would be happy that she was reading at such a young age; much younger than when Kaisa had learned to read.
Her Father glared at her, and with one swift move, he ripped the book from her clutches and tore it in half. His eyes were blazing with fury. "You do not understand, you idiotic girl! You are a female, do you understand me? You are irrelevant in battle- it is useless for you to learn such things! If the All-Father were to find out that I allowed my daughters to practice magic, he would have my head severed and the kingdom of Vanaheim would vanish. Would you like that?"
"No." she cried, rubbing at her eyes. "But I do not understand- Kaisa is allowed to train with her sword. Why can I not use magic? I am no good with a sword, Father, I swears, I have tried!"
"Kaisa is the eldest, therefore she must learn how to defend herself. You must learn how to use a sword as well, but that is all I may allow. Any more use of magic, Takumi, and I will punish you!"
Takumi squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out that memory, cringing at the echoes of her Father's threats. She busied herself by taking off her Vanaheimian dress and discarding it into the corner before slipping into the hot, bubbly water of the bath.
The hot water was a relief to her aching body. It soothed her back and she felt herself start to relax against the wall of the bath, lowering herself until the water was up over her breasts and up to her chin. Her long hair floated in the water in front of her, looking like billowing black smoke in the water. She stretched out her legs and let her feet peek out from the watery depths.
Takumi let her hands break the surface of the water, testing the hot liquid with her hand. She was thankful for the warmth, she had been cold the entire night and she was starting to feel it in her bones. The cold was something that she hated with a passion; for some reason, she had never dealt well with the snow and chilling winds that resided in the Vanaheim mountains.
A sudden memory all of a sudden appeared in her brain: the one where she saw herself in that shard of ice while battling the visionary monster. For a split second, all she saw was a warrior. But now.. now she was nothing. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to forget, running her hands through her hair.
As the warmth of the water unraveled the tight knot in her stomach, she felt herself relax further. With a kick of her legs, she swam to the other side of the pool, her legs moving through the hot water with ease. She reached the other side and pulled herself up a little, gasping for air and feeling the intense chill spreading over her chest and back. Goosebumps prickled at her skin.
She quickly grabbed the soap that sat in the little perch and dunked it into the water, breathing in the nice scent that came off of it. As she gently scrubbed her body with it, she couldn't help but breathe it in deeply. It reminded her of the rivers and forests just after it rained. It had that peculiar smell, the rain did. She loved that smell, whenever she smelt it in the air she had opened her chamber windows so that her entire room would smell like that.
Lathered and soapy, she dived her entire body in the pool, submerging herself. Takumi felt her lungs constrict as she went deep into the pool, but she didn't care. She was encased in a warm, watery place- something that she welcomed. Her lungs started to scream for air, and she reluctantly went to the surface and let out a loud sigh as she exhaled. Wiping off her face, she opened her eyes and slowly swam to the side of the pool.
She dried herself off as fast as possible, wincing as the cool air prickled her skin and made her shiver. The Asgardian dress slipped over her body easier than she thought it would. She was stunned as she realized it was a good fit- everything was in the right place and nothing hung off. She tied the sash around the middle.
She left the baths, unsure if she should try to clean up after the mess she had made. As she walked through the palace halls, she realized that she had taken a wrong turn somewhere and that she was lost. It wasn't that big of a deal, she decided. It wasn't like Loki wanted her around. Maybe it was time to see what the great palace of Asgard had to offer.
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