Loki X OC
"So, you read?" Loki asked.
"Yes?" Celeste said as though it was more of a question. "Is that really such a foreign concept?"
"Well, yes. Most tend to favor my brother, Thor."
"Why?"
"Well, what he lacks in brains, he makes up for in brawn."
"Is he that stupid?"
"Well, arrogant is a better word. Self-centered, a brute."
Celeste giggled, "Is he that bad?"
"Well, I am his younger brother, so I'm probably exaggerating a bit."
"Ah! There you are Loki!" Thor called from down the hall.
"Speak of the devil," Loki muttered.
Thor patted Loki roughly on the back, "You must be Zohara," Celeste cringed again.
"Actually I prefer to go by Celeste." Loki made note of that.
"That's a strange name."
"Well, so is Thor," Loki smirked at that, I like her.
"I'll have you know my name is held in high honor. I am a warrior of Asgard, wielder of Mjolnir..." And the King of Modesty, "...future king of Asgard."
"I see."
"Well, this was a nice talk, but we were on our way to the library, so ta ta brother."
"The library? I'm sure a maiden such as herself would rather-"
"You know, before you finish that sentence and embarrass yourself, we should be getting to the library." As they walked away, Loki just shrugged in his brother's direction. "Is he always like that?"
"Sadly yes," after a moment or two of silence he said, "Here we are."
As he opened the door Celeste stood in awe. There were so many books, Well it is a library, but it was still amazing. "How many books are in here?"
"Several thousand."
"Wow," Celeste walked over to a shelf, picked a book at random and her face fell. "What is this?" she asked, holding up the book.
"A book," Loki said, faking surprise.
"No, I mean, what does it say?"
"It's a book of magic. I thought you said you could read?"
"Yes, I can read, but I meant English," she pulled a book from her bag which hd been slung over her shoulder, "Like this," she handed him the book.
"What is this?"
"Exactly how I felt a moment ago."
"Then what does it say?
"It's a novel called The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It says, 'The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.'" (I do not own The Night Circus, that is an excerpt from the very first page.)
"Interesting."
"Now what does your book say?"
"Oh, just a simple lesson on channeling magic."
"So, magic is real in this world?"
"Yes I'd say it's quite real," he said channeling magic into his hand so he could show her.
"Wow, how do you do that?"
"Easy, just focus hard enough, feel the magic running through your veins and guide it into your hand. Why don't you try it?" She nodded, wanting to see this for herself, with a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel something gathering within her, could it be magic? She directed it all to her hand and, upon opening her eyes, saw a purple glow enveloping her hand. "Impressive, it usually takes longer for someone to channel their magic that well."
"You've taught others?"
"I tried to show a few people, but they never really took to it."
"Cool," Celeste focused again and the magic glow receded. She's incredible. "Did you learn magic solely from reading?"
"I had a bit of help, but yes."
"Could you teach me how to read...whatever these are? I'm assuming their Nordic Runes but I could be mistaken."
"Of course, in return, would you teach me how to read 'whatever that is?'" he mocked.
"Sure, do you have some paper? And a pen or something?" With a wave of his hand, a stack of paper and quill pens and bottles of ink appeared on a desk a short distance away from them. She smiled and headed to the desk. He paused for a moment smiling back and siting next to her. "Why don't you show me first?"
"Alright." He began scribbling symbols on the parchment, she did the same. They went on for hours, writing letters in both languages and pronouncing them. They wrote words, including their names and each others. Outside, the sky grew darker, but they didn't seem to notice.
"It's strange, really," Celeste said.
"What is?" Loki tilted his head to the side.
"We speak the same language, yet we write completely different."
"Well that's how it works. Two cultures are separated, some things remain universal, others change."
"Was there ever another time when Asgardians and Eathlings came into contact?"
"Yes, some visited your ancestors, who thought of us as gods. It was actually rather fun."
She laughed, "How old are you than?"
"In Midgard years, around three hundred. In Asgardian years, I'm twenty eight. What about you?"
"I'm twenty six."
Before they could continue, the door opened, "Your Highness," a guard said.
"Yes?"
"Dinner is being served."
"Shall we continue this tomorrow?"
"Definitely."
At the dinner table
Celeste sat next to Loki and some other demigod, Ina. "So, you're the new girl?" she said as though this were one of the many movies about high school.
"Yes," Celeste said.
"Well, just so you know, you'll never get to Loki."
"What?" she said, blushing a bit.
"Many have tried getting to him and his brother," she spoke in a whisper now, "trying to move up in society. But Thor never makes a commitment and Loki seems to disregard everything and everyone. If I were you, I could back down now."
"I'm here five minutes and you already assume I'm after power?" some of the other demigod women turned to them.
"I don't assume, I know."
"There's a saying on Midgard. It's not very common, but it gets the point across." Ina raised an eyebrow, "'When you assume you make and 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me.'" Celeste said before turning back to her plate, as though nothing had happened. Some of them stared in shock, others giggled, either way, Ina shut up for the rest of the meal.
When the meal was over, Loki decided to show Celeste to her room. "By the way, nice comeback earlier."
"You heard that?"
"Of course. I had to try to contain my laughter."
"Were they serious? About gaining status?"
"Yes, quite so. That's why I tend to come off as cold to them."
"And you say Midgardians are the stupid ones."
"Well, in some aspect yes."
"Even Asgard must have it's fair share of morons. *Thor*" she coughed the last part. They laughed at that.
"Well, this is your room. If you need anything I'm just down the hall."
"Thank you. Goodnight, Loki."
"Goodnight, Celeste," Loki waved goodbye and headed to his own chambers.
Celeste explored her new room. It was extremely grand, with a high ceiling and a king size canopy bed, a balcony that let her see almost everything from the palace gardens to the Bifrost, a fireplace, a bathroom with a tub the size of a small pool, and a walk in closet (already filled with Asgardian clothes). Celeste changed into a soft nightgown and lay down on the silken bed sheets and drifted off into a pleasant sleep, thoughts of the raven-haired prince lingering in her mind.
Loki lay in his bed as well knowing that just down the hall was the only woman who had ever even interested him. This could be fun...