"I felt as if I were riding a pendulum. Just as I would swing into the abyss of hopelessness, the pendulum would swing back with some small goodness."- Ruta Sepetys
"And so where exactly are we going?" I asked again. Seriously, how hard was it for her to explain something so simple to me? Chrissy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I can't tell you that part! That's what a surprise is!"
Grabbing the two plates, I strutted over to the tiny table in the middle of the kitchen area. "I know what a surprise is, mortal." I spat. The plate clamored in front of her as I set it down. Delicacy was not my specialty. "Oh please," She began, picking up her fork. "Stop with the whole mortal business." Yanking my seat out, I sat down promptly. "Alright." I replied with a smirk. "Mortal."
Chrissy's fork hit the table with a clang and I felt her gaze upon my face. Slowly I tilted my head and looked at her innocently. "You know, that really gets no my nerves." She said. Lifting my hands, I cocked an eyebrow. The corners of my mouth could not resist the temptation to curl upwards. "Why else would they call me the god of Mischief, darling?" Something in her face changed and her jaw became tense. I could not help my curious indulgences and I allowed myself to take a peek into her mind.
It was hard for me to sit still in my chair. The instant I touched her feeble mind, I saw a fist launching towards my face. Of course, it was not real, but that is what she was thinking of the moment I checked. How disrespectful. I will have to get her to agree a bit more with me than that. I suppose I could understand her frustration. Spending a week with someone superior like myself would bring one's self worth crashing to the ground. Once she realized what was actually important (ahem, me), then she shall serve me more faithfully.
The past week has been an interesting experience for me, I must say. The color box provides mild entertainment. Mortals can be so…so stupid. The box of sound has fascinated me as well. For such a simple invention, it is quite nice. It has advanced even more so since I have last spent a lot of time in Midguard.
But during the day, I must work. Christina is ever so helpful for finding "good" things that I can do for her. Like this morning, for example. It would be a "good" thing to make breakfast for her and let her sleep. How that is "good", I am unsure. But I did not feel the dreadful sensation of dying yet, so I suppose it is considered "good" by The Council as well.
Chrissy muttered something to herself before retrieving her fork and poking her breakfast with it. "What exactly is this anyways?" I let out a small laugh. "Ignorant mortal, it could only be…" Looking down at my plate, I realized I was unsure myself. I attempted to follow cooking instructions on the sheet of paper, but it obviously did not come out quite right. I looked back up at Chrissy. Her eyes presented me with a challenging look. Uneasily, I smiled. Leaning back in my chair, I waved my hand in the air. Green sparks fell upon the table and the two plates in front of us changed. Instead of the concoction I tried to make, wonderful pastries sat before us on decorated plates. I believe the gold plated utensils were a nice touch, if I do say so.
Picking up my fork, I began to devour the delectable breakfast. The strawberry filling was perfectly sweet and the pastry nice and flakey. Just like the palace food. Not that I missed it or anything. But oh, did I miss it! I missed my chambers, pulling tricks, reading in the quiet library, and even, maybe, a tiny bit, Thor. Just a little though.
I looked up from my plate and noticed Chrissy had not even touched it. "What? Is it not good enough for you, mortal?" I sneered. She gave me a strange look, but I detected no anger. "Why did you do that?" She asked at last. I shrugged it off. "I wanted real food." I replied. Chrissy stared at me for a few more seconds before asking, "Is it okay to eat?" I chuckled. "Why would I poison the one who has promised to help me?" I posed. Slowly she lifted the glittering fork and cut into the pastry. She hesitantly raised it up to her mouth and closed her eyes. In one bite she consumed the bit of pastry on her fork. Her eyes reopened and she looked up at me in shock.
"That's amazing." She whispered. "How did you know strawberries were my favorite?" I had to keep myself from laughing again. She underestimated me. "Lucky guess." I replied calmly. "Now, eat quickly so we may go forth into the city and you can show me whatever it is that you want to." With one more glance at me, she began to eat again.
The drive into town took a bit of time. Many cars clogged the tiny little roads that led in and out of the city. Large bridges loomed overhead as we traveled farther and farther into the heart of Dallas. From most of the ride, I annoyed Chrissy with my questions about the location we were seeking. I even attempted to read her mind, but other thoughts clouded the answer. Thoughts about work mainly, but she did question her own sanity a few different times. Was that because of me? Huh, so odd. Of course I am real! Unless she thought no one like myself could have ever existed. Yes, that must be what it is.
Looking out the window, I saw buildings that touched the sky. They were all very tall, full of oddly tinted windows and large towering structures on the tops of them. It all slightly reminded me of home. Oh wait, I don't have one of those. Bitterly, I faced front again. Stupid Midguard and their architecture.
My attention span was dwindling. I shifted in my seat. A belt like mechanism trapped me inside, which I did not like. Pressing the red button, the belt released itself and I was free. "Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Chrissy asked. "Put your seat belt back on right now!" She demanded. "Oh, but it was so uncomfortable." I moaned. She rolled her green eyes and changed lanes. "It's a law, Loki. Put it back on." Law? What a silly law! "I do not want to, mortal." I replied. "I do what I want."
Red and blue lights illuminated the dashboard and I turned around. A white car with lots of markings was following us. "What in Valhalla is going on?" I asked. Chrissy let out a loud groan. "We're being pulled over." She muttered. The automobile we were in slowed down and pulled over to the side of the large road. "I was speeding." I saw her dissatisfaction in her eyes. What wrong had she done? "Speeding?" I questioned. What does she mean by this? "I was doing 67 in a 60." I let out a little snort. "Miles per hour." She added. Oh! It was a restriction on how fast the automobiles could travel. That made sense.
A man appeared at the window in an official looking uniform. Chrissy reluctantly rolled the window down and faced the man. "Hello, officer." She greeted, looking down at her hands. Did she really believe that she had done a great wrong? Mortals. Such odd creatures. "Do you know why I've pulled you over?" He asked as he peered down upon her. How dare he talk down to her like that! Of course she knows why! Who does he- oh, but really, I don't care. Really, I don't. This should not put me on edge. It was not my problem, after all.
"I was speeding." She replied to the officer, still unable to meet his eyes. Was it shame that kept her from looking at him? The poor wom- I mean, how pitiful. The officer nodded gravely. "And are you aware of exactly how fast you were breaking the law?" He seemed to sneer.
"Oh, I was not aware that going four measly miles over the assigned speed here was a major crime." I retorted. Well, I could not just sit here and say nothing, could I? "She was going seven over." The man informed me. "Oh, excuse me then, three more miles than I said." The officer opened his mouth, but said nothing. "Listen, we've been in traffic for hours today thanks to people who were not traveling fast enough." I began. Chrissy's face was drained of color as I spoke. "She obviously did not want to hold everyone up as well. I mean, really? 60 in an area like this? It honestly should be quicker due to the vast amount of automobiles traveling though here, do you not agree?"
The officer seemed to think over what I had said. "Well, yeah, moving the speed-"I cut him off with a wave of my hand. "Then four-" "Seven." The man corrected. I turned to him more so he could see my face. "Seven then. Seven more miles is not that big of a difference, right?" I asked. "Right…" The man complied. "Well, either your thick, or you do not have anything better to do today than pull people over for going a few miles over the designated speed." I said matter-of-factly. This agitated the man just as much as I hoped it would. "I do to have better things to do today!" He exclaimed. "And you are just a waste of my time!" With that, he stormed back to his car and took off onto the road again.
Chrissy was frozen forward for a few moments before she turned towards me again. Her mouth was agape in awe of my cleverness. "H-how did you…?" She could not even formulate a sentence. I felt a bit of pride as I sat there. "You just talked me out of a ticket!" She shouted. "Uh…yes, I did." I replied. Chrissy still looked amazed. "They call me Silvertongue for a reason. I have had years practicing deceit." She let out a shaky laugh. "I thought for sure he was going to increase my fine." I could not help but smile at that one. "You have a lot of mythology to catch up on." As I said it, something in her face changes. It was a microscopic change. But it was still a change. I could not help but to slip into her thoughts. Oh my gosh…his smile… I blinked a few times before I recovered. Was she…swooning? I suddenly felt uncomfortable and faced forward again. Carefully she maneuvered back into traffic and we were traveling once again.
Between Loki and I, it was a silent car ride. I noticed he was fascinated by the city once we were inside its walls. Still, I didn't say anything. It was slightly amusing to hear all of his guesses about where we were going, but all of them were wrong. Why did I want to take him here though? I couldn't quite answer that myself. Maybe because it interested me. I don't really know.
After paying for parking, I pulled into a spot. I pretended to dig inside of my purse while Loki sat silently. "Do you know where we are?" I asked, even though I knew he wouldn't know. "It all seems so…familiar." He commented. I raised my eyebrows as I acted distracted. His head turned slowly to face the window. Perfect. In one swift motion, I ensnared his wrist in the shackle with one smooth click.
Loki's head snapped back towards me, his eyes aglow with anger. My hands retreated quickly and I waited for him to blow up. "How dare you, mortal!" Loki shouted. I forced myself not to cower or leap out of the car. "I had to. How am I supposed to know if you won't try to take over Dallas?" He let out a loud sigh and looked away. "Yes, that's right." He whispered. "We must always keep the monster in chains." With a click, he opened the door and stepped outside. "Great. What a great start." I muttered and forced my door open as well.
I expected him to have stormed off somewhere, but he was waiting for me as I got out. "Look, I don't see-" Loki raised his hand to silence me, but still did not say a word. "Why do I know this place?" He asked me at last. "Uh, I don't know." I replied truthfully. "Have you been here before?" He slowly shook his head. "Not to my recollection, no." I shrugged, unsure of what to make of the god's weird vibes from this place. "Come on, I'll show you inside."
The large brick building was an old one, but it was absolutely beautiful. Light gray columns surrounded all the doorways while red brick arches were build around every window. The window panes were a forest green and the windows a dark glass. All of it looked very old, like it was right out of the time period it came from. Loki still didn't say anything as we entered inside the waiting area. A few registers were placed along the wall and black rope created an area where we were supposed to wait. The ceiling in here was rather plain, but if you glanced into the next room, it looked amazing, complete with wooden beams. We waited in line silently as the people in front of us got their tickets.
We reached the ticket booth and I pulled out my wallet. Loki inhaled deeply and then opened his eyes. "November 22, 1963." I raised my eyebrow and looked at him. "What?" I asked. "Why is that important?" His eyes continued to look around the room and he remained silent. "Yes, that's right." The lady said, giving me the tickets. "That's the day JFK was assassinated. Hope you two enjoy the museum!" She said. "Uhuh." I murmured as we moved into the next line to get into the museum.
"How did you know that?" I asked. I didn't see it posted anywhere. I'm sure I've learned it at one point, but for him to know it? That was just weird. "I was here." He said simply. "Here? You where here?!" He didn't even bother to look at me. "Tickets." The man said. Numbly I handed them over. "You can pick up your audio device right over there at that counter."
"How were you here?" I whispered as the two of us walked over to the counter. "Plug in the headphones and press play when you reach the first exhibit." The man said. Quickly I grabbed the device off the counter and turned my attention back to Loki. "Where you in this building?!" I asked again. Loki walked past me and towards the elevator. "Answer me!" I said, following him into it. "Did you kill Kennedy?"
Loki let out a loud laugh and rubbed his eyes. "No! Gods, no!" I felt my face go a little red for saying such a crazy thing, but hey, he wasn't talking. "I was here, outside the building, watching the precession. I saw your president's assassination." My jaw dropped for the second time today. "That is so cool! Not Kennedy dying, but that you were here, and you actually saw it take place." I looked at him again. "How old are you?" This drew another laugh from him. "I am immortal. I have lost track of all the years I have been alive!" There was a ding as the elevator let us off at the floor. Loki strode out of it and I followed quickly behind. "You mean you don't know how old you are?" I whispered, since we were in the company of other people now. "Yes, Chrissy, that's what I am saying. Now, you explain to me. Why are we here?" He asked.
"I-I don't know." And I really didn't. "I thought you might have wanted to see it. It's something most people would want to." Loki gave a nod and looked around. Large cream boards held up text and pictures of Kennedy and his family, along with other iconic things from the Sixties. "I would have liked to see this if I knew it existed." He said. "I have always found history of other cultures quite…fascinating." For some reason, I felt relieved inside. I don't know why I wanted to impress him so badly. Maybe it was to make him think better of us "mortals".
"How do you work this?" He leaned over to ask me. I almost jumped at the sudden closeness of him to me. "Well, you just plug these into this," I showed him with mine. "And you place the headset on. Then press play." Loki nodded and placed the earphones onto his head. Both of us paid attention to the board in front of us and began to listen to the audio.
The two of us followed the display boards and listen to the audio provided. It was funny how both of us would read it before listening to it. Loki asked a few simple questions about the government and the 60's, but that was okay. The museum told us about the presidency and the major issues that occurred before Kennedy visited Texas. It was sad that he had died with a wife and a few kids left behind. People are so cruel.
"The Space Race?" Loki asked me. "Yeah, that was a major thing in the 60's. You see, we wanted to beat Russia to getting the first man on the moon. The world didn't think we could do it, but we showed them. One step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Or something like that." He seemed to be reading something on the board, but after I was finished he looked at me.
"Why would you want to go to the moon?" He asked, trying not to laugh. "Because! We would be the first people into space! The final frontier!" I explained. Loki chuckled. "I bet you haven't made it to the moon." I teased. "I have once, for vacation." He replied. "Really?" I asked. He began to laugh again. "It was rather dry. I do have to say I enjoyed myself." I laughed a little and he smirked. "Oh, come on." I said, rolling my eyes. Grabbing his wrist, I pulled him along to the next board. It was about Kennedy landing at Love Field on that tragic day. I felt something wiggle in my hand, and then I realized what I had done.
Quickly my fingers released his wrist and I found something on the board to read. "Why did you do that?" Loki hissed. "I don't know!" I whispered, trying to keep my cool. Why did I do that? Stupid emotions! Why!? "Do not touch me again!" Loki commanded. I gave a nod and continued to stare forward. I couldn't help but to replay his voice again in my head. He sounded more hurt than he did angry. Why though…
Without thinking about it (again), I raised my hand slowly till it was even with his arm. Gently, I placed my hand on him. "You don't have to lie about it." I whispered. He was lying. That's what it was about his voice. Slowly I took my hand from his arm, but his hand wrapped tightly around my small wrist. I gasped and tried to tug my hand away. "Touch me again." He whispered. He released my hand and stood still. I was a little confused, but I did it anyways. I placed my hand back on his arm. Loki's eyes closed and his lips parted slightly.
It was then when I it hit me. Loki was an outcast, a prisoner. He was labeled a crazy and a criminal. When was the last time anyone voluntarily touched him? Who would want to touch him anyways? To make it look less weird, I curled my hand around his arm like I was holding onto him. His eyes were still closed, but they began to slowly open. Something though, had changed about him.
In that moment, a piece of the ice around his heart began to melt.
