It had been three weeks since the incident and Loki was still on edge, constantly checking over his shoulder. He knew of no one in Asgard who could perform illusions with that level of skill besides himself. It troubled him that this person knew who he was but he had no clue who they were. The elusive man had apparently kept true to his word that he meant Loki no harm, for no one had come looking for him to arrest him.
Staring out from his small balcony, he was completely lost in thought when a loud knock came from his door. He froze, eyes narrowed with suspicion, and went to open it. Whatever he had been expecting to find, it was not this beautiful young girl with a long silver dress decorating his doorstep.
"Who are you?" he asked, surprised.
"Do you not remember me?" she asked. And when she looked up at him, her eyes looked very familiar. "I guess I looked a bit different last time." She grinned.
And the grin suddenly put the pieces together. Her face, the set of her jaw, the crinkles beside her eyes, were all very much like those of the dark man under the arches… He reeled back in shock. He itched to draw his dagger but refrained, for the moment.
"Who are you." He demanded this time. "Where did you learn to perform such powerful illusions?"
She smiled. "Oh, you do remember me! I'm so pleased you haven't killed me this time. I learnt my magic from one of the very best in Asgard." She winked.
Loki kept silent, thinking fast. His mother had taught him his basic illusions, but he had surpassed her ability at a very young age. Outside of the royal family, magic users were very rare, and any who were half-way decent were recruited to work for the king. They were all well-known to Loki and none had this kind of talent for illusions.
"You're supposed to say 'thank you' when you're complimented." She chided playfully "And offer to let people in when they knock at your door." She added as an afterthought.
The disguise he was wearing narrowed its eyes, but moved back stiffly and gestured for the girl to come in. "You say that I taught you, but I have taught no one. Explain yourself." He stated simply.
She looked around his room with curiosity as she entered, eyes drawn to the sofa. "May I?" she asked. He nodded and she sat.
"Where do I begin…?" she muttered to herself thoughtfully. After a pause, she started to talk.
"I used to do all right at school and I managed to keep up in the training academy even though I was quite small for my size."
A whole back story? This could take a while. He poured two cups of iced tea and handed one to the strange girl on his sofa. She took it gratefully and took a sip. He couldn't help but admit to himself that the story already sounded familiar. His brother's size and strength always left Loki falling behind and struggling to catch up. He looked out the window in thought.
"One day I got very sick. I had to take a lot of time off school and my training suffered severely. Even when I had fully recovered from the illness, my strength was destroyed and I was held back many years at the academy. I eventually passed with a D rank, which allows me the honour of cooking for and cleaning up after the warriors and fighters of Asgard." She spat the sentence with distaste.
So that's how she knew the faces of all the fighters. She had cooked and cleaned for them all after every battle.
"It is very disheartening to work so hard and get so little in return. I was almost without hope when I noticed a boy in another class fall from the rope test when he was almost at the top." She looked up at Loki.
He didn't look at her, gave no sign he had heard. Surely many kids fall from that.
"His friends laughed and teased him. So he suddenly started yelling and cradling his obviously broken arm. When the boys ran over to help him out, his arm was suddenly better and he laughed at how he had tricked them. They laughed with him this time and said he was clever to have had them all fooled."
Loki bit his lip. He remembered that.
"I started to watch this boy, to copy. It seemed I had a natural talent for learning and I was quickly able to see through his illusions and copy them exactly. I had nothing but respect for this boy and have never told a soul of anything I have seen him do. No one knows of my own abilities either."
Loki looked at her thoughtfully.
"What are you thinking?" she questioned.
Slowly, he said, "When we were on a trip to the woods, I had made duplicates of myself to chase the boar we had found. My brother," he smiled thinly "had decided it would be a good idea to destroy the side of the cliff above where we were. As the rocks fell, a girl pushed the real me out of the way. I always wondered how she knew. That was you." He thought long and hard. "Your name was Fey."
She blinked in acknowledgement.
She was a threat with her knowledge and he should really remove such a threat but part of him was developing a rather strong curiosity regarding this girl's talents. And she had outsmarted him once already. Perhaps he should wait a while…
Loki turned to her. "I do not require your aid or assistance, girl."
She nodded. "I know."
"Then why are you here?"
"Company."
The same answer as before. "I am not lonely." He laughed. "I have chosen this path."
She just smiled and thanked him for the tea.
