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Adisa was not herself the following days after his confession in the gardens. He had to remind himself that it had nothing to do with who he was, but when she stopped laughing at the small jokes he would tell he would often think of that.
The real reason behind Adisa's personality change was the medical procedure her parents forced on her. They would apply a cream to her eyes that would stink and burn. They would then wrap her eyes up and hold the cream in for the remainder of the day.
It caused her so much pain, that she would often put her hands up to her temples and her body would sway. The treatment needed to last 8 days, and then they would see if there had been any change. If not they had to wait for a few more weeks, then she would go through the process again.
Adisa explained that every time she went through this, the pain got more horrible then the last. Soon she wouldn't be able to stand let alone walk. He knew deep down that she feared if her parents didn't stop, that it would kill her.
On her last day of treatment, Loki couldn't stand it anymore. He knew from the beginning that it wouldn't work so he brought with him a few vials of things he was going to use on her eyes. They all had to be poured right into her eyes, and he knew they would make a massive mess but he didn't care.
The first potion he brought was to clean the gunk from her eyes. The gunk was a dark red, and smelled horrid. Loki had to scrunch his nose up to keep the smell from invading his lungs. Adisa was grateful to have the gunk removed. It made her skin greasy and the substance added pressure to her eyes that made the pain even worse. The skin around her eyes was left stained, but there was nothing much Loki could do about it, except wait for it to fade.
The second potion was the worst. Its purpose was to pull all the toxins left behind from her eyes. Adisa had cried when he used this one on her, and it made him feel horrible. He had allowed her to dig her finger nails into his arm, by the time they were finished his arms stung and were bloody. He would have let her break his arms if it took away any of her pain.
The third was one to relieve her pain down to a dull throb. He could have used a much more powerful potion, but he was worried with all the things going into her eyes that it could cause more damage than necessary. But with a little bit of magic he could dull the pain even more to more of an annoying tingling.
The soft sigh from Adisa as her pain was relieved was more than enough for him because she fell asleep almost instantly. She had rested her neck in his arms, so he could easily get access to her eyes. Their position looked oddly similar to how a woman would hold a baby. So when she fell asleep he only had to lean forward slightly to rest her head and body on the ground.
But first he held her for a while, studying her face and enjoying the feeling of having a woman in his arms. When he had his fill, he placed her on the grass beside him and watching over her like a hawk. He would have held her longer but he worried that he would cause her to have a kink in her neck, and the last thing he wanted for her was more pain.
For something that seemed so boring he found the time went past all too fast. Before he knew it the sun was slowly setting and it was time for Adisa to go home. He had thought about waking her up, but he couldn't find the heart too. She had been awake for days withering in pain, and he wanted her to get as much sleep as possible.
So he decided he would sneak her into her room, which would be easy because her parents were daft. Bran hopped alongside him, watching Loki with a keen eye. The bird didn't trust anyone when it came to Adisa, and he was waiting for Loki to make one wrong move before swooping in to scratch out his eyes.
He cawed low enough for Loki to hear when the man sat Adisa on her bed and gently brushed hair out of her face in a warning that he would not tolerate any more physical contact with the woman. They were both aware that Loki could reach out any second and snap Bran's neck, but they both knew Loki wouldn't do it. Adisa loved the creature too much, and would be devastated.
Loki gave the creature a dirty look and stepped away from the bed. He disappeared from the room in seconds, leaving the bird to keep a watch over her. He wanted to spend the night watching over her but he had other things that needed to be done.
On his way to his first stop he saw Thor who watched him curiously. There was no doubt in Loki's mind that his brother was curious where he went all day, but Loki had known his mother had intervened and told his brother to leave him alone. Thor had opened his mouth to say something to Loki, but was silenced when Loki raised his hand and slipped away.
There was anger that burned in Loki's belly, but at the same time there was something else that he could only explain as longing. Adisa had awoken new feelings inside of him, and the need for companionship was one of them. As much as Loki wanted these things, he still wanted his family to feel the pain he did. That and deep down he wasn't ready to be with his family yet.
Some days it still made him so angry that it burned into an uncontrollable rage that only Adisa seemed to calm. She of course knew the pain he was in, but often just leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. His hand would always find the top of her head where he would give her a gentle pat.
He was okay with Adisa showing him affection, but he was not so good at returning it. It made him uncomfortable and sometimes he wasn't entirely sure what to do. At least not with a girl he really cared for. He didn't want to destroy what they had, because at this moment in his life he felt like Adisa was the only one he could count on.
Loki's eyes met the rainbow bridge, and with a great sense of pride he walked across it. The gut wrenching feeling in his gut of previous memories played in the back of his mind, but he needed to keep up a particular appearance when approaching the man he seaked.
Heimdall was a tall man, and strong. People who were not accustomed to him would stir in discomfort because the man always stood stiffly. It was clear that his eyes were watching something else, but others often thought he looked to be in deep thought. Loki knew very well that he was watching everything, so he was not surprised that he spoke of Adisa when he stepped up behind him.
"I'm glad to see that she is no longer in pain." He said simply his voice rumbling as he spoke. A stiff smile appeared on Loki's face and for a brief moment he felt irritated that he spoke of her, and that he had been watching them in the gardens. Loki had fully expected the man to be watching him carefully but to hear comframation made his stomach churn.
Heimdall knew that the young woman was good for Loki. He could see the stir of change in him, which was slowly gearing him towards the right track. He was also glad to see that there was finally someone to take care of Adisa. She had been wandering the castle grounds alone for far too long.
Loki could think of many quick nasty comments, but he needed answers and he figured he wouldn't get answers if he snapped at the guardian. Swallowing his pride, Loki took a few steps forward lazily. He didn't want to appear as if, this man would be the only man to answer his questions.
"They say you see everything, but what I'm interested in is if you can remember everything. I need to know who cursed Adisa." A painful silence hung in the air as Loki waited for an answer. For a brief second Loki thought that the Guardian was useless and didn't actually know anything until he spoke.
"He will be a hard man to catch, he is always traveling place to place and like you my Prince, likes to cloak himself from me. He travels by the name of Horril, but that is all I know of him." Loki would have been irritated, but a name was much more than nothing. With a name Loki could find him.
"That will be all I need." Loki said, and without a thank you turned to walk away ignoring the burning eyes at the back of his head. Loki hadn't expected the man to be brave enough to say anything to him, but stopped dead in his track when his rough voice echoed from the chambers.
"If you harm her Loki, It is I you must deal with." The words had made him angry, and for a brief moment he thought of all the horrible things he could say back to the man, but stopped himself. He didn't have time for such petty things, and Loki believed it was just empty threats. Turning around again, he walked over the Rainbow Bridge and back to his rooms where he would plan his next course of action.
Loki did not speak of his plan to Adisa, because he believed that if he did she would beam with excitement. She would be over the moon with joy, but in the back of his mind he feared he wouldn't be able to find the man. He could get her hopes up for nothing, and it was possible that it would destroy her.
He could also come up with a potion or spell to fix her eyes, but he feared that if he didn't know what spell was used that he could kill her. It would take all of his skill to discover what exactly had been done to her and then plan how to fix it. It could take him months or even years.
It was hard for Loki to balance his search for Horril and the research into curses, as well as trying to spend his time with Adisa. He started to spend long nights going through books, and looking through reports of misused magic.
The frustration in him started to build the more time he spent looking for information. It became obvious that something was going on, and it didn't take long for his mother to begin to pry. As much as she didn't want to, Frigga felt as if there was something wrong.
He wasn't his normal brooding self, and he didn't seem to be hell bent of making his family loathe him. Instead he was tired; withdrawn and the most alarming behaviour change was his lack of trickery. Odin had assumed that maybe in the past couple months Loki had grown into a man, still clearly too blind to see what was going on.
Frigga had assumed that the young woman he so was so infatuated with broke his heart. Loki was far from a normal child, so she couldn't think of anything else. So one night after dinner she made her way to his chambers.
She didn't bother to knock, Loki was far too clever for knocking. If he was up to something he would have it hidden within seconds. Loki was sitting at his desk a large number of books scattered around him. He was holding his hands in his head and it was very apparent he hadn't slept in a few days.
"You really need to knock mother." Loki snapped, his fingers reached up to carefully shut his journal closed. Loki would have fought her when she picked up the journal but he was too tired to care.
Frigga gently flipped to the back and she silently noted how he stiffened. At first she could just read silly notes about books he wanted to read and such. A look of irritation passed her face, and with a wave of her hand she cleared the page. Loki's discomfort was truly recognised now, as his mother quickly discovered his trick.
"Really Loki?" She muttered, her eyes lightly skimming the page. She had taught him everything she knew, and it was painfully clear he had casted a spell over the book. He didn't want anyone reading his small notes or thoughts of Adisa. He thought about ripping the book from her hands, and stopping her but by now there was no point in hiding Adisa. His family would figure out at some point, and he doubted his mother would be the one to judge him.
If anything it was his mother would calm the storm of his father and Thor. He was entirely unsure of his father's reaction, but Thor would probably storm the garden and lift the girl above his head in joy. His brutish actions would probably put Adisa into a fainting spell.
His mother carefully read the pages she was holding and the more she read the closer her hand went to her chest. It was something she did when she was extremely happy, and the joy the book brought her only seemed to grow as she read on.
"Oh, Loki!" She hummed, placing the book down and pulling him into a hug. Her fingers instantly went to his hair, where she almost laced them through his long locks. It was something she would do to both of her children since their childhood, and it instantly annoyed Loki. No matter how comforting it was.
She pulled away after a few seconds, then begun to groom his hair and face. She babbled on about how happy she was for him, and how she was worried about him. He didn't stay around for the entire conversation, his mind drifting away in annoyance.
"Adisa is the blind girl who plays in the gardens, isn't she?" she finally asked, her over joyous mind finally coming down from its high. It was clearly obvious that's who Adisa was, he had after all noted the books that were being made for her, and things related to her condition.
There was an overwhelming urge for him to protect Adisa, but his mother quickly caught on to his silence. It hurt that Loki wouldn't share with her, but he had been like this since he discovered his true heritage. She missed the way they use to be, but slowly she could see that he was opening up more to her. Just like he spent more time with his brother, and enjoyed it. Loki didn't seem to realise the change in himself, and continued to fight his feelings.
Frigga had taken her son's silence as his answer. Adisa the girl who was blinded as punishment. Frigga had known the girl well, she had used her as an example to her children. She would have never of expected Loki to fall in love with her, and it confused her. Deep down she really could believe that this was the girl Loki took interest in because he always surprised her, he always did something out of the norm.
"I see you are trying to reverse her condition." She spoke softly trying not to push Loki away. His eyes darted over to her, and for a moment she saw brief anger flash through his eyes. She knew this was not a subject she should press, but she had to.
"Yes." Loki snapped, sitting up straighter. He was trying to intimidate her, but she could never fear her sons.
"Loki…." She started, her motherly instincts going into overdrive. She wanted to say so many things to him but she didn't know where to start.
"Don't." He snapped, slamming his hands on the table and pushing himself away from his desk. Frigga knew this was the end of their conversation and there was no point in pushing him for any more information.
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