6th chapter, thank you all to the ones who followed, favorited and reviewed! :D

SuperPsychoLove : As I told you before, it's mostly adventure, angst but also a love story! :D The defeat of the dragon might be a bit boring, though! ^^"

FANFICTION

THE RISE OF LOKI, GOD OF MISCHIEF

CHAPTER VI : Tool

[Loki is sent spying on Jotunheim to find out the truth about the threat of war against the Mountain Giants but he disappears from Heimdall's view and meets the daughter of one of the traitors: Eisa. She kept on following him and while being attacked by a dragon, they need to team up.]

Loki used his magic to cloak himself before climbing back onto the trail of the mountain in order to stand above the dragon to watch everything that was happening, Loki observed the surroundings carefully. He hated having to trust that Völva for a good part of the plan, but he needed focus and concentration and would not be able to do anything without her help. He was aware of her presence, several meters above him.

His eyes caught the glimpse of light in the distance, just like the fiery creature did and both turned their attention towards the golden stars dancing in the air so far away – but just a little jump away for the gigantic hellish monster.

Good… He thought.

He focused his attention on the peak of mountain in front of him, whispering words with a feverish voice, sweat rolling down from his temples to chin.

Eisa's illusion of gold had attracted the dragon's attention whose eyes suddenly had a mesmerized focus on the piece of treasure this kind of creature loved so much. Gold was the dragon's weakness, the one thing that could distract him – or drive him mad when necessary. The trick was to lure the dragon and attract him enough to have time to slow him down – and that was the hardest part of the plan, the part Loki had to execute to perfection without losing a second.

The dragon approached almost carefully to what he thought were coins of pure gold. His head tilted from one side to another, eyeing the gold silently as his paws approached little by little, using its enormous reach to tiptoe on the mountain sides delicately. The gold of his eyes was shining more fiercely, as if ablaze by the greed of reaching for this gold, to grab and keep for himself.

Loki's watery green eyes flew opened suddenly and with a sudden sharp move of his hands, rocks from the mountain he was facing, right above the dragon seemed to be ripped off the mountain wall. It appeared as if pebbles were falling onto the dragon's back at first, not even scratching him nor distracting him from his 'prize'. Quickly, after another swing of his arms and a shout, he felt his whole body burning with seiðr more rocks seemed to explode and begin to drop.

Quite a few hit the dragon and he shook his body, as if it was merely annoying him but Loki had decided to bet on the elemental magic he wasn't the best at, earth, but clever enough as to not try to make the whole mountain fall down onto the dragon. Instead, he chose to rip off some rocks from the base of the peak and after losing just some of its weight, the rest of the rocky hill would collapse on itself all on its own.

Loki gave another violent sway, his whole body trembling from exhaustion, his fingers burning with the greenish light of his magic. Boulders seemed to be torn apart by a giant invisible hand and toppled. The stone above the new hole in the mountain seemed to vibrate ever so slightly as the god ceased to breathe, watching anxiously. Some rocks dropped, then the side of the mountain couldn't fight against gravity anymore for it started to collapsed, agonizingly slow at first then all at once.

The dragon heard the rumbling of the stones falling straight onto him and he glanced away from the illusion of gold that had lured him in this trap long enough to just see a part of the mountain wall rolling down onto him. The avalanche of mighty rocks fell upon him and he gave a loud shrieked, brought down by the weight of the mountain rocks as he collapsed and fell all the way down into the valley.

The sound of the rocky wall flowing down echoed in the mountains so loudly it made them all vibrate causing Loki to lose his balance and fall on his knees, exhausted from using so much of his seiðr, his whole body aching from both the magic and the fight.

His mother had always said that magic was a tool which increased one's potential but would require the energy, strength and muscles the Völvo would use if he were to use his own abilities. Loki on his own could not move a rock, but thanks to his seiðr, he ripped off an entire side of the mountain. And his body knew it, feeling as if he had used his own hands and muscles to do so.

He could still feel it, the runes of magic pulsing through his veins, the feeling of power and invincibility that couldn't be compared to anything else. But now it was slowly fading away as he felt crushed and overwhelmed by his exertion, not just physical but also by the weakness of his energy and aura.

Until now, he had used spells and magic but every time it got too exhausting, his mother had stopped him and he never actually reached his true potential. Was this what he could do? Break an entire mountain apart?

His vision became blurry and he wavered on his knees, his body throbbing from pain and exhaustion.

Then, suddenly, the raging shriek of the dragon that had been buried under tons of rocks resonated again, making his body jump in fear and shock. His eyes widened and he watched dreadfully as the side of the mountain he worked so hard to bring down moved at the bottom of the valley. Soon enough, the dark red creature moved and a paw, then a wing and finally his head along with the rest of his body emerged, screeching and boiling in fury.

Loki wanted to try something, but he wasn't even able to move a finger when the dragon rose, looking like an angel of death with its wings spread in the air so terrifyingly.

The creature turned around, his golden cold wrath gaze looked straight into the God of Mischief's soul, straight through his green panicked eyes. He acted so quickly, the god barely even had time to sink in a breath that the huge claws hit the mountain so violently it exploded. Loki tried to cover his head with his arms, to protect himself with a magical shield, but he was too weak. He had used too much energy trying to bury the dragon to no prevail considering it only angered him more than before. Then, his head was struck by a rock and he fell into unconsciousness.

His ears were whizzing and his head throbbed. He wanted to move but his body ached and was sorer than he can remember. He had never felt so much pain and he wondered why Eisa hasn't used her magic on his body already. His heart started to beat heavily against his chest, suddenly feeling fearful and lonely…

Why was he in pain? Why was he alone? Why wasn't there anyone with him?

His mother would hold his hand and would be asking him to wake up if he was injured. Surely Thor would stick around and grunt, expecting him to wake up with this lovely sound. Odin too. Odin would probably come, ask about him and leave, only to come back later… He wasn't really alone, right? Even if he felt cold, and in pain, if he were to open his eyes, he would see his family's smiles. They would be here, right?

His eyelids trembled and slowly, his eyes blinked opened. He grunted when he was blinded by the intense light of the sun and he opened his lips to ask whoever would hear to draw the curtains of his chambers closed. But his throat was dry and no word would escape his dry lips.

He felt a fresh wet clothe on his forehead, tapping it lightly to draw away the pain and fever ever so slightly. Delicately, as if scared to hurt him, the cloth moved onto his cheeks then over his lips before going back to his forehead.

He sighed in relief lightly, the touch of his mother reassuring and comforting. He wanted to fall back asleep but as soon as he let his consciousness give up, images flashed with light and fire behind his eyelids. He shook and breathed harder, seeing his brother falling on his knees, in mud, his flank injured by a poisoned dagger. He heard the roaring of a dragon and felt the heat of its fire before seeing the landscapes of Jotunheim toggling with the red scaled creature. He gasped, trying to breath but the flashes of his injured brother, of Jotunheim, of the dragon and a mountain falling on him kept appearing in his mind, becoming more and more vivid each time.

He suddenly yelped, opening his eyes wide in fear, his lips letting a breathless "no" escape. He tried to sit up but firm hands rested on his shoulders, pushing him down back onto the cold hard ground.

He closed his eyes again, feeling tears stinging behind his eyelids but he fought them off. Everything came rushing back to his mind: his injured brother, the threat of a war against the Jotunns, his mission to reach Utgard, the dragon. Death? He was in too much pain to be in Helheim or Valhalla.

He felt someone lift up his head and bring water to his lips, forcing him to drink. At first, he felt almost relieved even as he felt blinded by the bright sun and deaf from the hammering of his lost scared heart against his chest but then, he reacted. He suddenly threw himself away from the person who had held him and he stared with wide eyes at Eisa who didn't appear to be disturbed by his reaction.

He tried to move away but fell on his elbows, breathing hard and looking away, strands of black messy hair falling on his face. His eyes fixed on the dusty ground for a long moment. He wasn't with his family. He was on a mission to save them and make them proud.

"How do you feel?" Eisa asked.

At first, he didn't understand the question considering how fuzzy the sound of her voice was in his head but then he heard himself answer then realized he was doing anything at all.

"What are you doing?"

His voice sounded much colder than he intended it to and silence fell between them.

Accustomed once again to the light and sound without having his head throbbing enough that he would gladly hit himself with Mjolnir, he sat up. His body ached, sore and stiff from the amount of energy and strength it took him to display so much elemental magic to move those rocks and break that mountain. All that for nothing but merely annoying the dragon… His eyes widened when he realized how silent it was and he looked up, glancing around feverishly.

"The dragon…"

His voice trailed off and he was surprised to see that they were in plain sight, in the middle of the mountains, facing the one that now had a huge part of its side gone, fallen in rumbles in the valley.

"He was more injured than we thought. He flew away after hitting this mountain one last time," she explained.

He looked back at her, wondering why she had stayed by his side for hours considering the position of the sun was in the sky. She handed him the gourd of water and after watching her suspiciously, he carefully took the gourd and drank in it, giving a sigh of relief at the refreshing liquid going down his throat.

"What happened to me?" He asked, pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to survive the rocks falling on top of him.

"The hit must have pushed you under a cover that protected you from the falling rocks. I found you lying in dust and pebbles, you were bleeding."

He brought a hesitant hand on his head then winced at the pain it provoked on his temple and throughout his entire body. He definitely wasn't a fan of the notion of pain.

"Don't touch it, you need to be healed but I don't have anything on me to help with bandaging your head," she said, frowning at the dried blood at his head and soaking his hair.

"Did you really come in Jotunheim expecting to follow me all the way to Utgard without any supplies?" He asked.

At this point, he didn't know if he should be impressed or laugh at her in disbelief. He probably hit his head harder than he initially thought if he felt this way.

"There is a river down there where you could rest better than here, but I don't know if—"

"I can walk." He interrupted.

And to prove his point, he pushed himself up, wavering on shaking legs. She watched him carefully, ready to grab him if he fell but he grunted and forced himself to advance. He could feel every single muscle in his body shouting in pain. He could feel every single one of his bruises and scratches stretching and aching.

It was his third day in Jotunheim; he was only half way to his goal. And he was drastically slowed down… He growled once again, and this time it wasn't from pain.

A few hours later, they had reached the valley where the river mentioned by Eisa was flowing through. When Loki looked further, he saw the results of the mountain he had tried to break. He saw rocks and rumbles scattered in the middle of the river and creating more stream than it used to have. He would have shrugged if his body wasn't hurting so much.

He kneeled down next to the river and filled his gourd, drinking it before glancing at the girl who was washing her hands and forearms from the dust and sweat. He stared at her for so long she finally felt his gaze on her and looked up. He threw her the gourd and she caught it in her hands, watching him in surprise.

"Drink." He commanded.

She glanced down at the gourd once again before smiling lightly:

"You do like giving orders…" She murmured before drinking from the gourd.

He rolled his eyes and after washing his injuries with the water, took out a shrunk safety kit from his pockets. He held it in his palm and merely had to wait before it turned back to its normal size. He took out some bandages and after wetting them in the water, applied it with a groan on his forehead.

"Do you want me to help you?" Eisa asked, breaking the silence between them.

"No."

She stared at him with a little pout while he kept on washing off the dried blood.

"Let me—" She started.

"No," he cut her off, throwing her a stern look, "I am capable of taking care of myself."

A disbelieving look fell on her face and he almost threw her in the river before retaining himself. After washing their faces arms of dust from the previous night's fight. Loki stood quickly, looking around before starting to walk towards the next mountain he had to climb.

He didn't even glance behind him but knew the girl was following him, keeping up with his pace surprisingly well.

"You know, you could have thanked me," Eisa suddenly said, ending the silence that Loki much preferred.

"For what?"

She caught up with him, pondering the question and lifted up her hand to count.

"For saving your life a first time from a fatal fall, assisting you with that dragon, going back to check on you in the rubble, and for taking care of you until you woke up," she enumerated before glancing at him.

He scowled before sighing deeply. He wasn't enough of a fool to not know she did help him –he would go as far as admitting she might have saved him. And even if he was a proud Prince, he wasn't going to deny any of her words.

He stopped then turned towards her, bowing his head slightly.

"I am sorry that I have been rude to you this whole time after you saved and helped me. I thank you, Lady Eisa, for everything you've done for me," he said.

Her lips opened and her eyes widened, shocked by his words and the sudden honesty emanating from him.

"But I don't require any more help from you," he added before straightening up but still keeping eye contact with her, "as I have told you before, I will keep my journey towards Utgard alone. If you wish to go on your own, then do so, but as I'm sure you've noticed, it's a dangerous path and—"

"Dangerous? I love danger!" She exclaimed, completely ignoring him.

He frowned, unsure of what to say after being silenced so suddenly by her voice. She looked around and smiled at the landscape.

"It's dangerous, indeed, but isn't it exciting? Going on an adventure like this?" She asked, glancing back at him.

"I.. am not sure I—"

His voice trailed off but once again, it's as if he hasn't said anything at all and she continued talking.

"It's not like that every day! And Asgard can be so boring! I didn't have this much fun in so long!" She exclaimed, taking in a deep breath of air from the mountains.

He glanced around, not used to this kind of wild behavior from women. He didn't know what to think about her liking for adventures, but he couldn't disagree when she said that Asgard was boring.

"I can't protect you if you come along," he said, frowning lightly.

"I don't need your protection, so don't worry about me. I can take care of myself!" She exclaimed with a wink, echoing his words from earlier.

His lips parted, looking for words that would convince her to go back to Asgard.

"Plus," she added, drawing his attention back on her, "I can't assure your protection either."

"I am a Prince!" He replied, offended she wouldn't beg to protect him with her life.

She turned back towards him, her expression hard and determined.

"No, you're not. Right here, right now, you are only an enemy of the Mountain Giants – just like me. Right now, you have to reach Utgard unhurt – which happens to be my goal as well. You might have skills in seiðr and fighting, but you can't know what lies ahead of you. Perhaps something even more dangerous than a dragon and you can't know if you won't need my help another time."

She took a step forward, her will unbreakable despite his intense gaze on her.

"Right here and right now, you and I are in the exact same situation and we both may need help."

He stared at her for a long moment, knowing that titles or not, he was in danger every second in this place. But if he could use her help to survive and go back to Asgard as quickly as possible with the information he needed, then, he would use her skills and foolish determination.

"And as I told you before, if you want me or not, I'll go to Utgard anyway. So let's just help each other!"

He frowned lightly, recalling that last time she kept on following him even after his words. She was too stubborn and determined to go back to Asgard anyway. He stared at her emerald eyes that were so mesmerizing, her full lips inviting.

He smiled at her, as charming as a snake as ever.

"Let's just help each other, then," he said in a low tempting voice.

She seemed to react at the tone of his voice and threw him an hesitant gaze, before smiling widely and flushing lightly, her own eyes staring at him from head to toe with a very satisfied look on her face.

"The company won't be too bothersome, I guess…" She said before walking again.

He observed her, perfectly aware of the effect he had on her – and she on him. But as long as he didn't have his information, he won't let himself get distracted. He'll have fun with his new tool back in Asgard – if she survives this adventure of course.

"You took the words right from my mouth…" He murmured to himself with a smile before following her, slowly making their way towards Utgard through the mountains.

I hope you liked this chapter! :D

I'm on 'holiday' by next week for the next three so, I don't know if I'll have internet. If I do, I'll post the chapters every Thursday, otherwise, I'll post the three when I'm back! ;)

NEXT CHAPTER: "PURPOSE"

Yours Truly,

May