Hi everyone! This is the last childhood chapter which means the next update will be starting from the context of adolescence. From where I plan to begin it you can think of them as around age 17-18 to help with picturing them. I apologize for any small errors there might be because I wrote this at 4am on my iPod touch and then emailed it to myself. It should be okay though. I would normally respond to individual reviews, but I'm pretty tired right now so I thank everyone for their support so far and I'm glad the last chapter was good for everyone :) I can't wait to start writing Loki and Aurora as they get older!

"Is it just me or is everyone staring at us?" you whispered in Loki's ear as you leaned over to him.

"No, it's not just you." Loki whispered back as he eyed the group of peers that were watching the two of you enter the dining hall.

Even Sif was eyeing you suspiciously along with the Warriors Three and other people around your age. You sighed as you realized that you were even more of an outcast than you were before.

"I guess we'll be sitting alone then." You muttered as the stares became more intense as you and Loki neared the table they were sitting at in the hall.

"You are with me, you are not alone." Loki replied as the two of took a seat a couple tables away from the others.

As soon as you and Loki sat down, the staring stopped as everyone began talking, most likely about you and Loki.

"Ignore them. I know what you are thinking." Loki said with a pleading gaze.

You sighed. "I want to know what they are saying about us."

"They are not saying anything original so you are not missing out." Loki scoffed.

Your eyes widened, "I forgot! You can read their minds! Tell me what they're saying!"

Loki rose an eyebrow at you causing you to reach over and shake his shoulders, "Please?!"

Loki chuckled slightly and said, "If it distresses you so much to be kept in the dark then I will oblige. The consensus is that I am an unstable psychopath and you are a mindless fool for putting yourself in harm's way by choosing to associate with me."

You scrunched up your face and shot a glare over at the table of people who had slandered you and Loki. You suddenly found yourself shouting over to them, "You know he can tell what you're all saying right?"

Everyone's head turned to face you as Loki buried his head in his hands.

"That's not possible!" Ingrid yelled back.

"No it's not! He can read all of your minds!" You yelled in anger.

Ingrid scoffed, "You're just as crazy as he is if you believe that."

You clenched your teeth and stood up saying, "If it's not possible then tell me how I know that you think he's an unstable psychopath and I'm a fool for putting myself in danger by being his friend?"

Ingrid closed her mouth and looked to the others for help. Fandral stood up next and stared at you with his black and puffy eye. Fandral spoke out saying, "You are a fool for being that close to him. He hurt you and he's only going to do it again. He's crazy and don't think I don't know you used your voodoo magic on me, Loki!"

Loki removed his head from his hands and stood up next to you. Loki spoke firmly, "Mind your tongue, Fandral. I do not appreciate you speaking poorly of Aurora and if you continue to do so, I will cut your tongue out of your mouth." Loki finished with a hiss as he drew one of his daggers.

"Woah!" Liv yelled as she slid to the farthest end of the table.

Hogun and Volstagg jumped up drawing their own weapons alongside Fandral prepared for a fight. You thought it was ridiculous that a fight was about to break out in the dining hall and you were worried because you knew that Loki was outnumbered. You would not be of any assistance to Loki in this fight so you weren't even counting yourself in the match; it was a one on seven fight. Loki's grasp tightened around the hilt of his dagger as he stared at the others. You were almost positive a fight was about to start when Thor walked into the hall and asked, "Are we going to have a practice session, my friends? The dining hall seems an odd place to do so, but very well!"

Thor picked up Mjolnir and looked ready to swing at someone when you yelled out, "No, Thor! We merely just heard a loud noise and it startled us all."

"Oh..." Thor said as if he were disappointed a fight was not occurring, "perhaps the noise was me. I was rather loud on my way over here."

"I don't doubt it." Loki muttered under his breath causing you to bite your lip to fight back a smile.

"It's not a problem, Thor." You said as everyone put away their weapons and became less hostile.

You were thankful that everyone had followed your lead, even though it was probably only to avoid angering Thor who would not take kindly to his brother being ganged up on by those he considered his friends. You were also astonished at how Thor was always absent whenever an altercation occurred and that he was not capable of detecting the tension that was certainly strong enough to be palpable. You could feel the tension in the air, but Thor presumably never could notice it.

"Thank you, Lady Aurora. How do my friends and brother all fare today?" Thor asked as he looked around smiling at each of you.

"Fine." The group replied a little too quickly which would have made most people suspicious, but not Thor.

"Excellent! What do you say we all go outside and enjoy the pleasant weather?" Thor inquired.

"I did not know it was nice outside." Liv remarked while cautiously eyeing Loki.

"It is indeed, Lady Liv. The temperature is comfortable and the sun is shining." Thor replied.

"We should go outside and enjoy the weather then." Liv spoke as she made suggestions with her eyes that everyone should agree.

You assumed that she was desperate to be in an open space and away from Loki which was why she wanted to go outside so she could run off if she needed to in order to avoid Loki. It was a strange sensation to be on the side of the person who was instilling fear especially when this person was usually the object of others' torments. You marveled at the change; Loki had slowly crept into the position of making the threats and wielding power over everyone else. While Loki was still smaller in stature than the other boys, his ability to do magic was an asset to him. You could not help but wonder if Loki should ever possess physical strength that he would be a dangerous enemy to have. Loki's mind made him dangerous, but to pair that with sheer physical power would significantly increase the leverage Loki would have over anyone who crossed him. You were on Loki's good side as his best friend and you hoped you would never get on his bad side because you could sense that times were changing. You wondered if this was what it felt like to leave childhood behind, to lose the shield of innocence and naivety that had protected you from seeing the truth; that goodness is not the only force in the universe.

Loki's POV

The group of us began walking outside at the request of Thor. It truly astonished me that my brother could be so oblivious to his surroundings while I am always aware of what is going on. Sometimes I wonder how we can even be related. Even though Thor's lower level of perception frustrates me at times, I still love him. Even though he is favored over me by almost everyone, I still love him because it is not his fault that people like him better than me. I still wish that I could prove myself as Thor's equal, but in light of recent events, that did not seem possible. It seemed that even my victory at the mock mission in training had been completely forgotten. Every time I came close to redeeming myself my achievements were overshadowed by my shortcomings. I gritted my teeth at this as I realized that I was constantly in a bitter struggle between redemption and condemnation. I am frustrated because I do not want to fight such a battle anymore; I just want to be in a permanent state of acceptance. I feel as if I will never be graced with such a reward and as I walk out of the palace and onto the grounds next to Aurora, I realize that she is the closest I will ever come to acceptance and redemption. The sun shines down brightly on us and illuminates her hair and face. She looks so pure and innocent, nothing like me. I look down at my hands that had recently cast out dark magic and I realize that I am tainted, I am no longer an innocent child, but I have become exposed to darkness. I see Fandral turn around and shoot me a glare. I stare back at him until he turns around and I decide that my metamorphosis has only just begun.

I am not going to try and stop the darkness from pervading my life, as far as I am concerned, what little innocence is still inside of me will soon be stripped away. I almost feel sad at the thought, but then I remember how it felt to beat Fandral at his own craft and I smile to myself.

"Perhaps I am better suited for this new lifestyle anyway."