She couldn't un-see it. Burned, scorched, not just on her eyelids, but on her very soul.
Jane was running…she needed to get away. (For rough winds do shake the darling buds of May…)
More like a tempest…
Why had she come? She hadn't wanted to…she wanted to go home. Home, to Midgard - no. To Earth.
Stupid Frigga, changing her mind for her.
"But Jane, it's a party! Of course he wants you there!" she had said. For what purpose? To humiliate her?
"We cannot be seen, dear heart…people will talk."
"Let them. I care little for their idle chatter and insipid minds. Let all of Asgard know it! Mighty Thor loves the worthy Sif!"
And now the tears began to fall.
She saw them, in a heated embrace…arms, tongues, fingers…
She ran into a forest not far from the palace and settled as deep as she could go before she collapsed.
"I invited her, Thor. What do you think? She is your guest, recall?"
"I do, mother. But I also recall telling you that Jane would be leaving. Before this night. I rather thought it was obvious…my motives."
"Thor harbors the delusion that every person shares his intellectual ineptitude, mother," observed Loki, who was standing in the corner.
Thor turned and smirked at him. "I am inept in matters of the mind, brother?"
"Indeed. Inept, incompetent, unskillful, ineffectual," and he walked toward the pair.
"Enough! I may not have your tongue, Loki, but I have skills you know nothing of."
"As I understand, Thor, your tongue is less well versed than my own in many, may things…" he held his hand up to cease Thor's objection. "…and while it is true that you wield a mighty hammer, one cannot but wonder how effective a hammer might be without the proper mind behind it. Hammer wielding, as a rule, requires some delicacy as well. One cannot simply pummel repeatedly to obtain the desired result."
"Loki!" Frigga exclaimed. "Please…"
He smiled. "Truly Thor. What did you expect to happen? It isn't as though you and your lover were being inconspicuous."
"I expected Jane Foster to not be invited to an Aesir event," he glared at Frigga.
"How very narrow-minded of Asgard's future King. One might even call it prejudice."
"There is no love lost between you and mortals, Loki."
"But I never claimed any amorous feelings for one," he snapped.
Thor strode around his slippery brother. "Since you are so fond of the mortals, perhaps you should go and find her."
"Excuse me?" he was caught unawares.
Thor laughed. "Why don't we conduct an experiment of sorts? Go and fetch young Jane Foster, bring her back to safety…and…"
Loki raised his eyebrows.
"…and…I shall see you receive an interview with that diplomat from Alfheim."
Loki worked his jaw. He had been trying to speak with him for some time, but his "reputation," unfortunately, preceded him. He was repeatedly denied. And he repeatedly asked Odin to make him see him. There were certain…questions… the Elf could answer for him. He lifted his chin. "Tomorrow."
"Pardon?"
"I retrieve your Jane Foster, you grant me this interview tomorrow."
"Done," said Thor. He shook his hand. "You have until noontime tomorrow Loki."
"I'll require an hour," and the sorcerer left.
And Thor laughed.
Irksome female mortal! Did she honestly believe that the great Thunderer would condescend to pay her any mind? It astonished Loki beyond measure that Sif had finally won his eye. Sif, who had been chasing the great oaf for at least two centuries now.
Loki made his way outside of the castle proper, and looked around…
He held his hands out, palm up, and felt the air with his fingertips…
She had passed this way only half an hour previous. He smiled.
…and began to walk toward Ensorcell….
When Jane had recovered herself, she took a deep breath and looked around. She had come far. The place was very dark…
She held herself tightly and stood. Well, best to just head back…perhaps she could change out of these ridiculous medieval garments and slip away to the BiFrost unnoticed by anyone but Heimdall.
Which way had she come? She didn't recognize any of her surroundings. She must've been in quite a state when she arrived in the forest.
"Lost?" came a voice.
Jane whipped around to find Loki standing next to a tree, smirking at her.
"Loki."
"Jane."
"What are you doing here?"
"Well," and he removed himself from the tree and began to walk slightly toward her. "That is an interesting tale. Seems Thor wanted me to retrieve you…"
"What for?" her voice was angry, irritated…
"I haven't the faintest idea. I do not pretend to understand what passes for thoughts in what he claims is his mind."
Jane's eyes turned to slits (though they were hardly recognizable as such, it was so thickly dark in the wood). "Why do you dislike him so?"
"Why? Because he prefers the sun when I favor the moon. Because I like red wine, he drinks white. Because, as children, he was unfair and stole my favorite trinket."
Jane's eyes fell. "Oh," she wasn't stupid. She got it.
"Indeed. Now, what do you say we return to the palace? Thor desires and interview."
"No."
"Pardon?"
"I said no," and she sat on the forest floor.
"I heard what you said, mortal woman. I simply did not believe you."
"Well…believe it. I'm not going anywhere."
Loki sighed loudly. He should just make her go. "Jane Foster. I am charged with seeing you safely back. This is, truly, the last thing that I want to be doing. Do not force me to inflict violence or force to see that you obey."
"I don't care what you do. I am not going to go and talk with him. I'll leave…even if I need to keep these stupid clothes on. But I'm not gonna go back there and see him."
"You are a tiresome mortal. You have no idea what I could do to you…I'd tread lightly if I were you…"
"You make the mistake in thinking that I care. I don't. He has made a fool of me and my heart. He led me on. He was a complete and utter asshole, and if I never see him again it'll be too soon."
Loki sat across from her and looked quizzically at the young Jane Foster. "You made the mistake of falling for the Thunderer to begin with. He is fickle. If you thought that you could change him with your wiles, then you are more foolish than I thought."
"I never intended to trick him, Loki. I thought that he cared for me. I was wrong."
He sat back against a tree. "He does care, Jane," though he couldn't fathom why he was defending him.
"Oh yeah. He cares so much that he made out with Sif and sent you to find me."
"Well, I rather meant other than that."
Jane smiled. "Why did he send you?"
"To discover you and send you to him."
"But why? I made it easy for him."
"Perhaps you shouldn't have," and Loki cocked a brow.
Jane shrugged and sat back, too. "Perhaps not," then she looked right at him. The glow of the moon set his features in stark contrast, uncloaking certain lines of his features. There was a hum in the air of soft insects…"Tell me…what's your story?"
"My story?"
"Yeah."
"I haven't one."
"Everyone has a story, Loki," she smirked.
"I am a great sorcerer. A Prince of Asgard."
Jane shrugged and stood. "Suit yourself. So…I guess we should leave. I kinda want to go home."
"That is the wisest thing you've said heretofore," and he rose. He would be able to convince her to see Thor before she scampered off. If not, he would place her under a spell and take her to the oaf. Loki looked to the sky. Then whipped his head around…"Oh Jane Foster…what have you done?"
"What?" she was confused.
"You have taken us the the Northern Edge of the Ensorcell. We will not be able to find our way out until sunrise…"
"The what of the what?"
"Ensorcell! It means enchanted wood. No one but a sorcerer can navigate it…and in certain parts, even a powerful seidr wielder cannot but in the light of day."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
He glared at her. "We are stuck here for the night, that is all that you need to know."
"Shit. Isn't there something that you could do? You are…what did you tell me the other day? 'The most powerful sorcerer in all the Nine'…? Surely someone with that title wouldn't let a couple of trees get the better of them."
He was waving his hands about, and then conjured a fire. "If you were an astute pupil, I just informed you that even the most powerful of sorcerers have difficulty in this particular forest," he sat at the fire.
"But even the most powerful in the Nine? I have no hope for the future of magic if the most powerful can't even get themselves out of a forest."
"Jane Foster. Sit down," he was getting irritated.
She smirked. "And you started a fire in a forest. Guess you guys don't have Smoky the Bear."
"It is an enchanted fire," he said with exasperation. "And no. We have no 'Smoky the Bear.' Though the thing is delightful to mortals, I'm sure," he sighed.
Jane sat next to him. "You're an angry person."
"Be quiet."
"No…why are you so angry?"
"Why do you ask so many questions?"
"Because I'm a scientist. It's in my nature to question."
Loki rolled his eyes. "Of course I would have the misfortune of being trapped in Ensorcell with a Midgardian scientist insistent upon questioning me."
"It'll be a long night if we don't talk."
"I'd wager it will be regardless."
Jane now sighed. And she began to relate to Loki, what amounted to, her life story.
He should have silenced her…
"So yeah. Both of my parents died within a few years of one another. It wasn't easy being alone like that, but I learned to cope. And then I started to receive all sorts of attention from different universities. They recruited me, which isn't common for academia…that's done mostly for sports."
Loki was hardly paying attention anymore. He was trying to devise a way to be delicate while simultaneously shutting her up (though he had no idea why it concerned him to be delicate). "Fascinating. Now, Jane…"
"I'm not finished," she corrected him.
Mortal…you are wearing my patience.
"Anyway, I really loved Cal Tech. Mostly. I mean, they were a bit too traditional for me, but I still loved it," she yawned. "So, did you like school?"
"I had tutors."
"Yes, but did you like it?"
He grinned. "Mostly."
Jane sat back to get a better look at him, interesting endeavor, since the wood was so dark. "Mostly. Tell me, what do you like?"
"Quiet."
"Oh stop it. Be serious."
He regarded her a moment. "I enjoy watching the nightingale skip along the rim of trees of this very wood, singing softly and lulling the air into a sweet somnolence. I enjoy my seidr, the freedom it affords…occasionally for the Queen's pleasure. I enjoy a walk on Alfheim when dawn has not yet been realized, and she is timid in her enterprise. I love Vanaheim in spring…the mountains are robust with heather, and the fragrance sends a heady mist few can see with their own eyes."
"Oh."
He chuckled. "Now will you allow your repose?"
"That was lovely, Loki."
"I am not called silver tongue for nothing, you know," he sat back once more, waved his hand at the fire, causing it to increase its warmth
Jane smiled, sighed and sat back with him…and her head, lolling from fatigue, found its way onto Loki's shoulder.
The morning saw the pair back at the palace, and Jane bathed…thinking about the night previous.
She suddenly wasn't so opposed to seeing Thor.
So she went to him, and they spoke…
"You forgive me, then, Jane?"
"No. But I'm no longer angry. And I'd like to stay a little while longer, if the King and Queen would allow it…"
"Indeed? But you were so ready to quit Asgard…"
"I'm not so ready any longer," she smirked and left.
Jane went to her rooms and took out the journal which she had brought with her from Earth.
I don't really know what's happening…but I'm suddenly struck with the thought of staying in Asgard for a while longer. It's almost as though…I'm meant to stay. But I don't believe in fate.
She snapped it shut. She rolled onto her back. She sighed.
Jane rose after some moments and went to the balcony outside of her rooms. She leaned against the railing…
…and she thought that she'd ask to be moved to the other side of the palace to witness a certain nightingale kissing a certain wood…
It was a soft realization, one that never would have been made, ordinarily. One that was so subtle and gentle and sweet, she never really anticipated it. She had been innocent enough those next few weeks…
And he was receptive to her smiles.
Jane became attached to Loki…
"Did you see her last evening Jane?"
"I did! Though the magnificence of how you described her was a bit much, really," she replied.
"Would you be so critical?" and he sipped his drink…they were at breakfast.
"I've seen your nightingale quite a few times now, and she's a fine bird, but…"
He cocked his head to one side. "But?"
"But I fail to see anything particularly remarkable about her," and she offered a smirk.
"You, Jane, are what we Aesir call a difficult bear."
"A what?"
"A lumbering, displeased bear. Determined to be disappointed with everything."
"I'm no bear."
"No? What are you then?"
Jane looked at him playfully. "A cat."
He swallowed. "Is that so?"
"It is. And I have claws…" and she got up and left the table.
Loki's eyes followed her as she left, and shortly thereafter, left himself…
…and went back to his chambers.
The night holds an abyss
The lark protests
And in between the folds of time
I wait
Her sighs fill my hands
Her eyes still my soul
But I long for more…
…that which I cannot hope
…and long to want
And I grasp at the nothing
That is the lyric of of the lark
He put down his pen, and he looked at the morning growing toward noon.
How could be hope to have her? It is for naught.
She loves Thor…of that he was certain.
Loki rose and left his chambers, disgusted with what he was thinking. Disgusted with his weakness and his verse.
He left the palace on horseback to ride and clear his mind.
Jane waited for the remainder of the day for him…not realizing just how much she depended on him for her conversation…her company…
In fact, in his absence, she realized that he had become her only companion on Asgard.
"Thor," Jane said, happening upon the Thunderer with his last before dinner. "Have you seen Loki?"
"I have not," Thor replied. "The two of you have grown quite close as of late…is that not so?"
She blushed…
And a commotion was heard.
"My Lord Prince! Come quickly!" a page was yelling. "Get the Queen! It is her son!"
Thor rushed toward the source.
And Sif followed.
And Jane closed her eyes…a solitary tear falling from it…
She left the palace, convinced he had died, and went to the forest…that which Loki had referred to as Ensorcell.
She sat at an overlook and wept.
She played with a flower, and wept.
And when her tears were spent, she went back, careful not to lose herself in the enchanted wood.
Jane went to Loki's rooms and laid on his bed…
The following morning, she awoke to the lark and stretched.
"Good morrow, Jane."
She sat up. "Hi Thor."
"He is asking about you. Will you come?"
"He's alive?"
Thor nodded. "Though perhaps only just…"
She jumped and ran to the infirmary to find Loki pale and gaunt, lying in a bed. She rushed to his side and took his hand in hers.
"Jane Foster."
"Shhh…" and tears spilled. "I thought you were dead."
"Nearly…"
"Don't talk."
"I have written things…in the book on the desk…in the ink you shall find my heart…"
"Loki…please don't. Don't go where I cannot find you," and her head fell to his hand.
"You are my light in the darkest abyss of my black soul."
"You haven't got a black soul, Loki," she whispered. "For if you did, I could never have fallen in love with you."
And at this, he wept.
Love, some say, gives one wings…
And that was the explanation.
For in the morning, neither Loki nor Jane were in the infirmary…No trace was left anywhere.
"Where are they, mother?"
"Gone, Thor."
"But where?" he was confused.
"I do not know, but I have a feeling that we will see them again, and when we do, they will be one."