AN: My apologies for the tardiness in posting this chapter, but school was whooping my butt! Now, here is the latest chapter, and remember I ONLY OWN NANNA AND THE PLOT...NOTHING ELSE! Constructive criticism is always welcome, and finally, I hope that you are entertained by my writing.
"Loki, what are you talking about?" Nanna murmured to the young prince. Her eyes widened as she looked at the young prince; Loki's tears began to fall down his face as his gaze slid down to her bleeding arm. His pale skin seemed to take on a sickly green hue when he watched sluggish drops fall to the dirt floor from her fingertips.
"I should have known that you were the one to give me as thoughtful a gift as I received at my Ceremony from the servant," Loki murmured brokenly as he forced himself to look at Nanna's face. "Sif would never have thought to get me daggars….it would have been a sword or shield if anything."
The redheaded girl gave a sympathizing smile and went to reach her uninjured hand up to caress Loki's cheek but her hand stopped sharply in its travel upward to grab at her right arm and breathe harshly through her teeth as a huge shock of pain ran through her system. The raven haired prince panicked upon seeing her pain and gave a minute whine as he battled with his want to actually touch Nanna's arm. He looked up to the girl and saw that she was paling quickly, and knew that the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins was now leaving her system.
"Brother," Loki called as he slowly neared Nanna further and moved her to lean onto him, "Brother!" the youngest prince snapped his gaze to Thor and looked upon him with fear in his gaze.
Thor had been watching since Nanna had run to her companion, and he admitted only to himself, that he was growing a bit worried for the redheaded noble as he saw the blood drip from her arm and her form become almost limp against Loki's body. Hearing the panic in his beloved brother's voice, that made Thor realize that they needed to work quickly. The blond looked to Tore and snappishly questioned whether the boy was with a party of his own; the lower noble nodded quickly that he, indeed, was with others. Tore also made note that they had a healer in his party.
"Take us to them, then!" Thor roared thunderously, his face bleeding red as rage filled him. How ignorant could a person be not to state immediately that they had a healer in their midst?! When that thought passed through his head, another followed on its heels; who was cruel enough to sick beasts onto an innocent girl?
A foul, bitter feeling wormed its way into Thor's stomach as the party moved quickly to follow Tore to his party. Icy blue orbs looked around and Thor saw that the Warriors Three has taken to collecting Nanna's things, and Loki had gotten himself and the girl onto his mount with what seemed to be a minute amount of difficulty. Everyone was ready within what seemed to be seconds, and the group moved to follow swiftly after the young, noble archer.
It seemed to be an eternity before they made it to the archer's party, and once the two groups had merged, the healer was immediately put to work on getting Nanna's arm fixed up. Loki kept near the girl and refused to move away from her. The rest of his group sat off to the side and answered the questions asked by the adults as to what it was that actually occurred to Nanna.
While they tried to explain what had happened, another party was approaching them. Tore was the one to announce that they were approaching and that it was Odin who was traveling their way. Thor felt himself stiffen and saw that Sif also made a similar movement; his icy eyes looked to the Warriors Three and they were all looking from the oncoming party to Odin as he rapidly approached.
Within, what seemed to be seconds, Odin was upon them with Vidar by his side; both men looked furious, but Vidar was glancing towards his daughter with worried concern. Looking away from the two experienced warriors, Thor saw that Sif seemed confused, along with the Warriors Three, about how the two fathers could have found them after the accident. Thor knew better, though, he knew that Heimdall was always watching the royal children with his ever vigilant eyes. The guard to the Bifrost never seemed to be unknowing to the goings-on of Thor and his friends, and he always seemed to be the first to rat them out to Odin.
"Boy," Odin snarled lowly as he stepped towards Thor, "What have you done?"
"ME?" Thor inquired as panic filled him, it was a true nightmare to have Odin direct his rage at you, and Thor was not really up for experiencing that at the moment. The blond looked for a way to divert said attention from him. "I'm not the one that summoned the beasts—that was all Loki, Father!" as soon as those words left his lips, Thor found that ugly, bitter feeling entering his bowels once more. It made him grimace, his eyes went to look at the dirt below his feet as Odin's face bled red with rage.
"And now you move to blame your brother for your own selfish actions?!" The Allfather roared to his eldest son, and before the crowned prince could try to speak in his favor, Odin continued, "I know that it was Loki's magic that conjured the beasts, but you are the one to have influenced Sif's words to be used against the child! I am not ignorant, and neither are you! We both know that your brother was infatuated with her!" Odin continued to rant to Thor, causing the young man to cringe and shrink in front of his father.
As Thor was being scolded, Vidar had made his way over to Nanna and was near tears to see how much paler her usually fair skin was at the moment as blood stained her clothes and countenance. Beside him, Loki seemed lost and unable to do anything; the warrior gave a wet, sorrowful sigh and wrapped an arm around the young prince's shoulders.
"She'll make it through this, boy." Vidar murmured, his voice held conviction. "She won't yet leave us…leave you to the horrors of live, not yet."
"How can you know?" Loki whispered brokenly, his hands shaking as he moved to hug himself. "How can you be sure?"
"Because Nanna would fight every god, overcome any obstacle in the world to make it back here to your side." With that the saddened duo was ushered away from the patient and toward the fire being built for the night.
No one slept well, or at all, that evening. Loki made no move to stray too far from Nanna's form, and by this time, the healer had deemed her stable but it could not be said just yet if she would make it to the morning. Once that had been said, Loki had laid his body beside her own and murmured to her; spoke about how he would do whatever he could within his power to make this up to Nanna. And from there, Loki's thought turned to what could be done to make himself stronger so that he could anything, everything, to protect the redhead.
Within that moment, the raven haired young man vowed to himself that he would do whatever he felt necessary to become stronger. Subconsciously, his hand tightened its hold on Nanna's own; the thing that brought him back from those darkening thoughts was the returned squeeze that he received.
Looking down sharply, Loki saw golden orbs staring up at him hazily. Hope soared through his being as he moved to wake the others with the news of Nanna's awakening, but Loki was stopped by Nanna tightening her hold on him and pulling his hand to her heart. She looked at him imploringly and murmured to him that she just wanted to sleep together like they used to when they were children. Loki's heart broke as he thought of those times and how Nanna always seemed to be in his bed, comforting him or vice versa, and the duo would just talk about anything under the stars.
"Alright," he mumbled as he laid back down beside her. Loki gulped before he questioned, "H-how are you feeling?"
"Honestly," Nanna stated quietly, "The best I have in the past month." A small smile adorned pale lips, and it made Loki want to cry again. He did not understand how she could say that after he arm had just been mutilated by something brought upon her by his own hand; he voiced that and Nanna looked at him. "Loki…you realize that this is the closest that we have been to each other—to returning to what we used to be—in what has seemed like forever for me. You recognize this, yes?"
"Yes." Loki answered softly, and he did. "I promise you that nothing like this will ever happen again; I swear upon my status as a mischief maker, Nan!" he so urgently wanted her to believe him and from her smile, Loki knew that she did. As the relief and happiness swept through his system, the need for sleep followed on its heels and Loki gave a yawn. It was not much later that he was deep in sleep, clutching at his best friend.
Nanna looked down on him with a smile and raised her free hand to pet his hair; with a small sigh, she scooted closer to him, gazing at his sleeping face, and moved to kiss him delicately on the lips. The kiss was more than a brush of the lips, but less than a peck; so momentary that Nanna could almost convince herself that she had never made the move in the first place. She focused her eyes upon Loki's appearance once more before she gave a soft smile and left herself fall into the clouds of slumber land herself.
The next morning, the parties returned to Asgard's castle where Frigga waited to hand out, by her opinion, a most befitting punishment for the utter childishness that occurred and resulted in Nanna's injuries. As the groups entered the castle walls, Frigga stared down her eldest son and Sif, whom sat beside him; both of the teens averted their eyes. Behind them, Nanna rode with Loki on his horse. She was seated in front of him and leaned back against his chest, her golden orbs were shimmering with contentment as she enjoyed being able to savor Loki's attention; she relished that they were able to be together again like they once were.
"You two," Frigga's voice echoed dangerous as she pointed to Thor and Sif. Both of their heads shot up to look at her with apprehension and wariness, the both of them knew that they would be facing a severe punishment. "Head to the training grounds."
"Yes, Mother." Thor acknowledge for himself and Sif before the duo gently kicked their horses into gear.
"Hello, Mother." Loki greeted as the group stopped and dismounted their horses. The blonde queen turned to her youngest son and gave a loving smile. After she had finished greeting her son, Frigga turned to Nanna and enveloped the girl into a large, warm hug; she murmured about Nanna's mother not being there due to Dagny being busy with venting her rage.
"Everyone thinks the one to be scared of is Father," Nanna laughed happily as she hugged the other woman back. "But no one has ever come out the same after facing shield maiden Dagny. It is in battle against her that a man sees Death looking him in the eye."
Frigga nodded in agreement, "Most assuredly, and I will have you know that I was extremely close to letting her battle Thor and Sif as their punishment." The queen told the young girl this information is a whisper filled with the same mischievous tone that Loki used most times. Nanna giggled and murmured back that she would have felt most sorry for the two older warriors had that actually happened. The two females continued to speak with one another, and Frigga looked down at the redhead with motherly love.
"What is it that we are going to do about Loki's hunt now?" Nanna murmured, looking to where Loki had been dragged by Odin. The Allfather was speaking with the younger prince, and Loki was looking up with a serious expression. It was obvious that the girl was feeling guilty about Loki's lack of killing some sort of beast.
"Worry not," Frigga spoke, patting the redhead on the back, "I believe that the boy is going to take one of your beasts, say it is his own for tonight and then go on and make his own kill."
"But!" Nanna cried, snapping her head to look to Loki.
"Nan, my Little Warrior," Vidar spoke as he stepped up behind her and pulled the young girl into his arms. Her father leaned in to murmur in her ear, "He is a Master of Lies, and to deal with the guilt that he is feeling at the moment for having been the cause of your injuries, Loki has agreed to take credit to keep the masses from blaming you for the failure of a young prince's first Hunt."
Upon hearing that news, Nanna looked absolutely furious but made no move to argue her point for she knew that it would make no difference. Loki was as stubborn as a mule at times and could not be shaken from a decision once he had made up his mind. Nanna looked up to her father and nodded, showing that she acknowledge the choice that had been made; the redhead then walked over to Loki and took his hand in her own while hiding it from most everyone around with her body. The prince looked to her in confusion and surprise, but Nanna only returned his glance with a warm smile.
The rest of the day was spent making sure that Nanna was steadily regaining her health, witnessing the punishment of Thor and Sif, and then being part of the feast showing off the beast that Loki had "killed." Sadly, the mirth that was felt at the party was not going to last for long as Dagny met with her only child. Surveying the damage, the warrior woman made inquiries as to how the fight went, what moves Nanna made during the battle against the creature; the conversation went on in such a fashion for several, long moments before Dagny finally said something of importance to her child.
"You are going to train." The mother stated simply, which only filled the young redhead with confusion. Nanna looked to her mother with wide eyes and shook her head as she tried to make sense of her mother's words.
"I already train, Mother?" Nanna mumbled, her golden eyes narrowed in question. "What more do you want me to do? Train with you?"
"Yes." Was the curt response. "Away from Asgard. We will travel to Midgard and train within the bowels of its terrain, you and I." Dagny glanced to where her husband was speaking with Odin over the cooked carcass of the creature that had been scavenged from the scene. Turning back to her daughter with sharp eyes, "Your father has already agreed that it will be for the best. You will be trained to be a true Shield Maiden, by myself while he deals with war and orders from the Allfather."
"But, Mother!" her child cried out in anger and bewilderment. "I am doing fine in my training! I have finally been allowed to wield Ragna!"
"Then Ragna will be taken with you to Midgard, but that is where you will be trained." Dagny growled, glaring at her insolent daughter, but in the back of her mind, the mother knew how her child felt. "If you are worried about Loki, fear not. The boy is stronger than he looks and soon he will be beginning studies that you will not be able to participate in that will consume his time."
Nanna looked broken as she listened to her mother's words; it could not be true, though! Loki had just been returned to her and now they were to be separated once more? Frustrated tears welled up in Nanna's golden gaze, a frown marred her lips, and small whimpers left her mouth as she tried to restrain enraged sobs—but the girl slowly nodded to her mother, agreeing to leave for Midgard. "When?" the young redhead gasped.
"Tomorrow morning." Dagny answered as she drew her daughter in for a hug.
As promised, the next morning both of the women began their trek to the Bifrost. Just as they were leaving the castle gates, there was a shout of Nanna's name; looking back, Dagny and Nanna were both surprised to see Thor making his way out to them at a sprint. His eyes were bright and confused.
"Where are you going?" he called, and Nanna made no attempt to answer. The redhead only dismounted her mare quickly and walked to meet with the blonde prince.
"Thor," she whispered brokenly, "I have a favor to ask of you…" when she received no reply, but he continued to look at her, searching in her own gaze for the answer he seeked, Nanna spoke again. "Keep Loki safe. If I return to find that he has been harmed in anyway, I will castrate you with a spoon." The tone used in the threat was sorrowfully dangerous; upon hearing it, Thor's blue eyes widened in shock as he realized that Nanna had no wish to leave but was being made to.
"Where are you going?" he inquired again, this time grabbing Nanna's shoulders and bending slightly to look her in the eye. Though he and the redhead had never been the best of friends, Thor could not find himself any sort of happiness to find that the girl was leaving the castle; whether the prince knew it or not, Nanna had been a constant in his life that would always splash reality in his face and keep him from being too arrogant in his position.
"Promise me, Thor." Nanna pushed, ignoring his question. She knew that if either or the princes were to know where she was going, they would attempt to come after her, and they could not do that. Both Thor and Loki were still too young and naïve to leave Asgard on their own. Nanna closed her hands into tight fists, not truly feeling the bite of her nails sinking into the flesh of her palms; she would not show the full amount of sorrow she felt, Thor would never let her leave the castle if he saw.
A chuckle passed through her lips as Nanna realized that she thought of Thor as an older brother, and the thought only made her golden eyes dull with grief. The blond was confused by the laughter that left Nanna and his grip tightened, he quickly ground out in frustration, "Why are you laughing?"
"Because I will miss you and as much as I will miss Loki, Thor." The redhead whispered, not able to project her voice any more than that. Thor's eyes widened as he slowly processed the confession; a frown tugged at his lips and his eyes seemed to look into an eternity that Nanna was incapable of seeing. While the Crowned Prince was busy in his mind, the young female warrior disentangled herself from his grasp and made her way back to her horse.
Dagny fought to keep her own tears at bay as she watched her daughter interact with Thor; the woman felt horrible for making her child leave, but she would not risk Nanna ever being that seriously wounded ever again. The training that she was about to endure would make Nanna one of the strongest warriors that Asgard had ever seen. When her daughter rode up to her side, Dagny reached out and pet Nanna's hair; the girl leaned into the touch and whimpered as tears sluggishly made their way down her face.
"Come, child." The shield maiden beckoned, "We make our way to Midgard."
"Yes, Mother." Nanna muttered brokenly as she followed Dagny to the Bifrost to meet with Heimdall. Closer and closer the pair rode, and the nearer the structure Nanna became, the more a fire seemed to light her eyes. The young teen reached up and rubbed at her tears, a determined expression settled onto her features and her posture straightened.
I will persevere…the mantra rang through her thoughts as she concluded that the faster she finished the training, would be the sooner that she returned to Loki. Looking back to Odin's castle, Nanna's gaze zeroed in on Loki's room; tears welled up against her will. The redhead gritted her teeth and growled to herself. With a deep breath, Nanna allowed herself one more look back to Loki—a lone tear made its way down her ruddy cheek as she broken crooned, "I'll return soon, Loki…wait for me."