Jane's POV
When I finally reach Odin's room, I hesitate for a moment, my mind beginning to fill with doubts. Is this really such a good idea? What if he misunderstands and thinks I'm making fun of him? Maybe I should just forget about it…
No. Stop it, Jane, you're being silly. Pull yourself together. I'm acting like a naughty schoolkid outside the principal's office. I can't back out now; after all, I spent a whole day wandering around London trying to find the ideal gift. And if that wasn't bad enough, I then had to put up with Darcy ranting at me about how I'd bought the wrong thing. I shudder as the memories come flooding back to me:
"You should have bought him a razor, Jane! Or some after-shave! Have you seen the beard on that guy?! Whoa!"
"I am not buying Odin a razor, after-shave, or anything else to do with male grooming, Darcy. Nearly every man on Asgard has a beard – he'd probably take it as an insult if I suggested he shave it off."
"What about a toaster, then?"
"Darcy, please be quiet, I'm trying to work."
No way. I've suffered way too much for this. Odin's getting his present, whether he likes it or not. And if he doesn't like it…well, what's the worst that could happen? It's not like his relationship with me could get any frostier than it already is. Hopefully.
Taking a deep breath, I reach out and start knocking on the door.
"Enter!" A voice booms from within.
Okay, here goes nothing.
Turning the handle, I open the door and let myself in. Odin is sat in front of an ornate desk on one side of the room. The surface of it is completely covered with scrolls of paper that are inscribed with bizarre symbols I don't even recognise. I hope I haven't interrupted him in the middle of something important.
Turning his head, he looks away from his work and turns his gaze toward me. His one remaining eye regards me with curiosity. "Miss Foster?"
"Hi. Um, Happy Naming Day. The feast was amazing."
He doesn't reply; he just continues to stare at me expectantly.
"We celebrate Naming Days on Earth…sorry, on Midgard too. Except we call them 'birthdays'. And part of our tradition surrounding birthdays involves us giving presents to the person who was born on that day. So I wanted to give you this." Lifting my hand, I hold up the wrapped-up box for him to see clearly.
His eye narrows in suspicion. "What is it?"
"Open it up and you'll see." Making my way over to him, I place the box in his hand and take a step back.
He studies it for a moment, his expression slightly perplexed. Maybe I shouldn't have used bright purple wrapping paper – it's probably making the culture shock even worse. After his brief examination of it, Odin begins to tear off the wrapping paper and it's not long before he reaches the white cardboard box underneath. Opening the lid, he peers down at the watch inside. I don't know how familiar he is with Earth technology, so I wait to see if he recognises what it is. No – his expression's completely blank. Looks like I'm going to have to explain it to him.
"It's a watch. We use it on Midgard to keep track of time. Oh, and also…" I reach forward and take the watch out of the box so he can get a better look at it, "…there's a strap here, so you can wear it on your wrist. I thought it might be useful."
There's a moment's silence.
"Very thoughtful," Odin eventually says, his voice completely monotone, "Put it over there for me, will you?" He gestures behind him to a dressing-table on the other side of the room.
"Oh. Okay." As I walk over to the dressing-table, I can feel a mixture of disappointment and annoyance bubbling up inside me – well, mainly annoyance. He clearly doesn't like it – why else would he immediately ask me to put it away? He didn't even ask to try it on. I don't know, maybe I'm expecting too much of him. After all, he's been alive for thousands of years; he's probably seen way more awe-inspiring things than a watch. But still, this thing wasn't cheap. He could've at least pretended to be interested.
Reaching the table, I'm about to put the watch down on the surface of it when I notice a jewellery box tucked away towards the back. I frown. Did Odin want me to leave the watch on the table or did he want me to put it in the box? I guess it might look a bit rude if I just leave it on the table for him to put away. Better to be safe than sorry. Grabbing the box, I pull it across the table towards me and open the lid.
Oh. Wow. This thing is a treasure trove! I've never seen so many beautiful pieces of jewellery. One necklace in particular catches my eye. Placing the watch down, I take hold of the necklace and lift it out of its compartment. It has a gold chain, decorated with blue gemstones – three on either side – leading down to a sparkling sapphire right in the centre. There are four tiny diamonds surrounding the outside of the sapphire, glinting brightly at me as I hold the necklace up to the light. It's breath-taking – and so delicate.
This must have belonged to Frigga. I feel a stab of remorse as I remember her and what she did for me. I never got the chance to thank her for saving my life. Odin and Thor must miss her so much…
"What do you think you're doing?!" A voice yells from behind me.
I jump in shock and, as I do so, the necklace slips from my grasp. My hands flail as I desperately try to catch it, but it's too late. The necklace falls to the ground and, with an ear-splitting crash, the sapphire smashes in two, causing the diamonds to break away from it and start spinning across the floor of Odin's room.
I gasp in horror and, overwhelmed with guilt, I turn around to face Odin. He's not looking at me; his eyes are fixed on the remnants of the necklace that are scattered across the floor.
"I'm so sorry…"
"That was her favourite necklace…" He utters quietly. In that moment, he sounded nothing like the stern, powerful king I knew him as. He sounded so grief-stricken; vulnerable, almost. Oh, what have I done? I stand there awkwardly for a moment before tentatively reaching out to place a hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him. However, no sooner have my fingers brushed the sleeve of his garment than his head snaps up and his single eye glares at me in pure hatred. I snatch my hand away and stumble backwards, my back colliding with the side of the dressing-table. I've never seen so much venom in someone's gaze.
"You clumsy Midgardian fool! Why can't you just leave things alone?!" He roars.
"I'm so, so sorry! I didn't..."
"Save your breath, your apology is meaningless to me!" His face is flushed red with rage and he looks like he can hardly contain himself. For the first time since we met, I'm genuinely afraid of him.
How could I have screwed things up so badly?! When I came here tonight, I wanted to try to improve my relationship with Odin. Now he hates me more than ever. And, to be honest, who can blame him?
Overcome with guilt and humiliation, I can feel my eyes beginning to water with tears. Hastily, I kneel down to the floor and start to pick up the shattered pieces of the necklace, partly to hide the fact that I'm crying, partly to try and make amends.
"No, leave it, just leave it!"
I can feel his hand take hold of my arm, gripping it so tightly that it's painful. I yelp (much to my embarrassment) as he hauls me up from the ground and on to my feet – Asgardian or not, he's unbelievably strong for an old man. Letting go of my arm, he shoves me in the direction of the door, snarling, "Now get out of my sight! And if you ever touch my mother's things again, not even Thor will be able to protect you from me!"
Rubbing my (now incredibly sore) arm, I hurry towards the door, eager to get out of here. I'm so wrapped up in trying to leave that it takes a moment for me to realise the significance of what Odin just said. Lifting my hand to wipe the tears away from my eyes, I stop in my tracks as the meaning of his words suddenly sinks in.
"Your mother's things?" I repeat, baffled. I whirl around to face him, just in time to catch sight of a stunned, slightly worried expression on his face. However, a moment later the expression vanishes, replaced by one of apparent distress.
"My wife's. My wife's things." Dipping his head slightly, he runs his hand across his brow, sighing, "My memory, I'm afraid, is not what it used to be. I find I get my words confused…"
No, that's not right. Odin may be a lot of things, but he's certainly not senile. Thor's always telling me how sharp his father's mind is. So clearly this isn't Odin, it's an imposter - he meant it when he referred to Frigga as his mother. But Frigga and Odin only had two children, so it could only be…
"Loki?" I utter, before I can stop myself. I'm about to wince at how ridiculous I'm being (Because really, how can it be Loki?! I saw him die!) and demand that the intruder tell me who he really is, when I notice Odin's, or "Not-Odin's", reaction. He's doing a good job of keeping his cool and he seems more surprised than worried, but I'm sure I can see a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. It's so subtle that I wouldn't have seen it unless I was looking for it, but it's definitely there.
"Why do you talk such nonsense? Loki died on Svartelheim…"
"No, you are Loki, I can tell! What are you doing here?!"
In an instant, his gaze darkens and it's almost as if I can see Loki beneath the disguise, his menacing and calculating glare peering out from behind Odin's eye.
"I must admit you're clever for a Midgardian. Unfortunately you're a little too clever for your own good," he growls, advancing toward me.
Oh no. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? Spinning round, I race towards the door, but before I can reach it, it slams itself shut and I hear the lock click into place. Looking back over my shoulder, I see Loki, still in Odin's form, smirk triumphantly.
"One of the many advantages of my magic, Miss Foster, is that I rarely need to chase after people. Why bother when I can open and close a door with a simple wave of my hand?"
He's only a couple of feet away from me now. I can't call out for help; most of the guards have been given the night off, so no-one will hear me. I'd just be wasting my breath. My only hope is to try to find some other way out of here. Maybe there's a window somewhere?
As Loki closes in on me, I leap to one side and dash past him, heading to the other side of Odin's chamber. However, I barely make it half-way across the room before his hand catches hold of my wrist, rooting me to the spot. Twisting my body around, I attempt to throw a punch at him with my spare hand, but he grabs that one too, effectively trapping me.
"Let me go!"
He chuckles mockingly. "You have spirit. Is that why Thor's so fond of you? Or is it simply because you're meddlesome, just like he is? Both of you constantly interfering in things that don't concern you…"
Despite my fear of Loki, I feel a spark of anger flare up in me. "Leave Thor out of this!" I snap. Ignoring what my parents taught me about never hitting an elderly person (this is Loki, after all), I lift my leg and manage to kick him squarely in the stomach. Crying out in pain, he pushes me away from him with such force that I'm knocked off my feet. As I fall backwards, I feel a terrible pain surge through my skull as my head collides with something. The room around me is spinning and suddenly everything starts to fade away into black…
Loki's POV
Clutching my stomach, I gasp slowly, trying to regain some of the breath that little Midgardian shrew kicked out of me. I'll see to it that she regrets her actions later.
Feeling some of my strength returning, I raise my head, half expecting to see Jane engaged in some futile attempt to escape. However, the sight that greets me takes me completely by surprise. Rather than racing around the bed-chamber, Jane is lying motionless on the floor beside the desk. I frown in suspicion. Could she have fainted? Midgardian women are weaker than their Asgardian counterparts, so they may be prone to that sort of thing. But then again, this is the same woman who has been confronted by a Destroyer and an army of Dark Elves without so much as swooning, so it seems unlikely that she would pass out in a situation such as this. Perhaps she's trying to deceive me, to trick me into lowering my guard. Well, if that's what she's playing at, she won't succeed – I am a master of deception, I'll see through her in an instant.
Removing my hands from my stomach, I stand up straight and make my way over to her, watching closely for any signs of movement. She remains completely still. When I reach her side, I raise my foot and prod her in the back with the tip of my toes, but she shows no reaction. Clearly she's been knocked unconscious – she must have struck her head against the side of the desk when I pushed her away from me. How remarkably fortunate! It will be much easier to deal with her now.
It takes me little time to decide what to do with her. When I took Odin's place, I knew there was a danger that I may one day be discovered- I am not a fool. I devised several ways to protect my identity if anyone should learn the truth. Now that these events have finally come to pass, it is time for me to put my plans into action. Bending down, I slide one of my arms under Jane's legs and the other arm under her shoulder blades before standing up, hoisting her inert body up with me. I quickly utter the incantation for one of my transportation spells and smirk as our two bodies become engulfed in green light. This pesky woman will be in for quite an unpleasant surprise when she eventually wakes…
Author's note: So, there we go, chapter two. I've already shared this with one reviewer, but I'd like to make it known to all: the first few updates on this story will be pretty quick because I've already written three or four chapters. However, I'm still in the process of writing this story and it's going to be a pretty long one, so there may be a longer wait for updates in the future. I'll still try to update as quickly as I can, though.
Having said that, reviews do make me work faster *naughty grin* I love feedback!