A day and a half of sitting alone in a small, sparsely furnished, room had done nothing to shake the sorry-for-herself mentality Kari currently harbored. Fandral had dropped by to say something but she hadn't really listened and instead said some rather hurtful things until he'd walked away mutely. Two other women – or aliens, as she'd come to think of them - had poked there heads in but did little more than drop off some clothing and fruit with pointed stares of misgiving. She'd ignored the clothing, eaten some of the recognizable fruit and tried not to sniff her two day worn clothing with vomit stains.
By the increase of light streaming in through the solo window behind her, Kari was reasonably sure it was somewhere around the afternoon time. Things did look rather nice outside, if a bit over-dramatically sparkly. She wondered how long they were going to keep her imprisoned here, her memory filling in that answer with a mock Odin voice of 'forever'. She groaned, knees rising to meet her forehead on the bed and thumped the mattress out of frustration. Poor Griffin, he was probably mewling at the front door by now wondering where she was.
"Stupid asgard." Kari growled, hopping off the bed with some enthusiasm and moving with some determination towards the door.
On the other side, in the ridiculously over-sized corridor, was the same guard that had been hovering outside her door since yesterday. He eyed her; weary and dismissive at the same instance, assuming she was going to use the toilet again -her plans, however, were not about to meet his expectation anytime soon. Breaking out into a run, Kari partially skidded along the overly polished floor thinking she was going to make some sort of daring escape back to earth. The guard was barely two steps behind, jogging at a long-legged and comfortable pace – this was much more interesting than waiting to watch her go to pee during the night.
Not being the most athletic creature on planet earth, it hadn't taken Kari long to finally stop, collapse to her knees and wheeze at the floor for oxygen. The guard came to a halt somewhere behind her, unfazed by the exercise and gave a questioning look behind them to the spot they had come from and finally finished – she hadn't even made it to the end of the corridor.
"Are you going to take me back now?" Kari glared at the guard acting as if he didn't see her. "I just want to go home, why can't you people understand that!" She was standing now, shouting at someone who didn't care. "Why aren't you saying anything? Hello?" she began waving a hand in front of his face, finally getting a response in the form of a dangerous and pointed look. "Well, I'm just going to- to go over here then. If you're not stopping me."
Still unsure, she kept her gaze fixed on him and took several steps towards the end of the corridor – he continuing to follow two steps behind. He just seemed to be stalking her - in a very intimidating manner – and saying nothing about her choice of direction. Perhaps he thought she couldn't possibly make it out of such a convoluted twist of corridors and rooms?
Having found a particularly ornate looking door, Kari gave the guard another questioning look before tentatively pushing it open. It lead to what looked like an old library, though a bigger collection of paper-shaped things she'd never seen before. Tiptoeing inside – trying to be as quiet as she recalled libraries were supposed to be – she worked her way along a bookshelf much to high for her to ever reach the top of without a ladder. She thought of asking the guard if he'd let her stand on his shoulders to get a better look but looking behind her, discovered he was still standing out in the corridor and looking bored. Maybe he was allergic to paper.
Kari hummed curiously as she peered at text she couldn't read and delved deeper into the labyrinth of books. There was an open space towards what seemed to be the centre of the room and someone wandering around drawing on the ground with chalk. She frowned at the scene, coming closer with folded arms ready.
"Should you be doing that?" She whispered in an accusing tone.
The man stopped what he was doing, looking up at her with a caught-in-the-act look on his face then went right back to his graffiti art.
"Hey! Stop that!" She tried again.
"Why are you whispering?" Loki, mimicking her quietness, finally responded.
"This is a library, you're supposed to whisper." She whispered angrily. "And you're not supposed to do that."
"Who told you that?"
"There's signs."
"I do not see any signs."
"Well… why are you whispering then?"
"I thought we were conspiring." He shrugged finishing his floor design and stepping into the centre. "I suggest you stand back." He swatted a hand in her direction, voice returned to a normal level.
"Why? What are yo-" Kari froze as the drawing on the floor lit up and Loki snapped out of reality with a 'pop'. "The hell?"
Stumbling forward – wrapped in a blanket of shock and disbelief – she curved her neck, torso following the movement, until she was bent over and blinking at where a Loki and his artwork had once been. Her brain had almost completely shut down on her by this point, this was not right, libraries were supposed to transport you to otherworld's figuratively not literally. That puking feeling was beginning to settle in her stomach again as she turned and high-tailed it out of there.
Her knees were against her chest as she precariously balanced on a bench and watched the shadows of a tree – rocked by the wind – on the path below. She'd managed to find an archway, leading to a large walled in garden, after fleeing the library at another run. Somewhere over to her left, the hounding guard had taken up residence on another bench enjoying the sun like a dosing cat.
Kari let out a deep, despondent, sigh as she stretched her legs out to meet the floor and readjusted into a not so uncomfortable position. A delicate hand suddenly appeared on her shoulder, her eyes fixed on the appendage until a voice accompanied the scene with a sense of relief.
"I had wondered when we would see you again." Frigga walked around the bench until able to sit besides the woman. "Here, for you."
A long stem was placed within Kari's uncertain grip, the end of which topped with a cluster of small star shaped white flowers. She frowned, humming her curiosity as her arm guided the offering to her nose for a sniff.
"A flower of hope." Frigga smiled at the way the other woman held the gift at the base much like a child with a wooden sword. "I thought you could use a little."
"Thank you." Kari nodded. "But I'd much rather go home."
"I know, dear." She nodded giving the girls free hand a squeeze. "But you must learn to trust in the allfather's judgment. He is usually right."
"Hmm." Kari chewed her lip then looked sidelong at the guard snoring gently on his perch. "Why… why is he following me?"
"To keep you from harm. There are dangers here you are not used to."
"Then it isn't safe here for me."
"The danger is from ignorance not others." Frigga chuckled. "Once you have acclimatized to our ways here, your companion," she inclined her head towards the guard, "will no longer be needed."
"What if I don't want to acclimatize?" She scowled at her thighs, plucking at loose threads and dirt. "My life, my home, my friends, it… it's me. It's everything that makes me, me. And you want me to dress like you, talk like you, do whatever it is you do here and that's just not who I am."
"I understand." Frigga nodded wrapping her arm around Kari's shoulder for a reassuring hold. "Perhaps you should speak to Odin, request to bring a few things from your old life to bridge the gap between the new."
"I can do that?"
"You are proclaimed a citizen of Asgard and he your king."
"I-hmmm." She cringed a little at that answer already having a queen to look up to back home in England but before she could think on it further, Frigga, had already risen, woken the guard from his slumber and indicated he should take Kari to the throne room for an audience.