Winter of Yggdrasil

Chapter 6

Rowan took his time to see what Kenna had grown up to be. She was still that mostly solitary creature he remembered, keeping to a small circle of friends. She still spent her time in the library or wandering the gardens. She had adopted her mother's disposition and together they were a calm force to be reckoned with. It was left to them to keep the peace in diplomatic meetings and to exert the needed pressure to get things done.

But there were days when Kenna dropped the calm mask and got along with her brother. She'd complained about her rude awakening to Rowan one morning. She and Garik had to get up early for a meeting and Ebony had struggled to wake them. She'd thrown a bucket of ice water on Garik and, having no Frost Giant blood, he hadn't taken it well. Kenna had reacted quickly, turning the water to gas and rolling over to sleep. But Ebony had been prepared with a second bucket and threw the water right after the first. Apparently, Loki hadn't fared any better.

Rowan watched with a smile as the three victims gathered in a courtyard after their duties. Their black heads were bent together as they conspired against the goddess of Hope. Finally, they disappeared and Ebony soon walked into the courtyard. She stopped to talk to Kat and a visiting Marci when a whistle split the air. Her friends stepped back on cue and everyone looked up. Ebony was suddenly drenched in icy water. She screamed and looked up, shivering already.

Garik and Kenna leaned over a balcony and laughed, congratulating each other with high fives. Ebony was still glaring when Loki stepped from the shadows in his natural form. He hugged her suddenly and she screamed again.

"No! You're freezing! Get off!" His skin turned pale again and he stepped away, grinning. Ebony glared at all three of them before finally smiling and shaking her head. "Alright, I've learned my lesson."

Kenna had teleported with Garik down to the courtyard. The two of them stuck their tongues out at her and ran. Ebony turned on Loki. He only grinned at her, thinking she wouldn't get him back. But Rowan saw the blue tint floating around her hands. She summoned the bit of magic Loki had taught her. She pressed her palms to his chest and a spark lit over his shirt. He yelped and pushed her back, startled. She laughed.

"Regret teaching me now, huh?" She smirked and left to change. Loki rubbed his chest and shook his head, running after her. She yelped when he swung her into his arms and carried her away.

.............

Kenna didn't often let her composure slip but the times when it did, Rowan always smiled at the light in her eyes. She was always calm and collected but he would often sit in on her studies with Loki and that would all melt away. She and her father would practice by trying to outwit the other and it was often a long and rigorous battle. Kenna lost all composure and gave way to boundless energy and broad smiles. Their practice room was always filled with playful teasing and laughter. She would go off to the library afterwards and Rowan would join her.

He had, nonetheless, slowly come to accept that he wasn't her best friend. While they were growing closer together with each day and their relationship was gradually changing to something warmer, there was still someone else in her life. The Other was always the first person she went to when things went wrong. Rowan remembered the days when he and Kenna used to be afraid of the man but, after an attack on the palace that left Kenna distanced from her friends and family, Merek had been her only companion. Now, after years without Rowan, she depended on the Other more than anything else.

While he understood why she was so drawn to him, he didn't understand why the man reciprocated. He'd asked her one night, when they'd snuck out to watch a meteor shower. Kenna had lain beside him with her head in his lap and her body perpendicular to his.

He looked down as there seemed to be a lull in the flash of lights across the sky. "Kenna?" She glanced at him. "You and Merek... You're really close." She nodded. "Why? I mean... I don't know. He acts like he's just your servant but s'like you're the most important person in the world to him."