Darkness Reigns (Loki x OC)

Chapter 21

The Past

I noticed for the past week, Loki was acting strange towards me. I asked him if he wanted to study sorcery with me but he would make an excuse every time I asked. In the library, he would ignore me or claim he needed to meet with his mother when I tried to sit with him. I had plans to ask Loki for help but of course, he was nowhere to be seen. Instead of wasting the day in search of Loki, I decided to go to the meadow by the lake the practice my sorcery.

To protect me from the light chill, I wore my winter cloak over my dress but left the hood off. The wool cloak was white but was dipped into a golden peach blend to match the mink fur that was lined on the hood and the opening of the cloak.

The meadow had a light layer of snow. I was still able to see bits of grass poking out in the surface but there weren't any flowers. As for the lake, it was frozen but the smallest amount of pressure would cause the ice to break. Because of the snow, I was hoping that Allfather would announce in the Hall of Asgard to begin the Winter Solstice celebration. Yesterday, the snow didn't last past the afternoon. From the looks of it, the snow was lasting better today and it covered more ground on Asgard.

On a log, I placed three rocks on top of it. I sat back and concentrated on trying to pile the three rocks together, using my powers. The first rock lifted but I noticed it shook as I put the rock on top of the center rock. Once the rock was balanced, I used my power to balance the third rock on top. The final rock shook more than the last but I tried to keep control and balance it. However, once the rocks touched, it tumbled down.

Grimacing, I decided to use my power to have three of the rocks levitate while I used my other hand to lift two more rocks. My eyes closed as I continued to concentrate but when two large hands grasped my shoulders, I jumped.

"Thor!" I scoffed, nudging him as he laughed. "Don't do that! What if I accidentally hit you with the rocks?"

"A few pebbles won't hurt me." He kissed my cheek before he sat next to me. "What brings you out here?"

"I just wanted some time alone to practice. I haven't had a lesson with your mother for a while. I should ask her to teach me again."

"Tricks can be useful in battle but not as reliable as a weapon. From what I understand, sorcery takes a lot of concentration and stamina." Thor brushed my hair behind my ear. "If you get injured during battle, your magic will only weaken you further the more it's used."

"Well, that's why I want to master both. I need to learn magic to prepare myself for my obligations as the future keeper of the Staff of Hodr. On top of that, I could use sorcery as a last resort. Our enemies wouldn't expect it. It would be an advantage."

Thor shrugged, "I suppose that's why Loki enjoys using it, along with his usual tricks."

"Have you spoken to him today?"

"I did," Thor rested his head on my lap. "He seemed to be in a merrier mood than the last time I spoke to him."

"He's still in a sour mood? It can't be because of whatever happened between Skadi and him, could it?"

"I'm not sure."

"You don't want to ask him? Perhaps, he could use your counsel on the matter."

Thor shrugged, "If he wants to talk to me about it, he will come to me. If he doesn't, then he doesn't. Loki won't share secrets with anyone unless he chooses to or if it's for his benefit." He patted my thigh. "Come, we have been summoned by my father."

"Really? What for?"

Thor grinned, showing off his pristine white teeth. "All I know is we've been summoned to the Hall of Asgard."