Loki's Child (In Editing)

Chapter 27

        Kari wakes up abruptly, sweating and panting. A nightmare of the Other has entered her mind, and once again frightens her awake. The princess shakily gets to her feet, passing a sleeping Artemis, and heading to Loki's room.

"F-Father." She whispers when she enters, and taps his arm softly. He awakes with a groan, and notices his scared daughter. "Kari, what is wrong?" He asks, immediately sitting up and moving over so she can get on the bed. She does, and buries her face in his chest, crying.

"Th-the Other. H-he k-keeps coming to k-kill me o-over and o-over again. Th-then he k-kills you." Kari stutters, tears still streaming down her face. "Sh, angel, sh. Do not worry. He cannot hurt you here. You are safe with me. I will never let them touch you again." Loki guarantees, running his hand through her thick black hair.

When he heard Ronan the Accuser killed the Other, the Asgardian was overjoyed, believing his punishment was over. But he should have known that the Other is different from most creatures, and can only be killed by a stab to the heart or neck. Breaking his bones does nothing.

"He says he w-will not stop until I d-die. Or the realms will b-burn. He says it is either m-me or e-everyone else." Kari whimpers, tearing him from his thoughts. "The realms will not burn. Asgard has an entire army standing strong, as does every other realm in the universe." Loki soothes. "But so do they. Father, I saw the army in my nightmare, it is huge! Their forces might be stronger than ours." Kari finally stops stuttering, but her fear is still strong. Loki can see it in her eyes.

"Angel, I know you are afraid, and I am aware that the Other's allies are strong. But we will get through this. You should not think about the war. Instead think about how much you have learned since you got here. Your magic has grown, your skills as a warrior are impressive- you beat the sons of Tyr in battle, as well as the Hefna -and you have learned so much since you got here." Loki tries to keep her mind off the tortures of what is yet to come, and Kari lets him. She needs a distraction anyway.

"When this war ends, would you like to cause some mischief with me?" Loki offers, and Kari gives him a skeptical look. "Is that not how I was kicked out in the first place?" Kari questions. "Yes, but I highly doubt they will take you away again. And Odin cannot be too annoyed if we only cause mischief every once in a while." He persuades.

Kari grins. "Okay then. It does sound fun." She states, and hugs him. "Thank you, father." "Of course, Kari." Loki smiles, kissing her forehead. Kari heads back to her room, where Artemis is still sleeping, and she gets in her bed. The Other's words echo in her head, telling her that she can only save Asgard if she sacrifices herself.

Loki once told her how powerful magic can invade your mind, mess with you in your sleep. Kari did not tell her father, but she knows that is what the Other is doing to her. "They are not just nightmares," She whispers, "They are messages."

Kari silently wonders if what the Other tells her is true. If she gives herself up, would he leave Asgard, Midgard, and all the other realms alone? The young teen questions this as the sun rises, too afraid of going back to sleep. Artemis wakes up about an hour after dawn, quickly adjusting to Asgard's time zone. "Morning." The mortal girl greets, getting up quickly. "Morning." Kari responds tiredly, but offers a smile anyway.

"How long were you up?" Artemis asks, immediately recognizing her state of exhaustion. "I do not really recall the exact time I woke up. I believe it was around one." Kari tries to remember. "Of course you were." Artemis sighs. "Tonight you will get your sleep though, right?" She questions, staring at Kari, expecting the truth.

"I shall try." The Asgardian shrugs. "No, you'll actually sleep tonight, okay?" Artemis pushes. After living with Kari for so many years, she knows how many buttons she must push to get her to say yes. "Fine." Kari rolls her eyes, deciding to just give in to her friend's antics.

"I'm guessing you went to your dad again because of Misstiheim terrors?" "Yes." The daughter of mischief sighs. "How come you don't just tell him about the entrance? I mean, then he could gather the army and finish burning the place." Artemis states, and Kari smiles a little. "Because my father might not gather the army. He might go alone, and I cannot risk him sacrificing himself." There is a hardness in her voice that clearly tells Artemis to drop it.

"So what do we do today?" Artemis asks, getting the hint and changing the topic. "I have no clue. Normally I train with Lady Sif in a few hours, but she is busy preparing soldiers for the war. If you wish, we could take Himmelsk and head up to the mountains. It is beautiful up there at this time of year." Kari offers. "What's Himmelsk?" Artemis wonders in confusion. "Not a what, a she. Himmelsk is my horse." Kari informs her friend.

"Oh. Alright. That sounds really fun!" The Midgardian smiles, causing Kari to smile back. The two get dressed and head to the stables, where the Asgardian girl politely requests for a stable boy to ready her horse.

When Himmelsk is saddled and prepared, the sorceress hops on, and helps Artemis mount the gentle animal. The two take off into the mountains, trying to forget about the war that could result in the downfall of both their home worlds. Kari and Artemis dismount Himmelsk when they enter the snowy part of the mountain.

The snow is everywhere, from the ground to the trees, and it reminds Kari of her birthday with Loki. She smiles for a moment, before Artemis chucks a snowball at her.

Kari makes a baffled noise, before looking at the tree her friend was standing under, or more accurately, the snowy branch right above her. The raven-haired girl flicks her wrist, and snow comes crashing down on the blonde, who shrieks in surprise.

"No fair!" Artemis whines. "Life is not fair." Kari retorts smirking mischievously.

The day goes by rather quickly, the two friends spending most of their time in the mountains, but some of it was spent in the daughter of Loki's room, the two of them simply talking about random topics.

Now however, Artemis is asleep, and Kari has just woken up from a nightmare. The Other has once again penetrated her mind, telling her about how he will destroy her, Loki, Asgard, Midgard, and the other realms. But this time, he made an offer. "Turn yourself in," He said, "and no one shall be harmed. Not even your father."

The young sorceress sits on her bed, still breathing heavily, and contemplating the Other's deal. She knows she has no way of knowing if the Other is telling the truth, but she may not have a choice. A sliver of a chance, or no chance at all? The former seems better than the latter in Kari's mind.

"He may not keep his promise. He might force me to watch my father die, or force my father to watch me die." She whispers to herself, and then buries her head in her hands, tears forming in her eyes. "I just want out." She snaps quietly to herself, and starts to cry. Out of pain, frustration, sadness, anger, and most of all, fear. The fear that an entire universe will be destroyed because of her, along with so many innocent people.

The princess continues to consider the deal, and believes she has finally made the right choice.

Kari wants to protect Asgard, and her father. She will do whatever it takes.

Even if it means giving herself up.