A Love For Eternity (LokixReader)

Chapter Six

(Your Pov)

One, two, shield!

You open your eyes, finding nothing there. As usual. But determined to follow every lead, you toss a coin in front of you.

It shines through the air, landing on the floor with a thud.

No shield.

"Ughhhh." You groan, running a hand through your hair. This is why you hate magic. Not all of it, but the part where it's chaos energy. Unpredictable.

For hours now you've been trying to create a copy of your shield from before, unable to generate anything more than a small flash of light. The book you received from Loki has long been lost, burnt away when some village mob burned down your house. As what has happened with most of your belongings, from books to beds to jewelry. And after so much time lost, you expected those things to be gone forever.

A knock on your door startles you from your thoughts. "Y/N? You good?" Tony peeked his head inside, as you looked up in surprise. Tony was quite the mortal, but he was okay enough in your book. You were more than acquaintances, but to call each other friends might be a stretch. Teammates, then. As it should be.

"Yes, I'm fine." You sigh, standing up from your seat on the floor. It was now the day after the mission, and you were spending quite a lot of time trying to recreate your shield.

"Great!" A smile launched across his face, as he fished out an item from his pocket. He flipped it out so the body would take form. "I found you a magician!" In a swift motion he placed the item on your head, a pointy hat of sorts.

You swiped off the hat, looking it over. It was a costume quality witch hat. "Really?"

"Yes! And we can go as soon as you're ready."

Your eyes met his in suspicion. "A real wizard, then?"

Tony pinched his lips, rolled his eyes, but managed to break through his hesitant behavior. "Yep. Best wizard in Manhattan."

"Uh-huh." You doubted how 'real' this wizard could be, at least on the magic scale of things. You needed someone of greater power than yourself to learn from. But one lead was better than nothing, surely. "How about now? I need a break anyway."

*

What should you expect from a magician's sanctuary? Magic, perhaps? Well, that's what you felt the moment you walked into the sanctum. That, and an overwhelming awkwardness from not having an appointment.

Tony had driven you thus far, and when he parked in front of a building with a glass dome atop it, you started looking forward to this meeting. He assured you that's what it was. A meeting between magic-users. Who had agreed to meet.

But when their voice echoed through the lobby, you knew Tony had lied. "Y/N L/N." 

Oh shit.

"It's been a long time."

Shit shit shit shit shit.

You turn around, facing 'The Ancient One' standing atop her staircase. "This is not my fault! Tony didn't tell me who the magician was." You quickly blurt out, hoping to cover your ass. Remember how you had met other witches and wizards during your studies? Well, here was one of them. And she hated when you showed up uninvited. She said it made her feel old.

And making the Ancient One feel old is not a good idea.

But in your announcement, it seemed you caught Tony by surprise. "You know her?"

Of course you did. She was the one who tracked you down when you first started your magic journey. Back then you had hid your spells well enough before she could read them, but now it was inevitable. She knew you're immortal.

"Y-yes." You took a breath, deciding to take on this situation head first. You knew she would still be alive, but it never occurred to you that you would have to share a city with her. "And we have a lot to catch up on. I will see you in an hour, Tony." You turn to your chauffeur, who was grumbling about how he wasn't exactly that.

Once he was outside, the One turned to you. "I am surprised you're still alive."

"And I'm surprised you're still bald." You laugh, as she descends the stairs to give you a hug. "I see you are now Sorcerer Supreme. Congratulations!" Your relationship with her was a complicated one, but one could say it mimicked that of one between sisters. Chaotic, magic, near-immortal sisters. She was only in her 600's, and aged as if she was mortal. She had given you the second book of magic you ever owned, with a promise to join her 'cult' until your death.

Unfortunately this promise was quite literally short-lived, as you died from a spell gone wrong a few years later. But it was enough time to learn some advanced basics, more than Loki's book could provide. And you technically had fulfilled your duty to her, going on your way once ressurrected.

"Thank you, dear." She smiled, collecting her hands thoughtfully. "I see life has been treating you well?"

"Yeah. Recently, at least." You joke, taking a sigh. She expected an explanation, no doubt. "I'm sorry I never told you what the spells were."

Her brows creased in concern. "I don't suppose that's why you've returned?"

"Not all of it. But I do wish you could've known." You let your illusions drop for a moment, and you watched as she read your spells.

"Hide them. Now." You looked over in confusion, but her caution was contagious. You replaced the illusions to mask your true immortality. "There is too much temptation surrounding your history. You must be careful who you let yourself be known unto."

"Okay. Sorry." Well, so much for confiding in her. She wanted nothing to do with your immortality. Which really is for the best, you supposed. The less people who know, the better. "But I'm actually here with a request, if you don't mind me asking."

She nodded for you to continue. You may be the oldest being on Earth, but you could still have respect for the hierarchy she's worked so hard to maintain.

"I am looking for the next step in my practices. You wouldn't happen to have access to intermediate studies, would you?" You met her eyes in earnest, hopeful she would forgive and forget the past. You also knew better than to agree to any more 'until the death' scenarios, promising to return the book whenever she wanted. Last time you had asked for tutoring sessions, to which the trade result was a declaration of alliance. But you wanted to treat this place as a library, borrowing means of knowledge for the occasional aid or act of service. A partnership, not cult activity.

She smiled, patting your shoulder. "We have quite the collection, actually."

*

"Ta-da!" You shout gleefully as you skip down the steps of the Sanctum. Tony stood by the car, looking up at your sudden noise. He seemed quite annoyed by your insistence of privacy, and you knew he would grill you on every detail. You'd only been at the tower a few weeks now, not nearly long enough to gain anyone's undying trust.

Heh. Undying.

"What's that?"

A mischievous smile crawls along your lips. "A book."

Stark scoffed. "I knew that. What's it about?"

You held it proudly in your arms, not stopping for him to sneak a peek at it. Tony lied to you about visiting a wizard. The least he could was play along with your game to make up for it. "If you ask me a dumb question, you'll get a dumb answer. And by the way, the Ancient One was not expecting us. Or any visitors, for that matter."

He laughed, opening the car door for you. "Ancient One? How old is she, then?"

"None of your business. You shouldn't ask a woman's age, Anthony." You send a smirk his way, as your chauffeur grumbled. "But this is a book of magic, and I now have free access to the Sanctum's library."

Even though he was in the car, Stark hadn't started it. He glanced between you and the thick volume in your hands. "From what, your incredible charm?"

"It's a partnership, oh Mr. Businessman." You roll your eyes, "Now let's get going. I've gotta start reading this!"