Loki's P.O.V
"Your hair is getting long." Said Frigga in a hushed giggle, running her fingers through the raven locks on my scalp. I gazed up at the auburn sky, the moons hanging low during the sunset. Birds were chirping, the slightest breeze moving the vines that twirled around the pillars surrounding us. I could hear the faint battle cries and groans below the balcony where the warriors trained. Peering down through the stone barrier, I saw them. "Mother, when will I be able to train to be a warrior like Dad?" I asked, feeling her hands stop mid braid.
There was a small pause when the birds stopped chirping and the wind seemed to freeze. "Well," She started, seemingly in a struggle for words. "You're still very young." She said simply, her fingers weaving through my hair once more. "Hand me another rose, darling." She spoke softly. I reached before me, taking another plucked rose from the pile and handing it to her. "Why does Thor get to train?" I asked in most innocence, staring up at the moons.
"Oh, honey. He's older than you." I frowned at her reply. "Not by much." I said quietly in defeat. Just as I said so, foot steps approached closer on the cobblestone pavement. "Mother!" Thor called, his voice young and strong. She seized at her movements once more, turning to see a dirtied and muddy Thor. I turned in his direction, seeing his hair was long and tousled, small pieces caked with mud. He had dirt smudged on his cheek, and his knees were burned pink with scratches lining his shins.
"Oh, honey!" She said through a gasp, pinning my hair in a quick hold before rushing to his aid. "What happened?" She asked in a frantic voice, wiping at the smudges of dirt on his face. "I'm a warrior!" He shouted with great triumph, raising a fist in the air. I smiled in admiration, wondering how it will be when I'm a warrior some day. He looked to me, his smile widening. "Brother, you should have seen me! Father said I needed far more training before I'm ready to go out onto the battlefield, but the others said I did well."
"Go call the maids and have them wash you, okay?" She asked, patting Thor on the top of his head. He gave a pout, but followed her orders. "Can Loki and I play in the gardens once I'm cleansed?" Asked Thor, receiving a nod in reply from Frigga before he ran down the stone halls. "That child." She said softly in a sigh, seating herself back behind me as her fingers worked in my hair. "I'm almost done, darling." She chimed in softly, fixating another flower into my hair.
Mother had always done my hair like this. She couldn't do it to Thor because he would only ruin it after a days play in the fields or practising his battle techniques. I stayed by her side through out most the day, only leaving to go in the gardens or on an adventure with Thor. She fastened the last flower into my hair, sitting back with a happy sigh. "There." I turned to her, "Do you have the stone?" I asked. She handed me the thin, cold stone she carried with her at all times.
It held a strong reflection as if it were a mirror itself. I held it back, catching the small pops of colour against my raven hair. I smiled, placing it on the ground beside her. "It's beautiful." She commented with her soft voice, moving a strand behind my ear with a relaxed smile. Soon, the occurring sound of foot steps to stone echoed from down the hall. We both stood just as Thor came barreling in, his hair with a small braid in it, golden streaks brightening in the sunlight. "That's my boy." Smiled Frigga, a hint of laughter in her tone.
She gave us both a small kiss to the forehead before Thor took my hand in his as he always did, running down the halls to the garden. We trotted down the stone stair well, the fresh air of sunset hitting our faces as we ran down the last few steps into the garden. We were left to the last few minutes of sunset, gazing up at the stars that began to show brighter. I clenched a fist full of cool grass into my hands, picking at the blades and lifting them into the wind to be carried somewhere else.
"A rose is falling." Thor said suddenly, scooting closer to me to fix the rose that lay loosely in my hair. "I'll get it." He said softly, tightening it between a band that held a braid in my hair. He sat back and admired his handy work, giving me a thumbs up to gesture that he fixed it. It was nearly routine for us, to be like this. We'd sit here and watch the sun set, then after it got darker we'd run about the garden until mother called us in for super.
"Brother." I said quietly, watching as a star shot across the sky. "Hmm?" He replied, our shoulders pressed together as we sat and watched the sky. "Do you ever try to wish upon the stars?" I ask sheepishly, hoping it wasn't an absurd question. He turned his gaze to me, a small smile on his lips. "I don't have to wish." He said, causing a look of confusion to etch along my features. "Why?" I asked out of curiosity, wondering why anyone would pass an opportunity such as.
His smile grew wider, and he brushed his hand along my cheek to move a strand of hair aside. "I've already got you."
----------------------------------------------------
I suppressed a gasp that invaded my throat, my eyes boring into blue ones. "What's wrong?" Thor asked softly, moving a strand of hair from my cheek just as he had in my memories. I stammered to find word, "I-" I stopped myself, a smile tugging on my lips. "I just though I forgot to close the horse stable." I said dismissively, laying my head back onto his chest. We lay in the garden the next night, splayed across the grass in the same spot we had many years before.
He lay his head atop mine, running his fingers over the grass beside us. I watched as he spotted a rose, plucking it from where it stood. He sat up more straight, moving his fingers to my scalp. "Hmm?" I hummed questionably, but I knew what he had done. He smiled at me now, fixating the rose in my hair. "Beautiful." He said softly, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.
