Lost in Time (Loki)

6 | The Vault

The room had remained in silence for a long while, the warriors sulking in their defeat. Once the room began to darken, with the setting sun, Sif stood up.

"Come one, Abi," she announced."We're going home."

I gulped, knowing the extent of the trouble we would be in with our parents when we returned, and stood up, quickly following my sister out the door. I nodded to the Warriors Three in farewell, receiving short "goodbyes" in return, before I dashed after SIf.

She was marching towards the front of the palace, where we had entered this morning. That felt like lifetimes ago, after what we had endured today. With everything that had happened, it seemed as if the interrupted coronation had taken place years ago.

I kept a few paces behind Sif as she stomped along the halls, keeping my footsteps quiet, so as not to interrupt her silent anger. Suddenly, she turned around.

"You, head home," she ordered, pointing to the doorway at the end of the corridor. "I must speak with the guards, briefly."

I nodded—not wanting to disagree with her, while she was in this mood—and continued along the hallway I was currently travelling down. I had almost reached the outside of the throne room, when a door to my left burst open, and two armoured guards raced out of it, carrying—what looked to be—Odin's unmoving form.

My eyes widened in surprise as I stopped in my tracks, watching them race towards the healing room. I shook my head in confusion, peering into the doorway that was left ajar. A staircase led down into an uninviting darkness. Few lights were illuminating the place and I could barely make out its structure.

I looked around, making sure no one was nearby, before I entered the dark room and descended the stone stairs.

"You shouldn't be here."

I jumped in fright at the bodiless voice, whipping my head back and forth to try and locate its owner. Suddenly, I noticed a figure at the bottom of the stairs. It was hunched over and facing the other direction.

I slowly approached it, lowering myself into a sedentary position, beside it. I turned to my right to face it, only to notice that it was Loki. He was staring straight ahead, stray tears falling down his cheeks. But that was not the unsettling part. His eyes were glowing with an intense emotion that I could not decipher. Betrayal? Grief, maybe?

I turned my head to face ahead of us, where a long corridor stretched onto a stone pedestal, where a blue box sat on top. That must be the casket the Jotuns tried to steal, I deduced. I looked around at the other relics in the room, each impressing me just as much as the last. There were so many powerful items in here that did not belong to this realm. I did not want to imagine how Odin had got a hold of them all.

I flicked my eyes over to Loki, who was still staring straight ahead. Finding the silence uncomfortable, I went against my better judgement and spoke.

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly, not wanting to completely shatter the silence. "Is Odin alright?"

Loki scoffed indignantly, tearing his gaze away from the casket. "How should I know?" He asked rhetorically, looking at me. "Did you not just see the guards hauling him out?"

I nodded. "I did." He turned back to the casket, ignoring me, but I pestered on. "What happened?"

"I do not wish to discuss it," Loki answered simply. "And as far as I'm concerned, it's none of your business."

Now it was my turn to scoff at his childish demeanour. "Fine," I sighed. "I'm just trying to be nice."

I made to stand up and leave, but Loki grasped my hand gently, tugging me back down onto the steps. I pulled my hand from his grasp and huffed in exasperation.