Kidnapped|Book 4|A novel in the Blue Moon series| An Avengers fan fiction series|

6- Taming the Little Firebird

Note that the characters introduced in the chapter will make slightly more sense in the adaptation version, where you will be meeting them in an epilogue of Blue Moon. But I think the basics are clear here...

~Music~

Listen to Celtic music, that's what I listened to when I wrote it :)

Chapter Six

~Nobody's POV~

The mist is thick one morning as a hooded rider and his horse follow the winding paths up towards the hills, miles from the palace of Asgard. The big black horse snorts and stamps its feather-clad hooves as it climbs up the steep terrain, picking up grass and dirt as it goes.

At the top of the hill, the mist seems to clear like a curtain, revealing a beautiful stone mansion at its peak. The distance from the rider to the building is an expansive network of fountains and waterfalls pouring from the edges of the property and along little rivets in the ground, separated by tiered hedges and moss-covered ground. The actual house is rigidly symmetrical, with a colloseum like foundation, upon which is stacked an irregular ovular structure, pinnacled by a tall tower, with a shining bell placed in the center.

The horse plods over an ivory colored arched bridge that spreads over a rushing stream that bubbles gently in the early sunlight, and its rider urges it on up the pathways around the fountains and waterfalls, more mist filtering around the hooded figure as it does so.

At the foot of the towering mansion, a stable boy appears as if by magic and waits as the figure dismounts from the beautiful black horse and, without a glance back, walks through the gilded doorway and into the mansion.

He walks through an expansive hallway, through which light filters from the east, where the sun is trying to peep through. Giant tapestries hang around the walls on one side, depicting battles, plants, mythical beasts, and kings of old. Upon the other side, an expansive collection of weapons hangs, ranging from small shivs that curl wickedly, to giant swords that hang in their jeweled scabbards. Even though the hall, as well as much of the house, seems to be in a state of dormancy, the weapons have been scrubbed clean and gleam proudly on the wall.

The figure, still hooded, makes his way through more elaborately decorated rooms, but seems to pay them little mind. He walks down a dark stairway and finds himself in an even darker room curtains drawing away the morning sun, the only light coming from the flickering of a few candles sitting about on tables, a dresser, and in a stunning candelabra in the room's center.

What is more fascinating about the room, however, is its sole occupant. A woman is seated on a green armchair, her red dress flowing around her like a pool of blood. The top of the dress is low cut, with silver straps on the shoulders and along the biceps of her toned, pale arms. Cords of silver wrap around her neck, and up along her skin to form an intricate headdress of diamonds upon her head. Her hair is thick and black, so long that it flows around her waist along the chair. The ends are tinged silver, which matches the long, shimmering earrings that brush against her shoulders. Her face is so angular and chiseled, it appears to be carved from granite. Her eyes, which look out from thick, low eyebrows, are the most fascinating, however, as they are so brightly silver, it is almost like looking directly at the shine of the moon.

She smiles as the figure removes his hood and steps farther into the room. Standing up, she walks towards him, her hips swaying and her silver eyes gleaming, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, your majesty?"

Most men would immediately succumb to the woman's full red lips, her long pale fingers, and her hooded eyes. But this is no ordinary man.

"Unfortunately, this is no pleasure visit," says Loki, no shred of countenance lost in his green eyes. "The potion that the prophetess gave me is only half completed." He takes out a transparent blue bottle and holds it up to the woman, "What else is required, Neidra?"