Starchild

Political Asylum

I get teleported next to him, again. He is not going to let me simply walk away. —Can I leave now? —

With a frown, he closes the book. —Yes. But back to Asgard. —he starts walking away,

—No-! —he turns around, watching me cringe at how I sounded. I place my hands on my hips; a stance I have seen Father do so many times. —Look, Doctor Strange, —

Walking up to him, my height is nothing compared to his. That does not stop me. —I do not care about whatever you say regarding Midgard's safety. First; I am not the threat you say I am. Second; even if I was, you are not going to send me back to Asgard with your second hand midgardian sorcery. I can leave by myself when I decide to leave. —

There are some seconds of silence. Strange scoffs, not even bothered. —You sure are your father's daughter. —

This attitude of his is frustrating me by the minute. He does not let me react, instead quickly taking a hair off my head and starting to walk away again.

I do not hesitate to follow him. He starts conjuring some spell, —I'm going to find your father and uncle, I will take you with them, and when you all leave to Asgard you will not come back. —

—That is not going to happen. —

He looks at me with a dry grin. —We'll see. —

As we keep eye contact, he finishes the spell, and some orange sparks jump from his hands. I clench my fists, ready for whatever it is to come. However, he looks at his hands confused.

I smirk, —I told you it's not happening. —

He shakes his head, —No, it was happening, but I can't locate Loki. I think he has already left Earth. —

My smile gets bigger, and with a shrug, I start looking for the exit. —Tragic. I will be leaving this place now, when I see him in Asgard I will tell him you say hello. —

Surprisingly, he is too concentrated to stop me. I cannot find the exit, only entering deeper into the book labyrinth, hoping for the best. It is not as big as the one back home, but there are some books that I had never seen before.

A tingle runs down my neck, familiar enough to make me turn around immediately. At the end of the hallway a manifestation of Father starts to appear. He is getting closer. I am in trouble.

My mouth spouts out the first thing I can think of, —I was worried and came here looking for you, Father. —

—No need to lie. —he looks around in what I read as panic, —I don't care that you didn't listen to me, okay? But now I need you to. You have to stay on Midgard, Star. —

I frown. —What?—

Father has never been a fan of Midgard, for obvious reasons. Why would he want me to stay here? Why is he acting so strange? His suit looks kind of damaged, and his hair is a mess; no small midgardian errand would cause that.

—Odin is dead, —

Oh.

—And he had another firstborn that is now on her way to take the throne. Violently. Asgard is not safe for any of us anymore. —

He finally notices where I am, and starts walking around in a frown. I follow in confusion; Odin's firstborn is supposed to be Thor - at least that is what history says. Then again, history has kept many secrets.

I look at him, —Someone needs to protect Asgard, Father. I will guess you are not there, but I could go and defend our throne. —

Turning around, his tired eyes find mine. —The throne is not worth fighting for anymore. —he sighs, —And, technically, it was never our throne. —

Again, he looks around paranoically. I should ask where he is, because he does not look comfortable in that place. Before I can make the question, he starts disappearing,

—Stay here and don't cause trouble. I will come for you when it's all over. —

He's completely gone, and I am alone again. Or so I thought; right behind where he was, Strange stands in expectation. —Did you talk with your father? —

If I have to stay on this planet, I have to be smart. The wizard will not let me go very easily - he does not trust in me, I can tell. However, if I make him think keeping me here is safer for Midgard than sending me to Asgard (or Hell, in the worst case) he might feel obligated to let me stay. Or, I could threaten to become a bigger threat.

Keeping the distance, I straighten up. —Odin is dead, —I repeat Father's words, waiting for a reaction from the wizard. There is not one. —And his true firstborn is taking over Asgard. It would be dangerous for me to go back. —

—You would most likely die, correct? —I nod. —And why should I care? —

I cannot control my reaction, my frowning face giving too much away. He notices, and smirks. I cross my arms. —I am in line for Asgard's throne. My death could cause some imbalance, even in Midgard. —

He raises his eyebrows, —The death of a demon would affect two civilizations? If you want to convince me to let you stay, you should try harder. —

Some books on the shelves catch my attention again. The titles are varied, all of them relating to types of magic and their history, but none of them seem to talk about dark magick and demonic witchcraft.

Except for the one he is still holding.

I swiftly take the book from his hands. —I am a demon. You're right. And I can tell you do not have a lot of information about us and our magic, am I right? —he does not answer. I skim through some pages of the book, —But you want to know, don't you? —

—What's your point? —

It's my turn to smirk. —If you let me stay, Doctor Strange, I am willing to teach you everything I know. —

—Everything you know. —he chuckles, —You're a kid. —

I point the book at him, grinning, —A kid raised with demon magick. Also, I'm technically a young adult. —

His face shows doubt, which means my plan is working. Huffing, he starts leaving the book labyrinth, well aware that I am following from close. —What if I say no? —he asks without looking at me.

I shrug, —I would stay here anyways. I am sure I can live on Midgard on my own. —

He laughs.

—You wouldn't survive a day. —

We get teleported back to the cushions, and a cup of tea appears in front of me. I put the book down and take the cup, waiting for Strange to continue.

He finally gives in. —I can give you a place to stay, if you don't cause me any trouble. You will teach me about demons and I will teach you about Earth. —

Grinning, I take a sip of tea.

A portal, just like the one before, opens next to us. A man comes out of it, with robes similar to Strange's. He looks at me in confusion, —Who is this? —

Strange does not take his eyes off me. —A new addition to the team. Star Lokidottir, this is Wong - we work together. —Wong nods as a salutation. Strange leans forward and puts his hand out, which I immediately shake. —It's a deal. —

I nod, —A deal. —

—Welcome to the Sanctum Sanctorum. —