A Gods Favor

A Gentle Nightmare

Loki stood in the center of Yrsa's favorite meadow, looking out over the small pond as it shimmered in the sunlight and knew he must be dreaming. He couldn't recall the last time he'd actually set foot here. He had to admit though it was beautiful and he could understand why his sister enjoyed it so much. He turned slowly taking in the flora and fauna with a slight smile playing on his lips at the thought of Yrsa's boisterous joy, a memory of her laughter echoing off the trees coming to him when he stopped, smile falling away as his jaw went slack.

"Hello, Prince." Elora stood beside a hulking bear, scratching behind its ears with one hand as it ate berries from another. Her dark waves had returned, the heavy oils and bone he'd last seen on her nowhere to be found and her gossamer dress was a pale blue, blowing in the breeze. His mind had conjured a version of her that no longer existed, his favorite version, one that stopped existing over five hundred years ago. Except her eyes. When the bear finished its treat and she patted its shoulder sending the beast on its way she looked at him and her eyes held all the pain and loss and just a spark of the anger he'd caused. He thought it was fair, that his mind gave him this moment with her but did not let him forget it wasn't real.

"It's actually king now." Loki sauntered across the clearing toward her with every intention to enjoy this fantasy to the fullest. It had been two years since Malekith, the loss of his mother and the eventual abandonment of Asgard by his siblings that allowed him to take the throne. Two years and this was the first time he'd dreamt of her. The others plagued his sleep, causing the loneliness in his heart, despite finally having the title he so desperately wanted, to grow ever deeper. But she was never there.

"Is it?" Dream Elora asked with a raised brow as she began to walk the edge of the clearing away from him. "I'm afraid I must have missed my invitation to your coronation then." She stopped and looked back over her shoulder at him. "You were crowned, correct? The ceremony, the words and vows, Odin proclaiming your new title to all of Asgard."

Of course, his mind knew the truth and even in sleep would not allow him the satisfaction of playing along. "I sit the throne, that is all that matters." His conscience knew the despair he felt each night when he returned to his rooms, his father's rooms, and dropped the illusion he held every day. Despair at the fact that while he sat the throne, those that surrounded him only bowed because they believed him to be Odin. He saw no reason to acknowledge all that out loud in his dreams.

He reached her then, a sad smile on his face as he gazed down at her before he lifted a hand. Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear his eyes flicked to her brow and a green shimmer passed over it, leaving behind a simple braided gold circlet. "You would look magnificent sitting it with me."

Her eyes shot up as if to look at the crown she now wore and he could swear she was trying to hide a smile when she pursed her lips. "The throne is only meant for one, Prince. There is no room for me to join you."

The hand that had created the circlet moved from her hair to cup her jaw and he stepped closer, leaning down to whisper in her ear as he spoke. "We can get creative if we have to. I'm sure there'd be plenty of room if you straddled me."

The dream apparently had a mind of its own because she pushed away from him then, waving a hand to make the circlet disappear before she started to walk the clearing again. "I've never had a desire to rule."

"You are a very disagreeable dream." His brows came together in frustration as he took a few long strides to catch up and walk beside her.

She laughed at that and the sound of it made his heart ache with wishing he could hear the real thing again. "What makes you think I'm a dream, have I not come to you in you sleep before?"

Loki was quiet for a moment, the only sound the rustling of the breeze through the grass that surrounded them. "As far as the real Elora knows I am dead and buried." She paused then and looked at him with a hard, knowing glare and even though she had walked away when he tried to kiss her before this was still his dream and he was going to make it do what he wanted.

He tugged lightly on her elbow, making her face him before he slipped his arms around her and lowered his lips, stopping just before they touched hers. "Besides despite your disagreeableness this is still a very lovely dream and she only comes to me in nightmares."

Dream Elora's turned her head away from him, chin dipping with what he thought was shame before the scene dissolved and Loki woke in his bed, alone.