Darkness Within(A Loki Love Story) Book 1 in Darkness Series

Just Another Day

(Her point of view)

I am standing out on my balcony, overlooking the vast ocean. If I look to my immediate right, I have a breathtaking view of the mountain and the village that lies at its feet. The evening sunset has cast its purple shadow on the eastern side of Cockaigne Mountain, giving it a subdued glow. The fact that its peak is the highest point in all the kingdom makes it look frightening at times, yet protective of all that surrounds its base. Frightening also because Cockaigne Mountain is, in fact, a dormant volcano. It has been asleep for some time, since the battle of our people against Sethos and his army of possessed men.

I immediately stop myself from letting those dark times enter into my mind. I do not wish to remember those awful days. The days that Sethos ruled, tortured, and killed so many of my people. It has been decades since his horrible reign, and I still wake up from treacherous nightmares covered in a cold sweat. I have accepted the fact that I will be dealing with those twisted memories for the rest of my long life.

I feel my body beginning to tremble from a mixture of fear and anger. I know all too well that I have to try to stop my temper and emotions before they flare. I shake my head slightly and close my eyes before taking in a long, deep breath. I exhale whilst slowly counting to ten in my head. I need to pay a visit to Adrielle. She always makes me feel better, and it has been a while since I have seen her. My angel, the one whom I have always regarded as the guardian of my family. I am the only one that she ever visits, ever since....No! Do not think about it!

.......Yes, I definitely need to visit her soon.

When I reopen my eyes, I can see small swirls of smoke dancing up out of the chimneys of the villagers' homes. I can barely make out a few dimly lit lanterns in the streets. I focus on this until my mind is once again at ease. I turn my head back to face straight ahead toward the northwestern horizon. The glorious sunset is saying its farewells to our translucent Terina Ocean as its waves waltz gracefully upon the shore. Our royal gardens and courtyards are right behind the shoreline. This allows for very nice privacy when wanting to take a morning or evening stroll, as this all lies completely secluded behind the walls of our enormous castle. Medina Castle. My home.

I have lived here all of the two hundred eight years of my life. Yes, it may sound as though I am rather old. But in fact, I am still very young. We in Medina age very differently, especially if part of the royal family. You see, according to our history's readings, the Medinian rulers were blessed with a lengthy lifespan as a gift from the gods due to our selfless will to give to our people. The longer we live, the longer we may be able to give back to our land. The longer we may serve our people justly and see to it that every man, woman, and child is properly taken care of. Medina....my precious and extraordinary land of surreal beauty and tranquility. It is a very small land, but rich and lucious with many even smaller villages surrounding our central palace. Our small world is a star that lies just within the northern hemisphere of the Asgardian realm. It is so small that it only holds our one, single continent of land, surrounded by the glistening waters of the ocean. All except for one, tiny spec of land several miles away from the courtyard's shore. This is a small island known as Termina, where only the royal family may visit on very special occasions. No other may travel there. Just as none of our citizens, other than the royal family, may be permitted to travel outside of our world unless given special and exceptional permission. 

I have learned of the many other realms as a child. I know of them all and have even visited some with my mother and father. I have been to Midgard several times, as well as Alfheim, Vanaheim, twice each; Asgard once when I was but an infant. Mother and Father speak of the other realms, but none as often as Asgard. They had been invited there when I was but a few days old to celebrate the birth of the King and Queen's eldest son. I have always adored their stories of this particular realm and deeply desire to oneday return for another visit. However, as Asgard has always seemed to be in squabbles with other surrounding realms, it has been deemed unsafe for us to visit. As for the remaining realms, they have been deemed unsecured as well, thus keeping me away from boundaries also. Needless to say, I have not left Medina in quite some time. However, I long to break past our barriers once again someday. I would love to see those spectacular worlds once more and study further the diversity that they so wondrously offer.