The Blood Of A God || Loki Laufeyson

XXV - Ying & Yang

"This is the biggest festival of the year!" Volstagg grinned, drinking from yet another bottle of wine. His third of the night if Loki had counted correctly. And yes, he had been counting.

"Yes, and the most boring," Loki muttered, continuing to read over the words and trying his hardest to block them out. He failed miserably.

Volstagg had the nerve to grab his book from him and slam it shut, then throw it over his shoulder. Loki glared at him, then got up and was about to walk past him to go get it when he decided to push Loki back down in the chair and glare down at him.

"You're going."

"Don't try to tell me what to do, you insolent, moronic, drunken old f-"

"Loki, come now!" Hogun said from behind them, surprising Loki and cutting him off. He was the most quiet one. "Why don't you enjoy yourself and spend some time with the people?"

"If you idiotic fools paid attention, you would understand that the citizens of Asgard despise me and want nothing more than for me to die," he argued.

As usual, the three men weren't even slightly affected by Loki's harsh words. It annoyed him to no end.

"Then perhaps you should show them why they should trust you."

"And how exactly will I do that?"

"It's not like they will suddenly love you overnight," he said. "They may need convincing that you aren't as bad as they think you are."

"But how?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but if you come with us, at least you can say you've tried. You can even take a cloak with you if you wish, so that they do not know they are in the presence of Silvertongue."

"Fine. I'll go."

*

The vendors sold many different goods, such as sweets and jewellry, as well as customized armor for the people that wished to have their own designs. Seline liked the jewellry the most. It seemed that Sif did as well, which was surprising. Seline had been convinced that she would like the armor far more.

A necklace that definitely caught her eye was one with a silver chain and a pendant that reminded her of a ying and yang symbol. However, the two halves were a little more morphed together. The colours of the halves were red and blue, and it was only then that she realized just how much that necklace meant to her. Amond's favourite colour was blue, and Kayla's favourite was red. It reminded her of them. It made her think as if their souls were morphed together, and it filled her with nostalgia, grief, but above all, happiness. Maybe even a little bit of closure.

"You seem to like that one," Sif said from beside her, smiling a little.

"I do, it... Reminds me of some people I used to know," she explained, putting it back down on the table.

"Why don't you buy it if you like it so much?" Sif asked, gently taking Seline's wrist to stop her from leaving. "You clearly want it."

"I don't have enough," she said, smiling a little. "Perhaps another day."

"Nonsense," Seline heard a familiar voice from behind her, and both Sif and Seline turned to see that the crowd had all stopped to stare and smile at the man who was now in front of them.

The Allfather smiled at them both, then pulled a bag of what appeared to be coins from a pocket on his belt and handed it to the vendor, who was completely and utterly awestruck. He took the coins, graciously thanking Odin many times before the King simply said that there was no need, he was only a customer.

"You really did not have to do that, my King," she said immediately.

"Yes, I did," he said, smiling as he picked up the necklace and handed it to her. She took it in her open palm, looking down at the pendant happily. "I heard you speaking about how it reminded you of someone, and I believe I know who it was. Your fellow hunters were also good friends of mine as well."

"Thank you, my King," she said, putting it on while Sif simply stood there with a surprised expression.

"Frigga would have adored you," he said with a smile, and that was the last thing the King said to her before turning to leave and spend time with the children all watching him with glee.

Sif ended up getting distracted by the armor, as Seline had been sure that she would. Ariana, Ace, and Newt were at all long gone and obsessing over the sweets at one of the booths. And it wasn't long before she heard yet another familiar voice. 

"He was right, you know," the man said from beside her, as she leaned up against the wall of a building and watched the laughing and smiling children run about. "She would have loved you."

She could recognize that voice from anywhere, even with the black cloak he wore that managed to cover the majority of his face. What really bothered her was the sorrow that lingered in his tone.

"Maybe she would have," she smiled a little. "Why must you hide your face, Loki?"

"The people here do not care for me, Seline, nor do they trust me," he sighed. "And they have a right not to."

"I care for you," she said, taking him by surprise. "And you are one of the few people in this world that I do trust."

"You should not."

"But I do."

"You have very poor judgement, my dear," he muttered, watching the people walk around with longing. He wanted to be like them.

"Perhaps," she said, smiling softly at him. "But maybe that's what makes life interesting."