The Disorder (Book 1)

Chapter 12

Loki, what have you done? He's going to kill you; he's going to kill US, Aubrey thought frantically.

Come on, lighten up. He's not going to kill me or you. He will threaten to, sure, but while I am retrieving your dad, he can't touch me. Besides, as Sif so kindly put it, he's a numb-skull. Even if I didn't have that trick up my sleeve he would be easy to fool.

Are you sure? she thought.

Of course I am, but... Loki trailed off.

But?

I'm gonna find a place to hide till they calm down, just in case. Both of them have a bit of a temper.

You must have some serious mental problems, getting yourself in these situations for fun.

Loki shrugged as he took in his surroundings. The room he was in was nothing like anything Aubrey had ever seen before, though it was obviously a bedroom (Aubrey had never seem such a large and lavish bedroom before). The walls were a kingfisher blue, and when the fading light from the windows hit its glossy surface, a water-like sheen filled the room. She would have felt like she was under water if it wasn't for the four poster bigger than her own room, the built in closet that was no doubt a walk-in, and the intricately weaved rugs.

This is Odin's bedroom. He keeps the best for himself, of course. Loki thought.

I guess it's good to be king.

Loki smiled quite mischievously.

There was another door that lead to the hallway, which Loki exited through after stealing a leather-bound book from the enormous oak shelves at random. Getting lost in the maze of archways and stairs, Aubrey remembered that her dad accused Loki of murdering him. Aubrey still wanted to hear what he had to say about that, and would ask him when they reached his hiding place.

Loki's hiding place turned out to be a rooftop garden that overlooked the beautiful valley. Matching metal lounge chairs were spread out among the alien plants, most likely for stargazing purposes. No one else was up here; the stars were barely visible due to the light from the sunset. But that wasn't the only reason someone would come up here. Any person who enjoyed solitude was bound to be drawn to this place. Even if Thor did find Loki up here (which was unlikely, given the vast size of the castle), it wouldn't be unreasonable that Loki would just be up here reading a book or something. It was the best situation Loki could have chosen.

Loki approached the edge of the roof, where lounge chairs were set up in a semi circle around a fire pit. He sat in the chair closest to the edge with the book from Odin's room in his lap and pretended he was reading.

Loki? Aubrey thought timidly.

Aubrey? he replied in a mockingly timid tone.

Aubrey sighed to herself, frustrated. Did you really kill my dad?

No.

Then why would my dad lie?

How many times do I have to tell you? He's on Odin's side. Loki began braiding a short lock of hair behind his ear. His hair was smooth and silky and slipped through his experienced fingers with precision.

It was distracting, Aubrey couldn't think of the questions she wanted to ask. Just his thoughts were coursing through her brain. Around and under, around and under...

And Odin is just against you because you used Dream?

I'll admit, I haven't been completely truthful about some details.

Of course you haven't, thought Aubrey bitterly.

Actually, I didn't lie for my own selfish purposes this time; it was just hard for me to let go of a secret I had always kept so carefully. Loki reached the end of the braid and tied it off.

What secret?

This ability to connect myself to others isn't something everyone here knows how to do. I found the spell when I was stealing from Idun once, in a dusty book, among a thousand others. I stumbled across it, really, there was little to no chance that anyone could pick up that book and flip to a random page that happened to have an ancient spell that was extremely powerful. I guess I was just lucky. And the great thing was that no one knew about it, and if someone did know, they hadn't told anyone. Anyway, I always like having tricks up my sleeve, so I decided that I wouldn't tell anyone about my abilities.

Why are you telling me?

Well, you already knew about the spell. I just hoped that you wouldn't mention the spell's existence to anyone, even your 'BFFs', or whatever.

I don't really have any best friends, to be completely honest. I mean, I have friends, sure, but I've never trusted any of my secrets to any person. I don't even think any of my friends are close enough to me to qualify as a best friend.

Smart girl.

Why are you calling me smart? It's lonely. Sometimes I wish I was daring enough to go out and make friends, but I've never have the guts to put my heart on my sleeve like that.

You don't have to worry about that anymore though, do you? No matter how much you don't want me to know your secrets, I can still read them in your mind.

Well then, I guess you're my only 'BFF,' huh?

Hm, I guess so, and if it makes any difference, your my only 'BFF' too.

Aubrey smiled at that. In all her time with Loki, he rarely told her anything about himself as a person. She was glad she was finally getting him to open up to her.

Don't expect it too often, sweetheart. Loki thought to her. Of course he would ruin the moment.

So, Aubrey ignored him and looked around. She was so engrossed in their conversation that she didn't notice that the sun was gone, leaving behind a trail of stars more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. Galaxies and nebulas swirled against the night sky in a variety of hues, ranging from pale pink to neon turquoise.

Loki sat up and lit the fire in the pit by snapping his fingers, where a small fire came to life between his fingers as quickly as a lighter, then gently coaxing the fire onto the logs. It was spectacular, and with a front row seat, Aubrey couldn't be more in awe.

Chuckling aloud at her enthusiasm, he thought, I could teach you, ya know. If you're interested.

No way! I could learn how to do that?! Are you kidding me?

I'll take that as a yes. Loki sat back in the lounge chair, resting his hands behind his head.

Aubrey looked back at the stars, imagining learning magic. She felt like she was in one of her wildest, most ambitious dreams. She could feel the power already from experiencing Loki perform magic. She already couldn't wait.

Sleep was hard to come by that night. Aubrey's mind kept buzzing with anticipation and she couldn't wait till morning, and since Loki already fell asleep, Aubrey had no one to share her excitement with. But eventually her exhaustion got the best of her, it had been a long day after all, and by the time the fire had simmered down to embers, she fell into Dream with Loki at her side.

A/N:

Awwwwww Aubrey and Loki are BFFs!! How long will it last? And hey! We are going back to Dream! Expect big things next chapter ;) and comment and vote if convenient! If inconvenient, comment and vote all the same!