The Disorder (Book 1)

Chapter 14

Loki woke up gasping, drenched in water. The rose fell from his bloody lips, cut up from the rose's thorns, in his struggle for air. Lank strands of red hair were strewn across his face, soaked in a much more gruesome shade of red that also ran down Loki's face and dripped onto the floor. Unfortunately, Aubrey felt the pain in his mouth and the utter exhaustion he was going through as well.

What, he thought, slouching in his chair, in Hel's name put you under the impression that letting my son out of Dream would be a good idea!

Okay, first of all, that was an accident! How was I supposed to know that... that THING was going to come?! Aubrey think-yelled.

You let it out, dumbass! Because apparently you lack every ability to think!

I didn't want a giant snake thing to attack us! Why on Earth do you think I WANTED that to happen? And who the hell is your son?

YOU let my son, or, as you so rudely pointed out, 'the giant snake thing,' loose in Dream because you didn't think, idiot!

OKAY, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL, LOKI?! HOW IS YOUR SON THAT THING?!

Now is not the time for questions about my jacked up family tree, alright?

Aubrey grew silent, but was still fuming at Loki's lack of answers. But once she looked down and noticed the rose in Loki's lap and his blood covered hands, her anger was gone. He must have gone through a great deal of trouble to keep her rose with him, a great deal of pain too.

Thank you, she thought, for taking care of my rose.

Hey, that's what friends are for, right?

I guess so. No one had ever been that devoted to keeping her happy, well, besides her dad.

I could give it to you if you want, when we meet on Earth and return to our own bodies.

Really? You would do that?

Why not? Roses aren't heavy or anything.

Thank you, she thought again.

Loki sat up, exhaustion still nipping at his bones, and took in his surroundings. The sun had long since crossed the horizon, and golden light bathed the plants and warmed the ground. Loki let the sunlight seep into his face for a moment, drying his hair and clothes, before he stood up, popping a number of joints in his back and knees. Yawning, he ruffled his shoulder-length hair, taking care to avoid the small braid behind his ear, and began walking back to the entrance. Aubrey was able to catch a glimpse of the sun filled valley, tall, cozy buildings revealed in the light of the day, before the view was blocked when Loki walked behind a tall hedge.

Once back inside, Loki reached a washroom fairly quickly, where he looked in the mirror and saw that his chin, cheeks, and hands were covered in blood stains. He ran water at the sink and scrubbed at the blood furiously. Aubrey could feel the pain in his lips and the raw feeling on his cheeks from cleaning so fiercely that she was sure the top layer of his skin washed down the drain along with the red water.

Aubrey looked around the washroom, noticing how similar it looked to a normal bathroom on Earth. She found herself asking Loki why that was.

He replied, a few thousand years ago, we visited Earth. I went along, of course. Couldn't miss out on meeting these new people, because everyone else already grew tired of me and 'my games.' I know, lame of them, right? Anyway, the people of Earth were deeply impressionable, and Odin got an idea. He gave them knowledge, and in return, they were supposed to worship us like Gods. You know, write stories about us, and eventually we would go down in history. It was Odin's way of slowly taking over all of the worlds. Of course, it turns out that humans couldn't figure out the technology we gave them for another several thousand years, and now that they have the technology, they don't even give us credit or worship us like they were supposed to. Most of them don't even know we ever existed. Pretty rotten deal, if you ask me.

He then turned to the shower, a small thing, shoved in the corner of the little room, and began to undress.

Oh no! Oh no no no no! What do you think you're doing?! Aubrey thought in panic.

What? Loki thought, I am soaked in Dream, which, by the way, isn't exactly the cleanest river in the worlds, and I haven't showered in days. I'm not going to stop showering because you feel a little uncomfortable.

So Loki showered, whilst Aubrey retreated to the darkest recess of Loki's mind. She refused to focus on her surroundings and heard Loki snickering at her discomfort.

Aubrey thought about that, Loki's controlling personality, while she avoided looking at anything that was currently in her view. She was starting to understand him better after he stared using his power over her to watch her squirm. He was a manipulator, a good one too. He made people dance, played with them like his puppets, without them even realizing it. He molded his clay for to fit his needs, making sure he had extracted all he could before tossing it to the side like trash. She had even seen examples of this with Odin, when Loki was polite, as if he was in leagues with Odin, but felt an intense hatred that had sometimes lead to thoughts of betrayal, and with Idun, where he treated Idun like a loved one after he had just stolen from her. At that moment, Aubrey saw through Loki.

While he was distracted by the fun he was having, Aubrey reviewed her findings. Loki uses people, she saw that now, and he was using her too. Despite what he said about the connection, she was sure that he wouldn't mind shaping her, like any other piece of clay, into exactly what he wanted. She wasn't sure yet exactly how far he would go to get what he wanted, but considering the fact that he cut off a girl's hair, with his only motive being entertainment, Aubrey guessed that he would go pretty far. Even if it meant forming an intricate web of lies that revolved around murder, perhaps. The murder of someone who already accused Loki of murdering him. The murder of someone who has been much more reliable than Loki has been.

Aubrey's dad.

She was convinced of it. Loki had to be lying about not being responsible for the death of her dad. He just wanted to be on her good side, so that when the time came, he could use her like everyone else.

That wasn't going to happen.

Aubrey was going to spin her own web of lies, and in the center would be her new 'best friend.'

A/N:

Uh-oh! Aubrey is catching on! What do you think will happen? And what do you think of Aubrey now? What about Loki? Comment and vote please! :)