As one. Always. (A Loki fan fiction)

Chapter 24

I know it took me a long time to write this next part, and I'm still not entirely happy with it. There are a few P.O.V changes, and at first, its a little confusing, mainly due to the confusion Noelle and Loki are going through. I just wanted to let you guys know that I would realy appreciate feedback. Thanks :) Cheers! 

As I arrived back in Asgard, it was nearly midday. People were planning on feasting and celebrating the victory tonight in the feasting hall. I knew Loki, Thor and everyone else I hung around with wouldn’t be back until later, when the negotiations ended, so I took the opportunity to take a bath.

I climbed the steps quickly, but my energy began fading. I had been on an adrenaline rush since the battle began, and I was beginning to crash. People stared at me when I passed them, giving me polite nods, or bowing and curtsying. It was tradition to do that to honor a warrior just come from battle. I smiled at how things had changed. People used to barely speak to me, and now I had earned their respect.

I reached my room, pushing the door open and looking at my reflection in the mirror. I barely recognized myself. I was covered in dirt, my armor was scuffed in a few places, and I still had blood at the edge of my hairline, which was grossing me out more and more. I ran the bath water, adding bath salts to relax the tensed muscles that were forming in my arms and legs. I stripped down, leaving my armor so someone could clean it. I washed my hair twice, and my body three times, before settling into the tub to relax.

And that was when it started.

It started out slow and barely noticeable. An extra thought in my mind. I ignored it, before it came back into my mind. I felt slightly irritated. I could feel it growing in my mind, growing irritation, stress.

But there was something that was off: I didn’t feel irritated. That was the strangest part. I felt irritated, but at the same time, I felt completely relaxed. It was like my mind was feeling two different things at once, and arguing over what to feel. What in the world is this? Why was I feeling this? I shifted in the water again, getting comfortable, trying to ease back into my relaxed feelings, trying to ignore the irritation.

I eventually settled back into my relaxed state of mind and finished my bath. I put on a silver dress with a silver breast plate only covering my breasts. The breastplate had little emeralds encrusted on it. Loki had given it to me the day I received my first rank for these specific occasions. It was important that I be recognised as a warrior after battle, so I could be respected.

I sidebraided my damp hair and left my room, receiving nods of respect from people I passed. I picked up my pace a bit; I wanted to know if Loki had returned yet. He said he would be back before the feast, yet it was due to start soon. I wondered if things on Nilfheim were going well, or if we’d be hauled back to fight again.

I started worrying when I couldn’t spot Loki, nor any of my friends in the feasting hall. “Loki, where are you?” I murmured to myself. He wasn’t back in Asgard yet. There would have been a lot of commotion if they had all returned. And for some reason, I knew he wasn’t in this realm yet. I didn’t know how, but I just knew.

I walked out to the grand steps to enter the palace, waiting in the crowd with the other Asgardians waiting for loved ones to come home. Their worry and anxiety started to get to me. “Where are you Loki?” I said to myself absentmindedly. “Come home Loki.”

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Loki’s P.O.V

I gritted my teeth. We had been through negotiations for hours, arguing with the two sides of the Nilfheim parties, and we had finally coming to a peace agreement they could both agree with. What would this realm do without Asgard? I wondered, sparing a glance at them, trying to attempt conversation.