Monsters and Magic

Chapter 26

You flushed at his compliment, wondering what he saw in you, the tiny Midgardian vampire. When you looked up into his eyes, though, you couldn't deny that the feelings were there. While Loki was usually guarded with his emotions, he was open with them with you and you saw the truth of love in his eyes.

You gave him a warm smile and continued your happy stroll through the gardens with Loki at your side. He was enjoying your obvious pleasure, amused every time he caught you staring up toward the sun just because you could. You spread your arms and twirled, tilting your head back and enjoying the warmth of the sun on your skin.

"Enjoying yourself, sweetheart?" Loki asked you, a warm fond smile on his face as he watched your antics.

You grinned in delight. "It's wonderful! It's amazing, Lokes!" you told him, all bubbles and excitement. "I haven't seen the sun properly in four years!" you reminded him and bounced up and kissed him lightly.

He chuckled and kissed you back, leaning down to lightly, chastely press his lips to yours. "You are such a ball of sunshine, my love, and I adore you," he told you fondly and kissed the top of your head. He sobered a little. "There is something you should know, however," he added, almost hesitantly.

You gave him your full attention, curious as to what he had to tell you. A little concerned over his reticence to even bring up whatever it was. "What's that?" you prompted when he hesitated.

He sighed and finally blurted it out: "Mother knows. I had to tell her what you are. II can't keep anything from her," he explained.

You felt your expression fall and your pale complexion pale further as the horror of his words filled you. "Loki..." you managed to get out softly, terrified of what he said he'd done. No one was supposed to find out what you were. Especially not Frigga and Odin.

Loki pulled you into a hug, stroking your hair to calm you. "Shh, love. It's alright. I swear. Mother can be trusted. She will not betray our trust. She cares too much for me to hurt me, and in the short time she has known you, she seems to have become attached to you as well. There is absolutely nothing to fear from her," he reassured you quickly with his silver tongue.

You were still worried. This wasn't the plan. The plan had been to hide what you were, but you knew how much he adored his mother. Of course he hadn't been able to keep anything from her. At least not something important like this. "I hope you're right," you finally told him.

"Y/N," he got your attention by using your actual name instead of one of his many pet names. "There is absolutely nothing to be worried about. My mother would do nothing to betray my trust. She was also accepting of what you are," he added quickly to reassure you. He sighed. "I had been hoping that she would meet us out here. She usually takes a stroll through the gardens this time of day..."

You heard footsteps coming up behind you and whirled to face them. Frigga was coming up the path behind you. "Darling, you were supposed to contact me if you needed me. I had to supervise Thor's friends cleaning the healing wing for me," she reminded Loki when she got close enough to speak to you without raising her voice. Her calm gentle demeanor wouldn't allow such nonsense as a raised voice without good cause.

Loki looked sheepish. You'd never seen him with that...admonished...look on his face. "I apologize, Mother," he replied in a sheepish tone. After a moment he added, "Though, now that you are here, I could use your help reassuring my lady..."

Frigga gave him a warm, knowing smile. "And what have you done this time, darling?" she asked him with a bit of teasing to her tone.

Loki puffed up indignantly, flushing a little. "Why does everyone always assume I have done something wrong?" he demanded grumpily with a hint of a whine to his tone. This was a side of Loki you weren't used to seeing.