December was on her knees, scrubbing the dirty floor with a brush. It was a cold day and she was very close to the outside, on a large balcony near Queen Frigga's garden; she could see the snow. The soldiers stationed beside her shivered in their boots as they conversed between themselves as a cold draft blew by, brushing them with its icy winds.
She had to resist laughing as they complained about the cold, cuddled and dressed in many layers while she had a flimsy servant's gown with airy long sleeves. Ember wasn't sure how the other servants were surviving in this weather.
One of the guards muttered, "did you hear what happened in the prisons yesterday?"
"Who hasn't?"
The third guard smacked the second, "just because you're a man-whore doesn't mean we all are." He nodded to the first, "go on."
The first guard lowered his voice, they were oblivious to Ember's presence. "My brother was shifted for guarding the prison when the fire-giant attacks. They were about to be slaughtered when a mysterious figure clothed in black appeared out of nowhere."
The third man, with a scruffy red beard, waved his hand, "don't stop there, come on, there is something more isn't there?"
He nodded, hesitantly, glancing both ways of the corridor they guarded, completely missing the white-blonde servant scrubbing the golden balcony floor. "He, my brother, says that it seemed like Loki knew this person, whoever they are. Analysts are going over it now-"
The second man interrupted, "oh you are taking too long explaining this!" He lowered his voice, "they're thinking this fighter was in league with Loki. The person's moves are well practiced with a hint of Asgardian technique. They knew exactly where the prison was and everything in it. How many people do you know have that good of a relationship with Loki to not want him dead?"
He tugged on his red beard, the third man, shifting and ignoring the clanking sounds his armour created, "Queen Frigga and..." His brown eyes widened discernibly, "...and Dekémvrios."
The first nodded violently, "exactly! There are rumours that she survived the fall off of the bridge! There is word that Thor saw her on Midgard. And from what I've heard from my brother's friend's cousin's sister' fiancé, who is a interrogator for King Odin, Loki refuses to comment on the accusations!"
"In his silence he's practically saying its true!" The second said.
The man with red beard shivered and this time, not from the cold. "I was part of the squad who helped the King and his elite guard corner her on the bridge. Her skills are incredible and I'm sure they've only gotten better since she fell off the bridge."
The first lowered his voice, "Dekémvrios was part of the elite of the elite. Queen Frigga herself trained her in magic. As much as everyone made fun of Loki for it when we were children, it is proven to be unstoppable."
"The only thing that is keeping Loki in his cell right now is the Queen's magic. If it wasn't for her, he would have probably just walked out and slaughtered us all in his revenge."
December snorted. She remembered the man with the red beard now, and he was still as much of an idiot and a lowly guard as before. Nothing had changed. The three guards swivelled to look at her, getting to her feet as she carefully inspected the gleaming balcony floor. A bucket in one hand and a brush in the other. She nodded to them, "hello."
The first scrutinised her carefully, "what did you hear?"
She didn't feel like lying, "everything." But December easily waved away their worries, calming their minds with a bit of magic. The very same magic that they had been talking about. And it was true, if it wasn't for Frigga, December would have broken Loki out of prison, and they would have disappeared forever. He was not something to be taken lightly.
His purple skin glowed in the harsh light, blood dripping from his weapon.
December kneeled before him, covered in the blood of yet another innocent world.
"You've disappointed me."
She dropped lowered, pleading with him. "Please my lord, it was a mistake. It will not happen again." She had let a young creature escape, and though he did not know it, a few others escaped with him. The next time she saw Glamora, December would kill her for outing her and telling him that she had disobeyed him.
He didn't care, and her shrieks of pain as she shrivelled on the floor, being tortured and punished to the point of insanity made his lips lift at the edges.
December waved cheerfully, hiding her distraction. "Have a good day, sirs!"
Before they could even say anything, Ember had slipped away, turning into a servant's corridor. Recently, the female head servant had been sending her out more and more often 'upstairs'. 'Upstairs' was what the normal halls and rooms of the Asgardian palace were called by the servants. She had been lucky enough not to encounter Odin or Thor yet.
She returned to the female quarters, having spent the evening cleaning the balcony's lining the Queen's gardens.
Lorefis bounced up to her, evidently exhausted from the day's work. Ember vaguely remembered she had been placed on one of the groups that had to clean the battle areas. The bruises on her neck thanks to the fire-giants was barely visible, credit to the palace medical staff. "Ember! Ember! Ember!" Lorefis shrieked excitedly, her red feather-like hair bouncing, "did you hear?"
"Hear wha-"
"Prince Thor is going to retaliate at the fire-giants! And did you hear about the mysterious person in the prisons?! They were incredible..." And off she rambled, going on and on about useless matters and gossip throughout the castle, "...Noble Magner is marrying Lady Ola! Where do you think that union came from? I think..."
December never enjoyed it, finding it boring. What did it matter to her?
She quickly interrupted Lorefis, explaining to the harpy that she had a job she needed to do and promising they would finish talking later that night.
Due to the fact that the palace had been attacked, the palace walls and points of entry, and any other critical artifacts or important persona were being guarded carefully. Seeing as the Fire-giants had not rescued any of the inmates, rather killing a few, the level of guards around the prison and in it had severely lessened.
As she had expected.
She slipped down the cold, dark servant's tunnel that led to the prisons, no longer needing a light to guide her feet. She cloaked herself, making her invisible to any eyes as she exited before quietly making her way down the stairs. December smiled slyly as she realised that Queen Frigga was distracted and the usual charm that had been placed was weak enough to be overwhelmed by December's ability. The charm that made Loki forget that she was who she looked like.
The forcefield around his cell glowed golden, bright even in the dark of the evening prison lamp light. There were a few guards, easily fooled by a simple illusion.
She placed her hand on the glowing energy wall and watched in satisfaction as her hand slipped in, not even reacting to the mental burning pain. She had survived worse before.
Loki stiffened as he felt her presence enter his cell, his body slowly relaxed when he recognized her aura. Even a slight smile appearing on his pale pink lips.
The young boy had pale pink lips, probably no older than a few decades, like Dekémvrios would soon find out she was. He had raven-coloured hair and green eyes that reminded her of earth.
They called it Midgard here. Wherever here was.
A woman dressed in royal garb and the prettiest golden hair entered the room, causing the figures around her to melt back. Evidently, this woman was important. She crossed the room and stepped at Dekémvrios's bedside. The little girl scooted back, hugging her pale as snow knees to herself.
The woman held out a gentle hand that was covered in a light layer of callouses, "my name is Frigga. What is yours?"
The little girl gulped and whispered hoarsely, "Dekémvrios."
"That is Greek for December correct?"
She nodded hesitantly, "yes."
Frigga nodded, wrapping a warm hand around the little girl's frozen fingers, "remember this carefully: Your name is now December. Dekémvrios doesn't exist. Who are your parents, December?"
"Khione and Aegan."
"The mighty light elf, Aegan?!" The little boy gasped, eyes wide in excitement as he pulled on his tunic, obviously uncomfortable by the apparel that he was forced to wear. "Your father is Aegan?!"
The golden-haired woman frowned, hushing the boy. He did not look like her son and Dekém- December did not understand their relationship. Frigga eyed December's pointed ears and inspected her closely. Though December did not know this at the time, Queen Frigga had used magic to determine the young girl's parentage.
"Who's Aegan?" December asked shyly, pulling on a fraying string from her Midgard dress.
Loki told her excitedly, practically bouncing on the spot as his eyes gleamed a pure green, "Aegan is not only the greatest elf warrior, but he's also taken down entire corrupt empires and armies on his own! He's very strong!"
Frigga muttered to herself, but December heard. "And I thought he had no children. And yet here is his child with a Grecian Goddess as her mother." The queen shook her head before turning to the young, helpless girl again. "Do not tell anyone of your parentage, December. That is even more essential then your name." One of their scouts had found her in the snow on Midgard and had saved her life by bringing her to Asgard once he realised the girl he had found was not simply Midgardian. "Why were you in the snow, December?"
The little girl's bottom lip wobbled, "I was running from Soldiers and then I fell asleep, it wasn't snowing when I had fallen asleep. Snow rarely, if ever, falls in Rome." She didn't understand why she had to forget who her parents were, why she had to change her name. She didn't know where she was nor why there had been snow in Rome. It didn't snow in Rome.
Frigga felt her face whiten, "what was the last thing that happened? That you remember? What year is it?"
"I-I don't know the year. B... but I think Julian Caesar had been assassinated only recently..."
"Odin's beard... That was almost twenty years ago, December."
December stared up at the woman with wide eyes. Twenty years ago? She had slept for twenty years?
The white-blonde smiled slyly as she approached Loki in the cell, an illusion going up as she released the cloaking illusion on herself, instead making it surround the cell. She emerged on the other side of the glowing border.
Loki had sat himself up right on one of the small chairs that Queen Frigga had ensured to bring in, to keep him 'comfortable' as he lived out the rest of his day's in the golden rimmed cell filled with books that had crystal engravings. Everything in that cell was priceless, bejewelled with costly ores and gemstones. "December."
She sat in his lap, almost straddling him, causing her servant's gown to bunch up around her thighs, "Loki."
"Not that I don't want you to be here," he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "But why are you here?"
December pouted teasingly, "because I missed you. But if you want, I can leave..."
When she tried to rise to her feet, off his lap, his hands tightened on her milky thighs. Loki pressed another kiss to her shoulder, closer to her chest. "Well you've gone through all that trouble..."
"If you insist."
He kissed her cold lips with the slightest hint of raspberry, letting out a content sigh. "I guess..." He pressed a kiss to her arching throat, "I guess I do."
"You guess?"
"I insist that you stay."
"Well then I couldn't say no."
He chuckled, his eyes lit in delight, "I'd hope not."
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