The Lady of Darkness (Loki x OC)

Prologue

In the palace garden of Asgard, King Odin and Queen Frigga walked together peacefully with their two sons, Thor and Loki, who were playing ahead. Occasionally, Odin would laugh as his two sons played. Thor would try to tackle Loki. Being skilled in the art of sorcery, Loki tricked Thor by duplicating himself. Thor ran through the duplicate version of Loki, making him fall into a bush. Frigga laughed at Thor's reaction when he crawled out of the bush.

"Do you know Egil Jarleson?" Odin questioned Frigga.

"Of course, he has come to court and fought alongside you in the war. I was very close with his wife before she passed. Why do you ask?"

"I entrusted him with the Staff of Hodr to protect. He is one of my most trusted men in all of Asgard."

The Staff of Hodr was a powerful weapon that plagued the nine realms with darkness when it was in control of the god Hodr himself. It was said that through the grief of losing his twin brother, Baldur, in battle, Hodr was clouded with darkness and hatred. With those emotions affecting him in such great strength, the Nine Realms became dark and cold, all living plants would wither away, lakes and rivers would dry out. Any living being's darkest emotion would corrupt them and make them act upon those emotions.

To save the Nine Realms from certain death, Odin attacked Hodr and his army of darkness. When hope was fading, Odin asked the spirit of Baldur to help defeat his brother and save the Nine Realms. Baldur granted Odin's request by bestowing him with a sword that destroyed Hodr's army. It was a difficult war, but with the help of Baldur, Odin was victorious.

However, the Staff of Hodr was cursed with unimaginable sorcery. It was then decided the Staff would be placed deep within the castle, beyond Odin's Vault. The only way to get to the Staff was by Egil Jarleson. He placed a powerful enchantment in the room the Staff was kept. Only through Odin's order would Egil Jarleson remove the enchantment. Egil Jarleson swore his life to Odin that he would never let anyone get to the Staff.

"Why do you mention him?" Frigga asked her husband.

"He and his late wife have a daughter named Ravenna. I believe his daughter would be an excellent match for Thor. It would be an honorable union between two great families."

"But what if Thor doesn't love her? You must consider this, My Darling."

"They will grow to love each other, but if they are not a proper match, I will have no objection to denying the union. The same goes for Egil. Still, I have every belief that our son and Egil's daughter will be a suitable match."

"When will they meet?"

"Egil insisted his daughter train as a warrior, just like Sif. Ravenna's training begins tomorrow."

The following day, Thor, Loki, and their friends were sparring during their training day. Thor was sparring with Volstagg when Odin, Egil, and Ravenna stepped into the courtyard. Loki immediately took notice of the small girl that stayed close to her father.

She was a small frail looking girl with skin beautiful warm brown skin and shoulder-length hair that reminded him of raven feathers. She had almond-shaped brown eyes with long eyelashes. She was roughly around Loki and Thor's age.

"Thor Odinson," Odin called out, making Thor and Volstagg stop fighting. Everyone bowed their head down and placed their right arm across their chest with their hand clenched into a fist to show respect to their king. "I must speak with you."

Thor walked up to his father. "Father, I was close to defeating Volstagg."

"And you will have that opportunity again. For now, I want you to greet my friend, Egil Jarleson, and his daughter, Ravenna."