Love, Magic and Lies (COMPLETE)

Chapter Twenty: The test of Love

After not having eaten a morsel in almost three days now, Loki insisted on preparing the fish he'd caught, which they ate followed by berries.

Previously she had felt ravenously hungry, especially after their excessive lovemaking, yet in the end she'd eaten out of necessity in order to keep her strength up, as her appetite had vanished due to all the emotional turmoil.
She felt very much like a snow globe that had been shaken up, and only now was she beginning to feel more settled.

By mutual agreement, once they'd finished their meal, they set off for the infamous Nornkeep, home to Karnilla.

The journey was a much shorter one than Sif had anticipated, and she listened with keen interest as Loki explained to her along the way how Nornheim was one of the smallest of all the nine realms, and closest to the dimension of Asgard, therefor it had initially fallen under Asgardian rule...

"However that has long since changed, as Karnilla did not wish to be subject to Odin's ruling...the light elves and demons accepted her as their Queen and she now reigns here as absolute monarch"
He concluded, as they reached their destination.

She surveyed the simple, and somewhat shabby-looking fortitude curiously. In comparison to the opulent splendour of Asgard and it's gleaming spires, this really wasn't what she had expected.

One of the Norn Queen's guardian demons stood by the gateway, and much to Sif's astonishment, permitted their entrance, without exchanging nothing more than a mere nod with Loki.

"You are well known to them I see..."
She commented quietly, unsure of why this seemed to trouble her slightly.

He smiled lazily, his eyes giving nothing away,
"Karnilla and I have always been sworn allies, that is why we'll be granted safe refuge here"

Sif pursed her lips,
"So, as well as the enchantress and the witch of the Ironwood, you can also claim personal acquaintance with Karnilla....all of whom are enemies of Asgard."

She didn't add that they were also all female, as she wouldn't grant him the satisfaction of knowing that this irked her. She knew that nursing feelings of jealousy regarding his past relationships was irrational and petty.
She scolded herself inwardly for being ridiculous, but after the intimacies they'd shared she couldn't bear the thought of anyone else having been that close to him. She was no fool, and had been able to tell that his expert touch was not that of a novice. Unlike herself, who was almost virginal compared to Loki it seemed, and his skills in the bedchamber put her past lovers to shame...their caresses had been rough, hurried and clumsy in comparison.
She'd never experienced such immense pleasure, and now she found herself wondering who else had experienced it prior to her, in order for him to have developed such a level of expertise.

She shuddered at these unwanted thoughts, though it went unnoticed by him, as he'd continued to explain that Karnilla had formed an alliance with Odin during the war with Surtur, and that Asgardian warriors had been responsible for her release, after she'd been captured by the frost Giants.

Having now gained entry to the keep, they were led by another small demon guardian, along the relatively narrow hallway to the modest throne room, where they were instructed to wait.
Standing side by side in silence, Sif did her upmost to ignore the nagging apprehension that she felt building once more.
This was becoming too much of a habit it seemed, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the realisation that these feelings obviously came with the territory....not necessarily just caused by being in unfamiliar surroundings, but as a result of being so entangled with the trickster God. He was, after all, a living, breathing personification of chaos...so she must be prepared for the emotional turbulence it entailed.