Loki Laufeyson - The Experiment {1}

Chapter Fifteen - A Threat

Asguard was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen in my life, probably because I had never seen much outside of a cell or training room, or at least that I could remember. Everything was just so... perfect.

The palace from the outside looked exactly like the dream Loki had put into my head, but obviously much better in real life. The gardens were the same, I wanted to stay in them forever, but Loki said that there was plenty more to see outside of the palace grounds.

The town was probably my favourite part. All of the houses still had some sort of shining gold or silver in them, but nothing as fancy as the palace, and I liked that. The streets were full of people dressed in all different coloured clothes, laughing and chatting to each other as they walked. Most barely noticed me and Loki, or Loki at least, and when a few did, they just looked at him.

"I'm not exactly the most liked." Loki chuckled when he noticed me watching everyone's reaction. I looked up at him, but he didn't elaborate. As we walked, there were several stalls set up along the road and when Loki noticed me taking an interest in a couple of them, we stopped and he let me look. One shop in particular caught my eye, a jewellery shop. I wasn't one for fancy trinkets, probably because I hadn't owned many, if any, in my life. But I couldn't help but be drawn to the bracelets, and one in particular. It seemed to be made from some sort of sandy-coloured stone that shined slightly in the sun. I ran my finger along it curiously, loving the rough look but smooth feel.

"Brown moonstone." A voice spoke up and a woman walked over to the other side of the stall. She was clearly the owner, she was covered in all different kinds of necklaces and bracelets that were for sale. She smiled at my shocked expression at her sudden appearance and nodded to the bracelets that was hanging up that I was touching. "Its been used in jewellery for over two thousand years, rather stunning, isn't it?" I nodded, not sure what I should be saying to this.

The woman looked behind me at Loki, who was looking at a different part of the stall before she looked back at me.

"The qualities of moonstone will also help you." She said, smiling at the hidden meaning of her words, which I didn't understand. She noticed my confused expression and nodded over at Loki. I was still confused about what she meant by 'qualities' but I didn't question her, nodding as if I understood. I continued to admire the bracelet while the woman attended to another customer that had approached the store.

"You can get that if you want." Came Loki's voice in my ear and I jumped, spinning around to look up at him as he smiled at me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I don't have any money." I said softly, dropping my hand from the bracelet.

"I have some." He smiled and dug into the pockets of his fancy clothes. I honestly felt very out of place with my dark baggy clothing. He reached up and grabbed the bracelet off the hook, handing his money to the lady who had come back over to us. She thanked him and gave me a wink when Loki's back was turned. I turned around quickly, slightly uneasy about the woman. Loki didn't notice and smiled down at me.

He held the bracelets out to me and slowly took it, rolling up the sleeve of my jumper and clipping the two sides of the bracelet together. I smiled down at it before looking up at him. His eyes were glued to my arm and I followed his gaze, realizing that my horrific bruises and scars scattered all over my wrist were showing. I quickly pulled my sleeve back down and ducked my head and wrapped my arms around my waist as if to comfort myself, looking away from him. There was a couple of seconds of awkward silence before he spoke up.

"I have one last place that I think you would like." He said, his voice slightly tense. I nodded and kept my head down as I followed him away from the crowded streets. I relaxed slightly when I was away from the crowds and loud noises, but I was still very aware that Loki had seen my weaknesses.