Amara Freyadottir, the heir to the throne of Vanaheim, has never been one for royal trivialities. She would much rather spend her days exploring the lands of Vanaheim and Asgard, finding places to read, and having fun with her best friend, Loki. How...
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"frigga shared the same stare, looking as if she was restraining herself from starting an argument with her husband right then and there."
THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN LOKI AND AMARA formed quickly and grew stronger with each visit. Each time, after the formalities, the two would rush off into the library and bury themselves in books. When the new The Ethereals book came out, they ran to the library so fast that a few guards thought there was some kind of trouble.
It occurred like that for many years until, one day, Odin decided differently.
"Lady Amara, why don't you spend some time with Thor on this visit?" he had questioned aloud just as she had rushed over to Loki's side.
The young girl looked up at the King with a smile, nodding eagerly. "Yes, of course! We can all do something together, won't that be fun?!"
The King looked almost awkward as he responded. "How about... just Thor, for today?"
Amara's face instantly fell at that, not understanding why she couldn't spend time with her closest friend. She looked to Loki, whose embarrassed eyes had fallen to the floor, and then to her mother, who was staring at her apologetically. Frigga shared the same stare, looking as if she was restraining herself from starting an argument with her husband right then and there.
Amara had no choice in the matter.
For the entirety of that day, Amara explored and spent time with Thor while Loki was off by his lonesome. Amara did enjoy Thor's company, of course - he was a kind, humor-filled soul and she adored him - although she felt awful for abandoning Loki. She didn't think he had many friends besides her, and that situation went both ways. They were each other's best friends, each other's number one, a connection that only comes so rarely, if ever at all.
At the end of the day, Amara did have a good time with Thor but still was deeply worried about Loki. She hadn't seen him at all that day save for in the morning greeting, and she quickly decided that she wouldn't leave Asgard until she knew he was alright. So, while her mother finished up business with Odin and Frigga, she set off on a palace-wide search for the boy.
She went to the library first, and upon her initial search, she did not find him. Then, she noticed that a ladder was positioned against the exterior wall, leading to a window that was propped open. The window itself, she realized, lead to the library's roof.
Curious, she began climbing the ladder, trying to ignore how rickety it was and how high the ceiling of the library really was. Once she reached the top of the ladder, she heaved herself through the open window, perching herself carefully on the slanted roof of the library.
"Oh, goodness," she mumbled as she looked down. The entire city of Asgard was visible from that one area of the roof, and even though it was breathtakingly beautiful, the view from hundreds of feet up made her queasy.
"You'll get used to it after awhile."
The voice startled her, and the one thing worse than being startled on the ground was being startled on a roof hundreds of feet in the air. She turned around and immediately landed eyes on Loki, who was sitting further up on the roof. His knees were tucked into his chest, and Amara thought she noticed a faint red tint around his eyes.
Amara sighed before carefully maneuvering her way to Loki's side. She took notice of how he didn't offer to help her, but instead seemed to shrink into himself more so.
"Is this where you've been all day?" she asked, gazing at him curiously.
He only shrugged, setting his head on his hands. Amara gave him a stern expression, having dealt with these stubborn moods of his a few times before. Some would call him spoiled for it, but she knew better than that - deep down, she had always known Loki had felt subpar to his older brother, even at such a young age.
"Are you upset with me?" she asked next, continuing to gaze at the boy.
He sighed then, beginning to absentmindedly play with his fingers. "You know I'm not," he answered, still refusing to meet Amara's gaze. "I just... I missed you." He turned his head to the side, resting it on his shoulder.
"I missed you, too," Amara told him, reaching out and placing a delicate hand on his arm. "But just because your father wanted me to spend the day with Thor doesn't change anything. You're still my best friend."
Loki huffed, looking back out at the city in front of him with frustration, and some tears, in his eyes. "I just don't understand why Father takes things from me and hands them to Thor all the time," he had ranted. "It feels like I can't have even one thing of my own without Thor stepping in." He scoffed, angrily wiping at his eyes. "I wouldn't be surprised if he made you marry Thor one day."
"Ew, Loki!" Amara exclaimed, laughing as she nudged Loki's shoulder. "Don't say that, that's gross!" She continued to laugh, taken aback by the sheer ridiculousness of his statement. "I can't believe you just said that."
Even though he was trying desperately not to, Loki couldn't help but to smile in the slightest; Amara's laugh never really ceased to do that to him.
"Oh, is someone done being a grouch now?" she asked with a playful grin.
"Stoppp," Loki whined, pushing away Amara's attempts to playfully poke him. "Stop making me smile, Amara."
"In your dreams, Loki." She threw her arms around Loki's neck then, giving him a playful peck of a kiss on the side of his head.
Loki made a grimacing expression. "Alright, now that is gross."
* * * *
AFTER THAT ONE ODD VISIT, Odin never insisted that Amara spend time with only Thor again. It was noticed and never really forgotten by Amara - for some reason, it left a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had no idea why Odin would make that decree only once and never again. After years and years of thought on the matter, she was still no closer to a reason.
