Soulmate Chronicles I - Part of my Soul // ft. Loki Laufeyson

10: The eye of the Storm

Heimdall:

It had been 5 years since that morning, the morning where people just started to turn into dust, Brigid and him hadn't been one of them and ever since they met they only got closer and closer. Last year they even confirmed their bond at Beltane, drawing each others blood.

And even though he so wanted to tell his friends that made it to Midgard that he was fine and so were a lot of other people that crashed that day, Brigid had said that the time wasn't right for it yet. The fires in their hearts should still be kept burning until what had to be done was done.

He didn't know what that was but he trusted his woman, looking at her right now as he held her. She was still asleep in his arms but stirred awake in his hold and raised her beautiful head.

"It's time", she whispered out, awoken by yet another vision. He knew the drawbacks of her powers, knew the toll it sometimes took on her. And he had helped pull her out of a particularly draining vision that almost pulled her down a never ending spiral. But right now he looked at her. "Is it?", he asked, to make sure.

"The Queen has reappeared", she said, "I can feel her energy."

"There will be a lot to do with all the people coming back and needing to settle in again."

Brigid nodded and sat up to get going and offer her help to the current Leader of their Queendom.

Loki:

He didn't know what had hit him but he felt like he was floating for a while, now he stood back up and shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. Outside it was brighter than it should be for dawn so he didn't quite know how long he had been out. Had Nemain exited her room and just stepped over him? That seemed unrealistic. For now though he just knocked but the door creaked open. Raising an eyebrow he pushed it fully open and entered an empty room. "Just ... what is this planet?", he asked himself. He knew that he had destroyed the room with his powers before but now everything seemed to be fixed even though it was covered in sheets to keep the dust away.

While he was still standing in the room and wondering, the raven that kept following him around hopped in behind him and flew onto his shoulder, gently nibbling his ear with its beak.

"What... what is it?", he growled in annoyance, watching the bird fly off out of the window. Loki sighed and followed it, looking out the window where he saw a familiar figure walk in the gardens. It was Nemain but she definitely wore something that wasn't her style at all. And he noticed that it was the imperial gown her mother had worn before. "Hey!", he called out from the window, not wanting her to get away he decided to just jump out since it was only one flight of stairs anyway.

Her head snapped up at his voice, her face dropping in shock. "L-Loki?", she acted as if she hadn't seen him in years as he now walked over to her. Come to think of it, she also looked different. Her hair was shorter and her complexion was thinner, all in all she just looked like she hadn't properly eaten in months. "Well... in the flesh", he replied to her question, meeting her in front of a rose bush, "Care to explain why you look like shit?", he asked.

She laughed out in a breathy way like you do when you're actually about to cry. "You were gone... for 5 years", she revealed to him as her eyes welled up with tears.

Nemain:

His face dropped in shock. She could clearly see the confusion. She herself didn't quite understand it yet, that night she went to bed, not able to sleep for a long time she got up at dawn again and the second she opened her door she could only watch in horror as Loki crumbled into dust right before her eyes. But he hadn't been the only one, with him he took the Raven that stayed with him like glue ever since their bond formed, part of her soul that clung to him. Other than Loki, many of their people vanished, including her mother, so instead of mourning what was gone Nemain had to take over the Queendom, starting damage control, helping farmers that lost half their families and weren't able to take care of their fields and lifestock anymore. They all pulled together and somehow made it work because they had to.

However in those 5 years she was literally missing part of her soul since the raven vanished alongside Loki, everything felt dull and colourless, as if the universe was a darker place without him. Yes she still didn't know if she had feelings for him or could even develop them, but the fact that the raven vanished with him still hurt her deeply. Right now she just wanted to hug him, burry her face in his scent but she just stood still.

"Brigid said that it was Thanos' plan coming to fruition. He snapped half the population of the whole universe away...", she explained to him, "You and my mother were only some of those who were taken. I guess now they are all back", and saying this just made her realize that she had to search for her mother.  "My mother...", she gasped, "I have to find her. She also should be back!"

Nemain couldn't stop her tears now as she walked past Loki, just leaving him standing there, going to search for her mother, but of course he followed her. "So you're saying Thanos used the infinity stones to turn people to dust at random and I've been gone for 5 whole years? It felt like no time passed at all since I felt light headed in front of your room!"

"Yes", she answered but she still didn't stop, tears still streaming down her cheeks as her whole emotional state just a whole entire mess right now.

He looked at her, frowning as he saw her like that. "Will you just stop walking for only a second!", he barked out and gripped her arm.

She stopped in her tracks, looking at his hand that was touching her and then at his face. "I... I can't focus on you right now. I have my dut-", of course he cut her off.

"Your duties blah blah blah. Your mother is an ancient adult woman. She'll be fine with the castle guards for just a few more minutes Nemain!", he growled out, "You're a mess", he said, pulling her into his arms.

She didn't return the hug, instead bracing her hands on his chest, her mind was a hurricane right now, but somehow, in the eye of it where there was no turmoil, no chaos, no confusion, just a woman hugging a man that irked her, yet that still somehow made her care for him and seemed to care for her in return. In the center, there was Loki. And for a moment she just allowed herself to be weak, to be selfish, to slowly wrap her arms around him and soak in his scent, soothing her soul and soaking his shirt with her tears.

Brigid:

They had just found the Queen, sitting calmly in her chambers and collecting herself when Heimdall and she entered. "My Queen", Brigid greeted her and bowed lightly, "It is good to have you back."

"It is good to be back", Danu replied, "Let us get to work", she said smiling. "All-seer", she turned to Heimdall.

"Yes Lady Danu?", he replied, standing at full attention for the Queen of this realm.

"Where is my daughter?", she asked of course.

Heimdall smiled lightly. "In the eye of a storm. We should give her a few minutes."