Stuck Together || Loki

Chapter 16

After our interaction with Odin, Loki said he needed to show me something, and suddenly he became cold towards me. It feels like he wanted to avoid whatever it is he needs to show me. His emotionless expression as I follow him and the lack of information is really worrying me.

He leads me through a hidden door, and I think that we are going under the surface. No sunlight reaches down here. There is one long hallway and multiple rooms on each side. Each door is golden and looks sealed.

"These are the vaults" Loki says, breaking the awkward silence as we walk

"Mhm...". I'm not really interested anymore. I just want to know where we are going and why he is suddenly so distant, but he isn't telling me.

"There are also panic rooms here and more hidden chambers" he adds

"Loki...". He recognizes that I don't care about that right now, so he just nods and keeps walking.

"I will tell you everything when we get there" he says

"Why can't we just get it over with now?" I ask.

He doesn't answer. I grab his hand and I stop him. "The more you stall, the more worried I am getting" I admit.

"No, please. Everything will be alright" he reassures me and kisses the back of my hand. "Come on, we're almost there".

He holds my hand and leads me towards one of the golden doors. He opens it and takes me inside.

We walk down about 10 steps and in the middle of the vault there is a stand that displays an old circlet crown, of those that go across the forehead and get lost in between hair.

The crown looks to be made out of metal. A black crystal is attached on its center. Also, smaller crystals of the same kind are decorating the metal designs along the rest of the crown, giving it a bit more sparkle.

But no matter how beautiful it looks, it makes me feel anxious. I got goosebumps the moment my eyes landed on it. There is something about it that I can't quite explain.

"Josephine..." Loki calls. I snap out of it and I turn my attention back to him.
"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, of course" I answer immediately.
"So... Why are we here?" I ask

"For this..." he replies as he walks around the display to get to the other side and across from me.

"This belonged to 'The Punished Witch'. Most believe that it is just a tale and don't know her true story, expect those who have seen her crown being kept here, and that is four people, five now that you are here" he explains

"Ok... And I'm seeing it because...?".

"Her name was Aria and there is no information about her life before she started getting into magic. She was an orphan until she became one of the Queen's selected and the best of her students about 2500 years ago. But she wasn't patient and a few years later she started looking for new resources to learn magic. Her powers grew dangerously quickly and started messing with her mind. Even Odin felt threatened -of course he would never admit that but it was obvious. So, he punished her as soon as he sensed that the Realm was in danger. He trapped her, he locked her powers within her own body and turned her into a Midgardian, making her vulnerable. He turned her the same way he turned me to Asgardian, so the change was permanent. Eventually, he banished her on your Realm with no way of getting out".

I listen to him carefully, while trying to understand in what way that could be relevant to me. After all, this happened 2000 years ago. Even he wasn't both yet.

"She lived her life like a human for the rest of her years. She even had a family. But like I said, her abilities were never completely gone. They were just contained within her. So the next female that would carry her DNA, would also inherite her powers, her talent, and would be able to unlock it for herself, since Odin's containing spell was casted only upon Aria. Legend has it that Aria knew about this theory and that was the reason she had a family in the first place.

"Odin has watchers on Midgard. They have always been watching the bloodline and for so many centuries and generations, when the offsprings were female, he would put another containing spell on the child very early on. Until you... Your father was one of Aria's descendants".

"My father?" I chuckle
"No my father left. He didn't want anything to do with me" I remind him

"That's the story your mother told you but it's not entirely true. Your father died before your mother even found out she was pregnant with you. She wouldn't be able to reach him even if she tried. That is why you were never connected to him by the watchers".

I start laughing, so he pauses.
"That was great. Wow. I have to admit, you had me at one point but no, I'm not falling for that" I say.

"Josephine, please, hear me out. You have her influence. I felt it the moment I met you that night in Stuttgart. You are different...".

"Different?" I chuckle

"There are three recognized kinds of witches. Most common are the Borrowers: those who harvest the power of a demon in order to practice the art. Secondly and rarest of all, are the Naturals: those who are born with the gift. And then there are the Students: those with no natural ability, who, with enough practice and training and an approved mentor to show them the path can eke out a modicum of power.

"Aria was a Borrower. My mother is a Natural. I am a Student. But you... You are quite complicated, Josephine. With Aria's powers you should considered to be one of the Borrowers like her, but at the same time you were born with it, and you will need to learn how to control it. You are the rarest except, which can become dangerous if not managed".

"Me? Dangerous? Right..." I laugh, remembering very well that last time I punched someone I almost broke my fingers.

"Touch the crown" he orders, out of patience.

My laughter dies, as I notice how actually serious he is about this.

"Touch the crown" he repeats

"Why?" I chuckle

"Because the crystals are not just for decoration. They unlocked a new reach of her powers and when she wore it, the crystals were always green, like her magic"
Like his and his mother's magic...

"They turned black, empty when she passed a few years later during her exile on Midgardian. So, go ahead. Touch it and see if it works for you" he insists and stands with his hands behind his back.

I look at the crown and then back at him. "If you are sure that whatever I am saying is fiction, why are you hesitating?" he asks

I clear my throat. "I'm not hesitating" I say and I lift my hand.

"Then go ahead"

"I will!".

I take a step closer and I extend my hand. I take one more glance at Loki. He's looking at the crown and my hand closely. By his expression, I can tell he's concerned and probably not lying.

I shake my head in disbelief and grab the crown. A wave of electricity runs through my whole body but my hand stays clenched onto the crown.

Like Loki said, the crystals turn green. I gasp and I let it go, but its effects don't go away. I look at my hands and my veins are glowing the same green as the crown.

I start to back away from the stand as I look at my hands horrified. I'm shaking and my head starts hurting. I try to ignore it but it becomes worse.

"Josephine. Josephine!" Loki calls as he catches me

"Wh-- This can't be real. I'm not-- I'm not anything special. I'm not-- What is this? Make it stop" I start panicking

"I will--".

Suddenly, my headache becomes 10 times worse and it feels like my head is going to explode. I fall on my knees, screaming.

If someone is talking to me, I can't hear them. If someone is touching me, I can't concentrate on them.

The headache gets me very nauseous, which makes my breathing harder.
I'm falling apart.

My closed eyes start glowing.
"Josephine..." I hear an unfamiliar female whisper in my head.

That's when the light starts fading and I'm falling into deep darkness.

~ And the old men that I've swindled
Really did believe I was the one...