Into the Unknown

On the Open Road

We reach a forest and Loki slows the horse down to a simple walk.

"Are you alright?" He asks.

Despite the initial fear of the horse running, I smile big. "I'm great! That was fun!" I exclaim.

I look around at our surroundings. The trees are thick along the sides with the sun peaking in between them in perfect sunbeams. The path we're on is a well traveled dirt path. Different kinds of foliage are along the sides of the path and under trees. And a few critters scatter away as we approach.

"So where exactly are we going?" I ask him, turning my head to look back at him.

He glances down at me and that loveable smirk appears.

"Patience, Pet." Is all he says.

Have I mentioned that he smells good? He does. He smells like leather, cedar, and some other kind of scent that is just uniquely him. Whatever it is, it makes him smell so good. I face away from him and watch the forest in front of us.

We come to a fork and Loki steers the horse to take the left path. This road curves a little bit more than the previous one and it takes us deeper into the woods.

"What's going to happen should someone try to find us at the palace?"

"Your handmaiden has her orders. We're either in the library or in the gardens." Loki answers.

I chuckle. "You really thought of everything, huh?"

He just shrugs.

"Hey, can I see the library sometime? I mean, are there even any books in English or are they all in Asgardian?"

Loki smiles. "Yes, I can show you the library when we get back, and yes there are books in English." He squeezes my hand that's still holding the reins. "What kind of books do you like to read?"

"Mostly fantasy. My world has no magic or dragons, so I read about them so I can visit those worlds. It's my little escape." I reply.

Loki hums but doesn't say anything else. Soon I can hear the sound of water and the path turns to start a slight incline. Loki urges Hulda on. The sound of water running grows louder and the trees begin to thin the higher we climb. When I can see above the trees my mouth falls open. Asgard is beautiful. I can still see the palace even from how far away we are, there are a bunch of villages scattered around on one side of the palace with the other being mostly a large body of water. Mountains frame the large lake with forests of their own.

"It's beautiful." I softly say.

Asgard really is beautiful. It was a shame that we really don't get to see much of it in the movies. The path evens out and Loki makes Hulda stop. He gets off first and then reaches out his hands to me. With his help I get off the horse and step back from him as he leads Hulda over to a tree and ties the reins to the trunk. He then comes back to me and holds out his hand.

"Come, there is something I want to show you." He says.

I take his hand and smile at him. I follow him to another incline, though this one is shorter and too small for a horse to get through. The top is a really nice lookout point and I can see the source of the water below as a huge waterfall separates our spot and the other side of the cliffs.

"Wow!" I exclaim.

"This is one of my favorite spots. I used to come here a lot to get away from everyone." Loki reminisces.

I glance at him and frown slightly. He is looking out over Asgard, his home. Of course, he still isn't supposed to leave the palace. And most likely won't be able to leave until Odin dies. I cross my arms and look away from him.

"You lied to me. You said you could come and go as you please, and yet Kari said you were still forbidden from leaving the palace." I glance back at him and smile. "But I won't tell if you won't."

He seems to let out a relieved sigh and chuckles. "I didn't lie. I did say I could come and go as I please, I just didn't say where."

I roll my eyes and point a finger at him. "That doesn't count," I laugh.

Loki goes back to looking out over Asgard. I nudge his arm.

"I never thanked you for saving me." I turn to face him. "Thank you, Loki."

He looks genuinely surprised. At least for a moment before he composes himself again.

"Yes, well..." he seems to fumble for words, "you're welcome."

I don't mind. How many times has he heard those two words before? Probably never. We continue to stand at the lookout for a while longer. I'm not sure what time it is, the sun is overhead so I can only guess that it's around noon, when we decide to head back to the palace. I get up on Hulda first and Loki gets on behind me again.

This time he doesn't tell me to take the reins and instead takes them and turns the horse around. The forest is even more lively at noon than it was in the morning. More birds are singing and more critters are scurrying around.

It seems like it's too soon when we come back to the stables and I hand Hulda over to the stableboy. Loki grabs my hand and takes me around a different route than what Kari had taken me. We come to a large hedge and Loki lets go of my hand, to open a hidden door. The door is completely covered by vines and a few flowers. Easily missed if you're not looking for it.

On the other side is a garden. Loki stands next to me and holds out his arm. I loop my arm around his as we begin to walk through the garden. The only flowers I recognize are roses. The rest, I don't know. Loki points them out as we pass them. They all smell lovely. A guard comes up to us.

"I'm sorry Your Highness, but the Allfather has requested the presence of the young lady."

I frown but nod at the guard. A slight fear going through me as I wonder if he knows about Loki's escape. Loki begins to take a step but the guard stops him.

"I'm afraid he said just the young lady, Your Highness. I'm sorry."

I look at Loki and see him frown but I lay my other hand on his arm.

"I'll be ok." I tell him.

He looks down at me for a minute before nodding. "I'll take you to the library after."

I nod and give him a small smile before I follow after the guard. If Odin found out about Loki, I don't know what I'd do.