Asgard's New Princess

Chapter 4-Old Friends

Chapter 4

The final battle was taking place; I was sunbathing.

"Eren!" Natasha screamed.

"Sorry, can't hear you! Too loud!"

The enemy was an army of aliens, and though I had yet to see their leader, I knew I didn't want to be a part of it. The others had it handled though. A man in red and silver flew across the sky and my eyes bulged. Was that...no, it couldn't be! But it was! Thor!

"Eren?" gasped a halting voice behind me. I jumped up, my bikini suddenly feeling very revealing for the person before me. It made sense that if Thor was here he should be too.

I gaped at the man who was once my friend. He looked exactly the same. Slick black hair, pale white skin, wearing green and black. But there were mountainous bags beneath his eyes, and he didn't look well.

"Why?" I couldn't help myself. It had been six years; no word from anyone on Asgard, now suddenly here he was. I deserved to know why he was gone.

He seemed to be struggling to find words; he never had before, and it scared me. "Loki?" He shivered. Suddenly all my anger left me, and I grabbed my towel, wrapping it around my body so I would feel comfortable going closer. I got as close as I dared.

"I finally got the truth about my birth from Odin," he said. I took another step forward, and though his feet shifted, he didn't move away from me.

"Was it so shocking that you couldn't come tell me?" I whispered. He leaned down closer; he could hardly hear me for the battle around us.

"It was. I was disgusted; I couldn't see you turn away from me." His voice was little more than a whisper now.

"Loki," and he shivered once more, "what's going on? You look sick, and I would pray that you're here to help your brother."

He closed his eyes tightly. "I wish I was. Eren, before you find out from someone else; I was not in my right mind when I sought out Thanos. Whatever you hear from another, believe that for me." He opened his eyes, and I saw pleading in them. Something dreadful had happened to him.

I believed he was telling the truth. Loki had never lied to me before and he had no logical reason to lie now. Besides, he was my friend. If I couldn't trust him now, I couldn't trust him at all.

"I believe you. Now whatever you need, please tell me. I can help you. Help you win, lose, get out, whatever."

"No. There is no need for you to be involved."

I smiled. "I already am. I was supposed to be fighting alongside your brother and his friends."

"Why?" It was now his turn to ask, and he sounded upset, backing away several paces. "You'd be a fool to take their offer! The army is a thousand times stronger than anything humans could dream of putting together!"

"A few days after I last saw you, I discovered the reason winters were so harsh to me." I raised my hand between us and a flame erupted on my palm. He leaped even farther away and I extinguished it, trying to ignore the sting from his revolted movements.

"Eren..."

"It's fine," I said with a forced smile. He was silent for a moment, and I frowned. He looked astonished and depressed. "Loki?"

He turned away from me, and suddenly caught up with one of the aliens; it didn't fight him, nor he it. I gasped. Loki was their leader? The Loki I knew would never have...he wouldn't destroy worlds! He wouldn't fight against his brother in a true battle!

I was not in my right mind when I searched out Thanos.

I believed him. I trusted him. Loki could not do anything to stop this battle, even if he wanted to.

Did he?

I dashed from my rooftop and quickly changed into battle-ready clothing, then back up to scout. To choose a side. To fight if I needed to. And I had a feeling I would.

The city was being completely destroyed. He didn't know what he was doing! Loki would be the downfall of my world!

I looked up and saw Barton fire at him. My breath caught, but he grabbed the arrow out of the air. Suddenly he exploded, and I screamed. I had to get down there; I had to help him! I leaped off the building, taking a huge chance of faith, and grabbed one of the aliens.

I swung up before it had a chance to do anything and crushed my hand into its face (which was extremely gross). In seconds it was screaming in agony, and I pushed us to the ground. Sliding to my knees beside him, I looked around, but I could see no physical wound.

"Loki!" I shouted, so he'd be able to hear me.

"If I lay here, I may not be attacked," he answered back, not opening his eyes.

"If you don't explain to me what exactly is going on, then you definitely will be!" I ducked from another explosion and screamed. He leaped up and pulled me away. "Now, Loki!"

He answered in a rush, hardly breathing between words. "I'm-adopted-and-it's-a-long-story-but-Odin-would-never-let-me-rule-so-I-came-here-and-"

"THIS IS ALL BECAUSE YOU'RE JEALOUS OF THOR?!" I bellowed.

He turned to face me. "Eren, your hair's on fire."

"Yeah. It does that." I took a deep breath and brushed my hand through my hair; the flames died down. "Loki, if you wanted to rule, you could've asked Thor to be the crown prince after he became king."

"It wasn't that simple, Eren."

I flushed. "Explain how it wasn't that simple!"

He seemed to be grasping for words. Seriously? He couldn't answer that?

I clenched my fists. "If you don't want to explain, then I don't want to listen! You up and leave me six-freaking-years ago, and now you show up with some god-forsaken army, but no! I don't deserve any explanation from you! I'm sorry I was so stupid to believe that I might!"

I walked away, and he returned to his battle. Hot tears were stinging my face as I turned the key on an abandoned car and rode the remaining gas out of downtown. Five years of constant companionship, and I get shot down at asking the simplest of questions.

He used to tell me everything; confide in me the most difficult arguments he had with Odin, show me what Frigga taught him about magic, explain to me his and Thor's inside jokes. Used to come to me if he felt unwelcome in his house.

Now I got nothing. He would hardly speak to me.

Well, said a voice inside my head, he did just see you in a bikini. He may be trying to recover from that.

Loki was a gentleman, but he was no virgin. Seeing me in a bikini would have had no affect on him, especially not one that would cause his silence after the fact.

He just had changed. He had changed so much that he let his jealousy toward Thor override every other sense; he was a revenge-driven mad man now. And I hated that.