Ebony and Gold (Loki fanfic/prequel)

Eplilogue - Thor

Loki shut himself in his room. He wouldn't speak or see anyone, even mother. We all tried, but he would not see anyone.

Fandral was just as heartbroken. He knew that Keya loved Loki and not him. He's spent the last couple of days fighting silently. His mouth not making any jests toward anyone.

"How are you? With Keya gone?" Sif asked. I looked up at the warrior and forced a smile.

"I'm fine. We weren't ever as close as I wanted us to be, but I didn't want Loki to feel like I was trying to take her from him. She loved him, and he loved her, so why did she leave?"

"No one knows, Thor." She sat down next to me. "Fandral has been torn up, and now Loki has fallen into a pit that he may not ever recover from."

"Don't worry, Sif, I will not fall into a despair. Asgard needs a king with his head on tight."

"Maybe not too tight." She said as she nudged my elbow with hers. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

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Later that day, Loki joined us for dinner for the first time since Keya disappeared.

"My son, I'm glad that you could join us for dinner this evening." Father stated as Loki walked into the dining hall. He silently sat in his chair next to mother, who was on his right hand. She patted his shoulder as he slowly began to slowly pile food onto his plate.

"You must be hungry, brother. Would you like the best slice of meat?" He looked up at me, his green eyes looked less lively than I knew them. He suddenly looked back down and shook his head.

"I'm all right, Thor, you may have it."

"Loki, why don't you take your brother's offering?" Father asked.

"Because I don't want it." Loki hissed. Mother looked at him with surprise.

"Loki, please do not speak to your father in that tone." She said gently. She reached for his arm, but he retaliated.

"If we could please take the subject off of me for once." he snapped urgently without looking up from his plate. We all exchanged worried glances and continued our small talk.

"Thor, my son. Have you finished your studies?" Father asked me.

"I am almost finished. I have one more exam then I will be ready to rule." I said proudly. He nodded.

"Good. Good, my son. Make sure that you do not loose sight of what you have learned, because you will need to know that, and more."

"What more is there, father?"

"Experience. A good king has experiences that he can learn from, and make him better. You don't need to only follow in my footsteps, but make some of your own for your children to continue." I nodded in understanding.

"I will father."

"And you must find yourself a queen. Not just any woman is worthy to be a queen. Seek a woman like your mother. A woman who will keep you company and look after you and care for you." He said as he put his hand over mothers' and they smiled at each other. I smiled and looked over at Loki, and my smile faded a little. His hands clenched around his silverware and his jaw clenched. His stare on his untouched plate seemed to burn through the table.

I pulled my gaze from my brother back to my father. "Would you have any suggestions, father?"

"Well, if Lady Keya wouldn't have left, I would have encouraged you to court her." At the mere mention of her name, Loki stood, his chair scooting back and his fists slamming on the table, making the items on it jump.

"Loki!" father stood as well. Loki sent him a venomous look before he turned and left. I stood to follow, but mother motioned for me to stop.

"Leave him be, Thor. He needs more time to heal." I shook my head.

"Some people cannot recover alone." I said before I followed Loki and left the dining hall. I walked down the halls until I saw him standing on his balcony, his bedroom doors wide open. He held a silver pendant in his hand. I knocked on his door gently. "Brother?" When he didn't respond, I walked to stand by his bed. "Loki. Please know, that I would never have taken Keya-" he abruptly turned.

"Shut up! Stop talking about her like that!"

"Like what, brother?"

"Like she's dead! She's not dead!"

"I've never-"

"You made her leave! She became overwhelmed and left! It's all your fault!" he slammed the balcony doors closed and turned back around. I looked around his room and saw a letter on the end table. I approached it and read it.

Loki,

I'm sorry, but I must leave. Everything that is happening is too much for me. Fandral is upset because he knows I do not see him the way he sees me, Thor courting me, and you. I have never known anything except the love of my horses, and I am unprepared for the overwhelming attention given towards me. I adored my peaceful life, and now, I don't know what to do. I feel like I have no other choice but to leave. And I cannot tell you why. But what I can tell you, is that I love you. You may not love me, but I fell for you when we first met. And because you might not feel the same for me, I must leave to keep my sanity.

I am so sorry,
Keya

I set the letter down and walked towards the balcony doors. I knocked on the glass.

"Please, brother, just let me explain." He turned and opened the doors.

"Explain why Keya left? Is there something she told you that she didn't wan me to know, just like mother and Heimdal?" he spat.

"What?" he raised an eyebrow at my confusion.

"Ah, so you are in the dark just as I am. The last two people she spoke to was mother and Heimdal. He knows where she went and mother knows why she left. But they both swore not to tell anyone. Not a soul. I've tried to convince them, but they stand resilient."

"If she told you something that she didn't want me to hear and made you swear not to tell me, would you tell me or not?" He looked at his hands in thought. The silver pendant coiled around his fingers shimmered in the moons' light. "You made that for her?" He nodded and closed his hands. "You really do love her." He looked back up at me with tears welling in his eyes. He looked down and fondled the pendant.

"I loved her more than anything. And she left me. She wrote me a letter and hid it so I would eventually find it. She said that she was overwhelmed with attention. She said that she loved me. Then said that I probably didn't love her back, but I did." A tear ran down his cheek. "It's all my fault, isn't it?" I put an arm around his shoulders.

"Loki --brother-- it's not your fault. Like she said, she became overwhelmed. She just needed space. Maybe she left for some alone time and will be back."

"No, Thor. It's my fault. I didn't profess my love to her soon enough and now she's gone." He moved away from me and walked inside. He leaned against the bedpost and held the pendant to his chest.

"She's gone, and it's my fault. And she's not coming back."