My greatest hero

Chapter 18

Eira heard a knock at the door "Eira may I come in?" It was loki
"Yes, yes of course" she said as she turned to the door. He came in and looked like he was in a very good mood.
"My father just told me that you were staying" he said with a smile as he came over to her. She shrugged a little bit "looks like it" she said, nervously scratching her neck. She hadn't been paying attention, but she now noticed a metal band around her neck
"What is this?" She asked moving her hair to one side so loki could see it
"Oh, I'm sorry, I had that put on you. it prevents you from using magic. I didn't know if you'd be scared when you woke" he explained.
"Why do you have this?" She asked. He laughed a little bit "My mother made it. For me. She didn't really trust me with magic when I was younger, I was a bit of a trouble maker" Eira chuckled at the thought of his mother restricting him that way. He came over and started to take it off, but she pulled away "No no... Leave it" she said cautiously. "It's okay" he assured her "not here, I might hurt someone again" She said taking a step back.
"You can control this, I know you can" she looked at him "How can you know that?" She said, not thinking it possible.
"Because you did it when I was taking you home, you and I walked for days and you didn't hurt me" he said looking at her hands "That's because I wasn't afraid when I was with you" she said back "And why is that?" He asked "I don't know, when I'm with you I just feel safe. I don't know why" he moved in a little closer to her "You are safe" he assured her. "Follow me" he said taking her hand and the two of them left the room. They walked for a few moments before entering a large empty room. "What is this?" She asked looking around "Im going to help you learn" he said
"Wha- right now?" She asked "Why not now?" He said with a smile
"I don't know, I guess we could start now" she shrugged. He shut and locked the door to the room. "Just you and me" he said coming back over to her. She started to feel nervous when he took off the band "Calm down, it's okay" he said smiling. He took it off, and ice immediately spread across the floor and up the walls.
"Loki this isn't going to work" she said with a bit a panic seeping in.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine, you can do it" he said as he took her hand.
"How?" She asked.
"Your power is part of you. If you concentrate you can find it and control it" he told her. "Concentrate, relax, focus" he said calmly. She was quiet for a minute and then shook her head.
"I can't. That's like telling me to control my heartbeat, I can't just 'find it' by thinking about it" she said. He shook his head.
"Yes you can find it by thinking about it. You can control this, you just need to realize that this isn't about fear or anger." He said to her.
"How can you say that? This /is/ about fear and anger" she argued.
"No it isn't. It's like- you know how when someone is sad they cry?" He asked. She gave him a look.
"Of course" she said.
"Well crying isn't something that just happens when someone is upset. It's a reaction to pain or sorrow. But with practice you can learn to control it, you can control how you react to pain." He explained.
"So- so you're saying that my power is just a reaction to fear or anger... and  I can learn to hold it back?" She asked. It seemed to simple, she'd tried not to use it before and it didn't work. But maybe she never really tried.. maybe she always doubted that it was possible and that stopped her.
"That's what I believe. That the way it is with all magic. It will control you until you learn to be bigger than it. I know you can learn" he told her. She smiled a little bit at the thought of being free. "And I'll teach you how" he added. It was the first time she felt hope.
"Thank you loki, thank you so much" she said as she stepped forward and put her arms around him. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help it.