Reign

Chapter 3: Loki's Dream

The young girl skipped through the fields of sugar cane. Her long brown hair bounced about her shoulders as she happily traveled along. She was wearing a flowing white dress that reached her ankles along with black converse on her feet. She was slightly covered with dirt as skipping around dusty roads wasn't the cleanest thing.

As she neared the edge of the forest she realized she had wandered too far from home. She immediately stopped in fear and held her breath in unspoken fear. It was the warning her adoptive father had always said, the forest was a dark and scary place.

However, just as she was about to turn away she noticed a boy standing just at the mouth of a trail. He seemed to have been looking at her intently. He was much different from her. His raven black hair was neatly combed back. He seemed to have been wearing an odd type of outfit. His pants were brown and he was wearing a matching brown tunic. Though his jacket was rather classy for someone who was in such a dark forest.

She walked towards him but he simply turned and began to walk down the trail. She didn't waste time as she caught up to him. He turned and looked at her with his head slightly tilted to the side. He extended his hand to her and greeted, "Hello, I'm Loki."

Her head tilted slightly as well as she took his hand to shake; though he didn't shake her hand. He gently took her hand up to his lips as he placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand. She didn't know what to say. He seemed nice but she wasn't entirely sure. She replied shyly, "Hi..."

As soon as they released each other's hand, he asked, "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

"Well... I don't know you..."

She had an unsure look on her face as he once again simply took her hand gently and assured her, "We won't go that far. It's just next to a pond." He smiled at her and that was enough to encourage her to go with him.

She tensed up as they seemed to have walked in a rather shadowy part of the forest, his hand simply wrapped around hers in a protective manner. She smiled at him noticing he was looking at her.

Loki led her between the path of two large trees and gestured around while looking at her. Her mouth was slightly open as she looked around at the beautiful sight. The sun was brightly shining across the glimmering water as trees and bushes were the only things surrounding the pond. "Wow!"

He led her beside a bush and sat down with her beside him in the sunlight. "Beautiful isn't it? Midgard is fantastic."

"Midgard?" She looked at him in confusion.

"Uh... Sorry..." He rubbed a hand through his hair as he admitted, "It's just what I call Earth..." He laid back into the grass.

She slightly giggled and commented, "You're kinda weird. Where are you from?"

"I'm from a place called Asgard. Not many people have heard of it before."

"I've never heard of it. I'm just from a farm." She sat back in a relaxing manner until her hair became entangled in the leaves of the bush behind her. She tugged slightly and made a quiet noise of pain.

Loki sat up and observed the mess. "Hang on... Your hair is tangled in it." He leaned closer as he shook the branch, slightly loosening it for him to untangle her hair from the branches. "What did you say your name was?"

She sat there for a moment, moving her head when it was necessary. She quietly responded, "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you... My name is Ash."

"Ash?" He thought for a moment before complimenting, "That's a pretty name."

She slightly blushed as she pushed a piece of hair from her face. "Thanks..." She twiddled her thumbs for a bit before noticing a berry roll beside her. She looked down at it as Loki still seemed to be dealing with the mess of branches. It looked as though it was a blackberry of some sort. She smiled as she took it from beside her. It left some slight coloring on her fingers, which was normal of a blackberry, and she put it in her mouth with no hesitation.

As she savored the sweet taste she noticed that Loki had freed her from her prison of hair. He smiled kindly and commented, "Lucky we didn't have to cut anything off."

Ash pet her hair almost possessively at the thought of having to cut it off. "Well, I'm fine with this hair on my head..." Her eyes got slightly droopy as she could hardly see him straight. "L- Loki..."

He seemed frantic for a moment before asking, "Did you eat one of those berries?!"

"It wasn't poison was it?" Ash seemed worried at the tone of Loki's voice. She wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea to have eaten the berry after all.

Loki suddenly picked her up in his arms and began to walk back out of the forest where he had found her. He whispered, "No, it wasn't poison. But I'm taking you back to your home now. I'll come back for you one day, Ash. I promise." He didn't walk that close to the house where her adoptive family lived. He placed her under a shady tree not too far from the family barn.

Almost fully asleep she muttered, "Stay with me... Loki..." He gripped her right hand as his left hand moved to her forehead.

He said most quietly, "You won't remember this... But you will one day. You who has eaten the fruit..." She then fell into a deep slumber as the young Loki took one last look at the girl and bolted away to where he came from.

Loki slightly smirked to himself, only hoping that he wouldn't regret permanently placing some of his own powers within a mere mortal girl. He couldn't deny how curious he was to see how it would turn out with a mortal, but he knew what cautions had to be taken. Until the day came he would simply forget about this 'incident'. He would be ready when the time came.

(A/N: Ooooo How's that for a history lesson? The very first meeting of Ash and Loki. It'll be very relevant, trust me! ;D ALSO, I tried to update this story yesterday but my internet wouldn't let me so I'm doubling the update today.)