Believe in Magic [a Loki fanfic]

Meetings

"Loki?" Eir's voice brought him out of his concentration. "What?!" it came out harsher than intended. Ever since he had arrived back from Niflheim he had been irritable and had not been able to pinpoint the reason for his restlessness. The God sighed as he turned towards the Goddess of Healing, who smiled at him benevolently. "I thought you might want to know that she is recovering well." "Who?" Loki asked with a bemused look on his face. "The girl you brought back from Niflheim." "Oh. The mortal," he muttered. Since he had brought her to the healing quarters that night, the dark prince had not wasted another thought on the girl. "She has regained consciousness. If you would like to come and say --" Loki waved her off, "And why would I like to do that, Eir?" The Goddess of Healing ignored his question and continued, "The Norns only know what she has gone through. Her body is still weak, but her mind is like a fortress, my magic has not been able to penetrate her, nevertheless, to heal her I will need to --" "Eir." Loki interrupted her again and drew air through his teeth, growing slightly impatient now. "Why are you wasting my time telling me all this?" He looked at the Goddess, shaking his head in frustration. She was a wise woman, who had his respect - because of her wisdom and sorcery. Apart from that she was probably the only person in Asgard who seemed to somewhat understand him. So why was she pestering him about a mortal? Eir smiled, "I understand. I shall not bother you any further."

 When the Goddess turned to leave she muttered, "I just wish I knew her name, but it seems that she cannot speak." "She can speak." Loki blurted out. Eir turned back to him a smug smile on her lips and Loki realised he had made a mistake. He had just gotten himself involved despite of doing his best to avoid it. "And how would you know, Loki?" "She thanked me, after I found her." "Loki, just come and see her once. I understand that you do not care, and I promise, I will not ask you for more than that. Maybe she will open up to you a little." Eir's voice was soft and sweet, the same tone his mother would use when she tried to get him to do something he did not like. The Master of Magic rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead - Here we go, Loki. So much for not getting involved. Damn it!

****

"Being inside seems to make her nervous," Eir explained as they strode up to the large archway that led into the Healer's Gardens. "So I let her come here, to the garden." When they stepped out onto the porch of the stairwell that lead down into a flouring sanctuary of trees, shrubs and herbs, they found the girl sitting on the wide stone banister. She leaned back against a tall column, her gaze lost in the distance. "I have brought you a visitor", Eir said gently, as if speaking to a child and the mortal turned around slowly to face them. Loki hardly recognised her now that she was all cleaned up. The maiden was still much too thin, but the bruise on her face had started to heal and her hair was clean and brushed back neatly. It had a golden hue in the afternoon sun. The girl's eyes turned towards them. As soon as she caught sight of Loki she froze and slowly backed up against the column, her eyes large with fear. Then something changed. Her body relaxed and her gaze become soft. Loki was bewildered by the warmth in the girl's eyes and the smile that spread on her face as she recognised him. He was not used to being greeted by anyone with so much trust. 

Eir smiled at her encouragingly. "You do rememberLoki?" it was more of a statement than a question and the girl's eyes moved to the Goddess and she gave a slight nod before they shifted back to Loki, her gaze lingering on his face. When the Master of Magic attempted to dip into her mind, he met with immediate resistance. It was as if he hit a robust wall that withstood any attempt of cracking it. Bemused, Loki furrowed his brow. He had not encountered a protection spell like this in a human being before. He found mortals more often to be weak minded and easily manipulated. The fact that this human had built a mind block this powerful and was able to sustain it, sparked the God's curiosity. It was a fine piece of sorcery. The maiden slipped off the banister to approach them and stopped in front of the God of Mischief glancing up at him shyly, before she wrapped her arms around him tightly and placed her head against his chest. Loki stiffened in a state of discomfort and awkwardness and Eir tried hard to suppress the smile that threatened to spread on her face. "Thank you, Loki", the girl whispered, "I owe you my life." She pulled away quickly, and without casting them another glance she turned around and disappeared down the steps into the garden. Eir's gaze lingered on Loki. It took much to render the God of Mischief speechless, and this mortal girl with the heart of a child had certainly managed to get his attention. 

"It seems you were right, Loki," Eir said, "The girl can speak. She is simply picky about who she speaks to. It is evident she prefers royalty." "Of course, I was right." Loki muttered absentmindedly, his eyes scanning the garden for a sign of the girl who had vanished between the trees. "As she seems so comfortable with you, maybe you could -" "No, Eir. I will not waste anymore time here." He said sharply. His gaze still wandered, but his voice was adamant. "Very well" Eir said, "I did promise that I would not ask you for anything else." Loki finally tore his eyes away from the garden and looked at the Goddess. "Good, this is settled then." With that he turned and left. Eir smiled. "We will see."