Believe in Magic [a Loki fanfic]

Surprises

The next morning, Loki was in an unusually bright mood when he appeared at the entrance of Eir's quarters to pick Ella up. 

"I have a surprise for you," he said with a little smile playing around the corners of his mouth and Ella eyed him up suspiciously. 

"A good or a bad surprise?" 

"A good one of course", he chuckled as he led her through a part of the palace she had not been to before. 

Loki had changed since they first met and even though she still sensed a lot underlying grief in him, Ella could see why they called him the God of Mischief. They descended several staircases and arrived at a small square with a fountain in the centre surrounded by arcades. The scent of sweet hay mixed with the unmistakable aroma of horses lingered in the air. Loki seemed excited about whatever idea was on his mind and Ella watched one of the stable hands leading two horses towards them. She did not mean to dampen Loki's enthusiasm, but the idea of riding made her nervous – she had never sat on a horse before. As if the God had picked up on her distress and asked, 

"Can you ride ahorse?" She blushed noticeably and shook her head. 

"Fine" he said, "We will take only one then." 

With that he grabbed the reigns of a tall dark horse and mounted it swiftly and with such grace that it left Ella speechless for a moment, so that she did not react right away when Loki offered his outstretched hand to her. 

"Are you scared?" he asked, puzzled by her hesitation. 

"No." 

Ella reached for his hand and Loki lifted her up to sit in front of him, putting his arm around the girl's waist to hold her. He felt her body freeze. 

"Relax," he whispered as he pulled her towards him. Ella did her best, but it was as if her body responded by itself. Being embraced like this made her anxious, no, it was more than that. Her body panicked. The girl closed her eyes and focused hard on calming down her breathing. 

Loki is not a threat, she thought. He will not hurt me. I am safe. I am completely safe. She kept repeating the words over and over in her mind.  

While Ella struggled to relax in Loki's embrace, Loki was faced with a different dilemma. The warmth of her body against him and the sweet scent of her skin and hair filling his nose made a longing rise in the dark prince that he had been unaware of until now. Because he had encountered her in the inner worlds as a child, he had treated and seen her as one. And like a child, she was so simple, innocent and pure hearted. But holding her close as he did right now, the God of Mischief realised that Ella was not a child anymore. She was a woman. An attractive woman. Mortal or not.

By the time they reached the forest Loki had his urges under control and Ella felt more relaxed with him being so close. When she was able to take her focus off her breathing and her panic ebbed off, she picked up a change in Loki's emotions. She could not sense them as clearly as she normally would. Was he nervous? 

The magic of the lush green forest engulfed them as they entered and soon Loki asked her to describe to him what she felt. How she perceived the magic here, where it came from, what energy it carried. Ella would attempt to answer him, yet was slightly overwhelmed by the beauty of this world. It truly was a heavenly, ethereal place. 

Loki was fascinated by the girl's ability to sense magic in a clear uncorrupted way. Regardless of the fact that she was unable to control it consciously yet, she was able to keep it gathered inside her. The first step. Feel it, gather it. Concentrate, control it. She was a very quick learner. Loki bent forward slightly, brought his hand up to her face and gently tapped her forehead with two fingers. Ella gasped as the trees around them started glowing, because her eyes were now able to see the flow of magic.