Transparent ❅ Loki

one

THE moment the Bifrost stopped spinning, she knew something had gone terribly wrong. There was a dark force in Asgard and the power of the Allfather slowly ebbed. She searched her astral mind, seeking the old king or his two sons, but their presence was nowhere to be found within the Nine Realms.

A young handmaiden picked up an empty teacup but the faraway look in her mistress's eyes stopped her from pouring a fresh cup. "Gather everyone you can find," she ordered her maid, leaving no room for objections. Fear flashed in the girl's young, round, blue eyes. "Take them in the forest, up into the mountains." They would find the Gatekeeper there.

The maid nodded, then turned to leave in haste. There was no time to spare, Syn knew each second was precious as soon as she sensed the legion of Einherjar marching in the streets. By now, they would all be dead if her budding suspicions were proven true.

She garbed herself in a pale gown befitting for her status in the court—befitting for the daughter of Vili and Vör—though she forwent any jewels and weapons. They would not be needed, not yet, anyway.

The halls of the palace were deathly silent, as were the streets. She suspected many had begun to flee, but the others...they would be dead. Once redoubtable doors had stood guard before the great hall, now their remnants lay scattered and broken across the floor.

Bodies lined the great golden hall. Some were impaled on dark blades, others were cut to pieces. Blood soaked through the hem of her silver-gold dress, but that did not keep her gaze away from the dark figure that had ascended to the throne. 

"Are you brave or stupid?" The woman asked, but Syn still walked forward in silence, over the dead and felled ceiling mural. There was nothing about her countenance that displayed fear, or any discernable emotion for that point. "Do you know who I am?" Came the second question and with it, a spiked sword appeared in her hand.

"Hela," Syn stated and that answer was enough to cause a spark of curiosity to grow in the hateful queen. "Odin's firstborn." The old fool may have never spoken of his daughter but the old texts did not lie. They both spoke of ambition and conquest. The old king's carelessness for the tomes had allowed them to survive in odd places in the palace and other realms.

Hela stood from the throne, pleased with the response, and drove the blade into the floor next to the golden seat. "Smart girl," she mused, almost affectionately. "Tell me what your heart desires," Hela returned to sit on the throne, crossing her legs and lacing her deathly pale fingers together.

Loki, she thought, I want Loki, but that was not a sufficient answer for the Goddess of Death. "Power," Syn replied, the earnest tone of her voice a well-disguised lie, "influence and control." In truth, she wanted none of those things, but such an answer would please Odin's firstborn and buy her precious time that could spare the lives of her people.

The Goddess of Death tilted her head back and laughed, a cackling sound that echoed off the destroyed floor and ceiling. "And you shall have it, sweet girl. You shall have it."

❅❅❅

She entered his chambers and looked around. "Loki?" the young girl called. "Queen Frigga is looking for you!" Syn glanced toward the rumpled bed in the middle of the room and frowned. She had already looked in the library for the dark-haired prince but found he was not nestled in his usual reading nook nor with his brother in the training yard. "We're going to be late for our lessons!" She announced. 

A sudden draft of air rustled her hair, and at that, the young girl grinned. She turned on her heel and stuck her arm out, feeling her fingers wrap around something solid and fleshy even though it appeared that she had grasped nothing but empty air. Loki groaned and let his illusion fade and Syn let go of his forearm, smiling. For just once we wished to be able to fool Syn with a trick, but that was nigh impossible—she saw truths.

If he could ever fool her, then he would undoubtedly be the best sorcerer in all the realms, but until that time came, he was still just a young pupil under Frigga's tutelage, just like her.

"When are you going to stop trying that spell?" She admonished, having lost count of how many times the young prince had tried to sneak up on her or stay hidden in plain sight. 

Loki gave her a toothy smile. "The day it finally works and fools you." Syn shook her head and took Loki's hand pulling him from his chambers and toward his lessons.

The queen dismissed her students for the day several minutes early. Loki went in search of his brother. Amora and Lorelei both whispered about sneaking down to the kitchens to appropriate a sweet or two, but Syn wanted to find her father and show him the newest feat she had accomplished with the Queen's help.

Syn spotted her father at the end of a hall and ran toward him, even though he was deep in conversation with the Allfather and Týr. The sound of small feet halted the talk of war and treaties. Vili scooped his laughing little girl up from the floor and sat her upon his shoulders with a large smile, half hidden behind a greying beard, of his own. "Apologies, my lords," Vili remarked. 

Odin looked between two of his most trusted and seasoned counselors, unfazed by the disruption. "We shall continue discussing these matters on the morrow." The carefree nature of youth could not be held accountable for interrupting tedious political affairs.

Vili turned into the small greensward near the council chamber. He stopped at the central fountain and sat Syn upon the ledge. "How comes your training?" He asked, rubbing his tender shoulder, an age-old wound aggravated by the changing seasons.

"I can call upon the magelight!" She had been waiting for this moment and with eyes squeezed shut she imagined the light, felt warmth pool in her chest, moving down her arms, and coalescing on her fingertips. Cupped within her small hands was a ball of effervescent blue-white light that remained suspended in the air even when she dropped her hands away. Vili knelt.

"Oh, I fear you'll never wish to sleep now that you can read all night." He caught the magelight in his own hand, and the color shifted to a deep red before extinguishing. 

Syn's cheeks turned red. That had, indeed, been one of her motivations to learn that particular conjuration so soon. "Don't tell mother?" was her sheepish response.

Vili nodded, pushing a silver lock of hair behind his daughter's ear. "It can be our secret," he promised.

"What secret?" Vör interposed, looking up from the open book in her lap. Either they hadn't realized she was within the palace gardens too, or the ever-wise goddess had known that her husband and daughter were scheming.

Vili stood and embraced his wife, kissing her cheek. "My beloved!" Even those endearments didn't stop Vör from finding out about her daughter's accomplishment, or her intended plan.