The Raven

Potions - Chapter Twenty-One

The young girl was taken aback. How could he not know that Edith was the Supreme Necromancer?
"I-...You really didn't know?" She quizzed, clearly shocked by his confusion. Loki swallowed, his icy orbs on her.
"I'm afraid not," He replied.
"Ho-How long have you known her, then?"
"Er...About a month in Midgardi- Earth time." Loki was swift in correcting himself, figuring she wouldn't understand if he had used 'Midgard' instead of 'Earth'.
"Oh..." Holly paused, her thoughts stumbling over one another. At least, Loki noted, she had relaxed. "Well, I mean...Necromancers are usually secretive b-because of our species, but the mo-monarch family is the strongest of us! It's odd she didn't tell you." She finished, her posture faltering. Loki stood for a moment, encased in his own thoughts. How could she have hidden something like this? Especially from me. I'm the God of Lies- Ah, then again, she didn't exactly lie to me... "So...Ahm, what's your technical species?" Holly broke him free of his internal banter.
"Pardon?" He cocked a brow.
"Oh!-" She stopped herself once again. "S-Sorry...I forgot, you're not one of us..." She forced a giggle. "Where are you from?" Holly inquired.
"Ah. - I hail from Asgard." He answered, flattening his blazer.
"Oh," She smiled. "I just met someone from there, actually!" Loki's eyebrows furrowed. There are necromancers...from Asgard? He was shocked, to say the least. Wouldn't he have known of them? Then again, he hadn't a clue who Edith was, and she was born on Asgard. Yet, it didn't make sense...If some child had raised a corpse, surely Heimdall would have seen it, and reported to Odin? Or perhaps Odin kept it secret from he and his brother...Like, so many other things. He stared down at his hand, in damaged thought. Monster. A word, a name that repeated so often in his head. Among the partygoers, something had clicked. It suddenly made sense to him why Edith chose to keep her royal heritage among her other secrets: Necromancers were considered monsters. Freaks of nature, if you will; And, if Edith was currently the 'Supreme Necromancer', then that meant that she was considered to be the worst of them. It was no wonder Edith didn't trust anyone outside her own family and species. As a child, Loki was told so many stories about how necromancers were horrid beings, who were hellbent on destroying the universe with their undead armies. In one story, he recalled, being told of a great warrior who defeated an immensely powerful necromancer that had been terrorizing the Nine Realms. It wasn't just Asgard who had stories like these, needless to say. These people...were all outcasts. Outcasts of the universe, just like he. Loki swallowed hard. He felt the need to locate Edith. How could he have been so blind? All the signs had been there, before him. "Sir?" Holly spoke, calling him back to reality. A charming smile plastered upon his face, he answered,
"Apologies. I must visit the restroom," He nodded to the young girl, then turning on his heel, and marching into the crowd. Hel- How am I supposed to locate her in this mess? He grimaced at the people surrounding him. Truthfully, he was never fond of being within crowds. He narrowly avoided several necromancers, all dressed in their finest attire. - Unfortunately, as he was reaching the exit, he bumped directly into Señor Caspian Delgado. Loki swallowed his sneer.
"My apologies, señor," said the spaniard, bowing to him briefly. The god offered a smile.
"It was my own fault, sir," Meeting the spaniard's gaze, he realized that he hadn't a clue where Edith had gone. He had only presumed she would return swiftly. "Pardon my urgency, but have you seen Edith?" Loki quizzed.
"I have. - Why do you ask?" Caspian arched a brow. They're all so protective of her... Another sign, he seemed to have missed. Loki sighed, rolling his eyes.
"If you must know, your people have been patronizing me, and I am not fond of it," He lied. Caspian bought it, it seemed. He merely nodded.
"She is in her bedroom with her mother, preparing for...well, you'll see," Caspian chuckled, whilst Loki stared blankly at him.
"And might I ask where her bedroom is?" Loki remained calm, his shoulders square.
"Ah, to the left, at the top of the staircase. You cannot miss it, trust me," said Caspian, giving Loki a firm, friendly pat on the back as he slid past him. I can't miss it? Loki rolled his eyes, making his way out of the massive ballroom. What was bugging him, besides people in general, was these people's secrecy. He was among them, now. It was clear he had no murderous intent towards them. Why did they still hide? Better yet - Why was he asking himself such stupid questions? He knew well why they chose to hide. For the same reason he did. - Loki was quick up the stairs, making sure to gaze down, as few more guests entered the building. One thing that Loki definitely didn't understand was why the necromantic family had settled on this planet in particular. It seemed everything they loved was here...Perhaps it was their home before Edith came to be? His questions he would ask later. First, he had to locate Edith. The dark god made his way into, and down a long hallway. Multiple doorways were before him.
"Yes, I 'can't miss it'." Loki muttered to himself. He quickly debated whether or not he should continue, then mumbled a 'to Hel with it', and continued on. He walked at snail's pace, listening for movement, or perhaps voices. He heard nothing...for a moment. Tck...tck...tck...tck His eyebrows furrowed. Despite his being centuries old, he'd never heard such a strange sound. Then again, he'd thought necromancers were just that of legend, and yet, here he was. His curiosity getting the best of him, he listened carefully, following the strange sound. The closer he got to a painted black door, the louder the sound became. Of course, he questioned the fact that this door was black, while the others were umber brown. But did he ponder it? Of course not. He felt the presence of a masking charm, and knew well that the room was forbidden. Needless to say, this wasn't going to stop him. He was a god, and the rightful King of Asgard. His title was surely strong enough to allow him in. He gazed about his surroundings, checking for people, before slipping quietly into the room. The minute he turned, he was stunned. It couldn't be...? A potions...room? The sound drew him from his thoughts almost immediately. It was boisterous now, filling his ears. TCK...TCK...TCK...TCK He grimaced ever so slightly. Without thinking, he reached for it's source, something he found to be briefly strange: A spilled potion. The exact second his index finger met the clear, sparkling liquid, the world went black...

Athanasius burst into the room, where he found Loki passed out on the dark oak floor. He quickly took in the scene, first noticing Loki's limp body on the floor, then the spilled potion. His eyes widened.
"Oh, shit," The tall necromancer spat, rushing forward without another word. He was quick to open Loki's eyes, noting that they were unmoving, and rolled into the back of his head. Why are Asgardians such morsophs? Athan thought, lifting up the raven haired god with ease, throwing his arm over his own shoulders, and then gripping his waist. He made his way to his daughter's room, at the far of the hall. His neatly greased back hair had become disheveled, dark strands falling into his face. He kicked open the door, ignoring his sister-in-law's gasp. Inside the room was Ethelinda's sister, Diamanda, and his two twin nephews, Davorin and Dorian. All three were red-haired, with round blue-green eyes, and pale and freckled skin. Athanasius merely shot his sister-in-law a brief look. She immediately stood from her seat, and rushed out the door with her two twins in tow.
"Holy f-" Edith caught herself in front of her mother. "What happened?" She quizzed as her father carelessly placed Loki upon her bed. While Ethelinda watched, bewildered, Athan spoke, "What happened," He irritably began. "Is your assinego of a friend," Edith rolled her eyes. "Got into the hidden potion's closet!"
"Father, it's not a closet, it's a room." Edith sat on the bed next to Loki's limp body. "He obvious didn't drink any, so what did he touch?" She quizzed, gazing up at her father. The blood drained from his face as a sigh escaped his lips. "There was a Commemorationem potion that had broken or something...It was spilled," He answered, his arms crossed. Edith's eyebrows furrowed. Oh, hell...
"Which one was it?" Athanasius was hesitant to reply.
"It was one of my own...The, er...." He didn't want to say it, and he didn't need to. His daughter knew exactly what he was speaking of.
"Oh, fucking hell." She spat, turning to stare at Loki with wide eyes. Her mother would have spoken up about her foul language, but...at this point, she had the right to curse. Athanasius placed a hand on Edith's shoulder. It didn't matter that he clearly wasn't fond of Loki in this moment. - What the dark god was seeing in his sleep, however, did...

Loki's eyes opened. But...where was he? It seemed he was in some sort of cave. He was there, yet...He wasn't. He looked down at himself, raising his hands. Magic was certainly at work. He could feel it, pulsing through his veins. He quickly went over what he remembered; That being walking into a potions room, and then, waking in this strange place. Finally, he took in his surroundings. Red rock walls, and orange dust floors. The place was dimly lit, with torches lining the wall. He grimaced, gazing about the dusty area. Ugh. Edith will kill me if- He stopped himself. No. He wouldn't think of her. She was one of his enemies, even if they were something along the lines of 'friends'. He forced himself out of the thought, and moved on to his his next: Where exactly was he? He couldn't have teleported some place. As he pondered the question, he heard a faint 'woosh'. He turned, coming face to face with a cloaked figure. He recognized them without trying: It was Edith's father. How had he identified him so quickly? Easy. His pale, large hands were visible. Loki often took in everything about one's appearance,
though he never realized it. He didn't bother speaking. Athanasius would have glared at him, if he'd been able to see him. To Loki, this was obvious. Instead, he reached out to grab his arm. As expected, his hand fazed through. Athanasius marched on, and Loki followed him. - He thought for a moment. It was on the tip of his tongue. He was in some sort of dream, brought on by...A potion! Ah, I knew it. It must have been Commemorationem potion. Odd. All these years, and I'd only ever read about them. The ingredients are usually increasingly difficult to obtain. - He followed as Athanasius marched into a poorly lit, hollow cavern. Almost immediately, he spotted a figure hunched over near the rocky walls. Athan wasted no time. He rushed towards the figure, who appeared to be sobbing. Hesitantly, Loki followed. His eyes soon adjusted to the darkness. Valhalla, no. His eyes widened, finally realizing who the figure was....

_______________________

Commemorationem is Latin for 'remembrance'.

Thank you for reading. - And do stay tuned for the next chapter. Heaven knows how long it will take to write, but it will be grueling...

In the meantime, my darlings, I offer my (relatively) new Tumblr blog for Edith!

; www.theedithjune.tumblr.com

You can ask her, or myself questions, if you'd like. I truly appreciate every single one of you, and I welcome all of your thoughts / questions. Thank you all.

x Alexis
_______________________