To Withstand the Force of Storms (A Loki Laufeyson Fanfic)

Chapter 11: All Our Bruised Bodies and the Whole Heart Shrinks

"To Hell with them. Nothing hurts if you don't let it." –Ernest Hemingway

*

That night, Loki promises Annaka he'll stay the night, the whole night, not getting up once. Annaka happily agrees with him, but feels guilty at the same time.

Leyna has agreed to come up to Mortem Mountain that night to see if there's anything up there. Even though it was just a tale, Annaka can't help but be curious. They're set to leave an hour past midnight, but now that Loki is staying in, she has to wait until he's asleep.

She lets Leyna know this before retiring to her bedroom. Leyna said she'd wait in the Great Hall for her, and that if she wasn't out there by two, they'd abort the mission.

Lucky for them, Loki drifts off way before one, and Annaka is able to sneak out unnoticed. As for what would happen if he wakes up to find her gone, well, he can't complain that he's on the other end of the rope now.

"Ready?" Leyna asks, equipped with climbing gear.

"Yes. I don't think it gets that steep though," Annaka notes.

"It's just a precaution."

They set out into the night, the sky a brilliant shade of blue-black. They set out behind the castle and out the back gates, making a beeline for the mountain.

"What happens if we get up there and there is something there?" Leyna asks once they reach the beginning of the trail upwards.

Annaka shrugs before staring up the path. "Run."

"Right."

They walk in a comfortable silence, the mountain soon becoming more enclosed and the path more narrow and crumbly. The path is the game board, and they were the pawns; only in this game, there's no winning. You either get to the top and live, or die on the journey.

"Hiking is definitely not my favorite hobby," Leyna pants. "Next time, remind me to save my strength."

Annaka laughs. "Will do. Don't slack now; we're almost at the top!"

"Joy," Leyna mutters.

The top is as bleak and boring as the bottom. There's nothing to see besides a boatload of red sand, animal skeletons, and dried up plants and cacti.

"There's the cave," Annaka points to the far left. "I'll go in alone first, and then get you in once it's safe. If I'm not out in fifteen minutes, get help."

Leyna nods, resting on a smaller boulder.

Annaka starts inside the cave, pivoting over stalagmites and stalactites and tripping over a select few. A small pool of clear water sits in an indentation a little while in, the water almost too clear to be deemed safe.

"I've been expecting you," a cold, drawling voice whispers.

Annaka jumps, almost hitting her head on a stalactite. "Who said that?"

Nothing. A cold breeze passes through the cave it seemed like, but the voice doesn't speak again.

"Hello? Loki?"

The voice comes again, this time with a biting laugh. "You know he's safe at home. Is your trust really that low? I would expect it to be, after all that's happened."

Annaka narrows her eyes at the wall where the voice is loudest. "What are you talking about?"

"You're a sad story, Annaka," the voice says in a faulty sad voice.

"Who the hell are you?"

The voice tisks like a disappointed mother. "Manners, Annaka. I know about that past of yours. It's not bright and shiny, you know."