All The Little Pieces

Heroes and Villians

"You're right, that was excellent." Loki closed the volume of Anglo Saxon poems and leaned forward to place it on the table in front of the chaise. "I've greatly enjoyed reading Midgardian stories with you these last few afternoons. What else do you have there?"

Elizabeth hefted a thick book from the floor by her chair. "This is the pinnacle of English literature." She paused for effect. "This is the complete works of William Shakespeare. Brilliant and extraordinary don't even being to describe what I'm holding here."

Loki held out a slender hand. "That's pretty high praise. Let's have it." He flipped to the table of contents. "Where should I start?"

"Depends on what you want. The sonnets are short, but the plays are the best, I think. There are histories, tragedies, comedies..."

"What's your favorite?"

"Ahhhhh, that's such a hard question!" Elizabeth threw out her hands dramatically. "I love them all, but probably Henry V and Richard III, and they are such opposites. Henry is the perfect heroic king and Richard is such a fantastic villain! I never can decide which one I love more."

Loki's brow furrowed. "Really, you love the hero and the villain? Both? Why?"

Elizabeth drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Well, Richard is a horrible person, he really is. But he doesn't start off that way. His family circumstances and choices mold him into the villain, and at first, that's not who he wants to be, but then eventually, he embraces it. And he's such a smooth talker and schemer, he's willing to kill off his brothers and other relatives to get the throne, but every one of his plots is different. He's a chameleon, and he's frighteningly intelligent. He's probably Shakespeare's best character at reading and manipulating the people around him."

She shrugged. "I mean, I wouldn't want to actually spend any time with the man, but I'm impressed by his ability to influence people with his words. And smart is attractive, at least to me." Her cheeks turned slightly pink.

Elizabeth went on quickly. "Then there's Henry, and he was such a total disaster when he was the prince and heir-not evil like Richard, but a ton of bad decisions. Really horrible friends, drunk, a womanizer, all kinds of pranks and illegal things..."

She shifted in her seat. "Then once he became king, it's like a switch flipped. He was interested in becoming the best ruler he could, fair and kind and honorable. You read his speeches and want to know someone like that in real life. He's absolutely inspiring to read."

Loki snorted. "But you actually think he changed? I mean, his true self, his desires? Or was he simply trying to fit into the idea of what a king should be?"

"Anybody can change if they want to. Yeah, I think he did."

He looked at her intently. "That's interesting. You honestly think anyone can change? When are they past hope?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Some have more to change than others, but really, I don't think anyone is past hope until they're dead."

Loki's eyebrows shot upward. "You think so? Hmm." He seemed thoughtful, then his eyes twinkled. "All right, let's start with Richard, then. Come here."

"Huh?"

He slid over and patted the chaise. "It's a play. It only really works if we do this out loud together. Have a seat here by me."

She plopped down next to him and placed the book across their knees.

"You start," he said. "I like hearing you read."

Elizabeth cocked her head. "When have you heard me read?" she asked skeptically.

Loki shrugged. "Your voice is lovely. I assume it's even better when you read amazing books."

"Oh. Um, ok, thanks." Elizabeth shifted on the cushions and crossed her legs.

"Have I embarrassed you?"

"Well, I worked for the last twelve years doing research and writing up the results." She pursed her lips. "It's not the best job for interacting with people, you know? I don't really get compliments and I guess I don't know how to take them. Normally I say nothing, or get sarcastic, but you're an actual god, so...I didn't..." she trailed off lamely and started to scoot farther away.

"No, no." Loki reached out and caught her by the hand. "No special treatment for me, god or no. The last few afternoons have been the only times I have felt free in, well, a very long time. I can't thank you enough, truly."

He glanced down at her hand as though suddenly realizing he was gripping it and let his fingers slide away from her palm. "And no running away from compliments, either." He cocked his head. "Also, that's the first time you've mentioned your life on Midgard without me asking."

She gave him a small smile. "I guess so."

"If you don't want to talk about it, you needn't."

"No, it's fine. Was, um, there something you wanted to know?"

Loki shook his head. "Not specifically. I wondered what you did before you arrived here, that's all."

Elizabeth looked over at him. "Well, like I said, I did research for my job, mostly for people who needed to find lost relatives or things, family ancestry, that kind of stuff. After my dad died, I decided I wanted something new, a different place to live, far away from everything..." She shook her head to refocus. "It took a bit of work, but I recently found a new job in London. It was handling all sorts of research contracts for historical sites and museums."

"Did you like it?"

She glanced at him regretfully. "I'm sure I would have. I was scheduled to start the week the Bifrost pulled me here, so I never got the chance to find out. I loved the idea of it, though."

Loki grimaced. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I don't have a lot of interesting background to tell. I love reading and learning new things and seeing how all of it fits together. I write stories for fun, as things pop into my head. A lot of people think that's pretty odd. I'm just...ordinary...kind of boring."

He narrowed his eyes. "Really? I wouldn't say that at all. Well, just so you know, I'm thoroughly enjoying spending my afternoons here with you. The discussions we've had are wonderful."

She looked at him quickly. "You think so?"

"Do you not?"

"No, no! I agree!" Elizabeth shook her head vigorously. "I mean...I'm glad. Most people want to make small talk."

Loki groaned and covered his face with both hands. "I despise small talk." He cocked his head and looked at her. "I want to talk about mysteries, the meaning behind things, why two people can see the same event and interpret it differently, that kind of thing."

"Yes!" Elizabeth's face lit up in excitement. She felt almost euphoric for the first time in weeks. "Exactly! I want to have a really deep discussion about what's important to someone and why. I want to walk away from a conversation and keep turning it over and over in my mind for days, because somebody really made me think."

Loki was nodding along with her. "The sort of conversation that keeps you lying awake at night, feeling excited because you've seen something in ways you never have before."

They grinned at each other for a moment, then Elizabeth glanced awkwardly down at the book.

Loki gestured at the space between them. "Now come back here so we can read this fabulous play of yours."

Elizabeth giggled, scooting back toward him. "As you command, Prince of Asgard."

She smoothed her hand across the page and read the familiar opening lines, "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York..."