A Confusing and Catastrophic Confrontation

Nevaeh and Heimdall were walking on the fluctuating floor. Her thoughts were screaming inside her head as she walked the length of the overly-lengthy rainbow bridge, whose beauty she couldn't even contemplate between her own viciously entangled thoughts.

'I suggest you do not speak a word regarding anything until you reach your destination,' Heimdall said.

'Which is?' Nevaeh asked. She had no idea where he was taking her.

'Let me rephrase that. Do not speak a word starting now till you reach Loki. And trust me, you will reach him. You have my word. Just stay calm and neither react nor speak.'

Nevaeh was about to say yes, but she made the better choice and simply nodded.

There were innumerable guards surrounding the open gates of the palace; some standing in position while the others talked among themselves, all of whom had full-body armour and again, gold horned helmets.

'I need to escort her inside,' Heimdall said to one of the guards.

'You can't get in until we are told otherwise. Orders,' the guard said rather apologetically.

'Very well,' Heimdall said. He gestured Nevaeh to follow the guard. She couldn't understand anything. Why was Heimdall taking her inside the palace? Nevertheless, she made sure to keep silent. 'Take her to our King,' he said.

Nevaeh's stomach lurched. That sounded as if Heimdall were turning her in! Possibly for breaking and entering Asgard without using the bi-frost! She was going to get punished or killed! Barely being able to find her voice, Nevaeh had no choice but to follow the guard inside the gates.

The palace was a glorious sight. It seemed as though the whole palace was made out of gold, even from the inside. They walked past huge pillars and monuments while Nevaeh looked everywhere. She saw several towering statues next to the gold walls, which were again wearing horned helmets. She wondered if Horns were a fashion statement in Asgard. But remembered that Thor didn't have anything displaying horns with him, neither did Loki.

This was madness! Nevaeh thought. Why would Heimdall turn me in? He gave me his word! Did that mean nothing to Asgardians? Truth? Honesty? Ergo, not lying through their very teeth? She figured she could just explain her way out of it. She was, after all, the victim in this situation! She was lied to by two Asgardians! Yeah, she'd just pretend to be some little, lost girl to get out of trouble. As she plotted some excuses in her mind while walking up the eight flights of stairs, the guard finally halted in front of a huge, gold double door, but this one was carved with a hint of emerald over it. The guard opened the door and walked inside the lavish room followed by Nevaeh. She wondered how Odin must look like. But the man standing at a distance looked scarily familiar.

There he was; beyond the room, standing far, far ahead in a terrace as huge as Grace's entire fortress, and gazing outside. Loki stood there with his back towards them, his green cape fluttering in the wind behind him along with his sleek, dark hair. He was holding a huge golden staff in his hand which was taller than he was.

Nevaeh was bewildered. She was expecting some centuries-old man with white hair! She'd barely had enough time to process everything that was going on. What was Loki doing here? Was he called in to see the King as well? Did he get caught after returning from Hoth? He didn't look like someone who was caught. Instead, he looked quite at home not even turning around after the door was opened, apparently deep in his own thoughts.

The guard cleared his throat. 'Heimdall requested to escort this one to you, my King.'

Grudgingly turning around from his thoughts to give the guard his attention, Loki froze on the spot. His eyes grew bulging with horror as he watched Nevaeh stand in front of him, inside his bedchambers, inside his palace, in Asgard. What was happening? Was he hallucinating? How could this be?

Nevaeh almost broke her neck as she sharply looked at the guard with the worst confused face ever. 'Excuse me. What did you call him?'

The guard shot back an equally confusing look to Nevaeh, but didn't say anything.

'You can leave now,' Loki said to the guard as soon as he found his voice. The guard quickly obliged and closed the door behind him.

'Loki?' Nevaeh said, still a bit dumbfounded.

'Yes, dear?' Loki's heart was thundering in his chest. He had no idea how she was standing here, so calm.

'He just called you—'Nevaeh began slowly.

'No, he didn't,' Loki said promptly, hastily keeping aside Gungnir that was kind of giving away his bald faced lie.

Nevaeh stared at Loki. Even amidst all her anxiety about meeting Odin, she'd not misunderstood what the guard had said, and Loki was lying to her face again. Heimdall had told her she would meet Loki, and she did. He didn't lie to her. It wasn't his fault that she was completely oblivious of the fact that her poor little orphan friend was the King. And Loki still had the audacity to blatantly deny what she'd heard mere seconds ago! 'LIAR!' Nevaeh cried, shooting a red blast from her wand which hit Loki squarely in the chest, making him move behind an inch and look at her in mild surprise.

'Nevaeh, how did you get here?' Loki asked quietly, as if they had run into each other in a coffee shop.

She shot another blast towards him. Loki raised his hands, gesturing her to calm down, and not even flinching as the blast again hit him on the chest. Nevaeh felt like yelling, that's your question? Not asking how I realized that you were a stinking liar, but asking how did I get here? But, she was too angry to speak. Also, the sight of him not even wincing at her attack made her furious.

Before she could attack him again, the door flung open. Four guards barged in, each carrying a huge sword. One of them held Nevaeh's neck from behind while the others pinned her down on the floor. She tightened the grip on her wand, readying it to petrify them all, but she didn't have to.

'LEAVE HER!' Loki bellowed shrilly. 'Get out!' he yelled. They immediately let go of the grip they had around her. Nevaeh was taken aback; she had never once heard Loki be this harsh and bossy with anyone, let alone raise his voice this loud. 'Out! – Out! – OUT!' he spat, reaching alarmingly close to them, as they hastily straightened up on the floor. Loki practically shoved them out of the door and slammed it shut, his fist smacking the serpentine surface of solid metal, leaving a visible dent.

As soon as he closed the door, a sharp, stinging bolt hit him squarely on the neck. He turned around in anger. 'I get it! I get it! You are mad! You caught me! Congratulations!' Loki hissed.

'What is all of this, Loki?' Nevaeh yelled. 'I am standing here, but I don't understand anything! Are you – are you the King of Asgard?'

'Why would you even think that?' Loki said in a high pitched voice.

'How can you be the King? You are an orphan!' she yelled, staring at him. 'Aren't you? Think long before lying to me again, Loki.'

Loki took a deep breath. 'I am not an orphan,' Loki said grudgingly. He couldn't think of another lie. It was as if his brain had stopped working after her arrival.

In the next second, Nevaeh snatched a knife sitting inside a fruit bowl placed on a wooden table and flung it at Loki's head, who sharply caught it by its hilt and threw it aside. Before he knew it, she was attacking him again, but this time with the contents of the fruit bowl. Loki dodged the apples, obliterated the moon berries, and teleported the pineapple to fall directly on her head instead.

Nevaeh fumed in anger and threw the table towards Loki, which he sliced in two by a mere hand gesture; its two clearly cut pieces crashing at his sides. His jaw clenched as he was hit by another one of her shiny blasts.

'Haven't you realized by now that your magic doesn't affect me much?' Loki drawled. He was an immensely magical being. Damaging him was no joke. Also, during his stay at her house, he'd secretly soaked in the residual energy emitting inside Grace's fortress, rendering her magic moot against him.

Nevaeh had never experienced anything like this before. Whenever she had meant to attack someone, they'd been flat on the ground before she could've even calmed her anger, but this was – unnatural. Loki was not only looking unharmed, but also unmoved by her attacks. Nevaeh grudgingly wondered how powerful Loki really is to sustain such heavy blasts without even flinching, which were capable of knocking out dozens of people. He'd pretended to be a normal person! Now, he was boasting about how powerful he is? That's it. He needed to be taught a lesson.

Nevaeh carefully held the wand in her left, badly scarred hand, closing her eyes for a second just to open them again. She looked Loki dead in the eye, who was silently staring back at her.

Nevaeh gave her wand a pull instead of flicking it while muttering something under her breath. A purple bolt shot towards his forearm, piercing right into his gold plated armour which emitted an audible hiss as it cut open, slashing his skin. 'Ouch!' Loki stared at his forearm with an open mouth. 'That was a dark spell! Am I to assume that was aimed for my heart?'

Her spell had penetrated his sleeve, cutting his skin about four inches as blood began flowing from his arm, only to be swallowed by a hint of blue before disappearing altogether.

'You lied about being an orphan! Do you even realize the gravity of that situation?' she yelled. 'You lied to my parents too! I trusted you, Loki!'

'Nevaeh, I can explain—'

Nevaeh cackled loudly. 'I don't need your explanation! What I need is to hurt you as you hurt me!'

Loki narrowed his eyes a little as he stared at her maliciously angry face which was clearly glad that the spell had finally done some damage, no matter how short lived. 'Don't attack me again. I am warning you.' Although Loki had a growing suspicion that she wasn't going to listen to him this time...