Choices

Chapter 16
"Lady Sif, I apologize for my hasty acts against you after a conversation and actions gone awry. I was naught but a scorned man and bent on finding a way to show my anger. Please accept this hair spun from the finest of threads and woven to create a beautiful new mane." Thor watched Loki pull the gift from his satchel. He sounded genuinely sorry for his actions, but with Loki it was hard to tell. He was quite a good actor when he bothered to act at all.
From the satchel was pulled the threads Loki spoke of. Long black tresses that gleamed in the light. Thor raised an eyebrow but didn't speak as Sif stared at the enchanted hair that would soon become part of her. "Black?" She questioned almost timidly, as if she were afraid to offend him. In the days Loki had left Sif had time to think and though Loki's reactions had gone beyond what she had done, she had admitted to feeling just as guilty for the entire events.
Thor had told her several times that it was not her fault. If Loki's actions had been meant to prove a point, Thor failed to see it. As well, if the act was meant to deter Thor from viewing the lady as the beauty he saw her to be then he was also wrong. Thor had assured Sif that the words he spoke in his room were true. He wanted to court her, properly.
"Yes. Black from the minerals used to create it. Blonde was not attainable." Loki told her and stepped forward. "May I?" Sif took in a breath and knelt down for Loki to better reach her head. Thor, the rest of his family, and closest friends watched on. Loki lay the strands upon her head. They were tied together in a makeshift wig to fit and stay where they were put. When they were in place, Loki spoke a couple of words of magic and Sif shifted in discomfort. Thor held fast to where he was standing and tried his best to put trust in his brother that this was not just another trick.
Loki pulled free the awkward thread that held the strands together and not one hair fell out of place. The tresses still gleaming soft and silky. Thor thought of pulling his fingers through it. After a moment, Loki bent and offered his hand to Sif who accepted it. He helped her to her feet and brushed the hair from her face on the right and pushed that hair behind her ear. "All fixed," he said.
"I hope, in future, you both can forgive and forget this slight and no further childish actions will be taken," Odin said eyeing them both.
"Yes, my king." Sif replied.
"Yes, father." Loki gave a nod toward him.
Thor took his chance and pushed himself between Sif and Loki. He took her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. "You look beautiful now and you looked beautiful before it." He told her making her smile.
"Thank you. I feel more comfortable now." She replied. In the days she'd been bald she had refused to leave the palace and sometimes even her quarters. Thor touched the hair and was happy to feel it was quite real. It was a soft as he imagined it would be. Sif did the same eyeing the strands she lifted to view better.
"Thank you, Loki," She said looking around Thor's thick bicep to look at his brother.
"You are welcome, Lady Sif." He gave a small waistline bow and gave a half smile. Thor returned a smile back to his brother, perhaps he had learned his lesson.
***
There had never been a better feeling than that of a woman's soft skin lying next to his own. Thor tightened his arm around Sif's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Tomorrow you will join me on a walk through the gardens." Thor told her.
"I was hoping that I would return to training tomorrow." Sif admitted turning her face up at him.
"Training?" Thor questioned. He felt confused a moment before it dawned on him what she meant.
"Yes, fighting." Sif pushed herself up to lay half on her belly and her fingers traced the lines of his chest muscles.
"My dearest Lady Sif, why would you need learn to fight now, when you have me to protect you." Thor grinned smugly.
"It isn't about protection. It's about passion ..."
"We have plenty of passion here." Thor stretched his neck to place a kiss to her throat.
"Thor, I mean it. I want to keep learning." Thor pulled back and frowned.
"I cannot bear to see you hurt in any manner. I would rather you cease these youthful wants and turn your attentions to us. I do not desire a warrior I desire a paramour who will be there to tend to my wounds when I am hurt." Sif sat up abruptly.
"You would ask me to give up my dreams to be a simple woman like the rest of them?"
"I cannot ask you to do that, but I am voicing my concern for it." Thor replied sitting up beside her and kissing her shoulder while stroking his fingers up and down her arm.
"I do not wish to give it up." Sif told him. She looked at him with rounded eyes of hope.
"You will learn only skilled to protect yourself should you ever need it. I will not have you thrown into a fray meant for heavy battle." She smiled and seemed happy enough for that.
"Thank you." She twisted her body and kissed his lips. Catching him in a burning passion that quickly swept all thoughts from his mind. He pulled her into his arms and ravished her lips and then soon the rest of her.
(Cephera)
Cephera rolled her eyes as her sister asked her for the tenth time about her trip. It was as though she expected the story to change. It was clear Seraphina didn't trust Loki and thought Cephera was keeping something from her, but nothing had happened. In fact, Cephera had talked very little with him. She had let him stew in what she might say and then when she did speak she made sure that her words would have the deepest impact. She didn't press the issue of why he did it.
While her twin prattled on about how worried she was, Cephera pulled up her pillow and swat her sister in the face. "Sera, stop. I'm fine, it was fine, myself and Loki are fine regarding how we get along."
Seraphina scowled. "How you can get along with him now just proves to me how naive you still are." She insisted. Cephera frowned and replaced her pillow behind her before lying down and rolling over to settle into sleep.
"Go to sleep before I'm forced to ignore you. If you're are going to continue to be unsupportive of my decisions then I'll gladly stay here in Asgard whilst you go home." She heard her sister growl and then hit the pillows behind her.
"Fine, but one day I will look back at this and then say 'I told you so'."
"Fine, if the time comes I'll accept it." Cephera replied. Without another word, the girls fell asleep.
***
The next week was oddly normal, well as normal as it got in Asgard. Cephera showed up for all her lessons and Loki taught her as if nothing had ever happened. This day they had ridden out to the forest where they stopped near a small pond of crystal clear water fed by a beautiful waterfall.
He began by having her form a small fireball in her palm. It was how he taught her the beginning of the week, only today she had to throw it and keep it conjured until it hit its target. "Again!" He ordered. She focused hard and threw the ball of fire at him. He insisted he be the target. He was sure he could easily put out any harsh flames, but he insisted that if she catches herself on fire she can jump in the pond.
He continued smacking the balls away and they sizzled when they hit the waters surface. "Still too weak." He scowled, but not too unkindly. She narrowed her eyes and tried again. In the heat of the morning, she felt she might faint, but she was determined to get this right.
The ball she sent his way this time burnt the tips of her fingers as she formed it. When it reached him, he grunted in surprise and fell back landing in the water.
She couldn't help herself. She laughed. He was floating there his clothes soaking and his hair plastered to his face. She laughed so hard she almost fell over. Suddenly a wave of water washed her off her feet. She lay on the ground wet looking at Loki who had pulled himself out of the water.
He was smiling. "That was better."
"That was a cheap shot," She dragged herself off the ground, "and now I'm dirty." Her dress had mud soaking the front where she fell. She noticed he remained clean but still wet. "Don't have a spell to dry off with?" she mocked.
"I also don't have a spell to get clean." He eyed the mess of her dress.
"Well, we both rode on your horse here. All this," she gestured to her front, "will end up all over you." She screamed in surprise when he quickly teleported to her, picked her up, and tossed her into the water.
"Not if you rinse off first." He called when she resurfaced. Cephera spit and sputtered the water before glaring at her instructor. The glare didn't last, he seemed in bright spirits today and a playful mood. A mood she hadn't actually seen before. It was refreshing.
"I'm hungry," she said pulling herself from the water and wringing out the heavier parts of her dress. Loki grinned before turning away and walking toward the horse. He pulled open the pack near its rear and pulled out bread and cheese.
"I came prepared." He told her. "Though if you wish to remain clean I suggest standing and eating." He placed the items on a large awkwardly shaped rock that threatened to tip the food to the ground. Cephera stood opposite him, it seemed it was how they always stood. Never side by side. She munched on the food he'd brought, not a large amount, but enough to satisfy until supper.
"I don't suppose you have an apple in there?" She asked hopefully.
"If you could live on apples you would wouldn't you?" He pondered eyeing her.
"Yes." She admitted. He rolled his eyes though not in an annoyed manner; it was more like he just knew that would be her answer. It was interesting how he could pick up on those things about people, but yet a few insulting words flung his way and he couldn't read that the person was only reacting and in the end didn't mean it. He was a curious male, certainly more complicated than any she had met. Men were more her sisters area of expertise, although that usually extended more to the bedroom than outside it.
Loki moved back to the bag and pulled out her apple before giving it a toss her way. She caught it eagerly before taking a whiff of the sweet outside skin. "I was planning to use it as a means to threaten you into producing a stronger spell, but you've proven you can, now all we need is for you to continued to do so."
"Are we staying here all day?" She asked.
"No, I have practice of my own later." He reminded her. She had forgotten about Amora. Since the first time she had met the beautiful blonde, Cephera had stayed away far from her. She wasn't comfortable with how direct she was.
"Well, I guess we should get started." Cephera offered making quick work of the apple and feeding the core to Loki's stallion. The prince gestured for her to take her original position before beginning their practice.

Notes