This week on Saturday Sanctuary
A very young Loki was walking towards his parent’s chambers and absently rubbing sleepy eyes. He was started out of his sleep and felt uneasy, so he’d crawled out of bed. When he got to their doors, they were open, indicating the rooms were empty.
With a start he realized there must be something happening down in the hall, so he darted that way.
ooo
The winged-woman in chains stood before Odin, a permanent sneer on her otherwise beautiful features.
“Lilith, you are herby sentenced to death. Your children and yourself killed many in the attempt to steal life-force from my people.”
The red-haired woman moved a step, the chains singing with her effort. “You killed my children! You killed them because you assumed we were murdering your people!”
Odin stood and pointed at the demoness. “You were found over the body of an asgadian warrior with his blood on your mouth and face, need I remind you!” Beside him, his wife Frigga shivered silently, and wrapped her arms around herself as he spoke.
“Not to mention your demon children have since been found stealing energy from countless others! Many have come forward and said they were raped or given terrible nightmares.”
Lilith sneered. “You know the ways of the Succubi are ancient. We offer pleasures in return for energy.”
Odin slammed his staff and called for silence. “Sorceress you are dying this night, and your children will be hunted down until they are all dead! I shant have my people or my family at risk to your devious natures!”
From behind, Lilith heard small, light footsteps much like her youngest daughter’s. She lowered her forehead, as if in despair, but she actually did so to grin widely with malice. Fools, the lot of them.
The guards had stood off to the sides of her, believing she was well contained by the chains. Metal rings could not hold her, most especially her great wings. They were mistaken to think they could contain her
In the span of an instant, she crouched, channeled her reserve energy, and her wings pumped with her rage. The chains snapped with ease and she directed them easily to the faces of her captors.
Once free, she had less than moments. She spun, caught the shocked gaze of the pale little boy behind her. She knew she was a sight to his little eyes.
Lilith stood, crouched with her wicked leathern wings fully extended and her clawed hands spread out, ready to shred flesh. She grinned at the boy, flashing her fearsome fangs and his jaw dropped and he stepped back with fear.
Then, at the next heartbeat, the demoness shot across the distance. She snatched the boy up with ease and spun around, claws on his neck and wings lethal as they covered her from shots.
She was taking a risk grabbing an unknown child. However, it paid off when she watched the queen hold back a scream and fall to her knees, while even the Allfather himself paled and took a step back.
“My lucky day. A little princeling to escort me out?” She was bluffing, and Odin knew it.
Lilith would never be able to escape with the loss of energy she’d already endured. She had spent too much hiding her most loved daughters before her capture…but she could take a consolation prize.
“What is your name, little dove?” she asked and the shaking boy still raised his chin as best he could.
“Loki, Son of Asgard.”
Lilith allowed herself a genuine smile. “You shall be powerful then. You will have the aid of someone I love one day…in return you will protect her.”
She didn’t wait for his response as she harshly bit into her tongue. When blood flooded her mouth, she bit down on the boy’s neck and he immediately began screaming for help.
“Mama!” he cried, as tears poured from his eyes and his captor forced her blood into his body. It was very primal and old blood magic, but she had accomplished her goal. Her daughters would know what to do with her final orders.
She dropped the boy and let him run away towards Frigga, who had rushed to met him.
Once he was freed, she knew her death was moments away. She began laughing and raised her clawed hands high into the air. “My legacy!”
Frigga tried to shield the boy’s eyes when Odin threw a ruthless attack upon the woman and she burnt under his power. Her dying laughter would haunt Loki for years until they gave him a draught to make him forget…
ooo
With a start an adolescent Loki awoke on his bed. He felt pressure on his chest and looked up to meet glowing, red eyes in the dark. He jerked his head to the right, spotted his desk, books and scrolls just as he left them before bed. Knowing that slight comfort, he looked back up to the being.
His eyes acclimated to the darkness quickly and the face of his guest began focusing in around the blood red orbs. A bob of black, curling hair was the first thing he could see, as it transformed from the stark mass surrounding the eyes of crimson.
Loki was graced with the sight of fangs behind a feminine smile. Ah…he thought, with astonishment…A Mara?
“Hello!” said an energetic voice, with a slight accent.”
Loki smirked in the dim light, with his night vision finally at one hundred percent. She was a petite creature, with a seemingly permanent grin and a tiny waist to her slowly blossoming curves. She was a young adolescent to his eyes but he’d read that Mara, a type of Succubi, send their daughters out much younger. Still she was very small for a future as a seductress…
“I don’t believe we’ve met.” Loki said dashingly and she smiled widely, with her little fangs gleaming in the dim light.
“Not at all,” she said and tilted her head. “You’re my first mark ever, to be honest.” She whispered, as if in confidence.
“Mark?” he asked, as he lifted his hands to his head, and relaxed in preparation for some exchange of words.
He had not had anyone actually talk with him of late, besides his mother, Frigga. Occasionally, and fleetingly, his brother Thor would talk with him, though most of their conversations were on training or possibilities to join battles. There was no room for debate or speaking among the Warriors Three.
This little creature of lore was his first physical contact in ages, and he was not about to let her leave quickly. Even if he had to give her energy for the exchange, there was no way this little female could drain him to the point of damage. He would have fun with her.
“I think I should know you.” She said, and shook her head. “We don’t really know our marks but…since I’ve never done this before, what’s your name?”
“Loki Odinson, of Asgard.
“Oh!” she cooed and glanced around with interest, looking upon his room. “I think I’ve heard of you!” she said and looked at him with a wide grin once more. “Well, I’m Nyxet, but my sisters just call me Nyx.”
“Nyx,” he said and smirked. “Sounds like the name of someone who likes to have fun.”
She smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but there was a noise outside Loki’s doors. Nyx jumped and squeaked a little before Loki realized she wasn’t yet into her power to conceal. Without thinking much, he lifted his blankets and she darted beneath.
“Loki,” Frigga was heard through his doors.
“Yes, mother?” he said aloud and a heavy door opened to her face.
“The guards said they heard muttering in here. You aren’t testing spells are you, love?”
Loki smirked at that and shook his head. “No mother, just reciting them. I don’t want to forget what you taught me this week.”
A brilliant smile came to the queen’s face and she shook her head. “You flatterer…well, I’ll tell the guards to leave your room alone my sweet, but do try to get some rest?” at his smirk, she sighed. “Good night my love. Sleep well.”
“I shall mother.” He said and she closed the door once more.
He waited a moment more, before he lifted the blankets and spotted the Mara, curled up by his side. She was so small and young, he wondered if all her kind were so little at that age.
“It’s safe, Nyx.” He said and she unfolded slowly, before looking up at him.
“Sorry…” she said and sat up, shocked at the outcome. “Don’t say anything, please?” she whispered. “If my sisters hear about how bad I’ve bungled this they’ll lose their heads…I’ll have to lie no matter what but that would just be…”
Loki smiled at her and shook his head easily. “Who would I tell anyway, little Mara?”
She smiled in return and scooted forward on her knees, between his ribs and arm. With slightly timid hands, Nyx reached out and grabbed a little bit of his hair. “So, this is the silliest thing…I’m not like some of my more deviant sisters. They tend to um…hurt their victims. I would rather just be a friendly spirit! With maybe a silly or two?”
Loki kept his eyes on her and lifted a brow. “A silly?”
“A um…well, a trick or a joke on someone.”
At hearing that, Loki smirked and nodded. “Do your worst.”
Nyx grinned widely and it lit up her face. “You’re so nice, Loki!” She said and began to muss with his hair. “My sisters don’t let me.”
Over the course of her ministrations, Loki began to feel drowsy and his eyes closed. He’d never felt more relaxed and at ease. Her clawed fingers were surprisingly soothing and each time they scratched his scalp he felt a mild shiver. Eventually he fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake until mid morning.
ooo
As Loki ejected from his rooms, he went straight for the dining hall with eager steps. When he’d awoken that morning, the female of the night before was nowhere to be seen. Because of the lack of evidence, he assumed it was all just a very nice dream. How could a Mara actually visit him? He’d never heard of one in Asgard.
Dream or no, he had actually slept-in long enough to eat breakfast with his family for a change. He knew Frigga would like that very much, so he made a point to get there.
As Loki entered the hall, Thor saw him first. “Good morn, brother…”
When Thor stopped speaking and stared at his brother’s head, Loki frowned and pushed on toward the table. “Mother, good morn.”
“Loki, my…” Frigga’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “My darling, why did you set your hair so?”
Loki sighed as he made to sit down. “I did nothing to my hair, mother. Why do you ask?”
Frigga stood and caught a mirror nearby, and brought it him. Loki’s face dropped and he stared upon his reflection. His hair was set in fine braids, which looked intricate and well done.
“Loki!” she cried and set a hand on his should. “My poor boy, targeted by Mara. At least those are weak and not of the pure Succubi…and those demons are all gone.” She said with an air of dismissal and moved back to her seat. “You are too strong.”
At her words, and her following wink, Loki could not contain his grin. “It will be just fine, mother. I’m sure won’t happen again.” He said and grabbed some fruit and eggs to set on his plate as Thor sat beside him, trying to contain a wide grin.
“You look most fancy today, Loki.” He said and stabbed some sausages before him.
“The crotch hairs on your chin are looking slightly less sparse this day.” Loki retorted and gave him mother a look that said he would watch his mouth. “Sorry, mother…”
ooo
As if like clockwork, Nïx appeared on his chest the following night with a pure grin of excitement. He’d spent the day in the library, researching her kind. He couldn’t help but grin at her in return; he’d truly made an impression on her then.
“I assume you didn’t care for my act.” She said. “You know, with your hair.”
“Quite possibly, though that outcome was an issue for my mother. I found it to be a surprisingly solid trick, Nyx. You are not like the others of your kin.”
“So, you’ve had the chance read up on us have you not? You probably know quite a bit.”
“I can teach you much more than you know now.”
At that, she sighed and nodded her head slowly. “I am not the um, not the norm when it comes to my other kin.”
Loki shook his head. “I didn’t mean disrespect, Nyx. I meant that I could be an ally to you. I understand, you know…what it feels like to be the odd one of the family. My father tends to treat me a little differently.”
From her place, perched on Loki’s chest, she couldn’t help but feel a little flutter in her chest. “You’re the baby too, aren’t you?”
“The baby?” he asked, with an irritated look.
“You know, the youngest? The one that no one expects to do anything of importance? Everyone is looking at your older siblings instead.” She said.
Loki knew what she meant, and he felt a bit of a connection with her in that moment. “So, are you supposed to…you know, find male or female victims?”
Nyx blushed and immediately frowned. “We can choose our own direction to take energy. The early years are important, I think, because some of my oldest sisters didn’t have to worry about consciences…my mother was angry in the beginning.”
Loki had pulled Nyx off his torso and she instantly lied much like the night before. They were young and similar souls, so they seemed to know what the other wanted with ease.
When he pinched her side and smirked, she squeaked and pulled her knees up, to curl into his side.
“Tell me about them.” Loki said with a light smile.
“I have some very old sisters who are so powerful. I feel silly around them, like a little girl.” Nyx said and filled with the fabric of Loki’s green silk shirt. “Some of them are as old as my mother now, when she died. Most of them either utilize sexual energy or take from their hosts without any return. I do have two sisters who take very little and give in return…like I did in mussing your hair. I made you sleep.”
“Yet you were sent to me as your first mark?” Loki said incredulously, thinking he felt a little bit honored. She comes from a powerful line…and they sent her to him. He smirked and threw an arm over her side.
Nïx nodded at his question and smiled, feigning innocence. “Well my sisters found your signature and thought you would be a good match for my power blend…which I know nothing of.”
“Now I’m confused.” Loki said, “Power blend?”
“Well, my mother had many victims and few mates, and she chose each of them purposely.” The girl said with a snort. “To be fair she was a pure Succubus. Mother was one of the first and she had many names. Her nature was to seek power and even more powerful mates. She protected nine of us from danger and kept us separate, under heavy guard. Of those mates she chose…I was her last birth before she died.”
She sounded sad, but also at peace. “I’m supposed to be like my older sisters, but I don’t think I want to.” Loki understood her, but he felt that she would be capable of power, if she gave into it.
Something told him he should keep an eye on this one…
“Nyx,” he said and she looked up at him, expectantly. “Come to me when you need anything. If you need to feed, you come to me.”
She smiled brilliantly. “You mean it?”
Loki smirked but felt a bit of jealously at the idea of another person being touched by her. “Yes, I do. If you ever need to feed, in any way, come to me and I will give you all you need and more.”
That was the single most incredible sentence she had ever heard she wiggled a little with giddiness. “Loki, you can be my Schützling.” She said with a thick accent, before she hugged him quickly. “You name it, I shall come to your aid. I swear it!”
When their eyes met, she lifted her claws to his forehead gently, and then slowly rolled them down his face. “Sleep, Loki…” she said, in a voice that encased his mind and lulled him easily.
He woke the next morning, and grinned as he flew into his day and hoped for night to come. Loki went to bed early and waited until he woke the next morning without any sign of Nyx. He did this day after day…week after week…until she never came back.
It was centuries before he ever saw her again, and he had nearly forgotten their fleeting nights of whispers and secrets…
Tags: Loki, Saturday Sanctuary
